《Sword and Snow》


 Quick Cultivation Primer

    Within the world of Sword and Snow, Cultivation is the central power system. It¡¯s a fairly simplistic version of a classic Cultivation setting, but I believe it may be worth it to condense the most useful bits of information for readers in one place. Thus why I¡¯m writing this! I want anyone who reads my work to be able to understand what¡¯s going on, and something like this should help! There is also a quick breakdown of common Cultivation related terms that I use frequently at the bottom of this page if you¡¯re new to the setting itself!


    To begin with, let¡¯s talk about¡­


    Stages and Realms of Cultivation


    Basically, the stages and Realms are as follows, in order.


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Qi Gathering </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Core Formation</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Human Realm</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Earth Realm</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Sky Realm</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Heavenly Realm</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Celestial Realm</li>


    </ul>


    Qi Gathering and Core Formation are often completed in early adolescence. Most people in the world, more than 95%, go through these phases, but many never Awaken their core. With a core formed, the body can passively gather and use Qi for daily tasks. Improves endurance and strength.


    ¡®Awakening¡¯ one¡¯s core is what sets someone on a path of Cultivation. This opens them to the Human Realm. Around 55% of people will Awaken their Core. The majority of those will be stuck in the Human Realm for life. This is usually reached by teenage years. At this stage, normal illnesses and such are less likely to cause long term effects to the body. Quality of life improves greatly; however, lifespan is still largely unaffected. Within the Wisteria Family, this stage is usually reached around a child¡¯s 10th birthday. This is also when your Qi senses awaken.


    Most Cultivators reach the Earth Realm as a Young Adult. Roughly 15% of people will reach this stage. 90% of people that consider themselves as Cultivators will reach this stage. At this stage, aging slows significantly, allowing people to live a couple hundred years. Most Cultivators at any given time are at this stage. Significantly less sleep is required.


    Roughly 5% of people, or 30% of Cultivators will reach the Sky Realm. Power begins to set those in the Sky Realm well apart from other people. This is where higher ranked Sect Disciples exist. The Sky Realm is usually viewed as the baseline for true Cultivators. This is where Domains awaken. Further, the Sky Realm allows Cultivators to alter their Qi and specialize further into their own unique Qi signature which will create much stronger and individualized techniques.


    Roughly .3% of people, or 2% of Cultivators reach the Heavenly Realm. This is a full Realm apart from others with regards to both power and lifespan. The Heavenly Realm is where most Sect Elders and Leaders and the like live.


    Beyond even the Heavenly Realm is the Celestial Realm. Any Cultivator that reaches this Realm is likely to be a renowned hero or villain. They are often known by title or name and the number that reaches this Realm is small. There are, perhaps, 25 or 50 active Celestial Realm Cultivators at any given time. It is not widely known what happens at this Realm as those that reach it are usually solitary and don¡¯t share their experiences with others. What is known, however, is that after some time at this Realm, Cultivators often disappear. It¡¯s suspected they ascend to some higher existence, but no one knows for sure.


    Qi Deviation and Demonic Qi


    Qi Deviation is at once incredibly simple and needlessly complex. Put simply, Qi Deviation occurs when Qi within someone¡¯s body go haywire and cause damage. The complex part of it is the specifics on how that happens. The process can be something as simple as a small leak in someone¡¯s meridians (the ¡®veins¡¯ that carry one¡¯s Qi throughout their body) that lets Qi into the rest of their body uncontrolled. It can also conversely be as complex as someone¡¯s emotions warping the Qi in their meridians into an incompatible form that damages the body.


    Qi Deviation is merely a catchall term for when something goes wrong with the Qi inside someone¡¯s body.


    Ultimately, demonic Qi is simply natural Qi that has deviated and rampaged out of control. For most people, having their Qi deviate is a near death sentence. Unless they somehow manage to get it back under control - which is obscenely rare - or someone else intervenes to quell the rampaging Qi, it often tears the body apart from the inside out. It¡¯s this bodily damage that causes the unique smell associated with demonic Qi use.


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Cultivators that make use of demonic techniques forcefully deviate their Qi in specific ways for specific results, usually for more raw power. And most demonic techniques are designed around some kind of failsafe that would force out the deviated Qi once the technique has run its course. They still aren¡¯t safe, but are far less likely to end in accidental death than uncontrolled deviation.


    With the right technique, control, and enough willpower, however, a Cultivator can force all of their Qi to deviate and either let it subsume their body or fight to control it. Those that successfully manage to regain control after a forced deviation like that are called ¡®True Demons¡¯ as they have a level of control and use of demonic Qi that is unparalleled.


    It also causes the signs of demonic Qi use to be permanent. Warped bodies, bony growths like horns, varicose veins, and a slew of other physical changes become apparent quickly after the body adjusts to its new Qi. The body also no longer produces the distinct demonic Qi scent as the deviated Qi no longer harms the body.


    Domains


    Domains are, essentially, just an area surrounding a Cultivator¡¯s body that is saturated with their unique Qi. It requires the Cultivator to be of the Sky Realm, at which point their Qi saturates their body as well as the air around it. That cloud of Qi can be controlled by the Cultivator, and it usually affects their surroundings in some ways as well as give them a measure of control within that cloud that is beyond what someone could normally do.


    For example, Emery¡¯s Domain allows her to alter the sharpness or dullness of things within her Domain at will. Or Avuri¡¯s Domain allows her to freeze or manipulate ice more freely and quickly within her Domain.


    Domains can also be used in a variety of other ways, but that will be explored in the book itself.


    Dual Cultivation


    Dual Cultivation is known by a wide variety of similar names, including Paired Cultivation, Bonded Cultivation, etc. It is simply the act of two Cultivators coming together to meditate together and help each other advance their Cultivation. In its purest form, it can be used for great gains by both sides as working together to cycle their Qi through both bodies at once can lead to much greater gains than normal.


    It is also, unfortunately, more than often misused. When one participant has more power than the other or is simply more selfish, the imbalance can lead to one side benefitting much more than the other, or even outright stealing the other¡¯s Cultivation.


    Furthermore, the intensity of the act often causes feelings of attraction and need to arise, which often lead to those involved being physically intimate. The entire practice is often even offered by courtesans because of this, as it is often very pleasurable to both parties if an understanding can be easily reached.


    However, the practice is also widely looked down upon and avoided for those reasons. However, with the right circumstances, it is a powerful tool to be used. Married Cultivators that share a strong bond and trust between them will often take advantage of this practice.


    Basic Terms Glossary


    Cultivation - The general term for drawing in ambient Qi from the world to gather strength. The practice leads to a stronger, more resilient body among a myriad of other positive effects.


    Cultivator - The term for people who practice Cultivation with the express purpose of growing stronger and disciplining themselves. They are usually thought of as warriors or even heroes.


    Qi - General term for energy that exists naturally in the world and most living things. It can be gathered and condensed within the body to gain strength and power. It also fuels most martial techniques and abilities that are far beyond normal human capabilities.


    Cycle - There are many similar terms that refer to the act of moving Qi through one¡¯s body, core, and meridians. The act has several purposes; purifying the natural Qi one takes in to strengthen it, making your Qi active and ready to be used for a purpose, cleansing and repairing the body, and more.


    Meridians - Essentially a network of blood vessels that run Qi through one¡¯s body. They are roughly designed in a looped network that allows ¡®cycling¡¯.


    Foundation - Refers to the Qi Gathering and Core Formation stages of Cultivation. Usually performed in childhood, Qi Gathering is the stage in which the person meditates to gather and internalizes enough Qi to fill their meridians. Once their meridians are filled, they can begin to gather even more Qi to condense into a controlled shell (usually located roughly below the sternum) called a core. These are collectively referred to as the Foundation, as they are potentially the most important part of a Cultivator¡¯s journey. A strong foundational period will lead to easier and safer Cultivation later in life.


    Realm - The term for stages of Cultivation after the Foundation stages. Moving from one Realm to the next is a substantial jump in power. Far more significant than even years of experience between two members of the same Realm.


    Core - The solidified mass of Qi near the center of one¡¯s body. Also referred to traditionally as a Dantian.


    Sect - A group of Cultivators gathered under a single banner. Often a martial arts school or some similar type of group, but can also include warbands and the like.


    Array - General term for an inscribed series of symbols that can conduct Qi. When Qi is run through an Array, it usually produces a specific effect determined by the pattern of the Array. Can be used for simple things like creating water or more complex things like localized climate control.


    Tael - Term for mortal (as in non-Cultivator) currency.


    Storage Ring - An artifact that uses an advanced Array to bend space to store things within the item. Not always a ring, though they are the most common.

 1 : The Wisteria Family

    Emery yawned. It hadn¡¯t been an unusually long or tiring day, but it was still starting to grow late. For now, she¡¯d hold out a bit longer and continue to keep a watch over the kids and their evening meditation. They didn¡¯t always hold long sessions like this before bed, but now and again it was good to keep everyone focused beyond what was normal. Pushing everyone to hold out while they were tired was good training for their focus, after all.


    On the other hand, her charges tonight were the younger kids - those under 10 years of age. Many were still in the earliest stages of Cultivation. Whether they were in the Gathering or Core Formation Stages varied from kid to kid, but this extra training would still be good for each of them. The youngest two of the group, both at the age of four, were mostly just sitting quietly, pretending to also meditate. Emery smiled - being that well behaved was good enough for her.


    She glanced around the room at the other kids. They had nine children living here that were under the age of 10, and each of them with her tonight. All of them had some unfortunate circumstances that led them here, but she vowed to take care of them, and she would.


    Most were victims of some kind of demonic sect in one way or another. Some were lucky enough to still have family here with them. Most weren¡¯t. Some had banded together by the time she was able to rescue them, and had formed family units on their own, like the Elm kids. There were several families among the kids that had formed more spontaneously with older kids taking responsibility for the younger ones.


    A few were left with virtually no one; those, she adopted herself. Emery often found her eyes wandering to those kids that she thought of as her own. They weren¡¯t significant in number, but they were special to her. Among the younger kids with her now, two of them were hers - Arek and Astra.


    Astra was the younger of the two, though not by much. She was a small girl, at the age of seven, and the neglect of her previous ¡®guardians¡¯ still showed some. Her hair was long and a dull gray when they had first rescued her; now it was cut to the center of her back, clean, and a silvery color that was gaining back some luster. She was still rail-thin, but that would be fixed in time. And whenever Emery saw the girl¡¯s adorable mousy face, she couldn¡¯t help but smile.


    Arek was in much better shape. He had joined them three years ago now, and had been training with them for much of that time. He had just turned nine years old, and he looked like a healthy boy of such an age. His black hair was short and somewhat shaggy looking, but still clean. At least she had talked him into keeping it out of his face, which always looked a little stern for a nine year old.


    Arek was also nearing completion of the Core Formation Stage. He would soon be ready to Awaken his Core and ascend to the Human Realm. He may already be prepared, if Emery was honest with herself, but they usually kept the kids in the Formation Stage until their tenth birthday to help create a truly strong foundation. Astra had recently joined her brother in the Gathering Stage, and would be upset if he left her behind again, too.


    Emery swept her gaze over the room with an appraising eye, as she also reached out with her Domain to get a sense of how the kids were doing. None of the children here had Awakened yet, as that was part of ascending into the Human Realm. And without having Awakened, they would not yet be able to veil themselves. This let Emery get a clear sense of how each of the children was progressing without any real effort.


    Outside of the youngest two, most of the kids were still diligently trying to meditate despite the late hour. A few were beginning to flag as they were nearing their bedtimes, but were struggling to hold on to their last bit of willpower to stay awake and focused.


    Emery let her Domain wander out to the other meditation room with the older kids. Her Domain met and melded with another, and she smiled warmly; it was Avuri¡¯s. Her wife¡¯s. As their Domains intermingled, she could feel the same warm smile exuding from Avuri. As she wandered further throughout the room, she bumped into their older children, Stena and Cierra.


    Then, she made a cursory sweep through the room¡¯s occupants just to make a show of why she was checking the other room to begin with. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary; all of the kids were meditating quietly, focused on building up their stores of Qi. Most of the kids were still in the early stages of the Human Realm, but the some of the elders of the group, like Enrik Elm and Kord Alder, were making impressive progress into the Earth Realm.


    Pulling her Domain back, Emery clapped her hands twice. The younger kids in her room slowly pulled themselves out of their meditation and looked up.


    ¡°Alright, I think you¡¯ve all suffered enough for tonight. I¡¯ll let you all get to bed.¡± She smiled at each child as they met her eyes. A collective sigh ran through the room as several of the kids half-slumped over, barely keeping themselves awake after the nighttime session. Emery left them to their murmuring as she heard Avuri call a stop in the other room as well.


    The older kids began stretching out their limbs and collecting their younger siblings from her room, as they all headed off in different directions to their various dwellings. Their Wisteria Sect had a satisfyingly large, sprawling bit of land, courtesy of Uncle Vale. While Emery still wasn¡¯t exactly satisfied with the sect name that Avuri had proposed, she was entirely satisfied with their location.


    Nestled in a well hidden basin between four mountain peaks, Emery could not have asked for a better location. Thanks to some immaculately placed Spiritual Arrays, the basin wasn¡¯t just well maintained for comfort with temperature regulation and the like, but was even designed to be conducive to farming for self-reliance.


    The center of the basin was dominated by the sect¡¯s namesake - an absolutely gargantuan Wisteria tree reached high into the air, and sprawled out with a massive canopy, covering most of the basin. Uncle Vale¡¯s and Emery¡¯s love of nature was shown in the space, with almost all of the buildings and materials in the basin being wooden or built out of still living trees.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    With some help from Uncle Vale when they were setting up the space, they were able to build plenty of living spaces, most of which were separate, little houses that could hold a family of six easily, and a few more if they got particularly cozy. Each small home had three small bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, and some living space.


    The Sect¡¯s basin also had two large communal, open gazebo-style buildings. One was a sprawling affair for training and meditation; the second was smaller and designed for communal eating. The gazebo-style buildings were some of Emery¡¯s favorites, with each of the supports for the roof being a living tree, and the roofing a living, breathing canopy.


    Other sections of their land were divided for other purposes, with several areas not even dedicated yet. But there was a large area set aside to farm both food and plants, as well as a large family-style bath house.


    Built next to the Wisteria tree, as central as possible, was a beautiful, large, wooden family house. It was designed to be large enough to hold full sect meetings on the bottom floor, but the second and third floors were designed to be a cozy family home.


    The second floor held a few living spaces, a bathroom, an extra large kitchen, a small training and meditation room, and two guest rooms. The third floor held the master bedroom, five other bedrooms, three bathrooms, and an extra family space. This layout left Emery and Avuri sharing their bedroom, while each of their children had their own, and they even had one room left over.


    As Emery watched the smaller family units file out of the training area, her own family began to drift together. Astra attached herself to Emery¡¯s hip with a big hug, and she ruffled the girl¡¯s hair in response. Arek saddled up alongside the younger girl and looked a little conflicted. Emery was positive he wanted to follow suit, but his older sisters were nearby, and their teasing could be merciless.


    Avuri, Cierra, and Stena came around the doorway, and the six of them headed toward their house together.


    ¡°Seems like everyone is shaping up quite nicely.¡± Emery said as they walked. ¡°Even Kal and Luc are ¡®meditating¡¯.¡± She said with a smile.


    Avuri hooked her arm around Emery¡¯s as she spoke. ¡°Everyone is doing great. Kord is just about nearing the peak of the Human Realm, and Enrik and Elise aren¡¯t far behind him. The others are making solid progress. The younger kids are all making solid strides toward Awakening - and even better - they all managed to stay awake all night tonight. I didn¡¯t even see any getting carried home.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sleepy either!¡± Astra piped in, and Emery ruffled her hair again.


    ¡°It¡¯s still bed time for you, Star. Arek too.¡± She shot the slightly older boy a smile.


    He, in turn, just shot a look at his older sisters. ¡°I want to stay up with Stena and Cierra. They were talking about playing a game!¡±


    Stena scooped up her brother with ease, thanks to her Qi-strengthened body. ¡°Arek, we¡¯re just going to play a game or two of chess and then go to bed ourselves.¡± She glanced over to Cierra for confirmation, and she nodded. ¡°If you ask nicely, maybe you could watch the first game, but you should sleep, too. We all went late with meditation tonight.¡±


    ¡°Can I watch them play, Momri?¡± Arek asked, directing the question to Avuri. Emery narrowed her eyes a bit, knowing he did so because Avuri was the more lax of the two.


    ¡°Of course, sweetie. But it¡¯s straight to bed as soon as Cierra wins.¡± The taunting grin that split her face when Stena glared at her set off Emery¡¯s own grin.


    ¡°Now that was uncalled for.¡± Stena muttered.


    ¡°Momri¡¯s right though. We both know you¡¯re gonna lose.¡± Cierra teased. ¡°What¡¯s the count now? Something like thirty-four to two this month?¡±


    Stena made a show of sighing, and snuggling into Arek in her arms. ¡°Well, maybe with a little help from Arek tonight, I can get one over on you.¡±


    Arek smiled happily as the two sisters argued good-naturedly over who got to have him on their side. As they bickered, Astra tugged on Emery¡¯s sleeve. ¡°I¡¯m not really tired yet, either. Can I have a bedtime story?¡±


    Emery just giggled, scooped up Astra into her arms, and kissed her on the head. ¡°Of course you can. Avuri, would you like to tuck Star in while I wash off really quick, and then we¡¯ll trade?¡±


    Avuri stepped up and took Astra from Emery as they entered the house. ¡°I can do that.¡± As she took the younger girl, Avuri leaned in to give Emery a quick kiss before heading on up to the second floor. The other kids followed, heading to Cierra¡¯s room, with Emery bringing up the rear.


    Once they made it upstairs and went their separate ways, Emery went into her bedroom and began stripping off her robes to wash up. She didn¡¯t exert herself too much today, so she wasn¡¯t particularly dirty or sweaty, but she still wanted to clean up.


    Once she was in the bathroom, she triggered a Spiritual Array that began filling a large tub with steaming hot water. While waiting for it to fill, she soaked a cloth in the hot water to wipe down with. Sitting in a chair in front of a mirror, she looked herself over to be sure she didn¡¯t miss any dirt or grime.


    Her body was built lithe, somewhat compact, and carried a good bit of muscle. Sometimes she wished she was a little taller, but she had long ago come to terms with her smaller stature. Becoming a Cultivator always came with the lovely bonus of making one¡¯s skin virtually perfect, and Emery¡¯s skin was as flawless as one would expect.


    Leaning over, she grabbed a small bucket to dump some water over her head to wet her hair. She lathered in some shampoo. While wet, her hair fell down to her shoulders, but would curl up a bit as it dried. Usually, it sat just below her chin and looked a little unkempt due to the waves in it. She did take meticulous care of her bangs, though; if she didn¡¯t, they would look far too messy.


    She dumped another batch of water on her head to wash out the shampoo. She chuckled at herself in the mirror - she looked like a wet cat. She turned her head this way and that, catching the light just so. Her onyx black hair shined a lovely shade of purple in the right light that matched her wife¡¯s eyes.


    She gave her head a shake before dipping into the now-filled tub. A quick dip was all she wanted to clean off, and she hopped back out to go get dressed. She promised Astra a bedtime story, after all.


    After throwing on a comfortable silk robe, she walked over to Astra¡¯s room. Emery paused in the doorway after opening it, to watch Avuri stand and give Astra a hug goodnight. Her wife bumped her with her hip on her way out.


    ¡°Okay Star, what kind of story did you want tonight?¡± Emery asked as she saddled up alongside her daughter¡¯s bed.


    ¡°Mm¡­How did you and Momri meet?¡± Astra asked, snuggling into her blankets. Emery reached out to stroke her daughter¡¯s recovering silver hair.


    ¡°Did we never tell you? The first time we met was at an exhibition match for Cultivators. It¡¯s kinda like a tournament where you get to show how good you are with your Qi.¡± She clarified when her daughter gave her a blank look.


    Astra giggled. ¡°You and Momri met at a tournament for fighting?¡±


    Emery smiled warmly, thinking back. ¡°We did. We both were there for different reasons, but none of that matters once you¡¯re in an arena.¡±

 2 : Our First Meeting

    There¡¯s no easy way to break down Cultivators into levels or groupings of strength outside of the general Realms. How one develops their Qi and Domain directly feeds into how their strength develops, and mapping that out to neat, concise levels is near impossible.


    Some people choose to hyperfocus on one thing and hone that skill to impossible levels while ignoring all else, leaving them incredibly strong in certain ways but weak in others. Other people choose to expand their abilities with multiple options, but losing depth in the process. With as many available options as there are ideas, accurately gauging a Cultivator''s skill or power level within a given Realm is near impossible.


    The Frozen Mountain Sect held an exhibition tournament every three years. It was well known throughout the area around their mountain home as an event for aspiring Cultivators in the Earth Realm to test their strength against one another. Most combatants in this tournament were of middling strength, with a few that would be considered just above average.


    I was, I think, either twenty or twenty-one at the time. Probably twenty. I had been out hunting demonic Cultivators for a while by then, and had been tracking a group of them outside the Frozen Mountain¡¯s territory. When I heard that the tournament was going to be held, I figured it¡¯d be a good opportunity to see if any of the same demonic Cultivators had secretly joined the Frozen Mountain, or were maybe just testing their skill there.


    So, I joined up as a wandering fighter with no backing. The tournament was well known, so there was a lengthy day of preliminaries before the actual tournament began. And when I tell you it was boring as sin, I mean it. The fights during the preliminaries were almost unilaterally one-sided beatdowns, ringouts, and surrenders. I was even bored watching.


    Worst of all, most of the competent fighters didn¡¯t show any of their Qi related skills or abilities on day one, winning with raw martial arts alone; which meant that I needed to stick around for day two to see if any demons were in attendance.


    Day two and the first actual round of the tournament was more interesting, but still tame. The first few rounds were, actually. It wasn¡¯t until day three, and the beginning of the top 8 that things got interesting.


    Day three consisted of the top 8 bracket, one bout at a time throughout the day, until the finals at sunset. The first two fights of the quarter-finals were okay matches, with all four fighters showing off Qi based abilities, though both matches were still one-sided. The third match was much better balanced, pitting a fire-focused Cultivator against one of the many Frozen Mountain ice-focused ones. The fight was flashy, but neither were as strong as the winners from bout one or two. The Frozen Mountain fighter won that fight, if I recall.


    Fight four was mine. I was up against another Frozen Mountain Cultivator, one Avuri Axies. She hadn¡¯t used any Qi in her fights yet, so beyond expecting the typical Frozen Mountain techniques, I wasn¡¯t quite sure what to expect.


    As the third match finally wrapped up, I prepared myself for what I was hoping would be a good fight. I checked all my knife sheaths to be sure they were occupied. This would be their first appearance. I stretched. Moved through some light warm ups. If I really was up against an ice user, warming up my body first would be even more useful.


    Someone I imagined was a Frozen Mountain Sect Elder was standing center stage, announcing the fights. He was also likely there to try to reduce the chance of death among fighters, though no fight had been that dangerous as of yet. As he was congratulating the previous two fighters, I approached the stage.


    ¡°And now, for the last quarter-final bout.¡± He said, using Qi to amplify his voice throughout the stands. ¡°Fighting as a wandering Cultivator, representing no sect. We haven¡¯t seen all that much from her, beyond some fancy foot and knife work - but we¡¯re likely to this time! Emery Vale!¡±


    I hopped up onto the large, white stone platform that served as the stage and arena, landing lightly on my feet. There were some scattered cheers, but I ignored them and rolled my shoulders to stay limber.


    ¡°Her opponent, from our own Frozen Mountain. While she hasn¡¯t gotten a chance to show her techniques yet either, she¡¯s sure to please the crowd this time! Avuri Axies!¡±


    The other woman landed gracefully in the arena opposite me. Her combat attire was an almost blindingly bright white and silver set of robes. They looked like they were made of a soft silk, which matched her long, silky silver hair, which was tied up behind her. She didn¡¯t appear to carry any weapons, but that wasn¡¯t unusual for a Cultivator. As we each took fighting stances, her¡¯s appeared graceful, while mine was more aggressive.


    Then a loud gong signaled the start of the match.


    We both immediately began with different techniques. Avuri clapped, and her Qi immediately rushed out from her, encompassing most of the arena. The temperature immediately dropped below freezing. Snow began to dance about in the air, lightly fluttering to the ground seemingly from nowhere. Some kind of Spiritual Array I hadn¡¯t noticed before kept everything trapped within the arena, which was comforting.


    I also let my Qi loose, directing it toward my knives. All ten rose from their sheathes and began to hover around me, ready for direction. Then I directed my Qi into my right hand, forming a long, thin blade as I rushed Avuri.


    Avuri began moving her hands, directing blasts of cold air and snow around the battlefield. As I danced around each flurry during my approach, I could hear the crashes of ice hitting the ground behind me. Seeing how easily I was avoiding the direct blasts of cold, Avuri swept a hand out, motioning at the ground. Some of Avuri¡¯s Qi condensed from the air onto the ground which froze over with a slick layer of ice. As my footing was no longer secure, I slid to a stop, still fifteen or so paces from the woman.


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    With a thought, I sent my knives after her. The ten blades took almost zero conscious effort from me to direct, as they danced around Avuri, causing exactly the distraction I needed to finish closing the gap. I slipped within reach of my blade and went on the offensive. Between the ten dancing knives and my own blade, I had expected Avuri to crumble rather quickly - elementalist types were rarely good at close combat - but she persisted.


    Floating snowflakes seemed to coalesce around her and harden, acting as makeshift shields to block the floating knives at every turn. Meanwhile, she expertly fended off my own attacks with a staff quickly crafted of ice Qi.


    With each of our flying weapons fully engaged, we danced. For a moment, we had each forgotten the fight, and traded blows, finally happy to find an even match. It lasted for fifteen or twenty seconds, but the blows came and were turned aside quickly, with neither of us able to make any headway.


    In an effort to break the stalemate, I forced some of my Qi into my blade, willing it sharper and denser. It shattered one end of her staff as they met. I pushed the attack to take advantage of what I was sure would be an opening. Instead, as I thrust the blade forward, I felt a solid punch to my stomach, leaving my attack to barely graze the woman¡¯s cheek. The shot to my midsection forced us apart; she had used the back half of the staff for a well concealed gut shot that was hidden by some snow flurries when I had made my attack.


    My ten knives flew back to hover around me, as her snowflakes became less defined, and fluttered to the ground like so much snow. We each took a breath.


    I readied my blade once more, as I reinforced it further with more Qi. I connected thin strands of Qi to my knives to empower them as well. Avuri was flexing a hand that was quickly becoming coated in frost. She had let her staff melt away, but appeared to be actively controlling the wind and snow around her, whipping it up into a flurry.


    As I took my first step to get back within striking distance, she threw her hand forward. The storm of snow rocketed forward in a stream of air that looked almost like a dragon made of snow and wind surging through the air. When there was less than a step between me and the storm, I ducked to the left to slip past it, but continued my approach. Passing by so close, I could feel the intense cold brush against me, and cause a layer of frost to cover my right side.


    With my final step to close the distance, I thrust my blade forward. All ten knives flew forward with the thrust, to make a solid eleven point attack. As before, snowflakes solidified in the air to block each strike. However, with my blades all reinforced with extra Qi, they sliced through the defensive formation. The ten flying knives were immediately stopped dead in the air, encased solidly in a large wall of ice. Even my blade was embedded deep enough into the ice that pulling it out was futile. Worse, I could feel the dragon-storm turning around to assault my back.


    Discarding the blade, I stepped quickly to make my way around the wall of ice. I could feel through my Qi that Avuri was gathering her own for another technique behind the wall. I swept my hands in an arc, conjuring ten more flying knives purely from Qi. With a second sweep, I sent them flying around the wall to interfere with Avuri as best they could. Then I conjured a much heavier sword into my hand, and spun to face the dragon-storm.


    I raised a hand to conjure a floating shield between myself and the dragon-storm. The Qi-made metal plate covered more than half my body size, and was slightly wedge shaped, to hopefully disperse the Qi that was driving the storm technique. As the dragon-storm slammed into the shield, it split apart as I had hoped, flying out in all directions around the shield. However, the technique seemed to be refocusing as it passed, instead of dispersing.


    With no good way to deter the technique, I gave up on dealing with it directly and decided to pursue Avuri directly. I threw the sword as hard as I could, parallel to the wall. It curved around the corner to attack Avuri on its own, joining my knives. I wasn¡¯t far behind it, conjuring a second sword for myself.


    As I turned the corner of the wall, I saw Avuri¡¯s snowflakes fending off the flying weapons as she flung a blast of icy-cold air and snow at my face. I dropped to my knees, suddenly thankful the floor was icy at this point, and slid underneath the attack. I spun back to my feet within striking distance of Avuri, and immediately began pressuring her.


    Until now, throughout the previous rounds, I had used only a slimmer blade, with a dance-like, graceful, flowing style. Now, with the heavier sword in my hands, I used a heavy, wild striking style that seemed to catch Avuri off guard. The Qi-reinforced heavy sword shattered through a defensive ice technique on my first swing. The return swing struck right through a second, much closer layer of ice, and I stopped my blade right at her neck, just shy of drawing blood.


    I could feel the dragon of ice and wind stopped directly behind me, as though its breath were on my back. With a sigh, I let my sword drop from the woman¡¯s neck and straightened up. She did the same, and the dragon behind me puffed away into the air.


    ¡°A draw? Is that allowed?¡± Avuri turned to the Elder-turned-referee to ask.


    I shook my head and bowed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I concede this match to you, Miss Axies.¡±


    The crowd, which I had all but forgotten about entirely during the match, made a loud mix of cheers and jeers in response. The Elder waved a hand, and they all quieted down again. Then he turned toward me.


    ¡°Are you positive you wish to forfeit, Miss Vale?¡± He looked almost taken aback, but covered it well. There was some judgment in his eyes as well; I could tell he was - well, disgusted may be too strong a word, but certainly unhappy with me for giving up the fight. Avuri just looked shell-shocked, standing there with her mouth hanging half-open.


    ¡°I¡¯m quite sure, thank you.¡± I said, once again with a bow. After all, I wasn¡¯t here to win the tournament anyhow. I bowed once more to Avuri before turning and walking off the stage. As I was leaving, I heard more people from stands shouting insults and the like, but I just kept walking. I had seen all the fighters remaining in the tournament, and I was satisfied none were demons.


    The Elder announced Avuri as the winner, which got applause. As I left the fighting arena and entered the small room designated as a prep area, I heard quick, light steps moving after me. No surprise there.


    I turned to see Avuri as she stepped into the room as well. She looked bewildered, but also concerned.


    ¡°Is everything alright, Miss Vale? You seemed like a very strong fighter in the ring - to just forfeit like that -¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m quite alright, thank you.¡± I said, keeping up a distinctly formal tone. I bowed again, just to be sure. I was terrible at being polite, and had a habit of over-correcting when I tried to be sure.


    Avuri narrowed her eyes, but said nothing more. She looked a little angry, but turned and left the building in a bit of a huff. I sighed as I gathered up my stuff to leave as well. I hadn¡¯t intended to put anyone off, but I really didn¡¯t need to continue in the tournament anymore. So I just left.

 3 : A Bedtime Chat

    Emery smiled as she stroked the now sleeping Astra¡¯s hair. Standing up, she placed a light kiss on the girl¡¯s forehead before quietly leaving the room.


    As she stepped out and closed the door, Avuri met her outside.


    ¡°Ah. Already asleep?¡± She asked quietly with a smile.


    ¡°She is. Asked about how we met for her bedtime story.¡± Emery returned the smile and slipped her hand into her wife¡¯s.


    Avuri chuckled as they strolled to their bedroom. They passed by the girls¡¯ rooms and heard the typical bickering and trash talk that always came with their games. It did sound like Cierra was winning though, as expected.


    ¡°Did we never tell her about the tournament? It was pretty exciting, even if you quit half-way through.¡± Avuri poked Emery in the side. ¡°I was really mad, after that fight. You were so good, but just up and quit. I thought you were looking down on the rest of us.¡±


    ¡°I suppose I was, a little bit, though.¡± Emery allowed. ¡°It wasn¡¯t with any malice though.¡±


    Avuri pressed into Emery¡¯s side reassuringly. ¡°Well, I know that now. Didn¡¯t help at the time though.¡± She said, with a teasing lilt to her voice.


    The two pushed their way into their room to prepare for bed. Both were already dressed in light silk robes for sleeping, but Avuri had yet to dry or comb out her hair - which was something of a ritual for the two of them.


    They split as they entered the room, Avuri making her way to the bed, while Emery snatched up a lovely wooden comb before joining her wife on the bed. Avuri had gathered up her hair above her head and secured it with a few long pins to keep her clothes as dry as possible for the moment.


    As Emery sat down, Avuri slipped her robes off her shoulders before letting her long silver locks fall down to pool around her on the bed. Emery immediately gathered up the hair in bunches, letting some sit in her lap, while she began combing out long sections of it.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad Star is starting to look healthier.¡± Avuri said suddenly. Her eyes were closed, enjoying the combing.


    ¡°She¡¯s looking much better. She¡¯s got some color and life coming back into her skin and hair. Her face is looking less gaunt. Now she just needs to start gaining some weight.¡±


    Avuri nodded. ¡°Some of the kids we found with her are starting to. I¡¯m sure she will soon, too.¡±


    ¡°I suppose it took Arek a while to even start recovering¡­¡± Emery muttered, working out a bit of knotted hair.


    ¡°But look at him now. He¡¯s gotten a lot better.¡±


    ¡°I think he¡¯s still a little¡­emotionally stunted? I hope we can help him more.¡±


    ¡°I agree. But all we can really do is make sure he knows he¡¯s loved here, and that we¡¯ll protect him.¡± Avuri leaned back just enough to lean the back of her head against Emery¡¯s forehead.


    Emery lifted her head a little bit to breathe in Avuri¡¯s scent - the scent of a cold winter morning¡¯s brisk, clean air. It always calmed her down. ¡°By now, I¡¯m sure he knows that. But scars like those run deep. Physical or otherwise.¡±


    Avuri absently reached back and placed her hand on the outside of Emery¡¯s right thigh. ¡°He¡¯ll be okay. We¡¯ll make sure of it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Emery answered quietly. They lapsed into a silence after that, as Emery¡¯s comb and hands worked through Avuri¡¯s hair.


    It took a little while for her to work her way through all of Avuri¡¯s hair, but the silence was comfortable. Eventually, Emery put the comb aside, and worked her fingers through Avuri¡¯s hair, even lightly scratching her wife¡¯s scalp. The woman practically purred in response.


    And then Emery began working the hair into a loose braid. Avuri¡¯s hands stopped Emery¡¯s for a moment so she could turn to face her, pulling her hair to the front over her shoulder. With a smile, Emery began braiding again without missing a beat.


    After a moment, Avuri grinned widely and pressed a bit forward to kiss Emery happily. ¡°I will never get tired of this, Merri.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± She responded with a chuckle. ¡°You¡¯re stuck with me forever, anyway.¡±


    Avuri made a face. ¡°Forever is a long time. Especially with a Cultivator¡¯s lifespan.¡±


    Emery slapped her on the shoulder. ¡°You should¡¯ve thought of that before we merged our Domains. You¡¯re stuck with me.¡±


    Avuri smiled. ¡°Well, you¡¯re stuck with me too, you know.¡±


    ¡°Of course. I did that on purpose, you idiot.¡± Emery chuckled, still working on the braid. Merging Domains, fused Domains, bonded Domains - there were many names for the technique, but ultimately it was something incredibly simple.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    When two or more Sky Realm Cultivators are close enough, mentally, physically, and spiritually, they are able to meld their Domains together. It is permanent, potentially dangerous, and a great risk if you do not fully trust the others involved. Linking Domains together allows any of the connected parties to draw strength from the others, more or less uninhibited. This often leads to one of the pair taking from the other and abusing the link.


    However, in pairs that were committed to one another, open, and honest, melded Domains could greatly strengthen both parties. At the most basic level, it required a great deal of trust for both participants to gain from such a decision. And as many Cultivators were self-centered and selfish, such pairs were rare.


    And then, of course, the intimacy that came along with it was often another hurdle. Perfectly normal for a married couple, of course. Training and building a bonded Domain didn¡¯t explicitly require sex, but it was commonly used as a medium for it.


    All in all, it typically required a deep connection for it to go well. And Emery and Avuri had had no issues in their time practicing such a path.


    Emery finally tied off the braid with a light blue silk ribbon, and gave Avuri an affectionate pat on the thigh. ¡°All set.¡±


    Braided hair was Emery¡¯s favorite look on Avuri. The long, silver hair draped over the woman¡¯s shoulder highlighted her neck and some of her curves. Avuri had a much more motherly appearance than Emery did - a softer, warmer face; attractive, womanly curves. She was taller than Emery, too, which admittedly wasn¡¯t that uncommon.


    Her eyes were an entrancing violet, and were Emery¡¯s favorite feature on her. Emery¡¯s hair had a strange way of being pearlescent in the light, and often had a matching purple sheen to it. Avuri had joked early on in their relationship that they were destined partners because of it. Now, she often said the same, but it sounded less and less like a joke every time she did so.


    The two finished their nightly routine and slipped into bed. As they got comfortable, Avuri turned to Emery. ¡°So Merri, how much did you tell our girl?¡±


    ¡°Just about the fight itself. And that I quit just after.¡±


    ¡°So, nothing about you being there to track down demons or the like?¡± Avuri rolled to her side and propped her head up on a hand to look at Emery as they talked.


    ¡°She was asleep before I got to it. I¡­think I would¡¯ve told her.¡± She paused. Similarly to Arek, Astra likely had some scars from her time sequestered by a group of demonic Cultivators. The physical scars were one thing, but mental scars were always hard to gauge well. She didn¡¯t want to bring up painful memories for the girl if she could avoid it.


    Even if the stories were about her hunting down those sects.


    Avuri nodded. ¡°It¡¯s hard to decide. I get that.¡± She reached out with a reassuring hand to grab Emery¡¯s. ¡°And what about you? I know you¡¯re still¡­well, does hunting down demons help you at all? Would knowing someone was out there doing the same?¡± Avuri prodded.


    Emery considered that for a moment. ¡°I think being out there helps. Knowing I can defend myself against most of those monsters is a comfort.¡± She went silent again for a moment. ¡°As for someone else - let alone my mother - being out there, doing the hunting? I don¡¯t know. I think I¡¯d just worry.¡±


    Avuri squeezed her wife¡¯s hand. ¡°Then you should keep teaching her. And all the other kids.¡± With a pleasant sigh, she saddled up to Emery and leaned her head on her shoulder. ¡°Of course, you could also be an adult and talk to her about it. See what she thinks.¡±


    ¡°Ri, she¡¯s barely seven.¡±


    Avuri snickered. ¡°Kids are often significantly wiser and more aware than we give them credit for. Remember when Cierra was little?¡±


    Thinking back to the other three children they raised, and some rather¡­interesting insights they¡¯ve had, she shuddered.


    ¡°Fair point. I can talk to her tomorrow, maybe, and see how she feels.¡± Emery relented.


    ¡°Good.¡± Avuri nodded, putting a firm end on that conversation. ¡°Now then, your lovely wife is cuddled up next to you, and it¡¯s still pretty early.¡± Avuri rolled over, so half her body was on top of Emery¡¯s. ¡°What will you do, Merri?¡±


    Emery¡¯s face slowly melted into a wicked grin, promising Avuri all sorts of fun to follow. As she was lifting her head up for a kiss, they both heard an eruption of laughter and mockery from Cierra¡¯s room. They both paused, dead in their tracks.


    After a brief moment, they laid their foreheads against one another - Avuri still on top of Emery - and laughed quietly to themselves.


    Avuri lifted her head and shouted down the hall. ¡°Bedtime, you three!¡±


    There came the expected whines, but they both heard footsteps splitting up into their own rooms, followed by several ¡®Love you, Mom¡¯s and ¡®Goodnight¡¯s before doors closed.


    Avuri turned back to face Emery, returning her partner¡¯s wicked grin from earlier. ¡°Right then, where were we?¡±


    <hr>


    A few hours later, their bonded Cultivation - and included fun - had worked up a sweat, which brought them back to the bath. Freshly clean once again, Emery lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling of their room idly. Avuri¡¯s breathing still wasn¡¯t the soft, measured breathing of sleep, but they were both quiet.


    Emery¡¯s mind wandered, once again thinking about how to tackle the issues her kids all faced. Especially Astra, who, as a newer addition to their family, was still at the beginning of her long recovery.


    She scratched at her thigh, where four long, jagged-edged cuts ran down her leg - remnants from her own past. They always itched when she thought about this sort of thing too hard.


    In her own experience, learning to defend herself and getting stronger helped more than just about anything else did. But that was a long road, and maybe more of a fake comfort than she¡¯d care to admit.


    Obviously, she would still teach her kids how to defend themselves to stop anyone from taking advantage of them again, but that still depended on their actual strength. Which wouldn¡¯t be reliable for years. And even then, would only defend them from people they could defeat.


    Talking things through did help. Sometimes. And it was probably the better way to help a child that needed it now, and not ten years in the future. Any assurances she could give her daughter, she would.


    She thought back to when they had first found Cierra. When they all first became a family. She had given all she had to support the lost little girl. Now, she had almost thirty kids to take care of.


    She may not be able to devote as much time to Astra as she did to Cierra back then, but she would not leave the girl to her demons.

 4 : Let Loose

    I had been out, trailing a demonic Cultivator for two weeks. I had come across the man in a sleepy little village named Mountain Well, situated near the base of the Onyx Palisades.


    The Palisades were an unnatural formation of black rocks that splintered up from the ground to the height of mountains. There were numerous legends that told of how some legendary Cultivator splintered the whole area in a climactic battle of one kind or another, and none of them agreed on who or why.


    The Floral Hills Province, where they were located, was not known for its strength. In fact, most of the ambient Qi wasn¡¯t strong enough here to support Cultivators too far beyond the beginning of the Human Realm.


    Still, if one traveled half way up any of the spires, the earth and metal Qi were both in good supply. Honestly speaking, they could have still been a fantastic place to gather Qi for my own Core, given my metal affinity.


    In any case, while tracking several different rumors, I happened to come across a man in Mountain Well that carried the distinct flavor of a demon. They always had a strange, distinct smell, very similar to that of a wet animal. And that scent permeated their Qi as well.


    Unfortunately, anyone who dealt with them regularly could pick up and carry the smell. So, while it wasn¡¯t enough to condemn him, it certainly was enough that I strongly believed he had ties to a demonic sect. Whether it was as a disciple or maybe a passing merchant, I wasn¡¯t sure.


    Two weeks of tailing him around the village, and on a few short excursions beyond it hadn¡¯t gotten me anywhere. However, on day sixteen, the man packed up for a longer trip and headed into the Palisades.


    The climb wasn¡¯t all that difficult, especially for a well trained Cultivator. While it was possible he would notice my tailing him, I wasn¡¯t particularly worried about an ambush; while tailing the man in the village, I was able to get a rough idea of his strength, and would place him well below me.


    Eventually, he split off from the obvious trail to follow what looked more like a game trail. However, the displaced branches and disturbed ground had a strange unnatural bent to it. It was likely that it was marked by human hands to make it easier to follow.


    And it led us straight to what I was hunting.


    As we approached the secluded sect¡¯s walls, I made sure to reign in my Qi. If I left it unattended, it would likely get me noticed. So long as I was careful and not completely outclassed by the demonic Cultivators here, I had techniques of my own for reconnaissance, that would suffice.


    And in the Floral Hills, being outclassed wasn¡¯t too much of a concern.


    Once the man was let in, I slipped aside into the wooded area around the compound to scout. The sect wasn¡¯t large - at least above ground where I could see. There was one central pavilion and a smaller building to the side that was probably sleeping quarters of some kind. The training yard was a nice size for a group of twenty or thirty, but wouldn¡¯t hold more than that.


    Then I prepared to probe around with my Qi.


    I closed my eyes to focus on my Qi. Navigating through various buildings and tools, I pulled upon the condensed Qi in my Core. A thick cord of Qi curled from the Core, and I let it spool out into the air. With some effort and focus, I purged it of any affinity, leaving it empty and clean. Hard to detect. And then I pushed it out and into the sect¡¯s compound.


    With the Qi scrubbed of my affinity, it was easily overlooked by people unaware of my presence as it would blend in with the natural spirit of the area.


    I had trained extensively for this sort of ¡®hunting¡¯. Uncontrolled, my Qi could extend about 500 meters in every direction from me. Which wasn¡¯t bad for an average Cultivator. If I took direct control, I could reach 3000 meters away, roughly. Which, again, was pretty good for an Earth Realm Cultivator.


    As my Qi oozed into the sect, I focused my senses onto it. It allowed me to get a sense of the areas my Qi touched, though not interact at a distance.


    As I directed my Qi around the compound, I found what I expected. Most of the people here carried that same wet dog smell. Several were bathed in it. Of the¡­19 fighters in the training yard, 3 of them appeared to be of decent strength, and were radiating that disgusting scent. The other 16 looked significantly less dangerous, and did not smell as foul.


    I directed my Qi inside the main pavilion and found a stairwell that led underground. I took a deep breath to steady myself before letting my Qi trickle down the stairs.


    And I immediately wanted to wretch.


    This was the fourth demonic sect I had hunted down after I ventured out on my own.


    And it was the third that was harvesting children.


    I immediately put the greater concerns out of my mind. Whether or not someone or something was spreading the disgusting technique used to harvest from children around was irrelevant right now.


    I fought the urge to vomit as my Qi traveled over dead bodies of children that had been used to death. I held a hand over my mouth as it flowed over dried up husks and bodies that had been broken beyond recognition. Some didn¡¯t even look human anymore.


    Then I found the cages. There were five of them, in the back of the room. Only two of which were occupied. Both occupants were young, and not in good shape; either could fall over dead at any moment.


    I saw red. There was no longer an abundance of time to plan an attack.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    I was confident I would be stronger and more skilled than anyone in this camp.


    The strongest person here may put up a fight, but I had trained specifically to hunt demons like this. Even with their stolen strength, I didn''t feel like I''d lose.


    So I went in. Protecting the kids was my first priority, so I had to place myself between them and the enemies.


    I veiled myself in my empty Qi and snuck my way past those training in the yard and to the empty pavilion, which let me access the stairway unaccosted. There were two demons in the basement, likely Cultivating or working on their disgusting technique.


    Neither of them paid me any mind, too engrossed in their work. I put myself between their backs and the cages, and called up a slim blade from my Qi.


    The silver mercurial blade coalesced quietly in my hand, and I struck.


    A quick thrust through the woman''s back, a quick retreat, then a beheading stroke. One body collapsed to the floor.


    The man turned to face me, his Qi exploding out in some kind of physical enhancement technique. The roiling stolen Qi covered his body like sleek oil. If any of the demonic Cultivators in the yard had their Qi active or were paying any attention, the sudden burst of combat would surely have alerted them.


    My enemy raised both of his arms and charged me, the way a grappler would. As he lunged, I stepped aside and brought my blade up to sever the man¡¯s arm.


    The blade bit in, but was stopped at the bone. My opponent backed off, staring at his half-severed arm. I stared at my weapon, stunned. It hadn¡¯t failed to cut like that in a long time.


    I threw my arm out and down to the side, restructuring the blade into a heavier, single edged variant. I also produced a smaller knife, which I tossed into the air. It immediately flew to irritate my target, before he could fully regain his composure.


    As I approached, weapon raised, he raised his damaged arm to block on instinct.


    This time, my now heavier weapon cut cleanly through his arm, and deep into his side. With a wet, sucking sound, I pulled the blade out. The man fell to his knees, and I cleanly removed his head.


    I lifted my head to watch as a large group of the demonic Cultivators from the yard came rushing down the stairs into the subterranean basement. Several held weapons. Others had techniques prepared. But all were looking for a fight.


    And they all reeked of wet animal.


    I narrowed my eyes as I put away any feelings I had about what was about to happen. I would be as cold and tempered as I had made my Qi weapons.


    Without a word, I raised my sword. My knife hovered by my side, as it began to fan out into several flying knives.


    Some of the demons looked just slightly worried as they stared down the flying blades, but most dismissed them as nothing more than a nuisance. They would learn better.


    The man in the lead, one of the three that had appeared competent in the yard, leapt at me with a spear. His first thrust ended with the tip of his spear removed from the shaft. The second cost him a hand. Then I stepped in with a deep slash across his chest.


    As a streak of blood splattered across my face, my vision, quite literally, went red.


    <hr>


    I focused inward, taking in my Core, and felt the depth of the water and ice Qi held within. I was well into the Earth Realm now. Not at the peak, but still making good, level strides. Slow and steady and all that. Though, I suppose, I wasn¡¯t really improving all that slowly.


    With a stretch, I turned my focus back outside my body. Looking up at the sky, I stretched out my arms and legs. It had been a few weeks - maybe a month now - since I had left the Sect for some adventure and training. I had wandered aimlessly for a while, stopping by some of the major touristy areas.


    Most recently, that had taken me to the Onyx Palisades.


    They were certainly as impressive as I had heard. The spires stretched far up into the sky, and were a shiny onyx stone that felt almost metallic. Maybe they actually were metallic. Either way, they were a beautiful sight.


    As I traveled around the various spires, I had been using the earth and metal aspected Qi in the area to work on some of the Frozen Mountain techniques I had largely ignored until now.


    If I had endeavored to reach the top of one of the snow-topped spires, I may have found some ice or water-aspected Qi, which was typically my focus. It didn¡¯t seem worth the effort though, as it would probably be weak. Or even mixed heavily with earth or metal Qi anyway.


    As I wandered, I had my Qi fully extended. It was good training, keeping myself stretched as widely as possible, to expand my limits.


    My ice techniques weren¡¯t weak, but my strongest asset by far was my Qi control techniques. It pushed my Qi to an extremely large range, well beyond what an average Cultivator of my strength should be capable of.


    By several orders of magnitude, in fact.


    By far my most developed technique, I could use my Qi to observe and interact with things at a distance. It wasn¡¯t nearly the same as being there, but it was incredibly good for scouting and communication. And with my control, I could reach somewhere in the realm of 6 kilometers away, if I took the time to focus.


    As I half-flew to the next spire using gusts of wind and snow, my over-extended Qi touched on something that made me feel sick, just for an instant. With it spread out without my direct control, my range hovered around 1.5 kilometers.


    Right inside that range was a small area that felt¡­wrong. Dirty. My Qi naturally wanted to recoil from it.


    That intrigued me. I had heard that twisted, misused Qi could feel like that, but finding such a thing out in the open was incredibly rare. It was likely just a demonic beast that didn¡¯t know how to veil itself, or such a beast had been ripped open and its Qi was leaking into the air.


    I felt a pulse come from within the spot of wrongness. It roiled and surged for a moment, as though let loose. Immediately, without thinking, I turned to head toward it. Something wasn¡¯t right with this.


    As I ran, I funneled some Qi out into the world to use my farsight technique. When I opened my eyes to look around the new location, my physical body stopped running for a moment for safety. I could see what looked like a small sect compound. It was in good shape, but I didn¡¯t see anyone.


    As my view wandered into the main pavilion, a splash of red caught my attention, as it flew from the stairwell and splattered on the ground.


    Blood.


    I cut the view immediately. While this technique was amazing for farsight, it was also easy enough to notice. Little flurries of snow would even fall around my viewpoint. I didn¡¯t want to draw the attention of whatever was there. Not yet, at any rate.


    I ran toward the compound as quickly as my legs and the wind could take me. For a distance of fifteen or so kilometers, I covered the distance in good time. Less than half an hour, at the very least.


    As I approached the closed gates of the compound, I split off into the trees and focused on my farsight technique again. I immediately moved my vision into the pavilion, and down into the basement.


    Shortly thereafter, I cut the technique and moved in. As I approached the stairs I heard the sobs coming from down inside.

 5 : Breathe

    I sat in a puddle of blood, cradling the near-dead body of a child.


    The fight had been going well, at first. I was right in my expectations that I could easily handle the enemies present. Beyond the first two leading demons, there was barely any resistance.


    Then the final demon had arrived - probably the damn leader. When he had reached the bottom of the stairs, brandishing an extra large bastard sword, he lifted a hand in my direction and pulled.


    I could feel through my Qi as Qi was forcibly ripped from the children¡¯s bodies and coalesced around the man¡¯s weapon. Both kids had slumped over in their cages after that, and the battle from there took on a maniacal edge.


    I mindlessly slaughtered everyone that was left. None had escaped.


    I had spent Qi like a waterfall, conserving nothing. Bits and pieces of bodies lay strewn about the room. The walls were coated in splatters of blood. Except for the area behind me, where the cages were. It was near spotless.


    Now, the two cages that had been occupied were broken and bent, their occupants in my lap. One had already succumbed to their siphoned Qi running out of control within their body, among other wounds.


    The other I was cradling, rocking back and forth, as I tried to hum a soft lullaby between sobs and muttered apologies.


    I stroked the girl¡¯s short hair, trying to comfort her in what was sure to be her last moments. Her Qi was so fully drained from her body that there wasn¡¯t even anything left within her to cause internal damage like the other child.


    But with her body in such a dire state from other minor wounds and severe malnutrition, the damage of her body having its natural Qi ripped from it so violently was enough to send her into a state of shock. Her body was shutting down from physical wounds alone. Damage that could be healed.


    If I had known any healing techniques. But I didn¡¯t.


    So there was nothing I could do. I had failed again.


    So I just cried and tried to comfort her the best I could as she slipped further toward death, apologizing all the while.


    Then I noticed someone running down the stairs. My vision was blurry with tears, so I instinctively held the little girl closer protectively.


    ¡°Oh. Oh no.¡± Suddenly the newcomer slid onto the ground beside me and reached out a hand toward the girl.


    I snapped my jaws at her hand, defending the girl in my arms, as a few of my scattered knives began floating around the room threateningly. My sword hovered directly behind me, poised to strike.


    She drew her hand back on instinct. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Miss Vale. I¡¯m here to help.¡±


    I blinked. My name? She knew my name? I still couldn¡¯t see or think clearly, too wrapped up in my own despair and tears.


    The woman reached forward again, this time her hand already glowing with Qi.


    Healing Qi.


    I shuddered out a breath, as I loosened my grip on the girl¡¯s body so she could be treated.


    I stared helplessly as I watched the healing technique enter the girl¡¯s body to stabilize her. The minor cuts and scrapes healed in moments. The malnutrition couldn¡¯t be remedied with such simple healing techniques, but it could stabilize the girl¡¯s body for now.


    And the healing stimulated her body into some small, natural Qi recovery as well. The girl¡¯s face looked less pained, though still not restful.


    I stared at the woman responsible, as my vision and head began to clear. The woman knew my name. But from where? And why?


    As I took in the silvery white robes, now stained with the blood from the floor, and the long silver-white hair, I tried to place her. And then it clicked - the ice Cultivator from the tournament from the previous year. But I couldn¡¯t remember her name.


    ¡°Thank you¡­¡± I said, my voice hoarse and whispered. ¡°Thank you for this.¡±


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ¡°It is genuinely my pleasure.¡± She said, her healing technique still active. ¡°How could I let a girl die like this?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen it happen enough.¡± I said, weakly. ¡°Plenty of people wouldn¡¯t bother.¡±


    The silence after that hung undisturbed for a while as her healing technique ran its course. No longer in danger, the girl went from unconscious and in pain to more or less peacefully sleeping. Even no longer in tears, I continued to hold the girl close, caressing her hair.


    The woman leaned back, her Qi fading back into her body. ¡°She¡¯ll be okay. Or, at least, her body will recover with time. And food. She¡¯ll need something to eat as soon as she wakes up.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t remember your name.¡±


    ¡°Avuri Axies.¡± She said, with the slightest of bows. ¡°I suppose this isn¡¯t much of a second meeting, is it, Miss Vale?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°This is the best meeting I could have hoped for.¡± I looked down at the girl again. ¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯d agree.¡±


    Avuri snorted. ¡°If you say so.¡± She, too, reached out to brush some of the girl¡¯s hair away from her face. ¡°I¡¯m glad I was in time. No one deserves whatever this all was.¡± She said, looking around at the mess of bodies.


    Her gaze lingered on the other dead child.


    ¡°Demonic Cultivators. They were using the children as Qi cattle.¡± I responded absently. Avuri¡¯s whole body shuddered as she processed that.


    ¡°Did you -¡±


    ¡°Slaughter them? Yes.¡± I interrupted her question. ¡°They deserved it.¡±


    ¡°No argument there.¡± She said, nodding. Though her face didn¡¯t look as pleased as she sounded. ¡°It seems like it was particularly brutal,¡± her eyes were lingering on one body in particular that had been savagely ripped apart.


    I had nothing to say in my own defense. I was fully aware how brutal I had been. Especially this time. ¡°They siphoned the Qi from the children right in front of me. I thought they had been killed outright.¡± I found myself saying.


    ¡°Oh,¡± was all that came in response. I nodded.


    Silence again. Avuri seemed to be having warring thoughts on the whole situation as she more slowly took in the chaos around her. I wasn¡¯t sure how much real bloodshed she had seen until now, being part of a fairly large and peaceful sect, but I did genuinely hope she would be alright.


    I absently brushed my fingers through the little girl¡¯s hair, keeping the sweat-soaked mess off of her forehead, while I was thinking about what to do from here.


    It was my first ¡°successful rescue¡±. Until now, there were never survivors from any of the sects I had¡­cleansed. Uncle Vale had told me to find him if I was ever in trouble. Maybe he could take the girl in? It wouldn¡¯t be the first time.


    On the other hand, as I sat there, staring at the girl¡¯s face, I couldn¡¯t help but feel a strong urge to hold on tight and never let her go. I was one of the few in the world that had any insight into how she would feel when she woke up. If I stayed with her, she wouldn¡¯t have to be alone.


    She didn¡¯t need to be alone. She wouldn¡¯t be. That thought alone kept echoing around in my pounding head.


    I wouldn¡¯t leave this girl alone.


    ¡°Miss Vale?¡± Avuri asked tentatively.


    I turned to face her, my thoughts coming out of their spiral. ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°What now?¡± Avuri motioned around us, the second half of her question unasked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­I¡¯ll clean up.¡± I said, looking at the mess. ¡°At least everything is confined to this room. Burning the bodies will be fine,¡± I said, my words devoid of feeling, ¡°The stone will keep the fire from spreading too far.¡± I waved at the stone walls surrounding us.


    Avuri sat for a moment, then nodded. ¡°Very well.¡±


    With that more or less settled, I stood on the spot and began to walk up the stairs, the unconscious girl still cradled in my arms. It sounded like Avuri was following me.


    ¡°Can you¡­can you watch her while I take care of the mess?¡± I turned to face Avuri to ask, offering her the girl.


    Avuri hesitated just a moment before nodding, and approaching to take her from me. As there was no real damage above ground, and the pavilion here was still in good shape, Avuri took the girl to a nearby set of cushions on the floor by a table. She set up a small bed of cushions and laid the girl on top.


    Satisfied for the moment, I walked back down the stairs and began my gruesome work.


    I gathered up the bodies in the center of the room, along with some of the broken wood from chairs and desks that were damaged during the fight. Easy kindling. Then I began breaking down some of the furniture a bit further to hopefully make things easier to burn. I left the decorative scrolls and other paper and cloth items scattered about the room, hoping they would feed the flames well.


    Before I started any fires, I took a few minutes to strip off my bloodied robes and toss them onto the would-be pyre, before swapping to some simple clothes I had found in storage in the basement. I also used the time to gather up anything useful I could find into a new backpack for myself.


    I didn¡¯t carry oil or anything of the sort on me, so all I could do was hope that everything burned enough on its own without any dedicated fuel.


    Once things were stacked up, I used a weak Qi technique that I had learned for camping and traveling that lit a small flame in my palm. It was useless as an attack as I never really gathered fire- aspected Qi, but it could start a campfire.


    Within a few moments, I had several of the bodies and clothes alight with small fires. After making sure that the flames wouldn¡¯t just fizzle out, I left the room again before it became a real blaze.


    I found Avuri up above in a light meditation. I figured it was polite not to interrupt her, and was in no rush myself. Instead, I sat down by the girl, on the opposite side of the table from Avuri and dropped into a light meditation myself.


    I knew I wouldn¡¯t be able to truly focus on anything useful like actual Cultivation at the moment, but hoped I could at least calm myself.


    It¡­didn¡¯t work so well. My mind was jumping from inane thought to inane thought, constantly on the move. Five minutes in, I gave up on it, and slumped on the cushion. I reached out to stroke the girl¡¯s back again, and she stirred.

 6 : Small Recovery

    I froze at first, as she responded to the touch by retreating from it. More or less expected, I supposed, after what she had gone through. As her eyes slowly began to open, she seemed to suddenly come to all at once and scrambled up to her knees, scuttling slightly away from me.


    The sudden burst of movement also startled Avuri out of her meditation. We both were afraid to make any sudden movements and scare the girl further.


    After the burst of excitement, the girl seemed to lose her energy and settle into an emptiness that shook me to my core. Her eyes were devoid of any light as she stared forward seeing nothing. I desperately fought the urge to gather her up and tell her it would be alright, knowing that sort of action would just scare her.


    Avuri spoke first. ¡°Hello,¡± she tried, as warmly as she could. Just at the sound of her voice, the girl half flinched.


    ¡°Hey. It¡¯s okay.¡± I tried to say, quietly and without any sort of sharp tone of voice. I leaned down to the side from my seated position, making sure I wasn¡¯t leaning toward her, to try to enter her line of vision.


    She flinched again, but there was still no life in her eyes.


    ¡°Those guys are gone. You¡¯re safe with us.¡± I tried again, knowing that such words were virtually useless. She was entirely shut down.


    I went quiet for a while, as Avuri tried to talk her around. I had to hand it to the girl, she gave off an impressive motherly aura. Such a thing was¡­certainly beyond me.


    I wanted something that could get the girl to come around, or at least pull her out of the deadened state she was in.


    While I was lost in thought, Avuri produced a plate, which she placed on the table. Following that was several skewers of meat, and a few other smaller plates of snacks that she must have found around the compound.


    ¡°You must be hungry,¡± she said to the girl, ¡°please help me eat these.¡± With a smile, Avuri picked up a skewer and began to nibble at it. She glanced meaningfully at me, and I followed suit, picking up a skewer to nibble at.


    The girl continued to stare blankly ahead, the food appearing to have no effect.


    I took a deep breath. ¡°Do you have a family? Or know where your mother or father might be?¡±


    There was a small spark, as the girl¡¯s eyes widened just a little, then got misty. She shook her head, shutting her eyes closed tightly.


    I felt terrible after asking, knowing that this sort of reaction was all that would await me, but any reaction was better than none at this point. She needed to let some emotion through to even begin to process anything; entirely shutting down would only make it worse.


    I shifted a plate on the table closer to the girl, as she shifted to pull her legs up to her chest and hugged her knees. She took a moment to stare absently at the plate before, finally, tears began to well up in earnest, and she put her head down on her knees to cry.


    Avuri and I exchanged a look for a moment before continuing to slowly munch away at the food.


    The girl cried for a few minutes, without ever getting too loud. Eventually, it seemed like her hunger won out, and scooted to the table and began eating through the tears.


    I tentatively slid closer to her. She didn¡¯t react negatively as before, so I pulled out a small clean cloth from my new pack, and reached forward to try to clean off some of her face. She let me do so without protest.


    ¡°Here, I¡¯m sure that food would taste better without the tears.¡± I said, trying to wipe up some of the tears and snot running down her face. She pulled the skewer in her hand away so I could clean her up a bit as she sniffled loudly. The instant I pulled away, she resumed eating.


    I gave her a warm smile. ¡°Do you have a name?¡±


    She continued eating for a moment, before shaking her head wordlessly.


    Something in her eyes told me she was lying. It was possible she had been captured by the sect years ago and didn¡¯t know her own name or parents, but it was exceedingly unlikely that a child in that position would have lived so long.


    It was more likely she had either decided to not use her name anymore after something she had seen or been through, or, perhaps even more likely, been mentally broken by the demonic sect. Either way, it left a bad taste in my mouth.


    ¡°We should give you one, then.¡± I said, trying to sound at least a little up-beat. ¡°We can¡¯t keep referring to you as ¡®the girl¡¯ all the time. Is that okay?¡±


    She looked at me, her mouth still full, and gave the smallest of nods. The corner of her eyes were still gathering tears.


    Now that she was at least nominally responsive, I looked her over more carefully. She was absolutely encrusted with dirt, grime, and blood. I could barely see any skin on her beyond her face that wasn¡¯t dirty. Her hair was cut short and so full of dirt that I couldn¡¯t even tell what color it actually was.


    And then there were the rags she was wearing. I had ignored it until now, but she was quite literally wearing rags that were poorly stitched together into what was basically nothing more than a tabard and cinched with a rope at the waist. It was practically useless as clothing.


    I stopped eating and rummaged through the backpack for a large shirt I had found. It should function like a dress for her.


    ¡°Miss Axies, you know ice and water techniques, yes? Could you help me clean her up?¡± I asked, producing a bar of soap and a second clean cloth.


    Avuri turned to me, startled, with a mouthful of meat. She nodded as she hurried to swallow. ¡°I can do that, sure.¡± She grabbed up the soap and cloth, pulling some Qi forth to wet them.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    With most of the food gone, and the girl fully fed, we decided to take her into one of the buildings to wash up. It took some coaxing as the girl didn¡¯t seem interested in moving much, but we successfully got her into the building that had been used as living quarters, given the beds and storage trunks around the biggest room.


    We were particularly lucky to find a simple but large wooden basin in a back room that was clearly used to bathe. Avuri took some time to fill it up as I pulled the dirty, bloody rags off the girl¡¯s body. Many of them were stuck to her with dried blood and dirt.


    I had Avuri wet the washcloth and added some soap for a sort of preliminary wash down, aiming to scrub as much of the dried blood and dirt of the girl as I could. Even before she got into the bath to be truly scrubbed down, I had to swap out the washcloth more than once due to it just getting so covered in gunk that it wasn¡¯t really cleaning her any more.


    After several passes, I finally had her clean enough that I was confident she could get into the tub without immediately making the water gross and dirty. She did as instructed when we told her to step into the basin, and she sat quietly, uncomfortably still, as we scrubbed her down once more to get her fully clean.


    Every time we touched her, I was careful not to use too much pressure or otherwise scare her. She was constantly flinching and locking up as it was already. I didn¡¯t want to cause further harm. Even if she somehow believed that we wouldn¡¯t hurt her, there was no way her body could trust that.


    Once Avuri and I were pleased enough with her cleanliness we had her step out so we could dry her off and drape the new over-large shirt over her. I also cut a pair of pants into strips to fashion a belt to cinch it around her waist. I tried to keep it loose to avoid scaring her.


    As I wrapped the final bit of cloth around her midsection, I gave her a once over to be sure she was clean. The scent of snow and mountains clung to her hair after the wash. ¡°How about ¡®Cierra¡¯?¡± I asked, tying off the makeshift belt. I moved back to appreciate my handiwork.


    The simple shirt was definitely too big, and was folded in upon itself to compensate somewhat. The overall effect was pretty cute, though. It looked like a child wearing their parent¡¯s clothes.


    ¡°Cierra?¡± Avuri asked, looking at the girl, considering.


    ¡°Yes. Now that she¡¯s clean, she smells like a fresh, snowy mountain. No good?¡± I said, with a smile down at the child. Avuri nodded, seeming satisfied.


    The girl in question stared at me, with just a slight look of life returning to her eyes, as she looked down to watch as I wrote her potential new name in the dirt. ¡°Spelled just like this,¡± I said.


    She looked at it for a moment, as if committing it to memory. Then she nodded, and bent down to write it herself, once, then once again.


    I bent down in front of her and looked over her clean - though still limp - onyx hair. One of her blue eyes peeked up at me while the other remained closed. I met her stare, and she almost immediately turned away to avoid eye contact. My heart broke a little more as I flinched and said, ¡°You¡¯ll be okay. I promise,¡± knowing full well it would do nothing for her.


    ¡°So what exactly are you planning to do with her now, Miss Vale?¡± Avuri asked, also crouching down to be roughly eye level with us, though Cierra continued to avoid looking at us.


    ¡°I¡¯ll adopt her.¡± I said, the words leaving my mouth before I had time to even think. I blinked in momentary shock, realizing that I wasn¡¯t kidding. The girl - Cierra - continued to copy her new name in the dirt. Each attempt devolved further and further into nonsense.


    ¡°Are¡­are you serious?¡± Avuri asked. She sounded less shocked than her choice of words implied. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of work.¡± The two of us stared at Cierra. I had a small smile slowly making its way onto my face.


    ¡°I am. I have my reasons.¡± I said, putting as much earnestness into my words as I could. ¡°I¡¯ll figure something out. But I¡¯m not leaving her to someone else to deal with. I¡¯ll do it myself.¡± I nodded, as if convincing or reassuring myself.


    Avuri studied my face for a long, drawn-out moment. ¡°Well, alright then.¡± She finally declared, seeming somehow satisfied. ¡°I suppose I may as well take my leave. Things here seem more or less wrapped up, and I have plenty more to do before I return to my sect.¡±


    I side-eyed Avuri, giving her a once over. ¡°Thank you. Truly. Your help is quite literally why this girl is alive right now.¡±


    She let out a weak laugh. ¡°Make sure she stays that way, yeah?¡± Looking toward the sky, she added, ¡°You too.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Oh? Well, you as well then. No dying until we¡¯ve properly paid you back.¡± I said with a small grin.


    Her head snapped down to face me. ¡°Planning on paying me back, hm?¡± There was a slightly greedy glint in her beautiful purple eyes. Their shine took me off guard. ¡°You know where to find me - but where would I find you?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°No idea. I¡¯ve got no real home. Maybe that¡¯s something I can work on now.¡± I said, pointedly facing toward Cierra. ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯d want to force a¡­4? 5? Year-old to be always traveling.¡±


    Avuri nodded. ¡°Good idea. If you do find a place, send me a note. I¡¯ll come visit.¡± Avuri turned toward me with a brilliant smile. It felt entirely out of place at the moment. ¡°There¡¯s something oddly intriguing about you, Miss Emery Vale. I¡¯d like to find out what, exactly.¡±


    I scoffed, waving off her comment. ¡°Nothing to see here, honestly. Just your average Cultiva-¡±


    ¡°-that can slaughter a sizable group of bandits, several of whom were of roughly similar level, single-handedly, with barely a scratch. Yeah.¡± Avuri cut me off, with a bit of a grin. ¡°You¡¯re an interesting one, Miss Vale. And I¡¯m looking forward to meeting you again.¡±


    I sighed, looking at the sparkling light in her eyes. ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll send a note or something.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± She said, inclining her head from her squatting position. ¡°See you again, Miss Vale.¡±


    I inclined my head from my own crouch, "And you, Miss Axies."


    Following that, Avuri shifted toward where Cierra was writing in the dirt and stared at her for a moment, maybe hoping to get the girl¡¯s attention. Cierra looked up at her, though still wouldn¡¯t meet her eyes.


    "Cierra. I''m glad I could help you." Avuri said, with a warm smile. "I hope I''ll get to see you again, too."


    Cierra stared up and passed Avuri for a moment, her eyes darting around, trying to take in everything at once. But still not quite full of life. She muttered a quiet thank you that was barely audible. Her voice was faded and hoarse. It looked like it took her some effort to get even the two small words out.


    Avuri¡¯s smile turned somehow warmer, and she moved to place her hand on Cierra¡¯s hair, but the girl froze at the near contact. Avuri stopped before she touched Cierra, but otherwise didn''t seem too upset.


    Avuri gave Cierra one more smile, said "You''re very welcome," then stood.


    With the farewells said, after a more formal deep bow of farewell, Avuri''s body flooded with Qi and she leapt up and over the nearest wall to the compound, leaving Cierra and myself alone.


    We looked toward each other, still not quite meeting eyes, for a long moment. "So," I said, "are you¡­okay? Staying with me, I mean."


    Cierra considered for a moment, then nodded.


    "Are you sure? We can always find a nearby town or village to take you in."


    The girl shook her head. "No¡­I¡¯ll¡­stay.." Her voice still came out hoarse and scratchy, but clearer than before.


    I sighed, a small smile on my face, as I walked up to Cierra. She flinched as I approached, so I only offered her my hand. "Well okay then. Let''s go find ourselves a home."


    Cierra eyed my hand cautiously for a moment, before she gingerly placed hers in mine. I stood there a moment before awkwardly asking, "Is it okay if I pick you up and carry you? I can travel much faster that way."


    Cierra froze again, but after a moment, nodded silently. I slowly scooped her up, easily  carrying her thin, nearly emaciated body with my Aurical strength. Her body was horrifically frail and light - so much so that I felt almost sick while holding her.


    I cuddled the girl to my chest, my resolve firming once more, as I dumped some Qi into my body and leapt away.

 7 : Cierra in the Morning

    Cierra woke with a smile and a deep breath. Stena and Arek had hung around for two games after the first one despite how badly Cierra had trounced them.


    Yes, even with two sets of eyes on the board they stood no chance. Sure, one of those sets of eyes was nine years old, but that didn''t matter to her. She still crushed them ruthlessly.


    Just like Uncle Vale had taught her.


    Going to bed feeling so¡­content should have left her with better dreams. Less focused on some of the worst parts of her life.


    Of course, with some distance now, she could convince herself occasionally that it worked out for the best. Yes, the year or so that the demonic assholes had imprisoned her had been the worst. She had the scars - mental and physical alike - to prove it.


    She could barely even remember her blood parents. There were some snippets of memory that she could recall, but they were foggy. And the time she spent in the subterranean prison cell was something that she still actively tried to suppress.


    But it all led her to Mom. That was one thing she would never regret. Emery had been an inexperienced guardian when she had first taken her in, but even then Cierra could tell her new mother was trying very hard.


    And now, she wouldn''t trade anyone in her family for the world. She loved her mothers very much, and she was maybe a little too overprotective of her younger siblings. At least when it came to protecting them from others. Big sisters could tease and heckle all they want.


    With a large stretch and a yawn, Cierra shuffled her way out of bed and into her bathroom. Each bedroom in their main house had an attached, single bathroom, and Cierra could not have been more grateful for it. While she wouldn¡¯t exactly consider herself a loner, or even an introverted person, she wasn¡¯t sure that she could function without a bit of time in the morning to herself for a quick wash. It helped her wake up each morning.


    As she plopped her body down on the stool before the mirror, she rubbed the obvious sleep from her blue eyes and dumped a bucket of warm water over her head before she began to work out the knots in her hair. It was work she was used to every morning, but work all the same. Cierra was proud of her long, lustrous onyx tresses, but they took a fair bit of attention to maintain.


    Once she had combed out her hair to her own satisfaction, she stood and stretched again. As she didn¡¯t want a full wash in the morning, she wiped herself down with a warm, wet cloth. And finally, with a bracing breath, she poured a final bucket of water over her head - this one cold. The final step in her wake-up process.


    As she stepped back into her room, Cierra took a deep breath, shivered out a bit of the cold that now permeated her body, and began getting dressed for the day. Cierra was the tallest member of their family, standing just a bit taller than Avuri. While her height came with both upsides and downsides, the fact that all of her clothing was made just for her was a strong upside that she took full advantage of.


    Picking out a stately set of ivory robes, Cierra layered on a second, sheer robe of ice blue. As she settled it on her shoulders, she tried to rid herself of the bad memories that her dream left bouncing around in her head all morning. After tying a sash around her waist, Cierra left her room and headed down for breakfast.


    "Morning, Cierra." Emery greeted her from the kitchen. Kitchen knives of all sizes flew around the kitchen making quick work of vegetables, fruit, and all manner of other ingredients that would be used today. The amount of food needed to feed what was essentially a small village was truly staggering.


    Even with the massive amount of farming and husbandry the family took care of on their own, Cierra and Stena were often sent into the nearby Flowing Dragon City to acquire more ingredients. Sure, their family was able to provide most of what it needed from its own resources, but spices were harder to grow en masse, and extra rice and grain was always good to keep around.


    Even though it was an almost daily sight, Cierra never tired of watching her mother command the kitchen. Their home¡¯s kitchen was extra large, designed to be used to cook for the whole family. There was an abundance of counter space for cutting boards, mixing bowls, and the like. There were several cooking stations, designed to cover everything from traditional stove work to smoking, baking, and grilling. It was really quite a sight to behold.


    And the way Emery directed her knives, spoons, and spatulas around the kitchen was something else entirely. It was mesmerizing to watch the food practically cook itself, even though she was directly in control of it all.


    ¡°Morning, Mom.¡± Cierra returned. ¡°I see you¡¯re already hard at work. Is everyone else already awake?¡±


    ¡°Not yet. Ri and Uncle Vale are hanging around the table with some coffee and tea, I believe. I haven¡¯t seen your brother or sisters yet.¡± The woman turned briefly to smile warmly at her daughter. ¡°There¡¯s plenty of tea at the table if you¡¯d like, and I¡¯ll bring breakfast out in just a moment. If you want coffee, I think I¡¯d need to make you some fresh. Uncle Vale polished it off. ¡°


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    ¡°Tea¡¯s fine.¡± Cierra nodded, heading toward the dining room. She felt peckish and was happy to sit and relax with her mother and uncle for a while.


    As she neared the room, she heard Uncle Vale¡¯s voice down the hall. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re all doing well. It looks like we may even need to expand the basin again, soon.¡±


    ¡°We might. You know Merri likes to bring strays home everytime she leaves.¡± Avuri replied, taking a sip of her tea. ¡°And good morning, Cierra.¡±


    ¡°Good morning, Momri. Uncle.¡± Cierra responded with a smile as she walked in. ¡°Heard me coming, did you?¡±


    Her mother snorted.


    ¡°Cici!¡± Uncle Vale grinned wide, and spread his arms open. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you, girl.¡±


    ¡°And you.¡± She grinned, closing in for a hug. ¡°It¡¯s been, what, three months? Did your trip go well?¡±


    Vale patted her back affectionately. ¡°It did! I¡¯ve got a few bags of foodstuffs to hand off, which I¡¯m sure Emery will be glad to get her hands on. Give the newer kids something special to eat they¡¯ve probably never had before.¡±


    Cierra gave the older man a tight squeeze before backing away to take a seat. ¡°Oh? What¡¯d you bring us this time? Tell me it¡¯s not more of that stuff from last time.¡± She made a face, remembering the food that he had procured on his last trip, while dragging a cup over to herself and pouring some tea.


    ¡°The octopus? No.¡± He laughed. ¡°And I told you before, that¡¯s pretty common food down by the southern coast.¡±


    Cierra wrinkled her nose in disgust. ¡°It was gross. And most of the kids wouldn¡¯t eat it either.¡±


    ¡°Cici, you¡¯re, what, twenty yea-¡±


    ¡°Twenty-one.¡±


    ¡°Twenty-one years old now, you¡¯re gonna have to start being less picky.¡±


    She scoffed. ¡°I¡¯m perfectly happy not eating whatever strange seafood you bring, if it¡¯s going to be gross and slimy.¡±


    Avuri chuckled into her teacup and Cierra shot her a withering stare.


    Vale just sighed. ¡°Well, you¡¯ll be happy to know that this time I brought a bunch of exotic fruits, and some different sauces for meats.¡± His over exaggerated dejected look faded quickly to be replaced with a smile as Cierra¡¯s face lit up.


    ¡°Fruit? Did you-¡±


    ¡°Bring you some mangoes? Yes.¡± He interrupted her with a sly grin. Which grew when she all but threw herself into his lap for a hug.


    ¡°You. Are. The. Best.¡± She said, landing back in her chair.


    ¡°Tell me something I don¡¯t know.¡± Vale muttered to himself, picking up his coffee for a large gulp.


    ¡°Alright. My chess record against Stena this month is thirty-seven to two.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my girl.¡± Vale said, offering his hand for a fistbump. She obliged. ¡°Now then, how¡¯s the training been?¡±


    Avuri responded, ¡°Good. All the kids are coming along nicely. Cierra and Stena are both about as skilled as Merri and I were at their age.¡±


    Vale lifted a brow in question at Cierra. ¡°Oh? You¡¯re solidly in the Earth Realm now, right? What kind of techniques have you been working on?¡±


    Cierra took a long pull from her cup of tea, narrowly avoiding burning her mouth. ¡°I¡¯ve been using Momri for inspiration and have been focused mostly on ice and snow techniques. I¡¯ve got a few miscellaneous ones that are just everyday sort of utility, but¡­yeah.¡±


    She looked down into her cup for a moment, before continuing. She¡¯d been keeping this as a secret project of her own so far, but maybe one of them could help. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to work on a variant of Momri¡¯s blizzard dragon, but I¡¯m not able to form it well. The shape keeps breaking down.¡±


    Avuri smiled warmly at Cierra. ¡°Hun, it took me two years of working on that technique before it was useful. Something like that takes time and practice. And even then, when I first got it completed, it was nothing like what you¡¯ve seen now.¡±


    ¡°I get that, but you were good at Qi manifestation. I was¡­am, not.¡± She took another sip. ¡°I¡¯m working on other techniques too, of course. But-.¡± She stopped herself before she said something embarrassing like ¡®But I want to be like you.¡¯ out loud. ¡°Well. I want something that leaves an impression. And your blizzard dragon has left an impression on me since childhood.¡±


    ¡°Did you want help?¡± Avuri asked, wanting to avoid overstepping.


    ¡°At this point, I think so. I¡¯ve tried my best when it comes to shaping and controlling the Qi. But getting it to stay manifested in the shape - let alone move cohesively - is something I can¡¯t seem to get right.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure either of them would be happy to help you figure it out. Ri is particularly good at creative solutions.¡± Emery said, sweeping into the room. She placed some food on the table for the small group. And then she placed a cut mango in front of Cierra, whose face lit up immediately.


    Everyone was quiet for a moment as they each gathered up food for their plates. It was mostly simple things, a few common fruits like apples and peaches, some simple breads and pastries, and some hashed meats.


    ¡°We can take a look at it after breakfast, and see what kind of direction we can come up with.¡± Avuri said, beginning to pick at her food. ¡°Today was meant to be a day off from meditation after the late night last night, but we can still do some work if you¡¯d like.¡±


    Cierra nodded. ¡°Thanks, Momri. I¡¯d like that. Uncle Vale, too, if you¡¯re interested.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take a look.¡± Vale said with a nod. ¡°I helped both your mothers with their techniques at one point or another. I¡¯d be happy to help you too.¡±


    Before Cierra could respond further, Stena, Arek, and Astra walked in, all three still bleary eyed. ¡®Good mornings¡¯ were exchanged as each took seats. Astra hopped up into Avuri¡¯s lap and settled in for her own food.


    Avuri giggled, mussing the girl¡¯s hair. ¡°You¡¯re gonna have to find your own seat soon, Star. You¡¯re getting bigger.¡± Avuri kissed the crown of her daughter¡¯s head before gathering a plate for her.


    ¡°Right then, everyone, eat up.¡± Emery said with a clap, ¡°I¡¯ll get everyone else fed and we can move on with our day.¡±

 8 : Sage Advice

    Cierra, Avuri, and Vale had gathered in the main house¡¯s meditation room after breakfast to work on Cierra¡¯s technique as promised. Emery had volunteered to take the other kids out into the basin for a bit of play time, and to check in with each of the other family units, which left their house blissfully quiet for a while.


    ¡°Ok, so let¡¯s see what you can do so far..¡± Avuri said, as each of the three stood in a lazy circle in the center of the room. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since you¡¯ve shown Merri or me what you¡¯ve been working on.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Cierra muttered. ¡°I can only have the two of you breathing over my shoulder for so long before I have to work on some of my own techniques. Otherwise I¡¯d just end up a mini copy of one of you. Or both, and that would be terrifying.¡±


    After a beat, Vale laughed. ¡°True, the last thing we need are a bunch of mini-Merri¡¯s running around.¡±


    With a smile, Cierra began to take a stance before stopping and looking around. ¡°If I¡¯m going to be throwing techniques around, shouldn¡¯t we go outside?¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± Avuri turned on a heel toward the door. ¡°Right you are. Off we go, then.¡± She motioned Vale and Cierra to follow. They quickly made their way out of the room, down the stairs, and out into the Basin. The sun shone brightly overhead, even filtered through the Wisteria tree¡¯s branches.


    Cierra wrinkled her nose and sneezed as the sunlight hit her eyes. Avuri chuckled as Cierra muttered a curse under her breath.


    ¡°One of these days, I swear.¡± Cierra mumbled, ¡°Surely Cultivation will eventually stop me from sneezing when I see the sun.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got a ways to go for that one, Cici.¡± Vale said, clapping her on the shoulder as they ambled to an empty sparring ground. ¡°Cultivation does wonders for the body, sure. But it¡¯s not until the Sky Realm that your body really begins to change. And even then, you¡¯ll need to eat, drink, and sleep into the Heavenly Realm. Maybe around then¡­?¡±


    Cierra took in a deep breath and let out a huge, exaggerated sigh. ¡°Curses.¡±


    ¡°Well, you can worry about that after you show us what you¡¯ve got.¡± Avuri pushed her forward gently toward the center of the sparring field. ¡°And we¡¯ll see what we can do about helping you out.¡±


    With a serious nod, Cierra put herself in work mode. She took a deep breath to steady herself and begin circulating her Qi. As she pulled from her Core, she could feel the ambient temperature around her dip somewhat - not into freezing levels, but still noticeably colder than the day had been naturally. Licks of frost even formed on her skin and clothing.


    Avuri nodded in approval. ¡°That¡¯s a pretty good showing for doing nothing more than a basic cycle.¡±


    Spurred on by Avuri¡¯s light praise, Cierra took a stance and readied herself. She pushed and pulled the Qi throughout her body in different ways to summon a large amount of it to the surface and out into the air. Immediately, under her control, snow, wind, and ice began to form and coalesce into a writhing storm of energy.


    Cierra had seen Avuri do this technique so many times. Enough that much of it was so ingrained into her, that the process was near automated. Her body knew the steps it had to take to draw up the Qi, manipulate it, and form the technique. Beyond that, though, she hadn¡¯t figured out control.


    As she began to direct the Qi outward as an attack, the shape and cohesion of the dragon broke down. The tightly wound storm still surged forward, but it was as if Cierra had called up a small blizzard and directed it forward. Snow and ice pelted the ground for twenty meters ahead of her. There was a large cone of ice slick coating the ground before her, too. And she was sure that whoever was standing there beforehand would have had a very bad day; between the cutting ice and wind, someone without protection would have been in really bad shape.


    But the technique was uncontrolled and messy. It was so unsubstantial like this that she wouldn¡¯t even want to call it a technique. It was really just embarrassing. Cierra sighed aloud. ¡°And that¡¯s what happens. I can follow your cycling patterns and Qi control until the dragon is formed, so that¡¯s not a problem.¡± She said, turning to face Avuri. ¡°The problem is that I can¡¯t really follow how you contain and control it after you let it go.¡±


    Avuri nodded along, appearing in thought. However, before she replied, Vale stepped into the field.


    ¡°Have you tried using any technique that requires control at a range like that?¡± He asked as he approached.


    Cierra nodded once. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve learned the basics of mom¡¯s weapon manipulation techniques. I can control ten knives if I¡¯m really concentrating,¡± she said, excited.


    Vale continued to nod along. ¡°That might actually be your problem. If you¡¯ve been trying to apply Merri¡¯s Qi strand technique to control that dragon technique, you aren¡¯t going to have nearly enough control.¡±


    ¡°I know that,¡± Cierra muttered petulantly, ¡°I¡¯ve been using a stronger cord of Qi than what I use for knives.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean.¡± Vale corrected. ¡°The issue isn¡¯t the amount of Qi, nor your strength when it comes to the ranged manipulation. I do, literally, mean that technique won¡¯t work.¡± He smiled as he reached Cierra and placed a hand consolingly on her shoulder.


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°Merri¡¯s technique is an absolute marvel. It¡¯s designed to use as little Qi as possible while keeping your control over whatever you¡¯re tethered to as precisely as possible. There¡¯s even shortcuts built into the Qi through cycling patterns that make whatever you¡¯re manipulating work more by instinct than actual thought.¡± He continued to elaborate. ¡°However, that entire technique is built upon the idea that the weapons you¡¯ll be manipulating only need simple instructions. It¡¯s the equivalent of picking up a knife and throwing it - just doing so continuously without ever ¡®putting it down¡¯.¡±


    Cierra frowned, but considered what he was saying. And it did make sense - controlling the knives was a simple thing. What made it impressive was the ease at which you could expand and improve the technique through several layers. It was designed to be as streamlined as possible.


    ¡°So.¡± Vale said, ¡°What you actually need to work on is an entirely different kind of manipulation technique. One designed to contain, control, and direct masses of Qi.¡± As he spoke, Vale looked back at Avuri questioningly. She just motioned him on. With a nod, he turned back toward Cierra and began cycling his own Qi.


    Unlike the way that Cierra¡¯s ice- and water-aspected Qi chilled the air around her, Vale¡¯s Qi warped his body. Normally, the man was a strange combination of tall and imposing, while also being a bit paunchy and jovial. It was as if he had an internal switch that he could set wherever he wanted between the two extremes at any given moment. His skin was darker, with a reddish tint to it, and his pitch black hair cascaded in wild waves down his back.


    As he began to cycle his Qi, his body began to change to be much closer to his actual appearance, though Cierra had never seen it herself. Even through his robes, she could tell his body was heavily muscled and imperious, with none of his paunch to be seen. Instead, he was covered in dark black scales that looked almost as if they were smoldering. While his body was human in shape, his head looked far more like the dragon he truly was.


    With the sharper features and the ridges of scales and spikes contouring his head, Cierra nearly took a step back involuntarily in awe. The crown of his head bore two antler-like horns that looked both menacing and regal. It had been a while since she had seen him like this, and a pair of glowing, golden reptilian eyes stared back at her as she marveled at his appearance.


    ¡°Ha. Sorry, I forgot you¡¯re not used to this.¡± Vale said with a small chuckle and a shrug. He actively took a less imposing posture and slumped a bit.


    ¡°Sorry for staring.¡± Cierra said, ¡°Even knowing what to expect, it¡¯s so rare that you actually use your Qi while you¡¯re here that I never have the chance to get used to this.¡± She looked him up and down once. ¡°And that¡¯s not even including your clothing changes to fit your body when your Qi touches it.¡±


    Vale looked down with a slight smirk, running his - now clawed - fingers over the edges of his robes. They did, indeed, tighten in response to his Qi, conforming to his more tightly muscled body after losing the belly that he adopted to look less dangerous.


    ¡°You were still really little at the time, so you may not remember, but you have seen his true form, at least once. This look isn¡¯t half as impressive as his actual dragon form.¡± Avuri said with a warm smile. ¡°Though, I suppose it¡¯s better if he never needs to use that here.¡±


    ¡°Anyway,¡± Vale said, dragging them back on track. His voice held a strange, inhuman texture to it now, sounding like a deep, raspy voice with some shifting coals behind it. ¡°I¡¯ll show you the technique. Do your best to copy me, hm?¡±


    Cierra nodded seriously, and copied her uncle¡¯s stance. As he ran through the cycling patterns, he slowed everything down to allow Cierra to follow as best she could. After running through it several times, Vale stopped to watch as Cierra carried on alone. He corrected her here and there, explaining some of the intricacies of the technique as she altered and adjusted to the corrections. Within twenty minutes, she had the basics down solidly enough that he felt comfortable letting her practice on her own.


    ¡°Right then. You¡¯ve got the basics. Now you just need to apply that to the control part of your dragon technique. Watch.¡± Vale once again took up a stance, slightly different this time. In a show of similar yet opposite techniques, Vale fashioned his Qi into a brilliant, burning fire dragon. The technique looked almost identical to Avuri¡¯s, just composed of fire Qi instead.


    Vale made a show of using the control technique he had demonstrated earlier to control and contain the fire dragon. As he launched the mass of Qi away, the dragon remained intact, and rampaged around the field. Unlike the way Cierra¡¯s earlier attempt spun out into a cone of danger, Vale¡¯s technique didn¡¯t so much as scorch the ground. The destructive power of it remained contained in the shape of the dragon, the same way Avuri¡¯s technique was used.


    Cierra did her best to commit the whole thing to memory, and began to test the technique on a much smaller scale to get it right. Vale nodded as he let his Qi disperse into the air harmlessly. As his cycling slowed, then stopped, his body also readjusted to his more human appearance.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve given you plenty to work on?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Yeah. I think I can take it from here.¡± Cierra responded, already half-lost in her new experimentation. With a jolt, she looked up, her eyes bouncing between Avuri and Vale. ¡°Thanks Momri. Uncle.¡± Cierra¡¯s cycling quickly died out as she moved to give each of them a side hug. ¡°I¡¯m going to get right to work.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Avuri said, as she dipped slightly to kiss Cierra¡¯s forehead. ¡°Good luck. You¡¯ve got this.¡±


    Vale, for his part, clapped Cierra on the shoulder with a grin and winked. ¡°You¡¯ve got this, Cici.¡±


    And then they both turned and walked away, leaving Cierra to her newly reenergized practice.


    <hr>


    Vale and Avuri made their way back to the house at a relaxed pace. Once they were out of earshot from Cierra, they glanced at one another and Vale sighed and shook his head. ¡°I almost can¡¯t believe that¡¯s the same girl Merri picked up sixteen years ago.¡±


    Avuri smiled warmly as she stretched out her limbs. ¡°She¡¯s done a lot of growing. I suppose we all have, to be fair.¡±


    Vale did some small stretches himself as Avuri began rolling her neck. ¡°When Merri first returned with a half-dead girl who was more or less catatonic, I never would have guessed that this is how things would have turned out.¡±


    Avuri had a wide grin on her face as she turned to look out the window at their sprawling basin. ¡°If someone had told me when we first saved Cierra where we¡¯d end up I would have called them insane.¡± She chuckled. ¡°Well, mostly. I already had a bit of interest in Merri at the time because she was strangely¡­captivating. But all this? No way.¡±


    ¡°That girl really is something.¡± Vale said, turning in the direction of the main area in the center of the Basin, where Emery was likely playing with the other children. ¡°Though, don¡¯t sell yourself short, Av. You may not have been here immediately at the beginning, but the Wiria Family wouldn¡¯t exist without you, either.¡±


    ¡°I know. And I¡¯m incredibly proud of my hand in all this. But we all know it¡¯s because of Merri we ended up here.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t argue that point.¡± Vale rolled and popped a shoulder once more before rubbing his hands together hungrily. ¡°But now I¡¯m going to steal a bit of food and nap for a bit before we check back in with Cici later.¡±


    Avuri nodded. ¡°You do that. I¡¯m going to go pester my wife and see if she needs any help with chores today.¡±


    ¡°Perfect. You make for such a lovely distraction, dear.¡±

 9 : New Family Branch

    I stared down blankly at the girl in front of me. She was speaking absolute nonsense.


    ¡°Like I said. I want to find a place to make a home.¡± Emery¡¯s eyes burned with a conviction I¡¯d not seen in her in ages. That look combined with the little girl shaking like a leaf in her arms was enough to make me seriously consider her words.


    ¡°You want to ¡®find a place to make a home¡¯. I get that. But you¡¯ll need to be more specific about what you want help with.¡± I said, crossing my arms. I wanted to look like I was taking her seriously. Which I was. But I was told while in my human form that I often looked like I didn¡¯t take anything seriously.


    ¡°Uncle Vale. You know my background. You know what I was doing out there before I came back here. I¡¯m sure you can guess what happened.¡± She motioned toward the girl with her chin.


    ¡°I can. But that doesn¡¯t explain what you said. Why not buy a house in a city somewhere nice? Or one of the million farmsteads around the empire? There¡¯s plenty o-¡± Emery was shaking her head before I even finished what I was saying.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been wandering around enough. I¡¯m tired of it, and I¡¯m tired of putting children in orphanages or in the charge of random nearby villages.¡± Emery took a breath, maybe to calm herself? ¡°I want to make a home for myself and the kids I find. Maybe not all of them, but some. Like her.¡± Her eyes lit up again with that same earlier fervor. ¡°Most of the kids we¡¯ve rescued don¡¯t have homes or villages to return to. I want to take them in myself. And I would need a safe, secluded place to do that.¡±


    To be fair, what she was saying made sense. If Emery wanted to just start an orphanage to look after orphaned children, that would be one thing, and would be easily done anywhere. But an orphanage for children that had been caught up in demonic Cultivator trouble would be far more difficult. Too many people believed that such kids brought bad luck or curses to those nearby. The average city would never allow them to live peacefully nearby.


    Villages or farmsteads would likely be just as bad. Especially if Emery had planned to continue her hunting and leave the children she helped alone or under the protection of others on occasion; they could be harassed or worse.


    ¡°So you need a safe place away from people to be something of a secluded retreat.¡±


    Emery nodded. ¡°Yes, exactly. And I¡¯m sure that you know of at least a place or two like that.¡±


    She wasn¡¯t wrong. I could think of several such places that could work. ¡°How many children do you plan on taking in yourself, exactly?¡±


    ¡°As many as I can.¡±


    Yeah, no surprise there. ¡°A large, secluded place that could house a small army. Located near a town for supplies, but still far enough away to avoid being directly associated with them. Easily defensible, just in case. Hm.¡± I was pretty sure I knew of a perfect spot.


    ¡°You know a spot. I can see it on your face.¡±


    ¡°I might. But I want to make sure you know what you¡¯re doing before we go any further with this.¡±


    Emery lightly goaded the child in her arms down and placed her feet on the floor, making a point of taking in their surroundings. The large house they stood in had been their shared home on and off for nearly fifteen years. Emery may not be around now as much as she used to be, but would always be her home.


    ¡°Veilnyr. I grew up watching you father half a dozen kids - including myself - right here. Maybe I turned out a little¡­weird, but Natalya and the others all turned out pretty good! I may not have seen everything you did to keep us happy and healthy, but I saw a lot of it. And I¡¯m confident I can do the same. More than that, even - I want to.¡±


    I stared into Emery¡¯s eyes sternly. While I understood what she was saying, she needed to understand the weight of her words. ¡°Raising kids is backbreaking work, much of which you never saw. It¡¯s a constant barrage of chores, problems, sudden emergencies, and all kinds of other nonsense. You¡¯ve never had to deal with a kid that stuck a bug up their nose.¡± I chuckled, thinking back to Kota whining and freaking out over sticking a bug up his nose and being unable to get it out.


    ¡°Or,¡± I continued seriously, ¡°trying to help a child who is crying because they are sick, or hurt, or just generally unable to do what they want for a reason you can¡¯t do anything about.¡± As I spoke this time, I could see her expression darken somewhat. I gave her a warm smile. ¡°Trust me, it¡¯s all well and good when you can go out and fight the bad guys and solve the problem. But being unable to help your crying child is something else entirely. It¡¯ll put a strain on you like nothing else.¡±


    The fire in her gaze never faltered, though she did stop to look at the young girl briefly. When she did, the fire eased into a warmth I had rarely ever seen from Emery. That was good. At least she seemed to truly want to care for this girl. For better or worse, it would be a question of how long that feeling would last.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°I just want you to know,¡± I began again with a sigh, and her eyes snapped back to me. ¡°This whole parenting thing? It starts easy. In a situation like you¡¯re in now, it¡¯s easy to look at that little girl and be completely consumed by the desire to shelter and protect her.¡±


    Emery¡¯s mouth opened to speak, but I held up a hand to stop her from interjecting. ¡°I''m not saying you shouldn''t do this. You just need to know what you''re getting into. It''s going to be hard and a whole lot of work. You''re going to get mad. You''re going to get upset. Kids are uniquely qualified when it comes to pissing off parents who are just trying their best.¡± I snickered again, thinking back, but quickly continued, wanting to get this out in full.


    ¡°But. The successes and what you gain can be worth so much more than the failures and aggravation.¡± I stepped a bit closer to Emery and placed a hand on her head, ruffling her hair a bit; an old habit that never really went away with any of my kids. ¡°Trust me. If you really want to do this, and honestly think you¡¯re ready, I¡¯ll support you.¡±


    Emery took a deep breath to center herself, and looked up at me, pushing my hand off her head. ¡°I am. I¡¯m ready.¡± She looked over at the girl, who was sitting quietly on a kitchen chair, knees up under her chin, with her arms tightly wound around her legs. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be able to live with myself if I didn¡¯t at least try. She deserves better than whatever orphanage she would get thrown into.¡±


    ¡°No argument there,¡± I said, also turning to watch the girl. ¡°But be that as it may, I guarantee you are not ready. No parent ever is.¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°This is the place.¡± I said, as we finally finally arrived on the far side of the mountains. Emery was riding near my shoulder as I flew us over the basin in my true body. It was nice, now and then, to stretch out the old bones. My natural form was massive, and covered in dark scales that looked as though a smoldering fire laid beneath. Two large wings carried us over the mountains, located toward the middle of my fairly long, serpent-like body.


    Emery, making great use of her Cultivator strength and grip, held onto my right foreleg up by my shoulder. At this point, I was accustomed to giving my children a perch to ride on, and had my foreleg bent at an angle so she could stand on my arm as I flew.


    In preparation for this visit, we called Talya back home and left Cierra in her care for a few days while we came out to scope out this potential new home. For better or worse, Cierra remained jumpy and mostly unresponsive still. Emery¡¯s elder sister was more than happy to watch over the girl while we scouted for Emery¡¯s new home. In fact, she nearly threw us out the door, after she heard what Emery was planning to do.


    The area here was generally dominated by the Dragon Peaks; four huge, domineering mountains that were practically each their own biome. Each was dominated by one of the major elements, and had the appearance to match. We had flown up and over the Verdant Dragon Peak, as it was the safest and least complicated to ascend.


    Coming up and over the peak gave us a clear shot of the basin. While the four major peaks dominated the skyline, the connecting smaller mountains surrounded a patch of land that was several square kilometers in size. It would easily match Emery¡¯s size requirement for who knows how many children.


    Even better, a little ways off to the side there was a natural spring. Fed by the Flowing Dragon Peak¡¯s predominant water Qi, the water was clean and clear - perfect to drink. And with so much water Qi at the source, it would take an incredible natural disaster to interrupt the flow. With the addition of a few simple Arrays, this little basin would not only be livable, but practically a perfect compound for a large sect.


    As I circled the basin and descended to land, Emery hopped off my shoulder to fall the last 25 meters or so. She landed gracefully on her feet as I shifted back into my human shape and landed beside her.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t really hear you up there,¡± I said, looking her way, ¡°What do you think?¡±


    Emery looked around the basin, a strange look on her face. Some strange combination of awe and concentration. ¡°It¡¯s amazing. There¡¯s fresh water, plenty of space¡­ and the land looks more fertile than I would¡¯ve expected in the mountains, too. With some simplistic but large Spiritual Arrays, this place could easily be made into a huge farm.¡±


    I nodded along. ¡°It¡¯ll take some work, but it¡¯s doable. And something we can do ourselves without spending an inordinate amount of money.¡± I walked up beside Emery, took her by the shoulder and spun her to face the center of the basin. ¡°We¡¯ll set up a large farming Array in the center, then expand it as necessary. I can talk to an old wood Qi master friend of mine for help getting some trees planted and grown. We can use those to put buildings together.¡±


    Emery laid her hand atop mine, patting it gratefully. ¡°I¡¯ll turn this place into a safe haven for everyone I can.¡± Continuing to look around, she eventually sighed. ¡°I¡¯m going to need help at first. Or maybe forever. I can¡¯t always be here to keep an eye on things if I want to still get out there and try to hunt down more demonic sects.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure Talya would be willing to assist you for a while.¡±


    ¡°Especially if I pay her,¡± Emery chuckled. ¡°Natalya may be able to make a survivable living as a calligraphy artist, but she really needs to finish learning how to make Spiritual Arrays already.¡±


    ¡°You could let her practice here, you know.¡± I said, goading. ¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯d appreciate that just as much as actual money.¡±


    ¡°True. I want you to take care of the important stuff like the main farming and habitation Arrays. But she can certainly take care of smaller ones around here once we get settled.¡± Emery gave me a sidelong glance. ¡°She did learn all of the associated bathroom Arrays, right?¡±


    ¡°Most.¡± I confirmed. ¡°I think her hot water production Array still needs work.¡±


    ¡°Then you can build our baths, because I¡¯m not waiting on her to learn before I can have a hot bath.¡± We both lightly chuckled, still looking around the large area.


    ¡°Now, before anything else,¡± Emery began, squinting toward the edges of the basin. ¡°How, exactly, do people without wings get out of here?¡±

 10 : Playground

    Emery was sitting on a bench nearby the main thoroughfare of the basin, watching the children play. With the main, giant wisteria tree in the center of the basin spread out in a large canopy close to 100m above her, sunlight came down in beams that struggled to make it through the large boughs. And after that, they still had to filter through the smaller trees that were planted and spread out beneath the Qi-infused elder wisteria.


    Still, thanks to a few well-arranged Spiritual Arrays, the basin was always well lit in warm sunlight-like natural light. It was needed for all the farming they did, if nothing else. But it also gave the large open plot of grass and dirt near the main house perfect light for kids to play by. And play they did.


    Arek and Astra had gathered a number of the other younger children for a game of tag earlier when she first brought them out here. In the time since, some of the older kids had also joined in and the game had turned from a simple children¡¯s game into something of a show.


    Whenever one of the older children was ¡®it¡¯, the older group - who were mostly Human Realm Cultivators - really went at it when it was their turn. The chasing and dodging became an acrobatic game of cat and mouse as they spun, flipped, and otherwise practically flew around the playground. The acrobatics on display were impressive for their age, and Emery smiled. If they were playing among normal village kids, the game would be so one-sided it would basically cease being a game at all.


    Thankfully none of the older boys or girls picked on the younger ones, who clearly couldn¡¯t keep up. They would occasionally chase them down, scoop them up ¡®tagged¡¯, and then let them run amok among the younger group again until an older sibling let someone tag them again. Play proceeded like this for a while, with each age group swapping, but neither ignoring the other.


    Emery could feel the smile creep onto her face. This was exactly what she had wanted all those years ago. Of course, this scene wasn¡¯t anything new - this sort of playing had been pretty normal for years now. But it never failed to brighten her mood, knowing what some of these kids had been like when she picked them up.


    Her eyes were drawn to Astra, her newest daughter. Her body was still somewhat emaciated, her bones easily visible beneath her lack of muscle or fat. Her hair was looking more and more normal each day, instead of the sickly, pale gray wisps she had had on her head when she was first brought here.


    Despite all that, the girl¡¯s face showed nothing but a big great smile as she was fully absorbed in the game. She was still small, even for her age at seven, which let her hide behind Arek rather successfully. And Arek played at protecting her from the older kids who were taking their turn leaping around.


    Elise was currently the chaser, and Emery watched her bounce around before expertly faking out Enrik. With a quick change of direction after clearly signaling she would launch the other way, Elise had forced Enrik to try to wrench his weight around in a quick twist to adjust. While his attempt was admirable, the movement took him just off balance enough that he stumbled.


    ¡°Gotcha!¡± Elise called, as she sped past him to the side, and gently pushed his shoulder.


    ¡°Oh, that girl¡¯s a troublemaker¡­¡± Emery chuckled to herself. And sure enough, the slight shove was placed just so, and sent Enrik just a bit further off-balance to the point that he couldn¡¯t recover. He squawked as he tumbled to the side. To his credit, though, he rolled back to his feet without missing a beat.


    ¡°Elise! I¡¯m gonna get ya for that!¡± He yelled menacingly, as the girl practically skipped away, sticking out her tongue at him.


    And then, with him in hot pursuit, she slid behind Arek and Astra, using them as an obstacle. Arek quickly situated himself between Astra and Enrik, continuing to play the valiant defender, as Enrik ran up and eyed Elise over the younger siblings¡¯ heads.


    ¡°You¡¯re really taking hostages?¡± He said, acting as though he couldn¡¯t believe it. Then his face took on a haughty look. ¡°I suppose you do need the help to escape, huh?¡±


    Elise clicked her tongue. ¡°I do not!¡± She shot back. ¡°I got you on my own, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± He said, drawing it out tauntingly. ¡°And yet, here you are, hiding.¡± As he spoke, he feinted to the left, then the right, trying to gauge her reaction to his movements. She barely responded at all, calling his bluff.


    Finally, he committed, and darted right. Elise read him correctly, and jumped off to his left, getting away quickly and putting a fair bit of distance between them fast.


    Arek, however, was not nearly fast enough to react to the speed that the Earth Realm Cultivators moved at. And as Enrik saw Elise slip well out of his grasp, he quickly adjusted and spun around Arek to scoop up Astra. In a blink, Astra was up on Enrik¡¯s shoulder and he tapped her on the nose.


    ¡°Alright, Star. You¡¯re gonna be the one to get Elise for me.¡± He said with a mischievous grin, and then whispered something in her ear.


    Elise, confused for her part, stood watching with a confused eyebrow raised.


    As Enrik finished explaining something to her, Astra¡¯s face lit up and she nodded emphatically. Enrik gently put the girl down, and she sped off toward Elise at a normal, non-Cultivator speed.


    Enrik gave Arek a pat on the shoulder, consoling the boy who looked a little dejected because he failed to protect Astra at all. The younger boy just sighed and looked peeved as Enrik dashed off after Elise.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    As Elise dodged playfully around Astra, Enrik began getting in Elise¡¯s way, trying to trip her up or otherwise pen her in to get her caught. As the dance continued, it seemed like Enrik¡¯s plan wasn¡¯t working until Elise dodged Astra and continued running in the circle right in front of Emery.


    And as she passed, Astra kept running, straight into Emery.


    ¡°I got you, Mom!¡±


    Emery gave her a big, toothy grin in response. ¡°I guess you did.¡± She said, standing. And Emery lightly stretched her legs, she watched Elise go pale. Enrik laughed. After cracking her neck, Emery scooped up Astra and put her on her shoulders, securing the girl¡¯s arms around her neck.


    ¡°Hold on tight, Star.¡± She said, keeping one hand behind the little girl¡¯s back to keep her steady. Then, Emery shot off. Elise was moving before Emery had even finished stretching, but within an instant, Emery was standing before Elise, blocking her way. Elise quickly changed directions.


    Emery was impressed with how nimble the girl was. At sixteen, she was one of the oldest in the group, and was doing great in her Cultivator training. But even then, the girl¡¯s speed and flexibility was worth praise.


    Emery proceeded to hound the girl a few more times, making her run sprints with sudden direction changes before finally getting ahead of her without giving her enough room to adjust.


    The girl stumbled while trying feebly to stop her momentum, but was unable to stop herself from crashing right into Emery¡¯s outstretched hand.


    Astra cheered from her shoulders. ¡°We got her!¡±


    Enrik cheered in concert with her, as did many of the other kids on the field. Emery put Astra back down and crossed her arms, watching Elise pant to catch her breath.


    ¡°That was some really impressive running there, Elise. Well done.¡± Emery said, holding her hand out for a high five. Elise, still doubled over trying to catch her breath, eyed her hand warily, but did reach out for the high five.


    And then Emery smirked. ¡°Oh! I guess I¡¯m the chaser again, aren¡¯t I?¡± She said, loudly for everyone to hear. And with a huge grin she turned around to the rest of the field to see pale faces and everyone backing up step by step.


    Her eyes locked onto Enrik¡¯s, and she watched him take a deep breath and gather himself onto the balls of his feet. He knew what was coming, she was sure of it.


    <hr>


    Avuri, despite what she told Vale, ran back into the house to check on things and clean up from breakfast before she went outside to check on Emery and the kids. She could hear the shouting and laughter coming from the playground while she was tidying up, and it put a smile on her face.


    She was sure that Cierra would make some solid progress today, after Vale¡¯s lesson. And the man was right; the technique that Emery used to control her weapons was not ideal for controlling roiling, dangerous Qi. She sighed aloud. ¡°If Cierra had just asked, I could have told her that weeks ago.¡± She muttered, frowning at the dirty cookware that she was scrubbing at.


    She understood, of course, that Cierra wanted to do it on her own and not rely on them to teach her everything. She understood that very well, in fact, remembering how she felt when she was still learning at the Frozen Mountain Sect. Much the same, she had rebelled at being taught how to do every technique that the Sect disseminated just so. It felt stifling, when she couldn¡¯t put things together herself and had to just learn to follow directions.


    Knowing how Cierra felt didn¡¯t exactly help, though. She still wanted to give her daughter every advantage she could, and Cierra trying to use Avuri¡¯s techniques made her uniquely qualified to help.


    ¡°Even if she doesn¡¯t want just exact copies of my techniques, I could still teach her the theory¡­¡± she muttered, placing the cookware in the drying rack. After wicking away the remaining water from her hands with a quick touch of Qi, Avuri headed out to the playground.


    When she arrived, she immediately wished she could take an exact copy of the scene before her. Astra was astride Emery¡¯s shoulders, her legs curled around Emery¡¯s arms and tucked in behind her armpits for as much stability as she could muster. Her arms were also wrapped tightly around Emery¡¯s neck to hold her in place.


    Emery, for her part, was moving around the playground at a speed well beyond any of the kids in the area. Perhaps Cierra or Stena could keep up on a good day, but if that would be up to chance.


    The kids were scattering as quickly as they could manage, trying to stay as far away from Emery¡¯s rampage as they could. Which, it seemed like they could, so long as they weren¡¯t the one she was currently chasing. For the moment, Emery appeared to be doggedly on the heels of Lia, one of the twelve-year-old girls.


    Despite Lia running at a sprint, Emery kept getting ahead of her, or running just alongside her, forcing the girl to change directions at a sprint. Emery did this several times, before she stepped in behind Lia and with a quick burst of speed, snatched the girl up from behind and lifted her up above her head.


    As Lia flailed aimlessly, Emery lifted her easily within reach of Astra¡¯s outstretched hand, and Astra smacked Lia on the shoulder.


    ¡°And you¡¯re out!¡± Emery declared. As she sped over to the bench, which was already occupied by five other kids, laughter broke out among the crowd. She gently placed Lia in an open spot, then turned back to the field, her eyes full of hunger as she asked Astra, ¡°Who¡¯s next?¡±


    As their game continued, Avuri let her Domain inertly flow out of her and toward Emery. In answer, Emery¡¯s Domain slipped out, and the two intermingled, slotting into place within one another, as if they were designed to do so. Avuri supposed they were, given their Bonded Cultivation, but she was still always a little awed by how right it felt to be connected in that way. When their Domains were linked, she just felt whole. Emery had said more than once that she felt as though being connected like that felt like their natural state, more than when they were separate. Avuri agreed.


    Avuri walked over to the bench and sat with the kids who were ¡®out¡¯. She ruffled some hair and playfully knocked the kids about until they made room for her in the middle. Once she sat, Kaili and Marche, the kids on her either side, both leaned against her happily.


    As she watched her wife absolutely terrorize the other kids, she wasn¡¯t sure life got any better than this.

 11 : Water for Baths

    Avuri ran her fingers through Emery¡¯s hair. ¡°You really need to wash up before you go anywhere near the kitchen,¡± She said, watching the dirt and dust fall from her wife¡¯s shaggy mane. Emery just grinned happily, shaking her head and sending bits of dirt flying about. Avuri just made a face.


    ¡°How you manage to walk away from playing with the kids as such a mess every single time is beyond me.¡± Avuri sighed, and bent down to try to brush out some of the dirt from Astra¡¯s hair as well. As usual, she was attached to Emery¡¯s hip.


    ¡°Blame Cruz and Wrynn. They¡¯re the little troublemakers who started throwing dirt, trying to avoid me.¡± Emery said. She leaned her head forward and roughly mussed up her hair with her hands, trying to get some of the dirt out.


    ¡°Yep. And it¡¯s just as much their fault that you saw fit to then tackle them to the ground and roll around in the dirt. Mhm. That tracks.¡± Avuri said blandly, turning away from Emery to hide a small smile.


    ¡°They deserved it.¡± Emery said, eyeing the two offending siblings, and then she spoke up much louder for them to hear across the field. ¡°Didn¡¯t they?¡±


    In response, the brother and sister looked down sheepishly as they tried entirely in vain to get the dirt and grass stains out of their clothing.


    Avuri sighed again, and stood. ¡°Come here, you two.¡± She motioned to Cruz and Wrynn. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a quick washing up.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯ll wash them but not us? I see how it is¡­¡± Emery crouched down next to Astra. As Emery went cheek-to-cheek with the girl, they pouted in unison.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get to you in a minute.¡± Avuri said, pointing at the two of them as Cruz and Wrynn crossed the field.


    ¡°Sorry Momri¡­¡± Cruz said, still looking sheepish. ¡°We didn¡¯t -¡±


    Avuri placed a comforting hand on his head, then her other hand on Wrynn¡¯s. She ruffled their hair, giving each a warm smile in turn. ¡°You both did fine. If nothing else, you recognized a threat too great to fight off and did what you could to survive. It may be fighting dirty, but your survival should be your first concern in a situation like that.¡± She nodded approvingly. ¡°Now then, close your eyes.¡±


    As the two children obeyed, Avuri hovered a hand over each of their heads. A steady stream of water flowed forth over the kids, quickly soaking them from head to toe. Avuri¡¯s Qi couldn¡¯t generate soap or any actual cleaner, but she could scrub most of the normal stains away with just her Qi. And thankfully most of the dirt and grass stains weren¡¯t all that stubborn to remove.


    After a minute¡¯s concentration, the cleaning appeared to be mostly done. With another wave of Qi, the water was evaporated from the kids¡¯ clothes leaving them mostly clean and dry. She turned them around by their shoulders and pushed them back toward the other kids still playing in the playground. ¡°Off you go.¡±


    Cruz immediately took off to rejoin the other kids, but Wrynn spun back to give Avuri a hug before joining him in running off. She murmured a ¡®Thank you¡¯, accented with a tight squeeze. Avuri patted her head again before she ran off.


    Without missing a beat, Avuri stood, turned around back toward Emery and Astra, and immediately drenched them with a blast of water. She made sure the water was warm and comfortable, like nice, toasty bath water.


    But she didn¡¯t hold back on the torrential force. Well, at least against Emery.


    The woman, caught off-guard as she was chatting happily with Astra, was swept completely off her feet and thrown back a few meters by the force of the surging water. She landed pretty hard on her rear end, sprawled out messily as she was unable to get her arms or legs to cooperate in the water.


    By the time Emery managed to regain herself, Astra was drenched, but happily playing in a controlled spray from Avuri as if in a fountain. ¡°Traitor.¡± Emery muttered toward Astra; and promptly found herself with a second faceful of water. This time the force was mitigated somewhat by the lower density of the spray, though she sputtered as it got in her eyes, nose, and mouth.


    Blinking her eyes clear, she saw Avuri smile at her and raise her eyebrows in a small taunt. All the while, she continued to make a light spray for Astra, who was dancing around in the water, enjoying the cleaning.


    As Emery clambered up to her feet, Avuri drew the moisture out of Astra¡¯s clothes, leaving her dry and mostly clean. She would get a bath later to better clean her up, same as Cruz and Wrynn.


    ¡°My turn?¡± Emery asked, as she walked up to Avuri, arms spread wide as her clothes visibly dripped water. Some laughter was scattered throughout the group of kids still playing in the field nearby as they took note of Emery looking like a wet cat.


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Good question.¡± Avuri asked, turning to the kids in the playground. ¡°What does everyone think? Should I dry her off?¡±


    ¡°Get her again!¡± was the shout from Elise. And then echoed by several of the other children.


    Avuri¡¯s grin turned evil in that moment, as she moved to stalk toward Emery, hands raised as if she was casting a hex. ¡°You heard them¡­¡± she muttered.


    And then, with a flourish of Avuri¡¯s arms, several thick pillars of water emerged from behind her, seemingly from nothing. And with a second flourish, the pillars crashed into Emery from all sides.


    <hr>


    I shook out my damp hair as I climbed up out of the bath. Even now, as we were getting deeper into the winter months, the air up here in the basin was pleasant. I wouldn¡¯t have described it as ¡®warm¡¯, so much as ¡®mild¡¯. After the first few months of days full of hard labor, the basics of a compound was coming together beautifully.


    The first thing we did was get the land set up with some basic Arrays. With Talya¡¯s help, we set up one that would keep the temperature mild and temperate throughout the year to assist with living in the mountains. Following that, we set up several that would help the already surprisingly fertile land be more palatable to a wide array of flora, as well as keep it fertile through the use of ambient wood Qi even without the use of techniques for farming like crop rotations.


    Following that, we needed more material. And indeed, as he had said, Uncle Vale had gotten in touch with a wood Qi master that he knew - whom I expected was actually another dragon in disguise - and asked for assistance in getting things started.


    While it was very likely somewhat of a drain on the land, the man had obliged. At my behest, he had riddled the landscape with trees. It was one of the most awe-inspiring sights I had ever witnessed; I¡¯m fairly positive my sister and I watched, mouths agape, as the man masterfully wove his Qi into the land. Trees sprouted, slowly at first, and then grew into full size trunks, replete with beautiful foliage.


    Many of the trees were sturdy woods, all produced for us to use as lumber sources and buildings, at least for now. I would be sure to save seeds and add saplings back wherever possible.


    However, I had requested that many of the trees be useful as visual cover for hiding from whatever may fly overhead. When the stunningly beautiful wisteria trees began to spread out and flourish in the area, I was once again awestruck.


    I had seen wisteria trees before, and was already enamored with their beauty. But seeing the landscape fill with such vibrant lavender shades was something altogether different. As they were engineered with Qi, these wisteria were taller than any others I had seen, and their foliage seemed thicker as well. They did wonders for blocking sight from above as their wide stretching branches crossed with each other, creating a solid canopy of purple.


    When the man had first arrived, he had produced a wisteria tree from a storage ring. The thing was already fully grown and quite large. His first act was to plant it dead center in the basin. I had assumed that he was somehow using it as a focus for growing the others or some such. Techniques this impressive often needed a focus or something to channel through or from.


    However, as the rest of the trees seemed to finish growing, the wisteria he had physically planted began to grow - and fast. It quickly dominated the space, growing to at least five meters across at its trunk. The canopy grew up and out, draping over a huge portion of the center of the basin. I would have guessed at least 50% of the total space was covered by it, but it was probably even more than that.


    We were told that the central tree was an incredibly old wisteria that had grown suffuse with wood and water Qi. It would likely eventually grow a tree spirit if cultivated long enough, and being in a space like this would be very healthy for it - thus why it was brought. I vehemently agreed to take care of it.


    And after that, the man left. Or, rather, rode Uncle Vale away.


    The day after, we were able to get several small houses put up. They were cozy, sized to house between four and six people each. In the meantime, as we continued building up the space, Uncle Vale and Natalya took up residence in one house each, while I began to live with Cierra in another.


    The following few weeks were busy and the most physically demanding. We began to harvest many of the hardwood trees for lumber. Those all went into further buildings. The first of which was a large mansion-like building in the center of the basin, directly under the elder wisteria. Uncle Vale insisted on future proofing wherever possible, and under his direction we built the house to be unnecessarily large. The ground floor was basically one large room, designed to be large enough to hold town meetings. The second and third floors were, together, a sprawling family home with far more rooms than Cierra and I needed.


    In the process of all our work, we struck accidental gold. As it turned out, the basin had many veins of Qi running through the ground, coming from each of the peaks. A little ways off to one side of the basin, but still under the elder wisteria tree, was a point where fire Qi and water Qi veins met - and it created a fantastic spot for a hot spring. There wasn¡¯t any naturally occurring water there, however the mix of Qi would keep any water placed there hot, pure, and perfect for a bath.


    And so, up went the bathhouse. We dug a little ways into the ground to create a lovely stone bath and enclosed it with wooden walls and partitions, complete with different sections for boys and girls.


    In the course of a few weeks, we had put up the main house, four smaller houses, the bathhouse, and four large open pavilion-like buildings, even though they had no designated purpose yet.


    Once the buildings were finished, we began to work on preparing the land for farming, which was absolutely back-breaking work. It took weeks for us to decide what would be going where and then tilling the land accordingly. The only area that went up quickly were the rice paddies, as they were always going to go next to the Flowing Dragon Peak and its water Qi as it would be easiest to flood the fields from there.


    Today, some two and a half months after beginning to settle the basin - and some five months after deciding to live here - was the first time I had truly been able to relax in the bath after a hard day¡¯s work and not have to get up bright and early the next day just to do more.


    Tomorrow I could finally sleep in. Hopefully.

 12 : Set Out

    Daily life at the Frozen Mountain Sect was¡­well, to put it mildly: boring. Sure, there were a good number of Elders here and most of them were good teachers. Even better, several of them were good people. I hadn¡¯t spent a ton of time in other Sects, but even I knew that many, many Elders were selfish at best and actually evil at worst. Unfortunately, there¡¯s only so much anyone can do to fight against people like that when they could be, quite literally, swatted like a fly.


    Putting all that aside, though, I did learn a bunch at the Frozen Mountain Sect, having joined when I was fourteen. Many of their standard water and ice focused Qi techniques were the foundations that I had grown upon, and now my skills were more than proficient for my level in the Earth Realm.


    After being in the Earth Realm for somewhere around nine years, I felt like I was beginning to stagnate somewhat. I had learned what the Elders were willing to teach - at least technique-wise - and most of my time was spent Cultivating through meditation instead of learning these days.


    And that was just horribly boring.


    I was getting antsy to do something. This deep-seated need to get out and learn or improve was what had spurred me, nine months ago, to leave the sect for some field training. I had traveled around the Floral Hills doing odd jobs and trying my best to learn or otherwise improvise some of my own original techniques.


    The trip had been worth it. I did improve myself a fair bit while traveling. Sure, the Qi and Core improvement from regular meditation while on the road was great. But I was really able to dig deep and tweak some of the Frozen Mountain techniques more to my own personal taste, as well as develop my own abilities more.


    I was particularly proud of my Hoarfrost Armor. While the Frozen Mountain Sect taught a simple version of using hardened ice Qi to create a layer of armor, I was convinced that it was more for aesthetic purposes than function. It may show real use at higher Realms, when your Qi could readily deflect lesser blows, but against equal opponents the Frozen Mountain version was effectively just another layer of cloth and easily shattered. The Elders had said it was designed that way to be light and agile, which, fair, it was that. But it wasn¡¯t practical for Earth Realm fighters, who were regularly either of equal level, or outclassed by their opponents.


    So, while I was gone, I developed the technique into something a bit more substantial. Yes, while using it, I would be less mobile. However, the layered sheets of frost were actually incredibly good at deflecting not only weapon blows, but even Qi-based attacks. As the armor was essentially made of many thin layers of ice, most Qi-based attacks would shave away layers but the ice Qi within them would suffocate and extinguish the offending technique.


    That same trip had also been my second time meeting with one Emery Vale. The woman was incredibly intriguing, though I still couldn¡¯t quite figure out why. Sure, there was all the normal ¡®she¡¯s incredibly attractive¡¯ nonsense, but anyone would be hard-pressed to find a Cultivator who wasn¡¯t stunning. That sort of beauty just came standard with the whole package.


    The whole situation that I had run into that day could have been a factor, if it wasn¡¯t for our first run in at the tournament. I suppose it was fully possible that her willingness to just throw away her spot in the bracket had left an impression on me, as it was something that no Cultivator from a Sect would do. They would almost uniformly fight tooth and nail to argue that they had come out on top. Or at least demand a second bout to rule out the draw.


    As I had spent the last decade inside a fairly standard Sect, maybe her unusual actions just immediately had left an impression because they were so different from my everyday expectations? It stood to reason that it could easily be just that.


    But then after our second meeting, I was convinced that Miss Vale was something special. Walking into the site of an absolute one sided massacre, just to see the cause of it all collapsed on the ground crying over a young girl had definitely left an impression, no question about it. Even after the couple of hours we had spent getting the area cleaned up and Cierra a little cleaner, I couldn¡¯t really get Miss Vale out of my head.


    In the intervening eight months since we met, I had returned to the Sect, and gone back to regular training.


    With the addition of nightly time set aside to work on new techniques to try to contain my burn out. I had developed better control over my ability to control manifested Qi - mainly my Dancing Snowflakes and Blizzard Dragon. While my Blizzard Dragon was already an incredibly precise but destructive technique, I had improved its maneuverability a great deal.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    My Dancing Snowflakes, however, had seen the greater improvement. Not only were they faster to react to incoming attacks, but they were getting quicker at recovery too. When I had first learned the technique, I could create ten individual flakes easily enough, but reconstructing them after they were destroyed took more time than was usually feasible in a fight. Now, though, they would reform in seconds. Which could still be too long in a fight but it was still an improvement.


    I had also been working on a way to make them deadly weapons in their own right. Making sharp ice was easy; making sharp ice that could also intercept small incoming blows was less so. Thinning the ice down to a point at the edges would ultimately render the flakes too thin and brittle to be good shields. I still needed to work on the balance between offense and defense in the technique, but my stop gap solution was to just alter the snowflakes¡¯ shape as needed. But even as a stop gap, learning to alter the shape, durability, and sharpness of the flakes was a useful trick.


    It was during one of my late night training sessions that a letter slipped under my door. The knock that accompanied its delivery had startled me out of my focus, and as I went to grab the letter, I noticed that my ¡®late night session¡¯ had turned into an ¡®all night session¡¯.


    ¡°Guess that explains the middle of the night delivery.¡± I muttered to myself, stretching down to pick up the little piece of paper. ¡°It just wasn¡¯t.¡±


    As I body unfolded back to standing, I stretched this way and that as I walked to my small, Sect appointed living space. The furnishings of my living-room-dining-room-kitchen combo was simple. There was a stove, reasonable space for cooking prep, a water-dispensing Array, and a small table with a cushion to eat at.


    I took a seat and opened my apparent mail. The letter was one I had been thinking about receiving for a while by that point; correspondence from Miss Emery Vale. With my interest piqued, I began to read.


    ¡°Hello Miss Axies,


    I hope this letter finds you well. Or, finds you at all, I suppose. You didn¡¯t really give me any explicit instructions on where and how to send it, so hopefully your Sect and your name is enough for it to find its way to you.


    In any case! I¡¯ve been busy for the last seven? months. I enlisted a bit of help from my family after Cierra and I left you. We¡¯ve got something of a home now, although I¡¯m not sure you can feasibly visit. We live in the mountains near the Dragon Peaks, if you¡¯re familiar with it. It¡¯s not exactly near the Floral Hills, after all.


    It took a bit of time to get ourselves settled. We had to build everything from scratch after all. We¡¯ve got a nice big house - far too big for just the two of us, if I¡¯m honest. It helps that my sister and uncle are staying with us for now. Keeps everything feeling cozy and warm.


    We¡¯ve also got a fully functional farm and basically all the extra building you could need. I never expected I¡¯d live in a home with a detached, full-sized bathhouse, but here we are. My sister has been studying Arrays for years now, and my uncle has long since been an expert in them. With their help, even this deep in the mountains has been a comfortable place to live, as we creep into the deep part of the winter months.


    There¡¯s actually a nearby town too. A place called Flowing Dragon City, at the base of the Dragon Peak of the same name. We¡¯ve been buying all our necessities there for now so we can start farming after the winter passes. I think by then the land should be more than fertile enough for it.


    In any case, I mostly wanted to write to you now that I found some time to let you know that we are, indeed, ok, as promised. I don¡¯t really know if we¡¯re likely to meet again, given we¡¯ve settled well outside the Floral Hills, but if we do, I hope it will be on good terms.


    Just do me a favor; Don¡¯t do anything Demonic.


    Best wishes,


    Miss Emery Vale¡±


    ¡°Well, I suppose that¡¯s that, huh?¡± I asked the empty room. As I settled back onto the floor, sprawled out wide, I began thinking. Emery¡¯s letter was pretty short, but she had put in more than enough information for me to find her if I had wanted to. And I was getting stir crazy in the Sect¡¯s compound.


    Maybe it was time for a trip?


    <hr>


    Not even a month later, I was ready to leave. I had put all the paperwork together for an extended leave from the Sect. They weren¡¯t helping me as much these days as they used to, anyway, and continuing to pay the fees to stay was a drain on my wallet. The extended leave was essentially a way to leave the Sect without really ¡®leaving¡¯. You would still be considered a member of the Sect in name, and would be let back in if or when you returned, but for all practical purposes, you were no longer housed within the Sect.


    In my almost twelve years within the Sect, I had gathered a small amount of my own belongings. There was enough that carrying everything in a traditional pack would have been a major annoyance to deal with. So, I took all of my contribution points to the Sect that had piled up over the years and bought myself a small storage ring. Even though it was small, it was enough to easily contain all of my possessions, as well as some minimal camping gear.


    Thus prepared, I set out from the Sect¡¯s compound, heading West toward the Blooming Wilds Province. While I had not been anywhere near the Dragon Peaks myself, they were mentioned in multiple stories I had read, and their location was not exactly a mystery. Yes, I would need to travel through two other provinces to reach them. But I had time, and caravans traveled both the Emerald Expanse and the Dying Lands. I could probably even make some money on my way out there by volunteering to help protect the caravans I rode with.


    Resolved, I took a deep breath of the mountain air that I had lived with for years and said goodbye to my home, for at least a while.

 13 : Nightmare

    After my bath, I made my way back to the house that Cierra and I were sharing. Although the main house was finished, we had yet to furnish it, which left all of us still in our smaller individual houses for now.


    When I made it to the door, I knocked lightly. ¡°Cierra? I¡¯m coming in.¡± I didn¡¯t hear any movement, but waited a few seconds before I opened the door. As expected, Cierra was sitting at the small table by the kitchen, practicing her letters. I smiled warmly at her, although she didn¡¯t look up. It wasn¡¯t necessarily a lack of interest in me, but rather she just always seemed to have a vacant look plastered on her face, and an energy and interest level in things to match.


    Taking it in stride, I walked in and over to the kitchen. I began to pull out some simple ingredients to make dinner - just some meat, cheese, and bread. I used a little bit of Qi to produce a knife and began to cut the meat into smaller, thin slices. I kept a close eye on Cierra as I did so.


    When I had first taken her in, any use of Qi in her vicinity had made her flinch. I was actually quite intrigued as to how she was able to sense the use of Qi despite not being Awakened, but I put that aside for now. Thankfully, despite very little change on the outside, the girl seemed to be making small improvements. She no longer flinched when I used Qi nearby, or when I got close or touched her.


    ¡°Uncle Vale and I finished tilling the last field today.¡± I said brightly as I sliced meat. ¡°We should be in good shape for the spring time when we can start planting stuff.¡± I took extra care to make sure my knife wasn¡¯t hitting the cutting board. The thunk sound it would make could still make Cierra flinch. ¡°I think you might like some of the farming process. Putting seeds in the ground, getting all dirty. It¡¯s pretty fun.¡±


    I glanced the girl¡¯s way, but she still didn¡¯t really respond. Her hands still moved slowly and deliberately over the paper, practicing her writing. I set aside the meat, which I thought was probably pork of some kind, but didn¡¯t really care enough at the moment to really check, and began slicing some cheese.


    ¡°Since you didn¡¯t leave the house today, I figured you would be okay without a real bath today and took one without you. Well, obviously.¡± I popped a shoulder up to motion at my wet hair. Six slices of cheese were cut, and then I put the cheese away into a little cooling box powered by Qi. Six slices of bread followed, and then that went into a bread box.


    I moved around the kitchen silently, trying to come up with something to fill that same silence, as I continued to cook. Some fat went into a pan over the flame Array and began to reduce and coat the pan. During one of my passes, I took a quick glance at Cierra¡¯s papers.


    ¡°I see you¡¯re making fantastic progress on your letters. I think you can probably read soon. At least at a kid¡¯s level.¡± I continued my one-sided chatter. After the fat was reduced, the meat went into the pan to cook. ¡°I think Uncle Vale may have some picture books for kids laying around. I feel like I remember some from when I was your age¡­?¡± I thought out loud and flipped the meat. Based on the smell, it was definitely pork.


    I continued the chatter as much as I could as I cooked. After the meat was seared, the bread went into the pan to toast. After each piece of bread was flipped, they all received a slice of cheese to melt, and I covered the pan to assist with the melting. As that was going, I poured some water for each of us, and set them on the table, once again careful not to startle Cierra. She ignored the glass when I set it down.


    After the cheese was melted, I put some meat onto each slice and put together three sandwiches and cut them each in half. They all went onto a large wooden plate which I placed between our places at the table, and placed a smaller plate for each of us. When I sat down, I folded my hands patiently and gave Cierra a smile.


    ¡°Cierra, it¡¯s time to eat. Can you put your writing stuff to the side for now?¡± I asked gently. She did as asked, and placed all of her writing material to the side quietly before recentering her plate in front of her. I reached over and put two sandwich halves on her plate, then did the same for myself.


    ¡°You can have a third half if you¡¯d like. Or even a fourth if you¡¯re hungry.¡± I said with a smile, taking a bite of my own sandwich. I watched with a small smile as Cierra took a bite of hers, chewed, swallowed, and repeated. The way she did so mechanically made my heart ache. I had always felt that food was one thing that anyone could always take joy in when they ate. Cierra showed no such emotion. She just sat quietly and ate.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    <hr>


    After dinner, Cierra and I each did our own thing for a while. I meditated quietly in the small living space while she continued to work on her letters. This went on for a couple of hours before I decided it was time for bed.


    ¡°Cierra, bed time.¡± I said, as I hopped up to my feet. Without any real sign of recognition, Cierra began packing up her writing things. She was always so neat and tidy about it, that it had shocked me at first. But now I wasn¡¯t sure if it came from a desire to be tidy or something much darker.


    I walked with her to the water Array where we each washed our hands and face with some simple soap. Then we moved into the bedroom and each changed into lighter, more comfortable sleepwear. Thankfully, the nearby city was well stocked with all of the normal daily needs, so when we first moved, we were able to get more than enough clothing and daily essentials for Cierra.


    After we were both changed, we slipped into bed. Despite everything else - the lack of emotion, the constant flinches, and clear discomfort in response to many, many things in daily life - Cierra had insisted, without words, that she slept nearby. Even for the few days that I had left her in Talya¡¯s care, she had politely but wordlessly slid into Talya¡¯s bed.


    After I settled into my place, the girl finally settled in behind me, as was customary at this point. She was close enough that our back touched and I could feel her breathing. I laid there for a while, awake, as I felt her breathing slowly even out and settling into the deep, even breaths of sleep.


    That was the first step of each night.


    I had always liked being a Cultivator. But in the months since adopting Cierra, I had learned a new appreciation for some of the perks that came with the improved body and the lack of needing full nights of sleep.


    An hour after Cierra had fallen asleep, she got restless. I turned over to face her and gently placed a comforting hand on her back, rubbing in circles. The restlessness eased for a few minutes, but came back quickly enough. She tossed and turned in her sleep, her face clearly twisted in discomfort. I continued to try to soothe her however I could with gentle touches and patting


    All of this was unfortunately something of a nightly ritual for us now.


    It took almost another hour of that before she screamed and violently thrashed about for a moment. It took another few moments for her to all but wake up. The thrashing and screaming stopped, and the crying began.


    It was never anything as dramatic as wailing. It was only ever quiet sobbing. The kind that wracked her whole body and came with big, heavy tears. But she was never loud. In fact, neither of us ever spoke during or about her night terrors. Not yet. As ever, her body shook with the silent cries for a minute or two while I tried to comfort her at arm''s length.


    She shuffled closer and pushed herself up against me, looking for more comfort. I wrapped her up in my arms, and the blanket we shared. I cradled her under my chin and rubbed her back and head gently.


    I had learned early on that approaching her with a hug too quickly would have the opposite effect, and she would immediately make space and shut down. If I wrapped her in a hug before she woke up, the violent thrashing would be even more so. I needed to wait until she approached me herself.


    After that, it was a while before she calmed down. The tears always stopped first. Cierra crushed her face against my chest and buried her face there, her tears drying on my shirt. She continued to shake with empty crying for a while, but eventually that would calm down too.


    Once she seemed to be mostly in control again, Cierra wiggled in my arms. I loosened my hold on her, so she could retreat to her side of the bed once more and cuddle up in the blanket, as was usual for her.


    She then surprised me by throwing her arms around me and cuddling tighter against me. I froze up, unsure how to handle this new development. I wanted to keep my arms around her, and hopefully get a little sleep myself once she settled again, but wasn¡¯t sure what would upset her.


    I laid quietly in the bed, my arms draped very loosely around Cierra for a while as her breathing grew more even again as she calmed. Eventually, I could feel her hold on me loosening as she began to relax further. She still didn¡¯t let go or retreat, however. She snuggled up against me, and moved about, the way an animal does when preparing for sleep.


    Deciding I would take a chance on this newfound affectionate behavior, I settled in for sleep myself. I let my arms relax around her, and cuddled her close. I caught a whiff of her hair - that same cold mountain breeze smell that I had used as inspiration for her name - as I settled into my pillow with my face against the top of her head.


    As we each began to drift off, cuddled up in a way we had never been before, I heard the smallest voice come through in the darkness. A voice that I had heard so sparingly over the last few months that the sound still caught me off-guard.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±

 14 : Avuri Travels

    It had been a little less than a month since I had left the Frozen Mountain Sect and begun my long trek to the Blooming Wilds Province. I had imagined that going through the Emerald Expanse would be easy, and it was. I was through the entirety of the grassy plains in barely three weeks.


    The trip was relaxing, even. I traveled as an extra guard for a caravan, which helped me pay my way with work that was barely even work. In the nineteen days of travel, the caravan was only attacked twice. Once by roving demonic beasts of such middling power that even the non-Cultivator guards had been able to slay a couple.


    The second was by starving bandits, who were even less of a problem than the beasts, due to their clear state of malnutrition. Despite feeling bad for the men and women that had ended up in such dire straits, there was nothing we could do once they had refused to stand down.


    The rest of the trip had been essentially a leisurely stroll, broken up with sections of riding on a cart that turned out to be a surprisingly smooth ride. The most work I had really done was standing watch every other night as the guards rotated 3 hour shifts around each night.


    After we made it to the edge of the Dying Lands, things quickly changed. I bade my first group farewell in a small town on the edge of the Province, apparently called ¡®Refuge¡¯ - so named for the obvious connotation. Many people that had ventured into the Dying Lands unprepared often retreated to this town for the safety offered by the Cultivators that regularly acted as the city watch.


    Despite this, it was surprisingly easy to find caravans that were heading into the Dying Lands. Several departed each day, in fact, and many advertised themselves as well guarded and safe.


    After a short break in Refuge for two days, I picked one and was on my way again. This time, I opted to pay my way through coin and not work. I had heard enough about the Dying Lands to be somewhat unsure of my ability to help in a dire situation. And when you offered to pay your way with guard duty, you were expected to perform or be at least injured trying. I wasn¡¯t exactly looking to arrive at my destination maimed, so coin seemed like the better option.


    Within the first day of leaving Refuge I could feel the difference in the caravan¡¯s atmosphere. Everyone, from the caravaners to the guard were all on high alert at all times. Heads and eyes were darting all over watching for any signs of danger.


    The remnants of the grasslands that had persisted a little ways past Refuge had quickly given way to the scarred semi-wasteland that categorized the Dying Lands. And within hours of crossing into the newer scenery, the caravan was attacked by a small pack of demonic beasts.


    The beasts that had appeared in the Emerald Expanse were fairly normal looking creatures with the appearance of overgrown wolves. They had grayscale fur colors, but brightly colored tufts of fur around their necks that typically denoted some kind of elemental Qi affinity, and they were naturally adept at throwing around related elemental Qi.


    The Dying Lands beasts were nothing so mundane. The roving pack of things that attacked us that first day looked like mutated mashups of other creatures. Some had mammalian features; others were reptilian. But none could be described as healthy looking. Mammal body parts would be missing skin or fur. Reptile parts were often scaleless or seemingly in the process of a botched molt. Their appearances alone were enough to make my skin crawl.


    Thankfully, the guards along with us seemed unperturbed. I supposed it was because they had seen it all before.


    At once, the nine guards with us lept into action. All of them were in the Sky Realm, one Realm above me, and it showed. Their attacks were sweeping and effective, wiping out small groups of the creatures with relative ease. One man, who appeared to be the leader of the group, fought with a flying sword style that was very impressive to watch. Not only did he direct the blade with such beautiful precision, but he was able to fight with his fists and feet while directing the weapon.


    I didn¡¯t recognize exactly what type of Qi he had Cultivated to wrap around his limbs while fighting, but it was clear to see the destruction he could cause with a punch or kick. He had a strong, well muscled figure that didn¡¯t seem to quite match the grace he moved with, but that was standard Cultivator fare. His face was bare and shaved, giving him what I imagined was a younger impression than the truth. I would have said he was a handsome twenty-something, if not for his clear skill as a Cultivator. His true age was anyone¡¯s guess.


    Also of note was the woman that seemed to be focused mostly on supporting him. She was a flutist, and was incredibly skilled at directing her Qi through the instrument. Her figure cut quite the impressive sight. Despite there being a lack of wind in the air, her long robes seemed to be moving about in a wind - probably conjured from the sound waves of her flute. Her long dark hair fluttered about in the wind just as much, as though it had a life of its own. She looked decidedly older than the man, though not by much. I would have placed her in her later thirties, if not for a Cultivator¡¯s lifespan.


    She was using Qi directed through the soundwaves of her instrument to hamper enemies all over the battlefield, though especially around the man. The creatures would often lock up or trip as they got close, only to have their heads vaporized with a powerful punch or kick. Some of the ones toward the edge of the battle seemed to occasionally stagger, as if suddenly blind or otherwise disoriented. These often found a flying sword removing limbs or often skewering them entirely.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    That first fight had left a strong enough impression on me that when night began to fall and the crew stopped for dinner and camp, I wanted to talk to the pair. During dinner, the guards had split up into groups to eat, and I saw my opportunity. Bowl of soup in hand, I walked over to the pair, who had taken up a spot a little toward the outside of the camp. They had called up chairs from a storage ring, I assumed, and were sitting and chatting.


    As I approached, the woman noticed me first. I smiled, bowed my head, and asked, ¡°Do you mind company? I wanted to talk to the two of you.¡±


    ¡°Not at all, please,¡± she said, motioning to the ground in front of them. I took the invitation and summoned a chair of my own to sit facing the two of them.


    I bowed once more, politely. ¡°I¡¯m Avuri Axies, of the Frozen Mountain Sect. It¡¯s a pleasure.¡±


    The pair of them bowed in response. ¡°I¡¯m Eli Nunn. This is my-¡±


    ¡°His wife, Ettie Nunn.¡± The woman said, cutting him off, and offering another small incline of her head. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure.¡±


    Eli chuckled as he was cut off, and returned to eating his soup for the moment.


    ¡°I was very impressed earlier, during the fight.¡± I said, genially. ¡°I was hoping you would sate my curiosity and explain the basics of your techniques to me? They¡¯re so fascinating.¡±


    Ettie smiled. ¡°There¡¯s not really all that much to explain, to be honest.¡± She continued to take bites of her soup while chatting. ¡°Personally, I use a combination of sound and mental Qi to manipulate the sound of my flute to interfere with enemy movement. The techniques are individually quite diverse, and each requires a slightly different defense to deal with. It makes it easy for me to target different vulnerabilities in someone''s defenses as the situation demands.¡±


    Her smile turned slightly sharp and predatory. ¡°Mental Qi is unbelievably good at cutting off signals from the mind to the body. Causing things like loss of control of a limb, clouding one¡¯s thoughts, or even causing lack of hearing or sight is relatively easy unless the person is already prepared to mentally defend themselves.¡±


    As she mildly continued to eat, I shivered at the implications. Especially given that I was unsure of how to defend myself from such an attack.


    Eli picked up there, stopping me from thinking about it all too hard. ¡°I imagine you¡¯re familiar with the typical metal Qi used with flying swords.¡±


    I nodded in response to the statement.


    ¡°The other half of what I can do,¡± he began, raising a hand in gesture, ¡°is fairly simple physical strengthening with storm Qi.¡± With a flex of his hand, I felt a sudden, strong gust of wind surge from him. ¡°With good enough control, I can condense the Qi around my limbs. With contact, it essentially tears the victim apart with violent winds.¡±


    ¡°That sounds incredible. Well - it was incredible. You were vaporizing pieces of those creatures on contact.¡± I said, as I tried to process the use of such a skill. It was more or less similar in design to my Blizzard Dragon technique, but designed to be used around the body instead of launched as a projectile¡­and his technique was many times stronger. Still, the idea was something I filed away for potential later study.


    Eli and Ettie both laughed, and my eyes shot back up to meet theirs. ¡°I won¡¯t lie, girl. It¡¯s entertaining to see someone from a fairly large Sect out here admiring our self-made techniques.¡± Eli said with a grin. ¡°Normally most Sect members ignore us outright, if any even come this way. Many look down on guard work as a matter of course.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Well, as someone who currently needs that protection to get somewhere, I appreciate it. Even if the techniques themselves are ¡®low-brow¡¯,¡± I said with an eye roll, clearly denoting my sarcasm, ¡°they clearly are effective in this place. Especially in tandem like you both showed today.¡±


    Ettie¡¯s face hardened in response to what I had said, though I wasn¡¯t sure which part. Eli clarified for me shortly, though. ¡°They may be effective against the relatively banal things we fought today. But there will be much more dangerous things to come.¡±


    ¡°Demonic Sect bastards.¡± Ettie muttered. She may have said it quietly, but Cultivator hearing was no small thing.


    Eli nodded. ¡°You¡¯re almost guaranteed to see some more impressive demonic beasts out here, Miss Axies. And those will likely cause the caravan some trouble. Even with the nine guards we have, it wouldn¡¯t be unusual for an unlucky caravanner to get singled out and¡­well, killed at the very least.¡±


    My mouth went dry at that. I didn¡¯t expect the guards to be so forward about their potential inability to protect everyone. I wasn¡¯t too worried for myself, as I could likely defend myself until support arrived, but a non-Cultivator caravanner would like not.


    ¡°Still,¡± Eli continued, ¡°That¡¯s nothing compared to the demonic Sect that¡¯s been running wild around this area lately. If they attack us in force, the whole caravan is in trouble.¡± Eli, Ettie, and I all looked around the caravan after that. There were the nine guards, three lower Realm Cultivators, including myself, and twelve other normal people.


    Ettie let out a heavy, weary sigh. ¡°Whether it''s fortunate or not is entirely up for debate, but I think we¡¯re more or less safe with this group. At least from the demonic Sect, anyway.¡±


    Eli¡¯s face took on a pained, disgusted look as he turned back to face his wife. Neither spoke for a moment, but I asked, ¡°...And why is that?¡±


    Ettie looked at her soup, disgusted. Apparently having lost her appetite, she put down the still half-full bowl.


    ¡°There are no children with us.¡±

 15 : Pep Talk

    ¡°Stena? Where¡¯d you go?¡± Stena heard Arek call around the corner. After breakfast, she had wandered over to the meditation pavilion after the younger kids had gone to play - and that¡¯s where she was now. As she opened her eyes and rolled her neck, Stena tumbled backward onto her back to stretch out after the long meditation.


    ¡°I¡¯m here, Arek.¡± she said, lazily waving a hand from the position on the floor. The pavilion was empty except for the two of them. Given it was a ¡®day off¡¯, Stena imagined everyone else was either playing with the younger kids on the playground, or relaxing in their own homes. Maybe Kord had taken a small group to the city, but that seemed unlikely.


    As her brother came around the corner, Stena stretched her arms and legs as far as they would go, just trying to get the blood flowing. Then swung herself back into a seated position to smile at him. ¡°What¡¯s up, bud?¡±


    Arek made a sour face at me as he came to sit down across from her. He looked like he was still dirty from playing in the playground. Sweaty too. He looked like he wanted to say or ask something, so she waited. After a few false starts and downcast looks, he finally got the words out.


    ¡°Stena, how do you deal with being so¡­weak?¡± He looked up at her, clearly upset. Stena was about to retort with a ¡®how dare you call me weak?¡¯ or something similar, but that clearly wasn¡¯t what he meant, and his face was clearly serious.


    Instead, she scooted a little closer. ¡°You¡¯re gonna need to be a little clearer than asking how to deal with being weak, Arek.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± He nodded, looking down at the ground again. ¡°We were playing in the playground earlier, right?¡± He began. She nodded in response. ¡°We were playing tag. Some of the older kids got involved, too - and it was really fun.¡± Stena nodded along quietly to keep him talking.


    ¡°Star got a little worried she wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up with the big kids and ran to me for help.¡± As he continued, Stena was pretty sure she understood now where this was all headed. ¡°I was trying to help keep her from getting tagged. Not that I thought I really could - I know that if any of the bigger kids really wanted to, there¡¯s nothing I could do to stop them.¡±


    He sighed. ¡°But Enrik¡­man, it was like I wasn¡¯t even there. I couldn¡¯t react in time to him moving to even try to get tagged in Star¡¯s place, let alone stop him from tagging either of us.¡± Stena felt for the boy, as he was clearly sulking. ¡°Star was fine, of course. Mom got involved and kept things fun. But¡­I was just so useless, you know?¡±


    Stena took a minute to gather her thoughts before she spoke. ¡°Yeah, I get that. I won¡¯t lie to you, Arek. Part of that is just hard baked into the way Cultivation works. The differences in strength between the Realms is near insurmountable for most people. And even then, those few special cases still require special circumstances or something. Beyond that, you¡¯re still in the Core Formation stage, and the jump between there and the Human Realm is¡­well, let¡¯s just say vast.¡± Stena chuckled, trying to keep the mood light.


    She shuffled closer again, to put an arm around Arek¡¯s shoulders to comfort him. ¡°Getting used to people a stage or more above you easily beating you is something all Cultivators have to deal with. It¡¯s not easy.¡± Stena took a deep breath. ¡°Especially for those of us here. The vast majority of us have been in a position where someone had complete control over us, so we all know what it feels like to be truly helpless.¡±


    Arek nodded solemnly. ¡°I know that.¡±


    ¡°And I know you know that.¡± Stena said cheerily, and poked Arek¡¯s cheek. ¡°And I¡¯m not saying that makes it easier. If anything, it makes it harder; to be reminded of those times.¡±


    ¡°So¡­how do you do it, Stena?¡± Arek said, his eyes coming back up to meet hers. ¡°You¡¯re usually so happy and fun. How do you stay that way all the time?¡±


    Stena smiled, and patted him on the head. ¡°Well, first, I¡¯m not happy all the time. I¡¯m happy a lot, sure, but not all the time. Expecting to find a way to be happy or in a good mood all the time is pointless. There¡¯s always going to be something that crops up to get you down or make you upset, and pretending there¡¯s not is just being silly.¡±


    ¡°But. One thing I think I¡¯m really good at is not dwelling on bad things. Even in everyday life, there¡¯s lots of things that I don¡¯t like or that make me upset. The first bit of my advice for you, bud? Take what you can¡¯t control in stride. There¡¯s no point in wasting energy being upset about something you can¡¯t control. Holding onto things will just make you more and more upset. It¡¯s better to move on and look forward to whatever good thing is coming next.¡±


    Arek nodded slowly, taking in Stena¡¯s words, but she continued. ¡°Second, though, is recognizing what things you can do something about - and doing it. That¡¯s where you¡¯re at right now. Yes, Enrik is much, much stronger than you. There¡¯s pretty much nothing you can do right now to stop him from walking over you in a fight like he did today.¡±


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    The boy¡¯s head fell further, as Stena hugged his shoulders. ¡°Now, that said, you can take action to prevent that in the future. And even better, you already are.¡± She offered Arek a crooked smile when he looked up at her.


    ¡°The biggest point that I want to make to you is that putting both of the previous bits into practice together is how I manage. Especially when it comes to your strength with Cultivation - you need time. Being as ¡®weak¡¯ as you are now isn¡¯t a problem that needs fixing. It¡¯s just where you¡¯re at, and developing strength takes time. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard it enough from our moms, but Cultivation is a long distance run, not a sprint. Rushing will get you nowhere. It may even be bad for you.¡±


    ¡°Instead, take heart knowing that you¡¯re trying to improve, and when you¡¯re training or meditating, make sure you give it your all. Or at least 80%. Sometimes, even the greatest warrior can get distracted by thoughts about what¡¯s for dinner, yeah?¡± She said and nudged him.


    Arek, thankfully, finally let a grin slip as Stena continued. ¡°In addition - and this is maybe even more important, so listen to me here - you shouldn¡¯t worry so much about stuff you can¡¯t directly affect right now. While you¡¯re doing what you can to be happy with yourself in the future, there¡¯s no reason you can¡¯t also be happy now..¡±


    Stena smiled wide then. ¡°I want to say first, that this next bit doesn¡¯t apply to everyone. But. I do think that there are a lot of people out there that are totally stuck in their own heads, and don¡¯t realize that being happy, or being satisfied, is a choice.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone in the world has ever been truly, 100% happy or satisfied. No matter who you are or what¡¯s going on around you, there will always be something that you can worry about or obsess over. Taking those things in stride and choosing to be happy or satisfied anyway. That is how I ¡®stay happy all the time¡¯, as you put it.¡±


    Stena thought for a moment, to be sure she had said everything she wanted to before finally nodding. ¡°It takes some work to be sure, but I think you¡¯re on the right track, Arek. Don¡¯t focus so much on Enrik beating you. You¡¯re working to improve, and there¡¯s nothing meaningful you can do about it now. So!¡± Stena declared loudly, and stood up, offering Arek a hand. When he took it, she pulled him up to his feet, and then up off his feet to hold him by his arm, so their faces were level with one another.


    ¡°For now, just go have fun and be a kid.¡± She said unceremoniously, and dropped Arek to his feet.


    He stood there a moment, mulling over her words. Eventually, it seemed to click into place and he nodded, then darted in to give Stena a hug around her waist. At nine, Arek still only came up to about her chest when they stood by one another.


    ¡°Thanks, Sis.¡±


    Stena smiled and ruffled his hair. ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Now get out of here and go play with the others. I can hear them still roughhousing out there.¡±


    With a nod, Arek trotted off, looking much better than he had when he arrived.


    After staring after him for a moment, Stena turned back toward the rest of the room, opposite where Arek had left. ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°So, what?¡± Emery said, as she slipped out from behind one of the pavilion walls.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been watching for a while. Why?¡± Stena asked.


    Emery smiled warmly, looking toward where Arek ran off. ¡°I saw him leave the playground earlier after Ri broke up our little game,¡± she said, running fingers through her damp hair. ¡°I wanted to be sure he was alright; and it looks like you took care of him wonderfully, Stena.¡± And then Emery turned back toward her with a wolfish grin on her face. ¡°Even if many of those words sounded awfully familiar.¡± She teased.


    Stena could feel her ears and cheeks go hot as she flushed. ¡°Shut up, Mom. You just give good advice, okay?¡± She retorted petulantly.


    Emery laughed as she walked up and gave her daughter a quick hug. Stena was taller than Emery¡¯s 5¡¯4¡±, and she struggled not to laugh when the shorter woman hugged her. She very nearly patted her mother¡¯s head as a joke.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you could help him.¡± Emery said, seriously. ¡°I bet that same advice sounds much better coming from a sister than a mom.¡±


    ¡°I dunno.¡± Stena said, thinking back to her own childhood when Emery had given her a much similar pep talk. ¡°I think who it came from mattered less than when we got it. I was still fresh out of hell when I freaked out on you and we had our talk.¡±


    Stena looked off toward the playground, where Arek was reinstating himself. ¡°He¡¯s already done a good portion of his healing and could process what I was saying.¡±


    ¡°As opposed to you, bawling your eyes out and carrying on for hours.¡± Emery said bluntly.


    Stena narrowed her eyes on her mother. ¡°Hey. I was a kid. And seriously traumatized.¡±


    ¡°I know. I was only teasing, Stena.¡± Emery said, reaching up to muss her daughter¡¯s hair. Stena went a bit more red around the ears, and knocked Emery¡¯s hand away.


    ¡°Stop that.¡±


    Emery just laughed in response. ¡°Why? I know you like it, even if you get embarrassed so easily.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like it!¡±


    ¡°Uh huh. Of course you don¡¯t!¡± Emery teased again.


    That was when Stena threw a punch, which Emery ducked with ease. Her mother laughed loudly again, her hand still firmly planted on her head.


    ¡°Oh, you little shit!¡±


    <hr>


    Avuri heard shouting and laughter suddenly erupt from the meditation pavilion. She turned back to look, but couldn¡¯t see anything from where she stood on the playground. Still, she could easily recognize Emery¡¯s voice and Stena¡¯s tortured laughter.


    She just shook her head with a smile. ¡°Poor girl.¡±

 16 : Arrival

    As the caravan rolled into the final stop within the Dying Lands, there was a collective sigh of relief. Of the fifteen caravaners and the nine guards, fourteen caravaners and eight guards had successfully made the trip.


    Sure enough, Eli and Ettie had been right. On the twelfth night of our journey, a pack of demonic beasts had attacked the camp. As planned, the night watch guards had raised an alarm, and everyone had woken up in time to form up into a defensive ring and do as we were told.


    However, a smaller beast - one that looked like a strange cross between a hedgehog and a ferret - slipped past the guards undetected and attacked the inner circle group. Myself and another Earth Realm Cultivator that had been making the trip were enough to kill the thing quickly enough, but the damage was done. A few of the more nervous caravaners had reacted to a beast being among them by bolting away from the circle. Most were grabbed before they could get far away in their panic, but one of them had sprinted with surprising speed straight off into the darkness.


    One of the guards gave chase after him as the battle was drawing to a close. Neither returned.


    After a short, solemn discussion, it was decided it would be best to cut our losses, pick up camp, and be on our way in what early morning light had just begun to crest the horizon. The rest of the trip had been a quiet and tense affair, but as we moved on, the guards continued to do their job, and there were no further mishaps of note during the several following monster attacks.


    We rolled into the town in the afternoon of day twenty-seven. Battered and bruised but mostly alive. The guards even seemed pleased with the survivor count. I wasn¡¯t sure if two deaths was actually low or not, but given the guards seemed happy about it, I couldn¡¯t do anything except consider myself lucky.


    Once the caravan had settled and broken up in ¡®Bastion¡¯ - and I had laughed at the name¡¯s unoriginality after Refuge - I took another two days to recover and relax. Bastion was similarly placed, though opposite of, Refuge, positioned a few kilometers beyond the edge of the Dying Lands and into the Blooming Wilds. It felt decidedly safe after the time in the Dying Lands, with the town pleasantly green with flora and simple but pretty water features throughout.


    I said my goodbyes to Eli and Ettie, wishing them well on their travels. Apparently, they regularly guarded caravans going back and forth between Refuge and Bastion, and would likely be on the road with one once again within the day.


    However, even after all was said and done here, I couldn¡¯t get what they had said out of my head. I had seen what demonic Cultivators could do to children in person, or at least the aftermath of it, with Miss Vale when we had rescued Cierra. Emery had even mentioned in passing that it wasn¡¯t the first time she had seen it.


    Leaving whatever was out there to do as it pleased wasn¡¯t something that set well with me. But I also knew I was in no position to fight a group of Cultivators, demonic or otherwise, that lived in the wild in a province whose average monsters were stronger than I was.


    If I could at least ascend to the Sky Realm, I may have been able to just barely survive out there against the demonic beasts. Assuming the Cultivators out there were at least Sky Realm though, meant that until I was solidly into the Sky Realm and had at least some training with Domains, I would be marching to my death out there.


    And all of that was the long winded way to say that I was upset that I couldn¡¯t do anything about what was happening out here, but needed to keep my mind on the task at hand - finding a way to Flowing Dragon City.


    As it turned out, that was actually very easy. Caravans traveled there regularly from almost everywhere, as it was a fairly large city that functioned as something of a trading outpost. The Four Dragon Peaks were absolutely rife with natural resources due to their high Qi concentrations, and Flowing Dragon City acted as the gate to access the mountain range.


    So, I had a passage booked quite literally the day after I arrived and it left the day after that. With the two days I had to relax, I sampled food around town, took in the sights, and Cultivated near some of the larger water features, which were abundant with water Qi.


    After leaving Bastion, the trip to Flowing Dragon City was actually quite lovely. The Blooming Wilds were so named for their thick, overgrown plant life that grew out of control at the base of the mountain range, creating an imposing jungle. The area was so large that it surrounded the entire range, and was fairly impenetrable for your average traveler.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Thankfully, there were a good number of cleared and maintained roads and paths through the jungle. Altogether, as the caravan never left the path, the whole trip was smooth. We had a few guards with us, but they were once again Earth Realm Cultivators, as the natural threats here were not as dangerous as those in the Dying Lands. But more than that, any particularly dangerous creatures wouldn¡¯t approach the roads. For whatever reason, they were only ever seen deep in the jungle and were left primarily undisturbed.


    The trip from Bastion to Flowing Dragon City was nineteen days total. While traveling, gauging distance to the mountains had been quite tricky, as the canopy of the jungle prevented us from getting a clear view of the skyline and the mountains in the distance. However, a few times a day, the mountains would peek through a hole in the canopy, and they just continued to grow more and more imposing as we approached.


    On day nineteen we finally arrived at the gates of the city. For having such a pleasant sounding name, the city itself was absolutely domineering. The walls surrounding the city that we could see from where we were had been crafted from stone. I couldn¡¯t tell how thick they were from the outside, but their height was intimidating. And while they were crafted from stone, they had all been expertly crafted to be clean, smooth stone that had potentially been colored, as they were a strange blue-gray in color.


    Clearly designed to be a stronghold if necessary, the walls were at least twenty-five meters tall. And that would have been a conservative estimate on the shortest parts - some towers and parapets were clearly built higher than that. The guard towers situated every so often along the wall were particularly noticeable, standing stark against the sky and mountains as a backdrop.


    I supposed that walls had to be made at least that high when accounting for Cultivators, but it didn¡¯t make them any less impressive looking.


    And the gate we rode up to for entry was no less imposing.


    Probably twenty-five meters tall and fifteen wide, the gate structure was a gorgeously ornate blue and silver double door. With one half swung open to allow in visitors during the day, I could see that the material was at least several meters thick. And while I wasn¡¯t sure what material was used, it was certainly at least metallic in nature.


    The city¡¯s interior was less threatening, but no less impressive. What had surprised me most was how spacious everything had felt. Many of the large cities I had visited in my lifetime were densely packed, sprawling things with garbage and refuse littered in out of the way places.


    This city, however, was impeccably clean, organized, and felt open. The roads were wide, there were sizable alleys - if not full sized roads - between most buildings. And there were plenty of walkways to accommodate people in addition to carts and the like.


    The caravan traveled together to the city center. After moving a bit further into the trading district and to a stable for the animals, everyone dispersed into the city.


    Not sure how to proceed from here, I spent the day wandering around. I found a place for lodging, though I wasn¡¯t sure how long I would stay in the city.


    I looked up past the rest of the buildings, and toward the mountain range just beyond the city¡¯s southern walls, and the four peaks that stood hundred of meters taller than the rest. The Flowing Dragon Peak was the northernmost spire, the closest to the city, and likely the peak that I was best suited to climb. As an ice artist, I could likely not only ascend the water-aspected peak with relative ease, but even make use of my time on it to Cultivate.


    But even with my Cultivation aiding me, the climb would be exhausting, and I knew I needed to prepare before trying to run up a mountain. I resolved to spend a few days in the city to get myself back into peak condition before leaving. Even if I didn¡¯t feel particularly strained from my time on the road, I was sure that some fatigue must have built up, even if I couldn¡¯t feel it.


    With that decided, I figured I should eat my fill, relax, and then sleep however much I could before spending a few days being a tourist.


    <hr>


    It was my fifth day in the city. I had rested well. I had gathered everything I felt may come in handy during the mountainous trek and stashed it in my storage ring. I had even asked around about what to expect in climbing the mountains.


    In doing so, I had learned that I needed a permit to travel on the mountains, which required me to pass a baseline assessment to be sure that I wouldn¡¯t just die up there. And I did that too.


    With everything settled, I was feeling confident that I was prepared to begin to climb a monster of a mountain.


    And then on my way to the southern gate of the city to leave, I made the mistake of walking through the main thoroughfare. And past the food stalls. Between the shouts of sales and the smells of fresh food, I was lucky to make it most of the way toward the gate before breaking down.


    Not fifty meters from my destination, I was stopped dead by the smell of freshly baked bread and some kind of fish soup. This far inland, I didn¡¯t expect seafood to be common, and the sudden scent hit me like a ton of bricks. I had to stop for lunch before I left.


    It was incredibly serendipitous that I did so. Ten minutes into savoring my meal and watching the innumerable crowd pass by, I thought that I had caught sight of a familiar face in the crowd. With the large number of people who wore their hair long, tied up or not, her shoulder length bob cut drew my gaze with no effort.


    ¡°Well how about that¡­?¡± I said to myself, as I popped the last bit of soup-soaked bread into my mouth. I had paid for the food when I received it, so there was no bill to settle. With a smile, I slipped into the crowd, following the back of Emery¡¯s head.

 17 : Introductions

    ¡°Why are we going this way, Vale?¡± I asked, confused. We were in the middle of the city for some fairly routine shopping. Not only had I come with Vale, but Cierra and Talya had come along as well.


    It was the first time that Cierra had come into the city with us. She looked around half afraid and half excited, taking in all of the sights, sounds, and people. Her eyes were wide with so many emotions that I was worried we were overwhelming her too quickly. She held one of my hands in an iron grip, clearly afraid to let go, and kept herself in contact with my side.


    However, despite her obvious fear, she seemed equally entranced by the constant motion of the city around us. I was happy to see her continue to open up somewhat, despite her fears. And she was beginning to act more like a normal child.


    After reaching the main thoroughfare, Vale had begun to lead us off the main road. The streets in Flowing Dragon City were well maintained and quite wide, so even the back roads didn''t feel unsafe. Still, randomly turning off into a side street felt out of character even for Vale.


    Vale turned to me with a smile. ¡°It''s a faster way to the grocer we usually buy from. And going through here cuts down on some of the foot traffic.¡±


    He was at least right that there was less foot traffic down the side streets. Being less crowded didn''t mean empty, however; there were still a number of people around, even on the smaller streets. We continued to follow Vale a little ways down the road before he turned and went down another, even smaller, street.


    ¡°This way, ladies.¡± he said happily, motioning ahead down this new road. We followed behind him for about 15 steps before he suddenly vanished.


    Talya and I pulled up short at the sudden disappearance - and then I heard a yelp behind me. I turned around and saw Vale holding a woman to the ground, pinning one of her arms bent behind her back.


    ¡°So! May I ask why you''ve been following us, little miss?¡± Vale asked, keeping the woman pinned. He began to tap his Qi, prepping for a fight just in case. The woman struggled a little, mostly trying to get her face up off the stone.


    As she struggled, I took note of the long white braid and the dirty but still quite striking white and blue robes. It had been a while, but I did still recognize her.


    "Miss Axies?¡± I said dumbly. What in the world was she doing here? When she finally managed to get her face off the ground, she gave me a winning smile although her eyes let through a little of the fear she felt.


    ¡°Hello, Miss Vale. Fancy meeting you here.¡± She said, trying to keep up the act of nonchalance, despite being pinned by someone who clearly outmatched her.


    ¡°Sorry, Vale. I know her - and I told you about her; it''s Miss Axies. The woman that helped me rescue Cierra.¡± I looked down at the little girl, who was now hiding behind one of my legs. I ran my fingers through her hair gently. ¡°It''s okay, you can let her go.¡±


    Vale looked up at me, nodded, and stood. He scratched the back of his head, looking a bit sheepish. ¡°I''m sorry about that, Miss Axies. I''m not used to friends following us in the shadows," he said, and offered her a hand up.


    She took the offered hand and scrambled up to her feet, dusting herself off as best she could. She responded with an apologetic look to Vale. ¡°No, that¡¯s quite alright. It¡¯s entirely my fault for tailing you all the way I did.¡±


    She offered Vale, and then everyone else, a small bow in a way of apology. When her eyes came back up and crossed the group, I inwardly chuckled as I imagined what she may be thinking. I¡¯m sure we all looked like quite a ragtag group of people.


    I was dressed in simple gray and black robes, with my hair recently chopped back to a clean, mid-length bob cut. But it was likely not much had changed since the last time we had seen each other. Although, I suppose I wasn¡¯t drenched in blood this time, which was a nice bonus.


    Vale looked like a jolly, middle-aged man with a fairly sized paunch; each and every one of his mannerisms was basically designed to look non-threatening and approachable. That same man had suddenly, for all intents and purposes, vanished, appeared behind Avuri, and immediately taken her down. And she very likely felt the beginnings of his intense fire Qi spooling up afterward.


    Talya stood beside me, looking bemused. She was a short, stout woman who appeared to be in her mid twenties. Which, to be fair, is around when most Cultivators ceased to visibly age. She was, in fact, three years older than me. She was noticeably shorter than the rest of us, as well as a bit softer. Her slight chubbiness belied quite a beauty though, and her face lit up brightly whenever she smiled. With her hair currently gathered at the back of her head in a tight bun, she gave off the air of a caring mother or aunt.


    And then there was Cierra, who was still hiding half behind me. After the night several months ago when she had thanked me for comforting her, she had been making slow strides to recovery. She talked a bit more now, and generally showed more signs of life. But physically, putting her clear anxiety aside, she looked vastly improved from the last time Avuri would have seen her.


    After she started to eat more regularly and began to get out of the house and walk around more, her body had made a pretty significant recovery. She was no longer just skin and bones, but looked well fed. She still remained on the thin side, and didn¡¯t regain any baby fat, but she looked healthy. Her onyx hair had regained its normal luster and the straight, well-kept lines of her hair were neatly tucked behind an ear. Most of all, despite the anxieties there, her bright blue eyes were striking in contrast to her much darker hair.


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    As Avuri took us all in, the one thought going through my mind was ¡®There¡¯s no way we look like a family¡¯. And when Avuri¡¯s eyes finally came to rest on mine, I laughed aloud. She looked at me, confused, as I tried to regain myself.


    ¡°This is my family, Miss Axies. My father, Vale,¡± I pointed to Vale, beside her. ¡°My sister, Natalya,¡± I pointed to Talya in turn. ¡°And my daughter, Cierra.¡± I pointed to Cierra last, with a big, warm smile on my face.


    Avuri¡¯s face was quickly overcome with a smile of her own. ¡°I¡¯m glad to see she¡¯s looking so well!¡± She said, looking at Cierra. ¡°And it¡¯s nice to meet you, uh-¡± she stammered, likely about to say ¡®Mister and Miss Vale¡¯ but stopped as she didn¡¯t want to cause any confusion with names.


    ¡°Just Vale is fine by me.¡± Vale said. ¡°And you can just call Emery and Natalya by their names too, I¡¯m sure they won¡¯t mind. Natalya usually goes by Talya.¡± His perfect image of the jolly old man was back in full-force. Maybe ¡®image¡¯ isn¡¯t the right word. He really was a jolly old man for the most part.


    Talya opened her mouth to protest, but I cut her off. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I owe her for saving Cierra¡¯s life. Without her, we wouldn¡¯t all be here right now.¡± My hand landed on Cierra¡¯s head again, of its own accord.


    Talya sighed aloud and stepped up to offer Avuri her hand for a handshake. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, Miss Axies. I¡¯ve heard about you from Emery. Seems most of what she said so far has been accurate.¡±


    As Avuri took Talya¡¯s hand in a shake, she looked at me questioningly. Probably wondering what I had told them. ¡°Please, just Avuri is fine. No point in holding up pointless civilities in only one direction.¡± Talya smiled in response and nodded.


    Avuri turned toward me and Cierra next, and stepped twice to be right in front of us. She swept some of her robes back a bit to kneel in front of Cierra, to be eye-to-eye with her. Her face had a warm, sincere expression across it. ¡°Hi, Cierra. Do you remember me, by chance?¡±


    I looked down, curious about it myself. Cierra never mentioned the day we found her, and I wasn¡¯t about to bring it up myself. I had no idea how she felt about the whole thing, beyond the obvious fear and anxiety she always exhibited.


    The girl nodded. I could feel her grip on my clothes lessen a little, but she didn¡¯t let go. ¡°I do. A little.¡± She said quietly. Her voice was still scratchy from general disuse, but the sound came through clearly in the end.


    Avuri smiled then, and held out her hand for a handshake. She did so carefully and slowly, making sure not to spook the younger girl. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you more officially, Cierra. You can call me Avuri, if you¡¯d like.¡±


    Cierra stared at the hand quietly for a moment, before tentatively letting go of my robes to shake hands. Avuri had the understanding of a goddess, and I could not have been more grateful for it; she kept her hand motionless, and only closed her hand around Cierra¡¯s after Cierra did so first. And she let Cierra control the shake itself.


    Cierra nodded, having had her fill of the handshake, and they dropped hands. ¡°Ri, thank you.¡± She said in her quiet little voice.


    Avuri smiled. ¡°Ri, huh? That works too.¡±


    I grinned. ¡°I¡¯ve been dubbed Merri, so you¡¯re in good company.¡± I chuckled, and messed up Cierra¡¯s hair. Her eyes darted up to me immediately, a small spark of anger there, as she let go of my robes with her second hand to set about fixing her hair. I smiled down at her.


    ¡°So!¡± I said, pulling the conversation back to what probably should¡¯ve been front and center. ¡°What exactly are you doing in Flowing Dragon City, Miss Avuri?¡±


    As she once again stood up straight and brushed off her robes once more, Avuri shot me the same winning smile from earlier. This time there was laughter, not fear, in her eyes. ¡°Of course I came to visit you, Merri.¡± She swept into a mock bow. ¡°I did say I would, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    I glanced at Vale and Talya, who were both now behind Avuri hiding smiles, then looked back to Avuri, my eyes narrowing on her. ¡°I suppose you did say that. But a warning would have been nice. You could have quite literally lost your head a few minutes ago if Vale hadn¡¯t decided to question you instead of killing you outright.¡± I offered her a cocky grin as her eyes snuck up to mine. ¡°Which, I might add, he has done before to strangers following us.¡±


    ¡°No I hav-!¡± He started, then stopped for a moment. ¡°Wait, no. Yes, I have done that, haven¡¯t I?¡± He said, his fingers tracing his chin in thought.


    Avuri went a bit more pale than her usual already porcelain white expression. ¡°More than once, in fact.¡± I said, my lips moving further into an impish grin. ¡°Remember that whole mess you got us into in Deep Well a few years back?¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± His face fell. ¡°Oh, yeah. That was a mess, wasn¡¯t it? I should not have killed that guy right in the middle of the market.¡± He muttered to himself. But perfectly loud enough for all of us, except maybe Cierra, to hear.


    Avuri¡¯s face swung back to me, a look of near horror on her face. I sputtered out a laugh. ¡°It¡¯s a long story,¡± I said, ¡°involving two different assassin sects and a noble family we were doing work for.¡±


    Talya broke in then. ¡°Miss Avuri. We were about to finish our grocery shopping for the trip and then get a late lunch before returning home. I assume you came all this way to see the house, yes?¡±


    Avuri swung back to face Talya. ¡°Hm? Oh, yes!¡±


    ¡°Would you like to join us for now? We could trade stories over lunch.¡± Talya offered with a smile. ¡°I would love to hear what was going on in your side of the story of rescuing our new favorite little girl.¡±


    ¡°That would be lovely.¡± Avuri returned.


    I shot a glare at Talya, warning her with my eyes. She gave me back an innocent look, surely promising she wouldn¡¯t tell any embarrassing stories.


    I continued to pin her with my glare; I knew she¡¯d tell them anyway.

 18 : Pleasant Company

    ¡°Alright you little monsters! It''s time for lunch!¡± Emery said, struggling to get the words out between bouts of laughter. She was buried beneath a pile of the younger children that had managed to dog pile her while they were playing.


    After torturing Stena for a bit, she had returned to the playground with the intention of breaking everything up for lunch time. It was even already a little late to be eating their midday meal, but with most of the family on the playground, basically no one had eaten yet.


    The kids, with minimal whining, clambered off Emery¡¯s body allowing her to stand again. Avuri was already nearby, giving everyone a speedy wash down. In turn, someone would step up, get quickly hosed down with a blast of water Qi, and then the water would be evaporated; the same process she had used earlier in the day.


    Emery waited patiently in line for her turn in the middle of all the younger kids, as the ones already washed up began making their way to the open pavilion that was used as a mess hall. This time when Emery got her turn, Avuri gave her the same quick rinse that everyone else received. With a quick kiss and ¡®Love you,¡¯ from her wife, Emery trotted off to get lunch out to the family.


    Shortly thereafter Emery reappeared from their house with a multitude of food in tow. She propped up bread baskets, meat platters, plates of cheeses and vegetables, and various condiments on floating disks made of metal which now floated along behind her.


    As she made it into the dining pavilion, the metal disks each floated by to find an empty spot on a table somewhere before setting down onto it neatly. The options were divided among the different tables so whoever sat at each table could put together a nice sandwich.


    ¡°Y''all know the drill by now.¡± Emery said with a smile as she sat down with Avuri at one of the tables. ¡°Go ahead and dig in. Make sure you all get at least a couple of veggies.¡± She glared pointedly at Fia and Lia, sisters who would often skip any sort of vegetables.


    As the kids all got situated and began putting their lunch sandwiches of choice together, Emery and Avuri did the same.


    ¡°You know,¡± Avuri began, ¡°We should invite your sister back here some time. We haven''t seen her in a while.¡±


    Emery¡¯s brows crept up. ¡°Which one?¡± She had a solid enough guess, but asked anyway.


    ¡°Talya.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. I''m not opposed to contacting her.¡± Emery said, as she piled her sandwich with some sliced turkey. ¡°I don''t know if she has the time to visit though. She''s a big shot Array designer at that company she joined. And now that she''s married, who knows what she''s up to.¡±


    Avuri gave Emery a reproachful look. ¡°She works at the Open Hand Cultivator Company. You should know that.¡±


    Emery rolled her eyes. She knew where her sister was, what she did, and how well she did it. But she had a terrible time remembering the name of the company she worked at.


    Avuri saw the eye roll and sighed. ¡°Come on, Merri. It''s such an easy name to remember, too. They''re a company that employs Cultivators to assist normal people with everyday life improvements. Plenty of companies do that, but not all of them have the ¡®open¡¯ friendliness literally right in the name.¡±


    Emery nodded with a sigh. ¡°Yeah, yeah, I know. But either way. She is a big shot there now so I don''t know if she''ll have time to come visit. And even if she did, she''ll have Gray with her too. Which isn''t a problem, but I don''t know if he''ll want to travel so far to come visit either.¡± Emery closed her sandwich after adding the condiments she wanted and began to eat.


    Avuri also began to eat her own lunch. ¡°That''s fair, I suppose, but it''s been a while since she visited - and she hasn''t even met Arek and Astra yet.¡± Emery watched as Avuri''s eyes tracked over to their youngest children who were seated across the pavilion with some of the other kids also eating and she smiled. ¡°And she should. They''re adorable.¡±


    ¡°Very true. You know, she''s been married to Gray for a little over a year now. We haven''t heard anything from her in the last couple months, but it wouldn''t surprise me if she showed up pregnant.¡± Emery said, peeking at Avuri over her sandwich with a small smile.


    Avuri chuckled. ¡°I thought about that too. I don''t think it would shock me either. If anything, it probably feels like the right time. Especially now that her job is so secure; she could easily afford to take a break for a kid.¡±


    ¡°True. She doesn''t have a lot of competition at her level. Especially when she lives in the middle of nowhere.¡± Emery snickered.


    ¡°Now that''s not fair. Green Vine City is lovely; you and I both know that - we loved it there.¡± Avuri responded indignantly.


    Emery scoffed, ¡°Sure, it''s a lovely city that is absolutely surrounded hundreds of kilometers on all sides by wine country.¡± Emery put up a hand to stop Avuri before she could interrupt her. ¡°I''ll admit it is absolutely gorgeous and the city is very nice. But you have to admit, Ri, the city is in the middle of nowhere.¡±


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Avuri sighed and took a bite of her sandwich. ¡°Well, I suppose you''re at least right that there''s nothing really nearby. But the city is more than large enough. Hell, it''s at least as big as Flowing Dragon City. Even if the walls aren''t nearly as big.¡±


    ¡°To give credit where it''s due, Flowing Dragon City went overboard with their walls.¡± Emery said.


    ¡°Logically, it makes sense given all of the cultivators around here. The Four Peaks are a huge draw.¡±


    ¡°I suppose you''re right. The walls have come in handy a few times in history I believe. But I don''t think they''ve been put to use recently.¡±


    ¡°You say that like it''s a bad thing. I''d count myself lucky no large conflict has come that close to us here." Avuri said with a smile. ¡°We''ve had enough conflicts to deal with without one being at our doorstep.¡±


    ¡°With all of the Cultivators that come and go from this area with the Peaks¡­you¡¯re right. We¡¯ve been very lucky.¡± Emery nodded slowly at first, as she thought about it, then with increasing determination. ¡°Yeah, we''ve been very lucky. There''s no magical way to keep all of us safe. Staying away from conflict as much as possible or at least keeping the conflict as far away from the house as possible seems like the best way to ensure it will be safe.¡±


    Avuri snickered, with a sudden impish grin splitting her face. ¡°So! In fact what you''re saying is we are the ones that live in the middle of nowhere.¡±


    When Emery scowled, Avuri threw her head back and laughed.


    ¡°All right, you got me.¡± Emery said. ¡°Like I said, I will send Talya a letter. In fact, I think Uncle Vale was planning on going to visit her soon. I bet if we asked, he''d take a letter with him for her.¡±


    Avuri considered this, then nodded. ¡°Yeah, that seems like a good idea.¡± Avuri paused for a moment and then continued, ¡°You know, I wonder if Uncle Vale knows Talya¡¯s pregnancy status?¡±


    Emery shoved the last bit of her sandwich into her mouth, then licked the remnants of condiments from her lips. She tilted her head in thought. ¡°It¡¯s possible. He didn¡¯t mention it, but if Talya told him to keep it quiet, he wouldn¡¯t share it with me unless I asked.¡±


    ¡°I might go ask him¡­¡± Avuri said, the glint of excitement in her eyes.


    ¡°No rumor mongering, you.¡± Emery said with a chuckle. Then, she gathered her and Avuri¡¯s dishes and stood. ¡°I¡¯m gonna get the cleaning started. You go talk to Uncle Vale if you feel like you need to.¡±


    Avuri grinned and shot to her feet. ¡°I will do that,¡± she said happily, and walked off.


    <hr>


    The children should all have been asleep by now, with maybe the exception of Cierra and Stena. Emery and Avuri were sitting on their bed, both dressed in nothing but a simple slip. Together, they sat facing each other, eyes closed, meditating.


    Their Domains were both extended. Everywhere they crossed, rather than contesting one another the way most Domains would interact, theirs blended into one seamless Domain.


    With focus, both Emery and Avuri stepped into their Domain to Cultivate.


    Alone, Emery''s Inner Domain had the appearance of a town of blacksmiths. Open buildings with forges, smithing tools, and all the assorted gear. Throughout the buildings, weapons of all types were scattered about; hung on walls, discarded on the floor, even stuck into walls around the place.


    Avuri''s Domain usually had the appearance of an isolated mountain top. Snow covered the ground indefinitely in all directions. There was a small building in the center for comfort. It offered cover from the elements, but that was all. In the center of the building was a solitary cushion to sit on while meditating. Outside, a storm raged on.


    While merged, their Paired Domain took on the major aspects of each. The location seemed to be the same solitary mountain peak of Avuri''s, complete with a snow covered landscape and an eternal storm.


    However, Emery''s blacksmith buildings took over the space. They were equally covered in snow, including even the floors under the open buildings. But fires still ran hot in the forges, and weapons remained scattered about.


    In the center was a structure original to their Paired Domain. A wooden house, similar in design to their mortal house, stood defiant amidst the storm. Within that house was a cozy interior, with everything from a fireplace to a bedroom and kitchen.


    Similarly to their position in the mortal realm, both women were sitting on the bed facing one another. Here, they sat hand in hand. Each had a calm, warm smile on their face as they drew in Qi to Cultivate.


    The Qi spun between them, entering and leaving their bodies in a circuit, moving in through their Cores and then out once more, strengthening their bodies with each pass.


    Emery could feel the cold of Avuri''s blizzard Qi enter her body and trace its path within their circuit, as the sensation of its cold was quite distinct. Avuri could likewise feel Emery¡¯s sharp steel Qi flow through her own body as it neatly flowed through their combined bodies in the same circuit.


    It had taken a few years of diligent practice together to be able to Cultivate this way without any discomfort. But as always, practice and perseverance won out in the end. At this point, their basic Dual Cultivation was painless. Pleasant, even. This more simple style may not be the most efficient method for growth available to them, but it was the most reliable for regular use.


    And it was still exponentially better than Cultivating alone.


    They continued to Cultivate together late into the night. Eventually, they emerged together from their Inner Domain. Without so much as a word between them, they both snuggled into bed, getting comfortable. After they were each in their spots, they shuffled closer to one another and coiled up against each other, each offering the other a warm, steady embrace.


    After a several hour long Dual Cultivation session, retracting their Domains from one another left them both feeling intensely alone. Cuddling up close helped ease that feeling. They shared a few loving kisses before settling into one another''s arms and slowly drifting into a pleasant sleep.

 19 : Friendly Lunch

    I slumped back in my chair, glaring daggers at my sister. We had finished lunch a while ago, but as I had feared, the discussion around the table had turned to silly childhood stories. Talya, having finished her own lunch, had immediately asked Avuri if she''d like to hear about when I was a kid.


    And Avuri, the cold hearted woman, had looked at me consolingly at first. But that look morphed fairly quickly into one of conspiratorial glee as she turned back toward Talya.


    ¡°Please. Do tell.¡±


    And that had led us down an ongoing avalanche of stories ranging from mildly funny to horribly embarrassing that had been going on for nearly an hour by this point.


    Cierra was the only one still picking at her meal, though it was clear she was pretty much done eating but still toying with her food while listening to the stories. I hoped she wasn''t actually committing any of it to memory.


    Vale had leaned back in his seat, relaxing as Talya told the stories, occasionally chiming in with an extra detail or two.


    Avuri was sitting on the edge of her seat, her chin propped up in her hands with her elbows on the table, leaning in toward Talya with a wide grin.


    I groaned aloud, but was ignored, as I had been for the last hour. Talya even stuck her tongue out at me in defiance.


    ¡°As I was saying, she decides to hide in the kitchen to practice this weird way of cutting potatoes -¡±


    ¡°It was just a spiral cut.¡± I muttered, mostly to myself.


    ¡° - for literally hours. She¡¯s barely seven at this point. Clumsy with her hands, and just can¡¯t get the cut right. Kota, the eldest of our brothers, and I were meditating quietly in a room not too far from the kitchen. And all of sudden we hear the most impressive stream of cursing from down the hall. And I¡¯m talking every single curse you¡¯ve ever heard was probably in this tirade.¡± Talya said, trying very hard not to burst into laughter.


    I saw Vale twitch and start to sit up, his mouth open; I could see in his eyes that he was about to spout off a similar list to nine-year-old me. I shot him such a glare that he stopped before speaking as I pointed at Cierra. Thankfully, he gravely nodded and leaned back again.


    Despite stopping the almost example, there was nothing I could do to stop the retelling.


    ¡°With all the wailing and cursing, Kota and I thought for sure someone had been hurt or something, so we came running. Dad also came dashing down the hall and met us at the door to the kitchen.¡±


    Avuri grinned, stifling a laugh. ¡°What did she do? Cut herself?¡±


    Talya just shook her head. ¡°No. We find her standing in the back corner of the kitchen, surrounded by failed potatoes. It was an absolute massacre. They were everywhere. And then there¡¯s Emery, standing in the middle, holding a singular potato, absolutely cursing its existence and screaming at the top of her lungs. We all got to her just in time to see her spike the potato into the ground in frustration.¡±


    Having finished telling the majority of the story, Talya finally let go and laughed. Avuri followed suit, turning to look at me with tears in her eyes.


    ¡°You cursed at a potato?¡±


    I sunk further into my seat and tried pointlessly to defend myself. ¡°I kept cutting too deep and ruining the spiral cut I was going for. And then that last potato slipped and I cut it in half before I even got to try the cut I was practicing. So¡­¡± I rolled my eyes and sighed, then mimicked spiking an item to the floor.


    After that, Vale cut in. ¡°And, boy, was she covered in cuts and nicks after that too. When Talya says it was a massacre, she wasn¡¯t joking. They were relatively minor cuts, but there were drops of blood all over the place.¡± He turned to face me as best as he could from his position. ¡°You know, the cuts on your hands, and maybe even your arms I understood. But I never understood how you got the big gash on your knee that day.¡±


    The laughing from Talya and Avuri subsided somewhat, as they suddenly turned to me, interested. I could feel my face and ears turn red under their scrutiny. Somehow I had managed to avoid this question directly for almost seventeen years, and here it was, thrown in my face in front of company.


    ¡°I don''t remember.¡± I did. ¡°Maybe the knife slipped or something?¡±


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    I think Vale saw my face turning red and chose to leave well enough alone.


    ¡°That¡¯s a lie.¡± Talya said, eyeing me suspiciously. ¡°No way you¡¯re that embarrassed and you don¡¯t remember.¡±


    I stared daggers in her direction, but she ignored them. With a big sigh, I slumped. ¡°I put the knife on the floor to get more potatoes to practice on, and slipped on one of the already dead ones.¡±


    The snickering started up again before I heard the laughter from Talya and Avuri. I took several breaths to steady myself and maybe lose some of the red in my cheeks. I nearly jumped when I felt a small hand land on my thigh. Cierra looked at me, concerned. The sincerity in her look made Talya and Avuri¡¯s laughter redouble.


    ¡°Okay?¡± Cierra asked me, in her scratchy voice. I could feel the table¡¯s energy slide from making fun of me to a general ¡®d¡¯aww¡¯ in response to Cierra. I ran my fingers through her hair and pulled her toward me a little for an almost hug and a gentle kiss on her head.


    ¡°I¡¯m okay. Thank you, Cierra.¡±


    She offered me a half-hearted smile, something more akin to just a quick of her lips, and I smiled back at her and ruffled her hair.


    Avuri leaned on one of her arms, watching the exchange. ¡°She¡¯s very cute.¡± She murmured absently. I nodded in agreement. And then Avuri straightened up suddenly and turned to Talya.


    ¡°You know, you haven¡¯t told me much about Emery when she was like Cierra¡¯s age. Got any cute stories from¡­then¡­?¡±


    As Avuri spoke, I suspected she could feel the atmosphere at the table darken as she trailed off toward the end.


    I jumped in to curtail anyone from making it worse. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t, no.¡± I said lightly, trying to change the subject. ¡°If you¡¯re really curious, I can tell you a few later, perhaps.¡±


    Avuri appeared to understand that I was actively trying to move the conversation away from the topic. She nodded, ¡°Yeah, sure.¡±


    But the damage to the mood had been done. Talya was the first to move, and she stood. ¡°Right then, shall we be on our way? I think we¡¯ve taken up this table long enough.¡± Without any time for anyone to respond, she shuffled around the table and gently coaxed Cierra along. Vale wasn¡¯t far behind.


    I stood from my seat, and Avuri followed me. As Talya led the way out the door with Cierra holding onto her hand, Vale fell into step alongside them. I made to catch up, worried Cierra may get upset if I didn¡¯t stay near. She was usually okay with Talya, but it still varied.


    Avuri pulled on my sleeve to hold me back a bit. I allowed her to do so without a fight. Being twenty or thirty feet from Vale and Talya wouldn¡¯t actually stop them from hearing whatever she had to say, but I was sure she knew that too. It was more about the gesture.


    And then I felt Avuri¡¯s Qi leak out around us. The air grew a bit colder, but not uncomfortably so. I could see a few snowflakes flutter to the ground, appearing from thin air.


    ¡°Did I ask something I shouldn¡¯t have?¡± Avuri looked concerned. ¡°If I upset you, I really want to apologize.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Suffice to say our actual childhoods are a¡­messy topic. You couldn¡¯t have known - not really. It just brings up lots of memories for all of us, and they won¡¯t want to talk about it.¡±


    I glanced at Talya and Vale. Vale was watching us with his head cocked curiously. I imagined that whatever Avuri had done shielded our talking from him, at least momentarily. I turned away from him so he couldn¡¯t read my lips.


    ¡°If you really want to know, I can tell you at some point. I don¡¯t make a point to hide it, or anything. But talking about it here in the city would be in poor taste, and Vale wouldn¡¯t like it.¡± I said quietly. ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡±


    Avuri made a grave face, and nodded with all the sincerity she could muster. ¡°As you say. I¡¯ll leave it up to you.¡± She let go of my sleeve, and I could feel her Qi stop swirling around us. ¡°I am interested, though.¡± She said, right before the sound dampening effect fell away.


    I turned back to my family and began walking in step with Avuri. Vale raised an eyebrow in question, but I returned a slight shrug to indicate I was fine. He merely nodded and turned to walk again.


    We walked toward the City''s exit together in relative silence. Cierra abandoned Talya in fairly short order and took up her position at my hip once more. I was beginning to worry about her getting too attached, but I still felt like helping her get through her trauma was more important. All I could do was hope that she wouldn''t just replace one issue with another. Well, and maybe not condone her getting overly attached.


    Eventually, we made our way out of the City. Despite the massive walls and numerous guards, they were never strict about those people leaving the city only who came in. Before us lay the massive Flowing Dragon Peak. Avuri looked up at it and whistled. I chuckled.


    ¡°It''s really impressive, isn''t it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she responded, ¡°A lot of land features kinda lose their majesty when you can travel like a Cultivator. But these peaks are something special.¡±


    I nodded in agreement. The Flowing Dragon Peak spread out and up before us, completely taking up our vision. The base of the mountain immediately in front of us looked like a half-sparse forest of evergreen trees, lush with pine needles. But as you climbed higher on the mountain, the trees gave way to a messy labyrinth of waterways and small streams that criss-crossed the whole thing. Water Qi was particularly strong in the center stratum of the mountain, as well as inside, where there were huge cave systems replete with running waterways.


    The top of the mountain was snow capped and looked incredibly majestic. Ice Qi ran rampant at that height, and many demonic beasts ran free in that area, all heavily adapted for the cold climate. The area would surely be perfect for Avuri to Cultivate in. And I imagined many of the beasts up there would help her hone her craft even further.


    Vale looked up at the mountain and sighed. ¡°We''ve got a trek ahead of us. It''ll be a bit before I can take us the rest of the way.¡±


    Avuri looked confused, but I ignored that and nodded. ¡°We really need to make that footpath. I''m getting tired of requiring your damn wings.¡±


    Avuri looked between the two of us, mouth agape.


    ¡°Wings?¡±

 20 : Talk

    Avuri was, perhaps, mildly annoyed with me. We had made it several hours up the Flowing Dragon Peak before Vale finally stopped us to allow him to shapeshift to fly us the rest of the way. Avuri had been perplexed at first, wondering why we stopped walking. Then, when Vale shifted, she screamed.


    Admittedly, it had been a startled action, and not one out of fear necessarily. I probably would¡¯ve also yelped if a blast of fire Qi had gone off nearby and there was suddenly a dragon standing there. She had been utterly unprepared for it, and the suddenness took her entirely off guard. She even recovered quickly after realizing what happened.


    Didn¡¯t matter. I still laughed at her like an idiot. If for no other reason than to get back at her for egging Talya on at lunch with embarrassing stories of me, I poked fun at her until we were up in the air on Vale¡¯s legs and she couldn¡¯t hear me anymore. But I still pointed and laughed whenever she looked at me.


    I was pretty sure she was taking it well, all things considered. Over the course of the relatively short flight from the middle of the mountain to the basin beyond the peak, Avuri went from looking at me with an expression of mild annoyance to an overplayed pout. I kept poking fun until we landed anyway. At one point, I even got Cierra, who was huddled next to me in my arms, to point and laugh with me. Or at least she pointed and looked mildly amused, maybe?


    When we crested the top of the peak and began the glide toward the middle point between the peaks, I could see Avuri¡¯s eyes go wide. The view from here wasn¡¯t spectacular. There were clouds, mist, and fog all around. Even some snow flurries this close to the top of Flowing Dragon Peak.


    Even then, the view was something your average person - even your average Cultivator - was unlikely to see. The shadows of the other mountains loomed behind the clouds and fog in the distance, but the sky above us was beautiful and clear. It wasn¡¯t quite sunset yet, but the colors of the sky were just beginning to turn.


    As we descended into the clouds toward the basin, our vision was blocked for a short period of time before we finally emerged once more below the clouds. I looked back toward Avuri to see the look on her face as the basin itself came into view, and was not disappointed by her look of awe.


    From above, the basin looked almost like a magical oasis. Surrounded by mountainous terrain on all sides, the lush, vibrant plant life all around stood like a beacon amidst the night. The canopy was predominantly the soft purple of the wisteria trees, though it was dotted with more average colors like green and small sparks of red. And that was without mentioning the massive elder wisteria which dwarfed all of the other trees, standing a few hundred meters above the rest.


    We had also crafted a small river of water, running from the Flowing Dragon Peak¡¯s abundant natural springs, that ran throughout the whole basin. You could see hints of blue running under the canopy in places, and altogether it was a breathtaking sight. Even I had to take a moment to appreciate it all, despite having seen it multiple times.


    Avuri¡¯s head swung back and forth to look around as we came in for a landing. There was no way to talk up in the air as we had to separate to different legs to be carried. But when we landed at the edge of the basin by the tree line, Avuri bounded over to me with one large leap.


    ¡°This? This is your home?¡± She asked, sweeping an arm out toward the trees.


    ¡°Well, sorta.¡± I hedged, pointing toward the center of the trees. ¡°The house is much closer to the center. These are all just trees for cover.¡±


    Avuri gave me a flat look, as if to say ¡®Duh.¡¯ I chuckled, and turned toward the trees.


    ¡°Come along then. I¡¯ll give you the grand tour.¡±


    And I did so, showing her around to all of our finished landmarks. Avuri was delightfully fascinated by the whole compound, even asking Talya and Vale about the Arrays used to keep the whole place so temperate and livable. Apparently, while the Frozen Mountain did use some simple ones, they had said that the cold and snow of the mountaintop forged better Cultivators. Avuri thought it might just be an excuse to skip out on paying for nicer Arrays.


    Eventually, we spiraled our way in toward the main house. Rather than show off the outside, I made my way in. As we walked around, Cierra had begun to flag. I wanted to get her inside and into bed, hoping that the excitement of the day would leave her out cold for the night. And hopefully dreamless.


    When we entered the main house, I excused myself to bring Cierra up to my room, leaving Avuri to look around as she pleased. After getting Cierra changed and into my bed, I gave her a comforting snuggle before heading back down to Avuri. She had apparently ventured up to the second floor, and was wandering around the living space, just taking in the woodcrafting.


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°She¡¯s asleep?¡± Avuri asked, when I came around the corner. I headed toward the kitchen to put away the mass of groceries we bought. They were placed in a storage ring for ease of transport, but since I only originally bought a cheap one, the food would spoil in there. It needed to be placed within the Arrays around the kitchen for storing food long-term.


    ¡°Yes, at least for now.¡± I said, putting fruit and veggies away. ¡°I¡¯m really hoping all the excitement of the day wore her out and she¡¯ll be able to sleep soundly.¡±


    ¡°Nightmares?¡±


    ¡°Nightmares.¡± I confirmed. ¡°They¡¯ve been going on without end. I think they¡¯re getting at least a little bit better, especially in the last few weeks. She wakes up with less screaming, just crying.¡± I looked bitterly at the tomato in my hand as I placed it away.


    ¡°I see.¡± Avuri said, sounding contemplative. ¡°I imagine anyone in her situation would have nightmares for a while.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°It¡¯s been almost a year, though. I¡¯d expect her to have nightmares on occasion still, sure. But it¡¯s still almost every night. I¡¯m worried that there may be some real lasting damage to her psyche.¡± With a sigh, I moved to put the rest of the perishable away.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a lot of experience with this sort of thing. Is it so uncommon to be acting the way she is, even a year later?¡± Avuri asked.


    I considered this for a moment. ¡°In my experience, kids can outwardly usually bounce back pretty quickly, but with underlying scars remaining.¡± I said, talking through my thoughts. ¡°Nightmares being this frequent for almost a year? Yeah, that¡¯s unusual. As is the way she seems to be almost emotionless after this long.¡±


    There was a long pause in the conversation as I put away the last of the groceries. When I stood and turned around to face Avuri, she was watching me very curiously. I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Yes?¡±


    There was another moment of her studying me before she responded. ¡°You¡¯ve dealt with this sort of trauma before, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    I silently inclined my head in ascent. ¡°Yes. A number of times.¡±


    Another pause. ¡°Don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d want to tell me those childhood stories now, would you?¡±


    I met Avuri¡¯s gaze with a soft smile. She was a sharp one, alright. ¡°They aren¡¯t good stories, Avuri.¡± I said, seriously.


    ¡°I can see that by the look on your face.¡± She responded.


    ¡°And I can see on yours that you¡¯re still curious.¡± I said, trying to force a little cheer into my voice. Avuri still just regarded me with silent earnestness.


    I broke eye contact first. ¡°How about we go make use of the bath house? It¡¯s a rare treat, and you may as well get to use it while you¡¯re here.¡± I said, once again keeping my voice as cheerful as I could manage.


    Before Avuri could respond, I walked away to call after Talya, to let her know to keep an ear out for Cierra while we were occupied. She agreed, and left her room to keep Cierra company while she slept for now.


    With that settled, I motioned for Avuri to follow me toward the bath house. ¡°Come along.¡±


    As we walked the path to the bath house from the main house, I kept the conversation going while describing the trees and building techniques we used around the basin. As we neared the bath house itself, I started talking about its layout and what went into building the whole thing.


    When we entered the building that housed the stalls and storage for changing, I called around for Vale, but he seemed to be elsewhere. Satisfied, I turned back to Avuri. ¡°You prefer towels or bare?¡±


    Avuri thought for a moment. ¡°Let¡¯s go with towels for now.¡±


    I nodded, and passed her a huge bathing towel from the storage closet. I had them made extra large for comfort, and really liked them that way. We both stepped into stalls to change out of our clothing. Within each stall was a small water Array to rinse off your body before getting into the bath. We both rinsed off and wrapped ourselves in towels before we walked into the open air bath.


    As I left my stall wrapped only in my towel, I could feel Avuri¡¯s eyes on me. As it was nothing new, I walked unhurried to the bath, Avuri just a step behind me. I dipped a foot in the water, just to be sure it was a good temperature, then stepped all the way in. Avuri followed suit next to me, a meter or so away. As we settled into built in stone seats to enjoy the water, I laid my head back to stare at the open sky.


    ¡°Just ask.¡± I said, with a sigh.


    Avuri was silent for a moment. ¡°Just how many¡­?¡± She trailed off, eyeing my shoulders and upper back.


    I snickered. ¡°You know, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever counted. There¡¯s a whole mess of scars under my hair too, so even if I did count the ones on the rest of my body, I wouldn¡¯t have the whole answer.¡± I ran my hands through my hair. ¡°I¡¯m so thankful a Cultivator¡¯s body is practically magic. I¡¯d have no hair, otherwise.¡±


    Avuri winced. ¡°I noticed the scar running down your arm before, since it¡¯s still so dark against your skin. But all those others?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Hidden under my clothes, and roughly the same skin color. They get more noticeable with the sheen from being wet.¡± I traced a finger down the scar on my left arm, starting from my shoulder near the base of my neck and running along the line down to just past my elbow.


    Avuri remained quiet for a while after that as we soaked in the water.


    ¡°In case it¡¯s not obvious,¡± I said, ¡°This is what you¡¯re asking about when you ask about my childhood.¡±


    With a solemn nod, Avuri turned to face in front of both of us. ¡°I understand.¡± A pause. ¡°I¡¯d still like to know, if you¡¯ll tell me. I won¡¯t force you to, of course. But I¡¯m curious about your whole family. Not to mention why you have scars as a Cultivator. Don¡¯t Cultivator bodies usually heal them?¡±


    ¡°They aren¡¯t normal scars, so Ascending Realms did nothing for me.¡± I said, absently. ¡°If you really want to know, I can tell you the basics.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here to listen.¡± Avuri said.


    I took a deep breath. In. Then out. Where to begin?

 21 : Scars

    Emery seemed to deflate, sinking into the bath a bit with a huge sigh. ¡°Where to begin?¡± She asked no one in particular as she searched for the words. I waited quietly and patiently for her to begin.


    As she was contemplating, I looked over her scars again. Or, I supposed, at least the ones I could see. The most obvious began at the base of her neck on her left side that trailed down the back of her arm, ending just past the elbow. There was another I had noticed before getting into the bath that began above her right knee, and traveled up under what her towel covered; who knew where that one ended.


    Then there was the mess of scar tissue running across her upper back. They seemed to be roughly all the same shape and size, and even spread evenly across her shoulders. Eventually, I was able to tear my eyes away from her scars and look at the water we sat in instead.


    ¡°You know, I don¡¯t remember my birth family. Not even a little.¡± Emery began, with a self-depreciating chuckle. ¡°When I was¡­I don¡¯t know, maybe two? I was taken by the Hidden Blade Sect.¡± It was a name I didn¡¯t recognize. Emery seemed to pick up on the look on my face. ¡°Yeah, you wouldn¡¯t know it. Not only was it a fairly secret Sect back then, it was completely destroyed.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± Was all I could get out.


    ¡°The earliest memories I have are of that Sect, along with some other children and our ¡°caretakers¡±. I don¡¯t remember all that much outside of eating, sleeping, and training.¡± Emery said, leaning her head back to look up at the sky. ¡°It wasn¡¯t¡­Well, it didn¡¯t start bad? At least, not that I can remember. But by the time I was around five, things were¡­bad.¡± I could see Emery swallowing, as if her mouth had gone dry.


    ¡°To start with, the Hidden Blade Sect was very interesting. They had techniques passed down through their members that had different properties.¡± Emery churned her Qi, which coalesced into a small knife in her hand. ¡°My basic techniques all come from their Sect. They were weapon masters, trained in practically every weapon you can think of.¡± The small knife in Emery¡¯s hand seemed to melt into some kind of mercurial substance before reforming into a different shape. First a long, sharp needle. Then into a small club. The strange movements of the liquid metal were eye-catching and somehow hypnotic.


    ¡°Basically from as far back as I can remember, I was being trained in various weapons. Most of the motions and strikes are so deeply ingrained into me that I¡¯m pretty sure I could keep fighting even while I¡¯m unconscious.¡± She chuckled darkly.


    ¡°But like I said, around when I was five or so, the training changed. While the base technique of creating weapons from Qi was the foundation of the Sect¡¯s training, what made it special was the ability to add special properties to a weapon you manifest through your Qi.¡± Apparently as demonstration, Emery held up the little bit of metal, shifted it back into the shape of a knife, and added a little more Qi to it. Suddenly, the blade seemed to seep a green mist into the air.


    ¡°Poison.¡± She said. Then her Qi changed again, and the blade seemed as if it sucked up the light around it. ¡°Qi disruption.¡± Then once more, the blade¡¯s edges seemed to fuzz. ¡°Intangibility. You get the idea.¡± She said, before tossing the blade into the air. At the apex of the small toss, the whole knife just puffed away to essence.


    ¡°They started to try to teach all of their techniques to myself and the other kids that they had ¡®taken in¡¯.¡± My brow creased with a question, which Emery was quick to answer. ¡°Ah, yes. How would someone teach an Unawakened child Qi techniques?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°If you and the other kids were all around five years old¡­even if you had been training for two years surely you couldn¡¯t have made it to Awakening by then. Even starting early, most kids don¡¯t Awaken until they are at least eight or so.¡±


    Emery nodded sardonically. ¡°How familiar are you with demonic techniques, Avuri?¡±


    The question was sudden, and I bristled for a moment before calming and seeing where this was going. ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. There is a demonic technique - several, in fact - that can be used to forcefully Awaken someone who hasn¡¯t made their Core yet. Most of them are terrible techniques that are usually used to create a Core within someone else that is under the creator¡¯s control, and not the person it is used on. The technique used on myself and the other children wasn¡¯t one like that. It was a faulty technique designed to give the target a usable Core, but one that was built on the shoddiest foundation.¡±


    ¡°Obviously, children that were given Cores like that wouldn¡¯t be able to learn advanced techniques like what they were trying to teach us all. And the class I was a part of slowly started to vanish one child at a time.¡± Emery¡¯s expression went dark and empty, as she likely remembered some of what happened. Maybe even faces. I just stared both enthralled and disgusted by her story.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°As you may imagine, the weakest were taken first. As each of us failed to show any results, they were removed.¡± She laughed then, suddenly turning dramatic in tone, as if performing. ¡°I was one of the last to go. Such a dutiful student, I was. What a joke.¡± She spat out the last line before taking a deep breath.


    Words started to come out of her in a tumble, as if she wanted to get this part over with as quickly as possible. Or maybe she wasn¡¯t sure she would continue if she stopped even once.


    ¡°I can¡¯t speak for the others. But when I was finally taken out of the class¡­First the assholes destroyed the Core they had so graciously given me. Then they had used one of those other techniques to create a Core under their control. That¡¯s when they began to try different things. They tried to implant teachings into my head with demonic or corrupted Qi techniques. They tried to alter my body¡¯s Qi flow and natural affinities.¡±


    She motioned to the scars. ¡°I don¡¯t know what each goal was. Mostly it was just mental and physical torture. Mostly physical, I suppose. The mental bit just went along with it. They didn¡¯t care what kind of side effects they were causing. I think they just wanted to see what would take hold in a body and what wouldn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°All of that lasted something like two years. Maybe three. I don¡¯t know.¡± Emery shook her head. ¡°Eventually, one of the Sect¡¯s Elders, who had been in secluded Cultivation for several hundred years at least, emerged from his meditation. He found out what was going on after being among the Sect for a month or so, I think. He was absolutely disgusted by what his Sect was doing and so massacred them all. Cleansed the whole Sect of the demonic taint that had taken hold.¡±


    Emery wrung her hands in the water as she continued. ¡°He basically killed every single adult in the entire Sect. Almost all of them had been either involved or at least complicit. I think there were less than twenty-five survivors from a Sect of almost two hundred. And they were basically all students that had joined recently.¡±


    ¡°The Elder tried his best to help the kids that had been tortured. Some were hurt beyond help. I found out later that most of my ¡®class¡¯ had been turned into Qi cattle, just wrung dry of their body¡¯s natural Qi, the same way we found Cierra. A few, like myself, had been undergoing various experiments because we seemed to exhibit the most strength, will, or whatever.¡±


    Emery slid a bit farther down the wall of the bath, taking another deep breath before letting it out into the night air. ¡°Long story short, the Elder did what he could for the kids that remained. Took in whoever was in the worst shape himself. Left others in the care of orphanages or the like. I imagine you can piece the rest together yourself.¡±


    I imagined I could. ¡°Would Vale happen to be a weapon master of some renown?¡± I asked.


    Emery seemed to shake herself free of her inner demons before answering. ¡°Renown? No, but he is absurdly strong.¡± She snorted. ¡°Me and all my siblings were saved that day by him. Those of us that were either too damaged or exhibited some skill as a Cultivator he took in. Trained any of us that wanted it. He made for one hell of a father, all things considered. Though I¡¯m sure he took us in out of pity at first, I think he genuinely formed real bonds with all of us after a time.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I could see that in the way he interacted with you and Talya today. He clearly loves you.¡±


    Emery nodded. ¡°Yeah, I think he does.¡± She sighed, conjuring up her knife again. ¡°Vale helped each of us break down the demonic Cores and form new ones with strong foundations. Funny thing about all the nonsense I went through as a kid? After he started to train us, I realized that some of the crap they did to me actually stuck. I know so many of the Hidden Blade¡¯s techniques that it actually scared Vale at first.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you use them after what they did to you.¡±


    Emery merely shrugged. ¡°I figure I may as well make them my own. Use my traumatic past to my advantage and all that crap.¡± She said venomously. ¡°More than that, though, all of those techniques drilled into my head - not to mention all of the demonic bullshit they did - put me in a singular position to create new techniques.¡±


    The knife in her hand turned from the clean silver into a pure, brilliant white. ¡°I have so many variations to pull from, that it''s almost too easy for me to alter weapons I create to have new properties. This one can purify demonic Qi.¡± She said. Then the dagger turned a deep, bloody scarlet. ¡°This one destroys demonic Qi. Painfully.¡±


    I stared at the dangerous looking weapon, unsure what to make of it. ¡°I¡­see.¡±


    Emery turned to meet my eyes for a moment, snorted, then the knife puffed away again. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Avuri, for what it¡¯s worth. I don¡¯t know why you came all this way, or what exactly you expected from me. Or even why you wanted to know any of this.¡± Emery stretched her arms out before her before continuing.


    ¡°I know you didn¡¯t make me tell you or anything. But I¡¯m an open book. I don¡¯t keep secrets if I can help it. You seemed like you wanted to know, so I told you. Simple.¡± She looked into my eyes again, openness clear on her face. ¡°I¡¯m not a good person, Avuri. I¡¯ve trained most of my life to be a weapon to kill demonic Cultivators wherever I can find them. I don¡¯t know what it was about me that you found so ¡®interesting¡¯ when we met before, but I¡¯m sure I¡¯m not worth that interest.¡±


    I sat back against the edge of the bath, sinking down a bit, as I took in everything in full, trying to process it all. ¡°You know,¡± I began, ¡°I¡¯m not so sure that you¡¯re a weapon, Emery.¡± I caught her raising an eyebrow out of the corner of my eye. ¡°Sure. You killed a whole mess of people in that compound where I found you that day. I won¡¯t deny that your sword is certainly sharp. And deadly. Maybe even scary.¡±


    I chuckled a bit. ¡°But. You put that away to rescue a little girl, become her mother, and have been protecting that little girl for almost a year. A ¡®weapon¡¯, as you put it, wouldn¡¯t do that.¡± I said earnestly, but continued looking at the sky. ¡°You are just as much a shield as you are a sword. Even if you don¡¯t necessarily think of yourself that way.¡±


    I turned to face her finally, the look on her face was pensive. ¡°Also. All of this made you more interesting, not less.¡±

 22 : Pair Up

    Emery looked at me like I had five heads. Clearly what I had said was not what she expected.


    ¡°I just spill my guts and tell you I¡¯ve basically been trained for killing since birth, tortured for most of my childhood, and am on the warpath to murder as many demonic Cultivators as I can find, and your response is, ¡®this made me more interesting¡¯.¡± She looked almost comical, blinking with her eyes so wide. ¡°Are you insane?¡±


    I just shrugged. ¡°Only as much as you are, I imagine.¡± Emery moved to respond again, but I waved her off and forged on. ¡°And everytime you talk about your circumstances, you paint it all so specifically to make yourself sound like such a bad person. And that¡¯s doing you such a disservice.¡±


    Emery clenched her jaw shut and looked at me pointedly and annoyed. I shifted in the bath to face her more directly. Earnestly.


    ¡°Listen. I¡¯ll give you that you¡¯ve been trained to kill basically since birth and you had one hell of a tortured childhood. I certainly have no interest in disputing that. But saying that what you¡¯re doing now is being ¡®on a warpath to murder as many of whatever as you can¡¯ is just wrong.¡±


    Once again, Emery moved to speak but I spoke over her. ¡°Tell me, Emery, how many demonic Cultivators have you killed in the last eight months since I saw you last?¡±


    ¡°None.¡± She said, indignantly.


    ¡°And why is that? If you are ¡®on the warpath¡¯, why have you not gone out and killed anyone in the last half a year?¡±


    Emery folded her arms over her chest, looking distinctly peeved. ¡°Because I¡¯ve been building a new house.¡±


    I waited for her to elaborate further. She didn¡¯t. So I cleared my throat and prompted, ¡°And why is that?¡± When she opened her mouth to speak, I could tell from the look on her face she was about to spout some nonsense to support her point. I put a hand up in front of her face. ¡°The truth.¡± I said, firmly.


    Emery narrowed her eyes at me. ¡°Because I needed a home base to work from, and I¡¯m tired of wandering without one.¡±


    I eyed her, narrowing my own eyes in a mirror of hers. And with a quick flash of Qi, I drew up some of the bath water to splash her in the face. As she spluttered the water from her mouth, I said, ¡°The whole truth, you idiot.¡±


    With the same petulant look a child would give their parents during a scolding, Emery once again crossed her arms and forcefully dropped back against the edge of the tub with a huff. She sighed dramatically and said, ¡°I wanted to have a place to call home. For myself¡­and Cierra.¡±


    I swung my arms wide, as if putting on an overacted play. ¡°There it is! Finally, a bit of truth from her mouth.¡± I said, rolling my eyes. ¡°You apparently don¡¯t want to admit it, but you¡¯re at least as concerned with your family - Cierra included - as you are with hunting demonic Cultivators.¡±


    I paused for emphasis. ¡°And let me be clear. Those demonic Cultivators deserve you coming after them. They deserve absolutely every little thing coming to them.¡± I said, with as much finality as I could muster.


    Emery laid her head back, looking more or less exhausted. She side eyed me curiously, but said nothing. I settled back against the edge of the tub myself, in thought. My trip here and what Eli and Ettie had said.


    ¡°There is at least one demonic Cultivator sect in the Dying Lands. They¡¯ve apparently been taking children from caravans that are traveling through the area.¡± Emery¡¯s head snapped around immediately, her eyes suddenly focused.


    ¡°Did you get any more information than that? Any leads?¡± She asked fervently.


    I shook my head. ¡°No, I was just told about it by two of the guards that were part of the caravan I traveled with. An Eli and Ettie Nunn?¡±


    Emery shrugged. ¡°Never heard of ¡®em. But we already know of one demonic sect in the Dying Lands.¡± She let out a frustrated breath. ¡°They¡¯re led by an old demonic beast with a human form. They¡¯re at least Sky Realm, so they¡¯re a little beyond me right now.¡±


    ¡°And Vale?¡± I asked.


    ¡°All the normal sect rules bullshit applies.¡± Emery spat. ¡°If he gets involved, it¡¯s entirely possible that we¡¯d end up with an unknown demonic Heavenly or Celestial Realm Cultivator popping up to fight back. The last time that happened is how we got the Dying Lands in the first place.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°I had heard that the desolation was the result of some high level battle but there¡¯s so many stories with conflicting details I thought no one knew for sure.¡±


    ¡°Vale is an old dragon. He wasn¡¯t there as far as I know, but he¡¯s mentioned in passing that the scarring of the land was the result of a Celestial Realm demonic Cultivator showing up in retribution for a sect coming to wipe out the demonic sect that was based there. Apparently the demon wiped out the whole sect and ravaged the land all in one huge scale attack.¡±


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    I shivered. ¡°And if Vale got involved in something like this, something more equal to his level may show up.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Well, shit.¡± I said, with a sigh. Emery nodded - but there was a slightly concerning glint in her eyes.


    ¡°The one demonic sect we know about never abducted kids, though.¡± Emery said.


    ¡°Which means either they¡¯ve started doing something new, or there is a second, different sect.¡± I concluded.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Emery confirmed. ¡°And it¡¯s incredibly rare that a demonic sect branches out like that, as they are usually formed around a specific demonic technique.¡± Emery was sitting up straight now, alert and thinking. ¡°They¡¯re still in the Dying Lands though, so they¡¯re guaranteed to be at least Sky Realm. How long did you say they¡¯ve been taking kids?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t. I wasn¡¯t told an exact timeline, but I got the impression it¡¯s maybe been a few months.¡± I said, watching Emery¡¯s mind at work.


    ¡°If they¡¯re that new, it would be very unlikely they have any sort of powerful backing. I¡¯d bet that they¡¯re a small group of Sky Realm Cultivators that recently got their hands on a demonic technique and are still new to it.¡± Emery frowned. ¡°If I was Sky Realm I could probably at least go and investigate. Damnit.¡±


    I considered being polite for a moment, before deciding to ask, ¡°How close are you to the peak?¡±


    Emery looked at me seriously. ¡°Pretty close. But still a year or two away from breaking through, I imagine. Probably.¡±


    I blanched. ¡°Same here. I thought maybe if you were close, we could train together and push you through. But I suppose if you''re not that close, it''s not really useful to just push for advancement.¡±


    Emery made a face as if she was just generally discontent with the whole situation. Which, given our inability to do anything here.


    ¡°Wait.¡± Emery said, her head snapping up. ¡°I remember Vale saying something about some kind of special training partners can do. Maybe he knows some way we can advance to the Sky Realm quickly.¡±


    I considered asking whether he had been referencing Dual Cultivation but figured someone as ancient as Vale might have something actually special up his sleeve.


    I nodded. ¡°We should ask. If there''s some kind of special training regimen we could do that would give us an edge or a Cultivation boost, it''s worth it.¡±


    ¡°Should we go now?¡± Emery asked. ¡°Or did you want to soak a bit more?¡±


    I leaned my head against the stone outside the bath and yawned. ¡°I like the idea of soaking. But if you think Vale might have some kind of super secret training technique, we should just ask. The sooner we get to working toward saving those kids, the better.¡±


    Emery nodded and stood, holding her towel snug around her body. ¡°Right then. Let''s go talk to him before he gets settled for the night.¡±


    I stood, following suit. ¡°Fair enough. You say ¡®settle in for the night,¡¯ but does Vale even sleep?¡±


    ¡°No, but he has a tendency to enter pretty deep meditation most nights. It''s nearly impossible to get him out of it once he starts, so we''re better off getting to him before then.¡± Emery chuckled.


    ¡°Uuh, right.¡± I said, chuckling as I imagined trying to wake a dragon from deep meditation. I motioned Emery toward the door. ¡°Lead the way, I guess.¡±


    Together, we made our way into the changing room, dried off, and swapped towels for light robes. I followed Emery back to the main house and up to the second floor where the bedrooms were. She made her way down the hall to a room with a door closed, which I had to assume was Vale''s.


    When she knocked, a ¡®Come in¡¯ echoed from inside. And so we did. Vale was, indeed, sitting on the floor in a meditation pose. He untangled his legs and stood to greet us, motioning toward the small table in the center of the room with cushions around it. There was even a teapot on the table.


    ¡°Thanks, Vale.¡± Emery said as we moved to the table.


    I paused for a moment, looking between the two, and wondered if there was a reason she didn''t call Vale ¡®Dad¡¯ or something similar the way Talya did. In the end, I sat down at the table without asking.


    ¡°What did you need?¡± Vale asked seriously. ¡°I can see it on your face that you have a reason.¡±


    Emery nodded. Vale was right, her face was clearly serious. ¡°You once said that there was some kind of training that I could do with a partner that would accelerate my Cultivation growth¡­ ¡®explosively¡¯ was, I think, the word you used.¡±


    I could see Vale putting together what she was about to ask. And based on him clearly beginning to act uncomfortable, I suspected my earlier suspicion was dead on.


    As Emery was no doubt about to ask what the technique was directly, I interrupted her. ¡°Emery, I know you said that Vale mentioned such a technique, but I don''t think it''s something we can do.¡±


    Emery turned to me sharply. ¡°What do you mean? You said you were interested.¡± She looked incensed, but also perhaps on the verge of a pout. And then she turned back to Vale. ¡°If you know a way, out with it.¡±


    Vale averted his eyes from Emery, either just uncomfortable or maybe embarrassed. ¡°Look, Emery,¡± he said, trying to explain. ¡°You know I won''t lie to you. There is a technique, but I can''t recommend it to the two of you.¡± He looked between the two of us. ¡°At least not yet, anyway. Maybe someday.¡±


    Emery just got annoyed by his response. ¡°The hell does that mean - not yet? There''s children out there being tortured, and there''s a way we can help them. You''ve always helped before, and now you''re suddenly saying ¡®no''?¡±


    I put a hand on her shoulder to try to calm her down a little. ¡°It''s okay Emery. If it''s a shortcut, it''s probably a bad idea. You know how things like that are usually too good to be true.¡±


    She nodded, still staring down Vale. ¡°You''re absolutely right. But I also know Vale would never suggest something like that to me.¡± She looked about ready to start a scrap with the dragon. ¡°So what''ll it be, old man? You gonna help or get in my way.¡±


    When Vale didn''t respond, I had to physically hold Emery in place. She snapped back at me. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Emery, I think I know of the technique he''s referring to. And he''s probably right. I don''t think it''s meant for us right now.¡± Vale¡¯s eyes met mine and he sighed as I spoke again. ¡°It''s probably Dual Cultivation. Or Paired Cultivation. Whatever you''d like to call it.¡±


    Emery stopped and turned to Vale, a brow raised curiously. ¡°What the hell is that?¡±

 23 : Cooldown

    Emery opened her eyes slowly. It was still early, judging by the relative lack of light in the bedroom, and she blinked blearily trying to get her vision straight.


    ¡°Morning, love.¡± Avuri said from her right. Emery turned toward her wife and blinked the sleep from her eyes. Avuri was propped up against her pillows and had been reading a book quietly before Emery awoke. Emery offered a goofy, half-lidded smile in her still sleepy state. She wiggled a bit to sit up more normally against her pillows, then scooted closer to Avuri.


    Avuri placed her book on the small bedside table to resettle herself and she put an arm around Emery¡¯s shoulders, pulling her further in so that she rested more fully against Avuri. Avuri kissed Emery¡¯s head and then leaned her cheek against Emery.


    Emery sighed, fully content to spend all day right there. She leaned into the cuddle, laying her head against Avuri¡¯s collarbone. She delighted in the feeling of Avuri running her fingers through her hair and massaging her scalp. Avuri would often do this, her fingers tracing the faint lines of the scars hidden under her hair.


    Emery smiled happily. ¡°You know, I had a dream about the night I told you about my scars.¡± She shivered slightly under the gentle scratching. ¡°Never would I have thought then that we¡¯d be in this position now.¡±


    Avuri laughed. ¡°No, I suppose not. I knew I was interested in you, but I¡¯m pretty sure at the time I thought it was more related to your interesting fighting skills.¡± She paused. ¡°Well, maybe. I do recall thinking you were attractive but that¡¯s just a Cultivator thing.¡±


    With a nod, Emery considered the line of thought. ¡°Same here, I think. I feel like Cultivator bodies make being attractive kinda cheap. I don¡¯t want to say something like ¡®when everyone is attractive, no one is,¡¯ but it feels that way a little bit.¡±


    Avuri moved to more fully embrace Emery in a hug as they cuddled, pulling Emery nearly into her lap. ¡°I see what you¡¯re saying though. When everyone around you is gorgeous, you take note of physical beauty less. Unless someone is to your particular taste, I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s more or less the idea. I do think you are beautiful, Ri. But so are so many other Cultivators, that the impact was a little lost on me when we first met.¡± Emery chuckled, lost in thought. ¡°Honestly, I kinda regret it now. That we didn¡¯t have a moment where our eyes met at that tournament and we both were just stopped dead by each other.¡±


    Avuri snickered. ¡°Maybe not, but I will say that our second meeting left one hell of an impression on me. Seeing you completely covered in blood and crying over a dying child¡­It was like a tragic painting. Beautiful but so forlorn and sad. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever forget it.¡±


    Emery thumped the back of her head against Avuri¡¯s chest playfully. ¡°You know, I barely even remember that day? It¡¯s all in snippets and flashes, despite being one of the most pivotal moments of my whole life.¡±


    ¡°No, I can see how that¡¯s the case. You were really shaken up when I found you, and we barely ever talk about any of those days.¡± Avuri responded. ¡°I¡¯m still not sure if talking about their memories with the kids would be better or worse than not.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I think we¡¯ve been taking the right approach by varying it for each kid. I don¡¯t want to force anyone to relive the hell they went through and talk about it if they seem like they¡¯re adjusting well. And if they aren¡¯t adjusting well¡­well, everyone is different. We can only do our best to help everywhere we can.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Avuri said. ¡°I think we¡¯ve had a pretty good record so far. Everyone in the family at the moment is at least doing well.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m really proud of what we¡¯ve managed to do so far.¡± Emery murmured quietly, still relaxed. ¡°Imagine what we could do with the hundreds or thousands of years of a Cultivator¡¯s lifetime.¡±


    They both went quiet at that, seemingly content to think about it as they cuddled together in bed in the dim light before sunrise.


    A few minutes passed before Avuri spoke. ¡°Where do you think we¡¯d be if I chose not to come and see you after I got your letter?¡± Her voice carried the distinct lilt of someone curious and deep in thought.


    ¡°You¡¯d probably still be a member of the Frozen Mountain Sect, I imagine. And I would probably be doing this, just far less well without you.¡± Emery said, matter-of-factly.


    Avuri chuckled. ¡°Ever the pragmatic one, you. I meant it though; where do you think we¡¯d be?¡±


    Emery snorted. ¡°You say I¡¯m just being pragmatic, but it¡¯s true. If you hadn¡¯t come to visit, I¡¯d probably still be running this place. Maybe leaning on Uncle Vale and my brothers and sisters more, though. And you didn¡¯t have any real tangible plans to leave the Frozen Mountain until my letter, so there¡¯s no reason to expect you¡¯d be anywhere else but there. Maybe even on your way to be a Master or an Elder.¡± She paused for just a moment before adding, ¡°Well, even you aren¡¯t that old yet,¡± with a snicker.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Avuri swatted her shoulder in retaliation. ¡°Jerk. Be serious.¡±


    Emery smiled and settled into Avuri¡¯s hug again. ¡°Okay, okay.¡± She said, trying to settle Avuri down a little. Then she thought about it. ¡°I really don¡¯t know. Obviously, I would be living here. I was before I sent you the letter after all.¡± She made a face after that. ¡°I don¡¯t think¡­¡± She took a breath. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯d have the same kids here. I can¡¯t speak to the number either way. But I¡­Well, we made it to Stena because of you, so¡­¡±


    Avuri gave Emery a comforting caress, turning her wife¡¯s head toward her. ¡°I¡¯m sure even without me around, you still would save any and all you could. But of course you¡¯d have different leads without me around.¡± Avuri said as she bumped their foreheads together.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re right about me, though.¡± Avuri said thoughtfully. ¡°When your letter arrived, I think I was looking for an excuse to travel. If it wasn¡¯t for you, I don¡¯t know that I would¡¯ve left the Mountain so permanently, but I do think I would¡¯ve taken a long trip. Who knows who I could¡¯ve met if I went East instead of West.¡±


    Emery smiled, a little bit of danger glinted in her eyes. ¡°You think you would¡¯ve settled with someone else?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone else out there could have captivated me quite the way you did,¡± Avuri said without missing a beat.


    ¡°Good answer.¡± Emery returned, laughter clear in her tone. ¡°Even though I¡¯m sure you would¡¯ve found someone. You¡¯re wonderful and very easy to love, Ri.¡±


    Avuri gave her wife a kiss in response. ¡°So are you. I was shocked at how easily you told me all of that stuff when we first met. You barely knew me, and there you were, just putting it all out there.¡±


    Emery nodded. ¡°It was exactly like I told you then. I like being an open book when it comes to the core of who I am. I¡¯m not ashamed, and I¡¯m not particularly secretive - at least to friends. But more than anything else, all of the stuff I told you that night is so critical to who I am as a person. It¡¯s never sat right with me, holding that stuff back from people who are even remotely close to me.¡±


    She snickered. ¡°Hell, I don¡¯t really hide it from anyone except those I might consider enemies. I¡¯ve told watered down versions of it all to kids on the streets of cities if they ask about my scars.¡±


    Avuri looked down at her with mild disapproval. ¡°I hope you -¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never told any kid any version of it that would be even a little scary. Or at least nothing more so than ¡®I was kidnapped when I was little, so be good and listen to your parents,¡¯ anyway.¡±


    Avuri took that in and considered it. ¡°I hope you didn¡¯t accidentally scar anyone¡¯s children by putting thoughts in their heads that they could just randomly be kidnapped.¡±


    ¡°You know as well as I do that it¡¯s a very unfortunate and very real possibility, Ri. But I do agree. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever told anyone in a way that would be scarring.¡± She paused, thinking about it a bit more. ¡°This world is kinda shit, isn¡¯t it? With all the demonic bullshit.¡±


    Avuri muttered an affirmative. ¡°If nothing else, whoever developed the techniques to influence and harm children should be well and truly punished. Though I imagine they probably weren¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Not sure anyone really knows. Most demonic techniques don¡¯t have their histories tracked the way most regular Cultivator techniques do. And when they can be traced back to someone or somewhere specific, it¡¯s usually either a random beast or some old asshole who¡¯s still out there being evil and bragging about it.¡±


    ¡°Even knowing that, it would really be nice to have someone to direct all the disgust and anger at.¡± Avuri said, with a bit of an edge to her voice. ¡°Hunting demonic Cultivators is great, but it doesn''t really change anything. Not really.¡±


    ¡°You don''t need to tell me.¡± Emery said with a heavy sigh. ¡°I know we''re doing what we can. But there''s too many demonic Cultivators out there that are way too strong for us to deal with. We''d need to get a lot stronger before we could deal with them. And that also means leaving their underlings alone.¡±


    Avuri hugged Emery a bit tighter. ¡°We''ll keep doing what we can. And it''s not like we''ve been slacking on our own Cultivation. We''ll get there.¡±


    ¡°I know. We can still do plenty while we''re in the Sky Realm. We''ll keep working on our Domain control and work toward the Heavenly Realm.¡± Emery said, letting her Qi flow just a bit to reinforce her intent. Avuri¡¯s fingers trailing through her hair calmed Emery quickly, lulling her back into relaxation.


    ¡°Follow your own advice, Merri. Do what you can to improve. Don''t let what you can''t affect get you down. Don''t get caught up in negativity. Choose happiness.¡± Avuri said, repeating some of Emery''s favorite little adages.


    Emery burst out laughing then. Avuri looked down at her, confused, as Emery got her giggles under control. Once she did so, one of her hands reached up to tangle in Avuri''s as of yet uncombed locks. With a big smile on her face, Emery pulled her wife down into a kiss.


    ¡°You''re exactly right. And I just recently overheard Stena giving the exact same advice to Arek.¡± She said, by way of explanation. ¡°It''s so easy to give that sort of advice, and even to see the wisdom of it. It¡¯s so much harder to actually live it.¡±


    ¡°You''ve done well so far, love.¡± Avuri chuckled. ¡°I think you''re maybe the best of us when it comes to living out that advice. Well, maybe except for Vale and Stena. Stena in particular. That girl is something else.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Emery said. ¡°One of the things about myself that I take the most pride in is my ability to endure a lot of bullshit and keep smiling and being happy. But Stena is such a ray of sunshine, there''s just no way for me to compete.¡±


    They both smiled for a moment before Emery suddenly flinched. It seemed the sun had risen, and a bright ray of sunshine had made its way into their room and was currently landing squarely in Emery¡¯s eyes. With a grunt, she put an arm up to shield herself from the sudden brightness.


    This all just made Avuri laugh. ¡°Speaking of sunshine. I suppose we should get up.¡±


    ¡°Nah.¡± Emery said, leaning back and looking straight up at Avuri. ¡°We can spare ten¡­twenty minutes.¡± She grinned deviously.


    ¡°And just what do you plan to do for those twenty or so minutes?¡± Avuri asked, smiling back playfully.


    ¡°I''m gonna make you shine brighter than the sun.¡± She said coolly.


    Avuri¡¯s face went deadpan so fast that Emery could have sworn she heard the sound barrier break. ¡°No. Just¡­no. That was bad, even for you.¡±


    ¡°Sorry¡­¡± Emery apologized. ¡°I was just trying to keep the whole sun theme going.¡±


    ¡°I know. Still wasn''t good.¡± Avuri said, playfully shoving Emery away.


    And then Emery tackled her to the bed.

 24 : Mission Accepted

    I laid in my bed, mulling over all kinds of thoughts. Paired Cultivation was something I had never heard of - but to be fair, I was pretty sheltered while growing up. The base idea was intriguing enough; two people could Cultivate together for essentially exponential gains. Having four hands to do the work was better than two, obviously.


    It was the rest of the situation that gave me pause. First was the trust part of it. When two people are Cultivating together, they are actively sharing their Qi and access to their Cores with one another. It meant that if the participants were mismatched in some way, one person could drastically take advantage of the other. Vale even mentioned that this connection is believed to be the basis for some of the demonic techniques that allow one person to steal another¡¯s Qi.


    In practice, it mostly just meant that you shouldn¡¯t Cultivate together with someone you didn¡¯t trust, or with someone who far outstripped you in strength.


    While this was a minor concern, I didn¡¯t think I had that much to worry about on that front from Avuri. She seemed straightforward enough, and a good person as well. If she had orchestrated everything up until to make an attempt to steal from me with Paired Cultivation, I would be shocked. Impressed, too, admittedly. But mostly shocked.


    Ultimately, the more concerning part of the whole thing was the social aspect of it all. Apparently, people who engaged in Paired Cultivation often took part in intense physical acts while Cultivating together. To be clear, it didn¡¯t always involve sex. It often did, but physical closeness seemed to be more the important part than the more erotic side of things.


    The conversation earlier tonight had gotten rather awkward when Vale began assuring the two of us that if we did choose to try this, simply cuddling or hugging one another would more than likely suffice. Avuri and I had looked at each other, our faces both growing scarlet, before we shouted that we¡¯ll think about it and split off into different rooms for the night.


    I didn¡¯t want to make things awkward between us. We didn¡¯t have some great, storied friendship between us that we¡¯d be risking by getting a little awkward, but I thought that we got along very well. Maybe some great friendship for the ages was even a possibility. Who knew?


    But a larger part of me was still focused on the information Avuri brought with her. There was potentially a new demonic sect in the Dying Lands. And they were definitely targeting children. While I would need to get stronger - at least to the Sky Realm - to do anything about it, I wasn¡¯t about to sit back and let them continue doing this.


    On the upside, I was fairly sure that once I broke through to the Sky Realm and trained myself to handle a Domain, I would be able to match most demonic Cultivators even at the peak of the same Realm. I had done it before with Earth Realm Cultivators that were far superior to me in raw power. As long as I could feasibly defend myself against Domain related attacks, I should be able to handle myself.


    Avuri would be in far more danger, and that was something we would have to consider when the time came - if the time came. I wouldn¡¯t bet on anyone else except me in such a lopsided fight without cause. If Avuri wanted to help, it¡¯d have to be logistical or otherwise, and not in the fray. Or she¡¯d have to prove herself to be able to hold off multiple stronger opponents. At least well enough that I wouldn¡¯t worry about her on the field.


    I shook my head to get back on track. Regardless of all of that, the main concern right now was what to do about the potential of Paired Cultivation.


    I told myself to focus.


    If I was honest, the idea of being physically close and in contact with Avuri while Cultivating didn¡¯t bother me. Not really. She was a pleasant person from what I had seen so far, and looked like she would be just as pleasant to touch. We were both recently bathed, smelling fresh, and just generally clean.


    And while I was never really one for ¡®the ends justify the means¡¯, I thought that I could even put up with someone who wasn¡¯t pleasant if it meant growing strong enough to save some children from their own personal hells.


    But again, the idea of getting close to Avuri was hardly a negative one.


    The major hangup was more of an emotional one, I supposed. First, while I certainly thought of myself as a straightforward person, even I drew the line somewhere. And asking someone to engage in¡­whatever sort of acts may occur in this situation, when I wasn¡¯t sure where their own thoughts lied? That was certainly over my line.


    And on top of all of that was the potential romantic or erotic complications that apparently went along with Paired Cultivation. I had never been in any sort of relationship of that kind. At least not a real one. I was no stranger to¡­dalliances on occasion. Traveling got lonely, and spending the night with someone that I¡¯d never see again while tracking a target was an easy way to lessen the burden somewhat.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    The potential gender concern¡­wasn¡¯t really so much a concern. At least not for me. Cultivators were a notoriously pretty bunch, and I had never had any difficulties finding women as equally as appealing as men. I wasn¡¯t sure if that was common or not, but it didn¡¯t seem all that unusual. It was absolutely worth considering how Avuri felt about being physically close to another woman though.


    As far as actual ¡®romance¡¯ went¡­well, that would be a wholly different bridge to cross when and if it materialized. I wasn¡¯t so much opposed as inexperienced in that field. But with the potential of hundreds or maybe even thousands of years of life ahead of me, actively tracking down a romance was put on the backburner when I had more pressing goals directly before me.


    I sighed aloud. Laying here in thought would only get me so far, and I was pretty sure that I had come to a conclusion for my side at least. If Avuri offered to collaborate on this, I would accept. The potential gains were incredibly tantalizing, and if I went with my gut instinct, I felt like Avuri was a good - maybe great - partner to work with. It really came down to how Avuri felt about working with me. And I wouldn¡¯t stick my nose into that situation; the subject matter was too personal to interfere.


    I decided I wouldn¡¯t get anywhere by sitting here thinking about it. With that decided, I swung my legs out of bed and made my way to the kitchen for a glass of water and a late night snack. As I turned the corner into the kitchen, Avuri greeted me with a little wave from the kitchen table, where she sat with a glass of her own.


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t sleep either?¡± She asked.


    ¡°You say that as if being up in the middle of the night isn¡¯t normal for us.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± She chuckled. ¡°Even though I¡¯m physically used to the lesser sleep schedule, it still feels a little weird to need so much less. And it¡¯s been years since it changed.¡± She said, staring down at her water. Her finger lightly traced the rim.


    I triggered the water Array to fill my glass and leaned against the counter. ¡°I¡¯ve never been good at sleeping at night.¡± I said wryly. ¡°Needing so much less sleep made me actually feel so much better. I wasn¡¯t constantly sleep deprived afterward.¡± I laughed, trying to diffuse some of the tension that seemed to be forming between us.


    Avuri, in response, just suddenly thumped the table with her hands and shot to her feet. ¡°I think we should do it.¡±


    I blinked at her sudden movement. ¡°You¡­what?¡±


    ¡°I think we should try Paired Cultivation¡­¡± Avuri said, then muttered, looking unsure of herself. ¡°If¡­if you want to.¡±


    I stared at her for a moment, then laughed. I struggled to keep myself somewhat quiet to avoid waking Cierra a few rooms away, but managed to stifle myself. Avuri looked at me, stricken. ¡°What? You don¡¯t have to laugh about it like that.¡± She said, starting to look angry.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it.¡± I said, trying to recover my breath. ¡°I thought about it while laying in bed for the last few hours. I decided if you were amenable to it, I would be all in.¡± I took a big gulp of water. ¡°You¡¯re sure about this?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Not even a little.¡± Avuri laughed. I gave her a concerned look in response, which apparently made her reconsider. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s not quite right. I¡¯m sure. My gut has said I could trust you from day one, Emery. And while I¡¯m not sure I want to commit for life or anything, I think pairing with you to help us both reach the Sky Realm is a good idea.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re comfortable with the other stuff?¡± I asked, wanting to be sure. ¡°I don¡¯t want to take part in anything until I¡¯m sure we¡¯re both comfortable with it.¡±


    Avuri nodded. ¡°Yes. I am comfortable with it.¡± There was a pause before she added. ¡°Just the physical closeness, to be clear.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± I responded. Our eyes locked for a moment before I went to take another big gulp of water, mostly out of my urge to fidget.


    And then the woman across from me had the gall to add, ¡°I might be amenable to more in a few weeks..¡± And then she gave me one of the most suggestive looks I had seen from someone in years.


    I coughed and sputtered, rather spectacularly, sending a bunch of water up and out my nose and mouth. Avuri just laughed at me, doubled over. While I was recovering, I tried to motion at her to be quiet. To her credit, she glanced down the hall toward Cierra¡¯s room and immediately quieted her laughter.


    I hacked and coughed, trying to rid my sinuses of the remaining water. Avuri walked over and rubbed my back and lightly smacked it, trying to assist.


    ¡°Are you alright? I didn¡¯t mean for you to end up coughing so bad.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sure.¡± I said, my voice coming out broken and scratchy. ¡°You absolutely did that on purpose.¡±


    Avuri nodded with a grin. ¡°I wanted to see water come out of your nose.¡±


    I smiled, finally more or less recovered. ¡°Did you want to go talk to Vale now? Tell him we¡¯re interested?¡±


    She considered for a moment, then shook her head. ¡°No, it¡¯s been a few hours. I imagine he¡¯s in meditation now. We should go to bed.¡±


    ¡°Together?¡± I asked, giving her as suggestive a look as I could manage.


    To my dismay, she was not thrown off at all, but instead considered it. ¡°Why not?¡± She said finally, with a shrug. ¡°If we do this tomorrow, we¡¯re gonna be a lot closer than sleeping in the same bed half clothed. May as well get comfortable.¡±


    ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right¡­¡± I said, then chuckled. ¡°We are doing all of this so far out of order.¡±


    ¡°All of what?¡± Avuri asked, as she began to clean up her late night snack.


    I motioned nebulously around us. ¡°I¡¯ve met you¡­let¡¯s be generous and say four times. And we¡¯ve bathed together, are about to share a bed, and have decided to Cultivate together.¡±


    Avuri raised a brow at me. ¡°So¡­what? Are you¡­propositioning me, Miss Emery?¡± She gave me a sultry look up and down, and licked her lips. ¡°I could be amenable.¡± As her gaze traveled back up to my face, our eyes locked.


    And then we both broke out laughing. Still somewhat quietly to avoid bothering Cierra, but whether it was laughing at the joke or to banish the awkwardness of the moment was something I wasn¡¯t too sure of.


    Worse, as we walked toward the master bedroom to try to get a couple hours of sleep, I found myself thinking about whether her statement was genuine or not.

 25 : Poison

    ¡°Again!¡± Vale shouted. Avuri and I were both on the ground, completely drenched through with sweat. It had been a while since I had been pushed this hard on training, and it was more physically draining than I had recalled. Though I supposed that Vale was making it that way on purpose.


    After we had gone to him early that morning to tell him that we were both on board with trying Paired Cultivation together, and asked him for help, our brutal training session began. He had said that, while Paired Cultivation was easy to do, if we wanted to get the most out of it, there would be steps to take and preparations to make.


    Apparently that involved running both of us absolutely ragged.


    I laid on my back for a moment longer taking some deeper breaths before moving to get up once again. ¡°Vale! I know you said we had to take some steps to really get the most out of this, but how is running the two of us into the ground helping, exactly?¡±


    Avuri turned her head toward me to glare at me from the floor, her long white hair splayed out around rather magnificently. ¡°I wanted to ask that hours ago, and you just said to trust him.¡± She muttered under her breath. ¡°Now, like thirteen hours later, suddenly you want to know?¡±


    I looked at her, smiled, and shrugged. Then I did my best to whisper so quietly only she¡¯d hear. ¡°I¡¯m trying to buy us a break.¡±


    Vale chuckled. ¡°I heard that. You can lay there for a minute.¡± He said, moving to stand over us both, arms crossed. ¡°The main point of it is to get the two of you so exhausted that most of your Qi is spent. We want only your body¡¯s natural Qi left in there, with most of your Core empty. It¡¯ll make the Cultivation you do together significantly more effective, as well as make it much easier for the two of you to get in sync with one another.¡±


    He glanced off to the side, where Cierra was sitting quietly, watching. Avuri and I both followed his gaze. I smiled at her. ¡°If you were both in top condition, your aspected Qi would get in the way of your connection. Or at least make it more difficult than it would be without it, anyway.¡± Vale then turned to look out the window at the darkening sky and nodded toward it.


    ¡°It¡¯s getting late. Clean up and get dinner ready.¡± He turned back to us then. ¡°Do not Cultivate tonight. You both still have a fair bit of Qi left, and I don¡¯t want you to recover fully before tomorrow. I know you¡¯ll get something back naturally, but that had better be it. Physical recovery with a bath to relax your muscles is fine, though.¡±


    He looked back and forth between us then nodded. ¡°See you ladies in the morning.¡± With that, he walked out of the training room. Avuri and I both let out long breaths of air we had been holding as the tension of the training left us.


    I started to slowly get to my feet. Even with a Cultivator¡¯s body, spending nearly a full day training was physically draining. Especially when it was Vale¡¯s training regimen. That dragon was brutal.


    When I turned to Avuri to offer her a hand up, I found her still watching Cierra. The little girl had come in with Talya a couple hours ago, evidently to watch. Talya had left her here to go start prep for dinner. When Avuri finally noticed my extended hand, she took it, still watching Cierra.


    ¡°She¡¯s been in here for a little over two hours, and has had roughly the same half-vacant expression the entire time.¡± Avuri said, a note of concern in her voice.


    I looked at Cierra and nodded. ¡°Yeah, I know. She¡¯s like that a lot.¡±


    Avuri¡¯s face scrunched up in a combination of thought and worry. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if this is a weird question, but do you, Talya, or Vale have any training as a spiritual doctor?¡±


    I cocked my head. ¡°No, why do you ask?¡±


    Avuri began to fiddle with a bit of her loose hair. ¡°Have you had a spiritual doctor examine her since you brought her home, at all?¡±


    I shook my head in answer.


    ¡°Would you mind very much if I took a look at her? Or do you think she¡¯d mind an exam?¡± Avuri asked, hesitating.


    I thought for a moment before responding. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind. And I don¡¯t think she would either. Why?¡±


    Avuri turned to me seriously, projecting a clear aura of earnestness. ¡°I think there may be some spiritual damage within her,¡± She said. My eyebrows rose as she moved to explain. ¡°I¡¯ve seen it one other time. A Frozen Mountain student was being picked on by some older sect members, and during a spar took a spiritual attack poorly, without defending himself. The boy woke up a day later with missing memories and a similar empty expression to Cierra¡¯s.¡±


    My head snapped back toward Cierra, concern and worry blossoming deep in my stomach. ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°And he recovered, eventually. With some help. It was apparently caused by a minor Qi deviation that wasn¡¯t fatal, or even harmful, beyond the mental side effects.¡± I nodded as I listened, my eyes not leaving Cierra. ¡°I¡¯m not anything like a trained doctor, Emery. But I have a few techniques that are branched off from my more divination like ones that could at least scan her body for spiritual injury.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s do it. I didn¡¯t think to get her checked by a spiritual doctor; I won¡¯t make that mistake again.¡±


    <hr>


    Not even an hour later, Avuri, Cierra, and I were in the bathhouse. Talya took over the night¡¯s dinner prep entirely, after I profusely apologized and explained what we were up to. She shoved us out toward the bath, yelling that if Cierra may be hurt, we¡¯d better get our asses in gear to help her.


    Cierra was currently laying, relaxed, on a long comfortable bench in the bath house wearing a towel. I stood back to give Avuri room to work, but was still close enough to offer support to Cierra in case she needed it. For the moment, she looked relaxed though.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    I could feel when what was left of Avuri¡¯s Qi spun to life. There wasn¡¯t a huge well to draw from after the day¡¯s training, but she apparently had enough left for this. Her hands took on a pleasant, cool blue glow as she brought them to bear. Starting at Cierra¡¯s little feet, her hands roamed over the girl¡¯s body, hovering just out of touch.


    After a pass over her full body, Avuri¡¯s Qi settled for a moment. ¡°There¡¯s no actual damage to her meridians.¡± She said, as her Qi spun up again, this time in a different pattern. Avuri¡¯s hands appeared to take on a similar cool blue glow once more, but this time they appeared to be lit from within.


    As she began the second pass, Avuri¡¯s hands glided smoothly over Cierra¡¯s skin, in contact this time. Avuri was nodding to herself as she moved over Cierra¡¯s legs, torso and arms. Her face clouded over as she reached Cierra¡¯s upper body.


    ¡°Emery? There is something in her system. It¡¯s concentrated around the base of her neck and shoulders.¡±


    I immediately walked forward. Not that there was any way for me to really help. ¡°Is Cierra alright? Can you tell what it is? Should I call for a fully trained doctor?¡±


    Avuri let out a little snort. ¡°Calm down, mom. She¡¯s been alright for months, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s nothing life threatening at the moment.¡± Her hands traced lightly over Cierra¡¯s neck. The girl looked as though she was receiving a gentle massage, her face calm and serene.


    ¡°Let me see if I can draw out whatever is in her system.¡±


    ¡°Wait. Is that safe?¡± I asked, gripping one of Avuri¡¯s wrists.


    She nodded. ¡°It is. Imagine it like taking a little bit of skin to test for illness. It shouldn''t disturb her at all.¡±


    I took a deep breath to calm myself and let her wrist go. I watched, fascinated, as Avuri pinched her right thumb and index finger just above Cierra¡¯s skin. As she raised her hand away, as if pulling something from Cierra¡¯s neck, we were suddenly overwhelmed by the smell of wet animal.


    My hackles rose immediately. Avuri made a disgusted face as she held a small bit of what looked like ichor between her fingers. Cierra still seemed nonplussed.


    ¡°Demonic Qi?¡± I spat, anger seeping into my voice.


    Avuri just nodded. The ichor seemed to be clinging to her fingers, as if it wanted to seem in through her skin. Whatever Qi Avuri had running through her hands seemed to keep it at bay, and she held her hand out and away from all of us. ¡°Emery? That technique you said you have for purifying demonic Qi? Does it work on contact?¡±


    I was jolted out of my anger by the question. ¡°I¡­don¡¯t know. I know it burns away demonic Qi within a body¡¯s meridians, but it requires me to cut deep to make contact with the meridians. And I¡¯ve never seen physical demonic Qi like that before.¡± I said, already calling up the brilliant ivory blade. I used a touch of Qi to command the blade to levitate over and hover underneath Avuri¡¯s hand, flat facing toward her fingers.


    With a look of concentration, Avuri lowered her fingers to touch the flat of the blade. Immediately, the black ichor hissed and bubbled away, leaving her fingers clean. Keeping a small distance, she did her best to inspect them. With a thought, I melted the blade into a mercurial blob of liquid metal.


    ¡°Run your fingers through it. Play with it.¡± I said, motioning toward the metal. Avuri nodded, and took the liquid metal with her hand, playing with it like it was a toy. Here and there, a bit of sizzling could be heard as the metal ran over and around her fingers. Within twenty seconds, the noises stopped. Avuri continued to run the metal over her fingers for a bit more before we were satisfied there was no longer any danger.


    Then we turned toward Cierra, who still looked relaxed on the bench.


    ¡°Did you¡­do something to her?¡± I asked, eyeing Cierra¡¯s face. ¡°She looks so calm and serene.¡±


    ¡°Nothing in particular. I¡¯m told that because of my ice affinity, my medical techniques have a calm, cooling effect on the body. Maybe it¡¯s just from that?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I¡¯ll take whatever wins we can get here.¡± My eyes roamed over the base of Cierra¡¯s neck and her shoulders. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°The Qi isn¡¯t flowing through her meridians. It¡¯s soaked into the body around the base of her head, neck, and shoulders.¡± Avuri reached up and grabbed the back of her own neck forcefully, as demonstration. ¡°It feels like someone grabbed her like this and forcibly shoved demonic Qi into her body. To what end is anyone¡¯s guess, but the Qi never reached her meridians.¡± She pointed to the base of her skull. ¡°I do think it¡¯s caused some damage to her spirit though. It could very well be the reason for her relatively dull emotions.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Great, Doc. Now tell me what I should do. I don¡¯t imagine stabbing my daughter with a knife is exactly the answer.¡± I said, getting antsy now that I knew there was actually something wrong.


    ¡°You said you have complete control over their shape, right?¡± Avuri asked. I nodded. ¡°Acupuncture needles, then. They¡¯ll have to be pretty long to get deep enough to get to the Qi, and you¡¯ll need several of them to spread around but I think they¡¯d be best. I can numb her body somewhat while you do your thing so she shouldn¡¯t move.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡± I said, and spread my arms wide. My Qi churned and fifteen long but incredibly thin needles appeared in the air between my outstretched hands. ¡°Let me know when she¡¯s numbed.¡±


    Avuri nodded, and began to run her hands over Cierra¡¯s neck and shoulders once more, the blue glow more intense than previously. Seconds later she gave me the go ahead.


    I took in a deep breath to steady myself, and lowered my hands slowly, the needles following. As they descended, I reoriented them so they would be equally spaced among the contours of Cierra¡¯s shoulders and neck. Slowly, they pierced her skin. She didn¡¯t react to them much at all. I continued to lower the needles until they were about two and a half inches deep.


    I could feel through my Qi when the needle points contacted the demonic Qi. I quickly focused, trying to draw the demonic Qi into the needles and up and out as it was purified. I had never been worried about the effect such a process had on the body before, but I was terrified now. Using the needles as a conduit, I managed to draw out at least as much of the Qi as I could manage. I had no idea how much that was, but I prayed it was enough to stop any potential damage.


    I wasn¡¯t sure how long had passed when I felt like the work was done. I let my concentration ebb and I pulled the needles from Cierra¡¯s body. They puffed away to essence in the air. Avuri nodded, and passed over Cierra¡¯s neck and body once more with her hands. The little wounds from the needles, already tiny, closed immediately. Then Avuri took a step back.


    I stepped up into her place, and kneeled beside Cierra. I placed one hand on her back, and smiled at her as she blinked blearily, as if after a relaxing nap.


    ¡°Cierra, do you feel alright?¡± I asked, concerned.


    She stared at me blankly for a moment, before it occurred to me that the expression was more out of shock than emptiness.


    Then her face twisted up and she cried. The loudest I had ever heard from her.


    ¡°Mom!¡± Cierra nearly screamed as she practically leapt off the bench and threw herself at me.

 26 : Together

    After the purge of whatever demonic Qi was left in her system, Cierra slowly became an almost entirely new person over the following several hours. Her face and tongue seemed to loosen up, and there was a new light in her eyes. It took a couple hours for her body to adjust to the healthier state, but by hour three, she was talking more normally, without fractured sentences and at more normal volumes.


    Everyone ate dinner together. Talya had prepared a lovely dish of fried rice with a multitude of fresh vegetables, as well as some pork, and we all enjoyed it immensely. Cierra seemed to attack the food with new life, as though she was only now able to taste anything. Avuri and I went after the food like wolves, ravenous after our long day of training and lack of breaks for meals.


    Some relaxing time followed dinner. Avuri went to her own room to read, while Cierra followed me to my room. She seemed to be particularly attached to me now, which was fine. I sat with her on my bed to read some material Vale had given me that covered some of the nuance of Paired Cultivation. That plan was quickly thrown out the window, however, when Cierra gave me a pout and big sad eyes while asking to read her a story.


    So, instead, I spent my evening reading to my daughter. I still wasn¡¯t used to this new and expressive Cierra, but I couldn¡¯t get enough. I spent three hours reading various stories to her and talking about what we read. We vaguely broached the topic of how she was feeling, but it was brief and simple.


    She remembered the entire time that she was subdued. She knew who we all were, who she was, and remembered everything I had taught her up until now. It really seemed like whatever effect the demonic Qi had had was entirely focused on suppressing Cierra¡¯s emotions and ability to express herself. How any of that had felt in her head or similar more serious topics were not touched on.


    Ultimately, Cierra seemed happy to be able to be herself now, and that was enough for me for now. It also helped that she wanted nothing more than to snuggle and listen while I read which immediately became my number one priority for the night. She certainly deserved my undivided attention for a while after what she had gone through.


    By the time bed time rolled around, Cierra was nodding off in my lap. I had put her books down in favor of once again trying to read some of the Cultivation materials, but let her remain where she was.


    Avuri arriving at my door and knocking on the jamb eventually drew my attention out of the book. She had worn simple robes for sleeping, and was smiling warmly down at Cierra on my lap.


    ¡°I know Vale had said spending the night in close proximity may be useful for us to attune to one another, but I don¡¯t want to get in the way of bonding time.¡± She motioned toward Cierra. ¡°Should I just sleep in my own room?¡±


    I shook my head, and gently patted Cierra out of her half-sleep. ¡°Cierra? How do you feel about Avuri sleeping here with us? Is that okay?¡±


    She blinked her eyes up at me and nodded. ¡°Yeah, ¡®s fine.¡± She said sleepily. When I asked if she was sure, she nodded again and rolled off my lap to lay more toward the center of the bed.


    I looked back up to Avuri. ¡°You heard the girl.¡± I patted the other side of the bed in welcome, which would place Cierra between us. I set up extra pillows to give us each our own, including Cierra, who quickly cuddled up on hers.


    Avuri and I both spent the next few hours reading quietly. I absently had one hand on Cierra¡¯s back, tracing gentle, calming circles most of the late evening. More than once I had caught Avuri glancing at us with a small smile. She looked contemplative, but content.


    Eventually, I felt like the day¡¯s stresses had worn me down to a point where even if I didn¡¯t physically require it, I wanted to sleep. A quick glance at Avuri suggested that she may feel the same, as she didn¡¯t look at all focused on what she was reading.


    I placed my reading material on the bedside table. ¡°Shall we actually try to sleep? I¡¯m exhausted.¡±


    ¡°Sure, that¡¯s fine by me.¡± Avuri responded, placing her own book to the side. We both rummaged through our respective blankets to get comfortable before a brief flex of Qi from Avuri snuffed the candles we had been using to read.


    It had been a little over an hour after that when I felt Cierra beginning to stir. I did my best to comfort her in her sleep, same as always. Light circles and patting on her back, and as much reassurance as I could offer with gentle distance. A few minutes of her tossing and turning also got Avuri¡¯s attention. I wasn¡¯t sure if she had been asleep or not, but she was now looking on in worry, though hesitant to make any moves on her own.


    Shortly thereafter, Cierra suddenly thrashed violently, and sat up with a scream. It momentarily startled Avuri, who looked around panicked, searching for something to do. I tried to give Avuri a look to tell her it was alright, while continuing to comfort Cierra where I could, following our unfortunately regularly nightly procedure.


    Cierra surprised me then, as she laid back down. Tears were running down her cheeks, but she wasn¡¯t crying the way she usually did. I could hear her muttering simple reassurances to herself; things like ¡®you¡¯ll be fine¡¯ and ¡®it¡¯s alright¡¯. When she settled back on the bed she cuddled up to me a little, but not quite the same way she would usually jam herself against me looking for comfort.


    ¡°Thank you, Mom. I¡¯m okay.¡± Her voice was barely more than a whisper, but she didn¡¯t sound nearly as in distress as usual.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    I took the chance to move closer to the center of the bed where she was and drew her into a big hug, and kissed the top of her head. ¡°If you¡¯re not okay, I want you to say so. But if you really are alright, that¡¯s okay too.¡± I said gently.


    Cierra spun around in my arms, to face more toward Avuri. ¡°Thank you too, Ri. I didn¡¯t say it right, before.¡±


    Avuri smiled, warm and wide. ¡°I think you did, sweetie. But all the same, you¡¯re very welcome.¡±


    Cierra reached out one of her hands to grab onto Avuri¡¯s sleeve before once again drifting off to sleep. We stayed like that for a while, but eventually I released Cierra from my hug and once again resumed tracing the gentle circles on her back.


    I was finally beginning to drift off myself after that, but was once more shocked by Avuri placing her hand gently over mine on Cierra¡¯s back.


    ¡°You¡¯re a wonderful mother, Emery. Cierra is a lucky girl.¡± She said quietly.


    I responded with a quiet ¡°Thank you,¡± before we both drifted off to sleep for the rest of the night.


    <hr>


    All three of us awoke the next morning feeling well-rested and generally good.


    That lasted all of an hour before Vale had Avuri and I back on the training floor. Cierra didn¡¯t seem to want to leave the room, so she was sitting on the sidelines entertaining herself with various toys and art supplies. Occasionally, Vale would stand by her while barking orders at us and play with her too.


    By the time mid-afternoon arrived, Avuri and I were both running on empty. Neither of us had any Qi remaining within our Cores, and while not as physically exhausted as the previous evening, we were both beginning to feel the tiredness begin to creep in.


    After one final sparring match between us, which ended up being purely hand-to-hand with no Qi to back us up, Vale nodded. ¡°I think you¡¯re ready to begin. Once you both find your connection, do your best to strengthen it as much as possible. Without any other Qi in your systems, it should be fairly easy. But remember how it feels, because we¡¯re not going to exhaust your Qi reserves again after today. You¡¯ll need to reforge that bond each time yourselves.¡± He cautioned.


    Avuri and I looked at each other, a fervor lit within both of us. I felt like I could see excitement to try this in Avuri¡¯s eyes, matching my own. Trying new skills like this was always exciting.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome to Cultivate in here, but you may consider using one of the bedrooms, just in case.¡± Vale said, a wry grin on his face. ¡°I¡¯ll keep Cierra entertained for the rest of the day while you two do what you need to do.¡±


    Cierra¡¯s head shot up to look at him at that. ¡°But I want to stay with Mom.¡±


    I felt a quick jolt through the heart at that. I looked at her sadly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Cierra, I need to spend some time with Avuri now. I promise I¡¯ll see you later, and we can all sleep together tonight again, okay?¡±


    ¡°Promise?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± I said, her big blue eyes staring into the depths of my soul. ¡°I promise.¡± I said again.


    She didn¡¯t look happy about it, but Cierra and Vale vacated the room then. Vale was excitedly trying to get her interested in deciding what to do the rest of the day. I turned to Avuri. ¡°I guess that¡¯s it then. It¡¯s time to do this.¡±


    Avuri nodded. ¡°Do you think we should take his advice and go to a bedroom just in case?¡±


    I considered this and looked away from her. ¡°I have no intentions to do anything physical to you, especially since you already said we¡¯re drawing the line at only necessary physical contact.¡± Then I added, tentatively, ¡°But I think a bedroom may be good for privacy anyway.¡±


    Avuri and I both seemed to be struggling to look one another in the eye at that point, but she nodded. ¡°Right.¡±


    And with that decided, we ambled off to one of the extra bedrooms. If something weird or unexpected happened - like Qi running wild or the like - I didn¡¯t want to ruin the bedrooms we slept in.


    We each wordlessly followed the instructions we had been reading separately. We stripped to simple underclothes and clambered up onto the bed. We sat back to back, as much of our backs touching as we could manage while keeping good posture on the bed for meditation.


    And then we started. With no Qi in our cores, it was easy to find and manipulate the natural Qi of our bodies. That was, apparently, what we needed to begin with to form the strongest bond for the whole process. I gathered several strands of my inherent Qi and braided them together into a cord before reaching out to Avuri with them.


    I could feel the moment our Qi touched. It was a strange feeling. Not unpleasant, but not something I had ever felt before. The two separate cords of Qi seemed to want to twist around one another and get tangled up in itself. It took concentration from us both to avoid letting it do that, and instead unfurl the braided threads at the ends to try to meld the two together.


    In the course of several attempts, we kept braiding the disparate threads together, but that was apparently not the best way to do this. With effort, we each took one small thread of Qi apart from the others and frayed the edges of both strands. Finally, when those two threads touched, the frayed edges seemed to fit together like puzzle pieces. The threads smoothed out, and looked whole once more.


    As soon as that thread connected fully, I felt a change. It was as if I was no longer alone on such a deep, fundamental level that I was left dazed for a moment. I could feel Avuri being struck dumb in the same way for a moment, before we both seemed to gather ourselves and begin working on connecting the rest of the threads that way.


    It seemed to take hours. No connection had the same profound effect as the first one, but the bond was very clearly strengthening with each connected thread. Eventually, we had a strong combined cord of Qi flowing between us.


    Now we just had to split that cord, cycle it back to each of us, and begin to actually Cultivate.


    In all honesty, that should¡¯ve been the easy part.

 27 : Entwined

    We struggled for a couple of hours. Even after we were able to successfully weave the threads together, what I had thought would be the easy part turned out to be giving us quite a bit of trouble. We had both gotten quite skilled at manipulating the threads of Qi after hours of working on it, but they just wouldn¡¯t cooperate after a certain threshold.


    We would pull the thicker, braided cord apart as planned, and begin to feed it back to each of us to start the circuit. But each time, after reaching a certain point apart, the two ends would fight being pulled any further and would eventually snap back together.


    Avuri and I were certainly being too stubborn for our own good at this point, unable to accept that the Qi just wouldn¡¯t bend to our will on this. But after two hours of being stubborn, I sighed aloud and slumped. Avuri seemed to have the same reaction at the same time.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t working.¡± I said, mildly defeated.


    ¡°No, it isn¡¯t.¡± Avuri echoed. ¡°I think we need to be closer than just sitting back to back. We¡¯re trying to stretch the Qi too far for it to hold.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± I said, thinking about all the material I had read. ¡°Physical closeness brings our spiritual selves and Cores closer together and all that.¡±


    I could feel Avuri nodding against my back. ¡°We need to try something else.¡± She said matter-of-factly.


    I took a deep breath. ¡°Right. Go sit up against the pillows.¡± I motioned toward the head of the bed, where the pillows were propped up against the headboard. Without complaint, Avuri slid up to them and sat up with her back against the pillows.


    I crawled up the bed toward her and nodded. ¡°Spread your legs a little.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure if we were connected enough by that point that she could feel my intentions, or what. But Avuri listened without so much as a blink. I slid myself backwards between her legs, leaning my back against her as if I was sitting in her lap.


    We both repositioned ourselves until we were comfortable for a long stay like this. Avuri put her arms around me to hold me in place. It was remarkably comfortable. And while I was a little chagrined that this position highlighted my smaller stature against Avuri, I didn¡¯t feel negatively about it in that moment.


    Once we were both settled, we returned to the task at hand. Cuddled up the way we were, with significantly more physical contact, indeed seemed to do the trick. On our second attempt, we managed to complete the circuit between us.


    There was a strange jolt the instant we made the connection. It wasn¡¯t something as obvious as being able to communicate telepathically or something similar. But while it wasn¡¯t so obvious, it felt more profound than such an ability would be. Even more so than the feeling from when we connected the first strands of Qi, this new feeling was intense and overwhelming.


    My first thought was immediately understanding why some Cultivators craved it so much, to the point of paying unreasonable amounts of money to have someone do this with them. The feeling of comfort and peace that came with knowing I was not alone anymore in any sense of the word was so overwhelming I almost felt like crying.


    I could feel through the connection that Avuri was similarly moved in a slightly different way. I imagined that whatever feeling I provided her was equally comforting but different. I felt Avuri¡¯s arms pull me in tighter in response to it all, and I subconsciously snuggled into her embrace.


    After a few moments, Avuri and I once again were able to focus on the task at hand. As we each began to cycle our Qi, I found that my concentration and focus were noticeably improved. Something about the peace I felt in this situation seemed to allow me to singularly focus on our Cultivation, in a way I never had been able to before.


    Our Qi flowed among the connected pathways in a mesmerizing pattern. With both of us focused entirely on pushing the Qi through our connected meridians, the speed at which it moved was astounding. Far faster than I had ever pushed it alone. As usual, our Cores siphoned off some of the Qi as it passed through, slowly collecting and consolidating the Qi as raw strength.


    Time passed like this for a while as our bodies and Cores worked together to Cultivate at a frightening speed. Or at least frightening in comparison to what I could usually manage alone. Somehow, working together like this was multiplicative, not additive.


    We had been in a solid groove for some time when I felt Avuri move. I felt her mutter, ¡°We can do better.¡± The thought seemed to bounce around in my head, and I wasn¡¯t entirely sure if she had spoken out loud, or if she had communicated through her Qi somehow.


    As I felt her shifting around, an image of a new position rose in my thoughts unbidden, and I began to move toward it. Together, we slid down until we were both lying flat on the bed, facing each other. We slid closer until our bodies were basically flush with one another, arms holding each other, and our foreheads gently touching.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    The new position immediately felt comfortable and natural as we returned to Cultivating. Avuri was right - our Cultivation speed picked up again. Not by leaps and bounds, but it was noticeable. Our legs tangled comfortably on the bed as we cuddled up to one another finding an odd comfort and sense of peace in it.


    Distantly, I acknowledged how this experience could so easily lead to more intimate activities. As we spent the next several hours in that position, I had to - more than once - remind myself not to kiss Avuri as we Cultivated. Her face being so close made it feel like it would be so easy to do, and the feelings that were caused by the connections we had made kept leaning in that direction.


    The time Cultivating in between those intrusive thoughts, however, were immensely comforting and peaceful. The process of Cultivating had never been easier than it was right then in Avuri¡¯s arms. And the progress we had made was staggering.


    It wasn¡¯t until after dinner time had passed that either of us made any sort of attempt to check on our surroundings. An errant thought about Cierra had pulled me from the meditation long enough to see that the sun had gone down and it was clearly getting dark. I bumped my head against Avuri¡¯s to pull her out of meditation for a moment. She blinked at me, confused.


    ¡°It¡¯s late.¡± I whispered, motioning toward the window. ¡°We should probably stop for the day. If nothing else, I promised Cierra we would be with her for bed time.¡± I kept my voice soft, unwilling to break whatever strange atmosphere had settled over us.


    Avuri nodded. ¡°Right. Let¡¯s go see how late it is.¡± She whispered in turn, and began to untangle herself from me. I did the same, slowly separating myself from Avuri. When we were on opposite sides of the bed, we disconnected the Qi bond as well.


    And we both practically doubled over, as if we were punched in the gut.


    The sense of loss and sudden loneliness was deep and all consuming. The overwhelming totality of it didn¡¯t last long, but it was crippling for a few moments. We both instinctively reached out and held hands as the feeling slowly lessened. The initial gut punch faded over a few minutes, but I still felt an intense sense of loss and loneliness. It was bearable enough that I felt comfortable going on with the rest of my night.


    <hr>


    It turned out that we had missed normal dinner time by a couple of hours, but not by all that much as everyone else had eaten late as well. As Avuri and I had hungrily scarfed down the remainders of the food, Cierra had chattered at us about the exciting day ¡®Uncle Vale¡¯ had spent with her. He had apparently taken her around the basin to see the various plants, and then a little ways toward the Verdant Dragon Peak to see some smaller fauna.


    After we both sat back in our chairs, finally full, Vale sat down with us. Taking the opportunity while Cierra ran off for the bathroom, he asked, ¡°How¡¯d it go?¡±


    Avuri and I shared a look before I spoke. ¡°Well, I think. It was certainly¡­an experience.¡± Avuri nodded in agreement. I glanced at her once more before continuing, ¡°I don¡¯t think the books and documents did such a good job of explaining just how much you feel while connected like that. They mentioned it in passing, but nothing about the sheer scope of it. It was practically all consuming.¡±


    Vale raised an eyebrow at me in question, but nodded sagely. ¡°I see. I suppose I should¡¯ve warned you about it then. Qi is a very interesting thing. It can contain everything from raw energy to thoughts and emotions, and the connection formed during Dual Cultivation like that is an easy way to share those things between people. It¡¯s one of the reasons that people will pay enormous amounts for a partner who is willing to take part, despite a lack of trust in that situation. The whole situation can be intoxicating.¡±


    Avuri and I both nodded. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to feel such intense feelings of¡­¡± Avuri trailed off, trying to put it to words. ¡°Completeness? Contentment?¡± She looked at me, as if I could help her figure out the words.


    I shrugged. ¡°I would¡¯ve said something more like comfort, or being entirely at peace.¡±


    Once again, Vale¡¯s brow went up. ¡°Whatever it is that you feel while connected like that through your Qi will be related to the person you are with. One person¡¯s Qi might make you feel at peace, like you said,¡± He pointed to me, ¡°Or complete,¡± he motioned to Avuri, ¡°Or uncomfortable, or even in danger. It depends entirely on your partner.¡±


    I considered that for a moment, but my thoughts didn¡¯t get far as Cierra ran back to the table.


    ¡°Mom!¡± She shouted, happily hopping up my side. She made a face at me and then tried to crawl into my lap. I laughed, and shoved the chair away from the table so she would fit, then pulled her up. My arms snaked around her in a hug.


    ¡°Alright, you. What did you want to do tonight? There¡¯s a couple hours before bed, yet.¡±


    The conversation thoroughly derailed at that point, Vale smiled and suggested, ¡°We¡¯ve got a deck of cards. I bet we could teach Cierra how to play.¡±


    ¡°How to play what, exactly?¡± I said, eyeing the man carefully. ¡°I¡¯m not teaching a six year old how to gamble.¡±


    Vale put his hands up innocently as Avuri chuckled. Cierra just asked, ¡°What¡¯s ¡®gamble¡¯?¡± And I rolled my eyes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, Cierra.¡± I said, looking down at her. ¡°We¡¯ll teach you how to play cards if you want though.¡±


    She nodded emphatically as Vale excitedly got up from the table to fetch the deck.


    ¡°You can¡¯t win money off of a six year old, you old bastard!¡± I called after him. As Avuri laughed, I turned to her indignantly. ¡°Oh, just you wait. The old bastard loves cleaning out peoples¡¯ wallets.¡±


    Later, after a few non-gambling rounds to let Cierra play, the little girl was seated in my lap as Avuri, Talya, and I tried our luck against the dragon.


    Avuri learned first hand what I had meant as we were all, without mercy, taken to the cleaners.

 28 : Lets Play

    Cierra and Stena narrowed their eyes, looking around at their opponents. Even working together, they were narrowly surviving this battle, hanging on by a thread. One wrong move would end them here.


    Cierra silently believed that Stena was actually making her fare worse overall, and was in fact no ¡®help¡¯ at all. All of her incessant mutters and directions hadn¡¯t really helped them at all. If anything, Cierra was pretty sure it made her perform worse.


    And then, finally, the damn viper across from her struck the final blow.


    ¡°Hu!¡± Uncle Vale declared happily. ¡°Fully Concealed, All Types, Mixed Triple Chows, Red Dragons, with a Closed Wait and two Flowers.¡± He grinned widely as he dropped the tiles of his hand to display them with his draw. ¡°That¡¯ll be 31 points all.¡±


    Cierra slumped back in her seat with a huge sigh. ¡°I bust.¡± She said, throwing the few remaining point sticks she had left onto the table.


    Avuri mimicked her, right down to the sigh. ¡°That¡¯s it for me too. Just barely busted there.¡± She grumbled, as she shoved her tiles into the center of the table. Her hands followed through on the shove as she laid halfway across the table, defeated. ¡°One more game!¡± She whined, pretending to cry. ¡°I need to win some of my money back.¡±


    Emery laughed, having barely skated by with less than 50 of her starting 300 points remaining. ¡°How many times have I warned you that gambling with this monster is not a good idea?¡± She pointed at Vale. ¡°I don¡¯t know how he is always this lucky, but he is. Maybe it¡¯s just dragon bullshit?¡±


    Vale just sat there, happily counting his point sticks. ¡°That¡¯s just shy of 1200. Y¡¯all owe me a lot of money at this point¡­¡± He smiled, and tapped Cierra on the nose. ¡°Aren¡¯t you lucky I don¡¯t ever collect?¡±


    ¡°Speak for yourself!¡± Avuri moaned. ¡°Sure, you don¡¯t collect from the kids, but my wallet is screaming! Screaming!¡± She said a second time for emphasis.


    Emery laughed again, shooing Avuri up from the table so she could begin to shuffle the tiles. ¡°Alright, alright. Let¡¯s get the bastard dragon out of here and have a family game without the cheater.¡±


    Avuri, Cierra, and Stena nodded excitedly, while Vale just looked hurt. And played it up like any good actor.


    ¡°Merri, you wound me!¡± He said clutching at his left breast. ¡°How could you accuse me of such devilry?¡± He cried loudly, all the while vacating the seat for Stena to sit down. ¡°You¡¯ve been scouring my games for years and never found me cheating. And yet you keep bringing it up!¡±


    Emery narrowed her eyes. ¡°Luck as good as yours doesn¡¯t exist, dragon.¡± She spit out venomously. ¡°Whether you cheat, or dragons are just supernaturally lucky, I can¡¯t prove anything. But you better believe that I¡¯m gonna figure it out. And if it turns out you have been cheating all these years¡­¡± She trailed off to drag a finger across her neck threateningly. ¡°I¡¯ll have your head.¡±


    Vale laughed heartily at that as he walked away. ¡°Let¡¯s just say 450 Taels from each of you.¡± Emery just sighed as he walked away. Splitting the money that the kids lost has always been the deal with her and Avuri, which left them roughly splitting the cost of all three of them pretty evenly from the last game.


    ¡°At least it¡¯s just mortal currency?¡± Cierra said with a shrug, trying to lighten the mood.


    ¡°Yeah¡­yeah.¡± Avuri said. ¡°And to be fair, it¡¯s not like we¡¯re hurting for silver or gold these days. And half of what we end up paying to Vale ends up coming back to us in materials and food and such.¡± As the four women began to build the walls, Avuri sighed again and threw up her hands in frustration. ¡°It¡¯s just my pride that¡¯s hurt! I know that. I thought I was good at mahjong.¡±


    ¡°You are, Ri. He¡¯s just a monster.¡± Emery said consolingly. ¡°Remember when we went into the city and played in the parlors there? We did well then. And it¡¯s not like we were just picking on mortals or cheating. There were legitimate games.¡±


    ¡°Momri, I once saw you play as well as Vale just did.¡± Stena said as she finished her wall. ¡°If I recall correctly you got some nonsense hand and busted all three other people.¡±


    Avuri smiled. ¡°I remember that hand, actually. Nine Gates. I was never so excited playing as I was then.¡±


    After it was decided that Avuri would be first dealer, the women all took their tiles and play began. They chatted lightly as the game progressed much more evenly than when Vale was playing. No one was down more than 100 points going into the west round.


    As the ninth hand began, Cierra asked, ¡°You know, I¡¯ve never asked you two what breaking through into the Sky Realm was like.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s ever really been pertinent for you.¡± Emery said, as she chose a discard from among her honors. ¡°You¡¯re still not even at the peak of Earth yet, are you? What¡¯s got you curious?¡±


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°Chow.¡± Stena called, took the tile, and slid her set to the right side before carefully choosing a discard.


    ¡°Well,¡± Cierra began, ¡°After the talk I had the other day with Uncle Vale about how different techniques work and stuff, I was curious how much a Domain will change things when I get there.¡±


    Avuri eyed her daughter carefully as she discarded. ¡°Considering waiting to practice certain techniques until you have a Domain to back up your skills, are you?¡±


    Cierra flinched. ¡°...No?¡±


    Emery laughed. ¡°It¡¯s okay if you are. That¡¯s valid for some things. Bigger techniques that require a lot of Qi control and output can get a lot easier to control with your Domain. But relying on it gets really dangerous in combat, when enemies can fight back with their own.¡± She said, watching for Stena¡¯s discard. Emery sighed when she saw the last white dragon.


    ¡°Hu!¡± Cierra called. ¡°Knitted, Greater Honors, Last Tile with 4 Flowers. 40 and 8, please.¡± She said with a big grin.


    ¡°Nice hand.¡± Avuri said, as point sticks were tossed on the table. ¡°Emery is right though. Relying on reaching the Sky Realm and using your Domain to solidify techniques you aren¡¯t good at can get you hurt later.¡±


    ¡°I know, Momri. That¡¯s not my intention.¡± Cierra said as they all shuffled the tiles. ¡°Your Domain is like, based on who you are as a person right? I want to see what mine looks like, and see if I get any ideas from it. See if it can show me which path to take.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see.¡± Emery said, as she flipped up her tiles as the round began. ¡°But you¡¯ve got it backwards. Your Domain is based on who you are, yes, but it¡¯s more¡­hm.¡± She circled her hands in the air, searching for the right words to explain.


    ¡°What Mom is trying to say is that your Domain shows a reflection of who you are in that moment. It¡¯s not a great divining tool to see who you should be.¡± Avuri said, picking up the explanation. ¡°If you feel stuck between following my path and Merri¡¯s path¡­well, given you¡¯ve been practicing both styles fairly regularly and evenly, it¡¯s likely that your Domain would display that duality. I can¡¯t say what it would actually look like, but it¡¯s not going to show you your best path forward.¡±


    ¡°Really? I thought there would at least be some kind of detail that would show which side I¡¯m better at or something.¡± Cierra said with a frown as she stared at her tiles.


    ¡°Unfortunately, it doesn¡¯t really work that way.¡± Emery said, as she drew a tile and discarded. ¡°When I first opened my Domain, it looked like a small village of blacksmiths. Weapons were littered about everywhere, but they were almost entirely swords with little to no variation.¡±


    Cierra took her turn and kept listening. ¡°I was confused at the time, wondering if that meant that I was destined to use swords, and that all my time spent with other weapons was pointless.¡±


    Avuri nodded along, knowing this story. ¡°And what did you do, Merri?¡± She said, with a small chuckle.


    Emery smiled, fondly. ¡°I spent the next few days of our training creating nothing but swords. Vale caught on and got mad at me. I spent the next day entirely working only with spears - Hu.¡± With a sudden feral grin, Emery called her win and displayed her hand. ¡°Four Pure Shifted Chows, Full Flush, All Chows, with a Closed Wait. 67 and 8, please.¡±


    Avuri blanched. ¡°I knew you were collecting bamboo, but that hand is insane. I was thinking it¡¯d be around 32 at most¡­¡± She sighed and handed over the 67 points worth of sticks as their daughters paid their 8s, and they began shuffling again, Avuri now solidly down in the scores.


    ¡°So, you were saying, Mom?¡± Cierra said, prompting Emery to continue.


    ¡°Right. Vale made me spend the following day entirely practicing my spear work. Guess what happened afterward?¡± She asked, leading, as they stacked the walls.


    ¡°What?¡± Stena asked, now also interested.


    ¡°When I checked my Domain that night? All of the weapons around were spears. Barely any swords in sight.¡± Cierra and Stena both looked mildly disappointed with such a simple story. ¡°Point being,¡± Emery said, emphasizing her words with the clack of a discarded tile, ¡°Your Domain can, and will, change pretty dramatically with fairly little effort. It¡¯s far more a window into who you are at that moment than anything else.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s worth noting too,¡± Avuri picked up, ¡°That while details and parts will often change, the overall appearance and atmosphere is pretty standard and unlikely to change without significant effort. It¡¯s just details that will change frequently. For example, my Domain has always appeared to me as a snowy mountain top. Smaller details may change, but that never has.¡±


    Cierra nodded absently as she stared at her tiles, trying to figure out which way to take her hand. ¡°Okay. So my Domain is useless when it comes to telling me where to focus my training.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Emery said, as she pitched a two of bamboo.


    ¡°Pung.¡± Avuri called, slid her set to the side and discarded. ¡°If you¡¯re really stumped or worried about something, we can help. You know that - Pung.¡± She called again, this time on the three of bamboo.


    All of the other women at the table eyed her calls warily. Avuri¡¯s mouth twisted into an absolutely devilish grin after her draw. ¡°Kong.¡± She declared, showing the four four of bamboo¡¯s. Her replacement tile was immediately discarded. The table grew silent as each of the others very carefully avoided throwing anything that may finish Avuri¡¯s potential All Green.


    When Emery finally drew a green dragon, she looked over the discards on the table, considering. There weren¡¯t any in the discards yet. She looked over at Avuri who just smiled back serenely.


    Emery decided to call her bluff, and pitched the green dragon. Avuri¡¯s smile grew wider. Predatory. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not All Green. But - Hu.¡± She displayed the rest of her hand; a concealed pung of fives of bamboo, waiting on the dragon pair. ¡°Four Pure Shifted Pungs, Half Flush, Two Concealed Pungs, One Concealed Kong, with a Pair Wait and one Flower. 68 and 8, please.¡±


    Emery chuckled, handing over the points. ¡°Just had to one up me, didn¡¯t you?¡± She pushed her tiles into the center for shuffling.


    ¡°I do believe I literally one upped you, if I¡¯m not mistaken.¡±


    Emery blinked, putting it together. Then she laughed. ¡°That damn Flower tile!¡±


    Cierra and Stena glanced at one another, and silently vowed to not let their mothers win any more hands that night.


    Surely with only five hands to go, they could manage that much? Right?

 29 : Attraction

    The following few weeks after our initial attempt at Paired Cultivation went pretty smoothly, all things considered. We were both making incredible progress toward the Sky Realm, and Emery and her family had been open and welcoming hosts. Especially Cierra.


    Vale had been helping us train a few hours each day, before we would go into one of the extra bedrooms for Paired Cultivation. It took a few days for us to really get used to the whole process. The first few days began similarly to the first, but we would start each day with Emery sitting between my legs and leaning back on me. It was a comfortable position to be in, and one that wasn¡¯t very awkward to start with. Maybe it was because we weren¡¯t facing each other?


    Each day would end with us entangled similarly to the first as well. By the second week, we were opting to just start cuddled up like that as well. The efficiency boost from the additional contact was significant enough to warrant it, even though it was somewhat awkward for us to slip into bed together and immediately get so close.


    Thankfully, the awkwardness was about the only real issue. Emery and I were both adults, and we were doing our best to act like it. Or at least I know I was, I just assumed Emery was as well.


    The intensity of the emotions brought on by the Paired Cultivation never seemed to dull. It was a constant semi-conscious battle to keep myself on guard against intrusive thoughts that seemed to randomly surface while we were in such close proximity. I could see the same battle every so often playing out on Emery¡¯s face as well.


    Vale had confirmed for us that at least some of those urges were entirely caused by the connection during Cultivation. On a spiritual level, we were basically mashing our very souls together in an intimate way, and apparently that translated to the related physical urges. More than once, when I was alone, I had laughed at the absurdity of it all - here we were, basically having soul sex, but drawing the line at our physical bodies.


    I couldn¡¯t explain it logically to myself, no matter how hard I tried. Together, we were experiencing all kinds of raw, powerful emotions that should easily top any sort of physical intimacy we could ever have. And yet, the physical interactions felt like the line we shouldn¡¯t cross. At least not without thought. And certainly not on a random urge that may not even be our own.


    Or at least not entirely our own.


    And that was the part that kept me on my toes. I could certainly recognize that the physical urges that cropped up during Cultivating weren¡¯t necessarily my own, and not acting upon those was easy enough as long as I was conscious about it and not too deep in meditation.


    The issues were the intrusive thoughts outside our Paired Cultivation that kept coming back.


    I had always been more attracted to women than men. I couldn¡¯t really say why, I just was. As I imagine was the case for most people with a given inclination. At the time, I thought it was funny that the first two times I had met Emery originally, there was almost no attraction there. Or at least not enough for me to take particular note of. I imagine it had to do mostly with the situations I had found her in.


    But after coming to visit, things certainly changed. Seeing Emery more at home had been one thing. Without her being emotionally wounded or covered in blood, I felt like I got a much clearer picture of who she was. It was enjoyable to interact with her as more normal friends, and she was fun to be around.


    What really kicked me in the heart was watching her with Cierra. When I had first arrived, watching Emery be an ever attentive and perhaps over protective mother had been a particularly sweet treat. She seemed so caring and loving - in direct contrast to what I had seen on the battlefields previously - that it had sent me for a bit of a loop at first. I had expected her to be a serious, maybe even hard-ass mother. But here she was playing like a kid, drawing silly pictures with Cierra, or giving the girl rides on her shoulders.


    And then in the last three weeks, with Cierra¡¯s emotions unsuppressed, Emery¡¯s behavior had been even more charming. Some of the over protectiveness was gone, and she was no longer constantly keeping tabs on what was going on around Cierra, as the girl seemed to be capable of handling herself quite well emotionally during the day. Instead, Emery was attentive and playful, and just an all around good mother. And she smiled so much more, especially when she saw Cierra doing something with a smile on her own face.


    Stolen story; please report.


    And on top of all of that were the nights. After we had cleared the demonic Qi from Cierra, she had gotten attached to me as well. Not nearly as much as with Emery, but it was enough for her to ask if I could stay in the same bed with them, like that first night. Emery didn¡¯t seem to mind, and I couldn¡¯t say no to the girl. So, for something like three weeks, I had been sharing a bed with them at night.


    Cierra¡¯s night terrors had continued, though not nearly as often as Emery had said they were before - maybe once every three nights or so. And watching how easily Emery slipped into comfort mode and took care of Cierra in those moments had absolutely melted my heart. Cierra deciding that she had found me comforting as well and holding my hand to get back to sleep afterward¡­Well, to say I had fallen in love with the little girl wouldn¡¯t be a lie.


    All of that brought me back to my dilemma with Emery. Throughout the day, I would find my eyes tracking her across the room. Or I¡¯d catch myself watching her mouth when she spoke. At first I was pretty sure that at least some of it was a direct result of the urges during Cultivation. But after we had been at it for a few weeks, I was pretty sure that a good portion of the attraction I was running into was solidly my own.


    After three weeks or so, I had considered bringing it up more than once. But I was hesitant. For as much as I caught myself watching Emery, I never really noticed her watching me with interest. Our eyes wouldn¡¯t meet randomly all that often, and we certainly never had one of those moments where our eyes meet, and one of us looks away blushing.


    Not that I expected the two of us adults to do that, but just once would¡¯ve at least been a positive sign for me. Instead, Emery seemed to not pay me much mind outside of when we were either training, Cultivating, or actively engaged in talking or playing a game. Which, for the record, I could never win thanks to Vale. That bastard had taken so much mortal money from me at that point that we had to lower the traditional buy-ins on games to keep playing.


    In any case, Emery¡¯s seeming lack of interest kept me from actively bringing it up. We never really spoke about the Paired Cultivation outside of the bedroom we were using for it, so any related feelings were basically brushed under the rug, so to speak. And during Cultivation itself, while I certainly caught Emery making eyes at me more than once, I couldn¡¯t tell how much of that was just the Cultivation effects. I had assumed all of it, given how much safer that was.


    Sometime around four weeks into our training, there was a small turning point. At least for me.


    The day itself had gone well. Emery and I had done well with our Paired Cultivation, and were steadily approaching the Sky Realm. What would have likely taken a year, maybe two, was steadily going by. It felt as though we would both reach a Breakthrough in a few months, and we had been in a good mood.


    After dinner and some time spent doodling with Cierra, we got ready for bed. The three of us went into the master bedroom, changed into the lighter sleepwear robes, and crawled into bed together. Emery was on the left side of the bed, with Cierra in the middle, and me on the right. That was our normal sleeping arrangement, and had been for weeks at that point.


    Cierra fell asleep pretty quickly, all things considered, and Emery and I sat quietly reading for a few hours before putting out the candles and preparing to get a few hours of sleep ourselves. Shortly after that, however, Cierra had started shifting about, likely signaling a nightmare.


    Emery moved to comfort the girl, preemptive hugs and cuddling now a standard procedure rather than holding back like before. I didn''t want to overstep, so I just held onto one of Cierra¡¯s hands, hoping to give her whatever minor comforts I could.


    The girl¡¯s nightmare proceeded roughly as expected. Cierra eventually thrashed around and woke up with a sudden scream of agony. Emery¡¯s comforting reassured her she was safe, and Cierra was able to calm down within a few minutes. She was comfortably preparing to go back to sleep, but hadn''t let go of my hand, which she had held through the whole ordeal, squeezing it for comfort.


    As she cuddled into Emery to sleep again, she tugged on my hand. When I didn''t move, she turned to me indignantly.


    ¡°Ri, cuddle.¡± She said sleepily, still tugging on my hand. I glanced at Emery who looked back with a small smile and a nod.


    ¡°Yeah, okay.¡± I whispered, and slid closer. Cierra tugged, still holding my hand tightly, pulling me close. She laid my arm over her side and snuggled up to it, all but forcing me to snuggle up to her back, while her face was buried in Emery.


    With Cierra¡¯s head tucked under her chin, Emery and I were face to face on the middle pillow, mere inches apart. I tried not to focus on her, keeping my eyes moving about the room, on Cierra, or closed.


    While I was busy trying to keep myself from staring at the woman before me or chatting inanely, Emery seemed to have no such qualms. She reached out to take one of my hands in hers and squeezed.


    I turned back to her on reflex and met her eyes, the gray shining like a newly polished blade. I could feel myself lock up momentarily as I fought to swallow, mesmerized by the other woman¡¯s eyes.


    She squeezed my hand again. ¡°Thank you.¡± She said, and gave me the most brilliant smile. I just nodded and smiled in response, unable to trust my voice to not crack at that moment.


    With a second, warmer smile, Emery snuggled up closer to Cierra, wrapping the little girl in a hug and settled in for sleep. I turned away to try to do the same.


    She did not, however, let go of my hand. And I couldn¡¯t tell if it was on purpose as a statement or just laziness or comfort. Eventually my eyes wandered back to Emery¡¯s face, and I let out a big breath.


    ¡°Oh yeah. I¡¯m in trouble.¡± I muttered to myself.

 30 : Awkward

    It had been more than a month - close to two, in fact - since we started training and Cultivating together, but I still wasn¡¯t quite sure what to make of Avuri. The damn woman was confusing. We were spending so much time together, between training, baths, and even sleeping in the same bed with Cierra, that I was beginning to think being together so much was a detriment to my ability to get a read on her.


    A few weeks previous, I had thought that she was potentially interested in me as more than a training partner. I caught her following me around a room with her eyes, or even just generally staring when she thought I wasn¡¯t looking. I knew that Paired Cultivation could have that sort of effect on people, making them feel things that weren¡¯t really there while connected like that.


    But I was also pretty sure that most of those feelings and urges were relegated to during Cultivation, or maybe for a few hours after. And Avuri was regularly watching me outside of those hours when I thought the Paired Cultivation would be in effect. So, coming up on that month mark, I was pretty sure she was interested in me in at least some other fashion. To be fair, it may not have been a romantic interest.


    That line of thinking and a potentially bad decision late at night led me to making some physical contact that I was now, three weeks later, beginning to regret.


    I had thought it was benign enough! I had taken her hand, squeezed it, and thanked her, sincerely, for everything she had been doing up until then. Helping with Cultivation was one thing, but she was beginning to feel like she could be a fixture in the basin compound, and even Cierra was taking a good liking to her.


    In the moment, she had smiled back and nodded. I had taken that as a positive response, and drifted off to sleep. I believe that I had held on to her hand when I fell asleep, and maybe that was the mistake? I honestly had no idea.


    After that night, Avuri seemed to be actively trying to ¡®avoid¡¯ me. She wasn¡¯t doing a great job at it, especially when so much of what we were working on was distinctly focused on the two of us as a unit. But I could still tell that she was finding ways - very polite ways - to spend less time with me in general.


    At first it was funny, and I thought she was perhaps just embarrassed by whatever bond we had been building toward. She would step out during breaks or down time during the day to do work around the basin. Farming and the like needed to be done, but Avuri was taking it too seriously and spending far more time than necessary in our small fields. She would find some excuse not to bathe together as often as felt natural. A couple of times, she even made an excuse - and had to justify it to Cierra - so she wouldn¡¯t have to sleep in the same bed with us, which was becoming very normal.


    After two weeks of following through on all of that, I was beginning to suspect something else; she wasn¡¯t embarrassed, but was actually avoiding me. Throughout those two weeks, I was constantly trying to keep an eye on her, watching for any sign of embarrassment or something similar. I came away with nothing. Not once did she blush, or look away with anything remotely resembling embarrassment, or any such thing.


    The worst part of all of this was that we were still regularly working on Paired Cultivation together. Whenever we were connected through our Qi, the expected feelings of attraction and desires were a constant companion. The intense feelings of comfort and safety were just as potent as the first day, too, and often helped to control the other emotions.


    But through the connection of Qi, I could feel that Avuri was experiencing the same level of attraction as I was, so I knew she at least wasn¡¯t disgusted by me or anything like that. And I never got any feelings of anger from her, so I didn¡¯t think I had done something wrong, necessarily.


    All of this added up to just stump me, and I was starting to get frustrated by how much Avuri seemed to want to avoid me. With a further week gone, and her avoidance of me coming up on three and a half weeks, I was about ready to call her out on it. We were basically required to spend more than ten hours together each day, and that was simply too much for us to remain so awkward around one another.


    <hr>


    It was late evening when we finished Cultivating that day. Dinner was probably just about ready, if it wasn¡¯t already. I could hear Cierra playing downstairs when we left our meditation, so dinner wasn¡¯t actually on the table yet at least.


    Avuri and I were both scooting out of opposite sides of the bed. As had become unfortunately the norm the last couple weeks, she didn¡¯t seem to want to meet my eyes, and was dutifully looking over the wall on her side of the room. She stretched her arms above her head and bent from left to right at her hips, stretching out after a long time laying still.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to go check on the vegetables before dinner. See if there¡¯s any I can bring in for a side dish.¡± She said, making toward the door.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    I took a deep breath, and promptly decided that I was either going to make everything worse or fix it all right now. To hell with this awkward situation.


    ¡°Nope.¡± I said, strolling over to her and grabbing her by the arm. She protested, but not strongly. ¡°We¡¯re going to go take a bath before dinner. I¡¯m sure Talya has already gone and gotten whatever vegetables we¡¯re having with tonight¡¯s dinner.¡±


    Avuri put up weak protests as I pulled her down the hallway and stairs. ¡°Talya!¡± I called, as we passed the second floor, ¡°Avuri and I are going to go wash up before dinner. Be back in a bit!¡±


    ¡°You have a little less than an hour. The potatoes and carrots are being finicky and don¡¯t want to cook.¡± Came the reply. I turned to Avuri with a look that said ¡®See? Vegetables are in hand¡¯. She just sighed and started to pad after me, her excuse dust in the wind.


    ¡°You need to be clean for dinner, Mom. Ri. Bet you both stink.¡± I heard Cierra say from the kitchen with a giggle. While I couldn¡¯t smell anything from us at the moment, I was willing to bet she was right, given we were both rather sweaty after the long meditation.


    I continued to basically drag Avuri toward the bathhouse. She didn¡¯t really resist the rest of the way, but when we arrived, gave me a whiny ¡®Do we have to?¡¯.


    ¡°Get your sorry butt changed. I¡¯ll meet you in the bath.¡± I said, and half shoved her into the changing room.


    She laughed at me then. ¡°Yes, Mom.¡± She said snarkily before moving off to change.


    When we both entered the bath area moments later, that smile and snark was gone, replaced by the same blank face that I had seen over the past few weeks. I was almost certain it was a carefully crafted facade at this point. And as we both sat down to wipe ourselves down, I decided now was as good a time as any to just crack the thing wide open.


    I knew I was a pretty awkward person. May as well lean into it.


    ¡°Why are you spending so much of your energy avoiding me?¡± I asked, straight, as I began to wipe down my legs with a washcloth.


    Avuri had been wiping herself down as well, but stopped and turned to face me. She looked less upset or shocked than I may have expected. ¡°Ah. You noticed?¡±


    ¡°No shit.¡± I said, continuing to go about washing up. ¡°You¡¯re not exactly masking it very well by just running away to the fields every chance you get, or outright avoiding looking at me whenever we¡¯re in the same room.¡±


    Avuri sighed. ¡°You know, I didn¡¯t exactly think I was doing a great job with it, but I was hoping-¡±


    ¡°Even I¡¯m not that dense, Avuri.¡± I said with a self derisive snort, then reconsidered. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not really dense at all, to be fair. But you still did a fantastically bad job hiding it.¡±


    Avuri looked down at her toes as she wiped the sweat away. ¡°Yeah, s¡¯pose I deserve that.¡±


    ¡°So? Why?¡± I said, finally stopping to look at her seriously. She also stopped moving, but hesitated to answer.


    ¡°I know that the¡­feelings caused by the Paired Cultivation are a lot to deal with, and if I did something that made you feel uncomfortable, I¡¯m sorry. But I¡¯d really prefer you tell me instead of-¡±


    ¡°Nope, that¡¯s not it.¡± Avuri interrupted me, but continued to look down.


    ¡°Then¡­?¡± I prompted.


    Avuri and I sat in awkward silence for almost a minute before she finally looked up at me and our eyes locked on one another. Avuri was clearly studying my face, maybe looking for some sort of reaction. All I gave her was a questioning look, but I did keep our eyes locked.


    After a solid fifteen seconds passed of her scouring my face with her eyes, I turned to face her properly and leaned in toward her. ¡°What are you looking for, Avuri?¡±


    The sound seemed to knock her out of whatever trance she had been in, and she sat up straight and blinked. She once again fell quiet.


    ¡°Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake, Avuri, what is going on?¡± I said, trying not to shout. ¡°I thought everything was going so well a couple weeks ago and then suddenly you¡¯re trying to avoid even looking at me? When we¡¯re spending several hours a day connected at a soul-deep level?¡±


    ¡°I - uh¡­¡±


    I just plowed right on, ignoring that she had said anything. ¡°This whole thing is ridiculous. If you want to leave, or whatever, be my guest. I¡¯m not one for holding people against their will. You had better say goodbye to Cierra before you go, though, because that girl very clearly likes you. You make her cry and you won¡¯t live to regret it.¡±


    Avuri had turned to look at me half way through my mini-tirade. ¡°What?¡± I spat. ¡°I¡¯m tired of all this walking on eggshells crap. I told you the day you first got here. I¡¯m an open book. For the most part, I pride myself on that. I don¡¯t try to be sneaky or subtle. I know I¡¯m bad at that and pretty awkward to boot when it comes down to it. I¡¯m not going to sit here while you try to avoid me for some reason you refuse to say. Get your nerves together to talk or just leave.¡±


    Having said my piece, I finished wiping myself down while Avuri just watched me. She looked a little stunned. I internally shrugged, just moving on. Either she would or wouldn¡¯t explain. Either way, it was in her hands now. As I stood from the stool to go get into the actual bath to rinse off and relax for a moment, Avuri stood as well. Her movement caught my attention and I turned to her with an unspoken question.


    She looked at me, steadied herself, and muttered. ¡°Right. Open book. No bullshit. I can get behind that.¡± She finally appeared steady and looked me in the eye when she asked, ¡°Emery, would you like to have dinner - just the two of us - sometime?¡±


    I sat back down and struggled not to laugh. ¡°Yeah. Yeah, we could do that.¡±

 31 : Paint The Town

    Things in the bath house got a little awkward after that. As we each cleaned ourselves off in preparation for dinner, Avuri started sneaking peeks at me again. Which, I supposed, was fair, given the situation. I did my best to ignore her as I finished up in the bath.


    ¡°So¡­tomorrow.¡± I began, as Avuri¡¯s head snapped up toward me, ¡°I think we could use a little break, don¡¯t you?¡± I looked up at the beautiful wisteria canopy as I spoke. ¡°And we¡¯re starting to run low on a few things. Butter, eggs, seasonings¡­Maybe a trip into the city?¡±


    Avuri¡¯s face slowly split into a grin. ¡°Take a day and paint the town? Get lunch and dinner while we shop? Take a day to relax?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I was thinking.¡± I nodded, ¡°We¡¯ve been at this non-stop for almost two months. I don¡¯t think a single day off would be remiss, do you?¡±


    ¡°No, I think that sounds incredibly fair. And lovely.¡± Avuri said, happily, as she finished up her own dip in the tub. ¡°But also, have you considered getting some animals for up here? You mentioned we need eggs - maybe we should get some chickens?¡±


    And after that, the conversation quickly devolved into potential plans to start a small animal farm in addition to the crop fields. We chatted about it rather animatedly until we finally returned to the house and sat down for dinner. The ideas about starting a small husbandry operation were passed around and debated on. Everyone was in favor, especially Cierra, who was very excited to make some animal friends.


    When Avuri and I mentioned taking a day off to visit Flowing Dragon City to look into buying some supplies we needed, and maybe go looking at animal prices, there was once again unanimous assent. Cierra wanted to come with us, but I told her that until she was a little older, traveling down to the city on foot was a little too dangerous for her, and she¡¯d only get to come when we went with Vale. That was acceptable, and the conversation moved on.


    Avuri and I met eyes briefly, clear excitement on both our faces as we looked forward to what could be considered a first date.


    Even if we¡¯d have to run for a few hours to get there.


    <hr>


    With just Avuri and I making the trip down to the City, it only took a little over three hours. The trickiest part was getting out of the basin and onto the Peak proper, but we managed to travel pretty quickly after that.


    Getting into the city from the mountain side was pretty easy. The guards there were fairly lax, since anyone that had access to the Flowing Dragon Peak to return from it would have had to go through the city in the first place. Beyond a quick check to make sure we were human Cultivators, we were let loose into the city without much ado.


    Avuri and I had both dressed nicely, but not so well that we would alert Vale¡¯s or Talya¡¯s suspicions that this was anything more than a shopping trip. Once we were in the city, however, Avuri grabbed me by the arm and pulled me into the throng of people moving about the roads.


    Our first task was doing the shopping that I had used as an excuse to get us here. And we did it fast. We had everything we needed bought and dealt with within two hours of our arrival. With everything stored safely between our two storage rings, we were then left unencumbered to enjoy the city.


    Once again, Avuri dragged me out into the main thoroughfare of the market for a moment, before deciding to pull us off into a side road where we could actually hear ourselves.


    ¡°So?¡± She said excitedly, ¡°What would you like to do first?¡±


    I looked at her with a smile on my face, but I really had no idea. ¡°I won¡¯t lie to you, Avuri, I¡¯ve not really ever been on a date that wasn¡¯t just an outing for food. One time I went dancing, but that about covers the entirety of my experience here.¡± I inclined my head toward her in a mock bow. ¡°I will defer to you in this matter, elder sister.¡±


    Avuri narrowed her eyes at me before slapping my shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m only twenty six. I¡¯m not that much older than you, am I?¡±


    I grinned. ¡°Four years~¡± I teased, then stopped. ¡°Oh, wait. Three years. My birthday passed a few weeks ago, so I¡¯m twenty three now.¡± Avuri slapped me playfully again.


    ¡°Knowing you, I assume it passed while I was here and it was just never acknowledged?¡± Avuri asked sourly.


    I nodded. ¡°Sure did. It was somewhere in our mess of training. It was the second of this month. So¡­like twenty five days ago? We were probably so intent on training that I forgot. And my family has never really been one that celebrates birthdays, so-¡±


    I was cut off as Avuri pulled me back into the main street, making her way somewhere I couldn¡¯t tell. ¡°We may have missed your birthday, but I¡¯m going to make sure you enjoy our date!¡± She said as she pulled me along.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    And she was right. We spent a while wandering around the market, hitting several different food stalls for light snacks. We picked up a bit of this and that from several different places and shared a couple bites of each thing. We ended up skipping lunch as a planned stop, to instead just fill ourselves on the random assortment of stall foods, covering everything from fried noodles to spun sugar candy - most of which went to Avuri, because I found that I don¡¯t have much of a sweet tooth.


    Once we were both sated on what amounted to junk food, Avuri decided that more shopping was in order. Of the much less useful kind.


    We went to several different clothiers, and tried on a number of different clothes. Avuri demanded that we both buy some nice underclothes, as some of ours were both starting to smell after how long we spent Cultivating in them. Thankfully we both had kept some clean and set aside for public outings, so neither of us smelled while in the city.


    I picked out a few silky tops and bottoms that would be comfortable to wear under clothing, but also nice for Cultivating in. The clerk had said they would be easy to wash and be stain resistant, which was nice. I also snuck a couple more risque options into my pile, just in case. While I was relatively new to dates, the afterward parts were not so foreign to me. I knew what to prepare.


    And as Avuri split off from me when we entered, I had suspicions that she was making a similar choice.


    After that, we tried some different outer clothes on. I tried a multitude of different robes and styles that Avuri suggested, and she tried several that I suggested.


    The second or third outfit for me to try was a striking green set of robes that were silky and gorgeous. The deep green was reminiscent of foliage, and even had a lovely sparkle to it. When I stepped out of the changing area with it on, Avuri was brought up short, stunned. She stood, slack mouthed, looking me over. I might have even seen a bit of drool.


    I spun a bit to show it off. ¡°That good, huh?¡± I asked, holding some of the fabric out to display the colors more cleanly. ¡°The robes are beautiful, but I¡¯m not sure green like this is my color¡­¡±


    ¡°Green looks lovely on you, Emery.¡± She walked up to me, her eyes locked on my face. When she was standing less than an arm¡¯s length from me, she raised a hand to touch my hair gently. ¡°Did you know that your hair has a strange purple tint to it in the right light?¡± She tilted her head and smiled at me as she asked the question. I felt my heart rate jump around suddenly.


    ¡°I did know.¡± I said, returning the smile. ¡°If I recall correctly, it matches your eye color. Such a lovely, deep purple.¡±


    Avuri cleared her throat and let her hand drop. ¡°Yes, well. The green on these robes actually bring out the color in your hair beautifully. You should consider getting them.¡±


    ¡°I will do that.¡± I said, grinning. ¡°I was certain that you weren¡¯t all attack and no defense before, Avuri.¡± I said, teasing her as a slight blush crept up her neck. ¡°Let me change out of this and we can go to the next place.¡±


    I moved back into the changing room and started to remove the layers of the robe one after the next. It was indeed a lovely robe, and while I still wasn¡¯t confident green was a good color for me, I decided I would buy the robe. Avuri thought it looked good on me, and it wasn¡¯t like we were hurting for mortal money.


    Earlier in the day at a different store, I had also changed out my underclothes for some of the new ones I had bought today. And I was very pleased that I had chosen one of the more attractive options when Avuri slid into the changing room while I wore nothing but those underclothes.


    She stopped and looked me up and down appreciatively. I could see a number of different thoughts cross her face, but none so clear as raw attraction. ¡°Felt like I needed to retort after you called me all attack and no defense.¡± She said by way of explanation.


    I laughed, and moved to just continue putting my own clothing back on. ¡°That wasn¡¯t much of a retort. Did you forget what you were going to say?¡±


    ¡°Well, I got a bit distracted.¡±


    I glanced at her sidelong and said quietly. ¡°Well, good to know. These aren¡¯t even close to the sexiest undergarments I bought today.¡±


    ¡°Oh? And whatever did you buy sexy underwear for? Hm?¡± Avuri said, her tone teasing.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to wait and see.¡± I said, taking on the same tone. ¡°If you¡¯re lucky, maybe you¡¯ll get to see them.¡±


    ¡°Not gonna lie, I feel pretty lucky already.¡± Avuri took a step further into the changing room, which was already not that large. She was leaving me just enough space to get my clothing back on.


    ¡°Not sure that walking in on a girl while she¡¯s changing, clearly on purpose, would have anything to do with your luck.¡± I returned sardonically then laughed. ¡°Though I¡¯ll give you, you could not have timed it better.¡±


    ¡°Like I said. Luck.¡± Avuri declared proudly, but then her mood soured just a bit. ¡°But also, I¡¯ve completely forgotten my witty comeback about being all offense, and I can¡¯t remember it now.¡±


    I snickered. ¡°And you forgot because you¡¯re all offense and no defense. You walked in here, saw me half-naked - which you¡¯ve seen before, mind you - and your mind went blank. Because your defense is weak, like I said.¡±


    Avuri was quiet for a moment as I put the last bit of my normal robes in place. As I stood straight to turn toward Avuri and the exit to the room, I felt Avuri step up rather close behind me. Her arm snuck around my waist and she pulled me back against her. Then I felt her breath near my ear.


    ¡°So just how strong is your defense, then, my dear?¡± She whispered in my ear.


    A shiver ran through me as I felt her breath on my ear. Which I was pretty sure, with Avuri so close, she could probably feel the slight tremble. My suspicions were confirmed when she laughed and backed off.


    ¡°I think we¡¯re gonna have a wonderful time if we¡¯re both all offense and no defense.¡± She said, and slipped out of the room.


    I took a moment to gather myself as I felt the heat rising up my own neck before I stepped back outside, my soon-to-be new green robes draped over my arm.

 32 : Paint The Town 2

    It was a wonder that anyone ever did any shopping without the convenience of storage rings. As I watched Emery pay for the green robes I had convinced her to buy, I was thinking about all of the things we had bought throughout the day, and how ridiculous it would have been to have to carry everything. We certainly wouldn¡¯t have been able to do it ourselves. We¡¯d need a porter or need to have it sent¡­somewhere. I wondered if we could receive any mail at the top of the peaks.


    I supposed not, given Emery picked the place for its seclusion and more or less to hide.


    With most of the afternoon behind us, I figured it was about time to find ourselves a nice little dinner spot. Then maybe some dancing, afterward? Emery had mentioned that she had been dancing before, and that could be a really fun way to end the night.


    As soon as Emery had finished paying, I snagged her by the arm again and dragged her out of the store as she fiddled with the robes to get them into her storage ring.


    ¡°Please tell me we¡¯re not doing more shopping.¡± Emery said, with a playful whine in her voice. ¡°I don¡¯t think my poor little storage ring can take any more.¡±


    I pointed up to the sky, which was slowly turning pink, with my free hand. ¡°It¡¯s getting late, so I figured dinner?¡± I grinned widely. ¡°And I know just the place.¡±


    Emery looked at me, disbelief clear in her eyes. ¡°You know a place. You¡¯ve been here one time. How could you possibly know a place?¡±


    I stuck my tongue out at her. ¡°Remember I traveled here with a caravan? A lovely old couple mentioned a really good place for a romantic dinner date.¡± I frowned and looked at Emery. ¡°Given how they were dressed, I¡¯d be willing to bet it¡¯s pretty pricey though. Is that okay with you? I know we have more than enough money between us, but I don¡¯t want to cause trouble.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Emery returned playfully, ¡°You¡¯re dragging me to an expensive restaurant and not paying for the meal? Weren¡¯t you supposed to be my escort for the evening? You wound me, Miss Axies!¡± She wailed, looking hurt.


    I took a swift step back and bowed in apology. My long braid flung itself over my shoulder and hit me square in the face. Emery and I both struggled not to break into laughter. ¡°Oh my, you¡¯re right!¡± I said, deepening my voice just a little, trying to hold myself together. ¡°How could I? Please forgive me, Lady Vale. I will gladly take on this challenge and prove my worth to you!¡±


    ¡°You better.¡± Emery shot back haughtily. ¡°Surely you won¡¯t make me regret offering you the chance to accompany me out on the town on our very first date.¡± The sudden air of a rich young lady settled over her, and it felt strangely natural on her. She even crossed her arms over her chest, holding an elbow in one hand, adopting a very apt pose. She even made an effort to look down her nose at me, despite my height advantage.


    It looked rather cute, to be honest.


    ¡°I would never dare, my lady! Come, let us away toward your grand meal!¡± I said, adopting my best young master impression. This time, rather than dragging Emery off, I offered her my arm in the way expected of a young master. She took it daintily, still playing up her role as a young mistress.


    We made it a little ways down the street toward our destination before I heard Emery snicker. It started a chain reaction of snickering, into giggles, into full laughter. Emery smiled up at me so brightly that I nearly had to look away. ¡°You know,¡± she said, ¡°I feel like we took the wrong parts. You¡¯re much more lady-like than I am. And I''m a little too¡­rough and tumble to be such a lady.¡±


    I giggled. ¡°Maybe, but you¡¯re too short to play the leading male role.¡±


    Emery gave me a chagrined look, then solidly kicked me in the butt.


    <hr>


    While I had a decent recollection of where I was going, I did need to stop once and ask for directions to the elusive Celestial Dragon Pavilion. I had only seen it in passing once when it was pointed out to me, and it was from the back of the place. The front was something else.


    The building was five stories, with a beautiful pagoda structure. Each floor was inlaid with gold and jade, and decorated far more than any other restaurant - or maybe even building - I had ever seen. Emery and I both stood staring up at it, speechless, from across the street.


    ¡°Well, uh¡­this is it.¡± I said, as we both remained slack jawed.


    ¡°Before we go in, I just want to set the record straight. I¡¯m not making you pay for our dinner. If we eat here, we split this cost.¡± Emery said bluntly. ¡°It¡¯s going to be obscene, I¡¯m sure.¡±


    ¡°Doubt it¡¯ll cost any more than we lost to Vale the other day.¡±


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Emery laughed. ¡°True enough. That damn bastard and his All Green Four Concealed Pungs. That was some absolute nonsense.¡±


    I nodded with a chuckle. ¡°Ready?¡± I said, offering her my arm again. Emery took it gratefully and started walking toward the entrance.


    ¡°It¡¯s pretty, I suppose, but it sort of borders on garish.¡± She said as we approached.


    ¡°Agreed.¡±


    The door opened before we actually got close enough to open it ourselves, and two employees, a man and a woman, greeted us with a bow.


    ¡°Welcome to the Celestial Dragon Pavilion.¡± The man said, holding his bow deeper and longer than the woman. ¡°How may we serve you ladies tonight?¡±


    ¡°A table for just the two of us, please? And in a private space if one is available.¡± I said, confidently, adopting that fake young master air again. Just without the silly voice.


    ¡°Very good. Follow me, please.¡± The man said, as he turned to walk deeper into the restaurant. Emery and I shared a quick glance before following deeper inside.


    The interior was just as impressive as what could be seen from the outside. There were many tables arrayed throughout the place with people eating or relaxing, as well as several more private rooms scattered around the far edges of the floor. However, the man led us past each of these and up two flights of stairs to the third floor.


    Emery and I must have looked distinctly like a couple out for a romantic evening, because the area we were brought to did not disappoint. On the back side of the third floor, we were brought to a private dining space with a small table. The table was set with a few lightly scented candles, and the lighting in the room was dim to accentuate the space¡¯s interior. In the dimmer light, the inlaid gold all looked far less garish.


    There was also a huge open balcony that faced out the back of the building with a lovely view of the rest of the city. Whether be design or not, the restaurant was taller than the surrounding buildings, leaving the view unobstructed and quite breathtaking.


    I led Emery to a seat before curving around the table to the opposite side for my own seat.


    ¡°We will have an attendant come take your order momentarily.¡± The man said once more, and laid two incredibly expensive looking jade scrolls on the table. ¡°Please peruse the menu while you wait. Someone will also be along with wine options for you shortly.¡± He bowed one more time and then was gone.


    Emery and I met gazes across the table. We just stared at each other silently a moment, before I cleared my throat and reached for the nearer menu. ¡°I had heard that they¡­yes. There¡¯s a number of different spirit beasts on the menu. It¡¯s expensive, but I bet it¡¯ll be worth it.¡±


    ¡°Delicious food packed full of Qi? Count me in.¡± Emery said, as she also began to look over the menu. We had been there for all of two minutes when a large cart came by, pushed by one of the restaurant¡¯s employees. Her outfit was a bit different from the others we had seen so far; a deep wine colored cheongsam that was quite striking. She caught the eye much more so than the array of wines on the cart.


    ¡°Good evening ladies.¡± The woman said with a smile and bow. ¡°This is our wine selection for the evening; you may try any you¡¯d like before ordering, though only a small amount of each before deciding.¡± She added the last bit as though it was a problem, but given that there were certainly more than twenty bottles on the cart to pick from, I wasn¡¯t convinced that getting to try only a little of each was in any way an inconvenience.


    She went on to give a very brief description of each wine, elaborating on any that caught our interest. Emery and I each tried a few before settling on our selections. I opted for a chilled clear grape wine, while Emery went with a flowery plum wine. After leaving us each with a glass and the entire bottle of our choosing, the woman bowed and left.


    ¡°That was¡­wow.¡± Emery said, looking over the bottle. ¡°These aren¡¯t cheap, and they just left us each a bottle. This dinner is not gonna be cheap.¡±


    I chuckled, pouring myself a glass of the wine. ¡°Nope. But these wines are excellent, and I¡¯m sure the food will be too. It¡¯s worth going all out like this for a first date.¡±


    Emery smiled as she poured and sipped at her own wine. ¡°So then, just to be clear. Your intent is that this is the first of many?¡±


    I raised an eyebrow at her. ¡°Did I ever give the impression otherwise? I thought I was pretty clear last night that I¡¯m interested in you, Emery. Especially after you got mad at me for avoiding you.¡±


    She smiled. ¡°Correct on all counts.¡± She said matter-of-factly. ¡°I just wanted to be sure we were both on the same page. I¡¯ve had a lovely time today. And while I don¡¯t foresee such a date happening again in the near future, I don¡¯t intend for this to be a one-and-done situation.¡±


    I snorted. ¡°That¡¯s a fair point. It¡¯s not exactly easy for us to sneak away for a night on the town. Not to mention there¡¯s a three hour sprint between here and home.¡±


    ¡°Home, hm?¡± Emery said, the smile on her face turning warm and inviting. ¡°I¡¯m glad you feel that way, because I get the feeling you¡¯re not leaving anytime soon.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± I said, ¡°Not until we hit the Sky Realm, at least. After that, I might just slip out one night and you¡¯ll never see me again.¡±


    I didn¡¯t count on Emery making such a clearly hurt, distressed face in response. My stomach flopped. ¡°I¡¯m kidding, I¡¯m kidding!¡± I said, quickly, trying to course correct. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna-¡± I stopped when an impish grin split Emery¡¯s face.


    ¡°Gotcha.¡±


    ¡°That was some solid acting,¡± I said, trying to hide just how badly she had me fooled. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that from you.¡± I tried to hide behind my wine by taking a sip.


    ¡°Oh, I can turn it on when I have to. I just rarely see the need.¡± Emery took a sip of her own wine, looking smug.


    Before I could retort, a waiter entered the room to take our orders for dinner. I ordered Blizzard Hoof steak. Blizzard Hooves were large deer like creatures, some of which lived toward the icy tops of the Flowing Dragon Peak and, as their name implied, Cultivated ice-aspected Qi. Emery opted for Iron Tail Stir Fry. Iron Tails were native to the western Iron Dragon Peak, and were metal-aspected Qi focused giant scorpions.


    With our meals and sides ordered, Emery and I settled in for a lovely chat while waiting. As the night went on, the service in the place was excellent, and Emery and I chatted animatedly about a wide variety of nonsense. The chat was inane and silly, but made for a very pleasant evening with nary a serious or depressing topic to be had.


    All in all, a very successful first dinner date.


    We did both blanch at the final bill though. We knew it would be high, but were not prepared for exactly how high.


    The food, service, and company were certainly worth it though.

 33 : Family Dinner

    Emery and Avuri walked up to the Celestial Dragon Pavilion with their children in tow. The whole group was well dressed, even little Astra, who Emery had taken extra care to dress up for her first trip to the restaurant.


    The little girl¡¯s robes were a deep purple with swirls of equally deep blues, that contrasted lovely against her silver hair, and made her blue eyes stand out. They even did well to hide her still overly thin frame.


    Emery had worn her old, but still immaculately well kept, forest green robes. They were the same ones that Avuri had talked her into buying on that first date. These days, she only broke them out for special occasions like this because of the sentimental value - but she really did take fantastic care of the robes. She had even pulled some of her shoulder length hair up in a half updo.


    Avuri had poked fun at Emery for wearing such sentimental clothing, but had also worn robes that they had bought together, but on their first anniversary rather than a date. They were a cherry blossom pink that, combined with Avuri¡¯s striking white hair, gave her the look of a beautiful fairytale princess.


    Cierra and Stena had both opted for slightly newer styles that were less flowy and more tight fit. They were still very clearly high quality, and the similar black dresses looked devilish on each of them.


    Arek also opted not to wear martial robes, but instead a separate martial arts uniform top and bottom. The primarily black uniform with red accents made for the perfect match with his black hair and deep red eyes, which shone with excitement. The boy looked like a little spitfire, and Emery and Avuri both had enjoyed taking turns working on the dragon embroidery on the back - the shape based on Vale¡¯s dragon form, of course.


    They approached the front double doors to the large building, which was now seven stories tall after adding two floors, as well as twice as wide. In the years since their first visit, the restaurant had done incredibly well for itself, becoming a main attraction for the city visitors and upper class.


    As usual, once the group got close to the doors, they were opened by two men, one on each side, both impeccably well dressed and groomed. They both bowed respectfully, and before they could straighten up to greet the family further, a voice called from a bit further inside.


    ¡°Is that the Wiria family?¡±


    ¡°Oh! It is them! I hope you¡¯re all hungry!¡±


    Walking down the first flight of stairs was an elderly couple, though they would argue against being called such. They both looked to be in their late fifties, maybe sixties. Emery didn¡¯t know how old they were in actuality, given who they actually were, but they were absolutely well over a few hundred by this point. And they certainly bickered like a long suffering elderly couple.


    The woman was in the lead. She took the stairs two at a time despite her apparent age, with a huge grin on her face.


    ¡°Lyn, and Cyril.¡± Emery said, a smile on her face as well. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you both.¡± As Lyn approached, she gave the woman a hug. And from there, Lyn swiftly moved down the line for more hugs and greetings as Cyril stepped up to Emery.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to see you girls back again. It¡¯s been a few months since you visited.¡± Cyril offered his hand, which Emery took with pleasure.


    ¡°It has been a while, but we can¡¯t stay away from your food for that long.¡± Emery said.


    As Avuri was about to say something to Cyril, Lyn¡¯s voice loudly asked from the end of the line, ¡°And who is this?¡±


    The family rearranged itself so Emery and Avuri could stand closer to Astra as Lyn and Cyril watched her with a smile.


    ¡°This is Astra, our newest daughter.¡± Avuri said happily as she crouched down to level with Astra. ¡°Astra, this is Lyn and Cyril Solei. You can call them Uncle and Auntie if you want.¡± Astra looked back up to the adult, her eyes wide, but not afraid.


    ¡°Hi, Uncle. Auntie.¡± She said cutely, then half hid behind Avuri.


    Cyril said a mild hello, but Lyn also crouched down to be level with the girl. ¡°Hello Astra, it¡¯s lovely to meet you. You have two lovely mothers, and I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll take great care of you. Just like they did for these three.¡± She said, motioning to Cierra, Stena, and Arek.


    Astra nodded. ¡°I love them.¡± She said, looking between Avuri and Emery.


    Lyn smiled and let out a small snort. ¡°Good to hear.¡± She said, then stood. ¡°Now! You six need to have a good meal! Come.¡± She said with a flourish, and waved them group further inside toward the stairs. Cyril broke off to head toward the kitchen to gather the meal.


    ¡°The suite on the top floor is open tonight, so you can eat there. Astra isn¡¯t afraid of heights, is she?¡± Lyn said, glancing at the little one.


    ¡°No, she should be fine.¡± Avuri said, as the whole group followed. ¡°Thank you for always taking such good care of us, Lyn.¡±


    The older woman just waved her off. ¡°No thanks necessary. After what you¡¯ve both done, the least you deserve is some damn good food.¡± She put an arm around Avuri¡¯s shoulders and squeezed affectionately.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°Still, we appreciate it.¡± Emery said from Lyn¡¯s other side. ¡°You don¡¯t exactly have a good reason to treat us like family the way you do.¡±


    ¡°Sure we do!¡± Lyn returned, eyeing the collection of children trailing behind them. ¡°Not only are we long time friends of your father, Emery, but we are truly glad to see someone doing what you do. Feeding you is, quite literally, the least we can do.¡±


    Not wanting to start an argument, Emery just smiled and nodded thankfully. ¡°If you say so.¡± Then she put on a wry smile. ¡°Mind you, we¡¯re going to eat your food either way. But we¡¯ve always been willing to pay.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Lyn said, patting Emery¡¯s shoulder. Then she leaned in to whisper conspiratorially, ¡°But we overcharge everyone else enough to make up for the loss of your meals.¡± She laughed, and backed away with a ¡®Shh.¡¯ gesture as they continued up to the seventh floor.


    Once they reached their destination, Lyn led them to a room in the back much like the one they were in during their first date - but larger. The table in the center could easily accommodate ten people, perhaps more. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all equally well decorated, making good use of the bright red interiors with the gold and jade inlays.


    Of course, the centerpiece was the large open balcony that could oversee much of the city. As the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, the city was beginning to light various sources of light which would make for a stunning sight an hour later. Even without the dancing lights of the city, however, the view was still awe inspiring, and Astra and Arek both walked straight to the balcony to look at the city.


    Once Lyn had lit some of the candles, as well as various light producing Arrays around the room, she bowed. ¡°Enjoy your meal, kids. And I hope you brought empty storage rings.¡± She chuckled as she left, closing the double doors to the suite quietly.


    Avuri sighed. ¡°Not again. Why does Cyril keep sending us home with so much extra food?¡±


    Emery smiled, watching Astra and Arek point out a number of city sights. ¡°I know. It¡¯d be one thing if he gave us portions for all the other kids back home. But all that plus practically a week further of meals is overkill.¡±


    Cierra and Stena sat at the table beside their mothers, keeping a quiet eye on their younger siblings, but also watching the door to the space hungrily. Stena decided to speak up first. ¡°Are you two ever going to tell us what happened between you and the Solei¡¯s?¡±


    ¡°Nope, we were sworn to secrecy.¡± Avuri said, her voice distinctly shipper. ¡°Never shall we betray their trust!¡± She declared loudly.


    Emery nodded beside her. ¡°We are, indeed, not allowed to tell you. But you should have more than enough clues by now to figure it all out.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I have it.¡± Cierra said, looking at Stena with an impish smile. ¡°I¡¯m actually shocked you don¡¯t have any idea, Stena. It feels so obvious.¡± She then counted off on her fingers, ¡°Friends with our moms, old friends of Uncle Vale¡¯s, they own this place, are powerful, they¡¯re crazy rich-¡±


    ¡°Of course I know all that!¡± Stena shouted. ¡°I just wanted them to tell me so I can be sure.¡± Cierra laughed at her, continuing to tease, when the doors were flung wide by Cyril, along with several staff members, all pushing variously sized carts.


    ¡°Food¡¯s here!¡± He called, as the carts began to surround the table. The younger kids ran back to their seats, their eyes wide and hungry. Arek had been here a few times, but was still unable to contain himself at the sight of all the food.


    Plates and serving dishes were spread around the table. There was a huge assortment of meats, vegetables, rice dishes - even pastries. And Arek and Astra eyed everything hungrily as more was added to the table. It didn¡¯t even take long to fill the ten person table with dishes, maybe two minutes of passing things around.


    Cyril nodded to the kids. ¡°Dig in, you four. Enjoy.¡±


    Arek and Stena needed no further permission. They began filling their plates with assorted food from all over the table, opting for a little of a wide array of options. Cierra, sat next to Astra, helped the younger girl pick what she may like and add it to a plate before she considered serving herself.


    Cyril got Emery and Avuri¡¯s attention then. ¡°As for you two,¡± he said, motioning to the carts that remained, still full of dishes. There were even some in the hallway. ¡°Start loading up. You know the drill.¡±


    ¡°Cyril¡­¡± Avuri said, ¡°You know this is way too much.¡±


    He just shook his head. ¡°You have, what, forty-odd mouths to feed up there? This should hold for a few days. And they¡¯re growing children. If all of this even lasts a week, I¡¯d be surprised.¡± He looked back toward the carts and his staff pushing them around. ¡°You two deserve a break from cooking for forty now and then. It¡¯s not your job. It is, however, mine.¡±


    Emery snorted at that. ¡°We¡¯re moms, Cyril. It is our job.¡±


    He laughed aloud at that. ¡°Fair, but we both know that¡¯s not what I meant! You two are always doing more than you need to. Take a break now and then, and accept our damn help.¡± He said sternly, then waved toward the food again. ¡°Now, like I said. Load up.¡±


    Emery and Avuri shared a look, sighed, then stood to begin putting all of the food into their storage rings.


    ¡°Oh, and say hello to Vale for me, will you?¡± Cyril said, watching as the kids demolished the food on the table. ¡°That jerk hasn¡¯t come by in a while, it¡¯d be nice to see his scaly rump around here some time.¡±


    Emery grinned and nodded. ¡°I will tell him that. He did just get back from a journey to the South, so he hasn¡¯t been around all that long.¡±


    ¡°If he went south, that means he passed right by us when he returned. Don¡¯t think I wouldn¡¯t catch that.¡± Cyril said amicably. ¡°Now make sure all those other kids get to eat just as well as these four gluttons.¡±


    Three heads popped up from the food to look at Cyril, mouths still full. Stena, however, had already been looking at him curiously.


    ¡°They¡¯ll all be fed, I promise.¡± Emery said.


    ¡°Some probably will even be itching for their share tonight when we return.¡± Avuri added with a laugh. ¡°They all know where we went. And the older ones all know you always send us back with food.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Cyril said. ¡°Now you enjoy it too.¡± He waved to his employees and they all filed out of the room, the carts now empty. ¡°Oh, and I left you two a nice bottle of plum wine on the table. It¡¯s real expensive.¡± He grinned widely and slipped out, closing the doors behind him.


    As Emery and Avuri took their seats, Cierra, Arek, and Astra returned to their eating happily. Emery was impressed as she looked at each of them - despite their mouths being quite full, they all retained at least some semblance of manners while eating.


    As her eyes landed on Stena, she raised an eyebrow at her daughter, who was staring after Cyril thoughtfully. Then Stena¡¯s eyebrows shot up her forehead as she evidently put something together.


    ¡°Holy shit, they¡¯re dragons, aren¡¯t they?!¡± She yelled.


    There was a moment of silence as Avuri and Emery both stared daggers at their daughter, pointing toward the open air balcony that led to the city. Then, as Stena shrunk into her seat looking rightfully chastised, a loud, booming laughter came from a floor or two below them.

 34 : Roommates

    The weeks - and even months - following our first ¡®date¡¯ went by exceedingly fast.


    Avuri and I were both pushing as hard as we could for advancement in our Cultivation, and doing so as quickly as we could manage. We were making fantastic strides toward the Sky Realm, and felt as though we would both be able to break through at our current pace within a few months.


    It may not have been as fast as we would have liked, given what may be happening out in the Dying Lands, but we were quite literally doing everything we could reasonably do to speed up the process - and our speed was remarkable, no matter how much we wished we could push harder.


    The rather massive downside to all of this was that Avuri and I hadn¡¯t really done anything remotely considered a ¡®date¡¯ since our night in the City. Every waking moment was spent either training or with Cierra. That¡¯s not to say we weren¡¯t spending all that time apart, though. In fact, Avuri and I were spending more time than ever before together. It just wasn¡¯t in any sort of romantic way.


    If anything, in a show of our penchant for doing things entirely out of order, Avuri and I were acting more like family, or perhaps very close roommates, than anything else. We did almost everything together, often citing that it would help our affinity for each other while Cultivating - which was true. The more time we spent together, the easier the initial bond became to create during Cultivation, and our deepening bond seemed to even strengthen our Cultivation speed.


    But the simple truth was that we just wanted to spend time together. We thoroughly enjoyed each other¡¯s company, and were both becoming very attached.


    Cierra had even taken to calling Avuri ¡®Mom¡¯ after a short time, as she had also grown very attached to the woman. However, as calling us both ¡®Mom¡¯ started getting confusing fast, it was altered to ¡®Momri¡¯, adding on Cierra¡¯s old nickname for Avuri to differentiate between us.


    All of this added to the air of family that hung around us, which led to Vale and Talya teasing us about being a married couple. We both put up a token effort to deny it, but I imagine it bothered us less than we let on. It certainly didn¡¯t bother me much.


    But despite basically functioning as a family unit, Avuri and I made some effort to essentially remain platonic roommates in most ways.


    Together, the night after our date, Avuri and I had decided that we would continue to resist any physical urges due to Cultivation. With so little time to actually progress our potential budding relationship, we felt that physical connection would be better saved until we were ¡®sober¡¯, so to speak.


    We joked more than once about continuing to act out of order, but we both felt like the connection formed by Dual Cultivation was too overwhelming to jump into before affirming our more natural connection.


    All of the deep emotional connections and feelings that came up during Cultivation were incredibly strong and intense, but they often also felt ephemeral and sometimes even fake. Or at least induced, rather than natural. With those strong feelings often fading after we stopped Cultivating, it felt wrong to both of us to start our relationship there. Even if they did, potentially, affect what we felt at other times, whether directly or indirectly.


    So, we decided it would be best to try to keep Cultivation related matters and feelings separate from everything else. And with no real time to devote to ourselves, our potential relationship remained in that sort of limbo.


    For a little more than two months.


    <hr>


    It was solidly into summer now. Avuri and I had both reached the peak of the Earth Realm and were actively pushing the boundary of the Sky Realm. Our more relaxed Cultivation sessions had turned more strenuous as we had to actively strain to gather more Qi passed a certain threshold.


    It was exhausting.


    Avuri and I were both sprawled out on the floor near the kitchen while Talya was finishing up dinner. Cierra was crouched next to me, poking my side tentatively.


    ¡°You okay, Mom?¡± She asked, before looking over at Avuri. ¡°You both look dead.¡±


    Avuri and I both chuckled. She was right, we looked terrible. The added stresses of Cultivation left us drained. We had bags under our eyes and looked like we had been run ragged, covered in sweat.


    ¡°We¡¯re alright.¡± Avuri said, laughter apparent in her voice. ¡°But don¡¯t cuddle us; you¡¯ll regret it. We¡¯re pretty gross right now.¡±


    ¡°Ew.¡± Cierra said as she scuttled away from me.


    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t touch them, Cici.¡± Talya said idly, as she washed the rice. ¡°You¡¯re already washed up for dinner and don¡¯t need their grime ruining that.¡±


    Cierra slowly inched away from Avuri and I as we both put on devilish grins and started making grabby hands toward her.


    We slowly made our way to our feet as Cierra looked on, ready to run.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°We¡¯re gonna get you¡­¡± I droned, stretching my arms out toward her, continuing to make grabby hands. Avuri followed my lead, beginning to stumble toward Cierra theatrically.


    The little girl backed away before turning and bolting down the stairs. Avuri and I took off after her, playfully giving chase. We kept just enough distance to make the chase fun as we hurtled down the stairs. When we hit the ground floor, Avuri and I glanced at one another briefly before darting in different directions. Together, we herded Cierra toward the door and out into the evening air.


    Shortly thereafter, Avuri darted forward and scooped her up off her feet, spinning her around. ¡°Haha! Gotcha!¡± She shouted, before smothering Cierra in a hug.


    ¡°Eww, stop!¡± Cierra cried, laughing as Avuri rubbed her face against Cierra¡¯s, artfully sharing her sweat.


    I stopped to laugh as we turned and headed toward the bathhouse. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re gonna have to join us to get cleaned up again, Cici.¡± I said with a grin.


    ¡°All according to plan.¡± Avuri said, positioning Cierra in her arms so the girl was propped up against her hip. Then she turned to me seriously, looking at me over Cierra¡¯s head. ¡°The real question is - should we be nice, or should I throw her into the water, clothing and all?¡±


    When Cierra¡¯s head snapped up to Look at Avuri¡¯s face, the woman showed her a devious, toothy grin. ¡°No! These clothes are new! Aunt Talya will kill me!¡± The girl wailed, and struggled feebly against Avuri¡¯s grip.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± I intoned, considering what to do. ¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯d kill you.¡± I eyed Avuri. ¡°Just some extra chores, and maybe an extra chef duty for a night or two?¡±


    ¡°Punishment seems fair. And I think it¡¯d be worth it.¡± Avuri nodded.


    Cierra shook her head. ¡°Uh-uh. I don¡¯t want to.¡± She stopped struggling as we reached the bathhouse and entered. Avuri and I walked straight through the changing area and toward the bath.


    ¡°I think if you add in the collateral damage, you¡¯re probably looking at a week as the main dinner chef, Avuri. And probably a stint as potato peeler.¡±


    ¡°Nah, I think you¡¯ll end up getting that job.¡± She said with a grin. ¡°You¡¯re just so good at it.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes at Avuri as we walked around the stone pool, to the deeper end where we could stand comfortably in the water.


    ¡°I don¡¯t wanna do that!¡± Cierra yelled.


    Avuri and I laughed, as I stepped up to the pair of them. I pet Cierra lightly on the head, and she turned to look at me, her big blue eyes pleading.


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry, Cici. All that extra work? It¡¯s not for you. It¡¯ll be for us.¡±


    And with that, I grabbed the shoulder of Avuri¡¯s robes and swept her leg, throwing her and Cierra into the water - fully clothed. Without missing a beat, I jumped in after them.


    Avuri came up quickly enough, making sure to get Cierra¡¯s face clear of the water quickly. The girl knew how to swim, so it wouldn¡¯t have been all that dangerous for her either way, but we were still a little cautious.


    Cierra¡¯s face was scrunched up as she wiped water from her eyes, and swept her hair back. She eyed me carefully, then Avuri. ¡°So¡­I won¡¯t get in trouble for this? You will?¡± She asked, tentatively.


    I used both hands to push my own hair back. With it cut to its normal chin length, it was stubborn and really liked getting in my eyes. ¡°Yup. No reason for Talya to get mad at you for us throwing you in the water.¡±


    There was a moment where Avuri and I watched Cierra mull this over before she apparently came to the conclusion that she was, indeed, not in trouble.


    She immediately turned around in Avuri¡¯s arms and started splashing her. ¡°Then I¡¯m gonna get you back for this!¡± She yelled triumphantly, as she continued to splash water into Avuri¡¯s face.


    The woman made a show of letting Cierra go as she stumbled backward away from the girl¡¯s onslaught, covering her face and sputtering through the assault. ¡°Gah! Stop! Stop! You got me!¡± She yelled, laughing.


    If she wanted to, Avuri could easily use her Qi to manipulate the water away from her, but made no such moves.


    After appreciating the scene for a moment with a big smile, I joined in the fun, splashing Cierra. ¡°How dare you strike my partner!¡± I bellowed, ¡°I¡¯ll return your insult one hundred fold!¡±


    Cierra laughed as she was hit by a huge wave of water, and she made her escape toward the shallow side and the steps.


    ¡°You¡¯ll never escape!¡± I said, giving chase.


    ¡°No! Emery, it¡¯s not worth it!¡± Avuri called, floating on her back. ¡°Let her go. She¡¯s already killed me - I couldn¡¯t bear it if she got you too¡­¡± She trailed off, playing up the part of a weak, dying woman.


    I quickly spun and waded through the water toward her. ¡°No! You can¡¯t die on me, Avuri! Hold on!¡± I said dramatically, as I supported her body under the water with my arms. ¡°Stay with me!¡±


    Cierra had made it to the stairs, and was watching us as she began to strip off her drenched robes. Avuri continued the show. ¡°It¡¯s too late for me. Let me go, Emery. It¡¯s okay¡­¡± She reached up to stroke my cheek gently with one hand before she fell limp in my arms.


    ¡°Avuri? No!¡± I wailed. Then I snapped my head to Cierra. ¡°You! I¡¯ll have my revenge, Master Cici! You¡¯ve not seen the last of me, you monster!¡±


    The girl stuck out her tongue at me and blew a raspberry at me before running the few steps to wash herself off again with soap.


    ¡°Well, I guess she got away.¡± I said with a chuckle.


    Avuri looked up at me from her dramatic position in my arms. ¡°How cruel of her to kill me and just leave.¡± She pouted.


    ¡°I¡¯ll avenge you one day.¡±


    ¡°My hero.¡± She said, rolling her eyes.


    I looked down at Avuri in my arms for a heartbeat, registering the sass in her voice and expression.


    Then, with no remorse, I used my entire body to dunk her.

 35 : Breakthrough

    Avuri and I had finally hit the wall. We had amassed enough Qi within our Cores and were prepared to try to break through to the Sky Realm. After the final, exhausting day of meditation the day before, we had told Vale that we were prepared and asked that he watch over our bodies and Cierra while we made the attempt.


    However, Vale told us to take a day and recover; we should be in the best possible shape to attempt a breakthrough. We was right, so we relaxed for a day before mentally preparing for the struggle to come.


    When it was finally the next morning, Vale sat us both down to go over mostly some details that we were both already familiar with, but one we weren¡¯t.


    ¡°You both are familiar with the basics of the breakthrough process. You use the Qi within your Core to forcefully expand your Core to a larger size. This often involves fighting personal demons and the like, though it differs for everyone.¡± He said, as if teaching a class.


    ¡°We know that, Vale.¡± I said, rolling my eyes. ¡°We¡¯ve done this before, remember?¡±


    Vale looked at me hotly, eyes narrowed. ¡°Yes, you idiot, I know. Just like I¡¯m sure you know that the intensity this time around will be magnitudes more difficult than when you breakthrough into the Earth Realm.¡±


    He held up a hand to stop me from talking back again. ¡°What I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t know, is how destructive and dangerous breaking into the Sky Realm can be for those around you.¡±


    That finally shut me up.


    ¡°Going to listen now?¡± He asked sardonically, raising an eyebrow at me. ¡°Good.¡± He took a deep breath as I glanced over to Avuri, who was sitting nicely and listening attentively. I felt a strong urge to poke her in the side and ruin her ¡®good daughter¡¯ act.


    ¡°Breaking into the Sky Realm, as I know you know, is when you create your Domain for the first time.¡± He began, and the talk of Domains brought my attention back around. ¡°The process of breaking into the Sky Realm actually breaks open the walls of your Core itself. You have gathered a critical mass of Qi at this point, that it will hold itself together even without the little shell you originally created. That is what you¡¯re breaking this time.¡±


    He continued right along as we nodded understanding. ¡°The moment that you create enough force to shatter those boundaries, your Qi will explode from your body and permeate the world around you. Essentially, that¡¯s exactly what a Domain is - your Core expanding beyond your body to cover the world around you. And it¡¯s unlikely that you¡¯ll have any control over it at all, until you¡¯ve completely finished the breakthrough itself.¡±


    ¡°So!¡± He said, clapping to regain our focus again as our minds wandered to the possibilities. ¡°Ultimately, what this means is that we¡¯ll have to put each of you in controlled environments, where you can cause the least possible damage.¡±


    Avuri tilted her head questioningly. ¡°Why not just have us do this apart from one another outside on the grounds then?¡±


    ¡°Because you also need a space that is as neutral as possible when it comes to elemental Qi, and outside among the Four Peaks is anything but.¡±


    I suppose that made sense.


    Vale grinned, a toothy sort of smile that held all kinds of devious behavior. I knew it quite well.


    ¡°Let me show you where you¡¯ll both be breaking through.¡±


    We stood as a group, and Vale led us down to the first floor of the main house, and then outside the front door. We wound around the walls and to the back of the house, venturing to the shaded area between the house and the elder wisteria tree. At roughly the center point of the rear wall, Vale pulled open a hidden door that was flush with the wall.


    ¡°I built this area myself, for basically exactly this occasion.¡± He said, grinning back at the two of us. ¡°Well, that, and in case anyone ever needs a truly secluded place to meditate.¡± He shrugged, and walked in.


    The doorway led to a stone staircase that descended down below the house. The staircase wasn¡¯t overly long; I guess that we had gone far enough that it would have equated to a sub-basement, rather than just one floor deep.


    What stretched out before us was a large stone-hewn cavern. The whole cave seemed to be roughly clover shaped, with the stairs descending into a small center room with four large caverns in the intercardinal directions. It was truly quite impressive, and Avuri and I both let out sighs of awe.


    ¡°The rooms aren¡¯t exactly furnished,¡± Vale began to explain as he led us into one of the four spaces. ¡°But there¡¯s a comfortable cushion to sit on, as well as small amenities that may be necessary during a longer seclusion - a small desk, water, and the like.¡±


    As we approached the center of the empty room, the only thing in the room was the cushion, positioned dead center. On top of the cushion, however, was a small ring. ¡°Ah.¡± Avuri said, looking it over, ¡°Everything else is in the storage ring?¡±


    Vale nodded. ¡°Each room is like this, yes. The rings are pretty small in the grand scheme of things, so they¡¯re not particularly useful for traveling with. But they¡¯re perfect to contain small necessities for a place like this.¡±


    ¡°But more importantly,¡± he said, ¡°This entire cavern has been treated with neutral Qi. I¡¯ve been slowly working on it for a while now, and I think it should be ready for you.¡±


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    I reached out to the Qi around the room tentatively, and found he was right. The ambient Qi in the room was almost entirely neutral. There was a slight leaning toward earth Qi, but given that we were underground, that was almost unavoidable. The utter lack of any other elemental Qi was almost off putting.


    Then, he waved to the cushion. ¡°One of you takes this room, the other takes whichever other you¡¯d like. I will keep an eye on you from the center room for the duration of your breakthrough. Down here, your Domains should be contained well enough to not cause any undue damage. And if things get bad, I can deal with it without worrying about Talya or Cierra.¡±


    I took a deep breath to center myself and turned to Avuri. I tried a smile full of fake confidence. ¡°So, which room you want?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take the one across the hall.¡± She said, then stepped up to me and grabbed my hands reassuringly. ¡°We¡¯ve got this. See you soon.¡±


    She squeezed my hands once, so tightly it was almost painful, before she let go and made her way toward her own designated room. Vale looked between the two of us with a wry smile but said nothing as he made his way to the center room.


    Finally, he waved back to me. ¡°You know what to do from here. Good luck, Em.¡±


    I nodded sternly before moving to settle myself on the cushion. It was time.


    <hr>


    My arm hurt. I spent most of my childhood in constant physical pain from basically torture under duress, but nothing could have quite prepared me for the pain of losing my fucking arm.


    My now useless left hand, up to the elbow, was laying on the ground some twenty feet from me. I was using condensed, raw Qi to keep my stump from bleeding me out. It had never come in handy before, but I was glad now that Vale had taught me how to do that.


    I shook my head to try to focus. I knew that the shock was making my mind wander and making it hard to concentrate. A weak, ragged breath from behind me - the type that often signaled a close and painful death - brought my mind back into focus.


    My eyes fell on the thing in front of me. I couldn¡¯t remember what it had looked like at the start of this whole fight, but the thing before me was certainly no longer human. It had been a demonic Cultivator, but just after our fight had started, its Qi had deviated and warped its body into a monstrosity.


    A very, very dangerous monstrosity.


    I had thought that I could handle all of the Cultivators here easily enough. It was just the Floral Hills. None of the Cultivators here should have been a problem for me.


    But apparently there was one Sky Realm bastard hiding in wait. He had taken the guise of a child in one of the two cages in the subterranean basement. After I had killed everyone involved in this whole disgusting business and went to check on the two children in the cages, he had attacked.


    I was pretty sure the girl behind me was on her last legs. Her breathing was unsteady and ragged. I needed to kill this thing in front of me quickly, or she had no hope of making it out of this alive. And I wasn¡¯t sure I could handle another death on my hands like this.


    The demon leaped at me. Its speed left afterimages in the air as it closed the distance in an instant. I managed to get my sword up in time to avoid what was surely a death blow. I managed to parry the claws just off to the side enough that it only scratched me.


    Then it¡¯s tail swept in from the left. I called up all ten knives I had available to try to deal with that attack, but the tail was powerful enough that it scattered most of the knives into the air and slammed into my side. Without a left arm, my guard was weak on that side, I thought dumbly as I was flung through the air.


    Then I stopped suddenly. The jerking motion caused a rough explosion of pain in my back where I bent awkwardly. It took a moment for my mind to catch up; the thing had grabbed me mid-flight with its tail around my middle. It held me there, a little off the ground, and its black and red eyes bore into mine.


    ¡°You¡¯re weak, little girl.¡± It said. The voice was oddly clear in my addled head, especially given that its mouth wasn¡¯t moving.


    ¡°Forget about saving that one.¡± It continued taunting, flinging a hand out toward the girl still in the cage. ¡°You don¡¯t even have the power to save yourself. It¡¯s sad, really.¡± A strange laugh echoed in my head. ¡°You say you¡¯ve been forged into a weapon, but you¡¯re clearly too weak for this.¡±


    I ground my teeth. In a rage, I ran the blade in my right hand through the demon¡¯s chest. The thing let me, then laughed. ¡°See? Weak.¡±


    Then I felt my jaw crack as a punch connected. I didn¡¯t move much, held fast by the thing¡¯s tail.


    I needed something more potent. I reached out with my Qi to one of my knives, altering it into a demon cleansing knife. It flew at the demon¡¯s back at my behest, quiet and deadly.


    The demon swatted it out of the air with zero effort. It looked at me, disappointed. ¡°I thought this would be a challenge. I had heard you were hunting demonic Cultivators, so I waited and waited¡­not only did you show up here so late, you¡¯re not even really a threat to anything beyond a child.¡±


    As it spoke, I tried to think of something. The only thing I could come up with in my addled state was more power. I needed an edge. Something to level the playing field. But with my mind in no state for a cunning plan, I just needed raw power.


    I reached deep for my Qi. My Core felt full still, despite the long fight. Dangerously so. I tried to collect myself and pull.


    Some Qi came as it was called, but the shell of my Core seemed to limit what I could access at once. Something deep within me laughed wryly.


    ¡°If we¡¯re gonna die, may as well go all the way.¡± I said to myself. Then I reached into my Core with every bit of strength I could, gathered as much of my Qi as I could manage, and pulled.


    The outer shell cracked. There was a moment where it held. I prepared for one final try -


    Then it shattered.


    My Qi rushed out of my body in a whoosh. Everything in the room seemed to suddenly be within arms reach, as if I could reach out and touch it, despite being several meters away.


    And it all felt so sharp. Strangely so. Even round stones on the ground suddenly seemed as if they had a sharpened edge.


    Everything clicked into place for me at once. Although I didn¡¯t understand it logically, I could feel it. With a tug, loose items from all over the room rose into the air, as if connected to me the same way my knives were.


    It didn¡¯t matter what they were. Wooden debris, stones, papers, scrolls¡­under the force of my Qi, everything was a blade - and there were far too many for the demon to block at once.


    With a crooked, bloody smile, I pulled once more.


    As all of the refuse around the room flew inward toward me and the demon, my vision went black.

 36 : A Step

    My eyes snapped open as I came to with a sudden jerk. My first reaction was to grab for my left arm, which was thankfully in place. With a sigh of relief, I took in my new surroundings.


    It looked like I was in some kind of craftsman village. I was absolutely surrounded on all sides by buildings and tents, each one housing some kind of artisan workspace. The most common was by far traditional blacksmithing tools, but there were a few scattered jewelry smiths and even leatherworking. There weren¡¯t any people, but plenty of stations looked as though they were recently used, or perhaps even vacated in the middle of work.


    As I looked around and got my bearings, I began to feel my way around the space. I had never been in one, but I knew this was my Domain. Which meant that the fight for my life I had just been in wasn¡¯t that at all, but rather part of my breakthrough.


    While it wasn¡¯t something that happened at every level, or even to everyone, such visceral visions did occur on occasion when someone tried to break through. The exact mechanic behind it wasn¡¯t understood well, and it couldn¡¯t really even be observed. Some people believed it was your own soul testing you before allowing you to continue on your Cultivation path. Others believed it was the world itself testing you to deem you worthy of the next level of power.


    Whatever the case was, it didn¡¯t matter much to me. I had apparently proven myself capable enough to be here, and that was enough for me.


    I slowly maneuvered my way around the buildings and tents. They seemed to be arrayed in a very rough circular pattern, so I made my way toward the center. It seemed like a reasonable thing to do.


    I was surprised to find that the center wasn¡¯t all that different. There was a single, slightly larger than average blacksmith workshop in the center of everything. There were blades of every conceivable shape scattered about. Mostly on the floor, but some were stuck into the wood of the walls, or even stuck into tables and workbenches. It was an absolute mess.


    But it felt oddly like home.


    Toward the middle of the workshop, there was a cleared space, denoted by six swords sticking out of the ground. They were equidistant from each other, forming a clean hexagon, within which sat a beat up, ragged looking cushion.


    The cushion, despite looking incredibly un-welcoming, seemed to have an innate pull on me. I slowly made my way over to it and sat down on it in a meditation position.


    When I took in my first deep breath to begin to cycle my Qi, the whole space around me seemed to suddenly quiver. The air felt clearer somehow, as if a clean, pleasant breeze had just blown through.


    I could feel the whole Domain react to the movement of my Qi through my meridians. To what end, I couldn¡¯t tell, but the whole place seemed to react to each and every minor adjustment I made.


    Shortly after I started cycling, I stopped. I didn¡¯t want to get too deep into meditation here without knowing what I was getting into. Instead, I calmed my breathing once more and focused on pulling my consciousness out of my Core.


    The next breath was almost like coming up out of water for air. I took in a deep breath as I came back to my physical body in full. I noticed immediately that my entire left arm was numb and somewhat difficult to move. And while that prompted a moment of sheer panic, the limb quickly came back to life with a surge of pins and needles.


    I went deathly still, trying not to jostle the limb as feeling in it returned. I tried to steady my breathing and keep my thoughts away from the tingling limb.


    That led me to notice just how frigid the air was in the cave now. The temperature had dropped significantly since I had first begun to meditate, and I could even see my breath now.


    And the smell. My sweat, as usual with breakthroughs, ran thick with a rank slimy substance - the impurities that my body had purged while adapting to its newfound level of strength.


    From the first steps of Cultivation up through the Earth Realm, Qi in the body is relegated to flow only through the body¡¯s meridians. However, upon reaching the Sky Realm, Qi suffuses the rest of the body as well, strengthening it greatly. It¡¯s one of the two major reasons why the gap between the Earth and Sky Realms is so massive, relatively speaking.


    The process had pushed out all kinds of impurities with my sweat, leaving me damp, smelly, and altogether feeling rather gross. I made up my mind that as soon as my left arm was functional, I would go bathe. Then I heard footsteps approaching from my left.


    Evidently, the change in my breathing when I had come to had tipped off Vale that I was awake. He had quietly made his way over and stood next to me.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Well done, Em.¡± He said, his voice full of fatherly pride. He didn¡¯t have the tone very often, and I was happy to hear it and smiled. ¡°You seem to have everything well in hand for now. I saw you unleash your Domain earlier, so you can rest easy knowing that you have indeed broken through.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think Avuri is far behind you. Her Domain activated a few minutes ago, but she hasn¡¯t gotten it entirely under control yet.¡± That explained the cold. ¡°For now, get up and go clean yourself off. You stink, girl.¡± He said, and nudged me with his foot.


    The instant his foot made contact with my arm, my eyes flew open as the feeling of pins and needles tracked violently up my arm. I yelped like a kicked dog, and fell over, trying in vain to quickly recover feeling in the limb.


    Vale was stunned for a moment before he broke out in laughter, watching me clutch at my arm. He fought to control himself long enough to ask, ¡°Minor spiritual injury?¡±


    ¡°Think so.¡± I mumbled, trying to get my arm steady again. ¡°I¡¯d swear that my arm is actually full of acupuncture needles.¡±


    Vale nodded. ¡°It¡¯ll fade. Might take a little while though, sometimes they can last a few hours.¡±


    I could feel the blood drain from my face as I looked up at him in horror. ¡°Tell me you¡¯re lying.¡±


    ¡°Nope. One time I had an injury like that to one of my legs. It spent two hours twitching on its own, then when the pins and needles started, if I so much as bumped into something I was on the ground in agony. And that lasted for two days.¡±


    I shook my head in horror. ¡°Not happening.¡±


    ¡°You should be fine in a couple hours, I think.¡± Vale said as he looked me over. ¡°The injury I had was the result of an actual fight and technique used on me. You shouldn¡¯t have anything nearly that dangerous.¡±


    I let out a relieved sigh. ¡°Thank fuck.¡±


    Vale laughed again, then stopped suddenly and turned toward Avuri¡¯s room. Before I could even ask a question, I felt the change in temperature as the cold subsided somewhat.


    ¡°She¡¯s retracting her Domain. Seems like you both made it through alright.¡± He said with a grin.


    I cradled my left arm to my chest as I stood and ambled my way over to Avuri, who was just beginning to open her eyes. As I got within a few feet, she blinked up at me. Apparently, she had made it through the whole ordeal unscathed as she immediately made a face and pinched her nose.


    ¡°Emery, you stink! Back up, back up!¡± She said, waving furiously at me. ¡°Ugh.¡±


    I laughed and stepped back. ¡°Me backing up isn¡¯t gonna solve your problems, Avuri.¡± I said, and pointed at her own completely soiled clothing.


    She made another face as she looked down at herself, less disgusted and more generally upset. ¡°These were such nice clothes, too. I can¡¯t believe I forgot about the whole rank gunk thing.¡±


    ¡°You know,¡± I said, holding back my laughter, ¡°I was going to ask why you were wearing decent clothes today but never got a chance. I guess I should¡¯ve made sure to point it out.¡±


    ¡°That would¡¯ve been nice of you, yeah. Jerk.¡± Avuri returned with a small smile.


    Vale approached us then, clapping to get our attention. ¡°Right then, ladies. Go get yourselves cleaned up. As Avuri so generously pointed out, the two of you absolutely reek.¡± With his piece said, Vale turned to leave. ¡°And remember, Domain training begins tomorrow. We¡¯ll get the two of you into fighting shape as fast as we can so you can work on the whole Dying Lands issue.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± I shouted, a little over enthusiastically. Vale gave me an eye roll and walked away.


    ¡°So? What was yours like?¡± Avuri asked, excited, as she worked to her feet.


    ¡°A craftsman village.¡± I said, turning toward the exit. ¡°Lots of blacksmithing tools and workshops, along with a few assorted other crafting workshops. You?¡±


    Avuri looked a little disappointed. ¡°A snowy mountaintop in a blizzard. It was basically empty except for a small lean-to for some cover from the elements, which was kinda disappointing.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯ll change over time?¡± I said, thinking about it. ¡°Maybe if you can stop the blizzard you¡¯d get a lovely view of the night sky or something?¡±


    Avuri shrugged. ¡°Maybe.¡± She said, then eyed my arm which was still held tightly to my chest. ¡°And what happened here, exactly?¡± She asked, and reached out to poke it.


    I jumped several feet away, which seemed to startle Avuri. She looked concerned.


    ¡°Minor spiritual injury during my breakthrough. My arm was basically numb when I came to, and now it¡¯s a mess of pins and needles.¡± I said, trying to settle her worries.


    And I did! Except then her face took on a slightly scary, menacing grin. ¡°I see.¡± She said mildly.


    I slowly moved back toward Avuri to fall in step beside her as we walked out of the basement and toward the bathhouse. I kept just a little bit of distance between us in case she decided to attack me suddenly, which I was almost positive she would do.


    The chat turned into inane small talk for the duration of our walk and while we were changing. Avuri led the conversation purposefully, seemingly trying to get me to drop my guard. I was cautious the whole way into the bath, and through my washing and rinsing off.


    By the time we were both clean again, it had been a while but my arm was still tingling rather painfully. Thankfully, I had managed to clean myself off and together we had cleaned the bath of all the smelly gunk that we left behind. Then we slipped into the warm bath water to soak for a bit.


    And that was my mistake.


    Without warning, I felt Avuri pull up her Qi. Before I could tell what she was trying to do, the water around my feet had solidified into ice, trapping me in the water. Avuri stood and waded in the waist deep water to stand before me with a wicked grin on her face.


    ¡°You know,¡± She said, as she twirled her fingers around in the air threateningly, ¡°I never got you back for dunking me the other day.¡±


    Her smile turned feral as she manipulated the water with her Qi, producing several floating globes of water behind her.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t.¡± I said meekly, trying to cover my still vulnerable arm.


    ¡°Oh, I would.¡± She said with a laugh, then flicked her finger forward. The globes of water all careened toward me at different angles. Several had been aimed at my face, and splattered over my eyes, nose, and mouth, leaving me sputtering and unable to see clearly.


    Then I felt several splash against my arm, which sent vicious torrents of tingles shooting up the appendage. I yowled as Avuri laughed at me.


    By the time she had had her fun, I was gasping for air and trying to stop my arm from spasming out of my control. And silently, I vowed revenge.

 37 : Domain

    Emery and Avuri stood before basically their entire family. All twenty seven kids were sitting on the first floor of their spacious home, mostly well behaved and ready to listen. A few of the youngest sat in elder siblings¡¯ laps and were acting as you¡¯d expect of small children, but that was fine.


    The large open space of the first floor that often doubled as a meeting space for days like this still had plenty of space remaining if they ever needed it. But as Emery looked out over their relatively massive family, she smiled.


    Avuri pulled up two wooden chairs to the front so they could each sit and relax when they weren¡¯t talking, and sat in one herself while Emery began to address the room. A quick flex of Qi quieted the older children, as she gathered a large ball of metal Qi in the air behind her. And the older kids quieting down slowly hushed the younger ones, as attention in the room turned to Emery.


    Avuri hid a smile as Emery¡¯s teacher persona seemed to settle over her wife. She stood straighter, at attention, and gave off a commanding presence that she usually lacked outside of combat. Avuri knew it was all bluster here, though - Emery just enjoyed being looked up to like this, and putting on airs made the kids more attentive.


    ¡°Okay, everybody.¡± Emery said, taking control. She motioned to Cierra and Stena, who were sitting off to one side and just as clueless as everyone else why they were all there. ¡°Cierra and Stena are beginning to get close to the peak of the Earth Realm. And Cierra in particular mentioned Domains recently, and Avuri and I realized how little you all know about them.¡± Emery glanced at Avuri, who nodded happily.


    ¡°We were going to go over Domains and how they work with the two of them, but realized we may as well talk to you all at once. I realize not all of you, especially the little ones, will remember everything we go over today, and that¡¯s fine. But even a baseline working knowledge will be a good place to start when you get closer to the Sky Realm yourselves.¡±


    Mutters and quiet conversation passed around the room. Shara, a cute little eight year old girl, raised her hand. Emery smiled as her eyes met the girl¡¯s; as usual, she was sat in the middle of her five adopted older brothers. They all treated her like a princess, and it was adorable.


    ¡°Yes, Shara?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a Domain?¡± She asked sweetly. Quinn and Marche, two of her brothers, ruffled her hair playfully.


    ¡°She¡¯s gonna tell us, silly. Just wait.¡± Marche said warmly.


    Emery nodded. ¡°Well, given the question, let¡¯s start as simply as possible.¡± She began to twist and alter the sphere of mercurial metal behind her into shapes and diagrams to help explain her points as she went on.


    ¡°You all are at least vaguely familiar with the Cultivation process you go through as a child. You gather Qi, condense it into a shell to form a Core, then build upon that Core as much as you can.¡±


    A number of the kids nodded. Even the little ones who weren¡¯t truly Cultivating yet.


    ¡°That¡¯s really only how it functions until you reach the peak of the Earth Realm. By that point, assuming you¡¯ve done every other step correctly, your Core should quite literally be full to the point of bursting. So much so that you can¡¯t really fit any more Qi inside it.¡±


    Some of the kids looked a little worried at that idea, but Emery continued on. ¡°The breakthrough into the Sky Realm is, functionally, the process of you destroying the shell that you formed for your core back before you Awakened.¡±


    ¡°By the time you reach the peak of the Earth Realm, the Qi in your core should be so dense that it is self perpetuating. Er,¡± Emery paused, seeing a fair number of confused faces. ¡°Basically, at that point, there¡¯s so much Qi together that it doesn¡¯t need the shell to stay together.¡±


    ¡°Think of it like water and ice.¡± Avuri chimed in. ¡°Once you have enough Qi in your core, it solidifies, the way water in a cup can freeze in the shape of the cup. So, even if you remove the cup, the water stays together.¡±


    An ¡®Oooh¡¯ reverberated through the crowd. Emery gave Avuri a smile and a nod of approval. ¡°Just like that. But when you hit the peak of the Earth Realm, you¡¯ve basically put so much water in your cup that you would need to remove the cup so you can keep adding water.¡± She glanced back at Avuri. ¡°Did that make sense?¡±


    Avuri laughed. ¡°It did, but do you want me to take over?¡±


    Emery shook her head, then turned back to the room. ¡°So, moving along. When you break your shell, some of the Qi in your core will burst out around you. Two important things happen at that moment.¡± She held up a finger. ¡°One, Qi will saturate your body. It will go everywhere - muscles, organs, skin, not just your meridians. And that makes you a lot stronger in a whole bunch of ways.¡±


    ¡°And two,¡± She held up a second finger, ¡°A portion of Qi will be able to just hang in the air around you. That area of Qi is your Domain. It will interact with the world in different ways depending on you, and it¡¯ll grow in size as you continue to Cultivate and gather more Qi.¡±


    Emery put her hand down before continuing, but met the eyes of each kid in her little audience in turn. ¡°Removing the shell from your Core also allows you to spiritually enter it during meditation and while Cultivating. That spiritual space is usually also just referred to as your Domain, but many people will also call it your Inner World when they talk about it specifically.¡±


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°Your Inner World is like a manifestation of your Cultivation mixed with your personality. For me, for example, it looks like a small town of smithing workshops.¡±


    ¡°Mine,¡± Avuri said from behind Emery, ¡°is a snowy mountain top.¡±


    ¡°Your Inner World is a great way to see the state of your Cultivation, but isn¡¯t all that important until higher Realms. In the Sky Realm, it has limited uses.¡± Emery continued. ¡°But! Your Domain? That is an instant and massive boost in strength as soon as you can control it.¡±


    Emery and Avuri both began to stretch, lightly, just working their arms and legs a bit. Several of the older kids sat up straighter at that, getting excited for a demonstration.


    ¡°We¡¯ve not really taught you all much about Domains because they just aren¡¯t really important for you to know about at your stage, other than just knowing they exist. However, I think a small demonstration would be beneficial to you all after this little chat.¡±


    As Emery spoke, several of the older kids whooped in excitement, and wide grins spread around the room. Even Cierra and Stena looked excited, as they hadn¡¯t seen their mothers¡¯ Domains in use very often. It wasn¡¯t a secret, but Domains were a little more powerful than daily life ever required. It would¡¯ve been like unsheathing a two handed sword to cut vegetables.


    Emery cycled her Qi through her body, and her Domain flooded out from her. As her Qi suffused the room, the whole air in the space changed. Some of the children could feel it, as expressions around the room changed. The younger kids all looked around, curious why some of the older kids were flinching, or suddenly nervous.


    ¡°My Domain has several effects that I can manipulate at will. The first, and most obvious one is sharpness.¡± In demonstration, Emery took a piece of paper off the desk at the front of the room, and slid it lightly over the corner of the desk. It cut the paper cleanly in two with the barest touch.


    ¡°I can make anything in my Domain as sharp or as dull as I like, and the change is near instant. Furthermore,¡± She said, before motioning upward with a hand. Several unattended objects - pencils, papers, and other things - rose into the air. ¡°I can manipulate most things in my Domain as though I had directly connected Qi to it.¡±


    ¡®Ooh¡¯s and ¡®Aah¡¯s flew around the room. ¡°There are other things too, but these are the most immediate abilities that come with it.¡± As Emery wrapped up her demonstration, the items she had controlled momentarily slowly fell back to wherever they had been. She had considered showing off some of her more flashy techniques, but decided that trump cards should probably remain hidden, even from her kids.


    Then Avuri stepped up to the front. Emery backed up as Avuri released her own Domain. ¡°As for me,¡± she began, and the temperature in the room immediately plummeted. ¡°I can chill, or even freeze anything in my Domain. In particular, my accuracy within my Domain is near perfect, so it makes it very difficult for someone to escape me as long as they are within my Domain.¡±


    She smiled sweetly, and it began to snow lightly in the room. ¡°I can make it snow, flurry, or even blizzard as well. It makes for a lovely little parlor trick like this.¡± She said, as the kids marveled at the indoor snow. Avuri controlled it very deliberately, as this same ability could turn very deadly if she focused on it. Creating a blizzard like this had once torn an entire stone building apart in moments.


    Then, things calmed as Avuri withdrew her Domain once more. Rather than Emery stepping back to continue the lesson, however, Avuri just continued on.


    ¡°There¡¯s a few other rules about Domains that you should all know. First and foremost, is that as long as your Domain is active in an area, your abilities within it are absolute. If you are able to control an area with your Domain, other Qi can¡¯t function properly. If you¡¯re in a fight, for example, and you gain control of a space with your Domain, your opponent won¡¯t be able to use any Qi outside of their own body.¡±


    Everyone was quiet now, many with terrified thoughts and faces, results of long periods of life where they were under the control of someone else. Others¡¯ Domains controlling them like that was likely a nightmare come true for many.


    ¡°This is why fighting someone in the Sky Realm without a Domain is basically suicide. There is almost zero chance of an Earth Realm Cultivator being able to deal with a Domain. There are exceptions¡­¡± Avuri glanced at Emery with a knowing wink, ¡°But they are rare. Do not ever challenge a Sky Realm Cultivator without a Domain of your own; understood?¡±


    A chorus of ¡°Yes, Momri,¡± echoed around the room.


    ¡°The other side of that coin is that as long as you have an active Domain, other Domains cannot reach you without a fight. If one side is strong enough, they may be able to overwhelm and suppress the other Domain, but the power difference required for that is immense. Typically, whichever side has the stronger Domain will be able to push the weaker one back toward the weaker Cultivator¡¯s body, but not suppress it entirely. Can anyone guess why?¡±


    ¡°Because a Domain is stronger closer to your Core and body?¡± Cierra asked.


    Avuri nodded. ¡°Exactly. The concentration of your Domain¡¯s Qi is much denser closer to your body. You gain an innate sense for all this when you break through into the Sky Realm, so dwelling on all this now isn¡¯t particularly helpful, so we¡¯ll move on.¡±


    Kord¡¯s hand went up then. He was the oldest boy among all the kids at seventeen, and in the Earth Realm. ¡°Then, if two Cultivators that have Domains are in a fight, do Domains matter?¡±


    Avuri smiled. ¡°I was just about to get to that.¡± She said, and pointed to her head. ¡°Keeping your Domain active requires some level of discipline and concentration. As does stopping an opponent from overwhelming your defenses.¡±


    Avuri stepped forward toward the children, then turned to face Emery. Avuri unleashed her Domain again, and the room¡¯s temperature dropped. She continued to speak as Emery saw where this was going and unleashed her own Domain. ¡°Training to keep your concentration while under attack, in a fight, or even while being surprised or injured is an important part of learning to control your Domain and defend yourself. For example¡­¡± She motioned a go-ahead to Emery.


    Emery shot forward, stopping right in front of Avuri, within inches. She grinned, then poked Avuri several times. She tried tickling her wife, then pinching her and just generally acted a nuisance.


    ¡°Playing like this at first is a decent way to train yourself to maintain concentration on your -¡± Avuri was cut off when Emery suddenly leaped on her and kissed her deeply.


    Emery¡¯s Domain suddenly slammed the door shut on Avuri¡¯s, the cold in the room vanishing, replaced by the strange humming air of Emery¡¯s.


    ¡°- Or that happens.¡± Emery backed away from Avuri amid a chorus of childish ¡®Eww¡¯s and licked her lips. She wore an impish little smile.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Avuri said, flatly. ¡°Or that happens.¡±

 38 : Control

    I dashed around the room, harried by Emery¡¯s flying weapons. They were more agile and obnoxious than they had ever been before under the control of her Domain. As the blades assaulted me from all sides, it took all of my concentration to fend them off with my Dancing Snowflakes. And even then, I was still entirely on the back foot and unable to do anything except barely scrape by.


    Just over a minute into the struggle, one of Emery¡¯s blades flew straight through one of my Snowflakes, point first, and shattered it entirely. Emery turned the blade aside at the last moment, scoring a shallow slice across my thigh. Thankfully, it wasn¡¯t too deep and would be easily healed.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Vale called. ¡°That¡¯s a solid hit. Take a minute and recuperate, both of you.¡±


    Emery nodded, let out a held breath, and let her Domain drop. The air around us seemed to lose the charge that always came under Emery¡¯s Domain.


    I sat where I was in the training hall and began treating my thigh, as Emery walked up.


    ¡°You¡¯re okay, right? I didn¡¯t mean to -¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± I said, smiling up at her as my Qi went to work on the minor healing technique I had. ¡°You turned the blade away at the last second. If I hadn¡¯t been so slow to react, I may have avoided it entirely.¡±


    I met her eyes then, continuing. ¡°Fighting in your Domain is a pain in the ass, Emery. I hope you realize that. There¡¯s something almost suffocating about it, like the air itself is a knife poised at my throat. It¡¯s unnerving and very distracting.¡±


    She looked away apologetically. ¡°Sorry. My control over it is still lacking.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Don¡¯t apologize. I don¡¯t like fighting in it myself, but it¡¯s sure to be an asset on the battlefield. And it¡¯s all part of training, right?¡±


    Vale made his way over then, and bent down to inspect my thigh. ¡°Learning how to fight inside another¡¯s Domain with your own suppressed is difficult, and both of you are doing pretty well. You¡¯re regularly lasting a full minute or more, which is a good start. And your leg looks alright, Avuri. Just finish your healing.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not good enough though, is it?¡± Emery asked. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how long we can last before taking a hit if we can¡¯t disrupt our opponent to get our own Domain back up.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re both right and wrong.¡± Vale said, as he stood and turned to address Emery directly. ¡°Yes, if you¡¯re locked into a fight with someone who has somehow taken over the space with their Domain, you¡¯re as good as dead if you can¡¯t disrupt them enough to get your Domain back in place.¡±


    ¡°However,¡± I picked up, having heard this whole spiel several times already. ¡°If we¡¯re in a situation like that, running away and getting outside their area of influence is likely the better option. Especially if we¡¯re fighting as a team and can cover each other¡¯s retreat.¡±


    Vale nodded, looking pleased. ¡°At least one of you listens.¡± He said, eyeing Emery carefully. ¡°Even in the situation I¡¯m having you both train under, eighty percent of the time, you¡¯re going to be in a fighting retreat to escape the enemy¡¯s Domain rather than fighting to disrupt them. It¡¯ll almost always be easier to cover a retreat than fight against a Domain without your own.¡±


    ¡°Of course, we should really just do our best to make sure our own Domains never go down.¡± I said tartly, thinking of the pain endurance training we had been undergoing the last couple weeks. Trying to toughen myself to the point where significant pain didn¡¯t disrupt my concentration was some of the worst training I had ever undergone.


    ¡°While you¡¯re right, sometimes there¡¯s nothing you can do about it and your Domain will be overpowered. Training for those situations is important, too.¡± Vale said. ¡°Thus this exercise.¡±


    ¡°At least this isn¡¯t all new training.¡± Emery said.


    ¡°For you maybe,¡± I interjected, ¡°I¡¯ve never undergone any sort of pain endurance training. You may make it look easy, but it¡¯s really hard on me.¡± I let my hands fall away from my now healed cut, and my face fell as well. ¡°I¡¯m just not used to it. And I¡¯m not good at it, either.¡±


    Emery took a step closer, and crouched down, putting a reassuring hand on my shoulder. ¡°Trust me, Avuri, I may be good at pain tolerance, but the way I built it up isn¡¯t something I would wish on anyone. Least of all, you.¡± I could hear the smile in her voice, but didn¡¯t look at her.


    ¡°I get that,¡± I said, bitterly. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t change the fact that my concentration is probably too easily disrupted for me to be an asset in whatever fight we¡¯re about to pick. I¡¯m going to be a liability if I go with you at this rate.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s true, actually.¡± Emery said, then she chuckled awkwardly. ¡°I had actually worried about that before. I had thought I¡¯d need to convince you to stay behind or otherwise work in a support role, but I¡¯m not so sure about that anymore.¡±


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°How do you figure?¡± I asked, finally meeting her eyes. She looked oddly determined. ¡°Building up a tolerance to pain takes time. Far more time than we have. There¡¯s a chance that if I take a single bad hit I¡¯ll lose my Domain. And that would be dangerous for both of us, given we both know you would fight to defend me.¡±


    Emery¡¯s counterpoint seemed to come from nowhere. ¡°I think we¡¯ve been spending too much time focused on training, and you¡¯ve forgotten how live fights work. And what your strengths are.¡±


    I just stared at her, confused. ¡°Meaning?¡±


    ¡°Vale?¡± Emery turned to face her father. ¡°Can you come outside with us to the playground? I need a lot more space to make my point, I think.¡±


    Vale¡¯s eyes seemed to light up. ¡°Sure. Lead the way.¡±


    With a nod, Emery took me by the hand, helped me up, and led me out of the house¡¯s training room and toward the large playground outside. She chattered as we walked.


    ¡°We¡¯ve gotten too focused on what amounts to white room math and not actual combat. Yes, it¡¯s all been very important lessons as well as very useful training. However, we haven¡¯t gotten to actual live combat practice, and I think that¡¯s been severely to your detriment.¡± Emery spoke quickly as we walked.


    ¡°There¡¯s two main things we haven¡¯t touched on yet. And I think they¡¯re going to be your greatest strengths - at least until you¡¯re more used to pain tolerance training and all that, yeah?¡±


    I just nodded dumbly as she pulled me along, trying to process what she was saying. It didn¡¯t take me long to at least realize that, yes, everything we had focused on up until now was so all-consuming of my thoughts that I had basically put blinders on when it came to actual combat skill. The long days of training and lack of rest and relaxation had seen to it that my mind was not functioning at its best right now.


    ¡°First off, we¡¯ve been so focused on our ability to fight in single combat that we¡¯ve more or less ignored everything else. And on top of that, it¡¯s only ever you and I fighting - and I¡¯m a very poor match up for you. In a one on one fight, many of my abilities are nearly direct counters, or at least direct matches, to yours. My blades are quite literally made to cut through defenses, so your armor and snowflakes are things I¡¯m well equipped for, and your Blizzard Dragon is too large an attack for you to utilize in the space we¡¯ve been fighting safely.¡±


    Emery just kept on talking as we approached the playground. ¡°And I think the second advantage you have is one that we haven¡¯t been able to see in practice at all yet, given the small practice room.¡± Emery smiled widely as she dragged me to the center of the playground. ¡°I don¡¯t actually recall if we¡¯ve even mentioned it to you.¡± Then she motioned me forward. ¡°Avuri, call your Domain. And I mean fully.¡±


    Then she stammered. ¡°And by that, I mean fully extend it. Don¡¯t try to freeze us all to death.¡± She said with a chuckle.


    I tilted my head questioningly, but closed my eyes and did as she said. With a thought, my Domain burst forth, rushing out to cover the two of us. Then the whole playground. And it kept going.


    Vale walked up then, eyes closed. ¡°Your standard range without extra effort is close to a hundred meters, Avuri.¡± He was smiling warmly. ¡°The average coverage for a newly minted Sky Realm Cultivator is about thirty meters.¡± He stood proudly, with his arms crossed. ¡°And just to be extra clear, even with dedicated training, a hundred meter range is strong, even into the Heavenly Realm.¡±


    I was struck dumb, only able to listen as Emery picked up where he stopped. ¡°That range of yours is a huge asset on the field. It must come from your expanded Qi coverage abilities.¡± She walked over to me and put an arm around my shoulders and squeezed. Though she had to stand on her tiptoes to do so. ¡°You¡¯re going to be an absolute menace, as long as we fight together. I¡¯ll be your sword and shield. You just need to swing me at the right targets, and I¡¯ll keep you safe.¡±


    I took that in for a moment and processed all of that. Then I laughed, and shoved Emery playfully. ¡°Oh, that was bad, even for you.¡± I said through my laughter. Emery took the shove well, just smiling back at me warmly. ¡°But thank you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t thank me yet.¡± She cautioned, turning to Vale. ¡°I had a terrible idea in mind for us to practice, and I¡¯m pretty sure we¡¯re both going to hate me by the time we¡¯re done.¡±


    I followed her gaze to Vale, seeing him stretching out his neck and limbs.


    ¡°You want to practice your teamwork, right?¡± He said, lightly. ¡°I¡¯ll keep myself roughly around your levels to give you good practice. I¡¯ll make it harder as we go.¡±


    ¡°Just to be clear,¡± Emery said, looking back at me over her shoulder. ¡°Vale is a terrible match up for both of us. He knows practically all of my tricks and forms, and his fire Qi is a good counter for your ice, given he¡¯s just simply stronger than both of us.¡±


    I swallowed, steadying myself for this fight. ¡°So? What¡¯s the plan?¡±


    ¡°Generally?¡± Emery asked, with a big shit-eating grin. ¡°You get in his way as much as possible. Hamper his movement, throw him off, do whatever you can. I¡¯ll stay on top of him and keep him pinned. With you giving me openings as much as possible, we might have a chance to at least impress him.¡±


    ¡°No chance we can win, huh?¡± I laughed.


    ¡°Not a chance in hell.¡± Emery responded, her grin growing wider. ¡°But it¡¯ll be fun. And good practice.¡±


    I stretched a little to limber up, and settled my concentration on my Domain, solidifying its existence in the area. As I did so, I felt Vale¡¯s Domain erupt from him. It ripped open a hole in my Domain, allowing his Domain to take over the area around him, despite mine still surrounding it.


    ¡°Well¡­shit.¡± I said, as I actively made room in my Domain for Emery¡¯s to coexist with it.


    She looked back at me, her wide grin replaced with a goofy, lopsided one.


    ¡°Try not to let me die, please?¡±

 39 : Click

    I learned quickly that Emery was not kidding. Vale was, indeed, a terrible match up for both of us, and it only took one round of practice to see how clearly outmatched we had been.


    And we were going to be moving into round four.


    Even using my expended range to my advantage and avoiding fighting Vale up close, his flames countered my ice at every turn. Any sort of distraction I could offer lasted, at best, a second, and never two.


    Emery could feasibly make use of distractions that were that miniscule, but we weren¡¯t coordinated enough to pull that off. Not yet, at least. Instead, Vale easily shrugged off Emery¡¯s onslaught, all while removing any distractions I could throw at him.


    In the third round, I had gotten frustrated and launched all out attacks at him, too. His fire Qi had burned away my Snowflakes and had even reduced my Blizzard Dragon to nothing more than a light flurry of snow.


    I knew that this wasn¡¯t indicative of an even fight, to be fair. His Qi just severely outclassed mine in almost every respect. Emery hadn¡¯t told me what Realm Vale was actually in, but based on his Qi¡¯s density and strength, he was at least well into the Heavenly Realm, if not perhaps even the Celestial Realm.


    I slowly got to my feet, still in thought. Emery and I had been taking short meditation breaks in between rounds to recoup our spent Qi. I had tried to formulate some kind of plan during each break, but nothing really came to me.


    Emery stood beside me, her own meditation seemingly finished.


    ¡°Any ideas?¡± She asked me at half volume. It felt right to be somewhat secretive about the conversations, but Vale could almost certainly hear us no matter how quietly we spoke.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± I said with a long suffering sigh. Each of us unfurled our Domains, letting our Qi suffuse the area. As before, Vale¡¯s Domain actively pushed against mine, overwhelming it to make space for his own, while I made space for Emery¡¯s Domain.


    The feeling that each point of contact gave off was strikingly different. It took some effort to fight against Vale¡¯s Domain from simply overrunning my own, and I had to keep a portion of my concentration focused on that task throughout the fight.


    In direct contrast, wherever my Domain made contact with Emery¡¯s felt calming, almost. I couldn¡¯t put a word to it, but similarly to when we had our Qi connected during Dual Cultivation, wherever our Domains met felt almost as if both Domains were content to touch. Almost as if it were natural.


    If nothing else, it took no real effort to allow Emery¡¯s Domain to exist within mine, nor did it appear that Emery needed to concentrate to keep her own Domain active against mine.


    That was, at least, a small blessing during this terrible fight.


    ¡°Ready?¡± Vale asked. We took our stances, then nodded.


    He was on us in an instant. Emery immediately stepped up to try to contain him wherever possible. She was actively using more floating weapons than I had ever seen her command up until now, with at least twenty blades swirling around her like a hurricane. Between her floating swords and her arms and legs, she did her best to match Vale and keep him contained.


    It was a losing battle. As she had said, he knew all of her tricks and forms, and would bait her into specific patterns and capitalize on their weaknesses. I had suspicions that it was all on purpose, to try to break Emery out of her tendency to react without thought, and rely on her body¡¯s trained responses to certain attacks.


    It was something I had noticed during our own matches as well, though I wasn¡¯t fast enough at hand to hand fighting to use it to my advantage. But Emery would often react the same way when attacks came at certain angles, or relied on similar patterns in her own attacks. My Qi control, which I had long built up to be adept at sensory input, was actually very good at reading attacks like that. My body just couldn¡¯t keep up.


    And to her credit, allowing her training to run her body through practiced motions like that made Emery viciously fast and brutally efficient. But if an enemy could read those patterns and react in time like Vale could, it left her in trouble.


    I did put my combat assessment abilities to the best use I could manage in our fights. I interfered with Vale wherever I could. A patch of ice on the ground where he was about to step to make him loose footing. Flash-freezing a limb as he swung at Emery to try to throw off his rhythm. A Dancing Snowflake interposed itself to take an attack for Emery.


    For as little effectiveness as my skills had against Vale¡¯s dominant fire Qi, the tiny inconveniences were the only thing keeping Emery fighting as long as she was. Without my support, I was sure that these fights would last seconds rather than almost two minutes.


    Invariably, Emery would tire from barely breathing over such intense fighting and would get caught out by Vale¡¯s superior skills and strength.


    As I could see Emery beginning to flag, I tried to compensate by throwing more support behind her. I parried two different blows that would have otherwise struck her jaw, and I could see the realization on her face immediately after that she would have just lost right there. Her fervor seemed to redouble as her emotions flared.


    At the same moment, I felt a twinge in my Domain where it touched hers. The feeling was indistinct at first, and I was hesitant to focus on it rather than focus on supporting Emery. I was sure she would crumble under Vale¡¯s assault if I slipped up.


    Then I felt Emery¡¯s focus slip. Her emotions flared as she got frustrated and I saw her lash out with a practiced combination of strikes that I recognized.


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Vale recognized it too, and immediately capitalized on it, putting Emery on the ground with a well placed leg sweep.


    I was too stunned to do anything about Vale¡¯s offense though, caught completely off guard when I clearly felt Emery¡¯s frustration boil over. It didn¡¯t come as words or anything so distinct, but her willfulness to get through Vale¡¯s guard had come through loud and clear, as if I could feel her thoughts.


    In that moment of frustration, Emery¡¯s Domain had reached out and connected with mine in a way similar to the way we connected during Dual Cultivation.


    It wasn¡¯t quite the same connection. It didn¡¯t come with all the intense emotional overload that came with the Cultivation link. It was more subtle than that, somehow.


    As Emery came to her senses after getting knocked on her ass and her emotions settled, her Domain began to let go of mine. With little effort, I latched on to the connection she had established, and held tightly, strengthening whatever the connection was.


    Our Domains both seemed to fuzz around the edges wherever they made contact, then interwove with each other. It was as if they were connected by a gradient that faded from one to the other where they touched, rather than the harsh divide between our Domains with Vale¡¯s.


    I was pretty sure we could both feel something click into place, as Emery suddenly stopped, and her head snapped to me, confused. Vale¡¯s head cocked questioningly, then something seemed to dawn on him. A huge, vicious looking grin split his face.


    ¡°No rest this time.¡± He said, walking away from Emery and back to his starting place. When he reached his spot, he turned toward us hungrily. ¡°Again.¡±


    Operating entirely on feel, as I had no idea how this worked, I urged Emery to get up in my head. I willed it as hard as I could.


    She stared at me, completely dumbfounded, sitting on her butt. The confused, absolutely gobsmacked look on her face made me laugh.


    ¡°Get up and come here, Emery.¡± I said aloud. ¡°I think things just got interesting.¡±


    She still looked stunned as she stood, but her face slowly turned contemplative as she walked toward me. She looked like she was concentrating very hard on something.


    Then I felt impressions come through the link again. I felt a strong urge from her - she was going to punch me.


    When she approached me, her body suddenly exploded into movement. If she hadn¡¯t basically already told me she was going to hit my left shoulder, I would never have been able to react in time. But I did, and I caught her hand with mine.


    Her eyes went wide for a moment, as what was happening really dawned on her. Then a slow grin crept over her face. I was pretty sure mine matched.


    ¡°I think we may have just found the beginnings of an edge.¡±


    ¡°We did.¡± I said, matching her grin. ¡°It¡¯s going to take some work, but I think we can make this work.¡±


    Emery rolled her shoulders and made a show of excitedly cracking her neck. ¡°I can take a few more rounds of beatings if we can straighten whatever this is out..¡±


    We turned and faced Vale together, who responded by punching one hand into his other palm. Both fists sprung alight with fire Qi, and he smiled at us over the flames.


    I felt Emery¡¯s sudden fear come through our tentative connection as she muttered, ¡°Please don¡¯t let those hit me without some ice Qi in the way.¡±


    ¡°I promise nothing.¡±


    <hr>


    ¡®Left!¡¯


    I screamed into the connection, as I saw one of Vale¡¯s attacks coming from that direction. Emery reacted so fast, that I wasn¡¯t even sure it was a conscious reaction. One of her floating weapons moved to intercept the attack, as quickly as if I had moved it myself.


    ¡®Right foot, slip. Left arm, ice.¡¯


    I wasn¡¯t sure what kind of signals Emery was receiving, but short forceful thoughts seemed to be best. Sure enough, as my ice appeared under Vale¡¯s right foot, Emery moved to hook her foot behind his ankle and pull him further off balance, using the ice to her advantage. The ankle pick came out almost at the same time as the ice did. It successfully pulled Vale off balance, as he pulled his left fist back to throw a hook at Emery.


    His forearm, as I had called, suddenly froze, encased in ice. In the instant it took Vale to melt it with his fire Qi, Emery struck forward with a sword. We were getting much closer to matching our timing perfectly. This time, Emery managed to sneak in an attack during the slight window that I had given her, and had nearly made contact.


    It was one of the closest attacks all day.


    The fight continued from there. And it continued for more than two minutes.


    When Vale finally made a decisive blow and nearly knocked Emery out cold, he finally called the end of the fight. I rushed over to make sure she was alright.


    My hands trailed around Emery¡¯s body, assessing for any damage as Vale laughed heartily. ¡°Eight rounds!¡± He shouted, arms spread wide. ¡°Eight rounds, and the two of you have nearly managed to land a hit on me!¡± He continued to laugh.


    ¡°We still haven¡¯t though.¡± Emery muttered as she spit out a bit of blood. ¡°I think I cut my cheek on a tooth when you punched me.¡±


    My hand swung up to her cheek, warm, healing Qi already flowing through it, as I continued to look her over for other minor injuries.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the two of you to meld your Domains so quickly.¡± Vale said, thinking aloud. ¡°If you train to fight like that, you¡¯ll both be incredibly dangerous. Especially with your individual strengths, I¡¯d dare say you¡¯d be a threat to just about any Sky Realm Cultivator out there. At least in a two-on-one scenario.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re still not quite fighting as well as we could be.¡± Emery said, working out her jaw as I continued to run soothing Qi through it. ¡°Avuri¡¯s callouts are fantastically helpful, but I still don¡¯t react quickly enough. And taking the time to make sense of weak impressions is a loss of moments we can¡¯t always spare.¡±


    ¡°There were several moments during those fights where I felt your emotions, Emery. And they were clear as day. If we can learn to communicate effectively that way, like a shortcut without words¡­it¡¯s our best bet.¡± I said.


    Vale nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve seen multiple partners who fight together, using melded Domains to their advantage like that. With practice, you¡¯ll be able to send everything from complex sentences to raw emotions and will over the link. With enough trust, you can even feasibly control each other¡¯s bodies.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow at that, and Emery shivered. He just looked at us curiously. ¡°I can¡¯t say if you¡¯ll ever get to that point, but I¡¯ve met two other pairs that do it on occasion. It¡¯s an incredible skill when it works.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Emery said, poking the inside of her cheek with her tongue, feeling for damage. ¡°I think we¡¯ve found exactly what we should train ourselves on for the next week.¡±


    I nodded resolutely. Emery returned the nod, then looked back to Vale.


    ¡°Then, we go hunting.¡±

 40 : Preparations

    Talya, Vale, and I sat around the table in the dining room, pouring over the map of the Dying Lands. Avuri was nearby in the kitchen, finishing cooking dinner while Cierra ran around the kitchen beside her, ¡®helping¡¯. To her credit, she did successfully help peel some vegetables with a safety peeler, and was very proud of that. She hadn¡¯t stopped bragging or asking what else she could do; it was adorable.


    ¡°If nothing else, we know that there is one demonic sect operating in the Dying Lands around here.¡± Vale said, circling an area in the north of the Lands.


    ¡°Avuri said that some of the caravaners she was traveling with mentioned that they were getting attacked by demonic Cultivators on the road, though.¡± I said, pointing to the main road that traveled through the Lands, between the Emerald Expanse and the Blooming Wilds. ¡°The road is so far south of the sect we know of. I¡¯d be shocked if they were the ones responsible.¡±


    ¡°Maybe a splinter group?¡± Avuri called from the kitchen, where she worked while listening.


    I eyed the map. The Dying Lands were massive, but virtually empty. The whole place was a desert-like wasteland, with all kinds of treacherous fractured land. Stone outcroppings would jut from the ground in different directions, often criss-crossing one another. Water was rare, and the beasts that roamed the Lands were incredibly dangerous for average folk.


    Altogether, it made the place basically uninhabitable for most people. This meant travel through it was common, with few places of safety to stop for camping.


    Which also meant it was a potentially attractive location for bandits and the like. Though that, in turn, required you to be strong enough to survive out there.


    The cyclical nature of it all meant that anything that regularly was found in the Dying Lands would be of at least Sky Realm strength; thus our time spent training to reach that level ourselves. It also meant¡­


    ¡°If there¡¯s a splinter group off the original sect we know of in the North, this could be real trouble.¡± I said, my eyes aimed at the map but unfocused as I thought about the whole problem. ¡°For there to be a splinter group, there would have to be at least Sky Realm Cultivators among them, if not more. They wouldn¡¯t allow two separate forces to exist, otherwise. Any group out there needs at least one Sky Realm to just survive.¡±


    ¡°Which means we¡¯re very likely looking at multiple Sky Realm enemies.¡± Avuri said from the kitchen. She sounded a little worried.


    ¡°Very likely.¡± I agreed.


    ¡°And if it is a splinter group,¡± Talya interjected, ¡°You¡¯re likely going to be getting entangled with both groups. Even if you successfully cull the group down south, it¡¯ll surely get the north group to come after you.¡±


    ¡°At least we¡¯d have a few days of recuperation between the fights?¡± I said, trying to lighten the mood.


    ¡°You joke, but that time would be invaluable, assuming you both survive the first wave.¡± Vale muttered, taking a deep breath while staring down the map. ¡°As long as you both make it out of the first major fight conscious and intact, Avuri should be able to get your bodies in fighting condition again in a day, if it comes to it.¡±


    ¡°You said the first group is far north? How far?¡± Avuri asked, unable to look at the map.


    Vale traced the path with his finger. ¡°If they travel at average speed for Sky Realm Cultivators, maybe a day and a half.¡± He licked his lips as he considered that. ¡°More likely, you¡¯d have closer to three - maybe four - days, as I doubt the whole group is Sky Realm. They¡¯d probably be moving at Earth Realm speeds.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­Well, that¡¯s alright I suppose.¡± Avuri sighed.


    I stared blankly at the map, thinking out loud. ¡°I think our best bet would obviously be to deal with the southern group first. They¡¯re the ones that have been actively attacking caravans. There¡¯s always the chance that they are a new group acting on their own, and just removing them is our goal anyway.¡±


    I swallowed before continuing. ¡°If they are connected to the northern sect, we¡¯ll have to figure out where to go from there. We can stay put and lick our wounds for a few days while they come after us; or if we¡¯re in good shape we travel north to take them on directly.¡±


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    Talya leaned back and crossed her arms. ¡°There¡¯s too many unknown factors here. You don¡¯t know if there¡¯s one or two sects. You don¡¯t know how many Sky Realm Cultivators they have. You don¡¯t know how strong they are. Hell, you don¡¯t even really know what their typical operations are like, outside of rumors.¡±


    I eyed Talya carefully. She knew better than to tell me not to do this.


    And she held up her hands in surrender. ¡°Yeah, I know better.¡± She said with a laugh. ¡°What I was going to say is that pouring over the map like this and trying to plan for so many potential outcomes is honestly a waste of time.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s rich, coming from you. Miss Over-planner.¡±


    Talya rolled her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re right. But let¡¯s be honest about two things here.¡± She said, and dramatically poked the center of the map. ¡°First, no good plans ever survive contact with the enemy. We all know this, it''s basic battle strategy.¡±


    She placed a second finger beside her first. ¡°And, perhaps more importantly, second. Even if you had a solid plan of attack for every potential outcome, Emery,¡± She said my name icily, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t follow the plan anyway.¡± She said with a sigh.


    Vale and I chuckled. She was totally right.


    ¡°Even if that¡¯s all true,¡± Avuri said, poking her head around the corner from the kitchen. Cierra was hugging one of her hips. ¡°I would like to know the most plausible issues we can run into. Especially if it¡¯s just the two of us going in there with no real options for backup. We need to know at least the most likely scenarios to plan for.¡±


    ¡°Avuri is right.¡± Vale said, crossing his arms while continuing to eye the map. ¡°And I think we¡¯ve already gone over the broad strokes of the situation. Either you¡¯re going to go in and remove an upstart sect, or you¡¯re going to go in and remove a splinter group of an established sect. The first part doesn¡¯t really change much either way.¡±


    ¡°The potential strength behind an upstart sect and an established one could be a pretty wide gap.¡± Talya cautioned.


    ¡°While you aren¡¯t wrong, it doesn¡¯t really change anything.¡± Vale responded. ¡°No matter what, they need to go in and cull the sect. It¡¯s not like one of the two scenarios allows them to avoid the fight or settle all this in other ways. It¡¯s always going to be a bloodbath one way or the other.¡±


    ¡°In a weird way, there¡¯s comfort in that.¡± I said lightly. ¡°We¡¯re in for a fight no matter what we do. Their numbers, strength, or Realms don¡¯t really factor into the plan. We need to fight and win. Simple.¡±


    Avuri laughed from the kitchen door. She patted Cierra¡¯s head as she turned to go back to cooking and I smiled after her.


    ¡°Simple but optimistic!¡± She called. ¡°You are right though, I¡¯m not sure spending extra time on all this planning is getting us anywhere. We¡¯re at least aware of some of the most likely potential outcomes. That may be all we get.¡±


    I chuckled as I leaned back in my seat. I let my head hang back over the back of my chair as I stared up at the ceiling.


    ¡°I think your first move should be going to the Dying Lands and gathering information. Carefully.¡± Vale said. ¡°You¡¯re going to be picking a fight so you don¡¯t necessarily need to worry about being marked by the sect, you just want to avoid being attacked in the middle of town.¡±


    ¡°Because that¡¯s so simple.¡± Talya muttered.


    I forcefully shut my eyes for a moment, squeezing them shut tight. With a groan, I sat upright. ¡°So basically.¡± I began, ¡°The plan is to go to Bastion. Ask around about the demonic Cultivator attacks. Gather whatever info we can while avoiding starting a fight there. Go out into the middle of the Dying Lands themselves and try to bait and kill the bad guys. Then we make up the rest from there.¡±


    Silence fell for a few moments before Avuri swept into the room with a pot of rice. ¡°That about sums it up, yeah.¡± She said bluntly, as she fished around for a safe spot on the table to place the pot. I moved the map for her, and rolled it back up.


    As Cierra trailed in after her with another pot in her hands, we all got up to start getting the table set for dinner. It only took a few moments before all the food was brought to the table along with place settings for each of us.


    ¡°So¡­you¡¯re leaving soon, Mom?¡± Cierra asked sadly. I paused in the middle of spooning food onto her plate to look at her, sad myself.


    ¡°I think so, Cici. Avuri and I need to go help some other kids too, just like we helped you.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m hoping we won¡¯t be gone too long.¡±


    ¡°I can help with that.¡± Vale said through a mouthful of food. ¡°I may not be able to interfere in the fight itself without good cause, but I can fly you there and back for speed at least. Get you there in a day or two instead of a week.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Vale.¡± I said, offering him a smile. ¡°That¡¯ll help.¡±


    ¡°And obviously, I¡¯ll stay here with Cierra while you¡¯re gone.¡± Talya cut in. She offered me a thumbs up before grinning at Cierra. ¡°We¡¯ll have fun, but you all better not be gone long, you hear me? Two weeks, tops.¡±


    Avuri seemed to take that in and nod. ¡°Cull potentially two demonic sects of unknown power and deal with whatever fallout occurs after? Two weeks seems reasonable.¡±


    We all laughed at that, some strange mixture of nervousness and levity surrounding us.


    Cierra¡¯s little voice cut through the awkward laughter.


    ¡°You better come back.¡± She said, sounding like she was almost on the verge of tears. Her hand reached out to grab my sleeve.


    The mood at the table immediately turned serious once more.


    ¡°I promise, Cierra. I will come back.¡± I said, placing a reassuring hand on her head. ¡°We both will.¡±


    She turned to look at Avuri. And I was pretty sure if she could reach, she would have grabbed her sleeve too. Avuri nodded. ¡°I promise I¡¯ll bring your mom back, Cierra.¡± She said earnestly.


    ¡°You better come back too!¡± She yelled, tears appearing in the corners of her eyes. ¡°You need to be careful. And win.¡± She said, starting to wipe at her eyes with her sleeves.


    We both glanced at each other, nodded, and responded in unison.


    ¡°We will.¡±

 41 : Mission Start

    Two days later, Avuri and I were wandering around Bastion, trying to dig up any information we could on the demonic sect.


    As promised, Vale had flown us to the city the day after that dinner. He had been as speedy as promised too, and we arrived early the following morning. He dropped us a short way from the city, so as to not cause any panic with his dragon form, and we were able to make our way to the city from there quickly. Avuri and I wasted no time getting straight work.


    It was late in the evening. We had spent all day jumping between hotspots of caravanner and Cultivator activity. Unfortunately for us, bars and restaurants weren¡¯t as busy during the day, so we had to wait until early evening to make any real headway. As people slowly filtered in throughout the dinner rush, though, we finally were starting to make some progress - however small.


    By the end of dinner, we had smatterings of information, but nothing concrete. People were too afraid to broach the subject of the demonic Cultivators, likely out of fear of angering them somehow.


    It wasn¡¯t until later into the night when the booze was brought out in force that we finally started making real progress.


    With liquor loosening tongues, some of the traveling Cultivators that were regularly hired as caravan guards were willing to talk. And they were boisterous about it too, a few of them raucously retelling stories of their heroism in fighting off the demonic attacks. Whether any of them told the truth was hard to tell, but some of them offered more harrowing stories of kidnapping and murder that felt more real.


    The haunted, harrowed looks on faces during the retellings made them easy to believe.


    Later that night, Avuri and I took out the Dying Lands map in our Inn room to try to plot the stories and locations on it based on the details people remembered. As we tried to match descriptions and details from the stories to locations on the map, I scratched my head with the pencil.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t getting us very far.¡± I muttered, staring over the map. ¡°There were a few stories that had distinct enough features for us to place along the road, but not many.¡± I glared at the smattering of X¡¯s on the map.


    ¡°Well, at least they¡¯re grouped up?¡± Avuri said consolingly. ¡°While it¡¯s certainly less examples than we wanted, the ones that we could map out definitely paint a picture.¡±


    I dropped the pencil beside the map, leaned back in my chair, and groaned. Avuri was right; most of the incidents with traceable locations were focused around a particular area on the road.


    Frustrated, I scratched my head violently with my hands, messing up my hair. ¡°You¡¯re right, but I don¡¯t know what we can do with that! The stories that were easily pinpointed were so easy because they¡¯re the obvious place to be ambushed.¡±


    Sure enough, the stories had indicated the caravans were attacked a few hours from the city. There was a stretch of road that ran between two large outcroppings of stone, basically in a valley. It was so distinct, in fact, that it was likely that the land had a natural large hill of stone there, that had been carved out for the road to move through it.


    It was such an obvious point to lay a trap or ambush, that I had trouble believing that it was where they were getting attacked.


    ¡°Maybe luck is actually just on our side, and this really is just a group of novice bandits with a decently strong Cultivator following obvious tricks.¡± Avuri said, hopefully.


    ¡°As much as I would love that to be the case, they wouldn¡¯t be getting away with attacking such well defended caravans if they weren¡¯t both smart and strong.¡± I sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll admit, they could be using the obvious high ground. Clearly, despite all of this, the caravans are still traveling that route, after all. Why they wouldn¡¯t just go around is beyond me, but here we are.¡±


    Avuri snorted. ¡°Too stubborn to change routes. Guards wanting to prove their strength. Saving time and money. Blah, blah, blah. Take your pick.¡± She said acidly.


    I just groaned again. ¡°I hate that you¡¯re probably right.¡±


    Avuri walked over to stand behind my chair, the top of my head basically touching her belly. She looked down at me with a small smile. ¡°For what it¡¯s worth, my caravan passed through there too. It definitely was an obvious ambush waiting to happen, but everyone was very blas¨¦ about the whole thing.¡±


    ¡°Of course no one takes the danger seriously.¡± I chuckled darkly. ¡°There was no shortage of Cultivators willing to attest that they¡¯d seen such an attack, several of which even looked haunted by it all. But everyone else will just take the ¡®It¡¯ll never happen to me!¡¯ approach.¡±


    ¡°I got the impression that the Cultivators that looked bothered by it weren¡¯t getting rehired, either.¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡± I said bitterly. ¡°They had a run-in with demonic Cultivators. No one wants them anywhere near them anymore. They¡¯re tainted.¡± I spit out the last word, disgusted. ¡°That kinda bullshit is one of the reasons I chose such a remote place to settle. If I take in kids that were used by demonic Cultivators, villages would shun them. Cities would look down on them. Doubly or triply so if they¡¯re adopted.¡±


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Avuri ran her fingers through my hair comfortingly, combing it back out after I messed it all up. ¡°I understand.¡± she murmured softly. ¡°In the end, that¡¯s why we¡¯re here after all, right? To try to put an end to these attacks altogether?¡±


    ¡°If we can manage that somehow, yes.¡± I muttered. ¡°If there¡¯s a larger sect at work here, though, it¡¯s going to be very difficult.¡±


    Avuri laughed then, trying to work some levity back into the room. ¡°I would honestly be surprised if any of the demonic Cultivators out here put up as much of a fight as Vale did in those last few training days.¡±


    I shuddered as memories sprang to mind, unbidden, of Vale terrorizing us in the last two days of training. He had gone well beyond our level in power, and had truly overwhelmed us more than once. It was a frightening experience, but certainly one that would give us an edge.


    It was no different than training with a weapon with extra weight, only to then be able to swing the regular weighted weapon with ease.


    At least in theory.


    Avuri patted my cheek then and stepped away. ¡°We should sleep and get a good night¡¯s rest. It¡¯s been a while since we¡¯ve been able to truly rest without a day of training hanging over our heads.¡±


    ¡°Right, right.¡± I said, sitting up straight again to start putting away the map and utensils. ¡°We¡¯re likely to be here for a few days gathering information. May as well be as rested as we can be.¡±


    As I stood, I saw Avuri looking at the two large beds with her arms crossed. Either one could fit us both comfortably on its own.


    ¡°The question is,¡± She said, a grin audible in her voice, ¡°do we share a bed, or sleep separately?¡±


    I rolled my eyes, not wanting to answer one way or the other yet. ¡°Did you have a preference?¡± I said, continuing to clean off the table.


    ¡°I do.¡± Avuri responded flatly. ¡°You don¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°Never said that, did I?¡± I said, fishing through my pockets. ¡°Why don¡¯t we flip a coin to decide?¡±


    Avuri turned and leveled a flat stare at me. ¡°You¡¯re kidding.¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡± I shot back, holding up a coin. ¡°Let¡¯s say¡­heads, we share a bed. Tails, we share a bed.¡±


    Avuri opened her mouth, I thought to yell at me, before what I said clicked. Then she laughed. I smiled, the sound of her giggling absolutely music to my ears.


    ¡°Sure. Go ahead and flip.¡± She said, between bits of laughter.


    I flipped the coin. With just a touch of Qi, I took control of the flip, and with as little interference as I could manage, made the coin land standing up. As Avuri looked on with mild disbelief, I was pretty sure that I had successfully gotten away with my trick without her noticing.


    She bounced over to me and we both peered at the coin, confused.


    ¡°So uh¡­¡± She said, staring at the coin. We glanced at one another for a moment. But before I could say anything to tease her, Avuri slapped the coin down flat with a big grin. ¡°Tails. Looks like we share a bed.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°Sure does. The one on the left there should be the furthest from the morning sun.¡± I said, pointing to the bed that was furthest from the window. With it positioned away from the West-facing window, it would avoid the morning light as long as possible.


    Avuri grinned in delight. ¡°Perfect. Let¡¯s both wash off and get to bed.¡±


    And we did so. We kept our promise to hold off on any potential physical activities until this whole mess was over, and instead just cuddled up together to sleep.


    Evidently we both found comfort in the proximity, as we both slept in the following morning - far later than either of us had in months.


    <hr>


    Three days later, we were left with a conundrum.


    We had gathered as much information about the sect as we could. We had even taken to just asking around the city, and it was likely going to get us in trouble soon. If the demonic sect had anyone in the city as spies or scouts, they likely would have us marked by now.


    Avuri and I still didn¡¯t really have enough information to make a move with. The stories were too scattered, although many did certainly center around that one ambush spot. As we continued researching, it seemed more and more likely that around there would be our best bet, even though there were surely lies mixed in with the stories we heard.


    I had truly hoped that while we were here, at least one caravan would enter the city with a concrete story or an attack. We hadn¡¯t heard of any such attack in the three days we were gathering information.


    On that fourth day, though, I got my wish. It didn¡¯t take long for me to regret wanting it.


    While we were moving between two common lunch gathering spots, shouting came from the main gate. Avuri and I both stopped to look at one another before we dashed off to the gates.


    There was a caravan limping its way to the gate. It was a large train of carts pulled by a few animals, but they had clearly been waylaid.


    Most of the carts were damaged. A few had arrows sticking out of them. They all looked like they had been lit with fire; one was even still smoking. A few yokes were empty, with single animals struggling to pull a cart meant for two.


    But worst of all were the faces. As I looked from person to person, I saw several injuries. Expressions ran from empty and defeated to horrified or sobbing.


    Avuri let out a shaky breath and grabbed my hand with a small tug. She was staring at one particular wagon in the back that had escaped my notice. But as the one in front of it wheeled away, I saw letters scratched across the side of the last wagon in the procession.


    Whoever is asking about us? Stop.


    I let out a hiss of anger as I felt it all start to boil. Rage slowly worked its way up from the bottom of my stomach, and I felt it start to cloud my judgment.


    Avuri¡¯s hand squeezing mine kept me grounded. The rage faded into the background a bit. Still present, but not in control.


    My eyes scanned the group of survivors again, and landed on a couple who were yelling at one of the guards for the city. They were far away, but not so far that a Cultivator¡¯s hearing couldn¡¯t make out what they were yelling about.


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you, damn it! They took our children! All of the kids! Do something about it!¡±


    I didn¡¯t hear much after that as my blood pounded in my ears.


    ¡°We move. Now.¡±

 42 : Hunt

    Emery wasted no time. From the moment we saw the ruined caravan and the people with it, she was in action mode.


    Thankfully, we were already carrying all of our things in our storage rings, so there was no need to go back to the inn to gather any supplies or anything like that. And if there had been, I was pretty sure that Emery would have left without me at that moment.


    ¡°We move. Now.¡±


    Was all she had said before taking off out the city gates. I kept pace on her heels.


    ¡°Emery? Do you know where we¡¯re going?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll start at that valley area. Some of those carts were practically still smoking. If we¡¯re fast enough, there may be a trail we can follow.¡±


    ¡°Sure, that makes sense.¡± I said. As we got further away from Bastion, I called up my Qi and let it flow out from me. My passive senses had been able to extend out to around one and a half kilometers in the Earth Realm before I had started training with Emery. Since then, I hadn¡¯t really spent any time or effort on training that particular skill.


    But as my Qi flowed out easily in every direction, it seemed as though my training had benefits, regardless of the focus. Or perhaps it was because of the Domain training. Either way, my Qi diffused over a much wider range than I was used to. Without any way to actually measure it, I would have guessed the range had almost doubled.


    And that was without focusing and directing it with purpose.


    ¡°Emery!¡± I called out as we continued to run, the ground quickly passing below our long, bounding strides. ¡°My Qi coverage is almost twice the size it was before. I¡¯ll keep an eye out for anything suspicious.¡±


    Emery just looked back at me and nodded as we practically flew down the road.


    After ten minutes or so of running, I opted to direct my Qi out ahead of us, rather than in a circle. If I was right in my guess and my range had, indeed, doubled, I should be able to reach somewhere in the realm of ten kilometers ahead of us.


    I entered a light state of meditation then, focusing on my senses while letting my body follow Emery by instinct.


    We covered the nearly three hundred kilometers to the common attack spot in under an hour. Thankfully, despite the speed, it really only amounted to a brisk jog for us.


    My Qi senses took in the spot well before we reached it. There was no one in the vicinity; at least not within a reasonable distance.


    ¡°The area seems clear.¡± I said, once I felt comfortable with the reconnaissance I had done. ¡°At the very least, there¡¯s no active Qi in the area. I didn¡¯t feel any residual Qi either, but it¡¯s been long enough that it probably dissipated naturally by now.¡± I didn¡¯t mention the rest of what I had felt.


    Emery nodded, then picked up a bit of speed. I followed after, keeping pace.


    When we arrived, even though I knew what to expect, I was still shaken.


    Emery and I slowed to a more normal jog as we approached the absolute massacre at the mouth of the stone valley. Bodies littered the ground. There was blood everywhere. It was also nearly silent, except for the carrion birds beginning to circle overhead.


    I swallowed thickly as we approached, and started mentally counting bodies. Emery seemed to be canvassing the area for threats or other potential trails to follow.


    ¡°Thirty-two.¡± I said aloud. Thirty-two bodies were on the ground, in various states of damage. None were alive. There were a few that were at least in one piece, but many were missing limbs or altogether shredded. Many showed signs of intense burning. A few others were apparently bludgeoned beyond recognition, the only thing remaining on the ground a vile reddish paste.


    I swallowed, trying not to feel sick. Dealing with such grotesque sights during battle was one thing; dealing with it without the adrenaline rush of a fight was much more difficult.


    Emery leapt off into the middle of the massacre, looking about with fury etched in the line of her face. She was muttering a long string of curses under her breath, aimed at whoever had done this, as she tried to gather herself to look for any sort of lead we could follow. She was not doing particularly well at calming herself down.


    ¡°Hey.¡± I said, as I leapt over a number of bodies to land neatly beside her. I moved in front of her, and took her by the shoulders. Her head and eyes still moved from place to place full of anxiety and anger, as she tried to take in the surroundings.


    ¡°Emery. Emery!¡± I half-shouted in her face, which finally got her to meet my eyes. She looked crazed. Or at least certainly not well held together. ¡°Listen to me. Take a deep breath. You¡¯re not the only one here anymore. You don¡¯t have to try to handle all of this by yourself.¡±


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    I wasn¡¯t sure if what I was saying was getting through to her at all. Even though she was looking me dead in the eye, I could see her mind moving working overtime behind her steel gray eyes.


    I snapped my fingers a few times right in front of her face trying to pull her out of her own head. ¡°Em-er-y!¡±


    Slowly, the gears turning behind her eyes seemed to slow down enough for her to actually take in her surroundings. She blinked at me once, twice, then closed her eyes and took a long, shuddering breath. As she let it out, a little of the tension in her shoulders seemed to fade. When her eyes opened again, they looked clearer, and actually seemed to focus.


    ¡°Thank you, Avuri.¡± She said, quietly, as she leaned in. I let her lay her forehead against my chest.


    ¡°Just take a minute to adjust. I know this is a lot.¡± I said, making sure not to look at any of the mutilated bodies to avoid feeling ill. ¡°But you¡¯re not here alone. I¡¯m here. We can work on this together. Lean on me a little, yeah?¡±


    ¡°I quite literally am leaning on you.¡± She said, with a half-hearted chuckle. I leaned my head against hers, hoping to offer a little comfort.


    ¡°Good. Now let¡¯s focus and find a lead here so we can hunt those bastards down.¡±


    Emery nodded, took a deep breath, and pushed back upright.


    We both took in the site of the massacre with fresh eyes.


    I noticed that many of the bodies, though not all of them, seemed to have been struck from behind. Many were laying face down in the dirt, with their back wounded, rather than their fronts.


    ¡°Did they not have any guards?¡± Emery asked aloud.


    ¡°Not many.¡± I said, pointing out three bodies that looked like they had been severely wounded, but had stood and fought. ¡°It looks like the vast majority here were just regular caravanners. Those three bodies are¡­were obviously Cultivators. It¡¯s hard to gauge the ones that were smashed though.¡± I said, still actively avoiding looking at those remains.


    ¡°There were still at least fifteen survivors at the gate. With the thirty-odd bodies here, being generous would mean there were a minimum of forty people with maybe five guards. That¡¯s insane. Why would they travel so unprotected?¡±


    A shiver ran through my body. ¡°And that¡¯s not counting however many children the demons took.¡± I said, feeling sick again. ¡°They were basically asking to be attacked with those numbers.¡± I muttered bitterly.


    Emery just nodded, finally turning away from the remains. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s look around for a trail of some kind.¡±


    We knew that, most likely, the group had set up their camp to the north, so we started on that side of the valley - and it didn¡¯t take long to find exactly what we were looking for.


    Tracks, clear as day, led away from the northern side. Either the demons were confident, and didn¡¯t care about leaving tracks, or they were simply idiots. Emery and I looked at each other once, before deciding to err on the side of caution, and treat this as the former.


    ¡°Well, now we know what happened to the missing animals, too.¡± I said dryly, pointing to the clear animal tracks alongside the straight line grooves in the dirt. ¡°I can¡¯t believe they had the gall to just break yokes and take the pack animals too.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not surprised. They probably left a few people behind in the area to gather the animals after the caravan fled. Look.¡± She said, motioning between the two tracks. ¡°The animal tracks weave around the tracks of the sled or cart, or whatever it was. And they look a bit more fresh too, but with the loose dirt and wind around here, that¡¯s harder to judge accurately.¡±


    I nodded absently, opting to stretch my Qi to its limit in the direction of the tracks. Even at my limits, I came up with nothing.


    ¡°I can¡¯t sense anything notable with my Qi, so they must have a pretty good lead on us.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense. We only started moving after the caravan limped its way to Bastion.¡± Emery looked back at the massacre before facing toward the north again. ¡°We should just get a move on. I¡¯m sure Bastion will send a group to come collect the bodies. And if they have any remaining family members, I¡¯m sure they wouldn¡¯t want them buried here.¡±


    I nodded solemnly. ¡°Right. We should go.¡±


    Emery gave me one more determined nod before leaping off to follow the trail. I followed right on her heels, keeping my Qi extended, hoping to find out quarry


    <hr>


    Three hours into our pursuit, my Qi finally slid over something.


    ¡°Emery.¡± I said sharply, trying to get the woman¡¯s attention as we continued moving. ¡°Three people. Five animals. Horses and oxen, I think.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s probably the group left for the animals then.¡±


    ¡°Agreed. I don¡¯t feel any Qi, so they¡¯re at least Earth Realm or below.¡±


    Emery nodded in affirmation. One distinction of the Sky Realm that we learned was that, once Qi filled the body during your breakthrough, anyone who could sense Qi would be able to feel the Qi in your body. It wouldn¡¯t be as dramatic as when Qi was actively used, but it was still a clear marker of someone in the Sky Realm or above.


    ¡°We¡¯re outpacing them significantly.¡± I said, trying to monitor our distance. ¡°We¡¯ll likely catch up in a few minutes. They¡¯re straight ahead.¡±


    ¡°Pull your Qi back.¡± Emery said. I quickly did so before she explained any further. ¡°We don¡¯t need to alert them to us if they haven¡¯t already noticed you.¡±


    ¡°I know. Already done.¡± I said. ¡°What¡¯s the plan? Do we immediately just attack or wait and watch them first?¡±


    ¡°Attack. But don¡¯t kill if you can help it.¡± Emery said seriously. ¡°We should try to get information if we can, but I¡¯m not willing to risk our chance at a surprise attack to observe them; they¡¯re likely just walking to their camp.¡±


    ¡°Not worried about finding it ourselves, then?¡±


    ¡°Not even a little.¡± Emery said with a snort. ¡°We¡¯ll get them to talk. And if not, we still have our current trail and their heading.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough.¡±


    We lapsed into silence after that for another three or four minutes as we hurdled forward after them.


    They came into view shortly thereafter, still trudging along without paying any real attention to their surroundings.


    I dropped my speed to fall a little ways from the group, but still within my Domain range.


    Emery dropped silently in the middle of the group, and we both flared with Qi at once. As the demonic Cultivators turned to face Emery - the immediate threat - she smiled viciously.


    ¡°Hello there.¡±

 43 : Beatdown

    As I touched down amid the three potential demonic Cultivators, I flared my Qi. I felt Avuri, tens of meters behind me, do the same. Our Domains flowed from us, and latched on to each other, forging that bond that had helped us survive against Vale¡¯s training.


    I wasn¡¯t so sure that particular skill would be necessary here, but it wouldn¡¯t be bad to get some actual combat experience while using it.


    As soon as my Domain suffused the area around us, the animals that the three Cultivators had been leading bucked and tried to escape. The Cultivators let them go, called up their own Qi, and turned to face me. The smell of wet dogs immediately permeated the area.


    ¡°Hello there.¡± I said, my voice dripping with a sickly sweet venom.


    Before any of them could react, I felt Avuri¡¯s Qi flow through my Domain and solidify around each of my opponents feet, leaving them frozen to the ground. I laughed inwardly; such a lopsided start in our favor was a good sign for us.


    I called up a Qi sword into my right hand. It was a full sized, thin sword, which would be good for this fairly close-quarters fight.


    As the enemies tried to spin to face me, only to find their legs stuck fast in ice, I darted in toward the man on the left. His right arm was alight with fire Qi, so I aimed there first. My blade came up, angled just so, between his torso and arm. The edge met little resistance as it tore into his armpit. As I wrenched it up with a bit of added force, it slid through sinew and bone as easily as butter.


    The man¡¯s arm thumped to the ground a meter away, and the fire Qi dissipated. A layer of ice suddenly coated the man¡¯s stumped shoulder, seemingly containing the bleeding. I sent a shock of gratitude toward Avuri, though I had no idea if she would receive it through our connection. I was still getting the knack of sending messages, although Avuri seemed to be rather adept at it.


    I felt a strong impression of danger from my right, and slipped to the left, cleanly avoiding a sweep from an obscenely large hammer. It must have been made of Qi, as the woman who was locked to the ground on the far right whipped it about with ease, despite it being larger than her in every way.


    As I stepped to the side, the first man called up more fire Qi. It exploded from him in a burst, focused around shin height. Sure enough, it melted all three of my opponents free, and they moved to surround me.


    I made a flourish with my left hand and several floating knives appeared in the air beside me. As they continued to cautiously surround me, I mentally reached out to a large number of loose stones in the dirt around us. They had become sharpened by my Domain, and at my command rose into the air.


    I chose my target and mentally fired my weapons. All of the stones quickly converged on the man with the fire Qi. As they did so, the other two enemies charged me. I stepped back to defend myself, sidestepping another huge swing of the giant hammer, and blocking a strike from a more traditional single edged saber.


    I felt the stones pelt the fire user. He had created a huge wall of fire to defend himself, but it hadn¡¯t been as effective as he had surely hoped.


    Some of the smaller stones were melted away by the extreme heat of the fire, but many more pierced through. His body was riddled with cuts and bruises when the fire wall fell. But also several puncture wounds where the sharpened stones had dug in deep. He collapsed to the ground, his Qi puffing away to smoke as his control slipped away. Whether he was dead or unconscious I couldn¡¯t tell without some focus, so I just focused on the fight at hand.


    Hammer girl and saber man had split to attack me from two different sides. I called my knives to defend my left from the saber attacks while my sword arm was in position to deflect hammer blows that got too close.


    A moment seemed to pass where we all took deep breaths to prepare for the action before we all exploded into movement.


    I felt Avuri¡¯s intentions come through our link and acted accordingly. A patch of ice sent the saber wielder off balance as he stepped in for a strike, and a knife interposed itself to parry his attack wide. I felt Avuri call the danger from my lower right side, as the hammer girl swung diagonally up from the lower right. I slipped around the hammer easily, and repositioned myself behind the girl as my flying knives kept the saber fighter busy.


    ¡°Are you the one that turned those caravaners into paste?¡± I asked through gritted teeth. I brought my sword up to the woman¡¯s neck, poised to strike.


    As she gathered her hammer to spin another swing at me, she answered, ¡°No, that was my -¡±


    I didn¡¯t let her finish her words, or her next attack. My sword slipped cleanly through her neck, even easier than it had the first man¡¯s shoulder. Her scream was cut short almost as soon as it began, her head severed from her body. I once again appreciated Avuri¡¯s quick application of Qi, as her ice covered the woman¡¯s neck scarily fast, stopping the potential bloody mess.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Then I finally turned to the last man standing. I waved my knives away, letting them come to rest behind me as I readied my sword.


    ¡°You¡¯re a Sky Realm Cultivator, aren¡¯t you?¡± The man asked, as he raised his saber in a defensive looking stance.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you were thinking, picking a fight with three Earth Realm Cultivators like this. Do you enjoy killing the weak?¡± He spat.


    I laughed, then looked at him as though he were crazy. ¡°Boy, I smell the demon all over you. It reeks. I¡¯m not about to let three demonic Cultivators walk away from me alive. Even if I wasn¡¯t actively hunting your stupid little sect, I would have killed you three anyway.¡±


    His eyes narrowed and his jaw set then, as if coming to terms with his fate. He ignited his Qi, and the wet dog smell redoubled. His sword seemed to take on a strange, murky red glow. And the glow began to flow over his hands and up his arms.


    It was slight, but I felt something akin to a Domain push out of him and attempt to push against my Domain. It didn¡¯t succeed, but it still was a mild concern. Assuming the demonic Qi wasn¡¯t just a faux Domain, and also supported his body, this could prove to be a challenge. Maybe.


    Avuri backing me up gave me a major confidence boost, though.


    The murky red Qi covered the man¡¯s entire body in the course of a couple seconds. As it gathered at the top of his head, the Qi seemed to coalesce into a single horn, protruding from the left side of his forehead. When he spoke again, his voice was distorted, as if it was filtered through something thick.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see how this works. I¡¯ve never had to use this technique before.¡± He grinned, showing his red-tinged teeth, stained by the demonic Qi.


    I flicked my sword with a snap of my wrist, and my entire sword began to glow as white as snow. The demon eyed it warrily, but then focused on me and readied his sword.


    Before I even saw him move, I felt Avuri¡¯s warning come through our bond. I let my body react instinctively based on her will, sidestepping and cleanly avoiding an onslaught of several swipes and slashes.


    Seconds into the assault, I felt another impression from Avuri and prepared to act. A patch of ice again caught the man off guard, and he slipped for just a moment. I used that small opening to lash out with my blade. The tip caught his right arm, which was wielding the saber.


    The cut was shallow, but the effect of my sword still worked to great effect. The murky red aura that had covered the man¡¯s entire body seemed to recoil away from the cut, leaving his forearm exposed.


    On his next attack, I met his saber with my own, and the purifying effect blasted away the aura from his weapon as well. As his eyes went wide, I grabbed his wrist with my off-hand and moved in for a leg sweep. As my foot connected with his forward leg, a blast of icy wind swept his back leg and he tumbled end over end, slamming to the ground with a thud.


    As he scrambled to try to reorient himself and get to his feet, I called up my knives. One each was sent into each of his legs. Two more struck the sides of his abdomen. A fifth struck his left arm.


    As the knives, now pulsing with the same snow white purification technique landed, the demonic aura burst. As it retreated from his body, I swung my blade neatly up and down by his head, cutting cleanly through the strange horn that had formed on his forehead. It shattered, and what little of the demonic Qi remained immediately dissipated.


    The man seemed equally stunned and afraid. I leveled my sword at his neck as Avuri began to approach us.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to tell us exactly what we want to know.¡± I said, that same sickly sweet tone I had greeted them all with back in place.


    ¡°And what is that, exactly?¡± He spat angrily.


    ¡°As much information as you have on your little sect of demons.¡± I said with a polite smile.


    ¡°And whether or not you¡¯re all connected to the demonic sect up north.¡± Avuri chimed in as she approached.


    The man¡¯s eyes narrowed on Avuri as she spoke. ¡°There¡¯s no demonic sect in the Dying Lands except us, you bitch.¡± As he jerked forward toward Avuri threateningly, I jabbed the tip of my sword against his neck again.


    ¡°None of that, thanks.¡± I said. ¡°Explain.¡±


    His focus shifted to me. ¡°That northern sect dissolved. We¡¯re what¡¯s left.¡±


    That was news to me. Avuri and I shared a look, confused. This was one route we hadn¡¯t really considered.


    ¡°You two are gonna regret messing with us.¡± He continued, a bit of haughtiness in his voice. The bastard was proud of his allegiance to his sect. ¡°Our bosses are going to have a field day with you two ladies. They knew you were asking around Bastion about them. Sent us to send you a message, but I guess you took it as an invitation instead.¡±


    He grinned, showing his blood stained teeth again, then nodded his head in the direction he and his two friends had been traveling. ¡°Camp is that way. Another, oh, I don¡¯t know¡­four hours walk away? Better hurry if you want to make it before those kids die.¡±


    I glared at the man. He seemed far too comfortable. ¡°Why are you being so helpful?¡±


    ¡°Emery!¡± Avuri shouted suddenly, and then tackled me from the side without warning.


    ¡°Bye!¡± The man shouted with a laugh. I felt a sudden surge of demonic Qi enter my Domain at a shocking speed. It was apparently underground, and stopped just below the man I had had at sword point until a second ago.


    The earth itself seemed to open up and swallow him whole. And then the demonic Qi just zipped back the way it came at the same frightening speed.


    I sat up from the ground, Avuri still half wrapped around me, as we stared after the Qi retreating in the direction of the sect camp.


    ¡°What the fuck was that?¡±

 44 : Recollection

    Emery sat at the edge of the bath, lost in thought. As she idly kicked her feet around in the water, her mind jumped from memory to memory without ever really settling on any one thing to recall.


    Avuri was nearly fully submerged in the bath, the water up to her shoulders. Her bright white hair floated around her, spread out and undulating like a nest of snakes in the water. Slowly, she moseyed her way over to Emery and placed her arms, crossed, over Emery¡¯s knees. She leaned on her wife¡¯s thighs cutely, looking up at her.


    ¡°What¡¯s going through that head of yours?¡± Avuri asked, kicking her feet lightly to stay afloat horizontally in the water. Emery looked down at her with a warm smile, one of her hands landing on Avuri¡¯s wet head affectionately.


    ¡°Truthfully, a lot, but also not much.¡±


    Avuri responded with a confused look that was clearly asking for her to elaborate. Emery just hummed while thinking about how to explain.


    ¡°I guess I¡¯m thinking about our past fights? But not really with any point.¡±


    ¡°And why¡¯s that?¡± Avuri asked, her fingers toying with the water droplets on Emery¡¯s skin. With a light application of Qi, she made the water dance around, forming various shapes.


    ¡°No real reason. We were talking about Domains and how they work today, which made me think of when we first unlocked ours, which made me think of our fight with that one sect in the Dying Lands.¡± Emery shrugged.


    Avuri laughed. ¡°¡®That one sect¡¯. We never did learn if they had a name, did we?¡±


    Emery smiled and shook her head. ¡°Nope. Didn¡¯t really come up while we were fighting for our lives.¡±


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s not fair. We trashed that first group.¡±


    Emery rolled her eyes. ¡°Yes, sure. The group of three that they left behind and in charge of animals. How dare I forget about how easy they were to deal with?¡±


    Avuri chuckled, shifting the water into the shape of a person. She made it run through a few simple martial art forms while standing on Emery¡¯s leg. ¡°Hey. We haven¡¯t had a lot of easy fights in our lives. We should remember when things go that well, just to prove to ourselves that they can.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hardly my fault that a lot of the important moments in our lives came alongside dangerous fights.¡±


    Avuri seemed to consider that for a moment, tilting her head. The little water figure twirled endlessly as she lapsed in giving it new commands. ¡°Were there that many?¡± She asked, finally. ¡°I mean, sure, the big sect fight after that was very dangerous. But I think we¡¯ve had more easy battles than tough ones, actually.¡±


    Emery watched as the water figure stepped out of the spin and into a series of spinning kicks. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s just the difficult battles that are memorable.¡±


    ¡°Now that I can agree with. I probably only remember the fight against that small group because it was the first time we really fought together outside of training.¡±


    Emery smiled, thinking back. ¡°You know, fighting with you was something magical to me. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve told you that before though.¡±


    Avuri looked up to meet Emery¡¯s eyes and smiled, her whole face lighting up. ¡°You have. I¡¯m not opposed to hearing you sing my praises again though.¡±


    Emery chuckled, one of her hands moving to grab a handful of Avuri¡¯s hair from the water. She toyed with the ends of it idly as she continued, ¡°Other than fighting with Vale, I had never had that kind of support before.¡± Then after a pause, added hastily, ¡°And Vale¡¯s support was more like a ¡®we win¡¯ button than actual help.¡±


    She leaned her head back to stare at the dark evening sky through the wisteria canopy above her as she continued wistfully. ¡°And it wasn¡¯t just being able to trust my back to someone. That was something I had plenty of times before. It was something more than that. More like just implicit trust that together we could make it through. That we were actually stronger than the sum of our parts.¡±


    Avuri chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s something you and Vale have both said before.¡± She mimicked Vale¡¯s tone as she said, ¡°The two of you are exponential together, not additive.¡±


    Emery nodded, more seriously than Avuri would have expected. ¡°I still think that¡¯s true. We are absolutely stronger together than we should be.¡±


    Avuri crossed her arms over Emery¡¯s thighs again, then laid her head on them. Her hair followed, tickling Emery¡¯s legs. ¡°It¡¯s a known fact that Cultivators with Bonded Domains see exponential growth together.¡±


    ¡°You know that¡¯s not what I mean.¡± Emery said, giving Avuri¡¯s hair a light tug.


    ¡°I know.¡± Avuri responded, sighing happily. ¡°You¡¯re right, though. When we¡¯re together, we can definitely fight above our Realm.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be here now if I had fought that sect with anyone else.¡±


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ¡°You could¡¯ve brought Vale. Or anyone in the Heavenly Realm.¡± Avuri said, teasing.


    Emery chopped her head lightly. ¡°Jerk. It¡¯s less romantic if I put qualifiers on it like that.¡± She continued, putting on a silly voice. ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be here now if I had fought that sect with anyone else that was in the Sky Realm or below.¡± She added extra emphasis to the last bit, really selling her weird, silly voice.


    Avuri laughed. Emery chuckled with her. And as the laughter died down, Emery spoke again, her voice on the serious side once more. ¡°I¡¯m glad it was you, Ri.¡±


    Silence reigned for a moment. That moment stretched into two. Emery felt her ears growing hot as she slowly grew more embarrassed by what she said without Avuri responding. Avuri, for her part, was smiling contentedly as she rested on Emery¡¯s lap.


    Just as Emery took a breath to ask Avuri to say something, Avuri spoke. ¡°You know, I actually don¡¯t know if I ever told you this.¡± She said, a smile in her voice. As she paused for dramatic effect, Emery tilted her head questioningly.


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure the moment I really fell in love with you was during that fight.¡± She said, finally, as if it were some big, dramatic reveal.


    A moment passed before Emery responded with a nonchalant, ¡°Oh, yeah?¡±


    ¡°Mhm.¡±


    Emery twirled a bit of Avuri¡¯s hair around her finger. ¡°I would¡¯ve thought for sure you loved me before that.¡±


    Avuri couldn¡¯t help the smile that spread across her face. ¡°I probably did. Those months of training were rough. I spent so much trying not to think about that stuff, that I¡¯m pretty sure any feelings I had were smothered under layers and layers of¡­I dunno, denial? General avoidance?¡±


    ¡°That fight though?¡± Avuri¡¯s smile became wistful as she thought back on it. ¡°Something about it all just broke the dam. I dunno if it was the close calls, the high adrenaline, or just you. But by the time we were heading back I was completely smitten.¡±


    ¡°Oh, because I¡¯m so attractive when I¡¯m covered in blood.¡± Emery said sourly. Avuri just laughed. The light, carefree kind of laugh that Emery really loved.


    ¡°You say that as a joke, but watching you fight when you¡¯re really in it? It¡¯s absolute magic, Merri. You dance on the battlefield. It¡¯s always breathtaking, and that was the first time I got to see it.¡±


    Emery snorted. ¡°Did you know that there was a brief period of time before I met you where I joined a large sect?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve mentioned joining one while undercover with Vale before. I think you said it was¡­the Timeless Blade Sect?¡±


    ¡°Mhm, that¡¯s the one. I was there for¡­I don¡¯t remember, actually. A little over a year, maybe? And while I was there, they gave me the nickname ¡®Steel Dancer¡¯.¡± Emery said, just a little embarrassment tingeing her voice.


    This time, it was Avuri¡¯s turn to snort. ¡°I¡¯ve seen you fight. It¡¯s fitting.¡± She smiled, and looked up at Emery from her lap. Emery turned away, just slightly, and Avuri¡¯s smile grew predatory. ¡°Oh no¡­you said you were there in your teens. You thought it was the coolest thing ever, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Emery didn¡¯t respond, but Avuri saw the tips of her ears turn red. Avuri gasped, delighted.


    ¡°You did!¡± She said, scandalized. ¡°Emery ¡®Steel Dancer¡¯ Vale?¡±


    Emery tugged on the bit of Avuri¡¯s hair she was playing with, but Avuri¡¯s hair was too long for her to really feel anything. ¡°I swear, Ri, if you tell anyone about this, I¡¯ll -¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll what, sweetie?¡± Avuri said, her voice absolutely saccharine.


    Emery¡¯s cheeks held a fair bit of color when she turned to meet Avuri¡¯s eyes. She was clearly racking her brain, trying to find some ammunition to fight back with. Then, suddenly, there was a spark of genius there that Avuri did not like.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell everyone what the younger disciples in the Frozen Mountain called you.¡±


    Avuri went still for just a second before she tried to play it cool. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you¡¯re talking about?¡± She said lightly. ¡°I didn¡¯t have a -¡±


    Emery let go of Avuri¡¯s hair to make a show of nonchalantly checking her nails. ¡°You didn¡¯t have an ¡®official¡¯ title, no. But I did hear a nickname for you during that tournament we were in together while walking the food stalls.¡±


    Avuri put all of her focus into acting as if she didn¡¯t care.


    ¡°I can¡¯t remember which way they said it went?¡± Emery continued, her voice light and playful. ¡°Did they start with ¡®Snow Witch¡¯ and make up the insult after? Or did the insult come first? I know those poor kids told me, but my old brain can¡¯t seem to recall which came first.¡±


    Avuri felt the heat behind her ears. Defeated, she gave up. She pushed off of Emery¡¯s lap and threw her hands in the air in exasperation.


    ¡°Alright, alright!¡± She whined, then turned her best wounded animal expression on Emery. ¡°Surely you wouldn¡¯t use the name that my school bullies called me, would you?¡± She blinked rapidly, trying her best to stir up some tears.


    ¡°You keep Steel Dancer to yourself, and I won''t say a word.¡±


    Avuri made a face, but held out a hand. ¡°Deal.¡±


    Emery took her hand and firmly shook it once. ¡°Deal.¡±


    Before Emery could drop her hand, Avuri gripped her by the wrist and gave a firm tug, pulling her wife off her perch beside the bath.


    Emery fully expected to find herself shoved under the water. Instead, she landed neatly in a hug, Avuri holding her close. With a big smile, Avuri gave Emery a big squeeze before repositioning her arms under Emery¡¯s butt to hold her mostly above the water.


    Avuri spun around in the water, as if dancing. They both laughed, simply enjoying the moment.


    Eventually, Avuri set her wife down in the water nicely, but kept her arms around her. With their height difference, Avuri¡¯s arms naturally settled around Emery¡¯s neck, while Emery¡¯s arms wound around Avuri¡¯s waist. They each pulled each other close.


    With content smiles, they leaned their foreheads against one another, still slowly swaying to music that wasn¡¯t there.


    ¡°I love you, Ri.¡± Emery said, before slipping in for a short kiss. She felt Avuri¡¯s lips turn up in a smile against her own.


    ¡°You better.¡± Avuri muttered, but followed it quickly with, ¡°Because I love you too. Always will.¡±


    And then she kissed her wife again.

 45 : Scout

    I concentrated on pushing my Qi as far out as I could. It stretched a little beyond what I figured was my natural range, pushing near what I thought was twelve kilometers.


    My body rebelled at the strain. I felt sick and dizzy. Thankfully, Emery and I had found a little stone overlook to hide under a good distance from the demonic sect¡¯s camp. As Emery¡¯s hand rubbed pleasant, comforting circles on my back I finally gave up on stretching further.


    ¡°I¡¯m at my limit. Twelve-ish kilometers.¡± I said, straining through gritted teeth against the nausea. ¡°I¡¯m going to scout. If anything happens here, give me a good shove or hit me. It should knock me back to my body.¡±


    I felt the reassuring pressure of Emery¡¯s hand on my back increase a little. I guessed she was nervous. ¡°Understood.¡± She said firmly. ¡°I¡¯ll keep an eye out while you¡¯re gone. Good luck, Avuri. Hopefully you don¡¯t need it.¡±


    I smiled wryly. ¡°I hope so too. See you soon.¡±


    I called up my Qi and channeled it into my far-sight technique, First Snow.


    My senses were abruptly ripped from my body. It always felt jarring, but this was the first time I had used the technique at such a long distance, let alone with my Qi stretched well beyond my natural reach.


    The sudden shift and pulling sensation made the nausea much worse at first. But as I mentally sped along my Qi, the distance made the pulling effect last much longer. Distantly, I felt my body wretch as I ¡®traveled¡¯ through my outstretched Qi.


    I had pushed my Qi out and up. The sect must have known we were coming by this point, given that the one man we fought was rescued by some presumably earth-based technique. Given we wanted to take advantage of whatever small amount of surprise we could manage, I changed how I was scouting for us.


    The instant that I had felt any sort of Qi signature with my own, I pulled my Qi back in. We traveled a bit further than that before hiding under the outcropping we found. I took advantage of my First Snow technique¡¯s ability to let me visually observe areas through my Qi, and sent it diagonally up into the sky above the enemy¡¯s camp. While it wouldn¡¯t be entirely safe, and could still be noticed by someone, viewing from well above the camp was certainly safer than just letting my QI flow over the whole area; that would absolutely be noticed immediately.


    When I finally reached the edges of my Qi, I opened my ¡®eyes¡¯. A cold sensation hit me - a byproduct of this technique. In the spot that I chose to manifest my sight, for as long as I viewed from the spot, a light flurry of snow would fall. This high up in the air, though, I doubted anyone would notice, if it even somehow managed to reach the ground.


    I directed my Qi sight downward to take in the sect¡¯s camp. It was¡­honestly, smaller than I think either Emery or I would have expected. There were only a few buildings, and those were mostly large pitched tents made of cloth. A few people seemed to roam about the area, but they were clearly on alert. Their heads were all facing outward from the camp, watching the horizon. Mostly the direction we would be approaching from.


    Without alerting them to our presence and scouting more forcefully with my Qi, I couldn¡¯t get any sort of read on strength levels or anything like that. I also couldn¡¯t see any prisoners or children from my vantage point in the sky.


    What I could see was still infuriating though. There was a huge mess of blood on the ground in the center of the camp. It was hard to tell at this distance, but something about it felt ritualistic to me. It looked like it may have been shaped into some kind of Formation, though it wasn¡¯t done cleanly.


    There were also a large number of metal cages around the camp. The ones I could see into were currently empty, but there were enough cages to easily hold more than a single caravan¡¯s worth of people.


    As I took a few moments to watch the camp, I became more and more worried. Before being spirited away, the demon we fought had said we would need to hurry if we wanted to make it here before the kids were killed. And as I watched, it appeared that several of the people in the camp were doing something to the large patch of blood in the middle of the camp.


    I had the sick feeling in my stomach that they were preparing for some kind of ritualistic mass killing.


    And the obvious assumption was that the children they abducted would be the sacrifices.


    While I lived with Emery, she had gone over many of the demonic techniques she had seen over the years - and there were many. Vale had even gone out while Emery was still young to try to interfere with demonic sects where we could. And they had filled out a fairly impressive amount of journals and notebooks with various demonic techniques they found.


    Enough of them involved ritual sacrifice and bloodletting that I was comfortable in my leaps of logic. We needed to stop them sooner, rather than later, or any prisoners they had - adult and child alike - were likely in a lot of danger.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    With a thought, my senses snapped back to my body. I quickly retracted my Qi to within normal bounds as well. The nausea and dizziness that pervaded my senses began to fade, which felt lovely after several minutes of fighting severe vertigo.


    Emery placed a steadying hand on my shoulder and knelt down to meet me eye to eye. ¡°Are you alright, Avuri? You still look pale, do you need a drink?¡±


    I tried to offer her a small smile, but choked back a wretch instead. ¡°Honestly, the thought of putting anything in my mouth right now is just abhorrent. I¡¯ll be okay.¡± I said weakly.


    Emery nodded, but stayed where she was to offer silent support while I recovered. Thankfully, it didn¡¯t take too long for me to start feeling a little better. I met her eyes seriously before telling her, ¡°I think we need to hurry. It looked like they were preparing a ritual sacrifice or something along those lines. There was a big, bloody mess in the center of the camp. It looked like it might be a Formation.¡±


    Emery¡¯s face darkened immediately in response, and she turned to face toward their camp. Not that she could see them from here. ¡°Did you get a good look at the Formation?¡±


    I shook my head briefly. ¡°I couldn¡¯t get that good a look from my height. The impression I got was that the Formation was messy and done rather sloppily though. I honestly thought it was just a big mess of blood at first, before I noticed that it might be shaped purposefully.¡±


    Emery let out a low, frustrated growl. ¡°It¡¯s likely that they¡¯ve repeated the ritual so many times that all the blood coagulated over the original Formation and made it look that way. I¡¯ve seen that before.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°That makes a twisted sort of sense. They also have a large number of empty cages, and I couldn¡¯t see any obvious non-sect people. They¡¯re also actively watching this side of their camp. The other directions are watched too, mind you, but not as heavily.¡±


    I paused a moment before adding, ¡°I think they may have expected us to take longer to arrive? From what I could see, they were actively preparing the Formation for something, but they didn¡¯t appear to be in a huge hurry.¡±


    Emery looked like she was thinking about that as she stared into the distance. ¡°I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a good or bad sign.¡±


    ¡°Me either.¡± I said in agreement. ¡°But ultimately, I saw four large cloth tents, eight large empty cages, the blood Formation, and seven sect members moving around. I did not see the demon we fought earlier.¡±


    Emery nodded, taking in the numbers. ¡°That¡¯s not many people, all things considered.¡±


    ¡°I was thinking the same thing,¡± I said, nodding. ¡°Some were moving in and out of the tents on occasion, so I don¡¯t know how many others may have just been inside while I watched, but I can¡¯t imagine that there¡¯s more than fourteen total.¡±


    ¡°Doubling the number of those working outside seems like a reasonable assessment. And we¡¯ve got no idea how strong any of them are given our inability to scout them physically.¡± Emery was muttering to herself at this point. Then she snorted. ¡°This isn¡¯t looking great for us.¡±


    I laughed, in spite of the whole situation. ¡°Nope. Not even a little.¡± Emery joined me with a chuckle for a moment, as we tried to lighten our moods.


    ¡°There¡¯s enough people there - and tightly gathered - that I don¡¯t know if surprise will be all that helpful.¡± I said, thoughtfully. ¡°Maybe it would be a good idea to run by, get them all within my range. Let me get a sense of their numbers and which Realms they¡¯re all in. They¡¯ll know we¡¯re nearby, but we can make our decision to engage or not after that.¡±


    Emery considered the idea, then made a sour face. ¡°You¡¯re right, that should be the move.¡± She said finally. ¡°I don¡¯t like the idea of running, but if they have too many Sky Realm fighters among them, we may not have a choice.¡±


    I nodded gravely. ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave any people behind either, Emery. But throwing our lives away in an effort to save people when there¡¯s no real chance to do so isn¡¯t helping anyone.¡±


    Emery grimaced, but nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right. Are you ready to move?¡± She said, glancing back at me over her shoulder.


    I took a deep breath, feeling myself for any remaining nausea. ¡°Give me two or three more minutes. That nausea ran deep, and the last thing we need is me making a silly mistake because we jumped in too early by seconds.¡±


    <hr>


    We were running our hardest tangentially to the camp when my Qi began to finally flow over it.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got it. Keep running.¡± I said, focusing on what I could feel through my Qi. As I worked my way through the bodies I sensed, I spoke aloud.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve got everyone directly around the camp. Nineteen total bodies.¡± I paused for a moment, pushing my senses a layer deeper. ¡°Three Sky Realm. Six Earth or lower. Ten people are tied up in one of the tents. Eight of those are kids.¡± I droned, my focus entirely on my Qi senses.


    ¡°I¡­don¡¯t think the demon we fought earlier is there. There¡¯s no obvious demonic Qi, other than what¡¯s coming from the Formation. No doubt it¡¯s a Formation now, the Qi is overflowing from it.¡±


    ¡°What do you think? Are three Sky Realm Cultivators something we can handle?¡± Emery asked, an odd lilt to her voice.


    ¡°Something tells me that you¡¯re pretty confident that we can do it.¡± I said in response to her tone.


    ¡°Not confidence.¡± She said; and this time, I heard her voice break slightly. ¡°Three just isn¡¯t enough to run from. As long as we¡¯re careful about this.¡±


    ¡°Right. If you want to go in, I¡¯m with you. To the end.¡± I said resolutely, as I pulled my Qi back to my body.


    Emery turned to meet my eyes then, and I saw the fire burning there. As well as a huge well of trust hiding behind that. ¡°We start the fight just outside the walls. Try to lure as many of them into a smaller fight first and isolate them wherever we can.¡±


    ¡°Try to pick them off individually wherever we can before the brawl really starts. Got it.¡± I said with a nod. ¡°I¡¯ve got your back, Emery. Trust me.¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± She responded, and then turned to angle in towards the camp.


    With a deep, steadying breath, I followed right behind her.

 46 : Raid

    We came up on the enemy camp quickly. With Emery and I in a dead sprint, we covered ground explosively fast.


    Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t really matter how fast we moved. The entire enemy camp had felt my Qi fall over them when I scouted their numbers, and they were forming up and preparing for the attack. I could sense them forming up to meet our approach.


    ¡°All six of the Earth Realm fighters and one of the Sky Realm Cultivators are coming to meet us.¡± I said, prepping Emery as best I could. ¡°I think several of them already have demonic techniques active; their Qi feels wrong.¡±


    ¡°Got it. You hang back and give me ranged support. You know the drill by now.¡±


    As Emery spoke, we both unleashed our Domains. In the instant they touched, our Domains quickly reached out to one another and connected with just a little effort.


    I could feel my Domain flow from me and over the area as I forced it out as fast as I could manage, even covering half of the demonic camp. As my Domain expanded so quickly and covered such distance, the demonic Sky Realm Cultivator panicked and tried to form their Domain too late. I clamped my Domain down on them like a vice, keeping their Domain locked inside their body.


    I let out a breath I didn¡¯t realize I was holding.


    ¡°We surprised the first Sky Realm -¡±


    ¡°I felt it. Good job.¡± Emery said, as she picked up speed and outpaced me. I slowed down, as we were nearing what I felt was the optimum range for me to harass from - within easy eyesight, but far enough that I could easily react to most attacks.


    I watched Emery take two more long leaps toward the group of demonic Cultivators before they sprang into action.


    As they converged on her, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, then focused in on everything as best I could.


    My arms flew about in various gestures, calling up rime slicks, throwing ice, and freezing limbs. I was determined to impact this fight as much as I could and keep Emery safe and fighting to her utmost ability.


    I called my Dancing Snowflakes, and sent eight of the ten to hover around Emery and protect her, while I mentally called out directions and incoming attacks.


    With so many enemies, I didn¡¯t spend any time or effort on calling out any traps I laid or openings for Emery. The goal right now was to make it through this fight alive, and I only had time for defensive callouts. I focused all of my energy on guiding Emery through the onslaught. I was confident that Emery would be able to handle offense on her own so long as I had her back..


    And she proved me right.


    <hr>


    ¡®Left!¡¯


    ¡®Behind, right!¡¯


    ¡®Above!¡¯


    ¡®Both sides.¡¯


    I felt Avuri¡¯s warnings come through clearer than they ever had before. I didn¡¯t know why, but it made it easy to react to. In the back of my head, I vaguely recalled Vale mentioning that with practice and trust, we could potentially work up to controlling one another¡¯s bodies, but put that thought out of my mind for now.


    In the heat of the battle, I let my consciousness fade into the background while my instincts, training, and reflexes took over. In my battle meditation, my focus went to other things - which enemies were capable of what, what kind of techniques were being used, positioning¡­I kept an eye on the battle in much the same way Avuri did, almost detached from the moment to moment action.


    I took note of important things; like the Sky Realm demonic Cultivator was fighting with a hand-to-hand style focused on large, powerful blows. They appeared to have their body strengthened through earth and metal Qi. None of the Earth Realm fighters were a particular danger on their own. Four fought with weapons reinforced with Qi. One was in the backline throwing fire while another was throwing dirt and stones.


    Thankfully, with them focused so much on raw offense rather than finesse, they never even tried to trip me up or otherwise throw me off my game.


    Which went poorly for them, because I felt incredible. With Avuri¡¯s support, I dipped, dodged, stepped, and generally avoided strike after strike as if I was able to see the future. Some attacks came close, but none managed to actually graze me.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    After twenty or thirty seconds of pure defense, I turned to offense.


    As I slipped under a blast of flame while sidestepping a downward slash of a saber, I finally brought my own Qi to bear. A classic jian-style blade appeared in my right hand, while my left swung an arc in the air, forming multiple matching swords floating in the air that immediately went to work defending me alongside Avuri¡¯s Snowflakes.


    I also focused my will into my Domain. I could feel the sharp edges of all the weapons being used against me, and incorporated that sense into my defense. Floating swords met with my enemies¡¯ weapons at every turn, their attacks often turned away before they had gotten anywhere near me.


    And in that maelstrom of steel and chaos, I danced.


    I had never felt so free. I was pretty sure that I was smiling as I moved through the small battlefield as gracefully as I ever had. I left my defense entirely to Avuri as I finally went on the attack.


    ¡®Left!¡¯


    I saw the axe head falling from that side and moved accordingly. A Snowflake met it half way down in its swing, knocking it just slightly off course. I slipped aside and flicked out with my jian; the tip of the light blade cut through the muscle and sinew of the attacker¡¯s leading wrist. His axe fell to the ground, too heavy to be wielded in one usable hand.


    ¡®Behind!¡¯


    I spun, leading with my weapon. It knocked the attacker¡¯s spear aside, but left me too far away to make a riposte. With a motion from my left hand, one of my floating weapons struck instead, flying point first through the woman¡¯s chest. She may not be dead, but dropped to the ground gasping for air.


    ¡®Get down!¡¯


    I buckled at the knees, and felt the heat of a blast of fire pass over my back as I ducked. Just as suddenly, I felt a chill as four Snowflakes converged above me and flew toward the attacker. As she tried to fight off the four Snowflakes from the front, a fifth flew into her back. As it made contact, it threw off her balance and she lost the fight from the front as well, all four Snowflakes slamming home around her body.


    ¡®Rigabohtve!¡¯


    My body moved instinctively to Avuri¡¯s warning. My arm shot out to parry the blow coming in from the right as I stepped away from the rocks falling from above. With a spin, I grabbed the wrist of the man wielding the sword in front of me and pulled him forward. I skewered him through the abdomen with my jian. With a twist and a yank, he fell away as I brutally opened his stomach.


    I distantly heard a shout from someone as I moved in to strike against the earth Qi Cultivator. I slipped in front of him while dancing between various earthen projectiles and struck out with my blade. One cut removed an arm. A second removed his head.


    Then I felt a spike of panic or fear from Avuri. Without thinking I swung an arm out toward her. Six matching swords flew into the last Earth Realm fighter. Her running momentum took her body into a tumble as she fell face first to the ground, limp. A gesture with my left hand ripped all six blades from her body as I brought them back into formation around me.


    I turned to face the Sky Realm Cultivator - the last enemy standing with us, as the six Earth Realm combatants all lay on the ground in various states of living or dead.


    It seemed as though while I fought through their fellows, they had opted to gather Qi and prepare for the coming fight.


    Their Domain was still locked down, now by both my own Domain as well as Avuri¡¯s. But even without it, this fight was likely to take some time. They were covered from head to toe in stone and dirt, fashioned into armor. Their fists looked like they were massive morningstars, with jagged points of stone erupting from the round armored mitts.


    My floating swords and Avuri¡¯s Snowflakes hovered around me as I slowly approached them. As I prepared to leap across the last few steps, I felt a flare of Qi erupt from the stone armor, as well as the distinct scent of demonic Qi.


    The deep reddish hue of demonic Qi permeated the stone armor, and it changed. Dangerous looking stone spikes erupted all over the outer shell; some were wicked and long like weapons, while others were short and stumpy for turning weapons. The entire suit of stone glowed brightly for a moment before fading, leaving the previous natural brownish stone a dark, insidious red-black.


    ¡®Be careful.¡¯


    I eyed the new demonic enemy before me as I crossed the last bit of distance. My jian, as well as all eight of my floating swords converged on my stone-clad enemy. They simply stood there as their armor took all nine hits and shrugged them off. The floating swords had made glancing blows, the momentum of their flight carrying them past their point of contact and they flew off in various directions.


    The blade in my hand struck at their neck. It caught between one of the barbs of stone and the Cultivator¡¯s neck, then snapped.


    ¡®Get back!¡¯


    I immediately leaped backward to create some space.


    A stone bludgeon was swung in an arc right through where I had been with such force that it created a gust of wind that pushed me further back than I had intended.


    ¡°Lucky.¡± My opponent said. The voice was distorted, from the demonic Qi or the stone armor I couldn¡¯t tell.


    I called my flying swords to my side again as I reforged my jian into the shining white of the purifying blade.


    We clashed once more. My flying swords still had no effect. But my jian clashed with one of the demon¡¯s morningstar fists, and sank through the stone armor with ease as the demonic Qi vanished before its edge. I felt the edge make contact with the enemy¡¯s hand and bisect their hand between their middle knuckles down to the wrist.


    When we separated again, I heard a chuckle come from the demonic Cultivator. ¡±Interesting. This must be how you so easily took care of Zak. No matter.¡±


    As I moved in for what I had hoped would be a finishing blow, I saw the reddish hue fade from the stone, leaving it pitch dark. My blade made contact with the black stone along the demon¡¯s abdomen and cracked, but made no appreciable damage to the stone armor.


    ¡®Danger!¡¯


    I barely managed to get two floating swords interposed in front of the responding kick that sent me wheeling backward through the air. I felt the ice Qi of one of Avuri¡¯s Snowflakes puff away as it intercepted the point of the stone spike that would have embedded itself in my side if not for Avuri¡¯s cover.


    I took a deep breath, and sent the strongest signal I could manage to Avuri, and then closed my eyes.

 47 : Struggle

    I watched in awe from the back line as Emery danced.


    There was no other word for it. She moved from enemy to enemy, weaving masterfully between strikes as though she knew exactly how to avoid each one. Even knowing that I was directing her and telling her where attacks were coming from, she moved like she didn¡¯t need to think about it.


    I had never seen anything like it, and it was immensely beautiful.


    Less than a minute into the fight, and Emery seemed to find her rhythm. Her movement was so fluid that it looked almost like well-planned choreography.


    Then her weapons appeared.


    It took seconds for her to cut down practically all of the Earth Realm Cultivators. With only two remaining, the Sky Realm Cultivator yelled at them to attack me instead, as I was clearly interfering enough to be a major problem.


    With all of my focus on defending Emery, I felt a quick spike of fear as one of the demonic Cultivators charged toward me. I readied to defend myself, but they suddenly dropped, Emery¡¯s flying swords sticking out of their back like so many arrows.


    With the immediate threat down, I focused back on the only remaining enemy we could see: the Sky Realm Cultivator. They had prepared some kind of stone and dirt armor with earth Qi, and it looked both dangerous and highly defensive. Their feet were even solidly planted and attached to the ground by more dirt and rock.


    As Emery neared them to attack, a pulse of demonic Qi erupted from them. It seemed to infuse their armor, warping it into something more demonic and twisted. It looked dangerous.


    ¡®Be careful.¡¯


    When Emery struck, her blade snapped, and her flying swords all bounced off the armor harmlessly. As I saw the enemy wind up a swing, I immediately willed Emery to retreat. The giant bludgeoning fist swung faster than I had expected, and Emery just narrowly avoided it. The force of the swing was so immense that I felt a breeze ruffle my robes.


    I watched as Emery reforged her sword, this time into the glowing white of her demonic purification technique. This time, when they clashed, I saw her blade sink into the opponent¡¯s gauntlet, cutting cleanly into the demonic-Qi-infused stone.


    They parted again, then Emery moved in for what looked like she intended to be a fatal blow.


    As she closed the distance, the demon¡¯s stone armor lost the red coloring, turning fully black. Emery¡¯s blade was stopped dead against the newly altered armor.


    I panicked, seeing the wind up for a kick in response. I willed Emery to retreat as strongly as I could as I sent Snowflakes hurtling in for defense.


    Even reacting instantly, it was nearly too late. I saw two of her swords flying in to try to block the attack. Thankfully, my Snowflakes were close enough that I was able to get one in the way of the kick fast enough.


    A stone spike on the armor¡¯s greaves had managed to slip between Emery¡¯s defensive sword wall, but crashed into a Snowflake. The point of the stone cleanly pierced the center of the Flake, but didn¡¯t penetrate far enough to make it to Emery¡¯s side. I sighed in relief, then felt a signal from Emery.


    ¡®Defend me.¡¯


    While inwardly cursing as I watched Emery close her eyes to focus, I brought my Qi to bear against the demonic enemy. They were slowly trudging toward Emery. I froze their armor to the ground several times to slow their advance, while conjuring more Snowflakes for defense. I sent them out to form a wall in front of Emery as I watched her Qi-made jian bubble and warp in her hand.


    The demon crashed through my Snowflakes with some effort, but not enough to buy any real time. I dashed closer while pulling in my Domain somewhat to strengthen it by condensing it. With a scream of effort, I forced a solid block of ice to appear, encasing the demon in it. I knew it wouldn¡¯t hold for long, given I couldn¡¯t actually freeze their body, only the air around them. It was the same reason freezing an enemy¡¯s limb wasn¡¯t as damaging as it implied. It was technically just forming ice around the limb.


    As the demonic Cultivator called up rock to crack and break the ice, I pushed my Snowflakes into place to stop some of the rocks, but the raw bludgeoning force still got through and cracked the ice. I was only able to hold the monster for around a minute.


    But it appeared to be long enough.


    As the demon broke their upper body free of the ice, Emery darted in, her sword mid swing.


    I briefly saw the sword before it made contact. It was still glowing white, but it was distorted slightly, and not as bright. It wasn¡¯t until her swing traveled completely through the torso of the demonic Cultivator and appeared from their body on the other side that I could clearly see the fuzzy, distorted look that Emery had said made it intangible.


    <hr>


    The instant I felt the blade pass through the armor, I mentally switched off part of the intangibility effect I had layered into the jian. A small section of the blade cut through the middle of the demon¡¯s torso. I felt it rip through muscle and bone.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    With some luck, I would have cut the spine - or perhaps even their Core - but my technique was very haphazard and not well controlled. I had no idea exactly which part of the blade was tangible, before I flipped the switch once more, allowing the whole blade to exit the demon¡¯s body and armor.


    There was a moment where I wasn¡¯t sure it had worked. Their entire head was encased in stone, so I had no way to gauge a facial reaction.


    But after a moment had passed, I clearly felt their Qi waver and die. With their legs still trapped in ice, the black stone seemed to lose whatever force was holding it up, and it collapsed on itself, as if the armor had no one holding it up.


    I supposed that was more or less true.


    Avuri ran up to me then, holding her hands up in defense against the stone-clad demon.


    ¡°I think they¡¯re dead.¡± I said, taking the short moment of safety to catch my breath. ¡°Or at least not a threat.¡±


    Avuri kept her hands up, her Snowflakes floating close at hand just in case, as she spoke. ¡°I hope so. The last thing we need is to be attacked from both sides.¡± She nodded her head toward the rest of the camp. ¡°We should move. There¡¯s still two Sky Realm Cultivators left, and then ten people needing help. As long as we make it in time.¡±


    I nodded resolutely, turning to move into the camp proper. Avuri moved quickly behind me, keeping an eye on the defeated earth Qi Cultivator for a while before we eventually made it out of sight. Thankfully, they did not move.


    As we moved into the main center of the camp, we kept ourselves ready for any sudden attacks or traps. It wasn¡¯t a huge concern, given we could both feel the two remaining enemies in one of the tents, but they could still try to surprise us.


    I sent Avuri a silent plea to protect me through our Domains. She looked at me and nodded before posting up between me and the tent where our remaining quarry was.


    And I turned my attention to the massive bloody Formation on the ground.


    I only had passing knowledge of demonic techniques. Most were passed from teacher to student through word of mouth alone, and they were often very specific to each group that studied them. It was exceedingly rare that more than one demonic sect used even similar techniques, let alone the same one.


    And in typical fashion, I couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of what the monstrosity before me could or would do. What was obvious to me was that it was currently inert. From a lack of fuel or some other reason, though, I couldn¡¯t say.


    Before I could really do anything of importance with the Formation, our last two enemies began to move. My attention snapped toward the tent they were moving from, and I leapt to stand in front of Avuri while silently willing her to back up. I figured the message was received when she took several steps back to make some space.


    I took a deep, focusing breath as the last two demonic Cultivators strode confidently from their tent. They had already unleashed their Domains earlier, as soon as they had felt ours I imagined, so we wouldn¡¯t have that advantage in this fight. It would be on relatively even terms - a two on two with roughly even power scales.


    Before you factored in any demonic Qi boosts, anyway.


    And as they ducked to push the tent flaps aside to walk into the campground¡¯s center, my breath caught in my throat. Both Cultivators were simultaneously stunningly beautiful and terrifying all at once. I had never seen Cultivators that I felt so comfortable calling demons. I also felt as though I had a pretty good idea of what the Formation may do.


    On the left was a tall, lean man. He had the look of a classical Cultivator, all prim and proper, right down to the pristine red and black martial artist robes and long, straight black hair. He had a beautiful face with piercing red eyes that matched the coloring of his robes.


    The whole appearance, however, was also marred by numerous demonic traits that made him appear rather terrifying. He had horns protruding from his forehead that gave off an eerie red glow. His eyes were vertical red pupils floating in pitch dark sclera, with red veins emanating from his eyes out around the sides of his head. Perhaps most striking of all was the thin scaly tail that wrapped around his waist like a belt, but clearly moved under its own muscles.


    The woman on his left was just as imposing. My eyes drifted first to the absolutely massive stone hammer that she carried slung over a shoulder as though it didn¡¯t weigh several tons. But as I finally took in the rest of her form, I was no less struck by her than the man. She, too, had a lovely face as well as a well-shaped body befitting a traditional Cultivator. Her robes were a brown and green mix, evoking earth and wood.


    She also had horns, but unlike her male counterpart, they came from the sides of her head and angled forward, framing her face like a pair of bull horns. Her face was impeccably adorned with makeup, right down to a smokey eye that made her dark sclera appear extra large, framing smaller, glowing yellow cat-like pupils.


    The woman smiled. ¡°It seems we have a few pests, Auban. Whatever shall we do?¡±


    The man frowned slightly as his red eyes scanned Avuri and me. ¡°They killed Meral, Eozia. We should be at least marginally careful.¡±


    Eozia tutted in response. ¡°You¡¯re no fun.¡± As she turned to look back at me, I felt a sudden spike of danger.


    I screamed ¡®Get back!¡¯ at Avuri as strongly as I could through our connection. All of my will went into it as I prepared for the attack that I was sure was coming. I had a brief moment to inwardly sigh in relief as I felt Avuri leap away before Eozia was upon me.


    And it was instant. I barely saw her move before her smiling face was centimeters from mine. As I prepared to defend myself and move away from her, she just laughed in my face.


    Then I felt Auban¡¯s Qi crackle to life. The air around us seemed to come alive for a moment, and I heard a loud crack. The dirt beside where I had stood a moment before suddenly exploded, showering the area with dirt and gravel.


    Lightning. The fucker had lightning.


    ¡°You missed.¡± Eozia teased, her voice ringing out in a pleasant sing-songy tone.


    Auban sighed. ¡°You got in the way. And as much as I would love to fry you, it would be counterintuitive to kill you right now.¡±


    The woman laughed again, as she hefted her hammer. ¡°Fine. Kill me after we¡¯ve killed them, yeah?¡± She said, her tone still light and carefree. ¡°In the meantime, let¡¯s have some fun.¡±

 48 : True Demons

    I tried to get my head together as Eozia stared me down with a disturbing grin on her face.


    I could feel Avuri tightening her Domain up to only cover the area around us in an effort to strengthen her control. It didn¡¯t appear to have any effect on the demons¡¯ Domains, but that was expected.


    The thing that worried me most was the distinct lack of the demonic Qi scent, despite the Cultivators¡¯ appearances. The clear demonic traits in addition to the lack of active demonic Qi meant one of two things. Either the Formation they had in their camp was used for physically adding those traits to a Cultivator¡¯s body, which was something I had never seen nor heard of before.


    Or they were no longer human and were, in fact, true Demons.


    I had never come across one before, but Vale had explained what that meant to both me and Avuri during our training and studies.


    True Demons were Cultivators that had fully replaced all of the natural Qi in their system with demonic Qi. There were a number of ways to accomplish that, but I had no way to know how the two in front of me had done so.


    Ultimately, demonic Qi was simply natural Qi that had deviated and rampaged out of control. For most people, having their Qi deviate was a near death sentence. Unless they somehow managed to get it back under control - which was obscenely rare - or someone else intervened to quell the rampaging Qi, it would tear the body apart from the inside out.


    Cultivators that made use of demonic techniques forcefully deviated their Qi in specific ways for specific results, usually for more raw power. And most demonic techniques were designed around some kind of failsafe that would force out the deviated Qi once the technique had run its course.


    With the right technique, control, and enough willpower, however, a Cultivator could force all of their Qi to deviate and either let it subsume their body or fight to control it. Those that successfully managed to regain control after a forced deviation like that were what we called ¡®true Demons¡¯ as they had a level of control and use of demonic Qi that was unparalleled.


    It also caused the signs of demonic Qi use to be permanent. Warped bodies, bony growths like horns, varicose veins, and a slew of other physical changes would become apparent quickly after the body adjusted to its new Qi. The body would also no longer produce the distinct demonic Qi scent as the deviated Qi no longer harmed the body.


    And all of the signs were clearly pointing to both Auban and Eozia being true Demons.


    A shiver went through my body as I prepared for the coming fight. I called up two shorter blades, one in each hand. One was a beautiful white of my demonic purifying technique. The other was a shiny obsidian black, denoting a technique that made the blade as sharp as I could possibly manage. In theory, it would cut through any physical object that wasn¡¯t made of Qi.


    Then I formed eight full size swords to float in the air behind me.


    Eozia grinned at me, showing off sharp teeth. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s good. Don¡¯t make this too easy for us.¡±


    I refocused on my Domain, trying to strengthen it against the Demons¡¯ Domains. If they took control over my space, I was confident the fight would be over. Avuri did the same, and I could feel her reassurances through our bond. She had my back and I had hers. It was one small comfort as I looked at what was sure to be a very dangerous fight.


    ¡®Back.¡¯


    I moved on instinct as soon as I felt the warning. In the same instant, the crack of lightning sounded as the spot I stood in erupted in a blast of dirt. As I was mid-leap, Eozia moved through the explosion of dirt, her giant hammer already swinging.


    I moved all eight of my flying swords to try to turn the blow away, knowing anything less than my full attention wouldn¡¯t do anything to stop the attack. My swords left my Domain and entered Eozia¡¯s in the same instant she planted her foot for leverage to twist into her swing. As she slammed her foot, however, my flying swords plummeted to the ground. I could feel an unreal amount of pressure on them, and could only get them to slide along the ground - and even then their movement was sluggish.


    As I tried to recall the swords into my Domain, I fell straight backwards to lie flat on my back. It was the only way I could manage to avoid the horizontal hammer blow, which passed just over my prone body.


    I didn¡¯t manage to avoid the aftershock of wind that followed in the wake of the swing, though. My body spun and tumbled as it was flung through the air behind the swing, as if I was picked up and thrown by a tornado.


    Thankfully, I successfully managed to get my flying swords back into my own Domain before I went flying, and they moved with me, no longer subject to what I imagined was some form of gravity control within Eozia¡¯s Domain.


    With a little assistance from Avuri, I landed upright on my feet, just in time for Eozia to be in my face again. This time, rather than retreat and get blasted by the aftershock, I stepped in front of the swing and closed the distance between us where the force of her swing should be the weakest. Thankfully, as long as I had my own Domain up, she wouldn¡¯t be able to force me to the ground like the swords.


    My obsidian blade came up to clash with the haft of her great hammer, thankfully stopping the swing. But it didn¡¯t cut the haft, which meant either the hammer was a Qi construct like my weapons, or made out of some other fantastical material with anti-Qi properties.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Eozia, still grinning wide, used the contact point between our weapons as a fulcrum and swung herself to the side by leveraging the weight of her hammer.


    I received Avuri¡¯s warning too late. The crack of lightning echoed in the camp as my whole body suddenly shook and went rigid all at once. Pain flared throughout my entire system, blinding me to all else. All of my concentration immediately slammed into keeping my Domain alive.


    I succeeded in that, at least, as I felt a huge crushing force contact my entire right side. It felt like I was tackled by an entire wall, as I was flung to the side. I was dimly aware of my body cartwheeling through the air for a few moments. I focused entirely on my Domain and keeping my weapons in my hands as I landed hard on the ground.


    Without a Sky Realm body, I would have died. For Sure. I knew that very clearly as I struggled to my feet while blinking to clear my vision. I could feel Avuri¡¯s screams of horror through our connection, and fought to send two simple thoughts to her as best as I could.


    ¡®I¡¯m okay.¡¯ and ¡®Focus on your Domain.¡¯


    As I got to my feet and my vision returned, albeit blurry, I saw Eozia standing rather close in front of me with a shit-eating grin. She was talking to me, but I focused on cataloging how my body felt.


    Considering I was just hit by lightning and immediately crushed by a hammer afterward, I was doing pretty well. Nothing felt broken, surprisingly, although my limbs were still half-numb from the lightning.


    ¡°No, really, I¡¯m actually shocked you¡¯re still managing to stand, girl.¡± Eozia was saying. ¡°I suppose even non-demonic Sky Realm bodies really are something else, aren¡¯t they? That blow would¡¯ve turned anyone else into paste.¡± She said with a laugh.


    ¡°I have to confess, I do love the way bodies crumple under enough weight. There¡¯s something so visceral about it. The crunch of bone and all the screaming. It¡¯s even better when you can feel it under a weapon!¡± She yelled, as she wound up a huge vertical swing straight down.


    Once again, I stepped into the blow. Apparently, I made the right choice, as both my left and right sides exploded in dirt as lightning struck. If I had dodged either way, I would¡¯ve taken one of those blasts straight on. Eozia¡¯s eyes opened in surprise at first as I closed in again, but that look was quickly replaced with a predatory grin.


    In the same motion, I brought up my obsidian sword to try to parry the hammer¡¯s haft again, just guiding it to the side, using its own momentum against it, while bringing the white blade to jab straight at Eozia¡¯s chest.


    The parry was marginally successful. The hammer landed with a bang beside me, sending up a cloud of dirt and rock. Some of the debris smacked me in the face hard enough to cause some pain.


    My offensive strike didn¡¯t do as much as I had hoped. Eozia had completed the hammer blow with one hand while the other blocked. My white sword was stuck in her left hand, straight through the center of her palm. She pulled her hand to the side, and I let the blade go to avoid her pulling me off balance.


    Unfortunately for me, the purifying effect seemed to do nothing to a true Demon. I figured it had something to do with the way my technique worked, not being able to affect fully deviated Qi.


    ¡°Ooh, good shot, good shot.¡± Eozia said melodically, as she pulled my sword from her hand. It puffed away to essence as I created a new sword in my hand. This time, utilizing my Qi disruption technique, the light around the sword appeared to bend and warp in strange ways.


    ¡°Are you ready to stop playing around, Eozia?¡± Auban asked, sounding bored. ¡°Let¡¯s just kill the other one and deal with Ms. Sword Lady after.¡±


    I felt a quick sharp stab of alarm from Avuri, and my body reacted before I consciously moved. I turned to try to reposition myself between the Demons and Avuri, to intercept whatever attack was headed her way.


    Before I took two steps, I felt the crushing blow of the hammer slam into my back.


    My body pitched forward as I, once again, sailed through the air. And again, all my focus went into maintaining my Domain and weapons. I felt myself getting closer to Avuri through our Domains, so I at least knew which direction I was flying.


    As I crashed to the ground, I quickly tried to ascertain my body¡¯s state - which was hurt, but functional at a glance - as well as any approaching danger. I felt the crackle in the air, and immediately forced my legs to jump to the side.


    There was a crack, then pain, as lightning slammed into me a second time. That same strange feeling of my body both shaking and going rigid all at once struck me as I crumpled to the ground in front of Avuri.


    I felt her concentration on her Domain shake as she watched me get hit, and then fail as I crumpled to the ground. Thankfully, the two attacks had gotten me almost within arms reach of her, and I still had my concentration up.


    As both Demons¡¯ Domains surged toward her to clamp down on her Domain, I forced mine to surround her instead. The Demons¡¯ Domains weren¡¯t able to get through mine to lock down Avuri, as she struggled to slowly put her own back in place.


    ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± I said weakly, my voice coming out in a weird rasp. The second blast of lightning had done some damage, as my body was locked up and didn¡¯t want to listen to me as I told it to move and stand.


    The instant Avuri had reproduced her Domain, she moved to kneel beside me, and her hands ghosted over me. I imagined it was for healing purposes, but I couldn¡¯t really feel anything with my body so numb.


    ¡°Your Domain is still strong, Emery. You¡¯re gonna be fine.¡± Avuri said, along with muttering a slew of other reassurances. I would¡¯ve chuckled if I could have - I knew I was alright. She must be trying to convince herself.


    ¡°If she stands after that blast, I¡¯d really be impressed.¡± I heard Eozia say from somewhere relatively nearby. I turned my head to watch her approach us, her hammer once again slung casually over her shoulder. Auban walked leisurely behind her.


    ¡°That second blast of lightning was concentrated enough that even if she¡¯s conscious, it¡¯s unlikely she can move. She¡¯s probably still numb, too.¡± He said lazily.


    ¡°Well that just takes all the fun out of it.¡± Eozia complained.


    ¡°Just kill them so we can move on?¡± Auban said, waving a hand toward us. I saw a ripple of electricity run over his hand as he motioned toward us and I flinched.


    Eozia laughed. ¡°Oh! You¡¯ve scared the poor girl, Auban!¡± She squealed with delight as she raised her hammer over her head, as though she was stretching. I was pretty sure she was still too far away to hit us.


    I felt a wave of cold emanate from Avuri as Eozia drew near. I glanced at Avuri as I felt her slowly strengthen her Domain.


    I closed my eyes, and desperately searched my head for some way to win this fight as I entrusted our immediate survival to Avuri for the time being.

 49 : Trap

    My hands continued to trail paths over Emery¡¯s body as I tried to force healing Qi through her entire system.


    The lightning had not done a lot of external damage, but the internal effect was significant. The physical burns and the like were easy to heal, but the nerve and muscle damage was different. Even with my healing techniques, her body would need time to shake off the shocks that had essentially short circuited her system.


    At least with the current state of her nerve endings, she wouldn¡¯t be able to feel the pain.


    In the meantime, I turned my attention to Eozia and Auban.


    Eozia lazily approached us as I pushed more of my Qi toward my Domain. I pulled the edges much closer, significantly boosting the concentration of Qi at the expense of size. For now, I greatly preferred the strength bonuses.


    I forced my focus to narrow on our enemies. I put Emery¡¯s state out of my mind for now; she would survive as long as the Demons didn¡¯t attack her. And I didn¡¯t plan to let them.


    I kept Eozia¡¯s Domain effect in the back of my mind, having seen what it did to Emery¡¯s flying swords. My Dancing Snowflakes hovered behind me. I replaced the one that had been destroyed earlier, and funneled more Qi into them. I may not be able to handle controlling more than ten at once, but I could make the ones I had stronger.


    The Flakes all thickened and grew larger, to a diameter of thirty centimeters or so. The edges remained incredibly sharp blades of ice. I wasn¡¯t sure they would be useful for offense, but I wanted to be prepared if an opening presented itself.


    I took a deep breath, steadied myself and my focus once more, then breathed out and glared up at Eozia from the ground. She raised her giant hammer over her head, despite being outside her reach.


    I saw Emery close her eyes, whether in acceptance or something else I wasn¡¯t sure, but I screamed my desire to protect her through our Domains. A little quirk of a smile told me she received the message.


    Then I felt Eozia move.


    Auban remained still, looking bored, as Eozia suddenly manifested before me. Six of my Snowflakes gathered above my head to form a shield against the crushing blow of her hammer. She couldn¡¯t reach them with her Domain, but her gravity control still made her hammer ridiculously heavy as she swung it down.


    I felt my Qi quiver as the six Snowflakes tried their best to hold up the hammer. I poured Qi into the link with them and pushed upward as hard as I could. I screamed my throat raw with the effort as I slightly angled the left side of the Flakes downward. The hammer slipped off the tilted surface, and crashed to the ground just beside Emery and I, sending debris flying into the air.


    I felt the immense weight against my Qi lessen with the hammer gone, and my body nearly collapsed with the sudden relief. I kept myself upright on my knees while my eyes drilled holes into Eozia¡¯s head.


    She just looked at me with a crooked grin. ¡°Well, would you look at that? Ice girl has a bit of spine.¡± She scoffed, pulling her hammer back to her shoulder.


    Auban rolled his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m going to go start gathering the sacrifices, Eozia. Just finish this up, will you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, I¡¯ve got this handled.¡± She said, waving him off. ¡°If any of them manage to escape somehow, let them. I¡¯ll hunt them down for some fun after this.¡±


    Auban let out an exasperated sigh as he turned to walk toward the tent with the prisoners in it. They were still all tied up, last time I had felt for them.


    With some effort, I fought to my feet. I stood slowly, but Eozia just watched me, excited. She looked giddy at the chance for more action.


    Qi poured from me like water. Some went into my Snowflakes, repairing the damage they had received from the blocked hammer blow. The rest coalesced into my Blizzard Dragon technique.


    I felt the wind and snow whip around behind me as it all formed a cohesive shape. The destructive power of the technique had grown pretty significantly after the jump to Sky Realm. During practice, just being physically near it was enough to tear clothing to shreds and freeze things solid, but I wasn¡¯t sure how it would fare against a full Demon like this.


    Still, it was really my only good card to play.


    I stood my ground beside Emery, who was still laid on the floor. My Snowflakes formed up as a large shield before me as Eozia appeared to prepare for another big swing, this time a horizontal one.


    I was wary of the windy aftershock that had sent Emery flying earlier, but I wasn¡¯t sure what I could realistically do about it. Instead, I mentally urged my Dragon forward. At my command, it launched after Eozia, tearing up the ground as it passed, leaving streaks of ice and torn up dirt.


    Thankfully, Eozia seemed to regard it as enough of a threat to react to it. As It flew directly toward her, she shifted her weight to alter her hammer blow¡¯s target to the Dragon.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    She swung, and I made a choice. I was pretty sure if I had the Dragon avoid the strike, it would get torn apart by the following winds. So, I had it just plow forward.


    The hammer struck the back half of the Dragon and absolutely obliterated it. The entire back half of the technique simply ceased to exist.


    The front half, however, managed to strike home.


    As the Dragon opened its jaws and collided with Eozia, a storm engulfed her. Wind tore at her immaculate robes, leaving slices cut through the beautiful material as well as leaving a fair number of superficial wounds on her skin. The snow and ice also covered her, leaving stiff patches around her arms, neck, and head. Frost seemed to stick to her hair, and coated her eyebrows and lashes.


    The damage was practically insignificant, all told. But I hoped it would at least be enough to slow her down for a moment while I hobbled together another Dragon, and wracked my brain for some kind of plan.


    Eozia seemed to be shaking off the effects of the ice as she grinned at me predatorily and laughed maniacally. ¡°Ha! Nice technique! It¡¯s stylish, dangerous, and entirely destructive. Just my style.¡± She said, continuing to cleanse herself of the ice, shaking it off in fairly large sheets.


    As I prepared to launch another attack, I felt Emery reach out to me through our Domains.


    ¡®Idea. Need Surprise. Back away from me.¡¯


    Emery¡¯s message started an internal war within me. Everything I was fought against the idea of leaving her on the ground between myself and the enemy, defenseless. Even if it was her idea.


    As I struggled to make a decision, I felt Emery reach up with her Domain. I made space for it within mine, as I had done for the last month in practice. It flowed up above her in a small pillar, only really covering the space directly around and above her in a small cylinder.


    I reminded myself that as long as she had her Domain, she wasn¡¯t truly defenseless, and that if I had learned anything in the last several months, it was that I could trust Emery when it came to this stuff.


    With a deep breath, I committed to the idea and stepped back, acting the part of an overwhelmed opponent.


    Eozia met my gaze and frowned. ¡°What happened?¡± She said, sadly. ¡°I didn¡¯t scare you off, now, did I?¡±


    I continued to slowly back away from her, but didn¡¯t turn my back to run. I continued to keep my techniques about me, but moved them into a more defensive formation as I tried to look at least a little scared.


    Eozia¡¯s frown deepened, then she stomped the ground, frustrated. ¡°Damn it! Why do you people always lose the will to fight so easily?¡± Angered, she hefted her hammer, and the heavy weight collapsing onto her shoulder was enough to dislodge the rest of the ice from her body. ¡°Fine then, have it your way, Ice Princess. I¡¯ll just kill you and be done with this.¡± She said dryly and strode forward.


    I continued to back up, carefully regulating my pace to make sure the situation stayed predictable as she approached Emery¡¯s body. I wasn¡¯t sure what Emery had planned, but I kept my Domain surrounding hers to keep it hidden from Eozia as she walked forward.


    I carefully watched as Eozia simply walked forward, continued to ignore Emery, and then she made to just step over Emery¡¯s prone form. As she walked forward, our Domains parted to make room for hers. Thankfully, she did just ignore Emery, and kept walking after stepping over her. One step, then two steps, then she stopped, a confused look on her face.


    I raised an eyebrow, confused in response, when I saw a red line bloom across the woman¡¯s neck. She reached up to paw at her neck, then stared down at her hand as it came away bloody. ¡°Wha -¡±


    ¡®Attack! Now!¡¯


    My body reacted on instinct to Emery¡¯s words. My Blizzard Dragon shot forward, careening toward Eozia as her neck started to pump out blood in surprising amounts. She looked up from her hand just in time for the Dragon to smash into her upper body.


    The entire technique surrounded her, and she let out a gurgling scream. She dropped her hammer in the confusion, and swung her arms and hands wildly around her, trying to knock the technique away from her. The cutting winds and ice overwhelmed her quickly though, and the fight seemed to leave her body altogether in seconds and she crumpled to the floor in a bloody mess.


    There was a huge array of superficial but bloody gashes all over her body from the concentrated ice storm, so much so that every visible inch of her skin looked red with blood. I slowly approached her, my Snowflakes at the ready, just in case.


    ¡°You¡­you¡­¡± Eozia¡¯s voice came out in a gurgle, as she struggled to turn her head to face Emery, who was now struggling to sit up. As I got closer, I noticed that as Eozia turned her head, the slice in her neck was deeper than I had imagined. It looked almost as if the cut went from the front all the way to her spine where it finally stopped, and with her neck turned to the side, the top portion had turned independently of the bottom.


    Emery seemed to have enough control over her body to move, but not enough to stand on her own. I slipped up beside her, threw her arm over my shoulders, and hoisted her to her feet. She offered me a weak smile, which I returned.


    Then I felt Eozia¡¯s Domain flicker and die as she finally either lost consciousness or died outright. I flinched as I felt it happen, knowing full well that it would pull an angry Auban back out here.


    And sure enough, he darted from the tent, shouting angrily for Eozia, wondering what she was doing.


    With her body behind Emery and I, I was able to hide it behind some Snowflakes as Auban leapt from the tent¡¯s entrance to land before us, lightning crackling along his arms.


    ¡°What did -¡±


    In the instant he started to talk, I made the Snowflakes move. When he saw the bloody mess on the ground, there was just a moment where his concentration faltered as he took in the sight of his ally.


    And I didn¡¯t miss it.


    My Domain slammed down on him in that short moment. With my entire Domain so tightly concentrated in a smaller area, the strength of it was enough to slam the door on his Domain, locking it tightly within his body.


    Auban¡¯s head immediately snapped up to eye the two of us angrily. ¡°I don¡¯t know, or even really care, what you did to Eozia, but you¡¯ll pay. I don¡¯t need my Domain to blast you both with lightning.¡±


    Emery seemed to find her strength then, and levered herself off of me and stood straight. Her flying swords returned to their positions around her shoulders, and she grinned wickedly.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see. Personally, I think it¡¯s payback time.¡±

 50 : Innovation

    I laid on the ground, my mind moving in a hundred different directions.


    I kept a small amount of my Qi scattered about the area to keep an eye on the fight, even if I couldn¡¯t really do much to intervene. Unfortunately, with Eozia¡¯s gravity well, my flying swords were basically useless.


    Worse still, my body was still too numb to move. Whatever healing Avuri had hit me with was effective enough that I was no longer really in any pain, but the numbness still lingered in my limbs. I supposed I should count myself lucky that there wasn¡¯t any other internal damage, but being rendered useless in this kind of fight just about amounted to the same thing.


    My mind ran through option after option as to how we may be able to win this fight. But with me on the ground and Avuri outnumbered two to one, we were almost assuredly on the losing side. I felt Eozia¡¯s first assault, and heard Avuri scream as she fought off the blow. The heavy hammer landed very close to my feet, and I could feel the debris fly up and over me.


    I quickly tried to come up with some way to help. If Auban got involved, we would be in real trouble dealing with his ranged attacks covering Eozia.


    And then Auban chose to leave the rest of the fight to Eozia alone.


    I told myself that was good! Avuri wasn¡¯t outnumbered anymore, so she should be able to survive just fine for a while, if she couldn¡¯t win on her own. It was possible, but Avuri¡¯s heavy focus on midrange techniques would be to her detriment with that damn gravity Domain.


    Avuri¡¯s Qi poured from her into her Domain and techniques, strengthening them. I silently hoped it would be enough for now, and turned my mind toward finding a way out of this. Even with Eozia alone, I didn¡¯t think we could reasonably overpower her. A good portion of my fighting ability revolved around my flying weapons, and the unpredictable angles of attack I could pursue because of them.


    Taking that into account, we were left with some kind of trick or a trap. I reached out with my Qi, poking and prodding the blades I left scattered around the ground when I got hit. They skittered along the ground as I pulled at them; that meant that I was still at least capable of Qi manipulation despite the state of my body.


    That was something I could use.


    The physical flying swords made of Qi would be too noticeable to attack Eozia with, especially with me unable to get up from the ground. If I attacked her, it needed to be enough to end the fight or her retaliation would probably kill me outright.


    As I felt Avuri wind up her Blizzard Dragon for a frontal assault, I reached out around me with my Domain and took a deep breath. I felt around inside it for anything I could use as a weapon that wouldn¡¯t be as obvious as full size swords. Maybe something smaller would also be able to fly through Eozia¡¯s gravity field before it hit the ground.


    The strange feeling of my Domain surrounded me. The weird sensation of sharp, prickly air against my skin had become something of a comfort over the last month as I had trained in it almost constantly.


    I focused on the pebbles and other bits of debris on the ground. My Domain could sharpen or blunt any edges within its area at my desire, and I willed the debris to sharpen. I could feel the dirt against my back begin to prick me, even through my clothing, much like the air did.


    My mind slammed to a halt at the same moment that Eozia clashed with Avuri¡¯s Dragon. There was a big explosion of sound and wind as the hammer obliterated part of the technique. I took a deep breath to calm myself, and told myself there was no way this would work. It felt too silly.


    But at the same time, Avuri could freeze the air - or more accurately the moisture in the air - at her whim. Why couldn¡¯t I sharpen it?


    With my Domain, I focused on the air right in front of my finger tip. I pictured the edge of a sharp blade, and told the air to sharpen itself, the same way I would tell anything else. Then I pushed my finger forward, and felt the air itself cut into it. The sensation was strange, like I poked an incredibly sharp, but also soft knife. It was so sharp I barely even felt the cut at first.


    I swallowed thickly, processing this new ability. Then I sent a message to Avuri through our Domains. ¡®I¡¯ve got an idea. We need to surprise her with something. Back up away from me.¡¯


    Conveniently, I was positioned in a spot between Avuri and Eozia. If Avuri simply walked backward, Eozia should walk right up to and hopefully over me.


    I could see on Avuri¡¯s face that my message got through. She glanced between me and Eozia, a strained look on her face. I reached out with my Domain, stretching it up toward her, in an effort to show I had a plan.


    She seemed to make a decision then, and her face morphed from showing consternation to showing fear. Her performance wasn¡¯t perfect, but it seemed believable enough, given Eozia¡¯s reaction to it.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    I focused on the task at hand. I stretched my Domain out and straight up into the air above me, in a cylindrical shape. Avuri kept my Domain¡¯s movements masked with her own while I shaped mine to try to take advantage of this one chance at a trap.


    I eyed Eozia¡¯s slow approach warily, trying to size her up and line up a single blade of air at neck height. Once it was in place, I silently prayed that she wouldn¡¯t notice, and that the altered air wouldn¡¯t immediately get shoved to the ground by her Domain. I hadn¡¯t been able to tell if it was a passive or active effect, after all.


    We were in trouble if her Domain automatically forced extra gravity on everything without her input. I was gambling on it requiring her input, at least somewhat.


    And then she stepped up next to me. I held my breath as she took another step. When her Domain crossed into the space where mine had made the air blade, I lost my connection to it and couldn¡¯t feel if anything had happened.


    She took two steps past me and stopped. As I saw her hand start its way up to her neck, I yelled at Avuri through our connection. ¡®Attack her right now!¡¯


    Then I threw everything I had into moving my body away from Eozia. Two of my flying swords flew to me and levered me over so I could roll away from the storm or ice and wind that suddenly consumed Eozia.


    As I rolled, I noticed that I could feel my arms and legs again, as they shouted in absolute agony. They were full of pins and needles, and reminded me of the few days immediately following my breakthrough. I did my best to fight my spasming limbs and struggled to get to my feet.


    It was slow going, and I didn¡¯t even really manage to get past my knees before I found Avuri beside me, throwing my arm over her shoulder. I flinched as the careless movement made my arm scream at me for the motion, but I gritted my teeth and used Avuri as leverage to stand.


    I gave Avuri the best smile I could manage. She returned it, before we both turned to look at the bloody mess that was Eozia. The Blizzard Dragon had done its job very well, absolutely savaging her clothing and skin, leaving cuts and slashes everywhere. But my eyes zeroed in on her neck, where it was clearly and cleanly bisected almost all the way back to the bone. She had turned toward us at some point, and the top and bottom halves of her neck were misaligned and slick with blood.


    Then Auban returned. He darted from the tent as Avuri hid Eozia¡¯s battered body with her Snowflakes. I grinned to myself; she was a sneaky little fox when she wanted to be. That sight would surely be enough to shake him.


    As he began to speak, Avuri moved her Snowflakes. He stopped for just an instant and his Domain flickered. Avuri struck immediately, and shut him down. As his Domain was effectively silenced, I stretched mine out, reaching for my flying swords. I reconnected with them and prepared to pull them back toward me.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, or even really care, what you did to Eozia, but you¡¯ll pay. I don¡¯t need my Domain to blast you both with lightning.¡± Auban said, angrily.


    As I collected half of my swords and brought them to hover over my shoulders, I pushed up off of Avuri. My legs screamed in protest as pins and needles shot up and down my whole body. But I wanted to look as intimidating as I could at the moment.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± I said, feigning nonchalance. ¡°Personally, I think it¡¯s payback time.¡±


    As he raised a hand, presumably to launch a blast of lightning at us, I took a gamble for the second time that day. I had left six flying swords scattered around the battlefield that I had bothered to call back to me. I called upon them now.


    And all six converged, lightning fast, on Auban. From six different directions.


    He quickly adjusted his blast and shot one of the blades out of the air. It practically disintegrated on contact with the lightning, as the raw energy of it blasted apart the Qi that held the blade together.


    But removing one of six was obviously not going to be enough. One sword he managed to stop by getting it stuck in his right hand. Another hit the front of his left shoulder. The third, his right kidney. The fourth, the back of his left shoulder, and the fifth his left thigh. His body did a short, macabre dance as he was forced in a different direction from each hit, before collapsing to his knees.


    Unable to really move my body without agony, I reached out toward him with my Domain. Avuri¡¯s Domain parted for me as mine slunk closer to Auban. He looked up and both of us, a stream of curses tumbling from his mouth.


    Without the protection of his Domain, I was able to reach out with mine and surround his throat. And with a mental flex, a blade of air slipped right through his neck.


    As his head tumbled off the base of his neck, I let my body go slack.


    ¡°Help.¡± I muttered, as I slumped bonelessly to the ground.


    Avuri yelped and tried to get her arms around me before I hit the ground. Thankfully, she succeeded and managed to at least prevent my head from crashing into the hard dirt. She offered me a crooked smile as she slowly laid me on the ground.


    ¡°My limbs are on fire.¡± I said with a laugh. ¡°They¡¯ve got that damn pins and needles feeling.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s what happens when you get feeling back into limbs that were struck by lightning.¡±


    ¡°And how are you so sure about that? Been hit by lightning before?¡± I asked sourly.


    ¡°Nope, I just assumed.¡± Avuri said, with a relieved smile. Then she flicked my arm. I whimpered as the light flick rippled up my arm and into my other extremities. ¡°Now you stay here while I go find our captives.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not going anywhere.¡± I said, focused on keeping my limbs as still as possible.


    Avuri grinned then, and bent down. I closed my eyes and flinched, but opened them again when I felt her press her lips to my forehead. ¡°Good. You¡¯d better stay right where I can see you, Emery.¡±


    Then she stood and hurried off toward the tent.

 51 : Departure

    Most of the family was gathered in the playground to see Uncle Vale off. He had been hanging around for a couple of weeks now, putting off his next bit of travel - which was very normal for him.


    Emery smiled happily, her arm slung around Avuri¡¯s shoulders, as they watched the younger kids take their turns hugging Vale and saying goodbye. Vale would pick each one up in turn, give them a hefty squeeze, spin them around a bit, then set them back down with either a good hair ruffle or head pat.


    He had learned the hard way that ruffling long hair was a potential recipe for disaster when he had messed up Shara¡¯s braid. His overzealous messing with her hair completely pulled her braid apart, leaving her nearly in tears. Vale had tried to apologize, but Shara just ran off to her big brothers struggling not to cry.


    All five of the older kids living in the Alder house immediately went to work on calming her down and redoing her braid. Emery and Avuri had both had to hide their laughter as they watched them treat the little girl like an absolute princess. They even went as far as making her a flower crown to help her cheer up.


    Vale slowly worked his way through the crowd of children. It took a while to say goodbye to nearly thirty kids, and every one of them wanted their chance to say their piece. In the case of the older kids, a few tried to bribe Vale to bring back special treats or other souvenirs for the next time he returned. There were also a lot of last minute Cultivation questions.


    While it never really bothered Avuri, it always prickled Emery just a bit that everyone always took every chance they had to get advice from Vale. She was right here, and knew just as much about the Foundation Realms and the Earth Realm as Vale did. Maybe even more at this point.


    By the time it was Stena and Cierra¡¯s turn to say their goodbyes, they had all been standing in the playground for over an hour. Some of the kids had gone off to do their own things, but most were still hanging around to wave goodbye.


    Stena had given Vale a few Tael of mortal money, asking him to bring back some kind of food none of them had ever tried before. A thoughtful look crossed Vale¡¯s face, but he finally settled on a grin.


    ¡°Is that your only stipulation? Just something no one here has tried before?¡±


    Stena looked concerned for a moment, before responding. ¡°I¡¯m okay with it tasting bad. Just don¡¯t bring back something gross. I don¡¯t want some icky slimy sea creature.¡± She paused for a moment, then added, ¡°For example, durian - yes, snails - no.¡±


    Vale smiled, the welcoming expression masking his deviousness. ¡°I can work with that.¡± Then he stepped in to grab Stena up in a tight hug. She didn¡¯t get spun around like the little kids, but she was still lifted up off her feet in a squeeze before being dropped back down.


    Emery and Avuri finally approached as Cierra took her turn.


    ¡°Any last minute advice for your favorite granddaughter?¡± She grinned wide. ¡°I¡¯m getting really close on Momri¡¯s Dragon technique after what you showed me last time. But if you¡¯ve got any extra little bits of advice, I¡¯d happily take them.¡±


    Vale chuckled, then nodded toward Avuri as they approached. ¡°I¡¯ve basically given you all I can when it comes to that technique. Ask your mother about the specifics - it is her technique after all.¡±


    Emery snorted. ¡°Oh, so you¡¯ll tell her to ask Ri about something, but you won¡¯t ever point anyone to me, hm? I see how it is.¡± She whined, pouting.


    ¡°Well, if someone comes to me asking about how to get one of your techniques right, I¡¯ll point them in your direction.¡± Vale said with a shrug. Then he showed off a shit-eating grin as he said, ¡°It¡¯s not my fault that your techniques are so simple even the kids can figure them out on their own.¡±


    Emery¡¯s face went red with some combination of embarrassment and anger. ¡°You-! Oh, I¡¯m gonna show these kids what I can really do one of these days and they¡¯ll just be lining up to ask me about it.¡±


    Avuri put a finger to her chin cutely, thinking out loud. ¡°You know, Merri, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve shown any of our kids like¡­any of your better techniques.¡± There was a devious little glint in her eyes when she continued, ¡°Maybe you just rely on throwing your weapons around a little too much?¡±


    Emery turned to her wife, slack jawed. ¡°I expected this from him.¡± She said, throwing a thumb over her shoulder to point at Vale. ¡°But you too? Fine.¡± Emery sighed, throwing her hands up. ¡°Maybe next time I make dinner I¡¯ll put on a little show.¡±


    Emery met eyes with Stena and Cierra in turn, then smirked. ¡°You think it¡¯s cool to watch your Mom cook with flying knives? How about without them?¡±


    Avuri rolled her eyes. ¡°Emery, using your Air Blades to cook feels like just a little overkill.¡±


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ¡°Well you said I¡¯m not cool enough to get the kids interested in my techniques!¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say that. I just implied it.¡± Avuri said with a slight giggle. ¡°You could at least start with something less dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what do you mean by ¡®Air Blades¡¯?¡± Stena asked, her face alight with interest.


    Emery motioned to Stena with both hands. ¡°See? Air Blades are interesting! Apparently flying weapons aren¡¯t enough on their own anymore.¡± She lamented.


    Vale laughed then, and took up a hunched over, old-man looking pose. ¡°Back in my day¡­¡± He began in a weak, brittle voice. ¡°Flying swords were cool.¡±


    ¡°Right?¡± Emery exclaimed. ¡°All I wanted growing up was a whole bunch of flying swords.¡±


    ¡°Well, I suppose you got your wish.¡± Avuri said. ¡°Just in time for them to not be cool anymore.¡±


    Emery not only hung her head, but hunched over in absolute defeat. ¡°The kids in Flowing Dragon City think I¡¯m cool¡­¡± she muttered to no one in particular.


    Laughing, Avuri walked over to Emery and put her arm around her shoulder consolingly. ¡°Don¡¯t be too sad, Merri. Everyone here just grew up with you flinging weapons around all the time, so it just feels commonplace.¡±


    ¡°I know¡­¡±


    ¡°Anyway¡­¡± Cierra said, exasperated, then gave Vale a big hug. ¡°We¡¯ll see you soon?¡±


    Vale nodded, wrapping his arms tightly around Cierra. ¡°You will. I¡¯m going to head to Green Vine City and visit Talya. Your mothers want me to deliver a letter.¡±


    Cierra glanced back at Emery, who nodded. ¡°Yup. We saw her last year when she got married, but you two didn¡¯t get to come with us, and she still hasn¡¯t met Arek or Astra. We thought it might be a good time for her to visit soon. Maybe she can bring Gray too, so you all can meet him too.¡±


    ¡°That would be nice. I haven¡¯t seen Aunt Talya in¡­four? Five years?¡± Cierra tilted her head, thinking hard. ¡°I actually don¡¯t remember the last time she visited. I really miss her.¡±


    Avuri smiled. ¡°She did help take care of you a lot when we first adopted you. I¡¯m actually shocked she hasn¡¯t actively tried to come visit you. And Stena too, of course.¡±


    Stena stuck out her tongue at Avuri. ¡°I miss Aunt Talya too. I know she was around a lot when I was little, but I don¡¯t remember a lot of that time. Not until I was a little older.¡±


    ¡°Well, she was here until you were¡­what, six?¡± Emery said, trying to recall. ¡°Maybe seven?¡±


    Avuri laughed. ¡°We¡¯re all really bad at keeping our timelines straight, aren¡¯t we?¡±


    Emery nodded sardonically. ¡°No kidding. Time just kinda all blends together here outside of very specific events.¡±


    ¡°It really does.¡± Vale chimed in. ¡°I feel like when I¡¯m here time more or less just flows by us while we¡¯re untouched.¡±


    ¡°Comes with the territory of being so isolated, I suppose.¡± Cierra said. ¡°Hard to say that being able to spend so much time as we please is a bad thing though.¡±


    Avuri nodded. ¡°It¡¯s very easy to just¡­exist here. I love it.¡± With a goofy smile, Avuri wrapped up Emery and their two daughters into one big hug. ¡°I love you all. So much.¡±


    Cierra giggled girlishly as Stena wiggled against the hug. Emery kept her trapped there, however, and snuggled into Avuri¡¯s embrace. ¡°I love you all too.¡± She said, gently rubbing her head against Avuri¡¯s chin the way a cat would.


    Avuri laughed and angled down to kiss the top of Emery¡¯s head. ¡°Now stop that, it tickles!¡±


    As requested, Emery stopped and let her daughters slip away.


    Vale walked up then and gave Emery and Avuri each a big hug. ¡°I¡¯m very proud of you two girls. But I really should get on my way before I lose all the daylight.¡±


    ¡°As if you can¡¯t see fine in the dark.¡± Emery said flatly.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s not hard on my old eyes.¡± Vale chuckled.


    ¡°You just want to get to the Emerald Expanse so you can stay in Pleasant Fields.¡± Avuri said slyly.


    Emery glanced at her wife then back at Vale with narrowed eyes. He just looked away nonchalantly, playing innocent. He was doing everything just short of whistling. ¡°Gross, Dad.¡±


    Vale laughed heartily at that. ¡°You¡¯re playing the Dad card now?¡±


    ¡°When you¡¯re trying to leave quickly so you can get to a small town famous for their courtesans? Yeah, I¡¯m gonna play the Dad card.¡± Emery said, still overplaying her disgust.


    ¡°You¡¯re a dragon. How does that even work?¡± Stena muttered quietly to herself. Cierra snorted at that.


    When Vale opened his mouth to answer, Emery quickly put a hand up. ¡°Nope. Don¡¯t answer her. I do not want to know.¡±


    He chuckled, then stepped in for one final hug with his daughter. He bumped foreheads with her, then quietly said, ¡°I love you. Stay safe.¡±


    ¡°You too. Be careful out there and we¡¯ll see you soon.¡± Emery said, squeezing Vale extra tightly once more before letting him go.


    Vale took a step back from the small group and looked over the rest of the family still gathered to see him off.


    ¡°Damn. You know, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever get tired of this.¡± He said proudly, looking out over the more than twenty people gathered before him. His eyes met Emery¡¯s, then Avuri¡¯s in turn. ¡°You two¡¯ve done really well. I¡¯m really proud of you two.¡±


    Emery rolled her eyes at that. ¡°You visit and leave us several times a year, Vale. You can¡¯t say the same damn thing every time and expect me to get misty eyed every time.¡±


    He laughed when she immediately followed that statement by wiping at her eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll stop when it stops working.¡± He said with a big grin, then waved happily to all the waiting kids. They waved back, many putting their full body into the grand farewell.


    Avuri, Stena, and Cierra all offered more subdued waves of their own. Emery gave Vale a big smile and a sad little wave of her own.


    ¡°See you soon, Dad. Try to convince Talya to come back with you this time.¡±


    ¡°I will. Be safe.¡±


    Then he turned, dashed off toward the edge of the basin, and with a huge leap went soaring over the large stone walls that surrounded their hidden home.


    As the kids behind them started up chatting and playing, Stena dropped her waving arm and laughed hollowly.


    ¡°Do you think he ever gets tired of the way we always spend multiple hours talking in circles every time he leaves?¡±

 52 : Clean Up

    After leaving Emery to recover, I quickly moved toward the tent that held the prisoners. I kept my Domain active and in touch with Emery¡¯s just in case, though I didn¡¯t expect to need it active for this.


    When I had first scanned the area with Qi, I had felt a total of ten people tied up in the tent, eight of which were children. A quick scan before stepping through the flap of cloth used as the door told me the situation hadn¡¯t changed.


    As I stepped into the tent, I quickly took in my surroundings while prepped for a sneak attack of some kind. I hadn¡¯t sensed anyone but the captives in the room, but Qi senses could be fooled with some techniques.


    My Snowflakes, which were still extra thick and sharp from the previous fight, hovered beside me at the ready. I waited a moment to double, then triple check the room before moving into the center where all of the prisoners were tied to the main support beam of the tent.


    Most of the kids were scared, huddled up into small balls of themselves. Many were ghostly white and terrified. A few were seemingly too young to really recognize what was happening around them, and were either spacing out or taking in the room with big, round eyes.


    The two adults were my first priority, assuming they would be able to help with the kids. I made the assumption that they were related in some way to the caravan, though I wasn¡¯t entirely banking on that. I moved up to them first to get them both untied.


    Both of them were men. One of them was battered and bruised. His face was even misshapen and swollen, presumably from being beaten. His body was still fully clothed, though mostly in rags, so I couldn¡¯t see if the rest of him was hurt as badly as his face, but he was moving around enough that I guessed he wasn¡¯t in too much pain.


    The other man was slumped over on the ground whimpering quietly. I rushed to him first, to check him over for injuries. With the way he was clutching his side, it looked like he was definitely hurt.


    Between my Qi based senses and Sky Realm speed, taking all of this in and moving to the wounded man¡¯s side was apparently too fast for anyone to make sense of what was happening. When I all but suddenly appeared beside the man and knelt down to assess his body, there was a big gasp from the kids as well as a clear reaction of fear from them. They quickly huddled as far away from me as their bindings would allow.


    ¡°Sorry, kids. I¡¯m not here to hurt you, I just want to help.¡± I turned to face the oldest child, a boy I guessed would be around eight, maybe nine years old. I smiled at him welcomingly, then pointed at the wounded man in front of me. ¡°What happened to him? Do you know if he¡¯s hurt?¡±


    When I addressed him, the boy went paler still, his eyes going wide with fear.


    ¡°I promise, I¡¯m really not -¡±


    ¡°Miss, look out!¡± The boy suddenly yelled, cutting me off.


    Without taking any chances, I leapt and rolled to the side, away from the center of the tent. As I rolled to a crouch on my feet, I felt pain and warmth bloom from my right side. My right hand immediately moved to the wound and applied some healing Qi to it.


    I met eyes with the second man that had been in the tent, the one with the swollen face. He wasn¡¯t tied up now, if he had been at all. And he held a wicked looking blade that had clearly been dipped in some kind of viscous gel-like substance. Almost certainly poison.


    I felt a garbled message of alarm and worry from Emery. It wasn¡¯t clear, but I tried to send back that I was alright. At least for now.


    ¡°You know, I have to admit. I didn¡¯t expect the two of you to be able to the handle Meral, let alone Auban and Eozia.¡± The man began, his voice dripping with venom just like his dagger. My mind whirled, and I quickly adjusted my healing technique to draw out the poison instead of healing the wound.


    It didn¡¯t feel too deep, nor had it felt like it hit anything important internally. But it was bleeding enough to be of at least mild concern. But if I healed the wound shut before removing the poison, I would almost certainly be making things worse.


    I wanted to buy some time while my medical technique drew out the poison, so I faced my new attacker. ¡°And I¡¯ll admit, when those two demons first came out, I thought Emery and I were doomed.¡± I said, as I shifted to hide my right hand and the wound behind some layers of my clothing. If he couldn¡¯t see what I was doing, it would certainly be to my benefit.


    ¡°Ha. Well, lucky for you, they were too arrogant to take you seriously. Admittedly, I¡¯m surprised that they should¡¯ve taken you seriously, but here we are. I won¡¯t be making that mistake. Not again.¡± And suddenly, the whole room reeked of demonic Qi.


    The man¡¯s face warped and cleaned itself up. The bruises and welts vanished, leaving a much healthier face in its place. One I recognized, no less.


    ¡°Ah, I see.¡± I said, nonchalantly. ¡°I was wondering what happened to you after I didn¡¯t sense your gross Qi in the camp. Guess I can stop worrying that your bosses chopped off your head for losing a fight. Felt like something they¡¯d do.¡±


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ¡°Nope. They let me play the failsafe just in case they lost. Never thought I¡¯d get the chance, though.¡± He spun the knife between his fingers as he spoke. ¡°For the record, both you and this guy,¡± He nudged the other man who was on the ground beside him, ¡°have a nice dose of my favorite poison running through you. You¡¯ve got, oh, I don¡¯t know. Five or six minutes before your body locks up and goes into shock, and you¡¯re basically comatose on the floor.¡±


    He kicked the other man in the side before continuing, ¡°And he¡¯s got maybe two minutes.¡± Then he laughed.


    I focused hard on drawing the poison from my own wound, and I could feel the sludge-like substance beginning to exit the wound. ¡°Alright then. I guess we should wrap this up quickly before I¡¯m on the ground?¡±


    I brought my Snowflakes to bear, with six defending me while four took care of my offense.


    The man laughed harder as his demonic Qi began to surround him, much like it did during our first encounter with him. I glanced at the kids behind him to be sure he wasn¡¯t hurting them; thankfully he wasn¡¯t though they were huddled as closely together as they could manage and were clearly scared. Some of the youngest were even crying now, despite a lack of understanding of what was happening.


    I swallowed and refocused. I was confident that I had removed enough of the poison now, and worked on messily closing the wound to staunch the bleeding until I could deal with it later.


    ¡°Without that other bitch here, somehow I doubt you¡¯ll be able to get through my Demon Shroud.¡±


    I was prepared to fight however I could, but if his ¡®Demon Shroud¡¯ was actually just a thick defensive aura of demonic Qi, he was probably right. I was positive that Emery would be trying to keep an eye on the fight through her Qi senses by now, so I sent a short message to her while I had the chance. ¡®I think I can handle this, but if you can, help?¡¯


    I wasn¡¯t sure what she could realistically do, with her body still in pain and exhausted from the previous fight, but anything she could offer may be the difference between a win and a loss. Then I thought about how I should play this encounter.


    ¡°Maybe not, but I can at least try to make you work for this.¡± I said, trying to sound as unsure of myself as I could. Talking big and making him take me seriously from the get go was surely not a good plan.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± He said in a sing-song, mocking voice. As his Shroud passed over the last parts of his body, it began to ooze onto the dagger as well. The Shroud seems to coalesce over the blade, and extended its reach to that of a decent one-handed sword. ¡°Let¡¯s see exactly what you¡¯ve got to offer, snow bitch.¡±


    I internally laughed at the old insult I hadn¡¯t heard in a while, before motioning my Snowflakes forward. The cut in my side was just about managed to a point where I could freely move, but I needed to buy a few more seconds.


    The demon used his sword to great effect as he slowly progressed toward me. He wasn¡¯t able to outright destroy any of the Flakes, but he could certainly damage them, so I had to keep Qi flowing to them for repairs. They flew about, darting in at difficult angles to defend from, the sharpness of their edges keeping the demon mostly honest in this fight.


    When he finally made it within a leapable distance from me, he wasted no time. With a single wide sweep of his sword, he knocked two of the Flakes away and closed the last bit of distance with a leap and lunge.


    I nimbly dipped under his strike and danced out of his reach again, as four more of my Snowflakes moved from defense to offense. They kept him engaged as I moved away toward the entrance of the tent. Thankfully, it seemed like eight Snowflakes were enough to keep him pinned, even though I wasn¡¯t able to do any damage. Even if a Flake did manage to find an opening, they failed to cut his skin through the Shroud.


    But I had moved to the tent entrance for a reason - I felt some of Emery¡¯s Qi gathering there. And sure enough poking through the bottom of the tent flap was a beautiful, snow-white blade. I smiled and picked up the sword.


    The blade was different from Emery¡¯s normal style. It was made with a bit more leaning toward form over function, in direct contrast to Emery¡¯s normal weapons which were clearly function over form.


    The handle and guard were inlaid with shapes reminiscent of snow and wind, calling to mind an image of a snowstorm. The blade was one-edged and slightly curved, but not as large as a typical saber. It was light and well balanced, and was almost certainly designed to fit perfectly in my hand.


    Smiling, I turned to face the demon who was still locked in combat with my Flakes. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve used sword forms.¡± I said ruefully. ¡°I hope I haven¡¯t forgotten them.¡±


    The demon snarled as my Snowflakes left an opening for him to jump at me, his sword raised. ¡°You¡¯re gonna regret that confidence.¡± He said, his voice warped with demonic Qi.


    The opening I had left him was a bait, of course. And with his sword raised the way it was, his strike was predictable, even for me. I blocked, and the snow-white blade sheared straight through the Qi-based portion of his sword, dispersing the demonic Qi and leaving him with just a dagger again.


    He seemed confused for a moment, and I didn¡¯t miss the opening. I swung my weapon around, and made a shallow cut on his left flank. As he moved to defend too late, I took advantage of his late guard on the left and made a second shallow cut on his right. While the blows themselves weren¡¯t deadly, they did what I wanted them to do. The Demonic Shroud was dispersing under Emery¡¯s purifying technique.


    The demon screamed in fury and flowed into a series of strikes that, under different circumstances, may have been difficult to block effectively. But he was easy to read while so angry, and he was effectively wielding a dagger as a full sized sword. I moved between his attacks and blocked and parried where necessary.


    As he grew desperate, the demon put too much force into one swing. I dipped my guard to let the blade swing by, then swung my weapon back up to push against the back side of his dagger, forcing him to over extend. The swing pulled him off balance and as he recovered, I plunged the snow-white blade into the demon¡¯s chest.


    I twisted the blade and pulled it out in a brutal yank. As he fell to his knees, I copied a motion I had seen Emery make several dozen times by this point in practice, and removed the demon''s head. At this point, I was unwilling to take any chances.


    As his body fell in two pieces, I flicked the sword hard with my wrist, removing some of the excess blood on the blade before placing it carefully in one of my cloth belts.


    With a deep breath I calmed myself before rushing over to the wounded man and the children, ready to help anyway I could.

 53 : Rescue

    I moved quickly enough that when I moved to kneel beside the man who had been injured I practically slid the last meter in the dirt. I quickly went about using what medical techniques I had to figure out what injuries he had, but it didn¡¯t take long to find the deep knife wound in his side.


    I quickly split my focus four ways to the best of my ability. First, I kept my Domain active, just in case, while sending quiet reassurances to Emery that I was fine. Second, I kept a small amount of medicinal Qi flowing to the man¡¯s wound to staunch the bleeding somewhat. Third, I began working toward extracting the poison that had presumably begun to rampage through the man¡¯s system. That was the toughest part.


    Fourth, I turned to the children, who were all still huddled up together in a protective ball. I tried to give them the most reassuring smile I could manage. ¡°Hey,¡± I said, trying to coax the oldest kid to talk, ¡°if you feel like you¡¯re able, I need you to tell me what¡¯s happened here as best you can.¡±


    The same boy that had warned me of the attack before raised his head toward me and tried to put on a brave face. ¡°Um¡­yeah, okay.¡± He said, tentatively. He pointed to the man I was working on healing. ¡°Is Mister Milarn going to be alright?¡±


    I glanced at the man and then back to the child. I wasn¡¯t sure whether it would be best to be honest or reassuring at the cost of honesty. I took a deep breath and went for honesty. ¡°I think so. I can¡¯t be sure because the bad man over there used poison. I¡¯m trying to remove it and heal the wound the best I can, but I¡¯m not actually a doctor.¡±


    The boy looked stricken but nodded. ¡°He was nice to us. He was like our designated babysitter in the caravan.¡±


    ¡°And the bad guys took him with you when they took you all?¡±


    The boy nodded. ¡°Yeah. They did something that put us all to sleep or something. None of us remember what happened, and then we just woke up here. Mister Milarn said the same thing.¡±


    I looked down at ¡®Mister Milarn¡¯, his face in a grimace of pain. It looked like some of the effects of the poison had already taken their toll, as he appeared to be nearly paralyzed. I supposed it could have been shock from the pain as well, though less likely. Without the poison, he may have eventually bled out, but his wound had thankfully not hit any critical arteries, nor internal organs. I doubted it was intentional on the demon¡¯s part, but the wound appeared to stop just short of his lung.


    ¡°I see.¡± I opted to put a smile on my face and try to be reassuring at this point. ¡°My partner and I came to help you all after we saw your caravan. They made it to Bastion, but there were¡­losses. I don¡¯t know who made it there safely and who didn¡¯t, but as soon as Mister Milarn and my partner can walk, we¡¯re going to take you all there with us.¡±


    The boy nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± He was clearly putting up a tough exterior, but looked worried. ¡°Is there anything I can do to help?¡±


    ¡°If you can round up the other kids and get them ready to move, that would be a big help.¡± I said. With a thought, one of my Snowflakes moved in carefully and slipped through the rope bindings that held them all. ¡°See who is able to walk on their own, and make sure there¡¯s no one who is injured.¡±


    The boy nodded, then turned to move toward the other children.


    ¡°Oh, by the way,¡± I asked, and he turned around again, ¡°what is your name?¡±


    ¡°Grant.¡± He said, and plastered on a smile before turning away again.


    ¡°I¡¯m Avuri. Let me know if any of you need anything.¡± I said, as he continued to move away.


    I redoubled my efforts on the man¡¯s wound then. Drawing out poison that had spread through much of a body was difficult and taxing work. It seeped slowly through his body, even as I pulled it with everything I had. It took several minutes before I saw the ooze-like substance begin to seep from the open wound, and it was several more before the whole dose had been removed.


    I wiped my sweat away from my face before it could sting my eyes, then focused on closing the man¡¯s wound. It took less time than removing the poison did, but was still very battlefield level medicine. The man would certainly need stitches when we made it to Bastion, as well as probably a few treatments along the way to keep it from bleeding.


    Mister Milarn was still unresponsive for the moment, so I opted to check on my own knife wound. The cut wasn¡¯t too dangerous, but I had pulled it open either during our fight or while treating the other man. I took a moment to reclose the wound, took a few deep breaths to calm myself, then stood to look over the kids.


    Thankfully, no one was hurt badly. There were a few rope burns from their bindings, and a few of the younger children were complaining of headaches, but I imagined that was the aftereffects of whatever the demons had used to put them to sleep for their kidnapping.


    ¡°Avuri?¡± I heard Emery call from outside the tent. I told the kids that that was my partner calling, and that I would be right back.


    I slipped outside the tent to see Emery hobbling toward the tent, clearly unsteady on her feet. Every time she took a step, she shuddered and twitched from what I assumed was residual pain from the lightning strikes she took.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°You idiot.¡± I said, exasperated, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be trying to walk yet.¡±


    ¡°Like I have a¡­choice.¡± She paused mid sentence for a tremor to pass through her body. ¡°We can¡¯t stay here long, and we have a whole group of people to escort. I can¡¯t be laid up for that.¡±


    I rolled my eyes. ¡°You can be, and probably will be. There was a small cart just outside the camp. I should be able to pull that with you and all the kids in it.¡±


    Emery stared me down seriously. ¡°I¡¯m not getting in that thing to be jostled around while you pull us to Bastion. All the knocking around might actually kill me.¡±


    ¡°You big baby. You¡¯ll be fine.¡± I said, turning back toward the tent. ¡°In pain, I¡¯m sure. But you¡¯ll live.¡±


    <hr>


    Getting back to Bastion was slow going. I was, as I had predicted, perfectly capable of pulling the cart with all ten passengers. Mister Milarn had recovered enough after an hour to help Emery and I corral the children into the cart and get on our way.


    I moved slowly and deliberately while we weren¡¯t anywhere near the road. Covering the not insignificant distance back to the smooth and well trodden path was going to take a while, but it would have to do. I didn¡¯t want to jostle Emery as she was still sore, but I also didn¡¯t want to push myself too hard and make my injury worse. As is, we were already stopping every hour so I could redress mine and Mister Milarn¡¯s wounds.


    And on top of all of that, there were several young children in the cart. I didn¡¯t realize it when I had first entered the tent, but of the eight kids that had been held captive, half of them were either three or four years old. I definitely didn¡¯t want to upset or hurt them while we traveled, so I put a little extra care than perhaps was necessary into my light jogging.


    Unfortunately, it was early evening by the time we had made it to the demonic Cultivator¡¯s camp, which in turn meant that when we finally left from there it was nearly sundown. And at the pace we were able to move¡­well, we certainly weren¡¯t going to make it to the town unless I ran all night.


    Which, I offered, but was turned down. The kids needed sleep, and it wasn¡¯t a bad idea for the rest of us either.


    Since we were already off the beaten path, we picked somewhere relatively random to bed down for the night. It was mentally exhausting, but I kept my Domain active as often as possible and stretched both it and my natural Qi range as wide as possible to keep an eye open for danger.


    When sunrise came, I thanked whoever or whatever was listening for not making that night difficult. Emery woke up that morning feeling much better, though still slightly tingly, and was able to help me pull the cart in turns. It let me catch a brief nap on the cart during the morning, which was pleasant.


    Despite being knocked around by the rough not-road, I managed to sleep rather well, complete with some rather pleasant dreams. When I woke up in the early afternoon, I put those lovely dreams out of my mind for now to continue focusing on the task at hand. Keeping my eyes from drifting to Emery as we walked and talked aimlessly was much harder in the afternoon though.


    The sun was setting when we finally saw Bastion peeking over the horizon in the distance. With a light smile, I told everyone to hold on tight and turned up my jog speed just a little. Once we made it to the much smoother road, things went a bit quicker and we were able to cover the last stretch in good time.


    The gates were guarded by more Cultivator guards than there had been when we left, and there was a serious hush around the gate. As we approached, three guards leapt from the gate and landed before us, and halted our path.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to excuse our extra security. Things have been¡­strained the last couple days. What¡¯s going on here?¡±


    Before Emery or I could speak up, Mister Milarn spoke. ¡°I¡¯m part of the caravan that was attacked yesterday, as are these kids.¡± He said, moving aside from the front of the wagon to show the kids arrayed behind him. ¡°Emery and Avuri, the two women here, managed to not only free us, but took down the demonic sect that snatched us. It was incredible.¡± He finished, his eyes glinting in the early evening light.


    I waved him quiet. ¡°He¡¯s telling the truth, but before any of that, he and I are both injured. If you have an actual Cultivator doctor in the town that could work on us, I would be grateful.¡± I pulled my robe to the side a little to show the cut cloth, dried blood, and the wound itself all in a single motion.


    The guard in the middle stepped forward and swallowed before speaking. ¡°Look, ma¡¯am, if that¡¯s the case we can see if we can bring a doctor out to you. But for now¡­could you both rein in your Qi?¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± I said, and immediately began to pull my Qi back toward myself. Emery did the same as well. ¡°I¡¯m genuinely sorry. I¡¯ve been using it to monitor our surroundings while we made our way back. I¡¯ve been ¡®on¡¯ for so long that I forgot.¡± As my Qi settled back much closer to my body, my instinct fought the desire to relax still. Instead of letting my Domain and Qi go, I just settled it close around my person instead.


    The guard smiled weakly. ¡°It happens. You aren¡¯t the first Cultivators to approach the city feeling like you¡¯re ready for a battle. But the distance we felt you at had us all concerned, I won¡¯t lie.¡±


    I nearly laughed, but held it back with what I hoped was a warm smile instead. ¡°Sorry, sir. Despite that, I¡¯m really just in the Sky Realm. Nothing to be afraid of.¡±


    He eyed the group of us warily at that admission, his eyes lingering on Emery who was still covered in dried blood and was even lightly charred in a few places. I was pretty sure I didn¡¯t look much better.


    ¡°Well, come into the gate house for now. We¡¯ll bring the kids¡¯ families that are in the town to check the children over and figure out what to do from there.¡±


    Emery and I both nodded. Mister Milarn did so as well, but asked, ¡°Is it alright if I stay with the kids for now? Supervision is fine, but I¡¯m not sure the little ones will take well to being taken somewhere without someone they know right now.¡±


    The guard nodded. ¡°That should be fine, as you aren¡¯t a Cultivator.¡±


    ¡°Should I pull the cart in, or¡­?¡± I asked, trailing off.


    The lead guard motioned for one of the other guards, a woman Cultivator, to step up and take over. I nodded and handed off the makeshift wooden handles we had made out of the old yoke.


    ¡°Thank you for your work.¡± The woman whispered to me, hiding a smile. ¡°You did good.¡±


    I just smiled, grabbed Emery¡¯s hand, and began walking to the town behind the guards.

 54 : Stena

    To be honest, I really don¡¯t remember much from that day despite it being one of the most pivotal moments of my life. I was way too little to remember things with enough clarity to be able to tell or recall what could conceivably be called a story.


    What I do remember was all of us kids in the cart being pulled into a big stone building inside the town. The two nice ladies that had helped us get away from the bad men had been led somewhere else, but the nice man who had watched all of us while we were on the road was still with us. He kept an eye on us while guards hurried about their business.


    I don¡¯t know how long we were in that stone walled room for. I do remember that it was a little chilly, and looking back it was probably very prison-like. Or, I suppose, it was just a very sparse, functional room in a very functional stone building with few comforts.


    A few guards had come and gone from the room and talked with Mister Milarn briefly before running off again.


    Then the parents started filing in. It was only a few at a time, but there were tearful reunions across the board. One parent or two would come in for each kid, there¡¯d be a bunch of hugging and some crying, then they would be taken from the room and the next parent would go in.


    I found out later from my mothers that the surprisingly high number of still living parents wasn¡¯t actually that unusual. Reportedly, the demonic sect actively avoided killing the parents of the kids they took. Apparently one of the survivors from a previous caravan had heard the ramblings of one of the crazed demonic Cultivators shouting about spreading despair and wanting all of the parents to suffer knowing their kids would be taken and¡­well, hopefully killed.


    I didn¡¯t want to think of the other potential options, even now.


    It was apparently standard in the recent months of attacks that the survivors from most of the sect¡¯s attacks on caravans would be practically just the parents of the missing children.


    In any case, I do remember being one of two kids still sitting in that stone room alone at the end with Mister Milarn. He was doing his best to cheer us up and keep us happy, but I was doing fine. Honestly, I was pretty happy that my mom and dad weren¡¯t there, because I was so sure they would have been angry with me, and probably would¡¯ve hit me for disappearing like that.


    It felt like there was a long time between when the last kid had gotten picked up by her parents and when Emery and Avuri were finally brought inside the room. They looked tired, but both smiled when they came into the room. They both waved to me and the other boy who was still there, and we both waved back. Then they were taken out of the room again by their guard along with Mister Milarn, who assured us he would be right back.


    That wait I don¡¯t recall taking very long. They all came back into the room, with their smiles still on, but they weren¡¯t quite the same. Mister Milarn had walked over to the other boy in the room, scooped him up and left the room with him, while Emery and Avuri had come over to kneel in front of me. I¡¯m pretty sure I was sitting on the ground just staring at them like the three year old I was.


    ¡°Hi.¡± Emery had said, her smile growing warm again. ¡°Do you know your name, sweetie?¡±


    ¡°Stena.¡± I said, shyly. Emery and Avuri had shared a look and a shrug at the name. I¡¯m not sure if Stena was the name actually given to me by my birth parents. It¡¯s entirely possible I couldn¡¯t say my actual name right. My mothers have even joked about it more than once, that I was officially named by myself.


    ¡°Stena, then.¡± Emery said, crouching and hugging her knees. She tried to look as friendly as she could, but she also looked sad. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­Hm. I don¡¯t think your mommy and daddy are going to be able to come back for you, Stena.¡± She plopped down onto the floor in front of me as she spoke, and was clearly searching for the right thing to say to a small child.


    ¡°Did the¡­bad guys get them?¡± I asked. I remember Emery and Avuri both looking mildly confused that I wasn¡¯t obviously upset but they both kept smiles in place as they continued.


    ¡°I think so. The bad guys hurt a lot of people, and we think that they took your parents too.¡± Avuri said, moving up next to Emery to also sit down on the hard, cold stone floor.


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± I said, my little three year old brain working to understand all that to the best of my ability. ¡°So¡­so where do I live now?¡± I asked. Mom and Dad had always said I had no choice but to live with them and that I always had to stay with them no matter what. ¡°Do I have to go live with the bad guys too, like Mom and Dad?¡± I asked, my voice laced with fear. ¡°I don¡¯t want to do that.¡±


    Emery reached out a hand and gently placed it on top of my head, stroking in gentle, comforting circles. ¡°Oh, sweetie, you don¡¯t have to do that.¡±


    ¡°Then where?¡± I asked lamely.


    Emery and Avuri exchanged another look. ¡°I know we just met you, but how do you feel about staying with us?¡± Emery asked. ¡°We have another girl who lost her mom and dad like you, too. Maybe you could be friends.¡±


    My eyes went wide. ¡°Friends?¡± I had never had a friend before. I was always stuck at home with Mom and Dad.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Avuri nodded. ¡°Mhm. Do you know what friends are?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve never had one though. Mom and Dad didn¡¯t let me leave our house.¡± I said. Another look passed between Emery and Avuri, one much darker than before.


    ¡°If you think you¡¯re okay staying with us, the good guys taking care of this town said you could go with us.¡± Emery said, her hand ruffling my hair. ¡°You¡¯re also allowed to say no to us, and they¡¯ll try to find you a nice family to live with here in the town.¡±


    I looked at both of them for a long time, thinking about it, then my three-year-old brain decided to bluntly ask, ¡°Will you both be nice to me?¡±


    They both smiled and chuckled at that. It was a much nicer sound than the one my parents had made when I asked them questions like that. ¡°Of course.¡± Avuri said. ¡°You¡¯ll get at least three meals a day, your own room, and your own bed.¡±


    ¡°Unless you want to share with us, like the other girl does.¡± Emery added. ¡°You¡¯re welcome to do that too.¡±


    That sounded really nice. If they weren¡¯t going to be mean, that was at least better than when I was with my parents.


    ¡°I¡¯ll stay with you.¡± I said, making up my mind.


    And that was pretty much it. Emery and Avuri talked to the guard after that, and we left together.


    I remember getting food in the town before we left, and it was really good. While we were sitting at a table outside and eating, I randomly turned to Emery and asked, ¡°What should I call you?¡±


    She looked a little surprised. ¡°Oh, did we not tell you our names?¡±


    I shook my head, and she smiled. ¡°I¡¯m Emery.¡± She said, placing a hand on her chest. Then she touched Avuri¡¯s shoulder. ¡°And this is Avuri.¡±


    Avuri nodded without saying anything because her mouth was full. I scrunched up my nose and repeated, ¡°Em-er-y. A-vu-ri.¡±


    Avuri swallowed her mouthful then, and said, ¡°Our other girl calls her ¡®Mom¡¯. And she calls me ¡®Momri¡¯. Is that easier?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I can do that.¡±


    We all ate a bit more in relative silence before I asked. ¡°Are you my new Moms, then?¡±


    Emery choked on her food at the sudden blunt question, but Avuri recovered quickly. ¡°Do¡­you want us to be?¡± She asked lightly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. If you¡¯re nice to me, maybe.¡± I said and continued to eat my lunch. Emery and Avuri both laughed.


    After lunch, we were on our way for real. My mothers bought a small sling bag and refashioned it so that I could ride in it while they basically flew with massive leaps. I took a few turns riding strapped to each of their chests as we traveled back to the Basin.


    <hr>


    ¡°Wow, Stena,¡± Kaili said, ¡°your story is so¡­boring? I guess in comparison at least.¡± She was holding a stick with some meat on it over a campfire on the playground, as were a number of the kids. They had been trading stories about how they were each taken in by their Moms, though many had already heard these stories.


    Stena shrugged. ¡°Unfortunately, there¡¯s not a lot to tell when you¡¯re three. I barely remember a lot of what was going on around then.¡±


    ¡°But you took it all so well!¡± Enrik said, loudly. ¡°Flyn and Evin were both taken in when they were little like that too, but all they did was cry for a while and want their parents. Hell, most of us were like that at first, I imagine.¡±


    Stena snorted and smiled. ¡°I guess you didn¡¯t catch my hints during my storytime, then, Enrik.¡± She said, keeping her voice light. ¡°I don¡¯t remember my birth parents well. What I do remember of them was that they were¡­well, they weren¡¯t good parents. They were abusive. They would hit me, and yell at me for everything.¡±


    Stena paused before continuing. ¡°Not so bad that I would get injured or anything, but I imagine that was because I was still little. I¡¯m sure that if I had stayed with them as a family, I probably wouldn¡¯t even be alive right now. I certainly wouldn¡¯t be happy.¡±


    With the mood soured, everyone went quiet for a bit before Kord piped up. ¡°Wait. Didn¡¯t Mom say you were a little hellion as a child, and that you were one of the most depressed out of all of us? That doesn¡¯t match your story.¡±


    Stena sighed. ¡°Yeah, all that came later. I guess you don¡¯t remember, Kord? It was around when you joined the family.¡±


    He gave her a blank look and shook his head. ¡°When Momri first took me in, I was pretty shut off from everyone.¡±


    ¡°Ha, that¡¯s true. You shut yourself in your room and wouldn¡¯t talk to me or Cierra for a while.¡± Stena said, lost in her reminiscing for a moment. ¡°But anyway, it was around when I was ten that I started really being trouble for Mom. I was frustrated because Cierra was better than me at just about anything, and I felt¡­well, let¡¯s just say I was massively depressed and leave it at that. That¡¯s a story for another night, maybe.¡±


    She kept her voice light and bright, then clapped to try to get everyone back on track. ¡°Come on, y''all! We were supposed to be having fun out here while we made ourselves a camping dinner!¡±


    Karn snorted derisively. ¡°Oh, yeah, camping. A little ways from our houses in the playground. How exciting.¡±


    Stena eyed them dangerously. ¡°Keep talking like that, and I¡¯m gonna take the skewer of beef you¡¯ve got in your hand there, buddy.¡±


    Karn defensively huddled around their long skewer as they tried to keep the meat over the fire. ¡°I was just joking.¡± They stammered. ¡°It¡¯s great out here! Whoo!¡± They shouted, trying to sound excited.


    Stena laughed. ¡°Fine, just finish cooking your meat. Anyone who doesn¡¯t think it¡¯s cool to camp in the playground is more than welcome to go sleep in your bed. We don¡¯t need you out here anyway.¡±


    Ritz and Shara shouted together, ¡°We think you¡¯re cool, Stena!¡±


    Stena pointed to them with her skewer. ¡°See? They can stay.¡±

 55 : Meet and Greet

    It didn¡¯t take all that long to travel from Bastion back to the Basin in the end. What Avuri had said was a nineteen day trip by caravan from Bastion to Flowing Dragon City took the three of us only four days. And that was being slowed down by having a small child along for the trip. If it had been just myself and Avuri, I figured we could have made the trip in two and some change.


    Moving through Flowing Dragon City was easy enough, too. The guards at the gates were beginning to recognize both me and Avuri, so they didn¡¯t give us too much trouble when we entered the city. They did ask about Stena, but showing them the writ of guardianship we had received in Bastion was enough to have us waved through.


    We stopped for a bite to eat in the city, taking great pleasure in having something that wasn¡¯t designed for travel consumption. Even with both Avuri and I packing good food in our storage rings, there was only so much we could reasonably do to cook on the road.


    It also helped that the food in Flowing Dragon City was some of the best available in the province, easily.


    With more travel to come, though, we kept it light. Soups and some bread was all we really wanted, but Avuri and I were delighted to see Stena so enamored with what was surely going to be one of the simpler meals she¡¯d see for a while. I was planning to cook some pretty impressive feasts during my next few turns cooking, and I suspected Avuri would do the same. Especially after watching how Stena¡¯s whole face lit up when she tasted the - admittedly high-quality - simple onion soup.


    After lunch, we more or less made our way straight to the Basin. The trip up the Peak was a concern, but the wide reach of Avuri¡¯s Qi and Domain was enough of a safety net that our climb went quickly. We weren¡¯t really approached by any animals or spirit beasts at all. And those that did venture into Avuri¡¯s net of Qi were easily avoided thanks to the wide area of her detection net.


    We did have to put a little effort into keeping Stena comfortable as we climbed though. Avuri was able to keep the worst of the mountain¡¯s chill at bay with her Qi, keeping the frosty air from actually freezing on us, but we still had to stop a few times to throw an extra couple blankets over the little kid carrier we had made. By the time we made it near the top of the Peak where we would start traveling around toward the Basin, Stena was under a decent mound of cloth held tightly to my chest.


    Any time Avuri and I met eyes we¡¯d glance down at Stena¡¯s buried form and fight laughter.


    And then, finally, warmth. We leapt over the stone outcroppings that marked the edges of the Basin and into the Array controlled environment and its pleasant warmth. As we crossed that barrier, I felt Avuri relax her Qi and let her Domain fall, for the first time in days. I glanced at her but said nothing for now. We had plenty of time to talk now that we were back.


    The blankets covering Stena were thrown into my storage ring pretty quickly, allowing her little head a clean view of her new surroundings. And she took them in with huge, wide eyes.


    ¡°This is part of your new home, Stena.¡± I said, my hand ruffling her hair lightly.


    Avuri stepped up beside me, smiling wide. ¡°What do you think? Would you like to walk on your own with us?¡±


    She nodded emphatically, still looking around wildly. I slowly unstrapped the carrier and helped Stena get her little feet on the ground. She teetered unsteadily a bit at first, but Avuri and I each took one of her hands and walked slowly alongside her.


    ¡°So, Stena, these purple trees that are everywhere are called wisteria trees.¡± I said, explaining things idly as we walked. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of them here, and they¡¯re really good at protecting us. See how well they keep us covered and comfy in the shade?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± She said, her eyes darting from tree to tree in wonder. ¡°They¡¯re pretty.¡±


    ¡°I like them too,¡± I said, ¡°that¡¯s why there are so many.¡±


    ¡°Do you live in the trees?¡± Stena asked innocently.


    Avuri and I chuckled, but Avuri answered, ¡°Kinda. We have a big wooden house made from the trees, and it¡¯s right next to the biggest one.¡± She pointed in the direction of the main house, but it was still far enough to be obscured by other trees. ¡°It¡¯s where we¡¯re walking to right now.¡±


    Stena nodded and said ¡°Okay.¡±


    When we got closer to the main house, I had planned on pointing out the other buildings and things around, even if Stena wouldn¡¯t really understand. I assumed she¡¯d at least understand baths, because we all needed one.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    However, my plans were interrupted almost the instant the house came into view. Vale, Talya, and Cierra were all waiting outside for us, and Cierra was already running toward us, clearly very excited.


    She slowed down when she saw Stena, though, eventually ending up in a walk as she came to meet us. Vale and Talya were walking up behind her.


    ¡°Who¡¯s she?¡± Cierra asked, her eyes showing both interest and worry as she looked at each of us.


    Avuri crouched down to be eye level with Cierra when she responded. ¡°Cierra, this is Stena. Hopefully, you two can be friends. In time, she may even be your sister, but she hasn¡¯t decided that yet.¡±


    Cierra regarded the new girl warily, but walked up to her, then stiffly offered her a hand to shake. ¡°Hi, Stena. I¡¯m Cierra.¡±


    I watched as Stena slowly took her hand and held it, apparently not familiar with hand shakes. ¡°Hi, Cierra. Nice to meet you.¡±


    They both stood like that for an extended moment, then eventually their hands dropped. Stena also dropped the hand she was still holding mine with and both girls turned to look at me, though with different expressions. Stena¡¯s expression said something akin to ¡®what do I do now?¡¯.


    Cierra, however, tackled me around the waist with a big hug. ¡°Welcome home, Mom.¡± She said, burying her face into my stomach. Then she turned toward Avuri who had stood back up straight, and leapt at her in turn, tackling her from the side. ¡°You too, Momri.¡± She muttered something into Avuri¡¯s side that sounded suspiciously like, ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re both safe.¡±


    As she was wedging herself into Avuri¡¯s side, she apparently found the knife wound, though. Avuri flinched, and Cierra jumped back, her eyes locked on Avuri¡¯s side where there was still a cut in her outer robes. She looked up at Avuri in alarm. ¡°Did you get hurt? Are you okay?¡±


    Avuri smiled and crouched down again to give Cierra a hug. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I did get hurt, but it¡¯s been looked at and treated. My side is just still a little sore. Your mother is also recovering from getting hurt too, so be careful hugging her too, okay?¡±


    Her little head whipped around to me at lightning speed. ¡°I thought you were okay! Are you hurt, Mom?¡± She asked.


    I shook my head, ¡°No, I¡¯m okay. I was sore for a bit, but it¡¯s mostly past now.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s lying. Be gentle with her.¡± Avuri whispered in Cierra¡¯s ear. I raised an eyebrow at her, questioningly as she met my gaze. ¡°You think I didn¡¯t notice you wincing every time something touches you?¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± I said, shocked she noticed. I thought I was hiding it well, but she was right. My body was still a little raw from the lightning strikes. ¡°You must be watching me like a hawk.¡±


    ¡°I have been, yeah.¡± She said bluntly, and turned away to greet Vale and Talya before I could ask her anything further.


    As the two girls talked to each other a little awkwardly, Vale and Talya both moved in for hugs for each of us.


    ¡°I see you¡¯ve both made it back.¡± Vale said, with a huge sigh of relief. ¡°I¡¯m glad that you¡¯re both in one piece.¡±


    ¡°I was really worried you weren¡¯t going to.¡± Talya said, trying to hug us both tightly and gently all at once. Even as I felt the wave of pins and needles ripple from where she touched, I felt safe and at home with my family.


    ¡°Would you like to come inside and tell us what happened?¡± Vale asked. ¡°Dinner will be ready soon, and there should be enough, even with another mouth to feed.¡± He said, smiling at Stena.


    ¡°Yeah, that would be nice.¡± I said, as Avuri threw an arm around Talya¡¯s shoulders to walk toward the house. She gave my sister a gentle squeeze, and it made me smile to see them so at home with one another.


    I turned toward Cierra and Stena, who were both falling in step behind us. My smile turned into a grin when I saw them holding hands. ¡°You two got friendly nice and fast.¡±


    They both nodded, then Cierra said, ¡°Stena said she¡¯d never had friends before, so I wanted to be first!¡± She smiled, swinging their arms as they walked.


    Stena nodded. ¡°I didn¡¯t really get to leave my house before, so friends are new!¡± She said happily.


    I shared a look with all the adults as we moved inside. It wasn¡¯t the first time something Stena had said had left a foul taste in my mouth, and Avuri had similar concerns. We didn¡¯t want to ask her outright about what her parents were like, but we had our suspicions.


    Apparently that one sentence was enough to tip Vale and Talya in that direction too, as they both shared a look of mild concern.


    Regardless, she was no longer under their care. If her parents were abusive, or even just borderline abusive, she was at least out of that situation now. I was confident that she would be safe and well taken care of with Avuri and I.


    I offered a silent apology to the universe for thinking badly of Stena¡¯s birth parents, but given the hints she had dropped, I found it difficult to sympathize with them. I truly hoped I was wrong and that she had been treated well.


    As we walked up to the second floor, the smell of food hit me like a hammer. My stomach immediately set to growling. Considering our lunch had been small and light in the interest of easy travel, and the trek up the Peak was rather exhausting, I was quite hungry.


    The answering stomach growls from both Avuri and Stena made me laugh.


    ¡°Seems like we¡¯re all a little hungry, hm?¡± Talya asked as she hustled off to the kitchen. ¡°I can plate everything now. Should be on the table in mere minutes.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll help!¡± Cierra said, and she ran off after Talya. Stena looked after her, then followed with less speed.


    As Vale was setting the table up for six, Avuri pulled me into the hallway leading toward the bedrooms by my sleeve.


    When we were about as alone as we were going to get in here, she got close to me and whispered, ¡°I want to talk to you. Alone. After dinner.¡±


    ¡°Uh, sure?¡± I said, confused.


    But that was apparently all she wanted, or needed, to say as she brushed past me and back toward the table.


    ¡°Huh.¡±

 56 : Heart to Heart

    I felt like I was a mess all through dinner. I had already pulled Emery aside and told her I wanted to talk. That was a great start. But more importantly, it stopped me from chickening out of talking to her.


    We were back now, and our pressing timeline had been addressed. We no longer had the demonic sect in the Dying Lands breathing down our necks. We could finally take some time and work on other things.


    Like our feelings.


    I internally laughed, imagining how Emery would react if I walked up to her and said, ¡®We need to talk about our feelings¡¯. I was almost sure she would burst into laughter at the notion, though she had certainly surprised me before. I had to admit, I honestly had no idea how she would approach feelings of like, love, or lust. At least, not when they no longer needed to be put on the back burner to save lives.


    I tried to keep myself focused on the chatting around the table as we all ate. We all sat at a lovely round table, with the younger girls between Emery and I. Cierra and Stena had acted as only children could, and already looked like they were as friendly as could be. They were even sharing food between their plates, and it was so cute I couldn¡¯t help but smile.


    More than once throughout the meal, I had met eyes with Emery while smiling at the girls. Every single time, without fail, she would smile at me before turning back to her food or the girls, and my stomach would flip.


    It was more difficult to keep myself concentrated on the meal and conversation around this table than it was to keep myself together against the demons we had just fought. Emery just had some kind of hold on me I couldn¡¯t shake - probably because of the recent danger and heightened emotions. And even though I knew that, it didn¡¯t help me stay in control.


    The worst part of it all was my inability to read how Emery felt. Sure, she smiled at me regularly, but that could be entirely unrelated to me, especially given the adorable little girls currently being cute sat between us.


    As dinner drew to a close, I drank nearly an entire glass of water because my mouth kept going dry. Eventually the conversation broke up and people started getting up to clean the dishes and do other after dinner chores.


    ¡°I¡¯ll help!¡± Cierra shouted happily, as Vale carried a stack of dishes into the kitchen.


    Vale laughed, happily accepting the girl¡¯s assistance. ¡°I swear, Cici, those must be your favorite words.¡± And as Cierra trotted off behind Vale, Stena was trailing on her heels holding onto the back of Cierra¡¯s top.


    Before Talya got up to do whatever it was she was going to do, Emery stood and walked over to me. She gave a little tug on the shoulder of my shirt while addressing Talya. ¡°Sorry, Talya. Avuri and I need to go do something really quick before we do anything else. We¡¯ll be back in a bit to grab Stena, and maybe Cierra too, for a bath.¡±


    ¡°Sure, that¡¯s fine.¡± Talya said, looking up at Emery confused. ¡°Just make sure you do wash, because all three of you stink of sweat and travel.¡±


    Emery chuckled as I nervously got to my feet. ¡°Trust me, I plan on soaking for a while tonight. No need to make me.¡±


    And then Emery gently ushered me out of the room, down the stairs and to the outside. She finally stopped just outside the doorway to the house.


    ¡°You said private. How private? Want to go sit on the playground?¡± Emery asked with a smile.


    The sun was beginning to set, and the way the last rays of the day filtered through the canopy of trees and hit Emery made her look absolutely ephemeral, complete with a beautiful halo of light. I caught myself staring and had to force myself to look away. ¡°Yeah, the playground is fine.¡± I said, and started to walk off in that direction.


    Emery, the infernal woman, decided that would be a good time to step up beside me and hook one of her arms through mine. I glanced at her, but she was just watching ahead of us with a faint, content smile. If she had had any other expression, I would¡¯ve sworn she was purposefully messing with me - but that serene expression felt so genuine that I just let it go.


    She eventually led me to the far side of the playground, where we had fashioned a couple of cut logs into benches. Through the magic of Emery¡¯s unnaturally sharp weapons, they had been carved and sanded down to perfection and were far more comfortable than wooden benches had any right to be.


    Emery deposited me in one seat, then sat next to me. We sat in silence for a minute or two, looking up at the fading sunset. She didn¡¯t push me to talk and just sat waiting patiently.


    I leaned back on my hands and kicked my legs like a child. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know how to begin. There¡¯s a lot that I feel like we need to talk about.¡± I said, trying to sound chipper.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Emery snickered. ¡°I have a pretty good idea of some of what you want to talk about.¡± She said, smiling into the distance.


    I took a really deep breath and let it out slowly. ¡°I figured you might.¡± Another short silence followed while I tried to decide where to start. I figured starting with a vague statement would do.


    ¡°So¡­we did what we set out to do. There¡¯s no more Dying Lands sect for us to focus on.¡±


    Emery snorted, holding back a bit of laughter. ¡°Mhm, that¡¯s true.¡±


    I gave her a flat stare. ¡°That¡¯s not helping, Emery.¡± I said flatly.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, sorry. Please continue.¡± She responded, still watching the sunset.


    I eyed her for a moment more, took a deep breath, and said, ¡°I think we should discuss where we go from here. As a couple, I mean.¡± I added, just to clarify.


    A warm smile appeared on her face then. ¡°I¡¯ve told you before, Avuri. I¡¯m a very straightforward person. I¡¯m bad at keeping secrets, and I don¡¯t like dealing with nonsense drama.¡± She turned to me then, and her smile showed genuine affection. ¡°Talking about what¡¯s next after all that was always the plan.¡±


    ¡°Right. Yeah.¡± I said, looking down at my hands as I nervously poked at my nails. ¡°Don¡¯t suppose I could convince you to start?¡±


    ¡°I could, but I thought you wanted to talk first? Considering that you¡¯re the one who called me out here.¡±


    ¡°Dug my own grave there, didn¡¯t I?¡± I said ruefully, and Emery laughed. I let out another breath in a single puff of air.


    ¡°Alright! Alright.¡± I said, finally. I turned in my seat to more fully face Emery. ¡°We don¡¯t need to focus so single-mindedly on advancement anymore. The threat we were working on has been dealt with.¡± Another deep breath. ¡°Emery, I really like you. But given our current living arrangements, I don¡¯t really know what we should do from here.¡±


    ¡°Just to be perfectly clear, I really like you too, Avuri.¡± Emery said, her smile still radiant.


    ¡°Well that¡¯s good. I¡¯d be rather lost at this point if you didn¡¯t.¡± I chuckled. ¡°But I still don¡¯t know what our next steps are.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Emery began, then paused to think about it a moment. ¡°For starters, I think we should stop doing Paired Cultivation for a while. Maybe even stop connecting our Domains for a bit.¡± She paused, then clarified. ¡°I don¡¯t want the emotions from Cultivation to play a part in whatever might come next.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°That was always the plan.¡±


    ¡°I would also like to mention that I would very much like to Cultivate together again down the line, if things go well.¡± Emery said, very matter-of-factly. ¡°But, yes, I do think we should stop for the time being.¡±


    ¡°Right. So, the next order of business then.¡± I said, trying to order my thoughts. ¡°Where does that put us right now? We¡¯ve done everything up to now so wildly out of order, I¡¯m not sure where we stand with one another.¡±


    In a slightly awkward effort to further explain, I added, ¡°Like I said, I like you a lot Emery. But we¡¯ve also been living closely together - even sharing a bed - for months now. Cierra - who is technically only your daughter - also calls me Mom. And then together we just picked up another kid.¡± I sighed. ¡°I won¡¯t lie to you, my mind is all kinds of jumbled up right now.¡±


    Emery giggled as the words tumbled out of me. ¡°Well, let¡¯s see if we can¡¯t put some things straight, yeah?¡± She reached over and placed one of her hands over mine. ¡°I realize that our situation is certainly unusual, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a bad thing. Far from it, really.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­¡± Emery thought for a moment, a thumb brushing over the back of my hand tenderly. ¡°Avuri, I know I¡¯ve told you I¡¯m not great at talking around things. Can I be blunt?¡±


    I fought against my stomach bottoming out at those words, but nodded. ¡°Yeah, sure. That¡¯s how all this started, anyway.¡±


    Emery nodded and grinned. ¡°Open book, no bullshit.¡± She said quietly, and squeezed my hand. ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve definitely done things out of order. But I haven¡¯t been thinking about it that way for a while now. Us living together, the way you treat the girls, all of that - for a while now, I¡¯ve been considering it as a dry run for the real thing.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve learned a lot about you along the way. All kinds of important stuff. Like that we can live together without getting on each other¡¯s nerves. I learned that you would be a great mother to any kids that we might pick up along the way.¡± She laughed a little awkwardly, as I just continued to stare at our entwined hands, and her thumb gently stroking the back of my hand as I listened. She took a breath to say something else, then stopped. I looked up at her face then, and met her eyes.


    Without warning, she popped up to her feet with a sudden, sharp laugh. ¡°Oh, fuck this! I said I was going to be blunt, then kept dancing around it anyway.¡±


    Emery still held my hand in hers, and used it to pull me up to my feet. I stood, a little bewildered, as she swung me around to face her straight on. She snickered again, and muttered, ¡°Damn, you¡¯re tall,¡± as she had to actively look upward when we were this close.


    That got me laughing too.


    And then she tugged me down toward her by the collar of my shirt and kissed me.


    It wasn¡¯t a cute, chaste kiss either. It was a searing, passionate kiss that made my knees weak. My head went blank by the time we parted but she kept herself pressed up against me, with her arms settled around my waist in an embrace.


    She laughed as she all but held me up while my brain reset. When I was functional again, I held up a single finger between us. ¡°Hold on, just a second.¡± I said, sternly. Emery looked up at me doing her best to project doe-eyes. ¡°First, I think being blunt suits the two of us very well. Second, you¡¯re going to have to do that again, because I was woefully unprepared.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t turn away from Emery¡¯s face, my eyes focused on burning her beautiful affectionate smile into my mind.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure we can make that happen.¡± Emery said, and tugged my face down to hers once more.

 57 : Heart to Heart 2

    As we parted after the second, much longer and lingering kiss, I laid my head against Avuri¡¯s chest.


    ¡°You know,¡± I said, almost whispering, ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting to do that for a while.¡±


    Avuri leaned her cheek against the top of my head with a small sigh. ¡°I¡¯m glad I¡¯m not the only one.¡± She said, happiness clear in her tone. Her arms wove their way around me, keeping me close. Together, without a word, we began to sway back and forth as we stood there.


    ¡°Look, I know we¡¯re in a pretty strange situation when you look at it logically.¡± I said, trying to get us back on topic. ¡°But I think it¡¯s better to look at everything we¡¯ve done so far as an advantage. We know each other very well already when it comes to very important areas of life.¡±


    I felt Avuri nod against my hair as she responded, ¡°That¡¯s true. There¡¯s only a couple major things left for us to really work on.¡±


    ¡°Oh? And what do you think those are?¡± I said, closing my eyes comfortably.


    ¡°Well,¡± Avuri began, ¡°there¡¯s sexual compatibility to consider. Though given that kiss earlier, I don¡¯t think that¡¯ll be a problem.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m inclined to agree there.¡± I said, licking my lips, as the steamy kiss played through my mind again.


    ¡°I think the main remaining question is how well we work as a couple.¡± Avuri said, sounding a bit more serious. ¡°We¡¯ve spent the months up until now sorta faking it. We haven¡¯t been doing things that normal couples do. Instead, we¡¯ve been acting more like a platonic family.¡±


    I nodded against her chest in agreement. ¡°You¡¯re right. I do think that knowing we get along so well in those circumstances is maybe even more important in the long run, but making sure we work as a real couple is important too.¡±


    ¡°Right. For example, I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re clingy, or romantic, or just a goofball when it comes to being a couple. Stuff like that is important to make sure we¡¯ll be good together.¡±


    ¡°For whatever it¡¯s worth, I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be a problem.¡± I said. ¡°But also, I¡¯m probably all three of those things you just mentioned. I should mention again that I¡¯ve never been in a real relationship before, so I don¡¯t actually know for sure.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay, we can take our time and find out together.¡± Avuri said. She smoothly moved us from our absent swaying into something more like a dance, and we began stepping together around the empty playground.


    ¡°I should maybe also mention,¡± She continued, ¡°that I¡¯m a little possessive and don¡¯t like sharing. I know you mentioned that you¡¯ve had the occasional fling while traveling, and I know that that sort of thing is common among Cultivator couples.¡± Then she said flatly, ¡°I am not a fan.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine by me.¡± I nodded. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I would like that either, so other people are off-limits. For both of us.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Avuri said, her voice carrying a note of finality. ¡°So¡­what are we going to consider ourselves for now?¡±


    I looked up at her questioningly. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Well, assuming that we¡¯re not really planning on changing our living arrangements, I feel like we¡¯re well past any normal ¡®we¡¯re a couple¡¯ stage.¡± Avuri said, looking up toward the sky in thought. I felt a spike of jealousy that she continued to move so gracefully without looking, while I was putting in concerted effort into our little ¡®dance¡¯.


    ¡°...would it be too forward to consider ourselves ¡®intended¡¯?¡± I asked impishly.


    Avuri¡¯s feet lost their rhythm for a step and I smirked to myself, but she recovered quickly. ¡°I think that may be jumping a few too many steps, even for us.¡± She said with a laugh.


    ¡°How about ¡®in a serious relationship¡¯, then?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­better.¡± Avuri said tentatively, then snorted as something apparently popped into her head. ¡°Although, I do wonder how long it¡¯ll take us to move from here to engaged.¡±


    I let out a soft ¡°Hmm.¡± as I considered the question. ¡°I figure¡­a week or two to sort out our heads from the Paired Cultivation effects, maybe a week or two more before one of us says ¡®I love you¡¯, then¡­I¡¯ll be generous and say a month after that?¡± I said, quickly doing the math in my head. ¡°So, we¡¯ll be engaged in about two months?¡±


    Avuri stopped our dance and just stared down at me, slack-jawed.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked, grinning up at her. ¡°You asked. And that¡¯s my honest answer.¡±


    Avuri shook her head and sighed. ¡°The worst part is that I¡¯m not sure I can fault your timeline.¡±


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°The real question is which of us says ¡®I love you¡¯ first, and which of us proposes.¡± I said, trying to rile her up.


    ¡°I think it¡¯ll be me, then you.¡± Avuri said, sounding unusually confident in her answer. Then she elaborated, ¡°I¡¯m almost positive I¡¯ll tell you ¡®I love you¡¯ before you tell me. And I think that you¡¯ll be annoyed by that and want to make sure you propose first.¡±


    I laughed and swept Avuri back into the dance, my steps less structured, but no less graceful. ¡°I want to say you¡¯re wrong, but no, I could see that.¡±


    Avuri laughed with me as I led us around the playground and back toward the bench. When we were in front of it, I stepped away from Avuri and led her back to sit down again.


    ¡°There¡¯s one more thing I feel like we should address.¡± I said seriously. My tone seemed to bring Avuri back to the conversation at full attention.


    ¡°The girls. Cierra clearly already sees you as a mother figure. And I imagine that if Stena decides to think of us as her mothers, it¡¯ll be together, not one of us.¡± I met Avuri¡¯s eyes, trying to gauge her reaction. ¡°Does that bother you? Would you prefer to make a distinction?¡±


    Avuri looked down and played with her nails as she seemed to really consider the question. I quietly waited for her to come to a conclusion for almost a full minute before she answered.


    ¡°No. I realize it may cause some problems if things don¡¯t work out between us. But I want to be a mother to both of those little girls. I already love Cierra as much as I would my own daughter, I suspect.¡±


    I caught Avuri glance over at me, then quickly away again. ¡°I imagine it¡¯ll be much the same with Stena. She was a delightful little girl on the trip back here, and I somehow doubt that would change.¡±


    I nodded, accepting that. ¡°Then, for the time being, would you like to be acting co-parents?¡± I asked earnestly. ¡°No more worrying about not really being Cierra¡¯s mother, or feeling like you¡¯re overstepping when you act like a parent.¡± I gave Avuri a warm smile when she turned to look at me, stunned.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s being a little hasty?¡± She asked.


    I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯ll be honest, Avuri. For as much as we¡¯re approaching this situation with caution, I really don¡¯t foresee any issues. I more or less expect us to be married within the year.¡± I chuckled as she once again stared at me.


    ¡°I told you I¡¯d be blunt. We were basically married and working as co-parents for the last few months in all but name, just without some of the intimacy that goes along with it. And while I did want to make sure this all works without whatever feelings are generated by our Cultivating together, I really don¡¯t think they had all that much of an effect in the end.¡±


    Avuri rubbed her forehead, looking as though she had a sudden headache. ¡°I feel like you¡¯re right, but I have a gut reaction to fight you on that. I feel like this is all just too¡­easy.¡±


    I gently placed a hand on her shoulder and chuckled. ¡°I think that¡¯s just your inner drama queen talking, Avuri.¡± I leaned back, putting my hand out behind me to steady myself on the bench as there was no back rest.


    ¡°People always talk about how relationships require so much work, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s right. You both need to be willing to put in effort, sure, but if you¡¯re open and honest with one another then drama never really needs to enter the equation. People have enough shit going on in their lives already - why would you want your relationship to add to all that stress?¡±


    I looked down again to meet Avuri¡¯s eyes. ¡°The best relationships are ones that give you strength to draw from, rather than sapping your strength to maintain. A good, strong, healthy relationship should be easy. At least most of the time.¡±


    Avuri snorted and smiled at me. It was a beautiful smile that also seemed to hold just a bit of sadness. ¡°Those feel like very wise words for someone who has never been in a relationship before.¡±


    ¡°Hey,¡± I said, and lightly punched her upper arm, ¡°just because I¡¯ve never been in a romantic relationship before doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t have relationships with my family and friends. A lot of the same rules and philosophy apply.¡±


    ¡°You might have a point there.¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± I said haughtily. ¡°Though I¡¯ll also be the first person to say that my view on it is maybe a little too idealistic.¡±


    ¡°Maybe, but it¡¯s not a bad ideal to strive for.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve always done my best to be straight with people and try to keep myself as honest as I can. It helps that I¡¯ve kept people around me that are happy to do the same.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s worked for us so far, so I¡¯m with you on this. ¡®Open book, no bullshit,¡¯ right?¡±


    We both chuckled as I nodded. As we slowly calmed down, I leaned over to rest my head against Avuri¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Now we have to tell my sister and the dragon.¡± I muttered.


    ¡°...Should I be worried?¡± Avuri asked hesitantly.


    ¡°Nah, not really. They¡¯ll probably get excited since I¡¯ve never been really involved with anyone, but I¡¯d expect most of that energy to be directed at me, not you.¡± I sighed, already exhausted by the upcoming fiasco.


    ¡°We could always just go get the girls and take a bath, then tell them tomorrow.¡± Avuri said, smiling as she clearly heard the exhaustion in my voice.


    ¡°That¡¯s a very enticing offer.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t think they suspect anything given how long we¡¯ve been chatting out here alone?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure they do.¡± I said with an empty laugh. ¡°But they won¡¯t say anything until I do. They¡¯re good like that.¡±


    ¡°I can appreciate that.¡± Avuri said. ¡°My family back home would dig for information as soon as they had an inkling there was something to dig for.¡±


    There was a moment of silence before I said, ¡°You know, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve mentioned your family before.¡±


    ¡°Pretty sure I haven¡¯t. They¡¯re back in the Floral Hills, and I haven''t spoken to them much since I entered the Frozen Mountain.¡±


    ¡°You may want to send them a letter to give them an update so they don¡¯t suddenly receive a wedding invitation in a few months.¡±


    Avuri laughed for a moment then stopped suddenly. ¡°Oh, you know, you¡¯re probably right. I didn¡¯t even let them know I left the Frozen Mountain.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like you¡¯ll have some writing to do tonight after the bath.¡±


    Avuri groaned, and I chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ll give you another kiss like earlier once it¡¯s done.¡±


    Avuri¡¯s whole body seemed to come to attention at that. ¡°Suddenly I have the urge to write.¡± She said, and jokingly moved her right hand around as if she were writing in the air.


    ¡°Well come on, then. Let¡¯s go get the girls and bathe.¡± I said before hopping to my feet. Avuri followed, more sedately.


    ¡°You know, sleeping in the same bed as the girls might get really hard in the next few days.¡±


    I snorted out a laugh. ¡°Maybe one of these extra houses will finally see some use.¡±

 58 : Winding Down

    Emery looked out the window from the second floor of their house. She had dinner cooking in a variety of pots and pans, but for the moment nothing required her actual attention. Instead, she had walked to the window to stare out at the slight glow of the fire from the playground.


    ¡°Can you even see anyone from here?¡± Avuri said, her voice carrying a slightly teasing lilt, as she slipped up behind Emery and embraced her from behind. She angled her head to the side a little and kissed Emery¡¯s temple before settling in to watch the fire¡¯s glow from the window as well.


    ¡°Not really, no.¡± Emery said, holding Avuri¡¯s arms against her in the best approximation of a hug she could manage from the front. She did nuzzle her face against Avuri¡¯s, though. ¡°I was just lost in thought, but not actually thinking, you know?¡±


    Avuri chuckled. ¡°That makes no sense, but yes, I understand what you mean.¡±


    ¡°But also I wish Stena would¡¯ve told me what she was planning on doing with the kids before I cooked a full size meal. And she stole a bunch of meat from the Ice Array without telling me.¡± Emery said sourly.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Avuri said guiltily. Emery turned to face her awkwardly from their position, an eyebrow raised. ¡°She told me that she was going to take some beef and chicken. And I told her that was fine.¡±


    Emery slipped from Avuri¡¯s embrace and half-heartedly glared at her wife. Avuri, in turn, held up her hands in surrender. ¡°She didn¡¯t tell me what her plans were.¡± She added hastily.


    ¡°You could¡¯ve at least told me, Avuri.¡± Emery said, her voice dipping into lower tones as she spoke threateningly.


    Avuri met Emery¡¯s gaze for a moment before dropping her hands. ¡°I could¡¯ve. I¡¯m sorry, Merri.¡±


    With a big, over exaggerated sigh, Emery waved it off. ¡°It¡¯s fine. But we¡¯ve got enough dinner to feed an army and only half an army to feed.¡±


    ¡°I know it wasn¡¯t part of her plan, but I bet the camping group out there would be more than happy to take some of that food off your hands.¡± Avuri¡¯s eyes focused back on the firelight outside again. ¡°Especially once they¡¯ve eaten some relatively plain fire-roasted beef. That stuff needs seasoning, and I somehow doubt Stena thought to bring some out with her.¡±


    Emery snorted. ¡°You¡¯re probably right. I¡¯ll pack some up and bring it out to them later. In the meantime, I¡¯ll go get the food set out for everyone else.¡±


    Avuri nodded, then stepped back in to give Emery a hug and squeezed her tight. ¡°Sorry again. If you want help with anything, let me know.¡±


    Emery wiggled around in her wife¡¯s grasp to give her a kiss, but kept it brief in case any of the kids walked in. ¡°If you actually mean that, I wouldn¡¯t be opposed to a hand getting it all out to the dining pavilion.¡± Then she smirked and added, ¡°With the two of us working together, I might have a bit of free time before dinner.¡±


    Avuri laughed and gave Emery another kiss. ¡°I¡¯ll be happy to help, but I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll get that break.¡± And she nodded toward the stairs that led down toward the first floor.


    With her attention called that way, Emery heard the echoes of footsteps approaching the bottom of the stairs, followed by the distinct beat of younger kids barreling up the stairs on feet and hands. Avuri and Emery both smiled as Arek and Astra more or less tumbled out of the stairway before they straightened up.


    ¡°Hey Moms.¡± Arek said as he let some of his energy settle. ¡°We¡¯re hungry. When¡¯s dinner?¡±


    ¡°Soon.¡± Emery said with a smile. ¡°Ri and I were about to take it down to the pavilion.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll help!¡± Astra nearly shouted, excited, as her hand shot into the air.


    ¡°You¡¯ll help, maybe.¡± Arek said. ¡°I need to clean up before I go anywhere near food.¡±


    Avuri nodded. ¡°You do that. I can practically smell you from here.¡± She smiled brightly before continuing. ¡°How¡¯d your practice go?¡±


    ¡°Pretty good, I think. I was able to convince Briar to help me practice a bit today, but he¡¯s over with the camping crowd now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you two aren¡¯t over with them by the campfire, actually.¡± Emery said, probing.


    Arek just shrugged. ¡°Stena mostly gathered up the older kids, so I figured we¡¯d just come eat with you guys.¡±


    ¡°But Ritz and Shara were there.¡± Astra said, confused. ¡°So were Cyrus, Quinn, and Marche.¡±


    Avuri laughed. ¡°The Alder kids really do all stick together.¡± Cyrus, Quinn, and Marche were nine, ten, and ten years old respectively, and followed Briar and Kord almost everywhere. And if the five of them were all together, you could bet that Shara, who was eight years old, would be carried around with them like their little princess.


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°And Enrik is there, so Ritz is too. Not to mention, Shara and Ritz are nearly inseparable, so they¡¯d probably both be there anyway..¡± Arek muttered. ¡°I know.¡± He turned away, his ears red.


    Emery and Avuri shared a quick look, silently wondering if Arek had a crush on one of his not-quite-sisters, but shrugged it off for now. They wouldn¡¯t tease him about it. Not yet, at least. And even if they didn¡¯t, they were pretty sure if one of the other kids caught on they would be merciless.


    ¡°So why don¡¯t you want to join them all, then?¡± Avuri asked.


    Astra just looked at Arek, waiting for an answer. It took a moment, but he eventually turned back to face his parents and sighed. ¡°Cierra promised me a special lesson after dinner, so even if I went over to eat with them now, I¡¯d be leaving after anyway¡­¡± He said, sounded rather dejected.


    ¡°And you just dragged your sister away with you because you didn¡¯t get to stay?¡± Emery asked, her gaze moving between Arek and Astra; the latter of whom sounded like she wanted to go stay with the campfire group.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t drag her anywhere, she followed on her own.¡± Arek said petulantly. When he heard his own tone, he quickly added, ¡°Which is fine. But I didn¡¯t drag her.¡±


    ¡°Uh huh.¡± Emery said pointedly. ¡°Star, did you want to go back out to the campfire?¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s okay.¡± She said, shyly.


    Emery considered what to do with her youngest for a moment. She was still relatively new to their family, having only been adopted a little more than four months ago, and she was still adjusting to the larger extended portion of the family. In contrast, she was already very attached to their smaller family unit, especially Arek, Emery, and Avuri.


    ¡°If you¡¯re sure, then that¡¯s okay.¡± She said, deciding not to force the issue yet. She¡¯d give the girl more time to get accustomed to all of her new extended family. ¡°Would you like to take a bath with Momri and I after dinner?¡±


    Astra looked up, suddenly excited with stars in her eyes. ¡°Yes! Can I?¡±


    ¡°Well, since everyone else is busy, we¡¯ll treat you like a princess tonight.¡± Avuri said with a warm smile. ¡°How¡¯s that sound?¡±


    Astra beamed and nodded vigorously. ¡°I want to do that!¡±


    Emery and Avuri both chuckled at the girl¡¯s exuberance. ¡°Alright, well let¡¯s get dinner situated first, then we can worry about what comes after, okay?¡±


    ¡°¡®Kay!¡± Astra intoned.


    ¡°That goes for you too, Arek. Go get cleaned up so you can eat before you go meet with your sister later.¡± He nodded and trotted off down the hall. ¡°And make sure you take a bath after your training with her later!¡± Emery called down the hall after him.


    ¡°I swear, that kid loves to run off in the middle of conversations.¡± Avuri muttered.


    ¡°Yeah, well, I¡¯m sure he gets that from one or both of us.¡± Emery said, as she started making her way to the kitchen to gather the food. Avuri and Astra followed her to help transfer things to storage rings to carry them down to the dining pavilion.


    ¡°...Do we do that?¡± Avuri asked as she began transferring bowls of soup and vegetable platters into her ring.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if we do it often, but I know if I get distracted by a new task sometimes I¡¯ll walk away from a conversation to attend to the task. You¡¯ve done it to me plenty of times, too.¡±


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s just always something that needs to be done around here.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to defend yourself to me, Ri; Like I said, I do it too.¡±


    Avuri eyed Emery from the side. ¡°By the way, did you ever get around to fixing the hole in the fence between the baths?¡±


    Emery sighed. ¡°Nope. I completely forgot.¡± She looked up at the ceiling, avoiding a muttered curse with Astra in the room. ¡°After Vale left this morning, I went to clean out the chicken coop and muck the barn. Then I went straight to cooking dinner.¡±


    She laughed dryly as she got the last bit of dinner into her storage ring. ¡°If I had known I wouldn¡¯t be feeding everyone, I probably would¡¯ve had time.¡±


    Avuri took a step toward Emery and gave her a side hug. ¡°It¡¯s fine, don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯ll get done.¡±


    Then Astra all but tackled Emery¡¯s other side with a hug. ¡°It¡¯s fine, Mom.¡± She echoed.


    Emery gave Avuri a quick peck and ruffled Astra¡¯s hair. ¡°Thanks for trying to make me feel better, you two.¡±


    ¡°Anytime.¡± Avuri said, and she winked. Emery smiled back, contemplating the meaning of Avuri¡¯s wink, as the three of them made their way to the dining pavilion.


    <hr>


    As it turned out, most of the food did get eaten. As Avuri had suggested, the camping group was more than happy to take some well-flavored food off their hands once they had eaten their fair share of campfire food. Emery was pretty sure that the smell of her freshly cooked and well seasoned dinner wafting over toward the playground probably also had something to do with it.


    After dinner was finished and everyone had cleaned up, Emery, Avuri, and Astra went to have their bath. Emery nailed a piece of wood over the hole in the fencing as a stopgap measure for the meantime, as she was annoyed by its continued existence but didn¡¯t want to take the time to properly fix it that night.


    After taking a nice long bath all together, the three went back into the house to dry off and settled in Astra¡¯s room. They all laid out on the bed, which was more than large enough to accommodate the girl and her mothers comfortably.


    ¡°What did you want to hear for a bedtime story tonight, Star?¡± Emery asked, as they all laid cuddled up with Astra in the middle.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± The girl said, thinking.


    ¡°What kind of story, then? Funny? Cute? Romantic?¡± Avuri asked, trying to give Astra a little direction.


    ¡°Funny.¡± She answered.


    ¡°Hmm, okay then¡­¡± Emery said, trying to think of a good story.


    ¡°How about I tell you about the time Merri and I got in trouble for breaking the bathhouse?¡± Avuri said with a grin. She glanced at Emery with a sly smile.


    ¡°You¡¯re never going to let me forget that, are you?¡± Emery sighed.


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°That sounds fun!¡± Astra said happily.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Avuri said. ¡°Then get tucked in and I¡¯ll start.¡±


    All three of them shuffled around to get comfortable, and Emery and Avuri made sure to get Astra tucked in and ready for bed before she began.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s see then. It started with Cierra getting a little too excited while we were baking.¡±

 59 : A Little Bit of Chaos

    A few days had passed after we returned and Stena started living with us. She was adjusting well, and unlike Cierra had taken to Emery and myself rather quickly. She was still a little suspicious of both Vale and Talya, but was slowly warming up to Talya.


    I imagined it helped that she was often sticking to Cierra¡¯s side, and Cierra was often helping Talya with normal household chores while Vale, Emery, and I stuck to more labor intensive jobs that she couldn¡¯t really help with.


    Emery and I had spent the day working on the farm, planting end-of-summer crops as the summer was rapidly approaching its end. The climate Array kept everything pretty hot all the way through the end of the summer months, which left us taking baths or rinsing our bodies often to wash off the sweat.


    We were fresh out of a rinse when we came inside to find Talya, Cierra, and Stena all in the kitchen baking. There were all kinds of ingredients scattered around the kitchen haphazardly, so they must have been at it for a while.


    Emery wasted no time creeping up behind Cierra and picking her up from behind. The girl yelped as she was lifted up off the ground. ¡°What¡¯cha making?¡± Emery asked as she brought Cierra in for a snuggle.


    Talya looked over and answered while Cierra was giggling. ¡°We¡¯re baking some sugar cookies. We had an abundance of sugar to use since we rarely put it in our normal dishes, so I wanted to use some of it.¡± She explained. ¡°I¡¯m also making some bread dough, though I was going to let it sit for a while before I bake it yet.¡±


    Emery and I nodded in approval. ¡°That all sounds good to me.¡± I said, looking around the messy kitchen. ¡°Need any help with anything?¡±


    Talya glanced up and around from her cookie batter then nodded toward a bowl off to the side. ¡°If you want to get started on the last bit of bread dough, that would be helpful. The cookies are almost ready to bake, but if you want to get a head start on it, that would be nice.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± I said with a nod as I walked over to the empty bowl and started prepping the ingredients for the bread dough.


    Everything went well for a few more minutes. Stena hopped over to help me and together we got the bread dough prepped and were in the process of beating the dough before putting it away to sit and prove. Talya had gotten the batch of cookies in the heat Array, and they were baking nicely.


    The problem came from Emery and Cierra, who were cleaning up some of the mess that had been moved on from.


    Emery had walked away to throw something out and left Cierra trying to gather and clean up some of the flour from the prep area. She decided to sneak her way back quietly and with a sudden, loud ¡®Boo!¡¯ she grabbed Cierra from behind to scare her.


    The girl, in turn, spun with a loud yelp and hit Emery square in the face with a handful of flour. There was a moment of silence, as Emery stood straight, blinked a few times, and coughed twice. Each cough sent a plume of flour into the air.


    Cierra stood, staring dumbfounded at Emery and started to stammer an apology. But Emery just grinned deviously.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re gonna get it now.¡± She said, and Cierra went almost as pale as the flour. She turned to dash toward me, but Emery¡¯s arm shot out and caught the girl. She quickly pivoted toward the counter, picked up a handful of flour, and made a sizable cloud as she flung it at Cierra¡¯s front. She avoided directly going for her face, which I thought was admirable.


    Then she took a second handful and smeared it throughout Cierra¡¯s hair. Talya stood and watched, a bit of amusement showing on her face, while Stena hid behind me.


    I made the mistake of being the first to laugh.


    ¡°Think it¡¯s funny, do you?¡± Emery said, eyeing me. I tried to stop laughing, but couldn¡¯t get it under control before Emery scooped up another handful of flour and threw it at me. When I stared back, face as white as my hair, Emery broke out into more laughter and let Cierra down.


    She regretted that almost immediately when Cierra lunged forward, grabbed an entire bag of flour, and jumped to pour the entire thing down the back of Emery¡¯s loose robes.


    After that, all hell broke loose. Flour was flung in every direction, and all five of us were all in on it. Within the short few minutes that the flour fight lasted, we managed to cover practically every inch of the kitchen in the white dust, and we were all coated in it. We had thrown almost all of the flour that was loose in the kitchen before we finally collapsed to the ground in laughter.


    ¡°Oh boy, this is going to be a nightmare to clean up.¡± Talya said between fits of giggles.


    Emery just sprawled out on the floor still laughing. ¡°Talya, I don¡¯t want to think about that right now.¡±


    ¡°Agreed.¡± I said, as I shook my fingers through my hair trying to dislodge the flour. It fell out in waves. ¡°I¡¯m more concerned with cleaning ourselves at the moment. We can always clean up the flour here later. But we probably shouldn¡¯t spend the rest of the day covered in it ourselves.¡±


    ¡°I guess we should try to clean ourselves off before we bathe, too.¡± Emery said. ¡°Dipping ourselves in the water while covered in flour won¡¯t be pleasant.¡±


    I thought for a moment, then stood. ¡°I think I can help with that. But we should go outside so we don¡¯t make a bigger mess.¡± I bent down to pick up Stena who was nearest to me before offering Emery a hand to pull her up.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go then.¡± She said while levering herself up.


    <hr>


    Once we were all outside, I used a variation of my Blizzard Dragon technique to whip up some strong gusts. While I kept them concentrated, moving the gale closer to each of us in turn blew off a lot of the flour on our bodies and clothes. We had even gathered near the bathhouse and stripped because so much of it had gotten inside our clothing.


    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    It took a little while to get us all to the point where we weren¡¯t too worried about clogging up the bath by mixing the flour and water, but we did manage to get there. As a group, we moved inside the bathhouse and took to helping each other clean off all the flour. Thankfully, between some cloth and rinsing, we were able to all get reasonably clean in a relatively short amount of time.


    It was a few minutes before we all slid into the large bath for a soak. Stena and Cierra were the first ones in the water, and they were happily doggy-paddling around in the middle of the extra large bath when Talya, Emery, and I slid into the water.


    Talya took a spot a little to one side, watching the girls as they played. Emery, however, scooted right next to me and laid her head on my shoulder with a serene smile as she watched the girls kick and splash.


    ¡°Hi.¡± I said lamely, as I laid my head against hers.


    ¡°Hi.¡± She responded softly.


    ¡°I know you told Talya and Vale that we¡¯re¡­whatever we are these days, but I¡¯m not going to lie. I didn¡¯t expect you would be such a cuddler.¡±


    Emery laughed and moved in closer to prove my point, until we were touching from shoulder to ankle. She even went as far as wrapping her leg around mine so we locked ankles. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize it either.¡± She laughed. ¡°But once we took the kids gloves off, I realized that I basically always want to touch you.¡±


    I raised my eyebrow in a silent question at her wording and she laughed again. I could feel her whole body shake with it. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it like that. I just find myself always craving hugs or cuddles. The little things just add up, I guess.¡±


    I moved my head so I could plant a kiss on her wet hair. ¡°They really do. I¡¯d be lying if I said I didn¡¯t enjoy moments like this.¡±


    As if on queue, Emery and I suddenly got facefuls of water. We turned toward what we believed was the source - the two little girls playing in the middle of the bath - and stared daggers at them. They both tried to look innocent, and Cierra was pointing at Talya. Our gazes slid over to Emery¡¯s sister, to find her looking skyward, eyes closed, whistling a light tune to herself.


    ¡°Y¡¯all are gonna pay for that.¡± Emery said, her voice sounding almost demonic in its depth. But I could see her struggling to hold back laughter too. Her eyes narrowed, moving between the girls and her sister. Eventually, she settled on the girls. ¡°You promise me it was her?¡± She said, jabbing a finger toward Talya.


    Cierra and Stena nodded so fast I was worried for their necks. And in the next instant, Emery moved. She raised her arms as she cycled her Qi, and her blades began to manifest around her. However, she took an extra moment to focus and shift their shapes into that of floating buckets.


    There were ten of them, all rather big, and they dipped down into the bath to fill themselves. Talya was still acting nonchalant about it all, as all ten buckets hovered about her with two of them poised to dump their water on her.


    ¡°Any last words, sister?¡± Emery asked, her voice dropping into some seriously sexy low tones.


    Talya cracked an eye open and looked at Emery. ¡°I thought you two could use some cooling off.¡±


    ¡°With hot bath water.¡± Emery stated flatly.


    ¡°I said what I said. With the way you two were looking at one another, I was worried what the children might see -¡± Having more or less said her piece, Talya was suddenly drenched in deluge of water from what was essentially a waterwheel of buckets, as all ten buckets rotated quickly filling themselves, then depositing their loads over Talya¡¯s head.


    It was long before Talya leapt to her feet and all but tackled Emery into the water and all hell broke loose for a second time that night. Talya and Emery spent half a minute trying to dunk each other and hold the other under the water for any significant period of time.


    Thankfully, it was clearly play-fighting, as Emery and Talya kept trading positions. I was laughing when Emery reached out for me. I felt her grab my hand while she was being held under and I went to pull her up expecting her to be grabbing for help.


    I didn¡¯t expect the Sky Realm level strength she used to pull me completely under the water with her.


    I fought back, my own body¡¯s strength slowly ramping up to match hers as Talya scrambled away. When I finally got out of Emery¡¯s hold, I grabbed her by the waist and practically lifted her into a suplex, dumping her in the water behind me. I laughed at how light she was.


    Then I felt her grab my ankle; she swept me completely off my feet, and I went down into the water. As I tried to find purchase on anything, one of Emery¡¯s buckets fit itself snugly over my head blocking my sight.


    I quickly let my Qi and Domain out to get some semblance of senses back. I could tell Talya was ushering the kids out of the water and getting clear of the bath. She redoubled her speed when she felt my Qi leak out, and I smiled under the water as everyone except Emery and I left the water.


    Which suddenly wasn¡¯t water anymore, but ice. The struggle suddenly ceased, as I melted the ice near me so I could get my head above the water and pull off the bucket on my head. I let the ice everywhere else melt shortly thereafter, leaving a freezing Emery shivering in the ice-cold bath water.


    ¡°Oooh.¡± She said through chattering teeth. ¡°You¡¯re gonna regret that one, Ri.¡±


    ¡°Am I?¡± I asked innocently, going as far to tauntingly bat my eyelashes at her. ¡°Whatever will you do to me?¡±


    Her Qi flexed again, and I suddenly found myself boxed in by her floating buckets as she slowly approached me, a menacing air surrounding her. When she was a few steps away she lunged at me. I tried to dodge her, but the buckets got in my way and cut off my escape.


    Emery grappled me like a pro, and began to try to tickle me anywhere she thought might be effective. My sides, underarms, stomach, behind my knees; I was assaulted everywhere. She twisted me around in the water trying to get to my feet - which are very ticklish - when I panicked.


    I stomped to try to get her to leave my feet alone. And I did it just a bit too hard. The stonework of the bottom of the bath cracked when I stomped, with a whole web of cracked stone spreading out from me.


    Emery and I both stopped dead where we were when we felt it happen, the only sounds in the bathhouse were Cierra and Stena laughing hysterically and a great sigh from Talya.


    Emery and I glanced at each other and laughed.


    At least until we heard Vale shouting from the house. He sounded angry.

 60 : Good Night [End of Book 1]

    Astra finally fell asleep, her chest slowly rising and falling in a gentle rhythm. Avuri rubbed her stomach gently as Emery gathered up the blankets and pulled them up and over Astra, tucking her in for the night.


    Both women kissed the little girl on her forehead and whispered a ¡°Good night,¡± before they tiptoed quietly out of the room. After carefully closing the door to Astra¡¯s room, they ambled their way down the hall toward the stairs down to the second floor and the kitchen, wordlessly aiming for a late night snack together.


    Through the window, they could still see the glowing light of the campfire that Stena and her little crew were sitting around, no doubt telling stories or otherwise messing around late into the night.


    ¡°Think we should tell them to go to sleep?¡± Avuri asked, as she slipped an arm around Emery and pulled her close.


    ¡°No, I think they¡¯re fine. We can even let them sleep in tomorrow.¡± Emery said, leaning into Avuri¡¯s embrace as they both looked out the window.


    ¡°Ooh, how generous of you, Mom.¡± Avuri teased, jostling her wife around a bit. ¡°Planning to make them work extra hard in the afternoon to compensate?¡±


    One side of Emery¡¯s mouth slipped upwards in a half smile. ¡°Nope. I was thinking we can let them have a full day off tomorrow.¡±


    Avuri looked at Emery, a mock look of shock overtaking her face. ¡°No way. The infamous hard-ass Emery is letting everyone off the hook for a day?¡± She said, the teasing lilt in her voice obvious.


    Emery chuckled, leaning into her wife. ¡°You telling the story about the flour fight reminded me how much more relaxed we were back then. Cierra and Stena had so much time to just be kids.¡± She sighed. ¡°I kinda regret not giving everyone else the same amount of time to just be silly.¡±


    Avuri pulled Emery in for a reassuring hug. ¡°I don¡¯t think you need to worry about that too much. Everyone here has had a good life, I would say. And for as much as I tease you about being a hardass teacher that always pushes everyone, you give everyone plenty of time to relax too.¡±


    ¡°I realize that.¡± Emery said quietly, still staring at the moving glow of the fire outside. ¡°I just feel like I could be doing better, especially after thinking about what we all did together back then.¡±


    ¡°Love, you need to remember too that there aren¡¯t just four, or six, of us anymore. We can¡¯t play and be silly with twenty five kids as easily as we could before. For better or worse, the larger family has changed that a bit.¡±


    ¡°I know that.¡± Emery said, then she laughed. ¡°Maybe I¡¯m just getting old and looking back on the ¡®good ol¡¯ days¡¯.¡±


    Avuri playfully slapped her wife on the shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t say that. If you¡¯re old, what does that make me?¡± She laughed.


    Emery was silent for just a beat with a quirky little smile. ¡°...Ancient?¡±


    Avuri stepped away from Emery as if she had been hit and acted affronted. ¡°Ancient? How could you?¡±


    ¡°Very easily, really. Those three years between us may as well be eons.¡± Emery said, performing the lines as if on a stage. ¡°Oh, if only there was some way to bridge the gap that exists between thirty eight and forty one!¡± She cried dramatically, putting the back of her hand against her forehead and playing up the drama.


    Avuri grabbed Emery by the wrist, and pulled her in. She even went as far as twirling her, as if they were dancing. ¡°I believe in us! Surely that gap isn¡¯t insurmountable. We have love; that must be enough!¡±


    Emery dramatically turned away, still in Avuri¡¯s arms. ¡°I¡¯ve been burned before, my love. I don¡¯t know if I could take another blow like that! I don¡¯t think my poor heart could take it.¡±


    Avuri reached over, and gently took Emery¡¯s chin between her fingers and turned her back so they were face to face again. ¡°You won¡¯t have to, my love. I promise. I will never leave you. Never will you know such heartbreak again, I swear it!¡±


    ¡°Oh Avuri!¡± Emery declared dramatically and threw her arms around her wife¡¯s neck. ¡°I really do love you! Kiss me!¡±


    ¡°Oh hell, what did we walk in on?¡± Cierra said from the top of the stairs, struggling to hold back laughter.


    Emery and Avuri both snapped their heads around to find Cierra and Arek at the top of the stairs. Cierra was struggling not to laugh, while Arek held his hands over his face.


    Before Emery could respond, Avuri laughed heartily which caught her attention again. As Emery turned back to see why Avuri was laughing, she found her whole world shifting as Avuri spun and dipped her dangerously low to the ground.


    Their eyes met, and Avuri continued their game loudly, declaring to the room, ¡°As you wish, my love.¡±


    Then to the collective near-horror of everyone else in the room, Avuri kissed her wife. It was not a sweet peck, either. It was a full-on, deep, lover¡¯s kiss.


    ¡°Oh, dear god.¡± Cierra said, and threw her hands up to cover her eyes.


    Arek just yelped and ran to the stairs heading up to his room.


    When Avuri finally pulled Emery back up to her feet, they both laughed. Emery gave her wife a quick peck before turning back to Cierra. ¡°You can look now, it¡¯s safe.¡±


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°You sure? Momri won¡¯t just jump you again to screw with me?¡± She asked, still holding one hand over her eyes.


    Emery glanced at Avuri and answered, her smile clear in her voice. ¡°You know as well as I do that I have no control over her.¡±


    ¡°I promise to behave.¡± Avuri said, but still threw an arm over Emery to keep her close.


    Cierra slowly let her hand fall away from her eyes, then looked up the stairs to the third floor. ¡°You may have scarred your other child.¡±


    ¡°Scarred, no.¡± Avuri said, following her line of sight. ¡°Lightly damaged, perhaps?¡±


    ¡°Hopefully he can still look us in the eyes tomorrow morning.¡± Emery muttered to herself.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°Is that the first time he¡¯s seen you two kissing or something?¡± Cierra asked, confused. ¡°You¡¯ve never been that shy around me.¡±


    ¡°Kissing, no. Kissing like that? It¡­might be?¡± Emery said, trying to recall.


    Cierra waved the issue off. ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be fine. It¡¯s not like he walked in on you doing anything actually scarring.¡± She said, then shivered.


    Avuri chuckled. ¡°Do you even actually remember that?¡±


    Cierra looked at Avuri, playing up her wide-eyed, horror-filled look. ¡°As if I could forget it. That scene of you two in the bath is unfortunately seared into my head.¡± Then she smiled and laughed. ¡°Honestly, no. I remember that I did walk in on you both¡­uhh¡­getting busy in the bathhouse, but I don¡¯t really remember what I saw. Thankfully.¡±


    ¡°Well good. Because I¡¯d rather not scar my children, thanks. Avuri.¡± Emery said, turning a glare on her wife.


    ¡°Hey, I was just continuing the game that you started, my dear.¡± Avuri said, a bit of the dramatic tone filtering into her voice again. ¡°I do agree though, I don¡¯t want to mentally scar any of the kids either.¡± Then she said, a bit quieter, ¡°I don¡¯t think seeing us kissing should really be that big a deal.¡±


    Cierra shrugged. ¡°It probably isn¡¯t. I think he¡¯s just hitting that age where he thinks all girls and anything remotely sex related is gross.¡±


    Avuri chuckled and nodded. ¡°That¡¯s a fair point. I wonder how he feels about living with five women and only occasionally another man.¡±


    ¡°Like he¡¯s outnumbered, I¡¯m sure.¡± Emery said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that bothers him as much as you might think, Mom.¡± Cierra said, a finger tapping on her chin in thought. ¡°It¡¯s not like he ever shies away from working with any of us. He went as far as asking me for special training after all.¡± She shrugged.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. How¡¯d that go?¡± Emery asked, curious.


    ¡°I think he¡¯s still a little hung up on how badly outclassed he was by Enrik the other day.¡± Cierra said, finally leaving the stairway¡¯s door, as she walked toward the kitchen for a glass of water. ¡°He¡¯s more determined now than I think I¡¯ve ever seen him, and he¡¯s definitely focusing it on his training.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good, as long as he doesn¡¯t overdo it.¡± Emery said. ¡°If he starts to look like he¡¯s stretching too thin, let me know. I¡¯ll sit down and chat with him.¡±


    ¡°Stena already did that, remember?¡± Cierra reminded her. ¡°I think he¡¯s old enough to know his limits.¡± Then she added, ¡°But yes, I¡¯ll tell you,¡± when she saw the serious look on Emery¡¯s face.


    ¡°Did you check on your sister while you were outside?¡±


    Cierra popped back out of the kitchen, a glass of water in hand. ¡°Not really, we just walked by. They were singing campfire songs, and badly. You can¡¯t really hear them in here, thankfully.¡± She started to make her way toward the stairs. ¡°I¡¯m going to bed, unless you need me for anything else?¡±


    Emery shook her head. ¡°No, you¡¯re safe to run away. Good night, Cici. I love you.¡±


    ¡°I love you too, Mom. Momri.¡± She said, then turned and jogged up the stairs.


    ¡°Well?¡± Avuri said, turning to Emery. ¡°Shall we get our late night snack and drink as originally planned?¡±


    Emery nodded, moving toward the kitchen. ¡°Yeah. Then up to bed we go.¡±


    After grabbing a glass of water each and a few small pieces of smoked, dried beef, they retreated up the stairs and into the master bedroom. They ate and talked for a bit before deciding it was truly just about bedtime.


    Emery took her turn in the bathroom first, then waited patiently, comb in hand, for Avuri to finish her own bedtime routine.


    It wasn¡¯t too long before Avuri returned, wearing a sheer nighttime slip. It wasn¡¯t the first time Emery had seen this one, but the way it hugged her wife¡¯s curves made her smile. Avuri noticed the smile taking over Emery¡¯s face and took a moment to pose in the doorway seductively.


    ¡°Like what you see, Merri?¡± She purred, and twisted this way and that to show off her body.


    ¡°You know I do.¡± Emery said, then waved her closer. ¡°Now come here so I can comb the tangles out of your hair.¡±


    Avuri huffed but complied, slowly sacheting over to the bed. As she spun to settle down onto the bed with her back and long hair facing Emery, she said, ¡°You know, you don¡¯t have to comb me out every night. It just gets tangled again while I sleep and needs another comb in the morning.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Emery said, as she took a handful of the beautiful sliver-white locks and began to comb them out. ¡°I do this because I like to. And even better if I get to do it twice.¡± She said, then leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on a bit of the exposed flesh of Avuri¡¯s neck. ¡°Besides, I think having some intimate alone time that isn¡¯t so¡­heated is important.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t argue with that.¡± Avuri responded. A whole body shiver coursed through her when Emery lightly grazed the back of her neck while picking up another handful of hair. ¡°It¡¯s been like fifteen years, and I still haven¡¯t managed to find a way to reciprocate this for you though. You sure you don¡¯t want to grow out your hair?¡±


    Emery let out a cute little chuckle. ¡°I¡¯m sure, Ri. And besides, you like my hair at this length anyway.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Avuri said confidently. ¡°The way it frames your face and falls just below your chin is lovely. And when you wear robes, it shows off the back of your neck so deliciously. Especially when you¡¯re just a little sweaty -¡± Avuri was interrupted by a playful slap on her back.


    ¡°Keep it PG while I do this, you jerk.¡± Emery said with a laugh.


    Avuri, not super keen on listening at the moment, twisted around to give Emery a loving but chaste kiss.


    ¡°I love you, Emery.¡±


    ¡°Love you too, Ri. Jerk.¡± Emery responded, before reaching up to take Avuri by the chin and forcefully turn her around again.


    ¡°Now let me finish combing you out in peace or neither of us are going to get any sleep tonight.¡±

 The Wisteria Family Roster

    The Wisteria Family


    The Wisteria Family as a whole, consists of Emery, Avuri, and their currently 27 adopted children. The overall Family is broken up into several smaller family units, mostly for ease of living, with each family unit living in their own house. However, despite this apparent separation, the Family does act as one when it comes to all aspects of daily life. All of the children consider Emery and Avuri their mothers, even if they are the eldest of their own respective families.


    Wiria Family


    The Wiria Family is essentially the ¡®head family¡¯ of the Wisteria Family. Emery and Avuri chose to shorten their own last name to ¡®Wiria¡¯ for convenience sake, but also to keep the larger family more secretive, allowing the Wisteria Family and its namesake tree to exist apart from their smaller family unit.


    Emery Wiria


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Female</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 38</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">5¡¯4¡±</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Married to Avuri Wiria</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Sky Realm</li>


    </ul>


    Avuri Wiria


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Female</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 41</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">5¡¯10¡±</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Married to Emery Wiria</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Sky Realm</li>


    </ul>


    Cierra Wiria


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Female</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 21</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">6¡¯0¡±</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Peak Earth Realm</li>


    </ul>


    Stena Wiria


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Female</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 19</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">5¡¯7¡±</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Peak Earth Realm</li>


    </ul>


    Arek Wiria


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Male</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 9</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">End of Core Formation</li>


    </ul>


    Astra Wiria


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Female</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 7</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Beginning Core Formation</li>


    </ul>


    Alder Family


    The Alder family exists with the distinct split of the five older siblings and the youngest girl. Kord, Briar, Marche, Quinn, and even Syrus, all treat Shara like a princess, doting on her every chance they get. The eldest, Kord, is usually the one to keep an eye on things in this family unit, but will often leave Briar in charge. Marche and Quinn are identical twins, but can be told apart easily because of a scar on Marche¡¯s cheek that he received after running into the corner of a coffee table with his mouth open. The wound healed, but left a dimple as a scar.


    Kord Alder


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Male</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 17</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Late Earth Realm</li>


    </ul>


    Briar Alder


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">NB (They/Them)</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 15</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Early Earth Realm</li>


    </ul>


    Marche Alder


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Male</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 10</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Human Realm</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Quinn¡¯s twin brother.</li>


    </ul>


    Quinn Alder


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Male</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 10</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Human Realm</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Marche¡¯s twin brother.</li>


    </ul>


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Syrus Alder


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Male</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 9</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Late Core Formation</li>


    </ul>


    Shara Alder


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Female</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 8</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Late Qi Gathering</li>


    </ul>


    Elm Family


    The Elm Family is made up of two inseparable pairs. Wrynn and Cruz are fraternal twins that are inseparable. They also love acting as troublemakers. When they were first adopted, Enrik was left in charge of keeping an eye on them. Afterward, Ritz joined the family and became completely attached to Enrik. She eventually won him over, and they have also become practically attached at the hip. The only one who can regularly tempt Ritz away is Shara, her best friend.


    Enrik Elm


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Male</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 16</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Earth Realm</li>


    </ul>


    Wrynn Elm


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Female</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 13</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Human Realm</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Cruz¡¯s twin.</li>


    </ul>


    Cruz Elm


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Male</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 13</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Human Realm</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Wrynn¡¯s twin.</li>


    </ul>


    Ritz Elm


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Female</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 7</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Qi Gathering</li>


    </ul>


    Maple Family


    The Maple Family began as a small group of three girls with Elise, Kaili, and Elena. They¡¯re typically the most conventionally ¡®girly¡¯ girls among the entire Family, and have stuck together as such. Elise and Elena are related by blood. When Flyn and Evin were adopted, the group of girls thought they were super cute, and decided to take them in as their own younger brothers.


    Elise Maple


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Female</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 16</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Late Earth Realm</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Elena¡¯s sister by blood.</li>


    </ul>


    Kaili Maple


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Female</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 12</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Human Realm</li>


    </ul>


    Elena Maple


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Female</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 12</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Human Realm</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Elise¡¯s sister by blood.</li>


    </ul>


    Evin Maple


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Male</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 6</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Qi Gathering</li>


    </ul>


    Flyn Maple


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Male</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 6</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Qi Gathering</li>


    </ul>


    Willow Family


    The Willow Family is perhaps the most normal family unit among the smaller families. Fia and Lia are sisters by blood, and treat Jak and Kal the same as any normal sibling would treat their own. Fia keeps everyone in line, but acts more like a sister than guardian for her younger siblings, unlike some of the eldest of the other families.


    Fia Willow


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Female</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 16</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Earth Realm</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Lia¡¯s sister by blood.</li>


    </ul>


    Lia Willow


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Female</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 12</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Human Realm</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Fia¡¯s sister by blood.</li>


    </ul>


    Jak Willow


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Male</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 10</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Early Human Realm</li>


    </ul>


    Kal Willow


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Male</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 4</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Not Cultivating Yet</li>


    </ul>


    Yew Family


    The Yew Family is simultaneously taken care of by the eldest, Karn, and Faye, who they jokingly call ¡®Momaye¡±. Karn and Wulf both pick on Faye a fair bit, but will defend her vehemently if any of the other kids poke at her and won¡¯t let her take any shit. Faye is often the one seen caring for Luc, but Karn does a lot of the housework and caring behind closed doors.


    Karn Yew


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">NB (They/Them)</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 15</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Early Earth Realm</li>


    </ul>


    Wulf Yew


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Male</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 12</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Human Realm</li>


    </ul>


    Faye Yew


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Female</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 11</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Human Realm</li>


    </ul>


    Luc Yew


    <ul>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Male</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Age: 4</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Not Cultivating Yet</li>


    </ul>

 61 : Visitors [Book 2]

    Emery waved her arms, directing her symphony of flying knives like a musical conductor, even though she really didn¡¯t have to. It was fun and she enjoyed it; that was enough reason for her.


    The flying knives danced around the kitchen cutting vegetables, trimming meats, peeling fruit, and slicing bread and cheese. As she twirled around the kitchen as if she was dancing, her eyes eventually landed on her wife Avuri, who was busy beating away at a new loaf of bread dough. Emery spun across the room, letting the knives continue to do their work without an active conductor as she hugged Avuri from behind and lifted up on her tiptoes to let her chin rest on Avuri¡¯s shoulder.


    Avuri stopped her rhythmic punching of the dough and turned to face Emery, pecking her on the lips. ¡°How¡¯s dinner prep going?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s certainly going.¡± Emery said, grinning happily. ¡°Just about got everything chopped, peeled, or sliced.¡± She glanced back over her shoulder at the rest of the kitchen practically doing the lion¡¯s share of the work with minimal actual effort. ¡°Could you imagine needing to cook for our entire family without me?¡±


    Avuri laughed. ¡°Of course I can, considering you¡¯re not always on kitchen duty.¡±


    ¡°I can confidently say I count as twelve people, all by my lonesome.¡± Emery said haughtily.


    ¡°And that¡¯s why when you¡¯re doing something else, we have a full team in here.¡± Avuri said, returning to kneading her dough a bit gentler, now that Emery was hanging off her.


    ¡°I was thinking of sandwiches for dinner.¡± Emery said, getting the conversation roughly back on track. ¡°We¡¯ve got enough bread at the moment for everyone, but it¡¯ll probably clean us out.¡± She glanced down at the bread dough Avuri was currently still working with. ¡°We¡¯ll probably need that loaf too.¡±


    Avuri sighed. ¡°Yeah, I figured as much.¡± She glanced up at the shelving before her to look at their ingredient stores. ¡°We¡¯re going to need to go into the City soon. We need more flour and yeast. Probably other stuff too.¡±


    ¡°I think we need to get a few more chickens for the coop. They didn¡¯t hatch as many chicks as usual this year, so we ran down their numbers a bit.¡± Emery added. ¡°To be honest, we probably need a pretty sizable shopping trip this month since we haven¡¯t gone in a bit. Should probably look over everything first and make a list¡­¡± She trailed off as she heard a scream from outside.


    Emery and Avuri both turned toward the kitchen door as more screaming and excitement joined the initial shout. As they were quickly stripping dirty aprons and putting down knives, all four of their kids came barrelling down the stairs and ran past the kitchen door at full speed.


    Avuri managed to catch Stena by her collar, causing her to violently jerk to a stop with a loud ¡°Urk!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on out there?¡±


    Stena quickly looked back at her mother, clearly wanting to keep running down the stairs. ¡°Uncle Vale is back! And he¡¯s approaching in full dragon form!¡±


    Avuri let her go, and Stena darted forward continuing her dash to the outside.


    ¡°I suppose that would be exciting. Most of the kids haven¡¯t ever seen him in that form.¡± Avuri said as she and Emery more sedately followed their kids down the stairs toward the outside.


    ¡°If he¡¯s flying in like that either something is wrong, or he¡¯s got passengers.¡± Emery said, but remained unhurried. ¡°I would bet on passengers.¡±


    ¡°You think he brought Talya back with him?¡±


    ¡°The timeline would fit.¡± Emery answered with a shrug. ¡°And it would make even more sense that he¡¯d be carrying them if you guessed right and she¡¯s pregnant.¡±


    Avuri snickered. ¡°Excited to be an aunt?¡±


    Emery laughed and shrugged. ¡°Sure, why not? I get to spoil the kid rotten and not have to worry about discipline.¡±


    ¡°No, but you have to worry about twenty-seven other kids getting jealous if you go overboard with it.¡±


    ¡°Ah. Good point.¡± Emery said laughing, as they finally made it to the wide open grass-and-dirt playground. Emery tried to get a good look at the approaching flying shape through the holes in the Wisteria canopy.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s definitely Vale.¡± Avuri said, having found a clean view. ¡°And he doesn¡¯t look hurried or anything. You might be right with the Talya guess.¡±


    ¡°Told you.¡± Emery muttered, then she whistled loudly to get all the kids¡¯ attention. The shrill noise cut through all the excitement, and just about everyone stopped and turned to listen.


    ¡°Alright everyone, you may not have seen him like that before, but that¡¯s just Uncle Vale.¡± As Emery spoke, the few remaining stragglers popped their heads out of their houses and started walking to the field. ¡°He¡¯s probably bringing some guests, so you all need to play nice, okay?¡±


    As Emery was trying to keep the peace, Avuri was busy counting heads. ¡°We¡¯ve got everyone here.¡± She said, as Faye appeared carrying Luc, the last two kids that hadn¡¯t appeared yet. She tried not to laugh at the eleven-year-old Faye carrying her four-year-old brother. It looked a little silly given their not-so-huge size difference, but Faye¡¯s increased strength as a Cultivator - even only in the Human Realm - was enough to let her carry him rather easily.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    As Vale flew closer, Emery kept an eye on him waiting to see if he needed any assistance. It didn¡¯t take long for him to cast a large portion of the playground completely in shadow, blotting out what little sunlight made it successfully through the thick canopy. While Vale hovered there for a moment, there was a sudden and short shriek of panic from above as someone leapt off Vale¡¯s shoulder.


    Gray landed neatly on the ground a few paces away from Emery and Avuri, carrying Talya princess-style.


    Gray was a well-kept but unassuming looking man. He had kind eyes with the start of some laugh lines, and a neatly cropped mustache and beard. His brown hair was long and tied into a long tail at the nape of his neck with a rather expensive looking hair tie. And likely thanks to his Earth Realm body, he was able to carry his wife Talya with ease.


    As he set her down on her feet, Emery nodded in conclusion upon seeing her distinct baby bump. It wasn¡¯t overly noticeable yet, but there was enough that she was just beginning to show. Behind Talya and Gray, Vale lightly touched down, having assumed his familiar jolly human appearance.


    Emery and Avuri approached the group first, while the kids all impatiently waited their turn. Emery greeted her sister first, with a big hug while Avuri said hello to Gray.


    ¡°Hey, Sis. I¡¯m glad you could make it.¡± Emery said, squeezing the other woman around her shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s been too long since you were here.¡±


    Talya laughed, the warm sound familiar and calming for Emery. ¡°I see that. There¡¯s a whole bunch of new faces around here.¡± She said, looking around the gathered crowd. ¡°Dad told me that two of them are Wiria¡¯s?¡±


    Emery nodded. ¡°Arek and Astra.¡± She said, nodding toward where they stood with their older sisters. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll love them just as much as we do.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure I will.¡± Talya said with a grin.


    ¡°And it seems like I might owe Avuri some money.¡± Emery said jokingly looking down at Talya¡¯s stomach.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t actually bet on whether I¡¯d be pregnant, did you?¡±


    One side of Emery¡¯s mouth rose in a half smile. ¡°No, because I didn¡¯t want to take the bet since I thought I¡¯d lose. Looks like I was right.¡±


    Talya sighed and shook her head. ¡°You were. I think I¡¯m something like five months along. Maybe a little more.¡± She said, and rested a hand on her stomach. ¡°But things are going well enough, I suppose. At least in this regard, anyway.¡±


    Emery raised an eyebrow in question, but Talya shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later.¡± Then she smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s nothing about me or Gray. Just some trouble that I think is headed your way.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Emery said, willing to let it go for now. She stepped to the side to swap with Avuri and take her chance to greet Gray. As she stepped up, he offered her a hand.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you again, Emery.¡± He offered a smile and leaned a little forward. ¡°Is Emery alright? Would you prefer something else?¡±


    ¡°Emery is fine, Gray. It¡¯s nice to see you again. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re treating my sister well.¡±


    He laughed. ¡°I do my best, but I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯s the one in charge. I just do what I¡¯m told.¡±


    Emery smirked. ¡°Yeah, that sounds about right.¡±


    ¡°She keeps me on my toes and happy. That¡¯s more than enough.¡± He said, glancing toward Talya with a huge smile on his face. Emery couldn¡¯t help but mirror it.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to see you¡¯re still just as smitten with her after a year.¡±


    ¡°I doubt it¡¯ll ever change.¡± Gray answered with a shrug, then pointed back over his shoulder. ¡°Why don¡¯t you say hello to your father before he stops pouting and starts complaining?¡±


    ¡°That is a great idea.¡± Emery said, patting Gray on the shoulder. ¡°We¡¯ll take you around to meet everyone soon.¡±


    ¡°That sounds good. I can at least say hello to Cierra and Stena in the meantime.¡±


    Emery nodded and stepped past him to hug her father. He squeezed her back tightly enough that she struggled to get out, ¡°Hey Dad.¡±


    ¡°Hello again, Merri. It¡¯s been too long.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been gone for like two months.¡±


    He laughed. ¡°And I missed you every minute of it.¡± The followup squeeze would¡¯ve been enough to break a normal person¡¯s bones. Perhaps even a weaker Cultivator¡¯s.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you ever want to bother your other kids? Kota? Or Mimi?¡± Emery squeaked.


    Vale finally let her go and stepped back. ¡°I actually saw Kota before I made it to Talya. He¡¯s doing well, and is still living in Deep Well.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Emery asked, shocked. ¡°I would¡¯ve thought for sure that he¡¯d move after the chaos we caused there.¡±


    ¡°I thought so too, but nope. He bought a house and started a smithing business. Oh! That reminds me. He gave me a sword he made just for you. Remind me later and I¡¯ll give it to you.¡±


    Emery nodded, intrigued. ¡°Is it impressive?¡±


    Vale made a so-so face. ¡°It¡¯s certainly a beautiful weapon. It¡¯s like a work of art. But if you¡¯re talking about battle, then nothing is going to be anywhere close to your Qi weapons.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Emery said sadly. ¡°I keep hoping that one day I¡¯ll manage to find some kind of legendary artifact that could channel my Qi or something.¡± She sighed with an overexaggerated shrug.


    Vale laughed again and patted her cheek. ¡°You¡¯ve been reading too many bedtime stories for Astra, Merri.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± Emery muttered. Dangerous and awesome artifacts like that did exist, but they were far and few between. And probably not something she would ever get her hands on.


    ¡°Right then!¡± Vale said finally, putting his hands on his hips and looking out over the gathered crowd of children. ¡°Who wants their presents?¡±


    The instant he said those words, everyone started jumping and screaming trying to be the first one to line up for Vale. Surprising no one, Cierra and Stena were the first ones, using their superior speed to be first in line. Emery would¡¯ve told them to wait, but they immediately went to work trying to calm the crowd and get everyone to line up and wait their turn.


    Soon enough, the procession of kids were slowly taking their turns to talk to Uncle Vale and receive whatever they may have asked him for before he left. It took some time, but not too long, as he kept the line moving efficiently.


    The very last one to say hello was Shara. She looked a little shy and maybe even apprehensive, probably remembering her goodbye last time and Vale ruining the braid her siblings had done for her.


    Vale crouched down, which put him actually under her eye level. He pulled out three lovely combs from his storage ring; all three matched and were clearly part of a set. They were fashioned from some kind of wood, and were colored to mimic the colors of the sky at dawn, sunset, and at night respectively. Even from a fair distance, Emery could tell they were gorgeous.


    With a smile, Emery watched as Shara broke into tears again and gave her Uncle Vale a huge hug.

 62 : Premonitions

    Dinner that night was a loud, boisterous affair. Emery and Avuri had been assisted by Talya in finishing up dinner, as well as making a little extra for their not-entirely-unexpected guests.


    The kids were all caught up in the excitement of Uncle Vale¡¯s return - even Shara who had evidently forgiven him for ruining her braids and was now happily sitting next to him while he told the group a story. There was a wide variety of ¡®ooh¡¯s, ¡®ahh¡¯s, and laughter coming from the audience Vale had amassed, which made the entire dining pavilion rather loud.


    Emery, Avuri, and some of the younger kids were seated at a separate table with Talya and Gray, taking the time to run through introductions. There were ten children that were new enough to the family that they hadn¡¯t met Talya yet, let alone Gray. And they were trying to remedy that now.


    Given how antsy the kids were to go listen to Vale tell a story, clearly the introductions wouldn¡¯t last long. Shara and Ritz were already over there listening, completely skipping the introductions for now.


    Emery took a deep breath before beginning. ¡°Okay! We¡¯ve got eight of the ten kids here, so we¡¯ll start with them. First,¡± she said, pointing to Astra who was sitting right next to her, ¡°we have Astra right here. Then going down the line and around the table we have Arek, Syrus, Jak, Evin, Flyn, Kal, and Luc.¡±


    Emery pointed at each child in turn as she went down the line. When she got to the end, she offered Faye an extra smile. ¡°And of course, you know Faye already. Thanks for helping with Luc and Kal, sweetie.¡±


    Faye smiled back and nodded. ¡°No problem, Mom. But if you hear Karn or Wulf call me Momaye again, can you, like, rough them up a little bit? I really hate that name.¡±


    Most of the adults at the table worked to hold back laughter, or at least a chuckle. ¡°I can do that. Should I really scare them, or just tell them to stop?¡±


    Faye ¡®hmm¡¯ed in thought then responded, ¡°I don¡¯t want you to actually hurt them, but I¡¯ve been telling them to stop for weeks now and they won¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll get them for you.¡± Avuri chimed in. ¡°If they don¡¯t stop after that, we''ll really sit down and talk with them. They¡¯re definitely old enough to know to stop using a name someone doesn¡¯t like.¡±


    Faye nodded and said her ¡°Thank you¡±s. Then Emery waved the group off. ¡°Go ahead and run over to Vale.¡±


    She barely finished her sentence before half the kids were up and gone. Faye took a bit longer as she wrangled the two four year olds and took them with her. Once they were gone, Emery looked over toward Vale and pointed out Shara and Ritz.


    ¡°Those two, Shara and Ritz, are the only others you haven¡¯t met yet, Talya. And Gray,¡± Emery leaned back from the table to see around Talya as they were all seated on one bench, ¡°we¡¯ll introduce you around to everyone else at some point. It¡¯ll probably be in small groups.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s probably for the best. Meeting new family is hard enough. Meeting thirty-odd new family members all at once is a whole other level of difficulty.¡±


    Avuri covered her mouth as she chuckled, ¡°We¡¯ll try to keep it to smaller groups so you can try to memorize the names five or six at a time.¡±


    Talya rubbed her husband¡¯s back. ¡°You¡¯ll get there. It just takes time.¡±


    He eyed Talya, his expression showing some annoyance. ¡°And what were the names of the kids you just met?¡±


    ¡°Astra, Arek, Syrus, Jak, Evin, Flyn, Kal, and Luc.¡±


    Gray put out both hands toward Talya, as if he was presenting her to an audience. ¡°And that¡¯s why I feel bad about it, folks.¡±


    ¡°Talya has an unfair advantage when it comes to memorizing things.¡± Emery said. ¡°You should know not to take it personally.¡±


    ¡°I know, but that doesn¡¯t make me feel any better when someone we¡¯ve both met one time comes up to us and Talya just remembers exactly who they are.¡±


    ¡°Sorry Gray. Between my job requiring lots of interfacing with people and remembering everyone and my Cultivation being focused on memorization of Arrays, I¡¯ve just gotten really good at remembering people.¡± Talya apologized.


    Avuri scoffed. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to mention that your particular brand of Qi involves mental enhancement. Cheater.¡± Emery laughed at that. It was an old gripe of Avuri¡¯s that she was jealous of a few of the effects of Talya¡¯s Sky Realm Qi type.


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s just what happens when a Cultivator eschews normal martial arts and focuses 100% of their effort into Arrays, but never stops Cultivating.¡± Emery said through her mild laughter. ¡°People like that are rare.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still shocked I even made it to the Sky Realm.¡± Talya said, then smiled at Avuri. ¡°I really have you to thank for that.¡±


    Avuri sighed and deflated. ¡°You¡¯re welcome, I guess.¡± She said flatly. ¡°Just don¡¯t show off in front of me or you really will make me jealous.¡±


    The conversation continued on light hearted topics for a while against the backdrop of Vale¡¯s storytelling and the reaction of his audience. Eventually, the kids began to disperse to go about their evening activities as dinner winded down.


    The group of five adults took over the washing of the dishes for the night, and waved the last few children off to go with their siblings for some after dinner fun.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    As they all gathered up the massive number of plates and cups and serving dishes, everything was deposited into a few deep washing basins. Avuri started to call on her Qi to generate the water to wash with and began mixing in the soap. Everyone took up position in front of their own tub and started the process of scrubbing down dishes.


    ¡°So,¡± Emery eventually started, glancing toward Talya, ¡°is now a good time to elaborate on the trouble you think is headed our way?¡±


    Talya and Vale glanced at one another briefly before anyone said more. Finally, Talya sighed. ¡°There¡¯s a group of Cultivators from The Deposits headed north this way. Kota said that they¡¯re dead set on getting into the Peaks and setting up shop up here.¡±


    ¡°We flew over them on the way up here.¡± Vale said solemnly. ¡°They were camped on the northern side of Meteor Lake so they haven¡¯t gotten very far yet, but I suspect they¡¯re still amassing their group.¡±


    ¡°And you think they have a shot at getting through Flowing Dragon City?¡± Avuri asked while Emery was still processing.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± Vale said. ¡°I honestly can¡¯t imagine Flowing Dragon City allowing a large group of outsider artisans like that to move in and set up a permanent residence of any kind. It would run entirely counter to their businesses.¡±


    ¡°On the other hand,¡± Talya picked up the explanation, ¡°the group is full of representatives from the major companies all throughout The Deposits. I¡¯m not sure Flowing Dragon City is able to just turn up their nose at the largest producers of ore for thousands of miles around.¡±


    Emery rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on. She regretted it almost immediately as soapy water dripped down from her fingers. ¡°So the City is about to find themselves on something of a business battlefield that may end up with the Peaks being entirely overrun by Cultivators obsessed with mining and stripping the land.¡±


    Gray nodded. ¡°The potentially worse part of all this is, assuming they have a number of strong Cultivators, they could bypass the City and just climb one of the Peaks without permission.¡±


    Avuri glanced up and around at everyone. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t do that, would they? They would bring the entirety of Flowing Dragon City down on them if they started to mine and harvest the mountains without permission.¡±


    ¡°The earth and metal Cultivators from The Deposits aren¡¯t exactly renowned for their intelligence.¡± Vale said. ¡°A lot of them are the ¡®do things now, apologize later¡¯ types. If they¡¯ve got it in their head that the Peaks hold all kinds of natural treasures that they could dig up, I¡¯m not sure what they¡¯d do.¡±


    Emery gave Vale a long side-eyed look. ¡°What do the rulers of Flowing Dragon think about this?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t gone to tell them yet. I¡¯m planning on doing so tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Avuri?¡± Emery asked her wife a silent question.


    ¡°Tell them Emery and I are prepared to fight alongside them if this comes to blows.¡± Avuri said as an answer. ¡°We owe them a lot for allowing us to stay here. You too, of course.¡± She added with the best bow she could manage while cleaning dirty dishes.


    Vale just sighed. ¡°I¡¯m not looking forward to this little chat. Cyril and Lyn are going to be pissed. And that¡¯s not even considering Ray, Eiry, or Vyne.¡±


    Talya laughed weakly. ¡°We¡¯ll be sure to send you with some baked goods tomorrow. Did you already tell them you wanted to see them all?¡±


    ¡°Just a message through an Array to Lyn to gather everyone.¡± Vale responded, moving back to work on the dishes again. ¡°I didn¡¯t say why, but they may already know. Vyne¡¯s Earthsense can reach Meteor Lake, so he may already feel the small army they¡¯re putting together. Doubt he knows they¡¯re marching this way though.¡±


    Emery took a deep breath and let it out slowly. ¡°What a mess.¡±


    Gray placed the last of his dishes in the drying rack near him. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m missing something rather large.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because you are, Hun.¡± Talya said sweetly. ¡°But it¡¯s not our place to share, unfortunately.¡± Her eyes darted to Vale then back to her husband. ¡°You might be brought into the fold eventually, but honestly, it¡¯s not something you need to worry about.¡± She said, then added, ¡°Probably.¡±


    Gray shrugged and leaned against his empty sink. Emery chuckled. ¡°Not even going to ask, hm?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve learned it¡¯s better not to. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll hear about it if it¡¯s important eventually.¡± Gray pushed off the sink and walked over to Talya and hugged her around the waist as she continued to towel dry her last few dishes. ¡°Or I won¡¯t. It¡¯s fine either way.¡±


    ¡°I promise we¡¯ll tell you if it ever becomes relevant.¡± Talya said, turning her head to give him a quick kiss.


    ¡°If this whole situation blows up on us, it will be.¡± Vale said. ¡°I¡¯ll check and see who is allowed to be brought up to speed. Especially if there¡¯s a potential war coming.¡±


    Avuri let out a hollow laugh. ¡°Surely it¡¯s not that bad.¡±


    ¡°It really just depends how many people they bring.¡± Vale said with a shrug. ¡°When we flew over their little outpost, I think there were maybe a hundred or two at most. If the majority are Cultivators, and they gather more? Yeah, this could definitely turn into a fight.¡±


    ¡°Do we even know why they¡¯re headed this way?¡± Emery asked. ¡°You said to mine and harvest materials in the Peaks, but they could¡¯ve done that at any time in the last several hundred years. Why now?¡±


    Emery put her last dish away and looked between Talya, Gray, and Vale. They all shrugged as Vale answered. ¡°No idea. Kota said there were rumors going around that they¡¯ve dug too deep into The Deposits and something went wrong -¡±


    ¡°- But I¡¯d bet it¡¯s just plain old greed.¡± Talya said, interrupting Vale. Her father looked at her as if to say ¡®I was getting there¡¯, then spoke again.


    ¡°Hopefully we¡¯ll know for sure soon. Ieji is planning to join up with them to feed us information.¡± Vale said with a half smile.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Emery asked, not having heard her younger sibling¡¯s name in a while. ¡°And just where did you find them?¡±


    Talya laughed. ¡°The jerk was staying with Kota but didn¡¯t tell anyone. When we dropped in to visit Kota, they just showed up at dinner time ready to eat. You should¡¯ve seen the look on their face - it was priceless.¡±


    ¡°Well, at least we know where they¡¯ve been then. Last I heard Ieji was¡­what, on the Southern Continent I think?¡± Emery asked.


    ¡°Yeah. They came back and just happened to run across Kota in Deep Well, and decided to stay there for the last few years.¡± Talya said.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s good that we¡¯ll have someone talented on the inside, at least.¡± Emery said and nodded. ¡°Ieji should be more than capable.¡±


    ¡°Ieji scares me.¡± Avuri said, half-whispering to Gray. ¡°Did you get to meet them?¡±


    A shiver ran up Gray¡¯s spine as he thought back to their visit to Kota¡¯s house. ¡°Sure did. That one absolutely gave me the creeps.¡±

 63 : Evening Drinks

    Once the dishes were all clean, the group of adults made their way back to the main house. It wasn¡¯t too late yet, but all the children were off doing their own things.


    Stena was off with some of the older kids sparring. Cierra and Arek were in the training room for what had become their regular after dinner training, which they did a few times a week. Emery was quite proud of Cierra handling her younger brother so well.


    Astra was probably in the room watching or taking part as she saw fit, as she¡¯d been doing for a few weeks now. She was settling into the family nicely, and was beginning to feel like she¡¯d been there for more than just half a year. She was developing a bit of a competitive streak with Arek which was what drove her to take part in those training sessions, even if Arek was solidly more advanced than she was.


    In any case, it left the adults alone for at least a while in the evening, and they were going to take the time to relax. With everyone gathered around the smaller kitchen table in the house, where the immediate family used to all eat together, Avuri handed out drinks for everyone.


    For the four who weren¡¯t pregnant, she brought some rather expensive liquor which she had chilled with her Qi. The bottles were covered in a slight layer of frost and icy-cold to the touch. And with apologies, she offered a similarly chilled bottle of sparkling fruit juice to Talya, who accepted it gracefully, despite eyeing her husband¡¯s liquor.


    Once everyone was settled into their seats and enjoying the cold drinks, the conversation flowed freely. Emery and Avuri were both more than happy to talk to adults that weren¡¯t their adult children, and Talya and Gray seemed more than a little excited to talk about things that weren¡¯t work related; although asking how work was going was the first topic.


    Eventually, the talk turned briefly to Talya¡¯s pregnancy and how things were progressing on that front. She assured them all that she was healthy, and more than capable of making the trip here.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s good that everything is going well.¡± Emery said between sips of her drink. ¡°If you were jeopardizing anything, we¡¯d have to lock you up here and treat you like a prisoner princess.¡±


    Talya laughed. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d mind being waited on all the time.¡± She raised her hand in the air as if she held a bell and swung it back and forth. ¡°Servant, another bottle of grape juice, if you would?¡± She asked, taking on the haughty tone of a rich young mistress.


    Avuri hopped up to her feet and bowed, playing along. ¡°Yes, of course, your ladyship. Would you like this one chilled as well?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Your ability to chill beverages such as this is why you¡¯re here after all, is it not?¡± Talya waved her away dismissively. ¡°Now off with you.¡± She said, then added, ¡°Thank you, Avuri,¡± unable to keep herself acting as the haughty master.


    ¡°Of course. We¡¯re not letting you move more than you have to.¡± Avuri teased as she walked back into the nearby kitchen.


    Gray cleared his throat awkwardly to gain everyone¡¯s attention before he spoke. ¡°On that topic, Emery, we had something we wanted to ask you.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± Emery prodded. Gray and Talya shared a look, then Talya just spat it out.


    ¡°I know it¡¯s maybe a lot to ask, given everything that¡¯s happening around here, but we were hoping that you would let us stay here until the baby is born.¡± Once Talya started, she just plunged right on ahead, ¡°We know that Avuri isn¡¯t a trained midwife or anything, and we would go into Flowing Dragon City for the actual birth. But we¡¯d like to have reliable family nearby and you two were the first that came to mind for this sort of thing.¡±


    Avuri popped back around the corner, a new icy bottle in hand. ¡°I don¡¯t mind. I can help keep an eye on you with regular check ups, too, though they won¡¯t be as thorough as a real trained doctor.¡± She smiled wide as she handed off the bottle to Talya.


    ¡°I¡¯m in agreement as well, Talya.¡± Emery said, leaning forward on the table. ¡°It¡¯s no problem at all. We¡¯ve got plenty of room, and I¡¯m sure Cierra and Stena miss having you live with us. Arek and Astra may not know you well yet, but this is a great opportunity for them in that case. The same goes for everyone else.¡±


    Emery shrugged. ¡°And that¡¯s not to mention that you¡¯ll have somewhere in the realm of twenty-five people to help you out. Really convenient, that.¡±


    Talya looked down at the drink in her hands, and idly poked at the bottle with her fingers. ¡°Thank you both. We had planned to stay in Green Vine, but after being invited up here and thinking it over¡­Well, this seemed like a better option than not having any family around.¡±


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    ¡°We¡¯d love to have you.¡± Avuri said with a decisive nod, then her eyes slid deliberately over to Gray. ¡°And while you¡¯re both here, we¡¯ll get to grill you two about your relationship. We didn¡¯t get the chance when we were at Green Vine for your wedding, but now¡­¡±


    Talya looked over at Gray for a moment, then sighed. ¡°I suppose that¡¯s fair. I know pretty much every step you two took, so I¡¯ll be nice and spill the tea.¡± She placed a hand on Gray¡¯s shoulder and massaged it affectionately. ¡°Let¡¯s save Gray from the girl talk though, okay?¡±


    Emery snickered. ¡°Sure, that¡¯s fine. We¡¯ve got a few months to bother you with it.¡±


    ¡°Now, hold on.¡± Gray said, putting a hand up. ¡°You¡¯re more than welcome to spare me from the longer girl talk, but I¡¯m actually rather curious how you two met and ended up together. Or who proposed to who? Talya never told me.¡± He said, narrowing his eyes accusingly at his wife, who tried to look innocent.


    Avuri and Emery laughed together as Avuri moved to stand behind her wife and rest a hand and her drink on Emery¡¯s shoulders. ¡°She doesn¡¯t like to talk about our proposal because she kinda ruined it.¡± Avuri said, pointing at Talya with a finger from the drink-holding hand.


    Gray turned fully to Talya at that, and acted appalled. ¡°How could you ruin a marriage proposal?¡± He asked, holding a hand over his heart. ¡°And here I thought you were romantic¡­¡± He muttered, shaking his head.


    ¡°To be fair to her,¡± Vale said, speaking up for the first time in a while, ¡°she did it because Emery was dragging her feet so badly.¡± His sly smile peeked out from behind the bottle at his mouth. ¡°It was actually embarrassing, watching her-¡°


    ¡°Dad!¡± Emery said, interrupting him.


    Vale took the chance to point at her and laughed. ¡°See? She¡¯s turning red.¡±


    Emery let out a breath, defeated, but still struggling not to let the blush of embarrassment spread. ¡°Yes, I took way too long to ask her. I¡¯m sorry that I-¡±


    ¡°Oh, you asked Avuri, then?¡± Gray said, interrupting her. The smug smile on his face told her that he had done it entirely on purpose.


    Emery narrowed her eyes at him, trying to look a little angry. ¡°You¡¯re going to fit in just fine around here, Gray, but I¡¯m not happy about it. Yet.¡± She let a little of her faked anger seep into her words like venom. ¡°But yes, I asked her.¡±


    ¡°It only took her, what?¡± Avuri said, looking up at the ceiling to avoid Emery¡¯s glare turning her way. ¡°Two weeks of acting awkward around the house?¡±


    ¡°Three.¡± Vale corrected, and Emery¡¯s glare snapped to him.


    ¡°And a half.¡± Talya added, then similarly looked away from Emery¡¯s simmering glare.


    ¡°All three of you are dead to me.¡± Emery said petulantly as she crossed her arms and huffed. ¡°Gray, you shouldn¡¯t take after these three idiots. Be nice to me and maybe I¡¯ll make you something special one night.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s right.¡± Avuri said, all the while swaying side to side and acting like a ghost. ¡°When she goes all out on cooking, her food is magical.¡±


    ¡°I appreciate that, but you¡¯re still dead to me.¡± Emery muttered.


    Gray looked around the room, met eyes with his wife, then turned back to Emery with a smile. ¡°Three and a half weeks is a really long time.¡± He was visibly trying to hold back a laugh. ¡°I think once I made up my mind to propose to Talya, it took me like three days. What in the world took you so long?¡±


    ¡°Dead!¡± Emery said, shooting up to her feet. ¡°Dead! Dead! Dead! Dead! You¡¯re all dead to me!¡± She said, then slammed her bottle on the table, holding back her strength enough to just make a decent thud. ¡°Now who needs a refill?¡± She said angrily.


    Hands went up all around the table, except for Talya who was already on her second. ¡°Avuri, you¡¯ll have to chill them when I get back. Thank you.¡± She said sharply then walked into the kitchen. Laughter erupted behind her.


    When she finally returned, three bottles floated behind her and one was in her hand. The floating bottles landed on the table neatly in front of Avuri for her to touch and chill.


    ¡°So¡­¡± Gray began, trying to continue the conversation, ¡°how exactly did Talya mess up your proposal?¡±


    ¡°She was impatient, after waiting for three weeks.¡± Avuri said, as she froze each bottle in turn. ¡°So was I, so I can¡¯t really get mad at her.¡± With a flick of her wrist, Emery sent each of the frozen bottles to their recipient.


    ¡°She had been asking me for a few days at that point if I had asked her or not yet.¡± Emery said, her slight glare aimed at Talya. ¡°Eventually she just asked me at the wrong time and Avuri happened to overhear her asking me.¡±


    ¡°So naturally, I started to ask her about what she was going to ask me.¡± Avuri said, with a distant smile as she thought back on it. ¡°I was already, like, ninety percent sure what it was all about, so I just kept pestering her that day.¡±


    ¡°You would not just leave me alone.¡± Emery said, thinking back. ¡°I was even considering denying the whole thing and just not asking at that point.¡± She glanced at Avuri and laughed. ¡°In retrospect, if I had made that decision, I would probably be dead now.¡±


    Avuri nodded. ¡°I would¡¯ve killed you for sure. After three weeks of waiting, I was about ready to ask you myself if I didn¡¯t think it would¡¯ve upset you.¡±


    ¡°You practically did just ask me in the end!¡± Emery laughed. ¡°Just not in so many words.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯d that work out?¡± Gray asked.


    ¡°Well, in my feeble, pointless, and perhaps misguided attempt to throw her off the scent, I confirmed that Talya was right, and I did have something to ask her about but didn¡¯t want to yet.¡± Emery sighed. ¡°You know, I wanted to set a nice atmosphere and such.¡±


    ¡°So I kept bothering her about it.¡± Avuri said with a devilish grin.


    ¡°Avuri, I love you, but there really is such a thing as being too persistent.¡±

 64 : Task Failed Successfully?

    I was about ready to kill Avuri. And Talya, too, damn it.


    ¡°Is it¡­Hm. What I want for our dinner date tomorrow? What else could it be¡­?¡± Avuri asked, trying to figure out what my looming question might be.


    It had been several hours now since she overheard Talya asking me whether I had asked Avuri ¡®the question¡¯ yet, and what her answer was.  After I nearly freaked out on her, and quietly yelled at her to be quiet and that no, I hadn¡¯t asked yet, I went back out of the kitchen and dining room to see Avuri coming down the third floor stairs with a big, shit eating grin.


    She had immediately accosted me about what Talya was asking about, while the damn spoiler woman herself fled outside. I managed to get Avuri off of me long enough to make it back up the stairs to our bedroom with the drinks where we had planned to settle in for some relaxing reading time.


    I had planned on reading through some technique scrolls that Vale thought I might be able to adapt some techniques from, but I was making zero progress under her assault of questions.


    And then when she didn¡¯t stop asking me what it was about, I made the mistake of telling her it was a secret, and she¡¯d never guess what my question was. That set off her guessing frenzy, and I immediately regretted my dumbass half-hearted attempt to get her off my back. It just made it all worse.


    ¡°What about¡­Hm¡­¡± She trailed off, trying to come up with another question I could be looking to ask, but the big grin on her face was plastered there and hadn¡¯t gone away in over an hour.


    Her questions had started off with some pretty good contenders; things like whether I was going to ask about starting Paired Cultivation again, or if I wanted to ask how Avuri was feeling about living here. Then they slowly devolved from there into rather silly or inane questions that obviously wouldn¡¯t be given this much attention.


    ¡°My measurements to have some clothing made?¡± Avuri wondered aloud. ¡°No, I think you already have those. Did I ever give you my shoe measurements if you¡¯re trying to get some shoes or slippers made?¡± She turned to me as she asked, her taunting, devilish grin still in place.


    ¡°I got your foot measurements the last time we went shopping, remember? When we got those matching indoor slippers?¡± I said, dismissing her question.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. Hm¡­¡±


    The way that she kept humming in such a sing-song tone was worrying me. I was almost positive that she knew exactly what I wanted to ask, and was just toying with me. While part of me just wanted her to ask ¡°Do you want to ask me to marry you¡± and just put me out of my misery, another part of me wanted to just ask her already and be done with it.


    And that was no way to approach a proposal like this.


    I wanted it to be special, or at least get her to swoon a little! And even with spending most of my brain power over the last hour trying to figure out a way to surprise her, the only thing I had come up with was to completely give up asking her today and giving her some nonsense question to throw her off the scent for now.


    I sighed, and patted the spot next to me on the bed. ¡°Will you just stop probing and come sit with me?¡± I asked, exhausted. I even tried to play it up a little.


    Avuri smiled, her devilish grin fading into something more warm. ¡°Sure.¡± She nodded and stood from the plush rocking chair we bought for the room to slip into the bed next to me. I lifted the blanket to let her snuggle in against me, and she laid her head on my shoulder. I chuckled as she looked a little contorted because of our height difference.


    ¡°Will you let me read this thing now?¡± I asked her quietly, trying to foster a calmer mood.


    She smiled and snorted out the makings of a laugh. ¡°Yeah, alright.¡± She responded at the same quieter energy level. I smiled at her, kissed her hair, then settled in to read. Avuri had brought her book over with her, but didn¡¯t lift it from her lap to read, instead seemingly content to just rest on my shoulder.


    We spent ten or so minutes in a comfortable silence. Every now and then, the paper sound of a turning page broke the quiet alongside the occasional deeper breath.


    The relative quiet calmed me down as I slowly worked my way through the small tome, trying to extract any useful information I could gleam.


    ¡°Merri?¡±


    Avuri¡¯s voice was peaceful and full of quiet happiness. I stopped reading and turned to look down at her, meeting her eyes. Her gentle smile widened, crinkling around her eyes.


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°What did you want to ask me?¡±


    The playful, teasing tone from earlier wasn¡¯t present. Instead, her voice was warm and serene as she looked up at me earnestly. I almost asked her outright on reflex but held myself back and leaned down a little to place a light kiss on her forehead while pulling her toward me for a hug.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t tell me now, I¡¯m going to guess again.¡± She said, but her voice was still calming and relaxed unlike earlier.


    I considered whether I wanted to ask her now. Maybe my proposal didn¡¯t need to be a big production or swoon-worthy. Maybe something simple and intimate would work just fine.


    Avuri decided not to let me think it through for very long. Before I could think through what I wanted to do or make a decision, she asked her next guess.


    ¡°Merri, did you want to ask me to marry you?¡±


    I took a deep breath and sighed. I had had a feeling all night that she knew and was teasing me. And the way she gave this question the seriousness due more or less confirmed that for me.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the one.¡± I said, with a small wry laugh. I shifted a little in the bed so we were both sitting upright and facing one another.


    ¡°I really, truly love you, Ri. Will you marry me?¡±


    She smiled back at me, her entire expression just radiating warmth and love. ¡°Of course I will. And I love you too.¡± She laughed, though I could see the misting of happy tears in her eyes.


    And then she tackled me backward onto the bed with a hug and kiss. It was short lived, however, when she popped back up straight while kneeling on top of me. ¡°We need to go tell everybody!¡± She said and started trying to scramble off me and the bed.


    I let out a big sigh, and she stopped dead, standing beside the bed.


    ¡°We¡­do need to go tell everybody, don¡¯t we?¡± She asked cautiously.


    ¡°We do.¡± I whined, and collapsed back onto the bed. ¡°I just-¡±


    ¡°-Wanted a minute alone?¡± Avuri said quietly, a low note of seduction in her voice. I looked down at her just in time to see her bending down to slowly prowl her way over the bed and over me.


    That devilish smile from earlier was back as she slowly crawled her way across the bed until her face was directly above mine and she was staring heatedly into my eyes.


    ¡°I suppose,¡± she said, licking her lips, ¡°we don¡¯t have to go talk to them quite yet.¡±


    <hr>


    We finally made our way out of our bedroom and down the stairs almost an hour later. I smiled when Avuri happily marched, swinging her arms back and forth, out of our room and toward the stairs. When we were half way down the stairs when she shouted, ¡°She asked,¡± in such a sing-song voice that it caught me off guard and I laughed.


    Talya and Vale came around the corner from the kitchen with big grins on their faces, and Cierra and Stena weren¡¯t far behind them.


    ¡°Finally.¡± Talya said, a relieved sigh following right behind the words. ¡°It only took forever.¡±


    I glared back at her. ¡°Shut up, you.¡±


    Talya ignored me and smiled at Avuri. ¡°I assume you said ¡®Yes¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Duh.¡± Avuri did a little dance, which was quite possibly the cutest thing I had ever seen her do. ¡°Now you¡¯re all stuck with me.¡± She said, then moved forward and crouched in front of the girls. ¡°Especially you two,¡± Avuri said before hugging both girls tightly.


    ¡°Mom and Talya told me that you¡¯re going to really be my Momri now?¡± Cierra asked shyly, but smiling big.


    Stena, who had recently seemed to decide we were officially her new parents, smiled just as big. ¡°Momri!¡±


    ¡°Yup! Or at least, I will soon.¡± Avuri said, and kissed both girls on their cheeks.


    ¡°So it all worked out in the end, then. Good.¡± Vale said with a satisfied nod.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Avuri said, then she shot a playful glare back at me. ¡°But she was three weeks late.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I really did try to stick to my timeline as much as possible.¡±


    ¡°I can confirm that.¡± Talya said, crossing her arms and leaning against the kitchen door jamb. ¡°She was talking about asking you almost a month ago, but kept getting cold feet. Said she wanted to do something special but couldn¡¯t decide what. And now here we are, three and half weeks later and she¡¯s done literally nothing and just asked. I assume.¡±


    ¡°More or less.¡± Avuri said, thankfully not talking about how I ¡®asked¡¯ in the end. ¡°She was sweet though. Even if she didn¡¯t quite keep to her own timeline.¡± She made a big show of sighing. ¡°And after I told her I loved her after a month, just like we said I would.¡±


    I laughed at that. ¡°Hey! Saying ¡°I love you¡± may not be easy necessarily, but it¡¯s certainly easier than a marriage proposal!¡±


    ¡°If you say so.¡± Avuri shrugged. ¡°Personally, I think you put too much pressure on yourself trying to make it so special. You could¡¯ve just asked me pointblank and gotten your ¡®Yes¡¯ so we could start planning.¡±


    I blinked. ¡°Planning?¡± I asked, tilting my head in question.


    ¡°Yes, you lovable idiot, planning.¡± Avuri said, looking at me like I was insane. ¡°Surely you didn¡¯t think we¡¯d be skipping a wedding?¡±


    I sunk into a crouch and let out something like a strained laugh. ¡°Avuri, I won¡¯t lie. I¡¯ve been so focused on asking you the damn question that planning a wedding was the last thing I was thinking about.¡±


    ¡°Well, you better start thinking about it now, because it¡¯s gonna be a big one.¡± She grinned. ¡°I¡¯m gonna love it, and you¡¯re gonna hate it, no doubt. But I¡¯m not letting you off easy with this one.¡±


    ¡°Whatever you want, Ri. Just please, don¡¯t torture me too much, yeah?¡±

 65 : Preventative Measures

    Talya was the first to decide she¡¯d had enough for the day. After they had all spent a couple of hours relaxing with their drinks, she had decided she was tired enough to try to get some sleep.


    Gray went with her, and Vale wasn¡¯t far behind, leaving Emery and Avuri on their own. It still wasn¡¯t too late, but surely the three others were tired after the travel immediately followed by a long day of greetings; no one could fault them for wanting to sleep.


    As Emery gathered up the empty bottles from the table for disposal, Avuri asked, ¡°So, what¡¯s the plan for tonight? Are you also looking to go to bed early?¡± She dragged a hand lightly over Emery¡¯s shoulder affectionately as she spoke, just because she felt like it.


    ¡°I was actually thinking of taking some family bath time with Cierra and Stena. They¡¯re old enough that we should probably let them know some of what¡¯s going on. Maybe Kord, Elise, and the other Earth Realm kids, too. I don¡¯t want to get them involved in whatever fight is coming, but they should know that danger could be on the way.¡±


    Avuri¡¯s previously relaxed face took on a more serious edge as Emery spoke of the more serious topic. ¡°And you want to let Cici and Stena in on it either way, I imagine.¡±


    Emery nodded. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯d like them to know, and we can use the talk with them as a test run. See how they take it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone would take kindly to the news that there could be a war coming to their doorstep.¡± Avuri said sourly.


    ¡°No kidding.¡± Emery sighed. ¡°But if the Deposits¡¯ Cultivators decide to infiltrate the Peaks or send scouts ahead¡­they could pretty easily wind up literally at our door. Cierra and Stena, at least, should be prepared.¡±


    ¡°We should probably make some time tomorrow to talk to everyone about what to do if a stranger makes it into the basin.¡± Avuri said, murmuring to herself. ¡°And reinforce stranger danger with the younger kids.¡±


    Emery let out a hollow laugh. ¡°If there¡¯s one thing I don¡¯t think we need to teach any of our kids, it¡¯s how dangerous some random person could be.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­true enough.¡± Avuri said flatly. ¡°We should probably still go over what to do if they see someone they don¡¯t know around here though.¡±


    ¡°Agreed.¡± Emery said seriously, then sighed heavily as she dropped all the bottles from the table into a bin in the kitchen where they would eventually be cleaned and reused. ¡°In the sixteen or so years we¡¯ve lived here, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s ever been a time where I thought we might be infiltrated all the way up here.¡±


    ¡°In some sense,¡± Avuri began, ¡°it¡¯s pretty incredible that you found a spot that has remained relatively hidden for so long. But we should keep in mind that this could all go peacefully too.¡± As she spoke, Avuri walked up behind Emery and slid her arms around her wife¡¯s waist from behind.


    ¡°...You¡¯re shaking.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Emery said, her voice empty of emotion. ¡°I¡¯m scared, Ri. We¡¯ve got so many young children here, the vast majority of whom can¡¯t fight. Not really. Not to mention my sister, who is pregnant and in no condition to fight, and her husband. And even if the fight never physically reaches us, our ability to live easily up here at least partially relies on the Peaks and their natural Qi and defenses. If Cultivators come up this way and start to strip and destroy the land, we¡¯ll be in trouble anyway.¡±


    As the words tumbled out of Emery, the squeezing hug that her wife offered grew tighter. ¡°Don¡¯t forget what¡¯s in our favor, too.¡± Avuri said, trying to help Emery calm down a little. ¡°We have Vale here. If anyone actually tries something stupid like harming any of our kids, they will not get away with it.¡± Her voice dripped with deadly venom as it deepened to convey the threat.


    ¡°And on the off chance that things do go sideways, Cyril, Lyn, and them are more than a capable fighting force. And that¡¯s before we include ourselves or any of the other Flowing Dragon City regulars.¡± With a quick extra squeeze, and a kiss to Emery¡¯s head, Avuri spun her around so they were face to face.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to just say everything will be fine. But we are well protected here, and have time to prepare the kids for any potential emergency. Let¡¯s focus on what we can do, not what we can¡¯t, right?¡± Avuri offered Emery a smile, which she hesitantly returned. Then she took a deep breath to steady herself.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. You¡¯re always right.¡± Emery said finally. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t worry about things we can¡¯t affect. Focus on what¡¯s in front of you and what you can do.¡±


    ¡°Sounds familiar, hm?¡±


    ¡°It does.¡± Emery snorted. ¡°Now let¡¯s go get our girls and take a bath.¡±


    <hr>


    Within the hour, they were able to intercept Cierra and Stena on their way to the baths after their respective workouts. The four of them all held back and let the rest of the children that wanted to bathe in the bathhouse do so. Avuri, Emery, and their girls talked idly about their training regimen and what they were working on now for a while as they watched the other kids slowly trickle out of the bathhouse from a nearby bench.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Once everyone had finished up, the four of them took their turn. They all scrubbed down and washed themselves in relative quiet for a while before rinsing and slipping into the heated water of the large stone bath.


    ¡°So?¡± Stena asked, finally. ¡°I assume you two have a reason for separating us to have a chat?¡±


    After a quick shared glance, Emery and Avuri launched into an explanation of the potential coming storm. Stena slowly grew more pale as they explained what was potentially going to happen, while Cierra just sat quietly, processing.


    Once they were finished, Emery and her wife sat patiently waiting for the younger women to process or ask questions. It wasn¡¯t long before Stena asked, ¡°So, what do we do?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know.¡± Avuri said, then continued, ¡°There are a lot of moving parts to this whole situation. But we wanted to at least tell you two, in case someone makes it all the way to the basin somehow.¡± She glanced at Emery before adding, ¡°We¡¯re planning to tell all the Earth Realms.¡±


    Cierra nodded at that. ¡°I don¡¯t know how useful any of us would be against anyone Sky Realm or higher, but if it came down to it, at least we¡¯ll know what we¡¯re up against.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s every chance that no part of this will affect the basin at all.¡± Emery said, trying to convince herself as much as the others. ¡°Avuri and I will likely go to help Flowing Dragon City where we can. Vale might, too. But with some luck, this whole mess will be decided well before any of those Cultivators makes their way up or even into the Peaks.¡±


    ¡°And how likely is this to be solved peacefully, exactly?¡± Stena asked.


    ¡°Hard to say. If The Deposits somehow manage to field an overwhelming force, then I think the Flowing Dragon Elders might give in without a fight. I imagine the inverse is also true, but I assume the Cultivators that are headed this way know what they¡¯re getting into. Maybe a show of absolute force from the Elders could sway them off the fight, but I somehow doubt it.¡± Avuri said.


    ¡°I¡¯d also be shocked if The Deposits somehow managed to gather enough strength to cow the Elders. In which case¡­at least a small battle seems most likely.¡± Emery clarified.


    ¡°So there¡¯s virtually no way this ends without conflict.¡± Stena muttered to no one.


    ¡°The most likely chance we have of avoiding a fight altogether is that they come to some kind of business arrangement that both sides are satisfied with.¡± Avuri explained. ¡°To be fair, we¡¯ve been operating so far under the impression that The Deposits are going to request something big; whether that¡¯s free access to the Peaks or whatever, they wouldn¡¯t need a large show of force otherwise.¡±


    ¡°If we get lucky, they¡¯ll be looking for assistance or new trade agreements, and are showing up in force to avoid showing weakness. With some luck, they don¡¯t want a fight.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a difficult position to bank on.¡± Emery cut in. ¡°We can¡¯t assume they¡¯ll play nice and hope everything works out. Not when we have children here who could end up in danger if we¡¯re not smart about this.¡±


    ¡°Mom is right. We can¡¯t just sit here and not prepare.¡± Stena said, starting to show a little anger.


    ¡°And we¡¯re not going to sit and wait.¡± Avuri said, trying to diffuse the rising heat in them both. ¡°We¡¯re going to make sure everyone here knows how to handle a stranger showing up. We¡¯ll also go over defensive procedures again, since it¡¯s been a whil-¡± She suddenly turned toward Emery as an idea struck her.


    ¡°Do you think we could have Talya work on a few defensive Arrays while she¡¯s here? Something to make the basin harder to get into, or reinforce all the houses?¡±


    ¡°I think that¡¯s doable. We can tell her it¡¯s payment for keeping her well taken care of while she¡¯s here for half a year.¡± Emery said with a touch of laughter.


    ¡°Good. That will give us all a bit more peace of mind.¡± Avuri said, nodding to herself.


    ¡°I think, for now, all this really means is that we have work to do.¡± Cierra said. ¡°There¡¯s plenty of things we can all do to prepare for whatever might be headed our way.¡± Then she turned to her mothers. ¡°And I think you two need to go talk with the Elders and see what they think.¡±


    ¡°Vale is planning on talking to them tomorrow.¡± Emery said. ¡°I suppose we could tag along and see what they¡¯d like to do, if anything.¡±


    ¡°If Vale wasn¡¯t lying earlier when he said Vyne could reach that far with his Earthsense, then he can keep tabs on the size of their group, which will be valuable information.¡± Avuri added. ¡°That certainly would keep us on top of things and informed.¡±


    Everyone in the bath nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t know that there¡¯s more we can do now other than prepare and talk to the Elders. What comes after that will be decided by the related outcomes I imagine.¡± Emery said.


    ¡°Is there anyone else we could call for help?¡± Cierra asked. ¡°I know you don¡¯t hear from your family much, Mom, but surely there¡¯s someone? Or what about your family Momri?¡±


    Avuri shook her head. ¡°My family doesn¡¯t have any other strong Cultivators. If things got bad enough, I could maybe reach out to the Frozen Mountain, but I don¡¯t have any reason to believe they would help.¡±


    Then all eyes turned to Emery, who shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t think I could get word to Rylie or Demi in time for them to do something. Talya is already here, and Kota already knows what¡¯s going on but doesn¡¯t want to fight.¡±


    Emery smiled wryly then, knowing what was coming next. ¡°Ieji is planning on infiltrating the enemy camp and spying for us though.¡±


    Both Cierra and Stena made faces. ¡°They¡¯re really good at what they do, but Ieji will forever give me the creeps, Mom. Please tell me they aren¡¯t coming here.¡± Stena said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so, but it¡¯s a possibility.¡±


    Cierra let out a long breath. ¡°As long as we don¡¯t have to let them live here for a while, I think it¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°You all need to get over it. Ieji is a very talented spy and assassin, and they¡¯re fantastic at their job.¡± Emery said, including Avuri.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Merri, I just don¡¯t think it¡¯s gonna happen. They¡¯re just too¡­I don¡¯t know, doll-like?¡± Avuri said back.


    ¡°You¡¯re doll-like.¡± Emery spat back, the poor attempt at an insult causing a short burst of laughter.

 66 : Landlords

    Emery and I stared across the table at Vale, slightly dumbstruck by what he had just said.


    Cierra and Stena were running about, playing with some toys. Their laughter filled the stunned silence comfortably, as both of us tried to put together what Vale was talking about. Stena wandered over and slammed herself into my lap, laying partially across me.


    ¡°Momri, I¡¯m hungry.¡± Stena whined cutely, and rolled over so her face was facing upward toward me. I smiled, at least momentarily rescued from trying to process the new situation we were facing.


    I scrubbed a dirt stain from Stena¡¯s cheek idly as I asked, ¡°And just what would you like for lunch then, hm?¡±


    ¡°Leftover dinner from yesterday!¡± She declared loudly.


    ¡°We can do that. I¡¯ll go heat some up for you, okay?¡± I chuckled as Stena flew off of me so I could stand. She was hopping around excited, and Cierra joined her so they could hold hands and hop around in a circle. Emery and Vale watched them with content smiles as I walked off into the kitchen to prepare some of the previous night¡¯s leftovers.


    Stena had become practically obsessed with chicken. It was all she ever wanted to eat, and she asked for it every chance she got. Emery and I didn¡¯t fight her on it because she was so thin when we took her home and she desperately needed to put on some weight and grow. It did require us to regularly make quick trips down to the City to replenish our chicken coop though.


    My mind wandered as I reheated the food over a heat Array, bouncing from thought to thought while avoiding the bit of info I should actually be thinking about. It wasn¡¯t until I returned to the table with lunch that I reset my mind to focus.


    Once Cierra and Stena were both seated at the table and happily munching away at their leftover grilled and breaded chicken, Emery finally spoke. ¡°Vale, you¡¯ve got to be kidding. Seriously.¡±


    ¡°Part of me wishes I was. But no.¡± He answered seriously, although he was smiling as he watched the girls eat.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me this would happen when you told me about this spot?¡± Emery asked, frustrated. She clearly wanted to be loud about it, but held back.


    ¡°Honestly, because I didn¡¯t think they¡¯d care that my daughter was living here.¡± Vale said with a small shrug. I saw Emery twitch, his unbothered attitude beginning to grate on her. ¡°I still don¡¯t think they would be bothered by it, under normal circumstances.¡±


    Emery quirked an eyebrow at that statement, as did I. ¡°And what, exactly, makes the current circumstances not normal?¡± Emery asked, her voice heated. I reached over under the table to place a hand over hers to try to keep her calm. I wasn¡¯t sure it would work, admittedly, but I didn¡¯t want her to explode at Vale.


    Vale opened his mouth to respond, but Emery quickly cut him off. ¡°And I swear, Vale, if the next words out of your mouth are ¡°because you¡¯re trying to marry a woman¡± I will kill you.¡± The absolute seriousness of her voice quickly sobered Vale. Even I was taken aback, and my hand grabbed hers tightly and squeezed reassuringly.


    And then Vale laughed. Emery¡¯s anger vanished in an instant as utter shock and disbelief chased it away. ¡°No. Do you really think I would let you settle somewhere where I thought that might be even the tiniest bit of a problem?¡± Before Emery could get angry at him again, he stood and walked around the table to give her a hug.


    ¡°No. That is not an issue at all. I promise.¡± He said, a bit more quietly, as he embraced her. When he let go and stood again, Emery¡¯s anger didn¡¯t return thankfully. Vale pointed at me suddenly, then said, ¡°Part of the problem is with Avuri, though. Or, more specifically, that she came here from the Frozen Mountain Sect.¡±


    I blanched. ¡°And that¡¯s a problem?¡± I asked timidly.


    ¡°Eh, not really?¡± Vale said, sounding unsure. ¡°They¡¯re mildly concerned about letting someone who is part of an unrelated sect settle here, especially since you haven¡¯t introduced yourself.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re a secret group of Elders that run a city. No one knows they exist! How could we be expected to introduce ourselves when we don¡¯t know they even exist?¡± Emery was just short of manic shouting as she got more annoyed as she spoke. I squeezed her hand again, trying to keep her calm.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, that¡¯s my fault.¡± Vale said, as he walked back to his place on the other side of the table. ¡°Apparently, they had assumed I would fill you in because you¡¯re my daughter.¡± He frowned. ¡°They were actually surprised that I kept them a secret - like they asked - and not told my family. So here we are.¡±


    ¡°So¡­they aren¡¯t upset with us for not greeting them, then?¡± I asked tentatively.


    ¡°No. If anything they¡¯re mad at me, not you all.¡± Vale said with a frown, then he sighed. ¡°I hate politics.¡±


    ¡°So, all of this will be basically settled if we just go greet them?¡±


    ¡°For the most part, yes.¡± Vale said. ¡°I¡¯ll coordinate a meeting with them. They really do want to meet you four.¡±


    ¡°Four?¡± Emery asked.


    ¡°They want to meet the girls, too.¡± He said. ¡°And they don¡¯t believe the demon-touched bad luck nonsense.¡± He quickly added before Emery could get mad again. ¡°They¡¯re just interested in the family you¡¯re putting together.¡±


    Emery and I both sighed; mine was from exhaustion, hers from general annoyance.


    ¡°Fine. Set up the meeting.¡± Emery said finally, glancing over to the girls happily eating at the other end of the table. ¡°We¡¯ll all go and greet these Elders of yours.¡±


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    I nodded to her. ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal. They¡¯re basically the rulers of Flowing Dragon City, right? It can¡¯t hurt to be on good terms with them. We probably should do our best to be friendly.¡±


    Emery shook her head and sighed. ¡°I know. You¡¯re right.¡± Then she turned to Vale again. ¡°Why do they even care about a small family settling in the mountains nearby, anyway? It¡¯s not like we¡¯re messing with the City.¡±


    Vale looked away when she asked, and I was suddenly worried about what other bad news he was about to throw at us. ¡°Well, technically, they more or less¡­own the Dragon Peaks themselves.¡± Vale suddenly looked like he wanted to run away.


    And when I saw the murderous look on Emery¡¯s face, I understood why.


    ¡°...What?¡±


    ¡°They own the Peaks.¡±


    ¡°No, I heard that. I¡¯m going to need you to explain that a bit more, Dad. And explain why you¡¯d tell me to settle somewhere that is owned land.¡±


    Seeing the look on Emery¡¯s face, I quickly pulled her up to her feet. ¡°Girls, we¡¯ll be right back, okay? We need to go talk to Vale in private for a minute.¡± I said, and dragged Emery toward the kitchen. Vale got up and followed.


    Once we were all in the kitchen, I shut the door behind us quickly before Emery exploded. At least in here, her yelling hopefully wouldn¡¯t scare Cierra and Stena.


    ¡°Explain.¡±


    Vale took a deep breath. ¡°The Elders of Flowing Dragon City aren¡¯t responsible for overseeing the City. They were technically put in charge of overseeing the Dragon Peaks themselves, and they built the City after.¡±


    Emery¡¯s eyes narrowed dangerously as she glared at Vale. Then, as I watched, shock overtook her face again and the anger drained away. ¡°You mentioned hating politics before.¡±


    ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t get involved with-¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°So-¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Emery turned to me, her face a mess of several different emotions that I couldn¡¯t quite read.


    ¡°They¡¯re dragons, Ri.¡± She said flatly. ¡°The ¡°Elders of Flowing Dragon City¡± are actual dragons.¡±


    I fought the urge to laugh, and instead focused on what that might mean. ¡°Is that bad?¡± was the only thing that came out of my mouth.


    ¡°Maybe? Probably not? Shit, I hope not.¡± Emery blathered.


    ¡°It¡¯s not bad.¡± Vale said, trying to explain. ¡°Dragons are very particular when it comes to politicking. There are some polite rules that they had expected you to follow because you¡¯re my daughter, Emery. They reached out to me when you didn¡¯t follow them to see what was going on. When I told them that I hadn¡¯t told you about them, they told me to tell you and bring you in to meet them.¡±


    Emery rubbed her forehead, and I didn¡¯t have to imagine the headache she probably felt. ¡°So explain to me why you told me to settle here, then?¡±


    Vale looked like he regained some confidence with that question. ¡°Two things. First, I did get permission for you to use the land here, so you¡¯re here with their blessing. Second, this place fits all of the criteria you asked for and you¡¯ll be safer here than just about anywhere else.¡± He sighed then added, ¡°It¡¯s on me for not asking if I should tell you about the Elders or not.¡±


    Emery let out a huge, overwhelming sigh. ¡°Fine. Fine. Can you go over what we need to know about formally meeting them with us? It¡¯s been a long time since you made me meet other dragons, and I¡¯m sure Avuri has no idea what any of the protocol is.¡±


    ¡°Nope. Not even a little.¡± I chimed in. ¡°Are they really strict about it? They won¡¯t, like, kill us for doing something wrong?¡±


    Vale chuckled at that. ¡°No, they¡¯re friendly. There are certainly some protocols that they expect people to follow, but it¡¯s more out of politeness than strict rule-following. I¡¯ll go over it all with you before the meeting.¡±


    ¡°And what about Cierra and Stena?¡± I asked, curious.


    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t be expected to follow the rules at their age.¡± Vale said. ¡°They¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    I eyed Emery questioningly and she nodded. ¡°He¡¯s right. The dragons wouldn¡¯t hurt a child, even if the kid disrespected them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± I muttered, then added more loudly, ¡°Alright, teach us what we need to know.¡±


    <hr>


    As Avuri helped Emery get into her favorite emerald green formal robes, she couldn¡¯t help but smile. When she crossed in front of her wife with the silly, wistful smile on her face, Emery asked, ¡°What¡¯s got you all smiley like that?¡±


    ¡°Just thinking about the first time we were getting ready to meet the Elders.¡± Avuri said as she continued to tie the robes closed. ¡°Or, more specifically, when Vale told us that we needed to meet with them.¡±


    Emery snorted. ¡°That jerk. It all worked out I suppose, but I really wish he didn¡¯t just dump that on us like that.¡±


    ¡°With us so far removed from it now, I don¡¯t really hold it against him.¡± Avuri said, thinking. ¡°He was originally told to keep them a secret after all. After he got permission for you to settle the area, why would he have ever thought to tell you about it? I can see his logic, at least.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t hold it against him, either.¡± Emery said for clarification. ¡°But I¡¯m still mad at the way he nonchalantly just dumped it on us.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you, that conversation could have gone better.¡± Avuri said, then patted her wife on the butt. ¡°You¡¯re all set.¡±


    Emery spun around once, holding out her arms. Her long, flowing sleeves made a beautiful display as she spun. ¡°Lovely.¡± Avuri said happily.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you think so. Now it¡¯s your turn.¡± Emery said with a grin. ¡°What were you going to wear to this meeting, hm?¡±


    ¡°I was thinking about the cherry blossom pattern.¡± Avuri said as she turned toward her own closet.


    ¡°You really like those robes, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I do. And they pair lovely with what you¡¯re wearing.¡± Avuri said as she moved full hangars out of the way. ¡°Not to mention they¡¯re a gift from you, so of course I love them.¡±


    ¡°Say it like that, and I¡¯m more inclined to believe you¡¯re lying.¡± Emery shot back. She walked up behind Avuri and hugged her, brushing her hair aside to kiss her exposed neck.


    Avuri giggled. ¡°Stop, that tickles!¡± She laughed, and scrunched up that side of her body to try to escape Emery¡¯s hold. She failed, and Emery held her fast.


    ¡°You can¡¯t escape that easily.¡±


    ¡°Fine, but we do need to get ready to see the Elders.¡± Avuri said seriously.


    Emery sighed, and let her wife go reluctantly. ¡°Fine. But when we get back home, you¡¯re mine for a while. If I help you put those robes on, I¡¯m gonna help you take them off.¡±

 67 : First Impressions

    I was nervous as I stared up at the large double doors.


    Vale had flown the four of us to a nearby mountain that wasn¡¯t one of the eponymous Four Peaks, but was just as big. Bigger, in fact. From the top of the mountain where we stood, you could easily look out over the Four Peaks as well as Flowing Dragon City. The view in that direction was breathtaking.


    The view that made me nervous was the other direction, though. On top of this huge mountain was a beautifully crafted mansion. Or maybe it wouldn¡¯t be too far off to call it a castle. The building was styled like a classic pagoda, huge and imposing. The building was lacquered and painted red with gold accents. Each floor was also decorated with jade and gold.


    It was majestic, but the styling reminded me intensely of the Celestial Dragon Pavilion. It was, admittedly, far more impressive. Perhaps the Celestial Dragon Pavilion had somehow based their design on this place?


    ¡°Well, are you going to knock?¡± Avuri asked, as her head slowly angled back and up as she looked over the building.


    ¡°What is this place?¡± Cierra said, her voice filled with awe.


    ¡°Some important people here wanted to meet us.¡± I said, and I took both girls¡¯ hands in mine. ¡°You both need to be good today, okay? These are important people and they want to meet all of us.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Stena asked. She was just as in awe as the rest of us, trying to crane her neck so she could see more of the building.


    ¡°Because they own the City we live near. They want to make sure we¡¯re good people before they let us stay.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Stena said, only half paying attention. I was pretty sure she didn¡¯t understand at all, but that was fine. As long as she was well behaved while we were here.


    As I was stepping up to the door to knock as Avuri suggested, Vale cleared his throat behind me. ¡°For the record, you don¡¯t knock here. Flare your Qi. They¡¯ll open the door for you.¡±


    I shot Vale a dirty look. ¡°I¡¯m still pissed at you. You need to start telling me things before they cause problems.¡±


    Vale had the decency to look at least mildly cowed. I harrumphed and turned back toward the door. With a deep breath, I focused and unleashed a quick burst of Qi. I sustained it just long enough for it to be noticeable.


    Not a moment later, the doors slowly began to open. I was shocked by how quiet and smoothly they opened despite their size.


    I stared into the opulent interior. It was empty, and everything seemed to draw the eye to the center of the first floor where a large staircase led up further into the building.


    ¡°Do we¡­just go in?¡± I asked, glancing at Vale.


    ¡°Yes. The natural flow of the building will bring you to the meeting room.¡± He nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll wait out here. They¡¯re still upset with me, so you¡¯re probably better off without me.¡±


    ¡°O-kay.¡± I said, turning back toward the open doorway.


    ¡°Alright, wife-to-be.¡± Avuri said, giving me a reassuring smile. ¡°Ready?¡±


    I nodded, and pulled the girls along with me as I strode into the imposing atrium.


    It didn¡¯t take long for us to make our way through the huge building. Vale was right - the whole place felt like it was designed to guide visitors through it. Despite a number of hallways and rooms in every direction, the decorating around the place clearly flowed in one direction.


    We finally arrived at an open double door similar to the entrance to the building, except this one was decorated with symmetrical golden dragons in flight.


    ¡°Please, come on in.¡± A voice intoned from inside.


    Tentatively, I took a few steps into the room, followed by Avuri, Cierra, and Stena. The room was like everything else in the whole place. Large, imposing, and opulent - more or less what I expected from dragons.


    There were five large daises, each with an empty chair that could only be called thrones. They looked as though they were crafted from solid gold and jade, though I wasn¡¯t sure I believed that. Each dais was crafted from a different colored jade, with each of the other four colors running through it; green, red, purple, white, and black.


    ¡°One more room.¡± The voice called again.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    And sure enough, in the back of this large audience chamber there was another doorway. As we walked toward it and some of the last room came into view, I smiled. I even heard a tiny giggle from Avuri behind me.


    Hidden in the back of the cold and imposing throne room was one of the most lived-in, comfy tea rooms I think I had ever seen. The floor was a plush carpet, with scattered cushions throughout for seating. The centerpiece was a large wooden table with a few different tea sets set out, several of them spilling steam into the room.


    The utter lack of opulence here, in direct contrast to every other room we walked through, was charming. It looked like a simple, cozy family house.


    There were five people in the room, seated around the far end of the table. Presumably, these were the Elders, and they certainly fit the image.


    To my left sat an older middle aged looking man and woman. They sat close enough that their shoulders were touching and gave off the feeling of an old married couple. They both wore pleasant smiles and were dressed in comfortable but expensive looking silks.


    The woman had her dark hair had an odd greenish shine to it, and was kept up in a loose bun, with strands framing her friendly face. Her eyes were a deep, dark blue, reminiscent of the ocean¡¯s depths.


    The man looked a bit more stern, but the laugh lines told a different story. His brown eyes seemed trained in taking people in, and he was putting that skill to use as he scanned our little family. His hair was a slightly dull shade of red, faded with age. I was sure in his youth it would¡¯ve been a striking, vibrant red.


    In the middle of the five was a severe looking woman who stared at all of us, clearly judging each of us in turn. Her sharp features were those of a stunning thirty year old woman or so. Her sharp vulpine eyes were her most striking feature, their shining golden yellow almost glowing against the framing of long jet black hair that tumbled down her back to pool on the floor behind her loosely.


    The fourth Elder sat to the middle woman¡¯s left, to put it mildly, looked like a bandit. His clothes looked like cheap linen, and were tattered with blade cuts. His face looked young but worn, as if he regularly spent much of his time in the sun. His dark black eyes matched his hair, which was wild and messy, with a long tail tied in the back. A sheathed sword on the ground beside him caught my eye immediately. What I could see of the hilt looked like immaculate craftsmanship.


    And finally, the last Elder all the way to my right was a man I recognized. It was the wood Qi master that Vale had brought to the Basin in the first few weeks to help grow the trees. He was tall and lanky, with thin green eyes. His hair was a rich brown and was braided down his back.


    Altogether, it wasn¡¯t hard to put together a few quick basic facts about these Elders. First, they were each clearly representative of one of the five classical elements; wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Second, none of them appeared hostile to us, which was good news. And third, they each liked a different variety of tea, if the individual teapots were any indication.


    With a deep breath, I stepped in front of my small family and bowed deeply to each Elder in turn. ¡°I humbly greet the Elders of the Four Dragon Peaks. I am Emery Vale. I am accompanied by Avuri Axies, Cierra Vale, and Stena Vale. It is an honor to meet each of you in person.¡±


    Behind me, Avuri and the girls each bowed deeply as well, as we had practiced. I smiled at the ground, seeing both my daughters bowing like little pros.


    ¡°Oh, raise your heads, all of you.¡± The woman on the left said, her voice full of warmth. ¡°Don¡¯t bother with all of that nonsense in here.¡± She waved a hand to take in the tea room. ¡°Take a seat and have some tea.¡±


    ¡°...Yes, Elder.¡± I said after a moment of hesitation.


    She cleared her throat then. ¡°My name is Lyn Solei.¡± The woman introduced herself before motioning to the man beside her. ¡°This is my husband Cyril Solei.¡±


    Her husband bowed his head in a pleasant greeting. ¡°Nice to meet you all.¡± He said, his voice sounding more friendly than I had expected.


    ¡°My name is Eiry Sirrus.¡± The woman in the middle said, as she lifted her steaming teacup to her lips. ¡°A pleasure.¡± Her voice was smooth but clipped and measured.


    ¡°Ray Etson.¡± Was all the bandit-looking man said, although he did incline his head in greeting.


    ¡°And I am Vyne Morin,¡± said the wood Qi master. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you officially this time, Emery.¡± He smiled, but it looked out of place on his face.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you all.¡± I said, with another bow before I moved to take a seat at the table.


    ¡°I¡¯m honored you would allow us to visit you in such a lovely location.¡± Avuri said politely, as she bowed again before also moving to a seat. Cierra and Stena followed behind us, each bowing again, but remained silent.


    The woman on the far left took over again and said, ¡°I believe Veilnyr already told you why we wanted to see you?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± I said, and inclined my head politely. ¡°I¡¯m sorry we didn¡¯t introduce ourselves sooner. Vale did not tell me that the area was under your protection. Or anything about your existence for that matter.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well, we¡¯re planning to have him work off that little oversight.¡± Eerie said, a slight curve on her lips. ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll just love the assignment we have lined up for him.¡±


    ¡°Give him an extra little bit off work for me, will you?¡± I asked, hoping to keep the air in the room light. ¡°I really am sorry I haven¡¯t come to introduce my family.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s noted, child.¡± Eiry said, then smiled. Her face immediately morphed from that of a stern woman to a bright, sunny expression. ¡°We don¡¯t hold that against you. As you said, you weren¡¯t slighting us if you didn¡¯t know we existed. And you remedied the situation quickly. That is all we can ask of you.¡±


    I bowed again, my head nearly on the table. ¡°I thank you all for your understanding. Truly you are magnanimous Elders.¡±


    ¡°I believe Lyn said none of that, please.¡± Ray said, his voice sharp, but not angry. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t have brought you into our tea room if we wanted a stilted, proper meeting.¡±


    ¡°Ray is correct. We wanted to meet you and your family on friendly terms.¡± Vyne added. ¡°Yes, we want to be sure Avuri is no spy for the Frozen Mountain Sect. But that is secondary to our interest in what your goals are in settling among the Peaks.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Cyril cut in. ¡°We are very interested in your reasoning for setting up a compound like you have.¡± His eyes cut over toward Cierra and Stena. ¡°And, perhaps, what kind of support we could offer you. And what you may be able to offer in return.¡±

 68 : Meetings

    ¡°You want to support us.¡± I repeated almost dumbly. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°We do.¡± Eiry took over for Cyril again. ¡°Vale has told us of your background - at least very briefly - and what your goals are in settling here. It¡¯s obviously very unusual for someone to take an interest in ¡®demon-touched¡¯ children, as many put it.¡±


    ¡°With all due respect, Elder, I really hate that term.¡± I said sourly. ¡°I don¡¯t know where those superstitions even came from, but they¡¯re so widespread that if a kid has even a whiff of demonic Qi on them, they¡¯re basically left to die.¡± I glanced at my kids, who were sitting at the table currently very well behaved. ¡°It¡¯s absolute nonsense, and I would rather not use such a term, let alone spread it.¡±


    Eiry¡¯s lips quirked up slightly. ¡°Truthfully, I appreciate that Emery. We were all pleasantly surprised to hear why you were looking to settle here when Veilnyr asked for our permission. Admittedly less so when he told us a bit about your background, but still. It¡¯s heartening to know that not all the people out there are so ignorant and judgemental.¡±


    Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a bit of movement as Avuri slowly raised her hand to interject. ¡°I am sorry, Elder, but I feel like I should mention that not everyone out there treats these sorts of children with disdain. It¡¯s unfair to paint in such broad strokes.¡±


    Eiry¡¯s golden eyes slid over Avuri appraisingly. ¡°While I appreciate that, Miss Axies, the sad truth of the matter is that it doesn¡¯t matter how many people aren¡¯t judgemental of these kids if they merely sit by and watch.¡± There was a beat where I was uncertain exactly how welcoming the Elders would be to Avuri, as Eiry appeared as though she may simply remove Avuri from existence.


    My racing heart calmed down when Eiry¡¯s gaze turned soft again. ¡°I should mention I don¡¯t hold their collective inaction against you. At least not at this point, when you so clearly are taking action yourself.¡±


    I saw Avuri struggle to swallow; she probably had the same momentary surge of alarm as I had. She inclined her head. ¡°Yes, Elder. I just don¡¯t think it wise to place the inaction of weaker wills on the same level as active hatred.¡±


    ¡°I would argue that they are equally as damaging in this case.¡± Eiry said, raising her eyebrow in curiosity at Avuri¡¯s stance on the matter. ¡°You yourself are clearly against such treatment, why the defense?¡±


    ¡°Because if we want to actually change anything, the people who currently sit and do nothing are the ones we would need to convince to take action first. Without them, we may as well be screaming at a wall.¡±


    Eiry settled back, appearing to be satisfied with that reasoning. ¡°That is indeed reasonable.¡± She said, eventually. ¡°I suppose you¡¯re at least correct in that regard. If something is to change, it would need to start there.¡±


    ¡°Well, if we could get more people like Avuri to assist in caring for those that were kept prisoner by demons, everyone would be much better off.¡± I said, trying to make an appeal for Avuri.


    Ray sighed aloud. ¡°To that point, we should at least plainly discuss Avuri¡¯s part in this.¡± He said, staring us both down. ¡°Vale mentioned that the two of you plan to be married. That true?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Elder.¡± We responded together.


    ¡°Very well. We have no issues with such a marriage. If you¡¯d like to hold your ceremony and celebration in the City, you have our blessing.¡± He said. His straightforward approach put me at ease, and I could feel some of the tension leave Avuri as well.


    ¡°Our only concern is where her true loyalties lie - to you or her previous Sect. We¡¯ve found that she has officially gone on an extended leave, but did not actually rescind her membership in the Frozen Mountain.¡± Despite his sharp words and tone, there was no anger or admonishment in his speech, which was reassuring.


    ¡°We would like to perform a simple Qi divining to confirm that her priority lies with you and your family and not her Sect.¡± His black eyes landed on Avuri, addressing her directly. ¡°Is that acceptable to you?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Avuri said, and she graciously bowed her head. ¡°I have nothing to hide. My priority does truly lie with this family.¡± She added, a bit more quietly, ¡°If you require me to cut ties with the Frozen Mountain, that is also acceptable.¡±


    ¡°No, dear.¡± Lyn responded. ¡°If you truly are of the same feelings as Emery, there is no need for that. In fact, we would like to - well, we¡¯ll get there in due time.¡± The slightly older looking woman smiled and motioned Avuri closer. ¡°Come sit with me. The divination will take but a moment.¡±


    Avuri did as she was instructed without hesitation. She stood and walked to sit behind Lyn¡¯s cushion. Lyn took her hands and they both closed their eyes as if in meditation. I felt the moment Lyn¡¯s Qi began to cycle. It seemed to encompass the whole room, thickening the air itself. I felt as if I was suddenly breathing underwater.


    A quick glance at Cierra and Stena told me they were also growing restless, not quite understanding the sudden shift. I motioned them closer to me, and they took up seats in my lap where I could comfort them.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Avuri Axies. You are a member of the Frozen Mountain Sect.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    There was a pulse in the Qi, but no one reacted. I took that as a positive sign.


    ¡°You are not acting under their orders in any way.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°You are here because you want to be.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°You love and truly wish to marry Emery Vale.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°You love Cierra and Stena Vale, and wish to be a mother to them.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°You would fight to defend this new family of yours.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Avuri responded each time with no hesitation, her voice strong and firm. Lyn nodded, satisfied, and her Qi slowed and stopped. The strange underwater feeling vanished, and the girls seemed to settle almost immediately.


    ¡°She told no lies.¡± Lyn said finally. Then with a warm, motherly smile, she shooed Avuri off. ¡°Now, back to your seat, girl.¡±


    Avuri bowed to her deeply before she stood and shuffled back to her seat.


    ¡°Very well. That more or less concludes the threatening portion of this whole meeting.¡± Cyril said. His eyes had a slight glint of mischief in them when he turned them on us at that moment. ¡°Now the fun part begins.¡±


    ¡°The¡­fun part?¡± I asked hesitantly. In my - admittedly little - experience with dragons, that sort of statement was not followed by anything good.


    Smiles spread from one Elder to the next. They each were some strange combination of mischievous and threatening all at once. Then Ray spoke and said, ¡°We have to show off a little, don¡¯t we?¡±


    As each of the Elders flexed their Qi slightly, the room came alive. Teapots, cups, and tea leaves danced in the air. Serving trays with snacks and sweets twirled about the room as water flowed into the air from the pots and the tea was steeped freely in the air before our eyes.


    Cierra and Stena both let out the expected ¡®ooh¡¯s and ¡®aah¡¯s, but even Avuri and I were staring with childlike glee. The coordination that the Elders showed while each doing their part in manipulating all of the pieces in the dance was nothing short of masterful. Slowly, the steaming water was moved back into pots and everything settled neatly back onto the table; which was now filled with a mouthwatering spread of tea and tea snacks.


    Once everything settled, the Elders all laughed. The full open laughter shocked me almost to the point of staring, but I did my best not to. I saw Avuri struggling to keep her eyes on the table as well.


    ¡°Both of you, please relax.¡± Lyn said, her tone motherly. ¡°We honestly enjoy entertaining guests, and having one of Vale¡¯s daughters here is a rare treat for us.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s right.¡± Vyne put in. ¡°Now, we¡¯re happy to share our tea and snacks with all of you if you¡¯re willing to spill a little tea on Vale. Some embarrassing stories would go great with this spread.¡±


    ¡°Before we get to that,¡± Eiry said, ¡°we have another major proposition for you.¡± She motioned toward Cyril. ¡°As Cyril said, we would be interested in supporting you in your endeavors to create a safe haven for children that have been cast out. However, we would also like to ask if you - and your entire family for that matter - would be interested in becoming something like the official-unofficial protectors of Flowing Dragon City.¡±


    Avuri and I both shared a look of disbelief. ¡°You want us to¡­what?¡±


    ¡°For obvious reasons, we can¡¯t have five dragon Elders swooping down into the city to deal with medium level threats. We would like to have someone that knows us act as our hands when necessary.¡± Ray said. ¡°And you two seem uniquely qualified when it comes to removing demonic Cultivators, if what Vale has told us is true.¡±


    ¡°You want us to basically be, what, like royal guards?¡± I asked, incredulous. Several of the Elders laughed.


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be a full time job or anything like that.¡± Eiry said, dismissing several of my concerns lazily. ¡°We¡¯ve made our situation a little¡­complicated. Many of the cityfolk know of us. Or at least know of our human identities as craftsmen or business owners. We can¡¯t exactly turn around and be blasting criminals off rooftops with Qi at the drop of the hat.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t Flowing Dragon City have a very impressive force of guards?¡± Avuri asked, confused.


    ¡°We do.¡± Cyril confirmed. ¡°The guards that work for the city are some of the best I¡¯ve seen outside of major cities. The issue is that they often get spread too thin. And while there are a good number of Sky Realm Cultivators in the guard, they don¡¯t always get used in the most efficient ways.¡±


    ¡°No kidding.¡± Eiry snorted. ¡°A lot of it is nonsense politics - no surprise there. Big money makers for the city and wealthy merchants expect to be catered to, which often means pulling higher Realm Cultivators to do what amounts to menial labor.¡±


    I made a face at that. ¡°Money talks.¡± I said sourly.


    ¡°It does. Unfortunately.¡± Vyne agreed. ¡°It makes it difficult for us to assign people where we need them to be on occasion. Obviously, when large scale emergencies occur, it¡¯s easy to visibly move people around.¡±


    ¡°But when some random Cultivator is murdering a person or two every few nights to little fanfare, the wealthy people complain when their guards get pulled to track them down.¡± Ray nodded.


    ¡°So what you actually want is a couple of Sky Realm Cultivators that are outside of the guards that you could put on less prolific tasks.¡± I said.


    ¡°That about sums it up, yes.¡± Eiry said. ¡°We were hoping that the two of you would be willing to help us out on occasion when we need it.¡±


    ¡°I feel like we should also mention,¡± Lyn added, ¡°that you aren¡¯t the only Cultivators we¡¯ve reached out to like this. We aren¡¯t looking to rely solely on you, or monopolize your time. We merely want to make the connection.¡±


    I met eyes with Avuri as we both thought over the offer. I glanced down at the girls in my lap, both of whom were eyeing the teas and snacks on the table, excited. When I locked eyes with Avuri again, I smiled.


    ¡°I think we¡¯re on board?¡± Avuri asked.


    ¡°We are.¡± I confirmed.


    ¡°Brilliant!¡± Cyril said. ¡°Now, with that out of the way, let¡¯s enjoy the food!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve heard you¡¯ve been to the Celestial Dragon Pavilion?¡± Lyn asked with an impish grin.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Cyril and I are the owners.¡± She grinned and spread her arms wide toward the table. ¡°And we brought some of our most expensive snacks for you and your girls today.¡±


    Avuri and I both blinked and reexamined the snacks on the table as Cierra and Stena wiggled in my lap to get at the table.


    ¡°Please,¡± Cyril said with a hearty laugh, ¡°dig in!¡±

 69 : And More Meetings

    Vale, Emery, and Avuri made their way through the Elders¡¯ pavilion. The building was still as massive as Emery remembered it being the first time they had visited, but she had grown used to it over the years.


    That¡¯s not to say they visited often, but two or three times a year added up. And with fifteen or so years, the building felt somewhat normal now. The opulence of it all was still a lot to take in at once, though.


    The trio made their way through the halls and toward the large throne room and audience chamber. When they finally arrived, the door to the tea room in the back was open, and chatter could easily be heard from inside.


    ¡°Hurry up, you three.¡± Lyn shouted. ¡°Get yourselves in here already.¡±


    With a quick glance amongst themselves, Emery, Avuri, and Vale half-jogged over to the door. All five Elders were seated around the same table as always, looking impatient as they motioned for the recent arrivals to sit.


    ¡°So, Vale,¡± Eiry began, her eyes settling on him, ¡°care to explain why you needed to meet with us so urgently that it couldn¡¯t wait a few days?¡±


    Vale took a breath and let it out as a sigh. ¡°I¡¯d rather you all be the judge of the urgency here. There may be a war headed your way.¡±


    Everyone went still for a moment, interest overtaking the mild annoyance they had been showing.


    ¡°War?¡± Ray asked, incredulous. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s just not good at explaining.¡± Emery said, trying to settle everyone down somewhat. ¡°But he¡¯s right that there may be a fight approaching.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to have to do a better job explaining than that.¡± Cyril said, crossing his arms. ¡°Out with it. What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Between the three of them, they explained. It took some time to make sure they got all of the pertinent information out there. The Elders took in the news with interest, but didn¡¯t show the anger that Emery had expected. It was more mild annoyance than anything else.


    ¡°Vyne,¡± Vale said, finally, ¡°are you able to see out to Meteor Lake with your Earthsense? Get a sense of their group size?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I can reach.¡± Vyne said as he stood. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back, I¡¯ll go see what I can see.¡± With a small, polite bow he left the room. The conversation slowed for a while as Lyn and Cyril passed out tea and snacks to everyone, and everyone picked at it during some small talk.


    It wasn¡¯t long before Vyne made his return, and gathered a small plate of snacks before sitting down again to relay what he found.


    ¡°Simply put, the group seems like they¡¯re still amassing followers; or at the very least, have not left Meteor Lake yet. They number somewhere between five and six hundred, currently.¡± He explained, as he took a bite of a cookie.


    ¡°That¡¯s still not too threatening, number wise.¡± Eiry muttered.


    ¡°No, but it depends on their individual strength levels, too.¡± Lyn pointed out.


    ¡°They¡¯re Cultivators from The Deposits. I would guess that most are at least Earth Realm, easily. The question is how many are Sky Realm.¡± Cyril said.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure it¡¯ll matter if they actually chose to march on us. It¡¯s a fight either way.¡± Ray said, acting his part as the battle maniac. ¡°I am curious who they¡¯re being led by though. It¡¯s certainly out of character for the Deposits Cultivators to be so hostile.¡±


    ¡°The most obvious, however disturbing, reason is that The Deposits themselves are beginning to run dry, right?¡± Avuri said, as she poured herself some tea. ¡°Hopefully that¡¯s not the case, given how much everyone relies on the ore they produce but¡­it¡¯s the simplest reason as to why they would decide to march on another resource rich area.¡±


    ¡°If The Deposits have actually been picked clean, we have much bigger problems to worry about than just the Cultivators there wanting to find a new mine.¡± Eiry said, staring deeply into her own cup. ¡°If they stop producing ore and metal, the whole region is in trouble. We all rely on them.¡±


    ¡°Would they have any reason to just assemble a team and try to expand into a second materially rich area?¡± Emery asked.


    Vyne shrugged and answered, ¡°Just as simple as the first option, I would imagine. Like any wealthy business or country, they have the wealth they need to expand, so naturally they just do.¡±


    ¡°But if this were to be approached as a business expansion, they wouldn¡¯t need the show of force that they¡¯re slowly putting together, no?¡± Ray asked, puzzled.


    ¡°We were wondering about that too.¡± Emery said. ¡°We came up with a few different reasons. Presumably, if they gather a large enough force, they could force you all into submission without a fight. I don¡¯t see that as very likely.¡±


    Ray snorted in derision, and the same sentiment spread around the table. Emery smiled. ¡°Right. If we¡¯re lucky, they¡¯re gathering a small army as a simple show of strength before they meet with the City at a business discussion. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time a company has decided to avoid showing weakness before a trade negotiation by bringing an army.¡±


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Then Emery sighed. ¡°And, of course, if we¡¯re unlucky they could be simply fixing for a fight.¡±


    ¡°Surely they wouldn¡¯t want to have an outright war with Flowing Dragon City.¡± Avuri said, idly poking her teacup. ¡°Even if they didn¡¯t know what they¡¯re truly up against here - the city is well known for being difficult to siege.¡±


    Eiry stroked her chin in thought. ¡°That becomes less true for every earth and metal focused Cultivator they bring. It wouldn¡¯t be unreasonable for their entire small army to be capable of breaking right through our walls, given where they¡¯re from.¡±


    ¡°Vyne, you could reinforce the walls with wood if it comes to that, can¡¯t you?¡± Cyril asked.


    ¡°I could.¡± Vyne nodded. ¡°It would likely set off mass panic, though. A display of power on that scale would probably scare everyone in the city.¡±


    ¡°If they attack, it might be our best move.¡± Lyn put in. ¡°If it could scare the populace, it might be enough to stop their attack.¡±


    ¡°If they¡¯re approaching the city with the intent to tear down its walls and siege it, I don¡¯t think that sort of show of power would deter them.¡± Ray said. ¡°They¡¯d have to be battle hungry to attack like that outright.¡±


    ¡°Ray is right.¡± Vale said, finally adding his voice to the conversation. ¡°If they attack outright like that, we should respond in kind with an overwhelming show of force.¡±


    Eiry chuckled. ¡°As much as I would love to just tear them apart, if six dragons show up and attack randomly like that, it would create just as much chaos.¡±


    ¡°...What if it wasn¡¯t unannounced?¡± Avuri asked, her eyes focused on Emery. Everyone turned their attention to her, then followed her gaze to Emery.


    Emery squirmed under the sudden scrutiny. ¡°Uh. Why are you looking at me?¡±


    ¡°It hopefully won''t come to it.¡± Avuri prefaced her idea cautiously. ¡°But. The City knows that there are a number of powerful Cultivators that act as its protectors. They don¡¯t know any of the faces or names, just that they exist.¡±


    ¡°Sure, but - ¡°


    ¡°What if we made one of them known to the city? And furthermore, known as a friend to dragons?¡± Avuri said.


    Eiry and Cyril, who caught on quickly, burst into laughter. As eyes settled on them and Avuri smirked, Emery asked, ¡°What are you planning?¡±


    ¡°Why not have such a city protector appear when the enemies attack, act all dramatic about it, then call on their dragon friends?¡± Avuri said, now trying her best not to picture it and smile. ¡°It would give you all a reason to show up - at least as far as the City is concerned - and might be enough of a show of deadly force to shove them off of the city.¡±


    ¡°That is an absolutely stupid idea.¡± Lyn said firmly, but she was smiling. ¡°I kinda love it though.¡±


    As nods and thoughtful but optimistic expressions moved over the table, Emery couldn¡¯t help the slight feeling of dread creeping up her back. She shivered. ¡°Avuri, you - ¡°


    ¡°Yes.¡± Avuri said, with a nod.


    ¡°No. I¡¯m not doing it.¡± Emery said, shaking her head vehemently.


    Lyn, hiding a smile behind a hand, said, ¡°Unfortunately, there aren¡¯t a lot of options. Most of the Cultivators that we¡¯ve hired to act independently the way you two do don¡¯t actually know that they¡¯re contracted by dragons. In fact, you two are the only ones.¡±


    Emery leaned her elbow on the table and rested her forehead in it, rubbing. She could feel a headache coming on. ¡°Can¡¯t we just get some random person to do it? I don¡¯t want something like this to make it difficult for my family to get around the City.¡±


    Avuri delightedly played with her snacks as she acted completely innocent of her part in this. ¡°My dear, costuming and makeup can go a long way to fooling a populace that isn¡¯t getting close to you.¡±


    Emery¡¯s mouth dropped open as she saw all of the Elders nodding in agreement, their scheming clearly shown on their faces.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way you¡¯re all actually considering this.¡± Emery said in disbelief. She felt a heavy hand fall onto her shoulder consolingly, and turned to see Vale¡¯s face. Amusement and pity warred for control.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Emery. I think you¡¯ve been out-voted.¡±


    <hr>


    Emery was still grumbling about it when they returned home.


    The discussion went on for some time after that. Collectively, they decided that the ¡®dragon friend idea¡¯ would be something to keep in mind as a backup, but certainly not a first option.


    As before, the hope was still that the incoming Cultivators would just be looking to sit down at a table for some kind of trade negotiation.


    Emery and Avuri were surprised to find that the Elders weren¡¯t immediately dismissive of potentially allowing the Cultivators to do work around the Peaks. If they made a friendly approach, the Elders were willing to talk. Emery doubted that they would be willing to offer whatever the Cultivators were actually going to ask for.


    After the long talk, almost everyone agreed that it felt like the incoming Cultivators probably wanted full access to the Peaks, which just wasn¡¯t feasible. Not safely anyway. Too much of Flowing Dragon City¡¯s economy was based around controlling access to the Peaks, and giving any external artisan unfettered access to the resources found on the mountains would be a bad idea.


    ¡°I won¡¯t lie,¡± Avuri said when they landed, ¡°I really kinda hope we get to see you play a dramatic hero, Merri. I bet the kids would all get a kick out of it, too.¡±


    ¡°You really just want to put me in a silly outfit and make me act, don¡¯t you?¡± Emery grumbled.


    ¡°...No.¡± Avuri said, dramatically looking off to the side. ¡°But I do think it would be really fun. And getting you all made up in a disguise?¡± When Emery made another disgusted face, Avuri grabbed her by the arm and pulled her close. ¡°Oh, come on! It would be fun!¡± She said, laughter in her voice.


    Emery sighed, ¡°On the off chance that this might actually happen, I will let you - ¡°


    ¡°Yes!¡± Avuri shouted, and practically started jumping up and down in exaggerated excitement.


    ¡° - I will let you prepare an outfit and practice some kind of makeup scheme. Twice. And only twice.¡± Emery said firmly. ¡°But I suppose it¡¯s better than doing it last minute and the whole costume being rough.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t regret this.¡± Avuri said, already mentally planning out the outfit she was going to put together.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure I will¡­¡±

 70 : Sidetracked

    ¡°I told you before, Merri, we shouldn¡¯t decide on a date until we have a venue squared away. It¡¯s easier to just let the date be decided naturally by when the venue is available.¡± Avuri said seriously, as she leafed through several different information sheets on various popular wedding spots in Flowing Dragon City. We were seated on the floor of our main room with sheets scattered around us.


    I sighed dramatically while my eyes continued to scan the papers in my hands for intriguing locations. ¡°And like I told you earlier, I understand that, Ri. What I don¡¯t understand is why you feel the need to pick a very expensive place for us to get married.¡±


    I flipped to another page, dismissing the interior of a large merchant¡¯s shop as too gaudy. ¡°Or why you keep insisting on a large venue. We collectively are probably going to invite, what, fifty people? Maybe a hundred at absolute max? We don¡¯t need a place that can seat five hundred.¡±


    Avuri shot me a glower. ¡°First, we have plenty of mortal money to go around. There¡¯s no need to be stingy and pick a tiny venue. Second, I did say I would be willing to go smaller if the place was impressive enough - just for the record. And third,¡± she paused for a moment to attack me with a very cute pout, ¡°you¡¯re no fun.¡±


    I rolled my eyes as she giggled and we each turned back to our stacks of information. As I continued to flip through all of the pages, I could at least appreciate how easy it was to have these single sheets to look at instead of full on scrolls or the like. The merchants in the City really knew their stuff, and this crafted paper was very convenient.


    I shifted a bit closer to Avuri so our sides were flush with one another and leaned into her a bit. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I said, ¡°But I really do think that searching for large, impressive venues is a waste of time and effort that we could instead put into finding better food and the like.¡±


    ¡°Oh, we¡¯re getting the Celestial Dragon Pavilion to cater for us. I thought I told you that.¡± Avuri said off-handedly.


    ¡°We¡­what?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I was chatting with Lyn about it the other - ¡°


    ¡°The Elder?¡± I asked, flabbergasted.


    ¡°Mhm.¡± Avuri nodded, her eyes still glued to the papers in her hand. ¡°I spoke to her when I went into the City last week. And the time before that.¡±


    It had been all of three weeks since we had our introductory meeting with the Elders. Avuri had gone into the city three times since then for various shopping excursions. ¡°How in the world did you manage that?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± she began, ¡°it was pretty simple. I knew from the get-go that I wanted the Pavilion to cater if that was something they offered. So when I visited the city I took a trip there to see if they offered any sort of catering services. Lo and behold, Lyn met me at the entrance and brought me into a private room to talk it over.¡±


    Avuri looked at me with a sly smile. ¡°She actually mentioned it before I even asked. She was so excited because she¡¯ll get to flex her cooking skills. Apparently, the Pavilion¡¯s prices are so high that they almost never get people asking for catering.¡± She stuck her nose in the air, extra proud of herself. ¡°I even got us a pretty massive discount.¡±


    ¡°A discount.¡± I said flatly. ¡°Ri, we could probably buy a whole restaurant for the cost of the Pavilion¡¯s catering!¡±


    Slowly, a wolfish grin took over Avuri¡¯s face. It almost scared me, how predatory she looked. It was also a rather sexy look on her, considering how rarely she appeared so dangerous. ¡°Maybe it would be, but the discount I talked Lyn into is pretty significant.¡±


    I stared at Avuri¡¯s expression for a moment, stunned. ¡°Avuri, do you get off on thoroughly dominating a negotiation?¡± I asked, holding back a laugh.


    Avuri froze, and stiffened up, blush creeping over her neck and ears just a little bit.


    At that point, I did laugh. ¡°Oh, wow. You do!¡± I threw an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. ¡°I¡¯ll remember that.¡±


    ¡°You do not have to remember that.¡± She muttered quietly and forcefully returned to flipping through her information sheets.


    ¡°I dunno.¡± I said playfully, my concentration on picking a venue completely gone. ¡°We¡¯re getting married, Avuri. I think I should learn these things.¡±


    She let out a dreamy, contented sigh. ¡°Yeah. We are getting married, aren¡¯t we?¡±


    I snorted a short laugh. ¡°Yes. Yes we are.¡± I cast a sidelong glance in her direction, and one side of my mouth quirked up in a smile. ¡°I have to admit, I would not have seen this coming a year ago.¡±


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    Avuri looked up at the ceiling in thought. ¡°You know, I might have. I wouldn¡¯t have bet on it, but I did think you were very interesting and attractive from the get go.¡± She looked down to meet my eyes, then leaned on my shoulder. ¡°I think I would¡¯ve said yes if you had asked me out immediately after that first tournament match.¡±


    ¡°That genuinely had not even crossed my mind.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think it would¡¯ve.¡± Avuri said. ¡°It didn¡¯t cross mine at the time either. But had you asked, I think I was intrigued enough by you that I would¡¯ve at least taken you up on dinner or something.¡±


    ¡°I did just sweep in and out of your life really fast at first. Lots of mystery.¡±


    Avuri nodded. ¡°Mhm, exactly. And then saving Cierra clinched it, I think.¡±


    ¡°You did show up here much faster than I would¡¯ve expected.¡± I said, placing my papers on the floor and leaning into Avuri for balance. ¡°Which is to say, I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d just show up at all. I wasn¡¯t even sure my message would even reach you.¡±


    ¡°I know I already told you this, but I left so fast after I got your letter.¡± Avuri chuckled as she wrapped her arm around my waist. ¡°Didn¡¯t even take me a month. You have no idea how boring sect life can be.¡±


    ¡°I have a rough idea.¡± I said. ¡°But you¡¯re at least right that I was never really a part of a normal sect.¡±


    ¡°Eh, that¡¯s probably for the best. I don¡¯t think you¡¯d do well in a sect.¡± Avuri responded.


    ¡°Oh? And why¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯d get bored far too easily to live such a rote life. Not to mention, I get the feeling you wouldn¡¯t do well with listening to your superiors.¡±


    I huffed. ¡°As if I wouldn¡¯t just be at least a core disciple from the start. I wouldn¡¯t need to listen to anyone except the Elders - which I have no problem with, as you¡¯ve seen - if I was simply already in charge of everyone else.¡±


    Avuri laughed and bumped me. ¡°You¡¯re just proving my point.¡± Her voice carried a lovely sing-song quality to it as she teased. With a wide grin, I shoved her back in retaliation for her bump and her eyes narrowed at me. ¡°Are you challenging your superior, outer disciple?¡±


    I shoved her playfully again, and crossed my arms haughtily. ¡°How else shall I prove my worth to you? If one such as I defeats a core disciple like you, surely I would join your ranks, no? Or perhaps even replace you?¡±


    ¡°Are you challenging me, whelp?¡± Avuri said, her tone carrying just a slight edge. ¡°You dare think you could best me?¡±


    I met her eyes and narrowed mine to match her glare for glare. ¡°Yes, I do.¡± I said plainly. ¡°I don¡¯t think you stand a chance against the great me.¡±


    ¡°Well come on then, child. Show me what you can do.¡± Avuri said and she put her hands up in a mock fighting stance. We were still seated with our legs nearly flush against one another, so this was hardly the position for a fight.


    Regardless, I put my hands up in preparation to strike. Avuri appeared to be waiting for me to make the first move, so I did. I jabbed at her a few times with my leading left hand. The punches were probing and weak, more playful than actual punches.


    Avuri easily batted those strikes aside, looking bored.


    ¡°I thought you said you could best me, disciple. This is a poor showing.¡± When she next moved one of my strikes aside, her hand darted out and she flicked my forehead.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re gonna pay for that.¡± I growled, and drew my right arm back for an entirely over-committed cross punch. The strike was still far too slow to be anything even remotely threatening. But Avuri wasn¡¯t.


    She had apparently been waiting for me to throw a cross, because her speedy counter was clearly planned. She deflected my weak punch and grabbed my arm. Using that as leverage, she swung her feet out from under her seated position and pushed me back. It took just a blink for Avuri to pin me on my back, with her face looming over mine. Her pin was even surprisingly firm, as I found my wiggling to escape completely ineffectual.


    Avuri¡¯s smile turned a little feral as I tried weakly to escape. ¡°I thought you¡¯d put up a better fight, disciple.¡±


    I pulled against her hold, but didn¡¯t use all that much strength. If I moved too forcefully, I might break the floor before I just escaped her hold, and we both knew it. It was a rather clever move from her. ¡°We both know I could easily get out of here if I wanted too.¡± I spat out sourly.


    Avuri clicked her tongue at me, still playing her character. ¡°Where does this baseless self-confidence come from? You¡¯re clearly beaten, but you still won¡¯t concede?¡± She smirked down at me, her face just barely out of headbutt range.


    ¡°Never!¡± I shouted, playing up the drama. ¡°No one gets stronger by admitting defeat!¡±


    ¡°The best fighters know when they are in a losing battle, disciple. And they are smart enough to know to retreat to fight another day.¡± Avuri said, her smirk taking over her entire face. She really was enjoying being in control here.


    ¡°Shameful!¡± I spat. ¡°There¡¯s no honor in running only to live another day!¡± I shouted, basically proclaiming things exactly counter to what I actually believed.


    Avuri laughed aloud. ¡°Shall I just end you, then? Put you out of your misery?¡±


    I glared up at her defiantly. ¡°As if I¡¯d let you!¡± I shouted, and redoubled my attempts to escape. With my strength still controlled to avoid damaging anything, I really couldn¡¯t get anywhere. I clicked my tongue in annoyance.


    Avuri shifted a little on top of me, and I took the opportunity to try to move. It didn¡¯t work as I wanted, and gave her the opportunity to reposition her hands for a better grip on my wrists, which also allowed her to wrench my arms above my head.


    She merely laughed. ¡°Still don¡¯t want to give in? This is your last chance, disciple.¡± Her eyes flashed with something a little more devious as she threatened me this time, and I was pretty sure I had a good idea what might be coming.


    I stopped struggling to stare up at her, faux anger all over my face. ¡°Even if you beat me here, I¡¯ll have my revenge one day.¡± I said seriously. Behind her devious expression, I could see a glint of understanding. She knew I wasn¡¯t kidding, and that I would have my revenge for this.


    ¡°As you will, then.¡± She said, and she crashed over me in an absolutely overpowering kiss.


    I was thankful, in that moment, that no one else was in the house because I didn¡¯t really want to have to shove her away.


    We didn¡¯t manage to make any useful wedding related decisions that day.

 71 : While the Cats Away

    While Emery, Avuri, and Vale were away visiting the Elders, Talya and Gray were left demonstrably in charge. They didn¡¯t want to disrupt too much, though, so they mostly let the kids go about their business as usual.


    This included the Maple family cleaning the barn, the Yews taking care of weeding the fields a bit, the Alders tending to the farm animals and chickens, and the Elm family was on food duty for the day.


    After Shara had helped her siblings with the chickens, she had begged Kord to let her go cook with Ritz and her siblings, which Kord allowed. This left her running off to join Ritz and the others with their cooking for the day.


    When she arrived at the kitchen, there was already mild chaos as everyone flew around the kitchen prepping for lunch. Enrik and Wrynn were handling a large batch of fried rice while Cruz was helping Ritz prepare various veggies for a simple soup.


    ¡°Hey guys, what can I do to help?¡± Shara asked as she moved inside and grabbed a clean apron from the pegs on the wall. ¡°You¡¯re getting me out of washing pigs, so feel free to put me to work!¡± She laughed cheerily as she waved at Ritz, her best friend.


    Enrik waved her over to Ritz and Cruz. ¡°Help them finish the soup. The rice is nearly done already, we just need to rotate batches through the wok for frying.¡±


    ¡°Gotcha.¡± She nodded, and settled in beside Ritz who bumped her while giggling. She grabbed a knife and began steadily working away at the large pile of vegetables. Slow but steady, like she was taught.


    They were all pretty confident in their peeling skills. Emery had taught them well, and she had drilled all of them on knife and blade safety. At least the ones that she deemed old enough to handle sharp things.


    ¡°Thanks, Shara.¡± Cruz said with a grin. ¡°I know you¡¯re getting to skip out on chores you like even less, but we really could use the help.¡± He suddenly raised his voice, probably so his twin could hear. ¡°Wrynn decided to sleep in today, and took too long in the bathroom. Made us start late today.¡±


    Wrynn¡¯s eyes darted to him briefly before moving back to the wok that she was working with. She tossed the food twice, nodded once, then set it down on the heat for a moment. She briskly walked over behind Cruz, gave him a swift kick in the ass, then moved back to her wok. Laughter erupted around the room.


    ¡°Jerk.¡± She said finally, once some of the laughter cooled. ¡°My stomach hurt this morning. I¡¯m sorry my pain was such an inconvenience to you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just teasing, Wrynn. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re feeling better, and I¡¯m very glad that we get a little help to get us caught up!¡± Cruz said happily, then looked over to his twin sister more seriously. ¡°You are feeling better, yeah?¡±


    Wrynn just nodded as she focused on helping Enrik put the fried rice on a plate and move a new batch into the wok. ¡°Yeah.¡±


    After a bit of silence, Ritz suddenly asked, ¡°What¡¯s for dinner tonight?¡± Her hands continued to move, peeling, cutting, and dumping carrots into the soup base.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we''ve decided anything yet, have we?¡± Wrynn asked, turning a questioning look on Enrik.


    ¡°Not yet. If we¡¯re having fried rice and soup for lunch, though, we should probably do something with a bit more protein for dinner.¡± He said, looking around at the possible ingredients.


    ¡°Can we make cake for dinner?¡± Ritz asked suddenly. ¡°I want cake.¡± She reaffirmed after a few seconds.


    No one spoke for a bit after that, the only sound being the cooking getting done and the sizzling of the rice in the wok.


    ¡°...Cake? Really?¡± Cruz asked, incredulously. ¡°Mom and Momri would be pissed.¡±


    ¡°Language.¡± Enrik and Wrynn said in unison. Cruz shot them a look but said nothing.


    ¡°Would making cake for dinner work?¡± Shara wondered aloud. ¡°I mean, it would almost definitely get us in trouble if we just made a big cake. Right?¡± She asked the room.


    ¡°Definitely.¡± Enrik nodded to himself.


    ¡°What about if we made a chicken cake?¡± Ritz asked, her head cutely tilted to one side as she thought about it. ¡°You said we needed something with protein, right? That means meat, right? What if we made a chicken cake?¡± She asked again, getting herself excited.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we could make a chicken cake.¡± Wrynn said sadly. ¡°I don¡¯t know how we would even begin to get the chicken into the cake batter.¡±


    ¡°What about a chicken made of cake?¡± Cruz joked with a laugh.


    But Ritz¡¯s eyes went wide and she jumped up and down. ¡°Let¡¯s do that! It sounds like fun!¡±


    Enrik helped Wrynn transfer the fried rice again, but his expression was clouded with thought. ¡°I don¡¯t think any of us are good enough to sculpt a cake like that.¡± He said absently. ¡°We could maybe get Elise to help, she likes baking a lot and is really good at shaping cakes.¡±


    ¡°What if we made chicken stuffing out of cake? Cake and bread are pretty similar.¡± Cruz said tentatively.


    ¡°That¡¯d taste gross.¡± Wrynn said, sticking her tongue out in disgust. ¡°Cake baked inside a chicken with all the chicken juices? No thank you.¡±


    ¡°What else goes with chicken?¡±


    ¡°Potatoes?¡± Shara offered.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°I bet we could make a cake and cut it so that it looks like roasted potatoes.¡± Wrynn said.


    The work in the room stopped briefly as everyone exchanged looks. Ritz was glowing with excitement as she looked around the room. ¡°Can we do that?¡± She asked repeatedly.


    ¡°I think we can manage that.¡± Enrik said with a nod. ¡°Let¡¯s see how many people we can trick with them.¡± He grinned. ¡°I bet Mom¡¯ll flip out and Momri is gonna make fun of her for it if she doesn¡¯t notice.¡±


    Wrynn struggled to dump her batch of rice into a large serving bowl to start the next batch. ¡°Well, she doesn¡¯t like sweet things after all.¡± She said with a grunt. ¡°If she bites into a cake expecting potatoes, her reaction would probably be the best one.¡±


    Shara and Ritz giggled to one another as they continued on the vegetables. As Cruz grabbed another onion to cut up for the soup, he said, ¡°Well, let¡¯s hurry up and get lunch finished. We¡¯ve clearly got our work cut out for us with dinner. And if we¡¯re already going to pull a prank with the potatoes¡­I have something else I want to add.¡±


    Wrynn glared back over her shoulders at him as she flipped the rice around in the wok. ¡°You¡¯re not going to make your random death dumplings, are you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the plan. Some simple steamed dumplings would be a great side dish I think, after our very vegetable heavy lunch. And if we¡¯re already doing something silly, we may as well go all the way.¡±


    ¡°Fine, but we¡¯re making the chickens perfectly normally.¡± Enrik said sternly. ¡°Once someone accidentally picks your little pocket of pepper, no one is going to trust the dinner. We need to be able to say that the chickens are clear.¡±


    A chorus of ¡®Okay¡¯s filled the room.


    ¡°Now, let¡¯s serve this lunch and get to work on dinner.¡±


    <hr>


    After Vale had landed their little party a short ways on the other side of the basin¡¯s wall, Emery, Avuri, and him crossed into their little patch of heaven pretty close to dinner time. As they approached the center area of their compound, the smell of roasting chicken was pretty clear on the wind, alongside some other scents that were a little more difficult to pick out. It smelled a little sweet, though.


    As they walked toward the house to change out of their more formal clothing before dinner, Avuri broke away to check in on dinner. After a brief exchange, she hustled back to fall into step with Emery again.


    ¡°They said it¡¯s just about done.¡± Avuri hid a smile. ¡°Shara skipped out on her husbandry duties again. She said she helped with the chickens then asked to go help cook.¡±


    Emery sighed. ¡°That girl. I swear, she just hates getting dirty. Every time the Alders are given animal duty, she runs away from helping with the regular barnyard animals and only wants anything to do with the chickens.¡±


    ¡°Which is hilarious to me, because it¡¯s not like chickens are cleaner than the other animals. Maybe there¡¯s less mud in the coop, but¡­¡±


    ¡°I think she just thinks the chickens are cute.¡± Emery said. ¡°Then once that¡¯s done she runs off to help with whatever Ritz is doing.¡±


    Avuri shrugged. ¡°At least she runs to help Ritz. The Elms are one of the smaller families, and the Alders are the biggest. It works out.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Emery said, as they stepped through the front door to their house. She turned to Vale. ¡°See you in a bit for dinner?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Yup. Just going to change, same as you two. I¡¯ll see you out there.¡±


    They went their separate ways for a few minutes. It didn¡¯t take too long to strip out of the elaborate robes, despite them being difficult to put on. After a quick scrub down with soap and water to clean their hands, arms, and faces, they all reconvened and headed out to the dining pavilion.


    The Elm family plus Shara was already placing their completed dinner on the tables, but hadn¡¯t yet hit the sound Array that would call everyone to dinner. Emery poked it with a bit of Qi from across the room as they walked in, and a loud but pleasant chime reverberated through the basin.


    ¡°Looks like you all did good today.¡± Avuri said, as they chose a table to sit at for the night. ¡°The chickens especially, look roasted to perfection.¡±


    Wrynn stuck her chest out proudly. ¡°I did what you showed me before, Momri. Put a bunch of butter under the skin and not as much seasonings on top. I think they all crisped up really nicely.¡±


    Avuri patted the girl''s head with a big smile. ¡°They look wonderful.¡±


    And then she and Emery both noticed the dumplings being placed on the table. They shot a wordless question at Wrynn, who caught their eyes and nodded gravely. ¡°Be careful,¡± was all she said before walking away.


    ¡°Watch the dumplings, Vale.¡± Emery said. ¡°Last time Cruz made them himself, he took a few and loaded them up with mustard seeds. It was brutal.¡±


    Vale eyed the dumplings with a laugh. ¡°I¡¯m not worried about a pit of spicy, Merri. You should know me by now.¡±


    ¡°I know that.¡± She snapped back. ¡°But I have no idea what he¡¯d try next. For all I know he found himself a natural laxative to put in them.¡±


    As the Elms finished bringing out the food and sitting down themselves, the other families filtered in. Surprising no one, the Alders all sat near to Shara and they fawned over their missing princess. She kept shying away from their poking and prodding and bumping her shoulder into Ritz who giggled cutely as she watched her friend get picked on by her older siblings.


    As they all began to fill plates, Avuri caught Emery watching the pair suspiciously. She joined her, while spooning some of the roasted potatoes onto Emery¡¯s plate. They felt a little strange texture wise as the spoon moved through the bowl. Too springy, perhaps?


    ¡°What¡¯re you watching them like that for?¡± she asked.


    Emery sighed, and moved some of her food around on her plate. ¡°No real reason, I suppose. They just seem to have a vibe sometimes, you know?¡±


    Avuri raised an eyebrow at her wife. ¡°Merri, they¡¯re not even ten years old.¡±


    Emery raised her hands in surrender. ¡°I know, I know. It just wouldn¡¯t surprise me in a few years, you know?¡± She said as she speared a potato with her fork. As she raised it to her mouth, she saw Wrynn nudge Ritz with her elbow; and suddenly all of the Elm kids and Shara were watching her as she took her bite of potato.


    Which she quickly realized was not, in fact, a potato at all. She narrowed her eyes at the Elm kids angrily, to see if they¡¯d react at all. When they didn¡¯t, she let out a big laugh instead. ¡°You jerks!¡± She said loudly. ¡°I love potatoes, and you swapped them with cake?¡±


    It seemed as though no one else had tried them quite yet. There was a moment as most of the kids tried a bite, then there was a mad dash to get as much of the little bite-sized cakes on their plates as possible.


    Then, amongst the laughter, there was a high pitched scream of anger mixed with pain. Everyone turned to Elise, who was holding a hand over her mouth, her eyes watering and her face rapidly turning a bright red. Her eyes were locked onto a single target.


    ¡°Cruz!¡± She bellowed. ¡°You¡¯re dead!¡±


    The boy in question just smiled and took another bite of chicken. Avuri called over to him, ¡°Cruz? What did you put in them this time?¡±


    ¡°Just some flower peppercorns. She¡¯ll be more numb than in pain in a minute or two.¡±


    Elise let out another annoyed scream as she plopped back into her seat.


    ¡°You¡¯re dead meat, Cruz. Dead. Meat.¡± She grumbled.

 72 : The Mice Will Play

    Elise sat in the Maple family¡¯s house plotting her revenge. She rested her chin in her hand with her elbow propped up on their table while watching Evin and Flyn draw. Well, they were both six, so it was more like scribbles. But they were happy enough to just play around while she was off in her head, plotting.


    This was the third time that she was unlucky enough to be the one to bite into one of Cruz¡¯s war crimes. If she didn¡¯t know any better, she¡¯d think he was targeting her for some reason; but they sat and served the tables in the dining pavilion randomly every night so that seemed like a stretch, even to her.


    Still though, he wasn¡¯t going to get away without retribution this time. Elise had been quiet and knuckled under the first two times. Not anymore. This time she¡¯d have revenge.


    The issue was what she could do, though. Cruz was strong against spicy foods, and didn¡¯t have any food that bothered him much. In fact, he regularly made gross concoctions just to experiment with flavors, so food wasn¡¯t going to do it.


    She did consider just literally beating the crap out of him. It would be a fair practice match, of course. She¡¯d just not hold back and completely wipe the floor with him. It would be immensely satisfying, probably, but wouldn¡¯t really constitute a good revenge. Plus, she could basically spar with him whenever she wanted.


    This had to be something a bit more special.


    She wished that talking to Wrynn had been more fruitful. Cruz¡¯s twin had been more than happy to assist Elise in getting her revenge, and even offered her help with whatever she needed. But she didn¡¯t have any concrete ideas that sounded impactful enough.


    She did mention that Cruz had a small crush on a girl in Flowing Dragon City that he¡¯d seen a few times and spoke to all of twice. There may be something useful there at some point, but that would require a lot of extra work. Not to mention, it wasn¡¯t like she could just invite the girl back here or something. And that¡¯d be assuming she even knew who Cruz was.


    Elise let out a sigh and sat back in her chair, throwing her head back over the lip of the seat¡¯s back. Her long hair got caught behind her back and was pulled as she leaned back. The pain was minor, but she almost let a curse slip on reflex in her frustration. Instead, she just grumbled incoherently to herself to avoid saying things she shouldn¡¯t near her two youngest brothers.


    As Elise continued to grumble and resituate her hair, Elena walked through their front door. She had to kick the door open because her hands were taken up with bags of toiletries and other daily necessities.


    ¡°Thanks for getting the door, sis.¡± She said, sarcasm dripping from her tone. When Elise scrambled to get up to help, Elena just continued, ¡°No, no, I got it,¡± and she kicked the door closed behind her.


    ¡°Did you even knock?¡± Elise asked, confused.


    ¡°No, I just sat at the door with my hands full for two minutes for my health.¡±


    ¡°When did you get so snarky, Elena?¡± Elise asked, moving forward to help with the bags.


    The younger girl laughed. ¡°I heard Momri say it to Mom once, when she didn¡¯t help her with the door and groceries.¡±


    ¡°Well, now I¡¯m definitely glad I held my tongue before, if you kids pick up stuff that easily.¡± Eilse mumbled to herself. ¡°So, what¡¯s all in here? I know we were running a little low on soap and shampoo, but you¡¯ve got way more than that.¡±


    ¡°I also grabbed some breakfast foods, since we were running low. I know we don¡¯t eat breakfast here often, but it still seemed worth it to have on hand.¡± She said, as they walked together toward their kitchen.


    The smaller single family homes may pale in comparison to the main house, but they were still well made and plenty big. Their kitchen was large enough that the two of them could comfortably move around and put things away.


    As Elise made it to her second bag, she found a bunch of bathroom stuff and went to put those away. Once she put some of the soaps and things in their places, she found some simple medicines for headaches and the like, which was nothing new to have on hand. But there was also a pouch of something else that she didn¡¯t recognize.


    ¡°Hey Elena, you know what this is?¡± Elise asked, poking her head out of the bathroom.


    ¡°What?¡± Elena leaned back to see what her sister was holding up. ¡°Oh - that¡¯s for Kaili. Momri said she asked for it.¡±


    ¡°Ho-kay.¡± Elise said, then called down the hallway toward Kaili¡¯s room. ¡°Kaili? Momri sent over whatever it was you asked for.¡±


    There was the sound of shuffling, and then Kaili popped out of her room and speed walked down the hallway.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± She said, a light pink blush spreading over her face. She turned to go, but Elise grabbed her arm.


    ¡°Are you alright? What is that?¡±


    Kaili¡¯s blush spread a bit further as she pulled out of Elise¡¯s grasp. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ve just¡­been having trouble with my stomach recently. I think there¡¯s something going around, because Wrynn mentioned a stomach ache recently, too.¡±


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Elise considered for a moment then asked, ¡°You¡¯re sure it¡¯s not - ¡°


    ¡°No.¡± Kaili said quickly, shaking her head. ¡°It¡¯s not that. Momri gave me some of this the other day and it helped with uh¡­going. You know.¡±


    ¡°Ah. A laxative.¡± Elise said quietly. ¡°A laxative?¡± She suddenly had an interesting idea. She clapped Kaili on the shoulder and smiled. ¡°And it works well?¡±


    Confused and still bright red, Kaili looked down and nodded. ¡°It does.¡±


    ¡°Would you mind if I took some, Kaili?¡± Elise asked, her smile slowly growing. ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯d ever expect anyone to strike through food.¡±


    ¡°I¡­what?¡± Kaili said, looking back up, confused. ¡°I don¡¯t mind you taking some if you need it, Elise. Momri said to take about a teaspoon of the powder when I need it.¡±


    Elise nodded. ¡°Got it.¡± She ruffled the younger girl¡¯s hair. ¡°Thanks, Kaili.¡±


    ¡°Mhm.¡± She said, then looked at the pouch in her hand then back to Elise, then handed it over. ¡°I guess since you know what it is now, you may as well put it in the bathroom¡­¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Elise answered, and took the pouch. ¡°Just so you know, Kaili. There¡¯s nothing to be embarrassed about. Everyone has issues with their stomach sometimes. It¡¯s rather annoying, really.¡±


    Kaili nodded. ¡°Yeah, it is. Anyway, I¡¯ll be in my room if you need me. I want to finish my book.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Call if you need me, too.¡± Elise said, then let the girl run off.


    After a moment, Elena peeked around the corner. ¡°That was painful, sis.¡±


    ¡°Shush, you.¡± She said, looking down at the laxative. ¡°When is our next turn to do the cooking?¡±


    ¡°Not for a while, I think.¡± Elena said. ¡°I think Mom is moving some of the chore calendars around because she doesn¡¯t want anyone who¡¯s been even a little sick handling the food. And since Kaili wasn¡¯t doing so well the day before yesterday, we¡¯ve been swapped out.¡± She paused for a moment to go back to her work. ¡°And before you ask, the Elms have been swapped out too, because Wrynn wasn¡¯t feeling well.¡±


    Elise sighed. ¡°Right then. I guess I¡¯ll see who¡¯s on duty then.¡±


    She took a small dose of the laxative in a different little pouch with her as she moved to leave. ¡°Elena, can you keep an eye on Evin and Flyn for a bit? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be long.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± She said, waving her sister off. ¡°Just go do your thing. I was planning to just get some homework done anyway.¡±


    ¡°Math?¡±


    ¡°Math.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll help you get it done when I get back.¡± Elise said with a small smile.


    ¡°Ugh. Fine.¡± Elena said sourly. ¡°I hate this geometry nonsense.¡±


    Elise laughed. ¡°Depending on what kind of techniques you develop down the line, geometry can be very important. I¡¯ll make sure you have it done and help you with what¡¯s left when I get back.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Elena sighed. ¡°Go do your thing.¡±


    <hr>


    By the time that Elise had returned and helped Elena with her math work, it was just about dinner time. Kaili had emerged from her room to join Elena for help with her own math work. They were at about the same level, and Elise was more than capable of helping them both out.


    Together, all three of them kept an eye on their younger brothers who had decided they¡¯d spent enough time on their art projects and moved on to building things with a combination of wooden blocks and logs that Emery had made for them. Such little sets of building things were very popular among the youngest kids, and they often competed to build the tallest towers or biggest houses.


    More than once Elise had to break up a small fight over such things. In today¡¯s case, Flyn got mad at Evin for accidentally knocking a block into a corner of his building, which dislodged a cornerstone and the whole thing fell. She deftly talked the two of them into working together to rebuild Flyn¡¯s fort and make it even better. She even helped too, calling out directions and assistance to her sisters as they continued their math homework.


    When dinner did finally roll around, their whole five member troupe got together and walked over to the dining pavilion. Elise had to put in effort to act normally, but her eyes kept wandering over to Cruz, excited for the moment of retribution.


    The Willows had been responsible for cooking that day. And Fia and Lia were more than happy to help with Elise¡¯s revenge plan; she wasn¡¯t the only one that had been on the receiving end of Cruz¡¯s awful concoctions after all. Everyone had gotten a taste of something at one point or another. Even Mom and Momri.


    The worst part was that when Cruz actually just followed conventional knowledge when he cooked he was probably one of the best cooks they had at home. She would begrudgingly admit that some of his test recipes had also been rather delicious. But they were too far and few between!


    In any case, the Willows were late setting out everything on the tables. They had rung the dinner chime earlier to get everyone to show up, but were still running behind. Exactly as planned.


    Elise watched as they all scrambled around the tables setting out plates. They had made a beef stew with vegetables for dinner, which would no doubt have a good strong flavor. More than strong enough to completely overshadow the dose of laxative that would be going into Cruz¡¯s bowl. And with the Willows running a bit behind, they were dishing out each person¡¯s bowl and handing them out to each family member. They¡¯d be able to get the dosed bowl in front of Cruz easily.


    Throughout the meal, Elise struggled not to watch Cruz as he eagerly devoured his bowl of stew, and then a second one. She even suspected that Fia may have put a second dose in the second bowl to help even out the extra food he¡¯d be taking in.


    Dinners with their family was often a slow, enjoyable affair. Most of the family had been relaxing and slowly munching on their food for over an hour when Elise finally noticed Cruz starting to sweat.


    He started to look a bit fidgety and maybe a little overheated, but nothing that was too obvious. But he declined from there quickly. He kept shifting in his seat and started to actually look a little sick. Eventually, he suddenly stood and his chair clattered to the ground. Most of the chatter in the room stopped as eyes turned toward him. He was really not looking well.


    His face shot up and his eyes met with Elise¡¯s with zero hesitation. He looked pained, and maybe a little angry, but she also thought she saw a begrudging respect there. ¡°You got me, jerk.¡± He said, his voice shaky, then he ran out of the pavilion with his proverbial tail between his legs.


    When Fia and Lia both met Elise¡¯s gaze with an impish grin, Emery and Avuri noticed. After a quick swapped glance between them, Avuri sighed.


    ¡°What¡¯d you do¡­?¡± She said, exasperated.

 73 : RSVP

    !I sat with Emery and the girls at the kitchen table, staring out over a large, empty scroll. Beside it were a fair number of missives sent from all over the place. Their styles were hugely varied, the handwritings were all different, even the sizes of the messages themselves were disparate.


    But they each invariably came with one of two messages. They either would or wouldn¡¯t be attending our wedding ceremony. And perhaps a little extra information of who was coming or a number. I glared at one particular message for a moment before turning my attention back to everything else going on.


    We had taken so long picking a venue that word had spread - through me - to Lyn about our trouble deciding. Apparently the Elders of the city like to gossip more than I would have expected, because not two days later Vyne approached us to offer his gardens as a potential venue. And after one visit, we were both totally sold. They were breathtaking.


    And now Emery and Cierra were drawing on the large scroll on the table, trying to map out the layout of those gardens. Vyne had told us that while we would be able to make use of the gardens as a whole, the actual usable space for the ceremony and dinner afterward would be around two hundred square meters. This would encompass the large open courtyard in the middle of the gardens which was surrounded by a lovely hedge maze.


    ¡°We¡¯re planning on a hundred guests max. There should be plenty of space.¡± Emery said as she was sketching out the measurements and trying to get an idea of the layout we could use.


    ¡°I see no reason we couldn¡¯t set things up for the ceremony with rows of seating and bring out the tables for food afterward.¡± I said, looking over the scrawled map. ¡°There¡¯s plenty of space, and I¡¯m sure Vyne would be fine with letting us store some simple wooden tables among the hedges until the ceremony is over. Then we don¡¯t need to worry about a separate space.¡±


    Emery nodded, scratching her chin in thought while looking over her map. I tried not to smile, seeing her spread a patch of ink over her face. ¡°That makes sense. I wonder if Vyne would be willing to craft tables on the spot with his Qi, like he did with the trees here¡­¡±


    ¡°Can he shape wood like that? At the same time it¡¯s growing?¡± I wondered aloud. The look Emery gave me in response made it pretty clear that I was silly for wondering.


    ¡°If he can¡¯t do it, I¡¯ll cook all the dinners for a month.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re on. But rather than that, I just want, let¡¯s say, fifteen days where I can just make you cook instead.¡± I said. ¡°That way if I feel like cooking, I still can.¡±


    ¡°Sure, that¡¯s fair.¡± Emery said, answering my smile with her own. ¡°But I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll come to that.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that means if he just says ¡®no¡¯, I don¡¯t win?¡±


    ¡°Only if he says he couldn¡¯t do it if he tried.¡± Emery said. ¡°But I¡¯ve seen some of what he can do. There¡¯s no way he can¡¯t.¡±


    I just shrugged. ¡°You¡¯re probably right. But we need to get back on track.¡± I said, and pointed to the scroll.


    Emery focused back on it as well. ¡°Okay, so let¡¯s work under the impression that we can use the whole space for tables. We¡¯ll set some space aside to leave up the wedding arch¡­¡± She trailed off as she drew it in on one end of the space. ¡°...And we need to set aside a set of tables to serve the food on.¡±


    ¡°Lyn said that they can serve everything buffet style, so long tables.¡± I reminded Emery.


    She nodded and drew in a section of long tables in a line along one side of the clearing. ¡°That leaves us with the rest of the space for tables?¡±


    ¡°Sure. Don¡¯t pack everything too close together though, just in case.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡± Emery said and began drawing out round tables in the empty space. She placed them in a staggered pattern that was pleasing to look at in the image, then stood up straight from leaning over the scroll.


    ¡°So let¡¯s say¡­eight to each table, which leaves us with around thirteen tables?¡±


    ¡°One hundred and four seats total.¡± I said, doing the quick math. ¡°Sure, that should work. I¡¯m still not convinced we¡¯ll even make it to a hundred, so let¡¯s see.¡±


    We both stared at the pile of missives beside the scroll and took a deep breath.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t want to go through all of these.¡± I said, wry laughter in my voice.


    ¡°Me either. Big social events are definitely not my thing.¡± Emery said, eyeing the pile. She sat back down in her chair comfortably before reaching over to gather some of the messages. Stena hopped up into her lap once she was settled, and Emery patted her head. ¡°Hey, sweetie.¡±


    ¡°Can we help?¡± Cierra asked, having been quietly watching until now from her own seat.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so, this time.¡± I said, leaning on the table and propping up my chin in a hand. ¡°We need to organize seating to make sure everything goes okay on the day of the wedding.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Cierra said sadly.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you practice those writing drills that Mom gave you?¡± I suggested. ¡°That way you can still sit with us, and you¡¯ll get some of your own work done.¡±


    Cierra pouted. ¡°I guess. But I did a whole bunch of those yesterday.¡±


    ¡°The sooner you get them all done, the sooner you¡¯re free.¡± I said in a teasing, sing-song voice. ¡°You¡¯re also welcome to go play, if you¡¯d like. But your mother and I need to get this done.¡±


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    She sighed and hung her head dramatically. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll go get my worksheets¡­¡± Cierra slipped from her chair and toward her room to go retrieve the work. As she did so, Stena climbed down from Emery¡¯s lap and followed closely behind.


    Emery and I both chuckled, watching the younger girl trail after her older sister like a baby duckling.


    ¡°I bet it¡¯s only a matter of time before either Cierra gets tired of Stena following her everywhere or Stena decides she doesn¡¯t like Cierra anymore.¡± I said quietly, ¡°But for now those two are adorable and I¡¯m going to enjoy it while it lasts.¡±


    Emery snorted and said, ¡°I give it two years, absolute max.¡± But she still smiled while watching them walk down the hallway. Then with a deep breath, turned back to the problem before us.


    ¡°Moment of truth, I suppose.¡± She said, taking four separate messages and piled them before her. She slid a different fifth one over to me.


    I just stared at the envelope. ¡°I genuinely don¡¯t know what I want them to have said.¡± I muttered.


    As Emery steeled herself and picked up one of her own envelopes, she asked, ¡°I thought you were on good terms with your family? You certainly didn¡¯t seem to want to avoid sending them a letter before?¡±


    ¡°I am on good terms with them.¡± I said, picking up the envelope. It was thicker than I would expect for a simple reply. ¡°But they¡¯re a bit of a pain to deal with sometimes.¡± I eyed the letter in my hand warily. ¡°And I¡¯m worried they¡¯re going to try to bring a large portion of the family even though I didn¡¯t invite everyone.¡±


    Emery chuckled. ¡°Well, we didn¡¯t send out that many invitations in this batch for that very reason.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you did, but I sent invites to all the family members I wanted here. The rest of my guests were going to be friends I had in the Frozen Mountain. Or in the City, here.¡±


    ¡°Well, open it up and let¡¯s see.¡± Emery said, as she opened her own first message. She brightened up rather quickly after reading the first couple lines. ¡°Holy crap. Kota can actually make it?¡± She glanced up at me with a smile on her face. ¡°I won¡¯t lie, I expected all of my siblings except Talya to say no.¡±


    ¡°Surely they can¡¯t always be that busy?¡± I asked as I popped open my own letter.


    ¡°They can be, trust me.¡± Emery said, ¡°I didn¡¯t even know where to send Ieji¡¯s invitation to. I have no idea how they managed to respond.¡±


    I didn¡¯t respond to her as I looked over my parent¡¯s invite reply.


    ¡°Hello Avuri,


    Even though you told us this was likely coming, we¡¯re still happy to hear about the wedding! Of course your father and I will attend. He also sends his congratulations.


    I¡¯ve talked to your aunts and uncles as well. A few of them will be coming with us. Uncle Mitrik and his family, Aunt Severa and her family, and Arlin and his family will be coming with us. I hope it wouldn¡¯t be too much trouble to let us all stay with you? I know you said previously that where you¡¯re living now has a lot of space.


    I still can¡¯t believe you left the Frozen Mountain Sect after spending so long trying to get into it, just like that. I¡¯m really interested to see what managed to pull you away from there.


    In any case, I¡¯ve put a second page in here with the list of names of the family members coming with us, just in case you¡¯ve forgotten who¡¯s who. We¡¯ll see you soon?


    -Your mother ¡°


    I felt a growl of annoyance try to escape my throat, and I tossed the paper down onto the table. ¡°I knew they¡¯d do this.¡± I growled. ¡°I suppose I shouldn¡¯t be surprised.¡±


    Emery raised her eyebrow at me as she set her third letter on the table. ¡°Ieji and Demi are both able to make it too.¡± She said in explanation for her smile. ¡°Surely your parents¡¯ letter couldn¡¯t be that bad.¡±


    I handed the letter over to her to read as Cierra came back into the room, homework in hand, with Stena hot on her heels. This time, when Cierra took her seat to get to work, Stena walked to me and clambered onto my lap. I resettled her in a comfortable position and hugged her.


    ¡°This doesn¡¯t sound so bad¡­¡± Emery said.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that bad, I suppose. It could certainly be worse.¡± I sighed, resting my chin on top of Stena¡¯s head. ¡°They¡¯re just annoying. Bringing twelve extra people without them being expressly invited. Insinuating that they can all just stay here and it shouldn¡¯t be a problem. The snipe about leaving the Frozen Mountain. Then the follow up about me not remembering who my family members are.¡±


    ¡°You really think it was all that malicious?¡±


    ¡°Probably.¡± I muttered. ¡°That¡¯s what my family - especially my mother - does. They snipe, take potshots, and are just generally very backhanded. They say stuff that sounds genuine and positive but mean it as an insult. It¡¯s a whole art form.¡± I said, disgusted. ¡°And my mother is fantastic at it.¡±


    Emery let out a hum as she reread the letter again. ¡°I suppose knowing that, I can see how you¡¯d read it all that way.¡± She said then offered me the letter again. I took it to reread it once more, while Emery opened the last letter from her siblings.


    ¡°...They can all make it?¡± She said, stunned, looking over Rylie¡¯s message.She let the letter fall to the table, her eyes focused on something in the distance. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve all been in the same place since Kota originally left Vale¡¯s house.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been that long since you¡¯ve all seen each other?¡± I asked.


    ¡°All at once? Yeah. Close to eight years.¡± Emery said, still somewhat in awe. ¡°That¡¯ll be really interesting.¡±


    ¡°So your siblings won¡¯t be constantly at a silent war with one another like my family?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Unless they¡¯ve gotten into trouble amongst themselves since.¡± Emery said with a chuckle. ¡°Between talking about silent wars and backhanded compliments and the like, you make it sound like your family is some kind of royalty fighting for regency or some nonsense.¡±


    I snorted, but when I didn¡¯t respond Emery looked at me concerned.


    ¡°Avuri, I swear to all that is holy, if I¡¯m about to marry a princess and you didn¡¯t tell me, I¡¯m going to throttle you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a princess.¡± I said wryly. ¡°But my family is pretty wealthy.¡±


    Emery gave me an unimpressed look. ¡°And how wealthy is pretty wealthy?¡±


    I sighed, and remained quiet for a moment before finally saying, ¡°Very.¡±


    When Emery¡¯s eyes continued to stare daggers at me I finally relented. ¡°They own half of Bouquet.¡±


    ¡°Bouquet?¡± Emery said, confused. ¡°Bouquet? Like the central trade city of the Floral Hills, Bouquet?¡±


    ¡°...Yeah. I come from a family of very rich merchants.¡±


    ¡°...Well shit.¡± Emery said, looking at the ceiling.


    Cierra and I both retorted, ¡°Language.¡±

 74 : Sparklers

    A few days after I found that I was basically marrying a literal princess - which I was still processing - it was time for a small break from wedding planning. It was New Years, after all.


    Stena excitedly ran circles around my legs as I tried to carry the platters of food to the table.


    ¡°Dumplings! Dumplings!¡± She chanted, as I did my best to avoid tripping over her.


    ¡°Stena! Stop bothering Mom, and come help me carry these!¡± Cierra called from the kitchen.


    ¡°¡®Kay!¡± She said, and flew back toward the kitchen.


    No longer hampered by an excitable child, I finally placed the large serving tray full of dumplings on the table. It was in good company, as there were already several other large trays full of food waiting there, and still more to come. Talya¡¯s eyes continued to widen comically with every tray placed on the table.


    ¡°Emery, I know we said we¡¯d go all out for our New Year¡¯s Eve dinner, but this is taking it a little far, don¡¯t you think?¡± She asked. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t at least want help -¡±


    ¡°No helping.¡± I said sternly. ¡°You do more than enough around here as is. Let Ri and I at least return the favor on a holiday.¡±


    ¡°I second that!¡± Avuri echoed as she strolled into the room, tailed by both younger girls. Avuri had two more dishes in her hands, and Cierra and Stena each carried one. ¡°Merri, there¡¯s just the drinks left if you want to grab ¡®em.¡±


    ¡°Gotcha.¡± I said, and quickly hopped back to the kitchen to gather the pitchers. We had made some tea earlier in the day and chilled it, as well as prepped a pitcher of ice-cold water and a pitcher of apple juice. As I hefted the last load I called, ¡°Do we have enough cups in there?¡±


    ¡°We need two more. Someone didn¡¯t finish setting the table.¡± Avuri called back. I heard the apologetic ¡®Sorry, Momri¡¯ from Cierra, and could picture the exact face Avuri was probably making at her. Avuri was quickly becoming a wonderful mother, complete with all the mannerisms.


    I reached out with my Qi to lift two cups from the rack in the corner as my hands were full. They floated neatly behind me as I walked back to the table and placed everything in the few remaining empty spaces I could find.


    As we all moved to take out seats, I smiled at the awed and hungry faces Talya and Vale were making. Talya had been correct, after all; we had gone all out. There were several platters of various dumplings, a whole grilled fish for each of us, a giant bowl of rice, a plate full of noodles, and more side dishes besides. Our kitchen table, which was typically more than large enough to accommodate the six of us, was suddenly feeling a little too small.


    Once everyone was in their seats, we all met eyes and I grinned. ¡°Alright everybody, dig in!¡±


    And chaos erupted. There were only six of us at the table, sure, but the sudden explosion of movement plus the requests to pass this or that took over the room entirely. Squeals of joy erupted around the table as we all grabbed and tasted our favorite dishes, then passed it along to the next person in line.


    ¡°You girls have outdone yourselves this time, truly!¡± Vale said, booming over the chatter and dull noises of everyone enjoying the food. ¡°Not only is there so much to eat, but it¡¯s all so delicious.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Dad.¡± I said, hiding a smile and my full mouth behind a hand. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to thank Cierra and Stena too - they did a lot of work on this.¡±


    He looked at each of them in turn. ¡°You girls did wonderfully.¡± He said seriously, then broke out into a big grin. ¡°Now, which dumplings did each of you make?¡±


    Cierra and Stena were more than happy to point at the dumplings they had contributed to, or even folded themselves. With how much Cierra had been helping out in the kitchen since she arrived, it was no surprise that her dumplings looked just as good as the adults¡¯. Even Stena¡¯s looked good, although it was clear which ones she had fumbled her way through folding.


    The conversation over dinner had mostly been noises and grunts as we were all focused on the food. Every single one of us had chosen to skip lunch in favor of the big dinner, and it showed. We were all very hungry and once we started eating, we were all honed in on the food.


    By the time we were all leaning back in our chairs completely stuffed, it was after dark. Cierra and Stena were happily playing around in the nearby main room, but the rest of us remained half-immobile at the table.


    I groaned when I finally tried to sit up, and Avuri laughed at me. I shot a quick glare her way. ¡°Hey. I¡¯d like to see you sit up without making any sound. You¡¯re just as stuffed as I am.¡±


    ¡°Still bet I could.¡± She responded, as I fought to get to my feet.


    ¡°Well come on, then. We should clear off the table before we do anything else.¡± I said, as I slowly moved my way around to gather up empty dishes. ¡°If you can get up without groaning I¡¯ll put away all the leftovers myself.¡±


    Avuri narrowed her eyes at me. ¡°Deal.¡± She said, taking on the challenge. As I watched, she steadied herself and her breathing. In the same instant that she moved to lean forward to sit up straight, she let out an immediate grunt of effort.


    As Avuri froze, there was a moment of silence before we all broke out laughing.


    ¡°Nice try, Ri. Now get up and help me clean up.¡± I said through my laughter and shook my head at her silliness. ¡°Couldn¡¯t even move without making a sound, hm?¡±


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Avuri hung her head in mock shame as she slowly made her way to her feet. ¡°I guess not. Damn, are we just getting old?¡± She asked wryly.


    ¡°I think you¡¯re just over stuffed.¡± Vale said. ¡°If you¡¯re making sounds like that because you¡¯re old, we¡¯re all in trouble. You two are still newly minted Sky Realm Cultivators, and you''re still in your primes. If your mid-twenties are ¡°old¡± now, I¡¯d be absolutely ancient.¡±


    ¡°You are ancient.¡± I laughed. ¡°Old man.¡± I bumped his chair with my hip for emphasis as I took his empty plate.


    ¡°Oh, just you wait. Both of you.¡± Vale said in return, ¡°Cierra and Stena are going to run the two of you ragged and I¡¯m going to laugh.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we can just get you to babysit while we go into the City for a spa day!¡± I retorted as I carried the empty dishes to the kitchen for washing.


    ¡°How bold of you to assume that I¡¯d watch the kids like that for you!¡± He called after me. It was apparently loud enough that Cierra heard him, because she popped her head around the corner to give Vale puppy-dog eyes.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to watch us anymore, Uncle Vale?¡± She asked sadly. I couldn¡¯t see her, but it sounded like she even managed some small tears.


    The clattering of what I imagined was Vale¡¯s chair followed by a slew of reassurances was my background music while I washed the dishes.


    <hr>


    It was still a few hours from midnight when we collectively made our way outside. It was plenty dark though, and Stena was beginning to fall asleep. Despite her excitement, Cierra was also starting to flag a bit, but she was clearly fighting hard against it.


    I was holding Stena¡¯s hand to guide her as we walked outside. She was rubbing her eyes with her other hand sleepily.


    ¡°Why are we going outside?¡±


    I smiled down at her. ¡°Did your sister not tell you about the fireworks?¡±


    ¡°Fireworks?¡± She asked, looking up at me confused and blinking the sleep from her eyes. ¡°What¡¯re those?¡±


    ¡°Hm. You know, they¡¯re kinda hard to explain.¡± I said. ¡°But they¡¯re fun. I think you¡¯ll like them.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Stena said and just focused on continuing to walk toward the playground with me. I couldn¡¯t blame her for her lack of excitement between her half-asleep state and not knowing what was coming.


    Cierra on the other hand was dancing around Avuri, sleepiness momentarily forgotten now that we were actually outside. It also probably helped that Avuri was carrying a decently sized box of fireworks and firecrackers.


    Vale and Talya trailed behind the two of them, watching the rest of us. When we finally made it to the playground, they both took a seat on a bench nearby while Avuri, the kids, and I walked a bit further out to the dirt portion of the ground.


    Avuri looked at me with a grin, her back turned toward Vale and Talya. ¡°Should we light and toss a firecracker at them?¡± She asked, nodding back toward their bench.


    I chuckled, and dug around the box for one, offering it to her. I went back to digging in the box for any sort of fire starter. ¡°Did you bring the -¡±


    I heard the distinct sound of a flint lighter being struck, and lifted my head to see Avuri already lighting the cracker. She must have had the lighter in her storage ring or something. But that thought was quickly pushed away as she grinned over the lit fuse and the younger girls looked enamored with the cracker. Even Stena looked interested, but still sleepy.


    Then, as the cracker¡¯s fuse burned down, Avuri¡¯s grin grew. With just a few seconds left on the fuse, she tossed it back over her shoulder. She apparently had impeccable aim, as it landed squarely between Talya and Vale¡¯s feet, a little ways away from the bench. Then it proceeded to violently pop, as expected.


    Talya and Vale both leaned away from the firecracker as Cierra cheered excitedly. Stena¡¯s eyes went wide and she quickly clapped her hands over her ears. She did not look happy, but thankfully wasn¡¯t on the verge of tears or anything like that.


    I crouched down beside her, and gave her a little snuggle as the firecrackers petered out. ¡°It¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t like the loud ones like that.¡± I said gently, and kissed her forehead. As she dropped her hands away from her ears, I picked out two sparklers. When I went to hand one off to Stena, she leaned away and didn¡¯t want to take it.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll just show you, then.¡± I said, but she still looked worried. I grabbed the striker from the box while Cierra and Avuri dug around for a bigger firework and turned back to Stena.


    ¡°Watch.¡± I said, then turned away from her and lit the sparkler. After a moment of burning, the sparks began to fly from the tip of the firework, the colors morphing between yellow, red, and orange in a vibrant display.


    It took just seconds before Stena was back on board. Her eyes went as wide as saucers as she stared at the colors. I gave her a quick smile before I drew her name out in the air with a flourish. She giggled and smiled a big, happy smile. And this time, as I continued to hold my sparkler shooting away from us, she happily took the second one when I offered.


    She held on tightly to it as mine ran down, and I kept drawing random shapes with it in the air. Stena cheered, and jumped up and down when mine finally died as she held up her excitedly.


    I passed the striker back to Avuri though, allowing her to light one of the big ones that she had picked out with Cierra. I sat in the dirt and pulled Stena onto my lap.


    ¡°But my turn¡­?¡± She asked sadly, her grip on her sparkler still firm.


    ¡°You¡¯re next. But watch this one.¡± I said as I held her close and pointed at the large firework that Avuri and Cierra were carrying a little ways out to the center of the playground. ¡°It¡¯s going to launch into the sky, so watch for it, okay?¡±


    Stena nodded, as the other two lined up the firework with the large break in the trees. Once it was lit, Cierra and Avuri both dashed back towards us. With huge smiles, they both dramatically dove to the ground beside us, turning to watch what they had lit.


    With a dull boom, a small light went flying up into the sky. All of our heads tilted back to watch it go. Then when it exploded into a giant sphere of different colors, everyone ¡®ooh¡¯ed appropriately. Even Stena.


    I half tickled her in my lap. ¡°You liked that one, huh?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°More?¡±


    ¡°There will be! But let¡¯s light your sparkler, yeah?¡± I said, and Avuri tossed the striker over to me. With my hands occupied around Stena, I reached out with my Qi and caught the metal midair, where it stilled, floating.


    ¡°Me too! Me too!¡± Cierra shouted, and jumped toward the box, digging around for a sparkler.


    A bit later, the two girls were dancing around the playground, a sparkler in each hand, while Avuri and I sat cuddled up next to the box of fireworks. Our fingers were intertwined as we watched our girls play.


    ¡°Love you.¡± I whispered, happily. ¡°Happy new year.¡±


    ¡°I love you too.¡± Avuri responded, then leaned over for a sweet kiss. ¡°And happy new year to you, too.¡±

 75 : Lessons

    Enrik stepped into Kord as he threw a punch forward. It was a straightforward punch with great form. His legs were planted and we twisted his hips appropriately. It was a good, well practiced punch.


    Unfortunately, sticking too closely to the practiced motions like that in a fight is liable to go poorly.


    Kord slipped to the side, and brushed the punch away with an arm. His leading foot hooked behind Enrik¡¯s ankle and pulled him forward - just a bit. But it was enough to throw Enrik off balance. And Kord stepped into a shove with his other hand, pushing at Enrik¡¯s shoulder. Enrik¡¯s body twisted and fought for balance, but couldn¡¯t find it before Kord smashed a punch into his gut. Enrik twisted further and crumpled to the ground.


    Emery, who had been watching off to the side, nodded. ¡°Well done Kord. Your body sense is as strong as ever, I see.¡±


    Then she looked to Enrik, who was trying to catch his breath after the gut shot. ¡°Enrik, you need to be more flexible. You rely too much on your body to recreate movements you¡¯ve drilled. It becomes too predictable. Only rely on reflexes like that when you don¡¯t have time to act consciously. You need to plan your attacks better.¡±


    Enrik coughed and wheezed, trying to get air to respond. ¡°Got it.¡± He choked out.


    Emery walked forward and crouched by him, her hand landing on his back. ¡°Are you alright? Kord didn¡¯t hit you too hard, did he?¡±


    Kord, for his part, looked a little sheepish as he scratched the back of his head. ¡°Sorry Enrik. I probably didn¡¯t need to actually hit you like that.¡±


    Enrik shook his head. ¡°No, you¡¯re fine. It was just a clean shot to my solar plexus. Absolutely destroyed my breath.¡± He was still struggling with his uncooperative lungs. ¡°I¡¯ll be alright. Not like real fights will pull punches.¡±


    Emery nodded, but kept her hand soothing his back. ¡°They won¡¯t.¡± She looked up and around at the other kids that were in the training room with them; it was most of the Earth Realm children, except for Cierra. ¡°This is something you should all keep in mind, though I imagine we¡¯ve already drilled it into you all at one point or another.¡±


    ¡°While we don¡¯t want you hurting each other too badly in practice, don¡¯t pull punches. Learning what it feels like to really get hit is valuable. If this were a real fight, there¡¯d be no time to catch your breath. And it¡¯s better to learn what this feels like now, rather than when your life depends on you dealing with it fast.¡±


    Several of the kids nodded, looking mildly concerned as they watched Enrik slowly get his breathing under control.


    Emery looked between them and him. They had been sparring around for a few hours, the only breaks being while they watched other pairs fight.


    ¡°I think you¡¯ve all been going long enough. Let¡¯s take a break from the fighting for a bit, go over something else.¡± Emery said, and pat Enrik¡¯s back a few times before she stood.


    ¡°There¡¯s not a lot we can do to really prepare you all for fighting beyond your level.¡± She said, sadly. ¡°Obviously, we¡¯re hoping to stop whatever might be coming this way well before it reaches any of us here. But like we said before, we need you all prepared just in case.¡±


    ¡°We know, Mom.¡± Stena said lightly. ¡°You¡¯ve given us this spiel several times already. Get to the point.¡±


    Stena¡¯s light tone sent ripples of giggles and chuckling through the assembled teens. That was good.


    ¡°Right, right.¡± Emery said. ¡°I want to go over some of what you¡¯ll see if you all get into a fight with a Sky Realm Cultivator.¡± She met each pair of eyes in turn, seriously. ¡°Your first priority is to escape somehow. You all know that you won¡¯t be able to just outrun someone like that, but if you see a chance to get away without being hunted, that is the best option.¡±


    She took a breath. ¡°If you can¡¯t do that, fight to incapacitate or escape. Without Domains, you¡¯re fighting at an immeasurable disadvantage. Even if all of you were to team up to fight one single Sky Realm, you likely don¡¯t stand a chance.¡± Then she held up one finger. ¡°You have one shot at making it out alive. Trickery. Or, perhaps, manipulation.¡± She amended.


    ¡°First, it¡¯s very likely that a Sky Realm Cultivator, faced with a bunch of Earth Realms, would be uninterested and over-confident.¡± She saw a few smiles spread among her kids, and immediately moved to correct that. ¡°Mind you, when I say over-confident, I don¡¯t mean that they underestimate your combat ability. I mean that they will have no regard for your efforts. And rightfully so.¡± She stressed; that did wipe some of the smiles away.


    ¡°I can nearly guarantee you that even if all eight of you teamed up with perfect coordination, you would lose against a single Sky Realm Cultivator. If you¡¯re fighting to win the fight.¡± Emery continued. ¡°Shifting your goal is how you survive. Don¡¯t fight to hurt them. Fight to prove you aren¡¯t worth the effort.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s exceedingly unlikely that any Sky Realm that makes it to you is interested in killing you all, thankfully. Their goal is more likely to be taking our basin for themselves. If they aren¡¯t hunting you down actively, leave.¡± She stressed. ¡°We can find a new home if things go poorly. You are not replaceable. Take your younger brothers and sisters, and get hell out of here.¡±


    As she watched the faces around her finally start to take this seriously, she nodded. ¡°Good. If you¡¯re all here and the basin gets infiltrated by Cultivators that you are confident you can take on, you may use your judgment. But if a Sky Realm shows up, you all leave. No questions. I can¡¯t imagine why they would attack you all unless you appear to be defending the basin from intruders, so stop putting up a fight and run should any show up.¡±


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Everyone in the room looked like they were taking her seriously, which for now was enough. It didn''t matter how often she had to repeat herself, she needed to be sure they all understood how imperative it was that they understand not to fight a Sky Realm Cultivator unless they truly had no other choice. There was one last thing she could do to force that home.


    ¡°If you¡¯ve all got it through your thick skulls that you should do everything within your power to avoid fighting above your Realm right now, then we can move on.¡± Eyes started to come alive with excitement then. Emery supposed there was no helping the excitement of learning about new things.


    ¡°We¡¯ve never really had good cause to go over how the Sky Realm works because you¡¯ve never really needed to know. But we may as well talk about it now.¡± Emery began, but a hand shot up. ¡°Yes, Fia?¡±


    ¡°But we did go over Domains a while ago?¡± She asked, confused.


    ¡°Yes, we did. But Domains aren¡¯t the only thing that changes when you reach the Sky Realm, just the most obvious. And even then, we didn¡¯t cover it in too much detail, which we might still do. But for now, I want to go over Qi.¡±


    ¡°Qi?¡± Briar asked. ¡°Is Sky Realm Qi different somehow?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Emery said, plainly. ¡°It differs in a few ways. The first is the easiest to explain; when you reach the Sky Realm, your Qi will pervade your body and strengthen it. All of you, come here.¡± She said, motioning the whole class forward. As they approached, Emery stuck her arm out straight ahead of her. She was met by several confused looks.


    ¡°All seven of you can work together to try to move my arm. However you like.¡± She smiled maliciously. ¡°I won¡¯t use any Qi to actively strengthen my body, just my Sky Realm physique.¡±


    The next few minutes were incredibly entertaining for Emery, as she watched her kids try to move her arm entirely in vain. They tried as a group in several ways, even tying a rope to her wrist and playing tug of war with her. She barely moved at all to her children''s chagrin.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve made my point.¡± She said finally, still holding fast against the whole group pulling on the rope. With a small effort, Emery wrenched her arm back toward her and pulled everyone off their feet and laughed as they tumbled over one another. Then she continued as they untangled their limbs and sat on the floor.


    ¡°The second change is the Domain itself. We won¡¯t go into that now as we¡¯ve already touched on them before. The third is Altered Qi. Which you may have all heard of before, just without the term.¡± A few tilted heads prompted her to continue. ¡°You currently all use some form of Natural Qi. You predominantly focus on one or two of the natural Qi elements, draw it in, and use it to fuel your Cultivation and techniques.¡±


    ¡°As you all know, Natural Qi comes in five general flavors; fire, water, earth, metal, and wood. Of course, those five general types can be further altered into more specific types. Things like ice, poison, or lightning.¡± Nods of understanding followed her explanation. ¡°It is one of the reasons that many Earth Realm Cultivators study similar techniques, and there¡¯s nothing too advanced or complicated usually taught in those stages.¡±


    ¡°Once you reach the Sky Realm, your body begins to naturally alter any Qi that you circulate through your body toward something more suited to your techniques. It becomes a type of Qi that is distinctly yours. Thus the term Altered Qi as a catch all.¡± Emery said, then raised a hand before her, palm up. She cycled her Qi and called up a small knife to hover over her palm.


    ¡°I imagine you all believe that I use metal Qi, and Avuri uses predominantly ice Qi, yes?¡±


    ¡°Do you¡­not?¡± Karn asked, looking confused.


    Emery chuckled. ¡°I do not. Not typically, anyway.¡± She set the knife to fly around her in a figure eight pattern. ¡°Because of how individualized Altered Qi is, there¡¯s not really a standard for names. Even people that use very similar techniques might have slight differences in their Qi, it¡¯s difficult to use someone¡¯s Altered Qi type as any sort of identifier. That¡¯s why people would still think of me as a metal user, and Ri as an ice user.¡±


    ¡°However, it¡¯s also common practice for Cultivators to give their Altered Qi an appropriate name. It doesn¡¯t usually get used or mean very much, but it is still common.¡± Emery smiled. ¡°For instance, I call mine ¡®blade Qi¡¯. Avuri uses ¡®blizzard Qi¡¯. They communicate what we¡¯re each focused on, somewhat, but it¡¯s not all that useful as a name when it doesn¡¯t mean anything without context.¡±


    ¡°But, having said that.¡± She met eyes with Kord, who was a metal Cultivator. ¡°Kord, come up here, please.¡±


    The boy hesitated for just a moment, then stood and walked up. Emery addressed the whole group. ¡°Kord is a predominantly metal specialist like me. Unfortunately, this is the best demonstration I can give.¡±


    Emery called the knife to hover back over her hand, and it dissolved into a mass of mercurial-looking metal. Then she focused for a moment to pull natural metal Qi from the air and coalesced it into her other hand mimicking the same mercurial state. She offered both Kord.


    ¡°Try to explain how different they are.¡± She prodded.


    As instructed, Kord took control of both masses of Qi. The natural metal Qi felt the same as always to him. While Kord had focused his techniques on using metal Qi to strengthen his body, creating metal weapons was a technique that Emery had taught him ages ago, and he quickly ran his own Qi through the mass of metal, restructuring it into various shapes.


    ¡°As usual, the metal Qi moves and shapes easily, as I¡¯d expect.¡± He said aloud, then turned his attention to Emery¡¯s Qi. When he reached out with his own Qi to take control, it went as expected. But when he tried to shape it, things suddenly felt different.


    ¡°The ¡®blade QI¡¯ feels¡­weird.¡± He said, as he moved it between shapes. ¡°The metal feels like it wants to be fashioned into anything with a sharp edge. It¡¯s like it fights rounded shapes?¡± He said, continuing to mold it in his hands. As he altered it between a cylinder and a knife, something else clicked. ¡°Not only that, but it seems to be faster to morph into a bladed shape. And it¡¯s easier to sharpen?¡± He said tentatively.


    Emery nodded. ¡°On a basic level, yes. Altered Qi will have specific properties that help the person that produces it function better. For me, my Qi is adept at creating many weapons very quickly and making them very sharp. It¡¯s also easier to direct in the air and manipulate while shaped. Among other things.¡± She shrugged.


    ¡°But!¡± She called a bit louder. ¡°Now we get to the practical portion of this little demonstration.¡± Then an evil little smile appeared on her face.


    ¡°All seven of you. Attack me.¡±

 76 : Demonstration

    ¡°Well? Come on y¡¯all, don¡¯t just stand there.¡± Emery said, trying to nudge her kids into action. Apparently saying ¡®attack me¡¯ wasn¡¯t enough to get everyone to do so. That was a little touching, she supposed, but she wasn¡¯t convinced something like love was why they didn¡¯t immediately attack her. She was pretty sure they were mildly afraid.


    As she watched everyone slowly inch their way around the room to surround her, she kept the smile in place. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s a good start. I hope you don¡¯t think you¡¯re being sneaky about surrounding me?¡±


    Fia laughed. ¡°No, we¡¯re very clearly making a circle around you.¡± She said flatly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me,¡± Karn said, ¡°surrounding an enemy like this is a bad idea?¡± He said, the sarcasm dripping from his tone.


    Emery chuckled as she began to move her Qi through her meridians to prepare for the fight. She made no attempt to hide that she was starting up, and several of the teens followed suit. ¡°Surrounding a single enemy is never a bad idea. Just know that you¡¯re never going to surprise someone like this, or manage to do so stealthily. It¡¯s always obvious. And expected.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense.¡± Kord said. ¡°It¡¯s hard to surprise someone with such a common, expected strategy.¡±


    ¡°Anyone worth their salt will be expecting a large group to surround them.¡± Emery confirmed again. ¡°They also probably wouldn¡¯t wait for the group to make the first move like I am.¡± She said, trying to sound impatient.


    Her kids didn¡¯t take the bait, and continued to prepare themselves, even once most of them were in position.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t rise to the bait, that¡¯s smart. Don¡¯t let your enemy dictate the rhythm of the battle if you don¡¯t have to.¡±


    ¡°We know that, Mom.¡± Briar said, as they gathered their Qi. ¡°Just because you¡¯re teaching us how to fight new opponents doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯ve suddenly forgotten everything else you taught us.¡±


    Emery chuckled at that. ¡°Fair enough.¡± She said, and looked around the completed circle of seven teenagers around her. ¡°So. Whenever you¡¯re ready?¡±


    There was a short pause of silence before everyone exploded into action. Emery immediately released her Domain, and created concentrated blades of air at forehead height directly in front of each of her kids. She used her control over sharpness to make them about as dull as she could. It was basically the equivalent of placing a metal pipe directly in front of each child.


    The fight lasted all of half a second. There was a chorus of dull thuds as, without fail, every single one of her kids ran full force into the ¡®blade¡¯ in front of them. They were all on their butts, holding their heads and confused.


    It took a moment before Emery heard the ¡°What?¡± come from Elise.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Fia said, looking around for whatever had hit her, to no avail.


    ¡°I made a point.¡± Emery said. ¡°If I had wanted, you would all be dead instead of nursing a headache.¡±


    It seemed that something was finally dawning on a few of the faces around the room. It wasn¡¯t everyone, but Kord, Fia, Elise, and Enrik all went pale and introspective. Briar and Karn looked more annoyed than anything else.


    Stena just nodded. ¡°That¡¯s about what I expected.¡± She said, and everyone turned to her. She looked around the room, almost confused. ¡°You can¡¯t all tell me you actually thought we had a chance?¡±


    Elise was the first to chime in. ¡°Well, no, of course not.¡± She said petulantly. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect us to be dismantled so fast though. That was pathetic, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It was.¡± Karn said, crossing their arms.


    Emery folded her arms in the middle of the room as she looked around at her kids. ¡°It wasn¡¯t pathetic, or embarrassing, or anything of the sort.¡± She said, truthfully. ¡°That is just the difference between Realms.¡± She stressed, really trying to drive that point home. ¡°I need you all to understand that. The gap between the Earth and Sky Realms is not something you can overcome with willpower, stubbornness, or anything of the sort. There is a massive chasm between them.¡±


    There was another silence as the difference in strength really sunk in.


    Emery chuckled. ¡°If Momri was the one teaching you this lesson, you would¡¯ve all been frozen solid before you took that first step. Just so you¡¯re aware.¡±


    Karn eventually was the first one to meet Emery¡¯s eyes. ¡°So? What did you do?¡±


    ¡°I made blades of air in front of each of you. They were just so dull that they were practically clubs made of air.¡± Emery explained.


    The silence in the room continued for a while as everyone tried to process everything. Emery waited patiently; she remembered when Vale had shown her the difference in power scales the same way over twenty years ago. She sat down in a meditative pose to relax for a bit while everyone was quiet.


    The silence didn¡¯t last for too long, but it ended with the kids muttering to themselves or conferring with one another. It took several more minutes before Stena stepped up as a sort of elected leader for the group.


    ¡°Alright Mom. I think you¡¯ve made your point clear. But what now?¡± She asked.


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Emery opened her eyes and got to her feet. ¡°Now we have a sparring match where I don¡¯t choose to just end things immediately.¡± She said brightly. ¡°Like I said earlier; it¡¯s unlikely a Sky Realm Cultivator would go for the kill like that against children without cause. So don¡¯t piss them off.¡±


    Awkward chuckling moved through the group. ¡°This time the goal is for you all to work on your coordination to delay me while escaping. I¡¯ll fight the way I would expect a random Sky Realm intruder to, while you all try to leave the room unharmed. Or at least in one piece.¡±


    As she added the last bit, she called up a blade in one hand. It wasn¡¯t quite a full length sword, but was still dangerous enough to make her point. Then she actively dulled the edge.


    The kids still had her roughly surrounded, and a few of them were between her and the door. This was about as optimal for them as they would get.


    When Emery began to cycle her Qi, her kids immediately jumped into action. They all were ready for a fight by the time Emery lazily made her first move.


    She randomly chose a direction and stepped in front of Karn. It brought her further away from the door that was their supposed goal, but that was fine. She wasn¡¯t really trying to stop them from ¡®escaping¡¯.


    Karn, for their part, lashed out wildly with their fists. Emery easily moved around the strikes, and smacked Karn on their flank with her dull sword. The blow was enough to nearly topple Karn, but they recovered admirably instead using the force from the hit to turn and make a dash away from Emery.


    As she turned to give chase, Emery found Kord and Stena in her face instead. Kord¡¯s body was already covered in the slight metallic sheen of his defensive technique, and his hands were covered in large gauntlets that looked designed for bludgeoning. The gauntlets were also made of metal Qi, using a similar technique to Emery¡¯s summoned weapons.


    Stena was holding a bo staff similarly crafted of Qi, though made of wood Qi. Both ends of the staff were adorned with beautifully colorful flowers, though Emery knew better than to get near them needlessly. Stena¡¯s eyes had a slightly pinkish glow to them as well, which meant she was channeling her own defensive technique as well.


    That was good. They were prioritizing survival rather than offense, as Emery needed them to.


    Kord swung one of his hands at Emery¡¯s face forcing her to lean back a bit. The bludgeon passed within millimeters of her nose. However, she needed to avoid that strike so she could use her weapon to block Stena¡¯s follow-up, which traveled right behind it. The staff¡¯s end was stopped almost half a meter away from Emery; she didn¡¯t want to chance whatever effect the flowers may have.


    Stena let out a muttered curse as she moved to swing the other end of the staff toward her mother. Kord dipped out of the way to allow the staff to come up and around unimpeded.


    Feeling a little bit vindictive, Emery slipped her foot around Kord¡¯s ankle and pulled to trip him up. He stumbled on his escape, but still managed to get away as Stena¡¯s staff covered his retreat. Emery brought up her sword to block again, still angling to keep the flowers at a distance.


    Then Stena flexed her Qi, calling up a mass of flowers from the wooden floor of the training room. As she spun to make her dash toward the door, she swept her foot through the flowers, kicking up a spray of pollen or spores. Emery wasn¡¯t sure what it was, but immediately closed her eyes and mouth just to be safe. She backed up a step and slipped around the patch of flowers and growing cloud of pollen, using her speed to approach Stena¡¯s back.


    As she stepped within striking distance, Emery swung her blade up toward Stena¡¯s unprotected back. There was a solid thud as the blade crashed into a hastily created stone shield that Enrik had created. It wasn¡¯t solid enough to stop the blow from following through though.


    Emery¡¯s follow through on the swing forced the stone shield to crash against Stena¡¯s back, sending the girl sprawling forward. Emery moved to take a step forward, but wasn¡¯t moving at speed. There was enough time in between for Enrik to call up a large stone from the ground to allow Stena to create some distance. In fact, the stone was big enough and wide enough to solidly block Emery¡¯s vision long enough for the teens to all make their escape from the room; Emery could feel them leave through her Domain.


    But that wasn¡¯t what took her attention. As the stone wall sprouted from the ground - as anyone would expect it to - it had cracked through the training room¡¯s floor rather spectacularly. The loud splintering of wood completely drowned out everything else for a moment, and had been what ultimately stopped Emery from pursuing her kids.


    She lifted a hand to her forehead to rub the spot between her eyebrows. ¡°Oh, Enrik¡­¡±


    ¡°What was that?¡± Avuri shouted from somewhere else in the house above the first floor. ¡°Is everyone okay?¡± She called again when there was no immediate response, sounding worried.


    ¡°We¡¯re fine!¡± Emery called back, as she peered around the stone partition at Enrik, pinning him with her stare. ¡°Our son just summoned some stone through the floor.¡±


    ¡°How bad?¡± Avuri called back. There was a moment as Emery looked around the edges of the stone slab and did quick measurements in her head.


    ¡°Bad. Most of the flooring will need to be replaced.¡± She finally responded. Enrik had managed to destroy almost the middle of the room, which ruined most of the larger planks of flooring. A lot of it would need to be replaced.


    ¡°Enrik?¡± Emery said, keeping her voice even, ¡°would you like to at least come here and put the stone back?¡±


    The boy slunk back into the room cautiously, looking cowed. ¡°Sorry, Mom¡­¡± he intoned. The other kids were all huddled around the door, failing spectacularly at hiding.


    ¡°So, why did you call the stone from the ground like that and destroy the floor?¡± Emery asked, already suspecting the answer.


    ¡°Because I panicked, and moving stone from the ground in a large chunk like that is faster than creating it from Qi¡­¡± He said sheepishly, as he cycled his Qi and pushed the stone back into the earth.


    Emery stepped up to Enrik and raised a hand. He flinched when she placed it on his head gently. ¡°You did well.¡± She said, finally. ¡°I¡¯m not happy that we¡¯ll have to replace the floor, mind you.¡± She said, thoroughly messing up his hair. ¡°But you did what was the right call. The fractions of a second that you could save by skipping the time it takes to coalesce Qi like that could easily be the difference in life or death in a real fight.¡±


    ¡°R-right¡­¡± He said tentatively, still expecting some kind of punishment for breaking the floor. Probably no treats or city visits for a few weeks.


    Instead, Emery turned toward the door where everyone else was hiding. ¡°You can all come out now.¡± She said with a bit of laughter in her voice. ¡°You¡¯re not in trouble.¡±


    As they all filtered into the room slowly, Emery smiled. ¡°Altogether, you managed to escape. That was well done. However¡­¡± She looked at Enrik, then Stena. ¡°You two can clean up the floor and repair it when you have time over the next few days.¡±


    When they both slumped in defeat, she chuckled. ¡°Hey, at least you both practice with wood and earth Qi. Could be worse!¡± She teased, then made her way toward the group and the door.


    ¡°Oh! And don¡¯t forget to watch for splinters. Nasty stuff.¡±

 77 : Tasting Menu

    I snagged Emery¡¯s hand and pulled her along through the Flowing Dragon City streets. It hadn¡¯t been all that long since we had visited last, but with the wedding plans moving forward - however slowly - there was always something to do, someone to see, or something to buy.


    In this case, we had several of each of those options. But for now, we really only had one real goal. We needed to drop by the Celestial Dragon Pavilion and run through the tasting menu that Lyn was so graciously putting together for us.


    I had talked with her several times in the last two months since our first official meeting. The woman was an absolute force to be reckoned with. She had been nothing but polite, friendly, and welcoming to me, but I could tell that she was evaluating me every time we spoke. Her husband Cyrus was much the same, always friendly and open but seeing everything with inquisitive eyes.


    If nothing else, I was sure that Lyn was regularly watching me for any suspicious moves or ulterior motives. I truly had none, so I didn¡¯t make any effort to hide anything. When I had off-handedly mentioned my family to her during our first talk, she was shocked by the connection. I was shocked that the Elders were unaware; I had simply assumed they had done a thorough background check on me. Afterall, they knew I was from the Frozen Mountain Sect. How they managed to get that information, but not my family information was beyond me.


    But when Lyn showed interest, I told her the truth and hid nothing. I had given her the exact same information that I had given Emery just days ago. My parents are Dain and Solana Mephra, the two current heads of the Mephra family. I left the family, with my parents reluctant blessing, to join the Frozen Mountain Sect because I had no desire to take over the family business as a merchant. I even told Lyn my original name.


    I used the name Axies, which held no significance to anyone that I was aware of, and went in the same as any other not-rich hopeful. Once I was accepted into the Sect, I told two of the Elders that I regularly interfaced with that I was part of the Mephra family, and that the secret should be kept.


    I was fourteen at the time. Thinking back on it now, I believe telling them was probably a bad idea. I lucked out because even the Elders of the Sect were probably afraid of what my family could do if they did something out of line. And so the secret was kept.


    When I eventually left the Sect to chase down Emery, I was, for all intents and purposes, an estranged daughter of the Mephra family. I had made no real effort to stay in contact with them over my years in the Sect. So much so that I didn¡¯t even contact them to tell them I was leaving. The message that I had sent them after Emery and I talked in the playground was the first time they had heard from me in probably six years.


    I even went as far as warning both Lyn and Emery that my family was full of a bunch of greedy assholes last I had heard, and they should not be taken lightly. I had no idea how they would react to the City, our little basin, or anything else about my life now. But if the Elders were too nice to them, they would almost certainly find themselves with new political hangers-on.


    Thankfully, in the two months since, I had apparently at least proven my earnestness to the Elders. They seemed to accept that I was truthful with them about leaving the Frozen Mountain and wanting to stay here honestly.


    I think offering a bit of dirt on my family to secure a discount on our wedding catering helped Lyn warm up to me.


    It didn¡¯t stop Lyn from doing her best to read me at every turn, though. Which was fine. I was comfortable with who I was, and didn¡¯t particularly feel threatened by her trying to see into my soul.


    Our last chat had been a very pleasant one. Lyn had even helped me put a list together of easy to forget things for the wedding that needed doing. And apparently, according to her, tasting the food that would be served on the day was a listed item.


    But let¡¯s be honest, if she was offering to feed Emery and I a meal of her own making there was no way we¡¯d miss it.


    Which led us to this shopping trip into the city with a list of things to do, and our first stop was the Celestial Dragon Pavilion for a late lunch and early dinner tasting menu.


    ¡°Girls.¡± Lyn greeted us just inside the door. ¡°It¡¯s wonderful to see you both. And you look so happy!¡± She said, and gave us each a polite bow.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to see you again, Lyn. I hear that you and Avuri have been getting along very well.¡± Emery said in greeting.


    ¡°We have!¡± She responded. ¡°Let me tell the both of you, I am so excited to be catering your wedding.¡± Her grin was spread ear to ear. ¡°Unfortunately, with the prices what they are here, it¡¯s so rare that we get catering requests. And because most people can¡¯t afford it, the people who can seem to believe that we simply don¡¯t offer it.¡±


    She sighed. ¡°I¡¯m hoping that catering for you will get the word out that we do, in fact, offer catering. I miss cooking for parties.¡± She trailed off, sounding sad, but then perked right up to continue. ¡°In any case, come in, come in! Follow me and we¡¯ll go to a back room where you can try our catering options.¡± Her eyes glittered with mischief, which set me on edge.


    I cleared my throat as we followed her down a hallway. ¡°Lyn, with all due respect¡­I don¡¯t like the look in your eyes.¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re not about to go changing our deal, are you?¡± I said, narrowing my eyes at her back.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°Oh, no, dear.¡± She said, sounding earnest. I wasn¡¯t sure if I bought it. ¡°But I do have a number of foods that I offer in addition to the typical catering menu for a little extra. And I have every confidence in my cooking. If you walk out of here without a few of them added on, I would be shocked.¡±


    Emery laughed and put a hand on my shoulder before I could say anything. Whether I was about to object or not, I wasn¡¯t actually sure.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, Lyn.¡± Emery said warmly. ¡°I saw the numbers for the deal you cut Avuri - if you want us to buy a few add-ons, we can do that. But we¡¯ll have to see if I can¡¯t talk you into lowering that price, too.¡±


    Lyn¡¯s head shot around to look at Emery, her eyes blazing with curiosity. ¡°I imagine Avuri told you what her end of our deal was?¡±


    ¡°She did.¡±


    ¡°Then you -¡±


    ¡° - Have some dirt on Vale that I¡¯d be willing to share?¡± Emery¡¯s smile widened at the same time Lyn¡¯s did. ¡°Perhaps.¡±


    ¡°Oh, girl, I think I¡¯m gonna like you.¡± Lyn hummed as she turned back forward again. It was just a few steps after that that she stopped at a door. With one hand on the handle, she turned toward us, as if to present the door. ¡°Behold! The basic catering spread!¡± She declared, and swung the door open.


    When she stepped in to allow us by, my jaw dropped. The spread before us was anything but basic. The center of the room was dominated by a large table that was probably a meter wide and four meters long. And it was absolutely packed to the brim with dishes. So much so that if I couldn¡¯t see the emerald green table cloth draping down from the sides of the table, I wasn¡¯t sure I¡¯d be able to see what color the table was.


    ¡°Lyn, you have to be kidding me.¡± I said, staring and looking through the dishes from where I stood.


    ¡°I never joke about food, young lady.¡± She chastised. ¡°Everything on this table has been prepared freshly today, the same way it would be done on your wedding day. Everything on the table before you is included in the basic package that Avuri and I have decided upon as part of our deal.¡± Lyn grinned a devilish smile, one clearly of a merchant with new prey.


    She snapped her fingers and the door swung open. Two workers rolled in a whole second table piled high with other food; and I could tell at a glance it was expensive. While the initial spread was already impressive looking, the new table¡¯s food made it look drab in comparison. The plating and design of the dishes was on an entirely different level, looking as artistic as any statue.


    The centerpiece was particularly eye-catching; a meter tall tower stacked high with steamed dumplings and buns. They were decorated with some kind of golden flakes and the wrappings were different colors, creating a lovely red and gold spiral up the tower.


    ¡°Everything on this table is extra.¡± Lyn said, glancing at Emery. ¡°If you want anything from there, we can talk pricing and discounts.¡± She glanced over at me briefly, then back to Emery. ¡°If we need to talk somewhere private to talk terms, I can have a room prepared.¡±


    Emery merely shook her head. ¡°No. I do appreciate the discretion, but I don¡¯t mind Avuri hearing anything I have to share. I trust her.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but smile at that, even knowing Emery was just being sweet. I¡¯d already heard a fair number of blackmail worthy stories regarding Vale. I was pretty sure that I could even strike a bargain with Lyn on my own with what I knew, if it came to that.


    Lyn smiled. ¡°That¡¯s good. I hope your relationship stays as strong as it looks right now.¡± Then she made a face. ¡°I realize how that sounded. But I meant it genuinely. If the two of you continue as you are now, you can both expect a fair bit of support from the Elders. You¡¯re doing good work.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Lyn.¡± I said, then my eyes drifted back to the huge buffet laid out for us. ¡°Now, shall we get to tasting? I suspect we¡¯re going to be here for a while.¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course.¡± Lyn affirmed, her merchant¡¯s smile back in place. She walked over to the table and began her sales pitch. It was clearly rehearsed.


    ¡°As you can see, the basic package is pretty expansive, even on its own. Anytime a dish gets low throughout the night, it¡¯ll be refilled. We won¡¯t charge you more for that.¡± She motioned at various spots on the table.


    ¡°While the buffet table as a whole is very full, there are a number of dishes that repeat, so not everything on the table is unique. Obviously, common dishes like dumplings and fried rice will have multiple dishes worth available. The specific meats available will have only one or two plates of each at a time. That included chicken, pork, and beef in varying styles.¡±


    She swept an arm out behind her at the more expensive table. ¡°Of course, any and all of the dishes can be replaced with something more impressive at your behest.¡± With an innocent smile, she turned to me and asked, ¡°We can also make any replacements you like, if you have specific dishes you¡¯d like, even if it¡¯s not here. For example, Avuri, what is your favorite dish?¡±


    I had a feeling she somehow already knew my answer, so I asked, ¡°You could make Icebeak out here?¡±


    Lyn smiled and nodded. ¡°Indeed we could. For a price.¡± She added slyly.


    ¡°Icebeak?¡± Emery asked.


    ¡°Did you not have any when you were by the Frozen Mountain?¡± I asked, shocked. ¡°It¡¯s a local specialty around there! The environment around the mountain is the natural home of the Icebeak. It¡¯s a relative of the chicken, but has dark blue skin. The flavor is slightly gamier than regular chickens, and the meat carries a particular cooling sensation. It¡¯s¡­difficult to explain if you¡¯ve never had it.¡±


    ¡°I¡­see.¡± Emery said, looking regretful. ¡°I¡¯m kinda sad I missed it. I should¡¯ve paid more attention to local cuisines when I traveled, clearly.¡±


    ¡°But we could have it at the wedding?¡± I asked Lyn, excited.


    ¡°We could. We have enough time to get them shipped over, if you¡¯d like. But we should decide sooner rather than later, since we need to get in touch with our suppliers.¡± Once again, Lyn¡¯s response sounded practiced, as if she¡¯d started many negotiations with it.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s talk shop, then.¡± I said, affecting my own rich merchant¡¯s daughter persona. It didn¡¯t see the light of day very often anymore, but it was still there. All the teachings my parents had driven into me as a child were still hidden under everything else. ¡°I¡¯m sure we can come to an understanding.¡±


    As Lyn looked between Emery and I once more, an excited, predatory look slowly overtook her whole face.


    ¡°Oh, I think this is going to be a fun evening.¡±

 78 : Dresses

    I fought the urge to all but collapse on the table in front of me. Instead, I neatly laid my head down on my arms and groaned. Across the table, Avuri mirrored me, with a groan of her own. I stifled a laugh.


    ¡°Well, at least we¡¯re not both miserable alone.¡± I whined, my fingers toying with a teacup in front of my head.


    ¡°I suppose?¡± Avuri grumbled. ¡°But if you hadn¡¯t eaten too much, you could be rubbing my back and be all comforting right now.¡±


    ¡°That goes both ways, you know.¡± I said, tilting my head to try to get a glimpse of Avuri. All I saw was the top of her head. ¡°I blame you.¡±


    ¡°Why me?¡± Avuri¡¯s response was tinged with fake outrage. But apparently feeling sick dulled her bite.


    ¡°Because you just had to try everything on the tables. Both of them. And make me try them all too.¡±


    ¡°Of course! How else could we decide what to have at the wedding, Merri?¡± She sounded so incredibly affronted that I had to focus not to laugh again. ¡°But also, it was Celestial Dragon Pavilion food, and it was free.¡± She added.


    I made a rather undignified sound as I struggled not to get sick. Or maybe just burp. ¡°I can¡¯t fault you there. I regret my choices now, but it was all delicious.¡±


    There was a moment of silence, which Avuri¡¯s stomach felt the need to fill. ¡°I think we made the right call by choosing some of the upgraded dishes. That spicy beef dish was delicious, and it would¡¯ve been sad to miss it.¡±


    ¡°If you say so.¡± I said, trying to avoid thinking about any of the food that was currently filling my stomach. ¡°What or when did you say the next appointment was?¡±


    Avuri finally turned her head and propped her chin on the table to look at me. She looked a little green. ¡°Dresses. Probably in an hour or so.¡±


    ¡°Lovely.¡± I said, feeling not at all prepared for any sort of dress choosing or fitting at the moment. I eyed my ginger tea warily. ¡°The thought of drinking anymore physically makes me feel sick, but I still think the ginger should help settle things¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure the ginger will help with us over eating, sweetie.¡± Avuri said with a condescending smile. I glared at her, and she tried and failed to shrug from her position on the table. ¡°I¡¯m just saying.¡±


    ¡°Whatever.¡± I said as my head dropped back to my arms.


    ¡°Wow, feeling sick can remove even your bite.¡± Avuri teased.


    ¡°Bite me.¡± I said dryly. ¡°Let me take a quick nap. Hopefully that¡¯ll help.¡±


    ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll wake you up in a bit to go do our dress shopping then.¡± Avuri said, and reached out a hand to rub my shoulder gently. ¡°Feel better, Merri.¡±


    When I was finally getting close to sleep, I could¡¯ve sworn I heard Avuri order more food.


    <hr>


    When we finally made it to the clothing store later, I was feeling mildly better. Still a little queasy, but the sick, bloated feeling had passed, and I was ready to shop dresses. When Avuri and I arrived at ¡®Symphony of Silk¡¯, there were two women already waiting for us. As soon as they confirmed our appointment, we were both whisked away into our own rooms. Afterall, we wanted our dress picks to be a surprise for one another.


    We had only briefly discussed what our individual plans were for our dresses. Avuri had told me that she was fully planning on going all out on her fairly typical white and blue. The words ¡®Ice Princess¡¯ had been thrown around, so I had at least some idea of what she was thinking.


    I knew I could trust Avuri¡¯s taste when it came to clothing, or really just about anything fashion related. She had good taste.


    However, I was apparently far less trustworthy when it came to fashion. I wasn¡¯t hopeless by any stretch, but highly valued comfort and utility in my clothing, especially when it came to everyday use. That taste typically appeared in my flowing, somewhat loose-fitting martial artist robes and other comfortable day wear.


    When we had discussed it all at length, Avuri had assured me that the loose-fitting robes were actually quite attractive. They added to my appearance while quickly moving around in a fight - especially the sleeves, if they were baggy.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    And at the end of that discussion, Avuri had left me with two main options when it came to choosing a dress for our wedding. I could opt to lean into the flowing robes, and go for an impressive, empress-like look. The other option was a more classic, sleeker silk dress.


    I had decided earlier to myself to go with the classic Qipao look. I figured that if Avuri was choosing to go all out on her ¡®Ice Princess¡¯ look, a sleek, more form-fitting dress would contrast well.


    The question remaining was what color or pattern to go for.


    The woman helping me try things on, Sanla, was quick and efficient when it came to moving dresses in and out of the room. Far more efficient than I was at getting in and out of the dresses.


    ¡°Okay, dear, the next one is out here when you¡¯re ready.¡± She called while I carefully removed a shimmering green dress, reminiscent of the green robes that Avuri had me buy on our first date.


    ¡°Thank you, Sanla.¡± I said, stepping out of the current dress. ¡°Any thoughts so far?¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± She hummed, and it sounded like she was moving hangers and clothes around. ¡°I do think the emerald looks lovely on you. But there¡¯s something to be said for the classic red and gold. It¡¯s supposed to be lucky after all.¡±


    I could hear the smile in her voice as she spoke. ¡°I considered the crimson and gold.¡± I said, ¡°You don¡¯t think it would clash too much with what Avuri¡¯s wearing? That was my biggest concern.¡±


    ¡°It could¡­¡± She said, concern bleeding into her voice. ¡°If you¡¯d like, I can go sneak a peek at Avuri and see what her dress looks like. See how it¡¯ll look next to what your options are?¡±


    I considered that for a moment while I folded the dress. ¡°Yeah, I think that may be a good idea. Just to be sure.¡±


    As I slid out from behind the dressing partition and laid the green dress on a stool nearby, Sanla nodded and smiled. ¡°Be right back!¡± She chirped, excited, and slipped from the room.


    I perused the other options that she had gathered for me, setting aside the ones I liked. There was the one I had just tried on; a gorgeous emerald dress with gold embroidering. I mostly liked it because it reminded me of our first date, and I thought that would be a cute connection.


    The second was a striking crimson red Qipao, with gold dragons running up the sides and curling around the breast. It was a beautiful dress, but definitely visually loud. I was worried it might stand out too much or clash with what I imagine was going to be a cool blue and white combination from Avuri.


    Contrast was good, but I didn¡¯t want it to be too severe.


    Third in line was yet a third Qipao style dress. However, rather than contrast with Avuri¡¯s color scheme, it would match it. The main silk portions of the dress were a clean, crisp white while the embroidery was an icy blue in the design of flowers that looked as if they were made of ice, or even perhaps snowflakes. It was a beautiful dress, and I liked it a lot. I was just worried whether or not Avuri would approve of matching.


    A few minutes went by before Sanla returned. She had a calm smile on her face when she slipped back into the room, closing the door quietly behind her.


    ¡°Okay, so. I think you¡¯re probably safe with any of your current options.¡± Sanla said, looking over the three dresses. ¡°Avuri¡¯s current favorite is primarily a crisp white with just a little bit of cool blue detailing. The blue itself is pale enough that I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll clash with anything.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°So it doesn¡¯t help us eliminate any of the options then¡­¡± I said, looking over the three dresses. ¡°Alright. Knowing that the emerald and red ones won¡¯t clash I think is enough to remove the matching one from the running. I think Avuri would prefer me in a more dramatic color.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you want a more dramatic color¡­¡± Sanla trailed off as she pointed at the bright red dress. ¡°You can¡¯t go wrong with the classic red and gold. And like I said, it¡¯s lucky.¡± She nearly sang the last few words.


    I looked over the dress again. She was right; it was gorgeous and the color was traditionally auspicious. It couldn¡¯t hurt for us to have some good luck going into our marriage. Not that I thought we¡¯d need it for the marriage itself, but perhaps luck in external affairs wouldn¡¯t go amiss.


    Finally, I nodded. ¡°Alright then. We¡¯ll go with the crimson.¡± I nodded confidently once more, then nearly slumped. I really hoped that I hadn¡¯t picked wrong.


    <hr>


    Apparently Avuri hadn¡¯t quite picked yet when I had decided, because I ended up waiting for her for a while after I was done. I had Sanla check on her periodically to make sure she didn¡¯t make any drastic changes to her dress choice in that time; if she had, I may have had to double back myself.


    Thankfully, Sanla gave me the all clear when Avuri finally emerged. She had taken extra time because the dresses she was trying on were several layers, and took time to get into and out of. But she seemed happy with her choices, because she was grinning ear to ear when she met me in the lobby of the shop.


    ¡°Looks like we¡¯re both decided?¡± She asked, looking almost smug.


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± I said with a smile in return. ¡°Good to go.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you ma¡¯am me.¡± Avuri said, indignant. She spun around on a heel and dramatically stomped out of the store. ¡°Three years!¡± She grumbled, throwing her hands up in the air. ¡°Three years! That¡¯s it! I¡¯m not that much older!¡±


    As she left the building, several of the employees were laughing behind me as I bowed toward them and hurried after my soon to be wife.


    I caught up with her just outside the store, where she had turned to watch for me with a big smile. ¡°I¡¯m glad they got a laugh out of my exit.¡± She said, watching over my shoulder. ¡°But if you ma¡¯am me again, you¡¯ll regret it later.¡±


    ¡°Oh? And just what¡¯re you gonna do, hm?¡± I teased.


    Avuri was silent and lifted an eyebrow at me. ¡°I¡¯ll tell the girls they don¡¯t get to sleep in our room anymore, and that it¡¯s your fault.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s playing dirty.¡± I said begrudgingly. ¡°Fine. No more ma¡¯am.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    ¡°So what¡¯s next on our little agenda for the day?¡±


    Avuri silently pointed down the road.


    ¡°Flowers.¡±

 79 : Shopping Spree

    ¡°Okay, so what sort of flowers do you like, Merri?¡± Avuri asked, as she slowly sidestepped down the aisle. The florist¡¯s shop wasn¡¯t very wide, but it was quite deep, consisting of three aisles of long, plant-filled tables that stretched back into the store at least thirty meters. Avuri¡¯s eyes were scanning the plants on display, as though she was looking for something specific.


    I wasn¡¯t too well versed in flower knowledge, and certainly not when it came to the meanings behind certain flowers. ¡°I think orchids and peonies are pretty?¡± I said tentatively. ¡°I don¡¯t know a lot about flowers though.¡±


    Avuri shot me a confused look over her shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re kidding me.¡± She said, sounding genuinely shocked. ¡°You¡¯re so good at tending to the plants in the garden, I assumed you would know your flowers.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°Ah, yes. I know my way around an herb garden, and have decent knowledge of survivalist plants. But flowers¡­¡± I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve never had much reason to learn about them.¡± I perused the section before us while Avuri stared in disbelief. ¡°I do appreciate their beauty though. Even if they¡¯re not the most eye-catching thing in the room.¡± I added with a sidelong glance at Avuri.


    I saw a bit of red creep into her cheeks and I smiled. ¡°Quiet, you.¡± She said, and playfully kicked my leg. ¡°Well, okay then. You said you like orchids and peonies? We can use that.¡± Avuri mumbled as she took another step down the row.


    ¡°If you know your flowers, don¡¯t get hung up on me. I¡¯m not too picky; and if I don¡¯t like something, I¡¯ll tell you before you settle on it.¡± I said, throwing an arm around her and giving her a squeeze.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay.¡± She said, leaning into the side-hug. ¡°Orchids and peonies are both good decorative flowers. I¡¯d add in some lotus flowers because they¡¯re a favorite of mine.¡± She turned toward me with a sly smile. ¡°And all three come in a lovely shade of purple.¡± She paused for a moment, then added, ¡°Maybe we can get some lavender for the centerpieces too¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re just going all in on the purple color scheme, hm?¡± I said, thinking about the tablecloths and napkins she had picked out at Lyn¡¯s.


    Avuri gave me a look that was clearly asking if I had a head injury. ¡°Of course? Emery, if we have any sort of family color, it¡¯s purple. Between all the wisteria at home, my eyes, the color of your hair when the light hits it just right; we have a lot of purple in our family.¡±


    ¡°Huh,¡± I said, ¡°you know, I didn¡¯t think about it too much before, but you¡¯re absolutely right.¡± I stared right into Avuri¡¯s eyes, taking in their color. ¡°May as well embrace it,¡± I said finally. ¡°It¡¯s a lovely color, and the lighter shades are really calming.¡±


    I had spoken without breaking eye contact, and Avuri¡¯s cheeks gained a bit of pink in response. She smiled warmly at me though. ¡°I like it too.¡± She said happily, then suddenly stood straight up energetically. ¡°Now then! Let¡¯s find a worker and see if they have orchids, lotus flowers, peonies, and lavender!¡±


    She put a hand in the air, as if commanding a forward march. ¡°For the purple!¡± She declared, and marched off toward the front of the store. I chuckled and followed close behind, slipping an arm through hers so we could walk together.


    <hr>


    ¡°I kinda like the wooden placards; what do you think?¡± I said, looking over the various stationary in the store.


    Avuri came over to stand beside me, peering at the wooden place cards. They looked well made to me, and I liked the wooden, bamboo aesthetic. ¡°Hmm. I do like them. They¡¯re a bit more expensive than the regular ones though.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s our big day, right? It¡¯s not so expensive that it¡¯d be a problem, and they look nice. And Lyn did say that one of their dishware options was bamboo, so it¡¯ll all match.¡±


    Avuri eyed me curiously, then smiled. ¡°You really like these, don¡¯t you?¡±


    I blinked. ¡°I do. Why?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve deferred to me on pretty much everything so far. I think this is the first thing you¡¯ve really put your opinion up there before I suggested anything.¡±


    I shrugged again. ¡°I told you that I¡¯d tell you when I do or don¡¯t like something. The fact of the matter is, for me, most of the decorations are superfluous to the actual marriage to you.¡±


    Avuri¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Again with the compliments. If I didn¡¯t know any better, I¡¯d think you were buttering me up for something.¡±


    ¡°That is not my intention.¡± I said, and it wasn¡¯t. ¡°I¡¯m just enjoying my day out with you. And, in this case, just being plainly honest.¡±


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    Avuri shook her head. ¡°Well. You like the bamboo place cards?¡± I nodded. ¡°Then we¡¯ll get them. And have Lyn use the bamboo tableware.¡± She thought for a moment, then after deciding something internally for herself, nodded. ¡°We¡¯re having the wedding in a garden. We haven¡¯t made too many decoration choices yet. I think we could go for a full natural look. All wood and the like.¡±


    I just watched silently as Avuri seemed to double and triple check the decision. The far away, concentrating look vanished after a bit and she seemed sure of the choice. ¡°All natural decorations should work.¡±


    ¡°Okay. So what does that mean for us other than the bamboo tableware and the place cards?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Well, the flowers are all fine as is, obviously. We¡¯ll use woven baskets for the centerpieces. I think Vyne¡¯s garden already had all wooden furniture, so we¡¯re all set there. We can use a lighter cloth for the tables and napkins. Silk is a little too expensive to be used that way, but there¡¯s bound to be something similar. As long as it all matches, that¡¯s really it.¡± She said, but looked like she was still trying to come up with more.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound too bad. We¡¯ve gotten most of that taken care of already, don¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°We do, but we need decorations and some other things.¡± Avuri said, and held up her hand to count off her fingers. Instead, I put a hand over hers before she could start counting.


    ¡°Avuri, listen. We¡¯re getting married in a garden. If we¡¯re going with a natural theming, then let¡¯s go all the way with it. I bet if we offered some kind of compensation, Vyne would be willing to work some of his wood Qi magic and help us decorate everything with vines and flowers.¡± I said.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea.¡± She responded happily. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to Lyn the next time I¡¯m in town and see if we can get in touch with him.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± I said, trying to add a bit of finality to my tone. ¡°Now, other than more shopping, was there anything else we had to do in the city today?¡±


    ¡°Other than shopping, hm?¡± She said with a bit of a laugh. ¡°Well, I did have some plans for dinner -¡±


    I felt my stomach lurch, and I suddenly felt a quick burst of queasiness. Apparently my stomach still wasn¡¯t settled after our huge lunch. Avuri must have seen the look on my face because she smiled at me sweetly. ¡°We don¡¯t have to do that yet. How about we go back to that little tea shop and relax for a while first?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°That sounds nice. I could go for a nice warm cup of tea and a book for a bit.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go then.¡± Avuri smiled and hooked an arm around mine, and lightly tugged me off down the street.


    <hr>


    By the time we were both confident in our ability to eat dinner, it was after sundown. When we left the cozy little tea shop, lights - both Qi and regular fire - dotted the city. While Flowing Dragon CIty wasn¡¯t necessarily known for its nightlife, it certainly didn¡¯t go to sleep early. Being something more akin to a merchant and Cultivator city, there was usually something happening.


    I wasn¡¯t sure what that meant for us as Avuri pulled me along without telling me where we were going. My suspicion, of course, was some high end place that was expensive. I was familiar with Avuri¡¯s tastes by now, and she liked going out for expensive dinners. I thought it was particularly ironic, given how much she seemed to dislike her wealthy family.


    All of that left me shocked when she turned the corner onto the main thoroughfare of the city. Which, at night, was lined with all sorts of food carts. She pulled me out of the alleyway we used to get there with a huge smile. I was completely unprepared for the sight of her backlit by the various Qi and fire lights and went slack-jawed.


    Avuri saw my stunned state and laughed heartily. ¡°Well, come on then! We¡¯ve got stalls to see!¡± She shouted over the din of the evening crowd and pulled me further out into the street.


    We walked around aimlessly for a while, just checking out what kinds of food was available; and the options were extensive. All of the expected easy street food was present from meat buns to skewers of all kinds of meat. But with Cultivators being common in this city, there were also all kinds of spirit beast dishes too. Often with some kind of Qi suffused seasoning or sauce.


    Scattered among the food stalls were all kinds of other vendors, selling everything from jewelry to hand-crafted scrolls and clothing. It was an incredible atmosphere as we both walked along making mental notes of which foods we wanted. And once we walked a decent portion of the street we turned around to pick up things we wanted.


    With both of our arms loaded with food, Avuri once again led the way somewhere. I followed with a smile - if she had planned to come to the food stalls for dinner, I had a good feeling that she would follow it up with something good too.


    I was not disappointed when she led me through a few side streets and to a lovely little park. It was lit up with Qi lamps hung around the trees basking the whole place in a warm glow. There were several tables with benches set up throughout the park. One of which was already set up with candles and a tablecloth laid over it.


    When I turned to look at Avuri, she had a huge grin on her face and motioned to the table in question. ¡°That¡¯s ours.¡± She said happily and walked off toward it. I followed, and as we put the food on the table, Avuri pulled a bottle of something seemingly from nowhere. Probably her storage ring.


    ¡°So. How long have you been planning this, hm?¡± I asked, leaning over the table with a sly smile.


    ¡°Not important.¡± Avuri declared, as she produced two glasses and poured what looked like some kind of good liquor. After she placed a glass in front of each of us, she pulled simple tableware from her ring and set the table.


    I watched her do so, trying to keep my smile from sliding into stupid grin territory. ¡°I love you.¡± I said, trying to keep my face under control.


    Avuri stopped what she was doing and stepped around the table to give me a pleasant kiss. ¡°I love you too.¡±


    She leaned her forehead against mine for a moment, then stood up straight again. ¡°Now then. Let¡¯s eat.¡± She declared.


    And produced a second bottle of liquor from nowhere.

 80 : Costume

    Emery was not happy as she sat at the kitchen table listening to Avuri and her kids argue about her. She was sitting right there and no one so much as offered a glance to see what her opinion was on the matter, her strongest opinion being that she wanted nothing to do with this notwithstanding.


    ¡°I think you should go classic. Full regalia, expensive silks, extra flow-y.¡± Cierra fervently argued.  ¡°Obviously dragon embroidery.¡±


    ¡°Obviously dragon embroidery.¡± Avuri, Stena, and Arek all echoed that sentiment.


    ¡°First time you¡¯ve all agreed on something all day.¡± Emery muttered to herself. Instantly, the three children fixed glares on her. Her wife just laughed.


    Astra clambered her way up into Emery¡¯s lap and situated herself comfortably facing the table. She had apparently brought a small plate of crackers with her to munch on, as she grabbed one while leaning back against Emery¡¯s chest. Emery, for her part, wrapped her arms around Astra and gave her a light squeeze.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯re clearly getting nowhere with this.¡± Stena said, crossing her arms in frustration. ¡°We should take all our ideas, write them down, and coordinate and see what we can mix and match.¡±


    ¡°Good idea.¡± Arek said, and dashed off to procure something to write with and write on.


    ¡°What¡¯s everyone fighting about?¡± Astra asked curiously. Emery couldn¡¯t help but smile and squeeze her daughter again, watching as the girl ate her crackers like a squirrel.


    ¡°They¡¯re arguing about how to dress me up.¡± Emery responded, resting her chin on the top of Astra¡¯s head. ¡°Apparently your Mom¡¯s gonna be a hero.¡±


    ¡°A hero?¡±


    Stena moved over to the table then, and snagged one of Astra¡¯s crackers. ¡°Yup. We¡¯re going to dress her up in a cool costume and she¡¯s going to scare all the bad guys away.¡± She said confidently.


    ¡°Really?¡± Astra wiggled in Emery¡¯s lap to turn and look at her mother. ¡°How¡¯re you gonna do that?¡±


    Emery sighed when Stena quickly answered, ¡°She¡¯s going to summon dragons.¡±


    ¡°Like Uncle Vale?¡±


    ¡°Mhm. But I think the ones she can summon are even more dangerous?¡± Stena said, a question in her tone as she turned to Emery for clarification.


    ¡°You know, I¡¯m not actually sure.¡± Emery said, thinking about it. ¡°Vale is very powerful, but I¡¯m not too familiar with a lot of dragons, or what their standard for strength even is. But I know that he reports to them in some way.¡±


    ¡°Safe to say they¡¯re very strong then, either way.¡± Stena nodded.


    ¡°Yeah. I wouldn¡¯t want to be on their bad side.¡± Emery agreed.


    Arek came trotting back around the corner, scrap paper and a pencil in hand. ¡°Got them.¡± he declared loudly as he thumped the paper onto the table, and offered the pencil to Avuri to write everything down. He knew how, but his handwriting was still messy and Avuri would be much faster.


    Avuri took the pen and began to write down their collective notes; Emery half collapsed onto Astra, who continued just munching away on her crackers.


    ¡°Okay, so Cierra suggested going all out in full battle regalia. I was thinking something more dragon themed¡­and silly.¡± Avuri glanced at her wife and tried to hide a smile. She wanted to milk this and embarrass her as much as she could.


    ¡°Stena?¡±


    ¡°I think she should look plain.¡± Stena said, picking another cracker from the pile. ¡°Like, pointedly so; drab clothing, maybe a few rips, maybe add some dirt with makeup¡­¡±


    ¡°You want me to look homeless.¡± Emery said flatly.


    ¡°Mhm.¡± Stena agreed with her mouth full. When she swallowed, she added, ¡°It would keep you very low profile, unattached to our family, and make your character an inspiring story for the less fortunate.¡± Flat stares greeted her from around the table.


    ¡°...What?¡± She asked indignantly.


    ¡°Nothing. I just didn¡¯t expect such a well thought out reason from you.¡± Cierra said. And when everyone else - even Astra, who was just following the group - nodded, Stena let out a frustrated growl.


    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean? At least it¡¯s better than you and Momri who just want to make Mom look silly.¡± She shouted.


    Avuri just looked away because Stena was right on the money with that accusation. Cierra, however, fired back, ¡°No, I want her to look like a dramatic hero from the classic war tales!¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes,¡± Stena said, glaring back, ¡°dress our mother up like one of the sexy boys from your favorite books, hm?¡±


    Her arrow struck her mark, and Cierra¡¯s face went red. They continued to bicker back and forth as Avuri addressed Arek.


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°You said you had an idea too, right, Arek?¡±


    The boy nodded. ¡°Mom is good at metals, so I was thinking of putting her in full armor. We can even stylize it with dragons and stuff.¡± He said, excited, then looked at Emery. ¡°You can make dragon-themed weapons with your Qi, right?¡±


    For the first time in the conversation, Emery grinned. She held a hand palm up and cycled her Qi. A knife formed, hovering above her palm, and Arek all but squealed.


    It was rare for Emery to put any effort into shaping her weapons. Beyond making them functional and sharp, she always kept a few standard designs in mind that she typically drew from. In fact, she used the same simple designs so often that her Inner World was littered with weapons of those same shapes.


    The weapon she created now was no such common thing. Not only was Emery annoyed with almost everyone in the room, she was also really bored. So she put real effort into crafting the knife, even tapping some tangential abilities that she never used.


    The knife¡¯s blade was wickedly curved, designed to look like a dragon¡¯s tongue. The flat sides of the blade were inlaid and carved to add to the effect; even the tip was shaped accordingly, slightly forked with two points.


    The hilt was crafted to be a dragon¡¯s head with the mouth open toward the blade, while the handle was the dragon¡¯s neck. The open mouth was wide enough and angled in such a way that it would make for a functional parrying dagger guard. It even had teeth to assist in catching other weapons. The head itself was ornately carved out of the metal, muscle and sinew clear in the design. Emery had even colored the metal to make the design eye-catching.


    The handle was no less impressive. Styled as the dragon¡¯s neck, it was fitted perfectly for Emery¡¯s fingers, allowing them to sit between sharp spines that trailed down the back of the neck. Two antler-like horns also protruded from the top of the head and angled back, creating a functional hand guard.


    Arek¡¯s high pitched squeak caught the attention of his sisters, who turned to see what he was on about. Even Avuri looked up from the notes she was writing.


    ¡°Holy shit, Mom.¡± Stena said, staring at the knife. ¡°I¡¯ve lived with you for¡­a long time. Have you ever made a weapon look that good?¡±


    Cierra nodded fervently. ¡°That looks amazing. Better than any work of art I¡¯ve seen in the City for sure.¡±


    Avuri smiled and returned to her notes. She, in fact, had seen better. Emery¡¯s weapons designs were breathtaking when she put in the effort. It just wasn¡¯t usually worth it, and Avuri knew that. But she also had the benefit of sharing a bonded Inner World. She¡¯d seen Emery¡¯s experimental crafts, as well as ones the woman herself considered masterworks. This was nothing in comparison.


    Emery laughed, tossed the knife into the air to reverse it, and offered the handle side to Arek. ¡°It¡¯s usually not worth the effort to shape things that are going to disappear shortly after I make them.¡± She said in explanation.


    When Arek¡¯s fingers wrapped around the handle, it morphed and resized to perfectly fit his fingers instead of Emery¡¯s.


    ¡°That¡¯s nothing, genuinely.¡± Avuri put in, wanting to needle her kids a little. ¡°You should see some of what she¡¯s got hidden away in her Inner World. If she ever actually made them real and took the time to forge them with real steel, she¡¯d be a legendary blacksmith.¡±


    Not quite having the desired effect, her kids just looked back at Emery with admiration and awe. Avuri chuckled; that outcome was fine too.


    ¡°Are you really that good at forging weapons, Mom?¡± Arek asked, clearly interested in it as he swung the knife around carefully.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Emery said, trying not to sound too prideful. ¡°I have to be, to make all of the weapons I do with Qi. Learning how it is actually done with the physical materials made my Qi projections much faster to make.¡±


    ¡°So¡­why don¡¯t we have a forge somewhere for you?¡± Cierra asked, curious. ¡°If you can make such brilliant masterwork weapons, couldn¡¯t you, you know, make them and sell them to the City?¡±


    Emery nodded. ¡°I could do that, yes. I actually used to make money doing that before we settled here, sometimes. But there¡¯s not much point to me doing real forging these days.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Arek asked, looking at the knife disappointed.


    ¡°Well, forging is intensive, and takes a lot of time. For starters, we hardly need more mortal money. And while I could make weapons tailored for Cultivators and sell them for rare materials instead, I¡¯m not interested in selling weapons I¡¯ve made to random buyers that I can¡¯t trust.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that makes sense.¡± Stena said, scratching her head. ¡°Is that it?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Emery continued. ¡°The main reason is that what time I could spend forging physical weapons is better spent forging weapons in my Inner World instead. It¡¯s perfect for meditation and cycling all at once.¡± Then she pointed at the knife that Arek still held. ¡°And it allows me to reproduce things like that on demand.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s right.¡± Avuri added. ¡°Once you awaken your Inner Worlds, you¡¯ll see that things that were meditative to you in the physical world become strong Cultivation aides while meditating. It¡¯s actually quite interesting.¡±


    ¡°So what do you do when you¡¯re meditating?¡± Arek asked.


    ¡°She knits.¡±


    The response came from Emery, Cierra, and Stena all at once. Laughter followed.


    ¡°They¡¯re right.¡± Avuri said, pointing at the group of laughing women with a thumb. ¡°I took up knitting at the Frozen Mountain Sect when I lived there. It was convenient to make myself clothes and blankets before my body became accustomed to the cold. And I found the act to be calming, so it stuck.¡±


    ¡°You all should see it, though.¡± Emery said, snickering. ¡°It¡¯s hilarious. Momri will sit on the mountain top, in a blizzard, and just calmly knit with her eyes closed. It¡¯d make for a great painting.¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡± Avuri shot back weakly, then looked back down at her notes. ¡°Anyway, I think we may have a winner.¡± She said, looking at Arek. ¡°It¡¯s hard to argue with the ability to put you in some magnificent armor and let you call up some of your fancier weapons as a show. It would be incredibly inspiring.¡±


    ¡°I can live with that.¡± Emery said, then reached out to pat Arek¡¯s head. ¡°Thanks for that one, bud. You saved me.¡±


    ¡°About that.¡± Avuri said, and her smile turned malicious. ¡°You told me I can practice dressing you up twice. And with the armor idea, I¡¯m pretty sure I don¡¯t need two attempts to get it right.¡±


    Emery went pale. She could feel the blood drain from her face. There was no telling what Avuri would put on her without the need to practice an outfit.


    Emery¡¯s brain suddenly recalled Avuri saying ¡°you won¡¯t regret this,¡± when she originally said she¡¯d allow her to practice twice.


    ¡°I knew you were a liar.¡± She muttered.

 81 : Dress Up

    Avuri dashed around the bathroom, excited. She couldn¡¯t decide what to do. Emery was waiting in the attached bedroom for her, sitting lazily on the bed looking cute.


    Avuri¡¯s hands sifted through all kinds of makeup, the vast majority of which was never used. Some of it was probably old and not even usable anymore, since neither of them really dressed up that often. And using makeup was even more rare.


    But still, on occasion, a bit of lip color or blush would catch her eye when they were in the city shopping and she¡¯d snap it up without thinking too hard about it. They were more than capable of a little vapid spending with how much money they had, so she¡¯d never worried about it. Seeing how much of the old makeup sat in various drawers around the bathroom did make her a little remorseful though.


    Mostly about not using it - not so much the buying it part.


    But still, as she shuffled through the various cosmetics she was struggling to decide how she wanted to dress up Emery. By her own admission, Emery was allowing Avuri complete freedom to play dress up with her for the night. It wasn¡¯t necessarily rare for Emery to dress up for Avuri - or vice-versa - but this sort of opportunity couldn¡¯t be wasted.


    And it left Avuri entirely torn. Did she opt to go silly, and put Emery in mis-matched clothing and bad makeup for a laugh? Or perhaps go all out on a night on the town look, complete with beauty-styled makeup and a gorgeous gown? Dress her up like a jester? Or maybe go for a raunchy, sexy look.


    There were just too many options. And each one could also entirely alter their evening plans. Anything from a joke parade around the basin to a long night behind closed doors was possible, and her choice here could easily make or break some of those options.


    As she perused the various cosmetics, she made her decision. ¡°Alright, Merri. I¡¯m going to go easy on you tonight. No silly costumes. Just full-on glamor.¡± Avuri called to the bedroom as she snatched up some of the simpler cosmetics and walked back toward her wife.


    Emery sighed with relief and slumped forward on the edge of the bed. ¡°I can live with that, I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Good. Alright then, go wash up. I¡¯ll brush out your hair when you¡¯re done.¡± Avuri said, as she arranged everything beside the bed. When she straightened up again and turned toward Emery, she still hadn¡¯t moved. Avuri clapped at her. ¡°Get a move on, woman! We don¡¯t have all night!¡± She said in a silly voice.


    Emery rolled her eyes but stood. ¡°We do, in fact, have all night. But alright, alright, I¡¯m moving.¡±


    As Emery ambled off to the bathroom for a quick wash, Avuri went to go through her clothing options for the night. She didn¡¯t want to pick something too revealing or too suggestive. She wanted something more beautiful, with just the right amount of allure.


    It took a little doing, but she did find one. It was a black, silky Qipao. The fit would hug Emery¡¯s curves nicely, and there was a long slit up one side of the dress. It was alluring, but also functional, given how tight the skirt would be without it. The black silk was embroidered with red trim, as well as red blooming flowers up one side. In addition, there was a lotus-shaped cutout in the chest that would show a little additional skin.


    Emery had worn the dress one other time, just out to a nice dinner, and it was stunning on her then. Avuri was sure it would have the same effect tonight. Especially with some deftly applied makeup to accentuate the colors.


    She waited patiently for Emery to return, which wasn¡¯t long after she picked the dress. As Emery walked back into the room, she saw the dress laid out and smiled.


    ¡°Oh, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re putting me in tonight, I really did get off easy.¡± She said, as she retrieved the brush from her nightstand and walked over to hand it off to Avuri.


    ¡°Hush, you. Don¡¯t make me regret being nice to you.¡± Avuri joked as she took the brush. She wiggled backward on the bed to create some space and patted the newly vacated spot between her legs.


    Emery sat as instructed, turning her back toward her wife. ¡°Never. I appreciate it all the same.¡± She said, then nearly purred as Avuri began brushing out her hair.


    Emery¡¯s hair was very well kept. She never let it get too long and made sure it was nicely shaped. Neither she nor Avuri were a fan of the very straight cut bob look, so she always made sure to vary the cut a little to make it feather a bit. In fact, they both liked when Emery¡¯s hair was just a little bit messy. It was a great look on her.


    That all being the case, it was rare that Emery had her hair brushed like this, despite brushing out Avuri¡¯s practically daily. But she enjoyed it all the same. The pleasant scratching of the hair brush against her scalp and Avuri¡¯s fingers gliding through her hair put her in such a pleasant lulled state that she could have fallen asleep.


    And she was sad when it was over too quickly. Avuri had even taken a little extra time to brush it into a somewhat mussed state for extra volume, but it was still over too soon. When Emery felt Avuri begin to massage her scalp afterward, she blissfully leaned back into her wife¡¯s care.


    ¡°I thought you looked sad it was over.¡± Avuri said happily, giving Emery a hug while continuing the light massage.


    ¡°I need to get you to do this more. It¡¯s absolute bliss.¡± Emery said weakly, practically melting into Avuri¡¯s lap.


    ¡°Whenever you want, love.¡± Avuri said, continuing to scratch and knead at Emery¡¯s head.


    Emery whined when Avuri did eventually stop, but she was pretty sure any time at all would be too soon. Avuri¡¯s deft fingers quickly gathered up the front bits of Emery¡¯s hair and clipped it away from her face so she could see her canvas.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    As Cultivators, both of their faces had clear, beautiful skin. Touch ups and spot work was entirely unnecessary, so Avuri moved straight to applying a foundation to lighten Emery¡¯s skin tone a little. The woman was already pale, but a little bit paler would contrast the black of the dress more strongly.


    Once that relatively simple layer was applied, Avuri went about everything else. She started with Emery¡¯s eyes. She wanted to keep the makeup fairly simple, so she didn¡¯t want to use too much eye shadow or anything along those lines. Just enough to outline her eyes to accentuate them a little, especially against the light foundation color. And Emery¡¯s steel gray eyes already naturally popped.


    The last thing that Avuri needed to do was Emery¡¯s lips. Before she even got started, she brushed a thumb over them and gave Emery a kiss. Then they both retreated with goofy smiles and Avuri got to work. She picked a striking deep scarlet color to match the reds on the dress. She delicately brushed the color over Emery¡¯s lips and fought the urge to stare, especially with the added gloss of the color.


    Avuri took a deep breath when she was finished to try to keep herself from doing anything that would land them stuck in their room for the foreseeable future. When she stood, she pointed to the dress. ¡°Go on and get dressed. Then we¡¯re going for a little walk.¡±


    Emery was in the middle of getting up when she froze. ¡°A¡­walk?¡±


    ¡°Mhm.¡± Avuri confirmed with a happy little nod as she moved to get herself dressed in something a little nicer. ¡°You didn¡¯t think I would dress you up like that just to stay in our room all night?¡±


    Emery deflated. ¡°I had kinda hoped so, yeah.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Merri. Of course I want to show everyone how amazing my wife looks tonight, all dressed up like that.¡± Avuri shook her head in disappointment. ¡°I¡¯m gonna drag you all around and show you off.¡±


    ¡°Do we have to?¡± Emery asked, already sounding defeated. She knew she wasn¡¯t going to win this.


    ¡°Of course. In fact, I think people are already waiting on us, so hurry up.¡± Avuri hurried her, as she replaced her simple nightwear with a nice dress.


    ¡°And how, exactly, did they know you¡¯d be coming around with me?¡± Emery mumbled as she worked into the Qipao.


    ¡°You know, I wasn¡¯t sure if you noticed or not when I let out a small burst of Qi while combing your hair.¡± Avuri giggled. ¡°You were practically asleep at the time, so it¡¯s no wonder you missed it.¡±


    Emery only offered a flat stare in response. ¡°I should¡¯ve known.¡±


    ¡°You should¡¯ve known.¡± Avuri confirmed.


    A few minutes later, they walked down the stairs to the second floor of the house to the sound of applause and catcalls. Cierra, Stena, and Talya were standing by the doorway to the kitchen making a fuss, while Gray sat peacefully at the table with a cup of tea.


    ¡°Damn, Mom. You look good.¡± Stena said, dramatically looking Emery up and down. ¡°I¡¯ve seen you dressed up for a night out but this is something special.¡±


    ¡°Who knew I had such a beautiful sister?¡± Talya said appreciatively, then walked to sit down by her husband. ¡°Well. Putting aside Rylie, anyway.¡±


    ¡°Ouch.¡± Emery said sarcastically. ¡°That hurts, Sis.¡±


    ¡°You look lovely, dear.¡± Talya said, more earnestly this time.


    ¡°You really do look stunning, Mom.¡± Cierra agreed. ¡°I know Momri said this wasn¡¯t practice for the hero costume thing, but you could still use it. It¡¯s so¡­good.¡±


    Emery laughed. When Cierra ran out of words, she knew she was doing something right.


    ¡°Now if you¡¯ll excuse me, ladies. And Gray. I¡¯m going to go parade my wife around for a while and remind our children that we¡¯re not old.¡±


    ¡°Go get ¡®em.¡± Talya cheered.


    But Stena and Cierra snickered in response when they saw Emery¡¯s roll her eyes. Avuri glowered at them.


    ¡°You two.¡± She said, ¡°If forty is old with a Cultivator lifespan, you two aren¡¯t exactly spring chickens sitting over there in your twenties.¡± She followed that up with a dangerous looking smile. ¡°Some women start getting gray hairs in their twenties.


    ¡°She¡¯s right.¡± Talya chimed in. She reached just behind her ear and pulled a lock of her hair around and out to the side to separate it - it was gray. ¡°I started going gray when I turned twenty-four.¡±


    ¡°Twenty-three.¡± Emery corrected.


    Talya glared at her. ¡°Really? You couldn¡¯t even let me have one year?¡± She said venomously.


    ¡°Nope.¡± Emery said. ¡°Besides, I think Cierra¡¯s got you beat anyway. I think I saw some gray on the back of her head when we were in the bath a few days ago, and she¡¯s only twenty-one.¡±


    Cierra looked worried, and began to pull her hair around to look at it. Stena was fussing over it too, trying to see, and it only took them seconds to run out of the room.


    ¡°Thanks, Talya.¡±


    ¡°Anytime.¡± Talya said with a laugh. ¡°I think your correction really sold it.¡±


    ¡°No doubt.¡± Emery agreed.


    Avuri grabbed Emery by the arm and pulled her onward. ¡°We¡¯ve still got rounds to make, so we¡¯re off!¡± She called as she pulled Emery away from the table.


    ¡°Good luck!¡± Talya called after them as they retreated down the stairs to the bottom floor.


    When they finally made it outside, Emery was shocked to see a whole group of their older kids gathered outside waiting for them. Similarly to upstairs, they were greeted with catcalls and shouts about Emery being dressed up.


    Arek walked up through the crowd and presented Avuri with a woven picnic basket.


    ¡°Thanks, hun. I appreciate you grabbing all this for me.¡± Avuri said, and bent down to give Arek a small hug and ruffled his hair.


    ¡°Now then! We¡¯re off for a late night picnic date!¡± Avuri called, and held the picnic basket aloft.


    Several of the kids jokingly cheered or clapped. They shouted messages of good luck and the like, as if they were off to war.


    At this point, Emery was showing reddened cheeks, even through the makeup, and was looking down embarrassed by all the attention. Avuri grabbed her by the elbow again and tugged her through the crowd of older kids.


    Once they broke out of the crowd, Avuri pulled Emery close and whispered in her ear.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see how late we come back tonight, yeah? Or perhaps tomorrow morning?¡±


    Emery looked at her and laughed. ¡°You think you¡¯re going to keep me out here overnight in this dress? You¡¯re funny!¡±

 82 : Chilly Reception

    Time absolutely flew by in the months leading up to our wedding. After we had decided on most of the plan and settled all of the vendors, three months had passed by in a blink as we just lived our lives.


    We weren¡¯t unusually busy or anything; time just simply went on and our days were pleasantly running into one another with little change. And it was lovely.


    Until two weeks before the wedding when Avuri¡¯s parents arrived.


    We had completely cleaned four of the other houses for her family to stay in, as they had requested. While Avuri wasn¡¯t exactly keen on the idea of letting them do what they wanted, I wanted to make a good impression on my soon-to-be in-laws. Especially considering they owned half of the biggest city in the Floral Hills.


    Thankfully, we were up to seven total of the detached houses, so letting Avuri¡¯s family have four of them was really not a problem. That left two of them for my siblings, while Vale had one to himself. Talya was living in the main house with us, so she wouldn¡¯t need one.


    With twelve people on the way, we had decided it would be best to meet them down in Flowing Dragon City. It wouldn¡¯t be safe for untrained Cultivators to make the trek up the Peaks without aid, so escorting them up somehow would be the best move.


    I was also concerned with her family making the trip from the Floral Hills, but Avuri assured me that they had no shortage of money and would be perfectly capable of hiring the most talented guards for the trip. There was also perhaps less danger for them since we had dealt with the demonic Cultivators that had run the area, at least nominally. We¡¯d have to watch for that power vacuum to be filled, just in case.


    In any case, we had rented a large cart that we could pull with the passengers inside it. A fair bit of the trip would be done on foot, but the cart would allow us to pick up speed more toward the top, especially with the ability to swap out the wheels for skis when we reached the snowy top.


    When Avuri¡¯s family arrived at the City, we were contacted through a signal Array. It was a simple thing, just able to light up or turn off as dictated by whoever was on the other end. We knew that her family was planning to stay at The Coiled Serpent, the most expensive hotel in the City, so we left the other end of the signal Array with them.


    We left the girls with Vale and Talya and rushed out as soon as we received the signal. Avuri was already clearly worried we¡¯d get berated for ¡®being late¡¯, so it took us very little time to descend the mountain as we rushed.


    When we finally arrived at The Coiled Serpent, a slightly older looking woman greeted us with a sour look on her face. And as Avuri had expected, the first thing she said was, ¡°You¡¯re late.¡±


    If you had put Avuri and her mother next to one another and asked me what their relationship was, mother and daughter was not what would have come to mind first. The first, most striking difference was general coloring. Avuri¡¯s white hair and her mother¡¯s dark hair couldn¡¯t have been more different. Their expressions were polar opposites as well; Avuri¡¯s usually warm and serene expressions were nowhere to be seen on her mother¡¯s face. Instead, the woman looked severe and generally unhappy.


    It wasn¡¯t uncommon for a Cultivator¡¯s Qi affinity and the like to change their appearance over time. And it was even likely that Avuri¡¯s hair was originally dark like her mother¡¯s, but changed after spending so much time Cultivating water and ice Qi. But their faces were so inherently different that it was almost shocking.


    ¡°Hello, mother.¡± Avuri said coolly. ¡°You all made it through the trip in one piece I assume? Despite no one else being down here.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Her mother confirmed. ¡°They¡¯re all in their rooms for the moment. Doing what I couldn''t say, except for your father who was doing some bookkeeping while he had time.¡± She sighed. ¡°We¡¯ve both been so buried under paperwork recently, it just never stops.¡±


    Something in her tone told me that a ¡®so you¡¯d better be happy we¡¯re even here¡¯ went unsaid, but was present all the same.


    ¡°Ah, sister! How wonderful to see you again!¡± A voice came from the stairs on the far side of the room. A young man trotted down the stairs, who did bear a resemblance to Avuri. He was still dark haired like his mother, but his face looked more like Avuri¡¯s welcoming one - if only not for the sneer on his face that he was clearly trying - and failing - to keep hidden.


    ¡°Leon.¡± Avuri said flatly. ¡°I must admit, I was surprised that you wanted to come. I thought for sure you¡¯d rather stay behind and work on the business.¡±


    ¡°How could I miss my dear sister¡¯s wedding? It¡¯s not like you¡¯ll ever have another, right? I should be here for it!¡± He declared, throwing his arms wide dramatically. ¡°Besides, I set the business up before I left with instructions for the entire time I¡¯ll be gone. They had better be fine without me.¡±


    ¡°How fortunate of them, to have such a thoughtful leader that plans so far ahead.¡± Avuri returned. ¡°Nothing will go wrong in your absence if they follow your instructions to the letter, I¡¯m sure.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, Leon has been instrumental in leading the business since you left, you know.¡± Her mother added. ¡°He has been following our footsteps very well, and has learned everything we taught him easily.¡±


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. He¡¯s always been great at following your directions.¡± Avuri said.


    I struggled to hold back a laugh at that. The barbs traded so far were relatively well disguised, but Avuri¡¯s sounded about as direct as they come despite being disguised as a compliment. And seeing Leon¡¯s anger peak through his otherwise solid sneer of disdain just confirmed my suspicions about the dig.


    Then Leon¡¯s eyes shifted to me, standing a step behind and to the side of Avuri. He looked me up and down once and I felt a chill crawl up my spine.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to introduce your companion, Ivory?¡± Leon said, his sneer back in place. This time even his voice carried a dismissive tone. He clearly didn¡¯t seem to think much of me, which was fine; the feeling was mutual. But his use of Avuri¡¯s old name made her flinch, and that immediately set me on edge.


    Avuri appeared to recenter herself surprisingly quickly, but I could tell it was more like a mask sliding into place rather than her actually gathering herself.


    ¡°Oh, yes, of course.¡± She said, then stepped a little to the side and motioned toward me with a hand. ¡°This is Emery Vale, my fianc¨¦.¡± Then she motioned to her mother and brother. ¡°And this is Solana and Leon Mephra, my mother and brother.


    Despite the less than approving looks both her mother and brother were giving me, I stepped up and gave them a proper bow. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you both. I¡¯m Emery.¡±


    ¡°Well, don¡¯t you look quaint?¡± Avuri¡¯s mother said, sounding nothing but sickly sweet. ¡°Doesn¡¯t she, dear?¡± She prompted Leon.


    ¡°Indeed she does, mother.¡± He agreed. ¡°Perfect for our martial-arts-minded Ivory.¡± Avuri didn¡¯t react the second time, her placid mask firmly in place.


    I looked down at my clothing, which indeed was that of a Cultivator. We had rushed out of the house to meet them after all, and I hadn¡¯t had time to change. ¡°Yes, apologies for my clothing.¡± I said, trying my best to sound genial. ¡°I didn¡¯t have time to change when we got the signal that you had arrived. Didn¡¯t want to add any time to the several hour hike to get down here, after all.¡±


    Both Mephras paled a little at that. ¡°Several hour hike?¡± Solana asked, concerned.


    ¡°Oh, yes. We live up in the Peaks. Didn¡¯t Avuri tell you?¡± I even sounded overly sweet to my own ears, and had to make an effort to dial it back. ¡°I hope you all packed good shoes. You¡¯re all at least in the Earth Realm, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± Leon asked, confused.


    I clapped once, acting excited. ¡°Great! We probably have a four hour hike or so then! Assuming everyone is in shape and able to keep up.¡±


    Everyone else blanched at that, even Avuri. I imagine she thought I was being too straightforward with my snark. ¡°Four hours?¡± Avuri¡¯s mother asked. ¡°Did you get here quicker than that?¡±


    ¡°Of course we did.¡± I said happily, with a huge smile on my face. ¡°Avuri and I are Sky Realm. The trip is easy for us.¡±


    Avuri¡¯s family did a double take. ¡°Sky Realm?¡± Leon sputtered. ¡°You didn¡¯t mention that in your letters, Ivory.¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡± She said flatly. ¡°It¡¯s truly of no consequence. But Emery and I both broke into the Sky Realm in the summer last year.¡± She slipped her mask just a little and turned to me with a small smile. ¡°Right before we adopted our second girl.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you have children already?¡± Leon said pointedly, as if it was something to be ashamed of. On the other hand, her mother¡¯s calm mask looked like it was starting to collect cracks. I wasn¡¯t sure whether it was shock or anger starting to break through, though.


    ¡°We do.¡± Avuri said, proudly. I was happy that this was one thing that she wasn¡¯t even attempting to downplay. ¡°Two girls. Cierra is six, and Stena is three. They¡¯re adorable and sweet little girls.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s nice, dear.¡± Solana said. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to meeting them.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re waiting up at the house.¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯ll see them when we get there. My sister and father are there as well.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s nice, the whole family lives together.¡± Leon said.


    ¡°Not even half.¡± I corrected him. ¡°I have four other siblings scattered all over the place. They¡¯ll be here eventually too. Though I¡¯m not entirely sure when¡­¡± I trailed off.


    ¡°Oh? Not on good terms?¡± Leon poked.


    ¡°We are, but I haven¡¯t seen them in some time. They¡¯re all very busy with various Cultivator work and the like. No one settled near home.¡± I shrugged. ¡°It¡¯ll be nice to see them all again.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see you¡¯re already here.¡±


    Heads turned to the stairs as Avuri¡¯s father, Dain, approached. He was followed by everyone else in the party, it seemed. The expressions on their faces ran the gamut from generally displeased to happy.


    Avuri stepped in front of me once more to introduce me. ¡°Hello father. Everyone. This is my fianc¨¦, Emery Vale.¡± She said, and swept a hand toward me. ¡°Emery, this is my father, Dain. And behind him is Basil, his wife Amalia, and their kids Glenn and Mica. To their right is Lark and Severa, and their son Cove. Lastly, that is Aster and his fianc¨¦ Mint.


    I gave the group a proper bow. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you all. I¡¯ll do my best to remember names, but forgive me if I don¡¯t pick them all up immediately?¡± I said as sweetly as I could manage. ¡°I assume everyone has storage rings, so with everyone here, are we ready to get moving?¡±


    Avuri looked around the group. ¡°Is everyone ready? We¡¯ve got a long walk ahead of us, so it¡¯s best we go soon to make sure we don¡¯t lose the daylight. The last thing we need is to be stuck on the Peak in the dark.¡±


    ¡°Stuck in the - How long are you planning to have us walk for, exactly?¡± Severa asked sourly.


    ¡°Given your Cultivation levels, about four hours.¡± I answered smoothly, before Avuri could. ¡°It¡¯s not too bad a hike.¡± I promised.


    Before any more dissent could be voiced I turned to Avuri. ¡°Oh, right, Avuri. Would you like to deliver the Elders¡¯ message before we go, or shall I?¡±


    As much as I would love to deliver the message myself, I wanted to let Avuri get the chance to tell her family it herself. When she turned to face me, where her family couldn¡¯t see her face, she had the most beautiful smile on her face I had seen all day.


    Then she turned back to them. ¡°Oh, Emery is right, we almost forgot. Lyn Solei, one of the Elders of the City - as well as our caterer - had a message for all of you. She also said that the other Elders echoed this sentiment and that you should take heed accordingly.¡±


    When her family¡¯s expressions turned serious, she continued, ¡°Keep everything you see on the Peaks a secret, or you put your lives at risk.¡±


    When her family¡¯s expressions turned pensive, she hit them with a quote straight from Lyn herself, which Emery was pretty sure was given to Avuri for express use as ammunition like this. Her family would certainly take such a declaration seriously.


    ¡°And that includes my girls¡¯ home.¡±

 83 : Hike

    The walk to the city gates was a quiet one. It seemed like no one wanted to talk, so Emery and I just walked side by side and led my family from the front. Practically everyone had sour faces, presumably from the upcoming four hour trek. Well, except for Glenn and Cove, you were chatting amicably.


    The two boys, both in their late teens, seemed to be more than comfortable with the long walk. But if i wasn¡¯t mistaken, they both also looked like they had strong, in shape bodies. Perhaps they were even training as Cultivators, which was certainly unusual for my family. Unless my joining the Frozen Mountain Sect had changed something, but I somehow doubted that would be the case.


    Mica, Glenn¡¯s younger sister, followed behind the two of them. She also looked surprisingly fit for my family, but not nearly as happy about all this. I suspected, given that she was wearing nice clothing, that it was more about getting her clothes dirty more so than the walk.


    The adults, though, were all ranging from dour to borderline angry, with Severa being the worst. She didn¡¯t surprise me though - Severa was always angry at everything that she didn¡¯t plan or create herself. Nothing to be done about her.


    Leon also looked at me with a pretty intense sneer, but that was also nothing new. He was younger than me by five years, and seemed to hold a grudge for me simply existing. I thought maybe when I had essentially left the family, leaving him to inherit, he might have gotten over his practically blatant hatred of me, but here we were.


    I had to remind myself more than once not to hold anything against Glenn, Mica, and Cove. They were all less than ten years old when I had left, and we barely knew each other.


    I took a deep breath to center myself. Then another. Emery shot me a look, asking if I was okay and I nodded. One more deep breath and I broke off from Emery to fall back to the teenagers for a moment. Their conversation stopped as they stared at me, confused.


    ¡°Sorry to interrupt.¡± I said weakly and smiled. ¡°Mica, did you want something to cover your clothes, or something else to change into for the hike? I feel bad asking you to hike a mountain when you¡¯re clearly wearing something really nice.¡±


    Her eyes sparked to life, and she seemed shocked but pleased than I cared. ¡°Do you have something like that? I¡¯d love not to get this dress dirty.¡± She said, holding out her skirt from her sides. I smiled.


    ¡°I have a larger robe you could throw over the top of the dress if you¡¯d like. Or I think you and Emery are about the same size if you¡¯d like to borrow something.¡±


    Emery glanced back when I said her name, then smiled and gave Mica a thumbs up. Mica looked relieved and let her skirt go. The boys also resumed their conversation, deciding that this wasn¡¯t worth their attention.


    ¡°A change of clothes would be perfect,¡± she said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind lending something to you,¡± Emery said as she fell into step with us, ¡°but I don¡¯t have anything other than extra work out clothes on me. Is that alright?¡±


    ¡°Not a problem at all. So long as you don¡¯t mind them getting dirty on the walk, I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Not even a little.¡± Emery said, and popped a set of clean but worn work out clothes from her storage ring. It was just a simple short sleeved top and loose but comfortable pants, but Mica took them excitedly. Her head swung back and forth looking for a place to change.


    ¡°Quick detour, everyone.¡± I said, halting the group. ¡°We¡¯re going to drop by a place for Mica to change really fast. If anyone else is worried about their clothing getting dirty, you may want to consider doing the same.¡±


    I was met with the expected sour faces of the adults, but no one complained thankfully. We were nearing the city gate that led back to the Peaks, which put us squarely in the Cultivator section which included a multitude of restaurants serving quick lunches for those heading into the Peaks for the day as well as inns for Cultivators.


    We were near a tea shop that Emery and I had gone to a few times when we visited the city, and we knew the owners at this point well enough that I felt comfortable asking them to borrow a room for a moment.


    ¡°This way.¡± I said, leading everyone toward it. It was a small shop, but well decorated. It may not be to the level my family was used to, but I wasn¡¯t afraid to bring them near it. When we got closer, Ava, the owner, waved to us. Emery and I waved back.


    ¡°Emery and Avuri!¡± She greeted us happily, ¡°And with a whole retinue in tow, too! What can I do for you today?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, Ava, we¡¯re not actually here for any tea today. My cousin needs a place to change her clothes before we go out to the Peak. Would you mind her borrowing a room to change really quickly?¡± I asked, motioning toward Mica.


    ¡°No problem at all.¡± Ava said, and waved Mica in. ¡°There¡¯s a room to the left over there you can use. Take your time.¡±


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Mica hurried on by toward the room with a grateful nod to Ava as she passed.


    ¡°So what brings you to the city today? Weren¡¯t you just here a few days ago for your normal shopping?¡± Ava asked.


    ¡°Picking up my family,¡± I said, waving in their general direction. ¡°They came to visit for the wedding.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s lovely.¡± Ava responded as she turned back to her tea that was brewing and began to remove the leaves that steeped long enough. ¡°You¡¯re getting the whole thing catered by the Celestial Dragon Pavilion, right? That should be a real treat.¡± She leaned over to address my family directly as she said, ¡°Best food in the whole city. Expensive too.¡±


    My mother smiled graciously. ¡°We¡¯re looking forward to it. We¡¯re mostly from Bouquet, so we¡¯re interested to see the different foods.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll enjoy them. The Pavilion is well known for being expensive, but they¡¯re also able to serve food from all over the world. Somehow.¡± Ava shrugged. ¡°No one knows how they get it all shipped in, but the price is worth it.¡±


    ¡°Interesting¡­¡± My father muttered to himself, then turned to me. ¡°And you said your caterer from this place is named Lyn?¡±


    I flinched as I heard a gasp from Ava. ¡°Avuri, you¡¯re on a first name basis with one of the Elders?¡±


    All of them, in fact. I thought to myself wryly. ¡°Sort of. Emery and I met Lyn at the Pavilion one night and she was very friendly to us. I didn¡¯t realize until later that she was the Elder.¡± I lied through my teeth. ¡°She¡¯s really very nice.¡±


    Ava looked a bit shell-shocked at that as Mica hurried from the borrowed room and back to the group. As she did, I turned to everyone else.


    ¡°Does anyone else need to change or do anything else before we leave the city?¡± I asked seriously. No one responded, so I turned back to Ava.


    ¡°It was lovely to see you Ava. I¡¯m looking forward to the next time we¡¯re here and can get a cup of your tea. It really is some of the best in the city.¡±


    ¡°I appreciate you saying so. You two are welcome back here any time. Not that I needed to tell you that.¡± Ava said with a grin. ¡°All of you travel safely now.¡±


    ¡°We will.¡± Emery said with a small hand wave. ¡°See you soon!¡±


    And then we were off.


    <hr>


    It wasn¡¯t a surprise that the first stretch of the hike went about the same as the walk through the city. The older adults said nothing but resolutely took step after step. They clearly were unhappy with the traveling, but refused to complain or otherwise say much of anything. I was beginning to think they were choosing to stay silent because they wouldn¡¯t be able to speak at this pace without sounding winded; and their pride wouldn¡¯t allow that.


    The teenagers seemed to be having a blast, though. They were taking the climb as a challenge and were trying to outdo one another with various running tricks, jumping and flipping over obstacles. I was actually shocked that the adults hadn¡¯t told them to stop, though I supposed that there wasn¡¯t any need out here for them to behave properly.


    An hour into the hike, and I noticed Emery eyeing me occasionally. She motioned to her storage ring questioningly. I minutely shook my head; I didn¡¯t want to literally carry my family back in the cart we rented. Not after how we were greeted. It may not be any big sort of revenge, but I still wanted to take it.


    Emery nodded in agreement - or maybe even approval - as we continued on. With a group of fourteen people, we weren¡¯t even so much as looked at by any wildlife or beasts, so the trip was safe. Which meant that I didn¡¯t even feel all that bad about making them all walk.


    Halfway up the Flowing Dragon Peak, I felt it was appropriate to call for a break. The adults were starting to look a little pale, and even the teens were finally starting to flag a little. And the whole trek was about to get a lot worse as we transitioned into the snowy upper half of the mountain.


    ¡°We¡¯ll break here.¡± I called, landing lightly on my feet after a long jump. Emery landed beside me as gracefully as ever, while my family sort of stumbled to a halt. Once I called for a break, the sturdiness of the adults seemed to crumble. They put in an effort to look fine as they sat, but the exhaustion was pretty clearly shown on their faces.


    Emery pulled out a waterskin, sat down, and took a healthy drink from it then offered it to me. I took the few steps required to reach her and followed suit. Not that either of us were even remotely tired, but the cold water still felt good going down my throat.


    ¡°Okay.¡± I said as I sat down to relax for a bit. ¡°The later half of the trip is going to be a bit rougher. We¡¯re right on the cusp of hitting the snowy portion of the mountain. With fourteen of us, plus two Sky Realm Cultivators, we¡¯re not likely to get attacked by anything. It could happen, so be careful. But Emery and I can handle anything natural on the Peak.¡±


    I felt just a little smug as I caught small glimpses of worry on faces that quickly masked it again.


    ¡°But the terrain is going to get trickier. You all need to be careful that you don¡¯t trip or anything like that. I know you all have good reflexes and balance given you¡¯re all Cultivators, but icy terrain is still dangerous, so be mindful of it.¡± I slowly met each pair of eyes, trying to ignore the vastly different expressions I was receiving.


    ¡°Avuri is right. If any of you get injured, one of us will have to carry you. And I¡¯m sure none of us want that.¡± Emery said with a wry grin.


    I caught Cove rolling his eyes and I hid a smile. I didn¡¯t know them well, but I thought I might be able to get along with the teenagers, at least. My parent¡¯s expressions were still just as prideful as ever.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine.¡± My father said dourly. ¡°We¡¯re about half way there?¡±


    ¡°Yes. We just need to make it up and over the rim of the basin we live in. Once we¡¯re there, you¡¯ll have time to rest.¡± I said.


    ¡°Good. I¡¯m looking forward to the amenities you have waiting for us.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, me too.¡± I said with an eye roll. I wasn¡¯t sure what they would think of our basin, but I was sure as hell not going to let them talk badly about it.

 84 : Wow Factor

    As I had more or less expected, the latter half of the trip was equally as uneventful as the first, just hampered by the snow. The Peak¡¯s upper half would be treacherous for a normal person between the deep snow drifts, ice, and uneven footing. With the whole group being made up of at least baseline Cultivators, the danger was pretty significantly lessened; the only real concern was something large scale like an avalanche, which wasn''t common.


    But nothing unusual happened at all. Emery and I lead the way, followed by the teens, with the older crew bringing up the rear. We did have to watch our speed and occasionally make sure we didn¡¯t leave the older group behind, but they wouldn¡¯t so much as acknowledge that they were slowing us down. Especially toward the end where things got steeper and a little icier.


    But I knew if anyone actually said anything outright about it, there¡¯d either be a big argument over it or retribution over the ¡®embarrassment¡¯ to be paid later.


    It was so much easier to let sleeping dogs lie.


    Besides, it wasn¡¯t like Emery or I were bothered by the cold and icy winds. We could pretty comfortably sleep out here if we had to. Especially given my ability to shape the cold around us - which I was quietly using to keep the teenagers pleasantly cool.


    When we finally reached the familiar little path that Emery and I had cleared near the basin, I sighed with relief. We would make it home well within sundown. If we timed it right, we might even reach the basin¡¯s edge during the golden hour, which would surely leave a good impression.


    ¡°We¡¯re just about there, everyone.¡± I called back to the group as I stepped onto the cleared path. It was still snow and ice covered, but it was at least cleared of debris to trip us up less. ¡°There¡¯s a path here that¡¯s mostly cleared. You still need to watch your step, but there¡¯s less to climb over.¡±


    Nods rippled through the group as everyone fell into step behind Emery and I.


    ¡°We¡¯re getting close.¡± Emery whispered to me as we kept up at a brisk run. ¡°Is there anything special you wanted to do? A tour or anything?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°No, nothing special. A tour would be nice, but I suspect offering them the houses they¡¯ll be staying in and the bathhouse would probably win the most points with them.¡±


    ¡°We can do that then.¡± Emery said and turned back to her jog. Thankfully, it seemed like everyone was keeping up, even as we picked up the pace a little on the easier footpath.


    Not twenty minutes later, I could see the crest of the basin and slowed down. Emery moved up next to me and we shared the same grin we did every time we made it back. This was home.


    And right then, with the footfalls of my blood family behind me, I had never felt so strongly that this place was truly home.


    We leisurely walked up the incline toward the break in the stone wall that surrounded the whole basin. The wall was a naturally sheer rock face that was something like fifteen meters tall. It was probably jumpable for a Cultivator, or even breakable, but it still felt like a nice natural line of defense to keep us hidden. Even if it didn¡¯t offer any real protection in the end.


    The break in that tall stone cliff face was a few meters wide and let us pass through easily. Walking into the basin was never anything less than breathtaking.


    The climate control Array reached to the edge of the cliff wall, so walking through the break in the stone meant walking into the warmth every time. And I could hear the effect it had on everyone behind me as we moved through the little stone path. Breathing was easier, the chilly wind was gone, and the temperature was comfortably warm for the early spring.


    And when Emery and I breached the path into the basin, we stepped aside to watch as each person entered and saw it for the first time.


    We entered onto a sloped hillside looking down over the rest of the basin. We had indeed timed it well, and the beginning of the sunset was coloring the sky and illuminating the entire scene wonderfully.


    There was no mistaking the wisteria trees for anything else. They covered the entire landscape in a lovely purple, giving the entire place a dreamy, relaxing feeling. The wooden buildings peaked through the canopy here and there, but still blending into the naturality of it all. We had actively decided not to use any metals, so the entire basin was basically nothing but wood.


    We couldn¡¯t see the farms from where we were, given they were covered by the trees, but beside where they would be we could see the shimmer of steam in the air rising from the bathhouse. Vale or Talya must¡¯ve just heated the water for it to be giving off that much steam. I appreciated it though, because it really added to the atmosphere.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    And, of course, there was no denying the elder wisteria tree. It dominated the entire space, growing taller and wider than anything else. Its branches didn¡¯t quite reach the outer edges of the basin like where we were standing, but it still felt as imposing here as it did anywhere else.


    Following the massive trunk toward the ground, I smiled when I saw smoke slowly tumbling from the main house¡¯s chimney. Someone must¡¯ve been cooking dinner. The thought of Talya at the stove with Cierra and Stena running circles around her legs as she tried to get the food finished made me smile.


    I felt Emery glance at me and she smiled too. I imagined she was thinking the very same thoughts at the moment.


    The moment passed, though, as I turned to watch the faces of my family members as they each emerged from the mountain pass.


    And I was not disappointed.


    I knew they wouldn¡¯t say anything about how impressed they were, or how beautiful any of this was. Or at least, none of the adults would. Nor would Leon. But their faces when they entered said it all, even if they were quickly able to get it under control.


    Glenn, Mica, and Cove were the first ones to enter and they didn¡¯t even bother to hide their expressions.


    ¡°Whoa.¡± Mica said, stunned. Glenn and Cove helped her shuffle to the side to allow their parents through. ¡°This is something else. I¡¯ve never seen anything like it. And it¡¯s so warm, too, despite the snow we just walked through!¡±


    Glenn and Cove, despite being quiet, seemed just as shellshocked. Their mouths hung open as they took in the sight of the basin in its full glory.


    ¡°Got some real wow factor, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Emery said proudly.


    The teens merely nodded, still looking around for every little spot of interest.


    Leon came in next, not far behind the teenage group. There was just a moment of awe on his face before he schooled his expression and stepped aside. A brief moment of hesitation on his next step. That was all it was, but it was still enough to tell me that he was impressed.


    Aster and Mint came next. They were both older than me by quite a few years, but not as old as the others. They had been mostly quiet during the trip, but stopped in the entrance way for a moment to appreciate the sight.


    I didn¡¯t know Mint at all, but from what I knew of Aster, he had barely ever left Bouquet. So I imagined this sort of sight was entirely new to him, given his bookish merchant proclivities. He said nothing but met my eyes and nodded approvingly, which was far more than I had ever expected from any of my family members.


    Basil and Amalia were the next ones through. They weren¡¯t as old as my parents, and certainly not as old as Lark and Severa, but they were solidly into their sixties. Thanks to their Cultivation, they still had the bodies of roughly thirty year olds, and looked like they were still doing fine from the hike.


    When they stepped into the full view of the basin, shock overtook their features for a moment as their eyes scanned the horizon. Similarly to Leon, they quickly got their faces under control and stepped aside to let the rest in. Basil in particular was a produce merchant, so I was willing to bet that a place like this would be of particular interest to him. But he was no less skilled than any other at hiding his emotions over the view.


    My parents stepped in next. I scrutinized their faces more than the others - they were my parents after all - looking for any indication of being impressed by my new home.


    My father did show a little bit of amazement when he first stepped into the light. His eyes were quick to scan and take in his surroundings, a quirk of his merchant training, and he adjusted fast to the new sight. I could still tell in that brief moment that he was at least mildly impressed by our home.


    My mother however, met my expectations and showed very little. She seemed to have adopted an expression of disinterested disdain before she even stepped into the basin, and it barely flickered. Her gaze certainly bounced around and took everything in, but she was either unimpressed or simply didn¡¯t care.


    Lastly into the basin was Lark and Severa. They were the oldest couple among our little group, with both of them being just over one hundred years old. Cultivator bodies were a wonderful thing, and that was on full display here, with both Lark and Severa looking as though they were perhaps in their fifties. Severa could easily pass for her natural forties, even. And while they showed the most exhaustion from the trip, it only really amounted to heavier breathing than the rest of us.


    But that slight level of exhaustion left them a little more impressionable than the others. Both showed shock and awe clearly on their faces when they stepped into the light, as their eyes took in everything. Severa recovered quickly enough, but Lark continued to look around for a moment.


    ¡°And our accommodations?¡± He asked, still looking around.


    I pointed toward the smaller houses hidden among the trees. ¡°There¡¯s a house for each couple and their respective children. Each one has three bedrooms, a small kitchen, bathroom, and some living space. They¡¯re also fully stocked with food for you, as well as working Arrays for heat, water, and the like.¡±


    Lark nodded. ¡°Acceptable.¡±


    I looked away before I rolled my eyes.


    ¡°Can you show us around, Avuri?¡± Mica asked, excitedly taking in the sights. At least the teens had taken to calling Avuri instead of Ivory. Seeing how my immediate blood relations were acting, I was only more and more sure of my decision to distance myself from them, and changing my name to not fall within their fake nature theme was just a small part of that.


    ¡°Of course. Let¡¯s get you all to your houses first, and show you where the bathhouse is so you can all clean up. If you¡¯d like, I suspect dinner is also being made, but you¡¯re free to eat on your own. Like I said, the houses are stocked.¡±


    My mother waved us forward. ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s push on.¡±


    ¡°Yes, mother.¡± I said flatly, then turned to walk.

 85 : Caught

    Fia was mildly concerned as she went about their daily work. Things were going well. Too well. And that kept her on edge.


    The last few days had been filled with back and forth pranks, and not just from Cruz and Elise. After the whole fiasco at dinner with the laxative, it felt like suddenly everyone was getting in on the pranking action.


    Of course, the vast majority of things were silly and no one had taken it nearly to the level of a laxative. To be fair, if someone did, they¡¯d probably actually get in trouble with their mothers and suddenly find themselves mucking the entire barn all alone. And no one wanted that privilege.


    The threat didn¡¯t stop the innocuous pranks though. A few of the younger kids had taken to knocking on doors and running away or hiding. Fia could admit it was funny at first, but it grew more and more annoying as she was the one always checking the door. The whole thing would get way less funny when someone decides not to check the door and Mom or Momri were the ones knocking.


    Wulf, Cruz, Marche, and Quinn had teamed up a few days prior to cause a little chaos with some fake bugs. They had used some combination of dried fruit and Qi techniques to make pretty convincing fake bugs and sprinkled them in a bunch of beds throughout the basin. There was a lot of screaming that night as they all found them.


    And then two days ago, someone had messed with several of the water Arrays around the basin. They sprayed out thin jets of water at random angles before functioning normally. Fia had gotten sprayed in the face, too. A bunch of people had gotten sprayed by the end of the day when Talya was asked to help fix things. Fia wasn¡¯t convinced that Talya was entirely innocent in that prank, though, given she was the most talented Array maker they had around.


    But yesterday, things seemed to finally calm down. Fia had been waiting all day for another prank to happen, but there was nothing.


    Of course, there was potentially the dress that Momri had put Mom in while parading her around, but that didn¡¯t feel like a prank so much as a harmless gag. And seeing Mom blushing and looking embarrassed was a rare sight. Fia really hoped that whenever she had a relationship it was as happy as her mothers¡¯.


    And now, as she sat outside the back side main house washing laundry, Fia was absolutely convinced that there would be hell to pay. She didn¡¯t trust any of the other teenagers in the family as far as she could throw them - which was admittedly pretty far - and was waiting for the other shoe to drop after the relative quiet yesterday.


    But still, this morning was completely quiet. Everyone had gone about their chores normally. Fia, Lia, and Jak were on laundry duty, and were slowly making their way through all the dirty clothes that their family produced. There was a ton of it. Not that it was really surprising, given their numbers.


    She looked over to check on Kal, as she did periodically, just to make sure the little four year old wasn¡¯t getting into any trouble. Thankfully, he was still hanging out on a blanket playing with some toys. The little spitfire could be very active and mischievous, often running off to find trouble.


    And that he was sitting quietly playing with some dominoes was setting Fia even further on edge.


    Lia, who was nearby and also scrubbing out stains was watching her older sister, and kept asking if she was alright. Apparently her current level of anxiety was making her twitch.


    But that was fine! She was getting her work done just as well. Maybe even faster than normal, as she scrubbed with abandon. At this rate, they may even finish the laundry before breakfast. Then, if they could take care of feeding the animals and checking the farms for weeds before lunch, they¡¯d be free for most of the day.


    She knew she liked getting up early to get everything done. It was absolutely worth the fight with Lia and Jak every morning to get up so they could have the afternoons free. She was also glad that Kal was basically a ¡®get the others out of bed¡¯ card she could play every morning. That kid was loud and more than happy to get up early.


    And no matter what they said, Lia and Jak would still get up, help with the chores, and enjoy the fact that they were done early.


    Except when they had cooking duty, anyway. That was always an all day affair for whoever had the assignment. It was everyone¡¯s favorite though, too. It got you out of practice and meditation for the day, and there were worse ways to spend a day than cooking for your family.


    ¡°Hey Fia?¡± Jak asked, suddenly breaking the relative quiet. Fia turned to look at him, prompting him to continue. ¡°Do you think we need to be worried about the whole attack on the city thing?¡± He asked nervously. Then added, ¡°It¡¯s been going around in my head for a while and now I can¡¯t stop thinking about it. Especially after the older group was brought in for special lessons.¡±


    Fia smiled at him reassuringly. ¡°I don¡¯t think you need to worry.¡± She said calmly. Her younger brother appearing nervous actually had a calming effect on her; this was something she could deal with. ¡°Mom was pretty adamant about beating it into us that we shouldn¡¯t fight with a higher Realm Cultivator, and that if one shows up here we should run and hide.¡±


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°But she was also reassuring us that she doesn¡¯t believe it will come to that. Better safe than sorry, you know?¡± Fia smiled at Jak and reiterated, ¡°I don¡¯t think we need to be that worried out here. And we definitely don¡¯t need to be worried while Mom, Momri, and Uncle Vale are all here.¡±


    ¡°So we should worry if they get called away to help the city?¡± He said, half panicked.


    ¡°No!¡± Fia said quickly with a laugh. ¡°I just meant that right now there¡¯s absolutely no reason to worry. If they do all get called away to help with the city¡¯s defense, I still think we¡¯re ultimately pretty safe up here.¡±


    ¡°Plus we have Aunt Talya to work on making us a big shield, right?¡± Lia chimed in. ¡°I know it¡¯s not actually done yet, but she¡¯s working on it. The little portable one she showed us is pretty neat.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I guess¡­¡± Jak said, unconvinced. ¡°I¡¯m just worried.¡±


    ¡°We all are, at least a little bit.¡± Lia said, then pointed at her older sister. ¡°Look at Fia, she¡¯s been shaking all morning!¡±


    ¡°I have not!¡± Fia called back on reflex. When she looked up and saw Lia staring at her as if to say ¡®really?¡¯, she sighed. ¡°Fine, fine! I¡¯ve been on edge.¡± She met Jak¡¯s gaze squarely. ¡°But not about whatever danger the city is supposedly in.¡±


    As she continued, her hands started going faster again as her anxiety sped her up as she spoke about it. ¡°With the ongoing prank war up here, I was worried something else might happen. Especially after how quiet it was yesterday.¡±


    ¡°Fia -¡±


    ¡°After having prank after prank every day for the last, what, two weeks? I was expecting something to go down. Even more so after Cruz found out that we helped Elise give him that laxative.¡±


    ¡°Fia.¡± Lia said again, trying to get her attention. But Fia continued right on, scrubbing the clothing in her hands.


    ¡°And after there was nothing of note yesterday at all? Yeah, I¡¯m on edge. But can you really blame -¡±


    ¡°Fia!¡± Lia nearly shouted, and pointed at the large tub of water in front of Fia. The tub that she had been soaking all of the clothes in while she washed them.


    The tub that was now clearly no longer the color of water and soap. She dropped the clothes she was scrubbing and pulled her hands back. They were the same color of purple as the water, though a slightly lighter shade.


    Before going straight into panic mode, she moved a hand through the water and pulled up a piece of clothing. The previously plain white clothing that everyone wore while meditating was dyed a light shade of purple.


    ¡°Dye? When?¡± She muttered, confused.


    Lia came over to check her sister¡¯s tub. She ran a hand through the water, too. ¡°Yeah, it looks like dye.¡± She confirmed, then rummaged through the last few bits of white meditation clothing. Her hand came back holding a small pouch. Four of them, in fact. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s dye, alright.¡±


    Fia quickly snatched one from her sister¡¯s hand as Jak came over to see what was happening. Even Kal got up to see what all the fuss was about. Fia¡¯s anxiety over being pranked was gone, replaced with indignant anger.


    She yelled, ¡°Cruz!¡± before she crushed the packet of dye in her hand. The purplish ink splattered out, dyeing her hand an even darker color. Then she grabbed the other packets of dye and flung them into the trees behind the main house.


    By the time Lia managed to calm her down, Fia¡¯s anger had subsided into burning coals. Alive, but not as hot.


    ¡°We really shouldn¡¯t leave those dye packets out there.¡± Lia said, looking into the woods where Fia had thrown them. ¡°If an animal eats it, it could be deadly.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Kal whined, then declared, ¡°No dead animals.¡±


    ¡°No room to argue with that one.¡± Fia said with a sigh, then ruffled Kal¡¯s hair. ¡°Let¡¯s go find the packets. Kal, can you stay here? We¡¯ll show you the packets when we get back so you know the animals are safe.¡±


    The boy waited a moment, then nodded. ¡°Yeah. Okay.¡±


    And then Fia, Lia, and Jak were wandering into the large copse of trees that were planted behind the main house, close to the elder wisteria.


    It didn¡¯t take too terribly long while looking before Lia popped up, holding a hand in the air victoriously. ¡°Found ¡®em! All three!¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­¡± When Fia and Jak were clearly staring right past her, their jaws slack, Lia whipped around.


    And immediately met eyes with their mothers, who were apparently trying to secretly creep through the wooded portion of the basin back to the main house. Both of them looked like an absolute mess. What had been rather gorgeous dresses the previous night were still on them, but were a bit askew. Their hair was messy and sticking up in all different ways, and their makeup was smeared.


    Emery was the first to recover, and she smiled. ¡°Good morning, you three.¡± She tried to sound chipper, but was clearly not. ¡°What are you doing back here?¡±


    ¡°Laundry.¡± Fia said, still dumbstruck. ¡°Cruz put ink packets in with the meditation clothes and dyed them all purple. When I realized it, I threw the packets into the woods, but we didn¡¯t want to let the animals eat them so we went to look for them.¡± She said dumbly.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s¡­nice.¡± Avuri said, as Lia held up the dye packets. ¡°We¡¯ll talk to him later. Go finish up the laundry. And don¡¯t worry about the dye, it¡¯s fine. You¡¯re not in trouble.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Momri.¡± Lia said.


    Both mothers nodded, then quickly dashed off into the trees toward the house. A moment passed before Jak asked, ¡°What was that? What happened to them?¡±


    Fia and Lia met gazes for just a moment, then Fia said, ¡°If you don¡¯t already know, we¡¯ll explain when you¡¯re older.¡±

 86 : Insiders

    It didn¡¯t take long after we arrived to show my family around the basin. Outside of the teenage trio, no one seemed all that interested. We received the expected and haughty responses of having seen this all before and being generally unimpressed.


    I got sick of it all very quickly. So, instead of continuing to take them around for the grand tour, we showed them to their houses. They ¡®graciously¡¯ accepted what we offered, and started to settle in. And while we were keeping an eye on them and showing them how each of the Arrays in the houses worked, the dinner chime sounded. I guessed Talya had noticed our arrival then, if she was signaling us to come in for dinner.


    When I explained what the sound meant and offered to have everyone join us, I was unsurprisingly turned down with a variety of polite excuses. Wanting to rest after the long trip. Wanting to bathe before dinner - despite everyone having already washed their hands and faces with water and soap in the houses. My parents and Leon wanted to work on business, as if that was something they could even do from our little secluded slice of paradise.


    I didn¡¯t want to bother fighting over it, so I just left them to it. When Emery and I began to walk to the house for dinner, though, we were followed by the three teenagers. I raised an eyebrow in question at them as we walked, and Glenn stammered to answer.


    ¡°Um. If it¡¯s all the same to you two, we¡¯d like to eat with you?¡± He said, hesitatingly. ¡°You¡¯ve been nothing but gracious hosts, and you mentioned in passing that Miss Talya¡¯s food is really good, so¡­¡±


    ¡°Sure. You¡¯re welcome to join us.¡± I turned to Emery and snickered. ¡°Better tell Talya to watch out or she might have an admirer.¡±


    ¡°Wha -¡±


    ¡°Oh, she¡¯s got plenty of those.¡± Emery said flippantly, waving away my concern. ¡°I could never get any boys growing up because Talya kept snatching ¡®em up.¡± She went on, and even gestured with her hands to sell the play. Then she eyed me side-long and said seductively, ¡°I suppose that suits me just fine, given you.¡± Then she wiggled her eyebrows.


    The sounds of disgust and shock behind us made us both laugh. I turned back to the teens, who just stared at us in shock.


    ¡°Relax.¡± I said with a welcoming smile. ¡°I somehow get the feeling you don¡¯t exactly¡­get along with any of your parents.¡± I glanced at Emery and then back to their little group. ¡°This is much more¡­us.¡± I gestured around vaguely. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so formal or polite with us.¡±


    All three of the teens looked uncomfortable, so I added, ¡°Unless I have entirely misread you all, and you want to be, at least.¡±


    There was a moment of further hesitation before Cove finally spoke for them all. ¡°No. Just¡­well.¡± He met my eyes then, and I could see a bit of resolve harden there. ¡°Avuri, Miss Emery¡­¡± He glanced back at the houses, gauging the distance for a second, then decided to continue, ¡°we should probably talk.¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡± Emery said lightly, continuing to walk to the main house. ¡°We can chat over dinner. Get to know each other better.¡± She laced her fingers behind her head lazily as she walked, and looked back over her shoulder with her eyes narrowed on the boy. ¡°As long as it¡¯s appropriate for children to hear.¡±


    ¡°Um. It¡¯s nothing bad or vulgar. It¡¯s probably beyond their understanding, though.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. Just keep bad words and the like to yourself and you¡¯ll be allowed at our table.¡± Emery said, then decided to kick her legs higher as she walked, as if part of a parade march. It looked silly and I giggled at her, as did Mica.


    ¡°You two are¡­not what we were told to expect.¡± Glenn said after a long stretch of silence.


    ¡°Oh? And what, exactly, were you told to expect from us?¡± I asked, actually quite curious.


    ¡°Two Cultivation idiots.¡± Mica said.


    ¡°Poor buffoons.¡± Glenn nodded.


    Cove was hesitant to add anything, but ended up looking down, practically ashamed. ¡°I¡¯d¡­rather not say what my parents said.¡±


    I looked at him with a frown and sighed. ¡°I won¡¯t lie to you, Cove. I¡¯d expect nothing less than absolute vitriol out of Severa¡¯s mouth. That woman has always been¡­well, let¡¯s just leave it at that. I¡¯m surprised Lark would¡¯ve said anything too mean though.¡±


    Cove looked up then. ¡°Oh! He didn¡¯t, actually. Just agreed with Severa, as he usually does.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that sounds about right from what I remember.¡± I said, thinking back. ¡°In case you three were unaware, I all but left the family to join the Frozen Mountain Sect when I was fourteen, so it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve had any interaction with family members outside of my parents. And you saw how nice they were to me.¡±


    ¡°And Leon.¡± Mica said, sticking her tongue out like she had tasted something nasty. ¡°I can¡¯t stand him.¡±


    ¡°Rightfully so, as far as I¡¯m concerned.¡± I echoed. ¡°He¡¯s a real piece of work. He may be a decent merchant - maybe even a good one - but damn do I feel for the poor woman they want him to marry.¡±


    ¡°And that would be me.¡± Mica said with a massive sigh, and pointed to herself.


    That drew me up short. ¡°...What?¡± I asked, shocked. ¡°I thought they did away with the whole ¡®marry within the family¡¯ bullshit decades ago?¡±


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°They did. Severa is pushing for this one though because they¡¯re both good merchants and from the main branches of the family.¡± Cove said sourly.


    ¡°Being so closely related is a reason not to marry. That¡¯s disgusting of her, Mica, I¡¯m sorry.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m also sorry for whatever Leon has done to add to the stress of it all.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­well, it¡¯s not alright, but it¡¯s hardly your fault. I appreciate the sentiment though.¡±


    ¡°If there¡¯s something we can do to help, just say so. You wouldn¡¯t be the first girl in a bad situation we¡¯ve helped.¡± Emery cut in.


    ¡°I somehow doubt adopting the poor girl is likely to work this time, Emery.¡± I laughed.


    ¡°I dunno.¡± Cove said, thinking about it. ¡°We were thinking of running off to join a Sect like you did. At least we could stay together as a family then. But maybe having the two of you adopt us would work even better.¡±


    Emery looked at me as if to say, ¡®See?¡¯, and I nearly burst out into laughter. ¡°We¡¯ll keep it in mind. But joining a Sect isn¡¯t a terrible idea. It helped me really get my life together and sort out my feelings about the family. The rigid structure of it all does have its upsides.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯d just need to figure out which one. We already ruled out the Frozen Mountain, given they have fairly close ties to our family these days. We¡¯d need something further out if we¡¯re to actually break away.¡±


    ¡°See now, that we might be able to help with.¡± I said, as we finally reached the main house¡¯s front door.


    No sooner had I opened the door than I was tackled around my hips. Cierra had her arms tightly wrapped around my legs, while Stena toddled over to Emery and copied her big sister.


    ¡°Momri! Welcome back. Dinner¡¯s ready!¡± Cierra shouted quickly. Then she peaked around my legs to see the three strangers waiting behind me. She looked up at me, a somewhat worried look on her face.


    I ruffled her hair and tried my best to crouch down beside her with her still hugging around my hips. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Cierra, these are my cousins. Glenn, Mica, and Cove.¡± I said, pointing to each in turn. ¡°Say hello.¡±


    The little girl shyly waved while using me to hide. ¡°Hi¡­¡± She said shyly.


    Cove crouched to get on her level as I did and waved with a smile. ¡°Hi, Cierra! I¡¯m Cove; it¡¯s nice to meet you.¡±


    Cierra nodded, while Emery brought Stena over to us to get in on the introductions. Once everyone had said hello, we made our way inside and up the stairs to the second floor kitchen table.


    After a second round of introductions for Vale and Talya, we sent Vale off to fetch the second table. We didn¡¯t usually need to seat nine, but we had fashioned two extra tables in case we had visitors. Pushed together, two of the tables could comfortably seat eight. While Vale had offered to stand while we all ate, Stena opted to sit in Emery¡¯s lap instead.


    Dinner started off very amicably. The teens were excited to talk to people outside of the Mephra family, and were eager to share some of their fun stories. By the time the meal was nearly over, though, the conversation had begun to grow thin.


    ¡°So,¡± I said, turning back to our much earlier talk, ¡°what was it that you wanted to talk to us about?¡±


    Mica took a deep breath. ¡°You should be careful around our family.¡± She said, seriously. I had to fight the urge to snort at that.


    ¡°Trust me, I am aware.¡± I said. ¡°I warned everyone here to be careful too. The entire family is a viper¡¯s nest.¡±


    Glenn spoke up then. ¡°It¡¯s probably worse than you¡¯re even aware of.¡± He said, looking between Mica and Cove. ¡°Severa has been on a warpath recently. I don¡¯t know how much you¡¯ve heard from your parents in whatever letters you¡¯ve sent back and forth but¡­Well, Rain died a couple years ago.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± I said. I hadn¡¯t heard that, in fact. But Rain was the family head for a long time. He was a relatively pleasant old man with a real knack for business. It would¡¯ve been entirely possible for the Mephra family to all but buy out the other merchant families in Bouquet and rule it like royalty, but he hadn¡¯t wanted that. ¡°Given what you¡¯ve said so far, I imagine that Lark is the new head?¡±


    He nodded solemnly. ¡°Basically in name only. He has a great head for business, but Severa is basically the one managing the family. And she¡¯s absolutely ruthless. We think it¡¯s just a matter of time before she tries to buy out the other Bouquet families. And she¡¯s already acting like a dictator in our family.¡±


    ¡°Like with the marriage to Leon.¡± I muttered, looking at Mica.


    ¡°Right. And though she hasn¡¯t made any moves yet, I¡¯d be shocked if she doesn¡¯t try to trap you and Emery into something. Especially now that we¡¯ve seen that Emery isn¡¯t exactly poor.¡±


    Emery chuckled. ¡°We get by.¡± Despite the laugh, her eyes were sharp. ¡°But I don¡¯t plan on entreating with your family at all. They¡¯ve made it clear where they stand with Avuri, even if they haven¡¯t used actual words.¡±


    Emery¡¯s fierce words made me smile. ¡°Like Emery said, I think it¡¯s unlikely that we pay any attention to their ploys at all. They are merchants after all. Severa may be a vicious negotiator, but she¡¯s not stupid. She won¡¯t be able to strong-arm us into anything.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°And more than that, unlike in Bouquet where Severa is on the stronger side, she is pretty easily outclassed by both of us. Even as a peak Earth Realm Cultivator, she couldn¡¯t really harm us if she tried.¡±


    Emery scoffed. ¡°And if she actually is stupid enough to try something, she¡¯ll basically just bring down the sky on her head.¡± When the teens looked confused, Emery just smiled mysteriously. ¡°We have connections that she won¡¯t want to mess with.¡±


    Cove snapped his fingers as it clicked. ¡°The Elders.¡±


    I snorted. ¡°You were actually paying attention in the tea shop?¡±


    ¡°I was.¡± He said, looking a little embarrassed. ¡°Merchant or not, it¡¯s smart to pay attention to your surroundings, even if you act like you don¡¯t.¡±


    Emery and I both nodded. ¡°That is smart. People definitely don¡¯t pay attention to innocuous things as much as they probably should. You¡¯ll learn so much just by listening.¡±


    ¡°Indeed you do.¡± Talya cut in. When all the heads turned her way, one corner of her mouth quirked up. ¡°One of the leading families of Bouquet acting a little villainous is some very tasty intel, you know.¡± Her eyes skirted over to Vale for just a second before she continued. ¡°You should be careful about who¡¯s around when you talk about things like that, kids.¡±


    Vale looked up and away from the table innocently. When the teenagers all went pale, Emery and I laughed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s on our side, I promise.¡± Emery said through her laughter.


    ¡°But he may let a few of those juicy details slip to the Elders.¡± I said slyly, looking at him. ¡°If he does,¡± I said pointedly, ¡°he better make sure to get something good in trade for it.¡±


    He quirked an eyebrow at me and I smiled. ¡°I remember someone mentioning that they wanted some Emberling meat at the reception. To which I said okay, and then proceeded to pay a lot for it. Sure would be nice if I didn¡¯t have to pay so much.¡± I said glibly.


    Vale laughed. ¡°Discounts for the catering. Yes ma¡¯am.¡±


    ¡°Did you say ¡®ma¡¯am¡¯?¡±

 87 : Obnoxious

    With less than two weeks left to go before the wedding ceremony, Emery and I were constantly on the move. Not necessarily because there was so much to do or things to be done, but simply because neither of us could sit still. We were just too antsy.


    My family being around complicated things somewhat, too, though not as badly as I thought they would. For the most part of the first four days they were with us, they mostly stuck to themselves. We coordinated bathing times politely, and although we offered dinner every night, they opted to stay in their accommodations and eat by themselves.


    Well, except for the three teenagers who were more than happy to spend time with us and the girls. They were a little skittish around Talya and Vale, though.


    I had honestly expected my family - and especially my parents - to be very involved in my business while they were here. While growing up, they had been intensely nosy and invasive, but they seemed almost uninterested for the first few days after they arrived. Even Glenn, Mica, and Cove had no idea what was going on; they had apparently been relegated to outsider status, too, and were no longer being included in whatever the Mephras got up to.


    I supposed, if anything, it would make their escape easier, so we left it alone. The three of them seemed almost happy about it too. Mica in particular seemed a little relieved, given she expected that Severa would be constantly pushing Leon on her throughout the trip.


    Apparently, what was actually happening for those first few days was scheming. Because on their fourth day in the basin, the whole group seemed to want to be involved. They all cited recovery from the long trip as the reason for their low energy the previous few days, which was absolute nonsense.


    Perhaps Lark and Severa were old enough that they may feel a little residual tiredness from the trip, but the whole group was made up of Cultivators. They should¡¯ve recovered perfectly well within a day of rest with some cycling and meditation. At the very least, there was no reason someone Leon¡¯s age would need so much bed rest after a trip like the one they took.


    But the last thing we wanted to do was appear to be bad hosts, so we said nothing, greeted them nicely when they finally emerged from their hiding, and introduced them all to Cierra, Stena, Talya, and Vale. They were mostly pleasant, with just a few backhanded compliments aimed at the adults.


    They were lucky they chose not to insult the girls in any way - Emery and I would¡¯ve strung them up by their necks had they said anything mean to them. Even Leon had a nice face on and was being nice to the girls. My parents were even trying to get the girls to call them grandma and grandpa, which was shocking to me.


    The whole time this was going on, I kept meeting gazes with Emery as we both were trying to figure out what was happening. Their entire demeanor was different from the first day, and neither of us were buying it. If nothing else, Severa telling Talya that she ¡°was lucky she had a real talent with Array work,¡± after looking her up and down was a strong tip off that they were still far from benevolent.


    Amalia had even taken one look at Vale and Talya, then told Emery that she had done a great job caring for her body and being in shape. The whole thing had left me feeling sick to my stomach, and I desperately wanted to get my new family away from my old one so I could apologize for this nonsense.


    Once my parents and Leon had taken to playing with the girls, the rest started to talk shop with Vale, Talya, Emery, and me. Basil had mentioned he was a produce merchant, and that got Vale talking about his travels and the various fruits and vegetables he had tried. It seemed to actually fascinate Basil as there were many things that he hadn¡¯t heard of, giving him new potential products to hunt down.


    Aster and Mint had stayed close to one another and chatted with Talya rather pleasantly about how Arrays could be utilized for better city infrastructure. I wasn¡¯t too sure whether it was genuine or not, but my understanding was that Aster was involved in city planning for Bouquet, so he could potentially mean well. Mint mostly just nodded along, only adding small tidbits here and there. She was mostly watching my parents play with the girls.


    And all of that left Emery and I chatting with Severa and Lark. Which wasn¡¯t the most pleasant conversation I had had recently by a wide margin.


    ¡°Once you both are married, are you still planning to live out here? Even with the little ones?¡± Severa asked.


    ¡°Yes?¡± I answered honestly. ¡°We like it here for a variety of reasons, and don¡¯t really plan on moving any time soon, right?¡± I turned to ask Emery.


    She nodded. ¡°Right. I put a lot of this place together by my own hand. I have no desire to leave it.¡±


    ¡°Even with the city so close? Surely living there would be a better place to raise kids?¡± Severa asked, sounding genuinely concerned.


    Emery was taken a little aback. ¡°How do you figure that?¡± She asked, honestly confused.


    ¡°Flowing Dragon City is one of the wealthiest cities around.¡± Severa said, as if espousing an ad. ¡°It has great schools, both martial and traditional, it¡¯s safely protected by a strong force of guards, it¡¯s seemingly led by good people¡­it seems like a wonderful place to live.¡±


    ¡°With all due respect, Severa,¡± I said, ¡°we¡¯re more than capable of offering all of those things here. In fact, Flowing Dragon City is probably even more dangerous than living in the wilds out here, given how many high Realm Cultivators come through so often.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what the guard force is for, no?¡± She said flippantly.


    ¡°The City Guard does have a few Sky Realm Cultivators among them, and I believe even two Heavenly Realms. But they are severely outnumbered by the visiting Cultivators. If there¡¯s ever any real trouble makers in the city, it could get very dangerous, very fast.¡± Emery said, then continued, ¡°Which, to be fair, is why they do such a thorough job on inspecting who comes into the city. They may actually be some of the most diligent guards I¡¯ve ever come across in that regard.¡±


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    I could¡¯ve sworn I saw both Lark and Severa look annoyed at that last particular bit of information.


    ¡°They¡¯re even more strict when it comes to allowing people into the Peaks themselves.¡± Emery added. ¡°Which is one of the reasons I¡¯m so confident in our safety out here.¡±


    Lark¡¯s eyes lit up when he heard that. ¡°Oh? I¡¯m shocked you¡¯re able to live out here, then, if they¡¯re so strict about access.¡±


    ¡°We merely have some convenient connections.¡± I said with a shrug. I didn¡¯t want to give too much away, and actively avoided glancing toward Vale. ¡°And a convenient arrangement as well. We don¡¯t just get to live out here for no reason.¡± I said, trying to throw them off a little.


    ¡°Is that so¡­?¡± Severa muttered, looking as though her brain was working overtime trying to connect some bits of information. ¡°I¡¯m still not sure I¡¯m convinced it¡¯s a good place to raise my great-nieces.¡±


    A cold shiver ran down my spine at that. Cierra and Stena being tangentially related to my own immediate family was something I could reluctantly stomach. However, I wanted no part of them in any way connected to the rest of my family.


    Emery seemed to feel that same way, given the quick shadow that passed over her features. I hoped Severa didn¡¯t notice it as I replied, ¡°Well, we can take it under advisement. One way or another, we have good reasons for living apart from the city.¡±


    ¡°Suit yourself.¡± Severa said, dismissively waving her hand in the air, as if waving off the topic. ¡°I would never raise my own children like this, but it¡¯s up to you to take advice from your elders.¡±


    I bristled, as did Emery next to me. I could practically feel it coming off her in waves, and it had been a while since we did any Paired Cultivation.


    ¡°As I said,¡± I said through gritted teeth, ¡°we¡¯ll take it under advisement. Perhaps in the future we could consider moving to the city.¡± I looked at Emery, trying to keep us both calm. ¡°Right, Emery?¡±


    She nodded mutely, not risking an explosion. I supposed that was for the best.


    Looking for a change of subject, I asked, ¡°By the way, I haven¡¯t seen Glenn, Mica, and Cove yet today. What are they up to? I had assumed they¡¯d be here with you.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes. They¡¯re working on some merchant related business that they had been neglecting the last few days. And catching up on their studies, too.¡± Severa said, almost sweetly.


    ¡°They¡¯ve taken some time from their schooling for this trip, so their teachers left them assignments to work on.¡± Lark added, sounding a little more sincere. ¡°They¡¯ve been ignoring them in favor of whatever else they¡¯ve been doing, so it¡¯ll be good for them to take some time and work on it.¡±


    I nodded. I didn¡¯t trust Severa much at all, but Lark read as a little more honest to me. Until the teens said otherwise, I would take him at his word. I had assumed they¡¯d been getting schooled in Bouquet anyway, so this more or less tracked. Regardless of whether they would be leaving the family for a sect or not, I hoped they took their schooling seriously. Despite how I felt about my family, I was grateful for the schooling I had received growing up.


    ¡°They had better catch up.¡± Severa muttered. I could hear the venom in her voice. ¡°We don¡¯t need to be paying anyone for extra lessons because they chose to be lazy and not do their work.¡± She muttered. I wasn¡¯t sure she realized I could hear her muttering to herself. I kept my mouth shut and smiled as if I had heard nothing. Emery did the same.


    ¡°In any case, I imagine I¡¯ve kept you both from your own work, yes?¡± Severa said, affecting her rich-woman tone again. She motioned toward the area where we had placed the small barn, chicken coop, and crop field. It was the beginning of Spring, so she wasn¡¯t exactly wrong - there was plenty of work to be done.


    I still didn¡¯t like her tone. She clearly thought she was better than working on a farm or in a field, and it showed in the disdain clearly displayed on her face.


    Emery and I didn¡¯t let it bother us too much. I just smiled and nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right, we do have plenty to do.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s already early afternoon, so there¡¯s no reason to work on the fieldwork.¡± Emery said, looking back over her shoulder toward the house. ¡°We should just get the husbandry chores done today. We can work in the field tomorrow while your family relaxes.¡±


    I nearly laughed. Emery tried her best to sound genuine and more or less succeeded; I didn¡¯t think that anyone else caught the obvious sarcasm in her words.


    ¡°Yes, we won¡¯t bother you tomorrow.¡± Severa said, with one of the fakest smiles I had seen on her yet. ¡°If you¡¯d like, we could watch the gi -¡±


    ¡°Sierra, Stena.¡± Emery called, cutting off Severa as if she didn¡¯t even notice the woman had continued speaking. ¡°We¡¯re going to clean up the barn now. Would you like to come help?¡±


    The two girls, who had seemed fairly content playing with their potential grandparents and uncle, immediately perked up. Stena especially was always excited to see the chickens. How that girl had managed to reconcile loving the animals as well as loving to eat the animals, despite being around three years old, was one of the great mysteries of the universe to me.


    ¡°We¡¯re coming!¡± Cierra shouted, and then turned back to my family members to apologize and excuse themselves. Or at least Cierra did, Stena sort of just followed along and echoed her older sister.


    ¡°You really don¡¯t have to make them help.¡± Severa said, sounding sickly sweet again. ¡°We can watch them while you do the work. We may as well make ourselves useful.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± I said, echoing the woman¡¯s tone back at her. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t want to impose. And Cierra and Stena both like helping, and we¡¯re teaching them how to do it all themselves while we do the work. It¡¯s good lessons for them.¡±


    As I finished what I had to say the girls ran over to us, and Stena began pushing on my legs. ¡°Chickens! I wanna see the chickens!¡±


    I chuckled, letting myself be slowly pushed toward the coop. ¡°Okay, okay, we¡¯re going!¡± I said, slowly moving away from my family. ¡°We¡¯ll talk to you at dinner if you¡¯d like to join us tonight. Otherwise, we¡¯ll talk later.¡± I waved as we began moving off in earnest.


    I wasn¡¯t sure who, but I thought I heard the beginning of one more objection that was quickly silenced by Emery¡¯s loud whistle. The sound carried throughout the whole basin easily and continued to echo for a moment/ She bent down to cover Stena¡¯s ears while Cierra covered her own, then Emery bellowed. ¡°We¡¯re working on the coop and barn!¡±


    ¡°Be right there!¡± Came the loud reply from the house. I desperately wanted to turn around to see my family¡¯s reaction to both Vale and Talya nonchalantly jump out of the second story windows of the main house, fully clothed in dirty work clothes, ready to get dirty.

 88 : Missing Demons

    Avuri and I were laying in bed four days after her family had arrived, and my mind was wandering. The talk with her family in the afternoon had been interesting, to say the least. Severa felt distinctly like a snake to me, while her husband Lark was just along for the ride. I hadn¡¯t spent as much time with the others yet, but I had suspicions that I¡¯d feel the same toward most of them. The group of teens were pretty nice though.


    I let out a sigh, thinking about the events of the day before we went to do our farm work. Avuri rolled over to face me and smiled, reaching out to lay her hand on my shoulder. She caressed it gently and I let out another sigh. She didn¡¯t ask anything out loud, but I felt like her actions carried a question with them anyway.


    ¡°I never thought I¡¯d say this, but with your family here¡­Avuri, I miss when all we had to deal with were demons.¡±


    She chuckled and asked, ¡°Oh, really?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you doubt me, do you?¡± I responded with a grin. ¡°I¡¯ll give you that your family - at least on the surface - doesn¡¯t hurt, use, or kill people in quite the same way that demons do. But that¡¯s all. At least I know how to deal with a demon.¡±


    ¡°Sword through the neck?¡± She asked with a knowing smile.


    ¡°Mhm. Easy.¡± I said, then added, ¡°Well, in theory anyway.¡±


    ¡°At least talking with my family doesn¡¯t come with a death risk?¡± She offered, sounding unconvinced.


    I laughed. ¡°You don¡¯t even sound entirely convinced of that yourself.¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯m not.¡± She responded regretfully.


    ¡°...Do you really think they could be that bad?¡± I asked, quietly.


    Avuri took a moment to think that over seriously, and rolled back onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. ¡°Honestly? I¡¯m not sure. Ten years ago, I would¡¯ve said that they could be ruthless merchants, but their evil streak ended as soon as you left the negotiation table. Now though¡­I don¡¯t know.¡± She let out a sigh very similar to mine from earlier.


    ¡°Severa in particular worries me.¡± She continued. ¡°She¡¯s always been a little too power-hungry in my eyes. And seeing that she¡¯s basically taken over the family and that Lark is doing nothing to try to stop her from going overboard¡­Well, I¡¯m not a fan.¡±


    ¡°See? So much easier to put a sword through a throat.¡± I said, trying to lighten the mood a little. I wasn¡¯t sure it had worked at all, though. ¡°The biggest concern is that we don¡¯t really know where they stand. We can keep praying that they¡¯re not that bad or not that evil until we¡¯re proven one way or another. I just wish we knew from the get go.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. No hurting people just because they¡¯re assholes, right?¡± Avuri said with an empty laugh, and followed it with a big sigh. ¡°You¡¯re not wrong though. At least we know demons are unequivocally evil. People are too nuanced.¡±


    ¡°Yup.¡± I hummed agreement.


    There was a moment of silence, as we both laid there staring at the wooden ceiling, our fingers intertwined. Eventually I said, ¡°I won¡¯t lie to you, Avuri. After seeing your parents and brother playing unusually nicely with the girls, I¡¯m worried that they¡¯re planning something.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡± She said, the worry sounding in her voice. ¡°I want nothing more than for them to be genuine in the way they played with them today. But I can¡¯t help but feel they¡¯re just being nice to use them somehow.¡±


    I nodded in the darkness. ¡°The issue is that I can¡¯t figure out to what end they might do that. Cierra is seven, and Stena is four. The only thing I can think of is kidnapping them to be used as some kind of twisted bargaining chip, but that doesn¡¯t seem like something your family would do. It¡¯s too straightforward.¡±


    ¡°No, they wouldn¡¯t kidnap them.¡± Avuri confirmed. ¡°The obvious thing I can think of would be using them for information; Kids famously have no filter, and it¡¯s possible that they would let something important slip to new, happy grandparents.¡± Avuri grumbled. ¡°I¡¯m not sure Stena would know anything worth keeping a secret. As for Cierra, I¡¯m not sure.¡±


    ¡°Do we even have any secrets? Other than living here, I guess?¡±


    ¡°Vale and the Elders?¡± Avuri suggested.


    ¡°Hm. I suppose Cierra could mention that Vale is a dragon, but I don¡¯t think she¡¯s aware that the Elders are?¡±


    ¡°No, but we did meet them all in person. If she mentions that we know them even remotely well, my family could latch onto that.¡±


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    ¡°Okay, sure.¡± I admitted, ¡°However, our wedding is catered by one of them, and being hosted by another. If we were worried about your family realizing we have any ties to the Elders at all, we probably missed the boat to hide it months ago.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, fair.¡± Avuri said flatly.


    ¡°Besides, if they¡¯re smart, if they somehow find out any or all of them are dragons they would keep their mouths shut. Angering a dragon is a quick path to an early grave, and surely they must know that.¡±


    There was a snort, then a beat of silence as something was reconsidered. ¡°You know? I¡¯m not so sure.¡± She said, sounding worried again. ¡°Of course everyone has heard stories, but in Bouquet and the greater Floral Hills, dragons are basically a myth. The area isn¡¯t strong enough for any to settle there, so we only got stories.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± I said, echoing her sentiment.


    ¡°Yeah, ¡®Oh¡¯.¡± She chuckled. ¡°I didn¡¯t really take dragons seriously as a thing that existed until after I joined the sect and heard a few people talk of their run-ins with them. It is certainly possible my family would know better, but they may not. Even worse, they may not take one seriously when it comes to business, given they¡¯re well known for brute strength, not wits.¡±


    I nearly let out a full bellied laugh at that, but held it back; I didn¡¯t want to wake anyone. ¡°Under no circumstances should you let Vale - or any other dragon for that matter - hear you say that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, no shit, Emery.¡± Avuri said bluntly. ¡°Obviously that isn¡¯t correct. But even you have to admit, most stories about dragons involve their terrible might, and are less focused on outsmarting people.¡±


    ¡°You apparently grew up with a very narrow breadth of stories, then. Many of mine growing up were about dragons completely tricking humans into various things. Or just winning a very straightforward battle of wits.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Avuri sounded so sincerely shocked, that I turned to look at her. ¡°That¡¯s actually fascinating. I know you obviously grew up with a dragon so you¡¯re bound to get some very different stories, but that¡¯s still very interesting.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t put it on Vale¡¯s parenting.¡± I said, idly stroking the back of her hand with my thumb. ¡°Most of the stories I heard growing up are classics in plenty of places. Flowing Dragon City, too, for example.¡±


    Something clicked for both of us when I said that, and Avuri let out a low whistle. ¡°You don¡¯t think that stories like that are directly related to where dragons settle, do you?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way.¡± I said, disbelieving. ¡°It¡¯d be too obvious, surely. And stories are bound to spread, right?¡±


    ¡°I suppose.¡± Avuri agreed.


    Silence overtook us for a while then as we both thought it through. Surely the Floral Hills only had stories about the physical might of dragons because it was simply the most obvious trait.


    It didn¡¯t take long for my mind to cycle back around to the original topic, though. ¡°Do you think we should be worried for their safety?¡± I asked, suddenly cutting through the silence.


    Avuri took a moment to answer, ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so. But I¡¯m definitely concerned about letting them spend too much time with the girls. Especially after the way Severa offered to watch them more than once today.¡±


    I nodded assent. ¡°I also got the feeling she wanted to get them alone with your family.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°If they so much as lay a finger on one of them¡­¡± I said, a bit of anger bleeding into my voice.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not about to give them the chance to try, same as you.¡± Avuri said, gripping my hand tighter. ¡°And if they try something, they¡¯re gone. They can try to weasel their way around me all they want. But if they try to do something with Cierra or Stena, I¡¯m kicking them out on their asses immediately.¡±


    With a big smile, I rolled over to half drape myself over Avuri, laying half on top of her. She let out a giggle as I did so, and I gave her a warm, loving kiss and snuggled into her. ¡°Maybe hearing you say you¡¯ll kick out your family isn¡¯t something I should be happy about, but still.¡±


    ¡°Well, If they actually play nice and don¡¯t cause trouble, it¡¯ll never be an issue. I want nothing more than for them to be perfectly civil and generally good people.¡± Avuri said, nuzzling into my hair. She pulled me a little bit closer with the arm that was underneath me. ¡°I¡¯m worried that - outside of the three teenagers - they just aren¡¯t good.¡±


    ¡°We should keep an eye on the teens.¡± I said, in response to her mentioning them. ¡°I know Severa and Lark said they were catching up on school work, and that¡¯s absolutely believable. But we should make sure they aren¡¯t doing anything shady.¡±


    Avuri nodded agreement. ¡°We should.¡± Then she took a deep, steadying breath. ¡°We should also just be careful that they aren¡¯t being used to bait us.¡± My stomach dropped at the thought. Avuri could probably tell from my physical reaction and continued, ¡°I¡¯m not saying that¡¯s the case. I think there¡¯s more evidence in their favor than against. But we shouldn¡¯t be too quick to trust them.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± I said, feeling deflated. ¡°I wonder if I¡¯m just too trusting¡­¡±


    Avuri gave me a reassuring squeeze. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯d say that, so much as you have a bit of a hero complex.¡±


    I looked up at her, my eyes narrowed. ¡°Be careful with what you say next.¡± I threatened.


    She merely smiled. ¡°I think whenever you see anyone that is conceivably being used or mistreated, you immediately take their side to defend them. It¡¯s ingrained in your personality at this point, I imagine. You don¡¯t like seeing people used that way.¡±


    I begrudgingly let it go. ¡°You¡¯re probably right.¡±


    ¡°Hey, I think it¡¯s sweet of you to leap to people¡¯s defense like that.¡± Avuri said, and kissed the top of my head. ¡°If nothing else, I¡¯ll be here to help you out a little with a healthy dose of skepticism when you need it.¡±


    I let out a deep breath and snuggled against her for a bit in silence, and Avuri seemed more than content to do the same.


    A few minutes passed in silence with each of us thinking to ourselves, before I said quietly, ¡°Yeah, I really do miss just dealing with asshole demons.¡±


    Avuri chuckled.

 89 : Break In

    Emery and Avuri were both in the kitchen working on dinner for the day when one of the Array alarms went off. They both exploded into action, dropping the food they were working on and immediately leaping from the wide, open window - which had been designed for this very purpose - to be prepared to guard their home.


    In the weeks since they first received word about the situation with The Deposits, they had been working with Talya to set up a wide selection of Arrays that would, in theory, protect their basin and their family in it. They had set up so many redundancies and extra layers at this point that they felt comfortable with its ability to defend them, or at least alert them, when danger showed up at their doorstep.


    Given all of that, it was very concerning to everyone that heard it that it was an inner circle alarm that was sounding.


    ¡°What happened to the other twenty alarms?¡± Avuri asked as she and Emery moved to the playground for a decent vantage point to see whatever was headed their way. She may have exaggerated with ¡®twenty¡¯, but it wasn¡¯t by all that much.


    ¡°Your guess is as good as mine.¡± Emery responded, her head on a constant swivel. She saw her kids quickly moving inside their houses, and she could feel the Qi-based locks slide into place. The houses would be difficult to break into for anyone in the Sky Realm, and near impossible for those below it. It was the easiest line of defense they had come up with, but wasn¡¯t perfect. For now, it had to do.


    Avuri had let her Domain flow freely, covering basically the entirety of the basin, as well as some of the area around it. Emery had let hers flow out and meld with Avuri¡¯s so she could get a feel for a whole space as well.


    Neither of them felt anything.


    They stopped in the center of the playground, back to back, trying to physically look for whatever had tripped their alarm.


    ¡°Do you - ¡°


    ¡°No. Nothing.¡± Avuri confirmed. ¡°That¡¯s concerning.¡±


    ¡°Whatever it is, it must be close. The alarm it tripped was the one that starts at the edge of the fields, so it must be within the settlement by now.¡± Emery said, her eyes darting around.


    Vale crashed heavily onto the ground next to them, seemingly from nowhere. Neither woman was startled, as Vale had a tendency to just appear like that when something was amiss.


    ¡°Nothing?¡± He asked, his body beginning to show the signs of his morph as he cycled his Qi. A smattering of scales were visible at the neckline of his shirt, but he otherwise kept the transformation hidden beneath his clothing. His normal paunch was already gone, though.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± A flat, unenthusiastic voice came from between two of the houses to the side. Heads snapped toward the newcomer, but the charge of Qi in the air had already begun to fade. Not entirely, but much of the tension faded away.


    Vale narrowed his eyes at the person who was walking toward their little group relaxed. ¡°Black.¡±


    ¡°Scales.¡± The person responded, continuing to walk forward.


    ¡°Even.¡±


    ¡°Keel.¡±


    At that point, the tension really did flee from everyone.


    ¡°Ieji.¡± Emery said, letting out a breath. ¡°That explains the lack of a presence.¡± She said sourly.


    Avuri harrumphed, crossing her arms over her chest. ¡°You couldn¡¯t just send a messenger to let us know you were here? Or flare your Qi? Or at least have the decency to trigger one of the outer Arrays?¡±


    Ieji did have the decency to look a little sheepish at that. ¡°I honestly thought I could bypass the Arrays and just knock on the door. I didn¡¯t expect so many layers of defense, and I missed one.¡± They shrugged. ¡°On the other hand, now you know that even I can¡¯t break through all of them unnoticed, so you did a good job.¡± They paused for a moment, then asked, ¡°Talya?¡±


    Emery nodded. ¡°Talya. It¡¯s good to hear that they¡¯re reliable, though.¡±


    ¡°I assume if you¡¯re here, that means you have news to share.¡± Vale said, cutting straight to the point.


    Ieji nodded. ¡°Yes. I¡¯d rather not explain this all more than once, so gather everyone up and we can get into it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll call the Elders. We can meet them at their place tonight, no doubt. They¡¯ll make time.¡± Vale said, and he was off, practically leaving a dust cloud behind.


    Emery gave Ieji a quick look up and down. They were scarily slim as always, with the same medium length pitch black hair they always had growing up. They wore fairly tight dark blue underclothes that covered most of their body, with a more comfortable looking robe over it. The clothing was dirty from travel, but Ieji looked fairly healthy overall. Or at least as healthy as Ieji ever looked, as they always had something of a gaunt look about them.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get you inside and washed up while we wait for Vale. No reason for you to meet the Elders dirty from your trip.¡± Emery said. ¡°You can say hello to Talya and Gray while you¡¯re here.¡±


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Ieji said, still not showing all that much in the way of enthusiasm. ¡°I think Gray hates me though.¡±


    Avuri snorted, and Emery and Ieji both turned to her. ¡°Sorry,¡± she said, ¡°Ieji, you have to know that you come off a little¡­weird the first time people meet you.¡±


    Ieji hung their head. ¡°I know.¡± They said, voice still flat despite the apparent emotion in the mannerism.


    ¡°And seriously, let us know you¡¯re here next time instead of trying to infiltrate us, yeah?¡± Avuri said, annoyed. ¡°You put us all on edge with that stunt.¡±


    ¡°Oh. That reminds me.¡± Emery said, and brought her hands up to her mouth. Avuri and Ieji both recognized the motion and covered their ears before Emery could whistle, the sound carrying through the entire basin, loud and clear. She whistled a short burst of notes that they had previously decided on as an all clear signal.


    The home protection Arrays began to turn off and heads poked out of doors. Emery smiled at the nearest few groups that were testing the waters.


    ¡°It¡¯s safe. It was just Ieji.¡± Emery said, pointing to her sibling. ¡°Everyone can get back to their chores.¡±


    Groans rippled through the kids at that, and Emery and Avuri chuckled, continuing to lead Ieji toward the main house.


    <hr>


    Half an hour later, Emery, Avuri, Talya, Gray, and Ieji were seated at the kitchen table while waiting for Vale to return. Emery had brought out some simple snacks and drinks for everyone while they waited, hoping to ease some of the tension that Ieji¡¯s arrival caused. Or, more accurately, the tension that Ieji caused by bringing news of whatever was coming.


    ¡°You really did well with those Arrays, Talya.¡± Ieji said, their finger tracing the top of their glass. ¡°I was able to get by the first few, but the four layered Arrays on the inner side were apparently complex enough for me to not be able to slip through.¡±


    Talya looked immensely proud at the praise, and even more so when Ieji said ¡®four layered¡¯. With a big mischievous grin, Talya asked, ¡°Four layered? Ieji, you must be losing your touch. That Array is six layers.¡±


    Ieji blinked in surprise, but otherwise didn¡¯t show it on their face. That lack of emotion was normal for Ieji, and reading the smaller mannerisms they had was essential for reading their mood. Because, as Emery and Talya had to keep reminding their spouses, Ieji had emotions. They just weren¡¯t really capable of displaying them naturally. Unless they were acting, but that was an entirely different skill.


    ¡°Six? That really was impressive then. They might be the best Sky Realm Arrays I¡¯ve ever encountered. At least when it comes to alarm Arrays, anyway.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Talya said. ¡°I worked really hard on those designs, and this was the first time I¡¯ve actually put them to use. If they even filtered you out, I¡¯m confident that they¡¯ll work when I show the designs to clients.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure showing those designs around is safe, Talya?¡± Emery asked, concerned. ¡°I know they¡¯re just alarm Arrays, but - ¡°


    ¡°I¡¯m only planning on selling the five layer ones.¡± She said seriously. ¡°At least for now anyway. The five layers I think are more than enough for anyone looking to protect their homes. Besides, if I charged for the ones I used here, no one would be able to afford them.¡± She shrugged.


    ¡°Just what we want to hear.¡± Gray said, rolling his eyes. ¡°¡±Oh, these Arrays are so good, but you couldn¡¯t afford them anyway.¡±¡± He said, taking on a teasing lilt to his voice.


    Talya nudged him with her shoulder. ¡°Laugh all you want, but if I handed you the list of materials that went into making the Arrays here in the basin it would make your head spin.¡± She giggled, then kissed Gray¡¯s cheek.


    He gave her a questioning look then. ¡°Just how expensive are we talking?¡±


    Emery and Avuri both looked to the side innocently, while Talya covered her mouth as if hiding laughter. ¡°I don¡¯t remember the exact amounts, but let¡¯s just say they,¡± she pointed at Emery and Avuri, ¡°could have bought a small town for the amount.¡±


    Gray¡¯s eyes snapped back to his sisters-in-law and he narrowed his eyes. Even Ieji was eyeing them curiously. ¡°...Seriously?¡±


    Emery nodded, but still didn¡¯t meet their eyes. ¡°Array materials are expensive, even for just the basics. If you want to layer several Array designs to make them more difficult to bypass, the materials all have to be very specific so they don¡¯t react with one another¡­¡± She muttered, trying to explain.


    Avuri took over the more pressing part of their reason, though. ¡°And we¡¯re not about to pick the lesser option to protect our kids.¡± She met Gray¡¯s and Ieji¡¯s eyes then, and added, ¡°And you. Don¡¯t forget you¡¯re benefiting too.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Talya said. ¡°I may not have put in as much effort if we weren¡¯t staying here for now, too.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Emery said, taking offense to that. ¡°I¡¯m paying you, so you better be doing the job right. You didn¡¯t even give me a sister price or anything.¡±


    ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°...You did?¡±


    ¡°I did.¡± Talya reaffirmed.


    Emery blanched, as did Avuri. ¡°Those prices were discounted?¡±


    ¡°Sure were. Fifteen percent or so.¡±


    Emery and Avuri both melted into their chairs. ¡°Holy shit.¡± Avuri muttered.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Talya said, then showed her teeth in a sly smirk. ¡°Be grateful, you little shits.¡±


    Between the look on her face, and the words coming from Talya¡¯s mouth, Emery and Avuri broke into laughter. It took them a full minute to calm down, all the while trying to explain that the whole thing was so out of character for Talya that they just couldn¡¯t take it. And when one of them stopped laughing, the other started them back up again.


    It was a few minutes after that that Vale returned, sweeping into the room through the open window.


    ¡°We¡¯re meeting with the Elders in two hours. Be ready.¡± He said, as soon as he landed comfortably.


    Determined nods went around the table in a wave, as Vale moved to the one remaining seat and plopped into it. He looked around the table and could easily see that they had been having a good time. His eyes moved between Ieji and Gray, then he smiled.


    ¡°Glad to see you all getting along.¡±

 90 : Report

    ¡°They¡­what?¡±


    Emery looked around at the dumbfounded faces around the table. Her family and the City Elders alike all stared blankly at Ieji in disbelief.


    ¡°Simply put, they think you¡¯re weak.¡± They reiterated. ¡°Well, to be more precise, they¡¯ve apparently been told by someone that you¡¯re weak.¡±


    ¡°Ieji, you¡¯re going to need to explain a bit further.¡± Vale said, rubbing the spot between his eyebrows. ¡°You can¡¯t honestly be saying that The Deposits are basically building an army because they¡¯ve been told that Flowing Dragon City is weak.¡±


    ¡°That is exactly what I¡¯m saying.¡± Ieji said flatly. ¡°From what I could gather, someone at the top of The Deposits was told by some kind of insider that the people that are in charge of Flowing Dragon City are pushovers.¡±


    The Elders, who hadn¡¯t said anything since the initial announcement, ranged from looking stunned to fuming. Ray in particular looked about ready to scream.


    ¡°The Four Dragon Peaks - and by extension, Flowing Dragon City -,¡± Ieji continued, ¡°are well known for being incredibly rich in natural resources. The Deposits may be famous for their excessive, high quality ore production, but the Peaks are known the world over for their high density of natural treasures, whether that be flora, fauna, or earth.¡±


    ¡°Sure, but -¡±


    ¡°Apparently,¡± Ieji rolled right over the interruption to keep explaining, ¡°having heard that the city that essentially serves as gatekeepers for the Peaks was full of pushovers, one of The Deposits¡¯ leaders decided it would be worth it to make a move. They plan to gather a large enough army that they could march on Flowing Dragon City and simply make the city fold under the threat of a fight.¡±


    With their piece said, Ieji sat back in their chair, face returned to their standard unenthused mask.


    The Elders, Emery, Avuri, and Vale all looked between one another silently, each lost in their own thoughts. But the expressions they traded were unanimously filled with disbelief.


    Eventually, Vyne was the one to break the silence. ¡°As of this morning, the size of their encampment has reached around twelve hundred.¡±


    ¡°Still not really a size that we should actively worry about, then.¡± Eiry said. ¡°Assuming that average percentages hold, of twelve hundred Cultivators, around three hundred of them would be Sky Realm.¡±


    ¡°And twenty or so Heavenly Realm.¡± Ray added.


    ¡°When I left, there were two hundred and sixty eight Sky Realm Cultivators, and nine Heavenly Realm Cultivators.¡± Ieji said, their voice flat. ¡°That was several days ago. But I think it¡¯s fair to say that The Deposits can¡¯t field that many high Realm Cultivators. They simply don¡¯t have that many. The nine that were there have been there since they started gathering, and no more have joined them.¡±


    Ray snorted. ¡°With those numbers, they really don¡¯t pose a threat if we take the field.¡±


    Cyril let out a sigh, garnering the attention of the room. ¡°You¡¯re right. The power of those of us in this room is more than equal to that of those numbers. But the equally obvious truth is that Flowing Dragon City doesn¡¯t have the manpower to field a large enough army to deter this attack.¡±


    ¡°Cyril is right.¡± Eiry agreed. ¡°Taking us out of the equation, if we were to field our entire guard force, even including the contracted Cultivators, we could manage somewhere in the realm of eight hundred. With less Sky and Heavenly Realms, both.¡±


    ¡°So, there¡¯s no easy way to turn them away from the fight.¡± Avuri said in summation.


    Lyn smiled wanly. ¡°Ironically, our outward appearance does actually support the claim that Flowing Dragon City would be quite the pushover.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s survived for centuries on the power of implied threat and rumors.¡± Vyne shrugged. ¡°In retrospect, we should probably be impressed it¡¯s taken this long for someone to call our bluff.¡±


    Eiry chuckled. ¡°True enough. We¡¯ve been here for so long that I guess we started to buy into our own lie a bit, hm?¡±


    ¡°It did start out that way, didn¡¯t it?¡± Ray asked, some of his fire replaced with reminiscence. ¡°Build some pretty walls, tell everyone you¡¯ve got the power to back it up, and with enough rumors flying around, they¡¯ll believe it.¡±


    ¡°Apparently for a few hundred years.¡± Vale said with a chuckle.


    Emery and Avuri looked at each other for a moment, then back at the Elders. ¡°So, given that, what exactly is the plan?¡± Avuri asked.


    ¡°Well,¡± Lyn began, while the others were still lost in their reminiscence of the old days, ¡°as we said, even if we field all of the fighters we have, the defense wouldn¡¯t be intimidating enough to turn away The Deposits if they¡¯re coming as a show of force. Doubly so if their intention is to simply force us to fold.¡±


    Cyril spoke up next. ¡°Which means we either fight a battle where both sides lose.¡± His eyes shifted to meet Emery¡¯s. ¡°Or we make our own show of power.¡±


    Emery felt the bottom of her stomach drop at that. And it just managed to keep dropping as more eyes landed on her.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    She slumped back in her seat. ¡°You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me.¡±


    Avuri tried to hide a small smile behind her hand. ¡°If what the Elders need is to be able to simply show up to make an obvious show of force, then it¡¯s really quite an easy thing to do.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve already been working on spreading the rumors of a contracted Cultivator hanging around the city with dragon connections.¡± Eiry said, her tone serious. ¡°It fits right in with the other Cultivator rumors.¡±


    ¡°True. There¡¯s a rumor going around the city right now about someone freezing an entire city block solid for a few moments, and then everything¡­just¡­unfreezing at once.¡± As Ray spoke, eyes slowly turned from watching Emery slouch in her seat defeated, to Avuri and her slowly sliding down the back of her own chair as she turned bright red.


    ¡°Avuri¡­¡± Vale said, shaking his head. ¡°A whole city block?¡±


    Despite her face being a fierce crimson, she did her best to hide it with her hands as she covered her face embarrassed. ¡°Some Cultivator kid was harassing me! In the street! He grabbed my butt and it was a knee-jerk reaction!¡±


    Emery sat up straight and nodded fervently. ¡°Good. You did good. And you unfroze it all immediately, too.¡±


    ¡°I did.¡± She said, and looked at the Elders sheepishly. ¡°Sorry.¡±


    Laughter broke out around the room. Lyn waved her concerns off. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. If the kid really did lay a finger on you, he got what he deserved. And no one was hurt in the end, so you¡¯re probably fine.¡±


    ¡°Good story though.¡± Ray said. ¡°Rumors like that are the ones that have kept the city safe for so long. Freezing an entire block is no joke. And no doubt by the time that rumor reaches other cities, you¡¯ll have frozen a whole city quarter in an instant.¡±


    The dragons all shared nods over that, while Emery and Avuri traded looks. ¡°Then, you¡¯re welcome, I guess?¡± Avuri said hesitantly, refreshing the round of laughter.


    When the laughter finally died down again, Vyne tried to reassert the important topics. ¡°So, is this really going to be the plan we settle on, then?¡± He asked, his expression thoughtful. ¡°It started as an offhand joke, but it does seem like a fairly easy way to explain away the arrival of six dragons.¡±


    Emery sighed. ¡°Look, I understand that this feels like an easy option for us to take, but we need to really think it through.¡± She counted off potential cons on her fingers. ¡°First, having a contracted Cultivator be responsible for what amounts to the entire defense of the city will potentially make the city look even weaker. Second, I know we said we would try to hide my identity, but on the off chance I¡¯m discovered, do you all really want your appearances to be linked to me?¡±


    Concerns finally seemed to be making their way around the table as Emery brought up what she believed to be all valid points. ¡°Third, building off of two, if I get found out somehow, all of this getting linked back to me and my family is something I do not want. And if such a thing puts my family in danger? We will leave, no hesitation.¡±


    Emery glanced at Avuri for back up on that point, and Avuri nodded in agreement. ¡°That, at least, is one point I will not back down on. Fourth, you need to be prepared for The Deposits to make a move anyway. Because I¡¯m just a Sky Realm Cultivator, I won¡¯t actually be of any help in that fight if Heavenly Realms are involved.¡±


    ¡°And fifth,¡± Emery said, counting off her thumb, ¡°if this plan does work, and The Deposits demand to see the City Elders on the field for discussions, what will you do?¡±


    That did seem to stymie the table more than any of the other points. Evidently, they were accepting responsibility for the potential that Emery and her family may need to leave if things didn''t go to plan. But Emery continued working off her last point, as it seemed to bring up the most concern.


    ¡°I assume you don¡¯t want to show yourselves transforming in broad daylight on a battlefield. Which means either the dragons would need to retreat while the Elders are fetched, or you would need stand-ins to act in your place while you remain as dragons.¡±


    Avuri was the one to pick up from there. ¡°That¡¯s harder than it sounds, isn¡¯t it?¡± She said, thinking it through. ¡°It would be one thing if people didn¡¯t know you, but the people of the city do know you. And the Cultivators would recognize you on sight. If the enemy demanded to speak to you on the battlefield, there¡¯d be no good way to hide.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­true.¡± Eiry allowed. ¡°None of us are known to use palanquins, so it¡¯s not as though we could be carried out in them for show. We would be expected to walk out from the city gates, heads held high, and make a good show of the walk.¡±


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t we simply send someone in our place officially?¡± Ray asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that simple.¡± Cyril said, shaking his head. ¡°If the draconic display works, and they demand to talk to the Elders on the field, sending envoys from the city would be seen as a slap in the face. They may feel like they have no recourse but to attack for the insult.¡±


    Vyne sighed. ¡°The concept of honor can be something of a prison in moments like these.¡±


    ¡°No kidding.¡± Vale muttered.


    ¡°How many Elders do you think they would need to meet with for it to seem legitimate?¡± Ieji asked, inserting themself back into the conversation. All eyes turned to them. ¡°I imagine you don¡¯t need all five of you. So I¡¯ll ask again, how many do you think would be enough for the appearance to not be an insult?¡±


    ¡°Three?¡± Lyn asked, unsure.


    ¡°Three of five seems like a show of good faith.¡± Eiry agreed. ¡°It¡¯s ostensibly more than half of us, and would constitute a majority for discussions.¡±


    ¡°I believe I could manage a show of three.¡± Ieji said. ¡°I¡¯ll need two others to help me fill the roles, but it should work.¡±


    ¡°You really think so?¡± Eiry asked, intrigued. She shot a look at Vale with a curious lilt to her eyebrows. ¡°Vale did say you were an infiltration specialist, but nothing more than that.¡±


    Ieji stood from their chair and bowed politely before cycling their Qi. Within seconds, their body and face contorted, a strange shadowy mist of Qi springing from their body. Then moments later rather than Ieji, Vyne was standing in their place. Or at least a near perfect copy of Vyne, right down to the solemn, pleasant expression he normally wore.


    ¡°Does this suffice as an example?¡± Ieji asked, completely in Vyne¡¯s tone of voice. The effect was never anything short of amazing.


    Silence covered the room for a moment, before Eiry asked, ¡°And you could do this for two others at the same time?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Ieji answered. ¡°So long as they are capable of acting the part of whoever they play. But my technique will replicate the visuals as well as voice. We should find people of roughly the same stature as those they¡¯ll be playing. And hopefully someone who knows the person well.¡±


    ¡°Well then,¡± Lyn said with an impish grin, ¡°I think Avuri should play me.¡±

 91 : First Rehearsal

    ¡°No, no, no. I would never say that.¡±


    Avuri sighed again, slumping forward over the table. Lunch had long since been cleared, and she was now in a rather intensive rehearsal with Lyn, practicing to act like the woman.


    Now collapsed on the table, she looked at Emery who was watching from the other end of the large room. Emery smiled and waved despite the crocodile tears collecting in the corners of Avuri¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°This is payback, isn¡¯t it?¡± Avuri muttered to herself. And despite being on the other side of this room, Emery nodded with a vengeful little smile.


    ¡°Hm?¡± Lyn said, turning back toward Avuri. ¡°If you¡¯ve got time to whine, girl, you better get to practicing.¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± Avuri said, the whiny tone still present in her voice.


    Lyn sighed. ¡°Well, come on then.¡± She said, making circles with her hand to urge Avuri back into action. ¡°We¡¯re going to need all of you to be as perfect as you can be in your imitations.¡±


    Avuri sat back up and responded in a very similar tone to the one Lyn was talking in, doing her best to match it. ¡°That¡¯s great and all, but why am I the one sitting here getting driven to practice like this?¡±


    All things considered, her acting ability wasn¡¯t too bad. Emery was pretty sure she could act as Lyn to anyone that didn¡¯t know her well, though she wouldn¡¯t be able to fool anyone close to the woman the way Ieji could.


    ¡°Well,¡± Lyn said, nodding approval for the last line, ¡°Ieji is about as good at impersonating someone as anyone can get, for starters.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I know that.¡± Avuri said, rolling her eyes.


    ¡°I don¡¯t roll my eyes.¡± Lyn corrected.


    ¡°You do.¡± Avuri insisted, and looked over to Emery for confirmation. Lyn followed her gaze and gave Emery a questioning look.


    Emery smiled sheepishly. ¡°You do, Lyn, sorry. Mostly at Cyril though, so Avuri, you shouldn¡¯t do it much.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡± Lyn looked mildly puzzled. ¡°I never noticed.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, I understand why Ieji isn¡¯t practicing. They don¡¯t need it. But what about Eiry¡¯s stand in? Don¡¯t they need practice?¡± Avuri asked petulantly.


    ¡°She will. But she doesn¡¯t live in the city here, so Eiry had to go fetch her. Apparently.¡± Lyn said, once again honed in on Avuri¡¯s impersonation attempt.


    ¡°Who is she, anyway? Did Eiry say?¡± Avuri asked, keeping a firm hold on her impression.


    ¡°Only that the girl has been working as her assistant for several years. She¡¯s a part of the Stone Breaker Sect that lives in the Amber Valley to the West.¡±


    ¡°Oh, interesting. Eiry pretty regularly uses the Amber Valley for Cultivation, doesn¡¯t she?¡± Avuri asked.


    ¡°She does.¡± Lyn confirmed. ¡°She is an earth Cultivator originally, after all.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t she focused on wind and flight techniques?¡± Avuri asked, curious.


    Emery laughed from her spot near the wall. ¡°You never asked her about it? According to Eiry, the only reason she can separate herself from the land as easily as she does is because she understands it so well.¡±


    Avuri and Lyn made the exact same motion of breathing in and shaking their heads. It was the most accurate movement Avuri had made so far, and a grin split her face.


    ¡°It¡¯s not exactly obvious logic, but it¡¯s hard to argue with her results.¡± Lyn said wryly. ¡°Eiry has some of the best command over the air that I¡¯ve ever seen. Most high Realm Cultivators can manage some form of flight, but only a few can sustain it indefinitely without effort.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s known as the ¡®Sky Dragon¡¯ for a reason. And, I imagine, she took the name Eiry to reflect that as well?¡± Emery said.


    ¡°Obviously.¡± Lyn said. ¡°Some of the older dragons were actually very angry with her over it. We can all fly naturally, after all, so one of us claiming the sky over the others wasn¡¯t exactly taken well.¡±


    Lyn smiled wistfully as she looked up at the ceiling recalling something. ¡°Then she - quite literally - pulled the air out from under the other dragons¡¯ wings to assert her reason for taking the name; most of the dissent ended right there. Some are still angry over it, not to mention the stunt she pulled.¡±


    ¡°I imagine it was considered a great offense.¡± Avuri said.


    ¡°It was. She was actually sent here before the rest of us as a punishment of sorts.¡± Lyn said. ¡°Instead, she built this place up to her liking so well that she¡¯s been asked to take over other outposts and repeat the process. But she keeps refusing to leave because she¡¯s comfortable here.¡±


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°...She¡¯s actually just being petty, isn¡¯t she?¡± Emery asked with a chuckle. ¡°I recognize pettiness when I hear it.¡±


    Lyn laughed, then made a show of checking her surroundings to be sure they were alone. The trio was in a private room in the Celestial Dragon Pavilion; there was really no need for her to check like that.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell her I told you both this, but you should see her when she gets one of those missives. She¡¯ll lock herself in her room and throw a bit of a tantrum and scream about how annoying those old dragons are.¡± Lyn smiled a predatory little grin at sharing this little bit of blackmail material. ¡°She even threw one of Vyne¡¯s vases once. It was so expensive, he didn¡¯t talk to her for a week until she found a suitable replacement.¡±


    Emery snorted, while Avuri fought to keep her composure as practice. She did admirably well. ¡°You all sound like so much fun.¡± Emery said.


    ¡°Despite the outward appearance we keep as Elders, I assure you; we enjoy ourselves.¡± Lyn said slyly. ¡°If you both stick around here long enough, you might even find yourselves among our little circle. You wouldn¡¯t be the first humans to do so.¡±


    Avuri tilted her head. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Really.¡± Lyn confirmed. ¡°There was a married couple, much like the two of you, around¡­three hundred years ago, I think. They were good friends of ours for a while and lived in the city for a long time.¡±


    Lyn¡¯s voice hadn¡¯t taken on any sort of melancholic timbre, so Avuri asked, ¡°And what happened to them?¡±


    ¡°Well, we met the two of them when they were Heavenly Realm Cultivators. And they had already been at that level for some time by then. They stuck around for fifty or sixty years, and then broke through to the Celestial Realm.¡±


    That got Emery and Avuri¡¯s attention. Stories of those who reached such a level were typically urban legends. It was incredibly rare to hear any sort of first or second hand account of the Celestial Realm.


    Lyn¡¯s smile turned wistful again. ¡°They stuck around for a year or two after that, but vanished shortly thereafter as Celestial Realm Cultivators tend to do. And even in those two years they stuck around, they were subtly different.¡±


    ¡°Different how?¡± Avuri asked, enthralled with the potential of information.


    Lyn¡¯s face scrunched up as if she was trying to find the right words. ¡°It was as if they could see something that no one else could. Or, I suppose as the stories always put it, they could just see more. Like they had inhuman knowledge, or something. And whenever we asked about it, they just shrugged it off and said they couldn¡¯t explain it. But it made them distant. I¡¯d even use the word ¡®ephemeral¡¯.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s unusually poetic of you.¡± Emery said.


    ¡°Yes, well, seeing friends change like that puts you in a poetic mood. It¡¯s strange and difficult to explain well, so venturing into feeling is all you can do.¡± Lyn said, still looking up. When she brought her gaze down to land on Avuri, she looked refreshed and refocused. ¡°Anyway. You¡¯re doing well.¡±


    ¡°Am I really?¡± Avuri said, still keeping the same copied timbre in her voice.


    ¡°As far as general sound, yes.¡± Lyn nodded. ¡°Ieji said that their technique would cover the ability to make your voice sound like mine, so the actual imitation itself is already taken care of. We just need to get your speech pattern and inflection to sound like mine, and you¡¯ve done that pretty well.¡±


    ¡°It helps that I¡¯ve known you for more than ten years.¡± Avuri said, affecting a smile similar to Lyn¡¯s. ¡°And you¡¯re easily the most approachable of the Elders.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I agree with that.¡± Emery said lightly. ¡°Eiry is definitely the most difficult, I don¡¯t imagine anyone would argue that. But Cyril is just as friends as Lyn, and Ray and Vyne are easy to approach in their own way.¡±


    Lyn nodded agreement. ¡°If you walked up to Ray and offered him a decent fight, you¡¯d have a new best friend so fast your head would spin.¡±


    ¡°The opposite is true, too, I suspect.¡± Emery said with a wry chuckle. ¡°He¡¯s been trying to get me to fight him for years and I keep turning him down. I¡¯m pretty sure he hates me at this point.¡±


    ¡°I doubt it. Hasn¡¯t stopped asking, has he?¡± Lyn asked, and Emery shook her head in reply. ¡°He won¡¯t hate you for turning down the fights, only if you accept one and then disrespect the fight afterward. So if you ever agree, just don¡¯t run away or let him win.¡±


    Avuri snorted. ¡°She¡¯d never let anyone win.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true. I let the kids win all the time.¡± Emery said defensively.


    Avuri stopped imitating Lyn long enough to give her wife a deadpan stare. ¡°Emery, you literally fought seven of our kids at once the other day and put them to shame. So much so that they broke the damn floor trying to not die.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Lyn abruptly shouted as she did a double take.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t try to hurt them at all!¡± Emery said, glaring at Avuri for the misunderstanding. ¡°I was trying to drive home a point about fighting Sky Realm Cultivators. Mostly how they shouldn''t, because they would be entirely outclassed, even in a group.¡±


    Lyn relaxed. ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t let her undersell you here, Lyn.¡± Avuri continued, trying to get Emery in trouble as payback for earlier. ¡°She scared them enough that one of the kids created a stone wall from the ground and pulled in from the floor to block an attack aimed at Stena¡¯s back. He was so afraid at that moment that he pulled up the stone on instinct.¡±


    Lyn¡¯s eyes traveled slowly back to Emery again, full of judgment.


    ¡°Avuri.¡± Emery said, her voice full of warning. ¡°I know you¡¯re trying to get me in trouble. Please stop.¡±


    Avuri stuck her tongue out at Emery. ¡°That¡¯s what you get. But you really did scare Enrik.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t scare him. The whole point was to teach them that they can¡¯t approach a Sky Cultivator like they normally would. And the lesson, may I remind you, was very effective at that. And Enrik allowed me to make a point about acting fast instead of thoughtfully can save lives. It was a good lesson.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± Avuri said, rolling her eyes dramatically. ¡°I wonder if they fixed the floor yet?¡±


    ¡°Probably not.¡± Emery said, considering it. ¡°It¡¯s not been long and we only got the wood a few days ago.¡±


    ¡°Avuri.¡± Lyn said, her voice suddenly heavy and serious. It made both other women turn to her immediately, alert. She simply smiled. ¡°You let your impression slip. You¡¯re going to be here until dinner at this rate.¡±


    Avuri let out a huge, defeated sigh. ¡°Didn¡¯t we need to go meet with Eiry and her assistant at some point to get briefed on the actual information we need to know.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Lyn said sweetly, ¡°Tomorrow. For today, you¡¯re staying here until I¡¯m confident that you won¡¯t break character randomly like that.¡±


    Her sweet smile slowly turned almost violent. ¡°Even if it takes right up until the meeting tomorrow.¡±


    Avuri turned toward Emery, who was slowly creeping toward the door.


    ¡°Save me.¡±

 92 : Warm Welcome

    Day five with Avuri¡¯s family had more in common with the first couple days than the day before. Other than her parents appearing for a brief ¡®good morning¡¯, her family members mostly kept to themselves. We saw most of them in passing before noon, including the teenagers who looked happy and waved greetings. That much, at least, put my mind at ease about them being mistreated the day before.


    What really brightened up my mood, however, was the trickling in of my own family.


    Fairly early on in the morning, Ieji just sort of appeared, as they did often. Avuri, Talya, and I were making lunch when there was a scream from outside. Apparently, Ieji had simply made their own way up to the basin and ran into Mint before anyone else. Ieji¡¯s sudden and unnerving appearance had scared her, and she screamed. Thankfully it was easy enough to calm her down once I introduced Ieji to her. Mint retreated back to her borrowed house pretty quickly though.


    Ieji¡¯s appearance hadn¡¯t changed much since the last time I saw them. They kept their hair the same as always - so straight and black that it looked almost like a veil. They looked eternally malnourished, and their face was gaunt. It was, unfortunately, no wonder that Mint had been scared at first. Ieji gave off a fairly unnerving aura unless you knew them. And even then, Ieji still always looked a little ghastly.


    ¡°So, Ieji, this is Avuri, the woman I¡¯m marrying.¡± I said by way of introduction, motioning toward Avuri beside me, then the reverse. ¡°Avuri, this is my sibling Ieji. And yes, I realize how they look. So do they. Ieji is perfectly healthy, I assure you.¡±


    Avuri offered her hand for a shake somewhat awkwardly. She looked a little disturbed by Ieji¡¯s appearance, which wasn¡¯t unusual. I had faith that she wouldn¡¯t judge or be harsh, and she quickly proved me right.


    It took her a moment, but a genuine, welcoming smile split her face. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, Ieji. Truly.¡±


    ¡°The pleasure is mine.¡± Ieji responded, their voice flat and emotionless as normal. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard much about you from our father, but it¡¯s been mostly good things, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Avuri looked lost somewhere between wanting to laugh and being worried. ¡°Mostly?¡± She said, half-panicked and looked at me. ¡°I thought Vale liked me?¡±


    ¡°Avuri, relax.¡± I said, placing a hand on her shoulder, then looked sideways at Ieji. ¡°Ieji is teasing you. Though I imagine you can¡¯t tell. They¡¯re difficult to read until you¡¯ve spent time with them.¡±


    ¡°I suppose I should use my other face while I¡¯m here, shouldn¡¯t I?¡± They said, voice still flat. I frowned, able to see the slight show of hurt behind their eyes.


    ¡°You really don¡¯t have to, Ieji.¡± I said, moving in to wrap my arms around them. ¡°At the very least, I think you should say hello to Vale, Talya, and introduce yourself to our girls before you do that.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to scare them. They¡¯re young right? Little kids don¡¯t usually get along well with me.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll be fine. They should meet the real you before you go covering it up around everyone else for the next two weeks.¡± I sighed. I could also tell that Avuri was shifting around uncomfortably, probably wanting to apologize. ¡°And if it was just our family here for the next few weeks, I would tell you to not bother at all. But Avuri¡¯s family is -¡±


    ¡°My family is apparently full of assholes.¡± Avuri said, jumping back into the conversation. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for how they¡¯re likely to act for the next two weeks. And I¡¯m sorry for my poor welcome. Your appearance just took me a little off guard.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Ieji said. ¡°I know it takes getting used to. I regularly play up my creepy appearance, too. It¡¯s just another tool in my tool box.¡±


    ¡°I told you that Ieji is a spy of sorts, didn¡¯t I?¡± I asked Avuri with a grin. ¡°They¡¯re the best I¡¯ve ever seen. They can get just about anywhere. And their techniques are second to none when it comes to becoming someone else.¡±


    I didn¡¯t mention that Ieji developed those techniques as a teenager because they wanted to be literally anyone else. I had my suspicions that Avuri would put it together anyway, given I had told her about my own childhood. She was smart; she would get it.


    ¡°That¡¯s really exciting.¡± Avuri said, appearing to be genuine. I smiled at her as she continued, ¡°I bet you have a ton of really cool stories.¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± Ieji confirmed, as we finally began walking toward the house. ¡°I¡¯ve seen some things you wouldn¡¯t believe. Though they¡¯re mostly very¡­gross. Honestly, I wish I could forget a lot of it.¡± They said, voice still as flat as ever.


    ¡°Hey. You people wanna wait just a minute before you get walking?¡± A voice called from behind us.


    I grinned as I turned around to see three more people walking up the dirt path toward us.


    ¡°Oh. I should¡¯ve mentioned that the other three were behind me, huh?¡± Ieji said dryly.


    ¡°You should¡¯ve, you ass.¡± Demi, my youngest sister said, looking me dead in the eyes from a hundred meters away. She didn¡¯t even speak loudly, knowing we could hear her regardless. ¡°Ieji just vanished a half hour ago, and said nothing. We were all walking together until then. Jerk.¡±


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    I laughed, taking in the image of my brother and sisters happily. It had been a long time since I had seen them.


    Kota, our eldest brother, led the pack. He was built big and sturdy, but not chunky. He was made pretty solidly of muscle, and had similar scars to mine covering much of his body. He kept his dark copper hair cut short, just long enough to hide the scars on his scalp. Despite it all, he smiled easily and almost always looked relaxed. He was often the most level headed of all of us, even including Vale.


    Rylie stood to his left. She was Ieji¡¯s age, and both were younger than me by a year. Rylie was always stunning, and she was no different now having not seen her in a couple of years. She had long blonde hair that had a wave to it; all of us girls grew up jealous of how much volume her hair had. It was almost magical - no matter how much we worked, her hair always had a perfect bounce to it. So much so that I wasn¡¯t convinced she didn¡¯t actually use Qi to manage her hair somehow.


    She was about my height, and slim, leaving her looking daintier than I did. Despite her apparent lack of muscle or bulk, though, she could throw a punch with the best of them. I supposed Qi really evened the odds in that regard.


    Her techniques were scary too. She was masterful when it came to suggestion and manipulation techniques. Subtly applying Qi in the right way could apparently alter a person¡¯s thought process or disrupt parts of it. I always felt that such things felt like they should be demonic techniques and not natural, but she certainly never produced any demonic Qi.


    I¡¯d never seen or heard of anyone else using similar techniques though, so it was possible they were developed by the sect that had us when we were children. She didn¡¯t really remember that time very well, so it¡¯s possible that their input altered her in some way. We really didn¡¯t know.


    And finally there was Demi. Despite her name, Demi was taller than most of us, coming in at around the same height as Kota. She wasn¡¯t built large or bulky, and was rather thin all things considered, but somehow she managed to not look lanky at her height. Her darker hair was done up in a ponytail, and she looked ready for a fight, as ever. Demi had always been a bit of a spitfire, and was always spoiling for a good fight.


    Despite her constant belligerent behavior and penchant for challenging random people to fights, her body was pristine without a scar to be found. She had her techniques to thank for that, as injuring her was quite a feat, let alone leaving any sort of permanent mark. And she knew it too.


    As I watched them all approach, I fought against getting misty eyes. It had been a long time since we had all been in one place like this, even if Talya wasn¡¯t actually outside to meet us all.


    I smiled wide and hopped over to where they walked to grapple each one in a hug. They each returned the embrace with a chuckle - or in Rylie¡¯s case a squeal when I picked her up and nearly spun her.


    ¡°I missed you all.¡± I said, squeezing Demi¡¯s midsection one more time before letting go. ¡°I genuinely can¡¯t believe you were all able to make it. Or that my invitations actually even found their way to you.¡±


    ¡°Sis, you quite literally could not have timed it better.¡± Rylie said. ¡°Demi and I had been Crystal Atoll, helping out some fisherman dealing with some sea monster type nonsense.¡±


    ¡°I was just coming back from the Mirror Flatlands by boat and ran into them in the port.¡± Kota added. ¡°I had already gotten your invitation, as I imagine Dad told you where I was, so I was able to let these two goblins know what you were planning.¡±


    ¡°That really was lucky, then.¡± I said with a sigh. ¡°I sent both of your invitations West, not North. Last we had heard, you two were somewhere in the Ash Barrens.¡±


    ¡°We were.¡± Demi said with a grin. ¡°It was starting to get boring up there so we migrated. When we heard there were sea monsters causing problems, we headed toward the Atoll.¡±


    ¡°When you heard there were sea monsters.¡± Rylie corrected. ¡°I just wanted to enjoy the water for a bit being in the Barrens for so long.¡± She grinned a big toothy smile. ¡°It was the right choice. The Atoll was lovely.¡±


    About that time, Avuri and Ieji had wandered over to us, and I took it upon myself to do what a host should do.


    ¡°Everyone, this is my fiance, Avuri.¡± I said, stepping aside to show off the woman I loved in all her glory. I stopped just short of wiggling my hands at her. ¡°Avuri, this is Kota, Rylie, and Demi.¡± I said, pointing to each in turn.


    ¡°It¡¯s truly lovely to meet everyone.¡± Avuri said, adding in a proper bow this time. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to getting to know you all.¡± Her eyes traveled over each person, including Ieji, as she wanted to include everyone in her greetings. ¡°I¡¯ve been getting to know Talya and Vale very well over the last few months, and I like them so much. I¡¯m glad I can meet all of you before we get married.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure, Avuri.¡± Kota said. He bowed politely, then offered her his hand for a shake. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to getting to know you too. And seeing what kind of person our monster of a sister has chosen to marry.¡±


    Kota gave me a sideways glance, but Rylie was the one to continue his line of thought. ¡°She¡¯s never been one for romance or that sort of thing. I honestly thought she¡¯d be the last of us to get married.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Avuri asked, surprised. ¡°Either she¡¯s changed a lot or you all didn¡¯t get to know that side of your sister very well. She¡¯s very romantic, actually.¡± She smiled, meeting my eyes. ¡°Just the other night, she -¡±


    ¡°Whoa, stop right there, miss.¡± Demi interrupted her. ¡°We don¡¯t want to hear that sort of stuff.¡±


    Avuri laughed. ¡°She made me dinner by candlelight and brought me out for a picnic under the stars.¡±


    As Avuri continued to giggle, my siblings just stared at me completely flabbergasted. Rylie was the first one to break the silence.


    ¡°Well, fuck me. When did you get to be so¡­not yourself?¡± She said, looking me up and down. ¡°What¡¯d you do with our sister?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s still in here.¡± I promised, and waved away her concern. ¡°Also, please watch your language around our girls. They¡¯re too young for that sort of talk yet.¡±


    Kota¡¯s and Rylie¡¯s eyes bulged out, and Demi nearly stumbled and fell. ¡°Kids? You have kids?¡± She stammered out.


    ¡°Oh. I should¡¯ve mentioned that too.¡± Ieji said flatly.

 93 : Meet the Family

    It didn¡¯t take us long to make it back to the house after Emery finished saying her hellos and introductions. Her siblings seemed pretty excited at the prospect of food after their travel, and didn¡¯t complain when we started making our way to the main house.


    Seeing how quickly my family all but disappeared when Emery¡¯s arrived left me feeling some kind of way. I honestly wasn¡¯t sure, and felt like I would need time to process some of it. Seeing more ¡®normal¡¯ families had never really bothered me before, despite knowing basically all of my life that my family wasn¡¯t exactly a loving one.


    They had supported me, sure, but it felt more like an obligation they were duty bound to fulfill, or perhaps even upfront payment to get use out of me later on. Aside from when I was actually very little, I had never felt something I would have considered as ¡®love¡¯ from my family. Not that I had really put that together until much later.


    I walked behind Emery and her siblings as we made our way down the familiar walk to the front door of our house, watching them interact with a feeling akin to melancholy. I wasn¡¯t really listening to what they were talking about, just lost in my head instead. Kota had apparently said something funny, and the others laughed. I dipped my head to walk, intent on watching the stones in the dirt pathway slide by as we moved.


    I had taken about four steps when an arm slid around my shoulders and pulled me forward into the group. I looked up, expecting to see Emery smiling at me and trying to keep me included.


    Instead, I found Demi grinning at me instead - not that I couldn¡¯t also see Emery smiling warmly at me from down the line. I smiled back a little awkwardly. Even internally, the smile felt a little out of character for me. I wasn¡¯t used to feeling weirdly out of place like this, even if only for a little while.


    Demi snorted; I was pretty sure she could see right through the forced smile. ¡°You¡¯re gonna be our sister too, in a few days. No sulking behind us like that, got it?¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t sulking.¡± I muttered defensively before I even thought it through. Demi looked at me, clearly calling me on my lie. Emery¡¯s look said the same thing.


    ¡°You were.¡± She said, ¡°I was going to pull you forward myself, but Demi beat me to it.¡±


    ¡°Just like I¡¯ll beat you when we spar later.¡± Demi boasted. ¡°I¡¯ve got you dead to rights this time, sis.¡±


    ¡°In your dreams, Demi.¡± Emery chuckled. ¡°Or, actually, no. Not even in your dreams. You¡¯re never gonna beat me. Especially not now.¡±


    ¡°And why¡¯s that, hm?¡± She questioned dramatically, her arm still around my shoulder. She squeezed me a bit and grinned down at me. ¡°I bet if I ask really nicely, Avuri here will tell me a weakness or two.¡±


    I smiled, but before I could add a bit of my own snark to the exchange, Emery grinned a predatory smile that I had seen a few times before - when someone fell into a trap. She pointed between herself and me. ¡°You see, Demi. We¡¯re Sky Realm. You actually don¡¯t stand a chance against me right now.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what?¡± She stammered, her arm dropping from my shoulder. Even the others stared slack jawed. Except for Ieji, who continued to stand there appearing uninterested. That deadpan face of theirs would take some getting used to. No matter how nice I wanted to be, they still unnerved me. Something about their aura and lack of clear and present emotion just felt off. Maybe it was on purpose though.


    ¡°Oh, did I not mention that?¡± Emery continued, playing innocent. ¡°I suppose it got lost in the bustle of two kids and a marriage. Sorry.¡±


    ¡°I hate you.¡± Demi muttered, and kicked at a stone in the pathway. It flew completely out of sight. ¡°We¡¯re all pretty close to the peak of Earth, I think?¡± She looked around for nods of agreement from the others. ¡°But damn. I can¡¯t believe you pulled ahead again like that. I thought for sure I was catching up.¡±


    ¡°Emery was always the most dedicated of us when it came to Cultivation.¡± Kota said quietly.


    ¡°Oi.¡± Demi said, angrily. ¡°I take offense to that. I¡¯m not a slouch.¡±


    ¡°I never said that.¡± Kota rolled his eyes. ¡°Besides, you¡¯re a fight junkie. You don¡¯t exactly work specifically on your Cultivation, so much as you fight people until you get stronger. One of those options is far more constructive.¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡± She snapped, then crossed her arms to sulk.


    And it was about that time that we made it to the front door. It swung open before we could even knock, and out charged Cierra and Stena to wrap themselves around Emery who was closest.


    And right behind them was Talya, who almost tackled Kota off his feet, despite being significantly shorter than him. Despite the strength behind it, the hug was short lived as Talya quickly moved down the line. She even gave me a good squeeze when it was my turn, as I was standing between Rylie and Demi.


    ¡°Can we go in now?¡± Emery said with a laugh, patting both little girls on their heads. She bent down to pick up Stena, and Cierra ran over to wrap around my waist.


    ¡°Okay.¡± They chorused.


    ¡°Yes, and I finished making lunch for you. It¡¯s on the table already.¡± Talya said. ¡°We¡¯ve pulled out the full sized table too, so we should all just fit. Now, go in, go in.¡± As Talya started pushing everyone toward the door, I scooped up Cierra and carried her in.


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    ¡°Acting like this, you¡¯d think she owned the place.¡± Emery chuckled, eyeing Talya.


    ¡°If you¡¯re not careful, I¡¯ll kick you out and take over.¡± She chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ll keep the girls too; they¡¯re great.¡±


    Cierra and Stena both giggled, and I pinched Cierra¡¯s cheek. ¡°Oh? Should Emery and I leave the two of you here with Aunt Talya?¡± I teased.


    Stena wasn¡¯t paying too much attention, too focused on looking around at all the new faces. Cierra, though, had apparently begun to take after the snarky members in the house.


    ¡°Well, her food is better so¡­¡± She said, looking away from me and Emery. I held back a laugh, as I knew I was the worst cook out of the three of us. And by a fair margin.


    Emery, though. She stopped when she was and stared wide-eyed at Cierra. I couldn¡¯t tell from the look whether she was being dramatic or was actually genuinely hurt by the comment. Seven year olds were known for being brutally honest, after all.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Emery said, her lower lip quivering just a bit. Then she quickly turned away from Cierra, just as the girl looked at her. She hesitated just long enough that Cierra should¡¯ve been able to see her ¡®cry¡¯. Which I was pretty sure was an act at this point.


    ¡°I guess we can just go, Avuri. We¡¯re clearly not wanted¡­¡± She muttered.


    I decided to play along, and put Cierra down. ¡°Alright. I guess we can head for Crystal Atoll. Your sisters made it sound so nice.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a good idea.¡± Emery said, still trying to hide her ¡®crying¡¯ face. ¡°A beach adventure would be nice this time of year.¡±


    ¡°I come?¡± Stena said, from Emery¡¯s arms. The smaller girl hugged her tightly around the neck. ¡°I want to go to the beach with you, Moms!¡± She declared.


    Emery turned back toward Stena with a smile, and nuzzled against the girl¡¯s cheek. ¡°Of course you can come with us, sweetie.¡±


    As Stena basically cheered, the whole group was keeping a stealthy eye on Cierra, who seemed to be coming to regret her snark.


    ¡°I want to go to the beach, too¡­¡± She muttered, sadly.


    ¡°I thought you wanted to stay here with Aunt Talya?¡± Emery asked, still playing with Stena. Cierra watched enviously, and her hand moved up to grab a fistful of my clothing.


    ¡°We can go to the beach too, Cierra.¡± Talya said, adding to the fire. ¡°Crystal Atoll is nice, but I know a hidden beach that¡¯s even better. And it¡¯s closer, too!¡¯


    Cierra¡¯s eyes lit up as she looked over at Talya. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Mhm.¡± She nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll take you there after the wedding.¡±


    Emery made a face, no longer interested in the game of making Cierra feel guilty when Talya was playing the other side. ¡°You¡¯re not going to take my little girl away from me, Talya. I won¡¯t let you.¡± She said, sticking her tongue out at her older sister.


    ¡°Then maybe you should cook more often and get better at it.¡± Talya countered, then her eyes slipped over to me. ¡°Avuri is a lost cause though, sorry.¡± She said flatly.


    I clutched my chest as though I¡¯d be hit with an arrow. ¡°Oof. Talya, your aim is as impeccable as always.¡± I said through gritted teeth as I fell to my knees.


    ¡°Damn. That was cold, even for you, Talya.¡± Rylie said with a laugh, watching the whole scene unfold. ¡°Going straight for the kill like that.¡±


    Talya laughed. ¡°I¡¯ve learned, while living here, that if you don¡¯t go straight for the kill, you¡¯ll regret it almost immediately.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s right.¡± I croaked, still playing up the pain. ¡°I would¡¯ve taken her out first.¡± I smiled serenely as I continued, ¡°I can¡¯t cook, but you can¡¯t bake. Your cookies are always dry.¡± Then I dropped myself to the floor facedown.


    I heard several ¡®oooh¡¯s erupt from the small crowd. ¡°You don¡¯t still make those gross ginger cookies, do you? You¡¯ve never been good at those.¡± Rylie said, laughter in her voice.


    ¡°Hey, I do still make Ginger Snaps, and they¡¯re good, thank you very much!¡±


    ¡°They are not.¡± Stena said, her voice cutting through the din. ¡°They are all hard and icky.¡± She declared. ¡°Mom makes better cookies. Both of them do.¡±


    Laughter erupted then, and I couldn¡¯t help but join in, even from the floor. I took a moment and slowly worked my way back to my feet. The whole group moved into the house and up the stairs to the kitchen, where Talya had set the table for ten. Baskets of fresh bread were set out, as well as a few platters of sliced meats, cheeses, and other simple sandwich ingredients.


    Rylie let out a soft whistle as Cierra and Stena both immediately ran to take their normal seats. ¡°You¡¯re all eating pretty good out here, aren¡¯t you?¡± She actually sounded impressed, looking over the spread.


    ¡°I suppose we are?¡± Emery said, glancing my way for confirmation.


    ¡°Certainly better than I would¡¯ve expected for living in the mountains.¡± I said with a nod.


    ¡°No kidding.¡± Demi agreed. ¡°I honestly expected the food to be pretty mediocre at best, and that we would need to go into the city for a decent meal.¡±


    ¡°Just because we live away from the city doesn¡¯t mean we need to live or eat like outcasts.¡± Emery said, as she began to pass around bread. ¡°Especially with storage Arrays and the like. Buying, transporting, and storing food is easy.¡±


    Talya nodded and backed her up. ¡°She¡¯s right. Plus there¡¯s a small farm for chickens and the like. Rice and grains too.¡± She looked over at Emery and I, pride clear in her eyes. ¡°They¡¯ve done really well here.¡±


    ¡°They really have.¡± Vale said, as he walked down from the third floor. Kota, Ieji, Rylie, and Demi all stood and moved to give their father hugs. ¡°Hey everyone.¡± He chuckled as they swarmed him.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to see you, Dad.¡± Kota said, in front of the pack again. ¡°And for a positive reason this time, too, no less.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s nice to have you all in one place for a while.¡± Vale said, as he hugged his way down the line. As everyone settled into their seats again and began putting their lunches together, Vale glanced at me and one corner of his mouth popped upward. ¡°So!¡± He declared loudly, ¡°Have you all been giving your new sister enough grief, or do I need to get in on it?¡±

 94 : Assistants

    Avuri stifled a yawn as she, Vale, Ieji, and Emery approached the Elders¡¯ retreat. She hadn¡¯t slept particularly well the night before after getting constantly hounded by Lyn over her impression. Or, more accurately, the way she kept dropping her impression after something made her laugh or otherwise threw her off her game.


    If they were going to do this, it had to be flawless. And unfortunately for Avuri, she was too prone to letting her silliness shine through, rather than holding onto Lyn¡¯s more dry wit. And true to Lyn¡¯s word, she had held her there in her lessons past sundown, trying to get her to keep up her act.


    It had helped, Avuri supposed. By the end of the night, she was able to remain behind her mask despite Emery and Lyn actively trying to make her crack. And she had spent most of the morning acting as Lyn as well, which had been going well. Emery had even actively tried to get her to break with a whole onslaught of bad jokes and teasing, but she had held strong. Mostly.


    Immediately following an early lunch, they headed off to meet with the Elders. Or, more specifically, Lyn, Eiry, and Vyne; the three that would be lending their likeness to Ieji¡¯s technique. They were also looking forward to meeting whoever Eiry¡¯s mysterious assistant was, since Avuri would have to work with them for the foreseeable future.


    As usual, it didn¡¯t take long to work their way through the halls of the Elder¡¯s pavilion. It was labyrinthine, sure, but they had been here enough to know their way around. But more than that, the way to the tea room they usually gathered in was well marked with carpet runners.


    As the group arrived and made their way through the audience chamber that immediately preceded the tea room, they could hear some laughter and chatter coming from the people already gathered. In addition to the Elders, it sounded like there were at least two or three people there as well.


    And sure enough, when Avuri made her way through the doorway, she found three Cultivators in the room. One of them, a woman, was seated at the table with the Elders, while the two others were seated in chairs near the wall and were both men. All three of their faces lit up when Avuri and her family entered, and they all stood.


    The woman began sliding around the table while the men moved forward as well. They all seemed very excited, and the woman shouted, ¡°Avuri! Emery! It¡¯s so good to see you both.¡±


    It took a moment for Avuri to place the face before her. None of them looked immediately recognizable to her, but the faces were still ringing a bell in her head. The woman was cute, with a small frame similar to Emery¡¯s. Her face was round, but not chubby, and her blue eyes were bright with excitement. She looked fit and ready for a fight, especially in the Cultivator uniform of the Stone Breaker Sect.


    But there was something about the woman¡¯s distinguished nose and eyes that reminded Avuri of her family. And that was when things clicked into place, as her eyes quickly jumped from person to person.


    ¡°Mica!¡± Avuri said, shocked. ¡°And Cove and Glenn too. What a surprise!¡± She grinned, and gave the girl a hug. Mica, too, was more than happy to wrap her arms around her cousin.


    Emery smiled at the sight, before Cove stepped up to her and gave her a hug first. ¡°I guess this means the three of you managed to get out of the family?¡± Emery squeaked as she was squeezed.


    ¡°We did. Shortly after we went back after the wedding.¡± Glenn said as he waited for his turn to greet Avuri. ¡°We can¡¯t thank the two of you enough; we only had the nerve to do it because of you two.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s right.¡± Mica said, her face against Avuri¡¯s shoulder. ¡°We would never have had the guts to leave without you. Despite how much we talked about it, I think we would¡¯ve been too scared to follow through.¡± She leaned her forehead against Avuri¡¯s shoulder for a moment and took a deep breath. ¡°Seeing how well it was going for you gave us the push we needed.¡±


    Avuri grinned happily. ¡°Glad to hear it. How have things been since then? It¡¯s been nearly fifteen years since we saw or heard from you all.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Cove began, as he slid over from Emery to Avuri for his turn, ¡°the trip from Bouquet toward the West was certainly an adventure. We wanted to head this way just in case we ever needed help.¡± He said, sounding almost embarrassed.


    Glenn stepped in to give Emery a hug and picked up the explanation. ¡°We had a pretty strong suspicion that if anything went wrong, you would help us. So we came out this way. As it turned out, we managed pretty well and made it all the way to the Amber Valley before we decided to stick with the Sect there.¡±


    The round robin hugs continued as Glenn moved to Avuri and Mica finally said hello to Emery.


    ¡°And then I met them there.¡± Eiry said, interrupting the reunion. ¡°I remembered them, somewhat, and figured it couldn¡¯t hurt to keep them in mind for helpers down the line.¡± She eyed each of them in turn. ¡°Not only did all three take to the Stone Breaker techniques quickly, they also were able to catch on to my own techniques in just a lesson or two.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you teach at the Sect?¡± Emery asked.


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°I do.¡± Eiry confirmed. ¡°I¡¯m actually considered one of the Sect¡¯s Elders. I helped found it, afterall.¡± She said it so blandly and nonchalantly that they both nearly just let the information slip by.


    ¡°You¡¯re a founder of the Stone Breaker Sect?¡± Cove shouted. ¡°We knew you were strong, but¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± Eiry said, bypassing the whole conversation. ¡°I didn¡¯t even tell you why you¡¯re all here or what you¡¯ll be doing yet, have I?¡±


    Cove, Glenn, and Mica all stood at attention then. ¡°No, you haven¡¯t.¡± Glenn said.


    ¡°We need someone to impersonate me.¡± Eiry declared, looking right at Mica. ¡°And Mica, you¡¯ve spent enough time around me as my assistant around the Sect, I believe, to have a good handle on how I act.¡±


    Glenn and Cover blinked, surprised, but Mica looked entirely shellshocked. ¡°I¡­what? You want me to impersonate you?¡± Her voice sounded tinged with a maniacal laugh. ¡°You¡¯re kidding, right?¡±


    ¡°I am not. In fact, you¡¯ll be acting alongside Avuri, who will be impersonating Elder Lyn.¡± Eiry said, motioning to them. ¡°Surely you remember the other Flowing Dragon City Elders?¡±


    ¡°We do, but¡­¡± Cove stammered, ¡°Why?¡±


    Eiry glanced around the room, meeting each pair of eyes seriously. She eventually settled on the three Mephras again. ¡°What I¡¯m about to say does not leave this room, is that clear?¡±


    ¡°Eiry, I¡¯m pretty sure at least some of the - ¡°


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Eiry said, shaking her head at Lyn. ¡°We¡¯re about to get into much deeper detail than anything anyone in the city knows. So this is a blanket tell-no-one agreement, got it?¡± She said pointedly.


    ¡°Yeah, okay.¡± Mica murmured, still unsure. ¡°I don¡¯t necessarily have to agree to impersonate you before we hear the situation, do I?¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s okay.¡± Eiry said with a soft smile. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to entrap you or anything. But this is a very serious situation. Or at least has the potential to be one.¡± She shrugged.


    ¡°Long story short,¡± Lyn began, ¡°is that The Deposits are likely to be marching on our city with the intent to take it over.¡± She paused for the appropriate gasps with a chuckle. ¡°They¡¯re amassing an army that will outnumber our defenders pretty handily, and we¡¯re trying to avoid the whole thing coming to blows.¡±


    ¡°Which will require the Elders to display our power.¡± Eiry continued. ¡°The issue being, if we do that, we won¡¯t be available for any sort of negotiation talks if the leaders of the attack decide they don¡¯t want a fight. And that¡¯s where you will come in. Specifically, the three of you.¡± She motioned to Mica, Avuri, and Ieji.


    Ieji took that opportunity to showcase their technique. The same shadowy mist that they had conjured before began to seep from their body and stretched to cover Avuri. In a blink, suddenly they were both replaced with exact likenesses of Vyne and Lyn. ¡°And, I suppose, you¡¯ll be joining us as Eiry.¡± Ieji said. Their voice and expression was an exact match for Vyne.


    ¡°And why, exactly, wouldn¡¯t you be able to attend the meeting?¡± Glenn asked, cautiously. ¡°Will Mica be safe if you¡¯re all not there?¡±


    ¡°She will be safe, because while we won¡¯t be able to attend the meeting, we will be very nearby.¡± Eiry said. Glenn just looked at her suspiciously, waiting for a more complete answer.


    ¡°We¡¯re dragons.¡± Lyn said finally. ¡°All five of the Elders. We¡¯re dragons.¡± Mouths dropped open in disbelief. ¡°We¡¯ll be showing up to the fight as dragons, so it¡¯ll be difficult for us to talk to people that way. Especially since no one will know it¡¯s us.¡±


    There was silence as the three of them just stared in disbelief. Vyne, who had been quietly seated at the table until now, laughed. Emery and Avuri turned to look at him, but so did Eiry and Lyn. Hearing Vyne laugh was a rare thing.


    ¡°We can¡¯t really demonstrate that for you right now, though.¡± He said. ¡°You¡¯ll have to take our word for it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sure.¡± Cove said, still mostly at a loss. He finally seemed to snap back to himself after that to ask another question. ¡°So, you needed Mica to pretend to be Elder Cirrus, but did you need Glenn or I?¡±


    Eiry smiled. ¡°We don¡¯t, no. I brought you along mostly because I thought you might enjoy seeing Avuri.¡± Then she looked over to Mica. ¡°And because I didn¡¯t think Mica would appreciate being solely burdened with this secret.¡±


    ¡°I appreciate that, I suppose.¡± Mica said. ¡°You¡¯re right, though. I don¡¯t think I would¡¯ve liked keeping this from them.¡±


    ¡°Depending how this all goes,¡± Eiry continued, ¡°I may also request that the three of you leave the Stone Breaker Sect - and train directly under me.¡± The quick switch in expressions from hurt and confused to excited and interested was enough to make Emery and Avuri chuckle.


    Mica held her hand to her chest, and took in deep breaths. ¡°You scared me, Elder Sirrus!¡±


    Eiry smiled at the girl. ¡°You three are some of the best students I¡¯ve seen over in the Sect. And also, please call me Eiry, at least when we¡¯re here. Despite what you may think of me, I am not a fan of titles.¡±


    ¡°Oh, very well.¡± Mica said, bowing. ¡°Then, Eiry, what exactly should we be doing from here on out?¡±


    ¡°Practice.¡± Lyn said, stepping up. ¡°You¡¯ll need to get used to acting in character as Eiry for extended periods of time. And Avuri still needs work on her acting as well. So we¡¯ll be putting the two of you through the ringer here.¡± Lyn¡¯s voice allowed for no argument.


    Avuri deflated. ¡°Again?¡± She said, clearly trying her best to hold back the whine that wanted to escape.


    ¡°Again.¡± Lyn confirmed. ¡°This time, you¡¯ll be in the same space as your partners. You¡¯ll need to learn to talk together the way we do, among other things.¡±


    Lyn then turned toward Emery. ¡°Emery, dear, if you would be so kind as to make some tea? It¡¯s time to begin.¡±

 95 : Repairs

    Enrik groaned as he leaned over the last gap in the floor. He and Stena had been working to repair it for a few days now, a bit at a time. They were making good progress! But given how many of the floorboards had outright broken or splintered, the task was beginning to feel endless - even with the end pretty clearly in sight.


    Stena was nearby using her Qi to shape and meld the boards to fit them against the others. Enrik didn¡¯t even want to think how long this would have taken without her. Her ability to warp and shape the new wood boards made everything go much faster than it would have by hand. And even then, they still had a little help here and there from some of their siblings. Mostly the ones that were in the training that day.


    ¡°We¡¯ve only got like three boards left.¡± Stena said with a deep breath. ¡°Finally.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Enrik agreed and slid the board into its spot. It fit neatly in between two others, and he held it in place as Stena tapped her Qi to make the board grow just a bit to fit perfectly snug into the space.


    The two of them continued shaping and fitting the last few boards in place. It didn¡¯t take too much longer, but getting all the boards in place was the easy part, thanks to Stena. Once they were finished with that, they took in the mess they had made.


    They hadn¡¯t really cleaned as they went, which left the state of the room pretty poor. There were bits and pieces of wood and shavings everywhere, leftover pieces from boards that had been splintered but not entirely broken. Those had been shaved down to cleaner edges to remove any potential splinters and the like before fitting the new boards in.


    There was also just the general mess that came with doing work like this. There were scuff marks on some of the old planks that would need to be cleaned, but that was fine. It just needed a little effort.


    The real issue was the bits of splintered wood all around. Everyone that had come and gone had been forced to wear real shoes to protect their feet just in case, which had led to the dirty shoe tracks and dust tracks all over the floor.


    And all of that stuff needed to be cleaned up before they could mop the floors to prepare for the lacquer that they would still have to do, too. The family as a whole had a habit of ruining the lacquer on the flooring in the training room, so there was always a ton of lacquer material on hand thankfully.


    Stena eventually let out a deep breath, standing straight and stretching after the last board was laid in place. ¡°Well. Now I guess we need to clean up.¡±


    ¡°Get all of the debris out of here and mop up and wash the boards for lacquer, yeah.¡± Enrik nodded, stretching out his back as he also stood up straight. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be too bad though, we haven¡¯t made that much of a mess.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, but trying to get all the dust is going to be a pain.¡±


    ¡°Yup. May as well get started.¡± Enrik yawned, and moved toward the door to the hallway where the storage closet was. There was a mop and other cleaning supplies in it. Once he opened the door, he began collecting the things they would need. ¡°I should probably go over it with the push broom first, yeah?¡±


    ¡°Good idea.¡± Stena called from the room as she also walked out, but headed to the stairs. ¡°I¡¯ll go see if anyone is willing to lend us a quick hand with this part. If we get a few of us on it, this part should go much faster.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good. I¡¯ll get sweeping.¡± Enrik nodded and went to get started.


    It didn¡¯t take long for Stena to return with Kord, Briar, and Fia in tow. But even then, Enrik had still broomed up most of the room, gathering a neat pile of loose dirt, dust, and debris. The whole group got to work quickly enough and in a few minutes the floor was clean. Or at least free of dust and debris.


    ¡°What¡¯s next?¡± Fia asked, eyeing the set aside cleaning tools. ¡°Mop and wipe up?¡±


    ¡°We should probably actually wash it all down before we mop. If we want to get the scuff marks and stuff out of the older boards, it¡¯s gonna need a bit of scrubbing.¡± Kord said.


    Briar sighed. ¡°Right. Let¡¯s get it done.¡±


    Enrik and Stena shared a smile, seeing how willing the others were to help, and they were looking forward to getting finished with the whole thing well ahead of when they thought they would.


    ¡°If you all want to get a head start, I¡¯ll go get a bunch of water and soap.¡± Stena offered. ¡°It¡¯ll be good to really wash the floors, but there¡¯s a wood cleaner in the closet you can start with for the scuff marks. It should scrub them right out.¡±


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Oh, is that the stuff that Momri made?¡± Briar asked, perking up. ¡°I had to use that the last time I scrubbed the bathhouse floors. That stuff was incredible.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave you all to it then.¡± Stena said as she spun on her heel and ran up the stairs.


    It was a little while before she returned, a large bucket of soapy water sloshing about in each hand. By then, most of the scuffs had already been scrubbed away, too. Stena set the buckets down by the door for now and moved to help the others finish up.


    Once the floor had been scrubbed clean and all of the loose debris was removed, Stena returned to her buckets, waving the others out of the room. Once they were all standing behind her, she shoved both buckets over with her feet, letting the water freely spread over the wooden planks.


    As Stena was raising her right hand, Fia said, ¡°Right then, let¡¯s get mopping,¡± and walked into the room, right past Stena.


    Before Stena could react to Fia moving in front of her, her Qi triggered the storage ring on her finger. Which had been filled with more water. So much more water.


    With Stena holding her hand with the ring up, the stream of water that poured forth landed squarely on the back of Fia¡¯s head. It drenched her long hair near instantly, and by the time Stena lowered her hand to let the water flow onto the floor as she had intended, Fia was already entirely soaked from head to toe.


    The girl¡¯s robes hung heavy off her body and her hair was clinging to her face when she spun around to glare at Stena, who at least had the decency to look sheepish.


    ¡°Sorry, Fia.¡± She said, hurriedly, ¡°I should¡¯ve said I had more water in my storage ring before I let you walk in.¡±


    Fia looked about ready to snap, especially after having been on edge for days thanks to the constant trading of pranks that was going on. She closed her eyes in an attempt to calm herself, and took a few long, deep breaths. She did sound remarkably calm when she finally spoke, but it was the cold anger type of calm.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± She said through gritted teeth. ¡°You didn¡¯t mean it. I walked in early. It¡¯s no one¡¯s fault.¡± She said each short sentence almost as if she was trying to convince herself more than Stena, who just looked apologetic.


    Enrik and Kord had the sense to keep quiet. Briar, however, did not.


    ¡°It¡¯s just some water, Fia. You¡¯re fine.¡± They said, stepping past everyone and into the water logged room. ¡°Besides, you¡¯re a water based Cultivator. You can¡¯t seriously be bothered by getting a little wet, can you?¡±


    Fia¡¯s Qi sprang to life immediately. To Briar¡¯s credit, they did react quickly, turning toward Fia and raising their arms defensively. But rather than a frontal attack, Fia¡¯s Qi roused the water beneath Briar¡¯s feet. The swift and sudden current swept their feet out from under them, leaving Briar tipping face first toward the floor.


    Briar¡¯s hands shot forward to stop the fall successfully, leaving them in a push-up like position. Fia had no mercy, launching a blast of the soapy water from the floor straight into Briar¡¯s face. The water sprayed every which way after making contact with a good amount of force. It was enough to make Briar try to protect their face with an arm, which left them off balance for a second current to sweep out their remaining arm.


    Stena, Enrik, and Kord all flinched as Briar¡¯s nose cracked against the floor. It wasn¡¯t likely to cause real damage to a Cultivator¡¯s body, but the impact would definitely hurt.


    Sure enough, Briar rolled over, clutching at their nose. ¡°Damn it, Fia, that hurt!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a little water, surely it didn¡¯t hurt that bad.¡± She mocked, then kicked up a small wave of water to splash Briar from the side. She kept murmuring softer mocking lines to herself as she tried to strip off her soaked outer robes and wring them out.


    She looked back to Briar, still trying to wring out her robes, and clicked her tongue. ¡°Oh, get up.¡± She said, sounding exasperated. ¡°There¡¯s no way you¡¯re that hurt.¡±


    Briar glared, but still stood just fine. Aside from being as soaked as Fia, they were fine.


    ¡°I guess we should actually get to cleaning up.¡± Kord said, trying to get everyone back on track. He strode into the room, looking around. ¡°Thankfully, it still looks like we just need to clean up the water and mop up.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, shouldn¡¯t be too - ¡°


    Stena stopped suddenly when she was hit with a blast of water from behind. She spun to find Enrik grinning widely, clearly having kicked up a bunch of water at her. It wasn¡¯t enough to completely drench her, but her hair and back felt gross enough with the small amount of water. She narrowed her eyes at Enrik, but returned his grin.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re gonna get it.¡± Stena said menacingly. She pulled the hair tie from her wrist and gathered up her hair in a loose ponytail. ¡°I hope you¡¯re ready Enrik.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± Kord said, trying to interpose himself between them. ¡°We already broke this floor. Can¡¯t we finish the job before we make this any worse? Right?¡± We pleaded, looking between the two siblings about to face off.


    They both answered by kicking water at him. Resigned to his fate, Kord sighed as he was equally drenched from both sides and dropped his arms. ¡°Fine. I guess we can just finish up later.¡± He said begrudgingly. With a quick burst of Qi, Kord created greaves around his feet and legs; they were strangely shaped at a glance, but were crafted in a spur of the moment decision for a specific purpose.


    The wide front of the greaves caught a truly impressive amount of water as he kicked, sending up a huge splash at Stena. She danced to the side, leaving the brunt of Kord¡¯s splash to land squarely on Fia, who turned on him immediately.


    Rather than the anger from before, she seemed to show a bit more amusement this time. But her smile was wolfish all the same.


    ¡°You should all know better than to pick a water fight with a water Qi Cultivator.¡± She intoned, as the soapy water rose slowly from the floor to hover in the air around her, slowly rotating.


    Stena and Enrik took one look at her and shouted, ¡°Run!¡± before bolting out of the room and down the hallway.


    The laugh Fia let echo through the house would haunt their dreams for a week.

 96 : Mess

    Emery yawned as she flew back toward their home carried by Vale. She glanced back toward the others, spread out among the easier to ride spots on his body. Avuri looked mentally exhausted as she stared ahead vacantly, while Mica, Cove, and Glenn looked half way between exhilarated and terrified.


    Their reactions upon seeing Vale take his dragon shape had been a treat. Eiry had offered to let the small group stay in a nice hotel in the City, but when Emery and Avuri offered their house, all three jumped at it.


    Of course, without Eiry making the trip to help them fly with Qi, they had to travel the same way Emery and Avuri did - by dragon back.


    It did take a while for them to all get over the fear of climbing up on Vale¡¯s back and get settled, but the whole ordeal had been very entertaining for everyone involved. Other than the three that were struggling, of course.


    Thankfully, they were on track to get back home before the sun went down, but it would be fairly close. Emery didn¡¯t want to make their first time traveling by dragon a recurring nightmare, and being on a dragon in the sky after dark wasn¡¯t a pleasant first experience.


    It didn¡¯t take too long before they were cresting the top of the cliffside that led to the basin. Vale landed just outside the Arrays to allow everyone to dismount. This had become something of a standard procedure for them by this point, as Vale didn¡¯t want to fly over the basin too often. The sight of a dragon flying overhead would invariably cause some kind of uproar among the kids, whether it was fear or - more likely - excitement. And disturbing the peace like that wasn¡¯t high on his list of priorities.


    Once everyone was back on solid ground and Vale shifted back to his human shape, the group was off. With less than an hour of sunlight left, the group didn¡¯t make too much smalltalk as they wanted to get at least to the houses before nightfall. Emery mentally acknowledged that it shouldn¡¯t really take that long, but better safe than sorry, she supposed.


    It didn¡¯t take too long for the group to cross the various Arrays set up as defensive barriers. With Emery, Avuri, and Vale among the group they didn¡¯t need to worry about setting anything off which was nice. It allowed them to keep up the speed.


    They eventually made it inside the inner alarm Array, and then the stealth Array set up beside it that was designed to keep sound from escaping. Immediately, they could hear all kinds of noise coming from the housing area; all kinds of screams and shouts were echoing around the basin.


    Emery and Avuri shot off toward the house immediately at max speed. It took seconds for them to cross the basin and see what was causing the commotion. As they slid to a halt around the empty playground, Emery sighed and rubbed her forehead while Avuri tried to hold back laughter.


    The small courtyard-like area in front of the main house looked like a battlefield. There was water everywhere. The ground was saturated enough that puddles sat scattered around the ground, unable to sink into the dirt. The trees and plant life was all soaked, and there was even a slight rainbow from the moisture in the air.


    There were bodies scattered about the ground, mostly lying face up and breathing heavily. Some were laughing. In the middle of it all, there was currently a three way standoff.


    With her back to the house, Fia looked absolutely resplendent while hovering using a mass of water to keep herself aloft. She had a bright smile on her face, but her pose showed she was ready to attack at the drop of a hat. Lia stood on the ground beside her in a prepared fighting stance of her own, water spread out behind her like wings. She also held a whip made of water, staring down their apparent opponents.


    The second team was Stena and Enrik. Enrik had seemingly raised up a section of earth as a breakwater at one point, and the two stood in the middle of their raised earthen walls. Stena had added to them with plant growth that looked like ivy, but it grew up without any sort of structure to climb. The plants were wet, but looked like they were doing their presumed job of soaking up the water. In fact, there were flowers near most of the puddles on the battleground that looked as though they were greedily soaking up the excess water.


    The last team in the standoff was just Cierra. She looked poised to fight as well, and was completely surrounded by jagged shapes of ice. It looked like she had frozen a number of water-based attacks thrown at her mid-flight. The appearance was threatening, but most of the sharp points were pointed toward her, not toward her opponents. Her expression, however, dared the others to attack her.


    ¡°What do you think, Ri?¡± Emery asked, running her fingers back through her hair.


    Avuri hid a smile as she looked on. ¡°Honestly? I want to see what happens.¡± She whispered back. ¡°Other than everything being soaked, they¡¯ve not really caused a lot of damage.¡± Her eyes scanned the battlefield, assessing. ¡°Well. Other than the ¡®dead bodies¡¯.¡± She added with a giggle, looking over all of the absolutely soaked kids that were scattered about.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Emery agreed, looking everyone over, ¡°looks like we missed quite the spectacle.¡± She eventually met eyes with Talya, who was watching the whole thing from a third story window in the house. ¡°They¡¯ve had supervision it looks like, too.¡± Emery said, pointing her out.


    Avuri followed the nudge and waved to Talya, who returned the gesture.


    ¡°Get ¡®em, Fia!¡± Jak shouted from the ground, raising his fist into the air in a salute. ¡°Avenge me!¡±


    ¡°I took a shot for you two, you better win!¡± Cruz said from his spot by Stena and Enrik.


    Other cheers and shouts of support rang out over the battlefield as Vale, Glenn, Cove, and Mica all finally ran up behind Emery and Avuri.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Is everything ok?¡± Glenn asked as he took in the scene. ¡°Was there¡­an attack¡­?¡± He trailed off and tilted his head as what was before him started to actually click.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°I know you tried to prepare us for how many kids you said would be here but seeing this is¡­something else.¡± Mica muttered.


    Avuri chuckled. ¡°They¡¯re apparently in the middle of a - ¡°


    Fia made her move. She directed the huge mass of water behind her in a volley of smaller water darts toward Stena and Enrik. Cierra¡¯s Qi reached out and froze several of the darts from one side of the volley. Once frozen, she was able to direct the darts away from their intended target, grounding them.


    Enrik swung a hand up and dirt rose to meet the remaining darts. While it wasn¡¯t a solid wall of stone like he usually preferred, the mud was thick enough to stop the water darts. Stena, in turn, took care of the rest of the attack. The ivy growing in front of the pair grew buds and then bloomed with beautiful flowers. The petals seemed to expand unnaturally fast, covering them both from the water. As soon as the active flow of darts stopped, the petals closed up, drinking in the water.


    ¡°That¡¯s not going to work, Fia.¡± Stena said, glaring at her younger sister through the gaps in the vines. With the flowering petals closing up, she once again had clear sightlines to her opponent.


    ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°Stena!¡± Cierra shouted just in time for a whip of water to crash into the back of her head. The last few feet of the whip splashed over her, drenching her further. As she spun to face Lia, who had dashed around behind them while their defensive techniques blocked sight, she took a second swing of water to the face. Stena spluttered, trying to clear her face of water.


    As Enrik quickly tried to leverage some earth to throw puddles at Lia, the girl beat her liquid wings and was gone before anything could land. She didn¡¯t fly, so much as glide just above the ground, but her speed was impressive.


    As Enrik turned back around to face the center of the field again, he went pale. In the moments that Lia was harassing them, Fia had built up a solid wave of water to throw at them.


    ¡°Well shit.¡± He said weakly. Stena turned back, her face clear of water, just in time for the pair to get completely overrun by the wave. The muddy walls that Enrik had constructed simply melted under the amount of water, being dragged away like sand in undertow. Stena¡¯s ivy didn¡¯t fare much better, bending under the current, unable to halt the attack.


    With the pair¡¯s defenses breached, the force of the water, combined with a pull of undertow swept them off their feet, depositing them neatly on the ground, face up. Stena covered her face with the crook of her arm and sighed, a bit of laughter mixed in. ¡°Damn.¡±


    Enrik, for his part, stretched out his limbs on the ground and groaned. ¡°It¡¯s all up to Cierra now.¡±


    Fia, in a deliberate show of strength, gathered another huge mass of water from around her. She collected many of the puddles around, and even drew some of the water that was saturating the dirt. Lia, in turn, siphoned off some of Fia¡¯s water to reconstitute her whip, as well as add a little to her wings.


    Cierra stared them down, clearly fighting an internal battle as to whether she should move first or wait defensively. While deciding, she gathered up a mass of the water around her and froze it in large sheets, creating the equivalent of floating shields.


    Avuri watched on with interest. When it came to raw elemental Qi control like this, whichever Qi contacted the substance first would typically have jurisdiction over that material, unless one Cultivator clearly outranked the other. In this case, as Fia and Cierra were both in the Earth Realm, they would be fighting for control over the water that scattered the field.


    Lia would be relegated to a support role here, and it looked like she knew it. Cierra, being a Realm above her, could likely force her Qi out of her whip and wings and freeze them. She would have to coordinate well with her sister to stop Cierra from taking her out of the fight in an instant.


    With both Earth Realm combatants surrounded by rotating rings of their chosen elements, this fight was really anyone¡¯s to take.


    ¡°If Lia supports her well, Fia should have this, easy.¡± Emery said, thoughtfully. ¡°If Cierra jumps Lia early though, and removes her, I think she¡¯ll take it.¡±


    Avuri nodded. ¡°I think you have the right of it. This whole thing might just come down to how well Lia can support Fia.¡±


    Cierra evidently decided on making the first move, because she dashed in first. With a quick swing of a hand, several needles of ice flew ahead of her. The sisters fended off the attack easily, but it still created enough of a gap for Cierra to get into a more middle range.


    Fia retaliated by spreading her large mass of water out into large tentacle-like appendages. They lashed out like whips, striking the area around Cierra, trying to box her in. While Cierra danced around the strikes well, there were simply too many attacks for her to keep control. Fia rather masterfully struck at specific angles to block off routes to retreat or the more advantageous angles for Cierra, leaving her trapped.


    Cierra did very well in avoiding and blocking the strikes actually aimed at her, however. Her ice shields were deflecting a majority of the strikes with relative ease. For the few attacks that got too close, Cierra was able to overwhelm Fia¡¯s control with raw focus, because Fia¡¯s focus was split among so many water tentacles.


    Once Cierra was trapped, she switched her focus to a counterattack. She had the sheets of ice she was using as shields spin. It took just a moment for them to gain speed, and then they began to rip through the water tentacles the way a saw would.


    Fia gathered more water to keep up her assault, but as Cierra¡¯s shields-turned-blades cut pieces off of the whips, the dissected pieces froze and added to her arsenal.


    The exchange went on for almost a minute, with the control of the water and ice in the air changing hands more than once.


    Lia had spent the time slowly inching forward in an effort to turn the tide. Fia had managed to keep her mostly concealed with her water during her approach, after dropping her wings. Once she felt like she was in range of striking with her whip, she made her move.


    With a glance and a nod between them, Fia and Lia coordinated the attack. Fia struck with some of her own water, hiding Lia¡¯s whip behind it. Cierra, as she had been doing for the last minute, forced Fia¡¯s Qi out of the water and froze it.


    What should have happened, in Cierra¡¯s mind, was the water in that area freezing as she blanketed it with her own Qi, and the attack should have stopped. However, Lia¡¯s water whip, which was controlled with her full attention, was not frozen. And while it did very little in the end, the tip of the whip sloshed over Cierra¡¯s cheek, wetting the whole right side of her face.


    And then everything got really, really cold.


    ¡°Alright you, that¡¯s enough.¡± Avuri said over the din. Her Domain blanketed the entire area, drastically cooling everything. All of the water being used for the fight had frozen in an instant.


    Emery stepped up beside her wife, rubbing her forehead before a headache could set in. ¡°Can someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?¡±

 97 : Oil and Water

    Avuri and I had simply not been prepared for the awkwardness and general chaos having both of our families around would entail.


    In the week that had passed after my family¡¯s arrival, things had gone relatively well, outside of the constant awkwardness. We had two days left until the wedding itself, and had managed to avoid any major incidents. It worked out nicely for us that once my family arrived, Avuri¡¯s seemed content to live mostly in their accommodations.


    At first, I suspected that Ieji¡¯s initial appearance scared them into staying hidden. The day after they arrived, though, the teenager group emerged again and spent time with us. Most of our days at this point were spent coordinating wedding related things or just daily chores, but they were happy to help.


    They were convinced, though, that the Mephra family staying out of our way for the most part was a choice on their part to allow them to ¡®work¡¯. Not that any of us had any idea what they could do so far from Bouquet. The teens were convinced that they were scheming something and kept warning us to keep an eye on them. We told them that we were, and they were more than happy to spend their days with us instead of with their family. They did take another day to work on school work, though.


    That status quo held for a week. Avuri¡¯s family did offer to watch Cierra and Stena more than once so we could get work done, which, after the last time Severa pushed for it, left a bad taste in my mouth.


    As a sort of peace offering, Avuri and I actually considered letting them take the girls one day, but Cierra and Stena weren¡¯t interested and wanted to work with us instead. We didn¡¯t really have any good reason to force them to spend time with their new family, so we just let them be. Severa seemed to be a little annoyed by us not fighting it, but otherwise let it go.


    On that second to last day, however, Avuri¡¯s family decided to emerge and engage with us. With the wedding so close, we had decided it would be best to put off the regular household chores for a bit. The few crops that we had planted would be fine for a few days; we just had to make sure the animals were fed, which was easy.


    And it was after taking care of the smaller than normal list of chores in the morning that things started going downhill.


    My family was still in the main house - where they had been staying in the extra bedrooms - and working on lunch with Talya and Vale. As we had done for over a week now, Avuri and I approached her family to offer to eat lunch all together. We had set up a small pavilion beside the house with some large open tables with chairs just in case we ever needed to host a large gathering.


    When Avuri¡¯s father, Dain, accepted our invitation to eat for the whole Mephra family, we told them to meet us there. There was certainly not enough room at our kitchen table to seat twenty two people. He was gracious enough at the time, and we bowed and left to get things situated.


    It didn¡¯t take us long to let everyone know we would be eating lunch outside. In fact, Cierra and Stena seemed very excited to be eating outdoors. My family had prepared a massive pot of rice as well as enough pulled chicken for everyone to have some alongside the rice. There were the standard sauces for flavoring, as well as a whole mess of in-season vegetables. Once things were placed on the tables, the spread really looked quite good.


    The Mephra teens had helped us prepare the food, and left during set up to retrieve their family. Avuri¡¯s family began to trickle in then, behind the teens. Hoping to keep the air friendly and welcoming to everyone, Avuri and I sat side by side in the center of one of the long tables. Cierra immediately jumped into the spot to my left, while Stena climbed up into Avuri¡¯s lap. I scooted over a little, just in case she wanted to move Stena off her lap into the space between us.


    As our families approached, I motioned for my family to sit on my left with Cierra, while Avuri tried to direct her family to her right.


    After dishing out their plates, my family came and sat around my half of the table. There was the normal happy chatter as Kota and Rylie ribbed each other good-naturedly. Ieji sat in the middle of everyone, seemingly as bland as ever. Demi, Talya, and Vale sat across from us while talking about how Demi¡¯s tastes in vegetables had changed recently.


    The majority of my attention, though, was on Avuri¡¯s family. My family had just about finished getting their plates together when Avuri¡¯s arrived, and I could immediately hear the grumbling begin. Cove, Glenn, and Mica took care of their plates without breaking their chatter, and sat directly across from Avuri and I - I thought that was good. They could bridge the gap a little.


    But immediately following that, Leon stepped up to the spread and said, ¡°How novel, plating for ourselves.¡± Avuri made a face but hid it rather well as Leon turned to us all sitting at the table and asked, ¡°Is the buffet at the wedding going to be self-serve as well?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it will.¡± Avuri said politely. I was impressed how friendly she made it sound, given the look she had on her face just a moment ago. ¡°The buffet will be manned by the Celestial Dragon Pavilion, but they won¡¯t be filling plates. The workers will be moving between refilling the buffet dishes and making rounds among the guests.¡±


    ¡°How fun. I¡¯m sure the guests will all enjoy it.¡± Leon said sweetly.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Most of the time,¡± I said, trying to sound sickly sweet, ¡°people like being able to put exactly what and how much they want on their plate.¡±


    ¡°If you say so.¡± Leon responded blandly. Avuri¡¯s family went down the line and plated their food, clearly unenthused with the whole concept.


    ¡°Surprising absolutely no one,¡± Avuri whispered as quietly as she could in my ear, ¡°my family usually has workers for everything.¡±


    ¡°I like doing it!¡± Cierra said happily.


    ¡°That¡¯s nice, dear.¡± Amalia said condescendingly. The patronizing tone immediately soured my mood. I turned away from the group before they caught me sneering. I really didn¡¯t like the way they treated the girls when they weren¡¯t actively trying to play nice. Judging by the look on Avuri¡¯s face, she wasn¡¯t thrilled by it either.


    As her parents made their way over to the tables we were sitting at, her mother grimaced. Avuri cleared her expression before raising an eyebrow in question. She stopped just short of asking what was wrong, knowing she would likely receive a snarky answer.


    The older members of her family walked up and made a similar face. Severa was the one to say, ¡°Benches?¡±


    I turned away and rolled my eyes so hard they hurt. My own family saw my expression and tried not to laugh.


    ¡°Yes, benches.¡± Avuri said, her voice calm and controlled. ¡°We made the pavilion for large gatherings, and benches were the obvious choice for large groups.¡±


    ¡°You could have at least built them with backs.¡± Her father said sourly. ¡°Sitting on benches isn¡¯t good for people our age.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not that old.¡± Avuri said flatly. ¡°And you¡¯re all Cultivators. Your bodies can handle it just fine.¡±


    ¡°And if they can¡¯t,¡± I added, ¡°you may want to get yourself checked by a doctor.¡±


    Dain shot me a look, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared and he didn¡¯t actually say anything. Instead, he lifted his leg over the bench and sat down. The others followed suit, with Solana sitting next to Avuri, Dain next to her, and Severa across the way.


    I wasn¡¯t particularly excited by having Severa sitting so close, but I nodded at her in greeting with a polite smile. She did return the nod, but her expression was placid.


    ¡°So,¡± Kota began, as everyone started to eat, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯re a pretty well known merchant family in Bouquet?¡± Eyes from around the table turned toward him as he did his best to be friendly. ¡°I¡¯ve been through the city a few times; it¡¯s a really nice place.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well, we do our best to maintain the city.¡± Lark said, a polite smile plastered to his face.


    ¡°It¡¯s really a beautiful city.¡± Severa chimed in. ¡°It¡¯s run nearly entirely by merchants, even in the upper echelons of the populace. I suppose it just goes to show how well a city could be run with money instead of might.¡±


    I could nearly feel my entire family twitch at the indirect shot at Cultivators. I took a deep breath around the food in my mouth to try to calm myself before I said anything stupid. Or smart. I just wanted to keep the conversation light while we all shared a table.


    ¡°Mortal money can definitely produce some amazing results.¡± Vale said, trying to meet halfway. ¡°Bouquet is a great example of it at work. The entire city is easily one of the cleanest because they pay their cleanliness workers well. And the shops are almost universally well respected, simply because any non-respectable business can¡¯t manage to stay open long there.¡±


    ¡°Wise words from an old man.¡± Leon muttered to himself, but loudly enough for all of the Cultivator ears to hear.


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Dain agreed with Vale, trying to pick up the conversation. ¡°The way money travels through our city is a marvelous sight. It¡¯s really too bad that more cities don¡¯t follow suit.¡± He spoke between bites of the stir-fry. ¡°In fact, from what we saw in Flowing Dragon City, I would go as far as saying that even they would benefit from having us take a look at their city.¡±


    Solana nodded along, as did Aster and Mint. Severa looked pleased as well.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure the Elders would be interested in hearing your thoughts.¡± Vale said. And I turned toward him, wide-eyed, just in time to see a playful little smile. I wasn¡¯t sure whether his aim was to annoy the Elders with Avuri¡¯s family as a weapon, or to have her family roasted alive by the Elders, but either option probably led to a bad outcome.


    Avuri evidently noticed it too. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure the Elders wouldn¡¯t be that interested. They¡¯re all business people too, and I imagine they have their own ways of doing things.¡±


    ¡°All the more reason for us to talk with them!¡± Severa interjected, suddenly excited. ¡°I¡¯m sure, if nothing else, they¡¯d be interested in setting up trade between our cities.¡± She glanced at Avuri, disapprovingly. ¡°And if they really are merchants like us, I¡¯m even more sure that they would be interested in learning how Bouquet operates, given it¡¯s basically the shining star that guides merchants in our corner of the world.¡±


    I had to bite back a retort for that one, and instead began to fuss over Cierra and the rice stuck around her mouth. Avuri placed a hand on my thigh under the table, recognizing how tense I was. I glanced back at her to smile for just a moment before continuing to fuss over Cierra.


    ¡°You might be surprised.¡± Rylie said. ¡°My understanding of the Elders here is that their monetary pursuits are merely hobbies for them.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you know, Avuri did mention something along those lines.¡± Mica perked up, excited to have something to add.


    Her family¡¯s eyes turned on her, Avuri cleared her throat. ¡°Well, yes. At the very least, Lyn and Cyril don¡¯t seem to take their businesses too seriously. They both love to cook, so they opened a restaurant. The fact that it is simultaneously the best and most expensive food in the city seems to be a secondary concern.¡±


    I noticed several faces go through a multitude of emotions, once again noting that Avuri used first names without titles for the Elders.


    Severa seemed to wave away Avuri¡¯s whole point. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve misunderstood them then, Avuri. People don¡¯t end up in charge of a city with one of the most influential businesses in said city by accident.¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯d be surprised.¡± Rylie muttered again, this time too quietly for anyone else to hear.

 98 : Dangerous Game

    Lunch proceeded very precariously. My family continued to snipe and offer nothing but backhanded compliments and hidden insults, as they always did. Emery¡¯s family, who I was truly growing only more and more appreciative of, managed to continue to let them go unchallenged for the sake of peace for now.


    But every time Severa, my father, or my mother dropped another off-handed insult against Cultivators, I grew more and more fed up with the whole thing.


    Every time they said something, I could see a twitch from someone on Emery¡¯s side of the table. The three teenagers sat across from me visibly winced more than once in regard to some of the inane vitriol that Severa let out of her mouth, weakly disguised as compliments or innocuous statements.


    ¡°A city should obviously be run by merchants, even Flowing Dragon got at least that much right.¡±


    ¡°Cultivators are so good at doing the manual labor, they were even named for it!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to see that Avuri¡¯s merchant upbringing hasn¡¯t been wasted out here, given you are all clearly making good money now.¡±


    ¡°This house really is quite nice, considering where you chose to put it. And the Array work¡­well, if you¡¯d be willing to share some of those secrets¡­¡±


    The hypocrisy and general hate she kept circulating the table was honestly shocking to me. Even more so that she managed to do it in such a way that if someone exploded at her, she could conceivably turn it back on them.


    Not that I was worrying about that toward the end of the lunch. Everyone had long since finished eating, but conversation had continued out of polite behavior alone. I could tell that Emery¡¯s family was simply being stubborn, not wanting to let my family have the last word. And I was feeling the same way they were. I was pretty sure that Glenn, Cove, and Mica were just about ready to take our side as well.


    And yet, everyone managed to remain mostly subdued. Emery was regularly changing focus from the conversation to dote on the girls to keep herself under control. She even had Stena in her lap now, rather than sat between us.


    Her family members were clearly breaking into short asides with one another to diffuse some of their own tension. Every now and then, two of them would laugh at a joke before returning to the larger conversation a bit refreshed.


    It was also the only laughter at the table for the entire meal.


    I was really hoping that the conversation would either die soon, or my family would relent and get up and walk away. But at least a few of them were clearly enjoying poking the metaphorical dragon. Mostly Severa and Leon, aided occasionally by my father; they all kept something like a smirk on their face through most of the lunch as they continued to obtusely insult my new family.


    I had been spacing out for a bit when I was forcefully dragged back to the conversation when Severa decided to pick a new fight out of seemingly nowhere as I went cold.


    ¡°Well, don¡¯t you want your girls to grow up smart like Avuri?¡± She had said.


    I felt the chill come over me as Emery¡¯s Qi moved of its own accord. Her family all went quiet and still when they felt it. I also had the urge to immediately go on the offense when they mentioned the girls like that. It was an angle of attack that I don¡¯t think they realized was one likely to set off a bomb.


    I noticed the teens across from me also went pale. I imagined they had probably warned them not to mention our girls like this and were beginning to regret having done so. Of course Severa wouldn¡¯t listen to warnings about touchy, dangerous subjects. And she was now choosing to play a very dangerous game, knowingly or not.


    When Emery spoke, her voice was dripping such intense sweet venom that I was sure everyone at the table heard it.


    ¡°Oh, I agree. Avuri is very smart. Her training as a child has saved us a lot of money on the wedding costs already. But I¡¯m not sure what, exactly, you mean?¡±


    ¡°Oh, of course, dear.¡± Severa said, sounding pleasant. ¡°I merely meant that you really should consider moving into a city. Perhaps even moving to Bouquet. The tutors are so much better than teaching them yourselves.¡±


    The thought of moving to Bouquet at this point nearly made me sick to my stomach. I really wanted very little to do with my family, especially after spending this week being near them.


    ¡°I certainly don¡¯t regret the tutors I learned from growing up.¡± I found myself saying. ¡°Not that I¡¯d want to put Cierra and Stena in those courses.¡±


    ¡°And why not?¡± My father asked. ¡°You clearly learned very well. Even when you went off to the Frozen Mountain, you were leaps and bounds ahead of the other students.¡±


    As my family spoke, I picked up Stena from Emery¡¯s lap, and placed her on her feet behind us. Emery seemed to get the message, and turned to Cierra. I was glad we were on the same page. And I think Emery was glad to see I was hitting my limit.


    ¡°You two should go play.¡± She said, making a shooing motion. ¡°You don¡¯t need to sit here talking with all the adults.¡±


    Cierra spun around and kicked off the bench. ¡°Yeah, okay! Can we go draw?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I think we put the colored pens away in your room last time.¡± I said. Cierra nodded, grabbed Stena¡¯s hand, and ran off toward the house.


    When I turned back to the table, most eyes were on us. Certainly, my father and Severa were both at least watching us for some kind of response.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Dain,¡± I began, emphasizing his name instead of calling him father like I had mostly done since they arrived. ¡°With all due respect, the courses you paid to put me through were a waste of time. I learned next to nothing, except how to brown nose to people ¡®better¡¯ than me. Almost everything I learned about being a merchant was through reading on my own.¡±


    I stared down Leon. ¡°Listening to those sycophants is how you end up with people like Leon. And I will not let my daughters be like that.¡±


    The atmosphere at the table went cold. Emery¡¯s family decided to stay out of it, looking away from everyone else while playing it cool. I appreciated that they didn¡¯t want to add to the fire, but I knew they would jump in if things got too heated.


    My family, in contrast, seemed to harden and close up. The teens looked like they wanted to run. Most of them were giving me various looks of warning that I was on thin ice. Dain and Leon were glaring at me as if I had slapped them; which, to be fair, I basically had. Severa looked on, almost amused, but was anything but happy.


    ¡°And what, exactly, do you mean by that?¡± Leon asked, clearly trying to give me a chance to recant what I said, despite his anger. I had to admit that I was impressed he didn¡¯t just fly off the handle, given how he had acted all week.


    I took a breath. I was done. If they wanted to belittle, make fun, and just generally deride the people I had chosen as a new family, then I wasn¡¯t about to just sit quietly.


    ¡°Exactly what I said. Paying for expensive tutors that want nothing more than to suck up to the family employing them? Why would they even bother actually teaching when it¡¯s far more rewarding to teach the bare minimum and praise the kid as if they¡¯re a genius instead?¡± I said, only at about half volume. I was very careful not to yell, and maintain an even keel throughout my words.


    ¡°I had to learn most of what I did about business by studying alone. The one thing I learned well from my tutors was how to suck up to the people that think they¡¯re better than you.¡±


    My father narrowed his eyes at me angrily. ¡°Are you implying that we were lax with your education as a child, Ivory?¡±


    I snorted. ¡°I¡¯m not implying anything, Dain.¡± I said, trying to sound sweet. ¡°I meant exactly what I said. You paid out the nose for the ¡®best tutors in the city¡¯,¡± I said, waving my hands in the air to show mock excitement, ¡°but they were an absolute waste of money. I learned more reading on my own time than I did from any of them.¡± Then I added to clarify, ¡°Well, except for how to brown nose, like I said.¡±


    Before he could respond, I turned to Leon. ¡°Would you care to prove me wrong, Leon?¡± I simpered. ¡°I¡¯m sure you were given probably even better, more expensive tutors than I was. Would you like to demonstrate some of what you learned?¡±


    Leon turned an angry red, but my father responded before Leon could. ¡°He runs several stores in Bouquet, and makes quite a profit. I think that speaks for itself.¡± He said haughtily.


    I almost laughed. ¡°Ah, yes. ¡®Runs¡¯. I assume each of those stores has an acting manager, accountant, and quite a robust group of employees. Oh, but probably not quite enough employees to let everyone work comfortably - they''re always going to be a little bit short-handed on help. And they probably get paid just under what their work is actually worth, no doubt.¡±


    I watched as my father and brother got progressively more and more angry as I went on my little tirade, a slow smile spreading across my face.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure that he ¡®runs¡¯ those businesses well. By hiring the right people for the job to do it for him, while schmoozing with either his friends or the people that control whatever type of business it is he¡¯s running.¡± I turned directly to Leon and smiled at him as condescendingly as I could manage.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see, Leon. I imagine you were probably started on a grocery market, yes? Who¡¯s in charge of the beef supply for the city?¡± I asked.


    Leon glared at me, clearly not wanting to play my game, but he answered immediately without thinking. ¡°Kiernan Brent.¡±


    My father looked over at him in an instant, clearly angry he responded.


    ¡°And what¡¯s the price for a pound of beef these days, roughly?¡± I asked.


    Leon stared blankly at me for a moment, before I prodded him again.


    ¡°Well? You¡¯re the owner and manager of a food market but can¡¯t tell me what the going rate is on one of your main products? What about chicken? Tea? Anything?¡± I asked, still sounding sweet.


    ¡°What a farce.¡± My father blurted out. ¡°And what about you, hm? You left home to be some kind of big shot Cultivator, didn¡¯t you?¡± He was clearly speaking in anger, but wasn¡¯t quite shouting. ¡°Well? Looking around, you don¡¯t seem like such a big deal to me, living in the middle of nowhere, completely secluded.¡±


    Demi let a chuckle slip at that, and Dain¡¯s eyes narrowed on her. ¡°What¡¯s so funny, girl?¡±


    ¡°You clearly don¡¯t know Cultivators very well if you think living in seclusion is a sign of weakness.¡± She responded clearly, leaning back with tea in her hand.


    Dain huffed, and turned back to me, his expression now clearly one of disdain. ¡°And that¡¯s even assuming we believe that you¡¯re a Sky Realm. We¡¯ve seen nothing to confirm that while we¡¯ve been here. You¡¯re just playing around at being a family.¡±


    I felt Emery¡¯s Qi move at that insult, but I shook my head and put an arm in front of her. ¡°If that¡¯s really what you think, you¡¯re welcome to stay for the wedding, father. But after that, you¡¯re out of here. You¡¯re all out of here.¡± I said seriously, eyeing each one of my relatives in turn, except for the teenagers.


    When my eyes fell on Severa, she narrowed hers at me, and scanned me up and down. I felt like she was trying to get a read on me, but then huffed as if she didn¡¯t see me as worth anything.


    ¡°You¡¯re making a mistake, Ivory. Alienating one of the best families in the Floral Hills - one you¡¯re a part of, no less - isn¡¯t smart.¡± She said, trying to make it sound threatening.


    I scoffed. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that by the end of the wedding this weekend one of us would have cut off the other one way or another. At least this way I get to do it on my terms.¡±


    ¡°Have it your way then.¡± Severa said, and stood. As she did so, most of the family followed suit, except the teens who looked like they wanted to be anywhere else other than here.


    Leon snickered. ¡°What an idiot.¡± He muttered under his breath.


    ¡°Oh, right! How silly of me!¡± I said, and laughed. ¡°You wanted proof I was a Sky Realm Cultivator, right? How could I forget?¡± I said loudly, then let my Domain flow out from me. It covered over a hundred meters without me directing it at all.


    As my family members turned to look at me with various expressions from disgust to anger, I flexed my Domain. With the exception of the area directly around me, Emery, her family, and the teens, practically the entire basin became an ice scape. Frost covered everything within seconds.


    And I directed special care to my family. They were each encased in ice, about half an inch thick. I left the layer of frost on their heads thinner, so they wouldn¡¯t suffocate before it thawed.


    I simply picked up my tableware and began to gather things from the table for cleaning up.


    ¡°Avuri?¡± Emery asked, only mildly concerned.


    ¡°They¡¯ll thaw. Ignore them.¡± I said, going about my cleaning.

 99 : Wedding

    I was simply too jittery. That¡¯s what I kept telling myself as I tried to stop my body from practically vibrating. Rylie and Demi were in the room with me, trying hard not to laugh, and I glared at them once again like I had regularly done for the last two hours.


    ¡°Em, you have to relax.¡± Rylie said, still holding back her laugh.


    I plopped down on a seat in the room that had been set aside for me to use while getting ready. My right leg immediately began jumping up and down nervously. ¡°That¡¯s easy for you to say.¡± I said, sounding on the verge of anger.


    ¡°Yes, I realize it¡¯s your wedding day, but you still need to calm down and enjoy it. You and Avuri have basically been acting like you¡¯ve been married for months now. Is there anything to even be anxious about?¡± Rylie asked, no doubt trying to get me to relax through logic.


    I sighed. ¡°I know. I¡¯m not anxious about the marriage, Rylie.¡± I looked out the window from Vyne¡¯s estate at the little sliver of the courtyard that I could make out. ¡°I¡¯m worried something will go wrong. Or interrupt the wedding. There¡¯s just too many moving parts for me to relax.¡±


    There was a beat of silence before Demi chuckled. ¡°Are you really about to tell me that my sister Emery is worried about them bringing the wrong flowers?¡±


    Rylie joined her in the soft laughter before I answered, ¡°Yes.¡± My flat, straightforward answer seemed to finally get their attention, as they both looked at me concerned. I met their stares with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Why are you so surprised? Even if I put aside how I feel about the whole production, Avuri wanted all of this to be perfect.¡±


    I looked out the window again, noting that what I could see seemed to fall within our picks of flowers and decorations. ¡°With Avuri¡¯s upbringing, there¡¯s no way she hasn¡¯t been imagining her perfect wedding since was little. I want this to be everything she ever wanted, given who she is marrying no doubt doesn¡¯t match that image at all.¡± I let out a small, self-derisive snort. ¡°Well, she did say was always interested in women, so at least that¡¯s something.¡±


    As my eyes wandered over the little slice of courtyard visible to me, I felt both Rylie and Demi hug me from either side. I sat up straight, and looked at the two of them in turn.


    ¡°Oh, Em.¡± Demi said, an almost dreamy quality to her voice. ¡°I never would¡¯ve thought you would fall so far in love with someone. I¡¯m really happy for you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for teasing you.¡± Rylie said, as they both gave me a squeeze. ¡°Those are very good concerns to have, I think. Not warranted, mind you - everything will go to plan. But if your concern is whether or not you can make Avuri¡¯s dream wedding a reality¡­well, I think that¡¯s sweet.¡± She said with a smile.


    ¡°You really think things will go to plan?¡± I asked. ¡°After that disaster of a lunch and dinner the day before yesterday?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you mean the lunch where Avuri froze her blood family solid, followed by the dinner that was so quiet you could have heard a mosquito land?¡± Demi said with an awkward chuckle.


    ¡°Yup, that¡¯s the one.¡± I responded wryly.


    ¡°Well,¡± Rylie began, settling in next to me on the arm of the chair I was on, ¡°they didn¡¯t cause any trouble at the dinner other than being awkwardly quiet and intense. And yesterday they basically just stayed out of the way and quiet. So¡­I think there¡¯s a good chance they don¡¯t interfere with anything directly, at least?¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯ve got a good chance that they remain quiet through the ceremony and then try to make business connections during the reception.¡± Demi said thoughtfully. ¡°They¡¯re for sure going to try to talk to the Elders, at the very least.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I agreed. ¡°I fully expect them to try to use the trip to their advantage wherever possible. I¡¯m mostly worried that they¡¯re going to try to get back at Avuri for what she did.¡±


    ¡°Surely they aren¡¯t that stupid?¡± Demi chuckled. ¡°If they try anything at the wedding itself, they would not only be outnumbered, but entirely outmatched. Avuri literally took them all out at once at lunch. You really think she would hesitate to do it again if they interrupted her wedding?¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯m not worried about what they¡¯re capable of here - I¡¯m worried that Avuri will end up acting explosively in anger and regret it later.¡± I took a deep breath. ¡°I really hope, for everyone¡¯s sake, that they just sit down, shut up, and let her enjoy her wedding.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not good people,¡± Rylie said, ¡°but I don¡¯t think they¡¯re so far gone that they would trample on Avuri¡¯s wedding.¡± She pursed her lips as she thought about it a bit more, then added, ¡°Probably.¡±


    I snorted. ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s exactly where I¡¯m at.¡± I took in a long, deep breath and let it out slowly. ¡°Anyway. I should probably get dressed.¡± I said, looking over at the gorgeous Qipao dress I had picked out months ago. The vibrant red of the dress stood out against the hanging garment bag it had been brought in, with the golden dragon designs running up the sides standing out on the red cloth.


    My sisters both looked over at it, and Rylie smiled. ¡°I never thought you¡¯d go for not only a classic red and gold wedding dress, but such a sexy one at that.¡± She laughed softly, not in a derisive way, but rather in appreciation. ¡°Avuri is going to love it.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°You think so?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I guarantee it.¡± She said.


    ¡°No doubt.¡± Demi agreed.


    <hr>


    Once I was fully dressed, my sisters - mostly Rylie - had applied some simple make up. I was assured by her that she wouldn¡¯t go overboard, and would pick some fairly simple colors. Demi took the time to brush out my hair, which really didn¡¯t do very much, given it was still just reaching my shoulders and a little shaggy.


    When they finally showed me my face in the mirror, I was satisfied. Demi had, indeed, managed to tame my hair somewhat, making it fall straight instead of a little messy. Rylie¡¯s work, however, had impressed me much more. She had chosen a somewhat understated look like I had asked, mostly just applying some simple eye makeup to accentuate them against my lightened skin.


    She hadn¡¯t hidden my freckles, which I appreciated because Avuri had mentioned that she thought they were cute. My face was contoured nicely though, and the color was nice. She had also chosen a red lip color that matched the dress I wore, but had kept the color from being too loud.


    ¡°Wow.¡± I said, turning my head this way and that. ¡°Thank you both. I never would¡¯ve looked this good without you.¡±


    They chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m sure if we weren¡¯t here someone else would¡¯ve taken over for you.¡± Rylie said. ¡°But, you¡¯re welcome all the same. I¡¯m glad you approve.¡±


    Demi stepped back to admire their handiwork with her hands on her hips and nodded, looking entirely too satisfied. ¡°Damn. My sister looks hot!¡± She said with a big grin. I smirked up at her from my seat and laughed.


    ¡°Oh yeah? We¡¯ll have to have Avuri weigh in on that one.¡± I said, sure that she would also approve.


    ¡°If she doesn¡¯t agree, we may have to stop the whole wedding, because this might be my best work yet.¡± Rylie said, agreeing with Demi. ¡°Now go out there and knock ¡®em dead.¡±


    They both gave me one more hug before turning toward the stairs. ¡°We¡¯re going to go get seated. I think Dad is going to come get you when it¡¯s time. Which should be pretty soon.¡±


    I nodded happily as they headed out of the room and down the stairs.


    I sat back down to try to relax before Vale came to retrieve me, but had all of five minutes before he appeared. He stopped in the doorway when he saw me and smiled one of the most fatherly smiles I think I had ever seen from him.


    ¡°You¡¯re beautiful, Emery.¡± He said, and then opened his mouth to say more but closed it again and shook his head. ¡°Avuri is a lucky girl.¡±


    I smiled in return. ¡°So am I, Dad. If you told me five years ago I¡¯d be getting married, I would¡¯ve thought you were crazy. I honestly thought I would probably grow old pretty much alone.¡±


    Vale chuckled. ¡°Special people sneak up on you that way.¡± He said, moving into the room to give me a careful hug. ¡°I learned that through experience, too. I never would¡¯ve expected to adopt six human kids, but here we are.¡±


    I grinned wide. ¡°And you¡¯re about to walk one down the aisle.¡±


    ¡°I know, right?¡± He said, sounding childish and giddy. Then he leaned in and whispered. ¡°It¡¯s even better than that! I get to walk you both down the aisle.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I said, suddenly alarmed. ¡°Dain didn¡¯t do something, did he? Wasn¡¯t he supposed to - ¡°


    ¡°No.¡± Vale said, immediately dropping the giddiness in favor of trying to calm me. ¡°Avuri asked me. She apparently hasn¡¯t spoken to her father since dinner the other night, and he hasn¡¯t made any moves to indicate he was planning to walk with her.¡±


    I growled angrily as he continued, ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. Avuri seemed happy to ask me instead. So the three of us will gather at the bottom of the stairs and walk to the dais together. Besides, we¡¯ve already skipped so many of the traditional parts of a wedding, given you were already living together and what-not, what¡¯s one more change?¡±


    I took a deep breath and calmed down, pushing the anger away. ¡°I suppose.¡±


    ¡°If it helps, I believe Avuri¡¯s exact words were, ¡®At this point, you¡¯re more my father than Dain is anyway, Vale.¡¯¡±


    I smiled at his horrible impression. ¡°Fair enough. Shall we get moving?¡± I asked, and offered Vale my hand. He offered his arm so I could rest my hand in the crook of his elbow, and we made our way toward the stairs. Avuri¡¯s prep room was across the way, up an identical set of stairs. I wasn¡¯t sure who had been taking care of her, but I could hear the commotion and voices of her teenage cousins, being directed by Mica.


    Vale patted my hand and let go to retrieve Avuri. I heard Mica squeal shortly before the door opened and Vale came out with Avuri alongside him in the same manner he had walked with me.


    Before anything else, our eyes met and we both smiled. The moment was short lived, however, as we each immediately moved to drink in the other¡¯s dress.


    Avuri¡¯s dress was more or less exactly as I had expected. It was a multi-layered flowing robe that looked absolutely regal. I had imagined she would go for a princess look, given that was the word she kept using, but it would have been more apt to use empress or queen. I was stunned.


    Her hair had been done up in an elaborate weave, but still let a portion fall down her back in a braid reminiscent of her usual style. Her silver hair matched beautifully with the crisp white and light blues of her dress, and the colors seemed to be almost pearlescent, constantly morphing from white to blue and back again. The whole effect reminded me of ice reflecting the sun¡¯s rays in the morning after a cold snap.


    Her make accentuated the contours of her face, and I imagined I had Mica to thank for it. She looked like a loving, motherly queen; soft and hard in the respective right places. Her lips were painted a lovely bright red, while her eyes were given a purple shadow which brought out the same color in her irises.


    After a moment of pause, she and Vale began walking down the stairs again. After a step or two, we met eyes again and didn¡¯t break that connection until she was standing just a step away, with Vale between us.


    He chuckled. ¡°Okay, you two. Focus. We need to walk to the altar, and you don¡¯t want to trip.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± I said, while Avuri nodded. We both turned to face the door that led to the courtyard and took a step.

 100 : Just Married

    As it turned out, the walk down the aisle was exceedingly short. It felt like it took all of five seconds for Avuri and I to walk into the courtyard and down the aisle toward the altar that had been set up for us.


    My attention had been basically locked in on just a few people. Myself, mostly, making sure I didn¡¯t trip. Which wasn¡¯t too difficult in the Qipao, as the long slit in the skirt made it fairly easy to move in. Avuri, of course, who I was desperately trying not to just stare at.


    While I wasn¡¯t looking at him or watching him, Vale guided me by the arm, gently guiding me down the aisle.


    Talya was standing just before the altar, waiting for us patiently, with the red cord in hand. The smile on her face was remarkably serene given the chaos that I¡¯m sure she was helping to control just an hour prior.


    And finally, Cierra and Stena stood just beside Talya, clearly vibrating with energy and excitement. I wasn¡¯t sure they really understood exactly what was happening beyond the basics, but they were happy anyway; and their bright smiles were infectious.


    And then we were standing before Talya. Vale gently took our nearest hands and placed them together; then with a nod, he smiled at each of us, and turned to walk back to his seat.


    Now hand in hand, Avuri and I took one more step toward Talya. She smiled at us and took out combined hands. She placed one end of the red cord in my hand, and I took hold of it as was expected. As she began to wrap the cord around our combined hands several times, Avuri and I turned to actually face one another.


    I was instantly caught up in the atmosphere and nearly drowned in her eyes. It took just about everything I had to not stare blankly and be all but dead to the world. It looked like she was struggling to do the same, staring back just as intently. I was pretty sure that I could even see her getting misty eyed, which wasn¡¯t a good sign because if she started to cry I would most certainly be right behind her.


    Then I felt the cord around our hands tighten a bit, and it pulled me back to the present. I glanced over at Talya, who had tugged on the cord, but she was looking pointedly at Avuri. Avuri met her eyes and then almost jumped when she realized she needed to grasp the other end of the cord, which Talya had been pushing against her hand.


    ¡°Oh. Sorry.¡± She muttered, then wrapped her fingers around it. Even under the layer of makeup, I could see a bit of blush coloring her cheeks, and there was some scattered chuckling throughout the crowd - likely those Cultivators with good enough hearing to make out her apology.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Just breathe.¡± Talya intoned quietly, as she patted the back of Avuri¡¯s hand. Then her voice rose and she looked up to face the crowd. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s done!¡± She declared happily.


    She once more met our eyes, this time asking a silent question. We both nodded. ¡°Right then. Turn around and meet your guests, friends, and family as Emery and Avuri Wiria. Congratulations, you two.¡± She said, projecting her voice grandly.


    There was some cheering and applause as we turned to face the small crowd. Because our hands were bound together, we had to awkwardly spin around as a unit, which coaxed a bit of laughter. But once we were facing everyone and looking out at the great many smiles among our friends and family, we both grinned from ear to ear and offered them all a deep bow for the first time as a married couple.


    <hr>


    The celebration was in full swing shockingly fast after that. Avuri and I were guided by Talya to the table at the top of the altar, where we would be sitting for the vast majority of the day. Cierra and Stena joined us, sitting on each side of us, looking like proper little princesses.


    Cierra was wearing a dress reminiscent of Avuri¡¯s but with a pink and white color scheme. She looked adorable and noble all at once. Despite her age, she was contending well with the long flowing sleeves and skirt, which was impressive. At least to me, who still couldn¡¯t manage well with that style of clothing. She wore her long, straight hair flowing straight down her back, which altogether made her look very lady-like.


    Stena, on the other hand, wore a simpler dress that looked more like a fighter¡¯s robes. It was chosen most because, ultimately, Stena was still young. She was bound to play and get dirty, so we wanted to put her in something simpler. But that didn¡¯t make her any less adorable in her dark red sleeveless top and skirts with purple accents. Someone had put her hair up into twin tails and curled them as well, which looked cute.


    While the four of us were essentially stuck on the altar, everyone else was making great use of the courtyard. It had been decorated perfectly as we had wanted, with an obvious nature theme with a surprising amount of purple.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    The flowers we had chosen - peonies, lotus, and orchids - were everywhere. We had obviously known that they would be on the tables in the woven basket centerpieces, but we clearly underestimated how much Vyne was willing to do.


    The courtyard was essentially in the middle of a hedge maze. And Vyne had altered the hedges themselves to have blooming flowers of the same variety throughout. Which meant even the functional wall of the courtyard was decorated to match our choices.


    Beyond even that, while we had expected simple wooden furniture, Vyne had gone above and beyond. All of the tables, chairs, and other furniture scattered about the courtyard was a lovely shade of purple as well. Apparently, the wood was called purple heart, and Vyne was more than happy to decorate with it. He had done absolutely artisanal work everywhere you looked, with the furniture not being simple at all, but rather designed with beautiful shapes and knots.


    He had also apparently talked to Lyn to plan this all, because the tableware had also all been made of the same purple wood.


    And Lyn had been just as lavish in her treatment of the day. The expected buffet tables and layout was here, complete with the huge dumpling tower as a centerpiece on each table. The extras we had ordered were also scattered among the tables, and both the Icebeak and Emberling steaks were incredibly popular items. I saw Lyn¡¯s people restocking those trays almost twice as often as the others.


    But even beyond that, Lyn and her team had brought in an entire bar¡¯s worth of drinks, as well as a full selection of deserts and then one further table of just miscellaneous treats. I was hoping that she wasn¡¯t planning on just charging us extra later for the additional items, but judging by the calm smile and waves she kept sending our way, I felt like it was really just extra.


    Scattered among the crowd were a few familiar faces, but mostly acquaintances. Avuri¡¯s family members were out there, clearly scattered about trying to find people that were ¡®worth¡¯ talking to. But she had also invited a few members of the Frozen Mountain Sect that she had been close to, as well as a few other people she had met in the Floral Hills.


    For my guests, it was basically just my family members. Outside of my family, I had led a pretty solitary life, often on the move. Friends just weren''t something I had a lot of.That was okay for me, though. A few closer relationships were all I really needed.


    And then the rest of the guest list had been made up of people from Flowing Dragon City. All of the Elders were in attendance, of course. But so were a number of store owners and people we had done business with over the last year. The vast majority of them knew us by name, but a few had been requested by the Elders for various reasons.


    Lyn and Cyril in particular had asked us to invite a few of the wealthier families in the city to try to jumpstart their catering business again.


    In retrospect, that was probably why they had brought out all the extras - they had people to impress.


    Once the party was solidly underway, we finally started the long and fairly tedious process of greeting everyone in attendance. Which actually meant that we continued to sit in our seats at the raised table while people came over to greet us. Traditionally, this was usually done in rough order of importance, which meant people were likely waiting for either our families to greet us if they wanted to, or the city Elders.


    Vale and my siblings were the first to come talk to us. They brought us some food, thankfully, and went through the expected well wishes and customs. After they had done what was traditional, they let loose a little bit more. Which mostly amounted to Rylie and Demi heckling us to kiss - which we did, several times - while Ieji and Kota looked on, clearly disappointed in the girls¡¯ antics.


    Talya offered to take Cierra and Stena down from their perches for a while to let them walk around and enjoy the party a bit. They immediately both turned to us begging and pleading to be allowed to run off with Talya for now. We let them go with a laugh, but told them to be sure to come back. And be careful and not get lost, given we were quite literally in a maze.


    They agreed and were whisked away by their aunt, and I could only hope she would keep them out of too much trouble.


    Once my family had said their greetings, Avuri¡¯s family approached. They were led by Dain and Solana, followed by Severa and Lark, with the others falling in step behind. Her cousins seemed to hang in the back of the group, wanting to say their piece separately.


    The entire entourage was on edge, and tension filled the air. My family, except for Talya and the kids, had opted to hover nearby just in case. When Dain finally stepped forward, he bowed politely and simply went about the expected customs. As the others followed suit and took their turns, I could see Avuri¡¯s face slowly turn blank.


    They were certainly going through the motions of the typical well wishes, but it was so fake and mechanical that I almost would have rathered they just not talk to us. And, worse, I could tell that the clearly forced display was taking its toll on Avuri. She was completely stone faced, devoid of showing any emotion by the time Aster and Mint had said their greetings. Even Leon had been shockingly devoid of anything, even anger.


    Thankfully, immediately following Mint, Glenn, Cove, and Mica stepped up. Mica lead the way for them, and was vibrant and happy as she seemed to deliberately go through the exact default motions - the same as the rest of the Mephra clan had - but had added so much emotion and joy to the whole thing that it had basically single handedly turned Avuri¡¯s mood around.


    In fact, her formal bow at the end had so much heart put into it, that when she flung her upper body forward, she almost tumbled with it, barely managing to keep her feet. Evidently, people had been watching the whole ordeal, because laughter shook through the crowd.


    Mica shot back upright, her face red with embarrassment, as she forcefully shoved Cove forward as she stepped back out of the limelight.


    From there, Cove and Glenn offered their heartfelt well wishes, and even said that they hoped they would get to see us again one day. The undertone was cut with sadness, knowing that they would have to likely escape the family somehow for that to happen, but the wish was sincere. And Avuri accepted and returned those feelings with a huge smile.


    And finally, once her cousins stepped away, Avuri and I were left facing all five of the Elders, who had approached to give their greetings as one.

 101 : Movement

    Once Avuri and Mica began to practice their impersonation skills, time went by quickly. Avuri and Mica spent most of their days at the Elders¡¯ compound trying to get their acting skills polished up enough that they could conceivably play their counterpart perfectly, which was truly no easy feat.


    While they were kept busy, Cove and Glenn decided to take up a temporary residence at the basin. They were shocked at the number of children living there these days, even after being warned about it. They were, however, happy to help out around the place while enjoying their time off.


    Vale was running between the two groups every so often to keep everyone informed, occasionally making the trip one way or the other with a passenger, but not often. Ieji was the one who came and went most often, followed by Emery. It wasn¡¯t often that Emery and Avuri were apart for any real length of time, and Emery wasn¡¯t about to let that start now; she made sure to see and spend some time with Avuri at least every few days.


    They needed to be together to really make headway on their Cultivation, anyway. And they were both happy to have such a good excuse to meet often when different responsibilities kept them in different places.


    The kids had also been unusually quiet - at least after they cleaned up from the massive water fight that had erupted previously. The following day, Emery had made sure that Stena and Enrik finished repairing the floor and that the group as a whole worked on fixing anything their water fight broke. Or submerged. Fia was, thankfully, rather adept at pulling moisture from things so she was able to dry out a lot of the fully saturated wood that they would have ruined otherwise.


    But Emery was thankful that beyond that, they didn¡¯t cause much trouble. Especially with the way the last few weeks had been, with an ever escalating series of pranks. It seemed like they could sense something big was on the horizon, though, and were focused on whatever that would be. Even the kids¡¯ lessons went smoother than usual, with everyone paying attention.


    Glenn and Cove even helped Emery with some of the teaching, giving the kids a perspective and new set of skills to learn from for a change.


    <hr>


    Three weeks had passed without much incident, just like that.


    Avuri and Mica were still at the Elders¡¯ compound for practice, but were in the middle of lunch when Vyne came into the tea room where they were seated with Lyn and Eiry. Everyone looked up at him questioningly when he entered, but he simply nodded in response.


    ¡°It¡¯s time. They¡¯re moving.¡± He said gravely.


    ¡°What is the rough final count?¡± Eiry asked.


    ¡°Fourteen hundred.¡± Vyne said. ¡°They haven¡¯t gathered too many more since Ieji arrived here, and there hasn¡¯t been a noticeable increase at all in a few days. I imagine that¡¯s why they¡¯re finally marching.¡±


    Lyn nodded. ¡°That makes sense. If what Ieji said is right, they probably gathered several more Sky Realms, and perhaps one or two Heavenly Realms at most.¡±


    ¡°That is all still within expectations though, right?¡± Mica asked curiously. ¡°You said the twelve hundred number was easy for you - do two hundred more make a huge difference?¡±


    ¡°Unlikely.¡± Eiry said while shaking her head. ¡°Unless they found several more Heavenly Realm Cultivators somewhere in the final few days.¡±


    ¡°If we¡¯re being generous,¡± Avuri cut in, ¡°and say they found three more for a total of twelve, how do you stack up?¡±


    Lyn smiled at that, and something in her expression reminded Avuri of a predator. ¡°It should be fine. We¡¯ll have six dragons in attendance, and each of us could conceivably handle four or five Heavenly Realm Cultivators each.¡±


    ¡°The only concern is getting dogpiled by the Sky Realm Cultivators while the Heavenly Realms support them. It¡¯s the one strategy that they could employ to work in their favor.¡± Vyne said.


    Eiry nodded. ¡°Vyne is right. We shouldn¡¯t be too cocky here. There is a way they could win this battle if they play it intelligently. We don¡¯t have any reason to believe that they are expecting dragons to take to the field, and they should be panicked by our appearance, which will give us the opportunity we need.¡±


    ¡°I just want to make this clear.¡± Vyne said, addressing Avuri and Mica directly. ¡°If only because it hasn¡¯t been said. If any of us were put in charge of their army¡¯s battle plan, we could win. It just seems unlikely that they will make the correct tactical decisions to do that, while uninformed of what is awaiting them.¡±


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    ¡°They also would incur massive losses if they fought us to a victory for their side, too.¡± Lyn chipped in. ¡°Just to continue to be clear. They could win, but at great sacrifices. And I don¡¯t think that¡¯s their goal.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­¡± Mica said weakly, clearly unsure of what to make of all this.


    ¡°Basically, everything is going roughly according to plan.¡± Avuri said. And the Elders in the room nodded.


    ¡°As well as can be expected, yes.¡± Vyne said. ¡°The main thing now is to get everyone in place over the next few days before they reach us, and to prepare for whatever fight may be coming our way.¡±


    ¡°Which is hopefully none at all.¡± Lyn agreed, then turned toward Avuri and Mica. ¡°I suppose your time is up. I hope you¡¯re ready for the real thing in the next few days.¡±


    Avuri and Mica both nodded seriously. ¡°We¡¯ve got this.¡± Mica said, sounding confident.


    ¡°We should be able to manage.¡± Avuri agreed. ¡°I think we¡¯ve at least got our acting down, anyway. The real concern would be the talks we may have to participate in as you all.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­¡± Mica agreed.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ve done all we can on instructing you there, too.¡± Eiry said. ¡°You have your orders and what you¡¯re allowed to agree to. Anything beyond that though, and you should be able to call for a recess to discuss. If they don¡¯t allow you that much, then they were probably looking for a fight to begin with.¡±


    ¡°Eiry is right.¡± Vyne said. ¡°Assuming they do allow you to back off for a recess, you can simply link up with Emery and talk to us through her. There should be more than enough Qi flying about that your Domains would be mostly hidden.¡±


    Avuri nodded, but Mica tilted her head in question. ¡°Why would we need our Domains to retreat for discussions?¡± She asked, curiously.


    Avuri blinked at her. ¡°Oh. Emery and I have bonded our Domains. Did that not come up at all since you¡¯ve been here?¡±


    ¡°Not once, no.¡± Mica said, clearly intrigued. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of that, but I have to admit, I¡¯ve never met anyone who has done it. Is it actually useful?¡±


    ¡°You have no idea.¡± Avuri said, nodding emphatically. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t recommend it to anyone without making sure they know what they¡¯re getting into, but we have gained so much from it that I don¡¯t think we¡¯d be where we are without having done it ourselves.¡±


    ¡°It is a significant power boost.¡± Eiry agreed. ¡°Maybe the word significant even sells it a little short. If the two people involved in the bonding are true to their connection, the effect is better than any elixir or treasure. And that¡¯s talking based on Cultivation strength alone, and ignoring the other effects.¡±


    Mica looked clearly interested now, her eyes holding a luster reserved for finding something new and exciting. ¡°There are drawbacks.¡± Avuri said, opting to try to curb Mica¡¯s sudden interest. She didn¡¯t want Mica to just go off to try to find someone to just be her bonded partner. Terrible things could happen.


    ¡°Our lives are intrinsically linked. It¡¯s exceedingly likely that if one of us dies, so will the other. If one of us does survive somehow, their Cultivation will be crippled permanently. We also can only really Cultivate if we¡¯re near one another and our Domains are linked.¡± As Mica¡¯s excitement clearly dimmed, Avuri bounced back the other way. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, the upsides are worth it, absolutely. I just want you to know that it¡¯s not something to look for half-heartedly. You need to absolutely trust the other person involved.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I hear you.¡± Mica said, clearly let down. She let out a big sigh. ¡°Putting everything else aside, I just wish I could meet someone like that in general. I trust my brother and Cove implicitly, but it¡¯s not quite the same.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not.¡± Lyn and Avuri said in chorus. ¡°A romantic partner is so much more than that sort of familial bond.¡± Lyn continued.


    ¡°To be fair, so is parent and child.¡± Avuri added. ¡°Having close siblings is also important though. People you can truly rely on are far and few between, typically. Take all of them that you can get.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Mica said, then shrugged. ¡°Maybe I¡¯m just lonely. But I do recognize what I have, too. I don¡¯t take them for granted.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Lyn nodded. ¡°For what it¡¯s worth, you never know when you¡¯ll meet your match. Cyrus quite literally fell out of the sky in front of me one day, for example.¡±


    Avuri laughed. ¡°I met Emery at a tournament. When we fought, it was a draw and she forfeit immediately. I was so pissed at her at the time¡­But also, Lyn! I don¡¯t think you ever told me that story.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± She asked, looking genuinely shocked. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you at some point if you remind me. It¡¯s a good one.¡± She waggled her eyebrows suggestively.


    ¡°In the meantime,¡± Eiry interrupted, trying to get everyone back on track, ¡°you two head back home for now and prepare. Make sure everyone is ready. We¡¯ll start preparing the city itself, and gathering our forces.¡±


    ¡°Make sure Emery is in peak fighting condition and ready for anything.¡± Vyne added. ¡°We¡¯ll be relying on her to essentially be our centerpiece until our grand entrance, so she needs to look the part.¡±


    ¡°We know.¡± Avuri said, a small grin appearing on her face. ¡°We¡¯ve been working on her costume for weeks. Trust me, she¡¯ll look great.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Lyn said. ¡°I trust your aesthetics, Avuri. If you approve, I¡¯m sure we will as well.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Lyn, that¡¯s reassuring.¡± Avuri said, bowing thankfully. ¡°We¡¯ll make sure everyone is prepared.¡±


    ¡°The next time we meet, it¡¯ll likely be on the eve of battle.¡± Vyne said, a poetic lilt to his voice. ¡°Take care.¡±


    ¡°You all as well!¡± Mica said, excitedly.


    ¡°...We still have to wait for Vale to get back to take us home, you know.¡± Avuri said.


    Vyne turned on his heel and left the room anyway.


    ¡°...More tea?¡±


    ¡°Yes, please.¡±

 102 : First Night

    In the end, the day of our wedding passed altogether pleasantly. Despite expecting a whole slew of issues, none really came to pass. Avuri and I were able to sit at our table and greet all of our visitors as we were expected to do, without any real interruptions. Both the dinner and party went smoothly. People enjoyed their time, and left without incident.


    We were even sent home before clean up began, with Talya and Mica assuring us that it would be taken care of. Vyne even pushed us to leave with a smile on his face. And despite both of us arguing that we would be happy to take Cierra and Stena with us, Talya simply would not let us do so.


    They also repeatedly and very clearly said that no one would be coming back to the main house for tonight, leaving the two of us perfectly alone.


    Resigned to losing the argument, we gave in. After several happy farewells, Vale took us back to the basin and dropped us home.


    And I mean dropped.


    Once we were above the basin, without any particular warning beyond a laugh that was all but lost to the wind, Vale simply barrel rolled. The unexpected spin flung us both off of his shoulders and left us falling a hundred or so meters to the ground.


    My string of expletives was similarly lost to the wind as we fell, but it was more out of shock than danger. We were both fully capable of landed safely from that height, while Vale used the spin to turn around and head back to help with the clean up.


    With a controlled burst of Qi, we each righted ourselves and landed on the ground upright. Avuri laughed at me when I needed to take a few steps to kill the last bit of my momentum, while she landed cleanly and lightly.


    As I narrowed my eyes at her for the teasing, she skipped up to me and took my hand.


    ¡°Shall we?¡± She asked, with a big smile spreading over her face. It was too hard to stay even remotely angry with her at that moment, so I relented quickly.


    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go.¡± I responded, and gave her arm a tug as we walked toward our home.


    Vale had dumped us a decent bit away from the house, so we had a little bit of walking to do. And as we moved together, our pace quickly went from a leisurely walk, to a jog, then to a run. And shortly thereafter, we were moving a full tilt through the basin together. The distance to the front door - which would have been at least twenty minutes at a normal walking pace - was covered in less than two.


    We both slowed to a walk again as we approached the front door, hand in hand, then stopped, staring at it.


    ¡°We¡¯re home.¡± Avuri said.


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    ¡°And married.¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    There was a bit of silence that was eventually broken when Avuri laughed. ¡°I feel like this should be more special, but it sorta feels like any other night.¡±


    I smiled and gave her hand a squeeze. ¡°Yep.¡±


    ¡°Would you like to say anything other than ¡®Yep¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± I said again, and gave her arm a tug again, pulled her around to face me. I took a step into her and wound my arms around her waist to pull her closer still. ¡°I love you, Avuri.¡±


    ¡°I love you too, Emery.¡± She responded, before hugging me tightly against her and resting her chin on my head.


    ¡°Hey.¡± I growled, leaning back a little to throw her chin off of me. As I leaned back, it put me at just the right angle for Avuri to lean down for a kiss. It was easily the most fiery and intense of the day, despite how many times we had kissed already. It wasn¡¯t a particularly long kiss, but when we parted, we were both flushed.


    Perhaps more telling, however, was the clearly smudged makeup we were surely both now sporting. We had taken deliberate care throughout the day to make sure the beautiful makeup work had stayed in place and relatively untouched. But now, as we stood at the door to our house, it was no longer a concern. And it showed. Very obviously.


    Avuri and I both smiled, then broke into laughter.


    ¡°We should bathe.¡± Avuri eventually said, struggling between fits of laughter. ¡°Get all of this off.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, agreed.¡± I said, rubbing my face. My hand came away stained with some of the makeup. ¡°It looked really good, but I¡¯m tired of my face feeling so heavy.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m inclined to agree.¡± Avuri said, dragging a fingernail down her cheek, gathering some of the caked foundation. ¡°I appreciate how the makeup looks, don¡¯t get me wrong, but we¡¯re Cultivators. Our faces are basically flawless already; isn¡¯t this overkill?¡±


    ¡°Right?¡± I said with a laugh as I moved to open the door. ¡°I appreciate some added lip color or gloss and maybe some lining around the eye, but I feel like all of the foundation is so extra.¡±


    Avuri nodded along. ¡°Yes, exactly. But Mica still insisted that she covered my entire face.¡±


    ¡°Rylie did the same here. Though I¡¯m curious how she managed to do it; because she didn¡¯t hide my freckles, but I can clearly feel the makeup across my whole face.¡±


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°She did hide your freckles.¡± Avuri said as she followed me through the door. We started making our way to our bedroom to grab a change of clothes for the bath.


    ¡°No, she didn¡¯t.¡± I said, almost questioningly. ¡°She showed me in a mirror, and I clearly still had them.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t look at mirrors very often, do you?¡± Avuri asked. I blinked at the question.


    ¡°I suppose not, why?¡±


    ¡°Merri, the freckles on your face right now are all in the wrong places. I¡¯ll give you, she got a few right, but they¡¯re clearly added on with makeup.¡±


    ¡°What? No way.¡± I said, poking my own face.


    ¡°Yes way.¡± Avuri said as we reached the bedroom. She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward our bathroom. ¡°Come here, I¡¯ll show you.¡± I followed her as she pulled me along to stand by our mirror in the bathroom. She put me in front of her, so we were looking at the mirror, with her standing behind me and looking over my shoulder.


    ¡°For starters,¡± she began, ¡°you don¡¯t have a freckle here.¡± She pointed to a dark spot a little high on my right cheek, just above my cheekbone. ¡°She went too high. You do have a darker freckle right here though.¡± She said, lowering her finger a few centimeters, to just below my cheekbone. Then she scratched away the makeup with her finger, removing the higher spot and displaying the lower one clearly.


    ¡°She clearly paid no attention to the dusting over your nose, because the shapes are all wrong, but that¡¯s fine. It wouldn¡¯t be worth it to get those right. But there are a few on each cheek that she didn¡¯t get right.¡±


    Avuri then proceeded to point out three more locations she got wrong, but also two that Rylie had transposed correctly.


    I chuckled after she eventually scratched away some of the foundation over my nose to show me how that was all wrong too. ¡°It¡¯s remarkable how well you know all of these.¡±


    ¡°Is it?¡± Avuri asked, meeting my eyes in the mirror. ¡°I stare at your face all the time, Merri. Of course I know it.¡± She offered a small, happy smile after saying so. ¡°Besides, if I recall correctly, you once gave me a rundown of the vast majority of the beauty marks all over my body so¡­¡±


    ¡°I was drunk when I did that.¡± I said indignantly.


    ¡°And you were still one hundred percent correct about each one you mentioned.¡±


    ¡°...yeah, fair.¡± I gave in, leaning back against her. ¡°We should probably get changed and go use the bath if we¡¯re going to.¡±


    Avuri squeezed me in a hug before letting go and walking back toward the bedroom. ¡°Right, right. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    <hr>


    The two of us made short work of our bath. We had assumed that the rest of the families would be coming home after cleaning up, and wanted to be well finished by the time they arrived. So, going against our natural instincts of taking our time bathing and enjoying the hot water, we washed up fairly quickly to make it back inside before anyone else made it home.


    We were giggling and laughing like children as we bolted from the bath house in towels, running and hiding behind things as if we would be caught. Once we were safely inside the main house, we both ran straight up to our bedroom, closed the door, and pulled the shade over the window. We lit a few of the lighting Arrays, casting the room in a dim but warm light.


    With our little sanctuary situated, Avuri sat on the bed, running her fingers through her hair which was messy and loose from our running. I smiled as she tugged fingers through knots and slowly pried her hair apart.


    ¡°Stop that.¡± I said, ¡°Let me get the comb and I¡¯ll do it for you.¡±


    Avuri grinned, and sat up straight on the side of the bed, pulling her hands from her hair like she¡¯d been caught doing something naughty. Her legs dangled from the bed, just shy of reaching the ground because of our raised bed. I couldn¡¯t help but stop and stare for a moment, just taking in the image; she just looked perfect.


    When she noticed me staring, she smiled and tilted her head in question. I chuckled and shook my head. ¡°Sorry. You bewitched me for a moment.¡± I laughed. ¡°You¡¯re absolutely beautiful, Avuri.¡± When the look in her eyes turned sultry, I quickly added, ¡°Now let me get that comb,¡± and quickly dashed into the bathroom to retrieve it.


    When I returned, Avuri was still sitting neatly on the bed, waiting. I crawled up onto the bed and maneuvered my way around behind her, where I settled in. Avuri promptly brushed her hands through her hair and fluffed it out behind her, letting it pool in my lap. Unsure exactly where to begin, I simply ran my fingers through her hair and over her scalp in something resembling a massage before picking a section of hair to run the comb through.


    After the first few passes of the comb, Avuri seemed to relax with a contented sigh as I worked it through the knots in her hair. Thankfully, her hair was rather cooperative and I didn¡¯t need to struggle through any nasty knots, nor did I need to pull her hair at all. Most of them came right out under the tug of the wooden comb.


    Despite neither of us saying anything, the silence was comfortable as I worked through section after section of Avuri¡¯s hair. She seemed to delight in each time I ran my fingers instead of the comb through her hair, especially the moments where I gently scratched her scalp. I mentally tucked that bit of knowledge away for later use.


    Over the twenty minute or so period, I shifted around and moved to stay comfortable. When I was down to the last few sections of hair, I shifted again, this time stretching my leg to either side of Avuri, functionally putting her in my lap. And when I finished the last section of hair, I placed the comb off to the side and snaked my arms around Avuri, pulling her back against me.


    ¡°I¡¯m finished, Ri.¡± I whispered in her ear, then kissed it lightly. Avuri shivered and all but melted in my arms at that for just a moment. Then she promptly spun around in my lap and tackled me to the bed. After a searing kiss, she climbed more fully up onto the bed, trapping me entirely beneath her.


    I wiggled up to be more fully on the bed myself before Avuri leaned down for more kisses, each longer and deeper than the last. There was an eagerness and fervor to it that I hadn¡¯t expected at first, and Avuri¡¯s hands began to urgently tug at the towel I still had wrapped around me.


    When her mouth began to trail down my jaw and neck and I could speak again, I called her name and tried to push her away by her shoulders. ¡°Avuri, relax.¡± I said, a giggle escaping with the words. Her eyes met mine in the dim light, and I could see the intensity in them begin to melt away into something more warm.


    I leaned up to give her a gentle kiss, one of my hands resting on her cheek. ¡°We have all night. Slow down and enjoy it.¡± I said against her lips.


    Avuri tilted her head to lean her forehead against mine, then she laughed. ¡°Sorry. I suppose I got a little over excited. Between how you looked today, plus waiting through the bath, then the hair combing¡­¡± She trailed off, then said, ¡°You¡¯re a bit of a master tease, you know that?¡±


    ¡°Oh, because it¡¯s been so easy keeping my hand off of you all day.¡± I countered, then put my arms around her and pulled her down toward me again for another kiss. ¡°Don¡¯t need to anymore though.¡±


    Rather than with words, Avuri responded with another kiss. Slow and warm; a perfect precursor to the rest of the night.

 103 : Crossing the Line

    I woke up pretty early the next morning. It was still quiet, and Emery was still sleeping next to me peacefully. That was fair, given how little we actually slept. I leaned over her to plant a light kiss on her cheek before rolling myself out of bed and into the bathroom.


    I slowly went through my morning routine. Washed my face, cleaned my teeth, wiped myself down with a warm, wet cloth. The night¡¯s activities had been both incredible and exhausting all at once, and I was very happy to wipe off the caked on sweat that we had worked up together.


    By the time I left the bathroom I was feeling much more myself and much less a sleep-starved beast. Emery was awake and sitting up in the bed reading over a book regarding botany that she had borrowed form Vyne. When I returned to the room, she looked up with a huge, warm smile on her face.


    ¡°Morning, you.¡± She chirped happily, as her eyes roamed over me. I still hadn¡¯t really gotten dressed, only wearing a robe that I had thrown over myself that wasn¡¯t even properly closed. Her lips shifted up appreciatively.


    ¡°Good morning to you, too.¡± I responded as I made my way across the room for a good morning kiss. Emery obliged happily. I collapsed onto the bed beside Emery and sat up against my pillows in a similar fashion to how she was propped up on her own.


    It was less than a minute before Emery placed her book to the side and rolled over to sit on my lap, straddling my hips. ¡°Hi.¡±


    ¡°Hi.¡± I laughed.


    Emery¡¯s following kisses were passionate and full of love, which led us to wasting a fair bit more of our morning still in bed.


    Eventually, she decided she wanted to wipe herself down as well after the night¡¯s activities. With a final kiss - and after letting our foreheads rest against one another for a long moment - Emery hopped off the bed to go clean off.


    I relaxed in bed with my eyes closed while listening to the running water coming from the Array for a while, perfectly content to spend my day like that if we were able.


    Emery finally emerged a bit later, looking refreshed and much more awake. I was considering whether or not it would be possible to get some time alone in the bath house, and whether it was alright to go bathe so soon after a morning wipe down, when I heard shouting come from outside.


    It was coming from a bit in front of the main house¡¯s front door, which was also basically three stories down from our bedroom window.


    The shouting was from a man¡¯s voice, and I was pretty sure it was Leon¡¯s. That was enough to already make me angry after a lovely night.


    Then in the break between his shouts I heard crying. I was out of the bed and cinching my robe closed in seconds while striding to the window. Emery had immediately moved off to find something to clothe herself with as well.


    ¡°I¡¯ll meet you down there.¡± She had said before dipping into the closet.


    I nodded, pulled back the curtain, and leapt from the window.


    I landed beside an angry Leon, a mildly perturbed Severa, and both of my daughters - crying. The loud noises had apparently been enough to catch most peoples¡¯ interest, as I saw my family emerging from the homes a little ways off.


    Talya was already at the door to the main house, where the small group had evidently come from, as she was saying, ¡°What in the world happened, you just left with them¡­¡± as she opened the door. My new siblings-in-law were also behind her, as was Vale.


    My eyes however, were stuck on Cierra and Stena. Cierra was in front of her sister and was clearly the leader in this particular event. Stena looked upset and was crying too, but it looked to me like she was either upset at the commotion, or was following Cierra¡¯s example as her older sister.


    Cierra, however, was crouched down with her arms hugging her knees. Her face was hidden as she had buried it in her arms. Her crying had quieted down, but her little body was still shaking with tears.


    I ignored Leon, who was still shouting nonsense, and knelt beside Cierra. I wrapped my arms around her in a side hug, and tried to comfort her the best I could. ¡°Are you alright?¡± I asked softly. ¡°Cierra?¡±


    She lifted her head to look at me, her eyes puffy and red from crying, despite it not being very long. She was clearly very upset; whatever had happened wasn¡¯t a little thing. Even her cheek looked red and swollen from it too. And then she turned to face me straight on.


    There was a clear difference between her right side, which I could see before, and the left as she turned to look at me. The left side was noticeably less red and not swollen at all. As she just looked at me with the tears running down her cheeks, I took a second look at her right side. The swollen red on her cheek was developing into a shape reminiscent of a hand.


    I took a deep breath, trying not to explode at anyone just yet, as I gave Cierra a light squeeze and whispered to her that everything will be okay.


    When my head cleared enough to actually make sense of the noise around me, I came back to hearing Severa asking, ¡°Why did you do that?¡±


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°She kept trying to hold my hand!¡± Leon shouted. ¡°I don¡¯t let people do that in general, you think I¡¯m gonna let a kid like her touch me?¡±


    I gently placed my hands on either side of Cierra¡¯s face and kissed her forehead. ¡°You go run back inside.¡± I whispered. ¡°Take your sister with you. I love you.¡± I gave the girl a quick squeeze, helped her to her feet, and sent her into the house. She wiped at her tears with one arm and took Stena¡¯s hand with the other, half running toward the house. She clearly wanted to get away from here.


    I spun on Leon and Severa, right as Emery jumped from our window and landed next to me. ¡°What the hell did you do?¡± I asked pointedly. I was sure that the anger was audible, but I tried to keep my tone somewhat reasonable.


    Leon sneered at me as he answered, ¡°The little girl kept trying to hold my hand. Even after I told her to stop. Damn little girl.¡± He looked disgusted at the thought. I could just about feel Emery seething to my left, ready to pounce in defense of our girl. I shot a look back at her, trying to keep her controlled.


    She must¡¯ve seen something in my eyes, because Emery immediately backed down. She still looked about as angry as I had ever seen her, but her posture looked more relaxed, and far less like she was about to jump at Leon and tear his throat out.


    ¡°She¡¯s a seven year old girl who was beaten and abused within an inch of her life, you asshole. Of course she likes holding our hands when she walks outside with us. It makes her feel safe.¡± I spat. I noticed a glint in his eyes appear at something, but I plowed on. ¡°And I assume you slapped her for not listening?¡±


    It was, unfortunately, a common behavior in my family growing up. If you didn¡¯t listen to a direct command, you got hit. I abhorred the whole practice, but it seemed to be alive and well with my asshole brother.


    ¡°I did.¡± He declared, sounding almost proud of it. ¡°She should¡¯ve listened the first two times I asked her not to touch me. On the third offense, she was punished.¡± He spoke so matter of factly about it all that it turned my stomach.


    I turned my gaze toward Severa angrily. ¡°And you? You just let him hit a seven year old girl?¡±


    Severa scoffed. ¡°Of course. When you disobey what you¡¯re told, you receive a punishment. It¡¯s just the way of things.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a load of bullshit. Even if you put everything else about the situation aside, an Earth Realm Cultivator has no business striking a normal mortal under any circumstance. Let alone a child.¡±


    ¡°A demon child.¡± Leon sneered. I turned my glare back on him. ¡°Yeah, I heard what you said. She¡¯s demon-touched, isn¡¯t she? Both of them?¡± His lip curled in disgust.


    As he moved to speak further, I said, ¡°Be very careful with your next words, brother.¡± I snarled.


    Leon¡¯s sneer deepened, as if he took pleasure in what he said next; ¡°If I had known before now, I would¡¯ve hit her harder.¡±


    And that was my breaking point. I felt Emery¡¯s Qi flare up at the same time mine did. My Domain exploded outward and covered the immediate area in an instant. I could feel Rylie and Demi both leap from the doorway to try to stop us from doing anything too drastic.


    They had apparently suspected something bad was about to happen because they were out the door before Leon¡¯s words left his mouth. Demi did reach Emery before anything happened, trying her best to hold the stronger Cultivator back. Emery didn¡¯t want to hurt her sister, so she was clearly not using her full strength in an effort to escape, but allowed herself to be held back.


    But I suspected that was also because she felt Rylie try to get to me in time. But with the difference in our speeds, even with her head start, she was a step too slow to grab me.


    I was in front of Leon in an instant, well before he could react to anything I was about to do beyond trying to put up a messy block in front of his face. As much as I wanted to just slap him in retaliation for what he did to Cierra, I was vaguely worried that I would hit his head too hard and truly cripple him.


    Instead, I aimed for his centermass. A chunk of ice flash-froze around my forearm, creating a decent bludgeon for me to shove toward him at full speed.


    My punch connected with his solar plexus hard, and despite feeling at least one bone crack under the weight, I followed through on the strike. The force of it lifted him up off his feet and sent him soaring through the air a good ten meters before he landed hard on his back.


    While he was in midair, I tapped my Domain to effectively freeze my entire family to the spots where they stood. It wasn¡¯t as complete as the freezing at lunch from a few days previous. This time it was just enough to stop them from rushing toward me or toward Leon.


    I heard Severa¡¯s shouts in the back of my mind as I took a few quick steps forward and stood over Leon threateningly. He was curled in on himself, clearly in pain.


    ¡°Get out.¡± I said, my voice low and intense. My gaze swept over my entire family with the same intensity. ¡°Get out,¡± I repeated. ¡°All of you.¡±


    With a quick flex of Qi, the ice that had kept them trapped, if only for a moment, evaporated.


    Severa had the audacity to brush herself off as if none of this had anything to do with her, then straightened up and began, ¡°Ivory, if you think what you¡¯re doing is wise, I would -¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Severa.¡± I said, trying to keep the danger in my voice. ¡°I really don¡¯t care. Leave. Take the rest of the Mephra clan with you. If you want, strike me from the family register or name me an enemy of the family, I really don¡¯t care. But get the fuck out of my family¡¯s home.¡±


    Before she responded, I flashed another quick pulse of my Qi, flash freezing the ground in front of her as a threat.


    She cleared her throat then growled, ¡°Very well.¡± With a huff she began walking toward me, Leon, and the rest of the Mephras. I stepped aside for her to pass, but did not offer her a bow. It was a small slight, but one I felt she would likely remember.


    As she passed, I turned toward the rest of my family. ¡°None of you are welcome here again. Not unless you somehow manage to prove to me that you aren¡¯t awful people.¡± As my heated stare landed on each person, they seemed to flinch. I nearly smiled at that.


    Then my eyes landed on Glenn, Mica, and Cove. At them, I did smile. ¡°You three are welcome back any time.¡±


    I began to walk back to my new family as Severa helped Leon to his feet. Or at least seemed to, though I was fairly certain she was actually no help at all.


    ¡°I hope you don¡¯t regret this.¡± Leon strained out as he stood. Somehow, he managed to fight his way into the same disgusted sneer he seemed to wear all week.


    ¡°Why would anyone regret taking out the trash?¡± I snarked back. ¡°Or better yet, I scared the trash into taking itself out, didn¡¯t I?¡±

 104 : Fallout

    I stood and watched resolutely as my blood family left. The only ones who ever turned around to look at me were my teen cousins, who all looked various degrees of sad or apprehensive. I really felt for them and hoped they would find their way out of that family as quickly as possible.


    It took just a few moments for them to basically move far enough that they were obscured by trees on the property. I decided to flood the area with my Domain to keep an eye on them; if they tried to stay and hide somewhere, I would know. And I wanted them gone.


    Satisfied I would be able to keep a metaphorical eye on them until they left the basin, I turned and moved quickly back toward the house and my family.


    Emery was waiting at the door, still fuming, but under control. She looked apologetic as she met my eyes.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± I said, letting out a long sigh. ¡°I knew my family wasn¡¯t the best. But I never would¡¯ve expected any of them to hit a child.¡± After a moment I added, ¡°Well. Maybe I should¡¯ve seen Leon¡¯s buffoonery coming. He¡¯s always been an asshole.¡±


    Emery stepped to my side and gave me a hug from the side. ¡°It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s not your fault so don¡¯t go blaming yourself for this.¡±


    I turned into the hug and leaned down a bit to rest my forehead on her shoulder and took some deep breaths. She rubbed my back in an effort to soothe me, which I really appreciated. I took a short moment to recompose myself before moving to stand upright again. I kissed my wife¡¯s cheek and smiled at her.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go see our kids, yeah?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I agreed, and we moved toward the general commotion coming from the second floor.


    Our kitchen was still set up for a large group with the extended table, and everyone was crowded around it. Cierra and Stena were in seats at the table while Emery¡¯s siblings were scattered around the table. Vale was watching from nearby as Talya was trying to dab at tears with a wet cloth and clean off Cierra¡¯s face.


    As soon as they were in view, Emery and I both moved quickly to her side. Talya moved aside quickly as I pulled out the chair beside Cierra¡¯s to sit down beside her. Emery did the same on Stena¡¯s side, leaving Cierra¡¯s care to me for now. I was glad she did, as I felt like I needed to make this up to the girl somehow.


    Emery¡¯s siblings also apparently decided to give us some privacy, as they left the room shortly after we arrived. I was grateful for that too, although I also had a feeling that had they stayed, it would¡¯ve been fine as well.


    When I turned my full attention to Cierra, I felt a surge of anger at Leon again. The girl was huddled up on the chair, once again with her arms hugged around her knees, her head down quietly crying. My first move was to scoot my chair closer to her and give her a hug. When I first made contact with her, I felt her flinch away and my heart sank. It seemed like a gut reaction though, and once I had my arms around her she leaned into me.


    I honestly wasn¡¯t sure if it was better that her aversion to touch was an instinctual reaction and not a conscious thing or not.


    ¡°Hey,¡± I said gently, ¡°I¡¯m sorry that he hit you.¡± I leaned my cheek against her head as I spoke. ¡°You have to listen to me, okay? It is not your fault. And you did nothing wrong. He was the one who acted badly, not you.¡±


    Cierra didn¡¯t really respond, though I wasn¡¯t sure I expected anything in the moment from her either.


    I lightly brushed my fingers through the girl¡¯s hair, trying to soothe her however I could. ¡°Cierra? Can you let me see your face? I want to make sure you¡¯re not hurt.¡±


    It took a moment, but the girl did raise her head to look at me. Once again, I had to hold back a surge of anger directed at Leon. The left side of Cierra¡¯s face looked okay, thankfully. Her eye was puffy and red from crying, and her cheek was splotchy with color from it as well, but there wasn¡¯t any sign of anything else.


    The right side of her face, though, did not look okay at all. Her right eye was swelling up, probably half from being struck and half from crying, and was already starting to bruise. The entire cheek was an angry red with the clear shaping of fingers stretching from the back of cheek up into her hairline.


    Perhaps worst of all, and something I hadn¡¯t noticed before, was that the hit had split the girl¡¯s cheek around her cheekbone. There wasn¡¯t a lot of blood, but there was enough that it was mixing with the tears, and staining her entire cheek a ruddy red.


    I cycled my Qi into my hand and chilled the air near my palm, then brought that up near Cierra¡¯s face. ¡°The cold should help with the swelling, okay?¡± I asked, once again to no response. ¡°It might help the pain a little too.¡±


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    We sat like that for a minute or two while Emery calmed down Stena beside us. My guess earlier had been correct - she was okay, but was crying mostly because Cierra was struck and crying. Thankfully, once Emery picked her up and sat the girl in her lap she was already calming down from the excitement.


    ¡°...Why did he hit me?¡±


    The weak little murmured question snapped my attention back to Cierra, who looked like she was on the verge of tears again. I wanted to just say that it was because he was an asshole, but I didn¡¯t think that would help anything. Nor would saying that it was because he was a bad guy, even if it was true.


    ¡°You understand that those people were the family I grew up with, right?¡± I asked for starters. The girl nodded. ¡°When I was growing up, they were very strict. If someone didn¡¯t listen to what they were told and didn¡¯t do it three times, they were hit.¡± I said, the words turning my stomach as they brought up some bad memories.


    ¡°So Leon did what was done to him when he disobeyed three times.¡± I rubbed the top of Cierra¡¯s head with my left hand while my right continued to ice her face. ¡°It¡¯s a very bad thing to do, and he should never have hit you. Especially not for you trying to hold his hand like a good girl.¡±


    Cierra didn¡¯t respond to that, and I was unsatisfied with what I said, so I tried to rethink it to put it another way.


    ¡°Listen to me, Cierra. This is not your fault. The fault lies with how messed up my family is. No one should ever be hit like that, do you understand?¡± I asked. Once again, Cierra didn¡¯t really respond, but I scooted closer again to give the girl another hug, careful to keep the cold applied to her right side.


    ¡°Your mom and I would never hit you. Ever.¡± I said, giving her a squeeze. ¡°And just to be clear, you shouldn¡¯t hit people like that either. No one should hit anyone like that.¡±


    The more I spoke, the more I felt the burn of hypocrisy, given that I had quite literally just hit Leon and probably even broke a rib or two. But Cierra was still little, and confusing her with anything beyond ¡®don¡¯t hit people¡¯ was just going to complicate things. Teaching her that she shouldn¡¯t hit people, period, felt like a much better option.


    I glanced up at Emery more than once while I was beginning to ramble. She nodded in agreement with most of what I was saying, but as I continued on she started to smile as I lost my point while trying to comfort Cierra.


    Eventually, I took a breath and a break from my incessant chattering to just stroke the girl¡¯s back while I kept the soothing cold on her face. I realized I must have been truly out of sorts when it occurred to me that I could also actually use healing Qi to actually work on the bruise.


    I rolled my eyes at myself as I leaned in to place a kiss on Cierra¡¯s hair, then added the healing Qi to the cold. I slowly ramped it up, not wanting to spook the girl with sudden tingles, so it took a minute or two before the split cheek began to close and the swelling went down.


    ¡°Does that feel a little better?¡± I asked softly. Cierra nodded, and leaned against me for comfort. As I continued to treat her bruise with my Qi, I scratched her head lightly with my fingernails in a soothing motion. It was something that I knew she liked, and was a very normal thing for me to do when she was sitting with me.


    The little dining area was quiet for a while as the four of us sat there mostly silent. Emery had gotten Stena up into her lap and was cradling her there while humming a soft lullaby. I continued to play with Cierra¡¯s hair letting the healing Qi do its work while she slowly calmed down, just sniffling occasionally.


    ¡°Momri, I¡¯m cold.¡± Cierra murmured. ¡°Your hand is really cold.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Sorry.¡± I quickly dropped my hand from her cheek and let the Qi dissipate. Her face looked more or less normal now. There was still some smeared, dried blood, but the cuts were closed, and most of the swelling was gone. Her eyes were still bloodshot and puffy, but that was to be expected.


    ¡°How does your face feel? Any more pain?¡±


    Cierra shook her head in the negative, then curled into herself a bit. ¡°I¡¯m just cold now. Can I have a hot tea or something?¡± Her voice was remarkably timid given her usual excitement.


    ¡°Of course.¡± I said, standing. ¡°Would you like a blanket too, or do you think the drink will be enough?¡±


    After a pause, she said, ¡°...I¡¯d like a blanket.¡±


    I nodded and pulled a fluffy woolen blanket from my storage ring. It was a rather expensive blanket too, and one that I kept on me just in case. Never before had I been so thoroughly satisfied to pull it out like this, though.


    With a dramatic flourish, I snapped the blanket out to its full size and wrapped it around Cierra, making sure she was snugly tucked in. I planted one more kiss on her forehead before I stood up straight again to go make her a hot drink. I had just the treat in mind for her.


    ¡°That blanket is a little bit magic, you know.¡± I said over my shoulder as I walked away. ¡°If you snuggle into it, it¡¯ll make you feel better.¡±


    I didn¡¯t look back, but I heard the shuffling of fabric as Cierra pulled it tightly around her.


    Once I was in the kitchen, I quickly darted around to get what I needed for my special warm drink for her. It had been ages since I had made it - literally years - and as far as I knew, it would be new to Cierra.


    Along with the special orders for the wedding food, I had made one other request of Lyn, to get a certain ingredient shipped in from the Southern Isles. It was something unusual that I had occasionally while growing up in a well-to-do merchant family, but wasn¡¯t able to find much since I left them behind.


    And now, I popped the special ingredient from my storage ring and dropped it into a large metal bowl. Once that was heated, and the ingredient melted, I added in some milk, cream, and just a dash of cinnamon. I poured the finished liquid into four cups, which then came back with me to the table.


    I placed one in front of Cierra, then one each for Emery and Stena, who was now awake. Then I moved back to my seat with the last cup.


    They all eyed the dark brown, thick drink with apprehension. At least until they smelled it.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Cierra asked, as she picked up her cup. I took a sip from my own, no doubt leaving a brown mustache on my upper lip, and smiled at her. Without actually answering yet, I nodded at her to take a sip.


    When she did, she let out a tiny little squeal of joy and for the first time today so far, smiled. ¡°What is it?¡± She asked again.


    ¡°Hot chocolate,¡± I said, and met her smile with my own.

 105 : Choose Your Weapon

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I think I like this one better.¡±


    Emery looked up from the sword she was toying with to see Avuri pointing at a spear on the wall. The haft was shaped from jade with gold inlay that wound around it. The gold eventually met with the blade¡¯s hilt where it was fashioned into an open dragon¡¯s mouth, with the blade shaped like flame.


    ¡°You think so?¡± Emery asked, walking over to admire the weapon. ¡°I think it¡¯s a spectacular piece, and I really loved the design.¡±


    ¡°Then why not use it? I think it¡¯d fit perfectly with the rest of the look you¡¯re going for, and it¡¯s even got a bit of a dragon theme.¡±


    ¡°Mostly, it¡¯s because the design isn¡¯t mine.¡± Emery said, guiltily. ¡°I saw a painting of a Cultivator from a long time ago. Some warrior with a great beard, and he had a weapon that looked like that. I really liked the design, so I recreated it.¡±


    ¡°So we want a Merri original. Gotcha.¡± Avuri said, then turned to look back around the displays.


    They were both in deep meditation within their bonded Inner World. They walked through one of Emery¡¯s smithy village buildings that had been refashioned into a display space for her favorite and most ambitious creations. Snow covered the ground outside as always, and there were even little flurries being let in through the ventilation windows on the upper parts of the walls.


    Emery slipped her arm through Avuri¡¯s as they stood in the center of the space looking around. ¡°Anything else catch your eye?¡± Emery asked, as her own eyes slid over each of the weapons stored there.


    ¡°Did you know what sort of color scheme the armor is?¡± Avuri asked, looking around. ¡°The weapons you have here are so colorful that I¡¯m sure we¡¯d want to pick something to match.¡±


    ¡°I can change the colors when I create the weapon, remember?¡± Emery teased. ¡°I know I don¡¯t do it often, but did you really forget?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± Avuri said, sounding a little spacey. ¡°Honestly, I think I¡¯m just overwhelmed for choice in here.¡± She slowly spun in place, dragging Emery with her, as she took in the tens, perhaps hundreds, of weapons scattered around them.


    ¡°That¡¯s true, I suppose you don¡¯t come in here often.¡±


    ¡°Almost never. You always show me when you finish one of your weapons, so I¡¯ve seen them all at one point or another. But seeing them all laid out like this is incredible.¡±


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s see what we can do to narrow things down, yeah?¡± Emery said with a smile. ¡°I think we¡¯re definitely settled on it working with the dragon theme, so¡­¡± As she trailed off, she waved her hands in the air as if conducting or pulling strings. A huge amount of the weapons in the room seemed to spring to life and move around the room in a beautifully mesmerizing dance.


    Then they split apart, with all of the dragon themed weapons remaining laid out before the pair of women, while the rest were set off to the side on display hooks or in cases. But even then, they still had more than twenty options arrayed in front of them.


    ¡°It needs to be an impressive, inspiring weapon. So nothing too small.¡± Avuri said, thinking, while Emery removed the knives and other smaller weapons. ¡°We definitely want ornate, too, so you can take that one away.¡± She continued, pointing to a jian that was crafted to look like it was covered in scales, but was otherwise unimpressive. It, too, was lifted up and floated away.


    ¡°I want an easy to recognize weapon, so I think a sword or spear would be best¡­¡± Emery said, moving away the three-section staff, wind and fire wheels, and hook swords. She also moved the rope dart away with a sigh. ¡°I really love the rope dart. It¡¯s such a neat weapon.¡±


    Avuri watched it float away, eyeing it closely. ¡°Why not just actually forge that one and wear it with the tether around your waist? It¡¯s small enough that you could probably forge it in a day or two.¡±


    The dart paused in mid air, then floated over to them. Emery looked it over carefully, deciding whether or not to do just that. The dart itself was shaped to look like a tooth or claw. It wasn¡¯t curved like one, as that would ruin the balance, but it was weathered and colored to look remarkably similar to such a bone. Behind the dart itself, there was a bit of cloth, rope, and metal fashioned to look like dragon scales. The overall effect made it look almost as though a dragon¡¯s arm was swinging around a claw when it was in motion.


    ¡°I might do that.¡± She concluded. ¡°You¡¯re right. Other than getting the weathering on the metal right, this would be a very easy forge.¡±


    She stared at it a moment longer before nodding and sending it on its way.


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°That leaves us with sixteen various swords and polearms to pick from.¡± Avuri said, her eyes roaming over the selection. ¡°And you have no attachment to weapon type?¡±


    ¡°Not really.¡± Emery said. ¡°I¡¯m just as proficient with a polearm as with a sword, so they aren¡¯t functionally too different for me. And at our level of Cultivation, the advantages and disadvantages of the weapons are almost non-factors anymore.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case,¡± Avuri said, ¡°I think a sword is best for you. They¡¯re usually your default creation for extra weapons, and I think you should choose a weapon to match that.¡±


    Emery considered that for a moment, then nodded, moving the polearms away. ¡°Ten choices remaining,¡± she said, looking over the swords.


    Avuri sighed. ¡°There¡¯s still too many options. My gut says you should just go with a traditional jian, but I think your dragon-styled dao are more impressive, visually speaking.¡±


    Emery nodded. ¡°The single-edged, pointy shape just lends itself better to a dragon theme than the straight, double edged form of the jian, yeah. Should I¡­?¡±


    Avuri nodded, and the four jian lifted up and floated away to join their dragon-themed brethren on the side, leaving six various single edged blades to choose from. She stared at the swords, all lined up, trying to make any further decisions.


    ¡°We¡¯re at the hard part now, I guess?¡± Emery chuckled.


    ¡°Yeah. The armor we had made for you isn¡¯t too gaudy, right? It¡¯s rather sleek?¡±


    ¡°That was the intention at least, yes. No oversized pauldrons or anything like that.¡±


    ¡°Right. Let¡¯s pick a sword to match then.¡± Avuri pointed to a sword, acting with far more confidence in her choice than she actually felt.


    The actual blade itself looked fairly unassuming and rather practical. The edge was curved and sharpened as expected, but the back edge of the dao had a graceful wave to it. Etched into the back portion of the sword, matching the waved shape, was a long, serpent-like dragon. The body looked both dangerous and graceful, with beautiful curves along the blade¡¯s spine.


    However, where the blade met the handle is where Emery¡¯s work really began. The hilt and handle were masterpieces. The handle was designed extra long to accommodate two hands if the wielder wanted to use both, and the length allowed the art to really shine. Where the blade met hilt, the dragon transitioned into its neck and head. Two antler-like horns protruded upward along the back side of the blade, sprouting from the dragon¡¯s head.


    Ridges of scales surrounded the hilt acting as the dragon¡¯s jaw bone, as well as creating a guard to defend the hands. There was a meaty portion of the hilt dedicated only to the back portion of the dragon¡¯s head, depicting the jaw, eyes, and forehead beautifully before the actual handle began.


    The handle itself was the dragon¡¯s snout. It was elongated for the extra hand space, but Emery had somehow made it look striking and graceful rather than simply stretched. The dragon¡¯s mouth was open as well, with grooves between the teeth to slot in the wielder¡¯s fingers. The bottom jaw acted as a secondary guard for the fingers. And finally, the snarling nose acted as the pommel, with two large fangs sticking out from the bottom of the blade that could be used in close quarters if necessary.


    Emery eyed the piece the Avuri chose, and made a face. ¡°You don¡¯t think that one¡¯s too much? You literally just said we should pick a sleeker option.¡±


    ¡°I did say that. And I think this one functions two fold. First, when you hold it¡­¡± She said, holding up the weapon with ease, giving it a few test swings. ¡°The blade is really what catches the eye at first, and it appears to be a fairly simple weapon if you don¡¯t look at the handle. However¡­¡±


    As she trailed off, she tossed the weapon into the air. Emery¡¯s Qi caught it easily, keeping it aloft.


    ¡°If you choose to use it as a flying sword at any point, it¡¯s appearance will be about as memorable as it can be.¡±


    Emery followed Avuri¡¯s gaze up to the floating weapon, and made it fly around the room. For added effect, she made it fly handle first, truly giving it the appearance of a dragon in flight. And Avuri was right - in motion, this would be the most impressive of the bunch, while still giving the appearance of a fairly normal blade as long as she held onto it.


    ¡°I guess we have a winner!¡± Emery declared, bringing the weapon down to her hand. With a quick flourish, the other weapons in the display area all flew into action, retreating to their original display settings.


    ¡°Now I suppose we just Cultivate for the rest of the night? It¡¯s not like we¡¯ll actually sleep.¡± Emery said as she turned toward the door, sword in hand.


    Avuri followed, walking back out into their snowy village. ¡°I suppose so. You¡¯re at least right in that I don¡¯t really feel like making the effort to get any sleep tonight. We may as well make use of the time.¡±


    Emery nodded, and threw the sword into the air once they were outside her display building. It flew off toward the center of the village, and plunged into the dirt patch in the middle of everything, ready to be called up at a moment¡¯s notice.


    Emery offered Avuri a warm smile, then vanished from their Inner World as she opened her eyes. They were seated a small distance apart on their bed, both cross legged. A great situation for meditation and working on their combined Inner World, but not so much for Cultivating.


    As Avuri blinked her eyes a few times to adjust to the room¡¯s lighting, Emery shuffled around. She moved blankets and pillows to construct their normal little nest on their bed. Once it was finished, Avuri reached out to the door¡¯s Array-based lock, and clicked it into place with her Qi from a distance, before they both began to settle in for the night.


    Robes and clothing were discarded, only leaving underclothes on, and Avuri untied her braid; it would only get messy if she left it in. Both women took a solid drink of water before settling in. They snuggled up against one another, entwining legs and fingers in a close embrace.


    Slowly, over the course of a minute or two, their breathing synced up. It took barely a thought for their Domains to clip into one another and click into place, fitting together in a way that felt more natural than being separate ever did. And together, they pulled at their combined, now singular mass of Qi to begin the process of their Cultivation.

 106 : Dawn of Battle

    When Emery and Avuri left their meditation, it was early morning. The sun was still just cresting the horizon. And, normally, everyone would still be going through their early morning routines.


    When Emery extricated herself from their little nest of pillows and opened the curtain to let in the sun, she saw that this morning was far from normal.


    Many of her kids were already up and about, fully dressed, going about all kinds of activities. She could see Kaili, Elena, Wulf, and Lia keeping many of the younger kids occupied while the older ones went about their chores. Briar and Karn were weeding the fields, while Elise and Enrik mucked the barn. Kord and Fia were running around to collect and wash laundry.


    Even Stena and Cierra were out there, trying to assist. They were checking the Arrays that Talya had set up around the whole space for functionality, and given their slow, inward spiral, Emery had guessed that they had started at the outer defensive formations.


    When Avuri stepped up beside her to watch the controlled chaos, Emery leaned against her.


    ¡°With how excited and jittery they look, you¡¯d think they¡¯re the ones about to face down an army.¡± Avuri said, trying to keep her tone light.


    Emery closed her eyes and took a deep breath, sending out a prayer to who or whatever might listen. ¡°We can only hope they don¡¯t need to. If things get bad, it¡¯s not impossible that a fight will reach them up here.¡±


    Avuri slid an arm around her wife reassuringly. ¡°We¡¯re doing everything we can to stop that from happening. And we¡¯ll have that emergency alarm Array if something does happen.¡±


    Emery nodded, still watching their kids run about. Avuri was right, though. Talya had made an Array that was functionally a slip of paper that would turn red and make noise if she triggered the alarm end of it in the basin. If anything happened and they were needed back with their family, they would know.


    But Emery still couldn¡¯t help worrying about it. What if an assassin-type got in, able to stealth their way past the wards like Ieji did? Or a small, advance raiding party made their way into the Peaks to explore and found them here?


    Worse still, judging by the way Avuri¡¯s fingers were shaking, even if only slightly, told Emery that they likely shared similar worries. She could reach out with her Domain to share their thoughts and feelings if she wanted to, but decided it was perhaps better to let them worry separately for now.


    ¡°For now, we should check in with everyone.¡± Avuri said.


    ¡°And then head to the city. The Deposits¡¯ army should reach here today.¡± Emery nodded.


    ¡°Yeah. They¡¯ve made no secret of their approach or intentions, so it seems unlikely they would hurry to arrive early. Which means Vyne¡¯s prediction of just after noon seems most likely.¡±


    Emery took in another deep breath and lightly pushed herself off of Avuri and into a walk. ¡°Well, let¡¯s go.¡±


    <hr>


    Fifteen minutes and a piercing whistle note later, nearly everyone was gathered in the playground. Twenty five of the kids were here, although Elise and Enrik were still working in the barn; they were within Earth Realm earshot, though.


    Talya and Gray stood to the side, watching, as did Vale, though he was clearly lost in thoughts of his own. Emery met Talya¡¯s eyes for a moment, and some kind of understanding seemed to pass between them. Emery silently vowed to do everything she could to protect this whole family, while Talya did the same. Their respective battlegrounds may be different, but their will to see this family safely through was the same.


    Avuri took hold of Emery¡¯s hand and squeezed, affirming her own feelings on the matter, too. Even Gray looked resolved, despite only having been here for a little over a month. Emery decided right there that she really should get to know the man better after this whole fiasco was over.


    ¡°Alright, everyone. As I can tell you all know, the day is here.¡± Emery began. ¡°The Deposits¡¯ army should reach Flowing Dragon City today. Avuri and I will be going to meet the threat, along with Vale and Ieji. We¡¯re teaming up with the Elders, too, so you don¡¯t need to worry about us. I promise, we¡¯ll come back safely.¡±


    ¡°By now,¡± Avuri took up the speech, ¡°you all know your roles here while we¡¯re gone. Leave the chores alone for a few days, or at least until we tell you otherwise. Kord, Stena, and Cierra will take care of the animals, but nothing else really needs to be done. Stay in your houses with the Arrays all locked. If you get worried, gather in the main house together and lock it down as well. Gray and Talya will be here to help with anything you might need.¡±


    ¡°We should be back in a day or two, if things go well.¡± Emery continued. ¡°If things go badly, it¡¯s much harder to say, but I imagine we shouldn¡¯t be gone longer than a few days at most. The Elders on their own can basically handle the enemy army on their own, supposedly.¡± She looked at Talya then. ¡°Talya has an emergency alarm Array that she can use to signal us to come home if anything goes wrong. If you think something has, get to the main house and talk to her about it.¡±


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°And when she says ¡®anything¡¯, she means it.¡± Avuri added. ¡°Don¡¯t ignore little things. If you all follow the rules and don¡¯t leave your houses unless you¡¯re moving to the main house, there should be very few things happening around the basin. If something feels off, tell Talya. She should be able to figure out what is happening with her monitoring Arrays and make the call on whether you all need help.¡±


    Talya took a step forward to draw attention to herself before speaking. ¡°Avuri is right. If anything seems off, please tell me. I have enough Arrays set up around the basin now that if you tell me that a bush was moving, I should be able to figure out why. If someone somehow miraculously gets past all my wards, they¡¯re likely to leave the most miniscule of traces. Take them seriously and tell me.¡±


    Nods and murmurs of agreement passed through the crowd of kids.


    ¡°Good.¡± Emery said, then took a deep breath and sighed. ¡°If you all know what to do for the next few days, I suppose that means it¡¯s time for us to prepare to leave.¡± She side-eyed Avuri, annoyed. ¡°And I¡¯ll need a little help strapping into my armor. If any of you would like to -¡±


    Hands shot up all over the playground and excited whispers broke out. Avuri giggled at all the sudden excitement, and Emery shot her a glare to quiet her.


    ¡°I only need like two of you¡­Maybe three.¡±


    <hr>


    Half an hour later, Emery was back inside the main house with Fia and Enrik, the annoyed winners of the rather intense rock, paper, scissors, tournament that was held to decide who got to help Mom with getting ready. Arek was also helping as the one who had the idea in the first place.


    As Emery had requested, the armor wasn¡¯t too ornate. At least she couldn¡¯t say it was all form over function. The armor was still well crafted and would be usable by any competent Cultivator.


    The materials used were ones that could conduct Qi well, which would make the armor incredibly tough, even against Qi attacks. And, of course, the stand out material used was obviously the dragon scales.


    They were a notoriously difficult material to work with when obtained forcefully. Removing the scales from a dragon¡¯s hide without damaging either is an incredibly difficult task, even for the most accomplished artisans. And dragon scales are also typically very hard, but also somewhat brittle, along similar lines to diamond.


    These properties change somewhat when they are gifted by the dragon to a friend, however. If the dragon is alive when the scales are removed, they retain some of the dragon¡¯s Qi. This keeps them hard and sturdy, without becoming brittle the way they do after a dragon¡¯s death. These types of live scales are also considered incredibly precious and rare.


    And the suit of armor that Emery was given to wear was not only generously covered in such living scales, but also clearly covered in six distinct colors.


    Overwhelmingly, the armor was black, utilizing mostly Vale¡¯s scales. But each of the Elders had also contributed to the piece, adding accent colors to different sections of the armor. Thankfully, it was tastefully designed to avoid looking patchwork, with just a splash of different colors for trim or design work.


    While it was being strapped on piece by piece, Emery marveled at each grouping of scales. Blue from Lyn, crimson from Cyril, golden-yellow from Eiry, steel gray from Ray, and a dark green from Vyne.


    The scale mail was surprisingly easy to move in once it was on, too. Whether that was simply a property of living dragon scale, Emery wasn¡¯t sure; she¡¯d never had anything made from them before. But once the chest piece was affixed and strapped on, alongside the gauntlets and helmet, she found herself moving her upper body about to test its motion limits - and finding almost none.


    Her shoulders could extend in full motion in any direction, and she could twist her torso almost fully from side to side, but the limiting there was fairly minute. The only issue she really had was the faceplate on the helmet. Yes, she had asked for one to hide her face, but the eye slits and general coverage over her face was a visual obstruction that she was not at all used to.


    She would have to pretty heavily rely on her Qi-based senses if she got into an actual fight. Or tear the helmet off, she supposed.


    Emery wasn¡¯t really sure which was the better option. She wasn¡¯t thrilled with the idea of the general populace knowing she was this mysterious dragon friend that came to defend them from the attacking Cultivators. But she wasn¡¯t willing to risk her life to keep her identity a secret.


    ¡°I think you¡¯re all set, Mom.¡± Enrik said, as he patted the last buckle on her left shin guard. ¡°Everything seems to be in place. You said you¡¯ll have people able to help you in and out of the armor in the city if you need it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d better.¡± She chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m sure Cove and Glenn could assist me, and they¡¯re bound to be close by with Mica taking part in the whole charade.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Fia said, as she stood up straight and took a step back to inspect the overall look. ¡°It¡¯ll be a pain in the butt to get in and out of that armor, but it definitely leaves an impression.¡±


    ¡°You look so cool, Mom.¡± Arek said, almost on the verge of jumping up and down. ¡°I¡¯m really glad you picked my idea.¡±


    Emery carefully ruffled the boy¡¯s hair affectionately, which turned out to be very weird given she could feel nothing through the thick leather gloves. But as she did so, she stepped to the side to view herself in the mirror.


    And Arek was right; the overall impression was simply amazing.


    The helmet was fashioned to evoke a dragon¡¯s head, but without the features. There were antler-like horns sticking out from the top of the head, and ridged parts to suggest a face, but no real features. There was a single eye slit that crossed the helmet horizontally, allowing vision from both eyes, with a contoured trim of red scales around the slit, making them almost glow against the black of the rest of the helmet.


    The body, again, was primarily black scales. There were sections of the dark green scales under the arms, along the flanks, and in the stomach area of the armor, but the dark green was dark enough that they matched the black rather well. Similarly, the dark green patches continued on the faulds and down the outsides of the legs, keeping a singular pattern over the body.


    Fashioned around the neck instead of a gorget was a scarf sewn with Lyn¡¯s gorgeous blue scales to protect Emery¡¯s neck. And on her vambraces and boots, Eiry¡¯s golden yellow scales were designed to look like claws.


    Finally, the last piece was a rather large shield covered entirely in gray scales from Ray. She wasn¡¯t sure she would use the shield in a fight, as she typically preferred a free hand or a floating weapon as a shield, but it still completed the overall ensemble.


    ¡°I really do look cool, don¡¯t I?¡± She said with a cocky grin.

 107 : Battle Plans

    Once Emery was in her battle gear and ready to go, things moved fairly quickly.


    There was a fairly short series of goodbyes as Emery, Avuri, and Vale all walked down the line of lined up children. ¡°Good bye¡±s and ¡°good luck¡±s were repeated en masse, and hugs and ¡°I love you¡±s were shared one after another.


    Emery was thankful that they were hurrying along, because she knew if she spent too long at this she would absolutely get teary eyed, if not cry. All of which would be wasted time and energy because they would be back in a few days.


    And she really didn¡¯t want to blubber in front of her kids like that. She was supposed to be the cool mom, while Avuri was the more motherly one. Though she had to admit that those roles didn¡¯t hold up as much as she would maybe like. And as they were saying their good byes, Avuri seemed much more in control and less on the verge of tears than Emery felt.


    Once they had left the basin and Vale took to the air with the women riding in the crook of his arm, Emery and Avuri both leaned into each other for comfort though. Both were fighting misty eyes after the long farewells as they hooked arms around one another¡¯s waists. Thankfully, they had some time before arriving at the city to try to either clean up after the tears or get them under control.


    <hr>


    ¡°Oh, good, you¡¯re here.¡± Eiry said, looking up from the mess of papers and reports on the table. ¡°We¡¯ve got just a few hours before they reach average Qi distances, or so I¡¯m told.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still accurate.¡± Vyne and Ieji replied in unison. Eiry nodded and waved Emery, Avuri, and Vale in.


    Emery and Avuri were happy to walk in and sit down next to Mica, Cove, and Glenn who were already seated at the table. Vale had been forced to land a ways away from the city to keep the whole dragon issue under wraps for now still, which left the three of them to run their way from a few kilometers out of the city to the large fortress that sat in the highest part of the city, right in the middle of it all.


    The run itself didn¡¯t take all that long, but everyone wanted to be in peak condition before the coming fight, which meant a little while to rest their legs would be appreciated.


    ¡°Everyone already knows the rough battle plans for today, but shall we go over it one more time?¡± Eiry asked the room once everyone had settled into their places.


    ¡°It can¡¯t hurt.¡± Lyn agreed.


    Ray scoffed. ¡°I¡¯ll listen again, but I still think when we show up we should demonstrate our strength, not just wait for them to attack first.¡±


    ¡°Rayeon,¡± Vyne said, rolling his eyes, ¡°for the last time. The whole point of us even showing our dragon forms is to deter the fight from happening at all.¡±


    ¡°And I disagree with that.¡± He returned, crossing his arms petulantly.


    ¡°Ignore him.¡± Cyril waved his hand dismissively. ¡°He¡¯s just been itching for a fight and is upset he¡¯s hopefully not getting one.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna be the first one out there if something goes wrong.¡± He muttered, sounding so much like a child that Emery had to stop herself from laughing. He sounded just like some of the kids when they got upset. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you all in the dust and get to that fight so fast¡­¡±


    Eiry rolled her eyes at his mutterings, but gathered the attention of the others in the room before continuing on with the explanations for the day¡¯s plans.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Eiry took a deep breath before beginning her long winded explanation. ¡°Based on what Vyne and Ieji have gathered, the enemy force will arrive within a few hours. Given Ieji¡¯s original report regarding their intent to force us to stand down through force of numbers, we expect them to take up a post within fifty kilometers or so of the walls. We¡¯re not expecting them to make any sort of offensive moves to begin, assuming they want to take the city itself without damage.¡±


    ¡°What they do from there is up in the air. We plan to already have everyone stationed in front of the gates. Emery, you¡¯ll be up on the central parapet over the gate, ready to perform your show if they make any sort of move to attack. Avuri, Mica, and Ieji - you three will remain in a guard post inside the walls, but not too far away. Especially if you two,¡± she looked between Emery and Avuri, ¡°are to remain linked.¡±


    The women nodded the affirmative before Eiry continued. ¡°What we do from there will depend on the Deposits¡¯ people. If they immediately call for talks, you three will head out in our place. Avuri, stay connected to Emery so you can relay information as quickly as possible, especially if anything goes wrong. If they don¡¯t act at all, we¡¯ll do nothing as well. If they attack, we call in the dragons.¡±


    ¡°Are there contingencies? Or ideas for other routes they could take?¡± Mica asked.


    ¡°Not so much.¡± Eiry sighed. ¡°We don¡¯t really know what their plan is, so it¡¯s hard to come up with too many contingencies, so we¡¯re keeping it as simple as possible. I don¡¯t think there are too many options they could take beyond those three options anyway, at least in broad strokes.¡±


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°So I should appear and call you in if they make any offensive moves at all?¡± Emery asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Eiry nodded seriously. ¡°You showing up and calling us in shouldn¡¯t trigger any actual attacks if we simply appear without attacking.¡± She glanced over at Ray before continuing, ¡°And calling us in as threats and back up will be better done sooner rather than later. From you, Emery, a knee-jerk reaction is fine. For us,¡± she looked around at the Elders and Vale, ¡°we need to exercise caution. If we jump in too early, it could cause a bloodbath.¡±


    ¡°If they make any moves to attack one of ours, I¡¯m not holding back.¡± Ray barked. ¡°I will intervene.¡±


    ¡°And if they do make to attack us, that¡¯s fine. Good even.¡± Eiry confirmed. ¡°Just make sure the first move is not ours. Understood?¡±


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡± Ray rolled his eyes.


    The table quieted down for a moment after that as everyone thought about what they had to do and their role in the whole plan.


    ¡°If we do end up in talks with them, is there anything we can immediately agree to?¡± Mica asked. ¡°Like bare minimum terms you would be willing to accept without us needing to retreat to talk to you?¡±


    Vyne spoke up from there. ¡°If they want to talk about entering a trade agreement, you are allowed to agree to set up a more in depth conversation. But I don¡¯t think any of you know enough about how the city is run to make any sort of actual agreement on the spot, unfortunately.¡±


    ¡°If they¡¯re actually serious about doing business with us, they¡¯ll be willing to allow you to excuse yourselves to confer about any offers made. Especially when only three of the Elders are in attendance.¡± Cyril added. ¡°If they try to force you into making a decision on the spot, then they aren''t likely to approach the business in good faith and you can feel free to decline their offer.¡±


    Lyn nodded in agreement. ¡°If they try to force a decision immediately and you turning them down starts a fight, that is fine.¡± She smiled then, a sly thing that looked almost excited. ¡°We told you not to worry about this coming to blows and that we could handle it if it does. I just wanted to reiterate that for you three. And promise you that if that¡¯s what comes to pass, it is not your fault. Don¡¯t blame yourselves.¡± She looked distinctly at Mica and Avuri while saying so, less worried about Ieji who was used to this sort of work.


    In support of Lyn¡¯s statement, Ieji added, ¡°Discussions like that break down all the time. Even under perfect conditions when everything should go right, sometimes one thing will get said and everything spirals out of control.¡± They offered something akin to a reassuring smile, that likely just looked awkward to everyone except Emery. ¡°I¡¯ve seen communication break down for all kinds of silly reasons at talks like this. If we cause a fight because they weren¡¯t letting us leave to discuss our options, that¡¯s about as well as we could¡¯ve done.¡±


    The room fell under a thoughtful quiet after that, as everyone considered how many ways their individual parts could go wrong.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to sound defeatist or anything like that,¡± Cove began, ¡°but given how many failure points there are to getting everyone through this without a fight, why not just go with Ray¡¯s plan and jump them first?¡±


    Ray sat up straight, excited to hear even just a little bit of support for his offensive strategy, but Eiry shut it down pretty quickly. ¡°There¡¯s a number of reasons, but the most important is probably how we appear to other major cities and traders. We don¡¯t want to be known as the people who struck first, especially if they¡¯re willing to talk first.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re mainly a city of artisans and traders, after all.¡± Vyne added. ¡°Our reputation matters a lot when it comes to business dealings with other cities.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense.¡± Glenn said thoughtfully. ¡°Better to be the defenders than the instigators.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Vyne said, then scratched his chin in thought as well. ¡°We hadn¡¯t really talked about it at all because it was pertinent to our situation, but it will be interesting to see what this whole situation does to The Deposits¡¯ business opportunities.¡± He said to Eiry.


    ¡°It¡¯s a good question. They¡¯ve interacted nicely with us up until now, same as everyone else. If this gambit of theirs fails, they may have trouble on the horizon if the other cities they trade with turn them away, worried about a similar attack.¡±


    ¡°We should be doubly careful, then.¡± Ieji cut in. ¡°If they¡¯re particularly clever, they may try to bait us into attacking them early to gain a sort of reputational upper-hand. I didn¡¯t see that level of cleverness in the camp while I was there, but it doesn¡¯t mean they don¡¯t have at least one cunning leader.¡±


    ¡°Good call. Keep that in mind everyone, and let¡¯s all make sure we don¡¯t make any early moves. We wait for them to make the first attack, no matter what.¡± Eiry commanded. ¡°I¡¯ll spread the word among the guards and hired Cultivators as well. We need our side to be as cohesive as possible for this battle.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ve already been told to wait to engage until a charge is called.¡± Ray said. ¡°Do we really need to say more?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± Vyne said. ¡°We can¡¯t exactly tell them that dragons will show up and to not attack until after the enemy has a chance to process that. Even if there are already rumors flying around to that effect.¡±


    ¡°We should just put out a blanket ¡®defend only¡¯ order.¡± Lyn said. ¡°Only attack when attacked. Otherwise do not engage. If we join the battle ourselves, it will be easier to fight if our own Cultivators aren¡¯t under foot anyway. Keeping them near to or on our walls is a good idea, I think.¡±


    A chorus of agreements flowed around the room.


    ¡°Very well.¡± Eiry said. ¡°We hold our forces back unless they are attacked first. Emery will make a show and call us to the battle as the enemy forms up outside and try to force them to back down or call for peace instead. If we can send Avuri, Mica, and Ieji for talks, we do. That will get complicated, so we¡¯ll have to play that plan by ear. Otherwise, we will wait until they attack first before engaging. If they strike, we rout them, plain and simple.¡±


    Eiry took a deep breath to steel herself for battle. ¡°Understood?¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± Everyone barked back.

 108 : Connections

    I tried to wring out my long hair with a towel the best I could as I walked back into the bedroom. Thankfully, things were at least quiet.


    Cierra and Stena both were pretty wiped out after the incident in the morning. Crying was really exhausting, after all, both mentally and physically. The two of them had taken a bath shortly after dinner and went almost straight to bed. They were so tired that they didn¡¯t even put up a token resistance to sleeping in their own room tonight.


    And to add to the quiet, Emery¡¯s siblings had moved out of the main house rooms into the smaller houses that my family members had vacated. Even Vale and Talya had chosen to move to the separated houses.


    I¡¯ll admit, the more complete silence had been a little unnerving while washing up in the bathroom, after being so used to the occasional noises of other people living in the house. The whole feeling went away pretty quickly when I returned to see Emery sitting on the bed, though, book in one hand, and a comb in the other.


    She glanced up over the edge of the book and met my eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry things went the way they did today.¡± She said quietly. I could hear her cleanly over the lack of any background noise though.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± I breathed out heavily, then took another even deeper breath. ¡°I was prepared for something like that to happen. I¡¯ll give you, I didn¡¯t expect it to be so¡­in the open. I was fully expecting some kind of subterfuge or sly plan of theirs to come to light.¡± I could feel my mouth pull back in an unconscious frown. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect anyone to hit anybody.¡±


    Emery put the book down on her side of the bed and sat up against her pillow and the wall behind her, motioning for me to come sit with the comb. ¡°I¡¯ll brush you out, come here.¡± She said, her warm smile about as calming and inviting as I had ever seen it.


    As I moved to sit on the bed as comfortably as I could manage wedged between her legs, she continued, ¡°I know you weren¡¯t expecting it. I don¡¯t think any of us were.¡± Despite being behind me, I could hear the difference in her voice when she turned away from me either embarrassed or apologetic. ¡°I fully expected them to try to use the girls against us somehow. There had to be a reason that they were so insistent on babysitting them while we did our work.¡±


    I nodded, feeling Emery¡¯s fingers begin to glide through my hair. She gently scratched at my scalp on each pass, and shivers traveled down my back each time. ¡°I thought so too.¡± I agreed. ¡°It¡¯s why I never objected to you turning them down every time. They absolutely would have tried to use them against us somehow. They¡¯re still a little young to be political hostages, but I¡¯d be willing to bet they¡¯d still try.¡±


    There was a moment of silence as Emery gathered up a section of hair to begin the long process of detangling it all. ¡°...I expected them to suggest the girls go to Bouquet to study, because the teachers here are ¡®lacking¡¯, or some other similar reason. And if they had really convinced the girls to like them, they could have even had the girls asking to go.¡±


    ¡°That sort of move is exactly what I expected.¡± I said. I closed my eyes and focused on the pleasant feeling of Emery brushing my hair. ¡°I¡¯m honestly not sure the girls would have agreed, even if everything went entirely their way. In fact, I¡¯m pretty sure that Cierra and Stena both would fight us tooth and nail to stay here with us.¡±


    Emery snickered behind me, and I felt a smile creep onto my face in response to the relatively happy sound. ¡°I bet you¡¯re right.¡± She agreed. ¡°I can already imagine the whining and carrying on. Stena trying to jump on me to get picked up.¡±


    I chuckled, imagining it - and very easily too. ¡°She¡¯s so lucky that we¡¯re Cultivators and can pick her up the way she wants.¡±


    Emery laughed at that. ¡°No doubt. There¡¯s no way we¡¯d be able to hold her otherwise. Or at least not for very long.¡±


    The conversation flowed easily from there for another twenty minutes as Emery slowly took her time going through each little section of my hair, detangling it. And each time she started a new section, she would massage and scratch my head in a way that left me so relaxed that I could have easily fallen asleep right there. More than once she had to push me upright again after I had leaned back against her with a blissful smile on my face.


    Once she was finally done, she took the time to carefully braid the giant mass and tie it up before placing the comb aside. Finally, satisfied she had finished, she patted my shoulder and leaned around to kiss my cheek. ¡°All done, love.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. That felt lovely.¡± I said, a huge grin in place. ¡°I would not be opposed to that being a regular occurrence.¡±


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    ¡°You know, I enjoyed it myself. It was nice to just take a bit and relax like that.¡± She said, her hands snaking around my waist from behind, holding me in her lap. Her chin rested comfortably on my shoulder, and I leaned my head against hers. After a moment, she nudged me with her nose a few times to get me to turn and kiss her.


    She twisted to the side and pulled me down to the bed with her, still hugging me from behind. I snuggled in back against her and pulled her arms tighter around me and we lay on our sides. She wiggled against my back trying to fit herself nicely against me, but she seemed to be getting frustrated that the difference in height left her face against my shoulder blades.


    Rather than let her continue, I turned around to face her instead and curled my arms around her too. With a smile, I rested my forehead against hers as she finally seemed to settle in.


    We stayed quietly like that for a little while before I said, ¡°You know what we haven¡¯t done in a while?¡±


    Emery snorted. ¡°Cultivation.¡± She said flatly. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about it a lot too. Do you think we should do it again?¡±


    ¡°Well, putting all else aside, it¡¯s hard to ignore how explosively we both grew in those few months. We¡¯d be leaving so much potential on the table if we don¡¯t.¡± I said, trying to sound logical about it.


    Emery eyed me suspiciously, like I knew she would. There was no keeping something obvious like this from her. ¡°That¡¯s not your actual reason at all, is it?¡± She asked. ¡°Or do you actually just regret not Dual Cultivating for the last eight months?¡±


    I smiled and leaned in for a quick peck just because. ¡°You caught me. No. I think we made the right call by removing that particular storm of emotions from the situation. But I also think that I¡¯m ready now. For all that it entails. If you are too, then¡­¡± I trailed off in question, trying to watch her expression for any changes.


    I didn¡¯t need to watch very carefully to see it melt into a blatant caring and loving smile. ¡°I feel the same, Avuri.¡± She said plainly. ¡°You don¡¯t think we¡¯re just still in the honeymoon phase of our relationship?¡± She asked, not actually sounding that concerned about it.


    ¡°It¡¯s been over a year since what I imagine would be considered our first date.¡± I responded. ¡°I don¡¯t know when the honeymoon phase officially transitions into just a good relationship, but surely it has by now.¡±


    She snickered. ¡°Yeah, that seems fair.¡± There was silence again for a moment, then she asked ¡°You¡¯re sure?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I said. ¡°Though I¡¯ve also been told to be prepared. Apparently the rush after taking such a long break will be¡­significant.¡± I recalled the pseudo warning Lyn had given me in passing one day.


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Apparently, if you take an extended break from Dual Cultivation with someone and then return to it with the same person, your Qi can recognize that and get excited.¡± I thought back to the conversation I had and smiled wistfully. ¡°Lyn said something about our souls being able to recognize their partner, but that seems a little fanciful. She did say that if the connections between you are real, though, that the effect is greater, so¡­who knows.¡±


    I felt Emery¡¯s hand cup my cheek as we met eyes again. She looked about as open and honest as I had ever seen her. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I may be in trouble.¡± She said, then smiled.


    ¡°Me too,¡± I said with a similar grin. ¡°There¡¯s no one else in the house with Qi sense, and the girls are asleep. Should we try it?¡±


    Despite fully expecting a hearty ¡®yes¡¯, I could feel my mouth go dry at the thought of her turning me down. As it turned out, I didn¡¯t get a verbal response at all, just a nod and a squeeze from her hand in mine.


    Then I felt her reach out eagerly with her Qi. As I let my own begin to cycle, I could feel her eagerness and excitement before our Domains and Qi even really touched, let alone connected.


    Despite our bodies being rather tightly wound together and at least nominally clothed, there was a moment after we both were surrounded by our Qi and Domains, but hadn¡¯t actually ¡®touched¡¯ them together yet where I imagined we both felt somehow exposed. There was just a small moment before we connected that was full of the sort of excitement before jumping into a pool. Not exactly hesitation or apprehension, but something more akin to taking a moment to appreciate the excitement before the jump.


    We both smiled at each other, recognizing that same feeling in the other. That feeling lasted just a moment longer before we simultaneously reached out and our Qi met.


    It was almost instantaneous. Our Qi and Domains seemed to latch onto one another immediately. It wasn¡¯t the same type of connection that we needed to actually use for Dual Cultivation, but rather the Domains simply seemed to want to stay in contact. While neither of us had any desire to pull back, I had the feeling that if we tried, our Domains would object to it at that moment.


    We both wordlessly moved to make the connection that we had avoided for so long at the same time. Before, even after all of the training we had done, it still took a bit of effort to forge that connection. It wasn¡¯t difficult, but more like making a decision; we needed to want to connect, and then things would slip into place.


    This time, the connection almost required no thought at all. In the back of my mind, I recalled Vale, or maybe someone else, mentioning that forming this connection would become easier and easier as the people involved got closer. The way that everything just snapped into place with zero actual effort made me believe those words.


    I could feel the smaller connections of Qi and Domain strengthen and braid together like a cord, the connection getting stronger and harder to break. It seemed everything was falling into place at a steady rate for a while, then something deeper clicked and the sensations changed. Raw, unfettered emotions slammed against me in a torrent, leaving me struggling to keep my head above water.

 109 : As One

    I couldn¡¯t figure out what had changed in that instant, but something must have. Whenever Emery and I had connected before - when we originally were practicing Dual Cultivation - emotions were always part of the equation. It was the predominant reason we stopped practicing the art when we started our relationship; we wanted to be sure that all the feelings involved were ours, and not just something conjured by the art of Dual Cultivation.


    Even knowing all of that, I was not prepared for the torrent of emotion that swept through me once the connection was solidified. And given the sudden intake and rush of breath I could feel on my face from Emery, it seemed like she had a similar experience.


    My mind went into panic mode, trying to filter and make sense of all the new sensations. There was a period of time, though I¡¯m not sure how long, where I wasn¡¯t sure I would have known my own name had someone asked me. My entire self was focused on sorting out the mass of whirling emotions that had suddenly overtaken everything.


    When I finally came back to myself, a few things seemed to fall into place. Obviously, a large part of the emotions that had overwhelmed me were Emery¡¯s. That wasn¡¯t a new experience, though it had never been this intense before. Second, somewhere along the way, my physical body had adjusted. I was breathing softly, the way I would in meditation, and my body seemed calm rather than alert. Emery had also settled beside me, her breathing even and relaxed.


    Third, our connection was stronger than it had been previously. There wasn¡¯t exactly a tangible way to discern that, but I could feel it. It was as if, where our Qi and Domains had been braided together before, they were now more fully knitted together. The connection had gone from a few larger, looser connections to many smaller, tighter connections.


    And fourth was Emery¡¯s voice in my head, asking if I was okay. It was still just impressions and feelings as before, but the meaning was so much clearer. More articulate. I told her through the link that I was okay, and she seemed to relax another step. Once we were both fully back in control of ourselves and steady, it was time to Cultivate.


    Despite it being a while since we had Cultivated together, the long hours of doing so together hadn¡¯t been forgotten. Once we felt each other wordlessly agree it was time, we shuffled about. We broke our physical connection but maintained the spiritual one as we stripped down to just underclothes and resettled into our bed. We laid beside each other, pressed together, maximizing our physical contact as we had done a hundred times before.


    Our legs tangled together as we each hugged the other closer, pressing ourselves against each other almost hungrily for that contact. For now, we rested our foreheads against each other as we focused on moving our Qi and Cultivating.


    We fell quickly into our old patterns as they were not forgotten even after the extended break. Our Qi flowed through our combined pathways, being refined as it went. The speed of its movement quickly approached what would normally be the limits of a single body, and flew right past it.


    Part of me recoiled at it, fully expecting the normal strain that I felt at that level when Cultivating alone, but it never happened. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was because we were simply sharing the strain among two bodies or if there was some other mechanic at work, but as our collective Qi continued to travel through us at high speeds I quickly went from worried to simply in awe.


    There were even other benefits in addition to the speed. I felt the sensation of the fast moving Qi scraping pleasantly at the walls of our meridians, almost cleaning them or refining them. Qi build-ups that could have eventually, over long periods of time, caused blockages were swept away in the torrent of surging Qi.


    Emery must have felt it all too, because I could feel a strong feeling of elation coming from her in waves.


    We continued to move our Qi along our shared meridians faster and faster, cheering it on like children watching a race. Eventually, we did finally begin to feel the strain on our bodies, but by then the Qi was moving so quickly that we couldn¡¯t possibly be disappointed by it. Instead, we focused on maintaining the speed just below where the strain could be felt, the same way any Cultivator would when alone.


    The two of us must have been more excited than we realized, because once the excitement and awe died down, the rest of the emotions came rushing back in. It wasn¡¯t nearly the level of the rushing torrent in the beginning, but it was still enough that it demanded a portion of my attention.


    I tried my best to sort through the emotions that were looking to take over now. Given that a solid portion of my concentration was focused on keeping our Qi moving, it took time to sort through the ball of emotion that sat heavily on me now. I could feel everything from intense safety and comfort to much more slight impressions of general excitement and hesitation.


    Previously, while the feelings evoked while Dual Cultivating were intense, they had been general and broad emotions. Now, it was so much more exact and varied than before. I could feel distinctions between things like the excitement from how fast we were Cultivating and the excitement from being pressed up closely against someone I loved.


    And that led me to finally address the two most obvious feelings that flowed freely over the connection, that I had separated early. Love and lust. Both were equally strong and equally overwhelming.


    The new ability to distinguish the varying emotions helped immensely with separating these two in particular. Previously, the feelings of love and lust had been so intertwined that the emotional and physical need had simply been overwhelming. Now though, things were a bit more manageable. I could keep the physical and emotional desires separated which helped keep either one from being so singularly overwhelming.


    Which isn¡¯t to say that was easy, however.


    I wasn¡¯t sure how long we had been Cultivating for, but I could feel both of us slowly losing the battle of wills to keep those feelings controlled. It didn¡¯t help that neither of us felt strongly enough about keeping boundaries up to really put in the effort; we were married, afterall. And unlike before, we had plenty of practice being intimate now.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    So¡­Why bother fighting it?


    With our thoughts being all but shared at this point, I wasn¡¯t even sure who thought it first. But it was certainly the first thought that unraveled us. Our guards went down and suddenly all of the physical desires came in a rush. Our mouths came together in a sudden rush of near violent need. We both let go at that point, giving in to our combined desires, leaving only a sliver of our concentration on our Qi continuing to push it onward.


    <hr>


    I wasn¡¯t sure exactly how much time had passed when Emery and I finally found ourselves sated. We remained entangled on the bed, keeping ourselves close to continue our Cultivation, even after our bodies felt drained. It took a lot to make a Cultivator tired and sweaty, but we were both in a rare runner¡¯s high after our physical activities.


    We pressed our heads together comfortably as we cooled down and relaxed. Or at least we let our bodies relax while we continued our Qi flowing quickly between us. The speed of Qi had stayed pretty constant even when our concentration slipped. It made sense, looking back on it, why sex was so common during Dual Cultivation. The act itself seemed to perpetuate the Cultivation, and it all worked as a cohesive whole.


    With the cloud of want and desire lifted, Emery and I had the clearest heads that we had managed while Cultivating together so far. Without words we mutually agreed to focus on our Cultivation, and each looked inward to our Domains and Inner Worlds.


    It wasn¡¯t the first time we had so while in the middle of Dual Cultivation. But previously, doing so led nowhere. Because we were always fighting a mass of emotion and feelings the entire time, our Inner Worlds and Domains were, quite literally, clouded.


    For me, that meant that whenever I dove into my Domain, I was met with a thick blizzard with near zero visibility. I could usually manage to sit down and meditate to Cultivate, but that was about it. In Emery¡¯s case, she always found her smithing village obscured with smoke or dust. It halted her every attempt to actually do anything other than sit in place and meditate. She found if she left the building she was in, she would get lost in the smog and find nothing.


    Trying it this time was very different. We had sated the oppressive physical needs, and taken the time to sort through our shared emotions and feelings, which we had never been able to accomplish before.


    And when I entered my Inner World it felt almost normal. I was on the usual snow-capped peak, with the usual small shed-like building in the middle of the snowy cliffside. I walked toward it as I always did and opened the door.


    Rather than the normal bare interior with a single cushion, I found myself looking at various materials, tools, and stations common to smithies. The inside of the little shed was also much larger than it should have been. Weapons were propped up against the walls here and there, with more in various states of being made sitting out on the work stations. A glowing hot blade laid across an anvil with a hammer resting beside it caught my attention as it glowed hot in the otherwise cold room.


    But my attention was snagged on it for only a moment when something else entirely caught my attention much more fully.


    In the back of the room, there was a strange fissure or door that seemed to just exist apart from everything else. It looked like the edges of it were stitched into the fabric of the space itself. I had never seen anything like it before, but I had a good idea of what it was, given I could feel Emery¡¯s presence on the other side of the fissure very strongly.


    I had a sudden urge to crack open the fissure and let her in. I had heard of Cultivators visiting each other¡¯s Inner Worlds through various means, the most common of which was a simple spiritual invitation. It was a fairly common occurrence, actually.


    However, this felt altogether different from that. I had some sort of deep seated feeling that if either of us ripped that fissure open it would be a more fundamental change, and nothing like a visit. The way that the fissure looked sewn into the very being of this place was enough to make me hesitate before making any big moves, despite a very strong want to let Emery in.


    Resolved for the moment not to make any sudden decisions, I strode toward the fissure to inspect it more closely. This was my Inner World, after all, and I felt no danger from the thing.


    When I was within a few steps of it, I heard Emery as clear as day through it.


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I called back. ¡°It feels very¡­interesting though.¡±


    ¡°Agreed.¡± She called. ¡°It¡¯s just in the middle of my village and there¡¯s snow all over the ground here. What¡¯s it like over there?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m in my little shed; it looks like a smithy workshop now. And it¡¯s much bigger.¡± I said, looking around the room again before returning my eyes to the fissure. ¡°I won¡¯t lie to you, Emery, part of me really wants to rip this open and see what happens.¡±


    I heard her excited, bubbly laughter. ¡°I do too!¡± I couldn¡¯t see her, but I could picture the big grin on her face. ¡°It does feel like doing so is somehow very significant though.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I get that feeling too.¡± I said honestly. ¡°I suppose we shouldn¡¯t touch it for now?¡±


    There was a long moment of silence from the other side. I shifted my weight, waiting for a reply.


    ¡°...What if we did though?¡± Emery responded, sounding at her most mischievous. I was going to wave her off, but she continued. ¡°It feels significant, but not in a bad way? And what if this is something special that we never have a chance at again?¡± I thought about that for a moment when she finally declared, ¡°I think we should do it.¡±


    I could feel her determination and excitement at the unknown wafting over through our link. It tickled my own excitement as I stared at the strange fissure. I still didn¡¯t feel any danger from it, so while it felt like a big deal, it didn¡¯t feel like a bad idea necessarily - exactly like Emery said.


    I still held back. I was never really one for making snap decisions like this. Most of my major decisions throughout life were long thought out and planned for.


    And yet -


    Some of my best decisions in the last few years were snap decisions and not rational ones. Most of what led me here, in fact, were rash decisions. And taking my time and gathering all the facts before making a decision I knew I should¡¯ve made ages ago is how my family ended up here and how Cierra got hurt.


    My resolve crystallized in that moment. Every time I had made a snap decision with Emery involved it had gone well. I had faith in her that this would be no different.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do it.¡± I said, suddenly full of excitement.


    Not a second later I could feel Emery¡¯s Qi push against the fissure from her side. The barrier held against it, seemingly unaffected as long as only one side acted on it. In the instant I added my Qi to hers, the fissure broke open and everything went white.

 110 : Leap of Faith

    I had never been unconscious in an Inner World before, but I supposed there was a first time for everything. When Avuri and I decided to tear open that rift, I wasn¡¯t quite sure what to expect, but whiting out wasn¡¯t it.


    In retrospect, maybe I actually should have seen passing out like that coming given what we were doing, though neither of us really knew it at the time.


    Either way, all I remembered was the feeling of Avuri adding her Qi to mine to open the rift, a strange tearing sensation, then everything went white. My first thought was that it was a sudden blast of Avuri¡¯s snow, but that was evidently incorrect as I found myself waking up on the ground of my Inner World.


    I also noticed pretty quickly that our Dual Cultivation must have been cut off when whatever happened had happened. I still felt a connection to Avuri, but our Qi was no longer circulating between us.


    As I blinked and tried to reorient myself, I second guessed myself all over again. There was snow everywhere.


    Before, I had wandered to the center building of my village where I found the strange rift and the ground lightly dusted with snow. Now I slowly sat up in the same building taking in my surroundings. The rift was gone, but the ground was snow covered and a little grassy. Very different from the dust and dirt I was used to in my little village.


    When my gaze swept to the door, I paused, not quite prepared for the heavy snowfall taking place just outside. It wasn¡¯t heavy enough to be blinding or invasive, but the snowfall was significant. The ground was already covered in a few centimeters of it outside the building. Seeing that made me do a double take at the ground underneath me - which was underneath a roof. And inside walls.


    From my seated position, I looked around again trying to figure out exactly where the snow had gotten in - which turned out to be pretty easy, considering there was still falling snow in the room.


    Originally, these buildings had enclosed ventilation in the style of simple chimneys and the like. Apparently now there was more open ventilation in the form of short but wide windows around the whole roof, which was built in an upper and lower section to accommodate the new ventilation.


    While I was contemplating why, exactly, the ventilation on the buildings changed I heard rustling from a few meters away. The sound came from behind a nearby forge, so I couldn¡¯t see the source. But when I heard the accompanying cute little groan, I was instantly both at ease and mildly confused.


    ¡°Avuri?¡± I asked, slowly working my way to my feet. I was fighting a dizzy spell as I stood, which felt entirely out of place in a spiritual body like the one used to enter an Inner World. I needed to use the nearby forge as a crutch to stand without tumbling over from the dizziness, and that concerned me. Though not as much as Avuri groaning in the corner.


    I made my way around the forge equipment to try to see Avuri¡¯s current state. I kept a hand on the forge the whole way as I hurried to make sure she was alright. When I finally made it around the edge of the thing and saw Avuri, I was also hit with another dizzy spell from turning too quickly.


    A moment later, I found myself on my back staring at the ceiling. I wanted very badly to vomit and my head was pounding. ¡°Ri?¡± I called again from the ground, unwilling to try to sit up again.


    ¡°Merri?¡± I breathed a sigh of relief at the response. There was the rustle of clothing and another groan from Avuri. ¡°Oh wow, I feel sick.¡±


    ¡°Dizzy?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Very.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t stand. You won¡¯t like it.¡± I said flatly, throwing an arm over my eyes. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m going to be sick. Or maybe faint again.¡± I tried to control my breathing and calm down my body. My spiritual body. Which shouldn¡¯t even be capable of getting sick like this.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Avuri asked in awe. ¡°Why are we together?¡±


    ¡°Great questions.¡± I said lamely. ¡°I¡¯m a bit more concerned with why I feel so ill. How are you holding up?¡±


    ¡°Other than being a little dizzy, I think I¡¯m alright.¡± She went quiet as she checked over herself, presumably for injuries. I was too busy trying to keep myself together to see.


    ¡°...Emery? I have new clothes. And hair.¡±


    That got my attention enough for me to try to raise my head a little to see. When I peaked out from under my arm my jaw went slack. Sure enough, Avuri was sitting up in a beautiful full regalia. She was in multilayered, immaculate robes that seemed to be producing snow around them. There were snowflake designs moving around on the clothing that would occasionally just drift off of the material and to the ground.


    Her hair wasn¡¯t the normal gray-ish silver color either. It was a brilliant white that looked almost as if it disappeared into the snow. It was also far longer than her normal hair and entirely loose. Her eyes, too, were different; though in comparison it was a somewhat minor change. The lovely violet color softly glowed, giving off something of an intoxicating gaze.


    If it wasn¡¯t so clearly Avuri¡¯s face staring back at me, I would almost have said it was someone else entirely.


    ¡°Shit, Ri. You look like a literal snow fairy.¡± I said, stunned.


    She smiled at me, and I nearly fell over dead right then. ¡°Sweet talker.¡± She said, hiding a bit of embarrassment.


    ¡°I¡¯m not kidding.¡± I said, staring at the ceiling again. I reached out with my Qi for the nearest reflective surface. I nearly laughed when my Qi touched a literal mirror. That wasn¡¯t something I usually had around in here, but I wasn¡¯t about to complain.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    The mirror hovered up off the ground and floated over in front of Avuri who nearly screamed. ¡°You¡¯re right! I really do look like a snow fairy! How?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I told you I wasn¡¯t kidding.¡±


    I could hear the rustle of cloth again as Avuri no doubt twisted in place to see her new look in the mirror. After a minute, she asked, ¡°I know we¡¯ve never been into each other¡¯s Inner Worlds before, but do you always look like that?¡±


    I raised an eyebrow she couldn¡¯t see in question. ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°You may want to hover that mirror back over to yourself.¡± She said, smiling.


    I took a deep breath and tried to sit up. The vertigo was finally leaving, and I didn¡¯t feel quite as sick. It took longer than I would have liked to steady myself before I waved the mirror over.


    Similarly to with Avuri, I wasn¡¯t sure I was looking at myself when it stopped in front of me. I started at the top and scanned down. My hair was normal. The first things that caught my attention were my eyes - they were the normal steel-gray color, but gave off a glow similarly to Avuri¡¯s. But more importantly, they held vertical pupils like a cat. Or more likely in this case, a dragon.


    My spiritual body within my Inner World had always been only lightly decorated. It was common for you to take on a representation of your spiritual self while there. Avuri had often said she always appeared in crisp, white and light blue robes, similar to what she wore at our wedding. But she had never mentioned a hair change or anything like that.


    As for myself, I usually appeared in simple smithy work clothes. Sometimes an apron would appear, but not always. But it was typically some kind of stained open shirt and pants that would do well in the heat of the forge.


    That was still somewhat the case, actually. I did indeed have on a sleeveless shirt with a fairly deep cut neck. It was loose and comfortable and would perform very well in the heat of a forge. It was not stained like usual, though, and was actually an unusually clean white. I had a leather apron tied around my waist, but the upper portion of it hung down instead of being secured around my neck. The pants were pretty standard work attire.


    But I barely noticed my clothing. My eyes were on my hands, forearms, shoulders, and neck which were all coated in dragon scales that looked remarkably similar to Vale¡¯s.


    ¡°I¡¯d heard before that people often gain inhuman attributes in their spiritual forms, and that they often reflect integral parts of how they see themselves.¡± Avuri said, smiling warmly. ¡°Even if you never call him Dad, You really are Vale¡¯s daughter, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    I had to clear my throat before responding, ¡°Yeah. There¡¯s a reason I don¡¯t call him Dad often. Remind me to tell you the story some time.¡± I turned my hands over this way and that, staring at the black scales. ¡°I¡¯ll need to see if these are functional. If they¡¯re heat resistant, it would make the forge work so easy.¡± I muttered.


    Avuri¡¯s full belly laughter pulled me back to the present as I waved the mirror away and it floated off.


    ¡°Now what?¡± I asked, unable to help the smile spreading on my face. ¡°Putting our physical alterations aside, what did we do?¡±


    Avuri was still trying to reign in her giggles when she asked, ¡°Have you checked on your physical body yet?¡±


    ¡°Oh. No, not yet.¡± I said, realizing I hadn¡¯t considered to do so.


    ¡°I¡¯ve honestly been a little scared to check, given how off my spiritual body feels. We shouldn¡¯t be able to feel sick like this, right?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Not unless there¡¯s something wrong with¡­ah.¡± I said as I was led to her conclusion.


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m worried we may have done something really stupid.¡±


    I took a deep breath. ¡°You stay here. I¡¯ll check.¡± I said resolutely. It was my idea to push through with whatever it was we did, so I felt like I should be the one to check on things.


    Before Avuri could voice any objection I closed my eyes and drew my consciousness back to the surface with my body. Once I felt myself slip into place, my thoughts moved around quickly.


    I couldn¡¯t feel any bodily pain. We were still cuddled up in our bed, entangled just as before. There were no obvious injuries on either of us - physically at least. I breathed a sigh of relief at that. We were both definitely still alive if nothing else.


    When I accessed my Qi, though, everything slammed to a halt. It moved and responded as I had expected it would - even quicker, actually - but it felt wrong. It wasn¡¯t anything so obvious as an injury, but just a strong feeling that something wasn¡¯t right. My Qi, which usually felt warm and malleable like liquid metal in my meridians gave off an additional impression that I couldn¡¯t place. It made everything feel altogether wrong.


    I dove back into my Inner World before I did anything with my Qi that might make things worse. My spiritual eyes opened back in the same place as before - the snowy smithing village building, with Avuri sitting across from me.


    ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± I said honestly. ¡°My Qi felt strange, so I didn¡¯t want to try anything.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s both go back and see what happens. We¡¯re not going to learn anything in here.¡± Avuri said, half a frown on her face.


    I nodded. ¡°Okay. Neither of us were notably injured, so we should be safe.¡±


    After another moment of silence, I was back in my body again. As I blinked to clear the blurry vision, I saw Avuri opening her eyes just a few inches away from me. We both slowly moved around and tried to sit up while untangling ourselves from one another.


    I took a breath to steady myself as apprehension seemed to flood my thoughts. I wasn¡¯t usually one to hesitate, but I had also always been able to trust my own Qi. It was one of the few constants in my life that had never betrayed me. And here I was now, doubting it.


    Before I could spiral any further, I just locked myself in and took the step. I pulled on my Qi - which still felt weird even as it moved through me - and tried to conjure a simple short sword to my hand.


    ¡°Uh, Emery?¡± Avuri said, sounding confused and a bit concerned. When I turned to look at her, I noticed she wasn¡¯t actually looking at me, but had a distant stare as if she was looking at something else entirely.


    Before I could comprehend what she was looking at, I felt my Qi begin to leave my body to coalesce into the weapon I wanted. As the weapon settled into my hand, the physical sensation of it made my thoughts spiral.


    The handle was so cold to the touch that I was sure it would give me frostbite. But my hand adjusted to it quickly, leaving the sudden trail of frost crawling over my hand from the intense cold feeling pleasantly cool. I looked down at my hand to see a beautiful short sword crafted entirely out of ice. The whole thing was as well crafted as any of my swords with sharp lines and clean angles, which left the clear ice looking more like crystal than anything else.


    ¡°Avuri.¡± I said, causing her head to snap around. Her eyes fell on the weapon immediately.


    ¡°...Since when could you make your weapons out of ice?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± I said, staring blankly at the weapon clearly made of ice. ¡°We might have a problem.¡±

 111 : Calm

    Emery stood on the top of the parapet on the huge Eastern Gate into Flowing Dragon City as instructed. There were all kinds of guards and Cultivators moving around her trying to make last second preparations for whatever was to come. Thankfully, with the helmet and scarf from her armor in her storage ring and wearing a cloak over the rest, she didn¡¯t stand out much.


    Evidently, the entire Deposits¡¯ force was marching their way around the Peaks to the eastern side, following the main roads. Vyne was regularly tracking their movements now, hidden away in the small garrison just inside the walls below.


    Knowing he was doing so also helped keep Emery¡¯s spirits up. If even a single person deviated from the group, he would know. If someone tried to sneak into the Peaks and had the potential to reach the basin, he would know. The thought comforted her enough to keep her mind from wandering.


    Her family was safe. At least until the confrontation began and Vyne would need to concentrate on what was in front of him. Or be in the air, since he needed to be in contact with the ground for his senses to work.


    Instead of being nervous and worrying about her family, Emery was able to use the constant motion and excitement around her to keep herself alert and on edge instead, and she appreciated that. She could feel Avuri somewhat nearby as well, even if they weren¡¯t actively connected at the moment, and that helped her stay grounded too.


    All in all, Emery was feeling alright given their situation as she kept her eyes trained toward the horizon. Not that she could see any sign of the enemy yet, but they were surely not long off now. Different ways to approach her ¡®show¡¯ were on a constant loop in her head. She couldn¡¯t decide if she wanted to play her entire role as a ¡®Dragon Friend¡¯ straight, eccentric, or maybe even just a little silly.


    As Emery leaned on the battlements, she let out a small chuckle at the whole situation. She couldn¡¯t escape how ridiculous it all felt. She was literally dressed up in what was essentially a costume, about to play up heroics as if she were in a stage play, and then potentially charge into battle like the Cultivator she actually was.


    Some of that felt natural, but it was the details that kept making her laugh. She wasn¡¯t just in a costume; she was in literal dragon scale armor, which was one of the most sought after equipment in existence. And the whole thing was expertly crafted and fitted to her.


    She wasn¡¯t just about to act heroic on a stage; she was about to proclaim herself one of the strongest Cultivators in the city - out loud and boisterous enough for hopefully the entire city and the enemy force to hear. And then follow that up with summoning dragons to their aid. Creatures that were so rare that it was normal for most Cultivators to live their entire extended lives without ever seeing one, and she was about to call six of them to aid in this battle. With the actual guarantee they would show.


    It was absurd.


    And then, if even that wasn¡¯t enough, she would charge into battle - having declared that she was an unstoppable force of war - and probably make little to no difference in the outcome of a battle that would decide the fate of at least one, but most likely two, cities. Two of the most prominent trade cities on the continent, no less.


    Tearing her eyes away from the horizon, Emery spun around to lean back against the wall, propped up on her elbows and staring at the sky. Again, the whole situation made her laugh. Even trying to hold back, her giggles drew stares from the passing Cultivators who surely saw nothing more than a woman, covered in an oversized rag, cackling to herself on the verge of a battle.


    That thought actually comforted her a little. There were certainly plenty of people here preparing to fight that were actually borderline crazy. A ton of Cultivators were, after all. Not for the first time, she genuinely wondered where she and Avuri would fall on a scale judging someone¡¯s level of insanity.


    As Avuri¡¯s presence danced at the edge of her awareness, she was reminded of the way they originally bonded their Domains, and the total nonsensical nature of their decision at the time, and decided that, yeah, they would probably rank pretty high. Even if they did their best to be loving, relatively normal mothers, there was no debating that they both had a fair bit of crazy in them.


    Maybe that was a good thing though, she considered with a deep, steadying breath. If their special brand of insanity was about to help save an entire city then maybe it was worth it. She was already immensely proud of the work they had done in saving their kids, and that was surely a mark of insanity too.


    As she continued to occasionally let out small bursts of cackling, she heard footsteps approaching.


    ¡°Nothing quite like the eve of battle to make you feel a little crazy, hm?¡± Vale asked as he settled next to her on the battlements.


    More similarly to the Cultivators rushing around, Vale was dressed for battle. As a physical powerhouse, he opted for trim, tighter fitting clothing rather than the traditional flowing robes. A sleeveless vest showed off his muscular arms, but the rest of his body was hidden beneath only slightly loose pants and simple shoes. He didn¡¯t look like a well-to-do Cultivator, but more like a sect member who was ready for diligent training.


    And probably someone you wouldn¡¯t want to run into in an alley at night. He was an intimidating sight.


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°I just can¡¯t get over how absurd this all turned out to be.¡± Emery said, spinning back around to look at the horizon with Vale again. ¡°You know what¡¯s about to go down, roughly. This isn¡¯t just some fight we¡¯re getting into. It¡¯s a damn performance. A show.¡±


    ¡°Sure is.¡± He said, reaching over to ruffle her hair. ¡°I¡¯m sure you and Avuri both will play your parts to perfection.¡±


    Emery rolled her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not worried about that so much. It¡¯s not like anything really goes wrong even if I screw up a line or something, unlike in an actual play.¡± She shrugged and chuckled. ¡°If I bite my tongue while bragging about how awesome I am, it¡¯ll be embarrassing I suppose, but I can actually just laugh it off.¡±


    She glanced over at Vale¡¯s calm smile. ¡°Imagine a stage performer laughing in the middle of the play because they messed up and derailed the whole thing. I actually have that kind of freedom here, so it¡¯s not so bad.¡±


    ¡°True.¡± Vale said, his smile turning into a grin. ¡°If you mess up, you can just yell out to your friends for aid and we¡¯ll show up and everything will be fine. Realistically, your part really is just for show. But don¡¯t underestimate how useful your performance could be.¡±


    Emery raised an eyebrow in question as he went on. ¡°Sure, the real intimidating presence will be the aid you call for. But if you can really play it up and put on a good show, the entire enemy force will already be prepared for something to happen. If we can capitalize on that gap in their armor, it¡¯ll make breaking their collective spirit all the easier.¡±


    Emery scoffed. ¡°If the difference between them surrendering and not is my performance, we were lost from the start.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t be the difference, no.¡± Vale said honestly. ¡°But it could be the difference between their surrender and a complete rout from the get go.¡±


    ¡°No way.¡± Emery waved it off in denial.


    ¡°You underestimate the power of a good show.¡± Vale laughed. ¡°If you really manage to get under their skin and cause doubt to spread through their ranks, the impact of dragons arriving could be the straw that makes them retreat. Set up and presentation for a show like this is everything, my dear.¡±


    Emery scrunched up her face. ¡°I think you¡¯re underestimating the impact six dragons will have. Once you all appear, no one will even remember the weirdo that claimed to summon them. At least not for a while.¡±


    Vale actually laughed aloud at that. ¡°I think you¡¯re selling yourself short again.¡±


    ¡°Wanna put a bet on it?¡± Emery asked, her voice full of snark.


    ¡°What did you have in mind?¡±


    ¡°Chores for a month.¡±


    Vale laughed again. ¡°You¡¯re on. But you really just want to keep me around for a month, don¡¯t you?¡± He asked with a sly little smirk.


    She did. ¡°No. Want to bet something else? Say a dinner for the whole family at the Celestial Dragon Pavilion?¡±


    Vale just shook his head with a chuckle. ¡°I¡¯ll take your wager, but I think you might regret it.¡± He said as he pushed off the wall. ¡°They''re going to be visible soon. I just felt Vyne¡¯s Qi pulse as a warning.¡±


    Emery collected herself and nodded. ¡°Right.¡±


    Vale¡¯s hand landed on her shoulder in a comforting gesture with a satisfying thunk against her armor. As she was about to turn to him with a grin, he pulled her in for a hug. It was a tight squeeze and she could feel Vale kiss the top of her hair. ¡°You¡¯ve got this, Em. We¡¯re all here to back you up, but you¡¯ve got this.¡±


    The suddenness of the hug and the fierceness in his voice nearly made Emery misty eyed. She blinked it back and hugged her father tightly.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± She said, her voice slightly trembling. Then she pushed Vale back with a half-hearted shove. ¡°Now go get to your position.¡±


    Vale snorted. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡±


    He was gone before she had a chance to berate him for the ma¡¯am. She still wasn¡¯t that old.


    <hr>


    Avuri, Ieji, Mica, and Cove were playing mahjong in the garrison when Vyne¡¯s signal went out. The mood in the garrison as a whole changed, as if a horrible premonition were finally coming to pass. Suddenly the air was filled with dread and worry.


    ¡°No point worrying about it.¡± Ieji said blithely. ¡°Especially for us. Our turn isn¡¯t until later.¡±


    ¡°Easy for you to say.¡± Cove said, discarding a tile. ¡°Glenn and I are just here as half-baked bodyguards for you three, but even we can tell this is going to be an important event. No matter how it turns out.¡±


    ¡°History in the making, indeed.¡± Vyne said as he rounded a corner into the room. ¡°Cove is right. No matter how today proceeds, this confrontation will shape many things to come.¡±


    ¡°Eh. Cities always rise and fall.¡± Ray said dismissively. ¡°It¡¯s not like we¡¯re in any real danger with all of us here. And the people in charge of The Deposits always rubbed me the wrong way. This might be a good change if we remove them all.¡±


    Guards and Cultivators kept rushing by and through the room, looking over the strange group of people in it. Despite all the stares, the passersby were all pretty easily ignored.


    Avuri took her turn and discarded.Her mind wasn¡¯t really focused on the game, nor on the conversation in the room. Her concentration was mostly focused on the connection between her and Emery, where she could feel her wife waiting atop the battlements. And the woman was bored.


    ¡°It seems like nothing¡¯s happening yet.¡± She said, ¡°Emery¡¯s bored.¡±


    ¡°Better bored than in danger?¡± Mica tried sounding chipper. ¡°On the other hand, she¡¯ll be the first of us to see some excitement regardless.¡±


    ¡°At least we have a game to play.¡± Ieji said, sounding just as bored as Emery felt. Even as they declared a win. Cove sighed as he paid up, then collapsed onto the mat with the tiles.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we do something else? We¡¯ve been playing mahjong all morning!¡± he shouted.


    ¡°I¡¯ll play for you.¡± Glenn offered. ¡°Especially if you¡¯re still the one buying in.¡±


    As Cove whined more, Avuri felt her wife¡¯s attention sharpen, and the connection between them solidified as their collective Qi spun up.


    ¡°They¡¯re here.¡± Emery sang through their link.

 112 : Brand New World

    The look on Emery¡¯s face was equal parts shock, awe, and horror as she stared down at the weapon made of ice in her hand. It was rather well crafted too, which impressed me; it took forever for me to learn how to make something out of ice that wasn¡¯t spikey and icicle-like.


    Despite that though, my mind was elsewhere, still focused on what I had felt when I tried to pull on my Domain.


    ¡°Emery. Check your Domain.¡± I urged again. She was still staring dumbfounded at the sword but perked up when I finally leaned forward to poke her in the side. ¡°Hey. Listen to me.¡±


    She cringed away from the prod to her side and shook her head as if to clear it. ¡°What? Oh, right. Why am I checking my Domain? It¡¯s not like functional practice in here is¡­useful¡­¡± She trailed off as she channeled her Domain and saw what it was that I was still stuck on.


    ¡°...Yeah.¡± I said in the silence that followed.


    ¡°What the fuck?¡± Emery said, each word growing in volume and intensity. Then she turned to me, absolutely horrified. ¡°What did we do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± I said, trying to feel my way through my Domain with my various spiritual senses.


    And I wasn¡¯t even sure that referring to it as ¡®my¡¯ Domain was correct anymore. I watched as Emery also slipped into a meditation to examine the Domain too. The simplest explanation was that our Domains had simply fused somehow.


    Normally, spiritual senses would be able to discern a Domain like an aura or cloud around a person. It ebbed and flowed like water, and sometimes even ¡®breathed¡¯ as it naturally acted alive. But there were two other constants that one could always expect from a Domain.


    First, it was an inherent part of the person it originated from, and as long as they were alive it would have their spirit¡¯s characteristics; Domains could carry a scent associated with the person, or radiate a feeling integral to their being, but it was always pretty clear who it represented.


    Second, a Domain was always connected directly to that person in some way. It could not exist separately from them in any way. Even within an Inner World, it would always be easy to follow a Domain back to its source. This was also the main reason using a Domain while trying to be stealthy was a losing proposition - it would be like holding a torch aloft in the dark.


    Looking at the Domain now, I wasn¡¯t entirely sure either of those two constants were true anymore.


    When I looked into my Domain, it was so clearly different from before that it was nearly alarming. It gave off different impressions than it had before, and even felt different to me. Similarly to Emery, my first response was horror. But upon closer inspection, this wasn¡¯t entirely true.


    The Domain was directly flowing from both me and Emery. Previously, whenever we had linked our Domains for Cultivation or combat, they felt and appeared to be braided and entwined with one another. Last night, we had gotten closer than before and they looked almost as if they were tightly stitched together. But there was always a clear divide between the two, no matter how closely woven together they were at the seams.


    Looking at our Domains now, they were simply¡­the same. There was no distinction between Emery¡¯s or mine. We simply shared a single Domain that carried both of our impressions within it. I could feel bits and pieces of each of us present; the alpine scent that my Domain previously carried, mixed with Emery¡¯s blade oil and steel, or the frigid, cold impression that I gave off would give way to the heat of a forge, then morph back again.


    All in all, it was a rush of confusion every time I tried to pick out the pieces of our individual Domains. It was all too much of a jumble to understand.


    On the other hand, when I took in the Domain as a whole, there were entirely different impressions given off. The smell of flowers, and a fierce desire to protect were overwhelming, hiding a palpable feeling of calm and comfort. The more I focused on that feeling, the more it reminded me of the best kind of night, like sitting around a campfire with the people you care about most. The embers of the fire slowly dying as everyone laughed and relaxed.


    When I felt a tear run down my cheek entirely unbidden, I shook my head and pulled myself back from getting lost in the Domain.


    I looked up to Emery who evidently didn¡¯t pull away from it. She had tracks of tears running down both cheeks but was smiling one of the most serene smiles I had ever seen on her. Without thinking, I scooted across the floor in an effort to sit beside her and put an arm around her.


    The new clothing that my spiritual body wore head to toe made it difficult to move freely, but as soon as I thought about it, they puffed away to smoke, leaving me clad in a much simpler dress. It still bore the beautiful snowflake pattern, but was much less bulky.


    When I finally settled in beside Emery, she snuggled into my embrace. Her eyes opened slowly, but she still looked remarkably at peace.


    ¡°What did we do?¡± She asked in an awed whisper this time.


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    I smiled and pulled her closer. ¡°I¡¯m still not sure¡­¡± I trailed off as something itched in the back of my mind. There was something that I had heard of or read about once that made at least a little sense as to what we had done.


    ¡°A Bonded Domain¡­?¡± I muttered to myself, trying to recall whatever information that I had. It admittedly wasn¡¯t much, but Emery had immediately turned to me clearly interested in whatever it was I had to say.


    ¡°A what?¡±


    ¡°Bonded Domain¡­I think,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t know that much, but I recall having heard or read the term at some point. And I think it makes sense. Whatever it is that we did, our Domains aren¡¯t linked in the normal way anymore. It feels more¡­more.¡± I stressed the word the second time.


    Emery¡¯s eyes gently slid closed and her breathing evened out as she concentrated on her meditation. As she explored our new Domain, I could feel her attention travel through it. It was a strange sensation; obviously, we weren¡¯t the same person, but as her spirit traveled through our shared Domain, it felt almost like I was exploring it myself.


    I closed my eyes as well, and traced her path following right behind her. Together, our spiritual attention zoomed through our new Domain, jumping between our meridians - which were connected in ways they had never been before.


    It was almost apt to say we were functioning as a single body. It was nearly impossible to tell where Emery¡¯s meridians and spirit ended and mine began. It was terrifying and thrilling all at once.


    We made three complete circuits of our meridians before Emery finally opened her eyes.


    ¡°It¡¯s almost like we¡¯re the same person.¡±


    My gaze held Emery¡¯s as I nearly gaped. She hadn¡¯t moved her mouth whatsoever, but I had heard her thought as clear as day, as if she had spoken it. She looked at me curiously, wondering why I was so confused, no doubt.


    ¡°It¡¯s almost like we¡¯re the same person.¡± I repeated out loud. ¡°You just thought that. Word for word, I heard it.¡±


    Emery tilted her head, considering. She didn¡¯t look all that shocked. ¡°To be fair,¡± she said, ¡°we could communicate pretty well before, even without words. I suppose this makes sense as the next step up for that.¡± There was a pause, and then I heard, ¡°Right?¡± come through silently.


    ¡°I suppose that makes sense.¡±


    ¡°Still a weird feeling though.¡± I sent to her. Emery¡¯s face broke out in a grin.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, that is weird. It didn¡¯t feel quite the same as when we could read impressions; those felt like receiving a message from someone, but this felt almost like I thought it myself, but in your voice.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good way to put it.¡± I agreed. We settled into a comfortable silence as we each tried to digest exactly what had happened. This was a huge change, and it was difficult to tell how many things would be affected by this. As we sat there connected, our Qi flowed between us without effort, the same way it would flow through a body naturally.


    ¡°Well, that explains how I made a weapon of ice.¡± Emery said, leaning against me. ¡°When I pulled on my Qi to make a weapon, I ended up with mostly your Qi instead. Thus the ice.¡±


    I nodded then dropped my head to lay against Emery¡¯s on my shoulder. ¡°Makes sense. I wonder what would happen if I used your Qi for my techniques then¡­¡±


    ¡°I bet it¡¯ll be cool, whatever it is.¡±


    I blinked at her. ¡°I¡¯m honestly shocked you¡¯re not shooing me to my feet to make me test it.¡±


    Emery laughed. ¡°Normally I would. But I¡¯m comfy here,¡± she said, rubbing her cheek against my shoulder. An arm slid around me too, as we scooted back against the wall of the smithy we were in.


    We sat like that for a while quietly, just watching the snow flurries drift in through the large ventilation windows toward the roof of the building. There was something calming and beautiful about the gentle snowfall managing to slip through the small windows in the large building and managing to cover the entire floor.


    There was no doubt multiple poetic meanings I could assign to the scene. Something about making the absolute most of small opportunities, or perhaps something about many people banding together to accomplish something great despite the tiny chance.


    Instead, all I could think about was how beautifully the falling snow, for all its icy cold, softly blanketed the floor of the hot and humid blacksmith¡¯s shop. It was a sight that would likely never come to pass in the physical world. But here, the two clashing settings came together beautifully.


    I must have accidentally shared some of my thoughts with Emery because she suddenly said, ¡°So, this is now our Inner World? Not mine or yours, but ours?¡±


    I looked over the snow covered smithy and nodded. ¡°I think so. Or at least, it certainly feels that way.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure what reaction I was expecting from her, but it certainly wasn¡¯t the full-bodied, exhausted sigh that escaped her mouth. I raised my head from hers and sent a half-glare in her direction. ¡°What¡¯s that for?¡± I asked, suddenly indignant.


    Emery hung her head, defeated. ¡°Putting aside how mad Vale is gonna be about us doing something potentially stupid, this just means that we¡¯re going to have to train ourselves in whole new ways. Not to mention I¡¯m sure Vale is going to put us through the ringer to learn how to use this.¡±


    I flashbacked to the intensive training we had undergone while trying to reach the Sky Realm with Vale. It wasn¡¯t all that bad in retrospect, but it certainly was exhausting. The thought of repeating that - or it being potentially even worse - made me hang my head too.


    Emery giggled, eyeing me from under a curtain of her short hair. ¡°See?¡±


    ¡°...Yeah, I get you.¡±


    ¡°So¡­¡± Emery began, ¡°what¡¯re the chances we can just stay cuddled up in here and ignore the physical world for a while so we don¡¯t have to explain what we did?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t exactly know what time it is,¡± I said, ¡°but the girls aren¡¯t going to let us stay in bed all day.¡±


    Emery sighed longingly. ¡°That¡¯s fine. I guess we can spend some time with our lovely children.¡±


    ¡°And just avoid your father?¡±


    ¡°...We can make a game of it. I bet the girls would have fun. And I bet even my siblings would enjoy trying to pull one over on our dear ol¡¯ dad.¡±


    I leaned over and gave Emery a kiss, then leaned my forehead against hers after we parted. ¡°Let¡¯s do it.¡±

 113 : Performance

    Emery was already tired, and nothing had happened yet. Not really, at least.


    After seeing the enemy Cultivators begin to crest the horizon on approach, some of the nervousness seemed to dissipate. She had been worried about what was coming for days, but now that it was here and the enemy was just about at the gates, the anxiety was just gone and jittery anticipation was in its place.


    Afterall, at this point there was nothing left but to just do it.


    Even with the enemy in view of the walls now, it still took a fair bit of time for them to make their final approach. She had even let her connection to Avuri drop again because it would take so long for them to arrive. Guards and Cultivators that had been patrolling the city or getting last minute errands and tasks done had begun to show up in force on the wall. The turnout was more impressive than the small wandering groups earlier had suggested, and that made Emery feel better, even if they wouldn¡¯t make nearly as much difference as her ¡®friends¡¯.


    She kept to the side of the wall, out of the way, as much as possible. For now Emery was determined to keep as low a profile as possible. She didn¡¯t want to stick out and risk anything happening that was unplanned for. She needed to be up here, front and center, as soon as the enemy was within a decent range for her performance. If something as inconsequential as bumping into someone caused a scene, everything could go up in flames.


    So she leaned up against the wall of one of the guard stations on the battlements while looking out over what would eventually be the battlefield to keep an eye on the approaching force.


    The intel that Ieji had relayed tipped them off that the enemy¡¯s plan was to essentially scare them into surrendering without a fight through a show of force and superior numbers. How the Deposits¡¯ leaders had gotten it in their heads that Flowing Dragon City was a weak target was still unknown to them, but it didn¡¯t matter at the moment - they needed to fend off this attack before worrying about whatever nonsense may be happening in the Deposits.


    As she watched the approaching army, it appeared as though they were already putting their plan into motion. They were still a ways out from reaching what would be some sort of engagement distance, but there were already Qi techniques lighting up the sky.


    The group was throwing everything from huge jets of fire and ice to flying weapons and waves of dirt into the sky. Earth and metal techniques were clearly the most common, with flying weapons zipping around the air in complex patterns being the most common sight. Every so often, there would be a huge explosion of earth erupting to one side or the other of the massive marching group, likely caused by a group of Cultivators. Or at least one of their Heavenly Realm leaders.


    The sight was impressive enough, and certainly meant to intimidate the defenders, not that it appeared to have any real effect on anyone that Emery could see. The Cultivators gathered nearby on the wall were pointing and enjoying the show far more than looking worried by it.


    The mortal guards looked a bit more nervous, but even they knew what they were getting into by signing up to guard a city like this. Most were watching seriously, mentally preparing for the upcoming battle. They weren¡¯t very likely to actually be deployed into the Cultivator portion of the battle anyway, and were more likely to be held back to deal with any potential siege engines, and they knew it.


    Besides, no self respecting Cultivator would actively fight a mortal like that. It¡¯d be so beyond dishonorable to strike a mortal with Cultivator strength that they¡¯d likely be ostracized for it.


    For now, Emery merely enjoyed the show while trying to keep a lid on her jitters. A fight was one thing, but whatever it was that she was about to do was a totally new experience for her. Nominally, at least. She planned on channeling the same sort of playfulness that went into playing with her kids when they wanted to play-fight. She was usually the bad guy that they all teamed up on, but today she got to be the singular hero. That should be fun.


    And she kept telling herself that to keep calm. Right up until the enemy was within a reasonable distance for the whole fiasco to begin.


    As the enemy began to form up into stricter lines, techniques still flying wildly, Emery stepped up the edge of the battlements. She slowly worked her way toward the center of the wall directly above the gate that the enemy was facing. She dipped and weaved between people with as little actual interaction as she could manage.


    Emery did eventually make it to the center above the gate, still clad in her large cloak. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself as she felt the Cultivators near her on the wall begin to unleash their Qi to match the invaders. The air immediately became a chaotic mess of Qi of all kinds, even without actual techniques flying about.


    As she let out her final deep breath, she reached out for Avuri. Even amongst the absolute chaos, finding Avuri¡¯s mass of Qi was as easy as blinking. They were basically one in the same, after all. It was like grasping her own two hands right in front of her.


    In the instant their Domains touched, they simply ceased to be separate. One singular Domain emerged, larger than both of their individual ones. Not that the coverage was particularly useful when there were so many Cultivators around - almost the entire space was taken up with Domains vying for control.


    Many Domains were halted mere inches away from the Cultivator¡¯s body. Most managed to stretch out to a meter or so, where they fluctuated against other nearby Domains. Only a few seemed to spread out to cover a larger area, filling in the gaps between the huge masses of people.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Emery and Avuri made an effort to not gather too much attention. The link of Domain between them was kept thin, while Emery¡¯s body held the lion¡¯s share of their power for the moment.


    And then four figures drifted out of the enemy lines. They were similarly cloaked like Emery, but gave off powerful Domains, overwhelming everyone near them; they were clearly some of the enemy¡¯s Heavenly Realm leaders. They moved forward as a unit to lead the enemy before three stopped, allowing one to take the final lead.


    The leader gathered a large chunk of earth below their feet, and it slowly raised them into the air. Not too far, but far enough to clearly demand the attention of those around. A moment passed before they spun up a simple Qi technique that was commonly used to amplify one¡¯s voice.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to make this brief.¡±


    The masculine voice boomed loudly over the city, likely able to be heard anywhere within it. ¡°Given you have your walls defended and an army of your own formed, you already know why we¡¯re here.¡±


    The man spread his arms wide. ¡°We would like to take your city. If you surrender now, peacefully, no harm will come to anyone. Open the gates, let us in, and respect your new leaders.¡±


    He paused then. Whether it was to see if they would be welcomed immediately or just for effect was anyone¡¯s guess. ¡°If you don¡¯t show some sign of surrender in the next hour, we will strike. Don¡¯t be foolish. You are outnumbered and outclassed. Do not destroy your city to save face.¡±


    There was another moment of silence before the man appeared to decide he had said enough. The dirt he floated on descended back to the ground and he turned to walk back to their army. He fell in line with his three fellows, and they strolled back into the formation, heralded by more and more techniques.


    ¡°Ask if I should just go ahead. Or do I wait for the hour?¡± Emery sent to Avuri.


    ¡°Just a moment.¡± Was the initial response. Emery shifted her weight from foot to foot as she stared out at the enemy¡¯s army while waiting for Avuri to presumably check with Vyne, and whichever other Elders were still in the garrison.


    ¡°Eiry says to go for it. They¡¯re all standing by. Vale says ¡®break a leg¡¯. I say break two.¡±


    Emery responded with a sarcastic, ¡°Thanks.¡±


    She felt emotions akin to a warm hug pass through their link, as Avuri sent her silent support, followed by a less silent, ¡°You¡¯ve got this.¡±


    Emery took a deep breath, and settled into the heroic persona she was planning to employ. She closed her eyes, focused, then ripped off her cloak in a big, showy flourish and immediately hopped up onto the battlements.


    The Cultivators and guards around her all went silent, staring at her back. The enemy Cultivators slowly noticed her as well, a few dropping their techniques from the sky.


    Emery gathered Qi to use a voice amplification technique, similar to the one that the Deposits¡¯ leader had used. Now she just prayed that she wouldn¡¯t say anything that would get her in trouble with the Elders.


    ¡°You said we have an hour, right?¡± She yelled over the din of the two opposing sides. ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± She laughed. ¡°We¡¯ve had time to observe your strength during your approach. Now you can take the time to observe ours!¡±


    With that, she spread her arms wide in a grand display that secretly doubled as showing off her armor, and took a step off the battlements.


    In the instant that her foot would fall past the height of the wall, her sword appeared beneath it. It was the same weapon that she had picked with Avuri, though recolored to match her armor more fully. The handle was crafted to look like it was carved from jade, though a slightly darker than normal variant to match the green scales she had received from Vyne. The handle and blade were both accented with smaller splashes of color to match the others as well, with the blade having been dyed predominantly black to match most of her armor.


    She gracefully stepped onto the flat of the blade, and once both her feet were planted, she slowly rose up and out from the wall. ¡°I see no reason to hide our strength when you show yours so proudly.¡± She declared, voice still carrying over the whole field.


    ¡°You have the honor of facing down Nyr on the battlefield!¡± She shouted, hoping that Vale wouldn¡¯t miss her choice of name. ¡°Now, come to me, my friends! Let us all take them on together!¡±


    Cheers erupted behind her through the guards and Cultivators on the wall - which was entirely unexpected. She definitely didn¡¯t know any of them, and certainly none of them knew ¡®Nyr¡¯, given that was the first time she ever said the name. But those cheers were very shortly drowned out by a booming, vicious roar emanating from the Peaks.


    Everything immediately went dead silent in confusion. Emery could feel laughter coming from Avuri through their link as another, slightly different roar echoed out over the field.


    ¡°If you still choose to attack, make peace with yourselves, friends. You will not live to tell this tale.¡±


    Her voice echoed in the relative stillness before it was shattered once again by a third roar. And then a fourth, fifth, and sixth. Each noticeably different from the last.


    And then, finally, she could feel the dragons¡¯ approach. They didn¡¯t hide themselves whatsoever as they descended from the clouds. All six spiraled down in formation to land about as ¡®gently¡¯ as they could on the walls.


    Guards and Cultivators alike moved out of the way for them quickly, trying to avoid any potential harm. And despite trying to be ¡®gentle¡¯, the massive dragon bodies still left huge gashes and cracks on the walls where they landed basically from their weight alone.


    Emery was pretty sure they were fully capable of actually landing gently enough to cause no damage, but the spectacle would be worth more than the damage. And it certainly had the intended effect.


    Emery watched from atop her sword as faces among the enemy went pale. A few turned and ran, but not as many as she would have hoped for. Most were too stunned and speechless to act, just staring blankly at the six different colored dragons that were now glaring down at them.


    ¡°We won¡¯t strike first.¡± Emery declared, trying to sound heroic and virtuous, rather than haughty. ¡°What happens here today is still up to you. You came baring your teeth. Now take a look at the teeth bared at you.¡±


    Perfectly on cue, Eiry let out a massive roar that shook the walls of the city. And, in what Emery thought was an uncharacteristically childish move, decided to lean her massive body down toward the enemy army and snorted on them derisively, blowing out a plume of hot air.


    Avuri must have been watching somehow, because Emery felt Avuri laugh through their link. ¡°I think she¡¯s a bit¡­vindictive.¡±

 114 : Show of Force

    The entire enemy camp was in chaos. There were a few moments of shock and awe when the dragons first arrived, but once people began to process what was happening, things took a drastic turn.


    The city¡¯s defenders were the first to really react to what was happening; they were confused when Emery first stepped out on her sword, but as soon as it was clear that the dragons were here to defend the city, cheering swept across the gathered forces. There was still confusion, but the energy had entirely changed from one of anxiety and near despair to relief and hope, tinged with confusion - but no one was about to turn down help, even if they didn¡¯t quite understand where it was coming from.


    But when Eiry decided to lean down and blow a plume of hot breath into the enemy¡¯s face things burst into action. Almost all of the Cultivators in front of her - most of whom were likely to be Sky Realm - turned tail and ran, forcefully shoving their way through the ranks of their fellows. Only a few stood their ground, but even they were clearly shaken.


    As Eiry lifted her massive head back up to a resting position, she laughed. The sound was strange, coming from a dragon¡¯s throat that wasn¡¯t made to produce such a sound, but unmistakable. Whether it was performative or not, Emery wasn¡¯t sure, but Lyn, Cyril, and Ray all joined in the ¡®laughter¡¯ while Vale and Vyne remained silently watching.


    And it was the chorus of laughter that finally seemed to shock everyone into motion. Most of the first few ranks of the Deposits¡¯ soldiers abandoned their posts and retreated. There was shouting from who Emery imagined was their leaders trying to reorganize the huge mass of people, but it was all getting lost in the chaos.


    A few brave - or stupid - Cultivators did band together at the front of the enemy lines. Whether they were there to actively challenge the six dragons or make an attempt to defend their side was anyone guess, but for the moment they didn¡¯t make any moves.


    Emery, too, stood her ground on her flying sword above the gate. She was really hoping that they wouldn¡¯t try anything stupid. Dragons were legendary creatures for a reason, and there was simply no way anyone short of at least the Heavenly Realm would be able to do anything against them. At least not without some serious extenuating circumstances. And even then, with six of them here¡­there was simply no way this went well for anyone if they attacked.


    Then Emery noticed a few figures running through the enemy¡¯s forces trying to regain control over the chaos. There were seven of them that she could pick out weaving through the crowds, all wearing similar cloaks to the four that had declared their intent earlier. The obvious conclusion here being that they were the leaders as well as at least some of the Heavenly Realm Cultivators among the enemy, Emery silently wished them luck in reorganizing their forces. It didn¡¯t seem like they were planning on leading an attack, and for now that was enough.


    But apparently a few of the more brazen Cultivators among them decided that dragons weren¡¯t enough of a threat. Emery watched in near horror as several of them pulled on their Qi and prepared techniques, clearly aiming up at the dragons. Most of them aimed toward Eiry, who was the closest.


    Emery could feel all of the dragons¡¯ attention snap to the idiots about to attack. There was just a moment where all six of the dragons seemed to size up the threat, but they were dismissed with absolute apathy. All but Eiry resumed their vigil, clearly not concerned.


    Eiry glanced at me briefly and I immediately moved aside to give her space. I took a deep breath and sighed, feeling Avuri do much the same elsewhere.


    When the techniques all flew at the golden dragon, I winced. But not for her. All kinds of attacks hit their marks. Flying weapons bounced off her scales, ineffective. There were a few elemental attacks, including two blasts of flame, a bolt of lightning, and some manner of water attack. They also struck Eiry¡¯s scales and dispersed.


    The most numerous attacks were earth based ones. The types of Qi that Eiry was most adept with by a fair margin. The numerous blasts of stone and rock never even reached her. Eiry hadn¡¯t really made any effort to extend her Domain, so it covered only several meters around her body. But when the attacks were launched at her, she flared her Domain wider, catching the attacks with it almost immediately after they were launched. Most of the earthen projectiles had barely made it ten meters from their source when they simply stopped in midair.


    Many looked at their captured attacks, simply stunned at the apparent ease they were stopped. There were huge, sharp wedges and needles of stone just hanging there. Several twisters of dirt and stone had paused in midair, their twisting forms frozen in the shape of their vortex. There was even one attack that had been shaped like a massive paw made from dirt with sharpened stone claws.


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Then the attacks began to grow. The needles and wedges began to expand. The tornados began to spin again, even faster than before, and gathered more debris. The claw was moved to the center of the whole mass of attacks, as more dirt and stone rose from the ground to meet it in midair. The additional earth packed in around it, reshaping it from something resembling the claw of a cat to that of a massive dragon claw.


    Eiry¡¯s distinct and slightly disturbing laugh echoed over the field again, drawing the eyes of most people, including those that had turned to run. The enemy leaders all snapped their heads up, too, watching as Eiry prepared to likely murder a large number of people.


    Emery stood still on her sword, not sure what to do. It wasn¡¯t like she could do anything to stop Eiry. And even if she could, Eiry was the one in charge here anyway. She could shout and yell, telling her to stop or hold back, but showing that she had no control here may backfire spectacularly. Not that letting her wipe out a huge swath of the enemy force would do the city any favors either.


    In a last ditch effort, Emery did the only thing she could think of that might have any effect; she looked over at Vale with silent, pleading eyes. He met her eyes, took a deep breath, then let out a quick pulse of Qi. It was clearly a signal of some kind, but Emery wasn¡¯t sure if it was something that dragons could understand on a deeper level.


    There was only a momentary pause before Eiry struck. The techniques, all bolstered with her own Qi, were returned to the enemy. They struck the ground with such force that it kicked up a huge cloud of dust and debris. I heard Eiry give off a loud snort again, clearly full of derision, and the blast of air blew the cloud of dust away.


    She had apparently deliberately struck the ground, because all of the enemy Cultivators were still standing there. Or, to be more accurate, they weren¡¯t standing, but they still existed. Most were on their asses, staring up at Eiry in horror. The whole area was now pockmarked with small and large craters alike, and there was a huge set of four gouges that rent through the earth, probably left behind by the dragon claw technique.


    As Eiry stared down at the enemies with a rather majestic level of disdain, Emery noticed the Deposits¡¯ leaders running in a mad dash to the front lines. Several of them had their hands up, trying to forestall any sort of follow up attack that was coming. But Eiry thankfully looked disinterested and not likely to attack again.


    Emery took that as a sign and decided she¡¯d take a small gamble.


    She crossed her arms, projecting as much annoyance as possible. ¡°We were told,¡± she said, her voice booming over the field again, ¡°we had an hour. And we were going to give you the same ¡®courtesy¡¯. Attack again, and our side will not hold back again.¡± She turned toward Eiry then, and addressed her directly. ¡°If they attack again, wipe them out.¡±


    Eiry grinned. The look was strange, similar to a dog showing their teeth, but there was a clear upward curve to her curled back lips, denoting the grin. It was¡­unnerving. And then she nodded toward Emery. Emery returned the nod, then turned back toward the Deposits¡¯ army, arms still crossed imperiously.


    Shortly thereafter, the first of the enemy leaders reached the frontline, the others not far behind them. The one in the lead threw their hood back as they began to step into the air. They looked as though they were quickly climbing up steps that weren¡¯t there until they were about level with Emery - something like thirty or forty meters in the air.


    When they got closer, Emery did her best to examine the person¡¯s face. They appeared to be a man in his early thirties. As a Heavenly Realm Cultivator, it was hard to place an actual age, but he was likely at least a couple centuries old. The few techniques that she had seen him use also told her nothing about his capabilities. Things like voice amplification and air stepping were fairly universal things.


    Avuri must have been able to feel her concern and nervousness through their link because sent some calming, supportive emotions through their link.


    ¡°Are you able to speak for the city?¡± He asked, folding his arms in a mimic of Emery¡¯s stance. ¡°Do you actually have that sort of authority?¡±


    Emery smiled her best lopsided smile. ¡°I do not. I am merely a defender, same as any other on the walls. If you want to speak to the Elders, I imagine they would be amenable to such a thing, though.¡±


    The man narrowed his eyes suspiciously. ¡°And you can contact them, then?¡±


    ¡°I can.¡± Emery said with a nod. ¡°Though, to be fair, anyone can. They¡¯re just within the city. Yell loud enough and they¡¯ll hear you.¡± She shrugged. ¡°Like I said. I¡¯m no one special.¡±


    The man snorted in disbelief. ¡°Just a show-off with a flair for the dramatic, is that it?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­that, and six dragon friends.¡± Emery answered with a chuckle. ¡°And we don¡¯t appreciate people coming to wreck this city or the Peaks behind it.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­¡± He sounded unconvinced. ¡°Fine then. Call your Elders. We will meet with them.¡±


    Emery rolled her eyes, then reformed her voice amplification technique and angled her head vaguely back toward the city; she didn¡¯t dare actually take her eyes from the man before her.


    ¡°Hey Elders!¡± She shouted. ¡°The Deposits¡¯ people want to talk. Peacefully, I hope.¡±


    Then she reached out to Avuri through their connection and sent, ¡°Your turn. Best of luck, my love.¡±

 115 : Parley

    ¡°Your turn. Best of luck, my love.¡±


    Avuri took a deep breath and let it out slowly before turning to her small team. ¡°We¡¯re up. You two ready?¡± She asked.


    Mica stood from her chair and bounced on the balls of her feet while shaking out her limbs. The whole ritual looked far more like preparing for a fight than it did preparing for what were hopefully peace talks. Meanwhile, Ieji stood off to the side looking entirely too comfortable given what they were about to do.


    ¡°If you¡¯re both ready, we can go.¡± They said, and wove their Qi around them in preparation for their disguise technique. Once Avuri and Mica both nodded, Ieji threw the vale of Qi over their group, allowing it to settle neatly into place. It took barely a few seconds for each of them to completely change in appearance to that of the given Elder they had planned on being for the day.


    ¡°Right then, let¡¯s go.¡± Avuri said. Her voice came out different than she had expected, sounding remarkably similar to Lyn. When she looked over at Ieji, confused, they smiled.


    ¡°I imagine today isn¡¯t the day to hold back.¡± They said, entirely in Vyne¡¯s voice. ¡°I layered in a technique to change our voices as well as facial expressions. I¡¯d recommend still trying your best to play your part, but the technique will add little tweaks and cover small mistakes to keep you as in character as possible.¡±


    Avuri and Mica both nodded. ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still best to not make any mistakes though. So don¡¯t slack.¡± Ieji said one final time, then walked toward the door. Avuri and Mica fell into step behind them, and the three all left the building together.


    The relatively short dash through the city was uneventful. They made sure to keep their speeds fairly low, since the Elders weren¡¯t known for their great strength - aside from Ray - but rather their business acumen. They didn¡¯t want to be the ones to accidentally display a higher level of strength than they were supposed to have.


    Moving at a more easily perceptible pace also meant that they got a lot of stares as they ran through the city. Some people cheered or yelled out support, but most seemed to be offering silent support instead. There were many serious nods of approval and the like speeding by on the sides of the road or seen through windows of houses.


    When they made it to the outer wall and gate, they quickly made their way up the wall. It only took a few good leaps to make it to the top. For better or worse, walls didn¡¯t really do much to keep Cultivators in or out - it was more for show than anything else.


    Once they were there, Mica took the lead as Eiry. She carried herself remarkably well for a leader, likely from her training as a Mephra as a child. That sort of drilling stuck with you for a long time. Avuri was still using the same training to project the air of a noble as well.


    Hovering in the air out past the wall was Emery in her armor, looking very impressive. Beyond her were six people in cloaks also standing in the air. One had pushed their hood back and appeared to be waiting patiently for them to arrive.


    Avuri¡¯s team all stepped up to the edge of the wall. ¡°Greetings.¡± Mica said, her voice now a perfect match for Eiry¡¯s. ¡°The three of us are here as the representatives for the Elders of the city. I am Eiry Sirrus. To my left is Lyn Solei, and to my right is Vyne Morin.¡±


    The man in the middle of the opposing group of leaders inclined his head in recognition. Avuri was hopeful that this show of decorum was a good sign going forward.


    ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Sirrus. As you have brought three of your number for this parley, we will put forth three as well.¡± As he spoke, two others stepped forward from the line and pulled their hoods down, while the rest began to make their way back to the ground.


    ¡°I am Firmis.¡± The man said with a slight bow.


    To his left was a woman. Her long hair spilled out behind her now that her hood was down, and it was a huge, messy nest of curls. She had darker skin and looked as though she were stained with caked on dirt and grime. ¡°I am Quarris.¡± She said, her voice sounding oddly upper-crust given her appearance.


    The third leader to the first man¡¯s right was a second man who looked very young. Potentially even a teenager. ¡°Terrane.¡± He said happily. Having put down his hood as well, he took a minute to shake out his hair and roll his shoulders. He seemed about as comfortable up in the air as anyone could be.


    ¡°No family names?¡± Mica asked, trying to be polite. It wasn¡¯t proper etiquette to call people you just met - especially during business like this - by their given names.


    ¡°Just using our names is fine.¡± Firmis said. ¡°When you spend so much time in the mines, family names become somewhat obsolete. Typically we would use clan names or the like, but for this purpose, they become too confusing. Especially since the three of us here are all from the same clan.¡±


    ¡°May we have the clan name? If only so we know who it was we were speaking to in full.¡± Avuri asked.


    ¡°Steel River.¡± He answered. ¡°But please, if you must address us, just use our names.¡±


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°Very well.¡± Ieji said. ¡°Shall we find a safe place to talk?¡±


    ¡°I can handle that.¡± Mica said, and pulled on her Qi. She sent it straight down into the ground below them, a little ways away from the wall. In moments an entire hut made of dirt and stone rose from the ground, with a simple entrance on both sides. ¡°Is something like that agreeable to you three?¡±


    Terrane was the one to respond this time. ¡°Yep, should be fine,¡± he said, and simply dropped to the ground. Quarris and Firmis weren¡¯t far behind, also simply dropping to the ground.


    Avuri¡¯s team shared a quick look among themselves before letting their respective airstepping techniques drop. Each of them fell to the ground, catching themselves just before impact with a quick cushion of Qi - except for Mica, who used her earth Qi skills to soften her landing with the earth itself. It would be good to keep the appearance of her being Eiry, after all, and not using skills she was known to have could create some dissonance.


    All six leaders entered the stone hut roughly together, but from their separate sides. Mica hadn¡¯t created any tables or chairs, but before she was able to rectify that herself, Firmis did so. With a quick stomp and burst of Qi from his foot into the ground, a long table rose in the middle of the simple room with three chairs on each side facing the middle. They were large and comfortable looking, despite being made of stone and dirt.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Mica said as she moved to sit in the middle. Avuri and Ieji joined her.


    ¡°It¡¯s only fair. You provided the cover, after all.¡± Firmis said as their side took their seats as well.


    A moment of silence pervaded the space as both sides looked each other over in the quiet of the little hut. Neither side was particularly excited to start, but eventually Terrane took the plunge with a laugh.


    ¡°I have to admit,¡± he said, ¡°I never would have expected you to be guarded by six dragons of all things.¡± He glanced over at his fellows meaningfully. ¡°It seems that the intel we were given was greatly mistaken.¡±


    A quick look crossed over Firmis¡¯ face before vanishing again. Avuri caught only a glimpse, so she couldn¡¯t be sure what meaning there was in it. But if they were willing to divulge information like that so easily, maybe this meeting would actually go somewhat smoothly.


    ¡°Given that your side were the aggressors here, we would like an explanation as to why, exactly, you approached us so brazenly.¡± Ieji said. They sounded unamused and flat, even as Vyne at the moment. ¡°Even if you were to put aside our defenders, approaching a city with the express purpose of crushing it is¡­well¡­¡±


    ¡°We had no intent of ¡®crushing¡¯ the city, as you put it.¡± Quarris said indignantly. ¡°We simply wanted to bring you and your resources to heel. Flowing Dragon City is well known for being the gate to the resources within the Dragon Peaks. You are not well known for your martial strength.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how that is connected.¡± Avuri said. ¡°While it is true that our city is not known for being martially inclined, since when does that give anyone permission to strike like this? Had you gone through with your attack, surely you know that you all would have been doomed both politically and commercially afterward, don¡¯t you?¡±


    Firmis scoffed. ¡°I¡¯m not so sure that¡¯s true. We had it on good authority that we would have been fine on both counts.¡±


    Terrane cut in then with something of a vicious, predatory smile. ¡°Your little city has plenty of enemies, you know.¡±


    The grin and words together immediately set Avuri on edge. She grasped tightly onto her link with Emery, and quickly relayed what was said to her through it. She could feel Emery¡¯s unease as well. Being told that the city had no shortage of enemies wasn¡¯t exactly surprising on its own. It was a major hub of trade that often beat out competitors for various work, so it was no surprise that the city had enemies.


    But to say it so openly was a potential cause for concern. Being able to say it - to their faces, no less - meant that whoever these enemies are would be significantly powerful in some way.


    The worst part of it was that Avuri had a pretty clear idea as to who one such enemy could be. But even if the Mephra family was still out to get them, they wouldn¡¯t be able to mobilize a group like this alone. And they sure as hell didn¡¯t have the political capital to assure these attackers that they could recover in that way after this attack. Commercially they may have enough pull, but there was no way they were working alone in this, if they were even connected at all.


    Mica let out a sigh. ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s proceed under the impression that that is indeed the case. What would you like to do from here?¡± She lightly placed her hands on the table between the two groups and folded her hands. ¡°Given that you pulled back your forces and relented to these talks, I assume you don¡¯t wish to go through with the attack as a whole?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Firmis said. ¡°We will pull back. We don¡¯t have nearly enough manpower to go against six dragons. And that¡¯s not counting your Cultivators.¡±


    Avuri and Mica both blinked. ¡°You want to retreat? Just like that?¡±


    Quarris shrugged. ¡°Not much else to do, given the situation.¡±


    Avuri and Mica exchanged confused looks, while Ieji spoke. ¡°Very well, then. If you¡¯re planning to retreat, shall we end the talk here? Or would you like to discuss anything else?¡±


    Avuri sent her confusion to Emery through their bond. ¡°What is going on? They¡¯re just giving up. No business talk or anything. They¡¯re just leaving.¡±


    ¡°I have no idea.¡± Emery sent back. ¡°It doesn¡¯t make sense. Unless they were really only here to attack us for no other reason.¡±


    ¡°I think we¡¯ll take our leave.¡± Firmis said, and offered a small incline of his head. ¡°We sure as hell weren¡¯t offered enough for this.¡±


    He stood, with Quarris and Terrane not far behind him. Avuri, Mica, and Ieji watched them go carefully, alert for any kind of trap.


    They each ducked out of the dirt and stone door, but before fully leaving, Terrane turned back to address Mica.


    ¡°You said you were Eiry, yes?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± She responded, sounding mildly confused.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like having to travel all this way and then accomplishing nothing. But even more so, I hate having been used and lied to. Aysol sent us.¡±


    Having said his piece, Terrane flashed a brilliant smile and turned and left.

 116 : Omens

    Avuri, Mica, and Ieji all stared after the Deposits¡¯ trio as they left, wondering exactly what to do from here. No one had expected them to just up and retreat like that, and the group was entirely unprepared for how to react to the new development.


    ¡°I¡­suppose we should head back to the city?¡± Avuri said. ¡°If they¡¯re really not planning on talking to us any further, there¡¯s no point to staying out here.¡±


    ¡°Agreed.¡± Ieji said. ¡°We¡¯ll keep an eye out to be sure that they do, indeed, pull back like they said they would. But you¡¯re right that there¡¯s no point in staying here. Let¡¯s go check in with Cyril and Ray.¡±


    Mentioning the two other Elders was a good reminder to stay in character for Avuri. Not that she was planning on slipping, but it was still good.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll want to hear what came of this.¡± Mica agreed. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    As the group turned around to leave the hut and head back to the city, Avuri focused on her connection with Emery.


    ¡°Any idea who this ¡®Aysol¡¯ is?¡±


    ¡°None. Never heard the name before.¡± Emery sent back. ¡°The message was clearly meant for Eiry though. I assume she¡¯ll know the name.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. We¡¯ll have to talk with the Elders later after this is settled then.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. We¡¯ll make sure to do that.¡± Emery assured her.


    The small group got a huge number of confused stares as they moved back within the city walls at first, but shortly after they made it inside the Deposits¡¯ forces began to withdraw en masse. Cheers went up at first, though there was plenty of confusion at the sudden departure spread throughout the crowds as well.


    Things moved pretty quickly after that. Avuri¡¯s small group returned to their safe room in the garrison that was relatively close to the eastern wall. The Deposits¡¯ forces withdrew quickly, all things considered. They moved with a level of discipline that was surprising from what was reported to be a fairly ragtag crowd.


    Once they were well outside of striking range of the city, most of the guards and Cultivator defenders dispersed as well. Emery made a show of dismissing the dragons, but making sure that people overheard her saying that she would call on them again if there was ever any similar sorts of trouble. A chorus of triumphant roars echoed over the whole city, which would no doubt spawn countless rumors about what happened.


    Emery had to put in some effort into getting away without being mobbed by other Cultivators. After the dragons had flown back toward the Peaks, several groups of Cultivators had crowded around on the top of the wall hoping to talk to Emery when she returned to come back into the city. Even if she had been clearly weak, her connection to the dragons alone would have been enough to get her mobbed. But when she was also clearly at least a competent Sky Realm Cultivator, there was no getting around the interest in her.


    Thankfully, the full armor coverage was enough to help her maintain some semblance of anonymity. In full view of everyone, she pulled a cloak from her storage ring, slung it over herself, and made her way toward the city. Once she stepped onto the top of the wall, she was immediately surrounded by other Cultivators and inundated with all kinds of questions.


    A passing attempt at an ¡®excuse me¡¯ was all she bothered trying to get out before she focused some Qi into her legs and leapt away. She moved from roof to roof for a short period of time before jumping into the most empty alley she could find.


    After quickly checking her surroundings, she dumped the whole set of armor and her cloak into her storage ring, then sent Avuri a quick ¡®I love you, talk soon.¡¯ through their link before she pulled her Qi back. If someone was stubborn enough, they could potentially track her by tracking her Domain and Qi signatures - but they would currently be tracking their combined Domain. Severing the link for now would change the way their Domains and Qi felt, which would likely shake off any pursuers for the moment. And that moment was all she would need to dip into the crowded streets.


    From there she quickly made her way toward the garrison where the others would be meeting up. She imagined that she would probably beat the dragons there, but not by much. They were capable of moving incredibly fast when they wanted to, and probably would make it through the city easily at that speed uninterrupted, even if they were coming from the Peaks.


    Once she made it inside the garrison, Emery followed her Qi toward Avuri and found it easy enough to navigate through the crowded corridors and to the room deep within the garrison where everyone was gathered.


    Almost in the same instant she entered the room she was grabbed by Avuri in a fierce hug. Emery squeezed her wife back with a relieved smile.


    ¡°I guess everything went alright, huh?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m honestly not sure.¡± Avuri said, still sounding somewhat worried. ¡°They withdrew so easily, they must have something up their sleeves, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s entirely possible that they were telling the full truth.¡± Ieji said, thoughtfully. ¡°They could have a reason to lie, of course, but if we take what happened at face value, it does make sense as well.¡±


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    ¡°What did happen, exactly?¡± Emery asked. ¡°All I¡¯ve gotten so far is that they decided not to pursue anything after seeing the line up of dragons and just retreated. And the Aysol name, too.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s basically it.¡± Mica said, slumped in a chair. ¡°The way they talked about it made it sound like they were put up to the attack, or maybe hired to do it. That ¡®Terrane¡¯ guy made it sound like he thought they were being used.¡±


    ¡°The lady Cultivator said something to the effect of wanting to bring the city to heel for the resources in the Peaks and that they didn¡¯t want to destroy the city, but was almost immediately contradicted by Firmis who said that even if they did damage the city, they¡¯d get away with it politically.¡± Ieji said.


    ¡°And commercially, too.¡± Mica chimed in.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see how.¡± Emery said. ¡°They would need huge backing for that. Flowing Dragon City trades with so many other cities, I don¡¯t see how they wouldn¡¯t at least get blacklisted commercially.¡±


    Avuri sighed. ¡°I have an idea regarding that¡­¡± she trailed off, looking toward Mica along with Glenn and Cove who were still here. All eyes in the room turned to her and faces fell as each of them probably came to a similar conclusion. ¡°They said that the city has its enemies. There¡¯s a pretty obvious merchant group that has both the capital to support such a coup, as well as a potential reason to do so.¡±


    ¡°...You really think they would go that far?¡± Mica asked.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t heard from your family in over ten years.¡± Emery said, putting it together. ¡°Would they hold a grudge that long?¡±


    ¡°Hold the grudge, absolutely.¡± Glenn offered. ¡°They¡¯ve held grudges for longer for less offense.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you three know anything about the current internal affairs these days?¡± Avuri asked.


    Mica, Glenn, and Cove all shook their heads. ¡°Not at all.¡± Cove said. ¡°It¡¯s been years since we¡¯ve so much as sent or received a letter. We actively avoided leaving a trail after we left, so they probably don¡¯t even know we¡¯re here.¡±


    Emery nodded. ¡°Understandable.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Avuri agreed. ¡°There¡¯s not really any proof that they¡¯re involved, it¡¯s just a gut feeling. And, to be fair, I¡¯m sure that the Elders have made plenty of commercial rivals and enemies that would be willing to help out a merchant group that overthrows them.¡±


    ¡°There are several of those, yes.¡± Eiry said as she walked into the room, followed by the rest of the Elders, as well as Vale.


    ¡°Surprising no one, we have plenty of enemies of all kinds.¡± Ray shrugged. ¡°So, kids, want to go over what was said in the meeting? The sudden withdrawal was certainly not expected.¡±


    ¡°There wasn¡¯t all that much said.¡± Ieji reported dryly. ¡°They didn¡¯t expect six dragons to show up, decided they were outmatched, and left accordingly. They alluded to being hired or tipped off about the city being easy to take by someone else. After that they basically appeared to give up and left, wanting nothing more to do with the city.¡±


    ¡°As they were leaving, one of them mentioned that they didn¡¯t like feeling used and lied to, then said that someone named Aysol sent them.¡± Mica added.


    The name triggered an immediate and obvious reaction in all six of the dragons. Eiry cursed under her breath. ¡°Shit. What¡¯s that old man up to now?¡±


    ¡°You know who that is, then?¡± Avuri asked. ¡°We weren¡¯t sure, but given the name it seemed likely that -¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a dragon, yes.¡± Cyril answered. ¡°One of the old guard, and an Elder at that.¡±


    Eiry sighed dramatically, which was out of character for her. ¡°Emery, Avuri, you two are already dragged into this far more than I would have preferred. But Mica, Glenn, and Cove¡­you three are still relatively unknown amongst other dragons. If you want to get out of here and avoid whatever mess is coming, you should do that now.¡±


    The three of them wordlessly shot looks back and forth between them all. ¡°We¡¯re willing to help,¡± Glenn said, ¡°if we¡¯re actually of any use. Living in the Stone Breaker Sect has gotten a little monotonous for us anyway.¡±


    Ray laughed. ¡°I like you guys.¡±


    Eiry, however, seemed more serious about it, although her lips did turn up in a smile. ¡°You¡¯re sure? This could get very dangerous for you.¡±


    Mica shrugged, overselling the motion. ¡°We¡¯re due for some excitement, I think. We¡¯ve spent the last ten years laying low in the Sect and slowly building up our strength. Seems like it¡¯s the perfect time to do something with it if we can.¡±


    The smile that Eiry gave Mica was unusually motherly for her. ¡°I appreciate that.¡± She paused for a moment before continuing. ¡°Well, the short version is that I was basically exiled here originally - to keep an eye on the Peaks. I eventually founded Flowing Dragon City and built it up into what it is now - with some help.¡± She nodded toward the other Elders.


    ¡°I love it here. I love the city. It¡¯s people. This place. Several of the elder dragons that originally sent me here have been trying to get me to leave for a while now, to be stationed elsewhere and build up other cities to be like this one.¡± Eiry moved to the table and sat down in one of the chairs, suddenly looking rather exhausted. ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave.¡±


    ¡°And now it seems like Aysol - and who knows who else - has decided that they¡¯ve had enough of her turning them down.¡± Cyril said.


    Avuri nodded. ¡°Knowing that reframes what their leaders said a little bit. I think they were willing to destroy the whole city to get you to leave, then.¡±


    ¡°Aysol¡¯s never been one for half measures.¡± Lyn muttered.


    ¡°Did they not know how many of you were here?¡± Mica asked. ¡°They seemed surprised that there were six of you.¡±


    ¡°They probably only knew about Vyne and I.¡± Ray said. ¡°The two of us don¡¯t keep as low a profile as Lyn and Cyril. As for Vale¡­¡± He trailed off, looking toward the other dragon.


    ¡°That¡¯s complicated.¡± Vale said flatly.


    ¡°They also couldn¡¯t have been given that much information.¡± Avuri said thoughtfully. ¡°They didn¡¯t make the connection that Eiry was meant to be a dragon, given that they still thought that they were talking to you, even after six dragons showed up. Aysol must not have given them a lot to go on.¡±


    ¡°If he just hired them, that makes -¡±


    ¡°Sorry to interrupt,¡± Vyne said suddenly. All eyes turned to him. ¡°But we have a problem. A small force just broke away from the Deposits¡¯ main forces. They¡¯re headed toward the Peaks.¡±

 117 : Tag

    As it turned out, we didn¡¯t get immediately found out. When Avuri and I first awoke from our meditation that morning, we separated our Qi and Domains, leaving us feeling pretty normal to all appearances. Altogether, breakfast went pretty normally.


    Avuri and I were joined by our girls, Vale, and all my siblings for the meal. It was a wonderful morning, especially after the relative chaos and darkness of the previous morning. Thankfully, Cierra and Stena both seemed to be acting like themselves instead of carrying any residual sadness from the previous day.


    We all laughed together as we all gorged on pancakes. Avuri had volunteered to make the morning¡¯s meal as the two of us had been the first up and about. She had also decided to make the meal a little special, adding some of her chocolate to the pancake batter - I imagined she wanted to cheer up the girls just in case they were still upset.


    And while they didn¡¯t appear to still be upset, the pancakes were a huge hit anyway.


    I was glad to see everyone in a good mood after the fiasco the previous day, and all the laughter was just the medicine we all needed. It was also unfortunately exactly what Avuri and I needed to forget about our previous nights¡¯ exploits.


    Following breakfast, everyone started to go about their own daily routines while they were on a half-vacation. Kota and Ieji decided to take an early break in the bathhouse to relax, citing their usual lack of access to a large hot spring-like bath.


    Demi and Rylie had wanted to join them, but were shooed off; instead, they ended up heading out to the playground for some morning exercise. I suspected they were planning to work up a sweat before kicking the other two out of the bath later for some girl time.


    Vale and Talya decided to entertain the girls in the house while Avuri and I cleaned up our breakfast. They had broken out a deck of cards for a simple children¡¯s game pretty quickly, and every time I walked back into the room to grab more dishes, I couldn¡¯t help but smile watching them play.


    On the fourth trip between the dining room and kitchen where we were washing the dishes, I decided I was wasting time and called up my Domain to gather up the rest of the dishes in one go. Avuri was in the kitchen at the time, using her own Domain to generate water to help wash the dishes off. But that was still close enough that our Domains touched almost within seconds of my attempt to pick up the dishes.


    One thing we hadn¡¯t done at all the previous night was work on how to control our new connection. Or, more specifically in this case, how to stop the connection from forming on contact. And that¡¯s exactly what happened. The instant that our Domains came in contact with one another they melded together, forming that same strange, combined Domain that we had incidentally formed the night before.


    Thankfully, we had experimented enough that nothing went haywire. I didn¡¯t suddenly create pillars of ice in my attempt to float the plates, and Avuri didn¡¯t accidentally start creating metal while using water to wash the dishes.


    Unfortunately for us, it didn¡¯t matter. Vale had grown accustomed to always having small amounts of his Qi dissipated in the air to keep an eye on his surroundings. It never required much attention from him, but was always enough to tell if there were unwelcome visitors nearby, or just something generally wrong. And he caught the change in our Domains right away.


    I had done my best to act like nothing happened while directing the plates into the air, but Vale¡¯s face still shot up from his hand of cards to look me in the eyes. In that short moment I couldn¡¯t tell if he looked concerned, angry, afraid, or shocked.


    ¡°Emery?¡± He said tentatively, ¡°What did you do?¡±


    I gave him a shaky smile while allowing the plates suspended in my Domain to fall back to the table. ¡°Uh¡­I¡¯m not sure what you mean? I was just going to bring the plates into the kitchen to wash them?¡±


    His expression finally seemed to settle on bemused. So, he wasn¡¯t angry at least. That was good. I knew what he was going to say next before he did. He was never one to beat around the bush.


    ¡°Emery, your Domain - ¡°


    ¡°Run.¡± I told Avuri through the link, and immediately bolted toward the window. I flew out the window, taking the two story drop with ease. It was barely a second before Avuri landed next to me, having leapt from the kitchen¡¯s window. I grinned, seeing that she didn¡¯t so much as blink before following me.


    ¡°Where to?¡±


    ¡°Bath house.¡± I sent, hoping to get Kota and Ieji to run interference.


    ¡°Emery! Avuri! Hold it right there!¡± Vale shouted from the window as we took off running.


    The fact that he wasn¡¯t immediately on our heels as I knew he could be told me that, if nothing else, what we had done was nothing too horrible. If he was actually mad or genuinely concerned, he would have had us pinned within seconds; but as it was, we were putting distance between us as he shouted out of the window.


    It reminded me of when I was a kid, and my siblings and I would regularly run and hide like this. Once we were older, running away as we were caught getting in trouble had become a game of tag that we regularly used for training. It would quickly devolve into all of us trying to stymie Vale from catching whichever sibling had forgotten to wash the dishes, or whatever else we had done.


    As we turned down the path toward the bathhouse, I heard the telltale slam of Vale¡¯s heavy landing on the ground that he did whenever he wanted to be menacing. I smiled - he was playing along.


    ¡°Emery!¡± He bellowed, dragging out the last syllable. ¡°Get your sorry ass back here, you! And Avuri too!¡±


    ¡°Run, you two! Run!¡± Talya shouted from the window, clearly holding back some laughter.


    We bolted toward the bathhouse at full tilt. Vale wasn¡¯t right on our heels, but he was gaining on us, adjusting his speed to make us work to escape. He was playing the game, same as we had always done as teenagers. A laugh bubbled up out of my throat and it came out sounding almost maniacal.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Avuri turned to me, and I could feel her concern radiating from her through our new bond. The feeling was so clear that it almost threw me off; it felt almost as if it was my own feeling of concern for myself.


    I turned to her with a huge grin on my face, all of my concern over the situation flowing away. She must have felt it from me too, as she answered me with a grin that showed a total lack of concern.


    ¡°What¡¯s the plan?¡±


    ¡°Just follow me. Stick close.¡± I responded. Avuri immediately worked her way to fall in closely behind me as we barrelled through the large double door to the main bath.


    ¡°Emery? Avuri? What - ¡°


    We didn¡¯t even slow down as we fought to keep out balance on the wet rock around the bath while keeping up speed. ¡°Sorry!¡± I shouted, actively looking away from Kota and Ieji. I wasn¡¯t sure if they were clothed in anyway or not, but I wasn¡¯t about to find out. Avuri quickly covered her eyes too, looking down to just follow my footsteps through the bath. I yelled, ¡°Tag! You¡¯re it!¡± as we slid up to the back wall of the open air bath and jumped the wall.


    Vale crashed through the doors right as we hopped the wall. I heard him bellow my name as he did so, followed quickly by a bunch of water sloshing around.


    ¡°Dad!¡± Kota said, sounding happy and excited. ¡°Came to soak with us, did you? Grab a towel and sit down! The water¡¯s lovely!¡±


    ¡°Yes, you must join us.¡± Ieji followed up.


    As we continued to make distance, all I could hear was the shuffling and scuffle that no doubt broke out after we ran away. There was splashing and some other noises, but we were too far to make sense of it.


    ¡°I knew they would still help.¡± I laughed. ¡°Just like old times.¡±


    Avuri shot me another look. ¡°Old times?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! We used to run from chores like this all the time as kids. It made for some great -¡±


    I was cut off by Vale¡¯s shouting and a large crash as he literally moved through the back wall instead of over it. Kota - thankfully clad in a towel around his center - was still holding Vale¡¯s leg.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, Dad! You said you¡¯d join us!¡± He insisted, trying his best to hold the dragon-man back.


    Vale looked at him briefly, grabbed him with both arms, and pitched into a violent spin. The force was enough to force Kota to break his hold, and Vale threw him back into the bath with a loud splash. Then he once again turned his attention to Avuri and I, pushing off into a run again.


    ¡°Sorry, sis!¡± Ieji called from somewhere still in the bath.


    I laughed again. ¡°To the playground!¡±


    Avuri must have felt my elation and enjoyment in the situation, because it was beginning to rub off on her. She had a wide smile on her face as we jumped between trees on the shaded path to the playground.


    The run was short this time, and we quickly made it to the wide field that was set aside for playing and training. Rylie and Demi were both already watching us, likely having heard the commotion from before. They were clearly dressed for a work out, but hadn¡¯t actually worked up a sweat yet.


    They looked confused as we broke away from the wisteria trees lining the path, but looked less confused when they saw Vale running behind us.


    Demi grinned widely at me immediately. ¡°Tag?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re it!¡± I said without missing a beat. Demi and Rylie stepped up shoulder to shoulder as Avuri and I blew past them. ¡°I owe you two.¡±


    ¡°Hey, new sis!¡± Rylie called, offering Avuri a bit of a smirk. ¡°Once you two get caught, I want some of that hot chocolate you made for the girls yesterday.¡±


    ¡°You got it!¡± Avuri laughed, her smile only growing wider. ¡°If you can keep him here for twenty seconds, you¡¯ll get three cups!¡±


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am!¡± Rylie and Demi shouted in unison as we made it across the playground and crossed into the trees again. I felt my sisters¡¯ Qi flare as they prepared to actively try to halt Vale¡¯s advance.


    ¡°They won¡¯t last twenty seconds.¡± I sent to Avuri.


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t hurt to give them something to work for. Now what?¡± She sent back.


    ¡°Back toward the house? We¡¯re out of distractions.¡±


    ¡°I guess we just keep running then!¡± I could feel the exhilaration and joy washing off Avuri in waves through our bond. I couldn¡¯t help but laugh and enjoy the insanity for a moment.


    And a moment was really all we had. I could feel a few clashes on the playground, but it only took seconds before I felt Rylie and Demi get entirely overwhelmed. And then I heard Vale yelling our names again.


    ¡°Ten seconds.¡± Avuri said.


    ¡°That sounds about right.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll give them two cups each.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure they deserve two for ten seconds.¡±


    ¡°Well you did say that twenty was too long.¡±


    ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°Emery!¡±


    Vale¡¯s shout was too close for comfort as we once again broke away from the little cover offered by the trees. With nothing else to put in his way, Vale was basically upon us - well, mostly me - and prepared to grapple us into submission.


    ¡°Break left!¡± I shouted into our link, and Avuri listened without any hesitation. She immediately turned to the left as I made a hard right. Vale swung his arms in a bearhug motion right in between where we had broken off from and growled as he turned after me.


    ¡°Keep running! I¡¯ve got your back!¡±


    Avuri didn¡¯t need to tell me twice. I didn¡¯t slow down or even chance a glance back at Vale to see how close he was to grabbing me. Even without looking, I knew he would be mere steps behind me.


    ¡°Duck!¡±


    I did so, and felt the brush of air pass through my air as I narrowly avoided Vale¡¯s attempted grapple. Avuri seemed to appear out of nowhere, and slid into Vale¡¯s leg foot first, with a sliding tackle. Evidently, she had created a path of ice to make her slide fast enough to make contact.


    The impact didn¡¯t really seem to have any effect though, and she merely crashed into him without pushing him off balance. Vale wasted no time in bending to wrap an arm around Avuri''s waist. Then, ending the game, he all but vanished from my sight as I felt an iron like vice wrap around my own waist and hoist me up off the ground.


    I sighed and let the fight go out of me, drooping in Vale¡¯s clutches. He was laughing now, carrying each of us in one arm the way he might with large packages, tucked under an arm.


    ¡°You two idiots are married for two days and you already Bonded your Domains? What are we going to do with you?¡± He asked.


    Avuri and I shared a look, then I watched in horror as she lifted an arm and pointed at me the way a child would.


    ¡°It¡¯s her fault!¡±

 118 : Rush

    Everyone flew into motion within seconds of Vyne¡¯s warning. The whole group was out the door and flying down the hallways of the garrison before anyone had any chance to discuss what was happening.


    There was a moment of limit testing for speed as everyone barreled through the hallways. Glenn turned out to be the slowest of the group, and everyone matched his pace - which wasn¡¯t slow by any means. In moments the whole group was outside the garrison and moving quickly through the city.


    The city, and especially the gate, was still crowded with guards that had been posted there to help with the city¡¯s defenses. Emery and Avuri, who had been leading the pack, wordlessly turned toward the southern gate - the one that was in the rear of the city and faced the Peaks themselves - and moved quickly and silently through the city¡¯s alleys.


    The whole group followed quietly, trying not to make a scene. At the speed they moved, they would need to shout to discuss anything, so silence reigned.


    Emery and Avuri kept their Domains connected with a thin thread of Qi, just enough to keep their connection active. Neither were in the mood to talk, but their emotions traveling over the connection said enough; concern, worry, anger, desperation. They matched each other step for step as they sped through the city to the gate.


    Thankfully, the city hadn¡¯t lifted the defensive orders quite yet. As they moved further away from the northern gate where the defenses were focused, there were less and less people about the city. Average citizens were still hiding in their homes or businesses with only a few Cultivators on guard here and there. As they began to approach the gate, Ray sped ahead of the group, shouting he would let the attendants know that they were approaching and would be leaving through the gate. Or over it.


    It didn¡¯t take long after that for the group to make it to the gate, which Ray had successfully gotten open for them. Everyone ran right through it, and Ray rejoined the group while shouting thanks to the guards and telling them to close the gate again.


    Once the whole team made it into the trees at the base of the Peak, they finally felt comfortable enough to talk again, and Emery wasted no time.


    ¡°Vyne, what¡¯s the situation looking like?¡± She shouted loudly enough for the speech not to get drowned out in their motion.


    ¡°The group isn¡¯t too large. Thirty-six people.¡± Emery felt a quick surge of panic - that many people would certainly be enough to overwhelm the kids, assuming they had average strength for adults. Avuri tried to soothe her through their bond, but was feeling nervous herself, too.


    ¡°They¡¯re coming at the Peaks from a completely different angle because they broke off after they retreated for a while. They¡¯re climbing the southeast side of the Peak.¡±


    ¡°The Flowing Dragon Peak?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Vyne said, his voice sounding grave. ¡°At this point, I¡¯m almost positive that they¡¯re heading straight for the basin. They haven¡¯t seemed to stop or deviate for any distractions and are just climbing.¡±


    ¡°Can we cut them off?¡± Avuri asked.


    There was a moment of silence as Vyne tried to quickly map out the routes and speeds in his head. ¡°Yes, we should be able to reach them before they make it to the basin as long as we keep up our speed.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡± Emery said, allowing herself to fall back a little while motioning Vyne to take the lead. ¡°You¡¯ve got the most accurate map available in your head, Vyne. Can you lead?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Footing will be dangerous, so don¡¯t fall behind.¡± He shouted the last bit loud enough to be sure everyone heard the warning - and then turned off from the Cultivator trail that wound its way to the summit and onto a more wild game trail. And sure enough, the footing immediately became more treacherous, especially at the speed the group was moving.


    ¡°You three able to keep up?¡± Avuri shouted back to her cousins. They were the weakest of the group by a fair margin, but still Sky Realm.


    ¡°We¡¯re alright!¡± Cove yelled back.


    ¡°Just keep moving!¡± Glenn called. ¡°If we fall behind, that¡¯s fine. We¡¯d like to help, but speed might be more important here than more bodies. Especially with the Elders here.¡±


    Emery turned to the Elders, a question clearly etched on her face, but angled specifically toward Vale. ¡°Are you able to help if this turns into a fight? Or do you need to stay out of it?¡±


    Before Vale could answer, Eiry did. ¡°They¡¯re trespassing on the Peaks. We¡¯ll fight.¡±


    ¡°Is that wise?¡± Cyril asked. Attention turned toward him, though everyone was still making an effort to move at speed. ¡°I¡¯m not saying we shouldn¡¯t. But we should be careful, doubly so if Aysol is involved. If we make a wrong move here, it could bring a whole host of dragons down on us.¡±


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    An uncomfortable silence followed. Everyone kept their heads down, watching the ground speed by underneath them as they thought about the events to come.


    ¡°Let us handle it, then.¡± Mica said finally. ¡°The three of us, Emery, Ieji, and Avuri. Let us handle the fight, if it comes to that.¡±


    Emery felt a surge of fondness for the woman, and smiled at her over her shoulder. ¡°The six of us against nearly forty people? Should be fun.¡±


    ¡°The math works nicely, though.¡± Ieji said, ¡°That''s six for each of us.¡±


    ¡°Glenn, Cove, Mica? Think you three can each handle six?¡± Eiry asked, her tone seeming to carry a double meaning.


    ¡°Yes!¡± They all responded as one. They sounded confident, which helped to bolster the other three potential fighters.


    ¡°Once we get closer, the six of us will back off then.¡± Ray said. ¡°But if things look dicey, we¡¯ll get involved.¡±


    ¡°Agreed.¡± Lyn added. ¡°We may not want to antagonize Aysol if we can help it, but if there are other dragons already involved, we¡¯re not about to sit back and wait for it to escalate.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t count on us to intervene.¡± Eiry said, her voice about as quiet as it could be while still audible. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Avuri shook her head. ¡°Don¡¯t be. You have an entire city to worry about. And if things escalate that far, there¡¯s no one else that can defend it.¡±


    Emery shot a look at Vale, somewhere between a threat and a plea. ¡°If things go poorly for us, I expect you to defend the basin. I don¡¯t care who or what we¡¯re up against - no one has any excuse to attack children.¡±


    Vale wasn¡¯t the only one to nod. All of the dragons did. ¡°I won¡¯t let any of the kids get hurt.¡± Vale promised. And the sentiment was echoed by the others through nods or words of agreement.


    ¡°We will defend the basin.¡± Ray said, putting a little extra effort into sounding heroic. ¡°Fight without worry.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Emery said, directing it to the whole group. ¡°Thank you all.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the plan, then?¡± Glenn asked.


    ¡°The six of you run to intercept the attackers as soon as they enter Avuri¡¯s detection range. We¡¯ll break off to stay out of sight but not so far that we couldn¡¯t intervene if a dragon shows up.¡±


    Nods traveled through the group like a wave.


    ¡°We¡¯ll veer toward the basin¡¯s side, and put us between them and it.¡± Vale said. ¡°They won¡¯t get by us.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got them.¡± Avuri said, as the edges of her Domain finally flowed over their targets. Without a word between them, Emery slipped over beside her wife and scooped her up in a bridal carry. Avuri¡¯s focus immediately slipped through their Domain, and fell into her First Snow technique.


    Avuri¡¯s technique developed to visually watch any area within her QI¡¯s reach was invaluable for scouting, and right now was no different. The downside, which she had never been able to figure a way around, was that as long as she viewed an area, wherever her ¡®sight¡¯ originated from would have a light snowfall. She also wouldn¡¯t be able to utilize any of her physical body¡¯s senses while viewing the intended location.


    Usually, this meant that she would try to position her view high up where the snow would be carried off and scattered by the wind well before it would be noticeable by the ground. That wasn¡¯t really feasible on the Peaks, given they were pretty densely packed with trees.


    But, thankfully, they were on the Flowing Dragon Peak - and that meant snow was pretty abundant by the time you hit the middle point of the mountain. And they were past that. She was able to blend her snow into the surroundings easily enough that she wouldn¡¯t be spotted while observing the group of likely enemies that were running up the mountain.


    She chose a spot a little bit ahead of the group to anchor herself to, so she would get a shot at seeing everyone as they passed by.


    The group looked surprisingly well equipped. Many of the Deposits¡¯ people had looked somewhat piecemeal when they were on the battlefield earlier, with a distinct lack of any sort of uniform - many didn¡¯t seem to have any equipment with them either.


    This group was far more coordinated than that. They didn¡¯t have a uniform per se, but looked like they were a well-trained group of Cultivators that regularly operated together.


    They were all also actively utilizing their Qi to strengthen their bodies for the run, which allowed Avuri to get a basic sense of their Cultivation levels. Thankfully, she didn¡¯t get a sense of overwhelming strength from any of them, so it was unlikely that there was a Heavenly Realm or dragon among them, but Sky Realms were likely.


    The lack of Heavenly Realms among the crowd shocked her, considering she caught sight of the three Deposits leaders that they had spoken to earlier among the crowd; Firmis, Quarris, and Terrane. They looked more prepared to fight now than they did earlier, wearing grim expressions as opposed to the strangely open and amicable ones from earlier. While in talks with them, she had assumed they were Heavenly Realm Cultivators, but they didn¡¯t give off that impression now. They must have been stand-ins, the same as her side was.


    As they passed, Avuri did her best to clock everyone else among their party, and to watch for any stand out figures. Most of the group had passed by her and she was just about to drop out of her technique when she saw the Cultivator bringing up the rear who was clearly directing the group as they moved.


    He didn¡¯t look as incompetent as she would have expected, if she was honest with herself. He carried himself fairly well physically, even if his body language clearly projected worry and maybe even fear. But even seeing him looking entirely inept and helpless would not have stopped the searing wave of anger and seething hate that flowed through her when she saw his face.


    With their physical bodies so close, Emery felt the white hot emotion immediately as it lanced through her. Barely a few seconds later, Avuri returned to her body and her face immediately twisted in anger.


    ¡°That bastard.¡± She spat angrily as Emery set her on her feet to resume running with the group. Then Emery felt her own anger spike as who Avuri saw appeared in her mind unbidden from their connection.


    ¡°We have plenty of company.¡± Avuri said loudly enough for the whole group to hear, her voice still laced with anger. ¡°The three leaders from the Deposits we met are with them. And so is Leon.¡±


    She spat out her brother¡¯s name with such venom that it actually caught her cousins off-guard. It was rare for Avuri to get this angry.


    ¡°All they had to do was leave us alone, and we would have done the same. Instead, he leads a group of trained fighters to our home.¡± She growled. ¡°This time, I¡¯ll kill him.¡±

 119 : Confrontation

    The mood within the group soured as Avuri mentioned her brother¡¯s name. She could feel Emery¡¯s anger rolling off her in waves through their bond, which she had been expecting. Over the years since their wedding, they had both grown to resent her family more than ever.


    She recognized that they probably fed each other¡¯s growing hate for the Mephras every time they were mentioned. Emery simply couldn¡¯t forgive them for the way they had treated Cierra, of course, but the way Avuri was treated by her own family is what really drove her hate. With her own background and family, Emery simply couldn¡¯t accept the way Avuri had been treated.


    Avuri, for her part, had begun to resent her family deeply after their confrontation after the wedding. It was mostly a quiet, seething hate that had festered over the years. Her family had not so much as reached out in any way to try to repair their relationship. Avuri wasn¡¯t sure she would be able to forgive them even if they had truly shown remorse for what they had done, but the lack of any effort at all just made her hate them more.


    Seeing Leon leading a group of Cultivators - from the rear, no less - toward their home was the last straw. There was no doubt in her mind that this was some kind of attack on them and their family. To what end, Avuri had no idea, but she wasn¡¯t about to let it happen.


    What did surprise her, though, was the anger and apparent rage that her cousins showed at the mention of her brother. Mica had gone quiet, but her expression was clearly that of someone also very angry.


    Glenn and Cove both looked about ready to kill, too. Avuri wasn¡¯t sure what had happened in the time between them returning home with their shared family and leaving for their Cultivation journey, but it had clearly not been anything good.


    ¡°If you have their location, we¡¯ll break off from you here.¡± Vale said, breaking the strange atmosphere. ¡°Be safe, all of you. And good luck.¡±


    No one said anything, but he received six nods in response. He returned the gesture before the group of dragons veered off to the right, heading more toward the summit and the basin.


    ¡°What¡¯s the plan?¡± Mica asked once the dragons had left them.


    ¡°We hit them hard and fast.¡± Avuri said. ¡°When we get close, I¡¯ll blast the whole group with ice and try to freeze as many of them as I can. I don¡¯t think there were actually that many threats in the group - most were Earth Realm, and we¡¯re all Sky.¡±


    ¡°You said Firmis and his team were there?¡± Ieji asked. ¡°You¡¯re sure they¡¯re Sky Realm?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re definitely not Heavenly Realm, at least. I didn¡¯t get that impression from any of them.¡± Avuri said. ¡°They must have been stand-ins for the actual leaders, the same way we were.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that makes sense.¡± Mica muttered. ¡°They looked as hesitant to fight there as we did. Knowing that they were playing a part and doing what they were told makes sense.¡±


    ¡°Either way,¡± Ieji said, pulling everyone back on track, ¡°that means we presumably have, at a minimum, three competent enemies to deal with. I would assume more than that, though.¡±


    ¡°The fight is going to be a mess, no matter what we do.¡± Glenn said calmly. ¡°We can try our best to avoid it becoming a random melee, but when we¡¯re so outnumbered we don¡¯t have a lot of options to engage.¡±


    ¡°I think Avuri is our best bet.¡± Emery said. ¡°She may not be able to remove all of them from the fight, but if she can trap even half, our fighting ability goes way up.¡±


    ¡°Even if it¡¯s just enough to remove all of the Earth Realm Cultivators from the fight, it¡¯ll mean less distractions.¡± Cove agreed.


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s the whole plan, then. Avuri hits them hard as soon as we reach them, and we make it up from there. It¡¯s not like any plans will last past that anyway.¡± Emery said.


    ¡°Got it.¡± Avuri said, resolving herself to make the opening move. ¡°Everyone quiet now. We¡¯ll be upon them in just a few moments.¡±


    Avuri and Emery kept tracking the enemy group with their Domain as they led their own team toward the enemy. It took less than a minute for their group to crash into the enemy.


    With Qi senses abound, Firmis and his team were prepared to meet them head on. They had formed up into a defensive formation, ready for Avuri and her group to ambush them. Those in the Sky Realm had unleashed their Domains which varied wildly in size. But Emery and Avuri could feel them as gaps in their combined massive Domain, giving them an accurate count and location of each Sky Realm combatant before they made visual contact.


    ¡°There¡¯s only eight in the Sky Realm.¡± Avuri said loudly enough for her companions to hear.


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°We should be able to blow away more than half of them on contact, then. Perfect.¡± Emery said.


    And in the instant that they broke free from the trees, the two of them lashed out with Qi and their Domain. Combined, their Domain was typically able to exert more spiritual force than an average Sky Realm, but not to the level of a Heavenly Realm Cultivator. It did give them an advantage in an equal fight like this, however, as they were able to consistently keep enemy Domains restricted pretty close to the Cultivators¡¯ body. In turn, it gave them more room to utilize their own Domain for combat.


    Their opening gambit was as effective as they had hoped. Avuri pulled on their combined Qi, reinforcing her ice with thin wire made of Emery¡¯s metal. The resulting ice was more resilient to shattering than normal, and difficult to break free of without causing damage to yourself in the process. Even if someone had the physical strength to simply break the ice, they would be cut by the fine steel wires running through it.


    While the creation of the wire-reinforced ice was something that required some level of precision, the rest of her technique did not. Avuri simply brute forced her ice onto the entire battlefield, covering the entire area in a layer of icy frost that quickly began to grow and solidify. It took less than a few seconds before many of the potential combatants were entirely frozen over in solid ice.


    There were a few among the opposing Cultivators that had prevented themselves from being frozen, but many were already being assaulted by the rest of their group.


    Firmis had been recognized quickly by Mica, and she split apart from the group to engage him. Cove followed behind her to support her and deal with the few other Cultivators around Firmis that had remained unfrozen.


    Ieji had chosen to leap straight into combat with Terrane, while Glenn moved to support them. Ieji was already moving quickly around Terrane, striking out with a wide variety of concealed weaponry that was apparently their preferred style. They were also deftly attacking the other Cultivators around them with thrown knives and needles, while Glenn kept them distracted. Thanks to the distraction, Ieji was able to land each throw with pinpoint accuracy to disable those weaker enemies quickly.


    Avuri and Emery had moved to engage Leon as their primary target, who was also standing conveniently nearby to Quarris, the only other high priority target they knew they had. Another strong Sky Realm Cultivator could make themselves known, of course, and they would need to adjust accordingly.


    As they each separated to try to avoid the fight becoming too much of a melee, Avuri drew on their Qi again to form barriers of ice to somewhat isolate each of their groups to avoid the larger force dogpiling on them one at a time. As the walls of ice went up, Emery prioritized defending Avuri as she focused on the large-scale technique while watching Quarris, Leon, and two others break themselves free of the ice that had clung to them from Avuri¡¯s initial widespread attack.


    Altogether, four opponents wasn¡¯t bad for them.


    Leon was in the back of the group, striking some kind of weapon against the ice that was clinging to his legs. It looked like a staff, but wasn¡¯t the length of a traditional martial arts one. It was more like the length of a cane. Quarris and the two other Cultivators both appeared to be earth Qi leaning, and were moving the earth under their feet to dislodge the ice from the ground.


    By the time they were free, Avuri had finished her large scale technique and was once again focused on the fight before her.


    ¡°Ivory.¡±


    The name dripped from Leon¡¯s mouth like sludge. The same sneer that was perpetually plastered on his face fourteen years ago was still in place. He looked a little bit older, but not significantly so, which likely meant he had put some effort into his Cultivation.


    ¡°Leon.¡±


    Avuri and Emery spoke in tandem, their voices eerily mixing together. It was a very easy skill to use when they were connected through their Domain, and often made people uncomfortable. It was a neat trick in moments like these that they employed often.


    ¡°It¡¯s not nice to see you again.¡± They said in unison. ¡°I thought for sure you would have gotten the message when we broke your ribs last time. You¡¯re not welcome here.¡± As they spoke the last sentence, they actively flared their Domain, blasting a quick gust of freezing wind at Leon and Quarris.


    Leon raised an arm against the wind and stepped forward. ¡°Oh, we got the message alright.¡± He spat. ¡°¡®Don¡¯t come back.¡¯¡± He mocked. ¡°¡®Strike me from the family record.¡¯¡± He screwed up his voice in a poor attempt to sound like a whiney Avuri. It didn¡¯t really work, and the lack of reaction from either of his targets seemed to just anger him more.


    ¡°Well, we came back to collect on your debt.¡± He sneered, motioning toward Quarris and her associates. ¡°With interest.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we heard about the two of you.¡± Quarris said, taking the chance to speak. She brushed off some of the remaining ice from her clothing while glaring at the other women. ¡°Some sick women that protect a bunch of demon touched kids.¡± Quarris made a disgusted face and spat into the snow-covered ground. ¡°Disgusting. The whole place should be cleansed.¡±


    There was another flash of Qi as Avuri flash-froze a thin layer of ice across Quarris¡¯ cheek. ¡°Watch your tongue,¡± Avuri spat.


    ¡°Or you won¡¯t keep it for very long.¡± Emery finished for her wife, as she reached to the side while creating several weapons in the air behind her. It was mostly swords that appeared behind her in the air, but a spear appeared in her hand. She swung it forward and took a fighting stance, pointing the blade toward Quarris. The blades behind her arrayed themselves as four took aim at Leon, and four each aimed toward the other two Cultivators.


    Quarris laughed. It was a maniacal thing, and looked to even disturb Leon somewhat. As she leaned forward into a bestial stance to face Avuri and Emery down, she stomped. It shook the ground around her and stone spikes shot up from the ground randomly around her, shattering the ice on the ground where they broke through.


    ¡°Your weapons and ice don¡¯t scare me.¡± She said, as dirt and stone rose from the ground to wrap itself around her ankles and slowly climb its way up her body like ivy. Her fellows were following suit with a similar technique. ¡°You better start praying, ladies, because you¡¯re about to meet your maker.¡±


    When Quarris and Leon flared their Qi, Emery and Avuri lashed out as one with their own Domain. Ice rushed across the ground in large icicles, the sharp ends protruding straight toward their enemies, while Emery¡¯s swords darted toward their intended targets.


    As everyone sprung into motion, the fight began in earnest.

 120 : Cousins

    Mica saw the ice walls going up around her and couldn¡¯t help but be impressed. It had been a while since she had seen Emery and Avuri, and even then, she supposed she had never seen them actually act at full strength.


    Though, to be fair, she also wasn¡¯t sure that this large-scale ice technique was even near the top of their limits. They had mentioned in passing that they had a Bonded Domain now, and that threw the natural balance of things off quite a bit, so it was anyone guess what they were truly capable of when push came to shove.


    Pushing her thoughts about her cousin and her wife away, Mica turned back to face down Firmis.


    The man was pounding the ice away from his body with a quickly conjured bludgeon made of stone. The hammer, which was shaped like a massive, oversized bell, was moving at an unnatural speed for its size as Firmis swung it around with ease. Somehow, even as he bashed the huge stone against his body to break the ice he remained uninjured.


    That sure was a nifty trick.


    With the few moments that they had to prepare while the enemy finished freeing themselves, Mica and Cove prepared themselves for battle.


    While they both had studied in the Stone Breaker Sect, Mica had been an earth Qi focused Cultivator from the start. And while both she and Cove were sure the Stone Breaker techniques would be particularly useful against these Cultivators from the Deposits, Mica had more techniques that were earth based at her disposal.


    And there was one in particular that was disliked pretty heavily in the earth-focused Stone Breaker Sect because it ruined a lot of the techniques available to earth users. But it was the perfect opener for her, especially when she was fighting alongside Cove.


    She fell into a wide fighting stance and shifted her feet until they dug into the ground. She focused on her Qi, sending it spinning through her meridians before thrusting a huge portion of it into the ground - which immediately began to shake violently.


    She focused on the size of the area that Avuri had deliberately split off with her ice walls, and it gave Mica a perfectly sized arena to work with. The ground in the area went from shaking to a more vicious and fast-paced vibration and then began to fall apart. Her technique focused primarily on the upper few meters of earth just below the surface and ripped it apart with her Qi. The entire area that they were currently locked in was basically all loose dirt and sand within seconds.


    Firmis and his three fellows had used their Domains to keep the ground immediately around them stable, but it was also a clear indication of their levels of strength given how far they could extend their Domains beyond their bodies.


    While Firmis was still standing on a patch of solid ground with roughly a two meter diameter, the other three Cultivators were standing on much smaller patches of dirt. Patches that were already beginning to crumble as Mica¡¯s technique turned the earth underneath their patches to sand.


    ¡°Well that¡¯s an annoying technique you have there.¡± Firmis muttered, as he tried to fight against Mica¡¯s Domain influencing the space.


    Mica smiled as she felt him try to push her back and she just brushed him off. She had spent extra time training herself on making her Domain as resilient as possible, knowing that her most common opening move relied on it. And when her most common opponents were other earth Cultivators in the Stone Breaker Sect, she needed to be sure they couldn¡¯t just turn around and undo her technique.


    So, she had focused all of her Domain practice into making it as solid as she could. She may not be able to extend her Domain impressively far, and she wasn¡¯t good at pushing back enemy Domains with her own, but if her Domain occupied a space already, it was as sturdy as the earth itself.


    And even among earth Cultivators, it was rare to open a fight with your Domain sunk into the earth - which almost always gave her a head start when it mattered.


    With her opening move in place, Mica turned her attention to her second move. She glanced back at Cove with a wide grin. ¡°You¡¯ve got the mooks?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Cove said with a quick thumbs up.


    As Mica sprung from her starting place, Cove wound up his Qi. Unlike Mica, who had begun her training as an earth Cultivator, Cove had originally focused on water Qi. His techniques were focused on flexibility and utility - growing up in a merchant family had led him to be trained to be useful - but after the three of them had joined the Stone Breaker Sect, he had altered his techniques to be more useful to him in combat.


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    And when you¡¯re a water-focused fighter amidst mostly earth and stone users, the most common medium for you to work with was mud and wet sand; and that¡¯s exactly what Cove did.


    In a smooth motion, he borrowed some of the ice that Avuri had left behind and melted it into the ground. There was more than enough to immediately drench the dirt and sand that Mica had so graciously gifted him, and the weapon was put to use immediately.


    Cove¡¯s control was impeccable as he spiraled the wet sand down into the earth, creating large pits of quicksand around each of Firmis¡¯ three supporters. They may have been able to keep the dirt immediately under their feet steady, but they weren¡¯t able to project their Domains far enough to keep Cove¡¯s technique at bay as he swallowed up the ground around them.


    Avuri¡¯s ice had been just tenacious enough that Cove had enough time to reach out with limbs of mud and sand to grapple each of the fighters, and was surprised to see how easily he was able to drag each of them underground. Despite struggling against the technique, Cove felt little resistance from their Domains as they sank below the surface.


    Once they were under the ground, he wound mud quickly over their airways, hoping to cut off their air long enough to knock them out. He didn¡¯t want to kill anyone outright yet, especially not the people who may just be following orders. Removing them from the fight would be good enough for now.


    And when Cove turned back to Mica¡¯s struggle, he felt like he understood why the other targets were so easy to deal with; Firmis clearly didn¡¯t feel like he needed any actual protection.


    Mica intercepted a full swing of Firmis¡¯ hammer with a huge slab of rock that she had called up as a shield, and the thing just shattered. Mica went airborne, flying a good few meters before landing on her back - hard. The contact clearly knocked the wind out of her, and Cove moved to try to give her a second or two to recover.


    Firmis was, thankfully for the moment, focused on Mica¡¯s prone form. It would allow Cove to close the distance quickly and knock Firmis off course. Cove did his best to weaken Firmis¡¯ footing with sand and mud, but found that it was mostly ineffective. The man¡¯s Domain was clearly focused under his feet now, and was strong enough to penetrate deeply into the ground around him far and wide enough to stop Cove¡¯s normal tricks.


    Giving up on his longer range techniques as he closed the distance, Cove tried to decide what his best option was. Clearly, he was outmatched on strength, which made him hesitate on whether or not he could actually injure Firmis enough to knock him off course. Instead, he decided to focus on the attack itself.


    Cove gathered a thick shell of sand around himself and barrelled straight into the side of Firmis¡¯ hammer as he swung it down. The shoulder check, supported by the shell of mud, was enough to successfully knock the hammer off course and it impacted half a meter to Mica¡¯s side.


    Thankfully, Mica was already in the process of getting back to her feet - which only took her a second - but it was still enough to allow Firmis to land a kick square into Cove¡¯s back, sending him stumbling forward. Before Firmis could follow up on his kick, Mica was back on her feet and getting back in his face.


    Mica¡¯s fighting style had been built around her being steady on her feet, even when the ground wasn¡¯t supporting her. Firmis being able to strictly overpower her with force alone was a bad sign for their matchup, and Cove and Mica were quick to recognize that they were outclassed. They knew that they would need to rely on one another to have any hope of taking on Firmis, and their teamwork wasn¡¯t exactly something they had worked on very extensively.


    Sure, they got along, but they had no cooperative battleplan.


    Mica quickly called up armor made of stone, which was a pretty common earth Qi technique. Mica¡¯s version of it had a few personal alterations courtesy of her mountain Qi. Her armor was connected to the land itself by links of Qi, meant to help her absorb and shrug off attacks. It also was designed to make her harder to lift off the ground or throw.


    The second alteration was spikes. Sure, it was common enough for Cultivators to add some kind of spiky exterior to their Qi based armors, but Mica¡¯s was so saturated with Qi that they were more sturdy than most. Where a good solid strike could typically knock an average stone spike off of the armor, her mountain Qi infused spikes were much harder to destroy.


    And it was with a shoulder encased in that armor that she tackled Firmis. It was an attack thrown with abandon, Mica hoping to stop the follow up attack aimed at the vulnerable Cove - but she also had to rely on him to recover quickly enough to cover for her as well.


    Firmis abandoned his attack and turned to intercept Mica. He simply grabbed the two most prominent spikes on the armor and stopped her charge dead. With a shout, he spun and dragged Mica around him in a semi-circle, and shoved her past him forcing her to follow through on her charge.


    She doubled down on her momentum, and kept moving to take herself out of his immediate range of counterattack. She just barely made it far enough, and could feel the wind pressure buffet her back from the titanic swing that Firmis swung at her.


    ¡°Cove!¡± She shouted as she dug in her heel to turn back toward Firmis. The man was resting his massive hammer on his shoulder and fixed a cocky smirk on his face while staring her down. Cove quickly made his way over to Mica¡¯s side, and they faced Firmis down together. ¡°We need a plan.¡±


    ¡°I know. But I¡¯m not sure what will work on him.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯re you two mumbling about over there?¡± Firmis taunted, as if he couldn¡¯t hear them. He almost certainly could. ¡°Care to share?¡±


    Cove sighed. ¡°Just complaining that you¡¯re too strong and how we¡¯re going to need to be creative because you clearly have us beat otherwise.¡± He said in explanation, knowing full well the man already knew.


    Firmis laughed. ¡°Fair enough!¡± He lowered his hammer as if it weighed nothing, pointing the head of it toward the cousins. ¡°You better come up with something fast though, because if you don¡¯t you¡¯ll both be crushed to paste before long.¡±


    Mica took the momentary respite to stretch while her mind was racing for some kind of solution to this particular problem. It wasn¡¯t the first time she had been completely outclassed in strength, but it was certainly the first time where her life was on the line. ¡°Well, we¡¯ve got our work cut out for us then.¡± She grinned at Cove, even though he couldn''t see the smile through her stone helm.


    ¡°Better make good use of our last few minutes of being not-paste.¡±


    ¡°Minutes? You have seconds!¡± Firmis bellowed as he swung the hammer out behind him and charged.

 121 : Ieji

    Ieji didn¡¯t like their own fighting techniques very much. That was usually the primary thought running through their head whenever things came to a straight fight like this.


    Learning how to utilize smaller weapons - especially thrown ones - had always been Ieji¡¯s preferred method of fighting. But when enemies had Domains, or sometimes even techniques like Emery that completely invalidated most thrown weapons, it was a skill that was often near useless.


    Of course, nearly perfect aim with poisoned weapons were almost unfairly useful against people who couldn¡¯t fight off the poison, and the several bodies that were convulsing on the floor around the current battlefield spoke to that.


    Ieji and Glenn had ended up in the area with the most surviving enemies, which was fine. Ieji was probably the third most proficient in removing weaker threats from the board, and numbers one and two were currently a little preoccupied with rage. And Avuri had basically halved the enemy numbers in her opening move, so there was that too.


    As it was, there were a few remaining Cultivators, aside from the one who was laughing maniacally, that were still standing and prepared to fight. Glenn would listen to Ieji¡¯s request, create a small copse of trees in their little arena, and then Ieji would clean up the enemies. Hopefully Glenn would also listen to the second half of Ieji¡¯s request - to not watch the fight. Ieji didn¡¯t want to scare the poor guy; they kinda liked the trio of Avuri¡¯s cousins.


    And therein lied Ieji¡¯s dislike of their own techniques, no matter how effective they were.


    When Ieji had been taken in by Vale with their other siblings, Ieji was without question the worst off of the lot. The whole group of them had been tortured in various ways, with plenty of lasting damage and scars, but Ieji was unquestionably the one who had come closest to being forcefully warped into a demon.


    The lasting effects of that were difficult to reckon with as a child. Ieji wasn¡¯t just ¡®creepy¡¯ the way the whole family played it off. Ieji had a warped - nearly demonic - version of a Domain, even as a child. It wasn¡¯t something average Cultivators could sense or feel like with normal Domains either; it took Vale tracking down a near-ancient dragon spiritual healer to finally figure out what was going on.


    Ieji was, unfortunately, cursed with an aura that literally unnerved those around them and caused fear. There was no way for Ieji to control it or stop it - only empower it. And it had caused no shortage of problems growing up.


    Combined with the already deep emotional and psychological scars in place from their torture, Ieji¡¯s time growing up made things worse before anything got better.


    While everyone in the family made an obvious effort to include them, Ieji could tell that their siblings were always wary and a little afraid. Even the older ones. It took nearly two years of constant exposure to the aura before its effect began to wane on them, and basically three full years before it seemed to no longer affect them. By that time, a fair bit of damage had been done.


    Ieji had gotten too used to trying to be as neutral as possible to avoid sudden scares. No sudden movements, no bursts of emotions, nothing. Three years of tamping down everything had left Ieji stunted when it came to emotion.


    Ieji¡¯s life did improve immensely from there, though. Once Kota and the others had become basically immune to Ieji¡¯s aura, they spent the next several years slowly dragging Ieji back out of their shell; and as long as they were at home, it worked.


    Over time Ieji had developed the coping mechanisms that they still used now. Ieji had fully functioning emotions and was capable of feeling just as much as anyone else. But they had learned to hide it out of necessity to be around others, as strong emotion could make the fear aura cause panic in others.


    Ieji also grew as a Cultivator, same as all of their siblings. And the growth there was perhaps more alarming than the emotional scarring. Evidently, Ieji had been designed to be an emotional warfare weapon, and the fear aura was only the beginning.


    By the time Ieji was old enough to begin working on their own techniques and specializing beyond the basics, their tortured upbringing had led them to very specific techniques. The strong desire to be someone else that wouldn¡¯t terrify people just by being near led to Ieji¡¯s talent with disguising techniques.


    And, as an added bonus, Ieji was able to develop such a technique that not only physically changed their body into that of someone else, but it even masked their aura, which allowed some semblance of a normal life - as long as they were not themselves. It also led to their immense talent as a spy.


    Ieji was never sure how to feel about being proud of, or even enjoying, their ability to so fully ¡®become¡¯ someone else. They felt like it should be a sad thing, being so talented at not being ¡®Ieji¡¯. But it was also hard not to enjoy and take pride in how good they were at it.


    And then there were the techniques that Ieji had developed after entering the Sky Realm. Those were the techniques that Ieji was definitely not proud of, and the center of the fighting style that they hated; but had developed because it was strong.


    Among their family members, only three knew the techniques existed. They were somewhat twisted, and Ieji was nearly ashamed of them. They had only told Vale, Kota, and Emery - though Ieji knew that it was likely the Avuri knew by now as well.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Those were the techniques that Ieji had always relied on in dangerous moments like these. And they were what they used now.


    Glenn had done as requested. He had begun training originally as a wood-focused Cultivator before joining the Stone Breakers, and had developed his skills with those plant based skills as a base. Or so Ieji had been told, anyway. But they were glad to see it was true when plants began to grow from the ground.


    ¡°Between the ice and crappy ground, not much is going to grow.¡± Glenn called. ¡°You¡¯ll have to make do with bamboo!¡±


    No sooner had the words left his mouth then bamboo shot up around the entire area. It was a patchwork of thickets and blank spots, creating something a pseudo maze; and Glenn was seemingly gone. Ieji thanked the man for making himself scarce after giving them a perfect battlefield to wreak havoc.


    Ieji let their Domain flow out unimpeded now. While they wouldn¡¯t be able to remain hidden using their traditional stealth and assassination techniques anymore, this fight was already past that point anyway. Instead, the intel of enemy locations within the thicket based on their own Domains would be more useful.


    Ieji picked a target and moved. While everyone in the thicket would have a rough estimate of everyone else¡¯s locations, what Ieji needed was the ability to break sight lines. They pulled their favored close ranged weapon from their storage ring - a rope dart, crafted by Emery, from Vale¡¯s scales. It was a deadly weapon, and one similar to the thrown weapons that IEji favored, but more usable in close quarters with the braided metal cord.


    As soon as they sped around a small copse of bamboo to meet with their first enemy, Ieji used their technique. Similarly to earlier, a black mist seemed to appear from nowhere and surround Ieji¡¯s body. However, this one was different; rather than settling around Ieji¡¯s body, the mist seemed to form a cloak that billowed out around them and wormed its way through the area, getting into all the cracks and crevices around.


    Ieji had no idea who or what it was that the enemy Cultivator saw coming around that bend, but it certainly wasn¡¯t Ieji. The man stumbled backward, his face went ashen, and he stared at Ieji in horror.


    Ieji muttered an apology as their dart flew forward once, striking the man in the left shoulder, then twice, striking the lower abdomen. Each time, Ieji yanked the wire, pulling the dart back and keeping it in motion for the next strike. They watched as the first target slumped, succumbing quickly to the poison in the dart.


    It was a strong hallucinogenic and paralytic, that fed nicely into the fear caused by both Ieji¡¯s aura and the actual technique that they currently were using.


    Ieji had named the technique ¡®Nightmare Shroud¡¯, figuring the childish, edgy name might help curb how actually horrifying it could be to others. Combined with the abrupt fear caused by Ieji¡¯s aura, the Shroud would simply make Ieji appear as some kind of nightmare to the viewer; whatever horrors the viewer¡¯s mind made up in that moment come to life to kill them.


    Ieji hated it. More than once, a victim had passed out from the fright alone. Twice it had actually killed outright from the scare alone.


    And it wasn¡¯t even the worst technique in Ieji¡¯s arsenal.


    Five more Cultivators went down the same way as the first one. Two quick jabs of the dart in vital areas and most were paralyzed by fear and unable to continue the fight. One of the Cultivators took three doses before falling. Two had wet themselves upon seeing whatever nightmare Ieji provided.


    Ieji couldn¡¯t have been more relieved that Glenn had made himself scarce for this as they went throughout the small little bamboo forest and took out each threat one at a time.


    Of course, they left Terrane for last.


    The young man had been laughing maniacally for some time as Ieji had been removing their subordinates. Yelling out taunts, calling names, the works. Ieji ignored him and went about their business until they were the only two left in the field.


    When Ieji finally did show themselves to Terrane, the man stopped and stared at whatever it was that he saw.


    ¡°Damn.¡± He said, the laugh finally stopping long enough for him to speak. ¡°The fuck is wrong with you?¡± He seemed to be examining Ieji from head to toe. ¡°You look absolutely mangled.¡±


    Ieji sighed. This was the reaction he feared the most - lack of fear. It happened now and then, mostly when encountering three types of people. One was the most obvious - those simply not afraid of death; people who had come to terms with their mortality and were comfortable with it were typically unafraid of the Nightmare Shroud.


    Second were people who were too full of themselves and arrogant to consider death a threat. In Ieji¡¯s experience, the more arrogant someone was, the more afraid of death they typically were. In fact, this technique had worked wonders against some of the most arrogant people Ieji had ever seen. However, there were two people in the last ten years that had, in fact, been so arrogant - so entirely full of themselves - that they had gone beyond that and believed themselves infallible. This technique had failed against them.


    Third - and the category that Ieji thought Terrane fell into - were those that were simply unhinged in certain ways. Whether they had been around so much death that it simply didn¡¯t affect them, or a literal unhinged murderer, there had been a few cases like this where they simply didn¡¯t ¡®feel¡¯ fear the way most people did. Terrane gave off that vibe, but Ieji couldn¡¯t really be sure.


    They let the Nightmare Shroud drop. The fear aura was still in full swing, however, as that would still be effective.


    ¡°Sorry to scare you.¡± Ieji said flatly. ¡°Terrane, right? Any chance you¡¯d like to just turn and walk away from this?¡±


    The man made a face, snickered, then full on laughed at them. ¡°Excuse me? You¡¯re kidding, right?¡± He swung his hand toward the summit and by extension, the basin. ¡°We were told there were demon kids up there that need killin¡¯ and paid a real hefty sum to get it done.¡± The smile that split his face was crazed. ¡°And while I suppose it¡¯s a shame that only a few of us are left standin¡¯, that makes our shares bigger. So fuck ¡®em. And fuck you.¡±


    Terrane stomped in place, shaking the ground. A beautiful sword made of some kind of metal and earth composite rose from the stone before him, and it seemed to carry an intensely compressed huge amount of Qi. He grabbed it by the handle and took a rather traditional sword based stance. As Ieji stood quietly, Terrane let out another unhinged laugh. ¡°Well? Come on then, I don¡¯t have all day!¡±


    Ieji looked Terrane up and down once before sighing. Yes, Terrane was almost certainly in that third category of simple unhinged people. And Ieji had a way to deal with them too. Even if they hated it.

 122 : Bond

    Vale carried Emery and I into the house like sacks of rice. Laughter echoed from every corner of the basin after our absolutely abysmal escape attempt - not that anyone thought we would actually get away from him.


    Emery¡¯s siblings made their way back to the house for now to see the result of the short lived game of tag, and were able to make it most of the way to the house by the time Vale was carrying us through the door.


    ¡°Nice try you two!¡± Demi called. ¡°It was a pretty good effort!¡±


    Emery, still being carried under one of Vale¡¯s arms, gave her sister a thumbs up and a grin. ¡°We made it a whole five seconds after his first attack.¡±


    Kota whistled, impressed. ¡°That¡¯s pretty good.¡±


    ¡°Just wait,¡± Vale said, hefting both of us to reassert his grip, ¡°if you two work on that new bond of yours, you¡¯ll do better than that.¡±


    We basically all cocked our heads in question. ¡°You mentioned that before. You said we ¡®Bonded our Domains¡¯?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I did.¡± Vale said with a sigh as we were carried to the second floor and the dining room. Emery¡¯s siblings followed, interested in whatever chat was about to happen.


    ¡°Mom!¡± Stena shouted as soon as we crested the top of the stairs.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Cierra said through a laugh. She was pointing at the way we were being carried.


    ¡°Uncle Vale beat us up.¡± Emery said, affecting a dour, defeated tone. ¡°We can¡¯t beat him. But maybe you can get revenge for us.¡±


    I twisted in Vale¡¯s grip to try to look limp. More like we really had lost a fight. ¡°Please¡­¡± I croaked playfully. ¡°Avenge¡­us¡­¡± I reached out a hand toward them, then went limp entirely, my hand smacking against the ground. I almost said ¡®ow¡¯ on instinct, but held back to keep up the charade.


    Cierra and Stena both laughed and got to their feet. ¡°Uncle Vale!¡± Stena pointed to him, as if declaring war. ¡°We¡¯re gonna get you!¡±


    ¡°Prepare yourself!¡± Cierra yelled and then they both shouted as they ran toward him to tackle the much bigger man.


    Vale let the two of us drop to the ground, and we both fell with a very convincing thump and remained ¡®dead¡¯ on the floor as the girls tackled Vale.


    As expected of any good guardian figure, Vale played around with them for a bit before allowing himself to be toppled dramatically. Cierra and Stena climbed over his prone body as he made a show of writhing in pain on the ground and dramatically complaining about how his ¡®evil plan was thwarted¡¯, and how they ¡®got revenge for their mighty parents¡¯.


    After an award-worthy death throes performance, Vale lay flat on his back while Cierra put a foot on his stomach and posed dramatically over him with her hands on her hips.


    Emery¡¯s siblings clapped and cheered.


    ¡°The evil has been overthrown!¡± Rylie declared, while clapping.


    Demi bowed before the girls, kowtowing with her forehead all the way to the floor. ¡°Praise be to our heroes for defeating the great evil dragon!¡±


    ¡°Here, here.¡± Ieji added, raising a hand as if to toast - despite their empty hand and unenthusiastic tone.


    ¡°Thank you, O mighty heroes! How ever shall we repay you for your great deeds?¡± Kota asked, joining Demi on the ground in a kowtow.


    ¡°Chicken jerky!¡± Stena said, so suddenly it took everyone off-guard. ¡°Momri made it once and it was so good.¡±


    Demi shot forward from the ground and scooped Stena up in one swift motion, setting the girl on her shoulder. ¡°To the kitchen then! We shall acquire jerky!¡± She glanced back at Emery and I on the ground and muttered under her breath, ¡°There¡¯s usable chicken in the kitchen, yeah?¡±


    Emery gave her a stealthy thumbs up without getting up from her position on the ground.


    Demi nodded and once again proudly declared, ¡°To the kitchen!¡±


    Rylie followed suit and scooped up Cierra, depositing the girl on her shoulder as well. ¡°As for you, my hero, how about some ice cream?¡±


    Cierra grinned. ¡°Yeah! Let¡¯s go!¡± She was shaking back and forth and kicking her legs while seated on her perch, and if it wasn¡¯t for Rylie¡¯s Cultivator strength, I was sure that she would¡¯ve fallen.


    ¡°To the kitchen!¡± Rylie echoed Demi and marched off.


    Ieji and Kota moved to sit at the table while Emery, Vale, and I waited an extra minute before hopping back to our feet. Vale motioned to the table and we all moved to sit.


    ¡°So.¡± Emery said as she swung a leg over her seat and plopped into it rather dramatically. ¡°We Bonded our Domains.¡±


    ¡°I think we have some idea,¡± I offered, ¡°given what¡¯s happened to us in the last twelve hours. But we could probably use more specifics.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard you mention it before, in passing.¡± Kota said, clearly interested in the whole thing. ¡°I remember vague mentions of it being both good and bad, as well as a pretty significant power boost in the right hands, but also very risky.¡±


    When Emery and I both looked at Kota to try to get him to elaborate, he merely shrugged. ¡°I said ¡®vague¡¯, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    Vale leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling. ¡°Bonded Domains are powerful. And useful, and a great asset in the right hands.¡± He met our eyes seriously then, trying to force home the next bit. ¡°But they can also absolutely ruin someone if they enter into the bond without thinking it through. It is absolutely something you typically don¡¯t want to do in haste or recklessly. Emery.¡± He said, half laughing, while meeting his daughter''s eyes very pointedly.


    She looked appalled, and moved back in her chair with her hand over her chest as if she was hurt. ¡°Father! How could you insinuate such a thing as me leaping before I look.¡±


    ¡°Bet he¡¯s right, though.¡± Ieji muttered.


    ¡°He is.¡± I confirmed. When Emery glared at me, my eyes drifted away toward the ceiling. ¡°...Mostly.¡±


    ¡°Hey.¡± Emery said flatly. ¡°It took both of us to knock down that barrier thing. I couldn¡¯t have done it on my own. We are equally to blame.¡±


    ¡°You say that,¡± I shot back, ¡°but I would have left that rift thing well alone if not for you.¡± I stuck my tongue out at her playfully.


    ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Vale said, pulling our wandering attention back. ¡°What¡¯s done is done, and the two of you have a Bonded Domain now. You¡¯ll need to learn how to use it.¡±


    Emery and I both decided it was time to listen more seriously. We shifted in our seats to more properly face the center of the table, and Vale as he was speaking.


    ¡°Right. So what do we need to know?¡± Emery asked. I nodded in agreement with the question.


    Vale rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ¡°What have you figured out so far?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± I began, ¡°We can communicate much more clearly through our Domain than before. It¡¯s basically as clear as actually speaking.¡±


    ¡°We used each other¡¯s Qi types by accident. I assume that¡¯s something we could learn to control.¡± Emery offered.


    ¡°We shared a single Inner World while our Domains were melded. It was like a combination of our individual ones, with characteristics of each.¡± I added.


    ¡°And our spiritual selves were also altered.¡± Emery said suddenly, as if just remembering. ¡°That one was weird.¡±


    Vale nodded with each new thing we added. When Emery and I looked at each other, trying to remember anything else, Vale took over.


    ¡°Let me explain it to you this way. Bonded Domains functionally make one significant change that ripples into all of these other effects.¡± He paused for dramatic effect, to make sure everyone at the table was paying attention. ¡°If you simplify everything to the simplest form, the two of you are essentially a single Cultivator now. Just with two bodies that can operate independently of one another - albeit in a reduced state.¡±


    Emery and I shared a look, some mix of concern and confusion taking over our expressions.


    ¡°You¡¯ll need to elaborate on that a bit, Dad.¡± Emery said. ¡°You make it sound like we got weaker.¡±


    ¡°Not exactly.¡± Vale said, holding up a hand to forestall any complaints until he finished explaining. ¡°Your individual ability hasn¡¯t really changed. Well, not counting whatever you gained from Cultivating last night of course. But it¡¯s more accurate to say that your ¡®default state¡¯ is acting as one. That¡¯s how your bodies and spirit operate now.¡±


    Emery and I shared another look, unsure what to make of that, exactly.


    ¡°Another way to look at it is like this. If you were to say that your abilities when separate are 100% for each of you, then when you operate while Bonded, your actual raw Qi output is probably more like 275% or 300%.¡±


    Everyone at the table gaped at that. In that moment of silence, Cierra and Stena ran back around the corner from the kitchen, their treats in hand. In the midst of the stunned silence while everyone worked through the new information, the girls climbed into our laps. Stena settled in mine and spun to sit facing the table, her legs kicking lightly as she chewed on her jerky.


    ¡°Like I said, though.¡± Vale said, clearing his throat. ¡°As far as your bodies and spirits are concerned, that ¡®300%¡¯ is your normal state. So when you act separately, you¡¯re working with 35% of your true strength or so.¡±


    ¡°Does making that clarification mean anything?¡± I asked, curious. ¡°Which option is our ¡®default¡¯ state, I mean.¡±


    ¡°For everyday life, no.¡± Vale said, his eyes watching Stena munch on her jerky, rather than meeting my eyes. ¡°In battle, it will make a difference.¡±


    Emery perked up at that. ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°You may not feel it right now, but your bodies and meridians have altered themselves to adjust to your new potential output. You shouldn¡¯t have any issues when you fight together, but if you take any serious fights apart, if you¡¯re not careful, your body could try to pull from strength that¡¯s not there.¡±


    ¡°What you¡¯re saying is that alone, they have access to roughly 35% of what their body thinks is available. So if they try to put too much into a technique, or push their body -¡±


    ¡°Right. It¡¯ll overdraw itself.¡± Vale nodded at Ieji. ¡°I¡¯ve seen Cultivators accidentally do it, and the outcome is not pretty. Your body and meridians won¡¯t recognize the limits of your strengths when apart, so you need to be very very careful not to overdo it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­interesting.¡± I said, thinking it over. I was trying to examine myself to see if I could feel anything different in regards to my available Qi but it all felt normal.


    ¡°That¡¯s not even half of it.¡± Vale said, crossing his arms on the table. ¡°There¡¯s parts that are far more interesting, and very complex ways to use a Bonded Domain. For example, you can send your Qi to one another through the Domain. The transfer is instantaneous, and very useful if one of you needs a sudden burst of power for any reason.¡±


    We both grinned at each other hearing that. It sounded cool.


    ¡°It¡¯s also worth noting that you are intrinsically spiritually connected now. And that¡¯s a very serious thing.¡± Vale snapped his fingers at us to make extra sure we listened as he added,  ¡°If one of you dies, the other will as well. Or, at least, you¡¯ll end up severely crippled.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­that¡¯s intimidating.¡± Avuri said.


    ¡°Like I said, when it comes to Cultivation, the two of you are essentially one person now. That comes with all the expected up- and down-sides. Yes, you share a single spirit between you, so if one of you dies, the other will share similar consequences.¡± He spoke seriously, then suddenly swapped to a much lighter, happier tone. ¡°But on the upside, together you¡¯ll be monstrously strong for your level.¡±


    Avuri and Emery shared a look as though they were clearly unsure about all this and Vale sighed. ¡°Look,¡± He said, drawing their attention again, ¡°if you had given me time to explain all of this before you just jumped off the proverbial cliff, you would have at least known what you were getting into. But what¡¯s done is done. There¡¯s no known way to reverse it, and it does have substantial upsides.¡± He smiled.


    ¡°And let¡¯s be honest, you two would¡¯ve done this sooner or later anyway.¡±

 123 : Chilling Cage

    ¡°I¡¯ll handle the lessers.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    Avuri sped forward to engage Leon and Quarris, while Emery focused on her flying swords. Controlling them directly - and even using her Domain abilities - required a very small amount of Qi. And she pushed everything she didn¡¯t need toward Avuri.


    Avuri felt a rush of Qi pass to her from Emery, and immediately drew upon their vast combined pool of resources. She lashed out with what would normally be a large-scale attack again, aiming to hinder their enemies and give Emery a small leg up to dispose of Quarris¡¯ two allies more quickly. But with only four targets now, she targeted the four enemies directly, deciding the extra Qi spent on control would be well spent.


    Quarris had formed a full set of battle armor quickly - far more quickly than Avuri would have imagined - and was ready to receive the attack. Her armor wasn¡¯t the traditional bulky, spiky thing that most earth users favored, either. It was a lithe armor that appeared as though it would be lightweight. Of course, appearances didn¡¯t mean much when it came to Qi techniques.


    On the other hand, it seemed like the lighter armor is what allowed Quarris to complete it so quickly. The other two earth Cultivators were still forming their armors, which were the traditional bulky variant. Leon, for his part, quickly created a barrier of fire around himself to defend from the technique that was clearly headed his way.


    Rather than a blanket of ice, Avuri went for a more targeted attack. She spun up Emery¡¯s Qi in a greater amount than her previous attack, aiming to utilize the metal Qi more this time. Sure, the metal wire through the ice was great for reinforcing it a bit and sometimes punishing people that tried to break through it with their bodies. But if she wanted the ice to be actually difficult to break, she had to place the wire within the ice more deliberately. And that took more Qi and more focus.


    This time she focused her intent on freezing specific parts of her targets¡¯ bodies. Ankles, wrists, elbows - any joint she felt she could target, she did.


    And while there was no doubt that she targeted Quarris and Leon, they were distinctly secondary targets. She gave up on them quickly when it became clear that their defensive techniques would be enough to get in the way of her ice.


    But the two lesser Cultivators were easy pickings for her. Her technique blasted through their defenses, and encased various parts of their bodies in ice. And each of those blocks of ice had thick, braided cable running through it to reinforce it.


    While she had no doubt that both of them were capable of breaking the ice off of their bodies, it would take them time and effort - which they didn¡¯t have.


    Emery¡¯s flying swords were upon them with almost no time between the sudden freezing and her first set of strikes. Each Cultivator was harried by five swords, striking in random patterns. With only half of a set of armor and partially immobile limbs, both people did admirably well on defense when they were at such a clear disadvantage.


    But they were clearly outmatched. The flying swords were forcing them to move around the field to avoid fatal blows that they could see, but it was also forcing them into blows they couldn¡¯t. Emery kept creating air blade traps just outside their Domains where they couldn¡¯t sense their creation, then drove them into the traps with the flying weapons.


    Cuts were opening up all over their bodies and slicing through their armor as they moved desperately to avoid being skewered.


    Until Emery jumped into the melee, brandishing her spear. The additional weapon in the mix may have been enough to overwhelm them on its own, but with Emery wielding the spear, it was simply too much.


    The first Cultivator had ice and wire surrounding both their ankles, and trapping one arm against their torso. They had managed to finish their earthen armor while avoiding the onslaught, but that was all. When Emery jumped into the fight, she focused on them first; and when an air blade opened a deep gash in one leg near their knee, the leg gave out. Emery was there to catch their face with the butt of her spear - it cracked against their jaw and left them limp on the ground.


    The second Cultivator was a bit better off. Ice only remained on their left elbow and knee. It was making it difficult for them to dodge around efficiently, but hadn¡¯t inconvenienced them as much as the other. They had not only completed their armor, but also a large two-handed axe made of stone. Using the axe to bat away the flying swords occasionally had been enough to avoid most of Emery¡¯s invisible blades of air.


    When Emery moved in for the ¡®kill¡¯, the Cultivator turned toward her and prepared for a close quarters fight, entering a traditional sword fighting stance. It was one that Emery recognized and knew very well, thanks to her torturous childhood training.


    It was a good fighting style, well-rounded and designed for duels. It was not, however, very adept at dealing with multiple attackers. When Emery stepped in and struck with her spear in a simple thrust aimed at the Cultivator¡¯s head and they blocked in exactly the way she expected they would given their chosen stance, she immediately decided that this particular fighter must either be woefully unprepared for an actual fight, or simply an idiot.


    Two of her flying swords slammed into the Cultivator, handle first. Emery knew exactly where to strike given the blocking form they had used, and the defensive holes that would be left open. When the Cultivator¡¯s body contorted from the blows, Emery swung her spear in an arc aimed at the enemy¡¯s jaw in a similar blow to the one that had knocked out the other opponent.


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    As expected, this second Cultivator was better. They twisted to block the strike, and did so in a feat of flexibility, even with their left joints frozen. It didn¡¯t matter in the end when Emery¡¯s flying swords struck from four other directions at high speeds. Emery had dulled their edges to make them bludgeons, and they had succeeded in knocking the opponent out.


    Avuri, for her part, knew she didn¡¯t need to buy Emery much time. She could feel Emery¡¯s certainty in a quick victory. But even moreso, she could simply feel exactly where Emery was at in her battle. It would take her less than thirty seconds to put down the two mooks, even while pushing most of their Qi to Avuri.


    Avuri planned on making good use of those thirty seconds, especially when so much of their collective strength was currently hers. She split her available Qi several ways as she utilized several of her older techniques. Dancing Snowflakes appeared around her ready to fend off whatever blows might come her way. The chilled air around her hardened into her Hoarfrost Armor. And finally, two Blizzard Dragons coiled around her, their heads each poking up over her shoulders.


    The techniques weren¡¯t alive, but she took a moment to scratch under the right one¡¯s chin. If anyone else got anywhere near this close to the technique, the tightly wound wind and hail would begin to tear them apart so this sort of show was one she did often to downplay the danger of the technique.


    Leon condensed his fire barrier into a few large wheels then spun wildly in the air. They hovered behind him at the ready for whatever he would do with them. A whip of flame also appeared in one of his hands, while the other held a floating ball of light aloft. Avuri smiled inwardly; Leon may have gotten generally stronger, but each technique he used now were by the book techniques used by the Fire Eater Sect located in Bouquet.


    They weren¡¯t exactly a huge threat.


    Quarris, on the other hand, worried Avuri more. Her earthen armor looked unique. She didn¡¯t appear to use any hand-held weapons, but had clearly used a technique that created jagged pillars of rock to strike from the ground. She was also orbited by floating rocks that weren¡¯t large, or even shaped. They were just floating stones - the innocuousness of it gave Avuri pause.


    Even if Quarris didn¡¯t give her pause, her decision on how to approach this fight was made before it even began. She wanted to remove Leon from the board immediately so they could deal with him later. She definitely didn¡¯t want to kill him, but she was perfectly comfortable with maiming him to keep him out of the fight for now.


    She could feel Emery¡¯s approval at the thought in the instant she made the call. Avuri didn¡¯t have a lot of what she considered ¡®techniques¡¯. Sure, there were plenty of attacks and skills that she could implement and she was very versatile. But as far as techniques that she considered worthy of a name went, she only had a few. Dancing Snowflakes, Hoarfrost Armor, Blizzard Dragons, First Snow. All four of those had been developed early on in her life, too.


    New techniques that were worthy of setting apart with a name were hard to come by. She had several alterations for each of her named techniques, especially with her access to Emery¡¯s metal Qi. Reinforcing her ice with wires was the most common, of course, but there were others too. But none were truly worthy of being called their own technique in her mind.


    Except for one.


    In the nearly fifteen years that she had spent working with Emery and Cultivating a relatively new style of fighting, only twice had she developed a new technique that she felt was unique and distinct enough to give a new name; and one of them was entirely developed with Emery by accident.


    Leon was weaker than Avuri was, by a fair margin. Even putting aside her total output thanks to her Bonded Domain with Emery, Leon was still weaker. He felt like he was only a couple years into the Sky Realm, and his Domain gave off the same impression. It was small - stretching just over a meter from his body - and wasn¡¯t particularly resilient.


    Avuri wasn¡¯t great at shutting down Domains, even when they were distinctly weaker than hers. The spiritual force that was required to push against another Domain simply wasn¡¯t in her nature and her blizzard-like Qi. She was formless and destructive, but not forceful. She could have used Emery¡¯s metal-based Qi for it, but when she tried to learn how to combat opposing Domains with force, it hadn¡¯t gone well for her.


    Instead, she developed a different technique. It sprang mostly from her supportive, disruptive combat role from earlier in her life, but was still incredibly useful.


    She pulled a large amount of Qi from their Domain and forced it toward where her Domain pushed against Leon¡¯s. Avuri could feel the panic in the way his Domain suddenly flickered and surged against hers; but she wasn¡¯t pushing back. Instead, she used her Domain to drastically cool the air where the Domains met.


    It took a large amount of Qi to create, but not as much to maintain - just concentration. In an instant, Leon was completely surrounded in a cage of hypercooled metal that brushed against his Domain. The metal, which was cooled almost as far as Avuri could manage, was immensely hard.


    While average metals would likely shatter at such temperatures, the metal forged predominantly from Qi could be reforged in an instant by Avuri, so long as she paid attention to it. But at Leon¡¯s level, she found it very unlikely that he would be able to generate enough force to break through the metal. And if he tried, the metal was so cold that they were likely to freeze or cause frostbite on contact.


    It was a technique perfect for containing singular threats that were below Avuri¡¯s level. And while she was pretty sure that Quarris could probably break through it, as long as Avuri could keep her preoccupied on their fight until Emery finished up her half, this would end in their favor.


    In the same instant that Avuri formed her cage around Leon, Quarris wasted no time attacking. She crossed the field and unleashed a flurry of unarmed strikes. Avuri¡¯s Snowflakes intercepted an elbow, a knee, three punches, and a kick in the first exchange, which lasted all of four seconds. Avuri lost four of her sixteen Snowflakes in the exchange, as they shattered under the blows.


    ¡°You¡¯re not so tough.¡± Quarris said, her voice somewhat distorted coming through the stone mask. ¡°Those little shields of yours aren¡¯t very good at their job.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still standing here, aren¡¯t I?¡± She responded, as the four broken Snowflakes slowly reformed behind her. ¡°And they¡¯re far from my best defenders.¡±


    A sudden roar of noise from behind Quarris made her turn around. Suddenly face-to-face with a Blizzard Dragon, the woman threw up her arms in a guard as the Dragon slammed into her. The highly condensed wind and sharp ice - which was enhanced by Emery¡¯s sharpening effect - shredded through the woman¡¯s stone armor. It left deep cuts up and down her arms, though Avuri didn¡¯t see any blood. The same was true for the clear deep gashes around Quarris¡¯ torso and legs, which went unshielded by her arms.


    The stone armor seemed to shift and loosen, turning to wet sand and sloughing off Quarris¡¯ body, only to be quickly replaced by more earth and stone from the ground in a seamless loop.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to take more than that to get through my armor.¡± She said, her tone even. Not haughty, just confident.


    Avuri was wracking her brain trying to figure out how the armor worked. The cuts were definitely deep enough that they should have cut into her body. She gathered her Snowflakes and Dragons once more, preparing for a second pass.


    ¡°Here comes ¡®more than that¡¯, then.¡±

 124 : Terrible

    Ieji wasn¡¯t the type of fighter that would excel in a straightforward fight against someone like Terrane. Sure, Ieji was strong, efficient, and versatile when it came to combat. But the one thing they were not good at was straight forward brawls.


    Ieji¡¯s body simply wasn¡¯t built for it. The horrendous training they had endured as a child had left permanent scars throughout their body, many of which weren¡¯t visible. And being practically unable to grow or maintain any appreciable muscle mass was one of those scars. Being a Cultivator, Qi made up for a lot of that loss; but when Ieji went up against someone of their own level, they were at a disadvantage physically almost every time.


    It also didn¡¯t help that Ieji had grown to prefer less structured weapons - like the rope dart - which wouldn¡¯t exactly be an asset when it came time to defend themselves.


    All of this together had led Ieji down the path that they had been on for the last fifteen-odd years; one of stealth, subterfuge, misdirection, and preparation. While acting as a spy, Ieji got the most use out of the first three items on that list. Stealth and subterfuge would often be enough to avoid fighting altogether, allowing Ieji to make progress toward a goal without fighting. When fights broke out, but were unnecessary toward furthering a goal, misdirection was the best option to simply avoid the issue.


    Preparation was the ever-faithful fallback that never let them down. Knowing your tasks, goals, and potential problems inside and out before working toward a goal was the easiest way to guarantee success. Preparing for undesirable outcomes was one of the things that made Ieji one of the most fearsome spies in the Sky Realm. They regularly prepared for things to go awry in the strangest ways; and then when those awkward situations arose, Ieji was always prepared for it.


    There was a reason that Ieji regularly carried several spacial items on their person at any given time. Having an inventory of useful tools and tricks was invaluable in their line of work.


    But preparations, no matter how brilliant, couldn¡¯t bridge a gap of raw power in a straight forward competition. Tricks like poisons or consumable items could sometimes tip the scales a little bit, but it was rarely enough to win on its own.


    And while Ieji didn¡¯t let situations where raw power would carry the day occur often, they did happen. It was an inescapable fact of life that sometimes, someone was just simply stronger than you. And most people had to either submit, retreat, or circumvent that sort of problem altogether.


    Evidently, Ieji¡¯s spiritual self wasn¡¯t able to accept that.


    No one around Ieji could figure out exactly how the fear aura that surrounded them worked. It was vaguely attached to their Domain, but only nominally. It functioned wholly different from a Domain, although pushing Qi into their Domain did empower the aura as well. Even after years of trying to study it and with help from Vale and their siblings, the closest any of them could figure was that it was some kind of variation on a demonic technique that didn¡¯t appear to need Qi to function.


    Demi, at one point, had floated the idea that it was something like a demonic curse. And the longer time went on, the more Ieji believed that whatever it was that affected them was exactly that - a demonic curse. No matter how useful it was.


    When Ieji broke through to the Sky Realm and began to alter their Qi and techniques to a style more suited to them, the aura began to change as well. First, Ieji found that they could channel the aura into techniques to create things like the Nightmare Shroud. The way it functioned disturbed them, and they avoided using it unless it was necessary.


    Then came techniques that truly made Ieji afraid. There were some rules that Ieji had learned and been taught while Cultivating that had seemed to be the standard way things functioned. One such rule was that a person¡¯s Domain - as long as it was projected around them - was a defensive force that made it functionally impossible to impose one¡¯s will through Qi on another person¡¯s body.


    Yes, attacks and things could force their way into and through a Domain to harm the person, but it was impossible to control Qi within someone¡¯s body as long as their Domain was up. It was what stopped air users from pulling the air from another¡¯s lungs, or water users from simply condensing water inside someone.


    Those limits apparently didn¡¯t stop Ieji¡¯s aura. And it terrified them. As far as Ieji knew, they had the potential to be the strongest user of emotional warfare in existence. Their ability to cause fear had been able to affect Cultivators of much higher strength without extra effort, and it stood to reason that the more warped and evil effects they could cause with their aura was no different.


    Terrane charged, brandishing the stone sword that he had created. The stance was one that Ieji had seen Emery use before, but they weren¡¯t familiar with it enough for that to be of any help. Worse still, Ieji could feel the Qi radiating from the blade; it clearly held so much condensed Qi that if there wasn¡¯t something more to the technique than simply creating a sword, Ieji would retire right there.


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Terrane swung the blade diagonally in a cross-cut while still a few meters away and still on the approach. A wide swath of sand shot from the blade in an arc following the cut, flying straight toward Ieji.


    So far, so standard. Ieji readied their dart for a counter attack as they stepped to the side, allowing the sand pass. As they flung the dart forward, aiming at Terrane¡¯s left thigh, the man dipped the blade in a surprisingly graceful motion to deflect the dart¡¯s tip by a miniscule amount - but it was just enough to push it off target.


    In the same motion, the blade came back up launching another sweep of sand Ieji¡¯s direction. Unable to trust the rope dart¡¯s chain to block flying sand, Ieji was forced to step aside again and pull the dart back to prepare another attack.


    Terrane, having completely closed the distance at that point, grinned. The sword swung horizontally in a wide sweeping motion at about waist height. Ieji immediately recognized the aim of this strike - the height made it difficult to duck under, but jumping over it would be dangerous. And it was too wide to avoid to the side. It was an attack designed to make the opponent dodge in an easy to control direction.


    And with few exceptions, up was almost always a bad choice.


    Figuring that the sand itself couldn¡¯t be too bad, likely just painful, Ieji intercepted the sword strike itself with the dart¡¯s chain and redirected it just enough to avoid being cut by it.


    The sand that followed didn¡¯t hurt as badly as they thought it might. But pain and damage wasn¡¯t the issue, apparently.


    The sand stuck to Ieji¡¯s clothing and hardened. And it got heavy. Unnaturally so. It felt like Ieji¡¯s shirt suddenly weighed as much as a boulder that they might consider using as weight training.


    Worse still, the sand seemed to be invading and traveling through the clothing fibers, making the whole shirt a problem, not just the line initially drawn across it. And Terrane wasn¡¯t letting up his attacks either, to make sure that Ieji couldn¡¯t simply discard the shirt.


    Attacks began to flow in from every direction, and not every attack carried the blast of sand. Ieji was forced to abandon the rope dart that they loved in favor of a wicked looking curved knife. It was serrated and had strange protrusions designed to catch blades and make parrying easier. If Ieji was lucky, they could even break a weapon with it, but not this time.


    Ieji focused on keeping the sword strikes from crossing their body. A horizontal sweep was lifted over their head. A vertical cut was moved aside. They weaved between diagonal cuts that launched sand past them.


    Terrane¡¯s swordplay was surprisingly fluid and graceful, given how heavy the sword they wielded was. Thankfully, Ieji had practiced with an equally graceful swordmaster most of their life. And defending against Emery¡¯s strikes had ended up being fantastic training for this defensive flurry.


    And Ieji kept it up until the sand from the initial strike had worked its way into their sleeves, hardening those as well. In the instant that Ieji felt their right sleeve begin to finally impede their arm movement, they lept to the side to dodge a swing that landed them on the ground.


    Terrane didn¡¯t miss a beat and stepped up over Ieji, sweeping the sword toward their neck in the same graceful style of movements they had used until now.


    And then they just stopped. Terrane¡¯s eyes opened slightly, alarmed. Whatever state of flow they had entered during the battle was disrupted long enough for Ieji to scramble away and back to their feet. The sudden surge of fear and distrust in Terrane¡¯s eyes were as clear an indictment as any for Ieji to know their technique had found its mark.


    ¡°Why are you -?¡± Terrane staggered back, looking around confused. Then he glanced back at Ieji, looking distraught. ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    Ieji remained quiet, but climbed to their feet. Slowly, resolutely, Ieji withdrew a vial of a poison from their storage ring similar to the poison that had been applied to the rope dart earlier; however, this was a more virulent dose. It required direct contact with the bloodstream, so a small cut wouldn¡¯t work as well.


    Qi based poisons were incredibly potent and dangerous, but the Qi component also made them near useless in a fight. If the target of the poison recognized it as such, they could simply neutralize it with their own Qi, especially if it entered their Domain. It would be easy to do.


    And this particular poison was greatly strengthened by Ieji¡¯s Qi.


    Terrane watched Ieji suspiciously as they poured the poison liberally over the jagged knife. Ieji had no idea what Terrane was watching, but it wasn¡¯t someone applying poison to a blade.


    Terrane stomped his foot angrily and threw his sword to the ground, where it dissipated back into the dirt.


    ¡°Mother!¡± He shouted, sounding somewhere between angry and desperate. ¡°Why are you here? Or, rather, where are we?¡±


    Ieji smiled at the man sadly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± They said, trying to affect a sweeter tone as they opened their arms. ¡°Come here, Terrane.¡±


    Terrane didn¡¯t even hesitate. He walked forward for the offered embrace. As both of their arms closed around the other, Terrane murmured ¡°I thought you were dead.¡±


    Ieji held back their emotions as they slowly drew the knife across Terrane¡¯s back. The blade bit deep enough for the poison to do what Ieji needed it to, and in moments Terrane¡¯s body was locked up in their arms by the paralytic.


    Terrible.


    That was the only word Ieji could use to describe that technique. They hadn¡¯t given it a name, unable to reckon with exactly what exactly they could do with it.


    Clouding someone¡¯s mind to the point that they had no idea what was happening, numb to whatever happened to them, and confused by seeing things they wanted or were afraid of - seemingly whichever Ieji¡¯s technique decided would be most useful in the moment.


    As far as Ieji could tell, there was no defending against it. It had never failed, so long as there was only a singular target.


    It was truly terrifying, what Ieji could do.


    ¡°Terrible.¡± They said flatly.

 125 : Assist

    Mica and Cove were struggling. The fight had lasted barely a minute so far and they had been on the back foot the entire time.


    Mica was able to take more punishment from Firmis than either had expected, as she was finding some resiliency that she didn¡¯t realize she had with her back against the wall. But taking the attacks that Firmis was sending their way would only get them so far. Even if she could manage to stay standing after hours of punishment, somehow, they would need to find a way to counterattack. And she wouldn¡¯t last hours. She would be lucky to last several minutes like this.


    But Firmis was shrugging off their counters like water off a duck¡¯s back. In the short bursts of action so far, the only thing that seemed to have any effect at all was weakening the man¡¯s footing; but Firmis had recognized that weakness as well, and kept his Domain extended and in the ground to keep it solid under him.


    As Mica once again stepped into a big hammer swing to intercept the blow meant for Cove, they both cursed. Cove, because he couldn¡¯t seem to come up with any winning strategies. Mica because the stone armor on her arms that she used to take the blow shattered. Again.


    Cove retreated as Firmis leaned into his first swing, bringing the hammer all the way through and around behind him only to heft it up with that same momentum and carry it forward into an overhead smash. Mica, while scrambling to reform her arm protection, was forced to jump back from the attack as it impacted the ground heavily, throwing all kinds of debris into the air, most of which bounced harmlessly off her armor. She did feel a rock smash into her cheek, but it didn¡¯t really accomplish much.


    The cousins took a moment to breathe while Firmis yanked his hammer from the impact crater in the ground. Once again, he slung it up and over a shoulder lazily and smiled a taunt at them. ¡°Are we going to actually fight or is this going to continue to be one-sided? Not that I mind beating you senseless, but I¡¯d prefer it to have at least a little sport.¡±


    ¡°How ¡®sporting¡¯ are you willing to be?¡± Mica returned with a strained laugh. ¡°I mean, if you¡¯re willing to wait for us to come up with a plan, maybe this could turn into a real fight.¡±


    She knew she was spouting absolute nonsense. But if she could buy them even just ten or fifteen more seconds to think, it could make the difference. Who knew? But Mica did know that if they did come up with a plan, it likely wasn¡¯t coming from her. She wasn¡¯t stupid, sure, but she never thought of herself as clever. And even when she was clever, it was rarely an in-the-moment type of clever. She thought through problems over days before coming up with a solution, usually.


    Which meant that she was mostly relying on Cove to come up with something.


    And Cove was desperately trying, but coming up empty. Their skill sets were a bad match for Firmis. Cove was similar to Avuri - a wide range support specialist, good at tripping up enemies. Loose moving sand was just as good at it as ice was. And while Cove had some ability with manipulating water, he had no talent for freezing it or using it as ice. And even then, he wasn¡¯t focused on attacking as much as hampering - tinkering with tide pulls in shallow water, for example, to trip people up.


    And Mica was sturdy, but lacked power. She was proving just how sturdy she was - which was far moreso than either of them expected - by still standing. But her endurance would eventually run out. She was human after all, even if she was a Cultivator. And they needed to find some way to put Firmis on the back foot before Mica fell.


    Cove couldn¡¯t help but think that, ironically, if Glenn had stayed with his sister instead of covering Ieji, she would have the strong attacker she needed, instead of a supporter that was ill-matched against their opponent.


    Cove snapped back into focus when Mica made a move. He wasn¡¯t sure if he missed a remark that angered her, or if it was meant to be a surprise attack, but her sudden burst of motion brought him out of his thoughts. She had a full suit of stone armor on once again and rushed Firmis in a hand-to-hand grappling focused stance.


    He did what he could to support her with little warning. A surge of Qi moved swiftly underground as he tried to destabilize the dirt that Firmis stood on. As it had for most of the fight, the technique had middling effects. It churned some of the dirt underground, but Firmis held a large patch of earth together to stand on with his Domain.


    Mica closed in on Firmis quickly. He swung his hammer at her which she dodged as she continued to slide inside his guard. In the instant that the hammer blow missed, he dropped the handle and moved in for a hand-to-hand exchange as well. Mica opened with a few tentative punches to test how he¡¯d react. Firmis weaved around the strikes instead of blocking or parrying, while throwing a few testing strikes of his own.


    Mica followed suit, deftly moving around the attacks rather than block, just case. Cove began launching small scale attacks at Firmis while trying to anticipate where the holes in his defenses would be following Mica¡¯s strikes. They were mostly blasts of sand which wouldn¡¯t really have much effect. They weren¡¯t designed to harm higher Realm Cultivators, after all. But he wanted Firmis to get used to ignoring them. Which he did quickly.


    Mica and Firmis continued to exchange blows, with neither side gaining any sort of solid upperhand, if only because neither was willing to commit anything. Firmis¡¯ caution took the cousins by surprise, after he was previously attacking with abandon, though Cove imagined he was just hesitant because Mica suddenly changed her approach.


    Fifteen seconds into the new exchange, Cove took his shot. Firmis had moved both hands to intercept two simultaneous elbow strikes from Mica, leaving himself as open as he would ever be. Cove flung a blast of sand into the man¡¯s face. It was unlikely to cause any real damage, but Cove sustained the attack as long as he could, hoping to deposit as much dirt and sand into Firmis¡¯ eyes as he could.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Cove nearly sighed in relief when Firmis staggered back and clawed at his face to remove the sand. Thankfully, even without warning, Mica saw her opportunity to strike. She slid up to Firmis while he was distracted by the sand and grappled him around the waist. She lifted him to perform a fairly standard throw or body slam, Cove couldn¡¯t tell which, but that wasn¡¯t his concern.


    In the instant that Mica lifted Firmis from the ground, the man¡¯s Domain stopped holding it together. Cove immediately sent a burst of Qi to scramble the earth, destroying the firm footing that had been giving Firmis a strong base. Cove watched, hoping that it would be enough, as Mica slammed Firmis to the ground and immediately slithered into an arm bar, despite the bulk of her armor. Cove was impressed by the grace in the movement.


    As Mica had a firm grasp on her opponent''s arm and levered it in the arm bar to try to either dislocate or break it, there was a moment where they thought it might be enough. It did not last, though.


    Despite Mica¡¯s tugging on Firmis¡¯ arm, the man was still simply stronger than her. He had cleared away enough of the sand in his eyes that he could ignore what was left of it, and simply bent his arm forward. He had enough strength that Mica, still holding desperately to the arm, was forced to sit up with it. And then Firmis stood, holding Mica¡¯s entire bulk with her armor up with just the one flexed arm. He turned and smiled a vicious smile at her.


    ¡°Sorry, but you¡¯re gonna have to do better than that.¡± Then, with a tremendous heave, Firmis threw Mica off of him. She smashed against the icy wall that Avuri had created, and the ice cracked in a spiderweb pattern radiating out from her impact. Evidently, Avuri wasn¡¯t focusing on holding up the ice anymore.


    The throw itself didn¡¯t really hurt Mica other than her pride; she was back on her feet quickly and jumping back toward Firmis, who was already moving toward Cove. He was clearly looking for some revenge for the sand attack, going by the look on his face. Cove was trying to keep Firmis at bay, but his attacks were basically insignificant.


    And then there was a huge crunch and cracking sound from behind Mica. Specifically near where she had impacted the ice. Everyone turned to look as a tree trunk nearly a meter in diameter shattered the wall and grew straight through it. Glenn jumped through the hole his tree had made, dusting off shards of ice from his clothing.


    ¡°I noticed the fertile ground and figured I¡¯d come help.¡± He said with a smile and he rotated his wrists in a stretch. ¡°I think Ieji has the other part well in hand now.¡±


    As if on cue, screams of absolute terror erupted from the other side of the wall.


    Glenn quickly took in the state of the battlefield and nodded. ¡°I think the three of us can handle this guy.¡±


    Firmis narrowed his eyes at Glenn while trying to get a read on the newcomer. ¡°Three against one, is it?¡± He shrugged. ¡°These two have hardly been a problem. We can see if a third makes a difference.¡±


    ¡°Glad to hear it.¡± Glenn said as he moved further into their little clearing. As he did so, small plants grew at his feet as his Qi invaded the ground. He grinned again. ¡°I see you all have been churning the ground nicely. And dumping Qi into it too - nice.¡±


    With a quick burst of Qi, a tree trunk sprung up from the ground and grew toward Firmis incredibly quickly. It could have feasibly been an attack if the target was slower. But Firmis moved to the side easily, allowing the tree to grow right past him. As he did so, he recreated his hammer and stared down Glenn.


    Glenn reached out toward the tree he just created. Vines and bark seemed to grow from the tree and wrap around his forearm, creating a gauntlet from the natural materials. He stretched his gauntlet-clad arm out toward Firmis, flexed his fingers, and moved.


    Firmis met him midway with a wide hammer swing. Glenn pivoted into Firmis¡¯ swing and punched the hammer with his full strength. Unlike Mica or Cove, Glenn had Cultivated his body¡¯s raw strength. He had enough power to turn aside the hammer blow - but he didn¡¯t. The plants that made up his gauntlet attached themselves to the hammer rather than shatter it.


    It was one of the most annoying techniques that Glenn had in his arsenal. While training in the Stone Breaker Sect, he had needed to develop some way to overcome stone and earth Qi. It took years, but he had developed a technique that would allow his wood Qi to invade and break down earth focused Qi in the same way that tree roots could grow through stone with enough care.


    As the roots grew through the hammer, it cracked and fell apart in Firmis¡¯ hands. To his credit, the man immediately adjusted to a hand-to-hand combat form, rushing into Glenn¡¯s space. Several blows were traded, though neither side seemed to leave any sort of damage behind.


    After moving apart to refresh themselves for a moment, Firmis stomped. The attack manifested as a spike of stone erupting from the ground toward Glenn¡¯s chest at high speeds. Glenn blocked the attack with his gauntleted arm while Firmis moved in to follow up.


    Mica stepped in then by tackling Firmis from the side. He did manage to turn and intercept the attack in time, avoiding any sort of injury. But as he held the spikes of Mica¡¯s armor at bay, Glenn slipped to his side and laid into him with a solid punch. The wooden gauntlet crashed into Firmis¡¯ flank with a level of strength well beyond any blow he had received so far.


    But what really hurt was the follow up. Glenn didn¡¯t follow through with the punch. Instead, similarly to the hammer, roots and vines grew from the gauntlet. His Domain protected him from the worst possibilities, but the roots still dug into his skin trying to find purchase to hold him in place.


    Firmis tried to pull away, but found that as he had focused on the sudden and unexpected pain from the roots he hadn¡¯t focused on the ground like he had done until now. His foot sank into the dirt as though it were quicksand, and he couldn¡¯t get any purchase to push away from Glenn.


    Mica saw her chance; she slipped behind Firmis and grappled him in a bearhug. Firmis tried to spin in her grip and wound up an elbow aimed at the side of her head. As his blow crashed into her stone helm and cracked it, Glenn¡¯s second punch landed. It slammed into Firmis¡¯s flank, which was now nearly parallel to the ground.


    Glenn pushed the other man to the ground with the force of his attack. And this time, rather than the roots making an attack of their own, they crawled over and around Firmis body and took root in the ground.


    Firmis fought against the roots, ripped a few of them loose, but they grew terrifyingly fast - and thick. By the time Firmis was anywhere near escaping, Glenn had prepared his last attack.


    As Glenn¡¯s final punch landed squarely in Firmis¡¯ solar plexus, an entire tree crashed into his head.

 126 : Fort

    Stena and Cierra were not happy with us.


    In the few days following Avuri and I Bonding our Domains we were very busy. Vale had taken it upon himself to teach us as much of the basics regarding our new skillset as he could - and there was a lot to learn! But more than that, there was enough potential harm involved that we weren¡¯t comfortable going without learning more about it either.


    Between being able to accidentally hurt ourselves if we weren¡¯t careful in addition to our lives being spiritually linked, this was no time to take chances. And so, for several days, we were in something akin to closed doors training with Vale while he made sure we wouldn¡¯t accidentally hurt ourselves.


    That also meant that the girls were getting bounced around between my siblings each day. Thankfully, they didn¡¯t seem upset with any of them but rather just that they barely got to see us for a few days.


    And then, why we finally appeared again, it was for a day full of chores. Most of the vital things like feeding animals and watering plants had been done, but there were plenty of less immediate things that had piled up. And while Avuri and I went around to take care of things, Cierra and Stena were all but attached to us.


    Vale has suggested that we stick together for the day and see how our new Domain would act throughout a normal day, so while it took longer to get things done, we did stay together. That, at least, seemed to be a positive move for the girls as they were at least able to complain to both of us all day without needing to run between us.


    It took most of the sunlight to get everything done. It had been a while since we had gone over the fields with a more intense inspection, and that alone took most of the day. By the time we finished dinner we only had a couple hours of sunlight left, and only one chore left to tackle. The laundry.


    With my family still hanging around for now, there was a lot that needed washing. Significantly more towels and blankets were in the piles than normal, in addition to all of the extra clothes. With Vale pushing Avuri and I so hard during the week, we even had extra sweat stained clothing just from us, let alone what the rest of the family generated.


    Thankfully, the laundry was also one job that we were actually very well equipped for, Cultivator wise. Cierra and Stena still insisted on helping, so the four of us had lined up a whole mess of large tubs of water on the bottom floor of the house to get the laundry rolling.


    We made a game out of it, seeing who could throw a balled up bit of cloth into the furthest tub and with the best accuracy. Cierra and Stena had a blast as blankets and clothing went flying through the air. Once the clothing was all in the soapy water, I maintained a few metal rods in each tub to keep things circulating in the water.


    Then Avuri took over. It was strange, knowing that I could feasibly do all of her water feats now, too, but I certainly would need practice first. Conveniently, I was able to watch and even feel what she did as she went around pulling various pieces of cloth from the tubs, snapping them out, then evaporating the water away.


    Once each piece was dry, she¡¯d hand it off to one of the girls, who were now acting as runners, to place things on a line just outside the house so we could fold everything at once. We had nearly everything out of the tubs when the girls didn¡¯t come back from their most recent trip outside. Avuri and I picked out the last few bits of clothing and carried it with us as we moved to the clotheslines outside.


    When they came into view, Avuri and I both laughed. Evidently, the girls had been busy. We had several clotheslines running parallel to one another, and they had taken it upon themselves to drape the larger blankets over them all to make a blanket fort. It wasn¡¯t anything impressive, but they had successfully created draped walls and used a different colored towel to mark the entrance.


    ¡°Cierra? Stena? Where¡¯d the rest of the clothes go?¡± Avuri asked as we approached the ¡®door¡¯. ¡°You better not have left them anywhere.¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t, Momri. We were gonna fold them in here.¡± Cierra responded. And sure enough, when we pulled back the blanket, Cierra and Stena were both seated with a few baskets between them, folding the clothing. All of the blankets had apparently gone into the fort, but they had sorted the clothing into baskets based on whose they were. Some were surely guesses, because even I wasn¡¯t sure I would separate Demi and Rylie¡¯s clothing perfectly, but they had tried.


    When I ducked to enter their little fort, I clicked my tongue disapprovingly. Both girls looked at me, mildly worried they were about to be scolded. I looked around at their fort and shook my head. ¡°If you two are my little girls, I¡¯m going to need to teach you better than this. No middle supports, only one room, just a drape for a door¡­we need to have a building lesson.¡± I declared.


    Cierra and Stena¡¯s faces suddenly lit up with huge grins. ¡°You can help us make a bigger one?¡±


    I shot them a sly smile. ¡°Not just bigger. Better, too.¡± I glanced at Avuri and asked, ¡°How about you, Ri? Ever made a blanket fort?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯d ask me that.¡± She said, her expression all mock outrage. ¡°Of course I have. I bet I¡¯m even better at it than you.¡±


    ¡°Oh? We¡¯ll see about that.¡± I said, ¡°Or maybe we should work together to show our girls just how awesome their Moms are?¡±


    ¡°Now you¡¯re talking.¡± Avuri agreed, then turned toward Cierra and Stena. ¡°Are you two okay if we take the blankets down? We¡¯ll take everything inside and build a new one there so it can stay up for a while. What do you think?¡±


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Can it be in our rooms?¡± Stena asked, trying not to bounce up and down.


    ¡°Sure.¡± I said.


    ¡°We can get a bunch of the extra blankets and make it big enough to go between both your rooms. How about that?¡± Avuri prodded.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Both girls shouted and jumped to their feet.


    ¡°We need to fold the clothing first though.¡± Avuri said, and I laughed as the girls immediately drooped.


    ¡°Work first, play after.¡± I said as I settled onto the ground to fold. ¡°It¡¯ll be worth it, I promise.¡±


    As Avuri settled beside me, Cierra and Stena plopped back to the ground and began shuffling through baskets to find things easier to fold that they could manage without help while leaving the rest for the adults.


    ¡°So, do you have some blueprints to work with?¡± Avuri asked through our connection.


    ¡°No, but I do have ideas.¡± I sent back. As we sat folding laundry, Avuri and I practiced sending non-verbal thoughts back and forth, sharing images back and forth of how we planned to absolutely floor our kids.


    We ended up spending about ten minutes folding the clothing because there was a lot of it, even ignoring the blankets. Ten people generated a lot of laundry, apparently.


    In the very instant that Cierra placed the last shirt in Ieji¡¯s basket, the girls lept to their feet and began tearing down their fort to gather up the blankets. I suddenly found myself with an armful of rolled up blankets as they kept handing them off to me as they gathered each one up in turn. Before the pile managed to get too big, I sent them into my storage ring with a quick thought.


    ¡°Ri? Can you go get the other storage ring that has all the linens in it? I think we¡¯re gonna need them.¡± As Cierra threw another blanket on top of my third quickly growing pile, I wobbled as if the blankets weighed too much and Stena laughed as she deliberately threw another blanket at me. It hit me square in the face.


    As I did my best to shake my face free of the news blanket, I heard Avuri respond through her laughter. ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll meet you in Stena¡¯s room.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good. How many more blankets we got out here, girls?¡± I asked, as I stowed the third pile.


    ¡°Four!¡± Stena said as they gathered the last couple blankets. Rather than hand them off to me though, Cierra and Stena both immediately just took off toward the house at a run. I followed them with a monstrous growl as I put my hands up in a claw shape and gave chase. They screamed and redoubled their pace as I playfully nipped at their heels.


    We beat Avuri to the bedrooms as the girls nearly tripped over themselves to escape my grabbing hands behind them. When they tumbled through the door, I sank to my knees defeated. ¡°No!¡± I whined, ¡°My hugs¡­¡± I slumped against the ground sadly.


    Cierra and Stena spun around and tackled me in retaliation. I tumbled backward, and the back of my head landed on Avuri¡¯s feet. I leaned my head back to look up at her from the ground with a grin. ¡°Hi.¡±


    ¡°Hi.¡± She said, waving the ring in her hand at me and the girls. ¡°Ready?¡±


    Cierra and Stena sat up on my lap and nodded fiercely. I felt Avuri poke the ring with her Qi and blankets flew out into the bedroom. With the huge pile of cloth deposited in the center of the room, she tucked the ring away again with a devious little smile. ¡°Let¡¯s get building!¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°The hell is going on up here?¡±


    ¡°No idea. I saw Avuri dash up the stairs earlier, but it was pretty quiet until just a bit¡­ago¡­¡±


    I could hear Vale and Talya as they climbed the stairs. One of the large supports I had made with Qi had fallen over and the metal crash had echoed through the house. It was already repaired though.


    Cierra and I poked our heads out of the flap we made for a door that faced the stairs at the end of the hallway to grin at Vale and Talya as they crested the top stair. The blanket fort had been built up to encompass both girls¡¯ rooms, the entire hallway between them, and one of the bedrooms across the hall.


    Thanks to well placed metal rods that I had created, the roof of the fort was about four feet off the ground - more than high enough to let the girls stand, but low enough to make the adults hunch a little.


    Avuri had also grabbed some snacks that had been stashed in the pantry, and stocked a little corner of the fort in Stena¡¯s room with them. Together, we had even made a little chest out of metal that was crafted with a core of ice to keep drinks cold.


    In Cierra¡¯s room, we had piled bedding and cushions to make a really nice hang out spot for everyone. Avuri and Stena were there now, playing a hand game.


    Vale and Talya looked over the fort as I said, ¡°Sorry about the noise. One of the metal support beams fell before I noticed it. It¡¯s been repaired and reinforced.¡±


    There was a moment where I could tell Cierra was worried how they would react to us making such a mess, but I wasn¡¯t worried. I rubbed her back comfortingly to keep her calm.


    Vale looked over the fort with his hands on his hip and an evaluating glint in his eye. ¡°I think you could go bigger. Did you put anything in the rooms yet?¡± He asked, walking to the entrance and starting to crouch down to enter. ¡°Maybe we could put a small Qi-based fire pit in one. Roast some treats over it.¡±


    Talya followed suit as she added, ¡°I¡¯m sure I could make up an Array to keep it safe.¡± She glanced toward the window before she made it to the entrance of the fort. ¡°Did you let the others know about this? I¡¯m sure they would love to help.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡± I said. ¡°But I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll find out tomorrow at breakfast.¡±


    Vale laughed as he passed me, crouch-walking his way through the hallway toward Avuri and Stena¡¯s voices. ¡°The whole house is going to be a blanket fort by tomorrow night.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Cierra said from behind him, glowing with excitement.


    ¡°Absolutely.¡± Talya and I said together.


    ¡°Assuming Demi and Rylie don¡¯t start a war again.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± I said, reminiscing. ¡°Last time we built forts, it all ended with a big pillow fight.¡±


    ¡°We won.¡± Talya declared, sticking her chest out the best she could in the cramped space.


    ¡°No you didn¡¯t!¡± I said. ¡°Demi and I won! We took out Rylie¡¯s main support beam first.¡±


    ¡°Sure, but we had the last section standing.¡± Talya bit back.


    ¡°Lies.¡±

 127 : Equilibrium

    Avuri stared down Quarris as Emery mopped up her two opponents. Leon had been removed from the fight for now, trapped by Avuri¡¯s Chilling Cage. All in all, things were proceeding in their favor - outside of Quarris¡¯ seemingly high level of resilience.


    The Blizzard Dragon at point blank range apparently had minimal effect. It had torn some of Quarris¡¯ armor to shreds, and bit deeply into some of her less heavily armored and defended extremities, but hadn¡¯t drawn any blood that Avuri could see. And while her Blizzard Dragons weren¡¯t necessarily built for a single high-powered hit, the damage they caused was significant.


    Avuri could pin her hopes on one of Emery¡¯s weapon strikes doing the job. A full powered cut could, presumably, simply slice the woman in two. Unless there was an even more significant defense hidden beneath the layer of sand that she had seen slough off after the Dragon had done its work.


    As Emery knocked out her last target, she sent a question to Avuri through their link. ¡°Why not try our new trick?¡±


    Emery had no doubt felt Avuri thinking about it in the back of her head. They did have the second technique - if it could even be called that - still hidden. It was almost without question their single most destructive attack, but it was still mostly untested.


    ¡°Do you really think live testing in a fight like this is a good idea?¡±


    ¡°We know it works on a small scale.¡± Emery responded as she quickly made her way to stand beside Avuri. Quarris was gathering Qi for some kind of technique, and they wanted to be able to deal with it together.


    ¡°Yes, but we also know how destructive it is on a small scale. If we land the shot, we might just kill her outright.¡±


    ¡°She told us she was going to ¡®cleanse¡¯ our children, Ri. I don¡¯t very much care if we accidentally take her head off.¡± She raised her spear toward the woman in a defensive stance, ready to intercept whatever came their way. ¡°We could kill her while fighting to disable her anyway. It¡¯s a risk she accepted when she chose to fight us.¡±


    The floating stones that orbited Quarris began to rotate around her at speed. They moved very quickly, to the point that they were nearly a blur. Emery laughed. ¡°Just try to aim for a leg or arm, I guess?¡±


    Avuri rolled her eyes. ¡°Right. I¡¯ll do what I can, then. Defend me.¡±


    She didn¡¯t even really need to ask - Emery already knew how this would go if they ever needed to use this particular thing in combat. It was a very delicate process to set up based on their testing, and Avuri would need more time than Quarris would give her if she were undefended.


    Without needing to actively agree, Emery stepped in front of Avuri quickly. In the same instant, Quarris launched a few of the stones from her orbit forward. They were replenished form the ground at the same rate they were launched, which was a nifty little trick.


    Their speed was impressive enough that Emery didn¡¯t feel comfortable trying to knock them out of the air. Instead, she altered her floating swords into wide steel plates. They moved to intercept each shot that Emery could track. Just in case, several of the plates stretched thin to cover more area and made a barrier to cover both of them.


    The stones bounced off the metal with a distinct pinging sound. Worse, there were a few that rebounded from the larger barrier that hid them from the shots. That meant there were some hidden projectiles that Emery couldn¡¯t easily track. She wasn¡¯t sure what the mechanism of the attack was, as normal looking rocks fell to the ground after being stopped.


    ¡°You¡¯re smarter than I thought.¡± Quarris said, sounding almost bored. ¡°Most people don¡¯t put up such a wide defending screen when they can clearly see an attack coming. Good on you for not trusting that.¡± Her praise sounded almost genuine.


    ¡°Well, thank you for the praise!¡± Emery smiled as she responded. ¡°I assume that a few hidden, high speed projectiles isn¡¯t all you can do?¡±


    Quarris smiled in turn. ¡°Of course not. Are you ready for a second volley?¡±


    ¡°Just about.¡± Emery said. ¡°I¡¯m curious to see how you do under pressure.¡±


    Quarris raised her arms as she called up a second and then third group of orbiting stones. They spun up to match the speed of the first set quickly, but left Emery just enough time to start her own move. She stomped a foot on the ground and pushed off into a straight forward dash. When she stomped, metal sprung up from the ground all around her and Avuri. Thicker walls were in place to defend Avuri just in case now; but more importantly, large pillars of a specific metal popped up as well.


    Avuri sent her thanks, as despite being able to do it herself, they were both still much faster with their own skills. Emery¡¯s metal creation was at least twice the speed of Avuri¡¯s, but probably even faster than that. Especially when it came to creating very specific metals. Emery did leave the more exact work to Avuri though.


    ¡°You should have the time you need. Get it done.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep an eye on you just in case.¡± Avuri said, keeping a sliver of her attention on the battle through their Domain as she got to work on putting their attack together.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Emery darted in close with her spear and several floating disks that had been fully shaped into functional shields, complete with a slight curve to deflect the projectiles. As she got within striking distance of Quarris, she realized just how complete the other woman¡¯s technique was.


    Not only could she fire off attacks from any point in the orbits, giving the attack more angle possibilities than Emery had expected, the speed that the orbits spun around her were also similar to punishing saw blades. She could move them well enough to deflect the spear thrusts, and when the high speed rotating stones hit the spear¡¯s tip it would do so with enough force to wrench the attack away. It even broke the spear¡¯s tip more than once.


    It also made for a handy ¡®do not touch me¡¯ defense. Emery wasn¡¯t confident that she could get into a close-quarters fight with Quarris and take several rocks to the body at those speeds. Which meant she was also locked into trying to use polearms or other weapons with a bit more reach.


    Thankfully, her flying shields were enough to deflect most of the projectiles sent her way, and repurposing a few of the shields into projectiles of their own kept her in the fight. When things got particularly dicey, Emery implemented a few of Avuri¡¯s techniques. A well placed rime slick on the ground to destabilize Quarris, or a flash-freeze of a limb was enough to balance the fight again.


    The two traded blows and attacks on fairly even footing. And Emery¡¯s onslaught was enough to keep Quarris occupied - or at least occupied enough that she was only able to send minor attacks at Avuri. Occasionally, a projectile got launched in Avuri¡¯s direction, but pinged off of one of the many metal walls that Emery had created.


    The equilibrium lasted for a few exchanges before Quarris added in whatever technique it was that she had used earlier.


    In the middle of fending off the speeding projectiles while striking out with her spear, Emery suddenly felt a pinching sensation in her side followed by a quick lance of pain. She felt Avuri¡¯s shout of concern in their Domain but reassured her that she was fine - and she was. The injury was shallow, despite being painful.


    The problem was that, like before, she hadn¡¯t seen the attack itself. And when there were already so many projectiles that she could see, one or two hidden ones could be a real problem.


    And worse still, Emery still hadn¡¯t found anything that would work as a counter-offensive. She had been placing her invisible air blades all around them for a while now, but they did nothing. As soon as Quarris approached one, her orbiting stones would touch it first, and they were spinning with enough force to break the hidden blades when they contacted them.


    Even when she had gotten creative and faced the sharpened side at the right angle so that the rocks would hit it instead of the flat, they would just cut a few of the stones before getting clobbered by the rest.


    For as simple as it was, Quarris'' technique was annoyingly effective. Or at least it was an effective counter to Emery¡¯s weapons. If she could throw fire or some kind of less rigid physical attack at the woman, it might work, but as it was, all of her attacks would get deflected or pulverized by the spinning rocks.


    Emery sharpened her focus and her Domain¡¯s senses on trying to discern what exactly Quarris was doing to cause her hidden attack. They continued to move around the battlefield together, Emery unwilling to let Quarris make any appreciable distance between them. Quarris, meanwhile, moved well despite her armor - even if it was a lighter version than normal.


    Quarris had also spun up two more orbits worth of stone. They now encircled her in five different directions, which helped cover her from most angles. Anytime her stones smashed into one of Emery¡¯s invisible blades, she readjusted her movement and avoided it. Emery had to admit, the woman was good.


    When the next hidden projectile shot through Emery¡¯s left shoulder, she finally thought she understood what was happening. Once again, she had to reassure Avuri that she was alright, and that Avuri should keep on working on their attack. It was, thankfully, almost ready. After the initial metals were prepared, Emery didn¡¯t have much left to do; Avuri would take care of the rest.


    But it wasn¡¯t like Emery was just about to lay down and let Avuri take care of everything. She couldn¡¯t raise her left arm as well as normal, but that was fine. It wasn¡¯t permanent damage and would heal.


    Quarris would, however, regret not going for a fully crippling blow. Or at least, Emery wouldn¡¯t let another of those hidden projectiles land.


    To her credit, Emery was impressed. The technique was simple and effective, but also unexpected and difficult enough to not immediately recognize.


    Quarris¡¯ Domain control was surprisingly good. She had pushed it deeper into the ground than Emery had ever seen anyone else do. And the trick was that a thin sliver of her Domain had stretched off a ways and then returned to the surface - several meters behind Emery. It was that little sliver of Domain that was launching the ¡®hidden¡¯ projectiles, except they weren¡¯t hidden at all. Just coming from an entirely different angle.


    It was a simple trick. The impressive visuals of the orbiting rocks, plus the potentially overwhelming amount coming from one direction made it very easy to overlook a single projectile coming from a different direction. But with such a small portion of her Domain launching the attack, her aim and power both suffered. Emery had no doubt that if she dedicated more of her Domain to the launcher, the two previous blows would have been nearly fatal.


    The next time that Quarris tried to attack from a blind spot, Emery was ready for it. She was searching for the small tendril of Domain and immediately noted it when it appeared. Quarris made a slightly more dramatic motion on her next attack - Emery realized then that she had been doing a more visual flourish on each ¡®hidden¡¯ attack to keep her attention - and launched her volley. Emery positioned all of her shields perfectly to deflect each shot from the front.


    And then she made a point of spinning around and catching the last projectile with her hand, which was covered in a thin layer of metal. Quarris¡¯ attack didn¡¯t have the power behind it to puncture that while trying to remain hidden.


    Quarris laughed as Emery turned back to face her, her left arm hanging limply.


    ¡°So, you¡¯ve figured out the trick. I suppose you¡¯re going to tell me how good you are and how dead I am, now that you understand it?¡±


    Emery smiled as Avuri tickled her mind. She was ready. ¡°Actually,¡± Emery said, ¡°I was going to say that your technique was very impressive. Those orbiting stones spin so fast that my weapons are basically useless. And while it was simple, your attacks are dangerous enough that you genuinely have my respect.¡±


    Quarris blinked as Emery clearly wasn¡¯t following her normal script. ¡°Well. I appreciate that, but -¡±


    ¡°You should really put more oomph into your projectiles though.¡± Emery continued, still smiling. But it was slowly morphing into something more sinister. ¡°Like this.¡±


    There was a strange, vibrating boom. It was a strange sound that Quarris had never heard before.


    But she was more preoccupied by her sudden lack of a left arm.

 128 : Accidental Innovation

    Avuri could feel how the fight was progressing through Emery and their Domain. Emery was handling herself well enough, even if she did take a hit. But she was still calm and in control, so Avuri just powered on through her work.


    As she worked on the metals that Emery left behind for her, she still wasn¡¯t sure if they could call whatever this was a technique. It was more like putting together a contraption or weapon while utilizing a few techniques to stabilize it. And they still hadn¡¯t named it either, so she wasn¡¯t sure what to call it.


    Still, the damage output on the weapon was immense. They had never used it in live combat before, so she wasn¡¯t sure exactly how well it would fare, but it did destroy every target they had put it up against. The smaller ones were basically vaporized, even. And they were pretty sure that they could pretty easily scale the weapon larger to make it more damaging, but hadn¡¯t tried that yet.


    Well, until now. Emery had left Avuri with metal beams that were larger than the ones they had originally tested. She didn¡¯t think it would make too much difference in the end; she¡¯d just need a slightly larger projectile to keep the size right, and the metal would take longer to freeze. It would probably take more Qi to power the thing, too, but that was alright. The smaller version took a fair bit of Qi, but not exactly dangerous amounts for a Sky Realm Cultivator. Even more so when they had more than two Cultivators¡¯ worth of Qi at their disposal.


    Avuri was well on her way to supercooling the metals when she felt Emery take the second shot. It was immediately followed by mental reassurances that she was fine, and that Avuri should just concentrate on her job. Emery apparently also figured out what Quarris¡¯ trick was on that attack, so Avuri felt comfortable focusing. And she was almost ready.


    She had pieced together several of the long metal rods Emery had left her with, and melded them together with one of Emery¡¯s techniques. It looked crude. Four long metal bars nearly five meters in length had been melded together essentially into a huge pipe. On the inside of that pipe, there were two more lengths of metal directly across from one another.


    Avuri continued to channel her Qi into the metal, cooling it down rapidly. It was already approaching temperatures cold enough that they were beginning to chill the air around them. That was a good sign.


    Emery and Avuri had stumbled upon the individual parts of their weapon mostly by accident.


    When they had first Bonded their Domains, they had tried a whole slew of experiments to see how their different types of Qi could work together to make something new beyond the obvious options. And with Vale¡¯s guidance over the years, their experiments had been pretty exhaustive.


    Emery¡¯s ability to make weapons had always been focused on that alone. She had always approached her Qi techniques from the angle of ¡®forging a weapon¡¯, but that wasn¡¯t exactly what her skill set was. She could forge metal from her Qi, as well as control its properties, like choosing the color and type of metal. Steel was almost always the optimal choice for a weapon, and she usually defaulted to it; but she could also create other metals like gold or silver. Or magnets.


    Together, they also found that they could use Avuri¡¯s Qi to chill the metals well beyond freezing. It was as if her blizzard Qi was actively trying to change the metal into something usable for her type of Qi. And it was regularly lowering the metal¡¯s temperature to levels where just touching it felt like being burned.


    It also seemed to create weird effects that they didn¡¯t really understand.


    What they did understand was how well the frozen metal channeled Qi. Normal metal - especially the stuff formed from Emery¡¯s Qi - could conduct Qi well enough. Cultivators regularly flooded their metal weapons with Qi to make them stronger, sharper, or gain any number of effects. It largely depended on the type of Qi that flowed through the metal and intent.


    Typically though, the metal would require significantly more Qi to produce a desired effect than what it would normally require. How much extra was needed varied by the metal itself, but it could vary pretty significantly, and sometimes be as much as nearly double the amount of Qi for the intended effect.


    Emery and Avuri found that the colder their metals got, the less Qi was wasted when channeled into it. As the temperature went down, less and less Qi was wasted.


    They had tried to utilize this new trick for all kinds of things, but found it rather prohibitive. While it was definitely a useful effect, it took time for Avuri to chill the metal enough to be notably useful. And at that point, the amount of Qi that was spent to chill the metal and keep the metal cold enough could have just been put into the desired effect instead. It was typically a wasted effort.


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    With one notable exception.


    Emery didn¡¯t use the technique often because it wasn¡¯t safe, but she did know of a technique that could transfer raw Qi through a weapon to whatever the weapon touched and cause an explosion of raw energy. Usually, the way that metal ate Qi meant that you would need to dump a large amount of Qi into a weapon to get a moderate effect, which meant it was not only not worth the input amount, but the explosion was exactly that - an explosion.


    It would almost without fail disarm the weapons wielder from the force, sometimes destroy the weapon, and occasionally harm the wielder. All for a chance that it harms an unprepared enemy. It simply wasn¡¯t worth it.


    But it did demonstrate how the chilled metal could be of use - when used to channel a single extra powerful burst of Qi for a singular purpose. Afterall, theoretically, they could dump a huge amount of Qi into a piece of metal before triggering the explosion. They just couldn''t figure out how to make it work.


    When they finally found a use for it, it was entirely by accident. They had been working with knives in the Basin, trying to figure out how to make use of the charged metal. They kept it fairly low powered while experimenting on how to make use of the explosion of energy. The most useful thing they had come up with was using the explosion to simultaneously disarm themselves as well as an opponent by discharging the Qi during a parry or a blocked strike.


    With enough Qi, the force was certainly violent enough to rip both weapons out of the wielder¡¯s hands. But that was only mildly useful in a Cultivator fight when flying weapons and creating your own weapons from Qi were the norm. Disarming was almost always temporary, and not usually all that useful.


    After that, they began trying to find other ways to use the technique. They noticed that while the metal was kept at the incredibly low temperatures, they could easily circulate their Qi through the metal and back into themselves with minimal - almost zero - losses. It wasn¡¯t exceptionally useful, except that it seemed to tint the returning Qi with slightly more metal affinity. It might have its uses for metal users like Emery, but they didn¡¯t see how it would be generally useful.


    Then, while meditating later, Emery had decided to see what she could get out of their new discovery. In an attempt to hopefully double the effect, she held a supercooled metal rod in each hand, running her Qi through each of them. She did find that running her metal Qi through the metals almost had a purifying effect on the Qi, strengthening the metal affinity it carried.


    But more interesting was what happened when she touched the rods together. The Qi flowing through each seemed to fight against her, wanting to instead flow through the contact point and shorten the overall circuit that she had created.


    When she had added a third rod to the mix, playing around with it the way children did with three sticks to entertain herself while cycling, the final piece of their puzzle fell into place. When the third rod came into contact with the first two at the same time, the Qi flowed into it and used it as a bridge to travel between the two rods she held. And the third rod was pushed away from her.


    That reaction is what had led them to creating the weapon that Avuri was now assembling.


    Neither of them exactly understood the mechanics of how it all worked, but they had tested it enough to see how things affected the whole contraption. Longer metal rods, a smaller metal piece to connect them, and a larger amount of Qi pushed into the metal gave them absolutely destructive results.


    Once Avuri had everything in place, she could already feel Emery¡¯s smile. As she levitated the weapon using Emery¡¯s metal control, she angled her way around one of the many steel walls that her wife had placed for her protection. While Emery and Quarris traded barbs, Avuri got the weapon into position and tried to take aim.


    Aiming with the thing was a very imprecise activity. Making the barrel of the cannon longer helped with accuracy somewhat, but the force was so explosive that it was hard to truly aim.


    So Avuri just pointed the damn thing at Quarris and hoped for the best. She aimed a little low, hoping to take off an arm or leg, rather than her head.


    When she heard Emery say, ¡°You should really put more oomph into your projectiles though - Like this.¡± Avuri dumped a huge amount of Qi into the cannon. And in the instant that she pushed the small metal ball that was the ammunition into the cannon and it touched the two charged metal rods, everything happened in a blink.


    There was the sound of metal scraping metal for just a moment, followed by a strange, vibrating boom. Avuri struggled to keep the cannon together as the force of the shot fought to tear it apart. Even with her effort, she knew that the metals on the inside would be pretty severely damaged. These cannons never lasted for more than a shot or two.


    But the damage still spoke for itself. She wasn¡¯t sure how fast the projectile flew, but it was more than enough to have completely obliterated Quarris¡¯ left arm, as well as cut straight through a swath of trees behind her. Several of them fell, broken at about chest height, with huge crashes in the snowy forest beyond.


    And then Quarris screamed. In agony or rage, no one could tell. Avuri thought it was probably both, given the look of pure anger on her face.


    Emery turned to her wife and gave her an approving smile.


    ¡°Nice shot.¡±

 129 : Runaway

    Avuri levitated the cannon in place, still aimed in Quarris¡¯ direction, readying to take a second shot. Just in case. She could also feel Emery building up a cavalcade of air blades surrounding the woman.


    The cannon blast had cut straight through her orbiting stones and annihilated her arm. The ensuing pain was clearly enough for Quarris to drop concentration on her Qi;  Avuri had felt Emery¡¯s command over their Domain slam into Quarris¡¯ hoping to shut her down in the moment of impact. Quarris had done admirably in defending her space, and had barely given a few centimeters


    The damage still showed, though. Quarris'' techniques had suffered instead; her quickly spinning orbitals dropped to the ground, forgotten, while even her armor began to sag. It didn¡¯t fall apart entirely, but it clearly had begun to melt from a hardened substance back into something more akin to wet sand. Her concentration spent on maintaining her Domain was the correct option, but it still left her far more defenseless than before.


    If nothing else, with her orbitals dropped, there was nothing defending her from Emery¡¯s invisible blades; and given that Quarris refused to move, it seemed she knew it too. She also knew we would attack again if she so much as made a motion to restart her techniques.


    ¡°So?¡± She asked. ¡°Putting aside whatever monstrosity that is,¡± she said, pointing at the cannon, ¡°what exactly is your plan here, now? You¡¯ve got me dead to rights, but didn¡¯t actually go for the -¡±


    ¡°I missed.¡± Avuri said, flatly. Quarris turned to meet her eyes. ¡°Aiming this thing is a pain in the ass, and even when aimed properly, more than half the time the shot goes awry anyway.¡±


    ¡°What good is a cannon that you can¡¯t aim worth a damn?¡± Quarris asked, her face screwed up in some kind of disbelieving rage.


    Avuri merely pointed at the swath of destruction in the trees behind Quarris. ¡°That kind of destruction is the point. It¡¯s not great to use against single people, sure, but it¡¯s not designed to be.¡±


    Avuri was absolutely spouting nonsense, but hoped it sounded believable. She just wanted to maintain whatever kind of control she had over the situation. It was seemingly a surprisingly high amount. Emery silently supported her through their connection, in favor of whatever this was.


    There was another few moments of silence as Quarris stared Avuri down angrily. Eventually, the rage faded somewhat, leaving a more mild annoyance. She sighed. ¡°Are you going to kill me, make me bleed out, or can I staunch the wound with a technique?¡±


    Truthfully, Avuri really wanted to just kill her and be done with it. She had threatened her kids, attempted to invade their home - backed with a substantial fighting force, and generally seemed somewhat mad. Or at least she seemed far less mentally stable than when they had met in the tent for the parley earlier.


    We should -


    I know.


    Avuri sighed, waving the woman¡¯s concern away. ¡°Stop the bleeding. But while you do so, tell me who, exactly, Aysol is.¡±


    Quarries snorted as she gathered a mass of Qi infused sand around the wound, consolidating it and hardening it to stop the stump of her upper arm from bleeding. ¡°Terrane knows the most about him. Personally, I¡¯ve only seen him a few times. Never spoke to him. He¡¯s been coming and going from The Deposits for a while for some kind of business, presumably with the Elders.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of, where are they?¡± Emery asked, crossing her arms and shifting her weight to one leg. She looked rather comfortable, despite the tense situation.


    ¡°Take a guess.¡± Quarris said acidly. ¡°They¡¯re watching from somewhere, but who knows where. I imagine they¡¯re still leading the main body of the army. Or ran when they saw the fucking dragons.¡±


    ¡°Fair point.¡± Emery nodded, acknowledging the point.


    ¡°As for Aysol, I don¡¯t know much. I know he was involved with convincing the Elders to attack your stupid city. Told us we should expect a dragon or two to defend it, but that we could probably overwhelm you with numbers.¡±


    Quarris smiled a vicious little smile then. ¡°He¡¯s also the one that brought that other man to us.¡± She nodded over toward Avuri¡¯s Chilling Cage, where she had trapped Leon.


    The cage that was now empty.


    Quarris laughed at first, then smacked the ground. ¡°That fucking weasel!¡±


    <hr>


    Leon couldn¡¯t believe his luck.


    He didn¡¯t have much in the way of combat skills. Yes, he was capable of fighting, but not to a particularly high standard. He knew he couldn¡¯t beat Ivory or her witch of a wife in a fight. Certainly not both at once.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    But what he truly excelled at was reading people. His merchant training as a child had extended to how to read minute changes in a person¡¯s facial expressions, body language and personal tics. And as soon as he had reached the Sky Realm, that training had extended to reading Domains and their associated quirks.


    And while Ivory¡¯s Domain was really weird, he had still been able to read the exact moment that she had launched that attack. And in that moment, there was a tiny lapse in Ivory¡¯s concentration on her cage.


    It wasn¡¯t enough for the cage to be fully destroyed or anything like that, but it was enough that with using a highly concentrated blade of fire Qi he was able to cut through the metal and ice well enough that he could bust his way out of the cage.


    The fact that he was able to get away without anyone noticing though, that was the real treat. He had left behind a sort of Qi decoy that had apparently worked better than he had expected it would. Ultimately, it was just a lump of Qi that carried a heavy amount of his Qi signature.


    He supposed because Ivory was paying so little attention to him, she didn¡¯t notice when he slipped away because there was a sort of stand-in left behind.


    Leon grinned as he ran further up the mountain, toward the Basin. He knew that if his sister found him at this point, he was as good as dead without backup. He needed a plan that was more than ¡®put up a fight and die,¡¯ and he had some idea of what might work.


    Yes, he remembered his last visit to his sister¡¯s house and how she had reacted to him hitting that girl of hers. It wasn¡¯t necessarily a smart idea, trying to take a hostage, but he was out of options otherwise.


    She clearly cared enough about the girl that she might be willing to talk if he could threaten her using one of the girls. It would be a long shot, but he was basically dead if he didn¡¯t try something. He wasn¡¯t exactly proud to be taking a little girl hostage, but if it was what needed to be done, then so be it.


    Leon smiled to himself as he rushed up the mountain; it was time for a reunion.


    <hr>


    Cierra and Stena were relaxing in the dining room with Arek and Astra playing cards. Talya and Gray were around somewhere, probably the kitchen, but Cierra wasn¡¯t paying enough attention to know for sure.


    Things had been going fine. It had only been a day with their mothers gone. And even then, only the daylight, not a full twenty four hours. Everyone else had hunkered down in their houses as they had been told. Cierra was sure they¡¯d get restless and start to try to cause trouble eventually, but for one day, everything went to plan. It would even be bedtime for the younger kids soon.


    ¡°Oh, right,¡± Cierra said to herself, then leaned back in her chair to talk toward the kitchen. ¡°Talya?¡±


    ¡°Yes, hun?¡± She responded from the kitchen.


    ¡°It occurred to me that we never set up any sort of overnight surveillance plan. Someone should stay up to keep an eye on the Arrays, right?¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s not really necessary.¡± Talya said. ¡°If something crosses through any of the outer Arrays, there¡¯ll be an alarm that goes off, as well as a bit of a flashy lightshow. I designed it to be enough to wake at least one of us up. Though, to be honest, I doubt any of us would sleep through it.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Cierra said, nodding acceptance.


    She must have not sounded entirely convinced because Talya popped her head around the corner of the kitchen¡¯s doorway, still wiping down a dish from dinner. She smiled warmly. ¡°If you would feel better staying up to keep an eye on it, you can. I don¡¯t think Gray or I are planning on sleeping too much either, but if you¡¯re going to stay up tonight, maybe we¡¯ll try to get some sleep.¡±


    Cierra nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll probably do that if it¡¯s okay. I think I¡¯ll feel better that way, and to be honest, I¡¯m not sure I could sleep even if I wanted to.¡±


    Talya nodded. ¡°Okay, I don¡¯t blame you.¡± She looked around at the rest of the kids at the table. ¡°How about all of you?¡±


    ¡°I might stay up for a while too.¡± Stena said. ¡°I¡¯m not tired, and I¡¯m also not too sure I could sleep.¡±


    ¡°I want to stay up too.¡± Arek said. He had seemed a little nervous for most of the day, so they wouldn¡¯t make him go to bed. At least not yet. But Cierra was pretty sure that he wouldn¡¯t make it very long. Maybe an hour or two past their normal bedtime.


    Astra was already looking sleepy, despite bedtime still being a little while away. For the moment, though, she was still lucid enough to put in the token, ¡°I¡¯ll stay up too.¡±


    Talya chuckled. ¡°Okay, you four can stay up for now. But once your bedtime hits, go hang out in one of your rooms.¡±


    There was a chorus of agreements around the table as the card game resumed for now. They¡¯d move to Astra¡¯s bedroom in a bit, so when she inevitably fell asleep, they¡¯d have less distance to carry her to bed. And then maybe they could move to Arek¡¯s room for the same reason.


    Cierra chuckled to herself, thinking about whether or not Arek would catch them moving to his room and take it as an insult or not. She thought he was smart enough that he might figure it out.


    <hr>


    Avuri felt Emery¡¯s emotions through their connection. Anger, worry, urgency; among other things. She wanted to give chase right now, and Avuri could feel Emery¡¯s desire to separate Leon¡¯s head from his body and it was no less than her own.


    But for all of that, Avuri wasn¡¯t really worried. And she shared that emotion with Emery silently, just for reassurance. Emery turned to look at her, while Avuri kept an eye on Quarris, who was busy trying to keep her arm from bleeding while angrily muttering about Leon running away.


    I¡¯m just as angry as you, Avuri sent. But honestly, I¡¯m not worried. Only Leon got away. The girls can handle him just fine, I¡¯m sure.


    Emery took a deep breath and let it out slowly. You¡¯re right. Emery sent, then smiled crookedly. Honestly, if he picks a fight with them alone, I¡¯m going to feel sorry for him.

 130 : Headcount

    Evidently, the cannon shot that had removed Quarris¡¯ arm was loud enough to get everyone¡¯s attention.


    Shortly after they had noticed that Leon had escaped, Emery and Avuri found their fellows working their way back toward them. Avuri reluctantly melted the huge ice walls that she had erected. Emery assisted in evaporating the steel mesh that had been running through the ice for structural support; Avuri could have done it, but it would have taken much longer.


    When the ice was finally gone, they could all finally see the other battlefields, if only barely. The sun had already set, and there wasn¡¯t much light from the moon yet, barely enough to make out what was out in the woods. Thankfully, Cultivator eyes were pretty good, even without much light.


    Ieji emerged from a newly made bamboo forest. The bamboo wasn¡¯t particularly tall, but it was thick, which would¡¯ve made for perfect cover for Ieji to fight in. They carried someone - presumably Terrane - slung over their shoulder, but the body was clearly immovable. It wasn¡¯t even bending in the middle where it was positioned over Ieji¡¯s shoulder.


    Emery winced, seeing that. She assumed it meant that Ieji had used the Rockquill poison that they regularly carried for emergencies. It was a terrible thing. Unlike the other paralytics that Ieji employed, most of which worked by either cutting off the body¡¯s ability to send signals or simply render the whole body numb, Rockquill poison was painful.


    There was no numbness involved; instead, the poison rendered the person immobile by painfully locking up all of your muscles at near maximum contraction. It was like having an incredibly painful, full body muscle cramp. And it could last hours.


    It was a very potent poison though, and damn good at removing opponents from the fight.


    From the other section, all three cousins emerged together. Their battlefield by contrast looked like a huge mess. The earth had been completely churned, and the landscape was a mess. There were small sections of beautifully tilled soil right next to a section of hard rock, and vise-versa. Then there were trees - some very thick, healthy looking ones - growing out of the ground at odd angles. One was even nearly grown horizontally, with a strange bend near the base and roots at a ninety-degree angle.


    Glenn carried someone encased in a combination stone and wood personal prison over his shoulder. Presumably Firmis, he had been knocked out and emitted no Domain at all. He wouldn¡¯t likely be able to from within that little prison of his for a while.


    Quarris seemed to finally shut her mouth upon seeing her fellows clearly defeated like that. She turned somewhat contemplative and faced the ground, appearing to be in thought.


    When Ieji reached the group, they tossed Terrane¡¯s body to the ground nonchalantly. The man impacted the ground in a way that forcefully bent an arm at an awkward, but not unnatural angle. Emery and Avuri both winced, knowing just how painful that forced movement would be under the effects of the poison.


    ¡°He¡¯ll be locked like that for at least another couple hours.¡± Ieji said. ¡°I¡¯d honestly rather just kill him, to be honest. He seemed unhinged and dangerous, even to his comrades.¡±


    ¡°Quarris said that he likely knows the most about Aysol.¡± Emery said sadly. ¡°We can¡¯t kill him until Eiry gets to chat with him at least, I imagine. After that though¡­who knows.¡±


    Glenn tossed the earthen prison down on the ground next to Terrane. Firmis¡¯ head was sticking out of one side, and it bounced with the impact. He was clearly still unconscious. And had several cuts across his face.


    ¡°Glad to see you all managed alright.¡± Avuri said.


    ¡°Yeah, no thanks to you.¡± Mica said, without any heat. ¡°You left us the strongest of the bunch. It actually took all three of us to knock him out.¡± She glanced at Glenn, ¡°Or at least Glenn. Cove and I were too weak to actually hurt him.¡±


    ¡°You took a lot of hits, though.¡± Cove said. ¡°You sure you¡¯re alright?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine.¡± Mica sighed. ¡°My ego¡¯s a little bruised, but I¡¯m good at taking shots like that. Raw power? Easy.¡± Her eyes tracked back to Firmis. ¡°I¡¯m glad he didn¡¯t have any trickier techniques.¡±


    ¡°Well, we¡¯re all in one piece. That¡¯s not a bad outcome.¡± Emery said.


    ¡°Leon got away, though.¡± Avuri added, motioning toward her cage, which was now slowly deteriorating without her focus on it. ¡°Bastard escaped while I was focused on ending our fight.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of,¡± Cove looked excitedly at the line of destruction that the cannon had caused, ¡°what in the world was that big booming sound?¡±


    Emery and Avuri shrugged in unison. ¡°New technique. Sort of.¡± Avuri said.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have a name for it yet.¡± Emery added. ¡°But it¡¯s basically just a really powerful cannon.¡±


    Ieji nodded, seemingly satisfied with that for now. The cousins looked like they wanted more information, but held back as it wasn¡¯t really the time. ¡°So, what¡¯s the plan now?¡± Glenn asked.


    Avuri looked over the three subdued Cultivators they had unceremoniously dumped together on the ground. ¡°I suppose,¡± she said, ¡°we try to get as much information from these three as we can?¡±


    ¡°Quarris said that Terrane probably knew the most about Aysol and whatever he may be planning.¡± Emery added, looking over Terrane¡¯s petrified form sadly. ¡°It¡¯s going to be hours before he can talk again, isn¡¯t it?¡± She asked Ieji.


    ¡°...More than that.¡± Ieji said. Emery took the pause as a way to show their remorse. ¡°The Rockquill poison is potent. He¡¯ll be able to move in a few hours. Getting feeling back in your tongue to speak takes longer. Probably by tomorrow morning.¡±


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Quarris, who had been looking over her comrades, looked up at Ieji in horror. ¡°He¡¯s going to be in this state for hours? That¡¯s just cruel¡­¡± She said.


    Emery and Avuri both thought to one another about how funny they found that, given the obvious hypocrisy in the statement. The group of them wanted to kill a bunch of innocent children, after all.


    Ieji shrugged, but Emery could see the same struggle in them that always came about when they were forced to use some of their more uncouth techniques. ¡°I simply took the easiest way to end the fight. He fought off my simple paralytics, so I went bigger. This is the result.¡±


    Quarris glared at them, but she was ignored.


    ¡°There are a number of unconscious Cultivators around the area too. They¡¯ll need to be cleaned up.¡± Cove said, looking around.


    ¡°And that¡¯s not including the ones that were frozen solid in Avuri¡¯s initial assault.¡± Emery said with a chuckle.


    Mica laughed. ¡°I forgot about them! The ice turned out to be pretty frosted instead of clear, so we can¡¯t even see them.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll be fine.¡± Avuri said, aiming to stop Quarris from complaining. ¡°I¡¯ve made sure not to freeze their internal organs or anything, and they each have a sphere around their heads for air.¡±


    Emery shivered, remembering being trapped like that a few times before. ¡°Hopefully none of them are too claustrophobic. I hate being unable to move my arms and legs. Makes me uncomfortable.¡±


    ¡°Not sure anyone likes it.¡± Ieji said. ¡°That¡¯s rather the point, I would imagine.¡±


    Avuri looked insulted and took a step back playfully. ¡°Ieji! I¡¯m not trying to torture them! But they threatened my family, and no one gets away with that.¡±


    ¡°Fair.¡± Mica muttered to the side, ¡°last time, Leon limped away with several broken bones.¡±


    Avuri turned to her cousin. ¡°That¡¯s right - I meant to ask how many of his ribs I cracked.¡±


    Glenn smirked. ¡°Broke three ribs, cracked four more. He hid it well on the way back to Bouquet, but I think he broke an arm, too.¡±


    ¡°We think it was from the impact with the ground when you launched him.¡± Cove added. ¡°May have just been a sprain though, we¡¯re not sure.¡±


    Avuri smiled, hearing about it. She rolled her shoulders, thinking back on the solid punch she had landed in anger and couldn¡¯t help the wash of satisfaction that flowed over her.


    ¡°In any case,¡± Emery said, trying to draw attention back to the matter at hand, ¡°we should decide what to do from here.¡±


    ¡°I think we can help with that.¡±


    Everyone turned in relative unison as Eiry and the other elders stalked out of the treeline.


    ¡°Honestly, we probably don¡¯t even need whatever information Terrane has on Aysol.¡± Cyril said as they approached. ¡°We know the bastard pretty well, so unless he has some kind of insider knowledge about that man¡¯s plans, it¡¯s probably useless.¡±


    ¡°The chance at such knowledge is worth keeping him around for. At least for now.¡± Eiry said, clearly uninterested. ¡°After that, you all can do whatever you want with him. Or all of these people, for that matter. They were very clearly intending to make an assault against your home; I have no issues with you all dealing with them as you see fit.¡±


    ¡°Personally, I¡¯d rather you not kill them all.¡± Lyn chimed in. ¡°But she is right. If they had made it to the basin and attacked, it would be up to you all what to do. And we wouldn¡¯t bother intervening there.¡±


    ¡°For now though, we¡¯ll need to wait until this ¡®Terrane¡¯ can speak again.¡± Vyne said, eyeing Ieji carefully. ¡°I don¡¯t think Aysol is planning on making any fast moves; he¡¯s been patient enough to wait a few hundred years, there¡¯s no reason to expect he¡¯s suddenly in a rush of some kind.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Emery agreed. ¡°In which case, what would you like us to do for now?¡± She asked, looking around at the relative chaos that the group had left behind. ¡°Should we clean up?¡±


    ¡°We do need to clean up the area.¡± Vyne said, also looking around. ¡°All of the Qi and techniques used here are going to alter the area if we don¡¯t try to neutralize it. The Peaks are pretty delicate ecosystems; any added elemental Qi can throw things off, and we don¡¯t want that.¡±


    ¡°The group of you can chase down your brother, Avuri.¡± Ray said. ¡°There¡¯s no reason for us to keep you here; we can watch the Cultivators in the meantime.¡± He stomped and metal bands rose from the ground and wrapped tightly around each of the enemy Cultivators, including everyone still frozen in ice, the unconscious ones around the battlefield, and the three leaders.


    ¡°Ray, I literally just said we need to neutralize the other Qi used here, and you go and add a bunch of metal Qi to the mix?¡± Vyne rubbed his forehead between his eyes.


    ¡°Oh. Sorry.¡± Ray said a little sheepishly. ¡°But still. The kids can run along.¡±


    ¡°Everyone want to come with us, then?¡± Avuri asked, mostly aiming the question at her cousins. Emery looked at Vale questioningly, silently asking the same question.


    Vale smiled and said ¡°I¡¯ll stay with the Elders for now.¡±


    Avuri¡¯s cousins stretched a bit and looked excited. ¡°We¡¯ll follow right behind.¡± Cove said.


    ¡°I won¡¯t lie,¡± Mica grinned, ¡°I¡¯m excited to see your house again.¡±


    ¡°And meet all the new kids. You said you have how many now?¡± Glenn asked.


    Avuri laughed. ¡°Twenty-seven.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯m sure that they¡¯ll be happy to meet you three.¡± Emery said, then trailed off, asking no one, ¡°I wonder if Cierra and Stena remember you¡­?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get moving.¡± Ieji said, waving everyone toward the Basin. ¡°Leon got a head start. I¡¯m not too worried about him actually managing anything but we don¡¯t know how fast or strong he is.¡±


    ¡°No, we know how strong he is.¡± Emery said.


    ¡°And it¡¯s not very.¡± Avuri continued. ¡°He¡¯s not likely to manage anything on his own. I¡¯d honestly be worried about him if I cared. If he really tries to go in there alone, he¡¯ll have a rude awakening waiting for him.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°We should still follow, just in case. But I think we can hide and wait to see what happens, assuming we catch up to him alone. If we catch him with supporters¡­well. He won¡¯t like what happens then.¡±

 131 : Revenge

    Cierra was relaxing in the dining room with Stena when the Array alarm triggered. It wasn¡¯t too late, but it was after sundown. At least some of the kids would be in bed by now. And Talya and Gray had gone to bed early to rest.


    She had asked Talya to show her how to turn off the alarms earlier, but she certainly had not expected to actually use the new information so soon.


    Almost immediately after they went off, Cierra jumped to her feet and turned off the alarm, hoping to keep everyone else asleep. Stena stood next to her, looking at the information that the Array was spitting out for them.


    ¡°It¡¯s just one person?¡± Stena asked, watching the readout.


    ¡°It looks that way.¡± Cierra said, trying to decide what to do. ¡°But they are a Sky Realm.¡±


    Stena sighed. ¡°I wish that the Arrays were able to get a stronger sense of someone¡¯s strength.¡± She side-eyed her sister. ¡°I think the two of us could take a weaker Sky Realm if we had to.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± Cierra said thoughtfully, staring at the Array¡¯s information. ¡°Did you already forget the way Mom trashed you and everyone else? All at once? With zero effort?¡± She looked pointedly at Stena before looking back to the readout. ¡°Domains are no joke. We shouldn¡¯t treat them lightly.¡±


    Stena rolled her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not saying we should. But Mom is also an absolute monster for her level. So is Momri. And that¡¯s when they¡¯re alone.¡±


    ¡°You say that like you expect other Sky Realm fighters to be weak.¡±


    ¡°In comparison, I do.¡± Stena said lightly. Cierra shot her another dirty look. ¡°Look, I¡¯m not saying we walk out there unprepared and hope for the best. I¡¯m saying we walk out there prepared, and decide what to do once we see whoever is coming.¡±


    Cierra considered that. ¡°...I¡¯m admittedly not sure what we should do. It¡¯s not like Talya and Gray are in a position to fight off an enemy. They¡¯re both more support, worker types than fighters. It really leaves us and maybe Kord. Or a few of the others.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­¡± Cierra bit a fingernail as she thought about what they should do. She watched as the next round of Arrays were triggered. Whoever was approaching was moving slowly, which probably meant they were being cautious. Or at least presumably not reckless. ¡°Should we use the emergency Array to contact Mom and Momri?¡±


    Together, they looked at the little circle etched into the wall by the kitchen. If either of them pushed a little Qi into it, it would alert their mothers.


    ¡°I suppose we should, no matter what we¡¯re about to do, right?¡± Stena said tentatively. ¡°We¡¯d definitely get in trouble for trying to defend ourselves without letting them know something was happening, right?¡±


    ¡°In this situation, yeah. The alarms went off and everything. They¡¯d be pissed if we did something stupid like just attack the invader.¡±


    They both stood still, continuing to eye the little circle, but neither made any move to trigger the Array. Neither wanted to be responsible for calling their mothers back from whatever was happening in the city.


    Eventually, Stena sighed. ¡°We need to do something, Ci. We can¡¯t just sit here and watch whoever it is get closer through the Array triggers.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Cierra said. She took a deep breath and pushed some Qi into the Array. It lit up for a moment, blinked a few times, then went dark again.


    ¡°Now what do we do?¡± Stena asked. ¡°Should we actually go out there?¡±


    ¡°If we¡¯re careful.¡± Cierra nodded. ¡°I think it¡¯s our best option. Waiting here does nothing for us. But we scout before we engage. And keep as much distance as we can.¡±


    Stena nodded, suddenly excited to do something. When she bolted toward the stairs, Cierra grabbed her arm.


    ¡°We should wake up Talya and tell her first.¡±


    ¡°...Yeah, I suppose we should.¡± Stena said. She hoped that Talya wouldn¡¯t hold them back in the house for too long.


    <hr>


    Leon slowly moved through the brush that led to the crest of the Basin¡¯s wall. He knew he triggered a few Arrays, but they didn¡¯t seem to have any effect. He had assumed that Ivory and her wife would have used a whole slew of dangerous trap Arrays, but the lack of any notable retaliation just far left him torn.


    Should he be relieved that there was simply nothing? Or was the lack of any real defenses a bad sign for intruders?


    He was mulling over that thought as he crossed into the Basin itself, sliding down the cliffside carefully. It was dark enough that he couldn¡¯t really make out any of the buildings through the trees, despite the usable moonlight. The wisteria tree cover was thick, and made the buildings themselves difficult to see, but lights should have been visible.


    The lack of them probably meant either everyone was asleep, or perhaps hiding.


    Leon guessed hiding was most likely. He didn¡¯t know exactly how many kids were living here now, but he knew that it was more than before, and the ages varied pretty wildly. The scouts he had paid to gather information for him hadn¡¯t been able to get an actual list of the kids beyond a rough idea.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    That was fine. The main thing that he had learned was the lack of stronger kids. One thing his scouts had confirmed was that Cierra and Stena were still the eldest kids here. Given their age, he guessed that we wouldn¡¯t need to be too concerned with them. Even if they were trained by their battle-crazed mothers, it was unlikely they would be in the Sky Realm at their age.


    And having a Domain always trumped not having one.


    He smiled to himself as he slid down the last bit of the cliffside and to the flat ground portion of the Basin. He slunk toward the treeline quietly while trying to keep his head on a swivel.


    He had only made it a few meters past the edge of the trees before he noticed two silhouettes standing openly in the middle of what passed for a path this far from the center of their home. As soon as he had seen them, his senses - including his Qi - zeroed in on them. The lighting wasn¡¯t enough to make out features or anything, but both people had long hair and were of potentially adult height. Leon could make a guess as to who they were.


    One had their arms crossed, and looked impatient. The other looked more relaxed, but still clearly waiting on something.


    ¡°Will you just come out already?¡± a voice echoed in the relative dark, clearly from the direction of the silhouettes. ¡°We know you¡¯re here. You tripped so many damn alarm Arrays on your way in that I¡¯d wager people in the city know you¡¯re here.¡±


    Leon held back a snort as a second voice joined the first. ¡°If you¡¯d rather hide from two Earth Realm girls than declare yourself, that¡¯s fine too.¡± She said, sounding chipper and snarky. ¡°We¡¯ll be sure to spread the word about the Sky Realm Cultivator that didn¡¯t have the courage to face down their lessers. I¡¯m sure the city would love that.¡±


    The other voice laughed, and Leon could see the impatient silhouette bend forward with the laughter. ¡°That¡¯s true! Nothing spreads quite as well as an embarrassing rumor.¡±


    Leon sighed theatrically as he strode out from behind his tree. He hadn¡¯t tried to pass the women, so he entered the pathway directly ahead of them, still a ways away.


    ¡°As you wish, ladies.¡± He said, using his silky smooth merchant¡¯s cadence. ¡°Here I am. Do you mind terribly if I turn on some lights?¡± Without any physical motion, he flexed his Domain. He couldn¡¯t extend it far, but he wanted to leave an impression. A sphere of golden fire simply appeared in the air hovering in front of him. He waved it off dismissively, and it floated into the air between him and the women. And then the light grew brighter.


    When his eyes locked with Cierra¡¯s - whom he had recognized immediately - he couldn¡¯t help but smile. It was a domineering, vile thing.


    ¡°Ah, Cierra. That probably means that it¡¯s Stena standing beside you.¡±


    <hr>


    Cierra watched carefully as the man produced a flaming orb without any noticeable motion or cycling. That meant he probably had a Domain, and she whispered a short warning to her sister beside her. He had created the orb close by before it floated away though, so it might mean he had a small Domain? It could just as likely be a double bluff though.


    She kept the thought to herself; she didn¡¯t want Stena acting on the idea before she could confirm it.


    As the orb floated up then brightened enough to emulate something approximately day-like, Cierra¡¯s expression darkened. She recognized the asshole who stood before her in the same instant he seemed to recognize her.


    ¡°Ah, Cierra. That probably means that it¡¯s Stena standing beside you.¡±


    Cierra¡¯s eyes narrowed on the man. ¡°Leon. What an unpleasant surprise.¡± She spoke evenly, far more so than she thought she would if she ever met this man again. The urge to slap the disgusting grin off his face was overwhelming and it took considerable effort to not close the gap and attack.


    She knew she needed to be cautious with this though. He clearly demonstrated a Domain. A careless approach would get her injured if not killed. That meant Stena, too. She couldn¡¯t let her younger sister get too heated or she¡¯d be difficult to keep calm.


    Leon chuckled darkly. ¡°Well, I won¡¯t lie to you. Meeting the two of you out here alone like this is certainly a pleasant surprise for me.¡± He had a disturbing drawl to his voice that Cierra really didn¡¯t like. ¡°I had wanted to meet you again, but I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d come out to greet me.¡±


    ¡°If we had known it was just you, we probably wouldn¡¯t have.¡± Stena said, sounding disinterested. Cierra could tell she was just trying to rile him up.


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Cierra agreed. ¡°We came out here in case someone really dangerous was coming for us, but knowing it¡¯s just you, I¡¯m less concerned.¡±


    Leon didn¡¯t seem to take the provocation very well. ¡°If you¡¯ll recall, the last time I saw you, I made you cry.¡±


    Cierra just stared at him, dumbfounded that that was the approach he took. ¡°...Yes. You - an adult - made a child cry by slapping her. How proud you must be.¡±


    Stena chuckled. ¡°Maybe that¡¯s the rumor we should spread. ¡®Leon Mephra hits children and likes it.¡¯¡±


    Leon¡¯s expression went from the fake mild interest to anger remarkably quick after that little needling. He didn¡¯t say anything, but a whip made of fire appeared in his right hand and he swept it about himself a few times, as if testing it.


    Cierra and Stena simply watched the man as he seemed to attempt to show off. But the last two cracks of the whip had touched nearby trees - and they immediately lit, the beautiful purple of the wisteria branches beginning to burn.


    Leon¡¯s eyes seemed to twinkle in the new firelight, dark and dangerous. ¡°You know, your mothers should have known better than to make their entire home so flammable. It¡¯s almost a wonder that the place has remained all these years if this is how those two idiots ¡®protect¡¯ it.¡±


    Stena tensed, preparing for a fight. Cierra followed suit, but did so in a much more dramatic way. She became the center of a storm as she waved her hands in a sweeping motion. Wind, snow, and ice kicked up around her and spun to life.


    It shaped itself into a dragon and settled around her, coiled and ready to strike. The wind and ice surrounding her expanded, covering a few meters from her - about half the distance to Leon. She made a note of that; she would have expected to see a change in the technique if it contacted his Domain.


    ¡°I have to admit, Leon,¡± Cierra said sweetly, ¡°I¡¯ve dreamed of getting revenge on you for years. You¡¯ll regret slapping me the way you did.¡±

 132 : Served Cold

    Leon scoffed at Cierra as she prepared herself for whatever fight was coming. Even as the dragons made of wind and ice coiled around her, he was unbothered. He saw the cold air whip around her and Stena in a decently sized area around her - but it was just that. Cold air. She had no Domain. And that was why she would lose.


    He also paid little mind to Stena, who was similarly preparing for the fight at hand. Her Qi was kicking up wind, adding a little more force to Cierra¡¯s. But she also stretched out her hand and pushed a bit of Qi into her storage ring.


    A sheathed blade appeared in her hand. It looked like a traditional one handed sword, but the sheath had a scale-like design on it. Stena motioned away with two fingers and wind deftly pulled the sword free with a beautiful resounding note. It sounded more like a tuning fork being rung than the normal sound of metal on metal that accompanied a blade being drawn.


    The blade itself was no less impressive than the sheath. The handle was fairly simple looking, though well crafted. It was comfortable in Stena¡¯s hand, though she didn¡¯t always wield it directly. In this instance, wind Qi carried the blade in a short dance around her before she grasped the handle gently as she was taught.


    She pointed the blade toward Leon. At that angle it was difficult for him to tell exactly what the blade was made of, but it wasn¡¯t normal metal. It didn¡¯t have the shine of steel, and looked rather drab if anything. But surely she wouldn¡¯t be fighting with a rusty weapon - even children knew better than that.


    But still. No Domain meant this would be easy for Leon. What could they do against something that was so overwhelming that simply getting close to him meant being at the mercy of his flames?


    If anything, he looked forward to one of them getting within range of his Domain where he could simply spike the temperature as he saw fit. If he wanted something to burn, it simply would.


    Leon cracked his whip again, lighting a third tree on fire. The heat in the air as the fires spread felt good on his back and face. As he smiled at the women, he held his left hand palm up and gathered a mass of fire Qi there. It was a simple but effective technique he had borrowed from the Fire Eater Sect called the Signal Fire. It kept a solid amount of fire Qi accessible for you to pull techniques from, which sped up the simpler techniques that utilized raw fire Qi to attack. It could also push extra oomph into them easily.


    Leon made sure to keep both women in his focus at once. Yes, there were only two of them and they were outclassed. But he wasn¡¯t about to let one of them do something sneaky.


    Concentrate and focus. As long as he did that, Leon was the assured victor here. And then he could take both girls hostage and use them as necessary.


    In contrast, Cierra¡¯s mind was moving in a hundred different ways trying to decide on the best route to take. Stena stood beside her, and she knew that her sister trusted her with her life. They didn¡¯t have the same type of bond that their mothers had, but even they could communicate on the fly if they had to.


    ¡°What¡¯s the plan?¡±


    Stena¡¯s words landed squarely in Cierra¡¯s left ear. She had utilized a simple wind based technique that allowed her to carry the sound directly between them, and Cierra knew without a doubt that Stena would do the same for her own words. They could talk normally without allowing Leon to hear anything at all. As long as he couldn¡¯t read lips, anyway.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think his Domain reaches very far. It¡¯s had no effect on the ice or wind yet, so if he¡¯s not double bluffing us - which he could be - his Domain is only five meters around him, max. I assume it¡¯s fire related, so be careful. Don¡¯t get close.¡±


    Stena nodded, and dropped her stance. The dragon scale weapon that their mothers had left for her fell from her fingers only to be caught and held up by more wind. It was a similar technique to Emery¡¯s, but wasn¡¯t quite as strong or precise. Using wind to carry an item wasn¡¯t the same as manipulating directly, sadly.


    ¡°Keep my distance. Got it.¡±


    ¡°Otherwise, we feel him out for now. And we need to do it fast before the trees burn. Or worse, before the bushes catch.¡± Cierra said, fighting to keep her eyes locked on Leon. It took genuine effort to not let her eyes stray toward where everyone else hid.


    ¡°The rest of you stay hidden unless it becomes life or death. If you feel like you need to intervene, do so very carefully. You¡¯re our trump card in this fight.¡±


    Cierra trusted Stena to carry the words to their siblings that hid among the plants. Kord, Enrik, Elise, and Fia were with them, but had agreed to stay hidden as much as they could. No one could be sure how many of them were needed to take on a Sky Realm Cultivator, especially one they hadn¡¯t known anything about.


    Now, Leon was a vaguely known entity, but they still didn¡¯t know how powerful he may be. Two-on-one or six-on-one may make no difference in the end, so she didn¡¯t want to risk anyone she didn¡¯t have to.


    ¡°And if we get entirely overwhelmed immediately, you run. No acting as heroes, remember?¡±


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Stena relayed a chorus of agreements from each of their siblings hidden around the area. They had stayed a good amount of distance away, so hopefully they could remain hidden and undetected if things went wrong.


    Cierra took a deep breath. Things wouldn¡¯t go wrong. She would figure out how to beat the crap out of Leon, and that would be that.


    Leon, who had been trying to intimidate the pair by swinging his whip around, had evidently had enough waiting. The end of the whip struck out toward them, elongating to reach across the distance with ease. As it snapped the air where Cierra¡¯s face had been, the girls dodged to the sides, away from one another.


    In retaliation, Cierra¡¯s dragon and Stena¡¯s blade shot toward Leon. They both could immediately tell when their attacks met his Domain. Cierra had to put extra concentration and Qi into her dragon technique to stop it from falling apart. Stena had to put in a little extra effort to control her blade¡¯s movement, but the blade itself actually took the heat very well.


    Having been crafted mostly from Vale¡¯s scales, they had a natural affinity for heat. The blade glowed from the inside as the heat suffused it. If anything, Stena guessed that the heat would add to the weapon rather than hinder it.


    Leon stood his ground against the attacks. He channeled a blast of flame through his Signal Fire to match Cierra¡¯s dragon. The two techniques clashed spectacularly, creating a huge blast of steam where they met. Cierra was glad to see that she was able to match his power inside his Domain. Or at least bring him to a stalemate.


    Stena¡¯s sword, controlled by her wind Qi, wasn¡¯t particularly deft. She could really only make it fly straight, blade first, if she wanted it to carry any real striking power. That made her attacks linear and predictable, but strong enough that Leon couldn¡¯t ignore them. He slapped aside the blade on each pass easily with his whip while maintaining the flamethrower technique. But it was enough of a distraction to stop Leon from capitalizing on any opening he made.


    Cierra was able to channel her Qi well enough that each time her dragon met a flame attack from Leon, she could conjure a new dragon in time to meet Leon¡¯s follow up attack. She was even able to direct the Qi from the ruined dragon techniques into the nearby trees, slowing the burn. It wasn¡¯t enough to put out the fires, but she managed to control their spread somewhat.


    Leon was clearly growing more and more angry. It appeared to Cierra that she was entirely correct. Yes, he had a Domain, but its range was poor. As long as she and Stena remained at a distance, he didn¡¯t seem to have any way to really utilize his biggest advantage. And they intended to keep it that way.


    More than once, Leon had made to leap forward toward them or otherwise close the distance. Stena¡¯s sword was remarkably good at being exactly where it needed to be to stop his approach, requiring Leon to step back and avoid an attack, or use his whip to defend himself. And Cierra¡¯s dragons continued to appear and be sacrificed to Leon¡¯s flames, but it kept him locked in.


    Cierra was wracking her brain to find some way to break the stalemate they had created. As long as she and her sister were careful, they could conceivably keep Leon pinned, but it wasn¡¯t a favorable situation for them. One mistake on their side and he would get the upper hand. She was shocked, though, to see how close they were in strength as long as his Domain was being kept in check.


    Truly, Leon was no fighter. He had a few techniques, knew how to use them admirably well, but severely lacked when it came to training and experience. As they traded attacks, it was the one thing that Cierra became more and more sure of - Leon was about as weak a Sky Realm Cultivator as they would ever see.


    He may have more power, but he didn¡¯t know how to use it.


    But even then, they were being fought to a standstill in a two-on-one fight. They needed something to tip the scales. Cierra knew from her lessons that a Sky Realm Cultivator could be forced to lose concentration on their Domain, which could then be restrained by their opponent.


    They couldn¡¯t do the second portion of the action without Domains of their own, but they could still use gaps in Leon¡¯s concentration to get him undefended long enough to truly strike.


    Cierra had a good trump card for a sudden blitz with her hiding siblings, but she didn¡¯t want to risk them all getting hurt if the plan didn¡¯t work. But even more than that, she still wanted her payback.


    ¡°Stena. I¡¯m going to try something. Cover me and attack when you see the opening.¡±


    When the next ice dragon and flamethrower clashed, Cierra poured a little extra Qi into the dragon to let it last longer, but abandoned her concentration on it. Instead, while it held off the fire, she started creating the next dragon early.


    She put extra power into this one. Reinforcing the ice with more Qi, and making the winds within it stronger. She put more Qi into it than was typically wise - giving it nearly four times the power of every dragon so far. But the strain on her was significant; she would need a bit of time to recover after this.


    That was fine with her. She¡¯d prove her theory, and let the rest of her siblings clean up. She whispered a silent apology to her mothers as she prepared to attack. Not because she thought it was particularly dangerous, but because she was positive they would yell at her for something this reckless.


    Then, after the last dragon and flame went up in steam, Cierra charged. Her dragon flew just ahead of her as Leon prepared another jet of flame to counteract the dragon, the same way he had done for every other exchange so far.


    Cierra had to stop moving forward when she got within a few meters of Leon; she could feel the residual heat from his Domain licking her skin and didn¡¯t want to risk entering his Domain too early.


    Instead, she shoved her dragon forward. There was a roar from the technique as it surged into the jet of flame and began to swallow it. The ice and wind surrounded the flames and snuffed them out as it flew directly toward Leon.


    His eyes went wide as he scrambled to make up for the suddenly more powerful attack. He pulled more power from his Signal Fire and channeled it into the jet of flame, as well as focused his Domain on the dragon, trying to burn it out before it did any damage.


    It was a near thing. Cierra had to struggle to keep her attack from falling apart and feed it extra Qi after the fact to keep it alive. But with the extra power, it managed to survive Leon¡¯s flame and latch onto his left arm. It swallowed his forearm and the Signal Fire whole, with a delightful crunch of cracking ice and biting winds.


    Leon screamed, and Cierra immediately felt his Domain¡¯s heat suddenly vanish. That was her cue.


    With a scream of her own, she surged forward, covering the remaining few meters to the man in a blink. As she twisted to deliver a strong, sturdy punch, she pulled on a little of her remaining Qi to coat her hand in jagged ice. It wouldn¡¯t make the strike more deadly, but hopefully it would hurt more.


    As she pivoted into the swing, she had one more surge of vindictiveness. Instead of a punch, she opened her hand.


    Cierra had never really slapped anyone before. Her mothers would have berated her for choosing a slap over the myriad of other, more effective, strikes. Slaps were dismissive and insulting. And that was perfect.


    The sound of her ice coated hand cracking against Leon¡¯s cheek was one of the most satisfying sounds Cierra had ever heard.

 133 : First Steps

    It was early in the morning. Avuri and I hadn¡¯t really slept very much the night before, simply because these days we didn¡¯t really need to. We had instead opted to get our day rolling early. Avuri had hopped straight out our window to go do some of the more farming related chores while I lightly stepped downstairs to get breakfast cooking.


    I had barely gotten enough eggs cracked for the crowd we had living with us at this point when Cierra wobbled down the stairs. She had clearly just woken up as she wiped her bleary eyes and wandered toward the kitchen.


    ¡°Morning¡­¡± She said, her voice scratchy and still unused for the day.


    I smiled, leaving the rest of the eggs for now. I stashed what I had already cracked in the cold Array to keep it all fresh while I turned around to talk to Cierra. ¡°Morning, Cici. Did you sleep alright? It¡¯s still pretty early.¡±


    ¡°...Yeah.¡± She yawned. ¡°I think so.¡±


    ¡°Did I wake you up when I started cooking?¡± I asked. She shook her head. ¡°Okay, well, go ahead and sit down then. Would you like some eggs?¡±


    Cierra nodded as she shifted into a seat and leaned on the table. She folded her arms on the table and sat her chin on them. ¡°Mom?¡± She said, still sounding a little sleepy.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Can you teach me how to fight? Like, for real?¡±


    I took a seat across from her and took up a similar position to hers, leaning on the table with our eyes about level. Cierra may have looked somewhat sleepy still, she was clearly thinking seriously about this. There was an intense look in her eyes. ¡°And what brought this on?¡± I asked, pretty sure I already knew the answer.


    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­¡± She trailed off, trying to gather the right words. ¡°I don¡¯t want to get hurt again. Next time, I want to stop the bad guy from hitting me.¡± Cierra resolutely stared at me from across the table.


    I smiled at her, and reached over to tousle her hair. ¡°I had always planned to teach you eventually.¡± I said. ¡°Avuri agreed too. You and Stena both; we¡¯re going to make sure that when you grow up, you can defend yourselves.¡± I slid my hand down to her cheek and pinched it. ¡°For now, you¡¯ll have to deal with your moms protecting you. But yes, we¡¯ll teach you.¡±


    Cierra smiled back at me. ¡°Okay. Good.¡±


    ¡°You know we¡¯ve already been having you do some basics like stretching and meditating. If you think you¡¯re ready to learn already, we can start having you do real work. You¡¯ll need to work hard to grow up strong, okay.¡±


    Cierra nodded. ¡°I know. I can do it.¡±


    I nodded firmly. ¡°Very well. We can start today, if you want to.¡± As I moved to stand and return to making breakfast while we talked, the solemn, reserved look on Cierra¡¯s face tore at my heart. She had been a little more withdrawn than usual the last few days, but generally cheerful still. Avuri and I had both thought there must be something bothering her after the incident with Leon, but we weren¡¯t sure what.


    If his transgression had made Cierra consider whether she wanted to learn to fight, and that was what she had been thinking about all week, I supposed that was alright. I hadn¡¯t lied when I said I was planning to teach her how to fight. And Avuri backed me up on that.


    But we had both balked when it came to making the first move to teach them for real. There was something about that first step that stopped us from pushing them forward first. Whether it was a nagging feeling about not wanting to force our kids down a path or worry for their safety, I wasn¡¯t sure. But that initial push was daunting.


    Cierra coming to me and asking for lessons herself gave me the push I needed to really get her started. And I was sure that Stena wouldn¡¯t be far behind.


    I had some small doubts about starting Stena when she was perhaps five years old at most. It was early, but not unheard of, for a child that young to start with the very basics of Cultivation. I was firm in the belief that they would do best together, though, so we would train them together. Stena was almost guaranteed to be a little behind Cierra for a while, but having the two of them train together would benefit both of them in the long run.


    I took a deep breath before I returned to my meal prep. Cierra lazed on the table, drifting between what appeared to be deep thought and napping for a while. It wasn¡¯t until almost an hour later that Talya finally appeared to assist with the cooking. She took one look at the napping Cierra draped over the table and quietly moved beside me to help without a word.


    Twenty minutes after that the others began to shuffle in. Demi and Ieji showed up first, having gone for a morning run together. They, too, were cognizant of Cierra¡¯s snoozing at the table and sat down for some quiet conversation. They were remarkably quiet, using their Cultivation-enhanced ears to hear each other.


    And then Rylie bounced up the stairs from the ground level, her feet tromping loudly on the stairs as she took them several at a time. That didn¡¯t wake Cierra up immediately, but her bright shouting that followed certainly did.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Morning everyone!¡± She greeted the room sounding particularly chipper.


    She got a lightning fast chorus of ¡®Shh¡¯s, but Cierra still sat bolt upright and looked around frantically. Rylie was by the girl''s side in no time at all, rubbing her shoulders. ¡°Sorry, Cierra.¡± She said, crouching down beside the girl. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize you were sleeping.¡± To her credit, she did sound genuinely apologetic.


    Cierra, for her part, wiped the bit of drool from her chin and shook her head. ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. I shouldn¡¯t be sleeping at the table, anyway.¡±


    That got her a tight hug from both sides as Rylie and Demi squeezed her tight.


    ¡°How did you manage to get such a well behaved little girl?¡± Rylie asked, loud enough for me to hear her clearly in the kitchen. Talya and I rounded the corner from the kitchen¡¯s door, the first few plates of breakfast in hand, now that there were enough people to eat it.


    ¡°I¡¯d say luck, mostly?¡± I said, placing the platters of eggs and veggies on the table.


    ¡°I¡¯m not so sure about that.¡± Talya said, then addressed our other siblings. ¡°You all may not have been here very long, but surely you¡¯ve all noticed Emery is a good mother.¡±


    Kota, who had been coming up the stairs behind Rylie, nodded as he moved toward a chair. ¡°I can still barely believe it. I was sure we¡¯d all be unanimously shit parents.¡± He shot a smirk my way as he added, ¡°And that Emery would be the worst of us.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s right though.¡± Demi said.


    ¡°I¡¯m a good mom!¡± I said indignantly. I even looked at Cierra for back up, and she nodded in agreement. ¡°See?¡± I said, pointing toward her.


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying you¡¯re a bad mother.¡± Kota clarified. ¡°I¡¯m saying I thought you would be.¡±


    ¡°As if that¡¯s better.¡± I muttered as I turned back toward the kitchen to grab the other few plates we had ready.


    ¡°Can you really blame us?¡± Demi said. ¡°You were easily the most difficult out of all of us for Dad to keep under control. And that¡¯s saying something, given I¡¯m including Ieji.¡± Demi immediately looked at them and added, ¡°No offense meant, Ieji.¡±


    ¡°None taken.¡± They intoned, voice as even as ever. ¡°I was an absolute emotional mess as a child. I¡¯m aware.¡±


    Demi''s eyes narrowed on them, trying to tell how much of what they said should be taken at face value.


    Rylie spoke up again before Demi could though. ¡°You were an absolute monster as a kid, Emery.¡± Her eyes followed me as I re-entered the room and put more food on the table. ¡°How in the world did you end up so¡­¡± She trailed off, motioning at me with her hands while trying to find the right words.


    I raised an eyebrow in question at her, as I looked down at myself. I was wearing an old, stained apron over some light robes that I had put on after I woke up. They were plain, but comfortable, and were clean. We had several similar sets of clothing for wear around the house and training in because they were simple, lightweight things. I chuckled.


    ¡°Domestic?¡± Demi offered, and Rylie snapped her fingers and pointed at her.


    ¡°Good word, that. How¡¯d you end up so domestic?¡±


    ¡°My fault, I¡¯m afraid.¡± Avuri said, as she climbed the stairs. ¡°You should¡¯ve seen her when I first met her - covered in blood immediately after a big fight. Now she at least wears aprons before getting blood all over herself.¡±


    ¡°Sit your ass down and eat.¡± I said. With a quick flex of Qi, a spoon went flying off the table at Avuri. As connected as we were, there was little hope of actually hitting her with it, and once she leaned to the side enough for it to pass, it hung in the air before flying back to the table.


    ¡°Yes, dear.¡± Avuri said with a small bow of her head. She quickly slid into her usual seat beside Cierra while I slid into the seat on the girl¡¯s other side. ¡°I have a few dozen eggs to put away after we eat. Don¡¯t let me forget.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I nodded and began spooning food onto plates.


    ¡°By the way, where¡¯s Stena?¡± Avuri asked, aiming her question equally at me and Cierra. Cierra was the one to answer, though.


    ¡°She was still in bed when I came down. But I was early today.¡±


    ¡°Oh? And why were you early today?¡± Avuri asked.


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t sleep.¡± Cierra said simply. She picked up a spoon as I set her plate down before her. ¡°I wanted to ask you and Mom to teach me to fight.¡±


    Avuri glanced at me then back to Cierra. ¡°You already asked Mom, then?¡±


    Cierra nodded. ¡°Mhm. She said she would. And that you¡¯d help.¡±


    Avuri ruffled the girl¡¯s hair affectionately. ¡°Of course I will. But,¡± she said, pointing at Cierra¡¯s still mostly full plate, ¡°if you''re going to learn how to fight and train with us, you need to eat.¡±


    ¡°She''s absolutely right.¡± Kota chuckled. ¡°You need all the energy from a good breakfast so you''ll make it through the day.¡±


    Cierra looked up at Avuri, then Kota, then to her plate. She diligently picked up her fork and got to work, shoveling the eggs and veggies into her mouth.


    Avuri smiled, doing the same. "Good girl.¡±


    A sleepy Stena slowly made her way down the stairs then, a stuffed rabbit clutched against her in her right arm. It was a gift that Rylie had gotten for her from the city a few days prior, and it had barely left her side since.


    I smiled, watching as she made her way to the table. She usually sat in one of our laps, and had chosen me as her seat today. I shuffled my chair out from the table a little bit to give her room, and pulled her up onto my lap and gave her a little hug. ¡°Morning, sleepyhead.¡± I said, and kissed the top of her head.


    She just mumbled a good morning while rubbing her eyes. Stena had barely even noticed or acknowledged anyone else around the table when Cierra pushed a smaller plate of breakfast over to her.


    ¡°She needs to eat, too, right?¡±

 134 : Better

    ¡°Stena. I¡¯m going to try something. Cover me and attack when you see the opening.¡±


    It may not have been something she said - or even thought about - often, but Stena really did trust her older sister. Maybe not to the same level as their mothers, but she felt like she trusted Cierra more than just about anyone else outside of Emery, Avuri, and perhaps Vale.


    When Cierra told her to guard her and watch for an opening, she did exactly that. She pulled her sword back and prepared to defend Cierra during whatever it was that she had planned.


    She held back to defend when Cierra¡¯s next attack clashed with Leon¡¯s flames. She continued to watch, ready for anything when Cierra abandoned her attack in favor of building up a new one. And even still when Cierra - acting against her own previous instructions - charged in the wake of her attack.


    Stena immediately followed her sister with her sword. It needed to be nearby to fend off any attacks at a moment''s notice. When Cierra¡¯s newest dragon opened its maw and simply devoured the flame that was sent to combat it, Stena hesitated; but when she saw Leon struggle to keep up his defense, she transitioned to watching for an opening rather than defending her sister.


    She knew her choice was correct when Cierra¡¯s technique fought through Leon¡¯s flames and bit down on his arm, Signal Fire and all. The man screamed, and Stena poised her blade to strike. As soon as an opening presented itself -


    When she saw Cierra step well within Leon¡¯s guard, she knew what it meant. His Domain had fallen. They had no means to truly confine it, but for the moment, it was gone. Stena immediately pushed her blade forward as fast as she could make it travel, seeing the opening.


    She didn¡¯t stop, even when the solid crack of contact echoed around the area. It was a solid hit, and Leon spun backward. She couldn¡¯t direct her sword nearly as precisely as her mother could, but she could still make sure she took advantage of the opening that Cierra gave her.


    Stena¡¯s wind Qi dispersed as it collided with Leon¡¯s body - but her sword, moving at the speed it was, still struck home. Stena wasn¡¯t close enough to hear it, but she could easily imagine the satisfying slicking sound of the blade sliding into flesh. She watched as it tore through Leon¡¯s left thigh, digging through all the way to the hilt.


    Leon stumbled and fell, driven backward by the force of Cierra¡¯s slap. The left side of his face, which had been hit, was torn up and incredibly bloody. Cierra must¡¯ve been feeling particularly mean to make the ice jagged like that. She had done it once during practice, and it had absolutely torn up Stena¡¯s leg. It was incredibly painful because the ice wasn¡¯t exactly sharp, so the cuts were uneven and more like rips.


    Stena reached out with her wind Qi to quickly pull her blade back. Under her command, it tore free of his leg, leaving a pretty nasty wound where it struck. It probably wasn¡¯t life-threatening, especially for a Cultivator, but it would hopefully at least be irritating if not debilitating.


    As Stena was preparing for the continuation of the fight, she saw Cierra sag. She was still standing, and unharmed, but clearly not in fighting shape after the last attack. Stena nearly froze up in horror as Leon was recovering quickly enough that he could feasibly strike her sister. She managed to sweep Cierra completely off her feet with a huge burst of wind Qi, sending her flying back to land ungracefully beside Stena.


    There was a huge blast of flame and scorched the area where Cierra had been standing. The blast was larger than most of the attacks so far, and it carved a swath through the trees, lighting a whole slew of them on fire. Bushes and other plants caught aflame, too. Stena could only be relieved that the attack hadn¡¯t been aimed at any of her hidden siblings.


    She swallowed thickly as she watched Leon stand. He was favoring his injured leg, but it didn¡¯t seem to be as much of a hindrance as she had hoped. She knew that Cultivators could take wounds like that and still function so long as they didn¡¯t hit anything vital. Evidently, slicing through thigh muscle and bone wasn¡¯t enough to cause any real lasting damage.


    Stena called her sword back to hover by her shoulder, not that it would do any good against another attack on the scale of the last one.


    Leon held the left side of his face with one hand angrily, both eyes absolutely blazing with hate. Stena wanted to sigh; even Cierra¡¯s blow to his face was pretty ineffective, despite causing a good amount of cosmetic damage. Unfortunately, it was just that - cosmetic. Leon was bleeding a lot, but not nearly enough to end this fight before he could roast the two of them alive.


    Cierra struggled to her feet beside Stena as Leon recreated his flame whip in his right hand.


    ¡°How are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m hanging in there. I can¡¯t do it again, but the one slap was worth it.¡± Cierra bit out.


    ¡°Well, good for you. Now what?¡± Stena said, a little heat making it into her words. ¡°You were our best fighter, dumbass.¡±


    ¡°Not strictly true.¡± Cierra said, finally standing upright. ¡°You¡¯re better.¡±


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Leon¡¯s whip struck out at the two of them, sweeping toward them horizontally. Both women ducked and spun backward, letting the searing whip pass overhead. The heat was close enough to still singe their hair. It smelled awful.


    ¡°I wanted to take at least one of you as a hostage!¡± Leon yelled. ¡°But maybe it would be better to maim you both first. You just need to be alive, not unhurt.¡± What followed was the kind of laugh that Stena pictured coming from actual villains in picture books as a kid.


    ¡°Shit, Cierra.¡± Stena muttered. ¡°Sure, I¡¯m better. In close quarters combat. His Domain makes that a tad difficult.¡±


    ¡°Leon¡¯s powerful, but not well trained or disciplined. We can win this.¡±


    Leon¡¯s whip struck out at Stena this time. She managed to dance around it as it cracked loudly right beside her. She was sure if it had hit, she would¡¯ve been out of the fight entirely. The air itself hissed as the whip ignited flames where it struck.


    ¡°He¡¯s not good at maintaining his Domain. Obviously some pain was enough to shut him down before, but I think a good scare would even be enough.¡± Cierra continued. ¡°Right before I struck him, he looked genuinely terrified of being hit. I¡¯ve never seen that look on a Cultivator¡¯s face before. He¡¯s mentally weak.¡±


    Another strike, this time aimed at Cierra. She sidestepped it while throwing out a short burst of Qi to force the attack a little further off course. She avoided the attack, but cursed under her breath. ¡°Remind me to not use Qi for a bit.¡±


    Stena let out a frustrated growl, and snatched her weapon out of the air. The grip felt so perfect in her hand that it actually calmed her. Her fingers tightened around it and she took a deep breath. ¡°Fine. What do we do?¡±


    ¡°We use our trump cards and overwhelm him fast. After the initial strike, we don¡¯t let up. And you¡¯re going to ruin him.¡± Cierra said.


    Stena turned to look at her sister for just a moment in disbelief. ¡°You¡¯re kidding.¡±


    ¡°Nope. Connect me with the others. We can actually do this.¡±


    When Leon lashed out again, aiming to hit Cierra, she dodged the attack but stumbled. She fell squarely on her ass and needed to use her hands to catch herself. She shouted ¡°Go!¡± as she landed and spun to face him. Leon immediately twisted his wrist and snapped the whip to make a follow up strike while she was clearly defenseless.


    Stena darted forward, but Leon focused on Cierra for the moment. He wouldn¡¯t let her escape this time. The whip coiled back on itself, following his wrist movements, before he cracked it out toward her again.


    He knew that Cierra had mostly exhausted herself just to slap him earlier; he could feel that. And Stena was running toward him, utilizing her wind Qi for speed. Nothing so far had shown that she would be capable of splitting her concentration to deflect the blow for her sister. He had her.


    When a huge stone slab shot up out of the ground to intercept the whip midway to its target, Leon was flummoxed. Not only did the stone stop the blow, but it had stopped the whip from cracking correctly, which killed the momentum and power of the attack, too.


    And then Leon felt his footing move. Stone pillars rose beneath him, at different speeds, completely destroying his footing. He stumbled back, away from the suddenly moving ground while frantically casting out his senses for whoever or whatever was attacking. He was interrupted, however, when a pillar of stone erupted from the ground and surged toward his face.


    The whip was less than useless at defending from close range attacks, and Leon knew that his Domain wouldn¡¯t melt the stone fast enough to stop this attack in time - it was simply too much mass. Instead, he intercepted the bludgeon with his arm. The blow knocked him back, but it wasn¡¯t strong enough to truly damage him, nor really cause too much trouble. It was clearly an Earth Realm technique.


    ¡°Ha! As if that¡¯s enough!¡± He said, then kicked the pillar. It basically shattered. But as he lifted his leg to kick, the earth user lifted another pillar under his leg that was holding him up. His bad leg, no less. The force of the surging ground was enough to buckle his bad leg under him, and he toppled.


    As he fell, he twisted to reorient himself so he could catch himself with his free hand and recover.


    ¡°Don¡¯t stop! Keep pushing!¡± Cierra¡¯s shouting cut through the din of the suddenly vicious exchange.


    Leon caught himself and spun to get back to his feet only to see a wall falling at him - and quickly. It took him only a moment to realize that it was a huge mass of water coming toward him; he immediately pushed more Qi into his Domain and focused entirely on the water and heating it up.


    The whole mass immediately evaporated into steam. There was a loud hissing sound as the huge amount of water was burned away.


    Leon felt another pillar of stone impact his back. It didn¡¯t hurt badly, but it was annoying. He immediately transitioned to focusing entirely on searching the nearby area for the damn earth Qi user.


    That was when pain erupted from his right shoulder. Leon¡¯s mind nearly shut down. Everything went momentarily white with the pain.


    Stena moved in within that same instant when Leon¡¯s Domain blinked out. She grasped the handle of her sword - which she had thrown as hard as she could from beyond Leon¡¯s Domain - and ripped it from his shoulder. It wasn¡¯t a clean draw, either; she ripped it out to the side, tearing Leon¡¯s entire right arm free of his body.


    He screamed as his techniques died. His fire whip clunked to the ground and puffed away to smoke alongside the detached appendage.


    Stena didn¡¯t stop there. Not giving the bastard any time to recover, she immediately drew the blade back over her head and swung in a matching slice against Leon¡¯s other side. His left arm joined his right on the ground. Stena spun away, drawing the sword back, and kicked Leon square in the stomach to knock him on his back.


    In the same motion, she knelt atop him, one knee pushing painfully into his chest, with her sword¡¯s point directly above his heart. Just for good measure, she grabbed his neck with her off-hand and squeezed just enough to send a message.


    ¡°This is bullshit! I have a Domain!¡± Leon squeaked out, despite his still blurry vision thanks to the pain.


    ¡°Unfortunately for you,¡± Stena said angrily, ¡°I guess we¡¯re just better.¡±

 135 : Follow Through

    Stena wasn¡¯t about to take any chances with Leon. Even with both of his arms separated from his body, he was enough of a potential danger to her and her family. And since none of them could interfere with his Domain, she really only had one option.


    When Stena pushed her blade down to end him, it struck a layer of ice instead. Stena¡¯s blade scratched the ice, but didn¡¯t push through it. Instead, it slid off to the side, leaving a deep groove in the ice. The blade buried itself a few inches deep in the base of Leon¡¯s shoulder. He screamed again, which quickly turned into incoherent babbling.


    ¡°I think you¡¯ve done well enough.¡±


    Stena turned toward the source of the voice, ready for another fight. Her mothers weren¡¯t supposed to be here, and she didn¡¯t trust her eyes. She stood and raised her weapon, ready to defend herself, when she felt a Domain settle over her. She could feel the strange vibrations in the air that Emery¡¯s Domain caused. Vibrations that had always made her feel safe.


    Stena¡¯s whole body relaxed at once. She kept the strength in her knees to remain standing, and avoided a full-on slump, but her fighting-ready stance was entirely gone. Her siblings that were scattered around the area slowly revealed themselves, leaving their hiding spots tentatively. Cierra had dropped to her butt to sit down, clearly relieved.


    Avuri let out a controlled burst of Qi that traveled in a dome shape through her Domain. Everyone watched as the wave of cold swept through the whole area. The cold front shimmered like a thin, transparent crystal as it simply snuffed out every bit of fire that it passed. And it extended well past the furthest fire that Leon had caused. Just in case.


    The same cold front passed over Leon, and encased him fully in ice. He looked raving mad, his face frozen in an open mouthed shout.


    As the small group that accompanied Emery and Avuri spread out from the trees, Stena let the dragonscale sword she carried return to her storage ring finally. Emery walked over to Stena, and put an arm around her daughter in a side hug around the girl''s shoulders. Stena had to hold back a small chuckle - Emery had to struggle a bit to give her that hug because of the height difference. Even while slumped like she was, Stena still stood taller.


    ¡°You did good, kid.¡± Emery said with a smile. ¡°That last attack was beautifully executed. Couldn¡¯t have done it better myself.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re lying, but thank you.¡± Stena said, pushing against her mother¡¯s sturdy body. As she watched Avuri move to check on Cierra, she asked, ¡°How long were you all watching?¡±


    ¡°Mmm¡­basically since the beginning?¡± Emery responded. ¡°We caught up to that asshole before he made it to the basin, but because his awareness and Qi control is so poor, he didn¡¯t even notice us watching him.¡±


    Stena almost couldn¡¯t stop herself from laughing. Only a few chuckles escaped, as she realized there was never any real danger during that fight. Not really. Assuming the adults would¡¯ve stepped in if anything got too dicey.


    ¡°You all did very well, though. It was a good plan, executed well.¡± Emery said again as everyone else walked up.


    ¡°You¡¯re¡­not mad at us for taking on a Sky Realm like that?¡± Lia asked, her voice small.


    ¡°Normally I would be.¡± Emery said. ¡°Though, to be fair, normally you¡¯d all be dead after a stunt like that.¡± Her voice took on the maternal edge that they all recognized and the whole group flinched.


    ¡°But.¡± She continued, ¡°I¡¯m going to be generous today, and believe that you assessed the situation and chose to fight because you thought it through, not because you were reckless.¡± Emery eyed each of them in turn as she spoke, and each teen did their best not to flinch under her gaze.


    ¡°We were prepared to run from the beginning.¡± Kord said, speaking up. ¡°Cierra and Stena were to appear briefly without engaging in combat to try to gauge the enemy¡¯s strength. If they deemed the fight dangerous, they were going to retreat.¡±


    It took a moment of silence, but Emery did nod finally. ¡°Fair enough then. We¡¯ll save the part where you¡¯re all in trouble for being stupid and reckless for another day.¡±


    ¡°Let them breathe for a bit, Em.¡± Avuri said as she and Cierra approached. ¡°Win or lose, they just had a pretty tense experience.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Emery said. ¡°I just want them to realize how dangerous that was before they go celebrating. Do not expect to win against a Sky Realm Cultivator like that again. You got lucky.¡±


    ¡°I know, Mom.¡± Cierra said, her voice teetering between respectful and annoyed. ¡°We really got lucky in terms of our opponent. Leon wasn¡¯t a good Cultivator. He lacked experience despite knowing a few techniques. He had almost no real control over his Domain because, again, he clearly lacked training. And he over relied on it any time he could.¡±


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°He also, most notably,¡± Stena picked up the explanation, meeting gazes with Cierra, ¡°was absolutely garbage at separating his focus. He was locked onto Cierra and I the entire time and never thought to sweep the area for others. His singular focus also made it easy to disrupt his Domain.¡±


    Avuri and Emery both seemed satisfied with that. ¡°At least you¡¯re aware, then. You basically fought an extra powerful Earth Realm Cultivator with a weapon they didn¡¯t know how to use.¡±


    All of the kids looked down, clearly in thought. They had gotten lucky, but they didn¡¯t need to have it shoved home so thoroughly immediately after winning the fight.


    Emery smiled. ¡°Now then, like I said before, let¡¯s put that aside. You all carried out your strategy wonderfully. Especially that combination at the end. Enrik, I assume those pillars were your doing?¡±


    Enrik nodded. ¡°Yes, they were.¡±


    ¡°You did a great job breaking his footing. That can turn around a battle if you time it right. And Fia? That wave of water was you?¡±


    ¡°I just wanted to get him to completely focus on one thing. That¡¯s why the attack was so big and wide. I wanted it to look more imposing, even though it probably -¡±


    ¡°Relax,¡± Emery said, interrupting the girl¡¯s worried rambling. ¡°You did well. The attack did exactly what it was meant to. Well done.¡± Fia seemed to settle after that with a smile on her face.


    ¡°And Stena, I already told you, those sword strokes were beautifully executed. I have no notes for you either.¡± Emery said, and patted each one of their arms in turn.


    ¡°And Cierra. You and I are going to have a little talk later about your little stunt. I wouldn¡¯t have pegged you as the type to overextend yourself in an attempt to test a theory.¡± Emery had to hold up a hand to stop Cierra from objecting. ¡°No. You put yourself in far more danger than was necessary, and I am mad at you for that.¡±


    Cierra looked a little dejected when Emery and Avuri shared a look then leaned in conspiratorially to ask, ¡°So? How did your revenge feel?¡± Emery asked, the smile audible in her voice.


    Cierra balked, clearly not expecting that question. She looked sheepishly at her mothers and a small smile broke free. ¡°It was immensely satisfying.¡± She said, almost embarrassed. ¡°I honestly didn¡¯t think I cared. And then he showed up and suddenly I felt like I needed to pay back what he did to me.¡±


    Basically everyone in attendance turned to look at the frozen Leon. Avuri didn¡¯t freeze people solid often - she usually opted to encase them in ice. Actually freezing their bodies could cause some pretty severe damage and it was rare that she actually wanted to hurt the person. In this particular case, she hadn¡¯t bothered being nice.


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you stopped me from killing him.¡± Stena said eventually, breaking the silence.


    ¡°I can¡¯t speak for Emery,¡± Avuri said, ¡°but I didn¡¯t want you to have blood on your hands yet. There will no doubt be plenty of time in the future for you to do whatever it is you¡¯re going to do, but while you¡¯re here, still under our roof, I¡¯d rather you not need to kill if  it¡¯s not necessary.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t disagree.¡± Emery said. ¡°You¡¯re still young. And while I wouldn¡¯t have had any issues with you killing him - especially him - I don¡¯t see a reason to make you do it while we¡¯re here.¡±


    ¡°Taking lives does something to you.¡± Ieji added. ¡°It¡¯s hard to explain. And I¡¯m not going to tell you that there¡¯s always some great emotional struggle involved, because there¡¯s not. But something does change.¡±


    Avuri nodded. ¡°They¡¯re right. There¡¯s no reason to take that step unless you have to. And right now, you don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do with him, then?¡± Cierra asked, directing the question to Avuri. ¡°He¡¯s your brother.¡±


    ¡°Yes, he was.¡± Avuri said, taking a deep breath. ¡°I don¡¯t know what the situation is with my old family back in Bouquet right now, that they would send Leon to do something like this. But to be quite honest, I don¡¯t really care.¡± Avuri¡¯s gaze drifted to her frozen brother. ¡°He must have known what would happen if he came back here. And I¡¯m not about to let him leave after attacking my family again.¡±


    The steel in Avuri¡¯s voice was enough to make her children step back. She almost never got this angry; Emery was always the one that got angry, while Avuri was usually the more even keeled of the two.


    Stena popped her blade back out of her storage ring, mostly as a joke, and offered it to Avuri handle-first. Avuri¡¯s eyes were still glued to the ice statue she had made, but she took the proffered sword without looking.


    ¡°Everyone back up a little.¡±


    Avuri barely waited for everyone to listen before the ice surrounding Leon melted away at her behest. His body thumped to the ground, still thawing. But the bump was apparently enough to wake him from his ice-induced unconsciousness because he immediately began raving again, shouting all kinds of obscenities.


    Until he was coherent enough to look around and his eyes fell on Avuri. There was a moment of silence as he tried to process what was happening, and then he screamed.


    ¡°You bitch! You¡¯re mine, Ivory! I¡¯m going to kill you!¡±


    His irrational screaming went on for a bit before he finally tried to pull on his Qi and found it sluggish to respond after being unconscious. But Avuri waited for him to pull himself together. She even let him push out his Domain again.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like killing people who can¡¯t defend themselves.¡± She said by way of explanation, but aimed it at her kids. ¡°Neither does Emery. You shouldn¡¯t do it.¡±


    ¡°You!¡± Leon screeched. He began to gather Qi in his mouth, probably to breathe flame. He was pretty severely limited without arms.


    Avuri moved in a blink. Leon¡¯s attempt at a fire breath was as poor as everything else he did, and Avuri sliced straight through the condensed fire. The dragonscale blade was perfect for that.


    In the same motion, the blade continued to cut the fire breath in two until it reached Leon¡¯s mouth. It kept cutting, separating the top of his head from the bottom, leaving only his lower jaw attached to his neck. Avuri spun into the follow through of the cut and jammed the blade into Leon¡¯s back, straight through his heart, and through the front of his chest.


    There was a satisfying sucking sound as she withdrew the blade from Leon¡¯s body.


    Someone in the group whistled appreciatively at the short exchange. Avuri, for her part, just let out a held breath as a long, drawn-out sigh.


    Emery spoke the words on most of their minds.


    ¡°Good riddance.¡±

 136 : Decompress

    After Leon had been dealt with, the rest of the night progressed rather neatly, all things considered.


    The Elders didn¡¯t send any word regarding what was happening on their end that night, which was fine. Emery and Avuri trusted them to do what they had to do. The Elders had also promised to deliver them at least the three leaders of the enemy party, and the Elders weren¡¯t the type to go back on a promise like that.


    At Avuri¡¯s request, Leon¡¯s body was disposed of as neutrally as possible. His fire Qi would be the least likely to cause issues on the Blazing Dragon Peak to the south, so that¡¯s where he was brought. No one felt the need to bury him, so they simply left him in a random spot on the mountain, a little ways away from the Basin. The animals and beasts that lived on the Peak would do the lion¡¯s share of the work to dispose of the body.


    By the time that was settled, it was solidly after dark. It wasn¡¯t incredibly late, though, and when Cierra, Stena, and their team returned to the center of the Basin where the houses were with their mothers in tow, things got loud quickly. After the few initial teens snuck glimpses and tentatively poked their heads out of the doors, everyone else followed. Even Talya and Gray came out of the main house with Arek and Astra trailing behind them.


    After everyone had a moment to throw themselves at Emery and Avuri for big hugs and reassurances that everything was alright for now at least, there was a flurry of introductions and greetings. None of the kids - outside of Cierra and Stena - had ever met Avuri¡¯s cousins, and only a few had heard of them in passing. It had been so long since their initial visit that only the older kids had known about them.


    That left Glenn, Mica, and Cove a little overwhelmed by the sudden surge of kids greeting them and asking questions. It was an absolute avalanche of attention, with all kinds of questions, covering everything from where they were from to favorite foods and activities. The excitement was enough to keep smiles on faces for a few hours before it really was time for bed.


    Eventually everyone started to move toward their own beds. Avuri offered the two guest rooms on the second floor of their house to her cousins, which they gratefully accepted.


    However, for everyone that had been involved in the fighting that night, what really called for them was a bath. Cierra, Stena, Kord, Fia, Elise, and Enrik were the first to go bathe as they snuck off while everyone else was still saying goodnight. When the adults passed the bathhouse on the way to the main house, they could hear shouting and splashing from the baths as Fia doused the other girls with water attacks as a joke.


    Emery and Avuri both smiled at the chaos. Despite everything that had transpired, relief had followed, and everyone seemed to be in relatively good spirits. For now, that would be enough.


    The group of adults decided it was best that they wait outside for their turn. Talya and Gray, who were planning to join everyone, went into the house to collect a change of clothes for everyone, because they would all desperately need new clothing after a bath. And it wasn¡¯t until they made it near the house that they realized how dirty they all really were.


    Everyone except for Ieji were completely covered from head to toe in dirt. In fact, Ieji looked remarkably clean in comparison to the other five, although there were plenty of green plant stains on their black clothing if you looked hard enough. Ieji also had the least amount of blood on them by far.


    Emery was sporting a few deep cuts and a fair bit of blood - a good portion of which was her own - but Mica put her to shame. The woman was absolutely covered in superficial wounds. There was so much dried blood on her that it was impossible to tell if it was all hers or not. There were also a few deeper wounds, but nothing life threatening. They would need to be cleaned, especially given how much dirt and dust also coated her.


    Cove was covered in dirt from all of the earth techniques that were used in their fight. It was caked on in several places, though not as badly as Mica¡¯s, which had mixed with all the blood. He was pretty sure that a light scrub would take care of him. Glenn looked mostly alright; he had a layer of sweat and grime on him, but that was about it.


    Avuri was also in a mild state. She was covered in sweat and grime, which was expected after a fight, but also had ended up with ash over most of her exposed flesh after her brief duel with Leon.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    The whole group had to laugh after they saw their state, thinking back to how easily the kids had simply ignored how messy they all were. While Avuri¡¯s cousins and Ieji didn¡¯t get the same hugs that Emery and Avuri received, the fact that no one seemed to mind the dirt and blood was enough to let the whole group laugh and relieve some tension.


    Everyone¡¯s clothes, though, were destined for disposal. They all showed cuts and holes from attacks that had landed or barely missed, and that was ignoring the stains from everything else. Even Avuri¡¯s clothing, which hadn¡¯t really taken hits, showed some wear - mostly in the form of singed and fraying ends thanks to the flames.


    By the time the kids vacated the bath, the adults were more than ready to take their turn. At least for the moment, they decided to split into separate baths for now, with Emery, Avuri, Mica, and Talya heading to the women¡¯s side, while Glenn, Cove, and Gray moved to the men¡¯s side. Ieji elected to bathe alone in the mixed bath to begin with, leaving Emery, Avuri, and Talya to try to explain that that was a very normal decision for Ieji, despite being told they would be welcome with either group.


    Once they were split into their respective baths, it was like a new battle began. No one wanted to soak until all of the dirt and grime was removed - which Emery and Avuri both appreciated. But while scrubbing away dirt and sweat was easy enough, the dried blood was less so. And it took even more time and effort to address the actual wounds that Emery and Mica carried.


    Thankfully, with the four of them in the bath, the numbers were in their favor. Avuri helped clean up Emery¡¯s wounds, including the two holes that Quarris¡¯ hidden attacks had made. Emery¡¯s left shoulder had a hole that traveled straight through it cleanly, about the size of a grape. It had already begun to heal a little, just by virtue of Cultivation and Qi, but Avuri took her time cleaning up the wound. With so much dirt and grime everywhere, they didn¡¯t want to risk it turning septic.


    The wound on Emery¡¯s left flank was a little less of a concern. The shot had been more like a grazing blow, and had removed a chunk of her side. It wasn¡¯t really that deep, though, so washing it was easy enough. Avuri even pushed a little of their Qi into it with a very basic healing technique that would help it along.


    In contrast, once Emery was cleaned and patched up, Mica was still in the thick of it. Talya had helped her get cleaned up, which was already a challenge. She had taken so many smaller blows, that her body was absolutely covered in small superficial cuts as well as a few larger wounds. Altogether, it left practically wearing a body suit of dried blood; and it took Mica and Talya basically the whole time that Avuri was working on Emery to just barely scrub all the blood off.


    Avuri and Emery immediately slid over to help finish cleaning Mica up. Avuri took care of the worst cuts, using a simple Qi technique to essentially glue the wounds closed. Emery focused more on the actual wounds, not that there were many. But Mica did have a few open gashes that were in need of deeper cleaning that couldn¡¯t simply be cleaned and shut. They were big enough that they would need covers instead of a suture.


    The woman barely complained as the three others fussed over her for a while, making sure she was as clean as possible. The chatter was light-hearted and low stress, as they all tried their best to decompress. The day had been a long one, and they were all looking for whatever relief they could manage. Even Talya was happy for it, despite not being directly in the line of fire. The day had been rough on all their nerves.


    It took about half an hour before the group was comfortable actually going into the bath water itself, but once they all settled into the warm water each of them could feel the tension in their shoulders finally begin to wash away. Even the light banter that had been going until that point seemed to fade as each of them leaned against the wall of the bath and simply breathed.


    ¡°You know,¡± Mica said, eventually breaking the silence, ¡°I feel like we prepared for so much worse than it turned out to be.¡±


    ¡°Better safe than sorry.¡± Emery said, her voice quiet with relaxation.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we actually expected the dragon gambit to pay off like it did.¡± Avuri said.


    ¡°Or for the rest of everything to go down so fast.¡± Mica added.


    ¡°We definitely all left this morning expecting a standoff that lasted a couple days at least.¡± Emery agreed. ¡°And yet, here we are. A little more than twelve hours later, a decent fight under our belts, and relaxing in a bath.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t complain anymore.¡± Mica said with a laugh. ¡°Things went about as well as we could¡¯ve hoped. So long as the dragon side of this isn¡¯t some kind of massive threat.¡±


    ¡°It almost certainly is.¡± Talya said with a sigh. ¡°We¡¯ve seen Vale have to deal with dragon politics before. It¡¯s never clean, and it¡¯s rarely pretty.¡±


    Emery nodded along. ¡°It¡¯s almost certain to blow up on us. Eventually.¡± She stretched her arms up and out. The left one still wouldn¡¯t raise as high as she wanted it to. ¡°Thankfully at least, they tend to operate more slowly. It¡¯s very possible that we have a year or more before Aysol makes any solid moves against us.¡±


    ¡°But more than that,¡± Avuri said as she slid down the wall, further into the water, ¡°we¡¯re almost guaranteed to see nothing from him for at least a few weeks, minimum.¡±


    Mica let out a huge sigh. ¡°That¡¯s a relief I suppose.¡±


    Silence reigned over the group for a solid few minutes after that as they decompressed. They could hear a bit of commotion coming from the men¡¯s bath, and each of them visually strained to hear, despite not really needing to. It sounded like they were having a good time.


    ¡°We should go bother Ieji.¡± Talya said with a grin. ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯re just sitting there alone, all lonely.¡±


    ¡°I almost guarantee that they are not, in fact, lonely. Even a little bit.¡± Emery said, then broke into a grin of her own. ¡°But we should absolutely go bother them.¡±

 137 : Games

    Once they decided to bother Ieji, the women moved quickly. They stood, stretched out a bit, and went to gather towels. Once they were nominally clothed - or at least covered - they made their way out and toward the doors that led to the different baths.


    The mixed bath that Ieji had chosen to use was a little off to the side. Overall, it was rarely used in comparison to the other baths because the older kids didn¡¯t want to bathe together, and they took the younger ones in with them most of the time. Occasionally, Emery and Avuri would take a group of the younger kids into the mixed bath for a larger communal bath time, but otherwise it wasn¡¯t used much.


    Despite all that, it was the largest bath, as well as the one that was the cleanest. It was cleaned every couple days, just like the others, but the lack of use left it much cleaner than the others. The water was also typically kept hotter, which left it perfect for the adults to enjoy a good soak.


    Evidently, it had been getting more use than normal recently, as Gray appeared to know all of this as well. He led the group of men out of the men¡¯s bath just after the women had left their bath, similarly towel-clad. They all stood in the main room of the bathhouse fighting laughter.


    ¡°Going to see Ieji?¡± Talya asked with a smile.


    ¡°That was the plan.¡± Gray answered, mirroring the smile. ¡°We were worried they¡¯d be bored on their own.¡±


    ¡°And we¡¯d like to get to know them better, too.¡± Glenn said. ¡°We¡¯ve spent a while working with them now, but Ieji was never really¡­engaging?¡± He sounded unsure of his word choice.


    ¡°That¡¯s just Ieji.¡± Emery said, nodding. ¡°They¡¯ve always enjoyed time alone to decompress, especially in the bath. But I¡¯m not against going in there and causing a ruckus. Clearly.¡± She noted, motioning to her group who were clearly headed in that direction. ¡°Shall we?¡±


    ¡°We shall.¡± Cove said, as the groups converged and marched through the door.


    ¡°Oh, Ieji!¡± Emery called in a sing-song voice. ¡°We¡¯ve come to bother you!¡±


    The whole group waltzed in through the door to the mixed bath in an unorganized mob, bringing in the commotion with them. Glenn and Cove were shoving one another over something, while Talya and Gray were already talking about what each side did while apart. Mica was poking Avuri, trying to get her to answer some question she had asked.


    Ieji was sitting up against the far side of the bath, fully relaxed. Their face was angled to the sky, though Emery couldn¡¯t tell if their eyes were open or closed, as a veil of wet hair was draped entirely over their face.


    ¡°Oh joy. And you brought the whole crew.¡± Ieji said. Their voice held the same flat tone as always, but they employed so much sarcasm that it came through anyway.


    ¡°Oh, Ieji. Ever the beacon of light, hope, and happiness.¡± Emery shot back, her tone equally full of sarcasm. ¡°Pardon us for thinking we could all enjoy a bit of time together as adults.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± They responded, slowly sitting up and leaning forward, away from the bath¡¯s wall.


    Mica took a few small hops forward before saying, ¡°About that. What about spending some time together¡­a little childishly?¡± She asked. Cove and Glenn stepped up alongside her then, arms crossed, looking somewhat like bodyguards.


    ¡°What did you have in mind, exactly?¡± Avuri asked, now that Mica had stopped poking her for attention.


    Mica¡¯s eyes glimmered in the moonlight as her face took on a bit of a mischievous edge. ¡°Truth or dare.¡±


    ¡°Truth or dare?¡± Avuri echoed, considering the option. ¡°I¡¯m not against it, but the dares wouldn¡¯t be very interesting. We¡¯re mostly family, and it¡¯s late.¡±


    Glenn shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s fine. We can do mild dares. I think the truth part is more fun anyway.¡±


    Emery slipped into the bath, holding her towel to avoid it from slipping off. ¡°Why not? It could be fun. How do we decide who asks and who gets asked?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­a good question.¡± Mica said, biting a nail to think.


    ¡°I have an idea.¡± Talya said, holding up a hand. ¡°Everyone pick a number between one and twenty.¡±


    Everyone answered in turn, as Talya nodded and took note of the choices. Once everyone had picked a number and everyone was in the bath, Talya said, ¡°The number was 12. Avuri, you were closest, so you get to ask. Glenn, you were furthest, so you get asked. After this, Glenn, you get to pick the number.¡±


    It took another minute before everyone was fully settled in the water. Avuri was sitting close enough to Emery that their knees were touching under the water, and she kept purposefully bumping into her. ¡°Alright Glenn¡­You know the deal.¡±


    ¡°Truth.¡± He declared, chest held high.


    Avuri tried to think of a good question, but shrugged after just a moment of thinking. ¡°Well, in the spirit of the game¡­Do you have a crush on anyone right now?¡±


    Laughter immediately erupted around the group at the childish question. ¡°What?¡± Avuri said, looking around at everyone laughing. ¡°This is a childish game! We should ask childish questions.¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± Glenn said, keeping his voice even. The laughter petered out quickly, as both Cove and Mica turned to Glenn, looking suddenly ravenous for more information.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°Grace? It must be Grace, surely.¡±


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°No, I bet it¡¯s Izzi.¡±


    ¡°Hm. There¡¯s always Rain, too.¡± Mica paused, blinking at Glenn, her expression clearly confused.. ¡°When did you suddenly surround yourself with so many women?¡± Cove pointed at Mica enthusiastically as everyone else chuckled at the outburst.


    ¡°I only have to answer the first question, Mica.¡± Glenn said, the absolute picture of serene calm. And I believe it¡¯s my turn now - name your numbers. Between one and fifty this time.¡±


    After the numbers were cast, it left Talya asking Avuri.


    ¡°So?¡± Talya asked, a little smirk on her face.


    Avuri played up the drama as she hemmed and hawed over her decision before she finally settled on ¡°Dare.¡± Her eyebrows popped up suggestively when she answered and she grinned in turn, trying to bait Talya.


    And Talya took the bait; she laughed. ¡°Fine. Kiss your wife. But,¡± she held up a finger, ¡°really get in there.¡±


    Childish snickering and wolf whistles erupted around the group as Avuri turned to look at Emery. ¡°You heard her.¡±


    Emery didn¡¯t say anything, but adjusted the way she was sitting on the stone bench in the water and patted her lap. Avuri raised a questioning eyebrow, and Emery sent her response through their Qi. ¡°You heard her.¡±


    Avuri laughed, and the group egging them on cheered as she threw her leg up and over Emery¡¯s lap to straddle her. Emery pulled her down and into a searing kiss. They wanted to put on a bit of a show without things getting truly dirty, so there were a few quick breaks apart before a second, third, and fourth kiss. After the last one, Avuri licked Emery¡¯s lips as she departed, and rolled off back into her seats.


    The gallery continued their cheering and catcalls until the little ¡®show¡¯ was over. Talya, the one who had suggested the whole thing, had her face in her hand, shaking her head. ¡°You two, I swear.¡±


    ¡°Hey,¡± Avuri whined, ¡°we just did exactly what you said.¡±


    ¡°Did you really need to get in her lap?¡±


    Avuri shrugged. ¡°Why not? Anyway, everybody pick your numbers. Let¡¯s go with one to one hundred this time.¡±


    Once everyone had called their numbers, Mica was left asking Ieji. Ieji asked for a truth rather than a dare. They clearly had no interest in any of the likely obnoxious dares that could happen with the group in attendance.


    ¡°Alright, Ieji. Are we bothering you by being here and being loud?¡± Mica asked, sounding about as sincere as she could manage.


    The corners of Ieji¡¯s mouth quirked up, about as much of a smile as anyone was likely to get out of them. ¡°No, I don¡¯t mind the commotion. I may look dour, but I don¡¯t mind it.¡±


    Mica nodded, accepting the answer, and motioned to Ieji to call for the next set of numbers. This time, Glenn would be asking Gray the truth that he had requested.


    Glenn seemed to take his time thinking about the question. ¡°Sorry, Gray. I just met you, and I¡¯m not sure what to ask¡­¡±


    Gray laughed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Glenn. Ask away. I¡¯m an open book.¡± He threw his arms wide for effect, with a big grin on his face. Glenn continued to look contemplative for a moment before nodding to himself.


    ¡°Assuming you¡¯re the one that approached Talya,¡± he said, glancing toward the woman, ¡°how¡­did you go about doing that?¡±


    Mica and Cove seemed immediately interested in the question, but not so much in Gray¡¯s answer - they were clearly more interested in why Glenn asked. Gray, for his part, smiled, clearly reminiscing.


    ¡°Well,¡± he began, looking over at his wife, ¡°I met her when she first moved to Green Vine City. She came into the company I was working at at the time for an interview to be a new Array designer. She walked past me on her way in, and pointed out an issue in the Array I was working on, entirely off-handedly, and just went on her way.¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°Turns out, it wasn¡¯t a mistake I had made, but just a design style she had never seen before.¡± As he smiled at Talya, she gradually turned a little red, embarrassed. ¡°When she came back out from the interview, I pulled her aside and showed her exactly how the Array I had been working on worked. She apparently decided to take that as a challenge, and basically became my work rival for the next few months, determined to get promoted before me.¡±


    ¡°She did, obviously. She¡¯s way more talented than I am. But when she got promoted, I told her I¡¯d like to treat her to dinner, and she accepted. After that, things went pretty smoothly once she wasn¡¯t hellbent on challenging me at every opportunity. I learned a lot from her, too.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s being humble.¡± Talya said, with a big smile. ¡°I did beat him in the end, don¡¯t get me wrong. But he knew a much wider variety of Array styles than I did when I started. I basically learned all of them from him, then iterated.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s much better at improvising and reworking things than I am.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± She agreed.


    Glenn seemed more or less satisfied with that answer, and then looked like he was contemplating something. Cove and Mica poked and prodded him about it while Gray took his turn getting numbers.


    ¡°Okay, Mica,¡± Talya said, having gotten her chance to ask. ¡°What¡¯ll it be?¡±


    ¡°Truth.¡±


    ¡°How about you then? Any secret crushes out there?¡±


    Mica didn¡¯t even miss a beat and responded ¡°Yes,¡± immediately. But rather than the response that Glenn had gotten, Cove and Glenn clicked their tongues and groaned.


    ¡°Mica,¡± Cove whined, ¡°she means romantic crushes, okay? Play along.¡±


    That got a few questioning looks from everyone else until Glenn expounded, ¡°Emery, she has a crush on you. Not a romantic one - as far as I know, at least, she likes men - but she¡¯s totally in love with the way you fight.¡±


    Mica nodded along the whole time, rather enthusiastically. ¡°He¡¯s right. I love the way you move in a fight. I¡¯m so jealous that I¡¯m more built for sturdy, grounded type moves, while you¡¯re all dance-y.¡±


    ¡°You know,¡± Avuri said, a devious little smile on her face, ¡°you¡¯re not the only one that thought she moves like a dancer on the battlefield. She even had -¡±


    ¡°Avuri, you say another word, and you¡¯re gonna regret it.¡± Emery said, trying to shut her wife down before she could leave enough clues for the others to follow. ¡°I do believe I told exactly what would -¡±


    ¡°Wait, she had a what?¡± Mica asked, excited.


    ¡°She had a nickname.¡± Talya said, looking annoyingly smug as she threw Emery to the wolves. Emery stared at her sister, feeling utterly betrayed.


    ¡°Talya!¡± She shouted, splashing water at the other woman.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care who¡¯s next, you better ask what her nickname was.¡± Mica said, threateningly eyeing down everyone else in the group. Evidently, she didn¡¯t to.


    ¡°Steel Dancer.¡± Ieji said, and Emery whipped around to face them. ¡°Not only that, but she was a teen at the time, and thought it was so cool. She even made -¡±


    ¡°Not. Another. Word.¡± Emery said, her ears starting to burn red.


    Unfortunately for Emery, the last bit also caught Avuri¡¯s attention. ¡°Now, hang on.¡± She said, grinning. ¡°Emery told me about the name. But I didn¡¯t hear about anything more than that.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re not going to.¡± Emery said, definitively. ¡°Now, where were we in the game?¡±


    Mica crossed her arms, pouting. ¡°No, I don¡¯t have any romantic crushes right now. Numbers between one and ten, everyone.¡±


    Emery¡¯s head was in her hands as Avuri grinned at her. ¡°Alright, love. What¡¯s it gonna be?¡±


    ¡°Dare.¡± Emery said through her hands.


    ¡°I dare you to tell me exactly what it was that you made because you thought the nickname ¡®Steel Dancer¡¯ was so cool.¡± Avuri said, looking triumphant.


    ¡°Hang on, that¡¯s not fair! That¡¯s just a truth with extra steps!¡± Emery complained, but found zero support from anyone in the bath. If anything, everyone wanted her to answer.


    Once again, Emery dropped her head into her hands.


    ¡°I made robes with a custom crest on the back¡­and a full costume to go with it.¡±


    The laughter that followed was loud, boisterous, and carried the group through several more rounds of their game as they relaxed for the night.

 138 : Meander

    It wasn¡¯t common that Emery and I had been thrown out of our own house. In fact, I was pretty sure it hadn¡¯t ever happened before. But that sure didn¡¯t stop Emery¡¯s siblings from doing their utmost to throw us out.


    ¡°Just go.¡± Rylie said. ¡°The two of you are too damn perfect for your own good.¡±


    ¡°Seriously.¡± Demi followed. ¡°I promise, we¡¯ll take good care of your girls for the one day it takes for you to go enjoy yourselves for a bit.¡±


    Even Cierra was on their side, comically shooing us out of the house. ¡°C¡¯mon, Moms. Just go.¡±


    ¡°Just go!¡± Stena echoed, copying the shooing motion that Cierra was doing. ¡°Just go, just go!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve got this.¡± Kota promised. He was a little more reliable sounding than Emery¡¯s sisters. Something about his lack of over the top enthusiasm came off as more sincere. ¡°You two need a break. Not just a few hours, but a real, legitimate break.¡± He insisted. ¡°You¡¯ve either been in full-on mothering mode or training mode since the day you were married. No one will suffer if you take a day for yourselves.¡±


    ¡°Actually.¡± Demi said, tapping her chin, ¡°Take two. Stay in the city overnight. If you want, you can even take three.¡± Our girls were nodding along with her sagely.


    Emery crouched down to be face to face with both of them. Relatively speaking, anyway, since Cierra was a fair bit taller than Stena. ¡°Didn¡¯t you two just complain about us not spending time with you?¡±


    ¡°That was last week, Mom.¡± Cierra said, rolling her eyes. ¡°Now you should go.¡±


    Emery and I both eyed her suspiciously. ¡°You just want to skip out on training for a few days, don¡¯t you?¡± Emery said, poking Cierra in the chest.


    The girl giggled. ¡°No¡­¡± she half whimpered. ¡°I¡¯m glad you started teaching us.¡±


    Emery stood, still unsure. Cierra seemed genuine enough. ¡°Alright, then Kota or Talya will still teach you while we¡¯re gone.¡±


    Cierra nodded, seemingly perfectly happy with that.


    ¡°...Did you bribe them?¡± I asked Rylie, as a joke. But when Cierra turned to look up at Rylie and she started to act shifty, I did a mental doubletake. ¡°Really? You bribed children?¡±


    Rylie huffed. ¡°To get them on our side? Yes; okay?¡± She threw her hands up in frustration. ¡°The two of you are infuriating enough on your own, but when you add Cierra and Stena into the mix, you¡¯d never take time for yourselves.¡±


    ¡°And you need to.¡± Demi cut in.


    ¡°And you need to.¡± Rylie echoed. ¡°So, yes. While you¡¯re gone, we¡¯re gonna play dress up!¡±


    Cierra and Stena giggled happily, clearly excited by the idea but poorly trying to hide it. Emery crossed her arms. ¡°Fine. We¡¯ll go.¡±


    I smiled, and tweaked Cierra¡¯s nose. ¡°Have fun while we¡¯re gone, okay?¡±


    ¡°We will!¡± She cheered.


    Emery and I took turns giving our girls hugs and kisses goodbye, then moved to say goodbye to Emery¡¯s siblings. Vale also appeared to say goodbye for now, though Ieji was somewhere else - presumably in the Basin, but we didn¡¯t know where.


    And then we were off. It was just after breakfast and we hadn¡¯t even really gotten dressed for the day yet. Storage rings were incredibly convenient things, and the ability to have every necessity available at the drop of a hat was one such luxury. We had several changes of clothes each, as well as money and anything else we might need on what was turning out to be a surprise date night. Maybe a few date nights.


    Emery and I dipped into one of the unused homes on the way from the Basin to quickly put on more appropriate travel clothing, which really just amounted to some slightly thicker, less sleepwear-like robes. After that, we made tracks. At our speed, it didn¡¯t take us very long to reach Flowing Dragon City¡¯s gates. We were there before lunch time, and really had nothing hurrying us along.


    Once we made it through the gates, we stopped by Jade Pearl Tea, as was our little tradition at this point. As we approached, Ava waved hello although she was already helping someone else. We opted to just take a seat and relax for now. There were a few two chair tables around, so we picked one a little away from the street to help curb the noise a little. As we sat, I noticed Ava give me a nod, telling me that she saw us sit.


    ¡°So, we¡¯ve been kicked out of the house for at least a day. What would you like to do?¡± Emery asked. ¡°I suppose we should find a place we can sleep tonight at some point, but there¡¯s no shortage of inns around.¡±


    ¡°Agreed, but it¡¯s still better to get that squared away earlier rather than later, right?¡± I said. ¡°Otherwise, what else is there to do? We could go shopping if we wanted to. I figure some place nice for dinner is a given.¡±


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Should we visit the Dragon Pavilion? Say hello to Lyn?¡± Emery asked, leaning back in her chair, thinking. ¡°Or maybe we should see if her competitors are any good, then report back to her¡­¡±


    I laughed. ¡°I bet Lyn would love to hear our opinions on her competition.¡± After a pause, I continued, ¡°On the other hand, I can¡¯t imagine her not having all of the information on every single one of them already.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true¡­¡±


    ¡°Good morning, ladies!¡± Ava said as she approached cheerily. ¡°It¡¯s not quite lunch time yet, but would you like any food? Or just some tea?¡±


    Emery and I shared a quick look. For this, we didn¡¯t need our actual Qi connection to communicate. ¡°Just tea, I think.¡± Emery said.


    ¡°Can you bring two pots? One with pu¡¯er and one jasmine?¡± I asked. ¡°We don¡¯t need four cups though.¡±


    ¡°I can do that.¡± Ava nodded. She slipped her messy booklet of note paper into her apron without needing to take anything down. ¡°You¡¯re sure that¡¯s all?¡±


    ¡°For now, yes. I think we¡¯re planning to walk around the City for a while today, so I¡¯d rather be on a relatively empty stomach. Thank you, though, Ava.¡± I said.


    ¡°I see. That makes sense; it¡¯s not any fun taking a long walk while stuffed, is it?¡±


    ¡°Not even a little.¡± Emery said. ¡°We¡¯ve learned our lesson from the last few times we made that mistake. This time we¡¯ll be good and stick to just the tea while we take a short break and then be on our way.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± Ava said. ¡°It¡¯s not quite time for the lunch rush, so there¡¯s plenty of open spots - feel free to relax for a while. If it gets busy though, I may kick you out if you don¡¯t order anything else. For the table space, of course.¡± She winked.


    Emery and I chuckled. ¡°Of course.¡±


    Hidden under the table, I triggered my storage ring and withdrew a few taels from it. The money was more than enough to cover the teas. It probably would¡¯ve paid for the two pots three or four times over, but I wasn¡¯t worried about it. Ava was a great proprietress and always treated us well. I passed her the money before she darted away from the table to fetch the drinks.


    She tilted her head when she looked at the amount. ¡°Did you want change?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡± I said with a big grin. ¡°All yours. If need be, I¡¯ll throw in a little extra if it gets busy to keep the table. We still don¡¯t need any food though.¡±


    Ava nodded thankfully. ¡°Your business is always appreciated, you two.¡±


    ¡°...Really, Ava. Don¡¯t throw in any snacks, please.¡± Emery said as the woman walked away. ¡°We really don¡¯t need them!¡±


    <hr>


    By the time we left Ava¡¯s it was just around lunch time. She had customers finally arriving, so we made ourselves scarce to give her room. While we were settled on not eating too much with the day of walking still ahead of us, we weren¡¯t about to spend the entire afternoon without any food - even if we could.


    To that end, it was very fortunate that the main road going into the city was absolutely littered with food stalls. The options were pretty extensive which made it very difficult to decide on anything. And the smells that inundated the street didn¡¯t help.


    Everywhere we turned there was another merchant trying to sell skewers of meat, some kind of pastry, or some other deliciously smelling treat.


    ¡°So¡­what do we want?¡± Emery asked, looking around at the various stalls. As usual, her eyes were mostly attracted to meat vendors. Which was fair, given how appetizing they all looked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not against getting a bunch of skewers if you¡¯d like. I want a pastry too, though.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Emery said, and promptly hopped off toward one of the vendors. I left her to it and walked toward a different vendor who was making pastries. They were simple pancake based batters made into buns filled with various flavors. I paid for two cream filled ones for myself, and a bean paste one for Emery as they were her pastry of choice.


    Shortly thereafter, we were back to walking down the street while munching on the food. I had stowed the buns in my ring while we walked, sharing the skewers. Unsurprisingly, Emery had opted to get a cup filled with a multitude of different meat skewers, covering the gamut from beef to pork.


    ¡°I had an idea while I was getting the food.¡± Emery said, pulling a piece of beef off of the bamboo skewer with her teeth. ¡°Well, more accurately, the vendor mentioned it to me. Flowing Dragon City has a pretty robust arts district - and their theater troupes are supposed to be very good.¡±


    My ears perked up at that. ¡°Oh? I haven¡¯t been to the theater in years. Did you want to see a performance?¡±


    ¡°I think it could be a nice after dinner activity.¡± Emery said around another bite. ¡°Apparently the show they¡¯ve been performing recently is really impressive and acrobatic. They even employed a few Cultivators to enhance the spectacle.¡±


    ¡°That does sound intriguing.¡± I said, pulling another random skewer from the cup that Emery held. It was chicken. ¡°The performances in Bouquet I saw growing up didn¡¯t really have any Cultivators involved. Most in that city were too full of themselves to perform for others, I think.¡±


    ¡°Well, if they¡¯re all like your family, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising.¡± Emery muttered. I gave her a bit of a look and she swallowed. ¡°Sorry. I didn¡¯t mean it like that.¡±


    ¡°Yes you did.¡± I said, then sighed. ¡°To be fair, you¡¯re not wrong. I don¡¯t remember my family being that terrible growing up. They were mean and cruel, but¡­well, maybe I just didn¡¯t notice it as a kid.¡±


    Emery took a step closer and put an arm around my shoulders. She gave me a squeeze from the side. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. We¡¯ve all got nasty things in our pasts that we wish we could hide. But not everyone has obviously horrendous shit like me. Sometimes it¡¯s more insidious.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I nodded. ¡°You can¡¯t always see the stuff that¡¯s right next to you once you¡¯re used to it.¡±


    ¡°Mhm. Like how everyone¡¯s house has a smell, but when you live there you can¡¯t smell it yourself.¡±


    ¡°Emery,¡± I said, bumping her with my hip, ¡°are you implying that I was nose-blind to my family¡¯s evilness?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­I suppose you must¡¯ve been if you didn¡¯t notice it. Your family had some pretty obviously stinky shit in there.¡±


    I dropped the empty chicken skewer back in Emery¡¯s cup and rubbed the bridge of my nose with my now free hand. ¡°Seriously?¡±


    ¡°What? I¡¯m just continuing the metaphor; you don¡¯t usually smell your own shit.¡±

 139 : Date Night

    I stretched as we walked out of the theater. Emery strode alongside me as we wove our way through the crowds toward the exit.


    ¡°The performance was really interesting.¡± She said, clearly lost in thought about it. ¡°And there really were some simply fantastic acrobatics.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Agreed. There¡¯s something mesmerizing about long flowing cloth mixed with dance and acrobatics. It¡¯s really just¡­pretty.¡±


    Emery snickered. ¡°You¡¯re our resident wordsmith, and all you¡¯ve got is ¡®pretty¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Look, sometimes even poets and writers keep it simple. And I think ¡®pretty¡¯ fits perfectly. So,¡± I stuck my tongue out at her.


    Emery rolled her eyes as we finally departed the building. The crowd was still shuffling out, so we didn¡¯t really have the option to stand and talk about what came next or we¡¯d simply be in the way. I snagged Emery¡¯s hand, and lightly pulled her away from the throng of people leaving the building, moving toward our Inn for the meantime.


    Emery followed without complaint as we walked nearly half a street down before the crowd began to thin out and we would be able to comfortably stand and talk without being clearly in someone¡¯s way. There was a snack vendor on the corner selling small bowls of fried chicken in various sauces, and Emery angled us in their direction.


    Once we were each in possession of a small bowl - sesame chicken for Emery and sweet and sour for myself - we moved over to an open nearby bench to enjoy our spoils. As soon as we sat down, Emery poked one of my pieces of chicken with her little wooden fork and popped in her mouth. She offered her bowl toward me in exchange before I could complain.


    ¡°So, what did you think of the story they told?¡± She asked as I speared one of her chickens in return.


    ¡°It was interesting.¡±


    ¡°Do you think it was a true story?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d have a better chance of telling me that.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not familiar enough with dragons to make any sort of guess as to whether any of what they said could be real.¡±


    ¡°I mean, they didn¡¯t really add anything too far-fetched.¡± Emery closed her eyes as she chewed and spoke around the small mouthful of food. ¡°A dragon who gets made fun of as a child for being less talented than her peers decides to train in a skill that is common to all dragons - flight - and gets better at it than any other dragon. When she proves that she is, indeed, better than the rest they all but exile her in anger. Then she decides that she should make the best of her exile and do her best to live a fulfilling life.¡±


    ¡°Are dragons really that spiteful though? I¡¯ve really only interacted with Vale and the Elders, and they¡¯re all pretty nice. I guess in traditional stories, they can definitely be very haughty and sometimes evil, but I wasn¡¯t sure if those are accurate after meeting everyone.¡± I asked.


    ¡°They can be. I think we¡¯re just surrounded by some good ones. They¡¯re just as varied and unpredictable as people are, they¡¯re just more powerful.¡± Emery said. ¡°I think the story was good, though. It has an easy to understand, powerful message, and the story lent itself very well to the acrobatics and performance.¡±


    ¡°Agreed.¡± I said, spearing my last piece of chicken. Apparently I was rather hungry, and Emery was just about finished with hers, too. I popped the chicken in my mouth and stood. ¡°Shall we?¡±


    ¡°Where to?¡± Emery asked, following suit. She took my now empty bowl and tossed it in the bin next to the bench for garbage. ¡°Just the Inn?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I was thinking.¡± I said, taking Emery¡¯s hand. ¡°It¡¯s after dark, and while the City has plenty of nightlife, I¡¯m not sure it would beat just relaxing together in our Inn room.¡±


    ¡°Relaxing, hm?¡± Emery asked, her voice taking on a flirty quality. ¡°Is that really the plan? Just ¡®relaxing¡¯?¡±


    I snorted and turned my nose up at her. ¡°Yes, it is. I just wanted to lay on the bed and cuddle up with you. But if you¡¯re too good for that, I suppose I can make other arrangements.¡±


    Emery¡¯s eyes twitched. I could tell she was deciding whether to call my bluff or let it go. ¡°Oho. And just what ¡®other arrangements¡¯ would you make?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± I said, pointing to a nearby alley, ¡°on the way here, a few streets down that way, we passed a brothel for Cultivators. I¡¯m sure some of the women there would love to be paid for a night to just cuddle and chat. Maybe they¡¯ll even appreciate my stories.¡± Without waiting for a response, I spun on a heel and took a step in that direction.


    Emery immediately grabbed my wrist. ¡°I know you¡¯re kidding, but -¡± She said, and pulled. She managed to spin me around with her pull, and I spun like a dancer into her arms. Once I was close, she settled her arms around me in a hug. I looked down at her and had to hold back a laugh because of the difference in height.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    She could clearly see the mirth in my eyes, and decided to be a little devious. Without warning, she dipped me. And it was a deep one too - I was almost horizontal with the ground. She kissed me briefly before pulling me back up from the dip. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the Inn.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°Alright. But I was serious about just cuddling, you little deviant.¡±


    Emery shot me the dirtiest smile I imagine she could manage before turning toward our Inn, which was thankfully only a few streets down.


    The walk was pleasant. It wasn¡¯t too long and the outdoor air was a lovely temperature; cool but not cold. I could always use some Qi to cool myself and those nearby down if it was too hot, but it was really quite nice to not have to do so. Emery and I held hands the whole way there, easily slipping around other people on the way.


    Once we arrived, we greeted the worker by the door and went straight to our room. It wasn¡¯t anything fancy, but it was on the more expensive side of what was available in the City. The room was nicely furnished, with a nice large bed with silk sheets, two arm chairs to relax in, an attached bathroom, and even a few useful Arrays carved into surfaces, like ones to heat food or chill drinks.


    All in all, it was very nice, just not opulent. And there were a fair number of places in the city that were.


    Once we closed the door, I moved to the bed, spun around, and collapsed backward onto it. My arms were spread wide as I stretched out each and every limb like a small animal, and even heard my back pop. My hip did too.


    Emery laughed. ¡°Getting old there, honey?¡±


    I relaxed, allowing my spread limbs to settle limply onto the bed. ¡°No way. I¡¯m not even thirty yet, and I¡¯m a Cultivator.¡± I said smugly.


    ¡°And yet you¡¯re over there with joints popping like it¡¯s a fireworks show.¡±


    ¡°I blame you.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯d I do?¡±


    ¡°Crammed me into that tiny little seat at the theater.¡± I said snidely.


    ¡°That¡¯s hardly my fault.¡±


    ¡°I told you we should pay for the nice seats up in the balcony but no, someone didn¡¯t like that idea.¡± I teased.


    ¡°Why would we pay extra to sit all the way in the back and up a level, when there were seats basically five meters from the stage? You wouldn¡¯t be able to see anything from the balcony!¡±


    I sat up, giving Emery my best ¡®are you stupid¡¯ look. ¡°Emery; we¡¯re Cultivators. We¡¯d be able to see perfectly well from that distance you dolt.¡± I chuckled. ¡°If anything, we should feel bad that we stole seats from someone that would actually need to be that close to see.¡±


    Emery let out a great sigh and flopped beside me, rolling up onto an elbow to look my direction. ¡°You¡¯re right, but there¡¯s also a certain excitement to being up front.¡±


    I snickered. ¡°I dunno if that¡¯s true when it comes to a performance like we saw tonight, or a play. For a musical act, though, sure. All the really excited people fight for the tickets in the front.¡±


    Emery flopped back onto her back to stare at the ceiling. ¡°So, now what? You¡¯ve got me all to yourself in an Inn room with basically nothing to do.¡± She sounded flirty, but without any real bite to it.


    ¡°Go bathe.¡± I said. ¡°After you¡¯re done, I¡¯ll go. I¡¯d like you to brush my hair out. I¡¯ll do yours, too, but it¡¯s not quite the same level of production.¡±


    Emery smiled at me, the flirty look being swapped for more warmth. ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll be back shortly.¡±


    She hopped off the bed gracefully and slipped into the bathroom. Emery never took too long to bathe on her own unless she was aiming for a relaxing soak, returning within fairly short order. I swapped with her and slipped into the bathroom myself. The attached bath wasn¡¯t anything impressive, but it was clean and more than enough to scrub down and take a dip in a full size tub. Once I was lathered up and rinsed off, I wrung out my hair the best I could and walked back into the main room.


    Emery was already waiting for me, perched on the edge of the bed. She had a beautiful wooden comb in one hand and a similarly beautifully crafted brush in the other. When I got close, I offered her a hand.


    She looked between the two beauty implements then cocked her head as if to say, ¡®What should I do?¡¯


    I took her by the wrist and pulled her to the ground in the same motion I swung up onto the bed behind her. I snatched the wooden comb from her hand as well.


    ¡°If I don¡¯t do your hair first, it¡¯ll be dry by the time we¡¯re done with mine. So, you first.¡± I said, ruffling my hand through her shoulder-length cut.


    ¡°¡®Kay.¡± She said, satisfied with this turn of events. As I began to pull the comb through her hair, the woman practically purred. I made sure to not just comb out her hair, but also scratched and massaged her scalp here and there, because I knew she liked it. I did too, to be fair. It was a lovely way to spend some time.


    As always, it was over too soon. Her hair dried fast, and mine was still sopping wet.


    ¡°Alright, swap.¡± Emery said, and patted me on my knee. I did as requested, sliding down to the floor where Emery had full access to my long hair. I passed her back the comb, and she went to work.


    She did similarly to me, working in scratching and massaging as she worked the comb through my hair, starting near my scalp and slowly dragging it through my long tresses. After having done this so many times before, Emery was a wizard at detangling and unknotting my hair. I barely felt any pulls or tugs as she worked her way through each section.


    While I usually wore my hair in one large braid, Emery was plaiting sections as she went, mostly for convenience sake to keep the mass contained while she moved onto the next section. I closed my eyes and leaned just a little bit back and let myself get lost in the pleasant sensations.


    It took some time, but eventually I could feel Emery¡¯s fingers working to undo the many plaits she had tied earlier now that she had finished combing everything out. Once the last braid was undone, I leaned back against Emery with my full body and she hugged me from behind, resting her chin on my shoulder. I could feel her cheek stretch against my own as she smiled, then turned to kiss my cheek. I leaned my head against hers.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what it is,¡± I said, ¡°but there really is something special about doing this.¡± I twisted a little to kiss my wife, then added ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Emery giggled and nestled into my neck. ¡°You¡¯re very welcome. I love brushing your hair, Ri. And I love you.¡±


    ¡°I love you too.¡±

 140 : Short Meeting

    As it turned out, spending extra time in the bath wasn¡¯t always pleasant.


    After playing truth or dare for some time, Cove and Gray began to feel a little faint from the hot water. They had been stubborn and remained fully in the water even after Talya, Mica, and Emery had all opted to at the very least sit at the edge of the bath. The two men starting to feel sick was the metaphorical final call for the group as they finally decided to pack it in for the night.


    The next morning was a mishmash of different things. Breakfast was made, and everyone came to eat - as did most of the kids. The meal lasted for a couple of hours as Avuri¡¯s cousins were accosted with questions and attention. The older kids had opted to talk to their mothers about how things had gone and got a middling explanation that skipped over some things. At least for now until things were more settled.


    Then, after breakfast, everyone more or less went about their normal schedules. With their parents¡¯ ok, all of the kids went about their daily chores and routines almost as if nothing had happened at all. There was still a strange energy in the air throughout the Basin - mostly radiating from some of the adults - but life had begun to resume already, after just one day.


    That day went by quietly. And so did the next. Avuri¡¯s cousins remained, and were more than happy to assist with chores and things around the Basin while also taking this rare chance to Cultivate on the Dragon Peaks when they weren¡¯t busy.


    It was the third day after everyone returned that things began to progress again. Shortly after lunch, Eiry and Vale arrived. The two of them had come alone, leaving the other Elders behind at their hideaway with the Cultivators that had been taken in after the fight on the Peak. The group of adults didn¡¯t need much prodding to come back with the dragons to address what would happen from then on, and were carried off by Vale and Eiry in fairly short order, once again leaving Talya in charge, though under far less dangerous circumstances.


    The trip was mostly quiet, as everyone was deep in thought about what to do from here. And the wind in flight was so loud that it was more difficult to communicate than it was really worth.


    Once they arrived, Eiry led the group through the fortress and down a number of corridors that Emery and Avuri hadn¡¯t really seen often. They had been given something of a tour at one point ages ago, but rarely went anywhere here other than the audience chamber and the tea room hidden behind it.


    In this case, Eiry led the whole group to what was essentially a large training room. The other Elders were there, sitting along one wall and talking amongst themselves. It might have been the most normal Emery had ever seen them look, fully dressed in basic clothing to work out in, and joking around.


    Once the whole group was together, everyone opted to sit on the floor in a large circle before the discussion really got rolling. Vale patted Emery and Avuri on their backs reassuringly before moving to his own spot.


    ¡°I imagine you¡¯ve brought us here because you¡¯ve learned something?¡± Avuri asked, the first to really speak.


    ¡°Nothing particularly useful, sadly.¡± Vyne said. ¡°Or at least nothing new. Mostly we just confirmed a few suspicions we held.¡±


    ¡°The rank and file Cultivators were basically nothing but hired muscle. And weak muscle, at that.¡± Ray said. ¡°They had quite literally zero useful information, and they unilaterally said that one of the four little leaders hired them for the job.¡±


    ¡°What about Terrane?¡± Ieji asked. ¡°Did the poison wear off alright? And did he give you anything useful?¡±


    Eiry shook her head. ¡°He didn¡¯t give us much. I think being so trapped in his own head by your paralytic damaged his psyche.¡±


    ¡°Apologies, if that is the case. He seemed rather¡­disturbed during our fight already, so I¡¯m not sure if he was already holding on by a thread or not.¡± Ieji said.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. What we did get out of him basically matches up with what we already knew, as well as what little information Firmis and Quarris had.¡±


    Lyn began to count off her list on her fingers. ¡°First, Aysol is responsible - at least partially - for this whole fiasco. Second, Avuri¡¯s family was also a backer in some way, though to what extent is unknown. Third, the Sky Realm Cultivators you fought were still basically underlings; they had little knowledge of anything pertinent. And fourth, no one knows what the next play is.¡±


    There was a bit of silence as the list was digested. Then Mica asked, ¡°So we don¡¯t even know if they¡¯re going to make a second attack?¡±


    ¡°Well, we know that they have at least gone home. Or, rather, are still on their way.¡± Vyne said. ¡°I¡¯ve been tracking the army¡¯s movement, and they have been true to their retreat. I haven¡¯t noticed any other groups break off from the main force either, though at the range they¡¯re at now, I could definitely miss it.¡±


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°So, are you able to explain exactly what is going on with Aysol?¡± Emery asked. ¡°I think Avuri and I understand the most basic portion of it, but I don¡¯t know if anyone else here does. And I suppose it¡¯s up to you all if you feel like you should or want to explain, anyway.¡±


    Eiry sighed. ¡°I think you¡¯re all owed an explanation at this point, after putting yourselves at risk for us.¡± She paused and took a few breaths, considering where to start. ¡°I don¡¯t want to get into dragon politics too heavily, so I¡¯ll do my best to keep this simple.¡± She paused again, appearing to once again try to measure her words.


    ¡°For starters, despite being a flight and wind technique expert, I¡¯m actually an earth based Cultivator. There were a huge amount of twists and turns in my Cultivation that led me to study wind and flight, but none of that is really important. The important part of this is that when I was younger, after Cultivating my flight ability, I gained the moniker ¡®Sky Dragon¡¯ from some random human. The title stuck, but a lot of older dragons took issue with it. We can all fly, after all, so they were mad that I had been given a title that was logically fitting for any of them.¡±


    ¡°I, being basically an obnoxious teenager at the time, decided to take the name Eiry as a reference to my abilities as well, and actively used the title ¡®Sky Dragon¡¯, and claimed it officially as my own. That sat even worse with the dragon powers-that-be, and they decided to do something about it.¡± Eiry was controlled while telling the story, but it was clear from her expression that she still wasn¡¯t quite over what had happened.


    ¡°When they eventually ganged up on me to try to force me to abandon the title and my taken name, I used my techniques to literally rip the air out from under their wings, grounding them.¡± She smirked then, reliving the moment. ¡°There were, I think, twelve of them there that day. Whether or not it was the right or wrong decision, or how petty it was, I think I made my statement that day. None of them could fly in the sky that day, because I said so.¡±


    The smirk faded into a wry smile. ¡°It was obviously petty, but I also spent time flying around above them to prove my point. And, to be fair, my point was proven. Most of the dragons let it go after that. I had shown why I took the title and that was that.¡± She sighed as she moved into the last bit of her story.


    ¡°It was obviously not enough for some. There were enough dragons in power at the time that were mad at me for basically showing off. They decided to send me to the Dragon Peaks as a guardian of the area. It was heralded as a great honor despite essentially being an exile sentence, so I couldn¡¯t really fight it. And that¡¯s how I ended up here.¡±


    ¡°That was¡­let¡¯s just say a long time ago.¡±


    ¡°And once you got here, you started working on building the City.¡± Emery prompted.


    ¡°Correct.¡± Eerie nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve put a lot of effort into helping human Cultivators build Flowing Dragon City. A lot of it was from behind the scenes. Very few people know who or what I am. The same goes for the rest of the Elders, too. But with the City being as well managed as it is, it has helped me regulate and protect the Dragon Peaks as well - which was supposedly why I was sent in the first place.¡±


    ¡°So then why, exactly, did Aysol send a whole army of Cultivators to come mess with the Peaks, let alone the City?¡± Glenn asked.


    ¡°Putting aside the little zealots that we captured trying to get to your Basin, I don¡¯t think the Deposits¡¯ army had any intention of attacking the Peaks themselves. They were probably under direct orders not to mess with them, even.¡± Eiry sighed. ¡°What they¡¯re actually after is forcing me out of Flowing Dragon.¡±


    ¡°What? Why?¡± Mica asked, clearly affronted on Eiry¡¯s behalf.


    ¡°The simple version is that some of the dragon leaders are very impressed with what I¡¯ve managed to accomplish here. They want me to return and be sent elsewhere, to basically do the same thing over again with a new city.¡± Eiry scoffed. ¡°They can fuck right off. They exiled me here in the first place, and I¡¯m going to make the best of it. If they want to make another new city, more power to them. But I¡¯m staying right here.¡±


    Emery smiled. ¡°It¡¯s petty, but well said.¡±


    ¡°Eh, it¡¯s definitely the type of petty I can get behind.¡± Avuri agreed. ¡°They sent you here with no plans to recall you and let you rot in what used to be the middle of nowhere. You turned the middle of nowhere into the middle of somewhere, and now you¡¯re getting punished for it by being assigned elsewhere?¡± She shook her head, clearly unamused. ¡°No, you deserve to stay.¡±


    ¡°And Eiry¡¯s not alone.¡± Ray chipped in. ¡°We¡¯re all on her side in this.¡±


    ¡°Mind you, the five of us isn¡¯t exactly a lot.¡± Cyril said. ¡°But it¡¯s fairly rare for dragons to live in proximity to one another like this. So we have some level of defense simply because we outnumber any individual who is likely to come calling.¡±


    ¡°If the dragon¡¯s ever decide they really want Eiry back, they¡¯ll eventually send more than we can deal with on our own.¡± Lyn continued. ¡°There¡¯s no way around that. But I¡¯m not sure they feel strongly enough to send what would essentially amount to a strike team. And even then, I¡¯m not sure their pride would allow it either.¡±


    ¡°So, what you¡¯re saying is that we¡¯re moderately safe here, then?¡± Cove asked.


    ¡°Moderately.¡± Eiry confirmed. ¡°In essence, it¡¯s mostly that my recall isn¡¯t urgent, so it¡¯s unlikely that they¡¯ll act quickly. And in addition, they would need to have several dragons cooperate, which is also very unlikely. So, in theory, we have time.¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s¡­something. I guess.¡± Mica said, sounding on the fence.


    ¡°If nothing else, think about it this way,¡± Lyn offered, ¡°you¡¯re still safer here under the protection of six dragons than just about anywhere else. So, it¡¯s not really dangerous here. Until it is. And that should be at least several months away - but more than likely, years.¡±


    Eiry shook her head to clear it, then addressed the group again. ¡°We can talk about what you all plan to do after this later.¡± She smiled at Mica and added, ¡°I have an offer for you three if you¡¯re interested, too. But for now, we should get to why you¡¯re actually here today.¡±


    ¡°The prisoners.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Eiry said.


    ¡°I would greatly prefer it if you don¡¯t just execute them all.¡± Lyn said. ¡°But after their attack on your family, they are yours to decide what to do with.¡±

 141 : Judgment

    Eiry brought the group into another room just off the training room area. The Elders¡¯ palace wasn¡¯t designed with housing prisoners in mind, so they didn¡¯t really have a jail or cells, let alone one designed to hold Cultivators.


    In this case, they had trapped the people they had captured in what amounted to a changing room for the training area. The room was very large, and could comfortably hold a large amount of people, but Ray had clearly done some work in it. What was once probably a nice, open room with space to chat and change clothes was now littered with sheets and bars of metal separating it into much smaller, tight spaces.


    There were clean strips of space that wound through a few rows of the makeshift jail, but most of the space was devoted to the new holding cells. And in each one was one of the many Cultivators that the group had collectively disabled, held within various constructs made of the Elders¡¯ Qi. Some were trapped in wood, others in metal, but they were all kept in a way that they couldn¡¯t do much to escape.


    Emery looked around when she moved into the room, taking note of Quarris, Terrane, and Firmis being closest to the entrance while the rest of the Cultivators were spread out further in. Emery took a deep breath, then turned away from them.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back outside.¡± She said, waving the group around. ¡°We should discuss what we want to do.¡±


    There wasn¡¯t really any arguing as everyone turned around and filed back out the door. Once it was closed, Emery simply walked a few steps away and sat down on the floor. It was nice flooring designed for a training hall, so it was softer and more pliant than normal wood, which was a nice, little comfort.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to just murder them all.¡± Emery said outright. ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯re basically all thinking it. We¡¯re Cultivators; murdering people that can¡¯t fight back in cold blood isn¡¯t what we do.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m in agreement with that last part.¡± Cove said. The other cousins nodded in agreement as well. ¡°But they still deserve it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not above trial by combat.¡± Ieji said. ¡°Let them reap what they sowed. But do it fairly.¡±


    Avuri nodded. ¡°I¡¯m with Ieji. My anger has cooled a little now that our family isn¡¯t in danger. I don¡¯t want to go in there and murder them wholesale.¡± She looked back toward the door to the makeshift jail as she continued. ¡°But I also don¡¯t want to let them go free. Not the Sky Realms, at any rate.¡±


    Emery nodded. ¡°Unless anyone is in contention, I think we can let the Earth Realms go. There are a lot of them in there, but if the Elders trust their words that they were hired by the Sky Realms and doing what they were told¡­Well. I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Emery looked down, second guessing herself. Were they innocent just because they were paid and following orders? She didn¡¯t think so. But it also didn¡¯t sit right with her, just killing a whole slew of people like that. Especially when they were substantially weaker than her.


    Glenn looked over to Eiry. ¡°Elder, are they considered prisoners of war?¡±


    Eerie shook her head. ¡°No. They were captured in an incident unrelated to the disagreement between the Cities. They are simply prisoners.¡±


    ¡°What would you do with Flowing Dragon citizens if they did this?¡± He asked. Emery looked up, interested in where this was going.


    ¡°It honestly depends.¡± Eiry said thoughtfully. ¡°They were stopped before actually committing the main crime here, but were still trespassing. And even if they were under orders, they were still fully committed to following through. They¡¯d probably be jailed with the ability to work off some of their sentences if they chose. I¡¯m not familiar enough with sentencing to tell you how long though.¡±


    ¡°Would you be willing to carry that out against the Earth Realm Cultivators in there?¡± Avuri asked. ¡°It feels like a better option than killing them or letting them go. And any punishment we could personally give out would probably be either too little or too excessive.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not against it.¡± Eiry said, then turned to Ray. ¡°Ray? You deal more directly with our guard than I do; what do you think?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s doable.¡± He responded. ¡°I¡¯m not against it either. I can keep an eye on them that way, too.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s settled then.¡± Emery said. ¡°The Earth Realm Cultivators go to the City¡¯s jail.¡±


    ¡°That just leaves the three Sky Realm Cultivators, then.¡± Mica said.


    ¡°I¡¯m not against Ieji¡¯s idea.¡± Avuri said. ¡°Trial by combat seems fair, given we¡¯re on similar levels. And we don¡¯t need to be nice about it either.¡±


    ¡°And what do you mean by that, exactly?¡± Mica asked.


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Emery chuckled. ¡°She means that we know how they fight. We obviously accidentally picked some bad match-ups last time we fought them. This time, we can choose who fights who.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a little distasteful to rig fights.¡± Avuri said, ¡°But I don¡¯t care much, given what they did. They deserve to have the odds against them.¡±


    ¡°Do we give them the grace of one-on-one combat?¡± Cove asked.


    ¡°Yes. These fights will follow the rules when it comes to the combat itself.¡± Emery said. ¡°Simple one-on-one duels to the death. No need to get fancy.¡± She turned toward the Elders and asked, ¡°Do you mind if we hold the fights here?¡±


    Lyn shook her head. ¡°No, that¡¯s fine. There¡¯s plenty of space, and this room is designed to hold up against fighters of our level. It should handle your duels fine.¡±


    ¡°Very well. Then we just need to pick the match ups.¡±


    Ieji held up their hand. ¡°If it¡¯s alright, I would like to take Terrane myself again. I wanted to take care of him in our first fight, but held back because we wanted whatever information they may have had. I would like to do my job properly this time.¡±


    Emery nodded. It wasn¡¯t often that Ieji asked for things, let alone for permission to actually carry out a kill. She wasn¡¯t about to argue - she also knew that Ieji wouldn¡¯t pick a fight they couldn¡¯t win.


    ¡°I believe you should be the one to take on Firmis, Emery.¡± Glenn said. ¡°His defenses were very good when it came to taking blunt hits from us, and it required a lot of raw force for us to overcome him. I think your blades would have a much easier time of it, especially given your general skill.¡±


    Mica agreed, nodding fervently. ¡°I think you could dance circles around him.¡±


    Emery looked between the two and nodded. ¡°Very well. I trust your judgment on that one.¡±


    ¡°That just leaves Quarris.¡± Avuri said. ¡°She¡¯s honestly not a great match up for any of us. Her technique is well constructed to deal with physical attacks against her, and we¡¯re mostly physical based fighters.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never been much of a fan of throwing fire, but it would certainly come in handy against enemies like this.¡± Mica said with a sigh.


    ¡°I think we have two decent choices here.¡± Emery said. ¡°I would say either Avuri or Glenn.¡± Emery turned to her wife and continued, ¡°Avuri, I think you could manage the fight if you relied more on your less structured techniques. To be honest, I think I may have gone overboard when I told you to bring out the cannon. Your Blizzard Dragon would probably be effective against her, as would any of your more water-based attacks.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re forgetting her armor.¡± Avuri said flatly. ¡°I did hit her with a Blizzard Dragon. It just didn¡¯t do much.¡±


    Emery considered that. ¡°I think you would be able to overpower her armor with enough power and Qi. Your Dragons are certainly strong enough when you want them to be. But putting that aside,¡± she turned to Glenn, ¡°I think Glenn is the other option. You have powerful seeping attacks with your techniques. I think you could conceivably pack enough punch to overpower her defenses, full stop. I don¡¯t know for sure though.¡±


    Glenn and Avuri locked gazes for a moment, mentally trying to sort out who would be the better choice here. Eventually, Glenn looked away back toward Emery. ¡°I vote Avuri take it. She¡¯s certainly stronger than I am. And since we don¡¯t know whether my attacks would simply get turned into wood chips, I think she¡¯s the safer option.¡±


    Emery nodded, then looked at Avuri. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    Avuri took a breath. ¡°I¡¯ll take the fight.¡± She said finally. Emery was right - the attack that had broken on Quarris¡¯ armor was far from her strongest. Avuri knew she would need to give it her all when they fought because a normal approach wasn¡¯t enough to break through. But she had at least proven that her attacks could breach the physical barrier of the orbiting stones, which would be the problem for Glenn.


    ¡°Very well then.¡± Emery said, wrapping up the conversation. ¡°It¡¯s decided then. We move the Earth Realm Cultivators to the City¡¯s jail, and I will fight Firmis, Ieji will take Terrane, and Avuri will take on Quarris. Any objections?¡±


    No one raised any hands or voices. Emery turned toward the Elders. ¡°I know you¡¯ve said it¡¯s our decision on how to handle this, but do you have any objections or guidance?¡±


    Each of the Elders shook their heads in turn. Emery nodded affirming their choices. ¡°Alright then. Let¡¯s go deliver the good news.¡± She said, and rose to her feet.


    Everyone followed suit, standing and making their way toward the makeshift jail room once more. This time, once everyone was in, Eerie took the lead. She clapped, the sound much louder than normal, and it reverberated through the whole of the room. It got everyone¡¯s attention though. Even a few of the Cultivators that had been asleep snapped awake to listen.


    ¡°Judgment has been passed on the lot of you.¡± She said. ¡°Those of you in the Earth Realm will be moved to the Flowing Dragon City guard jail. They will see to your sentencing there. Given your trespassing and more than thirty attempted murder charges, you should all expect a fairly long sentence.¡±


    Eiry then met eyes with each of the Sky Realm Cultivators. Quarris and Firmis looked steady enough, but Terrane¡¯s eyes were going wild. He was also, by far, the most restrained. ¡°For the three Sky Realm Cultivators, it will be trial by combat, to the death. Your opponents have already been chosen, and the trial will take place just outside this room.¡±


    ¡°You have an hour to mentally prepare before the first of you is brought out. Make the most of it, but you will not be unbound until you are in the training room.¡± She smiled, the attempt looking more dragon than human. It was a harsh warning. ¡°If you try something shady, you will not like the consequences. That is all.¡±


    With that, the dragon woman spun on a heel and walked back out. The procession followed her silently; it was the most commanding and stern that Emery had ever seen Eiry act, and it left quite the impression.


    Once the group was back in the training room, Eiry motioned everyone to the floor.


    ¡°Warm up. Stretch. Prepare. You have an hour.¡±

 142 : Settled

    As it turned out, the trial by combat turned out to be somewhat mundane. After what felt like a desperate struggle on the side of the Dragon Peak, the individual duels in the more controlled, even space were almost boring.


    Emery wouldn¡¯t have called them all one-sided, or anything quite that heavy-handed, but they were less exciting somehow. Most likely, it was the dour atmosphere that pervaded the whole thing.


    Terrane and Ieji were the first ones called. Their fight was one-sided. Something about Terrane must have set Ieji on edge, because Emery could not remember ever seeing Ieji approach a fight so ruthlessly from the get go before. Once the two combatants were in place in the training room, the dragons, Emery, Avuri, and her cousins took up residence along a wall to spectate. And in Eiry¡¯s case, act as judge.


    As soon as the beginning of the fight was called, Ray dropped the restraints that he had placed on Terrane. The man¡¯s eyes were wild and he looked like the few days spent physically locked inside his body by Ieji¡¯s poisons had broken him even further than before. He immediately created a stone sword for himself from his Qi and charged at Ieji.


    Ieji¡¯s first move was to push Qi into his fear aura. For most of the onlookers, it was the first time that they got to experience what it was like when Ieji was actively wielding it. Even knowing that there wasn¡¯t anything to really be afraid of in the room wasn¡¯t necessarily enough to do anything about it. Physical symptoms of fear took hold regardless of your mental state; faster heart beat, cold sweat, mild difficulty breathing.


    Emery watched as everyone near her shifted uncomfortably immediately. Cove pressed a hand against his chest, clearly trying to focus on breathing. Emery smiled weakly, knowing exactly what that felt like. There was nothing quite like an Ieji-induced panic attack.


    Terrane, however, didn¡¯t seem to be much affected by the aura. Which, Emery knew, wasn¡¯t entirely uncommon. Many of the induced symptoms were easily lost in a fight to begin with, or confused with adrenaline and the like.


    But when Ieji flipped their switch on, no one missed it. The induced fear effect just lifted suddenly, as Ieji focused all their intent on Terrane. The man stopped in the middle of his charge, looking confused and disoriented. Ieji, essentially being a well trained assassin, ended the fight before Terrane recovered his awareness. It was quick and efficient and vaguely terrifying.


    Once the fight was over, Ieji made to slink off to a far part of the wall, avoiding the group - most of whom were still shifting awkwardly and looking nervous.


    ¡°Ieji.¡± Emery called. When they looked her way, she motioned them over with a hand. Ieji obeyed, and turned to approach their sister, and the group. Once they were close enough, Emery slung an arm around their shoulder and gave them a squeeze. ¡°You did good.¡±


    Ieji¡¯s body relaxed in her grip a little bit, some of the stress and worry leaving them. They took a deep breath and simply stood there for the moment. No one else moved or said anything for a while, as they all were trying to recover from the sudden panic attacks.


    Together, Ray and Vyne opted to clear the stage for the next fight, which would be Avuri and Quarris.


    Similarly to the previous bout, once Avuri was in position, Quarris was brought out to the training room. She sneered when she saw her opponent, but said nothing. Whether she was concentrating on the coming fight or just deciding to keep her mouth shut was anyone¡¯s guess. Avuri, for her part, simply waited for the start of the fight to be called. When it was, and the bindings holding Quarris fell away, both women started up techniques.


    Quarris quickly crafted her sand-stone armor and conjured her first orbit of stones. Her armor even created a makeshift left arm for her, as it was still missing. Avuri, drawing on a little of Emery¡¯s Qi from the sidelines, let out a massive burst of cold. Almost instantaneously, she had two Blizzard Dragons, eight of her Snowflakes, and a layer of her armor in place. The burst of cold left a thin layer of frost across the ground as well as the walls, covering the entire room - just like her Domain.


    Quarris quickly found herself on the receiving side of both Dragons. Avuri held nothing back; Emery could feel it. She let Avuri draw on their combined well of Qi as Avuri saw fit. And as the Dragons hurtled toward Quarris, Emery knew two things.


    First, despite looking the same as always, these two Dragons were far more destructive than the last time Quarris had seen the attack. The way that Avuri bundled up the technique and contained it in the shape was really quite a masterful skill, but it was more than that. From the outside, it was hard to tell how strong the attack was until it was upon you.


    Second, she knew that Avuri was far from finished. She could feel her wife scraping together more Qi for some kind of follow-up and the Dragons were - well, she wouldn¡¯t say a distraction given how powerful they each were. They were intended to buy her some prep time though.


    Their fight wasn¡¯t long or as drawn out at the previous one against Quarris, and it was entirely at long range. Rather than the more traditional Cultivator style of a duel that grew in intensity as it went on, Quarris and Avuri sprinted out of the gate at full throttle. Avuri¡¯s initial Dragon assault chewed through Quarris¡¯ armor with the added power, leaving the woman¡¯s left side ravaged. The arm that her armor had provided was gone, and her torso looked like it had been attacked by animals, with scratches and chunks removed by the wind and sharp ice.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Quarris hadn¡¯t been idle, though. She launched a few attacks of her own, most of which were caught by Avuri¡¯s flakes. But even with Emery¡¯s warning beforehand, Avuri took a costly minute to adjust to Quarris¡¯ hidden attacks. She had a small hole drilled through her left thigh by one of the projectiles, and took a glancing blow to her ribcage before she fully adjusted to it.


    Emery¡¯s warning did pay off, though, as without it the first two shots may have ended the fight. And it seemed like Quarris was relatively out of tricks after that. She continued launching attacks with her orbiting stones - which now consisted of four orbits - but Avuri¡¯s Snowflakes were able to intercept those shots easily while she narrowly avoided the occasional hidden projectile.


    It was clear that Quarris wanted to close the distance and get in Avuri¡¯s face, but was being cowed by the Blizzard Dragons. Avuri had three of them flying around her like bodyguards, and after the damage that the first one had inflicted, Quarris was more cautious than she had been in their first scuffle.


    It also gave Avuri time to prepare a combination attack that would essentially be her attempt to end it. With another quick pull on Emery¡¯s Qi to supplement her own, Avuri sent out a sharp blast of icy cold wind. It wasn¡¯t dangerous per se, but she needed the momentary lapse in Quarris¡¯ attacks to complete her strategy. In the second it took Quarris to regain herself after the biting wind, Avuri had set up three more Dragons.


    And all six were well on their way to bear down on Quarris. She panicked, thickened her armor and gathered two more orbits of stone. As she did so, Avuri took full advantage of the momentary slip in concentration and trapped Quarris in a Chilling Cage. The woman¡¯s Domain, even when she wasn¡¯t actively pushing with it, wasn¡¯t nearly as small as Leon¡¯s, so the cage was much bigger and would typically be less of a threat to her.


    But Avuri had managed to time it perfectly to trap all six of her Blizzard Dragons in there with her. Quarris screamed in anger and lashed out at the Dragons, but Avuri trusted in her technique - especially when she fed such ridiculous amounts of Qi into it. With a quick flex of Qi, she coated the ice-and-metal bars with more ice, essentially creating a frosted glass coating around the whole cage, obscuring the view from the outside.


    Even then, it was clear that Avuri was fully focused on holding her techniques together. She stood stock still, eyes closed, with her mouth drawn into a line in intense concentration. No one could see what happened inside, but when parts of the icy shell suddenly showed a red spray here and there, it was clear that it wasn¡¯t going well for Quarris. And a few seconds after that, Avuri let her concentration drop and melted the cage.


    Quarris¡¯ body was mangled. There were bits and pieces scattered around the area that had been trapped by the cage, with the main portion of her body laying limply on the center of the floor. It was an unrecognizable bloody mess.


    Everyone turned away at the same time Avuri did. No one wanted to look at the gruesome image while Ray and Vyne cleaned up the same way they did after the first trial. And in fairly short order, Emery took to the field along with Firmis.


    Firmis looked resolute but unhappy and resigned. Although the bodies weren¡¯t anywhere to be seen, he could easily deduce from the other side having everyone in attendance that his fellows did not fare well. However, as Eiry counted down to begin the trial, he put on a serious face. When Ray¡¯s restraints fell, Firmis immediately called upon his bulky armor and massive hammer.


    Emery forged a single shield for herself and a flying sword appeared at her shoulder; but most of her concentration went into expanding her Domain. She connected with Avuri¡¯s, which immediately spiked her Domain to cover the entire room.


    As Firmis prepared to charge as his armor finished settling around him, Emery shouted loudly above the din of battle preparation.


    ¡°No one move!¡±


    The onlookers stood stock still in response, and Emery was glad they trusted her. She closed her eyes and focused, all the while Firmis was calling taunts and insults. It took Emery only a few moments to practically cover the entire room in invisible blades. She made them face different and odd directions just in case. They had no substance and would have virtually no effect if you moved through one from the back side of it, so random directions made the whole room dangerous.


    When Firmis decided he¡¯d had enough of his own bravado, he swung his hammer up to rest on his shoulder. There was a slew of grinding sounds as the hammer knocked its way through several of the blades of sharpened air - and then the haft hit one at just the right angle. It sheared right through the stone, and the hulking hammer head fell with a huge thud to the ground.


    Firmis¡¯ armor did a good job protecting him as he swung his arm. The blades had only cut a few deep slices into the armor, but his arm was still in place.


    Emery nearly smiled; Glenn was right. This was a great match up for her.


    Emery hefted her shield before her and charged. She cleared out the invisible blades in her path. Firmis decided to charge in headlong as well, opening up severe cuts over the entirety of his armor - but there was only a little blood. The armor was thick enough in most places that as long as he was in motion, the stone would destroy the sharpened air before it reached his body.


    That was fine.


    Emery¡¯s shield crashed into Firmis¡¯ shoulder.The man shouted as he pushed against her. She fought it for only a moment before giving in and letting him push her back. In fact, she simply leapt from the ground, and his shoving did the rest. As she was flung backward, she created a web of sharpened air immediately in front of Firmis. And as he over committed to what he thought would be a test of strength, he stumbled forward.


    That small miscalculation cost him dearly. He stumbled into several blades he couldn¡¯t see, which cut up his armor further. But Emery¡¯s strike came in the form of the flying sword, which she had hidden in his blind spot during his mad rush. It slipped behind him and shot straight through the back of one of his legs. After all of the minor cuts it had sustained, the armor covering that leg simply shattered as the blade shot through, nearly severing the leg near the achilles tendon.


    Firmis stumbled further after that, his foot not working properly. By the time he had nearly regained his balance, he found himself beset on all sides by flying weapons. Emery had decided to get a little cocky, creating several different weapons rather than a large matching set.


    It didn¡¯t matter whether they were spears, swords, or polearms. One and all, they ran Firmis through from fifteen different angles. He managed to stop a few, but not nearly enough to save himself.


    When his body slumped, looking like a grotesque pincushion, Eiry called the trials concluded.


    As Vyne and Ray once again moved to clear the field, Eiry turned to the whole group and nodded gravely.


    ¡°With that, I believe this matter is settled.¡±

 143 : Play

    Stena and I had been training with Mom¡¯s sisters, as promised. They had been just as rough on us as our mothers had been, so it really hadn¡¯t been much of a ¡®break¡¯ at all, despite what we had been led to believe.


    I suppose, to be fair, they hadn¡¯t had us training for as many hours, but it was more physically focused, which left us just as exhausted. Long hours of meditation with Mom were rough, but just a few hours of stretching and physical striking practice with Demi was enough to leave my legs and arms like jelly.


    Thankfully, they weren¡¯t cruel. We were taking frequent and regular breaks to rehydrate and relax muscles for a bit. During these breaks, Demi and Rylie had taken to telling Stena and I stories about their recent misadventures. They had told us of epic battles and close calls that they had muddled through. Looking back on it, they were probably stretching the truth on a bunch of those stories, but they were still magically enthralling for children like us.


    Talking about their recent stretch in Crystal Atoll had led them to mentioning swimming - which was a concept that Stena and I only had passing knowledge of. And by that, I mean absolutely minimal knowledge. Stena didn¡¯t know what it was at all, but I had heard the word before.


    Despite having a huge bath that was probably more than large enough to swim in, swimming itself was something that I had never done. Stena was just as confused by the whole prospect as Rylie and Demi tried to explain it to us. Rylie had even explained that it was something that our mothers would almost certainly teach us at some point, if only for survival purposes.


    But honestly, the explanation was entirely unneeded. As soon as she said that we could move through the water like a fish instead of walking slowly through it we were both sold.


    And so it was that we were promised that the two of them would try to teach us how to swim in the bath later that night, after training and dinner.


    When we had bragged that they were going to teach us how to swim at dinner, Talya had given them a stern talking to, making sure that they would be careful. We were apparently lucky that the bath was big enough for the two of us to swim in. It wasn¡¯t big enough to really test our ability or anything, but it was enough that we could swim without being crowded by a shallow depth or the walls.


    By the end of the meal, Talya, Vale, Kota, and Ieji were at least nominally on board with the idea. Stena and I couldn¡¯t wait to go bathe and were running away from the dinner table as fast as we could manage.


    The four of us were stripped and in the water in record time. I was so excited that I had left my clothes in a heap on the floor in the changing room, while Stena had to be grabbed by Demi before she jumped into the bath water still wearing her bottoms.


    Once we were sufficiently washed and rinsed off - outside the bath, much to our chagrin - Rylie and Demi finally let us into the bath. Demi took Stena to one side of the water, while Rylie took me to the other.


    ¡°Alright, you.¡± Rylie began. She clapped to get my attention, turning me away from watching my younger sister. ¡°Hey, Cierra - focus. Because you don¡¯t know how to swim yet, this is pretty serious. Water is dangerous until you know how to swim.¡±


    I stood up straighter at that. ¡°Really?¡± I asked. ¡°But we¡¯ve always bathed in here. It¡¯s not dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Have you ever gone under the water and had trouble coming back up?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Nope. I slipped and fell under once, but I could just stand back up. And Stena slipped outside the bath once and fell in. She splashed a bunch at first, but eventually just stood up.¡±


    Rylie glanced over at Stena. ¡°She¡¯s still pretty short. She has to stand on her tiptoes to keep her face above the water, right?¡±


    ¡°Mhm.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°Okay, so if the water was too deep for her to keep her head above the water, what do you think she would do?¡±


    ¡°Not go in it?¡±


    Rylie chuckled. ¡°Probably true. But also, if you go into water that¡¯s taller than you are, you can float. Or swim. That¡¯s how you would move around in water that you can¡¯t walk in.¡±


    ¡°I know you can float in the water. I do it in the bath all the time when I get my hair wet.¡± I said with a big smile.


    ¡°Ok, show me.¡± Rylie said, and motioned for me to go ahead. I did so, leaning back in the water and kicking my feet up. Once I was mostly horizontal in the water, I took a deep breath and tried to relax.


    ¡°Very good.¡± Rylie said as she slipped up next to me. I felt a gentle guiding hand under my back as she smiled down at me. ¡°You know, when teaching someone to swim, getting them to trust the water can be the hardest part. But you¡¯ve already got that down, so you¡¯re already a huge step ahead.¡±


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    I grinned big at the praise and spun back down to standing and pointed at Stena. ¡°Stena knows how to float too. We do it all the time.¡±


    ¡°Then she¡¯s a big step ahead, too. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be easier on Demi to teach her if she can float as well as you.¡±


    And sure enough, the next time I looked over at Stena, she was floating comfortably on her back.


    ¡°Okay, so since you can float so well, let¡¯s work on the next step. Can you hold your breath and go under the water?¡± Rylie asked, once again gaining my attention.


    ¡°Mhm!¡± I nodded vigorously. ¡°I do it to wash my hair sometimes, see?¡± And then I pinched my nose with my right hand and threw my face down into the water deep enough to wet my head. I shook it around a bit, then flung my head back out, sending my hair - and a sizeable amount of water - flying in an arc above me. I giggled as the water slashed back down around me.


    Rylie clapped. ¡°Okay, very good!¡± Then she grinned at me with a bit of a sly tilt to it. ¡°Now, can you do it like this?¡±


    She made a show of taking a deep breath and just dropped under the water. It looked from above like she had sat on the floor of the tub, her legs crossed, very similar to one of the meditation positions. I kept waiting for her to come back up, but she didn¡¯t. She stayed under for a while before finally popping back up. Her ascent was controlled and unhurried, so she clearly wasn¡¯t under any stress.


    She wiped the water away from her eyes, and slicked her hair back. ¡°What do you think? Can you do that?¡±


    I looked at her, then at the water. ¡°Without holding my nose?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    Rylie ruffled my hair, dumping a thick lock of wet over my face. ¡°There¡¯s a trick to it.¡± She said with a smile, then got the hair out of my eyes. ¡°When you¡¯re about to go under, you take your deep breath as normal, right? Then right as you go under, breathe out of your nose a little and don¡¯t breathe in. You think you could try that?¡±


    I swallowed and nodded. ¡°I think so.¡±


    ¡°Good. You don¡¯t have to if you don¡¯t want to, okay?¡± Rylie said. ¡°Swimming is easier once you can go under without having to plus your nose with your hands, but you can still do it that way.¡±


    ¡°Let me try first.¡± I said. As I was concentrating, I didn¡¯t hear Rylie¡¯s response. After another few seconds of hesitation, I dipped under the water, doing exactly as she had said. And it was fine - I went under and stayed there for a few seconds. Then a few more. Then even more.


    When I got excited that I was doing it, I accidentally breathed in through my nose. The water shocked my system and I erupted out of the water coughing and spitting, and blowing out through my nose to try to get rid of the stinging.


    Rylie immediately got an arm around me and alternated between patting and rubbing my back. ¡°Cierra? Are you okay?¡±


    I nodded, but still couldn¡¯t get any words out between my coughs trying to clear my airways. When they were finally clear, I asked if I got it right. Rylie nodded and laughed, then asked me to try again.


    This went on a few more times, but I didn¡¯t make the mistake of breathing in again. Once Rylie was confident in my abilities, she moved on.


    ¡°Okay, Cierra. How do you feel about dogs?¡±


    ¡°I love them!¡± I said. ¡°Why, though?¡±


    ¡°Well, what we¡¯re going to teach you next is called the doggy paddle. If you put a dog in the water, it¡¯s basically how they swim.¡±


    ¡°But who teaches the puppies?¡± I asked.


    Rylie smiled. ¡°No one knows. But almost all dogs know how to doggy paddle. It¡¯s one of the world¡¯s great mysteries.¡±


    ¡°Okay, so how do I do it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll show you first, then I¡¯ll help you with it, okay?¡±


    Once I nodded, Rylie leaned forward and began paddling away, using all four limbs to stay afloat. Once she was steady, she began to slowly move around me in a circle while paddling. ¡°See?¡± She said, ¡°You use your hands and feet to keep paddling in the water and it keeps you up, or you can move.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Okay, so how do I try?¡±


    Once Rylie was settled on her feet again, she stepped up next to me. ¡°I¡¯ll keep a hand under your tummy while you¡¯re paddling to make sure you don¡¯t fall all the way under. Try not to get too much water in your nose or mouth - it can happen. But if it does, don¡¯t panic. It¡¯s okay.¡±


    I nodded, then kicked up with my legs to try to doggy paddle. I managed to stay above the water without Rylie¡¯s help pretty quickly, but it was tiring. After a few rounds, my arms and legs were tired of the constant motion required to keep myself up.


    ¡°Okay, I think you can doggy paddle, so let¡¯s move on.¡±


    <hr>


    Two hours later, I was swimming, albeit clumsily. The water wasn¡¯t deep enough for me to really practice too many different options, but I was able to stay afloat by mostly kicks alone by the end. Stena was successfully dog paddling, but not good at going under water.


    I kept dunking myself just because I could.


    We stayed in the bath playing for quite a bit longer than we probably should have, but Rylie and Demi didn¡¯t fight us to get out of the water for a while. It wasn¡¯t until it was basically bedtime that they finally dragged us out of the bath.


    After that, we were towel dried quickly before being sent to bed with hugs and kisses from almost all of our relatives in attendance, as well as a bedtime story each, courtesy of Rylie and Demi. To be fair, they decided to swap partners for the stories, so I had Demi tell me about another of their little adventures as I slowly drifted to bed that night.


    The following morning, when I woke up, I really didn¡¯t want to. My throat was scratchy and even when I swung my feet out of bed, I felt off. Stuffy, and everything was a little muted.


    ¡°Talya¡­¡± I called from my bedroom weakly. ¡°Talya¡­I think I¡¯m sick¡­¡± I called again, and plopped back down on my bed.

 144 : Chicken Soup

    It had been a long time since I had gotten sick. I think it was actually the first time since Mom had taken me in, actually. Not accounting for the lingering illnesses from the demonic sect, anyway.


    And it just so happened to coincide with both Moms being away for a short trip, which was truly lovely timing on my part.


    When I had woken up that morning and called for Talya she was pretty quick to check on me. Demi and Rylie had tumbled into my room right behind her, mildly afraid that they had done something wrong and it was their fault I had gotten sick.


    Talya looked me over and decided it was almost certainly just a cold, though it was a particularly nasty one, leaving me entirely stuffy and my head clouded. It was like being in a constant haze and everything was a little muted. While I was laying there trying not to sleep until after Talya told me to, I heard Talya telling her sisters to be quiet.


    She was also yelling at them to make sure that next time they sent us to bed we were completely dry. Apparently being sent to bed with still damp hair could have - maybe - caused me to get sick. Especially with my longer hair. I couldn¡¯t tell if she was serious or just trying to scare her sisters, but either way they were quiet after that and skulked out the door.


    Talya sat on the edge of my bed while I laid there, and laid her hand on my head. ¡°You¡¯ll be alright, Cici. It¡¯s just a cold. So get some sleep and rest up well. If you wake up later and get hungry, I¡¯ll make you something.¡± She tapped her chin thoughtfully. ¡°Oh - before you go to sleep, let me get you something for your fever at least.¡±


    I smiled weakly at her as she stood and retreated from the room. I definitely fell asleep between the time when she left and returned, but stirred when she came back into my room. She quickly moved over to me, stopping me from trying to sit up - which I wasn¡¯t about to do anyway.


    ¡°Here, take this.¡± She said, and handed me a small packet of rice paper. ¡°There¡¯s some herbs in there that should help cool you down, okay? I¡¯ll check back in a little while to see if your fever broke, and maybe we¡¯ll get you some fresh sheets and clothing. For now, just rest.¡±


    Talya placed a hand on my forehead again, checking my temperature, then put a little bit of pressure there, trying to reassure me that I¡¯d be fine. I knew I would be, but the slight pressure on my sinuses hurt badly enough that I winced.


    Talya immediately removed her hand, looking genuinely sorry. ¡°Oh dear. I¡¯ll get you something for pain, too. You must be really stuffed up if that hurt.¡±


    After that, time became meaningless for a while. I woke up here and there a few times. Talya did exactly like she said she would and made me some congee for both lunch and dinner. She also brought me another packet or two of herbs to combat the fever, which was stubbornly not going away.


    By the time night rolled around again, I was still stuck in bed.  With both Demi and Rylie taking turns fawning over me all day and my lack of any real improvement, Talya had amended her earlier diagnosis, and declared I had the flu. She was sure that a cold would have improved at least a little after a day of sleep with some medicine.


    I slept fitfully that night, unable to really stay asleep. Either a sudden cough, a runny nose, or just general discomfort would wake me up. Somewhere in the middle of the night, my fever broke and I woke up in a sweaty mess.


    Still somewhat fuzzy, I pulled my sheets and clothing off the bed and retrieved three towels from the linen closet in the hall quietly. I laid out two of them on the bed, covered myself with one, and went back to sleep.


    Talya found me that way the next morning and got upset with me that I didn¡¯t bother her to help. Talya forced me into a chair in my room for a while so she could change my bedding properly, then helped wipe me down and get fresh clothes on. Then it was another dose of medicinal herbs - because my fever returned - and back to bed.


    The next time I woke up I found Mom sitting next to my bed in a chair, reading. She looked like she was struggling to really concentrate on the book, but was trying anyway. But as soon as she noticed I was awake, she leaned forward to check on me - one hand going for my forehead to check my temperature, and the other lightly stroking my hair comfortingly.


    ¡°Hey, sweetie. How are you feeling?¡± She asked. There was a brief moment before I responded where she seemed to concentrate on something else.


    I tried to speak, but my voice was scratchy from disuse, but also crackled with phlegm from my throat. ¡°Bad. I¡¯m sick, Mom. Talya said the flu, I think.¡± Once I started, the words came out okay.


    She nodded, then laid her forehead against mine. ¡°Yeah, I think the flu is probably right. It looks like your fever broke again. Did you need to change your clothes?¡±


    Before I could respond, Momri flew through the door. Despite the speed with which it opened, she managed to not slam it against the wall.


    ¡°How is she?¡± She asked, moving into the room quickly, a bowl in her hands.


    ¡°I already told you, she¡¯s fine.¡± Mom said, a bit of laughter in her voice. ¡°I thought you would listen when I talk to you.¡±


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°I won¡¯t lie,¡± Momri said, setting the bowl down on the bedside table, ¡°I heard ¡®She¡¯s up,¡¯ and nothing else.¡±


    Mom sighed. ¡°I said that she¡¯s up and looking good. Still sick, but her fever broke.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Momri nodded, as she slipped onto the edge of the bed next to me. ¡°I brought in some chicken soup for you, Cici, if you think you can eat it.¡±


    I cleared my throat a bit before I tried to speak again. ¡°I think I can.¡± I said. ¡°Thanks, Momri.¡±


    ¡°Mhm.¡± She said, her hands moving around her robes, clearly searching for something. ¡°Aunt Talya also gave me another dose of the herbs for your fever and pain to keep them away¡­¡±


    ¡°Your storage ring, love.¡± Mom said, shaking her head.


    ¡°Oh. Right.¡± And out popped the little rice paper packet of herbs. I tried to sit up so  Momri could hand them over to me, and she smiled. ¡°Talya was saying that they¡¯ve been helping but you¡¯re still woozy.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I think they helped some.¡±


    ¡°I think Talya is right with the flu.¡± Momri said, lightly ruffling my bedhead. ¡°You¡¯ll be okay though, I promise. It¡¯ll take another day or two, but it¡¯ll pass.¡±


    Mom nodded. ¡°Ri is right. You¡¯ll get better, especially with Talya¡¯s medicine.¡± She turned toward Momri and asked, ¡°Ri, do you have any healing techniques that are good at fighting off illness?¡±


    She shook her head, and my mood dropped. ¡°No. It¡¯s difficult to use techniques like that, because a body¡¯s ability to fight an illness is so complicated. And trying to remove most illnesses forcefully with Qi just leads to attacking the person¡¯s body. And we really don¡¯t want that.¡±


    ¡°No, we don¡¯t.¡± Mom agreed. ¡°We¡¯ll have to wait it out with medicine.¡±


    I sniffled as I swallowed the little pouch with some water. ¡°I really don¡¯t feel good.¡± I sniffed, and rubbed below my nose with a forearm. My nose was sore from all of my constant rubbing. ¡°My head feels fuzzy, my nose is runny and hurts, it¡¯s hard to breathe, and I¡¯m all sweaty and gross.¡±


    I leaned against Momri as I felt tears well up. It had only been a day, but I felt so terrible and was so done with it, that I couldn¡¯t help it.


    ¡°Oh, Cici.¡± Momri said quietly, and threw her arms around me for a hug. ¡°I know, the flu is rough.¡±


    Mom slipped from her chair onto the bed, on the side of me opposite Momri, and hugged me too. She leaned her cheek on my hair and rubbed my back. ¡°It¡¯ll be okay, we promise.¡± She placed a light kiss on my head. ¡°You¡¯ve never been this sick before, have you?¡±


    I sniffled and shook my head. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Momri said, sounding a little more chipper in an attempt to cheer me up. ¡°If you keep to your training, you¡¯ll eventually stop getting sick like this. So you have that to look forward to.¡±


    I tried to smile and let out a hollow chuckle. I wasn¡¯t really sad, afterall. Just emotional. So I didn¡¯t really need cheering up. I did want to get better fast though.


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Mom agreed. ¡°There¡¯s also something else good about that.¡±


    When I turned to face her, she grinned wide. ¡°Ri and I can¡¯t get sick from you. So we can stay with you all you want while you¡¯re sick.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I asked. That did make me feel a little better.


    ¡°Mhm!¡± Momri matched Mom¡¯s grin. ¡°I know you probably don¡¯t want to do anything that involves leaving bed. So while we can¡¯t both stay with you all day, at least one of us will. And maybe we can read you stories?¡±


    I smiled and cuddled into her side. ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°You said you felt okay to eat, right?¡± Mom prodded. ¡°Do you still feel up to it?¡±


    I took in a big sniff through my nose. It was magnificently clogged and I struggled against it. ¡°I think so.¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s one of the best pots of chicken soup I¡¯ve made.¡± Momri said.


    ¡°I¡¯m actually inclined to agree.¡± Mom whispered in my ear. ¡°She made it a little chunky with veggies and some bits of chicken, but the broth is really good. Not too rich, so it should go down easily for you.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    They both moved so I could shuffle back to the pillows on my bed, but as soon as I started to, I felt the way my clothes were clinging to me after the fever sweat. I immediately wanted them off.


    ¡°Can I get clean clothes first? I feel icky.¡± I said, finally getting a little control over the errant tears.


    ¡°Of course.¡± Momri said. ¡°Do you feel well enough to stand for just a bit? We can do clean sheets, too.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, okay.¡± I said and shuffled toward the edge of the bed. Before I made it there, I tore off my top, unable to stand the way the damp cloth was clinging to my body. My mothers both chuckled, watching me struggling in vain to get the damp shirt over my head. They snorted when I made a frustrated noise and flailed.


    ¡°Okay, okay, hang on.¡± Mom said, her laughter still present in her voice. She scooted closer to help me untangle myself from the shirt. Once it was successfully pulled over my head, she helped me slide out of bed and get changed, while Momri stripped the sheets in favor of clean ones.


    I was always surprised by how in sync and fluid they were when working together, but to see them work like that even while just moving some linens around was still impressive. The way they handed things off to one another without communicating was mesmerizing. Once my clothes were changed, I just stood in my flu-induced daze watching them as they flowed through the room.


    Before I knew it, Mom had me in her arms to put me back in a freshly made bed while Momri gathered the bowl of chicken soup and slipped in on my other side.


    As I settled in between them, Momri handed over my bowl of soup so I could try to eat my meal. While I couldn¡¯t really taste it very well with my nose as stuffed as it was, the warmth of it was comforting. As was the presence of my family beside me.

 145 : Fresh Air

    The overall atmosphere of the Basin was fairly subdued when they returned from their visit to the Elders¡¯ compound after they had passed judgment on the offenders. Even Avuri¡¯s cousins, who didn¡¯t actually take part in any of the fights, were more quiet and somber than usual. Without much discussion happening, it seemed like everyone was contemplating off in their own little world - at least for a few days.


    But as the days rolled on and with the most pressing parts of the Deposits¡¯ issue behind them, Emery and Avuri were in a better mood than they had been in weeks. Avuri¡¯s cousins bounced back quickly as well, and once they did the whole of the Basin seemed better for it. The kids, who had been feeding off the somber energy for a few days were beginning to brighten up again too.


    Talya and Gray had mostly kept to themselves for the week while trying not to get in the way. They didn¡¯t want the dreary atmosphere to take over entirely, so they tried to keep things from dipping too far, but mostly let everyone deal with the recent events however they needed to.


    Ieji was Ieji from start to finish, although they had opted to have a few more private conversations with Emery over the week with little outward changes. Emery was happy to help Ieji work through some of their own feelings over what had happened.


    In the end, everyone¡¯s mood had mostly recovered by the end of the week and life went on. Family dinners, which had continued through the somber mood, were back to the boisterous affair they had always been - especially with guests around. Chores were regularly getting done again. Squabbles and teasing and pranks were happening again.


    The return of a more ¡®normal¡¯ life helped everyone heal.


    And a week after that, things were about as normal as they could be, with a few exceptions.


    For the moment, Ieji and the cousins were sticking around. Ieji for just a bit longer, but the cousins indefinitely for the time being. Eiry had evidently asked them to stick around because she had some sort of offer for them, but hadn¡¯t had time to actually sit and talk with them yet. The Elders were still dealing with a fair bit of fallout in the city from the whole fiasco. Talya and Gray were obviously sticking around for several more months, too.


    Vale hadn¡¯t returned yet, but that wasn¡¯t unusual. He was often gone for weeks at a time. Usually more when it was travel involving other dragons, and not just his own meanderings. Emery didn¡¯t really expect to see him back for another few weeks, most likely.


    But with everything finally back in place, she felt like she didn¡¯t want to continue to sit around and do nothing for the time being.


    The group of adults had grown too big to sit at their kitchen table for a meal together. So, as it was, the entire basin was eating every meal together outside in the dining pavilion. And one morning while everyone was eating, Emery simply said, ¡°I think we should have a party.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m in favor.¡± Avuri said, following up. Given their connection, she already knew what Emery was going to bring up. ¡°I think we could all use a breath of fresh air after the last few weeks.¡±


    ¡°What kind of party were you thinking, exactly, Emery?¡± Mica asked, leaning in over the table excitedly.


    ¡°Please, nothing too rowdy.¡± Talya said, already sounding exhausted. The weeks of lower energy from everyone having taken their toll on her mood in turn.


    ¡°I was really just thinking of like¡­I don¡¯t know - a big barbeque, maybe?¡± Emery said. ¡°Just get everyone out here to relax, have fun, and eat good food.¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s a good idea.¡± Glenn agreed. ¡°We¡¯ll keep it somewhat low on the intensity and just have a good time.¡±


    ¡°Maybe do some big games for everyone?¡± Cove added.


    ¡°Oh, please, no.¡± Avuri said, rubbing her forehead. ¡°The last time we did something like that with all the kids, things got destroyed. We basically had to rebuild the outdoor kitchen.¡±


    Emery looked down, her ears a little red. ¡°I keep telling you that was an accident.¡±


    ¡°Accident or not, I still can¡¯t believe you did that!¡± Avuri huffed.


    There was a beat of silence before Gray leaned toward Avuri and whispered, ¡°...What did she do?¡±


    Avuri glanced at the clearly cowed Emery then back to Gray. ¡°It started with a game she was playing with the kids. They were playing with a ball and hitting it with a stick. That somehow devolved into the kids throwing fruit at Emery while she knocked them away with the stick.¡±


    Emery looked away, trying to play innocent as Avuri continued, ¡°And then that somehow turned into her cutting the fruit midair with her knives.¡±


    Mica breathed, ¡°Oh, that sounds like fun,¡± under her breath, which earned her a narrow-eyed look from Avuri.


    ¡°And somehow that ended up with her launching a blade of air that cut straight through two of the pillars holding up the roof over the outdoor kitchen. The entire thing collapsed!¡± She said, theatrically throwing up her hands. ¡°I still have no idea what would possess you to throw out a technique like that in the middle of a game!¡±


    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    Emery continued to look away, but Lia was sitting at the table behind them. She had been one of the kids that were throwing the fruit and instigating the whole mess. She spun around in her seat and was nearly shouting when she said, ¡°Momri, you were out there too, did you not see it? It was so cool!¡±


    Avuri slowly turned in her seat to look at Lia. ¡°Oh?¡±


    Lia nodded, excited by the memory. ¡°She said she could slice a whole bunch of fruit at once. So we all got ready and tossed the fruit at the same time, and she cut through them all at once in a line! It was so cool¡­But her technique kept going and cut through the support pillars¡­¡±


    ¡°So she was showing off and didn¡¯t control herself.¡± Avuri said, turning her stare on her wife. ¡°Last time we talked about it, she said it was accidental.¡±


    ¡°It was accidental!¡± Emery said. ¡°I wasn¡¯t exactly planning on the technique cutting that far.¡±


    ¡°So then how, exactly, did you manage to not call the attack off in time?¡± Avuri asked pointedly.


    Emery clammed up immediately, looking away. ¡°I uh¡­I got distracted.¡±


    ¡°By what?¡±


    Emery looked away, her ears turning red, but she didn¡¯t respond. Avuri kept her stare on her and prodded her again. ¡°Well?¡±


    Emery took a breath and reached out with her Qi to respond through their Domain. ¡°You, dumbass. I take it you don¡¯t remember what you were doing when the whole thing went down.¡±


    ¡°I¡­do not remember, no.¡± Avuri sent back.


    ¡°You were playing with some of the younger kids and Kal yanked your robes open. Thus the momentary distraction.¡±


    Emery covered her eyes with her hand, trying to hide the minor embarrassment that was overcoming her. Avuri, for her part, laughed. Everyone stared at her as she cackled, trying in vain to regain control of herself.


    ¡°What?¡± Mica asked.


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± Glenn asked, confused.


    Talya was busy hiding a small grin behind her hand and whispering to her husband. Gray snorted at whatever she said. She had been there for the whole thing and found it hilarious.


    ¡°Alright, alright.¡± Avuri said, still struggling to calm down. ¡°It¡¯s hard to get too mad at you for something like that¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± Emery muttered. In an attempt to change the subject, she said, ¡°We can get some kind of game going. Let¡¯s just keep it controlled, alright? No throwing techniques around, I guess.¡±


    ¡°Well, that kinda ruins some of the fun, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Cove said. ¡°Especially when most of us here are Cultivators, even the kids. We can keep everything to Earth Realm level to avoid any real danger, but techniques make most sports more interesting.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± Emery said noncommittally. ¡°I guess I¡¯m not entirely against it.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Glenn said. ¡°I agree with Cove. Sports with Qi being legal are great. Have you ever watched an official Dodgeball Qi League game? They get intense.¡±


    Mica scoffed. ¡°I¡¯m not going to disagree, but they also get messy, destructive, and rather¡­competitive.¡±


    ¡°All the more reason for us to do it.¡± Glenn continued. ¡°We have plenty of space over at the playground for it, and we have more than one medical capable Cultivator in attendance.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d rather you not hurt my kids, Glenn.¡± Avuri said flatly.


    ¡°Oh. Uh, sorry.¡± He apologized.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Avuri said, a slightly devilish glimmer to her eyes. ¡°We¡¯ll keep it to the older ones. And we¡¯ll kick your sorry asses.¡±


    The insult seemed to light a bit of a fire under Glenn. Cove and Mica came to his side, acting as support. ¡°Oh, really?¡±


    ¡°Really.¡± Emery said, sliding in next to her wife. ¡°We¡¯ll take Cierra, then pick teams from there.¡±


    ¡°We accept those terms.¡± Mica said, reaching out with a hand to shake on it. Avuri took it and gave her hand one firm shake.


    ¡°Guys, guys!¡± Fia, who had been sitting next to her sister, shouted to get the attention of the room. ¡°There¡¯s gonna be a Qi Dodgeball game in a few days! Mom and Momri are taking on Momri¡¯s cousins!¡±


    Shouts of excitement and cheers went up throughout the pavilion.


    ¡°Alright, everybody, calm down.¡± Emery said, standing. She motioned everyone to calm down. ¡°It¡¯ll be a few days. We¡¯re going to have a big barbeque with everyone, and we¡¯ll do the game then.¡±


    Some of the kids quieted down as asked, but others redoubled their cheers at the news of a party. Emery gave a short, sharp whistle - everyone went quiet immediately.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± She said, ¡°Now, everyone just finish your food. We¡¯ll start working on putting the party together in a few days - so save your excitement.¡±


    Everyone settled back into their seats obediently. But not before Cruz gave a final, extra loud whoop. Emery shot daggers at him with her eyes as he sat back down, looking mildly cowed. He got knocked around by his siblings next to him a bit as he settled.


    Emery sat back down to grins around the adult table.


    ¡°I think this will be really fun.¡± Mica said.


    ¡°Agreed.¡± Emery said.


    ¡°You think we could get the Elders and Vale in on this?¡± Cove asked thoughtfully. ¡°They¡¯re great fighters, but are good at controlling themselves. I¡¯d love to see what they could do at Earth Realm levels.¡±


    ¡°We can certainly ask them.¡± Avuri said.


    ¡°I know they¡¯ve been busy lately,¡± Emery said, ¡°but I¡¯m sure they could spare a day to relax and have fun. Everyone needs a vacation.¡±


    ¡°Surely getting the Elders involved in our little game won¡¯t blow up in our faces.¡± Glenn said, rolling his eyes. Mica matched his eye roll.


    ¡°Literally.¡±

 146 : Split

    The day after the decision to throw a party was made, Emery and Avuri made their way into the city the next day to get in contact with the Elders and Vale.


    Flowing Dragon City was in a very strange state. The outward appearance was the same as always. Yes, the city had nearly been besieged a few weeks ago, but that seemed a distant memory to the people out and about on the streets, conducting their business.


    But the actual inner workings of the city were hard at work on various things after the attack. The Elders wanted to strengthen their forces and hire more regular guards. Defenses were reinforced. A new and improved intelligence network was being put together. Travelling Cultivators were being approached in the interest of hiring them as part of an elite strike team.


    The Elders were truly at work behind the scenes trying to not only ensure that they wouldn¡¯t be ¡®so clearly outmatched¡¯ again. But more than that, they were trying to prepare for whatever Aysol might decide to send their way. And the multiple unknowns involved made preparations difficult and varied.


    When Emery and Avuri arrived, they really weren¡¯t sure where they could reliably find any of the Elders, but hoped that at least either Lyn or Cyril would be in attendance at their own restaurant. And they both whispered silent thanks that Cyril was indeed in the kitchen cooking away.


    Once they brought up the idea of the family barbeque, Cyril was quickly on board. He finished the dish he was working on, passed instructions to the many other cooks, and hung up his apron, before making tracks to round up the other Elders.


    Emery and Avuri decided to wait at the Pavilion and have lunch while Cyril disseminated the news. It didn¡¯t even take very long for him to return with Vale tagging along behind him.


    As it turned out, Emery was right - the Elders could indeed use some time off and were more than happy to attend the family¡¯s party. And Vale would be accompanying them back to the Basin for now, as his work was done for the moment. He would likely be returning to the city after the barbeque, but for now he was free to enjoy some family time.


    They mutually decided that the party would be in three days, and then Emery, Avuri, and Vale were off.


    And those three days of prep passed by in a blink.


    When the day of the party rolled around, the excitement around the Basin was palpable. The kids were all excited, whether it was for the food, activities, or just the party in general varied from one to another, but no one was looking to stay inside.


    Breakfast came and went quickly, which left everyone to set up for the party. Most of the large preparations had been made in advance, but they still needed to be set up. Tables were covered with tablecloths, empty food dishes and bowls were set out, ready to be filled later. Smaller scale games were set out and ready to be played; things like a beanbag toss, horseshoes, and even a net and ball for volleyball.


    But the older kids were dead set on preparing for the dodgeball game.


    It had been the focal point for a lot of the kids since it was decided. They had spent the last several days trying to decide how they wanted to set up the field for the game. The size of the arena was argued over, as was the material for the ground, the material for the ball, and even the number of dodgeballs in play.


    The adults had relented and allowed the kids to decide basically all the rules - within reason. Of course, if the kids decided to play a trick on them and make the playfield tiny, they would veto that. But with how intense the conversations had been over the last few days, Emery was almost positive it wouldn¡¯t come to that.


    By noon it seemed like everything had been decided upon; and it was the regulation rules used by the Dodgeball Qi League. Or at least it was when it came to the court size: twenty square meters for each team, with a no-man¡¯s land in the middle that was three meters wide. There was also a deadbox around each team¡¯s play zone that allowed out players to stay involved.


    To up the stakes, the kids decided on just one ball being in play. It meant that everyone watching could really focus on the plays being made, rather than trying to follow multiple balls flying around at obscene speeds. It wasn¡¯t a bad decision, but it certainly wasn¡¯t normal rules, which used three balls.


    The playground had been converted from dirt to stone by Cove at the kids¡¯ request. Evidently, a slightly uneven stone playing field made the ball bounce erratically which could lead to some sudden excitement; that seemed fair.


    And the ball itself was a legitimate Qi Dodgeball that Glenn had procured, although Emery wasn¡¯t sure she believed him - she was pretty sure he had it with him already, given how excited he had been for this over the last few days.


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Qi Dodgeballs were hand-crafted things that were basically crafted the way spiritual weapons were. They were designed and tempered to channel Qi with high efficiency, allowing players to channel techniques into the ball before throwing it. It also meant that getting it by it would hurt a great deal and it was very heavy and durable. It may not have been actually made of metal, but the heft was roughly equivalent to a cannonball - just with a softer outer shell.


    By the time everything for the dodgeball match was set up, the Elders had arrived and the atmosphere around the Basin could only be described as giddy. Emery and Avuri had promised that they would have the dodgeball match before cooking - which meant that as soon as the Elders were all greeted, it was likely to get rolling.


    Once the Elders landed, everyone gathered around by the dining pavilion to say hello and mingle a bit. The adults let the kids have their turn, as each of them greeted and bowed to the Elders in turn. They were all well behaved, and some of the older kids even helped the little ones bow. The Elders, as usual, were friendly and doting with the kids - except for Ray who continually picked fights with the older ones. Practice punches and kicks were thrown regularly in jest near him.


    Cove was the first one to approach the Elders after the kids, and he led with the question that had been on his mind for days now. He stepped up to Eiry, bowed politely, and immediately said, ¡°We¡¯re setting up for a Qi Dodgeball game. Would the Elders be interested in taking part?¡±


    Emery saw Ray¡¯s smile widen into a wolf-like grin so fast that it almost scared her. But Eiry was faster with her reply before Ray could step up. ¡°I think we¡¯d better sit this one out.¡± She said, looking around at the field that had been prepared. Cove looked dejected. ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand me, Cove. I¡¯m not against us playing later. But I¡¯m sorry to say that I think if we got involved no one else would have fun.¡±


    ¡°If any of the kids were planning to play, anyway.¡± Vyne agreed. ¡°The adults may be able to take some of the heat, but even if we lowered our Qi output to, say, Earth Realm, our physical abilities are still too much.¡±


    Ray sighed and hung his head. ¡°I hate to say it, but they¡¯re right. We should sit out.¡±


    ¡°How about something like an exhibition match later, then?¡± Mica said, stepping up. She bowed as a polite greeting before continuing. ¡°We can have the family match now - given that I think the kids might explode if we don¡¯t - and then play an exhibition match later with the adults and Elders split into teams.¡±


    Ray seemed to brighten at that. ¡°Yeah, that sounds like fun!¡±


    ¡°It does.¡± Eiry agreed. ¡°Cyril? Lyn? Are we all agreed?¡±


    They both nodded. ¡°I could use the ability to let off a little steam.¡± Lyn said. ¡°I haven¡¯t been able to do much other than paperwork the last few weeks, so some physical activity would be great.¡±


    ¡°Vale?¡± Eiry asked. ¡°We¡¯ll need you for even teams.¡±


    He snorted out a chuckle. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll play.¡±


    A cheer went up from everyone in response, and quiet mutterings started about how excited the kids were to see the Elders in action - even if it was a controlled game.


    Once Emery, Avuri, and the rest of the family had said their greetings, Emery clapped her hands to gather everyone¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Alright, everyone form up! It¡¯s time to split us up into teams.¡±


    Again, the excitement bubbled up, and it took Talya, Gray, and Vale to corral the kids into the benches that had been made specifically to watch this game - courtesy of the Earth Cultivators among the family.


    Eventually, once everyone was settled, the players were lined up and ready to be split. Glenn, Cove, and Mica stood off to the left while Emery and Avuri were to the right. ¡°Cierra, you¡¯re with us.¡± Emery said, beckoning her eldest over. Cierra hopped her way over, clearly excited.


    ¡°To keep things fair, you three can pick first.¡± Avuri said, giving Glenn and his team the go ahead. They weren¡¯t about to argue.


    They looked over their potential picks. Stena, Kord, Briar, Fia, Enrik, and Karn were standing there, eagerly awaiting a pick. Elise, the only other Earth Realm among the kids, volunteered to sit out for two reasons; one, to keep the teams even - but more because she had trained herself mostly as a healing expert until now, and felt she wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up well in the game. She was, however, standing by to help with any injuries.


    ¡°Karn.¡± Glenn said, and motioned them over. Emery was a little surprised by the pick as Karn was notably the most recent of the kids to reach the Earth Realm, but Karn and Glenn had also spent a fair bit of time together over the last few days as similar wood artists.


    ¡°Fia.¡± Cierra picked, before Emery or Avuri could speak. As Fia strolled over, Emery noticed the teasing smirk that Cierra was leveling at Stena. No doubt, she was hoping to leave her to be picked last. Emery and Avuri rolled their eyes in unison; as if that would work.


    ¡°Stena.¡± Mica said with a big smile, and waved the girl over. Stena jogged over and gave Mica a double high-five. Immediately following that, she looked over at Cierra and stuck out her tongue. ¡°We¡¯re gonna beat you into a pulp!¡±


    Cierra just responded with a beckoning gesture. ¡°Bring it on.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll take Enrik.¡± Avuri said, calling him over. Enrik trotted over, pleased to be picked. He bumped fists with Fia and Cierra as he settled into place.


    ¡°Kord, come on down!¡± Cove called, doing a huge sweeping motion with his arm. Kord made his way to his team and settled into place at the end of the line. He was keeping his game face on, and was determined to do his best.


    ¡°Alright, Briar, come join us.¡± Emery said, but Briar was already headed their way anyway as the last one picked. They looked a little sad that they were last, but Emery ruffled their hair as they approached the team. ¡°Don¡¯t be sad you were picked last, alright? I knew I didn¡¯t need to pick you early because they wouldn¡¯t want three wood Cultivators all on one team.¡±


    Emery grinned as their team gathered around them, and she smirked toward Avuri¡¯s cousins. ¡°And we put together a team that is more than capable of wiping the floor with them.¡±

 147 : Game On

    Things around the basin were quiet as the two teams prepared to face off. Relatively. There was plenty of excitement flying around the crowd gathered to watch. Even the Elders were watching, excited to see how things go. Vale was also sitting in the group, but he was sat among a whole bunch of the kids, rather than with the Elders.


    ¡°...Do we need a referee?¡± Cierra asked, as she stared down the opponent team.


    ¡°Elise?¡± Emery asked, looking at her only Earth Realm child not taking part. ¡°You¡¯re already standing by for healing - want to act as referee?¡±


    Elise stood up from where she was sitting on the nearest bench to the playing field. ¡°Sure.¡± She said, as an aura of Qi surrounded her. It was a simple technique that would help minimize any attacks that came her way, just in case.


    ¡°Just as a reminder to everyone, then,¡± She began, ¡°No techniques above Earth Realm. Obviously, that also means no Domains. You¡¯re out if you get hit by the ball, and the ball hits the ground. If you get hit and a teammate catches the ball, you¡¯re safe. If multiple people all get hit by the ball and it touches the ground, everyone that got hit is out. If you cleanly catch a ball that someone threw without it hitting anything else first, the thrower is out.¡±


    Elise looked between the two teams, who were still sending dirty looks back and forth for intimidation and taunts. ¡°Any questions?¡±


    ¡°What counts as catching the ball?¡± Glenn said, mostly for the benefit of the others. He knew the rules very well.


    ¡°Catching the ball straight on with your body. Using any technique to dull the ball¡¯s momentum or otherwise intercept it does not count. Anything else?¡±


    ¡°I think we¡¯re good,¡± Cove said.


    ¡°Same here,¡± Enrik responded, waving Elise on.


    ¡°Very well.¡± She said, and bent down to gather the ball that was to be used. She slowly walked to the center of the playing field, holding the ball up as if she was carrying something more significant than a game ball. ¡°Everyone get in the dead zones behind your back line.¡±


    Everyone did so as Elise placed the ball dead center in the no man¡¯s land between both teams. She slowly walked back off the field. Whether or not she did it on purpose, the slow pace heightened the excitement in everyone watching, waiting for the start of the game.


    Once Elise was off the field and in place, she turned back to watch the field. Once she confirmed everyone was in the dead zones, she nodded. The whispered excitement from the benches reached a fever pitch as she finally called, ¡°Begin!¡±


    Enrik immediately stomped the ground, hard. He sent Qi through the playing field that had been hardened into stone, hoping to launch the ball back to his team.


    Unfortunately, Mica did the same - and she was faster. Her Qi slipped through the ground much faster than Enrik¡¯s, and a stone plate about the size of two square meters popped up and launched the ball back toward her team.


    As everyone broke from the dead zones behind the back lines, both teams spread out in an attempt to minimize the chances of ricochet hits. But in that opening scramble, Glenn¡¯s team made their first move. Kord, already decked out in his Qi gauntlets and greaves, jumped straight forward and punched the ball as hard as he could, shoving as much of his Qi into it as he could manage on such a short contact.


    The ball took on a slightly grayish white glow as it absorbed his Qi and flew straight at Fia. The ball was approaching from the girl¡¯s blindspot, thanks to Mica¡¯s large stone plate basically being a vertical wall.


    ¡°Fia!¡± Briar shouted, as the one with the cleanest view of the ball.


    Fia, to her credit, was very quick to react. She threw herself to the ground and erupted in Qi, which flowed out of her like water. It fashioned into a strange conch shell-like shape above her, and the ball struck it. Kord¡¯s attack nearly erupted from the other side of the shell, but the ball was successfully stopped by the water, as it seemed to spiral down the grooves of the shell like a marble run. It was deposited neatly into Fia¡¯s hand as she stood.


    Kord clicked his tongue as Mica patted the boy¡¯s back. ¡°It was a good try.¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t get enough power into the ball with just a punch. I need more contact time.¡±


    Mica nodded. ¡°Catch this next ball and we¡¯ll get you that extra contact time.¡±


    Fia stared down the opposing team, clearly deciding who to target while pushing her Qi into the ball. The ball began to glow softly blue as it aligned with Fia¡¯s water aspected Qi. Given the single ball in play and the lack of any real timer, she had time to not only pick her target, but also how she wanted to approach throwing the ball in the first place.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    The conch shell shaped water melted into a simple, round blob for the moment. Once she was satisfied with the amount of Qi she put into her technique, she dropped the ball back into the blob of water. It sank in a little bit, then held steady as if it was floating in the middle. Fia wound her arm back, as if to throw something, and the ball in the water slipped to the side of the blob.


    As she wound up, a tentacle of water extended from the blob and held the ball at the tip. Following along with Fia¡¯s motions, the tentacle whipped around and launched the ball at high speed. It glowed like a deep blue sapphire as it shot straight toward Karn.


    Karn moved to dodge the ball, and did so gracefully. In the same motion, they called up a gnarled tree behind them and shaped it in such a way that it should catch the ball, allow it to roll around the rounded center, and launch it back at the other team.


    Karn¡¯s technique worked like a charm. They correctly read the trajectory of Fia¡¯s throw, and the gnarled tree caught the ball perfectly. The ball rolled straight around following the track Karn had laid out for it. It dropped the momentum a little - but not by much - and the Qi ball shot back out, hurtling toward Fia¡¯s team.


    Unfortunately, Karn didn¡¯t pay as much attention to where he was aiming his return shot. The Qi ball flew straight at Avuri. Fia¡¯s throw wasn¡¯t all that strong to begin with; she knew that and that was why she had thrown at Karn. After losing a small amount of momentum inside Karn¡¯s tree, the ball was easily caught by Avuri. And without any technique.


    There was a pause as everyone stood relaxed. ¡°Um¡­referee?¡± Avuri asked, with a slight grin. ¡°What¡¯s the ruling on a returned throw like that? Is Karn out?¡±


    Karn dropped their arms to their side, looking hurt. ¡°What? We didn¡¯t talk about that!¡±


    ¡°I think it should count as an out.¡± Elise ruled. ¡°You decided to return the throw as is. And we need to stop it from becoming just a technique volley like that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not opposed.¡± Glenn said. ¡°Those are the official rules, to be fair. We just didn¡¯t discuss it beforehand.¡±


    ¡°Going forward that¡¯s fine.¡± Avuri said. ¡°But we shouldn¡¯t ¡®gotcha¡¯ Karn out of the game. We¡¯ll do it next time.¡±


    Karn sighed. ¡°Thanks Momri¡­¡±


    ¡°That said¡­¡± Avuri quickly shoved a large amount of Qi into the ball and whipped it forward. Her ball flew much faster than Fia¡¯s, and Karn was certain they were staring death in the face.


    Then Avuri motioned upward with her hand, and a whole bunch of ice pillars rose from the ground. They were shaped to clearly direct the ball around, similar to how Karn¡¯s tree had done. However, she had created many more of them than just one. The ball followed the direction of the first one, then a second, then a third.


    At the speed it was moving, the ball was hard to track as it basically bounced between the pillars. It lost a little speed overall, but not enough to make it easy for the kids to track. Unfortunately, even with keeping the techniques used at Earth Realm level, the physicality differences were still significant.


    Even for Stena, who was somewhat close to the Sky Realm, she wasn¡¯t able to keep up as the ball bounced around and eventually crashed into her side. Cove made a dive for the ball, to catch it before it hit the ground, but didn¡¯t quite make it there in time.


    Cierra cheered and laughed, while Stena just looked at her mother with absolute betrayal etched on her face. ¡°Momri? Why?¡± She whined.


    Avuri smiled sadly. ¡°Sorry, hunny. I honestly didn¡¯t plan all that out with a target. You just got in the way of the ball.¡±


    Stena hung her head and walked over to her team¡¯s deadzone, which was behind Emery¡¯s team. She took up a ready position, ready to help out her team if she got the chance.


    Cierra decided to taunt her the entire way, teasing her about being the first one eliminated. When she turned to practically point at laugh at her younger sister while carrying on, Emery called her out on it.


    ¡°Cierra, stop teasing your sister. I can¡¯t believe I even need to say that to a twenty-one year old¡­¡± Emery trailed off, shaking her head. When something tickled the edges of her Qi perception, she had to hide a smile.


    Right as Cierra turned to say something to Emery, Briar shouted her name. In response, Cierra turned just in time to get smacked right in the face with the ball. She pitched backwards landing squarely on her rear end. There was a chorus of ¡®Ooo¡¯s as she sat up to show off that half of her face was bright red from the impact. The opposing team was laughing while Mica looked apologetic.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Cierra!¡± She yelled. ¡°I wasn¡¯t aiming for your head, I swear!¡±


    ¡°You deserved it though.¡± Emery said, picking up the ball as it bounced away from Cierra.


    ¡°Instant karma.¡± Avuri agreed. ¡°What did Stena even do that you felt the need to taunt her like that?¡±


    Cierra turned and glared at her sister, one half of her face looking comically red. ¡°She stole the desert I made for today, and ate the whole damn thing.¡±


    ¡°I told you I was sorry!¡± Stena shouted, clearly exasperated. ¡°I also didn¡¯t eat it alone! I shared it with a bunch of our siblings. You can¡¯t seriously think I¡¯d eat an entire cake that size on my own!¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. You¡¯re the one that took it out of the cooler and ran off with it.¡±


    ¡°And I said I was sorry! I didn¡¯t realize it was set aside for today because it was in the Array in the house¡¯s kitchen and not the pavilion¡¯s kitchen! It was an honest mistake.¡±


    ¡°As if that should matter!¡± Cierra shot back as she got to her feet. ¡°It was clearly a huge cake, and it was the day before we were throwing a party! Put two and two together, you idiot!¡±


    Avuri chose that moment to step between the two. ¡°Alright, alright. Calm down, both of you. Cierra, Stena apologized. I realize that you¡¯re still not happy about it, but since it was food that was eaten, she can¡¯t exactly do anything else about it right now. And Stena, we¡¯ll talk about how you plan to repay your sister tomorrow, after she worked for most of the day on that cake.¡±


    ¡°Sorry¡­¡± Stena said, hanging her head in shame again.


    Cierra huffed and walked off toward the deadzone for her own team.


    Astra, who had been on the side lines and sitting next to Talya and Gray, waved to Cierra. ¡°It was a very yummy cake, Cici!¡± She shouted.


    Several of the other children chimed in and agreed. Cierra still looked peeved, but a little less so now than before.


    ¡°It really was very good. I honestly thought it was store bought.¡± Mica said under her breath.


    ¡°I know, right?¡± Cove agreed.


    They must have felt Cierra¡¯s angry stare on their backs because they flinched and slowly turned to once again apologize to her before the game resumed.


    Emery laughed when Cierra¡¯s anger seemed to finally fizzle and she crossed her arms and huffed, annoyed, but no longer seriously angry.

 148 : Spa Day

    With Cierra still laid up in bed sick, Avuri and I were somewhat at a loss when it came to what to do. She was still pretty much dead to the world in bed with the flu, but as it came up on day three, she was likely to recover somewhat soon. Or at least be able to function a bit more in a day or two. Even as it was, she was able to sit up in bed, act coherently, and eat okay today. It was a pretty big improvement from the day before, where she was still addled by the fever and too hazy to eat much.


    As we had told her before, Avuri and I basically never left her alone. The entire time she was sick, at least one of us was in the room with her, if not on the bed with her cuddled against us. Most of the time we both were; but we could only convince Stena to let us stay with her sister for so long before she started wanting more attention. Which was fair.


    Talya was a miracle worker while Cierra was sick, covering so much of the housework that Avuri and I vowed to pay her for it afterward somehow. We still weren¡¯t sure what we would do to that effect, since just money may not be useful for her, but we¡¯d talk it through with her later.


    Talya also took the liberty of keeping my other siblings busy with chores. After the initial explosion at Rylie and Demi for not making sure the girls were completely dry before going to bed after spending several hours in an open air bath, I wasn¡¯t so mad any more. Sure, being wet for an extended period of time could maybe up your chances of getting sick, but it wasn¡¯t exactly a guarantee. Maybe it was even more likely with Cierra¡¯s long hair being wet for hours of sleep. But it still wasn¡¯t really their fault.


    Didn¡¯t stop me from wanting to get small revenges here and there through teasing and pranks though. Talya smartly kept the other girls away from me while I cooled down. I was sure I¡¯d get them back just once, eventually. It¡¯d be a good one, too. I just wasn¡¯t sure what to do yet.


    Maybe dye their hair. They were always very particular about their sense of style these days as they traveled together; maybe some crazy hair colors for a few weeks would be perfect. I¡¯d just need to figure out how to go about doing it without them noticing until it was too late.


    In any case, the issue staring us in the face now was what to do in the next day or two while Cierra was feeling better, but not quite well. Without a doubt, in the next day or two she would be feeling up to some light activity, and would probably be looking for entertainment of some kind while she was still unable to really play like normal.


    ¡°I suppose reading books and telling stories probably won¡¯t cut it.¡± Avuri whispered over Cierra¡¯s sleeping form. We had found recently that while we had thought our combined Domain¡¯s ability to keep the room cooler would be pleasant for Cierra to sleep, the presence of the Domain for any real length of time made her sleep restless; which left us whispering to one another while she slept between us.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been doing nothing but that for the last two days since we got back. I¡¯m sure Cierra wouldn¡¯t mind a story or two more, but she¡¯s probably going to be stir crazy after being stuck in bed for three days.¡± I looked down at the girl¡¯s serene sleeping face and smiled. ¡°I know she¡¯s mostly been asleep for a lot of it, but I wouldn¡¯t blame her if she wanted to go outside and play the instant her body isn¡¯t sore anymore.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Avuri said, stroking Cierra¡¯s hair. ¡°Poor girl. I honestly forgot what getting sick like this was like. I did catch a bad flu like this once, but my family basically ignored me. I was asleep almost the entire time, while servants brought food and drink in and out while I napped. It was¡­well, honestly, not so bad; just lonely. And really boring.¡±


    ¡°The boring part is what I imagine the issue will be when she wakes up. It¡¯s not like we have a lot of indoor activities that aren¡¯t just reading, drawing, or playing simple games.¡± Emery said. ¡°I¡¯m not sure playing cards is gonna cut it. I¡¯d maybe suggest mahjong, but I don¡¯t think she¡¯d be able to learn it while sick, and we haven¡¯t taught her yet.¡±


    Avuri chuckled. ¡°Em, I think you¡¯re maybe overestimating her abilities to begin with. Mahjong is really complicated. There¡¯s no way someone her age picks it up in a day regardless. She¡¯d need to practice a bunch before it becomes fun for her.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re probably right.¡± Emery agreed. ¡°Plus being sick, there¡¯s simply no way.¡± She leaned her head back against the pillow they were all sharing with a defeated sigh. ¡°Can¡¯t even cook with her or anything like normal, because I¡¯m not about to bring someone with the flu into the kitchen.¡±


    ¡°No shit, silly.¡± Avuri said. There was a moment of silence between them as they both thought about what they could do before Avuri finally thought of something. ¡°You know, I do have an idea. Maybe. It¡¯ll be a little bit of work but I think she¡¯d enjoy it.¡±


    ¡°Oh? What are you thinking?¡±


    ¡°Can you cover for me for the rest of the day?¡± Avuri asked with a smile. ¡°I promise it¡¯ll be worth it.¡±


    Emery narrowed her eyes but nodded. ¡°Sure. Go do your thing.¡±


    Avuri nodded, mildly excited, and slipped from the bed. She walked around it to give Emery a kiss before sliding quietly from the room.


    <hr>


    As expected, Cierra was feeling quite a bit better the next day. She wasn¡¯t anywhere near 100%, but she was able to move and wasn¡¯t exactly excited to spend the day in bed.


    I did keep her in bed for most of the morning until lunch. She wasn¡¯t too upset by it as I spoiled her with breakfast in bed, a few more stories, and a nice little nap time. But after lunch rolled around and she ate her fill of some chicken sandwiches, Cierra was ready for something else.


    When Avuri came into her room ready to whisk us away to whatever it was she had planned, Cierra was more than ready to accept just about anything she was going to be offered. But when Avuri brought the three of us into our room, Cierra¡¯s eyes went wide.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Avuri had redecorated our room into basically a spa. She had gotten out some lounge chairs for us to sit in, the bath was full of hot water, there was some kind of tool set in a box by the chairs. She had even steamed up the bathroom to be a semi-functional sauna.


    Avuri looked triumphant as she pointed to the bed. ¡°Okay, everyone. Get changed.¡± She had apparently laid out changes of clothes for each of us which amounted to a very soft towel fashioned into a short robe top just long enough to cover the essentials.


    Once we were changed, Avuri led us into the bath. We relaxed for a while in the steam room that she had created and took time washing each other. It was relaxing for Avuri and I, but it looked like it was particularly revitalizing for Cierra. She looked like she was healing by the minute, the still slightly ill look she had about herself earlier beginning to melt away.


    Once we were all comfortably relaxed and clean, we retreated to the bedroom in our towel-robes with towels on our heads. Avuri directed us to sit on the lounge chairs while she gathered some kind of face mask.


    Cierra was absolutely ecstatic to have it put on while she laid out on the chair. Avuri put one on me and herself as well, and the three of us relaxed for a while, cooling off after the bath. And it was after the masks that Avuri retrieved the tool kit that she had placed on the bed.


    Cierra was watching over her shoulder when she opened the little case to show the multitude of colored paint and small brushes. They were too small for painting on paper or the like, so I only had one guess as to what she planned. It was something I had seen in cities on occasion, but not so much in the smaller towns when I was traveling.


    ¡°So, what¡¯re we doing with the paint, Momri?¡± Cierra asked, holding herself up with both hands positioned on Avuri¡¯s shoulder so she could look over.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to paint our nails.¡± She replied, as she took out the various plates from the case, each of which held a few little wells of paint.


    ¡°I know I¡¯ve seen people in the city with their nails painted. Is it safe?¡± I asked, not having any real experience with the whole thing.


    ¡°It¡¯s safe.¡± Avuri said. ¡°It does require special paint though, so don¡¯t just go doing it without thinking. I haven¡¯t done this in ages, but I did buy the paint a while ago. I think shortly after I moved here, actually.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve had the set for a while then? Why did you only bring it up now?¡± I asked while Cierra was looking through the colors.


    ¡°Honestly? I kinda forgot I had it.¡± Avuri said with a laugh as she moved the plates around so Cierra could see all the colors available. ¡°But also, it requires time to do it right, and we¡¯ve always got some kind of thing going on. Whether it¡¯s cooking, Cultivating, or doing work outside¡­we¡¯ve never really had a day where we wanted to stay inside but also do something.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a lie and you know it.¡± I said.


    Avuri laughed. ¡°Fair enough. I really did forget though.¡± Avuri then looked at Cierra who had shifted in front of her to her lap and ruffled the girl¡¯s hair. ¡°So, what do you want on your nails? One color? A rainbow? A theme with pictures?¡±


    ¡°We can do pictures?¡± Cierra asked, whipping around to face Avuri with stars in her eyes. ¡°What kind of pictures can we do?¡±


    ¡°Well, it needs to be small. And something one of us can paint.¡± Avuri said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t count on me for it.¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°I draw like a kid. Simple silly shapes is all I¡¯ve got.¡±


    Avuri nodded. ¡°Alright then. I can do something like flowers or other simple things. What did you want, Cierra?¡±


    She made a long, drawn out ¡®hmm¡¯ sound as she thought about it for a bit. ¡°I guess flowers are okay. Can you make them like the ones on the trees outside?¡±


    ¡°The wisteria blossoms? I think I can do that. Did you want your nails to be purple then?¡± Avuri asked.


    ¡°Why not make the background a different color so the purple of the wisteria pops?¡± I said. Avuri turned to look at me shocked. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m shocked you¡¯re putting in artistic input.¡±


    I scoffed. ¡°Hey! I know I don¡¯t dress very nicely all the time, and my house decorating is simple, but even I have pretty good aesthetics¡­¡± I said, defensively.


    ¡°If you say so, hun.¡± Avuri said. ¡°But you¡¯re right, maybe we can do white or a light pink behind the purple flowers?¡±


    ¡°Pink!¡± Cierra said, with the most energy I think either of us had seen from her in days.


    ¡°Pink, then.¡± Avuri smiled and gathered the two paints. ¡°Now then, let¡¯s get started.¡±


    An hour later, Cierra¡¯s nails were finished. She had a bit of cloth wound between each finger to keep them apart, and was holding her hands up and out after Avuri warned her about getting the paint on things around the room.


    But she was also admiring her mother¡¯s handiwork. Avuri had done very well. She had picked a light pink for Cierra¡¯s nails that looked really cute. The wisteria blossoms trailed across Cierra¡¯s pinky, ring, and middle fingers on each hand, with tiny little petals tracing a line down the outer half of each nail.


    I wouldn¡¯t call it a work of art, but it was very well done. And more than satisfactory for Cierra to be over the moon with the flowers on her nails. She kept holding her hands out in front of her to look at them as the paint dried. Then she suddenly put her hands down to stare at me and Avuri, excited. ¡°So? What are you two going to do?¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°What color are your nails going to be?¡± She asked again, practically jumping with excitement.


    ¡°I think I¡¯m going to go with purple.¡± Emery said. ¡°To match Momri¡¯s eyes.¡±


    ¡°A light, icy blue for me. I wear too much white for anything too colorful, I think.¡± Avuri said with a laugh. ¡°I painted my nails a bright, cherry red once and they stood out against the rest of my usual color choices that it was distracting. I kept looking at my hands whenever they moved into view.¡±


    Cierra giggled, but was basically doing exactly that. Any time her hands left then re-entered her view, she suddenly was admiring the nails again.


    It took a few minutes before Avuri was able to get everything set up again to start on my nails, but right as we both took our seats and she was prepping the paint, the door to our room swung open.


    ¡°What¡¯re you doing? Can I play too?¡± Stena asked hesitantly from the doorway. She didn¡¯t actually walk inside yet, but was shifting from foot to foot while waiting for an answer.


    ¡°Cierra? Are you alright with Stena joining us?¡± I asked her softly.


    ¡°Of course.¡± Cierra said, then held up her nails toward Stena, who was taking a few steps inside. ¡°Look, Stena. This is what we¡¯re doing.¡±


    ¡°Wow¡­¡± Stena breathed out as I vacated the seat in front of Avuri.


    ¡°Come sit, Stena. Avuri will do yours, as long as you can promise to be careful and not get the paint on anything.¡±


    ¡°I promise.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Avuri said, patting the chair in front of her. ¡°Now, pick whatever color you like.¡±

 149 : Dodgeball

    The game of Qi dodgeball was down to the adults in the mix fairly quickly, to no one¡¯s surprise. The teens had made a good showing for themselves in the first few exchanges and the adults - for the most part - let them do their thing.


    After Cierra took up her position outside, Emery handed the ball off to Briar to let the younger kids keep at it themselves.


    Briar didn¡¯t have a lot of direct power in their techniques, instead having focused more on using wood Qi to assist with farming and plant growth. It had its uses in battle, but was far from a powerful toolset. They did their best though, channeling a fair bit of Qi into the ball before preparing for a throw.


    They called up a wall of vines to block vision between the teams and let the ball fly. With it hidden from view, it could have made for a decent sneak attack, if not for the other two wood Cultivators on the field. Glenn stood by while Karn tore a hole in the vines, showing the ball¡¯s trajectory clear as day.


    Briar did make a last ditch effort to lash out with a vine to knock the ball off course, but in the same instant that its course changed, Kord leaped forward and caught it cleanly, eliminating Briar.


    Following that exchange, there was a bit of back and forth between the teams. There were no clean catches, but plenty of technique assisted ones. Fia had shown off her water forming abilities well, regularly catching the ball - even for other teammates - although her throws typically lacked the strength to break through defenses on the other side.


    Kord was the central player for the other team during this rally. He was a mobile heavy fighter type, which allowed him to intercept throws regularly with his speed and return fire with straightforward but powerful throws. Oftentimes, it took both Fia and Enrik working in tandem to slow and stop Kord¡¯s offense.


    Enrik, for his part, worked incredibly well with Fia. Throwing up stone walls to knock momentum off incoming throws was invaluable, but he was operating mostly as a striker for his side. His earth Qi had been Cultivated to offer him a strong, sturdy body, and that strength translated well into powerful throws. They weren¡¯t as fast as Kord¡¯s were, but he had better accuracy, and his throws seemed to carry more momentum and weight.


    Karn was playing as support for their own team in a way similar to Enrik, though utilizing wooden barriers instead of stone. While they took far less power to break through, they layered the walls with vines to catch on the ball and kill some of the momentum even after the ball passed through the barriers. It worked surprisingly well given the simplicity of the technique.


    Karn was, however, the first to fall. They were the newest to the Earth Realm, and unfortunately not as well trained as the others. Karn had managed to stay involved through a combination of creativity and finesse for a while, but was eventually overpowered by Enrik¡¯s raw throwing strength.


    After Enrik launched his attack at Karn, he used a series of multiple stone walls and barriers to stop Kord from intercepting the ball. It was a close thing, but Kord fell short and wasn¡¯t able to get to Karn¡¯s side in time. Karn, feeling daring, opted to try to catch the throw without the aid of techniques as a last ditch effort to not only get Enrik out, but also look cool doing so.


    They failed, however, and they couldn¡¯t hold onto the ball steadily enough for it to go in their favor.


    Kord, in retribution for Enrik getting Karn eliminated, threw an attack aimed squarely at Enrik. He had not only built up a fair portion of Qi into the ball before making the attack, but also didn¡¯t just throw it the way he had done up until now. He had utilized one of his physical boosting techniques and launched the ball with an overhand smash that sent it truly flying.


    Enrik¡¯s defenses were crushed by the assault. And this time, even Fia¡¯s attempt at using her water failed them, leaving Enrik eliminated and Fia the last teen standing on her side. Fia tried to return fire without the adults¡¯ help following Enrik getting knocked out of the game, but Kord was able to stop her attack without the use of techniques, eliminating Fia in turn.


    Unfortunately for Enrik, he immediately turned around with the ball and launched a shot at his mothers.


    It did not go well for him as his throw was completely sapped of its momentum before Avuri simply picked it from the air. When she let her hand with the ball in it drop to her side and smiled brilliantly at Kord, the boy just slumped where he stood.


    Cove walked up behind him and placed a consoling hand on his shoulder. ¡°No worries, Kord,¡± he said. ¡°There was never really any hope of any of you kids actually standing up to the Sky Realm adults on the field. Not really. You did well.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s right.¡± Avuri chuckled. ¡°There¡¯s a reason we stayed mostly out of the game until now. For better or worse, the simple physical improvements from reaching the Sky Realm are pretty important in a game like this.¡±


    ¡°I know¡­¡± He said, defeated. ¡°Still isn¡¯t great to see it so clearly demonstrated like that.¡± He muttered as he walked off the field, leaving the game to the five remaining adults.


    Avuri tossed the ball up and down while deciding who to aim for first. ¡°I suppose now that it¡¯s time for the adults to play, we can get a little wild?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still limited to Earth Realm level techniques, only. Momri.¡± Elise said from the sidelines. ¡°Don¡¯t blow anything up. And don¡¯t freeze everyone in the stands, okay?¡± Her tone was simply dripping with sarcasm, despite knowing full well that Avuri could potentially try to do those things.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡± She responded sweetly, then prepared for her attack.


    ¡°Keep it sportsman-like, too, yeah?¡± Mica called. ¡°No using your combined Qi techniques. Keep it solo.¡±


    Avuri frowned at that one. ¡°Not that I had planned on doing that anyway, but it seems a little cheap to call that out now, while we¡¯re outnumbered, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°Eh. We want to win.¡± Mica shot back and shrugged. ¡°But regardless, we did agree to keep the game clean. It feels like that should be a part of it.¡±


    Avuri sighed as Emery walked up behind her and slapped her butt. Avuri jumped for comedic effect, despite knowing what her wife was going to do before she did it. Laughter echoed through the spectators. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Emery said lightly. ¡°We can still trounce them, even playing at half strength.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re gonna make you eat those words.¡± Glenn said, and all three cousins dropped into ready stances. Emery simply backed off, showing mild disinterest while Avuri prepared her attack.


    The air around Avuri dropped in temperature as she gathered her Qi and pushed it into the ball. The pale blue glow that emanated from it seemed to sap the heat from anything nearby, just because of how concentrated the cold Qi was. The effect was almost suppressive to those nearby. And then Avuri wound up and pitched the ball as hard as she could manage.


    It flew in a straight line toward Cove, leaving a trail of frost on the ground underneath it. Cove readied to meet the attack with Mica and Glenn behind him. Stone and wood rose up to slow the pitch down, as they resolved not to even attempt to catch the throw outright. The ball blasted through the barriers with relative ease. It seemed as it got closer to the walls, the sheer cold emanating from the ball froze the barriers and made them more brittle than normal, making them easier to break as it crashed into them.


    The lack of being able to use more advanced techniques was more of a defensive limitation than an offensive one; and that difference was on full display here. Pushing enough Qi into a ¡®weapon¡¯ was basically an effective offensive strategy on its own before the addition of any planned techniques.


    Defensively, of course, it was a slightly different story. Raw Qi could protect your body from damage well enough as a default defensive move. However, when it came to either catching, diverting, or weakening an attack, raw Qi and elemental effects were simply lacking. And Earth Realm techniques were relatively simple ones. Sure, they could make their effects stronger or more complicated, but there was an upper limit to the amount you could do with techniques before they would be classified as Sky Realm.


    And with the offensive lean that game had taken on now in full force, the match became more like its name - dodgeball.


    Seeing their defensive barriers fail one after another, the cousins dashed apart. They only managed a few steps each before the ball hurtled past where they had been standing before. It flew past the teen aged teammates in the dead zone behind the cousins¡¯ team, and would have flown further into the trees if Vale hadn¡¯t appeared to stop it.


    ¡°Who gets the ball back after that?¡± He asked, clearly not even ruffled after catching the ball. There was a bit of frost creeping up his fingers though, which was immensely satisfying for Avuri to notice.


    ¡°Give it to the ¡®defending¡¯ team.¡± Avuri said. ¡°And we¡¯ll do that going forward as well, assuming there are no complaints?¡±


    ¡°None here.¡± Glenn said. Everyone else echoed the same sentiment, and so the ball was passed off to Glenn and the game resumed.


    There were several rounds of much the same type of exchange. All of the adults were able to launch attacks with enough force to keep the opponent team dodging and evading instead of facing attacks head on.


    Even using simple ramps and redirection obstacles to attack from weird angles like Avuri had done much earlier wasn¡¯t enough to catch any of them unaware. And while occasionally one of them were able to actually reverse an attack at the opponent, doing so didn¡¯t lead to any eliminations.


    There were plenty of ¡®ooh¡¯s and ¡®aah¡¯s from the spectators, but the players themselves got bored of the situation pretty quickly.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try to make something happen already, yeah?¡± Emery said, as she was pushing some Qi into the ball.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Mica called back. ¡°All this dodging is getting boring. Let¡¯s get some excitement!¡± She threw her hands up to try to get some cheers out of the family, and some of the younger kids obliged by throwing their own hands up and cheering.


    As Emery wound up and threw the ball, she layered a little extra of her Qi on the outside of it. The shell she made was thin but sturdy, and was stuck to the ball with a ton of tiny little needles extending from it and into the ball. And while the attack seemed to proceed much the same as the others and the cousins all spread apart as the ball approached, Emery was able to give it a little tug.


    Emery¡¯s most used and practiced technique, without question, was her ability to manipulate and control her flying weapons. It wasn¡¯t a technique she had a name for, but her level of control and precision was far beyond most Cultivators when it came to manipulating their own ¡®element¡¯s.


    And the momentary shock on Mica¡¯s and Cove¡¯s faces when the ball made a sharp right turn to chase them was priceless. Emery decided to make Cove the target for this attack, and as he ducked and weaved trying to avoid the ball, she was doing her utmost to make it track him like a dogged animal.


    The hardest part for her was not interfering with the ball¡¯s momentum. Forcing it to make sharp turns was bound to slow it down, but she had enough practice with techniques like this that she knew tricks to keep the momentum as much as possible. Tight turns could be accomplished with axles, forcing the ball into centrifugal movement instead of an actual sharp turn, for example.


    After a few seconds of Cove avoiding the ball, Emery decided to make the chase less clean. Rather than adjust to chase his torso, she altered the course a little. The awkward angle that she had chosen caught Cove in a position where he wasn¡¯t really able to fully commit to a dodge, and in the process of trying to maneuver out of the way, the ball tagged his foot and immediately bounced into the floor, eliminating him.


    Cove, who had been twisted into a weird position to avoid the ball, fell to the ground to sit where he was. ¡°That was cruel, Emery!¡± He whined. ¡°That was really just an Earth Realm technique?¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t even really that.¡± She laughed. ¡°It was more akin to an extended Human Realm technique. Just with some learned tricks in the mix - but nothing requiring any higher Realm Qi.¡±


    ¡°Some nonsense is what it was.¡± Mica said as she retrieved the ball. The metal shell had fallen away and she tossed it up and down idly.


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s our turn to try something weird.¡±

 150 : Competition

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s our turn to try something weird.¡±


    With Mica¡¯s declaration made, she slipped closer to Glenn while Cove left the field. They began whispering about something that was difficult for Emery and Avuri to hear. That sort of whispering was a very difficult trick to master, and they were both impressed.


    Cultivator senses were, of course, incredibly well honed. A Cultivator could regularly and easily hear a normal whisper quite a ways away, especially if there wasn¡¯t other noise to mask it. It effectively made normal whispering more akin to a stage whisper in most cases.


    However, the enhanced hearing also allowed Cultivators to hear much softer sounds. In an attempt to retain the ability to be secretive around other Cultivators, some had developed something like a technique for extra soft whispering. It didn¡¯t involve Qi, but was a physical technique to mask your words almost to the point that you were saying nothing. But if another Cultivator was close enough, and you were skilled in the technique, they would be able to make out the words formed despite a seeming lack of sound.


    Emery knew from experience how long that skill took to master. She regularly had used it to communicate with Vale while they were undercover in various cities. It had taken her most of her early teens to get it even close. And now the skill had gone unused for so long, she wasn¡¯t even sure she could do it correctly. Not that there was ever much cause to use it these days, when she could literally talk to Avuri without speech.


    ¡°Alright!¡± Glenn shouted, their conversation apparently finished. ¡°Let¡¯s do this.¡± He moved to take a position closer to the center no man¡¯s land than before, and created a wooden club.


    Emery and Avuri were preparing for Mica to toss him the ball and for him to hit it at them with the club. But instead, Mica remained slightly further back, pushing a large amount of Qi into the ball. Previously, her Qi had glowed a pristine golden yellow when she had imbued the ball - the traditional earthly color. This time the ball took on a slightly deeper, nature-like green.


    ¡°Wait, isn¡¯t that cheating?¡± Cierra called from the dead zone.


    ¡°They¡¯ve clearly mixed their Qi!¡± Enrik added, recognizing the wood and earth Qi color from practice sessions with Karn.


    Glenn laughed. ¡°All we said was that Emery and Avuri could use their special combined Qi. We never said they couldn¡¯t attack together.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s right!¡± Mica joined in Glenn¡¯s laughter. ¡°Their combined Qi has multiplicative properties. I don¡¯t mind if they join forces as long as their Qi remains ¡®seperate¡¯.¡±


    Emery and Avuri glanced at one another with a grin. ¡°We hear you.¡± They called together.


    Mica didn¡¯t like the look in their eyes, but that was fine. She was determined to take at least one of them out with this throw. Or one of the many possible follow-ups.


    As she packed in the last bit of Qi she felt comfortable spending on this attack, she let it solidify within the ball. The earth Qi coalesced together within the core of the ball and took on extra weight to help the ball maintain momentum. Then a few extra layers grew around it, made of a weird material reminiscent of wood. It looked almost springy.


    When Mica finally let her throw fly, Emery and Avuri both dodged to the side, easily avoiding the straight course of the ball.


    ¡°Everybody! Now!¡± Mica shouted, well before the ball had even made it a quarter of the way through the opposing team¡¯s field.


    Karn, Stena, Cove, and Kord, all lined up neatly in the dead zone behind Emery¡¯s team quickly sprung into action. Cove, Karn, and Stena used a combination of their Qi to create a large wall in the deadzone, behind the back line. Kord used a little metal Qi to reinforce it against the coming impacts and generally harden the wood and stone creation.


    The ball smacked straight into the new wall and bounced off. It barely lost any momentum at all - some, but not enough to make it catchable. Emery threw up pillars of metal in front of the ball, but when it made contact with them it similarly just bounced off and rebounded back to the wall, where it rebounded again, flying back toward the cousins¡¯ side of the field.


    When it crossed the no man¡¯s land, Glenn swung his weapon, but it was no longer a club. He had fashioned it into a wide net with a handle, and the net made from thick vines. With ease, he caught the ball with it and in the same motion launched it back toward Emery. She slipped out of the way, and the ball once again bounced off of the wall in the back and back toward Glenn, who had repositioned to once again smack the ball.


    This time, it was Avuri that had to step aside, allowing the ball to fly past and rebound back again. Emery once again tried to block it off with a few pillars of metal, but the ball bounced its way back to Glenn, who - for the third time - launched it back toward Emery.


    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    Avuri created a wall of ice in front of Emery to block the ball. ¡°Do your thing!¡± Avuri shouted.


    Emery did exactly that, preparing to create a much larger wall of metal to trap the ball behind once Glenn hit it back again. If she trapped it between two solid walls, it should -


    ¡°Emery!¡±


    Her line of thought was broken when the ice wall that Avuri had made to cover her shattered on the impact. By the time Emery processed that she needed to move, it was too late, and she couldn¡¯t get out of the way fully. The ball barely skimmed her elbow, but it still touched her.


    Emery sighed, looking over at the ball. ¡°That was tricky, you assholes.¡±


    Glenn and Mica laughed together. ¡°We knew that eventually Avuri would try to make an ice wall to defend one of you.¡± Glenn said.


    ¡°And we may not be able to bust our way through the metal with that ball, but ice is easy.¡± Mica continued.


    Avuri walked over to collect the ball while Emery hung her head in defeat. ¡°And removing the bouncy outer covering on that last hit made it so it would hit hard instead of bounce. It was a good trick.¡± Emery said, as she placed a hand on Avuri¡¯s shoulder and walked past her. She briefly touched the ball on her way by, pushing some metal Qi into it. Emery¡¯s head was down, but that was to hide her smile.


    ¡°They¡¯ve struck first.¡± She said quietly. But not so quietly that the others couldn¡¯t hear. ¡°I left you what you need. End it.¡±


    ¡°Yes, dear.¡± Avuri said with a smile. She turned to Elise and asked, ¡°Just to be sure, we said there¡¯s no real time limit between throws? Within reason, of course.¡±


    Elise simply looked confused. ¡°That¡¯s what we decided on, yes.¡±


    ¡°And as long as we don¡¯t combine our Qi, creating a combo is alright - like they just did.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± She responded again.


    Most of the spectators were watching, confused as Emery walked back to the deadzone behind the cousins¡¯ team with a weirdly large smile that she was no longer trying to hide. The expressions on Mica, Glenn, and Cove¡¯s faces were growing slowly concerned, though.


    And those expressions grew steadily moreso when Avuri moved to pull two roughly similar metal pillars from the ground. She placed the ball on the ground while examining the two metal rods.


    ¡°Avuri!¡± Emery called from the dead zone, ¡°There¡¯s two well shaped ones there and there that would be perfect.¡± She pointed to two semi-circular metal pieces that also were jutting from the ground. When Avuri retrieved them, she froze them together to create a perfectly formed cylinder.


    ¡°Thanks, hun.¡± Avuri called absently, as she carefully fixed the two metal rods she had picked earlier to the inside of the cylinder.


    ¡°Avuri¡­?¡± Mica said, sounding almost scared. ¡°You¡¯re not about to kill us, right?¡±


    That got the crowd¡¯s attention.


    ¡°We¡¯re limited to Earth Realm techniques and no combined Qi, so no.¡± She glanced up to offer Mica a smile before making sure her rods were frozen in the correct place inside her barrel.


    ¡°You can even do this without any Sky Realm techniques?¡± Glenn asked, shocked.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way.¡± Cove muttered.


    ¡°It¡¯s a lesser version.¡± Avuri said while she continued to prep her cannon. ¡°I can¡¯t get the metal fully cold enough to really use the full potential with our Qi separated. And in this way, it¡¯s going to cost significantly more Qi than it would if I could do it right.¡± Once she was satisfied with her construction, she propped it up on another piece of leftover metal and pulled the ball closer to her with her feet.


    ¡°Even worse, without Emery¡¯s Qi I have to hold the damn thing physically, which is a pain.¡± Avuri complained as she began to feed Qi into the cannon, rather than the ball. She was using her cold Qi to simultaneously lower the metal¡¯s temperature while suffusing the two pillars with as much Qi as she could manage. She also pushed a little Qi out of her foot and into the ball, just to be sure that the ball had enough resilience to survive being launched like this.


    Glenn and Mica had stopped talking. Instead, they were entirely focused on building up defenses. Walls of stone and wood went up between them and Avuri. Several layers of walls. Then they each reinforced each other¡¯s walls. They both covered themselves in a version of armor as well as a layer of protective Qi.


    Avuri was waiting for them to finish. The ball floated just outside the rear end of the cannon, held aloft with ice. She knew as soon as it touched the two charged pillars - as long as it had Emery¡¯s metal Qi spread in it correctly - it would launch.


    ¡°Are you two ready?¡± She called.


    ¡°I guess?¡± Mica called back, her voice dripping with sarcasm.


    When Avuri let the ball touch the cannon, there was a huge, deep boom that seemed to vibrate the very air around everyone. And suddenly the walls in front of Mica were shattered, splintered remains laying all over their side of the field. Mica had been blown back and was laid out on the ground, her arms and legs spread wide. There was clearly damage done to her armor, so there was no question as to whether she was hit or not.


    A few seconds later, Vale appeared from the trees with the ball. Evidently, he had to move further away from the back of playing field to catch this one - or it had gone by him.


    Avuri was more concerned that she didn¡¯t actually hurt Mica. She nervously did her best to look for any injuries from where she was, but was fairly confident that the version of the cannon she had used wasn¡¯t powerful enough to actually really hurt Mica. Especially with all of her defenses in place. Glenn was already kneeling by her to check for real injuries.


    Mica raised a shaky arm and waved it around, dazed, and let out a hollow, somewhat crazed laugh. ¡°I¡¯m okay!¡±

 151 : Feast

    The game didn¡¯t last long after Mica was eliminated. Glenn tried to mount a counter attack, but Avuri dodged his throw easily enough and ended the game with a second cannon shot, backed by cheering from the family.


    Afterward, Emery had floated the idea of having an early dinner as much of the food had already been prepped. Most of it was held inside preservation storage rings and simply needed to be dropped on a barbeque to finish cooking, or receive other finishing touches. But it was still early, and the kids complained about not being hungry yet. The cousins, and even Ray and Lyn, added their voices to the complaints, leaving Emery with no real choice but to relent.


    That left a bit of a time vacuum for the whole group to fill. If dinner was being pushed out, entertainment was needed; and it didn¡¯t take long for the Elders¡¯ exhibition game to be suggested. The Elders seemed to be amenable to the idea, and the excitement was clearly there, so the playing field was prepared for a second game.


    The Elders¡¯ match lasted a single throw. Glenn had offered to referee with the same rules that they had used earlier - just without the Earth Realm stipulation. Once he had placed the ball in the center, walked off the field, and called the start of the match, the ground exploded. Eiry, Ray, and Vyne had all immediately tried to gain the upper hand with a technique to launch the ball to their respective team. The clashing techniques simply made the no man¡¯s land in the middle erupt into a mess of plants, metal, and churned earth.


    Ray had managed to win that toss up. Wasting little time, once the dust settled from the initial explosion he immediately transitioned into an attack. The ball glowed with the silver-white of pure metal Qi as he infused it, and grew in intensity fast. Seconds had gone by before the shine was nearly painful to look at.


    And then suddenly it was gone. Thrown. The force he had used kicked up dust and dirt from the ground as the ball hurtled past, making a decent smokescreen, but it didn¡¯t actually stop anyone from seeing anything.


    The sudden eruption of techniques virtually destroying the playing field took care of that. Ray¡¯s target team consisted of Vyne, Eiry, and Vale; and they did not hesitate to put some oomph into their defense. Stone erupted from the ground, full size trees sprouted in a blink, and a flame so concentrated that it felt like looking at the sun all fought against the blazing white star that was hurled in their direction.


    Eiry''s stone walls were shattered. The ball simply flew straight through Vale¡¯s flames. The trees that had sprouted and bent to try to hinder the ball were likewise torn apart. They were uniformly wisteria trees, though, and Emery appreciated that, at least.


    It was a massive wall of trees completely tangled in vines that eventually caught the ball in a netting and spun it around to release its momentum that finally stopped it. It happened so fast that Emery and Avuri didn¡¯t even have time to contemplate how much damage Ray¡¯s throw would have done if Vyne hadn¡¯t managed to stop it. The kids and adults watching were all stunned into silence by the show of sheer force on display for a game.


    And that was it. The entire match was called off because if that was the opening move before anyone got serious, this ¡®exhibition match¡¯ would no doubt kill somebody. Or, at the very least, seriously wreck the Basin.


    When the Elders said they would control themselves and keep the damage contained, Emery and Avuri were having none of it. The Elders had honestly expected the kids to be on their side, and bug their mothers to allow the game to continue, but even the children seemed to recognize the potential natural disaster that might occur.


    Truthfully, one look at the chaotic space of the playing field and the destroyed no man¡¯s land was really all it took. And that was the Elders simply playing around. If they ended up pushing each other to get serious at any point during the match, the Basin would pay for it in uprooted trees, damaged land, and potentially even worse.


    Seeing that, Emery and Avuri were both pretty adamant about the game stopping after that first throw.


    The stunned family members were also very easy to talk into eating.


    While the Elders - mostly Ray and Vyne - were set to clean up the mess they had made on the playing field, Emery rallied her workers to get the food cooking. They owned a few storage items that had built in preservation Arrays, and all those items were retrieved from the house. Emery had already worn her preservation ring that she had always reserved for food, and she started there, pulling out a variety of cuts of meat.


    Even knowing that they were planning on feeding forty people, Emery was considering whether they went overboard on their prep. By the time she had cleared out the meat from her own ring, there were all kinds of cuts of beef, chicken, and pork sitting on wire racks over open fires. Fresh meat, brined meat, cured meat - they had readied so many varieties that if they had planned to truly make different dishes with it all, her head would spin. She thanked herself from a few days ago that she had decided to grill it all.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Avuri retrieved the other storage items with the rest of the food that had been prepared for the party. There was, of course, more meat; chopped beef that had been shaped into patties, more traditional cuts that had been smoked, and some shredded chicken and pork that had been slow cooked the day before. One storage ring had been stuffed full of fresh greens that had already been chopped and mixed for salads, as well as green vegetables like broccoli and asparagus.


    Another was full of other vegetables; corn, carrots, and a whole variety of different peppers. Some of which were going to be grilled, but they had also planned to bake and boil some, too. Emery had prepared for variety, after all. The fourth ring was potatoes, some fresh fruit, and a mix of other miscellaneous foods that were loosely considered sides. That ring also held all of the spices, sauces, and pastes that would be used for flavoring the foods.


    And the final ring - which wouldn¡¯t be accessed for a while - held baked goods and other easy to eat desserts for after the main course. At their mothers¡¯ request, Cierra, Stena, and Kord had gone a little crazy in the city, buying a huge array of different dessert pastries and treats - including a massive cake. Emery and Avuri, for their part, had made a large amount of sweet bread treats for everyone. Their sticky bread was always popular with their kids, and they had made a lot of it.


    The adults began to congregate around the huge grills that Emery had set up to do the cooking on. With the amount they were making - even ignoring the food already prepared - Lyn, Cyril, Vale, Avuri, and Talya were all conscripted to assist with the cooking.


    In the end, it didn¡¯t take too long for the food to end up ready. The kids had taken to playing their own game of dodgeball at a much lower level. They used simpler balls without Qi. They also played with far less rules and far more chaos. While the game was very entertaining to watch, more than once one of the kids had gotten hit in the face and came running to one of their mothers looking for comfort.


    Avuri snuck them some treats from the prepared desserts, and once the word got out that she was giving out treats suddenly everyone was trying to put their faces in the path of various dodgeballs. Avuri did stop giving out the treats when Cruz decided to be a smartass and came back for seconds.


    ¡°Game¡¯s over, you little rascals.¡± Avuri declared, putting the dessert filled ring away. The chorus of whines came immediately and at full volume.


    ¡°Come on, Momri, I didn¡¯t get anything yet!¡± Wulf whined. He had been next in line.


    ¡°Well, you can blame Cruz for ruining it for everyone. Besides, your actual dinner is ready now, so we may as well all actually eat.¡± Avuri said, and leaned out and around the line that had spawned before her. ¡°Come on, everyone!¡± She called to the kids that were still playing, ¡°Food¡¯s ready.¡±


    ¡°Kay!¡±


    Avuri took on the role of line keeper, as she did her utmost to keep everyone in line and flowing smoothly past the food. The rest of the adults, save the Elders, had taken up spots up and down the grills and tables laden with food to dish it out for everyone. Thankfully, the kids were mostly well behaved as they trotted past and picked their favorite options from among the huge selection of foods.


    Once they had gotten their heaping plates taken care of, the adults served the Elders and themselves before the whole group went to sit at one of the long tables in the dining pavilion designed exactly for this sort of occurrence.


    Emery and Avuri had taken up their spots on the end of the table and began eating with big smiles. Now that the game was over, they had reconnected their Domain and shared their thoughts and feelings of contentment with this whole situation.


    While things had been precarious recently, they had muddled through. And not only that, but their family was together with friends, and eating and carrying on happily in the comfort of their home. Smiles and laughter were everywhere; even the Elders were in a great mood, joking with one another and still shit-talking because they didn¡¯t get to finish their match.


    Emery couldn¡¯t help but feel satisfied by it all. Sure, things could be better. Things could always be better. But they could also be worse. So, so, so much worse. But things were good - great, even. Her family was happy and healthy. The kids were all growing up well. She had zero actual complaints.


    And her wife was playing footsie with her under the table as they ate some damn good food.


    Emery really struggled to keep herself from laughing at nothing. Or, rather, from laughing at her wife trying to flirt in the middle of the whole family discreetly.


    ¡°I know I can just flirt with you like this, too.¡± Avuri sent through their bond. ¡°But where¡¯s the fun in that?¡±


    Avuri felt the girlish giggle that Emery couldn¡¯t contain reverberate through their link. They exchanged something of a mental embrace as they physically continued to eat.


    ¡°I love you.¡±


    ¡°Love you too.¡±


    ¡°Mom! Cruz stole from my plate!¡±


    Emery closed her eyes and took a deep breath. ¡°Cruz!¡± She shouted. ¡°Why must you be such a pain in the neck all the time? There¡¯s so much food, just go get some more!¡±


    Emery did truly love her family. All of them. Even Cruz.


    But just once, she¡¯d love to make it through a huge family meal like this without someone being a nuisance.


    And for Avuri to play footsie with her more often. It was nice.

 152 : Paint

    As it turned out, the four of us had so much fun painting our nails, that Momri suggested we did our toenails as well. Stena and I were in immediate agreement, and needled Mom until she said that it was okay, too.


    Momri was going to do mine first, and sat me down in front of her before pulling out a special thing to put between my toes. Unlike before, when she just used a cloth wrapped around my hand to separate my fingers, what she pulled out now looked like it was designed to be used specifically for this. It was soft and a little spongy, so it didn¡¯t feel too uncomfortable as she wedged it between my toes.


    ¡°So, Cici, did you want the same design on your toes?¡± Momri asked as she settled in front of me and dragged over the cloth that she had laid her paints on.


    ¡°Mhm!¡± I nodded, and spread out my fingers in front of me to look at the paint on my nails again. ¡°I like them a lot, so I think the same is good.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Momri breathed out as she held up my left foot so she could see her work. Her fingers were a little cold, and her light touch tickled a little. I had to fight the urge to kick my leg out every time she touched the bottom of my foot.


    As Momri worked on painting my toenails, Mom and Stena were sitting a little off to the side, reclined in two of the lounge chairs. They were comparing their own nails and giggling together. By the time Momri had finished my first foot and swapped to my right foot, Stena was sitting in Mom¡¯s lap. It was honestly nice to have all of us in the same room again after being cooped up sick for a couple days.


    With my mind wandering and thinking about what we might do next after everyone else had their toenails finished, I wasn¡¯t thinking so much about Momri and my feet. I imagine Momri¡¯s legs were getting sore or numb and she shifted to move her legs to a different position. In the same motion, she had to readjust her hold on my foot and one of her fingers glided across the center of the bottom of my foot, and my reactions took over.


    My leg jerked, and even though Momri¡¯s reactions were very quick and she caught my leg before I managed to kick her or anything like that, I still ended up with a nice purple streak of paint tracking from my middle toe up the top of my foot to almost where it met my leg.


    Momri and I just stared at it, then at each other for a moment before we both laughed.


    ¡°What? What happened?¡± Mom asked from her chair, as Stena climbed off of her to come take a look.


    It only took her a few steps to reach us and then point and laugh at my foot. ¡°She¡¯s got paint on her foot!¡±


    Mom just gave Momri a mildly concerned look with a half smile. ¡°Everything okay over there?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Momri answered, then looked back at me with slightly narrowed eyes as she grabbed my foot again. ¡°This little monster decided that after ten minutes of doing well, she was going to be ticklish again.¡± To punctuate her statement, Momri ran a finger up and down my foot.


    I immediately squirmed, trying not to jerk around too much, but Momri didn¡¯t let up until I tried to violently pull my foot away. And even then, she held fast to it, but just stopped tickling me.


    ¡°Like that. She just kicked once and the paint brush went up her foot.¡±


    Mom chuckled. ¡°I see.¡± She glanced over to Stena, who was still watching but now looked a little apprehensive - she was much more ticklish than I was. ¡°We may need to all hold Stena down if she wants her toenails painted.


    Stena whipped around to face Mom, the apprehension in her face growing. ¡°What?¡±


    Mom slowly extended her arms out, making grabby hands toward Stena with a maniacal, devilish grin on her face. ¡°We¡¯ll hold you down so you can¡¯t run away from the tickling!¡± She said, twisting her voice to be a little scary, but still clearly joking.


    Stena immediately bolted, jumping up on the bed and scrambling across it to put the furniture between her and Mom and hide behind it poorly.


    Of course, she also just succeeded in putting herself trapped in a corner of the room with no escape, as Mom slowly stalked around the bed. Stena could have, perhaps, jumped across the bed again, but Mom had an arm out over the bed to discourage it. There was no chance she could reach Stena if she tried to do it though - not without leaping onto the bed herself, anyway.


    I watched the scene unfold while Momri wiped the paint off the top of my foot. She wasn¡¯t paying much attention to it either, as we both watched Mom pounce at Stena and lift the girl up by her armpits. We laughed as Stena kicked fitfully, but distinctly not hitting Mom; she could have, too, if she didn¡¯t also understand they were playing.


    Mom thumped Stena onto the bed and began tickling her, deftly avoiding any and all return attacks from the girl, which were much more legitimate this time, although it was mostly pointless flailing. The laughter and squeals continued as Momri resumed painting my toenails, having finished the small cleanup from the pain mishap.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Eventually, Stena was all laughed-out and exhausted on the bed. Mom was seated next to her, now gently rubbing the girl¡¯s stomach as she calmed down. Luckily, their nails had been dried supernaturally quickly by Momri, or they would have definitely gotten nail paint all over the sheets.


    As it was, it didn¡¯t take much longer for Momri to finish her work on my toes, having been more than halfway finished when I had nearly kicked her. She blew on them once she finished, and then circulated a bit of Qi, using a technique of hers to draw out some of the moisture. It wouldn¡¯t dry the paint completely, but it would speed the process up pretty significantly. And significantly lessen the chance of me getting paint somewhere it shouldn¡¯t be.


    As I took over one of the loungers to let my toenails finish drying, Mom took Stena to the hot seat and sat her down for her turn. Despite all of the teasing, Stena did admirably while her toes were painted. She did twitch a few times, and nearly kicked Momri in the face once, but altogether she did very well.


    With her own turn finished, Stena came to sit with me on one of the lounge chairs while Mom took the hot seat to get her own toes finished. I watched my mothers chat lightly while Momri did her painting, and my eyes were starting to close on their own. I wasn¡¯t sure whether it was the dregs of my flu fighting back, or if I was just relaxed or tired naturally, but I was fighting a losing battle to stay awake.


    And rather than fight it, I just gave in, falling asleep for a midafternoon nap in the lounger while passively watching my family just be themselves.


    When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was that it was hot. Thankfully I wasn¡¯t sweating the way I had with the fever or anything like that, but it was definitely not exactly comfortable. It took me a moment to realize that the heat wasn¡¯t even necessarily coming from me.


    Evidently, while I was napping, I had been moved to the bed where I was now cuddled up with both my mothers and Stena. I had been crammed into the middle with Stena - who was now snoozing quietly - while Mom and Momri were leaning up on their sides chatting quietly.


    ¡°It¡¯s hot.¡± I whined softly, shifting to try to get some cooler air on my back and sides that were a little clammy thanks to the contact.


    ¡°Oh. Sorry, Cici.¡± Momri said as she shifted a little to give me more space. Mom mimicked the movement on the other side, which let Stena shift a little away too. Momri also circulated some of her Qi to help cool us all off.


    Significantly more comfortable now, I laid there quietly as I slowly woke up. Mom and Momri kept chatting about random things - dinner, a book Momri finished, what Mom¡¯s siblings were planning - all while Momri kept the cooler air coming.


    Once I was a little more awake, I remembered the painted nails. It was still plenty light in the room to see just fine, so I extended my arm while laying on my back to admire the pink and purple paint. I smiled to myself, just feeling generally happy.


    Mom leaned in next to me and held up her own hand, fingers splayed, to see her darker purple nails next to mine. She chuckled in my ear, ¡°You know, I think they¡¯re very pretty. But I¡¯m not sure I would do this again. It¡¯s a little pointless, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    Momri snorted. ¡°Being pretty is the point, dear. Besides, we had such a lovely day today while doing them, and they¡¯ll last a few days.¡±


    ¡°Eh. We¡¯ll see.¡± Mom said.


    There was a beat of silence as I shifted and rolled over, prompting my stomach to growl rather loudly. Mom chuckled at me. ¡°I guess it¡¯s time to figure out food for tonight.¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°You¡¯re kidding me.¡± Fia said, leaning on the table.


    ¡°I am not.¡± Cierra said, laughing. ¡°And not only that, she actually carried on complaining about them for days afterward too, until the color finally faded. Kept saying that she found the color distracting every time she moved her hands, or that it was such a waste of time.¡±


    The small group of girls looked over at Emery, who was eating and laughing with the table of adults. It wasn¡¯t very hard to pick out her purple nails, even from across the pavilion. Especially with Cultivation enhanced vision.


    ¡°Mom always has her nails colored.¡± Elise said. ¡°I¡¯ve helped her paint them more than once.¡±


    ¡°We all have,¡± Fia agreed. ¡°I really like the little spa breaks.¡±


    Stena nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t remember it quite as well, but I do remember her complaining at first.¡± She said, thinking back to it. ¡°But even then, once the color finally faded, it didn¡¯t take her long to ask Momri to do it again.¡±


    Cierra chuckled. ¡°No, it didn¡¯t. But I distinctly remember her being very unlike herself for a few days, fidgeting all the time and looking very unsure of herself. I think she was worried about asking Momri to paint her nails again after complaining so much.¡±


    ¡°To be fair,¡± Fia said, ¡°I¡¯m sure Momri teased her endlessly about it.¡±


    ¡°She did.¡± Cierra nodded. ¡°That wasn¡¯t the worst of it though. When Mom¡¯s sisters found out, after hearing her whining for a week, they were brutal.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Fia asked, a wide grin on her face. She was always appreciative of stories involving Rylie and Demi - they always put on the best pranks and tricks.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Even putting aside the general teasing that you¡¯d expect, when Mom showed up with her nails painted a second time after complaining about how distracting the extra color was, they decided that they should also dye her -¡±


    ¡°Cierra.¡±


    Cierra jumped as Emery¡¯s voice cut through the din of the dinner conversations. Most of them continued, but the little group of girls gossiping turned to face their mother, who was wearing a tight smile. ¡°I can hear you, you know.¡± She said, daring Cierra to continue her story.


    ¡°Well uh¡­Yeah¡­¡± Cierra said, turning back toward her group. ¡°They teased her for days,¡± was what she eventually settled on.

 153 : Rest [End of Book 2]

    CHAPTER 153 : REST


    As it turned out, the little party and celebration lasted well into the night. They had prepared so much food that there was enough leftovers to easily handle the following day¡¯s lunch - and that was after who knew how much late night snacking would occur.


    Everyone ended up sleeping scattered around the main section of the Basin¡¯s grounds. Bedrolls and tents were set up on the playground and in the pavilions that weren¡¯t set aside for cooking or eating, and there was plenty of space for everyone.


    Emery was relieved when they had made it into the night without anyone drunk. It kept the clamor to a minimum, and let the whole group enjoy a campfire and telling stories back and forth. After the commotion at dinner, the relaxed atmosphere was perfect - even when the Elders riled everyone up with their stories of dramatic heroism and tragedy.


    Similarly to Vale¡¯s stories, Emery wasn¡¯t sure if the Elders had all seen such fantastic things in their lives, or if they were just incredibly gifted liars and storytellers. In the end, she supposed it didn¡¯t matter all that much, as long as her kids enjoyed the stories. And she did too, to be fair. They were all very well told.


    When Ray decided to take centerstage and began to tell a scary story, Emery decided that was a good place to send the little ones to bed. They had made sure the campfire was set up far enough away from the tents that the younger kids could sleep while the older ones got to listen to the scary stories.


    Emery did warn them, though, that if they chose to listen that they would also be on their own when it came to crying about it later.


    Emery and Avuri both regretted their choice to stay and listen by the time Ray was finished. He had woven a tale that Emery could only pray was fake, because it left her skin crawling, her stomach unsettled, and her heart racing.


    She wasn¡¯t afraid of the dark. Neither was Avuri. But things in the dark? Emery shivered, trying to put it out of mind.


    Unfortunately for them both, being able to so easily share thoughts made it difficult for Emery and Avuri to really put it all out of mind. And their fears fed off of one another, leaving them both in a rough headspace.


    This sort of situation put a whole new meaning to ¡®intrusive thoughts¡¯ for them, and it wasn¡¯t the first time either.


    There were two more scary stories told before the rest of the kids decided it was time for bed, too. And finally, a funny love story was told by Eiry - shockingly - to help settle everyone¡¯s mood. And it did indeed help as the kids shuffled off to bed.


    Emery and Avuri decided to not bother, because they weren¡¯t sure they¡¯d be able to rest with their minds feeding into each other¡¯s panic and every little movement in the shadow. Instead, they opted to take a walk under the stars and try to enjoy themselves.


    It had been a while since they had taken a nighttime stroll, and Emery found herself enjoying it very much. They had made it well beyond earshot of the little makeshift camp just by wandering around the various paths that wound around the Basin. Maybe the Elders could hear them this far out, but Emery wasn¡¯t quite sure exactly what they could and couldn¡¯t do.


    ¡°So, what was your favorite dish that we had out there today?¡± Avuri asked, breaking the silence. She spoke quietly though, trying to respect the stillness of the night as much as possible.


    Emery thought back to the various foods that she had eaten over the course of the long day of food. ¡°I think I really just like meat.¡± She said, then chuckled at her non-answer. ¡°There was a slice of ribeye that I had cut thin and grilled that just came out perfectly. Does that count?¡±


    ¡°I suppose so.¡± Avuri said, reaching to take Emery¡¯s hand in hers as they walked. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I would consider just a piece of grilled meat to be ¡®a dish¡¯, but I think I can let that answer stand.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry my tastes are so boring.¡± Emery said flatly, but she swung their hands back and forth playfully. ¡°I just enjoy getting the most flavor out of simple things.¡±


    ¡°Well, at least you didn¡¯t drown the poor piece of meat in sauces.¡±


    ¡°Of course not. That¡¯s a travesty.¡± Emery responded immediately. ¡°Salt and pepper is usually enough for some high quality beef. Maybe a little chili oil or garlic on occasion too.¡± She said, her mouth watering just at the thought.


    ¡°Did you see Kord¡¯s plate?¡± Avuri asked.


    ¡°Of course I did.¡± Emery said, shaking her head. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that kid sometimes. He eats like me in most ways, but then just puts sauces on everything. Ugh. I feel bad for that lovely piece of steak he ate that was drowned in that vile tomato sauce.¡±


    ¡°Ketchup.¡±


    ¡°I stand by what I said. That stuff is vile.¡± Emery scrunched up her nose in protest.


    ¡°Well, to each their own I suppose.¡± Avuri said. ¡°I don¡¯t love it either; it¡¯s too sweet for me. But it does go well on certain foods.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t seriously tell me you¡¯d rather use that than some other sauces.¡±


    Avuri shook her hand back and forth uncertainly. ¡°Probably not. It¡¯s fine, but I think there¡¯s certainly better options.¡±


    ¡°Well, whatever. I don¡¯t mind it so much as long as I don¡¯t have to eat it myself.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a healthy way to look at it.¡± Avuri said, and they lapsed back into a comfortable silence.


    As they strolled about, they each slowly inched closer together. At one point, Emery shifted her hand to intertwine her fingers with Avuri¡¯s. In response, Avuri pulled her closer so they were walking with basically their entire sides touching. Thanks to their Cultivator bodies, it wasn¡¯t too difficult for them to walk smashed together like that - the extraordinary sense of balance and body control helped them stay steady despite the contact.


    They walked like that for a while, joking with each other and keeping the conversation light. It helped to box up the jitters from the scary story earlier, which was fading quickly with their walk. They made their way back toward the main grounds in a much better mood, albeit slowly.


    Almost everyone was asleep when they returned. There were a few smaller groups still awake and entertaining themselves; the Elders were up and playing mahjong, a small group of the older kids were playing some kind of card game, and Fia, Lia, Elise, Elena, and Kaili were chatting and giggling amongst themselves.


    When Emery and Avuri made it closer to where they had laid their own bed rolls out, they saw Astra dancing away from their beds uncomfortably and looking around urgently.


    ¡°Astra? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Emery asked as they got closer.


    Astra jumped, startled. Emery flinched, realizing the girl probably couldn¡¯t see them in the dark as well as she could see her. ¡°Mom? I need to pee¡­¡±


    Emery looked her daughter up and down, and sure enough, the awkwardness in her steps was immediately recognizable as a potty dance as she wobbled her way toward them. Avuri reached out and pulled Astra closer.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s get you inside then. No reason to go out here.¡± Avuri said quickly as she ushered the girl forward toward the house. ¡°How badly do you need to go?¡±


    ¡°Bad,¡± Astra whimpered.


    Avuri nodded and swept Astra up into her arms. ¡°Okay, hold on tight.¡±


    As soon as Astra had a good hold on her shoulders, Avuri took off. Emery was right behind her as they bolted toward the house at high speeds, and ended their run with a leap up to the balcony that led to their room - they always left their balcony door unlocked for this sort of entrance.


    Avuri shuffled inside and gently pushed Astra toward their attached bathroom. Astra muttered a quick thank you and dashed toward the bathroom. Once she was inside with the door closed, Emery and Avuri glanced at each other and chuckled softly. Avuri stepped over toward their bed to sit down, and patted the spot next to her. Emery got the hint and moved to join her wife on the bed.


    When she sat, Avuri leaned over to whisper in her ear, ¡°I know we had said we wouldn¡¯t bathe tonight but¡­what do you think about taking a bath with Astra? Just in our bathroom instead of the bathhouse.¡±


    Emery couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°I¡¯m amenable to the idea. And I¡¯m sure Star would be just as happy to join us.¡±


    ¡°I thought so too.¡± Avuri responded.


    When Astra emerged from the bathroom seconds later, looking much less bothered, she hopped over to the bed and sat with her mothers. She still was just slightly too short for her feet to touch the ground, kicking them back and forth instead.


    Emery ran her fingers through Astra¡¯s hair; it was dirty from playing on the playground earlier, but not so much that she couldn¡¯t have waited until the following day to wash it. Especially if they were all sleeping outside anyway. Not that it would hurt to have it cleaned and combed.


    ¡°What do you think about a bath, Star?¡± Emery asked, her fingers still lightly detangling her daughter¡¯s hair. ¡°I know we all said we wouldn¡¯t bother tonight, but -¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take a bath!¡± She said, grinning from ear to ear. She followed up her statement quickly with ¡°Here or in the bathhouse?¡±, her eyes bouncing between the window and the bathroom door.


    ¡°In here. People are already sleeping outside, so we don¡¯t want to make noise outside and wake them up.¡±


    ¡°Or cause a riot when suddenly forty other people want to use the bathhouse.¡± Avuri chuckled.


    ¡°That too.¡± Emery agreed with a smile. They had opted to not bathe originally because while their bathhouse was big, it could certainly not accommodate forty people. And they had learned from experience that while they could obviously break into smaller groups to bathe, things would get a little chaotic courtesy of the kids who were waiting for their turn.


    The smaller bathroom attached to their master bedroom was smaller, but still not exactly small. The three of them fit with plenty of room to maneuver, and the process of washing was as pleasant as ever. Emery and Avuri scrubbed Astra down first, and washed the girl¡¯s hair until it was a sleek sheet over her head. And only after that did she hop into the waiting warm water of the bath.


    Emery and Avuri washed each other¡¯s hair while Astra played around in the bath. Emery¡¯s short hair never took very long, but she still loved the attention that Avuri gave her, scrubbing and scratching her scalp throughout the process. She closed her eyes and simply melted against Avuri as she enjoyed the mini-massage that was always over too soon.


    It was her biggest complaint with keeping her hair shorter.


    On the other hand, washing Avuri¡¯s properly was a production. Sure, Emery would always reciprocate the scalp massage and took her time doing so - she loved having Avuri leaning against her as she went to work - but they didn¡¯t often take the time to properly lather up the rest of her hair. And to be fair, Cultivator hair didn¡¯t really need to be washed thoroughly all that often.


    Tonight though, Emery took her time. She wanted to squeak out every extra minute she could while they were bathing and just enjoying their time together. More than once, she took a break from the suds to hug her wife from behind, or give her a sweet, chaste kiss. Astra was still in the bath, afterall


    Even working through Avuri¡¯s hair slowly wasn¡¯t enough to keep them there forever though. Eventually Emery¡¯s fingers reached the ends of Avuri¡¯s locks and she had to transition to rinsing out the soapy suds. And after that, they squeezed into the bathtub with Astra. It wasn¡¯t exactly sized for three, but they could all fit if they squeezed together a little, thankfully not to the point it was uncomfortable.


    As they soaked, they talked about the day. What Astra¡¯s favorite foods at the cookout were. If she had fun playing throughout the day. Together, Avuri and Astra teased Emery about getting knocked out in the dodgeball game.


    That resulted in Astra getting dunked in the bath water, and Emery lamenting about how the shallow tub wasn¡¯t big enough to really dunk Avuri.


    As the bath finally grew cold, they decided it was time to give it up. They got up and out of the bath to towel dry off a bit before Avuri simply de-watered them all. Or at least for the most part, because it was good to leave a little water in their hair for combing.


    And that was exactly what they did. Astra sat nicely on the bed as Avuri took up the spot behind Astra, while Emery sat behind Avuri. With a beautiful bamboo comb in hand, Avuri set to work on Astra¡¯s hair. Emery followed suit behind her, beginning to comb through Avuri¡¯s locks.


    There were a few scattered quick intakes of breath from Astra as Avuri kept getting the comb caught in knots.


    ¡°Momri, swap,¡± Astra said eventually, after a final yank. ¡°Mom is better at this. Let her do it.¡±


    Emery laughed as Avuri stopped, looking dejected. ¡°You don¡¯t like it when I comb your hair?¡± She asked, adding a little sadness to her voice.


    It had no effect on Astra¡¯s savage response. ¡°No, I don¡¯t. You pull my hair too much! Mom is better.¡±


    Emery tried her best to stop laughing, only really managing to reduce it to a chuckle. She placed a hand consolingly on Avuri¡¯s shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s okay, you just need more practice.¡±


    Avuri threw her hands up in mild frustration. ¡°More practice? I comb your hair out all the time! And I¡¯ve always done the other girls¡¯ hair, too.¡±


    ¡°And my hair is shorter and less prone to knots than Astra¡¯s.¡± Emery said defensively. ¡°Combing longer hair is a different skill.¡±


    Avuri, unfortunately for Emery, noticed what she didn¡¯t say. ¡°And what about the other girls? They have long hair.¡± She asked, narrowing her eyes.


    Emery could only look away. She didn¡¯t want to lie. And unfortunately, Astra was still at an age where she really didn¡¯t hold back. ¡°They love you, and deal with the hair pulling when you do the combing¡­¡± Emery said quietly.


    Avuri looked stricken, her eyes bouncing between Emery and Astra. ¡°...am I really that bad at it?¡±


    Emery took a deep breath. ¡°Ri, you¡¯ve literally pulled out a chunk of my hair with a knot before. Yes, you¡¯re pretty bad at it.¡±


    Emery gave her wife a hug as she hung her head. ¡°Go ahead and swap with me.¡± She murmured. ¡°You can do my hair after you finish Star¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, okay.¡± Emery said, and did exactly that.


    Astra looked pleased as punch while Emery gently worked out the knots in her hair with the last tooth of her comb, and teased out all the snags and tangles. Avuri watched intently, trying to commit the process to memory. She was determined to get better at the whole process, and watched in fascination at how quickly and deftly Emery¡¯s hands did the job. Within minutes, Astra¡¯s hair was fully detangled and combed, neatly falling down her back.


    Emery leaned forward around Astra¡¯s shoulder to give her a quick peck on her cheek. ¡°All done, Star. Did you want me to put it up for you?¡±


    Astra nodded. ¡°Can you just do a simple tail though? Otherwise it¡¯s hard to sleep.¡±


    ¡°I can do that.¡± Emery said. She gathered up her daughter¡¯s hair and tied a bow with some ribbon to fashion it into a simple ponytail. She added a smaller bow at the bottom, hoping to keep the hair bound when the girl went to sleep.


    Astra swung her head back and forth testing the ponytail when she was finished, then gave her mother a huge grin. ¡°Thanks, Mom!¡± She hopped off the bed, then pointed to the spot she had vacated. ¡°Now it¡¯s Momri¡¯s turn.¡±


    Avuri smiled and slid into the spot. ¡°Did you want to go back out now, or wait for us?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll wait.¡± Astra said, then clambered up onto the bed behind Emery. The girl leaned back against her mother lazily. ¡°Just like this.¡±


    Emery smiled at the girl¡¯s silliness, but her hands were already at work on Avuri¡¯s hair, teasing out knots and tangles. As was normal for them, the process took time. Emery always took extra time when she did her wife¡¯s hair, simply because she enjoyed the process. Running the comb through the silver strands was relaxing and meditative - and Avuri seemed to love it just as much.


    Emery was as at peace in that room as she ever had been. She could hear and feel the even breathing of Astra leaning against her back; the girl must have dozed off. And the quiet, serene atmosphere that settled around her and her wife was the perfect way to end an already amazing day.


    She wasn¡¯t sure exactly how long they had been at it when she finally decided she probably should stop before she accidentally damaged Avuri¡¯s air from combing it too much. If such a thing was possible. With Astra still dozing against her back, she couldn¡¯t move much, but she did place the comb down on the bed and give Avuri a solid squeeze from behind.


    Avuri leaned into the embrace and knocked her head against Emery¡¯s. ¡°Love you.¡±


    ¡°I love you too, Ri.¡± She said happily.


    They stayed like that for a bit before Emery took a deep breath, steeling herself to get up. ¡°Should we go back outside?¡±


    ¡°I suppose.¡± Avuri said. ¡°I feel bad waking Astra up though.¡±


    ¡°Me too. But I don¡¯t know if she¡¯d like us leaving her to sleep inside while literally everyone else is outside.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good point.¡± Avuri said, and reached around to gently jostle Astra. ¡°Astra? Wake up, hun, we¡¯re going to go back outside.¡±


    ¡°Hm? I¡¯m awake. I didn¡¯t fall asleep.¡± Astra said, clearly in reflex. She definitely fell asleep. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± She said quickly, and leapt to her feet, trying to prove that she didn¡¯t doze off.


    Emery chuckled as she extricated herself from her tangled position with Avuri and stood. Her wife followed suit as the three of them worked their way down the stairs inside the house, rather than jump from the balcony again.


    When they finally stepped back out into the brisk night air, Emery took a deep breath. It was chilly, but the good kind of chilly that felt wonderful rather than just cold. She took her wife¡¯s hand and ruffled her daughter¡¯s hair with the other as they walked back out the door toward the rest of their camping family.

 Side Story : Winter Snow

    I was seated outside on the balcony of our house, idly watching the landscape as the afternoon whittled away. Cierra had come to join me, but had fallen asleep on my lap, and my arms were closed around her in a light hug as I stroked her hair. It was such a lovely winter afternoon, and I really didn¡¯t have much to complain about.


    Truly, I didn¡¯t. Avuri and I were progressing very slowly on wedding plans, but we had only agreed to be married barely a month before. Or, I supposed, it was perhaps a bit more than a month now. Cierra and Stena had both been behaving very well the last few weeks and it seemed they were both finally really adjusted to their life here.


    Even better, Talya and Vale had finally stopped making fun of me for my long overdue proposal. Well, mostly. It was more that it wasn¡¯t the first thing out of their mouths every time they saw me, now. That was progress!


    Everything over the last few weeks had been about as perfect as they could have been.


    ¡°And yet¡­¡±


    I looked out again over the Basin. The warm Basin. In the dead of winter. On a mountain top.


    I really did appreciate the Array that kept everything warm and pleasant all year round, especially as it helped all of the plants thrive when they really had no business living up here.


    But another part of me missed the natural order of things at this time of the year. The chilled, crisp air that hurt a little when you took a deep breath. The weird, somewhat white-tinged colors that everything seemed to take on, regardless of the weather outside. The chance to wear thicker, cozier clothing without sweating.


    Well. We didn¡¯t really have to worry about that, I supposed. It was more of a vibe than anything else.


    And right now, I really missed the snow.


    Especially right now.


    With Avuri around, it suddenly felt like the snow and ice had real meaning to me. I supposed it didn¡¯t have to, given I did have Avuri around. Somewhere. But it had occurred to me that now, more than ever, I had wanted to experience that first snowfall of the year. Especially with her and the girls.


    That first snowfall that was currently flurrying lightly down outside the Array, but failed to penetrate it.


    At least it didn¡¯t just hit the Array¡¯s edge and turn to rain. I took some solace in that, at least; I could sit outside and enjoy some of it. Just not the way I wanted to.


    I pulled my legs up in the chair a little bit, which pushed Cierra toward my chest a bit more, and I tightened my hug on her a little bit and kissed the top of her head, wondering when I had suddenly gotten so sentimental.


    And then the very reason for my sudden melancholy flew out the window, laughing.


    ¡°Ha ha! Can¡¯t catch me now, can you?¡± Avuri exalted as she propelled herself onto the balcony from our room, evidently escaping from Stena, who was chasing her and struggling to keep up.


    ¡°Yes I can!¡± The little girl asserted, climbing out the open window onto the balcony. She was barreling toward Avuri quickly when she noticed me with Cierra on my lap. Avuri, too, stopped when she saw us, and immediately tried to quiet down a little, but Cierra was already stirring from her nap.


    ¡°Hey, you.¡± Avuri said as she stepped closer. With Cierra already starting to shift, she seemed to worry a little less about the noise, opting instead to stroke the sleepy girl¡¯s hair. ¡°Sorry to wake you from your nap, Cici.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­okay.¡± She said, interrupted by a yawn and blinking her bleary eyes. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Avuri and Stena were playing tag?¡± I half-asked.


    ¡°More or less.¡± Avuri said. ¡°Or, at least, Stena was chasing me around.¡± Avuri opted to slip around to the other chair and sat down in it, motioning to Stena to come join her.


    ¡°Momri stole my snack and ran away with it.¡± Stena said, marching over to Avuri. Stena stopped and held her hand out toward Avuri, waiting.


    ¡°Oh. That¡¯s right.¡± Avuri said, then popped a small piece of sweet bread from her storage ring into her hand. It also looked like it was dipped in honey. Stena shook her hand as if once again asking for the treat, so Avuri placed it in the girl¡¯s palm. Only then did Stena hop into Avuri¡¯s lap happily, holding the treat gingerly with both hands.


    ¡°Do you have more?¡± Cierra asked hesitantly. Avuri didn¡¯t miss a beat before three more of the treats appeared. She passed one to Cierra, the second to me, then nibbled on the third herself.


    I grinned down at Cierra, who was already happily munching away on hers. I laid my chin on her head as it moved up and down with her chewing, and I snickered.


    ¡°What¡¯ve you been up to out here?¡± Avuri asked.


    I turned to her with a slight glower. ¡°Cuddling our daughter and lamenting the weather.¡±


    ¡°Lamenting the weather?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± I said, taking a bite of the bread. It really was quite tasty. ¡°While I really appreciate the Array and it keeping everything here warm, I can see the first snowfall of the season outside over there.¡± I said, pointing to the edge of the Array where flurries of snow fell.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we go over there and check it out, then?¡± Avuri said around a mouthful of bread. ¡°Cierra? Stena? Have either of you seen snow before?¡±


    ¡°I saw it on the mountain when you brought me here.¡± Stena said, then cocked her head. ¡°Does that count?¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡± Cierra said. ¡°But other than seeing it on the mountainside over there? I think that¡¯s it.¡± She also tilted her head, trying to recall if she¡¯d ever seen snow elsewhere.


    ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t think we should go over there.¡± I said, then raised my finger up a bit to point out the spirit beasts that were wandering around outside the Array. I considered our options, but didn¡¯t come up with anything that sounded good.


    Sure, we could go out and fight the beasts. I didn¡¯t think they stood any sort of chance against us, but it was very rare for them to just turn tail and run away if that was their territory. Which meant the most likely outcome by far was a fight, which would probably lead to dead beasts. And that could lead to attracting other beasts with the smell of blood. But, more than that, I didn¡¯t want to slaughter a bunch of beasts and then bring the girls over to the site of that battle. It would¡¯ve left the whole memory tainted.


    When Avuri saw what I was pointing at, it seemed like she was about to suggest we just go and remove the spirit beasts, but hesitated a moment. Then she met my eyes and nodded. ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I said, a little disheartened. I tried to console myself with another bite of the bread. It didn¡¯t really help.


    Avuri picked Stena up off her lap, and placed her gently on the ground beside the chair so she could stand. She ruffled the girl¡¯s hair and squatted down to be eye level with her. ¡°You stay here, okay?¡± Then she stood and addressed us all with an ¡°I¡¯ll be right back,¡± and leapt back inside.


    ¡°Why¡¯d she go?¡± Stena asked sadly. She seemed mostly upset about losing her seat, so I made some room for her on my chair. She may not be able to sit in my lap with Cierra there already, but she could still cuddle with us.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I said, equally confused, as I beckoned Stena over to us. Together, the three of us munched away on our snacks for a while, cuddled up on the comfortable chair.


    It wasn¡¯t too long, perhaps ten minutes, until Avuri returned with a huge grin.


    ¡°Where¡¯d you go?¡± I asked, the girls nodding along with curiosity.


    ¡°I had to see a woman about an Array.¡± She said, and winked. ¡°Now be quiet.¡±


    I felt Avuri unfurl her Domain, letting it spread out across most of the Basin. I had a pretty good idea what it was she was going to do at that point, and I smiled.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to -¡±


    ¡°I said ¡®be quiet¡¯.¡± She shot back before I could even finish what I was saying. And sure enough, I saw the beginnings of a light snow.


    Given that our house was positioned pretty directly under the elder wisteria, it was unlikely that we would have seen much in the way of falling snow, even without the Array altogether. The canopy would¡¯ve caught most of it. But with Avuri creating the snow, she had the ability to start it falling just within the canopy, letting it fall to the ground.


    In fact, it almost looked as though the tree itself was creating the snowfall.


    ¡°I asked Talya if she could alter the Array slightly.¡± Avuri said, still focused. ¡°Even if I had wanted to do this before, it would¡¯ve been pointless because everything would melt too quickly.¡± With her eyes closed, she put a hand out, letting a few flakes settle there. ¡°But the Array that guards us isn¡¯t a heating Array. It¡¯s a climate control Array.¡±


    She smiled. ¡°It can be altered for cold, too.¡±Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°Alright you two. Inside, now.¡± I said, ushering the girls off my lap. Avuri opened her eyes, looking entirely shocked before I continued. ¡°We need to get you two into warmer clothes before we sit out in the snow. I don¡¯t exactly carry your winter clothing in my storage ring.¡±


    I was in the middle of standing when I felt another small flex of Qi, and suddenly Avuri was holding two beautifully made, woolen robes. We had gotten them for the girls a few weeks prior, in case we ever brought them down to the city with us, through the snowy mountain peaks.


    ¡°One step ahead of you, dear.¡± Avuri said. She passed one of the coats to me, then knelt to help Stena into hers. Cierra walked over to me so I could do the same with hers.


    As I helped Cierra get her arms into the large, padded sleeves, I snickered. ¡°I love you, Ri.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± She chuckled. ¡°I love you too.¡± She said, then patted Stena¡¯s chest as she got the ties fastened. ¡°And I love you, too.¡± She said, directly to Stena.


    ¡°I love you too, Momri!¡± The girl shouted in response. I could feel Cierra vibrating in my hold as I tried to get the last few ties done while she fought the urge to jump up and down.


    ¡°I love you too, too, Momri!¡± Cierra shouted. ¡°And you too, Mom.¡± She added, turning back to face me.


    ¡°Me too, me too!¡± Stena shouted, not wanting to be left out in any way. Once I had Cierra bundled up, I walked over and ruffled Stena¡¯s hair.


    ¡°I wonder if we should get them hats to cover their ears¡­¡± I muttered, eyeing the tops of Stena¡¯s ears poking out from under her hair. And suddenly there was a cozy knitted hat slung over Stena¡¯s head.


    I couldn¡¯t help but laugh as Avuri flitted over to Cierra, throwing a hat on her head too.


    ¡°You really are just one step ahead of me today.¡± I chuckled.


    Once the hat was snugly on Cierra¡¯s head, she walked up to me next, another hat in hand.


    It did look cozy, even if I wouldn¡¯t get cold. She had even knitted it in my color - black with smaller purple accents. Once I accepted the hat, another one popped into her hand in a clean white, which she put onto her own head.


    With her hat secured - and a little lopsided - Avuri stepped closer to put her arms around my waist and leaned back so she could stare into my eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m getting better at being a mom, huh?¡± She asked, a cocky little grin spreading over her face.


    I reached up to straighten her hat with a smile. ¡°You are. Which is good, since you¡¯ll be one officially in a few months.¡±


    ¡°What, you don¡¯t think I count already?¡± She joked.


    I chuckled and pulled her hat down over her eyes. ¡°You do, but you better take this seriously.¡±


    ¡°You know I do.¡± She said, lifting one side of her hat, to reveal just her right eye, leaving it askew.


    I let out a dramatic, heavy sigh, complete with drooping shoulders. Avuri pulled me closer for a kiss then stepped back. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go.¡± She said, her eyes darting toward Stena for a moment.


    I glanced toward Cierra questioningly, and Avuri made the tiniest of nods, then mouthed ¡®Three¡­two¡­one¡­¡¯


    We both moved much quicker than either of the girls could have possibly tracked. I moved over to sweep Cierra up into my arms and leapt from the balcony. Avuri did the same, scooping up Stena in one swift motion. We landed several dozen meters away from the house, which put us near the playground. In two more jumps, we were there, the girls screaming the whole way at the sudden rush of wind in their faces.


    Once we were stopped long enough for them to notice, they calmed down and started to laugh instead. Stena even asked to go again.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got something else planned, okay?¡± Avuri asked the girl, and set her down when she nodded agreement. I also put Cierra down on her feet, then sat down on the dirt on the playground.


    I was shocked by how cold the ground was already. I had apparently severely underestimated the strength of the Array we were using for climate control.


    ¡°Stena. Cierra.¡± I said, getting the girls¡¯ attention. I patted the ground on both sides of me, so they came to sit down and cuddled into me when they felt the cold ground underneath them. I put an arm around each of their shoulders and hugged them closer.


    When I looked back up at Avuri, she had her eyes closed and was concentrating on her Qi. It barely took a few more seconds before snowflakes began to float gracefully down to the ground. A few seconds after that, the snow was falling thicker. It looked almost like they were in the middle of a snowstorm, but without any of the accompanying storm winds.


    I huddled the girls closer as Avuri intensified the storm further. I let out my own Domain around our little huddle to block some of the suddenly intense snowfall. Avuri carried on like that for just a couple of minutes, before letting the snow calm down.


    Before I was able to call her out for being too aggressive, I saw what she had done and simply smiled instead.


    There was nearly two inches of fresh snow on the ground. Between the speed at which she had produced so much snow and the lack of any real wind, rain, or sleet, the coating on the ground was smooth, soft, and fluffy. It was the quintessential perfect first snow fall.


    And she had left the snow flurrying lightly as the girls turned away from hiding in my shoulders to look around. The looks on both their faces were perfect.


    The whole scene was perfect.


    They quickly jumped up to their feet and spun around in the snow as Avuri made her way over to us. She had her head tilted back with her mouth open and tongue out, trying to catch the flakes on her tongue.


    It took all of three seconds for Cierra to notice what Avuri was doing and copy her. And almost immediately after that, her sister followed suit. I laughed, falling back in the snow and looking up at the little bits of sky poking through the tree cover.


    The snow around me had already been kicked about by the girls a bit, but that didn¡¯t stop me from spreading out my arms and legs to make a snow angel. Even if the snow was only a couple inches deep, it was enough to make the simple shape appear in the snow.


    Satisfied after swinging my arms and legs back and forth a few times, I settled, just staring up at the flurries while listening to my family laugh and carry on.


    I took a deep breath, happy to feel a bit of that cold shock to my system, even if it really didn¡¯t have quite the same effect that it used to as a child. After a few deep breaths, I sat back up to watch Avuri show the girls that they could pick up the snow and eat it. They squealed with delight at the cold powder.


    With a smile I stood, remembering something that remained in my storage ring from making breakfast earlier. I popped a small jar of fruit syrup into my hand that had been used to sweeten the toast with breakfast.


    ¡°We can make that even better.¡± I said, approaching the girls. I motioned for them to hold out their handfuls of snow. They did so, and I poured a little of the syrup on each one, careful not to give them too much. I didn¡¯t want to get it all over their hands and have them complain about being sticky.


    Their eyes went wide when they took their next bites, both pairs darting between me with the syrup and the suddenly sweet, fruity snow in their hands. I chuckled as they once again squealed, the high pitched noises escaping despite their closed mouths.


    A third hand slid into my view from the side; Avuri stood there, hand full of snow outstretched with a goofy grin on her face.


    ¡°Syrup, please?¡± She asked, putting on a cute, higher pitched voice alongside a slightly tilted head. She even batted her eyelashes at me.


    I glanced over at Cierra and Stena, who were busy stuffing their own faces with snow and not paying attention to us. I turned back to Avuri with a devilish smile. ¡°I¡¯ll give you some syrup, of course. But you¡¯ll need to pay for it.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± She raised an eyebrow at me and smiled. ¡°And just what kind of payment does the Emery Emporium take, exactly?¡± She teased.


    ¡°Oh, all kinds.¡± I said flippantly, making the small jar of syrup disappear back into my ring with a flourish. ¡°Kind words, hugs, kisses, generally shows of affection. I¡¯m sure you understand.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± She said, ¡°And just how much is a bit of that syrup going to cost me? Or for that matter, what is the exchange rate between all my payment options?¡±


    ¡°It goes by tens.¡± I said, opting to make this easy. ¡°Ten compliments per hug, ten hugs per kiss, and ten kisses per¡­¡± Having not thought far enough ahead to add a specific ¡®currency¡¯ beyond a kiss, I opted to just suggestively trail off and shrug. ¡°And a dose of syrup is worth three kisses.¡± I added, sounding very business-like.


    ¡°Hm¡­¡± Avuri said, tapping her lower lip thoughtfully. ¡°So three kisses, or perhaps thirty hugs?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Well then.¡± Avuri said, glancing over to check on the girls. They were fine; they had finished eating their small snowballs, and had moved on to kicking the powdered snow at each other, laughing all the while.


    I followed Avuri¡¯s eyes to watch the girls for just a moment and felt myself melt into a warm smile. I desperately wanted to somehow etch the image of our daughters playing in the snow into my memory forever.


    And then I was promptly tackled to the ground from the side. Avuri had hit me with enough force that we went skidding in the snow for several feet before sliding to a stop, Avuri¡¯s body snugly wrapped around mine.


    ¡°If I pick the thirty hugs, does time contribute or does it need to be thirty separate hugs?¡± Avuri asked, her head neatly perched on my snow covered shoulder.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± I hummed, considering. ¡°Time counts, but it¡¯s not a great conversion rate.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see. In which case,¡± She trailed off, reaching up to cup my cheek and turn my head toward hers. She smiled brilliantly before paying me for the syrup with three distinct but satisfying kisses. When she backed away after the third, she nipped once at my jawline and gave me a warm squeeze. ¡°I suppose the hug is your tip, then.¡± She said, her voice a little sweeter than before.


    ¡°Do you even still have that snow in your hand?¡± I laughed, my own voice coming out a little dazed sounding.


    Avuri laughed. ¡°Nope. It¡¯s all over your clothes. Sorry.¡±


    I laid my chin against her hair and simply returned to watching the snowfall as I had done a bit earlier. ¡°That¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll give you some of the syrup later.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± She said softly, then settled in against me quietly. We could hear the girls laughing and playing nearby, so I wasn¡¯t worried about them as we simply sat cuddled up in the snow that should¡¯ve been cold and chilly, but distinctly wasn¡¯t.


    ¡°Thanks for this, Ri.¡± I said solemnly. ¡°It¡¯s perfect. Truly.¡±


    Avuri let out a happy sigh. ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Even though at least half of it is courtesy of your sister.¡± Avuri gave me another squeeze. ¡°But yes, this is perfect. Thank you for letting me be a part of all of this, Emery. It¡¯s very special.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± I said, laying a gentle kiss on the bit of her head that I could reach from the angle I was at.


    I was about to say more, but my thoughts were completely interrupted when a large snowball crashed against my midsection, spraying unpacked snow over both our faces.


    ¡°Mom! Come play!¡± Cierra sang, almost tauntingly, before another snowball crashed against me.


    Avuri sprung up from my side, a snowball already in hand. I sat up, gathering a handful of snow myself, to see both of our girls poised with snowballs in each hand.


    Well, it was more like handfuls of snow, full stop. They didn¡¯t really know they needed to pack the snow tighter to get a solid snowball. Avuri had something of a manic grin on her face as she patted her own snowball nice and compact.


    ¡°Oh, you two are gonna pay for that.¡± She said, as she tossed her snowball into the air beside her. It simply hovered there without falling as she gathered up another bit of snow.


    Cierra and Stena both let their ammunition fly, with surprisingly good accuracy. Cierra¡¯s attack landed against my chest, while Stena¡¯s hit Avuri square in the face. I wasn¡¯t sure, but I thought I saw Avuri move into the attack to allow it to hit her square, though.


    I laughed as I threw my snowball. With Cultivator bodies, we could easily call and land our shots, so I was extra sure to aim for torso shots, and it seemed Avuri was doing the same as our attacks landed simultaneously. The girls brushed themselves off and gathered more ammunition from their piles before running in opposite directions.


    Deciding that this was hardly a fair fight, I decided to get Avuri back for her tackling me earlier. I whipped a snowball at her, the snow breaking against her shoulder, spraying a bit of it up at her face. And when she turned to look at me, stunned at the betrayal, I was already airborne, ready to take her down to the ground.


    Once again, we slid along the snow for a bit after the impact. Before I could do anything in the vein of a follow-up, Avuri laughed and shoved a fistful of snow straight into my face. As I sputtered and took a second to wipe my eyes clean, I felt her Qi flex.


    ¡°You made a mistake, my love.¡± Avuri said, giving me a quick peck.


    I closed my eyes, accepting that, yeah, I really did.


    ¡°Forgive me?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Now where¡¯s the fun in that?¡± Avuri asked.


    I heard the girls laughing at us as the probably hundreds of snowballs that Avuri had created in the air with her Qi converged, pelting us - or, more specifically, me - from all sides.

 Interlude : Future Plans

    Emery took a deep breath. Even if she had gotten somewhat used to it over the years, she never really liked coming to the Elders¡¯ compound.


    If nothing else, it always meant something serious was happening. Or going wrong. She could only recall one visit to this place in fifteen years that wasn¡¯t for some serious reason - and that was if she had considered wedding prep unserious.


    Avuri had acted like she was going to war that day.


    As it was, this visit teetered on the line. Eiry had asked them to come to discuss what happened next. And yet, she had only asked for Emery and Avuri, not any of their other family members.


    Well. And Vale, too, but he more or less counted as an Elder when it came to serious matters.


    And so it was that Emery and Avuri were sat at the Elders¡¯ table, with the six dragons arrayed around it with them. Emery let out another breath. All she wanted was to spend time with her family in peace, but it seemed that such peace was always short-lived.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯re here.¡± Emery said, her voice clearly unenthusiastic to be there. ¡°What did you need us for?¡±


    ¡°Emery, don¡¯t be like that.¡± Avuri said. ¡°Things are good right now, there¡¯s no need to be so...annoyed.¡±


    ¡°One week.¡± Emery sighed. ¡°It¡¯s been one week since we threw that party. And suddenly we need to meet to discuss the end of the world again?¡±


    ¡°Emery, trust me,¡± Eiry said, ¡°I really am sorry. But we¡¯ve been going over things here and making decisions about what¡¯s to come.¡±


    ¡°And for better or worse, we came to the conclusion that the two of you should probably be involved now.¡± Lyn picked up the explanation. ¡°Whether or not you¡¯ve meant to, you¡¯ve thrown your lot in with us.¡±


    ¡°Well, at least for now.¡± Vyne took over. ¡°One of the reasons we wanted the two of you to come alone was - before anything else - to tell you this, and offer you the chance to leave.¡±


    ¡°Leave?¡± Avuri asked.


    ¡°Yes, leave.¡± Vyne continued. ¡°As Lyn said, you¡¯ve thrown in your lot with ours. Word will get back to Aysol, no doubt, about what has happened here.¡± He turned to Avuri as he continued, ¡°Avuri, if your family has gotten involved, it¡¯s hard to say what sort of information he had before the attack on the city. But it¡¯s all but certain he¡¯ll know you are here with us now.¡±


    ¡°More than that,¡± Vale said, ¡°he¡¯ll know that I¡¯m here. And he already knew about my kids. He¡¯ll consider you an enemy if you stay and that¡¯s¡­well. It¡¯s dangerous. As I¡¯m sure you both can imagine.¡±


    ¡°Emery. Avuri.¡± Lyn took over again. ¡°The two of you have been the best of neighbors. Truly. And you helped us when danger came calling, when you probably didn¡¯t have to.¡±


    Emery was about to argue that point, but Lyn held her hand up to stop her. ¡°No, you didn¡¯t. You feel like you did, because you¡¯re good people. But you could have - perhaps should have - squirrelled away in your home and defended it from outsiders, and left the city to defend itself.¡±


    ¡°Fact is, you didn¡¯t do that.¡± Eiry said. ¡°Instead, you fought with us and put yourselves and your family in harm¡¯s way more than you may have had to.¡± She smiled warmly at them. ¡°To that end,¡± she continued, ¡°given the current situation, we wanted to give you a chance to leave. If you pull up and relocate, Aysol has no true quarrel with you. He wouldn¡¯t chase you down for simply defending your family.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll even assist you with relocating, if you¡¯d like.¡± Vyne added. ¡°But if you choose to stay, you need to know. If you continue to live on the Dragon Peaks, Aysol will count you among his enemies.¡±


    Emery and Avuri shared a long look. With just a touch of their Domains, they could tell how they each felt.


    Emery didn¡¯t want to move. She loved it here. The Basin was about as perfect a home as could possibly exist. It was their home. And it was their kids¡¯ home. They didn¡¯t want to take that away from them.


    But the danger posed by Aysol was partially unknown, but certainly well above them. If he showed up in even a reasonable number of years, it was almost a forgone conclusion that he could wipe their entire family off the map.


    And yet.


    And yet.


    It wasn¡¯t exactly a decided outcome. They also had six dragons here. Sure, their family couldn¡¯t fight him alone. Maybe with Vale they could, but he wasn¡¯t always here. The Elders were though.


    And damn it, they wanted to stay.


    ¡°If we stay,¡± Emery began, Avuri¡¯s resolute gaze facing the Elders with a unified front, ¡°what does that mean? I assume if you¡¯re offering to help us relocate, you¡¯re also going to offer protection?¡±


    The Elders and Vale shared a look. Vale looked like disappointment and pride warred within him. Emery could understand that. He probably hoped they would choose the safe option to remain out of harm¡¯s way. But he was proud that his daughter and daughter-in-law would choose to stay and not abandon their friends.


    The Elders as a group, however, looked almost relieved. Had they been afraid of them choosing to leave?


    ¡°Have the two of you been into the City recently?¡± Ray asked.


    ¡°Other than that one day to set up our party? No.¡± Avuri said, curious.


    Ray just laughed. ¡°The two of you must have still been a little out of it that day then. Or kept your heads down the whole time you were walking around.¡±


    ¡°I guess?¡± Emery said. ¡°We just went straight to the shops we needed and got our errands done. Why?¡±


    ¡°Emery, you¡¯re a fucking hero, girl.¡± Ray said through some errant chuckling. ¡°Sure, people don¡¯t really know that ¡®Nyr the Dragon-Kin¡¯ is you, but still. The entire city has been turned upside-down looking for Nyr. Whispers and rumors are flying all over the place about who they were, where they went¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve had to actively stop people from climbing the Dragon Peaks looking for you, you know.¡± Cyril chuckled. ¡°Most of the Cultivators in the city are convinced that the ¡®Dragon-Kin¡¯ could only have descended from the Peaks as some great Hidden Master coming down to defend what they view as their territory.¡±


    By the end of that, Avuri was actively trying to hide her giggles while Emery rubbed her forehead. ¡°Nothing can ever just be easy.¡± She mumbled.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Have the two of you considered where things go from here if you chose to stay?¡±


    Avuri picked up that answer while Emery still tried to wrestle with the sudden news of her becoming essentially a living legend.


    ¡°We have. But to be honest, we just figured that things would mostly continue as normal for the foreseeable future. We would continue as friends to the city and occasional visitors while living our lives in the Basin.¡± She glanced at Emery once before continuing, ¡°We had actually considered hiring scouts to hunt down our next set of rescues.¡±


    The Elders nodded, understanding. It had been less than a year since they had rescued the group with Astra, but they were already feeling antsy to try to gather information on their next target; who knew what could happen while they weren¡¯t being vigilant.


    ¡°We don¡¯t plan to interfere in any way when it comes to what you feel is your life¡¯s work, Emery. And anything that you chose to do is your choice. But one of the things we¡¯ve been debating about here came to a standstill without you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to ask me to actively be Nyr, aren¡¯t you.¡± She sighed again.


    ¡°Yes. Well, sort of.¡± Eiry said. ¡°What we actually want to propose to you is a bit more¡­complicated than that. And trying to decide where we go from here started to require your input before we could continue.¡±


    ¡°Sure, alright.¡± Emery said. ¡°Lay it on me. What was the idea?¡±


    Vale took over then. No doubt they thought whatever they had to ask would sound best coming from her father.


    ¡°The idea is to set you up as a sort of¡­ambassador for the city. For lack of a better term.¡± He began. ¡°You can decide whether you¡¯d like to simply act as Nyr, or let the city know that you - as Emery - are Nyr. Either option would be tenable, with equally difficult portions to each option. We can tell the city that you are a friend to the dragons, and deal with the rest of the fallout from that in other ways.¡±


    Emery placed her elbow on the table and held her forehead in her hand, thinking and massaging her forehead. She could feel the headache coming on.


    ¡°Really, the way this happens is potentially in your hands, Emery.¡± Eiry said. ¡°We can defer to you on the details. But our ultimate goal with this would be to show the city that the dragons they saw are here to stay, without completely revealing ourselves as the Elders.¡±


    ¡°And you think me or Nyr telling them ¡®Hey, I¡¯m friends with the dragons, and I promise to defend you¡¯ would be enough to make an impact?¡±


    ¡°In a way.¡± Cyril said. ¡°Nyr remaining in the city gives the dragons a reason to be here without us having to reveal ourselves.¡±


    "Which, to be clear, we would probably do in the event that you choose to leave.¡± Lyn said. ¡°We¡¯re prepared to do that if it comes to it. We need to be able to show the populace that they¡¯re safe, and the presence of dragons is far and away the most reliable way to do that.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Emery said.


    ¡°And what about our family?¡± Avuri asked. ¡°If we stay you said yourselves that we would be putting a target on our backs for Aysol. Surely your offer isn¡¯t just to ask us to help you out and then offer us the same level of protection afforded the city?¡±


    The Elders glanced at each other, their combined gaze eventually landing on Vale, who snorted.


    ¡°You¡¯re really going to make me be the one to break all the important news.¡± He muttered.


    ¡°We are.¡± Eiry said.


    ¡°Most of the work in this endeavor will come from you, Vale. You should be the one to talk about it.¡± Lyn added. Vale just sighed.


    ¡°Yes, you will be under the same protection as the city, of course. The Elders and I will also keep a closer watch over the Basin itself to be sure you all remain safe.¡± He paused for a moment, to gather his thoughts. ¡°The greater protection afforded to you will be in the form of training. And some other particular beneficial gifts.¡±


    Emery perked up. The offer to be trained by the Elders was not an offer to take lightly. They were all masters in one form or another, most of them in several. Direct training from them could be considered priceless.


    But it still wouldn¡¯t exactly help them stand up to whatever dangers Aysol could potentially send after them.


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®other beneficial gifts¡¯?¡± Avuri asked. ¡°Training from you all is all well and good - truly, it¡¯s an amazing offer. But your training will not help us survive whatever is coming.¡±


    The Elders remained quiet, eyeing Vale, waiting for him to speak. The air seemed charged, somehow, and Emery¡¯s hair was standing on end. Something told her that this wasn¡¯t as simple as mundane Cultivation aids and pills or the like.


    ¡°The rumors flying around about Nyr have given them the title of ¡®Dragon-Kin¡¯. Have either of you heard that term before?¡±


    Both women shook their heads.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think so. It¡¯s not just a powerful sounding moniker. ¡®Dragon-Kin¡¯ is a proper title for a Cultivator that has a blood-bond with a dragon from a technique that hasn¡¯t been used for¡­well, to be honest, I¡¯m not sure how long.¡±


    ¡°The Cultivators who named you probably don¡¯t even know that they happened upon a true title, either.¡± Ray chuckled. ¡°Dragon-Kin isn¡¯t something most people know about.¡±


    ¡°But that is the true offer here.¡± Vale steadied himself before continuing. ¡°Each of us here will grant one person within your family that bond. The strength granted to each of you through the technique would be immense, and after the training, likely afford you the power to defend your family if threatened.¡±


    Emery¡¯s head spun. Being granted the power to stand up to the potential danger from Aysol was no small feat. That would mean at least six of their family members reaching the Heavenly Realm most likely. And within months? She presumed a few years was more likely, but still. If they were offering that sort of power, they must not be taking this lightly.


    ¡°If you choose to go this route, we¡¯ve already each chosen who we would each give our blood to. Emery, you¡¯re my daughter; obviously you would be paired with me. Avuri, Lyn offered to pair with you. The others we can worry about later. But this is not a decision to take lightly. It will change you.¡±


    ¡°Will the change be meaningful in any way?¡± Avuri asked.


    ¡°Yes. Strength, speed, Cultivation techniques, your body may even -¡± Ray said before Avuri interrupted him to clarify.


    ¡°No; will there be meaningful changes? Any change to mental faculties? Personality? Emotional warping?¡± She looked at Emery, concerned. ¡°Changes to Cultivation as a whole?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Lyn said, warmly. ¡°You will remain yourselves. Your Cultivation bond will remain unchanged as well. You will still need to Cultivate together as normal for you. The main changes will be physical changes. You¡¯ll likely want to find a new Cultivation Form that will benefit you further after your changes, but that would need to be done eventually as you grow in strength anyway.¡±


    ¡°Just so you are aware,¡± Vyne said, pointedly, ¡°when we say physical changes, we mean real changes. It varies from person to person, but you may develop scales or a tail. It¡¯s rare, but can happen. There are techniques to hide them if it happens, of course, but sweeping physical changes are a possibility.¡±


    Eiry eyed Vyne carefully. ¡°Vyne is right. But nothing will happen to your core humanity. With a close family like yours, I imagine that is your major concern, so let me put it to rest. Yes, you may develop some draconic features from the blood, but you will all remain firmly human. Functionally, it will simply be a strength and Cultivation boost.¡±


    ¡°You can swear that to me?¡± Emery asked, cautiously. ¡°You can swear to us that we will come out the other side still ourselves in every meaningful way?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Eiry said, her voice full of conviction. ¡°I have seen a Dragon-Kin made one time. I knew them for years before and after the bond was forged. They were the same throughout.¡±


    Emery and Avuri met gazes, warring over the decision, touching their Domains together to transfer their feelings about the whole situation back and forth.


    Truthfully, they agreed on all counts, but were still unsure over all.


    They wanted to stay.


    They wanted the power to protect their family.


    They did want to help Flowing Dragon City.


    They wanted, more than anything else, to remain themselves and with their family.


    Relocating was the safest option, no doubt. But it wouldn¡¯t necessarily be the best option.


    The Basin was their home. They didn¡¯t want to tear their kids away to move somewhere else, hoping beyond home to find a place that was just as solitary and safe as the Basin had been until now.


    And could be again.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Emery said, as she and Avuri nodded together. ¡°We¡¯re in.¡±


    The Elders seemed to relax at that point. Emery was shocked that they seemed so invested in getting them to remain. Aside from Vale, anyway; his reaction wasn¡¯t shocking.


    ¡°We have a lot of plans to make, then.¡± Eiry said, with a wry smile. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you two. You¡¯ll need to stay here for a while longer while we hash out details.


    Emery groaned and collapsed onto the table.


    ¡°You people better at least offer us some food.¡± She muttered.