Cassandra Pendragon
The waterfall covered an entrance, easily as wide as I was tall and twice as high, like a curtain. From outside not even the shadow of the passage was visible through the moving, shimmering wall, but Lin never hesitated when she led me through the pond. Her silhouette blurred after she had passed the wet veil and I felt the waters thunder against my hand before they hammered on my shoulders. The energies they carried didn't touch me, but the sheer mass was still enough to coax a trickle of power from my core to strengthen my back and legs. I hadn't given the sect's training regime enough credit. For a human to pass through here without any difficulties was a pretty astonishing feat, with or without a spirit beast.
It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dim, flickering light on the other side. We had entered a broad passage, enclosed by carved and painted granite walls, that led deeper into the mountain. Here and there gems glowed on the dark stones and illuminated crudely hewn scenes from ages past. Flying serpents and floating turtles carried cultivators into battle against pitch black, winged tigers, many headed monsters or hoards of thralls dominated by the cruel arts of another realm. Every step we took revealed another story, another song of hope and bloodshed, but I didn't have the time to inspect the murals more closely.
Lin's heavy boots were drumming a fast melody on the floor in front of me and I was continuously being dragged along by the hand. We had come across dozens of reliefs, of which I had glimpsed only a small fraction, but I still got a sense of what they represented. It wasn't as much about history as it was about the personal fate of one spirit beast and their companion or the other. Victory and defeat, big and small achievements had been put on display for future generations to remember. Every step towards the gate breathed the splendour and the dread of times long gone and combined with the constant, but quiet murmurs of the waterfall the atmosphere within the tunnel was eerily serene, similar to a magnificent mausoleum.
A warm, moist wind was blowing from deep within the mountain and the scent of magic and nature was heavy in the air. It easily drowned out the smell of the girl in front of me and for a short moment I felt disoriented. I closed my eyes against the flickering light and the dancing shadows to focus on my nose. Further down the passage I smelled metal and rust. Probably one of the doors, or rather seals, the sect had erected to cordon off their most precious treasures. Behind the wall of steel and arcane sigils creatures moved, some reminiscent of spiders, ants or cockroaches, some entirely foreign, but they all smelled of ozone as if they had been dunked into an entire barrel of the stuff.
While I was still puzzling over how a centipede, that had been infused with life and soul forces until it began to swell, might possibly look like and whether or not I actually wanted to find out, Lin slowed down. Distracted as I was I ran straight into her, but the slender woman could just as well have been made of stone. She didn't even flinch and gently grabbed my shoulders to keep me from stumbling. We had reached a solid hunk of metal that barred the entire tunnel. Arcane glyphs glowed on its surface and a hole in the shape of a snowflake had been carved into the centre. The smell of magic and life had become much stronger and when I listened closely I could even hear the scurrying of feet and claws on cold stone over the distant whispers of the waterfall.
"The caves begin properly just behind the door," Lin explained in a hushed whisper. "The animals are used to humans and we can take our time. It's beautiful and definitely worth a look or two. It'll take us maybe half an hour to reach the next level. Only the elders of the sect are allowed to venture beyond that point. The beasts become much more dangerous and the saturation of magic in the air is enough to fool the senses of young cultivators. Many promising talents have been lost there, only to be found years later as a perfectly clean skeleton."
"Charming," I replied equally quietly. The atmosphere was starting to weigh on me. "I assume the third seal protects the tunnels closest to the actual gate?" She nodded, but I could only see a scarce few sparks dance on her softly glowing tresses. Then she extended her hand and gently slotted a carved jade disk, that looked almost identical to the one she had given me, into the recess on the door. It opened without a sound, but a gust of fresh air played across my face. I frowned when a very familiar taste tickled my throat. Foxes, I thought, but the scent was gone before I could properly pinpoint it.
"Indeed. It's also much stronger, more magic than metal. Once we've made it there… I can't tell you what to expect. The last time someone opened the third seal was about a decade ago." She was getting ready to move on, but I held her back. She didn't sound like someone commenting on the weather and if my math wasn't off Mei would have met Baihe nine years ago.
"What happened," I asked urgently. "It was you, wasn't it? You and Mei. What went wrong?" I couldn't see, but feel her fiddle with the jade pendant.
"Nothing went wrong," she finally explained hesitantly. "Not really. It was just a… feeling… no, an intuition, maybe? When Baihe crossed over… I think something followed her. I've tried returning… many times, but something is… I can't say it's blocking me, but somehow I can't bring myself to set foot past the final barrier." I could tell that there was more to the story, but I chose not to pry.
"And you couldn't have mentioned this earlier," I groaned.
"Would it have changed anything?"
"No… probably not, but it would still have been nice to know." Foxes… I had smelled foxes. Illusions and subtle manipulations were the trademark of fox spirits and even though it didn't hold true for Reia, Ahri or me, our race was also pretty adapt at this kind of magic. A geas, or rather a magical taboo, was one of the many applications and not being able to cross a threshold did sound quite like a curse of prohibition. Oh well, I was going to know either way the moment I would lay my eyes upon the door. "You didn't experience any strange visions or hallucinations back then, did you," I added without expecting an answer, but she surprised me:
"As a matter of fact, I did." I, of course, couldn't tell from the inside, but I was certain my face morphed into the epitome of a deadpan expression. "What," she asked, "did you expect me to share every detail of my life? Should I get started with my first crush? Or maybe my flute lessons? They were a fiasco to tell you the truth."
"And your first crush wasn't," I asked through a smirk. "That's more rare than hen's teeth. If we ever get the chance, I'll want to hear all about it, but I was being serious. You didn't think there might have been a connection between your hallucinations and your inability to go deeper into the caves?" She shrugged and slowly moved past the open door while I trailed a step behind. From the side I could finally see that the sheet of metal was thicker than a handspan.
I had expected the tunnel to continue, but we found ourselves immediately at the edge of a gargantuan, natural cavern. Gleaming drops fell from glowing stalagmites onto shimmering towers of limestone and painted beautiful patterns on the stone. The music of rushing water filled the air and the smell of growing plants was as pronounced as it was within a forest. A small, but deep lake laid at the centre of the cavern and on its shores a cornucopia of magical herbs swayed in the warm wind that blew through a second tunnel on the opposite side of the natural hall.
"The passage branches off back there," Lin explained and pointed at the pitch black, yawning mouth in front of us while we slowly made our way towards the lake. "Everybody was called back to defend the sect when you arrived and aside from myself nobody has entered seclusion in the last weeks, so we don't have to worry about disturbing anyone. We'll head straight down the main passage unless you want to inspect one of the actual meditation caves. To answer your question: of course I thought about it, but a weird dream isn't something to bring up when you meet a true dragoness and whatever you are for the first time."
"It's different if you still remember the dream about a decade later. What did you see?"
"Tails," she chuckled. "Tails and fangs and claws and… colours. Gold and pink and blue. If it means anything to you, please, do tell. I always thought it was just a dream, I still do, even though the details haven't become blurry over time. Admittedly, that is a bit strange."
"A bit? Pray tell, what's actually strange to you, then?" We had almost reached the shore when Lin suddenly bent down and uprooted a plant that looked almost like lavender, but with regularly arranged, bright red blossoms and an acidic smell that reminded me of oranges. She rose back up, shook off the soil and presented the stalk to me on her open palm.
"Our world is full of wonders, if you just know where to look." I felt a trickle of energy flow from her heart and the plant glowed in a mixture of pink and blue, just like her eyes. The next second the blossoms quivered and opened to reveal tiny, winged insects that were apparently still fast asleep, protected by a translucent membrane. When she cancelled her magic the petals closed around their precious seeds once again.
I cocked an eyebrow and asked: "did you just kill them to make a point?" She shook her head and simply dropped the still glowing stalk. As soon as it touched the soil small vines shot out and burrowed deep into the ground. The very next moment the plant had returned to its original appearance and the glow petered out.
"I'm not that petty and it's not that easy to kill something chock full of magic. I just wanted to show off a little… and make you understand why strange visions aren't uncommon down here. I've told you before that younger cultivators aren't allowed in the deeper parts because their senses can easily get overwhelmed. I just thought the same has happens to me. It would also explain why I couldn't bring myself to venture deeper… magic leaves traces, doesn't it? But you don't think it's just another peculiarity of this place, do you?"
I stooped down as well and gently caressed the vibrant plant. A tremor shot up the stalk, but the blossoms didn't open for me, even though I felt a faint resonance when my fingers brushed over the petals directly. "No… no, I don't," I admitted and scrutinised her closely. "When we first met, Mei and you both compared me to a fox spirit. Have you ever seen one before?" She shook her head and offered me her hand to pull me back to my feet.
"No, Yueji has, though, in the spirit realm. Do you want me to wake her up? I'm sure she'll tell you everything she knows."
"I'm not worried about the ones who stayed behind."
"You think one of them has come through the gate and is living down here?" I shrugged and allowed her to pull me closer to the lake.
"Maybe. At least I've smelled a fox when you opened the first door and I can't imagine a normal animal living down here. Illusions and mind manipulations are the strengths of fox spirits, aren't they? You have to admit, it sort of fits."
"Except… why would a spirit stay down here? Their capricious… mischievous even. They'd be bored out of their minds within a week, never mind a decade." I shrugged again and focused on the glimmering body of water in front of me. If I had taken another step, the waves would have played around my toes.
"We can ask, should we ever meet them. Despite my kitsune heritage I don't know much about our lore when it comes to spirits. And… I can't actually remember ever meeting a fox spirit in the past. Truth be told, I didn't even think they were real, even though my people do have a spiritual side to them. It doesn't matter. My senses can't be confused and my mind can't be influenced. Should they try to play their tricks on us now, they'll be in for a rude awakening." Her silent footfalls drew closer until she stood by my side.
Together we watched an invisible current churn the surface of the lake. Far above a massive gem, about the size of a human head, glowed with a soft, bluish light and painted an intricate, ever changing picture onto the waves. "You don't sound like you're looking forward to an encounter," Lin said quietly. "You aren't very fond of spirits in general, are you?"
"That's not it. I'm just not very fond of being dragged into another mess. There may be a powerful fox spirit down here and I just happen to be a kitsune? Doesn't it sound… a tad too convenient?" Her hair brushed against my shoulder when she tilted her head to the side.
"Are you implying someone set this up? How could it possibly be true? A decade has passed… who's able to concoct a detailed plan that spans years and years? And all you have to go on is a weird dream and the smell of a fox?" She chuckled. "Far be it for a mere human to judge the thoughts of an immortal, but aren't you overreacting just the teeniest bit?"
"Half a year ago I'd have agreed wholeheartedly." I sighed and picked up a small, flat stone from the sandy shores. With a flick of my wrist I sent it flying and we watched it skip across the lake. "Now, though… there are many clever people out there and I wouldn't put it past some of them to arrange for a deranged spirit of my ancestors to cross over. Still, it doesn't change much. I can't turn back and I don't think I would, either way." I paused and wrestled with a pretty nasty thought before I asked: "how much do you actually know about Gaya? The planet this realm belongs to? Have you ever visited the place?"
"No. I've never had the time, but some of our sect have been there over the years."
"Did they tell you where they went?"
"Sure. Apparently there's a great empire that could easily rival ours by size alone. My brother has even met their Emperor. He was pretty impressed by him." I clenched my fists.
"Was he, now? Pray tell, how long ago was that?" I had to focus to keep my power from leaking into my voice. That didn't sound good. Not at all.
"I… maybe twenty years ago? I can't say for sure. We're still only a sect, so we don't really have anything like a permanent ambassador, not even in our own capital, never mind a foreign land. I think the Imperial Court keeps in touch with one official of the other, though. If you're actually curious you should head to the capital as well. There's…" I glanced to the side when I felt her tense. She was biting her lip and there was a strange, almost nervous scent in the air.
"What," I asked immediately.
"I've told you of the Mo family before," she began haltingly, "the elder who's hunting kitsune. There've been rumours for a long time… which doesn't mean much," she added quickly when she saw my expression change. "There are always rumours about the high ranking officials. Power engenders envy after all. Anyways, for her… hunts she has to leave our realm and it's been said that she has secured herself a few useful connection over there. Useful or rather powerful. Powerful enough to have helped her in her travels. Rumour has it that she's still regularly receiving visitors from your home. Whether it's true or not I can't possibly judge."