A land of large cities, larger plots, and a daughter standing in the large shadow of her father. Given an unexpected opportunity, she will have to overcome unexpected difficulties to get what she wants. Once she knows what that is though, she'll be sure to tell you.
The Flaming Lotus Sect
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Chapter 1: Day at the Gate
New
- Location
- United States of America
Chapter 1: Day at the Gate
Walking through the door, I stopped to take off my shoes and slip on the indoor slippers. A habit drilled into me by my mother. Speaking of whom…
"Mother, I'm home early!"
"Already?" Mother questioned, her voice echoing out from the kitchen.
"Yep! All the instructor wanted us to do today was review the tariff policies. He asked me a couple of questions and sent me home."
"Hmmph, and to think your father pays him good money to tutor you. I'll have to swing by later this week."
"It's fine," I say, moving into the kitchen and seeing my mother kneeling by the fireplace, feeding logs into the crackling flames. Like me, she was willow thin, with long black hair pinned into a bun and soft brown eyes. "We just had a couple of weeks with a lot of work, and I think everyone wanted a break."
"We do not pay him to take breaks, dear. We pay him to tutor. Well, since you are home early Jia, you can help me with lunch."
"Of course, Mother. What is on the menu?"
"Dumplings!" My mother exclaimed, a smile splitting her face. "Your father is out at the Gate of Wisdom today, so we'll cook a basket of dumplings for him. And, if he's in a lenient mood, maybe he'll share with the other Elders!"
I laugh, walking over to where the aprons were stored. "You know," I began, as I slid an apron over my head, "that the only way Father would give up your food is if the other Elders stole it from him."
"I know," she said wistfully, "but a girl can dream."
An uncomfortable pang twisted in my stomach, but with a breath, I squished it. Later, I promised myself. I'll tell her later.
"We'll just have to make the best dumplings around so Father is the envy of everyone," I say brightly. "What would you like me to start with?"
"The dough is ready," my mother said with a smile, "but we still need to cut it to size. If you could begin there, I'll join you once the fire is ready."
A quick spin, which let my apron flare out charmingly, found me by the countertop. From there, it was a familiar repetition of tasks, something I had done with my mother all my life. Cut the dough, spread out the cut pieces, place the filling in the center, wrap up the pastries like a present, place in the now boiling pot of water until they float, and then sear the bottom with a pan covered in a thin film of oil. A couple dozen pork dumplings were made in an hour, with both of us working in a harmony born from repetition.
The simple joy of cooking wasn't to last though. Eventually, the dough, the filling, and even the space in the dumpling basket ran out. Which was fine. Smelling the cooking pork and dough had stirred up my appetite, and I was already working on keeping myself from drooling. Noticing, Mother gave a light laugh and brought the spare dumplings out of the sweltering kitchen and into the much cooler dining room.
Placing the dumplings on the long wooden dining room table, she took a seat and gestured for me to do the same. I did, sitting next to her as she started dividing the dumplings between us.
"Well, to the cooks goes the food," she said, before taking a bite of the dumpling.
Following suit, I blew on the food before taking a bite, keeping one of my hands below my chin to catch anything that fell. It was, as expected, delicious. Enjoying the food and silent company, I glanced again at my Mother's happy face and felt the pang in my stomach again. Nerves. I could put it off, again. I had been doing that the past few days after all. But waiting wasn't going to help me. And it may even make it more difficult.
"Mother," I began softly, moving both of my hands to rest on the table. "You mentioned something about a girl needing dreams earlier."
"I did? Hmmm, I don't recall."
"Well, I do have a dream I wanted to talk to you about."
Shifting in her seat, I saw my mother frown slightly, changing her posture to look me clearly in the eyes. "This sounds quite serious."
Taking a breath, I nodded and then pushed through the nerves. "I want to join the army, Mother."
"No, absolutely not," she responded, shaking her head. "I thought you were past that foolishness. How can you get married and raise a family in the army? What about the betrothal discussions with the Han family, about that nice Zhou boy? Throw all of that away? No, absolutely not, I will not hear it."
"Mother, I turned eighteen last month. I am old enough to join. By the Ancestors, Father was already a captain when he was sixteen!"
"And look where that got him!" She yelled, her hand slamming down on the table while her breath heaved. And then she looked away, sadness crashing into her like a physical weight, her shoulders curling up with her face bowed.
"Thank you," she said softly, "for letting me know. We can discuss this later, though. With your father. Over dinner." Steeling herself, she pulled herself back up. "For now, deliver the rest of the dumplings to your Father."
"Yes, Mother," I said quietly. "I'll keep Father company until dinner."
"Yes, yes. That would be nice. Well," she said with a false cheer, "have fun with your Father!"
Standing up, I grabbed the basket of dumplings, holding it in front of me. Leaving my mother at the table, I quickly moved to the front door, setting the dumplings down for a moment while I switched to my normal shoes. Ignoring the quiet sounds of my mother moving about the house, I stepped outside into the bright noonday sun. A cacophony greeted me, the sounds of a living city. We lived a few streets away from the main market thoroughfare, and even at this distance, I could hear some of the louder hawkers plying their trade.
Walking away from the hawkers, I heard the chaos of the market fade away. Moving along the streets, greeting those who nodded at me, I continued west, towards the Gate of Wisdom, where my father sat with the other Elders. It was a short walk, a few minutes at best, before I encountered a crowd of aspirants. Those who wished to debate and learn of wisdom.
They formed an almost silent wall, each one straining their ears to catch tidbits from those debating in front of the gate. I slipped to the side of them, shimming through small spaces when I could and stepping on toes when I couldn't. Many of them, correctly, discerned that I was bringing lunch to one of the Elders and let me through. Some of them gave me a stink eye, which I ignored.
If they got that annoyed when I slipped past them, then they would be dismantled during emotional debates.
Soon enough, I slipped past the crowd and saw the Gate of Wisdom itself. It was, as the name implied, a gate. However, it was set at the base of a hill, with the rising earth behind the city's walls. From that hill, a large amphitheater had been carved, giving those who got here early enough space to sit and listen. The brave would stand before the large stone gate set into the wall and speak to the crowd and the Elders. Besides the gate sat several alcoves with silken awnings opened up to give each Elder a personal spot of shade.
This close, I could hear the current speaker. I didn't have context for their speech, but it seemed to meander between increasing tariffs on certain goods while also decreasing tariffs on other commodities. The man… wasn't making the greatest impression. One of the older Elders even seemed asleep! Shaking my head, I refocused my attention, ignoring the speaker and instead scanning my eyes across the alcoves to find my father. Before too long, I spotted him, sitting in the shade at the far end, looking with rapt attention at the speaker.
His large frame barely fit inside the small alcove he had, with broad shoulders practically rubbing against the stone. Unlike the other Elders who wore long white beards and mustaches, my father was clean-shaven. No, for my father the most prominent facial feature wasn't hair or eyes, but the sprawling scars that wound around his face, like a tree that had been hit by lightning. Folded in his lap were his two hands, both knarled and heavily scarred. The hands that, if you believed the stories others told, had saved the city.
Slipping around the side of the amphitheater, I made my way to his alcove, a little skip in my step and a smile on my face. He pretended not to notice me, keeping his attention on the speaker until I sat next to him, just outside his alcove, with my basket of dumplings. Without shifting his attention, he tried to open the basket. It didn't work. His hands were a bit too clumsy to quickly grab the top of the lid.
Instead of letting him try again, I just opened the lid, took out a dumpling, and held it out for him. He huffed a bit, but bit into it just enough to get it out of my hand before a quick snap of his teeth had the whole dumpling in his mouth. As he did that, he pressed a small little button on the side of the alcove. A pale white glow crept up the sides of the wall, and I felt a tingle on my skin as something I couldn't see passed over me.
"There," he said, his voice hoarse. "Now the ponce talking won't be able to see or hear anything from us."
"He… isn't very good, is he."
"No darling, he is not. But, I believe that is the point."
I looked at him and quirked my eyebrow. "Why would anyone want to make a bad case in front of the Gates of Wisdom? That seems self-defeating."
"It would be unless they're a patsy of someone else. Bad arguments against a course of action are easily used to drive up support to pursue that action. I wouldn't be surprised if the next aspirant, or the one after, discusses the same topic but takes the other position."
"Huh."
"Well," my father said, pulling his shoulders to crack his back. "Thank you for the lunch, I was getting hungry, but shouldn't you be in class right about now?"
"It was a short day. The tutor wanted us to review our lessons on tariffs, so I answered a couple of questions and was dismissed."
"Hmmmm… a review of the very same tariffs our current speaker is talking about?"
Twisting around to look at the speaker, I paid closer attention to his words. Given his lack of structure in the speech, it was hard to pick out exactly what types of tariffs he was discussing, but after a few more minutes of listening, the answer was clear.
"He is actually. Some of the arguments he's using are even points my classmates raised when we discussed the nuances of this particular tariff last week, points that Instructor Lin had us discuss vigorously."
"Strange," my father muttered, looking at the man with sharp stormcloud eyes. "I'll have to check with the Academy to see if tariffs have suddenly become a hot topic of discussion. This seems too widespread to simply be a coincidence."
"Hmmm…" I said, leaning back to rest against the wall next to the alcove, enjoying the heat of the sun on my face.
"Still, I'm sure you have other things to do than keep your old man company," Father said, his hand drifting to pat the top of my head. "No need to stick around."
"I'm fine. I like listening to the people at the gate."
Something in my tone made him perk up, shifting so he could see me better. "While I'm sure you like listening, was there something that happened that makes it particularly appealing today?"
That same pang of nervousness spiked in my gut, but I took a deep breath, looked up at the sky, and began to talk. "I got into an argument with Mother today."
"That's unusual. What was the argument about?"
"I told her I wanted to join the army. She disagrees vehemently."
My father made a small sound of surprise before speaking up. "I can see why she would disagree. It's a tough life, rough, hard, with little comfort and a lot of pain. What makes you want to join?"
"I just… I feel listless right now. The army would give me purpose, right? I'm eighteen already, but I have no idea what I want to do with myself! All I seem to do is learn from my tutor, do chores, and gossip with my friends.
I… I want to be like the stories I've heard about you. Driven, successful. All things you had while in the army."
"Ahh," he said softly, "what else about the army makes it appealing for you to join?"
"I would like to explore places and have stories to tell rather than just listen to. I want to see the City of Seven Oceans, like you did, or the Plains of Red Bone, or the Jagged Teeth Mountains. I talked to a recruiter last week, and he said that those were all things I could do in the army."
"Hmmm… I see. Well, we can certainly discuss things more over dinner, and if you still want to join the army I'll support you."
"Really!"
"Yes, but I don't think it will come to that."
I froze, dread pooling in my stomach. "What do you mean?"
Noticing my expression, he chuckled and tousled my hair. "It sounds like you've put some thought into it, but there is more thinking to do. Other options will also let you travel the world, have stories to tell, and, most importantly, give you a purpose and drive beyond just housework and gossip. One should always look before they leap, after all."
I sighed, letting my eyes close. "Fine. Dinner time we'll talk more about it."
"That's the spirit! Planning what to do next is always easier with food in the belly. Especially your mother's food."
I chuckled lightly, letting the sunlight play over my eyelids. Until a shadow crossed over them and a hush fell over the crowd at the gate.
"Ahh," my father said, his voice light. "They're finally here."
Opening my eyes, I saw what looked like a ship crafted from dark roiling flame cross over the wall, heading East and a touch North. Towards the glittering manse that housed the city's governor. Banners draped down from the ship's railings, a white field holding a purple lotus flower viewed from the top. At the center of the lotus sat a stylized red flame. I knew of them, from my tutor when we covered heralding last month. The Flaming Lotus Sect. A school of immortals.
"A bit late, aren't they," my father continued, and I turned to look at him. His eyes were now firmly fixed on the ship as it sailed above us, a slight smile on his face. "I was expecting them a month ago."
"Wh… how… what?"
"For your birthday, darling," he said. "It's time to see if you can be an immortal."
Walking through the door, I stopped to take off my shoes and slip on the indoor slippers. A habit drilled into me by my mother. Speaking of whom…
"Mother, I'm home early!"
"Already?" Mother questioned, her voice echoing out from the kitchen.
"Yep! All the instructor wanted us to do today was review the tariff policies. He asked me a couple of questions and sent me home."
"Hmmph, and to think your father pays him good money to tutor you. I'll have to swing by later this week."
"It's fine," I say, moving into the kitchen and seeing my mother kneeling by the fireplace, feeding logs into the crackling flames. Like me, she was willow thin, with long black hair pinned into a bun and soft brown eyes. "We just had a couple of weeks with a lot of work, and I think everyone wanted a break."
"We do not pay him to take breaks, dear. We pay him to tutor. Well, since you are home early Jia, you can help me with lunch."
"Of course, Mother. What is on the menu?"
"Dumplings!" My mother exclaimed, a smile splitting her face. "Your father is out at the Gate of Wisdom today, so we'll cook a basket of dumplings for him. And, if he's in a lenient mood, maybe he'll share with the other Elders!"
I laugh, walking over to where the aprons were stored. "You know," I began, as I slid an apron over my head, "that the only way Father would give up your food is if the other Elders stole it from him."
"I know," she said wistfully, "but a girl can dream."
An uncomfortable pang twisted in my stomach, but with a breath, I squished it. Later, I promised myself. I'll tell her later.
"We'll just have to make the best dumplings around so Father is the envy of everyone," I say brightly. "What would you like me to start with?"
"The dough is ready," my mother said with a smile, "but we still need to cut it to size. If you could begin there, I'll join you once the fire is ready."
A quick spin, which let my apron flare out charmingly, found me by the countertop. From there, it was a familiar repetition of tasks, something I had done with my mother all my life. Cut the dough, spread out the cut pieces, place the filling in the center, wrap up the pastries like a present, place in the now boiling pot of water until they float, and then sear the bottom with a pan covered in a thin film of oil. A couple dozen pork dumplings were made in an hour, with both of us working in a harmony born from repetition.
The simple joy of cooking wasn't to last though. Eventually, the dough, the filling, and even the space in the dumpling basket ran out. Which was fine. Smelling the cooking pork and dough had stirred up my appetite, and I was already working on keeping myself from drooling. Noticing, Mother gave a light laugh and brought the spare dumplings out of the sweltering kitchen and into the much cooler dining room.
Placing the dumplings on the long wooden dining room table, she took a seat and gestured for me to do the same. I did, sitting next to her as she started dividing the dumplings between us.
"Well, to the cooks goes the food," she said, before taking a bite of the dumpling.
Following suit, I blew on the food before taking a bite, keeping one of my hands below my chin to catch anything that fell. It was, as expected, delicious. Enjoying the food and silent company, I glanced again at my Mother's happy face and felt the pang in my stomach again. Nerves. I could put it off, again. I had been doing that the past few days after all. But waiting wasn't going to help me. And it may even make it more difficult.
"Mother," I began softly, moving both of my hands to rest on the table. "You mentioned something about a girl needing dreams earlier."
"I did? Hmmm, I don't recall."
"Well, I do have a dream I wanted to talk to you about."
Shifting in her seat, I saw my mother frown slightly, changing her posture to look me clearly in the eyes. "This sounds quite serious."
Taking a breath, I nodded and then pushed through the nerves. "I want to join the army, Mother."
"No, absolutely not," she responded, shaking her head. "I thought you were past that foolishness. How can you get married and raise a family in the army? What about the betrothal discussions with the Han family, about that nice Zhou boy? Throw all of that away? No, absolutely not, I will not hear it."
"Mother, I turned eighteen last month. I am old enough to join. By the Ancestors, Father was already a captain when he was sixteen!"
"And look where that got him!" She yelled, her hand slamming down on the table while her breath heaved. And then she looked away, sadness crashing into her like a physical weight, her shoulders curling up with her face bowed.
"Thank you," she said softly, "for letting me know. We can discuss this later, though. With your father. Over dinner." Steeling herself, she pulled herself back up. "For now, deliver the rest of the dumplings to your Father."
"Yes, Mother," I said quietly. "I'll keep Father company until dinner."
"Yes, yes. That would be nice. Well," she said with a false cheer, "have fun with your Father!"
Standing up, I grabbed the basket of dumplings, holding it in front of me. Leaving my mother at the table, I quickly moved to the front door, setting the dumplings down for a moment while I switched to my normal shoes. Ignoring the quiet sounds of my mother moving about the house, I stepped outside into the bright noonday sun. A cacophony greeted me, the sounds of a living city. We lived a few streets away from the main market thoroughfare, and even at this distance, I could hear some of the louder hawkers plying their trade.
Walking away from the hawkers, I heard the chaos of the market fade away. Moving along the streets, greeting those who nodded at me, I continued west, towards the Gate of Wisdom, where my father sat with the other Elders. It was a short walk, a few minutes at best, before I encountered a crowd of aspirants. Those who wished to debate and learn of wisdom.
They formed an almost silent wall, each one straining their ears to catch tidbits from those debating in front of the gate. I slipped to the side of them, shimming through small spaces when I could and stepping on toes when I couldn't. Many of them, correctly, discerned that I was bringing lunch to one of the Elders and let me through. Some of them gave me a stink eye, which I ignored.
If they got that annoyed when I slipped past them, then they would be dismantled during emotional debates.
Soon enough, I slipped past the crowd and saw the Gate of Wisdom itself. It was, as the name implied, a gate. However, it was set at the base of a hill, with the rising earth behind the city's walls. From that hill, a large amphitheater had been carved, giving those who got here early enough space to sit and listen. The brave would stand before the large stone gate set into the wall and speak to the crowd and the Elders. Besides the gate sat several alcoves with silken awnings opened up to give each Elder a personal spot of shade.
This close, I could hear the current speaker. I didn't have context for their speech, but it seemed to meander between increasing tariffs on certain goods while also decreasing tariffs on other commodities. The man… wasn't making the greatest impression. One of the older Elders even seemed asleep! Shaking my head, I refocused my attention, ignoring the speaker and instead scanning my eyes across the alcoves to find my father. Before too long, I spotted him, sitting in the shade at the far end, looking with rapt attention at the speaker.
His large frame barely fit inside the small alcove he had, with broad shoulders practically rubbing against the stone. Unlike the other Elders who wore long white beards and mustaches, my father was clean-shaven. No, for my father the most prominent facial feature wasn't hair or eyes, but the sprawling scars that wound around his face, like a tree that had been hit by lightning. Folded in his lap were his two hands, both knarled and heavily scarred. The hands that, if you believed the stories others told, had saved the city.
Slipping around the side of the amphitheater, I made my way to his alcove, a little skip in my step and a smile on my face. He pretended not to notice me, keeping his attention on the speaker until I sat next to him, just outside his alcove, with my basket of dumplings. Without shifting his attention, he tried to open the basket. It didn't work. His hands were a bit too clumsy to quickly grab the top of the lid.
Instead of letting him try again, I just opened the lid, took out a dumpling, and held it out for him. He huffed a bit, but bit into it just enough to get it out of my hand before a quick snap of his teeth had the whole dumpling in his mouth. As he did that, he pressed a small little button on the side of the alcove. A pale white glow crept up the sides of the wall, and I felt a tingle on my skin as something I couldn't see passed over me.
"There," he said, his voice hoarse. "Now the ponce talking won't be able to see or hear anything from us."
"He… isn't very good, is he."
"No darling, he is not. But, I believe that is the point."
I looked at him and quirked my eyebrow. "Why would anyone want to make a bad case in front of the Gates of Wisdom? That seems self-defeating."
"It would be unless they're a patsy of someone else. Bad arguments against a course of action are easily used to drive up support to pursue that action. I wouldn't be surprised if the next aspirant, or the one after, discusses the same topic but takes the other position."
"Huh."
"Well," my father said, pulling his shoulders to crack his back. "Thank you for the lunch, I was getting hungry, but shouldn't you be in class right about now?"
"It was a short day. The tutor wanted us to review our lessons on tariffs, so I answered a couple of questions and was dismissed."
"Hmmmm… a review of the very same tariffs our current speaker is talking about?"
Twisting around to look at the speaker, I paid closer attention to his words. Given his lack of structure in the speech, it was hard to pick out exactly what types of tariffs he was discussing, but after a few more minutes of listening, the answer was clear.
"He is actually. Some of the arguments he's using are even points my classmates raised when we discussed the nuances of this particular tariff last week, points that Instructor Lin had us discuss vigorously."
"Strange," my father muttered, looking at the man with sharp stormcloud eyes. "I'll have to check with the Academy to see if tariffs have suddenly become a hot topic of discussion. This seems too widespread to simply be a coincidence."
"Hmmm…" I said, leaning back to rest against the wall next to the alcove, enjoying the heat of the sun on my face.
"Still, I'm sure you have other things to do than keep your old man company," Father said, his hand drifting to pat the top of my head. "No need to stick around."
"I'm fine. I like listening to the people at the gate."
Something in my tone made him perk up, shifting so he could see me better. "While I'm sure you like listening, was there something that happened that makes it particularly appealing today?"
That same pang of nervousness spiked in my gut, but I took a deep breath, looked up at the sky, and began to talk. "I got into an argument with Mother today."
"That's unusual. What was the argument about?"
"I told her I wanted to join the army. She disagrees vehemently."
My father made a small sound of surprise before speaking up. "I can see why she would disagree. It's a tough life, rough, hard, with little comfort and a lot of pain. What makes you want to join?"
"I just… I feel listless right now. The army would give me purpose, right? I'm eighteen already, but I have no idea what I want to do with myself! All I seem to do is learn from my tutor, do chores, and gossip with my friends.
I… I want to be like the stories I've heard about you. Driven, successful. All things you had while in the army."
"Ahh," he said softly, "what else about the army makes it appealing for you to join?"
"I would like to explore places and have stories to tell rather than just listen to. I want to see the City of Seven Oceans, like you did, or the Plains of Red Bone, or the Jagged Teeth Mountains. I talked to a recruiter last week, and he said that those were all things I could do in the army."
"Hmmm… I see. Well, we can certainly discuss things more over dinner, and if you still want to join the army I'll support you."
"Really!"
"Yes, but I don't think it will come to that."
I froze, dread pooling in my stomach. "What do you mean?"
Noticing my expression, he chuckled and tousled my hair. "It sounds like you've put some thought into it, but there is more thinking to do. Other options will also let you travel the world, have stories to tell, and, most importantly, give you a purpose and drive beyond just housework and gossip. One should always look before they leap, after all."
I sighed, letting my eyes close. "Fine. Dinner time we'll talk more about it."
"That's the spirit! Planning what to do next is always easier with food in the belly. Especially your mother's food."
I chuckled lightly, letting the sunlight play over my eyelids. Until a shadow crossed over them and a hush fell over the crowd at the gate.
"Ahh," my father said, his voice light. "They're finally here."
Opening my eyes, I saw what looked like a ship crafted from dark roiling flame cross over the wall, heading East and a touch North. Towards the glittering manse that housed the city's governor. Banners draped down from the ship's railings, a white field holding a purple lotus flower viewed from the top. At the center of the lotus sat a stylized red flame. I knew of them, from my tutor when we covered heralding last month. The Flaming Lotus Sect. A school of immortals.
"A bit late, aren't they," my father continued, and I turned to look at him. His eyes were now firmly fixed on the ship as it sailed above us, a slight smile on his face. "I was expecting them a month ago."
"Wh… how… what?"
"For your birthday, darling," he said. "It's time to see if you can be an immortal."
DangerKitty
shoddy writter
- Location
- lala land
Damn, i hope we can make it into the sect. Though it is is statistacly unlikely. Very few have the talent. Maybe we'll roll a crit 100. Still we shouldn't count on it.
What do yall think? Merchant or army?
What do yall think? Merchant or army?
