Motu Proprio (The King and the Neko) - Volume HaiYin

The Fourth Heir

The Inner Sanctum of the Ko Tower is a place of meditation and reverence, a state which the High Priest Yang Meng jealously guards. A small altar was located in a quiet, covered niche off the central gardens, the ingress and egress managed by acolytes who for today have been instructed to let in only the Imperial Heirs.

The hour is still early, but Yang Meng is already lighting incense and votive candles, the scent vying with the winter blooms out in the garden, the splash of colors punctuating the white landscape. He pauses with his task, as he remembers the blooms that decorated Gu Wei Ting's funereal barge. Yang Meng thinks his winters from here on out will include that memory, of having to prepare an Emperor on his journey to the Deep End.

It reminds him of his current duty, to usher in the new monarch. And to prepare them for the Crown Trials is to bless them, and cleanse them, starting the day with meditation.

First Princess Jin Lulu is the first to arrive, taken aback at the view of the High Priest dressed only in a thin, floor length white toga, a sash with a gold clip over his shoulder the only other garment he wore. Yang Meng meets her by the token entrance so he knew she wasn't aware yet that the alcove is relatively warm.

"Reverence," Jin Lulu greeted him with a curtsy, careful not to touch the High Priest - Yang Meng had become one at a young age by being the most powerful touch-telepath in all of Wanqiang. It is said that the High Priest's touch can either heal or kill, and revered by tradition for the bridge they maintained with the Oracle - an ancient artifact that recorded the past and revealed the future.

"First Princess," Yang Meng greeted her with a voice and enthusiasm more appropriate to someone younger than his age, and he is only slightly younger than Gu Hai or Bai Luoyin. The soft brown curls on his head bounced in time to the short bow he returned for her curtsy. "Come in where it is warm, while we wait for the men to arrive."

Right, Jin Lulu mentally snorted. She thought she'd be the one late, the way her toilette went, not expecting her brothers to be later still. She did welcome the warmth in the alcove, deciding to take off her fur jacket and reveal an off shoulder toga she wore, also white and floor-length, intricate golden armbands snaking over her upper arms signifying her rank as First Princess.

She watched Yang Meng continuing silently in his tasks. At least until the quiet was shattered with the arrival of Gu Hai and Bai Luoyin. She had to giggle when she peeked out the entrance to find the two bickering over something, mostly consisting of Gu Hai trying to cover Bai Luoyin in the Second Prince's blue cape, while the Second Prince insisted on throwing it over his back and show off the amethyst studded silver armbands and gauntlets he wore along with a short white toga. Gu Hai was in a similar outfit, a knee length toga, with simple gold armbands and gauntlets. Being the show off that he is, he wore no cape to ward off the cold.

And then she had to quiet down, as Yang Meng sighed and shook his head at the disturbance as he turned and waited for the brothers at the entrance.

"I am sure the Second Prince will find it warm in here, First Prince," Yang Meng greeted them, in a slightly mature voice than when he greeted Jin Lulu. As was implied before, he jealously guards the Inner Sanctum's state of meditation and reverence.

Gu Hai prudently swallowed whatever it was he wanted to say and just politely greeted Yang Meng. "Reverence," him and Bai Luoyin greeted.

"Come on then, out of the cold with you two," Yang Meng just greeted back, not needing to stand in ceremony where these two friends are concerned. The four of them had grown up together, in and around the castle, and while their adult selves are now divided by ranks and responsibilities, their bond as childhood friends remained. It was what made them effectively work together despite their different roles.