Chpater 2 is up!! ...After much procrastination. Sorry.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. Really, I hope you do. Because I think it's really crappy.

Enjoy.

Chapter 2

Huajun kneeled before the emperor, his forehead touching the floor, as was the proper way to bow to anyone in the imperial family. Sweat trickled down his back and face, betraying his apprehension. Being summoned to see the emperor was rarely a good thing, especially when not of a noble family. Likely, there was already gossip of some vague disgrace surrounding his name.

The emperor rose from the bejeweled throne on which he had sat and stepped delicately down the three steps that led to the platform on which the throne adorned. "No doubt, soldier, you wish to know why you have been summoned to hear my council." The emperor's voice was soft and sweet, cold and menacing. It sent shivers down Huajun's spine. "Rise soldier."

Huajun lifted himself to sit stiffly on his knees and kept his eyes lowered. He was not foolish enough to think that the emperor's invitation to rise meant he could stand. The esteemed man had had thousands killed for lesser crimes than standing in his presence; no doubt, those people had deserved their deaths – any who defied the wishes of the imperial family deserved death, in his opinion – but he wished to keep his head for the time being.

The emperor continued quietly, "As a man who carries out my will, you no doubt know of this empire's need for new lands for its people. Namorn will fall to me soon, I believe, and provide much land. However…" He trailed off, as if lost in thought. Yet the pause was not long. "I feel that Namorn cannot fall soon enough. This does not trouble me; all will fall to my will and those of my children in the end. Now, though, I wish to have a different land under my control. You know of the lands across the Endless no doubt?" He did not wait for an answer. "For long years have our people and others been fighting the savages there. It is proper time that these savages are brought to their knees, soldier.

"I know of your triumphs in the land called Gyongxe. I take pride in them, knowing I have a man who can bring such victories is loyal to me. I call on you again, soldier, to bring me victories. The savages must kneel before me and their land become mine. I have had the orders sent out for my navies to gather. And I have decided, soldier, that you shall be their warlord. Lead my armies to victory."

Huajun let his forehead touch the floor again as he bowed low to the emperor who had just given him great power. He bowed low and continued bowing until he had left the emperor's presence. He turned as the ornately gilded door closed behind him, a grim smile appearing on his face. He would serve the emperor faithfully, and he would take the lands across the Endless. Huajun – no, it was Warlord Huajun now – would do this. The world would kneel before the Emperor's feet.

Briar Moss sat against the ship's railing, reading a book that Tris had lent to him. Evvy hung from the same railing, reaching towards the earth at the bottom of the ocean, as she so often did while travelling by boat. Sitting beside him and watching her was what could only be described as a two foot tall living, breathing rock, named Luvo.

"Do you feel anything, Evumeimei?" Luvo's speech was slow and patient; the hearts of mountains seemed to have endless patience. After hearing the corresponding 'no' and frustrated growl that Evvy always replied with, the rock nodded and sat down.

"What exactly is she supposed to be feeling for again, Luvo?" Briar paused while turning a page of his book to give Luvo his attention. Usually Breakstone would also be teaching Evvy, but after four weeks on a ship the dedicate had barred herself in her small cabin and surrounded herself with her own stones and gems, leaving Luvo and himself to keep Evvy out of trouble. And as Briar had found out years ago, one of the only ways to keep Evvy out of trouble was to teach her something new.

"I have been teaching her the way to feel the finer points of earth; the dust that floats through the entire ocean. She has been having…difficulty," Luvo stated, his voice amused. From the way Evvy had been carrying on for the past few days, Briar knew that 'difficulty' was an understatement. He chuckled.

They both looked up as Evvy swung over the rail. "Well excuse me for not having the power of the heart of a mountain." She glared at both of them, causing Briar to grin. Pulling her down next to him, he ruffled her hair, his grin widening as she swatted at the offending hand.

Evvy settled against the rail next to Briar, watching him. He had gone back to his book, one tattooed hand combing through his hair in a failed attempt to tame it. Evvy giggled; Rosethorn, for reasons known to only herself – and probably Briar – had let it slip that while they had been in Gyongxe, there had been times when the luxury of cutting their hair had been lost to them. In a rather wicked manner, she had proclaimed how dashing her student had looked with longer hair. Briar suspected it was his sisters who had stolen the scissors he used to crop his hair short and then coerced every other person aboard the ship to not let him barrow theirs. Now it was almost three inches in length, and it seemed to sprout in every direction but down.

Briar looked up at her and cocked an eyebrow. Evvy blushed slightly as she realized that she was probably staring. Looking away, she continued to contemplate him. In the year since Briar had come back from Namorn with his sisters, he had definitely changed. He was happier, happier than she had ever seen him. Rosethorn had explained that to her when she brought it up; she had never realized just how much his sisters might make a difference in his mood. She had noticed that when they had finally gotten home from Gyongxe, he had been more irritable, and not because of the reoccurring nightmares. Rosethorn said he was happier now because he and his sisters had finally reestablished their connection with each other.

She had also changed since Briar had come home, but for different reasons. Her trip to the Battle Islands and Starnze had helped her make a decision in her life with a lesson that neither Briar nor Rosethorn had ever been able to teach her. When she and Rosethorn had come home, Evvy had put on novice white – something that had pleased Rosethorn and Lark.

Beside her, Briar closed his book, placing a small piece of paper in between the pages to mark his place. Looking around to see why he had stopped reading, she saw Niklaren Goldeye walk over to them from across the ship, purpose in his step.

Niko stopped in front of Briar and looked down at where he was sitting. "I've looked all over this ship and I can't find her." He glared at the air around himself.

Briar made a questioning noise. "As much as I love looking into people's minds to know what they're thinking, you're going to have to elaborate. Can't find who?"

"Tris. She is nowhere to be found. How can people just disappear on this cursed small ship?" Niko's voice was sharp, betraying his frustration. Briar grinned at the man.

"Check the crow's nest?"

"The cro—" Niko turned pale as Briar's grin widened, amusement in his eyes. Niko hated heights. They both looked up at the crow's nest, where sure enough, a bright beacon of braided red hair could be seen. Niko turned to Briar. "Could you, uh—"

"She's coming," Briar interrupted. Niko sighed in relief. Evvy rolled her eyes from where she sat watching the exchange. Niko should have known by now that Tris was almost always up there, or if she couldn't, she'd be somewhere on the mast. Tris went up there to avoid people, particularly the classmates that had come with her. They had not been happy to know that what they knew her by was a fake name; they had become cynical and almost cruel to the girl who had been a colleague for almost a year. Evvy sighed. It was not her business.

Trisana Chandler scowled as she cut off the conversation with her foster brother. She called to a sailor below her and then started to climb down from her perch in the crow's nest. As she lowered herself down the riggings, the sailor she had called took her place in the nest.

After a few minutes of a painstakingly slow climb down, she dropped the last few feet onto the deck, brushing imaginary dust off herself. She looked around a bit, and spotting the small group, approached the place where Niko and Briar were conversing quietly.

"—captain said we should be able to see land in a day or so, according to the last time they made the journey." Tris watched Briar nod, storing the information. Beside him, Evvy practically bounced in anticipation.

"Land? Finally! If we had to sail a week longer, I think I might have joined Breakstone!" Evvy made a face. Breakstone was fussy and she disliked it when anyone interrupted her when with her stones, particularly Evvy. Evvy was a bit too…energetic for the woman's tastes.

Briar glanced around Niko and nodded at her, causing Niko to turn. "Ah, Trisana, come. I must speak to you about…"

Briar closed his eyes as Niko's voice faded as he trailed Tris along after him. Land at last… It was a comforting thought.

The docks of Port Caynn bustled with activity and noise, making Sir Nealan of Queenscove shift irritably. With him stood a squad of the Kings Own, or more importantly, his cousin's squad. Outside the port town, two groups of the Queen's Riders waited for them and the delegation that they were to escort.

Neal had definitely been excited to meet and escort the arrivals from the new lands to Corus. Really, he had. He just hadn't expected to have to wait so long. Okay, so six days wasn't that long, but the lord currently residing over Port Caynn was obnoxious. And arrogant. And he hated obnoxious, arrogant people. And then it had started to rain. And he had had to stay inside with an obnoxious, arrogant lord for six long days while it rained and drizzled miserably outside.

So on this day, the first day it was relatively dry in this cursed wet city, he decided to saddle his horse, gather his men, and go on a nice ride to the docks. Except the sun had obviously come back with a vengeance, because now it was baking against the backs of their necks like an oven. You could hardly breathe for the steam that was rising from the ground and adding humidity to the air.

Neal put a finger to hold his eye, which was starting to develop a nervous tick. The noise level dropped and movement began to slow; two large ships, built in an unfamiliar shape, had just entered the harbor. Dom looked at him from the corner of his eye and smiled slightly. He knew what was going through Neal's head.

Neal itched to move forward, to get closer to the ships that were finally at the dock and getting ready to unboard, but held himself in check. Moving closer would not make this go any faster. Besides, he was starting to cheer up. They were finally here. New people to meet, new friends to make, there might even be a new book to read. He liked books. How could he stay in a bad mood?

"Lovely," a voice drawled behind her, "They've finally arrived. I can get back to my life." Daja turned, searching for the man who had spoken so clearly though the roaring buzz of the bustling docks. It certainly hadn't sounded like a sailor.

"Who'd have thought, that just an hour ago, you looked ready to jump out of your saddle, you were so excited to meet them…" This came from a man clearly holding rank, if he was not noble, judging by the way ten soldiers were surrounding him and another man. Bright blue eyes stood out in a handsome face, twinkling with amusement, and his lips twitched into the beginning of a smile as his companion glowered, obviously unable to come up with a suitable comeback.

"Let's just get this over with." The first speaker intoned to the second, to which he got only the reply, "As you wish, Sir Meathead." Daja heard Tris snort and Sandry stifle sudden giggles. She felt a bout of giggles threaten to erupt from her lips as well. Sir Meathead. She hoped that wasn't his real name – you could never be sure in foreign lands.

The two men came forward, allowing the others of their delegation to notice their little welcoming party. Laman, one of Sandry's numerous cousins, and Hawksong, a dedicate of the Fire Temple, stepped forward to meet them. It had been determined during the stay onboard ship that for political measures, those two would appear to lead the group. It was not long before they were all on their way up the sloping streets of the seaport, their destination a manor that, when it came into sight, appeared to be of middling size, rather humble for so rich a city. As they entered the complex, grooms hurried out to take care of the horses.

Sandry nudged her. "Come on, let's get out of this heat. Introductions shouldn't take too long, and then we can get to bed. I for one am looking forward to a real bed, even if it is only for one night."

Daja nodded and stifled a yawn. She always forgot how quickly exhaustion caught up with you after arriving at a destination. Briar walked by her, also yawning. "Come along," he said. "Let's see what Sir Meathead's real name is." From the red tinge on Evvy's face, she was obviously putting a great effort into not laughing. Daja didn't blame her.

She heard Briar engage in conversation with Sir Meathead, though she heard little of the man's reply. Sir Nealan of Queenscove. That's who he was. And his handsome companion was Domitan. Everything else faded in the haze of exhaustion that settled in her mind. It was good that they'd finally arrived, but she wanted a bed.

…good that they'd finally arrived…

So there's chapter 2. Not that great, but I had a bad case of writer's block.

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