Foolishness can only feign as wisdom until light is shed upon it
Lady Niari' Ru, Great-General of Ochelon
Tez' Mu sat alone on one side of a long table, feeling his hands become clammy as he took in the seven lords seated on the other side, peering down their noses at him with unconcealed distaste and irritation. At the far end, on the lords' side, a stout man with bushy eyebrows that slightly covered his narrow eyes, especially stared at him with such a vengeful expression Tez' Mu wondered if he had personally offended him. Of them all, he only recognized Dar' Kel and Jin' Hei, renegade lords of the Scith.
The others were men he had never laid his eyes on.
"Well, well, well. The Dowager sent Raq' Mu's son to intimidate us," one of them broke the silence, his nose quivering as he chuckled brusquely.
"To frighten us into laying down our banners," the stout lord added, his voice startling Tez' Mu. It was smooth and posh, not what he had been expecting at all.
"Let us hear his mission," Jin' Hei spoke up. Tez' Mu managed a small smile in his direction, which the older man returned with good spirit, easing the tension. Since Tez' Mu had stepped into the tent with the generals, after his escorts and Sari had been detained outside the camp, there had been weighty, uncomfortable silence in the room.
Tez' Mu cleared his throat. "I bring tidings of peace from the Scith," he said, addressing Jin' Hei. The man nodded encouragingly as he leaned back into his high-backed chair, while beside him the others snickered. Jin' Hei's chair was the tallest in the room, followed by Lord Kel's. Tez' Mu frowned slightly, noting the subtle dynamics.
"My errand is to Lord Offal' Kest, of the fief of Darin, Overseer of the West," he continued, "May I know if we are to proceed without him?"
Jin' Hei shrugged. The absence of his grandfather had jarred Tez' Mu, and thrown him off balance. He had read the letter from Hu' Ran written in the Dowager's name on the way here and it was addressed to the leader of the rebellion directly.
Lord Kel spoke up. "My lord reposed to handle a military affair. So you will have to make do with us."
A servant entered the tent then, with a huge kettle. The lords clucked in appreciation as fragrant tea was poured into small cups on the table in front of them. The servant went around the table and came to Tez' Mu's side.
"My lord?" he asked, tipping the kettle to pour.
"No, thank you," Tez' Mu replied.
"Accept, my lad," Lord Kel quipped as he drank from his cup, "Your throat will soon be parched."
"Very well," Tez' Mu turned his attention back to the dignified men. "I shall assume you will pass the Dowager's sentiment on to Lord Kest when he arrives."
"Of course," Jin' Hei nodded, leaning forward as Tez' Mu retrieved the red bound scroll.
"But may I be acquainted with my lords here?" Tez' Mu suddenly halted in the process of untying the scroll. He glanced at the other men. "After all, you all know who I am. It is only fair that it is mutual."
"I don't know who you are, lad," the stout lord barked. "Only that you are a Mu," he spat, slamming his hand on the table, "I am Quan' Jin, second lieutenant of the Jin Army. I have a scar on the back of my neck, no thanks to your grandfather and that damned spear of his," he added, his brows meeting in a deep frown. Tez' Mu's eyes widened. Even the legendary Quan' Jin had come out of retirement to aid Offal' Kest?
"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lord Jin," Tez' Mu inclined his head. He resumed untying the scroll, expecting the other lords to pick up where Quan' Jin left off and introduce themselves, but no one else spoke. Their eyes were all fixed on the red scroll in his hand. Tez' Mu sighed and pulled out the ribbon. The scroll fell open.
It was written in Hu' Ran's hand, horizontally from top to down. Tez' Mu knew because the steward had signed the missive that officially dismissed him from the Academy.
Under the hand of the reigning sovereign ruler, the Dowager Queen Iris-han' Hezt of Ochelon, and bearing the royal seal;
To our beloved Offal' Kest, faithful servant of the kingdom, greetings of peace:
It shocked this queen and the Scith when your runner declared the west's secession; for what cause would you noble statesmen make such a drastic decision without forewarning your northern brethren? Could there have been a threat that the west was facing which the Scith was unaware of, for which you feel we have neglected our duty to send aid? All matters can be resolved with words, and desiring peace is not to be mistaken for cowardice.
The Scith does not accept your declaration. Ochelon shall remain the whole which our forefathers handed down to us, having purchased it with their life and blood. Shall the west now become a separate kingdom, throwing Ochelon's allies into quandary? Would they have to enter into dual covenants? Ancestors forbid.
I do not desire to see Ochelon's enemies set the west ablaze with fires of wars and battles. Knowing you have rejected the leadership of the ruling family and the confidence of the other great-generals—greedy warmongers, bandits and mercenaries would swarm at you in all directions (and remember the grudge Sidrak has with the west, especially the Kest fief)—with the sole aim to conquer and enslave the innocent among you. That, you know well.
Do not hope, vainly, that the great-generals would come to your aid. Sworn to the crown as they are (and remaining bound by their covenants), they cannot heed a summons for relief without the approving seal of the reigning regent.
So rescind the declaration now while there is still chance, before news of the west's treachery is spread abroad, and noble names tainted with mire that does not come off easily. Let us hold a conference; Scith lords and western lords, where all will share their concerns.
And as for Keol' Han; is he not already named king? He shall sit on the throne in due time; the lark does not fly further than the skies.
Therefore return, Offal' Kest, return, western lords, of the stock of Ardal, return to the fellowship of the Scith. We are all under the banner of Ochelon.
I hope this meets you in good health,
Iris-han' Hezt
Tez' Mu took a deep breath as he read the scroll to the end, and paused briefly, examining it. Somehow, he felt that there was more to be said, or more that had been said. Had he been imagining it?
"Hah," one of the lords murmured. "So that is how the Scith sees this."
"It is not so much of how the Scith sees it, but how the royal steward and the Dowager's council sees it," Lord Kel replied, shrugging. "But that is not talk meant for outside ears."
He turned to Tez' Mu, "If I may speak on behalf of Lord Kest?"
Tez' Mu nodded quickly. "Of course."
"Then I would say the Scith, and the Dowager by extension, should take their hand of peace and wipe their arses with it," Lord Kel said simply, shocking Tez' Mu. He had appeared to be a decorous person, but his uncouth language threw that image out the window.
But Lord Kel wasn't done yet.
"If they don't do that, the West will grab that hand of peace and hack it off, and pour the blood from it upon our ancestors' graves."
By now Tez' Mu's mouth was wide open in shock; he simply could not help it.
Quan' Jin nodded grimly. "I'm certain Lord Kest wouldn't put it any other way."
Tez' Mu turned in his befuddlement to Jin' Hei, placing the scroll on the table as he tried to collect his thoughts. But that, obviously, was a wrong move. The scroll slid across the table so fast Tez' Mu's eyes swam. Time seemed to slow as Jin' Hei's fingers ignited with a flicker of heat. By the time Tez' Mu blinked, the scroll was burned to ashes.
"It seems the Scith thinks we are playing a game," Jin' Hei grinned widely as he sprinkled the ashes into his tea. He stirred the tea with his finger and then grabbed the cup and downed it in one. He then belched loudly.
"Well, now that that messy part is done and over with, why don't we move to the main discourse, my lords?" he asked as he looked left and right, to accepting murmurs from the seated men. Leaned forward again, he rested his elbows on the table. His deep brown eyes locked into Tez' Mu's hazel ones.
"My young lord, why don't you come over to the safe side before it's too late?"
Tez' Mu raised his eyebrows. Jin' Hei chuckled.
"I want you to know something, Lord Mu. We are going to win this war, and everyone is aware of it. The Scith knows, the Dowager knows; hells, even your father knows. And that is why I want you to head over to Najan when you leave here, and deliver him a letter."
Tez' Mu shook his head as if that would help him make sense of the absurdity of the situation. He was not even able to derive any satisfaction from being called Lord Mu.
"You're rejecting the Scith's hand of fellowship; and asking me to join the rebellion instead?" He managed to scoff out, the very idea so ludicrous, the more he thought about it. What did these lords think he was, a tame puppy who did everything he was told?
"It's not much of a rebellion as it is a secession," Jin' Hei said, a smirk tugging at the left corner of his mouth.
"That's just what you want to call it," Tez' Mu shot back. "The same as your lord did—and you've learnt well—calling his army Keolyor when he feels like it, and armak when he feels otherwise."
Quan' Jin chuckled. "I see that your mother's western blood was not wasted on you."
Tez' Mu immediately frowned. "I will not have anyone here mention my mother."
Jin' Hei's smirk widened. "May I know why, Lord Mu?"
"No. But I tell you, it's you western lords that have things to lose. Great, insurmountable losses, if you think about it. Your names will go down into history as traitors; The Rebels of the West, if any Academy scholar has anything to do with it. Your families will be ostracized for generations, and will probably eventually do away with the name your ancestors have worked so hard to build. Have you forgotten the legend of the Suis? Where are they now?"
Lord Kel smirked. "What makes you so sure of that, Lord Mu? What makes you think we'll lose?"
"Because, as the Dowager rightly said, the other great-generals won't come to your aid. The Imperial Army is enough to grind the Kest Army to dust, if they are ordered to go all out and cast out of their mind all past favors the House of Kest and its allies have ever done to the kingdom. If they see you as nothing more than another Sidrak bandit, you'll forget all your pompous dreams of a better Ochelon in your hands and be washed away by the fury of an army bent on preserving the unity of the empire."
Jin' Hei leaned back with a wistful, almost regretful sigh as Lord Kel chuckled dryly.
"I give it to you; the Dowager knew what she was doing when she sent you here," Lord Kel said, regarding Tez' Mu with a patronizing smile. He rose from his chair and started to walk around the tent, his hand on his chin as if in contemplation. When he came to a stop behind Tez' Mu's chair, he leaned forward and whispered, his breath fanning by Tez' Mu's left ear.
"But the west will not relent. We will only stop fighting when we see the true King on the throne, whose name is Keol' Han. And even then, we won't stop until that old hag is shipped away to a forsaken isle," he leaned away. "Or killed," he said aloud.
"Enough!" Tez' Mu slammed a hand on the table, fury clouding his judgment. "This is a diplomatic meeting, and I will not have you speak of the Dowager in that manner!"
"That is enough, truly, Lord Kel," The voice from the doorway was a welcome distraction, and the flap was raised as a handsome young man stepped into the room, clad in a blue tunic with iron armor over it. His hair was polled, startlingly white, and on his chin the faint beginnings of what would later be a full beard. Tez' Mu turned around, and he let out a sigh of relief in spite of himself.
"Hello, Huiran'," he said with a smile.
Huiran' Kest froze up for a second, confusion clouding his face. Then he smiled in recognition. "Been a while, Rian'."
Tez' Mu frowned. "I'm not Rian'. I'm Tez'," he returned, annoyed.
"Tez'?" Huiran' Kest looked dazed, "What the hell are you doing here?"
Tez' Mu's irritation increased a few notches. "I'm the peace envoy," he pressed his lips together as he stated the obvious.
If Huiran' Kest had more to say, he swallowed it. Instead, he nodded. "I see. Well, where's the letter from the capital? I heard there was one," he looked between Tez' Mu and the lords. No one spoke. He frowned.
"What's the matter? Where is it?"
"Lord Hei here burnt it to express his profound emotions," Tez' Mu finally obliged the information.
Huiran' crossed his arms. "Ha." He glanced at Jin' Hei, who had put on an innocent expression, and then shrugged, turning back to Tez' Mu. "Well, be our guest for the night; or will you repose elsewhere?"
"I will decline," Tez' Mu rose. This session of the peace talks had already fallen through. He had long decided to try again. Meanwhile…
"But I wish to speak with you, privately, if you will," he said quickly, as Huiran' turned to leave the tent. The man hesitated, then shrugged.
"Alright. But I don't have much time," and Huiran' raised the flap and left.
"Do not let him beguile you, my young lord!" Jin' Hei called after them, as Tez' Mu practically fled the tent after his cousin.
He caught up to him near the archery range. The setting sun cast a shadow over the camp, painting it a warm orange. Huiran' was giving orders left and right with the speed and efficiency of a seasoned general, even though he was only a lieutenant, as Tez' Mu had gathered from the records. Huiran' finally stopped by a target, and let Tez' Mu approach.
"I had no idea you were the envoy," he spoke first, assessing Tez' Mu with unconcealed admiration. "That's some progress, considering you were still eating dirt the last time I saw you," he chuckled, and reached out a hand, then quickly thought better of whatever it was that he wanted to do, pulling it back.
"I heard you're a King-tier matrix practitioner now. Congratulations."
Tez' Mu did not know what he was expecting, but it was not Huiran's expression suddenly changing from neutral to suspicious.
"Where did you hear that from?"
"It's—all over the place?" Tez' Mu replied. "Look, it's fate that you're one, as I'm in dire need of a matrix practitioner right now."
Huiran' was frowning, but he nodded. "For what?"
Tez' Mu took a deep breath. "You do know I have a cultivation bottleneck, right?"
Huiran's frown deepened, but he nodded. "Aunt told me about it the last time she was here. Yes?"
"Well, I know this might sound crazy, but hear me out." Tez' Mu paused and only continued when Huiran' gave him the briefest of nods. "I found out about a matrix formation that can help me overcome it, but it only works in a certain season. It only comes round once in about three generations, and—what?"
Huiran's face had gone pale. He quickly amended his expression, waving his hand for Tez' Mu to continue. Tez' Mu frowned, but he ploughed on, taking note of Huiran's pursed lips.
"I found out that two stars need to meet, and when I calculated the date, it was actually—"
"Stop," Huiran' had had enough. He took several calming deep breaths while looking at his feet, and by the time he raised his head his face was inscrutable.
"Listen, Tez', I know you're desperate, but that's all fables and made-up nonsense. It won't work, and there's no iota of truth in the Breakthrough Matrix Formation—"
"But I never even said the name," Tez' Mu countered, his suspicions confirmed.
Damn, Huiran' thought, and his anger exploded.
"Tez', I know you're my cousin, but we're on opposite sides of a war right now! I'd appreciate it if you didn't waste my time with nonsense! I know you want to get over your bottleneck so bad, but you'll have to look elsewhere. And if you value your life, don't mention that season again," his eyes narrowed as he lowered his head slightly to look Tez' Mu in the eyes.
"I don't know where this war is going to take us, but soon we may forget we were ever related. So take that advice as the last from a cousin," he held Tez' Mu's gaze for a minute longer, and then stormed away, leaving him reeling with surprise.
And then anger.
Damn the ancestors!
Tez' Mu swung a kick at the wooden target and it crashed to the ground. A stabbing pain in his feet told him he'd hurt his toe, and he swore again, sucking air through his teeth.
"My—my lord?" a cautious voice sounded behind him. Tez' Mu whipped his head around to find Annir, in an oversized Kest army uniform. His face was pale and beading with sweat, and on his nose was a smear of blood.
"What?!—" Tez' Mu exclaimed, but the stable boy immediately put a finger to his lips, willing him to be silent.
"What is going on?" Tez' Mu whispered, moving closer to him. The escorts had not been allowed to follow him into the camp, and they had waited nearby, at his command. So what was Annir doing--?
"It's bad, my lord!" Annir reported, his voice small and scared. "The city is in flames! An army suddenly came from nowhere, and they're heading in this direction!"
"What?!" Tez' Mu's mind reeled as he tried to understand the drastic change of events. "The Imperial army?"
"From the looks of them; yes," Annir nodded urgently. "But they're wilder. They're killing unrestrictedly: everyone in sight! The city is in chaos, my lord! Deputy Yu and Sari are trying to help where they can, but they don't even know which side to fight on! And as far as I can see, this army won't recognize your authority as the envoy without the letter from the capital. That's why Sari had me disguise to sneak in and make sure you still have it. Meanwhile, they said they'll be waiting for us at the inn."
Blood drained from Tez' Mu's face as he realized the gravity of the situation. And, as if the fates were confirming it; an alarm was raised in the army camp just then.
Tez' Mu watched, in a daze, as Kest soldiers ran past in ever swelling groups. Horses charged by, their riders wielding spears and long-swords, halberds and shields glinting in the setting sun. It was certain that they had been preparing for nothing but this.
"Secure the front!" the call was echoed all over the camp, and Tez' Mu and Annir were soon covered in a dust cloud kicked up by both beast and man. The noise from war drums assaulted their ears, and they ran to take cover behind one of the other archery targets as another cavalry battalion rode past.
"My lord!" Annir's urgent voice brought Tez' Mu back to himself. "Let's get out of here!"
"No, I think this place is actually the safest!" Tez' Mu returned, as the noise of soldiers heading out to battle increased around them.
"But the escorts and Sari are still in the city!" Annir cried.
Tez' Mu's breath hitched. Sari was probably counting on him providing the treaty scroll to vouch their identity and prevent the imperial army from labeling them as westerners too.
"We can't help them," Tez' Mu managed to choke out. "The scroll—it's gone."
"Gone? Gone how?" Annir clamped his hand over his ears as he yelled back, over the noise of stomping horses and other beasts of mount. The dust around them had increased and didn't look like it would be settling down anytime soon.
"One of the western lords burnt it!" Tez' Mu shouted, his face set in despair. "I don't know what we'll do, Annir!"
"Then we have to leave Darin, at once!" Annir returned, rising up as he quickly shed the heavy armor on him. "We'll leave the camp through the back, where I came in. Then we'll hurry to the inn. Hopefully we'll be able to make it out of the city before it's completely taken."
Tez' Mu could only tumble into the dust cloud after the stable boy. His mind was still spinning from the information overload. Why had the imperial army attacked Darin now, mere days after sending a peace envoy? What sort of treachery was this?
He remembered the steward speaking about taking the west back through Guho Valley, as he and Annir ducked behind tents to avoid the stampede of the soldiers. But that was as a last resort, right, if the West declined the peace offer?
Annir pulled him down behind another tent as Tez' Mu's head reeled with the realization that he was in a dire situation. The Kest army would see him as a spy and a traitor who had led the imperials to the city; while the imperials would see him as a defector if he was not able to produce the treaty scroll.
They moved quickly, their boots crunching softly on the ground as they sneaked away from the camp. There was no order among the soldiers anymore, just an instinctive rush to get to the city. Tez' Mu and Annir kept out of sight as well as they could, skirting around the tents and inching closer and closer to the tree-lined border.
"Stay close," Tez' Mu muttered, his voice low, eyes scanning the camp's edge, where the chaos of advancing Kest soldiers began to thin out, leaving only a few stragglers running towards the heart of the city. Spires of thick black smoke, too many and too close together, obscured the evening sky. Tez' Mu's breath hitched.
"I thought you meant it figuratively when you said the city was on fire!" he gasped out, spotting an opening between the trees that led away from the chaos and towards the outskirts of the town, and rushed for it, dragging Annir after him.
Darin's outline rose ahead of them, the skyline faint under the glow of distant flames, the wails of the wounded and the clash of weapons now a steady drumbeat in the distance. The streets would be a mess. Tez' Mu could already hear the shouts of imperial soldiers pressing their way deeper into the city, their voices distorted by the wind. It wasn't much longer before they would be in the thick of it.
"We have to get to the inn!" Annir shouted, pulling Tez' Mu into a side alley as soon as he saw one, thankful for the time he had spent exploring the city with Sari. Their footsteps sounded loud in their ears, as they pressed themselves against the crumbling walls and turned ever so often to avoid coming out on the imperials. Night had fallen, so fast Tez' Mu wondered where the time had gone.
"Do you know the way?" Tez' Mu coughed as they skirted around a burning carriage in a deserted street, slipping on red liquid he did not want to think too much about. Annir tugged him in time out of the way of a dislodged roof tile falling from a nearby building. Tez' Mu glanced up, even as his heart leaped into his mouth. Two imperial soldiers were running along the roof.
"Quick!" Annir dived into another by-way, and Tez' Mu hurried after him. Smoke obscured their view, and Annir tripped on a piece of wood he didn't see lying across the road. Tez' Mu steadied him before he could lose his balance, and they hastened along, passing abandoned carts, overturned crates and buildings that had been lit aflame, signs of the earlier chaos that had already made its way through the city.
A market had been ransacked—stalls smashed, goods strewn about the ground. A horse lay dead in its harness, its rider nowhere to be seen. The distant cries of battle echoed down the cobblestone streets, punctuated by sharp clangs of steel that was close, too close, for Tez' Mu's liking.