Chachi considered her options. Teo would want them to stick to the plan, but free water was better than affordable water. There was a more important reason for her to agree to serve the Lord though: Her father did it.
"I'm not my father. I don't have… I know I'm a poor substitute right now. But I want to try my best to fulfill his legacy. There are people who speak ill against him, now that he's dead. They say such terrible things. But, he believed in me, and I believe in him. He thought it wise to serve our Lord, I would do the same if I can."
Well said. It's easy to criticize when you only have a partial view, to become embittered because you covet power that was never yours, or villainize when the truth is you just have opposed interests. You and I were the closest to our father, in different spheres, and we are able to see how admirable he could be. I am sorry for doubting you, I tried to believe it was because of your youth and inexperience, but if I am honest with myself, it's because I thought it was my destiny to fulfill his legacy and you threatened that. It's foolish, we are all our father's legacy, and we will fulfill it together.
Lord Cuāpitzīniā nodded placidly, "I will inform Our Lord. Please enjoy the Court, I will find you when he wishes to meet," he was clearly uninterested in her speech. Chachi didn't care, it wasn't really for him.
Chachi spent the next hour wandering the Court, on the lookout for more business opportunities, or for that Saint. She thought maybe it was the man with wild eyes doing strange tricks, such as making coins disappear, without even the smallest drop of Teotle. He informed her that he was but a mortal performer, not a Saint in disguise… But how could a mortal be capable of such a feat?
Cuāpitzīniā interrupted her search to escort her to an indoor rainforest, where he left her. Its central feature was a multi-story waterfall that churned the pond beneath it into a refreshing mist. Chachi didn't have an eye for foliage, but the trees and vines seemed native to the thousand rivers. She could feel true sunlight from the crystalline artificial sun hanging just above the waterfall. She searched for the Lord, but instead she found a pair of silver-bearded monkeys swinging in the canopy. Her eyes followed them for a few moments, but then they caught on an incongruous speck of light. With a leap she closed the distance between her and it, until she could see it was a small lizard. With a puff of flame, quickly quenched in this wet environment, it startled away from her. She followed it easily, its bright white standing in stark contrast to the browns and greens of its environment.
"A White Fire Siren Salamander," she heard a deep voice, rumbling and jovial, behind her, "a mistake of nature, rare because it cannot survive without protection. The Fire Siren Salamander blends into the foliage and attracts prey by mimicking their mating sounds. When they approach, searching for a potential mate, it kills them with its flame spirit-beast technique. This tactic does not work if the prey can see a bright white Salamander trying to trick them. So, they survive only in captivity. There are some among my peers who think that this means they should not exist. I disagree. The whites are the most beautiful, even their unnaturally fragility is a part of it. Is that not worth protecting? Many such things thrive beneath my protection. "
Chachi turned to take in Lord Tlaloc, who stood among the strongest of the True Lord Cultivators. She'd seen him before at a distance, when her father took her to Court. Up close, she could appreciate the enormity of the man. He was huge. Inhumanly tall, muscular and corpulent both. Gold-bronze skin peeked behind a writhing coat of vines. He wore a crown of thirteen flowers and a wide smile, somehow both warm and predatory.
His physical presence was nothing compared to the spiritual. He was enormous, overbearing in a way that was difficult to grasp, she was an ant at the foot of a Mount Tai, and even knowing that it was there she could not take it all in. His power was not just greater than hers, it was hers, she was a drop of water in a torrential river. So close to him, she could feel his authority tugging at her soul. This was her home. He was her Lord. The Land-Bond did not require absolute obedience, or even loyalty, it required only the knowledge deep in her spirit that he was her rightful ruler.
Chachi fell to her knees and kissed the earth that was him, "Lord Tlaloc, your subject greets you."
"Rise," he laughed, "I'm sure you've been shocked by my grandson's airs. He's a good kid, but I recently put him on the treasury and he's like a little Lightning Drill Ocelot when it comes to his work. I don't pay much attention to the taxes, don't have the head for stone-counting, but I've heard the new plan to profit from river-water extraction was a bit harsh."
Chachi nodded at that, oddly sheepish. She felt a wave of relief to be talking to the Lord, she knew somewhere deep inside that he would set things right.
He shook his head ruefully, "It was bad timing for you as well. I'm sorry for the loss of your father. He was a fascinating man. Ambitious, insightful, driven, a real problem-solver. I couldn't attend his funeral in person, bad precedent, but I was there in spirit, if you know what I mean," he pulled up on one eye-lid comically, and Chachi giggled like a child.
"I don't want to reverse my taxes just yet… I think there's an advantage to them. Suddenly all sorts of Clans are coming to me, asking for a bit of relief, and I can make an exception here or there, maybe a favor or a service. It's better than just ordering them around. I don't like how that feels, smacks of slavery… You get it." Chachi did, in that moment it made perfect sense. It was good and right for the Lord to suddenly raise taxes on the Clans so he could pressure them into making otherwise unlawful concessions. It was as the Lord willed, and what the Lord willed was naturally correct.
Lord Tlaloc held out one vine-cloaked arm, and an instant later one of the silver-bearded monkeys alighted on it. Chachi felt a miniscule trickle of his Teotle and grapes flourished on the vines, which the monkey proceeded to consume with gusto.
"I understand that you are interested in following in your father's footsteps," the Lord continued, "that's great! I like your attitude. I like that you decided outside my direct presence, it's more sincere that way. Too bad you're not ready yet. I'm sure you have your own strengths, I hear you have a fascinating foundation and mastery. I'll have one of my kids come up with a way we can benefit from that, but to really help me like your old man did you'll need to be at in least Transposition. Make sure you put some time in on your cultivation, I don't want to wait three hundred years for you to step in."
"Yes, my Lord." Chachi was a genius at cultivation, it was her greatest talent. She'd been trying to broaden herself so she could replace her father as a business-woman, but she knew she also needed to at least match his spiritual strength for her Clan to recover.
"Great! Now about those taxes. I'm not giving you the water for free, I'll reconsider when you're past Merging. For now, I'll give you some relief so you can get there faster. Your taxes are cut to a quarter of the true rate for this year, half the year after, and then they will return to full. Should be a good incentive for you to rush up those steps. Was there anything else you wanted to discuss?"
The Lord seemed to be in no hurry, he was taking clear joy in his menagerie and didn't dismiss Chachi.
Question Time is open. Feel free to write-in any questions or comments for the Lord. I reserve the right to put them in Chachi's voice. Anything rude or otherwise an exceptionally bad idea will be vetoed.
. Being a merchant caravan by fortress train sounds neat. Though it might be harder to make staples and procure raw resources (the other things our clan specializes in selling).
