"I see. I can guess that you would have kept your calm and bared through it all if your friend hadn't been attacked. Now please, tell this old man. Stop hiding, you don't really think that I wouldn't know my own Granddaughter. Hanahaksu, I'm coming over there." He kept speaking while he took slow steps, Caoimhe was still a beast, magical or otherwise. "I thought for sure that your father had already told you about Xue and Xi. I didn't want to spoil your disguise, its a good one. Otherwise I would have never spoke about them in front of you. It is a deep shame on our family, Darkwing's betrayal."
"I suppose to you, he'd be your father's first companion. The act changed him, Wu Hai was never the same after Darkwing's attack. He's never forgiven himself for ignoring the signs. Though, I have to admit, his bond between Darkwing and himself was not nearly as strong as the bond you both possess. Before, what we were talking about, forget it. For now, I want you to wipe your tears and have some of your Grandmother's Tea. I keep some with me, its good for calming the soul." he passed a bottle over, it flowed on energy and floated toward her.
"Come, sit down over here. I will tell you a few stories about Xue and Xi." Guards outside of the bubble barrier were constantly circulating around its exterior.
They allowed no one to approach.
The main gate door became a topic of discussion in the City while it stood erected, forced into the walls of the Castle. At the gate itself, the large barrier blocked all eyes from peering in. Noise was canceled out.
"I see." Hana and Ooran shared a few moments, "I haven't seen you since you were only a child, your father couldn't risk leaving you at the sect. I can't blame him, after Zhan lost his daughters, he also lost his will to continue as things were."
"I don't want anyone to know who I am, even you treat me better when you acknowledge me. I might one day look for my title but for now, I just want to be Hana Maker." Hana threw out a formation and concentrated all the energy that loomed under the barrier into a single point. As it compressed, she felt the strain in her hands.
"Your father had better ways to do this, why don't you practice the way that the Alchemy department does that?" He tossed a book over, it was a rundown of the Alchemical materials that were of interest to the Kingdom. "These are the materials we need for the coming war. We got distracted by the happenings here so I haven't had time to fully explain. We are in a War, its been happening for years. The Devils and horrors of the Underworld have been coming to surface and creating problems. More than that, We think that they may have had something to do with the missing disciples, and all of them were girls."
"So they are only targeting children of the Espers, and they keep attacking me because I.. what? Because I share the bloodline of the Esper Emperor?" She finally got it and fell to her knees again.
"Grandfather, My bloodline.. I've been increasing its potency. Grandmaster Lu Sha's dimensional rift has become a blood cultivation chamber for the Zao Bloodline.. I think. The blood that's being produced matches mine." Pulling out a bottle that was still in tact, she handed it to Ooran. "I don't know why Master hasn't returned today or why he's been busy but I can see that a lot is going on." She wiped the snot from her face and looked Caoimhe over.
"She looks like she is fine, she was just being defensive while they were trying to catch her. I'm sure there is no damage to her soul."
A few hours passed and classes were beginning to end.
The suns were setting, it was easy to tell inside the barrier, the exterior glowed a familiar orange from twilight.
Hana returned to the Castle and Caoimhe was led to a garden where she could rest. "Patriarch, When we get back inside, please, don't send me away."
"I wouldn't dream of it child. Remaining may bring more questions about your origins, for now we shouldn't dwell on it too much." After a few more steps he moved closer and spoke in a whisper. "I have plans, things will work out. You have training that you should be attending but the material is easy. Why don't we just give you a copy of our Formations? I will call Kesra to do this, she will not deny me." Ooran smiled, he knew she wouldn't ask or accept if it wasn't thrust upon her. Hana was a good child when she wasn't getting one over on someone. She was an innocent child. 'Innocent, perhaps that's why the Dark lords need the girls..' "Hana, This girl you spoke about, Jeannie. She was not a trouble maker right? Was she also an innocent type?" It seemed strange for him to ask, but he felt like it needed to be done.
"Yes, she was a very nice girl. She wanted to join the sect and had gone through the tryouts at least once before. She made me smile, I hope she's still alive." Hana saw that Jeannie was on the list in the situation room, she was added to the list of missing girls from across the kingdom. "Do you suppose that they can only accept the innocent?"
"Its an assumption. Circumstantial evidence and accounts keeps pointing in that direction." He threw out some crystals and activated the spellwork device. He saw Hana eyeing it. "You like these?" He passed one to her. "Master Xuan made these, he's only made a handful but they are useful aren't they? He loaded it with a few useful formations but there are a lot that I don't think I'll be using."
"Un." Hana stared at the box in her hand. 'I guess I won't say no..' She sighed a little and sat down.
Standing back on the platform, the Stealth Corp had regrouped and stood in front of the Patriarch.
"Hana Maker, for your actions today in saving those students. You will be awarded a gift." He winked. Hana sighed inside but stood firm. "I will inform Elder Kesra and the Alchemy Department to forward a full copy of our Formation research and development."
The stealth corp didn't care about such things but they were becoming more interested in the small girl who had hijacked their meeting. "So Says the Patriarch!" They spoke in unison and stamped their feet.
"Hana, pass this to your Instructors and Explain that you will be attending classes when you feel you have the time. As of this moment, while you may train with the other Disciples, you are now a full Member of the Sect. Your power is unmatched among the students, you will also be exempt from fighting them. I would award you an Elders position but it doesn't suit you, however my intent with students is not to break their spirits but to build their souls." He stopped speaking for a moment.
The Stealth Corp repeated themselves again. "So says the Patriarch!"
He waved his hand for them to stop and continued. "Hana Maker, You will be given a guard, because there is someone hunting the young girls in the Kingdom. Do not oppose this, It is done. Dissait , you will be in charge of the.. of Hana's safety, you are her shadow, stick to them. The rest of you, contact the other cities and make sure we have a complete list of those who've gone missing. I want to know what they are up to. Young Miss Hana, You must not forget to come to see me again soon. For now, keep training. I will have Elder Kesra meet you at the Main Gates."
"So says the Patriarch!" Hana clasped hands, turned and left.
'Good child, your grandmother would be pleased.' Ooran watched Hana leave and turned his attention to the notes on the wall, he had to make sense of the culprit but the clues were missing.
֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍
Hana walked with Dissait for a moment. "I like to fly."
"If its not terribly far, I can keep up with your speed in the air, probably. For extended trips, I will need to remain in your direct shadow." Dissait melded with the shadow and appeared across the street, then flashed back to her position using a movement technique. "Whatever you need, I am your guard for the moment. You need only ask." he was respectful and had a nice attitude.
'I wonder if this is because the Patriarch sent him directly.' She shrugged the thought and visited the bookstore. There were many for sale, the contribution points she had on her tabulator were more than enough to cover her expenses for small items but without revealing her identity, she was stuck with a modest budget. Dissait had to remind her to calm her aura while she was in the bookstore, the shelves were rattling as she walked. "Ohh, Sorry." She smiled and paid.
As they made their way to the gate Elder Kesra was standing there with a warped expression on her face. She passed along a stack of books and three spacial rings. "Don't forget I exist." her attitude gave the impression that she'd been slighted. Elder Kesra turned to leave.
"Teacher. One moment." Hana pulled out a bottle of the blood essence and a large roasted rabbit. "Disciple thanks Teacher." She presented the Items and bowed gently with her arms outstretched.
'Hmmph' Elder Kesra turned around and waved her hand to collect them. Then, she left.
"Lets go." Hana whistled for Caoimhe and a roar came from beside the castle. Birds flew away and great gusts of wind blew when Caoimhe flew up.
Hana took it slow at first, then, as they got some distance away from the City walls, she sped up to test herself. In less than 10 minutes she had made it back to the portal. When Dissait caught up, he was surprised to see the portal gate. "Stay out here and stay hidden. I won't be out for some time. I warn you. Should you choose to come inside, the environment is not suitable others."
He didn't understand what she meant but he understood the danger. Nodding, he slipped into a shadow and reappeared in a tree in the distance, then, he was no where.
'I gotta learn how to do that.' Hana pulled out the token and pressed her palm to the barrier. When it went down, a murderous aura slipped out. As if blind to it, Hana stepped into the portal. The hair on Dissait's neck stood on end and he nearly fell from a tree as the wave of energy swept past.
'What exactly is that child?' he repositioned himself and adjusted his camouflage.
֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍
Inside the Portal, Hana stopped herself from moving forward. A few hours had gone by and another transformation had begun. Spellwork was carved into a network of paths along the Islands and they had been moved to align themselves in a formation. The Islands themselves had been turned into totems. Keeping to herself, she tried flying into the air but was met with the Mollen face to face.
"Pddddddd." A chattering noise like a quick paddling of the tongue could be heard, it was deep and ghurdy.