Joan He - Strike the Zither

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To Heather, my

Empress: Xin Bao*

Prime Ministress: Miasma

Strategist: Crow

Advisor: Plum

Notable Generals: Viper, Talon, Leopard

Lordess: Cicada

Strategist: November

Governor: Xin Gong*

Advisor: Sikou Hai

Notable Generals: Sikou Dun, Aster, Bracken

Lordess: Xin Ren*

Swornsisters: Cloud, Lotus

Strategist: Zephyr

Notable Generals: Tourmaline

*Surname precedes given name. For example, Xin Bao and Xin Ren both share the surname Xin.

Xin Ren, Xin clan member and first of the three swornsisters

Cloud (Gao Yun), second swornsister

Lotus (Huang Lianzi), third swornsister

Zephyr (Pan Qilin), strategist to Xin Ren

Please note that this is a work of fantasy. The Xin Dynasty does not exist in history, and the story is neither set in China nor a true-to-times portrayal of social orders and demographics. Furthermore, Strike the Zither should not be used as an educational reference for Chinese philosophy and spirituality; the metaphysics of q; the mythology of gods; or the playing techniques of the gqn, to name just a few areas in which artistic liberties have been taken.

To the north, a miasma

descended over the capital,

trapping the young empress in its thrall.

To the south, a cicada

sang a song of vengeance

as the people mourned their late queen.

Between lands, a lordess

with nothing

sought to change her fate.

And in the skies above,

the heavens were one god short.

SOMETHING FROM NOTHING

Some say the heavens dictate the rise and fall of empires.

Clearly, those peasants have never met me.

My abilities as a strategist have earned me many sobriquets, from the Dragons Shadow to the Tactician of Thistlegate. Rising Zephyr is my personal favorite. Zephyr will do, if you please.

Peacock!

Unless youre Lotus. Then its too much to ask for.

I struggle to steer my mare around; horses dont appreciate genius.

Neither does Lotus. Hey, Peacock! she hollers over the creaking wagons, crying babies, and cracking whips. She urges her stallion up along the other side until were somewhat eye to eye, the heads of people and oxen coursing between us. Theyre catching up!

Consider me unsurprised. Miasma, prime ministress of the Xin Empire in name, acting empress in reality, was bound to close in on our soldiers and peasants, who nowthanks to Lotusrealize theyre about to die. A child bursts into tears, an auntie trips, a young couple spurs their mule faster. No luck. The steep forest path is doughy from last nights rainfall, kneaded to mush by the hundreds weve evacuated.

Still hundreds more to go.

Do something! Lotus shouts at me. Use your brain! Her hair has frizzed into an impressive mane around her face, and she waves her ax as if shes itching to use it.

Wouldnt help us. Its not just Miasma were up against: Our own numbers are bogging us down. We must evacuate everyone, Ren said sternly when I suggested it was time we flee our current town for the next. Miasma will slaughter the commonfolk just for harboring us.

Miasma may still yet, at this rate, but theres no arguing with our warlordess Xin Rens benevolence. Most strategists wouldnt be able to cope with it.

I can.

Think of a plan! Lotus bellows.

Thanks for the confidence, Lotus. I already havethree, in fact. Plan one (ditch the commoners) might be off the table, but theres plan two (cut down trees and pray for rain), and plan three (send a trustworthy general to the bridge at the mountains base to hold off Miasma).

Plan two is in motion, if the humidity is any indication. Ive set General Tourmaline and her forces on felling trees behind us. The trunks will wash down in the coming storm, and the resulting dam should delay Miasmas cavalry by a couple of hours.

As for sending a trustworthy general to the bridge

My gaze cuts from Lotus to Cloud, Rens other swornsister. Shes helping evacuees farther up the muddy slope, her ultramarine cloak rich against the muted greens of the firs.

Cloud thinks better than Lotus under pressure. A shame, because I dont know if I can harness her. Last month, she released Miasma from one of my traps because Sage Master Shencius forbids killing by way of snare. Thats all very nice, Cloud, but was Sage Master Shencius ever on the run from the empire? I dont think so.

You. I point my fan at Lotus. Ride down to the bridge with a hundred of your best and employ Beget Something from Nothing.

Lotus gives me a blank look.

Just make it look like we have more forces across the river than we actually do. Stir up dust. Roar. Intimidate them. Shouldnt be too hard for Lotus, whose sobriquet only suits her if you visualize the root, not the flower. Her war cry can shake birds out of trees within the radius of a l. She forged her own ax and wears the pelt of a tiger she killed as a skirt. Shes as warrior as warriors come, the opposite of everything I stand for. At least Cloud knows her classical poems.

But Lotus has something Cloud doesnt: the ability to take an order.

Intimidate, she repeats under her breath. Got it. Then shes galloping down the mountain on her beastly stallion and referring to herself by name in that gauche way some warriors do before riding into battle. Lotus wont disappoint!

Thunder swallows the rumble of her departure. Clouds brew in the sky, and leaves drift around me in a breeze more stench than air. Pressure builds in my chest; I breathe through it and focus on my hair, still clasped back in its high ponytail. My fan, still in my hand.

This wont be the first time Ive delivered the impossible for Ren.

And deliver it I will. Miasma isnt reckless; the impending rains combined with Lotuss intimidation will make her think twice before pursuing us up the mountain. I