Amdirlain’s PoV - Wudang Mountain
Master Cyrus showed up just after dawn dressed in identical robes to those he wore the night before, but Amdirlain could hear the repairs in their fabric. As Sarah let him into the room, Jinfeng hurriedly returned her cup to the table and stood. His gaze lingered with amusement on the tea set arrayed before a seated Amdirlain refreshing Sarah’s cup.
I kept my awareness away from their conversation, but did it become an exchange? Why else would he need repairs to his robes? He’s amused by the tea set, which is fair given all the times I pointed out I didn’t need to drink.
Sarah closed the door after he stepped inside, a playful gleam in her gaze. “I heard you lured Amdirlain from bed last night.”
“A teacher needs to be ready whenever a student appears,” Cyrus replied.
“Good morning, Sifu. You’re a bit late for breakfast, but would you care for some tea?” asked Amdirlain.
“Thank you, I would.”
Jinfeng bowed. “Master Cyrus, it’s an honour to see you again. I wondered if the Jade Emperor’s officials might keep you for years.”
Cyrus decorously returned the bow before he motioned for her to relax. “Master Jinfeng, I’m glad to see you keeping so well. Lady Am advised me she hasn’t dragged you into more trouble.”
Her composure remained intact despite her bubbling amusement. “Though Klipyl has been trying, she hasn’t been as successful as someone else.”
“I wasn’t the one dragging you into trouble at Silver Lake. That was Indra Ka and Dor Ji.”
“And you had no part to play in the events?” enquired Cyrus.
“It was their choice to bully and manipulate. I gave them a gentle reprimand in return.” Amdirlain set out a fresh cup. “The others have already run off, so I hope you don’t mind repeating your news.”
“That’s fine. Where have they gone?”
“They’re still in the palace, but Kadaklan is in the library, and Klipyl is sparring with some of the jade maidens.” The teapot floated along, filling the cup as it drifted to Cyrus. “I’m glad you're back. I’ll need your advice sparring against Xuan Wu.”
Eyeing the floating cup, Cyrus plucked it from the air. “Were you seeking guidance about powers or skills?”
“Powers, the crucial Skill I’ve got to push at present is Metacreativity,” advised Amdirlain. “Sarah’s given me a list of techniques, so it’s only time and practise holding me back.”
Cyrus’s attention turned to Sarah. “Would it be best to apply those techniques in a quiet situation or within combat?”
“It’s just a matter of time rather than needing combat pressure since I can hear the energy flows now,” replied Amdirlain. “Why do you ask?”
“Xuan Wu mentioned some trouble spots in our discussion last night. If you had needed combat situations to advance your skills, cleaning them up using Metacreativity alone might have posed a challenge.”
Jinfeng perked up. “What sort of trouble spots?”
“Ones that range in difficulty beyond what most practitioners should take on,” replied Cyrus. “The Duty Pavilion in the lower palace has all the details.”
“Feeling restless?” Amdirlain eyed Jinfeng curiously.
“You pointed out that I need to progress my Class levels,” explained Jinfeng. “I’ll see if Klipyl wants to come with me. It might help her decide her future goals.”
Okay, I’m glad she’s not content to coast.
“Enjoy, and yell if you need a hand with something besides Klipyl’s innuendos.”
“She is incorrigible but fun.” Jinfeng finished her tea and excused herself.
Once Jifeng had left the room, Amdirlain tilted her head towards the door. “You’re still the same, Sifu, guiding people to new experiences.”
“Let’s plan your training since Jiutian Xuannü intends to teach Sarah as much as possible before you leave.”
“First, tell us about your stay in the Jade Emperor’s court.”
“There isn’t much to tell.” Cyrus took another sip and clasped the cup in both hands. “From your perspective, lots of fancy rooms, long meetings, and a few exchanges with generals while they debated titles to award. Sifu is the only title I wish for, so I declined their offers. I heard much discussion about you, and it was apparent the visit by Bahamut stirred things up.”
“Do you have any information about what he said?” asked Amdirlain.
“The most I could learn was that he spoke to the Jade Emperor alone for several days.”
Sarah snickered. “I’m sure the officials dismissed from the discussion had their noses out of joint. Did he turn up looking like a cross between a beggar and a grumpy Wizard? I bet that was the start of the discontent.”
“Something of the sort, and speaking of causing a stir, I heard from Xuan Wu that you caused one with Jiutian Xuannü.” Cyrus placed his cup down and fixed his attention on Sarah.
“I have lifetimes of Artificer and Wizard knowledge, so she teaches me, and I throw out tidbits.” Sarah gave a Cheshire Cat grin. “She has the total knowledge of the Middle Kingdoms but not that accumulated by other species.”
Amdirlain shook her head. “You teased her, and now she’s drawing out the games of Go so you have longer to talk. Are you going to give her the codex series you wrote?”
“Maybe, but you worry about your training and I’ll continue to tease Jiutian Xuannü. She’s having fun or we wouldn’t be horse trading information and training.”
I won’t mention that my eavesdropping has advanced my arcane and related knowledge skills.
The goddess in question silently watched over arcane students half the palace away, but Amdirlain caught her smile.
She and Xuan Wu can feel my awareness, but they’ve not made it an issue.
? ? ? ? ? ?
During the first days, the pressure of each session mounted steadily. The technique she’d caught the first glimmers of with Bai Hu had evolved on day four under the strain of fighting Xuan Wu. It had come without a special note; Gideon simply pronounced Ki Strike’s evolution into a Power named ‘C Sharp’ matter-of-factly.
After that power evolved, Xuan Wu ramped up his attacks so countering the force of his blows required exacting execution of her new Power. He would end his sessions with observations and send her on to her other studies.
A week after they began he stopped letting her clash directly against all his strikes, hammering blows and kicks into her body too fast for her to counter. Their current session had started brutally from the get-go until a resistance within her finally snapped. Her ragged movements smoothed, and she spun with the latest flurry of blows, her body utilising the imparted energy of each to return magnified strikes and kicks that battered against Xuan Wu’s defences. Though nothing properly slipped through, the power of her blows left his shirt and pants below mid-thigh in tatters; a minute after she’d felt Ki Body’s evolution, he signalled the session’s end.
[C Sharp [G] (174->197)
Ki Body [G] (98->116)
Ki Body [G] (116) evolved into Enduring Flame [G] (11)
Enduring Flame [G] (11) absorbed Free Movement [S] (17)
Enduring Flame [G] (11->12)
Agile [G] (169->175)
Dance [G] (102->110)
Devouring Cacophony [G] (247) evolved into Enfolding Harmony [G] (31)
Enfolding Harmony [G] (31) absorbed Agile [G] (175)
Enfolding Harmony [G] (31->103)
Enfolding Harmony [G] (103) absorbed Dance [G] (110)
Enfolding Harmony [G] (103->143)
Note: You taught Jinfeng to dance through a fight, and now Xuan Wu has refined your combat dancing.]
Xuan Wu saluted her. “Now you have a proper foundation for your Ki Strike technique. I am curious if you can write a manual for it yet.”
“C Sharp takes a unique perspective,” Amdirlain returned his salute. “While I could write it, I’m unsure how many would understand balancing forces on creation’s edge to cut through inertia and resistance.”
The name drew a familiar snort from Xuan Wu. “How much of your life is becoming about music? The only techniques I know of that reference music in their name are from the pleasure daos.”
The name is a double pun since it’s also a programming language I learned at uni.
“Music is a force of creation and evocation.” Amdirlain shrugged. “Even in those lifetimes where I didn’t have ears, so much of my life was about rhythm and movement.”
“Most daos that include such don’t embrace combat as you do.”
“I’ve just got a unique perspective.” Amdirlain motioned to his wrecked shirt. “Would you accept the gift of a new outfit?”
“I have spares,” laughed Xuan Wu.
That’s the expected soft ‘no’ to my gift offer.
“Yet none are like what I’d make you,” declared Amdirlain confidently. “You have already helped me develop two Ki powers far beyond what I expected from this trip, a gift that I’d like to repay. Hopefully, a gift of clothing isn’t something frowned upon.”
“As long as it doesn’t include shoes, it's fine.”
“That’s good to know.”
Amdirlain picked her Prestige Class and felt the energy of her classes shift. Not worrying about checking her Profile she extended her hands and sang aloud. The audible music conveyed a consuming emptiness that turned near its end into a steady conviction. His gaze had initially narrowed at the emotions invoked at the beginning of the melody. His tension quickly turned to understanding as he took in the layers sustaining the cloth’s existence that spanned scores of dimensions in a self-supporting weave. With each note, the golden glow had solidified above her hands and, as the last lingering note faded, the light snuffed out to reveal a cloth bundle that looked like an ordinary black cotton fabric.
[Crafting Summary
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Divine apparel x1
Total Experience gained: 780,000
Songbird: +780,000
Songbird Levelled Up! x27
True Song Genesis-Lord [G] (110->111)
True Song Architecture [G] (57->59)
Note: That’s an interesting tweak to Eleftherios’s clothing.]
She offered the bundle with both hands, respectfully bowing as she did. “It should handle your yin energy, but I’d recommend testing it.”
Xuan Wu matched her bow precisely as he received her gift. His hand darkened, but the fabric merely sipped at the energy and started to drink in the surrounding light, giving it an appearance that matched the starless void beyond the universe’s edge. “I know you created a star, yet I still find this clothing surprising. How did you manage it?”
“I’ve heard the attire that the Titan’s aspects wear, so making you a set that suited your nature only required tweaks to the theme. The cloth isn’t fighting your truth but embracing it. You should find the more your truth comes forth, the sturdier it becomes.”
He trailed a hand across the cloth, smiling in appreciation. “This is very thoughtful of you. Shall we spar again tomorrow?”
“You mean I get to continue exchanging pointers with you?”
“Your teacher has yet to arrive, and our journeys are long,” replied Xuan Wu.
“I’d like that.” Amdirlain exchanged bows with a smile, leaving him to prepare for his following students.
Once back in the suite, she continued the tasks Sarah had provided to push Metacreativity towards Grandmaster rank. Through a Gate, hundreds of thousands of constructs of increasing complexity formed across the barren landscape of a Demi-plane.
Sarah only glanced at the lightless threshold when she returned hours later. “How did the lesson go?”
“I’ve got my Ki Body to evolve,” announced Amdirlain, closing off the Gate. “It’s now called Enduring Flame.”
Sarah’s theme rang briefly with the Analysis melody, aimed at the powers within Amdirlain. “Of the two powers, I prefer C Sharp.”
“That’s because you like that I can punch through a Great Wyrm’s armour now. I joked about the name with Bai Hu, and Gideon ran with it for the Power’s evolution.”
“At least he isn’t back to gaslighting you. Seriously though, look at their details and tell me honestly you prefer Enduring Flame,” huffed Sarah. “They are both good, but Enduring Flame feels there to back up Phoenix’s Symphony while C Sharp stands on its own feet, turning your Willpower into a nightmare for armoured foes. Just look at those numbers.”
“I don’t see the numbers.”
Sarah grumbled. “You need to work on your Analysis, sweetie. Fortunately, letting me inside your Hidden state allows me to get them for you. It more than doubled your Melee Attack Power.”
The two notifications Sarah had received came through their mental link.
[C Sharp
Details: This turns Willpower into a severing blade that can cut through defensive protection, even the fortified hides of dragons, with the same ease as flesh. At the base Grandmaster rank, the strength of Willpower has a triple effect when bypassing defences, which increases as mastery improves.
Current Attack bonus from Power: 47,736]
[Enduring Flame:
Details: Honed by Primordial Fire, your spiritual net can easily carry any energy, providing defensive protection and improved resistance to matching energy. It can hold prepared spells in the same fashion as Ki Infusion, the limit scaling with mastery.
Current Defense Bonus from Power: 29,158]
“Okay, you have a point.”
? ? ? ? ? ?
A gentle rap on the door drew Amdirlain’s attention to the male servant outside their room; with a telekinetic nudge, she opened the door.
Standing on the threshold, the man offered her a deep bow. “Good afternoon, Lady Am. I bring word for you.”
Acknowledging his gesture with a smile and a nod, Amdirlain beckoned him in. “What message do you have for me?”
The servant stepped just inside the door. “Master Sakda Tang has arrived. Please accompany me to greet him with Lord Xuan Wu and Master Cyrus.”
The memory crystals vanished from the table, and Amdirlain immediately stood and stepped towards him. Her hasty response caused the man’s eyes to widen, and he hurriedly backed fully into the corridor.
The servant led her to the room with the highly detailed rendition of the mountain. The trio had a map spread out over a side table, and Amdirlain studied Master Tang while she waited for them to react. His features and dark complexion were Siam in heritage and carried a sense of deep weariness, emphasised by the dull grey that nearly drowned the black in his hair. While his black and silver robes were neat, they carried a lingering scent of pungent cemetery incense.
Shortly after her entry, Xuan Wu and Cyrus stepped back from the table and exchanged polite nods with her but remained silent while Master Tang finished placing notations. When he looked up from the map, Xuan Wu greeted her. “Lady Am, I’m glad you had time to attend.”
The symbols indicate closed Di Yu gates—seventeen additions to the map. Did he close them himself? Chill, it’s someone else’s problem, remember?
Amdirlain raised an eyebrow. “How is that playing fair, Lord Xuan Wu? You told me not to use titles.”
“He doesn’t believe in playing fair,” advised Cyrus.
Xuan Wu chuckled drily and turned to Master Tang. “Master Sakda Tang, let me introduce you to my guest, Lady Am of Dawn. Creator of suns and planets beyond our understanding. In her original life, she was the principal conductor of those who created this realm according to the Titan’s design, and we’re told the Titan respects her accomplishments in this life. Ensure she has all the help you can provide.”
Was he saving that info dump for a special occasion? He hadn’t given me the slightest hint of knowing that information. What did Bahamut say to the Jade Emperor, and how much did he pass to the four winds? It's a future me problem to resolve, but it’s worrying.
“Master Sakda Tang, thank you for responding to my request for help. You didn’t need to rush on my behalf.”
“Call me Sakda, please, Lady Am,” replied Sakda. “Such an esteemed individual as yourself does not need to use my full name.”
“Only if you’ll call me Am.”
Sakda opened his mouth to protest but was cut off when Amdirlain lifted an eyebrow. “If you and Xuan Wu both say to address you without titles, isn’t it right that I can decide I don’t need one? You’ll be teaching me. Perhaps I should address you only as Sifu from now on? That might get confusing, given Master Cyrus is also in the room.”
Cyrus gave her a dry, amused smile.
“Sakda will be fine, Am,” stuttered Sakda, even as he offered her three quick bows.
“Don’t mind me, I can also dispense with a title,” added Cyrus.
“How was your exorcism project? You seem worn,” enquired Amdirlain.
The question seemed familiar to Sakda. His shoulders squared, and he smiled reassuringly. “Villagers left an old graveyard to suffer neglect rather than respect the ancestors of the region’s previous inhabitants. With no living relatives to be found, calming the agitated ghosts was complex.”
“I thought most souls would move on freely to be reincarnated.”
“The souls do, but an outer layer of the person’s essence peels away when they move on to Di Yu. Those that have violent or negative energies within attract others until they are strong enough to form a haunting.”
“How do you deal with them?”
“Typically rituals and blessing the site. However, when I train students in my Ki Blast technique, we normally travel to troublesome sites where they can apply the Power in combat. The Power causes a disruption to the manifestations, which makes the rituals easier, but requires confronting the spirits at night. Is taking on such tasks acceptable?”
Is that residue like the Soul shards demons can consume to stay on the Material Plane?
“Cleaning up violent spirits is fine with me.”
“Many mortals hounded by such manifestations become more prickly and suspicious.”
“Oh?”
Sakda coughed. “I only mentioned it now, as your appearance is unique. Would you be open to donning a disguise to avoid unneeded distractions?”
Amdirlain nodded in understanding. “You don’t want to cause a fuss and make people wary of you. That’s fine with me, but it's not normally my appearance that causes the greatest disruptions. Still, we can devise a suitable disguise when the time comes.”
“Once we establish you’ve got the required control of my technique, we can visit local graveyards reporting disturbances. We’ll put down any entities that have invaded the cemeteries, and then I’ll show the rituals used to calm unsettled ghosts. They are fast-moving, and it takes precision to disrupt them.”
Fast moving according to who?
“Be aware that Am is faster than your usual students,” advised Cyrus.
“Then it is even more important she has control,” noted Sakda, nodding politely to Amdirlain. “If you react quickly and incorrectly, it is worse than doing nothing.”
“I’ll be sure to follow your instructions.”
“First, we need a place to conduct an initial assessment and refinement.” Sadka looked enquiringly at Xuan Wu.
“For that, you can use the eastern ridge’s target range,” Xuan Wu offered. “You might need the extra space.”
Sakda saluted Xuan Wu before he turned to address Amdirlain. “Shall I lead the way, Am?”
“I’d appreciate your guidance.”
He exited into the courtyard and wafted upwards, with Amdirlain readily following. Their destination was beyond the palace's curving path, where a vast rocky slope made up much of Wudang Mountain’s east face; the upright stone blocks scattered across it showed signs of damage and magical repairs.
Sakda landed atop a boulder at the section’s lowest edge, and Amdirlain selected another nearby. He gave her a short time to consider the half-kilometre stretch below the ridgeline, cluttered with so many targets that the furthest required aiming between clusters of dozens of other stones.
“How did you find learning the technique with Master Cyrus?”
Amdirlain smiled bashfully. “Understanding the references from the text was my biggest challenge.”
“Interesting. Incorporating their emotions frustrates many students. Many techniques require a particular mindset, manipulation of chakras, or one’s spiritual net. However, few involve emotions beyond their absence. Most techniques that include emotions are taught by what many consider debauch daos.”
“I found your Ki Blast technique easier than stretching my sigil for Ki Flight.”
Sakda cupped his hands together beneath his sternum. “Cyrus advised me you are not a typical student, Am. You have a fire churning within you, whereas many that seek this technique are the grim sort.”
“I’m sure there are other determined people about the place.”
“I refer to the pain echoing hollowly in your gaze,” corrected Sakda, and he lifted his hands slightly higher. “How do you hold so much pain?”
“Wrong choices. I hoped your technique could help ease some pain from my Soul.”
Sakda squeezed his hands together until his knuckles popped with the force. “Pain is a potent experience. It can make you aware of more, and yet also drown you.”
Amdirlain heard the wisp of pain he drew up roil through his Ki, spurring his instinctive will to live into a brilliant flame. Pain, Ki, and Mana twisted together as he stabbed a finger towards the furthest stone block. A stream of ravens speared through the air, avoiding the lowest targets to punch through a man-sized stone on the ridgeline before spearing towards the clouds beyond.
The pain and other energies weren’t proportionate; the emotion is an air-fuel gel binding the other two and ensuring they act together. I’ve been visualising it differently.
“You’ve exacting control of your emotions and the Power.”
He nodded toward the targets. “Now, if you’d picked one, show me your technique execution. I’ve been told you’ve decent control with your Ki Blast and a lot of raw strength. Once I understand your progress, we’ll proceed until I deem you ready for combat with Changui or something of that ilk.”
“Are Changui undead or demons?”
Amdirlain briefly eased the restriction of her Mana Pool and drew in energy for the exercise.
“Changui is a general term used for the wraith released by a woman dying in childbirth, but also the various demons of misfortune. They are horrid-looking incorporeal entities that drink up joy and leave only misery wherever they go. They are the most common entities found in cemeteries. My technique is especially effective against them,” explained Sakda. “Please begin.”
The basketball-sized Phoenix that Amdirlain projected ripped through thirty stones as it crossed the slope.
I shouldn’t have used the same amount of energy as in the past.
“I’ve had a change in situation since I last used this technique,” Amdirlain admitted ruefully.
“That was fine if you wanted to destroy a horde of demons and drill through a village,” noted Sakda drily.
Amdirlain rubbed her neck. “They might have been hiding inside the buildings.”
“After that, they’d flee through the windows. You’ve certainly got the entwining of Mana, Ki, and pain working. Now, let’s get you some proper control. Start with the closest targets and move outwards.”
She set about devastating the area, and Sakda offered observations and instructions each time she rebuilt the slope. As the day passed, Sakda exchanged messages with the Duty Pavilion about known trouble spots. Though they had sites for him, he continued the training until late afternoon when Amdirlain’s controlled blasts hit according to his orders. “What appearance are you comfortable adopting?”
Amdirlain shifted to an ethnic Zhōngguó girl in her late teens, standing barely a hundred and sixty centimetres if she stayed ramrod straight. She wore her black hair in twin buns and adopted simple black and silver Mandarin robes. “Is this suitable?”
Sakda hummed thoughtfully at the sudden change. “People will believe you a prodigy to warrant my instruction so young.”
“As long as they don’t come looking for a fight.”
He glanced at the late afternoon sky. “That shouldn’t be an issue, but you have my permission to educate them. Shall we go now or wait until morning?”
“Now is fine. Sarah is still in Jiutian Xuannü’s lab, drooling over new enchanting tricks.”
Amdirlain told Sarah they’d be out dealing with a reported haunting for a while.
“If there are ghosts, they stay hidden during the day.” Sakda led her to a town in the northeast, where the pair landed in sight of the town’s western gate. Around them, ripened fields approached harvest, while scattered among them were farmhouses and barns. Amdirlain expanded her senses, taking in the town streets with its mixture of buildings, though they all had similar sweeping tile roofs. Another common element was the mirrored disks arrayed at every door.
“Do the mirrors by doors do anything?”
“Ghosts, seeing themselves in the mirrors, remember their death and flee. The reflection of lesser demons can expose their nature, so they don’t risk approaching houses with mirrors,” explained Sadka. “Let us go speak to the town elder. The Duty Pavilion had few details besides trouble at their cemetery.”
“Something fractured its wards a while ago, and there are undead underground inside its boundary.”
Sadka nodded. “Then this isn’t a wasted trip. Meditate on your precise strikes from today. If the foes are weak, damaging your surroundings is easy.”
With that simple caution, he started towards the town.
