Chapter 170 – Owners
On the night after the match, the group somehow managed to squeeze itself into the Red Leaf’s second-floor common room, even if Quillian sometimes complained under his breath about it. He was kind of right, because with everyone present, it felt stuffy, especially when Cho’Wa alone took up most of the floor space between the tables. As for Siu, he sat with one leg stretched out, wrapped from his thigh almost to his ankle in bandages, smelling strongly of medicine. The torn muscles had already been repaired by a visit to the baths, but, not wanting to waste money, he chose the cheapest option, which forced him to apply additional remedies for a complete effect. Arya, still in her small form as the sun hadn't set fully yet, sat pressed against his side, almost purring, demanding headpats. At the same time, Marly was curled in his lap with a bowl of soft porridge, leaning forward and licking it. Her broken teeth would repair themselves by simply being a squirrel, but, still, she had been forbidden from chewing anything hard for a day or so.
“Why,” Quillian asked for the tenth time, looking around his overcrowded room, “are we doing this here?”
“Here we have more privacy,” Seloryn answered for the eleventh time, "The teahouse wouldn't fit, not with what we are going to discuss.”
“I concur, because rumors have already begun spreading,” Ruben said, rubbing his face as everyone looked at him. “While I went home to change, three separate disciples asked me why the sky caught fire this morning. I don't know how many noticed the clash, but people are already trying to find out where and what actually happened. They took to the idea that there was a secret Paragon fight, but the list didn't change so... Everyone is playing detective.”
“Well," Quillian snorted, "Just say what always works: That could have been anything.”
“That's the most suspicious answer.” Vael chuckled, earning a reward of being stabbed in the sides by Quillian's new but identical-looking cane. “Before we get to anything else,” he continued, rubbing his waist, “was that truly Orzimar? He broke apart like his quartz thingies... I guess we fought a clone...”
"Probably..." Everyone agreed at once as the room became quieter, realizing they weren't even facing the real thing.
“So none of that was real?” Arya asked, raising a hand, "Because after he was gone, the place went back to normal, too!"
“The injuries feel real,” Joren muttered, rubbing the puncture marks along his back, "I just think that the spatial formation resets the damage, and if so, we hit the jackpot with this parcel. It is pretty much priceless!"
"There is an issue, though," Seloryn cut in, immediately stopping them from feeling delighted, "We have a formation, okay... Who knows how to work it?"
"..." Everyone exchanged looks and the group collectively let out a defeated sigh.
“Look at it from the good side," Quillian said, raising their spirits again, "The property should now belong to the Wardens.”
“Should?” Ruben repeated, catching the word.
“There was no contract signed,” Nokoh pointed it out, too, nodding his head. “No deed or title transfer... Are we really owning it or...?”
“Stop guessing already!" Ruben waved a hand, looking at Siu, "Just check the founding tablet.”
In a hurry, he pulled it out, placing it in the middle of the table they were sitting at, and everyone leaned forward, reading the scrolling text. Getting impatient, Arya began touching it to try and flick it with a finger and hurry the rolling names along, without any success. But the moment the previous list disappeared, a new section appeared beneath the names.
"Headquarters: Gemstone Terrace.
Property Status: Ownership.
Associated Fees: Waived."
Nobody spoke, especially after reading the last part. There was nothing to pay for, nor did they need to put down any weekly or monthly payment. It was theirs and theirs to use how they saw fit. Ruben took the tablet, read it, then cursed as it scrolled away, waiting until it reappeared.
“So..." Arya asked, munching on a breadstick, "It is ours, for real, real?”
“Yes,” Seloryn said, feeling excited.
“Forever?” Marly asked, and Siu translated her question.
"Seems like it," Seloryn continued, tapping the line with one finger after taking the tablet from Ruben. “There is no lease duration mentioned or something like that, so... we should actually own it until we sell it or pass it down.”
"Yes!" Arya threw both hands into the air, holding onto the food with her mouth. “OURS! Let's build the best love nest!”
“Headquarters,” Joren corrected her by reflex, "We aren't running a brothel."
“With you there...” Ruben muttered, and his brother almost smacked him in the head but held back at the last moment. “But yeah, there is the second issue... We don’t have a building,” He added, seeing his brother hold back.
"I'll start looking around what we can do about that," Seloryn offered, crossing her arms, thinking, "We will need to decide what to build and get a price for all of that... Then we can start pooling our resources and take missions as a group. That will earn us the CC needed and also raise our profile for future recruitment."
"Sure." The others agreed, but then Ruben turned towards Siu. “Now,” he said, sounding super serious, “what in all the Heavens did you do during that fight?!” The room fell silent again, and Siu had expected the question. “You used Seloryn’s resonance, which is fine," Ruben continued, raising his voice, "I thought you had that affinity... But then you used Quillian’s fire, did you not?! I even saw you copy your lover's perversion!"
"Oi!" Arya scoffed at him, "It wasn't perversion, it was my Golden Shower!"
"Same thing." Joren and Ruben said at the same time, and Ruben kept going on. “What about my water? Where the fuck did you pull that out from?! And don't even try to deny you weren't using Vael’s lightning. What... ARE YOU?!”
“Just Siu.” He answered, wanting to slap himself for retorting to that line, but... it was the truth.
“You cannot have five affinities.” Joren agreed, with the now panting, overly excited brother of his.
“Apparently, he can,” Vael muttered, also very much interested, watching Siu without blinking.
“That is not how affinities work!” Ruben argued, now throwing a look at Seloryn and Quillian, "You two are awfully quiet about this. You knew, didn't you?"
"They do seem like that." Nokoh agreed as he also studied Siu carefully afterward.
"Yes," Quillian spoke up. "And now you do too. Also," Siu felt the old man’s eyes settle on his bandaged leg, "We will have to adapt our training, because apparently, your body can't handle the switchups so quickly or when you overdo them."
“I noticed.” Siu muttered, sighing, "I don't even know how I managed to do it all, switching so quickly and using the techniques. Maybe Elder Thane's training paid off in an unexpected way."
"I wouldn't say you used our techniques," Seloryn interjected, ignoring Ruben, Joren, Nokoh, or Vael. "When you imitated what Senior Quillian can do, it was imperfect because you barely know how to use it. I saw it burst under only one of your feet. Then my resonance was in your hand, unlike how I use sound to evoke it. Also, the improper use of Vael's lightning to infuse it into your body injured you. See? You can't copy the techniques, even if you have the idea of how they work, or you get yourself injured."
"Master still did well! He copied mine perfectly!" Arya argued, taking Siu's side, hugging him protectively.
"Because you two are connected on a deeper level," Quillian explained, making Arya shrug.
"Not deep enough. I'm still empty and need fillings in me..."
"Ignore that," Siu said flatly before anyone could react.
“Can we return to the part where he has five affinities?” Ruben asked, pinching the ridge of his nose, "The fuck is going on?!"
“My affinity turns out to be something that nobody has seen before. It's a long story but..." With a sigh, he told them everything, from how he awakened it, what happened after, as the group was looking at him, those who were in the dark before, finding their jaws almost reaching the table itself by the end.
“You... copy affinities?” Nokoh gawked, speaking first after the explanation.
“Pretty much,” Siu answered. “I think. I sense how others' affinities work, then reproduce the pattern with my own essence, transforming it into theirs. This was the first time that I managed to copy multiple, or, well, switch between different ones. I never did this before, as I have only been training with Quillian and Arya.”
"We still know way too little to say what he can do and what he can't." Quillian added, "We are testing a lot of things, while when he has a rest day, I make the boy read about affinities to broaden his knowledge."
“For how long have you known this?” Ruben asked, turning to Seloryn.
"Since the start." She smiled proudly, crossing her arms. "And it's our greatest secret as the Wardens. Got it?"
"No wonder you made him the leader..." Ruben muttered, not arguing at all, now measuring Siu, "Heavens... You are one dark horse, aren't you?"
“Could you do it now?” Nokoh asked, his eyes flashing, "Can you copy mine?"
“I would need you to use it,” Siu said while shaking his head. “And even then, it may take time. Didn't you see how long I couldn't do anything when fighting Orzimar? I was having trouble focusing and my affinity wasn't manifesting properly, not knowing who to copy.”
“So... you do not permanently keep everything you copy?" Vael joined in the questioning session.
“No. Usually, it fades when the connection ends, meaning the moment I relax, I revert.”
“And," Quillian took over once again, "He can't reproduce the affinity after releasing it, so he cannot summon it endlessly from memory. That's one of his weaknesses, but my studies find that exposure to the same affinities strengthens the speed at which he can adapt. That is where his experience and learned knowledge come into play.”
"Still..." Ruben rubbed his forehead. “This is absurd...”
“That was also my initial conclusion,” Quillian said proudly, "The boy is unique. Also, somehow I get the feeling after my observations that his affinity appears to seek answers to his problems."
"It does feel like that," Siu nodded slowly, "When I have multiple affinities near me, I can kind of sense which works against which, and it helps me copy one that would give me an advantage over my opponent. By now I am sure that my sharper senses are linked to this; that's how I noticed Titus and Vael back in Mirebell, locking onto their affinities while they used their cultivation to move around."
“Before today," Quillian went on, his very important notebook in hand, "Siu had to have a marked target, observe the affinity before copying. It could happen instinctively, but it remained one target at a time.” He muttered while he drew several separate circles and kept adding descriptions, “It was the first time you were in a large-scale battle, boy, with so many to choose from; no wonder you felt a bit overwhelmed... We will have to have group sessions to make you get used to the noise and quicken your ability to choose a target.”
"And switching." Seloryn offered, making Quillian nod as he connected the circles to one point in the middle.
"Naturally. But he needs familiarity with them, or he will tear his own body apart when copying something new, like what happened with Vael's electricity. Still, my boy," He glanced at Siu over his glasses with a proud smile, "You achieved a minor breakthrough in your affinity itself.”
“It makes sense," Vael nodded, rubbing his chin, "It is well known that breakthroughs tend to occur under extreme pressure, especially a kind of life-or-death one. Worrying about Marly was the trigger."
“But Orzimar promised not to kill us,” Ruben pointed it out, making Siu shrug.
“My body did not know that, nor did my mind in that brief moment.”
“Master is the best,” Marly said happily. “Always protecting us! That's why we love him!"
"Exactly!" Arya exclaimed, nodding her head, although nobody knew what Marly was saying because Siu decided not to translate that part and make himself blush.
“Neither of us will speak of it,” Seloryn said suddenly, looking at the others. "I don't think most elders know about it either, and if you babble, just remember that it could anger the Grand Elders or the Sect Master!"
"..."
Of course, everyone flinched at that, feeling sweat run down their backs. It was then that Vael looked into Siu's eyes, while placing a hand on his heart. In that moment, his expression had lost every trace of the faint humor, and he looked incredibly grave.
“I am a foreigner and also a prisoner. Thus... I am also the person in this room with the most reason to be questioned, or taken away. I, Vael Renwick, swear on my cultivation that I will never reveal the truth of your affinity without your express permission.”
The room became utterly quiet because it wasn't just a promise; his hand lit up, electricity flashing for a moment, entering his own heart. Everyone knew that what Vael had just done was to form an oath, with his cultivation and life on the line. If he ever broke it... the Heavens would make sure he would be punished.
“Do not swear on your life so carelessly,” Siu said, but Vael just shook his head.
“I am not being careless. You stopped Titus from taking me when you had no reason to believe me. You gave me a chance to speak the truth, and now this...? I was taught by someone who instilled his values into me firmly, and I will hold to them to my dying breath. I won't bring dishonor to my line, even if I can never return to the Stormglass Pavilion, to the place I knew as it had already changed to... something else. At least, I can be the last to uphold its old reputation and name, to make my ancestors proud."
“Thank you,” Siu muttered, knowing that it was the only thing he could say in that moment without offending him.
"I should say that," Vael bowed his head once, smiling.
“But,” Siu continued, “I don’t expect you to die protecting a hard-to-protect secret.”
"I—" He began, but Joren interrupted him with a shrug.
“That was far too serious for dinner.”
“Would you prefer I swear while drunk?” Vael asked, a smile forming on his face.
“We aren’t drunk yet.” Joren joked back, making Quillian flinch and look toward him.
“Yet?”
"Nothing!" Joren hummed, looking away.
"A drink does sound nice, though," Nokoh added, also looking away from Quillian's gaze when it found him, "But first, dinner, yes. Dinner..."
After that, the bowls slowly began emptying, and their discussion shifted away from Siu’s affinity and returned to the fight and ideas about what to do next... and what kind of building would fit the Wardens.