Chapter Text
“Sit and I will tell you the story of how the Council of Spiders came to be.”
}{
In the year 220 BCE, nearly a year before the formation of the first Chinese Empire, a young girl named Liu Qing was playing along the Yangzi River when she came upon a strange sight.
Liu Qing was an adventurous girl, prone to wandering off to explore despite her parents orders not to. Such was the circumstance she was in when she happened upon a group of strangers. They were tall, darker skinned, and spoke in such a strange tongue. Their clothes were heavier and more muted in color than the bright pastels of Chinese garb.
Liu Qing was fascinated, if slightly frightened. She was desperately curious about these strangers but she was wary of any approach. Her homeland had been plagued by centuries of warlords vying for power, she could not be sure of the intentions of these people.
It would have been smart for the young girl to return home and warn her parents of her findings, but childish wonder won over caution. Liu Qing settled herself between two berry bushes, careful to not let her robes snag on the leaves.
For an innumerable amount of time the little girl watched these people. She sat, fascinated as they pitched strange tents, conversed in strange languages, and played strange games. Somewhere in their camp there was food cooking, the aromatic scents wafting to Liu Qing’s hiding place and making her mouth water.
“Mrhban!”
Barely holding back a yelp, Liu Qing swiveled around from her seating position and met green eyes the shade of the forest. One of the strangers- a young boy roughly her age- was crouched behind her, head tilted curiously.
The boy jolted as if reminded of something, then said in heavily accented Chinese, “Hello!”
Liu Qing hesitated, then gave a swift bow in greeting. “Hello,” she replied.
The boy smiled. “Why are you watching us?” he asked.
“I was curious,” Liu Qing answered. “Your people seem very strange.”
“We’re not from here,” the boy replied. “We are traveling the world in search of magic.”
“Magic?”
“Yes!” the boy nodded. “Back home my people are sick, so we’re traveling the world searching for a cure that is rumored to be on Earth as a gift from the gods.”
Liu Qing gasped. What a plight! She was not sure what magic the boy must be talking about. The closest thing she could think of was the healing waters of Liu Long, her people’s Great Dragon. Perhaps if she went to him with the story of the boy’s struggles he would have a solution. But outwardly Liu Qing said nothing of the Great Dragon. He was, after all, a sacred being and knowledge of his existence was meant to be a secret to outsiders.
“I do not know of any magic,” Liu Qing said. “But I can ask my people if they are able to help yours, at least while you are in the area.”
The boy nodded eagerly. “That would be wonderful! Your land is very beautiful, but also very different from home.”
A woman’s shout rang out from the camp behind them.
The boy laughed. “That would be my mother. It’s time to eat, you should join us!”
Liu Qing lit up at the chance to try the food she’d been smelling the last several hours. “I would greatly appreciate it!” She said. Scrambling up from her spot under the bush, Liu Qing gave the other child another bow. “This one is named Liu Qing.”
The boy grinned and copied her movement with an awkward grace. “Hello Liu Qing! I am named Ra’s al Ghul. It is truly a delight to meet you.”
}{
The girl trembled as she was led down the corridor. Shadows danced on walls carved from stone. Every few meters hung a tapestry, each depicting a different scene from the tale she’d just heard. The art was stylistically done, which made the faces twisted in anguish all the more horrifying.
Her eyes flicked to the woman leading her. The Queen cut an imposing figure as she walked. Despite her fear, awe kindled in the girl’s chest.
How truly unwavering the Queen must be to have survived all that she had, and still uphold such a responsibility in which the world depended? The girl could only hope that with the training the Queen promised, she too, could reach such a state of duty despite the odds of life.
The sun was warm when they emerged into the courtyard. There was a slight bustle in the air as handservants moved about, cleaning, tending to the gardens, or running through exercises just outside of the east wing of the compound. While there was a distinct lack of joyful sounds, there was also no indication of suffering or unease. Each person did their task with the cadence of one who knew their role and was determined to fulfill it.
Cracking through the stoicism was a bright peal of laughter.
Surprised by such a noise, the girl turned her attention to the shade under the old willow tree that sat in the center of the property.
A man was sitting there, playing quietly with a toddler. Wind rustled through the boughs of the tree, the leaves parted, sunlight shone through and highlighted the child in a soft glow. Eyes, shimmering an otherworldly blue, turned their attention towards the Queen.
The girl gasped.
“Is that him?” she asked. “Is that the baby from your story?”
The courtyard became silent. Deadly.
The girl looked to the Queen and her blood turned to ice.
To her credit, the Queen did not bother to threaten her with death or maiming. That had already happened. No, the woman simply pinned the girl to the ground with her gaze alone.
“The first lesson as a blooming member of the Council,” the Queen began, “is that of secrecy. We have survived this long due to such. I do not have to tell you what happens to those who betray our secrets.”
The girl swallowed, mouth dry. She looked at the boy, playing with his small wooden duck under the willow tree. She looked up at the mountain looming over the compound, the catacombs of broken bones half burned to ash hidden underneath.
No. No she did not need to be told of what happens to those who betrayed the secrets of the Council of Spiders.
}{
“Guess who.”
Liu Qing yelped as hands coarse from desert sand covered her eyes from behind. A voice, low and warm chuckled in her ear.
“Ra’s!” the young woman scolded. She turned and swatted at the man’s arms before throwing herself into them. “It’s been so long, I’ve missed you terribly.”
Ra’s hummed and embraced Liu Qing back. “And not a day went by that I didn’t think of you, beloved. How have you been this last year? Busy?”
Liu Qing shifted herself so she was settled against her companion’s side. “Yes. Preparations are almost complete. We just have to pick out a sapling, but I was waiting until your return to do so. Mother and Father are getting impatient with waiting, you would think they were the ones getting married.”
Ra’s smiled. “They’re just excited to have someone in the family who can reign you in.”
“Oh, and you think that’s you?” Liu Qing teased. “I’m not sure that statement is correct, but I suppose if it is, then you’ll need the practice!”
With that, the young adult danced away from her love’s side, laughing when he gave chase.
}{
The girl- in her late teens now- twirled around the grounds with a grace only one who’d been training for a decade could accomplish. Her knife danced across her fingers and through the air.
Step, thrust, spin, slice.
The movements were cold. Efficient. The girl made no sound as she wove her way through the exercise, not even a whisper of air from her feet.
Twirl, duck, parry… kill.
The girl stilled as she finished with the arc of a killing blow. She held the pose for a beat before turning to face the Queen. Blue eyes appraised her.
“Well, done.” The Queen stood. She gathered her robes and handed the last of her lotus seeds to the boy playing at her feet. “Dinner will be served in a few hours. Ensure you are presentable by then.”
The girl bowed to the Queen. “I will, thank you.” She hesitated. “It is good to see you again, I have missed your presence.”
The Queen paused in her departure. A smile, invisible to those who believed her incapable of one, fluttered across her lips. The girl was not such a doubter. “I hope to hear of your adventures while I was away, Young One. Too long it has been since you’ve regaled my family of such atrocities.”
The girl managed to hold in her laugh until the Queen disappeared back into the central house. A weight collided into her shins as she expressed her mirth, and she looked down.
Eyes, ever otherworldly blue, gazed up at her.
“Bah bah!” the boy, scarcely older than when she’d last seen him burbled at her. His tiny hands waved in the air.
Carefully sheathing her knife away from the grabby paws, the girl knelt and picked the boy up and tucked him against her chest. “Hello Little Brother. I hope you have been behaving yourself.”
“Buh!” the boy cried indignantly, before snuggling his head under the girl’s chin.
“I have missed you too, Little Brother.”
}{
“Talk to me, please.”
Ra’s sighed, the man’s mouth opening and closing on his response before he ultimately gave up and hung his head. Liu Qing sat silent next to her husband. Finally the man spoke.
“I don’t understand how you could keep such a thing a secret from me all this time.”
Liu Qing gazed at her husband sorrowfully. “I have never wanted to harm you, Love. But you must understand, Liu Long- our Great Dragon- is a creature who has long protected us and our lands. He is a child of Nature, he is not bound by the same laws us mortals are. He is powerful, yes, but his open heart makes him vulnerable. In a way, our Great Dragon is naive to the anger and hatred of men. It is why my people- our people- keep him a secret to outsiders. It is why you are only learning of him now.”
“I understand why you had to keep Liu Long a secret,” Ra’s said. “But what of his healing waters? Gods above, Dearheart, you of all people should know what that means to me!”
Ra’s leapt to his feet and began to pace in the clearing of their new home, steps jerky with anger. “My people have been dying, suffering for over a decade, and from the moment we met you had the means to help them and said nothing!”
“It is not that simple!” Liu Qing cried. “Long ago, before our ancestors were even a whisper of thought, there were those who attempted to steal Liu Long and his powers. They came to him and claimed that they were in desperate need. And because he is gentle hearted he offered his help and what did they do? They chained my Great Dragon, they attempted to make him their own. You must understand, Ra’s, that Liu Long, like the other Great Dragons of the world, is connected deeply to Earth. When he began to suffer under those people’s hands, this whole land began to suffer.
“Crops began to die, the ground turned to ash. People, animals, and plants all got sick, and the skies turned stormy with grief. Our Great Dragon was dying and with no one to inherit his power this land and its inhabitants were doomed.
“A small group of people native to the land rallied together to rescue and return Liu Long to his grounds. But they were too late. However, Nature was grateful to this group of people for their love and kindness to her son, and blessed Liu Long with his healing waters so that he might stay on Earth and protect the people who protected him. But if he were to be removed from his waters, his fatal wounds would return and he and this land would surely die.”
Liu Qing curled her arms around her legs and stared up at the sky. “That is the story of how my people came to be. That is why Liu Long must be kept a secret. Because should outsiders gain knowledge of him, what is to stop them from destroying my people in a bid for his ownership? Truly, my Love, I am sorry that I have kept this from you. That I have hurt you and your people by withholding such knowledge. But I will not apologise for protecting my Great Dragon, the one who has loved and provided for my people for centuries.”
There was silence in the clearing as the young couple digested their thoughts. Finally Ra’s returned to his wife’s side.
“Do you know why I chose the willow sapling as our marriage oath?” he asked. It was a redundant question, of course his wife knew. The man continued regardless. “It is because the willow represents resilience, adaptability, healing, and new life.”
Ra’s took Liu Qing’s hands in his own. “I will uphold those values, Dearheart. I will try to come to terms. I will just need time.”
Tears dripped down Liu Qing’s cheeks. “I am sorry.”
“Me too.”
}{
Cries and the clang of metal on metal rang through the compound.
The girl- a young woman now- slammed the butt of her knife into an assassin's temple, wasting no time and vaulting forward as the figure crumpled to the ground. The screams of a child in the rooms ahead burned her ears as she scrambled ahead, killing as she went. Downstairs and outside cries of death and the stench of blood cloyed the air. But they were meaningless compared to the terrified sounds coming from the bedroom ahead.
Little Brother.
The young woman slammed into the door, smashing the old wood to splinters as she barreled into the room. Standing by the bed against the wall, were two assassins dressed in the same black garb as the others infiltrating the compound.
One was a woman, olive skin and green eyes peeking out from the wrappings hiding the rest of her face. In her hand was a small vial, a liquid glowing a disgusting green inside. The needle tip had scarcely pierced Little Brother’s arm, but it was just enough that a drop of blood had already welled up.
The other assassin, a man, was holding the boy tightly and preventing the wailing child from escaping whatever poison the two were attempting to inject into him.
The young woman who had once been a scared lonely girl saw red.
Faster than either of her opponents could blink, she was across the room and sinking her blade into the man’s jugular. The female assassin, startled, backpedaled away. The young woman snatched up her Little Brother and bundled the child behind her.
“What did you do to him?” she snarled at the intruder, grateful for her own disguise that prevented her opponent from reading the panic on her face.
To her credit, the enemy assassin did not flinch at the young woman’s tone. Instead her head tilted hautily. “My Father is simply attempting to reclaim what is his,” she sneered. “For too long has this witch hidden away his son. Just you wait, someday the boy will stand at his rightful place in my Father’s house.”
“And where would that put you?” the young woman spat back. “Where does that put you now? Just a stepping stone until the true heir returns?”
The assassin’s body was still. Rage made the figure tremble. “I will not be poisoned against my Father,” she spat, then disappeared out the window.
The young woman let her go. She had infinitely more important matters to attend to.
“Jiejie!” Little Brother wailed. His pudgy hands tugged on her pant leg.
The young woman turned and knelt, gathering the boy into her arms. “Hush,” she soothed. “Little Brother, it is alright, I am here.”
Eyes, still blue but dulled now, human now stared up at her. The young woman’s breath hitched. No. No.
A scuff of a shoe on wood alerted the young woman and she spun to face the doorway.
The Queen stood there, eyes blue and wild and mortal darted around the room. Blood dripped from her sword and there was gore splattered across her robes. None of it was the Queen’s.
She marched towards the crouched pair, one hand snagging the boy to her chest the other reached out to brush lightly over the young woman’s shoulder.
“What happened.”
}{
“What are you making?”
Ra’s tilted his head up, a boyish grin on his face. The man presented his chunk of wood to his wife. “A little duck for our Little One. My Darling Bird.”
He reached out and brushed his hands adoringly over the swell of Liu Qing’s stomach. He pressed one, two, three kisses on the bump.
“Love,” Liu Qing murmured. Her heart swelled. “What a wonderful father you will be.”
Ra’s leaned forward. “Did you hear that?” he asked their unborn child. “Your mother is already setting expectations when we both know I’ll never meet them.”
Liu Qing laughed and swatted at him. “Don’t say that!” she scolded. Huffing, the woman sat down next to her husband and leaned on his shoulder. “You won’t be perfect, but I am not asking for that. I am asking for you.”
“And you have me.”
“Always?”
“Always.”
}{
“Keep him safe until I find you.”
The young woman nodded. Her precious bundle snuggled sleepily against her chest.
The Queen gazed at them both, grief and rage in her eyes. The cursed water the assassins had used against her son had somewhat worked. He was slowly starting to age at a normal pace now. They both were.
“Liu Long,” the Queen said mournfully to her child. “I have failed you.”
}{
Liu Qing gave birth to her son alone.
Her husband was meant to return from his trip to his homelands months ago. He hadn’t made it.
Liu Qing screamed as she pushed. She screamed at the pain of childbirth. She screamed in grief at the loss of her Love. She screamed at the sorrow that her child would grow up without their Father, neither of them knowing what happened.
A new scream joined her cry. Warbling and confused and so painfully little.
“A boy!” the midwife said joyfully.
Liu Qing wept and wept.
}{
“Jiejie?”
The young woman swiped a napkin over Little Brother’s mouth. The boy resembled a three year old now. “Finish your sandwich,” she told him.
“Mmm!”
She turned her attention back to the boardwalk, the Australian sun beating down as waves crashed against the shore.
Her mind wandered briefly to the child she’d born for those she hated. The best ruse was always one that hurt the trickster as well.
}{
A gravelly purr shook Liu Qing’s bones and drew the woman’s attention away from her drawing. She looked up and watched as Liu Long emerged from his waters. His scales glistened gold and white in the sun.
“Great Dragon.” Liu Qing greeted softly. Liu Long chuffed in reply, padding forward.
At her feet, Liu Qing’s son shrieked in joy at the dragon’s presence. He waved his wooden duck as high as he could reach.
“Greetings, hatchling,” Liu Long rumbled. His whiskers reached out, one brushing against the boy’s dark locks, the other curiously brushing the duck. “You are growing too fast, hatchling.”
The baby squealed and slapped a tiny hand against the Great Dragon’s muzzle.
“Hmm.”
Liu Qing laughed wetly. Liu Long turned to her.
“What are you drawing?” he asked. His blue eyes glowed knowingly. Mournfully.
Liu Qing lowered her head. She desperately held back her tears, she didn’t want to damage the portrait she’d been working on.
“What should have been,” she replied.
A breath of warm air rustled her hair as Liu Long nuzzled her gently. “Your mate loved you dearly. I do not think he would want you to live a life of sorrow and regret.” The beast reached out and curled a whisker around the baby in front of them, depositing the child in Liu Qing’s lap. “Perhaps it would be good to, instead of thinking of what should have been, think of what currently is.”
Liu Qing swallowed. She set aside her painting. She closed her eyes. A breeze wafted through the air. The summer sun warmed her and her child. Her son squirmed with energy and health in her embrace. Her people’s Great Dragon lay supportively at her back. Liu Qing opened her eyes.
Liu Long met her gaze.
“I am here.”
She smiled.
}{
“I have found a new place to go,” the Queen stated. “There is rumor of a budding demon that guards a city in America.”
The woman knew of this demon. “‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend’?”
The Queen hummed. “Ra’s will not dare to attack us there. And should he, he will be far too distracted by the demon to notice us.”
The young woman nodded. “When do we leave?”
At this, the Queen stilled. Dread filled the woman’s heart.
“I am not to come with you.”
The Queen shook her head sadly. “You have another mission, one that is imperative to protecting the world. I cannot have you join us.”
Anguish tore at the woman. There was a saying in western countries: ‘to love is to lose’. She did not think it would hurt this much. She was not sure she could bear to love again. (Her mind flashed to her daughter, but she firmly stamped any thought of her out.)
The Queen cupped the woman’s cheek. “I do not make this choice because I want to.”
Tears fought to emerge. “Will I see you two again?”
“I most certainly hope so.”
}{
Ash and flames swallowed the village.
Liu Qing danced through combat, her sword a blur as she fought her way forward. A streak of blood and death lay behind her. But she did not care for she was desperately trying to find her child.
She screamed his name over and over, but she could not hear his cry over the cacophony of battle. A sickle swept before her eyes, and Liu Qing twisted and parried. Her blade’s tip flashed and in a moment her opponent was dead.
Liu Qing’s breath froze to ice in her chest. She recognized the man at her feet.
He was from her husband’s tribe.
A bellowing roar echoed like the trumpets of heaven over the land. Liu Long.
Liu Qing was off faster than she’d ever run before. If these intruders were to capture or worse kill the Great Dragon, then her people were doomed. Their land would die and the rot would spread to the rest of the world. She could not let that happen.
Bursting into the clearing of Liu Long’s healing waters, Liu Qing gave no hesitation as she launched herself at the figure standing over the limp dragon’s form. The healing waters had turned a sickly green. Whatever had been done to them was clearly affecting Liu Long.
Her enemy dodged out of the path of her blade. Liu Qing gave no quarter, pivoting mid-strike to bring her sword whistling back to the man’s neck and-
And-
And her sword fell to the ground with a thud.
Her blood roared in her ears.
Her bones went numb.
Her brown eyes watered.
“Ra’s?”
The man jerked, green eyes widening with alarm. “Liu Qing.” He hurried forward, arms reached out-
Liu Qing stepped back, shaking her head. Her gaze flicked between the sickly waters, her fallen dragon, and the vial clutched in her long lost husband’s hand.
“What is the meaning of this?”
Ra’s followed her eyes, face twisting into a snarl. “I am doing what should have been done years ago,” he spat. “That cursed creature is finally paying for his crimes against my people.”
Liu Qing trembled. “Who are you?”
Ra’s blinked at her, startled. “What?”
“My Ra’s, my Love, would not be doing this. What have you done?” Already the grass was turning brown around them.
“Liu Qing, do you not understand?” Ra’s swept a hand out. “That, that thing is finally getting what it deserves. My people, my people, Dearheart. When I returned to them years ago… they were almost gone.”
Ra’s swiveled and began to pace the clearing like a caged animal. “And you know what I discovered in my desperation to save them? We once had a Great Dragon too.”
There was something manic in the man’s eyes now. Liu Qing inched her way towards her sword in the grass.
“Perhaps we killed it out of greed, perhaps it died of other reasons, perhaps it simply moved on… But you know what?” Ra’s spun to face his wife. “Regardless of what happened to that thing, we do not deserve to suffer for the mistakes of our forefathers.”
He returned to his raged pacing. Spit flung from his lips. Liu Qing slowly knelt and grasped her sword.
“And your- this monstrous dragon was sat on a well of healing, too selfish to share. ” He held up the vial. “This is the venom of the Queensland Whistling Spider from a land far away. Just what I needed to destroy this demon and bring justice to my people.”
“And what of my people?” Liu Qing asked. “Ra’s, Love, you have doomed my people.”
Her husband stilled, his back turned to her. “I am sorry, truly Dearheart. But sacrifices must be made for the greater good.”
“The greater good?!” Liu Qing cried. “The greater good?! With the death and sickness that will spread from this, you have doomed the world!”
Any reply from her former lover was cut off with a ragged shout from the treeline.
“Liu Qing.”
The distraught woman turned and her world came crashing down even further.
Clutched in the arms of one of her townspeople was a small broken body.
The wail that tore from the mother’s lips was inhuman.
“NO, NO!”
Liu Qing scrabbled for her son, her son, so tiny and limp.
“Wake up!” she howled. “Please, please!”
Ra’s stumbled towards them, manic attitude gone, eyes locked onto the child. “That- is that-”
Liu Qing swirled on him, hatred burning in her heart. “LEAVE,” she shrieked. “Leave NOW, Ra’s al Ghul, so you might have a head start before I kill you!”
The man hesitated, but ultimately fled before Liu Qing could fulfill her promise. But it did not help the grieving mother. Her fellow townsman silently stood watch as she fell apart.
Her husband… her son…
“Little Green Willow.”
Liu Qing gasped, head snapping up.
Liu Long had lifted his head with what little strength the dragon had left. “Come here, Liu Qing.”
Heartbroken, the woman obeyed, her son tight against her bosom. She presented his body to the Great Dragon.
Tears pooled in massive blue eyes as the beast mourned the child. “Little hatchling.”
“Liu Long,” Liu Qing whispered. “I do not know how I will live thinking of what currently is.”
The dragon lowered his head back to the ground, energy rapidly waning. “Your mate has accomplished his goal, Green Willow. I do not think I will live past sunrise.”
Liu Qing bowed her head, broken.
“But that does not mean the same for your hatchling.”
Liu Qing jerked her head up with a gasp. “What?” She did not dare to hope.
Liu Long blinked once at her, slow. “My power still requires one to inherit them else they will return to the land and the Earth will suffer until a living vassal worthy of such a gift comes to claim and wield it. Should I choose your son as the vassal, he will surely live. But you must understand the duty that comes with such gifts. He will be different from the rest. He will be slow to age, like myself. He will be hunted and sought after for eternity. His destiny will be that of one who must guard this Earth from evil, as all the Dragons before him have done.
“Should he be parted from his powers or killed- as has happened to others before- the power will return to the land until another worthy comes to claim it. What do you say to such an offer?”
Liu Qing stared, shocked at such a second chance. But… “I am grateful, Liu Long, but I cannot accept. How could I doom my child to walk alone for a near eternity, when I myself may not live long enough to explain his fortune in life?”
Liu Long rumbled. “And that is how I know I have chosen well.”
Liu Qing blinked, confused.
“I will bless you, selfless mother, with a long life so that you may witness your son grow and guide him on his path.”
Two long whiskers weakly reached out, one to Liu Qing and the other to her son. Warm spread through her body at the touch and Liu Qing closed her eyes. When she opened them, her Great Dragon was gone, and two otherworldly blue eyes peered up at her from her lap.
Her people, those who survived the attack, gathered around her.
“What do we do now?” one asked.
Liu Qing rallied herself. She pulled out the vial of venom.
“Our dragon was killed. Our people were hunted. We have been poisoned,” she said. “But just as a spider’s venom is cured with venom, so too shall we cure this world of my husband and his followers. Like spiders we will become silent, deadly, watchful. We will not allow such an attack to happen again, not to other dragons, not to innocents, not to my son.”
Liu Qing looked up at her fellow people, determined. “I do not know what my husband may have planned, but I know this: he will never succeed, not while a breath is drawn from my lungs.”
}{
“Now that you know the origins of my people, what do you choose, little one?”
The girl lifted her head. She was frightened of what dangers lay hidden in the world, but she was determined as well.
“I want to do what is right,” she said, firm. “I can turn my own suffering into something that could help others, and I want to do it with you.”
The Queen watched her, silent. “Then you will need a new name until you earn a spider’s title.” She stood and offered a hand to the girl.
“Come, little Shiva, today marks the start of your journey with the Council of Spiders.”