Good luck!
Orders here will be in tomorrow, notwithstanding any difficuties of course.
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Beginning
Before
The Storm
Picture the scene in your head, then, student. A lord of the Xi people lies dead of a heart attack in his room. His daughter is dead. His son waits to kill his liege. His liege has chosen to continue a centuries-old lie.
This night was chosen as a major turning point in the history of our people. Perhaps the gods ordained it, perhaps it was humans and their successes and errors that brought our people to this point. Either way, it was fated to happen. Given what happened, it's essentially impossible to argue it wasn't.
...
A guard stands outside the throne room at Xiyi. Proud and perhaps a little bit arrogant, this guard is charged to guard the Emperor with his life. However, he is simply a member of the militia. The real Guardsmen lie in hiding, nearly one hundred strong and guarding the Emperor's life far more efficiantly than this peasant ever could. However, there is one other major difference between the militiaman and the Silent Guardsman hiding a little down the hall.
One is loyal to the Silent Emperor, and the other to Lord Jin Fei.
A casual observer would probably think that any conflict between the two men would involve cutting of throats by the Silent Guardsman. That observer might, then, be surprised when the militiaman moves, very silently, down the hall. The clash of weapons from further down the hall makes the Silent Guardsman glance away. Too late, he realises that there is a spear in the back of his neck. It's the last thing he ever realises.
...
Lord Jin Fei looked at the dead guardsman standing in the pool of blood in disgust. It wasn't an accident he'd chosen this man's shift to strike; the Emperor's brother had been on Fei's blacklist for a long time. Now, in an act of cold vengeance for the death of his sister, the man was dead.
The absence of Lord Jin meant the door was unguarded, but not for long. Three Silent Guardsmen materialised outside the Emperor's throne room. They removed their helmets, revealing their faces. The men Jin Fei had chosen were mostly of his class, disillusioned men in positions of power; the Chief Scholar of the emperor's libraries, the governor of La Yang and the Emperor's seneschal stood in front of him now. Five other major nobles waited to strike in various areas of the palace, with several of their personal guards at their disposal.
But now, it was time to have a little face-to-face chat with the Emperor himself.
...
The door creaks open. The Emperor looks up.
The conspirators have once again donned their helmets, beacuse dramatics are an art of their own and even somebody whose life is about to end can appreciate the subtleties of narrative imperative.
They walk up to the Emperor, and one by one, they draw their swords. Hard swords, made of a tougher metal, supplied by a guardsman whose secret mission had been to infiltrate the mine in which Lord Jin's sister had died. Fortuitously, this was the one guard who had survived to tell the tale.
The guards remove their helmets.
"I thought so. Sooner or later, somebody was bound to come for my head. I recognise you, Yang" he said, nodding to the seneschal. "Wei." This time, the Silent Emperor's gaze was directed at the Chief Scholar. "Lord Sung, although I'm surprised and a little disappointed. But you," he said with perhaps a little of a snigger in his voice, looking straight at Jin Fei, "I don't believe I've met."
"My name wouldn't mean anything to you. I'll give it to you anyway. It's Jin Fei.
Lord Jin Fei. My father suffered a heart attack, after hearing the news of his daughter's death. I believe this is something you're aware of? Of course it is. Your brother was involved."
"You'd have to ask him."
"That could be difficult, considering his current state of being. My sister's death is not yet atoned for, but your brother's death helped cover part of the debt."
"Is that all this is, Lord Jin? A personal vendetta? How charming. I'll fight you myself, if it would make you feel better. I have an heir."
"You don't deserve the honour. You know what you and your family did. You hid a major part of Confucius' writings from the people you are responsible for. From a peasant that would be a minor offence, but for the Emperor? You know yourself that it is unacceptable. You and your family, for the sake of this nation, must be rooted out."
"You'll kill me here? But you'll be the murderer, the criminal. If you kill me now, my men will execute you."
"Which men are those? There are ninety-four Silent Guardsmen in this palace right now. Four stand before you. Sixty are loyal to us. Thirty guards against sixty-three - and sixty-three on the right side, mark you - doesn't make for an even fight. I daresay the commoners will turn on your family when the truth comes out anyhow."
"Well, kill me now then. Or are you too much of a coward?"
The other three men had to hold Jin Fei back. He was on the point of breaking loose when the Emperor spoke again.
"I could run away, you know; I wouldn't stand there wondering what to do if I were you."
Before the four men could move, the Emperor jumped out of his chair, ran toward the window and was out within the space of ten seconds.
The sight wasn't pretty. The Emperor's palace is located on a hill. One side opens onto the city. This side, the side with the windows, drops off down to the Yellow River.
There are rocks at the bottom. Some of them are red.
After
