MAZE - The Endless Quest

Heaven’s Edge Summit was a sight to behold. Hera had been through her fair share of incredible places. Ancient Zaxalam during a vision, the Sand Temple, the Moon Base, Neptara, the Abyssal Deep, the Golden Dragon Archipelago, Clockwork City, and many more. And this was on par with the best.

The city of Heaven’s Edge was built around the mountain, with various places that were carved out, leaving large terraces where buildings could be raised, mirroring the rock formations. Heaven’s Edge Summit was actually the very top district of the city. It was a large terrace, carved around the very peak of the mountain itself. The outer layer of buildings had the same shape as the mountain once had, before people arrived, creating almost what looked like a prosthetic version of the stone and rock that was lost.

It was a place where cultivators would gather. Sects would create alliances, and warriors would prove their mettle. Every sect had their own individual buildings with unique designs, organized to display the kind of power and influence they had.

To the east, was a red and gold pagoda raising into the skies, it stopped shy of the peak of the mountain, representing an old second summit that the formation once had. Located in the perfect place to have the sunrise shining behind the structure. Small paper lanterns were spread around the entire compound, every single of one them illuminating the area even during the hours of sunlight. Those who utilized that facility were members of the Celestial Phoenix sect. It’s members controlling fire and powerful healing techniques.

To the north was the Azure Cloud Pavilion, with their long building with only two floors at the edge of the mountain. Several balconies were even peeking over the stone underneath. Unlike the rest of the city, which had large walls around them to stop people from accidentally falling from Heaven’s Edge Summit, a pastel green and white wall stopped people from getting inside their domain. However, their members didn’t have the same care. Everything was open, giving an amazing view of the valley below, while also letting those who were part of the sect practice their wind and sky based moves.

To the west, people could see various shades of blue reflecting the sunlight as it hit a structure that mirrored a lotus flower. Several ponds of freezing cold water filled in the empty spaces between buildings, but the gates were open for all who wished to pray for enlightenment on the altar located directly in the center of the compound. That was Yuwei’s home. The Serene Lotus Temple. And just like Yuwei’s mother, most of its members practiced an ice or water-based cultivation. While others focused only on achieving inner peace and becoming enlightened.

To the south was a large wooden structure very different from everything else in the Heaven’s Edge Summit. It had no grace, no flair, no pomp. Nothing. It was simply a large wooden block in the middle of the southern district. A block made of brown, uneven wood and a thin orange line made out of sap connecting the corners. That was the domain of the Ironwood Fortress, warriors who had the fame of being just as ruthless as bandits. Yuwei made a point to clarify that the fame was unfounded. People from that sect were generally really nice, even if their appearance was on the rough side. But the fact that their fortress here looked a lot like a prison, with only a few small windows spread around for airflow, certainly didn’t help with the rumors. But their cultivation focused on defensive techniques, earth and wood based attacks, and the best place for their specific training was underground, or in areas completely devoid of sunlight.

Lastly, was the Eclipse Moon Sect. But unlike all others, they didn’t have a grand compound, a palace, or a fortress. Instead, their domain was the thin inner circle of the city. All around the terrace, touching the mountain itself, was a single long black building where their members gathered. There was a simple network of tunnels going from one side to the other, but everyone was strictly prohibited from wasting time there, and only in emergencies that someone was allowed to move through the tunnels. As one would expect, considering their name and building, the sect focused on stealth, secrecy, trickery, and illusions. They were most often seen during the night, while resting during the days.

Despite all the grand structures and all the show, the various sects put into displaying their power and wealth. All of those marvelous buildings were mostly used by the inhabitants of the city. Usually, only a few members of each sect would stay there, focusing on caring for their property so it wouldn’t fall into disarray. There were no training areas, no large arenas, and no grand libraries filled with secrets in any of the sect buildings, except the Eclipse Moon Sect, but the information they gathered here focused on people and bandits, not on powerful techniques. Basically, the structures of each sect were glorified hotels to be used exclusively during tournaments and other meetings that took place in the city. The only thing a bit out of the normal were the medicine halls which housed some powerful herbs capable of healing wounds of those who participated in the duels. Even then, the rarest of all were back in the main sects and not in a place like this.

Hearing all that, Helena turned to Yulan, “So we can’t take a look at any books or scrolls about the skills of the sects?”

“I’m afraid not. Even if we were to ask, they just don’t have any lying around. Maybe there is a technique as a prize for the tournament. Or, if we find someone who brought it, we can try asking, but there are not many who would willingly share their secrets with strangers,” Yulan explained.

Helena glanced at Hera before letting out a sigh, “I tried. It’s a shame. I really wanted to read one of those books.”

“Me too, We could end up finding something really good hidden among the texts.”

“So, what do you guys want to do first? We can go to a restaurant, we can see the stalls, we can see a play. The word is our oyster, as they say, at least until noon,” Yuwei asked.

“Why noon?” Hera asked.

“Because that’s when the tournament will start. At least the junior bracket will. That’s where Yuwei and I will fight,” Yulan Explained.

“Both of you are in the same bracket? Does that mean we are looking at the finalists right now?” Helena teased.

“No, no. We are in different divisions of the junior bracket. Everything is split by age. Unless you’re fighting one of the Masters, then it’s all about strength,” Yuwei explained.

“Oh? so the Masters do fight? Do you think we still have a chance to sign up for it?” Hera was thinking about the quest. How it said they had to reach the end of the tournament. From what she understood, it meant that she had to participate and reach at least the finals.

“I don’t know,” Yuwei shook her head.

“There is a chance. However, we need to check with the organizers first. I do believe that the Masters bout requires you to make a team. And each sect can only have one member per team. This is a change they made for this tournament in order to incentivize teamwork and friendship between the sects,” Yulan explained.

“Where does that leave us? Helena and I turn on the part of any sect,” Hera asked.

“I believe that means you are both independent. Because of that, as long as you form a team, you can participate in the tournament. However, since the Master’s bout is tomorrow, today is the last day for anyone to register,” Yulan continued.

“Do you know how many members each team must have?” Helena asked.

“If I’m not mistaken, between five and eight. It’s supposed to be one Master from each sect plus three slots for the independent Masters per team. But the fights are one on one, and if one team has five members while the other has seven, those teams will only have five fights. It focuses on whoever has the least amount of members,“ Yuwei was the one who answered.

Helena smiled at Hera, holding back a chuckled, “Well… We do have eight.”

Hera nodded, already laughing, “We do. I love when things just work.”

They left the inn and headed towards a simple looking building. It was grand and well kept, having walls around the three story tall structure in the center. This was the headquarters of the tournament itself. It was an organization that wasn’t controlled by any of the sects. Instead, it was managed by the city of Heaven’s Edge itself. Hera made sure to call her titled blades out before entering the office, that way she wouldn’t have to worry about people arguing against them being part of the team, even if all dungeons tended to treat them as individuals. Together with Helena, she had a quick conversation with one of the organizers about creating her own team to join the tournament. Since they already had the numbers, it was very easy to register. The only thing they needed was a name for the team. But before anyone could say anything, Helena quickly wrote a name down in the form.

Peeking over her friend’s shoulder, Hera looked at the name, “Really? Empress’ Chosen?”

“What? I’m not wrong,” the mage smiled.

Hera groaned, but she didn’t make any fuss about it. She was more or less used to her Court calling her empress and understood that it was just a joke.

The clerk responsible for registration thanked the group for joining and mentioned that if there were fewer members, he could point them to a couple of the Masters, but it will be up to them to convince said Masters to participate in the tournament. Hera quickly understood that this should be the challenge of the dungeon. Not just the fight itself, but also making sure that whoever was running the dungeon was able to gather in time.

The group then went to a restaurant so they could talk and catch up until it was time for the tournament. Yuwei and Yulan were very nonchalant about the entire situation. The reason was simple, both were confident in their skills of winning the respective brackets. Yuwei had a unique constitution that made her fire-based movements much more powerful even than the first class disciples of the Celestial Phoenix sect, whom she trained with. And she will be fighting against those who had just become second class disciples. Yulan, on the other hand, didn’t really care about the tournament itself. The training that her master had put her through included various bouts against a number of much more experienced cultivators. She also spent most of last year roaming around the mountains and wiping out entire camps of bandits on her own. There was another reason for their lack of worry. They were under no pressure to win whatsoever. None of their Masters truly care about the glory of winning a tournament like this, not in the junior brackets. And the rewards paled in comparison with any resource they already had freely available thanks to their Master.

Halfway through the meal, a loud gong echoed throughout the city. This was a signal for all the participants of the day’s duels to head for the arena. They all quickly got up and started walking the steps leading to the very peak of the Heaven’s Edge Summit. The location for where the tournament would take place.

“I just realized your mom is not here. What happened? Is she okay?” Helena turned to Yuwei as they walked up the steps along with the other warriors.

“She is. She had to deal with a small problem but she will be here tomorrow for the finals, and to watch the Master bracket,” Yuwei announced with a big smile.

Hera didn’t say anything, but there was a satisfied expression on her face. This dungeon was going to be much simpler than she expected. Not only did she have a very nice place to rest, good food, and good company, but they should be able to complete the quest without any problems and finally reach the home of the Strength Spirits.