Chapter 579: Prosper

Chapter 579: Prosper

Balance. A simple word with a straightforward definition, to ensure all sides are equally represented in distribution, but after spending most of her life in pursuit of it, Mila was only now beginning to understand the complexities behind the supposedly simple concept.

The most essential application of Balance was as a defence against the Fathers foul servants, the ethereal Spectres Rain both feared and devoured. Their purpose was obvious, to whisper foul lies and lead Martial Warriors astray by tempting them into indulging their deepest, darkest desires. Pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth, these were the Fathers favoured tools used to divide humanity against itself and tip the scales of power in His favour. Not to say these seven sentiments were evil in and of themselves, for they were but part and parcel of human nature. Too much of any one sentiment could lead one down the wrong Path, and people had been known to turn against the Mother for any number of reasons, even love or compassion.

Mao Jianghong, the traitorous Guard Captain of Sanshu was one such example, and one could even argue Butcher Bays infamous leader Yo Ling was another. Both began their lives as decent men and went on to become Martial Warriors, and both turned to the Father because the loss of their families made them vulnerable to Wrath. Jianghongs downfall came about when he learned his family had been murdered on the orders of merchants, while Yo Ling blamed the Sanshu Magistrate for evicting his parents from the city and leaving them to die in the wilds. In fact, though it might be blasphemous to say this aloud, it was possible that more humans had turned to the Father in the name of love than any other emotion, and worst of all, Mila understood why. Mother knows what she would do if she lost Mama, Papa, Song, or Rain to Imperial machinations...

Regardless of their initial reasoning, Mila suspected anyone tainted by the Fathers touch would eventually succumb to their base desires and become no different from any other Defiled, for that was how He preferred His minions: impulsive and unthinking. The so-called Chosen of Heaven might retain some of their faculties for now, but in her eyes, it was only a matter of time before they were indistinguishable from the irrational Defiled who hailed from beyond the Empire.

To better withstand the Fathers foul minions, most Martial Warriors placed their emotions on a scale as a measure of Balance, pitting joy against sorrow, love against hatred, and so on and so forth, but True Balance was not so easily measured. Paired and opposing emotions were a human construct, one put together to help human minds understand them, but sorrow could also be countered by anger, love, or any number of other emotions besides joy, and the same could be said for any other pairing. Some people threw themselves into work, others devoted themselves to hedonistic pursuits, while still others sought emptiness for comfort when faced with adversity, and who could say if any one of these options was better than the others?

Balance was easy enough when there were only two sides to consider, but add in a third, fourth, or fifth side, and matters grew exponentially more convoluted and all but impossible to manage in this same manner. True emotional Balance was not about ensuring you had equal representation in all emotions at all times, but about keeping any one emotion from overwhelming you to the point of unbalance. Rather than a scale, a better representation would be a spinning plate on top of a stick; while the plate might reel and wobble, constant adjustments and continuous motion could keep the porcelain in place indefinitely, but it only took one misstep to bring everything crashing to the ground.

An interesting Insight Mila stumbled upon, and it opened her eyes to a multitude of new avenues of thought. A weighted scale was the most fundamental representation of Balance, but it was an inadequate one, for true antitheses were rare in nature, a lesson the Mother revealed to Mila inside the bamboo grove. A simple dirt path encircled by bamboo stalks, yet it made use of so many different facets of interacting natural forces that it was almost impossible to list them all. The damp earth nourished the plants, and in turn, the plants nourished her body and mind, with scents and sounds intermingling into a refreshing balm for the soul. The stalks filtered out sunlight and cast shadows in such a way as to ensure it was neither dark nor light during the day, and at night, the stars and moons seemed to illuminate the world around them, without revealing any of its secrets. Mila couldnt even begin to understand how it all came together in Balance, because there were so many forces at play and the explanations ventured into the mystical, supernatural, and metaphysical, so instead of chasing after answers she knew she would never find, she set her mind to identifying these mundane mysteries of Balance.

One such example was weather patterns, with the sun drying up water to be raised up to the skies, where clouds would form until they grew too heavy with moisture and burst with rain or snow. This too was Balance of a sort, but again, only scratching the surface of a system which was riddled with complexities. Where did drought and forest fires factor into this Balance? What about lightning or ice storms? Heat waves and cold snaps? Floods and earthquakes? Were these examples of Nature becoming unbalanced, or were they merely brief bouts of intense conditions, comparable to a burst of joy or anger? These natural disasters could simply be the world correcting course to obtain Balance over a cycle measured in decades rather than seasons, or even centuries, though there was no way for Mila to be certain of the truth.

So many questions with no answers to be found, and the more Mila looked, the more questions arose. Plant growth was intricately tied to the weather, so how did this play into the overall scope of Balance? Plants blossom in spring and wither in winter, but where did evergreens fit in? Saplings sprout into trees until they grew tall enough for the wind to whisk away their seeds to grow into saplings, yet every so often, wildfires would consume whole swathes of forests to start anew again. How did the wind move, and what determined if it was hot or cold? Why did smoke rise in almost uniform manner, leaving a layer of clean air close to the ground? Why was lightning drawn to the tallest trees on the tallest mountains? What kept water flowing from streams to the ocean and how did it keep from drying out, or conversely, flooding over into the Azure Empire?Updated from novelb(i)n.c(o)m

As broad and all-encompassing as her questions might be, Mila knew the answers had something to do with her Martial Path, else the Mother would never have steered her mind towards these issues. To find answers, she went back to the beginning, in this case, literally. It was common knowledge that the Mother crafted this world with help from Her four children, the Primal Elements. Mama always said the world was a blank canvas that had been painted in the colours of the four Primal Elements, while Papa often likened it to the forging of a sword, combining heat, metal, force, and so much more to create something new and different. All this was neither here nor there, but the key was in how the four Elements had integrated so well into the world that it was exceedingly rare to find any one Primal Elements in complete isolation. Earth, Water, Air, and yes, even Fire could be found everywhere, but always in coexistence with one or more of the other Primal Elements. The sea and oceans looked like pure Water, but was filled with plants, soil, and even Air, while towering Earthen mountains often hid cores of Fire within, and whose interiors were scattered with metals, minerals, gases, aquifers and more. The skies held clouds filled with Water, ice, and lightning, and Fire was unable to exist without something to burn, whether it be wood, oil, or air, meaning there were precious few examples of Pure Primal Elements to be found, and none which Mila could name.

From this, she determined that even though the Primal Elements made up the basic building blocks of life, Auxiliary Blessings were the most commonly used components, and Esoteric Blessings were the plethora of intricate interactions which made life as they knew it possible.

A revelation which had Mila in high spirits, because for years, shed been plagued by the problems of her own Esoteric Blessing. Though she knew how to make use of her Awakening, she was never entirely sure what her Blessing was called, because nature had little use for names or labels, and the Mother cared not to explain how Her gifts worked, only how to make use of them. Unlike most, Mila Awakened early in life, just after her tenth birthday, and although she knew it to be an Esoteric Blessing because thats what Mama and Papa called it, for years she treated it as a less flexible Auxiliary Blessing of Metal. It wasnt the worst comparison, as her Blessing offered her the benefit of stronger skin, bones, and muscles, as well as an innate resistance to flames, but she would never be able to shake the earth or conjure flames to strike down her enemies from afar, like a true wielder of Fire or Earth.

Still, for many years, she felt it was a close enough approximation and never cared to dig deeper, because she had yet to comprehend what shed already been given. There was no sense being greedy, Mama would say, and she was right, but after stumbling into the bamboo grove, Mila finally understood that those gifts were merely the byproduct of her Esoteric Blessing, rather than the main focus she once took them for.

The difference lay not only in what she couldnt do, but also in how her gifts arose. Wu Gam bore the Blessing of Earth, but his enhanced strength and durability was the result of an Earth-based Chi skill. How it differed from Reinforcement and Domain-derived durability, Mila could not say, only that she knew them to be different just like she knew water and oil were different. Where Wu Gam required Chi and focus to power his ability, Milas Blessing required no effort at all, for it had reshaped her physical body to grant her the benefits it entailed. It came at a cost of course, meaning she weighed more, ate more, slept more, and had little to no control over her strength at times, but it also allowed her to match Papa in contests of raw muscle and work at the forge with little to no protective gear. In fact, she only wore a leather apron because it kept her clothes from catching fire, since even molten metal would do little more than leave a reddish mark that was quick to fade.

It only happened once, but Papa would never let her forget the time she ran home swaddled in aprons to hide her shame...

Imagine her dismay when she learned her hardy natural resistance to flames did not apply to those of the Chi-fuelled variety, all those years ago in Sanshu. It made sense now, knowing what she didnt know then, that Gens External use of Chi imbued his flames with a rudimentary form of Domain. Without one of her own to counteract it, Gens Domain pierced through her natural resistances and left her as vulnerable as anyone else, though for some reason her shield could still turn aside his flames, and her resistance to heat applied to the super-heated metal, if not the air itself. She didnt understand why it didnt apply to both, since the air was not imbued with Gens Domain, but the laws of nature held firm even if human minds did not recognize them. Still, selective protection was better than none, because she would have died if she had not been able to keep hold of her Spiritual Weapons, and instead only suffered a painful and ugly burn along one side of her face...

Annoying, all these hidden, unknown forces at work, but such was the way of the world.

And just like that, the answers came to her, but not in a structured, coherent form like Rain demanded, but more in an abstract sense of understanding without being able to put words to her comprehension. The Primal Blessings were not truly about physical Earth, Air, Water, and Fire, because those things didnt naturally exist. No, the Primal Blessings were about the myriad of unique forces of the universe broken down into their four most fundamental units. Or maybe not exactly four fundamental units, but four broad categories represented by the Elements themselves, and the combinations of the elements produced even more new and different forces which made up the fabric of reality itself.

Some of these forces she had names for, such as push and pull, friction and momentum, heat and chill, gravity, tension, resistance, magnetism, and more, but others... others simply were. There was the force which made Milas hair frizzy in the humidity or the one which gathered raindrops together as they flowed down a flat roof. There was the force which drew moisture out of the air on chill spring mornings or wicked it away on dry winter nights, and the force which turned eaten grass into growing muscle or rotting meat into field fertilizer. Ocean tides, lunar cycles, seasonal changes, and more, the world was made up of thousands upon thousands of interacting forces, all which could be broken down and categorized using combinations of the four Primal Blessings, in the same way the Common language broke down into two-hundred or so radicals and how all numbers could be broken down using only zero to nine.

Small wonder scholars still couldnt come to a consensus on Auxiliary Blessings, because examples of two interacting Primal Elements were everywhere. Did Earth and Water form Wood, Plant, Mud, Stone or something else entirely? What about Air and Water? It could be Cloud, as the general school of thought proclaimed, but it could also be Fog, Mist, or even Rain. Fire and Water created Ice, but a more common application was Steam, so why was Ice the preferred nomenclature? Whats more, the presence of Esoteric Blessings made things even more complicated, because it could be argued there were only a handful true interactions between only two Elements, and most interactions were a steady balance of all four.

Wait, Mila said, her startled voice breaking the tranquility of the herbal garden and startling Taduk out of his concentration. How are these plants already mature? Spiritual Plants grew quicker than normal ones, but even then it shouldnt be this fast...

Oh hello Mila dear, Taduk exclaimed, brushing the dirt off his hands before skipping over and lifting her into a warm hug. Good to see you back again, we were all starting to worry. Sweet Lin-Lin missed you oh so much, especially with Rain always gallivanting about, but lucky for you he returned home a few days past.

Gallivanting? Heart skipping a beat in her chest, Mila clutched the grinning Medical Saints hands and asked, Did Rain recover? Is he back in fighting form?

Oh no, Mila dear, Im so sorry, but hes still the same as before. Gently turning her about, he switched to Sending while leading her out of the bamboo grove. Still crippled, but healthier than you remember, with some meat on his bones for once. To answer your first question, youve been ruminating on your Insights for over three months now, so were well into summer which is why my plants are so mature. Arent they wonderful? Id always dreamed of having my own Spiritual Plant garden, and now I do, but I made the grove much too small. Ive only fifteen different varieties, and not enough room to even keep duplicates, but I cant expand yet. Everyone else wants to sit on the path and meditate for days on end, which I dont mind in the least, but Im not sure if meddling with the grove would interfere with whatever it is going on out there, and Id rather not have to start a second grove. Honestly, I dont know how you all stand meditating for so long, I get fidgety from sitting still for a few minutes, and...

On and on Taduk went, but Mila only paid him half a mind. Three months? The banquet was long done by now, but at least it sounded like Rain emerged unscathed, no thanks to her. Unfortunately, the chatty Medical Saint had a habit of going on tangents and useful information was decidedly scarce, though she learned the names of all of his new Spiritual Plants. Not their plant names, but names he gave them, much like Rain named all his pets. On the way out, they tiptoed past Mama, Yan, Alsantset, Sarnai, and several others, all of of whom were crammed into the groves pathway to meditate. Apparently, Mila was the last to emerge from her extreme bout of Insight, with Yan and Alsantset regaining their faculties some weeks ago, though neither one had reached another milestone on the Martial Path like she had.

Before she could ask why he brought her out, Taduk Sent, Alright Mila dear, I cant leave the rabbits alone for long, else theyll find the courage to try for my precious leafy babies, so well catch up at dinner yes? Ive Sent for Song and shell be on her way shortly with the quins, so you just wait here with Princess. Bye for now.

And with that, he was gone, scampering back into his garden and leaving Mila alone with the strange weasel creature whod followed them out from the grove. Princess proved to be a burly, bearish creature with a stout, stocky body, a narrow weasel head, and ferocious looking fangs and talons, a bold and adorable beast whom Mila instantly adored. Without so much as a greeting sniff, Princess shuffled over and hurled herself bodily against Milas leg before settling in to wait, and she couldnt help but lean over to stroke the beasts fur. Startled by the unexpected touch, Princess grunted and studied Mila with curious surprise before stretching her stubby arms out to indicate she wanted to be carried. Happy to oblige, Mila held her new friend like a quin held their pups, with one hand under both the weasel-bear's arms and her legs and furry tail hanging straight down.

When Song arrived with Erdene, Mafu, and Atir in tow, she greeted Mila with a warm, hearty hug, which came as a welcome surprise. Hello Sister, Song said, beaming so prettily beneath the mid-day sun. It is good to see you. Are you well?

A warm hug, pretty smile, cheery greeting, and now small talk from Song? Itd only been three months, not three years, right? Lifting her affectionate sister off the ground in a one armed embrace, Mila resisted the urge to squeal in delight and settled for a muted squeak instead. Hello Sister. Its good to see you too. Thank you for looking after me all these weeks. I dont remember everything, but I know you were there. Mother Above, was Song blushing? This was just too wonderful. Perhaps Milas absence allowed her beloved sister to finally get all the love and affection she deserved. Im doing well, but Im a little confused, having lost three months in... well not the blink of an eye, but it didnt feel like three months, you know?

Nodding sagely at the statement, Song launched into a recounting of everything Mila had missed, and without prompting at that. Oh this would take some getting used to, so she listened with an open ear while greeting Atir after this long absence. The quin was thrilled by the attention, and looked like she could use more since she was getting a little too round for Milas liking, likely because rotund Mafu was still courting her with treats. Together, they set off for the Citadel at a reasonable pace so they could continue their conversation as they rode, but it all seemed so surreal. Mila could hardly believe it. Not only did they attend the banquet and return home without starting a civil war, the People emerged from what should have been a death-trap as the undisputed victors. Song was an Expert of the Empire now, Zian and BoShui had been raised to First Grade Warrant Officers, Huu, a Second Grade, and Rain was appointed to Imperial Office as the Minister of Finance...

What in the Heavens was the Legate thinking? Had he gone stark raving mad? Mila loved her beloved dearly, but what did Rain know of managing financial affairs? True, he had a way with earning coin, but he also went through coin like drinking water and didnt know when to give up on chasing after his strange, silly ideas. Unless the Legate meant to bankrupt the Empire, he could not have picked a worse man for his Minister of Finance.

The hour-long ride back to the Citadel was informative, but as usual, Song was light on details of anything she considered irrelevant, which was almost everything unrelated to the Martial Path. Armed with the knowledge of how Songs sparring partners were faring and heart palpitating in nervous excitement, Mila burst through the familiar warehouse doors and stomped up the stairs to Rains boardroom. There, she found the bears and wildcats lazing about while Rain, Luo-Luo, and an unfamiliar Imperial stood over a fancy looking official document. I dont know, Mila could hear Rain saying, as she barrelled past the Death Corps who should have known better than to stand in her way. Are you sure the ink and dye wont run? We cant have

Then the armoured guards hit the floor and he came alert like a warrior born, standing between Mila and his guests while reaching for his sword. Luckily for him, he stopped before even touching it, as beautiful eyes widened in surprise and confusion. Mila? Song, why did you bring her back so

Milas reaction caught them both off guard, as she had not been prepared for the surge of emotions which burst up at the sight of him, looking so handsome with his full cheeks and a healthy pallor, not to mention a suitably filled-out frame and shiny, medium-length hair stylishly slicked back. Without meaning to do so, she grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him in for a kiss, her lips starved of the taste and feel of him for far too long. His hand circled around her waist, then down to her butt, then returned to her waist for the sake of propriety even though she wasnt complaining, and for long seconds, no one and nothing else mattered.

Breaking away with a breathless gasp, Mila held him close and gazed deeply into his eyes, basking in his honey and sandalwood scent. Im sorry, she said, tears forming in her eyes. I shouldve been at the banquet to help you, I wanted to be there, but you had to go through all that without me and be incredible all on your own. Im so proud and so sorry, I just

Shut up and kiss me. He didnt give her a chance to refuse, not that she would have, and she almost melted in his embrace. Only belated did she remember Princess was still in her arms and was now growling in palpable warning, but Rain didnt seem afraid and Mila didnt want this kiss to end. It had to eventually of course, and to her mild delight, Rain looked as brainless and breathless as she felt when he pulled away, all moon-eyed and glazed over with focused distraction. Ive missed you, beloved, he whispered, brushing his nose against hers. I could see you and hold you, but it just wasnt the same without your beautiful smile. Crinkling his nose, he added, As for the apologies, stow em. Youve nothing to apologize for, beloved. Man proposes and Heaven disposes. Eyes widening in alarm, he broke away from Mila to rummage through his pockets instead. Oh, and speaking of proposes...

Dropping to one knee, Rain held up a small, velvet lined box and opened it to reveal a stunning, diamond-and-ruby studded platinum ring which must have cost him a large fortune. More proof of his spendthrift ways, wasting good coin on silly jewellery, but Mila loved the gesture all the same, so long as he hadnt misappropriated funds from his Office to buy it. Sumila, I messed up, he began, his pained gaze melting her heart, I forgot about our wedding date, and I am so sorry. I know this ring wont make up for it, and nothing ever will, but I love you and want to spend the rest of my life trying. Will you marry me? Our wedding can take place any day, and at any time, even tonight if you so wish it, so long as you say yes and make me the happiest man alive.

Of course, you idiot. Why would you even need to ask? It was about time her beloved fool took the initiative for once, because Mila was beginning to worry he didnt want to marry her at all. Ah. Not tonight, she stammered, her cheeks growing hot as she fought to hold back tears, but luckily Rain was busy trying to get the ring onto her finger. Three months, she sat around, and he didnt check if the ring fit? And the Legate wanted this man as the Empires Master of Finance? Oh, never mind, Rain meant to put it on her fourth finger for some reason, where it fit perfectly. We cant be wed tonight. I need time to prepare. Not for a showy ceremony or lavish banquet, both things she could do without, but she needed to fire up her forge before the wedding could take place, and pray she could forge something strong enough to hold.

After all, even though Rain looked hale and healthy as can be, there was still a good chance Mila might accidentally snap his spine if left unrestrained during their long awaited wedding night...

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