Fate's Attendant 1.3

Hong Fei walked across two hillsides before he could go no farther. The footing was simply too treacherous for him, the water streaming past his feet threatening to pull him along.

The badger had taken to walking downslope of him, so that it could catch him should he fall. It had happened twice already, and Hong Fei might’ve been willing to risk a third time if not for the drop of a hundred zhang downslope.

Nearby a bird hooted its indignation at the rain. Hong Fei silently agreed with it. If only there was a safe place to rest, he thought. Just a moment to recover my breath.

The area was devoid of shelter, though the trees looked like they’d provide some cover—nothing like the previous clearing but Hong Fei’s only other options were to sit in the mud or stand in place, his legs trembling from the strain.

The badger shuffled forward to block his path with its muscular flank, then bumped his knees to send him tumbling on top of it. He yelped and grabbed a hold of the beast’s fur before he could slip off.

Once the badger felt him steady, it began to move—with him slung across its back. Hong Fei blinked and took a few uncertain breaths. He didn’t seem to be in danger of falling off. The beast’s gait swayed gently as it picked its way upslope and resumed the journey that had stalled because of his weakness.

The bushes and ferns drew their branches across his face. What if the badger took Hong Fei through a thorny bramble? So, he pulled himself forward so that his head was just behind the beast’s. He thought to sit and take a proper rider’s seat, but the muscles in his back immediately rebelled. Instead, Hong Fei would have to lay flat across the badger’s back.

There was such indignity in the position, but what use was dignity in a situation like his? What use was it at all? He’d already suffered so much worse simply to arrive at Wild Green Island.

###

Half a year ago, Hong Fei had taken his pension and, knowing the journey would be long, relied on favors and a thick face to ride the wagons crossing from the Askalousan Steppe to the Northwest Territories. That was a journey of twenty days via poor roads and poorer river crossings.

Once he reached the main fortress at Stone Hollow Pass, he didn’t draw attention to himself and continued on foot. Hong Fei’s survival would cause embarrassment to people who should never be embarrassed.

Fortunately, the Northwest Territories were familiar, and as he walked along those roads, he wondered about how to proceed, eventually deciding to stop at his ancestral house to send letters to his family stationed throughout the empire, assuring them of his life and asking them not pursue him.

The steward cried tears of relief at seeing the house’s missing son alive, and together they performed a ritual of gratitude to the gods. Hong Fei mouthed the words, but they didn’t touch his heart. He was numb; he’d also hidden his crippled cultivation.

Hong Fei carried a small pouch of money away from the house and traveled twenty-seven days to the Cloudy Starlight, the river’s banks flooded from a recent storm. He slept overnight in the ferryman’s shed.

The next day, Hong Fei thought fate truly meant for him to die, but the ferryman’s guts were made of iron. The man laughed where the waters rushed their fastest and brought him safely across.

Hong Fei continued south, simply putting distance between himself and the steppe, and yet he couldn’t travel like a beggar for the rest of his life. Then, fate truly did seem to intervene.

At a roadside stall—while eating a bowl of noodles—Hong Fei overheard news of a family ally doing well on Wild Green Island. Duke Yu had been banished to a residence there, yet he’d prospered: his grandson had recently broken through to the Qi-Gathering realm.

Perhaps, Hong Fei thought, the old duke might need another attendant. Someone to tutor the family children in languages and mathematics.

A destination now settled in his mind, Hong Fei set off for the Lingyao Peninsula where he might take a boat to Wild Green Island. A day later, he was caught by a late-season snow flurry. Then, a week afterward, bandits waylaid him and the others on the road he’d been traveling with.

A shred of dignity had clung to Hong Fei since the steppe, but the bandits beat it out of him. Only a bout of quick thinking kept Fortune’s Favor out of their hands. Everything else, they took, and his injuries worsened.

At Jade Hollow City, he gritted his teeth and paid for the medicines he needed. Where the money came from, he didn’t dare to think about. All he could do was pledge to better protect himself and his belongings in the future.

The journey continued—weeks of traveling over mountains and through river valleys. He only paid for carriages, boats, and bribes when there was no other choice. But there were so many bribes needed! It seemed like every other soldier, whether they belonged to a noble family, prosperous clan, or the empire itself was after Hong Fei’s purse. He felt the weight of it diminishing until the last of the coins was spent on hiring a coastal junk to carry him west to Wild Green Island.

Fortunately, he convinced the sailors to land directly at Blue Lotus City on the island’s east coast. If they’d dropped him off at the more frequently visited Tide Watch Port or Wind Terrace City, he’d have starved long before reaching Duke Yu’s residence. As it was, Hong Fei’s stomach already clung to his sides like sheets of paper pasted together.

Steadily and stubbornly, he left the bustling port and climbed from the near-jungle-like immediate lowlands surrounding Blue Lotus City up into the hills to the north and then to the west. As the road steepened, the dense forests with their thick canopies, vines, and rich wildlife were only now starting to give way to broad-leafed trees and conifers.

And the way ahead would only grow steeper still. This east side of the island was thick with mountains. Ruby Swift City was located in a gorge between them.

All that should’ve been left was a long day’s walk full of switchbacks and morning fog burning away to reveal spring skies. Hong Fei had expected this last day to be wearying, the capstone to a journey that had taken too long already. It galled to be stymied by rain and mud so close to his destination. Better to trample his dignity firmly and ride the badger if the beast was willing.

###

The terrain grew rockier as Hong Fei’s mount climbed steadily upward, with glimpses of white and gray marble cliffs visible in the distance. Down below was the road that he’d once followed. A lone rider spurred his horse along it—the coin tosser searching for the missing ascender.

Hong Fei clicked his tongue. A pace that quick on a road that muddy was likely to injure the man’s steed. Whether it happened or not, though, he didn’t see. The badger’s path turned to follow a game trail and dipped down into a low section filled with rainwater.

They soon climbed out, and Hong Fei saw that ahead was a rocky overhang of the same kind of marble he’d spotted earlier, this section streaked with a dark stone, a striking contrast to the forest’s lush greenness around it.

The badger walked them under the stone and tilted to dump Hong Fei off of its back. With a yelp, he tucked in his arms and head to keep them safe, then scrambled to sit up, only to see the badger making itself comfortable, looking out onto the forest.

“We’re here to rest, I take it?”

The beast didn’t turn to look at him, but it nodded.

The floor was dry and the wind blocked was by the stone walls and nearby trees. Hong Fei moved closer to the badger. The weather was mild, but without the beast’s warmth he risked becoming ill.

They sat together for a time, simply watching the rain, listening to the wind in the branches and the patter of drops on the forest. The knot of worry in Hong Fei’s heart eased. He breathed deeply and relaxed into the badger’s side.

It cast a glance at him, then Hong Fei’s stomach growled.

What could he do but smile in embarrassment. The last he’d eaten were some rice cakes on the junk the day before.

The badger grunted, and to Hong Fei it sounded like disappointment, almost like an auntie realizing she’d neglected to offer visiting family refreshments. In this case, the beast came to standing and gestured with its snout, “You stay here; I’ll be right back with something to eat.”

Were badger faces always so expressive? Hong Fei wondered. Clearly this one is no ordinary beast. He sat in a daze as it left him to disappear between the trees.

Eventually, he gathered his wits and scooted toward the back wall, so that he’d have something to lean against. The times when he was left alone with his thoughts were the worst, so he took the badger’s painting from the satchel to examine it, admiring the artist’s skill. The likeness was truly remarkable, and the paint didn’t smudge even after scratching it with a fingernail.

Once again, he puzzled at the unknown language, and he took out the other paper to compare the symbols between them. The more he looked, the more he was convinced that these were letters, each one representing a sound and with the groups of them representing the actual words. The symbols repeated too often for it to be otherwise.

His finger traced the shape of one, the “H” at the very top, and a moment later, he gasped as a ghostly image appeared before him. The text hovered in the air, the exact duplicate of what was written on the paper in his hand.

Hong Fei

Fate Points: 0 | 0

Realm: Dustborn

Cultivation: N/A

Alignment: N/A

Attributes

·         Body: 0

·         Mind: 2

·         Soul: 2

Traits

·         Sword Prodigy

·         Fate’s Attendant

Cards

·         Uncommon Badger

Hong Fei admired the projection. He’d seen powerful cultivators casting similar magics in the past, and now the power to do so was in hands, too, albeit under limited circumstances.

Hong Fei looked closer and noticed the swans, the “2” letter repeated, as well as multiples of the “0” letter, both a larger version and a smaller, more rounded one. That could be said to be true of several of the letters. Perhaps the larger variations indicate a different pronunciation or special importance? he wondered.

The most obvious similarity was the repetition of “Uncommon Badger” on both of the papers, and Hong Fei suspected it was the name or type of beast represented. It’s unfortunate there’s no way to tell how it’s pronounced, he thought.

Another problem he observed was that none of the patterns helped with determining the text’s meaning. He’d need a translator or dictionary for that. Still, he played with the painting, poking it in places to see how it changed, new text appearing at the touch of his finger.

For example, there were lines that read:

“A quantification of the primal energy unbound from fate returned to its natural course.”

“The power inherent in one’s body—a synthesis of one’s might, agility, and resilience.”

“Born with a body, mind, and soul suited to the sword.”

“The Dao of Fate follows its own path, returning all to the natural order. As its attendant, you are gifted the tools to right what has been made wrong.”

###

The sound of bushes shaking woke Hong Fei from an unintended nap. His body had demanded he rest even though his mind had become engrossed in the mysteries posed by the cultivator’s satchel. Forcing himself to alertness, he noted that the rain had stopped and the sun was moving toward sunset.

He reached for his sword, only to see that the sound came from the badger’s return. The beast dragged with it a branch, and amid the still-vibrant leaves were clusters of green fruit speckled white; they looked like figs, just larger and more oblong.

Hong Fei crawled forward to help the badger drag the branch toward the overhang. He picked one the figs, and the beast nodded, the gesture encouraging him to continue. He was so hungry, he couldn’t help himself.

The outer layer was thin, and the first taste was light and sweet. Then his teeth encountered the fibrous interior in earnest. There were translucent thread-like strands protecting the fig’s golden-orange jelly flesh, as well as seeds dispersed throughout it, too.

Eating one of the fruits was a lesson in disappointment. He had to work for the promised sweetness, chewing the fiber to extract the jelly within and then spitting out the inedible parts. Yet food was food, and Hong Fei devoured every fig on the branch. He even turned it over to make sure there were none hiding from him.

The badger turned as if to go back into the forest to get more, but that would leave Hong Fei alone with night rapidly approaching.

“Thank you,” he said, “but that’s enough for now. The rest can wait until morning.”

The badger looked at him, its disbelief apparent.

Hong Fei cleared his throat. “It’s true. Besides, I have an important question.” He showed the badger its portrait. At his touch, a spectral version appeared above it. “This is you, correct?”

The beast wasn’t surprised by the apparition. It simply nodded.

“And do you know the meaning of these words? Do they represent you, too? Like the painting?” Hong Fei knew that asking a spirit beast if it knew how to read was a strange question, but the creature clearly understood language, and he was genuinely curious about the magical artifacts that had fallen into his hands.

The badger looked at him like he was a fool, then its eyes widened as it seemed to come to a realization. It looked between him and the spectral painting in the air, and gestured with its snout toward the text.

Hong Fei shook his head. “My apologies, but I’ve no understanding for what this is meant to say or do.”

The badger sat on its haunches with a huff, astonished by the revelation.

Why does it seem to be in such a daze? Hong Fei thought. Is it really so surprising to be illiterate in a language I’ve never before encountered? A hint of worry crept back into his heart. Is the matter so important that I’ll be cast off as a result? Not long ago, he’d been worried about how he’d be able to enter Ruby Swift City with the badger in his company, yet his greatest concern currently was that it’d leave him behind.

Hong Fei scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. At one time, he’d been considered one of the bravest of the army’s officers and had earned himself the posting of dūtóu, a captain with an independent command and over a hundred soldiers under him. That all seemed a fever dream now, and all it’d taken to win his loyalty were figs and the promise of safety at the badger’s side. How far he’d truly come!

The badger rose from its haunches and swiped a claw through the tree branch. Leaves and twigs split, scattering as they fell to the ground.

Hong Fei’s stomach clenched at the sudden reminder of the violence the beast was capable of—the imperial soldier’s head had been freed from his body just as easily—but the badger ignored him in order to draw eleven circles in the mud outside the area covered by the overhang.

The first circle was left empty, and the beast filled the others with a steadily increasing number of leaves and broken branch pieces—a numerical sequence from zero to ten. Hong Fei sat back, astonished. The badger knew how to count.

The beast looked annoyed with him, then pointed at the circle that contained two leaves within it and then at the swans in the portrait hovering in the air.

Hong Fei stared a moment. Then he blinked. “What? So you do know how to read?”

Nearby, a startled bird took to the air. The badger sighed and settled in, as if expecting a long night.

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