Sword and Snow

I was nervous as I stared up at the large double doors.

Vale had flown the four of us to a nearby mountain that wasn’t one of the eponymous Four Peaks, but was just as big. Bigger, in fact. From the top of the mountain where we stood, you could easily look out over the Four Peaks as well as Flowing Dragon City. The view in that direction was breathtaking.

The view that made me nervous was the other direction, though. On top of this huge mountain was a beautifully crafted mansion. Or maybe it wouldn’t be too far off to call it a castle. The building was styled like a classic pagoda, huge and imposing. The building was lacquered and painted red with gold accents. Each floor was also decorated with jade and gold.

It was majestic, but the styling reminded me intensely of the Celestial Dragon Pavilion. It was, admittedly, far more impressive. Perhaps the Celestial Dragon Pavilion had somehow based their design on this place?

“Well, are you going to knock?” Avuri asked, as her head slowly angled back and up as she looked over the building.

“What is this place?” Cierra said, her voice filled with awe.

“Some important people here wanted to meet us.” I said, and I took both girls’ hands in mine. “You both need to be good today, okay? These are important people and they want to meet all of us.”

“Why?” Stena asked. She was just as in awe as the rest of us, trying to crane her neck so she could see more of the building.

“Because they own the City we live near. They want to make sure we’re good people before they let us stay.”

“Okay.” Stena said, only half paying attention. I was pretty sure she didn’t understand at all, but that was fine. As long as she was well behaved while we were here.

As I was stepping up to the door to knock as Avuri suggested, Vale cleared his throat behind me. “For the record, you don’t knock here. Flare your Qi. They’ll open the door for you.”

I shot Vale a dirty look. “I’m still pissed at you. You need to start telling me things before they cause problems.”

Vale had the decency to look at least mildly cowed. I harrumphed and turned back toward the door. With a deep breath, I focused and unleashed a quick burst of Qi. I sustained it just long enough for it to be noticeable.

Not a moment later, the doors slowly began to open. I was shocked by how quiet and smoothly they opened despite their size.

I stared into the opulent interior. It was empty, and everything seemed to draw the eye to the center of the first floor where a large staircase led up further into the building.

“Do we…just go in?” I asked, glancing at Vale.

“Yes. The natural flow of the building will bring you to the meeting room.” He nodded. “I’ll wait out here. They’re still upset with me, so you’re probably better off without me.”

“O-kay.” I said, turning back toward the open doorway.

“Alright, wife-to-be.” Avuri said, giving me a reassuring smile. “Ready?”

I nodded, and pulled the girls along with me as I strode into the imposing atrium.

It didn’t take long for us to make our way through the huge building. Vale was right - the whole place felt like it was designed to guide visitors through it. Despite a number of hallways and rooms in every direction, the decorating around the place clearly flowed in one direction.

We finally arrived at an open double door similar to the entrance to the building, except this one was decorated with symmetrical golden dragons in flight.

“Please, come on in.” A voice intoned from inside.

Tentatively, I took a few steps into the room, followed by Avuri, Cierra, and Stena. The room was like everything else in the whole place. Large, imposing, and opulent - more or less what I expected from dragons.

There were five large daises, each with an empty chair that could only be called thrones. They looked as though they were crafted from solid gold and jade, though I wasn’t sure I believed that. Each dais was crafted from a different colored jade, with each of the other four colors running through it; green, red, purple, white, and black.

“One more room.” The voice called again.

And sure enough, in the back of this large audience chamber there was another doorway. As we walked toward it and some of the last room came into view, I smiled. I even heard a tiny giggle from Avuri behind me.

Hidden in the back of the cold and imposing throne room was one of the most lived-in, comfy tea rooms I think I had ever seen. The floor was a plush carpet, with scattered cushions throughout for seating. The centerpiece was a large wooden table with a few different tea sets set out, several of them spilling steam into the room.

The utter lack of opulence here, in direct contrast to every other room we walked through, was charming. It looked like a simple, cozy family house.

There were five people in the room, seated around the far end of the table. Presumably, these were the Elders, and they certainly fit the image.

To my left sat an older middle aged looking man and woman. They sat close enough that their shoulders were touching and gave off the feeling of an old married couple. They both wore pleasant smiles and were dressed in comfortable but expensive looking silks.

The woman had her dark hair had an odd greenish shine to it, and was kept up in a loose bun, with strands framing her friendly face. Her eyes were a deep, dark blue, reminiscent of the ocean’s depths.

The man looked a bit more stern, but the laugh lines told a different story. His brown eyes seemed trained in taking people in, and he was putting that skill to use as he scanned our little family. His hair was a slightly dull shade of red, faded with age. I was sure in his youth it would’ve been a striking, vibrant red.

In the middle of the five was a severe looking woman who stared at all of us, clearly judging each of us in turn. Her sharp features were those of a stunning thirty year old woman or so. Her sharp vulpine eyes were her most striking feature, their shining golden yellow almost glowing against the framing of long jet black hair that tumbled down her back to pool on the floor behind her loosely.

The fourth Elder sat to the middle woman’s left, to put it mildly, looked like a bandit. His clothes looked like cheap linen, and were tattered with blade cuts. His face looked young but worn, as if he regularly spent much of his time in the sun. His dark black eyes matched his hair, which was wild and messy, with a long tail tied in the back. A sheathed sword on the ground beside him caught my eye immediately. What I could see of the hilt looked like immaculate craftsmanship.

And finally, the last Elder all the way to my right was a man I recognized. It was the wood Qi master that Vale had brought to the Basin in the first few weeks to help grow the trees. He was tall and lanky, with thin green eyes. His hair was a rich brown and was braided down his back.

Altogether, it wasn’t hard to put together a few quick basic facts about these Elders. First, they were each clearly representative of one of the five classical elements; wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Second, none of them appeared hostile to us, which was good news. And third, they each liked a different variety of tea, if the individual teapots were any indication.

With a deep breath, I stepped in front of my small family and bowed deeply to each Elder in turn. “I humbly greet the Elders of the Four Dragon Peaks. I am Emery Vale. I am accompanied by Avuri Axies, Cierra Vale, and Stena Vale. It is an honor to meet each of you in person.”

Behind me, Avuri and the girls each bowed deeply as well, as we had practiced. I smiled at the ground, seeing both my daughters bowing like little pros.

“Oh, raise your heads, all of you.” The woman on the left said, her voice full of warmth. “Don’t bother with all of that nonsense in here.” She waved a hand to take in the tea room. “Take a seat and have some tea.”

“...Yes, Elder.” I said after a moment of hesitation.

She cleared her throat then. “My name is Lyn Solei.” The woman introduced herself before motioning to the man beside her. “This is my husband Cyril Solei.”

Her husband bowed his head in a pleasant greeting. “Nice to meet you all.” He said, his voice sounding more friendly than I had expected.

“My name is Eiry Sirrus.” The woman in the middle said, as she lifted her steaming teacup to her lips. “A pleasure.” Her voice was smooth but clipped and measured.

“Ray Etson.” Was all the bandit-looking man said, although he did incline his head in greeting.

“And I am Vyne Morin,” said the wood Qi master. “It’s nice to meet you officially this time, Emery.” He smiled, but it looked out of place on his face.

“It’s nice to meet you all.” I said, with another bow before I moved to take a seat at the table.

“I’m honored you would allow us to visit you in such a lovely location.” Avuri said politely, as she bowed again before also moving to a seat. Cierra and Stena followed behind us, each bowing again, but remained silent.

The woman on the far left took over again and said, “I believe Veilnyr already told you why we wanted to see you?”

“Yes.” I said, and inclined my head politely. “I’m sorry we didn’t introduce ourselves sooner. Vale did not tell me that the area was under your protection. Or anything about your existence for that matter.”

“Yes, well, we’re planning to have him work off that little oversight.” Eerie said, a slight curve on her lips. “I’m sure he’ll just love the assignment we have lined up for him.”

“Give him an extra little bit off work for me, will you?” I asked, hoping to keep the air in the room light. “I really am sorry I haven’t come to introduce my family.”

“It’s noted, child.” Eiry said, then smiled. Her face immediately morphed from that of a stern woman to a bright, sunny expression. “We don’t hold that against you. As you said, you weren’t slighting us if you didn’t know we existed. And you remedied the situation quickly. That is all we can ask of you.”

I bowed again, my head nearly on the table. “I thank you all for your understanding. Truly you are magnanimous Elders.”

“I believe Lyn said none of that, please.” Ray said, his voice sharp, but not angry. “We wouldn’t have brought you into our tea room if we wanted a stilted, proper meeting.”

“Ray is correct. We wanted to meet you and your family on friendly terms.” Vyne added. “Yes, we want to be sure Avuri is no spy for the Frozen Mountain Sect. But that is secondary to our interest in what your goals are in settling among the Peaks.”

“Yes.” Cyril cut in. “We are very interested in your reasoning for setting up a compound like you have.” His eyes cut over toward Cierra and Stena. “And, perhaps, what kind of support we could offer you. And what you may be able to offer in return.”