Tao-Sian watched in silence as the Awakened twirled the bud in the bowl. She seemed concentrated, but serenity would never be part of her. She had disavowed her Antekami past and all its violence. Would she ever be able to erase all traces of it? Tao-Sian hoped so, and often asked the Kamis to help her in this task.
For the time being, other concerns tormented the Dynastic Healer. She had analyzed this Fyros blood as soon as Nikuya had sent it to her. She knew that certain substances could disappear if you wait too long, and the letter from the Awakened had alerted her enough to want to know more.
What she had found had prompted her to ask Nikuya to carry out the analysis herself. Verification was essential.
Da'qi-zi's pearl was growing and she could see that the result would be the same. Nevertheless, she let Nikuya complete the ritual and weigh the two parts. The proportion was respected. The magic part was still good, but still nothing was going right.
"Your technique has improved again, Awakened. I'm very proud of you. Now, do you see anything wrong with the result?"
Nikuya took the time to carefully examine the pearl between her chopsticks.
"It's dark, darker than usual, but I don't know if that's abnormal or just a variation I've never encountered before.
- Take a look. Here's the pearl I got with the fresher sample. Yes, the pearl is noticeably darker overall. See these black streaks? It's not Evil. It doesn't cause these black streaks. No, it has to be this."
Tao-Sian held out a stanza in which rested a Da'qi-zi pearl, the darkest Nikuya had ever seen.
"Black sap."
The sentence fell from Tao-Sian's lips like a cleaver, leaving Nikuya speechless.
For the time being, other concerns tormented the Dynastic Healer. She had analyzed this Fyros blood as soon as Nikuya had sent it to her. She knew that certain substances could disappear if you wait too long, and the letter from the Awakened had alerted her enough to want to know more.
What she had found had prompted her to ask Nikuya to carry out the analysis herself. Verification was essential.
Da'qi-zi's pearl was growing and she could see that the result would be the same. Nevertheless, she let Nikuya complete the ritual and weigh the two parts. The proportion was respected. The magic part was still good, but still nothing was going right.
"Your technique has improved again, Awakened. I'm very proud of you. Now, do you see anything wrong with the result?"
Nikuya took the time to carefully examine the pearl between her chopsticks.
"It's dark, darker than usual, but I don't know if that's abnormal or just a variation I've never encountered before.
- Take a look. Here's the pearl I got with the fresher sample. Yes, the pearl is noticeably darker overall. See these black streaks? It's not Evil. It doesn't cause these black streaks. No, it has to be this."
Tao-Sian held out a stanza in which rested a Da'qi-zi pearl, the darkest Nikuya had ever seen.
"Black sap."
The sentence fell from Tao-Sian's lips like a cleaver, leaving Nikuya speechless.