59.i Nebula's Parting

~ Ham Song ~

“Take a look at what I got, Hambro.” Seven held his gift up to the light. “Think I can sell it?”

“At least have the decency to wait until after the performance is over before you talk about pawning off your blessings!”

Ham Song turned his back on the good-natured but sometimes downright annoying sponsor. Inwardly, he thought, I wonder what sort of gift my benevolent monkey got.

Ham Song himself had received a lovely jade hoop that he fitted snugly to the base of his unbroken tusk. Maybe now spirits will stop mistaking him for someone’s food or pet. Though, that was some very hopeful thinking, Dear Traveler.

By now, Sun Terra was wrapping up her performance. Ham Song, who sensed the end was near, took this time to completely ignore his companions and simply focus on the image of Sun Terra seated atop her great mount.

Center of the revolving herd – arms folded, eyelids peacefully closed, head tilted towards the sky – she herself basked in the power she possessed over all beasts.

“How in the heck did she summon all those elk?” Sun Seven asked, once again muddling the moment with his lack of etiquette.

“I don’t think that was the only thing she summoned,” Bodhi said, their voice a steady tranquil thing. Curious, Ham Song glanced over to see the monk pointing up.

Above, the clouds parted, revealing the snowy peak of a mountain that loomed just beyond the crease in the stadium ceiling.

Both the jaws of Ham Song and Sun Seven dropped.

Sweet immortal peaches. She summoned a whole mountain too?

The moment of realization was followed with a hot command from below.

“YAH!”

No longer lost in meditation, Sun Terra steered the alpha elk around in tight circles, exhilaration spilling from her aura as her beaded tassels unfurled into the wind.

The leader of the herd then charged forward through the ocean of elk, who parted their ranks with what had to be instinct.

Terra rode hard into and up the stands, the rest of the herd following without hesitation. They leapt over many heads and landed on surfaces that should not be able to hold a 400-pound elk.

The stadium was back to rumbling. Everyone held their breath and miraculously still as Terra recklessly guided the herd up to the unlocked ceiling of the Divine Cave of Three Stars.

For a while they disappeared into the blind spot before resurfacing again up the sheer mountainside.

They disappeared once more into the clouds.

~

I didn’t want to spoil the wondrous and true feeling of that last scene, Dear Traveler, but now I have to.

That performance was good enough to put the Earthbound Sage ahead – way ahead of both Sun Zhaoling and Sun Tie Quan. But there was one thing that the rabbit judges took lots of points off for.

You see, Sun Terra scored lower than she would have liked because, well, those enchanted elk left behind a lot of enchanted elk poop all over the stadium.

It was a real mess, Dear Traveler.

So much so that the tournament had to take a 24 hour intermission just to get the place cleaned up.

Let’s see how Sun Ritsu decided to use those 24 hours…