Rising Kite - A story from the world of HWFWM

“-and this here is actually a surprisingly interesting historical account of the reign of Soaring Soul, the Queen of Jade and Sky. She was-” Brook began, but paused and looked at Kite. “I… You’ve actually seen her mystical palace in the clouds. I can’t believe I even said that. Would something like this even interest you?”

The pair was seated in the library of the local magic society branch, Brook having spent the last hour showing Kite interesting books and scrolls, talking more animatedly than he had ever seen her during the long time they had known one another. And he had to give her that she was good at sparking one’s interest, as long as she managed to forget about the anxiety she normally felt around people and being the focus of one’s attention.

“Do not fear, great sage. This humble one enjoys the wisdom you give him, succor to a fool fumbling in the dark.” Kite replied, earning him a flat look.

“Kite, be serious!”

“Sorry, sorry” he said, hands raised placatingly. “But it is true, I do find it interesting. And you even make things interesting that I initially thought I’d find tedious.”

She scanned him for a while, but seeing only sincerity she brightened. “Th-thank you Kite, I-” she began, but then seemed to notice something behind him. “Kite, what is your familiar doing?”

While Kite had seen Sage hovering above a book, it was only when he actually started focusing that he noticed a slight difference. The symbol-being was basically vibrating in place, entirely fixed on the book below.

“Sage, what are you doing?” Kite asked, wandering over alongside Brook and peering down at the page. It was a book of calligraphy, each page depicting a single character made with beautiful brush strokes, with varying styles on each page.

“Fascinating

Fascinating

Fascinating”

That concept was all that the familiar seemed to emote, transfixed by the lines.

“It seems to really enjoy calligraphy.” Kite noted, amused. “I supposed we haven’t had the chance to visit many art galleries before.”

Brook leaned over and slowly turned the page, the freshly revealed images showing a new set. Sage stiffened at this, taking in the new pages before slowly turning to Brook.

“Multitudes?”

“I think it is asking if there is more.” Kite noted, and Brook nodded. “Yes, there are plenty. Here, let me help you.”

Over the next hour, Brook patiently showed an increasingly ecstatic Sage every page in that book and even went to find two more. Eventually, its enthusiasm started reaching heights that Kite didn’t think was possible as it almost seemed to want to absorb the pages, its incorporeal body starting to sink into the pages.

Finally, Kite decided that there had been enough fun for the day. “Alright Sage, Brook needs to get back to work. Maybe say thank you as she has spent so much time showing you these nice paintings?”

The familiar eventually looked up from the book, and toward Brook.

“Perfection!

Wisdom!

Generosity!”

The concepts were emoted quite thoroughly, eliciting a giggle from Brook. “You are very welcome, Sage. I will show you more next time.”

“Jubilation!”

Then, the familiar froze, turned toward Kite and then back to Brook. Shortly thereafter, Kite felt a familiar tug in his aura, his eyes going wide.

“Here?” he asked, turning to Sage who bobbed in the air before flying off. “I hope this doesn’t make a mess.” Kite muttered as he followed, Brook close on his heels.

A bit further down into the archives, behind a pair of ancient shelves, Sage stopped and indicated a spot at the end of the corridor which formed a nook completely surrounded by shelves and dusty scrolls.

“Brook?”

“Yes, Kite?”

“How much trouble would we be in if a monster manifested in here?”

Brook looked at him shocked. “I- I don’t know how to answer that.”

“Then join me in a prayer to Fortune?” he asked lightly, as a swirl of rainbow light began manifesting in the nook, moving the air enough to cause dust and a few loose pages to start fluttering about the magical vortex. Kite relaxed as he saw that there was indeed no monster manifesting inside, but probably an awakening stone. He had dared to use the power as monsters manifesting inside cities and other habitats was very rare. But not unheard of. He had been ready to deploy a force cage around the thing and himself, protecting both Brook and the valuable scrolls around them.

Having hidden behind him, Brook peeked forward as Kite bent down and picked up the freshly manifested stone, a clear sphere with motes of dust drifting around inside it. Sage looked at Kite, then the stone, then finally at Brook.

“Affection”

“I think Sage wants to give this to you as a gift.” Kite said, nodding and proffering the stone to Brook.

She looked at it, stuttering. “Bu- but Kite, this-”

“-is Sage’s way of saying thank you. Something it has never done before, at least not from what I could tell. But I do think that the karmic debt acquired would require you to show it a lot more calligraphy. Maybe even show it an art gallery? I’d have to come with it too, of course, Sage being my familiar and all.” he finished with a wink.

She looked at him again, then smiled shyly and bowed to Sage.

“Thank you, Sage. I will gladly show you more.”

“Imminently?”

“In the future.” Kite corrected. “Because I believe that we have a ritual of awakening to perform. How convenient that we are already at the magic society.”

An hour later Kite said farewell to an ecstatic Brook, already in the process of trying out her newly awakened power. As the stone had been an awakening stone of dust, it had awakened an ability related to that and the paper essence. The result had been that Brook was now able to animate dust and paper scraps into magical constructs which she could then command. So far, it had mostly been smaller and relatively simple shapes like butterflies and, flatteringly enough, small kites, but he assumed that they would grow in both size, complexity and power as the ability ranked up.

The constructs had quickly proved very adept at helping her clean and gather more of said materials, and as he left she had been experimenting with different shapes that were able to help her carry and sort books.

“Powers do indeed seem to reflect those that awaken them.” Kite mused as he exited the magic society campus, and turned towards the city gates. It had been nice having almost a week with more training and hunting along with the Gellers, Peony and Sun as well as having the time to see Brook, but duty now called again. It was time for another outing with the young master, and Kite was a bit trepidatious to see what would come of it from when they last parted ways.

“Phiona. Rachel. Kite. Good to see you.” Vista greeted the three politely as he met them near the city gates, already sitting atop his familiar. Fortunately, only their first outing was planned to be a public ceremony, but it was hard to miss many in the surrounding crowds gawking at Vista.

All three of the new arrivals greeted him in turn, Phiona seeming unphased while Rachel and Kite glanced at each other.

“Did he just greet you too?” she mouthed at him where they rode behind the young master.

“I think so.” Kite replied, looking a bit stunned while Phiona just gave them each a glance conveying the clear meaning that she had been expecting such an outcome. Other than the greeting, the first leg of their journey remained the same; efficient travel to the regions south of Bastion. But Vista remained a bit more social, turning to Kite every now and then during conversations even though they were still rather sparse. The second change revealed itself the next morning as they were about to set out.

“Phiona, as per our agreement I believe that you wanted to form some kind of general plan for unforeseen moments?” Vista asked the blonde Geller as they stowed the last of their supplies.

“Indeed. Here is my suggestion.” Phiona said, before continuing to relay a broad plan where the three were to remain a bit closer to the young master, although usually not participating in direct combat unless needed. While Rachel would continue to act as zoning support, Phiona was the one who would move in the quickest while Kite would act as defensive support and interference until they could group up. Vista came with some suggestions and adjustments, but overall acted like his earlier objections had never taken place.

Kite found the whole situation a little odd, but as the trend continued over the days they spent together, he gradually came to relax a little in the new dynamic of the group. One of the last evenings while on their way back towards Bastion, Kite decided to test the new waters a bit more.

“Vista, may I ask you something?”

“Yes, Kite?” The noble said, looking up from his cup of tea. Kite had yet to see any resentment in him, and didn’t see or feel anything of the sort this time either.

“It’s about your familiar. How come that you named him Whimmy?” This was something that Kite had been wondering about for a while, as it stood out from the naming conventions of Hua-Xi, especially where it was common knowledge that the higher one’s standing was, the more grand names they usually had or received.

Vista looked a bit surprised at the question. “I usually get more questions about where I performed the ritual calling him, or maybe ‘them’ might be a more accurate term.

But as to your question, their true name is Stalwart Guardian of the Meek. Whimmy is actually the collective nickname, as their individual heads are named Wart, Ian and Meek, stemming from parts of the whole. But those are also the names from a story from abroad I often requested read to me as a child; a trio of leonids that were constantly up to mischief but had an unbreakable bond of friendship between them and a human friend. There are few except maybe my caretakers who might get the reference, and I found it a good omen that I could find a proper name for them whose meaning both reference with a higher calling while also allowing me that little personal indulgence. Although am still unsure if my father has accepted the name, as he was most insistent that it should be something more forceful or powerful.”

The three heads had each peaked up at the mention of their individual names, looking expectantly at their master from across the camp. “I will be the first to admit that it is a bit childish, but Whimmy has lived up to their namesakes and even surpassed them. I could not have asked for a more loyal friend.”

“Glint seems to have taken a liking to them too.” Kite noted, the pair of familiars having spent plenty of time playing together during their trip.

“Then if you don’t mind me asking, what kind of creature is Glint? I will admit to not having heard of her like before.”

“I recently learned that her species is called ‘celestial carp’-” Kite began, relaying what he and Brook had learned during their first unexpected reunion in the archive of the magic society. Both Rachel and Phiona started listening a bit more attentively during his story, nodding along as Kite told them what he knew. All three of them were both rich enough and close enough to Kite in their own ways for him to freely share, as he seriously doubted that any of them would covet his familiar.

“Fascinating.” Vista mused as Kite finished. “While I am no expert, anything who was named as something celestial and having kept the term in its name for so long is surely an omen of great destiny. I am glad to have met what might be a heavenly creature in the making.” the noble finished, bowing towards Glint. While the carp didn’t understand the details, it sure did not stop her from preening at the attention all evening long.

“I must say, your little stunt at the end of the last outing did pay off, Nona. There is no way I would have expected him to bend even the slightest.” she said, plopping down on one of the sofas of the suite of rooms shared by the two Gellers. “Still, just guarding him for this trip as well was just as boring as the first one. I’ve never seen a bronze-ranker sweep through groups of monsters so quickly. Once he gets going, they just go ‘poof’!” she finished, making an exploding gesture with her hands.

Phiona didn’t answer right away, busy reading a note attached to a parcel which had been waiting for them at the reception upon their return. “It seems that Stoic Boar still will not make a dignified retreat in this matter.” she sighed, gesturing to the neat package. “You might as well go ahead, cousin, as I believe that it is a gift to your liking.”

Rachel eagerly leaned forward, opening the package to reveal a generous basket of candied nuts and crispy pastries which she immediately started devouring.

“And as for your appreciation of my judgment, I will admit that no such move would ever be a guaranteed success. But from what I noted of our young master, he is neither a fool nor is his pride as brittle as some of his peers. He gave me every impression that he is someone who will respect strength, be it of body or mind, over blood. And I believe that all of us stood to benefit from what transpired.”

“I must admit that I was quite nervous to employ the bracers, teacher.” Kite said, remembering his tension at getting his aim right.

“As long as it wasn’t point-blank to his head, the practice arena would have been able to save his life.” Phiona said assuredly. “We are not iron-rankers anymore, Kite. While the true leap in general durability comes at silver rank, bronze still means that you have started to leave some mortal vulnerabilities behind. Our young master can withstand more than you think. But nonetheless, it was an interesting bout. I am even inclined to see if he would ‘trade pointers’ with me, as you locals like to call it.”

“And it should at least lighten the mood in camp a bit. If he’d gone on for too long with barely acknowledging Kite’s existence, I might have throttled him myself. And believe me, the snake essence really helps in that regard.” Rachel said with a cheerful wink to Kite, words partly garbled by the treats.

Kite smiled at her, albeit violent, vow of solidarity and raised his cup of tea in a toast. “To guarding young masters.”

“And to Kite beating them up!” Rachel cheered.

The second outing with Vista marked the start of a kind of rhythm to Kite’s stay in Bastion. Most mornings he would start out with physical training and sparring along with Phiona and Rachel, both Sun and Peony joining in unless otherwise occupied. The group would often venture out for a few days, clearing contracts and gathering materials to actually get in some hunting of their own. Around every other week they joined Vista in another outing, further pressuring the pace as they found a dynamic which might not exactly be called relaxed but at least professional and courteous.

While this left Kite without too much spare time, he still managed to see Brook at least once a week and met up with Bloom when their schedules happened to match. Kite had even stumbled upon the young man leaning over the counter and talking with a giggling woman he assumed was the Felicity that had been mentioned so many times already.

Four weeks went by this way, but the intense yet rewarding rhythm was broken when it was time for Sun to face his first couple of monsters.

“I still can’t believe that you talked me into letting him dabble like this.” Phiona muttered, still a bit peeved at the awakening stones that had been chosen in the end.

“Oh hush, Nona. For the price, they were a good fit and you know it.” Rachel jibed her where they stood among the trees alongside Kite and a nervous Peony, observing as Sun prepared for his first hunt.

He had already shapeshifted to his simian form, standing tall and clad in matte and dark metal armor which Peony had made for him. Kite had to admit that the man looked surprisingly imposing when clad for war, although seeing the regal monkey-warrior fidgeting slightly did tarnish the image somewhat.

Opening his eyes after casting his senses through the nearby plants, Sun looked at his companions, gave them a nervous smile and then moved off in search of the targets he had located.

Sun’s first hunt was to be a trio of snufflesnouts, a relatively weak iron-ranked boar-like monster which was common all over the central and southern parts of Hua-Xi. The beast had no eyes, but its oversized snout and excellent hearing let the three monsters observe their surroundings at all times, brown fur speckles with green providing decent natural camouflage. But to one with the eye essence, it was nowhere near enough.

Spotting them between the trees, Sun slowed down and took a breath before he summoned his bow. It seemed to grow out from his iron bracers before bending and producing a string, all of it made from dark iron. But unlike what one might think, the power in question had been awakened from his transfiguration confluence as the weapon could take on aspects depending on the material at hand when conjuring it.

There had been some debate as to which weapon Sun should focus on, but in the end Rachel had been the one to point out that the bow should be a rather obvious choice for one with the eye essence as well. And as they had found a decently priced awakening stone of the bow along with two awakening stones of the claw, Sun’s combat style had started to take shape.

Breathing one final time, Sun drew the bow and paid a little additional mana to manifest an arrow. Then he let loose, the arrow zipping between tree and bush to strike one of the snufflesnouts in the flank. Three angry squeals rang out through the woods, the sharp noses of the monsters immediately allowing them to discern the direction. The sound of a dozen charging trotters rumbling towards him, Sun drew another arrow and fired again at the same target before leaping straight up just as the trio of monsters were about to reach his position.

A long prehensile tail reached up to grab a branch, Sun stopping just for a moment to fire again before he reached out with one of his ‘feet’, looking much like a hand with opposable thumbs, to grab another branch and moving off into the foliage while peppering his frustrated targets with arrows. While the snufflesnouts were descend runners, they were most decidedly not good climbers. The first fell shortly after their first attempt at engaging their target, and the second not too long after as a lucky arrow managed to pierce its skull.

Deciding upon a change of tactic, Sun fired two more arrows into the third monster before dismissing his bow and dropping down towards the beast as wickedly sharp claws of iron grew from both hands and feet, their lengths more like knives rather than the rippers seen on predators. His bottom pair of conjured claws plunged through the fur of the monsters, lodging into place as he bent down to push the talons on his hands into the beast as well. The snufflesnout squealed in pain, but managed to surprise Sun as it suddenly rolled over, the monkey warrior not disengaging quickly enough.

As soon as he went under, Peony was about to run to his aid but was stopped by Phiona putting a hand on her shoulder. “Do not worry. A little adversity the first time is good, and he is not truly in danger yet.”

Proving her words true, Sun managed a rather undignified escape from the predicament, flashing away from a goring tusk with a dashing power. He did not move far, instead leaping back at the beast and unleashed his only special attack so far. Awakened from the monkey essence and awakening stone of the claw, the attack was in fact a leaping flurry of rakes and slashes which employed both hands and feet. It was primal yet effective, soon turning the monster's face into a gory mess as it died.

Sun looked both proud and exhausted after the fight, trembling slightly from the fear-thrill rush of combat as an essence user, attempting to straighten his posture slightly when the others approached, Peony in the lead. She cared little for the blood and grime as she hugged him.

“Congratulations, you have survived your first fight with a monster.” Kite said happily, clapping him on the shoulder.

“Indeed.” Phiona agreed before going straight into lecture mode. “Would you mind sharing the reason for engaging the last one in close combat while you could just as well have kept the vantage of the trees?

“I…” Sun began, looking a bit abashed. “It felt a bit too easy just using the bow.”

Phiona kept her gaze locked on him, remaining silent.

“And I wanted to try out my new power.” Sun finished, looking even more sheepish.

“Pushing yourself is all well and good once you have progressed a lot further. But for now, I do believe that it is best for you to use whatever advantage you have, whenever you can. Iron rank is where you build your foundation, but also when you are by far the most vulnerable.” Phiona said, now passing the line of lecturing and well into the realm of admonishing.

“Besides, you will get plenty of use for those powers soon enough.” Rachel cheered. “We have three more contracts for you to go through, after all.”

“Is… Is that a seed?” Kite asked, looking at the rather odd creation that Peony was showing him. It did indeed look like a seed with a dark brown surface smooth enough to have a slight shine to it. If said seed was about as long as Kite’s forearm and had the the rough shape of a simple dagger, not unlike what one might make out of stone.

“Yes. Or… Maybe?” Peony said, looking down at the item. “I made an attempt with two items which I initially thought wouldn’t mesh too well, as a way to push myself and see what I could make of it. And the result was… A bit odd. But I think that I might be useful for you in the right situaion.”

Kite picked it up and allowed his senses to linger over the item, slowly getting an understanding of the properties kept inside what he learned was indeed both a seed and a dagger.

“I agree.” he said as he looked back to Peony. “Thank you, I hope to make good use of it.”

“How on earth did one of the villagers even get here to spot the monster?” Rachel grumbled, sitting on Missus’ back as the familiar was navigating the very rough terrain of the narrow and overgrown mountain pass where the group currently found themselves. “And if it was only a single bronze-rank monster, would it even be worth all this hassle?”

“I assure you, a spore gazer is worth the effort.” Vista called back from where he and Whimmy had taken the lead, his mercurial blade having formed a single heavy falcata which he controlled to chop through the vegetation ahead of them which was too thick for even their bronze-rank physiques to easily push through. “They stand at the very peak of the rank, and will allow me to properly push myself. As you know, it is a rare treat. We are lucky to even have found the contract before anyone else, as the gazers tend to find places with higher, if localized, concentrations of ambient mana. This usually means that quintessence, awakening stones or even essences may have already manifested there as well.”

At that, Rachel perked up a bit.”Ah, so both good practice and tend to be found near treasures? Consider my statements retracted.”

“Just remember to be vigilant for the eye beams. While I will endeavor to keep its attention, it is common for the gazer to have grown more mushroom bodies with secondary eyes around its habitat. Try to keep an eye out, as they say.”

“Was- was that an ocular pun?” Kite asked, receiving only feigned ignorance in response from the young master, who stopped a short while later.

“We are through.” Vista called back as he sat down from Whimmy’s back, reconfiguring his swords back to the dual falchions which he preferred. “And from the change in terrain, I believe that we have found our mark.”

Ahead of them, the narrow mountain ravine widened considerably, the thick growths of bushes and vegetation stopping so suddenly that it looked as if they had been carefully pruned. Instead, the small hidden valley which lay beyond was dotted with sparser growth more alien in nature. Huge mushrooms dotted the valley with other types of fungi creeping across the floor and stone walls. Their pale trama was dotted in places with reddish bulbs, and the deep purple caps were surprisingly menacing in their immobility. It felt like entering the den of a predator, the group stopping as one.

“This is more widespread than I imagined.” Vista murmured to his entourage, Kite nodding in assent.

“And weren’t the caps supposed to be more blue? But the red growths sound like the description. Those were the ones it used to camouflage the eyes?”

“Indeed.” Vista replied, looking to Kite and the Gellers. “But as you say, both scope and coloration are off. The last spore gazer I fought did not have such a domain.”

“It would not be the first time that the contract information has proved unreliable. Shall we retreat and report?” Phiona asked, looking much like she would prefer to do just that.

Vista thought for a moment then shook his head. “We should at least scout it out, and retreat if necessary. I still feel like there should be an opportunity for me here. Whimmy, follow me closely. While we advance, I would appreciate it if either one of you could look in the magic society’s index and see if you can find out more.”

Phiona looked torn, but eventually nodded. “Cousin, if you please? Should something happen, Kite and I are the rapid response after all.”

“I do believe that I shall manage, Phiona.” Vista said, his voice remaining polite but somehow conveying an eye roll without the motion. With that, he smoothly crept in between the fungal growths, Whimmy at his heels with their three heads alert.

Kite felt tense as he watched Vista approach, mind on edge. There was a sense of wrongness to this place, beyond what he had expected. He couldn’t help but shift slightly where he stood, as if remaining in contact with the ground for too long exposed him to danger. Having his encompassing field of view did help alleviate some tension, but it was deeper than that. Only belatedly would Kite realize that the sensation was not physical at all, but the ever so subtle intrusion on his aura by something more powerful than him.

Suddenly, and without warning, some of the mushroom growth shifted, earth and stone groaning. From their caps shot thin, almost translucent strands, each fungus having myriads of the filaments erupting from it. They struck everyone in the group, sliding through cloth and armor with an icy sensation before seemingly lodging themselves, one Kite recognized as the touch of something ethereal. At the same time, three other worrying developments took place.

The first was that a central mass of fungi exploded into motion, thick and very corporeal tentacles of pale trama exploding from the cluster to shoot towards Vista at great speed. The second was that each of the thin, incorporeal threads started draining the life force from everything they were lodged in, visible as faint motes of red light leaving the body and being transferred along the strand. And the third, compounding all the rest, was the fact that the thing unveiled a silver rank aura which had lain hiding and waiting before, too subtle for either adventurer to notice.

This meant that the speed of the tentacles was way beyond what anyone would have expected, even Vista’s skill not able to compensate for the sudden assault. Only Whimmy reacted quickly enough to make a difference, proving that three heads were indeed superior to one. The cerberus managed to shove Vista aside just in time for him to avoid being snatched by the sudden, grasping growth, but even the faithful guardian was not quick enough to avoid the fate themselves. Three loud yelps of pain echoed across the valley as a few of the tentacles bit into flesh, burrowing through the bronze-ranked resistance with a lot more ease than anyone would find comfortable. The rest of the grasping limbs wrapped around one neck, leg and torso of the familiar before quickly dragging the thrashing cerberus up against the central mound, Whimmy biting and breathing flames in an attempt to free itself.

“Whimmy!” Vista shouted, swiping at the thin threads lodged in him once, his blade ineffectually passing through. A second swing, followed by a sword-echo of disrupting force, proved much more effective as it severed most of the incorporeal strands as Vista ran towards his caught familiar.

The rest of the group sprang into motion as well, Phiona stumbling once as her short-range teleport failed to activate. “My body is compromised. No teleporting.” she called tersely as she ran, the rest of the group following suit as they used disruptive force attacks of their own to clear as many of the life-draining threads as possible.

“This is so violating.” Rachel called with a shudder, her hand and lower arm turning into a glowing green serpent which elongated to thrash about and destroy the threads, while Kite tried a spell chant.

“Dissolve the patterns of power.”

His pulse had been aimed in a general direction where none of his companions currently was, and he was elated to see that all of the thin threads in the area dissolved as the rippling wave passed through.

“Teacher, I can dispel them. We have a way to clear them, even if it will cost you our boons.” he called, the group almost at Vista’s side.

“Keep it in reserve.” Phiona called back, vaulting over another tentacle which had sprouted from a nearby fungus to target her before shouting towards the young master. “Vista, we need to retreat.”

“I will not abandon Whimmy!” the young man called back, already in motion as he had started dodging and cleaving through more of the sprouting fungal tendrils. Kite could see his enhancing boons starting to ramp up, although the pace remained slow.

Phiona looked as if she was about to call something else, when Kite broke in.

“Teacher, Whimmy is a bound familiar. I would not leave either, unless there was no other recourse.”

Phiona groaned in frustration. “This is why one of my uncles always complained that familiars are more trouble than they’re worth. Fine, aim for extraction. Then we leave. Fortune favors us, as it is the weaker end of silver.” she continued, proving her point by smashing another tendril into pulp. “It at least gives us a chance of survival. You know what to do. Go.”

With that, she bounded off in a burst of speed, delivering a vaulting strike with her staff which blew chunks out from a nearby growth of fungus. Meanwhile, Rachel’s hydra heads had started belching clouds of acidic poison gas over the more peripheral growths, working at keeping the mass of tentacles down while one of the serpentine heads simultaneously spit globs of healing ichor towards Whimmy.

Part of Kite’s mind wanted to seize up from the weighty silver rank aura, but hours of training session with mistress Dew had him remain functional as he conjured a barrier to deflect another tentacle which attempted to bury into the struggling cerberus. The monster may be silver rank but each individual tentacle was not overly strong and Kite felt determination well up inside him as he murmured a prayer.

“Warrior, witness this endeavor. And Fortune, please bless us enough to have potential folly proven to be courage.”

“Wife, there is someone here to see you.” Sun said, knocking at the door to Peony’s workshop.

“Is it Kite? Have they returned?” Peony asked, suspending her current project as she rose from her work desk, realizing that she did not recognize the iron-ranked aura outside.

“No, love.” Sun confirmed. “But she has been very polite in her requests to speak with us, so I thought that we should give her a bit of our time.”

“Of course, of course.” Peony said, but couldn’t help to look longingly back toward her half-finished project waiting for her, both pieces of gear still half-dissolved. But she straightened a bit when she saw the immaculately dressed woman, wearing crisp and stylish lavender robes. She somehow managed to convey being a retainer as well as business and authority at the same time, rising from her seat and bowing politely to Peony as she entered.

“Greetings, mistress crafter. My name is Pale Silvered Mirror, but please call me Mirror. I represent some interested parties who have been following your recent ventures with great interest.” she said, her tone measured and her aura neatly controlled even though it had the distinct feeling of monster cores.

Her words did make Peony’s insides clench slightly, but she returned the polite bow. “Greetings, Mirror. As you know, I am Daybreak Peony. And while you have shown us nothing but courtesy so far, I will have to make myself absolutely clear; neither me nor my family have any interest in becoming part of anything ‘greater’.” While she did her best to remain neutral, her annoyance in regards to the matter bled through her attempted veneer of civility.

But to Peony’s surprise, Mirror only smiled at her words. “That is most satisfying to hear, mistress crafter, as it means that I did not come here in vain. Might we sit down so that I may convey my message? I assure you, that it is one you will be most keen to receive.”