The deep hours of the mountain night had arrived. He carried with them an intimacy so deep that even the high alpine winds seemed to tiptoe across the Floating Mountain.
Across the five terraced levels of the Eternal Cedar Bathhouse, the stone waters continued to flow in quiet, rhythmic harmony. The heavy bronze water gate valves, tuned by Tie Shan to maintain static balance throughout the night, hummed with a gentle, sub-heard whisper. The fragrant steam from the aged storm-cedar staves rose in lazy, semi-clear curls toward the twin moons. It formed a soft canopy of warm mist that shielded the pavilion from the frost of the upper air.
The thousands of mortal and beastfolk guests who had filled the pavilion throughout the long evening were now fast asleep. Down in the adjoining guest pavilions and residential wings, sect patriarchs, goblin smiths, beast clan shamans, and royal ministers rested side by side upon thick tatami mats and fleece pallets. Their bellies were full of roasted barley and braised tubers, their snoring rising in gentle, peaceful swells.
Out on the wide, sheltered eastern porch overlooking the silver sea of clouds, the inner circle remained.
Lin Xiao stood by the edge of the shallow stepped pool in his human scholar avatar. The midnight-blue cloud-silk lounging haori hung loosely from his shoulders, soft and whisper-light against his skin. His feet, planted firmly upon the smooth wooden walkway planks, soaked in the leftover earth-heat warmth of the copper chimney pipes running beneath the timber.
