| By King Bumis Heir | Genre | Rating | Reviews | Updates |
| More from King Bumis Heir | Action/Adventure/Drama/Comedy/Romance | YA 16+ | None | No update page |
Overview[]
Avani arrives at the military camp in northern Pingyao, where she gets acquainted with new friends and butts heads with the Captain of the military camp. Throughout the day, she spooked by a ghost although it's not what it seems because the spirit wants something from her.
Both Earth Kings meet with their men to discuss the next steps in the game of war. Which cities will be conquered? Which armies will fall?
Chapter 2: A Strange Visitor[]
The hot beaming sun bore down on a young woman as she went down a road on an ostrich horse. The beast galloped through the open dry fields of the desert region of Pingyao province. A small encampment was down ahead and to the left of the road. The sounds produced by the animal's webbed feet as they struck the dirt path echoed around them as they resumed to their destination. Not a cloud in the sky, just the expansive wide blue yonder.
The encampment was surrounded by walls constructed of sawed tree logs that expanded and encircled about a quarter-of-a-mile radius. Around the exterior were military guards that patrolled its perimeter and watched for any enemy scouts in the immediate area. Inside were sporadically positioned tents of the soldiers that were stationed here. A bigger tent located near the center belonged to the commanding officer who supervised this group of recruits and several other soldiers who've spilled blood in a few battles.
The stables where the mounts of soldiers who were able to afford them were located to the right. Stablehands tended to the creatures while they trained before deployment. Avani yanked on the reins of the ostrich horse and halted her mount. The stablehands swiftly approached her and the ostrich horse to tend to the beast right away. The Avatar slid off the animal as other men appeared in wooden carts from another road.
Avani observed her environment it festered with ugly and smelly men, she saw as they all formed a single file line. An Air Nomad minced toward the line while a few others gathered nearby, a teenager curiously tapped the soldier of another and whispered in his ear, "Hey why is there an Air Nomad here? I thought they didn't believe in violence?"
The soldier responded with a simple shrug he too was curious when he saw the obese monk show up before them. The monk felt eyes on him when he turned to glance back at those who stared at him the men immediately turned heads and pretended to return to whatever they were doing before. The monk returned his gaze to the front of the line and ignored them. At the front of the line were two men next to a wooden cart loaded with a variety of things from the storage.
The first man was five-and-a-half chi and was considered fit and muscular, while the man to his right was of average height, slender, and wiry. Both of the men wore a black uniform under the armor they donned. Long sleeve tunics, and black britches, their breastplates were of lamellar plates and bronze, their thigh and shinguards were made of the same materials as were their sabatons. The pauldrons worn by the man on the left were carved into the design of the head of a baihu. The spaulders of the man to the right were golden and curved although they had no decorations like the other man.
The right-hand man stood in front of the cart, it was full of bundles made by both men. These bundles contained toiletries, a bedroll, and other things that could prove useful to each soldier. The man on the left held a list where he had the names of every conscripted soldier who was to appear to the camp today. The man on the right announced to his superior as the men assembled in single file, "Captain Qishi, the men have assembled into a single file line, shall we begin?"
Captain Qishi turned his attention to the man below him and nodded, Avani noticed his light green piercing eyes from her spot. They were radiant she thought, his tan skin glowed, his black hair was held in a half-up topknot, his locks flowed past his pauldrons. His head was shaped like a heptagon, his jawline was defined and chiseled. His cheekbones visible although his face was nowhere near gaunt. Next to him was the other man his head was shaped like an oval although his features were harder to read from far away and they seemed unimportant to her.
She wasn't the only one staring at the Captain because behind plenty of men was a shorter than average man, he stood tall as he could, his eyebrows furrowed. He gazed at the beautifully sculptured person a few li in front of him while he held his resting face. Except for this time, he wasn't protected by the expensive armor he wore two days ago. That was stored somewhere safe within his assigned tent he was the first to arrive in the military encampment. He was wearing plain clothing, a loose tunic with no sash that fastened it shut, and patched britches.
Airen turned his head after a few seconds and scratched his rear a bit while his eyes stared onto something else in the distance. Behind Airen was another, then behind him was the abdominous airbending monk named Fangzhu. Behind the Air Nomad, was an average height young man in his late teens. The sun was blocked the long stature of the man in front of him which he didn't mind, the line grew smaller as Captain Qishi called the names of every soldier.
Zuqiu's eyes darted around at his encompassed area, he took a glimpse behind him his eyes attracted to the young woman following the man after him. She was beautiful, her dark tanned skin, and brown hair reminded him of the cocoa mint tea his mother would purchase inside Yafao during the cold winters of Duryaja province. Her eyes reminded him of the mint leaves that were an important ingredient of that concoction. The attractive young woman twirled her hair with her right index finger as she stared off into nothingness.
In reality, Avani had her arms crossed whilst she tapped her foot as she waited for the line to hurry up. He nudged the obese Air Nomad who peered down as the teenager, the young man discreetly pointed over to the girl while he gave the monk a wide grin from ear to ear. Zuqiu nudges the man directly after him who turned his attention to him. Zuqiu then twitched his head to his left at the young woman. The soldier sighed and rolled his eyes, then cut ahead of Zuqiu and Fangzhu, this allowed Zuqiu to make his move.
The nineteen-year-old licked his pinky and thumb fingers and combed his eyebrows as he prepared to take initiative and talk to the woman. He swaggered over to the young woman with confidence he's never maintained in his life. He extended his hand out and greeted her, "Hey."
Avani responded with a simple "Hey," in return but ignored eye contact with the young man who approached her. Zuqiu's hand remained in that position awkwardly, a bit longer until he retracted it and held his friendly smile.
He continued smiling, "So uh..." he rubbed the back of his head with his hand and his eyes no longer gazed at her but explored the area instead.
"What are you doing here? Is your village burning? Do you need a strong warrior to come to defend it?" he resumed and blurted a few sentences all at once. Zuqiu flexed his left bicep when he drawled at the word 'strong'.
Avani's eyes sized up the teenager then she chuckled, she shook her head at the audacity the young man had with the words he spoke, "I don't need you or any of these bozos to defend my city, I can do it on my own."
Each word stringed along with her response struck him like stones from an attacker, he gasped, "Bozos? I'll have you kn-" he was interrupted by the monk who tugged him by his collar and dragged Zuqiu behind him.
"I do apologize about the behavior my new friend is using," apologized Fangzhu.
"Wo cao!" exclaimed the woman in excitement, this took the monk by surprise because he didn't expect that response.
"An Air Nomad in a Haijun military camp? What brings you here?" she continued, she ignored the airbender's apology on behalf of Zuqiu. He lightly smiled and scratched the back of his bald head. Airen glanced back at the three that formed a blob in the line. He eyed the Air Nomad, then a girl, he stared at them in confusion for a brief moment.
"Lord Shengqi Airen!" Qishi called.
He faced the captain of the military camp and walked forward, he stood in front of the man with his chin in the air while held a military stance and saluted the captain. The first lieutenant handed Airen his bundle of toiletries and other items.
"I've heard about you, you're the nobleman from the Upper Ring who's killed eighty men in combat," mentioned Qishi.
"I look forward to having such a valuable asset on our side," commented Qishi.
At the same time, the Air Nomad answered Avani's question, "I came to fight for your kingdom."
She took a step back a bit startled because she hadn't seen it beforehand but she discovered the monk was only there because of the tattoo over his left eyebrow. She gasped and pointed at his tattoo, "Of course, you were exiled from the temples that's why you're here!"
"Wait! No, it's not what you think" denied Fangzhu as he waved his arms twice in front of him to deny whatever she was going to accuse him with.
Zuqiu's eyes exchanged between the faces of both the woman and the monk he questioned both of them, "What does the tattoo mean? Why are you confrontational toward him?"
"How do we know you're not an egun or a pantu?" she insisted defensively.
"That's the mark of the exile! They give that mark to Air Nomads who break the laws of their society, they're exiled and shunned from the air temples!" explained Avani.
"Please, it's not what you think! I was exiled for the wrong reasons, I'm a peaceful and loving man who seeks vengeance against the Omas," informed Fangzhu as he tried to defend himself.
"Fangzhu of Ba Sing Se!" Qishi shouted.
The Air Nomad quickly answered the call for his name and jogged up to his new commanding officer. He saluted the captain and the first lieutenant, Avani tugged on Zuqiu's collar as he turned to face the line. She warned the young man, "Keep your eyes peeled on this guy, he's an exile."
Zuqiu remained quiet and gave her a slight nod even though he thought she was a bit weird and rude. Shuaige called the next name on the list, "Muchang Zuqiu!"
The teenager ran up to the captain and saluted him and the first lieutenant, after he was given his bundle of goods he ran off behind the Air Nomad monk.
"Xinao Avani!" he called, the young woman neared the captain and the first lieutenant and saluted them both. Both of them returned a salute to the Avatar, both of the men shook her hand as a formal greeting. The first Lieutenant nodded at her, "We're glad you're here with us, Avatar."
"You must be the one King Shuicheng sent my way, I hope the camp is to your liking. After you put away your things, come by my tent. We have matters to discuss," mentioned Shuaige.
"I'm guessing you're the captain here?" she inquired, his head bobbed up and down then he pointed at the man next to him with his thumb and introduced him, "This is First Lieutenant Er Baoshou, he'll hand you a bundle of toiletries and your tent slip."
The First Lieutenant handed her the bundle the others received, then he gave her a slip that contained the number that was carved into each post where assigned tents were located in. He said, "Lady Xinao, these are your things, this slip will yell to you which plot your tent will be located at. You won't be sleeping with the common rabble anyway."
As she walked off she thought to herself, "I'm so glad they're giving me my tent. For a fenzhong, I thought I was going to be sleeping with a ton of smelly oafs."
Omashu, Oma Kingdom
The large throne carved into crystal rested on the far wall, covered with animal skins, and cloth to make it comfortable for the King to sit on for long periods. Yeman rested on the throne his fingers intertwined with each other he rested his hands in the air while his elbows rested on the armrests of the throne. In front of the young Earth King stood several men that surrounded the front of the throne this group was known as the Court of the Clans.
The court consisted of one representative of each barbarian clan that swore allegiance to the Oma Kingdom and recognized the Kuiwu Dynasty as their rulers. To Yeman's right stood his uncle Cai Dao, the Grand Secretariat gazed upon the court while he stood tall with his arms behind his back. One of the men a bald, average-height, dark tan-skinned individual with green eyes kowtowed before Yeman.
Yeman lifted his hand as a gesture to get him to rise then he asked him, "What news do you bring to me, Sen?"
"My chieftain and those of the other four clans have amassed in northern East Hu Xin, they're awaiting orders from you to siege Laofung in Tsinghua province," replied Sen.
"Good, I'll meet with the Triumvirate this afternoon perhaps they can work on a strategy that can win us the city," said Yeman.
"Of course, Your Majesty. First the capital, then the rest will bend knee to us," smiled Sen.
When Sen backed away another stepped forward, he too kowtowed. This man had long light brown hair, was pale, and had light brown eyes. His outfit was made of expensive materials and black as the night sky, Yeman gestured him to rise after he knelt before the new sovereign.
"Taizu, I bring word from Gan, the mercenary your father hired a few months ago," mentioned the man.
"The non-bender correct? How does he fare?" inquired the monarch.
"Gan and his men are on their way to Guandi in Zhoukou province. They've merged with a brigade sent in by one of your generals. But he feels it is not enough," reported the representative of the Meng.
"Don't worry, Lao. My father and Commander Jun, have already deployed reinforcements to join Gan at the rendezvous point before they attack," assured Yeman.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the endless green plains of the Zhoukou province flowed a sea of men on ostrich horses. Only a few were mounted on giant brown creatures known as badgermoles, one of those was the Meng clan barbarian, Gan. They continued on their journey south to the capital of the Zhoukou province. The breeze brushed through the empty grass that wasn't being stampeded through, a tad bit of men whistled so that the echo could be heard by Gan.
Gan covered his eyes from the sun in the center of the sky and saw what he believed to be a mudcat osprey, it glided above them in circles. Gan rose his arm and the creature nosedived before it flipped to perch onto his arm. Once it landed on his arm he pet the animal on its head, it let out a screeching squawk. The feathered creature looked mostly avian although it had unique features, the mudcat osprey had whiskers that helped it detect things underwater and also gills to breathe while in the water.
Mudcat Ospreys were largely used by the Oma Kingdom in the past three centuries of war because it was harder to intercept messages if their enemies could not catch them underwater. The creature had a large tube pack on its back, Gan opened the lid and removed the scroll from inside. He opened the message while the bird flew up to land again but this time on his left shoulder.
"Brigadier General Yun and Clan Leader Gan, this is the Honorable Major General Bu Lu, of the Triumvirate, I am sending you word from the former Earth King Kuiwu Gun and Commander Zhang Jun. I've been deployed to assist you and I bring with me my division of twenty-five thousand soldiers to lay siege to Guandi. We must burn their flags and implement our banners, take the city for our newest Earth King Kuiwu Yeman. We are meeting in the mountains above the city as it rests at the bottom of a valley. May Tian Fu and Fung Jin guide your way!"
Gan placed both his indexes at the end of the scrolled and rolled it up, tugged on the reins of his mount to signal it to strife to the left. He extended his arm out to hand it to Yun who rode only a few cun away from Gan. He took the scroll, unrolled it, and then read the contents himself, Yun turned his attention to Gan and gave him a toothy grin. They resumed on their journey once he pocketed the scroll into the pockets of his saddle.
Gan turned to his right and inquired to the man on his right, "How far are the mountains we're meeting on?"
"According to the map, we're one-hundred-and-sixty-one Li north of the Guandi mountains, sir. That's about a day away at the speed we're going," responded the soldier.
"I'd say we're pretty close then," nodded Gan.
At the same time, Avani lifted the tarp of Captain Qishi's meeting tent and entered. Inside she found the captain and his First Lieutenant behind a desk with maps laid on it. Captain Qishi peeped up when he saw a person enter his tent. Baoshou and Qishi saluted Avani, she then saluted them back, Baoshou began, "Just the person we were looking for."
"I was going to have someone escort you here, Avatar Avani," mentioned Shuaige.
"Well I'm here, do you want me to take half of your men to assault an Oma Kingdom capital? Or maybe you're sending me on a special operation to assassinate a barbarian warlord?" she inquired, she was excited to be working with the military for the first time in her life since she became a fully-realized Avatar. Most of her talents were used on special operations that were given to her by Earth King Shuicheng, she did most of his bidding outside of the city.
Both of them blinked at each other in confusion and exchanged looks before they burst out in laughter. She got upset with both men as her eyes darted to the left and right repeatedly as she frowned. Baoshou chuckled, "You thought you were going to be working WITH us? No, you're working for us!"
"I'm not sure if you interpreted what our Tianzi told you correctly," said Shuaige.
"He told me that you were eager to work with me," Avani replied as she recalled the meeting with the Earth King and Earth princess.
"That's not what he told us, I'll take his word over yours any day," commented Shuaige.
"Ugh, I have to work under peons again," muttered Avani, she seemed flustered and she rolled her eyes as every word escaped her mouth.
"What was that?" Baoshou caught on, he slightly frowned and shook his head at the rude comment the young woman made.
"Peons?!" exclaimed Shuaige, he paused for a short amount of time while he thought about his responses to the woman's words.
He resumed, "You are to strictly follow my rules and orders until we complete our mission."
"I don't have to follow any orders, you follow mine I'm the Avatar!" sassed Avani.
"Not another word out of you, speak against my authority again and I'll make sure Shuicheng hears about you. Are we clear?" he threatened Avani with a report to the Earth King.
She's never disobeyed Shuicheng's orders and she's not aware of what happens if someone disobeys the Earth King.
Avani gasped then sighed she lowered her head in defeat, her title didn't override the authorization over the captain. She frowned, "Yes, Captain Qishi."
From the outside a bell rang, Baoshou ordered her to leave, "Now get out of our sight, lunch is ready better get in line with the rest of the men."
Baoshou and Shuaige returned their concentration to the maps again as Qishi rested his palms on the table. After she left Baoshou turned his attention to Shuaige, "You've got a live one here, Shuaige. If you allow her she'll walk all over you."
Shuaige remained silent while he took the advice, then he bobbed his head up and down. Avani was the second in line that just formed. A smaller line ended when the soldiers grabbed their meals and headed toward the tables near their tents. Her eyes explored the surroundings of the camp, something caught her eye. What she considered a needle in a haystack, she was drawn to stare at a Fire Nationalist off in the distance.
The man gathered some things in front of his assigned tent she thought, the Air Nomad monk from earlier wasn't the only foreigner who enlisted to fight for the Haijun Kingdom. The man's outfit consisted of white pantaloons, long-sleeved white tunic under a crimson vest decorated with embroidered white flame motifs. He wore a crimson haidate, his boots were protected with wooden shinguards, on his head rested a red maishu no shikin, the difference between his and the ones commonly worn by Fire Nationalist men were the golden spikes on each side of the hat.
"Next!" called a server, but Avani ignored them because her eyes were fixated on the stranger.
Almost like she was hypnotized by his appearance, the server shouted at her once more, "Next!"
A soldier snapped her out of her hypnotism by tapping her on her shoulder, she glanced back to see him. The soldier pointed forward she apologized to him, "Oh sorry."
Avani neared the annoyed servers, one of them scooped millet into a bowl he handed her, while the other handed her a circular piece of bread. She grabbed her food and headed toward the tables, she looked about then saw noticed the men who she spoke to earlier. Fangzhu and Zuqiu sat across from each other while Airen sat in the corner on Fangzhu's side. Avani asked to join them, "May I?"
Fangzhu chewed on his millet and nodded while Zuqiu with his mouth full giggled and answered, "Yes!"
Zuqiu tapped the seat to his right which was empty except Avani sat in between Fangzhu and Airen instead. He smiled at her cheerfully anyway, she looked down at her food for a few miao and examined it. Avani gagged at the food, "It looks bad but it's pretty good," mentioned Fangzhu.
Zuqiu took another spoonful and smiled, "Mmm, reminds me of home."
"This looks like the scraps they pulled out of a farmer's compost," she said.
"Hey! We don't eat out of the trash like a gaze of ratcoons!" squeaked Zuqiu he found her comment offensive because he was the son of a farmer.
Airen had enough he broke in, "Humble yourself, kid. You might think you're high and mighty but here...you're just like the rest of us. If you want to march on an empty stomach? That's your choice. But leave the rest of us be."
"I know you're not talking to me," retorted Avani.
"Er...what was your name again?" wondered Fangzhu he attempted to deter the conversation so that it wouldn't become an argument.
"Avani," she answered.
"Avani, I sense a cultural difference you have with your fellow Kingsmen," speculated Fangzhu, although he felt he was grasping at straws while he attempted to read her.
"You're all part of the same leaf, just different areas of it," he added.
"Cultural difference? I'd say more of a wealth difference," Avani opinionated.
He sized the woman up and down, "I'd wager you're from the Upper Ring of the capital, yes?" guessed Fangzhu.
Avani nodded, then Airen remarked, "Ugh...upper-class nobility, they're always more snobby than the rest of us!"
She gasped, "Do you even know who I am?"
"With the crest on the tunic you wore while riding in here, you're of the Xinao family. I know for a fact your father will be very disappointed if he learned that you're an arrogant person when he's not around," noted Airen.
"How do you know...my father?" she questioned him, she seemed a bit suspicious now.
"Who doesn't know Lord Xinao Jifu? Humble, respected, and admirable man, you're quite the opposite of your patriarch, our families are well acquainted, little girl," affirmed Airen.
"I don't know who you are and don't call me a little girl," grumbled Avani.
"Airen, son of Shengqi Yingxiong," Airen introduced himself.
"No way...the Shengqi Yingxiong? Your father is a legend and decorated war hero! You're his son?" beamed Avani.
"Aye", said Airen.
Avani cringed at the way she spoke to Lord Airen she knew it'd eventually bite her in the rear. She felt embarrassed she lowered her head in shame and apologized to Airen, "Please accept my apologies, Lord Shengqi, I promise to be more humble."
Airen said nothing but inclined his head instead and continued to consume his meal. Avani stayed quiet for a moment then she turned to Zuqiu and inquired, "What's your name?"
"Muchang Zuqiu, at your service," he introduced himself.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Avatar Avani," she greeted him.
Zuqiu spat out his foot, chewed millet and stew sprayed onto Fangzhu's robes, with a face of disgust he disapproved of the reaction of the teenager. He blew a blast of air at his clothing and dried the stain created by his new friend. All three of the men's jaws dropped even other men who sat at other tables heard the nearby commotion. Their jaws were opened agape as well, Zuqiu placed his hand to his right and whispered to Fangzhu while he pointed at Avani, "That's the Avatar!"
"What?" she shrugged.
"We weren't expecting the Avatar to be among us, especially here in this camp. Shouldn't you be on some special Yanzhao mission?" wondered Fangzhu.
"Er...well...uh..." stammered Avani.
"...no the Tianzi sent me here," she finished.
The others found their conversation boring and slowly returned to their meals, Avani powered down through the slop of food. The Fire Nationalist came to her mind she turned her attention to the monk, "Hey Fangzhu, at least you're not the only foreigner who's in the camp, there was a Nationalist over there not too long ago," she pointed to the east.
"A Fire Nationalist? Here?" asked Zuqiu, the tone of his voice seemed curious.
"Yeah, he was wearing a red vest, and white tunic underneath it, with white pantaloons, and a hat on his head. You didn't see him?" she described the individual she saw in the distance not too long ago.
All three men shook their heads, "I didn't see any Nationalists here, I've been in camp for almost two days," declined Airen.
"The logs sure don't carry any Nationalist names that I can recall," brought up Airen.
"Hmm...he must be napping then, or perhaps being fitted for armor?" reckoned Avani.
"We haven't been fitted for armor yet," Airen quickly denied that surmise.
She saw the same man briskly minced to another part of the camp, she pointed in the direction of the Nationalist and exclaimed, "There he is again!"
All three of them looked in the direction she pointed at, Fangzhu opened up, "Uhh...Avani I don't see anyone."
"Where did you see him go?" questioned Airen.
"He went to the right," replied Avani.
A soldier bounced near their table Zuqiu grasped at his shoulder, "Wei! I need your help," he called to the soldier.
"You work with Captain Qishi, so you must know all the men on the list right?" demanded Zuqiu.
"I don't know all the men, but if you're implying that I know everyone who's stationed here. Then yes," addressed Wei.
"Are these any Fire Nationalists positioned in the camp?" he wondered.
"Not that I'm aware of, no, most of the men here are Haijun Kingsmen besides your Air Nomadic friend here...oh and uh her too," speculated Wei.
"Thanks, Wei, I knew I could rely on you," thanked Zuqiu, he gave the soldier a toothy smile as he resumed on his way.
Zuqiu faced Avani and said, "Wei says, you're crazy."
Council of Five War Room, Ba Sing Se, Haijun Kingdom
The War Room of the Council of Five was a large room located inside the War Quarter that was within the Royal Palace's ring. Five men surrounded a huge platform on the ground with a massive map of the world. Stone tokens painted different colors that represented ally and enemy units littered the map while others were stored away in small cubbies near every seat.
In the center of the five men were two others in the highest seat of the room sat Earth King Shuicheng, to his right sat his Grand Secretariat, Guanli. Guanli was a short, fat, quadragenarian with dark tanned-skin and brown eyes. He was bald and wore lavish golden robes with the golden sun insignia embroidered in the center of the chest area.
The general to the far left began the session he greeted both men, a sign of respect in his tone, "Welcome Your Majesty, and it is good to see you again Grand Secretariat Yuan Guanli."
Guanli hid both of his hands inside the long sleeves of his outfit, he bowed to the leader of the Council of Five, while Shuicheng got comfortable in his seat. The Grand Secretariat returned the greetings, "Thank you, I'm feeling much better from the fever I had all week, General Taifeng."
"What news do you have for me, Da Taifeng?" Shuicheng questioned the leader of the Council. The leader looked to his far-right and slightly nodded at the fifth seated general, to begin with, his report.
"General Weixing Shenmi, what do you report?" asked Taifeng.
General Shenmi was the youngest general of the five, he was pale-skinned, with light brown hair and green eyes, his body structure was wiry and he was hunched back. Perhaps he suffered from a spinal condition or injury that has affected his posture. The Brigadier General removed the scroll from his sash and placed it inside the cubby. He shoved it toward the Earth King with his earthbending, it slid across the map before the Earth King halted it with his palm.
Shuicheng stooped over to grab the report, then he read it as Shenmi summarized the report, "Tianzi, I have very good news while my initial plans were to invade the Oma-controlled Gongzhu. I set aside that plan and decided to move forward to attack Yu province instead."
"What city or settlement do you intend on attacking first?" inquired Shuicheng.
"If I can work with Admiral Qi Yu to assist me with some naval forces, we can invade Bei Fu and take it back from the wild men," suggested Shenmi. The word 'wild men' became a derogatory term against the Oma Kingsmen becoming a racial slur two centuries ago.
"I'll have my men meet the navy near Bo Sai Dong Bay on the enemy's side. I'll order the men to attack by land while the navy assaults the harbor of the city," added Shenmi.
Shuicheng held himself in a thought, "Hmm...I will send word to Admiral Qi Yu, I'm sure a flotilla of ships will help ease the invasion."
The Earth King dipped his quill and signed the report, then Shuicheng and Guanli clutched their stamps and pressed down on the parchment. Their stamps were the final approval for any action that could be executed. He handed it to Guanli who placed it in his cubby, for safekeeping he would later hand it to the archivists inside the palace to be recorded into the books.
"General He You, you're next what's the news?" Shuicheng asked the fourth general seated.
A fat septuagenarian rose out of his chair, he was short and plump, the old man was pale, and donned long gray flowing hair and a long beard. His eyes were light green and just like the others, he wore the uniform of a councilmember. The pin on his chest that was given only to the Council of Five glistened in the sunlight as it set behind the walls.
"We've gained control of Bai Shui and taken the entire province of Jintai, I've lost a few thousand men but the rest have their morales elevated. They're ready for more," briefed General You.
"Wonderful news!" beamed Shuicheng he applauded the general, his other colleagues, and the Grand Secretariat looked at each other and all stood up to give the general a standing ovation.
"Where do you plan to head off to next?" wondered the Earth King.
"Yang province, while Foping is in the center it is also farther away from Minghua and Han Tui's assistance. We'll crush their defenses in a matter of days before reinforcements can arrive to stop us. By then I'd hope to establish a temporary governor," explained You He.
"Do you need more additions?" asked Shuicheng.
"Not at the moment, we do have strength in numbers still, perhaps we can continue to conquer forts and set up positions in each one. If we can control the state first it will give us an advantage over the capital," declined the Major General then resumed his words.
Shuicheng faced to the right of his Grand Secretariat, this man was muscular, of average height, a tan-skinned quadragenarian with dark brown hair and a dark green eye, his other was blinded from a battle wound. He spoke to the Lieutenant-General, "General Ningjing Lin, it is always great to see you what do you have for me today?"
He rose from his seat and gave his report, "Governor Luyou has reported to me that his scouts have seen heavy activity of enemy barbarian clans and a small army that follows behind them. He's calling it a cause for concern."
"What's the size of the group?" worried Shuicheng.
"I was told about the size of a small legion, Governor Bei's numbers are spread thin and I don't know if you were made aware but he lent over ten thousand men to help defend Duru province. Those men haven't returned yet but I hear they were victorious. I fear they'll be too late by the time the invaders arrive," replied General Ningjing.
"Send word to deploy two regiments of a thousand soldiers, I pray to Tiandi that the rest of the men return on time to help turn the tide on the battle. You'll need it," approved Shuicheng.
"General Shili Liehou, what do you have for us today?" Shuicheng questioned the second seat general to his left.
The tall quinquagenarian rose to his feet, his hair was white, his skin was white, and the irises of his eyes were pink with a tint of blue. The Colonel General was an albino man, he was slender and wiry, often soldiers would spend a fenzhong or two staring at him. But he didn't care he served his country for decades he was respected nothing random recruits could say that would bother him.
The Colonel-General grinned, "I've been meeting with Governor Guodong in Laofung, we have the manpower to take on the coalition of Wulong, and the two Hu Xin provinces. We're just waiting on them to attack."
"Your eagerness to spill blood excites me, General Shili. If you need more men you only need to say the word. How many do you expect to turn up?" he questioned the general.
"Word has it there are clans that have assembled, a large enough army to take part of the city, but it is not enough. I heard rumors that the military is having issues with its commanding officers. The slave soldiers won't fight, something that will bite the Oma King in the juhua," speculated General Liehou.
"Then if you succeed in defending Laofung, you should work toward finding the locations of the slave soldiers and lay waste to the area. We need to rescue those prisoners of war," suggested Shuicheng.
"We know the location, the underground city of Garsai, Your Majesty. It'd be great to have Garsai under our control again, my family is from the East Hu Xin province. Those mu zhu are desecrating my city," revealed General Shili.
"General Da Taifeng, you are the final general whose yet to share anything. What word do you bring me?" requested the Earth King.
"I'm working on amassing an army large enough to attack Ta Ren, we must regain control of Ru and prevent the barbarians access into the Haijun Kingdom. There is a company of men in northern Pingyao that will later merge into the union. For now, I will use them to operate smaller missions in Ru province," reported Taifeng.
"Ahh yes, I've sent Avatar Avani to the camp in northern Pingyao, you have a great asset in your hands. Use the power of the Avatar wisely, General Da," grinned Shuicheng.
"I plan to use her effectively, the border towns in Pingyao speak of a warlord who forced his way across one of the checkpoints between Ru and Pingyao. The scouts say he's set himself up in the southwestern region of Pingyao. I'll send the recruits under Captain Qishi to eliminate him and his clan soon," finished General Taifeng.
Avani slept inside a medium-sized tent that was given to her by Captain Qishi, the olive green tarp kept her warm from the temperatures of the outside. She was wrapped inside the bedroll and the blanket as added warmth. A few toiletries were gathered in the farthest corner of the tent, as she slumbered safely a shadow loomed over her body.
Her eyes slightly opened she thought she had been dreaming, she imagined that her blanket had slipped off, she shivered like she was cold. She saw the figure of Jifu tucking her in when her eyes focused Jifu's face warped into the face of an unknown man. The Fire Nationalist she saw twice earlier today stood over her, he was pale-skinned, bald, amber-eyed, and had a black strip of hair on his chin. The stranger's smile looked friendly and creepy, the corners of his mouth stretched from ear to ear.
Her eyes widen in fear, she shrieked so loud that she blasted the intruder and her tent with air, her body tore through the floor of the inner tent. It rocketed in the air and collapsed when it hit the ground. A number of her tent neighbors exited their tents alerted to the commotion the Avatar caused, she tacked the tarp of the tent to search for the Fire Nationalist but he was gone, men encircled her as she wrestled with the tarp. Three of them carried lit torches in their hand and gave her dirty looks.
"What's going on out here? I heard you scream," one of the men questioned the woman, he seemed a bit disgruntled and annoyed he was tired and wanted to head back to bed.
"Th-there was a m-man in my tent!" she claimed, her voice shook with fear.
"Were any of you near her?" another's head darted to face all the men that surrounded Avani.
All seven men shook their heads at the man who questioned them. Captain Qishi was awoken by another soldier, Shuaige rubbed his eyes, he felt groggy he approached the Avatar and demanded an answer from her, "Avani, what's going on? I was told you shrieked and ran out of your tent!"
"I already told them, there was a man in my tent!" she repeated.
"What man? What did he look like?" he blurted out.
"He was a Fire Nationalist, he was wearing all white, with a red vest, a haidate, and a red hat. I saw him earlier in the mid-afternoon during lunch too! Don't you people interview everyone who enlists so they don't turn out to be potential se gui?!" Avani described her attacker and then implored Shuaige with another question.
Captain Qishi rubbed his eyes again then declined, "A Fire Nationalist? We don't have any Fire Nationalists here!"
"Then he had to be an intruder! I would expect a military camp to have tighter security than a Kingsmen finger trap!" complained Avani.
Shuaige was irritated, he clenched his teeth and growled, "Search the camp for a Fire Nationalist, if found I want the intruder killed!"
All the men ran in different directions in pairs of two as they scoured the camp for the Nationalist intruder that attacked the Avatar. Shuaige looked at her then away, "Now goodnight, we have training in the morning!"
The captain padded away from her Avani grabbed the parts of her tent to set it back up, she entered the tent and organized her things in the areas they were first placed in. She rested her head on the bedroll and stared at the ceiling for the tent for a brief moment. Avani turned her head and laying right next to her was the Fire Nationalist.
She couldn't scream this time because the Nationalist covered her mouth, he hushed her then whispered, "If you scream they'll assume you're crying wolfbat. I'm a friend."
Avani's other hand rested to her side hidden, it heated up with fire, she was ready to incinerate the creep. She blinked for a miao and then the pervert was gone as he disappeared out of thin air. Avani sat up and scanned the interior of the tent, confused she exited and skulked the exterior of it. By now, the men had returned from searching the entire camp and found nothing.
Some of the reported to Captain Qishi, "Sir, there is no intruder and if there was she scared him off! But look..." paused the soldier as he pointed at Avani as she treaded around the tent's exterior.
Shuaige facepalmed, shook his head, and sighed, "Keep a close eye on the Avatar, watch her tent and make sure no one gets near it. She's going to need her energy for tomorrow," ordered Shuaige.
The men saluted their superior and everyone went their separate ways, Avani looked through every nook and cranny in her spot. She entered her tent again and sat down in nomadic positioned and lowered her head. Across from her manifested a large Tribesman in ethereal form, he was muscular, tall, brown-skinned, he had black hair and cyan-colored eyes, his goatee was a black vertical strip under his lower lip. He wore a dark blue parka, navy blue pants, brown walrus bear boots, whale blubber gloves, and on his head he wore a blue-dyed leathered wushenka hat. The interior and the trim of the hat was made from the fur of a polar bear dog. It was her predecessor, Avatar Keirou.
"Avatar Avani, we meet again what can I assist you with today?" he questioned his successor.
"I think I'm being spooked by a ghost," she answered.
"A ghost? A spirit of the deceased usually indicates that they require help from you," explained Keirou.
"Have you attempted to communicate with this person's spirit?" asked Keirou.
"Well...no, the first time I met them was from a distance and the second encounter happened while I was in my tent sleeping," replied Avani.
"Everyone in the camp thinks I'm crazy, I keep seeing that Fire Nationalist but they haven't seen him...he leaves without a trace," she added.
"Describe the appearance of this individual," requested her past life.
"He wore all white, with a red tunic, a haidate, and a red hat with yellow spikes on it," described the Avatar.
Keirou sat on the description he gave her about the soul that haunted her all day today, then it clicked in his head he warned her about this particular spirit though, "No Avani, whatever you do stay away from him."
"Wait what's wrong?" she wondered with concern.
"This happens with every succ-" Keirou tried to answer her question except he dispersed into a cloud of celestial mist. The mist remained and then formed into a smaller more slender shape, it manifested into the Fire Nationalist that spooked her twenty fenzhong earlier.
"You! What do you want?" she demanded the intruding spirit.
"Wow, I didn't think that would work," he muttered to himself, he forced himself through the veil that Avani created to speak with Keirou. This ghost forced Avatar Keirou out to speak with Avani, then he said, "I'm here to help you."
"And in return, I hope you can help me too," he added.
"I'm Avatar Hansuke by the way," he introduced himself.
"Hansuke? How can you manifest yourself without me summoning you?" she inquired her estranged past life.
"Ehh I found my methods, I can be here alongside you even when the solstice is far away. Most spirits outside the Avatar can do so as well usually depends on spiritual energies and all that flapdoodle," explained Hansuke. He wriggled his fingers to gesture otherworldly energies.
"Help me do what exactly?" she questioned him.
"Aid you in becoming a better Avatar of course, plus you need someone to receive advice from and who better than me?" hypothesized Avatar Hansuke.
"Isn't it tradition the previous Avatar assists the successor unless they don't have the answers?" Avani inquired, she felt uneasy about this encounter with the invasive predecessor. Hansuke did not answer because he imploded into a cloud of smoke. The smoke cloud returned its shape into the large Tribesman Avatar before her.
"Avatar Avani I hope you accept my advice when I tell you to stay away from Avatar Hansuke, not only has his influence ruined his own life but also his slopiness and his idiocy led to the death of his successor Avatar Kavi," finished Keirou.
Avatar Keirou disappeared again, and Hansuke reappeared, "Hey! I wasn't even done how dare he interrupt me!" complained Hansuke.
"Stay away from me!" hissed Avani.
"You're bad news!" she growled.
She ended the commune with her past life, then she laid back down, she irritably grabbed her blanket and pulled it over herself. At the same time, Hansuke frowned and sat there speechless as he watched her go to sleep, he poofed out of thin air again.
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