Death Scripture

Ever since Azheba had come to the Royal Court nine years ago and joined the Court Attendants Army, he had never felt this good. Bending the bow, nocking the arrow, loosing the strings; for a series of actions that couldn't be simpler, he always found something to improve and reduce unnecessary movements from, making it even simpler.

After many repeated failures such as the mutiny, election, and so on, Azheba had finally found his previously lost self-confidence in the battlefield.

'I'm not fit for intrigue and conspiracy,' he thought to himself.

The storm-like cheers died down, and the troops on both sides retreated while spreading out in many directions. It was a sign that their enemies had arrived.

Azheba looked into the distance and noticed that a black outline had appeared on the horizon. As he watched, it grew thicker and thicker, until a thin line separated itself out from the horizon and began to squirm toward the battlefield.

He recognized the fluttering flag; it was one with the insignia of a black horse, which was the sign of the Court Attendants Army, as it symbolized a dualism with the white horse flag of the Khan.

After staring at it for a while, Azheba rode back to his side's battle formation, nodded slightly to the dragon king, and reported the situation to the twelve-year-old commander-in-chief. "It's the shamans of the Court Attendants Army."

There was no official religion in the Norland. From the princes and nobles to the ordinary herdsman, they were all free to choose and follow whatever religion they pleased and were even allowed to practice several religions at the same time. But all of the armies had different numbers of shamans. It was a long-standing tradition like the warlocks of the Big Snow Mountain.

These shamans prayed for victory and cursed the enemy but had long since become dispensable symbolic figures. It was no wonder that even Shulitu, the royal child, was surprised at the news. "The shamans? What are they doing here?"

"Most of the officers of the Court Attendants Army were killed and the soldiers might have chosen them to be their new leaders." Azheba made a simple guess.

"Maybe they are the reason why the officers were killed." Gu Shenwei also made his own simple guess.

Shulitu showed a maturity beyond his age. He glanced at the Dragon King before expressing his own opinion. " Either way, they don't necessarily seem to be hostile. Liman, go and ask what their intentions are, and tell the whole army to stay on guard." Shulitu's cooperation with the Dragon King was still at an embryonic stage, where they were still exploring each other's bottom line.

Liman had just been promoted to the rank of chiliarch. Upon hearing the order, he immediately led a dozen or so soldiers out to meet the envoys and almost at the same time, a small group of people also left King Shengri's army, apparently to carry out similar orders.

In all, there were only fifty or so people from the side of the Court Attendants who had come as envoys. Bearing a fluttering yellow flag embroidered with a black horse, they rode straight towards the center of the battlefield, in the middle of the gap between the two armies, showing no signs of timidity.

As they got closer, Gu Shenwei was finally able to see the faces and features of the shamans.

The warlocks of the Big Snow Mountain usually were not too different from the soldiers there. They had no special needs for clothes and wore whatever they had. The main distinction was that the warlocks never touched weapons, like a saber or a sword.

The shamans in the Norland, however, were dressed clearly differently, with hats full of towering feathers. Even the clothes they wore seem to be woven from feathers, every aspect of them showing off an unmistakable aesthetic.

'King Shengri, the bird-lover, may like these people,' thought Gu Shenwei. He almost made the comment, but then felt like it was a crude joke and did not blurt it out.

Liman returned with the soldiers but he appeared to be a bit confused and unsatisfied. "The Great Shaman invited the leaders of the two armies to have a talk. He said… that he had orders from the Khan to put an end to the dispute in the Royal Court."

Liman obviously didn't believe a word of it, but as soon as he said it, the news circulated at a very fast speed. Gu Shenwei could almost feel the surge of reverence and fear rising around him like a wave of water about to crash into him, but the sane ones were like trees about to thrown under.

"Dragon King, please come with me to see the Great Shaman." Shulitu took the initiative to invite the Dragon King to ease the other side's embarrassment.

Liman began to regret his directness but had no time to change anything now. "Only three people can go from each side; this is also a request of the Great Shaman's."

The fifty or so Court Attendants had actually turned from guests into hosts in front of the two armies. The crowd glanced at the Court Attendants in the distance but no one dared to resist.

Three people had already ridden out of King Shengri's army. It looked like they wanted to leave a good impression on the Great Shaman.

Gu Shenwei nodded and agreed to go, then said, "Please appoint a third person, Your Highness."

Fang Wenshi coughed several times to signal that he was the best candidate, but Shulitu pointed to another person without hesitation. "Azheba, you used to be an officer of the Court Attendants Army. Come with us."

There were seven shamans in total, and the oldest one was the Great Shaman, who was ancient and wrapped in layers of feathers. It was nearly impossible to discern the Great Shaman's gender, and only the gruff voice could prove that the Great Shaman was a man.

As he sat on horseback, the Great Shaman raised his hands, faced the sky, and chanted rhythmically for a long time as a welcoming ritual to the leaders of the two armies.

Gu Shenwei didn't understand it, and the Norland people were also a bit confused but they all maintained a respectful and cautious attitude, restraining their confusion as best as they could.

What they respected were not those shamans but rather the 100,000 Court Attendants.

The three people from King Shengri's side were King Shengri himself, Wild Horse, and a new king who was in his twenties and appeared serious and nervous as though he had not become accustomed to his position yet.

King Shengri looked at the twelve-year-old Shulitu with a smile, and glanced at the Dragon King now and then, indirectly saying 'You've found a good puppet.'

The Great Shaman finally ended his chanting and prayer, his voice hoarse but filled with a sense of dreamy mystery. "The Khan is looking at you through my eyes now, and he sees the foreigners."

The Great Shaman's words turned out to be wildly effective. The dozens of Court Attendants around acting as bodyguards all lowered their heads as if the Khan were nearby and even the eyes of the new king, who was standing beside King Shengri, started fidgeting restlessly.

"Wild Horse is my guard," King Shengri stated in a casual tone. "Although he's from the Western Regions, it's very likely that he was born in the Norland. Hehe, one could say that it's like he's finally home."

Shulitu's smile was a little weak, but he wasn't nervous at all. "I believe that the Khan will be pleased to see the foreigner, Dragon King. If the rumor is true, then before the Khan ascended to heaven, he summoned the Dragon King to meet with him alone and even drank with him before that. I'm wondering if that is true?"

The Great Shaman paused for a moment. Then, with his eyes half closed, his body shook violently two or three times before it subsided somewhat into slight tremors. "Hmm… Good… The Khan will allow the two foreigners to stay though he has one more word to say to the Dragon King."

The Great Shaman faced the Dragon King with blank eyes as if he were looking into the great beyond. After pausing for a while, he related the Khan's admonition from Heaven, dictating, "Mortals should know their limitations."

As he finished his words, the Great Shaman stopped quivering and his eyes returned to normal, but he no longer looked at the Dragon King, completely ignoring him.

The dozens of gazes of the Court Attendants turned towards the Dragon King with complex emotions.

Gu Shenwei and Shulitu exchanged a glance. The two of them knew that the Great Shaman was mystifying things on purpose as everything he was saying was quite ambiguous while only he could explain it. Gu Shenwei was unable to fight back until he uncovered the other side's true intentions.

King Shengri squinted and said, "It's good to hear the Khan's voice again. Does he want us to go to heaven to accompany him once more?"

He hadn't forgotten what had happened in the Court Attendants Army. Had it not been for the desperate protection of the guards, he would have been sacrificed to the old Khan like how several other kings and hundreds of officers and generals had been.

"That was a test," the Great Shaman coldly explained. "Either go to heaven and serve the Khan, or stay in the mortal world and carry out the Khan's will. Everyone has his own destiny."

King Shengri patted his chest and said, "I feel very relieved to hear that from the Great Shaman. I thought that it might have been unfilial to fly for my life."

Shulitu bowed his head slightly. "May my father rest in peace in heaven."

The Great Shaman straightened up and seemed to be possessed by a spirit again, and cried out, "The Khan has decreed that from this moment forth, the Blood of the Divines shall no longer be killed, and that the Khan's descendants shall cease fire immediately.

The Great Shaman seemed to have finished but his body was still stiff and upright. King Shengri stroked his beard and said, "It's a good thing that the Khan ordered a truce, but did he appoint a successor? Because once the new Khan is chosen, the melee will end in due course."

"Yes."

As soon as the Great Shaman said this, both parties pricked their ears; even Gu Shenwei became more attentive. No matter how shamelessly boastful this psychic medium was, as long as one could gain his affirmation, it meant that one would also have the support of 100,000 Court Attendants, which was as good as obtaining the throne.

"The Devil Bird came down to this world and plunged our people into misery and suffering; Our great Khan lost his head, and his divine soul has nowhere to rest. The one who destroys the Devil Bird and finds the Khan's head will be the new Khan of Norland."

The Great Shaman did not emphasize that the new Khan had to have the Divine Blood of the Khan because it was a self-evident thing for the Norland people.

"Devil Bird? Where's the Devil Bird? How have I never heard of it?" King Shengri was the first to ask questions.

But the Great Shaman had completed his mission and no longer spoke, merely silently facing the sky with his eyes closed as if he were receiving a message from heaven.

One of the younger shamans explained, "The Devil Bird is a large red-crowned bird that eats human flesh and drinks human blood. It didn't dare come when the Khan was alive. But on the night the Khan ascended to Heaven, it appeared from the far north and flew all the way here in the south. You were busy fighting and didn't notice the scourge. If the Devil Bird had flown across the Prairie from north to south, the Norland would be divided forever. So it must be eliminated here."

King Shengri gaped at Gu Shenwei and asked, "Doesn't the Dragon King also have a big bird? If I remember correctly, it was red-crowned and red-eyed, too. It's not related to you, is it?"

"I won't know until I see it."

Everyone looked up at the sky like the Great Shaman was doing as if the Devil Bird would appear out of the blue at any moment.

The Great Shaman, however, opened his eyes and turned his horse around, returning the same way he had come. The Court Attendants closely followed behind. The young shaman reminded the leaders of the two armies strictly, "Before killing the Devil Bird and finding the Khan's head, no war is allowed to take place within a hundred miles of the Royal Court. Any transgression will be seen as a betrayal of the Khan and the Court Attendants Army will enforce justice on behalf of the Heavens."

After saying this, the young shaman shot a glance at Azheba, his eyes full of hatred, and then rode away.

Frowned, King Shengri was also surprised by the whole matter. As one of the ten kings, he had actually been treated as a 'mortal' by the two shamans, which really annoyed him. Then the new king next to him shouted, "Hey, what if one side kills the bird and the other gets the head back?"

No one answered. The shamans had already gone far away.

King Shengri laughed and looked at that young man, "Are you really taking their words seriously?"

"But… there's really a devil bird, isn't there?" The new king cast a flustered glance at the Dragon King.

When no one replied, Shulitu said, "I think that it'd better if we ceased fire. The hundred thousand Court Attendants and mine and your soldiers all believe in the Khan and the Devil Bird, so we'd better believe it, too."

On the way back to their own battle formation, Shulitu asked, "Does the Dragon King really have a large bird like that?"

Gu Shenwei nodded, but he was actually very confused. When the young shaman was describing it, he said that 'the Devil Bird eats human flesh and drinks human blood.' The first part of his description was relatively accurate but the second part was not one of the roc's habit at all. Besides, he didn't mention that it liked pecking eyeballs out, which was by far the most peculiar habit of the roc.