Always consider the words of a shade carefully. They carry wisdom beyond mortal years but always remember that they are dead. Not all of them have learned from the mistakes that brought them to that state. -James Harrigan of the Summoned Isle.

The darkness of the city was pushed away by silver lanterns hanging from the eaves. Each one was filled with moon qi that swirled and danced, making each one appear as if it had its own personal swarm of fireflies drawing trails in the night. However, more than just the lights dotted the path as we crossed the gently sloping bridge to the Forgotten House. Ghost whisps, fragments of a shade or spirit's power that gathered in the form of small flames, darted across our path.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked.

"The Forgotten aren't normally hostile, so long as you show respect," Lin assured me. "They just have a bad relationship with the Chikara."

"That's not the part that I was asking about."

Lin sighed and smiled, putting a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "You tell me, Yoru. Going to Half-Moon Manor was your idea."

"Yes, but it was conceived in a moment of desperation." I glanced up at the cliff that loomed over us this close to the river. "I'm just not sure I'm that desperate, anymore."

The river ran alongside the hundred-foot cliff that held my palace. Even in the darkness, I could feel the oppressive weight of stone and history hanging above me, waiting to crash down at any moment.

Surely, there was a better way to get the items on the neatly scripted list that was tucked into my sleeve. I mean, how hard was it really to get star cured nectar and lunar ward rods made of high-grade lunar steel straight from the moon? Nevermind that even if we could find such things, it would surely take the entire wealth of Saikan a hundred times over just to pay for them…if we got them at a discount.

"We're too late to turn back now," Lin said. "You promised Xinya stories in order to keep her back at home."

"I give it good odds that she's still going to try and follow us." The day that Lang Xinya stayed put when she was told, especially if there was a dangerous adventure to be had, was the day that I'd hang up my bow and sword and retire. That girl just could not stay back when excitement could be had elsewhere. At this point, I just had to accept it, and make sure to check for my unruly disciple before she could get into trouble.

I began idly chewing on my lip. Lin led the way right up to the gates where he used the large rings on the door to knock. The sound echoed back into the estate, sounding hollow and empty.

"Who goes there?" came a wheezing gasp that sounded more like the wind itself than any person's voice. It was spooky, but I didn't expect anything less from a house full of ghosts who had very likely been dead longer than they'd ever been alive.

"I'm Tenri Lin, from Half-Moon Harbor," Lin began. "I recently met with Crescent. I had hoped to offer my respects to her and to the rest of the Forgotten House."

"You are of the living," the voice rasped. "This is no place for the living."

I rolled my eyes. More shade dramatics. While there were places in the world where the death qi was so great that it sapped the life force of any living person that entered, this was definitely not one of those places. There was far too much moon and void qi in the Black City to leave any room for death to take a significant hold.

"We understand and respect the ways of the Forgotten House. Would you inform Crescent that we would like to see her?" Lin offered a polite bow to the gate.

Whomever was watching us didn't answer. Only the gentle tinkling sound of death chimes echoing from within the estate filled the silence. But, just as I began to wonder if they'd just rudely left us alone outside the gates, Crescent walked straight through the wood to greet us.

"Tenri Lin, Tsuyuki Yoru," she greeted with a bow. "You're very kind to come and see us in this most dire time."

We both returned the bow before Lin answered. "Nonsense. It is only what any other friend would do. How are your people doing since the theft of the array core?"

"They manage," she said, but the weariness of her words spoke far greater volumes.

The Forgotten were certainly experiencing void degradation. The corruption of their souls would soon destroy them, and the resulting void-twisted shades would wreak havoc on the surrounding homes and businesses. All our plans for stabilizing the district would be in shambles if that happened.

"We believe we might have a plan to fix your array," I offered, "but, we'll need help from the Forgotten in order to do so." That immediately got Crescent's attention.

"What sort of plan?"

"We have a large-scale plan to revitalize the fourteenth district, and bring unity to the people," Lin explained. "Fixing your array, feeding the Chikara and the Blushing Rose Sect, and driving off the Shattered Moon Sect."

"That's rather ambitious of you," she said. "And what would you need from the Forgotten?"

"A boat down the river," Lin answered.

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Crescent narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "The only districts down river from here have been darkened for longer than even we can remember."

I bit back a comment about the Forgotten's reputation for forgetfulness. They might be ancient shades, but even their name was a direct reference to just how much they'd forgotten in that time.

I cleared my throat and interrupted. "The districts may be dark, but they also hold the closest viable entrance to Half-Moon Manor."

"Have you lost your damned mind?!" Crescent hissed. "That place is a death trap! You may as well jump in the river here and now, it'll be a far less painful end."

"We believe the Darkened Moon left behind many artifacts that could serve our plans," I explained. My stomach churned at the very idea of stepping into those halls, but I steeled myself. The cliffs were still above me. We weren't there yet.

Crescent raised a hand and ran it through her ghostly strands of hair. "I cannot, in good conscience, send you and the boat to your certain doom."

"Lieutenant," Lin began. "The river is the fastest way. If we take the land route, we will have to navigate streets filled with void spirits who would be more than eager to disintegrate even our bones. If we are to stand any chance of navigating the halls above, we will need to be as close to full strength as possible when we get there."

"Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?" she countered. "The Darkened Moon was insane. Even before he turned outright evil, his sanity was in question. The traps there were conceived in the mind of a madman, and he activated all of them before he departed this world."

I tried my best not to protest the idea that I was a madman even before I was corrupted by the Void. At that time, I was a perfectly rational genius with several incredibly intelligent advisors. The traps within were a combined effort largely conceived on a day when we were all bored out of our minds, as did sometimes happen in times of peace.

"Yoru is descended from the Lunar Prince."

"Even one of his own descendants would not survive that place."

"Lin, maybe this wasn-" Lin interrupted my protests with a glare that was simultaneously withering, and also a bit inspiring. He had complete faith in my plan, even with all the danger it brought.

"We are going to the palace," he declared, both for my benefit and Crescent's. "We would very much like it to be with your help, Lieutenant, since we would be retrieving a core for your array while we're there."

Crescent hesitated. Her hand twitched toward her sword, as if she was considering trying to stop us by force. In the end, though, she seemed to think better of it and sighed.

"I cannot stop you, but I also don't have the authority to grant you a boat," she explained. "Only the Moon Guard himself can approve it to keep people from doing exactly what you're doing. Follow me."

She turned and phased back through the door, leaving Lin and I to push the ancient wood open in order to follow. The inside of the Forgotten House was cold. Death qi was abundant from the sheer number of shades residing there, but it wasn't enough to be dangerous to a pair of Silver cultivators. The plants that once grew on the grounds weren't so lucky. Every courtyard garden was barren, filled only with ghost wisps where flowers once grew. Death chimes lent their chilling song to the breeze, and a shiver went down my spine.

Soon, Crescent led us to a grand house at the back of the estate. The flickering forms of shades danced at the edges of my vision as we entered, but my focus was more on the shade at the center of it all.

I couldn't make out much of his form, as it was smudged and blurred like ink left out in the rain. As he moved, the blurred sections shifted and moved, occasionally revealing the lunar sigils on his armor, or the gentle flow of wavy brown hair down his back, but his face was never revealed.

"Captain, this is Tenri Lin and Tsuyuki Yoru," Crescent introduced. "They have a solution to the power core." We both clasped our hands and bowed our heads. He was an ancient shade, indeed, to have such an unclear form.

The Moon Guard didn't say a word as Crescent explained the plan as we'd described it at the gate. However, her version of it had quite a few colorful words regarding the wisdom of our decision to enter Half-Moon Manor. I thought I might have seen the Moon Guard tweak the slightest of smiles, but it was impossible to tell.

"None have entered that place and returned in living memory," he warned once she was finished. His voice was like a quiet breeze, so faded was it by time. Yet, despite that, there was something about it that stuck in my mind. I had heard that voice before, though I couldn't remember where.

"We know," I answered. "It is not a risk we take lightly."

"What does your brother say?"

"It's dangerous, but leaving the district as it is would be equally so," he said. "What's the difference between being killed by an Ascendent's trap or being ripped apart by the Shattered Moon's Reavers?"

"And what does the child say?"

I wasn't even surprised. Not even a little.

Turning around, there was the flash of a purple hairpin as someone ducked behind the door to remain out of sight. I sighed.

"Didn't I promise you stories once we got back?"

At least now, I wouldn't be forced into an early retirement thanks to the most unlikely of outcomes. Xinya just couldn't resist the lure of danger. To my great irritation, she reminded me a lot of myself at Bronze.

When the little girl didn't answer, I rolled my eyes, crossed my arms, and whispered a command. Immediately, Chiho separated from my hair and zipped out the door in a line of jade that most eyes could not follow.

"Hey! Ouch! Chiho!" Xinya yelped as the pin poked and prodded her back into sight. She stood in the doorway, hands raised to protect against the pin. Behind me, Lin sighed.

"One of these days, I won't be so easily fooled by her lies," he muttered. "I thought this time she might actually stay where she was told."

I bit back a laugh, but I couldn't keep the knowing smile from my face. In the end, I just beckoned her forward. Xinya politely bowed to both Crescent and the Moon Guard before giving her answer.

"My father used to say that 'Those who can must help those who cannot,'" she began. "I wish to be a cultivator who will help others, no matter how dangerous it may be. If my Uncles are going, then I shall to, for I am both their niece and Yoru's disciple."

Crescent glared at me. "You can't seriously be considering taking her with you into that place."

I narrowed my eyes at her. Who did she think she was to question my decisions regarding my disciple? I might have been a guest in her house, but I was Xinya's master, not her. The qi in my core flared around me in a perfect mix of void and moonlight. Threads of misfortune wove themselves around me as I stared her down.

"What I do with my disciple is none of your concern. Her father entrusted her safety to me, and it is only his ghost to which I must answer at the end of this life. Not yours." My words were perfectly even, and Crescent took a step back.

"Forgive me, I spoke out of turn."

"You most certainly did," I finished before turning back to the Moon Guard. "Do our answers satisfy you, Captain? Will we have your aid?"

He nodded his head. "You will. Ready a boat. I shall light a star candle for you."

I smiled and bowed in thanks. It was a tradition. A star candle, placed on the north most roof of a home, would guide loved ones and allies safely home after a long and harrowing journey. As such, I responded with the appropriate continuation of the prayer.

"Place it in the north, and we shall follow its light home."

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