C/W Racist Language
Kayden floats above the city north of the old logging river. Once a major part of the life blood of the city, as it brought first logs and then barges with silver ore and finally aggregate until the crash in the 90's and closure of the docks. Now it's barely a trickle, as the diverted tributaries silted over and resumed their natural paths to other parts of the coast. According to Max, the only reason it still exists is all the storm drains that empty out into it.
Kayden shakes her head to dismiss thoughts of that treacherous murdering bastard. It's one thing to pay the sub-humans no mind, it's another to encourage people to torture and kill them for fun and sport.
We're all just mortals.
Kayden shakes her head at the intrusive thought that's at odds with her previous disdain. She'd almost rather she'd taken the hit to her reputation than touched that accursed coin. But the yoga community is a large source of her work as an interior designer, and without work she'd have to go back to Max. And then Adam and Lena had to walk in while she speaking in the language of Heaven.
Turning her attention back to the north east of the city, she wonders briefly why she bothers patrolling this section of the city, as only kikes, wogs, and slants live out here, and they're all worthless.
Dakala's not worthless. Look at what she's taught me.
"Dakala's not a mortal, she's a cultivator. So am I."
But I wasn't last week was I.
Kayden puts her fingers to her forehead and massages her eyes, "Shut up, shut up."
Why couldn't Dakala have shouted at her, or sworn at her, or something. Why does she have to be so nice?
Given that she clearly can't concentrate at the moment, Kayden turns back towards her Downtown flat and starts flying south.
As she's passing over the poorer areas of South Brockton Bay, she hears a scream from between two buildings. Dipping down so that she can see what's going on, she spots a group of people in Empire colors chasing a homeless woman.
As she turns to continue on her way, she brings her hands up to fire a beam of light at the person who just appeared.
As the light splashes harmlessly off the Empress, she turns to face Kayden, "I've been reading about my mortal life since I arrived in this realm. Did you know I once turned away from scenes just like this one. Do you know what changed my mind? I adopted my daughter. After that, I couldn't help wondering what I would do if it was her being chased."
"Then why don't you do something?"
The Empress smiles, "I cannot act, because the Mandate of Heaven exists to protect the mortal world from people like me. That doesn't mean I can't talk. Think about what I just said Kayden, what would you do if it was Aster down there?"
Kayden curses as the Empress vanishes, then turns towards the alleyway.
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Dakala pauses at the door to the tea shop, the rings in her hand. Rings that have little jade tags with the names that she and Dragon spent so long discussing over. Names of people, her students, that she hopes will accept becoming members of the sect.
Shaking her head, she pushes the door open and pauses to check on the scraggly flower from the quarry. Its very existence has demolished so many assumptions she had about plants and how they grow. Removing a spray bottle from her ring, she gives it a couple of spritz's before walking over to the counter.
"Afternoon Michelle, busy day?"
Michelle looks up from some paperwork she's busy with, before indicating at it with her hand, "Not really. Danka and Sue are going to be here today, they're just doing a bit of shopping first. I've also got a new student for you too, caught me just before school. Kid called Missy and her mother. Not sure about the mother, as she's not part of the yoga circle, but I think the kid watched your tea making video and she's been humoured."
Dakala nods and takes a jade slip out of her ring, along with the sect seal. "Uh, Michelle. Yesterday we made the White Moon Sect official with the government. I was wondering if you'd like to become a member."
"What's a sect when it's at home? Some sort of cult?"
Dakala shakes her head, "No, it's more like a cultivation school combined with a monastery, and martial arts training. Except without the religious bits."
"So, Shaolin Monks then."
Dakala ducks her head in embarrassment, "I don't actually know much about that, sorry."
Michelle waves, "Don't be, most people that are really into yoga end up running across articles about them, especially those that look at Buddhism. The USA temple opened in 94, and it even has a website if you're interested."
"Oh, right. Well, probably not then. Maybe in the Empress' old world they would have been. Dragon and I want to try and do things differently to there. As we don't exactly have a problem with marauding cultivators wandering around trying to steal our secrets and kill our members." Dakala laughs, "The Empress thinks that we'll end up the same way anyway. But for the moment, we're trying it as more of an exclusive club."
"Wait, Dragon?"
The door opens as the two yoga women walk in.
Dakala nods, "I know, she's the Empress' second student."
Michelle shakes her head, "Honestly, if Dragon's a member then as long as you don't expect me to be a hero, I'm fine with joining."
"Danka, Sue, this applies to you too. We filed the paperwork for the White Moon Sect yesterday. So I was wondering if you wanted to become members."
The older woman, Danka, asks, "How much will it cost?"
"At the moment, nothing. And we have no intention of charging for membership either. If you want to start using what you learn using White Moon resources for profit, then we'd want a cut of that. We're also sorting out a library of qi techniques and basic knowledge, like formations. Which as members you'd have access to. The Empress is being very strict on what we're allowed to put in that library, as she wants this to be a righteous and orthodox sect."
Sue nudges Danka as the fourth bell drops, "Mum, don't."
Danka ignores her and asks, "What do you mean by righteous and orthodox?"
Dakala fidgets for a second before saying, "Beyond the basic method of cultivation that everyone starts with, there are other methods of cultivating that can easily be abused in morally questionable ways. The Empress calls those unorthodox, there are other methods that she's removed from her library. 'To save my sanity'. As for Righteous, that just means that we'll only accept people who aren't going to run off and commit crimes. We don't expect anyone to be heroes or anything of the sort. The Empress is adamant that every member of the sect learns a martial art. But my favorite weapon is the fan, and I saw her dancing around with a giant brush last week, so it's more about being able to defend yourself than swords and knives."
Michelle holds out her hand, "What do I need to do?"
Dakala holds up the jade slip, "Let me put your name on this, then you hold it and push a little qi into it. Then I touch it with my jade rod."
They all giggle for a second and Sue asks, "Does it vibrate?"
Dakala sticks her tongue out as she draws a fan and carefully inscribes the phonetic spelling of Michelle's name in the language of Heaven. As she touches the seal to the slip, a coin with the seal engraved on it falls out with a tinkle.
Dakala scoops up the coin and, discretely, the ring with Michelle's name on it before handing them over. "I take that, and you keep this. Once I get back to the Pagoda, the coin should allow you to get there safely. But it will be the hardest workout you've ever done."
She's just finished Danka and Sue's slips when the bell over the door goes. Quickly she says, "Push a little qi into the ring to see inside."
Turning around she places her cushion on the floor and pauses when she spots the pencil skirt the woman is wearing, "Excuse me, were you informed of the fact we don't use chairs during the demonstration?"
The woman nods, "I was. I have been to a tea ceremony before, though I'm interested in watching you prepare the leaves. I have a hair dressers appointment after that. Though, for some reason Missy wishes to participate in the whole thing. Just send her down to Don Curleeo's if she's a nuisance during the grinding."
Dakala looks at the girl curiously for a moment before she remembers where she felt her before. "Sure, though it's not like we don't have
space here if she wants to wander around a bit. Just so you know, Tuesdays and Thursdays has turned into a sort of class on tea ceremony."
Missy nods, "I know, I saw the discussions on PHO. That's why I wanted to try it."
The woman pats Missy on the head, "And if you enjoy it, I suppose it's not too much trouble to have my hair done on Tuesdays instead of Wednesdays. It's certainly a prestigious skill to have."
Danka grabs four cushions from behind the counter as Dakala finishes setting up. A couple of minutes later, Michelle comes out with a plate full of leaves. Almost double the number she normally does.
As she sees them, Dakala slumps and mutters in the language of Heaven, "
Tribulations! I was sure I'd be able to do a perfect set today."
Sue stifles a chuckle as Dakala starts to cut the leaf away from the veins and stems, and then laying the skeleton out for display. While she's doing that, a few people come in to watch and buy tea.
As she's passing the plate around, the mother asks, "How long would it take Missy to learn this?"
Dakala gives her a brittle smile, "It depends on how well she keeps up with the exercises I give her. I recommend a couple of hours a day at a regular time. The better she's able to keep to the schedule the easier it will be to learn to do this. Danka and Sue are both working on grinding tea now, that's the important stage. But everyone wants to skip it."
"And the language you were speaking?"
"We teach that as a matter of course. All our lessons are conducted in that language after all. It's less disruptive to customers."
The mother pushes herself to her feet and slips her shoes on, "Languages are always good to have under your belt. Do you do any holiday classes, as the Easter Holidays are coming up."
Dakala glances a Missy's pleading eyes before looking back at her mother, "Assuming she's able to get the basics down, by then I'm sure the White Moon Sect would be able to do a camp of some description. If you leave your details with Michelle, I'll speak to the CEO and see what can be arranged. When does her school break up?"
"15th April. If you could, it would simplify matters with her Father."
The ding of the door opening and closing has everyone turn around to look at the Empress as she strolls in.
At the counter Michelle laughs, "Speak of the devil. Stellar Empress, welcome to my humble store."
The Empress smiles, "Michelle, thank you for allowing my student to practice here. How has she been doing?"
Dakala waves at the Empress, "This is my teacher. You're fortunate that she incorporated the White Moon Sect yesterday. Otherwise we couldn't have offered this."
The Empress turns back, "What are we offering?"
"Missy is potentially a new student, and her mother…"
The mother says, "Cynthia Biron, fashion designer."
"…was asking if we were doing any classes over the easter break. Which starts on Friday."
The Empress looks at Missy critically, "We have all the facilities to house guests, and Dragon is a frequent visitor. We can do a two week intensive course for $500, room and board included. But your daughter will have to successfully cultivate by the time the holiday starts"
Cynthia's phone beeps, "I've got to go, will you be here at the end of the ceremony?"
The Empress smiles, "I can be."
"Great, I'll see you then."
As Cynthia rushes out the door, the Empress asks, "Michelle, do you still have that box?"
Michelle nods, "I do. It's out back."
"Would you mind showing it to the young lady, and how it works."
"Um."
"She won't believe it if Dakala or I do it."
Boldly, Missy asks, "Believe what?"
The Empress kneels down beside Missy, "That space expansion like the inside of this shop can be done by people without powers. Once you believe, I'll heal that scar for you, so that you don't need to keep hiding it. Don't wait Dakala, I'll handle the basics for Missy."
As Dakala, Sue, and Danka start grinding, Missy stares at the Empress, "Wh-what do you want?"
The Empress smiles gently, "I want to reward perseverance, intelligence, and planning. I might not be able to act in the world, but that doesn't mean I can't provide people with the tools they need to act themselves. Something that has been made much easier recently thanks to Dragon's meddling. Touch this coin to your forehead."
Missy looks down at the coin the Empress is now holding as Michelle comes out from the back with a wooden tea box.
"What will the coin do?"
"Cautious too. It will teach you the language of Heaven. Touching it longer will teach the basic knowledge needed to understand the laws. Finally, it will teach the laws pertaining interactions between realms and the few universal laws."
Michelle crouches down next to Missy, "Hi, I've got the box."
Missy turns away and looks at the box curiously, "What's so special about the box?"
Michelle stares at the pattern in the bottom of the box for a few seconds before the Empress says, "Look for the cluster that says, '
Qi, gather, store, direction'"
Michelle takes a little longer before she nods and puts her finger into the box and the interior space suddenly doubles in size.
"Oh, cool, could I do that to my jewelry box?"
The Empress chuckles, "I'm sure you could. And if you learn formations you could do it that way too. Now, if I have proven my credentials enough, touch the coin to your forehead and we will begin."
Missy shakes her head, "Sorry no."
The Empress shrugs, "Then you won't be able to attend the camp, as it's unlikely that you'll be able to feel qi before your mother gets back. And without knowing what you're supposed to feel, you won't be able to progress quickly enough. I'm sure Michelle wouldn't mind you using the back room to confirm that the coin is safe to use. Assuming that's your hang up."
Missy scrambles to her feet and tries to put space between her and the Empress, "What the hell, you're breaking all the rules."
The Empress shakes her head, "Child, your comprehension of space isn't nearly high enough to do that here. And I am very carefully not breaking the rules, while showing you that I could if I wished to."
Michelle's eyes widen and she stares at Missy, "Empress, you're not trying to bring the PRT down on us are you?"
The Empress shakes her head, "I'm not, I'm trying to give a neglected child the best chance I can of having an escape from her living situation rather than being torn between being used as a bargaining tool or burying herself in her after school club so deeply that her childhood dreams become a distant memory and all that matters is getting the job done."
Missy steps back into a shelf, "How do you know?"
"I can sense everything that happens on this planet. It took me a few weeks to start making sense of it, but if it's happening now I can sense it. My attention is on this city, so it's what I can understand the clearest. English doesn't really have the language to describe what I'm doing. I suppose you could liken it to listening to conversations in a busy mess hall. Most people can only concentrate on one or two conversations at a time. I can concentrate on more, but even when I'm not I can keep track of who's talking to who and tune in to interesting seeming conversations. But I am restricting myself to only acting under the Mandate of Heaven," she holds the coin up, "because to do otherwise means becoming a well meaning tyrant. Call your after school club and tell them you have the opportunity to have a look at the inside of the pagoda, as that's where the camp will be held."
Missy edges along the shelves before turning and, after a moments hesitation, flees into the back room. A few minutes later she stumps back in and holds out her hand, "Give me the stupid coin."
The Empress gestures to the cushion, "You might not want to be standing."
As Missy kneels down, and takes the coin, the Empress says, "You remind me of my granddaughter Hanying, she was just starting the DAO of Space when I last saw her. She also wanted to grow up faster than other children. In her case it was because she wanted to prove she was good enough to learn from me. I have seen three people get powers since I arrived, and each one tested my adherence to the Mandate of Heaven.
Now, complete your qi circuit and sit up straight. I'm going to increase the amount of unaspected qi in the room to make it easier for you to feel, but you must keep your posture. Now Breathe."
