Heir of the Dragon

Night of the Soaring Dragon

Sharp pain traced lines of fire down Gèsine's exposed back. Fists clenched in swaths of crimson silk, she fought down her baser instincts. Having waited years for this moment, she was not about to sully it with garish cries of pain. The chi infused needle pierced her delicate mortal flesh again and again, starting at the nape of her neck and ending at the base of her spine.

A collective whisper slithered through the cavernous chamber as the final stroke of the sealing tattoo was etched into her skin. A cold, stinging tonic was liberally applied to the tender area before gentle fingers buttoned the edges of her cheongsam back together. The traditional crimson gown had been engineered solely for this event, the back of the dress tailored with a large open diamond, showcasing the fresh masterpiece of ink.

Gèsine rose from the velvet chaise as gracefully as she could manage with the ache in her back and the yards of silk piled around her slippered feet. Already her own Chi was strengthened, the whispers growing louder as the embroidered golden dragon twisting around her torso seemed to writhe and twinkle with life. For once, she ignored them all, her focus fixed on the one person she cared for most in the world. Sinking to her knees before him, tears gathered in her eyes as she beheld the wide grin on his face. "Master Zhen," she murmured respectfully as she clung to his calloused fingers.

"Apprentice Liú," he squeezed her hand tightly, pride shining brightly in his dark eyes, "Xīn'ài de nǚ'ér," his words came out thick and husky. Tradition be damned. Gèsine surged to her feet, throwing her arms around her mentor's neck. She could feel his smile against her dark hair. "Beloved daughter," he whispered once more, fighting the same tears as his apprentice. "Are you ready?"

The insistent buzz of chatter in the room swelled to a crescendo, bouncing off of the polished moonstone floors and vaulted lapis ceiling, making a dozen voices sound like a hundred. "As ready as I'll ever be," she whispered back with a firm nod. His misty smile softened, dark eyes wandering over her unique features as if committing them to memory. The raven Hin hair and feline eyes, the moon kissed skin, all reminiscent of his own heritage, but also the Ethesian green of her irises and dusting of freckles across her nose and cheeks, her full Hestrian lips and long pointed ears. A mutt by anyone's standards and yet one of the reasons he claimed to have chosen her. He saw all of who she was and had accepted every last bit of it when most in this world had shunned her. "Don't look at me like that or I really will cry!" Gèsine sniffed, wiping her cheek as discreetly as possible on her cheongsam.

Patting her hand once last time, her master, mentor and friend walked to a raised golden dais at the edge of the wall-less chamber. Framed by monolithic Mother of Pearl columns and the spring stars of the night sky, he held up a hand, calling for silence. He was obeyed immediately. The oldest and strongest of the twelve Zodiacs, his command of a room was effortless. "Xuétú, approach."

With measured steps, Gèsine traversed the length of the room, bearing the gaze of the twelve legendary Zodiacs. Gowns and suits of starlight and moonbeam, as radiant as the constellations themselves, put her own mortal garb to shame. Unable to ignore the weight of their states any longer, she inhaled deeply, urging her racing heart to calm and her feet to remain steady. Each one of them had once walked this path, each one had begun their life as a mortal. She would be their equal one day. She kept her chin high, unwilling to cow before these judgmental gods. They lined her path like sentinels, each donning a different expression like armor; disgust, hate, curiosity, amusement, concern, indignation, indifference and at the very last...a smile. This expression was so unexpected that her foot wobbled on the bottommost step of the dais. A gloved hand shot out to assist her and she stared up into a pair of great amber eyes in astonishment.

The smile grew wider, brilliant teeth flashing. Was that a hint of fang she saw? His bronze skin fairly glowed even as the lights began to dim. A rich velvety black suit, reminiscent of a moonless night, did little to hide his exorbitantly muscular physique. As if his sheer size wasn't enough, an air of otherness clung to him like a second skin, roiling with barely suppressed Chi. Gèsine shuddered under his powerful stare. This was a predator; master of the north eastern sky. Sphynx. Carefully withdrawing her hand from his tight grip, she resumed her journey up the stairs, his gaze on the bare skin of her back like a searing brand.

She herself had not seen the sealing tattoo. All attendants had been dismissed from the chamber the moment the needle had touched her skin. The only time she would ever see it would be at the elevation of a new Zodiac, in the precious few moments between the sealing and the claiming. It was a secret, ancient art, passed down through the millennia, only known by a chosen few. The tattoo would transform as soon as she was claimed by a Zodiac. In theory any of the Zodiac could claim her and the tattoo would transform with the granting of a spark of their power. Hers was destined for one in particular, however.

The last few steps loomed before her, and Gésine managed them on numb feet. Goosebumps plagued her from head to toe. Her breath coming in short jerky gasps, cold sweat gleaming on her brow. Master Zhen glided to the back edge of the dais, his dark eyes boring into her own, urging her to breathe deeply. The mantra he so often spoke during their meditation sprang from his lips; "tranquil is the mind, but on fire is the heart," and all at once everything was right with the world again. This was just another step along the path she had begun many years ago. This was what Master Zhen had chosen her for. He would not have chosen her if he did not think her worthy. Even if she did not trust in herself, she would trust in him. He had never steered her wrong. He would be there through every step of this transformation, guiding her as he always had. Drawing in a deep, calming breath, she nodded to him serenely.

With a voice that could reduce mountains to rubble, Master Zhen addressed his fellow Zodiacs. "Long I have waited for this moment. An heir has finally arisen from among our acolytes that has shown herself to be exactly what the Heavenly Court needs." A whisper of doubt snaked its way up the stairs to Gésine's sharp ears and her cheeks were aflame in an instant. "Many of you question my choice, question her lineage, and her worthiness." Steel glinted in his eyes as he spoke to his companions, a sternness in his features that he so rarely displayed. "I have led you for countless millennia, I have watched your predecessors come and go, I have watched each of you ascend to your thrones in the Heavenly Court and I would ask that you listen to an old man's wisdom one last time." His eyes traveled to every single one of them in turn. "Welcome her, guide her as if she were your own, trust in her, as I have done and you will see the rise of a Zodiac more worthy of the throne she will inherit than I ever was."

Gésine gave her Master a watery smile as gasps echoed through the room. What had she ever done to deserve such a friend? No longer caring what anyone thought, she wiped the tears slicking her face on the trailing sleeves of her gown, giggling as her Master did the same. He turned to his companions one last time, "will you accept my choice?"

The silence was deafening until...BOOM. With all the strength of a blazing sun, the bronze behemoth at the foot of the dais burst from his skin in a shower of golden starlight. His massive form expanding rapidly, the chamber echoed with a roar. Flames flickering across a thick mane and pelt, two gigantic wings spread behind the body of a bronze lion, two lethal horns sprouting from his crown. "I accept your choice." The words rattled her teeth and vibrated her bones. It was everything Gésine could do not to slap her hands over her ears.

In an explosion of light and power, the remaining Zodiacs responded, each shedding their mortal forms like the birth of a supernova. Wings and horns and tails, claws and fangs and coils filled the massive chamber to the point it felt as if it had shrunken in on itself.

Master Zhen offered her a beatific smile until he too stepped off the dais and into the night sky to shed his mortal form.