Abide With Me

Captured

Lan Zhan was tired, hot and sweaty from hours of swinging his pick axe on rocky soil. Loading the pittance that gave up its grip on the mother rock and trickled off, he shuffled over and emptied the metal basket into the barrow. There was a sudden blinding spasm of pain that squeezed his heart and as he fell to his knees his only thought was " Wei Ying!" Lan Zhan, Best Cultivator of the five clans, was a superb soldier. As an unparalleled swordsman, he had experienced fewer injuries than others of his standing. His memorable disagreement with the Lan Clan's Discipline Whip, however, was legend! Nobody had survived even 10 strokes of that whip. Lan Zhan had lived after 33, because he wanted Wei Ying! He wanted Wei Ying more than his place in the Clan, more than his life, more than his next breath! And Someone, somewhere, had answered his 13-year litany!

So in spite of the pain that was darkening the edges of his vision, he put one foot in front of the previous and kept repeating the mantra of survival, "Wei Ying, Wei Ying, Wei Ying!" His lungs refused to inflate, his throat choked, his eyes were wet and there was a sudden pressure inside his skull, Lori whispered sibilantly, "Lan Zhaaaan..... look up, look at me, I'll make it better!" Shutting his eyelids with finality, Lan Zhan once again beat the insidious sweet-talker Alkonost* and sealed his meridians before falling to the ground.

A distinct chill passed through the cavern and even Lori's feathers had to be fluffed out to ward off the cold. Two beavers lifted him and placed him in front of Lori. A voice that could freeze lava rebounded off the stone walls, "Leave him to me!" The two beavers stepped back respectfully.

An imposingly tall Gryphon* strode out from a tunnel. The head was that of an Eagle, sharp-eyed, missing nothing, alert to the slightest riff of air. The beak looked to be made of pure gold, so dazzling bright, was it! Huge golden plumes cascaded into gigantic powerful wings that could probably knock down two grown men at once. A deep tan chest descended into a lion's torso, muscled forelegs, and hind legs. The tail was scaly and ended in a paddle.

"Well?" the Gryphon questioned, obviously not used to being denied answers even though those in question were insensate! Before sparks erupted from the eagle eyes, Lori swept a wing ostentatiously over Lan Zhan's prone form. "He is unconscious, with severe pain in his core! And yet he has been working for but a few hours."

"Curious! This is the powerful Foreigner from the East who can fly on a sword?" Lori answered him with a shrug. The voice grew colder, more impatient. "I don't have all day! What is the problem?" 

"I can't read him" admitted Lori, speaking softly. "He seems to feel little!" It was at this point that Lan Zhan's core surged and caused him to sputter a breath. His eyes remained closed. He realised that he had clenched his fist as he fell and that his mind link to Wei Ying through their rings was active. As he sensed Wei Ying's sound physical and mental state, a huge wave of relief swept over him. Emotionally, Wei Ying seemed to be once again on the edge of a cliff, but this time burning with a rage that promised a dozen-deaths-a-minute!!

Knowing Wei Ying couldn't sense him with his meridians locked, Lan Zhan surreptitiously clenched his fists again and poured all of his love for his Love into a single "Wei Ying" inside his head.

On a rocky floor, trembling with unparalleled rage at unknown perpetrators, the Yiling Patriarch's eyes blazed red and thick tendrils of dark smoke began floating out of Chenqing. SaMi made to take the dangerous-looking smoking flute out of Wei Ying's hands but a glare stopped her. But it was a silvery voice that reassured the youngsters, "Just watch, don't touch, ok?" Both teens nodded, wide-eyed! The Yiling Patriarch threw back his head and opened his eyes fully. It was a breathtakingly, terrifyingly beautiful sight!

Ebony hair floated eerily in the non-existent breeze. Raven and blood-red robes accentuated the delicate bones and ivory skin of the face that was now brow-knit in intense concentration. The eyes, familiar but red, were terrifying. The little smile that played above plush lips, however, made the kids very glad that this Personification of Absolute Power was, thankfully, on their side! Even so, Pranith unobtrusively edged closer to SaMi. SaMi flipped her hair, at her blasé best, and said, "They messed with Lan Zhan Ge! Baaad move!"