Chapter Six
Riley frowned, the light of the two moons that hung in the night sky slipping through a gap in the canopy of the glade and coating him with silvery ethereal light.
I’m not on Earth anymore, am I?
The thought resonated deep within him, rippling across the surface of the ball of densely packed something that nested within his core. Through the lens of his mind’s eye, it glowed with a golden light, shining with the brilliance of the sun. Already, golden tendrils of light stretched out tentatively from the ball of energy, forging trails through his body.
Cultivation, Riley thought, equal parts wonder and fear coursing through not for the first time since discovering his newfound power. This is a cultivation world, just like all those stories Kyle used to read and rant about. Riley’s eyes widened, as his thoughts went towards his brother and the rest of his family. Holy shit. Does my family think I’m dead? Am I dead?! He froze, something truly horrible occurring to him. Oh no. OH, GOD NO! I’m gonna miss the SEC Championship! This was our year! THIS WAS OUR YEAR! And I fuckin’ died!
“FUCK!”
The mournful shout echoed through the densely packed mangroves, reverberating against their thick trunks until it garbled the yell into some twisted animalistic roar.
“What ails you, young Ri Lee?”
Riley spun from his seat at the edge of the roof of his treehouse to find the small Elder Xiao standing behind him. How long has he been there?
“Uh, nothing, sir,” Riley at last answered, struggling to get over how silent the elderly man moved as he settled in beside him on the roof. “Just thinking.”
“A wise thing to do after Awakening,” Xiao mused, staring up at the twin moons that hung in the sky. “Much has and will change in your life now that you are a cultivator.”
“You have no idea,” Riley muttered. “Christ, I wish I had a beer.”
Xiao chuckled, turning his gaze upon Riley. “Oh, but I do have some idea, young Ri Lee. The Heavens told me of your coming the night before your arrival at the Sodden Gate. A comet, golden in color flashed through the night sky, spearing the Twin Moons.” Xiao paused, a soft smile replacing his typical cheeky grin. “I’m certain you must feel lost and confused. For that, I must apologize. I know not how you got here or from where you come, but I do know that within you rests a very piece of the Heavens themselves. For better or worse, great things await you, young Ri Lee. And I am very excited to watch what happens next.”
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Riley frowned, rubbing at his temple. I understood like half of what he just said.
Xiao nodded, smiling sympathetically. “I know it’s a lot to take in but you should know just exactly what you are joining when you agree to take on the mantle of the Whispering Glade and I doubt that you have ever heard of our sect. We are small compared to the more traditional powers of the southern region of the Empire. The only thing that has allowed us to maintain our independence is that we live in a very inhospitable land, far from civilization. The Whispering Glade lies at the center of a vast sea of marshland that we call the Sea of Grass. The Glade itself stretches the width of some of the smaller imperial provinces and only the strong and foolhardy call her home.”
Xiao paused, a small frown replacing his typical smile. “That is not to say that we are weak, however. Because of our smaller size and the nature of our home, our sect elders have always taken much more interest in their juniors than other sects. Because of this and the abundance of resources found within the Glade, our disciples on an individual level often far outstrip the power of the typical sect disciple.” Xiao shrugged, chuckling softly. “Unfortunately, even the mighty Water Horse may be taken down by a school of Razor Fins.”
Jesus Christ that was a lot of exposition, Riley groaned, mentally massaging his brain. And what the fuck is a Water Horse? Or a Razor Fin??
“Now I really need a beer.”
Xiao laughed, his eyes sparking once more with mischief. “Fret not young Ri Lee, our seasonal expedition to the town of Far Water is just around the corner and I think of one tavern in particular that would sate your desire. Train hard and perhaps I shall let you join the expedition!”
A glimmer of hope sparked deep within Riley’s heart. “A tavern? That’s like a bar, right? A place where they serve booze?”
“Why, of course!”
“And all I have to do in order for you to let me go to this tavern is to practice cultivating really hard?”
Xiao cocked his head to the side, eyeing Riley’s sudden eagerness with no small amount of concern. “Well, I would not so casually brush aside the mental and physical fortitude it takes to pursue cultivation, but yes, I suppose that is what I am saying.”
“Fuck yeah!” Riley exclaimed, leaping to his feet. “Coach never let me hit the bars after ‘the incident’! This is gonna be goddamn awesome!”
“‘The incident’ . . . ?”
Riley hesitated, a hint of guilt flashing across his face. “Uhhh . . . nothing, Coach Xiao. Don’t worry about it. Just a small misunderstanding, y’know?” Before any more questions could spring forth from the elder, Riley clapped his hands together with a tremendous boom. “Welp, I should probably get to bed! Got a lot of cultivatin’ to do tomorrow, n’whatnot. Night, Coach Xiao! Thank you for the talk and I promise I won’t let you and your weird shooting stars down!”
Xiao watched as Riley dropped down from the roof, the treehouse door opening and slamming shut within a heartbeat of one another, a perplexed expression stretched across his face. “Only the Heavens know for certain, yet I cannot help but feel that I made a mistake with that promise . . . ”