~TIEN LYN~

Sayewa had a sensual singing voice that went well with her plump figure. New spring blossoms, yellow and white, pushed through her mane, swaying as she swirled, and opened up like the stars. Their fragrance pushed the stench of illness and exhausted bodies out of the tent. The rejuvenating energy that washed over Tien Lyn was familiar, as well as the sense of serene joy. This was the Temple's ritual and sung by a powerful faery, so Sayewa acted in good faith. It confused her to witness someone evil doing something honest and pure.

Rustam stirred, colour returning to his cheeks, and Tien Lyn let out a pent-up breath.

The faery stopped singing. The flowers dropped from her hair, carpeting the tent's floor. Apprentice Darting Swallow picked one up and sniffed it. Her face grew sad and she let the bloom go. It drifted through the air, and fell back on the floor.

Sayewa took the knife from her and cut off Rustam's dressings. Raw but healthy pink flesh could be seen between the swathes of dried-up ointment. "It is better to keep the flesh exposed to the Elements now. Keep his arm in a sling to let the bones knit better. He will not wield a sword right-handed again, but I fulfilled my end of the bargain."

The faery returned the knife, then pressed her hands together in front of her chest, her head bowed over it in a supplicant's gesture.

Zhu Zhao kneeled by Rustam and spoke to him quietly, then said: "I will help him through his practice. The four of you shall work together and watch one another closely. Very closely. You are all tired, so prepare well. There is not much of the night left."

The apprentices filed out of the tent with more cheer than Tien Lyn would have expected from battle-worn soldiers about to go back to fighting without a night's sleep.

Well, they are young, and they've just pulled off a miracle. And we are winning.

"We should detain the faery while the fighting continues," Wenjing said strolling into the tent. "There is no shortage of wounded."

"No," Tien Lyn argued. "I am not Empress Luchan. I will escort Sister Sayewa unharmed."

"You are no Empress at all, and I will pray that you'll never be," Wenjing scowled. "With you for an Empress and Yao for an Emperor, only the Celestials' blessed return can save us all from ruin."

"Let it go, Wenjing," Zhu Zhao said quietly. "Come, practice with me for the old time's sake, and you could grumble all you wish about my grave mistakes."

She hurried Sayewa out of the tent while Wenjing was occupied by her bickering with Zhu Zhao.

***

Tien Lyn could not fathom why Sayewa insisted on the escort. The faery put the hood of her cloak up, and the night was at its darkest. Whenever a sentry hailed them from a campfire, Tien Lyn just called out the password, and they moved on without further scrutiny. Sayewa could have walked out on her own if she wished.

Finally, the faery and the human cleared the camp. Sayewa stopped, and Tien Lyn took a step away from her, expecting treachery. But the faery did not attack. She just wanted to talk.

"Item one. Weynala kept me in the dark about her dealings with Jung Hwa because I advocated for Yu before the Faery Counsel," Sayewa said. "Item two. I was prepared to take the punishment if Yu had heeded my warning and fled instead of surrendering. Item three. He did not leave because he would not be parted from Tien Lyn, the wife of Chong Ho. Item four. Chong's widow Tien Lyn calls herself Zha Yao's bride now, and Yu is gone."

"I lied, and---" Tien Lyn started, but Sayewa lifted a finger to her lips. "Nuh-nah. We can dissemble over who betrayed Yu and how some other time. Right now, all I want to know is where he is."

"Yu had passed beyond Understanding," Tien Lyn told her with the enigmatic smile she had learned from the mages and marched away without looking back. She hoped Sayewa would choke while chewing on that one. This faery's interest in Yu upset her more than she cared to admit even to herself. At least Weynala's murderous intent was a known quantity, but Sayewa's was a mystery.

***

The next morning Tien Lyn grew even more concerned because she understood Sister Sayewa's strange smile when Zhu Zhao had predicted their victory over Wo Jia.

The Celebrated Emperor's forces had melted away in the night. The strategists cautioned against too eager of a pursuit, concerned by how easy it would be to charge into an ambush in the Prayer Beads. Their advance was painstakingly slow, but all the precautions were in vain.

The Verdant Plains were so flat that they saw the false sunrise as soon as they exited from the hills. The northwestern horizon glowed crimson, far brighter than the winter sun overhead.

Zha Yao pulled his horse up. His five sworn companions gathered around him, along with the Coven, and the three Oathbreakers. Tien Lyn found herself right next to Shan Jiang. The rank and file spread around, looking on in silence.

Xichon was burning.

Deserving Du put her hand on Zha Yao's forearm and Tien Lyn decided to keep her distance. She did not know how long they would have sat there, paralyzed by the sight, if clouds of dust had not indicated the approach of a riding party. They were coming from Xichon, galloping hard to reach them.

Zha Yao shook off his stupor, and they moved to intercept the newcomers. Their leader was a gaunt man in his sixties, his face strangely familiar to Tien Lyn, so tightly controlled, it was immobile. Closest to him rode a half-dozen of younger men, who looked like portraits of their leader when he was middle-aged, then younger and younger, all the way down to his teens.

Zha Yao glanced quickly to her mother, who gave him the tiniest nod.

"May Celestials favour you, Lord Han Yun," Zha Yao called out to the gaunt nobleman. Now Tien Lyn recognized the man as well. It was just strange to see him in the middle of the deserted countryside, against the orange horizon, dressed for war.

Lord Han Yun looked the rebel leader up and down. Even his eyelids did not move. He barely parted his lips to speak. "And you. I have come to reconcile, my son!"

Tien Lyn felt her jaw slacken. Shan Jiang, on the other hand, looked suspiciously smug.

"You knew this was coming?" she whispered to him. The newest Court Historian wiggled his hand in the air as in 'maybe' and turned his attention back to Zha Yao and Lord Han Yun.

"I sowed my wild oats, Father," Zha Yao said. "Until the plight of the people touched my heart and I repented."

"The blood will out!" The red spots bloomed on Han Yun's cheeks as he rose his voice. The mask slipped off briefly, revealing the lord's anger. "The blood of the First Dynasty is in you! The blood of the people! You are Han Zheng, and you are Zha Yao! You cannot stand idly when the despot Wo Jia corrupts the Empire."

Tien Lyn heard Du mumble, "Zheng?" under her breath and scoff.

Both men dismounted and embraced. Lord Han Yun by then was back in control of his emotions, and he looked more like a statue than an affectionate parent. Then came the turn of Zha Yao's so-called brothers. They did not say much but acted out their roles without complaint. One of them was even grinning until the Han party had to kowtow to Zha Yao to conclude the warm reunion. So it has come full circle, and Zha Yao was once again Han Zheng.

"My son and Lord," Han Yun rose to his feet. "I wish we had time for a proper celebration, but I bring grim tidings. The despot Wo Jia went mad. He set Xichon on fire, because he accused the citizens of treason. He marched to Sutao. And he sets fires and breaks the dams, leaving devastation in his wake."

"Curse him," Zha Yao said, "curse him for ruining his own people!"

He looked at those gathered around him. The words were repeated from man to man, for those that were too far away to hear. So he waited after each ringing sentence.

"The planting time is near.

Go home.

Tend to your lands.

Guard them against Wo Jia's evil.

But return at the start of the Summer Season!

To march on Sutao with me!"

While the shouts of Zha Yao! shook the pale skies, Tien Lyn accosted Shan Jiang with her questions. The Empire's newest historian finally relented: "I found correspondence between Wo Jia and Jung Hwa. Among it was the promise of titles to her sons and the land grants in Shantong Province, most of which was claimed by Han family. Lady Chen Guang paid the old man a clandestine visit ahead of the march. Your mother is a brave woman."

Tien Lyn glanced at the fires and whispered. "She wanted to sour Wo Jia's memories of Xichon. Now we will all have nightmares."

Shan Jiang shrugged philosophically and scratched his head under the horsehair skullcap marking his status, "It had happened before, it will happen again."

"I understand that congratulations are in order on your new post, Jiang." Tian Lyn said coldly. "Certainly, there is no one more qualified."

"Why, thank you," the former singer let the barb fly over his head. "And to think that I've almost refused the position."