Rising Kite - A story from the world of HWFWM

“Hey, what are you looking at?”

“The dueling rankings. Haven’t you heard?”

“No, what?”

“That guy we talked about yesterday? The Pathbreaker? He’s on it now.”

“What? I thought he was an outcast?”

“He is?”

“Then how in the heavens did he end up on the dueling rankings of Heavenward’s sects?”

“I honestly have no idea- Oh, greetings Grass!”

“Greetings to the both of you! Are you talking about the Pathbreaker?”

“We are. Somehow, he ended up on the rankings.”

“I just overheard some Heavenly Shadow students talking about it. Apparently someone decided to unofficially add him in order to lessen the amount of fights that were breaking out among students who wished to take him down a peg.”

“With that name, I’m not surprised. So, what? Now only those in the vicinity of his ranking can challenge him?”

“You’re right on the money. I heard that he’s closing in on the top quarter of the list already, as people have been almost throwing themselves at him these last three days. But it should stop soon, because inner disciple Shard of the Heavenly Shadow sect has announced his intention to challenge him. The one who manages to get the best recording of this one should make a killing.”

“Heh. Poor guy. I saw inner disciple Shard at the last inter-sect tournament. Definitely wouldn’t want to face all those bolts.”

“Sweet heavens- Wall!”

As his opponent had blurred with motion yet again just before another of those accursed portals opened, Kite had no choice but to properly bunker down. The walls of his force cage had barely formed when a small aperture opened from yet another angle, joining the other two from which streams of glowing crossbow bolts were already pouring out towards him.

At the other side of the force barrier, Kite could make out the focused face of his opponent as he infused mana into his crossbow yet again, reigniting the glow of the strange cartridge on top of it.

“I’m not sure if that odd weapon should even be considered a crossbow in anything but form,” he swore. Taking on the first rapid-fire streams of bolt from the weapon had been easy enough, but his opponent, apparently an inner disciple of the Heavenly Shadow sect named Shard of Decreed Truth, had shown Kite why he was indeed highly ranked in the local dueling scene.

Through powers relating both to time and dimension, and Kite suspected echo as well, his foe shot storms of bolts through varying dimensional rifts which in turn appeared to spit out an even greater number of bolts toward Kite from any angle. Harassing him with projected attacks had worked, but the man was simply too nimble and quick to be caught by Kite’s singular strikes. Even a few minutes in, Kite had actually yet to hit the man, while even Kite’s own substantial defenses would not be able to keep up for much longer, especially as the small portals that transmitted the attacks had proven surprisingly resistant to dispelling effects.

“I suppose that with the frequency of the challenges, this became inevitable,” Kite thought with a sigh, as he prepared. He could sulk later over having to reveal a bit more of his powers, because with the speed his barrier’s were cracking, the time to act was sooner rather than later.

“One more piece to add to their puzzle. Warrior, witness me. And Fortune… please, be kind?”

Then, Immutable Echo appeared in Kite’s hands and he made a wide sweep. A moment later, what remained of Leyline Warding detonated outward. The waves of resonating force broke the streams of bolts like a wave crashing against a hidden wall, but the momentum of the shockwaves was quickly being overcome. Still, Kite needed only a moment. And a word.

“Void!”

The small apertures seemed to shift and shudder as something much greater opened above, a dark circle facing downwards to cover a surprising amount of the sparring arena. And while the small gates held firm, the streams of projectiles did not. A split moment after the dark gate opened, each and every projectile seemed to slow, halt and swerve, before being yanked upwards. Kite himself felt only an echo of the gate’s pull, a feedback as his own power demonstrated its effects, but his opponent was not as unaffected. Inner Disciple Shard suddenly seemed to slow down, his nimble movements and dodges becoming somewhat sluggish, as if his momentum was being suppressed. Or devoured.

WWJS:

Congratulations!

Your ability [Gate of Nihility] has reached Silver 0

[Gate of Nihility] has gained additional effects.

- Gate of Nihility -

Spell. Cost: High mana/Very high mana Cooldown: 1h Current rank: Silver 0

Effect - Iron: Bring forth a short-lived wall of nothingness, up to five meters wide and three meters high. You have some control over the overall shape of the barrier. Any projectile or spell effect striking the wall is absorbed into the void and negated. Any being that comes into contact with the wall suffers a high amount of damage as they are forcibly ejected from the barrier.

Attacks of higher rank may not be entirely negated.

The barrier cannot move once created and cannot be summoned into the space of any creature.

Effect - bronze: Gate exerts a pull on projectiles and other conjured or created magical effects in a wide area in front of it.

Effect - Silver: You may increase the cost of the gate to very high mana in order to increase the pull of the aperture. This will greatly increase its effects on enemy projectiles and effects, as well as their momentum, lowering the [Speed] attribute for nearby enemies while the power is in effect.

Additionally, any projectile or other effect absorbed will replenish some of your mana, proportionate to the power of the absorbed effect. This effect will allow you to temporarily exceed your maximum mana pool. Stored excess mana will bleed off in one hour unless spent.

To his credit, inner disciple Shard was only taken aback by the sudden development for a moment before he started adapting.

“Speed of the zephyr!”

Kite could see the hastening spell spread through the man’s body, pushing back the drain on his speed, further empowering it instead. And he could also see the moment an almost unnoticeable flickering slash grazed the inner disciple’s side, snuffing out the boon in its infancy.

“Thank Fortune for fortuitous loot,” Kite thought as the Veiled One’s Decree vanished back into his void sheath, its perceptual influence having let him land the projected attack even while he started his sprint. Mana filled him to the brim and beyond, but Gate of Nihility wouldn’t last for long, and Kite meant to take advantage of the opportunity.

Using both stored momentum and enchanted boots, Kite finally closed the distance to his slightly reeling foe, inner disciple Shard finally having been sent just a bit of balance as his speed rapidly shifted again. Matra’s descendants had already appeared in Kite’s hand to rain further attacks down on his foes, one wavy blade after another appearing to keep the projections going and his opponent off balance until, finally, he was within striking range.

Immutable Echo swung down toward his foe, and Kite noted that Shard would rather accept the blow than to block with his weapon. Perhaps the odd artifact crossbow was fragile, at least for a silver-ranked item, or perhaps it was just sentiment. Still, a week of non-stop training with Soul let Kite instantly pick up on the openings that his foe’s hesitation led to. Over the next minute, his attacks drank freely of the inner disciple’s mana as Kite managed to keep dispelling or blocking the man’s attempts to create further distance. Inner disciple Shard seemed especially frustrated when Kite finally managed to suppress his passive speed increase, and the bout proved to soon be over.

“I concede.”

The words came mid-swing, Immutable Echo stopping just a few centimeters from the disciple’s head, its remaining force sending cascading ripples throughout the dust and glittering motes of dissolving magic stirred up by their fight.

His opponent held his head high even in defeat, having raised his arms as he surrendered, apparently not favoring having to be dragged unconscious from the arena.

“Then I thank you for your assistance in tempering my path,” Kite replied, nodding in respect to both his foe and the acolyte of Warrior watching over the proceedings.

“You should watch yourself, Pathbreaker,” the other man said stiffly. “Heavenward isn’t a place where outcasts like you will ever thrive.” The words were mostly proud bravado, but Kite still had to recognize that there was some truth to them.

During the days of his stay in Heavenward so far, the number of people seeking him out had only kept increasing as news of his presence and recent exploits spread. The sect students had even seemed to start fostering some kind of collective pride, as Kite saw less and less animosity between the locals for each day. The rivalry of the different main sects and their subordinate organizations were still quite obvious and present, but his continued success putting a dampener on the contention between them filled Kite with both a bit of pride and concern.

“Then you will be pleased to hear that I am not intending to stay for long,” Kite replied evenly.

“Thus, there really isn’t any more need to-” he began, but was interrupted as yet another group of sect students had emerged from the onlooking crowds, a silver-ranked leonid man marching proudly at their head.

“Pathbreaker! I, Strides of Conviction, challenges-”

However, even before Kite had the time to turn towards the new arrival, another lone figure had flickered out onto the dueling arena. A draconian with golden scales clad in robes of black, grey and blue bowed politely before Kite, her face placid as she blocked his view of the approaching leonid.

“Pathbreaker, I would request a moment of your time,” she said, voice smooth. However, not even her tall form could block out the increasingly irate calls from behind her which drew ever closer.

“Wait! Heavens curse you, I said wait!”

The leonid eventually arrived as well, stepping into the conversation. Kite did note, however, that he did so at a respectable distance from the draconian.

“Inner disciple Stride,” the draconian said politely, feigning ignorance at having stepped into what the leonid seemed to regard as his opportunity.

“Inner disciple Chime,” the leonid shot back, his acknowledgement terse. “You are interrupting my challenge, as is my right due to my standing in the dueling ranking.”

“Ah, then I regret to point out that the right was yours, inner disciple.”

“What?” the leonid growled, aura flaring slightly. But before he could say more, a bronze-ranker wearing the same sect robes as the irate man came running over, waving a piece of paper in his hand. Strides of Conviction snatched it, brows furrowing as he read.

Meanwhile, the draconian lady, Chime, leaned conspiratorially toward Kite while not diminishing her smooth, polite voice in the slightest.

“As the esteemed inner disciple Stride here will soon notice, your victory here today will have moved you up enough in the rankings to make me eligible to challenge you. And as the higher-ranked duelist, I have first pick.”

Kite’s confusion only grew along with Stride’s obvious frustration as the leonid bent to have a harshly whispered conversation with the initiate at his side.

“Wait? Ranking? Pardon me, senior sister, but I don’t-”

“Then I would say we have all the more reason to talk properly before any arrangements are made, wouldn’t you say?” she replied, giving Kite an indulgent smile. “If it pleases you, I have some time to spare right away, and know of an excellent restaurant where we can get some refreshments too.”

“Now wait just a moment-” the leonid began, but an arched look from inner disciple Chime silenced him. He gave them both a glare which told, in no uncertain terms, that this matter would be revisited in the future, before striding off along with his fellow sect members.

The small crows were abuzz with murmured conversation, and Kite’s silver ranked hearing allowed him to notice the term ‘Silent Horizon sect’ being mentioned quite a lot.

Turning back to the draconian, Kite bowed politely. “Then it seems I will be in senior sister’s care. Would it be too bold of me to inquire about the senior's name?” Compared to the other challengers who had pestered him for his stay, turning what he hoped would be a good opportunity into something closing in on constant interruptions, being offered food and conversation before a potential fight at least sounded a lot nicer.

“Oh, you are right. Where are my manners?” the draconian said, not seeming to feel the slightest bit of actual shame. “My name is Chime of Morrow’s Bounty, and I am an inner disciple of the Silent Horizon sect. And I believe that I have a few proposals for you, Pathbreaker.

“Disciple Mirror, please sit,” grand elder Slate said, and Mirror hurried to obey, bowing deeply before sitting down in the indicated space. “Relax, child. You are not in trouble. Quite the contrary,” the gold ranked elf said placatingly. “Due to your efforts in following the sect’s ideals and diligence in reporting your findings, we have been given an opportunity.”

“Your thanks are unnecessary, grand elder. I will ever strive to follow the sect’s tenets,” Mirror replied, bowing again. She held back the question burning in her chest, but grand elder Slate seemed to pick it out of her aura with ease. Mirror almost felt like a child again in front of the gold-ranker in all of her pale perfection.

“Curiosity of said opportunity is only natural, child. And it is important that you know, as this is an opportunity that will be shared with you.” Slate said, a hint of amusement in her voice. “So, ask your questions.”

“Thank you, grand elder, for indulging me,” Mirror said, bowing deeply enough for her pale hair to fall like a curtain in front of her face. “I did indeed want to inquire about the opportunity. The Pathbreaker, while slightly troublesome for the pride of us in the younger generation, shouldn’t be considered so important on his own. Yet we have all been instructed to report any deeper ties to the adventure society that we can find. Why is that? And what is Task Group Gauntlet?”

“Task Group Gauntlet is an internal force within the adventure society specially trained and suited to take down or bring in rogue essence users or similarly magical beings,” grand elder Slate answered, her tone that of a lecturer. “And while it is not the group’s purpose in itself that is troublesome, the Pathbreaker’s admission to their trials is a herald of worrisome developments. The Adventure Society is in some ways a great boon to the civilized lands, or at least that is what they want most to believe. But you should be old enough now, child, to see that their true purpose is to contain and control us, bringing their foreigner notions of how this country and its warriors claim our paths towards the heavens.

If we let them, they will gradually tighten their noose of rules and ideals around us. So far, our noble kingdom has been able to resist much of that, using them as the administrative servants they should be to organize contracts for our warriors in their tempering. But it is a constant struggle, and that this Pathbreaker is now invited to try out for their inner circles means that they are looking for yet more ways to subvert our young generations and turn them into their weapons. Weapons that could very well be directed against us in the future.

So, you see, it is not the Pathbreaker himself, but what his joining would represent. There are many who would not go beyond calling him a traitor to this kingdom for even considering going.”

“And you, grand elder?” Mirror asked, daring to look up at the gold-ranker.

“Me? My sentiments aren’t so drastic. The boy comes from the backwaters, a rough gem of talent who has made it surprisingly far. But he is still so very young, and I can hardly fault him for being misled. Youth has fooled many of us into actions we later regret.”

“What should we do, then, grand elder? What is the wish of the sect?”

“We need to help him, of course. To make him realize the way he has been misled, and to deny the adventure society the opportunity they are looking for. The Pathbreaker is but a small, unwitting piece in our games against them, but one we can’t just let those foreigners convert. That is why the sect wants to give you the opportunity to convince him, and if that remains impossible, seize him. We can hold him until he comes to his senses.

Who knows, maybe we can even show him enough of our greatness to convince him to join our glorious ranks? I have seen some of the recordings, and a path such as his might be an excellent way of improving our standings here in the long term. Bring two other disciples of your choosing, and rest easy that I will personally oversee this and make sure that any undue outside interference is kept at bay.”

“I see. Thank you, grand elder. When do you wish for us to perform this task?” Mirror said, mind already abuzz with what this could mean for her and her rise within the sect.

“The day after tomorrow, one day before the portal courier is scheduled to arrive. Best to make sure that the adventure society is robbed of their opportunity but with as little time as possible for them to try and work against us.”

“And if they do, grand elder? Retaliate, that is?” Mirror asked, deciding to give voice to one of her worries.

“Then they show their true nature most openly, which in turn allows us to act more openly against them. While it carries risk, this outcome could also prove to be quite beneficial. But do not worry about that, child. The sect leader would step in and take care of things, should this come to pass.

Now, consider yourself dismissed. I have other duties to attend to. Perform well in this matter, and plenty of opportunities will await you in the future, Pristine Mirror.”

It turned out that Chime of Morrow’s Bounty had indeed been correct when she said that she knew an excellent restaurant. Even so, Kite had trouble focusing on the exquisitely cooked river fish in his bowl, the topic of conversation feeling a bit more pressing.

“So someone just added me to the rankings?” he asked, repeating himself as he still found it hard to believe.

“Yes. You may not be of the sects, but with the stir your name and subsequent skill has caused so far, someone apparently thought it relevant to be an exception. Maybe it was some elder, wanting to spur us all on?” Chime mused, already having finished her meal. She leaned back against the seat in their private booth, feeding her privacy screen another small spirit coin to keep its effect up.

“But… why? I would have thought that the novelty would have passed by now. I’m just one silver-ranker among many. Do not misunderstand, senior sister, facing your peers has been an excellent opportunity for tempering and profit.”

“Oh, I can imagine,” Chime said with a polite smile. “And had you lost by the first or second duel, maybe even the thirds, then the matter would soon be forgotten as another upstart outcast who was taught his place. But you have been here for soon to be five days now, and fought in many more duels than that. And so far, you haven’t lost. Not even barely, even though I must say that I believe that I can start to notice a slight strain in your victories. This is quite galling for the sects, as you can probably imagine. Our standing and perceived power are as important as our actual capabilities, after all.”

“As I said, all my opponents so far have been skilled, even though my path has proven itself stronger in the end.”

“Do not sell yourself too short with humility, Pathbreaker. You have garnered more attention than any outcast in the last dozen years here in the capital. I would rather see that you stepped up. Which happens to be connected to one of the opportunities I was speaking of earlier.”

“Oh?” Kite asked, indicating for the draconian to continue as she got to the heart of the matter. “So this admittedly lovely lunch wasn’t just a nicer way to deliver a challenge?”

“Indeed it was not,” Chime said, letting the slight barb in Kite’s word slide. “But first, I would like to ask you something, Pathbreaker; what do you know of my sect? The Silent Horizon?”

“Admittedly, only the name,” Kite confessed, absently feeding some pieces of fried bread in a sweet sauce to an enthusiastic Glint. “Compared to the Thunderous Soul sect or even the Heavenly Shadows, you seem to stay quite removed from things. I suppose I could have found out more had I attempted to actually look into the matter. But as things have been the last few days, there has honestly been little time for that. I’ve had to change lodgings twice now to avoid being woken up by a challenger knocking on my door. Or hovering outside my window,” he finished, wincing at the rather awkward start of the current day.

“Then allow me to enlighten you,” Chime said, placing her sect’s insignia at the table for Kite to inspect. It was a simple round badge, a stark, clean black line separating it into two halves; the upper one being sky blue and the lower half being the same gray as the inner disciple’s robes. “Our sect, like most others claim to be, is a place of learning and of finding strength. We have a martial heritage stretching back almost all the way back to the kingdom's founding, centered around our delvings into combat meditations. The tenets of the sect is to constantly strive for insight and enlightenment by gazing towards the horizon and the heavens above, taking each step towards that goal through improving ourselves and our paths.

However, the reason that you did not immediately know much about us is that we try to stay as removed as possible from the politicking and intrigue, each member trying to dedicate as much time as possible to their paths. For some, this is done through hunting monsters while others strive for martial perfection through dueling. We have several renowned crafters and scholars as well who share our path of contemplation.”

“And how has trying to stay out of politics gone for you so far?” Kite asked, a bit of his skepticism leaking through.

“It is an inevitable part of society, but ever since our current sect leader ascended to his seat just shy of two decades ago, it has gone better than expected. Although I suppose that our members making up over half of the positions in the top quarter of the dueling ladder does help. Our sect may be the smallest in number, but not in the strength of our paths,” Chime said, her voice filled with obvious pride. “Mostly, we try to stay out of as many worldly matters as we can. Me stepping in today was an obvious exception, of course. But that is because you, Pathbreaker, might be a good fit for joining our ranks.”

While Kite had suspected that recruitment might have been Chime’s objective, having heard more about the Silent Horizon sect and their seemingly exacting standards still left him a bit surprised that this was actually the case.

“You did not expect the offer?” Chime asked, one scaled eyebrow raised. “It is not only my decision, of course, but one of the elders gave me permission to approach you if I thought that we could benefit from it. And you could as well, Pathbreaker. You seem to have a lot of talent and a rather odd, if effective path. With some legitimacy of membership behind you, I know that you could find both the opportunities of tempering and the peace to reflect and improve here in the capital.”

Kite leaned back in his seat as well, ostensibly giving the matter some thought even though he inwardly knew what his answer would be. Still, he tried to fight through those feelings and truly reflect upon it. Chime’s pitch wasn’t too bad, but those were only her words in the end. And heaps of experience dealing with the sects so far still left enough of a bad impression in the end. Kite just couldn’t imagine himself thriving in such an environment, especially not with all of his other projects.

“The offer is generous, senior sister,” he began, bowing politely where he sat. “From what you describe, your sect sounds like the one most suitable for me among all the ones I have encountered so far. But there is much you don’t know about me, too. I have other obligations that I have imposed upon myself, both in the near future and further down the path.”

“Are you sure, Pathbreaker? I assure you that the offer isn’t extended to just anyone,” the draconian pressed, but sat back as she apparently felt the resolve from Kite’s aura. “I see that you are. It is a shame, but I suppose that you cannot force such decisions. And the elder in question did instruct me to deliver another offer in case of your refusal; come and visit us and see for yourself. You may even work and train along with our members for a time, no strings attached. While our inner teachings would be beyond you, it should be enough to prove the truth of my words. What obligation outside of the capital could trounce such an opportunity?”

While inner disciple Chime did not seem angry, her frustration and incomprehension was at least clear enough.

“It does seem like the sect means a lot to senior sister, at least,” Kite commented, trying for his best apologetic smile.

“That is because it is a marvel; a bastion of integrity in a world of chaos. Even when forced to nudge the games of our surroundings, we always return to what truly matters; our paths. Our sect leader, Ardent Horizon Seeker, is an example for all the warriors of Hua-Xi to live up to, the most powerful gold-ranker of our country after the king. Step by step, he has shed his worldly dealings for insight, even able to move past the scandal all those years ago.”

As she spoke, Kite saw the pure conviction in the draconian’s eyes. Sure, there was pride in there. No small amounts. But somehow, Kite felt that it wasn’t pride in herself and the status she got from associating with the sect; Chime of Morrow’s Bounty truly meant her adoration for the organization and its leader. And while he doubted that he would share it to that extent, Kite had to admit that it made him curious enough to want to know at least a bit more.

“I truly believe that senior sister’s dedication is beyond reproach,” he said carefully, weighing his words. “However, I will only stay in the capital for two more days before leaving, not knowing when I will return. But if the offer is an open one…” Kite ventured, gauging the draconian’s reaction.

“The elder gave no instructions that it was not,” Chime confirmed, seeming pleased that Kite had not rejected this offer as well. “You are free to come and witness our purpose for yourself upon your return. I am sure that you will not regret it.”

“Senior sister’s words were indeed moving,” Kite agreed. As they had both finished their food and tea, Kite looked around. Catching his meaning, inner disciple Chime smiled again.

“As for the final topic I wanted to broach with you…” she began, and the distinct lack of the word ‘offer’ gave Kite a rather clear idea as to what she was after.

“You would like to challenge me into a duel,” he noted, her pleased smile all the confirmation he needed.

“How could one not want to see what opportunity for tempering you and your odd path can offer?” Chime asked innocently. “Although I would like it to be an actual private affair. Just you, me and the officiator. No stakes, only tempering.”

Seeing the expectant look on the draconian’s scaled features, the tip of her tail twitching slightly in anticipation, Kite sighed inwardly. He had to admit that he was curious as to what path might earn itself the position of inner disciple in a sect such as hers. And the lunch had been quite excellent.

“Lead the way then, senior sister. I will be in your care.”

“Was it really that bad?” Dragonfly asked incredulously, wrapping herself in a towel after having enjoyed the excellent bathing facilities of Soul’s patron family. The Eden family had been over the moon with another silver-ranker staying with them, extending every courtesy as Dragonfly had joined Soul in her training as well as the other matters in which the family required their assistance. “I know you like fighting people more than monsters, but clearing those contracts is important for the people. And it's not like we don’t get paid well either.”

As usual, Soul had foregone the bath as a waste of time, using crystal wash to quickly get back to training. While she was speaking with Dragonfly, the celestine woman was also eyeing a new martial arts manual, idly copying some of the motions depicted in the instructions with her left hand.

“Meh, it was decent. But monsters are just so… boring. Sure, there are tons of varieties, and silver-ranked ones are at least a lot smarter. But I’m a warrior, Dragonfly. To truly excel and actually test myself, other warriors are what I need to focus on.”

“Or maybe you are just grumpy that I killed more of them.”

“I am not.” Soul’s reply was terse and swift. Too swift.

“Oh, really? Because from my count, I did at least three of them in by the time you did one.”

“And I was untouched, while you were covered in wounds.”

“Which is kind of the whole point of my path. Not a valid argument.”

“Bah!” Soul snorted, trying to dismiss the question. But found that Dragonfly’s victorious smirk in her periphery grated on her a lot more than she would have liked to admit. She ignored it for one minute, then two. The third minute of silence only got to live half of its shuddering, frail lifetime before it was shattered by Soul cursing.

“Heaven’s take you! Fine. We’ll do another few tomorrow. And I will show you that today was merely happenstance. There is no trouncing perfection.”

But, contrary to her words, it seemed that Dragonfly’s silent smile had done the job admirably.