Chapter 10: Chapter 9: Their Stories

CHAPTER

9

Their Stories

I

As had become routine, made his way to the lecture courtyard early in the morning. The day was slightly chilly, and the sky was overcast. It had rained the previous night, and as he stood at the edge of the courtyard, he breathed in the lingering earthy scent. The grass, he noted, had been recently trimmed, probably the previous afternoon.

There were already some initiates in the courtyard, most of them with their eyes closed in meditation, though some of them were whispering among each other. Gwyn, as per usual, was sitting on the leftmost cushion of the last row. Like a couple of other initiates, she had her eyes closed in meditation, her legs crossed underneath her. Her long blond hair, which she usually wore down, was tied behind her head in a bun.

“Good morning,” Ryen said as he sat down on the cushion beside hers.

Without opening her eyes or turning her head toward him, Gwyn gave him the subtlest of nods—the only indication that she had heard him.

Ryen didn’t mind it at all. He leaned back, putting his hands behind him for support, staring at the cloudy sky as he let out a yawn. His hands dug slightly into the slightly humid earth below, and the grass prickled his fingers, but not in an unpleasant way. Over the next few minutes, he simply spent his time gazing up and the sky, only looking away from it when a new initiate entered the courtyard to take a glance at them. When he saw one he knew, he’d nod at them, and they’d nod back.

After a while, he turned toward Gwyn, who had remained seated in stoic meditation the entire time, unmoving. “So … what do you think about study groups?”

At that, Gwyn finally opened her eyes, turning toward him, fixing him with an icy stare. “What?”

“A study group,” Ryen said, holding her gaze. “I pretty much made one, yesterday. I was wondering if you’d be interested in joining.”

Gwyn stared at him for a few more moments, silent, contemplative, her expression unchanged.  “Who else is in it?”

“Mardyn … Arys … and Ellys.” After speaking each name, he’d nod in the direction of whom he had just named. Each time, Gwyn would follow his gaze and stare at the initiate in question, only shifting her gaze when Ryen said the next name.

After staring at Ellys for a few moments, Gwyn returned her attention to Ryen. “When will you be meeting, and where?” she asked, still mostly inexpressive, but having interacted with her daily for a little over a week, he had already figured out where to look. Her eyes had slightly narrowed, her brow had minutely creased, and she had faintly shifted in her cushion. She was surprised—and interested.

Ryen smiled. “On the gardens, in the afternoon. Today, however, we’ll be exceptionally meeting right after this lecture, as it’s our first meeting. We’ll just be introducing ourselves and getting to know each other, though.” He then went on to explain in a bit more detail how the study group worked, while Gwyn just listened in silence.

When he was done, Gwyn once again spent a few moments studying him, then gave a firm nod. “I’ll be there.”

“Fantastic,” Ryen said.

Their conversation over, Gwyn returned to her meditation, whereas Ryen returned to watching the clouds above. A while later, an elder arrived, and the lecture began.

II

After the lecture ended and the elder left, instead of getting up as he usually did and heading over to either his room or the library, Ryen remained sitting. By his side, Gwyn did the same after glancing at him.

Ryen noticed Ellys and Arys stand up, look around, and seeing that he was still sitting, sit back down. Mardyn didn’t even stand up; as soon as the lecture was over, he glanced at Ryen, and seeing the hadn’t moved at all, did the same.

Soon, the only ones left in the courtyard were the members of the newly formed study group. It was only then that Sigg stood up, the others following suit. Ryen then motioned the others over and introduced them to Gwyn and Gwyn to them.

Once that was out of the way, he clasped his hands. “Let’s get going, shall we?”

Together, they left the courtyard, Ryen at the lead, stepping inside the building and making their way toward the garden. Nobody talked on the way there; out of the corner of his eye, he studied the members of his study group. Gwyn was staring straight ahead, her expression stony; Arys had her head down, avoiding looking at anyone; Mardyn appeared at ease; and Ellys was, liking him, giving covert glances at the other members of the study group.

It didn’t take them long to arrive at the gardens and they once again stepped out into the open.

Hours had passed since the start of the lecture, and the sky had cleared up considerably, though the remaining clouds were more than enough to soften the sun’s glare to a pleasant warmth.

This wasn’t Ryen’s first time in the garden, but judging by Ellys’s and Arys’s expressions, it was theirs. They had likely seen the gardens before–considering its entrance was on the way from the residential area to the lecture courtyard, it’d be strange if they hadn’t—but they had apparently never ventured into it. They leaned in to look closer at the flowerbeds, and breathed in deeply, filling their lungs with the scents of the many flowers—Ellys more boldly and earnestly, Arys a bit more shyly and hesitant, but nevertheless eager.

Mardyn was also looking around, but he was more reserved. While out on a stroll, Ryen had seen him twice in the gardens already. As for Gwyn, Ryen had never seen her in the gardens—or anywhere besides the corridors and the morning lectures—before, but she seemed to be the most apathetic to it out of them, though that didn’t necessarily mean anything, as that just seemed to be the way she was.

Ryen led them past the flowerbeds, walking down the walkway into the small grove at the end. Eventually, they found themselves in a small clearing, just near the edge of the mountain peak. Beyond it, the Adyon Valley could be seen, submerged in a rolling sea of viridian mist.

“Here’s the spot,” Ryen said, spreading his arms wide. “What do you guys think?”

“It’s lovely,” Mardyn said, looking around appreciatively. Beside him, Arys gave a jerky nod. Ellys and Gwyn similarly nodded.

“I’m glad you liked it.” Ryen smiled, then motioned for them to sit down as he did so himself. Even though there weren’t any cushions, the grass felt soft enough to be comfortable. Ryen sat opposite to the edge of the mountain; directly in front of him was Mardyn; to Ryen’s left were Arys and Gwyn, and to his right was Ellys, Arys having naturally gravitated toward the only other girl there.

“As you all know, this won’t be a normal meeting,” Ryen said. “Today’s goal is just to get to know each other. I was thinking of keeping our introductions simple—a little about our mundane past and how we ended up joining the sect.” At that, he saw Mardyn, Arys, and Gwyn slightly tense. Ellys, on the other hand, simply nodded his head. “Now, if there’s something you don’t want to share, that’s completely fine. We all have our secrets as well as things about our past we would rather not talk about. Only reveal what you feel comfortable revealing.”

The others nodded, the ones that had tensed slightly relaxing.

Everyone here was supposed to be a mundaneborn, and the reasons why a mundaneborn would join a sect weren’t usually all that pleasant. To a mundaneborn, joining a sect meant leaving your old life behind; chances were that if you had family, you’d never be seeing them again—or at least not for a few decades, by which point they’d likely have either already passed away or mostly forgotten about you. Because of that, most mundaneborn cultivators were either on bad terms with their families or orphans.

It was a different story for magicalborns, whose parents were magicals. In most cases, magicalborns ended up joining the same organization their parents belonged to, being born already inside the organization. And then there were clanborns: magicalborns who came from magical families with enough members to be considered magical organizations in their own right, standing on the same level as sects, palaces, cults, and churches. If a clanborn was part of a vassal clan, they’d end up joining the suzerain organization if they were scouted by the legate stationed there, and because of that, many clanborns usually had family inside the sect they were joining, and they could easily remain in contact with their clan.

Ryen then looked around and asked, “Does anyone want to go first, or should I?”

“I don’t mind,” Mardyn said, drawing everyone’s attention. With that, he took a moment to think before he began. “Let’s see … Well, my parents were scholars. A couple of years ago, they … died in an accident, and my uncle took me in, but he also ended up passing away, a couple of months ago. There’s a sect right next to the city I grew up in, and I grew up hearing stories about cultivators, and many times I’d see them as they flew over the city, so I decided to take its entrance examination. I got first place, and the legate stationed there approached me after it was over and invited me to join the Viridian Mist Sect—and, well, I think you know the rest.”

After Mardyn was done, they all remained silent for a few moments, the atmosphere growing solemn.

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Ryen then gave a rather strained smile. “Yeah, I probably should have thought this through better.”

“Oh, please, don’t worry about me,” Mardyn said, shaking his head. He smiled back as if to reassure Ryen. “If I didn’t feel comfortable sharing, I wouldn’t have done so—as you previously said. These kinds of things … well, they just happen.”

Ryen took in a deep breath, then nodded. “I see. Well, who wants to go next? If there’s not—”

“I’ll go,” Gwyn said, and Ryen noticed Arys, who was by her side, starting, startled by Gwyn’s sudden pronouncement. So far, the only time Gwyn had spoken around them was back when Ryen was introducing the members of the study group to each other in the lecture courtyard, and even then, she had only said a few words.

“My grandparents raised me. They died, last year, of old age. The mayor of my town had a daughter, and she joined a sect a few years ago. Since I didn’t know what to do, I decided to do the same thing and traveled to that sect. I took the entrance examinations, got scouted, and was brought here.”

Just as what had happened after Mardyn had finished the story, nobody spoke at first once Gwyn was done, though the solemnity was mostly gone, replaced by some awkwardness. As per usual, Gwyn hadn’t shown a hit of emotion and had kept her words concise—which didn't fit the situation or the story she was telling.

“Umm. Right,” Ryen said. “Thank you, Gwyn. Does either of you want to go next?” He looked over to Ellys and Arys.

Ellys shrugged, whereas Arys squirmed. Just as Ellys was about to speak, Arys suddenly looked up. “I … I’ll do it,” she said, her voice soft but clear. Ellys glanced at her and shrugged again.

“All right,” she said. “My father … he was a cultivator. Of the Silver Flame Sect. My mother was mundane. When they met, my father was on a long-term mission outside the sect. Before I was born, something happened between them. I think it was a fight. Mom never told me. Anyway, he … he returned to the sect before I was born, and my mother moved in with my grandparents to raise me. My father never visited.”

Arys then took in a deep breath as if to steel herself. “When I was ten, my grandparents died. Then, a couple of months ago, Mom also passed away.” As Arys said that, her face tightened. “I decided to look for my father. I … I didn’t have anyone left. But I didn’t know any cultivators or any way to contact one. I then heard that the Silver Flame Sect was about to hold its entrance examinations, and I thought that if I became a disciple, I’d be able to meet him. I got scouted, but I didn’t accept the offer right away. I wanted to find my father first.” She then looked down, her voice growing quieter. “He wasn’t there. He died five years ago, on another mission outside the sect.” She gave a weak shrug. “I didn’t have any reason to stay there anymore, so I accepted the legate’s offer and came here.”

Arys then let out a long breath. She didn’t raise her head back again.

After a few moments, Ryen glanced at Ellys, who nodded back at him.

“I’ll go next,” Ellys said. “My story … Well, it isn’t anything special. A bit boring, really. I grew up in a small town. My parents own an inn there, the only one.” At that, Ryen noticed some of the others looking at Ellys more closely. Own, Ellys had said—as in, they still owned it, which meant that they were alive. “One day, one of the guests at the time approached me and my parents. She said that she was a cultivator and that on a whim she had decided to test my aptitude for cultivation. She said that I had talent and offered to take me to a nearby sect later on so that I could take its entrance examinations.”

Again, there was a shift in the others as they listened to Ellys. Ryen himself was staring at Ellys intently.

“I accepted, and my parents allowed me to leave. The woman then left, then returned a couple of weeks later to take me to the Lilac Sky Sect. After dropping me there, she flew away. I then took the entrance examinations and, well, I’m sure you know the rest.”

“Was that woman a member of the Lilac Sky Sect?” Mardyn asked.

Ellys shook his head. “I don’t think so. She just said it was the nearest sect.”

“Right,” Ryen suddenly said, drawing everyone’s attention. “I believe it’s my turn next. Now, I’m afraid my story is rather ... grim. My parents were merchants. They had a caravan, and they’d travel from city to city, trading goods. One day, after we had set up camp, a woman suddenly appeared in our midst. I don’t know where she came from, or who she was. All I know is that, after she appeared, she locked us all in place and started killing everyone in the camp one by one.”

Ryen pretended not to have noticed the looks of shock directed at him.

“For some reason, she left me for last. Just as she was about to kill me, though, another cultivator appeared, and he killed the woman. He said that she was a wicked cultivator and that he had been on her trail for a while now, pursuing her. He took me to the nearest city and left me there. I never learned his name or what organization he was from, either. For a few days, I stayed at an inn. I didn’t know what to do. Then I heard that the entrance examinations of the Cerulean Lake Sect were about to happen, and I realized what I had to do.”

Sigg then took in a deep breath, his expression growing steely. “What happened back in the camp … I felt so helpless, so weak.” He clenched his teeth, his hands balling into fists. “And I didn’t want to feel that way again—ever. But for that, I needed power, and the only way to get my hands on it was to become a cultivator. So that’s what I did. I took the entrance examinations of the Cerulean Lake Sect. I then got scouted, like all of you, before being brought here.”

Ryen looked straight at the other members of the study group, taking in their expressions. He let the silence linger for a moment or two, then loudly clapped his hands, startling everyone.

“I think that’s it for today,” he said, adopting a cheery tone that was nothing short of jarring given the story he had just told. The others gave him strange looks. “Now, what should be the topic of tomorrow’s meeting?”

III

Kyna aimlessly wandered around the residential wing. She was on corridor duty, having already completed her tasks for the day. The morning had gone surprisingly well. After what had happened yesterday night, she had thought that Myra would try something with her today, but so far, nothing had happened. Myra kept treating her as she usually did, the same way she treated the other servants—pretending that they didn’t exist until they did something to draw her attention, almost always in a bad way.

Thinking of yesterday also got her thinking of the Kunyuan boy. She wondered whether she should tell Ryen about it. She didn’t have anyone else to talk to, and she really wanted to tell someone about it, but at the same time, she didn’t want him to feel there was something wrong with her and start distancing himself from her.

While she was still struggling to come to a decision, Ryen appeared on the other end of the corridor. Seeing her, he waved, making his way over.

“Hey,” Ryen said, leaning in close. His forehead was slightly creased, his expression slightly apprehensive as he looked her over. “About yesterday…”

Realizing what was going on, Kyna quickly shook her head and cut in, “Nothing happened. Myra simply asked me what kind of questions you were asking, and I just told her you were curious about the sect and that you also asked a couple of questions about myself. She then left and let me return to my room on my own.”

Ryen gave her a strangely blank look she couldn’t quite decipher. Then he suddenly smiled and let out a sigh of relief. “Thank Eirwys. Based on what you had just told me, I was worried she’d do something.”

“Me too,” Kyna said. She then looked at him carefully, hesitating. Should she tell him?

“Kyna?” Ryen asked, appearing to notice that there was something up.

Kyna took in a deep breath, coming to a decision. She wasn’t sure if it was one she’d come to regret, but she didn’t think Ryen would leave over something like this. He was better than that. He had to be. “Yesterday, on my way back, I saw—”

“Master Rhodry.”

Kyna froze, suddenly reminded of yesterday night in Ryen’s room. Not again…

Turning around, she saw Myra standing behind her, staring at the two of them.

Myra glanced at her, then shifted her attention back to Ryen. “Master Rhodry, Hall Leader Tynwen requests your presence.”

Beside her, Ryen stilled slightly before giving Myra a nod. Turning to Kyna, he said, “I’ll see you later.”

Kyna nodded her head at him, not daring to speak up again and draw Myra’s attention back to her. She then watched as Myra led Ryen down the corridor, disappearing after turning around a corner.

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