The Winter Sage flew in at blinding speed, using nothing more than the control over aura given to her by her Archlord-level soulfire. She was not a wind artist, so it was a masterful display of control as she swooped in and lightly landed on the deck.
Her skin was tanned, her hair long and white, though she had the appearance of a young woman. A sword identical to Yerin's rested at her hip; it was the sister to the weapon she had gifted Yerin's master, long ago. Two swords, crafted by the Sage herself.
She landed, and Naru Saeya bowed immediately, but Min Shuei's focus fixed on Yerin. Her eyes burned with fury, and her lips quivered, but she said only, "Yerin."
Yerin nodded her head. "Winter Sage."
The Sage's face transformed into a mask of grief, and she sounded as though she were about to cry. "Why didn't you come back home?"
Yerin's stomach tightened, and she was forcibly reminded why she had never gotten along with the Sage. "I stayed with your sect for a whisker more than half a year. That's a long jump away from a home."
"You could have at least told me what happened yourself. "
"I'd bet my soul against a rat's tail that you knew as soon as I did," Yerin said. "Didn't get up from your chair to avenge him, did you?"
The Sage staggered as though Yerin had struck her in the heart with an arrow. Yerin's master had always argued that Sages should go out and use their powers for the good of as many people as possible, but it would take an act of the heavens to dislodge the Sage of the Frozen Blade from her sect.
"If you knew..." The Sage’s voice shook. "If I traveled there to avenge him, I would be as vulnerable as he was. Vengeance is a poor reason to allow myself to be killed by ignorant barbarians. And what good would it do? Would slaughtering Jades and Irons bring him back?"
A sudden surge of guilt caught Yerin off-guard. She shouldn't have used vengeance to provoke the Sage. Not only was it not fair, but it wasn't as though Yerin had gone out of her way to get revenge. She could have returned to Sacred Valley and carved through the Heaven's Glory school at any time, but she knew herself that it would accomplish nothing.
But something the Sage said caught her interest. Was it Sacred Valley itself that had opened the Sword Sage to the attacks of mere Jades? Yerin had always assumed it was the poison. But if there was something about the place...
Seeing that Yerin had not responded, the Winter Sage drew in a sharp breath, looking to Eithan and Saeya. "I'm here to bring you back, but the introduction has already begun. If you don't want to be disqualified, we should hurry."
Yerin shook herself as Naru Saeya thanked the sage for her assistance. The Winter Sage's appearance had knocked Yerin off balance, but this wasn't time to get lost in her own head. She had fights to win.
Wind aura, guided by the Sage, swept up both Eithan and Saeya. The Naru clanswoman spread her wings and reveled in the sensation, while Eithan stood, smiling gently as though he stood on solid ground.
Yerin bowed at the waist. "Apologies," she said to the Sage. She sounded too much like Lindon for her taste, but she pushed on. "I pushed too hard. Please bring me along so that I can bring honor to my master's memory."
A single tear ran down the woman's tan cheek. She whispered, "I hope you can."
I hope so too, Yerin thought.
~~~
Information requested: Luminous Queen Sha Miara, Monarch of the Ninecloud Court
Beginning report…
Path: Celestial Radiance. Uses royal madra to disrupt, control, and manipulate the madra of others. Has no effect on vital aura, and therefore no Ruler techniques, so a Celestial Radiance artist’s ability to influence the physical world is largely limited to their ability with soulfire.
Royal madra, the rainbow-colored signature of the Ninecloud Court, is in fact a spiritual mutation of pure madra that occurred long ago in the Sha bloodline. From childhood, they can control the spirits of others, and over the centuries they have refined this power into a set of techniques and polished these techniques to perfection. Using their innately powerful madra, they solidified control over their nation and their continent, naming both after their sigiclass="underline" a nine-colored cloud.
One of their most closely guarded techniques is known as Heaven’s Wish. Once only, a practitioner can pass on their spirit to another. Far more thorough than the adoption of a Remnant, this technique allows for the near-total transfer of power and skill to an heir, though some knowledge is still lost.
Miara’s mother, Sha Leiala, ruled over the Ninecloud people for two hundred years. Only three years prior to the eighteenth Uncrowned King tournament, she did battle with a host of powerful plague-spirits born beneath a disaster area in her country. Though she was victorious, her lifeline was damaged, and she was forced to pass on her inheritance years earlier than she planned.
Thus did Sha Miara, a girl of only twelve, inherit a Monarch’s power.
The queen’s death was a secret known only to a few, but still that secret leaked to rebellious elements within the Ninecloud Court. They sent a fleet of cloudships to the capital city, intending a coup. When they were struck down by the full might of a Monarch, they determined that Leiala’s death had been nothing more than a false rumor.
The Sha family encouraged that belief, and the illusion of Sha Leiala still makes regular appearances all over the nation. As far as the citizens know, their queen is healthy and strong.
By royal decree, Sha Miara’s name and her true identity as the Luminous Queen are known only to the Sha family, their direct servants, and the other Monarchs. She remains isolated in her palace, surrounded by the same faces every day.
But she is still only fifteen years old, and isolation is boring.
Suggested topic: The destiny of Sha Miara. Continue?
Denied, report complete.
~~~
Lindon's room in the Ninecloud Court gave him the taste of a Monarch’s hospitality. Trays of fruits lined the walls, complex constructs attended to his every need, and the bed hypnotically lulled him to sleep. A flock of birds lived in the rafters, filling his day with their sweet song. There was even a bubbling spring in the center of the room.
He hated it.
For two weeks, he’d been unable to leave. All of his questions about the Blackflame team were answered with “They have not yet arrived.” His room was connected to Mercy's and Pride's, but they knew no more than he did.
When the day of the tournament arrived, a team of servants spent an hour adjusting Lindon's Akura uniform, making sure that the script on the hem glowed bright violet, brushing the black cloth, straightening the high collar. He had never worn clothes so fine in his life.
Only once he and Pride and Mercy were all prepared did the floating constructs of the Ninecloud Court—which looked something like glistening red crabs floating around on rainbow clouds—instruct them to gather behind the door in Mercy's room. They would be picked up shortly.
When the door finally slid open, revealing Charity standing there in sacred arts robes not unlike their own, Lindon spoke first.
“Pardon, but has there been any news of the Blackflame team?”
He had expected to be cut off, or for Charity to brush his concern away. Instead, she let a look of sympathy cross her face.
“I'm sorry,” she said, and his heart froze. “We've heard nothing. They have not yet crossed the border into Ninecloud. The Queen has not yet arrived, so we cannot petition her to find them, but the gold dragons have not claimed responsibility. We must assume that they have been delayed and will not arrive on time.”
Delayed, Lindon thought numbly.
[Delayed isn't bad!] Dross encouraged him. [Delayed could mean anything. Maybe they're lost!]
“Please,” he begged the Sage. “You brought me here. Can’t you find them?”
Charity sighed. “I have limits to my skill and my power. When I set up the gates to the Night Wheel Valley for your Empire, I had my grandmother’s assistance. A Monarch could find them and bring them here easily, and perhaps another Sage. As for me…I have owls out searching. I am sorry.”