The days and then months following the extermination of the Gray Moon-Moth clan passed by blissfully enough; the Land Under Heaven almost sighing with relief at how quickly and neatly power had changed hands. It had been a decisive victory for the Ox Empress, her son Emperor Shining Light, and Imperial Grand Marshal Oxblood. If there were lingering tensions between the eunuchs and the Ox Empress, Emperor Shining Light and his tiny half-brother whom he had named his heir, neither I, nor the city felt their ill effects.

  I did get two more ‘achievements’ after witnessing the slaughter, signaling that at least someone had registered the extermination of an entire household.

  As I awoke the next morning to a tower of crispy scallion pancakes with savory dipping sauce, I noticed two slips of paper tucked in between the plates. They hadn’t been there when the servants departed.

  I read them while Windstopper plowed through the plates of food beside me and I sipped my tea.

  ***WHAT AN ACHIEVEMENT!***

  TITLE: BONK!

  DESCRIPTION: You’ve chosen to incapacitate an innocent in a non-lethal way. It's harder than you think not to kill someone, when they’re minding their own business.

  ***WHAT AN ACHIEVEMENT!***

  TITLE: THEY PROBABLY HAD IT COMING

  DESCRIPTION: You decided not to save the innocents while witnessing a slaughter. Your motives for doing so are probably very subtle and nuanced. Or you’re the worst.

  While it still disturbed me that someone could witness my actions even when it had appeared that we were completely alone, this time I was more interested in how the messages had been delivered, versus what they actually said.

  The two notes were the perfect contrast, in that I could safely consider them to be commenting on actions that placed me on opposite sides of the moral spectrum, at least superficially. I could tell that ‘BONK’ was written on clean, white, albeit cheap paper, and the one about not saving the innocents was written on filthy yellow parchment. If there was a system to these – and I was still entertaining the theory that these notes were meant to warn rising warlords that someone was always watching the things they did on their quest to gain rank – the difference in medium might be informative as to how these actions were being weighed on the scales of virtue.

  Even as I thought it, rather than the pages going mysteriously blank when I looked away, I saw that both ‘achievements’ now had an additional line.

  They had been in my hand. No one could have altered them while I looked down to pick up my tea. But now there was an additional line beneath ‘DESCRIPTION’ that seemed to indicate how my ‘VIRTUE’ had changed with the ‘achievement.’

  It was +5 for BONK and -15 for doing nothing while the Demon had wiped out the Gray Dowager’s clan. It appeared that there were no points for figuring out who swung the sword, or for swearing an oath to bring them to justice, and the fact that I would surely have died if I had tried to stop the slaughter was no excuse in the eyes of whomever wrote these.

  I didn’t particularly care that I had netted -10 VIRTUE – it sounded like a rounding error in the life of your typical warlord – but I did care that, having held the messages in my hand as words appeared, I was now fairly certain that the messages were written with the help of a Mandate.

  Seeing as Swaying Willow was back in Iron Tower with my father, I decided to send him a message on the wings of a dove, though I kept the specifics to myself.

  “Mandate that could make words appear and disappear on paper?” I wrote, “Express unsettling knowledge of my actions. No one here has made any move to capitalize.”

  Several days later, I received something bearing Swaying Willow’s mark.

  “Sparrow, I hope this message finds you well. ”

  I turned it over. The length of a message that could be sent by homing dove was limited, but still there was plenty of space for the message to go on. It appeared that Swaying Willow had simply forgotten to finish writing the note before sending it off. Perhaps the old man’s mind was slipping faster after so much excitement. I shook my head and let the matter rest to go about my business, vowing to pick the thread back up if I earned more 'achievements.’

  When I earned more achievements, as I did not intend for my rise in the ranks to stop here.

  Every day, as I trained hard, studied harder, and attended meetings held by the Marshal, my thoughts often turned to dreams of Lady Ding, whom I called Shadow River, or simply River from then on. Nearly every night she dined with me in my chambers, or delivered notes for me to meet her in the gardens, or at the palace gates to stroll through the lantern-lit capital.

  We stole moments together like assassins in the night, and though I wouldn’t admit it for a long time, River’s campaign to conquer my heart was succeeding, span by span, li by li.

  While she waged her war in gardens and beneath strings of lanterns and upon moonlit ferry rides down the Blue River, Uncle waged his in the Hall of Benign Virtue with markedly less success. Every point of order introduced by the Marshal was hotly debated by the clan leaders still in the capital or by their chosen delegates. There were still rebels cropping up here and there, and minor squabbles between lords that needed adjudicating, but largely the debates centered around ranks, lands, and other rewards gained for service to the Emperor. Minor shifts in power, as the Land Under Heaven settled upon its frame like a new addition to a house.

  My Uncle spoke little, and when he did, I found that he had little power to sway the others in matters that did not pertain to the cold plains around Iron Tower, or our other holdings in the scrubby hills and windblown marshes.

  I might have grown restless, and railed against my father’s order to stay silent and defer to Uncle, had I not been so content in my time spent outside the Marshal’s meeting hall – which is to say, had I not been so distracted.

  Even so, if the majority of my mind was on happier matters, there was still some semblance of an ambitious and paranoid young soldier that could not help but wonder at Snow Fox’s motives for participating in the slaughter of the Gray Dowager and her clan. Perhaps it was the fact that I now had a personal, if oblique tie to the Gray Dowager, through River. Perhaps it was the needling of the writer of the ‘achievements.’ In any case, I felt that the nice ‘tidy’ transfer of power was a stone sinking in a pond. And there would be ripples.

  The Grand Marshal’s meetings were the best place for me to study Snow Fox and try to ascertain his motives for allowing his bannerman to bloody his sword.

  “What are we to do about these eunuchs then?” Grand Marshal Oxblood had said, sword held out to one side, as if he was so weary he could not remain seated in the place of honor without its support. His horned and shaggy helm shook with supposed exasperation.

  “Summary execution might have been too strong,” said Noble Lion, rubbing his own eyes, “but leaving them to their devices was a mistake.”

  Noble Lion was one of the few men of worth, by my reckoning, who had stayed in the capital and suffered through the inane grandstanding of a grid-locked bureaucracy.

  “I’m afraid I must agree with you,” said Snow Fox. “But we cannot correct that mistake now. They’ve committed no new crimes, and while it might be expedient for the Empire to trigger another impromptu extermination, it would not be right or fair.”

  The Marshal nodded at that. “The mother of the Emperor has forbidden further bloodshed in the palace, regardless.”

  “Then we are trapped,” said Snow Fox, slowly and sagaciously. “We cannot disobey the Mother-Empress. Nor will the Ten Imperial Attendants be foolish enough to allow themselves to be lured from the palace if there are those who would cut them down the moment they stepped outside the protection of the Empress's armistice.” He gave the Marshal a reproachful look at that. “Whatever we do would pose more danger to the Emperor than letting the Ten be.”

  Again, his reasoning was both sound and just, and I struggled to reconcile this man with the pragmatic brutality at the house of the Gray Moon-Moth clan.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “You may be right, Ding Yuan.” I was startled to hear the Marshal use Snow Fox’s personal name. Perhaps the two elder statesmen were closer than I had realized.

  “Be that as it may,” continued the Marshal, “A plan comes to mind.”

  “Why do I get the sense that this plan poses great risk to the empire?” asked Snow Fox.

  “No plan is without risk,” said Uncle. “But every risk should be weighed before charging.”

  I struggled to keep from shaking my head in disappointment. Uncle was spouting platitudes as if we were all youths on our first battle raid. Perhaps my uncle was still a shrewd general, but in terms of getting anything done politically, he was so far out of his depth it made my skin crawl.

  Yet the Marshal nodded as if my Uncle’s words were somehow helpful. “When honorable heroes can do nothing,” said the Marshal, “perhaps the land could do with a villain or two. We need someone willing to attract the Ox Empress’s ire.”

  The Marshal gaze slid along those assembled, and perhaps it was just my imagination, but I thought he lingered upon me longer than the others.

  No, I thought. Absolutely not. Not a chance.

  Things were going far too well for me to risk something as stupid as pissing off an Empress Dowager who had just had her competitor’s entire clan killed.

  I was finally my father’s heir, even if that role would be short-lived without a Mandate. A beautiful, intelligent, interesting Imperial concubine a hundred ranks above me had taken a liking to me, and there was a real chance she might become my wife if things continued in this direction. Iron Tower was secure beneath my father’s stern gaze, and most of all, the Land Under Heaven appeared to be at peace for the first time in my lifetime. Aftershocks of rebellion and disagreements over spoils were nothing compared to the last six years… or what history would suggest lurked just around every corner.

  When no one spoke, I looked around the room and found Noble Lion fixing me with a look that could only be described as pleading. I did not know him particularly well at this point, but I could say that I respected him. He was both a man of action and a man of virtue. He was a key player on the stage, but not overly self-interested. It was perhaps this admiration for him that led me to speak, but not as I had on the night we placed Emperor Shining Light on the throne.

  “The Imperial Protectors of the provinces,” I began carefully, mindful of the fact that most of the people within this room were high enough rank to take my head if I misspoke, “placed the Emperor on the throne at great physical and political risk to us and our clans. If we do the same in taking care of the Ten Imperial Attendants, we can all share the blame in going against the Mother-Empress’s wishes. A swift, united front from the lords once more and the Empire can remain at peace, with an Emperor empowered to serve his nation as Heaven commands. Strike quickly and no one can stop us. Strike together and the burden of retribution will be light spread across so many backs.”

  The long pause had given me time to craft my words as I thought Noble Lion might, and I was quite proud of the result. But when I looked over toward him, I saw not pleading in his eyes, but… pity? The Marshal for his part, shook his head in disappointment.

  “Perhaps this situation is more complex than I thought,” said the Marshal. “Perhaps what is needed is too much to ask of any of you. I will think on this more. Perhaps there is still some course of action I might put into motion. Go. That is enough for today.”

  The warlords and their retainers rose and filed out, likely to go about their business as if it were any other day of palace politics. They were probably patting themselves on the back for another day of meeting, feeling important, and ultimately getting nothing done.

  I, however, sat there stunned. It had been a good plan. It may not have been the plan the Marshal was looking for, not the right answer to his puzzle, but it was a correct answer. It would work. Why didn’t he want it to work?

  Did he want me to raise my sword and say, “I’ll do it! I’ll go slaughter the Ten Imperial Attendants and then report to the Ox Empress to await my execution.” She would be right to take my head. It would be murder. It seemed anything other than trading my life for the lives of the Ten Imperial Attendants was unsatisfactory to the Grand Marshal, and I wasn’t entirely sure why that was the case.

  Uncle rose and placed a hand on my shoulder as he departed. It seemed I was not about to be chastised for speaking, at least, but nor would my actions today steer the Land Under Heaven in the right direction.

  “You’re right, you know,” came the voice beside me. It was deep and rich, refined without being weak, youthful without being young. The informal tone was so different from what I had listened to these past few months, it took me a second to recognize the voice as belonging to Noble Lion. “It would have worked.”

  Was he reading my thoughts? No, of course not. I had seen Noble Lion’s Mandate in all its glory on the yellow plains. It had nearly ensnared not only all three rebel generals, but contained every rebel beneath their influence, the cleanest possible end to a rebellion. Nearly.

  “Unfortunately for the Land under Heaven,” Noble Lion was saying, sitting on the table beside me. “The Marshal’s not looking for a workable plan, he’s looking to hear the one he’s already decided on. And it's a very bad one.”

  “What do you mean?” I had known the Marshal liked to form consensus before acting, but I had hoped that if any idea where sound enough, he would consider it. It would mean these meetings actually meant something, that my role here was actually important.

  “You heard what he said about villains?”

  “Yes?”

  “Well, he wants to summon all the warlords back to the capital, even the ones who never bothered to show up in the first place. He wants armies at the Emperor’s doorstep once me, not politicians. It's the only way a Marshal is more powerful than a eunuch… or an Empress.”

  “You think there’s a rift in the Tan Ox clan?”

  Noble Lion sighed. “Probably not. But there’s definitely a rift between their clan and the eunuchs now. That alliance only lived as long as it took to get the Ox Empress’s son on the throne. But we came too close to killing the eunuchs in the process for them to stomach her any longer. They want her out and they want the Marshal out. And if he’s reverting back to overwhelming force of arms, it's not going well for him.”

  I was stunned at that. Here I thought the Land Under Heaven was at peace. I didn’t realize that rock thrown into the pond was actually a serpent, slithering back up to the surface.

  “But we can’t allow the Emperor to end up in the middle of a battlefield,” Noble Lion went on. “I needed you to voice the Marshal’s plan so I could publicly refute it, or he may just go ahead and summon the provincial armies anyway.”

  “So these meetings are a farce.”

  Noble Lion laughed. “Why do you think our fathers left us here? This room is filled with seconds and thirds-in-command? I can’t say I like that plan either.”

  “You think the warlords should be here.”

  “I think the voices at this table should actually matter. The land may be at peace, but how long will that last if there’s not a balance in the palace. United warlords with an actual say, eunuchs with limits on their roles, and a powerful Emperor on the throne once more. That's the only way we can stabilize this whole rotten structure.”

  “I’m… I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry things didn’t turn out that way. I saw the folly of his plan and I didn’t want to support it. I didn’t know that there was another layer to it.”

  Noble Lion let out a chuckle. “Don’t worry about it, Sparrow. I didn’t stay to chastise you. It's not my place and it's not deserved. In fact, you seem to be the only one in here that I can count on. It was my mistake not to approach you earlier and discuss these things. In fact, allow me to formally introduce myself.”

  He stood and bowed, holding a gold-plated pendant out to me.

  I scrambled to my feet and bowed just a little bit lower as I took it.

  NOBLE LION

  RANK 17: General of the Multitude Riding a Four Horse Chariot

  WORTH: 850 dan

  CLAN: Golden Lion | STAR: Yellow | FATE: Sky-Field “The Fortress”

  MANDATE: Stone Fortress Summons

  I looked at the card, to Noble Lion and back to the card, dumbfounded. Rank 17?! He was only a few years older than me and not even the oldest of his father’s sons, yet he was still worth double my salary. And he commanded his father’s entire armies, as opposed to a hundred or so cavalry. Well, in the capital I commanded exactly one bodyguard, one horse, and myself. What’s more was that Noble Lion was pushing the top of the noble class, rather than the top of the peasantry, as I was.

  Is this what I could have been had I manifested a Mandate on time?

  Noble Lion looked used to the look I was giving him now. “Oh, don’t be so impressed. My older brother is a drunk and my father can stay awake for maybe one hour in ten. I’ve had plenty of opportunity to prove myself on the field of battle. You’ll get your turn.”

  I forced a smile and handed his pendant back. “When?” I asked.

  Noble Lion let out a breath, as if he hadn’t expected to actually have to answer that question. “Well, you have me there. The Marshal, Snow Fox, some of the others…” He shrugged. “All I’m saying is that it's about time some leaders from our generation started taking some responsibility. After all, the future of the Land depends on us, doesn’t it?”

  “If only we could take responsibility. There never seems to be any space for us.”

  “That won’t last forever.”

  “It feels like it will. It feels like these meetings are going to last forever.”

  Noble Lion laughed and then paused as if struck by a thought. “You know what might put things in perspective…”

  “Hm?”

  “What if we got a reading?”

  “A reading?”

  “From the Book of Changes. Not from some village grandma or your aunt in the parlor. A real reading from an actual philosopher. The Philosopher. He lives right here in the palace.”

  “I’m not sure knowing our future will help us deal with the present.”

  “Come on. We’ll make a thing of it. If nothing else, it will be something for the other young lords and ladies to bond over. You heard the Marshal use Snow Fox’s personal name. The old guard has all of their old friendships. I think it's time we started making some of our own.”

  I thought about it. All my life, I had been an outcast because I hadn’t manifested a Mandate. Since my father’s ultimatum, I had almost given up on the notion of gaining any allies that weren’t sworn to my clan or related to me. How could I say no to an offer like that from someone like Noble Lion? In the end, I didn’t even try.