Kuro: A Land in Eternal Night

Chapter 23.2: The Dragon Emperor

He didn't listen to the answer, for in his mind, he already knew. If the Dark Priestess had decided to reveal herself, something important was afoot. The demon priestess had lain dormant for the last two hundred years. Perhaps the situation in the Northern Kingdom had grown too threatening. He did not like that thought.

In the past, when Zhao Zheng needed information in order to make a decision, he would slip away past the palace guard to nearby Wu Shi, disguise himself as a common man and wander the desert outposts, talking to whoever would stop to speak to him. He had learned this trick from his grandfather, the great Zhao Yun. "You will learn many things from the common man if you but take the time to listen to what he is saying. The heart of Yin is in its people. The great must listen to the lowly. A great emperor knows to listen to those whose voices are faint." Zhao Yun knew one important fact - the common folk could spot the stupid well ahead of time. They were unswayed by the many complications nobles trifled themselves with: politics, the need to impress others and gaining favor in the courts. The common man cared for one thing alone: how he was to survive another day. And that perspective, Zhao Yun had taught, was infinitely valuable.

"Our GEU supply runs low again. Shipments arrive daily now from Taiyou-Shi and yet we use them up as fast as they come in. The northern kingdom of Bei is under tremendous pressure, and yet none of the other kingdoms will help."

Zhao Zheng recognized Yin Fei, sworn general in his army and nephew to Wu Ji, great king of the western kingdom. A young man of only twenty-five, Yin Fei was a diamond in the rough. Zhao Zheng respected him greatly. The young man was patient, never hasty. Despite his young age he enjoyed a level of respect from his peers that most men twice his age would envy.

More than that, however, Zhao Zheng trusted Wu Ji the most among the four kings. The western kingdom had been the first to vow its allegiance to the Dragon Emperor long ago, not necessarily because they were the first to fall, but because Wu Ji's ancestors saw the wisdom of the Dragon Emperor's credo — that "All Under Heaven" was the only way to prevent war among the four kingdoms. By uniting the four kingdoms under the rule of the Dragon Emperor, they ensured the greatness of Yin for all eternity.

And for most of the passage of time, Yin had in fact stood unchallenged. The pride of the desert kingdoms was great, but their reputation for being the most savage warriors in the land had stayed with them through the centuries. Even as civilization modernized and the military wars gave way to wars of economics and trade, Yin stayed as it was, choosing to continue its militant way of life. Perhaps it was the only way to truly survive in the harshness that was the Winter Desert.

It was only now, when the great empire was so dangerously close to being brought to its knees by this new war against a foe so ancient and so little understood, that Yin was finally forced to bow down and beg the nation of Taiyou, the reigning kings of this new economic era. In this day and age it was not military might that ruled, but rather the ones who controlled the light.

"Yin Fei is right." The emperor spoke finally. The room fell deathly silent. No one would dare talk above the Dragon Emperor. "We shall resolve nothing here. We must ask the East, West and South to help. I know I can count on the West to come to the North's aid. We must find some way of convincing the other kings to come to the aid of the North."

Yin Fei spoke again. "There is something else, your majesty."

Zhao Zheng turned to the young man, his interest piqued.

"A stranger has turned up. He wishes an audience with the Dragon Emperor."

"Oh?" Now Zhao Zheng was truly curious. No stranger suddenly just showed up and demanded an audience with the Emperor. More importantly, it was even harder to get past the emperor's personal entourage of advisors. This stranger had something important to say, if he was being granted his time with the Emperor.

"Send him in." Zhao Zheng nodded to Yin Fei. The young man motioned to a group of guards who walked out to the great doors and opened them.

The doors swung outward slowly, the beautiful ornate cabinetry gleaming. At the entrance stood a solitary figure. He was tall and slim, about six and a half feet tall. He was wearing a black business suit, made of fine fabric, clearly of substantial quality and craftsmanship, with a deep crimson tie. It was the kind of finery that would be expected of the emperor. The man had the look of a noble about him. Finely chiseled features, long, straight, dark hair that reached down to his shoulders. Deep, piercing black eyes that bored into the observer like gimlets, a hawk-like nose and a long face.

The stranger strode into the Emperor's court without a care in the world. It wasn't disrespectful, but it had an irreverent air, something no other person in the Emperor's court would attempt. No one stopped him, however. The man's aura was so arresting, he commanded respect from his very being.

Zhao Zheng wasn't cowed. He had seen his fair share of powerful men in his lifetime. He tried to size up the stranger. He did not look like he came from any of the four kingdoms. Yet he looked like a resident of Yin, though certainly no ordinary man. As he neared the emperor, the man stopped about twenty steps before, and bowed slowly, gracefully before Zhao Zheng.

"I am Lung, your majesty," he said by way of introduction.