Rising Kite - A story from the world of HWFWM

Before this day, Kite had visited the office of two different branch directors of the adventure society. Both were ostentatious in their own right, with Jarvan’s collection of memorabilia or Dobrazza’s fashionable onyx interior design. Actually visiting such offices multiple times was not what most local adventurers did while still at iron rank, or even at bronze, and Kite thought that he would have known what to expect by now; something very personalized.

He was proven both correct and wrong as he entered the office of Heavenward’s branch director, and thus the leading adventure society functionary of the country. The office he entered in the wake of deputy director Brackenstar was surprisingly native in its design, with a plethora of masterful woodwork on display as well as decorations of jade and plenty of ornamental fans and weapons adorning the walls and pillars. But it was also absolutely covered in hints that this space was of the adventure society, its insignia on prominent display almost everywhere he looked. The sum of all those parts was somehow paradoxical, screaming both of being of Hua-Xi while, in no uncertain terms, showing that this was a place where the organization itself would ever be in dominion; a throne of their presence in a foreign land, partially assimilated yet also distinctly its own.

It was also by far the largest, as befitting the grandeur of the capital, with at least twice the ceiling height from the rest of the building. At each end of the office was a mezzanine level, one housing what looked like a library and the other several seating areas and long tables for formal meetings.

And while she was not a very large woman, the branch director herself remained the most prominent and domineering presence in the whole space. Like the deputy director, she was an elf, but where he was tall and imposing, she was petite; her features channeling the absolute perfection of gold rank into a delicateness beyond what Kite had seen before, even if he suspected that this was something akin to what Second Spring would look like, should the squirrel-shifting young lady reach gold rank. This association was further boosted by the director wearing robes in the Hua-Xi style, her rich chestnut hair gathered in a bun held in place with a series of long hairpins.

But where Spring was still a bit flustered and often shy, the branch director clearly was not. Kite almost flinched back from the hint of her gold rank aura, the steel within it almost enough to make him taste blood. As the director leveled her brown eyes at him, Kite was unsure if he was an invited guest or a prisoner who might end up on the chopping block at any time.

He could feel her spirit scrutinizing his, and almost let out a breath as her spiritual touch softened somewhat after a few moments. While the dangerous undercurrent remained, it was now only a whisper.

“Welcome, adventurer,” the branch director said once Kite and deputy director Brackenstar drew closer, her voice carrying not a hint of remorse for the spiritual intimidation earlier. “My name is Anasta Temren, and I am the director of the adventure society’s efforts to keep the people of this country safe, as well as head of the local branch. You have already met my deputy, and as you can imagine, my time is rather limited. Sit, and let us have a proper look at you.”

She indicated a lone chair in front of a large desk, where she took her place in the elaborate main seat with deputy director Brackenstar standing behind her right shoulder. Kite sat down as instructed, very aware of how small he felt in front of the two gold-ranked elfs.

“And here I thought silver was grand progress,” he thought wryly, still a bit in awe of the power he felt from the other essence users. “The heavens sure have a way to remind one of all the reasons to be humble.”

“So, you are the one of which Jarvan and Dobrazza have kept singing their praise,” branch director Temren noted after taking a few seconds to size Kite up. “Reports describe you as a reasonable young man, a bit ambitious yet kind while still showing enough decisiveness in action. While still just scraping the surface, you have shown potential in leading and coordinating groups, as well as an actual interest in teamwork. You have also founded the first guild since gods know how long in this country, and remain a sponsor even though you keep your own path of improvement.”

While the words themselves might be seen as praise, the branch director’s voice was neutral enough to add some ambiguity to all of it, and Kite mostly felt unnerved by the list which she ticked off.

“Do you have anything to add to that, adventurer? Anything else which might have made two branch directors impressed enough to recommend you for Task Group Gauntlet?” the director eventually finished, her eyes locking onto Kite once more.

Kite took a moment to compose himself before responding, gathering his aura while bowing slightly in his seat. “The branch director is well-informed. It is humbling that one of your station has taken the time to take note of me. I would only like to add two things; my path - or as you might prefer, my power set - and that I have conquered not one but two of the Queen’s gates.”

“Ah, yes, the gates,” branch director Temren noted, her tone making it clear what she thought of them. “I will be frank adventurer; voluntarily entering deathtraps which won’t allow you to bring a team in support is not a mark of accomplishment in my books. Quite the opposite. You should thank Fortune that you are still here today, and keep your so-called success quiet. The last thing I need is more locals seeking death instead of doing their actual job as adventurers.”

Kite tried to keep the wince out of his expression even as the director’s words cut into his pride, but he also bore it in silence. The way director Temren had comported herself throughout this whole meeting had already made it very clear that this was not a social call, and Kite was not foolish enough to start protesting. At least not until he was a gold-ranker himself. So he said nothing in response as director Temren continued, apparently expecting none either.

“But as for your power set, I will agree that it is worth noting. While a bit generalistic, the negation confluence is still quite rare as few willingly seek it. And yours is a bit of a different spin on it too. We mostly see it among control specialists rather than defenders,” the director noted. “It might even be the main reason for the other directors’ recommendations, although I would not count on getting accepted into the task group just by having the right set of powers. The task groups of the adventure society are our elites, trained ‘in-house’ to be able to act when the organization needs it the most to curtail the activities of restricted or unsanctioned magic.

So tell me, adventurer; why would someone like you, who is under such consideration, find yourself fighting in a public duel within a day of arriving in the city?”

Once more, her gaze bored into Kite, compelling an answer out of him. Fighting the urge to squirm within his seat, Kite once more gathered himself and formulated an answer.

“It is due to my name, director. I assume that you are familiar with our naming conventions?”

“I have been managing this branch for two decades now, adventurer. You assume correctly.”

“For my actions in Gilded, I was named Pathbreaker. And even though I did not present myself with this name since entering the capital, word of it must somehow have reached people here anyway. As a sectless outcast, they seem to take it as an affront to their own pride, and naturally seek to prove me wrong.”

“I see. From the file on you, such duels seem to be rather commonplace, correct?”

“Yes, director.”

“And even though you tried to lay low, it still got out somehow, ending up with you fighting the disciple of the Thunderous Soul sect?”

“Yes, director.”

“Then, adventurer, I find a question most pertinent. Why didn’t you just decline?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Decline it. The duel. Say no, and go about your business. Then you wouldn’t have ended up in that sparring arena today, making ripples which are sure to only land you in yet more such trouble. So why didn’t you, one who has been praised for his judgment, decline?”

As she spoke, director Temren’s words seemed to gain a slight intensity, her spirit gradually growing even more still.

Kite’s first response was, well, nothing. There were a few seconds of silence, both gold-rankers regarding him. So, fighting against the instinct to quickly give them some kind of answer, anything at all, Kite sat back in his chair. And thought.

A minute went by. Then two. But only once Kite felt that he himself felt satisfied with his answer did he straighten to speak again.

“I will once more make an assumption, director, that you want my honest answer. And as usual, the truth is full of nuances and forking paths.

First of all, I do not think that declining would have helped me in the long run. As you have been here for so long, you should know that the powerful people of this society treat cowards even worse than they treat enemies. While I surely could have declined, that would not have stopped people from coming after me. I would even dare to venture that it would have prompted more of them.

Second, I wanted to try crossing swords with a member of the infamous sects of the capital; to measure and temper myself and my path. As you already know of it, you know that it is one well suited for such bouts. Knowing as many kinds of opponents and power sets as possible will only help me in the long run, be it my personal endeavors or during certain contracts chasing down bounties and criminals. Is this prideful? Perhaps a bit. I cannot claim to stand entirely above it. But a name given is something important, director. And while Pathbreaker might sound a bit presumptuous, it was what they started calling me. And, I suppose, what I have tried to become.

And finally, the most basic of reasons; resources. I have a budding guild to sponsor, after all, and those essences and stones won’t just appear out of thin air. Or, well, my familiar does do that, but I believe that you understand my sentiment. Call it my pride showing itself again, but while troublesome, all those people seeking to test themselves against me… They’re an opportunity. For me, my path, my guild. And for me to gather all that I need to impact just a little bit more of this world.”

As Kite finished, silence once more reigned. Both directors looked at him with their stern gazes, neither showing any response to Kite’s words. He himself felt almost a little spent, but also, oddly, a bit satisfied. He had not given this matter proper thought lately, and looking at himself in the mirror that was his own words was eye-opening.

Eventually, branch director Temren gave a single, curt nod. “I see. You are very much a native of this land. I believe that with just a few changes in the overall culture, that drive could produce a lot of great adventurers. It is yet to be seen if you are one of said people reaching greatness, but I will agree that Task Group Gauntlet might even be a good fit for you.

But I will also counsel you to tread carefully. What might look as an opportunity to you might well become your downfall, as the mighty drops those pretenses of ‘honor’ which you seem to hold so dear as soon as the eyes of the public aren’t upon them. Because I have found that most of them do, as soon as a nuisance becomes great enough. At least the family of assassins in these parts are of a surprisingly public sort, and will introduce themselves properly before striking at you.

I would also recommend that you stay within the adventure society campus for the rest of your stay in the capital, until the portal courier arrives. For your own safety.”

“Director, I-”

“That is not an order, adventurer. There is no contract between us, so I can only counsel. What you do is up to you, as adventurers of your rank are ultimately responsible for your own fates,” the director said, rising from her chair, the dismissal clear. “Good day, adventurer Kite.” Then through a flick of her wrist and a ‘snip’ of her fingers which seemed to slice some particular thread of reality, branch director Anasta Temren disappeared.

“That was quite the pressure you put on him, Anasta,” deputy director Brackenstar noted once he joined the branch director in her study. It was only around ten minutes ago that the pair had met with the young silver ranker who was showing promise enough to warrant further training.

“You know how the locals usually are, Maximilian. I did tone it down once I got a good read on the boy,” the branch director defended herself, looking up from the stack of documents she was currently working through.

“And Jarvan’s warm recommendation wasn’t enough to make you give him a tiny sliver of the infamous benefit of the doubt?”

“As his presence started stirring up trouble the moment he got here, I would say it was warranted. And besides, what is up with this offensive? Have you taken such a liking to the boy? That is not like you.”

“Perhaps it is just me being unused to actually having the softer touch for once,” deputy director Maximillian Brackenstar countered. “And don’t try to deflect this onto me, Anasta. You essentially goading him into continuing to be a target with that ‘recommendation’ of yours wasn’t very subtle.”

“If the bait willingly declares its intent to seat itself onto the hook, who would I be if I didn’t at least try to go fishing? Seeing something stir up the locals which isn’t us for once will be a great opportunity to glimpse some more of the current playing field. Our agents can only tell us so much, especially as we are trying to keep up a facade of normalcy. Better to have Jarvan and the other more wayward branches start investigating their little theory. If there are actually unwanted divine fingers in the pie that is Heavenward, we should not act too early.”

“And with one sentence, your commoner heritage is laid bare without a doubt,” Maximilian teased as he sat down next to his superior.

“You’re the only one in this bloody country with whom I can actually let loose a bit, you know? Gotta take any shot I can. But, back to the little silver ranker. Let him run around and fight his duels and make a nice little splash to make the fishies come looking. He’ll probably get taken down a notch soon enough and that will be that. It will give him some contrast as to the instructors of the task groups. He may think he faces the elites here, but they’ll surely give him something to remember.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure, Anasta. I saw the duel earlier today. He was definitely holding back some rather potent advantage, and still he performed so well. What if the splash he makes is big enough for one of the actual powers of this little pond to take an interest?”

“Then our little volunteer worm will have given us a mighty good catch, wouldn’t you say?.”

“I thank you for your assistance in tempering my path,” Kite said, bowing to his fallen opponent and to the acolyte of Warrior, the very same one as last time no less, before leaving for the exit. Behind him, he could see the same plethora of gazes as the last time, having fought the first duel merely three hours before. But this time, curiosity held an even greater share of the emotions held within the eyes that followed him. This foe had been another disciple of the Thunderous Soul sect, the man waiting outside the administration building with the challenge as Kite exited after his meeting. While this one had been skilled as well, relying on a conjured glaive and ramping strength-boons had brought his foe down even swifter than disciple Joy.

“I will admit that it was satisfying to see the look on his face once his increased strength was suppressed, but I need to be careful. They will swiftly grow wiser to my tricks,” Kite told Glint, hastily turning a corner and pulling the brim of his hat even lower as he saw yet another group of sect students in the distance. “I will also admit that I did not expect this level of intensity. Perhaps the branch director was onto something, after all.”

Thankfully, the streets of Heavenward were crowded, and that, in addition to the veils which Braid had made for Kite’s hat long ago, helped to shield him from immediate recognition. He managed to make his way back to his lodgings, ordering dinner which he ate in his rather modest room.

“So, we just have to make it through six more days if the timetable holds, while extracting what we can from the opportunities that both the city and its people provide,” Kite said, Glint serving as an ever stoic sounding board. “There should still be quite a lot of interesting stores and craftspeople here worth meeting. Maybe we could even see about finally upgrading your bottle to something more fitting?”

At this, Kite received Glint’s full interest, the little carp making joyous, sparkling laps around him.

“Unnecessary

Frivolities.”

Sage’s projected meaning was filled with the closest thing the familiar came to a dry tone. Admittedly, this was pretty much the norm for the astral gatherer, but Kite still shot Sage a smug smile.

“Oh, be nice, Sage. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you. Apparently, there is a renowned calligrapher here in town who works with enchanted ink to create permanent, three-dimensional pieces. I had planned for us to-”

Kite stopped, as Sage had suddenly appeared close enough to his face that most of his ordinary field of vision was but a dark, inky void. It had happened in a literal eyeblink, the familiar moving faster than Kite thought it capable of.

“There

Is

No

Time

Like

The

Present!”

The projected meaning hit Kite almost like a shout, an odd sensation in the actual silence of his room.

“Sage, most of us humanoids have certain opening hours for our businesses. I am quite sure that going to see the artist’s gallery now would require us to perform quite a few criminal acts.”

Kite’s eyes then narrowed as he got a way too calculating feeling from his familiar, and decided to nip any ideas in the bud.

“Sage, I will not commit any crimes for this. We will wait until tomorrow. That is the end of it,” he said, trying his best auntie Crow imitation when she was using that stern but frustratingly reasonable voice. It still left Sage sulking in a corner and watching a lone moth circling a paper glow stone lantern outside, and Kite couldn’t help but shake his head with a smile.

“Still, something the branch director said also gave me an idea for something to add to our list tomorrow. There might be some distant, adopted relatives for me here, after all.”

Pristine Mirror sat back, a thoughtful expression on her face. Initiate Sprig was still out trying to gather what information that he could on the current progress on the Pathbreaker’s movements, but Mirror suspected that he would have plenty of company after the deputy director showed up. That was not what had created her pensive mood, however, but rather the short note which she had received from one of her best contacts at the adventure society administration; a contact which she would not be able to use again in the future after having them dig out this particular snippet of information.

The note was short and succinct, carrying only two pieces of information; a confirmation of the Pathbreaker being accepted to try out for something called Task Group Gauntlet as well as the order for a portal courier. Mirror did not know what that particular task group did, but the confirmation was enough for her to know one thing; she would need to at least inform the elders of the sect about it. It would be out of her hands, the Pathbreaker becoming merely another piece in their little games against the adventure society, but it was for the best. Mirror was not fool enough to gamble on her own schemes in these matters, as the consequences of failing and not having told the elders were not a pleasant line of thought.

“Well, Pathbreaker, it was fun while it lasted. At least I can write to my aunt and tell her of your troubles,” Mirror thought, leaving her quarters and making her way to the heart of the sect compound.

“This… I’m not sure if this is what I expected,” Kite thought as he stood in front of the rather sizable city compound. The estate looked old, its design almost antique with a lot more little embellishments and varied colors than what most families preferred these days. And it was situated at the second plateau of the heavenly stairway, marking the owners as both old money and affluent.

The functionary of the adventure society which he had asked for directions had looked at him very oddly when Kite had essentially strolled up and asked for directions to a famed family of assassins, but had easily been able to provide directions. From what auntie Crow had told Kite, her extended family lived entirely out in the open while plying their trade mostly as adventurers.

The venerable building that was the Heavenward residence of the Tengu’s clan was proof both that they had been there for a long time, as well as their continued affluence.

“I guess that there isn’t much more to do than to announce myself,” Kite said to Glint, who was peeking out of her new and much more fancy dimensional bottle.

It had only required two hours of work of modification for the silver-ranked craftsman to adjust the container to Kite’s needs and Glint’s most discerning specifications, and the carp now had plenty of space inside if she wanted to stretch her fins. He had offered her to change the bottle for something more dignified, but Glint had only wanted more embellishments while being happy with the format.

Kite reached out to tug at the surprisingly beautiful braided rope next to the decorated wooden gates, but his fingers only had time to briefly brush its fibers before he froze as a powerful aura locked onto his. It felt as if shadows had stretched across all of his body, their touch soft but carrying a distinct promise of death should their controller wish for it. A nearby stretch of darkness beneath a decorative bush undulated slightly, before a pair of humanoid eyes with onyx irises emerged from its depths.

“What business do you have to come uninvited at the Tengu’s doorstep?”

The voice was like the soft whisper from someone standing just behind Kite, even though his expanded vision revealed it to not be the case, and he was unsure if he actually felt the slight sense of light breathing close to his ear or if it was only his mind making things up. Even as he took a steadying breath, Kite was very careful not to make any swift movements, be it in body or spirit.

“I came here at the behest of my auntie, or rather, my adopted mother. Curious Crow flies Swift. She sends her regards, and advised me to introduce myself to you, should I have the chance. My name is Kite Flo-”

“Your reasons are noted,” the voice interrupted him. “We will ascertain your name and reason, and will contact you again, should we find it pertinent. For your sake, I hope that our investigations won’t turn up something that disappoints us.”

Then, the aura vanished in the blink of an eye, the shadows returning to normal. Kite remained frozen for a while, eventually relaxing slightly as Glint once more poke her head out from the bottle.

“You don’t need to apologize, little beaty,” Kite murmured, sensing her projected shame and apologies. “It was wise of you to hide. That was someone far beyond us, so we can only hope that something good will come of it. Auntie Crow sent us here, after all, and her judgment has never been hasty or prone to risks.”

He looked around at the lavish houses of his surroundings. “This, and the fact that we managed to avoid the would-be challengers this morning as they got into a fight about first rights, means that we just got some more time than expected. I suppose that we could take some time to find that calligrapher-”

“Jubilations!

Let

Us

Make

Haste!”

A fist glowing with transcendent light impacted the face of Soul’s opponent, turning the other woman into a pink-tailed comet as Dragonfly was launched away from her at great speed. While many silver-rankers might have been dazed by the impact, the glow within the passionate axe fighter only intensified as her animated axe intercepted her trajectory. Dragonfly shot out a hand, gripping the handle and letting the momentum take her through a tight turn as she swung around the now stationary fiery axe to launch herself back at Soul.

“I have to give it to you, you sure don’t quit,” Soul noted as she sidestepped out of the way of a series of powerful swings, the light steps of her Water strider stance enabling the small, minute adjustment to flow around the potent attacks.

“And you keep accepting - kyaaaaaaaaahh! - every time!” Dragonfly retorted, accepting another one of Soul’s quicker jabs on her rapidly regenerating and, by now, quite empowered body. “One could almost think that I’m wearing you down.”

Soul’s first response was to bend beneath an attack only to transition the motion into a swift leg-sweep. Dragonfly fell, but the animated axe came in swinging and bought the young woman a second to spring back to her feet.

Her second response was to actually ponder the other woman’s statement. “Am I?” Their first bout had been rather uninteresting, with Soul venting a bit of her disappointment at the woman who had shown up at her door and had dared to get her hopes up. But to her surprise, Dragonfly had been back that very afternoon, repeating the challenge. They had reached the fifth day of that little routine by now, and Soul had to begrudgingly admit that she had almost started looking forward to the annoyingly perky woman standing at her doorstep.

“I suppose that tenacity does have some appeal,” Soul conceded, wanting to lash out in a flurry of blows to properly capitalize on an opening, but adjusting last minute as she had to take the ramping glow of her foe into account. Instead, she feinted, baiting out the swings of both axes before hitting Dragonfly with a descending elbow, sending the other silver-ranker staggering and creating yet another small crater in the soil of the sparring garden Soul had been assigned. One of the Eden family’s youngest iron-rankers already stood ready to use his budding essence powers to clean up the place. “And if I can hold myself back from crushing you quickly, you are actually becoming a bit of a challenge.”

The clash continued for a while longer, Soul working hard to balance herself and her approach to Dragonfly’s ramping capabilities, walking a tightrope of challenging herself which was ever-shifting. But when the pair finally wound down, the conflict ceasing, Soul also realized that her opponent was still on her feet. There wasn’t any question of who had won the bout, but as she hadn’t struck early, Soul realized that she had also lost the opportunity for a decisive and swift victory.

“Wow, you sure are something,” Dragonfly said, chopping her axe into the ground and sitting down while using the weapon as a backrest. “I can totally see why Kite learned so much after a week with you. Still, his path is more annoying. At least you fight more directly.”

Soul looked at the other woman for a while before coming to a decision, allowing herself to plop down on the ground opposite Dragonfly. “He is the best sparring partner I’ve met so far. Nothing to actually force you to progress than to have parts of your powers suppressed. My only disappointment is that he has so many entanglements to distract him. I hope he will come to his senses and embark on a more singular path towards the heavens.”

“Hey, don’t you dare try to ruin him. Have you seen how earnest he can get with others he cares about? The world needs a lot more of that,” Dragonfly shot back with a smirk. She looked up at the approaching dusk, rising to her feet. “Well, it’s time to be off I suppose. Think that you’ll accept my challenge tomorrow morning too?”

Soul rose as well, shaking her head. “Eh, don’t bother. I have a contract tomorrow.”

“Oh, I see. Will-”

“So you might as well stay here so that we can get some sparring in before I leave. You’ll be of more use to me if we can beat some better early-fight moves into you anyway.”

Soul almost immediately changed her mind as Dragonfly’s look of joy and victory at the other woman’s invitation. Almost, but not really.