There was peace in Banua and across the lands of the Naran horde, and all threats posed on the Northwestern frontier of the Zhou Empire had been neutralized. And yet Bo-Jing brooded still on the horrors he had confronted when possessed by the spirit of Hosadas. In both the looking glass, he saw the haggard face of a man who had been ready to give up his honor for power. He was haunted by his shortcomings and yearned to return to Angel Island, the place where he remembered making the right choice, even when confronted with the threat of death.
To reach Angel Island, Bojing knew he needed to return to
the Master’s Palace, where a teleportation room could whisk him away to his
desired location. But first, he and his friends had to traverse the rugged
terrain of Hunza. Salt, Tetsukichi, and Bangqiu agreed to accompany him. Salt
offered the use of her enchanted house, allowing her and several others to hide
themselves in a comfortable apartment that shrunk to the size of a walnut and
placed in Bo-Jing’s pocket. Bo-Jing, meanwhile wearing his ring of invisibility
and mounted on Tse-Hami, his jet black khimori, could traverse Hunza’s night
sky with great speed and with little risk of being seen.
Their first major stop in Hunza was Magden, a town in ruins.
The once-thriving settlement lay in tatters, a testament to several seasons of depredation.
The culprit, a fearsome dragon, had wreaked havoc before retreating to its
lair.
Bojing and his friends tracked the beast to its lair and
engaged in a fierce battle. They killed the dragon, skinned it, and claimed its
treasure. They considered further exploring the dragon’s expansive lair, but
noticed signs that they were being surveilled by invisible forces. Considering the risk and remembering their
mission, they pressed on, avoiding Gilgat and other towns to prevent further
conflict.
Upon reaching the Master’s Palace, they were met with a
scene of devastation. The once-beautiful fields were now scarred, and wyverns
circled menacingly above the damaged towers. The sight was grim, but the
urgency of their quest drove them forward.
Salt, in a burst of creativity, transformed herself into a
khimori—allowing both her and Bo-Jing to navigate the chaos from the sky. As
they approached the palace, the damage became more apparent. Inside, they
encountered a bizarre conflict: optics, sentient but faceless beings of light
and color, were engaged in a chaotic skirmish with a group of white apes.
Navigating through the mayhem, they finally reached the
teleportation room. As they neared their goal, a burst of white fire erupted,
blocking their path. Quick thinking and teamwork allowed them to evade the
flames and reach the teleportation room, where they activated the magic that
would take them to Angel Island.
Arriving on the island, they found a group of men working
diligently to repair a ship. The scene was one of industrious hope amidst the
backdrop of the island’s ethereal beauty. Bojing, feeling a mix of awe and
trepidation, approached the angel who presided over the island.
The angel greeted him with a serene smile. “Come back again
when you are ready to stay,” he said. “Keep your sword; it is not to punish you
but to guide you.”
With that, Bojing felt a profound sense of relief and
purpose. The harrowing aspects of his previous encounters, including the
unnerving meeting with Horadas, seemed to fade. He was restored to a state of
normalcy, ready to embrace whatever challenges lay ahead with renewed strength
and clarity.
