Amdirlain's PoV - East Wind's Court

  Amdirlain had already memorised the library and its contents before she appeared on its doorstep. Though each level of the building spiralled through a dimensional Mobius strip, on the outside its appearance was that of a simple pagoda. Its outer azure walls bore jade-green roofs around each level, making the bright red hinoki wood trims a dramatic burst of colour. Curious about its extensive use in most buildings around the East Court, she scoured the architectural section. Texts discussed its physical properties and the effective utilisation of its symbolic meanings: renewal, purity, and sanctity. A sung piece of polished hinoki appeared in her hand, and Amdirlain slid her fingertips across its grains. As the notes of the contact brushed her awareness, she took in the stirrings from its themes that conveyed its earthy yet sweet aroma. A short song altered the wood into a larger form, and once she had lacquered the storage case, she stored the present and turned her attention to other melodies as she waited.

  Master Cyrus appeared in a rush of light within the courtyard, the blade he stood upon disappeared into his Soul Space, leaving him to float to the ground. He'd grown the Power significantly since they'd discovered its relationship to Inventory, but Amdirlain could hear it still hadn’t evolved. He strode towards her position near the front doors without a glance at the guards around the courtyard.

  With a smile, Amdirlain presented a pedant supplied by Qinglong. "Thank you for meeting me here, Master Cyrus. Here is your access to the inner archives."

  At her casual announcement, Master Cyrus's brows climbed towards his hair limb. "Those not sworn to a court never get access to its inner archive without lengthy negotiations and large compensation. What did they charge you?"

  "Unless the person in charge wants you to do something for them," Amdirlain countered. "Lord Qinglong wants me to succeed so I can help him in return. It will be a harmonious outcome for all of us."

  His serene composure slipped back into place. "Where is Lady Sarah?"

  "She's gone to the Artificer Pavilion. The two birds are home alone since Jinfeng is currently exchanging pointers."

  "Doesn't Klipyl have a tea ceremony to prepare for?"

  "I've faith my little sis will figure out something," replied Amdirlain.

  Master Cyrus blinked. "I'd forgotten you adopted her, which means technically, I should have introduced her as Lady Klipyl as well."

  "She adopted me—I just accepted. For shame, Master Cyrus, what a scandalous etiquette failure," quipped Amdirlain playfully. "Though I'm sure Klipyl will forgive you. She is receiving plenty of polite attention already, so she probably doesn't need you to correct anything."

  A suspicious gleam peeked through his composure. "Is there a reason you don't wish to do so?"

  "Klipyl might get flustered and have her attention drawn too many ways. She's in the middle of some delicate navigations, and I'd like to avoid that," replied Amdirlain.

  "What delicate navigation?"

  How do I put my advice delicately?

  "Males of many species are sometimes blind in emotional matters, and females must be firm in their presentations."

  Master Cyrus snorted derisively. "What's that saying I've heard you use? Like the pot calling the kettle black. I believe that might apply to your diplomatic waffle."

  "That's a saying, and I never claimed it didn't apply to some females. Many cultures have this cruel expectation that males need to be self-reliant providers and wall themselves off from emotions. Now, shall we go inside or continue to chat on the doorstep?"

  "Let's see if the librarians can locate all the technique manuals I remembered." Master Cyrus stepped forward and opened the door for Amdirlain.

  Amdirlain stepped inside and the Shen stationed at the sole desk in the middle of this level of the pagoda started; beneath the illusion of a tidy young man, a clear quartz only a few centimetres across hovered. As she waited for Cyrus to take the lead, Amdirlain delved deeper into how its powers connected it to all the surrounding scrolls. Lightning-fast notes danced through linkages, an extended neural net of collected information.

  "We require the manuals of the following techniques," stated Cyrus, setting a sheet of paper on the desk.

  The librarian scanned the paper and nodded.

  As he went to stand, Amdirlain set down a scroll with Lord Qinglong's wax seal affixed. "I've got a supplementary list from the restricted section."

  "What section?" The librarian fixed the scroll with a wary look and carefully unfurled it. His hands trembled slightly when he looked up. "Perhaps a matter of translation. These are unsanctioned techniques kept purely for record purposes. I'll need two other senior librarians to help me access them."

  "That's fine. I'm not in a hurry, so please don't blow yourselves up."

  "Is it alright if I speak with them and let you know when the manuals and papers are ready to review? They'll certainly be available by this morning, Lady Am."

  "That's fine. There's no need to disturb anyone's meditations, as I've a lot to work through as it is," reassured Amdirlain.

  He secured the scroll in the desk drawer and ushered them towards an exit. "The works Master Cyrus seeks are all in the same section. If you'd follow me, I'll show you to a study room and then retrieve the works."

  The room he took them to was opulent, polished mother-of-pearl tiles across the walls and wooden statues with pearl insets decorating the side tables. The low centre table looked like a massive turtle shell but had been cut from a Sea Dragon; its dark green panels, with the brown boundaries, seemed dark against the lightness of the rest of the room.

  After the librarian left them to seek the texts, Amdirlain tapped the table."Do the locals often clash with sea dragons?"

  "The easiest way to tell is to check if there are any jobs for hunting in the Duty Pavilion," advised Cyrus.

  "Point. Three at present and one recently completed. What approach do we take if none of these manuals use mental imagery that works for me?"

  Cyrus gave her a confident smile. "We cheat. Isn't that something you like to do?"

  "Oh?"

  "Read through the manuals to understand the goals, approaches, and limits of each. After that, we can have an instructor practise the techniques while you listen." Cyrus moved to the cherry blossom patterned tea set on a side table and started heating water. "Kadaklan mentioned returning the Phoenix's eggshells to you."

  "After the way the headband reacted to my Soul, I'm not inclined to toss unusual materials into my Inventory."

  "I was thinking more about drawing upon its symbolism to strengthen your sigil."

  "Are you looking to see how many 'oh’s' you can collect today?"

  "I'll leave that to Sarah."

  While Amdirlain laughed, Cyrus prepared a teapot and a pair of cups. "When you reinforce your sigil, it increases the density of Ki in your pool. However, the meditative techniques depend on someone understanding their Dao. They also benefit from the focal of an external object to help anchor the sigil from distortion. Have you been meditating on your nature? Or has your attention been primarily on your next powers and classes?"

  "Creation is a big part, but also transformation," replied Amdirlain.

  "Freedom and hope are transformative. Do you still see the symbolism of the Phoenix as destruction?"

  "No. It's a cycle of transformation. Lack of change creates stagnation and decay."

  "Good." Cyrus knelt by Amdirlain and laid out a series of texts. "These are from my collection and involve studies to improve your sigil. Do you care to start on these to see if any align properly? Some are there to help shed preconceptions rather than what I expected to be a suitable approach."

  Amdirlain smiled and picked up a thick book with an image of a millstone embossed on the cover. "Grinding?"

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  "I included it for contrast," replied Cyrus. "Though you love your lists, I feel those are more to organise your creativity than speaking to your need for methodical steps throughout your life."

  "Sorry, wordplay. I used to do a lot of grinding for games, and grinding removes husks from the seed."

  "Ah, shedding preconceptions. If these are unsuitable, we'll see what the local librarians recommend."

  Though she'd memorised them all, Amdirlain started through the physical text, seeking lines that needed references translated.

  Throughout the morning, texts for the study of soul healing arrived in dribs and drabs.

  As she finished noting references for the twelfth text, Amdirlain put her pencil aside. "This is probably a delicate matter, so I'm fine with 'mind your own business' as an answer."

  Cyrus put down the text he was reading and placed a bookmark on it. "Go on."

  "Why did they bring along anything on nuclear fission?"

  "Some who agreed to come along were more paranoid than others, and some saw it as a chance to build a new world but wanted all the perks, so to speak," explained Cyrus. "We were told technology would work, but Ki would be more accessible. When we arrived, there were other challenges. Finding uranium and the like wouldn't have been achievable. Are there texts on that subject in this library or somewhere else?"

  "There are a number here, and I ran into one while helping Master Sakda."

  "Do you plan to remove them?"

  "Nope, I've encountered one world that used quantum technology, so there are sure to be others around," replied Amdirlain. "Does the Jade Emperor want them around, considering the Yomi King was trying to push the doomsday clock? Nuclear war, I mean. It was a matter of pure curiosity about why they got brought along."

  "Knowledge in itself is not evil, and we might harm someone's Dao by purging the texts we don't see an immediate use for," replied Cyrus.

  Amdirlain smiled and reached for the next book. "Once I finish with these, I need to spar."

  "Halfway there, just keep grinding on."

  She rolled her eyes but resumed work.

  It was midmorning when an old man with thinning white hair wheeled a heavily loaded shelved trolley into the room and placed it at the end of the table. "These are the Soul treatment treaties you sought, Lady Am. I've included all the works that are referenced as well as the texts on the scroll. Those are on the top shelf."

  "That's very kind of you."

  "Please keep them safe until you are done. If you don't wish to secure them, lock them in here. We'll ensure this room remains reserved for you during your stay." The man bowed and patted the trolley handle before he left.

  ? ? ? ? ? ?

  Only Sarah and Jinfeng were present when Amdirlain returned to the townhouse in the early evening. They sat in the main room upstairs, watching the light show of the luminous coral and fish beyond the dome.

  "You both look engrossed with the deep," quipped Amdirlain as she knelt beside Sarah.

  Jinfeng tucked a scroll covered with martial diagrams away before replying. "It is a way to relax and centre myself after an aggressive day."

  "There isn't enough fish in sight for a decent snack," noted Sarah. " Master Cyrus not with you?"

  "He's checking my translations of various references. He thinks one of the promising scrolls has some twisted traps."

  Sarah's nostrils flared in disgust. "Soul healing with a pinch of I will hurt you for looking without my permission? What sort of bastard would write something meant to heal yet poison the water?"

  "Order rivalry doesn't always make sense," replied Jinfeng. "But at other times, it's purely financial. If they help someone heal their Soul, they'd expect to be reimbursed for the resources invested, as they have to develop the technique and assist the person learning it. They don't recover the development cost from one student, so if that student left with the manual and it was stolen or bequeathed, they've lost out."

  "Despite the logic, I'm sure Kadaklan would find it particularly offensive," Sarah grumbled.

  Jinfeng nodded. "I agree. It's one thing for a trap in a technique for healing flesh to take more energy, and it's another thing when it involves someone's Soul."

  "Enough about my stuff," said Amdirlain, and she turned to Jinfeng. "How have your discussions at the Martial Pavilion gone?"

  "There are some interesting technique manuals in the library." Jinfeng motioned to the folded treatise before her. "This is just the high-level summaries of them. I'll want to gain the required contribution points myself, not use the generosity offered due to being your travelling companion."

  "I met an Enchanter today who needs someone to gather dangerous materials and no one has taken his job off the duty board. Would you like me to take you to meet him?" asked Sarah.

  "Kadaklan and Klipyl are out walking; Master Cyrus is still gone," Jinfeng paused and hummed dramatically before lifting a finger. "You just want me gone so you two can get wild without being interrupted by a knock."

  "No one has ever been rude enough to knock on our bedroom door," corrected Sarah.

  "It's a possibility that would disturb your orderly mind."

  "Who knows if the others will still be gone when I return? Do you want the contribution points or not?"

  Jinfeng packed up her sword treatise and smiled serenely at Sarah.

  "If Sarah wanted privacy for some alone time, we could shift to an empty demi-plane and then have her resummon me."

  Jinfeng sighed. "Spoil my moment of triumph."

  "Never count a battle won until all the corpses are counted."

  Sarah stole a light kiss before getting to her feet. "Be back soon."

  "I suppose I'll be around somewhere," drawled Amdirlain.

  As soon as Jinfeng was ready, Sarah teleported them both away.

  The main bedroom was an understated yet lavish affair, with lacquered cupboards, side tables, and a futon on a raised platform. Sliding silk screen doors featuring dragons and herons separated the central area from the bathroom, which contained a large tub and shower with enchantments providing the desired temperature water.

  The rack of memory crystals that Eleftherios had filled appeared atop the dresser while Amdirlain prepared the bed. With it neatly folded back, fluffy pillows formed from ectoplasm provided an unnecessary backrest, and Amdirlain sprawled out beneath the covers. Silk sheets sliding across bare skin got a smile of anticipation from Amdirlain.

  When Sarah returned, Amdirlain was relaxing against the pillows with an array of memory crystals hovering before her while she reviewed them.

  Sarah smiled appreciatively and shed her clothes to slip in beside her. The warm lines of their bodies touched as she idly stroked Amdirlain's hair. "Were any of the manuals you looked at promising?"

  "There are some possibilities, but I'm concerned I will take something okay and miss a better fit."

  "Anything touching your Soul isn't something to get buyer's regret over," said Sarah. "What Ki Power does this even affect?"

  Amdirlain returned the memory crystals to the holding rack and relaxed into the gentle caress. "The ones we're looking at don't impact a Power. They're around cycling techniques using the sigil."

  "Is this related to the accident reinforcing your sigil on Qil Tris?"

  "Yes, but less dangerous. Also, Master Cyrus suggested I could utilise the Phoenix's eggshell to help reinforce mine."

  Sarah twitched. "How about you start at the top and run me through it, so I'm not playing twenty questions?"

  After Amdirlain reviewed Master Cyrus's suggestion for the Phoenix's eggshell, an illusion of her spiritual net and the conduits that extended to her Soul appeared. Each conduit stretched from her Soul to a key node within her sigil. "I came close to disaster with the Eldritch."

  "If the energy had touched a node, would it have corrupted you?"

  "That's the worst case, or this is the best case." The nodes the corruption had advanced on vanished, the sigil frayed around the base, and Ki rose from the Soul as it tore apart. "It would have ripped my sigil and crippled me unless I died and reincarnated."

  "Which you can't do anyway because of the curse," rasped Sarah.

  Neither spoke, just soaked in each other's presence.

  After a long silence, Sarah resumed running fingers through Amdirlain's azure locks.

  Amdirlain sighed. "Let's talk about something else."

  "You need to know a lot more about True Song Architecture."

  "That wasn't what I had in mind. But seriously, am I that predictable?" laughed Amdirlain.

  "Sweetie, it was a little obvious where your brain would go after our meeting with the East Wind, and I'm getting in before you start second-guessing yourself about spending the time. If you're uncertain about the songs you need, the solution is learning more."

  "I am worried about hitting a proficiency trap."

  "Enough knowledge to know what you can do, but not enough to know when you're wrong or don't know enough?"

  "Yeah. I've seen enough software projects get underestimated or fail because someone didn't expect a piece to be 'so difficult' but hadn't bothered to research the limitations of the new technology," drawled Amdirlain. "Not a position I want to be in when trying to align a planet or healing the realm's boundary."

  The bite in her tone had Sarah trailing a hand comfortingly along her shoulders. "The sisterhood isn't there to keep digging at the wound."

  "In the fortress, I saw a factory production line with golems making more golems. I never did learn what they used the golems for," noted Amdiralin.

  "Are you worried about what they were doing with the golems from paranoia, or is your Precognition nagging at you?" asked Sarah.

  "Precognition isn't always consistent in its warnings. The golems are a loose end that will annoy me, but they might have only used them for siege defences or manual labour."

  "That 'might' sounds like wishful thinking. Is your paranoia having a field day with them? Maybe Gideon will be nice and cough up an answer in one of their notes," laughed Sarah.

  Amdirlain wrinkled her nose. "I'm not counting on that. Although Gideon has stopped gaslighting me, and I'm thankful for that change."

  "Let me save you the distraction. The enchantment for resistance to Primordial energy isn't something that can be extended to the Far Chaos, and protective enhancements in an object interact with the aura of the being wearing them. The wearer is the adaptation keystone. Whereas a Golem is completely static, its enchantments aren't helping it to adapt, so it's the enchantment versus the energy."

  Amdirlain bit down on her first response and pretended to look around the room in confusion. "We're talking when we have alone time from the kids."

  "Master Cyrus is older than us," snickered Sarah.

  "Only in this lifetime."

  Amdirlain reformed, straddling Sarah's hips. Cupping her face, she leaned in to give fleeting kisses, savouring each brief caress against her warm lips. As Sarah groaned in heated desire, her hands roamed, but Amdirlain restrained herself and continued the butterfly-soft kisses.