v8c6: Herald (Patreon)

Mostly uneditied

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Baatar watched as his words landed. Master Rou’s face was always one of amusement or fascinated interest, and he seemed to always have an aura of friendliness around him. He had sat among them without a second thought, ready to continue their conversation.

There was always going to be a risk to telling an outsider of the secret core of their beliefs. The Imperials heard their words, to Listen, for the Earth Speaks. They imagined something less literal.

But every sign pointed to the man before them; and most of the Elders were in agreement. Some were still adamant that the Herald must come from the Ravine, that they must be one of their people. The people who had kept the faith, who had listened to the Earth. That some outsider was the Herald was like drinking bitter medicine.

And yet, there was precedent. Was not Ancestor Tianlan an outsider? Was not Ancestor Xiaoshi? The two righteous ancestors who had joined Altan, fought against those that would kill the Ravine Folk, and adopted their customs?

It was a logic even the most reticent could not deny.

 So their course was set.

Master Rou was told of their prophecy, their eyes focused on the man before them.

Baatar and the rest of his kinsmen tensed as Master Rou froze… slight shock entered his eyes—and it was not the complete shock of a man who was told something world shaking. It was subtler. Muted. It was the look of shock that Baatar was more used to on his rivals and enemies. A shock that said “how did they figure this out?”

That, more than anything, was the final thing that should have removed all doubt from anyone watching.

And then his friendly smile faded. It was not anger, it was not hostility, but it was a more neutral expression. 

That simple change shifted everything. Master Rou went from warmth and welcome and returned to being a mountain once more. Where before was a man who children approached without fear, who would listen intently to mortals with a smile, now there was the man who slaughtered thousands of demons, routed the Shrouded Mountain Sect with a letter, and who was proclaimed Master by the Cloudy Sword Sect.

And all that without the man touching a single drop of his Qi.

There were several swallows.

“That is indeed a heavy subject to spring on a man after such a wonderful feast.” Master Rou said, and some of the tension faded as he added a joke. “Let us say I am hypothetically this Herald of the Earth. What does the Grand Ravine demand of this Herald. And what does the Herald demand of the Grand Ravine?”

His eyes were focused solely on Baatar. Both were pertinent questions; and thankfully, Baatar had answers.

“It is only said that he will come as a friend and put the land to right. That he will usher in a golden era of peace and brotherhood; where our people will live without fear, and walk all lands, not just the Grand Ravine; as they did in the time of Altan, Tianlan, and Xiaoshi.” Baatar said. “And we.. are to assist the Herald however we can in making this a reality.”

Master Rou took a breath as he considered their words.

“And who was the one who gave you this prophecy?”

“The Earth told it to us, in the days near forgotten to memory; when heaven and earth were upended and when all things broke. A golden spire, blazing with power and Qi rose from the ground. A nameless ancestor came upon it, and in his greed, he sought to consume its power. But when he began to… he saw. He saw the past, he saw the present, and he saw the future. He saw what would happen if he consumed the crystal, and he saw what would come again if he did not.”

Again, Master Rou looked in the direction of their most sacred and holy place… and then everyone felt it. Something vast beneath their feet had shifted its full attention. Master Rou looked to the assembly again, and there were gasps.

Master Rou’s eyes were normally the brightest, most vital green, flecked through with little dots of gold.

Now, those little flecks had grown. At first, they looked like jagged cracks, before the gold consumed the iris completely. The mountain of his Qi once more reminded them of its presence, spearing up and towering over the top of the ravine. 

Something was resonating. The Qi changed, becoming more discernible to them all… and revealed only the unbridled truth. 

The eager surge of gold felt like the pillar of amber every one of them had meditated beside. It was the exact same energy that suffused that sacred place. Its power swelled and grew, pushing toward their holy site—when Master Rou pressed his hand to the ground. “Calm down a sec, okay?” he muttered.

And just as quickly as the gold had come, it faded. Master Rou commanded the golden energy with the patient tone of a father gently rebuking an eager child. The power of the Earth, so vast and unfathomable, retreated back first into cracks, then little flecks captured by green life.

Master Rou closed his eyes, his shoulders hunching slightly, like he was considering something.

No. More like he was listening to something. A minute nod. A slight cock of his head.

The Earth was speaking to him, at this very moment. Everything was, without a sliver of doubt, true. Their ancestors, every man woman and child who had kept the faith, was, in this moment, absolutely vindicated.

No one dared to speak. To speak now and break the silence felt sacreligious. Baatar’s son and the previous sect master, Ganzorig, was sweating. Tarkhan looked like he wanted to throw himself down and prostrate himself. Sarnai’s eyes were wide and awed.

Master Rou opened his eyes. He considered them. And then he clearly came to a decision.

“Show us, please. We want to see this spire.” Master Rou, no, the Herald of the Earth spoke. His words were heavy, and his eyes were clear.

It was a blunt admission. He did not play any word games or try to hide it; nobody would have believed him if he did, but his strength would have enforced the lie.

He was respecting them enough to tell them the truth.

But there was one thing that stuck out.

“Us?” Baatar asked.

“You invoked her name earlier. Tianlan.” The revelation was almost too much. Great Ancestor Tianlan, who had deposed the Azure Emperor, who was one of the greatest friends to the Ravine… Master Rou could speak with her?! Was it her spirit? Was she tied to the earth after the great cataclysm? “She wants to see it.”

This had opened up ten thousand more questions than answers. But all could feel the earth below their feet shifting. The rumble, the sheer vital energy beneath them.

“We will guide the Herald of the Earth.” Baatar said.

And so it was.

===

“Well… that went.” I mused to Tianlan, trying to inject some levity as we followed Baatar toward this spire… “Holy war is still up in the air, though.”

But Tianlan didn’t respond. Her Qi was bubbling and shifting, and I left her alone to her thoughts, save for the mental equivalent of a comforting hand on her shoulder.

I honestly wasn’t expecting the immediate excursion, and I thought we would at least rest, and give them some time to discuss the idea if it was so important to them… but instead we left immediately. Those who were not cultivators were carried as we travelled down increasingly winding side passages…. Closer and closer to the resonance.

“They had a piece of me… and they just left it be?” Tianlan said, her voice fragile.

There was a lot of emotion in her words; everyone she had loved had ripped pieces from her in those dark days; torn her apart while she was still alive, and completed in shattering her already broken mind.

In a lot of ways, what the cultivators had done to Tianlan after the breaking had completed what the demons had started. Maybe, if they had managed to set aside their differences, half mad as they were, Tianlan could have recovered back then.

But they didn’t. And she hadn’t.

To hear, that even after thousands of years of diminishing Qi an exposed part of her blood had been purposefully protected and preserved…

I could feel the joy. The gratefulness. But also the fear of what she might find. It was enough that she had asked me to give them her name.

At cultivators speed, it didn’t take that long for us to get there, though we soon had to slow down. There were multiple hidden passages, murder holes, and guards that had to be spoken to as we got deeper and deeper into the ravine, the walls closing over our head. For a while, we were underground.

And then we hit a barrier. It was old and weak, but I could feel the ancient power behind its construction, holding on just enough. It flared for a moment, and then seemed to recognise us, fading once more into the background.

We stepped through, and the ravine opened up again.

It opened into something beautiful.

Moonlight poured into the glade, illuminating it with pure silver light. Fireflies danced through the air, and soft grasses and moss cushioned our feet. Flags, faded by time, were held up by rope, and three statues stood, as if friends.

Two men and a woman. Their features had faded to time.

“Altan. Xiaoshi…” Tianlan whispered. I could feel her reaching out a hand, before she swallowed, and then turned her attention to the center of the glade.

The crystal jutted from the ground slightly at an angle. It was about a foot and a half taller than I was, and as thick around as a large tree trunk. It gave off a dull amber radiance, it too worn by time, but it still stood.

And still emitted Qi. Tianlan’s Qi. Unbowed, and still there, even after so long. I felt it brush my face, as we stepped into the glade. It brushed my face, and then paused.

Curiosity. Shock. Eagerness. Hope. It felt like Tianlan, so long ago, back when she was just a mass of emotion, rather than the person I now knew.

Tianlan’s own hands reached out… and the crystal started to glow. From amber to gold.

Which, naturally, is when we both got sucker-punched by the torrent of emotions and memories.

===

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I beg forgiveness for the cliffhanger.