Joshi
Joshi had not meant to lead the bird straight into a bunch of people. Why were there so many here? And not even all were cultivators.
He'd been running for his life. The roc and its babies chasing him through the jungle. He hoped he could give it a slip, but every time he veered off left or right one of the young was there forcing him forward.
He had just recognized the place where he was as near the breach in the tower wall, when he stumbled and fell. He expected the roc to be on him. Instead it soared overhead, shrieking.
He lay waiting for a long moment before getting cautiously to his feet. Off to either side he heard shouts and yelling, and the squawks of the young birds. They had found other cultivating parties. He hoped the cultivators were up to it.
Joshi followed the sounds. Careful not to come out of the undergrowth, he found himself looking through a fight to the breach in the tower wall. Between him and the breach was the roc and a bunch of cultivators. He recognized Young Master Feng, but there were a lot of others as well. They darted around the bird blinding it with techniques throwing fiery or explosive attacks or charging it with their weapons.
And then he saw Hiroko. She was kneeling beside a wounded cultivator. Another noblewoman tugging at her, trying to get her back to safety. But Hiroko wasn't concerned for her own safety. She was trying to save the life of the wounded woman. Her spell technique was bound at one end to the woman. The other she was trying desperately to connect with the roc. Joshi could tell it wasn't going to work. The roc was an opponent far too strong for her. She'd never be able to snare it in her technique, which left her open and vulnerable.
Magan hovered over his shoulder worrying unhappily. "They've got this," he told the little creature. "There's no need for us to reveal ourselves." Still, he cycled his lux, concentrating.
Then the roc rose up into the air and all manner of hells broke loose. A bunch of the servants made a break for the breach in the wall, only to be hit with a blast of flame from the roc. Feng and a couple of the other cultivators were trying to attack, launching arrow-like techniques at the enormous bird. They bounced harmlessly off of its many-colored feathers. It folded its wings and came diving down straight at Hiroko.
Joshi didn't pause to think. He raced forward, channeling as much lux as he possibly could. He threw all the red lux he could force through his channels into a shield, pushing out through both hands, his head, even his feet. It was by far the largest shield he had ever attempted. He envisioned it wrapping all around himself and both women. Strengthening it as much as he could, he instinctively wove in green lux.
When the roc struck the shield it shook him, forcing him to take a step back. But the shield held.
And then the other cultivators came in. "Get out of here!" he shouted to Hiroko over his shoulder. "I'll cover you." She scrambled to her feet, looking terrified. The girl with her tugged on her arm. Joshi backed away keeping the shield up as the other cultivators circled the roc.
Feng was shouting orders. Joshi couldn't hear anything he said over the roc's screeches. Over to the left an older woman in black robes was flanked by two younger cultivators both wearing yellow and blue striped robes. They were protecting her as she wove together an intricate weave suffused with indigo and blue.
And there was Chang-li. He was naked to the waist, covered in blood and ashes. His face was lit with an inner light. He hurled a ball of lux at the roc and it shattered against the creature's face, exploding. The roc screamed and batted at its face with one wing.
Feng took advantage. He swung his man-tall sword and severed the wing. The roc screeched again knocking everyone backwards. They had wounded it. They had to keep fighting.
Joshi pulled in more ambient lux as the black-robed woman unleashed her weave. Her technique was huge. It wrapped around the bird encasing it in indigo. Chang-li was at Joshi's side now. "She's using an illusion spell!" he shouted. "It should be dazed."
“What can I do to help?”
"Can you get me up to it?"
"I'll shield you," Joshi said. He threw up a shield. As the bird continued to screech, it began turning in place, clawing at its face with its one remaining wing its talons kicked up a hail of dirt and rocs. They bounced off of Joshi's shield as he and Chang-li moved against the heavy wind.
They were nearly there. Chang-li was weaving a technique. It was bigger than the previous fireball, much bigger, a shell of orange filled with yellow.
Feng raced past them swinging his sword. He struck the bird again. His blade, laced with yellow and orange lux, sliced through the black-robed woman's pattern, and it fell in pieces.
The bird's eyes fell suddenly on them. It lashed out. Feng leapt high, coming down atop the bird's head. He struck it with his sword, but with no apparent impact. The bird opened its mouth to swallow up Joshi and Chang-li.
"Now!" Chang-li shouted. Joshi dropped his shield. Chang-li stepped forward, thrusting his hands out and shoved his technique into the roc's gaping mouth like he was feeding it an enormous medicinal pill.
The bird's eyes went wide with shock. Joshi put his shield back up just in time as the technique exploded inside the bird's mouth. The force knocked him and Chang-li back. They hit the ground and rolled, Joshi keeping the shield as tight around them as he could.
When they came up he leapt to his feet. The bird fell to the ground, writhing in pain. Feng stood over it, laughing. He swung his sword and severed its head. Then, as the lux streamed from the creature, he raised his sword heavenward shouting, "See the strength of the Soaring Heavens!"
Joshi and Chang-li got to their feet, Joshi eagerly snatching up his share of the Lux from the kill. The spectators and other cultivators watching began to emerge from the underbrush.
Hiroko stepped forward, her eyes shining. He grinned at her and took a step forward before catching himself schooling his features trying to look as though he belonged here.
The woman in black approached, flanked by the two Young Masters. She looked Joshi up and down. "I believe we have you to thank for the indigo princess's safety," she said. "Who might you be?"
Before Joshi could answer, Chang-li composed himself, bowing low. "Revered Dowager Pearl this place is not safe. We should leave and finish our business."
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"Nonsense," the woman said crisply. "You think I cannot spot a champion challenge when I see one? We have defeated it. If any more of its young remain, they will return to their nest to take the place of their parent. We have nothing to fear now."
"It could have stirred up the other towerbeasts," Chang-li said. Joshi realized his friend was trying to provide a distraction for him. But Chang-li had been seen cultivating too, and was likely to be in as much, if not more, trouble.
Besides, Joshi had an easy excuse. He held up his hand, displaying the sect ring gleaming on his finger. "I am a Young Master of the Sect of Morning Mists," he said. "I came on ahead of the rest of my party to ensure that I had time to join in this Tower cull."
"Is that so?" the Dowager Pearl said.
Joshi wasn't entirely sure what the correct etiquette was. He bowed low. “Revered Pearl, I apologize for intruding into a cultivator fight, especially one so well-served as this.” He gestured toward Young Master Feng. “My sect is from the outskirts of empire and we stand on less ceremony than here in the center. If we see a fight and are able to help, we do. I leapt in without considering my actions, and for that I am apologetic. Yet, if I have helped protect this princess, then I am glad of it.”
Young Master Feng was glowering at him. Whatever else happened, Joshi had made an enemy today, by snatching the glory of his victory from him.
So be it. Right now Feng was the least of his worries.
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Chang-li
Chang-li was a mass of nerves as the dowager raised her hands for silence. Behind them, the body of the enormous bird was still dissolving into lux. He could sense the other hopeful cultivators around him draining as much as they could into their cores.
Feng still stood by its head, his sword point-first in the ground beside him, smiling triumphantly. At the moment, Chang-li would have been perfectly happy for him to take the credit for defeating the bird single-handedly if it meant he and Joshi could fade into the background. Instead, the dowager was focused on Joshi as though she could smell his guilt.
"You already admit to being inside the tower without proper permission," she said.
Joshi bowed, spread his arms wide, then pushed his hands together and bowed respectfully to her. "When my party was delayed, I was eager to cultivate. My sect functionaries assured me they had arranged all permissions."
"And how did you get past the guards?" the dowager asked.
Joshi hesitated. "They didn't notice me," he said finally.
"I will be speaking to the commanders of the guards myself," the dowager announced. "Finally, are you the one who challenged this beast unsuccessfully?"
He raised his eyes to hers and spoke firmly but respectfully. "Revered one, I was not."
"We will be conducting an inquiry. You will remain in our camp until the rest of your sect arrives with the proper paperwork for you to join our tower cull,” the dowager said. "However, your intervention saved the lives of two of my gems, and I am grateful for that." She raised her voice. "Today, you cultivators did what cultivators must always do. You stood between ordinary people and monsters, saving their lives wherever you could with no thought to risking your own. Young Master Feng, the Soaring Heavens sect receives credit and appreciation for this kill. You may take the beast's heart token."
Feng bowed. "This one appreciates it, revered one." He drew a knife, somewhat to Chang-li's surprise, rather than giving the task to an underling, went to the body of the enormous bird himself, and began slicing into it. Moments later, he extracted a gleaming ruby sphere from its center and held it up. Chang-li had heard of such treasures. They helped cultivators to reach realizations about their paths and progress past blockages. He would have dearly liked one himself.
The dowager spoke again. “Now we must find what has become of any who are not here. Where are the scribes with your lists? I want an accounting now as we return to the camp."
Chang-li joined the other scribes. To his dismay, Scribe Tu was not present. Perhaps he was merely lost in the jungle somewhere. He remembered his own experience lost and alone on this floor. Scribe Tu was not a cultivator. Even ordinary towerbeasts would be terrors for him.
The others looked tired and scared, but they were eyeing Chang-li with a mixture of horror and admiration. "What happened to you?" Scribe Jun hissed. "Your robe is gone."
"Two of the small birds attacked my party," Chang-li whispered. "Fortunately, we had three cultivators, including the Dowager, to fight them off."
As the remains of the cultivation parties left the tower, Chang-li and the others checked names off the list, then presented their results to the dowager, who turned the matter over to Feng and the Li brother and sister. "Do not return until all are accounted for," she told them.
“Honored great aunt, two of my disciples are wounded and need to be taken back for treatment," Li Jiya said.
"I will see to them," the dowager promised.
Hiroko, Min, and the other nobles huddled together near the entrance. The dowager swept them off and proceeded back down the mountain. In their wake came Joshi, escorted by some of the dowager's guards. He had told a convincing enough story, but when no sect arrived to back him up, there would be more questions. Sooner or later, someone might recognize the runaway slave. Chang-li would have to see what he could do to help his friend. His mind racing, he realized he needed to act quickly if it was to be done.
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Hiroko
"Hiroko?"
Hiroko paused. She had been about to retire to her chambers as all the other nobles had already done. None of them had taken more than a scratch or two of injury, but the way Jai-lin and the others were carrying on, you'd think that they had fought the mad birds themselves. After enduring their histrionics on the journey back to the camp, the dowager had decreed that for their own recovery, they would take their dinners in their rooms and retire early. Hiroko at least welcomed that.
Now the dowager stood in the hall outside her own chambers and beckoned, "Come."
Hiroko slid her own door shut and entered the dowager's chamber. There was a tray of tea on a table. The dowager seated herself and indicated the pillow across from her. Hiroko sat carefully. She lowered her eyes as the dowager poured tea and waited until the senior woman had sipped hers before raising her own steaming cup to her lips.
It tasted delicious. Hiroko felt some of the weariness of the day wash off of her.
"I wish to beg your forgiveness, Indigo Princess."
Startled, Hiroko looked up. The dowager was considering her with a friendly look on her face. Hiroko placed her hands on the table and bowed low. “Revered Pearl. There is nothing that is—"
"I neglected to inquire about your past training," the dowager continued serenely. "I realize now that the servants who accompanied you from the capital never made it to the expedition camp. One was killed during the attack on the traveling party and the other fled, I believe."
"That is correct," Hiroko said quietly.
"I rely too much on the servants to inform me about the background of my charges. I should have asked you directly. You possess a much higher level of cultivation than I expect from most of my gem nobles. I admit I have not been at the court for a very long time and had forgotten how well trained the Violet and Indigo Princesses can be. You were channeling blue lux, were you not?"
"Yes," Hiroko said. "My affinity for blue lux was discovered when I was first brought into a tower."
"They did not try to break you of it? I know the ordinary procedure is to force an affiliation for one of the physical luxes instead.”
Hiroko kept her eyes lowered. "There was a question of that, I believe. My father interceded for me."
The dowager nodded her head. "Yes, your father, the General of the West. He is expected to be raised to Prism himself here in the next few years, is he not? He had the Emperor's favor, or at least did until your mother died, but I suppose his military deeds have kept him in the emperor’s graces.”
"I have not spoken to my father in several years," Hiroko said. "I have sent him letters, of course, and owe him another one after the events of today."
"Yes, yes," the dowager said. "But I wish to speak of you, not your father, girl. I will be taking you under my wing and seeing that your cultivation instruction continues."
Hiroko gasped. She raised her eyes to look at the dowager. "You will?"
"Too few of your peers consider their own cultivation important. When I see someone with a rare gift who is willing to use it at the risk of her own life, the way you were..." The dowager shook her head. "The Emperor would have his faith in me misplaced if I neglected a treasure like that. You will study with me two afternoons a week, and two mornings a week you will be my assistant with camp matters. In addition, I am sending out another set of invitations to sects, letting them know just how interesting this tower proves. We must get new blood in here. I hope you will look with favor on my nephew, but if you do not, then we must have more Young Masters here for your choice. I think, Hiroko, you might do very well for yourself. I will give you all the tools you need to do so.”