Li Yu walked across the smooth stone of the training floor and approached the far corner of the courtyard where his retainers had gathered. Fenric had announced that the evening al was ready but as Li Yu looked at the wide stone table, he realized their definition of a al was incredibly utilitarian.
The elite operatives of the Eidolon Court had laid out several tasteless but powerful pills for Qi consumption. They were common for those from the Eidolon Court while out on missions. Beside the pills, they had piled roughly chopped strips of the desolate beast they had hunted earlier in the day. A simple and smokeless Qi fla hovered in the center of the table and they were clearly intending to just singe the raw at for a few seconds before consuming it strictly for its energy content.
"Is this how the elite forces of the Court normally eat?" Li Yu asked while raising an eyebrow at the bleak spread, at least according to his own standards for eating.
"Food is fuel, Grand Envoy," Winter replied plainly. "We prioritize efficiency and the retention of physical Qi over culinary aesthetics. The pill provides the baseline Qi. The beast at provides the explosive energy required for tomorrow."
Li Yu shook his head with a quiet sigh. He had never abandoned the simple pleasure of a properly cooked al when ti allowed it.
"Sit down," Li Yu instructed them while rolling up the sleeves of his dark robes. "I appreciate the preparation but let handle the main course tonight. I have a long and brutal training cycle ahead of while you need to combat beasts and do other tasks as well. We should at least enjoy our evenings."
The Eidolon experts exchanged uncertain glances. They were unaccustod to the person they were assigned to protect taking over nial tasks. Even Gart, the abrasive shark who had fully embraced his new role as the group's subservient errand boy, looked surprised.
Li Yu did not wait for their permission though. He stepped up to the table and summoned a controlled, highly concentrated burst of his own Qi. He pulled a collection of dried spices, preserved roots and aromatic oils from his storage ring.
He worked with practiced efficiency as he sliced the beast at into thinner and more manageable cuts to break down the tough muscle fibers. He coated the strips in a generous layer of oil and crushed spices, then seared them rapidly over his intense Qi fla. The rich, savory aroma of roasting at and sizzling fat instantly filled the courtyard.
Within minutes, he had prepared a massive platter of cooked beast at. He set it down in the center of the table alongside the pills.
"Eat," Li Yu said as he took a seat on one of the stone benches.
The group hesitated for only a mont before reaching for the food. Fenric and Oram reached up and unlatched the lower halves of their black masks, revealing their mouths and chins so they could eat. The five stealth protectors followed suit.
As they took their first bites, a collective wave of surprise washed over the table. The normally tough and gay at of the desolate beast had been completely transford. The spices highlighted the rich physical Qi trapped within the flesh and the searing heat had locked in the moisture. It was a massive improvent over their usual raw rations.
Even Gart tore into his portion with aggressive enthusiasm, montarily forgetting to offer praises to the stronger cultivators.
They ate in a comfortable and satisfied silence for a short ti. Li Yu took a bite of his own food and looked around the table. He observed the diverse group of people sitting with him. He had essentially forced these individuals into his orbit because he happened to house their ancient Ancestor. They were bound by duty and soul oaths to protect him but he realized he knew absolutely nothing about the actual people behind the masks.
"We are going to be living together in this courtyard for a while and seeing as I am housing your ancestor for the foreseeable future, we really should get to know one another." Li Yu spoke up, breaking the quiet ambiance of the dinner. "I do not know any of you. How did you all end up serving the Eidolon Court? For example, I t you two standing in front of the iron doors deep in the Ancestor's sanctuary. Haelan and Jhyra commanded an empire, yet the two of you, who possess equal power, stood guard at a door. Why?"
The table went completely still. Asking an elder about their past was generally considered a breach of etiquette within the Eidolon Court. However, given the situation they were in and seeing as how they were ordered to treat Li Yu as if he were the Ancestor herself, the seven did not mind. Fenric set his piece of at down as he reached up and slowly removed his black glass mask entirely.
Li Yu saw the Warden's face for the first ti. It was a face carved from granite that was weathered by unimaginable spans of ti. It was mapped with a network of pale and ancient scars.
"Because an empire is aningless if its foundation crumbles, Grand Envoy," Fenric rumbled. His deep voice carried the weight of countless eras. "Long ago, Haelan, Jhyra, Oram and I were all peers. We rose through the ranks and beca leaders of the Eidolon Court. We were the pillars of our civilization."
Fenric looked down at his scarred hands. "We witnessed the agonizing toll that our Ancestor was under. Haelan and Jhyra chose to lead the council and govern the exterior empire. Oram and I realized that the outside world did not matter. Only her safety mattered. We willingly stripped away our political authority, our public identities and our freedom. We donned the armor of the Core Wardens to ensure that no threat would ever reach her resting place. Standing at that door was not a punishnt; it was the highest honor of our existence."
Oram unlatched his mask and pulled it free as well. His pale skin was covered in intricate and swirling runic tattoos that pulsed faintly with ancient soul energy.
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"We discarded our desires for conquest or scholarly pursuits," Oram stated calmly, his ascetic features perfectly serene. "To guard a being for thousands of years requires purity of purpose. We did not participate in council etings because the trivial squabbles of the cosmos were beneath our duty. When the Ancestor found a new sanctuary within you, our duty shifted. Where she goes, her shields follow."
Li Yu nodded respectfully. The magnitude of their loyalty and sacrifice was staggering and not sothing anyone could do. The stronger you were the more freedom you had but they gave it all away for a greater purpose. He had assud they were just extrely powerful guards but they were among the current leaders of an empire but had turned themselves into living walls out of devotion.
He then turned his gaze toward the five elite protectors. He had already learned from them earlier that these five were part of a specialized unit that were used to protect the younger talents of the Empire. However, they never revealed to him that they were here to make sure his path within the Empire was smooth. With them no longer there, their roles have sowhat changed.
"And you five?" Li Yu asked. "You are elite shadows for the talented while being extrely talented yourself. How does one beco a ghost for the Court?"
Winter reached up and removed his mask. He appeared surprisingly young with sharp, angular features and eyes as pale and cold as glacial ice.
"I was raised in the Deep Frost Chasms," Winter said quietly, his voice lacking any inflection. "It is a lightless and freezing realm. It is where they train the elite infiltrators. From the mont I could walk, I was locked inside arrays. I had to learn how to completely erase my presence, my heartbeat and my Qi signature just to avoid the senior instructors' punishnts. I beca a ghost because the On Realm demands perfection from its shadows."
Autumn sat next to him. She pulled her mask away to reveal a beautiful but deeply lancholy face. Her dark eyes held a sadness that seed permanently etched into her features.
"I am the last daughter of the Vaelen line, a minor vassal family." Autumn shared softly. "A century ago, a rogue demonic sect managed to infiltrate our borders. They targeted the vulnerable outer vassal estates to draw attention away from the main stronghold. My family was slaughtered while I was hidden away in a secret vault. The rogue sect was eventually wiped out but I was entirely alone."
She raised her hand and a small wisp of dark shadow danced across her fingertips. "The Court took in and trained . My shadow bind technique is not just a martial art. It is the manifestation of my lingering grief. The shadows I control are a reflection of the family I lost."
Li Yu felt a pang of empathy as he too had lost all of his family mbers. He looked over at Solstice, who had been the one eagerly completing odd jobs all day for camp rits.
Solstice removed her mask, revealing a sharp and pragmatic face with a confident smirk.
"I grew up in the outer cultivator bazaars of the Eidolon territories," Solstice chuckled and was trying to break the heavy mood. "The On Realm is vast; we have massive populations that simply trade and survive. I was a street rat with a knack for Qi manipulation. I realized early on that the only way to climb out of the dirt was through the Court's rit system."
She picked up a piece of the spiced at and took a bite. "I don't have a tragic drive or a fatal flaw. I just like clear rules and asurable progress. I fought my way through the rigorous sect exams, earned my place in the stealth division and I intend to keep climbing. The place we are at now is a great opportunity. Contribution points earned are cultivation resources gained, no matter what realm we are in. It would be extrely difficult to enter such a place, you sure know people in high places."
"You are obsessed with ledgers," Spring laughed warmly as she pulled her own mask off. She had bright but wild eyes and a completely unkempt mane of green-tinted hair.
"I co from the Whispering Woods, the untad spirit forests on the eastern border of the empire," Spring explained. "It is a feral realm where the spiritual flora is just as deadly as the soul beasts. I was a tracker for the herb gathering pavilions. I spent my life hunting elusive targets for the sect's alchemists. My affinity for natural camouflage made a perfect fit for the elite stealth division. They brought into the inner Court to hunt rogue cultivators instead of beasts."
Finally, Sumr removed his mask. He was a large man, heavily muscled and covered in tribal brands. He looked more like a frontline brawler than soone who specializes in stealth.
"I was an enforcer for the border guard," Sumr grunted, his voice thick and aggressive. "My job was dealing with demonic incursions and crushing anyone foolish enough to test the Court's boundaries. But my physical size made a massive target and I couldn't out muscle every single beast or rogue elder that attacked the borders."
Sumr crossed his thick arms. "So, I adapted. I learned how to move so fast and strike so explosively that I effectively disappeared before my attacks landed. The stealth division noticed my explosive power and recruited . I am the shadow they send when subtlety fails and a target simply needs to be shattered."
The table fell quiet once more as the final story concluded.
Gart sat at the edge of the bench and was completely silent. The abrasive shark had listened to the tales of devotion, ancient sacrifice and more. His story was much more straight forward, he was a being who simply wanted to devour and grow stronger. It was his beast instincts and was what took him from being weak to being a ruler of a large territory in the Ferine Realm.
Li Yu looked at the seven Eidolon experts and now he understood them just a bit more. Everyone had their own story and what shaped who they were now, including himself. He wouldn’t try to rush things with them, it would seem that they would be with him for a very long ti. There was plenty of ti to develop friendship or at least the basic level of trust and true respect.
"Thank you for sharing," Li Yu said sincerely. He raised his cup of wine in a gesture of respect. "We all have our own reasons for being here and the On Realm forged you all into exceptional warriors. We will rely on each other until our paths separate."
Fenric raised his own cup and the rest of the retainers followed the motion.
"To survival." Fenric rumbled.
"To survival." The table echoed in unison.
The rest of the al was spent in a much lighter atmosphere. The heavy burden of their formal roles had lessened. They discussed the specifics of the camp, the different beasts roaming the desolate zones and the optimal ways to exploit the rit exchange system. Li Yu listened to their tactical discussions and offered his own insights when relevant.
When the food was finally gone and the plates were cleared, Li Yu stood up from the table. He felt much better than before. The doubts that had plagued him earlier in the evening were lessened and now there was a bit of eagerness to see what tomorrow brought. Hearing the stories of dedication and survival had reminded him of his own resilience.
He didn't need the camp to hold his hand or provide elegant guidance. If the instructors wanted to beat him into the dirt, he would simply endure it, adapt and forge his own strength from the pressure. The training thods here must clearly be effective because the army that Commander Tielen led were all fierce warriors.
"Get so rest," Li Yu instructed his team.
He walked back to his main living quarters and closed the doors.
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