144, 1/2

The day dawned red, with stillness in the air and the promise of storms on the horizon.

Ezekiel had woken early, as usual. Breakfast would be delivered soon by the proprietor’s wife, but the room had supplies enough for a few things, and he had bought more in their time in Darzallia. He made himself a nice pot of some ‘specialty blend’ lime-blossom tea that had caught his eye and his nose, then poured that tea into a cup already filled with just the right amount of crystalline rock sugar. Granulated sugar was a rarity in this part of the world with both commoners and nobles mainly using rock sugar. The sugar Ezekiel had bought was also lime-flavored. Soon enough, shimmering green tea swirled with slowly-dissolving sugar in his cup, while Ezekiel sat by the window, reading, enjoying the quiet hours of the new day.

Soon enough, Paul joined him, and made himself a cup. He deeply inhaled the smell, and said, “I like it.”

Ezekiel refilled his own cup, saying, “I could see orange and lemon blossom tea being a thing here as well.”

Paul nodded, as he grabbed his own book and sat down on the other side of the front room.

Julia and Tiffany woke after breakfast was delivered, and the smells of thick-slice fried bacon filled the room.

Ezekiel spied another ‘delivery’ walking this way, out on the road that ran beside the Sour House. Enforcer Sikali. Her skin was a pale tan color, and she looked human enough, but something about her seemed ‘demi’. She didn’t seem to have any bloodlust in her this time, or if she did, it was low-grade enough to not set off Ezekiel’s gut feeling.

He told Julia, “Your escort will be here soon. Or handler. I’m not sure.”

Julia ignored the rest of her food and rapidly grabbed another bit of bacon. She stuffed it in her mouth as she rushed away from the living room, back to her own, speaking through her full mouth, “A minute!”

Tiffany rapidly proceeded to grab up all the rest of the bacon, saying, “All mine!”

In moments, Julia came out of her room wearing working robes of a cut similar to what a peasant would wear when toiling out in the fields, but hers were a bright blue that shimmered iridescent in the sunlight. Not bad for a tunic and pants! Ezekiel had worked with Julia last night to make them out of her [Prismatic Thread], and they were only one of a dozen new outfits. Everyone got new robes and otherwise. All of the new stuff was solid colored, but shimmered like rainbows when the light caught them at the right angle.

The new clothes weren’t as physically strong as the white-thread Shadow Spider silk, but they were superbly comfortable. Julia had trouble combining her new [Prismatic Thread] with the thick thread from the Shadow Spider, but Ezekiel had confidence that she would figure it out.

They had talked a lot about a lot last night, while they were weaving in the midnight hours.

They had started talking about how they treated each other, which they both agreed was poor, sometimes, but it was only because they both worried for the other. Then the conversation moved on, and they both tried talking as though they were both capable of taking care of themselves. They spoke of threats, and concerns, and smaller things. It was a good conversation.

Ezekiel looked at his daughter, dressed up in her new iridescent blue outfit, and smiled. She would surely get ripped up just as badly as her new clothes, but she had all the tools necessary to repair all of that damage. Soon, Ezekiel would also have all the tools to repair the damage this world could do to a body, and that had made Julia happy, too.

Ezekiel smiled as he said, “You look ready.”

Julia smiled back, and said, “I feel ready. [Perfected Body] makes me feel… Better. In all ways.”

Ezekiel’s eyebrows raised. “You can adjust yourself like that?”

“Come on now, dad.” Julia said, “I can put spinnerets in my forearms; I can put [Perfected Body] in this form, too.”

“I know that, but…” Ezekiel wasn’t quite happy that his daughter called her natural-born ‘Familiar Form’, a ‘form’. But he could deal. In an attempt to meet her halfway, he asked, “How does [Perfected Body] make you feel? Any differences inside that are apparent to you?”

Julia smirked. “You can look, you know. You tell me.”

He had already, to make sure that she was doing okay, but he didn’t like the idea of her replacing parts of herself like that. He asked, “Does it feel different?”

Julia shrugged. “Eh.” She walked to the front door, saying, “It’s hard to tell— Ah. My eyes are perfectly symmetrical. Just noticed that in the mirror, actually. The vascularity in my left arm is now as great as in my right arm, and the veins are the same. It’s a bunch of small things, you know? I’m also feeling great on four hours of sleep. So that’s a little different. Usually there’s some trouble waking up in the morning after days like the one we had yesterday, but there was none this morning.” She stood by the door, saying, “And it was easier to [Polymorph] those spinnerets last night, now that I think about it.”

“I still find it odd that monster abilities just have names, and no blue boxes,” Ezekiel said.

Julia said, “They’re more biological functions than abilities.” She looked away, frowning a little, then said, “Maybe monsters are like living enchantments?” She added, “Eh. No. That’s too simple.”

Ezekiel hummed, thinking about it. Living enchantments? “They’re made with [Husbandry]… People can become monsters if they form a core… I don’t know.” He said, “When you go meet Riri for lessons, or something, let me know. I’ll end up there sometime, too.”

Sikali was almost to their door.

Julia said, “Whenever that happens, I’ll let you know.” She smiled, throwing open the door, saying, “But for now, we got monsters to hunt!”

Sikali barely broke stride as she walked into view. She had a mien of professionalism upon her face and a simple, yet elegant, red and black court dress. She spied Ezekiel in the room, past Julia, and said, “Greetings, Scion Ezekiel Phoenix.”

Julia went professional, too, as she recognized a tradition of greeting the one in charge first. She stepped to the side and stood, silent.

Ezekiel stood up from his chair, saying, “Greetings, Enforcer Sikali Star Song. Won’t you come in? I can make some tea for us.” With a thought toward canceling one of the layered [Prismatic Ward]s in the room, he did so, opening a space in the hotel room for Sikali to walk inside.

Sikali bowed her head a fraction, and stepped into the room, saying, “I appreciate the courtesy, but we have a busy schedule. Some other day, perhaps? My husband Xue makes a fantastic sun tea. We would love to host you and your Clan for a meal, if you are willing.”

“I gladly accept your invitation, though I know not when I am available; it seems like something large and new is happening every day.” Ezekiel asked, “And speaking of invitations: I have appointments with the Singers of Void Song during the morning, but my afternoons are free. I’m not too sure when your husband and Elder Arilitilo wish to get together for lessons, but if you know when that will take place, then I am sure we can figure out the rest from there.”

“Star Song has many duties, but we will make time for you.” Sikali said, “Regarding the teaching promised by Elder Arilitilo and my husband Xue, I have been told that it is best to practice Blood Magic a few hours after a hearty meal, so if your mid-morning is occupied, then mid-afternoon will need to be acceptable. If this is agreed upon, then please tell me now, and I will inform them to wait for your arrival in the afternoon.”

“This is a fine timetable.” Ezekiel asked, “Would you be able to speak on the planned lessons with Loremaster Riri, as well?”

“My husband and his Elder will be able to answer this concern, but I cannot.” Sikali said, “One or the other of them will likely guide you to Loremaster Riri’s secondary offices, which are located next to Xue’s in the Lore House.”

“Ah! Good.” Ezekiel asked, “Where should I go to meet them, then? Back to your Clan mountain?”

Sikali bowed her head, saying, “This is correct, Scion Phoenix. Upon arrival, an initiate or inner disciple will be able to guide you further, but I suspect that as soon as you show, an Elder will also show. Do you have any other concerns I may answer?”

“A schedule for my daughter, so that I know when I need to be concerned.” Ezekiel said, “I am not that worried for her, but a father is never not worried.”

Sikali grinned slightly, politely, and said, “I will ensure 12 hour check-ins, but we will be venturing into the Underworld in a few locations, therefore we will not be able to maintain that schedule. You will be notified when this occurs.”

Good enough. Ezekiel gave a low gesture toward his daughter as he stepped out of the conversation, but not away.

Sikali turned to Julia, saying, “I look forward to working with you.”

“And I look forward to working with you, as well,” Julia said, professionally.

Sikali turned to Ezekiel and bowed, then rose and walked out of the room first.

Julia rushed her father and hugged him.

Ezekiel enjoyed the far-too-short embrace.

Julia broke away and rushed after Sikali. She quickly fell in beside the Enforcer, and they started talking in small voices, but soon switched to telepathic conversation. Ezekiel watched them go down the stairs, then out of the Sour House. Far too quickly, Julia and Sikali were walking along the road outside the hotel.

Ezekiel relaxed his mana sense, and the two of them fell out of sight. He turned to his remaining people, and said, “Time to visit Kaffi.”

– – – –

Paul and Tiffany sat across the way, on the other side of the large stone amphitheater.

Ezekiel sat on the same stone bench as Kaffi.

A dozen books and twice as many scrolls sat between them. Some of the scrolls were opened and stacked to the side, along with some of the books; attempted and discarded. Others sat in a halfway pile; attempted and appreciated. The Singer had brought quite a few aura control training manuals to their session. None of them had led to a sudden breakthrough, but…

Kaffi unrolled another scroll, reading it as she said, “This might be a good one for you. It’s a little unorthodox, but it has worked before for many people.”

She had said that about every method.

Kaffi said, “Sit upon your knees, this time. Hold your hands in a triangle shape above your stomach, but do not allow your fingers to touch, or allow your arms to come into contact with any other solid surface, including your legs, or your sides. Sit in such a way that no body part is directly touching another body part. As much as one can, anyway. Relax. Breathe in and out. Relax. Move your hands in and out, gently, attempting to mold your aura into a ball. Breath in and out in time to the molding. Feel the energy flow across the skin of your body. Feel the direction of the flow toward your hands. Gather your aura in your hands, and realize how it works.” Kaffi added, “This one has some demeaning wording, but it works sometimes.”

Ezekiel smirked, as he got into position, sitting on his knees. He had gotten into a lot of different positions over the last hour, but about half of them had him sitting in this way. Laying down was also popular. Cross legged was not popular.

Kaffi went silent. She watched.

Ezekiel tried this latest method for ten minutes, to no result.

Kaffi called it, “Time.” She added, “That one seemed better than some of the others. No obvious results, though. Moving right along.” She picked up one of the books that they had already gone through, and flipped to a different bookmark, saying, “For this one you have to…”

That one didn’t work either.

The next one was a failure.

“Time,” Kaffi said, breaking the silence of the room again.

Ezekiel opened his eyes.

Kaffi asked, “Did any of those seem to work better than any of the other ones?”

“I liked the visualization ones. Especially the one that combined the aura casting and canceling but with continuous attempts at moving around the aura, even when the spell was off.” Ezekiel said, “They seemed like they were working, or that they might work one day.”

“Any idea why you feel that way about those techniques?”

“The goal is to be able to interact with the world with my aura, which pairs well with actually attempting to move the world even if I have no spell effects that allow me to easily do so.”

Kaffi asked, “And you didn’t like the ones where you use lower levels of the Meditation Skill?”

“Nope.”

“You explained already, but I require a larger explanation.” Kaffi explained, “Most people like those ones.”

Ezekiel frowned a little, then said, “Meditation causes the user to vaguely see the mana all around them, which has the side effect of forcing the user to see the hallucinations that life has imbued upon the immaterial. Most of those hallucinations have gone away since I gained Scion of Focus so long ago, but they’re up front and center when I use the lower levels of Meditation; when I drop myself into that dark place. I don’t appreciate that.”

“Hmm. Fair.” Kaffi said, “Well. We’re done for now. I expected this testing to take a lot longer. This is quite a lot easier to do when you can memorize everything as fast as you do.” She said, “I will bring a larger selection of techniques that might work for you tomorrow, based on what I’ve already seen and what you’ve said.” She stood, saying, “But the Grand Elder would like to see you, if you would be amenable. We’ve many options for lunch.”

They’d been at this for three hours. This was a good stopping point. But did he want lunch with a ‘grand elder’? Eh. Sure. Why not!

Ezekiel stretched, then stood, and diplomatically said, “I would be honored.”

Kaffi smiled brightly. “Then please follow me. We shall be heading upstairs, to the fifth floor.”

Up a grand, winding staircase they went, surrounded by white walls that gently echoed with the sound of the Void Song. The Song was a heartburn in process when he listened to it out there in Eralis, but when he was inside the Void Temple, it was nice; like quiet music. He said as much to Kaffi, as they walked upward, past hallways of acolytes in their dorm rooms or classrooms, and other hallways filled with office workers.

Kaffi said, “For all the Void Song has brought prosperity to Eralis, those of us with ears to hear can barely stand it. Thus, we have some tricks in the walls of the Temple.”

“I can imagine growing up here and never knowing that the world isn’t supposed to sound like that until after Matriculation and wanting to explore the world, or after stepping out of the city for the first time for some other reason.”

Kaffi said, “Most kids are raised to know what the Song is, but if they don’t understand themselves through common knowledge, then they learn through taking a day-trip with a parent or otherwise, outside of Eralis.” She asked, “What brought you to this observation?”

“Ah. I can imagine that, too.” Ezekiel said, “It’s the idea of it that captured me for a moment there. Suddenly, they don’t hear that background sound. It’s like finally realizing that there was more to everything than what they knew possible. It’s the same thing that seems to happen to me in every place I visit, and with every new thing I learn.”

Kaffi smiled, but said nothing more as they reached the fifth floor.

The staircase ended its rise in the center of a half-open floor plan. A wall separated north from south, just a little to the south of the staircase. Beyond those southern walls and doors were industrial-level kitchens, churning out lots of nice meals. The white stone floor to the north was filled with tables, while the walls were large windows that showed the greying skies over Eralis; rain had threatened all day long, but nothing had come of it yet. To the west of the staircase, Ezekiel mana sensed, and saw, as people blipped into a designated Teleport Zone in groups. Those groups were already talking with each other as they moved into the cafeteria.

And all around, people ate food and talked and laughed and lived. Most of them were younger than Julia, but there were a few older faces here and there. Most wore grey robes, but many wore white. Ezekiel understood that grey denoted trainees and acolytes, but white robes were given when one proved themselves as dedicated to High Clan Void Song, or if they were on the path of the Singer. If there were delineations between Singer and not-Singer and otherwise, then Ezekiel did not recognize them.

A few acolytes saw Kaffi and called her over to their table, but she declined, and guided Ezekiel forward, through the room, to a set of double doors on the far end of the cafeteria space. The doors opened at her approach. Ezekiel, Paul, and Tiffany followed her into a more private area.

Several booths lined the walls on either side of the door, each of them with a grand view of the north, through tall, massive windows. Grey clouds loomed all above, ready to unleash their rains. Buildings rose all across the horizon, each of them trying to outdo each other in size or architecture, but none reaching the heights that Ezekiel had seen back on Earth. Like a hidden treasure peeking out between those tall structures, the Void Wall was a sharp white line, while the Void Gate was highly visible. It rose high into the sky, to the left, the top-most arc of ‘Rozeta’s Body’ vanishing into the lower grey clouds, and then coming back down to resume its encirclement of Eralis.

It was a nice place to eat, for sure, but only one other person was in this VIP room.

She sat in a booth to the left. She was a stately older woman of white skin, white hair, and violet eyes, wearing a violet robe which had to be one of the most expensive, and yet understated walking-around robes Ezekiel had ever seen on a person. The second thing he noticed about her was a gentleness that was probably totally false, for you didn’t become a ‘grand elder’ of anything without being the kind of person that actually went for that sort of thing.

Being a Grand Elder certainly wasn’t like being an archmage, where all it took was having a knack for magic and suddenly you had more power than you knew what to do with.

Anyway.

Meeting a Grand Elder.

Kaffi walked the woman’s way, then stepped to the side, gesturing as she said, “Scion Ezekiel Phoenix. Please meet Grand Elder Lingxing Void Song.”

Ezekiel bowed his head, then rose, saying, “A pleasure to meet you, Grand Elder Lingxing.”

Lingxing gestured to the table she sat at, and spoke softly, “Please sit with me, Scion Ezekiel. We have some of the best cuisine here, and quite a lot of it has been recently inspired by the dishes coming out from the Crystal Forest. Your daughter is from there, if I heard correctly.”

Ezekiel felt nothing untoward in Lingxing’s voice or demeanor, but she seemed nice. So either she was the world’s best liar, or she was tied for that position with Kaffi, or she was simply being pleasant.

“Thank you for the invitation.” Ezekiel sat down, saying, “And yes, you heard correctly.”

Lingxing gave a small smile, then said to Kaffi, “Some menus, Kaffi.” She asked Ezekiel, “Or we could order everything on the menu?”

“I’m up for some Blood Magic lessons after this so I have been told I should eat plenty, but maybe not the whole menu.”

Lingxing gave a polite chuckle at the small joke, then said to Kaffi, “Some of the better dishes, and also the more popular ones, if you will, along with enough for Scion Ezekiel’s people. See that we are not unduly disturbed.”

Kaffi bowed, then walked away.

Lingxing asked, “Would you prefer some privacy spells? I can craft some, or I will accept yours, if you wish. I would like to talk plainly, but not about anything too important.”

No horrific alarm bells were going off in his head, so that was an alarm right there, but… Odin was on his shoulder. His defenses were up. He was safe.

He said, “I could accept raising my own.”

Lingxing nodded.

Ezekiel shaped a [Sealed Privacy Ward] across a large portion of the room, covering their booth, a few other adjacent booths, and half of the room. He gestured for his people to take one of the other booths nearby.

Paul and Tiffany took a seat at the adjacent booth.

Lingxing glanced around, and seemed at ease with the spellwork around her, but she wasn’t interested in that. She locked eyes with Ezekiel. The kindly grandmother-type was still there in her visage, but she was serious, now. Ezekiel sat straighter.

Lingxing said, “I’m so glad to meet you, Archmage Flatt. We’ve been waiting a long time for you to show, and I am glad you showed on my watch. I hope Kaffi is treating you well. If she is not, let me know, and I can find you a replacement.”

… Maybe she wasn’t secretly furious with him, or some other untoward emotion? Maybe she wasn’t filled with plots and plans? Of course, the absence of a plot or a plan was automatically both.

But Lingxing didn’t fill Erick with dread. She seemed curious. Hopeful. Happy, even.

“Kaffi, or whoever she is, was a surprise, but she seems fine. I can appreciate someone going incognito, so I have no place to judge that.” Erick said, “And it is a pleasure to finally be here in the Highlands, Grand Elder.”

“Oh! Please call me Lingxing when we’re in private. I have heard you prefer people to call you Erick?”

Erick fought off a smile. “I do. In private.”

“You have avoided many planned events by showing up under a friendly guise, instead of as yourself.”

“Then my own plots and plans were a success.” Erick asked, “But just so I know: What did you have planned?”

“There were to be parties, for one. We have some of the nicest hotel rooms in the world waiting for you, though they do get rented out occasionally; we would have made room. Other than that, there would be a lot of meetings with important people.” Lingxing said, “Half of the powers in the High Clans would have asked for your assistance in locating some murderers and terrorists and ending threats in this part of the world, though I understand your daughter is doing some of that. Thank you for that, by the way.

“The other half would have tried to drown you in excess luxury, while asking you for the favor to be returned in whatever manner they could convince you of.

“Everyone would have wanted to open trade, and to be the ones to teach you of the Songs, and to hopefully learn from you in turn.”

“Sounds like quite a tour.”

And one he did not want to do. Not yet, anyway. Maybe not ever.

“We can still do all of that, if you want, but it is strictly unnecessary.” Lingxing said, “Your ‘Scion Ezekiel’ facade is getting drawn into quite a few whirlpools of desires and plans, but Archmage Flatt would have been a lot worse.” She added, “Just so you know: If you ever need help with any of the problems you find in the Clans of the Songli Highlands, as Scion Ezekiel, you have friends in High Clan Places.”

Erick felt wary at being called ‘friends’ already.

So he asked, “Do I? Have friends?”

Lingxing said, “A premature notion, I am sure. To tell you the truth, Erick, I wanted you to be Scion Ezekiel. The idea of someone of your power and temperament showing up out of nowhere, desiring to be friendly with the Songli Highlands? That is the stuff of dreams. Erick Flatt is tied to Spur, and we wish him well. But Scion Ezekiel! He could have gone far, here, making a strong name for himself and his Clan.” She added, “Alas, Void Song is one of many who will need to content itself with seeing the big fish get away.”

“I hoped to not get involved in any large affairs, but I cannot seem to stick to that plan.”

“Plans and reality rarely mix well.”

Erick smiled at that.

And Lingxing hadn’t mentioned the Worldly Path yet, so maybe she didn’t know? This was good.

Lingxing turned fractionally more serious, “But now I must ask something important.”

Erick lost his smile.

Tentatively, he asked, “… What is it?”

“We have been trying to understand how best to use the new foods you have created, but some of them do not fit with the usual cooking methods common to the Highlands.” Lingxing asked, “I wish to talk about food with you. For starters: these red tomatoes!” With a pleasant, excited voice, she asked, “And the ‘beefsteak’ tomatoes in particular. How do you best use those in your food?”

Uh.

Okay!

This was fine?

“Besides ketchup?” Erick went with it, saying, “Slices of tomato in a sandwich of bacon and lettuce and mayo. I know it doesn’t sound appetizing, but every time my daughter made one for me, I was reminded that I really like those flavors together.”

“You can’t have a sandwich without mayo,” Lingxing said, “It makes everything better. I doubt your tomatoes even have to be red to enjoy that sort of thing.”

Ah. He saw where she was going with this.

Red tomatoes actually were a big deal, but in a Quiet way.

“I got some pushback on the red tomatoes back in Spur, too, but I never intended to touch that cultural nuance of the Quiet War. It seems like someone would have made other colors of tomatoes long before now.”

Lingxing smiled, and bright emotions swelled from the woman, as she said, “I never liked the purple ones either, but these red tomatoes are spreading everywhere, now that the humans of this world can hold up their own version of the ‘tomato’ as ‘human-made’.” She added, “We don’t do the Quiet War here, so I was glad to see that particular food item come from a creator with a Silver Star upon his chest. I love ketchup. I love red sauces. They seem to give a dish a certain vibrancy that you don’t get with purple, and tomatoes being red now has opened a whole new street of options. We usually have to make red sauces out of peppers, and spice is not one of my favorite flavors.”

Oh? Maybe she was actually a foodie? For real?

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Food and culture was a big intersection. Talking about one but actually discussing the other was an interesting tact to take. It was easier, for one. Though Erick would be happy with a simpler talk about food, without the extra layer.

“My daughter can’t get enough spice, but I can do without it as well. Have you tried the ranch dressing?” Erick said, “I was particularly proud of that one. Had to invent almost every herb that went into that thing. But now I can cut down almost any spicy food that Jane brings home.”

“I have tried that one, but I feel it was not created properly. Do you have a proper recipe?

“Yes. I’ll get the recipe to you soon. Have you tried lemons yet?”

“Oh yes. I have tried the oranges, too, and those are great! Much better than limes. A dozen varieties of lime and none of them sweet. Why just the other day, I…”

Rapidly, they left behind the political layer to the food talk.

They spoke of foods of all kinds as the first dishes were wheeled into the room by Kaffi, and deposited on the table. There were fries and ketchup. Rice and mayo. Fish and red meats and white meats. Sauces of all kinds. It was a feast, and they spoke of every single dish there, talking about where it came from and how it was made. When Kaffi came back with more dishes, she came back with a pad of paper and pens. They exchanged recipes.

Lingxing was a foodie, for real, and it showed.

Erick left the Void Temple feeling full and fine, with a list of restaurants to try in Eralis and the surrounding cities, and with an open invitation to stay for lunch in the cafeteria whenever he felt like it, after his lessons with Kaffi.

Lingxing was obviously after something, but if that ‘something’ was just… the friendship… of an… archmage. Yeah. She was after that, for sure. But whatever?

There were worse friends to have, and Ezekiel wasn’t about to become some jaded misanthrope who was constantly judging the actions of everyone around him in the most harsh possible light. Everyone needs friends, right? Friendships had to start somewhere, and mutual exchange and interest and proximity was as good of a start as any.

And anyway, it’s not like they were friends after a single lunch.

Ezekiel asked his people, “Did you two like that lunch?”

“It was good.” Tiffany said, “I liked the steak.”

Paul said, “The fish was well seasoned.”

“Did she seem honest?”