The Warriors Path

by Brian Thomas

  Ping paused, her tone becoming more serious. “As the Temple grew and began to carry greater prestige amongst the people it sought to place priests at the disposal of the leaders of the country’s clans, or Great Houses as they have since become. Their aim was to offer the Temple’s accumulated knowledge and wisdom to the leaders, for the better governance of us all. For a while at least, this is what happened. Our people prospered above all others but then the Clan Wars began, lasting for several generations. In an attempt to bring the endless conflict which was destroying our world to a close the Temple decided to support a single clan against the others, to bring back the lost peace and prosperity to the land. Unfortunately, there was no clear consensus which clan it should support. This resulted in a schism within the Temple. Two factions each wanted to support opposing clans, the Wang and the Shoozu clans. The schism was unresolved and the two factions each supported their preferred clan in the war. Eventually, the Wang clan defeated the Shoozu clan. The Wang clan who were victorious executed all surviving members of the Shoozu family so there could never be a revival of their claim to the throne. The cost of victory to the empire was horrific and far greater than what it might have been if the Shoozu clan had not been supported by the Temple. The Wang clan, knowing the instrumental part the Temple had played in both their accession to power and their near defeat at the hands of the Shoozu clan, were in a quandary over what to do about the Temple. How to retain the Temple and the benefits it offered, while ensuring that it would never represent a threat to their continued rule in the future. Their solution was to remove the heads, hands, feet and tongues of all those priests which had supported the Shoozu clan and destroy all but one of the order’s Temples, the Temple in the Clouds. Still not trusting the Temple, the Wang clan were determined to crush its autonomy for ever. Having broken the back of the Temple’s power, the Wang clan bound the remaining priests to their clan by oaths of fealty on the threat of their total destruction if they refused. The Temple is allowed the freedom and autonomy it needs to train its priests and in return the Temple must assign priests as guardians to serve ruling members of the Wang family but no others. The Temple limits the individual service of a priest to any master for a period of five years, at which point that priest’s indenture expires and another from the Temple takes his place.” Ping paused, crossing her arms across her waist as though for protection. “The indentured servitude is absolute. The priest makes a total commitment, offering his learning, wisdom and skills for the benefit and use of his sworn master for the duration of the indenture. The indentured priest’s loyalty is bound to the master by his oaths of indenture during this period, above even his loyalty to the Temple.” Ping frowned as she paused again, shrugging almost apologetically, “To see a Temple priest these days is very rare and if one is seen it is most likely to be while they are serving a male member of the ruling family during their period of indenture, as a guardian.”

  Ping sat back on her heals. “All of this happened generations ago but the knowledge and skills of the Temple’s priests are kept alive by the emperor to aid and support the House of Wang, the ruling family of the civilised world. The Temple acquiesces to this covenant as it is at least able to advise the ruling House and thus, through them, guide the Hansee people. One of the few concessions the Temple was able to secure from the Wang clan at the time of the covenant was that it would select its own new students to the Temple.” Ping raised her eyebrows. “For a family member to be invited to join the Temple is a great and very rare honour, even if it is unlikely the parents will ever see their young child again. Today, the remaining priests maintain the covenant with the House of Wang to ensure the Temple’s wisdom and knowledge is not lost to our people forever. In the meantime, they pass what they can to the people through their guidance to the masters. The preists’ indentured service is the House of Wang’s means of tying the Temple exclusively to them and a deliberate reminder to the other Houses that to oppose them is also to oppose the Temple. Those of the Temple endure the injustices and demands the masters impose upon them, so that they remain able to benefit the many.”

  Ronan was fascinated by Ping’s story but he was reminded of the legends in his own country passed down by word of mouth, based on historic events but the facts distorted and the truth behind them lost over time. “If they are so rare what makes you believe the healer is a Temple priest? I have seen his forearms and he does not have the tattoos you described.”

  Ping looked cautiously around the room before she continued. “The emperor searches for a Temple priest who was guardian to his nephew. This priest murdered the nephew and his entire personal life guard before frightening the ordinary soldiers away. It is believed the priest now being sought by the emperor is disguised and was in the nearest city to our own, Yangshu city. A healer thought to be our healer miraculously saved a man, after walking up a building wall to bring him to safety. After he did so, people in the crowd saw the tattoo on his head magically appear for a brief period, before he covered it with a bandana. No other healers or purveyors of herbs have the knowledge of our healer. He must be a Temple priest and there are so few it must be the same priest who was seen in Yangshu city earlier. This is why the emperor’s soldiers seek him.”

  Ronan thanked Ping and she left to tend her duties. As she went Ronan turned to Markurd as he croaked, “Damned priests. The same all over. They learn enough to impress the ignorant and gullible. Before you know it the Gods speak through them, to conveniently tell the faithful they should support the priests to live in idle luxury. Parasites; the lot of them.”

  Ronan smiled. “I thought you slept. Did you hear it all?” he asked.

  “Enough.” Markurd replied. “Damned lucky you didn’t let him practise his quackery on me. No telling what he would have done and none of it necessary as it turns out.”

  Ronan placed a hand on Markurd’s shoulder to reassure him while he pondered what Ping had said. Like all legends there was some foundation in truth but over time the legend becomes exaggerated, distorted to add entertainment and keep it alive. No doubt the priests were well learned and expert healers but the rest all sounded like references to magic, which he believed to be exaggeration. As to martial ability, these did not pass naturally from one individual to another, training perhaps but not the inherent skills that differentiate between the capable and the exceptional. Perhaps Ping’s narrative referred to the theory behind martial skills and knowledge of strategy.

  The young priest Ronan had seen did not wear armour or even carry a weapon so far as he could see and this would seem to fit the martial strategist, rather than the warriors of old implied in her story. This would also be in keeping with their title of guardian Ronan conjectured; possibly tutoring young members of the royal family on subjects including war strategy. Though the priest had obviously done something to upset the emperor. “How do you think this mad priest they seek murdered the emperor’s nephew and his guards before frightening the other soldiers off? It sounds impressive enough for a single man to achieve on his own. The emperor’s nephew was bound to be well guarded.”

  Markurd snorted weakly. “A healer knows how to kill someone with his potions more ways than you could come up with if you had a month of Sundays. He probably murdered them by poison and used a glib tongue to send the others on a wild goose chase.”

  Ronan grinned down at him. “You are an old cynic but I am pleased that you must be feeling better.”

  Markurd closed his eyes as he lay back. “I have seen and heard of many strange things in these lands but decided a long time ago that there was a trick to them and I just did not know the trick. The Hansee people have been around a long time, so there are lots of tricks about by now. All seeming like magic to those of us who do not know how the trick works. Now go, and let me sleep.”

  Chapter 40

  Zanwen watched Zun and his men ride into his camp. Seeing them he was pleased at his decision to equip them in new uniforms and armour. They looked professional and
competent, a match for the soldiers from any of the Great Houses. Looking at the men as they rode up he could almost believe that Zun would achieve his dream of carving out a new territory and holding it. If he couldn’t, whoever wrung it from him would pay a bloody price for it. Zanwen reminded himself that he too would be paying that bloody price if Zun lost to another and there were unsettling stories circulating in the market place.

  Zun called his men to a halt, the column then turned in unison and the men dismounted in almost perfect time. He knew they looked impressive in their new livery but more so because the long hours of training had made them impressive. He commanded good men but the armour and the livery had added something, making them a unit and allowing the men to bond that little bit more. They all had light lances with pennants flying from the shaft just below the metal points and light brass bucklers, which he’d had specially commissioned. There were very few horses in the empire, partly because they did not fare well and partly due to the masters’ dislike of them. The few which did exist tended to draw chariots containing a charioteer and a Warrior Lord. Zun had fallen back on half forgotten memories of his days in the academy, of a text which described the use of the lances and bucklers to good effect. From what they achieved in the training sessions he believed the old text to have been accurate but until he could test the theories in the field he could not be sure. But with the lance, their bows and swords his men were some of the best armed and versatile troops he had seen. What they lacked was experience but he expected they would receive more than enough in the near future and he was anxious to give them every advantage he could beforehand.

  Zanwen smiled at Zun. “You are pleased and your men are ready?”

  Zun couldn’t hold back the smile he felt. “I am very pleased and though there is always more that can be done they are ready.”

  Zanwen nodded. “I fear there may be only a short period before they are put to the test. The attacks upon trade increase, growing bolder and more frequent but patrols by the emperor’s soldiers become less frequent and leave noticeable gaps along the border. I fear there is some political game in play here as it does not make sense with patrols in relatively safe areas being increased and virtually none at vulnerable points along other areas of the border. It almost invites attack upon the caravans in this area, with every success they have making the bandits and nomads bolder still.” Zanwen shook his head in concern. “These political manoeuvrings are dangerous not just to us but also to the empire. If the barbarians detect a weakness they will strike deep within the belly of our lands before we even know they are here. It has long been acknowledged our best defence is to keep them out beyond the borders, rather than allow them to cause real destruction and damage from within. This has always been the reason for the substantial border patrols which have worked well for hundreds of years.

  Zun frowned as he listened to Zanwen. “These noticeable gaps you have identified, where do they occur?”

  Zanwen looked around to ensure no one was close enough to eavesdrop. “Along the Guang and Tanyeu borders. It is a very long stretch and nothing sits between the empire and the nomadic wanderers, apart from the natural barriers of mountains and rivers. In the past these proved to have been no great obstacle. Of course, now there is also your new settlement.”

  Zun’s frown grew deeper in thought and he said in a distracted voice, “Our, new settlement now, Zanwen.”

  Zanwen pursed his lips, regarding a significant part of his saved profits now adorning Zun’s troops as new armour and weapons. “Quite.” However, he had made his decision and the money was spent. He hoped it had been a good investment.

  “You say the gap is obvious but I have heard no mention before this. Is it possible you are mistaken?”

  Zanwen shrugged. “It is possible but I do not think so. As we have travelled from city to city I have heard of this caravan not returning here or another being attacked there. As such I have a fairly good picture of where the attacks have happened overall, whereas those who do not travel as widely as I may well think them sporadic or only be aware of the attacks in their own particular area. The picture which emerges is of the Great Houses Guang and Tanyeu suffering disproportionately from the attacks, almost as though they were being targeted. Nevertheless, if I can form such a picture from what I have heard in the markets and tea houses, then the imperial army with an organised intelligence unit specifically gathering such news along the border must also know. Yet they do nothing.”

  Zun asked. “So is it incompetence rather than design if they should be better informed than you of these attacks and yet they do nothing?” Though Zun did not expect Zanwen to confirm this view.

  “The commander for the imperial soldiers in this area is Commander Kayto. He has been commander for many years and has always been most diligent in the performance of his duties.” Zanwen raised an eyebrow. “Incompetent commanders do not last long, especially along the borders, and inefficient ones rarely make it to the imperial forces at all. He is an honourable and competent officer and I can only believe he is acting on specific orders from the Sun Palace. My concern is that with my increased trading activity with these two Houses and the rather public display of association House Guang make each time we pass, that my own caravans may also be targeted. I fear I am inadvertently involved in some political confrontation I know nothing about and we are pawns that will be considered worthy of sacrifice in someone else’s game.”

  Zun set his jaw in anger. If Zanwen was involved as he believed then so were Zun and his settlement since they had now become mutually reliant upon each other. Zun’s expression was hard and his eyes glittered as he said, “If we are in someone else’s game, then they have made a strategic error if they value us as lowly as a pawn. Our new venture has made us both stronger. You have equipped my army and my army is ready to support you and your caravans. If we were a pawn before, then we have made ourselves a knight now. I want nothing to do with these political manoeuvrings, they serve no purpose and are wasteful, but if I have no choice then I shall use all the advantages I can and play to win. At the moment our greatest advantage is surprise, in that no one can expect I am here and ready to support you. If you will make the commitment to take more armour and weapons to the settlement then we will have moved ourselves up in the game again from knight to bishop.”

  Zanwen regarded Zun with apprehension. The players in this game would have huge resources and tens of thousands of men at their disposal, whereas Zun had a few hundred so far as Zanwen had seen. Surely he must know their combined forces barely rated being a pawn. Zun correctly interpreted his expression and smiled. “Do not worry, Zanwen, I am neither foolish nor ignorant of the forces being brought into play against us. But remember that they cannot bring all of these forces into play to the same location at the same time, not quickly at least. Whereas we are operating with the element of surprise and close to our base, this gives us a great advantage. We must make maximum use of that surprise before it has gone. When we strike we must cut deep, so as not to lose the opportunity it provides.”

  Zanwen relaxed, slightly. “Yes, and we must remember we are incidental players in this game, if we are included in it at all. The principal players are House Guang, House Tanyeu and some other, possibly the Sun Palace.”

  Zun smiled more broadly. “And we shall do our utmost to ensure their forces are used to our best advantage.”

  Zanwen returned Zun’s smile, finding his enthusiasm contagious. “I made my decision to join you some time ago and remain committed to it. My future and fortune are in your hands, so I would not jeopardise the enterprise for want of the correct level of investment at this stage. How much more do you need?”

  Zun lost his smile but the laughter jumped in his eyes as replied. “Another two thousand sets, just as you have fitted my men here.”

  Zanwen almost stepped back in surprise. “Do you have two thousand more men?” and then added hastily, “If I could do it!”

  Zun laughed out loud. �
��Not when I left, but if I know Shushan I will have by the time the equipment arrives.”

  Zanwen frowned as he quickly assessed the cost but knew it was within his means. Looking up he saw Zun had been watching him closely, his smile broadening as he realised Zanwen was able to meet the cost and gauging his sponsor sufficiently well to know that he would. Zun placed a hand on Zanwen’s shoulder. An intimate gesture in their society but Zanwen was strangely pleased this man who he had known for such a short time reciprocated the bond between them he also felt. “You cannot take it with you my friend and if we fail it will be left unspent, whereas spend it now and your future will outstrip even your most ambitious dreams.”

  Zanwen tried hard to retain the frown he’d had while calculating the cost but knew that his own eyes glittered as bright as Zun’s. “I fear you may prove to be the poor investment which breaks my reputation as a hard nosed trader. If this indeed turns out to be the case, my aggrieved spirit will haunt you through eternity.”

  Zun was all seriousness as he replied steadily. “Then I shall do all within my power, till death, to ensure your investment is sound and your spirit remains with you and at peace.”

  Zanwen was moved and tried to hide it with brusque efficiency. “Our latest purchase cleared out the stocks here. You must ensure my goods here reach the Guang factor in Pen-Kay city. I will meet you with the rest of my caravan at Tanyel city as soon as you can get there and along the way I will purchase what you need and send it to the settlement.”