7 - Chapter 5
The journey to the capital was reasonably quick and without interruption. Sa Bina spent the time thinking through her interaction with the elder and whether she had given too much away. Yes she could have been more circumspect, but did she want to be?
This was her chance at a new life and the last one had been boring. She wanted to take more chances, be more outrageous and carefree, not to the point of stupidity of course, but to really have fun. She had, by chance or design, been given money, status and a measure of protection. Of course, she didn't want to be reliant on others, but she had the building blocks to build a more enjoyable future.
She was actually surprised that the sect had paid up in the end. She has expected them to change the deal, or the payment terms at the last moment. Who would give that much money to a child? Actually she didn't actually know how much money it was to a cultivator? Was there a massive difference in the 2 economies? There was still a lot for her to learn. The school was perfect for that. It gave her a few years of handholding to get used to this new world. Then she could start to travel. She would not make any concrete plans for now, just go with the flow.
As Sa Bina was lost in thought, she saw a massive city in the distance and they were actual massive gates. The whole city was surrounded by massive walls and fortifications. It was like an ancient fort come to life, only supersized.
Sa Bina stared in awe and saw that the walls were wide enough for at least 10 men to march down side by side. Why would they need such massive walls? She decided to simply ask Sun Li.
“Why do they need such massive walls and fortifications? I didn't see anything similar in the villages we came through.” asked Sa Bina.
“Well, there are occasionally beast tides that will attack all settlements.” replied Sun Li, “During the tides, the people will leave the villages and shelter in the main cities. The beasts only attack humans, so if the villages are empty they tend to be ignored for the most part.”
“How often do these attacks happen?” asked Sa Bina, now very concerned.
“About every 5 years on average, sometimes more, sometimes less.” replied Sun Li, the last one was 2 years ago, so another 2 to 3 years before the next one.”
“Is everyone required to fight during the beast waves?” queried Sa Bina, “How dangerous does it get?”
“Most people get involved to help out however they can,” said Sun Li. “The Sects and Guilds fight as well as the Imperial army. People may become temporary members for the beast waves of any of those three organisations. They can earn merit against the beast waves that can be used to exchange for coin, spirit stones or even rare cultivation resources.”
“You have mentioned the Imperial army many times, even Han Ji is an Imperial officer, but called the high nobles royals and this is a kingdom.” asked Sa Bina. “Why the difference, is it just terminology?”
“That goes back to a myth, we don't know how much truth there is behind the story. You have to understand there are realm 9s still living, that have lived for over 500,000 years at this point.” said Sun Li. “Even they say that this was a myth when they were young. The current status has not changed in all that time. Anyway, the myth goes, that the beast waves used to be every 10 years back then, and were even more powerful than they are now. The beast waves destroyed entire kingdoms when they rampaged. The loss of life was horrendous.”
“Don’t get me wrong, we still lose a lot of people due to the beast waves now, but the myths speak of entire kingdoms being wiped out.” continued Sun Li. “In such times, a man came to prominence. He was said to be ‘a native child yet not’ whatever that is supposed to mean. He was said to have a devine grade spirit root. That's where those legends come from. He became so powerful that even the kingdoms were forced to bend the knee to him. He changed the structure, the borders of the kingdoms were set, and warring between the kingdoms, even in times of peace, was forbidden.”
“The kingdoms had free reign to set their laws and govern as they saw fit, but the armies of all the kingdoms were tuned into an imperial army. The army's task was to be ready to fight the beast waves, and prepare fortifications and deal with bandits and other outlaws in times of peace. The Imperial army was above the kingdoms, even though the royals were in command of local forces, apparently, he also did something that changed the frequency of the beast tides, by making them more frequent, they became less dangerous” said Sun Li. “A fanciful tale for children, in my opinion. Can you imagine the royals bowing to an emperor? Or changing the way the whole world works? The armies are called the Imperial Army, probably due to some long forgotten tradition. Each kingdom maintains its own regiments of the Imperial Army, drawn from the locals.”
“Are there border wars between the kingdoms?” asked Sa Bina.
“Well, not really wars. I think some mad king tried about 200,000 or so years ago, due to him destroying his troops in conquest, the surrounding kingdoms almost fell to the beast tide.” said Sun Li. “After that a bunch of royal families went in and wiped out the bloodline. No other royal has tried it since.”
Sa Bina, was fascinated by the tale, was there a kernel of truth behind that story? Or was it just a made up children's tale of something fantastical. In a world that had literal super powers and immortals, how fantastical would a story have to get to be only fictional.
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As they chatted the carriage pulled up to a guard house next to the massive gates. The guard had a quick word with Han Ji, and they were through the gate.
On the other side of the gate a wide road led deeper into the city, on one side was a massive barracks.
The group came to a stop just outside the entrance to the barracks. Han Ji came up to the carriage.
“This is where we leave you my lady, Cultivator Sun Li.” said Han Ji. “Maybe we may run into each other in the future. Be well. By your leave?”
Both Sun Li and Sa Bina gave their thanks to Han Ji and the soldiers.
After a moment of thought, Sa Bina withdrew a pouch containing 50 gold and handed it Han Ji.
“As a gesture of thanks for everything.” said Sa Bina. “Please treat the soldiers equally.”
Han Ji, expecting a pouch of silver, was shocked when he saw it was actually a pouch of gold. “This…this is too generous my lady.” stuttered Han Ji.
“I believe good service should be rewarded,” said Sa Bina. “If you choose to leave the Imperial Army, seek me out.”
With that, they made their goodbyes and the carriage set off towards the city proper.
“So to a bank first?” asked Sun Li,”or do you want to get refreshed first.”
“Let’s just get the bank account done.” said Sa Bina, “I would rather not be carrying so much with me. Why take the risk.”
Sun Li instituted the carriage driver of their destination. It wasn't long before they were pulling up in front of a magnificent bank.
“This is the imperial bank,” said Sun Li, “Generally only Sects, Guilds and kingdoms bank here, but with your status it should be ok. You did ask for the most reliable bank we could introduce you to.”
The two departed the carriage and approached the grand doors. The guard, after appraising both, opened the door for them.
They entered a massive atrium, tiled in marble. The simple elegance reminded Sa Bina of the old banks, where wealth was literally on display.
An attendant rushed up to them and enquired about their purpose for the visit. Sun Li, just stated that she needed to see the manager.
They were asked to wait in a comfortable area. Both ladies took the opportunity to refresh themselves. Once they returned to the seating area, they were served tea and delicacies while they waited.
About half a bell later, the same attendant approached them and led them to a well appointed and comfortable conference room. A well dressed middle aged man stood and bowed to the two ladies.
“I am Manager Jang Ko. How may I serve the Green Mountain Sect today?” he queried.
“I am Sun Li, a core disciple of the Green Mountain Sect.” replied Sun Li. “My only purpose is to introduce my companion and vouch for her on behalf of the Sect. May I introduce Sa Bina”
Sun Li showed Jang Ko her sect token. He examined it, then handed it back.
“I acknowledge the introduction and accept the assurance of the Sect Core Disciple.” replied Jang Ko. “Do you have any identification, Sa Bina?”
Sa Bina took out her iron token and handed it to Jang Ko. He looked at the iron token, clearly expecting a standard sect identification token, but as he examined the detail, his eyes went wide. He immediately dropped into a deep bow.
“My most sincere apologies, my lady. I didn't realise that I was in the presence of a royal.” said Jang Ko. “How may this humble manager serve?”
“Rise Jang Ko, there is nothing to forgive.” said Sa Bina, already tired of all this bowing. It really grated on her western sensibilities. “I would like to open an account and make a deposit.”
Jang Ko rose up to look at the young royal. “May I know the name of your royal family, my lady?” he said returning the token back to Sa Bina.
“That is complicated. I was attacked and struck in the head.” said Sa Bina, “I am afraid I have no memory from before the attack. If not for Sun Li and her Sect, I would not even know that I was a royal.”
Now Jang Ko understood the issue. Had she been from a known royal family, Sun Li would not have needed to escort or vouch for her. This really was complicated.
“Are you able to fulfil my request Jang Ko?” asked Sa Bina.
“Technically yes, my lady.” replied Jang Ko. “There are processes for registering accounts in the name of a new royal family, though they have not been invoked in a long time. Give me some time to look at what is required. Also may I ask, are you looking for a personal or a kingdom account? I would assume personal? We offer a normal account, where you place the deposit with us, and you can write promissory notes against the account or make withdrawals from any branch. Or we offer a secure storage account. That would be held at this branch. We would not know what was stored, nor would you be able to write promissory notes against it.”
Sa Bina thought through the options on offer. She didn't need a kingdom account, or was that basically a business account? Did she need a storage locker?
“I am not sure that I need a kingdom account, however I do intend to open businesses in the interim. Would business accounts be separate? Also are there charges for your services?” asked Sa Bina.
“If you are intending to operate a range of businesses, then I would recommend the kingdom account.” replied Jang Ko. “As you have no doubt been made aware, we are not a traditional private bank. The business accounts we offer are under the umbrella of a kingdom account. In terms of fees, apart from the storage account that we charge for based on size, our accounts do not have fees or charges for having an account. There are penalties for going over your balance by writing more promissory notes, and there is a fee if a minimum balance is not maintained. For a kingdom account the minimum balance is the equivalent of a tier 4 spirit stone. Balances below that incur a fee of a tier 1 spirit stone per week.”
“Then I think the kingdom account will be the best way forward.” replied Sa Bina. “I will think of a suitable name while you look into the processes.”
Jang Ko bowed and stepped out.
“What do you think, Sun Li?” asked Sa Bina. “I am thinking of the name ‘United Kingdom’ and I can use the name UK Trading for the businesses.”