“You’re growing up way too quickly,” I commented.

Elia, Lei and Yarani, who were talking further down, glanced at us, but ignored me. Since I’d spoken in English, they couldn’t understand me, anyway. Al, on the other hand, just grinned up at me and straightened up further.

“I’d say I’m not growing nearly quickly enough.”

His voice had started to break, I noticed. The kid I’d first met coming back from my soul journey really wasn’t that child anymore, even in appearance. He’d had a growth spurt recently, and his face had hollowed out a little. Well, he was fourteen biologically, and probably about nineteen going by his memories. The cheeky grin and the sparkle in his blue eyes had changed remarkably little, though.

Al got back to the katas he’d been doing, and I bit down on the urge to tell him the deck of an airship wasn’t the best place for it. He wasn’t a novice anymore, and actually controlled his movements tightly in response to the cramped room. He moved with fluid grace, his weapons whirling around him and switching seamlessly. Displaying more talent than I’d ever shown for fighting, if I was honest.

By the time the airship slowed down and started losing altitude, he was covered in sweat, but still moving smoothly.

I threw a towel at him. “Get yourself cleaned up. I’ll conjure some water to dunk you in if needed. Can’t have you make me look bad.”

“Screw you,” he retorted, but rubbed his face with the towel. “I’ll go get washed up in the cabin.”

“And watch your language,” I threw after him. “I can freeze that water, too.”

Al disappeared into the airship’s cabin and I turned around, joining the others as we descended above the town. It had been a sleepy provincial settlement, at least before the war. Now, newly made fortifications and buildings of smooth stone raised by earth cultivators sprawled along one side of it, only leaving gaps for air fields. Our airship set down on the largest one, which was positioned in a central location.

When we disembarked, Al rushing out of the cabin in new robes just in time, the bustle of the military base around us continued. But I barely noticed it, since I was focused on one man waiting by its side. When I jumped down from the railing, he hurried forward, a smile on his face.

“Inaris,” Kajare called. “It’s been too long.”

I grinned and caught him in a hug. “Not as long as last time, but yes, it certainly has. Good to see you again.”

I let him go so he could greet the others and looked around. A few officers were waiting for us, but no one I knew. Focusing on my senses, I recognized both Kariva and Kiyanu, along with some vaguely familiar presences, in two of the nearby buildings. It didn’t surprise me that we were led to the latter first. Elia peeled off on the way there and Lei vanished once we entered the building, but I wouldn’t have expected anything else.

Kiyanu was in a meeting with several of the generals, but when we entered, he dismissed them and greeted me with a smile. I nodded at the retreating officers and returned the regent’s greeting. He wore a slightly more elaborate robe today, in blue with white highlights, but he’d let his beard grow out a little.

“It’s good to see you again,” he said, sweeping his gaze over the others. “All of you.”

The rest of them bowed, but I simply nodded. I was never quite sure how much respect I was supposed to show or expect from him, especially in formal situations, which this luckily wasn’t. “Likewise,” I replied. “It seems like things are going well here.”

“No major problems have shown up yet,” he said with a wry twist of his lips.

We spent the next few minutes generally catching up on everyone’s situation. I’d read reports on the campaign, so little of what he said was actually news to me, but I paid attention to what he chose to talk about.

After a bit, Al cleared his throat. “I was going to catch some of the guard officers who arranged a training exercise, if that’s alright?”

After a glance at Kiyanu, I nodded. “Sure.”

“I’ll come along, if you don’t mind,” Kajare said. “That should be interesting.”

“Me too,” Yarani spoke up.

I watched them go, then turned back to Kiyanu, who shook his head. “At least they showed up,” he said. “I don’t envy your position, dealing with three partners, to be honest.”

I shrugged, glancing at Tenira for a moment. “It’s not that hard, they’re all really great and understanding.”

He nodded. “I was hoping Lady Elia would be here, though, if we’re to discuss the events in Adzur.”

I took note of him using that respectful title. Maybe because, as an eighth-stager, he thought long-term, and expected spirit-children to grow powerful in time.

“She’s not the type for meetings,” I said. “Too much sitting still and taking in information.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Like young Akilei? He seems quite disinterested in such things, too.”

“Not really, Lei’s just indifferent,” I shrugged. “If I wasn’t the Imperial Princess, I’d probably act much the same, just focusing on the lab. Alas.”

Actually, with the way Elia seemed to have trouble paying attention to anything for long and was always wanting to move around, I suspected she had ADHD. Although she also had a perfect memory, which clearly helped her deal with it. Anyway, anyone underestimating her intellect or acumen because of that would be in for a rude surprise. Lei just couldn’t be bothered, most of the time.

Kiyanu smiled crookedly. “Lucky for all of us you don’t.” He walked over to one of the chairs, gesturing us to the others. I took the one next to his.

Standing beside Kiyanu for a moment, I was a little surprised to realize that I was actually slightly taller than him. I’d never thought of Kiyanu as short. He had too much presence. Of course, he was one of the few Imperials in the late part of the eighth stage. In a way, ruling the Empire had actually gotten easier with him front and center instead of Mother, at least when it came to dealing with the rest of them.

“Everything is ready for us to finally dislodge the Zarian from Blue Valley City militarily, but we should discuss the internal situation,” he said.

I nodded. “I had a point concerning that, actually.” I handed him a folder, smiling briefly at Tenira as I did. She’d come through and collected enough information to help me turn this into a workable proposal.

“This is about the temples, as you mentioned?” Kiyanu leafed through the sheets of paper. “We’ll need to discuss it with several other people to work out what’s feasible, but in principle, I’m inclined to go along with it.”

I leaned back into my chair. “Then you wanted to talk about other issues?”

He nodded, putting down the papers. “Before we get into the details of this campaign, we need to sort out the aftermath of the Ten Lords’ Strife.”

I raised an eyebrow quizzically.

“That’s what they’ve taken to calling our brief civil war,” Tenira explained. “The Strife of Ten Lords and Two Kings, or alternatively, Ten Lords’ Strife. Doesn’t seem to matter that the numbers don’t match up if you lump the ‘kings’ with the ‘lords’, but no one agrees on who the ten total are, anyway.”

I rolled my eyes. “And the kings are Wei and Zun, I suppose?” I glanced at Kiyanu. Or one of them and him, but wouldn’t that be three kings? “Well, they have been fighting each other at the end here. It’s truly finished, then.”

“Yes. The fighting concluded weeks ago,” he confirmed. “Zun Chao is in our hands. The Wei rooted out the last of the Zun and other traitor clans’ fighters, losing a good chunk of their strength in the process. But even after everything, they’re still one of the strongest clans in the Empire’s center.”

“They’re like the proverbial cockroaches, always coming back strong,” I sighed. They’d lost a lot of territory after the last civil war and still been one of the pillars of this one, too.

Tenira snorted. “Considering your relationship, maybe you want to amend that metaphor?”

“Yes, I don’t think there are fire-using cockroaches even in this world.” I grinned at her.

“Just please don’t have a child with one of them,” Kiyanu said, a slight smirk on his face. “But in all seriousness, we need to decide what to do with both them and the other clans involved in the rebellion.”

“I take it executing Wei Yong and Wei Jun is off the table now?” I asked, with a bit of relief.

“Yes,” Kiyanu said. “That would not be a good idea. Not after they fought hard for us, not considering your blood relation.”

“Wei Min did send us regular reports on the internal happenings in the Wei and has done a good job of keeping the clan together, pointed at the Zun and cooperating,” Tenira said.

“His cultivation is still relatively weak, but he is the best candidate for taking over the clan,” Kiyanu said.

I smiled. “Alright. I’ll make some time to give him a few tips and hopefully help him break through to the next stage. We can confirm him in his role officially at the end of this campaign, unless you want to do it sooner?”

He shook his head. “That’s for the best. I would like to hold Zun Chao’s execution before that, though. Do you want to preside over his trial?”

I considered it for a moment, then shook my head. “No. You can do it, but do give him a proper and fair trial.” We all knew he’d be found guilty of high treason, his actions were clear, and I would have been very surprised if Kiyanu wanted to let him live. I wasn’t about to object, but I still wanted proper justice.

Kiyanu nodded. “We’ve drafted plans for what territory we should take from the Wei and other clans as sanctions. We’ll need to confirm that and how it will be distributed.”

He slid a few sheets of paper to me, maps and listings. I frowned and read through them. It looked like some of the clans, including Zun, would be pretty much destroyed and their properties parceled up, while others were heavily sanctioned but left alive. They’d lose territory, wealth and valuable items.

“Their lands will go to local settlements and to clans that fought steadfastly for us,” Tenira said. “The biggest chunk to clan Aiki. I’d also suggest lands for new universities.”

The Aiki were essentially a branch clan of the Leri and had lost a number of their members fighting the coup, so that made sense. I saw her suggestion marked on the papers and nodded.

“Definitely,” I said. “Besides that, I would reserve some lands for common-born soldiers who prove themselves in the war against the Zarian. They could be allowed to found new clans, or at least be given these properties.”

Kiyanu smiled. “A good thought. We should certainly work that into our plans.”

The way he looked, he might have had the same thought himself. “I’ll let you and Gen handle those,” I said. “I don’t know enough to decide the details.”

“Of course. The only other point of interest is clan Tener.”

I ran a hand through my hair, glancing at the paper again, before I turned in my chair. “Aston?”

He opened the door and stepped in. “My lady?” His eyes flickered to Kiyanu briefly.

“Are you sure you don’t want to take over your clan?”

He shook his head. “No, my lady. My niece is more than competent, and a much better pick than me.”

I shrugged. “Alright, if you’re sure.”

He stepped out of the room again, and I caught Tenira hiding a smile. “They won’t let him get off that easily.”

“So long as they pay their taxes and provide fighters, they can handle their own matters, I don’t care,” Kiyanu said. “If you want to reward your guard, you could approve a marriage with a good prospect from one of the strong loyalist families like Aiki, or even your own clan. That would give him status but bind him less tightly to his clan.”

I blinked, then shook my head. “If one of my great aunts or cousins wants that, I wouldn’t mind, but let’s not jump into the ocean without checking the tide.” That was a saying from the clan, as far as I knew. I found it funny because I never needed to check the tide.

“We have a proverb like that where I’m from,” Kiyanu mentioned, his tone a little wistful.

“The Empire’s province in the Forest Continent?” I asked.

He nodded and shrugged. “It wasn’t when I was born — I suppose I’m actually from outside the Empire — but my home was incorporated when I was a teenager and I’d already been living in the largest Imperial city for a decade, by then.” He shook his head. “It was a long time ago, anyway.”

“The Forest Continent has barely been touched by the fighting, hasn’t it?” Tenira asked.

“That’s right,” Kiyanu said. “Although I doubt it will stay that way for long. Especially if our current campaign is a success. The introduction of our new auxiliaries will shift the war, anyway, and I hesitate to try to predict all of the changes it will bring.”

“Many of them won’t be visible until later,” I agreed. “But that’s life. Progress marches on.”

And even on Aran, war and society had already changed long before I came along. A bit like in the middle ages on Earth, actually. It used to be carried by noble families, who could afford the training and resources to raise knights. Cultivation aids instead of heavy cavalry, here, but the same principle. But those had faded in favor of more professional armies, because of social and technological changes. We were only continuing the trend.

“We’re about ready to begin the siege of Blue Valley City, anyway,” Kiyanu said. “I’ll continue to accompany our forces personally.”

“And you’re telling me this because you’ll keep an eye on me and stop me from doing something stupid and rushing into danger,” I sighed.

Kiyanu smiled serenely.

“We’ll have more than enough technology to keep her happy,” Tenira told him, smirking at me.

I rolled my eyes. At least she was right.