Statera: The Balance of Yin and Yang

Initiation

My time in the library was mostly inconclusive, other than reading a lot more about Yin and Yang than we had covered in class, of which some was far out of my ability to understand. There was basically nothing of much about reiki at all, other than the fact that it had been banned because of some kind of genocide we would learn more about during our History lessons. The rest of the week passed with a blur.

Other than Enki, we had also made friends (maybe exchanged names was more accurate) with Hera, the girl with fiery red hair and purple eyes, and her roommate Sophia, the youngest congee, during our History class. Though, other than occasional conversations during meals and classes, we'd not engaged very much with them.

Besides, Elora and I had gotten slightly frazzled from rushing assignments since we knew we wouldn't be able to focus on any work on the weekends, what with the Initiation happening. Not only were there many assignments, the deadlines were also short, with most of them due the next Moon-day.

The "little party" at Aaryan's residence was happening today.

It was apparently quite an occasion, depending on the hosting congee of the year. From what I knew, Aaryan came from a wealthy family, and it was to be expected that it would not be a quiet event. Quite the opposite, in fact.

I rifled through my closet, looking for the one dress I had the foresight to bring. As I changed into it, I bit my lip, pulling self-consciously at the waistband. Nope, we are not thinking about this now, I thought, as I firmly shut the closet door.

"Theia what's taking you so long! The Zidan is coming in five minutes, we need to go now!" Elora called, rapping on my door.

"I'm coming!" I yelled back, giving my reflection one last dissatisfied glance.

Elora was stunning. She'd not brought any formal dresses, but her jumpsuit was so fitting, showing off her athletic build, and complimenting her bronzed skin.

"You look great, Elora," I said with a smile.

~

The moment we reached, I was ready to leave.

Aaryan's house was not far from the Congregate, which sat on the edge of the capital of the country, Chuong. That meant that his house was properly inside the capital. Which meant that he was rich. Senno's blessed cotton socks kind of rich.

There was no question that Aaryan knew how to host an Initiation. The music was deafening, pounding through state-of-the-art Yang speakers, probably the latest invention. I could hardly hear Elora trying to shout over the commotion.

Two long tables of food lined the room, and there was a temporary bar set up in the middle of everything. Although the room was sizeable, it was not empty. The other congees who had taken the earlier Zidan had arrived a while ago and were already in the swing of things. Surprisingly, most congees were there, despite Aaryan's notoriety.

Maybe he'd coerced them, I thought, but quickly dismissed the idea. Just because I didn't like the guy didn't mean I could make judgments on his character. Though that would hardly stop me from making them. Senno, the music and number of people were disrupting my inner peace. I needed a drink.

I gestured over to the bar to Elora, and then at her to ask if she wanted anything, but she shook her head. I shrugged and weaved my way through to the bar, dodging a few flushed congees.

Enki was already at the bar, casually swirling a glass tumbler of some lilac coloured liquid, as he stood next to Juno, his roommate, as well as two female congees I knew to be Rou and Kass. When he saw me, he lifted the glass in a toast, and drained half of it.