Everything in the south was so quiet that it was almost peaceful.
Which was terrible because it meant Mingzhe had all the time in the world to catastrophize everything, and not even Hikari's ample efforts could distract him.
He still had a full force of a hundred thousand restless, worried soldiers. All of whom had brothers and sisters and cousins and friends and lovers under Eirian and Chenzhou, and that hadn't seen a single sword strike since they'd marched out. Minus the small force Mingzhe had taken north for the few days Eirian had needed help.
The lack of action left plenty of time for whispers to make their way all the way back to the Camelia, not helping his or his family's reputation in the slightest.
Why was Lord Zhao the only commander not under attack? How did his forces get ambushed in the North, but his forces in the South were safe? How had the tribes even known where his forces were?
It was as infuriating as it was tragic. Mingzhe had dedicated his entire life to the protection and prosperity of the Camelia. Just like the majority of his family before him, and the first time he'd failed at something, they were turning on him like the starving feral dogs that followed the tribes around the prairie and survived on scraps.
It was disheartening.
No, it was crushing.
Someone was taking revenge. Or they'd just chosen the Zhao's as their sacrifice randomly.
Either way, Mingzhe was not going to let his family fall without a fight. His younger brother and sister were already working with Henri in the Camelia, and the rock only knew what their mother was doing.
Mingzhe had written all three of them when he'd written Chenzhou and Eirian to ensure they knew exactly what was going on. He trusted Chenzhou and Eirian to have his back; he would always have theirs, but he didn't want this coming on them in any way. Mingzhe would die before he became a weakness for either of them.
The Camelia had been dying before they arrived, and though Chenzhou had been a part of that, he'd grown so much in such a short time, and Mingzhe could already see the signs of greatness peaking through. Chenzhou, even more than Eirian, had the promise to become a great lord.
Eirian was magnificent and was definitely a leader in her own way, but Eirian blazed a path. Chenzhou led the people down that path.
They were a perfect compliment to one another, and Mingzhe was a barnacle clinging to their bow as long as they would let him.
They had many enemies, some of which weren't even theirs; they were the Camelia's. Or Sorrow's.
At the top of the list were teh tribes themselves, but Mingzhe agreed with Chenzhou that whatever was happening was beyond just them.
The second option was a betrayal from within. They already knew Snake was selling information, but that in and of itself wasn't uncommon. The information market was huge, but it didn't become dangerous until someone intelligent put it to good use.
Eirian's father was one of the top suspects. There were several ways he could use the Camelia, or its fall, against Eric, and he'd already proved he would put his own ambitions above his children.
Neither he nor his young wife had reached out to see how their son was doing in Chenzhou and Eirian's care, but they'd never reached out to see how Eirian was doing after they sold her off either.
There were others in the capital vying for power, but much better at staying in the shadows than Lord Soliel. Even Finn's family, the Vermeers, were on the list because they were on every list when it came to anything to do with the throne. Though not very high because, as far as anyone could prove, they hadn't actually tried to take back the throne in a few hundred years or so.
There was a chance it was the Isles of Smoke. Long ago, the Land of Sorrow and the Isles of Smoke had shared a throne as a united kingdom, though it had been a tumultuous relationship at times. There was always a chance they were trying to unite the kingdoms again, and they were famous for their strategists who could easily come up with a plan that included the tribes.
To the north of Sorrow was the City of Illumination, the home of many wizards who believed they had rights to all magic in the world and sometimes everything else. Eirian hated them with a passion that was intense even for her, and even Mingzhe had grown up with the fear that one day they would show up in his room in the middle of the night to steal him away from his family.
It was the biggest reason he'd never told anyone about his magic, and he knew even Eirian had kept her own secret until she was confident she could take on anyone who came for her.
There was a chance that the enemy was inside, someone more powerful than Snake, but that kind of betrayal seemed…unlikely? Something they would have seen sighs of before now, given how tightly knit the world inside the walls of the Camelia was.
And then there was the Land of Song and Snow. Control of the borderlands had been a battle since both lands had formed. Both considered the valuable agricultural land theirs, and both had significant terrain between the main portion of their kingdom and the borderland. The Camelia sat on top of Sorrow's, the great rivers and fjords that were nearly impossible to traverse. The great Blooming Gorge had sheer walls that dropped thousands of feet and spanned hundreds of miles in length. Crossing it was considered one of the great modern feats.
If the tribes ever came together as a singular group, they had a very good chance of becoming an independent kingdom.
The Land of Song and Snow would never accept that, though. They considered the tribes a lesser race, and there was a deep hatred between the two.
It was almost impossible to consider them a legitimate suspect, but…something about it wouldn't leave Mingzhe. The Land of Song and Snow definitely had the resources to fund a war like this. Even with their hatred, they were economical, willing to play nice if it benefited them. It even made sense that they'd have a store of weapons from Sorrow, given all the years they'd be fighting.
But why now?
….
Unless it wasn't now.
Unless it had started before this.
Who had told the tribes to come together to fight the Camelia during the last war? Where had the tribes found the resources to fight for ten years and then come back and fight again now?
Who would have connections with tribes in all three areas of the borderlands?
All of which bordered the huge Land of Song and Snow.
Mingzhe stared down at the Atlas as dread settled into his bones.
They weren't fighting the tribes.
They were fighting the empires that made up the Land of Song and Snow, and those empires were using the tribes as cannon fodder to weaken Sorrow without sacrificing any of their own.
Mingzhe cursed. Loudly. Descriptively. Viciously.
It made Hikari and other commanders leap to their feet in surprise.
"Get me messengers now. I need to warn Lord Ye, Princess Soliel, and Lord Colfax."
~ tbc