In the regions that surrounded the Central Meadows there lived several clans of Tengir's descendants who had close dealings with the two whose lords had already sworn fealty to Towering-Justice, and, because talk of his descent and his enterprise had spread among them even as the wind scatters blossoms, ten more lords soon presented themselves to him offering vassalage. The names of these clans were Orion, Fair-Field, South-Lea, Ancient-Mystery, High-Sprung, Clearbrook, ..., .... Because the combined fighting force of all twelve clans was well over ten thousand warriors, Towering-Justice was able to ward off the raids of bandits and wayward tribes who had been alerted to his presence and the enormous wealth he was sitting on. But when it came to fighting, he did not begrudge the dirt and blood that would sometimes stain his goddess-woven robes when he did battle himself (which at any rate were manufactured with such art as to be easily cleaned with water), and there were many times when a foe would spar with him for a few rounds only to be captivated by his face and, realizing he had a sacred mission, to reform himself and shift his allegiance. For, in that region at least, there was hardly a man who was not a descendant of Tengir, or who claimed to be, for the legends surrounding him and his family were known universally, and many were those who in their dreams at night saw visions of a Realm that encompassed all the land below Heaven ruled by his progeny.
When the scouts were coming and going over the Central Meadows, they often crossed the Always-Flowing River which was in many places shallow enough to ford. And because that river was always as pellucid as glass, one day, while a team of scouts was crossing, someone saw a small object scintillating at the bottom of the river only a handful of fathoms upstream. The object was retrieved and discovered to be a mirror made of an exotic substance, and it was presented to Towering-Justice right away. When the Great-Frith Lord saw it, he exclaimed: "My lord, you may have noticed how pristine and virgin these meadows are, which just happen to be the earthly shore your great journey has led you to. It is almost as though the Earth herself has been saving this land just for your use, as though she knew of your arrival in advance and prepared it to furnish you with everything you need to create a truly celestial realm. Now this strange mirror has been extracted from the rocks of the Always-Flowing River in which it had been lodged, they say, for over a century, for according to the stories told by the local people, an anonymous hermit who used to dwell in the mountains of Greatwell awoke one morning to the crash of an aerolith that had fallen not five feet from the mouth of his crag-home, and he made a mirror out of it. Shortly afterwards he saw a vision that presaged the descent of a divine sovereign who would use the mirror to reflect the light of the celestial isle he had descended from, and he traveled on foot for almost a year in order to reach the land you now call the Central Meadows to deposit this mirror into the river. This is a sign that, once you have completed your work, a perfect visage of Heaven shall be etched into the face of the Earth." Towering-Justice had the mirror secured in a secret room.
Hoping to learn the character of each clan along with its merits and demerits, he went to a different lodge every night to dine. When he dined at the lodge of the High-Sprung Clan, he was served carp and mutton, and as he was drinking the wine he heard the sound of prayer flowing in resonantly from the terrace. He went to the doorway and listened more closely, and heard that the women who were praying did so using the exact same words, with the exact same pronunciation, as those he was accustomed to hearing at the shrines in the Isles of Heaven. And when the target of the prayers shifted to the ancestors, he heard that the way they invoked and described the persons, wills and deeds of Tengir and his immediate family was faithful and proper. He charged the High-Sprung Lord with overseeing the sacrifices and appointed the women, one and all, as shamanesses.
Next he dined at the lodge of Orion. There he was served river clams and melons. The melons were bitter but were lightly spiced to lessen the bitterness. While he was drinking the wine, which was very strong, he heard the sound of strings and a flute wafting in from beyond a space divider. The music pleased him greatly, possessing as it did the austerity of the music of the Isles, yet with a tinge of charming sensuality added on. The ensemble was enlarged by the entry of a woman's voice singing an ode he recognized as one composed by Eternal-One, and he was astounded that not one syllable deviated from the original. A total of eight pieces were performed that night, two in the Land mode, two in the Sea mode, and the remaining four in the Mountain mode, each using the words of ancient songs. He would return to that lodge frequently.
The next lodge he dined at was that of Clearbrook. When he entered the dining hall, he noticed it was replete with ornamentation: from the wooden rafters hung metal chandeliers, and the light they gave off was added to that of the two rows of candelabras made to stand to the left and right of the table. He was served mackerel and sundry pickled things in bronze saucers of the finest workmanship he had ever seen, and the goblet out of which he drank the wine was coated in depictions of human and animal figures set in frames styled like braided hemp cords. The music was played on bells hung from three racks near the west wall whose sizes ranged from that of a gourd to that of a man. Because of this the melody they played, like an eagle, could soar into the sky or dive to the earth at a moment's notice, and this power, wielded as it was by an exhaustive will that leaves no note unsung, no path untrodden, produced a very enchanting effect. So impressed was he with the clan's command of metal that he hired its artisans to man the court's foundries.