a painting unmade,

a criminal tragedy,

but who is to blame?

- My First Haiku (Adrian Mel Ruder, TE 503)

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At a desk in an otherwise unoccupied room, sits the Diurnal Dreamer in his rainbow mask and robes. Wearing a serious expression, he sorts his paperwork into a few different piles. The rank of Head-Ambassador comes with considerable responsibilities after all.

This one goes in Jin's pile. This seems like an accounting thing, our accountant Lee has seemed a little overworked since he became a father though. Let's also put it in Jin's pile, he won't mind. The Dreamer hums a little tune as he continues his duties.

...

Another one for May, and that's it. All of my paperwork is done! Phew, that was a lot of work. Good thing I'm such a terrific delegator. People should appreciate my business side of talents more. Especially Jin, he always looks like he just smelled shit whenever he looks at me... You know what May, Jin's doing that last one. Don't even worry about it girl.

Having finished his paperwork without even lifting his pen, the Dreamer walked towards his next meeting.

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"Thank you for your time sir ambassado-" I froze in confusion as I saw the ambassador enter the room.

"It's you! The man who walked out of the waterfall!" I stood up and pointed my finger towards him, more than slightly surprised.

"Oh, the gentlemen from the failed teleportation! How lovely to meet you once more," the Dreamer said as he walked over and sat down in the couch across from ours.

"Uh, likewise sir. I'm afraid the reason we're here isn't quite as lovely," I said as I sat back down in my seat.

The Dreamer took a small moment to adjust himself. "Not lovely, you say? This sounds serious, do tell me what's going on."

"A member of my clan has caught rumors that 2 of your sect's disciples were kidnapped recently. We wish to help."

"I'm aware, and regrettably I am powerless to help our dear disciples. You see, we are on the brink of war. The Fire Lily and Flowing Brush sects have had many skirmishes as of late. The elders are unwilling to wage war over 2 disciples with average talent. At least, until we can be sure of an overwhelming victory."

"So the Flowing Brush sect has already made its decision then? To abandon their own when things get hard?"

"I suppose we have," the Dreamer said slowly. The colors on his robes warped, steadying again with heavier shades of red and a muddy brown taking presence.

"I'm sorry to have taken up so much of your time then," Gerard and I immediately stood up, ready to leave.

I can't leave 2 kidnapped children to their fates, what kind of heartless sect did they join...

The Ambassador stays silent as we leave the meeting room. All we hear is a heavy sigh from him as we begin our short journey home.

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After pacing around for a while after we got back, I came up with a plan. So now here we are.

"Let's go over the plan one more time. Serket, Sam and Finn stay near this point on standby. Gerard and I will stealthily infiltrate the encampment by approaching them from their blindspot, which is over here. As soon as we reach this checkpoint, Finn throws up a dense cloud of mist. Sam keeps an eye out for any enemies capable of spotting us, neutralizing them silently in the process. Serket prepares to heal any casualties, as we don't want anyone, friend or foe, to die on this mission."

I quickly glance around the room, only the 5 of us are present. Everyone is focusing on me as I continue to go over the plan.

"As soon as we have the kidnapped disciples, we leave the same way we entered and we meet up here. The entire operation should last under 10 minutes. If we haven't returned by then, keep waiting unless you see signs of violence. If something went wrong, I'll throw a fireball straight up. If the kids are missing, Gerard will break into a guard's mind to find them while I protect him, after which we leave him unconscious and we leave as we initially would have. Any questions?"

No one speaks up. "Good. Then we leave in 5 minutes."

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"You ready, Gerard?" He nods in response. "Then let's do this."

Using 12 Steps of the Zodiac: Skittering Rat, I move through the grass completely unnoticed by the enemy encampment. Gerard is right behind me, underneath a blanket of darkness rendering him practically invisible under the dark of night.

As we near our target, Finn summons a smokescreen to obscure our movements inside the camp.

It's a fairly large encampment with about 20 tents, all bigger on the inside thanks to spatial formations. Luckily, we won't have to check them one by one. I can already sense 2 qi-signatures with unnatural disturbances. It seems they put the disciples to sleep with some kind of spell or potion.

Outside are two guards, I distract them by making some small firecracker-like explosions in the mist. As soon as they leave their post, we enter and secure the disciples. Them being asleep makes it easier for us as well actually. Gerard and I throw the two female disciples over our shoulders and leave the tent.

"Well, well, well." A middle-aged man casually walks up towards us, clearly an elder of the Fire Lily sect. The smokescreen is nowhere to be found. "The Flowing Brush sect is here in our encampment, trespassing on our property? We found three unconscious guards in this little fog of yours. How do you plan to explain this unnecessary act of violence against our sect?"

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Unnecessary?" I ask. "You have kidnapped two innocent disciples, yet you act like I'm the criminal."

"Innocent? They were also trespassing on our property, it is only fair that we detain the two potential spies until they prove their innocence. I suggest you both get down on your knees with your hands on your heads. Or I won't be able to guarantee your safety." The elder assumed a fighting stance, ready to unleash a technique within a moments notice.

Gerard and I turn to look towards each other. I feel a slight rumble in the earth, but it shouldn't be our doing. The enemy doesn't seem to have noticed yet, so I give Gerard a slight nod as I fall to my knees and put down the disciple. Gerard follows suit.

New qi signatures? What's going on here?

Two men approach to arrest us, but before they do, the rumbling intensifies and every guard in the camp starts looking around. The rumbling is getting stronger, like the earth is about to split.

We hear a wild roar, and several creatures appear from the treeline. All of them look very powerful and completely enraged.

"It's a stampede!" I hear a panicked guard shout.

The guards all turn their backs towards us, the oncoming stampede was clearly the more important issue to them. Gerard and I use the opportunity to make our escape.

These creatures are far too powerful compared to the others we saw in the forest. Every single one of them could be the apex predator of this forest. And they don't feel right. They don't actually feel ... alive.

I spot a dark horse with bulging muscles and black wings, some kind of metal-skinned tiger, several creatures clad in lightning, and they just kept on coming. Among them was also a large pack of smaller spiritual beasts. I spot about 30 wolves running among the stampede, all of them seem carved out of stone.

We should get going before they've subdued the stampede.

With the two disciples secured on our shoulders, we head towards our agreed-upon meeting point.

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As we arrive, we lay down the disciples for Ket to check up on them.

"They're simply asleep, there's no need to worry. Should I wake them up right now?" Serket asks us after she finishes her examination of the two disciples.

"Sure, let's ask them what happened."

We give the girls some time to wake up and find their bearings before we start the questions.

First, we make sure they know they're safe and we are allies, I open to my mouth to ask what happened, but a new person appears.

"I'd also like to know what happened here," the man said in a serious tone as he appeared from the treeline, dressed in a huge black mantle with a hood. The only somewhat visible part of his outfit underneath is his mask, and it is red-hot, like a piece of metal ready to be forged.

The two girls immediately hug each other, probably afraid of the consequences that will follow. They already seemed to have figured out that this man could only be Akiha, the Diurnal Dreamer.

"W-We went into the forest, to- to be-" Her cheeks turn bright red, almost as if they're glowing. "We just wanted to spend some time together!" She blurts out.

We all look a little stunned at this point.

...

We went through all that, so they could have a booty call?

"I swear we never stepped foot on their territory! They ambushed us with tranquilizers and next thing we know, we wake up here."

The Dreamer takes his mask off, revealing a pale, androgynous, face. Whats most surprising is his expression, it's the most deadpan thing I've ever witnessed.

"Are you telling me I just used up 40 spirit cores, so you girls could have some ladyfun?"

The 2 disciples instantly got down on their knees in a seiza position, with their heads touching the ground.

"We are so sorry, please punish us!" The girls lost all the color in their skin, turning white like a sheet of paper

He put his mask back on and its colors returned to the usual beautiful rainbow palette. "At least you're safe. You'll be working this debt off to me personally however."

"But- but that'll take years!" One of them shouts blatantly.

"Yes, years you may not have had, if we hadn't come to your rescue. Now," The Dreamer released his giant mantle, currently only sporting his regular outfit. "I will let you know whenever I have need of you, which will happen more often as you grow more powerful and thus more useful to me."

"Before I leave," the Dreamer casually turned towards Sam and Serket, "Aren't you two from that drake hunter squad? Recently brought in an Earth Drake?"

"Yes, we are." Sam responded matter-of-factly.

The Dreamer smirked, "Interesting, we'll talk about this later," He winked towards me, walked into a nearby puddle of water and dropped down into it, disappearing completely.

"Will you girls be fine from here on out?" I ask just to make sure.

"Yeah, we can stay the night in the embassy before returning to the sect. Where we will be punished for sure.. Aaaah I don't wanna go back now."

"Come on," the other girl says. "It can't possibly be that bad, we were kidnapped. It was hardly even our fault."

That seems to have calmed down the other girl just a little bit.

"Good luck then, maybe we'll meet again some time." I tell them as we prepare to make our own exit.

"Wait, what are your names?" One of the girls asks hastily.

I create a little light se we can see each other. We introduce ourselves one by one, after which the girls also introduce themselves.

"I am Lin." The first girl says. She has short red hair, and a cute button nose. She seems to be a little shy, not the type of girl to run out into the night.

"And I am Tina!" The second girl exclaims with her fingers in a V-shape. She has platinum-white hair with brown roots, leading me to believe it's not her natural color. She also has a bit of a rebellious twinkle in her eyes. I bet the little nightly escapade was her idea.

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Back in the Flowing Brush embassy in Iroh, I am once more sitting on a couch across from the Diurnal Dreamer, or Akiha as he insists.

"I owe you a great debt of gratitude, you took an incredible risk along with your companions to go against the Fire Lily sect like that. You mentioned needing my sect to vouch for you, and we shall do just that."

"Thank you, Akiha. Before you do, I must tell you something. Please do not feel betrayed, but we've lied to you about our true strength. It was purely to protect ourselves and nothing else." I told him, carefully considering my words.

"Our Nascent Soul realms are artificial disguises, I am actually in the Celestial Realm." I briefly unleash just a hint of my qi towards him, so he knows I'm telling the truth.

His eyes go wide, but he doesn't make any sudden movements.

"You don't seem too surprised, I honestly thought you would faint or something." I tell him, slightly surprised myself.

"Oh trust me, I am surprised. But I believe I am a good judge of character, and you don't strike me as the type to strike me down for insolence, for not getting down on my knees to sing your praises. I feel comfortable near you, no matter how powerful you are."

"That's good to hear," I tell him with a smile. "One more thing though, do you know how one would go about establishing a sect?"

He just stays still for a moment. Through his mask I can see his unblinking eyes looking right at me, wide open again.

Then he finally speaks, "You are quite the character aren't you? I feel like you'll inspire many of my artworks to come." He stands up out of his sofa. "I'll get you in touch with the governor of Iroh. You'll need his approval, and bring your drake hunter friends, he's a big fan. You may also want to bring a gift, as he will be opposed to the idea of a new sect opening up near his city."

"How come he doesn't like the idea of a new sect?" I ask bewildered.

"You haven't spoken to many mortals, have you? None of them like cultivators. There's a massive rift between mortal and immortal on this continent. It all started hundreds of years ago. It's impressive really, how the mortals remember their grudges throughout the generations. But the governor will likely tell you the story as well, so I won't bore you with it now."

Before leaving, I still wanted to make sure Akiha wouldn't get in trouble because of me. "And your sect won't get in trouble right? Because the Fire Lily guys assumed we were part of the Flowing Brush sect, and we.. we never really corrected them on that."

Akiha sighed before answering, "War was already coming, whether we like it or not. The Fire Lily sect knows that we are still recovering from a failed dive into a secret realm. However, I think I have a solution." He pauses, for dramatic effect no doubt.

"..." I wait for him to continue. "Well?"

"You!"

"Me?"

"Well, you just told me you're a Celestial. Do you yourself even know what that means? You're among the most powerful people on the continent! If you were to initiate a meeting between the Fire Lily sect, the Flowing Brush sect, and Iroh, we could find a peaceful solution together. Surely they don't want an extra Celestial on the enemy's side."

I agree to his proposal. If peace is possible, it's worth trying.

We thank each other for the help and shake hands.

Gerard and I leave in a good mood, carrying a little bottle with the Flowing Brush sect's logo on it. A little token of gratitude, Akiha said.

I pulled out the cork once we were outside, curious to see what this bottle held. It turned out to be a fine wine with an incredibly strong, fruity smell. I think I'll save it for a joyous occasion. Perhaps when all of our teens are old enough to drink. Too bad they age so slowly, they're old enough in human years.. I think.