Five Kingdoms

by T. A. Miles

  “Stay with him,” Xu Liang instructed Jiao Ren, directing the general after Tristus. Their combined tactic was unexpected, but effective. They would all rely on it for the moment.

  He quickly gave order to the soldiers present in the yard to form a tight phalanx as a defense against the dragon’s assault and to otherwise ready their pikes and spears. “Strike when it passes low, only if its assault isn’t imminent.”

  The men began forming their lines. He turned to Shirisae and Alere—one elf lingering nearer than the other. “I’m going to prepare a wind spell to aid the soldiers,” he said to Shirisae, since she was closest to him. “You and Alere observe it. Work to bring it toward us, if you can.”

  “We’ll do what we’re able,” Shirisae said, vouching for Alere as well.

  The mountain elf must have heard the instructions, or anticipated them, for he moved with Shirisae when she went in his direction and they appeared to mutually understand each other without an exchange of words.

  Xu Liang left them to their task. He looked for Guang Ci, finding the guard nearby with Tarfan beside him. “Take Tarfan back to his niece, and see to it that the Empress is well protected. Return to us afterward.”

  Guang Ci gave a quick bow of acknowledgment.

  Xu Liang looked to Tarfan. “Protect Taya, and yourself.”

  “I’ll be fine, mage!” Tarfan proclaimed. “You children watch yourselves.”

  Xu Liang nearly smiled at the dwarf, briefly watching him depart with Guang Ci. There was time for no further sentiment. He placed himself behind the lines of soldiers and began to pray to his ancestors and the Spirit of the Winds. In the peripheries of his concentration, he felt the Phoenix move with his spirit, poising itself to strike.

  Alere ran through the structures and bodies of the Imperial City, toward the nearest wall. Many of the people had intelligently put themselves into hiding, but there were some who, for whatever their reasons were, could not bring themselves to move from harm’s way. Others were soldiers moving in hasty units toward the damage already done and to various points that may have been strategically sound, though he doubted any of them had experience with an attack of this nature.

  The first and most approachable staircase was taken to the top of a wall that overlooked a garden on one side. The ruined temple was in view, as were the soldiers under Xu Liang’s immediate command. Jiao Ren appeared to be instructing others while simultaneously trailing Tristus. The knight looked to be tracking the dragon from the ground. Alere would attempt to do the same from a higher vantage.

  Shirisae was behind him, fast behind him. He doubted he could have outrun the fire elf, had that been his intention. They moved quickly along the battlement, behind a line of archers who had formed to defend the city against the beast. It was circling high overhead. Directing it toward Xu Liang would be no easy task.

  The sounds of many feet rushing over stone walkways filled the air. There were none of the typical clashes of metal that came with any battlefield. There was no opposing army, only a dragon—and one whose circling was rapidly becoming eerie to witness.

  “What is it doing?” Shirisae wondered, indicating that she felt the same sense of unease with its behavior.

  Alere didn’t answer, since he didn’t know. Instead, he watched the dragon for several moments. His gaze lowered gradually. He tried to take in any elements that he had missed. In this foreign environment, it was difficult to tell what might have been out of place, or peculiar to a situation that was in itself not typical. His eyes settled on the wound to the city that was the destroyed temple. He drew a breath to speak his thoughts, in the very instant they were forming. And that was when a fountain of shadow shot up out of the temple rubble.

  Zhu Meng rushed with the outer city guards he had collected, toward the protected heart of the Empire. The assault had come from within, from beneath the very ground. At first he believed he was organizing men to assist with the damages of an earthquake. Now he understood that an enemy had attacked, one he had tried insisting didn’t exist. Xu Liang was right; there was clearly a conspiracy against the Song and possibly against the entirety of the Empire. This was obviously subterfuge from within, every detail undoubtedly mastered by Han Quan. Zhu Meng intended to make it his mission to track him down and to have him brought before Xu Liang a criminal, deserving of the strictest sentence.

  “To the gate!” he yelled to his men as they neared the south wall. The Gate of Celestial Might was open to receive aid. Zhu Meng directed his men through. They joined the tide of soldiers pouring out of the barracks on both sides, toward the Sun Gate.

  Zhu Meng pressed his mount ahead of men on foot. He didn’t slow when he caught sight of the cloud of moving forms circling and swooping through the air, hanging low, like bats on an evening hunt. He drew his sword and held it low while he charged into the fray of soldiers fighting legions of enemies that were neither men, nor bound to the earth. He followed the sight and sounds of the elements—the Swords. Again, the Imperial Tactician had been correct. Zhu Meng had never subscribed to Han Quan’s insidious lies. He determined in the moments that followed, that he would let no man utter a word against Lord Xu Liang again in his presence. Xu Liang had dedicated his studies and his life to their late Emperor, to their murdered Prince—Zhu Meng’s own son through marriage to his daughter—and now to their empress. His loyalty was not in question.

  Guang Ci moved swiftly with the dwarf, taking a route beneath as much shelter of trees and awning as was possible to avoid drawing the eye of the beast overhead. Presumably, it was too high in the air to clearly decipher what went on at the ground, but he could not attest to the sight of dragons, nor of the instincts. The one he and his fellow guards—along with Lord Xu Liang—had witnessed at sea seemed a more docile creature. This one made no secret of its aggressive nature. An audacious notion passed through his mind while he ran; that he might return to the battle, so that he might lend the Night Blade’s strength, as if that would be all that was required. The weapon seemed to have its own idea of what was strength and possible, over what was a foolish hazard. It crossed Guang Ci’s mind that what this sword required was discipline. He suspected that Vorhaven had allowed it to master him. He would strive to become its master instead.

  The Sword felt heavy in his grasp while he ran. For an instant it seemed as if it were dragging its weight deliberately, in direct defiance of him. He firmed his grip around the hilt and gave his full attention to protecting Tarfan and to getting them both to the middle court and the Hall of Heavenly Peace.

  Tarfan was swift, for one barely above the height of a child. He only slowed on two occasions to recapture his breath. Guang Ci took advantage of those moments with him, but didn’t allow them to linger. They rushed between flowerbeds, lanterns, and trees, over neatly aligned stone, toward the low wall lining the stairs to the gate that separated the Empress’ residences and offices from the rest of the city. They were closed. Fortunately, a man stationed at the gate saw them coming and ordered the gate opened. The massive portal parted only enough to receive them. They continued to run toward the palace.

  The Night Blade pulled again before they reached their destination. This time Guang Ci felt compelled to slow and to look over his shoulder. The action stopped him partway up the stairs leading to the palace. The air over the west court had turned black with the presence of not one large creature, but several smaller ones. He was reminded of the forest in the west, their early encounter with the shadow creatures.

  He heard a voice addressing him, but paid it no mind until the speaker touched his arm. Looking at the dwarf, whose words were lost to him, barring the speaking of his name, Guang Ci nodded. He did not need the words to know that he was being reminded of their orders from Lord Xu Liang. He continued with Tarfan to the palace.

  Song Da-Xiao sat upon her throne, surrounded by layers of guards, enough that she could barely see past them while they st
ood in a ready position, weapons drawn and aimed in the direction of the doors and any possible threat that may come through them. The quakes had stopped and she had been told only that the city was under siege, not by an army, but by the very monster from her dreams. She failed to see what her soldiers were going to do if the palace came down upon them. She wished she could know what was happening, whether or not Xu Liang was safe.

  It was then that the doors to the hall came open. She stood, giving herself enough height to see over the heads of the soldiers. It was the small outsider and Xu Liang’s young guard. The girl that was the small one’s relative came out from amid a crowd of others huddled within the hall, which included Song Da-Xiao’s handmaidens, secretaries, and other officers of the court. While they reunited, Guang Ci approached the box of soldiers surrounding the throne, coming within a distance not customarily allowed. Urgency seemed to command him, and she suspected also that Xu Liang had as well.

  “My Empress,” he said, bowing his head. “Your highest servant has initiated a plan of defense together with your Fortress General. The dragon has been joined by a flock of others, smaller beasts that were dwelling beneath the city with it. Lord Xu Liang begs Our Imperial Highness to stay within the Hall of Heavenly Peace. In light of what I have just witnessed, I would add, on Lord Xu Liang’s behalf, that all entrances become and remain barricaded until we have secured your city.”

  Song Da-Xiao nearly fell back in the seat of her throne at his report. She kept herself steady through effort, and said in reply, “We will do as Xu Liang advises. Return to him with a message of my intent and my safety.”

  Guang Ci bowed, as formally as the situation allowed for, which was for only but a moment. He returned to the main doors, halted by the word of the dwarf, who hurried to accompany him on his way out.

  Be safe, my brother. She watched the two leaving and the doors closing behind them, praying that her silent words would be carried out to Xu Liang.

  The Teachings of Pang Xiu

  The flurry of smaller creatures—possibly the offspring of the larger—brought significant complication to Xu Liang’s plan. Men throughout the courtyard engaged the beasts. As well, bowmen from the wall succeeded in bringing several down. Many of them were the size of fowl, but they were fierce as those small members of the keirveshen that had attacked in the Hallowen.

  “Stay in formation!” Xu Liang instructed of the unit immediately with him. Drawing Pearl Moon, he formed a dome over them. “Ready your weapons! Strike only when the protection of my sword retracts!”

  It was during the process of his plan being voiced that the parent dragon began its descent. It seemed possible that it was incensed by the power of the Swords, and if that were true, it could easily work to their advantage. Xu Liang’s prayer to the winds had been completed before the emergence of the smaller beasts. All that remained was to wait. He watched the sky, watched the dragon’s dive and how focused its path appeared to be. To deny fear of its strength would be to deceive himself. To respond to that fear would be to fail the Empire. He focused solely on the dragon, on what may have been the physical manifestation of Chaos itself. Through this avatar, it may well have hoped to escape its cage. The world required the containment of chaos, though its existence had purpose. It was through chaos that the world was formed, and it would be through the reckless flight of chaos that it would be destroyed if it was not put down.

  “Ready!” Xu Liang shouted, lowering his free hand. He held his fingers together, palm facing the ground, as was required for the spell that was to come.

  The dragon continued its descent, soaring ever nearer, wings outspread…

  A swell of dizzying anticipation and a mild flurry of internal pain came with the growing nearness of the great beast. It was, again, as the club of the ice giant…or as if a boulder pushed down upon troops by an ambush party was coming at him. Resolve rose to steady him.

  The dragon curved its form in what would undoubtedly be an attempt to scatter the soldiers, possibly to scoop bodies from the ground and hurtle them to their deaths. It was in the moment that the threat was at its most imminent that Xu Liang withdrew Pearl Moon’s protection and ordered the strike.

  Spears flew and Xu Liang brought his free hand up, summoning a gust from the ground upward that carried the spears with force exceeding the strength of men. Heads of iron tore into flesh and bone. The dragon roared with anger and suffering, and missed its intended mark. Buffeted by the wind as well as the force of many spears against it, the beast floundered and careened into the earth. The force of its landing shook the yard, throwing men off balance. Some were not able to escape the path of the dragon’s body while it slid with the force of an avalanche into the corner of the Palace of Spiritual Harmony.

  Guiding the dragon turned out to be unnecessary. It seemed to have chosen Xu Liang as a first point of attack, which ensured that both Alere and Shirisae could give all of their present effort to the smaller dragons. They were vicious, but in an instinctive way. They appeared directionless as infants. From the wall, Alere sent arcs of Aerkiren’s light reeling down at clutches of what he assumed to be the dragon’s progeny. The wide swaths of projectile magic that sailed off the blade’s edge cut through several creatures at once. Beside him, Shirisae utilized the branching reach of the Storm Blade. Further along the wall, Fanese bowmen were hitting their marks frequently, though it was impossible to spare all from the swarm of what may have been offspring desperate to feed.

  The fall of the greater beast seemed not to affect the young ones. Frenzy occurred whenever one or more of them drew blood or flesh from a man. Alere could only wonder whether or not these creatures were also of the keirveshen and whether or not their poison would afflict survivors.

  The felling of the dragon happened suddenly. For a moment the earth seemed to tear itself from beneath Tristus’ feet. He managed not to fall and even reached out to steady the man nearest him. It was that man—a stranger—who then cut down one of the small dragons when it came near to clipping Tristus’ shoulder.

  He thanked the man with an abbreviated expression of gratitude before he was tagged by Jiao Ren, who jogged for the place where the dragon had gone down. Tristus ran with him, along with others, some of whom were then held by engagement with the smaller beasts. All of these men appeared to be fiercely trained and Tristus felt at home in the presence of fellow soldiers. The men of the Imperial City had responded swiftly and in great number.

  Any sense of victory that might have been forming was immediately dashed by the rush of movement from the dragon as it righted itself. It was surreal to watch it rise, the broken shafts of spears protruding from its form while it staggered with some disorientation. Its wings appeared a loss for the creature, broken and torn by the assault laid on it by Xu Liang’s men. That only fed its rage. It wailed destructively in the direction it was facing, tearing apart stone pathways and bringing down trees and bits of the buildings in its path. And then it snapped its head around to face those who had struck it last. It wheeled about with terrifying agility, dragging its broken wings across the pavement, faster than seemed possible.

  Tristus and Jiao Ren sprinted in the direction of Xu Liang and his soldiers. Without communication, Tristus broke to the side and aligned himself for a strike while Jiao Ren went for the mystic. Spinning Dawnfire, he wheeled a disk of magic in the dragon’s direction, alarmed by the force of the magic while it tore across the flagstones and into the jaw of the dragon. In the same moments, Jiao Ren was planting himself in front of Xu Liang, the Spear of Heaven engulfed with fire at the blade. While the dragon was keeling to the side from Tristus’ strike, Jiao Ren thrust the Sun Blade at the dragon’s chest, launching a blossom of fire against its scale-armored flesh.

  The dragon responded with distress to the attacks, but recovered swiftly, snapping in the direction of the Fanese general. Xu Liang urged him back, and both men rushed from the dragon’s immediate path o
f notice, encouraging others to do the same.

  The numbers of smaller dragons were dwindling rapidly. Tristus was able to duck through them while hurrying to join his fellow bearers.

  “To the wall!” Xu Liang shouted.

  Tristus adjusted his course accordingly. They were joined by Tarfan and Guang Ci, but at a distance while the dwarf and guard stopped to defend themselves and others from a flurry of murderous young dragons.

  The journey to the wall was a race against the persistent footfall of the parent dragon. Tristus held back deliberately in order to ensure that his companions and others would arrive at their destination. Once again, Jiao Ren seemed to read his actions, else he acted on the same thoughts. The both of them altered their course, each going in the opposite direction, placing themselves to either side of the dragon. It snapped first in Tristus’ direction, but ultimately chose to pursue Jiao Ren. That gave Tristus time to attack it from behind. It responded with alacrity, turning toward Tristus and enabling Jiao Ren to set up for an attack of his own. Together, they managed to keep the beast occupied while the majority of those on the ground found shelter. Even Guang Ci and Tarfan had managed to find their way to the wall at another point and were currently running across it toward the stairs Xu Liang was just cresting.

  Tristus spied the elves already on the wall, working with Fanese soldiers to defend it from the remaining numbers of instinctive dragon nymphs. Some of the offspring were feeding on the bodies of the fallen in the yard and it was possible that others had given up on competing with their siblings and parent, and had gone off to find food elsewhere. Regardless of the actions of the little ones, they were still left with one foe of daunting size, wounded and possibly more dangerous while bound to the earth.

  Jiao Ren had found his way to the wall and the dragon seemed disinterested in their continued volley, moving off in a new direction. Tristus made for the wall himself, wondering along the way if the dragon might make for the hole it had come up out of. The clamor of its footsteps on a determined path that Tristus could feel suggested it had little interest in retreat. He ran as fast as he was able to the nearest staircase, daring not to look behind him at the beast’s progress.