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j-graysonlibrary · 11 months

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The Xiang Chronicles: Book Four Chapter 8

Title: The Xiang Chronicles: Book Four

Author: Jay Grayson

Word Count: 118k

Genres: Fantasy, adventure, drama, LGBT+

Available on: my website

Synopsis: In order to save the world from the continuous subjugation and potential annihilation at the hands of Tiandi, hard lines must be drawn. The Great Spirits that were imprisoned ages ago must be unsealed and awakened, no matter the consequences.

The players are divided—those who stand blindly with Tiandi, such as Xiang Merra and her disciples versus those who want to tear the system down and give the power back to the people. Even a few of the most religious Lords change their minds when they learn the truth of the world—that Tiandi is no more than a dictator with no love in his heart.

It is up to the last, real Xiang and the ill-fated Chaaya to put everything they have into tearing God from his throne and creating new possibilities for the future.

Full chapter 8 under the cut

Chapter VIII:

First thing in the morning, after a quick meal and some groggy greetings, the group moved down into Shakti’s room as she was, graciously, offering the space for training. It was the only part of the caves big and open enough for the activity.

The shared space they had spent most of yesterday in was, in theory, large enough but it was also crowded with stuff and the floor was not especially even.

Shakti’s room, however, was the perfect size, shape, and level.

Pangu lined everyone up and returned to basic exercises to start with. Even his disciples played along despite not needing the refresher. Loa kept her focus more on Phay than herself which Pangu had to stay on top of. He understood her concern but he would also not allow Phay to overwork herself under his tutelage.

Once everyone showed they were comfortable with the beginner level, he encouraged a round of stretching before moving onto more advanced techniques.

These required either more energy or a more precise use of the energy. It was the level that Kaz and Fujin were comfortable in but May still needed further practice with.

Phay, Loa, Viren, and Oli were all brand new, however, and there were bound to be accidents. Especially with fire.

Baiya was watching over them like a hawk while Kira was keeping a more relaxed eye on the Terran lords. Every so often, he would suggest something that had helped him during his training days but he mostly left the teaching to Pangu.

Raine bounced between students and gave more general advice since none of them were using water. It was a good thing, Pangu found himself thinking, since he was not sure where they would get a water source from. Someone could go out and bring back buckets of water, he supposed, but that sounded a bit like a headache to him and their supply of drinking and bathing water was out of the question for the obvious reasons.

After midday (and lunch), Pangu went back to one of the spare rooms in the cave with Gong while everyone continued training down below with the disciples taking up the mantle of teacher in his stead.

“You take on the role of mentor quite well,” Gong commented as he settled into a meditative pose.

Pangu followed in his example. “Do I?”

“I can tell you enjoy it.”

He could not help but smile. “Because I have such wonderful, fast learning students.”

Gong chuckled. “Ah, yes, I am familiar. It was quite the same teaching you.”

“Hopefully, I will pick this up quickly as well,” Pangu mentioned, more for his own peace of mind than anything.

Other than, eventually, successfully freeing all of the four Great Spirits, he wished most that he would master this technique without much trouble. Since he needed it to do the former, it was the focus of his attention. He put as much of his passion and willpower into it as he possibly could.

Gong talked him through the steps, guiding him through a particular meditation in order to get him into the correct headspace. It was not an unfamiliar practice as a lot of the stronger abilities he knew all started via meditation but, because of his years of practice with them, he could perform them seemingly instantaneously.

As much as he fancied the idea of doing the same for this particular skill, he knew it was an unrealistic goal. So, when he struggled to reach the specific point Gong laid out, he did not beat himself up too badly.

Instead, he relaxed, focused on his breathing, and tried again.

After about the fifth attempt, he managed to collect all of his energy and hold it against his body without letting any random stream leak out. Knowing he would have to hold the position as well and repeat it for several other people was so overwhelming that he slipped up and his shield fell all around him.

“Damn,” Pangu cursed.

Right away, Gong stepped in. “That was a great first try. Now, let us go again.”

It became easier with each subsequent try and, after a few days, Pangu could keep up the shield while doing other things. Talking, dancing, even sleeping one night.

“Your progress is astounding,” Gong mentioned, later in the week after Pangu had managed to maintain the energy around himself for an entire twenty-four hours. “At this rate, you may be able to step outside in a manner of two or three days.”

Pangu released his hold on the ability and allowed his shoulders to sag for a moment. “Do you think I will be capable of shielding more than five of us at a time?”

Gong reached over, flattening a stray piece of Pangu’s hair. “That may be tricky but, considering your energy reserves, your skill, and your determination, I would not be surprised to see it done. In another week.”

It was not the time frame he wanted to hear and his face reflected that.

His teacher chuckled and clapped his hands on either side of him, over his shoulders. “Pangu, you are advancing well, do not fret.” He pulled away with a reassuring smile. “And, besides, you would like this time to enjoy the company of your loved ones, right? Who knows how quickly things may escalate once you begin releasing the Great Spirits.”

Although Gong certainly had a point, Pangu still felt frustrated. “How long did it take you to master this skill?”

As they settled down, into their meditative poses, Gong sighed. “Around two or three weeks. However, Zhu was not seeing me every day in the way I am seeing you. Nor was I aiming to shield multiple people with the skill—only myself. So, comparing us and our progress will do no good.”

It was the type of answer that made Pangu feel ten years old again, trying to learn complex elemental techniques and looking to each of the Princes for some frame of reference for how well he should be doing. Their situations were always too different to compare and, just like then, Pangu realized he had only himself, from the previous day, to surpass.

***

The training in Shakti’s lair was a more controlled chaos than how it started and the risk of an accident was declining by the day. Kira leaned back against the far wall, with his arms crossed over his chest, and watched as everyone ran through the standard drills that Pangu had taught them.

Phay used her good arm to shoot fire up, toward the ceiling, and since there was nothing for the flames to catch onto, she had become rather bold in recent days. Her fire lapped against the stone and spread out, looking like water flowing down a fall only in reverse.

When she released too much of it, Loa would draw the flames into her hands and temper them. Really, more than creating fire on her own, she seemed most skilled at manipulating and bending Phay’s fire.

Like a routine, Phay would expel a massive amount and Loa would lead it down, into her hand, until she had a sizable ball.

“Now throw it over here!” May demanded, “I will obliterate it!”

“No, no.” Raine stomped on the idea before it could go any farther. The amount of times he had to step in, sounding like an exhausted and overworked school teacher made Kira snicker to himself.

Even if Loa did play with May and decided to hurl the fireball her way, there were plenty of them around to redirect or negate the danger if it proved too much for the princess to handle. Kira, for instance, could simply erect a wall in front of her for the fire to strike instead.

But Raine did not even want to risk it. “For the last time, no one is throwing any fire.”

“Baiya does it all the time,” May argued, pointing to the Agni disciple.

“Baiya is a professional,” Raine came right back.

“Psssh, professional.”

As if to taunt May, Baiya sent a fireball in the Enlil group’s direction, only more focused on Kaz. He had been expecting it and quickly batted it back with the air so that Baiya could reabsorb the energy into himself. It was a frequent exercise of theirs—something usually done without warning that looked, from an outside perspective, somewhat malicious. That was mostly due to the persistent scowl on Kaz’s face, however.

“See?” May pointed out. “They get to have fun. Why can’t Loa and I do it too? Is it because we are women? Are you sexist, Raine?”

Kira did not hide his laughter. Raine’s face, at the accusation, was priceless.

“Ignore her,” Fujin said, deadpan, as she, more literally, turned her back on May. She was taking a break from training to pet Browly who often ran into the room to be involved in the commotion. His owner was not always with him but he was this evening.

Similarly, the Mistresses would come through sometimes, watching or commenting. Devi was, unsurprisingly, the most supportive. She had nothing but compliments for the group and would even suggest some tips, at least in the energy management department.

Parvati was supportive as well but she was far more likely to sit in on Pangu’s training with Gong. Then there was Kali who made appearances the least and was, of course, the most critical. Typically, she would have something to say about Kira’s teaching style (or more aptly his lack of one) or she would just stick her nose up at them all in general.

Chandes was more distracting than anything. When she and May were in the same vicinity, their energies were heightened and someone would wind up as their victim. Usually Ziyi, who was easy to pick on, but they had targeted everyone else as well at some point.

“All these queer men are sexist,” Chandes sang as she skipped into the room. Her goal was clearly to get Browly and either play with him on her own or hold him as a hostage to antagonize Ziyi. The latter option became much more likely when the necromancer walked over to her, already high strung.

“That makes no sense,” Loa responded as she absorbed her fireball, fully, into her hand.

“Sure it does,” Chandes continued and picked the dog up from the ground, stealing Fujin’s fun in the process. She continued, “They want nothing to do with women. Sexists.”

“That’s right,” Kira agreed, chuckling to himself.

Ziyi, completely uninterested in the conversation, moved to snatch his dog back. But Chandes turned away, tightening her hold and refusing to give Browly up.

“You are the worst of all,” Chandes shouted as she continued to dodge his attempts, “Grabbing at a little girl like this.”

May decided to help by throwing a loose rock with the air, pelting Ziyi in the side of the arm. “Yah!” he shouted and cradled his injury, prompting the princess to strike again.

Only, the second rock did not land as a barrier of stone quickly shot up to block the way. Ziyi still flinched, expecting to be pelted, but his cringing morphed into confusion. First, he looked to Kira who shook his head.

“I would never help you.”

“Right…” Ziyi then glanced to the two other Terrans and met his roommate’s eyes. Oli smiled and gave a curt nod. Ziyi sighed out, “Thanks. You and Pangu are the only ones who treat me with any respect.”

Viren had an expression flash across his face, suggesting he wanted to argue that point as he had been nothing but polite to everyone in the caves, but he dropped it. Oli then lowered his wall and glanced to May.

“We should get back to training.”

As if to spite him, May collapsed onto the floor and kicked her feet out. “But I am bored! Regular training is so dull!”

Fire screamed across the room and it would have collided into May’s face had Fujin not whipped it away, toward the ceiling. Both Enlil women shot their gaze to the culprit who still had a blazing flame around her hand.

“Get up, princess,” Phay demanded, “The work may feel monotonous but you will be glad for it when you are on the battlefield again.”

“She is right,” Baiya agreed, “Break time is over.”

For some of them, it had never been break time. Viren and Oli, for instance, had been steadily continuing their drills, as had Kaz, but the official announcement kicked the rest of them back into gear. The only distraction was Ziyi and Chandes who continued to fight so Kira took care of that.

He looped some miasma vines around each of their ankles, yanked them apart, and gently cradled Browly with some extra vines so he would not fall unexpectedly on the floor. Kira let the dog go but kept the troublemakers hostage. In a moment of inspiration, he tied them together, forcing their arms at their sides and unable to break free.

“You…prick.” Chandes grumbled.

“I am telling Pangu,” Ziyi resorted to what he thought was a threat.

“He will not care,” Kira responded, knowingly, “Honestly, he may laugh.”

“False. Pangu is nice to me.”

“He can be nice to you and still think this is funny. I called one of his lovers a whore and he laughed right in his face.”

“Who did you call a whore?” May asked, of course hyper focusing on just that part.

“That whore,” Kira said, pointing to Baiya. Kaz openly laughed, even louder than May.

“Kira,” Viren’s voice cut through and Kira actually tensed slightly, feeling a scolding coming on.

Instead, the lord looked to Ziyi and Chandes, thoroughly wrapped in vines, “How do you make those? Is it solely miasma?”

“It is a combination,” the answer came, not from Kira, but the floor. A black spot formed and then, like they were all used to by now, Shakti rose up to her waist and her presence darkened the room to a noticeable degree. “Miasma, when mixed with the earth element, creates these vines.”

Viren hummed and stretched his arm out. With his focus on the vines around Chaaya and Mistress, their bindings began to loosen. The outer vine twisted and pulled back—slowly and shakily. Once they were free, Kira’s vines faded, turning into a pile of ash on the floor.

“There is a different feeling to it,” Viren commented before sprouting a new vine from between cracks on the ground. It was small, a much brighter green, and not very strong but he managed to wind it a few centimeters up the wall before stopping.

“You are using miasma?” Baiya asked, his jaw hanging.

Kira quickly assessed his spiritual body and then let out a sigh when he found no poison coursing through him. “He is not taking any in,” he said, releasing a good amount of tension in the room. “I suppose just interacting with the nearby miasma from me and, more likely, Shakti, makes it possible…”

“The other elements can be changed with miasma as well,” Shakti stated, sending a cursory glance to Kira, “However, I do not recall what each does.”

“Oooh!” May’s enthusiasm was reignited in a second, “We should test it out! We have all the elements here!”

“This sounds dangerous,” Ziyi muttered, taking his dog into his arms, clearly prepared to leave.

“Baby.” Chandes put her hands on her hips. “I am not missing this.”

Her curiosity must have been transmitted to the other Mistresses because, soon, they were all in the room.

May tried her hand at infusing air with miasma but, considering she had no idea what she was doing, nothing happened. Kaz tried, with some vague instruction from Viren but he could not find the trick either. Kira noticed Kaz getting distracted with Viren’s hand interlocking with his and suspected that had something to do with his failure.

After that, Fujin was up and she had little faith in herself. Yet, a few moments after palpating the miasma in the air, a spark of light shone out. It was as if a match was struck, at first, but then it grew brighter and lingered. Most everyone covered their eyes, Kira included.

As he shielded himself with a hand, a sharp, needle-like stabbing stuck against him. Pulling away, he hissed in pain and the light faded.

“Did you touch it?” Baiya asked and hurried over.

Raine reached Kira first, however. “Are you alright?” He grabbed his arm, holding him carefully as he inspected the damage.

“I did not realize it was so close to me,” Kira grumbled as Raine gently groped along his arm.

“Sorry,” Fujin said and then scratched the back of her head. “I did not expect anything to happen, honestly.”

“That was so cool!” May enthused, still keeping her eyes squint shut.

“I see no physical cuts or injuries,” Raine murmured, not releasing his hold on him. Their eyes met and Raine, still concerned, had his lips pressed, bordering on a pout. He then asked, “Does it hurt?”

“Not anymore,” Kira told him, honestly. “There was an initial sting but I am fine now.”

“It could serve some purpose,” Kali spoke, managing to sound unimpressed even when giving something of a compliment.

“We should try fire next,” May pivoted, finally opening her eyes.

Everyone turned to Baiya, his sister, and Phay, almost as if expecting them to spontaneously bust out a trick. Phay stepped forward, or tried to, but Baiya threw out an arm and shook his head. She was still healing and, therefore, in no condition to be venturing into unknown territory. Loa also pulled her back, holding onto her good arm.

Baiya was quite familiar with the feel of miasma—an advantage he felt he had over the others so far. He could pick it up in the air, with his energy, and he could typically trace it’s source as well. The mass in the room was not hard to track as it, almost exclusively, exuded from the Mother of Shadow herself.

He grabbed hold of a wayward plume and sent out his own energy, cloaked in fire, toward it. The second the two collided, light flashed, similar to with air. Though, while still so bright it was difficult to look at, the tint became more electric until, fully, erupting into a bolt of lightning.

Each end found the ceiling and floor, respectively and, as quickly as it sparked; it died, leaving behind heavy singe marks.

“Well that seems dangerous,” Parvati stated the obvious.

“Yes, perhaps we do not practice that one indoors,” Viren suggested and patted the side of Baiya’s arm.

No one had any objections to that so they moved on to Raine, the only Kyrie native in the group. He was a bit nervous after the air and fire displays but his curiosity drove him forward. And, even if he had tried to opt out, he was aware that May, alone, would have strong-armed him into it.

Unscrewing the cap from his canteen, he poured around half onto the floor. From there, he took a similar approach to Baiya and felt for the miasma first before drawing his element into it.

When there was a flicker of light, everyone collectively started to shield their eyes and back away but it did not grow any brighter. Instead, the water changed form entirely. The puddles rose up and solidified, turning to crystalline pillars that came to Raine’s waist.

Chandes poked one of them. “Ice?”

“That one makes sense,” May said, pointing her finger at it.

Raine did not tear his eyes away from the abstract sculpture he had made with so little water. Had he had access to even a small body of water, he could hardly imagine the amount of ice he could create. “Pangu is not going to believe this…” he all but whispered.

Kira smirked and noticed the similar sentiment dripping off of the rest of them. “Shall I retrieve him?”

He could already imagine his best friend’s excitement at the new abilities. As dangerous and volatile as some combinations seemed, it was still a heavy advantage they could secure over Merra’s disciples along with, on a baser level, just looking incredibly awesome.

#the xiang chronicles #my novel #my writing

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