Mingzhe watched the two companies of cavalry pack their equipment and check their saddles.
Four thousand troops in total. As soon as they left the Camelia, they would split into smaller patrols and spread out along the Camelia's border. It was nerve-wracking to send them out as the first patrols of the year. They were well trained and well equipped, Mingzhe had seen to that, and it was their job. Most of them had been doing it for years by now, one of the most experienced hosts in the Crimson Army.
And yet Mingzhe couldn't help but worry.
They looked so young, even those older than Mingzhe's meager twenty-five years. Bright, fresh faces laughing and joking as they readied themselves to head out into the unknown.
He was turning into a poet, it seemed. Had even been gentler than normal when he'd met with the commanders this morning to give them their final orders. Chenzhou had barely made it in time, apologizing for stopping to talk to Eirian first. He'd looked a bit frazzled, but he hadn't been able to stay long enough for Mingzhe to ask what was wrong.
Maybe he'd ask Eirian when he met her for more training this evening.
Maybe Chenzhou would even be present?
Eirian seemed interested in having him learn about their magic, even though he lacked any of his own. Mingzhe didn't know enough about magic to say anything, and it was nice to have Lord Ye's attention.
His family was thrilled. Not about the magic, they'd rather he ignore that, but the attention. His mother was starting to get that dangerous gleam back in her eye that she'd had those years when she'd had hopes of marrying him off.
Considering the first people he'd ever had any romantic interest in were married to each other, she shouldn't get her hopes up.
The soldiers mounted up, maneuvering into formation as he was lost in his thoughts.
He snapped to attention at the sharp note of the trumpet, accepted the salute from teh two companies, and returned it with the appropriate aplomb.
He'd given a short speech yesterday when he'd notified them, so now all he said was, "Travel well on safe winds."
They gave a cheer in response, and he watched until they were out of sight along the road.
***
Eirian had dreamed of the dead world again and of the tall, dark-haired man who felt like a sibling and couldn't stop staring out the veil.
Eirian couldn't remember what they'd talked about. She'd been woken early by Marian, who had apologized but let a flustered Chenzhou in. He was struggling to adjust, still trying to find a balance with all the changes that were taking place.
He'd wanted to show Eirian some intelligence reports and ask her opinion on them before he had to rush out to meet with Mingzhe, before he sent out the first patrols.
Eirian had barely gotten a word out before he kissed her on the cheek and rushed out, leaving her with a lap full of sensitive intelligence reports.
Eirian hadn't been awake enough to realize what was happening at first, though Marian had seemed incredibly pleased and started pulling some of Eirian's nicer robes from the back of her closet.
She added the intelligence reports to the volume of the Histories she was working on, and since her dream had reminded her to research her mark, picked it all up and headed for Yuze's office.
***
Yuze was barely into his first cup of coffee when Eirian burst in.
He spared a moment to worry about teh security of his office and the lock on his door, but the coffee woke him up enough to realize that it wouldn't have made a difference in the face of Eirian's magic.
He should probably just be happy she didn't burn the damn thing down.
"Oh good, you're awake." She dragged one of the chairs closer to his desk and set down a stack of books and reports that Yuze recognized.
"Good morning to you, too."
"It's not a good morning." Eirian collapsed into the chair. "Chenzhou woke me up before dawn, my dreams were not restful, I haven't had breakfast yet, and Chenzhou kissed me, and I have no idea what it means."
Yuze opened his mouth and shut it again without speaking. He got up and poured her a cup of coffee. "I have no idea what's going on with you and Chenzhou, so don't ask me." He handed her the cup.
Eirian inhaled the steam coming off the cup before taking a sip. "That's fine, that's not what I wanted to ask you about anyway." Yuze gave her a curious look as he sat back down. "Do you have anything written about magic marks?"
"Magic marks? Like curses?" His eyes narrowed. "Is this about the miasma?"
Eirian shook her head. "No." She hesitated. "I've been having dreams. I wanted to do some research, but I don't have anything in my library."
Yuze glanced at the bookshelves lining his office walls. "You can look through mine, but I've never researched magic, so I don't know if there will be anything useful."
A huge golden eagle landed on the windowsill with a flutter of white tipped feathers. It hopped over to Yuze's desk in a single leap, and he carefully removed the scroll attached to its leg as Eirian admired the stunning bird.
She sipped her coffee as Yuze unrolled the scroll, mentally translating the coded scroll as he took a sip of his own coffee.
Which Eirian promptly had to dodge as he spat it out in surprise.
Yuze was so shocked he cursed. "Fuck me."
Eirian, once she was sure there was no more flying coffee, leaned in. "What? What is it?"
"It's from the Bandri," Yuze said, staring at the message in his hands. "They want to meet with Chenzhou."
~ tbc