Ghost of the Past - A Xiao Backstory

Chapter 1: A Song Amongst the Glaze Lilies

Alatus fluttered through the wind, the air ruffling his feathers. He chirped a short tune, flapping his wings harder and harder.

He landed in a seemingly deserted cavern, turning to what would be considered human form.

"Bosacius?" he called out into the suffocating darkness of the cave. The shadows were cast long against the stone walls, the only light source being a small torch attached to the easternmost wall.

"Ah, Alatus!" a jovial voice called out, and out of the looming shadows came a larger young man with four arms, purple storm tattoos painted all over his bare skin. "Have you found a training partner yet? Almost all adepti, if not all, have already paired up!"

Alatus hardened his face into an unclear mask. "No." He held in a sigh. "Is this necessary?"

Bosacius shook his head like an endearing father. "Morax has commanded it." He gave a small smile that was a mix of disappointment, pity, and amusement that gave Alatus a queasy feeling.

"It's not that hard, Alatus," Bosacius finally said, rolling his eyes, a motion Alatus had never imagined could come from one of Morax's highest ranking war generals. "But this is for our future."

Alatus hung his head, closing his eyes. "Fine."

"Don't come back here until you have a sparring buddy!"

Alatus scowled, clenching a fist and swiftly changing to bird form.

It was an odd thing, really. He had already asked a few other yakshas to be his little battle partner, but he was just... unlucky. Almost all adepti had already had friends to pair with. He was just the odd one out.

Why did Morax want every adeptus to have a so-called training partner?

According to what Bosacius had explained to him, Morax felt there was value to having a partner to duel with. It let you learn each other's fighting style, and how to improve your own.

It allowed you to be able to fight together as one. You had each other's backs through battle.

If Alatus was in his "human form", he would have spat on the ground with distaste. What was the harm in acting solo?

He landed on the side of a cliff, switching to his other form. His breath caught as he stared off into the sunset.

Sunsets like those were what they were fighting for. The land and sky merging like paint on a canvas, a delicate yet detailed piece of art. The sky was a blanket of reds and oranges and yellows, with hints of pinks and purples that made it all the more breathtaking. If he strained his eyes, he could just make out the small dots of stars flickering in the sky.

A sudden sound, a song, started to grow louder and louder from his right side. He stiffened, listening to the tune. He recognized the instrument to be that of a flute, the song a haunting melody that stirred his senses.

Curious, Alatus leaped off the cliff and teleported closer to the source of the music, careful to make his footsteps as quiet as possible.

Finally, he turned around a large boulder and saw a young girl, appearing to be about his age, simply sitting upon a large stone and playing the flute, her eyes closed in contemplation. Around her, there were long blades of grass and glaze lilies rustling in the breeze.

Alatus watched in awe as the glaze lilies seemed to sway in tune to the music as if they were truly alive.

The girl had snowy-white flowy hair down to her waist. It almost seemed to glow in the light of the sunset in a blaze of beautiful colors. She had a pale skin tone, with slightly flushed cheeks. She had a slim jawline, her slender fingers tapping the flute lightly.

Her clothes had a blue color scheme, with a simple white shirt and an ice-blue kimono over it, accompanied by thin dark-blue leggings and gray combat boots. A cryo vision dangled from her hip, attached to two long midnight-blue feathers decorated with gold outlines.

She suddenly stopped playing the flute, her eyes opening slowly to reveal opalescent eyes that shined with life. She stared at him with pure-white pupils that made Alatus stop in his tracks.

"Hello," she said sweetly, giving a smile. "Did you like my song?"

Alatus was stunned into silence, sputtering before giving an answer. "It was... very nice."

"I sense some hesitance in your words. Was it that bad?" she asked nervously, eyes glued to the ground in... was it shame? She gently set her flute on her lap, biting her lip.

"No, it was a really good song!" Alatus tried to convince her, stepping out from behind the boulder he had been hiding behind. "May I ask? What's your name? I'm Alatus."

She blinked slowly. "I'm Yumi." She turned to stare him straight in the eye. "You're a yaksha, right?"

"How did you know?"

"I'm one, too," she said, standing up from the rock she had been sitting on. "Shouldn't you be training or whatnot? Morax has called all adepti to prepare for battle."

"If you're a yaksha, you should know that any adepti without a training partner isn't to join the preparations."

Yumi's eyebrows flew up to the top of her forehead. "I'd have thought someone like you would already have a partner."

Alatus let out a light scoff. "Just unlucky. All my friends already got their partners."

"I can be yours, if you are alright with that," Yumi offered, her voice getting softer by the word.

It was Alatus's turn to be surprised. "I'd- yes, of course."

She smiled lightly. "That clears up my biggest dilemma." She took a deep breath. "I'll meet you on the first day."

"First day?"

"First day of training? Don't tell me you didn't know," sighed Yumi. "Two days from now around Jueyun Karst. I'll see you then."