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[IC] Exalted: One Hundred Kingdoms, One Hundred Woes (Chapter 4)
Super Namicchi
Orange County, CARegistered User regular
Orange County, CARegistered User regular
Critical Failures presents:
One Hundred Kingdoms,
One Hundred Woes
--
One Hundred Kingdoms,
One Hundred Woes
--
The Kingdom of Helz
The historian Diao Xiu Pa wrote:The Kingdom Helz lies in between the kingdoms of Atwen and Calist, in the western heartland of the One Hundred Kingdoms. It is composed of many minor farming and fishing villages and one city, its capital: Fort White. Its smallish military is based around an old Seventh Legion regiment, and as such its soldiers are often sought for aid in the many squabbles that take place in the One Hundred Kingdoms, conflicts too large to be settled with words and too small to be considered wars.
The people are tough, having been descended from Seventh Legion soldiering families, and its architecture is very egalitarian and war-minded. Despite this, they still trade a variety of goods, and Helzian silk is often praised as being quite stunning. This is because Helzian silkfarmers water their silkworms with human blood their soldiers bring back from their campaigns around the One Hundred Kingdoms.
--
It's a rather calm day in Fort White. The camera pans over the city, and the sun shines on the white-washed stone walls of the city's keep. Guards patrol the gates, and in the various sections of the city people go about their business. It looks like a miniature version of Lookshy.
Follow the camera as it drifts lazily downward into the crowd. See the people, see them engaging in their business: selling fruits, selling pottery, jewelry, all sorts of finery, and especially that prized Helzian silk. See how it is dyed in an array of colors, putting the rainbow to shame.
We follow the camera as it rises up again. It quickly pans to the road leading from the west gate. Trade caravans are coming in and going out, and we are lead out of the gates and down the road. The camera stops and focuses on a man in simple traveler's clothes. He uses the haft of his spear as a walking stick, and appears unremarkable. No one knows that this is the famed 'Spear God' Li, tales of his exploits journeying far and wide over the One Hundred Kingdoms by word of mouth. He has come to Helz as he comes to all places: searching for an obstacle to master. He seeks to add to the already-great list of his heroism.
The camera cuts to inside a tea-house in Fort White. A man dressed in the colors of the sea, stormy grays and dark blues, sits and watches the street from his seat by the window. Unlike the Spear God, no great deeds have preceded him; in fact, the only thing that his name would bring out here, if anything, would be shame and disgrace for abandoning House Iselsi. Iselsi Ajoris ponders this as he takes small drinks from the teacup.
The camera once again cuts to another figure, a form drifting through the crowded streets of Fort White. This one is shrouded in black, her cloak shading her from the sun. She is the Maiden Who Laments, and she has come to Helz to meet with a scholar. Supposedly, somewhere in the One Hundred Kingdoms, there is a hidden Manse that holds an important clue, a clue that could take her one step closer toward redemption and forgiveness.
We still have more to see, and we cut to yet another figure, a girl with gleaming silvery tattoos. She's sitting against the wall of a building in Fort White, watching the crowd go by. She is lost in thought, completely absorbed by the tugging feeling ingrained into her being. She can feel it, her bondmate is here.
A finally, we cut to an unremarkable girl in one of the few libraries in Fort White. She's studying books, poring over tomes, checking and double-checking, referencing and cross-referencing. She's lost in thought, the gears of her mind turning, ever turning, considering the possibilities and implications of her latest assignment. Outwardly, she is a simple scholar all-too-absorbed in the written word; inwardly, she is Viridian Phoenix, Jupiter's chosen, contemplating her latest assignment passed down through The Most Excellent Designers of Destiny and Sidereal Conjunctions. The Loom is clouded, and the fate of Helz is uncertain. What could this mean?
Follow the camera as it drifts lazily downward into the crowd. See the people, see them engaging in their business: selling fruits, selling pottery, jewelry, all sorts of finery, and especially that prized Helzian silk. See how it is dyed in an array of colors, putting the rainbow to shame.
We follow the camera as it rises up again. It quickly pans to the road leading from the west gate. Trade caravans are coming in and going out, and we are lead out of the gates and down the road. The camera stops and focuses on a man in simple traveler's clothes. He uses the haft of his spear as a walking stick, and appears unremarkable. No one knows that this is the famed 'Spear God' Li, tales of his exploits journeying far and wide over the One Hundred Kingdoms by word of mouth. He has come to Helz as he comes to all places: searching for an obstacle to master. He seeks to add to the already-great list of his heroism.
The camera cuts to inside a tea-house in Fort White. A man dressed in the colors of the sea, stormy grays and dark blues, sits and watches the street from his seat by the window. Unlike the Spear God, no great deeds have preceded him; in fact, the only thing that his name would bring out here, if anything, would be shame and disgrace for abandoning House Iselsi. Iselsi Ajoris ponders this as he takes small drinks from the teacup.
The camera once again cuts to another figure, a form drifting through the crowded streets of Fort White. This one is shrouded in black, her cloak shading her from the sun. She is the Maiden Who Laments, and she has come to Helz to meet with a scholar. Supposedly, somewhere in the One Hundred Kingdoms, there is a hidden Manse that holds an important clue, a clue that could take her one step closer toward redemption and forgiveness.
We still have more to see, and we cut to yet another figure, a girl with gleaming silvery tattoos. She's sitting against the wall of a building in Fort White, watching the crowd go by. She is lost in thought, completely absorbed by the tugging feeling ingrained into her being. She can feel it, her bondmate is here.
A finally, we cut to an unremarkable girl in one of the few libraries in Fort White. She's studying books, poring over tomes, checking and double-checking, referencing and cross-referencing. She's lost in thought, the gears of her mind turning, ever turning, considering the possibilities and implications of her latest assignment. Outwardly, she is a simple scholar all-too-absorbed in the written word; inwardly, she is Viridian Phoenix, Jupiter's chosen, contemplating her latest assignment passed down through The Most Excellent Designers of Destiny and Sidereal Conjunctions. The Loom is clouded, and the fate of Helz is uncertain. What could this mean?
This is a chronicle of these five.
Super Namicchi on
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He walks out of the tea house into the street, thinking of what might have been. He shakes off his thoughts of regret and begins walking towards the city wall, intending to leave the city and hone his fighting skills in the forest.
The book was followed by a eight-foot long piece of wood that struck the table as well, the dull clang of metal concealed by a burlap sack that was wrapped around one end. She raised an eyebrow and looked up at the large man who had taken a place next to her... in spite of all the perfectly good and empty tables throughout the library.
He saw her glance at the weapon.
"I'm a traveling wushu performer," he said rythmically, and immediately opened the large book. Boorishly, he talked to himself loudly as he flipped through the pages, looking only at the pictures and not reading any of the text.
"Too skinny... too small... too benign... aha!"
The man sat down and scooted up next to Phoenix, enthusiastically pointing at the page. It was a woodcut of a fearsome, demonic head with several half-eaten bodies beneath it.
"Look at this one... the Tao Tie... eats people but does not swallow them... but I mean how could it eat them, it's just a head! No stomach! Typical scholars: always overlooking the obvious. It probably just likes eating things, even though it doesn't have to. Demons, eh? Bastards, the lot of them. Seems it likes to terrorize villages from time to time... well, I suppose that's perfect."
He elbowed Phoenix with one of his thick arms enthusiastically, winking.
"Hate to see whatever this thing would be afraid of, yes? Haha!"
He slammed the book shut. And the man just kept talking.
"You look like you need a drink. Loosen you up a little bit, it's no good being locked up with books all day. I'm a bit short on coin, but it'll be a good investment for you... there's bound to be a Lei Tai mat here, and if you bet on me you'll be a rich woman in a matter of hours. I never lose. My name's Li, by the way. How about that drink?"
Still, guiding ones such as these meant the Five-Score Fellowship would have less work to do as they tore through the Loom of Fate. Duty first.
Phoenix spoke quietly, her voice practically inaudible after the booming voice of Li. "In truth, Master Li, I spent the last of my coin to gain access to the rarer scripts of this library. You see here? A first-edition copy of The Seventh Return of the Onyx Nightingale!"
She gathers her own books, placing them reverently in her scholar's satchel, clutching another one to her chest as she stands up. "However, even without jade, one can always find a place to drink and rest. Perhaps a few coins won in one of those Lei Tai matches could be turned into more at a gambling house, if you are in need of coin?"
Turning to leave, she suddenly stops in her tracks, blushing slightly. "Oh, I apologize! I must seem so boorish! My name is Kaila, Master Li."
Li continued to talk, unsubtly attempting to herd Phoenix out of the library with him.
Maybe, more than anything else, people stood away from her because her blade was still stained with the blood of the last scholar she'd dealt with.
...
Fortunately, Fort White was not terribly large. There were no bookstores. There was only a single library. Even so, hadn't the traveller who'd given her this direction been very deliberate, very specific? Perhaps he wasn't such an ordinary man. The Maiden Who Laments turned from the street toward the library. On this day and at noon, she'd find the next step on the staircase to freedom. She was sure it was the right day, remarkably and uncomfortably sure it was very near noon.
She pulled the front door open and stepped inside, scanning the room for her scholar but woefully being distracted by a pair of patrons dominated by a very loud, very boisterous man.
And then stopped in her tracks for a bare second, blanching as she saw The Maiden Who Laments, her blood-stained Daiklave, black dress, and deathly-pale skin. Only one conclusion could be drawn.
A Deathknight? Here? Holy Maidens... Something's already gone wrong. I should have known, we're weeks away from the nearest Shadowland.
She moved behind Li, pretending one of the titles on the shelf had caught her interest.
Li stopped as he saw the grim figure in the doorway. Naturally, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind:
"Heaven and Earth, girl! What happened to you?"
"I knew my curiosity would get me in trouble one of these days," He muttered as he strode quickly towards the same building. Entering quickly he had to stop and sidestep as the women had halted almost in the doorway. Muttering an apology, Ajoris scanned the library interior, noting the warrior and the scholar conversing nearby. Seeing the warrior's spear caused Ajoris to frown slightly. One person carrying an oversized weapon in a market square could be dismissed as a particularly strong mortal. Two warriors carrying large weapons meeting in a library, no less, was considerably less probable .
If both of them are mortal, I'll eat my shoes. His eyes glancing around, Ajoris walked down to the nearest bench and sat, trying to appear as if he entered the building simply to rest his feet for a moment.
With only just enough pause for the pause to be a pause, she added, "I do not believe you are the one I seek." She raised her hand and itched her forehead with her thumb, then dropped it back to her side. "Excuse me," she said, more or less tried to make her way past him.
A smile crossed the warrior's face. He approached the pallid lady, hoping that his earlier acquaintance might not overhear.
"The woman over there is my Mistress Kaila, an expert on books and a great many matters of intellect. My name is Li, and I have recently become her bodyguard. If you seek a scholar, I am confident that my mistress may be of some help. Her consultation fee is a very small matter... next to nothing compared to the knowledge that she can offer. I suppose I could... introduce you."
Li's palm was extended, unabashedly beckoning currency.
This whole assignment was a setup, she thought bitterly.
Phoenix took a deep breath, calming herself. The Maidens were with her, and if she chose to disappear, even the Deathknight wouldn't be able to find her.
Still, she unconsciously moved closer to Li as she browsed the shelves. Her briefing had told her of the Solar's prowess, and it was likely that he would protect her long enough for her to escape, if needed.
Amid the hustle and bustle of the city, a young man slowed and stopped. He stared at a figure wrapped in a simple robe, clutching at their heart. Aside from the eye-catching tattoos on the hand he couldn’t see any features of the person; hidden in the robe as they were.
“Why? After all these years, why is Fate so cruel as to inflict this on me?”
Walking up to the person, the man asked, “Excuse me, are you okay?” The figure didn’t respond; remaining in the same position still clutching it’s heart. “Are you okay?” he asked again, poking the body to see if the person was still alive.
Kiko’s hand lashed out, grabbing the man’s wrist and cruelly twisting it. The man’s groans of pain quickly turned into a cry of terror as the Kiko’s hood fell back revealing her face. Eight eyes stared at the man for a second before he was pushed away. Crawling to his feet, he was about to cry out again when he got a good look at her face. She had the normal two eyes, it just happened to be that she had what must be birth marks that appeared to be eyes.
“My apologies sir,” Kiko said as she bowed. “I was lost in thought when you disturbed me. I’ve been accosted before and have learned to defend myself. I hope I did not hurt you too badly.”
“N-n-n-n-no; I’m fine. Sorry to have bothered you miss.” He continued to stare at her face, entranced by the birth marks and tattoos that covered it. Noticing the attention she flipped her hood back up; obscuring them once more. With that she turned and left, lost amid the crowd.
Kiko began heading towards the tugging in her heart. At times she felt tantalizingly close; just a corner away. But then she’d find herself coming to a dead end, and by the time she found a way around the buildings she’d be several minutes behind again. But soon it seemed to slow. Then stop. Any second now she’d be face to face.
With her friend and her enemy.
The love of her life and the person she hated with a burning passion.
Her Solar.
As she approached a library she’d visited before, a sense of dread began to wash over her. She quickly looked around the area, trying to see if there was danger nearby she unconsciously picked up on. After a moment she stopped looking, putting it down to nerves due to meeting her Solar.
The way into the building was blocked. A woman with a blood drenched daiklaive stood there talking with someone inside. Eyes narrowing in anger, Kiko knew what the woman was; a Deathknight.
“Here to kill my Solar are we?!”
Kiko drew in her will as she approached the figure; ready to transform into her war form when the moment to strike came. As each step brought her closer, her terror mounted and something in the back of her head was screaming at her. It wasn’t until she was right behind the woman that she realized what was wrong.
The tugging had stopped.
This, was her Solar.
A tiny wail of despair escaped Kiko’s lips as she realized this; paralyzed with shock at the revelation.
Li turned and bumped into Phoenix "accidentally", and whispered to her... but still loudly.
"Sorry, didn't see you there. You really shouldn't sneak up on people like that! Not that I blame you, women tell me that it's hard to stay away from me, so don't be embarrassed."
Phoenix suppressed a blush, but Li was astonishingly casual about his brash statements.
"I always thought libraries were incredibly boring... perhaps I was wrong. If there always this interesting, you're quite the thrill seeker! Obviously, I underestimated you Mistress Kaila. Oh, I'm your bodyguard now, if anyone asks. Just roll with it, everything will be fine. Stay close to me... I don't have to tell you that, but it's probably a good idea. You can hold my hand if you like. So long as I'm by your side, no evil shall befall you."
So, she turned to face -- whoever -- and discovered that whoever this was was closer than the Maiden had imagined or expected. She stared at the woman (The Maiden who Laments was not particularly tall and as such she did not stare down at the woman), but didn't say anything. She didn't much expect there were any Exalted beside herself in this place -- let alone one of the Solar Exalted!
Clearly, the woman was mad. The Maiden's fingers tapped at the Blade's hilt.
"What are you shouting about?"
Running her fingers along the books of a shelf, the scholar selected three titles before moving back to one of the tables. Might as well get something productive done until the screaming starts. No chance to escape with this lout shadowing me.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa don't turn that page yet! I'm still at the part where she's drawing the bath for her courtesan... I don't want to miss any of the good part."
Phoenix immediately closed the book in embarrassment. The fellow had no sense of decorum.
"Are there a lot of these books at the library? I can see why you must spend so much time here now! Interesting people, dirty stories..."
"They are not dirty stories, Master Li," she insisted.
"Oh, come on, that part where she's making sure the water is not too hot, so that his skin will feel as if embraced by a lover? I mean, you know where that's going! Next thing, she'll throw in some flower petals or something, and offer to wash his hair, and then she'll lightly touch--"
"Master Li!"
"Okay, fine, I'll just stand guard if you don't want to talk. I should write a book instead, and then you can read it, haha! Seriously though, I could write a good book... much more believable than that stuff, nobody talks like that in real life."
Phoenix sighed loudly, and Li went back to keeping his eye on the 'scary women' situation in the doorway.
And of course when people see strange things, they do two things: 1) gawk and 2) call the guards.
Soldiers in the silver breastplates and white silk tunics of the Helzian militia had assembled, wary and suspicious. "Oy, what's going on here, folks?" queried a broad-shouldered guardsman with a five o'clock shadow.
The words that then spilled from her lips surprised her. "I beg your forgiveness. My name is Kiko Iwa. I humbly request that we retire somewhere. We have much to discuss, and I do not believe that out among the crowds is the best place for it."
Turning to the guardsman, Kiko bowed to him. "Everything is fine sir. My friend here has changed quite a bit since we last were together, and I was quite shocked. Thank you for your diligent work, but all is well."
He stopped and bowed slightly in respect. Standing straight he says, "It looks like you were right after all, Li. We have met again; I trust we won't have to fight this time. This really is a lovely library."
"I must say that I'm gaining a new respect for libraries," he continued, as Phoenix rolled her eyes, "and in fact, at the moment I am in the business of preventing fights, for I have very recently become the bodyguard of the lovely Mistress Kaila.
Li motioned to her while winking at Deep Torrent.
"Oh, how rude of me. Mistress Kaila, allow me to introduce Ajoris, an honorable man and a Master of the combative arts in his own right. His last performance was quite memorable... and I'm sure he has had many since. Perhaps we will all have a drink later!"
"Leave us," she said, with the force she felt had been lacking from Kiko's explanation.
"Please, restrain yourselves! If you seek a scholar, m'lady, allow me to offer you my humble services. However, this is no place for loud discussions. Perhaps we should retreat to a nearby inn?" She quickly winked at Li before continuing. "My bodyguard, of course, would accompany me."
Stepping forwards, Phoenix attempted to move by The Maiden Who Laments, quivering nervously. Where does the Deathknight fit in?
"Perhaps," replied the terrestrial, a smile crossing his face.
"Very good, very good... let's get over there before Kaila dies of fright."
Li raised his voice to its normal booming tone as he called out to her while walking over.
"Of course Mistress, your humble servant shall escort you wherever you are needed! I have heard there is an Inn not far from here with a very melodious Erhu player."
The presumed-captain turned to the crowd. "All right, break it up. Show's over."
The crowd dispersed, and once again the thoroughfare in front of the library was mostly empty.
Phoenix groaned inwardly and smiled outwardly. The Maiden nodded. If this scholar was as good as the last one, she'd have no problem running her and her bodyguard through. The Maiden looked back over her shoulder at Kiko, and simply nodded again. "Yes. The inn."
Iselsi Ajoris was all rather nonplussed, though he was looking forward to conversing with Li. It had been far too long since they had met that fateful day on the bridge, and he was sure Li had honed his wushu, just as he had honed his, and was looking forward to sharing techniques.
The scene fades to black as Li leads the group down the thoroughfare, toward a resthouse to further discuss matters of importance.
"But I thought that there were subtle differences in how each philosophy approached their qigong - "
"That's all just fancy-talk for 'we're ripping off the other guys'. Look, if you ever see someone talk about how their East or West White Crane is the best, just remember that like any White Crane stance, the right counter is always Waves Batter the Rocks."
Ajoris absorbed this.
Meanwhile, Phoenix had sat down with Kiko and the Maiden at the other table. She plastered on a false smile. "So, what kind of scholarly services would you be requiring?"
As they talked, a knock came from the door. "A proper bodyguard screens guests," called Phoenix. Li grunted, a little annoyed at having to cease discussion of what was undoubtedly the most important topic of all, and answered the door.
A woman in red jade armor and unruly fire-orange hair (it looked like a lick of flame, he remembered) stood there, and the two's expressions were mirrored in shock.
There was a fleshy smack and Li stood back, rubbing his now-red cheek. The woman looked at Ajoris, and spat at his feet. "If I had known you trucked with thugs Ajoris, I wouldn't have come all this way."
She stormed back down the hallway, her plate-booted footsteps echoing in the shocked silence.
Ajoris stands and walks towards the door, stopping just inside the room he turns, "I suppose I'd better go talk to her. If she stays mad, she's liable to attempt a solo 'Wyld Hunt' just to work out frustrations." Ajoris smiles slightly but his eyes flinch as he realizes the joke has a very different meaning then it used to.
He felt it was best not elaborate upon how often he'd "bumped into" Deep Torrent's sister. His sister... heaven and earth, he had the worst luck sometimes. He'd have to take it easy on drink this night... there was no sense getting both of them mad at him. Perhaps he could get back onto her good side again.
Ha! he thought to himself, suppressing a smile at the joke in his head, Good side. Oh, she's got more than one good side. That week flew by, but I'd call it memorable. Well, except for the last part. Still... that was one hell of a week.
"Old friends!" he said cheerfully to Viridian Phoenix, the red hand-print on his face slowly fading.
"Tiran, wait!"
She stopped and turned. Ajoris recognized the retinue; Tiran, like any self-respecting Dynast, had brought her servants and slaves, as well as her bodyguards. Some of whom who were old friends and gave him a puzzled look. "Long story," the water-aspect said, before addressing his sister again. "What's got you so riled up? Aside from the usual, that is."
Tiran's brow furrowed and her expression curdled. "I'll tell you what's wrong. This is the last time I ever do you a favor, seeing what kind of company you keep! You leave, abandon your responsibilities to become sort of ridiculous folk hero, nothing more than a glorified bum, and yet I say nothing, not a damn word, I saved your skin, and I find out that you're friends with that... that... beast!"
She turned away and was about to get in the rickshaw. Ajoris stopped her, his palm on her shoulder. "Look, listen, I don't know what your problem is, whatever he said I'm sure it was a long time ago and I'm sure he's sorry - "
She rounded on him, the color of her face almost matching the color of her armor. "What he said? Oh, he sure said a whole hell of a lot! I have a book's worth!"
"Alright, I'm sorry for whatever he said or did, and I'm glad to see you and thank you for coming all this way and why don't you just stop yelling and let's go inside and discuss why you're here over some tea."
Tiran clenched and unclenched her fist, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. "Okay, fine. But I'm going to have a private chat with that hooligan Li, and don't you dare say no, I have a few things to say if you want to know why I came out to this... this... place! Got it?"
Ajoris then lead her into the building and chose a table back in a corner, so that they might not be overheard as easily. After ordering tea, he takes a sip. "And so, what has prompted you to travel to this charming, quant town ... in the middle of nowhere."
"Well, I came out here to warn you and give you as much help as I can. They're looking for you. I tried to stop them, but they wouldn't listen to me. They... they think you've been working with..." and she swallowed hard at this, "anathema. I know it's not true, but they're out here, and that's their cover reason. But they're after you, they think you're too dangerous, I don't know what they're thinking..."
She sighed, and picked up the teacup, taking a small sip.
He finishes his tea and stands up, "If you wish to have your chat with Li, now would be the time, I think ... Also, who exactly is chasing me, if you know. That knowledge could be very helpful in evading pursuit."
"They wanted me to help them track you down, because they figured if I showed up with them, you wouldn't resist, and they'd have an easy time of cutting your throat."
She looked back up, her charcoal eyes meeting the cool blue of her brother's. "I couldn't abide by that. The idea of killing you was bad enough, but doing it in such a cowardly way... well, I told them what I thought of their 'plan'. They didn't like what they heard, so... they decommissioned me. Or they tried to. I resigned before it was put into the records, ha ha."
Her smile was strained. Ajoris had been away awhile, but he knew that to his sister, the Realm and the Empress was more than just a country and a figurehead - to Tiran it was a mandate, and when she was offered her officer's commission, whether she would accept had been no question, and she had served long after it had expired. She was a decorated Dragonlord for heaven's sakes.
"So, I think they're probably going to add me to their list. I figured... well, I don't know what I figured, to be honest. I'm sorry, I'll go speak with Li."
She finished her tea and gave Ajoris a respectful bow before heading upstairs, leaving Ajoris alone with cold tea and equally cold thoughts. No wonder the retinue had seemed smaller than he remembered. He had inadvertently dragged his sister into his hermitage.
He bows deeply to her and speaks, "Tiran. I ... I've been a fool. I thought only of myself and my problems when I left and I've dragged you into disgrace with me. And for that, I am truly and deeply sorry. If you wish to travel with me when I leave you are more then welcome. I..." He trails off, unsure of what to say. of what he can say.
Her eyes moved often between the scholar and the tattooed woman, and she was generally very quiet. She spoke in short sentences, and only when she was spoken to, generally.
"What kind of scholarly services would you be requiring," the Kaila woman had asked, and the Maiden was not certain she wanted to give an honest answer with all of these people around. This was not how these meetings usually went, but she'd learned to go with the flow. Still --
She had to ask her own question first. "Did you know I would be coming today?"
Phoenix winced for a moment, and then quickly smiled, hoping that the Deathknight wouldn't notice.
"M'lady, I am a travelling scholar, and in truth I only came to this city because I heard they were in possession of several rare texts. I certainly had no idea I would fall into such illustrious company! Two members of the Great Houses themselves! Carriers of the Blood of the Dragons!"
She smiled a bit nervously, checking herself. "And while I'm not sure where you hail from, your manner of garb certainly sets you apart from the citizens of the Hundred Kingdoms. Any traveller such as yourself is worthy of respect, if only for the knowledge they have gained as they cross Creation."
And then Viridian Phoenix ducked her head, blushing profusely. "But I ramble on! To answer your question quickly and clearly, I did not expect your arrival in the least."
Watching the Maiden intently for signs of aggression, or indeed any sign at all, Phoenix swallowed nervously, feeling beads of sweat beginning to form on her forehead.
Maiden of Journeys, let me start mine on the right foot. Maiden of Serenity, help me be at peace. Maiden of Battles, give me strength should I need it. Maiden of Secrets, let me keep mine safe. Maiden of Endings, grant me easy passage should I fail.
Li guided Ajoris near the table, and slapped him on the back to make him stand up straight. With a bow, he went through and closed the door behind him, bracing himself for the tirade. He heard nothing, and descended the stairs to see Tiran sitting at a table, legs crossed, arms folded, a black glower on her face.
"Could you just yell at me instead?" he asked, exasperated, "Look, I know I'm a fool, just... Tiran..."
The Spear God sat down, his jovial countenance shifting to one of sincerity. He tried his best to apologize.
"I know I made you lose face in front of... well, a lot of people. And you... of any woman I've ever known, you are the one who has the purest, the strongest fighting spirit. But the servants, the henchmen, the official titles... I respect that you've earned all of that... maybe it seems like I don't, and that I have slighted you for it... but it's not for me, Tiran. If that has shamed you at all then know that you need not feel any on my account. I mean, just look at me! I've got bad manners, I can't keep my mouth shut, and I'm a fool for a woman who knows how to handle a weapon..."
Li downed a cup of tea.
"...and you still look really good in that armor."
She seemed to be appraising him.
Li coughed, and cleared his throat, "Well, I - "
As if on cue, Ajoris called downstairs. "Li, you'd better get up here, I don't think negotiations are going too well!"
Li shrugged and look at Tiran. "I'll explain later. I'm a bodyguard, have to go guard the bodies! Ha ha!"
"Yes, you'll explain later..." said Tiran, following Li back upstairs.