With the thought of his brother came the thought of his Totem Protector. The image of a cold beauty flickered through Muro’s mind.

Dark, piercing eyes. Flawless skin. A gaze that aroused every emotion, all at once.

They had met in the early morning of Undying City, in the outer ring. She had been waiting by the arranged spot. The uneven lighting of the Seaborn Estate had thrown shadows over her features, making it difficult to read her mood.

Hearing his name from her lips was strange. The voice was like honey, rich and full, and neither too loud nor too soft. It was comfortable to listen to.

“I am Syra Wraithborn, a Totem from the same lineage as Disciple Brother Lu. Are you Muro Seaborn?”

The words had not been necessary. She had ways of verifying his identity. Still, going through the introductory motions helped ease the tension.

He nodded, not trusting his own voice.

She spoke again.

“I will be your Protector for your trip to the Kingdoms. Muro, do you have any concerns?”

He shook his head.

“Let's go.”

It was a strange sensation. Muro had not felt attracted to her. He would not have dared to harbor such thoughts! At the same time, he was not afraid of the Totem. She was there to protect him, so how could he be scared?

He simply felt overwhelmed by her presence. It carried the suppression of two cultivation realms and came from someone with a status that was near the peak in the sect. If Muro did not have Lu as a brother, they would never have crossed paths.

After the formalities had been dispensed with, Syra Wraithborn had swept her hand towards him.

A great wind caught Muro’s body, gently moving him onto the back of her demon mount, a great bird the size of a house. The space on its back was easily sufficient to seat twenty people.

Syra Wraithborn appeared in front of him, taking the lead position on the demon bird. Muro stared at her back. Her long hair flowed down her robes.

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Then the demon bird flapped its great wings.

Once.

Woosh! A dizzying feeling came over Muro, as he realized the city was far behind him. It was just a dot, barely discernible.

Twice.

Woosh! The dot of the city was gone, and they were rising through the ravine.

Up. Up. Up.

Eventually, they had pierced through the veil of darkness, and emerged in the early morning sunlight. The Dragon Spine mountains were colossal walls that seemed to close in on every side, lined with forest growth and massive, colorful fungal patches.

They were alone on the demon bird. The wind blew against them. The sun shone down from the sky above. The ravine was beneath their feet. The mountains surrounded them.

Syra Wraithborn broke the silence.

“Do you have any stories about your brother?”

He found himself able to respond to her question. His nerves were steady. “When I was a baby, I used to hold Lu’s hand every time I saw him. His eyes did not frighten me. I remember him smiling.”

“Anything else?” Hearing her voice, Muro wished she would speak more. He tried to remember more details.

“I remember asking Lu about his black eyes.”

“What about them?”

“I asked if he liked them, and he told me that the question was pointless. When I asked why, Lu said that he would never change his eye color because it represented the Undying Lord. If he could never change it, then of course he would like it.”

The conversation had occurred earlier that very morning.

Muro had been a Cloudborn attendant for a day, or more specifically, Yoren Cloudborn’s attendant.

After arriving at Polar Ash City with Syra Wraithborn, Muro had bathed in Spirit Cleansing Liquid, eaten meat prepared from a first grade beast, and meditated for the allotted morning cultivation session. At the end of the cultivation session, he had been sent up to the meeting room, where he had sat through the reports and greetings of family ministers, attendants, and kingdom officials, observing the daily tasks Yoren assumed as family head.

Some were nobles and others were pure mortals. The mortals were mostly from the Oka and Yin Mortal Families, both of which had tied themselves to the Cloudborn war chariot.

The arrangements were nothing like the Seaborn Estate of the inner sect, where most of the residences were dedicated to quiet cultivation. The servants were an invisible presence. Of course, there were luxuries there too, many of which exceeded the value of anything in the Cloudborn Manor, but they were used strictly for cultivation.

Most of the trappings of nobility were considered distractions from the Way.

“What are you thinking about?” Yoren asked.

Muro shook his head. He did not feel comfortable speaking his mind. Yoren may have been a friend of his brother, but he was only a stranger to Muro.

A knock on the door redirected Yoren’s attention. The expected servant had arrived.

“In,” he said.