Child genius? Sure, I guess you could call the young master that. But all the so-called “geniuses” dry up faster than a pond in a drought when they grow old enough to think they know everything. –Tutor Sian Zishu, on the Prince of Kail

* * *

As far as Xinya was concerned, being a cultivator involved far too much walking. Her feet hurt, and she desperately missed the warm bed and heavy blankets at Queen Pollen’s Palace. However, she was determined not to say anything that the adults might scold her for. Coming with them was her choice, and she would live with the consequences.

And, in truth, things had begun to look up. Ever since the mean hornet guy had taken over her mind and forced her to reveal herself back in the village, Mister Tsuyuki had been quite generous with his time, wisdom, and care. Xinya was grateful to be near the fire instead of lurking just outside of the camp so as to not be caught, and Pollen’s honey sweetened trail rations were a great complement to the wrapped buns that Tsuyuki had purchased before leaving Heimian. Both of those were not things she would have gotten while following from a respectful distance.

That didn’t include the nights where Mister Tsuyuki sat down with her and asked if she made any progress in discovering the desires of the moon and lightning. Though she had little to report, Xinya was thrilled to be on the path towards developing power like the adults in the group.

“We should make camp,” Pharyx said, shielding his eyes against the setting sun.

Xinya kept her mouth shut, but inside she was nothing but grateful that they were finally stopping for the night. Not only could she rest her feet, but that meant that Mister Tsuyuki would come and ask her about what she’d thought about during that day’s travel.

Every night, Mister Tsuyuki would ask the same question: where does moonlight come from? It was the same that he’d asked that day in the back alley of Heimian, and it was one that Xinya found incredibly frustrating. He was so insistent that the moon produced no light of its own, except how could that possibly be true? Even now, in the dying rays of the sun, the moon rose as a peaceful crescent over the treetops. How could she see it if it gave off no light of its own? Every time she tried to express that thought, Mister Tsuyuki would just look at her and smile, inwardly amused by her inability to grasp the problem. Then, they’d take time to look at the moon, and she would continue banging her head against the problem.

He wasn’t going to give her the answer, she knew that. However, just the night before, something amazing had happened before she’d fallen asleep. Now, she waited for it to happen again, and thus, she stared down the mean hornet guy, waiting for him to make a move.

The hornet in question was inarguably a powerful being as far as Xinya was concerned. She’d seen his fury on full display during the fight against the spiders, which she had watched from a respectful distance per Tsuyuki’s instructions. However, it wasn’t his fury that Xinya was interested in…at least, not directly.

According to Pollen, Pharyx lacked self-control. Pollen was refined, beautiful, and graceful in everything she did. When she fought, it was like a dance. When she served tea, it was as if one was being served by a fairy. In comparison, the spirit hornet was brash and rugged. His emotions were worn plainly on his sleeve, and Pollen had pointed out more than one instance where his qi had reacted directly to his emotions. When he was angry, his light was harsh as a scorching day in the depths of summer. When he was happy, it shone gently like the morning sun in spring. And when he was upset, it faded, as if blocked by turbulent storm clouds.

It was one of these reactions that Xinya watched carefully for, now. As the spirit beasts both sat down, Pharyx…Xinya still wasn’t sure what title he was supposed to have so she gave him none…leaned casually against his bedroll while Mister Tsuyuki lit the fire.

“We should arrive tomorrow,” the hornet mused as he pulled a bottle of water from his bag and drank it down. “Should be a good day for spider hunting, if the weather holds, that is.”

“It’s humid, I smell a storm on the horizon,” Pollen countered. She sat properly, spreading her purple skirts around her like dainty flower petals. Any other day, Xinya might have spared some attention to trying to figure out how she managed to stay so perfect, even in the midst of the forest after days and days of walking, but not tonight. Tonight, the hornet and Mister Tsuyuki had the girl’s full attention.

“I hate it when it rains,” Pharyx muttered.

Mister Tsuyuki smiled. “I hardly find it surprising that the wasp with sun qi doesn’t like the rain. With luck, though, we’ll be in and out before it starts.”

“And speaking of,” Pollen began. “We are drawing close to the end of our mission. Has your queen given you any indication of how our two nations will interact after this? I would be most eager to establish diplomatic relations in the interest of seeing a united forest.”

“Is that so, Your Majesty?”

Xinya leaned in ever so slightly. The hornet’s eyes were flashing in the firelight, and his tone was tense. This was the perfect opportunity, if he could just let his qi out…

“Yes,” Pollen continued. “I believe it may be prudent for me to meet with your queen to discuss this directly. After all, there a great many complex topics to go over.”

“Such as?”

Pollen sipped her tea. “Things that are above the rank of a drone,” she finished.

This was it. Would he do it? Flash his lights in anger? Xinya knew that the hornet hated being talked down to, particularly by Pollen. She still didn’t understand the animosity between them. As far as she could tell, Pharyx was a cheerful guy, and if not for his rude disruption of Xinya’s otherwise perfect plan to trail the group in secret, she might have actually liked him. Mister Tsuyuki seemed to like him well enough, too, but Pollen…the only time she’d ever been mean to anyone, it was to Pharyx.

But, instead of getting angry at Pollen, Pharyx seemed to deflate some. Firelight no longer danced angrily in his eyes, and instead he lounged back on his bag.

“At this rate, Your Majesty, I doubt there will be relations between us,” he answered simply.

“That is for your queen to decide, not you.” Pollen countered. Meanwhile, Mister Tsuyuki sighed and focused on eating his bun, as he often did when the spirit beasts argued.

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“I think you’ll find it’s entirely up to me.” Pharyx’s tone was low and dangerous, a new emotion than Xinya had ever seen on him. It wasn’t the bright, hot fury that he had on the battlefield, and she wondered if he would shine at all in this state.

Pollen lowered her tea and glared at the hornet. “Does your queen really put up with insubordination?”

“My queen values my opinion, nothing more.”

Pollen looked like she wanted to say more but thought better of it. In the end, she sighed.

“I apologize, Lord Pharyx.” Xinya thought her words sounded almost painful in her mouth, but her expression never changed from the ethereal fairy that she always embodied.

Pharyx didn’t answer, and Xinya bit her knuckle. She had to get him to shine his light to test her theory…and she had to do it quickly before Mister Tsuyuki finished his meal. She would be mortified if she came to him after yet another day with no concrete answers. Lucky for her, the tense conversation made the moon artist very intent on savoring every single bite, and he was taking his time.

But…how to get the hornet to shine? She couldn’t just ask him. She had no idea what a hornet would consider rude, and, if he refused, then he might keep a firm grasp on his qi the rest of the night, ruining any chance of testing the theory. Thus, it had to be subtle. He would need to be tricked into it, and, since the conversation wasn’t helping on this particular night, then she would need to take a more direct approach.

There were only two emotions Xinya knew of to get his excitement up: anger and joy. Since anger hadn’t worked, she would need to make him smile, somehow. Not just that, he needed to be so pleased that he flashed his lights. But…how?

She studied him. What would make him happy enough for that? Well, he hated being talked down to, so not doing that would be a start. Taking a deep breath, and setting her resolve, she stood and knelt next to the hornet.

“Master Pharyx,” she began, kowtowing all the way to the ground. “Would you tell this humble disciple how the Hanai Hornets rose above the lesser species to become rulers in the forest?”

Mister Tsuyuki began choking violently on his bun, and Xinya grinned…not that anyone could see it with her head to the ground. Did he think she didn’t have it in her to bow before another? Contrary to popular opinion in Saikan, Xinya was perfectly capable of being polite. She just chose not to be most of the time. Adults didn’t treat her with respect, so why should she treat them with any?

“Even I don’t get called ‘Master,’” he complained.

Xinya raised her head and gave her best pleading look to the hornet, who was stunned speechless. He shot a look to the grumpy moon artist who buried his face back in his bun, then to Chiho, who trilled in amusement. Eventually, he turned back to Xinya and cleared his throat.

“I suppose,” he answered. Already his hair was starting to glow with sunlight, but it was faint, not nearly enough for Xinya’s needs. She needed more, so she listened with rapt attention as the hornet described his origins.

As it turned out, the Hanai Hornets weren’t even native to the Moon-Soaked Shore. They were an invading species from an island to the north and east. There, a great and powerful empress of insect-kind ruled over the land with a kind but firm hand. She sent three of her children to the Moon-Soaked Shore many years ago to subjugate the local insects and establish themselves as a power. However, the previous queen was wicked and evil, making the nest tend to her whims instead of patrolling their lands and fighting off their foes.

In truth, even if Xinya was just trying to get him to talk about something that made him happy, she was riveted by the story. It was just like the tales of brave heroes slaying wicked tyrants that her dad would tell her.

Pharyx was quite the storyteller. By the time the story reached its climax, he was on his feet, gesturing wildly to depict the scenes. The details were so vivid, Xinya was sure that he must have experienced it all first-hand, which made the whole thing so much cooler!

“And then, our queen stood before her wicked sister and declared ‘the sun has set on your reign!’ and then BANG!” The stripes on Pharyx’s neck flashed with brilliant sunlight. “She beheaded the old queen and restored peace to the nest.”

As the light flashed through the camp, Xinya tore her attention away from the hornet, and to Mister Tsuyuki instead. She had long since figured out that the shimmering light of his hair was dependent on the phase of the moon. With a crescent overhead, it shone dimly.

But, when the sun hornet flashed his light, for a moment so quick that she wasn’t sure if she’d really seen it or not, the moon artist’s hair shone bright white.

“There! I got it!” she shouted, jumping to her feet.

“Eh, got what?” Pharyx wondered.

Xinya clasped her hands and bowed to the hornet. “This one thanks you for story and for showing your powers, Master Hornet.” Then she darted around him to kneel next to her teacher.

“And who might you be looking at?” he asked bitterly. “Surely, this lowly servant is not worthy of your esteemed attention.” Xinya wrinkled her nose at his sarcasm. If there was one thing she’d learned about the moon artist, it was that his temperament was steady. His pride was easily damaged, but also easily repaired. A bit of attention, and he’d forgive her, she was sure of it.

“Mister, I have an answer to your question.”

And just like that, he raised an eyebrow and cocked his head, the slight all but forgotten. “Oh? This one is not worthy of your insights, oh great master, but hopefully you’ll honor me anyway.”

Okay…maybe the slight wasn’t quite forgotten. The sarcasm in his words was thicker than Pollen’s honey, and Xinya lowered her eyes ever so slightly. She hadn’t realized he would take it so personally. Why was he suddenly so upset that she didn’t call him master? It’s not like she had ever done so before.

“Where does moonlight come from?” she repeated. “If it doesn’t create its own, then it must get that light from something else. And the only light source big enough must be the sun, right? When the sun goes down, it gives it’s light to the moon, which reflects it down to the earth.”

“Which just means the sun’s better,” Pharyx teased. Mister Tsuyuki rolled his eyes.

“The moon doesn’t burn people’s eyes out by looking at it,” he snapped back. Xinya frowned again. That was indisputably true, but why would moonlight be so soft if it was the same as sunlight?

“The moon must change the light somehow?” she finally concluded. Mister Tsuyuki’s eyes turned upward in joy, even if the rest of his face was carefully neutral.

“And what would that imply about the nature of moon qi?”

Xinya bit her knuckle, trying to reason through the new question. The moon takes the light of the sun, and reflects its own, soft light back.

“That moon qi is a reflection of other qi?”

“Not quite.” Tsuyuki opened his hand, and a silver light appeared. It twisted before taking on a form like a tiny butterfly which then fluttered over and landed on Xinya’s nose. To her surprise, it had substance, like a real insect with six tiny feet was really there.

It was so real…yet, how could it be? Moonlight is just a reflection…

“Is it because moon qi is reflective? You can create reflections of other things?”

“That’s one of the facets of moonlight, yes,” he praised. “Many moon artists are illusionists, playing with perception and creating phantasmal reflections of reality.”

“But, that’s not the path you use,” she prompted, knowing that he was always eager to point out that he wasn’t like other artists, even if he never fully explained why.

“Correct.”

“So, what do you do?”

“I take that a step further,” he answered with a cocky smile. “An illusionist may make a pale copy of the world they see, but me? I make that world real. I warp reality until it fits my needs.” A glimmer of something Xinya didn’t recognize flashed in his eyes as he stared at the fire. It sent a shiver of excitement down her spine as he continued. “Reality is what we make of it. It is my power to dictate what is and what is not and create the reality I choose.”