Emery

"That's enough." Vale said suddenly, which left Emery screeching to a halt. Her hand had been pulled back behind her head, cocked for a solid punch, but the sudden call to stop left her slightly off balance and fighting to regain her footing. Thanks to her Cultivator's body, though, her fight for balance lasted all of half a second. She mostly just felt awkward as she was clearly winding up a strike, and had to lower her hand.

"Yes?" She asked, confused. They had been running physical-only drills all morning. In this particular case, that meant full contact sparring, but without the use of any techniques. And it had been a while since someone was so easily able to fend off Emery's strikes when she went all out, even during practice.

"It looks like everyone else is breaking for lunch. I figured we'd join them." Vale said, pointing a thumb over his shoulder. Indeed, the other Elders and their chosen proteges were bustling around and setting up for lunch. Vale smiled widely, which looked a little weird on his mostly draconic features that appeared when he cycled his Qi. With the sharper features and the ridges of scales and spikes contouring his head alongside the smouldering black scales that covered much of his body, he looked dangerous rather than excited for a meal.

And that was ignoring the sharp teeth that he was showing by smiling.

Emery took a deep breath and let it out, along with the remaining tension in her body from the sparring. "Yeah, that works for me."

Vale stepped forward to put an arm around his daughter's shoulders as his draconic features slowly began to bleed away as he was no longer utilizing his Qi. "Let's go grab a bite to eat, then."

As it turned out, the Elders' compound was quite a bit bigger than Emery had originally realized. Yes, they had set up quite an impressive castle on the top of a high mountain nearby to Flowing Dragon City, but the castle that was visible from the approach in the air didn't do the compound justice.

Even with all the visits Emery and her family had made over the years, they had never really been brought or shown around the castle much. They typically moved through the halls to the audience chamber and then the smaller, much cozier tea room beyond it.

But the castle was much larger than that. Putting aside the expected rooms within the castle itself, like bedrooms for each of the Elders and other common spaces, there were labyrinthine tunnels that led in and around the mountain, accessed from inside the castle. And they weren't just escape tunnels or secret rooms, either.

The absolutely massive cavern they were currently training in was a huge hollowed out section of the mountain they were situated on. The cave was protected with so many layered Arrays and Formations that it had basically made Emery's head spin when they first entered the huge room. Of course, as soon as she was made aware that it was a practice space, it all made sense. It needed to stand up to dragon-level techniques, after all, and she was pretty sure that the Elders and Vale were all of at least the Heavenly Realm in strength. Though she secretly suspected even more.

The massive area had been large enough to comfortably house all six groups and their practicing, spread out around the oval room. In the center of the space, there was a cute little sitting area that was clearly designed for these sorts of meal breaks. There were some medium-height walls of stone that separated the center of the room from the training zones around it, and the spot had a few tables, benches, and a small but functional kitchen.

When Emery walked into the area with everyone else, the sound of cooking and chatter suddenly clicked into place; evidently, the little break area was also protected with a sound Array to keep it secluded from the practice outside. When she immediately saw Avuri and Stena working at the stoves, she also needed to amend her previous thought; the kitchen wasn't all that small. She was just far too used to her massive kitchen that was designed to accommodate feeding thirty people or more at once.

"Oh, nice of you two to join us." Lyn said with a grin aimed at Vale. "I wasn't sure if we'd need to fetch you."

"I fully expected we would." Avuri said, as her Qi began to mingle with Emery's, reestablishing their connection after spending the morning apart. It happened naturally and without any thought from either of them, but it still made Emery feel complete each and every time.

"I won't lie," Emery said, "if Vale didn't call a stop to it, I probably would have continued right on sparring."

"Aw, you two are actually sparring?" Stena whined from the kitchen. "Uncle Vyne has just been going over basic wood Qi forms with me."

Emery raised an eyebrow at her daughter calling the Elder "Uncle Vyne", and felt Avuri's amusement at it through their bond.

"Stena, while I appreciate your strength, we need to be sure that your body is strong enough to even accommodate the Dragon-Kin bond before we move forward with any of this. That goes for your brother and sister, too." Vyne said. Emery noted that he made no mention of the "Uncle" moniker.

"I'm fine with it," Kord said, carrying over a few plates of food. "Honestly, I'm just honored that we even get to be taught by the Elders at all, let alone the offer of the Kin bond."

"As much as I'm sure we all want to jump the gun on the bonding ceremony, we need to prepare your bodies." Ray said. "Emery, Avuri, and even Mica are one thing as they're all at least into the Sky Realm. But Kord, you and your sisters are still Earth Realm."

"Ray's right." Cyril said. "If we're not careful, the introduction of the Kin bond to your systems could stunt your Cultivation growth, or even injure you more directly if it overwhelms your body too quickly. You need to be able to control it, at least somewhat."

"It's probably going to bump you all up to Sky Realm immediately, as is," Vyne added. "The three of you are going to have a far worse experience with the bonding ceremony than your mothers will, since you'll likely have to deal with your Domains opening up at the same time. It's not going to be pleasant."

"I'm not worried about it." Stena said, sounding like she wasn't quite giving the situation its full respect. "Cierra and I have been training since we were little, and Kord had the benefit of a much better training course than we did. We'll be fine."

While Emery appreciated the indirect vote of confidence that Stena gave her, she still wasn't sure if they had made the right decision by bringing their children into this whole situation in the first place.

When the Elders had suggested the Dragon-Kin bond, and offering it to six people, she had honestly assumed that they would only consider the adults - herself, Avuri, Mica, Glenn, Cove, and perhaps Cierra. But when the list came back to her with Cierra, Stena, and Kord included, with Glenn and Cove left off the list, there had been some serious discussions to be had.

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In the end, they were assured that Glenn and Cove weren't being left behind. They were also in attendance, and being taught by Eiry, just like Mica. They just weren't necessarily going to receive the Kin bond.

That still left them unsure about the kids. Vale had helped them figure things out, with the benefit of some knowledge about how the bonds would function. Of course, Emery and Avuri both were mostly concerned with any potentially negative effects it could have on their kids.

Vale had assured them that, as long as they were conscientious about the process, there should be no negative effects. Which actually equated to making sure through a variety of tests and training that Cierra, Stena, and Kord were all prepared for the bond. If they weren't mentally or physically prepared for it, there could be some severe side effects.

That was exactly the situation they were working to prevent now. Ray was testing Kord, Stena was working with Vyne, and Cierra was working with Cyril. If nothing else, Emery was at least confident that the Elders would take this seriously and tell them if they felt as though one of the kids wasn't up to it.

"How long is this testing period going to last, exactly?" Stena asked, as she was working on getting the last bit of food finished. "Are we talking years before we'll know if we're ready? Or days?"

Vyne chuckled. "We should have a good handle on whether you're ready right now in a day or two, I imagine. As for when you might be ready if you aren't already? That's mostly up to you and your work ethic."

"Kord is ready," Ray said as he began to pick some of the food off the serving plates to add to his own plate. He nodded once at the boy as he continued. "He's remarkably focused and his foundation in metal Qi is actually quite remarkable. I can tell he's not only been very resolute in his training, but his singular focus on metal Qi has served him well."

Kord dropped off another plate at the table and bowed. "Thank you, Master."

Ray waved a hand dismissively. "I already told you, none of that. Just call me Ray. Or Rayeon if you feel like you need to be stuffy about it."

"Yes, sir." Kord said, with another bow before he scampered back toward the cooking area.

Ray turned back toward Emery and Avuri, who were seated next to one another. "You two have done fantastic work with that boy. His mental fortitude is incredible for his age, and his metal foundation is so solid that I wouldn't have been surprised if you had told me he had been Cultivating for twenty years."

Emery snorted. "As much as we'd love to take credit for that, it is entirely Kord's compliment to claim."

"Emery's right," Avuri agreed, "we may have put him on this path when he came to us, but he's always been a very uptight kid. Incredibly focused and very dogged in his training."

"He may have some issues with the Kin bond, if only because he isn't quite at the peak of the Earth Realm yet. He's close, though. With some guided training, I think he could hit the peak in a matter of weeks, and be ready for the bond almost immediately." Ray said.

"And what about us?" Cierra said, as she, Stena, and Kord all finally joined the table with the remaining food all finished.

"I think you'll need some training before you're ready, Cierra." Cyril said. "To be clear, this is partially because you and I are not a perfect match. I primarily use fire Qi, and you're at least partially water Qi focused. If your body and spirit aren't absolutely as solid as they can be, our Qi will clash with your body as the battleground instead of working together."

"O…kay." Cierra said tentatively as she gathered food for herself.

"The other part of the issue is your foundation. Unlike Kord, for example, you've practiced a wide array of techniques and haven't focused entirely on one type of Qi. Now, this wouldn't normally be a problem. It's even usually to a Cultivator's benefit to branch out and practice with multiple types of Qi." Cyril explained.

"However, it leaves your foundation flexible and malleable. While that is fantastic for many purposes, it is detrimental to ours right now. For your spirit and body to withstand the Kin bond, you need to be as solid as you can be. Especially when we don't already match Qi types perfectly."

"I see." Cierra said. She was pushing the food around on her plate, deep in thought rather than eating. "If we're a bad match, will it cause problems after the Kin bond is formed? Is our match wise to begin with?"

"A valid question," Cyril said, nodding. "Our Qi not matching is not typically a problem. Look at Emery for example - she doesn't match with Vale's fire Qi either, but it's a non-issue. If anything, it will eventually be to her benefit as she'll have some limited access to fire Qi after the bond."

"The main difference is that she's in the Sky Realm with a very solid foundation. Her Domain being unleashed also protects her spirit from some of the potential damage that could be inflicted during the bond process. That's our main concern with you, Stena, and Kord."

"So if I were to break through to the Sky Realm, most of the problems would solve themselves?" Cierra asked.

"For you, yes." Cyril said.

Stena narrowed her eyes at the man, hearing the qualifier in his words. "You mean that wouldn't be enough for me?"

"It would not." Vyne confirmed. Stena crossed her arms petulantly as he continued. "Stena, your foundation is actually more than solid enough for the bond, like with Kord. You've focused nearly entirely on wood Qi techniques, and you and I are a solid match in that regard."

"So what's the problem, then?" She asked, now confused.

Vyne glanced over to Emery and Avuri for a moment before answering. "I'm…concerned about your mental state. The Kin bond will force you through the Sky Realm breakthrough, and I'm not sure that you're prepared for the trials that will put you through."

Stena looked equally split between mild anger, frustration, and confusion. "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

Vyne looked apologetic, but still moved to answer the question. "The Sky Realm trial during the breakthrough is…rough. It's different for everyone, and my understanding is that it's specifically different for dragons and humans, so I couldn't really elaborate on what you should expect. However, I know that it is mentally taxing in addition to the physical pressure."

Once again, Vyne looked over to Emery and Avuri, as if asking permission to continue, and they both nodded. "I'm concerned that you're not prepared for the mental portion of the breakthrough."

Emery took over at that point, as she had been concerned over the same thing for some time. "The mental part of the trial moving into the Sky Realm can be rough. Whatever it is that creates the trial for you knows all of your weaknesses, and targets them precisely."

"Emery is right," Avuri added, "if you have any unresolved issues that you haven't properly addressed, you'll have a hard time breaking through to the Sky Realm. I had a much harder time than Emery did, I think - because I had so many unresolved feelings about my family."

"Mine mostly targeted my inability to reckon with how many people I failed to protect and how weak I felt." Emery said, nodding to her wife. "It's something I had mentally struggled against for so long that while it may have been my biggest mental flaw, it was one that I was used to dealing with."

"And I had basically opted to not deal with my family instead. And ignoring those problems made reckoning with them much more difficult." Avuri said.

The table had grown quiet as everyone worked their way through the food. Except for Stena who was taking smaller and smaller bites as she was lost in thought. Thankfully, everyone at the table - even her brother and sister - had recognized the importance of whatever it was that was happening.

Eventually, Stena got visibly frustrated, and shoved her chair back from the table and stood up abruptly. She cursed under her breath, and left the little room in a huff.

"I'm sorry." Cierra muttered quietly.

"Cici, it's not your fault." Emery said with a sad smile. "It's just something that Stena still needs to figure out."

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