Tales of the Three Kingdoms: Silver Falcon Falls

There was a saying I often came across in my studies, attributed to many philosophers but none more credibly than others. 'He who wields a brush properly need never pick up a sword.' Having myself cut down a monstrous bureaucrat or two who might have believed such things about the nature of power, I didn't put much stock in this particular line.

Yet one moment my father and I were trying to figure out how not to die this winter – even considering abandoning Iron Tower and our ancestral lands to live out our days as simple hunters – and the next, we were planning a war against the most powerful warlord in the Land Under Heaven. How was such a thing possible?

It was all thanks to the proper wielding of the brush.

"We have fifty-eight loyal horsemen?" I confirmed with my father. "Each with Mandates for speed?"

"That's right."

"Well that's a pretty poor army to take back a province. But it's one hell of a messenger corp."

"Messengers? You would dishonor elite calvary by using them as messengers?"

"Is it a dishonor to be the Emperor's only hope?"

"What does any of this have to do with the Emperor?"

"It has to do with the message they'll be carrying."

"And that is…"

"The secret edict of a hostage Emperor."

"You have such an edict?"

"No, but I know the crimes of Dreadwolf as well as anyone, and I know what such an edict would say. What's more, I know how the boy-Emperor would say it. Or… at least I know how his brother said it upon his deathbed. I think."

I had heard the late Emperor Shining Light's words in songs sung by the villagers. I was now adamant that they were his own words, delivered to the hearts and minds of the people by a Mandate discovered too late to make a difference… For him, at least. But Shining Light's words could still save his little half-brother from the clutches of a wolf. I didn't explain any of this to my father, but merely asked him to trust me.

"Hmph," said my father. Clearly he didn't like the idea of deception, but he'd allow me to give it a shot if the existence of the Silver Falcon clan depended upon it. And if we could throw in saving the dynasty from a tyrant, that was all the better.

Sixty horsemen set out that very night on all the speed a Silver Mandate could offer, the light of the full moon flashing from their arms and armor, a forged Imperial edict their only baggage. Windshear himself carried our best rider to Cold Harbor and River gladly gave up her own stolen horse to save it from becoming food. One more message out was one more shot at our salvation.

Some riders had specific destinations, like capitals of Imperial Provinces, including the White Citadel in the Stallion Coast and the Scarlet Falls of Blood Haunt, or key commanderies that might be amenable to our cause, like Tiger Den in the south and Cold Harbor in the north, or prefectures bearing grievous wounds from Dreadwolf's men, like Brass Bell's own Moon's Reflection. Others had no specific orders aside from following a road in a general direction and then using their judgment to deliver it to where it might garner the most attention: village chiefs, bandit camps, boards for odd jobs outside of taverns. It wound up everywhere, and before long, the people were singing the words as they marched:

A sparrow in flight, come to the Emperor's pane,
I give him a secret, this hidden refrain.
Dreadwolf, the traitor, the Emperor's kin,
Whose sins rise to Heaven, his reign soaked in sin.

Oh, save my palace. Oh, shield my land,
Avenge my brother with Heaven's hand.

Noble Lion, and Silver Falcon,
Spotted Lynx, and Shining Stallion,
Snowy Leopard, and Yellow Dragon,
Desert King, and Saber Oak,
Crimson Tiger, and Mantis Grove.

Arise! Arise! Arise! Arise!
With courage and steel beneath the skies.

Excise the wolf, cast out his blight,
Purge the demon of darkest night.
The Land under Heaven is pure and true!
Deliver the justice that's long overdue!

Arise! Arise! Arise! Arise!
Arise! Arise! Arise! Arise!

Upon hearing my words coming from the voices of the people, I might have thought myself possessed by the spirit of the dead boy-Emperor, had I not distinctly remembered River and myself laboring over the words and phrases most likely to incite both warlord and peasant. I might have claimed heavenly inspiration, had my father, or the 'nursemaid,' Silverwing, or the odd sergeant or scullery maid not changed a word here and there for the better. Even Colossus had pointed to a word and shook his head, which made it work so much better as a song for working and for walking.

This was, in essence, a song written by the people of Iron Tower, high and low.

In the end, all the people in the Land Under Heaven took to it with such gusto, I could only assume that Emperor Shining Light's Mandate lived on without him, putting that forged Imperial edict to music, and putting that song into the hearts and minds of the people while they slept.

When they woke up, they woke up singing… and marching.

It didn't happen immediately though. At first, all we could do was wait, knowing that we had barely sixty fighting men to hold Iron Tower and the nearly abandoned village that surrounded it. We kept waiting for that first big band of rebels to come and try to take it from us – and there were more than a few gangs or desperate thieves who were only dissuaded by a crossbow bolt or a spearpoint – but once the snows set in, hunger was our greatest enemy.

Little Ang – not the Lord of Iron Tower nor its heir – got the best portion of what little we had stored up. Despite that, it was often the wrong fare for a newly weaned child. Some days, the baby was inconsolable, and as his wails echoed throughout the hollow tower, we were all at each others' throats. Other days, it seemed to me like the baby was the only thing that could save River from her own dark thoughts, after the events at Uncle's village. She poured everything she had into that child, and eventually, in the darkest days of winter, the bond was reciprocated.

Whether any of us decided it, or planned on it, by spring, River became the child's mother in every way that counted. One night, as the last of the melting snows soaked into the plains, she came to me as she used to back in the Emperor's palace and we made love.

"You've given me a son," she said to me, lying on my chest only half covered in furs and blankets. "I don't know how you managed it, but you've twisted fate in a way I never thought possible. You've kept up your end of the bargain."

"So that means…" I said, a lump forming in my throat.

She rested her chin on her hands and looked me in the eye, then nodded. "I will be your wife."

When the first riders appeared again on the horizon, only ten of us remained to walk out of the gates of Iron Tower. More than a dozen of our two dozen guards had ventured off in search of Heaven-knew-what-else might be out there for them. And when the stores had gotten so dangerously low it was clear that not all of us would make it through the winter alive, Colossus had refused any nourishment whatsoever until he died on his feet.

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But just after we spied the glimmer of Silver Falcon clan livery and strode out of the tower to meet it, a wall of shimmering gold appeared as well.

They sang as they marched and it was the first time I recognized their words as the ones River and I had written. I recognized, too, the banners that approached, as those of Noble Lion and his Golden Infantry. He and our messenger rode out ahead of his men to meet us.

"By Heaven, you're alive," was the first thing Noble Lion said, before dismounting and embracing me. "You need a bath," was the second.

I laughed, though my ribs hurt from nothing in particular. "I could use some food more than anything. Got any?"

"Of course, of course," said Noble Lion, he crossed to his saddlebags and pulled out a loaf of bread, a hunk of smoked bacon and a flagon of wine. My mouth was already watering as I passed them to River.

She bowed to Noble Lion and began breaking off bits of bread to feed the baby.

Noble Lion looked shocked. "Has our little Sparrow gone and hatched himself an egg? I never would have guessed!"

I smiled sheepishly. "And got married. What have you been up to this winter?"

Lion raised his eyebrows significantly. "I've begun taking back the Reach. Can I tell you that your little message was worse than a plague. Everywhere I went people would be singing it. I was ready to stuff my ears with wool. But when the same bandits that had been plaguing me for weeks started showing up at my door, asking to join up…" Lion shook his head in disbelief. "I don't know how you did it. You turned the tide, and you did it with next to nothing."

I snorted a laugh, "No army. No rank. No food. Starving with my wife and son and aging father," I shrugged. "It was the only thing I could think to do."

He clasped me by the shoulders, and I noticed for the first time, a white streak in his otherwise regal blonde hair. "That song brought my kingdom back from the brink of destruction. Allow me to return the favor."

I turned to see that the army had caught up with its leader and carts were now rolling into the gates of Iron Tower. I saw grain and seed, meat and live animals, arms, armor, gold bars and bronze coins. It was everything you needed to build a kingdom from scratch. It was everything we needed to live.

***SPARROW'S MISSION REPORT: SURVIVE THE WINTER***

SUCCEEDED Primary Objective: Survive the Winter.

FAILED Secondary Objective: Do not lose any more lives to hunger or soldiers to desertion.

SUCCEEDED Bonus Objective: Hold Iron Tower

Enemy Slain: 4 | Enemy Captured: 0 | Losses: 19

Overall Grade: D (Pyrrhic Victory)

"Lion, it's too much…"

"You already have the cities. And the people will come, once they hear there's food and land to cultivate."

"It's very generous, but…"

"Oh it's not entirely altruistic I assure you. It's partly repayment, of course, for that song that swelled my ranks, and reminded the people who the legitimate ruler of Lion's Reach is, yes. But that song did something else, Sparrow. You know what it did? It unified the nation against Dreadwolf. Everyone and their mothers recognize what a villain Dreadwolf is, and they're joining up, not to help us reclaim our territories. No. They're joining us for a grander purpose. I have bandit lords coming to me with a hundred men ready to serve. I have rebels with Yellow Scarves still around their necks, pledging themselves to me if I can stop Dreadwolf, and warlords squatting on my father's land calling for a truce if I promise to march east with them. The people are demanding that we oust Dreadwolf. We have the opportunity to show them who the real Imperial Protectors of the provinces are, but if we don't capitalize, things go right back to the way they were."

I nodded, following my friend's line of logic. "Dreadwolf issued a decree to shatter our lands. We take him out, we can start putting our provinces back together."

"Quite so. Quite so. Which is why this isn't just repayment, nor is it charity. Come the end of autumn, I'm going to need you Sparrow. Not just you, but the Silver Falcon clan in all its glory. The time between wars is over. The time for preparation is almost at an end. Come the end of autumn, we march on the capital together."

***SILVER FALCON CLAN MISSION REPORT: INTERBELLUM***

SUCCEEDED Primary Objective: Prepare the Silver Falcon clan for general war among the clans.

FAILED Secondary Objective: Ensure the Silver Falcon clan ends up on the right side of Imperial favor.

SUCCEEDED Bonus Objective: Gain an ally in a province North of the Silver Falcon clan's holdings.

FAILED Bonus Objective: Gain an ally in a province West of the Silver Falcon clan's holdings.

SUCCEEDED Bonus Objective: Gain an ally in a province South of the Silver Falcon clan's holdings.

SUCCEEDED Secret Objective: Gain an ally in the Imperial household.

Enemy Slain: 51 | Enemy Captured: 0 | Losses: 19

Overall Grade: B (Moderate Success)

***

Lion was correct. The people did come, almost immediately, once word got out that there was food and work and wealth in Iron Tower. I found myself – a lowly agricultural administrator – strangely well suited to the task of administering to our agriculture. Here I was, divvying out coin and grain and seed for planting in exchange for a promise to cultivate the lands around Iron Tower. At first, it was as simple as that: food and coin for a promise to work. And most of them kept that promise.

There was the odd disagreement of course, but the sight of Windstopper was often enough to dissuade any further conflict. And if more than that was needed, my father was still Commandant and his word was still law, no matter what Dreadwolf put in his decrees.

Slowly but surely, our fifty riders came back to us, and when bandits or rebels were sighted on the horizon – there were always some that thought they'd be better off going against the flow of the times – I rode out at the head of my cavalry, Windstopper and even River by my side.

She was as good a rider as I was, though I had no idea horsemanship was a part of a concubine's training. If you had asked a young Sparrow if he would ever ride into battle with his wife, he probably would have laughed at you. But the truth was that I was probably in more danger than River ever was… in any given scenario.

And I wouldn't admit to this, but it was oddly – darkly – comforting to know that if ever we faced a fighting force that we absolutely had to stop at all costs, and we were on the verge of a route, all I had to do was direct the conflict to the banks of some river or another. Though it would also ensure my own force's destruction, River could nearly guarantee that none of the enemy made it past us, to terrorize Iron Tower. It was the type of thought that couldn't come from a general or the lord of a province. After all, the role of the general and the lord was to lead the army to victory and to rule the province, respectively. Only a parent would consider the option of complete and total destruction, in the name of protecting their home.

Agriculture and order restored in our tiny remaining corner of the Falcon Plains, I turned my attention to preparations of war. There was iron and bronze to consider, blacksmiths and armorers. While some of Noble Lion's donation – or investment – could certainly go towards purchasing weapons and armor for the upcoming confrontation, it was better – and cheaper – to rebuild the industries that had served past lords of the Silver Falcon clan so well.

It was hard work, and it was good work, and in all the years I learned hunting, horsemanship, and war from my father, I never had as much respect for him as I did when he taught me how to rule. If my year in the capital had aged him, that past winter took what little youth he had left. He was now an old man in truth, reminding me everyday that one day he would leave us, and every day I still wondered if he was teaching me these things to later advise one of my younger brothers, or so that I could rule in his stead. Every day I prayed some Mandate would appear for me so we could put the matter finally to rest. And every day, no doubt, my younger brothers, wherever they were, prayed that theirs would manifest first, so that they could take my role as heir, and begin learning these things at my father's feet instead of me. But in the end, nothing changed in time for the will of Heaven to significantly impact our lives, and my brothers would have to wait at least one more year to take my place.

Spring turned into summer, and crops grew. Summer turned into autumn and we harvested them. And finally, there was nothing left to do but call the banners. The only problem that remained to me was that I had no banners to call. My father and I may have physically held Iron Tower but any other lords or commanders that had been pledged to him had long since vanished, or changed allegiances. So while the Silver Falcon clan – or what was left of it – literally sat in Iron Tower, we were no longer the seat of a great house.

"Go to your father," said River, helping baby Ang walk across the musty old bearskin rug that adorned our quarters in the top of Iron Tower.

"For what?" I asked. "Don't tell me you two suddenly see eye to eye."

River shrugged. "In matters of production and organization, he's been helpful, though you far surpass him in that regard. In matters of people and politics, it is I who have had to learn these things in order to survive. But in matters of war, Sparrow, your father, the Commandant, is peerless. Go to him. Ask his advice. See how he would raise your banners. See how he would organize all the factions into one army."

So I did. And bending over his map table depicting the Plains of the Falcon, he found me an army.

***SILVER FALCON CLAN MISSION BRIEFING: THE FIRST BATTLE OF WOLF CAGE PASS***

Primary Objective: Assemble a roster of worthy officers capable of supporting the coalition's battle plan.

Secondary Objective: No key officers are lost.

Secondary Objective: The army is not routed and does not sustain great losses.

Bonus Objective: Win the first battle of Wolf Cage Pass.

Fail Conditions: Sparrow is disgraced in his first large-scale military command.