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Chapter Ten: Gods' works
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Earth -1427 I. dies Mercuris ad IV Non. Nov. MCLXXIV a.u.c.
(3th of November of the year 421 B.C.)
12th of August 1844
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Earth -1715 IR5. dies Mercurii prid Id. October DCXLVI a.u.c.
(11th of October of the year 108 B.C.)
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Earth -1819 IR0. dies Martis Prid Id. Feb. DCCLXVII a.u.c.
(10th of February of the year 14)
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Wei Kingdom - KyangJiang Imperial Palace
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They were standing on the top of the main towers of the Northern City Gates. And they weren't alone. Thousands of people were standing on the battlements of the city walls looking at what had been, a few years earlier, KyangJiang's Great Northern Caravanserai.
It had been evacuated a few days ago to give Liu Yu's people a place to gather and wait but since the disappearance of Liu Yu's party nobody had dared going back. And, as they looked at it in that cold November night, they could only guess about what was happening.
- Any idea about what's happening?
Wu Yen couldn't help but chuckle.
- I don't think I am wrong when I pretend that it has something to do with the Dragons who have shown up. What it really is we will know in the morning I suppose. But from the noises I'd say that something is tearing up the old Caravanserai. And…
He pointed at a black line that was steadily climbing out of the rubble.
- And that they are replacing it with something of their own.
Sima Dewen sniffed and looked at his advisor.
Si, still in his Imperial garb, was standing at Wu Yen's side.
- I do have an idea, Wu.
He turned around and called the leader of his guard detachment.
- Go get me Shin Teu, or any of his assistants who's not currently on the battlements goggling at what's happening out there.
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The first fireworks had the intended effect. For a few seconds, the landscape was lighted up like on a full moon night. It wasn't enough to see the details, but it was enough to see that something was growing in front of them. Something made of solid matter. Had there been so much metal one could have thought that it was metal growing out of the very soil.
Or glass.
Dewen ordered Shin Teu to come nearer.
- Let your artificers go on shooting. I want one flare up every 10 minutes for as long as your supply lasts.
He looked at Wu Yen.
- That flare thing works even better than I thought. It's not as much light as I would have liked but at least we have a chance to see what's happening while it is happening.
- I could make fireworks that have a better lighting effect, your Majesty, said Shin Teu without awaiting the Emperor's authorization to speak. But, to my knowledge, nobody ever thought about using them to light up the night.
- Well, said Dewen without reacting to what would have been a death sentenced breach of protocol a day before, begin to work on that. Imagine some army attacking the city under the cover of the night and we sending a few flares up into the sky with our archers ready!
- Nasty surprise, indeed, said Shin Teu. I'll work on it as soon as the sun goes up.
Dewen turned around to again look at what clearly was a building site.
- Please take care of Shin Teu's spendings, Yen. He will need money to resupply his stores and to conduct the research I just asked him to do.
- Those fireworks we used were already the Crown's property, said Shin Teu. And I'm already a paid servant of the Crown.
Dewen looked at the slowly growing pyramid until there was no longer enough light.
Then he turned to look at the Head Artificer.
- Take the money Wu Yen will give you and think about what other smart or weird things you can come up with fireworks.
He pointed at the next fireworks Shin Teu were busy placing on their launching contraptions.
- We've used those things for centuries just to draw pleasant light pictures in our night skies without ever thinking about the other uses they could have. It is perhaps time to investigate everything we can do and find as much uses as possible.
He pointed at the pyramid who was still growing out of the soil.
- One day I want us to be able to have the same self-building capacities the Gods have!
- Aren't we a little pretentious there, your Majesty, said Wu Yen with a smile. I do fear that dragons are way better than humans when it comes to build things.
- Perhaps, but, as you know, deep inside me there is a huge lazy bone lurking. And said lazy bone loves to think about ways to see things building themselves or, at least helping me to build them faster.
Once more he pointed at the self-building pyramid.
- Look at that! It happens here and it happens in a way that is not only astonishing but also eerily beautiful. I love to think that Mankind, if we follow the path the Dragon Gods are showing us, can do the same!
He shrugged.
- Of course, I know it won't be possible tomorrow or even next week. But at the end of my reign, I'm sure that we could have the first results.
He nodded while smiling at the growing building.
- Ru Sunteu was right! We need schools. Lots of schools. And we need people who will dedicate their lives understanding what are still mysteries but will soon be well known facts.
A snowflake flew on his face.
- Snow? Good! The lighting will be even better.
He turned to look at his guards.
- Go fetch an open tent and a few heating contraptions. I think we will stay here for quite a long time.
He smiled at Si.
- You stay with me?
- I couldn't be moved by a horse team.
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In the morning, the pyramid was finished.
She was, when all was said and told, gigantic, impressive and in a sober and simplistic way, beautiful.
And what they had thought under the light of the flares to be metal was in fact glass panels – huge glass panels- covering the outside of a Pyramid made of what looked very much like the most precious of all minerals: jade.
Most of the inhabitants of the city had stayed on the battements or, after Dewen had ordered the gates to be opened, on the frozen moat to look at the building process. As was often the case, vendors had followed and what looked now like a funfair had been hastily organized.
For quite a long time nobody moved towards the pyramid.
Then a pair of boys plucked up their courage and wandered to what looked like the main entry. When they were there, clearly hesitating about what to do, somebody stepped out of the pyramid.
The boys were clearly ready to run when they were spoken to. They stopped, relaxed and finally stayed.
A few minutes later the pyramid dweller walked back inside and was soon followed by both boys.
Dewen looked at his advisor and his fellow Emperor.
- I believe it is time for us to show that what boys could do, Emperors and First Advisors can do too.
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As on a signal, as soon as Dewen, Si and Yen began to walk towards the Pyramid, the crowd began to follow.
Wu Yen couldn't help but express his worries.
- Shouldn't we let the guards enter first?
Dewen shook his head.
- Don't be silly, my friend. I should have been the first one to enter but I won't be petty and begrudge those boys their courage. They have shown us that one could enter the Pyramid. Now it is our turn to show our people that their rulers are worth to be followed.
He chuckled.
- I wonder if they did it on purpose to give me the opportunity to play that role in front of my people. I suspect they did, indeed.
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She was waiting at the main entrance.
An entrance without any visible gate or door. Behind her they could see the two boys standing while eating what looked like a ball of cloud.
- Took you long enough, said Ru Sunteu.
- I wasn't sure, answered Dewen, that we normal Humans would be welcome in your abode. Without those boys' courage I would probably still be wondering. Once they had entered, I knew that it was my duty to look at what happened to them.
She nodded once and looked first at him and then at the assembled crowd.
- This had been built to be KyangJang's secular and religious center. You'll find within room for your administrative staff, temples to worship the Gods and places of leisure where all will be welcome whatever their origins and upbringing.
She turned around.
- Follow me, I'll show you around.
Two minutes after the crowd had entered the pyramid, the building had earned its name.
The House of Thousand Dragons was a marvel of Godly perfection. It was warm, like in really comfortably warm. It was well lighted. And it was built to make people feel welcome.
And it was huge.
With hundreds of rooms, stairs, and corridors. Some rooms were tiny enough to host just one person lying on what looked like a bed and some were huge enough to host hundreds of people.
And in the center of the House was a place with trees and fountains where a huge number of people could wander, sit or gather.
In the center of the place was a Jade circle guarded by twelve dragons of different colors looking towards outside
And nothing was closed or restricted.
Fact that did cost his hand to the first thief foolish enough to try to knock away a jade fragment off the walls.
He was just about to hit the wall a second time when the nearest dragon -a small one who seemed to crouch on a column, turned his head in his direction and shot a ray of light right through his hammer holding hand. Hand and hammer disappeared in a flash of splattered blood and melted bronze and soon the man had two city guards protecting him from the wrath of terribly upset City dwellers.
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- Follow me…
And, of course, they did follow.
They followed to the central place and placed themselves in the center of the Dragon Ring.
All the dragons' eyes lit up at the same time, a light bubble grew out of the pavement and they were somewhere else.
It was not difficult to imagine where they were. This was the top room in the pyramid and the glass panel let them discover a clear night sky brightly lit by thousands of stars.
- We are no longer in KyangJang, said Dewen while Wu Yen was about to say the exact same thing.
Si was just looking at the panarama and chose to remain discreet.
Ru Sunteu nodded.
- Indeed, you are at one of our other Pyramids. I needed you here because this place has been used for a little longer and it is where we gather when we have to discuss important matters.
Ru Sunteu's accent was weird, but it didn't impair the clarity of the message she wanted to convey.
Dewen, as it was his duty, asked the necessary question.
- Are we important matters?
- It could be, answered Ru Sunteu. Depends on quite a few different factors. Some of them pointing at you and some others pointing at us. We could have waited a few years more to speak about it, but I believe it is better to make things easier for all those involved. Overthinking and overpreparing things is not in my nature. I'm a woman of action not of thoughts and prospects.
There was a smooth ringing coming from behind them and they all turned around to see the ugliest female Demon they had ever seen walking towards them. The red flaming hair was a sure sign that they were facing a creature from Hell's shallow pit.
Both Emperors backed down. Only Wu Yen who had decided that Dragons were benign creatures stood his man and bowed deeply.
That stopped the Demon.
She asked something and Ru Sunteu answered. Her answer had a strange result since the Demon burst out laughing.
- So, you find me ugly?
The Demon's voice was pleasant and well-tuned. And, contrary to Ru Sunteu, the Mandarin she was speaking was the same they used daily. So, she had no accent at all.
- Because of the hair?
- And the nose, answered Dewen. Your nose is huge! Inappropriately huge for a female. You should correct your nose's dimensions. It would help…
The Demon shrugged and walked toward what looked like a table surrounded by six chairs.
- Well, it is how beautiful noses look like in this part of the world, and since my beloved husband thinks it is a lovely and perfect nose, it will be enough for me.
She gestured them to approach and sit down.
Once they were sitting, she looked at Dewen.
- So, you are Sima Dewen, the ex-new Emperor of Wei?
- That's me, indeed.
- And, interjected Si, I'm the Emperor of the other Wei. The Northern one. My mane is Tuoba Si.
The redhaired woman looked Si in the eyes and, after a second, bowed in his direction.
- Delighted to have you with us. I'm Alana and I'm Ru Sunteu's equivalent here in Rome.
- Equivalent?
- I am the resident non-Goddess, confessed the Demon with an ironic smile. I stay here with my people and deal with the day-to-day matters. It's only when things become a little too complicated that I call for back-up.
- You mean Ru Quonru?
- I mean as many Ru Quonrus as needed, answered the Demon named Alana.
Dewen let that information sink into his awareness. He had doubted that Ru Quonru was the only one of his ilk but deep down in his mind the hope had been there.
- You seem surprised, said Ru Sunteu. You really believed there weren't more than one?
- I hoped there would only be one, answered Dewen. One is frightening enough.
- And yet I came too, added Ru Sunteu. With me added to the equation, it should have seemed evident that there would be more, don't you think?
- As I said, it was a hope… I don't really like having you making the decisions for me…
He looked at Si.
- Or should I say us?
The Demon nodded as if she was agreeing.
- You are probably right but, in fact, we aren't making the decisions for you, we are repairing situations a lot of bad past decisions have provoked. Not only your decisions but also your lack of decisions. For Qin there have been quite a lot of bad and worse decision that have wrecked the land and the people.
- It is never easy to stop a downfall, said Si. Especially if a lot of people intervene.
- Let me be more precise in my assertions, said Ru Sunteu. Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor, created a huge, stable, and efficient Empire. This Empire lasted for five hundred years before it collapsed. Which was the beginning of a very nefarious time period.
Shen pointed at the ground.
- The same thing happened here and almost at the same time. And it happened either because of foreign interventions coming from outside or because of insider mistakes and/or mismanagement. Qin, to focus on your part of the world, fell apart into the Sixteen Kingdoms you have known until some of them were gobbled up by their neighbors. You are still four Kingdoms nowadays and it would have taken a few more centuries to put an end to the current mess. We have decided to speed up the reunification and to give Dewen's Wei the means to do the job. The Sixteen Kingdoms period and the following centuries were bad times for Qin. And it is not yet totally over. At the last count there were still too many independent kingdoms left.
She made a movement and a map appeared on the table. A map of Wei and Qin.
- So, you see the trend we try to interrupt? We've decided to intervene to stop the disintegration and push the Han Empire back in the right direction. Once it is done, we'll let the Humans take over again.
- Until the ruler makes a wrong decision…
- One wrong decision won't probably be enough to recreate a destructive vortex with the same type of consequences the first Han dynasty brought upon itself but yes in essence you are right: there will be a scrutiny.
- So, we are under surveillance…
This time it was Ru Sunteu who spoke first.
- What about it? Look at your decisions these last ten years! Do you really believe you've done so very well that our intervention wasn't necessary?
She frowned at him.
- Humans fuck-up every day for whatever reasons. What drives them is most of the time silly emotions and foolish dreams. Silly emotions and foolish dreams cannot, must not, be the base of any political decision! At least they should not! That's why we've decided to give those rulers we advise and protect, a clear frame of actions. As long as they follow the frame, we are happy, and we let them in peace, intervening somewhere else where our help is more urgently needed. Should the frame begin to unravel or to be forgotten, we'll be back to remind everybody that there are rules and that those rules must be followed. If a ruler seems unable to follow the rules, we have shown that we won't hesitate to have him replaced by somebody else.
She looked Dewen in the eyes.
- You've been shirking your responsibilities for so long now that we clearly had to act. Now you got yourself into the situation you wanted to have for so long!
- Did I?
- Of course, you do. There's now somebody upstairs giving you the overall direction and letting you implement it. It's perhaps not as glamorous as some Human rulers dream to manage their lands but it is safer and the most efficient! Especially for those lesser humans who would, otherwise, have to pay for their rulers' stupidity! That's why we decided that we would keep an eye on everything.
Once more she frowned at him.
- And believe me, we'll keep an eye on everything. There won't be one decision you make that won't be overlooked, analyzed and judged.
- You don't trust me, that's it…
- The fact that we restored you to the Throne, shows that we trust you a lot more than anybody else in the whole territory covered by the remaining Kingdoms!
She looked at Tuoba Si.
- You've heard him, he is persuaded that he would be the best Emperor for a reunified Qin Empire. But he forgets that it was him who chose the wives and concubines who have been working for Liu Yu for years and who had been poisoning him for those same years too. And when all is said and told, it was because of his decisions that his Empire lost two provinces while winning over only half of one. That's not a really favorable outcome, wouldn't you agree with me, honorable Tuoba Si?
- Being betrayed and backstabbed does hinder a man's success…
- And I agree on that point but you still let those concubines into your inner circle without even making a small effort to understand how they came to cross your path. Your weakness is that a beautiful woman smiling at you, even if it is a false smile, short circuits your brain. And once they've gotten the chance to crawl into your bed, they don't have to make a lot of efforts to get the poison into your system…
She shook her head.
- It's not personal against you, it's systemic within the way Qin dynasts look at the rest of their population! There are good and bad people out there. Find the good ones and get rid of the bad ones, that's the recipe for your long-term success. And we will help you to see the truth, believe me!
- You'll rule for us, protested Si who clearly wasn't happy with what has been said.
- Not really, said Ru Sunteu. Remember that you are not our only protégés even if I am the one who will have the burden of Wei, Xia and Yan until they are reunited. Because of my upbringing, I am the daughter of a concubine who became a free peasant's wife, I still can't deny that I don't trust Human rulers to always rule their realms with the required efficiency and while having the common good in mind!
She shook her head.
- But I know my weaknesses and I know my prejudices. I also know my silly passion for Han Culture and Qin Empires. That's why I have volunteered to look over what is about to happen here. I will try not to micromanage and to let you make the final decisions, but we need to be on the alert for every lack of reliability. It's not that we believe you to be unreliable, it's that we know that Human rulers have constantly disappointed the hopes placed in them!
She turned her eyes at Dewen.
- And to make it personal, you will have to admit that you have already shown that when push comes to shove you're very ready to surrender your responsibilities to retreat into your shell.
- I'm not the right man for the job, I agree and I'm read…
- You are smart, you are inspired, you are well-educated, and you are a lot less bloodthirsty than most of your fellow members of the Qin nobility...
She smiled at SI.
- Tuoba Si included. Thanks to your faith in Buddha you are even able to be compassionate. Your only real -but huge- problem is your laziness, Dewen. You hide it behind your so-called artistic vocation, but we all know that your music is poor and that your paintings are not worth the ink and the paper used to make them. Your poetry is quite good, though, so I will admit that you are entitled to call yourself an artist. But, I'm sorry to insist, your poems are not worth the hours you spend rewriting them constantly. Hours you should use to be a better ruler.
The Red-haired woman sighed and shook her head.
- Could we please stop wasting time with what is clearly not worth it? We've all got it; neither Dewen nor Si are happy, and they would have preferred to go on living one his idle little quiet and useless life and the other the few painful months his women would have offered him until he would have died. Since, with us here, those are no longer open options, what about accepting the reality of the new situation and begin dealing with important stuff? Like making the right decisions to reunite Qin as soon as possible?
She pointed at the map on the tabletop in front of them. The picture stretched out to show the whole Eurasian continent.
She pointed at the western peninsula.
- That's were we are and that's what is called the Roman Empire.
Her hand flew to the other end of the continent.
- And that's the Qin Empire. As you see both the Empires we nurture are not going to reach each other for quite a few more years but that doesn't mean that we should postpone the decisions that must be made to avoid a major conflict when it happens.
She looked at Ru Sunteu.
- Sun and I we will probably still be available when the first overland meeting happens but meanwhile, we can take steps to be sure that, even if we cannot avoid competition and rivalry, there are ways to take steps in order to avoid seeing competition collapse into open war.
- How are we going to do that?
Wu Yen was visibly skeptical.
- We establish official embassies here and in KyangJang, answered Alana.
A few movements later a three-dimensional map of Rome was lying before Dewen's eyes.
A very recognizable pyramid was overshadowing the City.
Alana pointed at a large part of the city covered with burned ruins. That piece of land was in the immediate proximity of the River.
- We've had, last week, an arson attempt in the vicinity of the Port. We were able to save everybody but most of the buildings were destroyed. We are currently moving the people towards here…
She pointed at a stretch of land that was covered with ten level high buildings that were in various states of progress.
- We've tried to get the people out of the old overcrowded parts of the inner city for months now and I'm very decided to use the opportunity the arsonists gave us to push our agenda.
Here she frowned at Dewen.
- No, we didn't organize the whole thing. The outrooting would have happened but not for quite a few more years. The people aren't totally satisfied with the situation and hate it to be forced to quit their old surroundings. But their new apartments are a lot safer and more comfortable than what they had before. So, they do grumble because people love to grumble, but they don't riot and that's a good thing…
- The fact that the Gods have already dealt with the arsonists, has helped, said Sun with a smile.
Alana pointed back at the ruins.
- This is the place we intend to offer you for your Embassy. It is very well situated and being near the Port it could offer quite a few opportunities for courageous traders and entrepreneurs. And, of course, we would very much like to have said Embassy built in the most impressive and fancy and ostentatious oriental style. We want the people of the Urbs and the Romans who visit to know about Qin and we want them to accept your existence. It would help if you could include just outside of your Embassy a series of shops where the Romans could discover the Qin cuisine and the goods Qin is able to provide. Classrooms with teachers to learn your language and a pair of theaters to show the refinements of Qin culture would be very welcome too.
Wu Yen who wasn't sulking decided to take over the conversation. In Qin it would have been a major crime, but he decided that here in the Pyramid he was probably safe.
- Would Qin traders be restricted to the Embassy area?
- Not at all, we intend to let traders settle wherever they want within the city if they have bought or let the buildings they intend to use for their business. Rome has, until a few decades in the past, covered a much greater area than it does today. There are lots of free lands all around the inhabited areas.
Here a small smile showed itself on her lips.
- And we own probably ninety nine percent of that momentarily abandoned real estate. You or your merchants won't have problems to acquire good real estate. We expect that within the next decade we will again cover the initial surface but with a much better and safer underground infrastructure. Which means that a lot of the people living currently within the City's walls will resettle outside the city in what we call suburbs. The central districts will, more and more, be sanitized and equipped with shops and more cultural venues. Rome has always been a cosmopolitan city and with the presence of the Pyramid it will even be more so in the future. And we'd like your people to be an important part of the newcomers.
Wu Yen looked at the 3D map of this Empire's Capital City and couldn't help but be impressed. She was a Huge beast and judging by the vast stretches of ruined lands surrounding it, she had indeed been a lot larger.
He pointed at the ruins.
- What happened?
- Barbarians, answered Ru Sunteu. They invaded and looted the City and a good half of the Imperial lands. We were able to stop their progression and the Empire's decay but only by intervening massively and personally. Hence the Pyramids we had to build. We needed markers to remind those people that they are no longer alone to deal with their problems.
- Why didn't you intervene before the Barbarians invaded?
Alana and Sun looked at each other and finally Alana took the floor.
- Because we came too late…
- How can Gods be too late?
- Probably because they aren't Gods?
She stopped Yen's next comment.
- Let me explain before you protest. First, to explain my own particularities, I was born two and a half decades earlier as a mortal Human in the most western Province of the Roman Empire.
The map changed to show an island and a little town at its eastern coast.
- Around that time, this Earth was discovered by a member of a group of very powerful Beings who meddle with the lives of Humans on a few different worlds. The discoverer decided to do something to stop what was about to become a huge and bloody catastrophe.
She pointed at the map who shrank into the blue, white and brown floating globe.
- The one of them that took it into his hands to avoid us the worst to come, did what was necessary to save my people and I.
- I see, said Wu Yen. They aren't Gods but are they Humans?
- They look like Humans, but they are not Humans. Not anymore. Calling them Gods is a matter of choice. It's not wrong because they do have powers and means we can all easily associate with divine beings, but it is wrong since they haven't played even the slightest role in this world's creation. All in all, whatever their powers, they cannot be considered as this world's Gods.
- But you are Human, asked Dewen. Aren't you?
- I was born Human but I'm now one of them. When I married him, who chose to save us, he made me one of them.
Si's interest was immediately on the show.
- So, they have the power to bestow divine qualities and powers to their followers?
- They do, acknowledged Alana, but you will understand that they are very thrifty in doing so. Only those they deem worthy are offered elevation. They decide collegially if someone can be considered worthy.
- So, asked Wu Yen, they are here to stay?
Alana pointed at the planet's picture still turning in front of them.
- This is my home and I have no intention not to stay here with my people, answered Alana. So, yes, we are here to stay and…
She pointed at the Pyramid surrounding her.
- …We have the means to play a major role for quite a very long time.
She sighed.
- Will you help us?
Wu Yen and Sima Dewen looked at each other for a few seconds. Si just frowned at her.
It was finally Dewen who nodded.
- Of course, we will. I don't like the role you've chosen for me, but I see all the advantages your presence at our side will provide us with. And even if I hate it, going down in History as the one who's reunited the Qin Empire is much more satisfying that going down as the lazy ex-Emperor who was smothered to death by his scared successor.
Si, who wasn't ready to abandon the floor to Dewen nodded too.
- So, will I.
- And you do well, indeed, approved Ru Sunteu. But I'm quite sure that the reunion of the divided Empire won't be the main reason you'll be considered as the most famous and impressive rulers of Qin. We do have a few other prospects in storage, believe me.
Dewen wasn't reassured. Not in the least.
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