The Second Southern Expedition
Prologue: Not One Tiger Warrior
"Damn him!"
Cathak Nekuto slammed his fist into the map; in his anger, sparks flew from his fingers and left scorchmarks on the parchment. Chi Wen watched impassively. She did not approve of Nekuto's reaction, but she held her toungue. The Herald's job was to deliver the messages, not to pass judgement on the recipient.
"It's just a request for recent intelligence reports from the south. I don't see why you're making such a big deal about it."
"Oh, it's more than that." Nekuto pulled scrolls off of the shelves of his study and threw them down into a pile on the table. "He wants troop deployments, patrol schedules, information about supply lines. I know what this is really about. He's always second-guessed my force allocations, even though I keep telling him I don't have enough soldiers to do what he wants. We can't just keep throwing more troops into that meat-grinder in the south! We lost so many good agents to the Southern Expedition fiasco, and I don't have anyone to replace them with."
By now, even Chi Wen had begun to grow impatient. "Yes, I know this, and so does he. Is this all of the documents?"
"Yes, this is all of them. Do what you want with it all... but tell him I don't care if he's the next Pasiap, Hesiah, and Sextes-Jylis rolled into one magnificent ball of theology, I'm not giving him a single Tiger Warrior from my legion."
She scowled at this. As a herald of the Sweet Voice of Brass and Glory, she understood that soldiers were prone to rough language and casual, homespun blasphemies... but she expected better of their commander. "Is that all?"
"Almost. Just one more thing: You tell him that if he wants the southern border secured, he's just going to have to drag his sorry, moping carcass down there and secure it himself."
"You're quite finished now?"
"Indeed."
"Good. Then my herald's duties are discharged." She scooped up the pile of scrolls and headed for the door. She paused before she stepped through, and turned once more to face the seething commander. Her words rolled with the cadence of distance drums, and her voice resounded with the finality of the Respect-Commanding Attitude. "I speak now as the Minister of Ascending Theology. Cathak Nekuto, your words have been heard and noted. I advise you now that you have one month's time to consider your disrespectful words and reconcile your heart towards the righteous agents of Heaven's Mandate. I expect you to have an apology prepared when the Nameless Ravine returns."
Nekuto's eyes narrowed. "A month? Where's he going this time?"
Chi Wen's scowl turned into a smile of satisfaction. "To secure the southern border. Personally."
A Conspiracy of Virtue
“When last we spoke, I mentioned a certain matter.”
“Yes, Nameless Ravine’s journey to the south. You suggested that you might go along. Further, you suggested that I should join the expedition. I said that I would give the matter some thought.”
“And have you?”
“Yes, though I have reached no decisions.”
“How uncharacteristic of you, Amilar Agathon. You have made a reputation for yourself as one who renders just and wise decisions at an astounding speed.”
“Flattering a magistrate, Soho? In my tribunals, I do not look kindly on such words.” The monk merely smiled and shrugged his shoulders. Soho was not a tall man; Agathon stood fully a head taller than him. Nor was he aged; the water-aspected officer, young though he was, was easily Soho’s senior. And yet the monk had an alarmingly direct manner that always caught Agathon off-guard. Years of experience with navigating Lookshy’s treacherous political environments had left him quite unprepared for a man of plainspoken words.
They walked for a time, through the streets of Gods Crossing, until the imposing public edifices and sprawling rows of market stalls gave way to the open plains of the northern Marukan. They sat down on a rough wooden bench outside of a half-completed watchtower, and admired the horizon. This far out from the main plaza, there were none to overhear what they had to say. For if any citizen of Gods Crossing would overhear, they knew they would both face charges of treason.
(“What have we here,” wonders Leaf Shakes the Wind from atop the bare timber roof of the half-built tower. “An Immaculate Monk and an officer of Lookshy’s magistrate-advocate directorate. An odd enough couple, even without the guilty looks on their faces.”)
Soho gestured to the plains, brilliant green and gold in the sunset. “I’ve admired these plains many times from afar, and I have committed this beautiful view to memory, but I have never saddled a horse and rode upon them. What do I really know about the plains?”
Agathon nodded. “I think I understand. I’ve been biding my time here, serving as an Acting-Magistrate, trying to understand these Solars by seeing their laws and governance in action. But I’ve never spoken with them directly. The laws here are elegant and inspiring, with deep principles and a light touch. This speaks greatly to the Solars’ virtues. But I have many dark things as well… mostly rumor and slander, but with enough truth mixed in to give me pause.”
“And I have studied Nameless Ravine’s sutras and wisdom-writings, and for my part I am greatly impressed. But before I come to any conclusions, I want to see his judgment in the field, in the moment, as a champion and a warrior. I wonder if he can truly live up to the principles he sets for himself. I know that on at least three occasions he has abandoned the teachings of his sutras, and called upon some terrible demon-power to defeat his foes. Each time, it ended poorly for him.”
“Three? I have heard of his duel with your sifu Goruk, what were the other two?”
(“Do tell, little monk. Do tell.”)
“The second was at Takahara, when he invoked the demon-hand to drive off an army of the dead… but with his might untempered by mercy, sixty noble children were slain by the dead. The third was at a place called Fenghuang Temple, where he came face-to-face with Octavian. He vanquished the Living Tower with eyes unclouded, but it exhausted his essence, and he called upon the demon power to save him after the temple collapsed on top of him. When next he was seen in public, at Lady Marta’s wedding to your… brother?”
“Distant half-cousin, actually. The Gens Amilar family tree is… complicated. But what of the wedding?”
“At the wedding, those who knew him said he seemed diminished, somehow. He spoke as a man who was in a great deal of pain.”
“I know you are not lying… how did you come to learn this?”
“Lu Fei was present at the both events; he told Shai Mei, who in turn told me.”
(“Ah,” pondered the silent voice. “So that’s where these stories have been leaking out. I would have expected Lu Fei to show greater discretion… but then again, he and Shai Mei are comrades. Regardless, the monk does not know the truth of the Catharsis; how can he know that he is jumping at shadows?”)
Both were silent for a time. At last, Agathon spoke. “If he is one of only three beings in the history of Creation to defeat Octavian in single combat, do you really think we can take him?”
“I have no idea. Perhaps not. But I certainly can’t face him alone.”
“More to the point, do you really think it will be necessary?”
“Truthfully, I don’t think it will come to that. It would seem he only calls upon the demon-power when he is pressed to the point of defeat by a terrible foe. It is likely that we would encounter nothing of the sort in the south.”
(The voice on the roof silently recited the names of the Mask of Winters’ remaining Abyssal servants.)
“And if we do meet such a foe?”
“If we do, then I believe there will be a briefest moment of time when he is pushed to his limit, but before the demon-power springs forth. That is when we must act. This will require utmost precision and judgement.”
“That’s why you want me to come. I can see through any falsehood…”
“…and you know the discipline of Death Between Heartbeats.”
“But if it comes to that, if we meet some being who can defeat the Nameless Ravine, and we cut the solar down before he can assume the demon-power… that leaves us facing this foe alone. What then?”
(“I can’t wait to hear this…”)
“If we meet such a foe, and if Ravine succumbs to the demon-power, and if we are forced to act, and if we are successful in our bloody deed, and the foe stands before us…” Soho shrugged. “We run away. Very, very quickly.”
No Man's Land
This was Nameless Ravine’s first trip to the gorge. He had heard the reports in the council chambers of the Plum Blossom Retreat, and he had seen the maps in the inner rooms of the Pagoda of Infinite Strategy. But nothing prepared him for the actual sight that stretched below as the airship ferried his team across. From above, it was a vast wound upon the plains, an endless scar reaching for the horizons both East and West. It took his breath away. That night, as he stood on a low hill on the south side of the chasm, keeping watch on his group’s camp below, two thoughts came to his mind:
“The gorge and I are kindred spirits; we’re both collateral damage caused by the Chosen of the Sun. We both divide the land around us into those who believe and those who fear.” And also: “…By the Sweet Voice of Brass and Glory… and to think Storm of Amber calls ME reckless!”
The righteous intervention of the Surprise Anticipation Method interrupted his musings. He was suddenly aware of a fowling arrow whistling silently through the air towards him. He focused his mind on the sweet patterns of Celestial Bliss, intending to shatter the shaft, but without the Torrent of Woe to aid him, his essence fell short; he was forced to dodge the arrow the old-fashioned way. It soared past him and fell deep into the chasm. He turned to see Shai Mei, at the bottom of the hill, a jade bow in hand, a look of amusement on her face. “Picking fights with your superiors again, Little Tree?”
She walked up beside him and bowed. “Just relieving your watch, Cap’n. And losing a bet.”
“What bet?”
“Oh, just something Sha Yan Shi said while we were on the ship yesterday. She said that you’re nigh impossible to touch in martial combat, and that you can never be taken by surprise. I thought I’d give it a try.”
“Well then, are you satisfied?”
“Quite so. Also, I owe her an eighth-stone of Hiparkes-Brand when we get back to Gods Crossing.”
Ravine laughed, softly; so close to the gorge, loud speech tended to reflect and echo, an eerie sound that could be heard for miles. Shai Mei took up position atop the hill, gazing to the south. He turned and followed her gaze. Beneath the full moon’s light, the ground was palpably different than it was north of the divide; the grass was grayer and more brittle, the trees fewer and scrawnier. “I was this far south six months ago, when we performed military maneuvers around Three Hills. It wasn’t like this then; what changed?”
Shai Mei’s eyes danced with wood essence as she invoked her god-blood gifts. “The spirits are gone, and most of the Elementals as well. The chasm cut the Dragon Lines north, west, and east, so there’s nothing to sustain the land.”
“Are there no Dragon Lines to the south?”
“There are, but they run…” her voice trailed off.
“Straight to Thorns. So this is a shadowland?”
“No, it’s… not. It’s almost worse than that. How can a place reek of mere death, when there’s hardly any life in the first place?” Her words were inflected with something in between resignation and disgust. “It’s even worse than a bare mountain, for at least there your footsteps can feel the solid Earth essence surrounding you. Here, it’s like the opposite of a Wyld zone; there’s just no essence at all. Take that juniper, for example…” She gestured to a nearby scrub plant, and with a smooth motion drew, nocked, and loosed an arrow at it. It sheared clean through the plant’s tangled trunk, and its top half fell to the earth with a muffled thump. “That is a tree whose Least God has altogether forgotten how to be a tree. If it had any self respect, it should have taken the arrow deep into itself and held it fast!” She frowned and gestured across the plains. “And it’s hardly the worst offender.”
Quite in spite of himself, Nameless Ravine smiled again. “That was an excellent shot, by the way.” Shai Me curtsied. He looked at her thoughtfully. “I must admit, I was surprised when I heard that you volunteered.”
“Is it so hard to believe?” she replied, her gaze firmly fixed to the south. “Do you think of me only as someone who causes trouble at formal receptions and gets beaten up by Lookshy Rangers? Remember, I was originally slated to join the Daybringers. I know Wood Dragon kung fu… after a fashion. I was fully prepared to Do Good, Be Awesome, and Annihilate” - she waved her hands noncommittally – “whatever it is that the Daybringers annihilate.”
“I never was clear on that part, myself. I tried asking Rivers Between Us about it once, and he just mumbled something and walked off.”
She sighed. “But that didn’t work out, so I ended up doing various odd jobs for Marta while Lu Fei gets to follow your circle around and try his hardest to get himself killed. But I guess it worked out all right, because I did get to train with Soho, and he taught me to use the bow. And then Soho volunteered to come along on this mission, so I guess I did get to join one of the directional teams after all.”
“I should point out that the previous team didn’t fare so well.”
“Yes, well, the first Southern team didn’t have a Lightbringer to lead them, now did they? Even the Daybringers can’t claim that particular honor.”
“Meanwhile, it’s dark, and this Lightbringer needs some rest before we head south tomorrow. Keep a sharp eye out, Shai Mei; the post is yours until dawn.”
“Keep a sharp eye out yourself Cap’n; I’m pretty sure I saw a certain feline sneak into your tent while you were up here.”
Nameless Ravine walked down the hill, and muttered. “I didn’t need the Surprise Anticipation Method to guess that was going to happen…”
