Wen Reian

2004 years after The Long Night

Jingshén

Wen Reian stared at the King with wide eyes. "We're going to do what?!"

Xie Yi-jun was crouched down by a tree-stump, having set out paper, a pen and ink. Reian had remarked earlier on the fact that any magic Yi-jun was going to teach him would need to be reasonable to his skill-level, not some ancient power known only to Kings from Hêi'àn City.

Yi-jun just smiled, beckoning Reian closer.

"I suppose you might call it a form of telepathy. I used to use it with my friends to send messages, come here..."

Reian kneeled beside him, aware of how much space was between them. This morning when they'd met at the wishing well, the boy had been struck with the awkward realization, as the King approached with a warm smile, that his feelings couldn't all be blamed on a love potion, or lack thereof.

"The spell is fairly simple. You write or draw anything you want, then transfer the ink. Like this-"

Reian sat back and watched Xie Yi-jun dip the pen into the ink, writing with his left hand the words; What did you do today?

When he sat the pen down, Wen Rei watched him close his eyes, muttering something under his breath that sounded like an incantation. As he did, the ink on the crisp white paper slowly began to bleed. At first it seemed to Reian like he was just imagining it, how the letters moved, but then his eyes widened when they suddenly slid right off the page!

"Hah!" Exclaiming in surprise, he watched as the sentence trickled through the air in front of him, light as a feather.

When the ink abruptly ducked inside his sleeve, Wen Reian quickly yanked it back, blinking at the dark words suddenly scrawled on his wrist!

"That's amazing!" He gushed. "You said it's like telepathy?!"

When he glanced at Xie Yi-jun, the man was watching him, seeming to stare with a soft sort of interest. The gentleness of his gaze made Reian's heart flutter. He swallowed...

"Hmm? Oh, yes. A very crude telepathy. Simple and easy enough to send quick messages."

Then the King smiled-

"I will not be blamed if you and your friends start drawing silly things on each other, yes?"

Wen Reian grinned, unable to help it. He imagined Xie De with this little trick and dreaded to think. No, he'd keep it a secret for now. Maybe tell A'Yu?

"It can stay between us," he said.

Reian accepted the pen when Yi-jun handed it to him. Wondering what he should write, Reian decided to try drawing something instead. A little sketch that he always made of a flower losing its petals. He drew it on the paper, shy for some reason to have Yi-jun see it, then when he was done he asked the King for the spell.

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"Xea kimoni toris... and don't forget to add the recipient's name on the end or the ink won't know where to go."

Taking a deep breath, the boy closed his eyes.

He wasn't sure if it would work. Verbal incantations were difficult to begin with, but the language was one he didn't recognise and he feared it was just going to fail. He'd try of course... the fact that Xie Yi-jun had decided to teach him this must mean he thought Reian was capable. Not only that, Reian wanted to succeed. He wished to show the King that he could do this simple magic.

He opened his eyes and whispered; "Xea kimoni toris, Xie Yi-jun."

For several seconds as he watched the drawing, nothing happened. But then Yi-jun smiled, and Reian nearly gasped aloud as the ink came alive once again.

His flower moved off the paper, less fluid and graceful than Yi-jun's but it still moved!

Sliding off the page rather clumsily and slowly, the flower settled upon the back of Yi-jun's hand, where it sunk into his skin like it was coming home.

"It worked," Reian blinked.

Yi-jun raised his hand and looked at the flower, nodding in approval.

"Well done, I didn't expect you to do it correctly on your first try."

"Why's that?"

The King chuckled, "Well for starters, the incantation is in a dead language. Not to mention, you haven't learned much in the way of object telepathy, am I wrong?"

Before Reian could answer, Xie Yi-jun was narrowing his eyes...

"You must have ancestors from Hêi'àn City or Lêung Shãn. Have you ever tried any other kinds of telepathy? Soul, or nature?"

Wen Reian blinked, unsure what to say. When Yi-jun saw he'd asked something the boy couldn't answer, he smiled softly, nodding.

"Ah, don't worry. It just means you have a high capacity for that sort of thing. A quick learner,"

Reian swallowed again, curious...

"Were people from Hêi'àn City telepathic?"

Xie Yi-jun seemed to light up. Reian didn't know if asking about his home would upset him, but it was like the King suddenly couldn't stop describing it-

"In a way, yes. We were all born with different pre-dispositions of course, but my people were very intuitive. To each other and to the world. That is why a lot of our powers develop from our emotions. It is said that in Hêi'àn City, the mountains would shake when the people would march. The rivers flooded when babies cried, and when the city laughed, nature would laugh as well; lightning and thunder filling the sky like music."

Reian had closed his eyes, listening to the soft tenor of Yi-jun's voice...

He realised, when the King suddenly chuckled, saying; "Do an old man's tales bore you?"

Wen Rei blinked, face going red as he stuttered-

"N-no! I was imagining it..." then he frowned. "You aren't old."

Yi-jun only smiled, then took the pen again and pressed it to the paper.

Reian watched as the King scribbled something in a language he couldn't read.

When he was done Yi-jun blew on the ink a few times to dry it and Reian was caught again, admiring the man's lips and remembering the time they'd touched his own.

"Do you know what this says?"

Shaking his head quickly to clear it, Wen Rei looked again at the page. It resembled nothing he'd seen before...

"No."

Yi-jun nodded, "Good!"

The boy was about to ask why that was a good thing, when the King whispered the incantation again, and then within seconds, Wen Rei watched the word soak into his skin below the former.

"W...what is that?" He stared at it.

Yi-jun twirled the pen in his fingers a few times with a sly smile.

"That is your mission!"

"Huh?!"

Xie Yi-jun laughed, "I caught a glimpse of that huge library. It might take you a while, but I have no doubt you'll be able to translate it eventually... when you do, send me a message." He gestured at the ink.

Reian probably looked as dumbstruck as he felt.

But... how on earth am I supposed to search through all those texts, find the correct one among thousands, and then decode this rather messy scribble?!

Yi-jun must have sensed that the boy was confused, because he nodded, saying softly; "I believe in you."

Wen Rei felt his heart skip a beat-

Before he could stop himself, he blurted out; "I still won't call you Master."

After the moment of surprise wore off, Xie Yi-jun seemed to recall their conversation about age at the library in Sanlín City. The King grinned, brown eyes sparkling with laughter that Reian was beginning to cherish...

"Alright. Would you consider calling me as a friend instead?"

Reian bit the inside of his cheek to keep from blushing like a fool-

"Afterall," Yi-jun shrugged. "You did wake me up."

With his life practically flashing before his eyes, the boy managed only a soft nod, not trusting himself to speak.

Translating dead languages, calling him a friend... I'm starting to think Xie Yi-jun can ask me to steal the stars from the sky and I'll do it just to get a glimpse of that smile!