“Ah, Lord Balin’s ward, yes! I do remember indeed.” Lord Tanno pulled his boot free from a stirrup and dismounted his horse. “Surely you remember my children, Tomei and Tomar, and my lady wife? This is my own ward, Taowren Nightingale.” He gestured to his nephew, who made Tomar flinch in frustration by greeting Willow with a smile and a wave. “I trust preparations are going well for his Lordship?”
Willow greeted each member of the group with a gracious nod. “Very well indeed, your lordship. There will be a banquet tonight to welcome our esteemed guests. You and your party are among the first Clans to arrive, so it will be a small affair, but as our numbers grow, so too shall the festivities.”
Willow stepped back to the mighty gates and, without taking her eyes off the travellers, gave the ancient timbers a single, gentle knock. Their massive, pendulous weight swung open in an instant on what must have been expertly oiled hinges. Taowren marvelled at the precise balance that must have been required for such a feat – these Okan knew about more than just magic.
Lord Tanno and Willow exchanged pleasantries, as everyone dismounted and brought their horses through on foot. Taowren’s eyes scanned the expanse around him hungrily, taking in as much of his surroundings as possible; this place was nothing like the flat, rolling hills of home. The Okan Keep was set at the foot of the Heavenly Peaks—a group of mountains famous for being portals into the Spirit Realm. The roads here were much wider than down in the South, as were the heavy gates they passed through. Taowren marvelled at the buildings that clung to the mountains’ foot, each seemingly bigger than the last, built from a mixture of great white stones and dark wooden panelling. Some looked like their foundations had been cut straight into the mountain! No residence had fewer than two floors and some had three or even four, topped with roofs of black slate that towered up towards the peaks themselves. His head felt like it was on a swivel, going up, down, left and right, every direction gifting his eager mind with new information.
“Taown. Will you be joining us?” His uncle’s voice jerked him out of his reverie as he realised he had come to a complete stop in the middle of the roadway, so overcome was he by his surroundings, and the rest of the group were a good twenty paces ahead. Willow was watching him with a faint, but amused smile on her face.
“Ah... Yes, sorry! Coming, Uncle! I mean Lord Tanno!” Taowren gripped his horse’s bridle and jogged hurriedly up to them. Tomar had to turn away and cover his face with his hands, fighting the urge to groan.
As they walked through the impressive vista, they saw white-haired Okan Clan members passing in ones and twos, who each nodded or bowed in greeting. These people were almost a race in and of themselves, Taowren thought; all of them were tall, androgynously elegant, and all possessed sharp eyes that stared with an otherworldly intensity at the passing visitors.
“The stables are just up ahead,” Willow said warmly, glancing over her shoulder at the group, “Then I shall show you to your rooms.”
As their elders went ahead, Taowren hung back with his cousins. “You really weren’t kidding about them all being Gifted, huh…”
“Why would we joke about that?” Tomar hissed back.
They turned a corner through a set of much simpler gates into the stable courtyard. Before them was a pen of mountain goats, each taller than a man with great curving horns wider than Taowren’s armspan. The fierce looking beasts seemed docile, however, and paid no mind to the guests as they were led past the pen and into the large wooden stables where the horses would be kept. Inside, four stalls were already taken, but the remaining twenty or so were empty. Taowren sniffed the air. None of the familiar smells of the Nightingale stables were present – no horsey smells, no oiled leather or ancient manure. He could only see a single fly circling above one of the occupied stalls. Very unlike home.
“Does your clan not keep horses at all?” Taowren asked as Willow guided him and his mare into one box. “Why is that? How do you get around? Do you walk everywhere? Doesn’t that get very tiring very quickly?”
Willow hesitated, then smiled again as she shook her head.
“There is no real need—the mountain goats are better suited to the terrain here.” She answered politely. “The mountain roads are treacherous for the long legs of a horse. Our goats are renowned for their steady gait.”
Taowren’s life goal instantly became clear – ride a goat! He opened his mouth to ask, but the elegant Okan scion had already turned to address the others.
“There’s a tack room at the far end which has tools should anything need mending during your stay. Your stable hands will be guesting on the upper floors here. The stairs are just there.” She pointed to a wooden twisting staircase close to the backroom door. “Currently we have just our own goat herders and the Tien clan’s stable hands with us. The Hanlen clan also arrived this morning, but their mounts and staff have been settled in the town.”
Lord Tanno nodded in response to this, and then gestured that his stable hands make themselves at home. Each rider could see to their own horse for now.
“I will arrange for your bags to be brought through to your rooms,” Willow continued, before surprising Taowren by rolling up her sleeves and picking up a bucket of oats to feed the horses. “I am sure Lord Nightingale remembers we do not keep many staff due to our proximity with the Heavenly Peaks. I hope this will not be too much of an inconvenience.”
“Not at all, I remember well.” Lord Tanno responded as he removed the saddle from his horse. The old soldier was no stranger to tending his own steed. Taowren blinked as he realised that every single person they had passed had been a white haired member of the Okan family itself, without a servant in sight.
“Is it really that dangerous to live near the Peaks?” He asked, as Willow handed him a scoop of oats.
“Ah, is this your first time visiting the mountains?”
“It is. They’re beautiful.”
“They truly are. But for the non-Gifted, the temptation to explore the mountains is always high—and, well, that’s a very quick way to end up as a spirit’s lunch!” Willow laughed, “But actually, it’s more because if anyone were to have the Gift and not know it, they may end up bonding to a beast without understanding what that entails, and… Losing themselves in the bond. It’s rare for the magic to manifest in common folk, but does occasionally happen, so the risk of having outside staff is high. If the bond is unstable then the spirit too becomes unstable, and it can lead to the deviation of both parties’ souls, which can turn them into vengeful spirits or demons.”
Taowren’s mouth formed an “O” shape as he listened, enraptured by Willow’s explanation. The thought never crossed his mind that Tomar had explained this to him at least three times on their journey.
“It also goes against our laws to injure or slay a spirit unless it becomes a demon, so we have to remain vigilant and make sure that doesn’t happen.” Willow finished, carefully sealing the remaining oats away in a large hessian sack. “Would you like me to show you to your rooms?”
“If you have the time.” Lord Tanno nodded his head as he patted his horse on the neck affectionately. It chuffed happily, causing his beard to wave in its warm breath.
“I certainly do!”
The Okan Clan’s visitors’ residences were nestled between the rest of the grounds and a series of small, lush gardens. The gardens were filled with interweaving stone paths lined by stone lanterns on low walls and dotted with maple trees that rustled gently in the wind. The guests’ residences themselves were set up to look like a small elegant village, with each one having a suit of rooms and its own private courtyard. The walls matched the rest of the residence in their towering sophisticated white stone, and the entrance to each was guarded by two fearsome stone wolves on either side of the arching gates.
Inside, the Nightingale guests found a central main hall, which served as the focal point; it was adorned with traditional artworks of mountain spirits along all of its walls, whilst multiple sliding wooden lattice doors led to the private bedroom chambers. Willow assigned rooms to each of the guests and presented them with a tightly rolled scroll bound with a white ribbon. Unfurled, it revealed a small, neatly inked map that had the various communal areas of the Okan residence neatly annotated onto it.
“The main welcome banquet is tonight, although there will be another feast later in the week for any guests who have been delayed,” she explained, pointing to the grand dining hall on the map. “Tonight’s festivities will begin at the Hour of the Dog. The Hanlen and Tien clans have already arrived, and we are expecting the Inyue, Mizei, Drake and Colt clans to arrive before the banquet today also, and perhaps another one or two more clans.”
“Any word from the Arkli Clan?” Tomar asked casually.
“Ah, we have received word that Lord Agren’s health has taken a turn for the worse; they won’t be attending this year I’m afraid.” Replied Willow.
“Oh.” Tomar immediately began to scowl but didn’t say anything else.
“We shall see you later today then, Young Mistress Willow.” Lady Quin took the scroll and carefully rolled it up before placing it on a table by the grand front doors. “Thank you for seeing us to our rooms.”
“If you need anything else, please do not hesitate to ask.” Willow bowed deeply in farewell and left the Nightingale Clan representatives alone.
Taowren had been given one of the ground floor rooms and immediately strode in to investigate. It was a fine space with a wide wooden bed against one wall, a large latticed window on another, and a wardrobe and chest of drawers carved of dark wood across the third. Heavy drapes hung before the wide window, which overlooked a small garden littered with maple trees and flowerbeds. It was all quite picturesque but with his luggage still not yet delivered – and nothing interesting to be found in the wardrobe or under the bed - Taowren soon felt his legs itching to explore.
Slinking through the wide doorway, he made a beeline for his cousin’s neighbouring bedroom with a smile.
“Want to show me around, my dearest Tomei?” His tone was honey-sweet as he leaned against her door frame, with twinkling dark eyes and a wide smile. “You can introduce me to all the prettiest lordlings and ladies.”
He had barely finished his sentence before he felt a light thwack on the back of his head.
“Don’t you start already,” Tomar pushed him into the room from behind. “If we’re introducing you to people, you’d better not be spouting nonsense and acting like a flirt.”
“I’ll be on my best behaviour.” Taowren said, absolutely lying through his teeth. Tomar squinted at him, not believing his words in the slightest, but then sighed and caved in all the same. Evidently, Taowren wasn’t the only one who wanted to stretch his legs after so many days on horseback.
“Come on, then.” Tomar gestured towards the main hall impatiently, “it won’t be long before we have to come back and get ready for the dinner tonight.”
The trio gathered themselves, said goodbye to the Nightingale Lord and Lady with promises to return soon, and then set out to wander around the grounds.
“Where to first, then?” Taowren asked, happy to give his cousins the lead, as they were already acquainted with the grounds.
“Let’s go through the gardens and see if we can get into the Peony Courtyard,” Tomei said, linking arms with both her brother and cousin and leading them along the stone pathways that led towards the centre of the main Okan residence.
The grounds were all immaculate, full of winding paths and small, meandering streams with ornamental wooden bridges arching over them. They passed not one but five or six small pavilions with arching tiled roofs, through a number of moon gates, and dotted everywhere were intricately carved stone sculptures of spirits and beasts from legends about the Heavenly Peaks. Taowren marvelled at his surroundings. The gardens were truly opulent, yet tasteful, and full of natural traditional beauty. It was obvious even to Taowren why Tomei had been so excited to return to the Triennial Summer Summit and see the grounds.
“So, what’s the who’s-who of the clans—who do I need to know about and what do I need to know about them?” Taowren asked after a while, and then impishly added: “Who’s the best looking? Who’s most handsome?”
“Didn’t I already say don’t start with that nonsense?” Tomar shot him a warning look.
“Well, in terms of importance—you already know Lord Balin’s the leader of the Okan Clan. You’ll meet him at the dinner, though he never says much to us—he only really pays attention to the elders.” Tomei said, before pausing and tapping her lips with the back of her folding fan, “His daughter is Bayfolin. You met her back home, remember?”
“Yep, I remember,” Taowren nodded sagely, “Very handsome woman.”
“Stop saying that about her, will you?” Tomar hissed at him from the other side of Tomei.
“Bayfolin’s younger half-brother is Brayandli.” Tomei continued, “He’s our age and also very handsome, but he doesn’t talk much. Bayfolin’s much more personable than both him and Lord Balin. They make up the head family of the Okan Clan.”
“Brayandli’s dull as dirt,” Tomar put in, “But he’s the Okan heir, so don’t you go annoying or offending him.”
“You, stop saying that too! Brayandli isn’t dull, he’s just… Composed. Like his father. You wouldn’t call Lord Balin dull, would you?” Tomei waved her fan in her brother’s face warningly.
“Not to his face.” Tomar muttered, batting the fan away but clearly somewhat cowed by his sister’s remark. “Lord Balin is very… Disciplined. Definitely don’t annoy him either, Taown. I’m deathly serious. Don’t even talk to him if you can avoid it. He could flatten an entire army with one look when he’s in a bad mood; he’s a powerful man and not one to be crossed.”
Tomei frowned at her brother, then continued her lecture: “The Tien clan have Lord Weimir and his wife Candlei. They’re the richest of the clans, and they control most of the inland trade. They have two daughters and one son, but he’s Gifted, as is Lady Candlei, so it will be Lord Weimir, his two daughters here for the Summit.” She paused, trying to recall something. “Wait, isn’t Mobai in his twenties now? He may have already bonded with a spirit, so he might actually be here this time… So Lady Candlei be also?”
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