Beneath the Dragoneye Moons
Chapter 654: Countless Joyful Dawns VIII

233 Years after Elaine became a professor at the School of Sorcery and Spellcraft

Mao Mao looked up and up and up at the great mountain, the peaks shrouded in thick, eternal mists. Mists that glowed in every color of the rainbow, the undying flames of the sect coloring the grand skies above. This was her chance, her one opportunity to change her destiny and defy the fate the heavens had written for her.

She would succeed, or die trying.

Mao swallowed and chatted nervously with the girl next to her, a girl she’d never seen or met before today.

“This is the right place, right Ning?” She asked.

“It better be.” Ning grouched. “It’s so weird seeing so many girls for a sect trial.”

“Oh?” Mao Mao asked. Any scrap, any morsel of information would help.

“Yeah, last two trials I attempted had way more boys than girls.” Ning said. “Didn’t even offer healing to the aspirants that failed the trial. Well, those without sufficient face.” Ning chewed on her lip contemplatively. “Then again…” She slowly said. “Those backed by clans with enough face didn’t have to worry about failing the trials in the first place.”

Mao suddenly started reconsidering her choice of Sect. She’d walked halfway across The Great Tang to make it here, believing it was her best chance.

“Do you think that’s likely here?” She worried. She could not afford to be healed, it was too expensive!

“I don’t think we’ll be hurt.” Ning said. “Well, if we are, we’ll be healed. The entire sect is about the medicinal arts.”

“Is the trial easy or hard?” Mao Mao asked. Ning threw her arms up in the air.

“How am I supposed to know?! I’m no [Sage]. Come on, it looks like something’s going on.”

Ning grabbed Mao’s hand and pulled her through the crowd. The stone gates of the sect rose before them, looking like rock had been melted and reformed. Statues of a bird were scattered everywhere. Mao had been expecting a noble and dignified visage to represent the sect, and she was a little disappointed. Yes, the statues were all designed to be grand and noble. Yes, there were a thousand of them. Yes, all of them showed off a bird. But… a hummingbird? Mao had been expecting a raptor or eagle, perhaps a roc or a thunderbird to show off the legendary rumored phoenix. There was only so much that could be done with a hummingbird as the template.

That, more than anything, convinced Mao that there truly was a phoenix living atop the highest peak.

One of the fairy cultivators drifted down from the mountain, her robes billowing as she gracefully drifted through the air. Her clap was like thunder, and it stopped all conversation.

“Welcome to the Myriad Flame Phoenix Sect! I am Fairy Ming, and I will be overseeing your trials today. If you do not wish to join the Myriad Flame Phoenix Sect, and are here on other business, please go to the south gate. You are under our aegis at this point, and you will not die if there is any delay in your care.”

Mao’s brain nearly stopped working at those words, and she almost missed what Fairy Ming said next. She couldn’t die here!? The stories always had the cultivators as near-gods living on the mountain, but once again the rumors and stories weren’t doing proper justice to the truth of the matter.

“... It does not matter how weak you are, how frail your body may be. What matters is your mind and mentality. All of you are capable of passing the trial if your will and determination are strong enough. There is no time limit, but there are numerous ways to fail the trial. I will not be telling them all to you. Your first trial is simple. Walk to the first peak. I suggest you stay on the trail, but it is not needed. You may exit the trial at any moment. Simply step backwards on the path, ask for help, or tap out at one of the resting points. Begin.”

Fairy Ming waved her sleeves, and the gates slammed open. The trail up the mountain lit up with fireflies drifting along the edge, making the path clear. A number of the girls had been hovering near the gate, and as it opened, they started to sprint up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

Mao Mao furrowed her eyebrows.

“I didn’t hear anything about a race.” She said to Ning. The older girl nodded.

“Dripping water wears through stone.” She agreed. “Let us advance together.”

One of the passing girls laughed at them.

“You are fools to think there are no prizes for being the first to arrive! They are already ranking us, and those that are last are destined to a life of mediocrity and a lack of resources!”

Mao Mao and Ning traded looks as the girl raced off, bounding up the stairs like a lunar hare.

“If she’s in that much of a rush… why did she waste so much breath talking to us?” Ning wondered.

“Her words are like farts.” Mao Mao rudely agreed. “Let’s go?”

The two girls joined a slower batch heading up the hill. A phoenix statue was placed every third step, a ghostly flame flickering over each head. The Mists soon unnaturally closed in on them. They walked and walked and walked and walked, soon panting with exertion. Occasionally they passed other aspirants resting on a stone step, or were overtaken by girls who’d found their second wind and were sprinting up. The two saved their breath, using their air to walk instead of talk.

“We must be close to the peak by now.” Ning panted. Mao Mao glanced behind her and paled.

“Don’t look back.” She hissed, snapping her head forwards and staring at the steps. She wanted to cry.

“What - NO!” Ning cried out as she looked behind them.

They’d only taken sixteen steps up, the entry gate bright and inviting right behind them. There was a faint Spatial ripple, and a girl appeared just a few steps away from the gate. She quickly walked down and out, shaking her head the whole way.

“There must be some secret or trick to the trial.” Ning muttered to herself. “We should try to find it. Otherwise, we’re just wasting our time.”

Mao Mao frowned.

“Would they really do that?” She asked.

“Yes!” Ning practically spat. “There’s always some trick the Sects pull to let their favorites in and exclude us common girls, all under the guise of ‘fairness’.”

Mao Mao struggled with the idea. Trust the girl she’d just met, or trust the words of Fairy Ming?

“Let’s walk and think at the same time.” She said, splitting the difference. “Perhaps they are simply honest with their intentions.”

The two girls continued to walk, the stair eternal, the Mists only lit by ghostly flames over the phoenix statues. The endless monotony of the Mists were broken up by a glowing archway over the path. A pair of crescent moons were crossed with each other, one glowing blue, one glowing a soft yellow. A disciple was standing stiffly by the supports, and smiled as the two girls approached.

“Are… are we done yet?” Ning asked. The disciple shook her head.

“No. I am merely to tell you that you have reached the one eighth mark. Sit and rest for a moment if you’d like, or take a sip of water before continuing on your trial.”

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Mao Mao wanted to cry. Ning glanced back over her shoulder, the entrance no longer visible.

“And it’s easy to get back down?” She asked.

“Ning!” Mao gasped. “No!”

“Three steps to the entrance.” The disciple confirmed.

“Sorry.” Ning whispered to Mao, turned around, and took a step down. Space rippled, and Mao’s almost-friend vanished into the Mists. Mao had a moment of indecision - should she follow?

But why? She’d just met the girl that day, and while it would’ve been nice for both of them to pass the trials and enter the Sect, there was no reason for Mao to sacrifice her chance over a stranger. They’d go their own ways by the end of the day. Fairy Ming had said it was possible for anyone to pass. Mao took a cup and dipped it into the pool, and drank the water. She then steeled her shoulders, and ignoring the burn in her thighs, took the next step up the mountain.

It was a mere 32 steps later that the Mists parted, and Mao Mao found herself in a clearing with a number of other girls. The crowd was far diminished from the initial set, and Mao Mao had gone slowly up. She felt a brief pang that Ning had come so close, and yet failed right before the line. It took just a moment to realize the disciple had lied to them. The gate wasn’t an early marker, it was practically the finish line!

She mused on the words and realized with a soft gasp - it wasn’t the disciple who lied to them, it was the Sect. Was the information on the trial faulty, or was it simply a calculated blow to their confidence, to see who could make it?

Mao Mao took a moment to study the clearing. Stone, with a number of exhausted girls, surrounded by trees. It ended abruptly in a steep canyon, with only a rickety wooden bridge spanning the two sides. It had no sides or handholds, and the remaining planks looked half rotten through. Mao had a bad feeling about the next trial. A statue of an enormous wyvern was tethered at the other side, roaring to the sky.

Fairy Ming clapped her hands, and everyone’s attention was brought to her.

“Congratulations on passing the first trial. I believe we are ready to begin this section. If you have friends coming up behind you, never fear. You are the second batch to take this trial, and we traditionally have eight sets go through this.” She said. “This trial is simple. You just need to walk across the bridge to the other side. I must warn you, this trial is dangerous. Please do not fall.”

A brash girl - no, woman, in spite of how short she was, the brown-haired woman was older than the average aspirant - boldly stepped up. Mao Mao hadn’t seen her earlier, but between her height and how many aspirants had started the trial, she wasn’t surprised.

“This is easy!” She shouted, then started to run across the bridge. It twisted, swayed, and then the woman stepped on a rotten plank. She flailed and tried to grab the bridge, missed, and fell down into the canyon, screaming the entire way. It ended with a sick crack of body and bones breaking on rocks. Mao winced, and a girl next to her vomited.

“Should you choose not to take the trial, the stairs behind you will lead you back to the entrance.” Fairy Ming said with perfect grace, as if she hadn’t just witnessed someone falling to their death.

There was a rapid exodus, and Mao Mao found her feet pulling her back to the exit.

Back to what? Mao Mao fiercely cursed to herself. Back to the tannery? Back to the rat-faced cousins? Back to how I’m treated there? I don’t even have the money to make the return trip.

The thought of the predictable future stilled her feet. Possible death was a significantly better outcome, and Mao Mao turned around and ran for the bridge. Before she could talk herself out of it, she quickly grabbed the [Sure Footed] skill that the heavens offered to her, and sprinted across the bridge.

It didn’t sway nearly as badly as it had the first time, and Mao did her best to avoid any particularly bad planks. A few were inevitable, and her heart was beating like a festival drum the entire way across. Warning creaks were the worst that happened, and she found herself the first on the other side.

Only three more girls made it across, none of them falling to their demise. Mao Mao’s eyes went wide as Fairy Ming simply floated across the canyon, ignoring the bridge entirely.

“You are persistent, you are brave. It is a shame we are unable to test for knowledge or wisdom. Behind every phoenix lies a lurking wyvern, ready to descend upon our enemies. As aspirants, you may find yourself becoming either a phoenix or a wyvern, perhaps one of the rare few able to become both. Now, sadly, there are four of you, and only three people may pass from this group. Whoever is last crossing the field will be politely asked to leave. It is not a race. Speed will not help you here. The formation on the field makes this more of a test of strength, willpower, and unity. Begin.”

A bright red ribbon appeared on the other side of the field, along with a great big glowing 3. Two of the girls immediately took off sprinting, and it was like they hit solid water. Mao Mao and the other girl walked to the edge of the field, and slowly stepped in.

Water was a good description. The harder Mao Mao pushed, the faster she tried to go, the more it pushed back. Walking as slowly as possible was the easiest way across, but she quickly found herself last. The other three were working much harder, panting and sweating as they pushed into the field as hard as they could.

Mao Mao started to sweat, but not from the effort. At this rate, she’d be last, and there were only three slots left! The pressure exerted by the field continued to go up as she slowly walked through. She couldn’t lose! Not now! Not like this! Not when the finish was right there, the opportunity to join the Sect just a fingertip away!

Wait… three slots left, but there were multiple bridge groups left to go? Something was not quite right… and the challenge was about unity?

Mao Mao’s approach of using minimal force somehow got her going faster than the other girls, and she managed to overtake one of them around halfway down the field. She briefly considered trying to trip the other girl. One did not need to outrun a tiger, after all. One simply needed to not be the slowest sheep.

She shied away from the thought… but the girl she overtook didn’t. Resistance suddenly lightened, her foot lashed out and tripped Mao Mao. She fell in slow motion, urgently trying to get her arms in the way. It worked against her, and she plowed into the grass face-first.

One of the Sect Elders flashed over a moment later, blue robes woven with intricate draconic designs.

“Disqualified.” The Elder hissed at the tripping girl. “One does not raise a hand against a fellow member of the Sect.”

“But she’s not a member of the Sect!” The girl tried to argue. “We’re attempting the trials!”

She vanished in a Spatial ripple a moment later.

“I saw your hesitation and decision.” The Elder told Mao Mao, still stuck on the ground. “You have captured the essence of the trial. Demonstrate your willpower by completing it.”

In a ripple of flowing grass, the Elder vanished back towards the finish line. Mao Mao couldn’t get up with the pressure bearing down on her, and started to crawl. The number over the finish line changed from 3 to 2, but Mao Mao took heart from the Elder’s words, putting everything together.

This wasn’t a race or contest. It was a trial of willpower and unity. It was intended to weed out the backstabbers. Mao Mao was convinced that she’d pass as long as she crossed the finish line, no matter what else was said.

Arm over arm, Mao Mao crawled across the finish line.

Elaine

“Solid batch.” I said, peering over the various trial grounds. Most of the Sect inner leadership was with me, except for Fenrir. Both Nina and Amber had decided to join us for this little venture of ours. Amber, because she wanted to hang out and try managing the finances of a large organization, and Nina because she thought something smelled in The Great Tang. Something cultural, and the best way to strike at the root of the problem was a large-scale cultural operation. We had a dozen more women as part of the leadership, but not quite the same close-knit inner circle.

Some days, I wondered if the stress levels were worth the fun. The sheer amount of medicine I was teaching everyone, and the amount of healing I was helping inflict on the world, reminded me that it was a worthy and noble goal I was pursuing, not just fucking around in a colosseum for our entertainment.

The latest girl, one Mao Mao, was huddled up next to the rest of the successful applicants. Once everyone was done, we’d initiate them by having them ritually cleansed in phoenix fire before joining us ‘for real’. As far as I was concerned, they were already members of the Sect.

“I’m not the biggest fan of the ‘mental blow’ being under the Moon Goddesses symbol.” Iona grumbled.

“Then let’s swap their gate with Fenrir’s statue.” I proposed. “First big statue on the path? A ‘minor’ part of the Sect? They’ll eat it up. Pitch it as a mystery to Fenrir, and he’d love it to bits.”

Iona smiled at that.

“He would love that. Just like you love that bridge stunt of yours.”

I laughed.

“Oh gods, the looks on their faces. Priceless.”

“Brrrpt!” Auri agreed.

“The slowdown has been good in stabilizing our finances.” Amber said. “We’re going to hit a little under what we expected, and that’s good.”

“Good?” Nina asked. “Don’t we want more people?”

“Yeah, good.” Amber replied. “There’s only so much money inside our area of influence. Between taxes and medical care, we’re close to capped out on the amount we can reasonably bring in. More members of the Sect don’t translate to a larger area, not unless we want to torch our reputation and start messing with the other Sects. More members are more expenses at this point, without a corresponding increase in income, and we’re trying to do this without tapping external revenue sources.”

“Without enough members, we can’t accomplish the long term goals!” Nina protested.

“Without money, we can’t pay the members to accomplish those goals!” Amber retorted.

Iona and I tuned out the well-trod argument.

“The last trial was an excellent idea.” I complimented my wife and the architect of the plan.

“Bullying and theft is down 78%.” She said. “None of this ‘give me the arcanite so I can better practice’ nonsense going on. Members of the Wyvern half have cohesion up a significant amount, and they’re trusting each other more.”

“There might be less bickering in the phoenix section.” I said, referring to the women who’d chosen to study medicine over the martial arts. “They tend to be more concerned with patients in the first place, and most of the mean girl types weeded themselves out in the studying phase.”

“Brrrpt…” Auri shook her head sadly, lamenting how the wyverns greatly outnumbered the phoenixes in the phoenix sect.

“Oh come on, the terminology is perfect. We can’t change it now.” I said. “Plus, there’s a billion statues of you scattered all over the place. Can’t dilute the phoenix brand now can we?”

“Brrrpt!” Auri was too easy sometimes.

“Had the first Lava-Radiance [Mage] wyvern show up the other day.” Iona said with a sly grin. “Pay up.”

I groaned.

“That was a sucker’s bet on my part.” I complained. “I should’ve never bet on someone grabbing Celestial [Healer] - Ice [Mage].”

Iona made the ‘pay up’ motion, and I handed over a few coins. They all went back into the same pot in the end, but it was fun to do. She turned and looked over the new recruits, and I recognized the look. I hugged her arm and leaned into her, speaking softly.

“Hey. It’s not the Valkyries, but they’re good kids. They’re making a difference.”

Iona’s spirits lifted.

“You’re just here because you love the aesthetic.” She teased. I nodded furiously.

“Oh yeah, you’re not kidding.” I enthusiastically agreed. “The robes are fantastic. Walking on falling leaves? Dancing on snowflakes? Sword surfing? Heck yes! Plus, it’s hilarious to wind up the snooty old codgers in the other Sects. They get mad that we won’t let them take liberties with our girls, then throw themselves one at a time at us.” I shook my head at the latest tournament. Fairy Ming had beaten some hotshot or another in a spar, and so many people got so pissy over the whole thing. What was the damn point of a tournament if you were unwilling to lose?

Iona was also loving things. Training people, calligraphy, the music, the arts - she was in a contest with Auri to see who could make the most statues.

“Old codgers? We’re older than they are!” Iona teased. I snorted.

“Older in age, maybe. Not in spirit or body.”

Iona wrapped her hand in mind.

“Love you.”

“Love you too.”