The man behind the iron mask stirred from his slumber with the sluggish deliberation of one who has overindulged in comfort. By a lapse of vigilance, he had drifted off mid-meal among his own soldiers, yet fortune had not entirely abandoned him. Beyond the camp, the outer walls stood firm and unbreached, while within, the warmth of the fire mingled with the heady aroma of a richly seasoned stew, bathing the feasting soldiers in its comforting glow.
Still cloaked in the fog of drowsiness, the general rose from the ground, silently grateful to whoever had draped a blanket over his armor in his brief repose. The memory surfaced, he had been amidst an inspection of his forces when weariness overtook him, a momentary lapse in the relentless demands of command.
"General," Jang's steady hand assisted him upright. "Fear not, you have only rested two minutes."
Two minutes, yet even such a fleeting pause is a luxury they could scarcely afford. Every heartbeat counted, and the lives of those under his command teetered precariously upon the decisions made in such fleeting instants. Still, at least the city of Ba Sing Se offered its defenders rare comforts in the form of towering walls impervious to sudden raid. Even better than the other states in the northern Earth Kingdom, here there are rich provisions, and the unusual luxury of relative peace. Minor skirmishes occasionally flared with bordering neighbors, luckily only claiming perhaps a few thousand lives occasionally.
"I had a remarkable dream, Jang," the man commonly referred to as the Judge of Honghai murmured, voice muffled beneath the mask.
"Which one?" the lieutenant asked.
The general's reply was deliberately vague. It was neither the hour nor the place for digressions as the inspection is far from complete. They now found themselves within the encampment of his elite nomad cavalry, mounted archers drawn from the far-flung steppes. Though other garrisons of Ba Sing Se might hesitate to recruit from the more distant places in the Earth Kingdom, few could deny the advantage of warriors tempered by harsh climates and unforgiving terrain.
A nomad soldier, still armored in his gleaming silver lamellar and a helmet ornamented with two eagle feathers, offered a steaming bowl of mutton soup. The general accepted it eagerly, consuming the hearty portion with relish and praising the cook in a tongue unfamiliar to Jang. Save for those who attained the ranks of officers, communication for common nomad soldiers proved to be somewhat difficult. Yet for the general, the barriers are no obstacle. The commander of the measly three thousand strong army can understand their customs and languages, honed over years of leadership among such men.
"If ever you become a general, Jang," the masked commander said. "Remember to dine with them from time to time."
A sound wisdom from an experienced general, but even the lieutenant can sense an ulterior motive in this quote.
"Are you sure this isn't merely an excuse for you to enjoy some mutton stew?" Jang replied, though even he could not deny the rich, satisfying aroma of the dish, its tender meat and savory broth a perfect complement to the local garrison's consistent rations of flat, round bread.
Culinary interests aside, another matter weighed upon their minds. As they wound their way through the sprawling military encampment of feasting nomads, the lieutenant raised questions regarding recent affairs in the Upper Ring. Though the city strove to conceal it, news of General Sun Bin's severe decline in health had begun to seep outward. Among the common rank and file of the city garrison, awareness is still fragmentary. Yet among the officers, whispers and conjectures about potential successors to the Council of Five are already rife.
Of course, they too are not oblivious to these murmurs. Some in their unit even began entertaining, with careful discretion, the thought of a vacancy.
"The likes of us are far from such heights," the masked general murmured to Jang as they walked.
Still, other factors constrained the Judge of Honghai from climbing further, despite his working rapport with the leader on the Council of Five. Why lead from the rear when one could savor the immediacy of action? Yet such sentiments are not universal. Some who had spent a lifetime amid warfare and horrors have embraced a fatalist view of the world.
"Every battle is won before it is fought," the ironclad man intoned in his characteristically grating voice. "Yet I would be remiss to claim that General Sun Bin's failing health does not concern me."
Even the temporary absence of a council member posed a grave threat. The Council of Five orchestrated the broader strategies for defending the grand bastion. Their collective judgments shaped the efficacy of lower-ranked commanders, each overseeing their segments of the city's formidable walls. Most garrison generals are responsible for no more than their own sectors, but the specter of invasion is never far from Ba Sing Se's consciousness. Though the city's combined forces can dwarf any Earth Kingdom state in direct confrontation, its defenses are not completely invulnerable. The potential loss of a strategic mind on the council could ripple across the army's daily operations, not to mention the blow to morale for General Sun Bin's elite unit, whose effectiveness depended upon his specialized tactics. Their section of the outer wall could falter without his guidance, imperiling the city's safety.
"Many times, Peroz told me I should aspire higher," the general confessed carefully. "Yet it will be long before I find myself in a position to entertain such ambitions."
This time, Jang remained silent. The lieutenant, typically reserved, was aware that some officers harbored the hope that a war hero might ascend to the Council of Five. History is however far less forgiving. When soldiers longed for their commander's elevation, the rulers' scrutiny was merciless.
"I am not ignorant of the desires of those who serve under me," the general continued. "Yet another pursuit captures my interest, though I suspect it will remain beyond my reach."
"And what pursuit is that?" Jang asked.
Behind the mask, the war hero who is renowned for sending pirates to their watery graves at the great Battle of Honghai, seemingly muttered something about farming. To most ears, it seemed a mundane ambition, a striking departure from the blood and thunder on the Western Air Temple beaches. Yet the notion of a soldier surviving long enough to retire to a modest hut and cultivate the land is a privilege afforded to the exceedingly few.
Jang lifted his gaze to the night sky. Amidst the endless scattering of starlight, a lone comet streaked across the heavens, a sign that could not be ignored.