tw: violence, war
The first sight of the capitol walls, tall and proud, sent a ripple of awe through the troops. Not surprising - the vast majority of them were conscripts, farmers. When would they have the time to see the largest city in the country?
At the front of the army, rode two men men on fine horses; that was where the similarities was tall and broad, with black hair and equaly dark armor, obviously well used. Countless scratches marred the surface. Beside him rode a shorter grey haired man with a face that seemed made for the look of disdain he wore. His armour was utterly pristine, and a long cloak of wine red flowed behind him, rippling like the banners of the army in the wind.
General Li Hazara leaned forward, hands shading his eyes. "So that's your capital. Pretty well fortified."
Lord Kan Soo-Jin smiled, poorly hiding his disdain. " Of course. It is the largest wall in the country."
"Hmm. That don't do much good when the gates are left open like that. What is your prince playing at? I heard the boy was a coward like his uncle, but this is a little much. Is he surrendering?" General Hazara asked, sounding mildly interested. He elbowed Kan Soo-Jin hard enough to sting.
Barbarian.
Was it not obviously a surrender? Kan Soo-Jin glanced over his shoulder and sighed inwardly. A barbarian with a large army. At least half of their combined force belonged to him, and the General had left a good portion behind to guard his home province. It was truly a tragedy that one such as himself had to look to the uncivilised army in Sei for allies to claim his birthright.
Kan Soo-jin glared at the man and shifted his horse a few more paces away. "Perhaps. I've met the boy before. Hardly ruling material. He is a poor spokesman with a short attention span and spent most of the time mingling with that boorish bodyguard of his. Hardly worthy of the throne."
Coward or not, it mattered very little to Kan Soo-jin. He was after the throne he deserved, and if the female brat and the rest of the generals bowed to him they could live. He knew his youngest was infatuated with the chit. She would make a fine wife - her blood was pure enough, despite her father's deficiencies.
Her bodyguard and Soo-won would have to go, of course. Kan Soo-Jin tolerated no pretender to his throne.
Hazara bared his teeth in a parody of a smile. "Hmm. Well, I'll enjoy this, whether he is or not. His father was an old - friend of mine. He showed me so much consideration. I'll be happy to return the favor to his son."
Kan Soo-Jin swallowed against his suddenly dry throat. This was the face of warlord, the reason Kan Soo-Jin lowered himself to working with the man. Hazara was one of the best generals to come out of Sei.
Kan Soo-Jin pulled his unshakable confidence around him. "Quite. I do not care what you do with him, so long as the girl remains unharmed."
He smiled again. "I remember the deal."
Hmph.
Kan Soo-Jin had no time for the pesantry's gawking or Hazara's unecesary caution. His vision went further, and his eyes looked above the wall, to where the palace was just visible. The home his ancestors, stolen by the usupers of the sky tribe. The Red dragons on his banners snapped in the wind. Kan Soo-Jin sat up straigher. It was as if the very wind was pushing his army forward into the city.
"Advance." He said to the captain at his side.
The man glanced at the gates. "Sir, perhaps this could be a trap? The gates are open." One of his many captains said, riding a step behind him as he should.
Kan Soo-Jin scowled at thim. "I can see that, Captain. Report to the quartermaster after we take the city. Ten lashes for speaking out of turn." He said. Showing undisciplined behaviour in front of a foreign general was asking for trouble.
After a moment, the man bowed and dropped back into rank.
Impudence. Thinking some commoner had the right to advise his lord without first being offered the grace of his attention.
"You don't think so?" Hazara tightened his heavy metal gauntlets.
Kan Soo-Jin studied the gates again, but there was nothing out of the ordinary with it. He snorted. "A trap? As if that boy had it in him. He is just like his uncle. If he attacks us, how could he say he was a part of the royal family?"
"You think he won't attack his own citizens?" General Hazara asked.
kan Soo-Jin snorted. "He is exceedingly protective of his commoners."
"Hmm." He looked up at the walls. "Good to know."
Despite his certainty, a thread of tension left Kan Soo-Jin's shoulders after the first three ranks passed through the gates without issue.
It was finally time. He was almost there, and just beyond the walls, rising up like a clenched fist - the palace. The castle, home of the red dragon, and the Kan's ancestral home. He could almost taste incense in the air, almost feel the cold, clean weight of gold on his brow. He, Kan Soo-Jin, would be the one to restore King Hiryuu's bloodline to it's proper place.
Then the fourth rank passed and -
Light.
Kan Soo-Jin jerked away, a second to late. A column of pure white light burnt into his retinas, leaving him blinded for a few terrible moments. A wall of solid noise slammed into him. His horse shied back and he barely kept from being throne to the ground while blinded. By the time he can see again, the smell of burning meat filled his nose. He blinked spots from his stinging eyes.
What on earth happened? Kan Soo-Jin had never seen anything like it. His ears were still ringing.
The gates were unscathed, except for strange black marks on the gate - but the soldiers were not so lucky. Bodies, mere chunks of charrcol with dark, twisted metal where armor used to be.
"The gods - the gods disapprove!" One cried out, panic in their voice.
That was it - the panic started, spreading out over the soilders like dark hands, planting seeds of fear.
"Hold!" General Hazara roared.
His luttenits picked up the cry quickly, and together they herded the fire tribe soilders back into formation. The chaos took a moment to resolve.
"Looks like this Soo-won has some tricks after all." The general sounded a bit amused - but under that, his calculating eyes showed through.
Kan Soo-Jin glared at him. "Do not speak if you do not have anything useful to say. You," He said, pointing to the closest high ranking soldier. "Ten lashes for every miserable soul who ran. The fire tribe does not house cowards." How dare these peasants embarrass him so? None of General Hazara's people tried to break rank. It was inexcusable. "Move forward! The next man to run will be used as a forward guard!"
After checking over the gate a few times over and finding only the smell of smoke and that strange black soot, they continued on. Wary of traps, the rest of the army rode towards the castle.
Kan Soo-Jin's horse shied away from the troops, perhaps sensing it's master's impatience. It was all he could do to wait for the troops to pick their way across street and alley way. He could taste his heart on his tongue. It grew from a simple want into a beast inside his heart, lunging at the cage of his ribs. He was so close.
"Hurry them up!" Kan Soo-Jin snapped at a lieutenant. "We do not have all day."
"Sir, they're going as fast as they can. They risk triggering a trap if they take -"
Lord Kan Soo-Jin whirled on the man, narrowly missing him with horses hooves. "Did I ask for excuses? If they cannot do their job, I have no use for them! Those who are not competent enough to survive should be honored to die in the name of their lord!"
The man bowed his head. "...Yes sir."
The order was passed on, and they moved much faster than before. So what if a few peasants lost their lives? What was a few sacrifices in the name of returning the Fire Tribe to its proper place as rulers, with Kan Soo-Jin at it's head?
A trifling price, and one he would pay without grief.
The impatience doesn't fade - they move faster than before, true, but it was only the threat of more traps that kept Kan Soo-Jin from rushing up to the castle ahead of the troops. It takes half an eternity to reach one of the largest market squares.
There's something… off about it, but it takes a moment to realize why.
"Where are all the people?" Someone asked softly.
It was a large space, the shape of a rectangle. Normally collapsable stalls graced the stone floor, hawkers cried out their wares , children played and beggars cried out from the corners. Seeing it like this - empty of life, of people, it was almost eerie.
"Soo-won must have evacuated." General Hazara said. His horse shifted, and he patted the beast's neck without looking from the surroundings. "Quite smart. Having that many hostages around is foolish. Perhaps the boy is more like his father than I thought."
Kan Soo-Jin snorted. "The brat is nothing like Yuu-hon. He would have used the civilians as shields. No, this is a symptom of cowardice, just like his uncle. Caring for the rabble and setting up honorless traps in place of proper battle - ridiculous."
The man smiled. "That may be. But moving any amount of people takes time - and he moved a good portion of your population out of the battle field with only a few days of warning. You think that doesn't take skill?"
Kan Soo-Jin barely kept the disdain off his face. Of course to a barbarian without class or charisma, moving people would seem to take skill, but Kan Soo-Jin saw it for what it really was - softness, in the head and the heart. Skill?
Hah.
"Of course, we could always ask him what he did with the citizens." General Hazara leaned forward against his horse's neck, looking up. "Soo-won, I presume?"
Kan Soo-Jin's head whipped around.
There, standing on the low roof of one building, hands clasped behind his back, was Soo-won. He smiled down at them, his face almost entirely in shadow. "Hello, Lord Soo-Jin, General Hazara."
Kan Soo-Jin drew his sword. "Soo-won. Have you come to surrender then? Perhaps you have more sense than you look. Not that it would be hard. Archers, ready!"
The boy smiled that infuriating, friendly smile. He looked for all the world like this was a mildly interesting conversation he was enjoying; just like his damned uncle. "Oh dear, your seemed to be confused." He waved over his head. "You see, I'm not the ruler. I can't surrender without an order. Plus - that's what I came here to ask you." The smile grew brighter, to the point where anyone watching could've sworn it literally sparkled. "If you surrender now, I will not charge your family with treason. Only you."
A pillar of rage built up in Kan Soo-Jin's stomach. "You dare give me orders, boy? Exactly who has the army here?"
That damned smile doesn't fade. "Why, you do." Then the smile dropped. He raised his hands, and like a wave heads clad in dark cloths poked up from the roofs surrounding the square.
A ripple of shock went through the soldiers, and Kan Soo-Jin almost flinched. There were at least a hundred of them, all of them silent and watchful.
But… a hundred men? Did Soo-won take him for a fool? Kan Soo-jin snorted. "You think to challenge my army with that amount of people? Take your bluffs elsewhere, boy."
Soo-won tilted his head. The setting sun shone behind him, putting his face in shadow and crowning him in a halo of gold. Kan Soo-jin couldn't see his expression. "Is that your final answer?"
"Archers!" Kan Soo-Jin called out. "Ready!"
"That's what I thought. A pity." Soo-won raised a hand into the air - and for a moment the time slowed. He stood like that, and it was like he was a magnet, like he was the brightest thing in the world.
He slashed his hand down.
No one had time to react. The black clad people on the roof threw something that into burst on the ground, spilling underneath their feet. Kan Soo-Jin pulled his horse back to avoid being struck with one, but it shattered on the ground in front of him. He settled his horse, leaning forward to look at the object. It was a small, plain clay jar broken from impact. Something seeped from the cracks and it smelled strangely familiar. "Is that... oil?"
General Hazara grabbed the reins of Kan Soo-Jin's horse and pulled back hard. "Get away from the oil!"
But the warning came just seconds too late.
The black clad people on the roofs had small bows already knocked. With another signal from Soo-won, the first arrow was loosed. It whistled through the air, and Kan Soo-jin looked at it. It was lit up, falling from the sky like some sort of star knocked to the ground. Kan Soo-jin watched it fall in slow motion.
Fire.
Oil.
Soo-won meant to burn them alive.
"MOVE!" The general bellowed, with the voice of someone who fought countless battles. Even Kan Soo-Jin instinctively jerked back - it saved his clothes from being more than singed.
Arrows skittered across the stone ground, nearly none of them hitting a person - but it was enough. Oil sparked, became a flashing pillar of flame. Kan Soo-Jin and General Hazara were out of range, but not everyone was so lucky. Screaming filled the air of the capital, underneath the roar of flames.
"Is he insane?" Kan Soo-jin demanded. Something hissed and popped. The smell of charred flesh filled the air. "He'll set the whole capital on fire like this!"
The general grunted, putting out the flames with his hands. "No. Not with the rains we've been getting lately. The oil is just to start the fire - and to cut down the army, because you were right. We outnumber them. I bet he's soaked the whole place with water. The capitol won't burn. Your people will." He laughed. "Gives a whole new meaning to the name Fire Tribe."
Kan Soo-Jin glared at him. "My soilders are not the only ones burning." He snapped. "Save your disrespect for one who cares. I will not back down from this because of a few tricks." He pointed at one of the lutenints. "You - get the army moving again, get us out of here! We have to take the castle. And send someone out after that whore's son." Kan Soo-jin looked up to the roofs again, but Soo-won was gone. He ground his teeth. "Scale the roofs! I want him found, alive!"
Damn whatever promise he made to Hazara, he wanted to kill the boy himself.
He whirled his horse around the fire - annoyingly, it was dying down already, proving the barbarian right. "And someone put those peasants out of their misery. The screaming is giving me a headache!"
The night air is clear and bright, but I could smell smoke on the wind. The horse shied, but I keep pushing onward. We were a day or two behind the army. They had a head start on us and horses need to rest. We pushed the beasts to near death as it was.
"It's ahead." I shouted to Jae-ha over the wind. Yoon was clinging to my waist with a death grip. I was the one with most experience riding, so he got to come with me. Zeno and Kija were sharing a horse to my left and Jae-ha and Shin-ah to my right. We had to abandon the other somewhere, because we needed speed and neither Yoon, Zeno, or Kija possessed the skill to ride at more than a trot.
"Hate this!" Yoon gritted out.
The road was a mud churned mess, and it was clear by now that the fire tribe wasn't trying to hide.
What the hell was going on? Did Kan Soo-Jin think that just waltzing in would work? Soo-won would see them coming, and that would give him time to plan. Giving Soo-won time to plan was fucking stupid.
Still, I can't help the little sliver of apprehension in my heart. I haven't forgiven Soo-won, but I don't want him dead. The fire tribe army was huge, big enough that I knew the defenders had no chance. There wouldn't be time to call for reinforcements from the other tribes. Soo-won was at a huge disadvantage with only the armed guards in the city for back up. The thought makes my stomach sink.
"Fighting!" Shi-ah said. "Ahead!"
I kicked the horse, urging it to move faster. I snatched my staff up in one hand. "I hear it! Get ready!"
Metal against metal, cries of pain, horses and people screaming in unison. We crested the last hill that lead to the city and got a view of the walls for the first time.
The gates of the city were open. Gates intact. Not forced. Soo-won… let them in?
Black streaks on the wall, the smell of - fireworks?
...Gunpowder?
The split second of confusion slides off the top of my thoughts like liquid - all of my mind is focused on the soldiers, fighting in the fortress.
We leave the horses outside the gate. There wasn't any point in having them inside the city when we wanted to move quickly and quietly. The gate was scorched black. I touched on and my hand came away with soot on it. It was a scene out of some hellish nightmare; a piece of the past come back to life. The taste of old pennies on the tongue, the foul smell as bowels were cut, burning meat.
I stepped over the charred corpses littering the gate. Pretend I didn't notice Kija going pale, or Yoon's tight grip on his bag, Zeno's pursed mouth. I warned them.
I didn't have time for that.
War smelled like the inside of a butcher shop.
I looked at the wide open gates. Soo-won's fingerprints were all over this situation.
"What happened here?" Yoon whispered. "It's like they were - were burned alive."
Jae-ha shaded his eyes. "He doesn't hold back, does he?"
I said nothing. Just looked at the corpses, the massacre that Soo-won orchestrated. I could feel him on it like reading a book. His hand, writing out the death of these men. It should disgust me, but… it's not like my hands are clean.
I think I might be broken. The only thing I felt was a vague sense of rightness. They were attacking. It was his right as a prince to defend his people, to be as ruthless as possible. A plus B equals C.
I shook my head. "Lets go."
Yoon bit his lip. "Barram..."
He was a doctor. One of the men let out a groan and it sounded like agony. He was half charred. It'd be kinder to put him out of his misery.
Despite that I hesitated. Looked Yoon in the eyes. "You can't do anything for them." I said. Most of the men left behind were too far gone to save for the medicine in this era. They'd die within the hour.
He looked down. "I know. But I..."
I sighed and looked up at the sky. Yoon grew up in this place where life meant less than a string of coin. Despite that, he cared. He pushed and pushed and saved as much as he could. Sheltered life in his arms from the storm.
Compared to me, who became the storm without hesitation, he was the better person. I think he would have died first, rather than do what I did.
I ruffled his hair. "I know. It's okay. Zeno, Shin-ah, Kija." I looked at Zeno. "Will you stay with him?"
Zeno gave me a long look, before he nodded. "Zeno will protect the little doctor."
I smiled at them, even though it stretched my mouth in a awkward way. The smell of blood in the air, copper and old rust. I watched my mouth move, heard my voice, from somewhere outside myself. My hands were cold. My chest was a glacier.
War… I despised it.
"Thank you." I looked at Yoon. "Stay safe. I'll see you soon."
"Really?" Yoon asked, biting his lip. "It's okay? I feel like I should stay with you. I'm the one who wanted to come. But these people need my help and I have to -"
"Yoon. It's okay, I get it." I smiled. I felt... detached. Like I was watching the scene from outside my body, watching the dragons with dispassionate eyes. Within this space, there were no friends or enemies. There were only threats and not-threats. The dragons were not a threat, so I ignored them.
I left the five of them there, heading deeper into the city by myself. I avoided the fighting when I could, but it was unavoidable sometimes. I missed Mercy. With that dagger, I was invcible. The staff just wasn't the same.
I had to get to the castle. There was an army between me and it, all of it likely knew my name and face. I looked down the street, plumes of smoke rising itno the air like giant colloms holding up the sky. Soo-won never did anything by halves. There were soilders scattered like nocked over chess peices all over the street. I nudged one with my foot. The corpse didn't move. Fancy armrour. Some sort of noble?
I sighed and crouched by it. "Sorry about this." I said and ripped the long red cloak off it's shoulders. I tore the cloak further into a long strips, removing most of the charred bits. Than I wound it around my neck, until I had a makeshift mask. I needed it for the smoke anyway.
Someone was following me.
"Stay with Yoon and the others." I said, without looking over my shoulder.
Jae-ha dropped down from the rooftops to my side, hands in his pockets. "Nah. They'll be fine - Zeno knows not to let Yoon get too close to the fighting. Shin-ah will watch their backs. I… kinda just don't want Kija with us. He's a sensitive kid. Doesn't need to see this. Plus, we move faster if it's just the two of us."
I looked at him. "I don't need you."
"I know. I want to be there." He said, voice quiet, serious. He shrugged, slipping back into nonchalance like a familiar pair of shoes. "I'm doing what I want, the way I always have. Carry on as much as your murderous little heart desires."
I gave him a short nod, some far away part of me accepting this as right; likr his place was beside me.
"Keep up." I said.
"Of course, darling."
thanks for all your concern guys :) i'm fine, barely even a scratch. i've got pretty sturdy bones and i can pretty much do anything so long as i have my ankle brace on.