The rumble and crack of moving, grinding stones was a discordant symphony of noise. Chaotic and unintelligible, but deeply, deeply angry. There should have been no room for words here, no room for communication. But not for Ling Qi. Fangs of living limestone, so close to crushing the soft humans within, slowed and ground down to a halt among ribbons of mist, and the piping of a flute.
Ling Qi descended into the crumbled sinkhole on steps of glittering light and mist. A great hole in the stone, a cavern of limestone and sharp edged crystal, pierced by the digging of foundations. Workers trapped below, among the rubble and muddy water, in this one of the many hearts of the mountain that General Xia had cloven the peak from. The spirit of the cave whose fangs loomed over her head was only one part of the larger mountain spirit but was dangerously potent in its own right, awakened as it was.
So she sang, and listened, even as her drifting mist engulfed the men and woman at the bottom, carefully insulating them from further harm, easing the crushing pressure of the earth.
Rage, the mountain heart trembled with rage. So much of its greater self had been taken away, and now the nits dug and bit at its hearts and cores as well, more, more,
more. It's brother-selves slept and slumbered, propiated, not yet awake, content to see even this wound as temporary, a mere flesh wound in the long accounting of stone..
But this, this insult, the biting picks and shovels, the opening of living stone to crippling, killing sky, that which was meant to be wholly of earth and darkness, poisoned by light. This was too much.
Ling Qi listened, considered, and sang back. Mist growing dark and cold and clammy, drowning out the bright light of the sun above. A soothing song, a slow and careful song. Sealing, reparation, reverence. Carving and beauty. A seal reapplied. Sacrifices offered, not of blood and flesh, but incense and gifts and beautiful transformation of surface stone.
She descended still further, saw the fright in human eyes as the stone that had begun to drag them down, that chained their limbs and broke their bones remained filled with tension. Crystal and hanging fangs of rock that threatened to devour them for their insult.
A sharper note, to end the song, to compliment offerings and respect. A reminder, of the blade which carved mountains, and the scouring rains that could wear away all. Not quite a threat, but merely a reminder to an old, old and stubborn mind that it was not the only power here. She was sorry for its wound, sorry for its disturbance, but there would be no offerings of blood today, Let raging stone rest and errors be repaired, and in the time of mountains all would return as it was once more.
Or the mountainheart could rage and drag itself into the time of men, and in doing, exacerbate those injuries done to it.
Stone groaned and rumbled, the weight of a mountain looming all around. A pressure fit to crush her if its mind turned in such a way. The sudden violent rage of a mountain, the core of fire deep in its roots fading.
The cavern groaned and ground back into place, and ling Qi breathed out as below, wounded workers were released from bounds of stone.
She looked to the closest of them, who mouthed the words "Thank you," again and again in the silent dark.
She inclined her head, and reached down to take his hand. Best to get them out quickly before the spirit could change its course.
***
Ling Qi clasped her hands together in respect as the foreman of the crews on the peak bowed his scarred, bald head. He was just short of fully kowtowing, and Ling Qi really wished he wouldn't. This accident was not his fault, the geomatic maps should have shown such a locus of power, the planners should have been able to take it into account. Even with the disruption of the General's cut, the experts present should have been able to detect any internal movement of the mountain's cores.
That was the explanation for now, a sudden seismic shift of the mountain's internal structure, wrought by instability. And maybe she was seeing shadows around the corners, but she didn't trust it. There had been a not insignificant number of small accidents in the past week, though this was the worst so far. The only question was the real source, below, or within?
She sincerely hoped it was the former. She'd have to speak with the Ministry later. She let none of the thoughts flitting through her head show on her face, or in her voice as she spoke. "Please raise your head. Make your reports and call an earth mover to reseal the pocket. Use my name to get it done swiftly if you must. That mist will not keep forever, or satisfy the spirit if it did."
"Yes, Lady Ling," the foreman said. "Right away Lady Ling."
She gestured a dismissal, and glanced toward the dots on the road to the west, the injured workers being rapidly carried off to the medical tents. No fatalities, but several broken limbs, and minor qi poisoning. She was glad she had been nearby, or the Mountain's pressure might have made it worse, even if it didn't devour them.
"I've alerted our in house physician, he should be able to assist the Wang's doctor with the sudden load,"
"Thank you Meng Dan," she said, turning away from the hole and the scattering workers. She had sensed him hanging back, as she removed the last of the workers, but he'd not presented himself while she was speaking with the foreman. "I am sorry for my lateness."
"Given the circumstances, it could not be avoided," he said pleasantly, peering past her shoulder the buzz of activity around the sinkhole. "There is no excuse for that to be there. My clan's own geomancers approved the digging plans, alongside the Wang's."
"I know," Ling Qi said quietly.
Meng Dan hummed, pushing the lenses perched on his nose up. Meng Dan had replaced his flowing scholars robes with something more practical today, a dark blue tunic belted at the waist, its longer hem hanging down over trousers and high riding boots. She sensed a frisson in the air, a pulse of qi, and a faint glimmer of silver in his pupils.
"There's no sign of impurities… or anything else unnatural," Ling Qi said.
"Please do not take it as an insult, Lady Ling. These eyes of mine are my only useful trait," Meng Dan chuckled. "Nothing so obvious. However… those foundations, what remains is deeper than it should be."
Ling Qi frowned. "Sloppy workmanship?"
"Unlikely. The plans given to the workers may need review though," Meng Dan said.
"...Regardless, that core should not have been close enough to be disturbed by such a thing," Ling Qi said after a moment.
"Many little pebbles making an avalanche, no?" Meng Dan chuckled. "Will you return with me Lady Ling? Lady Cai is waiting. I will leave eyes here, if you are concerned."
"Please do," Ling Qi said, taking one more glance back. She turned toward the observatory, and fell in beside Meng Dan. "What is this about anyway? No offense, while I'm sure the sky is interesting, Lady Cai and I are both very occupied."
"With the Court Astronomers deductions and observations and my own interactions, I have made some further observations on our guests culture and religion," Meng Dan said.
"Hm, sneaking off to drink with their soldiers again?" Ling Qi wondered.
"Only once," he said blithely.
She gave him a hard look out of the corner of her eye. He merely wore that perpetual expression of mild amusement.
"I apologize, would Lady Ling like an invitation next time?"
"No, that is not my preferred method," Ling Qi said dryly.
"Being more serious. In my role overseeing some of our construction on the mountainside, I have had a few conversations with those singing fellows of theirs. They are not a very reserved people," Meng Dan said.
"...How much of that is there, going around?" Ling Qi said.
"Very little, too much distance still."
"But not for you," Ling Qi wondered.
"I am merely a disarming man," Meng Dan said airily.
Ling Qi hummed looking on toward the observatory. The greater part of her senses remained on the other work crews in range.
"Are you well, by the by, Lady Ling. Most require more time to recover from tribulations."
"I don't have time to rest," Ling Qi said. The burnt out meridian still itched under her skin. Worse was the emptiness in her mind where Sixiang should have been. "Besides, I feel better when doing."
Meng Dan inclined his head. "The Moon can be cruel."
Ling Qi pursed her lips. "It can be, but if it didn't force us to look at ourselves so starkly now and then, would we ever?"
He chuckled. "Now that is the question."
"Isn't it though," Ling Qi said. "I admit, its a little nice, knowing that I'm not the only one at least trying to establish communication here."
"It
is a shame, that so many are incurious in the face of all this, isn't it?" Meng Dan mused. "There is just so much to be uncovered here. And all of this, quite fascinating. I hope I shall pen a document that some student will unearth a thousand years hence on the matter."
"I'm sure they'll be incredulous, and assume a great deal of exaggeration and mythmaking," Ling Qi said dryly.
"Nay, that will be the one school, another will be the group that twists their minds into loops to reinterpret my words to mean their opposite, while another takes a reading which supports this or that movements political goals," Meng Dan chuckled. "And then, there will be the fringe, which assumes that I merely say what I mean."
"How troublesome," Ling Qi said lightly. "Regardless, I'm curious, what are…
[ ] The more common White Sky's thoughts on all of this.
[ ] Is the mood among the White Sky's soldiers
