I’d been in the jungle too long. That must be why, getting out of it now, it took me a moment to get my bearings. I blinked, my eyes adjusting themselves to the differing light levels.

Not that I was entirely done with the jungle yet. For that matter, I’d spent some time in the other ecosystems of the Yellow Graves, though they all had a tendency to seem cluttered. The desert that technically covered more of the Graves’ land area especially. It was a rocky desert instead of sandy, although ‘craggy, rocky, treacherous maze’ would be a better description, as far as I was concerned. You had rocks climbing into the horizon at one spot and deep chasms winding into arcane squiggles ten meters further away. It held so little water even cultivators tended to prefer the jungle to live in, though that might also have something to do with the nasty scorpions, snakes, dust storms, qi drains, stone spirits, and assorted monsters.

We’d done pretty well, all things considered, and I felt a momentary stir of pride as I thought about it. Over the past month or so, we’d established control of most areas of the Yellow Graves, and even started sending Zarieni north. And I even managed to avoid getting bitten by anything bigger than an insect — okay, a giant insect, but still — or getting lost, or getting in a fight with a spirit.

“I can’t decide which is worse,” Yarani beside me said, clearly thinking along the same lines. “The jungle or the desert.”

“The jungle,” Lei replied with conviction. “I hate having my lines of sight cluttered like that, and all the life around just makes it hard to sense anything. At least in the desert, you know if you sense something dangerous.”

“You mean if you sense any lifeform at all?”

He grinned and shrugged. “Hey, if the rule works, it works. Besides, some places in the desert were really interesting. Are you sure we can’t go back, Inaris? We haven’t spent nearly enough time there to get a good opportunity to look around.”

“I’m sure,” I replied firmly. “Besides, if you want to get yourself killed traipsing around the Yellow Graves’ desert, do it after the war is over, I still have a use for you.”

“Ooh, that was a good one!” Elia smirked. “Not that the Graves aren’t interesting, but I prefer places with fewer things trying to kill me.”

“Then you’re probably out of luck,” I said, smiling a little. “After all, we’re going to be getting into the Zarian’s real estate soon, and they’ll probably want you dead, too.” I glanced at my guards. “But don’t worry. Aston, you’ll protect us, won’t you?”

“Of course, my lady,” he assured me, then smirked slightly. “It’s my solemn duty to protect you, however hopeless the task may seem.”

The others laughed, and I scowled playfully at him. “A few assassination attempts and you’re this distraught? For shame, Aston. Where does one get bodyguards with a spine around here?”

“On the throne, one assumes, my lady,” he replied serenely.

We all laughed again, and I allowed myself to enjoy the warmth and companionship, before I turned my mind back to serious matters. Unfortunately, there was no lack of them to keep me occupied.

“Exactly where are we going, anyway?” Lei asked.

I sighed and refrained from rolling my eyes. “Do you ever pay attention at briefings? Wait, don’t answer that, it was a rhetorical question. We’re going to a major army camp just north of here. There, we’re going to find both Al and a company of Lighters, who are about to be taken through the jungle.”

“Hopefully,” Yarani said. “I can’t help but feel a bit like we’re just sending them to gauge throughput, and probably losses.”

“Hey, it’s not like that,” I protested. “Sure, the trip will be dangerous, but it’s always going to be, and we can’t afford to completely forgo a land route through the Graves. Besides, they’ll have a big enough escort to make sure it’s safe. You don’t think I’d let Al waltz into somewhere very dangerous, do you?”

“Of course not, I didn’t mean it like that.” Yarani smiled apologetically.

Before we could continue the conversation, we came upon our destination. The camp was a little more sprawling and less fortified than I would have expected before our recent push, but the area should be safe enough now. Besides, with the way we were putting up training camps for Lighters, I could understand it. The Imperial army wasn’t really used to such a manpower-intensive state of affairs, but it was adjusting.

We were escorted through the camp quickly. My gaze lingered on the central buildings while I couldn’t help but think wistfully of proper bathing facilities. Conjuring my own water and having self-cleaning clothes were all well and good, and absolutely great for a campaign like this, but I’d found an all new appreciation for my quarters in the Imperial Palace.

We met Al in the front yard of the main complex, easy to find with his escort of Imperial guards. He was kicking his legs on a low fence whose precise purpose eluded me, but jumped up with a grin as soon as he saw us.

“Finally, Big Sister!” he exclaimed as I pulled him into a hug. “If you were in the jungle any longer, they might think you’d decided to emigrate to the Zarieni! So, can I finally go in?”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Maybe if you’ve behaved yourself and eaten all your vegetables. We’ll see.” I wanted him there only if it was safe, and in truth I hadn’t quite decided, yet.

Al didn’t look happy at my answer, but he had the sense not to push. Instead, he exchanged hugs with the others. Meanwhile, I looked at his guard detail, noting their positions and expressions. From the way their captain gazed into the distance, I could tell Aston had already engaged him in a mental conversation. I’d get the details from him later. I hadn’t been entirely joking with Al, I did want to know whether he’d behaved himself and how he’d acted in general, and it would be a factor in any decision.

Man, look at me, trying to act like I’m a responsible legal guardian and everything. I snorted to myself. Not that I’m likely to fool anyone, and this job is a lot more difficult than I would have liked, too. Pity I can’t quit it.

At least Little An had Kei Yating. If I had my way, she’d spend the entire war safely ensconced well away from the front. Even if that meant I’d only get to see her very rarely. I would have liked to do the same with Al, but I knew he wouldn’t thank me for it in the long run. Besides, as much as I might not like to think about it, he was my heir. If anything happened to me, like Jideia or Isuro, better if he knew what was what. Sure, things would probably get royally screwed up all around, but there was at least a chance Kariva and Kiyanu could keep the whole thing running, so …

A discreet elbow in the side from Yarani brought my attention back to the conversation.

“Where’s Tenira, anyway?” Al was asking.

“Further up north,” I said. “She’s been overseeing our technical projects, and she’s taking care of something for me there.”

Elia cocked her head. “What thing? I don’t think you ever explained.”

I shook my head. “Let’s get inside, and we can talk.”

We trooped into the building to the left, which looked a little less busy, and Al showed us to what looked a bit like a communal office. I sank into a comfortable chair with a suppressed sigh and gathered a few of the papers I found.

“As you know, we’ve had the help of the Terbekteri fleet the last few months,” I explained while I did. “They’ve been good at keeping the Zarian off our backs, but their value is limited so far.”

“I know,” Al said. He frowned a little. “I’ve heard their ships are better than ours, but I don’t quite get why they don’t send more soldiers instead. Or airships.”

I looked up and frowned thoughtfully. I’d just been thinking about this, so I supposed this was a good opportunity to teach him something.

“They have a different focus than us, owing to their geographical and political situation.”

“Why?”

I glanced at Kajare, who was starting to answer Al. “Terbekteri is based on the Water Continent, and we have a long naval tradition. In contrast, the Empire’s navy is nothing to write home about. But I suppose we also never got as good at airships, maybe because the water gave us convenient routes of transportation already.”

“Trying to conquer Terbekteri by sea is the local equivalent of invading Russia in winter,” I added. “Actually, I guess the Empire is probably the one power with a realistic chance of conquering it if it wanted to. Maybe that’s part of the reason we always had friendly relations.”

Al seemed to be listening intently, with a slight frown on his face. “If their defenses are that good, why get involved with us or the Zarian at all?”

“Terbekteri has colonies that are a lot more vulnerable to conquest,” Kajare answered. “And there are economic considerations. Namely, trade with the Empire. Besides, it’s not just about what they stand to lose, but what they stand to gain, too.” He shrugged. “But in the end, they aren’t as involved in the war as the Empire is, obviously.”

Elia sighed and plopped herself down on one of the tables. “This is all well and good, but what do Terbekteri ships have to do with what we were talking about?”

I shook my head and ran a hand through my hair. “We’re planning to use them to raid along the Zarian coast,” I explained. “But there’s an obvious issue, since there’s actually two coasts, southeast and southwest of the Yellow Graves. We’d have to split the fleet and they couldn’t support each other, at least not easily.”

Lei looked up now. “This is why you wanted to find a path through the Yellow Graves, right? Definitely an interesting challenge.”

I nodded at him. “That would be nice, and we’re going to send surveyors in. But it would be a dangerous route, even if we found a navigable passage. So we’re also looking up north in the Empire. It would be great if we had a way for the Terbekteri fleet, or Imperial ships for that matter, to cross the Sky Continent in the south.”

“Isn’t there something like that already?” Yarani asked.

“Not quite, but probably close. We could definitely use the Blue River from the Blue Lake to the eastern ocean. We could get there from Ru Shu Canal, though we’d probably have to broaden one of its tributaries.” I unfolded a map on the table. “It’s not quite enough from the west, though. We might have to build a new canal.”

Yarani was frowning. “You have to be really careful. Playing with waterways like that could lead to droughts or floods in the region.”

I nodded. “Definitely. Which is probably the main advantage of the last plans Tenira sent me. I was actually going north partly because of that.”

I took the plans from my storage ring and spread them on the table. Lei leaned forward, eagerly scanning them. Yarani had to lean around him to get a look, though I noted with some amusement that Elia didn’t need to, although she only seemed to skim the papers.

“Basically, the idea is to build what might as well be a railroad track,” I explained. “I guess there’s no reason we can’t use those more intensively in the Empire, anyway. It’s not a long distance and mostly downhill, so we don’t even need particularly strong engines for this one.”

“What’re those?” Yarani asked, eyes on the plans. “Looks like little more than sleighs that you want to put the ships onto.”

“Yeah.” I grimaced a little. “I’m not too happy about how much it would rely on qi, but Tenira pointed out, quite rightly, that those ships will be crewed by cultivators, who are more than capable of lifting them. At least for the short while it would need.”

Yarani snorted. “Technically, she’s right about that, but I wouldn’t want to be on the crew trying to lift a ship out of water. Though I guess the Terbekteri will have a lot of water cultivators on board. Most merchant vessels won’t have that strong a crew, though.”

I nodded and raised my hands, palms out. I agreed with her, but this still bore consideration.

“You could build another mechanism for lifting them,” Lei suggested, still reading the papers with apparently avid interest. “Basically, just a scoop that’ll get them up from the water. You wouldn’t even need anything more complicated than a cable pulley.”

“And if we build the tracks close enough to the waterfront, we could probably just transfer them,” I said thoughtfully, then smiled. “Very good point. Thanks, Lei.”

I shook my head to myself. The idea was more than a little ridiculous, really. But with how quickly cultivators built things, there was no reason not to pursue this. We could afford to try it.

Elia stood up and stretched. “Well, if you’re going to go into technical detail, I think I’m out of here.”

I shook my head and scooped up the papers, making sure to leave Lei the one he was currently scrutinizing. “No, I’m tired, too. I can pick Lei’s brain about this after we get a bath and a hot meal.”

“And a real bed,” Yarani added. Her longing look switched to me after a moment and was complimented by a twinkle. I caught the look she shot me and swallowed a grin. It would be nice to have a proper bed again, even if I’d slept enough in the jungle, in order to coordinate with other people.

As a group, we ambled out of the room. Even the ever-present guards looked like they could hardly wait for the comforts to come. I was just walking down the corridor when something tickled the edge of my awareness. It took me a moment to realize something must have tripped my spiritual senses. I looked around, and stopped as I noticed Elia’s expression. She’d slowed down, and the others were pulling ahead.

“Something up?” I asked.

She frowned. “Apparently. I just got a message from Piallara.”

I raised an eyebrow. So was it the Sun I’d sensed? “Really? What did your grandmother say?”

“Well, she didn’t exactly give me many details. It was no more than a feeling and a few words.”

I nodded. I knew exactly what she meant.

“Anyway, I’m going south. It seems there’s … something she wants me there for, or something she thinks I should see, at any rate.” Elia frowned a little. “Maybe someone? I didn’t get the impression there was any danger, at least.”

“Alright.” I glanced at the others. Lei and Yarani were waiting for us a bit further down the hall. “Give me some time to settle a few things, and I’ll be ready to go with you. Just how urgent is this?”

Elia hesitated. “You want to come with me? What about those ship train track things?”

I waved dismissively. “Tenira can handle that. I’m not letting you wander this close to the Zarian on your own, and I’m not really needed up here. Besides, this is bound to be interesting.”

Elia nodded slowly and smiled. “Alright.”