The pair from the Savage Red Sands Force were not the only group to have set about exploring the landscape of the famous Ascending Mountain Institute, a place they'd thought that they'd only ever know by reputation.
A group of seven young men and women were currently traipsing though the mountainous forests close to where they had been advised that the (outer) martial arts school could be found. If there was a truth to admit, though their lips remained firmly sealed to it, they were lost.
Of this group, five were male, two female, but all wore styles of dress that were of high quality of fabrics and excellent tailoring. The embroidery was flawless and intricate, despite the patterns seeming somewhat simple in comparison to what they might otherwise had worn and they wore boots rather than slippers or embroidered shoes. Others of their ilk would nod their head, believing that their style was quite appropriate in order to 'fit in' with a lower class of people who lived in a more untamed environment, unaware that they had completely missed the marked point. The twig of an unpruned shrub caught the silk threads of the peony sewn upon one girl's skirt.
"Ling Ling, help me!" The girl had a mature form yet young face, her slightly rounded cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she attempted to loosen the catch without ruining the silks. The other girl, a tall young woman with a willowy frame and indifferent expression, paused before stepping over to assist her friend.
The most angry of the youthful men clicked his tongue then kicked at a stone that had scuffed his boot when he'd inadvertently tripped over it. "What sort of landscape is this? No paths, no sense of placement. It's simply barbaric!"
"That student might have given us the wrong direction," a sunny faced youth with naturally smiling eyes pointed out. His naturally golden hair added to his amicable appearance, however, if one looked deep enough into those dark eyes, one might witness a scheming mind behind them.
The angry youth seemed of simpler temperament, hot headed and brash, but without complicated thought. "That person should not dare!" The person they spoke of wore the hemp cloth of a peasant, his only reactions to their presence should be of fear and obedience. This was their experience, they had never thought too deeply beyond this.
The blond haired man was not so naive as his friend, but also unlike his friend, who would forget this possible slight come the following daybreak, he would set this wrong into his heart and seek recompense.
"Never mind," the tallest youth amongst them adjusted slim framed glasses and glanced around himself. "Teacher did mention that this Institute was much wilder and uncouth than its generous reputation suggests. We will take this as a lesson learned." The youths nodded as if all agreeing with him.
Suddenly, a clash of metal came to ear and attracted their attentions. Glancing at each other quickly, they soon moved forward as a group seeking the increasing rhythmic beating of metal against metal, aware that there was likely people behind those familiar sounds. And where there was people, there was their way out of this ghastly forest.
The sounds increased in volume and a flash of midnight cloth caught the eye of the sharpest amongst them and he glanced towards the movement which happened to within the canopy of trees. The thud of a heavy boot sounded as did a deep hearted chuckle and a man in brown appeared before their vision as he leapt from one branch to another, cold steel in hand. That steel clashed against more of its ilk, though this was possessed by another man, who wore black cloth decorated with vivid orange koi.
The two men were who were well known to the Institute as Bowyer and Jin Li, were not known to outsiders, who could only watch as they furiously sparred.
The blood within their veins was hot and flowing intensely as their hearts raced and bodies sought to move more agilely and with increased swiftness. Their minds instructed and their muscles moved, their swords had already become an extension of themselves as they tested each other over and over. This was a game that they had long since become accustomed too, yet as was suggested by Bowyer's Teacher, it was one that had become stale. In truth, few real battles took place in an arena, so why not extend their experience to outside? The perimeter of the inner school was protected and not extensive as the positioning of the school was overly high without great boundaries, better to use the expansive forests stretching around in every direction of the outer school.
Hence how they came to be here and how the students of the Qilin Academy of Excellence came to find them.
Although they were deep into their battle, they were not so focused upon their opponent that they neglected their surroundings, something that would be fatal in the outside world after all. They quickly came to notice that their battlegrounds had been intruded upon. At first they thought it might have been their own, spectating. First years were particularly curious about seniors, but also seniors never failed to scope out who they might learn from in the future. However, something wrung false.
With mutual understanding, they paused and sheathed their weapons in order to confront these strangers.
"You're quite far from the road, friends," Bowyer mentioned amicably, causing the ground to exchange glances. The angry youth went as red as his hair, while his blond friend's smile seemed to deepen.
The tall youth adjusted his glasses and stepped forward. "We intruded unintentionally. We were not aware that this place might be off limits."
Bowyer shook his head. "It isn't off limits to be here," the man denied, "but there isn't much to see here. Beasts and game tend to stay away and the wild herbs were long since frittered away by alchemists or first years. Not many come this way."
"You're here," a youth with dark skin and an exotic handsomeness pointed out. In fact, none of the five men and two women could be considered plain wallflowers, each had their own particular beauty and aura and would stand out and over others like sunflowers over violets in a crowded field of flowers. However, the two youths before them were also far from ordinary in both appearance and temperament.
"Just for training," Bowyer admitted. "We'll return to our school once done."
"You'll return," Jin Li couldn't help but mutter as he retorted against Bowyer's statement. Bowyer rolled his eyes over the other's words wanting to suggest that Jin Li's affections will make his sword dull if not careful... only if anything, the youth's blade had only become sharper in these few months. He could only sulk inwardly, swallowing his thoughts whole.
"You are martial artists," the cold woman called Ling by her friend stated. There was no denial. "You attend the martial arts school here."
A noble never asks, just demands, Bowyer didn't bother letting these obvious sons and daughters of the wealthy elite skirt around their point until he volunteered to direct them; it was too tiring. He bluntly took the lead. "Oh, your destination was the martial arts school? The outer school is just a short way in that direction."
"What of the so-called inner school?" The red haired youth demanded equally blunt.
The blond haired youth chuckled lightly and stepped forward to intercede; "My apologies for my friend. What he meant to say was that we had heard that your martial arts school was split in two and we were intrigued. Our curiosity did indeed lead us here to look into it more."
"I understand," Bowyer took on an amicable stance in response. "As it happens, the way to the inner school is through the outer school. We are both from the inner school, it is no trouble for us to guide you in the right direction."
"We would appreciate it," the blond haired youth replied, appreciatively.
"Then we're done with the spar?" Jin Li turned to Bowyer to state, causing the man to freeze in hesitation. A small curve appeared at the corner's of Jin Li's lips momentarily before he leapt away.
"Jin Li!" Bowyer yelled after him without thought, but he was far too late. He returned his attentions to the Qilin Academy students after exhaling a sigh. "Please excuse my friend. He has... other business to attend to. Come with me now."
The group paused for only a breath before following the man closely. However, the girl with peonies on her silk clothes stepped back a pace and came to the side of the one youth that had remained silent all of this time. She tugged the sleeve of his white robe. "Ji Ji..."
The youth with long black hair and equally dark, Phoenix shaped eyes shook off his startled surprise and glanced with evident coldness at the girl before removing his sleeve from her light touch. "I know," he responded in the next moment, starring off in the direction that the man called Jin Li had rushed off to.
Groups of exploring and wandering visiting students would naturally cross paths with the Institute's students. Most of these meetings were peaceful for the most part; the students of the Ascending Mountain Institute had been warned to not provoke and not rise to provocation. Not that most of the visiting students sought to instigate irritation and force tempers, but there would always be those that had no eloquence or those who could not help want to test others amongst students from all places of learning. There was a spat of visits to the Healing Halls despite the efforts of Teachers and most students.
There were not just chance meetings either, but happened also the occasional reunion.
Tor washed his hands of dirt and strands of straw, laughing along with the others as two of his friends chased each other after one splashed the other with the soiled water. He and these young men and women had taken on the chore of mucking out the stalls in the stables of the outer alchemy school for points. A number of beast companions hovered close by; the shadow macaw belonging to the pranked victim was flying along side it's master pecking at the clothes of the prankster they chased.
The stables located on the outskirts of his former school were easily the most sizeable following the two beast taming schools' own. Geographically, the outer alchemist school was located closest to Julip Town, which was also why the one of the main griffin nests were also here. Most expeditions would begin here, Teachers and students from all schools gathering here first, borrowing mounts or claiming their own faithful steeds before heading on their way. Thus the greatest number of Institute owned beasts resided here. Also, of all of the schools' students, it could be claimed that those studying alchemy travelled the most about the Institute, most likely delivering pills and potions to the locations most in need or for purposes of personal trade.
The towering heights in which the mage and scholars schools were located favoured griffin nests for purposes of internal travel, while the martial arts students all preferred to rely on the lightfoot skills (or were forced to practice using them) so while smaller beasts might be found dotted around the schools thanks to their masters' presences, these schools had little or no need for actual stables. At most, a Teacher might build their prize steed a place close to their personal residences for the beast to rest within.
Tor often found himself volunteering for tasks involving the outer alchemist school stables, though he didn't think it was so much about nostalgia. In fact, apart from hanging about these same stables during the time he'd attended this section of the Institute, he couldn't think of many good days during his past as an alchemist student and any good memories were tainted with the guilt and shame of his actions during those times. One face always came to mind in particular, one face beaten black and blue to the point that the owner's hair had turned partially white from deviation. Tor sighed inwardly; perhaps he was a masochist to keep reminding himself of that time, perhaps coming here was his personal penance. That one victim had forgiven him, but he hadn't forgiven himself.
An excited bark roused him from his dark mood and a grin lifted his lips as he turned to find his best friend, who'd attracted the attention of a group of unfamiliar girls.
"Aiya! So cute!" One cooed as she attempted to coax the blue-furred hound over to them. "It's a cooshee, right?"
"I never realised thought that cooshee were so fluffy!"
Tor rolled his eyes heavenward as he realised that Xiào Xiào had puffed out its fur until it resembled a giant puffball with four legs, two ears and a smaller puffball attached to its rear. Even the ends of its hind feathers had fluffed up like a certain wild herb's seed heads. Cooshee's tended to do this when nervous, cold or when courting potential mates, but Xiào Xiào also did this to look cute and gain extra treats. As a beast companion to a tamer, it was a bit of a softie.
Seeing as the girls didn't have the treats it wanted, it relaxed it's fur until smooth along its canine form and the tips of its feathers once more resembled flickering white tipped flames, its six black eyes blinking in disdain. Then it turned to hurry over to its Master's side. "Silly fool," Tor muttered fondly, before patting down its long ears.
"Is it yours?" The girls that had been snubbed without realising it, changed their trajectory and headed his way. His prankster friend had stopped running, now stood next to him, elbowing him in the ribs, suggestively. Tor shoved him back discreetly, while the shadow macaw's owner smacked him around the head.
The girls were too taken by the Cooshee to be bothered by the boys roughhousing and continued to want to know him due to his beast. "Where did you get it?"
"Xiào Xiào is from a rescued litter," Tor answered, honestly.
"Aw, I was hoping you knew someone with a breeding pair," the girl couldn't help exclaim, her friends nodding in agreement.
"Sorry," Tor apologised to be polite.
"Will it breed soon? What will you do with the pups?"
Tor couldn't help choke on the bluntness of the question. Xiào Xiào was less than a year old, cooshee tended only to begin such things at two years, so it wasn't something that had occurred to him either. Still, it wasn't wrong for Tamers to consider such things, but he really couldn't imagine Xiào Xiào in rut. He looked down at his best friend with a pained expression, but the young hound simply tilted his head, ignorantly.
"Or maybe you'd be willing to trade the cooshee with me for something..."
"Song Lan!" The girl making the proposition was tugged back sharply by her friend, who had noted most quickly that the tall, amicable youth before them had suddenly become cold and unyielding. She knew that her friend had taken things too far. She sighed and attempted to explain for her thoughtless friend. "Please don't take her words to heart. Song Lan is a mage, doesn't understand the bond between Tamers and their beasts." The other girl frowned, unhappily, still not understanding what she had done wrong.
"Don't be foolish," another friend chided her. "It's true this young cooshee is cute now, but it is still a dangerous beast at the end of the day, not a pet."
"I still don't see the problem," the unrepentant girl muttered, her arms crossed about her chest. "My older sister owns a tiger that everyone warned her was too dangerous to keep, but it acts like a soft pillow around her! This beast is smaller and much more adorable, how is it more dangerous than a tiger?!"
"Song Lan," the girl who'd first warned her said plainly, "that tiger was raised by your sister as a cub and can only be considered ordinary. There are still risks even then. A cooshee is a beast with cultivation potential and it will grow to be far stronger and more powerful than Song Ren's tiger."
"Gao Ran, you meanie!" Having lost the argument, Song Lan resorted to tears. "You never let me have what I want!"
Watching this, Tor immediately became uncomfortable and his friend whistled softly before retreating in a roundabout manner, leaving Tor to get himself out of the tight spot alone. However, Tor was at a loss. There weren't many females in his family and those there were tended to be on the tougher side being the wives and daughters of beast tamers, martial artists and the like. His own mother was one of the softest, most sensitive women he knew, but she'd never resorted to such a tactic. Then again, she'd been born the daughter of a Concubine and not of the main branch of his maternal family. She hadn't been particularly favoured, but while she wasn't treated badly, she grew up knowing that tears would not aid her in anyway. So the only time he'd ever seen her cry was when her Concubine mother passed away two years prior.
"I wouldn't want such a cooshee if I were you," an unpleasant voice boomed over the shrill cries of the spoiled young woman suddenly. "Who knows what mongrel bloodlines that thing has! Just like it's Master!"
The cooshee growled as Tor's frame stiffened, his aura becoming dark and hostile. Just this alone startled the group of girls and the tearful Song Lan instantly stopped crying as she flinched. As one, they glanced back to see a group of young masters in quality silk clothing all led by a young man of rounded stature. With beady eyes, he looked over the girls as well as the Institutes' students with unveiled disdain. "A dog for a dog, makes sense if you think about it," the large youth sneered.
Tor didn't rise to his provocation, but his tone was frigid like ice. "What do you want, Caprian?"
I wasn't sure how to proceed with this for a while & also I've introduced many new characters, most of which are passerby's to add a bit of filler or colour (You don’t have to remember them all) I actually recalled that I hadn't mentioned Tor for a while, despite him appearing on and off in the previous book and his cooshee. He was one of the earliest background characters in the book, along with the cannon fodder antagonist, Caprian & I thought, what if I brought that person back...
Paragraph comment
Paragraph comment feature is now on the Web! Move mouse over any paragraph and click the icon to add your comment.
Also, you can always turn it off/on in Settings.
GOT IT