Chapter 24 - Observatory Tower
"'You can speak openly here. This is a safe place,' Master Ilmari said once we were seated. Everyone was still catching our breath after our first encounter with the denizens of Goruumshimi. Mingmei was uncharacteristically silent, she seemed to be in deep thought even after we reached the restaurant. Master Ilmari signaled one of the waitresses to take our orders. 'Don't look too surprised. This restaurant is owned by the Order of the Enlightened Commune. There are permanent safeguards in place that protect the identities of our patrons. People come here because they know that their privacy and identity are protected by The Commune,' Master Ilmari explained. There was noticeable pride in the tone of his voice as he spoke about the benefits that patrons of the restaurant avail themselves for free. His pride was not unfounded, however. Stories have been circulating in the kingdom these past few months that there is a steady increase in the number of Haan-Darian residents that want their city to become an autonomous city-state. The city will still be under the Kingdom of Zeiken-Shi, but they want to have independent laws and the freedom to shape their own culture that is free from the influence of Zeiken-Shi and its clans. After years of having a negative sentiment against the clans in the kingdom, wanting autonomy seemed like the logical next stage. Especially since the clans—both major and minor—are not doing anything to change the growing negative opinion that kashin has against the different clans.
"'I suppose no one expected The Commune to run a business,' I commented lightly. In truth, I never expected a guild of neutral kashin eizou-jins to establish and run a business. Eizou-jins have become a way for some clans to maintain a political influence over the ruling clan—the Amejisotugo Clan—and the other officials in the kingdom. This is a contrast to what the Omani Clan has. The members of our clan are mostly monks devoted to the pursuit and preservation of wisdom. A century or so ago, members of our clan have started to mix the art of using eizou and the skills of a monk to better preserve the knowledge that we guard. We guard the most ancient texts about the different eizou disciplines, it would be a waste if we do not use it ourselves. Moreover, the clans that have the oldest tradition of training eizou-jin are Anika's Clan, the Hatokotei Clan; Lynn's Clan, the Scorpion Clan; and Mingmei's Clan, the Jerboa Clan. The Hatokotei Clan is as strict in learning the use of eizou, as Izrik's clan is when it comes to learning a specific weapon. They use their knowledge of eizou to protect the messages that they carry all over the Old Orient. The Scorpion Clan rarely has any pure eizou-jin. They always mix the skill of using eizou with fighting skills to improve their advantage. The Jerboa Clan has an elite group of eizou-jin. Only a handful is trained per generation and these are specialist eizou-jin that can handle the quick elimination of multiple targets. Their clan is entrusted with guarding the kingdom's treasury and ensuring that tax collection is smooth. Thus, they always have the most skilled people for doing specific tasks—elimination or protection.
"'Businesses. This is only one of four restaurants and three inns that the Order of the Enlightened Commune owns. And we personally manage each of these businesses. We do not hire anyone that is not a member of The Commune to work in these establishments. That is our way of maintaining the quality of our services,' Master Ilmari explained proudly.
"'But why establish a business at all? Don't you need to focus on the study of eizou?' Ianme asked.
"'Our members do not belong to any clan, and we make sure not to accept sponsorship from any organization so that we would never be indebted to anyone that could sooner or later exert their influence on our group. And just because we can use eizou doesn't mean we have all the resources we need to continue our study of it,' Master Ilmari revealed. What he said made perfect sense. I personally believe that an eizou-jin should make sure to be free of any influences as they become more powerful. This will ensure that the powerful forces at his or her disposal would not be abused to serve the whim of a single person or group. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case because of the influence the clans have in the education and life of eizou-jins that belong to their clans.
"Our conversation with Master Ilmari made me think later on about the negative effects of the clan system on the daily life of the citizens of the kingdom. And this contemplation led me to balance the advantages and disadvantages of the clan system. It may have been essential during the early days of the kingdom and civilizations of man, but at the dawn of a new age and learning, I have started to question the benefits that we gain from the clan system and whether it outweighs the disadvantages that it brings.
"'So, what brings you to Haan-Dar?' Master Ilmari asked as the food started to arrive. 'Go ahead! Eat! This is a little gesture of extreme appreciation for helping with the attack this morning. This is also an expression of how proud I am with each of you, my dear students!' Master Ilmari said with a hearty laugh.
"'Master, how did you know we were arriving? And yet not know why?' Lynn asked. She then nodded gratefully to the waitress that filled our teacups. Thinking that the waitresses and cooks in the restaurant are also members of The Commune, and eizou-jins themselves, I suddenly felt curious to see the kitchen and how they prepare the food.
"'Ah, yes. Very well, then I shall tell you that story before you tell me the purpose of your visit. I am sure it is not just to see your old teacher,' he said with a light chuckle. Master Ilmari has always been a lighthearted person. He'd always laugh at small things like everything in the world is a reason for him to be happy. 'A few moons ago, we had a most unusual and unexpected visitor,' he began. His face suddenly became serious and his voice became so faint that we had to lean forward to hear every detail. 'I was outside, on top of the observatory tower where I was studying the stars when all of a sudden a bright flash of light came from the southern side of the tower—way out at sea. At first, I thought it was a meteor. But the light flashed from above the sea then fell. It did not come from the skies. Then I wondered if the light came from the Sinking South. I immediately dismissed that idea because it would need a huge amount of energy to generate a light that was that bright from where I was standing all the way from the continent of the Sinking South. After a few minutes of standing there and trying to determine what it could possibly be, I decided to go out in the water and have a look!' he continued.
"'How bright was it?' Anika asked.
"'It was like a bonfire out at sea from a height of a few hundred feet then fell down to the water.'
"'What was it?' Liam asked.
"'Wait, I was just getting to that. Now, I went down the tower and went out to the southern beach to get into a boat. When I got to the spot where I thought the light has fallen into the sea, I couldn't believe what I found,' Master Ilmari paused and then smiled. All of our mouths were agape, waiting for him to continue.
"'What did you find?' Khyn asked.
"'A man.'
"'A man?!' almost all of us said at the same time.
"'Yes. A man. An eizou-jin to be exact. And it was fortunate that I went out because he was exhausted from that last eizou that he used that he was barely keeping himself afloat.'
"'Where did he come from?'
"'From another city?'
"'Let's say, he is not from around here.'
"'He's from another kingdom?'
"'Think farther than that.'
"'He's from The Untamed West?'
"'You'll need a massive amount of eizou energy to travel from that distance to here.'
"'Maybe he's from a nearby ship from the Untamed West then wanted to get ashore ahead of the rest of the passengers from the ship but his eizou energy fell short.'
"'Transport eizou should not generate light, else it would be a risk,' Mingmei said. We all turned to her because she was completely quiet since we got back from the fight against the denizens of Goruumshimi. Master Ilmari smiled at her and nodded.
"'Mingmei is right. All the transport eizou that we know do not generate light at the point of origin nor at the destination. It was designed that way to eliminate the possibility of getting spotted after you arrive at your destination,' Master Ilmari explained.
"'Where did he come from then? And where did that light come from?' Ianme asked scratching his head.
"'Mingmei, do you have any theory?' Master Ilmari asked with a smile.
"'He's not from this world. He used a portal to get here. The light came from the place where he traveled from. It was morning there when he came here. He was running from something which is why he was not able to properly adjust his portal to appear on land and not from that height,' Mingmei answered with her characteristic lack of facial expression.
"'But portals are just a myth,' I replied. 'Aren't they?'
"'Not anymore,' Master Ilmari replied with a wide grin. 'It was past noon, not morning,' he said to Mingmei with a wink, which meant that it was the only thing that Mingmei did not get right.
"'He could come from the Untamed West. It is morning or noon there when it's evening here,' Guunnar pointed out.
"'Actually, he was born in a world called the Earth. I know, I know, it's a strange name for a world,' Master Ilmari commented when he saw the different expressions that we had on our faces. 'He was in a kingdom called Azetur in another world that existed within the Elemental Plane of Fire when he came here,' Master Ilmari added. No one was able to say anything because what Master Ilmari said sounded like words that he read from a fantasy book where eizou-jins are rich bastards. 'His visit advanced our knowledge of eizou a few decades. We were all grateful that unlike most eizou-jin here he was willing to share his knowledge on the different Planes of Reality. What great masters theorized in the past, he proved or disproved in a single evening of conversation.'
"'What kind of world did he come from if he can travel between different planes?' Anika asked. We were all equally curious about the visitor because it sounded like he's a very powerful eizou-jin.
"'He said that in his world, eizou-jins are called benders. The people who know nothing about it, call them mages or sorcerers. And then there are what they call the Conclaves of Mastery. Each bender can freely choose which Conclave they would like to join to pursue their studies after a brief period of learning the basics of eizou. He belonged to the Tanduri, The Unwalled Conclave. Members of his conclave are called skippers, and their main purpose is to explore the different Planes of Reality and document their explorations. Thus, most of his eizou is dedicated to travel and breaking free of confines. He also has some powerful life preservation and defensive eizou to help him explore places that are normally harmful to humans. Additionally, he has a few divination eizou and that is how I knew that you were coming today and how I knew about the attack. That was him demonstrating his divination abilities because I didn't believe such eizou exist.'
"'So, he also looks like us? He's human?' Liam asked.
"'Yes, he does look very much like us. He did mention that we are not classified as humans to them. He is not the first from Earth to visit our world. And according to the first visitors, our world has a slightly stronger gravity compared to Earth. Additionally, he said that we have stronger yet lighter bones compared to them. Unfortunately, all previous visitors have not been able to make a thorough study of our physical qualities. He said he might do so when he returns. He just needs to finish his observations of Azetur from afar first.'
"'What happened to him there? Why is he being chased?' I asked.
"'He accidentally opened a portal to the princess's private chambers.'
"'Ouch, that's bad,' I replied.
"'…while she was bathing…'
"'What?! Seriously?'
"'Yes. He was chased out of the castle by royal guards. He's fairly young. No older than your group if I am not mistaken,' Master Ilmari revealed. We all laughed at the story, but a grim idea suddenly dawned on our minds.
"'Are you going to update all the existing eizou texts?' I asked. I was worried that the wrong information would be taught to students of eizou skills.
"'That is what I want to do. However, we all know how impossible that would be. Most of the texts on eizou knowledge are kept within the vaults of every clan. And since the members of The Commune are all kashin, we will never be given access to those texts of power much less edit them,' Master Ilmari said with a tone of disappointment. He was right. The different eizou masters from the different clans see their texts and knowledge of eizou as inviolable. Like they're carved in stone. It felt like it would take a war to have them edited and updated.
"'Would you at least teach us? Then we could see what we can do to update the texts that we have in our respective clans,' Lynn said. She sounded worried about the same thing—that the wrong information is being taught to the next generation of eizou-jin.
"'Unless the information that we have gets updated, we are vulnerable to eizou users that have the correct information. That is a huge vulnerability from an eizou point of view,' Yiiq-Yin pointed out. He was not wrong about his assessment.
"'I can teach you what I have learned, of course. But that is just a small first step. All of the eizou that we use needs to be modified. There is a fatal flaw in the way we compose the runic component of our eizou that can leave us powerless in specific situations. Situations that can be manipulated by an attacker and used against us,' Master Ilmari pointed out.
"'What do you mean master?' Anika asked.
"'We literally have to rewrite our books on eizou and relearn each eizou that we ever knew.'