Lord Choi's glower had all the servants scrambling away as he strode through the common room of the inn at the top of Maker's way. He loomed over his northern associate and when the expected acknowledgement did not come, hissed, "How dare you?"

"Dare I? Oh, that is rich. Pray, who set the Rainbow-makers after Kal Chul? Did you think I wouldn't find out? Consider it a trade, your champion for mine." The man from Psyonan province leaned back from the table and brushed off the front of his robes.

"My son for a gutter snipe?" Lord Choi bristled.

"A temporary detainment for the permanent loss of the only person outside of a monastery who could key detonators. Consider yourself lucky. At least I did not report you to our friends in the countryside. I can only imagine what they would think."

"They know. It was on their order. How better to get our man into the palace?" Lord Choi sat down, pour himself a drink, and offered a mocking toast.

The former regent shook his head. "They don't understand. He won't be ours after the rituals. If he isn't loyal to the Lei family, he won't survive the initiation. The dragon protects her own."

"A mythical beast vetting candidates? Not likely. Now what are you going to do for my son?" Lord Choi said staring long enough to make the other man blush.

"You have no reason to worry. I have it on good authority that the prince's man already cleared him. Rainbow-maker Mein was certain Me San could not trigger the explosives and keep his newly tuned tiger's eye so pure," his tone conveyed some of the northerner's disappointment.

"At least something good came from that strange team challenge," Lord Choi nodded to himself.

"Yes, well clearly the Crown Prince has suspicions about the Dowager's favorite. You have to wonder what rumors he has been hearing."

"I don't know which stories you tried to plant but the boy's performance was bound to attract attention and I am not at all sorry he was able to shield the judges from your misplaced attack." Lord Choi knocked on the table and announced, "You are done in this city." He signaled two of his personal guards to take charge of his companion.

"Don't come running back north for allies. Oh, and don't count on anyone keeping secrets from Kal Chul. He might not be a seer but the palace will most certainly assign him one."

Lord Choi did not bother acknowledging these warnings. It took all his restraint not to go straight to the jail to confront the guards about his son's treatment. Instead, he made he way to his advocate's office to begin the process of dissolving the business partnerships used to cover weapons deals with his former allies. Now fully awake to the dangers his unfortunate alliance presented, it would take time to fully extricate himself from their informal council without raising suspicions. He finally admitted to himself shifting the balance of power in the kingdom could not come at any price. While he reluctantly accepted breaking the ban on explosives, the accords protections for non-combatants and children should never be ignored. He did not know how he could ever make up for what his son must have gone through in jail where even the slightest suspicions were chased down with whips.

While Choi Me San limped back to his family's estate grateful for the reprieve granted by the Rainbow-maker Mein, Kal Chul wandered in the dank caves below the city's main thoroughfare cursing those seeking to claim him for his special talents. The passage narrowed as it twisted deeper and he brushed against the faintly luminous moss lining the wall. Trying to shake it off the bits clinging to his sleeves spread the glowing spores but did little to reduce the oppressive dark. He squinted ahead to where the path branched in three different directions and stopped to consider his choices. He inched forward on the left-hand path only to feel the floor dropping out from beneath his foot. Kal Chul managed to jump back and grab a rough outcrop. He stayed perfectly still for a minute then made his way back to the junction. He could hear water lapping in the righthand tunnel so gave it a miss.

The middle route took him to a large cavern with a sandy floor. As he made his way along the wall patches of moss lit in different shades. He stopped to study the different patterns and caught his breath as faint images started to appear. It was like watching the shadow of a mountain appearing between heavy rainclouds. The shadows sharpened into brighter flashes of memory and images quickly rolled over each other. The sadness in his mother's eyes, the rare kindness of the cook's assistant, his uncle's strict discipline, being dragged off to school, the beatings he took, running home only to find it ravaged by fire.

Kal Chul had almost the same amount of compassion for his younger self, as he had been shown by Lord Sun-Gyu. As imperfect tool for his father's ambition he accepted the regular litany of his shortcomings as truth. The first shimmers across different colored stones gave him a way out. His father did not want to give him up to the Rainbow-makers and sent to a military academy. When he fought against the structure and prejudices of the retired officers Kal Chul was sent to the northern rebels. As soon as Lord Sun-Gyu had a legitimate heir he dropped Kal Chul but the council found uses for him. He re-lived the terrors of the early months learning the gang's code, and their swift, and often irrevocable form of justice. He ran a finger along the deep scar on his face with the briefest regret. It seemed a fair trade for being able to protect his new family. As he thought about the way the younger boys had looked to him, he started to choke up. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

A soft chime sounded from further along in the chamber. Kal Chul felt along the stone wall and inched around a corner coming to a stop as he felt water lapping at his feet. As he peered around, he spotted a silvery sheen moving towards him. He wanted to run but was riveted in place. A large head rose above him then brought its eyes level to his own. Even as his heart pounded at the beast's nearness, he felt more overwhelmed than threatened. He could see his own reflection in the large eyes and sank to his knees. "Oh mother," he whispered as he surrendered to the darkness.