~The Darkness Within~

-Chapter 02: War!-

An alarm horn sounded somewhere over distance, soon joined by many other similar noises. The tower guards had finally spotted the incoming fleet.

Five…

Four…

Three… Shen counted in his mind.

Two…

One..!

"FIRE!" The peacock cried on top of his voice.

Tens of simultaneous 'BOOMs' that followed were almost deafening. The fires from the mouths of the iron animals lighted the night for a brief moment.

Metal creaked and wooden, stone and metal shrapnel exploded in every direction as the cannonballs brought down the huge gates that were about to block the river. The guards closest to the now ex-gate cried as the wall beneath them collapsed in the river.

Chaos broke out in the Lin city soon after. The defenders tried to set up a defense, but the unexpected loss of the river-gates seemed to confuse them greatly. Some boar archers were manning the walls, but Shen's wolf counterparts shot them down almost immediately.

The citizens were waking up to the noise and as they realized what was going on, they begun to flee their houses, clogging the streets.

The fleet advanced inside the city walls. Shen waved his wing to Liu Hua as a sign to proceed with the plan. There was a brief clicking sound from turning cannons, and then light defied darkness momentarily again. And again. And again.

The buildings closest to the river collapsed, exploded, or burst in flames; some even did the all three. Debris blocked roads and some unfortunate animals got crushed under them. The frantic orders of the boar officers were now joined with panicking civilians screaming. Though, most of that cacophony was drowned under the sound of thundering cannons.

Phase one of the attack was going like planned. The fleet had breached into the city with little resistance. Causing havoc among the civilians was making it considerably harder for the defenders to get their lines organized.

However, Shen knew it wouldn't remain this easy for long, unless they'd do something about it. Preventing the boars to dig in the city would make the conflict considerably shorter.

But Shen wasn't worried; they were prepared to do just that. From his mark Bao Nu took several smaller vessels and steered towards the western shore. The Lin City was built around the river, but not equally; the western side was much larger. Basically all that lied in the eastern side were nobles' residences. That was where Shen was going himself.

This was the plan: Bao Nu would make a beaching with the main army to the western side, and they'd proceed towards the garrison. Wolf archers would take positions at the civilian buildings and with that fire support the foot soldiers would slaughter the recently woken up boars.

Liu Hua would stay at the river, and use the cannons to prevent the enemy from circling behind the main force, and to take down any buildings occupied by enemy archers.

Shen, however, didn't care for that kind of casual fighting himself. He was landing to the eastern side with the thirty wolves aboard his flagship, and together they'd assault Lord Ce Yin's quarters. Ce Yin was the ruler of Lin, and he was also the same species as Shen: a blue Indian peafowl (although Shen was anything but normally colored).

As the ship got closer to the river bank, Shen found his talons itching to close around Ce Yin's neck. He had never directly met him, but he had been in contact with the blue peacock enough to want him dead. During his exile, Shen had been in many places. He had set up his base of operations at the root of Himalayas, and from there he had gathered all that he needed for his return to Gongmen. Ce Yin had not only refused to trade with him, but also denied him and his wolves the access to the Lin province, causing all sorts of troubles for Shen and the pack. Now was payback time.

Shen leaped off the deck and glided to the shore. There were no living boars at sight, only few corpses that had arrows sticking out, and one that had been crushed under a partially collapsed house that was made of stone.

A white peacock was a little too visible target at night, and thus Shen was wearing dark, rough robes over his usual gray silk attire. That wasn't enough to cover everything, though, so Shen took cover of the nearest building that was still standing without the danger of a sudden collapse.

Shen observed his surroundings while waiting for his wolves getting to the shore too. The sounds of the battle echoed from the other side of the river, and the cannons aboard his fleet kept pounding the burning city. Bright flames reached towards the sky and made the city glow in eerie orange, dancing light.

It was beautiful.

The main forces of both sides were at the Western side of the Lin City, and Shen didn't expect to meet more than platoon or two of boars here. But that was fine; the real fights wouldn't begin until the next province…

Tens of grey-furred wolves came running from the ship towards cover. When they reached the building at which Shen was waiting, one of them reported to him:

"Ready for your orders, sir!"

"Listen carefully, captain", Shen said, eyes narrowing in concentration. "From that ruined bridge", he pointed forward along the river bank, towards a large bridge made of stone. It had been blasted into pieces by the fleet. "…Continues the main street uphill to the mansion of Lord Ce Yin."

Shen paused, thinking the best course of action. "He might be old, but he is a warrior at heart. I can't imagine him sitting at his home while the city is under siege. He probably gathers his guards and tries to rally them to the other side of the river."

"We'll advance some distance towards the mansion and then set up an ambush. Put one scout at lead. Archers at sides, scanning the roofs for enemy ambush. Understood?"

The wolf captain nodded. "Yes, sir." He quickly briefed his lord's orders to the other soldiers, and then they moved on.

Like ordered, one scout took the lead, advancing about fifty meters ahead the main group. Shen was in the middle of the group with archers at his sides and shield-wielding warriors surrounding him, ready to protect him from ranged attacks.

Soon the scout reached the main street, and gestured the others to stop. They hid into the shadows of the nearest building, waiting for an all clear –sign from the scout.

The wolf in question glanced to the street around the corner, and then quickly crossed it, hiding himself behind a corner as soon as he reached the other side. He looked along the street again, this time more carefully. Then he signaled a series of hand gestures to the main group.

"Several civilians fleeing from their homes towards the Eastern gates. No military threats at sight", the captain translated to Shen, unnecessarily. Shen had learned the code ages ago during his exile.

"Good enough. Advance", the peacock commanded.

The captain gestured the scout to move forward, and with that the group was on the move again. The scout disappeared behind the corner as he continued to advance along the main street of Lin City. Just as the main group was about to reach the street too, one of the wolves at back yelled:

"Enemy incoming from behind!"

Sure enough, a group of about ten boars were charging towards Shen's party. They had apparently been looking for a way to get across the river and then spotted the invaders.

All the boars were wearing heavy chain armor and helmet that covered most of their face. They were all wielding rather big, double-bladed battleaxes. Now that they saw they had been noticed, they released furious battle cries and stormed forward.

They were a little too close for comfort.

Shen's archers had been each holding an arrow at ready, and now they quickly turned around and fired. Twelve arrows were released towards the boars, and consequently two of the swine dropped. The rest were too close for another volley now, though, and the canines drew their swords and clashed against the boars.

Shen merely watched with amused smile as his troops defeated their enemies one by one. Soon there were no boars standing. Only one wolf was injured; he was lying at ground and holding his leg, from which blood was seeping out.

"We need medic here!" One of the non-injured wolves yelled, and immediately a wolf with lighter armor than the others crouched next to the bleeding one.

"Looks bad", the medic said to the captain after a brief examination. "He won't be able to come with us."

"Hmh, what should we do, sir?" The captain turned to Shen.

Shen thought it for a second. "The medic may stay with him, we'll do without. Now, back to positions!"

Quickly the wolves reordered their ranks and then they were on move again. The medic dragged the injured wolf in the nearest building and so they disappeared from the view.

Now the group reached the main street, and they looked along the road to spot the scout. Sure enough, he was now at least a hundred meters ahead them, having taken a position behind a large sign that was advertising the shop that it was placed in front of. There were some civilians visible even further uphill, soon disappearing from sight.

As the scout saw that the rest were on his tail again, he left his spot and advanced further. Shen's group followed him along the sides of the street, seeking partial protection from the buildings lining the street.

Suddenly the scout gestured for them to scatter and then dashed into the nearest building.

"Archers, take positions at roofs, rest follow me!" Shen commanded hastily and entered the nearest building, which revealed to be a clothing shop of some kind. Shen made his way to the second floor and then to the roof, with the wolf soldiers tailing him.

Shen took a look at what the scout had seen. He saw a large group of boars running down the street, and along then, something else.

"Captain", Shen called.

Immediately the wolf appeared to his side.

"Take your troops down to the alley and wait for my mark."

The canine nodded and hurried to fulfill the order. There was no time for formalities on the battlefield.

There were six wolf archers on Shen's side of the street, and six on the opposite. They spread out on the adjacent roofs so they were now manning six roofs in total, with two archers on each.

Although it was dark, it was now clear that there was a tall bird along the platoon of boars. Shen tensed up in anticipation. The enemy was getting closer, and Shen lifted his right wing up so all the archers could see it.

When the first boars were at Shen's level, he brought his wing down. Simultaneously a dozen arrows were launched, followed by screams of pain from the hit animals. The boars tried to seek cover from the nearest buildings, but now Shen's foot soldiers rushed out from the alley they had been hiding in, and pushed the boars back in the open.

The boars were badly disoriented by the sudden ambush, and their ranks didn't hold for long. The wolf soldiers separated them into small groups and then finished them off. And all the time the archers were raining down the pain on them.

As the enemy numbers were getting smaller quickly, the canines were about to challenge the blue peacock lord among the boars. It was time for action. Shen leaped down from the roof with a cry, and landed gracefully between Ce Yin and two wolf soldiers that were charging towards him. Shen fanned his train immediately and raised his head high.

Ce Yin took a step back and eyed his opponent with a stern look. Now Shen noticed that the lord was accompanied by a falcon of some kind, but it was hard to tell which due to the darkness.

"You", the elder peacock stated. His form stiffened.

"Kuai, you must alert Shan", Ce Yin spoke from the side of his beak. "Now!"

In a blink of an eye the hawk took off.

Almost as quickly a silvery knife found its way into Shen's wing, and from there, after the bird of prey. There was no sound following the throw, and nothing came down. Neither the knife nor the hawk.

Shen grunted. He must have hit it, but apparently not well enough.

"So you're the criminal who sought to trespass my lands," Lord Ce Yin stated, turning Shen's attention back to himself.

"And you are the high and mighty lord who took it his business to make my life considerably harder", Shen shot back.

All the boars had been killed for good by now, and the wolves were either gathering around the peafowl or tending to their wounds.

The blue peacock glared at Shen. "I did what was right. Now I see that I should've used more time to convince Lord Shan to do the same. I never understood what he saw in you."

"Oh yes, the snake… perhaps he didn't want to condemn an entire pack of wolves to die in starvation like you did?" Shen questioned, accusingly.

"Are you saying that I am a murderer?" The peacock's train flared threateningly.

"Yes," Shen chuckled, "and I'm also saying that you're pathetic."

"You're going to regret that!" Ce Yin yelled, drew his elegant thin-bladed sword and charged towards the white peacock.

Shen didn't bother to draw his weapon, he simply dodged the first strike, grabbed Ce Yin's wing and used his momentum to throw him on the ground. Before he got a chance to get up, Shen jumped on him with talons first and tail fanned out.

Ce Yin's sword got knocked somewhere as he tried futilely to prevent Shen from reaching his neck. It wasn't too hard for the white bird to overpower the old peacock. Shen got a firm grip of Yin's neck, and he squeezed a little to end his resistance.

"See? I don't know about you, but I'd call that as pathetic", Shen laughed.

"No. You are a mere thug, doing nothing but stealing and killing. You have dishonored your title and your parents' name. And that, my friend, is pathetic."

Shen's eyes narrowed as he pulled Ce Yin's face closer to his.

"You don't seem to understand. My parents wronged me, and now they're dead." Shen paused and tightened his grip, making the old peacock gag for air. "You wronged me too… and now I shall claim your life."

Ce Yin's face was getting even deeper shade of blue from the lack of air. Shen looked thoughtful as Yin tried desperately to breathe. "Such a beautiful night to die", he stated and squished with a crushing force. He felt a snap and the figure beneath him went limp.

"You should be happy", Shen whispered to the body and turned to walk away.

It was dawn already, and Kuai only now saw the fortress on top of the mountain-like cliff at the horizon. He was usually faster, but now this was the best he could do. The knife that the white peacock had thrown was stabbed into his side just below the left wing. Kuai was using all his willpower to not to give up to the pain and fall into darkness.

His lord trusted in him, and there were too important things at stake to care about some pain. He could rest in grave. And to be realistic, that was where he would most certainly end really soon.

Another wave of pain surged through his body, and he had to close his eyes to remain focused.

You can do it. You can do it. Youcandoit! Just one more wing beat, one message to deliver. Then you can rest quite literally forever, Kuai tried to maintain his mental focus.

He opened his eyes and begun to descend slowly as the castle a top of the cliff grew larger. The place was called as Soulless Mountains as nothing really grew there, but the official name was Chao Du She. Viper's Nest.

Chao Du She was undoubtedly the leading state in the Alliance of Seven Provinces. It wasn't the largest by land or population, nor was it the richest. But it held most authority.

That was mostly due to what Lord Shan had achieved. An ex-general and master tactician of the Imperial Army, Lord Shan had beaten an invading Mongol army five times larger than the Chinese army was, many years ago. After retiring from military career, he had been elected to rule Chao Du She. When the Alliance was formed, there had been no debate about which province would take the lead.

Now Lord Shan would have to save them all.

Kuai located a suitable balcony to land at, and begun to flap his wings to slow down. Only problem was that his left wing refused to function correctly. He cursed in his tired mind, and did his best to slow down by using just one wing.

It didn't work well, and the landing was quite rough. Before Kuai was able to recover, two viper guards rushed at him, pointing him with sword-like appendages attached to their tails.

"Who are you?" The first guard questioned.

"State your business", the second guard demanded.

Kuai struggled to get back on his feet, and when he did that his vision became dotted with black dots. There was a puddle of blood under him. Oh crap, Kuai thought. His mind was getting drowsy, and the knife stung like hell. But removing it would only make him die so much faster, not to say he had much time left anyways.

"Please, I'm messenger from Lin…" Kuai took several quick breaths. "I must meet Lord Shan." He pressed the wound with his right wing, wincing in pain. He tried blinking his eyes several times, but the dots clogging his vision didn't disappear.

"I don't have much time… please…"

The guards didn't hesitate. They opened the door and led Kuai inside to a magnificently decorated room.

"Follow me", the other guard instructed.

Kuai took a few steps after the snake, but then he fell. He shook his head a few times and tried to get up, only to realize he didn't have any strength left. The other guard seemed to understand this too.

"Go get Lord Shan. Hurry!" He told the other guard.

The snake slithered quickly into the hallway and disappeared from sight. It happened that everything else was also disappearing from Kuai's sight. His vision was drained of color and the black dots were growing larger. Darkness awaited him.

Kuai closed his eyes and focused in breathing. The viper that was left in the room tried to find out if he could help somehow, but Kuai didn't respond. He just had to stay awake for one more breath. And after that, one more. Again, one more breath. Only one more, still. Not that hard, now is it, Kuai? One more...

Finally noise filled the room, and Kuai recognized a voice calling his name. "My lord", he responded in a weak voice, without opening his eyes.

"Speak", the voice said, not commanding or demanding in any way.

"I bring message… from Lord Ce Yin." One more breath. "Lin… has fallen. You must… save us… from the white devil." Pause. "He has weapons… unlike anything else… I've seen."

No more. It was done.

Lord Shan stared at the cooling body, his expression hardening slowly. The room was now bustling with servants and guards, all of them pretty confused and not knowing what they should do. They just looked at the king cobra, not wanting to disturb his thoughts.

Finally the viper guard that had stayed in the room with the hawk opened his mouth. "Excuse me, my lord, but may I ask what shall we do?"

The cobra's pupils came back to focus, and he tasted the air with his serpent tongue. It took a few more moments before Lord Shan responded. Even then, the only thing that betrayed his overwrought state of mind were excess usage of 's' in his speech.

"Alert my generalsss and tell them to mobilissse the army. Also, find my swiftessst messengerssh and tell them to call in the fellow rulersss of the Alliance. We are going to war."

A/N: Seems like I can maintain this pace and chapter lenght. :) Though I'll try be a little faster with the updates, I know I can do it.

Anyways, a remarkable character is introduced here: the king cobra, Lord Shan. His name differs from Shen with only one letter I know... but I wanted his name to mean flash or lightning, and the word for that happened to be Shan.

Also, I'm almost 100% sure that the next chapter will feature the moment I've been waiting to write: when Shen meets Hui.

One last thing: statistically, this story fares worse than any of my other stories, even though I've put more work on this than any of the others. Is it that people in the KFP fandom are not interested in stories not containing pairings or what? I'm honestly confused. Anyways, thanks for those who already revieved, and I'd wish to get just a little more of them. Thanks. ;)

TF out.