Day 724
We wake up in the lovely inn that Lo Jia has provisioned for us. It seems that people in the City of Song are accustomed to having fae guests, though the decor is more...red thorn...than day and night.
We are in the midst of brunch when I hear the unmistakable sound of marching soldiers outside - metallic, precise, rhythmic. Master Lo says that a city of this size naturally has about 10,000 troops at its command, though this is not necessarily reassuring to me. Momentarily, a refined man with silvery hair and a soldier in ceremonial armour enter the inn and converse briefly with the front of house staff before gesturing to my family - obviously.
He addresses me directly as Imperator Heiassa and introduces himself Eunuch Gi Lo. A royal leader has sent him with an invitation to share a meal, entertainment, and discuss ways for the City of Song to co-operate with the Empire. Liliales is also invited, though Eunuch Gi mistakes Magdalena for the young prince, to everyone's amusement.
When Ausha fetches Liliales and Qishali, it's evident that she is uncomfortable around this city official. Ausha is coming along to this invitation, of course, so I invite Qishali as well. Between Liliales, Ausha, and I, we make several friendly and covert threats at what might happen to this lovely city if any harm were to befall our soon-to-be princess. Eunuch Gi does an excellent job of disguising his panic at the mention of me levelling the city, but is unfailingly gracious.
Sovereign princess Ausha, soon-to-be-princess Qishali, prince Liliales, and Imperator Heiassa are carried to the centre of the city in a carriage drawn by horses with a fascinating awakened spiritual energy about them. It takes about ten minutes to reach the inner wall of the city, and the wall itself also contains very interesting barrier magic involving sonic defences...very sensible for the City of Song!
Within the walls, there is less bustle and more class distinction between the nobles and their servants attending them. We are brought directly to a palatial structure atop a hilltop (though it seems like one that may have been created rather than found) where a very long blue carpet is rolled out for us. The journey to the top of the stairs takes several minutes and is flanked by thousands of soldiers who greet us in unison, welcoming us by title. Upon questioning about the training it takes to speak in unison, Eunuch Gi explains that there are advantages to being birds. The music that greets us at the second level is grand and transforms from heavy drums to lighter string accompaniment as we cross the landing. At the third landing, we are greeted by dignitaries in fine robes who bow and offer welcome.
And finally, descending to greet us: An elder man accompanied by a slightly younger Qilin woman with a dreamy aura about her. He is Fa Jia Fun, the leader of the city, and his wife Lau Ta - the sister of Chrysilla!
They present us with a blue feather quill studded with gems (a lapis quill of song, enchanted to transcribe song as it hears it) and a set of refracting crystals which amplify an illusion tenfold. In addition to these permanent gifts, they tell us that we may call upon Eunuch Tun (not Eunuch Gi) for services while we are in the city. We make a fine procession into an inner courtyard with many songbirds and magic to keep a warm, dry atmosphere. The greenery is lush and well-watered, and there is a beautiful fountain within the garden.
The pageantry is for them. My sister tells me that you would likely be happier with a more informal setting but we felt it would be important to show you the respect due to a visiting Emperor. It is important that the others in the city know.
Jia Fun is curious about our Empire and what life was like before the war and our recent troubles surfaced. It is a luxurious opportunity for me to draw up a map of the Empire in the air and point out the cultural specialties of each area, our academies, the things that elves love to spend time on. We spend well over an hour talking about elvish culture, and fae culture as well.
As for questions about their own city, I am mostly interested in how their height limits are enforced. Their permits are used to emit noise when the limit is broken so that watchmen can intervene. He points out that people typically rise higher for three reasons: Not knowing about the limit, threatening someone of import, or needing help. In all cases, the noise alerts watchmen and the right kind of intervention can occur.
A third of people in the city are Crystal Blue Luons - all songbirds, but most have a 'golden voice' in several disciplines. Jia Fun has mastered the Voice of Command and the Voice of Power, which he says is why he leads the city. His younger sister is gifted with the Voice of Enchantment, which lets her cloud the mind of others. The leadership of the city is restricted though not quite hereditary - he has a set of candidates from which to choose a successor and any of the other candidates can challenge his choice for leadership. Those with powerful voices are also longer-lived, so he still has quite some time before such a thing comes up. It is one of the reasons that he is well-suited for leadership - both his strength and his longevity make it harder to get swept up in other shorter-lived business. Clearly they are not interested in subservience to a greater empire, such as the Fire Bird Empire.
Arts, entertainment, and education are free here. Even personal tutors are free in that they can be invited into service but not bought. Anyone can attend any institution so long as they can pass the necessary entrance exams and requirements. This is unique to the arts here; other forms of work or business are not as subsidized. From what Lau Ta has heard from Chrysilla, he says he thinks that elves could appreciate such things.
The city also welcomes many smaller spirit folk tribes and people who are seeking shelter. Jia Fun speaks glowingly of the safety that lesser spirit folk here, and Liliales asks if the same sort of things apply to spirits. Lau Ta tells us that the trafficking and capture of spirits is not permitted within the city, but people who own spirits and still keep the peace are allowed. Both of our hosts seem shocked and disturbed to hear that there was an attempted kidnapping of Qishali yesterday, and ask us to give statements so that they can get to the bottom of whatever business caused it.
Liliales pushes more and asks if they have any sort of declaration over the city that spirits can live here safely, like what we saw in Cereus' spirit village.
Maybe we should...maybe we should.
My little son speaks very coherently about the harmony created in the Empire amongst people of varying races, and of how dwarves have found freedom by removing their caste system. He even speaks about being Raaita as a fae of seasons. Lau Ta suggests that we could work together on a piece of dream magic so that others could experience what it is like to live as a spirit and build a bridge to understanding their experience. I get to sit quietly and snack on pastries while Liliales and Qishali handle it - largely by saying that it's too much to get into right now, but this is the right train of thought that might lead to friendship.
Luons, apparently, mate for life, otherwise Jia Fun says he would introduce Liliales to his second granddaughter. Instead, he wishes thousands of blessings upon our young couple and in return, Liiiales promises an invitation to the wedding.
Many of the Qilin, Lau Ta tells us, are in the Unbridled Springbok Refuge. Others are fearful of the Qilin's affinity with dreams much like elves are feared for their shadow-stepping. This far South, there are few elves because the other side of the Barrier is Collective. I promise Lau Ta that I will send any elves needing safety and partnership towards the Refuge.
When I mention Jin Hao's poor behaviour with respect to Aestien, both of our hosts offer to provide whatever help they can if needed. In particular, half the quills in the academy come from the Crystal Blue Luons and such political pressure would be most effective. This brings us to the full reason for our meeting:
The City of Song is an independent city beside a large and powerful Empire. Their independence is constantly under threat, with people around them who want to form their own pocket kingdoms. People from my Empire are often highly skilled warriors, but so few elves show up in the South that a more formal co-operation would be impractical, as would membership in the Outlands or even a trade agreement. Instead, he asks for a declaration of friendship so that the City of Song can provide support now in exchange for some trained spies and assassins that he could make use of.
Birds make good assassins but elves are better, and always will be.
As for the sort of support we might need now - military assets are the first thing that come to mind, but Lau Ta suggests performers who are trained in the work of changing public perception. Minstrels of a particular college here are experienced in packaging messages such that the recipient doesn't even realize that a message is being communicated. In this way, the common people can be influenced over time.
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