The Warriors Path Read online

  The Warriors Path

  Brian D Thomas

  Copyright © Brian D. Thomas December 2014

  Brian D Thomas has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of his work.

  First published in December 2014 by

  Death or Glory Publishing.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2014917916

  CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, North Charleston, SC

  ISBN 978 -1-5027-1660-6

  Dedication

  For Megan

  Life’s lessons are the same in a fantasy novel or the real world. Believe you can, and you probably will. Never say die; if there is no solution it just means you haven’t found it yet. And always stand up to the tyrants who would make you do things you know aren’t right and will live to regret.

  Contents

  Acknowledgements

  Places and Character Names

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Acknowledgements

  With grateful thanks to my early reviewers, especially Heather Broadbent and Lin Cooke, who suffered the initial manuscripts and whose laughter encouraged me to match their high standards. Thanks to the teenage cousins, Theo and William, their surprise at enjoying the later versions spurred me on. And Ali, it’s finished and I’m back at last…. hope everyone enjoys the final version.

  Places and Character Names

  The Hansee The peoples comprising the empire

  The Sun Palace Administrative centre of the empire and traditional seat of power for the ruling Wang Dynasty

  Wing-Ho province Family territories of the Empress Butterfly

  Temple in the Clouds The sole remaining Temple for the Temple priests

  Xian City Hansee border town

  Tanyel City Hansee border town

  Yangshu City Site of hornet attack

  Sung-Lo Wing-Ho river city

  Sung-Hi Wing-Ho river city

  Si Li Li Chin’s mentor at the Temple and an elder of The Temple

  Melong Elder of The Temple

  Hoosinn Elder of The Temple

  T’ze Temple priest and the emperor’s guardian

  Whey Ling Acolyte, pupil to future Li Chin

  Chen Zouh Northern Hansee city which holds annual martial competitions

  Li Chin Temple priest, guardian to Zu Wah

  Zu Wah Nephew of the emperor, Li Chin’s Master

  Captain Chow Captain of Zu Wah’s Life Guard

  Ling Po Zu Wah’s tutor

  Lieutenant Dae Captain Chow’s lieutenant – Zu Wah’s personal guard

  Xiou Shushan’s father, village headman

  Laulun Shushan’s mother and Xiou’s wife

  Shushan Xiou and Laulun’s daughter

  Astay Xiou and Laulun’s son, Shushan’s brother

  Belaini Laulun’s sister

  Mengpo villager, friend to Shushan

  Li Yeu Master of House Yeu

  Captain Kanto Master Yeu’s Captain, father of Zun

  Zun Li Yeu’s lieutenant, son of Captain Kanto

  Mading Zun’s 1st sergeant

  Zhi Commander reporting to Mading

  Duan Temple priest and the Temple’s champion against the emperor’s champion

  Baubu Musician

  Shisee Baubu’s wife, saved by Li Chin

  General Aidi emperor’s general

  Lieutenant Peng Lieutenant in the Scorpion Battalion of the emperor’s army, subordinate to General Aidi; a champion of Chen Zouh academy

  Feng Sun Palace official, reporting to Mika

  Maya Feng’s daughter

  Butterfly Empress – previously of House Wah

  Mika A eunuch, court official at the Sun Palace and primary adviser to the emperor

  Old Leckey Witch woman

  Master Zanwen Half Hansee/barbarian trader

  Mai Tavern Host

  Captain Hi Fat Guang’s captain, first sword at the Guang military academy

  Lieutenant Rong Promoted to Captain and then General in the Guang army

  Master Guang Master of House Guang

  Master Tanyeu Master of House Tanyeu

  Bulusi Master bow maker who settles in New Town

  Tangnade House Guang advisor/diplomat to the Sun Palace

  Sungdip Tanyeu advisor/diplomat to the Sun Palace

  Jierui Council leader for Old Town

  Sheywen Swordmaster, leader of the bandits

  Leywee One of Sheywen’s commanders

  Gaow One of Sheywen’s commanders

  Mordaki Nomad boy found by Shushan, member of the Running Dog clan

  Tanya Mordaki’s younger sister

  Bandu Mordaki’s cousin

  Mishka Nomad; Green Snake Clan leader

  Ronan Barbarian trader

  Markurd Ronan’s trainer at arms

  Ping Woman in Xian retained by Ronan to look after Markurd

  Commander Kayto Commander of ten thousand, second in authority of the Scorpion Division of the Imperial Guard to the emperor, patrolling the northern borders

  Chewyi Bandit leader

  Jory One of Ronan’s men

  Jiao A Chinese box litter carried by porters and used for transporting passengers

  Chapter 1

  Seesfar had seen the end of his world. All those he loved, everything in life he valued, his life’s work. All massacred or destroyed in an unrelenting orgy of terror and destruction. He was now desperate to return from this future of nightmares and ensure it didn’t become his reality. He had found a way around it, to an alternative future where there was the slimmest of possibilities they could survive and even prosper. They had to act, now. No time for delay lest the chance be lost forever, but he was trapped between times, desperation making him frantic to return before it was too late.

  Pinpricks of coloured light flickered into overlapping existence before fading away, completely obscuring his vision. A good sign; awareness of the hallucinogenic’s residual effects marked the merging of spirit and body as Seesfar made the gradual transition to consciousness
. Disconnected senses tentatively re-engaged with the real world. His muscles burned in protest after the extended inactivity and unnatural separation from his spirit. His vision slowly cleared and he fought off the malaise induced by the loathsome hallucinogenic essential for a prolonged spirit walk. He had searched the Tree’s futures much longer than he had intended, teetering on the edge of losing hope for his caste and the Hansee people.

  Doggedly pursing what had seemed an increasingly hopeless quest, he had witnessed time after time the vengeful and bloody destruction of the Temple. Utterly spent, he had despondently began to trace his way back through the myriad of possibilities.

  Seesfar tentatively reached out a grateful hand for a cup of green tea being held towards him. He had almost left his return too late. In his exhaustion he had become confused by the multitude of alternative futures and lost his way back, narrowly avoiding a death within the Tree that would surely have prevented a return on the great wheel to another life. He shuddered at the prospect of a death that would last forever. But that near mishap had perhaps also provided the salvation he sought. At the last minute he had stumbled upon a fork which offered hope.

  Returning the empty cup he forced his stiff neck to look up to his benefactor. The croaky thanks died in his throat as he recognised Melong. He had seen his lifelong friend die a hundred deaths in a hundred different futures and was now surprised to see that he still lived and was well. He detected concern as Melong silently studied Seesfar’s turgid recovery; no doubt observing the remnants of the Tree’s magic as disorienting swirls in Seesfar’s dilated pupils.

  Seesfar felt crushed by the burden of knowledge bestowed in his desperate gambit to the Tree of Futures, further despairing at the Tree’s legacy left within its unwelcome invader. An alien magic embedded deep within his psyche which prevented any coherent description of the different futures he had seen, any such attempts being reduced to ambiguous and misleading rhymes. Recorded as prophecy, the rhymes dictated by the Tree’s protective magic were as much hazard as aid to those trying to interpret and act on them. If those bestowed with the Tree’s stolen secrets could freely tell of them it would result in its unravelling. To have been offered a glimpse of hope but not now be able to explain how this tenuous lifeline should be grasped was a terrible and bitter burden.

  Nevertheless, the Temple had to act quickly if it was to have any future at all and Seesfar fought to stave off the seductive allure of sleep. There had been no time to properly explore what that opportunity was and how best to utilise it, only where the opportunity began. Seesfar was left chilled at the risk they would take in reaching out so blindly within the lair of their nemesis for their one and only chance. But there was no choice and no more time; he gathered what remained of his strength to pass on the vital message.

  Melong was shocked at the old man’s ravaged expression. Seesfar was exhausted and noticeably aged by his spirit walk. Seeing that Seesfar was ready to speak he drew closer so he could steady him, their eyes met and Melong looked aside to avoid the unsettling patterns still visible in their depths. “You were gone a long time Brother. I was beginning to fear for your safe return.”

  Seesfar’s mind swam with the myriad of alternative futures he had just experienced. Melong’s question penetrated his troubled thoughts and he couldn’t help but recall how many times he had seen his brother priests captured, cruelly tortured and paraded through the cities of the empire. They had become brutal examples to others who might think to offend their emperor. “Rivers of blood and oceans of tears.” Numbed lips made Seesfar’s mumbled words barely coherent. Looking up he saw the sympathy in Melong’s expression and took a frustrated breath to steady himself against the insidious fingers of the Tree’s magic, as they gripped a firm control of his mind to distort his intended message. Holding back waves of nausea caused by the Tree’s invasive magic and the cloying remnants of the hallucinogenic mushrooms he steeled himself to try again. He had to find a way. “Rivers of blood, oceans of tears, the Temple brings about its own worst fears.” He saw the anxiety and confusion in Melong’s face as he tried to decipher what Seesfar said.

  Seesfar couldn’t prevent moisture leaking from the corners of his tired eyes as he fought for control of his own words. In desperation he weakly grasped the front of Melong’s gown and pulled him close. “Enter the dragon’s lair and suffer the tiger’s leash, only from its smoke can we ever find hope.” He shook his head to free it of the lingering remnants of the Tree’s magic, twisting his thoughts and making him mouth words he had no control over. “Source of our own doom, there is but one light in the gloom.” Seesfar slumped back, gripping his knees weakly as he could feel himself being dragged down by his exhaustion, left utterly desolate by what he had witnessed and his impotence to influence events while there was still time.

  Melong frowned in concern as he leaned in close to his old friend, the hairs on the back of his neck rising at the tone of Seesfar’s warning. “Enter the dragon’s lair?” Melong queried hesitantly, “then we should go to the Sun Palace?”

  Seesfar shuddered at the responsibility of confirming Melong’s interpretation without being able to convey the warnings he knew to be vital. He could feel consciousness slipping away and there was no time if they were to guide themselves to the one future he had seen which held hope. Nodding, he heard his dry throat rasp weakly, but with a desperate urgency. “Now! The time is now, now…”, and then all was black as he helplessly succumbed.

  Melong carefully covered Seesfar’s sparse frame with a blanket, frowning in concern as he did so at his barely comprehensible mumblings. He rested a gentle palm on Seesfar’s shoulder as the old priest quivered and twitched in his tortured sleep, unable to shed the lingering effects of his spirit walk.

  It was always the same. Seesfar wracked his body and endangered his sanity to climb to the highest branches in the Tree of Futures, but on his return was unable to convey what he had seen or give clear guidance on what they should do. Even when he was at his most lucid. He had travelled so many alternative futures that he often seemed confused by some of the things he saw or heard, their true path upon the Tree of Futures becoming inextricably tangled in his mind with the countless alternative futures he had visited. But this warning and his confirmation seemed clearer than usual. As was the dire consequence if they didn’t heed it, leaving Melong as chilled as Seesfar had been only moments earlier.

  Si Li feared they had somehow missed their last chance of salvation and that in their hopeless situation only desperate measures now remained. He sat cross legged in the centre of his rooms, steeling himself for the hazardous mission he had reluctantly concluded they must make. But having decided it was inevitable he was now impatient to begin.

  As though summoned by his thoughts, the door to his chamber opened admitting Melong and Hoosinn. Like Si Li, they were dressed in the simple black gowns of the Temple elders and, despite their advancing years, they lithely sat crossed legged opposite him. “Greetings, Brothers. It is now clear we missed the critical events guiding the Temple’s destiny along its current path. The more benign alternatives have fallen away and are no longer available to us. I feel we have little choice other than to trust our destiny to fate and the machinations of others or act on prophecy to navigate our way through a host of bleak futures.” Sombre expressions reflected their concerns as they considered the risks of what Si Li proposed. “I propose we act decisively and breach the Sun Palace, to determine how we navigate our way past the emperor’s confrontational path with the Temple.”

  Hoosinn frowned in his concern. “Can Seesfar advise what we must do, what it is we are seeking? The emperor will surely have safeguards in place and if discovered we may trigger the very event we seek to avert. It is not something we should undertake lightly.”

  Melong nodded, mirroring Hoosinn’s concern. “I have just come from Seesfar’s chamber where he rests, having just returned from his spirit walk. He is adamant, now is the critical time and the Sun Palace is where
the event creating the fork occurs. Though he was unable to tell me what we must do or look for. We either act now to discover what transpires or sit in passive ignorance as a desperate future overwhelms us. I believe we must face the risk to discover what danger threatens and Seesfar warns of. Despite the risks we must act and do so now.”

  Si Li nodded and was pleased to see that even Hoosinn was reluctantly nodding for intervention on this occasion. “Then I will spirit walk to the Sun Palace and would be grateful for the loan of your strength during the journey Melong. Hoosinn will tend to us while we are away.” There were nods of agreement from the two elders.

  Si Li and Melong relaxed, sinking into deep trances. Invisible to any not in the same state their essence slowly rose out of their bodies. With a grim resolve Melong moved his own spirit to merge with that of Si Li, conceding control over his life force to lend its strength to enhance Si Li’s power. Si Li trembled with the ecstasy of his own senses and power being invigorated by Melong’s borrowed life force as it was absorbed within his own. There was only a limited period they could remain in spirit form before their bodies began to deteriorate and denied a return of their soul. Melong’s strength would make the journey safer but there was still no time to waste and great danger for them both.

  Si Li’s spirit soared up, passing harmlessly through the roof of the Temple’s east tower in to the evening sky and was soon speeding across the landscape below. Effortlessly gaining height to pass mountain peaks Si Li descended again to cross the plains on their far side, spanning hundreds of leagues to arrive at the Sun Palace just as the sun was setting and the world was being plunged into twilight.

  The Sun Palace was located on a hill at the centre of the city with its own walled gardens separating it from the general population. Beyond those walls the city extended for miles in all directions, encompassing the city palaces of the Great Houses to the cramped and dilapidated hovels of the poorest citizens. At the eastern edge of the city was the Yellow River. More than a mile across at its narrowest point, its slow moving waters were the main route of access into the interior from the capital and there appeared to be almost as much life clinging to its shores or floating on its surface as existed in the city itself. Softly glowing lights from lanterns and torches were being lit all over the city, the dark gradually cloaking the ugliness and poverty in the crowded streets of the poorer districts.