Sweet Voice of Brass and Glory
"Dragon Bloods, sorcerers and gods-touched are common sights in the Scavenger Lands. Even away from the marshalled elemental might of Lookshy or the heady celestial aromas of Great Forks you'll find them as the rulers of cities and small kingdoms, as generals and heroes. Here in Nexus hardly a year goes by that we don't have one of the three approach our booth and ask to join the Seven Spears. That's how I met Sweet Voice of Brass and Glory.
"She was a beauty, with long hair as black and slick as onyx and skin that shone in the sun with a slight metalic cast. Her face as sharp, like a hawk's, and her nose pinched across the bridge. She dressed resplendantly in blue jade armor with touches of something not quite gold for decoration. She carried a small sword easily at her side, but the bell trumpet she had slung from a velvet sash over her shoulder seemed more dangerous. I asked straight off what post she wanted; usually the gods-touched ask for scalelord, at least.
"Sweet Brass said 'relay' and I hired her on the spot. I don't know what magic she's bringing to the field, but my men have never been better drilled and communication has never been tighter. But I worry that it won't last. She's been distracted ever since Celos. I don't know what happened that day; the men and I were blind in the face of the essence released on the field, like staring into the sun, and Sweet Brass refuses to speak of it. All I know is that she came back with two golden feathers tied into her hair and an ear half-cocked, like she's listening for a distant call."
-- Leopard Chao, Commander of the Seven Spears Mercenary Company
Sailing the River of Heaven
"I didn't want to let Sweet Voice of Brass and Glory go, but it all comes down to politics in the end; politics and finance. 'With the Scarlet Empress gone,' E-Naluna said, 'things are going to get rough on the Blessed Isle, but they should settle down in the East. You won't be needing all of this Ambrosia.' I know that was really Hu Dai Liang's call, though; she's always been in favor of the Realm.
"Budget cuts, of course mean layoffs. I had to cut three staff down to two and shuffle job descriptions besides; now it's one captain for instruments and one for voices. And I don't know how the hell Steady Hand Rain is supposed to moniter gongs, drums, and trumpets. Not to mention flutes; three years on and I'm still not sure what to do with them.
"Sweet Brass had to be the one to go. I'm not secure enough in my job to think that I could get away with cutting out one of Sunpia's cousins, you know? And, what, I was going to fire my own nephew? Sweet Brass hasn't got much family, though; just Satchel Mouth, some lesser god of experimental trumpet songs. Like I said, it's all politics. I've heard that the girl's set out for Creation. Good for her; maybe she'll wind up serving in Great Forks. It's no more illegal than sitting in the streets of Yu Shan, begging for scraps, and it's a damn sight more honorable."
-- Stone the Mountains Call, Eastern God of Battlefield Communication
Walking the Mountains of Earth
"I'd learned a little of our history from my own dreams and prayers and my conversations with my brother by the time Vaults the Moon and I had crossed the Gray River. I knew what we'd been in the First Age and I knew Heaven's laws about the gods' place in Creation. What I saw when I reached Celos, though, had me prepared to throw those old laws away.
"Sweet Brass was a marvel, shining with splendor and almost, in her own domain, as powerful as one of my brothers. She did not rule over the city, or even the mercenary company that employed her, but stood with them, side-by-side, in loyal service; service she pledged to me when she saw my castemark. But of what use is a wonder like that watching spectrally from the sidelines? Better that she should come to stand and fight at our backs.
"I'm not fool enough to think that every spirit I meet will be the same, eager to serve as our helpmeets where the Dragon Bloods and Lunars have failed us; proud Shouting With Iron and his scattered hill tribe are proof enough of that. But the righteous should be rewarded with action and honor, not pushed into the wings like glorified actuaries. Sweet Brass is among the righteous; she knows of my plan and but waits to hear my call.
-- Storm of Amber, Zenith
