“So? Is this enough information for you?” VinWei asked since ZaiWin had been silent for a while now.

As if he’d somehow heard his previous thoughts, the monster’s eyes turned Snow’s way, leaving him apprehensive.

“Do you know how to recognize a Celestial just by looking at their markings?” he finally asked, Snow’s heart skipping a beat at the sound of his serious tone, and VinWei smiled proudly, raising her head.

“Of course! Who do you think I … am …?” her voice went quieter and quieter as she followed his gaze, her eyes widening in disbelief. “You’re kidding me, right?”

ZaiWin shook his head and stood up, but all Snow could see was a mass of darkness towering ominously over him. A pale, long hand was stretched in his direction and he wished with all his might he could refuse that silent invitation. Those blue eyes, on the other hand, kept staring at him. Surprisingly enough they didn’t look angry at his clear hesitation. They looked more like they were challenging him, the same way he’d challenged him back in that bedroom. And he was right, Snow thought, looking down at that outstretched hand again. He also wanted to know. He needed to know! To put an end to those doubts once and for all, so that he could finally move forward and plan ahead.

Placing his hand on his he allowed that mass of darkness to help him to his feet.

ZaiWin turned him around, so that he would face the door. He hated the feeling that there were other people standing behind him, where he could not see them. He could feel them move, but suddenly the entire room had gone deadly silent.

Reaching around his neck, ZaiWin untied his cloak and took it off with extra care, making sure that the blue scarf he wore beneath it remained in place. And then Snow felt the ribbons of his dress being untied, one at the time, the fresh air touching his skin as the soft fabric was gently pulled apart all the way to his shoulders, exposing his bare back.

He had been naked in front of strangers more times than he could count, to the point that he had stopped caring if he was wearing clothes or not. And yet, somehow, he couldn’t help feeling that this situation was extremely embarrassing, his cheeks burning beneath the soft scarf. The gasp that filled the room didn’t help either, and it was all he could do not to pull his clothes back on and run to one corner.

“I … can’t believe this!” a woman’s voice muttered and Snow wished he could at least look at her over his shoulder. “This is … amazing! These are the most beautiful daitai I’ve ever seen!”

“I take it that … she’s one of them?” ZaiWin’s voice asked, sounding hesitant, and VinWei laughed excitedly.

“By the Gods! This is such an honor! To think that I would ever be allowed to actually look at something like this!”

ZenTar sighed impatiently.

“Focus, Vin!” he chastised her with a critical tone and she immediately snapped angrily at him.

“What? Am I not allowed to be ecstatic about something like this?! Can you even comprehend what it means to be able to gaze upon these holy markings? Of course you can’t! You boorish old man!”

Snow shifted his weigh uncomfortably. Hadn’t they had enough?

“But since you’re asking me if she’s a Tien’Elhar … where did you find her?” she carefully asked, her mind once more clear from all the excitement, and Snow couldn’t help tense up at the sound of that question.

“I can’t tell you that.”

“This red scars … she’s been hurt? You know that if a Tien’Elhar is being mistreated by her Household you are obliged to immediately report such barbaric actions to the Temple, right? We can keep her safe until the situation is solved!”

“That’s not the case. Can you interpret her datai?” ZaiWin asked, clearly wanting to move along with their conversation, and VinWei sighed.

“Tien’Elhar’s daitai are different from ours. They are much more complex, and these ones are even more so. They are truly beautiful, though.” She sighed again.

“Focus!” ZenTar reminded her.

“You’re such a drag!” she countered, but this time seemed to listen to his reprimand.

“These here are very common amongst the Tien’Elhar. They are mainly connected with their affinity with nature, which allows them heal the land, purify the air, calm down bad storms, and so on. These here are more the elemental type, similar to ours. Normally Tien’Elhar don’t possess these kinds of daitai. They are only found on those who aren’t born under the Temple’s protection.

“From time to time, Clans that learn that a Tien’Elhar is to be born into their Household refuse to follow the law and decide to hide that fact, which means that those Tien’Elhar are not born in the Temple. Since the Empire will only grant them recognition in terms of titles and honors, but no actual money, they choose to sell the Tien’Elhar to the Finders.

“The Finders were formed a long time ago, when the Temple still hadn’t been able to reach every city. Back then, since there were no Varsen close by, it would happen that a Tien’Elhar’s birth was not foretold. And so they would be born like any other child. Sometimes the family wouldn’t even know how special their baby was. It was the Finders’ job to search for these girls and take them back to the Palace.

“Nowadays everyone knows what a Tien’Elhar looks like and that they are supposed to be raised by the Temple. Even if a Varsen isn’t close by to predict a birth, the parents should immediately deliver their newborn child to the closest Temple. So there’s practically no need for Finders anymore, at least not to actually find unregistered Tien’Elhar anyway. And so they turned to this illegal, alternative way of living. They will buy the Tien’Elhar from their family and, in return, ask the Temple for a kind of ransom to assure the Tien’Elhar is safely delivered. Of course the Temple always pays them what they ask, and so there’s always a next time.”

“If it is illegal why haven’t they all been apprehended?” ZaiWin demanded and VinWei took a deep breath.

“From what I was told the previous El’Dur wanted to do exactly that. Completely dismantle the Finders’ organization. But the Temple was against it, for fear that the Tien’Elhar’s families might end up killing the babies if there was no one to take them from their hands.”

“Then why won’t they simply pay the families directly and be done with it? They most certainly don’t lack the coin to do that!”

“Well, apparently it goes against one of the holy decrees, which states that being chosen to be the parent of a Tien’Elhar is one of the highest honors and should be seen as a holy, invaluable service to the Empire. As it is the duty of the El’Dur to look out for his people, it is the duty of the people to offer their flesh and blood for the glory of the Empire. And duties are not to be compensated in terms of riches, but in terms of honor and glory.”

“Ridiculous!”

“I couldn’t agree less. In any case, as I was saying, when a Tien’Elhar is delivered to the Temple past her third month of life, they normally present elemental daitai like these. Some of the most renown Jundai believe that, as newborns, Tien’Elhar have the ability to somehow absorb or synchronize with the environment around them. The more time they spend away from the Temple’s protection, the more elemental daitai they present. I had never seen such a complex pattern, though, not even in those of us with a strong affinity to an element. There’s a lot of ice here. If I were to make a guess I’d say that our honorable guest was born in the dead of winter,” she concluded, sounding proud of herself.

Snow lowered his head, clenching his fists, memories of white, endless vastnesses of snow filling his mind; Sand’s smiling face as she held a hand full of pure white snow silently pointing at it and then at him, bringing tears to his eyes.

“These daitai here, however, I’ve never seen them before, not even in books,” she went on. “Really, ZaiWin! Where did you find her? Has she even set foot inside a Temple before?”

“Already told you. Can’t tell you that. Can you say how old she is?”

VinWei sighed, clearly frustrated.

“Unlike with the number of turns on the spiral at the bottom of our backs, you can count a Tien’Elhar’s age by the number of swirls of their wings. See here? So I’d say … sixteen.”

Snow’s heart jumped in disbelief. Sixteen?! He was sixteen-years-old?! So that meant that … he’d spent ten years of his life tied to that bed?

Feeling suddenly dizzy he stumbled forward, but a strong arm immediately crossed his chest, pulling him back.

Ten years …

“Oh the poor thing! She’s probably tired! And we’ve been standing here, happily chatting and completely ignoring her presence!”

Now you notice it!, Snow thought ironically, the room around him still wavering dangerously.

“Let me help …”

“No need! I’ll do it,” ZaiWin’s voice immediately cut VinWei’s solicitous words and the arm still supporting him gave him a gentle nudge. “Can you stand?”

Snow nodded, making sure his knees didn’t buckle beneath him, and ZaiWin finally released him to help him straighten his clothes. Tying all the ribbons and pulling the warm cloak over his shoulders and head, he finally allowed him to sit down again.

Yay!! I have WIFI!!! 🥳