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Day 18

[Greenhouse]

Glorfindel has been spending a lot of time in the garden, what those on the train called the greenhouse. His flowers were already starting to push up through the dirt, which he was encouraging with his light. He was also singing some songs from his old home, back when Ecthelion kept making up songs for every occasion and then getting them stuck in everyone's heads.

If anyone else is growing something in the greenhouse, it is thriving by association.

He is singing softly to his flowers as he waters them, the room is suspiciously bright.

[Cabin](For roommates to walk in on him if you want to!)
Glorfindel frowned at his bed. It was...functional, but lacked interest. If he was going to spend time here, he wanted to personalize his space more. He knew there was fabric available somewhere on the train. He wondered where he could get his hands on some, and if they had any greens and yellows, if there were sewing kits available, and what his roommates would think of custom curtains.

[Hallway]

Glorfindel stepped out into the hall, glancing out the windows at the colorful display outside. He was on a mission to find a sewing kit. He wondered where to start looking.

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"Then, after the wedding, I will look you up for lessons," Glorfindel said with a smile.

"That sounds like an interesting tale. May I ask what happened? And...what exactly is 'cultivation?'"

Edited 2020-05-03 01:15 (UTC)

"That is fine. We can meet for lessons then."

"Cultivation is using your spiritual energy to control not only your own life force but the world around you. Many cultivators use it to help defeat creatures that wish to do the living harm. My sect, Gusu Lan, uses music for different tasks as well."

So yes, he used the guqin for his cultivation.

"The story is complicated. I would need Wei Ying's confirmation of what to share. It is not my place to decide."

"I look forward to it."

"Interesting. That does sound a lot like how some elves and maiar deal with the world. So you don't just look like round-eared elves, then," he said with a quick grin. "I have a couple of old friends who would be fascinated by your sect. To them music is as important as breathing. I am very fond of it myself, but can go days without playing something." But not humming or singing. He does it for the plants. Really.

"That is perfectly understandable. If the two of you decide to share, I will be happy to listen. For my part, my story is mostly my own, so there is that."

"Elves have abilities like what I have described then?" He hadn't really heard of them before, but now he was curious. "What sorts of things are they able to do?"

"My story is mine, but his is his. We lived very different lives that intersected for the longest time without coming together. Now, our stories will join."

"It depends on the elf, of course. But combining magic and art is not uncommon. Feanor, Nerdanel, and their children are excellent examples of that. In Imladris we convince the plants to work with us to make a harmonious place to live. And we oppose evil. Strongly." Even their swords glow at the presence of evil.

"Ah, of course. It is not just his story that interests me, of course. I would be interested to hear your story as well, if you were to share."

"Gusu Lan is not like most cultivation sects. Any gentleman of standing will study and attempt to excel in the six arts - rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics. Nearly every disciple of Gusu Lan practices one instrument since we can use our energy to work through it. Being able to work with plants does seem like a worthwhile endeavor."

WangJi strummed on his guqin.

"I am the Second Master of Gusu Lan. My father was the sect leader, but he had gone into seclusion so it was my uncle who raised myself and my older brother XiChen."

Glorfindel nodded at the six arts. "We do not study charioteering, as we tend to ride on the horses, rather than behind them, but other than that, it sounds like a fair approximation of what a young elf would be expected to learn. Including learning and instrument. Music is very important to us."

Glorfindel made himself more comfortable, slipping into his meditation pose, as he listened to Lan Wangji's story.

Edited 2020-05-07 03:28 (UTC)

"I don't use a chariot myself either. I ride on horseback." Interesting how the two were so similar to each other.

"I was raised as a disciple of Gusu Lan, following our family rules perfectly. Our uncle would have it no other way. When I was sixteen, disciples from other sects came to Gusu Lan to study. Among them was Wei Ying."

He paused for a moment, still strumming on the guqin. Not any song in particular.

"I was attracted to him since, as far I can tell, the moment I saw him. But he was so very different."

Interesting how similar their peoples were, Glorfindel thought.

"Are there many rules?" he asked.

"Was this a common thing, having other sects come to study at your own? It does seem a little like the exchanges we have as well, honestly. Exchanging people with the Greenwood, back in the day, with Lothlorien, with Mithlond. Back in Valinor there was even more such things." He remembered it with great fondness in fact.

"Different in what way," he asked, curious.

"At the time I came of age, there were 3000. Now there are 4300."

"Exchanging disciples was more common back then. Gusu Lan has the largest library of any sect and Uncle is considered a master teacher. At the time, he was said to be able to straighten out even the most unruly of students. He has only had one true failure."

"That failure was Wei Ying. He did not want to pay attention to our rules and frequently broke them. His first night and our first meeting, he broke three: having alcohol, being out after curfew, and unsanctioned fighting as I was trying to prevent him from entering as it was after curfew."

Glorfindel's eyebrows went up. "That is a lot of rules. Are they mostly common sense ones, Like No Fighting, or more esoteric ones, like Do Not Touch the Sharp End of the Sword?" Which was totally a rule in Imladris. He was still a little grumpy at the fact he'd had to make that one, but some trainees just wouldn't listen.

Glorfindel laughed. "From your description, he sounds a bit like Master Erestor. Right down to the library and dealing with unruly students. He was one of my best friends."

"I see. That is one way to make an impression, to be sure!" Glorfindel could just picture it. There was always one like that. "We do not have a rule against drinking, per se, as it does not affect elves very much. Though there is against drinking while on duty, and on doing so while fighting. But then, *my* trainees were there to learn to fight, so different needs." He tilted his head. "If he was such a person, what made you think, "Ah, he's the one?'"

"I suppose it is both rules and things to live by. Alcohol is forbidden, as is running, unsanctioned fights, causing noise, and talking behind people's backs. However, there are others like do not disrespect the younger; do not disrespect the elder; be respectful and humble, and do not give up on learning."

"I'm sure Master Erestor and Uncle would get along then."

"Alcohol can cause so many problems if it is not handled properly and within one's limits so Lan An thought it best to forbid it from our sect." He's relaxed a bit on that over the years. He allowed Wei WuXian to have alcohol and even bought it for him. But WuXian had a higher tolerance than many.

At the next question, he paused again, letting the strings vibrate. "I can't be sure what started it anymore. It was his face, his free spirit, the fact that he never felt defeated by a situation. Unlike myself and others in Gusu Lan, he was and still is unpredictable."

If WangJi knew anything about teen dramas, this would be the "good girl falling for the bad boy" story line, but he had no idea about that.

Glorfindel nodded. Those do make sense. Our human trainees are not allowed alcohol while they are in training, of course. Erestor might know if the rules were ever written down and numbered, but as far as I am aware, most were unspoken rules." He smiled slightly. "Elves are quite good at those."

"It only takes one or two abusing something to ruin it for everyone," Glorfindel agreed. "Was she the one to first write the rules, or did they gradually evolve? It sounds as though they are still doing so."

"I can see the appeal." Briefly he thought of Aragon and Arwen, though theirs was a different romance.

Fortunately Glorfindel is not one to educate him on that, as he knows nothing about them either.

"It certainly does make sense to limit alcohol to those who are on duty or in training. I'm sure other sects do that as well." He can't imagine Nie MingJue would have tolerated drunk cultivators when they were supposed to be productive.

"Lan An was a monk and our sect's founder. He left the monastery and found his fated one. After she passed, he returned to the monastery. All sect leaders have direct lineage with Lan An. He wrote the rules for our sect. Others have been added based on circumstances."

~~Wei Ying had inspired a few of them from his uncle...~~.

"There is something appealing about unpredictable when you have spent your life as a leave on a slow-moving river, always going in one direction."

"My apologies, I did not intend to misgender the founder of your sect." He tilted his head. "May I ask what a monastery is? I am not familiar with the term."

"I can see that." He smiled. "I think that is why Idris fell for Tuor, now that I think about it. Gondolin, my home during the First Age, was a walled city, and we were quite isolated. Tuor came at the behest of Ulmo to convince her father, King Turgon, to return to the coast. He did not. Our Doom ensued. But they were the grandparents of Elrond, the Lord of Imladris, who I currently...who I used to serve, until he sailed." Right, he did have to remember that. He'd been released from Elrond's service.

"It is well. You did not know. A monastery is a building where monks live. They generally follow strict religious practices and preform important ceremonies for villages and towns."

So yes, the reason why Gusu Lan is so strict. They were founded by someone used to that lifestyle.

"Your doom ensued from not returning to the coast? If I may ask, what was it that happened?"

Glorfindel nodded. Some followers of the Valar were somwhat the same way. Enough that he felt he had a grasp on it. [Though he has no clue about the no sex part!]

He smiled slightly. "That is a story for sure. The king's sister had a son, who was welcomed with open arms. But he...fell for his cousin, Idris. When spurned, and for other reasons, he allied with Morgoth and aided the Dark Lord in finding our hidden city and invading it."

Yep, Lan An was different from a monk in the respect, that he went and found a wife and founded their sect. But having many thoughts on how one should live their life he did have.

"That... is definitely a story. So he allied with the Dark Lord because he was not allowed to be with his cousin?"

Shocking!

"Well, he had other problems," Glorfindel said. "He had a dark spirit, due to how his father and mother were. It was not a...happy relationship. When he finally arrived in Gondolin, the twisting of his soul had started, but even though Turgon welcomed him and treated him like kin, he was shunned by some for what his father did."

"Looking back, I see I could have done more. But I was still in shock over my failure to protect his mother, and did not step up as I should have. Few knew of his feelings toward Idris until it was too late, however."

"I see. That seems to be a problem that is common to all worlds, unfortunately. We have such problems in our own sects. Of course, beings - mortal or immortal - are failable, but not all of them consider how those things will affect others."

"I'm sure that you did what you could at the time given what you were able to."

"At the time, all I could do was get as many out and to safety as I could," Glorfindel said. "But...I'd like to think I learned from that."

He nodded. "Darkness can enrapture almost anyone. But as those sworn to protection, as I am now, having been reborn, our job is to drive back that darkness, and hopefully save the person." He laughed a little. "Or at least, that is my job. Forgive me if I assumed. It's just, what you describe...I think I would feel very much at home in your world."

"Learning from a situation is important. It is what allows us to move forward and grow."

WangJi was quiet for a moment, thinking of WuXian then nodded. "Yes, I think that we would get along in each other's worlds. It has also happened in our world that there have been effected by darkness."

Glorfindel chuckled. "Those who refuse to learn and grow frustrate me. Sometimes an object lesson is necessary."

"We should compare notes on overcoming darkness." He held up his hand which glowed translucent. "I like to shine a light, personally."

"It is true that others should be willing to learn and those that aren't can be difficult."

He looked at Glorfindel's hand when he showed it to him. "In more ways than one. I have always intended to help maintain balance in the world."

"Some need to be shown the light, no pun intended, in order to see that it is in their best interest." He shook his head. "Though I am not one to force anyone to change, but only persuade them. If their heart lies elsewhere, then that is the lesson they need to learn. Not everyone is meant to be a warrior, in other words." And as the teacher, it was important for him to remember that.

"What do you mean by balance?" There were many ways to take that, and Glorfindel was curious.

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