haven - zb1

5

Finally ready to enter the palace, all nine of them paused to gape in awe at the majesty of the great, ancient building. The palace was completely formed with natural materials, it didn't look man-made, as if nature had played a huge hand in the crafting of the structure. Greenery crawled across the roof, dangling teasingly before them. Despite the age of the building, the tiles and beans were all of vibrant colours, untouched and unchanged.

Then, Yujin asked something that was on all their minds, "Are we alone here?"

"We are," Jiwoong said after a beat, "Just us and...spirits." Before anyone could voice their confusion, Jiwoong stepped forward to push open the main door, behind a sprawling hall lay, of dark lacquered wood. The room was lit with a combination of sunlight filtering from wide windows and candles clustered along the sides of the wall. And it was empty, save for a strange small glowing critter that was rolling across the spotless floor.

"Spirits," Jiwoong said, unfazed, while varying sounds of screams and cooing exploded behind him. Yujin gasped and headed towards the spirit, which yelped and, with inhumane speed, vanished through the window. As the nine slowly started to explore the hall, Taerae paused and turned to Jiwoong.

"You look like you've been here before."

"I have."

Surprised, Taerae's eyes widened but Jiwoong did not meet his gaze. He looked pensive and wistful, but composed himself, only giving a slight nod to Taerae, "Let's meet here in an hour, we should start training."

Then, wordlessly, he joined Quanrui, who was standing at a corner, bored, with their things. Together, the duo ducked through one doorway and walked without looking back at the others.

Those that still lingered stopped to study the various doorways, where the names of the four Houses were carved into the wood. Fire was on the right, water on the left, and earth and air in the centre. After a moment of silence, Taerae informed the rest of Jiwoong's suggestion, before he dragged Gunwook away from the House of water members who had struck up an animated conversation. As the number of people dwindled down, they all split up to retreat through their respective doorways.

-

"Nice room," Gyuvin quipped as he and Yujin reached their section of the Palace. Overlooking a garden and swathed with gauzy fabric, the small airy hall they had was more than adequate for the two of them, furnished with study tables, couches and beds. It was very quiet and serene, a calm before the storm.

Yujin gazed at the still garden, eyes lighting up when spirits started tumbling from bushes or emerging from stones. Gyuvin noticed this, and smiled, "You like them, hm?" Unable to tear his eyes away from the little spirits, Yujin nodded, "We've never seen anything like these." Plucking Yujin's fan from the bed where he tossed it, gently tapping it against Yujin's head.

His expression turned serious, "Yujin ah. We don't know how strong they are, and we don't know if we can trust them. We have to be careful, okay? I might not be able to protect you all the time."

"Don't worry! I'll be okay. I can take care of myself." He flicked his fan open and smiled, trying to ease the anxiety Gyuvin was very apparently feeling. Gyuvin exhaled slowly, managing a shaky smile. "Okay. Okay."

-

"Quanrui-"

Before Jiwoong could finish his warning, Quanrui threw himself onto a plush bed in their room. "You're not clean," Jiwoong sighed, but turned his attention to unpacking their things. Quanrui stared up at their ceiling, where swaths of red fabric were artfully draped.

"You seem nervous," Quanrui remarked, not condescending nor concerned. Jiwoong was removing a long metal spear from his trunk, and he froze slightly, before shaking his head. "That's what you want to talk about?"

"It has not been so much of us talking about it and more of me making wild guesses and seeing your reaction." Quanrui jerked up suddenly to snatch a second spear from the trunk, his thumb brushing the smooth surface to ensure it was unscratched.

"You don't have to tell me about it. But if there's anything that you know that could speed up this process, or," His eyes darkened, "If there's something dangerous here, you must tell me. I, and the rest of them, of course, deserve to know too."

For a moment, the two silently worked, unpacking, polishing their weapons and taking in their surroundings. The sun above shone angrily, and time seemed to move strangely before Jiwoong gestured that it was time to go.

Before Quanrui could step in front of him, Jiwoong held a finger up to stop him. "Quanrui," Jiwoong's voice was stern and cold, "After this, all the heirs will start showing off. Don't be too tempted. You must be careful and you must keep your temper in check. For your safety and theirs."

Quanrui paused, as if preparing a scalding response, but he only nodded in agreement. With that, they both set off.

The House of water heirs had already found the training ground and were not slacking off the slightest. Zhang Hao took the centre, where he stood, eyes shut, with a thin, sleek sword held by his side. Then, his eyes flew open, and he moved, as if he were dancing, his blade slashing through the air smoothly. As he moved, droplets of water beaded around the sword, following his movements, fusing together to form bigger droplets. Finally, he had enough water to form a huge sheet that spread over the entire training camp. He held the water there in the air for a while, then lowered his sword and the water came raining down, in slow, gentle mist.

Hanbin clapped slowly in admiration, "Wah, this is the fastest you've done that in a while." Zhang Hao laughed, bashful, before he noticed the arrival of the House of fire's heirs. "Good to see you," Zhang Hao greeted, "I realised we may not have introduced ourselves. I'm Zhang Hao."

"Our oldest," Hanbin teased, before saying, "I'm Hanbin. Our youngest is Woohyun." Jiwoong greeted them with a friendly smile, but still fresh in everyone's minds was his comment on the rankings.

Since the heirs have never met, the rankings were discussed and decided by the elders of their Houses. Ultimately, the rankings were flawed, but the best way to determine the strengths of the next generation. Additionally, the rankings were not openly revealed, even the heirs are not usually aware of their rankings.

Luckily, before the awkwardness could be further deepened, the last four appeared, walking side by side leisurely as they talked and joked. Training shall now commence.