Dueling Fate

I'll consider that vote closed

Tension builds at the announcement that team-selection will be left up to you, as new disciples. Thoughts run through your head - is it better to seek new allies, or people you've worked with before? Should you go for the strongest, or those whose personalities mesh with yours? Then, before you really have time to strategize, the tension breaks and people start scurrying over to each other, talking in hushed voices and forming up into groups.

You and Medhi turn to each other, and share a nod. You've worked with him before, and there is no reason to stop now. But who next? Liu or Vijaya would bring another fighter to the mix… but perhaps someone with a different set of skills would round you out. You search for Wu and Bai… the portly merchant girl is already speaking to the female sword disciple. But the pale musician, he has not been snapped up yet. As a hunter, you recognize the time to pounce.

You approach Bai Ping, and he studies you, and Medhi. You think there is some hesitation in his eyes, but he resolves whatever internal conflict he was having and and steps forward to join the three of you.

As you scan the crowd for your fourth, you see the disciple with the amulet approaching you. He is tall and might have been gangly before completing Consecration. As it is, he is slender and his eyes are a piercing shade of amethyst. Up close, you can see the amulet he is wearing is made of ivory and set with runes of charcoal-black - carved or burned you cannot tell. "I am Yan of Daejeon. You seem to need a fourth." There is a hint of challenge to his eyes, as though he is daring you to refuse him entry.

You can think of no valid reason to refuse him - how did you end up making these decisions, anyway? - and no particular desire to. Neither Bai Ping nor Medhi speaks an objection, and you nod and reach out a hand. He clasps it. His fingers are slender, but you note the faint traces of callouses which Consecration has not entirely removed.

"Perhaps the note will clarify what we should be doing," Bai Ping says smoothly. You blink in astonishment as you see that an envelope has materialized in your hands without you noticing. Opening it, you find a series of directions to elsewhere in the sect.

The path downwards from the Daughter is short, far shorter than the distance you climbed to reach the site of Consecration. Whatever tricks of space were played there are far beyond your understanding, but the mere fact of them leaves prickles on your skin. How well will your sense of direction serve you in a world where you cannot trust distance to remain consistent? A riddle for another time.

The journey to the spot marked on the map allows you to study the sect with your new eyes. With effort, you can focus in and see individual gnats in the air, and you almost feel you can see the shimmers of qi flowing through the air and rising from the water. Eventually, in a secluded nook between two hills, you see a stone building. It is old and worn, but the foundation stands strong. Above the entrance, you see a symbol of a dragon carved in blue jade above the top. The inside is sparsely decorated, containing a few chairs and a table, and doors to other rooms that appear locked when your group tries the handles.

Seconds turn to minutes as you wait. No one seems willing to speak to break the silence, though Bai Ping thrums a few notes on his instrument, more nervous tic than melody. Your mind flashes through what trials might lay before you, thoughts of quests and grand tournaments.

Just as your attention has truly wandered, you feel a touch at your spirit from outside the building - a breeze that turns into a howling gale as you sense the unveiled qi of the being approaching you. The spiritual pressure is nearly unbearable - a vast and formless intent that penetrates your spirit. It is difficult to breathe, difficult to even think, and you feel your heart pulsing just to move its blood throughout your body.

Roll: 4d10 Will + 1d10 Qi = 5d10
9 6 7 4 8 = 2 Successes!

But you have endured the attention of powerful cultivators before. Both the Ghost and Hou Hua have turned their gaze upon you, and this qi, though mighty, lacks the sheer strength of those. In the face of the qi, you muster your own, a stormbreak that lets you gaze at the door as what can only be your appointed senior enters.

The door opens.

There is nothing there.

Until you look down.

The woman standing in the doorway is perhaps five feet tall if you count the top of her hair. She is dressed in robes of various shades of green with a high collar, and her hair reaches to her knees - a near-white that shimmers with the colors of a rainbow. As she enters, a thick strand of it moves on its own to close the door behind her and lock it definitively. As it does, you note that the sounds from outside cut off entirely, leaving only the small noises of breathing and movement.

Her eyes shine with that same multicolored shimmer, and they are directed at each of you in turn. Turning, you see that Mehdi's teeth are gritted, but he remains looking at the senior, and Bai Ping and Yan seem completely unaffected.

Having finished her examination, the senior disciple moves to the front of the room. "...I suppose you'll do," she remarks. "You may address me as Senior Xiu. I am responsible for guiding you through the next phase of your journey at the Golden Reeds, now that you have been inducted into the sect. You may be curious to know that your performance will also affect my standing in the sect. As such, my expectations are high. Considering you will be competing with a team led by a noble and another led by the Elder's granddaughter, as well as teams containing the illustrious Wu scion and a member of the Paranthapa. I hope you will not disappoint me."

She does not sound overburdened by hope.

"Each incoming wave of disciples is divided into four houses. Azure Dragon, Vermillion Phoenix, Black Xuanwu, White Tiger. As you have hopefully already noticed, you are Blue Dragon. The first contest between the Houses will take place in three weeks. It will be a race up and down the Spear." She gives the name of another of the Sect's mountains. "Four prizes will lie at the top. Each team may take one when they reach the summit. You may keep whatever you leave the mountain with."
"So, one prize to each team?" Medhi asks.

"Is that what I said?" Xiu challenges.

Roll: Insight 4d10
2 4 6 2= Zero Successes!

Yan matches her gaze. "No, it isn't. We can take one prize from the top, but we can keep anything we leave with. So teams can take prizes from each other."

Xiu inclines her head slightly. "Precisely. Competition encourages growth."

Bai Ping plucks a string. "And four prizes at the top. Are there other prizes elsewhere?"

Xiu lets a faint smile play over her lips. "Even better." A strand of hair reaches to her pocket and retrieves two small blue pills, tossing one to each of Yan and Ping.

Ah. Competition.

"Yes. Although the course for you to traverse will be well-marked, within that area there may be other prizes you might obtain. I cannot say for sure; the details of the test are hidden."

Xiu gestures behind you, and one of the doors in the building opens, revealing a storage room with several boxes. "I am required to train you while I act as your Senior. We will start with the basic knowledge of reading and writing, as many of those who reach our doors have not sufficiently developed those skills. I will start you out with reading and copying texts."

You feel a flush come to your cheeks, and you are not quite sure if it is from anger or embarrassment. True, you had learned your letters as a child and had rarely had the opportunity to use them, your village having but a few books in it, and learning better directly at the knees of your elders and parents. But also, this is how your Senior intends to train you?

Xiu's eyes piece yours. "This is not a punishment, Lind Tallak. I am sure you would rather practice work with your blade, or with directing the elemental forces of the world to ravage your enemies. But in the long term, you will need these lessons more. Our sect has few dreamstones and jade talismans with which to record our techniques and lessons. Much of what you will use on your path will be found in our manuals and scrolls. Which will not be useful to you if you are unable to comprehend their contents."

Xiu's prismatic hair extends and lengthens and retrieves a plain black wooden box from the storage room. Opening it, she extracts four books with wooden covers. Then she moves to a corner of the room, sits down and begins to cycle.

What does Lind do?

[] You will take a book and copy it, as instructed.

- [] An old, ragged book entitled Songs of the Goddess, along with an image of the Goddess in abstract lines. You are not sure how practical this will be, but you enjoyed hearing stories about the birth of cultivation in your childhood.

-[] A fine book bound in silver is entitled simply Emperor, with a picture of a crown upon it and a symbol of the Empire. Perhaps learning more about your political situation would help you navigate further encounters with Cao Feng's servants.

-[] A book embossed in gold with the title "A Flower Among the Reeds". Perhaps a history of your sect might answer questions you didn't even know you had.

-[] The Travels of Li, depicting a woman with a parasol. Perhaps appealing to your wanderlust will help keep your attention on what might otherwise be a boring task.
[] It is clear that Senior Xiu does not want to be here, and frankly, neither do you. You will leave her training and go pursue your own.