36.4 Open Hearts, Open Ears

General Summary

Day 541

Kaide returns late in the evening to tell me that she and Trillium have made significant progress on a gem circle net that we hope will keep her from sensing Qing Chen. The iridescent scaled ring that Void had given to me to give to her helped, surprisingly. Apparently it holds the barest wisp of a remnant that manifests an intent to protect her, if not the conscious will to do so. It makes my heart ache to hear this...I can't imagine that this is anything but the remains of her husband or even some other family member who no longer exists. I set it aside - it is not something I should dwell on lest my thoughts elicit something from our memories that I shouldn't have right now.   In my time with Qing Chen I've been fostering trust but Kaide has no such feelings. With so many grand coincidences swirling around me she thinks I am becoming blind to how strange it is that he should be here at all, and that he should be here now when I have brought Trillium to this place. It raises the possibility that maybe some other entity is spinning fate around him and us, and Trillium.   She is being a good sister, letting me concern myself with building a friendship while she worries about our safety. It is hard to do both at once and I'm grateful to have a second person sharing this burden.  

Day 542

This time when I wake Qing Chen has prepared a deeper, red tea that is certainly more invigorating than yesterday's brew. He shows me the hand-cut leaves and describes the slow drying process that makes the blend so intense (and apparently ill-suited to those with a weak constitution).   Today we head deeper into a ravine by way of my wings, letting him stow his climbing rope. The valley itself is shady and cool and follows a creek, very elvish and comfortable to my eyes and heart. It all leads towards a clearly modified natural cave with a widened, rune-carved entrance detailed with ancient elvish-fae characters. It is the final rest of songs, the runes tell me. Qing Chen has not found a way to bypass the wards here, though he has been researching and trying.   The entranceway is guarded by two armoured statues of elves carrying weapons and the warding magic around us is clear to me - these guards are asleep and would surely wake if someone needed to pass through, much like Sandstorm at Avan'Nal. At my call the greatsword-wielding guard becomes flesh and steps off their pedestal to speak with me in this almost painfully ancient language that blends elvish and fae.  

Have you come to sing? To listen?   This stranger - are they welcome?   Then enter with open hearts, open ears.

  It is a mark of great trust that I speak for Qing Chen's entrance. I tell him that this is a graveyard of sorts, an archive of people's final life songs from a time when we remembered singing to trees but had lost that ability.   In the darkness of the cavern there are crystals, just like Avan'Nal. But these are hung in glittering collections of families and relationships whose crystals resonate and hum as I listen to the others. No one sings alone. The eldest songs here sing of a journey from their last home and seeking a place far from the painful memories of what they had lost, then finding this place woven into the hills and valleys where they could be themselves in small communities. Unlike the dwarves they chose not to build cities, deciding instead of spread amongst the ravines and keep their families close. These eldest songs span well over a thousand years each but the newer ones dwindle to 800, then 700. They speak of their 'great emptiness' and the trees they've lost, speculating that maybe they were not meant to survive without them.   I find no hidden messages, no ancestors here with words for me. Just a growing awareness of what elves might have been like without the Empress or the dragons or whoever else they chose to fill that emptiness. It makes me think of the humans and wonder whether they chose their Six to fill the void. Demons, as well, whether they chose who to bond with and whether both races look at their gods who left and feel any sense of bitterness. I'm curious, because I am afraid that no decision can last forever and that maybe one day I will have to leave the Empire.   Being in the dimly lit crystalline song space makes me wonder some of these things aloud and Qing Chen responds that the Exalted Ones gave his people the gift of being able to coexist and that perhaps the Six of the human gods are not representative of the other Exalted Ones. This much, at least, I am coming to agree with. And the idea of taking up a war against all zephyr (for this is what I have understood No Moon's legacy to be) is growing less appealing.   Qing Chen invites me to spend time with his people and learn about their ways and I have to laugh a bit at the offer. Spending time within the Barrier would be a dangerous thing for any elf and on my part I am not confident that the Barrier could stand if I decided to simply rest within it. Perhaps once I have brought the Barrier down I will be able to visit. At this I get some insight into how demons are able to pass through the Barrier at all - they carry keys in limited number that allow them to pass through it unharmed. I'm rabidly curious at who created these keys - zephyr or Adjudicators? Who else holds them? Do the Ingans or Collective have any? But again, questions for another time and perhaps another person.   For his part Qing Chen tells me that if the Barrier were to fall he thinks some of his people would begin a great war against the dragons with their newfound mobility. Still others might set out to prey on the weaker races like dwarves. He asks that I give him the opportunity to prepare with his sect and try to manage his brotherhood's reaction when the Barrier finally falls and I feel like I am sinking my claws into him - I want him as an ambassador. I want him to nudge his people in directions that will serve us all.   He came out of the Barrier to wander and learn about other cultures, to understand them and see how they treat others. This includes the Kindred, and I make a note that I must tell him some of the stories that Tira left me.   "To know why your enemies see themselves as heroes" is how he articulates his mission.   I think that meeting Magdalena will be dangerous for his faith and tell him so, but he is still determined to travel with us if it is possible. He asks to hear more about 'my Master' and I correct him again that she is not my Master, just a teacher and my family. I describe her as prickly and one step shy of ancient before we get distracted by our cultural differences. Amongst his people the relationships of blood, sect, and generation are used to connect people. Those of different generations might refer to one another as uncles, senior brothers, etc. And people can take one another as sworn siblings to mimic a blood bond - their parents would then see both people as blood children and vice versa - such a bond knits two families together, not just two people.   In turn I describe elvish families and their structure, along with the complexity of my fae family with our memories of past selves. I am growing families and relationships that have no basis in history or culture, just feelings and trust. It's confusing and very, very worth it.