House of Courage
"Guh. Stupid rocks." Ruki Nü stood up straight and stretched out his tired muscles. "Mite Xu always makes working stone look so easy. This stuff's impossible to shape right."
"Are you saying that you can't build it?"
"Uhm..." Ruki Nü craned his head awkwardly up. A war goddess stood looking down at him from a pile of stone. She did not look happy. "Hi."
"Is a shrine beyond your skills?" The Sweet Voice of Brass and Glory's voice rang loud in his ear.
The craftsman scratched his head and tried to smile. "Well... No... But they aren't really my specialty. I'm better with flying things; grand swooping wings, rotating fans, bags of hot air..."
"I'm not asking you to perform geomancy."
Ruki Nü shrugged. "You sort of are. Building a manse..."
"I found you the demesne already, and it's one where two Dragon Lines barely cross - surely it can't be too taxing for you."
"No... It's just..." Ruki Nü cast his gaze further east, towards the Gatehouse of the Five Winds and his far-too unfinished skyfleet. "My work."
"I would ask another to do this if I could." The goddess stepped down from the unworked stone and when she spoke again she had muted her voice. "But you are what I have, Ruki Nü, and I need your help. Every other artisan of The Xuan Wu Academy is occupied in some project to rebuild Marukan. You alone could be spared for this."
"But why is it so important that it happen now? Why can't it wait until one of the others is ready. Inam Niu builds wonderful manses."
"Within a week, Storm of Amber will ride here to unlock the fifth gate of his Essence. I must watch over him while he does, and I'll have to be constantly at my full strength. That can only happen if I've a home here."
Power and beauty mixed in her voice and moved something in Ruki Nü's heart. He would have built the manse anyway - for all his protests, it was his job to serve - but something about the way the goddess spoke inspired him to something loftier than simple construction.
"Red sandstone," he said. "Elegant stairs cascading down either side. A water trough for purification, on the east side to balance out the Wood Essence, and a grand red hall to capture the sound of your song for him."
The craftsman smiled at the goddess. "When I'm done, your little shrine will seem to fly."
