Chapter 15: An Unexpected Encounter
He saw the young demigod flying through the air from some distance away. There were no trees or other obstructions in the field before him, so catching sight of him had been a simple task. The winged figure was quite high up in the air, enough so that it was unlikely anyone would spot him unless they were actively looking for him. He was flying at a steady pace, but not with the speed that the agent would have expected from one of his illustrious bloodline.
That was not his concern though, what was of importance was signalling the demigod to descend so that they could speak. The agent had several options available to him, but he was hesitant as to which one to use so it could not be misconstrued as an attack.
An idea occurred to him, and he reached into a silken bag concealed in the voluminous depths of one of his sleeves. It was a crimson silk bag with embroidery depicting birds in silver and gold threads. Despite it’s elegant appearance it was no mere decorative item, it was actually a complex artefact, one that he had made under his Lady’s watchful eye. The enchantment upon it was intricate in creation but simple in execution. It simply meant that the inside of the bag was larger than the outside, thus letting him store many objects within it. The small silver-backed mirror that he pulled out, could have fitted in there, but it would have left little room for anything else were the enchantment not in place. The silken bag was a simple object, but with the magic it possessed, it should be sufficient for his purposes.
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The first flash of light caught me by surprise. I’d just been flying along, just enjoying how free I felt in the air when a sudden burst of light made the world go white. I came to a stop, blinking my eyes to clear the spots and trying to work out what had happened, and then there was another flash.
It took two more before I finally spotted where the flashes were coming from. Down in the field I was flying over, just in front of a small copse of trees, was a figure in white. My eyes were still a bit dazzled, so the details were somewhat blurry, but they seemed to be holding something that kept flashing at me. For a moment I considered just flying on, not stopping to investigate. As far as safety went it was probably my best option.
Whoever this was they weren’t attacking me, they were just trying to get my attention, so . . .
My decision was made, I slowly started to sink down to earth, being careful to check the area with both my eyes and my magic. I still needed practice in that area, but I was good enough to be able to sense a decent number of things.
The figure below me had power, a strange blend of mana and chi. Still, out of all the people I’d met so far, I thought they were the weakest. Of course, my only examples so far had included a warrior angel, a resurrected saint, and a demigod, so my internal scale of power might have been a bit slanted. Where they shone like stars the figure below me simply shone like a lantern. The closest I’d seen had been Emma, and with her, there was always a feeling of something hiding.
I didn’t sense anything else though, and it wasn’t as though the copse of trees was large enough to hide anything. The idea of magically concealed enemies crossed my mind, but if I went down that rabbit hole then I could end up paralysed by paranoia.
So, nothing ventured nothing gained.
My ruined trainers came to a stop just above the ground, the stalks of grass scraping the bottoms of my soles. This close I could see the figure much clearer, and his appearance was . . . a surprise, to say the least.
He looked as though he’d stepped out of some Chinese historical drama. One set in the imperial court and one with a lavish budget. He wore long robes that had looked white from a distance, but which were revealed to be embroidered in white at closer inspection. The main robe was a light yellow, with a beautiful design picked out in pristine white threads, tiny pearls acting as embroidery. The cut and design were unmistakably Chinese, but I didn’t know more than that.
The man wearing these beautiful clothes was almost a walking cliché. He had classic Asian features, a long white beard and moustache, equally white long hair done up in a topknot, an aged but dignified face, and perfect poise as he waited for me. He looked every bit like the archetypal ‘wise master’ that I’d seen in countless martial arts films. Looking at him I was suddenly all too aware that I was a mud-stained mess.
Still, despite his almost humorous appearance I couldn’t bring myself to be amused or dismissive. The way he carried himself, his expression, everything just seemed to radiate a calm and collected dignity. This wasn’t some guy dressed up in a costume, of that I was certain. The power that surrounded him, the control, the self-possession, all of it belonged to someone that I felt I had to treat with respect.
As I approached him, I noted the mirror in his hand, even as he slipped it into a bag at his belt. I was interested that he’d used such a simple method to contact me, rather than something more aggressive. I hoped that was a good sign.
I came to a stop about ten feet from him, out of arm’s reach, but not out of my wings’ reach. I hoped things didn’t go poorly, but if they did it would be a minor advantage.
For a moment we just stared at each other in silence, tension slowly building. Then, in a single flowing movement, the white-haired man clasped one hand over his fist in a martial arts salute and bowed to me, a deep bow at that.
I didn’t know much about Chinese etiquette. What I did know was stuff I’d learnt from things like films and comics. I knew that a salute with one hand over the fist was important. Depending on which hand it was it could be either a sign of respect or a challenge to a fight. Seeing him make that salute put me slightly more on edge. Still, he was also bowing, so I guessed it wasn’t a challenge. His words did catch me off guard though.
“Honourable young Master. This humble servant greets you.”
He spoke in Chinese, and I shouldn’t have been able to understand a word of what he said. Except, somehow, I did.
It was kind of like when I’d had the link with Etienne, I could hear his words, but I intuitively knew the meaning behind them. At the same time, it was different though, more . . . shallow. What was interesting was that I could feel no link between me and the man dressed in white, yet I was understanding him easily enough. Was it some natural power that I hadn’t realized I possessed? But if that was the case, then why didn’t I always understand when Joan spoke in French?
Well, for the moment I didn’t care, I could understand Chinese, and that was awesome for the time being.
Then he spoke again, and any other thought I might have been having came to a screeching halt as I focused on him completely.
“My honoured Lady, your divine progenitor, has tasked me to speak with you upon matters concerning to your future.”
My divine progenitor? The thought of it shot through my brain like lightning, questions and suppositions rising and falling as I tried to get them in order. That could only mean one of the gods or angels that I was descended from! Joan had told me about the events of my awakening, of how there had been four spheres of power representing four bloodlines in me. One had easily been recognisable as being derived from Bath Kol, but the other three had been a mystery to her. If this guy could tell me another one of them . . .
For a moment I wasn’t sure how to respond. I considered copying him, bowing in the same way but dismissed it. I was pretty sure he was greeting me as a subordinate would a superior, so bowing to him in return might be rude, or foolish. Instead, I decided to go with a slight incline and a nod of the head. I wasn’t sure if it was right, but it was the best I could come up with.
“Might I know who I have the honour of speaking with?”
I did my best to imitate how a fictional version of King Arthur had spoken in one of my favourite films. That depiction of him had been regal and honourable, so . . . I hoped I was going in the right direction.
“This humble servant is simply called Li, young master. Such a name is more than sufficient.”
I kept my face as impassive as I could, but internally I was frowning. Li? Really? I might not know too much about China, but one thing I did know was that Li was one of the most common family names. It was like Smith or Johnson in the West. To say his name was Li . . . he might as well have been a western man in a dark suit claiming he was ‘Mister Smith’.
“I . . . okay,” I internally gathered myself trying to regain my royal mask. “Might I know who your Lady is? I confess to being ignorant as to the origins of most of my divine progenitors.”
There was no point in trying to pretend otherwise. He obviously knew enough about me to find me, to know the route I would take. That in itself was disconcerting, but something I was going to have to worry about later. Trying to fake knowledge on something like this would only make me look foolish and ignorant.
“Of course.” He nodded gravely. “It is this humble servant’s privilege to inform you that your divine ancestor is the great goddess Nüwa.”
I felt there should have been . . . something. Some flash of revelation, some feeling of instant recognition. It might even have been appropriate if a sudden gust of wind had blown across the field. Maybe a serendipitous parting of the clouds. Instead, there was just nothing.
The simple fact was that the name meant next to nothing to me. Chinese mythology hadn’t been something I’d followed as ardently as other legends. I was more familiar with aspects of it, such as the legend of the Monkey King, or the immortal archer that shot down the extra suns. The only reason the name of Nüwa was vaguely familiar to me was that she’d appeared in a videogame I’d played a couple of years back. In it, she’d been just a plot device, someone who gave you a challenge and then provided you with the equipment needed for the next stage. The only thing I could remember about her was that she’d had several gemstones hovering about her, and that was it.
How was I meant to handle this?
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The man who called himself Li gazed at the young demigod before him. This was the inheritor of the blood of the goddess he had devoted his life to. This was a young man that was privileged in ways that Li could only dream of. This was someone that the heavens themselves were taking note of.
Li was not impressed.
When he had been tasked with this meeting he had been elated. In his mind, any descendant of his goddess had to be a great man, a future hero or leader. That the bloodline he descended from had been rooted in the Western cultures of Europe had been a disappointment, but he had been aware that the gods had chosen to incarnate in other lands during their exile from the mortal realm. Had her inheritor been of her home nation’s blood then he might even have been inducted into the new imperial family, a young prince to strengthen the new ruling bloodline.
Still, even if he was a foreigner to the Middle Kingdom Li had possessed expectations. He had thought to meet a young prince, a dignified warrior, someone akin to the King who had returned to the British Isles. This man, barely more than a boy, was . . . less.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
True, in form he was beautiful, almost perfect. His features were exquisite, his frame and body a perfect blend of hard muscle and refined delicacy, each balancing the other in a manner that mortals could only dream of. The great white wings that grew from his back only served to emphasise his near perfection, making him appear every iota as magnificent as the very angels that served the God of the High Heavens. In form he was striking, but in power? In presentation?
Li had thought that standing before this descendant of his lady would be akin to standing before a lesser version of her. Instead, there was nothing, no sense of pressure from his power, no pressing aura of authority. The being before him felt almost completely mundane in comparison to what the servant had been expecting.
For just a moment Li was tempted to test his own strength against the Legacy of his goddess. Though only a mortal himself, the servant had been one of those few who had been selected by his goddess upon her return due to his tending to one of her shrines. She had taught him divine arts, ones that even a mortal could use. These were the martial arts that had become fantasy in modern entertainment, but under his goddess’s instruction, he had regained the vigour of youth and great power besides. What modern media depicted with wires, explosions and digital effects he could do in truth. How would that compare to this demigod, weak as he was?
It was a momentary thought, and one that was immediately dismissed, the fact it had even appeared in his mind was a mark of shame. It should not matter how strong the young master was! It should not matter if he was even a mortal. So long as he had the blood of the divine goddess Nüwa flowing in his veins he was accorded respect and subservience from those sworn to her.
Still, deep in some rebellious part of his heart, he could not help but look down upon the winged man. Even worse than his unimpressive projection of power was his dishevelled state. His garments were torn rags, dirtied with filth and blood, his hair was a matted mess, and grime clung to his skin, despite an apparent attempt to wash it away.
Li was aware that his judgements were irrational, but he could not help them. This man was the descendant of his goddess, he should not be clad as a beggar or vagabond. It felt as though he were disrespecting her by allowing her bloodline to be reduced to such a state, and the urge to chastise the demigod rose within him. Still, he crushed it down, unwilling to take any action that ran contrary to his orders.
Instead, he focused on the young man’s reaction to learning the name of one of his divine progenitors. It was . . . lacklustre, at least as far as Li was concerned. To learn that the blood of such an august deity was in his veins should have prompted awe, joy, and possibly even fear of being unworthy of such a legacy. However, the winged demigod simply looked mildly confused. There was recognition there, but none of the immediate reverence that the old servant felt was due. He could feel outrage beginning to bubble up, but then the young man spoke.
“Nüwa . . . the name is known to me, but I am shamed to say that I don’t know as much of her as I should. The furthest I have ever travelled to the east is Turkey, so my knowledge of the deities of China is lacking.”
Well, at least he acknowledged his ignorance, as well as how shameful it was to not know more about the goddess that empowered him. Li felt his opinion of the demigod rise by a minor increment. Ignorance was far easier to correct than foolishness, so he was willing to educate this winged man in the greatness of his goddess.
“Very well, young master.” He offered another respectful bow before continuing. “Nüwa, or Wahuang as she is called by her devoted, is a great goddess with many accolades to her name. She is the creator of mankind, having moulded our race from earth, and given us life. She is the goddess who invented the concept of marriage and taught it to us mortals. And when the pillars that supported the heavens were broken, it was she who restored them, with great magic and skill. She and her brother are respected gods who have given much to the world.
“She is the mother of mankind, the Celestial Empress, the Guardian and Architect of the Heavens. That is whom you are descended from, and that is who now acknowledges you as her kin and inheritor.”
It was a woefully brief summary of his Lady’s deeds and honours, but it was sufficient for this brief meeting. Had Li had the time he would have ensured that the young master had encountered him in more appropriate settings where the servant could take the hours needed to properly educate him on his divine ancestor’s legends. So much had been lost to time, and so much had been revealed with her return. Her greatest deeds had remained, but the smaller things she had done had been forgotten.
None remembered that it had been Nüwa who had formalised the positions of the five elements represented by her five coloured stones, thus playing a major role in the creation of mortal magic. None remembered how she had taken a leading role in the repairs and rebuilding of the cities of the heavens after she restored the broken divine pillars. None remembered how she had cut up the body of the giant turtle Ao and used his meat to feed the hungry in the wake of the disasters that had rocked the mortal realm. So much had been forgotten during the centuries of the Great Exile.
Still, the young demigod seemed to be at least appropriately impressed by the nature of his divine progenitor, so he clearly had some sense.
“So . . .” He sounded uncertain as his eyes met the old servant’s. “Will I get to meet her, or . . . ?”
“The exalted goddess has responsibilities that currently occupy her attention,” Li explained. “As such she must maintain her current duties to the exclusion of all else, I have been given the duty and honour of revealing your heritage to you and passing on your exalted ancestor’s acknowledgement and gift.”
There was a moment of silence as the young man seemed to turn inwards, trying to order his thoughts. That was good. Had he immediately shown interest or greed regarding the gift the goddess had sent him it would have lowered his standing in Li’s mind.
“So . . . I’m a Legacy of Nüwa . . .” the winged young man seemed to be speaking more to himself than anyone else, then he blinked and looked up at the old servant. “I . . . thanks for this. I knew I had many bloodlines, but I only knew one of them for certain. To know another part of where I come from . . . it is a relief.”
There was a pause as the servant saw the demigod’s attention turn inwards, and then his eyes focused on Li once more.
“I am thankful for this, but will this knowledge come with . . . duties. Don’t misunderstand me, I am glad to know of my ancestor and am honoured that she would send someone to let me know, but I am already . . . I feel as though I have almost more than I can cope with already. I am unsure if I can handle any more.”
Well, that was something of a point of favour on the young man’s side, in Li’s mind. Had the demigod immediately been interested in what powers or privileges his bloodline provided him with, then the old servant would have been disappointed. He would have answered of course, such would have been his duty, but he would have been shamed to see such behaviour from his lady’s descendant. That he instead spoke of responsibilities over privileges, even if it was to say he did not yet feel ready to meet them, showed the sort of maturity that the old servant could approve of.
It was but another small increase in his regard for this winged man, yet it was noteworthy. Such issues were his own private business though, what was of greater import was to fulfil the task he had been entrusted with. A task that the young man’s question led to quite neatly.
“No,” He replied. “The exalted goddess does not need for you to take up any duties at this time. Her place in the New Jade Empire is a quiet one, as per her wishes. Certain . . . hierarchies are still unsettled though, and until their flux has ended she has little wish to bring those of her bloodline into the Empire. My purpose here is simply to inform you of your lineage, and pass her blessing to you.”
As he spoke Li reached into his sleeve, and in a practised motion reached into his magic pouch and pulled out the object his Lady had ordered him to pass to her descendant. From the demigod’s perspective, it would have seemed that the gift had appeared from nowhere, a small piece of theatre to provide greater authority to Li, and so to his Lady in turn.
“As of now this is all that the exalted goddess shall provide you with, a blessing, and, it is her hope, a starting point for your future.”
The servant watched as both interest and confusion flitted across the young master’s face. It was clear that he did not fully understand the value and importance of what was being offered to him, but at the same time, he was not simply dismissing it either. That was to his credit, but again, Li felt a spark of irritation that this Legacy of the goddess he served did not immediately grasp the honour being bestowed upon him.
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I’ll be honest, this had not been what I had expected.
I was descended from a Chinese goddess? It didn’t seem real to me, or more accurately, it didn’t seem realistic. When I tried to learn more about the various mythologies I’d done most of my research on European mythology and what Abrahamic legends of angels and demons I could find. That had made sense to me, living in England meant that if the Legends were going to affect me then it was probably going to be the ones that naturally belonged to the area. Britain also had a strong Christian heritage, King Arthur and his knights went looking for the Holy Grail after all, and with the return of the King, there were some angelic appearances in the UK. So, it made sense to focus on them. Being descended from a goddess from the other side of a couple of continents just didn’t seem like something likely.
But, now that I thought about it, geography didn’t really limit the bloodlines I could be descended from.
For one thing, there was no limit on where the gods could descend as mortals. It was just as easy for a Roman god to have been reborn in Cuba as it was for them to do so in Italy, so there was no limit on where such bloodlines might begin. For another thing, old bloodlines could get passed around as those carrying them travelled to new lands, intermarried and then passed them on, especially in modern times where travel was so easy. It was entirely possible for some Japanese schoolgirl to be a Legacy of the Canadian trickster spirit Raven.
So, my being a descendant of Nüwa wasn’t so much of a stretch.
A part of me desperately wanted to find somewhere, anywhere, with internet access so that I could find out more about her. To have more family, even if they were only distantly related, show up and not know anything about them . . . that wasn’t sitting well with me. There were so many questions I wanted to ask! But at the same time, I hesitated.
This Li was keeping things formal, very formal, and I wasn’t sure what was going to happen if I broke that decorum. So far, he hadn’t given me any chances to ask questions, nor had he really asked any of me. Hell, I was pretty sure he didn’t even know what my name was since he hadn’t used it and he hadn’t asked.
It was just intuition, but I felt that breaking character, breaking the formality, would be a bad move. I could hold it, I could keep playing this role until this was done. I hoped that Joan or Hadriel might know enough to answer my questions, and if they didn’t . . . Well, we were going to have to leave the Sanctuary soon, hopefully that would offer a chance to get to a computer. I couldn’t wait!
Then I watched the old man’s hand come out of his sleeve holding . . . an orb of metal?
For a moment I was surprised by the sight. Not because of the metallic sphere itself, but because it had a feel to it strangely similar to the lump I’d found back in the clearing.
There were differences of course. The orb before me was larger easily half again as big as the lump, meaning it was about as big as an orange. Also, unlike the metal I’d found in the clearing, this was a perfect polished sphere. It looked as if it had just come out of a showroom. Then there was its colour. Rather than the multiple dark hues of the lump in my pocket, the orb was golden. It was the sort of gold that made one think of treasure chests and royal crowns.
But for all those differences it was their one similarity that was eye-catching. Just like the lump of metal I’d found, the orb had the same wave-like pattern, as though it was composed of many metals that had been folded upon each other, and then shaped into a sphere. Each wave seemed to be a different shade of gold, and each time the orb moved those waves seemed to ripple in an almost hypnotic manner.
Maybe the resemblance between the two different chunks of metal was superficial compared to their differences, but even so, I couldn’t help but be certain that they were somehow deeply related. There was a . . . a quality, something I couldn’t put my finger on, that they shared.
Reaching out I took it from Li’s hand, my eyes narrowing as I tried to work out my sudden certainty of its connection with the metal in my pocket.
“What . . . is this?”
I asked the question almost absently and was slightly surprised when I received an answer.
“This is refined ore from the exalted goddess’s own workshop. Mystical materials that have not been seen in the mortal realm for millennia were purified and combined to reach a superior state, then condensed and shaped into the Thousand Heavenly Blessings Metal Sphere you now hold.”
I blinked at that, both at the description and at the name. I knew something was being lost in the translation, but names like ‘the Thousand Heavenly Blessings Metal Sphere’ sounded far too much like they belonged in some cultivation comic.
I’d read a couple in the past, mainly at the insistence of friends, and I’d always found the names of the weapons and herbs in them to be too over the top to take seriously. When a character started talking about retrieving something like ‘the revered Thousand Year Old Jade Bone Grass’, or calling their swords something like ‘Ten Thousand Heavens Splitting Red Jade Slaughtering Edge’ I just lost my suspension of disbelief and did my best not to laugh. It was an unfair reaction, since when the original names were spoken in films I knew that they could sound quite beautiful. It was just a matter of the nuances being lost between languages.
Still, as silly as the name sounded to me, I didn’t find myself amused. Instead, I was intrigued.
“What does my . . . honoured ancestor expect me to do with it?” I asked, almost using her name before I remembered I had to act formally.
“That is completely at your discretion,” The old man replied. “If you wish you may sell it in trade, amassing a fortune. Many will pay vast sums in any payment you wish in order to secure it. Use those funds to secure a life of luxury, set the foundation of a powerbase, or simply gift it to any cause or charity you desire to support. The exalted goddess will take no insult, she shall see it as you making use of your inheritance in accordance with your wishes.
“Or you can choose to keep it, learn how to use it as you see fit. Such metal can be a potent reagent in the use of spells and rituals, or it can be used in the forging of a weapon or artefact, or even absorbed into your body to enhance your physical abilities. The matter is completely at your discretion.”
I nodded slowly my eyes still focused on the sphere. It felt important to me, more than just because it was a gift from one of the sources of my divinity. It felt important in some way I couldn’t put my finger on. Without thinking about it I moved to put it in my pocket, only to remember that I only had the one that hadn’t been torn open, and that was already in use. Trying to summon up some sort of dignity, I spoke.
“Would you happen to have a spare bag you could part with? I’m afraid that my clothes did not fare well in my last battle, and I have nowhere to carry this gift on my way back to my current home.”