Galaxy's Edge Magazine: Issue 3, July 2013 Read Online Free PDF Page B

ground.
    The earth trembled as the Yellow Dragon, patron of the imperial throne and highest of the Five Gods, answered his call. Prayers from the other geomancers echoed around him as they joined in the channeling. They dug grooves around the camp, diverting the water away from us.
    It was not just for our safety, but also a subtle display of power toward our nomadic cousins. Imperial Father was satisfied, I could tell, as he raised himself to his feet. He was not simply a man to whom others would bow. The Five Gods themselves had seen fit to bless him with the power of their domains, and he wielded it better than any other geomancer here.
    Though most of the geomancers knelt panting, arms crossed over their bodies from the pain that came from strenuous prayer, Imperial Father walked stoically back to his tent without a hint of discomfort. In private, I knew, he would allow himself to feel the pain, but not where others could see. It was a privilege to see a member of the imperial family command the elements. The servants would remember this.
    Once the rains had passed and the ground had dried, the Hangul leader suggested a friendly competition to brighten the mood and take our minds off the work we had done to repair the camp. Imperial Father and the clan leader would select men from both our camps to participate in some archery on horseback. I came out to watch, glad for the reprieve from always sitting.
    When Imperial Father asked Eunuch Lei to suggest someone to represent Kwan, the old eunuch immediately suggested a young soldier who had come to him highly recommended. He told the Emperor that the son of General Syun-hoi, of the Tiger Clan, was with them as part of his escort, but Imperial Father simply shrugged.
    “If he represents us well, that will suffice.”
    I struggled to even recall General Syun-hoi. He was not a favorite of the Emperor, though if he was general he could not be incompetent.
    The Hangul set up rows of targets for the riders to strafe, and the two chosen men rode out on their sturdy mountain horses, quivers at their sides and bows in their hands.
    That was when I first saw Jing-lung. He rode as one who had grown up in the barracks, and shot arrows with the eyes and nerve of a hawk. One. Two. Three. The arrows planted themselves deep in the thatched grass. Four. Five. Six. He guided his horse with just his knees and did not miss a single target, leading the Emperor to proudly proclaim that the Dorgan people had not gone soft since taking residence in the palace in Kwan.
    Imperial Father called Jing-lung to him and the young soldier dismounted, handed the reins to a groom, and knelt before the Emperor. He did not even flinch before the two stone lions that flanked the Son of Heaven day and night. Imperial Father told him that in honor of his performance he should ask for a gift. Jing-lung looked up, and though he beheld the face of the Emperor, he also looked past him and saw me. I smiled at him, and he almost did in return, before catching himself and lowering his head once more.
    My days out on the steppes still consisted of meetings and formalities, but sometimes I would see Jing-lung as I walked through the camp. Our eyes would meet and I would smile and give him a wave if circumstances allowed. Since he was currently in the Emperor’s grace, I thought it acceptable to speak with him, and I knew I would be in no danger with Sek-fung beside me. There were few chances to speak with men my own age in the palace, save for my cousins, and they were too familiar.
    “Have you been in many battles?” I asked him. He was young, perhaps even younger than me.
    “A few,” he said. “Mostly on the western border. Guarding the Emperor is a first for me. My father worked hard to get me this assignment.”
    General Syun-hoi had done well in that regard, because the Emperor now knew who Jing-lung was. It was an auspicious start to a military career.
    “Do you think you will be a general as well someday?”