Zen was seated outside, at the edge of the garden. He sat cross legged, meditating along with Shibi. They stayed there for hours, unmoving. The afternoon sun felt good and warm on his face. Four hours they absorbed nature energy through the pores of their skin, collected it in their meridians and refined it into ki. Zen was determined to regain his lost level and all those ranks he lost while he was still injured.

“Ah… Kiddo, nice to see you hard at work!”

Zen slowly opened his eyes. His mother waved at him with one hand, under her other arm were a few rolls of scrolls. Beside her was Jun Nee.

“Mommy! Jun Nee!” Zen got up, with Shibi leaping to his shoulder. “Where are you going, Mommy.”

“I’m going to check on that damn bird, Razor Feather.” She said. “I need to find out why it was so misbehaved last night.”

“Razor Feather? Cool, maybe Shibi and I can come along. Shibi might be able to find out what’s wrong by speaking to him.” Zen said before turning to the Scorch Ape on his shoulder. “Right, Shibi?”

“Shibi don’t speak chicken.” Shibi said.

“Shibi says yes,” Zen smiled as he began to walk with them.

“I don’t get it,” Zen said while the three walked together. “Why do you need Jun Nee to come along.”

“I’m a very busy woman, ZenZen.” She said, looking at one of the scrolls she had opened and was reading. “I need Jun Nee to look out for me while I read and walk. It would be embarrassing.”

“Wait, so Jun Nee’s job is to make sure you don’t trip.” He said, holding back a giggle. “Wow, sounds like a really important job.”

Jun Nee covertly stuck her tongue out at Zen and he cracked an amused smile.

“Won’t it kind of be long if Jun Nee will guide you.” Zen said. “I mean, how far away is this place even?”

“Far?” Lin said without looking up from her scroll, “it is not far at all.”

Jun Nee nudged Lin to the side to walk around a sand garden.

“It’s on the mansion grounds.”

“What? How big is this place?” Zen said, throwing his hands up in confusion.

“This place is quite huge.” Lin said. She closed her scroll and handed it over to Jun Nee who took it. Jun Nee then pulled another scroll from under her arm, opened it and handed it to Lin, who began reding again.

They walked for a while in silence before Zen said, “You were amazing last night, Mom.”

“Thanks kiddo.” She said. “Your old lady learned a lot on her journey and became even stronger. I learned that trick when my party and I passed through a small village made up of just Fire Elementalists… weirdly enough.”

“We’re almost there, Ma’am.” Jun Nee said.

Zen looked ahead and saw a few large pens, as big as some houses he had seen some of the commoners on the lower districts.

“Alright,” Lin said, dumping all the scrolls in Jun Nee’s arms. “Hold this, Jun Nee.”

She almost spilled the documents but was able to balance them.

“Do not mix up the scrolls I have already.” Lin said. “I do not want to waste time going over those again.”

“UIhm…” Jun Nee looked at the scrolls in her arms. “…I think I can manage that… I think.”

Zen and Jun followed his mother. She opened the door with the wire mesh.

“Razor Feather!” Lin said.

The brown, horse sized hawk stiffened.

“What is your problem, you stupid bird!” Lin said. “What was with your… behaviour… last… you have babies?!”

““WHAT?”” Zen, Shibi and Jun said.

“You’re telling me that Razor Feather is not only a girl but also has babies? How would you even know that, Mommy?” Zen said.

“A mommy knows, Kiddo.” She winked at him before walking forward to Razor Feather.

“Alright, Razor Feather, let me see them.” Lin said.

The bird rustled.

“Show them to me.” She said, adding edge to her voice.

The bird rose more, shaking its body more violently and cawing.

“Show me, or else…” she said, leaning closer to the bird.

The bird held its serious gaze but then moved off, revealing four white eggs it had been sitting on.

“I knew it!” Lin said.

“Aww, how cute!” Jun Nee said. “It will have four little cutie chicks!” she hugged the scrolls in her arms, imagining them as little chicks.

“Alright, Razor Feather, thanks!” Lin said.

Razor Feather hurriedly got back onto her eggs.

“What are you going to do when the chicks are born?” Jun Nee said.

“Release them.” Zen said.

“What?” Lin said. “Uhm… no.”

“But they should be free!” Zen said.

“Do you know what these hawks are?” she said. “They are Bristle Hawks. They have been bred for generations to be reliable steeds of the sky. And they are ridiculously expensive. With these, we open an avenue of the sky to us. We’re keeping them.” She turned towards the Bristle Hawk. “Alright, Razor Feather, we will not bother you until your chicks are old enough. If you need anything, you can bother Jun Nee or Zen.” Lin said before leaving the pen.

Zen and Jun exchanged looks of confusion before they followed her.

“Mommy, I have to ask about last night.” Zen said, as he was following her and Jun Nee back to the mansion.

“You want to learn how I did what I did?” Lin said as Jun Nee nudged her out of the way of a rock that she would have stepped on.

“Yes… No! Maybe later.” Zen said. “I want to ask about the Black Mark. Who are they?”

Wang Lin stopped in her tracks, everyone abruptly stopped with her. Lin sighed. “Not sure if I should even say this.” She said. “The Black Mark are a group of extremists born from the Noble Commoner Civil War. They believe that to fix the society, they have to eradicate all nobles and their supporters and distribute all their wealth to the commoners. They have little to no rules, so they aim to achieve this at any cost.”

Zen looked worried.

“And the awful thing is that they are threatening us.”