Chapter 216 - Quiet Machinations

A great deal of noise, music and cheering filled the blossoming streets of Noga City. The sky was a brilliant blue, filled with towering, fluffy white cumulous clouds. The scent of pollen and street food floated on a crisp mid spring breeze.

Praise Lord Noga! Blessings of peace and prosperity to Nian Xing and her people!

Today was the first day of the Five Kings Festival, a two week festival that celebrated the victory of the original Lord Noga over the invading countries from the west, south and east. 

It was a festival to remember the long, thousand-year history of the nation. To remember the blood and sacrifices of Nian Xing’s people and to celebrate their stalwart and free-spirited nature. 

It was a chance for all the villages and towns scattered across the country to visit and take part in the biggest celebrations of the year. And despite the troubles in the Chenmai forest, this year was just as busy and crowded as ever. The bustling Tye-An marketplace was a sea of people packed shoulder to shoulder, spilling out across the whole city center with stalls and hawkers selling goods from across the province and beyond. 

The center of the town had been cleaned up nicely. The damage from the night of living vines two weeks previous had been repaired. From the street level the massive black claw that towered over the forest to the southeast couldn’t be seen.

The ministry had done a good job of covering up the troubles that had plagued the city. The music and jovial spirit played at the heart of the locals, causing them to forget about the tragedies and hardship they’d experienced. And if not forget, then at least put aside those problems, just for a little bit.

The newest young member of the Pearl Lotus Society, Zwei Xing walked among the crowds, watching them with a subdued expression. The nineteen year old was dressed in a clean white long sleeved cotton shirt and grey slacks. His medium length black hair was messy and partly covered his eyes, giving him a lazy look.

He walked at a casual pace, looking like he was perhaps killing time while waiting to meet up with friends. He took his time, walking somewhat aimlessly through the various downtown city blocks, slowly making his way toward the city center.

The tall, steeply pointed spire of the Tye-An Cathedral gradually grew taller and closer as Zwei slowly made his way toward the landmark. The massive stone building was unlike any other building in the city, with an uneven surface that was covered in strange geometric protrusions. The thin central spire rose up one hundred fifty meters above the ground, a needle covered in spurs that pierced the heavens.

When he was younger, Zwei hadn’t thought much about the building. It was strange, but that was because it was old. As a child that was enough of an explanation.

Now, though, he viewed it in a different light.

A darkness churned within his mind. A set of memories and experiences that weren’t his own had been passed onto him by a man named Locke who was now deceased.

Perhaps a more accurate way of describing it was that Locke had tried to invade his mind in a last-ditch attempt to survive. Zwei had defeated the weakened psyche-attuned Exalted and absorbed a portion of his sarira, thus becoming an Exalted himself.

It was a bit messed up, perhaps, that Zwei had now taken it upon himself to fill the shoes of the man who tried to kill him.

Yet here he was.

He approached the Tye-An Cathedral from the side, entering through a lofty set of wooden doors. The candle-lit halls were packed with people as well, with visitors making their way to the main hall to offer their prayers to Lord Noga as part of the regular festival activities. 

Zwei patiently shuffled his way through the crowd, passing the doors into the main hall and making his way to one of the smaller chapels further within the cathedral.

He found himself in a medium sized hall with a dozen long rows of pews, arranged in three columns. A number of priests were at the altar, where a number of ceremonial gongs and drums had been set up. Calm, reverberating vibrations filled the air as the priests performed for the visitors. Since this was a smaller chapel deeper in the building, the pews were fairly empty.

Zwei scanned the room quietly, spotting a lone figure with ash grey hair sitting in a dark corner of the room. He quietly made his way over, sitting just behind and to the side of the figure.

This young man sat in a thoughtful position with his eyes absent-mindedly watching the ceremony at the front of the room. He wore the sharp grey uniform of the Noga Police force.

Finn Mackenzie had set the meeting up, sending a discreet message to Zwei through Sansen Zhao, the affluent tycoon ally of the Pearl Lotus Society. The cathedral was a public place, easy for both of them to meet discreetly, while also being firmly within Lord Noga’s region of control.

“You’re still on the force?” Zwei said softly, in a tone low enough that only the two of them could hear, “With the way things are, I’d have thought they’d have locked you up.”

“In fact, they promoted me.” Finn replied without looking back.

“Congratulations.” Zwei gave a perfunctory praise, “Should I call you ‘sir’, now?”

“You’re still officially on the force, at least on paper. You can join my team if you decide to come back.” Finn paused briefly before adding, “I wouldn’t recommend it, though.”

“Wasn’t planning on it.” Zwei said.

The brassy ring of a gong sounded through the chamber as one of the priests started to chant a soft prayer while softly jingling a set of bells in a slow, even rhythm. 

Zwei waited for the gong to quiet down before speaking again, “Do you know about the monks’ ritual tonight?”

“Yes.” Finn replied, “I’m not concerned. Chief Luan’s team is running security. If the monks try to actually pull something off, we’ll be able to stop them long before the ritual gets underway.”

“Why not confiscate the ritual items ahead of time, just prevent it completely?”

“It’s complicated.” Finn sighed under his breath as he tried to decide how much to share, “There’s too many eyes on us right now.”

Zwei nodded subtly. He was well aware of the moles in the police force. After all, he’d investigated and exposed Chief Bear himself. Even though Chief Bear was now dead, Finn’s actions were still restricted, which meant there were still corrupt actors in powerful positions in the force.

“Just in case Chief Luan can’t stop it, we’ll be prepared to act as well.” Zwei said.

“It won’t be necessary. I’ll also be in the area.” Finn replied, “If you let me know your plans I’ll do what I can to assist.”

“I’ll be in touch.” Zwei said, shifting in his seat to stand up.

“Wait.” Finn turned his head slightly, casting a glance over to Zwei for the first time, “The last time we saw each other, back in Eckert Way.”

Finn scanned the room discreetly to make sure nobody was nearby, “…You said this was bigger Gantt, bigger than Lord Noga… What did you mean by that?”

Zwei sat back down, a dark look settling in his eyes, “Are you aware of the Calamity Mandate?”

Upon hearing those words, subtle whispers echoed in Finn’s ears from somewhere in the room. Finn’s brows furrowed as he shook his head subtly.

“There are a set of laws of the Exalted world, known as the celestial mandates. Together, they culminate into a single law known as the Calamity Mandate.” Zwei said softly, “Low and mid level Exalted wouldn’t be aware of it, but almost every powerful Exalted is, even if they don’t know it by name.”

“What is it?” Finn asked.

“The Calamity Mandate states that the life of every Exalted is doomed to inescapable disaster.” Zwei said.

Don’t be in too much of a rush to become an Exalted, Finn. It’s a long and lonely road.

The words of Finn’s mentor echoed in his mind, as they suddenly took on a deeper meaning. He frowned, “So? What makes it so special? And how do you know about it?”

Zwei paused, looking up at the ceiling, “I’ve inherited some of Locke’s memories. He was investigating some very… dangerous topics. He eventually ended up here in Noga and ran into Gantt, which led to his death… But his real purpose was looking into the laws surrounding the Calamity Mandate.”

“He was definitely onto something.” Zwei frowned, taking his eyes off the ceiling as he shook his head, “Which is why after we stop Deka tonight, I’m planning on leaving the city.”

“You didn’t answer my question.” Finn frowned.

Zwei didn’t answer, but stood up to leave. As he passed behind Finn he lowered his lips to Finn’s ear, “The rest of Locke’s sarira… Do you still have them?”

Finn thought back to the small vial of gems that he’d gathered from Locke’s corpse. At the time Zwei had been unconscious. Finn nodded subtly, “How did you know?”

“The owner of the voice in the basement told me.” Zwei replied, “Bring the sarira to me and I’ll tell you what I know.”