Orders for the White Wolf Clan... and Felonca Gets Surprised.
“So I suppose your new assignment for us will be cleaning your toilet, or something equally humiliating?”
Nayu bristled slightly at hearing Bai-Long Ji’s heavy, wolfish growl for the first time since they’d ambushed the White Wolves almost an hour before. He’d been completely in favor of teleporting in an army detachment, backed with scholars for firepower, and eliminating the White Wolves forever. So had Felonxi, Dian, and even Won Wei. It seemed like the only person that wanted to keep the Bai-Long clan alive was, ironically, Felonca herself.
Why did she want this? Nayu puzzled as the small party made its way towards Xianfung. He could read the anger, even hatred still in Ji’s eyes.
That man will try to kill her if he gets a chance, regardless that she saved his life! Despite their rough moments, Felonca was still his close friend, not to mention someone he found immensely useful to have around...
“That is what you deserve,” he heard Felonxi snort. Ji’s eyes narrowed, and Nayu had no doubt that had no Felonca interrupted, sharp words would have erupted.
“It will be nothing of the sort,” Felonca said, her voice full of the confidence of someone whose plan worked better than they’d ever hoped. “In fact, I have a most important assignment for you specifically, Bai-Long Ji, and a equally important task for you clan.”
The White Wolf’s eyes flashed to her.
“Have you heard of a tarrasque before, Bai-Long Ji? Any of you?” Felonca asked.
What is she up to? Nayu was now sincerely confused. The tarrasque would be a big enough problem as is... and if Felonca thought that it would be tough to tackle now, Nayu only shuddered thinking of how much of an opportunity the fight would be for an assassin to ‘slip up’ and ‘accidentally’ strike down the young panther hengeyokai.
“No... it sounds like gibberish,” the White Wolf haughtily replied.
“And what’s your opinion of Prince Hu of Langya?” she asked again.
“Scum,” one of the other wolves spoke. Nayu searched his mind, finally remembering his name as Chao. “The man dabbles in magics he has no business touching. There are many bad spirits gathered around his court. Not even Ji wants to go there.”
The White Wolf leader grunted in assent.
“You are an intelligent group then, gentlemen,” Felonca said with a smile, causing Nayu to grow more confused.
Is she planning on sending them after Hu? He has enough gold he could probably bribe them to kill US. Besides, if he is smart, his security will be so supernatural, magical, and airtight that sending in event he Bai-Long would be suicide. Maybe that’s what she’s after...
“Hu is summoning a great danger to us all... a danger you can help us stop. The tarrasque,” Felonca added.
“What is this tarrasque?” Bai Long Ji asked, confusion apparent on his face. “It sounds like some kind of weapon. If he swings it, does it kill multiple men?”
“No,” she shook her head.
“It is a gigantic beast, designed only to destroy cities and kill thousands,” Nayu replied quickly. “It slumbers for decades, even millenia, before awaking and wreaking havoc. Hu wants to summon this beast to try and destroy the Emperor.”
Maybe if I injected some fear into him, he’d be more receptive to whatever Felonca is up to.
“Bah!” Ji waved his hand, “you speak in exaggerations! I have seen Hu, and he looks much like you. I doubt he has
that much power! He is a mere man, not one of the gods!”
“Did you hear what happened to Liangxiang, Master Ji?” Nayu said, before taking a few minutes to describe the destruction of what had been the greatest city in the Empire, and thus, the known world. As the sorcerer’s descriptions flowed with Felonca, Felonxi, and even Ling concurring, Ji’s eyes grew wider and wider.
“...then he burnt the Jade City,” Nayu finished after twenty minutes.
Good. I have his attention. Hopefully Felonca can get him to do what it is she wants.
“Hu has immense, frightening power... power we want to stop at any cost,” Felonca said as the group drew into the massive army camps outside of the city. “That is why we spared you... you are needed, Bai-Long Ji, to save your people from this terror he is about to bring.” Nayu watched with pride as she paused for a moment for effect.
“So,” Felonca said after a moment, “I want you personally to assist the Imperial Guards in their training. Add to what I have taught them in the arts of silent movement, speed, and deadly strikes. They will prove very useful in the coming days of battle.”
“While you accomplish this,” she went on, “the rest of your clan will help us locate where this tarrasque is being summoned, and if possible, destroy some of the components Hu is amassing to complete this act. You and your clan are some of the finest spies in the Empire, as well as the best assassins. If we can prevent him from bringing the creature here,” she ended, “we could save the lives of tens of thousands.”
For a moment, Nayu watched as Ji’s eyes flashed, the wolf’s mind keenly looking at the request, weighing his response.
He’s thinking when he can betray us, Nayu thought darkly, yet the sorcerer kept his face quiet.
Keep calm... don’t let him know you know...
“We’ll do as you ask, Wa-Feng,” Ji replied after a moment. Nayu’s eyes narrowed as he saw a halting, almost unwilling bow, resistance seemingly in Ji’s every move.
He dared not broach his concern to her in front of the man, or even a few minutes after Ji had left. Instead he waited several hours, till he and Felonca were both alone, atop one of the guard-towers overlooking the massive camps sprawled beyond the city gates.
“Do you think brining the White Wolves into our sheep’s fold is truly a wise idea?” Nayu finally asked.
They’re specialist assassins... and I have no doubt that Ji will still attempt to avenge his son at some point, no matter how unjustified his vengeance may be... To his surprise, Felonca merely grinned at his question, and Nayu frowned. “I’m serious! Having them that close to you could be dangerous!”
“Nayu... do you see what I see? Over there?” Felonca pointed towards the vast field of tents that was growing outside the walls of Xianfung.
“The army, yes,” the sorcerer nodded but didn’t understand. “Why? All the horses in the world won’t be of help if...”
“You see the black and gold standards there?”
“The Imperial Guard standards? Yes, I see them.”
What is she getting at? “That’s another thing...why are you having Ji help with the guard training? They’re soldiers, Felonca, not...”
“They’re Ji’s replacements,” she interrupted, the smile still triumphantly on her face, “if he and the White Wolves get out of line. They’re loyal to the Emperor, and as importantly, my father. Bai-Long Ji is the best spy and assassin in the entire Celestial Empire... his training is fierce, but it goes even beyond what little I can teach of setting traps and moving quietly. Imagine... they’ll have the fighting abilities of the Wa-Feng, and the skills of the Bai-Long... with a strength in the hundreds, maybe thousands. Ji and his clan couldn’t stand up to a force like that.”
Nayu gulped as his mind wrapped around her logic.
“And by keeping him here, I split him from the rest of his clan,” Felonca continued, “and the others seemed rather...intimidated... by your little display in the forest,” she grinned. “They’re more malleable than him. Even if they don’t know specifically where the tarrasque is being summoned, they have more leads in the right direct than we do, I imagine... and I have the feeling that once they see how
bad Hu and his plans are, they’ll rally around us.” She stopped, looking him up and down.
“You aren’t the only one that can play politics sometimes.”
“Once again, I’ve underestimated you,” he admitted a minute later, a grin spreading over his face as his own mind worked overtime.
She’s damn impressive... I knew she was clever, but...
...with a mind like that working in the government... and me on the throne...
Nayu’s mind started plotting, yet again.
******
“Papa,” Felonca said warmly.
“Felonca! Come in! Sit!” Felonxi motioned to his daughter, and she stepped into the small cell in the former harem he called his temporary home.
Papa is never one for display, she thought. Nonetheless, as she looked about the tiny room, its walls plain, save for a tapestry depicting her mother at the family home, and a rack for the family sword, she thought a warrior as well known and respected as Wa-Feng Felonxi deserved more.
“I’m glad you could come on such short notice. I understand that Bai-Long Ji has been working the Guards overtime, as hard as you work them,” her father said as he sat on the bare stone floor. “Its a miracle I if I’ve gotten to see you for more than few minutes in the last month.”
“Well, papa... spring is almost here, and I want the Guards to be ready,” Felonca replied.
Some of the units have become very adept at sneaking and trap-setting... we can use them as scouts when we finally march on Hu. “I have some interesting ideas I wanted to share with you, papa, on how we could use them in the upcoming...”
“That is something for the war council’s table,” Felonxi raised his hand. “Not now. I asked you to come so I could speak to you as a proud father, not a commanding officer.”
Felonca smiled rather sheepishly, and sat on the floor across from him.
I guess I have been working quite a bit. Wake up before the sun, exercise, then go and train the troops until sunset, exercise again, then sleep. Since the arrival of Bai-Long Ji, she hadn’t had a single waking moment that didn’t involve work. Ji seemed fiercely serious about the training of the troops... yet Felonca didn’t doubt for a minute that it was all a cover.
He’s biding his time.
Which was why she needed to be extra vigilant too... to make sure the soldiers understood her as a superior to him, to keep the soldier’s loyalty while her enemy trained them...
“I haven’t said this enough, since I’ve seen you again,” Felonxi said in a slightly husky voice, “but I am deeply proud of you, daughter. You have done things that even I, in my age, can only dream of doing.”
Felonca felt a slight tear come to her eye when she heard those words. She’d spent years at the Academy, craving to hear them but fearing they’d never come. Now, they seemed a torrent, ever since she’d rescued her father. She bowed to him in reverence and thanks.
I’m only trying to be like you, papa...
“Now, for the real reason I asked you to visit me,” Felonxi gave a smile, banishing the huskiness with a cough. “There is something I need to give to you, Felonca, something I’ve been meaning to give you for quite some time.”
A lecture? Felonca thought.
No... I wonder what it is? I hope he doesn’t try to give me the family sword. I would have no idea how to swing that weapon...
As she wondered, Felonxi stood, and walked slowly to the closet built into the wall of the tiny room. Slowly, his older hands undid the small rope knotted around the knobs, and with a shove, he threw the doors open.
Felonca gaped.
Before her set the finest set of lamellar armor she had ever seen. Each scale had been meticulously dyed and refined, till they all shone with a bright emerald hue. On each shoulder stood a lounging panther, its jaws agape. The motif repeated itself on the chest of the suit, as well as the front of the helm. Yet these trinkets did not cause her to gasp... the top of the helm did that.
Rising imperiously from the crest of the helm came three sets of feathers. The first, blood red, symbolized the sheer power wielded by the armies of the Emperor. The next, purest white, represented the wisdom and discretion a leader must exercise according to the codes of Kongxi. The final set, brilliant yellow, harkened to the spiritual connections that bound the world; the citizens to the Emperor, the people to their ancestors...
...and a Shang Jiang, the highest military rank in the Empire, to her subordinates.
“I...um...” Felonca stammered, her eyes riveted on the plumes.
There’s some kind of mistake! The armorers didn’t have enough of one color, so they meshed the three together! Maybe this is Papa’s new set of armor... but he’s concerned and wants me to wear it for safety! Yes... that has to be it!
“By the power invested in me, as Commander of His Imperial Majesty’s Northern Armies, and by the command of His Most August Yuan-di, Son of Heaven, May he Reign a Thousand Years, and the behest of the ancestral spirits, may they protect us long from harm,” Felonxi slowly intoned the most ancient, most powerful of Imperial decrees, “I hereby commission you, Wa-Feng Felonca, daughter of Felonxi, grand-daughter of Shi-Quan, as
Shang Jiang Wa-Feng Felonca, servant to His Imperial Majesty, and Special Commander of His Majesty’s Imperial Guard. The spirits, the Emperor and the People demand, so shall it be done.”
“Wha....” Felonca’s jaw dropped, and her mental functions stopped working. Her father gave an impish smile.
“Don’t look so stunned, daughter,” he said gently, walking over and using one hand to close her gaping mouth. “General Oiyin was old, and due to retire. Won Wei and His Majesty had agreed on this appointment several months ago, as your training of the guardsmen in your... um...unusual tactics, has made them far more competent a fighting force,” her father said, pride swelling his chest. “And... since you trained them to use ambushes, traps, and sneaking around so effectively, His Majesty realized either you or a certain White Wolf would make the best commander. The choice from there was obvious.... Felonca?”
I... Shang Jiang... Guards...
“Felonca... are you alright?”
Train...Shang Jiang...I...
“You’re still in shock, I understand,” her father smiled again. “I’ll have you know that neither I, nor Dian, or your friend Nayu did anything to influence this decision. Yuan-di and Won Wei came up with it on their own, so if you wish to lecture someone, lecture... are you really alright?”
Three plumes... I... Felonca’s brain continued to rattle around inside her skull for a few moments, before her first coherent words since the closet had been opened came out.
“How... what... me?”
“Yes, you!” her father positively
laughed, “as far as I know, you are the only Wa-Feng Felonca I can count as a daughter!”
“But I...” Before she could say anything more, her father made a shushing movement.
“No... you can’t complain to me. If you want to refuse, you have to tell His Majesty yourself. In all honesty, that will probably make His Majesty very sad... and I fear that if you two are alone, he will become a little boy again and cry. You don’t want the Emperor to cry, now do you?”
Felonca looked down for a moment, before looking up at her father, her serious look ruined by the beginnings of a smirk.
“Father, I never knew you were this evil,” she said, the smirk growing into a smile. “Guilting me into accepting the commission by threatening that a little boy will cry if I don’t!”
“I know you, Felonca. You’ve ignored what I’ve said many many times... but I know you can’t ignore Yuan-di!” her father laughed, before his face took on a more somber look of love and pride. “I know such armor doesn’t suit your skills, but please, accept the gift even if you don’t wear it to war. You have earned this, Felonca.”
Felonca closed her eyes, and felt the tears streaming down her cheeks. What had been missing for ten years of her life was now overpowering, overwhelming, running through the room like a river. Love... and acceptance.
“Thank you, papa,” she said quietly, burying herself in his embrace.
