In a small village of no more than a few hundred farmers, hunters, and warriors word tends to get around quickly. Especially when the gossip leads to some sort of celebration. And there are few events as important as marriage. Not only is it an excuse for the adults to get drunk and feast, but it is a celebration of two families coming together. Today the entire village was in an uproar preparing for the wedding between the families of two elders. Grandpa Gin’s granddaughter and Elder Wei’s youngest son.

“Grandpa Gin!” Mareus laughed as he raced down the street.

“What’s this? Aren’t you still too small to look so happy while running towards a place that reeks of booze?” Even the old man’s eyes seemed to smile.

The small child wheezed with hands on his knees as he tried to respond. “Y-You’re… funny Grandpa.” Finally catching his breath he finished. “I’m still full of life so I don’t need any booze. Besides, if I’m able to finish all of my chores without any help, Granny Zhǔ lets me have a sip of her fruit wine.” Mareus’ smile almost reached his ears.

The old man had eyebrows that made it look like he had two furry creatures sleeping on his face. And as he laughed it looked as if they were trying to jump off their bed. “Oh ho! What’s Lady Huā doing giving good booze to a brat who isn’t even old enough to appreciate the taste.” He made a mess of Mareus’ hair before asking. “Now I believe you had something to tell this old man, it must have been important for you to have put in so much effort coming here.”

He brushed Grandpa Gin’s hand away. “It’s huge! Granny Zhǔ and some of the other elders joined the hunters and they brought back a boar beast for the feast!”

“Is that right?” He stroked his beard. “Well I suppose I should break out my highest quality batch, I can’t allow the other old timers to show me up at my precious little Mai’s wedding.”

“Are you still talking about me like I’m a child?” A young woman stepped out of the tavern that doubled as a family home. “I swear when will you stop your doting?”

Gin pretended to think about it. “Hmm, until your red hair looks more like mine. But even then you’d still only be a little girl in this old man’s eyes. Ho ho.”

“If you live that long.” Mai muttered. “Little brother, this is the one elder you’re allowed to ignore. He’s already senile and spends his days only thinking of booze.”

“I’ll remember your words Sister Mai. I should be going now, I still have to tell Elder Wei about the boar for your wedding!” Mareus quickly ran off.

“Little brat, you dare leave me alone with Little Mai’s wrath?” A cold air brewed behind the old man as he called out.

Sen’Shí Village wasn’t large by any stretch of the imagination, even without any cultivation Mareus could travel from one end to the other in the time it took to burn a joss stick. Though he didn’t need nearly that long to reach the home of Elder Wei, her home wasn’t far from Grandpa Gin’s tavern on the main street. And despite her being an elder from outside the village, the compound that made up her home was one of the larger ones in the village.

“Good morning, honorable warriors.” Mareus saluted the guards at the entrance before running into the Wei compound.

“Good morning to the Master's grandson.” They returned his salute.

Elder Wei was not only one of the strongest elder’s, she was responsible for overseeing trade with outsiders. But despite her influence, no elder was more respected than Mareus’ grandmother. Their teacher.

“Master’s grandson, what brings you here this morning?” A burly man waved as he approached.

“Brother Ganju! Congratulations on your marriage with Sister Mai.” Mareus bowed. “It took you long enough.” His bright eyes betraying his flat smile.

Wei Ganju nearly fell back. “You little brat!” He grinned. “Where did you learn to talk like that?”

“From Sister Mai.”

“Of course. And don’t play cute, you’re a man aren’t you. On top of that you’re Master’s grandson.” After regaining his composure, he asked. “Anyway, what brings you here so early?”

“I have news for Elder Wei about your wedding!”

“Ah, for mother? Alright, I’ll escort you.”

“Much appreciation Brother!”

As Mareus took his first step he felt a pull on his collar and before he realized he was sitting on Ganju’s shoulder. The jarring perspective making him lose his balance.

“Careful there Little Brother.” Ganju laughed.

He resisted the large man with no success. “What are you playing at? You said it yourself that I’m a man, don’t treat me like a child.”

Mareus bounced on Ganju’s shoulder as he laughed. “You’ve just reached your fifth summer, allow this elder brother to carry you a while longer before you grow too big.”

“Fine, but only to the entryway.” He resigned.

“Ha ha, of course. You still have your pride as a man!”

“If you keep teasing me, I’ll tell Sister that you tried sounding cool again.”

Ganju tripped over his own foot.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Elder’s Hall was only open to the village during two events, the celebration of a villager’s life and the marriage between two families. The main reason being to show respect to those being celebrated. But also because it was the only place big enough to host such an event.

The hall was decorated in ornate patterns of red and gold, handmade tapestries passed down from the various families of the village, and thousands of flowers arranged in nine colors. And sitting in the center were the families of Elder Wei and Grandpa Gin, who looked more respectable than Mareus had ever seen him.

This was the first wedding he had ever attended, at least the first he was aware of. And the scale of everything would have brought him to his knees if he wasn’t already on them. What kind of force does it take to do all of this? He wondered. As he took in the sights one area in particular caught his attention.

The Elder’s table sat just below his elder brother and sister with their family heads at its center. Despite their position, no one was above the couple on their wedding day. Even their robes were less intricate and only became more plain as you looked to either side. Off to the far left in muted robes sat a stern faced woman. Her white hair tied simply with a wooden flower pin.

She’s like a mountain.

Mareus shifted in place as he looked at his grandmother, she always insisted that a true cultivator allowed their skill to speak for them more than their appearance. Because of this Mareus was known around the entire village as one of the hardest working children despite not yet stepping foot into the world of cultivation.

Granny Zhǔ met his eyes for only a breath but in that instant a powerful chill passed through his entire being. That’s right. I need to settle down. Today is for Brother Ganju and Sister Mai. Love must be cultivated with love.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Only one celebration could surpass marriage in both size and importance. The Celebration of Life.

In front of the Elder’s Hall stood an altar even larger than the entrance. It stood brilliantly with a sacred white wood inscribed with the patterns of a language Mareus couldn’t decipher. And if he dwelled on any one symbol for too long his vision would blur and head would pound. He pushed the carvings to the edge of his vision as he examined the case that sat above him.

The case was made up of a transparent crystal that seemingly drew in all of the ambient energy surrounding the altar leaving behind a suffocating cold. In the center was a wooden hairpin with a purple columbine on its end. Mareus bowed with his incense and offered a prayer to the glowing vessel.

“It’s older than the rest of the village, you know.” Grandpa Gin placed his hand on Mareus' shoulder.

“Granny never really told me about it.” He finished his prayer before saluting the elder.

“Lady Huā was never one for history lessons. Though, that never stopped her from paying proper respect to our ancestors.”

“Do you mean the Festival of Life?” He asked.

“That’s part of it.” Gin sat off to the side and gestured for Mareus to sit next to him. “You’re what, ten summers old now? How many Festivals of Life have you experienced by now?”

Mareus thought for a moment. “No more than I could count on both hands, at least that I can remember.”

“That seems about right. There was only one festival before you were three summers old.” He pulled out an ornate red bangle. “Have you noticed any differences in the festivals?”

“No, nothing that stands out. I know some of the adults drink more on certain days of the festival and there are slight differences in the festival events.”

Grandpa Gin twirled the bangle around in his fingers, his eyes never looking up. “There is one difference that-”

A cheer erupted from the warriors hall. The sound drew out a sad smile from the old man.

“Come with me, it’s better to show you. Can you hold onto this for me while we talk?” He passed the bracelet to Mareus.

As they entered the hall the smell of wine and liquor assaulted them. Mareus quickly pulled his robe over his nose.

“Elder in the hall!” One man shouted.

Those words sobered the warriors enough to face them and salute before realizing which elder had walked in on their celebration.

“Oh it’s Gramps!”

“Grandpa Gin, come drink with us!”

“When was the last time you stopped by?”

Mareus noticed that despite their relaxed words, everyone wore bright faces and openly showed love for the elder.

“Your reputation for disliking formalities isn’t exaggerated.” Mareus sighed.

“Of course, there’s more than one way to show respect. And formalities only get in the way of getting any real work done!” He laughed before turning to the hall. “Where’s Little Zhoa? I need his help with teaching this brat something.”

The warriors pointed to a corner while some couldn’t help but to let out a few small laughs. Passed out in a crate was a man wearing half of his wife’s robes. He was a large man, even when compared to the other warriors he stood at least half a head taller. Mareus would describe the scarred man as a tiger with its fur color reversed.

Grandpa Gin pinched a point on the bottom of Zhao’s foot. The tiger’s eyes shot open as he twisted over and vomited to the side of his crate.

“Feeling better Little Brat?”

“You better have a good reason for sobering me up you-” Zhao blankly stared at the elder. Only to finish after realizing who he was speaking to. “You should know more than anyone how disappointing it is to sober up after spending so much time drinking. Help me up so I can speak with some amount of dignity.” He reached his hand to the old man.

Still half drunk he stumbled for several steps after Grandpa Gin effortlessly lifted the man who was more than twice his size. Zhao barely turned around when he was splashed in the face. Mareus looked at the elder half shocked, Where did the bucket come from?

“What did you need, Gramps?” He sighed.

“I wanted to teach this smaller brat something about the festival.”

“...”

“About vessels.” He clarified.

“I see.” Zhao turned to the hall. “Someone bring me something clean that’ll fit!” He looked down to Mareus. “Lady Huā really wasn’t a fan of teaching when it didn’t involve violence. I’ll open the treasury. Follow me.”

Treasury? The warrior’s hall has its own treasury?

The treasury was its own building roughly the size of a single room guest house. The single entry was filled with an array of locks and bars that required multiple warriors to undo. After several minutes the final bar clanged to the ground and the doors groaned open to reveal a brilliant green that looked like it was carved from a single piece of jade. Lined along the walls were various items ranging from weapons of all kinds to accessories and even several items that were crafted by a novice.

“What do you think?” Grandpa Gin asked.

“I’m not sure. It’s not what I would expect to fill a treasury.”

“That depends on your definition of treasure.” Zhao boasted.

“He’s right. These around one hundred items are personal tokens of each and every warrior currently in the village. And they will remain here until they retire, or by some unfortunate chance something else were to happen to them.”

“I’m still not sure why you’re showing me this.” Mareus admitted.

“Everyone in the village has a token of some kind, for the sole purpose of acting as their icon during their Festival of Life. But for those who follow the path of the warrior their icons provide an additional purpose.”

“That’s why you might have noticed that the icons of warriors remain in the altar after the festival has ended and the ones for ordinary villagers don’t.” Zhao added.

“I haven’t.”

“The last normal villager to pass was when Mareus was a babe.” The old man clarified. “They were your parents.”

Mareus wasn’t sure how to respond. He looked around the vault taking in each item before looking back at the two men.

“Lady Huā’s hairpin was her token and even the bracelet I gave you is mine. And like a warrior’s token, those of us elders are treated differently.”

“Is it because of your importance to the village?”

“Not quite. The traditions of our village sees each and every citizen as equal, none more than the Festival of Life.”

“All are equal in death.” Zhao half spoke to himself.

“What makes these tokens special is their purpose as a vessel.” The elder continued. “Warriors and elders are fundamentally further on the path of cultivation than the rest of the villagers. Because of this the strength of our souls are stronger and will linger in this world for a time.” He kneeled down and held the bangle alongside Mareus. “We use these items to prolong that time a little longer.”

Mareus stared through the core of the accessory, his eyes slowly widening as he seemed to realize something. He passed the item back to Grandpa Gin before racing out of the treasury.

Gin watched as he ran off. “Can you have everything closed back up for me?”

“Of course Elder.” Zhao saluted.

The elder smacked the man on the back of the head before walking off. Zhao let out a small smile while still saluting his back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mareus stood before the Elder’s Hall staring at the now empty altar. Only a few days ago his grandmother’s soul finally dissipated from her vessel. And as her only remaining family he was supposed to receive the hairpin today so that he could choose to either inherit her token or keep it as an heirloom to pass on to his own children.

The altar felt like it was lacking something after seeing her pin in it everyday for over a month. What’s the longest a vessel has sat in there? How long until another will sit there? Mareus let his mind wander so long that he didn’t notice the attendant waving him down.

“Can I accompany you?” A feminine voice broke the silence.

Mareus turned to see a beautiful redheaded woman standing next to him. “Sister Mai.” He noticed that she was wearing nicer robes than usual. “Apologies, did you have business with the elders?”

“No.” She smiled. “May I join you?”

“I have no reason to refuse Sist-“

“Good.” Mai grabbed his hand. “We should hurry then. They’ve been calling you for sometime now.”

The attendant gratefully saluted them as they raced past.

Even without the extra decorations from a celebration, the Elder’s Hall was exceptionally grand. Though now it had more of a regal and slightly oppressive aura than before.

“We appreciate you coming today young Mareus.” Several voices commanded the space without any one dominating the others.

Mai slowly lowered her knees to the cushion and Mareus quickly followed her lead. He kowtowed before the now six elders. Their authority pressing down on him like an iron plate on his back.

“It is my honor, dear elders.” He replied.

Sweat trickled to the floor as he held his forehead to the cold floor. Despite their relaxed views on proper conduct while out in the village, in the Elder’s Hall it was a different matter. This was their domain and they must be shown the utmost respect.

“Raise your heads.” A lone voice commanded.

When Mareus sat upright he stopped his eyes at the base of their podium. There was a reason they sat above him. And it was because of that reason that he couldn’t meet their eyes here.

“Young Mai, approach.” The same voice spoke. Even without looking Mareus knew that the elder woman’s voice belonged to Granny Wei. Mai’s new mother. “Do you accept the weight of this token?”

“I do.” She said plainly.

“Do you acknowledge Mareus as the inheritor of such a token?”

“I do.”

“Are you prepared to offer the War Elder’s vessel to its inheritor?”

War Elder? He thought.

“I humbly accept this honor.”

Mai’s steps quietly echoed through the silent hall as she approached Mareus. When they finally stopped he looked up to see his grandmother’s pale hairpin resting on golden silk. The purple flower was far more striking against the silk than it ever was against his grandmother’s black hair.

“Mareus,” Mai’s sudden voice shook him to the core. “Do you accept the weight of this token?”

He stared into Mai’s eyes for a single breath that went on for hours. There’s green in her eyes. Mai adjusted the wrapping and he finally remembered that she asked a question.

“I-I do.” He resolved.

“Do you acknowledge the responsibility that comes as its inheritor?”

“I do.”

“Are you prepared to inherit the War Elder’s vessel?”

Mareus sharply inhaled. The breath circulating his body felt dry and sticky, needles danced on his lips.

“I humbly accept this honor.” He lowered his head and held out his hands to accept his grandmother’s hairpin.

The weight that settled in his palms felt heavy.

“Good job.” Mai whispered.

Tears freely fell past his cheeks as he looked back at her eyes.

Mai hesitated for a moment before returning to her seat beside him.

“Thank you, Young Mai.” Elder Wei’s voice wavered slightly.

As one again the elders spoke, “You may leave, Young Mai.”

After the oversized doors shut, gentle steps echoed down from the podium. They stopped at Mareus’ side before the weight of an old woman collided with him.

“It’s okay now, Gōngzhǔ would have been so proud.” Elder Wei’s words broke everything free.

Mareus’ cries filled the hall.