“Oh, but this should be good.”
The statement was one coughed with derision, charged with ancient anger. It could only have come from Master Longhua.
“Be out with it then, Planeswalker,” Yom-Dur said, only marginally more charitable than his Brother-Master sitting beside him, fists clenched like a panther ready to pounce. “What do you propose?”
Ori’un gave a subtle wink at XJ-V’s inert form, and then answered as eloquently as he could:
“In my time as Planeswalker, I have served in the sacred capacity of Administrator for Disciples’ entry into the higher ranks of our echelons,” he said. “This task I have always undertaken seriously, with deliberation, and with care.”
“’Care’,” Longhua practically drooled. “Is that would you call your Administration of young Feng’s first test?”
“The results of Feng-Lung’s test proved he was not ready to ascend to Rank 4 of Corporeal Temperer,” Ori’un replied. “Or was my judgement wrong, Master Longhua?”
The Master of the Dragon balked at this, saying nothing more as his Brother caught his eye. For his part, Feng-Lung stiffened at the reminder of his past failure, shoulders sagging for only a second before he righted himself again. XJ-V could see that he was resisting the urge to despair. He was resisting it because he had made his own choice, this time.
And without even knowing it, he had done precisely what the Planeswalker had wanted him to.
“Once, the boy sitting before you here today demonstrated strength and promise but lacked discipline. Focus. He would have been a hindrance, five years ago. Many Cultivators, hearing such words from their Administrator, would simply give up. Have given up. But not so with young Feng-Lung. I see nothing of the impulsive boy I saw five years ago here today. His desire to help his friend is not only noble, but shows strength of character. It shows courage and, most importantly of all, individuality. I have heard that young Feng was the first Disciple here to talk amicably with the Cog – to treat XJ-V as a person, not as a mere tool or a machine. This shows wisdom, Masters. I am sure you will both agree.”
XJ-V couldn’t help but smile to see Feng’s surprise. The boy might have been about to disagree were it not for Longhua holding up his wrinkled hand.
“You mean to tell us that we should treat this whole debacle as a test?” he asked.
“You wished to find a suitable one to show you the skills of both these warriors,” Ori’un shrugged, nodding at both the perplexed Disciples. “As Feng showed courage, XJ-V showed tenacity. He showed loyalty to this Sect, Master Longhua. His impulse to save me from capture came from his desire to see his fellow Sect members live on, even if they themselves,” he added darkly. “Have made some poor choices.”
He glanced over at XJ-V and beamed him his black, moon-infused smile.
“What better way to teach humility to one such as me than to come to my rescue,” he said. “Don’t you agree, Master Longhua?”
Once again, Yoma-Dur of the Tiger had to keep his Brother’s temper in check.
“Your insolence knows no bounds,” he growled, the candles of the Dragonpyre Hearth flaring with his rising ire. “I have slain men for lesser crimes than presuming to know my thoughts.”
“I merely try to empathize,” Ori’un said seriously. “As do your Disciples here. I ask you: can you really afford to let such Brotherhood go to waste? Protect them. Let them continue on their journey. Their future is a valuable one, believe me. They shall make you proud one day, Longhua. I do not need to peer into the Dao to know that.”
Though he would always have the heart of a machine within him, XJ-V still felt his chest swell with pride at such praise. Perhaps he truly was more of a child than he thought. It looked like even Feng-Lung blushed to receive such honor from the great Planeswalker.
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“Brother,” Yoma-Dur said. “Though it is most…unorthodox, I see little harm in the Planeswalker’s plan. “Both these Disciples banished a Talon of the Eagle themselves, using techniques of merely the Earth Grade and their own wits to outsmart and outmaneuver their opponent. Surely that counts for something?”
Longhua wheezed. “So like a Tiger, Brother – focused on technique and form above the symbolism that this moment represents. You know what this means. You know whose eyes shall be upon us in the aftermath of this madness.”
“Such eyes are upon us anyway, Brother,” Yoma-Dur said sadly. “The time may have come for us to accept this.”
Longhua inclined his head to the floor, staring past all of them, probably deep into the earth’s core itself judging by the intensity in his eyes. It was as though he was studying the very rocks and crags of the Dragonpyre Hearth before speaking again, weighing up the judgements of those who had come before him – those who had walked in the light of Qing before The Sundering forced them into their own little corners of the world. Forever isolated. Forever alone.
“Dying slowly with each passing century…” he murmured in a whisper so low that XJ-V couldn’t even be sure he’d really said it. “Clinging to a past that no longer exists…”
When Longhua rose again, his eyes burrowed into XJ-V’s broken form before turning back to the Planeswalker.
“I suppose this was part of your vision,” he said sardonically.
Ori’un merely shrugged again like a schoolboy being reprimanded for something he did not do.
“When this is over,” Longhua said. “I will punish you.”
“I already accepted my punishment long ago, Longhua,” the Planeswalker replied. “And when the time comes, you may deliver it if you wish.”
All eyes in the room sought to grasp at the hidden meaning in these words – in the charged look of conflict that passed between Master and former-student. It seemed these two Cultivators would never see eye-to-eye. It struck XJ-V as odd – one of the many oddities of humankind – that even those who lived under the same roof, ate the same meals, and occupied the same world, could see the world so differently and, as a consequence, view each other with such derision.
“Bah!” The Dragon suddenly exclaimed. “Enough. I will not speak more of this in the company of two Rank 4 Temperers. Off with you both. Retire to your chambers. Ori’un – make yourself useful for once and see to XJ-V’s repairs. Get our Core Regulators what they need to service him.”
Ori’un’s boyish smirk was contagious. “With pleasure, Master.”
“Master Longhua?” Feng-Lung broke in, looking up from the stone floor with sheepish realization. “Did you just say – Rank 4?”
“What, did the Xu’Jan pretender clip your ears, Disciple?” Longhua scoffed. “Indeed, I did. Now, begone. Do not make me repeat myself.”
XJ-V watched as the Disciple then bowed graciously, eyes bulging with surprise, excitement, and the bliss of a success well deserved, and couldn’t help but smile again himself.
“There it is,” Ori’un told him. “Genuine satisfaction. No naked ambition. No unfulfilled desire. Just a real, honest-to-goodness spirit that seeks to protect the things it cares about.”
He looked up to see the Planeswalker towering over him, bending down to carry his remains back to the Dragon Commune.
“You’ve got it both, you two,” he told XJ-V as he lugged him out of the Dragonpyre Hearth. “Real humanity.”
Humanity…
“The…villagers,” he murmured.
“All fine,” the giant explained. “We’ve already got our best Regulators aiding their rebuilding efforts. You might have started something here, you know. Maybe some day they can all serve the people of the wasteland rather than stay cooped up on this mountain. That’s one thing the sword-devil mentioned that I could at least agree with – we are all connected. But, well, that’s a story for another time.
All connected…
But not by Brotherhood, Ori’un, something at the very heart of XJ-V’s being wished to scream. There is only one thing that the Order believes we are equal beneath…
“Master Longhua!”
XJ-V had shouted back over the bulky arm of the Planeswalker as they made to leave the room, surprising everyone except the Master with his outburst.
For Longhua looked at him now with narrowed, focused eyes.
“The Xu’Jan of the Order,” XJ-V said. “He spoke to his God. He spoke to Yuwa. He spoke, and a voice obeyed – something that came from beyond this earth. Beyond the Dao.”
Both Masters stared unblinkingly at the Cog as Ori’un simply sighed and continued walking.
“What does that mean?” XJ-V asked, trying to keep himself from crying out so that all the Cultivators of the monastery could hear him.
The answer he heard was muffled and almost lost to him – and he couldn’t be sure it wasn’t just an auditory hallucination spurned on by his fluctuating systems. Still, he heard it, and there was no humor in the sentiment it expressed:
“It means we are done with tea,” Longhua said. “It may be time for something a little stronger.”
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