News of the attack on Eirian's forces had sent the Camelia into a, well, a tizzy was the politest word Henri could think of. The official reports had come in just two hours after the battle had concluded, but they hadn't done anything to reassure anyone. Eirian's forces had suffered nearly thirty thousand casualties, as well as the destruction of their camp supplies, and neither Chenzhou nor Mingzhe's rescue forces had come away unscathed.
They were estimating that they'd killed upwards of sixty thousand tribesmen, though, at least half that number were attributed to Eirian's great wildfire, as the soldiers had taken to calling it. The reports coming back describing it had made it sound like something from the gods, an explosion of fire so loud and fierce it drowned out the rest of the world. One of the reports had detailed how it had swept across the ground, crawled like a living creature after anything that moved, turning all the world it touched to ash.
The tribesmen had fled in terror, understandably. Fire occupied a special place in the human mind, one that could be comfort as easily as it could be horror. There was no element as uncontrollable as fire.
Nor was there any element that seemed to have its own will.
Eirian's power over fire was something from the old tales. The stories parents made up to inspire or caution their children.
It wasn't of this world, multiple officers had written, but none of them had written anything about fearing it, fearing Eirian. Henri would have expected at least one to preach caution when faced with such power, and maybe that would come when they returned and reports were made face-to-face.
Or maybe they said it to Lord Ye and Lord Zhao.
He doubted anyone said it to Princess Soliel.
There were already whispered stories circulating of the fearsome Sun Princess, who'd fought at the head of the Crimson Army like the generals and heroes of old. Who wielded a blade they said sang as it cut through the air and any opponent it touched.
A blooding blade.
Henri had never seen one up close, though he knew both Lord Ye and Lord Rong the First Eye carried them without acknowledgement. The mythical blades had been far more common during the Age of Warfare and the early Years of Creation, but when those times of immense conflict had ended, the blades had become symbols of bygone eras and bloodlust that was seen as uncouth in more peaceful times.
Lord Ye and Lord Rong had inherited half-made blades, but Henri knew from friends in the capital that Eirian's sword had been gifted to her the day of her birth, freshly folded without a single owner before her. She'd made a blooding blade in less than two decades.
Henri could scarcely imagine the blood she'd shed to make it, but based on the whispers, it sounded like Eirian hadn't left behind those days just yet.
One of the company commanders Henri knew rather well from late nights over plum wine, had written of her skill. That none of the tribesmen had been any kind of match for her. That she'd cut them all down with an ease more suited to a man twice her size than a pampered princess from the capital. That it had been clear she must have drilled in swordsmanship every day of her life, and her magic had fought with her like a second blade. She'd barely left the front line during the four-day battle, leaving only to eat what was apparently an impressive amount of food, before returning to continue the fight.
She'd been drenched in blood by the time it was over, and there were already rumors circulating that she'd been drinking it, which Henri highly doubted but was a pretty standard rumor.
When the Crimson Army had ridden out under her command, they'd been wary, aloof, unsure what to make of their new lady who'd saved their lord and the entire estate but whom they'd seen little of.
It seemed all it took was one battle, and she'd cemented her place among the soldiers of the Camelia.
It boded well for any power struggles in the future that Lord Ye's new wife was liked by the soldiers they led, especially since no matter how successful they were during this new war, there was going to be backlash due to what had happened to Lord Zhao's troops and the fact that the tribes had been so successful in tricking them.
It was always funny how quickly everyone turned on their military forces once a conflict was over. Even the Camelia, a military estate, was plagued by politics when there was no fighting to be done, and unfortunately, it seemed like Lord Zhao was going to take the brunt of it this time.
Henri had a meeting with Lord Zhao's younger brother to discuss exactly that, and Zhao the younger, more often known as Zhiyu, was always painfully early. A habit he'd no doubt learned from his older brother.
He looked just like him, too, only six years younger and slightly more baby-faced. Henri smiled warmly when he knocked on the door to his office and stepped inside. "Zhiyu, thank you for coming."
Zhiyu bowed, clad in his family robes. "Thank you for seeing me, Henri." He was more relaxed than his older brother, the privilege of a younger sibling.
He took a seat across from Henri and didn't bother to hide his concern. "The talk is getting worse."
Henri sighed. "I'm aware. I've spoken to the court several times."
"I know you have. My mother has taken an interest in the issue and has been looking into it."
Henri winced, out of respect and sympathy. Lady Zhao did not take threats against her family lightly, and that was exactly what she would view this talk as. "Did she happen to find a source?"
"Not a singular one, but that is not surprising." Zhiyu had originally planned to follow in his mother's footsteps, before he'd shown an affinity for the spear and changed direction. Despite that, he continued to pay close attention to intelligence and was often ahead of his fellow commanders in knowing what was going to happen. "Mother is concerned. She believes this is more than the normal gossip."
Henri stiffened. Lady Zhao's attention was not something anyone wanted to incur, but her instincts were rarely off. "She thinks it's targeted? Someone is trying to bring down the Zhao's?"
~ tbc