In the final decades of the Shan dynasty, the Shuli Go – magic-infused lawmen and women who had kept the peace for two thousand years – were disbanded as a caste. Trained to interpret the law and dispense justice, their education was broader and deeper than that received by most public servants in the Central Empire. After being pushed outside that same educated and elite set of institutions though, their former colleagues often excluded them from the discussions that helped form Imperial society.

20 Kao, 3272 CE – Between Wufei and Ming Kingdoms – Four years before Wamai

The fire was hypnotic, soothing. The air about it was still, the night dense, the darkness emulsifying external existence: the fire was all, a source of warmth and joy and safety. When the first human beings walked the lands that are now part of the Central Empire, they brought fire with them. The greatest tool, the grandest ambition, to bring light to darkness, and to burn enemies. What a triumph it would have been to create their own, to start a spark through ingenuity and dedication. To hold it at the end of a stick and feel that first great victory over the things that would do them harm: nature, beast, other humans. But also to feel fear of the thing that gave power: a tool and a danger wrapped together. Like every tool, if used the wrong way, if misunderstood. Every tool was a danger. Every weapon could be turned on its creator.

Zhao Lian stared at the fire and immersed herself in its hypnosis. Often on nights like this – pleasant, still, unthreatening – she would stare at the fire and let it collect her thoughts on the smoke and carry them to other places, other times. She thought of those first human beings often. The Shei believed they had first come to the Cradle of Civilization fifteen thousand years ago. The Tiendu Shu believed humans had grown out of this land itself, like all the other animals that lived and thrived there. Lian didn't care which, if either, of them were right. She knew things had beginnings, even if the beginnings repeated over and over again. Some human had built the first fire and felt great mastery over the scary, threatening world.

Lian's fire was small, fed with little more than some twigs in a dirt clearing, keeping the mosquitos and nightlife away; good enough for a short stop on her annual trip south. The remains of a large rodent – which Lian couldn't even identify as she'd caught it – recently roasted and consumed, sat in the middle of the blaze. It had been her only meal all day, and her stomach was a throbbing, unhappy voice in her belly. Her horse, which she considered herself lucky to have, was tied to a nearby tree, munching an overgrown bush, also still hungry, but looking more satisfied than Lian felt. The thin mare's eyes also took in some of the majesty of the fire, even as it continued eating and eating.

The cooling rains and breeze of spring had started to fade, but the night had not yet reached the humid sauna of the summer in the Cradle. She didn't like to wait this long to head back to her son Quan, but the pickings for work that winter had been slim, and she had so little money she'd been forced to go without food wherever she could. Hence the unidentified rodent. It was another few weeks ride to Zhosian and the good food she knew waited for her there. She could last until then.

So she stared at the fire and waited to start feeling sleepy. She fed the fire a few more sticks, looked at the licks and wisps of flame, and waited. Still her stomach protested, keeping her awake.

Then the other fires appeared behind her, lighting up the sky with a dull echo of their own licks and wisps, the horizon's purple becoming pink and yellow as the fires approached and grew brighter.

Lian's camp was a few hundred yards from the main road that ran along the Brilliant River. It was never a good idea to camp right beside the road: Lian was likely to be robbed – either by thieves or the patrolmen hired to guard against them – and had learned early on that a few hundred yards of darkness was all it took to keep most predators at bay. But the lights now turning the night sky into color were directly on the road. Lian got up and stalked back towards the road now, the new conglomeration of illumination opening the way for her to do so without the threat of a stubbed toe or trip on a root.

As she approached the road the rumble of footsteps and talk were unmistakable. It was an army, and a large one, marching towards Nianjang. But when she got closer she saw it was like no army she'd ever seen before.

There were banners, it was true, but they weren't emblazoned with army insignia or regimental colors. There were instruments announcing the time and timbre of the march, but they weren't the drums and blaring drones of cavalry signals. There were no muskets or swords as far as Lian could see, and many of the men – and like any other army, they were mostly men – were either too thin, too old, or too frail to carry such weapons anyway. She read the characters on the banners and saw that this was an army of scholars.

Lian watched as the great column – it stretched as far into the south as she could see, at least several miles worth of men and wagons and horses – march down the road towards Nianjang. The men on the edges of the road hoisted ten-feet-tall torches that bathed the rest of the progression in flickering, shimmering light, the same that Lian had seen from miles off. This great procession was flanked by the occasional Imperial soldier, each of them looking bored and tired from a long day's march. The scholars though, were energized, enthused by the prospect of being only a few more days from their target.

The column went on and on, a mile's worth of men passing by Lian's obscured position off to the side of the road. Then suddenly a great cry went up, and everyone stopped in place. The din of conversation, which had been nonstop since Lian had started watching, died down as all the scholars and students set about preparing their camp for the night. Just as soon as they did, two of the men, dressed in students' robes, rushed towards the side of the road from which Lian was spying.

"My gods I don't know if I can make it," one of them shouted: a tall, gangly young man with the thin mustache that was popular among the youths in Northern Shu Kingdom. He hurried down off the road and into the gulley where Lian was hiding, not twenty feet away from her. The student's eyes were not as strong as Lian's in the darkness, and he had no idea she was anywhere near him.

"You'll be fine, stop being so dramatic," the other young man, with similar dress and grooming habits, but of average height and remnants of baby fat on his cheeks, replied. He too, moved into the gulley, though not as fast.

Both of them stopped, stood upright, lifted their robes, and pulled out their penises to begin urinating. Lian held in a chuckle.

The shorter man stopped first, but the taller, more desperate one, continued to pee. He let out a long sigh as his comrade hiked up his pants and rearranged his robes. And the tall one continued. The chubbier boy started to climb back up towards the road. And the tall one's flow went on uninterrupted. The chubby one stopped and turned around to confirm what he was hearing was true. And still the urine gushed out, hitting the ground with a faint splash. The shorter one shook his head and pulled out a watch from the folds of his robe and examined it intently. And finally the spray slowed and dribbled out, only to receive one final surge that hit the ground with renewed vigor before all sound stopped.

"I'm sorry Zemin," the shorter man said to the taller as Zemin was rearranging his robes. "If I knew you were aiming for the world record, I would have timed it from the start."

A small, intense burst of laughter – really just an exhalation – escaped from Lian before she could stop herself. She clamped her hands over her mouth, but it was too late. The two men turned in her direction, startled. Their eyes darted about for a split second before settling on Lian, the only distinct shadow amongst the dozens flickering under the column's torches.

"Who goes there?" The chubbier one called out, slightly terrified.

"Re...reveal yourself!" The taller one, Zemin, tried to command through a timid voice.

Lian paused a moment, then replied, "I think you've revealed enough for all three of us."

"A sword... a bandit!" The chubbier one exclaimed after he located her voice and saw her blade. "I'll run for the guard!"

Zemin, though, caught slightly more of Lian's entire appearance, and he turned to his friend with reassurance. "No, it's ok Shuren, she's a Shuli Go!"

Shuren stopped halfway up the embankment to the road, then turned back to look at Lian again. She assisted them both by igniting and then holding a tiny flame on her palm, holding it up to her face and whipping her long braid around to show it and her sword in full clarity. "You must be the smart one," Lian said to Zemin in a joking voice. "I'm no threat gentlemen, really." She expelled her flame.

Shuren slid back down next to his friend but his face was still wary. It wasn't until Zemin realized what she'd meant by her first response, that he took a step towards her. "You... you saw... that? How much?" He asked, his voice now overwhelmed by embarrassment.

"The whole show I'm afraid. It was quite something."

Zemin's face contorted in horror and he quickly stepped towards her and threw himself on the ground in prostrate. "A hundred apologies!" His mortified voice trembled. "No woman should be exposed to a man's base self in that way!"

Lian chuckled. "I've seen far more dangerous and basic men," she tried to reassure him. "Don't worry about it."

"No!" Zemin remained on the ground and he gained confidence in his righteousness. "I've committed a sin, I must atone for it. To display oneself in front of a lady in such a manner is unbecoming of anyone seeking noble enlightenment."

"She's no lady," Shuren, his chubby friend, sighed quietly.

Lian glanced at Shuren and took in his fine clothing, soft face, and unworked hands. A noble's son, full of the entitlement inherent to a title, as well as a lack of fear of upsetting someone who could cut him in half with ease. Still, Lian admitted to herself, he's not wrong.

"He's right," Lian told Zemin. "I'm no lady. So no harm was done. And even if I was a lady, trust me, I've seen a dozen cocks in the last few months alone. And none of them pissed quite so impressively."

She could tell her compliment didn't help Zemin's consternation at all. He remained face down into the ground for a few more moments before slowly rising up and asking her, his head still low. "May I have the pleasure of knowing your name, Madam Shuli Go?"

"Zhao Lian," she responded. "And what are your names?"

Zemin rose high only to bow again and introduce himself formally. "I am Guo Zemin, of the Jin Guo clan. And this is Ding Shuren—"

"Of the Wufei Ding clan," Shuren interrupted his friend in order to give his own bow. An entirely noble introduction.

Lian bowed in return, equally deep and formal. "A pleasure and thousand graces upon you and your families."

"And a hundred years peace and joy to yours," Zemin responded.

Shuren's nobility ended there. "She doesn't have a family, you idiot," he scolded Zemin with a chuckle. Then he remembered himself. "No offense intended, Madam Zhao, but it is true."

Lian nodded again. "So it is. Still, it's a pleasant greeting to hear."

Zemin rose up again and said, "May I also ask where you are travelling to Madam Zhao?"

"I'm heading south, towards Daming," she didn't want to mention Zhosian – that would only prompt more questions.

"Ah. We are part of this group, we are going to—"

Lian cut him off. "You're part of the petition to see the Emperor," she filled in the obvious.

Both of the students were taken aback. "That... that's right," Zemin said, utterly surprised.

"An official guard and this many petitioners – that's a royal seal on your petition. It must be some topic you're all supporting."

"You know of the petition process?" Shuren asked, not caring to mask the surprise in his voice.

Before Lian could come to her own defense, Zemin did. "Of course she does. You were trained in all the legal codes before you could become a Shuli Go, correct?"

Lian nodded. "That's right. I almost took part in a petition myself, actually. A bunch of Shuli Go tried to organize one after the Emperor got rid of us. I figured he'd made up his mind, but I did consider it a while."

Both of the young men looked at her with something much closer to respect, especially Zemin, who was obviously surprised to meet a real Shuli Go. He looked to be twenty or twenty-one. Which meant he couldn't have been older than eight or nine when they were disbanded. Lian enjoyed their stunned silence for a moment, then decided she had better leave.

"I should be going. I left my horse just back there a bit, I—" And then Lian's stomach growled, ending the conversation.

It – the growl – was, in almost every way – tone, volume, and sheer length – the audio equivalent to Zemin's urination. It went on and on for so long that the two boys had time to look uncomfortably at one another, then at her, then back at each other before staring at her and waiting for the sound to die. Shuren was just reaching for his watch when it finally ended, leaving their conversation with an awkward silence.

Lian felt the slow burn of embarrassment. She tried to stem the worst of it and rushed to finish her thought with as little interruption as possible, but she knew it was too late: the heinous nature of that memory would stay with her for weeks, maybe even years. Nevertheless, she attempted to move past. "I should make sure the animal's ok, and I had a fire going, I'll just..." she let the thought fade and turned to leave.

She got no more than a few steps before she heard Zemin and Shuren whispering amongst themselves. She tried to hurry to avoid inflaming the flush which was rampant over her body, but before she got far enough, Zemin's voice called out to her.

"Madam Zhao!"

She stopped, because they would know her hearing was too good to have not heard her. She turned back to face the two men. Zemin took another step towards her and with another short bow said, "Would you like to join us? We are about to have dinner. It's the least I can offer for my embarrassing display."

Lian didn't really have to think, but she pretended to anyway. "Sure."