Silva smiled as he felt the smooth silk slide across his skin with every step. Perfectly tailored to his body, Silva felt a range of movement that he hadn't known to desire, "I understand why you didn't wish to upset her. Mistress Pinglu's work is incredible."
"Now you know never to question my advice," Fal replied sagely with a confident nod of his head.
"I don't think acknowledging your choice of seamstress is enough to be entirely beholden to your opinion." Silva countered, shooting down Fal's claim with brutal efficiency, making his uncle scoff, "Hmmm, if you insist. But might I suggest you ask someone else when looking for your next artisan? I would hate for you to have to rely on the word of someone so unreliable, such as myself."
A smile crossed Silva's lips as he basked in the lightness of his Uncle's banter; it was almost enough to forget why they were currently walking towards the center of the Clan grounds.
Early in the dawn, the imperial army sent word that they would arrive in the latter part of the noon hour. Once the message was received, the Clan had grown restless as people rushed to prepare for the imperial army.
Glancing around the grounds, Silva watched as people ran in every direction, their faces alight with a strange, expectant euphoria.
"There's nothing quite like the hours leading up to an Imperial Ceremony," Fal said with a fond smile on his face and a reminiscent look in his eyes, "The final hour of peace and prosperity."
Silva stayed silent, but his mind was loud as he remembered what the coming years would entail. War, unforgivable and, to the mortal sensibilities, unending. There would be those who were born and died before seeing an era of peace. During which the Imperial Edict would be upheld to the highest measure. War would become the lifeblood of the Empire, and all efforts, big and small, would be measured by their contribution. Food would be rationed, pleasantries restricted, and the law reinforced.
The euphoria Silva noted on their faces hid the desperation dwelling beneath, the despair that today would be their last day of levity, and careless joy for the rest of their lives.
"Heavy, isn't it?" Fal spoke up, reaching Silva's ears through his deep contemplation.
"Yes," Silva answered truthfully, "Even though many of them will never see the battlefield and live in relative safety, I still feel as if their lives are ending."
"That's because they are; their lives are no longer their own." Fal replied solemnly, "Their lives belong to the empire, to be used in whatever manner is deemed appropriate."
"The loss of self-determination," Silva nodded as his senses picked apart the emotional charge in the air, "Are they even truly living, if another controls their fates?"
"Are we?" Fal questioned, "We are the ones who will step on the front lines and face the enemy on the Empire's behalf. Forced to risk life and limb under the threat of being labeled a deserter, should we one day choose that there are greater uses of our lengthy lifespans?" w
Silva paused for a moment before speaking, "While I can not speak for every single soldier in the Imperial Army, I made my choice. You told me what would happen if I chose to reveal myself. Every cultivator knows that to pursue the Heavens through the Realms of Ascension is a constant test of fate, knowing that only a scarce few will ever reach a level of note."
Fal listened to his nephew's words and dipped his head in approval, "Well said."
"Thank you, Uncle…I also doubt that there is any greater purpose that one with the moniker of Bloodflame Fiend could find outside of the battlefield."
Fal's brow twitched, and he glared at Silva, "Clearly you don't wish to see the next Realm speaking to your elders in such a manner."
Silva allowed a small smile to return to his face and temporarily banish the heavy burden on his mind, "Please forgive me, Uncle, I mean no disrespect."
Fal scoffed but said nothing and didn't bother to hide the humorous twinkle in his eye.
----
Their casual walk ended a few minutes later when they arrived at the clan center. Already, a large crowd had formed around the cleared section before the main gates, through which the imperial army would arrive in all of its glory.
At the end of the cleared section stood a large tented pavilion that stood atop a freshly constructed wooden platform, raising it above the heads of the crowd. A detail of armored clan guards formed a perimeter, keeping the public from drawing too close.
However, Silva and Fal stood on the wrong side of the tightly knit crowd, blocking their way forward.
"I don't think that the Elders thought this out well. We should have been given the opportunity to arrive before news was spread throughout the clan," Silva commented as he wondered how they would make it through without great difficulty.
"Oh, we were," Fal replied cheerfully, a mischievous smile on his face. "Your brothers and the other elders are no doubt waiting for us in the pavilion."
Suppressing a sigh, Silva glanced at his uncle, "I can't help but question your motive for doing this, when my reputation is already so precarious."
"That is exactly why I'm doing this," Fal replied with a smirk, "So far, the only thing that has been allowed to circulate are rumors. You need to give the Clan some substance to hold onto, which is why you will be clearing a path for us."
"I don't think forcefully clearing a path and pushing people out of the way will give the impression I wish to leave behind," Silva objected with a small frown.
"I never said anything about force; you simply need people to notice your presence," Fal corrected, still smirking.
Silva stared at his Uncle for a moment longer before letting out a sigh and taking a step forward as an aura rolled off his body. After practicing his qi manipulation for almost a month, Silva had naturally learned how to better control his spiritual presence.
The quality and feel of a cultivator's spiritual presence could reveal more about their character and strength than words or actions. Each presence was unique to the individual and possessed distinct behavior and qualities that could be instinctively sensed by all living beings and entities sensitive to qi.
Up until that point, Silva had released his presence only once, when confronted by his two brothers and the elders. Even looking back on it now, Silva could tell that his efforts had been the equivalent of shouting at the top of his lungs. The utility of using one's presence properly had many applications, which only grew with greater control. But the most basic and intuitive was to show one's level of strength.
Wanting only to clear a path, Silva did not project his full presence at once, as it could be a rather uncomfortable, and sometimes even traumatic, experience for those in a lower realm than his.
Instead, Silva opted to have his aura slowly unfurl, expanding from his body as an invisible sphere of influence. However, as the sphere grew, Silva felt a strange sensation run across his mind.
Frowning, Silva focused on the sensation and found a stream of information detailing the locations of everyone around him. Silva knew that even if he closed his eyes, he could still find the mother holding onto the hand of her son to prevent her from being lost in the crowd.
'How strange.'
Forgetting about his original purpose, Silva pushed his presence even further, spreading it across the crowd until he felt a strain at around the twenty-meter mark. At that range, nearly a thousand people fell within his influence, and Silva could sense them all; it almost overwhelmed him, but the novelty of the experience kept Silva entranced.
'It's not just that I can sense them…I can sense their life…the vital energy inside of them.'
As Silva marveled at the new discovery, Fal stared at his nephew with a conflicted expression across his face, 'Maybe I need to sit him down and have a talk about what's considered normal for a cultivator within the Second Realm. But then again, I'll only have so many times I can trick him into showing off, so why not indulge a little bit longer?'
Feeling Silva's presence, Fal couldn't help but nod his head, impressed, 'It seems that your spirit is of the same caliber as your body, little vine. And there's probably even more you're discovering, judging by that distant expression in your eyes. I'm tempted to let you go on.'
Fal then glanced at those nearest in the crowd who were now staring at Silva with wide eyes. Taking out his cane, Fal tapped Silva on the side of his legs, "Alright now, Young Master Silva, I believe that everyone has gotten the point."