Chapter 40: Flight Of The Great Shells
Sakura
The next few months went by in a flurry of activity. Ren called together a meeting of all of the nobility in the dutchy. Every house sent a high ranking representative to the talks. The meeting took place a month after the incident with the two ambassadors. Ren and Yu allowed Rayce and I to attend. It was a very straightforward meeting.
Ren laid out what had happened between the two ambassadors, and how a civil war was clearly brewing between the different kingdoms. He then explained that the southern kingdom had declared for the Emperor and his clan.
“But I refuse to put my life, and the lives of my people in danger for a man, and a clan, who has for so long abandoned us. And then after such neglect, had the audacity to break an oath of peace and parley and send assassins, in my own home, to kill their political rivals.” Ren had said, and the crowd had gone quiet. Quieter than I had ever heard such a gathering of powerful people.
“To be clear,” Yu continued the explanation. “There are good, honorable people within the imperial clan. We have no doubt of this. Some of our extended family have married into branch families within the central district. We still love and care for them. But we must look to our owns safety and affairs first, before we can help others. The Empire is falling apart, and the kingdom has made its decision clear. The other Dukes have openly and full-throatedly backed the Kings plan. Something my husband and I refuse to do. So what you have to decide, cousins, friends, and allies, is where does your loyalty fall? We will hold no one to account, if you wish to stay within the kingdom. But those of you who wish to remain with our house, we will be leaving into exile.”
The crowd had exploded into an uproar at that, and it had taken nearly an hour to get them calm enough to open the floor to discussion. Shouts and accusations, demands for proof of the imperial clan's actions, and other far less sane reactions flowed like water for a time.
Eventually, Ren and Yu were able to gain control of the situation. They promised to, over the next several days, lay out the proof of their accusations, and their plans for those who wished to follow them into exile. That seemed to placate many of the voices. But a few of them, particularly among the houses that guarded the far southern gap against the Naga, and who had the greatest ties to the central district and the other Duchies within the southern kingdom, still seemed deeply bothered by the end of that first day.
Later, during training, I mentioned my concerns to Gamera.
“You're sure you saw what you think you saw in them, child?”
I had nodded. “Yes. Many of them were still red faced, and incensed even after promises to provide proof.”
“You have a good eye for people. ONe of the many changes I've seen in you lately.” Gamera thought for a moment. “I’ll pass this along to your mother and father. Perhaps I'll go speak with my nephew as well. See if he can provide that hot headed family with some counsel.”
The second and third day had largely been public interrogations of everyone involved in the fighting against the assassins. Rayce and myself went first, but our part in that drama was small. So the panel of six, the duchies four Counts and two of the more powerful Barons, had little in the way of questions for us.
After however, they interrogated Ren, Raif, who had apparently participated in the hunting down of the assassins after they had escaped the shell, and several guard captains who had participated in the chase and investigation. The last to be interviewed was Yu, as she had been there when the fighting between the two ambassadors had happened, and had first hand knowledge of the aftermath of the second retaliatory assasination attempt by the hot headed northerner girl.
Eventually, they brought forward a man who was tied in chains and whose chie and mana were being constantly drained from him through the magical equipment.
“What is your name?” Count Moran demanded.
“Knight Sigal.”
“And what part did you play in this drama? Were you part of the retaliation against the imperial clan within our capital city?”
Sigal looked deeply uncomfortable, and the chains around him visibly tightened until dark purple bruising started appearing around his body. “Fine! Yes. Yes I was. I helped the young lady acquire the acid needed to kill that bastard Yal’da. He tried to have her father murdered, what were we supposed to do? Just let it happen?”
“Did you not consider allowing Duke Ren Gamra and the Dutchess to dispense justice?” Another Count asked. He looked stuffy and a by the book sort. But there was a kind twinge to his eyes when he thought no one was watching him closely. Now, his eyes and voice were steel. “Did you think they were corrupt? Or in business with the assassins?”
Sigal hesitated. “No. I did not think they had any part in the assassination.”
“Explain.” The same count demanded. “Why then not rely on their justice?”
“You're all southerners!” He had shouted, and his voice filled the court. “None of you can be trusted. All you do is take, and take. Well, we’re done giving, done waiting! Your justice would be a slap on the wrist at worst. We can’t allow that. So, we took what we had to. Just like all of you do. Murderers, child killers, thieves and cowards all of you!”
“That's enough of that.” Moran waved a hand and the chains gagged the man. “I’ve heard enough. You know, northerners. You are not the only people who face threats, and who have defended the Jade Empire from enemies strange and alien. Every man and woman in this chamber has lost a friend, a child, a lover, or sibling, to the fighting against the elves and the snakes. All with too little Imperial support, and one hand tied behind our back because of politics. More than once this kingdom, this duchy, has lost an entire generation of our cultivators to pointless conflict.”
Moran’s shoulders slumped slightly. “I myself have lost several children. The Duke and Duchess? They’ve lost more than anyone should. I’ve visited the wall. Hell, in my youth I, like most men and women here, served a tour there near the end of the war with the voidlings. I have seen the palace shrines to your honored dead. The halls of heroes. Larger in some places than the living quarters of your cities. I’ve seen your peoples bravery and honor first hand. This? This was not something I would have expected from you. From any of you. Far has the north, far has the Empire fallen, that such blind hate can take root in such noble hearts. Take him away.”
Guards moved forward and removed the squirming and enraged man.
It wasn’t long after that sight, on the third day of the council that a decision was made by the high nobility. Every count, and every barron re-swore their oaths of loyalty to Ren and Yu. Even the guardians of the southern gap, the family that had beaten out Raif to be a companion of the Fortress Kame that guarded the gap in the southern mountains participated without complaint.
The first real problems came when several Sects showed concern on the fourth day of the council. The Lightning Serpent Sect, along with several of the smaller sects that they often worked with, had their very natures tied to the southern tip of the Barrier Mountains on the north western edge of our duchy. The natural mana that flowed there, so close to the jungles of the elves and snakes, as well as the storms of the high peaks, made it possible for them to do their work.
“We have ancient vaults of knowledge that can not be easily moved. We are as loyal to the Gamra family as any sect. But we are tied to the land, far more than others,” their leader Lare Garba said addressing the council. “What are we to do, destroy our path in exile?”
They weren’t the only large sect that were struggling with the logistics of leaving the Empire. Some of the elders of the more militant sects even suggested succession rather than banishment as a potential solution. “Why leave our home when we can simply withdrawal ourselves from the Empire?” A man who I had never seen before, but who radiated a feeling of calm and stone said.
“That is not possible.” Yu said. “In the best case scenario whoever wins the civil war will look at us as little more than traitors. There is now way our little duchy could withstand even a weakened Southern Kingdom. Let alone a reunited Jade Empire. And seeing as the very reason we are looking to leave is that we do not trust the two parties involved enough to side with either one, It would be unwise to attempt to play to their mercy in such a case. No, I'm afraid our only options are to capitulate, or to leave.”
Ren nodded his agreement and then looked directly up at the sect leaders. They were all in a single alcove. Our region had never been heavily invested in Sects, and those that had sprung up were largely educationally focused. Schools for gifted cultivators of various arts. The few militant sects that had arisen were largely integrated into the defenses around the border and were made up of those retired from active service who still desired to contribute what they could to the cause.
“I can not promise you much beyond this.” Ren said, his voice filling the space. “I will do my best to help you resolve these issues going forward. We have more Kame’s now, then we have in decades. And most of the previous generation are on the verge of an era of growth. We will pair your sects with appropriate Kame, and see about making your traditions mobile. I know there is only so much we can do. And we do not have forever to do it in. But we do have some time. I spoke with the King when all of this was being decided. He understood and even sympathized with our plight. He has promised to hold off on our banishment for as long as he can. Something has changed King Karda’s cultivation recently, and the seers and oracles who predicted he would ascend later this year altered their predictions.”
“How long?” Someone demanded.
“At least three years. Maybe as many as five.” There was an almost physical feeling of relief that came from the crowd around me. A pressure I hadn’t noticed before was not removed exactly, but lifted. Rayce rolled his shoulders next to me, I was sure he felt it too.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
That proclamation had a major effect on the tone of the council's conversation. They had time now, room to breathe and prepare for the transition into banishment.Instead of being worried over the future of their houses, sects, or families, people were now discussing logistics, making plans, and lists of provisions that would be necessary.
Little did I know that it also had an effect on our parents' discussion around us kids.
***
I heaved deep breaths, as I waited for the ache in my sides to ease. Rayce lay next to me in the sand pit, fighting for his own breath. To my annoyance he beat me to regain control. I was pretty sure he cheated, and his Celestial Hounds helped him.
Before I could accuse him, Gamera, Ren, and Yu arrived. I stood as quickly as I could, and Rayce followed suit. We both bowed respectfully, and then got out of the training pit. Gamera’s words rang in my mind. One must always respect your training field. In spirit, and in action.
There were many such sayings that had been drilled in my mind over the last few months of training with the giant anthropomorphic tortious-avatar. Both Rayce and I had learned almost all of them by heart now.
“Hello children,” Gamera began, conjuring small seats for the three adults with a wave of his hand. They rose out of the stone floor, and were magnificent in their quality. Even Mr. Lee’s chair back on Earth, with its unbroken swivel and clean leather was not as nice as these. They looked like they had been hand carved out of stained granite.
“Hello master.” Rayce and I said in near unison.
“You’re parents and I have been talking.” That was never a good sign, it usually meant more work for us.
“Yes,” Yu interrupted. She looked concerned, anxious even. “The first thing I want you to know is that your father and I, and your Uncle Gamera, love you both deeply.” She looked to Ren who nodded.
“Exactly. Please don’t take this as a judgment on either of you, or your work ethic. We have both been impressed with both your dedication, and your level of raw advancement in cultivation and the magical arts. However . . .”
I knew it, I thought as a deep pit opened up in my stomach. I still haven’t mastered even a single spell. And they’re probably still upset with Rayce over the whole running away, and coming back with three dogs, thing. Paranoia filled my thoughts as memories from my life on Earth rampaged in my mind.
The world went distant, and my heart began to race. Sweat beaded down my neck, and it was as if some predator was stalking me. Someone tried to talk to me, but it was muffled. Finally, a claw rested on my shoulder, and another engulfed my head.
“Calm child. Take a deep breath. That terror is back, whatever it is. Gain control.” It was Gamera, he wasn’t speaking with words but rather directly into my head. “Start by taking deep breaths.” I did as instructed and slowly the world began to focus. “In for four, out for four. Good. Now, recognize you’re not in any danger. You are safe, in your home, surrounded by those who love you.”
I blinked, and looked around. Ren and Yu’s expressions were both masks. Poorly hiding their concern as their eyes locked on me, and their hands found each others. Rayce stood near by, holding his companions back.
In the far distance I heard some great beast making a terrible sound.
“Someone go stop that Gamera before he destroys my gardens.” Yu ordered one of the guards, who took off in the direction of King where he was supposed to be sleeping in one of the large garden courtyards.
“Now return to yourself child.” Gamera’s voice was real this time. I blinked up at him, as my heart slowed, and my hearing and vision returned.
“The episode has passed.” Gamera said, and suddenly I felt exhausted.
“Is that what you told us about Gamera?” Ren asked. “Her chie and mana went crazy.”
“Yes. It seems connected to some trauma from the fevers. It is best, I think, that she stays connected to one of the great Kames. My children or myself would be most capable of watching over her while her soul finishes settling into itself.”
Yu’s expression was filled with concern, and I couldn’t bear to look directly in her eyes. I felt weak, in more ways than one.
“We’ll consider it. For now, the thing your mother and I were trying to tell you children, is that you will be sent to one of the duchies sect schools for training. You have both done amazingly well under Gamera’s direct tutelage. But he is going to be as busy as we are going to get.”
“Don’t worry,” Yu interjected. “Sect Leader Wu-zin accepts any path into the Silver Star Sect. His wife is your cousin Sha-Miara, the Guen-bu tamer. You’ll have a wonderful time learning there.”
“So, you’re going to send us away? With people we don’t even know?” Rayce’s voice held a surprising amount of vehemence. “Why not send us with family? I’ve been asking for an apprenticeship with Uncle Raif for months and I haven’t even gotten a response from him.”
The two adults shared a concerned expression I didn’t quite know the meaning of. There was something important going on with Raif that they were trying to keep from us. I wasn’t sure what.
“My brother is going through many changes right now. He needs time to stabilize his own core, before he can take on any apprentice. And to apprentice with a Duke level cultivator, you’ll need to be far stronger than you are now.” Ren’s voice and face gave off the impression of certainty. “Please son. Trust us, we know the paths you can walk, and we are directing your feet away from obstacles that would take nearly a lifetime's worth of experiences just to explain. The Silver Star Sect is renowned at helping cultivators, mages, and warriors of all the many paths of the Dao take the next step on their journey. Whether they have momentum or not.”
“Yes. Your time there will be short, as things go.” Yu added. “And we expect both of you to be up to the Immortal Stages by the end of it. At least to High Silver, if not Low Gold. There, you will rise from learning the fundamentals, and begin to really experiment with your paths. You will work hard, and we will visit you when time allows.”
“I will go.” I said, my heart ached in my chest. Whether it was from the thought of leaving my new family, or from the panic attack I had just endured, I wasn’t sure. Perhaps both. I bowed slightly. “Thank you.”
Rayce stammered, until Rex, his largest companion, woofed gently at his side. “Right.” He joined me in the bow. “Thank you father, mother.”
***
A week later a tall woman with oddly fiery red hair yet traditionally Southern Kingdom features appeared at the Palace gate. She was riding a creature I had only heard of in the quiet stories my Mother told me as a little girl back on Earth.
A Guenbu, with the body and head of a snapping turtle, and a long serpent for a tail whose jaws dripped with venum argued with itself quietly as the woman dismounted.
Rayce and I had been summoned to the front of the palace for introductions. Gamera was there, and our parents were nowhere to be seen. “Cousin,” Gamera bowed towards the Guenbu, and the creatures' twin heads stopped their eternal bickering and bowed their heads towards the elder Kame Avatar.
“Our honor to stand in your avatar's presence. Elder Cousin.” The serpent head said.
“Yes. Good to meet you.” The turtle head said simply, bowing its head down to the earth in respect.
“Sect Matron Sha-Miara, It is a pleasure to meet you again as well.” Gamera bowed to the elderly looking redhead, who returned the gesture.
“And to you too. It has been far too long. Your sister says hello. I bring word of her that I should share. But in private, over tea. And here, my little cousins!” The woman swooped down with powerful open arms and pulled both Rayce and myself into a crushing hug.
“Agggaam,” King made a displeased noise from behind us, and Rex let out an offended Woof.
“Yes, where are my manners!” She released us. “You must all forgive me. I haven’t seen you two since you were born Rayce! You were both so young. Please introduce me to your companions.”
Rayce was the first to respond. “Hi cousin! This is Rex. He’s the eldest of my celestial hounds. The other two are off playing somewhere.”
“That’s alright. We’ll have plenty of opportunity to get to know them on the trip. Won’t we Sa’shen?” Sha-Miara looked back towards her turtle-snake, which had been bickering amongst itself again, only for the creature to turn and with both heads nodded in agreement.
Odd that.
“And who is this handsome fellow?” Sha-Miara asked smiling back at where King stood, his shell smoldering and sending off small waves of smoke and ash that seemed to cling to the air around him so as to not disturb others.
“This is Little King. He is a King Gamera, and was a gift from Uncle Raif.” I bowed slightly, and I felt more than saw King join me. Bowing his head not in obedience, but out of respect.
“I can see that. King is a proper name for such a handsome fellow. Your aura is infused with fire, but is that nature mana I see as well?”
King made a happy grumbling noise. Can I do the thing? Please? He asked me through our mental bond. I fought a smile but sent back permission.
Suddenly, the heat waves that rolled off him were replaced with a wind that carried the smell of freshly cut grass, and blooming flower gardens. I had seen the effect before, his shell in an instant went from a seeming volcano, to a fertile valley with black rich soil. The seeds that landed on it grew and blossomed into full maturity within seconds, as he radiated a soft green light. The grass at our feet began growing slowly, and every plant around us seemed almost to vibrate with life.
“That is an astounding effect, little one. Your companion has two, diametrically opposed mana types. His path will be tricky, but if he can find the right balance he will go very far indeed.” She looked almost eager to begin working with him.
The moment he saw the servants reaction the first time he did it, King had gone around to everyone and shown off. He had spent a week as an almost insufferable braggart. Until finally the novelty of it had worn off. The senior, and very angry gardener had stumbled on King eating his new selection of potted plants that had just been delivered, and had yet to be put into the ground.
Enraged, the gardener had struck King with a particularly hard wooden shovel and broke the tool across his shell. He then chased King off with the broken remains of his tool so he could work. King might be horse sized, now, but few among the young can stand against the fury of a Low Gold Gardener with three decades or more of cultivation backing up his art.
“What are they?” I asked, trying to change the subject and the gleam in the woman's eyes that for some reason I didn't like. I was feeling defensive, and I didn’t really even know why.
Sha-Miara beamed happily. “That is Sa’shen, he is a Guenbu. As you can see, that is half a Gamera, and half a serpent. They are two brains, with one mind, and one soul. Very similar actually, to your King there . . .” Her voice drifted off into contemplation, until after a moment of awkward silence she returned to herself.
“Guenbu are very rare creatures. There are only a few places where the two spirits that make up their ancestral lines mix, and where the sect is located, where we will be going, is one of those places.”
“What is the serpent spirit?” Rayce asked, interested.
“The Silver Star sect is located in a valley known as the Serpents Cave. It's not actually a cave, but there are a lot of them around. I don’t want to ruin the surprise any more than that. You’ll see. Now, Gamera, about that news I have to share. Tea?”
“Yes. Right this way.”
***
Gamera, our parents, and Sha’miara had tea alone. Then, after the adults shared their news, Rayce and I were asked to give an exhibition match so that Sha’miara could gauge our current foundation.
It went about as well as it usually did. I was able to tag out both of Rayce’s lesser Hounds, but Rex got in behind me and pulled me to the earth, while I tried to end Rayce before that happened.
It was a good fight, and in the end Rayce won. King was starting to get annoyed that he couldn’t participate in these bouts, but that wasn’t my fault. “You know you would break half the palace. Fire is your go to thing, and you’d bury everything in glass and ash. Do you know just how annoyed the gardener staff would be then?” I asked, and the great shelled creature huffed and lowered himself back down to the ground.
“Don’t worry young one,” The Guenbu’s turtle head said. “When we get off the elder Kame’s shell, I’ll spare with you.” They were roughly the same size, though King was a bit smaller.
Really?! Can it, please? He looked at me with hope in his eyes and I couldn’t help but smile. My growing love of fighting was starting to infect him. Or perhaps he had always been that way? I wasn’t sure.
“Yes, King. You can. But not until we’re on our way, and Sha’miara says so. Okay?”
King nodded happily and went back to growing and then eating various types of plants around the courtyard.
“So, what do you think, niece?” Ren asked. “How far do you think you can take them?”
“Now that is a dangerous question.” Sha’miara smiled, and winked at me. “That entirely depends on how long I have them. They are both talented, and have picked up what basics they have had time to learn very well. If given the full five years? Hmm, Maybe to Mid Gold. Maybe. Depends on if we hit any roadblocks, or any particularly stubborn meridians. I can tell they’ve been taught using the old, traditional methods of our region rather than imperial methodologies surrounding the cleansing of Meridians. Despite what my husband might have to say on the matter, I actually agree with that tactic Lord Gamera. Too many young people lose momentum trying to clear meridians later on hoping for a breakthrough rather than the gradual growth that the old methods shine at. If we only end up with a year however, we’ll be lucky to get them to silver. The boost that a breakthrough, on the cusp of ascension can provide really can help with ascension. Particularly at these earlier stages. No one can ever say that the Imperial Way isn’t useful.”
“It's quick and dirty.” Gamera shook his head in disgust. “I’d rather them have a healthy foundation than a quick ascension to Gold only for them to get stuck at Jade.”
“I agree master kame. And my husband does as well, despite his clinging to imperial methodology. It's why we, encourage, our students so vigorously in training and foundation laying before even attempting to cleanse meridians. It's his one concession to the old traditions, and it seems to avoid most of the later hurdles Imperial methods can cause.”
The discussion continued on for some time, until darkness fell. I watched with fascination, having lost interest in the conversation, as Gamera’s body, the shell the entire city and small mountain range was held up by, walked past several low peaks and cliffs. It felt like I was on a very slow moving train.
It was there that I ended up drifting off to sleep, watching as mountains, and high grown trees lonely on their forlorn cliffs drifted away, and clouds moved overhead. Dreams of going to a proper school, one where I would finally be able to gain real power, consumed my sleeping thoughts.