XVIII | THE TRIUMPH AND TROUBLES

Zhenyuan soared madly beneath the stormy skies, wings beating wildly as some ice pierced one at endless blue spire, as if a bird brought down by men’s arrows, as wing by wing he fell, and the wrath of the heavens claimed him… a golden ring rolled on the ground in circles seized by a slender pale hand, white feathers and a winged horse landed.

It was Yuhong, she would be the one to wield all the marks and stop the return of Zhenyuan as she also bore single of Immortal Guan Yu’s power.

She gazed at Aegis with anxious eyes, rushing into him. “Senior brother…” Though she would be asking if he was well, Aegis only exhaled ash and turned his face from her.

Snow’s hooves were beside Aegis slowly, as he was gripping Akashic’s corpse on his head horns, crouching, he tossed it around and laid it facing the skies, a stab in the chest that spewed blood stilled Yuhong’s steps who gazed at him. He was covered in blood, some his own and some of both demigods gods but he was unharmed, and she could not help but tremble her lips thinking such a foolish question. But she was right as every pulse of Aegis’s heart brought a piercing ache in his head, but he endured it, no one would want to see him grovel on the ground but it was a horror tearing pulse in pulse. Snow nudged him, as he dug out Akashic’s torso with bare hands and a rough stone with swirling crimson marks appeared on his palm that breathed out ashes.

False God, he gazed at Akashic of what he would call a runic will, but surely it had other names in other tongues. Runic will were ones of unchosen willed power, a power that from the depths of your soul and Akashic’s was hellfire, but if you were born with a gentle magic such as water you could not awaken a fierce one as fire itself unless there was a catalyst. Runic will would be your own and could be inherited as a kind of lineage if would bear descendants, and these were very scarce as they were a vow to advancement and how many half-gods were there? Hundreds, and some would be as mighty as the hells.

He had consumed one of these before, he recalled it once but it was a failure afterwards and he did not quite grasp and comprehend much of how things like these functioned. He lifted it and devoured, its coarse surface tore the throat, with a gulp it was wholly swallowed.

Aegis could feel a wet sticky liquid of red all over all over his body, and ponder on Akashic’s runic will. Besides being a fiercer flame and able to unleash hellfire on the land for miles and miles afar while ordinary fire wielders could only spew out fire from their flesh or even a short span was feasible, but Aegis deemed Akashic’s flame too feeble.

Did he give too much thought to it? His moon regeneration was simply too mighty indeed, without it he would have perished and rotted long… no, it could not be, he would bend both demigods and obliterate their existence swiftly.

Aegis drew a great breath and felt its warmth as his pained sight was changing and whirling, he turned to Yuhong, tottering… and sank into her arms.

Yuhong held Aegis in her bosom, feeling his life’s warmth on her skin. She turned her thoughts to the mark of Immortal Guan Yu, the gift and the burden. She feared lest power should claim her, though faint was the peril, or whether she could remain true to her mortal heart.

On a low ledge, a man stood alone against the fury of the sky. Far from him, the city he had sworn to serve lay in shambles. The lightning lit his face, his hair tied in a tail and his cloak of sky-crimson. A belt of silver with jade slips circled his waist. He’d already sent a message for an envoy, his teeth were grounded in rage and grief knowing that he would have to face the aftermath of this disaster.

“Damn them… damn them all!” his fists were veiny clenched. They have brought this upon us with their treachery. How could they have betrayed the city, and the people who trusted them.

He tumbled down the craggy hill, sending up plumes of dust. He threw himself on a black war-horse, nearly falling off as the animal bucked and snorted. His fingers clutched the reins with a frantic strength, feeling a twist in his guts, and a fear of the fury of his betters oncoming, but he could already feel it like a shower of cold bucket of water. It was a harsh fate to endure, for he was a man of Arkan Republic, and he had failed to save his people and their homes from the doom that had come upon them.

At last he came to the gate, where only ruin greeted him. He drove his horse forward, ignoring the smells of ice and fire that hung in the air. He made his way to deeper of the city, that had once been noble and splendid, but now lay shattered and scorched.

Heavens were calmed, sun’s dying embers, moons crept aloft.

Silence, ringing of ears and ashes.

He held his right hand covered in thin iron gauntlet and unsheathed a long sword of gold and silver on his back, grasping its hilt and feeling it burn into his flesh as it glowed with golden fire, he bared it sideways, horse neighed and stamped as he rode further.

There was nothing but fiery wasteland of flat, or it would be if not for the scattered colossal scorching rubbles and the looming pillars of ice, a cold sweat ran down his neck shown by dulled just ascending moonlights as he saw a man sitting on a stone, his hands resting on his knees as if expecting him and the man indeed was.

“Brother, were you the one to slaughter them all?” he asked, dismounting from his war-horse and cupping his hands, he saw no reason to announce himself as the city’s lord. He felt no ill will, he sensed no more threat but a stillness around caressing his hair that was unnerving. “If so this one would offer my gratitude.”

The moons were creeping, the light no longer touched his face as he bowed his head slightly, the man he spoke to was tall, with a full beard and neatly trimmed, dark brown hair that looked black, and black eyes that were stern and sunken. The man rose with a sigh and his body moved as if he was weary and he was, “I am, brother, there is no cause for thanks,” he said in a tired voice but not from anything that happened but from loss yet to come but he’d already felt, “you can seek me at Longfeng peaks, Zeka temple, Ren Valzar, I am ever there,” wind battered the city governor’s face as a huge falcon of silver and white lifted Ren.

He had a revelation.

Ren Valzar… Ren Valzar… He was the Zeka Temple Master, though he wished the man would stay here and answer his queries but that would be too bold of him, he was the one who killed the foes and he had no right to detain him, he would only send the envoys to the man’s lands and he would only face another endless rebuke, the envoys would be the ones to question him and demand slight recompense for the damage even if he brought end to them he was still a part of destruction.

This atrocity would draw many eyes and ears. The Mount Hyung Sect would roar with fury and demand justice, and likely scour their ranks for any hidden snakes; the elder in charge of the fallen would be torn in the neck and his blood. They have sent someone and immediately heeded the words of the seeker; they acted swiftly and found him in a brothel, senseless and mumbling his innocence. There was also the matter of the Angshan Way, the false prophets who had once preached in this city, but it seemed they had left no traces of their deeds or words. There was little to be found here, and the religious leaders of the Angshan Way had fled the city long ago. Their great hall would probably disown them and offer some recompense of reparation for appeasal. It was all too clear.

Many lives were lost in the carnage, though none of them were likely to be of high rank, as the city was more of was close to the sea but had no view of the shore at all. It was Jing Zhou, the neighboring city separated into villages, that had claimed all the lucrative trade and commerce by the coast, but it mattered not. They were more industrial and held sway over three mining sites nearby and held drinkable water source, and that was enough.

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A faint light filtered through the wooden windows, draped with green cloth. His milky white eyes blinked open tinged with slight headache, but it was not the light that roused him from his slumber. It was the shrill voice of an old lady, screeching from across his chamber. He stretched his arms and yawned, exhaling a warm foul breath. He sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing his face as the crone’s nagging continued. He could bear it no longer, so he rose with a groan, his bones cracking. He had no intention of killing anyone, but he noticed he was dressed in white robes and had been cleaned thoroughly.

The room smelled of an old lady. The white robe was a poor fit, hanging loosely on his broad, elegant, and lean frame.

He could feel the eyes of the curious on him as he slid the door open and stepped into the wooden open corridor with a garden by the sides.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

He walked out, skies were mild cloudy, only to find that he had been dumped in a home for the forsaken, where old were left to rot by their ungrateful sons and daughters. He saw the broken gate, and made his way to the vast courtyard, his bare feet crunching on the gravel.

He reached the well right by a tree, rinsed his mouth, splashed his face, and drank his fill with nasty algae water.

He had many questions that remained unanswered. How long had he slept and what had happen since then? He stretched his arms and then his legs, squatting low. He made his way to a wooden beam painted red that held up a pagoda and began to practice his forms, avoiding any contact with the wood.

Where was he now? And of all where was Snow?

He groaned, feeling no desire to do anything but sleep. But he lacked any knowledge of his situation, so he snatched some old man’s boots and swinging across a few branches, he made his escape.

Mu’Arna was a village in the south of Jing Zhou, where the rivers ran like webs to seas.

It had a foreign name, for it was born of a small tale.

It was of the outcasted in the Southern Realm, the Kingdom of Manisd, a small peninsula where the exiled royal blood and his mother had washed ashore here after an expedition gone wrong. They were taken in by a man who ran a seafood business, and restaurant, soon… love blossomed between him and the prince’s mother. He was the lord of the village, and he named it Mu’Arna after his daughter. They perished in love, and Mu’Arna and her older brother inherited the rule of the village. Mu’Arna Haerna Wang had found love as well, and had given birth to a girl. Mu’Arna was to marry a man who worked with leather, boiling and shaping it.

She ran breathlessly, crossing the wooden log bridges over the clear blue river, under the towering trees and rooting branches that bore flowers of a pink hue.

It was wondrous indeed, but an almost everyday sight.

“Miss… Haerna!” she gasped, sweaty, bending over with her hands on her thighs.

Behind her were many flowering trees, and before her was a clear blue river, where a young woman stood waist-deep, blonde hair, a rare and fair beauty who had seen fifteen Red Flowers that had blossomed. “Miss Haerna! You must get ready now! It is not seemly for a young woman of your status to—” she was speechless.

“Bao bao!” she leapt off and ran, her white and blue dog at her heels.

“Miss!” Nanny Yungshan chased after her, panting and wheezing, but then she halted with a sigh of relief, tossing a brown towel and white garments over the bridge where the miss had stopped. The young miss grinned impishly, catching both as her dog wagged its tongue and shook off the water, making its fur fluffy.

“Miss, we can’t be late—”

“Oh, relax, will you?” Miss Haerna dried herself and said, “all of you are always—” a deep breath, “I won’t miss mother’s wedding, alright? Hehe.” The sleeves were two white silken bands that twirled to her wrists in a ribbon of green, and she donned an Aoqun hanfu, white on top and red below, with golden flowers stitched on the skirt. The nanny leaned, combed her hair, arranged it in a fashion, and pinned a flower to it.

She swallowed hard, she had no shoes to wear.

Why did she ran and led her to a merry chase? She was vexed, and this was her only way to ease her mind, after all. The wedding was postponed, and so was her trip to Misty Hing Zhan Valley, how amusing.

They made their way to the main roads it was of stone steps with moss on each gap, she wore her nanny’s boots, and there on the road to the wedding hall, many flowers hung from strings and beams and poles.

Her nanny was quiet, not her usual scolding self, so she broke the silence between them. “Tell me, nanny, will there be plenty of food there? Like meat or such… I have a hunger for meat.” She said, drawing out her words, and her nanny answered. “Miss, of course, I heard your father will bring the finest sea fare for you to feast on, and butcher Yan will be there too, you know, the one who makes the best roast.” The nanny said with a smile.

Her dog barked and had already ran off to the feast.

Her eyes sparkled as her mood lifted. “Truly?” she said, her blonde hair bouncing as she leapt slightly with each steps. She was already picturing the meat in her mind—

“Miss!”

“Agh!” she stumbled over him and fell to the ground. “Mind your way, you stupid brat!” she spat at the young man in loose white robes who had just fell off from an arched eave, or rather tumbled down from the itch of his foot.

“Miss—” her nanny said as she got up, her left arm rubbing her head where some dust had entered. “Brat! Who are you!” she shouted angrily, swinging her right fist at him.

The young man with white eyes like pools of milk was clutching his knees and scratching his foot, which was covered in red welts. “Shut up…” he was in a foul mood, his feet were itching terribly, as if a host of ants were biting him, but he could not see them or shake them off. It was as if they were under his skin, tormenting him endlessly.

He cursed the old man from whom he had taken the boots.

“You—What?” she was at a loss for words, truly, the young man’s look was blaming her for the mishap, arms wrapped around her, “Miss… we must hurry.” It was her nanny urging her.

“Hehe… ladies, you both are headed to the wedding as well?” Aegis rose, but toes were scratching each opposing ankles, and he was high of stature though young of years that they reached but his chest.

“You!” She cried in wrath, arms quivering as she pointed at him.

“Miss, forget about him, we must hurry.” Though hasty they were yet not so hasty, she wished but to calm the matter seeing as the youth meant no ill, but still his gaze was enraging.

Her lips were sealed, quivering in rage, and they both hurried along the paved decorated streets, and Aegis followed them with a hop and a skip and a scratch.

“Brat…” she wheeled slowly about in fury that even her eyes were all white, “why are you following us! Scram! Now!” she spoke each word with anger, her nanny turned about and nudge her, they were now at the threshold of a fair-hewn wooden bridge dressed with flowers to a long path of a great tidal isle on the other side and there was folk too.

To Aegis’s wonderment there were no guards watching the wedding, and so with a hop and a skip and a scratch, he went on alone.

She screamed in wrath, chasing him through, her feet pattering on the wooden floor, and the youth was skipping and hopping and scratching his feet.

Aegis heard naught but songs and drums, it was not the wedding of custom here, though he was not of this land nor learned its ways he had some knowledge and grasp of the speech for his father hailed from a neighboring nation and he had his uncle here as well so it was his third tongue, and the nation of Qilinria and Rylai shared a common language but some had their own bends to the words or even some dwellings have entirely their own but rare so he could converse with most here.

He set foot on sand and there were no hindrances and they had already been eyed.

The wedding was passing plain in truth, the food and the feast were many and laid on palm fronds, seats were rock and there were but posts on the sand with flowery garlands and many donned light clothing. Aegis espied Snow beside Yuhong who both came straight to him, Yuhong was clad in white, as sun gleamed through her black hair and sapphire eyes, “Senior brother you’re awake… it’s been three days.” she said looking up to him with a soft blush on her cheeks.

He gave a faint winsome smile to her and looked around, “the others are here as well.” He said, he glimpsed Li Xin who was holding his own platter of leaf and slowly drawing near in a smile, Iron Mountain was verily devouring a whole palm leaf with his steed, well not to be wondered the man had a large belly after all but all he was eating were not those comestible things but rather crab shell. Jun Zhou was bathing with his wolf on the sand, “Brother Aegis I’m pleased you’re well.” Li Xin said, the fairy Esme on her shoulders.

“So this young man here is the other disciple, come, sit with us!” a man said, tawny skinned, slit eyes and long sandy hair wearing only breeches.

“We give our blessings for leading our kinsman safely,” a woman added, robed in green and white silk, flowery adornments on her hair.

“No problem…” Aegis beheld the prince who swiftly averted his eyes and Lady Nourn could but beg pardon with her look.

“Mom! Get this bastard out!” A ragged voice came from behind Aegis, and she emerged, Muniota, “This brat—”

Her mother cut her off, “oh dear, that is not how you speak to our guests,” she looked at Aegis and wondered what happened, “perhaps it was but a mistake.”

“No!” Muniota said with weepy eyes, she looked at Aegis who was testing sea water to heal his feet and Yuhong laughing at him, “well…” her gaze fell to the meat.

Well many would thought a man as to how he stumbled, Aegis had a liking for roast pig, it was his dearest fare, especially with a certain sauce.