Ghazan banged on the tall gates, splinters of wood splitting from the posts from the force of his blows.
"Hey! Get up!" he yelled. Zaheer sat up, rather disgruntled.
"I was already awake. There was no need to yell."
"Oh. Sorry." Ghazan pulled the gate open, the chains clanking violently. "Well come on then. The meeting is in a few minutes."
Ghazan led the way through the camp, occasionally checking to see if the Persian was keeping up.
"I thought you said that you didn't know when the meeting would be." said Zaheer. He now appeared to be used to the terrain, and navigated it with ease.
"I got a message earlier this morning." Ghazan replied. "Forced me out of bed." he added grumpily. Soon they arrived at the meeting tent. Ghazan dragged Zaheer into the Khan's ger and sat down on one of the cushions on the floor. Zaheer sat next to him, his legs crossed and his hands on his knees. On the wall, hung a large map covered with scrawled notes and directions. Ghazan recognized it as the one from Kuvira's ger. Ghazan looked back to the generals. A few feet away from Ghazan sat the khan himself. Sitting on either side of him were his two major generals. The rest of the generals were seated around the central cushion, and discussing the upcoming battle. Kuvira sat at the other end of the room, a long rod clutched between her fingers. A tall man with his hair shaved on both sides stood by the entrance to the ger. He was reading a scroll, and did not seem to be listening to the murmur that preceded the meeting. Ghazan leaned over to Zaheer and pointed to the military leaders.
"See those men over there?" he whispered. Zaheer nodded, and turned slightly to look at them. "The guys sitting next to the khan are Jebe and Subutai. They're his chief generals. And that guy by the entrance is Baatar, the chief engineer." Zaheer's brow furrowed as he looked at Baatar.
"What is an engineer doing at a strategy meeting?"
"He designs all of our weaponry. Also his mom is related to the khan and his dad is responsible for our updated arrow design. I think Kuvira mentioned something about him having an idea he wanted to share."
"Oh." Zaheer opened his mouth to say something else, but stopped suddenly. Kuvira had stood up, and the meeting had begun. She stood directly in front of the map, her arms folded behind her back. She glanced at the khan.
"Permission to begin?" she asked. Zaheer crossed his arms, and leaned back, his expression annoyed. Why's he in such a bad mood? wondered Ghazan.
"Yes. Proceed." said the khan. Ghazan quickly turned his attention back to Kuvira.
"This is where we will begin our attack," she said, pointing to a location on the map. "The ploy group will advance first, and confront the fortress directly. Those heading the ploy group will immediately retreat, prompting the Jin to pursue them." She pointed to a line drawn on the map. "Once they have covered enough distance, the group will turn around, and attack the Jin head on Then, the other two tumens will-" Her presentation went on, outlining precisely what she and Zaheer had discussed the day before, except this time in significantly more words. Ghazan leaned back, and resisted the urge to groan. This meeting was going to take forever. He hunched forward again and glanced at Zaheer. Zaheer appeared to be listening intently, but he did not seem particularly happy with what he was hearing.
"What's wrong with the plan?" Ghazan muttered, leaning towards the Persian. Zaheer bent towards him to respond.
"It's not the plan, it's just that Kuvira's saying it. I told you I can't stand her." Ghazan rolled his eyes.
"That's all?"
"And the fact that she took all the credit." added Zaheer, sounding rather miffed. The man sitting nearby gave them a warning glance. Ghazan and Zaheer promptly refocused their attention on Kuvira.
"With the majority of the enemy far from the main fortifications, the pass will be largely unguarded." Kuvira continued. "Once we have successfully taken out the Jin, the entire army will storm the gate, and -" Zaheer leaned back to Ghazan.
"So what happens after she's done?"
"Everyone else offers suggestions and criticisms, and then the next person talks."
"Who's next?" asked Zaheer.
"Baatar."
"Why is he talking?"
"I told you, he's saying something about weapons. Knowing Baatar, it's probably boring"
"How long will that take?"
"Forever." groaned Ghazan. "Kuvira's already taken like an hour, who knows-" Ghazan stopped, and looked around the room. Kuvira had stopped talking, and was glaring at them. So was everyone else in the room.
"If the Parsi and Ghazan would stop talking," said Kuvira, her voice taut, "perhaps I could finish my presentation within a reasonable span of time." Ghazan mimed zipping his mouth closed. Kuvira waited for a minute, then turned back to the map and resumed her speech.
"The archers will be stationed behind the hills during the initial attack, but will join the main army for the rest of the conflict. If the Jin do not fall for the ploy then we will simply attack them head on." She turned away from the map to face her audience. "Are there any questions?" One of the generals raised his hand.
"Yes General Subutai?"
"Who's leading the ploy group?" he asked. Kuvira glanced at Zaheer, who shrugged.
"We never discussed that." he said. "I supposed that it would be you and some other generals." Kuvira smirked.
"Clearly you know nothing about the Mongol army. Even if I wanted to lead the ploy group, I couldn't. Only a noyan has the power to lead a tumen."
"Then who is leading it?" repeated a member of the audience. Kuvira started to respond, but abruptly stopped. Genghis Khan had just stood up. The room fell silent.
"General Jebe will lead the ploy group. He will decide who he takes outside of his tumen." The generals breathed a sigh of relief. Jebe turned to Ghazan and Kuvira.
"You two are coming with me." he said. Kuvira nodded, a smile playing at the corner of her lips. Ghazan blinked.
"Wait, what?" Jebe ignored him, and gestured to Baatar.
"Baatar, it is now your turn to speak." said the khan. Baatar walked up to the front of the room, the blueprints still in his hands. He muttered something to Kuvira, laying a hand on her shoulder as he walked past her. Kuvira shook his hand off, and perched herself on the cushion farthest from Zaheer and Ghazan. He made his way to the front of the room, dropping several of his blueprints as he walked. He knelt to pick them up, his cheeks burning as a soft chuckle spread throughout the room. Baatar waited for the dull laughter to die completely, then began to speak.
"I am currently working on a design for catapults. A prototype is already complete."
"What of it?" asked the khan, sounding bored.
"They will be helpful in getting past the gate."
"That won't work." said Zaheer. Ghazan elbowed him.
"What are you doing?" he whispered.
"Why not?" asked Baatar irritably. "I don't believe that you are an engineer."
"This battle is entirely based on strategy. The catapults will only slow us down. Save them for another time."
"We are getting past a gate." said Baatar. "What better time to use them then-"
"What do you want to do?" interrupted Zaheer. "Have the cavalry strap a giant catapult to their horses, only to use it at the last second when the battle is already won? They won't work in this type of confl-"
"Let him speak, Parsi." said Kuvira, glaring at Zaheer. Zaheer opened his mouth to respond, clearly irritated. The khan raised a hand, silencing them.
"The prisoner has a point." he said.
"Do you agree with the prisoner Kuvira?" asked Jebe.
"He does have a point." she said reluctantly, looking apologetically at Baatar. "Baatar, the catapults will not work in this invasion."
"I suppose." said Baatar, looking disappointed. He returned to his place by the entrance.
"The meeting is adjourned." said the khan. "Report to my ger tomorrow morning. Tomorrow we take Zhongdu."
The generals filed out immediately, Ghazan exited the tent, and after waiting for the crowd to thin called for his arban.
"Meet me by my ger. Since we are apparently going to be in the ploy group, you have to perform better than you did at Nankou. Collect your weaponry and head there directly." Ghazan walked back to Zaheer.
"Wait. What?" asked Kara. Ghazan ignored him.
"You come too." he said to Zaheer.
Zaheer resisted the urge to laugh as he watched the horror registering on Kara's face. He and Ghazan headed towards the ger. The tent became visible a few minutes later, and they could see the the rest of the arban congregated around it. As Zaheer drew closer, he became aware of their conversation.
"Did you guys see Kuvira leaving the meeting?" Batu was asking the surrounding men, "She looked so good."
"Tell me about," another pitched in. "Is it just me, or does she wear armor really well?"
"Baatar totally made her armor really fitted." Batu replied "Not that I'm complaining." Zaheer frowned, not sure what they were talking about.
"She wasn't wearing armor in the meeting. No one was."
"You don't understand Farsi, Kuvira looks good no matter what she's wearing." He turned to another warrior, smirking obnoxiously. "Can we talk about that beauty mark? Hot!" Zaheer leaned his head towards the smirking Ghazan.
"What is with the shameless Kuvira worship in your arban? I thought you would have taught them better than this."
"I've tried." Zaheer rolled his eyes.
"So here's something I've been wondering. If everyone loves her so much, why am I the only one who ever uses her honorific?" Ghazan paused in his attempts to make the arban listen.
"The honorific is for high ranking officials. Kuvira has the rank, but she's not actually Mongolian." Zaheer froze.
"What do you mean she isn't Mongolian?" he asked carefully.
"I think she was taken in as a ward by Baatar's mother Suyin. She found Kuvira as an orphan when she was eight." Zaheer digested the information, dumbstruck.
"Kuvira's not Mongolian?" Ghazan nodded. Zaheer felt a maniacal laugh rising in his throat, and did little to quell it.
"Kuvira the ward, Kuvira the orphan," Zaheer could feel his voice rising as he spoke, but he continued anyway. "Kuvira the foreigner, considers me beneath her, because I'm a foreigner?" Ghazan shrugged.
"You don't know that. Besides, I think it's more because you're a prisoner then anything else," he said. Zaheer ignored him, even though his deranged laughter was earning him strange looks.
"Why did no one tell me?" he asked, after he had calmed down slightly. Ghazan shrugged.
"Because you are a prisoner."
"Not important!" he exclaimed. He sighed. "Never mind, I'll ask more about this later. Now, what have you planned for Chabchiyal?" Ghazan glanced at his gossiping arban and turned back to Zaheer.
"I honestly have no idea. I think I'm just going to leave them alone and hope that they don't do anything too stupid."
"And what about me?" Ghazan looked at him and laughed loudly.
"Your not going to Chabchiyal." Zaheer's eyes widened in surprise. He would have thought the khan would want as much manpower as possible at such a pivotal point in his power game.
"I'm not? Why?" Ghazan replied as he walked into his ger.
"You've attended a strategic meeting. Now that you know military secrets, we-"
"Can't risk me escaping and spilling information which be all to easy to do on an open battle field." Zaheer finished. "I understand." Zaheer cocked his head as he watched Ghazan rummage through a bright, orange box.
"So where will I stay during the battle? Prisoners' quarters?" Ghazan looked up at him and smiled knowingly.
"Oh, we're not leaving you with the other prisoners, you could tell them things. We'll figure out where to keep you permanently after the battle." Zaheer considered mentioning that he would tell P'li everything he knew, but decided that they didn't really need the reminder.
"So where do I go now?" Ghazan appeared to have found what he was looking for. He stood up, lifting in one hand a mass of metal coils. He tossed the chains into the air, closed his fist around them and grinned at Zaheer.
"You're spending the night with me."
Ghazan cracked an eye open and immediately shut it again. It was barely dawn, and the battle was in only two hours. Ghazan groaned and forced himself up. He watched Zaheer out the corner of his eyes as he rose. The prisoner was sitting cross-legged, having arranged his chains in a more comfortable fashion. His hands were in fists, and rested on each knee. His back was straight, but his eyes were closed as if he were asleep. Ghazan inched forwards, waiting for Zaheer to wake up. When this did not happen, Ghazan stretched out a finger to poke him on the shoulder. Before he made contact however, the prisoner's hand suddenly darted upwards and seized Ghazan's wrist, startling him and causing him to jump backwards. Zaheer opened his eyes and turned around, an arrogant smirk playing at his lips.
"What were you doing?" Ghazan demanded as he collected his armor and weaponry.
"Meditating. I always do it in the morning."
"What morning? It's not even dawn." Zaheer grimaced and began to tie his hair back.
"It's not exactly easy to sleep in chains. Also, you snore. A lot." Ghazan rolled his eyes and strapped on a shoulder pad.
"You poor baby, at least you don't have to go fight." Zaheer resumed his meditative stance.
"I'm guessing yours truly will be leading the show?"
"Kuvira? She isn't high enough on the metaphorical power pole to lead a battle. She'll be there though." Zaheer nodded, clearly pleased that despite her best efforts, she would never get the power she craved because of her origins. Ghazan checked over his chains one more time, and headed out towards the meeting tent.
The khan and his generals were standing outside the meeting tent. Jebe was organizing the army into its respective regiments as the khan briefed the other generals on the plan a final time. Ghazan joined Kuvira in his place behind Jebe. A hush fell over the congregation. The khan had begun to speak.
"You all have been briefed on your duties in this battle. Follow the leader of your tumen and commence the attack on the Jin." The camp was filled with the sounds of stamping hooves and cheering Mongols as they headed towards the Chabchiyal Pass.
Ghazan dug his heels into the side of his horse, prompting it to slow down. The day had officially started and the sun glared down on them from the cloudless sky. The Pass was visible now, its gate temporarily blinding him as it reflected the sun's rays into his eyes. The khan and Subutai had broken off with their tumens a while ago, and only Jebe's faced the initial brunt of the Jin's forces. Ghazan shaded his eyes with his hand as he struggled to see the Jin army. Unsurprisingly, they had been expecting them, and the warriors stood protected behind their gate. Ghazan leaned towards Kuvira who was standing in her saddle next to him.
"This plan of yours better work." he muttered.
"Trust me, I've supervised every detail of this plan. No one save for those in attendance at yesterday's meeting knew anything until today."
"I hope you're right." The two turned back to the gate, just in time for Jebe to give the signal. Ghazan nudged his horse forwards and followed Kuvira towards the gate. He glanced around as he went, feigning a worried expression. Ghazan swung off his horse once he reached the gate. Kuvira did the same, and joined him at the gate to inspect it. He doubted that his peripheral vision was a good indicator, but the Jin seemed to have fallen for their ploy. He noticed innumerable hands loosen on their weaponry, and multiple tense jaws slacken as his and Kuvira's fraudulent inspection proved futile.
"I don't know about this Kuvira. This gate doesn't seem passable."
"Possibly. The natural fortifications severely hamper a plausible side attack."
"Even if we could, the surveyors in the watch towers would see us." Kuvira nodded and threw the gate one more helpless glance.
"Follow me, let's tell the Khan." Ghazan nodded and hoped that they hadn't broken character. They walked back to the army. Kuvira muttered something to Jebe. Ghazan turned his face away from the Jin to hide his obvious grin. Their acting had been terrible. Ghazan knew that the Jin were respected throughout China for their fighting prowess; but he wondered if their intelligence was quite as renowned. He became aware of a a voice in his ear.
"That was awful! You think the the Jin fell for that?" Batu hissed, grabbing his arm. Ghazan motioned for him to be quiet and turned back to Jebe. His conversation with Kuvira seemed to have come to an end, and he addressed the army.
"This attack is futile. We're turning back!" yelled Jebe. His declaration was met with a series of groans and complaints. Jebe shouted them into silence, and the army turned back. Ghazan waited anxiously for the next stage of the plan as he rode away but so far nothing had happened. He looked at Kuvira. Her face remained passive. Suddenly, he heard the clang of a gate being opened. He craned his neck to see the entire Jin army pouring out from the crevice between the mountains. Ghazan grinned, and heeding Jebe's orders urged his horse faster. The Mongols ran from the Jin for a little longer, waiting for the Jin caught up. Slowly the Jin gained on them, until they were right at the Mongols' heels.
"Now!" shouted Jebe, and on the signal the entire army turned around and attacked the Jin head on. Ghazan seized his bow and fired three consecutive arrows, felling several baffled Jin.
The sound of hooves going downhill became apparent, and he didn't have to look to know that the other two Mongol tumens had arrived. Ghazan shot another arrow, and blocked a blow from a sword as he retrieved it. Ghazan pulled his sword out of the corpse and began to ready another arrow when something shiny flew past his face. He spun around, seeing a Jin warrior fall to the ground with a dagger in his chest, a red stain blossoming on his breastplate. Ghazan looked up at the killer.
"Thanks P'li." The prisoner nodded curtly, her eyes huge in her face as she threw another dagger. Ghazan lifted an arm and struck behind him, grinning when the attacker fell to the ground. He shot another arrow and quickly surveyed the scene. The field was more open now than it had been; the Jin army seemed to have been reduced by at least half. The morning had reached its hottest point and the arid air was laced with the scent of blood. Bodies piled up as high as the open gate where they lay like rotten logs, and Ghazan wondered when the Khan intended to seize the capital. The Jin had effectively lost the battle long ago, and charging into Zhongdu was only a step away. He spotted Kuvira not too far away; she seemed to have exhausted her arrow supply, and was using a sword. She dodged a blow from a warrior, responding in turn with a swift stab to the throat. Ghazan rode over to her, dispatching more adversaries on his way.
"Kuvira!" he called. She spun around, her heavy brows turned downwards in concentration.
"I'd love to chat Ghazan, but I'm a little busy." Ghazan wiped the sweat off his forehead and gestured toward the gate.
"When are we going to attack Zhongdu?" Kuvira removed her helmet, shook her braid out, and frowned at the pass.
"I've been wondering that myself. I believe the Khan is waiting for a surrender." Ghazan nodded and started to head back into the dwindling fray when he heard Jebe's voice calling to his tumen.
"We've won this battle! Let's take the capital!" The army cheered and abandoned their current task to barrel through the flimsy opposition. The horde stormed the gate, annihilating the guards and seizing the pass. The remnants of the Jin army lay scattered throughout the field. There seemed to be very few, if any, survivors. Ghazan followed Jebe's gaze and turned to the Khan. The khan stood in his saddle facing the capital. Kuvira turned to Jebe, her eyes bright with eagerness.
"General," she said, her eyes locked on the gate. "Do I have permission to advance?" Jebe addressed the Khan.
"Permission to advance?" he asked. The khan didn't turn, continuing to face the capital as he spoke.
"No."