Rubies and Rumors

Prologue

            Pilgrim Wu, former Master of the Moon Temple in city of Ilidan, fell to his knees on the stone path between the upper garden and the cave of sorrows. He grasped one of the stones on his string of prayer beads and rocked slowly back and forth. Then he fell unconscious.

Brother XeNg, whose task it was to accompany this silent penitent through the daily rounds of manual labour and prayer, tried to wake his charge with a brisk shake. When this did not work, he quickly checked the man's pulse and was alarmed by the erratic heartbeat. The greyish-blue tinge around the older man's lips was even more concerning. Brother XeNg waved over the younger monks working in the gardens to help get the Pilgrim Wu to the Temple-Under-the- Mountain's infirmary.

"I don't know what it could be. We were just on our way to the cave when he fell. I know he was badly injured when he came to us but he seemed just fine earlier."

The Healing Brother made a non-comital grunt and continued the examination. When he tried to pry Pilgrim Wu's hand loose from the loop of beads, he met firm resistance. The more effort he put into trying to lift the older man's fingers, the tighter the grip seemed to be. After struggling for another couple of minutes the Healing Brother muttered, "Once a Warrior-Monk, always a Warrior-Monk." He set jade pillars on the floor at each corner of the pallet and then started clearing up. When he noticed Brother XeNg fretting, he said, "Relax. Pilgrim Wu seems to be sending his strength through a crystal connection. If you want you can help me sing the anchors to help him to find his way back but there is no telling how long he will be out. Things have to be pretty serious on the other end or he would not have collapsed."

"Wait. He can send his strength out through crystals? I have never heard of something like this." Brother XeNg waved his arms around.

"It is not common. Not by a long shot. It is a higher art requiring a special bond between the practitioners, including the ability to tune stones for each other." The Healing Brother chuckled at Brother XeNg's obvious wonder. "Like I said - a higher art. I would guess not more than one in six Warrior-Monks would have the skill."

"But there has only ever been six Warrior-Monks. Are saying Pilgrim Wu. Wait. Really?" Brother XeNg studied his charge. He had always assumed the thick calluses on the older man's hands and feet had been earned working in the fields so had not looked too closely. If he was being honest with himself, he had assumed the man had escaped slavery or other kind of imprisonment and was now assigned to penance here under the mountain. Otherwise, the obvious scars from recent beatings made little sense, and even less now the Healing Brother identified him as one of the fiercest warriors in the land.

The mutterings of the old man in the cave of sorrows came back to Brother XeNg with a jolt. He had dutifully noted down the confessions to share with their spiritual advisor but now he had to wonder. Just who did the old man weep for and beg the gods to protect? When they finished singing the anchors Brother XeNg rushed back to the dormitory for his notes.

Pilgrim Wu had stayed silent through the first few months of penance in the cave. The first muttering Brother XeNg had noted down, were "Foolish, foolish boy. Saving me when I should have been saving him." This wasn't the clue he was looking for so he kept paging through his observations pausing on the note about the many days the Pilgrim stared intently at his prayer beads asking, "If I feel you, do you feel me, my boy, my prince? Can I keep you safe? Is your guardian on his way?" Brother XeNg remembered the hopeful tone in those words and how he thought the old man must be losing touch with reality. This short phase was followed by months of silent weeping. After that came the angry self-recriminations.

It was at this point Brother XeNg shifted how he took notes, keeping the tone but not the specifics of what Pilgrim Wu had said. The first muttering about a twice royal had come like a lightening bolt to a man from a northern province. Brother XeNg had been raised on a litany of grievances mixed with legends and prophecies centered on how his home province might gain more independence. Many of his relatives were not content to wait for the promised heir so took greater and greater chances in the quiet rebellion. He feared their path would lead to tragedy so was riveted by what he had heard from the old man.

"Why couldn't I just wait? What was the rush? The fates would reveal his true nature. A twice royal won't stay hidden forever, especially once his guardian arrives." Pilgrim Wu's cry echoed in the cave of sorrows. He went on like this for days. Each time adding another detail. "Was it curiosity or pride that made me seek proof? I should have known from the way he learned. It should have been enough. How foolish to not remember the traps. Ahh, but the way the Dragon and Phoenix danced. That was something, not enough to save us though. He was not mine to reveal. Now the palace will hunt him. Do they know he is on their doorstep? A champion in the making. It shouldn't matter how he does but I owe him so much. How many more would have been lost without his trick. I could not make the connections without him. How can I ever make it up to him or to my lost brothers?"

Brother XeNg sifted through these clues in light of what he had learned today. A former student of the moon temple, possibly training to be a champion. If the boy was twice royal, the southern palace would undoubtedly claim him. Factions from the old kingdoms would want to remove this pillar of unification while others would want to stop his guardian emerging.

The last time the land needed a guardian the fires that created the great dessert were still raging. Then came the great evil which sank the southern islands and poisoned the inland sea. Only then were the Accords written. Some would say they were penned with the blood of kings and peasants alike but it was the guardian and his prince who sealed the peace.

For his Brother XeNg's family, who served the northern court for generations, a proper heir would be nothing short of a miracle. The struggle for succession in both the north and south had weakened their country for too long. Ambitious warlords from the east were becoming a problem and their small country could not afford the Qin to the north to notice the weakened defenses.

However much they disliked the truce with the southern court, his family despised other occupiers even more. He wanted to bring them this nugget of hope but first he needed to see if he could find the boy himself. There must be ways to test a potential heir. That thought sparked another memory. He remembered his aunt telling him true born of either royal house can have special talents with crystals. He wondered if it was just such a talent who was now connected Pilgrim Wu and what trouble the boy might be in. What trouble they may all be in if the heavens had chosen to bring forth both an heir and a guardian.