Emphyreal Divide

Chapter One

"Please, I beg of you, spare my daughter," The man choked out, head pressed to the cool stone floor. The small group assembled watched this display silently, an echoing disinterest in the man's actions the only sound to be heard. For a moment that stretched far beyond the limits of comfort, no one spoke, those present could barely meet the eye of another.

"We would not suggest this course of action if it were not all of us at stake," The man at the forefront of the group took a step forward, towards the man hunched on the ground, swinging a gold clad arm behind him as he did so. "But all the heavens cannot be equal to your daughter's life. Some sacrifices must be made."

"She does not deserve this," The man on the floor begged, voice cracking once more, yet never once rising above the measured, respectful cadence that left his words strangled. Silence stretched once more, the gold clad man's face taking on a thunderous cast.

"Do you think I find pride in the killing of children? Do you believe that I, presented with any other option, would choose this?" The man in gold turned away from the other with a derisive huff, flicking a sleeve behind him as he did so. One of the women that stood beside him pressed her lips into a frown, chin dipping in thought, before silently she gently laid a hand on the arm of the man clad in gold in placicating fashion. He quickly turned to her, eyes narrowing as he met hers, an unspoken conversation flying between the two that ended with a short wave of his hand, a gesture for her to speak.

"She may not have to die— there could be a way in which we could circumvent this tragedy," The woman began, but the man only scoffed, turning away. She paused for a moment, pressing her lips together, allowing the silence to linger on for a moment as the man in gold ruminated over the woman's statement.

"Fine— what do you have to suggest?" He admitted, folding his arms behind his back, an expectant look on his face. The woman folded her hands together, quickly looking over the assembled crowd, before coming to settle on the man bowed on the floor.

"Perhaps a curse could solve this— by preventing the issue before it can become a problem."

The man in gold raised his chin from a bowed position, turning slowly to the woman, narrow expression giving way to interest and a dawning realization. "Go on."

Wind danced over the water, pulling the surface of the lake up in gentle waves that caught the sunlight, reflecting it in dazzling patterns like stars. The lotus skating over the surface, unbothered by the movement of the lake, waved ever so gently in the warm breeze, disturbed only when workers in boats would skate by, deftly plucking seed pods from amongst the flowers and leaves. It was a tranquill, near idyllic scene of summer, untouched by the troubles of the world around it.

Jiang Cheng watched this moment drift by, taking a breath away from the chaos of the inner workings of Lotus Pier, from the pressure of the role of Sect Leader. A stack of letters sat at his elbow, each needing to be read and answered, but lay pinned by a paperweight and forgotten, at least for this brief moment. There was much to do, and likely much more to think about and an even greater number of things to worry and plan for, but he would push that all aside for just right now, for a handful of stress free minutes.

Of course, silence in Lotus Pier could not last longer than three minutes. There was always more than plenty of work for Jiang Cheng to attend to, and when it was not handled as quickly and efficiently as possible, it tended to pile up quickly. However, a few stolen moments of peace would be well worth the work that would come later.

Not everyone would agree with this sentiment, and some of those very people were in his employment— and from the sound of footsteps approaching the pavilion he sat in, that disagreement was approaching rapidly.