A month had passed since Arae’s blessing and a certain spring had taken hold of Tendlepog. The gnarled forests of Limbo began to sprout small delicate flowers, almost translucent. Their aroma was subtle but invoked a great nostalgia in tandem with the rest of the strange place. In total it was peaceful, and if not for the random swims of nausea, Hermes might say it was perfect.
The Dreamer held her head, sick of the scents around her. It was like everything was assaulting her nose, she even refused Xiaoli's tea -- even after the reluctant River Girl offered to add Sweetgrass.
Hermes closed her eyes and leaned back against the tree she sat at. Beyond closed lids she could hear Xiaoli putting the finishing touches on the last of the three houses of the estate, and as much as she'd love to watch, she was afraid of further vertigo. Her stomach curled and she said a silent prayer, ever thankful that she was born in a time before food.
Xiaoli clapped her hands free of dust and took a few steps back to admire her work. The guest house looked nearly identical to the bedroom house, and made for quite a satisfying parallel across the courtyard. She let out a sigh and grinned.
“Okay! I’m done! Hermes, what do you think?”
The Dreamer all but peeled her eyes open and squinted from her spot, “It looks wonderful,” her voice lacked enthusiasm but was genuine enough. The woman eventually forced herself to her feet, her brain sloshing forward. It took a couple steps but the nausea began to recede as quickly as it came -- for now; it was a tricky thing.
Hermes stopped next to Xiaoli and examined the house, “Shengshi oughta like it,” She said carefully, “Would- would Shengshi use it? He'll be here any day now.”
“Yes, I think he will.” Xiaoli gave her a sad smile. “Is it the nausea again, dear?”
“Always,” Hermes said fatigued, “So far, I'm not a fan of pregnancy. You know, I was reading about similar--” she paused, “There it is again.” Her colors changed to a dull pea green and she sat herself down.
Xiaoli crossed her arms over her bosom, maintaining the compassionate smile. She then leaned down, picked up a rock and turned it into a cup before strolling towards the creek.
“It's not like we don't have bigger things to worry about,” Hermes cursed as she closed her eyes.
“We do, but I cannot stand seeing you like this. You haven’t eaten for nearly a day.” She filled the cup with some creek water. Then as she walked back over to Hermes, she took a deep breath and blew on the water surface. The water soon began to produce tiny, fizzy bubbles along the walls of the cup. She offered it to Hermes.
“Here. It’s a little better than the sweetgrass juice I made for you yesterday - I hope.”
Hermes hesitated but took the cup and sipped. She furrowed her brow, “Thanks,” her voice sounded slightly irritated, a sound Xiaoli had been getting used to the last few days. The Dreamer tipped the cup and gulped the rest of the fizz and then laid flat on her back and groaned.
“Xiaoliiiii,” Hermes whined.
“What is it, dear?” Xiaoli said patiently and laid down on her belly next to her, propping her head up on her fists.
Hermes rolled so they were face to face, her brow slanted and mouth in a line, “Twenty something all powerful Gods and not one of them thought to do away with this part,” her face fell from serious to misery, “I'm sorry.”
Xiaoli’s mouth was at first a straight line, but promptly turned into a somewhat silly smirk backed up by a quiet giggle. “Nothing to be sorry about, dear - we could write complaint letters to all of them, if you’d like.” She winked playfully and snickered.
Hermes smiled and let her face fall onto the mossy forest floor, “mmmpphh,” she muffled.
“Sssssoooo…” Xiaoli began, casually playing with Hermes’ hair with one of her hands. “Whaaaat should we call it?”
“It!?” Hermes voice muffled, “You mean our baby?”
“Well, yes - we don’t know the gender yet, after all. Let’s ssssaaay it iiis a -boy-! What would you like to call it?” Xiaoli rolled over on her back and tucked her hands underneath her head.
“Ermph,” Hermes thought into the moss, “You go first.”
Xiaoli giggled. “Okay, okay - I’ve given this a lot of thought, but constructive criticism is welcome.” She rolled back over on her stomach and kicked her feet playfully in the air above her.
“Okay, so, if it’s a boy, I would love for him to be called Wenbo.” She wrote the characters in the moss, pouting slightly as the moss bounced back. “Anyway, the character wen means ‘literary talent’ and bo means ‘erudite’. A fitting name for the son of us, right? Oh, oh! But in case that one sounds odd, fear not - I have more.” She tried to write again, this time seeming more annoyed at herself at making the same mistake twice. “What do you think about Rongxuan? ‘Prosperous’ and ‘tall’? Oh! How about Yongfu, ‘eternal wealth’? That one’s not too bad, right?” She gave Hermes a look. “Dear, did you fall asleep?”
“Nuh uh,” Came from the moss, the Dreamer lifted her head and propped her chin up on her fists. She seemed to ponder for a moment, “What does Xiaoli mean?”
Xiaoli beamed at the question. “Well, Xiaoli is composed of the characters xiao and li, each respectively meaning ‘little’ and ‘beauty’.” She caressed herself with playful vanity.
“Hmm,’ Hermes seemed to think, “I think I see it,” she stuck out her tongue.
Xiaoli’s smile vanished. “You -think-?” she said sourly.
Hermes laughed to herself and fell back into the moss, “As if you didn't know how beautiful I think you are.” Her voice muffled with a tiny chuckle, falling into a thinking hum.
“Oh, I know,” she said, her smile reappearing. She rolled back on her belly and continued plucking playfully at Hermes’ hair. “Soooo, what do you think of the names?”
“I like them,” Hermes rolled her head on its side, “Wenbo is my favorite though. I have names in mind but-- well they don't have those special meanings other than I like them.”
Xiaoli’s mouth straightened out. “... Yeah…” There was a pause. “... You can still say them, if you want. We’re in this together, after all. I shouldn’t hog all the names.”
“Well,” Hermes scrunched her face, “We can say they mean things, who says we can't? We are the very first to do this, after all.”
Xiaoli pondered for a while, then slowly nodded. “Yeah… Yeah, you’re right! We can actually do that!” She gave Hermes’ temple a peck. “Okay, what’ve you got?”
A bright smile formed on Hermes’ face, “Well, what about Chinua--” She smiled, “Blessing. Or, Oktai -- understanding.” She lounged on her side, “Maybe even Chaghatai.” She had a buzzing smile, “Our baby.”
Xiaoli let out a humming giggle. “Heh… They’re all so sweet! I really like Oktai and Chaghatai - especially Chaghatai.” Her eyes sparkled with joy. “Though I suspect that he’ll be a bit embarrassed when we tell him the name’s meaning.” She winked. “Okay, we got some boy names. How about girl names?”
“A little embarrassment wouldn’t hurt too much,” Hermes mused happily, before pondering with a buzzing smile, “...Tuya? Ray of light.”
Xiaoli tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Could work… I feel like Her Holiness Asceal would be very satisfied if she heard that. How abooouut… Xihui? ‘Joyful’ and ‘bright’? Or…” She caressed Hermes’ exposed cheek. “How about Yanli after her mother?” She paused and put on a playful smile. “‘Colourful beauty’?” she added with a giggle.
Hermes let her own hand fall ontop of Xiaoli’s, “I like both a lot,” her eyes twinkled, “I’m sure we will get a chance to use all of them.”
Xiaoli’s eyes widened. “I-... I mean… How many do you want, if I may ask?”
Hermes scrunched her nose as if incredulous and leaned up on her elbow, “What did Shengshi say again,” She thought for a moment, “Ten thousand?”
“Y-... You realise he was hyperbolising for effect, yes?” She sat up on her calves and cleared her throat. “I’m not saying I don’t want to have many children, but… Ten thousand may be a bit excessive, no? Both on you and our future food stocks.” She tapped her chin. “Although, I suppose I could just make some more food, in that case… Alright, so our main concern in that case would be your body.”
Hermes sat up and was laughing, “Oh, Xiaoli,” She nudged her shoulder, “I was kidding-- but you should be so lucky as to have a partner willing to make ten thousand babies.” She gave a knowing smile.
“I’m not lucky to have such a partner - I’m lucky to have you,” she snickered and crossed her arms over her bosom. “Although, if -I- were to set a number… How about… Eight?”
“I don’t want to set a number,” Hermes uncharacteristically pouted and crawled over, setting her head in Xiaoli’s lap, “What if I end up wanting more -- or less.”
Xiaoli began to absent-mindedly caress Hermes’ head, her eyes staring forward. “Well, yes, I suppose… We should have enough to fill the whole house, though. It’d be a little quiet here otherwise.” She looked down and brushed Hermes’ bangs to the side. “I wonder what they will be like - how much they will look like you or me; if they will be as colourful as--”
She paused, her eyes widening. “What if they inherit my powers?”
Hermes looked up with a quizzical expression and shrugged, “Do you think they will?”
“I-... Don’t know.” She gave Hermes a slightly somber look. “I’ll be honest - I hope they don’t.”
Hermes furrowed her brow and reached up to cup Xiaoli’s face, “I don’t think it works like that, you don’t need to worry -- from what I gather from our talks, your powers come directly from Shengshi. They -- won’t be coming directly from Shengshi,” Her own eyes widened as she looked off to the side, “No, they won’t.”
Xiaoli looked away for a moment. “That…” She paused. “No… You’re probably right.”
“Mhm,” Hermes closed her eyes and tucked her arms over her chest. “They’ll be colorful though,” She gave a tiny nod, “I can feel it.”
Xiaoli giggled. “They’ll be even more colourful than you, I bet. Our home will look like spilled paint.” Her giggle turned into a chuckle. “Oh, I will definitely teach them to paint. I can just imagine them standing in front of their paintings afterwards and taking on that pallet.” Hermes smile grew but then suddenly shifted, and tears began to pour from the corner of her eyes, forcing her to turn her head and cover her face with a single hand.
Xiaoli’s pupils shrunk and she raised her hands in confusion. “H-Hermes, what happened?! Did I say something wrong?! Are you feeling sick again?!”
“No,” Hermes sobbed into Xiaoli’s lap, “I’m just scared.”
Xiaoli’s eyes dimmed. She snuck her arms under Hermes’ and pulled her into a hug from behind. “I won’t let him get to you, you hear me?” she whispered almost menacingly.
“I don’t even care about that,” Hermes lifted her face from Xiaoli and sniffled, eyes a beet red, and nose not much better, “I just want my family.” She squeezed Xiaoli with a helplessness the river-girl had never felt before.
Xiaoli felt her eyes water and squeezed back. “I’m not going anywhere, Hermes - no one is. We will--” She sniffed. “We will get through this, and we will have a family, and we will--” She let out a few sobs, pulling away before pressing her head against Hermes’ chest, following by a long wail.
Hermes wrapped her arms around Xiaoli, a gentle stream of tears running down her face, “I want to go to bed.”
Xiaoli pulled away, letting out a curt ‘mm’ of agreement.
A months has passed since Arae’s blessing. Hermes suffers from morning sickness and Xiaoli has just finished the three houses of the inner mansion. They discuss its as a guest room and, seeing as Shengshi is on his way to Tendlepog, Hermes complains about morning sickness being a thing, to which Xiaoli suggests that they should discuss baby names!
Xiaoli suggests Chinese names; Hermes, Mongolian names. They then dicuss how many babies they should have, to which Hermes playfully responds ten thousand, as per Shengshi’s guarantee. They then decide not to set a specific number.
Suddenly, Xiaoli remembers something and wonders if the kids will inherit their powers. Hermes thinks they won’t, but Xiaoli may not be as convinced. As they talk about how colourful their children will be, Hermes begins to cry, telling Xiaoli that she is afraid of losing her family. Xiaoli tries to comfort her, but it’s soon clear that she is also scared - as she begins to cry, too.
In the end, they decide to go to bed.
18+3=21 - she can now legally use it to buy alcohol in the US.
The shrine they erected for Ashalla displayed the wonderful skill of the carpenters aboard, Qiang Yi thought. Due to spatial constraints, they sadly could not make it larger, but they made due with a one metre tall carven effigy made to resemble her awestriking appearance: It started thin at the bottom, then grew in width and bulk until a humanoid female form sprouted with its arms raised to the sky. It has no clear face, but its skin was etched with wavy lines and sea motifs. Hopefully, it would have been satisfactory in her eyes.
It had made sense to place it at the bow - should they encounter her again, it would be the first thing she would see. No loss in appealing to the gods, the crew had reasoned. This quite literal figurehead would guide them along the shore of the Dragon’s Foot as surely as Her Holiness Ashalla herself would have.
Qiang Yi stood at the bow, admiring the figurehead as well as the surrounding ocean. He had spoken the truth in his poem - the sea truly did mirror, if not, dared he say, outmatch the rivers. There was a sobering monotony to it, yet a luring mysticism.
“I pray there will be more trips after this,” he said to no one in particular.
“Yes, it -is- quite a sight, cap’n.” Qiang Yi turned around. Zeng En, the quartermaster and a servant of the Strong, gave him a wink as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I reckon you’ll be sent on numerous voyages like this ‘un.”
Qiang Yi gave him a wry smile. “I would, actually, though the waves do make it difficult to write poetry.”
Zeng En smirked back and gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder. “You’ll get used to it, cap’n. I, for one, love it ‘ere. Don’t get me wrong, the work aboard Jiangzhou is rewardin’ and all, but…” He sucked in a lungful of sea air. “This sensation of discovery - this joy in my spirit; these, I will miss when we return to Jiangzhou.”
Qiang Yi gave him a warm smile. “Then we must insist that His Lordship send more gifts.”
Zeng En nodded. “Now pardon me, if you would,” he said, “My fresh air break is over, I’m afraid, so below deck again, I go.”
“Of course,” replied Qiang Yi. The two bowed to one another and Zeng En walked off. Qiang Yi stared ahead again. Yes, magnificent waters. Oh, he should just grab his brush and a page and start writing about the fantastic motifs as sea meets shore and--
Wait, where was the shore?
Qiang Yi shot a glance eastward. In the distance, he saw some faint green and the simplistic glitter of snow atop a very, very distant Xishan. He stormed up to the helmspost in a hurry.
“Zhen-zhen! What’s our course?!” he boomed. The first mate quickened to, nearly lobbing her book overboard.
“D-due north as usual, captain!” she said obediently.
“Yes, I realise that, but -why- are we so far away from the shore?!” Qiang Yi replied furiously.
“No need to yell, captain. We had to avoid some reefs earlier, so we turned a little far portside. Not to worry, though!” She dragged the tiller to the left, sending the ship back towards the shore. “There! That wasn’t so hard, right?”
“Silence your smug, Zhen-zhen. You are the helmsman - you are supposed to keep the course, not--!”
A pulse went through the water and brushed against the ship - very distant, but ominously audible.
“Did you hear something?” Qiang Yi asked. Zhen-zhen nodded, her face draining of colour.
As Galbar’s lands had grown wonderous from the works of gods, day’s turning to night and back again in an never ending cycle, so too, had something grown in the ocean. Now almost forgotten, save for those few that remembered.
Many had perished to cannibalism, and lack of food, but the few who survived had been rewarded with delicacies of the living. Growing fat and mighty. That hunger they held, was as deep and vast as the ocean, and would never end. Not until they were all but dead.
Now, something unfathomably old swam in the deep, heralded by the ethereal beauty of starlight. Such a light beckoned all that would look upon it, for it’s glow was but temptation, and it had found something new. Something with souls. It let out another rumble from it’s maw. The pulse ran through the water again, much, much closer now.
The pulse nearly shook the crew members off balance. Heads were beginning to turn and voices began to whimper. Qiang Yi boomed orders in every direction: “Bring out oars! Furl the stern sail, it slows us down! Faster, people, we need to MOVE!”
Servants ran, tripped, slipped, crawled - the deck was a chaotic mess as oars were brought out and put to use. The panic caused uneven distribution of oars on each side, inciting Zhen-zhen to call for support at the helmspost to keep the ship from setting a course into deeper sea.
“Equal number of oars on each side! Less flight, more fight!” she shouted angrily.
Even as the rowers distributed themselves equally on each side, the ship could not seem to pick up speed quickly enough. Meanwhile, Qiang Yi went below deck with Zeng En and began to look for any weapons.
“What tools can we sacrifice in a crisis, Zeng En?” Qiang Yi said, digging desperately through a toolbox.
“If necessary, we can repurpose the saws into axes - the hammers should function well as is.”
“Anything with reach?” Qiang Yi asked and grabbed a saw. Zeng En threw him a wooden pole.
“Grab a knife and sharpen this - or tie the knife to it. Either way, arm those that ain’t rowin’ or furlin’ the sails,” Zeng En said. Qiang Yi nodded and ran upstairs.
“There are weapons below,” he boomed. “If you aren’t working the oars, the helm or the sails, arm yourselves!”
He stepped to the side to allow the remaining crew members to descend below deck. Then Qiang Yi stepped over to the stern to see if he could spot the pursuer.
It was large, larger than even the ship, and grotesquely foul. The leviathan swam in circles under the boat, as if trying to figure out what the creature it hungered for was. The leviathan’s light, beautiful as ever, glowed softly in the deep. Ever so alluring…
Qiang Yi spotted the light. My… Was there no end to the beauty of the ocean? He dropped his axe and leaned forward over the railing.
Maybe he could get a closer loo--
With a solid tug, he was pulled back on deck. Zhen-zhen and two others held him by the ribbon about his waist.
“Captain, are you insane?!” Zhen-zhen screamed at him.
“... But… But the light…”
“Huuuh?! Light?! Have you gone panic blind or something?!”
“No, there-... There was a-...” Qiang Yi pointed weakly to the railing.
“Oh! How nice, there was a light. Did you also see the shadow that is TWICE AS BIG AS THE DAMN SHIP?!” Zhen-zhen slapped him across the head from behind and pushed him to his feet.
“Grab your saw and keep the crew safe, captain! Make sure they don’t fall for the same trick you did!”
Qiang Yi staggered over to railing, over which he saw what was unmistakably a black blot below them - or more specifically, a part of one. He gasped through his teeth, snatched his saw off the floor and sprinted down to the deck, nearly tripping down the stairs.
“Everyone! Keep away from the railing! Rowers, double, no, TRIPLE time!” The rowers struggled against the pain as they tugged the oar back and forth as fast as they could.
The creature brushed itself against the ship with two long tentacles. The vibrations through the ship sent similar chills through the spines of the increasingly panicky crew. It continued it’s almost lethargic like pace, now swimming wide circles below the ship. It then suddenly broke this circling and swam off.
Qiang Yi and Zeng En stormed over to the railing and stuck their heads over the side. “Wh-where did it go?” Qiang Yi said in a shivering voice. Zeng En squeezed the handle of his hammer.
“I don’t know, but we’re likely not out of the woods yet. Keep up the speed, people! We’ll be safe once we reach coastal waters.”
The coast was not too far away now. Xishan stabbed the sky dome in the distance, and the green forests of the central Foot began to break through the fog pouring out of the Saluran Mendidih. In the distance to the north were the faint marks of a second continent. The water should not be too deep here. Perhaps… Perhaps they had made it.
From the port side of the ship, out in the deeper waters, something broke the water’s surface. First it was the beautiful glow, stifled by the blue sky but still dangerous nonetheless, then behind that long stalk of flesh, came a massive mouth full of rows and rows of sharp teeth, that were about the size of the servants themselves. And those teeth, were coming right for the ship.
The crew burst into screams. Some collapsed to the floor and curled up as if that would help them. Others began to row faster than the rest, striking into the oars in front of and behind them. Zeng En and a group ran to the stern, roaring their fanatical war cries and praises to Shengshi, as if it would be their last. Qiang Yi stood frozen on deck, clutching his saw. As he saw the jaws approaching, he felt his lips and knees quiver in unison. This could not be how their journey would end. They hadn’t even made it to the Kick, damn it!
“CAPTAIN!”
The call snapped him out of his shock and he saw a frantically waving Zhen-zhen at the helmspost towards the stern, flanked by several others throwing improvised harpoons at the monster. Qiang Yi could not gather himself in time, but time was something he did not have. He stormed downstairs and grabbed a new armfull of wooden poles, bringing them up to the stern in a rush. There, Zeng En took them in his arms and gave them to Li Shan, who proceeded to sharpen them swiftly with his knife. Zeng En picked up a newly sharpened pole, tested its weight and sent it in an arc towards the glowing eyes of the horrendous beast behind them.
“The eyes! Aim for the eyes!” he roared at his companions.
The creature, struck by several harpoons, dove under water. Blood began to flow, staining the waters inky black. The leviathan, scraped the bottom of the boat with its body. The water was getting shallower, and with it, the prey was escaping. With a burst of speed, the creature began another attack, and this time, was unphased by the harpoons.
That was until, something sharp punctured it’s left eye. There was a sickening sound, almost like a pop, then the creature bellowed. The air it sent out was rank with rot and the creature slammed into the ship before disappearing into the black waters.
The ship was cast several hundreds of metres forward, the cracks of breaking wood and whistles of flying splinters sounding from the stern like a lethal orchestra. All the crew members there were flung forward over the edge of the railing, the fortunate ones crashing to the deck in front.
The unfortunate ones…
Hammering steps against wood. Qiang Yi lifted his dizzy head off the stair step. Below him laid another bundle of wooden poles. He blinked, squeezing his eyes together as he painfully pulled his arm out from under the poles. It had nearly been severed as his body weight, spurred on by the momentum of the ship, had pressed it between the stairs and the poles. Thankfully, the arm reformed into its regular shape, his ripped sleeve being the only casualty. He quickly staggered to his feet and sprinted back up.
He ascended to find that the ship had stopped moving, and all around him were crewmates running to and fro with tools, materials, water and sand. Wait, sand? Qiang Yi turned to his right and gasped, dropping the wooden poles.
Zhen-zhen laid clutching her stumped arm next to a sandy puddle. A little further away, Li Shan was attended to by two others, one who was slowly giving him water from a cup and another who was patting sand over the slowly regrowing legs. Zeng En laid broken against the railing above, his body reduced to a singular, mushy blob that four crewmates desperately tried to save with water and sand. Qiang Yi was pushed to the side by two crewmates charging up the stairs carrying a stretcher, upon which laid what he assumed where the clothes and partial body of Wang Huangxia.
Qiang Yi stood in shock, his lips forming sentences, yet his voice failing to give sound to them. He laid his eyes on Zhen-zhen again, only to notice that she was glaring back.
“C-... Captain,” she hissed through the agony. Qiang Yi hurried over and uncorked his water gourd, putting it to her lips. Her skin had begun to crack.
“Shh… Drink now, the beast is gone.”
Zhen-zhen’s pained eyes began to swell, tears bubbling up despite her lack of fluids.
“I-... I’m s-s-sorry, c-captain,” she whimpered. “Th-this is all my-...”
Qiang Yi shook his head and silenced her with the water gourd. “No, no… Don’t worry about that, Zhen-zhen… Just drink and live.” Zhen-zhen’s quivering lips spilled a lot of the water, but she eventually managed to properly drink. Qiang Yi looked around.
“Somebody give me a report! Is it still after us?! How is the crew?! How is the ship?!”
One of the Noble servants, one Qiang Yi knew as Fa Ye, stepped up hurriedly and bowed. “Captain, the beast has stopped chasing us, but not without a heavily toll. Our crew has suffered heavy casualties, with eight crew members severely wounded, ten minorly wounded and four missing. We-... We saw clothes on the water surface behind us… We fear they may have swam ahead of us…” Fa Ye lowered her head; Qiang Yi did, as well.
“What about the ship?” the captain asked.
“There has been a breach under deck towards the stern. Luckily, the pump and tank seem to be functional, still, but we are still trying to repair the breach below. However, the saltwater is making it difficult. As misfortune would have it, the rudder was also damaged.”
Qiang Yi looked somberly down at his lap in which Zhen-zhen laid, exhausted from all the pain. He then looked up and noticed the foreign woods on the shore.
“Where are we?” he asked.
“The lands are foreign, yet we did not drift far. We therefore estimate that we have made it to the Kick.”
Qiang Yi felt a clump form in his throat, one of both sorrow and joy. He looked down at the sleeping Zhen-zhen.
“Did you hear that, Zhen-zhen? We made it to the Kick. We’re almost halfway there!” The first mate remained unresponsive. Qiang Yi felt his skin moisten. He looked up at Fa Ye.
“Have someone tend to her. I will see to the rest of the ship.”
“Yes, captain,” Fa Ye said and called over some help. Qiang Yi carefully lowered Zhen-zhen’s head to the floor and stood up. He walked over to the bow and looked at the figurehead. Luckily, the tribute to Ashalla had not suffered any damages, it would seem. He raised his head at scanned the empty forest behind the beach ahead. It was eerie, a forest with no life - yet perhaps also a blessing in disguise.
“Fa Ye!” he called. After a moment, the girl came running over, dusting her hands free of excess sand.
“Yes, captain?” she answered with a bow.
“Have the carpenters use what materials we have left to repair the ship. If we do not have enough, we will acquire some from the Kick.”
“Of course, captain,” Fa Ye said and ran off to spread the word.
Qiang Yi looked back down at the figurehead. Would she hear him if he prayed, he wondered. Would Shengshi hear them if they prayed?
Qiang Yi got down on his knees at the bow and prostrated himself. “O Holiest spirit of the Sea, Ashalla. Your grace and power are second to none in the ocean - as such, this servant asks that Your sacred boon follows us still as our voyage progresses. Thank You for everything.”
Had she heard him, he wondered again. If she could, then he had to pray to Shengshi, as well.
“O lord of rivers and host of hosts, Shengshi, much has happened since this voyage began. We have seen much that we could not even have fathomed of back home, and among that, there has been great suffering. This servant cannot lie, Your Lordship - it feels fear, dreadful fear. This servant is uncertain of what to do, Your Lordship. Please, if it may be so insolent, this servant asks You to offer it counsel.”
Nothing happened. Qiang Yi felt his heart sink and sat back up, letting out a sigh.
“Is this Your Holiness way of saying that we are on our own?” he mused somberly. He got to his feet, bowed to the figurehead and turned to attend to the ship.
Atop of the floating palace of Jiangzhou, in the central tower overlooking the endless green jungle, the snake plucked a melancholic melody on his guzheng. His heart felt heavy, but he knew that he could not stand in the way of what was to be among the first great accomplishments of mortal life.
“I am sorry, my most loyal servant,” the snake said in a shivering voice. He felt something in the corner of his eye and wiped it away. “I trust you do be able to do this by yourselves. If I am right, you will be historical; if I am wrong…” His harp sounded a sharp crescendo.
“Then I am the worst lord in this world.”
The servants construct a shrine to Ashalla, putting it at the front of the ship to appeal to her if they ever meet again. During this time, they sail out into deeper water, away from the coast of Dragon’s Foot. The Xishan Mountains are but a blimp on the horizon
Qiang Yi does not like this and tells Zhen-zhen to sail back towards land. All of a sudden a soft pulse hits the boat, and then shit hits the fan.
A Leviathan Angler hungered for their souls, and the crew begin to freak. As the leviathan gets closer, Qiang Yi looks over the side, and views the beautiful light of the Leviathan and almost loses himself before his loyal crewmates grab him and pull him back on deck.
After this, Qiang Yi tells everyone to row faster and to arm themselves in case of attack. The leviathan then swims off, leaving paranoia behind. After a quick moment of reprieve, the leviathan is spotted off the port side, and coming in fast, teeth on full display. This prompts the crew to throw makeshift harpoons, trying to skewer it.
The Leviathan breaks off its attack, now very pissed off. It swims away again, but comes back- this time faster. With a lucky throw, Zeng En manages to throw a harpoon into the leviathans eye. This promptly kicks the fight out of the creature, but it still manages to collide with the ship, causing severe damage. Qiang Yi wakes up a while after the crash, finding his crew decimated and his closest companions within inches of their lives.
After things calm down, Qiang Yi issues orders and then prays to Ashalla in thanks. Then to Shengshi, asking for counsel, but only receives silence from their Lord.
The crew had gathered on deck around a neatly stacked pile of what remained of Li Gongxiu’s belongings. Like any other servant, he had not owned much apart from the bonds forged with his peers, but what he had brought along were his carpenter tools, a copy of a Shengshese dictionary, and stacks of rice paper, a few pages of which had been painted with the motifs of Lower Nanhe.
“... He was always a creative soul, he was,” said Li Shan with a sniff. Qiang Yi stood next to him with his hands folded. He gave Li Shan a nod, and the carpenter continued, “My friend was… He was blessed with both skills of hand and skills of art, and had he… Still been here in a few years, he-...” He cleared the sobs from his throat. “He definitely would have been worthy of joining the Wise.” Qiang Yi, Li Shan and the surrounding crew bowed inwards towards the pile of belongings.
“A servant of stellar ability has passed in the line of duty - no fate is more unfortunate to befall our kin,” Qiang Yi spoke. “We will treasure his memory and adapt as the streams would in face of obstacles, to ensure no one else must suffer his fate.” There was a pause.
“Our companion swims downstream ahead of us. We will miss him, but our task yet remains - we will continue northwards to Tendlepog and bring the Lordship’s divine gift to His Holiness K’nell. However, to ensure that this tragedy is not repeated, no one will attempt to fix or solve any dangerous task alone - always have a crewmate to accompany you.”
The crew sounded their agreement and they all straightened back up. Qiang Yi placed a hand on Li Shan’s shoulder, receiving a determined nod from the carpenter.
“Very well, then,” said the captain. “We sail onwards to Tendlepog. His Lordship’s will be done!”
“His Lordship’s will be done!” the crew echoed and scattered back to work. Qiang Yi remained alone on the middle of the deck for a moment before moving up to the helmspost. He took his usual spot at the front by the railing overlooking the entire deck and scouted past the sails at the seemingly never-ending coastline ahead.
“Well, morale is doing a little better now, at least,” said Zhen-zhen from the tiller. She leaned lazily against the horizontal pole, apparently reading a book. Qiang Yi turned and furrowed his brow.
“Are you paying attention to our course sitting like that?” the captain asked monotonously. Zhen-zhen shot him a sideways glance and, while it was mostly covered by the book, Qiang Yi swore he could see a smug grin.
“Of course, captain. The coastal waters aren’t too intense, yet not too docile. With a little weight on my end, the rudder figuratively never moves. We can keep the course without any worry.” She closed the book around her thumb. “Besides, I look up occasionally.” Qiang Yi found himself frowning skeptically, but she had not let him down before. He turned back to face the ocean ahead. Such a magnificent blue landscape; such grandness, such--... Yes, such. This warranted a poem, Qiang Yi decided firmly.
He grabbed his trusty table, his brush and some paper. To get the best view, he reasoned, he had to place himself at the very tip of the bow - well, as far ahead as possible. So he did just that, placing the table down against the railing that separated him from the sea and began writing.
Behold, my dear aboard the ship of Jiang, A blue so fair and great, beyond our kind. I sit aboard the ship of Gifts, with luck I see the waves approach, approach, approach--
Why was the water approaching?
The Zhengwu lurched as the waves rolled under it. The ship began to tilt slightly towards port as the ocean itself began to rise on the starboard side. A great mass of water loomed above the railings and cast a shadow across the deck as it blocked the morning Heliopolis from view. In this mass of water formed the face of a woman, looking down at the ship and its crew.
The entire crew dropped whatever they had in their hands, creating some noise and hushed cursing as tools fell onto the deck and people’s feet. They slowly congregated on the centre of the deck, fronted by Qiang Yi. For a moment, all they did was stand and stare in awe. However, quickly realising that this likely was one of the creators, they all nearly simultaneously fell to their knees and hands.
“Ten thousand years and more to the Queen of the Ocean, the Exalted Creator of the Sea, Her Holiness Ashalla!” they all remarkably managed to say in a somewhat harmonious unison.
Ashalla looked down at the kowtowing water-humanoids with a feeling of smug satisfaction. These mortals recognised her and gave her the respect due to her. Several seawater pseudopods slithered across the deck and gently brushed against several servants. They flinched from contact with the salt water, but Ashalla needed only minimal contact to verify that these beings had been made by Shengshi and, unlike Xiaoli, were mere mortals with no divine spark.
"Mortals created by Shengshi in the image of Xiaoli, why are you in my ocean?" she asked, her voice booming like a crashing wave. Even as she spoke, her narrow pseudopods crept below deck.
Some of the crew shivered at the thunderous voice. Someone gave Qiang Yi’s sole a push, quickly supported by jabs and pokes from other directions, too. The captain took a deep breath and, while still facing the ground, spoke as loudly as he could.
“O greatest divine of the sea, Your Holiness Ashalla, Queen of the Ocean - Your most sacred glory is awestriking to behold. These servants are quite literally specks compared to Your Holiness’ impeccable presence. Forgive these servants for their trespassing - they have been instructed with a task by His Lordship Shengshi, Lord of the Thousand Streams, the Host of Plenty, to bring a gift of wine and cider to His Holiness K’nell of Dreams, Lord of Sleep. These servants pray dearly that they have not caused Your Holiness any inconveniences.” Qiang Yi attempted to push his forehead through the floor.
Ashalla’s pseudopods slithered around below deck and tasted everything they found as Qiang Yi spoke. She could even see with the pseudopods, for there was nothing limiting her form to just two eyes. She found the fermented beverages which Qiang Yi had spoken of, as well as the windmill pump which appeared to be well beyond the craftsmanship of everything else on the boat.
"Your meagre presence could not possibly inconvenience me. Rather, it is a curiosity," Ashalla eventually said, "From where did this floating construct of wood come from?"
Still talking to the floor, Qiang Yi answered: “These servants are infinitely grateful that they are not vexing to Your Holiness. As for the ship, it was built using wood, bark, linen and rope with the aid of His Lordship and His schematics. These servants do not possess Your sacred affinity for salt water, and require as such a vessel to take them to Tendlepog.”
Ashalla rumbled. The ship lurched again as Ashalla gave it an experimental push. "The Maelstrom produces many storms between here and Tendlepog," Ashalla stated.
Qiang Yi’s eyes widened. The members of the crew permitted themselves to look at one another in fear. The captain heard the careful, hushed whispers around him and felt his breathing accelerate. “Forgive this servant for asking, Your Holiness, but is there any way to circumvent these storms?”
"If you travel the other way around the continent, you can avoid the Maelstrom’s storms," Ashalla said. A pseudopod licked one of the servants again as Ashalla measured up the water tanks. "That would take more time, though, and there are many rocks near the coast on the other side of this continent," she added.
Qiang Yi stole a glance behind him at the quartermaster, Zeng En, who looked up at him and shook his head. Qiang Yi grit his white pebble teeth and turned back to face the floor.
“Your Holiness, forgive this servant for stating what Your Holiness already knows, but we have not the sufficient amounts of water to make the trip around the other side. The tanks will barely hold to Tendlepog.” He paused for a moment. “If-... If this servant could show such horrid insolence and… Make a request, would Your Holiness deem it worthy of a listen?”
There was a pause, before Ashalla said, "You may state your request."
“Thank you, o thank you, blessed Queen of the Ocean. These servants merely wish to request a window in the storm - just a smidge for us to pass through, so the winds do not take us all. Please, these servants will do whatever in their power to repay such a gracious favour.” The crew seemingly redoubled their kowtow.
"It is within my power to offer such a favour," Ashalla said, then rumbled thoughtfully. "What could you offer in return?"
Qiang Yi felt a shiver, his open palms slowly curling into fists. “F-forgive this servant, Your Holiness, but it firmly believes that it is incapable of imagining anything worthy of one of the Exalted Creators - not even its poetry will be adequate for this, this servant feels.” The other crew members mumbled similar sentiments. “H-however, these servants will naturally complete any task Your Holiness may have in mind for them!”
Ashalla rumbled again. "I seek beauty," Ashalla finally declared. "Hermes danced. Xiaoli played the flute. If you can impress me with some act of artistry, I shall bestow this favour upon you."
“A-an act of artistry, Your Holiness?” Qiang Yi said in a hushed voice. There was a poke in his side and he shot a glance to the right. There, Zhen-zhen was glaring at him. ‘Write. Her. A. Poem.’ she mouthed desperately. Another jab, this time from the left. It was Wang Huangxia who wore a similar expression. More pokes, jabs and outright punches eventually caused Qiang Yi to rise to his feet and bow.
“Th-then… If Your Holiness will allow this servant, it shall produce a poem in Your divine name.”
Ashalla gave a slight swish. "Yes, that sounds good. Do that."
The servants all immediately got to their feet and began fetching Qiang Yi’s tools of the trade. They placed the small table on the middle of the deck, facing starboard and Ashalla. They placed a neat little silk pillow where Qiang Yi would be sitting, a fresh ink bowl on the right side of where the page would lie, and then a page of white rice paper exactly in the centre of the table, making sure that it aligned perfectly with the four edges of the table itself. Qiang Yi straightened out his robes and sleeves, pulled his brush from the ribbon around his waist and slowly sat down on the pillow in a seiza position. The ocean stilled as he slowly dipped the brush in the ink and began to write. The brush danced gracefully across the paper, its hairs twisting and swinging as the characters bent and curved. Black lines thickened and thinned as the calligraphic stanzae grew downwards in columns like stalactites in a cave. It was slow work, incredibly slow, yet the dance could not be hurried - nor would one really want to. The brush’s steps and hops across the white surface left behind a painting with meaning, with everything from emboldened blots to near-unintelligible scratches.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Qiang Yi dusted the paper to help the ink dry and stood up.
“The work is completed, Your Holiness. Will Her Holiness permit this servant to read it?”
"Yes," Ashalla said. Qiang Yi cleared his throat and began to read slowly.
The rivers of the jungle fill my mind As I recall the times aboard His ship; A part of me will not leave that behind, Regardless of me sailing on this trip.
The rivers flow with beauty unforeseen; With nature much too fine to truly paint. A crystal ribbon through the endless green, A paradise that evil cannot taint.
However, there’s a challenge from the coast: A landscape with no land nor trees nor grass, Unmatched in beauty, yes, outshining most: A span of colours and creatures enmasse.
I truly praise the gods for this journey, For I can lay my eyes upon the sea.
Qiang Yi sucked in a deep breath, awaiting the goddess’ reaction. A burbling sound came from Ashalla. "What a wonderful poem!" she praised.
Qiang Yi stood dumbstruck for a second. The crew looked at each other with wide smiles. “R-really, Your Holiness?” Qiang Yi asked with honeyed droplets of hope in his voice.
"Yes. I shall remember this poem you have written about me and your journey so far," Ashalla said. She then lifted her gaze towards the northern horizon. "No storm shall harm you on your voyage to Tendlepog. I grant you safe passage through my ocean."
The aura of the ship filled with near-explosive joy as the crew members simultaneously bottled up their cheers, opting instead to fall to their knees before the goddess.
“Thank You, O Holiest Queen of the Ocean, Ashalla!” they all burst out in joyous harmony.
Ashalla took a few moments to soak up the praise. Then she asked, "What is the name of this servant who writes poetry and speaks on behalf of the other servants?"
Qiang Yi rose to his feet slowly and bowed. “That would be this servant, Your Holiness,” he said diligently. “This servant is named Qiang Yi and is a poet of the Wise caste among the servants. It also serves as captain of this vessel.”
Ashalla nodded, then said "May you and your fellow servants have a safe voyage, Qiang Yi."
The ship lurched again as the wind caught in the sails and the waves once again yielded to the ships’ motion. Ashalla stood and watched as the Zhengwu continued its journey. The servants all headed to the stern of the ship and bowed towards Ashalla until her form collapsed back into the ocean.
The crew remained silent for a moment. Then, they burst into a thunderous cheer. The ship nearly rocked more from the collective jumps than the waves, and crewmate embraced crewmate with laughter and song. Qiang Yi stood frozen for a moment, but was quickly stirred to life as the crew grabbed his every limb.
“Wait, what are y-!” he barely managed to exclaim before he was lobbed into the air. “Qiang Yi, Qiang Yi, Qiang Yi!” sounded the crew. The captain tried his best to twist himself in the air, but failed spectacularly and was forced to endure the victory for a little longer. After a while, he felt himself starting to enjoy it.
A minute or so later, he was finally let back down on deck and his shoulders filled with the squeezing hands of proud crewmates. Zhen-zhen stepped over and patted him on the back. “Well done, captain! It seems your skill actually paid off! Who’d have known that you’d actually get to save us all with poetry of all things?”
Qiang Yi appeared to still be dumbstruck, so Zhen-zhen punched him lightly in the side. He twitched and gave her a frown, which she returned with a grin. Qiang Yi looked down at the paper in his hand.
“Li Shan,” he called. The carpenter pushed his way through the crowd and gave Qiang Yi a bow. Qiang Yi bowed back.
“Take your fellow carpenters and craft a shrine to Ashalla. Her favour is key to our voyage - we ought to make certain we can earn it.” Li Shan nodded and gathered the necessary workers before heading below deck.
“The rest of you, good work,” Qiang Yi continued, “though I must request that you poke me a little softer next time.” There was a wave of giggles throughout the crowd.
“Well, you wouldn’t react, so…” Zhen-zhen said with a smug smirk. Qiang Yi smiled wryly back at her.
“We press on. Back to work, everyone.”
The crew of the Zhengwu have a memorial service for Li Gongxiu. They resolve to continue their voyage.
As Qiang Yi, the captain, is writing poetry, he is interrupted by the appearance of Ashalla. The crew identify her and all immediately prostrate themselves before the goddess and formally greet her. This strokes Ashalla’s already large ego.
Ashalla inquires about where the ship came from (for she had never seen such an object before). She mentions that their route takes them through storm-infested waters, thanks to the Maelstrom. Going the other way is longer and goes through dangerous rocks. The Zhengwu does not have enough water for the longer voyage.
Qiang Yi requests that Ashalla grant them safe passage through the storms. Ashalla agrees to grant this request if they can impress her with an act of artistry. Qiang Yi gets volunteered to write her a poem. (Hilariously, the servants have no idea how low Ashalla’s expectations are, as she had never seen poetry before.)
Ashalla likes Qiang Yi’s poem and grants the favour. "No storm shall harm you on your voyage to Tendlepog. I grant you safe passage through my ocean." (Blessing, free action under Storms and Ocean Portfolios)
The crew is extremely grateful and relieved for this. They celebrate after Ashalla leaves. A shrine to Ashalla is erected on the ship. They continue their voyage.
"Myes, I suppose I could grant such a favour to such loyal peasants." adjusts liquid monocle
The crew aboard Zhengwu had found it surprisingly hard to adjust to the movements of such a smaller vessel. As opposed to the mammoth size of Jiangzhou, the tumultuous waves of Nanhe actually manage to rock the ship quite a bit, inciting a most vile, crew-wide disease - which, upon reaching calmer parts of the river, turned out to merely be a lack of sea legs. The sails had, however, proved worthy of the voyage so far, granting Zhengwu more speed than any oar or current ever could. The southern winds struck diagonally across the curved sail, shooting the boat forward despite it going against the gusts.
A wonderful feat of physics, Qiang Yi though to himself - a grand blessing from the Exalted Creators, surely. The young man sat on deck next to a small table, upon which laid a page of rice paper and a small ink bowl. He dipped his brush, his dearest possession, into the ink, gently brushed off the excess droplets and bore it over to the page. With a stiff arm and a firm grip, he brought the brush down and let it dance across the white surface like a leaf on the wind.
Swish, swish, swish: The dancing waves below With pitches high and low, Guide our journey, O. Swish, swish, swish.
Tock, tock, tock: The feet of crew at work, Their skill without a quirk, Through darkness and through murk. Tock, tock, tock.
Drip, dri--
Qiang Yi tipped forward, causing his brush to strike over the characters he had already written, erasing them utterly. He let out a vexed grumble and stood up.
“What happened?” he boomed.
“Apologies, captain! We had to avoid a silt pile!” first mate Zhen-zhen shouted from the helm. Qiang Yi blinked and rose to his feet, hurrying over to the bow. His glistening, blue eyes became saucers as he glanced outwards across the vast, unending blue on the horizon. He was soon flanked by several more crew members, all awestruck by the presence of so much water.
“The Exalted Creators be praised,” one of the deckhands next to Qiang Yi whispered. Qiang Yi grinned and squeezed his shoulder.
“Behold, faithful crew - the ocean!” The crew burst out into loud cheers and clapped their hands. Qiang Yi grinned smugly and turned to the helm. He crossed the deck and ascended the stairs to the ship’s stern. Then, he sat down next to Zhen-zhen, who was manning the tiller. He gave her a nod, which she returned diligently.
“Have you gotten used to steering yet?” Qiang Yi asked with a wry smile. The girl grinned and nodded.
“Yes, captain! The rudder is heavy, but provided the waters are gentle, it shouldn’t be too much of an issue.”
Qiang Yi hummed in approval. “Good. We will keep a steady course along the coast for as long as possible, making certain to avoid the stronger currents closer to the shore while keeping a keen eye on our relation to the continent. If we reach open sea…” The two looked gravely at one another.
“... Prayer shall be our sail,” Zhen-zhen said reassuringly. Qiang Yi pursed his lips and nodded.
“Prayer shall be our sail,” he said ominously. “Keep up the good work, first mate Zhen-zhen.”
“Yes, captain,” she yelled and returned her gaze forwards. Qiang Yi stepped over to the railing at the front of the helmspost and observed the deck: The crew was diligently readjusting and tightening the sails against the strong southern wind; some brough buckets of water around for the deckhands to drink from.
All in all, Qiang Yi thought, the journey had started quite well. He took a moment to breathe in the distant sea air, not yet crowded with the fragrance of the jungle - just pure and clean.
“...tain..”
The sounds - oh, by the Creators, these waves were not like those of the river. Even from here, he heard their thunderous chorus battle with the gentle laps of Nanhe’s delta. Such a foreign, exciting tune.
“...aptain..!”
If he listened ever closer, he could swear that he heard--
“Captain!”
Qiang Yi snapped to and rubbernecked in most directions until his eyes fell on a group of three standing on the stairs to his left. He knew them - not well, but well enough. They were Li Shan and Li Gongxiu, both from the Skilled caste, and Wang Huangxia of the Noble caste. The speaker seemed to have been Wang Huangxia, for he came up the staircase and bowed to Qiang Yi, who bowed back. “Captain, are you well? You seem a little faint. Would you like to rest for a minute, perhaps?” Wang asked warily. Qiang Yi shook his head.
“Your concern is appreciated, Wang Huangxia. Pardon my reverie - I just felt so inspired by the sights; so many beautiful motifs for poetry, don’t you agree?”
Wang nodded with a cordial smile. “Certainly, captain. Would that I had your eyes and ears for the arts, and by the Exalted Creators, would I record them all with diligence.”
Qiang Yi smiled back and nodded. “A stellar wish, master Wang. Now, if I may ask, did you have something for me?”
“Certainly, captain. I would not have bothered you otherwise. These two gentlemen from the pumping room have a message for you.” He stepped to the side and allowed the two servants to step forth, both bowing to Qiang Yi, who bowed back.
“Captain,” said Li Shan in a deep voice, “we have solved the remaining issues with the windmill pump. Now we are ready to untie it at your command.” Qiang Yi smiled and bowed to them again.
“Stellar work, master Li, master Li. You may tell the rest of the Skilled to stand at the ready in the pumping room for when the strong unfurl the sails at sea. We should break into brack in an hour or so. Shortly thereafter, we should be turning northwards to catch the southern winds. Then, we will release the restraints on the windmill.”
“Yes, captain,” the two Lis said simultaneously and went to work. Qiang Yi turned back towards the bow, only to notice out of the corner of his eye that Wang Huangxia was still present. He turned his head and raised a curious eyebrow at the opposite man.
“Was there anything else, master Wang?” Qiang Yi asked.
Wang Huangxia hesitated, but then nodded. “Forgive me, captain, but did His Lordship tell you anything about how our bodies may react to saltwater?”
Qiang Yi blinked, his smile fading into a frown. “No… No, His Lordship did not, I am afraid.”
Wang looked up with disbelief in his eyes. “B-but His Lordship knows well that our spirits require pure fresh water to subsist. There is no telling what may happen to us if we are exposed to too much salt. Did you not ask him before we left?”
Qiang Yi looked away at the slowly approaching ocean and sucked in a deep breath. “Remain calm for now, if you can. Go out to the crew and tell them to make certain that their undressed body parts are especially well covered with their skin. Do -not- tell them of the unknown risks of saltwater exposure, master Wang. Morale is high for now; we need it to remain that way.”
With a heavy nod, Wang Huangxia let out a sigh and bowed. “Yes, captain.” Then he went down on deck. Qiang Yi felt his breathing accelerate ever so slightly.
“A little salt should be fine, even if it passed through the skin,” Zhen-zhen mumbled from the tiller. “However, to fall overboard--”
“No one will fall overboard,” said Qiang Yi, perhaps a little too firmly. “If we stay the course, the weather should be on our side. His Lordship have traversed the skies several times without experiencing a single storm.”
“Certainly,” Zhen-zhen said in a monotone voice, “though Jiangzhou is a holy vessel, and the skies are bound by different laws from the sea. His Lordship said it himself: Ours is the first sea voyage - we know not what we will encounter.”
Qiang Yi sucked in a deep breath yet again and let out a sigh that morphed into a groan. “I realise this, Zhen-zhen, but we cannot spread fear among the crew. We are the first, after all - the risks are like a menacing shadow in the shrubbery: We cannot see them clearly, but we know they are there. Uncertainty leads to fear, fear leads to panic, panic leads to--”
“Mutiny?” Zhen-zhen suggested. Qiang Yi paused, then looked over his shoulder down to the deck.
“Yes… Mutiny,” he whispered warily. Zhen-zhen shook her head.
“I apologise for my tone, captain,” she confessed. “One should not speak such words aboard a ship - they may bring back luck.” Qiang Yi nodded and shot one more look down on deck. There, the deckhands were jogging to and fro as the vast dark blue approached the bow. Some were retying the mast lines; some were running water rounds around deck; some were taking in the views; and some were staring back at him.
“... Yes… Bad luck,” Qiang Yi echoed quietly.
The brackwater brushed against Qiang Yi’s skin as they reached the lower edges of the delta. It itched, a little like a miniature cut. He stood at the front of the bow with one and on the railing and one shielding his eyes from the heliopolis. He felt his breathing speed up again as the surrounding crew members began to rub and scratch their various exposed parts. This certainly would not grow vexing over time, he thought angrily to himself.
This was, however, no time to think about such nonsense. The grey silt began to vanish from the water surface and give way to darker and darker sea. This was the time.
In an almost rehearsed motion, Qiang Yi turned to face the helm while he raised his hand. The crew simultaneously braced themselves. Qiang Yi shot a glance back at the sea, the abyss below signaling that they had left the delta. “NOW!” Qiang Yi boomed.
The crew rocked to the side as the rudder was violently jerked to the left, sending the ship on a sharp curve northwards. Some brave individuals let go of whatever they had been holding to turn the sails. Good, Qiang Yi thought. Everything was going according to pla--
There was a blood-curdling snap as the south wind caught the sternward sail harder than anticipated. The rope holding the sail snapped the hook it clung onto straight out of the woodwork, sending it like a morning star-tipped whip straight into the chest of Li Gongxiu, who had been manning that part of the sail. The force tossed the man off balance and against the railing - then another gust rocked the ship and sent him overboard.
Qiang Yi felt the colour drain from his eyes. “MAN OVERBOARD,” he roared and the crew all charged towards the stern to help him. Rope was found and weighted with a stone and tossed after him, but the crew stood in horror as all they saw were the man’s clothes floating emptily on the water surface.
The gusts gave out. The only sounds that coloured the black soundscape were the breezes from the south and west, and the tweets from the jungle back on land. A whimper grew louder and louder.
“Gongxiu-... GONGXIU!”
Qiang Yi let his eyes fall on Li Shan, who knelt in tears by the railing, his shoulders filling with the hands of his fellow crew members. He felt a nauseating clump fill his throat, one he could not seem to swallow for the life of him. He gently pushed his way out of the crowd and up to the helm. He stood at the front of the helmspost, scanning the deck from above. Slowly, the eyes of the crew began to fall on him. Qiang Yi tried once more to swallow, but felt himself choke.
“Did His Lordship know about this?!” came a voice from the crowd. Qiang Yi blinked and looked away.
“H-his Lordship did not inform me of this. We had no idea th--”
“But His Lordship must have known! We should have known! Why were we not told?!”
“I-!” Qiang Yi had to pick his words carefully. “I cannot answer why - for I do not know, either! We must have faith, however, that this is part of His Lordship’s plan!”
“No master should plan their servants’ death!” came a particularly angry voice, this one from a source Qiang Yi could place. Wang Huangxia stepped forth in the crowd. Qiang Yi felt moisture collect on his face, apart from the seabreeze.
“His Lordship certainly did not plan for us to die, but we are th--!”
“Yes, we are the first to sail the sea,” Wang Huangxia continued, “and yet we were not told about this. His Lordship likely hypothesised of this effect, but needed proo-!”
“Wang Huangxia!” came a voice from the railing. Qiang Yi recognised it as Li Shan's, but it was broken with emotion and tears. The red-ringed eyes of the carpenter burned with fury as he walked over and stabbed a finger in Wang Huangxia’s face.
“His Lordship may have left out some details about our bodies, but you will -NOT- stand here and use my friend’s death to speak ill of His Lordship, is that clear?!”
Wang Huangxia stood in shock at the gesture. The crew had similar expressions. Eventually, Wang recollected himself and got down on all fours in a kowtow.
“This servant apologises profusely for its heretical words.”
Li Shan nodded and looked at Qiang Yi with somber, yet determined eyes. “Orders, captain?”
Qiang Yi remained frozen for another second before his mind absorbed and processed the question properly. He blinked a few times and stared at the crew, who were all staring back. There it was, that curséd clump.
“First of all,” he began a little weaker than intended, “get the sternward sail under control. Then ascertain the status of the ship. Then…” Qiang Yi looked at Li Shan.
“Then we will take a moment to remember Li Gongxiu.”
Li Shan’s eyes teared up again and he rubbed them profusely with the sandy back of his hand. As the crew dispersed to perform their tasks, Qiang Yi felt his breath escape him.
“You have a lot of loyal people aboard, captain,” Zhen-zhen mused from her seat next to the tiller. “You’re a lucky man.”
“They’re loyal to His Lordship, first mate Zhen-zhen, not me,” Qiang Yi answered shamefully.
“If you continue to do His Lordship’s bidding, they will be,” Zhen-zhen said with a sad smile. Qiang Yi turned his head and sent her a sideways glance.
He prayed that he would be worthy of such.
He prayed dearly.
The scene opens with Qiang Yi doing poetry on deck. The ship sails lazily down Nanhe, though the waves are felt more strongly in such a small vessel. A sudden maneuver interrupts the poetry, but just in time for Qiang Yi to notice the beautiful ocean ahead. A consisting of three people, Li Gongxiu and Li Shan from the Skilled caste and Wang Huangxia from the Noble cast, come over to inform Qiang Yi that the windmill pump is ready.
After they have informed him, Wang Huangxia remains and asks if Qiang Yi knows what may happen to them if they get into contact with saltwater. Qiang Yi says he sadly doesn’t know, which upsets Wang Huangxia. Qiang Yi tells him to remain calm and inform the crew that they must harden their skins before they break into brackwater. Zhen-zhen reasons that a little seabreeze won’t do much harm, but that falling overboard will be painful. Qiang Yi reassures her that nobody will fall overboard and that the weather is on their side, which she is skeptical to.
Later, they reach the end of the river delta and are about to cross into the coastal ocean. Upon breaking out of the brackwater, they turn hard to starboard side (right) in order to avoid crossing too far into open ocean. However, the southern winds are too strong for the sails, and a terrible accident causes one of the crew members, Li Gongxiu, to fall out. He dies instantly.
This infuriates the crew, and Huangxia blames Shengshi for not telling them about the dangers of salt water. Li Shan, who is broken up about losing his friend, is having none of that heresy speak, however, and shuts him up. Qiang Yi later reemerges from his dumbstruckness and gives the crew new orders, growing increasingly aware of the difficulty of his role.
Hermes lazily scooted forward, nuzzling her face into the back of Xiaoli's head and taking in her scent. The two had come back to the room without getting much else done, and so it was still rather bare, but Hermes didn't mind. She was surprised that Xiaoli was tired enough to have fallen asleep alongside her, unless she had made it so on purpose. The Dreamer poked her sleeping companion, a tiny smile forming on Hermes’ face, she didn't doubt it.
Poppler buzzed out of Xiaoli's hair, drunk with sleep and crackled on its way to go get fresh air. Hermes shot the cloudling a look before continuing her gentle prodding, “Xiaoli?”
Xiaoli let out a quiet snore, rolling a bit further away from Hermes while hugging a pillow. Hermes leaned up into her elbow and rolled her eyes, at least she might be dreaming.
The woman sat up and patted her lap idly, thinking of what to do. Her eyes drifted to the right until they fell onto her weathered bag, the corner of a particular leather bound book poking out. A wide smile formed and she fell flat onto her stomach, attempting to reach the book without leaving bed. She was half hanging off the bed, one leg up in the air to counter her balance and an arms stretched as far as it could go before she managed to pinch the corner of the book and slide it out.
With a silent “hup” she pulled back to the bed and sat up. Her eyes fell on the sleeping form of Xiaoli, making sure she didn't accidentally wake her. Xiaoli let out some semi-coherent mumbles and then rolled over on her back. She evidently needed a new dress, or at least to mend parts of it, which became especially evident now that she did not focus on the way she carried herself. Hermes made a face, she'll have to figure out a way to get fabric for Xiaoli.
Letting her shoulders fall into the plush of some stacked pillows, Hermes cracked Abanoc's book open. Almost immediately her eyes widened as whispers entered her head. Her eyes scanned the blank pages and her brow furrowed. It only took a few minutes before the Dreamer slapped the book shut, her head buzzing with ideas as everything settled.
A certain confidence overtook her and she slipped out bed, carefully padding over to get her sandals and club. She peeked over her shoulder at the sleeping form of Xiaoli and gave herself a smug smile, having made a successful escape.
Slipping outside, Hermes feet brushed through the dew that gathered in the mossy glade. She wasn't sure why, but she rather liked waking up in the morning more than any other time. There was something peaceful about the world, as if it too was just waking up.
Sucking in a large dewey breath, Hermes smiled and hefted her club in both hands. Her eyes focused, and the images from the book popped into her head: it was basically a dance in its own right. She stepped, her arms weaved through the air, her club following. She stepped, the club came down at a surprising angle. She stepped, it came back up in such an arc to compliment the former. She turned, she stepped, her arms weaved and before she knew it, she had turned her dance into a dangerous one.
Her sandals fluttered and she sped up. She stepped, a blur. She stepped, a danger. She stepped, the club erupted from the blur. She stepped, her imaginary foe was defeated. With a confident smile, Hermes continued her repetitions, turning every facet of her dance into a defensive or offensive maneuver, using the advice of the book to perfect what she had created.
By the time sweat dripped down her chin, she was red faced and only somewhat satisfied. Leaning on her club she let out an expensive exhale and tried to replay the entire dance in her mind; if only she could actually put it to the test. It was fluid and beautiful, but was it effective and deadly? She didn't want to be the laughing end of a fight again, and certainly not when--
She looked down at her abdomen, her shirt clinging to her stomach -- certainly not when it mattered the most.
“Keep it up, my love,” Xiaoli said with a gentle smile. “You’re doing great.” She leaned against a nearby tree and observed Hermes intently while nibbling on some blades of sweetgrass.
Hermes nearly jumped out of her skin. Quickly recomposing herself she swung the club over her shoulder and spun to meet Xiaoli, “I thought it'd be good to learn. You know-- to fight.” She let the club fall head first into the ground and leaned against it, “How did you sleep?”
Xiaoli swallowed a few more blades and let out a hum. “Like Beihe outside the flood season! I didn’t even hear you leave.” The avatar shuffled over and placed her hand on the enormous club. “Is it heavy, may I ask?”
“Probably not for you,” Hermes gave her a smirk and pushed the handle towards Xiaoli, “Any dreams?”
Xiaoli grabbed the club by the handle and picked it up as it if was a stick. “No… Not this time, either,” she said with a huff and swung the club around in the air as if it was a reed, causing minor windshear.
“Hmph,” Hermes grunted and crossed her arms. She watched Xiaoli swing the club around intently, “I was certain you sleeping next to me would let you go to my dreams if you couldn't find any.”
“Oh, you wish I would, don’t you,” Xiaoli smirked and giggled before handing the club back to Hermes, who had to wrap both hands around it to heave it back over her shoulder. Xiaoli took a moment to absorb Hermes’ toned features and glistening skin. She walked over and squeezed her right bicep affectionately.
“I wouldn’t mind if you kept practicing, just so you know,” she said and winked.
“Mhm,” Hermes grunted knowingly, a smug smile toying across her face, “And what are you going to do?”
Xiaoli shrugged. “I made the rest of the house while you were practicing. I guess I will continue with the rest of the mansion.” She looked down at her clothes. “Alternatively, I could spruce up my wardrobe… Actually, I think I’m going to do that.” She let out a sigh. “Would you happen to know if there is any flax on Tendlepog? Any fiberous grass will do, really.”
“Well,” Hermes let the club fall as she thought, “There is the trip vine, but that's no good for covering yourself. Hmm.”
She looked over Xiaoli and then nodded, “it's not a plant, but the tree chasers have pretty fluffy coats.” She perked up, “Oh! If you take their coats, can you make me some clothes too? They look very cozy when they sleep and I'm not going to lie, I get jealous now and again.”
Xiaoli drummed her chin thoughtfully with her fingers. “Hmm.. Yeah, from what I can remember, they do seem rather soft! I’ll be right back, then.” With that, Xiaoli skipped happily into the woods.
Hermes gave a cheshire grin, only turning away once Xiaoli was out of sight. She laughed to herself, content, and swung her club.
Why didn’t she fly, Xiaoli wondered as she strolled through the undergrowth. She was perfectly capable of flight - all she had to do was bend gravity to her will and demand that the winds push her forward in a controlled manner; yet, something about that method felt inherently like… Cheating. She reasoned the birds she would pass by would be awfully jealous, having to flap and flap and flap to maintain lift. It all just seemed a little too cheap to her - besides, the forest was lovely this time of day.
Xiaoli chuckled as she heard the birds sing to each other, but furrowed her brow as soon as she actually paid attention to the lyrics. She decided to merely clear her throat and move on. The occasional chameleon squirrel complained about having ironically camouflaged its nuts too well again, and the avatar sometimes had to dodge patches of curious flying moss that probably thought her hair looked like tasty dead grass.
Eventually, that nice little stroll brought her to the vast open plains of Tendlepog, characterised by the docile flocks of trees crowding around the water holes, only to be ambushed by-- There was one! A tree eater! Xiaoli hurried over, taking cover behind a rock to observe the creatures closer. It was large - likely the size of a farmer ape, or larger - with a colossal mouth and a cozy-looking coat. Xiaoli pondered for a moment - she wouldn’t have to kill to steal its coat, right?
The huge beast had seemingly just managed to snatch one of the elder, sicklier trees, its massive jaws gnawing menacingly on the wiggling wood. Now was her chance!
She snuck a little closer. The beast did not notice her, or did perhaps not care enough - either way, she would not waste this opportunity. She slowly stood up, eliciting a sideways glance from the wooly beast, though little more. She slowly approached and, with a careful hand, reached out to pat the beast. Thankfully, it seemed rather preoccupied with eating. It was likely a beast without many predators - generally calm and sweet, unless one happened to have bark and leaves. The question still remained, though: How on Galbar would she get the pelt without killing, or at the very least maiming, the poor creature?
Xiaoli tugged gently at a handful of strands, eliciting a deep rumble from the chewing beast. Perhaps she could cut it, somehow - shear it, even. Xiaoli looked around for suitable rocks, though she dared now wander too far and lose sight of the tree eater. Eventually, she came upon a stone suitable for sharpening, its shape tending towards oval with an almost natural handle.
As she ran her hand over the blade and sharpened it, however, she heard the unmistakable sound of rustling grass.
“Noooo, no, no, no!” Xiaoli whispered angrily to herself and jogged back to the water hole. The tree eater had finished its meal, leaving only twigs and a sticky pool of sap on the ground. In the distance, a happy beast trundled through the grass.
“Oh no, you don’t!” Xiaoli shouted and gave chase. The beast looked around and, initiating what little fight-or-flight response it was born with, started sprinting away from the knife-wielding avatar.
“Come back here!” Xiaoli shouted again, her knife in one hand and the front of her skirt in the other. The rest of the afternoon on the savannah was characterised with humanoid shouting, animalistic whimpering, and a sudden appearance of slightly nuder tree eaters.
Xiaoli returned to the house with her hands full of colourful striped fleece. But as soon as she turned a tree, entering the glade she stopped in her tracks. There by the newly built house, Hermes was looking up at and talking with the many armed crystalline form of the Lord of Riddle: Eurysthenes. It had reached down with an arm to point at Hermes’ forehead.
”Tell me. This mark, the one of spirals. Does it betray loyalty, or merely showcase it?” it asked in a confusingly straightforward manner.
Xiaoli immediately dropped all the fleece she had in her hands and knelt into a kowtow.
“Y-y-your Holiness! This servant apologises profusely for her insolence in not noticing Your exalted presence earlier!”
The gesture was firm and serious, though it would have looked better had Xiaoli not been shouting into the ball of fleece she had just dropped. Hermes seemed to have been pulled from her finger-biting thoughts and looked over.
A short moment of groveling passed, before Xiaoli felt herself being lifted by her back to her feet. The wool was dangling in the air in front of her.
”Such gestures are unbecoming of an Avatar,” it clicked, and began reeling in its arms, ”What, I would ask of you, is the reason?”
Xiaoli seemed dumbstruck for a moment, slowly picking the fleece out of the air and piling it back up in her arms. “Y-your Holiness, it’s a gesture of respect - to honour Your Holiest of presences. As a student of the Flow, such courtesy is a must, in this servant’s eyes.” She tipped a bow upon finishing her sentence.
The stare of This One was scrutinizing. It patted her on the head. ”Respect yourself and stay on your feet. Better yet, respect your creator and use those feet to hold yourself up. Covering your face with ground is not respect, it is silly.
“Oh!” Hermes spoke up from behind Eurysthenes and in defense of Xiaoli, “She’s not from Swahhitteh-Tendlepog,” The Dreamer started to explain, “These are different customs, it took me a while to understand them, too.”
“Did you really build all of this with K’nell?” Hermes asked the riddle god with wide eyes.
Eurysthenes blinked without eyes at Hermes. Whether this was out of understanding or uncaring was unknown. It tapped her on the forehead, directly on the center of the spiral.
Hermes’ vision swam, and while she was completely sure there was ground underneath her feet, she was soaring above it. There was nothing but ocean in sight. Ocean, a staircase, and the entrance to Limbo. Ever so slowly the massive cogs spiraled into existence. Each rock, ridge, and slope meticulously placed. Each trick of the light curated. Even the parts Hermes thought she knew were hazy.
When she came to, the feeling that she had been gone for years could not escape her, though everything was unmoved. The woman stood in shock, wavering back and forth as it all assimilated into the correct parts of her mind until finally she blinked. Sucking in a huge breath, all she could mutter was, “Wow.”
A smile formed on Eurysthenes’ face. It was a grotesque thing, though undeniably friendly at its core. ”Do you know what it is at the core? What it is to have been mean. Simply put, have you shown others what?”
“What?” Hermes almost echoed the riddle, her face befuddled.
This One hummed. ”What is brown and sticky?”
“--Sap?” Hermes pondered out loud.
Silence. Eurysthenes scratched it's head. ”That is… not the answer I'm looking for. Tell me, what has layer upon layer, though makes you cry the more you see of it?”
Hermes bit her finger in thought, “Oh! Li’Kalla had some in her kitchen--” She thumped a hand against her head, “Little round plant bulb, flaky outer skin, mushy insides, juice that makes you cry.”
It patted her on the head. ”You know what I speak of, child. Well done.”
Hermes seemed to scrunch a little under the pat but didn’t outright object to being told she was right, “Thank you.”
This One turned as if to go, but stopped halfway. ”But before I leave, tell me, why did K’nell make you?”
“At first,” Hermes said with a shrug, “To experience, but then, to be more than that.”
Eurysthenes nodded. ”And tell me, what is the most worthy thing to experience?”
“I don’t know,” Hermes answered, “And with how experiences tend to go, I don’t think I ever will.”
It stared at her for a second, waved, and left, melding into the surrounding forest. The moment it could no longer be seen, Hermes’ form flickered for a brief second and she blinked in confusion, her face twisting with thought.
Xiaoli appeared as if she had been hiding behind the mountain of fleece in her arms, her face pink with shame and embarrassment.
“D-do you think I insulted him?” she whimpered at Hermes. She lifted her gaze and let her eyes lock on to Hermes’, furrowing her brow.
“Did His Holiness Eurysthenes do anything to you? Your aura is different.”
Hermes’ eyes disappeared and then reappeared, “I can make things seem a way that they are not, it seems.” She seemed shocked, but admittedly less shocked than expected, likely getting used to the blessings. “I like Eurysthenes--” She looked over at Xiaoli’s pout, “I think he liked you too, he is just hard to read.”
Xiaoli blinked and dropped her fleece yet again. She quickly paced over to Hermes and put her hands on her cheeks, squinting as she let her eyes scan her with great detail. “‘Make things seem a way that they are not’,” she echoed. “C-can you show this power now, you think?”
Hermes pursed her lips in thought, and then in an instant Hermes’ face flickered and then the River-girl was staring at a reflection of herself where Hermes’ face should be. Xiaoli jumped back and hid her face in her hands, only peering back through a split opening between two fingers.
“That’s-... Very frightening, I’ll be honest… Also, do I really look that boney in the face?”
Hermes’ face reappeared, “I think you mean to say beautiful.”
Xiaoli’s pale face reddened and she giggled faintly. “... Dumby.” She turned around and picked up the fleece yet again. “Did He tell you anything else, by the way? You seemed a bit… Lost for a moment, there.” She walked over to the house and stored the wool just behind the door.
Hermes peeked at the fleece, “Oh, he said a lot of things, but they were all questions, and I am not sure how well I answered them.”
Xiaoli hummed curtly. “Well, I’m glad His intent was good, either way.” She clapped some dust off her hands.
“K’nell does the same thing,” Hermes observed, taking a few scanning steps towards Xiaoli “Is it a Divinity thing?”
Xiaoli nodded sheepishly. “The Exalted Creators do have a… Less than fortunate tendency to be quite indirect in their ways of speaking… I may be, too, on occasion.”
“Not that,” Hermes chuckled and poked Xiaoli’s nose, eliciting a blink and an ‘oh’ from her, “You all hum when you think.”
“M-maybe we do. I’ve never thought about it.” She began to hum, but then cut herself off. “Is it annoying?”
“I like it,” Hermes shrugged, “I just noticed is all.”
“Oh! Well, I’m glad you don’t mind it.” She winked and poked Hermes’ nose back. “I’m going to find some materials to make a spindle, okay? I won’t be long.”
Hermes gently bit Xiaoli's finger, “Mmkay.” She let go and smiled. Xiaoli grinned and giggled before skipping happily into the woods.
“You seem taken to her,” A grainy voice appeared from the woods.
“Yep!-” Hermes turned and froze. K'nell stood at the border of the glade, a crow on each shoulder, “K'nell!”
The God's smile crecented and he tilted his head, “And I see you have met Eurysthenes.”
“Yes,” Hermes smiled wide, “He was very nice.”
“Good,” K'nell began to walk past Hermes, only to suddenly stop, “I had felt Limbo fluctuate and wane as if someone had stepped into it. Would you know why?” His silver eyes studied the house.
“It was me,” Hermes answered sheepishly, “I had gotten curious.”
K'nell hummed in thought, causing anxiety to split over Hermes’ face, “I see.” He turned to her, “It is good you are okay, such a place is not for idle walks.”
Hermes’ anxiety turned to guilt, “I know-- now.”
“Then I will be wise to keep it closed, and you will compliment by heeding my advice,” K'nell stepped towards the Dreamer. Hermes nodded, and K'nell put a hand on her shoulder, “I wish you luck on your house, and your-” The God smiled, “Your new family.”
Hermes smiled back and with a silvery wink, K'nell had disappeared back into the woods, in the direction of Limbo.
Hermes wakes up after one hell of a night and pokes Xiaoli a little. It seems she is fast asleep, so Hermes gets out of bed and reads a bit in Abanoc’s book. There, she learns kung fu and hears Mobius say, “show me” from the outside, so she goes out to train. She combines her war dance with her sandals and trains both defensive and offensive strategies.
After a while, Xiaoli shows up and compliments her. The two discuss dreams, then flirt a bit, then Hermes asks what Xiaoli’s up to. She answers that she needs some new clothes and Hermes recommends she goes to hunt tree eaters. Xiaoli does this and comes back with fleece for new clothes.
Upon returning, she finds that Hermes has received a visit from Eurysthenes and proceeds to kowtow. Eurys finds this silly and lifts her back up before giving Hermes helluvan acid trip. Pimp Daddy Eurys then disappears, leaving Hermes with the ability to create minor illusions on herself.
Xiaoli, still a little bummed after Eurys told her her kowtowing was silly, is a little wary at first, but then Hermes shows her her new power and Xiaoli freaks out. Hermes manages to flirt her back into reality. Xiaoli then strolls off into the woods to the woods to make a spindle so they can turn the fleece into yarn. While she is gone, K’nell returns to Tendlepog, asks Hermes if she’s been to Limbo and then considers closing it to outsiders. He then disappears, too.
Eurys: Somehow or another she becomes aware that she can manipulate minor parts of her appearance through illusions. 1 FP for praising
The snake woke up by the river bank. He could not tell how long he had been asleep, though he quickly realised it had been long enough for a couple of frogs to decide that he made for decent cover in the rain - rain… The Nanhe jungle often experienced the few remains of the west clouds from the Saluran Mendidih, so this was rather common these days. He was surprised it had not awoken him sooner. He still felt far from rested, however - was that perhaps a divine plight?
A question he would likely ponder several times in the future, he mused. Regardless, now that the first waves of larger fauna and even some flora had been brought to these woods, he could return to the second mission he had set upon himself before he left Jiangzhou: He would send a gift to his friend K’nell on Tendlepog.
He scratched his chin as he slithered into the water and began his swim towards Jiangzhou. How would he send him this gift, he wondered. He felt powerless to sail the ship through the sky all the way to Tendlepog, and he felt it would be a little impolite, perhaps, to demand such a feat of Xiaoli, seeing as she had a guest over. As the snake climbed back onboard, he snapped his fingers and a servant came up and kowtowed before him.
“This servant awaits its command, Your Lordship,” he said. The snake nodded.
“Good. Have fifty servants of the Strong and fifty of the Noble gather as much water and wine as they can carry - then I want them to take thirty from the Skilled and fashion boats from the trees below. They are to bring the wine to Limbo on Tendlepog.” The servant tipped even deeper.
“Of course, Your Lordship. Anything else?” the servant said.
The snake rubbed his chin. “Give me the name of their leader once they have been gathered up. That will be all.”
“Your will be done, Your Lordship.” The servant got to its feet and walked backwards with an inclined torso until it turned the corner. The snake hummed and looked over the side of the ship at the jungle. Very well, he had decided the Servants would travel in his stead, though Shengshi slowly began to feel like he had forgotten something.
The Servants soon began to chop down the smaller trees at the edge of the jungle, and the snake quickly began to realise what he had forgotten. He jumped overboard and went over to the closest lumberjack.
“You there,” the snake called out. The lumberjack turned, dropped her axe and kowtowed.
“This servant awaits Your command, Your Lordship,” she said dutifully. The snake nodded and looked to the log the servant had been chopping at. It had reached the point where it could be salvaged as a poor excuse for a canoe, but would likely turn into firewood upon further processing.
“What are you making, servant?” the snake inquired. The servant stood up and bowed.
“As His Lordship requested, this servant is building a boat,” the servant responded quickly. The snake gave the ‘boat’ another runover with his reptilian eyes. He raised his gaze and saw similar results along the riverbank. He let out a shameful sigh - Phystene was going to despise him for this.
“I have changed my mind. Go to every lumberjack in the area and tell them to cease production. These boats will not do, I am afraid.”
The lumberjack looked heartbroken for a moment, but then nodded, bowed and sprinted off to spread the news. A silly mistake by his own hand, the snake thought angrily to himself. He felt himself still much too weak to give his servants the aid they deserved, too.
Although, the snake pondered, it did not necessarily have to be him.
After a while, the snake had ascended to the top of his tower. He sat down on the veranda with his harp, a bowl of wine and his wonderful little cage of birds. This idea seemed rather silly, though it could technically work.
“I just hope Urhu is nearby…” the snake mumbled to the birds, who began to tweet, sing and squawk. Shengshi tried his best to play his harp along to the bird song - perhaps Urhu had had the birds for so long before she gave them away that her mind would remember their melody?
In some distant side of the continent, Urhu was gazing upon a beach, Nyeothay Tag anchored by the shore. ”Perhaps a tower of stone… no, too cliche. A waterfall? It would be quite a lot of work. I could shape that rock to look like the head of a dragon, but it certainly wouldn’t be noticeable at night…” she sighed, setting up landmarks was hard work. Tired of thinking so hard, the goddess found a fallen palm tree and sat on it, sighing loudly, trying to unwind her tension. As she did so, she couldn’t help but notice the bustling jungle to her left, it was always relaxing to hear so much life at once… though something quickly got her attention, the birds sang a melody that felt so similar to her.
The birds she once housed in Nyeothay Tag usually sang not only in repeating patterns individually but had some sense of order among the group as well, perhaps a reminiscent of Asura’s influence, as such, they had a very easy to recognize repertory and this was undoubtedly it, albeit echoed through the land. It took her some thought, but she soon realized what could be the cause of this.
The snake spotted a small, rapidly growing dot in the distance and grinned. Had his plan worked against all odds? He plucked harder at the harp strings and sent the melody dancing between the jungle foliage along with the birdsong.
Since the message seemed to odd in its sneakiness and done in such a hurry, Urhu was assuming the worst, that the god had been kidnaped or was about to be executed by some of the more warlike gods or worse, she flew Nyeothay Tag at its smallest size and at its fastest speed, hair flowing as the supersonic speeds were enough to mess even the hair of a goddess, her sword, a gift from Seihdhara, in hand. She was able to deduce Shengshi’s location by the way the bird song was spreading like a splash on water, though by now she could spot the gold glint of Jiangzhou.
Nyeothay Tag approached it with the speed of a falling meteor, the goddess didn’t wait for the ship to be fully stopped before she jumped out, wielding her sword, falling quickly towards the roof but landing gently. Her eyes raced around searching for possible sources of trouble… and then met Shengshi playing music on his harp. The snake stopped the second Urhu slammed into the rooftop of his tower; he recoiled backwards and hugged his harp like a stuffer animal. She stopped and stared at him from the roof for a moment, before casually walking up the slop and jumping into the veranda, stopping by the railing. “Uhm… Is everything alright? Did you call for me?”
The snake blinked a couple of times before clearing his throat. “A-uhm! Yes, I did indeed intend to summon you, my dearest sister Urhu!” The snake got up and kowtowed before the goddess. “It is truly a joy to see you again.”
She let out a sigh, greeting him back with a nod, perhaps her attempt to imitate him. ”Ah, I completely misunderstood your message, I thought… Well, that it could be a matter of life and death.” casually she placed her sword back on her belt and smiled. ”It has been a long while since we last met. Did you notice my seasons? I finally managed to finish that project and I cannot thank you enough for helping me with that.” another noticeable change was the goddess’ attire, from crude lizard hides to fine linen and gold, it almost made her look like a different being entirely.
The snake stood back up again and grinned. “Yes, it has indeed been too long! I -have- noticed a chill in the air, as well as a heat on the wind, both changing throughout time - I am so happy that your project came to fruition, my dear. Oh, and I certainly hope my harp playing was not so bad as to sound like a cry for help.” The snake chuckled sheepishly, with a slight hint of self-consciousness in his voice. “Oh, and may I add: I adore your new attire. Such a wealthy, beautiful style - did you make it yourself?”
”What made me suspicious was how cryptic it was, a bit uncharacteristic, but let's move past what is already solved. Ah, yes, I made this outfit myself, had to spend some time crossing the entirety of the world multiple times to get gold from one continent, dyes from other and textile from here, it was tiring, but I am the goddess of travel, so there is no more fitting way to get my materials.” she smiled and walked into the veranda fully, jumping to the floor.
“My, such a journey for clothing - well, I should not be one to talk! For such magnificent craftsmanship, I, too, would have made an equally arduous journey, I confess.” The snake put his hand on his heart with a grin. “Would you like a little something to drink, perhaps? Perhaps a bite to eat?”
“Always! … I mean, yes, I would enjoy it. Thank you very much.” she grinned, starting to move along with Shengshi when she noticed a servant. ”Huh, your guys are looking a bit different now. More… hairy and… limby?”
The servant, who had seemingly been dusting off a porcelain vase, cast himself to the floor before Urhu. “Ten thousand years and more to both Her Holiness Urhu and His Lordship Shengshi!” he shouted diligently into the floor. “Yes, Your Holiness. His Lordship recently blessed us all with true, free forms - now we are able to fulfill His Lordship’s and His Lordship’s guests’ every wish.”
The snake nodded. “Please have the cooks make my exalted sister some fried rice, some soy-braised carp and some mango pudding; then have the winemasters find us a bottle of our finest apple spirits.”
The servant somehow pressed his forehead deeper into the ground. “His Lordship’s will be done!” Then he stood up, bowed and walked backwards until he reached the door, which he promptly exited.
“Oh, they all talk as well now? And with such clear diction, how incredible. Though with bodies of mud, I wonder if they’d serve the baths as well as the pure water ones.” the last bit was told in a bit of self-reflective whispers. “And the banquet sounds quite amazing already, eons will pass but I do not think your hospitality can be matched… albeit, should we really be drinking spirits? That seems a bit… unfortunate to those souls.”
“Hmm? Oh!” The snake let out a loud chuckle. “Quite a good pun, that one - I cannot believe I have not thought of that one before.” He snickered and put some drumming fingers on his chin. “As for the servants, their skin types differ depending on the concentration of mud to sand. The one that was tending to the porcelain had skin of mud as to not scratch the surface of the porcelain - a sand-skinned servant may have been so unfortunate, you see. Likewise, the bathhouses are managed by sand-skins alone, as mud-skins sadly cause such a mess in there due to all the steam. A sad truth, but a truth nonetheless.” He sighed. “I hope the order I placed for you was satisfactory? I apologize for not consulting your opinion first.” He bowed apologetically in her direction as they descended the stairs.
Urhu laughed along with Shengshi as he noticed the pun and then nodded thoughtfully as he explained the way his servants adapted to each task. “That is a very elegant solution, I should have guessed you had everything in mind. About the food though, you should not worry, I believe a good guest should allow their hosts to serve any meal they see fit, even if it crosses their comfort zone, barring, of course, some justified philosophical objections. Not that any of the mentioned meals do that, on the contrary, it all seems to be of my taste.”
The snake bowed again. “How fortunate. I am glad.” As they turned the final swing of the spiral staircase, the two were greeted by the familiar sight of the golden banquet hall - however, this time was quite different from Urhu’s last visit: Along the walls stood servants, all bowing at a forty-five degree incline towards the two gods, a pattern that continued along the bottom of the staircase down into the banquet hall. As one mighty voice, all the servant simultaneously spoke, “Ten thousand years and more to Her Holiness Urhu - welcome aboard Jiangzhou!” The snake snapped his fingers and the red paper lanterns in the hall flared up with a warm glow that danced in the golden edifices of the gold and silver around the hall. The scents and fragrances that felt nearly as tangible as they food they rose from permeated the atmosphere. From the hall beneath sounded gentle music from harps, flutes and drums.
“Magnificent, is it not?” the snake said proudly and clapped at the servants’ performance.
Urhu rose an eyebrow at the synchronized chanting of the servants, it was definitely not the aesthetic she would have gone with, but all else was truly majestic, the room’s decoration and lights, the aroma of the banquet and the music, it was nice to have musicians around, she recognized, no wonder Seihdhara had been trying to teach her how to perform. ”It is indeed wonderful,” she told gently.
“They are always incredibly thankful for praise,” the snake noted and smiled at a nearby servant who bowed even deeper. “They may not smile back as many others would, but they are still quite appreciative of everything they receive. A truly wonderful species, if I may be so arrogant and say so myself.” As they arrive at the banquet table, Shengshi pulled out Urhu’s dedicated chair for the goddess to sit in. Urhu’s plate with steaming hot, deliciously smelling food had already been placed on the table in front of the empty chair, a pair of chopsticks flanking the plate on the right side. The goddess’ glass was already filled to the brim with apple wine.
“Please, have a seat, dear sister.”
The goddess nodded and did so with a smile, adjusting her position on the table, clearly eyeing the alcoholic beverage above all, licking her lips as she took the first sip. ”Ah! This tastes so different from the one I have in Nyeothay Tag’s holding bay. It has a lasting taste, it's quite nice.” she distracted herself focusing only on her palate for a moment before smiling, eating some of her meal as well, then looking with a quizzical expression at Shengshi. ”Great food and drinks aside however, I cannot help but be curious at this invitation. I do think a visit was long overdue on my part, but I assume there is something specific you’d like to talk about?”
The snake slithered over to his own chair, a gold-framed, throne-like piece of furniture with patterned red silk upholstering. He took up his own glass, sipped it just a little and rolled the wine around in his mouth before swallowing. “I missed you dearly, dear sister, so I thought I could call you over for a visit.” He gave her a wink. “Furthermore, I have a proposition that could benefit us both - one that is not only limited to another gift of all the wine you can drink. Speaking of, how much remains of the batch I gave you the first time? Was it to your liking?” He grinned and had another sip.
“Some still remain, I have been hosting Seihdhara in my ship and she is a heavy drinker, something must be said about your generosity when even the fury of the goddess of combat is not enough to end all of your gift over seasons worth of heavy drinking.” she said laughing. “And yes, it was to my liking, without it, I would never had thought about seasons, or perhaps I would have reached a simpler, less interesting, result.”
The snake gave a warm chuckle. “How absolutely stellar! To think my wine would have the honour of being shared with Seihdhara!” His smile waned a little and he grumbled, “... Even if her blood river did pollute Beihe… Though I am certain that was not intentional. Such is water flow, after all.” He took another sip. “But yes, the proposition.” He sat his glass down on the table and snapped his fingers. A servant came over to Urhu with a scroll of rice paper, rolled up neatly with a red ribbon and carried on an exquisite gold plate. The servant bowed her head and knelt down, lifting the plate up to Urhu.
“This is the oddest dish served so far.” she jested, taking the scrolls and opening it, spending some time reading about the situation and nodding slowly as she came to understand it. “Of course I could help, I have been sailing in Nyeothay Tag for such a long time that I could not help but to think of new ways to deal with boat building from now on… That said, are you sure the situation is as bad as you describe?”
“Oh, I likely exaggerated with some flairy and dire adjectives and such for effect, but the general gist is such - as it stands, my schedule is much too full to undertake a journey to Tendlepog, and I fear what power I had gathered after reforming the servants, was spent on spreading life throughout my jungle.” He gestured to the paper. “Therefore, I beseech you, dearest sister, to aid me in building ships for my servants so they may send dear brother K’nell a gift of wine and spirits, and - if it would not trouble you - watch over them as they journey northwards. Theirs will be the first sea voyage on this world - it is certain to be perilous.” His smile turned into a grim frown for a moment and he bowed his head.
With a nod, Urhu seemed to get very interested in what Shengshi was proposing. “Of course, it would be my pleasure to look over the first mortal sea travelers. It will surely be a perilous journey, but not an impossible one. With that said, may I see the work already done towards these ships? I want to see what changes will need to be made…”
The snake grimaced a little, but conceded with a nod. “They are no ships, I concede. Though that is my mistake - I sent my servants to do a task they were unequipped with the knowledge to finalise. The result lies on the riverbank below. Please, follow me.” The snake rose from his seat and walked over to Urhu’s chair, offering her a courteous hand to help her up. The goddess awkwardly took the hand, not wanting to be rude but not used to being lead by hand unless she was flying as Seihdhara ran at a fast speed. The snake nodded and let go of her hand as soon as she was at her feet, moving back up the the stairs. The servants lined up as usual, bowing their farewells to their lord and guest.
As the two made landfall on the western riverbank of Nanhe, they were greeted by the sight of the abandoned ‘ships’. The arguably prettier examples of these sad excuses for canoes were the ones which had not been chopped into sizable firewood logs. These had no apparent bow or stern, nor anything that seemed eligible to be called seating - the finest examples being chipped indents into the tops of some larger tree trunks. Most of the trunks, however, had been utterly mutilated rather than carpentered.
The snake let out an ashamed sigh and grimaced at Urhu as he gestured to the wooden mess.
“This is sadly the result of their hard work. The Wise are true in their words - a writer with no brush cannot write; neither can a novice with one.”
“Uh… Hmm. Perhaps some of those adjectives were warranted after all.” she sighed, before starting to walk a bit closer to the examples. “Also, it's so interesting, these are unlike the servants that I expected, they seem more… autonomous?”
The snake nodded. “I figured their impeccable service - as well as inconvenient bodies - warranted a rebirth with better circumstances. They are sapient, beautiful and powerful - truly, a lord could not wish for better helpers. They live to serve, and will satisfy my guests’ every wish and demand to the best of their ability.” He glanced back at the boats. “Their wisdom and skill, however, is bound to the ship; without Jiangzhou and all its assets, the Servants will likely find themselves regressing into a most primal existence. I would not want that for them - not for all the riches in the world. So to summarise, they are autonomous in the sense that their spirits have transcended their previous, simple forms.”
Some of those meanings had been lost to Urhu, but she believed she understood Shengshi, “I see. Well, I think there are a few problems we are dealing with here, one is the size, second is… everything else. I believe their ancestry in the Jiangzhou calls for something more, uhm, complex, than canoes. They could manage larger ships as a group, and I do think larger ships are better for sea travel, as they can carry more goods. Now, there are a few basics I will teach to them, especially the sail, as I do such, could you prepare samples from local materials so I may adapt the designs of the ships?”
The snake raised an eyebrow. “A sail?” he inquired and looked at Jiangzhou, specifically its lack of such a feature. “Well, I suppose they ought to learn it to manage mortal ships. Your help is dearly appreciated, sister Urhu.” He bowed again. “When it comes to materials, I reckon the Xishan grassplains may have certain species of flax that could be spun into linen, then into sails…” He hummed a little more. “I will gather the samples. I will be back in a moment.” He nodded and dove into the river, rocketing upstream like a crimson torpedo.
The goddess sighed, looking around at the amphibian-like creatures near her, the goddess of travel clapping her hands. “Alright, let’s get this started while I wait for Shengshi. But first, let me prepare some material examples of the concepts I will teach.” she would start building up model ships to show some principles, rubbing under her chin as she wondered what sort of wood would be the best and how she would deal with mortal needs such as food and water in a non-divine vessel.
After a moment, the snake returned with the samples. Albeit a little damp, he presented Urhu with Xishan flax, soft jungle wood and grass fibers. “Are these samples satisfactory, dear sister? If they are, I will promptly gather some more.”
Urhu looked at the examples. “The flax is great, the fibers will do well for ropes, albeit they could be better, the wood…” she pressed it and shook her head. “It won’t do in a rough sea, especially for a large ship. Let me see what can be done about that.” the goddess looked around and placed the sample on a clearing she found, soon, a large tree had sprouted and matured, seeding other similar trees until a clearing had formed. These trees were tall and twisted, with soft bark of a strong sand-like color. “The bark can be used for the hull while the wood can be used for the structure, however, there are very specific structures you need to build for a ship of this wood to be seaworthy, it was designed to not need tools but mastery, and the ships it makes will be unmatched navigators for eons, though not many ships can be made from it.” she explained, and then sighed. “I hope they are great at rope making. Speaking of which, I should also bless the flax and the fibers, especially the fibers, to be better suited for the long journey. Could you show me where you found them?”
The snake admired the tree with an amused grin. He poked at the soft bark and marveled at the little indentation he had made. However, he quickly gathered himself and nodded at Urhu. “Naturally. Follow me, please.”
The two began to move northwards through the jungle.
The snake and Urhu had been quick to travel through the undergrowth and overgrowth - occasionally passing by some frog monkeys who gave some startled ooks. They also ran past a farmer ape who was happily gnawing on a stick of bamboo and, upon seeing the speeding deities, croaked in confusion. Now the snake and the traveller were gazing at an endless landscape of tow-coloured grass that glistened in the sun - apart from the grass, however, the plains were empty, save for the occasional boar. Shengshi raised an eyebrow and put his hands on his hips.
“They really do thrive anywhere, huh…” he mused. A brown, snouted ball of brown fur in the distance gave a puzzled oink at the funny figures standing at the jungle border.
Urhu pondered for a while, before touching the ground again, the grass went from fields of green to slowly spreading purple. Being the goddess she was, she had decided to do that in a hidden valley, making sure the keep the purple grass rare. “The grass from this color should make the best, most reliable ropes. Its exclusive to this region, you can harvest most of it, but leave some for later. In second thought, the flax we have is good for the sails, I think we have the materials your servants need to build the ship.” The snake bowed. “You are much too generous, dear sister. Let us be swift, then, so the servants can begin post-haste.” With that, he began to round up as much flax as he could carry, making certain, however, not to take it all. He rolled it together into a bale and swung it over his back and began to slither back into the jungle.
“It just would be a shame for such a travel to end in disaster. I am trying to balance generosity with a true challenge. Speaking of which, perhaps it would be best for the servants to not know the goddess of travel is at their side, don’t you agree?”
The snake let out a ponderous hum. “Perhaps it would be. While I doubt they would grow overconfident, they are still quite new to this sensation of consciousness - that could very well pose a threat as well as an opportunity, as you say.” Eventually, he nodded. “So be it. They shall be oblivious to your protection.”
With a smile, the goddess nodded in agreement. “I will write instructions on the basics of shipbuilding when are back at Jiangzhou. For the more specific instructions we need, such as how to use the special materials… Hmm, do you think the servants have some sort of leader figure?” she rose her hand and a dark cloak appeared over her clothes, hiding her in the warm shadows of the subtropical forest.
The snake let out another hum. “I will have them elect one when we are back.”
It did not take long for the Servants to organise themselves into labour teams, several groups of twenty individuals quickly felling the proper trees and sorting flax. They began to separate the bark from the wood, and the carpenters began to shape and form the wood into proper planks, which were bound together using the fibers that would not be spun into linen. A thousand servants sat in a row, spinning thread and sewing sails like a well-oiled machine. A thousand more began constructing the ship frames with great precision and skill. Urhu’s instructions had been divine in quality, albeit Shengshi had to translate her writing.
As the Servants worked tirelessly on the river bank, Shengshi slithered back into the jungle. “Your schematics were immaculate, dear sister,” he spoke seemingly into nothingness. “I hope they were not too much trouble to produce.”
“I hope they were not too much trouble to translate! I do not have trouble producing them, but I do tend to get lost in my explanations.” she said, clad in the shadows. “You made sure they would not throw the ‘useless’ bark away, correct?” she questioned. “Certainly,” he said. “The bark will be used to make and reinforce the hull, as instructed. I will shortly as them to find themselves a leader. I only pray that they are not frightened by such autonomy.” He paused for a moment before bowing.
“Your help has been beyond my expectations, dear sister. If there is anything I can do in return, know that I will do whatever in my power to do it.”
“Oh, you know exactly what I want! To refill and to add more variety to the wine racks of Nyeothay Tag…” she then remembered her ship, and pondered, thinking back at how pristine Shengshi’s palace always was. “And if it is not too much to ask, my friend, would it be possible for you to lend me a servant? Seihdhara is prone to making a mess out of things and I tire of cleaning my ship’s countless rooms.”
The snake hummed pensively. “The wine is yours - as much as you would like. As for the servant…” He tapped his chin. “Very well. You may have one if you so wish. It shall be loyal and faithful, diligent and tireless. Would you like me to select one for you or would you like to pick it yourself?”
“I am no good with this servant thing, if you stop to think about it, we are almost polar opposites of each others. Which of course, isn’t a problem, the world needs night and day, but still, I trust your ability to choose someone for the job more than my own.”
The snake nodded. “So be it. I will have one ready for you upon our return.”
“I wish I could help more with it, but while I recognise the social problems of sharing a ship for months, I do not know as many answers, yet you have been managing your palace for a long while now, perhaps there are lessons from a divine ship that are applicable to a mortal ship.” the goddess said, in particular, she suspected a strong hierarchy would be helpful. “And while you were away teaching your servants, I have been thinking about food. Taking away the moisture might actually help to avoid rotting, its lucky that all the way along the path there is land to re-stock, but some solutions will need to be devised, for now though, here is a list of foods that should be fit for the travel.”
Handing the list to Shengshi, the goddess couldn’t help but to laugh. “I must be the only person on this land who thinks planning for travels is not a chore but the opposite.”
The snake let his eyes zoom across the list. “That will likely not be necessary. The servants do not require food for nourishing purposes - their love of food is merely a result of the pleasures of flavour and texture. I suppose I could send along some food to break the monotony of water, however; though they are only reliant on fresh water to survive. Speaking of… Will it be possible to light fires aboard this ship? They will have to boil seawater to survive longer trips.”
For the first time since the discussion started, the goddess felt somewhat startled by a problem. “A fire? I could devise a way for a small one to happen, but anything too large will be an issue.” she said. “There are rivers along the way, I could expand the water carrying capacity of the ship… though it would be too much water in a still state…” rubbing behind the back of her neck, the goddess broodingly stared at the distance.
“The rivers will sadly not be there for long. The only viable route to Tendlepog from here is from the south tip and then to sail north along the continent. That blasted Boiling Sea will likely damage the hulls beyond repair. Do we have a method to keeping the waters moving?”
Walking from one side to the other, the cloaked goddess pondered. “What if we used two tanks? One in the upper tower of the ship, and a larger one bellow, the water traverses the whole ship before reaching the bottom." she said. “You just need to find a way for water to go upward, just tell the flow to stop being picky about its directions or something.”
The snake thumbed in approval. “You are as creative as ever. How about a pump of sorts? Something that would not need to be manned at all times. Powered by… By…” He drummed his fingers pensively on his chin. “... By the wind?”
“Oh, we could attach a sail to a pump.” yet as she tried to explain how, no drawing of her seemed to convey this properly. “I guess I will need to build this one myself, if you could help me with the pump, I could get this done on the finished ship.” she told.
The snake nodded. “We will make this as the ship is completed, then.”
The snake arrived to a scene of carpentry and shipcraft and nodded in approval. The river bank was filled with servants carrying planks, attaching bark to the frame and taring the cracks. A group of five came over to the snake. They all stopped and kowtowed before the god, the first one in the group being the very same servant Shengshi had spoken to on the ship. The servant spoke:
“Your Lordship - we have elected a leader for this expedition.”
The snake nodded approvingly. “Very good. Present yourself.”
The kowtowing servant in the middle of the group stood up, bowed and then looked back up at Shengshi with his hands extended in front of himself, left hand covering the right fist.
“Ten thousand years and more to His Lordship, Shengshi of the Thousand Streams,” he began. “This servant is named Qiang Yi and is a poet of the Wise.”
The snake raised an eyebrow. “The Wise, you say? You seem quite young. Have you perhaps no interest of donning the grey hairs like your peers tend to do?”
The servant tipped his torso again. “Your Lordship is too kind. This servant was fortunate enough to be selected into the Wise after His Lordship gave us the true mind. This servant is indeed still quite young and has much to learn, and is therefore eternally grateful for being allowed the honour of bringing His Lordship’s gift to Tendlepog.”
The snake nodded approvingly. “I am certain you will do stellarly, young Qiang Yi.” The snake rolled the name around on his tongue. “Qiang Yi… ‘strong and resolute’. I expect you to live up to that name.”
Qiang Yi got back on his knees and kowtowed. “His Lordship’s will be done!” The servants around him echoed the statement. The snake nodded and slithered over to inspect the ship. It was large - not nearly as large as Jiangzhou, but still quite large. He reckoned it could hold a crew of a forty strong.
The snake brought along Qiang Yi and slithered over to the master shipwright, a servant of the Skilled by the name of Zhou Desong. The servant greeted the snake with a kowtow as usual. The snake looked to the both of them.
“How have you planned to get to Tendlepog?” the snake inquired. Zhou Desong nodded at Qiang Yi, who rolled out a map of the world based on Shengshi’s and Xiaoli’s descriptions, as well as vague memories from their times as water blobs. He reached for a stick of charcoal and drew some lines on the map.
“Our route has two possibilities, Your Lordship. The first is that we sail out to see from Nanhe and follow the coast up to the Kick. From there, we will navigate towards Dragon’s Crown and then finally sail northwest to Tendlepog.” The snake nodded.
“The other option being across Saluran Mendidih, then.” he asked.
“Correct. The other option is faster, Your Lordship, though not by much.” Qiang Yi drew a line across the continent up to the mouth of Beihe. “We will travel up to Giant’s Bath by boat, then drag them across land and set them on Beihe, from where we will proceed to cross the Saluran Mendidih and make landfall at the Kick. According to her Ladyship, there are now enough trees on the Kick to make more ships to take us to Tendlepog.”
The snake plucked at his beard. “The second option seems much riskier than the first. Your ships are not capable of withstanding the waters of the Saluran Mendidih as Jiangzhou is. You are to take the long route around the continents, is that clear?”
The two servants bowed. “His Lordship’s will be done,” said the two of them. The snake nodded.
“Good. Now pardon me for a moment. There is something I must tend to.”
He turned and slithered back into the woods.
“They figured out the paths on their own. How promising,” he mused. “The ship will likely be completed soon, Urhu. I will have them gather aboard the ship and distract them while you attach the windmill. Does that seem like a plan?”
The cloaked figure nodded, her cloak now looking more like fog than shadow “I believe they will assume its a gift from you, let’s see what happens. Its lucky morning mist still covers the land.”
With that, she moved away, towards the ship. The processed bark had turned it white, while the light purple ropes shimmering lightly against the sunlight, almost like strands of fine cloth. Quickly, Urhu jumped to the top of the tower and assembled the parts she was carrying into the panemone windmill linked to the pump Shengshi had provided. She hoped the servants would make sure to take good care of it, because once broken this could only be repaired by the goddess herself.
With the last task done, the goddess sank into the mist and moved back to the forests near the river port.
Aboard Jiangzhou, Shengshi said his blessings to the brave men and women who were about to set sail. He selected the wines they would bring aboard and made certain to give them as many barrels of water as he could. As they approached the new ship, the servants saw the windmill aboard and marveled. The snake had the servants fill the water tanks in the ship, and then topped them off with some water from the river.
“I reckon the tank will last you long enough to reach Tendlepog - however, it is likely that you must refill before returning home.” The snake stood on the river bank next to Qiang Yi, watching the wine casks being loaded aboard.
Qiang Yi nodded, taking notes on some sticks of bamboo. He quickly completed his scribblings and looked to the snake. “Your Lordship, this servant has a question, if Your Lordship would be willing to answer it.” The snake nodded, and Qiang Yi continued, “what would His Lordship like His vessel to be named?”
The snake regarded the ship, then turned back to Qiang Yi. “You are its captain. Its name is yours to pick.”
Qiang Yi blinked and suddenly looked sheepish and embarrassed. The snake raised an eyebrow. “T-this servant cannot possibly have the authority of naming something blessed by the Exalted Creators. This servant insists that His Lordship names the vessel.” There was shame and embarrassment in his voice.
The snake hummed pensively. “So be it, then. It shall be known as Zhengwu, the travelling gift. Immediately, Qiang Yi’s mood was restored and he bowed.
“An exceptional name, Your Lordship. This servant shall strive to sail it with all the impeccability that Your Lordship would have.”
The snake nodded. “You do that,” he said. “I wish you all the best of luck on your journey.”
The servant kowtowed before the snake before finally climbing aboard the ship. The snake then turned to Jiangzhou. He climbed aboard and snapped his fingers. A servant came over and bowed.
“Bring me our best butler and our best maid. Prepare for each of them a bag of clothes and several water gourds.” The servant bowed again and ran back into the palace.
A moment passed before two figures returned, one tall male servant with a short, pointed mustache and a short, pointed goatee, and one tall female servant with a long, black ponytail. Both got down on their knees and kowtowed before the snake.
“Ten thousand years and more to His Lordship Shengshi of the Thousand Streams!” they said simultaneously. The snake nodded.
“Be at ease, faithful servants. Present yourselves.”
“This servant is called Yong Ying of the Noble,” said the man, his face still facing the floor.
“This servant is called Shen Ai of the Noble,” said the woman in an equal manner. The snake nodded.
“Very good.” He faced the side of the ship. “Urhu! You may board the ship now.”
Urhu suddenly let out a small laugh, resting against the wall opposite of where Shengshi was looking towards. “Done. Are these the servants?”
Both the servants attempted to push their foreheads even further into the ground at Urhu’s arrival. The snake nodded at the goddess.
“You may select one of these to join you aboard the Nyeothay Tag. They will serve you as they have served me.”
“Ah, well, since it is me and Seihdhara who live there, I guess it would be more comfortable for Shen Ai than for Yong Ying to be in there.” she said in a casual tone, trying to not add sound indelicate to either of the servants.
The snake hummed. “That should not be an issue for them. Both are equally qualified to work with guests regardless of gender. However, if the two of you would be more comfortable with a woman, then Shen Ai will accompany you.”
“Thanks again, Shengshi. Oh, and don’t worry, my ship has sources of freshwater, so Shen Ai will be quite comfortable.” she added, lowering Nyeothay Tag to be at a similar level to Jiangzhou. The snake nodded happily.
“I am glad.” He turned to Shen Ai, who remained prostrated as Yong Ying slowly shuffled backwards back into the palace.
“From this day forward, you are no longer a subject of mine, dear Shen Ai - your loyalty now belongs to Urhu. You shall obey her every command within reason and follow her as you would follow me. Are your orders understood?”
“This servant understands her orders, Your Lordship,” Shen Ai said. The snake nodded and turned to Urhu. He snapped his fingers and, after a moment, the palace doors swung open to reveal a train of servants carrying wine casks.
“Will there be anything else, then, dear sister?” Shengshi asked with a smile.
“I believe this is all at the moment. I hope everything goes well with you servant’s journey, I will be watchful, though I cannot make up for them should they make mistakes along the way.”
“That is just how it should be. Your aid alone is appreciated immensely. I wish you a safe journey on, and please do take good care of dear Shen Ai.” The snake bowed.
Qiang Yi ascended to the stern of the ship, placing his hand on the long tiller leading to the rudder. Behind him came his first mate, a young lady of the Noble named Zhen-zhen.
“Are we ready to sail, then, Captain?” she asked carefully. Qiang Yi nodded.
“We will set a course once we make it to the coast. For now, we will test these sails within the safety of Nanhe’s embrace.” Zhen-zhen nodded. Qiang Yi walked to the centre of the ship and started yelling respectful commands in every direction. The crew stirred to life and began to unfurl the sails. It was foreign to them, but Shengshi’s instructions had been clear. Soon, the Zhengwu was drifting gently across the surface of the water, onwards to greatness.
Shengshi decides he will send a gift of wine to K’nell Ocean is between Shengshi and K’nell’s places. Shengshi asks servants to make a boat. Servants don’t know how to make a boat. Shengshi calls Urhu to come and fix this. Since she is not a Sailing expert (5 Might to claim the port) Urhu arrives, gets a free meal first, and then starts to work on that. First she enhances a tree to have the exact type of wood and bark her boat plans need, which takes away the need of tools but is also ultra specific and hard to replicate. (1FP used) She makes the grass that is used to make rope better at making ropes (free action) She teaches Servants how to make sail ships(free action) Ship time! They make one big ship for 40 servants. Now they can go to K’nell But they need fresh water so they can survive. Big tanks can hold water, but it goes stale. Shengshi makes a pump and Urhu places a panemone windmill on it, they do not teach anyone how to make it and the tech cannot be reverse engineered. (free actions) This gives the boats a flow of water which should keep the water fresh. Shengshi is thankful the boat is finally go, gives Urhu wine and a servant.
This post has odd timing because Capy (me) is dumb. Please don’t mind it.
5MP to claim Sailing port. 1FP to make Sailor’s Tree.
Hermes suddenly woke with a start, her heart racing. Xiaoli was seemingly asleep by her side, though she stirred a little and nuzzled further into Hermes’ armpit, giving off a gentle hum. Hermes relaxed at the touch, only a little confused to when Xiaoli had joined her, their sleep cycles being drastically different; Hermes needing around ten hours, and Xiaoli needing-- well none.
She shook her head, her dream coming back to her. She sat up, her motion causing a small frown to form on the sleeping Xiaoli, the river-girl’s head plopping onto one of the pillows. Hermes’ shirt and jacket were wrinkled heavily, having fallen asleep in the same clothes she wore to dinner. Looking down at Xiaoli she urgently patted her shoulder, having to tell someone.
As Xiaoli stirred to life at the distinct lack of cozy heat by her side, she blinked at Hermes before smiling softly. “I cannot believe I actually fell asleep! What a curious sensation,” she mused quietly and reached out to caress Hermes’ back. “What is it?” she asked.
Hermes formed a quick smile that then faded, “Li’Kalla is in trouble-- God wasn’t in my dreams, not the usual way. The weavers, they gave me a message.”
Xiaoli’s smile grew into a gasp of worry as she sat up. “Oh no… We must tell His Lordship!” she exclaimed and cast her legs over the side of the bed, tying her sandals on her feet with an uncharacteristic clumsiness. Hermes popped off the bed, her outfit was twisted this way and that, and extremely wrinkled. A discolored splotch had dried where the blessing had happened and what was at least ten hours of sleep sweats conquered her shirt.
She looked around, her eyes settling on the white shoes from yesterday. Quickly slipping them on and pressing her discolored skirt in an attempt to get rid of the wrinkles, she frowned, “Do you have any pants I can borrow?”
Xiaoli let out a frustrated sigh and quickly shuffled over to the wardrobe. She opened it swiftly and dug through the heaps of clothing until she produced a pair of white gi pants, which she tossed gently towards Hermes. “Here, these ought to do the trick.”
The two were soon outside the snake’s chambres. The hallway was silent apart from the two girls’ pants and the faint sound of harp music from the other side of the door. Xiaoli took one look over at Hermes, then walked over and began to pull at and adjust her clothing.
Hermes squirmed in place, but after a while she straightened up, “Let’s go in, I’ll feel a lot better knowing he knows.”
“No, no, your hair is all messy! Just let me-!” She reached up to adjust Hermes’ sleep knotted hair.
“In the circumstances, I don’t think Shengshi will mind; we can fix it after,” Hermes pleaded.
Xiaoli stopped and let out a sigh. “Fine, you’re right,” she said curtly and promptly went over to push the doors open. The room was empty as usual, complemented with melancholic harp cords from the outside. Xiaoli stormed out the door and turned the corner, Hermes quick at her heels.
There, the snake sat plucking at the strings of his guzheng, facing the bow of the ship. Beside him floated Poppler, who was popping along to the harp cords and the snake’s snickers. “I truly misjudged you, little one, the first time we met. Your language is unrefined, but my, do you have some interesting thoughts bubbling in that… Head of yours,” the snake mused as he gave Poppler a grin. Xiaoli stood panting behind him, taking the time to do a quick bow.
“My lord, we have urgent news!”
The snake held up one finger. “Just a moment! A crescendo is coming up.” He lowered his hand again and started running his claws up and down the harp, producing increasingly louder cords. Xiaoli was dumbstruck for a moment and then frowned.
“My lord, they truly are urgent! Her Holiness Li’Kalla is in danger!”
The snake nodded solemnly, the harp quieting down momentarily. “Yes, I am aware. Some sweet birds came by a few hours ago and whispered to me K’nell’s warning. A tragic occurrence, that.” Then the music resumed.
“Oh,” was all Hermes could muster for a while, before reforming her thoughts, “K’nell continues to walk Galbar, intent on fixing the mess before returning to his Palace, but he believes Galbar to be in a state of danger beyond mortal capacity until such things are fixed.”
Hermes looked at Xiaoli, “The only places he trusts that we are safe from the concussion of the event is here and Tendlepog. He doesn’t restrict, but he does advise.”
Xiaoli looked back at Hermes, then at Shengshi. “Well, my lord? What will you do now that you know?”
The music stopped again. The snake sighed and slithered away from the guzheng, turning to face the two girls. “I will lend him whatever aid I can, naturally - but my power is still recovering after the creation of Chuanwang. I will seek him out as soon as I feel confident that I can be of assistance to him. A question remains, however: What will the two of you do?”
Xiaoli blinked at the snake, then at Hermes. “W-well, His Holiness K’nell recommended that we remain here or travel to Tendlepog, so I reckon we will do either of those. Hermes, what do you think?”
Hermes bit a finger in thought, “Well… I want to get to Tendlepog and start building a new home, but--” Hermes shook her head, “You just got back to yours, and I’m a little too woozy for the sandals still.”
Xiaoli shook her head. “Don’t worry about that, dear, we-... We will go to Tendlepog at start building your house, okay? You can rest up while I pack us something for the journey, okay?” Xiaoli reached out to squeeze Hermes’ hands affectionately. Hermes took her hands and squeezed back with a smile.
“You’re so good to me.”
”Crackle?”
The snake sighed. “Poppler, that was unnecessarily crude.” Xiaoli flushed with red and scowled at the cloudling. The snake -- and Hermes -- snickered quietly.
“So be it. I will have the servants make you some snacks for the journey. The washroom should have cleaned your clothes by now. They are waiting for you in your room, I reckon - we took the liberty of washing your backpack as well, Hermes. Rest assured, the contents have also been maintained to the best of our ability - the fishing spear will likely dull if you do not do so more often.”
Hermes made a guilty face, “Oh, right. I’ll do that.” She nodded quickly, “Thank you so much, Shengshi.”
The snake smiled wryly and gave a curt, upwards nod. “You two be on your way now. Don’t forget to write every now and then.”
“Once either Xiaoli or Abanoc’s book shows me how, of course I will,” Hermes smiled wide, “Poppler, let’s go.”
The cloudling ‘turned’ to Shengshi and let out two quick pops before buzzing over and disappearing into Hermes’ hair. The Dreamer grinned at the familiar feeling and turned to Xiaoli, “Speaking of the book, I want to try it before we leave.”
Xiaoli smiled. “Sure! Let’s!”
“Xiaoli - oh, pardon me, but could you remain for a minute or so?” Shengshi asked.
Xiaoli blinked at him. “O-of course, my lord.” She turned to Hermes. “I’ll be right with you, okay?”
Hermes nodded happily, “I’ll take a peek at the book while I wait.” She gave the room a smile before walking off to her own devices.
Xiaoli smiled at Hermes as she left before turning back to Shengshi.
“What is it, my lord?” she asked.
The snake let out a sigh, seemingly constructing and deconstructing sentences as he kept opening and closing his mouth. Finally, the snake spoke:
“I just-... A part of me wants you to know that you will always have a home here with someone who will always be happy to see you.”
Xiaoli recoiled and then giggled a little. “Okay, where is this coming from?”
The snake grimaced sheepishly. “It’s just-... I have made great efforts to change myself since you left the first time - when I truly realised what a fool I had been acting like. Therefore, I pray that you still think of Jiangzhou as your home - that I did not ruin that perception for you.”
Xiaoli blinked again, her smile fading. She felt her eyes grow misty and looked back up at the snake. “It-... It’s fine, my lord. I see how different you are now and… And it warms my heart deeply. I’m… I’m really happy you are letting me leave, though. That truly shows how far you’ve come.”
The snake’s eyes glistened in the heliopolis. He let out a hacking sigh. “Good. As long as we are clear.” He stood up and slithered over to Xiaoli. Then, against all her expectations, he embraced her. Xiaoli stood frozen for a moment before her mind finally urged her to return the gesture.
“I will miss you,” the snake whispered. “To me, you will always be that beautiful little brook in the forest. Be safe.”
Xiaoli let out a quiet sob, nodding into the snake’s chest. “... Yeah.”
Xiaoli made her way back to the room after noticing Hermes was missing. A slight red stained under her eyes but was fading quickly as she walked. On the way, she grabbed their items and food and packed them in Hermes’ backpack. The halls of the boat flickered by and eventually she came to Hermes’ room, the door was slightly ajar. Peeking in she saw Hermes frozen still on the bed, her eyes as wide as saucers, staring at the blank pages of Abanoc’s book.
Xiaoli walked over and sat down by Hermes, observing her odd posture. She put a hand on her stomach and lightly stirred it to get her attention.
Hermes almost jumped out of her skin, the book snapping shut as she flinched. Her eyes immediately looked drained and she shook her head heavily. She weakly leaned into Xiaoli, “I can read.” Was all she muttered.
Xiaoli gave her a concerned smile and caressed her head softly. “That is wonderful, dear! I’m so proud of you! Although, are you alright? Did you even close your eyes as you read?”
“I-” Hermes stuttered, “I don’t know. Twenty-”
“Twenty six letters of the old language, forty eight of the new, eighty seven of the southern, the east uses characters,” She muttered, her eyes sliding closed, “I can see them all in my head. Runes, the north uses runes.”
Her voice continued to murmur, “Beetles can be used for ink, quills for writing, or stylus and wax. Bristle hair brushes-- sea life also produces ink. Chisel and stone. Foldable books, hieroglyphs.”
“Woah, slow down a little!” Xiaoli said, her eyes growing increasingly anxious at the seemingly entranced Hermes. Hermes’ eyes opened and she looked up at Xiaoli, having fallen into her lap, “I saw yours too.”
Xiaoli let out a sigh and pouted a little. “I could have taught you that, you know…”
“I know,” Hermes answered, “I didn’t ask the book, it just showed me. It showed me everything I needed to know-- well, to read.”
Xiaoli took a deep breath. “Well… At least you are well.” She caressed her cheek gently. “Just… Make sure to take regular breaks when you use that book, okay? You’ll need those eyes to see your future children, you know.” She giggled playfully.
“We can teach them your style of reading,” Hermes smiled up at Xiaoli.
Xiaoli’s giggled turned into a chuckle. “Yeah… Let’s do that.”
The moment lasted for a little longer, a quiet atmosphere blessed with an affectionate warmth permeating the room. The only sounds were the two girls breathing softly as they took in each others’ sights. Finally, Xiaoli spoke: “I’ve packed, by the way. When would you like to head off?”
Hermes slowly sat up, “We can leave now, I think the head rush scared away the nausea.”
“Wonderful!” Xiaoli said and clapped her hands. She got to her feet and picked up Hermes’ backpack, handing it to her.
Quickly slipping the bag over he back she looked around, eyes settling on her winged sandals. She kicked off her shoes and slipped the sandals on, tightening their clasps. She hopped in place a few times, a big smile growing on her face, “I missed my sandals.”
Looking up at Xiaoli, Hermes nodded, “Let’s go, I can tell you my dream on the way.”
Xiaoli raised an eyebrow and then chuckled. “Alright, sure.” She got to her feet and the trio exited the room.
On deck, the snake was waiting, standing atop the dragon’s head, and surrounded by almost every servant aboard the ship. The snake grinned from horn to horn and the servants all bowed to the trio, exclaiming:
“Ten thousand years of love and harmony to our most esteemed guests! We pray Your journey will be safe and glorious!”
Xiaoli giggled at the message. Hermes flashed a cheshire grin, “Hopefully more than even ten thousand.” Xiaoli flushed.
“H-Hermes! We’re in public!” she whispered loudly.
Hermes looked at Xiaoli, her brows furrowed, “Did I do something wrong?”
Xiaoli blinked a few times and then leaned in closer as the snake began to speak. “I’m really happy we feel like this for one another, you know, but it’s a private matter, right?” she asked rhetorically.
“Oh,” was all Hermes managed, “Okay.”
“... upon the wondrous journey that you two are about to undertake. Are you set to leave, then?” the snake asked. Xiaoli snapped to.
“Y-yes!” she blurted out, perhaps a little louder than necessary. The snake nodded.
“Very well, then. Safe travels!”
Xiaoli smiled at Hermes. “Shall we head off, then?”
“Yes,” Hermes broke from her own thoughts and quickly wrapped her arms around Xiaoli. The trio slowly levitated for a moment, Hermes calling out, “Thanks again, Shengshi!” Before suddenly turning into a flash of color, leaving nothing but a loud boom in her wake.
Hermes awakens with news of Li’Kalla (Next to Xiaoli)
The duo decide to warn Shengshi, who reveals that he already knows (and he is with Poppler). Hermes explains K’nells take on the situation and puts forth the idea that they should either remain on the boat or go to Tendlepog.
Eventually they decide on Tendlepog . Shengshi sends them on their way, but holds Xiaoli for a moment to get some emotional closure. The two hug out their past wrongs against one another.
Xiaoli packs in a flash, then enters the room to find Hermes completely absorbed by Abanoc’s book. Rather concerned that her girlfriend seemingly hasn’t blinked for twenty minutes, Xiaoli stirs her from her trance. Hermes says she now can read, and rambles some more. They chat a little about future children before heading off.
On deck, Shengshi and the servants say a proper goodbye to the trio by wishing them ten thousand years of love. Hermes says their love will be longer-lasting than that, but Xiaoli doesn’t like that Hermes talks about their relationship in public, as she holds that it is a private matter. Hermes is taken aback by this reaction, but the two are interrupted by the snake, then promptly zap off.
“In the circumstances, I don’t think Shengshi will mind; we can fix it after,” Hermes pleaded.
Xiaoli stopped and let out a sigh. “Fine, you’re right,” she said curtly and promptly went over to push the doors open.
Shengshi was sitting center of the room, bare ass naked eating an icecream tub, “Uhhh, Knock?”
The snake hummed as he slithered across the deck. The stroll with K’nell had been heart-warming. The two had exchanged ideas about the future, a few quips here and there, and finally ended on a mutual exchange of gratitude. The snake found himself drawn to K’nell as a close friend - he was well-mannered, interesting and had produced the finest mortal specimen in the world. Yes, he would always have a seat at his table. The snake hummed ponderously as he contemplated whether he should have given him a bottle of wine as he had left.
He would send one to him at his earliest convenience!
“Now that everything is back to normal, though…” He clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “It is time to bring more life to this jungle!” With that, the snake hopped off the side on the ship and into the river below.
Ah, how wonderful it was to be whole again! No gruesome thoughts clawing at his mind; no threats from the west; no more depressing loneliness. He could finally focus his mind on his true purpose again. The snake slithered ashore and delved into the woods.
The vines hung low from the trees above, frequently hitching a ride on the river god’s horns. He gave a sour mutter, but paid them little mind otherwise. He had been planning for this; his mind may have been in a state of despair, but he had been planning. He looked around. So far, these woods were only home to a few species of reptile, with the occasional amphibian skipping out of the many ponds.
A brown clump of fur and grunting trundled through the undergrowth in the distance. Oh! And boars, of course. There were a good number of boars. Well, the boars did not bother him nor the river, it would seem, so there was little reason to mind them for now. He secretly hoped that Narzhak had not implemented some sort of bloodlust in the docile porcines - that could potentially be a danger to his creations.
His creations would have to be prepared for predation, in that case. As it happened, the snake had an idea for what creature to create first: One that would establish great nests with even greater territories; one that would not eat meat, but rely on the surrounding plants to sustain-...
The snake pondered for a little longer. No, they would not just rely on the surrounding plants; they would cultivate the plants! The snake looked around. He began to sample the surrounding plants for the most nutrient rich, yet easily growable plant. In the end, the snake came upon a long, thin tree which he identified as the Nanhese bamboo plant. It looked very much like one long, green stick that stuck out of the ground much like a spine would stick out of a porcupine’s rump. However, while it was not as rich in nutrients as the snake had hoped, it grew incredibly fast - the snake could nearly see it grow by the minute.
This would be the creature’s main source of food. They would grow it and farm it, and supplement the rest of their needs from nature’s bounty. They would be large and hulking as to defend their territory, and this rapidly ripening food source would see to it that they could maintain such a size.
Yes, the plan was lain. The outline of the creature formed in the snake’s head. For the last few details, they would be bound to the river through an amphibian lifestyle - their eggs would be safe from predators, but only as long as they were lain in one of Shengshi’s rivers. The eggs would hatch into great tadpoles that would feast on plant detritus in the river before growing up to work the farms of their packs.
The idea was complete and Shengshi got to work. The snake found a nearby boulder. It was overgrown with moss and vines and surrounded by many more lesser boulders and rocks. It was perfect. He summoned forth some water from the rivers some distance away. The streams snaked their way over to the stones and began to sand and scrape at them, first with coarse, sharp cuts, then with gentle, soft strokes. After some time, the rocks became great statues with thick, muscular forelimbs that ended with three log-like fingers. Their hindlimbs were not as thick or muscular, but powerful nonetheless; they also ended in a three-fingered hand. The statues’ heads were colossal and toad-like, with flat, broad features. From their backs sprouted something that looked like a mixture between tails and thick strands of hair.
The snake took a moment to admire his work. The statues were magnificent, if he could say so, himself. Now all that remained was… The snake leaned in and took a deep breath. As he blew his divine essence into the statues, the rock began to crack and split, like hatching eggs. The boulders soon burst apart to reveal a pack of fifty individuals of all ages, lead by the largest which let out a whooping series of deafening croaks. The snake regarded the creatures as they began to collect bamboo pods and snack on the surrounding bamboo trees.
“I think I shall call you Nongxing.” The snake drew the creation characters into the soil, forming the word nongxing, or farmer ape. The largest among them, which back hairs Shengshi noticed were grayer than those of the rest, let out a few loud croaks at hearing its name. The others followed suit.
“Yes, that is very good,” said the snake. “Now, mark your territory - be fruitful and multiply. Plant your groves and rule these lands.” The elder croaked again and soon all the apes had left the vicinity with all the bamboo pods they would find, seemingly heading towards one of Nanhe’s closer tributaries. The snake let out a sigh.
“Well, that would be enough work for one day. I wonder what the cooks have prepared for dinner…” The snake slithered back towards Nanhe.
However, as the snake slithered back, he found himself craving something sweet - something from the forest. However, it would seem that this part of the jungle was rather lacking in fruits. Besides, the snake felt like tasting something new!
He plucked a flower by the riverbank and sat admiring the bluish, brownish waters of Nanhe. The river which was comparable to a sea was overflowing with life: fish and frogs, reeds and flowers - all congregated at the edges and within the river. A simple addition to that group would not be all that intrusive - besides, he needed something sweet post-haste!
The snake began to pluck the petals off the flower. He gathered them in his hands and picked a nearby reed. Then he rubbed the leaves together until his red-scaled hands grew even redder from the flower pigment. He then rubbed the pigment along the length of the reed until it radiated a crimson colour. Finally, he placed the flower core on top of the reed and stuck the reed in the sand.
“Now to give you a bit of life…”
The snake blew gently on the plant and let some water seep into it from below. The stalk suddenly grew thick and began to sprout crimson leaves. Then, at the very top of the stalk, the flower core became a crimson flower bud. The sand around the tall flower began to crack and part as more specimens of the plant began to grow. The snake distanced himself and watched on in amusement.
“Now to wait a little.”
Some time passed, followed by a little more. After a while, the snake began to feel impatient. He could just… Tweak the flower a little? Infuse it with divinity and make it blossom instant-.
No! No, he would wait. He would wait for it to bloom and reveal to him the beautiful fruits within. It was close now - he could feel it.
As his thought came to a conclusion, the flower bud at the top of the stalk began to peel open. The snake broke out of his daydream and stood up, slithering a little closer. As the flower opened up, a sickly sweet smell drifted up from whatever rested within, but this was exactly what the snake had hoped for. He used his claws to peel the flower some more and grabbed the little sticky pod within. He sniffed it at first, raising a curious brow at the funny, tangy smell, then popped it into his mouth.
The flavour was fruity and sweet, almost similar to a ripe pineapple, followed promptly by a flaming hot aftertaste that had the snake nearly in tears. That was exciting! He plucked another one and popped it into his mouth. Such deliciousness, complemented by such an explosive finale!
“I know exactly what to call you!” He wrote down the characters for ‘dragon’ and ‘flower or grass’ in the sand. “You shall be known as Longtsao!” The flowers danced in the wind as if they thanked the snake for their name. The snake continued:
“I was lucky this time - my divine presence must have caused you to bloom early. However, you shall bloom once a year in the spring with the intention of spreading your pollen through insects and birds. Your fruits shall be enjoyed by all beasts, and when summer comes, your fruits will ferment and rot and fall to the ground so you can feast on their nutrients again.” The snake scratched his chin pensively.
“You will grow in these rivers, as your existence will require much water to sustain such a juicy fruit. In return, my waters shall let you grow abundant and rich in time. This will be our pact.” The flowers danced again. The snake nodded and turned around, slithering away.
He had had his fill of sweets now, but now new thoughts had popped into his head. He should not be the only one to enjoy those tasty fruits; naturally, there were always the nongxing and the boars, but the nongxing would likely only eat the fruit if their harvests failed, and the boars - well…
No, he could not very well let the boars of the north have a monopoly on those tasty buds of spicy juice. That would not be fair! He had to make them a competitor-!
He corrected his thoughts - someone to share the fruits with! The question was what he would make.
The snake first found another rock, not like the boulders from which he had made the nongxing, but still quite a sizeable rock, roughly a metre tall and three fours as wide. He inspected the rock, gave it a gloss-over with his reptilian eyes, and finally knocked gently on it to test its composition. Nothing particularly interesting.
So the snake would have to make it interesting!
The snake went up and down the river, gathering rocks of similar sizes and lining them up along a straight axis from the first one. In the end, Shengshi had found roughly fifty rocks, stones and small boulders - a fine haul. Now to shape them properly.
As before, the snake dragged some snakes of water out of the nearby river and had them curl around the rocks and behind to sand and slice ridges and shapes into the stone. As the work processed, the snake slithered up and down the ranks to inspect the work. The statues looked similar to the nongxing, yet were considerably smaller, with round, ball-like bodies and long arms - almost twice the length of their actual bodies. Their legs looked like a frogs’, with small claws on the tips of their padded feet. The snake nodded - this one would be a climber!
An additional while passed, characterised by the monotonous sounds of water scraping against rock. The snake leaned in towards the statue made from the original rock and poked at its closed stone mouth. With teeth like these, they could likely eat fish and meat in addition to plants and fruits. The snake sneered. He would make them territorial, of course - they would have to defend their homes like the nongxing would - but he would not make them bloodthirsty. Other creatures would get that task.
No, this one would be a surly, tricksy creature that would mainly live in the trees around the river. The snake scratched his chin. Their eggs would have refuge in his rivers, as usual. Would there be anything else? He shook his head and took a deep breath. He pulled back and clenched both fists. Suddenly, the snakes of water that had been resting next to their works sprung back to life and began to dig their way into the stone statues.
Another moment passed.
Finally, the stones all began to rumble and crack. They sprung open like eggs to reveal medium-sized, frog-like simians of all ages, all of which let out confused whoops and screams at their creation. The snake snapped his fingers and they all quieted down, turning to him.
“Welcome to life, my beautiful children. I am your lord, Shengshi of the Thousand Streams.”
One of the frogs waved and ooked in greeting.
“You have been brought into this world to live and enjoy the jungle’s bounty. I have no tasks for you beyond the mission to spread your kin across the continent and to be mindful of your neighbours - you shall be allowed territories of your own, but you shall not kill unless threatened or starving, is that clear?”
There were a few ooks.
“Is that clear?” the snake repeated.
There was a collective ook.
“Good,” the snake said and gestured to the jungle. “Go now - Nanhe and its woods welcome you.”
The apes looked at each others. Then they let out triumphant whoops and roars as they hopped into the forest with their frog legs and ape knuckles. The snake chuckled as the rampaging wave of blue dwarves stampeded into the woods.
“I think I will call them wahous.” He wrote the characters for ‘frog’ and ‘monkey’ in the sand on the riverbank before continuing his little excursion.
The snake had been diligent today - perhaps more so that he had been in a long time. Still, there was one more task he had to accomplish before he could retire for the evening. The snake wandered through the woods on the eastern bank of Nanhe. He slithered and snaked his way through the undergrowth and overgrowth until he arrived at the forest border to the dry lands south of the Cauldron. There, with the snake’s divine eyes, he saw the shivering air over the Plains of Sandravii.
The snake had not been here when the desert was created - something he, in truth, was rather upset about. He could have tried to prevent it, perhaps. Although, the battle scars left on the continent spoke of a conflict that was perhaps beyond even himself. He gazed southwards to the desert to the vulcano Eldahverr. He scorned the sight - a black chimney taunting his beautiful bastion of life from afar. One day, he would make another river through the desert and create oases for all those unfortunate enough to pass through.
The snake let out a shameful sigh. “Had I not already spent all my power, I would have done so at once. Forgive me, dear thirsty sand - I must ask you to wait a little longer.” With that, the snake turned back into the jungle.
Yes… There would undoubtedly be conflict between the two halves of the south, one that could last thousands of years. Therefore, the snake had to make certain the riverlands would have a defender.
The snake arrived back at the banks of Nanhe. He had once again collected heaps of stone, boulders large and gravel small. With a straining push, the snake toppled all the stones into the river, along with a few whole trees and a few animal carcasses in various stages of rotting that he had found lying around. The snake rubbed his hands together before slowly lifting them into the air.
The waters before him began to darken, but not due to the many pollutants - a shadow formed underneath the sea-like river.
“Beast of a thousand tonnes! Ancient of the depths! Guardian of the forest! See and feel these parts of yours - congregate and join as whole.”
The shadow in the water grew darker and the water began to heave and steam. The aquatic life surrounding the event skipped away in every direction and the plants began to wilt as the waters boiled. Shengshi felt his head break as his river’s guests fled in panic, but it was a necessary sacrifice to bring forth their protector.
The shadow emerged from the water surface in the form of a shell as big as a small island, then grew and grew as the creature inhabiting it answered the call of its lord. The island became a hill, then the hill a mountain, until a head the size of Shengshi’s ship fastened two glowing eyes on the snake. It placed its monstrously large feet on the river bank and let out an earthshaking roar that sent nearly every bird in the jungle into a panicking flap. The snake stuck a finger in his ear and let out a sharp whistle.
“You certainly have a voice that demands respect, my child. Fitting for a creature with your task. Listen well, for your task is paramount.”
The colossal turtle placed its chin into the sand as to show it was paying attention. The snake nodded.
“You shall be the guardian of this river and its surrounding forests. Should be river and its neighbours face impending doom, it is up to you to annihilate the attackers with great fury. Otherwise, you shall rest here beneath the waters, waking up only once a year to feast during the flood season - and feast you shall, for the rivers will yield a bounty unmatched in respect for your glorious work. Is your mission clear?”
The turtle raised its head and let out another roar. The snake nodded.
“Very good. You shall have a name to fit your position - one that gives you the respect and reputation you deserve.”
The snake noted down the character for ‘river’ and ‘king’ in the sand.
“You are Chuanwang, the King of Nanhe!”
The turtle let out a thunderous, rumbling roar before submerging back into the river until the only sign of it that remained was a small, brown patch that broke through the water surface, like an uncanny island.
The snake chuckled quietly, then fell down into the sand.
“Phew! Alright, that was-... Augh!” He attempted to stand back up, but found his strength drained. He rolled over on his back and looked up into the blue sky through the thin foliage by the riverbank.
“I suppose nobody could fault me if I just… Took… A nap…” With that, the snake let out a loud, rumbling snore.
Snake has an offstage convo with K’nell about fun stuff. He contemplates sending the Dreamboi a flask of wine, and decides to do it at his earliest convenience. Afterwards, he decides to make some species in Nanhe jungle.
In the jungle, Sheng notes that the woods are rather empty save for a few amphibians, reptiles and boars. Shengshi first decides to make some nongxing: They are farming toad gorillas that practice a crude, simple agriculture in a symbiotic relationship with the Nanhese bamboo plant. He binds them to his rivers by making them amphibian, meaning they have to lay their eggs in rivers.
Afterwards, Sheng craves something sweet. He finds the part of the jungle he is in to be distinctly lacking in fruits, so he moves down to the river. On the way, he ponders about the possibilities of making a whole new fruit, one that would bloom early in the season and greet the new year with a delicious, sweet sensation. He comes up with the Longtsao, aka. dragonflower or dragonweed, which is a river flower that blooms in the spring. When it blooms, the flower bud on top opens to reveal a sweet, spicy fruit which attracts animals to eat it and spread the flower’s pollen which typically hitches a ride on the creature’s nose or hands. The fruits also function as fertiliser in the summer, when they fall out of the bud and into the ground to rot.
The third species Sheng makes is the wahou, or the frog monkey. The snake is upset that only him and the boars will be able to enjoy this tasty fruit, as the nongxing are likely too busy farming bamboo to care much for it. Shengshi therefore invents a small, monkey-like frog that primarily lives in trees and eats fruits and legumes, with an omnivore approach to fish and meat for the protein’s sake. The monkeys also lay their eggs in the rivers and were specifically requested to, even though they are omnivores, never attack other creatures unless it was out of self-defence or unless they were desperate for food.
The fourth and last creature Shengshi makes is the guardian of Nanhe, Chuanwang. Shengshi travels to the dry lands east of the jungles and sees the Cauldron and the Plains of Sandravii. He promises to one day make those lands fertile, but understands that he cannot do so just yet - he must first rest. Certain that conflict will arise between east and west, Shengshi creates Chuanwang, an enormous turtle that lives under Nanhe’s surface. The turtle is 1km wide and half as tall, with a head the size of Jiangzhou. It sleeps most of the time with the exception of during the flood season, when it is allowed to swim up and down Nanhe and eat its fill.
After Chuanwang is created, Shengshi falls asleep, exhausted from the ordeal.
Starter: 0MP/8FP Nongxing, farmer apes = 3FP Longtsao, dragonweed = 1FP Wahou, frog monkeys = 2FP Chuanwang, the King of Nanhe = 2FP
End: 0MP/0FP
4/10FP towards Harvest port from nongxing and longtsao.
Arya’s had been assigned to a smaller guestroom by the bathhouse below deck. While it was not nearly as ornate as some of the gods’ rooms, it nonetheless offered a most luxurious experience: The bed was so large that it could probably fit an entire family and had the mattress had the texture of clouds; the walls were white like paper, with some unfinished poetry and paintings coating some parts of it; the floor had no blanket like the gods’ rooms, but it made due with a fancy, striped pelt. Across the floor from the bed was a large door, rimmed and framed in gold; to the left of her bed was a neatly polished wardrobe, also rimmed in gold. The heliopolis shone in through the window blinds at the very top of the room, bringing the mahogany floorboards to live with auburn light.
Arya didn’t really know what a bedroom was, or what a bed was, but nonetheless she was taken aback by how shiny everything was. It all seemed very… excessive but beautiful at the same time. She had to admit, her master had style. It was completely different then how she had lived on Kalgrun, and she wondered if Kalmar would approve. Probably not, but there was no way she could ever bring up his name, least not around the snake. That entire display had etched worry into her heart, and her curiosity on how they had come to hate each other needed to be known. Perhaps one day, but not know. Slowly she sat down upon the bed, and sank in as she fell backwards. It was an odd sensation, but so, just so… comfortable… Like...a...cloud...and the tiny girl then fell asleep.
There was suddenly a wet slap against the door. There was no certainty as to how much time had passed since Arya fell asleep, but nevertheless, the slap was complemented with yet another one, this one being strong enough to open the door. Arya woke up with a small scream, not realizing where she was for a moment, before the sight of the water servants brought back her memory. In came a row of three water globules that zoomed around in circles in front of the bed, one carrying a roll of paper on a golden platter, one carrying a flask with some funny symbols on it, and one carrying a silver platter with something colourful that smelled like divinity itself. The globules put the platters and flask on the far end of the bed and zoomed back out, somehow managing to close the door behind them.
As quick as they came, they were gone, leaving Arya very confused with the items before her. She looked over each item, not really knowing what they were, except for the item that smelled heavenly. That had to be food right? She picked up the flask with symbols on it graciously. It felt heavy, so she shook it and heard the sound of some sort of liquid. She noted the top of it looked differently than the rest, so she touched it and pulled and not knowing her own strength, the top gave and the bottle splattered her in some sort of liquid. Her eyes went wide with horror, what had she done! Her chalk-white, glowing form was splashed completely with some slightly sticky, sweet-smelling, purple water. The bottle had nearly been emptied as a result. The substance dripped off her form and into the sheets, colouring them a blueish purple.
”Oh no! Oh no oh no oh no!” she moaned and in her haste to try and fix it, she knocked over the golden plate with the food and sent the roll of paper unraveling as her once beautiful bed, was tarnished. Her master was going to kill her.
The unfurled roll of paper fell to the floor and there was a gentle ‘ping!’. The paper floated up into the air and faced Arya, the characters on its surface forming something resembling a face. As she looked at the paper, her eyes went wider further and she was about to apologize to her master when it began to talk.
Dear Anxin,
Your presence is requested in the master bedroom atop the Grand Spire. There are clean clothes in the wardrobe in your room. His Lordship hopes the food was satisfactory and the drink delicious - blueberry juice is His Lordship’s favourite.
A map to your destination will now form upon this letter. His Lordship awaits your arrival at your earliest convenience.
Cordially, The Service Crew.
The letter fell to the floor and the characters twisted into river-like lines, dancing across the paper until a detailed blueprint of the ship formed on its surface. Arya relaxed as soon as she realized it wasn’t actually her master, but this service crew. Then she instantly felt awful at the state she had left the bed in. They were going to hate her. She picked up the paper and looked over the design. It was gorgeous, and very, very helpful. But first she had to do something… something with… clothes? She looked over at the wardrobe, and walked over, opening the gilded knobs to reveal a folded, white shirt on the top shelf; a wide, red skirt on the middle shelf with a supplementary patterned red ribbon to function as a belt; and a pair of elevated sandals at the bottom.
And the girl had no idea what to do with any of it, but she had to try. Several moments later, after a fierce battle with the clothes, she had them on. The skirt was worn backwards, the shirt was at a top her head and draped down her back. The red ribbon was used a scarf, and the shoes were on the wrong feet, but Arya puffed out her chest with pride. She wasn’t a complete failure! With her confidence, she took the map and left the room behind to join her master.
As she exited the bedroom, she got a chance to gaze out across the banquet hall below. There, hundreds of cute little water globules zoomed around, carrying all manner of ingredients from the larders to the kitchens. The red paper lantern chandelier hanging from the roof had yet to be lit, so all the light entering the colossal hall was the white light of Heliopolis, shining in through the blinds and reflecting against any gold it touched, turning the room’s assets into a lightshow. The floor below oozed with smells and scents so fantastic that no smell could ever match their perfection again.
She stood, leaning against the railing as she took it all in. She couldn’t even put words to what she saw, it was so just…amazing. Everything, from the chorus of noise, to the smells, and especially at the lightshow. Her eyes squinted into a smile as happiness flooded into her, and Arya forgot everything about the morning and where she was going just to take it all in. They didn’t have this back on Kalgrun.
There was a wet splash against her leg. Arya looked down at the feeling of water, the sight before her suddenly becoming background noise. A water globule was in the middle of reversing, before it accelerated forward again, only to crash into her leg again.
”Oops!” she said, before lifting her leg up. The globule accelerated again, zooming off under Arya’s foot and continuing down the balcony. As she watched it go, she mumbled, ”Cute as they are, they aren’t that smart huh.” But it did remind her that she had a place to be, so she looked at the map again and began on her way, careful enough to stay out of any water servant’s way. As she walked, she took in the ship with everything she had and was in wonder as she walked at all the new sights, sounds, and smells. The banquet halls had just been the beginning.
As she made it to the main stairwell, the gold gave way to rice paper walls dressed in paintings and poetry. The steps were inconveniently long, each likely requiring Arya to take two steps per stair. The height difference between them was not particularly high either, making the entire stairwell seem like an abstract, artificial hill. She marveled at the paintings as she walked, but couldn’t quite make out the poetry. Though she had enjoyed much of the ship, this part just seemed, unnecessary. It was still beautiful, in it’s own way, but she wished it was more convenient for her small legs. Not to be deterred, she continued on regardless.
As she ascended the stairwell, the paintings changed. At the bottom, there had been paintings of tranquil glades with small becks and the occasional fish; however, as she neared the upper floors, the paintings began to show a pattern of bipedal figures, all living around these becks in harmony with the life within; upon reaching the top floor, there was a painting in the roof of the stairwell - a beautiful, golden-skinned and crimson-scaled snake with horns, surrounded gold, jade and food, and by all manner of figures putting their foreheads and hands to the ground.
She stopped in her tracks before the giant tapestry. Truly, she had never seen anything quite like that before. It made her feel many different things, and chief among them was awe. It was mesmerizing and she began to wonder if it was real, and not just colors on the wall. She drew closer, once again forgetting what purpose she had other then to look at the details in the image. To bathe in it’s glow. The detail put into the snake was incredible, the colours going so far as to shade the space between each and every scale. Its eyes were made of polished diamonds and its forked tongue was carved from rubies.
Ahead of Arya, at the very end of the hallway, was another sight to rival even the painting. A mammoth gate of gold glistened in the heliopolis light that made it through the window blinds, flanked by two golden dragon statues with ruby eyes.
She drew closer to the new sight, standing before one of the dragons and ogling over it. It was luxurious, the entire door before her was and without a doubt, on the other side was her master. She took a deep breath, remembering all she had yesterday and began to practice.
”Anxin. I am Anxin. No! This servant is Anxin. Yes, that’s right. This servant.” she whispered before straightening her shirt hat. Arya then went up to the gate and passed through.
The inside of the room was characterised by the odour of the surrounding jungle, fresh and damp, as if it has recently rained. At the far end of the room was a tall basket on a slightly elevated pedestal. To Arya’s left side was a slightly messy desk, prickled with dots of black and topped with a few, seemingly unorganised paper stacks. To Arya’s right was a table so low that one could not fit one’s legs underneath without also lifting the table. By the paper slider door wall to the right was also a large birdcage full of small, singing birds. Apart from those, the room was mostly empty. However, from the veranda behind an open paper slider door sounded some gentle harp cords.
Arya paused, wondering if in fact she was in the right place. She looked at the scroll again and her eyes frowned. This was the right place, but it was so plain. Perhaps her master liked it that way? It was definitely a stark contrast to the rest of the ship, but she’d have to let it go, for a God waited. She walked over to the open paper door, and peered in, as she had guessed who was behind those lovely sounds.
There, on the veranda sat the snake with a guzheng, gently pinching at the cords in the rhythm of the water beneath. The melody was slow and soft, almost melancholic in nature.
“Did you sleep well?” he asked calmly, not taking his eyes off his instrument.
She was caught up in the music, so she was startled when the snake spoke. ”Oh! This servant slept well, thank you for asking.” she said, standing a little taller.
“A good start,” he noted and put his instrument down next to him. “However, many gods will expect a more humble ans-...”
As the snake turned around and saw Arya - or more specifically, Arya’s dressings.
“I see that I must leave instructions on the dress code as a clause in the letter next time a mortal visits,” he muttered with a sigh. Arya seemed to shrink at his words, growing embarrassed. Had she put them on wrong? The snake snapped his fingers and the clothes on Arya, as if suddenly given life, began to crawl and twist around her body. The shirt hopped off her head and grabbed one of her arms, carefully, yet purposefully, treading itself first over one arm, then over the other. Arya’s embassament quickly gave way to careless giggling as the clothes began to wrap around her. The torso met on the middle, where one half dove under the other, and the upper half twisted itself around her right side, tying itself neatly to a dangling thread right underneath the armpit. The skirt wrapped itself over the shirt around her waist and tightened itself using the red ribbon. Finally, the sandals tossed Arya a small distance into the air, quickly swapped places and caught her as she fell back to the ground. As an added detail, Shengshi pointed to Arya’s hair and whirled his finger around in a circle. A smaller red ribbon popped into existence, grabbing a handful of hair and tying it into a neat little knot.
Her giggling turned into full blown laughter, high pitched and melodic. The clothing tickled her as it moved and she couldn’t quite help herself. When all was said and done, she looked down at herself and was once again amazed. So that was how clothes worked? She liked them like that, and Arya felt the knot in her hair and how her hair was in a ponytail and she was content. With her eyes expressing immense joy, she looked back at the snake and did a small bow, mimicking what he had done the day before.
”This servant is thankful.” she uttered happily.
“Oh, are you not just adorable,” the snake mused in a deep, oily voice. “However, I will be expecting you to be able to dress yourself from now on. If the sequence of correct steps was not obvious, I will have the servants demonstrate it to you again the next time you dress.” He gave her a smile, though his eyes betrayed some strictness.
Arya collected herself and stood to face the snake as he spoke. She was saddened to hear that she would have to dress herself from now on but that seemed right. She did however say, [color=ivory]”This servant would not mind another demonstration in the future.”[/color[ she nodded. Because in reality, she had not a clue how any of it went on, as she had been caught up laughing.
“‘Would not mind’ is too intimate. ‘Would be humbled by’ is more cordial. Remember that,” he said and flicked his forked tongue.
She nodded again, but a question came to mind. ”Intimate?” she asked, ”What’s that?”
The snake raised his hand and tugged at his beard. He hummed in acknowledgement and nodded. “I suppose we will start by expanding your vocabulary, then.”
The training began simple - at first, Arya was taught the many characters that made up Shengshi’s written language. She was taught their meaning, their purposes and to read them out loud; then, she was taught how to write them, first as text on paper, then as calligraphic works of art. Shengshi drilled her on proper etiquette when facing others and the importance of understanding interpersonal relationships. Arya learned everything from bowing and kowtowing before those of higher rank, to courtesy and kindness to those below her. She was taught literature and how to write it, and given extensive courses on music, painting and tea ceremonies. Last, but not least, she was taught the concept of the Flow and given insight into Shengshi’s extensive works of poetry and prose.
She had thought Kalmar’s teaching had been challenging but Shengshi’s were on an entirely different level. It was a struggle, but she tried and tried, reaching different levels of satisfaction from her master. It was all so much to take in that on many occasions she let slip improper etiquette, or she forgot to bow, use the proper words and disregard the concept of the flow. Each time she cursed herself, but what was worse was seeing the Snake’s disapproval, his sighs, his reprimanding. Most of all was the look of disappointment. It reminded her of her own father, and it drove her to try harder and to learn.
With ample determination, and a steady fire burning in her heart, she slowly began to adjust. All the while, she had to process how to categorize both teachings of the gods. They were so different, and it what was, perhaps, the most difficult thing she was faced with. But try she did.
One instance, as they were practicing calligraphy together in the snake’s chambres, Shengshi had perked up suddenly. After a moment, he had looked weary and let out a sigh.
“Pardon me, Anxin. There is something I must do. Make certain you mind your downwards strokes so they do not bulge in the middle.” With that, the snake rose to his tail and slithered out on the balcony.
At her master’s words, she let out a defeated sigh and brought out a fresh piece of paper to try again. Writing poetry was fun, but the writing part wasn’t. She watched her Lord slither over to the balcony and began to write again. She was curious to what he was doing, but she had quickly learned that he enjoyed his alone time. Or maybe he didn’t. The snake was many things, but his eyes never betrayed him.
After some time had passed, the snake came back inside wearing a weary frown. He went over to the table and began rolling up his calligraphy sheet, motioning for Arya to do the same.
“We will be receiving a most honourable guest shortly, my dear Anxin. Make sure you look stellar before she arrives, is that clear?”
A guest! Another god? Another mortal? Who or what could she be? Her eyes expressed joy mixed with curiosity, but she obeyed her master’s commands.
Having finished rolling her sheet up and wrapping a ribbon around the middle, she nodded at her lord, ”This servant shall prepare!” she said enthusiastically. She then wandered over to the elegant, standing mirror and began ‘prettying up’ which was just her fixing creases in her dress and making sure her hair was prim and proper. Not a single strand could be out of place. She squinted at herself in the mirror, growing satisfied.
The snake winked at her proudly. “It is my deepest desire that all mortals will learn as fast as you,” he said and chuckled. “Now I almost do not want to-...” He interrupted himself and looked down. “Nevermind,” he said curtly and stood up, moving towards the doors.
Arya turned around and gave her master a quizzical look, but he did not look back at her. She let out a fake cough before asking, ”Is there something wrong, my Lord?” she inquired.
The snake swung the gate open slowly and let out a sigh. “No, there is not. Thank you for asking, however,” he said. For a moment, he stood in the door with one hand on each door.
“You have a good soul,” he said after a long pause. “No matter what anyone tells you, my dear, remember that.” With that, he slithered down the hallway.
Arya watched him go, not immediately following. That had been one of the nicest things he had ever said about her, and it made her so happy, her heart felt like it would burst. She wanted to give him a hug, but that wasn’t proper etiquette. So she sighed happily, before she began to follow after him.
The snake was waiting on deck, his arms resting behind his back. He was glancing up at the blue sky, the light of Heliopolis reflecting sanguine glitters off of his scales. He appeared motionless and expressionless, save for a somber shine in his crystalline eyes.
Arya arrived shortly after, and took in the sight of her master. Majestic was one of the first words that came to mind, but then she saw his eyes. His expressionless features, and she grew worried. There was a sadness there, deep and buried and it pained her. She wanted to do something, but how did one truly help a god? Without saying anything, she went over and stood next to him. The snake sent her a glance and hummed curtly.
“She will be here shortly,” he said quietly.
Without looking at him, Arya asked, ”Who, Master?”
“The Dragon, Arae.”
Not a second later after that was said did Arae drop from the sky, spreading her wings to slow her descent before landing gently on the deck. Arae smiled at both of them as she greeted them, “Hello to both of you, Shengshi, Arya. I do hope I didn’t come at a bad time.”
Shengshi lowered his torso, leaned forward and prostrated himself before the goddess. “My dearest sister Arae - it has been far too long. I bid you welcome aboard my humble ship.” Even though he was facing the deckfloor, his voice was as clear as if he had been been looking at her.
When she saw the Goddess, Arya was awestruck by her form. She had no idea she would resemble a dragon, and her scales were perhaps the prettiest shade of blue she had ever seen, reflected by the sunlight to show the full extent of her beauty. It took her a moment to realize that her master had already lowered himself before she quickly followed suit, but unlike Shengshi, she did not say a word.
“It has indeed,” Arae agreed. “So much has happened without my knowing. Children being born left and right, and our siblings just keep arguing over so much. Shengshi, your… ‘Xiaoli’, was it? I know you’re worried about her, but rest assured, she’s doing fine. In fact, she’s taken quite a liking to that Hermes girl-”
The snake erupted back up, his face a complex mixture of anger, sorrow and joy. “Really?! You mean she is well?! Do-... Do you know where she is?” he said, mellowing his tone as to not sound too desperate.
At the mention of Xiaoli’s name, Arya perked up. So that was what she was called. Kalmar had never mentioned her name, just that she existed and ever since arriving on the Jiangzhou, she had wondered what had happened to her. At Shengshi’s sudden outburst, Arya stood up as well and looked at him with a concerned look. Was that what troubled her master?
“Hmm… not exactly,” Arae answered. “I’m certain I could find her if I just followed my… ah, never mind. I would like to know, though, what happened between you two?”
Shengshi looked hesitant, then shot a glance down at Arya. “A topic best discussed under four eyes. For now, all I can say is that last I last saw her on Istais, together with that Hermes-girl. I reckoned they had run off, though I had not received any updates until now.” He tugged lightly at his beard. “I thank you deeply for bringing this to my attention - I miss her… Dearly.” His deep voice betrayed a drop of melancholy. It was quickly watered out by a clap of clawed hands and a warm chuckle. “Now, what say you to a meal to celebrate your visit, mm?”
“A meal, hmm?” Arae thought out loud. “That sounds lovely. What do you have planned?”
“Whatever the guest may want,” he said and snapped his fingers. The gates to the palace swung open to reveal a train of water globules balancing trays of creation’s bounty on their ‘heads’. A table for the three to eat from materialised on deck, with complementary pillows to sit on. The table was quickly crowded with plates of food and pitchers of drink. Shengshi turned to Arya and smiled. “Anxin, would you play us some music, my dear?” he asked softly.
Arya was perplexed. Why did her master not wish to discuss Xiaoli? And once again, Hermes name was mentioned and a part of Arya really wanted to meet her. And this Xiaoli. She wondered where they were, and what they could be doing.
As soon as Shengshi snapped his fingers, Arya knew what was in store. Quickly, with grace she moved aside so the water globules could do their work uninterrupted. If at all she was surprised by the table appearing she did not show it. When her master spoke to her she looked at him with a coy smile in her eyes.
In a delicate, almost melodic voice, she spoke, ”Of course, my Lord, this servant would be delighted to play for the exalted gods.” she then did a small bow and almost by thought, a new table appeared and with it, an intricate Guqin of mahogany wood, embellished with gold patterning and silver highlights.
She strode over and plucked the string before playing one of the many tunes she had practiced under her master’s tutelage. It was her favorite, perhaps for its simplicity, but she enjoyed the harmonious melody nonetheless.
Shengshi nodded approvingly and turned back to Arae. He gestured to the table with food and bowed. “Please, join me for a meal.”
Arae smiled as she went over to the plates of various foods, carefully examining each choice. The selection was vast, with everything from peeled and chopped fruits, to boiled rice and cooked meat, to cold noodles in vinegar and herbs. The selections of fish formed a rainbow of colour and variety, from cooked to raw. The snake sat himself down on one of the pillows, humming along to the music in the background. He gestured to the pillow opposite of the table.
“Please, sit,” he said softly.
“Of course,” Arae replied, making her selection of rice and a piece of orange-colored fish with herbs. When she looked at the pillow, she realized that she had very little idea about how to actually sit down with her current form. The closest thing to it was simply coiling herself into a circle. An idea popped into her mind, though, and she began to glow as her body’s silhouette shrank down into a humanoid figure. The glow soon subsided, and Arae was transformed into a figure with peach-colored skin, long purple hair with a streak of red, and a one-piece sky-blue dress.
Looking down at herself, Arae muttered to herself, “Hmm, that’s a bit better,” as she sat down onto the pillow in a seiza position.
“Oh my,” the snake mused. “Quite the transformation, dearest sister. I must say, your dragon form suddenly got quite a bit of competition.” He winked playfully, holding a ball of rice between two chopsticks.
Arae chuckled, casually waving her hand as she said, “Oh, you flatter me.” She reached for her own chopsticks and began to help herself to some of the fish, placing it on top of a bit of rice before popping both into her mouth. As she chewed, the flavor of the fish washed over her mouth. “This is delicious,” Arae remarked when she was done with the bite. Looking over at Arya, Arae called out to her, “Arya, would you like to join us? The food is too good to pass.” The snake nodded in her sentiment.
Arya kept playing as Arae seemingly transformed in front of her into a person that vaguely reminded her of Kalmar. Except her colors were much different then is own. When the Goddess looked over at her, Arya’s eyes smiled. When she asked Arya if she would join them, the girl looked to her master and saw him mad. So upon the final note of the piece she said, ”This servant would be honored to join you, Lady Arae.” She then humbly walked over and sat down to join them. Quickly she found her favorite food, cooked meat over a bowl of rice and placed it before her.
She took some chopsticks and wrangled up a mouthful before bringing it up to where her mouth should have been. Then all at once, where a normal mouth would be, a small split appeared on her face revealing inky blackness behind it and what one could only imagine to look like hundreds of sharp teeth, but what was actually just her face. She then took a bite and the split closed.
Shengshi chuckled. “This situation almost resembles a family dinner, would you not agree, sister?” The snake reached out for piece of fish. He also grabbed a bowl of cold noodles, which he promptly began slurping quietly.
“Of course it does. It’s exactly what I was aiming for,” Arae said, reaching out and taking a piece of cooked fish with white flesh. The sauces and juices mixed very well, and the fluffy rice just made it all taste complete.
After finishing the noodles, Shengshi put his chopsticks down carefully. “Now, dear sister, what say you we drink a glass to celebrate the occasion, hm?” The snake reached for a flask marked ‘lychee wine’ and poured each of the three small glasses full. “A toast, if you will.”
Arya’s eyes expressed happiness as she ate with the gods, her family...per say. The food was, of course, heavenly, and she ate until she couldn’t eat anymore. When her master brought out a flask, she cocked her head inquisitively and wondered what it contained. More blueberry juice? But no...that said ‘lychee wine’. What was wine? Tentatively she took a glass and did what her master did.
Arae did not really enjoy wine and other alcoholic drinks, but she didn’t wish to seem rude and accepted the glass. Lifting the glass with one hand, Arae nodded and responded, “A toast,” and cupped the glass with both hands while bring it to her lips and taking a small sip.
The flavour was soft and gentle, only slightly stronger than juice. A mild bitterness complemented the docile sweetness, and the experience rounded off with a round aftertaste. Shengshi lifted his glass with both hands, bowed to both Arae and Arya and voiced an enthusiastic “Thank you, both of you” before lifting the glass to his lips and emptying it in a single gulp.
To Arae, the drink was actually better than she initially expected. There were traces of bitterness, but it actually went well with the sweetness. She continued sipping her drink until it was gone, and a slight rosy blush appeared on her content face. Her chest and face felt warm, and her mind felt a bit cloudy, but she figured it was the alcohol’s fault. All in all, it was a good drink, although she wasn’t about to go making a habit of drinking it. It was still alcohol, after all. Moderation was important.
Arya smelled the pleasing fragrance before she downed the contents of the glass and tasted the complementary flavors. And all at once her body felt warm and fuzzy, for this drink was made by a God, and it was beyond delicious. Her mouth watered and grew dry and she didn’t know what was going on. She looked at her master, her eyes blinking, growing heavy.
“Have some more to eat, Anxin - overwise you will grow quite sleepy, indeed,” he said, chuckling. He sat back down and grabbed his chopsticks again, reaching for another piece of fish.
Arya let out an excited ”Yes!” before diving back in to eat.
“Now, if I may ask, dear sister, what did you wish to discuss, mm?” He rounded off his question by putting a well-sauced side of trout in his mouth and flushing it down with some fruit juice.
“Not much, really,” Arae said, her face in a cheerful smile. “Besides the questions I already asked, I mostly just wanted to see you again. It really had been too long since we last met, and family should always find the time to meet face to face. Especially now, since our family is already growing.” Turning to Arya, Arae continued, “Arya, dear, you deserve better than how your father’s treated you. Cast aside, not even receiving a name from him… you poor girl!” Tears emerged from her eyes before she reached out her arms in an attempt to give Arya a hug.
Arya startled when Arae said her name and she looked to the goddess and she listened to her speak. At the mention of her father she grew sad and combined with the alcohol she too, grew emotional. When Arae reached out for her, Arya melted and forgot her etiquette as she whispered, ”Oh auntie. Thank you...” and she hugged her back and let herself feel the warmth of the goddess and it felt good.
Meanwhile, the snake sat smiling at the two. He let out a quiet sigh as Arya went over to hug Arae, but the gesture actually brought about a wider smile on Shengshi’s face.
“It is moments like these when I feel the most regret for my actions,” he suddenly muttered, grabbing a pear with his chopsticks.
The hug continued for a short while before Arae decided that there was enough hug time and removed herself from Arya. She returned to her meal, eating a bit more ravenously than before. She scooped up a large quantity of fish and meat onto her rice, and it wasn’t long before the plate she was eating from was picked clean. At the very least, she still had the decency to wipe her face with her napkin, but soon resumed eating by grabbing hold of some slices of fruit.
Shengshi sighed and sliced the pear into neat little disks with his claws. “You truly remind me of that warm sensation that I felt upon first seeing our siblings at the dawn of creation.” He looked up at Arae with melancholic eyes. “I cannot keep it secret from you any longer, my dearest sister - for you are the one I consider my closest. Xiaoli’s disappearance is no one’s fault but my own.” He sighed. “My drinking and temper dulled my reason, and my subsequent actions stirred in her a gruesome fright that made her run off with Hermes - and how could she not? I have been a petty brother to Kalmar and a terrible role model to Xiaoli - caused feuds and fights were none were needed; I threatened Anxin’s companion with murder. Had she not intervened, I-...” He silenced himself, casting his eyes down. “I spoke with Asceal earlier - she convinced me to end the feud with Kalmar, but I despise my method for that achievement.” He lifted his gaze again and turned to Arya, his eyes empty and somber.
Arae listened to Shengshi’s words with a shocked expression, which soon turned to disappointment. She thought he had been going through some tough times, but she didn’t think it was that bad. At any rate, it was more than enough proof for her to reaffirm her belief that alcohol was not something to be taken lightly. And maybe Arae could actually help Shengshi find Xiaoli; she might be the only one who could help him with his current problems.
Arya had returned to her seat by that time, picking at a piece of fish loosely. When Shengshi spoke again, she looked at him and listened. And her suspicions had been made real by his account. His avatar’s disappearance made him sad and it was because of him, that she had left. But when had Asceal been here? She had convinced Shengshi to end the feud? That was great news! Then her master turned to look at her with somber eyes.
“I would return you to his protection. He must be worried about you, and the way I stole you - just to make a statement against his barba-... His teachings.” He paused. “It is understandable if your opinion of me has been altered severely.”
It took her a moment to digest the words and when she did, her eyes seemed to furl. Returned to his protection? She hadn’t even been asked! She didn’t even need his protection! How could...How could Shengshi do something like that? Hadn’t she asked him to not be forceful? To ask before he did things to others? It sounded like she wasn’t even going to have a say in the matter, he had already made up his mind! And her thoughts turned to the day she was born, how she had pleaded her father not to send her away, how she had wanted to stay, no matter how much his words had hurt.
Arya quickly rose, black tears beginning to stream down her glowing face. Her eyes expressed dejection, even betrayal. Without saying a word, or looking at Arae, she ran off into the ship, leaving the two gods alone. The snake hung his head dejectedly, rose up and slithered over to the railing to glance across the beautiful jungle flanking Nanhe.
“Arya!” Arae called out to Arya, to no avail, as she ran away. It was clear that Arya wouldn’t be coming back up anytime soon, so Arae turned her attention back to Shengshi.
“Shengshi, you’ve made a real big mess of things. Honestly...” Arae began to chastise the poor snake, but she decided to leave it there, thinking he’s already trying to repent for his actions. Sighing, she continued, “Still, I suppose it could be worse. At least not everyone hates you just yet, brother. And I’m sure Arya will forgive you in time. At the very least, I should go talk to her.” With that said, Arae got up from her pillow and walked over to the entrance to the inside of the ship, following Arya’s familial bond inside. “Arya?” Arae called out to Arya in hopes it would catch her attention.
Deep, deep, deep Arya went through the ship that was a castle. She heard Arae call after her, but paid no heed to her voice and Arya Stopped for nothing and ran through many water globules, soaking herself. She was hurt and wanted to be alone, so on she went through the twisting corridors until she at last made it to her own chambers. There she opened the door and slammed it behind her, quickly de-robed and then jumped into her bed and wrapped herself up in the sheets and cried. She was a mess of emotions and none of them good. The only sound in her chambres was the sounds of her sobs, complemented by the weary creaks of the wooden walls and the distant flush of water from the outside.
There was a wet slap against her door.
Arya stifled and peaked her head out from under her sheets. She knew the sound all too well but usually they just barged in without waiting. With her face streaked black, Arya wrapped a sheet around herself and went to open the door.
As she opened the door, Arae stood there in front of her, her face full of concern. Down the hallway, a servant just turned the corner.
“May I come in?” she asked softly.
Arya lowered the sheet from her head to her shoulders and nodded, wiping her tears away from her eyes.
Trying to compose herself, she spoke quietly, ”Of-Of course, your exaltedness.”
Arae walked inside, making her way over to the bed and sitting down on it. She patted the spot next to her and said, “Come, have a seat. Tell me what’s on your mind, Arya.”
Arya let the goddess walk by, watching her closely as she went and sat down. She began to shuffle over to wear Arae patted and plumped down next to the god.
She let out a long sigh before speaking, ”On the day I met Shen- his Lordship, he forced me onto his boat. He didn't hurt me but it did come as a surprise and he frightened Arryn. So I was angry and I told him it wasn't nice to force people to do things. I told him to never force anyone again, to ask before he wanted something. And I thought he listened... B-But he's going to force me… to leave… He wasn't even going to ask me and… it reminds me of… of my father and how he forced me to leave. And I… I just want to be wanted.” she finished, silent tears falling from her eyes as she looked to the floor.
“Shengshi is a fool,” Arae began. “But then again, who isn’t? The truth is, we gods have been brought into this world fairly recently, so hardly any of us know what we’re doing. All we do is follow our instincts and desires. We are just as much children are you are, Arya, despite, and perhaps even because of, the powers we wield. And currently, many of us are in the middle of a fight between ourselves, with the gods of destruction on one and the gods of creation on the other. There’s a lot of pressure between ourselves, what with our power to destroy the world several times over.”
Arae was silent for a second, gathering the rest of her thoughts, before continuing, “I guess what I’m trying to say is… sorry. You’re being treated like this due to my siblings’ family feud, and that’s not fair to you. You deserve the chance to make your own choices, live your own life, rather than being tied down to us gods.”
Arya listened to the goddess speak and much came known to her. It seemed she wasn't the only one with family problems, how had she been so blind to that? Regardless, Arya was thankful for what Arae said, it lessened the turmoil in her heart and so she looked to Arae and without asking she laid her head on the goddess’ shoulder and sighed again.
”Thank you, Arae. Your words are kind and I appreciate them. Who knew family could be so, so difficult?” the small girl let out a yawn thinking about what she wanted to say next. Perhaps she overreacted just a tad, Shengshi, for all his faults, did not deserve her ire. He was just sad and alone and he missed his Xiaoli. And they needed to talk about this, instead of burying it deep.
She spoke softly and tiredly, ”Perhaps...Perhaps tomorrow I'll talk to… my… my… lor-” but her words were replaced by steady breathing as her eyes became heavy and she drifted off to sleep.
Shengshi had not moved from his spot by the railing since Arae went downstairs to soothe Arya. His breath was steady, almost coldly so. Flood season was approaching, as evidenced by the slowly disappearing riverbanks and the drowning trees. The rivers were full of life, but the woods were not as rich, save for a stray boar or two. Shengshi hummed pensively at the sight, as if laying a strategy or a plan for the future of this forest. His planning would have to wait, however, for Arae soon came out the gates again.
Arae emerged from the ship and walked back to the table, sitting down at the pillow she had been using before. “Arya’s asleep now,” Arae reported to Shengshi. “You two should have a talk when she wakes up. In the meantime, let’s talk between ourselves. You know you have a problem with your drinking and temperament. What do you think you should be doing about it, and have you done anything about it?”
The snake turned away from the forest to face the dragon. “The wine today was my first drop since Xiaoli left - that is a condition I can control, I believe… As for my temper…” He sighed and slithered over to the pillow, sitting down. “I have been recording my thoughts and experiences during my time alone in a compendium. I will use that code to bind my spirit to its laws and rules - all in an effort to become a paragon of the Flow… However, it is not yet complete, and until it is, I cannot do much other than control myself.”
Arae nodded. “What matters most is that you are making a sincere effort. It’s all I ask for.” She then placed her elbows on the table, allowing her head to rest on her hands. “As for our siblings, well, you know there are many… disagreements between them, such as Kalmar and the other gods of creation against Orvus. I do feel as if the tension between them has eased a little, but it is still something that will not be easily forgiven. What do you think?”
The snake sighed. “I will be honest - it felt wrong to accept the invitation to an alliance against my brother, especially when I had to ally myself with-...” He closed his mouth and flicked his forked tongue. “Regardless, Phystene’s story was frightening, and Asceal has echoed the warnings against some of our siblings. As much as I would rather wait and watch this beautiful world bloom, those that would see it destroyed must be controlled.” He took another bite of fish and chewed it absentmindedly.
“I would rather not have him murdered - I would have none of my siblings murdered, in fact. However, the Flow advocates for adaptability: Should the situation escalate, even the wise cannot keep the sword sheathed anymore.”
“It’s a terrible situation for all,” Arae remarked. “I’ve been meaning to visit them, but I find myself putting it off every time. I’m… nervous. I want to believe Orvus is capable of more than what his powers are, and that even those powers of destruction can be used for good, but not everyone is so inclined to agree. I fear the damage is too much for each side to forgive the other, and any interference I try will only make it worse. Unable to do anything, feeling powerless… it’s a horrible feeling.”
The snake took a pitcher of mango juice and filled Arae’s cup, then promptly filled his own. “Well, my dearest sister - I can assure you that you have my support in whatever you do. Should you wish for diplomacy, then I will join you in that endeavour; should we need to resort to other solutions…” He raised his glass. “Then so be it.”
“Thank you, Shengshi,” Arae said, raising her own glass. Finishing the glass in one quick swig, Arae sighed and continued, “I should get going. Thanks for letting me visit.”
The snake finished his own glass and bowed. “It is always a pleasure to have you here, my dearest sister. Please, should you ever want to return, do so posthaste.”
Arae smiled, and she began to glow, her body transforming back into her dragon form. She made a quick jump and took off into the air, heading back towards the direction she came from, to the Dragon’s Crown.
On the distant horizon, past Arae as she flew, a storm was coming.
The ominous storm arrived, battering the Jiangzhou with a torrential downpour. Gale force winds battered the hull as lightning flashed and thunder boomed above the dragon’s head. The dark skies shrouded the land in a thick blanket of darkness as if it came from The Great Dark itself. However, all was dry inside the ship, save for the water globules and wines. And it was in her chambers that Arya slept, deeply nestled in thick, warm sheets as soft as a dove. Much troubled her, but in the safety of her dreams, she forgot her earthly troubles. Least for a time.
Upon the deck, heralded by the storm, her father came.
With a flash of lightning illuminating the deck, Orvus stood quietly, his glowing eyes impassive. He did not know what compelled him to arrive upon this ship, but he had come regardless. Orvus could taste the essence in the air and knew it belonged to the God of Rivers. More importantly, he could feel her. She was nearby, and only then it did occur to him that he desired to see her. For what reason he did not know.
In a slightly less exciting, but equally purposeful manner, the doors to the palace swung open to reveal the snake, who looked rather vexed at Orvus’ presence. Still, his face did not show wholehearted contempt, and the snake opened his arms invitingly and bowed.
“Orvus, my brother. What a… Surprise. I will admit, I had not expected you to come here.” He straightened back up and polished his claws on his chest absentmindedly.
His voice was emotionless when he spoke, ”Neither did I. Now tell me, where is she?” he asked getting straight to the point.
The snake scowled. “The first time you visit me, you display no concept of manners or etiquette, yet demand that I, your host, surrender the only thing that has brought me joy and peace in a long time.” He took a deep breath and bowed curtly. “Give me one good reason as to why I should comply.”
Orvus cocked his head at Shengshi's words. He was both right and wrong. Thunder boomed overhead as he thought upon those words. It seemed his offspring brought Shengshi some form of positive emotion. An attachment? Had he grown to care for her?
When next he spoke, his voice was calm and collected, ”You’ve mistaken my intent, brother. What I ask is not a demand, but a need. I wish not to take her away, nor harm, merely to… to see her. You would not understand this desire, I barely do myself.” he finished quietly.
The was a pause. The snake eventually relaxed somewhat and lifted his brow slightly. “You will swear upon your existence as a god that you will uphold these conditions; now, speak your oath or begone.” The waters around the ship began to rumble and quiver, and the snake himself curved his hands upwards in preparation for battle.
The threat, idle as it was, did not bother Orvus and he reacted as if it meant nothing to him.
”I swear it, then.” and began to walk towards the snake as if bidding him to lead the way.
The snake flicked his tongue menacingly, but the thunderous rumbles of the river below slowly ceased, and the snake bowed before Orvus. “So be it, then. I will call her up - I would rather not have your presence soil my larders with rot and destruction.” He held up one hand at Orvus to signal for him to stop but before the snake could snap his fingers, Orvus shouted, ”NO! his emotions full on display.
Orvus sighed, collecting himself, ”If she sleeps I dare not wake her. I cannot… I… I only wish to look upon her. Talking… Just take me to her. You have my word, once again, that my presence shall not touch your ship.” and with that said, Orvus began to float a few feet off the ground.
The snake betrayed a slight sneer. “So be it. Follow me, then… Brother.”
The two went down the gilded corridors. They entered the upper levels of the banquet hall and turned to the right, moving away from the stairs down and towards the servants’ quarters by the bathhouse. The two gods moved in silence, radiating an aura that deafened the normal ruckus of the ship’s core. Upon arriving at Arya’s door, Shengshi stopped.
“Remember your oath, brother,” he hissed menacingly, his eyes turning to reptilian slits. He then opened the door silently and gestured for Orvus to enter.
Orvus said nothing to the snake as he entered the room, door closing behind him. Though it was dark in the room, Orvus could see her perfectly. He floated over to the bed, and his impassive eyes changed to that of sadness when he looked upon her. Sleeping softly, there she was, the one he had said should not exist. And yet he was there, close but yet so distant.
Slowly he reached out his hand and with it, he stroked her face, delving deep inside her mind and witnessing her memories of her time on Galbar. The first thing he found, was her name. “Arya.” he whispered quietly. So the God of Hunting had named her. He was surprised Kalmar had found her, but not the words he chose to describe himself. Irrational. Dangerous. Destruction. Then why had Kalmar wanted to talk in the first place? To change his mind? To make him rethink everything? Well… He was here wasn’t he? He saw how much sadness he had forced upon, the inner turmoil she faced. And he grew ashamed of himself, but his desire to know more outweighed this shame.
He looked further, and saw that Kalmar had taught Arya many things and the ways of the world, but only as he knew them. Chief among them was the desire to live, to exist and to ‘win’? Arya had believed every word of it, and her one desire in life, was to find her way home. The foolish girl. She hated silence, she loved color, she wanted so much more then that place. Yet it haunted her, he haunted her.
Orvus looked further still, and saw her journey, Shengshi’s trickery and how she had stood up for herself. How she had stopped a God and an Avatar from fighting, how she had… willingly let herself learn and serve, just to save her ‘friend’. It was a noble action.
And Orvus saw the snake’s teachings, and how Arya, or Anxin, grew further. She was a marvel and more then he would ever be. At such a young age, nonetheless. She had a heart, and with it compassion, love, and loyalty, things Orvus had denied himself.
Arae had then arrived, and the dinner she shared with his two siblings was impressive. Then he saw how Shengshi betrayed her, over some petty fight with Kalmar, and Orvus grew angry at seeing his daughter upset and sad at the hands of another. Luckily, Arae was able to calm her, but instead of rejecting the snake, Arya only wanted to make things right, to make him let her have a choice.
Choice.
He broke away from his daughter and hovered over her with a shocked expression in his eyes. She was, in so many ways, apart from him and yet, at her core, they faced the same dilemmas. And Orvus knew in that moment what he came there to do.
He poured a little bit of his power inside of her, letting her drink his divinity and soak in its power. She would be immortal now, ageless and have her own power. A power to choose what she wanted to do. But he was not without other gifts for his wayward child.
He had seen her dislike for water, another failure on his part, but her fear could easily be corrected. So he gave her the ability of self-sustained flight, as natural as it was to walk or to breath. She would never have to walk again if she chose.
And at last, he summoned a bit of his metal, and from it, Orvus created a ring. Etching it with the stars, he willed it onto her finger and there it would fit snuggly. The ring would serve as protection from harm if she ever needed it, by amplifying the powers of desolation that she had yet to master, or even awaken. Another choice, one he knew she would not use lightly. But her compassion would be tested, and taken advantage of, thus she needed it. Satisfied with these gifts, Orvus floated to the door, looking back at the Arya, his daughter. They would meet again, or they wouldn’t but at least he had finally created a being not with the intent of pain, but for compassion.
The door opened and Orvus looked to Shengshi, first with thanks, but then quickly changing to anger. He spoke to the river lord, his voice full of venom.
”Many thanks, brother but know this; if you ever hurt her again, intentional or not, I shall spread my ‘rot’ my ‘destruction’ to every river on this planet and then, and only then, I will bathe in your ichor. Now goodbye, shall we not meet again.” and with that said, Orvus floated past the snake and made his way out of the Jiangzhou and onto places unknown. The snake hissed silently as Orvus left and shot the girl another glance before he closed the door.
Arya is first escorted to her new room. There, she discovers what a bed is and falls asleep for an unknown amount of time. She is awaken by some water servants barging in with food, a juice bottle, and a note from Sheng.
When she tried to uncork the flask, the contents spill out all over her and the sheets. She panics and spills her food, as well as the note, off the bed. The note unfurls and tells Arya to get out of bed, dress up and head to Sheng’s room.
The note also tells her where she can find her clothes, as well as where Sheng’s room is. The room contains a wardrobe, which itself contains Arya’s clothes: A white shirt, a red skirt with a red ribbon and a pair of sandals. Being unfamiliar with clothing, Arya puts the shirt on her head, the skirt on the wrong way, the ribbon on as a scarf and the sandals on the wrong feet. She then goes to see Sheng. Along the way, she sees all the wonders of the Jiangzhou - the massive, adorned banquet hall with its opulent usage of gold, and the stairwell up the central tower (aka. Grand Spire).
As she ascends the Grand Spire, Arya is witness to the many art works of Shengshi - she is captivated with the ceiling painting at the top of the stairwell, which displays Shengshi bringing prosperity to all.
She enters Sheng’s room, only to find it rather empty. She hears music from the outside, tho, and finds Shengshi there playing guzheng. He turns around to greet her and is mildly disappointed that she is incapable of dressing herself. Using hokus pokus-powers, Sheng mades the clothes dress her.
Cue training montage: Arya is drilled on everything cultured and snake-related: reading, writing, calligraphy, music, poetry, all that jazz. Arae appears! Shengshi brings Arya along to greet her on deck. To start off, they talk about how life has been and the joy of being together again, then Arae drops the Xiaoli-topic and Shengshi grows hesitant.
Shengshi invites them to dinner. To fit at the table, Arae adopts a more humanoid form. At first, Arya is tasked with providing music for the banquet, but later joins in the meal. They have a nice conversation until Arae and Arya’s closeness reminds him of Xiaoli and the snake confesses his plans for trading Arya for peace between him and Kalmar.
Arae feels betrayed at the idea that she would be given no choice and runs inside crying. Arae scolds Sheng and then promptly runs after her. Sheng remains on deck to contemplate.
Arae finds Arya in her room and talks with her. She tells her she is sorry Arya was dragged into this family feud and that she is being tossed around like a pinball. Arya thanks Arae for her advice and goes to sleep.
Back on deck, Sheng is still observing the fancy foliage around. Arae reemerges from the ship and the two discuss how Sheng will act in the future. Sheng reveals that he believes he can control his alcoholism, but not his temper, and that he has future plans to bind his spirit to a set of morals. The two toast one final time (with mango juice) and Arae hops off.
Cue Orvus, who drops by to see Arya. Shengshi is immediately suspicious of him, and when Orvus demands to see Arya, Shengshi makes him swear on his existence that he will not hurt her nor the ship in any way. Orvus agrees and the two head downstairs. Orvus enters the room, reads Arya’s memories and learns about Kalmar and Shengshi’s treatment of her. Comes to the conclusion that Arya hates neither of them, but simply wants a choice. He makes her immortal and gives her a fancy ring.
He leaves the room like the absent father-figure he is and flips Sheng off one last time before floating off.
Arae: Started with 10 MP, 8 FP 1 Might spent acquiring a humanoid form. 2 Might spent acquiring the ability to change between the two forms. MP: 7 | FP: 8
Orvus: Started With: 5MP & 8FP
-2MP to LEVEL UP ARYA TO HERO -1FP to GIVE ARYA THE EXTRAORDINARY ABILITY TO FLY LIKE SUPERMAN -1MP(DISCOUNTED TO 0 CAUSE DESOLATION, FUCK YA) to CREATE THE ‘STAR RING’
Ended With: 3MP & 7FP
Portfolios: 10/10FP Towards Asteroids Unlock > Not Purchased 3/5 Towards Soul Decay Unlock > Not Available for Purchase
Arya 0 prestige starting +1 for the post +1 for being a main focus +1 for jolly collaboration = +3 prestige
Shengshi had only been to this tributary once - yet it marked such a monumental milestone in his existence that its location came to him as easily as sight. The familiar, docile beck had barely changed since last time, its sweet, young current doing its best to shove along what little sediment and detritus it could. The snake shot a look over his shoulder - would Anxin escape in his absence, he wondered?
He took a deep breath and let out a coarse sigh. In all honesty, he could not care less anymore.
The spot still had the tracks and markings of recent activity, the river bank cluttered with rustled leaves and skid marks from a tea table. The snake leaned down and picked up a handful of the wet sand from the riverbank, the very same that gave her that beautiful complexion.
“Xiaoli,” he whispered, his heart sinking his torso until the snake had fallen onto his tail, one hand closed around the sand in the river and the other clutching his welling eyes. A few hacking sobs escaped with otherwise silent demeanor. He felt the familiar pull - the kind he had felt for some time now. The cellar had not been opened since that day - not a drop of wine had clouded the snake’s mind.
Yet, as sober as he was, he still portrayed a being that would repel Xiaoli - a monster in mind and soul, rotten from skin to core. He had convinced himself of such, yet why could he not act as if he had?!
He drove his fist into the sand with raging speed, sending out blades of wet sand that sliced through the trunks of a selection of trees on the opposite bank. The snake’s ragged breath was all that coloured the silence after the trees slammed into the ground, sending many of the local birds flying.
Scarcely a moment later a glowing figure swooped down, landing with enough force to shake the ground. Asceal stood in the newly formed clearing and glared at Shengshi as she strode towards him. Curses, the snake panicked momentarily, not now - not now! He discreetly wiped his tears and slowly got back on his tail, instantly masking with sorrowful face with an inviting smile.
“Ah, Asceal, dearest. I had not expected us to meet again so soon! What brings you to my kingdom?” the snake said in a voice that could oil wooden furniture.
“Nothing pleasant,” The Goddess scowled, her voice dripping with barely repressed anger, “Tell me Shengshi, what’s this I hear about you threatening to murder Kalmar’s falcon?”
What goes around, comes around, you fool, the snake thought to himself. There was a pause, followed by a deep drag through the snake’s nose.
“Oh, my dear… I could not lie to you,” he said, tipping his torso in her direction and extending his arms forward in peaceful gestures. “Your purity of soul; your strength of will; wisdom of mind - all are qualities which I deeply respect in you, and I will add that our friendship is dearer to me than all the wealth in creation.” He remained bowing. “As befitting of this bond, this mere snake requests simply that You perceive its words as the truth - and accuse me not of being without honour and honesty. Is this pact satisfactory?”
For a moment Asceal looked dumbfounded, but her expression quickly soured. “No, Shengshi, it isn’t.” She looked down on the bowing god and seethed, “I have spent the time since our last meeting tending to the casualties of our peers callousness and malice, and now, now I have to stop the gods I thought my friends and allies from tearing each other apart. You expect me to believe you? Then rely on the truth, not any bond which I have more than enough reason to doubt at the moment.”
Obstacle ahead, the snake thought. Adapt - remain calm, yet be direct. He straightened himself up, put one hand behind his back and let another one tug absent-mindedly at his beard. “So be it - the bird known as Arryn speaks the truth. He interrupted me in my own home, nay, commanded me to hold my tongue as I critiqued his master’s lack of finesse in his cultural education.” He took a deep breath. “I will admit - I may have overreacted. Thus, while it wounds me to admit it - for you, my dear, I will. The Hunter’s avatar has spoken the truth about the vicious lord of the rivers. Now, how will you handle it?” he inquired, raising an eyebrow.
“Ahhh!” Asceal cried and buried her face in her hands, “You… Both of you, how can you be such fools!?” She looked up and glared at Shengshi, “Do you understand what you’ve done, Shengshi? And not just you, both of you. Insults, slights, for such petty nonsense I hear that you would have murdered Arryn had the girl known as Arya not intervened. Even as it is, Kalmar, being no less prideful than you, will demand recompense for this.”
The Goddess slumped and sat down on a nearby log, her fury ebbing, “Orvus threatens to annihilate everything we’ve created, Sartravius burns entire islands, Melantha menaces Aelius in his own home, and instead of facing that together we conspire to destroy ourselves. This can’t continue, Shengshi, it can’t.”
Remain calm. She does not understand your etiquette completely - you know this. Just… Remain calm and do not lash out. The snake visibly appeared to be bottling up all manner of emotions, the hand on his beard occasionally twitching. She is good at heart - a little direct, perhaps, but good. Give her some leeway. “... P-... Petty non-... Nonsense?” he whispered menacingly. No… No, what are you doing? Contain yourself, you fool! There was another deep breath, followed by what Asceal could have sworn was a series of numbers being counted. As the silence returned, the snake sent her a stare that, in all physical aspects, could be described as a smile; however, even a mortal could have seen the black bile and sanguine fury that bubbled behind those eyes. CONTAIN!
“Very well,” the snake said.
“Very well,” The Goddess muttered, her eyes filled with something that approached pity, “I won’t pretend to understand what it is that’s driving this feud, Shengshi, but please, please put it aside when Kalmar comes. I’m begging you. If you two come to blows, it isn’t just one of you that will lose, we all will.”
The snake’s hand twitched again. His eyes fell down, specifically on Xiaoli’s river, and the black bile in his eyes turned to crystalline tears. He raised his head and cast a weary, teary gaze at Asceal.
“Sister, can I speak from the heart for a moment?”
“Of course.” She answered, her voice weary.
“In this moment, I cannot even recall what it was that started the feud. My mind - my soul has received a wound far deeper than the Hunter could ever inflict with any sacred sword. I have not been myself for a while now - I do not need this animosity clouding my psyche, too.” He flicked a tear away. “Aboard my ship is Anxin, or Arya, as Kalmar named her.” He rolled his tongue off his fangs, as if saying the name had left a bitter taste in his mouth; however, he then promptly continued. “I will return her to Kalmar when he arrives, as the wise would offer drink as a mark of peace.” He sighed. “I shall let the world know that the rivers will run in the Hunter’s name as much as my own - with the gesture, I shall let the world know that the snake has surrendered.” Upon finishing his sentence, the snake visibly relaxed, as if an enormous strain had been lifted off his shoulders. Good, he thought. Pride is worth sacrificing if I can get her back.
Asceal smiled weakly and nodded, “Thank you, and I apologise for my outburst earlier. For what it’s worth.” She regarded Shengshi sympathetically and patted the log next to her, “As for this wound, I can only hope it heals. Whatever it is.”
The snake sighed, slithered over and sat himself down on the log. “I have been a beacon of hypocrisy, my dear. I have strayed from the path to the goal I set upon my creation and let pride, wine and foolishness consume my soul for too long. For this, my servant, nay, my companion left me.” He chuckled. “I mean, while you were scolding me, a large part of me wanted to break every bond I have had, have and could ever form with you. How could she not abandon me?” His eyes went skyways and his mouth remained partially open, as if the soul within needed to breathe.
“Pride always has a cost,” The Goddess put a hand on Shengshi’s shoulder and looked up with him, her eyes focusing on Heliopolis, “I’ve paid it myself. But we aren’t defined by our failures Shengshi, we can’t be. If she left because of what you’ve been, why can’t she return for what you will be?”
The snake chuckled. “Your scolding today was a start. I intend on correcting my behaviour, starting by quelling that gruesome hubris bottled up within me. I only pray that my outrageous actions can ever be forgiven - at the very least put aside - by Kalmar. That will likely not happen, but the rivers adapts to the obstacles in its path…” He stood back up and slithered towards the river.
“I thank you for your wise words, dearest sister,” he said wearily. “Forgive me for parting, but there is much to prepare for.” He dipped his hand into the river and scooped up some water; he put the cupped hand to his lips and drank, inciting a quiet whimper. He paused and cast a sideways look over his shoulder.
“Farewell.”
Behind him the Goddess smiled and repeated the word, “Farewell.”
The snake hummed curtly and slithered off into the woods.
Shengshi takes some time to travel to the river where he created Xiaoli. He is visibly weary from everything that has happened of late, not even caring if Anxin should escape in his absence.
Upon arriving, he contemplates his actions against Arryan and Anxin (or Arya), as well as his general inability to be sensible.
Asceal appears and demands to know if Shengshi threatened Arryn. Shengshi first tries his usual, oily demeanor, though becomes more direct upon seeing that it doesn’t rub Asceal the right way. He admits the truth, saying the threatened the bird.
Asceal scolds his, as well as Kalmar’s, prideful stupidity and warns Shengshi about the consequences for all life if they don’t band together against those who would destroy it.
Shengshi is, in truth, furious at the scolding, but manages to bottle up his emotions, agreeing to settle for peace by returning Arya to Kalmar. He looks at Xiaoli’s river again and breaks down, explaining how dissatisfied he is with his own character, his hypocrisy and his hubris. Asceal comforts him.
After their talks, they part ways, Shengshi saying he has much to prepare for.
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