Najeem blinked himself awake in response to the cold shock of water drenching him. He sat in an iron chair, bound to it by chains.

His head pounded with pain, and his vision was slightly blurry. But he could see clearly enough to make out the giant man that sat in front of him. He had pale skin, long black hair, a thick beard and beady eyes.

He was dressed in decorated Nikan armor and wore a small ‘crown’ in the shape of a hairpiece atop his head. He was a prince.

“What’s your name, Qahtanad?” the man growled.

“What?” Najeem groaned, unable to hear very well.

“I asked for your name, mud-fleshed shit ba-” the man raised his fist.

“Brother.” a female voice from somewhere else in the room said, “It’s rude to demand someone’s name without first giving your own. And he’s probably too dazed to answer. Hitting him would only make it worse.”

“Well then, how are we supposed to interrogate him?”

“Um...maybe we can use some of Sister Ruogang’s elixirs.”

“But those are supposed to be for the troops.”

“Father won’t care if a few soldiers die. He will care if we don’t bring him the whereabouts of more masters when we have the opportunity to do so.”

The giant sighed, “Fine.”

A soft hand tilted Najeem’s head up as a bitter syrup-like liquid was poured into his mouth. He tried to spit it up, but to no avail.

After a coughing fit, Najeem’s vision cleared up. He’d have felt much better if he wasn’t a captive.

The woman in what he now realized was a tent was shorter than him by a head or two and had big, brown eyes like a doe’s. She wore brigandine armor, but in a very impractical fashion that showed off her legs. She had this look in her eyes that made her seem like a child trapped in a woman’s body.

“Hi!” the girl said in accented Qahtanad.

“What the...where the hell am I? Who are you?”

“I am Gongsun Huan, fifth imperial prince. My enemies call me the Bull Demon King.” the giant man growled.

“I’m Gongsun Fen, sixth imperial princess.” the princess smiled at him, “I don’t know what my enemies call me.”

“Your title is the Quicksilver Hare, sister.” Huan muttered.

“Oh, yeah!” She gasped. “What’s your name?”

“Er...Zaheer al-Jalil.” Najeem said, artificially injecting reluctance into his voice. They clearly didn’t know he was an Asasiyun. Interrogating one was basically the equivalent of giving up half your military secrets.

“We’re going to need your help, Zaheer.” Huan said, poorly restraining his impatience, “You were a part of an attack on our war camp last night. You also did one the night before, torching our mangonels. We know you did this with an Elder Shedim and that there are more of you. Care to tell me who they are and how their abilities work?”

“You won’t get word out of me.” Najeem growled.

“Will you do it for a chest of Imperial Marks?” Fen pointed to her brother as the Bull Demon King opened a box full of gold coins.

Najeem narrowed his eyes as though he was considering, “What do you even want with us?”

“You mean aside from stopping you from aiding separatists?” Huan asked.

“The Nikan have been after me since my trip to Jambudvipa!” Najeem exclaimed.

Huan glanced at his sister before looking back at Najeem. He was concocting a lie. “My father is supremely interested in your abilities. Others, like you, naturally pose a threat to our sovereignty. But we simply want you to be comfortable. My father pays a stipend to many other Shedim Masters to simply stay out of wars. Your involvement complicates everything.”

Not everything there was a falsehood, but Huan was trying to lure him into a false sense of security. Najeem wondered if he should act like he took the bait or reveal himself to be competent.

No. If he pretended to be clueless, they would think less about putting effort into their lies. He could make them slip up if he was careful.

“O-oh. Really?” Najeem feigned relief.

Fen nodded too enthusiastically, “Yup! These separatists are done for anyway. We just want to make an offer to you and your friends. So, if you could just give us their names, we can send a request for them with the messenger we’re sending today.”

Najeem nodded, “O-okay. Their names are Seang and Lokapele.”

They were the only two the currently living soldiers had seen.

“Good.” Huan nodded.

“Erm...why the chains, though?” Najeem couldn’t seem too stupid in case they suspected him. He should at least question their supposedly peaceful intentions.

“Oh, well…” Huan paused, “We don’t exactly know what you can do. We have to put up proper security measures. In case you turned out to be uncooperative. You understand, right?”

Najeem hesitantly nodded.

“So...you’ll give me this and the stipend for leaving the city?” Najeem asked, tilting his head towards the chest of gold. He didn’t intend on abandoning the White Tigers, but he did want to know whether they’d be guarding that money very well from him. They still had a ways to travel after all.

Huan nodded. “Once your friends come, you’ll be free to go. Just set up in another city and go see an officer for your stipend.”

“We have one more question. Our scribes are studying Shedemic powers.” Fen said, “I think they’d wanna know what exactly it is you can do.”

Najeem was about to tell them a lie he’d prepared, but realized that lanterns surrounded him. There was probably even a candle underneath his chair.

They...somehow already knew his ability. This was some kind of test to see if he was lying. How they acquired this information would be a useful thing to know.

“I, uh...I can sink into shadows and teleport through them. I can take up to twenty people with me.” Najeem said. There was no possible way anyone would know about the existence of the Shadow World without having been taken in with Najeem.

Having to walk carefully from one place to another was a weakness of his ability. If they overestimated him, he could use that to his advantage.

Of course, that was assuming several factors that were far from guaranteed. First and foremost, what would Seang and Lokapele do?

_________________________________________________________________

Seang had gone two nights in a row now without sleeping.

So instead of uselessly lying in a bed, haunted by her thoughts, she meditated to clear her mind. It was a good way for her to be pragmatic about things and not mire in her thoughts about the past or her worries about the future. All she needed to worry about was what she could do here and now.

As dawn cracked over the horizon. She felt a ripple of coldness over her body as her energy began to rejuvenate. Shedemic energy was how she powered herself after sleepless nights.

Najeem had been taken. But he was intelligent and crafty. He wouldn’t let any information slip through the cracks.

Shahla’s emotional state was a wreck. Seang appreciated the girl, but so long as she was like this, she’d be utterly useless.

Vai and Shakti hadn’t handled the news well either, but they could move past it. The issue with them was the fact that they were completely without Shedemic prowess.

Lokapele was the only reliable ally she had. But the Aotearoan was...ironically unreliable. Her mind insisted on constantly swapping between unpredictably rash and somberly melancholic. Unfortunately, that was all Seang had to work with.

It took several hours for her to organize all the information in her head and by the time she had situated herself, someone had come demanding her attention.

Seang cracked her eyes open as a pair of footsteps approached from behind her.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

“An emissary from the Nikan camp came. No soldiers. They asked for you to greet them.” Kameko said.

Seang took a deep breath and got to her feet, “Hm. that’s a strange request.”

“They might have a deal for you regarding Najeem.” Kameko said.

Seang thought Kameko somewhat of an enigma. Her soldiers respected her like a veteran, despite being somewhat naïve. But then again, anyone who thought they had a snowflake’s chance in hell of holding out in this city was naïve. Were it not for the promise of Koini reinforcements, all the reasonable people would’ve done the smart thing and fled the city. But not even those reinforcements were promised, since the emissary from Koinelia was thinking about turning tail and running for the hills.

Seang and Kameko took a lift to the city below in silence.

The ground level of Xinhou had looked like any ordinary city until recently. The Rebellion was certain of Koini reinforcements, and thus, didn’t bother worrying much about food stores. They hadn’t been completely moronic and not saved at least a little, but the Koinis were late. People were starting to panic.

Both the Nikan and Koinis had taken their sweet time, despite the siege being a race against the clock. But the Nikan were here. Koinelia wasn’t.

White Tiger soldiers surrounded a group of several well-dressed unarmed men. They parted and saluted to Kameko as she approached.

Jambudvipi was a rather close cousin to southern Nikan, so Seang could listen in on the conversation without an interpreter.

The foremost emissary, a middle-aged man with a wispy beard and dressed in green silk, scoffed, “It appears even stray dogs can be trained.”

“What is it you people want?” Kameko growled.

“First, we would like to extend an offer to the foreigners you harbor in your city, regarding their captured ally.” the emissary looked at Seang.

“What offer?” Seang asked.

“Are you the one called Seang?”

She nodded.

“Your ally Zaheer has been offered the ability to leave this city behind for a hefty sum of money, residence in one of our cities and a stipend from the Foreign Registry Department. If you and the Aotearoan woman with you would also like to accept this offer, it is open to you.”

Seang blinked. Only her and Lokapele?

The Nikan didn’t see anybody else.

Still, that meant a plan like that would separate them. If she refused, Najeem might be harmed. But if she accepted, there was also the possibility that the offer was just a trap.

“I won’t be accepting that offer.” Seang said.

The only reason they would have extended the offer is if they assumed Seang and her allies could tip the balance in a battle. Meaning they had a real chance at holding out until the Koinis arrived.

The emissary cleared his throat, “In that case, we shall discuss terms of surrender.”

Seang blinked. What?

The White Tiger soldiers looked at each other with a mix of nervous excitement and suspicion.

“I-I see.” Kameko stammered, “Well, I believe our terms are rather simple. Leave our city in peace and allow us to act as an autonomous city-state.”

The emissary’s face became stressed, “The Empire will not leave your doorstep until your city rejoins the empire.”

“But...that would mean we would be surrendering.” Kameko said.

“Yes. That is what we’re here to discuss.”

“You’re here to talk about our surrender?” Kameko exclaimed. Her hand shot to a thin sword at her belt, threatening to draw it.

“We will accept your surrender on the one condition that you rejoin the Empire and accept the stationing of a Nikan garrison in your city. That is all.” the emissary said as though his words were of no import.

“You won’t get any sort of surrender out of us.” Kameko growled.

“Well, you’d best consider this gracious offer of the fifth prince.” the emissary said, particularly loudly, “As we speak, our forces are ambushing a legion of Koini invaders. If you remain as such a small independent power, the Empire will not be there to defend you from foreign threats.”

Kameko gritted her teeth, “You’re lying!” she drew her sword and placed it at the emissary’s throat.

“Kill me and we will break through your walls. We will demolish your spires and slaughter your people. You will receive no mercy from us.” the emissary spread his arms wide, “Glory to the Emperor of Heaven.”

Kameko thrusted her sword through the emissary’s windpipe.

“Glory to the Emperor of Heaven!” the other emissaries shouted in unison.

“Clean up this filth.” Kameko muttered to her soldiers, who obeyed and killed the other emissaries.

Seang stopped Kameko as she tried to walk past her. The nun looked Kameko in the eyes. “Do you understand what you’ve just done?”

“I’ve put a fool in his place.” Kameko shrugged away from Seang. But she followed the captain.

“You’ve just doomed your people!” Seang hissed. “We don’t have the power to defeat them!”

“The Koinis will come.”

“Did you hear him? They’re attacking the Koinis right now.”

“Let’s say he’s telling the truth,” Kameko said, “I’d rather die than let myself be under the boot of the Empire once again.”

“You’re insane. What about the entire city you’ve also just sentenced to death?”

“I’d rather kill them all than let their lives become property of the Nikan.”

“They won’t just die.” Seang said, “Have you ever even fought the Nikan before?”

“Don’t patronize me.”

“Have you heard of the Rape of Palowang?” Seang asked.

“What of it?”

“Do you know what the Nikan did to the Jambudvipi?”

“It was a massacre.” Kameko said, “At least we’ll go down fighting.”

“It wasn’t just a massacre,” Seang hissed. “The Nikan mutilated people, made them die slow deaths. They boiled children alive. All the men were nailed to walls and castrated. They took the women and girls as sex slaves for the soldiers. These people will get no honorable death at the hands of the Nikan.”

From the far reaches of Seang’s mind, images of the gory sheet of decorum from that day crept into her memories. She had summarized it, but the day she’d seen it herself was far more horrifying. It took every ounce of will in her not to simply stop functioning to recall the day with terrible awe.

“Do you know what they do to Nikan citizens?” Kameko glared at Seang as they started the lift upwards. “They take our minds. They brainwash us with propaganda. They turn the men into ravenous, blood-crazed animals kept obedient only by the strict hand of the Emperor. They make the women into the property of those men as personalized baby-making machines, cursed to only see the creation of soldiers as the purpose of their lives. They teach the children about demonic foreigners and that only by slaughtering them in droves can they keep their families safe.

“No one in Nikan is alive. Their lives are owned by their parents, or their families, or the military. The only thing they have to relieve themselves is escapism, whether that be through the cowardly ways of supposedly profound thinkers or by disgracing and devaluing their fellow human beings.” Kameko heaved after her speech, “I’d rather be raped, starved, and killed with the ability to know what evils the Empire has wrought upon this world than remain alive, with my few shreds of dignity still in the hands of the Empire and controlled by a happy lie.”

Seang simply shook her head in disappointment, “You’re going to regret this decision.”

“Then I’ll be remorseful when I do. But there’s no use being anxious about hypotheticals. The Nikan would have been severely weakened even if they really defeated the Koinis. In that case we do have a chance at victory.” Kameko said, “You might think we’re doomed. But if you think there is a sliver of a chance of us succeeding, I implore you to give us your aid.”

Seang sighed, “I’ll assess the situation when the time comes.”

The two women stepped off the lift.

“I am not wasting more troops on this suicide mission!”

The Koini emissary briskly shoved his way past them and onto the lift. The White Tiger officials tried to stop him from leaving.

“I am returning to my country. You can forget about being annexed. Your resources are not worth two dead legions, much less one!”

Seang sighed before leaving Kameko to deal with her city’s mess.

_________________________________________________________________________

Commander Jia’s head fell into his hands. Kameko had never seen him like this.

“The White Tiger Rebellion is done.” Jia muttered, “We’re all dead. Without the Koinis…”

Jia’s seconds were more or less just extensions of his will. They appeared, as usual, to agree with him.

“No.” Kameko murmured, “We can still fight. We have to fight. This isn’t a rebellion anymore. This is war.”

“They won’t show us any mercy, Iseri!” Commander Jia shouted, “Do you really think a bunch of peasants and city-folk can fight off an entire army?”

“The people of Xinhou were willing to abandon everything Nikan had taught them throughout their lives to separate from the Empire. We knew the risks.” Kameko growled, “We’ll fight with you.”

“To what end?” the Commander asked. “When we all die, we’ll be erased from the history books. No one will follow us. It’ll just cement the Empire’s authority.”

“If you won’t fight, I will.” Kameko said, “they will not play this uprising off as meager civil unrest.”

Jia jabbed his pointer finger into Kameko’s breastplate. “Stop thinking like a girl, Iseri! Don’t throw away your life for nothing! We’re going to go negotiate terms of surrender with the fifth prince.”

Kameko sighed, “Let me ask you something first, Commander.”

“What?” the Commander snapped.

“If dying for what I believe in is wasting my life, then what is there to be gained from subservience?”

“A family? Security? I don’t know, something better than a fate at the hand of Nikan’s wrath!” Jia replied.

Kameko shook her head. “So all that’s left are distractions. I thought as much.”

Kameko grabbed the rope of a lift and wrapped it around herself, sliding down to the street, where worried citizens were murmuring about what they’d just seen with the emissaries.

Most weren’t in any condition to fight. Most were farmers and craftsmen. Most were lowborn and impoverished. Even so, they showed courage. It was Nikan nature to value one’s life above all else. These people valued something greater.

True, being alive meant there was still opportunity and experience to be had. It meant hope for the future. But life was a tool to accomplish a purpose, nothing more. One who valued his life above all else allowed tyranny to spread so long as it spared him. He would allow himself to be a slave, so long as he was allowed to continue breathing, focused only on protecting what little he had whenever he was further stolen from.

Kameko would lead by example and use her life the way it was meant to be used. She would accomplish the greatest of feats with it. She would test its limits.

“Listen up!” Kameko shouted, “You heard what Nikan wants! They’ll only let us live if we kneel and kiss their boots! My men haven’t died for nothing! You haven’t suffered for nothing! Tonight the Nikan will launch what is undoubtedly their biggest assault yet! Commander Jia has given up on us! But I still believe we can fight! Our lives will be given up at our behest, not stolen by the dogs of the empire! Our lives belong to us! And we will use them to stand up with valiance!”

“Give us liberty or give us death!” the still present White Tiger soldiers shouted as they raised their fists.

“This is war!” Kameko roared. “All those willing to fight, speak to the White Tiger! Men, women, anyone able to lift a spear! All of us have to fight if we’re going to show the Empire we won’t be trampled over! Tell your friends! Your loved ones! Tell your neighbors! For they are all your comrades in arms tonight! Don’t let fear take you! We are not fighting this battle alone! With faith in our fellow man, we will triumph!”

Murmurs were picking up an excited, but ultimately nervous, tone.

“Get the taverns to give us alcohol for firebombs! Gather bamboo for barricades and siege weapons! Your cooking ware is armor! Your farming and crafting tools and these very streets are your weapons! Tear up the bricks and bring them to us! Boil your oil! Sharpen your sickles and make your doors into shields!” Kameko shouted, “Don’t let the dead be buried in vain!” she raised her fist to the sky. “A revolution brought the age of warring clans to an end! And so will this age of oppression! We fight for a free Xinhou! A free Nikan!”

Cheers and war cries echoed throughout the square.

“White Tiger!” Kameko beckoned, “With me! We have a war to fight!”