Clawed hands gripped her jaw, an iron vise too tight to squirm out of. Looming overhead, various shadows filled with staring eyes exerted an immense pressure on the small and fragile Li Mei. Her dark hair was bound in a tight braid lacking any hairpin or ornamentation, and her blue ruqun was flawless in its presentation without so much as a wrinkle in the pleated skirts or a crease on the voluminous sleeves.
"You think you're so Smart, so Clever," a thousand voices hissed in her ears. The eyes shifted and moved all around her, watching, judging, laughing.
Tears welled in Li Mei's eyes. "Yeye...Yeye says MeiMei is clever..."
The claws of the hands pierced her cheeks, passing her teeth before she could clench them, sharp nails pressing down her tongue so she couldn't speak. The eyes grew in count and scope, until they filled her vision. "Your grandfather is dead! You dare speak of him so casually, with so little respect? Unfilial child! You are the disgrace of the Li family!"
Li Mei wanted to scream, to deny, but her tongue wouldn't move, her entire mouth held still by the vice-like hold of the clawed hand. 'MeiMei is not a disgrace! MeiMei is clever and smart, just like Yeye said!'
"Shameful."
"Weak."
"Foolish."
"Selfish."
"Selfish child!"
"Your selfishness drove Grandfather to his death!"
"You killed Grandfather!"
Li Mei covered her ears, biting down on the fingers in her mouth to get them away. Then a light pierced the swarm of shadows and eyes. Her mother, bright and shining, lifted her out of the crowd and into the safety of her warm embrace.
Crying, Li Mei clung to her mothers shoulders, insisting over and over she was clever and smart, she wasn't selfish, she was a good girl! Her mother pat her back gently, slowly... Reassuring the trembling child with her comforting presence.
Li Mei grew, carefully nurtured, coddled, protected by her mother's warm embrace. The mass of eyes and shadows drew away, held at bay by that shining light.
Until her mother's light faded, and her grip on the girl's slender body tightened even further. "They were right you know," her mother whispered, her honeyed voice sickly sweet. Her hands became clawed talons, just like the ones that pierced her cheeks and held her tongue when she was little. Her words were echoed by the myriad of voices surrounding them, thousands of eyes and undulating shadows pressing in close until Li Mei couldn't breathe. "You are nothing but selfish filth."
Tendrils of shadow wrapped themselves around Li Mei's body, piercing her eyes and boring straight through to her brain.
Li Mei screamed.
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She jolted awake, sitting straight up in her bed. Bao, laying at the end of her bed, was watching her with concern evident in his many eyes. Seeing so many eyes all at once right after that nightmare made her groan and hide her face with her hands, only to find a gross film of cold sweat covered her body.
She hadn't thought about him in a long time. Li Jun, her paternal grandfather. He insisted she called him Yeye, even as other family members claimed it was inappropriate.
Her grandfather doted on her when she was young. Everyone else was strict, while Yeye spoiled her rotten. But she relied on him too much, so when he got ill he hid it from everyone in order to continue doting on his cute little grandchild.
One day, she threw a tantrum to get him to take her to the zoo. She wanted out of the house, away from her lessons and cousins and uncles and aunts. He gave in, because of course he wouldn't refuse an adamant request from his adorable MeiMei.
And he collapsed in the middle of a tour. For the next three months, he withered away in a hospital bed before finally passing away.
The entire family blamed her.
'They were right. I've always been selfish.' Li Mei sighed, rubbing her eyes with the heel of her palm. 'I didn't pay attention to how pale and thin Yeye got. All I cared about was myself.'
Her broken arm throbbed, a dull persistent ache. Li Mei glanced at the digital clock floating beneath her ever-present minimap. 5:32 AM. Morning, but only just. Days on Elysium were longer, which meant sunrise and sunset were at different times than she was used to. She looked up, reaching for a glass bottle of water waiting on the bedside table.
Over the past two days, her new house was completely transformed. Having capable employees really made all the difference when it came to living comfortably. Lucas and Vera didn't hesitate to push their sleeves up and work hard alongside their juniors. The entire house was scrubbed and habitable by evening of the second day even without Li Mei's assistance.
They even found time to get plenty of other chores done, as well! Vera taught Hana how to take Li Mei's measurements after dinner on the first day, then she proceeded to get everyone's numbers for ordering more sets of clothing. She went out with Otto, and a couple hours after they returned, several massive crates were delivered to the front yard.
Then Lucas brought Hana out, and the same thing happened again. Opening the crates was an exciting affair, as the children showed off the different things they picked out to Li Mei and each other.
Bolts of cloth by the dozen, all different styles and types and textures. Clothes in every color and style for all seasons and occasions, including some very adorable sets of pajamas. Boxes of tea, fragrant and exotic. Tea sets both formal and informal, for receiving guests or taking a cup alone. Tableware, lanterns, cleaning supplies, magitech sewing machines, mattresses, soft pillows, cutlery and cooking utensils.
Otto bought some things himself, like work gloves, clothes, a watering can and a couple spades, but his inexperience in proper gardening showed through. Vera helped him choose and purchase fertilizer, trowels, rakes, hoes, pruning shears, loppers, and more. Otto was both delighted and confused by the variety of foreign gardening implements.
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Li Mei burned with curiosity, where they went and who they purchased from and whether there was haggling or not, but if she tagged along it would put undue pressure on them. Otto and Hana needed to learn how to do things, interact with society while learning the ins and outs of their assigned tasks, without her long shadow cast over their every thought and action.
She resolved to follow them in secret sometime once her broken arm was healed.
Li Mei took the master bedroom for herself - a large room with wide windows overlooking the garden of plants they brought back from the forest, freshly planted and already thriving under Otto's loving care. In one corner of the garden, some flowering shrubberies flanked a small grave with the items previously used as ghost anchors protected under a dome of glass.
A thick canopy over the bed in her room gave privacy and warmth, keeping out the chill, damp night air so prevalent in coastal towns. Her bed was massive, much too large even with Bao doing his best to take up half the mattress.
Li Mei swung her legs over the side of the bed and groaned, tossing her layers of blankets over Bao's large body then patting his side affectionately. The Fera had sure grown a lot since they first met! He went from just about matching her height to surpassing her by at least a dozen centimeters.
He was sprawled out while still watching her through narrowed lids, large ears perked forward. Li Mei smiled and ruffled the fur underneath his chin. "Don't look at me like that, I'm fine. It was just a dream."
Bao snorted and laid his head back down on his own private pillow, closing all but one eye. If he was watching her so seriously, she must have been thrashing about in her nightmare. Li Mei's cheeks burned with shame.
Bathing was almost impossible with a broken arm that had to dangle freely at her side. If she moved it, it might mess with the healing process, so she had to keep the limb as still as possible until she recovered. Li Mei decided to wait until Hana woke and could help her wash, opting instead to quickly wipe down her gross, sweat-covered body with a damp cloth in the bathroom before awkwardly changing into a light robe one-handed.
With little else to do while her employees worked, Li Mei spent the past two days leisurely reading through the archives, circulating mana through frequent meditation, storing excess mana in her mithril card after paying her employees, or taking short trips to the bank with Bao to deposit mana into her account.
Of course, she didn't forget to frequent the Coralheart lapidary and purchase several different types of metals or stones to experiment with at night after everyone else had gone to bed. She, Lucas, and Hana worked to turn the basement into a fine laboratory and training room - after Li Mei checked to make sure Faust disposed of the bodies, naturally.
Training targets made of wood wrapped in metal stood against one wall, opposite several solid shelves heavy with bottles, jars, boxes, and assorted different containers holding various items once stashed in her storage. After the place was cleaned up, Li Mei emptied out her storage inventory and picked through what she wanted to keep on hand and what would stay in the lab, taking stock of goods and reminding herself not to forget anything important for an entire year again.
Really, what kind of airhead would do that twice?
A padlock kept the basement locked at night, the keyhole sealed with a small barrier to keep anyone from trying to pick their way through, an extra layer of security beneath all the arrays Faust placed.
Every time Li Mei went out, to the bank or the lapidary, she was followed by people who expressed more caution than those who tried shadowing her the first time around. They were sent from Brittalund's Houses, eager to keep an eye on a new foreign dignitary in town but Scan unfortunately ratted out their affiliations as long as Li Mei set eyes upon them.
Since her household was so small, the Houses couldn't send in spies to keep a closer watch on her activities. It must have been frustrating! Li Mei chuckled at the thought of those powerful old people biting their nails trying to figure out her purpose.
She slipped down into the kitchen for a snack from the newly stocked pantry, humming to herself while she made plans for the day, oblivious to the sharp glint of silver on the small finger of her good hand.
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THMP.
Plnk.
THMP.
Plnk.
A tall, thin creature wrapped tightly in a burlap cloak hunched over a massive churning pool. Clear, viscous fluid filled a pit ringed with jagged stalagmites jutting upwards like jagged teeth around a gaping, wet maw.
Deep within the pool, several small creatures squirmed around a large mass of textured flesh pulsing with warmth and light, a rhythmic heartbeat trembling through thick stone walls of the surrounding cave. Each pulse shook loose droplets of water from hanging stalactites that disturbed the pool's surface.
THMP.
Plnk.
THMP.
Plnk.
The thin creature leaned forward, until several tentacles fell forward from the shadowed depths of its hood, the tips of two particularly long tendrils gently touching the churning liquid. A telepathic connection was forged between the thin creature and the pulsing mass in the pool then spread outward to dozens of other similar creatures hidden throughout Brittalund.
《 Report. 》
《 Location A-1 progressing according to expectations. All parameters are met. Proceeding with Stage 2. 》
《 Acknowledged. 》
《 Location A-2 experiencing difficulties. Local host compatibility lower than projected. 》
《 Acknowledged. Alter priorities to accumulation of chattel. 》
《 Confirmed. 》
《 Location A-3 progressing beyond expectations. Chattel accumulation exceeding set parameters, adjusting activity to avoid local observation. 》
《 Acknowledged. Discuss methodology with A-1 for optimal efficiency. 》
《 Confirmed. 》
《 Location A-4 progressing according to expectations. Local interloper detected near chattel hives, no action currently required. Requesting permission to observe and employ counterintelligence. 》
《 Granted. Sending a Deviate for infiltration assistance. 》
《 Location A-5 has been claimed by an unknown Seed. Connection A-5 severed. Awaiting further instruction. 》
The thin creature paused. Deep in the pool, the mass of flesh pulsed with nearly tangible anger.
《 Elucidate, A-5. 》
《 Location A-5 was compromised. Host in the midst of transformation were eliminated by an unknown interloper. Interloper was captured, interrogation attempted. Interrogation failed, confirmed interloper as a Seed. Seed has taken up residence at Location A-5 and severed the connection. 》
《 Continue observation of the Seed. Determine its growth stage and development of surrounding temporal phenomena. Take no further action without advisory. 》
《 Confirmed. 》
Thesun, a Cthil Commander second only in status to the Elder Brain pulsing angrily within the pool of Cthil larva, felt their tentacles shrivel in response to the Brain's lingering fury throughout the remaining reports.
A Seed.
Manufactured creatures of rapid growth and overwhelming power. Temporal winds warped and twisted around them, guided by the ethereal hands of those with far more power than a mere Commander could contest against. Many Seeds existed throughout Elysium, a veritable Garden planet, and each one was more problematic than the last.
Meddlesome. Willful. Arrogant.
Dangerous.
Immune to the Cthil's psionic tampering and unable to be used as hosts, Seeds also possessed strange hormones and neurotransmitters in their brains, responsible for their reckless and often aggressive mentalities. Those odd chemicals made them unfit for consumption.
Cthil who ate the brain of a Seed descended into gibbering madness, often putting the Colony at risk with impetuous behavior and selfish decisions unbecoming of any true Cthil.
Unforgivable.
Too dangerous.
More so as Seeds rarely lacked backing. They were placed with purpose, Planted as it were, among those capable of protecting them as they grew to reach their intended potential.
A small, damaged Colony like theirs would be unable to uproot a Seed, but they could defend against its guardian so long as they remained within the mythal. They could observe from a safe distance without risk.
Thesun frowned, stretching out their tentacles from their cramped, shriveled positions and severing their open connection to the Elder Brain. While a young Seed was no threat to them by itself, there was no harm in taking extra precautions.