A/N: A big thanks to the 29 people who have pledged to me on Patreon! If you'd like to join them, you can do so here. If you'd like to check out the Royal Road crosspost, head on over and check it out! Leave a rating while you're there. It really does help me out.
We're back with the next to last commission of this cycle! This one was another very open-ended request: Kong Bi doing something when Zhi isn't around. It went to a place that I'm sure you all will enjoy!
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If one were to look at the grand continent claimed by the Radiant Empire from the peaks of the heavens, their eyes would linger upon many glorious wonders. They would gaze upon the Brightmaple Mountains to the west, a range of stone peaks so grand that they seem to crown the land itself. They would stare at the deep blue of the Laughingstar Sea to the south and marvel at the millions of creatures that live within it. They would behold the Sunset Wastes to the east and stare in awe at the men and beasts that call the hard land their home. Their eyes would linger on the Cloudforge Plateau to the north and admire the never-ending battle between man and nature.
But when the invisible watcher is done beholding the glory of the natural world, their attention would be captivated by those wonders more man-made in nature. And so their eyes would drift towards the middle of the continent, and then slightly to the east until they landed on the greatest of the man's touches: Harmony. The capital city of the empire stretches nearly one hundred leagues from border to border, a sprawling monument to the best and worst of all mankind. It begins at the base of the Revenant Pillars before stretching north and east, crossing the Soundless Run and ending on the grassy plains.
Harmony's glory is far more than the landscape that it covers, however. Were it just some blanket of man that covered nature's bounty, it would not be nearly interesting enough to catch the heavenly watcher's eye. Enclosed within the capital's ivory walls are exemplars of humanity itself. There is the Emperor's Palace, a vast complex of obsidian and ivory that lies in the exact heart of the City. A dove's flight away from the Palace lies the Midnight Garden, a carefully cultivated copse of trees and flowers so dense that the only light to be found within comes from specially bred fireflies. The Garden lies only a brief carriage ride from Wheelmaker's Trail, where one can witness the darker sides of civilization first hand if they dare.
Those are just a few of the places that make Harmony a feast for the senses. Dozens more pack every street. Wonders beyond the comprehension of an ordinary farmer seem to grow on every corner to the point where a newcomer would swear that the streets are made of silver and the drains of diamond.
One place that a newcomer to Harmony would
not go out of their way to see, however, is the compound of the Kong Clan. In fact, very few watchers, celestial or otherwise, would even give it a second look. It stands closer to the outskirts of Harmony than to the Palace and there is nothing exceptional about it's construction save it's notable quality. Aside from that, the only thing that would draw the eye of anyone is the compound's closeness to the Soundless Run. The small cluster of homes and buildings lies on the east bank of the swift-moving river with docks protruding from every major structure, giving the compound access to the waterways that other, more storied, homes can only dream of.
It's towards one of those docks that Kong Bi sails. Aboard a small river barge that looks more like a raft with sails, she stands at the front, eyes wide as she searches for the best place to land her craft. Her eyes land upon the pier extending from a small, squat building towards the center of the compound, but find it already full. A dozen vessels clog the waters, ruining any chance she has of a hasty docking.
That is, it would ruin the chance if she were anyone but Kong Bi. With a thought, the currents turn, and the raft is propelled forward. As it flies over the placid waters Kong Bi picks a target. She settles on a humble craft tied right next to the base of the dock. There are other, far larger craft she could focus on instead, but something about the smaller vessel offends her. After a moment's contemplation she realizes that it is the lacquering of the hull- a slipshod job at best, one that the shipwright clearly should have thought twice about before allowing his work to see the seas.
Well, it is simply Kong Bi's responsibility to deal with this blight, as it is her duty to deal with all such errors on the face of the world.
Moments before her raft collides with the boat, her hand darts for a pouch tied to her belt sash. Kong Bi's questing fingers dig into the fabric for the briefest of seconds before emerging once more, this time holding a small blue token. Without another thought she tosses it into the air, allowing the sun to catch the diamond dust laying in dozens of miniscule glyphs all around the dark wood. Soundlessly, the token slides beneath the water.
A split second later, a tentacle reaches up from the depths, dark blue and covered in pustules. It wraps around the offending craft before anyone can even register the movement. With a crack of wood and an alien howl, the boat is split in two. Shards fly everywhere and more tendrils reach up, engulfing the wreckage in a cold embrace.
With a sound not unlike a man devouring a bowl of noodles in one slurp, the wreckage is dragged under the surface of the water- leaving an open berth. Kong Bi sails into it without a moment's hesitation.
The moment her raft is secure she gestures at the water with two fingers. In answer, the river boils, and the blue token flies back into her hand. Kong Bi drops it back into her pouch and in the same motion plucks a silver talent from another. A flick of her wrist sends it arcing into the hand of a sailor who is staring, mouth open, at her- presumably the wreckage's owner.
She nods to him. "That should pay for the damages. May the stars shine down upon you until the end of your journey."
Then she brushes by him, dismissing the unfortunate and poorly-lacquered sailor from her thoughts, mind, and memory. He is of no further consequence.
The person that awaits Kong Bi at the end of the dock however, is of great consequence.. She is a small, slender woman with a face that was once more handsome than beautiful. Even now, after anam has brought her far beyond the realm of mere mortals, she retains a squareness to her jaw and a narrow set to her eyes that keeps her from classic beauty. Her hands are soft and delicate, free of both calluses and adornment save a single band of bronze around her ring finger- which she's using to drum a steady beat on her forearm as she stares at the destruction Kong Bi has wrought.
As the elder Artist approaches, Kong Ru shakes her head. "Was that truly necessary?" she asks. "Could you not have simply jumped ashore?"
"Perhaps," Kong Bi allows. "But there was a statement that had to be made. Shoddy workmanship will
not be tolerated."
Her words are said with conviction, as if she is speaking a universal truth. Ru just stands still for a moment, digesting the words, before her shoulders move in a small shadow of a shrug as she accepts this as one of the many Kong eccentricities that she shall never understand. "Very well," she allows. "I suppose you had to do what you had to do. Now, how was your trip?"
"Productive," Bi answers. She moves past the other woman into the building proper, drawing her into her wake. "My business was dealt with quickly and efficiently. Little Zhi shows impressive drive; you should be proud."
Ru's face is placid, yet something ripples beneath it's calm surface. "Of
course I am proud," she answers frostily. "My son is nothing if not the model of dedication. If he had not learned your lessons, then they would not be worth learning." Then she pauses and tilts her head slightly to the side. "Your lessons were worth learning, yes?"
Bi bites the inside of her cheek and offers a slight nod. "Yes," she answers primly. "They were- else I would not have been sent in such haste."
"Wonderful," Ru answers. Her tone, however, conveys her complete lack of belief. "Though I cannot help but be concerned. To send you out so quickly… again, I must ask what was so important that you had to tend to it with such haste?"
"Ah ah," Bi answers. "Now that would be telling. And if Little ShuShu has not yet seen fit to inform you of such, then it would hardly be my place."
Ru looks decidedly unamused. "
Auntie Bi," she says, stressing the familial title. "You have hardly thought twice about saying things that others would not in the past."
"Indeed!" chirps Bi. "And the fact that I am not doing so at this moment should be an important clue that tells you that such things are not to be spoken of- or worried about. I assure you, Little Zhi is… well."
The matriarch of the Kong Clan frowns at Bi's tone. "...is there something that you are not telling me?" she asks, voice guarded.
"Oh, of course," Bi answers, waving her concern away. "But I shall inform you and Little ShuShu together. Now, where is he? The loom?"
Ru nods and goes to take the lead, but Bi does not need guidance from a
Lai to show her around her own clan's compound. She increases her speed again, pulling Ru along like a tugboat dragging a canoe through rough waters. As she walks, Bi glances over her shoulder. "I still cannot say I approve of sending Zhi to the Heart; it is such a dour place, and Fensui is no fun whatsoever. We should have had him sent to the Breath."
Kong Ru's eyes close in pain before they reopen, and she prepares herself to tackle the argument for the three hundredth time. "No, we should not have," she breathes out. "Your own daughter already represents the clan at the Breath. Another Kong sent there would have been superfluous- and it would have born the stench of favoritism. We cannot remain so tied to one sect that the others think less of us."
"Pfaw!" Bi snorts. "The Breath was good enough for me. It was good enough for Shushu. It would have been more than good enough for Zhi. He and Cui would have locked up the sect entirely by now had we sent them both!"
"And the Rose was exceptional for myself," Ru replies. "But I did not attempt to send Zhi there. Just because we have our own attachments does not mean we should allow them to cloud our eyes. But…"
Ru trails off. "You are attempting to distract me," she mutters. "Bi- Auntie Bi, what happened to my Zhi?"
"He is
fine," Bi stresses. "More than fine in some ways; he has surrounded himself with a cadre that is enough to make me proud."
"I will learn of his friends later, but for now I need-"
"Yes, they are a strange mix. The Azure Gardens Twins, a barbarian from the Wastes, a northern sailor of all things, and there's even a little dancer girl! You would like her very much, Ru- she reminds me greatly of your sister."
As she speaks, the two enter a large room dominated by an elaborate wooden contraption. The monster of wood and cord stretches up to the very roof and out to meet each wall. On it's delicate fibers is stretched a long, half-woven cloth. Anam dances across the threads, pulling and tugging them into the proper order. At the base of the loom sits a sole figure moving the threads with twitches of his fingers and bare efforts of will.
Kong Ru does not notice their new surroundings. Instead, her face is pinched in pain.. "Ai or Rei?" she asks. "Wait, no, why do I bother to ask. Obviously it's-"
She pauses and shakes her head. "Bi," she says once more, steel in her voice. "Stop distracting me and tell me
what has happened to my son!"
"I-"
From in front of the loom, a movement catches both women's eyes. As they watch, the figure operating the device flicks his fingers, tying the cords he was working with into a loose knot. Anam surges down the loom and back into his body, skittering over his flesh like an insect before sinking deep into his muscles. Once the light has retreated, he stands and turns.
The man operating the loom is as tall as Kong Ru is short and beautiful in ways his wife simply is not. His pate is shaved as bald as a stone, and it is only that choice that saves him from looking like a creature from the stories who would trade a night's warmth for a mother's first born. His hands are gnarled and twisted, one burned from an accident long ago, and on his finger he wears a matching ring of bronze.
Kong Shuren stares at his aunt and wife. Without a single motion, the air around him surges, and the door behind the two women slams shut. Anam floods the air, pressing down upon all three of them with the sensation of cool silk and musty pages. The sensation retreats just as quickly, and soon the only thing filling the air is the Kong Patriarch's sheer presence.
Though truth be told, that is more than enough.
His eyes are fixed firmly on Kong Bi. "Auntie," he intones, voice light and clear even as it presses down upon his elder. "Please. What has happened to
our son?"
Kong Bi looks from one parent to another. One is a barely contained knot of nerves and tension. The other, a seemingly placid lake, though his anam and eyes tell a different story. The elder lets out a low breath and makes a placating gesture with both hands.
"Now, both of you. Calm down. Before I say anything else, I would like to stress one thing: Little Zhi is
fine."