Waterstrider

Basements, Tseludia Station, Pantheonic Territory, Fourthmonth, 1634 PTS

With my advancement complete, I could not help but feel very relaxed. There was no tenseness to my muscles, and I felt as if I had the energy to fight off entire armies. I knew that our current situation was not lacking in peril, but somehow I had the strong feeling that the solution would be trivial.

“Cyrus?” asked Rachel, drawing my attention back. “We should probably get going before the alarm actually gets sent out to the Justice Office.”

I nodded. As I turned to the door, my eyes flagged on the form of the martial artist who had been strapped in for surgery. I had managed to avoid killing him despite my mental fugue, but he remained strapped down and gagged. The straps were metal, and appeared to be very hard and firm. Now that I was paying attention, I could tell that the strength he was using to tear and break free was comparable to my own power.

I glanced over to Rachel, who sighed.

“It’s not a good idea,” she said.

“What stage is he on?”

“...does it matter?”

I gave no response and she sighed.

“We really shouldn’t do this, but fine. He’s a spirit refiner and a sanguine practitioner.”

I raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“Sanguine?” I asked.

Rachel nodded.

“There’s no record of his existence in the public database, so I expect he was caught soon after entering the station. He’s been in this facility for over a year now.”

“Any indication on which organization he learned his arts from?”

She shook her head.

“All it says is that his name is Jihan Lee.”

“I see…”

I rubbed my chin, considering the possibility. Recruiting another spirit refiner for the sect would certainly be very helpful for us. Since he was an unorthodox practitioner, we would be the only martial organization with any strength that he could hope to join on the station, anyway. Taking test subjects away from the facility would certainly worsen issues with the government, but I suspected that ship had already long sailed.

I decided to give the man an opportunity to persuade me. I walked over and removed the metal cords binding his mouth and throat. He coughed and sputtered as it was removed, before giving me a wide smile.

Jihan Lee was a fairly unobtrusive looking sei man, though he had delicate features that made him look fairly refined. He had a very practiced smile, something that was obvious from the look in his eyes. Still, I could tell that he was truly grateful for removing the gag, and hopeful that I might rescue him.

“Thank you, Mister Cyrus, was it? I would appreciate assistance with my bonds as well, if you would.”

“That is my name, yes. Are you a member of the Lee family?”

He nodded fervently.

“Our name still resounds around the martial world, even centuries after our departure from it. My name is Jihan Lee, squadron leader of the great Lee Clan.”

I let him blabber, not caring about the details. While the Lee Clan was often vilified by popular culture, in the Downpour Sect we had a more positive opinion. Our forces had once been allies, and I knew that the rumors of blood sacrifices they performed were far overstated. Such rites were only performed with volunteers or in acts of desperation.

“What brought such a powerful member of the clan to Tseludia?” asked Rachel, curiously.

Jihan’s expression became more serious as if he had remembered something unpleasant.

“We heard that a number of Reth had disappeared in the area. I was asked to investigate, since a martial artist can move around much more openly than they can.” He laughed sharply. “Less than a week after my investigation began I went to sleep and woke up in restraints.”

That made sense. As they worshiped the same deity, the Lee Clan were the only Seiyal to have a positive relationship with the Reth. While we had no dispute with them, the Downpour Sect had not cared whether they lived or died. We did not wish for the orthodox forces to focus on us.

By doing so, we had believed we could forestall an attack by Sunlit Hall forever, due to the Downpour’s natural defenses. Ultimately, however, we had not been able to put it off forever. When our allies had all fled or surrendered, they had come for us.

Perhaps I would still be living a contented life inside the sect if my forebears had joined the Lee Clan and the Reth in that war, so long ago.

“Why are you being so open with us?” I asked, curious.

Jihan laughed, meeting my gaze.

“I recognized your arts from the descriptions. You’re from the Downpour Sect, right? I remember we were allies.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle darkly. It seemed he didn’t know. Putting aside the matter of how we had allowed their enemies to force their exile from our homeworld, I decided to inform him.

“The Downpour Sect is long destroyed, Jihan. I lead a different force now.”

He winced, clearly capable of reading the mood.

“I’m sorry to hear that. Another force, you said? You can’t have joined the Hadal Clan, right?”

Rachel snickered at that, and I gave her a glare.

“They tried, actually, though there was clearly internal dispute over the matter. No, my Redwater Sect is an independent force.”

At that, Jihan smirked.

“So you agreed to do their dirty work for them, and they let you remain independent in name for a time.”

“Something along those lines,” I agreed.

Though he liked to hear the sound of his own voice, I could tell that Jihan was an observant man. He was definitely one who had been groomed for a high position by his clan. Certainly a high ranking scion. This meant that I could not truly poach him from them, but it did grant me a different sort of opportunity.

“We can grant you freedom, but you’ll need to give us something in return.”

Rachel gave me a sharp look, and I returned it. She sighed, and nodded assent. I had come to know her fairly well, and felt I could read from her body language what she was indicating. She was not an uncaring person, just a practical one, just like myself. If we rescued one, we might as well rescue the others as well.

“What do you want?” he asked. “I would offer you natural treasures, but I can tell you won’t be in need of any yourself. Unless they’re for her?” he asked, glancing at Rachel.

I shook my head.

“I need two decades.”

“Two…” he was confused for a moment, and then he caught on. “You want my service,” he finally said.

I smiled.

“I could use another spirit refiner. I can’t steal you from your clan, but I believe you can spare me some time. You should have plenty remaining, after all. At our level even unorthodox practitioners have far too much of it.”

There were few who had received as much damage to their soul as I. A spirit refiner who looked as young as Jihan Lee did likely had at least a century or more remaining in his life span. He gritted his teeth. Even if he did have the time to spare, twenty years was not nothing.

“How about ten? If you rescue me and my people, I will grant you ten years of service.”

He really wasn’t in any position to argue, but I was in a rather good mood, and was intending to rescue all the Canvasians in the facility anyway. I would have wanted to save the Staiven as well, but interfering in the matters of their own people was a line I dared not cross. Particularly since freeing them would reveal a truth capable of creating a vast rift between the people and the government. I would not be able to escape the reprisal I would face in such a scenario.

I was honestly unsure why Rachel did not want me to do so. After all, she had told me her ultimate goal was to topple the galactic powers. Perhaps she suspected they would simply kill everyone on the station rather than let the information escape. She was perhaps the only one on the station who would be capable of surviving such a thing.

“I can save the others imprisoned here, but I cannot promise all of your people are still alive. You have been here for quite a while, after all. And how does fifteen years sound?”

It was the number I had been wishing for in the first place. Between ten and fourteen years was how long it would take for forces in the station to acquire reinforcements. I would not be surprised if the Celans or the Hadal Clan to request some from their backers at some point in the near future. Perhaps even the other forces of the underworld would do the same if the current disputes spiraled even further out of control. The Hadal Clan had attempted to deescalate by leaving us to deal with our own reprisal against the Celans, but tensions between the two forces remained balanced on a tight wire. The fires of a gang war could flare at any moment due to a variable I could not hope to expect.

With another spirit refiner at my back during the upcoming and future waves of conflict, I would feel much more secure. If I could also recruit his men, likely far better trained than my own existing force, our sect could become a real player on the field much sooner than I and Rachel had previously anticipated. Though she was wary about reprisal from the government, I trusted in her ability to handle their attentions.

It was a gamble to be sure, but one I was willing to take. The fact that it was the ethical decision was merely a bonus.

“I accept,” said Jihan, not willing to haggle too much.

He must know that freeing the rest would take time, and if we dallied too long, the Justice Office might arrive.

“Swear on the name of your goddess,” Rachel ordered.

He sighed, and nodded assent.

“By the name of the great goddess, Lady Saaya of Shadows, I, Jihan Lee of the Lee Clan, swear to serve loyally to Cyrus of the Downpour and the Redwater Sect, should he rescue myself and my remaining companions from this place.”

It was a good oath, and as a member of the Lee Clan he could be trusted to uphold his honor. They cared deeply about such things, contrary to their reputation. I nodded to him, and turned to Rachel.

“How do we release him?” I asked.

Theatrically, she held a hand out towards him, and a yellow mist arose in the air around us. It swirled in the air as her hair arose, the mist forming esoteric shapes and patterns as she contorted her body in a bizarre dance, slowly approaching him. She made one final motion, and the mist disappeared. The restraints slid back with a click. She then turned to me.

“They’re connected to the network,” she said.

“I see,” I replied.

Jihan slowly stood up, stretching his arms and legs. He slid to the floor and bowed to the two of us. He looked slightly reverentially at Rachel.

“I thank the two of you for your assistance, and look forward to working together. I have never witnessed such a powerful extant practitioner before.”

I could see a sparkle in Rachel’s eyes as she inspected him.

“Be aware that this was still a poor idea, Cyrus. Still…”

“I think it’ll be worth it,” I said.

She shrugged.

“I hope so.”

The Lee Clan: [One of the most powerful martial organizations who practice sanguine arts, the Lee Clan is a family that are fervent devotees of the goddess Saaya. As both unorthodox practitioners and 'heretics', they are one of Sunlit Hall's highest priority targets for extermination. The clan originated on the Crucible, and was once one of the most powerful forces on the continent. They steadily lost power and influence over the course of Sunlit Hall's various crusades. While their influence and finances were crippled, the foundation of their martial strength was never shattered. Several centuries ago the clan fled Canvas with the Reth, and their current whereabouts are largely unknown. Members of the Lee Clan are occasionally still used to perform the role of villains in media. This is not only because of Sunlit Hall propaganda, but also because their unorthodox sanguine arts involve mutilation of both themselves and others. For this reason they are seen as forces of evil.]