Chapter 26: The Choosing, And A New Friend

Chapter 26: The Choosing, And A New Friend

Sakura

Three days of near constant mana and chie cultivating, practicing with my knives against wooden targets Gamera hid around the familial palace, and trying to not have my silk worms die, I stood in front of a mirror in my room dissatisfied with the choice of clothing the maids had picked out.

I promise you, it will dazzle the other members of the inner family. The elderly senior maid said. She was taciturn and efficient as usual as she ransacked my wardrobe looking for something that would fit both the purpose, and my ever changing teenage body.

Apparently, going from Iron to Steel stage didnt save you from having to go through the awkward gauky girl stage of life. On top of that, Sakura had been a pleasantly filled out girl before the fever. Now, my body looked practically starved compared to what it had apparently been before.

I trust your judgment about the dresss appropriateness, dear elder. I do not know, however, if it will fit me.

Hmmm. She put the dress up to my body in the mirror. It was a red and yellow dress, much like the sun dress I had ordered, but this was cut in a professional, formal cut. That made it look reminiscent of a kimono from Japan back on Earth. Not as intricate, but it had several cords and tassels the purpose and meaning of which I didnt know.

The elderly woman tisked to herself. You might have a point. Teenage girls, always changing like the phases of the moon. Alright. I can try to have the tailor pull it in at the bust and expand it in the shoulders and arms. But she might not have time.

I had an idea and went to the small chest at the base of my bed. I pulled out the long, thin strips of silk that I had just begun to harvest thanks to the extremely experienced tailor I had met during my time in the festival. He showed me how to turn my little box into a proper incubator with some simple chie inscriptions. Yu had helped me with the enchantment that reinforced the box, and accelerated the growth of the worms by pulling in ambient mana and chie from the area.

We harvested them just last night. The man I hired to care for my silkworms suggested that it could be added to any fabric, and that it would take on the general properties of that fabric, including chie inscriptions and enchantments, up to the worms cultivation stage. See if it can help our staff-tailor speed along her work.

That is a brilliant idea young mis. But are you sure you wish to waste such a precious resource on a simple dress? The elderly woman lifted the dress again, so I could get a better view of it.

Its either that, or I go with the sun dress I ordered for me. The womans expression shifted from one of wise thrift to utter horror at the idea.

Im afraid that wouldnt be even remotely appropriate for such an occasion as this young mis. The sun dress you purchased is a wonderful item, perfect for picnics or study days. But to wear such a thing to a formal occasion would be . . . well, imprudent. It might cause a scandal.

And I have learned the value of a public image. So please, take the silk, and have the tailor make use of it. Its doing no one any good sitting in my storage, simply being valuable.

Of course.

The maid staff left, and I found myself for the first time in days, with some time that wasnt dedicated to training, studying, cultivating, or sleep.

I went to the small desk opposite the art nook my room sported. Sakura had placed a small tapestry in the nook that depicted the five great spirit beasts. As I saw in the desk chair, I became absorbed in the image. I found myself drawn to it.

The giant tortoise walked along the bottom of the tapestry, and wherever it trode, life bloomed in its wake. The sea dragon on the right-hand side of the tapestry was a riot of white and blue colors as it glided through the water along the coasts. It was breaching the surface of the waves, going airborne. Looking for all the world like it was transitioning from swimming one moment to flying the next.

It reminded me of the blue dragons along the coast of Japan. They had been so beautiful, and yet when I went to pick one of the deadly creatures from the sea, my father had stopped me. They were poisonous, and despite looking like a flower, they were actually a type of small sea slug. Though these were different, they still bore a striking resemblance.

The tiger to the far north roared a challenge to the world, standing atop a snow-capped mountain, with ice raining from the sky around it. While a red Fenghuang, or Chinese Phoenix bird, soared up along the western mountain range. The southern tip of which was where my familys northern migration range was located.

At the very center of the image was a golden dragon, coiled protectively around a floating jade palace. Its long, sinuous, serpentine body splayed out in different directions. Its tail reached south, its whiskers east and west, while its eyes shone a golden light northwards that followed a winding way to get where it was going.

I realized that the thin golden lines that the different parts of the imperial dragon became as they got further away from its body resembled the Imperial Road Network that connected the many parts of the Jade Empire. There were small pins in the tapestry, red and yellow, that marked various places. Then, memories of Sakura standing in front of the tapestry, crying, wondering where she should . . . where she should run away too, entered my mind.

Huh. Its a map.

What is? A voice came from beside me, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. Rayce was standing there beside me, staring at the tapestry as if trying to figure out what was so fascinating about it.

What are you doing in my room?

Well, I knocked. But you didnt answer. The maids said you were in here, and I got concerned. When I peeked through the door, I saw you just sitting here, staring at that thing.

I wasnt going to tell him Sakura, the me before the fever, had been planning on running away. The tapestry. I just realized its not just a pretty picture of the Empire, but a map. A stylized map of the Emperors roads.

Really? He squinted and moved a little closer to it. Huh. I guess youre right. Why do you have these pins in it?

I was just marking major cities on it earlier. To see if it made a good map or not. And, surprisingly, it does. Not perfect, but it does that job.

Okay, well, pretty pictures aside, its time to go. Your maids have your dress ready.

How long was I staring at that thing, I wondered and shook myself. My stomach gurgled as I checked the sand clock on my desk. It was just past noon. I had been staring at it for hours without eating. What the hell?

I stood and went to the door. Just outside, the maids were waiting, with my newly tailored dress. Rayce didnt just knock at my door. They had asked him to come and check on me when I didnt respond to their knocking. What the hell is with that tapestry?

Please come in. Rayce, get out.

***

I expected to be led to the throne room, or perhaps outside the cavern and up to the mountain range above us. However, Gamera led us down into the vault. Instead of taking us where we had gone before, we took a different basement walkway, one that wound around a central pillar deeper into Gameras shell.

The air grew hotter and muggier as we went, and I started sweating. How much further are we going down? Shouldnt we be getting close to I hesitated to say other organs, but the words hung there, my meaning plain.

Gamera chuckled. Yes, we are getting further into my body. Your kin are the only ones allowed anywhere near this far. We are getting close to my primary heart.

How many hearts do you have, exactly? Rayce asked.

Several. Only your father and I know exactly. And that is not a secret I will be sharing with two younglings before their first choosing. Maybe when youre older.

I gritted my teeth at the saying. It had practically become a mantra among adults, teasing us with just enough information to confuse us about later stages of cultivation, but never giving us a real explanation other than of what was directly in front of us.

There is too much to digest all at once. That much is plain. But surely there is some kind of standardized methodology for teaching this information. Isnt there?

Standardization had been a way of life, treated as a mantra of purist truth back in China. The Jade Empire was organized, sure. But chaotic, meritocratic, and unstable would be how I had begun to think of it. With individuals sheer power being one of the few things holding it together.

Mother and Fathers duchy, from what Ive gathered about the rest of this place, is about the most stable one can hope for. And Sakura, and I, have been pushing for greater standardization and efficiency since before my Genji side appeared. My thoughts about introducing standardization, mass production, and bureaucratic predictability and stability might be exactly what this place needs more of. But before I can do that, Ill need to get stronger. Stronger than either of my previous selves have ever even dreamt of being. Otherwise no one will listen to me, and Ill just be putting myself in danger for just speaking up.

I had begun thinking of myself as an entirely new person. An amalgamation of two spirits, two experiences, thoughts, and ways of life. Apart, they were individuals. But together, well, I became me.

I understand, honored uncle. Rayce said, his voice solemn as he gave me the side eye. I realized I had been grinding my teeth and hadnt responded to his statement.

Oh. Yes. Understood. And thank you for trusting us.

Gamera harrumphed, Yes, well. Your family and mine have been together since I was very young. We grew together, and together have become mighty. Today, perhaps, we will become mightier still.

We were quiet for the next while, as we descended even further down winding stone stairs carved from Gameras body, shell, and bones. Eventually, we came to a flat area with a high ceiling that led to a large closed door. Gamera led us up to the door, which was inlaid with carvings of empty Kame shells on both of the double doors, and the two doors opened on their own.

A wave of cool wet air washed over us. I sighed in relief as the heat we had been experiencing was getting nearly unbearable. I followed Gamera into the chamber beyond, and was astonished at what I found.

A waterfall of pure, clean water fell out of one wall onto a wide, shallow rocky pool, where tens of dog sized tortoises bathed and played. Moss grew along the edges in thickets, where others burrowed, ate, and rested. Closer to us was a clean sand pit, where nearly a hundred people, ranging in all ages from younger them Rayce, to old and withered, walking only with the help of a cane, stood and waited for the event to start.

Above us was an observation deck, packed with people all in our families colors, or with splashes of color from the various sects or minor branch families that made up the bulk of the Outer Family. Sakura had learned some of them, and I had been studying to learn the rest before bed every night, pushed on by Genjis, by my need to know what possible threats existed in this new social environment I found myself in.

Gamera walked into the crowd of people gathered at the sandpit, and they parted for him. Giving him room to conduct the ceremony.

Rayce, Sakura. Thank you for keeping an old man company as he took the long road down here. Please join the others so we can begin.

It was a simple matter to find some moss. It grew on the ground like grass. I scooped up what I thought might be a pretty fresh patch and channeled some chie into it. The moss glowed slightly, then went back to looking like, well, common moss.

Once the mass of tortoises realized that special food had not been provided, they began to wander around looking for something else to eat. Most wandered back to the water, or the edges of the room where large patches of fresh moss grew like bushes. About a third of them, nearly a hundred of the soft shelled things, began investigating the rim of the pit. Sniffing the humans there, and wondering if they might, just maybe, have something they could eat? Please?

A few boots got bit, and more than one shout of pain emerged from my extended family members as they attempted to feed the creatures, only to get their fingers bit along with the moss. Thankfully, they couldnt bite hard enough to sever fingers.

Yet.

I tried to feed one that came close. It had a pink spot on top of its shell, and it sniffed the rim of my robes. I tried to hand it the moss, but when it sniffed it, the Kame began to sneeze uncontrollably. It wandered away like that, sneezing and bumping into its kin with every aggravated half-seen step.

Sorry little one. Guess I dont smell nice or something? I didnt remember putting on any perfume. But the maids might have put some kind of scent on my robes that was too subtle for me to pick out. Id have to ask them about it later.

It didnt take long for people to begin bonding. Roughly half those along the rim had bonded with one of the little Kames, the other half looked around, hoping one would come back and take notice of them again. But most had wandered away back to their pool, or moss the bushes looking for food.

Those who had bonded were led away, coaxing their new companions with more moss and promises of treats. Leaving the rest of us behind.

Alright. Well, I suppose thats it for this year. We still have over half the young ones who havent bonded yet. So well have a bonding ceremony next year, when theyre older, and a bit less hungry.

I had no idea how a Choosing differed from a bonding ceremony, but when I asked about it, the adult standing next to me and Rayce just shrugged. Theyre not that different. The older kame dont choose someone, so I think its more about that. Most of the astral projected young ones who bonded today had never bonded before. They were part of the crop from the last Choosing.

Thank you, cousin.

You are most welcome. She smiled down at me as we began following Gamera out of the incubator chamber.

Then, someone swore. Loudly. I turned and found Raif standing in the middle of the pit. A tortoise who had practically buried himself in the pit's sand, had clamped its hardened jaws onto his boot. Drawing a trickle of blood from his foot. The small Kame hissed as it tried to rip the boot off of Raifs food.

He likes you. Gamera laughed. Looks like you have a new little friend, Raif. Congratulations.

***

Little asshole, bit clean through one of my toes! Look! the tortious hissed from where it stood protectively next to Raif, who had his foot propped up on a chair in the main hall. The feast was in full swing, but Ren, Raif, Rayce, Yu, and I were all brought together for a quiet celebration with the, temporarily maimed guardian of the south-western border.

Im sorry you are injured, uncle. But none of us were selected but you. I am sure that will be a soothing salve for you as you heal. The words were out of my mouth before I could stop myself.

Sakura with the tongue lashing. Ouch. That hurt almost as bad as my toe. Being bit off. Raif gestured to his food, where the surgeon was sowing the toe back on and glared at me. I returned the gesture, fighting to keep a smile off my face.

Youre being a baby. Ren said as he stretched out on the bench in front of the main table. The table was full of freshly cooked pork. Congratulations brother.

Thanks. Little shit head nearly took my foot off, but at least Im now a part of the inner family. He said the last two words with a dismissive lilt to his voice.

Sakura, be kind to your maimed uncle. Yus voice was serious, but still held an edge of playfulness to it.

Yes, mother. I bowed, then stuck my tongue out at Raif, who laughed and shook his head.

Ren, your brother has been injured. Surely you can muster a bit of sympathy. Yu suggested.

Oh, I sympathize. But that toe is now the least of your worries. A baby Kame. Even I didnt have to go through the early stages with Gamera. Thank the Gods. And your little Bitter there seems to have even a worse temperament than he had at that age. Good luck with that, brother.

Raif groaned, and I chuckled along with everyone else.

Speaking of spirit beasts. Congratulations to you too Rayce. Celestial hounds. Great find. How did you find them? Raifs words led to the room falling quiet. Wait. What did I say?

Yes. How did you find them, Rayce? Yus gaze fell on the young man, who had been suspiciously quiet now that they were all in a room together.

Uh.

Rayce was clearly a terrible liar. Hed fit right in with the celestial hounds. His expression made it seem far worse than it was. A child with his hand caught in the cookie jar he had just discovered was now a bear trap. I saved him from making it, so, so much worse.

He tried to run away and found them on the mountain top. Its getting late. Ill let him tell the story. I found it quite interesting when he told Gamera and I a few days ago. Good night. I got up and headed for the door. Not wanting to stay for whatever my parents were going to be handing out as punishments, and getting caught in the proverbial splash zone.

Wait! Raif shouted, and nearly fell out of his chair, to the tisking of the surgeon who was still working on reattaching the severed limb, as he reached for his bag. I have something for you. Something special. A prize for surviving that fever. And because, well, its my last one and I need to trust it to someone.

He produced a box, carefully marked with the warning and handle gently symbols on it. Take it, but dont open it here. Well talk about it later. Good night!

Raif practically shoved me towards the door and turned his wicked attention on Rayce. Now, my dear nephew. What was this about you running away?

The door shut firmly behind me as I practically ran out of the room.

***

Back in my own bedroom, I pried open the lid, and found the box was filled with chie inscribed, and mana infused hay. The box had been enchanted to prevent any kind of rotting or illness from getting through, and the hay was designed to keep what was inside warm, and safe from damage due to jostling or sudden movements.

I pulled out the egg and held it in my hands. It was nearly three feet tall, and a foot and a half wide. It was warm to the touch, and the moment I removed it from the box, something inside began rhythmically pounding against the shell.

In a near panic, I laid the hay on the ground and placed the egg in the middle. It didnt take long for the shell to start to crack, and only a few minutes after that, for a soft-shelled turtle to come tumbling out of its much larger egg.

He was roughly the size of both of my palms put together. Tiny compared to his egg at only a foot long. He cried out as I used a piece of my robe to wipe him clean, and then place him back on the floor facing the remnants of his shell.

Hes supposed to eat it right? I read that somewhere; I think.

The little Gamera let out a defiant war cry and charged at the egg. The spiked horn on his nose shattered the side of the egg, and liquid and thick viscous goo ran everywhere. Which he promptly began devouring with abandon.

Good thing I put the hay down first. I . . . I dont know what to do with you. Let me go get help.

A few minutes later, the maids had summoned someone from the stables to help me. He was an older gentleman with a handlebar mustache and a gruff but kind demeanor.

Well. Ill be. I havent seen one of his kind since I helped your uncle pull old Ripple Back out of his shell.

Uh. Is that a good thing? I asked, confused.

Well, yes and no. What you have here, young mis, is the runt from a King Gameras laying. Or queen such as it is. They almost always breed true, and in the wild, King Gamera babies usually fight for dominance until only one of each sex is left alive. The remaining one is usually strong enough at that point to protect himself. Its why King Gamera are usually not bred in captivity. They can be notorious to raise. A lot of hard work.

You said hes the runt. What does that mean?

Well, hes the smallest of the bunch. Biggest egg, smallest baby, last to hatch. Usually how it goes. But theyre also usually the ones with the greatest potential. If a runt survives, they grow much, much faster than the rest of the eggs in the hatching. Theyre still usually smaller than their brothers and sisters throughout life. But theyre meaner and have a temper like youve never seen if angered. And they bond for life. Usually with a mate, but in captivity, they bond with their cultivator and thats it. Another reason theyre not usually bred captive. Difficult to get them interested at all. Lord Raif is the only one I know who knows the trick, I think, and he hasnt shared it with me.

Thank you. Can you show me how to care for him?

Of course, young mis. But there isnt much more you need to do until morning. Keep him here, let him finish eating his eggshell, and hell fall asleep when hes full. He can eat practically anything, so if he starts chewing on furniture, best come get some proper feed. Until then, though, you dont need to do much else.

When they left, it was just me and the little brave King Gamera. I sat next to him, watching him eat the contents of the egg, but neglecting the shell. Every time I would sit it up for him to more easily eat it, he would let out a little war-cry and charge, knocking it over again.

It became a game, until he grew too tired, and too full, and curled into his shell to sleep among the hay.

I pulled a pillow off my bed and slept next to him. Good night Little King. I whispered to him, as I blew out the oil lamp.