Folk Lore (1)

Ryu pretended as though his words had no deep hidden meaning, disappearing into the crowd of guests with Elena by his side.

With the appearance of so many of the older generation, there were of course many who brought their disciples with them. In addition, there were many heirs to numerous Clans and Shrines present as well. It was these individuals that he and Elena began to mingle with, ingratiating themselves well as a young host and hostess.

Although this action seemed simple on the surface, it was yet another message to those who had been arrogant enough to so brazenly investigate the secrets of the Tatsuya Clan Heir. 'We are but youths, no? So wouldn't it be beneath your lofty statuses to take out your anger on us?'

Just like this, those old fogies hadn't even begun their counterattack before they suddenly ran into soft clouds. Their rage could only hang in the air with nowhere to be vented.

That said, there were some of this very same generation who found great pleasure in the proceedings.

"That little rascal is too vicious." Despite her words, Merula Tatsuya, Ryu's paternal grandmother, couldn't hide the smile hidden deep within her eyes.

Priest Saint Kunan was clutching his stomach at this point, trying his best not to let his laugh be heard. If those old bastards heard him now, they really might throw a fit.

Ryu's words might have seemed simple, but they weren't at all. There was nothing that old fogies cared about more than their faces. Public perception was everything. They had little else to hang their prestige upon.

A gift ranking competition was usually used in such ceremonies so that a ruler could distinguish their retainers from the rest of their kingdom. In these cases, the supposed "rank" of the gift would be decided in advance. One of low status wouldn't be allowed to bring a gift that was too valuable, while those of high status wouldn't be able to bring a gift that was too mundane.

The mere fact that such a practice existed in the martial world showed just how important these symbolic and abstract showings meant to the upper echelon of society. Often times, the best Emperors and Kings were capable of manipulating these seemingly meaningless occurrences to perfection.

However, Ryu broke all of the unspoken rules of the gift ranking competition. Those who had been invited didn't know whether they could be considering as retainers of the Tatsuya family or not, so how could they know just how valuable their gift should be? They had no guidelines to follow.

So, imagine for a moment if one purposely gave a mundane gift. Wouldn't you thus be saying that you had no interest in being close friends with the Tatsuya Clan? Wouldn't you essentially be spitting in the face of the number one clan of the Shrine Plane? Who could bear such a burden?

The worst part about it all was the fact that Ryu had already named the so-called 'headlining gift', a gift by which all standards were set. Whether a gift was valuable or mundane was decided by this headliner. Yet, this headliner was among the most valuable treasures in all of existence!

If they purposely gave a poor gift, they'd be slapping the face of the Tatsuya Clan. If they gave an appropriate gift, they'd be giving up their most treasured possessions. Ryu had driven them into a corner with just a few sentences!

Mistress Kunan couldn't help but smile either. On this rare instance, she didn't reprimand her husband. When it came to things involving her precious grandson, she was much more relaxed. However, the matters they had spoken of earlier today weighed on her heavily, still.

"There may be large, sweeping changes soon." She said with a sigh.

"You spoke of what led to that Third Grand Elder child's crippling, but you didn't go into details. Just what is worthy of a Council Grade evaluation from Little Ryu?" Merula questioned.

"If Little Ryu is correct, I believe it's time for your Fire Phoenix Clan and my Ice Phoenix Clan to come together once more."

"It's this serious, Vorena?"

"Mm." Mistress Kunan nodded in affirmation. "These ruins house not only the secret to rekindling our flames, but also an opportunity to grasp a third flame and a Dormant Shrine. The movement of Faith has been too odd in recent times. We've been far too unlucky in comparison to our standing, while others have been the exact opposite in comparison to theirs. I think it's for the best if we accomplish this task for the sake of the future generation."

The two clan mistresses spoke seriously while their husbands stood on the sidelines. Although they were married, when it came to matters of the Phoenix Clans, they were obviously handled by their two Clan Matriarchs.

One had to know that it wasn't only the Ice Flame that was weakening, the Rebirth Flame was also weakening. In fact, before Old Man Tatsuya's Clan took control of the Fire Shrine, it was his wife's Clan that had it. Although they were Fire Dragons, their strength lied in their battle prowess and strong bodies, not the potency of their flames. It wasn't until the Fire Phoenix Clan's flame weakened that the Fire Dragons grasped the Shrine.

Simply put, Merula was just as interested in these ruins as her sworn sister Vorena. If something wasn't done, it could be that soon the Reincarnation Shrine wouldn't be theirs to control anymore.