“I’d hoped we would have more time,” Tian murmured. He and Liren were standing in their boat, floating high above the city in their own little cloud, watching the horizons. The host of the Yuu hadn’t yet appeared. It seemed they were tidying up the surroundings before making their move directly on the city.
“We planned on a month, and got nearly two. We weren’t idle during that time either.” Liren slipped her hand into his. She was so warm. Always so warm. “I sent Little Han to the City Lord, to offer his assistance at the meeting. Han will be able to sort truth and lies for him, at least.”
“Mmm. He might not take a foxtail pennant warrior on his own at this point, but anyone under that level will fall under his hand.” Tian nodded slightly. “Our efforts haven’t been entirely in vain.”
“Give him a little more credit than that. The foxtail pennant warriors are on par with peak mortal experts. Han is, what, sixteen? He’s come a long way in a short time.”
Tian considered that for a moment. “I will not.”
“Will not what?”
“Give him more credit. Actually, we may have been a little slack in his training. I’ll load up a sack with a few small rocks and set him a quick two hundred mile weighted run, just so his conditioning doesn’t degrade.”
She snorted softly. “Fool.” She gently pulled his head over, and hugged him to her chest. “Keep being jealous. It makes me feel beautiful. But you really are a fool.”
Tian snorted back, but didn’t pull away. “Not really the moment, but… here. I had Sweetdove make this for you.” Tian reached into his ring and pulled out a little package. “Take off your hat. I want to put it on you and let you see yourself in a mirror.”
“You made me something?”
“I did. I like surprising you. Bend over a little.” Tian draped the fine gold chain around Liren’s head, seeing how it nestled in the fine red and black hair and coming to rest just above her temples. Sweetdove had gotten the sizing just right. Tian stepped back, and pulled out a bronze mirror. Liren gasped, and pressed a hand to her mouth.
“Do you remember we talked about what pearls would make a good head ornament? Well, we looted some. This Roseate Sweetwater Pearl has a pink blush to it which compliments you, and the gold setting adds elegance. Or so Sweetdove said, and I agree. It does suit you. You look beautiful.”
Liren liked the ornament very much, and showed it. It was a minor miracle that the boat didn’t fall out of the sky. Liren didn’t take the ornament off for the rest of the day. The enchantments on it were “trivial” in Sweetdove’s words- durability, maintaining a bright polish, and a minor ability to stay put until the owner wanted to take it off. Apparently, these were considered the trade standard for such ornaments, and were included in the price.
Sweetdove wouldn’t be staying for this fight either. She quietly left the city that afternoon without saying goodbye, and under the cover of concealing talismans. Tian understood. There was a degree of friendly acquaintance between them, but this was the Heavenly Realm. There was nothing less trustworthy than friendship between peers.
Come evening, she was back in her residence in the Shrine to the Queen of the Southern Mountains. “The Grand Shamans have cut off the path to the north. I have more concealing talismans and escape talismans, but giving devotees of a wolf spirit the time to set ambushes and run me down with pack tactics is idiotic. Trying to rush through their prepared positions is even more idiotic. So I came back. It seems I will be fighting alongside you, feeble though my efforts may be.”
“They will be welcome. Not all fighting is done on the battlefield. Preparation and logistics decide wars. Any support you can provide, particularly in the form of talismans, would be enormously useful.” Liren cupped her fist and bowed. Tian joined her. He had a great appreciation for talismans. They were an extra capability when you really needed it. Who didn’t like that?
The cavalry confirmed the road to Red Reed Crossing was cut the next day. The Yuu stationed a strong force and roadblocks on the road north. Even if the whole cavalry detachment went out, they would be surrounded and cut to pieces trying to break through it. Even if, by some miracle, they succeeded, it wouldn’t matter. The Yuu could set up a new roadblock again in minutes. Silently, invisibly, Burning Flag City was placed under siege.
Wuusan gave the city exactly twenty four hours to digest that fact, then sent his emissaries. From the east, the delegation came on horseback. Two carried banners, one of a blue wolf on a green field, the other, a black horse on a white field. A third carried a tribal pennant, hung with honors that Tian didn’t recognize. All were armed and armored. Once more, they sent Han to assist the City Lord.
“Little Han, if the City Lord didn’t already know, the Emissaries are protected absolutely, so long as they don’t commit some atrocity. He knows the Yuu even better than I do, so he knows the consequences of touching an Emissary too. But just in case he needs reminding, they are also under the protection of myself and Brother Zihao.” Liren sent the message mentally, making sure to include Tian.
“What is the consequence of harming an emissary?” Tian asked.
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“Tribal extermination. Not even taken as slaves, every man, woman and child are killed. However this battle turns out, it’s best to keep the emissaries alive and unharmed. We may need to send emissaries of our own one day.”
Tian listened in to the meeting. Once the mercifully brief pleasantries were taken care of, the Emissary took out a letter. “Hear, now, the words of the Universal King Wuusan:”
“We, by the power of the Endless Blue Sky, the Boundless Steppes King of the great Yuu People, make this command. If this letter reaches peoples who have made their submission, let them respect and stand in awe of it. This is a directive in the Kingdom’s tongue sent to the mighty City Lord of Broadsky City, who holds also the title of Governor General of the Southern March Commandry; may he take note and comprehend what has been written.
“Your petition to meet with us and those leaders under the Banner of the Wolf and the Horse seeking peace has been heard. You, City Lord, your family, your generals, all those who owe you obedience, all merchants, all immortals and priests, all scholar officials belonging to your own household or the Kingdom, all must come in person to serve us. At that time, I shall make known all the commands of the Yuu.
“Further, you have said that there would be advantage to me in submitting to the will of your Emperor, and offered me offices and honors. This, your appeal, I have not understood. You say that I have conquered and subjugated the villages and towns in the Southern March, that I have overturned the fortresses of the Broadsky Kingdom. You demand to know what their crime was. This I also do not understand. Teb Tengri Uudam and Teb Tengri Yalau have both transmitted the order of the Endless Blue Sky that all the world should be subordinated to the Yuu, that all might take note of this. But those villages and towns and fortresses disregarded God’s orders to such an extent that they arrogantly refused, some even killing our messengers and envoys. Thus the Eternal God Himself has killed and exterminated the people in these places.
“How could anybody, without God’s order, merely from his own strength, kill and plunder? When you go on to say that “I am a servant of the Kingdom, I serve the Son of Heaven,” how do you know whom God will save and who shall receive Heaven's mercy? How do you come to believe you know, that you would express such an opinion?”
“Through the power of the Endless Blue Sky, all kingdoms and empires from the rising of the sun to its setting have been given to Us and we own them. Now, however, you must sincerely declare in our presence: “We shall be obedient, we, too, make our strength available.” You, personally, at the head of all your servant-leaders, you shall come, one and all, to pay homage to me and to serve me. Then we will acknowledge your submission. If you disobey God’s order and our will, then we shall know you are our enemies.
“These matters have now been explained to you and made very clear. Should you become our enemy, then war will fall upon you and your city. Then, who knows what will happen? Only the Endless Blue Sky.”
The emissary handed the letter to a frozen servant. “These are the words and commands of the King of Kings, The Son of the Great Wolf and Great Horse, The Universal Ruler, Wuusan. My King bids me to stay in this place until the second hour after Sunrise tomorrow. Should you have a message to send, I shall carry it to my King. Should you say nothing, we shall take that as your reply.”
There was silence in the reception hall. Tian closed his eyes. He could imagine it perfectly. It would have been laughable, insane, even five years ago. The emissary would have been beyond fortunate to even stand in the sight of the City Lord, let alone deliver a message to him personally. Now, even an emissary of no fame could come and speak so arrogantly to the City Lord. Why shouldn’t he? He had the strongest army in the Steppes behind him, and before him? Nothing to fear.
Tian felt the hall switch from shock to anger, and heard voices rise. He let them yell. So long as no one raised their hands in anger, he wouldn’t move. Without intending to, he reached up and touched his heart.
How absurd. How completely stupid. He had never considered himself as a person of the Broadsky Kingdom. He held the Emperor in contempt, thought little of the civil service, looked down on the peasants, despised the merchants, ignored the artisans… arrogant, yes, but he felt he had the strength to be a little arrogant. What was the Broadsky Kingdom to him? Yet his heart hurt. What a ridiculous thing. He was Tian Zihao, arrogant and free, drifting through the skies with Liren, indifferent to the struggles of those below. So why did his heart hurt to hear the emissary’s words? Why did the shame of them burn him? Why was he so afraid for the people of this ugly city?
“I really am a lousy daoist,” he muttered.
“Me too.” Liren sounded sick.
“I keep thinking ‘We could solve this for them. The shamans can’t be everywhere. My needles could empty camps in seconds.”
“My spear arts would be almost as fast, if I loosened my control. There would be an expanding fireball, spreading through the camp. People, tents, food, horses, all would burn.”
“We could do what we started earlier and assassinate great shamans. Then we wouldn’t have the problem of feeling like we were butchering mortals.” Tian buried his hands in his hair, pulling gently at his scalp. Trying to rip out better ideas from his numb mind.
“What ‘feeling like?’ It’s not even war. It’s just murder.”
“Is it, though?” Tian groaned. “The grand shamans are on our level. The ordinary shamans aren’t, but it’s not that cut and dry. The Monastery and all the sects exist separately from the kingdom. With the Yuu it’s different. They are all one thing, united. The shamans are in full agreement with Wuusan on this war, and are actively fighting for him. Can’t say that about the sects. The City Lord and Hanshen both have been hiring mercenary immortals who are, with exactly the respect due, not the best. At anything. It feels foolish to rely on them. Well, there is Hou too, but he’s still not going to be much use in a fight for a long while yet.”
“But.”
“But it feels wrong killing mortals. I was glad you stopped me before. It just feels wrong. Nauseatingly wrong. I keep thinking of our martial aunts and uncles. All of them fought through the Heavenly Realm, but you didn’t see a hint of them massacring peasants or something. I can’t believe it was just lack of useful loot that stopped them.”
Liren looked a little sick. “Yeah. Amazing how often ‘because I wanted to,’ or ‘because it’s fun,’ is a good enough reason for awful crap. So there is a reason, and a strong one, that us Daoists don’t start slaughtering mortals. We just don’t know what it is or who to ask.”
There was a long pause. “Well. I guess there is one person.” Liren’s mouth twitched. “It’s just going to be an awkward conversation.”