Sky Pride

Chapter 7- The Comforts and Obligations of Home

Tian didn’t want to go see Elder, now Sect Master, Rui in the morning. It wasn’t that he disliked the Elder. He just didn’t want to leave the cave. Liren didn’t physically pull him off the rock he was clinging to, though it did take far more than the usual cajoling. The only thing that saved the day was the prospect of flying over on Burning Heaven’s back. Liren had been absolutely right about that. As soon as Tian and Burning Heaven reunited, the two had gotten to chatting about all the interesting spots they could visit on the lower mountain. There was serious discussion about where Heavenly herbs might be located, and far more serious discussions about possible wild Heavenly tea trees.

Their own tea tree now had pride of place in their garden, still in its pot, but positioned for good light and plenty of visiting butterflies. It was quite small, and the first leaf harvest was a long way off. Something to look forward to, as he gazed backwards through the hole in the roof from Burning Heaven’s back. Firmly ignoring the nigh-audible eye rolling from Liren.

Sect Master Rui met them inside the Ancestral Worship Hall. Tian had never been inside, and had mixed feelings about it. What it mostly was, was empty. The walls were beautifully painted in reds, greens, blues and golds, with elaborate carvings framing the entrances and dramatic pillars stretching up to the ceiling high above. There were rows of prayer mats neatly arranged between the door and the altar at the back of the room. Scrolls of calligraphy, poetry written with a spiritual force that settled on the reader with tangible weight, hung behind a statue of a crane taking flight. It was carved in an ancient style, a thing of line and gesture rather than exacting detail. It felt like what it was- the wonder of an ancient cultivator lost in the mystery and beauty of a crane soaring into the heavens.

“The crane is a long lived bird, even as a mortal. With a little cultivation, they can live for hundreds of years, and once they break through, a thousand years is considered a short life. The number of sects I know of that worship cranes isn’t too many, but I can’t think of a single one that doesnʼt appreciate them as a symbol.”

Rui knelt on the single cushion directly in front of the statue, looking up at it.

“For us, it is more than a symbol. The crane shakes off the weight of the world and soars into the heavens. Her wings flap when they must, but mostly they are fixed and still, gliding with the currents in the air and effortlessly traveling from place to place. Stopping when she is tired, eating when she is hungry, sleeping where it suits her. I think even you, Junior Tian, can appreciate that as a metaphor. I know very well you can appreciate that as our faith.”

Elder Rui clapped, bowed to the statue, then stood and turned to face his juniors. “We are called immortals, though we age and die. This is an artifact of our mortal origins, the instinctive reverence for the ancient and the powerful. It is a now-deliberate misrendering of what we truly are. Xianren can be read as an immortal person, but it truly means a transcendent one. The root character includes the symbol of the mountain, and contains the implication of being a sage. One cultivating themselves in the mountains, apart from the rest of the world. The two characters read together can be understood as a person who has, through wisdom like a mountain, being as enduring as a mountain, connecting Heaven and Earth like a mountain, becomes more than simply a man.”

He smiled at them. “They have transcended. They have made the leap from the earth into the sky. Soaring carefree, like the crane. It is proof that we have raised them well, that they can leave the nest and soar on their own. Should you complete what those in the Holy Lands refer to as your novitiate, you will transcend your mortality entirely. You will become zhenren, true people, perfected, in a sense, or fully realized. You won’t even be burdened by the symbol of the mountain. You will have achieved the dao. At least, to a degree. And then you will leave. Almost everyone does. No different than leaving the Outer Court for the Inner, or the Monastery.”

The words fell on Tian and Liren like light through parting clouds. Things that they had understood vaguely were now clear. Hints and allusions to a wider world, the difficulties faced by their seniors and teachers, so much of it was made plain.

“The sect has treated you both abominably, and what’s worse, it really thought it was doing its best. No excuse can remedy it, no apology can heal what has gone before. Sincerity is shown by works, by changes, by continuing effort to improve. Under my leadership, the Monastery will make radical changes to discipline, organization, educational philosophy, almost everything. The names of things will likely be the only similarity. What those words mean will change. One thing will not. To be at the core of the Ancient Crane Monastery, to be one who succeeds the predecessors and flies out on wide, white wings, one must learn the Sky Treading Art. This requires a true revelation of the dao, then one must receive the teachings of a master. One must become a direct disciple of the lineage originating with the Ancient Crane.”

The weight of the statue was suddenly heavy on them. The vast hall, once open and airy, was claustrophobic, the pillars crushing down like prison bars.

“You see the word master and think of a father- controlling and stern, capable of deciding life and death for their child. You think of an owner, the master of a home, a horse, a servant, a slave. You think of all the times those over you have failed you, have ignored or neglected you, have sent you into danger or sent you to die, and think ‘I should entrust my life to them? Never!’”

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Elder Rui snorted. “There is another way to read ‘daoist master.’ They are a predecessor, marking the road for you. They, too, journey towards the dao, just a little further along than you. The master has the implication of parental responsibility, because improper teaching can kill or cripple. You see restriction, but do you know why… no, let me rephrase. The reason so many are desperate to find masters is that they can show the way they have come. They are continuity, the link between those who have transcended this realm, and those still wallowing in it. If nothing else, they are backing. A tall one ready to hold up the sky if it falls. Part of our duty to our predecessors is to continue their legacy, passing it on to the next generation. Like parents, raising beloved children to thrive in a cruel world.”

Tian and Hong nodded. After all they had seen and struggled with since leaving the mountain, how could they not understand?

“Do you regard this Mountain as your home?”

Tian and Liren shared a glance, then nodded.

“I expect you feel that where the other is, is home.”

They nodded again, not bashful in the slightest.

“How about the Monastery? The feelings are more complicated there, I know. But the people still on the mountain, your friends, colleagues, family, teachers, did you feel like you had come home when you saw them?”

There was a more complicated look between Tian and Liren, but they eventually nodded.

“I understand the trap you are in. Not only do you not particularly trust those who were actively managing the Monastery, you don’t trust the ones who werenʼt, because it is exactly their intentional neglect that led to the terrible suffering of your childhoods.”

“Yes. Exactly that, Sect Master.” Liren said, daring to look directly at the elder’s face. Tian could tell she had heard no falsity so far, and the Elder would see none in her.

“Are you willing to keep this place as your home, if you see that it is trying to be better? Are you willing to be part of that change, to work to make it better yourselves?”

“Gladly.” Liren nodded strongly, then looked over at Tian. Tian needed to think it through a little longer, but also nodded.

“My people are here. I wouldn’t want them to suffer if I can prevent it.”

Elder Rui’s gaze was equal parts sad and understanding. He opened his mouth, then clearly changed his mind and said something else. “Good. We, and I mean myself, the Daoist Masters, the other Elders, and most of the direct disciples, all want you to take up the Sky Treading Art and become part of our heritage. We hope that you will treasure this place and keep it in your hearts, even when you ultimately fly away. Usually we would arrange a different master for each of you. Politics. But given everything, we thought there was really only one person that you might accept as a master.”

His mouth twitched. “I want to emphasize that this is the honor name they chose. It’s not intended to be ironic, though it certainly isn’t accurate from anyone else’s perspective.”

Tian and Liren waited, eyes fixed on the suddenly awkward Rui. He coughed.

“She has loyally served the Monastery for six thousand years. She was of the same generation as the previous Sect Master, though not one of Elder Starsieve’s disciples. And she is, in fact, my master. Which will be a bit awkward in terms of the generations, yes, but if Disciple Fu made it work with the previous Sect Master, I expect we can manage. I’d like to think the disciples she raised were all credits to both her and the sect.”

The respectful, patient, but unwavering, staring continued. Unwavering. The elder coughed once more, and glanced away, before forcing himself to look back. “My Master’s Daoist title, which she exclusively uses, and refuses to explain why she chose it, or reveal the name she was born with, is Cruel Treachery.”

The respectful, patient stares got a lot more curious, and somehow even more intense.

“She has not, so far as I am aware, so much as committed a practical joke, let alone treachery, and she actively loathes cruelty. My personal theory is that she’s holding a grudge and never wants to forget it for even a single second, but her degree of cultivation makes that a bit implausible.”

The two nodded in perfect synchronicity. Spending half a lifetime together meant they didn’t realize they had the exact same understanding expression on their face, but it gave Rui a sudden pain in the liver.

“How this conversation has been so difficult when I have been practically the only one talking, I don’t know. The previous sect master just yelled for me, told me I had a lousy job coming, and tossed me the Sect Master’s token. There was a lot more ritual later, but that was the core thing. One thing that you would have no reason to know, but should, is that some of those who fly away from the mountain return again, centuries or millennia later. One of those quirks of first rate sects, and also the reason Black Iron went through such a roundabout method to subvert all the kingdoms around the wasteland.”

Tian’s face twitched. That made sense, but it also put the war in the Wastes in an even worse light. If there were a whole bunch of Heavenly Realm cultivators, or even Human Realm cultivators, just sitting in reserve, then why the hell did the Earthly Realm cultivators get shoved out in front?

“There aren’t as many as you think. The total number of experts who make up what other sects often call a “Dao Reserve” and we title Daoist Masters, is only seven, all deep in the Human Realm. Three of whom are only technically alive, and can’t leave their sealed cultivation chambers for anything less than a sect destroying calamity. In such an event, they will sortie and die, hopefully killing the enemy before they do so. The others are so old, so steeped in the dao that they are… apathetic isn’t quite right, but it is probably close enough. They, physically, don’t move much. You will see. Most Direct Disciples are taught by an elder or possibly the sect master. Being taught by a Daoist Master is uncommon but not unheard of. Your senior, Disciple Sung, is a student of Daoist Master Sage Thought. It’s worked well for her. It doesn’t always. Here’s the token that will guide you to my Master’s cave. Go on foot. Go now. Be polite. And…”

He paused once again. “And extend a little trust. Even if it’s just a little. She is worth it, and so are we.”