Editing Chapter 1 (section)

==A dozen bleary villagers...==

...watched as the squad approached.  It was a small town; perhaps two dozen log longhouses in a rough circle around a green.  A group of children were trying to hide behind each other on the corner of one of the buildings.  An older man stepped out of one of the houses at a half jog with an ax in one hand, then stopped in the doorway.  A couple of young women walked up to the town along a pathway, talking and laughing, then stopped in their tracks and stared.  The only sounds were muted voices that seemed to be coming from a house on the opposite side of the open space.

Yao Ye was, of course, the first to step forward.  She strode into the center of the clearing with a shock pike in one hand, struck a pose with one gauntleted hand on her hip, and began shouting.

“People of the Marukan Alliance!  We are the Daybringers!  We are her to Do Good, Be Awesome, and Annihilate thmph...”

Zhou Wing, having finally arrived with the wagon, tapped a depression on the side of the helm.  The visor clamped shut.  Unfortunately, it was currently covered with mud.  The blinded girl began flailing about about desperately; a stray arm hit Wing in the gut and tossed him three yards through the air to land in a heap.

Selara watched for a moment, then leaped onto Ye’s back, throwing her into a headlock and trying to force her to the ground.  The few villages near the green watched with curiosity, bemusement, and fear as the strange people struggled on their grass.

One of the young women went into a house and returned a moment later leading an elderly blind woman.  The matron was muttering loudly in her ear, “Well, are they demons or are they fair folk?  Make up your mind.”

Toruna quickly strode over to the pair of women.  “Kind lady, I’m sorry for my traveling companion’s strange behavior; we are servants of the Sun’s Chosen, come to offer our services as healers and teachers.”

“Hmm?  Is that one of them?”

“Yes, grandmother.”

“Ah.”  The grandmother leaned forward and sniffed at Toruna’s robe.  “Well, she’s all right, anyway.  Demons and fae don’t wash with lemongrass.  We don’t have anyone sick here, and we teach our own, but you’re welcome to rest here on your journey.  Just try to keep a hold on your children.”

“You’re too generous.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.  This isn’t exactly a restful place these days.  You see...”

At that moment, the house that had, until then, been making a few, relatively small noises, emitted a piercing shriek.  The door slammed open and a young women ran out, her face flushed and an expression of unfathomable rage on her face.  She was quickly followed by a youth of similar age, walking slowly and shaking his head with apparent sorrow.

An older man with the look of a veteran appeared in the doorway and leaned out with saber in one hand.  He shouted after them while brandishing his weapon.  “Never!  Never!  Not even when I’m dead, you hear me boy?”

He turned back and slammed the door shut again.

Shu Zhuang in the meantime had walked slowly over to the children.  From one of his pockets he pulled a fistful of sweet meats and began waving them at the children as he took a seat on a log section near the central firepit.  As the children gathered around him with wide eyes, he began whispering to them.  “You like sweets do you?  Old Zhuang has lots of sweets for bright children, you know.  Do any of you know what this letter I’m drawing on the ground here is?  What sound does this make?”

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