Two months later, Day 5, Enchanters’ Hall:

Yu did not even breathe as she moved the brush along the parchment. She was leaning over her table, finally on the last stroke of the last rune she was required to complete.

Months of practice allowed her to keep her hand steady as she worked to avoid another mistake in the absolute precision required to accurately draw out the final and most complicated of the forty-nine basic runes.

A very slight swoosh sounded as the bristles of her brush ran along the cheap yellowing parchment. The black ink left behind as her brush stroke moved up along the left side. At the end, Yu twirled her fingers ever so slightly, creating the barely visible curve just as the stroke was connected to the base of the first curled horizonal one. Immediately after, Yu twirled her fingers again and gently lifted the brush off of the parchment, signaling her completion of the exercise, successful or not.

Letting out a breath, Yu looked down at her work, leaning closely to the work and tracing every stroke, line, edge, twirl, turn, and loop. And there it was… Yu’s shoulders slumped as she looked at the miniscule streak of ink just on the inside of the third and most complicated loop of the rune. One of her bristles must have come loose, meaning she had not twirled the brush in her fingers sufficiently to keep it in control. She placed her elbows on the table to the right and left of her latest failure and put her head in her hands.

Back when Yu had started studying for hands-on enchanting work, she had figured it would not be that difficult for her. Memorize the runes, memorize the rune structures, draw them, and she’d be good to move forward onto real enchanting. Easy as steaming rice.

Looking back, she realized how much of an arrogant ass she had been. Naively clueless might be another description. Yu had had absolutely no idea of the rigor and exactness required to draw runes. There could be no rises or dips on the edges, no extra splotches or streaks outside of the characters. No defects – no matter how subtle – were allowed. Only clean perfect runes.

Yu sighed and shook her head in her hands. It had taken months to get to this point, asking help from her instructors, her fellow trainees… even Ai had assisted. She was a savant when it came to wielding the brush – perhaps better than Yu was with her swords. She had taught Yu the methods of how to control the ink and bristles, like that twirling trick. And yet Yu still failed again and again to create the final rune. And these forty-nine were the easiest of all three thousand five hundred and twenty-one runes.

Yu heard Senior Enchanter Pei approach from her left and then she felt the woman place her hand on Yu’s shoulder as she leaned forward and examined the failed work.

After a few breaths she said, “You were so very close, trainee.” She sounded quite pleased at Yu’s failure, which she did not understand at all.

“That third loop has gotten me the last eight times,” Yu said, frustrated. “I just can’t seem to get the amount of twirl right.”

The hand placed on Yu’s shoulder turned into a gentle pat. “You’re doing fine. Everyone struggles on the forty-nineth. It is one of the reasons we list that one as the barrier to begin actual basic enchanting using real tools and mediums. If a trainee can create that one consistently, they can make novice enchantments without wasting loads of expensive materials.”

Yu exhaled, reached down, crumpled the junk parchment up, held it over a deep bowl, and burned it to ash in a flash of silver fire. The ashes fell in the bowl, joining the others that had demonstrated her lack of success.

“If it makes you feel better,” Pei said, “Only two others in your cycle are even past the thirtieth rune. Only Gui Ai is past you and she isn’t even a Spiritualist.”

Yu shrugged. “I don’t really like to compare myself to others.” Then she slumped again and mumbled, “I’m just not used to failing this much.”

She heard Elder Pei laugh quietly and felt her pat her shoulder again. “Enchanting in general – and calligraphy specifically – are different than what you are used to. You know, we have a saying when we see our otherwise talented trainees struggle with the runes. When you wield a sword, you aim to cut the bone of an enemy, when you wield a spear, you wish to stab the organs of a foe. But when you wield a brush, you stroke the paper as if it was skin of your lover.”

Yu felt herself blush at the implications, but understood completely what she was getting to. Her initial attempts at wielding a brush had been like she was attacking the parchment with a weapon. It had not taken Yu long to figure out why trainees start with waste parchment and incorrectly made ink. Only the brushes weren’t utter garbage, which made sense since getting used to the wrong tool could create bad habits.

Yu was reaching for another parchment when her badge lit up with a red light. Elder Pei stepped back and Yu tapped it. She read the message and let out a “finally” then turned to the older woman. Pei looked at her curiously but didn’t ask.

Yu volunteered, “That was from Master Enchanter Mi Gong. Apparently he’s done identifying the enchantments on my weapons and armor. I turned them in over a week ago and haven’t heard anything back. I intended to ask you about it after class, but it looks like I don’t need to.” Yu was relieved because she had starting to get worried about her stuff. Having to go into the forest on her missions with only her sect robes, her bow and quiver, and a pair of older Jian had not thrilled her.

But then she was surprised to see a conflicted look cross Elder Pei’s face. “Elder?” Yu asked quietly.

“Which room did he tell you to pick them up from?” she asked.

“Identification Room 4.”

The woman appeared to be mentally struggling with something, but then spoke quickly, “Why don’t I walk with you to pick up your gear?”

“Are you sure?” Yu asked slowly, confused as the reason. “I don’t want to take up your time for something trivial like that.” It was very generous of her to help Yu do something so mundane and it made her feel a bit uncomfortable.

“It’s nothing. Just wait for me after class. Back to your practice now.” And then she wandered off to help another student.

Yu blinked at her, but shrugged. It wasn’t like she had asked, the elder had volunteered. Taking a breath, she turned back around, grabbed a fraying parchment, and prepared for yet another attempt at correctly creating the final rune.

***

Elder Pei was speaking while she led Yu to one of the farthest rooms. “Master Enchanter Mi Gong is a very prestigious figure here. All masters are, of course, but he is somewhat famous. He has invented a number of new enchantments and was able to reengineer some ancient ones. He is actually quite well known, even outside of the empire.”

“And he’s identifying enchantments on gear now?” Yu asked. “Isn’t that… I don’t know… beneath him or something?”

She sighed. “Yes. But it pays well and he needs the funds to continue his current research. He only returned from isolated study a few weeks ago and has been slowly working himself back into the stream of things. As many senior and master enchanters – and alchemists and smiths too by the way – often do, they seclude themselves when working on a major piece of work.”

“That’s amazing,” Yu said, impressed. “What was he researching, if I’m allowed to ask that.”

“It is fine to ask, you just will not always get an answer,” Elder Pei said, flashing a grin at Yu. “In Master Mi Gong’s case, he had been researching what he believed could be a new enchantment based on some ancient materials he was able to acquire. I don’t know the details beyond that some millennia-old preservation formation. Miraculously, none of the mundane items and the few enchanted ones in the tomb had degraded at all. Not only can we not accomplish that with our current formations, if we somehow could, it would likely require at least six, possibly eight or ten affinities. My understanding is this only used three or four.”

Yu immediately thought of what the auctioneer had said about her new bracelet, which Yu, even months later, had yet to invest time into. She just didn’t have the opportunity in which she felt safe exploring the thing’s effects.

Elder Pei continued. “From what I understand, he purchased the casket itself and sole rights to the tomb, at great expense. He recently sold all the rest of the lesser bobbles to offset at least a small portion of the cost.” Yu nodded, both in understanding and confirmation. “It is an amazing opportunity, but an incredibly costly one. If he could recreate a formation like that, he would certainly make back his investment. But the fact is, it can take decades or more to accomplish such feats. Unlocking the power structure of an ancient enchantment or formation without damaging it is slow and risky. You’ll learn all about this eventually.”

“Thank you so much for the explanation,” Yu said with a bow of her head. None of that explained why the elder wanted to walk Yu there, but she wasn’t exactly going to say no to a senior enchanter.

They approached a door labeled, “Identification Room 4.” Another sign below that said, “Press the signal and await permission before entering. The consequences of any disturbance to the individuals working inside will be fully born by the one or ones responsible, financial and otherwise.” It had an arrow pointing at a white stone which was embedded in the frame of the doorway.

Yikes! Don’t mess around near this area, I guess.

Elder Pei spoke again, this time in just above a whisper. “We have enormously complicated formations in our identification rooms which are quite expensive to use and maintain. The time and effort of the individuals are minor in comparison, and enchanters’ time is not cheap. You’ll be learning about identification in six to eight months or so I would guess, based on your progress.” Then she gestured to the white stone. “Go ahead and send a little Qi into it. Let Master Mi Gong know you’re here.”

Yu reached forward and pressed her finger to the stone, sending a trickle of Qi into it. It glowed brightly and then dimmed. Then it started pulsing, the white light brightening and dimming like slow breaths.

“I’ll wait out here when he calls you in,” Elder Pei told Yu quietly as she removed a padded chair from her ring, placed it to the left of the door, and sat. She then took a jade tablet out and began reading it.

Yu was thankful she finally got around to buying her own furniture. She took a bamboo stool out of her ring, carefully placed it on the other side of the doorway from the elder, sat, and took out a book assigned by Elder Yuxi. The stool wasn’t particularly comfortable to sit on, but it was that or her rocking chair, which would have made noise. She had not actually purchased the stool as a seat. It was so she could have a face-to-face conversation with the gigantic Neng Po. They had been spending all their Darkness Aura class together and some time outside as well. He had even occasionally been joining her and the girls at their table for meals. Honestly, Yu thought he might have had a tiny bit of interest in Lu, but she wasn’t sure. Either way she focused on the book, and put other thoughts to the side.

***

Yu jerked when she the door slide to the right. She had no idea how much time had passed. Immediately standing and putting both her book and the stool in her ring, she stood before the door and saw a man inside. She bowed to him while giving him a quick examination. One didn’t see a master enchanter every day after all.

He was rather short at only a head taller than her, had gray streaks through his black hair which was up in a tight topknot, and appeared to be in his later sixties or early seventies were he a mortal. He stood with just a slight stoop in his shoulders and back but had no cane or staff to lean on.

Yu introduced herself. “Master Enchanter Mi Gong, I am Disciple and Trainee Enchanter Fenghuang Yu. I have some to pick up my equipment, which I was told had been identified.”

He looked at her giving off an impassive air, but to Yu something seemed a bit off. His eyes, a deep brown, showed the emotion his face was barely trying to hide. “Come get your garbage,” he ordered dismissively then turned around and walked to the back. Yu followed.

Garbage? Were the enchantments broken? Well, Jiang did say they were ancient. Then she firmed her resolve. Doesn’t matter! They’re great for me and there’s no way I’ll be replacing them. I can always pay to have new enchantments added later.

Scanning the room, Yu found herself surprised. The identification room was just so… plain. The walls, floor and ceiling were wooden with no adornments save for a large desk set into the wall with an oil lamp on it and a plain wooden chair to its side. The only thing unusual about the room, if it could even be called that, was that it was made of six perfectly equal walls.

Master Mi Gong walked over to one of the walls and pressed on something Yu didn’t see. There was a brief light of some formation and a rectangular outline formed. It was as tall as Yu’s waste and about twice as wide. Then that outline seemed to slide out of the wall and Yu realized it was a drawer.

“Your junk is in there,” he said as he walked to the desk. “Get it and go. I have more important things to do.”

Pleasant fellow…

His attitude did not really matter to Yu though. She walked to the draw and looked into it. As she was reaching down, she froze. What she saw as a pile of tanned leathers and the hits of two unfamiliar weapons.

Confused, she leaned down and looked inside. This was definitely not her stuff.

“Master Mi Gong, I think you may have opened the wrong drawer,” Yu said, turning back to him. “This isn’t my gear.”

“Of course it is!” he spat. “Now take it and get out!”

So far, this experience was not what you had been expecting and she had a bad feeling today was going to get complicated. “Master Mi Gong, this is not what I left here to be identified,” she said calmly.

He whipped around from facing the desk, his fists clenched and his face livid. “Don’t lie to me! Do you think you can try to steal better equipment? I’ll have you expelled!” Then he took a breath and said more calmly, “I can forget about this incident if you just take your gear and leave. Otherwise, I will have to report you for false accusation and attempted theft.”

Yu gaped at him. Is he serious?

“Elder, I absolutely am not trying to steal what is not mine. What I am doing is trying to get my gear back. This. Is. Not. Mine,” Yu said, jabbing at the pile with each word.

“That’s it! First you lie to me, then you attempt to steal, and now you’re accusing me of something? You’re done! Get out or I’m calling the law enforcement group. Now!” he bellowed.

Yu was both confused and angry. “Master Mi Gong, I never accused you of anything. I simply believed you opened the wrong drawer. But as you seem to have made a pretty big leap from mistake to accusation, now I’m wondering.”

His face turned purple and his eyes were bugging out of his head. But now that she was looking closely Yu saw the truth behind his façade. He had realized he’d made a mistake.

He really is trying to steal from me!

The old man took a menacing step towards her. “Do you know who I am?” he yelled. “I am a master enchanter. You’re just some bumpkin from who knows where. I know all the clan names of the important clans, and Fenghuang isn’t one of them.”

What the hells? I’m no emperor or prince, but at least in the sect, most people at least know of me by now. Sect master’s disciple that can use all three Qi types. That kind of thing tends to get around. Does he really not care or recogni… Then she looked again at hiim. Wait… Elder Pei said he was in isolation until only very recently. He might actually not know. Okay, if that’s the case, this is salvageable.

Yu held her hands up in a placating gesture. “Elder,” she said trying to express patient calm. “This is clearly a…ummm… mix-up of some kind. You’ve been away from the sect doing research, important research. Well, there are a few things that you might now know about—”

“And I don’t care,” he yelled at her. “Do you know how prestigious a master enchanter is? Do you realize how many of the empire’s elite know my name? Whoever you are or whatever importance you’ve deceived yourself into thinking you have, it is far less than mine. No matter what you say,” and he jabbed himself in the center of his chest with his finger. “I am the senior. I am the master. I am the one everyone will believe – not some nobody from nowhere.”

Yu grit her teeth with fury. “Master Mi Gong,” Yu growled slowly. “My gear, that you have… confused with this other, was a gift from someone very important and very powerful. Return them to me. Please.” She said that last word very slowly.

“Of course they came from someone powerful!” he bellowed. “They had to. Do you have any idea how old those enchantments were? Why do you think I looked up your clan name? There is no mention of your clan anywhere in the central empire or even the inner rings. And there is no way someone that powerful just gave you those armor or weapons. They would have already had in use if a real noble clan had them. That means you’re from some nobody clan who got lucky. Or you stole them more likely! In fact, that's exactly what happened, isn’t it? Well, I’m rescuing them from your undeserving possession. They don’t belong in the hands of some snot-nosed brat from the middle of nowhere barely old enough to swing a sword!” He was panting by end of his rant, his finger pointing directly between Yu’s eyes.

“Senior Enchanter Pei?” Yu called loudly while wiping the spittle off her face with her sleeve.

Yu heard footsteps and then she was there, standing in the doorway. Her face was red with rage.

“L-Little Flower?” Elder Mi Gong stuttered, shock in his voice.

“Don’t you dare call me that!” Elder Pei spat.

“Little Flower,” he called to her again. “Look at you, all grown up and a senior enchanter.” Receiving no response from her save a face with fury, he turned to her and held out his hands in a pleading gesture. “Little Ming this isn’t what it looks like.”

“I had heard a few accusations in past,” she growled at him. “Just rumors, and I did not believe them. I did not want to believe them.” Then her face fell and she sounded sad. “How could you, uncle?”

“No. No. This isn’t… W-We can fix this. She’s only a nobody child with no connections. It’ll be easy. With both of us, we can just say—”

Then Elder Pei broke out on laughter, but there was no humor in it. After a few moments of that, she said, “Fix it? Nobody? No connections?” Then she laughed again.

“I know you’re disappointed in me, Little Flower. But you have to understand, the rune structures on that equipment are unprecedented. It could advance my research by decades! And the knife… I could sell that for enough to fund my research of the tomb permanently and still make three times the amount I invested back. Someone like her doesn’t deserve something so precious.”

Yu gaped at the description he had just given of her gear. Elder Pei apparently was less impressed as her tone was one of acid. “Someone like her? Someone like her?” Her tone rose each time. “You mean someone like me? I came from nowhere too, remember, uncle? My family sold me when they found out I had Ether. You and Aunt Lee rescued me from those cultivation slavers and took me in, brought me up, trained me to be an enchanter.”

Yu saw a tear streak down the woman’s face and suddenly felt her anger fade into sadness. She had had nothing but respect and admiration for Elder Pei before. She was an amazing teacher, free with advice and comfort. And seeing her like this… her admiration only grew. Yu did not know if she would react so calmy in front of such betrayal – and she admired Elder Pei all the more for it.

This is a strong woman. If only I can be so strong when I’m older and experience such hardship.

“I thought I knew you,” Elder Pei said sadly. “This world is so cruel… I thought you were one of the good ones.” Then she looked down and shook her head.

“I’m so sorry, Little Flower,” Mi Gong said, defeated.

“Give this brilliant trainee enchanter her real gear, Uncle,” Pei said, straightening her back. “You won’t be charging her for your work.” Then she turned to Yu. “Will that be enough for you to not tell your master about this?”

Yu looked back at the woman, wondering what the right thing to do here was. Yu could easily let it go. It would probably be the most politically intelligent thing to do. But at the same time, how could she be sure he wouldn’t seek reprisal? Then again, he was a master enchanter, so the sect couldn’t exactly kick him out. If she got him in trouble, he would almost certainly get revenge, and Yu had enough enemies.

“Her master?” Master Mi Gong said in the silence of her musings.

“Yes,” Elder Pei replied, “Her master. You’ve been gone a long while, uncle. Let me introduce you to Trainee Enchanter Fenghuang Yu. She is the only cultivator in recorded history to be able to use all three Qi types. And, moreover, the ability to wield six affinities.”

Yu barely stopped herself from smirking as he almost stumbled from surprise.

“Th-that’s impossible,” he stuttered. “Nobody can—”

“Oh, I assure you, it’s possible. If you had done more than a cursory search on just her clan name, you would know that she is the most well-known outer sect disciple at this sect. I would hate to have to read her mail,” and she shook her head with a half-grin. “But believe it or not, those are not the main reasons you should be concerned.”

“W-What?”

“No. The most important thing you should be aware of is that she is the first and only direct disciple of our sect’s master, Long Bingwen.” The man stumbled backward and fell against the desk. Then the woman added, “And he tends to dote on her.”

Yu didn’t react externally, but mentally she rolled her eyes. Dote… Uh-huh…

The Elder Pei turned back to Yu and asked again, “If he returns your real gear and does not charge for the identification, can you not let your master know?”

Right. The big question…

Yu thought over her options and then, coming to decision, said, “Yes. But I have a few conditions.”

Pei looked over at her “uncle” and he slumped, but nodded. “Go ahead,” Elder Pei told Yu.

“First, can I get a write-up on the enchantments and such for my gear?”

“That’s easy and always part of the identification service. You’ll find a jade tag similar to what you saw in the Treasure Pavilion with my uncle’s notes.”

“Perfect. Thank you. Honestly, Elder Pei, I really don’t want to tell my master, and if I get my stuff back, I’m not interested in turning this into something major. I would rather have you both as friends or at least allies, rather than enemies.” Elder Pei smiled at her and Mi Gong looked up, surprised and then interested. “But,” Yu continued, holding up a finger, “I’m not really excited about elders stealing from less fortunate disciples. The non-nobles that go here barely have anything and work really hard for the little they manage to gain. To have that taken doesn’t sit well with me.” Elder Pei’s smile actually widened and she nodded at Yu to continue. “I’d like two things. First is some assurance that you, Master Mi Gong, won’t do this again.” Yu noticed his look was a bit different. Still interested, but now more… curious maybe? Yu figured he was trying to figure her out. She moved onward. “I understand you’re dedicated to your research, and that research is critical to the empire and humanity as a whole. I’m a passionate believer in strengthening us against beasts and whatever else may be out there. I just ask that you focus your… ummm… acquisition of resources be limited to what people can afford to lose without ruining their futures.”

The utter shock on Master Mi Gong’s face almost made Yu laugh. “I’m not a hero, Elder, if that’s what you think. I don’t go around helping the helpless or anything like that. I believe in power. In fact, I’ve had this discussion a few times with my friends. We live in a deadly world, and I believe that power is how we survive and thrive in it. But I also believe in giving those with potential the chance to take, find, or build that power. Otherwise, when the powerful die, only the powerless remain.” Yu sighed at his and Elder Pei’s growing surprise. “I know I’m young, but that doesn’t mean I’m stupid. I’m aware I’ve only seen a tiny portion of what’s out there, elders, but what I have seen has taught me a few things. I was in a city during a small beast horde wave that killed thousand. I’ve met multiple grade 6 beasts in the forests of my home on the verge and know they could wipe out millions in a blink. Humanity needs power, and I’m trying to build my own. I’m fifteen and I’ve killed more than a hundred beasts and…” she cleared her throat and added weakly, “some humans too.” Then she cleared her throat again and said stronger, “It’s a start, but just a start. Well, others need a start too. So for my first condition, I need you to assure me you’ll not take from those that have nothing. I’ll take your word for it if Elder Pei speaks on your behalf.” He opened his mouth but Yu went on, heedless, holding up her hand. “Before you say anything, let me tell you my second condition. I’d like you to go back and see if any of the people you stole from in the past are still in the sect. If they are, compensate them for what you took.”

There was no response, until Elder Mi Gong said, “Wouldn’t that be admitting it? If I suddenly give something away to someone it defeats the purpose of not telling, does it not?”

“Not if it’s anonymous. I don’t care how you do it, who you go through, or whatever. As far as I’m concerned, they can just find it on their beds one day. Just give them compensation so they can continue on their reach for growth and power. It only benefits the sect and humanity, especially given you basically admitted to not stealing from imperial nobles.”

After a few breaths of silence, he asked, “And if they have left the sect? I hope you don’t expect me to chase them down. You have to know it would be near impossible.”

Yu sighed. If she didn’t believe she needed this man and his “niece” for her own future, Yu might just tell her master and wipe her hands of the whole thing. But Grandma Huan and taught her to not be short-sighted. Every decision has consequences she had taught Yu. So instead, Yu said, “No. I don’t expect that. If they left the sect because of what you did, then that act of weakening humanity’s future is on your conscience, and yours alone.”