Shadows in the Solstice, Starring Black Dragon & Namelesshero (IC)

There were moments when he felt like he was back home. Others, such as this reminded him that he was in a world much different from his own. Hey Long had been making a living here in this hollowed out temple for at least a year now. He had developed a sort of relationship with the humble townsfolk down the hilltop and two miles down the river from this empty place. They had come to call him Yǐnshì tiějiang- the hermit blacksmith. Though fitting consider that he spent much of his time either training, relaxing or making weapons, he couldn't help feeling it made the townsfolk believe he preferred solitude to company.

For the moment he shrugged the thought away, taking his attention to his surroundings. The room was dark, save for the orange glow of the furnace that reflected off the blades of a dozen spears and assorted polearms. It was silent, save for the roar of said furnace. Since the beginning of the attacks, the people on that little town had taken to putting together a town watch in order to assist the police in at least preventing further deaths. That meant an increased demand for dao and qiang-or spears-despite some of the clients lacking the skill to use them properly.

He shook his head at the thought of some hapless villager wildly swing the heavy blade at an apparition, more like to injure theirself than it. But still, the people have a right to protect themselves and if he could, he would assist. But he also made it a point to give some lessons on weapon safety and proper technique. The weapon should always be sheathed unless one intended to use it. The grip on the weapon should be alive, as one held an egg; neither dropped or broken. Finally, the weapon should be kept out of reach of children or anyone they don't want using it.

A telltale buzz took his attention and directed it to his watch. He hit a button and a holographic message appeared saying he had received a message. He fiddled with the holographic menu of his 'smart watch' until reaching his email messages, only to find it empty. This meant he received a physical letter. With that, he strolled down the halls, listening to his own footsteps echo against the wide walls until he reached the front gate where a sealed letter had been pinned to it.

Master Long,

As you are aware there has been an increase of violence against religious temples and monasteries. We have been experiencing great difficulty in our investigation into the matter, and hence would like to request your cooperation. Please come to Yáng sēnlín monastary for more information.

The letter had no signature, meaning either one of the temple monks had sent the request or an envoy of the spiritual realm. He turned to prepare himself.

Although the scenery was breath-taking, she honestly preferred the scent of oil and burnt steel. Walking around the patches of greens scattered all over the place made her feel as if she was a small, insignificant pebble amongst giants. Trees, apparently had stood there for hundreds of years, pierced upward, serving as pillars for the celestial dome. In this kind of places she couldn't feel the grasp of technologies. Even the village she'd just went to was still further behind. They had reception, they had electricity, yet their way of living was still influenced by ways of old. Way different from her hometown, with soaring skyscrapers and hovermobiles roaming the sky.

A sudden "beep beep" sound broke the silence of her journey. She nearly jumped from the shock, but quickly realized that it came from one of her devices. From the big backpack behind her, she pulled out a small metallic object. On it was a display and a few buttons. Xiao Shou's fingers, like her namesake, danced on the buttons lightly, tapping a combination of keys until the display changed. Countless numbers appeared on the screen. Barometer recording, turbulance in the air, wind speed and direction...she quickly processed it in her mind. She'd made the gadget to give her early warning whenever sudden changes in weather happened. The result wasn't shown in the screen; the conclusion from those data was the user's responsibility.

The hill was still stretching far above, although she could now see the temple on its end. The local villagers told her that a certain person called "hermit blacksmith" lived in that old building. She was interested on checking that place, although not sure whether she would do it or continue her journey. It seemed that God didn't want her to choose the latter.

A storm had come.

"...I better hurry," a sigh escaped her lips. It was still far away to the top.

From the outside, Hey Long could hear the subtle booms of thunder outside then turned his attention back to his wardrobe.

'Yeah, better go with this.' He quickly slipped on a black tunic, slacks, boots gauntlets, fingerless gloves and straw hat. His 'backpack' or the little satchel he wore around his left shoulder was already with his camping gear and supplies, meaning he only needed to select this journey's weapons. Once he reached the furnace near the courtyard again he stopped at a wardrobe and opened it to a small collection of jade statues. However, these were merely for show; Hey Long hit the side, making the shelves open further to reveal a small cache of his personal weapons.

His hand immediate sought out Bao Ying, his latest (successful) project and slung the scabbard over his right shoulder, then took out Duya Kabal and slipped each knife into each boot. He paused to consider his final choice. He'd used the spear a few times already and he didn't feel like using the guan dao at the moment. He glanced over the Dìyù zhī fēng gùn then grabbed it-been a while since he used it. When he tapped the gem twice, it extended up to his head. He knocked the staff on his shoulder, closed the wardrobe and strolled towards the frunt gate, snatching the keys to his Jetbike on the way.

Xiao Shou didn't dare to imagine how the small village would cope with this storm. The wind had started to grow fierce, although at the same time gentle. She tightened her hood, clinging to every bit of warmth she could get. Her worn out robe wouldn't be able to protect her against soon downpour. What worried her the most wasn't being wet, rather it was dangerous stuffs brought by such wild wind. Sharp rocks, trashes, even sometimes trees could be lifted into open air, threatening anyone unlucky enough to be in their track. She didn't want to be that person.

Her light step slowly brought her to the top of the hill. The old temple was now clearer in sight, its size bigger than one would expect looking from below. She peeked toward the ascending stairs behind. From this height it was a nauseating sight, with the stairs slithering downward like a large viper. On their end was the entrance to the village. Back in her home, such storm would be thwarted easily by protective dome. She doubt the village would have such function installed. The only thing the girl could do was praying for the best.

She'd arrived in the final step, a leap brought her into the main gate; an important, symbolic structure for such temple. The main building was still a few seconds walk across the temple's yard. Her eyes shone when they landed on a trace of technology; a jetbike was parked nearby. The Steel Revolution had reached even this desolate place.

"Hello, is there anyone inside?"

She had to half-shout through the storm; the wind hindered her voice to reach even across half the yard. Taking a few steps forward, she spotted something...someone moved inside the building. Could it be the "hermit blacksmith"?

"Hello," she shouted again, this time clearer.

He perked up as he heard a voice outside and went to open the gate, immediately catching a faceful of wind and rain. He shrugged it off and searched outside, finding someone standing just a few feet away.

"Yeah?" He said in reply, keeping his head down to protect his face from the elements.

He didn't look like your conventional monk living in a monastery, his attire was one of a traveler. "I'm looking for a place to stay until this storm receded. Can I stay here?" she shouted as much as her lungs allowed to. The wind worsened by each passing seconds. The 'beep' sound from her gadget told her as much, although she could see it with plain eyes.

"By the way...are you the hermit blacksmith?" he remembered the villager's description about that particular person. He fitted him quite well. As she took a better look, such protection against the weather said that he was about to dare the storm, the exact opposite of what Xiao Shou was trying to do. Even if he got a jetbike, the wind could throw him off. "It's not a good idea to head out in this storm! My machine told me that it's going to get big soon!"

''Fuck this storm!' He smirked when he thought to say this but shrugged it off and moved towards the girl. He kept his knees a slight bend, lowering his center of gravity against the wind and stabilizing his stance against the wet cement. His tunic was already working to kept the rain off and its owner dry. He finally reached her and took her hand.

"Too bad I'm not an air or water bender." He muttered more to himself than her and began to pull her along. "And yes I am the Yǐnshì tiějiang."

The man was somewhat...unique. He threw Xiao Shou off guard when he suddenly pulled her hand, causing her to stiffened. There were no malice in his eyes, but it made her uncomfortable nonetheless. "Oh...err...nice to meet you, Yinshì tiejiang. I'm Xiao Shou, a traveler. Can you let go of my hand?"

She pulled away from him rather abruptly. Back home at Luo Jiang, men were supposed to keep a certain distance to honor women, except if they were close enough. "Okay...now where am I? I want to ask for your advice regarding this blade...oh wait, it's not the time for that! The storm!" she pointed at the east mountain, where the wind came from. "It's going to get big. I don't think your jetbike can take you safely. It's better to stay inside the temple and wait until it stopped..."

Just when she was about to finish her sentence, a crackling sound came from the temple's backyard. A young tree was lifted by the wind, throwing it into the temple. The impact was so strong the ground shook. "What the..." she began to question whether the temple was safe at all...

Hey Long looked perplexed-at least he would if one could see his face- as Xiao retracted her hand. So much for trying to pull her out of the storm. But then he perked up when he heard something crash around the temple's backyard. His left eye twitched as he imagined it crashing into a wall. Great, now he would have to have that fixed when he finished with his business with whomever sent the letter.

"The door's open, just go inside and wait for me." He told the girl then walked off. A second later he mentally kicked himself; as far as he knew, he just invited a potential thief into his abode. Or maybe not. The only things of value he had was the jetbike and the weapons he forged. However, finding the weapons would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Rounding the corner to the back, Hey Long saw the tree had fallen but damaged nothing. He sighed his relief, but perked up when hearing something creak behind him.

He wheeled around to see a tree titter towards him as the howling winds pushed it from its rooting. He breathed slowly and deeply while he waited. When the tree feel close enough, he focused his jing up into his arms and down into his legs. First he caught the tree and yielded back to absorb its momentum then shoved it back with a fajin push. The tree slashed through the winds and stood back on its roots. But with the ground loose, this meant little with the wind blowing.

He moved in a blink of an eye with a lightfoot dash and Bao Ying flashed across the tree before he spun and pushed it again with a fajin kick. The tree continued to fall in the opposite direction and met the earth with another BOOM. Returning his blade to its scabbard, Hey Long jogged back to the front door where he sent the girl. Sure he could use his lightbody skill here, but that would make him like a kite in these harsh winds. He just hoped the temple interior would still be intact.

The girl hurried inside, finding herself in the temple's great hall. Statues and holy artifacts decorated every corner of the room, a place considered holy by its followers. She was never too fond of religion; all she ever did, she relied on her wit. Perhaps it was God's providence which protected this particular spot, while the other sides were heavily bombarded by flying trees. She began to worry about Hey Long. The poor man was alone against the raging wind! Her eyes darted toward the entrance, hoping to see his shadow coming soon. What she could see were heavy drops of rain. The storm had brought its greatest ally.

"Better do it than waiting to be crushed..." she put down her large backpack on the wooden planks. The backpack was surprisingly heavy for her small figure; it made a loud thud sound upon impact. Wasting no time, she dug into its content, producing two mechanical object. One was bigger than the other, a silver-colored box with intricate machineries inside it. The other one was a spherical drone. She positioned the drone atop the box. It fit right into the provided hook.

"Now..." she began to stabilize her breathing. What was once short, huffed tone became longer and calm. Every moment she embraced gladly, taking into herself everything the world was willing to offer. Slowly but surely, energy began to pour out from her body; from her soul. It started from her heart, then moving into every limbs.

Qi flow like the wind. By each breath, Qi rushed into one's entire body, its strength embodied in one's own self...

She thrusted her palm gently, touching the box. It wasn't about strength. Mere touch was enough for her to channel her Qi. Lightning jolted into the box, originating from Xiao Shou's body. Like an angry dragon, its breath swallowed the box whole. Only that the box didn't perish; rather, it shone brightly and thrown the drone upward. The roof wasn't a problem for it. It pierced through, leaving only splinters falling to the floor below. After a few meters it stopped mid-air, finally stabilizing. And then energy poured down from it. A dome spread out starting from the drone, eventually encasing the entire temple ground. The storm couldn't intrude any longer.

The bar on the box's display panel showed that it would hold for another hour or two. Xiao Shou fell down on her back, exhausted by her sudden burst of Qi. At least now she could be at ease.