Janna did not have a scholar's understanding of the geography of Hollow, but she was better versed in its divisions than Sunwhisper. Fringe Town was the largest of several villages that to the rest of the world seemed to be the bleeding edge of Hinterland, though they considered themselves to be independent, and both were subject to the governance of the Middle Kingdom. Goth, the country of barbarians, was separated from them by Jigoku, and most maps simply ended there. Janna had no idea how large that region really was, or if it had ever thoroughly been explored.
Tales of Goth usually related the relative lack of talent and refinement their people displayed, and the absence of useful resources. The country was said to be a mana desert, and therefore without value to cultivators. Sunwhisper doubted the situation was as clear cut as that, given what Gowry had told him about the existence of magicians, but it was an investigation for another time.
The Middle Kingdom was vast beyond Janna’s reckoning, potentially stretching thousands of miles in its longest dimension, and it was composed of nearly countless clan territories, each vying for supremacy over its neighbors. There was a single governing structure law enforcement over all of them, which demanded taxes and established a few basic rules that kept the clans from engaging in open genocide too often, though that was apparently still an option. That structure took the form of the Starfox Guild.
The Starfox Guild maintained a centralized record of every cultivator in the Middle Kingdom who had achieved their first star or above. Their tattooists, the Inkmasters, were the functioning diplomats between clans. Only a guild member could apply an official tattoo of rank, and the cultivators of Fringe Town generally had to make a trip inland to receive them.
A Starfox Inkmaster would be their only option for getting Janna’s thief markings removed. For Sunwhisper, it was a simple matter of molecular rearrangement. His arm had been cleared the moment he switched disguises and then switched back again. They had decided against wrapping or covering her arm, as the only people who did not leave their left arm bare were people with something to hide, and the mystery would only further draw attention.
The mark the elders had given her branded her as owing a debt to the Soga clan, so she was essentially considered property of the clan until it could be repaid. Her status was extremely low, and she could not receive work or be admitted to a school without permission from the clan, and worse, any member of rank could treat her as a servant, giving her orders and rightfully expecting to be obeyed.
For that reason, they intended to stay out of Soga territory, and seek to repay the debt through a Guild intermediary as soon as possible. As the debt was for sixteen stolen fruits, and Sunwhisper carried almost that many with him in a sack, he suggested they make the exchange and be done with it.
"No." Janna said. "That prize is yours, and I could never accept such a debt from a friend."
"It would be a gift, not a loan."
Janna blanched. "Sunwhisper, such a gift would shame me to madness, and even if I accepted it, I would not use the fruit to repay my debt. I am ready for my first star now, and channeling the mana from so many fruits would certainly bring me nearly to my second, if not beyond it. I would happily keep these markings for that chance. When we find a Guild Artist, all you will have to do is show them your Xanthous Ascendancy and you will be eligible for a two-star marking. Then we can pretend you are a member of the Soga clan, and I will be traveling with you in your service. It is not so far from the truth."
The road out of Fringe Town had eventually connected with the Yellow Brick Road, an innovation of earth aspected cultivators in service to the Middle Kingdom. The Yellow Brick Road began in the Jade City at the center of the realm, and ran perfectly straight in all eight directions from that point, so that the entirety of the country was built along the lines of the elemental compass.
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The Yellow Brick Road lived up to its name, closely fitted with special bricks that could withstand decades of wear and weathering without call for maintenance. The kind of mana that would have been required for its construction beggared belief, a hundred years of Soma harvests at least, but Fringe Town’s livelihood was only one field of one fruit in a kingdom that had many of both, and the road was the pride of the nation.
In addition to its longevity, it served as a deterrent to sacred beasts. Karasu did not like landing on it, as she claimed it gave her an uneasy feeling. When she wasn’t flying, she rested on trees well clear of the roadway. They avoided other travelers as well as they could, but as far from civilization as they were, it was not busy.
"Half of these are yours to begin with," Sunwshiper said, hefting the bag. "I collected silver as well as gold."
Janna almost swooned when he showed her.
"This is too much," she said. "If I accept any of these, it must be with the understanding that I will repay you when I can."
"Then I will be happy to receive repayment.”
"Sunwhisper," Janna said in a tone that suggested she had caught a child misbehaving, "why are you toying with me this way? Why do you insist on trying to give me such a princely gift, when I know that it cannot be so small to you? These treasures are all you have in the world."
Sunwhisper laughed, and the sound of it caught them both off guard. He had never laughed before, and he found that he rather enjoyed the sensation.
"I am not toying with you, Janna. These may seem like princely gifts for now, but from what little I understand of Hollow, they would be nothing to true princes. Think about this practically. In order to be fully utilized, you need to be as strong as possible. If I advance too far ahead of you, then you will be an anchor tied to my foot, rather than a partner in my quest. I also want your loyalty, and I think that someone like you would feel more indebted to me if there was no debt than if there was one, if you can understand that."
"I do not," Janna said, lowering her head in thought. "The ring and the fruit are yours. We can share the ring, as you saud. Also, I think that a single fruit is not more than I could conceivably repay, even given my status." Her hand went to a pocket within her robes, then jerked away as if it were out of her control. Sunwhisper pointedly ignored her odd behavior.
"Good." He produced a single silver Soma fruit. "Take this, and wear the ring to channel as we walk. I will use the ring at night, and you may use it during the day."
They stopped in the middle of the road, both taking a moment to split their respective fruits and each eat a section. Sweet, tangy, and vaguely electric, swallowing Soma was like swallowing pure warmth, and even a small piece filled their bellies.
"Shouldn’t you wait to eat it until you are wearing the ring?" Janna asked.
"I want to have it both ways, and see if I can measure the difference it makes to the increase in my Dao Rating.”
"Oh." Janna was growing accustomed to the idea that strange rules governed Sunwhisper’s existence, and she wasn’t going to let them distract her from channeling. As soon as they began walking again, she stopped talking, and focused completely on the Meditations of Deepest Stone.
"Violet fruits?" Karasu called down. "Where? Where? Nothing for me?"
"Next time," Sunwhisper smiled up at her.
(This girl is going to drag you down. We would be better on our own.)
{I humbly disagree.}
(Kill her. Let me eat her core, that’s all these cultivators are good for.)
{Don’t worry, I will share the golden fruit with you.}
(Sure, yeah, but also, stop wasting your resources on this chick. She’s nobody special.)
{Human beings have inherent value.}
(What? That’s exactly what I’m talking about, their value is in their core when you eat it. It would be free money, man.)
{Janna is my friend. You are not allowed to eat her.}
Sunwhisper felt Starscream rattle something in his chest.
(Spoilsport.)