Of the faces from the Imperial Temple I‘d long since forgotten, the image of one specific man has remained in my mind and endured to this very day. In life, I saw embedded within the hardened wrinkles of his proud face, a pair of tiny, bead-like, green eyes that shimmered like water droplets against the sun. He had a pipe of brass and wood that he carried around wherever he went and whenever he smoked it, he was at his most calm, his most reverent. Years of experience and unfathomable wisdom had made him confident in all he did and all he taught. He was my teacher.

One day, he told me that I was to take a test, one which would prove the worth of my abilities. I never truly understood what he meant and I suspected that even though he had told me that the test was not of his decision, I still wondered if he had a part in its conception. It was because of him, that Kassashimei became a part of my life and he was there to help me, even amidst my failings. 

Seeing that final, satisfied look upon his face as he witnessed the fire I wielded in the protection of the Young Emperor made me wonder, made me hope, that in that moment, I had finally fulfilled his test. I wanted to live just as he did, a man who made his fate his own and left our world without any regrets.

We cremated his body. As a man who was once like us, a child of the sky, we set his ashes to scatter amongst the wind and clouds. 

Shortly after, my world grew dimmer. 

Mourning the man that had disappeared from my life, I could only think of hopelessness, of how vain everything had become.

Everyone as well as I, grieved throughout those dark days since leaving Watersbe. An air of loneliness and solemn destitution tugged at our spirits. 

As I awoke each morning, I half-expected to see the Boar waiting for us on the main deck for training, only to realize that it was I who would be teaching in his place. Lai, as well as a few others had been injured during the fight and while he was recovering, it was left to me to train the boys while Ai tended to the girls‘ lessons.

At first, I had neither the heart, nor the will. 

The Young Emperor had sealed himself inside the throne room and Dae Jung had ordered that the princess be confined to quarters as well, separated from her betrothed and her personal guard promptly disarmed. Broken pieces of wood, glass and metal still lay strewn across the deck and even below, bullet holes and scattered, torn sections of the hull could be found as far back as the engine compartments. Even the charred remnants of the fiery beast I had unleashed upon the opposing ships lay streaked across the outer hull. Along with the Boar, three others had died and another quarter of the crew lay injured. 

Certainly, there was no denying that we had gained a victory, but the cheers and joyous feelings we shared that day, died away all too quickly as the somber reality of our situation set in.  

Much of the chienkuu ko who were spared from injury, were simply too scared, shaken by the horrible chaos of the battle to even leave their rooms. The duty of flying the ship had been left to the remainder few who still had the courage to carry on. Where once I had been tasked to serve two or four hours in the ritual room, I was now required to serve six, and then eight. Between flying the ship and taking over the duties of both Lai and the Boar‘s, I found myself strained to the point of fatigued. Whatever spirit remained was slowly chipping away. 

A week after the battle I found myself sitting amongst the crates in the cargo hold gazing at a shrine at the far end of the bay. It had been erected in honor of the Boar and the other three people who had lost their lives. Small candles had been lit around its base and the subtle scent of incense sticks lingered in the air. For a long while, I sat motionless, entranced by an object that was nothing more than a hastily-constructed collection of wood and stone. My mind tried to make sense of things, but it all felt pointless and after a while, my thoughts fell into a blur until I hardly thought about anything at all. 

Any moment, Kassashimei would find me. She always did. Wherever I hid, whenever I sought to be alone, she always appeared, like a hawk stalking a mouse. When she did find me, she would berate me, thinking that I was trying to run away from her. And then she would try to cheer me up. 

I worried about her sometimes. She always seemed to try too hard for my sake. There was an eccentric persistence about her, one that refused to let me be. Why was it that she never grew tired of me, that she always interfered with my affairs? 

She was starting to annoy me.

The metallic creak of the cargo hold door snapped me from my trance. I turned, expecting to see Kassashimei greeting me with her usual, prideful flair. But this time, it was someone else. Hobbling towards the shrine, bandages covering the burns on his left leg and his left arm, he kneeled and gave a reverent bow to pay his respects. As he got up, he turned, then gave a start when he realized my presence.

"Terr, where did you come from?" he said.

"I’ve always been here Lai," I replied. "I see you’re finally out of bed."

"Yes. Yes I am." He gave a sickly smile as he limped towards me then sighed as he sat down on one of the crates. "Etsu has been looking for you, you know. She’s been trying to talk to you, but all you've done is ignore her. I think she’s more worried about you than she is of me."

I grunted, barely acknowledging his concern. "I'd better go. I'm supposed to be in the ritual room in half an hour."

"I think you might have forgotten Terr, but we won." Lai's words gave me pause. "And part of that victory is because of you. Things could have been so much worse had you not been around."

I was silent for a moment and refused to look at him, then said, "why aren't you angry at me? I made the fire that burned you, that burned other people too. You should hate me for what I did."

He gave a short, stuttered chuckle. "Oh believe me I did. The minute you unleashed all that fire without even considering that I might be in the way. . . well, as I was laying on the ground shouting and cursing from all the pain, I could only think about doing the same to you. Believe me, I wanted to hurt you in the same way you did to me. But after a few days in bed, calming my nerves, I came to realize that I was actually relieved. It’s still a little hard for me to admit it, but you saved us Terr. I can't hate you for that." When he finally noticed that my eyes were upon him, he playfully shook his bandaged limbs at me. "You think my sister might mind seeing a few battle scars? The burns weren't too bad, but they'll leave enough of a mark, something for me to show-off to the girls."

I think my expression must have brightened, because he seemed pleased at my reaction. An awkward silence fell between the both of us, so I started turning away.

"I wouldn’t leave just yet," Lai said. "Etsu has been trying to find you, and since I've discovered you first I suppose I should be the one to tell you. She's asked that Ai find someone else to take your place in the ritual room today. So there's no need for you to be in such a hurry to leave. Etsu is in the atrium right now. You should go see her."

The atrium sat towards the rear of the ship, behind the center bridge tower, several compartments forward of the engineering section. Because of how close it was located to the most vital parts of the ship, the atrium had become victim to volley after volley of misguided fire during the battle. The glass domes above that had once let in the sunlight, were completely shattered. The glass shards lay strewn across the ground along with bits of soil and broken pottery. Flowers, vegetables, herbs, even small trees; all once lush and beautiful now lay toppled and torn in a disheveled mess. A small, winding path I used to walk on calm days, once meandered throughout the various trees and bushes. It was buried now amongst the ruined mess. The icy wind howled through the holes in the ceiling where the protective glass once was, sending chills through my body and prickling the hairs on my skin.

I watched as Etsu leaned over to pick up the pieces. Of all the places on the ship, this was her own personal spot, one that she adored and cared for with a passion I admired. She tended to the plants everyday and made sure there was a certain amount of peace to be found here for all those that sought it. And now it was here she found herself once more, hoping to return it all back to what it once was.

One by one, she mended the toppled plants and piled the soil back upon their roots. She was not alone however. Working beside her was An Wei, Princess Xiangfeng's mother. 

Etsu, ever mindful of the grime and filth, wore only simple cotton trousers and a cotton shirt while An Wei worked in her satin robes, make-up still adorning her face. The older, more regal woman, though content with the chore, seemed completely out-of-place, as if she was occupied with other matters before coming here.

"Terr," Etsu called out impatiently, "hurry up and help us clean this mess."

I warily approached, hoping not to step on any branches or snap the stems of certain delicate flowers. For a moment, she eyed me suspiciously, as if at any moment, I might accidentally fall or stumble onto one of her precious plants. 

Her expression was more serious than usual.  

All the more reason why, at any moment I suspected her to lecture me or provide some soothing words over the loss of my teacher. After all, why else would she go through the trouble of freeing me from my busy schedule? 

To my surprise, she did none of that. Instead, she handed me a broom and asked me to sweep up the broken glass. I was confused at first, but as time passed, I fell into the humble rhythm of cleaning and mending. Hours went by, and though I was no where near as studious in my chores as Etsu, I continued to work with a certain feeling of satisfaction. Maybe this really was all she wanted. 

Once in a while I would catch her glancing in my direction with the dirt on her cheeks accenting what seemed to be a playful smirk. 

Once in a while, she would catch me staring at her, and then wave me on to continue working. 

"She's quite pretty isn't she?" An Wei's voice gave me a start. For a moment, I’d forgotten she was there. She‘d been tending to the vegetable garden and replanting the seeds. "I don't blame you for stealing a glance or two. I noticed that a lot of the boys like to stare at her too."

"It's not like that," I replied hesitantly stamping the broom against the ground in a manner that I thought was sweeping, "I just don't know why she would call me here when I should be flying the ship."

"I imagine she wanted your help. I told her that the rest of the crew was too busy to take care of this mess, but she was insistent about getting someone to lend a hand."

"Is that why you helped her?" I asked.

She smiled delicately. "Actually, it's the other way around. I was strolling about the ship when I came across this poor mess. And when I realized that no one was tending to these injured plants I set to taking care of it myself. Then that girl happened by and without so much as a thought, she proceeded to wade into the dirt and started working alongside me." 

"I see. If you would forgive me for being so blunt, I thought Dae Jung had confined both you and your daughter to your room."

Her smile was unwavering, as if she were hinting at some secret privileges her status granted her. "And what would he do if we ignored his demands? We are of the Royal Family after all. At best, he could only request something of us. The truth is, there’s not much he could do if we choose to walk the decks of this ship as we please. And besides, I'm sure he would not protest at the idea of me taking care of this ship's little garden."

Etsu came to our side of the atrium with an arm full of broken branches. "Some crew member came by and said that they were going to cover the broken parts of the glass domes with wooden planks. If they did that, the sun’s light would be blocked out and these plants would most certainly die. Thankfully, we saw to it that that would never happen."

"Oh? How did you convince them?" I asked.

"Simple. I asked them not to." Another voice diverted my attention. 

I felt my cheeks grow hot as Ai came strolling towards us, down the path that we had just recently been swept clear. Her brightly colored robes shimmered against the shafts of radiant sunlight gleaming through the torn and jagged ceiling. She stopped and slowly lifted her gaze skyward and felt the warmth of the sunlight on her face. After a time, she turned her attention back towards us. 

"At the next port of call," she said, "we will be making the appropriate repairs. The Empire’s divine airship is not to be blemished with patchwork fixes. I will not have it. Lady An Wei, thank you for taking care of the atrium. I had not realized that this place had suffered so much during the battle. Just like every damaged portion of the ship, it must be restored to what it once was."

"It was my pleasure," An Wei said as they both exchanged bows. "I will watch over this place and oversee its restoration. Hopefully, Dae Jung will not think me so intrusive for being here."

"Do not worry. I will speak to Dae Jung. Your help is very much appreciated." She turned to Etsu. "As is yours."

Etsu smiled shyly, half-burying her head behind the bundle of branches in her arms.

"From time to time, I will excuse you from training, but you must use that time to tend to your shyo mu. You must stay close to Lai. He will need you while he heals, and if you have any spare time left. . . well I'm sure you would not hesitate at all to help with Lady An Wei here."

"Of course, I will do whatever I can," Etsu said in an enthusiastic, but subdued tone.

"Terr, if you would please come with me." The politeness in her voice seemed almost forced. She gave a pleasant nod to both An Wei and Etsu and we both proceeded to leave.

"Come back soon Terr," Etsu beckoned in a manner that hinted at something more than a simple request, "we still have saplings to plant."