The first step of a journey is the hardest. Every step closer to the destination becomes easier, the wind becomes gentler, and the night and day become sweeter.
-The Necromancer's Notes, Proverbs, no. 11562
***
Seven Years Ago
***
Dai Lan threw a punch at his son.
This time, he wasn't holding back. He didn't want to hurt his son, but he had to know. He needed to know how strong his son was, how capable he was to defend himself. He was venturing out into the world, and Dai Lan needed to know that his son would be able to survive.
His son ducked the punch. It was harder to do, now that he was taller than Dai Lan, but he managed it. A kick that should have hit his head was blocked as Laidu shoved it out of the way. Dai Lan caught a kick in his arms. His plan was to twist it and throw his son off balance. However, it had a bit more... kick than Dai Lan was expecting.
He ducked a wild swing from his son, and for a moment, that stunned Dai Lan. He was able to duck that blow because his son was taller than him, much taller. He was stronger too, though Dai Lan didn't know if he wasn't stronger because of the dragon flesh or stronger because of countless hours training.
The frightening thing was... Laidu was beating him. Dai Lan was outmatched by his own son. He threw another punch, and instead of blocking, his son grabbed Dai Lan's arm and twisted.
A stab of pain coursed up his arm, and Dai Lan grunted. "Sorry Dad," Laidu said, backing away.
"No, I'm fine, I'm fine," Dai Lan assured him. "You're stronger, though. Faster. Just means you need to be a bit more careful."
Laidu nodded."I will keep that in mind."
"Unless you get attacked. In that case, don't bother. I don't care if you break his arm or anything. Just make sure you live."
"I plan on living, yes," Laidu said. He may have been stronger, but even now, his chest was heaving with the strain of their sparring match.
"Why?" Dai Lan asked. He sat down onto a cluster of rocks.
"Why do I plan on living?" Laidu asked. "What kind of question is that?" Dai Lan wiped his face with the corner of his robe. His son didn't sweat, mostly because he didn't have skin. Dai Lan had skin, and the effort he had just put in to trying to beat his son left him soaked in sweat.
"Not that. Why do you want to leave?" Dai Lan asked.
Laidu was silent for a while. "If you're worried that it was something you and Mom did, it's not that. Don't worry about that."
Dai Lan hadn't been worrying about that; however, Janyin had been fretting. No matter how many times Dai Lan tried to reassure her, she had been obsessed over it, over feeling like she had somehow failed her son. Well, now he could put her worries to rest. "Why, then?"
"You know how Po and I used to go down and talk to the sailors and merchants down in the town?" Laidu asked. "I mean, how we still do that?"
"Unfortunately," Dai Lan said. Most of the younger generation liked to sneak away into the towns below, and Dai Lan couldn't blame them. It could get boring up atop the mountain, and the port town, with trading ships full of exotic goods, was especially alluring. However, most of the visitors returned to the compound atop the mountain with a few new words that most parents wouldn't want their children hearing. The phrase 'swearing like a sailor' wasn't made up for no reason.
Dai Lan had remembered when Po Shun, Laidu, and Thaen had ventured down. After Thaen had uttered some choice profanity, Dai Lan washed out his mouth, and Laidu's for good measure.
"They used to tell me of the places they went. And... they didn't seem that bothered by me. You know, how everyone else in the town is used to seeing me," Laidu said, "but the first time they saw me..." He didn't have to finish the statement. Most of them panicked and assumed Laidu was a demon, and ordered Dai Lan to exorcise his son and drive him out.
"The sailors didn't bat an eye. Or, well, less of them did." He shrugged. "I mean, when you're a human, and your bunkmate is a shark and has a tail, there's probably not much that can faze you."
"So you feel like you don't belong?" Dai Lan asked.
"No! No no no, nothing like that," Laidu said. "It's... well, they told me stories of all these crazy things."
"Crazy things like..." Dai Lan asked.
"The Tethyd nations, out to the west, have entire cities underwater," Laidu said. "I might visit the holy lands in the east, see some of the Kaipheri nations."
"Not all the Kaipheri peoples are friendly," Dai Lan warned. "The Ajandi's main export is slaves, and they rarely enslave their own."
"I know it's dangerous out there," Laidu said. "But that is the thing. The world is full of danger. It's full of evil and ugliness. There are dark places in the world, yes. But there are places full of good and beauty too." He sighed. "Elysion fell, but it wasn't the only wonder in the world."
"What do you know of Elysion?" Dai Lan asked. The history of Saefel Elysion, the fallen city, was a very esoteric section of history. It wouldn't have been taught to Laidu
"It was a great city, and in one night, it was sacked." Laidu paused. "There were some books that said the Eight did it. But they're just stories."
"There's more truth in stories than what is merely told." Dai Lan said. "Don't dismiss them."
"What, are you serious?" Laidu asked. "You believe that?"
Dai Lan paused. "I know a few things. One, I know that some people are gifted with incredible powers, and that magic and it's study allow some men and women to change the world at the fundamental level." He paused. "I also know that there is evil in the hearts of man, and great power with great evil can do terrible things."
Laidu paused. "When you put it like that, it makes sense. Still, I doubt I'd meet them, if they even exist."
Dai Lan shrugged. He agreed on that. If the Eight existed, they were clearly hidden. After all, it wasn't common knowledge that they existed. They might not exist, and if they did, they clearly had a vested interest in convincing people that they were mere myths.
"So you want to see the world?" Dai Lan asked.
"Yes." Laidu stared out. "Maybe I'll find someone like me," he said. "Someone else like this."
"Maybe." Dai Lan said.
"I might even find a woman who can tolerate the sight of me," Laidu said with a shrug. "That would be nice, seeing as I don't really think I can find someone here."
"Really?" Dai Lan asked. "Why do you say that?"
Laidu shrugged. "It's... I don't know how to put it." He was quiet for a few seconds as he formulated his words, choosing them carefully. "I don't think... no, I can't really see myself falling in love with a woman who pities me over nothing."
"Pity you? What do you mean?" Dai Lan asked.
"I'm not normal. I've come to terms with that," he said. "I mean, being different doesn't hurt. Well, it mostly doesn't hurt, but occasionally if a scale doesn't fall out right, it kind of hurts. But in general, I'm fine," Laidu said. "And apart from you, and Mom, and Po, no one else sees me like that. They see me as an invalid, which I find incredibly insulting." He sighed. "I'd find it insulting if I had trouble functioning in day to day life," he said, "but I'm fine!"
"You just can't wear anything knitted together," Dai Lan said with a chuckle. Laidu glared at him. Oftentimes, those living on the mountain would have to ask for charity in the towns below. It kept them humble. While they could produce goods to trade, the humility was what was really sought.
In Laidu's case, he was given a knitted tunic. He had tried to put it on at home. However, within a day, the thing had snagged on his horns in a dozen different ways, and ended up as an amorphous tangle of yarn. It was a thoughtful gesture, but a thoughtful gesture that ended up being destroyed in the end.
"I may have a few difficulties," Laidu said, massaging his neck, "but in general, I can do most things easily." That was another issue he had. The horns propped up his neck when he slept, leaving them sore in the morning.
"So... what then? You think going out to people who haven't seen you struggle might help?"
"Yes." Laidu turned back and looked at his father. "Everyone here, with only a few exceptions, is tainted by foreknowledge of some of my past struggles. That clouds their view of me. Someone else without that could see me as I am, not as I was."
Dai Lan was about to answer that when he stopped. It made sense. Going somewhere else to get a fresh start did make sense, if being a little bit drastic. "I'll say this," he said at last to his son, "if you find a girl, bring her here. At least to visit, so your mother doesn't lose her mind." He leaned back against the rock he sat upon.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Laidu said grimly. "If I get a girl. I mean, looking like this isn't a disease, but it isn't a help," he said, gesturing to himself.
Dai Lan smiled. "I'll let you in on a little secret." He leaned in closer. "Looks aren't as important to women as they are to men."
"It's one thing to not be pretty," Laidu said, "but I think this isn't just a lack of advantage, but a handicap."
"Maybe," Dai Lan said with a shrug. "You'll never know until you go out to see."
"I know," Laidu said. "I mean, this isn't a long and drawn out trip to find me a wife, but I do want to see the beauty of the world. If I find a woman out there," he said, "I'll bring her back."
Dai Lan nodded. "Your mother will be worrying."
"I'll come back," Laidu said. He rose. "Shouldn't we start heading back up home?" He turned to look up at the sky. "I fear a storm might be coming."
Dai Lan looked above. Yes, there was a storm brewing. Dark clouds swirled above them, and wind whistled through the trees, a kind of chaotic song. "I'd rather be inside," Dai Lan said, "before the storm hits."
"I second that," Laidu said. He spoke like a scholar, like an adult of three decades instead of a sixteen year old. Then again, he was taught rhetoric and theology. Dai Lan had taught him out of great books of wisdom and instructed him, both in faith and in the art of reason and deduction. He was strong, and that may have come from his dragon blood and dragon flesh. But his intelligence was just as sharp and strong.
Di Lan stared at the young man he had raised. Deep in his soul, there was a deep sense of satisfaction. There was a charge on every generation, a holy edict issued, charging the elder generation to raise up, to educate, and to prepare the younger generation. Every mother and father had this duty imprinted on their hearts. As Dai Lan watched his son climb up the stark, rocky path, he couldn't help but smile. He had done his job. Laidu was a young man, ready to see the world, prepared for the wonders and horrors this terrestrial jewel contained.
***
Two days later, after most of the storm's aftermath was cleared out, it was time.
Janyin fussed with Laidu's heavy cloak. "Remember what I told you to do. It doesn't matter if you can't feel cold, you can catch a cold."
"Mom, Mom," Laidu said, "I'm fine. I'm going to be fine," he assured her. "I'm just going out. Like a visit to town," he said.
"You're going to be going for much longer than a simple visit to town," Janyin snapped. "I'm your mother. I'm allowed to worry."
"I know, I know," Laidu said, "just try not to. I'm going to be fine." That didn't help Janyin, not one bit. They were rare things, few and far between, that could make a mother stop worrying about her child. "I'm going to come back," he said.
"When you do," she said, "bring back something for me."
Laidu paused. "I'm pretty sure the Enlightened Father would be too happy with me bringing back something. He'd probably consider it a sign of vanity. Or worldliness."
"Did no one ever tell you that the Enlightened Father's words aren't sacrosanct?" Janyin rolled her eyes. "No matter how much he thinks they are."
"You know, I didn't remember the last Enlightened Father we had," Laidu said, adjusting the straps on his large pack, "but I don't remember you complaining about that one nearly as much as you are for him."
"The last one wasn't nearly as full of himself as this one is," Dai Lan said. He was sharpening his son's jian sword, honing each edge of the blade with the sharpening stone. By the time Dai Lan would be done, the blade would be sharp enough to cut, and stout enough to do it many times. Dai Lan prayed his son would return without ever having to draw the blade.
Everything was ready, and Laidu was unusually quiet. "Is something bothering you?" Dai Lan asked.
"I'm... I'm just a bit nervous about going off on my own," Laidu said. He paused, looking down at his pack, all neatly bundled up on the table. "If it's not too much of a problem, Dad, could you come with me down to the ship?"
Dai Lan nodded. "Of course." Laidu would take a merchant ship to Qin, so he didn't have to get hassled -or worse- by the border guards between Ten-Zuan and Qin. Because almost everyone had some fighting skill in Ten-Zuan (an old tradition that was now kept for survival), the Qin empire hadn't swallowed Ten-Zuan, but the two sovereign nations were not on terribly good terms. The Celestial Emperor of Qin had a grudging respect for the desert empires to the northeast of his vast land, but had nothing but contempt for their neighbor Ten-Zuan to the north. Then again, the feeling was mutual.
He lifted his pack up and fastened it around his shoulders, buckled his sword to his side, and gave a small, bittersweet smile. Janyin looked at him, her eyes shining with tears. Before he could say anything, she embraced him, before reaching up on the tips of her toes to kiss him on the forehead. "Be safe out there," she said.
"I will," he promised her.
Dai Lan followed his son out of their small house, and immediately they started on their path down the mountain. He had already said his goodbyes to his few friends, and now, the only people who watched him go were whoever happened to be passing by... which included, Dai Lan noticed as he scanned the crowd, the Enlightened Father.
He had a smug expression on his face, as if the fact that Laidu was leaving was some sort of victory. Anger burned in Dai Lan's heart, and he didn't want to feel that way, but he had to.
The Enlightened Father had studied from the original copies of the scrolls, had learned the original language, and had been discipled from holy men and great scholars. And in that moment, Dai Lan realized that it did not matter how much holy knowledge one filled their head with, how many sacred texts one memorized, or how many sacrosanct rituals one conducted. That would not save them. If anything, it cloaked their arrogance and conceit in the garb of sacred scripture. It disgusted him.
Laidu was silent as they walked down the mountain. Even if he did speak, it would have been drowned out by the wind. That calmed as they walked down the mountain, but Laidu kept silent.
At last, as they reached the gate of the city, small prayer flags fluttering in the breeze, Laidu spoke.
"He doesn't matter."
Dai Lan blinked. "What? Who are you talking about?"
"The Enlightened Father," he said. "It doesn't matter that he hates me."
"You saw the look on his face?" Dai Lan asked.
"No. I saw the look on yours." Laidu shrugged. "That's one fact in life. People will hate me. I'm not going to be too worried about it."
"I'm glad," Dai Lan said, "but I'm your father. Things are different for me." Laidu smiled.
They arrived at the ship, a junk flying the merchant gold and green of Qin. As Laidu boarded, Dai Lan heard some of the priests muttering pagan prayers underneath their breath. He looked at Laidu. "Remember, you have the texts." He tilted his head towards the sailors. "They might be useful for them." Dai Lan had made sure Laidu had a copy of the Luminous Scriptures. Now, it looked like it would come in use.
"Of course." Laidu smiled, his eyes bright with tears. "Thanks, Dad. Thanks for everything."
Dai Lan tried. He tried to be stoic as the ship sailed away, tried to control his emotions. But as the ship glided away from the port, taking his son, now a man, with it, Dai Lan felt hot tears slide down his face. He had done his duty, and now, Laidu Tsung was going to see the world.