15[20:17] A gold-feathered bird 15[20:17] Sings in the palm, without human meaning, 15[20:17] Without human feeling, a foreign song. 15[20:18] They really don't fuck around up here. Even the poetry's more confusing. 15[20:20] The man now called Daizo has taken the morning to himself, to read and wander the almost ghostly grounds of the Tepet compound in Lord's Crossing, as a gentle rain rolls in. Not heavy enough to smear the ink or soak the parchment, but enough to lend the otherwise pleasant autumn morning a chilly cast. 15[20:20] What does he do? What's on his mind? [20:25] 11Daizo's heading towards what would have once been a quite pleasant garden pavilion. In recent years, maintenance of the minor ones has begun to slip, and this one, overlooking a small artificial pond, has gotten a little overgrown. This has several distinct advantages, however: [20:29] 10First and most obviously, you're not going to be interrupted there. Second and somewhat more esoterically, Daizo's been watching it to see if you get any different kinds of lesser-spirits in an abandoned garden. Third, and on a pure aesthetic level, a little bit of nature asserting itself in front of man is just interesting to look at.  [20:29] 10He's armed with some blank pages, a mirror, and a copy of a currently popular and slightly scandalous novel, in case the experiment proves to be dull. [20:32] 10Memoirs of the Anathema10, it's called. Purporting to be documents recovered from the memoires of a Solar Anathema who survived well into the early Shogunate, it's almost certainly a tissue of lies. But it's a damn fine story. [20:39] 10Eventually, Daizo settles in, breathes on the mirror and wipes it clean with his sleeve, then focuses. The trick is to look at it through the corner of your eye, like so, focus your Essence10 like so10, and— The invisible world springs up inside the mirror. Ah, to have been born one of the Chosen. Moments like this make it all worth it. 15[20:43] Daizo breathes, and the world breathes with him. Out of the corner of his eye, the ivy-grown pavilion seems to pulse with new and wild life. A four-eyed squirrel peeks out to the east, while gently writhing vines undulate up and down the neglected wooden structure. The whole sight seems to vibrate - he knows that the world teems with what the savants call little gods, some smaller 15[20:43] than a grain of rice, spirits whose life and work keep the very world afloat on the Wyld. 15[20:44] He must have wondered what it would feel like, as a boy, to feel the life of the Five Holy Dragons moving through you. How does the real thing compare to his imaginings? [20:51] 10Of course, every child on the Isle dreamed of being a secret Dragon-Blood. In the areas where you didn't see the real thing very often, it was all just rumor and pretend-play. You pointed, and things went up in flame, all the kids making whooshing sounds. You swung your stick as if it were a sword or an axe and everyone would jump and pretend the ground had cracked open. Daizo played the same games when he could, but it seemed [20:51] 10 like every other season he'd be struck by shivers or shakes, vapors and megrims, the whole nine yalms.  [20:52] 10The real thing? It's like that, but so much more. And so much more dangerous. The mortal world trembles before the Ten Thousand Dragons, and if they shouted as one the whole thing might fall down. [20:55] 10Taiyun? That feels like another life now, something that happened to someone else. Really, it was. 15[20:58] Not much chance of them shouting as one any time soon, though... but any ruminations Daizo might have on the state of the Realm and the world are interrupted as his mirror fills with light. It's almost hard to look at, but soon his vision sharpens and the image resolves with more clarity. A bird alights on the edge of the pavilion, wide wings and feathers of spun sunshine. Three long 15[20:58] necks end in three small heads, each one seeming to sing soundlessly. [21:04] 10Incredible... Yes, he's definitely never seen anything like this before. Coming out here today was worth it. Without making any sudden movements, Daizo inks a quill and begins to write, trying to render this moment of grace into mere words as best he can. Later, he'll go down to the compound library to see if he can find records of another spirit like it. And whether its presence is a good omen or ill. [21:06] 10And, of course, the Order needs to know.  15[21:07] Distantly, as if rousing him from a dream: "...master Daizo? Master Daizo. Excuse me, sir, I'm terribly sorry to interrupt your meditations--" [21:09] 10Daizo starts and snaps bolt upright. "Uwaaa!" [21:11] 10He coughs. "It's all right. Think nothing of it." 10Did the ink spill? Oh no— It's right there, never mind. 15[21:11] This is a round man in servant's garb, who Daizo has seen around but whose name he doesn't know. A glance through the mirror indicates the bird is gone. The very memory of it seems hazy now. Did he doze off and dream it? "Master Daizo, forgive me, but I've been sent to fetch you. Mistress Corino asks. 15[21:12] Tepet Corino, Daizo knows, is the closest thing Tepet has left to a matriarch after the disastrous campaign against the Bull. [21:13] 10Daizo taps his chin, reviewing his mental map of the complex. "Lady Corino? Then she'll be at the Pagoda of Blood and Pearls, correct?" 15[21:13] "Just so, Master. Shall I guide you?" [21:15] 10he blots and sands his field report and slips it into a scroll case for later perusal. "By all means." 15[21:21] Daizo is led - for reasons of propriety and station, as by now he has a pretty good sense of where everything in the compound actually is - to the huge and mostly-silent Pagoda of Blood and Pearls. The tomb-like character of its vast inner spaces contrasted with the relatively sparse to-ing and fro-ing of servants and courtiers might be the creepiest thing in the compound. 15[21:21] Wait, no, it's the owls. 15[21:22] Dozens of them fix their yellow eyes on Daizo the second he crosses the threshold. [21:23] 10Eurgh. Lord's Crossing owls are champion starers. 15[21:26] Daizo's led up several flights of stairs - his rotund guide audibly panting somewhere around floor 3 - and it occurs to him he's never been this high up in the manse before. He has little time to reflect on this, however, as he's brought to a set of handsome double doors with the Tepet house seal wrought in blue jade embedded in it. The seal splits down the middle as the doors swing 15[21:26] open, revealing two women locked in conversation, each flanked by half a dozen attendants. 15[21:27] To the right is Tepet Corino, tall and well-built, her head shaved to match that of her sister Niobe, slain by Anathema, reports suggest, some months ago in the East. Rumors swirl that the Scavenger Lands have fallen root and branch to the demon-kings of old. 15[21:31] To the left is a woman Daizo doesn't recognize, in a crisp blue uniform with long, wavy aquamarine hair. There's a curious expression on her face, an emotion Daizo would need some time and an inked brush to articulate. 15[21:33] The two of them turn to face Daizo in unison as he enters. What do they see? What does Daizo look like? [21:44] 10The first thing almost anyone notices about Daizo is his stature, gifted to him by Pasiap. While not quite a full seven fulms in bare feet, he's not far off of it, and be's broad to match. Truly a menhir of a man. His skin is dark sandstone, and his close-cropped hair black. Inquisitive green eyes like two cut emeralds and a face that hides precious little. He's wearing a charcoal gray silk robe with just enough brocade to be [21:44] 10 allowable in polite company, and as it's a rainy day, stout boots. Despite his size, he possesses the grace of a trained martial artist; he sinks to the most formal bow he knows before the House Matriarch and the navy Commodore. 15[21:47] Corino is heartened by the sight of her fresh-faced scion. The Commodore gives him an appraising up-and-down look. And then another. And then one more for the road. 15[21:48] Corino either doesn't notice or gracefully pretends not to. "Daizo! You're here. I don't suppose you passed Cousin Zhangyu and Cousin Sachin on the way in?" [21:51] 10Daizo, thankfully (?) is still looking at the carpet weave. But when Corino speaks he shifts to a sitting position. "No. Only some owls, glaring at me from the rafters, my lady." 15[21:55] Corino: "Perhaps we should wait for them to return..." 15[21:56] The Commodore shakes her head. "We'll waste more time that way. Let's get our boy up to speed. Daizo, I'm Peleps Ratel. I serve the Imperial Navy. Are you familiar with the Navy?" [21:59] 10Is this some kind of trick question? "As the means by which the Empress extends her might over the seas, yes. But not in an operational sense. To date, I have primarily focused on theories of land warfare." [22:03] "But if the Navy requires the services of this humble son of the Dynasty, then I may not refuse." 15[22:08] Ratel smiles. "Ready and eager to serve. You'll go far." 15[22:09] Corino, coolly: "To hew somewhat closer to the point, the Commodore is going around the Isle soliciting the Great Houses for their best young scions for a clandestine mission of great importance." 15[22:11] "There is a dire crisis within the Water Fleet. One of their Vice-Admirals has gone off without leave, and taken a sizable portion of the fleet with her." 15[22:11] "Hundreds of ships, simply out of pocket at a whim." 15[22:11] "Your task will be to find them, return our people and our materiel to the hands of the Realm, and if possible bring in Vice-Admiral Peleps Furia in for questioning and judgment." 15[22:12] Ratel, quickly: "It will be possible." 15[22:12] Corino: "Regardless. Do you have questions, Daizo?" [22:13] 10Daizo: "Several dozen spring to mind immediately." [22:14] "But I'll winnow them down to the most important. First: I assume you are not sending me alone to move heaven and earth like this. What support will I, or we, receive?" [22:15] "Second: When you say 'clandestine', will this operation be under the supervision of the All-Seeing Eye?" [22:16] "Third. Why me?" 15[22:16] Ratel sits, and invites Daizo to do the same. 15[22:16] Corino will join them, if and only if Daizo sits. [22:17] Daizo takes the offered seat, and looks over the Peleps officer again. "I will serve, but… I can row a boat, and that's about it." 15[22:18] Ratel: "Let me address these in order." 15[22:21] "First, you will be joined by several of your most accomplished and highly-regarded peers. Zhangyu, from your own House, will accompany us, as will Dryas the Younger, a Cynis merchant princess, and her cousin, the sorceress Caxi. Tsuka, an esteemed scion of House Cathak. And of course I can't forget V'Neef Piu, recent victor at the Five Day Fight. But it's to be a very compact mission 15[22:21] - in addition to the crew we won't have space for more than one or two retainers for each of you. The crew, also, will not be Navy - V'Neef has generously loaned us the use of some of her finest merchant marines." 15[22:22] "As to the Eye, the operative details are classified... but in general we take the view that it's best to present the Eye with a fait accompli." This, Daizo knows, is a Dragontongue phrase meaning, roughly, 'done deal'. 15[22:24] "As for why you... as I said, I seek the best and the brightest of the new generation of future leaders. People with skill, passion, conviction... but not fettered by deep political feuds or calcified ambition. People who see the potential of such an arduous but important mission, rather than focusing on its risks." 15[22:25] "By Corino's advice and, frankly, my own personal estimation, you rank among that number." [22:25] 10Daizo nods in acknowledgement. "Which explains why you were looking for Cousin Zhangyu. Tsuka… I swear I've seen that name somewhere, recently." 15[22:26] Ratel: "I'd be interested to hear where. I've had a demon of a time just finding out where he's been posted since graduation. He was an exemplary student, though. One of the best I ever taught." [22:28] 10Daizo thinks. "Rumor in a teahouse. Something about a ship arrived from the provinces. Everyone's titillated by news from the barbarian lands, lately." 15[22:30] Ratel: "Oh, yes, the entire Near East is in chaos, from what I understand. You hear the most remarkable nonsense, everything from Lookshy invading the Scavenger Lands to Anathema conquering Nexus to talk of a second Balorian Crusade. If you while away your hours in dockside teahouses you'll come away thinking we live in a much more interesting world than we do." 15[22:32] "Not that there are dockside teahouses in Lord's Crossing." [22:33] 10Daizo laughs. "I take your meaning." [22:34] 10He's got his own misgivings about the state of the Realm, but this definitely isn't the time to air them. "Where were these elements of the Water Fleet last seen, before they slipped away?" 15[22:36] Ratel: "I like you. You're far more thoughtful than so big and strong a man has any right to be. The Northwestern Fleet parted ways with a small group of Guild-backed tributary vessels en route from the Wavecrest Archipelago. Do you know the West at all?" 15[22:37] Corino yawns heavily, eyes rolling as she does so. [22:37] 10Daizo dares a side-eye at Ratel. Even he can tell when he's being thoroughly buttered up. Then again… No, no, stay focused. [22:39] 10Daizo: "In broad str— outline. In broad outline. Does the nature of the mission preclude us from seeking the services of a local guide? Assuming they are to be kept in the dark about the true purpose of the voyage, that is." 15[22:41] Ratel: "No, and such guides will be available for hire in Bittern, should you require. But the budgetary considerations are such that any such retainer would have to be supported out of your own stipend." [22:51] 10Daizo: "Under the circumstances, it's understandable." 10Smile, keep smiling. "When will our group be departing, Commodore?" 15[22:56] Ratel: "You and Zhangyu will be departing tomorrow for Bittern. Our ship, Daana'd's Defiance, sets sail in a week." [22:59] 10Daizo: "An auspicious name for any vessel. Don't worry, Commodore. If there's a way to bring Furia home, I'll work day and night to find it." 15[23:00] Ratel smiles warmly. 15[23:06] "I believe you. And I believe that we will." 15[23:07] Corino: "It goes without saying, I'm sure, but just to be absolutely clear: you are to treat this matter with the utmost discretion. Not even your cousins can know. Not even direct superiors. Leave what they know and don't know to me." [23:08] 10Daizo: "As you wish. Aside from Cousin Zhangyu and these others in the Commodore's trust, my lips are sealed." 15[23:09] Ratel: "I look forward to the day when you meet your hearthmates. Many very strong personalities." [23:09] 10Daizo: "But… I have no wish to question your judgment, my lady, but are you sure Cousin Zhangyu is the person to send on a delicate task such as this?" 15[23:10] Corino: "Zhangyu is blunt, perhaps to a fault, but he is no fool. The boulder that rolls unstoppably downhill is also the stone that breaks every chisel that tries to peer within it." 15[23:10] Ratel nods. "I have the utmost faith in Corino's choices." [23:12] 10Daizo: "Understood." 15[23:15] Corino: "Any more questions?" [23:20] 10Daizo: "If we are to leave tomorrow, then daylight is at a premium. It won't take long to put my affairs in order. And I'm sure the Commodore will brief us thoroughly before we take ship." 15[23:24] Ratel: "Zhangyu is also readying himself." 15[23:24] She stands. "I look forward to serving with you, Daizo." 15[23:24] Corino stands too. "Make us proud." [23:27] 10Daizo bows once more before Corino. "I will repay the trust this House has placed in me. I so swear." 15[23:28] And so Daizo is dismissed and left to prepare. What preparations does he make? What thoughts are interrupted by the insistent tapping at his bedroom window a short while later? [23:39] Daizo spends a brief time dividing his year in Lord's Crossing into two piles. The larger by far are knickknacks and festival clothes and other bits of frippery; the servants will put these into storage until his return. The other, much smaller, are books and scrolls, annotated copies of the most important of the Texts with his own notes in the margins; a hand-carved Gateway set, reams and reams of stationery, and a cracked piece of [23:39] turtle shell with a hole drilled through it, ritually purified and re-dedicated as a talisman to repel all manner of evils. [23:40] 10After writing some letters of apology ("I've been called away on urgent business," hardly a rare occurrence in these days) the stationery goes on the storage pile as well. He can always get more in Bittern. [23:47] 10He lights a candle and quietly whispers the prayer for safe travel, for calm seas, to not be devoured in a tiger's den, that sort of thing. He remembers promises not to throw his life away, to honorably and faithfully serve the Realm, and wonders just what the hell he's gotten dragged into. Then he checks the notes he took that morning observing the golden bird; no time to look it up now. But he doesn't remember writing any of [23:47] 10 this. [23:50] "If a bird doesn't sing, kill it." [23:50] "If a bird doesn't sing, make it sing." [23:50] "If a bird doesn't sing, wait for it to sing." [23:50] 10Whet in blazes does that mean? 15[23:50] Tap-tap-tap. Tap-taptap-taptap-tap-taptaptap. [23:51] 10Daizo shakes his head and heads over to the window. "Who's there," 10he asks, already suspecting. 15[23:51] Daizo sees, without the prompting of his Essence, the three-necked golden bird from the pavilion, or one just like it (no, he's certain on some pre-rational level that this is the same bird). It raps against the window with its three beaks in a rapid, staccato rhythm. Once it has Daizo's attention it flaps its wings wildly, beaks opening and closing rapidly, stretching open wide. If 15[23:51] the bird was making any kind of sound, it would surely be loud and terrible. Instead, it thrashes and beats itself against the window, glowing brighter and brighter and acting in ever-greater pain and panic until it literally shakes itself apart, dissolving before Daizo's eyes into motes of liquid golden light. The bird's fire-fangled feathers dangle down, disintegrating before they 15[23:51] touch the earth. [23:53] 10The spectacle leaves him stunned. "What— who are you? What does this mean?" 15[23:53] There is no reply. If the bird couldn't make itself heard before... what hope has it now, as its last embers cool to nothing before Daizo's eyes. 15[23:53] *? [23:55] 10He can't do anything for this beautiful and terrible creature in its final moments. And with a gust of wind, even the ashes are gone. 15[23:56] NEXT TIME: Mother May I