Vietnamese Gods: The Crane and The Bagua

First Challenge: The Crane

Recap: On the last episode, Desmond Sullivan and his butler arrived at The Snake, only to be interrupted by assassins from the Left. Making quick work of his pursuers, our protagonist left one alive “as a sacrifice for later.” Now, the trio face two challenges before they are granted entrance: The Crane and the Bagua. What are they? Read on and find out.

The Snake was a work in progress. Originally a branch of Yggdrasil that broke off, Princess Liễu Hạnh, the God of Wisdom and Architecture, started her masterpiece from the the closed, pointed tip and worked toward the opened end. With each finished section, she erected glass panes on both sides. “Why built something and not show if off to the world?” - The glass panes said in place of their mistress.

“Girl, have you seen the either end of this city?” - Desmond Sullivan spoke to the assassin leader, who was trailing behind him and his butler.

There was no answer, but a slight pause in her pace.

“Just answer. I know you’re interested in my aunt’s city from your phone. You can’t escape anyway, not with your sisters in our hands. So, I say you might as well learn something. The more you know about what’s up ahead, the more you are useful to me anyway.” - Desmond turned around and smiled. His eyes, however, were looking at a bug rather than a human being.

“My sisters. Where are they?” - How dare a traitor looked down on her?

“Another word out of line and I immediately kill them.” - Desmond jumped at the girl, his hand on her neck. “Got it?”

Through tears, the girl nodded. Desmond loosen his grip, the smile returned.

“Good girl. Now, let’s start over. In order to defend itself, a territory is best built upon favorable terrains. That’s obvious, yes? You build a castle IN the mountain, and you only have to defend the front. Save resources, yes?” - Desmond explained, slowly. He has long become an expert of explaining concepts. “I can safely assume that most of them are dumb,” the boy once shared.

“I’m not a kid.”

“You might be as stupid as one until proven. Prove it, what am I going to say next?” - An easy enough task, depending on the concept.

“One end of Princess Hạnh’s domain stretched to the shore, naturally defended. The other end, I have yet been, but I assume it’s heavily surveilled and guarded.” - The girl puffed out her chest.

“Wow. The Left’s education did you well, girl. You can actually think.” - It was a genuine compliment without a hint of sarcasm. The girl wished it had been sarcasm, for at least she could direct her anger outward at him. That made her even angrier.

“Next time, however, think harder.” - There it is. She let out a sigh of relief, accompanied by a glare at Desmond. - “Have you not heard of boats? Even if you’re from the mountains, it should be common language that warship can deal as much damage as a tank. And where do you think Father, a DRAGON, and his troops, the FISH people, come from, girl?”

“I…”

“You are blessed with a brain. USE IT. Fuck I hate idiots. Anyway…” - Desmond breath in. Exhale. Smile. - “As you will soon see, the glass panes are more than just walls. Well, you’ll see if you survive the crane.”

And they kept walking, until they reached The Mouth of The Snake.

---

“Are they not your sisters? Try a little harder, will you?” - Desmond shouted, sitting with Mr. Trọng on a tree branch 20 meters away.

Looking through a pair of binoculars, Desmond saw the little girl fending off a giant crane, narrowly dodging its drill-like beak. She danced and spun and weaved in between each attack, utilizing the wind to her advantage, leading it through a samba where one wrong step could be her demise.

“Hey, whatever you do, don’t hit the wings. They are quite fragile. The Princess will be very angry if you hurt her precious birds. Oh, and we’ll also kill your sisters. - Desmond said, encouragingly.

There was an angry “bang” when the girl raised her shield to defend against a leg sweep. Humans can only concentrate for so long. The impact sent her straight to the tree. As this is a children‘s tale, I will spare their innocent eyes of what the girl said to Desmond.

“I really do wish you would put the same energy into fighting. But I guess if you want something done, you have to do it yourself. Trọng, knock that thing down for me, will ya?” - Desmond was clearly enjoying this. Meanwhile, the tree shook as the crane charged at the new targets, its head lowered to increase the speed, its beak was ready to make shish-kebab out of anything in the way. The girl closed her eyes and recited her mantra.

“Permission to speak, Young Master?”

“Granted.”

“You Lefts are so dramatic.”

With that said, Mr. Trọng jumped down and waited, one hand behind his back. Right before the beak came, the butler spun to the right, his leg drew half a circle in the sand, his palm did a pushing motion at the peak. The contact point exploded with air, the peak veered sharply to the left, piercing the tree, Mr. Trọng’s leg completed the circle.

“That’s Tai Chi, little miss.” - The butler took a stance, his palms pressed together.

“Aunty ought to train these things better.” - That was mere bravado, for Desmond knew well how nightmarish a fully-grown crane could be. He had one in his pocket, and just the memory sent a shiver down his spine, an event so unfamiliar that his upper body contorted and twist like it’s been stung by the biggest mosquito.

Desmond climbed down from the tree and yanked a feather out of the very angry - but also very stuck - crane. He then threw a handful of gold dust at the giant eyes. Lights immediately left them, and the crane was asleep. Desmond held up the feather, so blue it blends with the sky, revealing beneath the rachis and barbs that resembled a key.

“These are the famous Princess’ Cranes.” - These things were weaponized during the War, so this is the first time Mr. Trọng could see one in such pristine condition.

The girl, meanwhile, dug her face deep inside the giant bird. Putting your ears closer, and you could hear her muttering “i’m sorry please forgive me” over and over again.

“Unlike The Sphinx who guards The Pyramid, these cranes act more as recruiters, allowing warriors a spot in aunty’s Palace. Fortunately for us, they were not instructed to kill.”

“I heard there were originally two of them.” - Mr. Trọng said, eyeing his Young Master’s pocket.

“Indeed.”

---

“Kudos to you, boy

You’ve passed the first challenge

Rate me out of 10?” - A voice rattled Desmond’s head, in a haiku.

“You’re far from your mother, but your ferocity deserves credits, bird. I’ll give you a solid 6.”

“How long did I sleep?

The sand of Hypnos, that was,

I napped really well.” - The crane continued, thankful for both the rating and his break.

“About 10 minutes. We don’t have a lot of time, bird, so get on with it.”

“Young heroes these days,

Are they all so impatient?

The group before, too.”

“Old pal, the bird told me a group of five heroes are up ahead.” - Desmond called his butler over.

“I assume there are some reasons we cannot take them out?”

“Afraid so. As I said, these tests are for recruitment, and aunty paid Death quite well for this. If any who enters was to die, they would be immediately respawned, all injuries healed.”

“Why have I not heard of this?”

“Of course, it’s… new.”

“Ah, Young Master. Have you designed something you can not solve?”

“You know me so well, old pal. The bird will now fly us over my chef-d'œuvre, The Bagua, and drop us right in the middle of it.”

Mr. Trọng froze with pride and fear, for his Young Master has managed to finish The Bagua, The Eight-Trigrams, The Impossible Labyrinth.

A Bagua.

This is the fifth episode of this novel. The third episode is here. (The forth is a two-parter).

If you would like more information on Vietnamese Mythology, you’ve come to the right place.

Want to know how to pronounce the Vietnamese words in the post? I have a Glossary too (although it might take me quite a while to fully update it).