Sword and Snow

“You want to support us.” I repeated almost dumbly. “Really?”

“We do.” Eiry took over for Cyril again. “Vale has told us of your background - at least very briefly - and what your goals are in settling here. It’s obviously very unusual for someone to take an interest in ‘demon-touched’ children, as many put it.”

“With all due respect, Elder, I really hate that term.” I said sourly. “I don’t know where those superstitions even came from, but they’re so widespread that if a kid has even a whiff of demonic Qi on them, they’re basically left to die.” I glanced at my kids, who were sitting at the table currently very well behaved. “It’s absolute nonsense, and I would rather not use such a term, let alone spread it.”

Eiry’s lips quirked up slightly. “Truthfully, I appreciate that Emery. We were all pleasantly surprised to hear why you were looking to settle here when Veilnyr asked for our permission. Admittedly less so when he told us a bit about your background, but still. It’s heartening to know that not all the people out there are so ignorant and judgemental.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a bit of movement as Avuri slowly raised her hand to interject. “I am sorry, Elder, but I feel like I should mention that not everyone out there treats these sorts of children with disdain. It’s unfair to paint in such broad strokes.”

Eiry’s golden eyes slid over Avuri appraisingly. “While I appreciate that, Miss Axies, the sad truth of the matter is that it doesn’t matter how many people aren’t judgemental of these kids if they merely sit by and watch.” There was a beat where I was uncertain exactly how welcoming the Elders would be to Avuri, as Eiry appeared as though she may simply remove Avuri from existence.

My racing heart calmed down when Eiry’s gaze turned soft again. “I should mention I don’t hold their collective inaction against you. At least not at this point, when you so clearly are taking action yourself.”

I saw Avuri struggle to swallow; she probably had the same momentary surge of alarm as I had. She inclined her head. “Yes, Elder. I just don’t think it wise to place the inaction of weaker wills on the same level as active hatred.”

“I would argue that they are equally as damaging in this case.” Eiry said, raising her eyebrow in curiosity at Avuri’s stance on the matter. “You yourself are clearly against such treatment, why the defense?”

“Because if we want to actually change anything, the people who currently sit and do nothing are the ones we would need to convince to take action first. Without them, we may as well be screaming at a wall.”

Eiry settled back, appearing to be satisfied with that reasoning. “That is indeed reasonable.” She said, eventually. “I suppose you’re at least correct in that regard. If something is to change, it would need to start there.”

“Well, if we could get more people like Avuri to assist in caring for those that were kept prisoner by demons, everyone would be much better off.” I said, trying to make an appeal for Avuri.

Ray sighed aloud. “To that point, we should at least plainly discuss Avuri’s part in this.” He said, staring us both down. “Vale mentioned that the two of you plan to be married. That true?”

“Yes, Elder.” We responded together.

“Very well. We have no issues with such a marriage. If you’d like to hold your ceremony and celebration in the City, you have our blessing.” He said. His straightforward approach put me at ease, and I could feel some of the tension leave Avuri as well.

“Our only concern is where her true loyalties lie - to you or her previous Sect. We’ve found that she has officially gone on an extended leave, but did not actually rescind her membership in the Frozen Mountain.” Despite his sharp words and tone, there was no anger or admonishment in his speech, which was reassuring.

“We would like to perform a simple Qi divining to confirm that her priority lies with you and your family and not her Sect.” His black eyes landed on Avuri, addressing her directly. “Is that acceptable to you?”

“Of course.” Avuri said, and she graciously bowed her head. “I have nothing to hide. My priority does truly lie with this family.” She added, a bit more quietly, “If you require me to cut ties with the Frozen Mountain, that is also acceptable.”

“No, dear.” Lyn responded. “If you truly are of the same feelings as Emery, there is no need for that. In fact, we would like to - well, we’ll get there in due time.” The slightly older looking woman smiled and motioned Avuri closer. “Come sit with me. The divination will take but a moment.”

Avuri did as she was instructed without hesitation. She stood and walked to sit behind Lyn’s cushion. Lyn took her hands and they both closed their eyes as if in meditation. I felt the moment Lyn’s Qi began to cycle. It seemed to encompass the whole room, thickening the air itself. I felt as if I was suddenly breathing underwater.

A quick glance at Cierra and Stena told me they were also growing restless, not quite understanding the sudden shift. I motioned them closer to me, and they took up seats in my lap where I could comfort them.

“Avuri Axies. You are a member of the Frozen Mountain Sect.”

“Yes.”

There was a pulse in the Qi, but no one reacted. I took that as a positive sign.

“You are not acting under their orders in any way.”

“No.”

“You are here because you want to be.”

“Yes.”

“You love and truly wish to marry Emery Vale.”

“Yes.”

“You love Cierra and Stena Vale, and wish to be a mother to them.”

“Yes.”

“You would fight to defend this new family of yours.”

“Yes.”

Avuri responded each time with no hesitation, her voice strong and firm. Lyn nodded, satisfied, and her Qi slowed and stopped. The strange underwater feeling vanished, and the girls seemed to settle almost immediately.

“She told no lies.” Lyn said finally. Then with a warm, motherly smile, she shooed Avuri off. “Now, back to your seat, girl.”

Avuri bowed to her deeply before she stood and shuffled back to her seat.

“Very well. That more or less concludes the threatening portion of this whole meeting.” Cyril said. His eyes had a slight glint of mischief in them when he turned them on us at that moment. “Now the fun part begins.”

“The…fun part?” I asked hesitantly. In my - admittedly little - experience with dragons, that sort of statement was not followed by anything good.

Smiles spread from one Elder to the next. They each were some strange combination of mischievous and threatening all at once. Then Ray spoke and said, “We have to show off a little, don’t we?”

As each of the Elders flexed their Qi slightly, the room came alive. Teapots, cups, and tea leaves danced in the air. Serving trays with snacks and sweets twirled about the room as water flowed into the air from the pots and the tea was steeped freely in the air before our eyes.

Cierra and Stena both let out the expected ‘ooh’s and ‘aah’s, but even Avuri and I were staring with childlike glee. The coordination that the Elders showed while each doing their part in manipulating all of the pieces in the dance was nothing short of masterful. Slowly, the steaming water was moved back into pots and everything settled neatly back onto the table; which was now filled with a mouthwatering spread of tea and tea snacks.

Once everything settled, the Elders all laughed. The full open laughter shocked me almost to the point of staring, but I did my best not to. I saw Avuri struggling to keep her eyes on the table as well.

“Both of you, please relax.” Lyn said, her tone motherly. “We honestly enjoy entertaining guests, and having one of Vale’s daughters here is a rare treat for us.”

“She’s right.” Vyne put in. “Now, we’re happy to share our tea and snacks with all of you if you’re willing to spill a little tea on Vale. Some embarrassing stories would go great with this spread.”

“Before we get to that,” Eiry said, “we have another major proposition for you.” She motioned toward Cyril. “As Cyril said, we would be interested in supporting you in your endeavors to create a safe haven for children that have been cast out. However, we would also like to ask if you - and your entire family for that matter - would be interested in becoming something like the official-unofficial protectors of Flowing Dragon City.”

Avuri and I both shared a look of disbelief. “You want us to…what?”

“For obvious reasons, we can’t have five dragon Elders swooping down into the city to deal with medium level threats. We would like to have someone that knows us act as our hands when necessary.” Ray said. “And you two seem uniquely qualified when it comes to removing demonic Cultivators, if what Vale has told us is true.”

“You want us to basically be, what, like royal guards?” I asked, incredulous. Several of the Elders laughed.

“It wouldn’t be a full time job or anything like that.” Eiry said, dismissing several of my concerns lazily. “We’ve made our situation a little…complicated. Many of the cityfolk know of us. Or at least know of our human identities as craftsmen or business owners. We can’t exactly turn around and be blasting criminals off rooftops with Qi at the drop of the hat.”

“Doesn’t Flowing Dragon City have a very impressive force of guards?” Avuri asked, confused.

“We do.” Cyril confirmed. “The guards that work for the city are some of the best I’ve seen outside of major cities. The issue is that they often get spread too thin. And while there are a good number of Sky Realm Cultivators in the guard, they don’t always get used in the most efficient ways.”

“No kidding.” Eiry snorted. “A lot of it is nonsense politics - no surprise there. Big money makers for the city and wealthy merchants expect to be catered to, which often means pulling higher Realm Cultivators to do what amounts to menial labor.”

I made a face at that. “Money talks.” I said sourly.

“It does. Unfortunately.” Vyne agreed. “It makes it difficult for us to assign people where we need them to be on occasion. Obviously, when large scale emergencies occur, it’s easy to visibly move people around.”

“But when some random Cultivator is murdering a person or two every few nights to little fanfare, the wealthy people complain when their guards get pulled to track them down.” Ray nodded.

“So what you actually want is a couple of Sky Realm Cultivators that are outside of the guards that you could put on less prolific tasks.” I said.

“That about sums it up, yes.” Eiry said. “We were hoping that the two of you would be willing to help us out on occasion when we need it.”

“I feel like we should also mention,” Lyn added, “that you aren’t the only Cultivators we’ve reached out to like this. We aren’t looking to rely solely on you, or monopolize your time. We merely want to make the connection.”

I met eyes with Avuri as we both thought over the offer. I glanced down at the girls in my lap, both of whom were eyeing the teas and snacks on the table, excited. When I locked eyes with Avuri again, I smiled.

“I think we’re on board?” Avuri asked.

“We are.” I confirmed.

“Brilliant!” Cyril said. “Now, with that out of the way, let’s enjoy the food!”

“We’ve heard you’ve been to the Celestial Dragon Pavilion?” Lyn asked with an impish grin.

“Yes?”

“Cyril and I are the owners.” She grinned and spread her arms wide toward the table. “And we brought some of our most expensive snacks for you and your girls today.”

Avuri and I both blinked and reexamined the snacks on the table as Cierra and Stena wiggled in my lap to get at the table.

“Please,” Cyril said with a hearty laugh, “dig in!”