From The Ashes (9 page)

A voice which Ying knew, spoke.
 
It seemed that all could hear it, though it resonated in his heart, not his ears.

//ARISE, CHILDREN OF VALHANDRA.
 
YOURS IS THE HOLY HERITAGE OF THE SPIRIT POTENTIAL.
 
THE HARVEST IS COME.
 
GO FORTH, REAP WHAT YOUR FATHERS’ FATHERS HAVE SOWN IN TEARS AND BLOOD //
        

It was her—Mei Liang!
 
But her voice was strong, majestic, like nothing of this world.
 
Her blazing form rose up, the span of her wings stretched from one side of the arena to the other.
 
When she clapped her wings once, the heated wind blew every Chungan soldier into the air like dry leaves.

When they fell down on their backs, Chi and his men made quick work of them.
 
Ying flew over and caught the Elder in his Talons and lifted him over the citadel.

Beneath them, the enemy hordes had gathered the citizens of Bai Kuo, preparing to execute the men in lines of ten with swords in the back.

“Call them off and command them to leave the citadel.”
 
Ying said to the Elder.

“Why would I even entertain your demands?”

“If you don’t, I’ll throw you to the ground where your men will have to pick up the pieces.”

He laughed.
 
“And then? You think my soldiers will just go home?”

“Call them off, now!”

“I’ll show you what I will do.”
 
He reached into his belt and pulled out a dagger.

“I
will
drop you!”

“Go ahead!”
 
And with that, the Elder put the point of the knife to his own throat, gave a loud grunt and slashed it.
 

Swearing in frustration, Ying hurled the Elder’s body back down into the arena.
 

The enormous firebird rose up into the sky regarding him closely.
 
He had recognized her voice, but the form?
 
Now he knew.
 
This was the embodiment of the
Feng Huang,
the legendary Millennial Phoenix spirit, as prophesied in the tomes of the ancient Sojourners.

For a moment, all fell silent in his mind.

// FEAR NOT, MY PRINCE //

// PRINCE? I AM NO PRINCE //

// WHAT YOU APPEAR TO BE, THIS SIDE OF THE VEIL, DOES NOT DETERMINE WHO AND WHAT YOU TRULY ARE //

// WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW? //

// TAKE BACK MY FATHER’S KINGDOM, DEAR YING //

But they were too few.
 
Just seventy or so against thousands.
 
“It’s not possible.”

// FOR MAN, IT IS NOT POSSIBLE.
 
BUT FOR VALHANDRA, NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE.
 
BEHOLD… //

She directed his attention to the entrance to the arena.
 
What he saw below took him by surprise.
 
Dozen by dozen, a stream of various animals came rushing out, some on foot, some flying.
 
There were horses, tigers, leopards, bears, hawks, hounds, and too many other kinds to tell.

// BEHOLD,
YOUR
BRETHREN…THE SOJOURNERS… THEY HAVE RETURNED //

When Ying looked down to the ground, he noticed that his own shadow, outlined by the fiery light of the Phoenix, had also transformed into that of a great eagle.
 
It was then that he understood.
 
“The spirit potential.”

// YES //

It was yet another voice, inside his heart.
 
“Xue?”
 
He had met with his spirit potential and was now manifesting in all its power as a great eagle, the size of a young elephant.
 
Everything he and Xue had experienced together became a common memory.
 
Every skill that Xue had possessed was now his.
 
They were no longer two, but one in spirit.
 
It seemed they had always been.

Ying flapped his expansive wings and let out a shrill cry that resounded throughout the citadel.
 
At that, the citizens and Chungan soldiers looked up.
 

Fear struck the hearts of the enemy troops and they all scattered.
 

Until their commanders shouted orders to kill the citizens.
 

It was then that the transformed Sojourners attacked with the speed and ferocity which only animals possessed.

The Phoenix flew off to the western hills.
 

// WHERE ARE YOU GOING? //

// TO AWAKEN THE REST //

Ying didn’t take another moment to ask about it.
 
He simply flew down and clutched at every Chungan soldier about to execute a Bai Kuo citizen. He quickly threw the soldiers against the wall, stunning them or injuring them fatally.

The hundreds of soldiers that could still do so fled out of the citadel gates and the people cheered.
 
In pursuit, the army of transformed Sojourner beasts flooded out of the gates as well.
 
Ying landed in front of them all and returned to his human form.

Each of the villagers he’d known and some he’d only met once or twice in Xingjia took on their human forms again as well.
 
Only now, they didn’t appear a provincial brood.
 
As though they’d just awaken from a dream, a dignified look of courage and wisdom came over their faces.
 
They all stood a bit taller, their eyes clearer than before.
 
All in a line facing their fleeing enemies, they stood shoulder to shoulder some raising fists in the air in victory.

“Have you ever seen such a frightened lot?” one asked.

Chi, who had transformed back into a human form from that of a black
warhorse
now surveyed his men.
 
Once a disorganized band of low-born rustics, now they stood as an army of proud warriors whose true heritage had been resurrected by the return of the Millennial Phoenix.

“Still refuse to believe?” Ying said, placing a firm hand on Chi’s shoulder.

“I never stopped.”
 
The smile faded.
 
“I am sorry about the Princess.”

“Did you not see the Phoenix?”

“I did, but—”

“It’s her!
 
Mei Liang has become the Millennial Phoenix!”

Chi rubbed his chin and his eyes drifted deep into thought.
 
“So that is why she hastened her own death.
 
Just as it has been told in the Sojourner tomes.”

“I never imagined it would be Mei Liang that was to awaken the spirit of the Sojourners,” Ying said, turning to the valley where the remaining Chungan soldiers had fled.
 
“And I never would have dreamt that we were the remnant of the Sojourners themselves.”

Chi smiled and laughed ironically.
 

“What do you find so amusing?” Ying said.

“He uses the simple to confound the learned, the humble to confound the proud, and the weak to overcome the strong.”

“That sounds familiar.”

Chi clapped Ying’s shoulder.
 
“It’s in your book.”

As they spoke, some of the Sojourners stirred.
 
Then they began shouting.
 
“Chi!
Ying!
 
It has gone bad!”

Ying turned to look.
 
If a few hundred Chungan soldiers seemed an overwhelming number, what he now saw flooding the valley was immeasurably worse.
 

These were the ten-thousand troops the conspirators had mentioned when he overheard them in the woods.

The alluvial plains darkened as thousands of horsemen and chariots blanketed the sand in deadly waves.
 

“Let them come!” said Hua Zong, flames rising from his fingertips.
 
“I’ll roast them like pigs!”

One of them who had transformed into a sharp-tusked boar turned to Hua and grunted angrily.
 

Hua smiled.
 
“It’s just an expression.”

Chi lifted his hand, clenched his fingers into a fist and announced, “We’ll meet them in the valley!
 
Citizens of Bai
Kuo
who are able, take up your weapons and keep the high ground.
 
Sojourners
who take the form of leopards and tigers, harass the horses first and finish their riders when they have fallen.
 
Birds of prey!
 
Collect large stones and throw them at the front of the enemy lines.”
 
Chi transformed back into a horse and everyone followed.
 

“For Valhandra!”

From high above, Ying—now in eagle form—looked down with a thrill as the Sojourners leaped, flew and climbed over the citadel walls and then poured into the hills like water.
 
The mighty men of Bai Kou ascended the towers and readied their weapons.

Ying flew to the crags that surrounded the valley below and in his talons took hold of a heavy stone.
 
He flew down towards the valley where clouds of dust rose into the sky behind the attacking armies.
 
When the Chungan troops that had fled Bai Kuo saw their reinforcements coming, they turned back to face the oncoming Sojourners.
 
Dropping to one knee, each of the Chungan archers drew their bows.

Before Ying could react, a dozen or more stones flew past him and down at the archers, either crushing their skulls or knocking them off their feet.
 
Even as a number of stray arrows launched, a squadron of giant falcons soared ahead down to the bodies of the archers.

But one bowman remained.
 
Hidden behind the body of a fallen comrade, he aimed his weapon straight at the black horse leading the Sojourner charge.
 
Chi!

From that distance, Chi would never see his assailant in time to evade.

Ying dove straight at the lone archer and threw his stone at his head.

But it missed.

At the crashing of the stone next to him, the archer glanced up, around, and because his helmet impeded his view he removed it.
 
Just then Ying clawed at his face and the archer dropped his bow.

Grabbing him by the neck, Ying lifted him off the ground and high into the air.
 
All the while, the archer writhed, clutched at his neck trying to pry Ying’s talons from it.
 
He gurgled and strained in pain.

About six hundred yards from the Sojourner front line, the enemy troops gathered. Then the commander, accompanied by several others in the row, charged with his sword pointed forward.
 
Behind them, bringing up the rear, one blew a horn and another held the green flag of Chungzhou emblazoned with a black dragon.
 

Ying, uncertain what to do next flung the archer down at the commander of the troops leading the onslaught.
 
The archer’s body struck the commander with such lethal accuracy it not only knocked him off his horse, but three other mounted fighters in the row, as well.

However, though the flag fell, another soldier snatched it off the ground and it flew once again.
 
The falling of the commanders did nothing to stave off the attack.
 
As if nothing had happened, the troops rode forward, mounted soldiers and chariots alike.

Within seconds, the sound of swords clashing, men shouting, and animals roaring rose up from the ground below.
 
The leopards and other great cats fell upon the enemy chargers, taking them down by the neck, the legs or by any other means.
 
The Chungan horses screamed and kicked, throwing their riders from their backs.

The rest of the Sojourners in the form of bears, boars, wolves, elephants and rhinoceroses came next and gored, ripped, rammed and trampled the fallen enemy soldiers before they could even return to their feet.

Ying flew up to get a better view.

Chi had become a human again and drew a sword from a dead Chungan’s side.
 
With the weapon raised high, he commanded the Sojourners to meet the next wave: Chungan chariots.

With a squadron of falcons at his side, each armed once again with large stones in their talons, Ying reached out in his mind to them.

// WE MUST GO BEFORE THEM ALL AND PROVIDE COVER //

He led the squadron over Chi, who had mounted a lone Chungan horse and turned it around against the incoming army.
 
Again, the falcons hurtled stones and toppled the riders out of their chariots.

This had been effective the first time, but now the great birds had lost the element of surprise.
 
This time, some of the chariot riders were prepared.
 
The ones who had not yet been struck by stones fired arrows at the falcons, some even stabbed the few who had flown close enough.