Savage Divinity

After abandoning her mortal shell to become one with her beloved, Eri-Hime did everything she could to support Big Brother Hideo.

Although it didn’t look like she was helping by leaving him to be tortured within their Natal Palace, there was nothing she could do to free him because his confinement was voluntary. She loved him more than life itself and would never do anything to harm him, but so burdened by remorse over his grievous sin, Big Brother Hideo refused to accept her forgiveness and instead put himself through a rigorous, self-inflicted regimen of pain and suffering, all because he believed it was what he deserved. Were he willing and in the right state of mind, he could end his suffering with but a thought, for he was master of his domain within his Natal Palace, but he closed his heart and mind to her anguished pleas and shouted advice. Too honourable and virtuous to ever forgive himself for his most heinous of crimes, he rejected love and forgiveness and used her twisted image to inflict all manner of horrors upon himself, suffering as she suffered in a desperate bid to atone for what he’d done.

What a foolish man she loved, seeing lies and deceptions where there were none. In Eri-Hime’s eyes, the past no longer mattered, because through some miracle of the Heavens, they were together now like she’d always dreamed of, and that was all that mattered. The nerve of him for refusing to believe his precious Eri-Hime and trying to forsake her as a Demon. Was he truly so eager to be rid of her, or was he simply too broken by what he’d done? Either way, it mattered not. Eri-Hime had rejected the warm embrace of the Mother to come back to his side, and even though he refused to accept her love, she would work hard and persevere until he came to appreciate everything she’d done for him. For them.

Silly Big Brother Hideo... When he eventually came to his senses, he would understand and succumb to her love, two becoming one as they united in body, mind, and soul.

Her poor, poor man... He spent his entire life trying to be the best person, the best Martial Warrior he could be, but a single mistake threatened to ruin everything he’d worked for and Eri-Hime would not allow it. The world only saw Mitsue Hideo, favoured son of a prominent family and Disciple to a powerful man, but they never saw the hardships he suffered along the way. They didn’t know how he spent his childhood hiding in his room and desperately training to become a Martial Warrior to win the respect of his extended family. They didn’t know about how he’d often go to bed crying because he missed his absent father, a man who was always too busy with work to see him to the point where Big Brother Hideo wondered if his father even loved him. They didn’t know about the lonely years he spent neglected at his Mentor’s side, training under the supervision of whatever soldier or officer Juichi could spare and rarely ever meeting the man in person except to be berated for his failings. Even in his moment of crowning achievement, when Big Brother Hideo finally mastered the Mountain Collapsing Stomp and confidently displayed it for his Mentor to see, the old fogey didn’t smile or commend him for his staggering accomplishment, but instead sighed and lamented about Big Brother’s ‘limited foresight’.

“Each must forge their own path to the Martial Peak,” Juichi had said, shaking his head in stern discontent. “If you spend your life following in my footsteps, where will you go once you’ve caught up?”

That didn’t stop the crotchety old man from sharing the news of his Disciple’s achievement with the Empire at large so he could bask in the undeserved praise of his lessers. Given recent revelations regarding his father and family, Big Brother Hideo was furious with his Grand-Uncle, though he didn’t dare admit it to himself. Eri-Hime understood why he couldn’t hate his beloved hero and Mentor, but even though the stupid old man was a powerful Warrior, he was also a terrible father, teacher, and family figurehead, a worn, old fool who obviously knew nothing about how to raise a son or train a Warrior. Meanwhile, Uncle Hiroshi would’ve been a renowned Hero of the Empire in his own right if he’d made his accomplishments public, but he picked the Mitsue family over personal fame and kept his name off the Empire’s Roll of Experts and Peak Experts alike. This wasn’t done to spare his cousins’ pride, but because the renowned Mitsue Juichi would lose face if it became known that his sons all failed to excel despite his doting love and patient guidance, yet his neglected nephew became an Expert at twenty two and Peak Expert at forty seven while playing lackey and steward to his disappointing progeny. Worse, people would whisper about Hiroshi’s true parentage and wonder if this nephew-turned-Patriarch was in fact Juichi’s illegitimate son, an insult to both men and their families.

Of course, Big Brother Hideo only put the pieces together after Uncle Hiroshi blew up at Uncle Watanabe and it sat poorly with him now that he knew the truth, but he refused to let himself feel the rage bubbling within. Eri-Hime just knew it wasn’t right because the Voice of the Heavens told them as much, so she embraced rage in his stead.

The Heavens often spoke to them after her passing, and though she was curious why the Heavens sounded like an old man instead of a beautiful woman, she passed these lessons on to Big Brother Hideo, who refused to heed them. She didn’t care about credit or glory, so long as he grew strong enough to break free of the Mitsue family once and for all. Honestly, he would be so much better off without them, including his disappointment of a father. Big Brother Hideo suffered much because of stupid Hiroshi’s decisions, the old man doing nothing to shield his son from his bully cousins. Even if they weren’t privy to the whole truth, children learned much from watching their parents, and the other Mitsue scions could no doubt see the jealousy and contempt their parents had for Uncle Hiroshi, which they themselves translated into antipathy for Big Brother Hideo. Oh how his cousins mocked and bullied him as a child, teasing him as the ‘Heroic Guardian’ who was supposed to save everyone. Time and time again, those bullies set him up for failure, throwing his toys into the river or tying him up out in the forest and telling him ‘a hero would rise to the challenge and overcome all obstacles, no matter the odds’. They were jealous is what they were, jealous that Big Brother Hideo was the little Patriarch instead of them, but it was only because they didn’t deserve the title. Being the sons of wastrels, Big Brother Hideo’s cousins were no better than their parents, two generations descended from a Living Legend without a single current or prospective Peak Expert amongst them, it was truly a disgrace.

With the family already in such decline while Mitsue Juichi still lived, their elimination was only a matter of time and Eri-Hime was merely speeding things along. Big Brother Hideo would be fine without the family name and never have to know the truth. This was what a dutiful wife should do, support her husband from the side without hope of fame or renown, so while her hubby worked through his guilt and anguish, Eri-Hime kept the house together in a manner of speaking. She followed the advice and instructions left by the Voice of Heaven, words Big Brother Hideo refused to acknowledge. “Patience,” they cautioned her, “for deliverance will soon be at hand. Walk the razor’s edge and embrace true Balance, then strength and vengeance will soon be yours.”

Truth be told, Eri-Hime was hardly competent in the ways of the Martial Path and didn’t truly understand all of Heaven’s instructions, having Formed her Core late in life and made no further progress since. The last time she Demonstrated the Forms for Big Brother Hideo to see, he’d feigned delight and lied about how impressed he was with her talent, even though she’d hadn’t even memorized all the movements, much less mastered them to any degree of competence. Back then, she hadn’t cared about being a Martial Warrior, and when her father chided her for her poor performance, she boldly grabbed Big Brother Hideo’s arm and declared that her future husband would become the strongest Martial Warrior in existence, so there was no need for her to be strong, an outburst she now regretted. She hadn’t known how much pressure Big Brother Hideo had been under at the time, only days away from challenging Ryo Geom-Chi so he could seize the older warrior’s ranking in the Hwarang before the swordsman turned twenty-five and retired. Big Brother Hideo ended up losing the bout, then lost again a few days later to Tam Taewoong, who was the same age as Ryo Geom-Chi and of similar strength. These two successive defeats were why no one accepted him as the undisputed Number One Talent in Central during the months leading up to the First Imperial Grand Conference, and his disgraceful loss to Dastan Zhandos only sealed Big Brother Hideo’s fate as a ‘second-rate Talent’ in the eyes of the public.

This was all Falling Rain’s fault. Sending a slave out to humiliate him during the Grand Conference had been an intentional slight, and then he paraded the beautiful Zheng Luo in front of anyone who would look, a woman who should have belonged to Big Brother Hideo. Then, the savage runt childishly risked his sanity and the sanity of his soldiers on a sixty day tour of the front lines, all for what? Just to drive his rivals like Big Brother Hideo to desperation in their efforts to catch up? Cruel is what it was, cruel and savage, actions which lead to their current woes. With all this said, who was there to blame except Falling Rain?

Though her heart ached to see her beloved suffer so, Eri-Hime did her best to keep his spirits up and popped into their Natal Palace often to report her achievements. She was eating all of her meals and more, gorging on anything and everything the jailers would bring them, then turning it into muscle by Demonstrating the Forms inside the windowless room Uncle Hiroshi kept them in. She told him everything she learned through Scrying, Listening, Sending with Uncle Watanabe, and heeding the Voice of Heaven to make sure everything was in place. She kept him appraised of Falling Rain’s coming and goings, of his meetings with Officers, Healers, and monks alike, but she left out his shameless acts of snuggling with the charming Mei Lin and the beautiful Zheng Luo, not to mention his adorable animals whom Eri-Hime would’ve loved.

Did love. So cute. With their... soft looking fur, and... so many of them too...

Desperate for a reply, she told him about the long, boring hours she spent in quiet meditation, ruminating on Insights and puzzling out the secrets of the Martial Path, secrets the Voice of Heaven casually revealed with painstaking care unlike the brief and vague pointers Juichi offered. Filial as ever, her pointed disdain made Big Brother Hideo break away from his perpetual self-torture to defend his deficient Mentor. “Detailed explanations can do more harm than good, as they are based on the perception of the speaker,” he said, looking unaffected despite half his bowels hanging out of his belly. As well he should, because the pain wasn’t real until he made it so. “An adult and a child both approach the same donkey, but their perception of the beast will differ greatly. To the child, the donkey is a massive, hulking steed to ride upon, but to most adults, it is a middling beast to walk alongside. Both are correct, but the adult’s truth is not suitable for the child, nor is the child’s truth suitable for the adult.”

Though delighted at finally reaching him, Eri-Hime didn’t agree with Big Brother Hideo’s explanation, so she tried to argue the fact and keep him talking. “This is different. This is the Heavens guiding me, guiding us along the Martial Path, so how can its explanation do us harm? It makes perfect sense, and I even learned how to Scry and Listen at the same time thanks to the Voice of Heaven. One skill is used to transmit light, the other sound, but the two are more similar than one might think, because light and sound both travel through waves. The difference is that light can move through a vacuum, while sound requires a medium to move through. Therefore, if you want to Scry and Listen at the same time, it’s as simple as reconnecting to the portion of Domain you severed to Scry with in the first place, and using that as a connection to Listen with.”

Big Brother Hideo had given her a look, one she saw often when he was teaching her calligraphy. “Knowing and understanding are two different things. Even though you know why it works and can now use both skills freely, can you truly claim to understand the information you just regurgitated? What does it mean for sound and light to travel in waves? Why does sound require a medium to move through, yet light can go without? How does reconnecting with the severed portion of Domain give you the skills necessary to Listen through it? Why must it be severed in the first place? If you believe you’ve mastered these skills, then you are fooling yourself.” Giving her a pointed look, he added, “Or better to say I am fooling myself.”

Eri-Hime didn’t have an answer for Big Brother Hideo, because she was just a young maiden and novice to the Martial Path, so he simply went right back to his torment without another word. Wounded by his dismissive attitude, she looked at her bodiless counterpart floating through the air as it inflicted all manner of anguish and misery on her beloved, and...

And what? How did she feel? Sad? Hurt? Upset? Angry? What would Eri-Hime do or say if she saw this happening before her eyes? Scream in horror? Cry in frustration? What -

“The scouts report the Defiled army will arrive before nightfall.” Uncle Watanabe’s Sending interrupted his... her musings, and Eri-Hime brought her mind back to reality. “Are you certain this plan of yours will work?”

“Trust me, uncle,” Eri-Hime replied, stifling a giggle at the sound of herself Sending with Big Brother Hideo’s voice. Yes, this was more her style, cheerful and light-hearted with a bubbly and impish personality. “This day next year will be the anniversary of Falling Rain’s demise.” There was no way out for the savage runt, for the Heavens had ordained it.

“You tell me to trust you, but it’s difficult when you won’t share any details...”

It was a good thing they were conversing through Sending, else Eri-Hime’s face would’ve given away her disdain for the whiny, good-for-nothing waste of air. “Better you not know, so you can swear an Oath and plead ignorance.” A shame the Justicars wouldn’t ask him to plead incompetence as well, but such was life. As the son of one of Central’s three Colonel Generals, it would take more than mere inadequacy to remove Watanabe from office, even if the Empire would be better off for it.

The Empire would be better off without all of the Mitsues. Every last one of them.

“It’s just... I’ve sent word to the reinforcements urging them to hurry, but all I’ve received in reply is acknowledgement and platitudes. Of the three forces converging around us, not a single one has claimed they will arrive before the Defiled do, and even with their support, we will be grossly outnumbered, so I fear Sinuji’s doom is all but assured.”

Three reinforcing forces? And converging around the fort instead of rushing to get behind its walls? The warrior leading these reinforcements was a bold and confident commander indeed, positioning his troops to surround the Defiled rather than bolster Sinuji’s defences. A daring move in light of circumstances, and one Hideo didn’t approve of. This Defiled force was unlike any before, not just in size, but diversity as well, with the skirmishing Southern Defiled taking the field for the first time alongside sizable mounted contingents from north and west. What’s more, the Chosen who appeared the last time Emissary Gen marched on Sinuji were back in full force, their hundred-and-fifty thousand heavily armoured soldiers more than capable of taking the fort by themselves.

...If Eri-Hime knew all this from her discussions with Watanabe, then the reinforcing commander knew it too, so why was he so confident in victory? What did he know that Eri-Hime and the Defiled didn’t?

Realizing she’d been quiet too long, Eri-Hime shook her head and Sent, “Sorry about the delay, some fool was bothering me.” Her lie hardly sounded convincing, but it was plausible enough to not be questioned. “Everything will be fine Uncle. Even if the walls are overrun, you’ll have plenty of time to make your escape if it comes to that, but it won’t. The Enemy might be a million strong, but only so many Defiled can assault the walls at once. Besides, you’ve been hard at work reinforcing the defences and bolstering morale these past few days, so the soldiers are ready and willing to fight and die for you. You’ve nothing to worry about. You defend the fort and leave your dear nephew to deal with Falling Rain.”

“You won’t... you won’t do anything to endanger the family, will you?”

Only now, after many days of plotting, did Watanabe think of the family’s well being instead of his own. “Of course not Uncle,” Eri-Hime lied, this time much more smoothly. “I’d never do anything to harm the family, you know this.”

“Yes, yes, an exemplary Mitsue son, one we are all proud of.” Watanabe’s praise lacked any and all authenticity, but before Eri-Hime could pretend not to notice and reply, he Sent, “Boy, be straight with your uncle now. Why does your father have you locked up in your room?”

Was he too beginning to suspect Big Brother Hideo of turning Defiled? No, most certainly not. If he did, Watanabe would’ve long since cut contact out of cowardice and begun taking steps to save himself and his family. Having long since come up with a story and having had no chance to tell it, Eri-Hime replied, “Father found out I intended to take matters into my own hands and kill Dastan Zhandos myself. Rain is off-limits due to the Legate’s backing, but who will make a fuss about a mere slave? Alas, Father thinks it best we not meddle in the affairs of Eastern Nobles. You know how he worries, like a fussy old woman he is. No stomach for risk.”

“Ah. Right. Of course.” Tinged with palpable relief, Watanabe’s next statement set Eri-Hime’s temper afire. “Problem is, I can’t convince him to let you come out and join the battle. He’s adamant you stay in your room, says you’re close to a pivotal breakthrough and can’t be disturbed.”

Only a fool like Watanabe would buy such an uninspired excuse, but Eri-Hime didn’t have the time to correct him. “You need to convince him. I must be on the walls. To see him die with my own eyes,” she clarified, worried he might think his nephew unhinged enough to personally act.

“But he won’t allow it.”

“Then command it. Who holds rank in Sinuji, you or him? Father is a civilian and cannot act against you, not in public. You called a meeting with your Officers to inform them of the Defiled arrival, correct? While going over defensive deployments, let slip that I will be leading a sizable contingent of Mitsue family soldiers on the outer wall. Father won’t be happy, but you can say you wanted to make a show of your dedication to defending Sinuji. The soldiers won’t worry about you leaving them to die, not with your beloved nephew in the thick of things.”

“Yes... Yes, that would work. I’ll call the meeting now.” A pause, and then, “...You’ll smooth things over with your father, won’t you?”

Coward. One minuscule show of force and Watanabe was quivering in his boots at the thought of a second. How this lanky old goat shared any blood with Big Brother Hideo was a complete mystery to all, but alas, he was still family. “Yes Uncle. I’ll tell Father I begged you to do this and accept all responsibility.” Not that it would matter. Whatever might come, at least Falling Rain would be dead and gone, and Dastan Zhandos dead with him.

Then Big Brother Hideo could let go of his obsession and focus on things that mattered, like ousting his horrid snake of a father and becoming Patriarch of the family.

Finally free of the cowardly fool, Eri-Hime stretched Big Brother Hideo’s Domain once more and guided it towards Falling Rain’s camp. Putting her beloved’s harsh words regarding her lacking comprehension out of her mind, she simultaneously Scryed and Listened in on the scrawny, crippled runt, eager to see the exact moment he learned his doom was upon him. It was so novel a skill, for she still saw the room she sat in, with the four, boring cots and two wary guards, but she also saw Falling Rain sitting in his camp at the same time. Currently, he was amusing himself by tossing a knotted rope for his ungainly bears to chase, their tongues lolling out and spittle flying in all directions as they ran down their prey and fought for ownership over the coveted toy. The wildcats watched with marked disinterest as they lazed about in the dirt, while the rabbits hopped about the Guardian Turtle and kept her company with their antics. Strange how none of the animals were eating one another, especially the tiny Cloud Chaser Hare perched atop the Guardian Turtle’s head, The long-eared beasts were known to be a prolific predator of feather and fur alike, but the specifics of tribal animal husbandry were of no help to Big Brother Hideo, and therefore of no interest to Eri-Hime.

...Even though she loved animals of all kinds and begged for a pet to call her own for years and years, but her father wouldn’t allow it. Said only peasants kept animals for company, because they were filthy, disgusting creatures. Once, she tried to rescue an injured bird and sought out Hideo for help, bawling her little heart out as she clutched the tiny creature to her bosom and begged him to find a Healer to save it.

And he... He tried to let her down easily and tell her no Healer would ever bother learning to Heal a beast, much less a bird, but she wouldn’t hear it. It was the only time she’d ever been mad at Hideo, or at least as far as he could remember...

Minutes trickled by slowly while Eri-Hime waited for the good news, doing her best to focus on what she was seeing and hearing instead of the turbulent thoughts tumbling around her mind. When Falling Rain’s striking half-tiger sister returned from the officer’s meeting, Eri-Hime’s expectations reached an all time high, but she was sorely disappointed by the savage runt’s reaction to the staggering news. “I see,” he said, nodding his head and looking west with a gleam in his eye. “And he’s with them? You’re certain?” There was a brief pause while his sister answered through Sending, followed by, “Good. Good. Kuang Biao, if you would be so kind as to inform Dastan and summon your chosen Death Corps. It won’t be long before we’re called upon to defend the wall, so it would be best if they all went to the latrines now, rather than later.”

Word of impending action spread through Sinuji like wildfire and the fort came alive with activity as soldiers kept themselves busy so as not to fixate on the battle to come. Falling Rain’s camp was no different, and as much as she hated to say it, the runt handled his people well. “No Wang Bao,” he said, gently admonishing a noble-born soldier who asked to join him on the wall. “I won’t bring you with me, and you don’t want to be there either. It’s tireless, thankless work fighting on the wall, and you’re needed to keep your black-hearted cutthroats from putting a quarrel in my back.”

“They’ll do well enough on their own, boss,” Wang Bao replied, his voice heavy with emotion. “My second, he’s a fish-fucking Corsair who’d gut his mother for a silver, but he’ll keep my boys from aiming too low, I guarantee you that. Let me fight by your side, repay you for everything you’ve done for me.” Visibly discomforted, Wang Bao lowered his head and whispered, “I ain’t ever dreamed about leadin’ no respectable life, but now I’m an honest to goodness soldier. It don’t feel real. Ever since I signed up with ye, it’s the damnedest thing, but kids and their mothers keep smilin’ and wavin when I go walkin’ by, thankin’ me fer me service and what not. Don’t seem like much, but it’s everything, and I got you to thank fer it.”

“Your accent’s slipping, soldier,” Rain replied with a grin, patting the sentimental soldier on the arm. “And I didn’t do shit. Everything you have, everything you’ve come by, is due to your own efforts, and don’t you ever forget it.”

After dismissing Wang Bao, a trio of soldiers stepped up to speak with Rain, a pair of half-dogs trailing a half-rat. Father had warned Hideo against crossing any half-rats, half-bulls, half-wolves, and half-red-pandas in Rain’s retinue, but he hadn’t explained why, so Hideo was curious to know what was so special about this one. “Hey boss,” the half-rat said, a pinched, shifty fellow who made Eri-Hime want to check her coinpurse just to make sure it was still there. “I wanted to throw me name in the hat, ye know, to join ye on the wall. That’s what ol’ Wang was here fer right? Sign me up right after.”

“Me too Jor.”

“Yea Ral, I got it, but ye could speak fer yerself ye know.” Rolling his eyes at Rain, Jor added, “Him too. And her, I suppose.”

The other half-dog, a stocky, buxom woman with an earthy appeal, snapped, “I don’t need ye to speak fer me.” Nodding at Rain, she continued, “But yea. Me too. Been a while since I dipped me staff in blood, if ye know what I mean.”

“Ugh. No. Shoo.” Raising his voice, Rain addressed all the soldiers lingering about, no doubt also there to volunteer their services. “No one will be joining me on the wall, not besides Dastan’s people and my allotted Death Corps guards.” Turning to his gorgeous, glowering, half-cat paramour, Rain sighed and said, “And you, Song, if you so please. But no one else.” Holding his hands up to stymie the tide of refusals, he continued to speak over the hubbub. “I appreciate – I appreciate the offer and thank you for your dedication, but the decision is not mine to make. We all have to follow orders, so you follow yours. I’ve been pestering our commander to get your bows and crossbows onto the second or third wall, and I believe he might actually allow it since we’ll need every advantage we can get against the coming horde. Ready yourselves, and so long as the commander is willing, then I’ll be counting on all of you to guard my back and buy me enough time to retreat. An hour or so should be enough to get me from one wall to the next.” Contrary to Eri-Hime’s expectations, the soldiers took Rain’s self-deprecating comment in good humour, chuckling along with their crippled commander. “Don’t worry,” Rain concluded, dismissing the crowd with a wave of his hands. “There’s plenty of Defiled out there to kill, so I’m sure you’ll all get a chance. Not tonight though, because I don’t plan on letting any of them past me.”

The second joke wasn’t as well received as the first, but Eri-Hime had to admit Rain had a... unique style of command and a close rapport with his soldiers. As soon as Watanabe’s orders arrived, Rain, Dastan, and his Death Corps guards shuffled off to the outer wall while the rest of his retinue set out to their posts, some on the second wall, others on the third, and a small group manning the newly built platforms which towered over all three walls, ones made specifically so his twelve, compact, counterweight catapults would have a clear line of fire to rain death upon the Defiled.

No one could argue that Rain wasn’t an effective commander, not even Hideo himself, but that wasn’t the issue here. Rain had to die because... because his slave humiliated Hideo, and... and this insult could not stand. Not even with a million-strong horde of Defiled knocking on Sinuji’s gates.

...

...Right?

It was at this moment, Uncle Hiroshi burst into the room and slammed the door shut behind him. “Did you have anything to do with this?” he asked, his face dark with anger and worry. “Don’t lie to me boy, my idiot cousin doesn’t have the spine to scheme against me.”

“Yes father.” Immediately confessing to the crime caught Uncle Hiroshi off guard, and Eri-Hime used this chance to hammer her point home. “The Defiled are coming, and I will not sit idle while soldiers of the Empire fight and die.” Locking eyes with Uncle Hiroshi, she summoned the faintest hint of tears and whispered, “Give me this chance to redeem myself, father. I need it.”

For long seconds, Uncle Hiroshi stood silent, and Eri-Hime worried she’d overplayed her hand, but her fears were for naught. With a long sigh, Uncle Hiroshi gently patted his son’s cheek and said, “Promise me one thing.”

“Anything, Father. I’ll swear an Oath if need be.” No Oath under Heaven would constrain them, but Uncle Hiroshi didn’t know this.

“Promise you will return alive.”

Taken aback by the request, Eri-Hime merely nodded in mute shock, but before she could say anything else, Uncle Hiroshi was gone, rushing out of the room to prepare Big Brother Hideo’s things. What had that all been about?

Then there was no time to think as her armour and weapons arrived, and soon enough, she stood on the outer walls with her troops next to Falling Rain’s, though Eri-Hime kept her distance from the runt and made sure to stay out of sight of his protectors. At her request, Big Brother Hideo even put his self-inflicted torment on hold to come out and fight, and as their two minds joined as one, she finally understood why Uncle Hiroshi made her promise to come back alive. He worried his son had come out to die, and his fears were not unfounded, for Big Brother Hideo yearned for the sweet relief of death. Killing himself would’ve been far too shameful, but a glorious death in battle would mean an end to his guilt and self-loathing.

The Enemy arrived with little warning or fanfare, the forwards scouts bursting out of the dead winter grass atop their ferocious lizard mounts. Garos, they were called, furred, reptilian beasts with gnashing fangs and caustic flesh which hailed from the permafrost north of the Empire’s borders. Big Brother Hideo had never faced a garo before, but he’d made ample preparations when it became clear he eventually would, poring over descriptions and battle reports to envision how he’d face one. Not without a powerful warhorse beneath him and a sturdy steel lance in hand he’d concluded, and it still held true, for the garos were both mount and weapon which made them a formidable foe to defeat on foot. There were only a few at first, stopping well out of catapult range from the walls to taunt and sneer at the Imperial soldiers, but as the sun sank into the horizon, more and more riders appeared. A hundred, a thousand, then ten-thousand and more, it was hard to keep an exact count with the red-orange sun shining in their eyes and casting dancing shadows across the plains, but it soon became apparent that there were more mounted riders than there were soldiers in Sinuji.

And these were merely the scouts. There would be more riding with the army proper, heavy cavalry to guard their flanks and rear if the reports were to be believed, moving like a true Imperial Army except never before had the Imperials brought a million soldiers on the march, not all at once. Defending a static position with proper supply lines in place, sure, but taking the fight away from home to raze and conquer? This was a first, and the Defiled Commander made this staggering accomplishment seem as easy as turning a hand.

When darkness finally fell, their eyes adjusted to the dark and they got their first true look at the Defiled Horde in all its glory. For a moment, Eri-Hime wasn’t entirely sure what she was looking at, but then the pieces fell into place and she recognized those oh-so-familiar sights, only thrown off by the staggering magnitudes to which they’d been taken. Defiled outlines dotted the horizon as far as the eye could see, closing in on Sinuji like a massive, sprawling predator slinking in for the kill. Stop them at the outer wall? It would be a miracle if this behemoth even slowed down while reducing Sinuji to fine dust in their passing. Even the Citadel would fall to such an overwhelming force, and with one million warriors in total, the Defiled marching at the back might not even notice if battle broke out at the front, not with how quickly the thirty thousand soldiers of Sinuji would fall should it come to blows.

It made all of her careful planning seem utterly useless. Falling Rain would die tonight, with or without her efforts.

An eternity passed in an instant, and before Eri-Hime knew it, they’d been standing on the battlements for over three hours watching the approaching horde. The soldiers around her were silent as a tomb, equally dismayed by what lay before their eyes and already resolved to flee for their lives. The same, suffocating silence saturated every section of the outermost wall, all except for one, well-lit area where the soldiers were seated on the ground around a blazing brazier. Having long since lost his canes, Falling Rain sat upon his metallic walker, a furred cloak wrapped around his shoulders while he grinned like a fool and chatted with his soldiers and guards alike. Behind him were some of Watanabe's men, fools one and all who’d been chosen as a sacrifice if the Legate should need someone to blame for Falling Rain’s death, though it seemed like none would live long enough to face Imperial wrath. Scattered in between the soldiers and slaves were various piles of water skins, medical supplies, resting areas, and more things neither Eri-Hime nor Big Brother Hideo recognized, but would undoubtedly be trampled and destroyed by the unstoppable force gathering before Sinuji’s walls.

More time passed, years condensed into minutes it felt, but all too soon and without warning, the Enemy army roared as one, a thunderous, deafening challenge which set even the bravest of soldiers to trembling. The roar echoed into the vast stillness of night, and when it came to an abrupt end, Eri-Hime worried Big Brother Hideo had gone deaf, but it was only an illusion. Standing atop an open platform being carried by twelve, pitch-black Demons, the Emissary Gen made his entrance in true, overbearing fashion. “I am Gen, Emissary of Earth’s Fire, here with an all-conquering army to...”

While the Emissary went on about the glory of the Enemy, Eri-Hime glanced over at Rain to see his expression, only to find a giant, shit-eating grin plastered across his face. Since his lips were moving, she cast her Domain over to Listen and heard, “...can’t believe this bastard still loves long-winded speeches. Guess there’s more Gen in there than I thought. Whatever, I’ve heard his crap too many times already. They’re all here?” A Khishig at his side nodded, a strapping young Expert bristling with enough knives to arm an entire retinue, and Rain’s grin grew even wider. “Great. Tenjin, if you would please do us the honour of shutting Gen up?”

“Gladly.”

For long seconds, the knife-laden Khishig did nothing except stare at his empty hands, but then a luminescent glow came to life and soared out into the night. Wings flapping upon a nonexistent breeze, a bird of flames fluttered into the air and circled around the Khishig’s head once before shooting out towards the Enemy Horde. So lifelike as it soared through the air, the sight drew Eri-Hime’s breath away, and they stood transfixed as its soft light broke through the darkness to glow in the night, a single candle’s warmth on a vast, foreboding battlefield.

The Bekhai hidden depths were truly unfathomable, but even with how skilled this young Fire-Blessed Expert was, this intricate fire-bird wasn’t enough to kill Gen, much less the million other Defiled on the field. Evidently, the Emissary thought the same, and even laughed as the bird slowly approached him. “Pitiful fools, you think this is enough to kill me? I -”

The bird plummeted to the earth, and the world erupted into flame and thunder.

The fields of Sinuji came to life in a blazing hot conflagration, one which soared into the Heavens and seared itself into Hideo’s eyes, as if a sun had descended in the darkness of night to consume the Central Plains.

With Emissary Gen and his million strong army of Defiled standing right in the middle of it all.

Mother in Heaven...

Chapter Meme