“Lady Ding?” said the new attendant, “I’m afraid there is no one here by that name, ser.”
It had only taken a few days for Dreadwolf to begin to show his colors, and it took far longer than it should have for the rest of the lords to realize that the new Imperial banners may as well have been gray.
I had returned to my rooms that cold morning expecting a bath, a meal, and then a good long rest before deciding what could be done about the wolf in the herd. But before any of that I needed to know that River was safe. So I rang for an attendant and asked the unfamiliar face that showed up to deliver a message to a court lady for me.
“She goes by River among her friends. Shadow River.”
“There must be some mistake, ser. I do not know of whom you speak.”
“There’s no mistake. I haven't seen you before. Are you new to the palace?”
“But trained extensively.” The man bowed lower. “I assure you there is no one-”
“Then can you at least find my bodyguard, Windstopper. I sent him to protect this woman you say doesn’t exist.”
“Yes, ser. Right away, ser.” He turned to go and only after he was almost out the door did I realize I was still covered in black ichor.
“And a bath!” I said, then hurriedly added, “Please!”
As soon as the attendant departed I passed a hand over my face. I shouldn’t have been so hard on the man. It had been a fraught night for everyone, and though the lords and the Ten had been the combatants, clearly everyone within the palace had suffered from the power struggle. I can only imagine what kind of internal upheaval the rest of the palace had experienced for an attendant to completely forget about one of the Imperial concubines.
As I began to pull off my ruined robes, they crinkled. I groaned and pulled out the fistful of black-smeared papers that must have magically appeared there.
***WHAT AN ACHIEVEMENT!***
TITLE: YOU’LL HAVE TO GO THROUGH THEM
DESCRIPTION: You have three or more current alliances with people more than five ranks above your own. Congratulations on being the weakest of your friends and probably the biggest coward.
VIRTUE: +5
***WHAT AN ACHIEVEMENT!***
TITLE: SOCIAL CLIMBER
DESCRIPTION: You’ve formed an alliance with someone more than ten ranks above your own. You’re a status-sucking leech and you love it!
VIRTUE: +10
***WHAT AN ACHIEVEMENT!***
TITLE: PALATIAL ASSASSIN
DESCRIPTION: You killed someone more than twenty ranks above your own either inside the Imperial bedchambers, inside the Imperial throne room, or inside the Emperor’s Hall of Eternal Happiness. Who even let you in there?
VIRTUE: -40
“Minus forty?! For killing a kidnapping snake?!” I crushed the achievement with disgust. “Plus it was in self-defense. Well… the snake tried to strike first anyway… after I tackled him. Fine! I struck first but that doesn't change the fact that his cronies had kidnapped the Emperor!”
I had done far worse things in service to the throne – specifically participating in the coup that had placed the current Emperor there – but this time I could see the impact my actions had on some tally of virtue, presumably kept in some Imperial records office. It was as if recognizing the system of virtuous and vicious achievements had allowed me to see the impacts they were having, even if I didn't understand how or why. I had never heard of a Mandate that could do something like that, but the more powerful Mandates could be as varied as flakes of snow in a blizzard.
I took a moment to examine the Palatial Assassin ‘achievement’ to see if there were any further clues about the system, but all I could tell was that again the positive ones appeared on clean white paper so cheap that I could basically see through them, while the negative one appeared on filthy parchment. This one, with minus forty, appeared on parchment so raw I could almost see the veins of the animal whose skin had been used to create the medium.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
I moved to the wardrobe to finish removing my ichor smeared clothes, where I found one last surprise awaiting me.
A long, thin, slightly-curved shape wrapped in pure white silk was someone balanced upright in the middle of my things. I reached out and touched it, and the moment my fingers made contact with it, the spell was broken. It rattled slightly as it fell into my hand.
I’d know that rattle anywhere. I quickly pulled the silk wrapping from around the object to find a pristine cavalry saber, curving slightly forward, with a single handed grip and ring pommel. The scabbard and handle were both inlaid with black leather and silver that appeared to be both brand-new and master-crafted. Only when I was done marveling at the sword did I think to wonder at who had left it for me. My father perhaps? Or maybe River?
I had finished donning new clothes and was just seeing how it looked tucked into my sash, when I looked down to notice the silk wrapping I had cast aside to get at the sword within.
***WHAT AN ACHIEVEMENT!***
TITLE: UNWITTING IMPERIAL SAVIOR
DESCRIPTION: Either by force of arms, strength of Mandate, political cunning, or pure dumb luck, you saved the life of a member of the Imperial household without realizing it, without expecting a reward, and with nothing to possibly gain. My bet is on pure dumb luck.
VIRTUE: +100
REWARD: Son-of-Heaven Saber
I read the massive letters printed on the silk three more times to make sure I was seeing them properly. In a flash of blue light, like polished armor turning in the sun, the words disappeared.
None of these achievements had ever come with a reward before, and none had ever come on a medium so fine and pristine as an arm’s length of white silk. Also, none of the writing had ever visibly, magically disappeared before my eyes. But then again, nothing I had ever done had granted me so much virtue, either. Plus 100?
So it was undeniably a Mandate that was delivering these messages to me. But now I had so many more questions. Making words appear and disappear was one thing but pieces of paper and bolts of silk where none had been? And swords too? I supposed the Son-of-Heaven Saber could have been stashed there by a servant, but somehow I doubted it. And if I had earned this achievement, then so had every other lord who rode out to that farm to reclaim the Imperial boys.
Did they all have Son-of-Heaven Sabers, too, now?
No, wait… None of us had actually saved him. They weren’t in any danger even when the farmer found them. But the achievement had specified that force of arms was not the only way to save a member of the Imperial household. Was this achievement for, perhaps, my efforts to specifically shield the smaller prince’s life, by suggesting that it could have been him who had manifested the firefly Mandate? If so, then how could the person who delivered these notes, whoever they were, already know that my actions had saved the Imperial heir’s life?
How could they know any of the things of which they seemed to be so certain?!
My thoughts ran those ruts for a few hours more, and though I still had so many questions about these achievements, once I had bathed and put on yet another clean set of robes, I was still unwilling to part with the saber. I used the white silk as a sash and tucked the scabbard into it.
At some point in my pacing, I rang for yet another attendant to search the palace records for a card bearing a heading “Son-of-Heaven Saber,” and they came back surprisingly quickly with a very old card from the Minister of Imperial History’s office.
SON-OF-HEAVEN SABER
TYPE: Cavalry Saber
WEAPON RANK: 10th
LORE: Forged by the Just Blade Mandate of the Virtuesmith in the time of the Great Ancestor, it is said that the Son-of-Heaven Saber will not deign to be held by an evil hand.
LAST KNOWN OWNER: The Paper Counselor
I couldn’t believe it. This wasn’t just a Son-of-Heaven Saber, this was the Son-of-Heaven Saber, a weapon used by one of the three heroes of the early empire who had helped the Great Ancestor unify the Land Under Heaven! If it truly had been last owned by the Paper Counselor, then it had been missing for over four hundred years! And yet… it looked as new as if it had been forged yesterday.
Someone had not only recovered the priceless weapon and historical artifact… they had just given it away. Because I had saved some little boy’s life, apparently? Ok, saving a little boy’s life was definitely a good thing. And because he was in the Imperial family, a lot of people would argue that this one little boy’s life was worth thousands of lives. But still, all I had done was say some things that confused some people. Was that really worth one of the most famous weapons in history?! The tenth most famous weapon in history to be exact.
Eventually, while I paced the room, swishing my new saber back and forth, still expecting it to disappear in a puff of smoke any minute, the new attendant returned, interrupting my thoughts. He brought Windstopper in tow. They both looked strung out and tired.
“I am sorry, ser,” said the attendant, panting. “He was not in the palace but at the front gates. He caused quite a commotion.”
“Thank you, it's quite alright,” I said and then paused before the man could depart. “You did well to find him and convey him to me. I thank you for your diligence.”
With more pleasantries, and only a brief flick of his gaze to my bared saber, the man bowed and departed. As soon as the door closed, Windstopper said, “I Am Sorry Too, Sparrow. There Were More Guards At The Gate And They Were Different Guards And-”
“It's alright, Windstopper. Let me guess. They wore gray, not tan.”
“Yes.”
“No more charging through gates unless I say so, ok? These guards won’t be so forgiving.”
Windstopper nodded.
“Why were you outside the palace?”
“Oh Yes. That Is What I Came Here To Tell You. River Has Left The Palace.”
“What?”
“She Has A House In The City. And She Said You Should Meet Her There Immediately. Your Horse Is Already There And I Am To Carry The Rest Of Your Things.”
