The landscape passing below our airship was interesting enough that I wished we could’ve traveled on the ground. While it was nice to see from an airship, I would’ve liked to be a little closer, take a better look at things, maybe listen to some of the locals. Of course, even as cultivators or with spirit beast mounts that wouldn’t have been as fast as an airship, and we were in something of a hurry. No time to dawdle or play tourist.
I might have promised myself that we could go traveling on vacation later, but I wasn’t naive enough to think this war would be over soon.
The landscape had been rising steadily as we drew closer to our destination. There were several low mountain ranges leading up to the big one that took up a chunk of the continent. The Terbekteri territories covered some of them and parts of those mountains. It was a good position, with natural defenses to the northwest, and a little removed from the current hotbed of activity. You’d need to travel through a qi anomaly to get to their provinces quickly from the Dominion’s position. I could make out the shadow of it a little farther away, though our course didn’t intersect with it. Instead, we flew over hilly fields that had made way to forested hills and mountains, with a few rivers winding down into the flatter land. There were a lot of villages and towns, and as we crossed the border into Terbekteri territory, I found a few cities, as well.
“You’ve been quiet,” Tenira commented.
At first, I thought she was talking to me. But as I looked up, I realized she was looking at Kajare, who stood leaning on the railing with his back, looking into the clouds rather than down on the landscape.
He shrugged. “I suppose I don’t have much to say.”
“Does anyone, really?” Lei grinned. He was working on some project on the deck, close enough to be part of the conversation. I couldn’t make out what it was from here, but it had to be small, probably a few wires. He liked playing with electricity.
“I feel like we’ve been spending too much time on airships,” I mused, not quite on topic.
Lei looked up and raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that better than on battlefields, in your opinion?”
“Okay, you’ve got me there. Kajare, will we be there soon?”
“I haven’t been here before,” my husband answered, finally turning to look. “But that does look like the city of Aviadoru. There’s a combination fortress and estate on the mountain beside it, where we should find our hosts.”
I nodded. Then I leaned forward to get a better look. We were approaching the city quickly, but it didn’t look much different from any other I’d seen on this world. Terbekteri architecture tended to be a bit more straight-edged, less sloping roofs or the like, but it didn’t really stand out to me.
We approached it quickly, then our airship banked to the sides, flying over the outskirts of the city to the steep slope of the mountain rising beside it. The fortress was easy to spot with its massive stone walls, covering almost the entire slope with several layers of fortifications. The airship slowed down as it passed over them, and I noticed several pieces of artillery on the walls moving to track it. There was a rock garden in the center beside a sprawling estate, and several open courtyards. The airship flew a circle before setting down in one.
I had to suppress a frown. We’d basically invited ourselves. There was no polite way for them to say no to this visit. But there clearly didn’t seem to be much enthusiasm for it here, so far.
We met a greeting party when we stepped out of the airship, and a group of soldiers in polished, ceremonial-looking armor flanked the path, so at least they weren’t unprepared. I didn’t recognize any of the welcoming party, and they didn’t seem very strong, so I wasn’t surprised when they led us into the building quickly.
The inside was decorated with elaborate mosaics, and had several open fires, from lamps and torches to a fireplace in the hearth at the end of a hall. The chair at the head of the table was just a bit of ostentatiousness shy of a throne. The man in it waited until we were almost across the room until he rose, a petty gesture that made me suppress my annoyance.
I recognized him from briefing materials, of course, and kept back to let Kajare handle this. He could deal with his older brother better than me.
“Little brother!” the older prince exclaimed, opening his arms as if for a hug, though he didn’t actually move in to embrace Kajare.
“Hajake.” Kajare smiled and bowed his head slightly. “It is good to see you again. This is my wife, Imperial Princess Inaris, and her cousins, Leri Tenira and Leri Akilei.”
I smiled as well. “I am very pleased to make your acquaintance, Prince Hajake.”
“Please, no need for formality. Aren’t we among family?” He smiled, showing white teeth, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Hajake looked older than Kajare, like he was in his thirties, and he was a little shorter, his face a bit softer. His skin had a lighter tone that made me wonder if they were full or half-siblings. Clearly, he lacked not just his brother’s coloration, but also his charm. His forced lightness just set me on edge.
But I tried not to show that, and nodded. “Of course, brother-in-law.”
“There are a few more of the family around, and I’m sure they’ll be happy to meet you,” he continued, still smiling. “Why don’t you take some time to rest and refresh yourselves first, though? You must be tired. We’ve had rooms prepared. Make yourselves at home.” He snapped his fingers and a few servants came out of the woodwork, waiting to lead us there.
I hesitated. “Thank you for the offer, but we really aren’t that tired. Perhaps we could keep you some company instead?”
“Oh dear.” He sighed, and from the way he glanced at Kajare, I knew the slight look of regret on his face was a lie. “Unfortunately, I have urgent matters occupying my attention. State business, you understand.”
“Of course.” I narrowed my eyes a little, but I knew I couldn’t complain.
“I do hope you will enjoy our hospitality, and that your visit will be pleasant.” This time, I could definitely detect a mocking undertone, aimed at Kajare.
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I hid a sigh as we turned to follow the servants to the rooms they’d set up. The interior of the estate was sparsely decorated, but the artwork on the walls looked great, and the building seemed almost empty. We quickly reached the suites they’d prepared for us, well-appointed rooms without much character.
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m going to take a bath,” Lei said. “The rest of you can worry about the political stuff.”
I rolled my eyes and glanced at the other two. Well, I suppose there’s nothing to do but wait, really. “Kajare, we’re going to have to wait for a while, don’t we?”
He nodded, looking a bit down. “Yes. Hajake has never seemed to like me, I’m afraid. I’d hoped there was someone else in charge here.”
“Well, we can’t change that. I guess I’ll take a bath as well.”
I did, though not before sending away all the servants. I could barely tolerate them in our own palace, I certainly wouldn’t trust any from a foreign country in a position where I was vulnerable. At least they had a nice bath sunk into the floor in the bathroom of the suite they’d given me and Kajare, and I took a while to relax. Once I finished, it still didn’t look like anything had changed, so I occupied my time with reading and making some concept work of new techniques and enchantments.
Finally, after hours of waiting, I shut my book. “Kajare, I hate to ask, but do you think you could go look for Hajake or somewhere we could make some progress? We can’t afford to get stopped before we even start talking about our plan.”
Kajare pulled a face, but nodded. “Of course, my lady. I’ll see if I can’t get something done.”
With that, he left, and I turned back to my work. I couldn’t focus on it, so I pulled out one of my old self’s novels, instead. It felt like ages since I’d last had the chance to read. But it couldn’t capture my attention fully, either.
After almost an hour, I took out a communication talisman and fed some qi into it to call Kajare.
“Sorry, Inaris,” his voice came through the device. “Hajake isn’t being very accommodating. He claims to be busy still. I broached the topic of a combined offensive to take advantage of the current situation, but he shut me down. At least some of the higher-ranking officers seemed receptive.”
“Alright. Not your fault, thanks for trying.” I put the communication device away, sighing.
Idly, I wished that Yarani was here. But I’d left her with the Velisha since I thought it wouldn’t be very politic to bring her along. After a moment of consideration, I decided to leave Tenira and Lei doing what they were doing, as well. Best not to appear too guarded. So I stood up and walked to the door alone.
“Aston, can you accompany me on a little walk?” I asked. “Maybe one or two other guards, your choice.”
He nodded and exchanged a few gestures with the other guards waiting outside in the corridor. A moment later, Lirta stepped up beside him, then another guard came from a side corridor. I nodded to them and set off.
After we left the corridor, I slowed down again, since I didn’t have any idea of where to go. I didn’t know the layout of the place, or where I might find someone I should talk to, if there was anyone.
I focused on my qi senses, trying to get a feel for the estate. It was pretty big, and while I could sense some presences, none struck me as particularly remarkable, and I couldn’t get much beside a rough idea of their strength.
Luckily, there were some solutions. I looked at Aston. “I’m hoping we might meet people we can strike up a conversation with and touch on the advantages of our proposed strategy, not to mention the possible threat expressed by the Dominion’s staging points. There should be more persons from the Terbekteri higher-ups here, especially other royals. Do you have any inclination of where we might go?”
Aston tilted his head, a small smile playing around his lips. “My intuition tells me we might have a pleasant walk down to the winter garden, Your Highness. The next corridor left and then straight up ahead.”
I nodded, trying not to smirk at his ‘intuition’, and started following his directions. Nice of Mior to help.
We walked through a few more corridors, hung with paintings and lit by soft yellowish glowstones, before we descended a marble staircase that led down into what looked like a vestibule around an open-concept space filled with various plants and gravel walkways.
There was a woman just coming out of the winter garden, obviously the one I came here to meet. She wore an intricately embroidered dress glittering with pearls. I recognized her from a picture, as well, as one of Kajare’s sisters. I hurried down the staircase to meet her, with Aston and my other guards behind me. She paused when she saw us coming. I knew she was in her thirties, though she looked not much older than me, and she was also in the fourth stage.
When I came to a stop in front of her, thinking of the appropriate greeting, she looked at me for a moment longer, her eyes surprisingly piercing, and I felt her qi senses sweep over me, before she lowered her gaze. Then she knelt and fell forward until she lay prostrate in front of me. I took half a step back as she did so.
She murmured something in their language that I didn’t quite get, though it felt like a prepared phrase, and I caught the name ‘Rijoko’. Then she switched to Imperial Common, “This one is blessed to encounter the Luminous Princess, daughter of the Moon.”
I answered, after a moment, “I greet you, Princess Salira.”
She remained in her position for a second longer, then pushed herself upward until she was kneeling.
I smiled slightly, stepped forward and laid my hand on her forehead. “I bless you in the name of the Moon, Salira of house Terki. May he shine on your path and guide you to truth.” Then I cleared my throat. “Please rise, and let us speak.”
As I took a step back again, she stood up and smoothed out her dress, smiling. I sighed mentally and tried to assess her. So, she must be a devoted follower of Rijoko. Interesting.
“I am glad I didn’t have to wait until my brother got tired of playing games to meet you, Imperial Princess,” she said. “Would you accompany me into the garden?”
“Of course,” I agreed and started following her. There didn’t seem to be any guards with her, but then, she was safe in one of her house’s estates. I motioned to my own guards to keep back and give us some privacy, or at least the appearance of it.
“I’ve noticed your brother Hajake doesn’t seem overly fond of us visiting, if I may be so blunt,” I said.
She rolled her eyes a little. “Hajake never liked Kajare. Perhaps there’s some jealousy, who knows. He was not enthusiastic about your marriage or the alliance, and he’s been hesitant to consider becoming more involved in the war.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
“For what it’s worth, my lady, my own opinion is that there’s no point sitting this out, if it’s even possible for Terbekteri,” Salira said. “Of course, I can’t do much with him here, even if many of the generals would agree with me. I had to persuade Father to even be allowed to come.”
I frowned thoughtfully, looking at her. I knew the Kingdom of Terbekteri was somewhat patriarchal. To be fair, many places or situations in the Empire were a bit sexist as well, even if two centuries of having a female ruler had ameliorated it. By now, among the nobles, only the conservative clans really treated their daughters differently. Of any of us, the Zarian Dominion was probably the most egalitarian, even if they had some minor issues in that regard as well.
But I shook my head and pulled myself from these musings. There was no use speculating about Salira’s attitude or experience.
Instead, I started talking about the state of the war and explained the Dominion’s hidden maneuver, and how we wanted to take advantage of it with their help.
Salira frowned, shaking her head. “That’s serious. If this is true, it certainly seems like we’re a possible target of attack, and it would be good to strike first and remove that threat. Ah, not that I’m doubting your information, Your Highness.” She bowed her head.
“Of course, I wouldn’t take offense,” I assured her. Then I fell silent for a moment, looking at the exotic plants we were walking past and breathing in their distinctive smells. “Do you think it would convince the generals to openly support you and take action?”
The princess looked thoughtful, but started to smile. “I’m sure we can make it work.”