Both armies marched westwards along the river, the northerners recalling detachments that had been surrounding us. The Haltans were particularly sulky, perhaps due to the influence of Rhall Gesran, but after one attempt to interfere with one of our foraging parties, the Bull spoke firmly to them.

What exactly was said, I do not know. But the Haltans left with pallid faces and shaky knees, perhaps appreciating truly who and what they had allied themselves with.

Arada and his staff were busy hammering out a treaty between the Haltans and Linowan, for the former had little stomach to continue the war without their mighty ally and the Linowan were well-aware that Arada was not inclined to keep the legions here to help them crush their enemies. We had come to fight the Bull, and with that done we would be leaving.

There was little work for skirmishers and scouts though. Udano was handling much of it for my force and Relasit had insisted I take the time to recover from the wound to my shoulder.

By the time I was done being carried on an improvised palanquin I realised that there was no real need for me anymore. If Arada was engaged in diplomacy, the other generals were busy reorganising around the losses. Five legions had marched north from Greyfalls less than a year ago, only three would return and all of them well below normal strength.

Only I knew that it could have been much worse. Had been much worse.

Below the rapids we built rafts to carry our heavier supplies and the wounded, sparing them from the less than well-sprung carts that generally served as our ambulances. I tried to join the work crews, eager for something to do.

I raised my hand in greeting to the soldiers working on one felled tree and seized hold of the ropes they were using to drag the tree down to the water. There was an uncomfortable silence among them, all banter ceasing as we pulled it down and no sooner was it at the bank than they scurried off uphill again, leaving me to look after them.

When I looked around at the workers busy tying the timbers together, none of them seemed willing to meet my eyes.

A second crew reacted the same way and at last I simply walked off, further down the bank and sat down, legs dangling over the grassy bank, my feet only a little above the water as I gazed across at the southern bank where the Bull was doing much the same.

We would march in company down the Bloody River, it had been agreed, and then down to the Silver River under Linowan escort, before using the rafts to move Yurgen's forces across to the western bank.

"What are you worrying about?" asked Relasit from behind me.

I sprawled backwards on the grass and looked up at her. "I feel somewhat melancholy. The war's consumed me for months and now that we're almost done with it…"

"You're not sure what to do?" She walked over and sat down next to me, her own boots touching the water. "Not to mention that no one knows how to treat you."

"I suppose a lot of them were expecting me to kill him."

"The Bull?" She reached over and helped me to sit up. "Some of them. Most of them are just glad to have lived through it, and that you ended it."

"Is that why most of them aren't talking to me?"

She shrugged. "Most mortals are… a little hesitant to approach Exalted. It's less obvious among the legions, because we all live cheek and jowl. The soldiers know more than most that we're still much like mortals in many ways… but sometimes someone reminds them of how we are different."

"As I did." It hadn't been like this before, but then I had had a circle around me, who generally had done similar things and saw little reason to be awed. I had seen mortals treating the others like this and felt less isolated than they were… but perhaps I had missed it, since I had people to speak to.

"As you did," Relasit confirmed. "It generally fades after a few weeks, particularly when they've had time to get drunk and tell tall stories. But we're out of wine so…"

"Well, I guess there will be some at Dramasine."

"There had better be or there might be a real mutiny." The dragonlord smirked. "I went across to talk to the Bull's supply officers – such as they were – to hash out what they're allowed to take and what they have to hand over. It's amazing how little they know about what they have stockpiled. I really wonder how they managed to put up so much of a fight with logistics like this."

"Anything I can do to help?"

She shook her head. "Not really. And however much the Bull is holding to the agreement, there's a lot of resentment at you beating him. I don't think you'd be safe going to speak to them just yet."

"I can more or less…" I began and then shook my head. "Well, I was going to say I could look after myself, but the problem would be doing that without re-starting the war."

"Exactly." Relasit reached over and rubbed my shoulder. "You're lonely, aren't you?"

I gave her a dour look. "It shows?"

"Just a bit. It probably doesn't help that you're an adolescent."

"I should grow out of that. Eventually."

She cracked a smile. "I didn't mean like that, although there may be some truth to it. But who do you have in the way of peers? The mortals know, bone deep, that you are more than they are. The younger Dragon-Blooded are awed, envious and none of them have rank approaching yours. We wouldn't usually entrust a talon to someone less than thirty, and you're… have you passed your birthday yet or are you still fourteen?"

"Not yet," I confirmed. "Should I celebrate it somehow?"

Relasit gave me a thoughtful look. "Yes. And I barely remember being that young. I certainly wasn't functionally a winglord at that age."

"Udano is handling it pretty well," I pointed out.

"Validel's boytoy?" She shook her head. "He's decent at the paperwork, but all his authority comes from the fact you're backing him. Put him in a battle and he'd not have the experience we want for someone handling more than a single fang. You… you're different."

"Something of an old soul," I murmured.

"And nothing to do with the influence of a certain renegade teacher at the Cloister of Wisdom?"

Crane, you are a gift that keeps on giving. "You're probably better off not knowing."

"Ah." She said no more about it, I suspect guessing enough to have some idea while none of the details that would be confusing. "but yes. In an actual battle, the scalelords and talonlords – and his dragonlord – would all be looking over his shoulder and worrying about the mistakes he'd be bound to make. And to his credit, I think the lad knows it. Do you know if he'll be staying in the legions?"

I shrugged. "I'd guess he'll be going to school somewhere unless he's really needed. The experience is good, but I suspect the elders will want those of my age back somewhere safe given how many of the volunteers didn't make it back."

Relasit nodded in agreement. "Actually, there is something you could do," she offered cautiously.

"Oh?"

"Our ambassador to the Linowan has forwarded on mail," the older woman explained. "And we can send replies now. You don't have to, but not all of those who died have immediate superiors, or they died under circumstances where another officer has a better idea of what happened. I was wondering if you could write something that General Arada can include in his letter to his aide's parents."

The worst sort of paperwork. Was I really in such a funk that writing of someone's last moments to his grieving families would be an improvement?

"At least I'd be doing something useful," I told her, scrambling onto my feet. "Do you know where I can get some paper and ink?"

Dramasine was not a grand city for all the effort that we had had to make to reach it. The entire population was gone, except for those operating taverns and brothels. At least it wasn't on fire.

What would be left of the city when we were done was… questionable. Both armies were eagerly stripping it of anything of practical use for the journeys ahead of us, sometimes quarrelling with forced politeness over particularly prized supplies. And soldiers in both armies were also stripping it of anything that looked valuable.

Those disagreements tended to be a great deal less civil and after two knifings, Arada had finally stationed me in the old keep above the city with more than two hundred archers and authority to impose peace. One cannot say keep the peace because that would require there to have been any.

For some reason, no one in either army was willing to tempt my wrath.

The Linowan emissaries' arrival also marked the first departures. Hunt had looked me up before the ships departed and for once I accepted her reasons.

The two of us watched from the quayside as ships were released to sail out onto the river, en route to Sijan. The city of tombs was on the lower Silver River and no cataclysm in known history had changed their status as Creation's premier experts in the burial of those whose ghosts might be unquiet.

"Will Doreg be exalted in his next life?" the Wood-aspect asked me quietly. The young man's body had been lost in the tumult of the first battle for Fallen Lapis, probably laid to rest in one of the mass graves dug by Mors Ialden's army. But the bodies of those who could be recovered had been carried with us and were aboard the ships, along with memorial tokens carved from wood in the memory of those buried elsewhere.

The little fleet also carried a portion of the army's remaining war chest as down payment to the Sijanese Mortician's Order for a tomb that would memorialize the dead of those who had fought and died alongside us. The Bull could make his own arrangements for his own dead, while Queen Arkasi of the Linowan had 'won' the right to raise barrows for the dead lying unknown and forgotten in the three barren and ruined kingdoms that she had inherited as the technical victor of the war.

I watched as the first ship raised its sails, taking advantage of a fresh breeze from the east. "Hard to say. If every soldier who died in the legions received Exaltation then the Dragon-Blooded Host would be overflowing from the Blessed Isle. But they aren't so…"

Hunt kicked a pebble into the water. "Sometimes I wonder what I did in my past life to deserve it." She glanced at me questioningly.

"Kept a featherhead chained to her desk and not causing utter havoc just by being herself," I answered without hesitation.

The girl stared at me. "You're a very strange girl, Alina."

"Did you only just notice that?"

Before the conversation could degenerate further, the waters rippled before us and a slightly familiar face rose from it, translucent to show that the owner was immaterial. "Terrestrials," Oscoe Oohan greeted us. "I have a grievance with you."

I rolled my eyes. Spirits could be such drama-queens. "I'm listening."

"The river must have its due," the river's spirit instructed me pompously. "And yet you denied this when you took the Bull ashore. It is for you to balance the scales."

Hunt glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?" Then she glanced aside at me. "Wait, you could have killed the Bull and you didn't?"

I gestured for her to calm down. "You're unhappy I didn't kill him?"

"That is the bargain, that is the way of the Bloody River." Oscoe Oohan spread his hands as if to try to suggest that he was being reasonable. "One shall stand, the other fall."

"Too late now. Not that I ever agreed to any such bargain and I doubt Yurgen Kaneko did so."

The spirit swelled up before me, "You agreed to battle in the ancient way, upon my waters." Cries went up from the docks as others saw him.

"No one invited you and no one invoked whatever custom you're accustomed to imposing on the local tribes," I corrected the feathered fool in front of me. "Two exalted settled their differences and you had the privilege of watching. Take that as all you're getting."

Oscoe Oohan snapped his fingers petulantly. "You forget yourself." He pointed to the little funeral fleet. "You still need and use my river, so you must accept my -"

I reached out, grabbed his moustaches and dragged him into the material world, my essence compelling the transition. It's deeply unsettling to have that done to you, as I knew from personal experience. More to the point, materializing one's self takes a considerable amount of essence and it's proportionate to one's individual power. And while I'd forced the transition on Oscoe Oohan, I had done nothing to shoulder the cost.

The river spirit wailed in pain as his essence reserves were all but depleted.

"Alright," I told him. "If you insist on a sacrifice, then you can be the sacrifice." I glanced at Hunt. "That's fair, isn't it?"

"I'm not an expert," she admitted.

"You bitch!" the spirit screamed, trying to get my hands off his moustaches. He was still standing on the water, which wasn't too surprising given it was his river. "Let go of me! And no, you can't sacrifice me to myself!"

I smiled. "Oh my. So, this is nothing to do with the river and everything to do with you wanting prayer and sacrifice for yourself. And human sacrifice, no less. Tsk. You know the Immaculate Philosophy doesn't approve of that."

He wrenched himself free, leaving some whiskers behind. "This is not the Blessed Isle! I am the war god of the Linowan and…"

"And what did you do for them when it came to fighting Yurgen Kaneko?"

Oscoe Oohan snarled impotently. "The mandate of heaven -"

That was the last thing he said before I punched him in his stupid face as hard as I could. The feather head-dress came off as he tumbled backwards across the waves, the essence construct of his material form breaking apart one piece at a time as he bounced from wave to wave, eventually disintegrating entirely.

He'd been dead – or as dead as a spirit can be without certain specific measures – from the moment I hit him of course. He wasn't that mighty a spirit. He'd probably assumed that he could overawe two comparatively young Dragon-Blooded before any of our elders intervened – I really doubt he thought he could beat me in a fight. He had seen me in battle, after all.

He'd reform in his sanctum, I imagine, but by then the ships would be well clear and once I spread the word, the other Exalted present would be watching out for him.

The mandate of heaven. I hated it when spirits hid behind that. Oh sure, the Unconquered Sun had granted full legal rule of Creation to the Solar Exalted. He'd also given no oversight to the matter and never once given the slightest sign he'd enforce it, witness his fifteen centuries of silence on the matter of Usurpation.

I didn't regret dragging his paralyzed body out of the way of a Neverborn the first time I met him, but sometimes – just sometimes – the Most High's perfection was the enemy of the good. I preferred to stake out the territory of 'got the job done' personally.

"Is your life like this for you every day?" asked Hunt, watching the godling's remains dissolve.

"Not every day. But the joy of command is that there's always some new little crisis."

"Was what he said, right? That you could have killed the Bull?"

"It didn't look like that to me." Not an entirely untrue answer, even if the reason had nothing to do with the Bull's incapacity. "It's possible there were missed opportunities, but that cuts both ways."

She nodded. "I'm thinking… when we get home?"

"Yes?"

"I should apply to the House of Bells," she declared. "I wasn't sure what I wanted to do before but next time I meet an Anathema, I'll kill him myself. Particularly if it's that barbarian with the warclub. And we're going to need new officers, so the House should be willing to sponsor me."

"That's true. It's not an easy school to graduate from. Or to gain entry to."

She snorted. "I know. Icole told me something about it. But that snivelling coward Tepet Lisara graduated so I should be up to it. We would have taken the heights if she hadn't turned tail and fled."

I debated telling her that she'd never been expected to take the heights, but that might spoil what was otherwise one of the better conversations I'd had with Hunt since… ever, really. "I guess they can teach tactical skill there, but making a brave woman out of a coward is harder."

And yes, I'm aware of the hypocrisy of saying that when I'm dodging an awkward admission. At what point did you get the idea I was known for telling people more than I thought they needed to know?

I didn't entirely hate the journey down the Bloody River, but Lake Sanazala was large enough to make me feel sick. Hunt found this hilarious.

"You can break Anathema like twigs," she cackled. "But a few waves have you clinging to the rails?"

I tried to throw her off the ship, but gave up as my breakfast decided to rebel against me.

Fortunately, the Silver River was tamer and the other scion of the Demarol household found it wise to transfer to another ship. One of the letters that reached us via the Linowan capital of Rubylak was from Demarol and for once he seemed aware of what I would be curious about. Even a stopped clock is right once a day, I guess. Icole had arrived safely in Lord's Crossing and one of the finest surgeons available had fitted him with a Prosthetic Limb of Clockwork Elegance. It would still take time for him to learn how to walk on it, much less fight, but he had the time.

I'd have preferred to craft the new leg and fit it for myself but I couldn't be everywhere. I'd have to settle for giving it a good examination when I next saw Icole, whenever that was.

With remarkable consideration by his standards, the head of the household had also noted that Icole seemed more wounded by Iyuki's death. Her family had agreed to delay the memorial ceremony for her until Icole could attend and Demarol hoped it would help my great-nephew to find closure.

Wood being still very available, I spent much of the voyage down the river whittling crutches, peg-legs and crude wooden arms for maimed soldiers. It wasn't much compared to what could have been done with artifacts, but without the essence control to attune to a magical prosthesis, that wasn't an option for them.

Some of them seemed overcome that one of the Exalted was actually paying attention to them, but at least a few realised that this would give them a little more self-sufficiency than they would otherwise have. The Imperial Army does offer a pension to wounded veterans but actual payment would probably be questionable without her Scarlet Majesty's All-Seeing Eye keeping track of it.

If they did the usual and drank that pension payment, before going begging for more drinking money, then there was nothing more I could do. But a man or woman who can walk with just a cane has options that someone needing two crutches doesn't. And the arms I built had crude fingers that could be locked around the grip of a bag or tool.

It kept me busy and gave me something to think about other than the fact that after leaving the Silver River we only had a comparatively short trip down the Yanaze to reach the Inland Sea.

That was when Tepet Arada elected to 'invite me' to join him on the flagship of the fleet that had been sent to collect us rather than embark with my command.

"By Mela," he murmured as I was hauled onto the deck by the crew of the small boat that had carried me across. "Do I want to know what's got you wrung out like this?"

"I hate boats."

The Realm's ambassador to the Linowan seemed entirely at home on the ship, which was reasonable since Peleps Kaizoku Atarove had served a long and successful naval career before taking up diplomatic responsibilities. She looked far happier standing on the deck of the troop transport than she had been in the court of Queen Arkasi.

"I've seen livelier kittens," she declared, hauling me to my feet. "I think we'd better not send this one after any Anathema in the west."

I managed to find something to hang onto, keeping myself upright. "I should be alright now I'm on something larger… at least until we're on the open sea."

Arada shook his head in disbelief. "How did you manage the voyage here from the Imperial City in the first place?"

"Poorly." I closed my eyes and tried to breathe deeply. "It was also on a fast courier, we crossed in three days."

"You know it'll be closer to two weeks sailing for our return?"

"I'm trying not to think about it."

I heard armoured boots on the deck and opened my eyes, seeing green armour with a familiar rose motif and then, raising my gaze, rich auburn hair. The Roseblack - and she had a companion who darted past her to catch hold of me. "Alina, what happened to you!?"

What…? Why was Emari here? For that matter why was Tepet Ejava here? I thought that she was serving as a Dragonlord with one of the Cathak legions in the north-west. And Emari was enrolled in the Conservatory of Arts in the Imperial City - although it was summer now, so I suppose she had that excuse.

"I'm really not a good sailor," I confessed and returned her hug. "What brings you all this way? Not that I'm not pleased to see you..." I glanced over her shoulder at the older Dragon-Blooded, none of whom seemed inclined to provide anything but an amused audience.

"That's… uh…" My friend and one-time student relaxed her grip but stayed arm in arm with me as she turned to not exclude our elders. "It's a long story." She was dressed plainly, as was her custom, but I noted that she had a vajra - an artifact spear weighted for throwing - in a scabbard across her back. At least she wasn't going around unarmed. How she'd got her hands on that must be part of the story.

"My congratulations on your accomplishments," offered Ejava smoothly. She extended her hand and we gripped each other's forearm in greeting. "Word that you slew two Anathema in single combat has been much reported in the capital. You were almost all that I heard about once I arrived there."

"Oh dear." I made a face. Notoriety was usually more a problem than a merit in the political hothouse of the Imperial City. "Is there any good news?"

"That is the good news," grumbled Arada. "Although some of it should not come as a surprise. To get the least important out of the way, now that we're embarking for the Blessed Isle my writ of imperium over the expedition has ended… along with any acting appointments that I've made."

"Ah, so I'm not a talonlord anymore?"

He shook his head. "It's no reflection upon your performance. Take it as a compliment that I'll be replacing you with Ejava. You've basically been handling a dragonlord's duties anyway. Keep the badge," he added as I moved to take it off. "You still served so it's yours by right."

"Eager to take your post?" I asked the Roseblack, tilting my head to one side. "You could have waited until we arrived on the Blessed Isle." Then I bit my lip, pieces falling into places. "How many other Tepet are being reassigned?"

Arada looked pleased. "I told you she was quick, granddaughter."

"At the moment it's just senior officers," the Roseblack answered. "But every reported casualty among the winglords and dragonlords of the legions saw a flurry of 'recommendations' of Tepet officers in the other legions for transfer or that they be promoted to take the places, along with recommendations for who should take over their current posts. At least six of the Great Houses are trying to secure control of parts of the legions."

"Do you even have the vacancies in your own legions with the Eighth and Forty-Third disbanded?" asked Atarove dubiously. That had brought the Fifth, Thirty-Eighth and Forty-Second Legions to something close to full strength but it also eliminated the need for almost a hundred senior officers once aides and auxiliary commanders were considered.

"They're not stopping just because of that." Ejava shook her head. "At this rate, outside of our remaining legions, Tepet officers will be lucky to get a slot with the Red-Piss."

"There's a lot you could do with the Vermilion Legion," I murmured. "When someone has nothing to lose, they have everything to gain."

The Vermilion Legion, sometimes known as the 'Red-Piss' Legion, was something of a dumping ground for soldiers and officers who'd made themselves unwelcome but hadn't quite merited a court martial. In the history I recalled, the survivors of House Tepet's defeat by the Bull - mostly from the Fifth Legion - had been folded into the Vermilion and Ejava had been placed in command.

They had more than redeemed themselves in the long war to defend the Blessed Isle from the armies of the dead.

Ejava gave me a surprised look and then narrowed her eyes in thought. "There's something to that. Once the other houses have their own officers in charge of legions, I suspect junior officers will start getting traded to tighten their grips, but I don't think anyone is desperate enough to try to take over the Red-Piss, yet."

Emari tightened her grip on my hand. "Don't make any plans until we've told you everything," she warned me.

The ambassador shook her head. "I hope the Navy isn't going to be torn up like that. I'm half-tempted to go home with you rather than back to Rubylak."

I didn't even want to consider the strategic implications of that. The navy was the Realm's first line of defence against invasion, and the supply line of legions all around the Inland Sea. It was also very close to being a fief of House Peleps, something they'd clung to ever since the downfall of their Iselsi rivals.

The other Great Houses all maintained a toehold among the naval and marine forces because the alternative was giving the Peleps the unquestioned power to strangle them. A fight for control would essentially pit one of the most powerful Great Houses against all the others, with the very real prospect that the naval house would destroy their fleets rather than lose the centre of their power.

Hopefully no one was ready to trigger that particular disaster.

"I think we'll need you dealing with the Linowan." Arada turned and looked north-east, as if he could see the distant kingdom from here. "Realistically, we can't expect to return in force if they want us a second time. Hopefully the consequences of the war should deter them from making another request like this one."

"If nothing else, I think the Haltans will be very hesitant to rely on another Anathema after the way the Bull abandoned them." Atarove looked over at Ejava. "So, now that you've softened us up with the predictable decision to treat the Imperial Army as the toys of the Great Houses, what's the real bad news?"

The redhead gave her a tired grin. "You may recall Tepet Elana - the Scarlet Empress made her a magistrate a few years ago?"

She nodded. "The heroine of the Battle of Five Fangs. She was a seven-day wonder in the capital, much like our young Sunslayer here."

I was going to have real trouble living that nickname down.

"Good officer," grunted Arada tersely. "Wasted as a magistrate."

"She's heading north again, getting off the Blessed Isle before she ends up like a lot of other magistrates." Ejava nodded towards Emari. "She had this one with her, passed her off to me."

"What do you mean the other magistrates?" Atarove asked in concern,

Ejava looked more serious. "The magistracy is in complete disarray. Without the Empress' support, a lot of the senior dynasts are seeing chances to settle scores for rulings that went against them. Elana hasn't had long enough to offend a great number of them so far, but she's planning to stay in the Threshold as long as she can. From what she says, almost all the magistrates on the Blessed Isle have disappeared. How many have gone to ground as opposed to being buried in a ditch - she didn't know and nor do I. But right now, it's a bold magistrate who leaves their family's estates without a large escort."

Arada's nostrils flared and Atarove looked just as irate. "They're taking an axe to the Realm's institutions. When her majesty returns, do they think they'll be treated as anything but traitors?"

"Some of them don't think she'll be back," I told them. "For now, they're hedging their bets, hiding their crimes. But this will only get more blatant."

"It's not even been a year since she was last seen. How could things collapse so rapidly?"

"The Realm was never intended to function without her." In fact, it was expressly supposed to be unsustainable without the Empress. This was, as it were, a feature rather than a flaw.

The general nodded in agreement. "And we're going back into that pile of… behemoth excrement."

Emari looked up. "Lady Elana knew we're friends Alina, you'd mentioned me to her?"

I nodded, recalling conversations after the Gateway tournament that summer in Juche. Why Elana had remembered that in particular I couldn't say, but perhaps she just had a memory like a steel trap.

"She wanted me to get word to you. It's not safe for you to return to the Cloister - or to the Blessed Isle. The fact that you didn't finish off the leader of the Anathema…" The older girl looked disgusted. "They're twisting it. Claiming that he subverted you somehow."

"It's not entirely unprecedented," allowed Ejava grudgingly. "Anathema can be disturbingly convincing at times. But there's no doubt that this is politically motivated: the other Houses want to spin the campaign as a defeat for our House, to weaken our reputation. They can't do that as effectively if young Alina is being heralded as a great hero - the next Wind Dancer," she added with a mocking grin directed at her grandfather.

I rubbed my forehead, feeling queasy from the ship's movement. And not because of the political meltdown of the Realm. I'd seen it coming, I just hadn't… hadn't felt it like this. "So, what are they planning?"

"The Immaculate Order has been pressured to agree that you should be interrogated over your decision not to kill the Bull of the North when you had the chance." Emari pulled me closer to herself and I threaded my arm around her waist to reassure her that I wasn't going anywhere "As well as specifically as to the purity of your understanding of the Immaculate Philosophy."

I whistled. "That must have ruffled some feathers. And who are they setting up to wield that axe."

The Wood-aspect gave Atarove an apologetic look but her tone was clipped and disapproving. "Peleps Deled, one of the most senior Venerers at the Pinnacle chapterhouse of the Wyld Hunt. He has a reputation for…"

"I've heard of him." And kicked his ass, in another life.

The ambassador looked sick. "On behalf of my house, I apologise for his very existence. The man is a monster."

Peleps Deled, hmmm. An Immaculate master, of his native Water Dragon style. A long history of killing fellow Immaculate monks over obscure points of doctrine. So rigid in his beliefs that he outright claimed that there was no room even for interpretation of the Immaculate Philosophy. Oddly enough, I did have a chance of beating his inquisition because while he did have a closed mind on that, he was also therefore predictable.

The trouble was, whoever had arranged this would hardly be satisfied at this. More than likely there would be someone working with Deled who was skilled at pressing his buttons. And if that failed, well, I'd be on the Blessed Isle, but likely a very long way from any safety.

"Under the circumstances, I felt it best to take the excuse of being reassigned to the legions to come and meet you," Ejava continued drily. "Unfortunately, someone leaked Elana's meeting with Emari so I brought her with me, claiming she was my aide. It might have been safe for her to stay, but it's hard to be sure."

"I can't thank you enough." Emari bowed to the dragonlord. "Do you want this back now…?" She started to pull at the buckle of the straps holding her vajra on her back.

The Roseblack waved one gauntleted hand dismissively. "It's mine to do with as I please. I'd rather it was in the hands of a good Tepet than stuck on the wall as a trophy of one more victory of our House. Besides, you may need it."

Emari blushed at the compliment but tightened the buckle again.

"When I left port, the Deliberative was still debating who to elect as a Regent," the Roseblack continued. "In principle they decided on a seven year wait before deeming her Scarlet Majesty dead, but in the interim, someone will be acting as a placeholder."

"No doubt some utter nobody," spat Arada. "Someone they wouldn't mind dying if the Empress returns and decides to take offense at the person sitting on her throne."

"If?" I asked.

"When," he conceded.

"Given that Tepet Fokuf almost made the short list..."

Arada groaned and covered his face.

"Who?" Atarove looked confused. "I don't… think I know the name."

"Thank all the Dragons for that. The man's a disgrace. The only good thing about him is that he has never Exalted so he'll be dead in a few decades."

I'd never met Fokuf in this life or the last but from what I'd heard he'd been the perfect regent… by the standards of people who didn't want to have to worry about someone using the office against them. He'd signed anything put in front of him and agreed with whoever spoke to him last. Politically, sins that exceeded his more personal faults. Which were only mildly distasteful to me, at least compared to some of the things House Cynis got up to. At least he indulged them in private and without harming anyone else.

Wait… Fokuf wasn't a candidate…?

My eyes went wide and I turned quickly, pretending to be retching as I thought quickly. Of course! With House Tepet no longer a wreck, deprived of most of its military might and unable to extract taxes from their satrapies, the other Great Houses were likely hesitant to appoint someone that we might be able to steer.

Emari made a concerned noise and supported me as I leant out over the side of the boat. I didn't like to worry her, so I gave her a weak smile to show that it wasn't serious.

"Assuming they elect the weakest candidate," the ambassador mused, "Who would it be?"

Ejava hesitated and then decided: "Iselsi Suthor would be my wager."

"One of the lselsi senators?" Arada grunted. "Explain the logic."

"One of the only two left," his granddaughter pointed out. "Their mortal senators are all dead and they haven't been able to appoint more for over a century. Right now, the only thing protecting what's left of the House is sanctuary in the temples of the Immaculate Order and the fact that with two Senators they can still block a unanimous vote in the Deliberative."

Under the convoluted regulations of the Deliberative, a vote was considered unanimous even if there was one vote against – the Obstructive Naysayer rule. And a unanimous vote of both Chambers of the Deliberative could overturn even the Imperial veto. The Iselsi block was thus just large enough to cripple such a vote, one of their few remaining political assets... and since only her Scarlet Majesty could remove a senator, one they'd held at her pleasure. Until now.

But if Iselsi Suthor was promoted to regent then it might be a prelude to someone moving seriously eliminate her House as if clearing a battlefield of obstructions before fighting the real battle. And House Iselsi was far less crippled than it seemed - they retained enormous influence within the Immaculate Order and, perhaps more importantly, within the All-Seeing Eye - the Realm's intelligence service.

They'd fight back, most likely by trying to turn someone else against whoever was attacking them. Which meant that the Realm might spiral into civil war before the Scarlet Empress returned and I was still far from secure enough to weather that. If I was older, more established, had more resources…

But I didn't.

The art of managing Exalted on a large scale had long since taught me the futility of protesting things you can't change. Finding another way, sure. But until you did, you had to focus on what you could do right away.

"Is it safe for the general to return then?" asked Atarove, insightfully. "If they're worried about Alina as a rising star, then Arada himself returning in glory must look even worse."

"I'll have three legions around me," the old man responded abruptly. "And I have the protection of my rank. Alina's still a student of the Cloister so the Immaculate Order can claim she's under their jurisdiction."

"They might still try to court martial you."

He shook his head dismissively. "I have wide discretion under the writ of imperium the Scarlet Empress granted me. And House Tepet has enough senators to overturn any efforts to question that on the authority of a mere regent. The one advantage of the Deliberative looking for a weak regent is that they won't choose someone who could try to challenge me on that."

Atarove made a face. "And if they do? We don't know they'll settle on Suthor."

"Then I'll have three battle-hardened legions on the streets of the Imperial City, when most of the rest of the Imperial Army is scattered across Creation!" Arada roared sharply. "And I'm damn sure we can find enough allies to back me in removing any regent who tries that."

He was probably right, if only because some of those allies would be positioning themselves to stab him in the back. But he was also hovering on the edge of treason.

"Ambassador," I asked politely, turning away from the rail and changing the subject before the conversation went further into dangerous waters. "I think I need to change my travel plans. Would you mind dropping me off?" I glanced across the strait at the city of Lookshy. "I have a sneaky suspicion that going ashore right here might get me detained but I can think of a few other places to go…"

Arada reached over and patted me on the shoulder. "That's probably for the best. I regret that you are left in this position."

"I don't mind, you're certainly welcome to return to Rubylak with me," the Peleps assured me. "Your reputation there is very high."

"Actually, if I'm there then I can be found," I disagreed. "Not to mention that Oscoe Oohan has probably returned now and the Linowan might be less happy with me once they know I punched one of their patron war spirits in the face. Better that I disappear into the Scavenger Lands until my name is less notorious."

Ejava smiled. "That seems wise – a wander year, as my grandfather often recommends. But the Scavenger Lands can be dangerous even for an Exalt. I don't suggest that you go alone."

Emari grabbed my hand. "She won't be alone."

"And I think there's a young Earth-aspect who'd choose to follow her as well - even if you try to leave him behind," Arada noted drily.

"He means Udano," I clarified to Emari. "Are you sure you want to come with me? The Scavenger Lands aren't as safe as the Blessed Isle - and many of the cities aren't fond of the Realm."

Her response was to lean over and kiss me firmly on the lips, heedless of our audience.

"Is that a good enough answer?" the older girl asked me, a little breathless, once she let go of me.

"Uh… yes?"

Atarove snickered. "Ah, young love."

When had that happened? I used to be smoother than this… well, maybe not. I'd never needed to be smooth, mostly because I didn't do anything romantic. (It's amazing how many women from families with a history of producing Terrestrial Exalted lost all inhibitions when they realised that there was a virtual certainty that my offspring would Exalt.)

"I'll set you up with enough money to get started," Arada offered, hiding a smirk behind his moustaches. "We still have some guild silver in the war chest. And there are plenty of bankers in the major cities who'll advance you money if you prove you're a Tepet. I can give you papers for that."

"You might want to head for Thorns rather than upriver," suggested the ambassador. "Greyfalls is the only really friendly city further east, but Thorns is still a strong ally to the Realm."

I glanced south, recalling the fate of the powerful port city and shuddered. "No, I won't go to Thorns. It's too accessible." And if it hadn't fallen to the Deathlord Mask of Winters already, then it would be under attack before the summer was out. And there was nothing I could do - yet - about that. It would take more than two or three additional Dragon-Blooded, however skilled, to change the tide of that invasion.

If I thought I could persuade Arada to take his legions there then it might be different. But even if he believed me, his men were tired and short of supplies. I'd just be throwing away all the men saved so far.

But I have saved them, I thought to myself. And House Tepet isn't the wreck that it was, needing years to rebuild from defeat by the Bull. A few months and they'll be ready again. One more army to use in the defence of Creation.

I squared my shoulders. My first goal was met. And if I couldn't save Thorns yet, I might be able to find some people who would have a better chance.

There would be a lot of little steps to saving Creation. I'd need to find opportunities, and allies. And there was a certain city on a pivotal crossroads where both could be found.

"I have it in mind to visit Nexus," I told them and grinned. I'd have all the way up the Yanaze to convince Udano and Emari to join me in a little heresy...

Well, a lot of heresy. But if something's worth doing, it's worth doing well!