Emperor Valerian
First Post
Well, today is special. Tonight, you'll get two updates for the price of one!
Another Army Appears... and Felonca the Heroine Strikes Again
“Governor Ling! Governor Ling!”
Ling’s aged body slowly looked up from the papers he was examining, but Felonca saw the old man’s eyes burned fiercely with annoyance. In the succeeding three days since the coup, Felonca had discovered that Ling had a mind for financial matters, and cataloguing and balancing the provincial budget had been his focus in his first few days as governor. He’d asked for the help of Felonca and Nayu when it came to exploring the palace and cataloguing its contents... and they found out really quickly that he hated being interrupted when he was examining figures.
“What?” It seemed as if the new governor could not shout, but the question was delivered in a surprisingly cold voice.
“Governor sir!” The messenger was fairly shaking with excitement and fear. “The Captain of the City Guard reports that there is an army massing outside of the city gates! They fly the flag of Langya!”
“What?!” Ling now shouted. Suddenly, the focused financier changed, as he moved around the table with surprising speed. “How many of them? Who leads them?”
A Langya army? Here already?
Felonca started to giggle. I think its time to add another chapter to ‘Felonca the Amazing’ within the city of Xianfung! After a few seconds, she realized that Nayu, Ling, and the messenger were all staring at her...
...so she struck a pose.
“Do not fear!” she grinned, “I shall go out to meet them myself!” She laughed, then added, “It’s not as if its my Uncle Dian outside! He’d be something to truly fear, with the reasoning ability of a bull! I can persuade Quan-Shi to not attack this city!”
While Ling protested and try his best to dissuade her, Nayu merely echoed her grin and said nothing as she left. She had not even left the palace before she saw members of the Thieves Guild peering at her in awe, rumors spreading rapidly that the dark thief that had assassinated the governor, performed miracles in Mingzhong, was now riding out of the city alone to confront an army.
Finally, she reached the damaged South Gate, and as she climbed the steps towards the parapet, she could hear the clangs of swords against shields, and the shouts of an army issuing challenge. Finally she climbed into the gatehouse, where the former Captain of the City Watch, now a newly minted general, looked at her in fear.
“He’s out here... Quan-Shi himself leads the army against us!” the new General said fearfully, leading Felonca to a section of wall that to the outside. Below stretched a sea of banners, steel and voices, waves upon waves of soldiers drawn up in perfect battle ranks, the banners of Langya fluttering above their heads. To their front was a man clad in fearsome armor, astride the largest charger Felonca had ever seen.
“Come out and fight, Ho Jian!” he shouted out the name of the dead governor, waving his blade about. “Come and fight Quan-Shi Shih! Only cowards hide behind walls, Ho Jian!”
“He thinks the old governor still rules here!” Felonca’s companion whispered fearfully. “Quan-Shi the Great will surely destroy all of us!” He looked terrified at her when she laughed at the comment.
“I doubt that!” she chuckled. “Is there a place where I can get out onto the parapets themselves, so he can see me?”
“Wh...why would you want that!?” the commander shuddered. “They say Quan-Shi can shoot a man in the eye at 100 yards with his bow! Surely he will-“
“Come peaceably into the city after I’m done?” she smirked.
Ah... the same speechless look! I could get used to people looking at me this way! Felonca laughed, and soon she found herself ushered onto the open parapet itself, crouching low behind the battlements.
“Now... when you launch your surprise... for I assume you mean to try to ambush Quan-Shi with a lucky bowshot...” the commander started, before his jaw fell open as Felonca merely stood, backlit by the sun above the battlements.
“Quan-Shi! Hello!” she called, and laughed more when another person was stunned and confused. “Your eyes do not deceive you, it is Wa-Feng Felonca!” she waved again. Finally, the general below managed to call out her name in confusion.
“Felonca! What are you doing there! Don’t worry! We’ll get you out and free the other hostages...” His call of reassurance stopped at her peals of laughter.
“I am no hostage, General!” she shouted back once she had control of herself. “Governor Ho has perished! The province is under new administration... administration that wishes to speak with you, General!”
Far below, the general reined up his charger in confusion, as Felonca called upon him to come into the city for negotiations...
“That... that snake!” Quan-Shi snapped a few hours later, and Nayu smiled. Felonca had ushered Quan-Shi into a meeting with the new governor, and Ling had explained the situation far more persuasively and artfully than either Felonca or Nayu could imagine... then again, he had the weight of a governor’s mantle on his word as well. As did the obvious signs within the palace, even this soon, that the provincial government was reorganizing along better-led, more virtuous lines.
“It is all true, Master Quan-Shi. Every word of it,” the sorcerer added. “Prince Hu wished to kill both me and Felonca, for reasons that none of us understand,” Nayu lied. Felonca knows Quan-Shi... but I don’t want anything about my background coming out to ANYONE... yet...
“This province is in need of an experienced military leader, General,” Felonca added, and Nayu smiled even more as it became increasingly obvious the general was being willingly reeled into their plan. “You have a reputation all across the Empire, and Dai needs someone to keep its borders protected until a far better person arises to take the throne.” For a second, Nayu thought he saw Felonca flash a look at him, but to his relief, it appeared no one else caught the glance.
“But if I accept your proposal,” Quan-Shi began cautiously, “whose banner would I be accepting? The bastard Emperor’s in Liangxiang? The banners of Han, or Bei, or Shu? I can’t just give an army to a mere provincial governor! Its not done, and its not proper!”
“Oh, but you would be accepting a banner,” Ling countered. The governor then turned, looking directly at Nayu. The sorcerer felt something come over him, as if warm water was running down his forehead. Nayu felt sweat running down his head, as he realized the governor was directing something magical at him.
“You would be accepting the banner of Heaven, good general,” Ling finished his thought several agonizing seconds later. Nayu started to sigh in relief that his secret hadn’t been pried from his mind, until he heard a gentle voice coming from the farthest recesses of his mind.
”You are the heir of Prince Huang... the rightful claimant to the mantle of the Son of Heaven... yet you do not speak? Why is that?”
Nayu jumped, bumping the table they were all gathered around and sloshing the wine back and forth. What the...
Oh gods... he knows! He knows! Who else knows!?
The voice, soft and smooth, continued to quietly speak. ”Do not be startled, My Lord. I am merely curious. Your friend’s mind relinquished the information when we first met... and as an old politician, I am adept at keeping secrets until it is advantageous to reveal what I know.”
Nayu’s mind went into a panic. Pretend you can’t hear him. Pretend you don’t know what is going on. Then, maybe he’ll assume the information is wrong! Or go away! Dammit! Get out of my head!
The small voice sighed, mirroring Ling’s audible sigh as the verbal conversation turned to the forces of Prince Hu, and the undoubted wrath that would pour on Dai province once it became known that Quan-Shi’s army had deserted.
”My Lord Nayu... if you really do not wish to speak of this, I shall keep this secret locked away, and leave it unspoken till you wish it to be so. For your sake, and the sake of the Empire, a pray that either you take the mantle, or another suitable claimant is found...”
”Thank you,” Nayu finally mentally replied. ”Things are not opportune. Patience is the key.”
”Very well, My Lord Nayu.”
“General Quan-Shi, have you happened to hear anything of our friend, Liu Ganxi? The monk?” Nayu finally spoke, attempting to change the audible and mental conversation. As soon as he spoke, he felt the feeling of magic withdraw from his mind, as Ling turned to look at the general as well.
“Oh... your monkish friend? Yes! Some of our scouts found him alongside the road the day before we got here. He was in very bad way, and he is still under our healers’ care. It looked almost as if he’d been tortured....”
“Welcome back to the world of the living,” Nayu said the next day, as both he and Felonca hovered above the bed where the broken monk had been laid. His feet were a sea of scabbed blisters, and burns covered his back. For his part, Liu blinked, and turned his head so he could see his friends.
“The Prince thought he could kill me... he didn’t realize how hard it is to kill a follower of Shenyang,” Liu hissed, his attempt at humor setting Nayu and Felonca at little bit at ease.
“You’re going to get taken good care of here,” Felonca said softly. The tears from seeing her friend’s horrible appearance had long since dried. Now her eyes shared the same hollow look as Nayu’s... sorrow at his piteous state, and rage at thinking the Prince of Langya had done this as well.
“Give me a day to refocus my mind, and I shall begin healing myself,” Liu said slowly, his aching voice filled with surprising confidence. “If I can run for two weeks on burned feet, I can fix myself given proper care!”
“That’s good to hear,” Nayu said quietly, even as he winced at the pain Liu had to have endured trying to reach them. He must have a will made of iron. For a while, silence fell across the room, until Nayu’s anger and curiosity joined strength.
“What is the Prince doing now, Liu? Is he preparing to march?” Is he coming here, to attack Dai?
“Its funny,” Liu said, twisting his mouth into a wry grin, “torturers don’t expect their victims to notice things... but thanks to the patience of Shenyang, I noticed much...”
Another Army Appears... and Felonca the Heroine Strikes Again
“Governor Ling! Governor Ling!”
Ling’s aged body slowly looked up from the papers he was examining, but Felonca saw the old man’s eyes burned fiercely with annoyance. In the succeeding three days since the coup, Felonca had discovered that Ling had a mind for financial matters, and cataloguing and balancing the provincial budget had been his focus in his first few days as governor. He’d asked for the help of Felonca and Nayu when it came to exploring the palace and cataloguing its contents... and they found out really quickly that he hated being interrupted when he was examining figures.
“What?” It seemed as if the new governor could not shout, but the question was delivered in a surprisingly cold voice.
“Governor sir!” The messenger was fairly shaking with excitement and fear. “The Captain of the City Guard reports that there is an army massing outside of the city gates! They fly the flag of Langya!”
“What?!” Ling now shouted. Suddenly, the focused financier changed, as he moved around the table with surprising speed. “How many of them? Who leads them?”
A Langya army? Here already?
Felonca started to giggle. I think its time to add another chapter to ‘Felonca the Amazing’ within the city of Xianfung! After a few seconds, she realized that Nayu, Ling, and the messenger were all staring at her...
...so she struck a pose.
“Do not fear!” she grinned, “I shall go out to meet them myself!” She laughed, then added, “It’s not as if its my Uncle Dian outside! He’d be something to truly fear, with the reasoning ability of a bull! I can persuade Quan-Shi to not attack this city!”
While Ling protested and try his best to dissuade her, Nayu merely echoed her grin and said nothing as she left. She had not even left the palace before she saw members of the Thieves Guild peering at her in awe, rumors spreading rapidly that the dark thief that had assassinated the governor, performed miracles in Mingzhong, was now riding out of the city alone to confront an army.
Finally, she reached the damaged South Gate, and as she climbed the steps towards the parapet, she could hear the clangs of swords against shields, and the shouts of an army issuing challenge. Finally she climbed into the gatehouse, where the former Captain of the City Watch, now a newly minted general, looked at her in fear.
“He’s out here... Quan-Shi himself leads the army against us!” the new General said fearfully, leading Felonca to a section of wall that to the outside. Below stretched a sea of banners, steel and voices, waves upon waves of soldiers drawn up in perfect battle ranks, the banners of Langya fluttering above their heads. To their front was a man clad in fearsome armor, astride the largest charger Felonca had ever seen.
“Come out and fight, Ho Jian!” he shouted out the name of the dead governor, waving his blade about. “Come and fight Quan-Shi Shih! Only cowards hide behind walls, Ho Jian!”
“He thinks the old governor still rules here!” Felonca’s companion whispered fearfully. “Quan-Shi the Great will surely destroy all of us!” He looked terrified at her when she laughed at the comment.
“I doubt that!” she chuckled. “Is there a place where I can get out onto the parapets themselves, so he can see me?”
“Wh...why would you want that!?” the commander shuddered. “They say Quan-Shi can shoot a man in the eye at 100 yards with his bow! Surely he will-“
“Come peaceably into the city after I’m done?” she smirked.
Ah... the same speechless look! I could get used to people looking at me this way! Felonca laughed, and soon she found herself ushered onto the open parapet itself, crouching low behind the battlements.
“Now... when you launch your surprise... for I assume you mean to try to ambush Quan-Shi with a lucky bowshot...” the commander started, before his jaw fell open as Felonca merely stood, backlit by the sun above the battlements.
“Quan-Shi! Hello!” she called, and laughed more when another person was stunned and confused. “Your eyes do not deceive you, it is Wa-Feng Felonca!” she waved again. Finally, the general below managed to call out her name in confusion.
“Felonca! What are you doing there! Don’t worry! We’ll get you out and free the other hostages...” His call of reassurance stopped at her peals of laughter.
“I am no hostage, General!” she shouted back once she had control of herself. “Governor Ho has perished! The province is under new administration... administration that wishes to speak with you, General!”
Far below, the general reined up his charger in confusion, as Felonca called upon him to come into the city for negotiations...
“That... that snake!” Quan-Shi snapped a few hours later, and Nayu smiled. Felonca had ushered Quan-Shi into a meeting with the new governor, and Ling had explained the situation far more persuasively and artfully than either Felonca or Nayu could imagine... then again, he had the weight of a governor’s mantle on his word as well. As did the obvious signs within the palace, even this soon, that the provincial government was reorganizing along better-led, more virtuous lines.
“It is all true, Master Quan-Shi. Every word of it,” the sorcerer added. “Prince Hu wished to kill both me and Felonca, for reasons that none of us understand,” Nayu lied. Felonca knows Quan-Shi... but I don’t want anything about my background coming out to ANYONE... yet...
“This province is in need of an experienced military leader, General,” Felonca added, and Nayu smiled even more as it became increasingly obvious the general was being willingly reeled into their plan. “You have a reputation all across the Empire, and Dai needs someone to keep its borders protected until a far better person arises to take the throne.” For a second, Nayu thought he saw Felonca flash a look at him, but to his relief, it appeared no one else caught the glance.
“But if I accept your proposal,” Quan-Shi began cautiously, “whose banner would I be accepting? The bastard Emperor’s in Liangxiang? The banners of Han, or Bei, or Shu? I can’t just give an army to a mere provincial governor! Its not done, and its not proper!”
“Oh, but you would be accepting a banner,” Ling countered. The governor then turned, looking directly at Nayu. The sorcerer felt something come over him, as if warm water was running down his forehead. Nayu felt sweat running down his head, as he realized the governor was directing something magical at him.
“You would be accepting the banner of Heaven, good general,” Ling finished his thought several agonizing seconds later. Nayu started to sigh in relief that his secret hadn’t been pried from his mind, until he heard a gentle voice coming from the farthest recesses of his mind.
”You are the heir of Prince Huang... the rightful claimant to the mantle of the Son of Heaven... yet you do not speak? Why is that?”
Nayu jumped, bumping the table they were all gathered around and sloshing the wine back and forth. What the...
Oh gods... he knows! He knows! Who else knows!?
The voice, soft and smooth, continued to quietly speak. ”Do not be startled, My Lord. I am merely curious. Your friend’s mind relinquished the information when we first met... and as an old politician, I am adept at keeping secrets until it is advantageous to reveal what I know.”
Nayu’s mind went into a panic. Pretend you can’t hear him. Pretend you don’t know what is going on. Then, maybe he’ll assume the information is wrong! Or go away! Dammit! Get out of my head!
The small voice sighed, mirroring Ling’s audible sigh as the verbal conversation turned to the forces of Prince Hu, and the undoubted wrath that would pour on Dai province once it became known that Quan-Shi’s army had deserted.
”My Lord Nayu... if you really do not wish to speak of this, I shall keep this secret locked away, and leave it unspoken till you wish it to be so. For your sake, and the sake of the Empire, a pray that either you take the mantle, or another suitable claimant is found...”
”Thank you,” Nayu finally mentally replied. ”Things are not opportune. Patience is the key.”
”Very well, My Lord Nayu.”
“General Quan-Shi, have you happened to hear anything of our friend, Liu Ganxi? The monk?” Nayu finally spoke, attempting to change the audible and mental conversation. As soon as he spoke, he felt the feeling of magic withdraw from his mind, as Ling turned to look at the general as well.
“Oh... your monkish friend? Yes! Some of our scouts found him alongside the road the day before we got here. He was in very bad way, and he is still under our healers’ care. It looked almost as if he’d been tortured....”
“Welcome back to the world of the living,” Nayu said the next day, as both he and Felonca hovered above the bed where the broken monk had been laid. His feet were a sea of scabbed blisters, and burns covered his back. For his part, Liu blinked, and turned his head so he could see his friends.
“The Prince thought he could kill me... he didn’t realize how hard it is to kill a follower of Shenyang,” Liu hissed, his attempt at humor setting Nayu and Felonca at little bit at ease.
“You’re going to get taken good care of here,” Felonca said softly. The tears from seeing her friend’s horrible appearance had long since dried. Now her eyes shared the same hollow look as Nayu’s... sorrow at his piteous state, and rage at thinking the Prince of Langya had done this as well.
“Give me a day to refocus my mind, and I shall begin healing myself,” Liu said slowly, his aching voice filled with surprising confidence. “If I can run for two weeks on burned feet, I can fix myself given proper care!”
“That’s good to hear,” Nayu said quietly, even as he winced at the pain Liu had to have endured trying to reach them. He must have a will made of iron. For a while, silence fell across the room, until Nayu’s anger and curiosity joined strength.
“What is the Prince doing now, Liu? Is he preparing to march?” Is he coming here, to attack Dai?
“Its funny,” Liu said, twisting his mouth into a wry grin, “torturers don’t expect their victims to notice things... but thanks to the patience of Shenyang, I noticed much...”
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