Shards of Awakening

Harbingers of the end of an Age, the Calamities embody a potency of elemental qi far beyond what even the greatest heroes of the Empire can hope to match. Twice has a Calamity visited the Empire: the first, on the wings of the Calamity of Ice, bitter and unrelenting cold enveloped the realm in thick sheets of ice for nigh on a thousand years. Countless hundreds of millions of mortals died to cold and privation and countless millions of cultivators died in the wars that followed. The edifices of civilization began to crumble as the cold sapped qi from the earth itself and rendered fortunes of valuable estates little more than dust.

If the aftermath of the Calamity of Ice could be likened to a slow death, staved off only by the heroic sacrifice of Emperor, Spring's Purity, Li Weimin. He whose self sacrifice brought renewed life to the Empire, then the Calamity of Fire was an altogether different kind of event, and the start of imperial sanction and widespread animosity for the spirit-blooded.

Endings of Permafrost and Pyre, Eloquent Cui Qingzhao, 3rd Age, 35th year of the 2nd Interregnum.

Xiao Lien settles back on her heels and pulls off the paper wrapping protecting a wondrously greasy meat bun. Steam and the scent of spices waft into the air, and it's with something almost like regret mixed with voracious hunger that she sinks teeth, sharper than they had been a month ago, into the hot pastry.

The explosion of flavor and grease in her mouth as she tears greedily, unrestrainedly, into the meat bun elicits an almost pathetically happy moan from the otherwise diffident girl.

Feels like I haven't eaten in weeks. Definitely been weeks since I've seen a proper meal, or at least something cooked… Heavens it feels like it's been an eternity since life made any sense.

With hunger no longer gnawing a hole in her stomach, her mind flits back, as it always seem to do, to the series of tragedies that had led her here. The first, a flash of gold and a moment of perfect understanding. Her mom's tearful face and the slamming of a door. Gross men wearing guardsmen's uniforms and a second flash of golden radiance. Finally, an apathetic magistrate and a piece of paper.

Tossed out in to the wild… told me that I should go live with my father, like I'm supposed to know whoever the fuck that is.

Paper drenched in oil practically sizzles as drops of sunlight fall from her fingers and Xiao Lien can feel the outline of a single tail, one she knows to be silver with a blue tip, shimmering into reality. More qi and tufted, blue striped, silver ears would appear. That amount of qi would also trigger any of those damned spirit wards, and shortly thereafter guards, although this close to the sect, there'd likely be cultivators as well. With a frown, and a concerted effort of will, she draws back on the emotion and with it the flickering qi.

Can't afford to get spotted so soon. Gotta stay hidden.

That had been a lesson she'd learned quickly. As long as she kept her qi under control, she could move about unnoticed, mostly. It was just so hard sometimes, to have the power to break those guards that had tried to… but not be able to use it.

Xiao Lien's stomach grumbles, interrupting that unhelpful train of thought and letting her know that one pork bun was not going to be nearly enough. Not after weeks spent hiding amongst baggage, eating the rats and other small creatures foolish enough to stow away in the same area she had.

Visions of dozens of those meat buns, or even more extravagantly, a few slices of that massive roast boar dance through her head as she ponders the risk of returning to the festival against the reward of a full belly. As hunger is slowly winning the war against caution, some distant, timeless, part of herself causes her to freeze instantly and completely motionlessly.

"They had to have gone this way Mei Mei," a girl's voice calls out from below and despite the danger Xiao Lien leans minutely forward to stare down through thick leaf cover onto a head of golden blonde hair, "but where?"

"Who can say, my lady. Perhaps they've left," The sensation of imminent death ring through her as she peers down and like iron filings to a lodestone, her eyes fix on the second figure, taller and far more dangerous. Instincts she'd learned to heed over these last few months were screaming at her to flee, flee and never stop running. Screaming at her to still even further, to not move and hope the predator below wasn't hungry.

"Or perhaps they're just hiding," bandaged eyes stare directly up at where she'd hidden, and her heart stops.

Shit, she knows where I am.

"If you know where they are Mei Mei, you should tell me," the small part of Xiao Lien not frozen in terror recognizes in that tone the dozens of spoiled merchant's daughters as they demanded things from their parents while perusing her mother's stall. "Being mysterious like that is very not-cool."

Shit, this is getting worse and worse.

"My Lady's faith in me is truly gratifying, however there are tasks that are beyond even this humble attendant's capabilities," despite those words, bandaged eyes haven't moved even the slightest though from where she's hidden, and Xiao Lien can feel herself being weighed and measured. Her potential as a threat cataloged and then dismissed as irrelevant.

"It's like you want to drop to third place," the girl mutters, "at least give me a hint Mei Mei, a good one."

"As you wish," those eyes finally shift away and the nearly overwhelming feeling of terror fades with them, "if you were a cat and you wanted to hide, where would you start?"

That's too good of a hint…

"Hmm, if I were a cat I would hide…," the girl's head begins to tilt upward and her hopes of escaping die, "In a tree."

Jade green eyes lock with hers and a face that's almost painfully beautiful smiles. "Hi, I'm Quan Jia, who are you?" Xiao Lien's heart thumps painfully in her chest and it feels like she's falling.

"Good catch, Mei Mei," Strong arms wrap around her and that terrifying bandaged face stares emotionlessly down at her.

Too much, it's all too much…


Quan Jia frowns as Mei Mei leans the sleeping girl against the tree she'd hidden in. "Was it something I said?"

Her attendant tilts the girl's head first one way and then the next, before shaking her head, "no my lady, I believe it to be more a matter of malnourishment and perhaps a bit too much excitement."

"You scared her didn't you, Mei Mei?" Quan Jia directs a fully disapproving scowl at her attendant.

Mei Mei sighs regretfully and bows her head, "your safety is my only priority, my lady, but you're right... I do believe I scared her unnecessarily."

"You're only supposed to scare off the boring people, Mei Mei," Quan Jia sighs, now she'd have to wait until the girl woke up.

Well that might not be the worst solution after all.

Flopping down onto the soft grass, she looks up at her attendant, "as punishment, you should go and get us some food, and try to be less scary when you come back."

"I don't think it's wise to leave you alone with a stranger, my lady," her attendant responds blandly and makes no effort to move.

"Come on, Mei Mei, she doesn't look like she could hurt a fly." There was a sense of hunger that seemed to radiate from the girl's unconscious frame, but that was probably just the malnourishment.

"I still don't think it's wise, my lady," is the rather dismissive response.

"But think how cool we'd look if we had food waiting when she woke up," food was a really good way to make friends, especially with starving people.

"I would prefer not to, my lady."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"Still no."

So very stubborn…

Quan Jia sighs internally, hating what she's about to do to Mei Mei, hating every bit of the irrelevant things that separate the two of them. None of the churning in her stomach shows on her face though, and none of it stops her from commanding, "Go Liu Mei, it was not a suggestion."

The tiny lines of amusement that almost constantly adorn Mei Mei's face vanish into a mask of perfect blankness and with a salute, hand over heart, she replies, "As you command Lady Quan Jia."

Sorry Mei Mei…

Quan Jia flinches slightly as her attendant vanishes into the evening. She'd have to make up for that, sooner or later, probably sooner.

That was a problem for future her though. The problem for present her was the sleeping girl propped against the tree trunk across from her. Unfortunately it didn't seem like the kind of problem she could solve, at least not with her level of cultivation. Maybe she could slap her and wake her up that way, but she rather doubted that you made friends by slapping them, and so, with Mei Mei gone getting food, and the focus of her search sleeping, Quan Jia frowns, feeling suddenly rather bored.

Maybe just a quick nap…

Looking over at where the girl was propped up against the tree she'd fallen from, she hums thoughtfully.

Surely she wouldn't mind… plus making sure friends were comfy was really important, wasn't it?


The smell of food and the unfamiliar weight and warmth of something leaning against her slowly draws Xiao Lien back from unconsciousness. Her first instinct as she looks down and sees a mop of blonde hair is to jerk away from the strange noble girl who had decided to use her shoulder as a pillow. Her second instinct is to freeze utterly still as she sees the bandaged bodyguard sitting across a blanket from her, staring at her with an intensity that was almost painful.

Fortunately, the earlier sense of being a particularly unlucky mouse caught in front of a malicious cat had vanished and she was able to form words to speak, "Ahh, miss, umm…"

Kind of…

For a long moment bandage covered eyes stare in silence before, "I am Chief Counselor, Secretary, and Head Bodyguard for Lady Quan Jia. If you must, you may address me as the Serrated Flash, Liu Mei."

Right, like that's not at all terrifying…

"Miss, umm, Miss Serr-," she swallows, "Miss Liu Mei, what's, why am I..."

"My lady has taken an interest in you, and though you doubtless lack the sophistication to realize it, has placed considerable trust in you by allowing you to serve as her pillow." Liu Mei's face doesn't shift at all as she speaks, "it would be to your benefit to not disrupt that."

Sure, beautiful, probably spoiled, noble girl decides to use you as a pillow while her bodyguard or whatever glares whenever you so much as twitch… in what world did any of that make sense.

I miss living in the forest… at least the things there would only try and eat you…

Looking down at plates filled with seared meats and fragrant vegetables, Xiao Lien sighs as her stomach rumbles. Unless this was a remarkably peculiar form of torture, though given her current state it would also be rather effective, food would have to wait until the sleepy girl woke up.

With nothing to do except try not to drool over the smells emanating from covered bowls, and hoping, probably vainly that time would pass quicker with conversation, she draws on a thread of liquid sunlight for courage and asks, "not to be rude, but I don't, I mean I haven't, Jinxia's kinda far away and…"

"Shameful," the word rings with a such a degree of condemnation that Xiao Lien barely manages to restrain a flinch, "that one could live under Lord Quan Jin's protection, and not know to whom they should pay their thanks."

Well that didn't work… I think the silence and food torture was probably better than this...

"Eighth best," the breathy words brush along her ear and this time Xiao Lien can't avoid the flinch that sends the girl tumbling off her shoulder.

Thankfully, before the bodyguard can murder her, the noble girl speaks, "Aww, she's awake. Why didn't you wake me up Mei Mei? It's rude to nap on people without asking them first, you know…"

"Hiding the evidence of a crime is hardly the same as not committing that crime in the first place isn't it, my lady?" All of that terrifying intensity fades like mist before the sun, leaving behind nothing but faint amusement and what sounded almost like sarcasm.

"Hmph," apparently deciding that she couldn't really argue with that, the blonde turns toward her and smiles, "Hi, I'm Quan Jia, who are you? Where are you from? Are you joining the sect too? Do you have a tail? Can I see it? Ooo we have snacks too. Make sure to eat, Mei Mei said you'd probably be hungry."

A handful of words and Xiao Lien no longer thinks she's going to die this evening, rather she finds herself caught somewhere between amused and overwhelmed. And despite the still glowering bodyguard and the odd thumping of her heart, she finds herself relaxing. "My name is Xiao Lien, I was born and raised in Jinxia. I wasn't accepted into the Sect. and yes, I do have a tail, though it only appears when I channel qi."

Quan Jia opens her mouth to speak, but is interrupted by her no longer as terrifying bodyguard, "If you wish it, my lady, I will serve dinner while the two of you become acquainted."

"Uh uh," the noble girl's smile shifts to something mischievous as she shakes her head, "pops isn't here, so you're going to join us. Mei Mei needs to eat too."

Liu Mei's face twitches in what Xiao Lien could only guess was a genuine smile, and gracefully the bodyguard moves over to where she and Quan Jia were sitting. A trio of plates float in the air beside her and with an obviously exaggerated bow, she sets a them down on the blanket and then sits. "As my lady wishes."

The smell of perfectly seared meat coming from that close after weeks of eating rodents and things scavenged from the garbage finally overcomes what remains of her caution. Abandoning manners, Xiao Lien snatches at the nearest plate and without hesitation raises the plate to her mouth and begins to practically shovel the food inside.

"Hmm, I don't think I can compete with that, but let's give it a try anyway." Quan Jia lifts her plate in mimicry a heartbeat before her bodyguard moves to try and stop her. For several chaotic moments the sound of struggling mixed with laughter fills the clearing. Meanwhile, with a slight flush on her face, Xiao Lien lowers her plate and attempts to eat at a more human pace.

"You win this time Mei Mei," Xiao Lien looks over to where a pouting Quan Jia has abandoned her earlier attempt and is eating with a deliberate kind of slowness that must have been a nobility thing

Even before everything, it had always been a race to get enough to eat before it was gone.


"I don't get it though," Quan Jia's voice breaks a silence that had previously been filled by the clinking of chopsticks as they scraped against porcelain, "that old lady would have severed anyone with core like mine, so that must mean yours is pretty pure, right?"

Xiao Lien leans back, finally satiated, and nods in response to the question, "I think so, yes."

"Imperial policy is to sever any spirit-blooded cultivators whose Diamond Core is less than completely pure, and there's no chance the sect would have missed out on a chance to make a disciple out of someone with a luminous or radiant Core." There was something chilling in hearing about the matter-of-fact way the Empire treated the spirit-blooded. The way it treated people like her.

"That's stupid," Quan Jia proclaims, pointing a finger directly at her bodyguard, "I refuse to allow my new friend to get thrown away like that. Mei Mei, we have to do something."

"I don't think friendship works like tha-," that finger shifts over toward her, and Xiao Lien cuts off mid word.

"You mean you don't want to be friends with me?" Her voice quavers in a way that Xiao Lien is absolutely sure is fake, but still hits too close to home.

How long has it been since I've had fun like this, since I've laughed…

"Of course we're friends Lady-," once again she's cut off mid word.

"Nope, that's not it, friends don't use titles, unless they're really stubborn like Mei Mei." A grin is directed at the bodyguard who responds in kind with the faintest twitch of her lips.

"Then of course I would like to be friends with you Quan Jia," is really the only response she can, and surprisingly, wants to give.

The smile Xiao lien gets in response to that is unsurprisingly similar to that of a ray of sunlight on a cloudy day. "With that settled, there's two things left we must address…"

"First," that warm smile shifts to a grin and Xiao Lien has a brief moment to wonder whether she's made a massive mistake, "friends show each other cool things like say… tails or ears or whatever… right?"

It's an odd thing, for someone to want to see the features that marked her as something other, something worthy of expelling into the wilderness to die alone, but there's no guile in Quan Jia. Innocence and ignorance perhaps, but not anything worse. So, it's without any sense of fear or regret that Xiao Lien channels the warmth of the dawn through her veins and exults in the freedom as her spirit features spill from restraints she no longer noticed.

"Soo fluffy," Quan Jia's fingers twitch, but remarkably, given what little she knew of her new friend, the other girl remains in place.

"Perhaps, my lady, if you asked…" Liu Mei trails off with a shake of her master's head.

"No some things must be earned not given," Quan Jia responds with a nobility that would have probably been more impressive if she weren't discussing her desire to touch Xiao Lien's tail.

"Second," her friend begins:

[] "Do you want to come join the sect with me?" [Uses monthly letter to father option. +1 relationship to Xiao Lien)

[] "you should come with us, we'll figure the other stuff out later." [Does not use monthly letter to father option. No relationship change with Xiao Lien)


[AN
I know I said that this would wrap up the character creation, but this chapter ran on a bit longer than I had anticipated. So next chapter will mark the end of character creation.

Also, feel free to yell at me if I haven't updated the character sheet by tomorrow morning.

As an aside, I always find the first couple chapters the most difficult from a characterization standpoint. I've got notes and whatnot, but the characters don't really have a voice until I've actually started writing them]