CHAPTER 2

Ming thought he would shake apart, so badly were his teeth chattering. My sentence is death by aerial turbulence.But the hours went by, and no matter how badly the wooden capsule shook, it never actually fell apart. He could still hear the words of the Empress as she bade him farewell on the same hangar deck where they had once landed to bring an end to the wicked reigns of both her uncle and father. "The bonds that hold you will automatically break upon your arrival. And don't worry, Lord Lao assures me the auto-pilot is quite safe."

While Ming didn't fully understand the arcane mechanical arts, he found himself appreciating their application as the capsule eventually glided downwards and came to a bouncing stop in a grassy field somewhere near the western edge of the empire. As promised, the magical tingling of the chains holding him ceased, and he snapped the links easily, feeling the strength return to his limbs. He opened the capsule door, stepped out into a hazy afternoon glare, and gasped.

Two Rivers! It looked different now, but he still recognized the beach where he had spent so many days of his youth focusing, meditating and practicing his forms. Where the old statue of Emperor Sun Hai once stood, a newer, taller, and slimmer figure cut out of jade now gazed imperiously over the waters: Empress Sun Lian. So, she really is Empress now, Ming thought.

It made sense that he found himself in Two Rivers. He went over more of the parting words of the Empress. "It is the opinion of Doctor An that you may be possessed by spirits," she had told him.

"You realize Doctor An is blind?" Ming had responded.

"All the more reason to trust her intuition in these matters. In any case, as much as it pains me to mention her, I can think of no one more qualified to assess such a possibility than our old… friend… Dawn Star."

The auto-pilot would find Dawn Star, she had also told him. And so it had. Now that he had arrived, he could think of no other place that Dawn Star would have chosen to settle down in. All the homes that had been destroyed, the trees, plants and flowers that had been charred to a crisp, no doubt she would have wanted to rebuild, replant and begin again. He took one last look at the beach and headed up the familiar path that would lead to the town.

"And if Dawn Star can't help me?" he had asked the empress.

"Then consider yourself exiled. And really, I won't hesitate to kill you if you return."

As he glanced at the bucolic beauty all around him, he realized Two Rivers wouldn't be such a bad place in which to be exiled. The sounds of activity drifted down the path to him, and his heart stirred as he passed under the restored beachside arch to find the main town in remarkably good shape. All of the burned-out blackened buildings he remembered had been torn down and in their place stood fresh facades made of stone and wood, with many shop owners peddling their wares in the streets or from the doorways. Flowers had been planted along the edges of the shops, and young trees lined the walkways. He didn't recognize anyone, and no one seemed to recognize him, but the energy of the town was real and unmistakable. Two Rivers was alive and thriving.

Ming continued upwards, past the new weapon smith's shop, past a freshly constructed residential area, to the old school that stood looking out over the small town. The sign that used to read "Master Li's School" was gone, and in its place hung a simple plaque with a long, slender flower upon it. After some thought, he was able to recall the flower's name--the crimson dragon tulip--and remembered that it had been one of Dawn Star's favorites. At least I haven't forgotten everything.

With some hesitation, he reached out to the heavy doors of the school and let himself in.

Dawn Star was directing work in the sixth of her twelve gardens, this one dedicated to the serenity of mind and spirit. Students dug small trenches with hand shovels and carefully placed the seeds of the midnight primrose, while others tended the seedlings of the purple willows. She felt a cool breeze upon her face, carrying with it the fragrances of all her gardens, and felt herself overcome by a deep sense of peace. I am home, she told herself, closing her eyes and smiling up at the heavens.

She could not have been more unprepared for the shock that awaited her when she opened her eyes. Across the courtyard of the school, in plain view of everyone present, a strong, bare-chested man with tattoos spilling onto his arms stood and waited. She reached out to steady herself as her mind swooned. Ming! Why have you returned? Why torment me so?

Her first impulse was to turn and run, to save herself from the memory of such loss. Abandonment. It was the one thing she feared most in life, even more than death itself, and yet abandonment was exactly the fate that Ming had delivered her so many years ago, and after she had shared so much, revealed so much, and… the memories of their night in Dirge came flooding back, against her wishes. She fell to her knees, feeling weak, and placed a trembling hand upon the cool earth of her garden. How can I see him now?

Ming marched across the courtyard. She's turned the place into an arboretum? There were a pair of students sparring in the center of the enclosure, but their movements and strikes seemed more ceremonial than anything else. He didn't recognize the style of fighting, but it looked about as dangerous as Heavenly Wave.

Ah, there she is. There was something about Dawn Star and the color of dark red. She never wore any other color, and even now, he could recognize her without seeing her face, which was lowered over a section of garden that was being freshly dug by the students. He headed straight towards her and couldn't help but feel a bit of nostalgia as he crossed the grounds. This was their school, where they had grown up, where they had played together and laughed together as children, long before he had ever noticed she was a woman.

"Dawn Star!" he cried out in genuine joy, only to be caught short as she looked up at him. Her face was streaked with tears.

"Why have you come back?" she asked through a choked voice. At the sound of her pained inquiry, the students around her ceased their gardening and formed a protective semi-circle around her. One of the larger ones brandished a rake in a threatening manner, and Ming instinctively adjusted his own stance.

But what could he possibly do? The last thing he wanted was to wallop a bunch of flower-planting nature kids. There was only thing he could do under the circumstances: He dropped his fists and threw himself on the ground, his face down and hands above his head.

"Whatever I've done to you, I apologize!" he moaned. "If you wish me to leave, just say so, and I will go. But if not, I need your help… one last time."

As he waited and listened, he knew he was defenseless in his prostate position. But he also knew someone of Dawn Star's heart would never take advantage of him in such a fashion. Sure enough, after a long moment, he felt a soft hand on his forearm. He looked up to see Dawn Star's hand on his arm, and she was nodding. Her eyes were distant and still stained with tears, but her touch was real, and it felt warm.