I wouldn’t have thought I’d like being on a flying sword, but it was preferable to the litter. I’d definitely gained a new appreciation for the view from up here, the wind playing around my face and the feeling of freedom high up in the air.
It may have had something to do with the people gathered below us. I’d rather not face this sort of farewell on the ground, any more than I had to.
“You’ve gotten better, Inaris,” Tenira commented. She pulled up beside me, her own flying sword tilted at an angle and yet moving in a perfectly straight line, probably so she could speak to me easier.
“Not as good as you,” I sighed. “But I’ll take what I can get.”
We fell silent, and I continued watching the soldiers below me. The task force assembled, part of it on spirit beasts, the rest on foot. They walked in orderly lines, but I assumed they’d pick up speed once they were farther away from the town. Lei hadn’t shown his face, probably engrossed in some project, and none of the others had shown interest in coming along.
“To be honest, I thought the commanders would put up a bit more of a fight about me going along,” I admitted. “I mean, I know why I want to see the current front and how the fight is going, and I know this task force is big enough to protect me, but it still feels a bit like running off.”
It was supposed to be only a short trip through secure territory, but still.
Tenira smiled wryly. “I suppose you scared them with your demonstration before the battle.”
It took me a moment to realize what she was talking about. “You mean cutting myself?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Maybe you don’t realize the significance of it. Drawing royal blood is, as you would say, a big deal. People have been hanged for less. I know you did it yourself, but a few of them are probably nervous that the Empress is going to blame them for how you had to go far enough to actually spill your blood.”
I winced. “It’s really that bad?”
“I once had to stop the Guard from punishing someone who tripped me on accident so I scraped my knee. And I’m not the crown princess.”
I looked at Tenira. I’d never really considered how it must have been like for her, growing up.
“One of those ideological things, I guess,” I muttered. Now that I think of it, even Teacher Ling Ta never went that hard on me in training. I got a few bruises, but nothing like that. He must have known Mother wouldn’t punish him, but I guess he wanted to be sure.
“Anyway, what’s up with General Wei and Lord Zun?” I asked to change the subject. “Do they have a grudge or something?”
“I don’t think so. Many of the nobles don’t like the Wei. Probably because they wanted those lands, even if they pretend it’s because they’re traitors.” She frowned. “Well, I suppose the General has been loyal.”
“Wait,” I said. Then I realized what she meant. The Wei were one of the leading clans in the civil war, the one who took in the wannabe new empress. I’d known that, just hadn’t made the connection. “How are they even still around?”
Tenira shrugged. “The current clan was just a side branch with a different name. They did a lot to prove their loyalty. After the current patriarch distinguished himself fighting the last major raid, the old Empress let them take up the name and gave them back some of the Wei’s former holdings.”
I sighed. I didn’t like politics, and this just told me how many nuances I was missing. At least I knew now.
By now, the task force had moved far enough away from the town that they were starting to speed up. I increased my flying sword’s speed as well, leaning forward against the acceleration. At least I didn’t seem to be in any danger of falling off.
“Plus, Wei is a talented cultivator,” Tenira continued, frowning thoughtfully, as if she was thinking all of this through herself just now. “His family claims that they’re descended from a powerful spirit. I don’t know if that’s true, people say his great-grandmother took a fancy to spirit beasts. In any case, I think he has some bloodline or constitution that helps him fight.”
I scratched my temple, considering that. Not many people had these, but it was hardly uncommon either. The more powerful spirit beasts could take humanoid forms that could interbreed with humans, which was the most common cause of special ‘constitutions’. Usually, they increased someone’s affinity for one type of qi or even certain arts, but might come with a downside.
We fell silent again, and this time it lasted. I watched the countryside passing by slowly, the town vanishing into the distance. To the right of our path, the Green Forest stretched. Despite the name, it was a pretty dark place. As I watched, the trees bent as if under a wave, which could only be a wave of qi. When it came to qi-rich pieces of wilderness in the Empire, the forest didn’t rank very highly, but it was dangerous enough that there were no permanent settlements within. A few kilometers of wild meadows separated it from the rest of the countryside, before fields started again. The village closest to it, the only one I could see clearly from here, had a high palisade encircling it. But now, it lay still and silent, its inhabitants evacuated to the town of Rampart.
After half an hour of flying above the soldiers and thinking, I took stock of my qi reserves. I wasn’t close to drained yet. Recently, I’d taken a bit of time for cultivating and had progressed further, increasing my core’s capacity. I could fly for hours without worrying about running dry. But that would not be prudent, so I’d probably have to get down soon.
The further we got from the town, the closer Aston and the other guards drew to me. They did it gradually, so I only noticed it as we neared the forest. By now, they were starting to obstruct my view. But I didn’t protest. It wasn’t like I could see much, anyway. The thick foliage of the trees’ crowns hid what might be going on underneath, and I could sense the forest’s qi blanketing the area. Our route was planned to take us parallel to it with a few kilometers’ distance, and I could see why.
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It should only take a few hours to reach our first goal, an outpost. I’d probably have to stay there while the task force went after a group of nomads in the vicinity.
I’d just feel better if I could check on things in person. Besides, the local commanders might do well to have me looking over their shoulder for a bit. And while we’d gotten reports, I had read enough to know how different things could look on the ground. Especially if the culture was used to glorifying war. Plus, it couldn’t hurt to be seen doing more than just sitting on my posterior behind walls.
A prickle in my qi senses made me look up. The guards were drawing closer to me, and the soldiers on the ground slowed down. As I watched, two soldiers on flying swords returned to the main group from the direction opposite of the forest. They must be scouts.
This doesn’t bode well. I descended, Tenira beside me and Aston and a few other guards sticking close. Once I stepped onto the ground beside the group of officers responsible for this detachment, I didn’t have to wait long for the scouts to return. They quickly took a knee and bowed their heads to me.
“Rise, and report,” I said.
They did as ordered, while the officers asked questions. The scouts told us how on their approach, they’d seen a nomad flying beast dive into the forest southeast of here. Their group had come closer and spread out a bit. Two of them had caught glimpses of figures in the nomads’ typical clothing among the trees. They also reported a slight edge in their qi senses, probably the nomads’ attempt at hiding coupled with the aura of the forest. It might not be part of the Green Forest, but traces of that phenomenon lingered, and had concentrated to form something of an echo.
As I listened, I felt my forehead furrowing more and more, and I had to stop myself from gritting my teeth. This didn’t bode well at all. I knew it had to be a small group, but the nomads weren’t supposed to come here. It was pretty stupid of them. Too far from the rest of their forces, or at least too close to our main base. Although, maybe they’d just started a push and the situation had changed.
“What could they be doing here?” I asked.
The commander of the task force, a woman in the sixth stage, sighed. “To be honest, I’m unsure, Your Highness. It’s quite a risk for them to take. I suppose if they follow the forest’s line, they could advance further east. There is a town there, the only reasonable target.”
I scratched at my temple. “Green Town, right? Has it been evacuated already?”
Aston shook his head. “No, my lady. It was considered too close to our strongholds to be in much danger, and it’s too big to evacuate easily. Its garrison was reinforced, but it might not hold up to one of the nomads’ bigger raiding parties.”
I didn’t ask how he knew that. He must have checked the route we would take and gathered info on everything along our path to assess possible dangers.
“The question is, what do we do about it?” Tenira asked. “They could already be really close to the town, if what our scouts saw is only their rearguard. And it probably is, I doubt they’d go this far with only a few people. But we need to defend the town.”
I clenched my hands, then made myself unclench them again. I really didn’t like this, but she was right. “We’re the closest and the only ones who might be there in time if that’s the case,” I said, trying not to let my annoyance show.
“Your Highness, we can’t risk endangering you,” the commander said.
“Of course. I won’t go, but you should,” I replied, rubbing my temple again. “Loath as I am to split the party, needs must.”
“Then the bulk of the task force will move to the town quickly, while we’ll retain enough soldiers to assure your safety?” Aston asked.
Did he just suggest that to prevent me from sending all the soldiers off? I wondered, amused at the thought.
“Of course,” I said. “Commander, will you handle the allocation? I’m not as familiar with your units or troops.”
She bowed and started conferring with her subordinates. I listened in, but got lost once they started throwing around names and designations. All the while, the soldiers beneath us remained standing, keeping still and silent. I had to admire their discipline. The scouts kept back, in reach to be called back for details but not part of the discussion.
After a minute, I pulled Aston aside, asking him in a low voice, “Is this a good idea? I mean, do you think I will be safer away from the fighting, instead of being with all these soldiers?”
He stayed silent for a moment, frowning. Finally, he sighed. “I’m not sure, Your Highness. I dislike the idea of letting you get close to such a fight, even if there should be many of our soldiers with us. This might be a trap, and I’d rather we didn’t risk you being caught in it, and instead try to avoid engaging the enemy as much as we can.”
I nodded. “I know, and I won’t argue. You’re my guard captain, Aston. I trust you to make decisions about my safety.”
His frown eased at that, and I caught sight of a smile before he bowed his head. “Thank you, my lady.”
After that, it didn’t take long for the officers to settle on a distribution of forces. Soon, the main part of the task force set off. I watched as they marched away, vanishing into the countryside quickly. Hopefully, they’d be in time to foil whatever designs the Zarieni had against the town.
A number of soldiers stayed to augment my group of Imperial Guard, mostly people in the higher stages. They formed up around us.
“Let’s move on,” Aston suggested, “carefully.”
“Yes, let’s,” I agreed.
So we continued on our way. I let Aston set the pace. He seemed to have taken command of this group, not that I minded. A few scouts flew, but most of us moved on foot. I noticed that the scouts were hard to spot even though I’d watched them leave, probably using techniques for camouflage.
For the first fifteen minutes, nothing happened, and I started to relax again, letting my thoughts wander. But then another few qi signatures coming in captured my attention. The soldiers stopped, and I stepped closer to Aston before I realized what I was doing.
Another two scouts descended and knelt. This time, they didn’t wait to be asked before they began their report. “Nomads in the Green Forest, Your Highness! Two of their birds were spotted just above the trees. Two of our unit moved closer, and they reported catching sight of three nomad raiders hiding among the trees.”
I started to curse, then cut myself off. After taking a deep breath, I asked, “How many do you expect to be there?”
“There’s no way to know, my lady,” Aston answered. “But we should expect the worst. We need to get more distance between us and the forest.”
I ran a hand through my hair, nodding. We’d tried to avoid the nomads’ trap, but maybe we were just walking into another one.
“There’s a road connecting the forest with another town further south,” Aston suggested. “We would have come upon it in another minute. We could take that one south, then another road to our destination. It will be a small detour.”
After a moment of thought, I nodded. “Let’s go.”
We started moving again, this time more quickly.
“Virtuon, Lirta,” Aston called two of the guards. “You’re our rearguard. Kei, pick three of the soldiers and scout the road ahead.”
I listened to him organize our march, trying to let his calm presence steady me. But I couldn’t help glancing back. Was it my imagination, or were shapes rising from the forest?