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There were gentle sounds of dewdrops hitting the mossy floor, wind that tousled leaves and made the ancient trees of the forest groan softly. Rolling sounds of moving stones and birds chatting in the treetops. Very little light was able to break through the thicket, as such the woodland spread out before them was framed in the muted shades of the morning, kind hues that reminded them of the newborn plumage of a green kingfisher.
They were standing at the edge of a pond covered in duckweed and patches of white lotus and their toes touched the water yet seemingly left it undisturbed as the tips of their robes swayed in the breeze.
What a lovely sight, they thought and watched as a doe carefully stepped to the water's edge to drink, her eyes fixed on the strange figure on the other side. Yaoshi smiled and lifted one of their six hands in an arch. The doe remained unperturbed, oblivious to the dormant sickness that now no longer obscured the harmony of her being and as she had her fill of water the doe righted herself.
Animals had pure souls, they thought, they can not ask for help like humans can, they are oblivious to their mortality and all hardship brought their way – as such they are incapable of desire. It brought Yaoshi no joy, thinking back to the humans that once begged for their blessing on battered knees, crying tears of desperation – deep down they knew what they had asked for. Yet in the aftermath they blamed the Aeon that granted their wish instead of those that demanded to eat the fruit of longevity. Many amber eras had passed between then and now and Yaoshi wondered if the people of the Xianzhou would ever come to terms with their own desire.
Behind them in the forest a shrub was mercilessly broken in twine, twigs snapped under the weight of heavy, hooved feet and an arrowhead scraped the bark of a tree. As Lan made their way toward the other Aeon they noked an arrow to their bow, a single thought passed through their mind as the air was split. But the Abundance did not fall nor did Yaoshi flinch as the arrow passed through them like through twilight mist – not a mark left behind on their spotless skin.
“I see,” Yaoshi chose not to face the centaur approaching behind them, “you still refuse to settle.”
Lan did not reply, nor did they speak a single word as they ruined another plants life with their witless steps.
“You hold no care for the living, why should I succumb to your tantrum.” Yaoshi said, a frown pulling at their features. “That split soul of yours, it will burn out eventually.”
The doe on the other shoreside startled at the sight of the giant half-beast, Lans masked face was held high and their bow led their charge. She fled away into the forest. Finally Yaoshi turned around, the antlers crowning their head brushing past leaves which caused the dim shadows to shift.
“I will remain.” they proclaimed and their voice echoed through the forest. They found it deeply disrespectful to be challenged by a foe so green and petulant, Lan was not their enemy, Yaoshi refused to stoop so low. Yet they could not seem to get rid of their pursuer – wherever they went Lan was quick to follow, like a shadow.
Although, Yaoshi remarked perturbed, a shadow usually doesn't attempt to kill you every chance it gets.
They would have found it charming if not for the constant threat to their life.
Yaoshi never understood the reasons behind Lan's ascension to Aeonhood, but things had panned out the way they did even without their understanding of the circumstances forcing a war-hardened hero to agree to be possessed by a parasite only to spite them.
It made them sad, the fact they accused them of being the source of their dissonance.
“Will you ever deign me worthy of your voice, or shall you forever remain as silent as the winter sun,” Yaoshi said, chin raised with poise.
Lan only stared, their bow still raised in front of them as if it was stuck in that position, a statue, a perfect reflection of determination and maddened obsession. Yaoshi could not see their eyes, they've never before, perhaps they never will, perhaps Lan lacked any eyes as a whole and it caused a visceral feeling to surge through their body.
“I do not understand,” Yaoshi said, sighing into the open air, they turned their gaze away from Lan, looking over the lakes shore to their right, “why can you not leave me be.” They spot a small frog climbing from the waters onto a log. With delicate steps Yaoshi knelt before the tiny creature. One of their many arms reached out and the frog hesitated not a moment before making a leap onto the palm of Yaoshi's hand.”I have never done you harm.”
For the first time Lan lowers their bow, and follows Yaoshi to the log. Their hooves leave deep imprints on the soft mossy ground and the star fire wheels of their haunches burn the foliage.
“I do not do harm to the living, Arbiter,” Yaoshi whispers, resting with one arm propping them up as they lie down on their side, their white robes splayed out around them and their scorpion tail folded over their legs.
“You are the Abomination.”
Yaoshi nearly jumped when Lan's dampened voice came forth from beneath their helmet. A strange voice it was, fractured and malaligned, biphonic, one airy and sharp, the other rough and rolling like the earth.
They held the frog to their chest, confliction written over their face. “I answered their call earnestly, Lan.”
“Your fruit is a poison.”
“Then we are all sick.” The frog leaves Yaoshis hands and moves to their shoulder, snapping at the pearly jewelry.
“That is why the Abundance needs to disappear” – Lan drives their hoove into the moss behind Yaoshi's back – “Sever the poison tree roots and it will bear fruits no longer.”
Yaoshi fell silent then.
And they began to weep silently, a tear made its way down their face.
“I know not” – Yaoshi found themselve short of breath – “what you wish for me to do, when all I am is all you seem to hate.”
“Die.”
“My roots run deeper than you could ever hope to cut.” Yaoshi turned sharply and the frog leaped from their shoulder back into the lake. “If you cut me down like weed I will regrow from those roots like the fresh leaves of mint.” They rose from the ground. “You can flood the earth in starfire, raze the forests and fields to the bone, burn the very ground I reside in.” Yaoshi reached out with two arms, framing Lan's covered face, one more tear marring their skin. “But I will remain.”
Gazing at Lan, they tried to find any hint of something more than what met the eye, yet they found nothing. “I pity souls like yours.”
In the speckled shade of the rising sun, Yaoshi disappeared into a flurry of golden leaves. Their body dissolved into soft wisps of wind that left a warm sensation on the skin – like a caress or gentle kiss. Lan was left behind on the forest clearing, breathing in the breeze – the scent of ginseng and peony.
From that day onward, Yaoshi made sure to never linger at one place for too long. As much as they assured themselves that they were not afraid, the constant reminder that Lan was but a restful second away from breathing down the back of their neck was quite troubling. And Yaoshi was nothing if not mindful. Days turned into months, which turned into years and time had little meaning to a being as eternal as the Abundance. They nearly forgot about the other Aeon, fully engrossed in their path toward bringing light and life to every corner of the universe.
But all good things come to an end; it is something a poor, old and dying man once whispered into Yaoshis ear before fading into the world beyond – he had asked for his death to occur, told Yaoshi to not interfere, to simply hold his hand and listen to what he had to say as his daughter, who had prayed for a mortal eternity for Yaoshis aid, knelt on the other side of the deathbed, weeping bitter tears of grief. And as these words replay in Yaoshis mind, they feel the sensation of storm gales cutting their arms like blades and iridescent arrowheads fly past their peripheral.
“Your path is a strange one, Lan.”
Each gash in their skin knit itself back together with golden threads, not a mark left behind.
“You follow me like a wolf stalks its prey, your arrows follow me like the wind – like a sail I bellow and flee, driven by that wind,” Yaoshi said, somberly, “for what purpose do you chase me when you know it to be futile – Your path is a strange one.”
Lan only watched them from behind an old and lightning-torn ash tree, the only one standing all around them both, the ground was bare and dry, colored black from soot and decay. Death enveloped the meadow that perhaps once held beauty unspeakable but now remained soundless and bare. Yaoshi stood at its center, around their naked feet blades of grass raked their little heads with a desperate thirst, drinking in the excess falling from Yaoshis form like pollen. Lan watched as around them the earth came to life once more, flowers bloomed freely in the loving presence of the Aeon. From the dirt a beetle crawled onto its petals reaching into the air and taking flight, its shining wings reflecting the light. Lastly a tree grew before Yaoshi, the trunk wound itself around a terrasse of light, twisting in a magnificent spiral into the air. As Yaoshi caressed the bark, Lan saw that it was an ash tree. Green leaves sprouted and threw shade over the pair as the tree's crown grew higher and wider, until it covered the entire sky with its foliage.
Golden veins ran through each ridge in the tree's flawless bark, blessed by the Abundance it would grow and rejuvenate this land, cultivate its little lifes and bring joy to the world once more. The old and broken ash behind them fell apart as Lans hand brushed against it, like dust it settled on the newly awakened ground and settled into the earth it once came from.
From above a drop of clear golden liquid fell and was caught in one of Yaoshis many hands. They observed it, then turned to Lan with a light smile on their face. Yaoshi stepped closer and took one of Lans hands into one of their own, then they let the dewdrop roll from their fingers into Lans open palm. It felt warm against their skin, like molten sunlight.
Yaoshi spoke in a quiet chant: “The ancient tree will weep tears of sugar and dew, reach out with love and drink in their response, they will love you with that same love as you” – they laughed and it sounded like bird song – “fear not, old hunter, for I am eternal, and forever will I be the shade that shields your eyes, and forever will I be the dewdrop in the morning light, as surely as the stag that jumps away from your arrows head, as surely as the wind – The ancient tree will weep, for you and me and all the souls among its leaves.”
Lan was not sure what Yaoshis words meant, they wondered if they were speaking in strange riddles to confuse them and before they could ask Yaoshi once again disappeared into a cascade of golden leaves, and each one, as it settled on the earth below sprouted a single white lily that each faced Lan like a child, expectantly, so they let the dewdrop in their hand fall before the flowers and watched as a million more grew from the once ashen dirt. And Lan believed to understand them, they frowned but whispered to the tree before them; “Fine then, Ancient Tree, I shall find you again, and again, and again. For I too am eternal, and a child of those leaves.”