“Is this a school?”
“Shimmerwing Academy,” Iridescent Virtue said. “Unlike the Star-Eye Clan, where every able-bodied man or woman is given a stick and taught to beat things, we prize education. Everyone goes to school. Shimmerwing Academy is our top educational establishment, and everyone here has attained at least a second burning in their adolescence. I myself went to school here, and I would recommend it to anyone who can afford it.”
“But this is a children’s school,” Cha Ming said.
“It is,” Iridescent Virtue said. “But there are many elders who teach here, each with their different quirks and specialties. Come. Follow me.”
He led Cha Ming through narrow streets between the buildings, skillfully avoiding crowds of playing children. Some shot him curious glances, though none of them were brave enough to bother him.
Eventually, they reached one of the smaller buildings with its own smokestack. It had a private garden in which many alchemical herbs grew. The crops were varied, and each plant came in many colors. A woman kneeled at one such plant, using a colored orb and her personal iridescent flame to illuminate it.
“Iridescent Tempest, how are you doing today?” Iridescent Virtue asked. He was definitely the least-emotional phoenix Cha Ming had met thus far. He didn’t seem to get too excited about anything, despite all his talk of iridescence, passion, and caring. Nevertheless, the woman tending to the plants yelped and jumped up in surprise.
“Brother Iridescent Virtue,” she said quickly. “What—what brings you back here?”
“I thought I’d visit your master and introduce a strange human to him,” Iridescent Virtue said. “For his research.”
Research? Cha Ming thought.
The woman eyed Cha Ming suspiciously. “He’s not that same human that went crashing into the palace, is he?”
“The very same,” Iridescent Virtue said. “I think he might be of some use. What’s more, he’s desperate.”
Cha Ming’s eye twitched.
“If you say so,” she said, still giving Cha Ming the stink eye. “Fine. Follow me, and don’t touch anything, human.”
She led Iridescent Virtue and Cha Ming into the small building, which was apparently much larger on the inside than the outside. Past its multicolored brick walls and inside its wood-furnished interior were more plants. Each room was subdivided with glass walls to create independent greenhouses. Each of them had a different colored light suspended from the ceiling, providing its own unique illumination. Some small fields were withered, and others bloomed vigorously.
Past the gardens, there was a large shelf. It contained row upon row of strange-looking candles. Each one hosted a different colored flame that flickered weakly within its personal glass globe. Where candles were lacking, there were dusty tomes that had nothing to do with alchemy. Most had to do with history and bloodlines. Some spoke of flames and their natures.
Iridescent Tempest knocked on an old wooden door at the back of the room. “Who is it?” a cranky voice answered.
“Iridescent Virtue is here,” Iridescent Tempest said. “He wanted to say hello.”
“Tell him I’m busy,” the man said.
“He’s… just outside the door,” Iridescent Tempest said. “He heard you.” This was followed by cursing and grumbling and crashing glass that eventually resulted in the appearance of a gray-haired man with a balding head.
“Iridescent Virtue,” the man said. “Nice to see you again, my boy!” Then he looked to Cha Ming, unimpressed. “Who is this, and why did you bring him here?”
“It’s nice to see you again and in good health, Teacher,” Iridescent Virtue said. “My mother sends her regards.”
“Your mother… right,” the man said. “Nice girl. Knows how to treat an old man.”
Cha Ming looked the man over as he spoke. He was dressed poorly. Slovenly, even. Only a few feathers grew at the backs of his ears where most of his hair remained. They were iridescent, of course, and their color was lively, despite their lacking numbers.
“Elder Iridescent Wonder, I came here because I stumbled upon an interesting situation,” Iridescent Virtue said. He paused for drama, and the elder scowled impatiently. “This human, Daoist Clear Sky, is affiliated with the Star-Eye Clan. He is somehow in possession of his own king’s crown, which, to be honest, should be impossible for a human. He will be participating in the upcoming competition for the Trial by Ancestral Fire, despite only knowing mortal-level alchemy he learned before ascending. He is also an accomplished talisman artist. He’ll be participating as an alchemist, by the way.”
“Well, that seems like all sorts of stupid,” Iridescent Wonder said. “Why didn’t the First Feather shoot him down?”
“She is the one who suggested it, and who gave him special permission,” Iridescent Virtue said. “Moreover, I am the one who tested him.”
“Stupid of you to give him a pass,” the elder said. “Bad for your reputation. I thought you were better than that. Well, whatever. The question remains: Why did you bring him here?”
“For your research, of course,” Iridescent Virtue said. “He has three months to compete against the best of our generation, and to make matters worse, his flame contains not a hint of iridescence.”
“Not interested,” the elder said, turning.
“Pity,” Iridescent Virtue said. “He did just smash Elder Iridescent Torch’s workshop and seriously harm her direct disciple, Iridescent Smile. He then proceeded to survive a full-on surprise attack from Iridescent Torch’s demon weapon. While she was armored.”
Cha Ming remembered no such demon weapon, but he didn’t interrupt.
“Go on,” Iridescent Wonder said.
“I thought he might be what you were looking for,” Iridescent Wonder said. “He does use a Grandmist flame.”
Iridescent Wonder blurred and appeared in front of Cha Ming. He was surprisingly tall and spry for his age. He loomed over Cha Ming and traced the line where Cha Ming’s crown usually occupied his forehead. “A Grandmist flame, huh?”
“Not a shred of iridescence,” Iridescent Virtue confirmed. “But he has a crown from the Star-Eye Clan, and golden boots from the Clockwork Clan.” He paused. “That is what they used to call the Golden Dragons a few hundred years ago, wasn’t it? I keep hearing that term in the market.”
The elder ignored him and grabbed Cha Ming’s wrist, feeling for his pulse. “Summon your flame, boy.”
Cha Ming did as instructed. He summoned the small gray flame and let it hover for a while.
“Is this a natural flame, boy?”
“Natural?” Cha Ming asked.
“Are you making this with your own qi?” Iridescent Wonder asked.
“Sorry, I’m afraid not,” Cha Ming admitted.
The man grunted.
“He uses a soul-bound treasure as a catalyst to produce it,” Iridescent Virtue chimed in. “Surely the soul bond will make this flame as close to natural as possible. After all, it’s impossible for a living creature to use natural Grandmist.”
“Not impossible,” the elder muttered. “Just damned improbable. And curse me if they ever want to be alchemists.” He hesitated. “You have a crown?” Cha Ming summoned it, and he nodded. “Might work.”
“I thought you might think so,” Iridescent Virtue said. “How fortunate it is that you have a willing test subject, and all it will cost you is the occasional pointer for the next three months. Moreover, he won’t change his flame. Not unless you offer him something better.”
“Only an iridescent flame would do,” Iridescent Wonder said. “You said the First Feather sanctioned this? What else did she say?”
“She said he’s on his own financially, if that’s what you’re asking, though she did give him unlimited library access,” Iridescent Virtue said. “And as I said, he’s also a talisman artist. He should be able to fund his own learning.”
“Unlimited library access? Including elder-level libraries?” Iridescent Wonder asked.
“She didn’t rule them out,” Iridescent Virtue said. “I think it’s a clan ambassador privilege. Well? What say you?”
The elder nodded. “He’ll do, I think. Tempest, why don’t you see your friend out?” His apprentice jumped with joy at the order and moved to comply. She did, however, shoot Cha Ming a warning glare as she left.
The elder then led Cha Ming into his broken-down office.
What have I gotten myself into?
“So,” Iridescent Wonder said as he sat behind his desk. “Mortal-grade alchemy. Best pill crafted?”
“Half-step rune carving, a reverse-engineered and downgraded nirvana pill, which I infused with transcendent rainbow-fish scales,” Cha Ming said.
“Impossible,” the elder said. “Wouldn’t work. You wouldn’t be able to get the reactions to synchronize.”
Cha Ming raised an eyebrow. Did this man actually know what the pill was and what he’d been through? “I incorporated runic arts into my alchemy and forced the reaction to work. It was more of a talisman that happened to use alchemy, really. Still needed massive time acceleration to make it work, though.”
“To finish it before you died,” the man said, nodding. “All right, I can work with this.” He took a sheet of paper and wrote down several dozen books. He slid it over to Cha Ming. “Go to the library. Read these. You have a mid-grade-transcendent soul, as you humans call it. Silly that you should have souls separate from your bodies. Anyway, it shouldn’t take you long to internalize these, especially if you’re already a talisman artist. I take it your soul-bound treasure has standard time acceleration? How much? Five times? Eight times?”
“Ten times,” Cha Ming replied.
“More than most on record,” Iridescent Wonder said. “If you need ingredients, pay for them with your own demon coin. Do whatever you want with what you make. You’ve got two weeks to give me passable, practical knowledge of what’s in these books, or this is hopeless.”
“All right,” Cha Ming said. “Before I take off, though, I’m a little confused.”
“About what?” the elder asked.
“What research do you need me for, exactly?” Cha Ming said.
“Ah, that’s easy to answer,” the elder said. “Many researchers focus on alchemy. They focus on ingredients. I, however, focus on flames and their effects. Did you see the candles? The flames in the glass orbs hanging in each greenhouse?”
Cha Ming nodded.
“I’m researching the basic nature of flames. More specifically, the effects and limitations of iridescence. Iridescent Virtue was once my pupil—until his dear teacher Iridescent Charity stole him away, which is why he knows my greatest vexation.”
“And what’s that?” Cha Ming asked.
“I want to know the answer to something that’s stumped us for thousands of years,” Iridescent Wonder said. “Can Grandmist flames become iridescent?”
Cha Ming frowned. “You mean it’s impossible?”
“Iridescence has to do with personhood,” Iridescent Wonder said. “You can find Grandmist flames in nature. You can trap them with flame seeds. You can make them using Grandmist as fuel. The problem is that those aren’t natural flames. They’re artificial. It’s impossible to imbue them with iridescence. Conversely, iridescent flames can be used to light fires, but they can’t be trapped in flame seeds. They can’t be made artificially.
“The reason I’m interested in your Grandmist flame is that it’s brought about by a soul-bound treasure. It’s very possible the soul connection will allow you imitate a natural flame, which is rarely found in nature. Moreover… you have a connection to two demon clans already. We might be able to forge a connection to the Iridescent Clan and facilitate the acquisition of iridescence.”
“And why does any of this matter?” Cha Ming asked.
“To me?” the elder asked. “Grandmist is the base material for the entire universe, boy. It precedes creation and destruction. I want to know if iridescence exists outside the bounds of the material world, or inside them. If Grandmist can be made iridescent, it means iridescence transcends the physical.” He tapped his lips. “Now, for you, it’s even more important. Grandmist flames are great, and Grandmist seals are very good at regulating medicinal properties. They make pills adapt, even across species. Unfortunately, iridescent seals are considered better. Around here, at least. A pill with an iridescent seal is made stronger, sometimes by half a step. To stand half a chance at reaching the top ten in this competition, which I’m assuming you want to do, you’ll need to develop some iridescence and merge it into your flame.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Cha Ming said. Not only did he have an impossible duel coming up in four months after spending three months learning alchemy, he’d also needed to accomplish the impossible.
Seeing his expression, Iridescent Wonder grinned. “Work hard, boy. With your help, we’ll be able to force a few thousand paper retractions.” The evil academic rubbed his hands expectantly.
Chapter 9: Bifang
Things were going swimmingly for Huxian and his gang. Or at least, as swimmingly as demonically possible. They were taking a lunch break after an intense round of shopping that Huxian skipped in favor of phoenix roasted coffee.
Now they were finally together again, and Gua and Miyue were doing what they did best: fighting.
Huxian took slow sips from his cup as he tried to shut them out. The heavenly brown liquid he was drinking was mostly cream and sugar, admittedly, but the amount of coffee it contained was growing by the day. Soon, he would be as cool is his big brother Cha Ming and have no problem drinking concentrated espresso.
He ignored the very vocal duo as they screamed at each other, attracting awkward glances from passersby and glares from the restaurant staff. He pointedly avoided making eye contact with irritated customers. Instead, he focused on his roasted sandwich, which was a thing in Shimmerwing. In fact, anything roasted was a thing.
He chomped away merrily, eating the very dense and ridiculously large tower of alternating cuts of meat garnished with sparse leafy greens. He took special care not to eat the stupid toothpick this time. Not because he couldn’t digest it, but because without it, the entire structure would collapse. All was well in Huxian’s wonderful world of blissful ignorance.
“Togas are absolutely not making a comeback, Miyue,” Gua said. “That’s stupid. They’re plain, and the only ones who’d like that sort of things are demon clans that like showing off their chest hair.”
“Like demon monkeys?” Miyue asked.
“A dead-end clientele,” Gua said dismissively. “Most of the Monkey Clan are proper demons and wouldn’t bother showing off that much exposed skin. Those that care about chest hair aren’t really into shirts, or fashion, for that matter. Most of them would rather wear a loincloth than actual pants!”
“But it’s much cheaper to make them,” Miyue insisted. “And we can sell more cloth that way.”
“I’ll be damned if I attach my name to a stupid toga,” Gua said. “It’s not fashionable. I’m not doing it.”
“That’s just because people don’t see it as fashion,” Miyue said. “But you’re in a good position to dictate fashion. If you wore one, everyone would.”
“Fashion isn’t like that,” Gua said, slamming his hand down on the table. “It’s about wearing what makes you comfortable in your own skin. Who would feel comfortable in a toga? A barbarian? A band of heathens? Perhaps members of a private harem? In case you haven’t noticed, none of these things are popular in these parts.”
“Maybe in the wild lands, then,” Miyue said.
“Sure, sure,” Gua replied. “If you manage to get rid of the White-Eyed Tiger Clan’s death mark, I’ll consider it. Until then, I’m not dealing with tigers or their harems. And even then, who wants to deal with smelly tigers or cats anyway?”
This time, a lot of the customers nodded in agreement. Most who didn’t care for their arguments had left long ago, mostly leaving those
who were there for the entertainment.
Huxian let it roll over him. Everything was fine as long as he had his sandwich. Gua and Miyue might be bickering, but they were enjoying themselves in their own strange way. He was on vacation, and he couldn’t let things like that get to him.
He just wished vacation wasn’t so boring. He wanted to find something fun and relaxing that might unlock some of his latent abilities. Trickery came to mind. Demons of the space-time lineage were good at that. Perhaps by going around and doing naughty things, he could unlock some delicious memories.
Then again, he could take up the suspicious list of activities his ancestor had recommended. Like embroidery and fencing. Apparently, studying theoretical mathematics was a great way to gain inspiration on space-time. Still, he doubted the sincerity of the old fox and questioned some assertions made on the topic. Equations, tasty? Not a chance.
“Guys, what do you do when you have trouble making decisions?” Huxian asked. His friends paused mid-argument, granting their onlookers a merciful reprieve.
“I pick the most beautiful choice and stick with it,” Gua said. “Works every time.”
Miyue rolled her eyes. “My dearest fox, I’ll be happy to help you with any problems you have. Just say the word, and I’m there.”
Huxian raised an eyebrow.
“Fine, fine. I usually make lists of pros and cons. I find that helps.”
“That’s useful,” Huxian said. “Carry on.”
And they did.
A list of pros and cons didn’t really help Huxian, but it would help to catalogue his abilities. Perhaps if he organized them, he would discover the most useful way to spend his time. First, he had his Time-Torching Eyes, which he could use to erode things and predict. Second, he had the Moon-Eclipsing Wings, which he could use to pierce through space and fold space like a cloak.
Claddings of Light : Book 12 of Painting the Mists Page 15