Wang Ben woke before dawn. He dressed in the darkness and headed for the training yard.
The yard was empty. He stood in the pre-dawn silence, practice sword in hand, running through the forms Dao Zhen had hammered into him over the past few days. The Flowing Water Stance came easier now, his body remembering what his mind still struggled to understand. Pivot. Redirect. Let the force pass through rather than against.
He was halfway through the third repetition when he sensed movement at the edge of the yard.
Dao Zhen walked out of the shadows, but he wasn't alone. Grand Elder Dao Lingwei accompanied him, her silver hair catching the first rays of sunlight. She watched Wang Ben with a look he couldn't read.
"Continue," she said.
Wang Ben hesitated, then resumed the form. His movements felt stiff under her attention. But he pushed through, letting the technique carry him past the awkwardness.
When he finished, Dao Lingwei nodded once.
"Adequate." She turned to her grandson.
"Higher than adequate," Dao Zhen said.
"I'll form my own opinions, thank you." But the severity in her face had eased, just barely.
Dao Zhen made a sound that might have been protest.
"Whatever happens in the coming days," Dao Lingwei continued, "remember that alliances forged in war are the strongest kind. The Dao Clan does not forget those who stand with us."
She turned and walked away without waiting for a response, leaving Wang Ben alone with Dao Zhen in the growing light.
"She likes you," Dao Zhen said.
"That was liking?"
"For her? That was practically a declaration of adoption." The heir's mouth twitched. "Come. One final session. I want to see how much you've actually learned."
The final spar lasted longer than any before it.
More than once, Dao Zhen had to actually block rather than evade.
When it was over, both of them were breathing hard.
"Tomorrow," Dao Zhen said, sheathing his practice sword. He wiped sweat from his brow, then gripped Wang Ben's shoulder, the pressure firm and deliberate. "Don't do anything stupid."
"I'll be on the ridge with Elder Wang Qing."
"Good." The grip tightened once, then released.
He turned and walked toward the gate, where other Dao Clan cultivators were gathering. He didn't look back.
...
Wang Ben found his parents in the family courtyard. Two small bags sat by the gate. Wang Chen was quiet in his mother's arms.
"It's time," Wang Tian said.
Wang Ben walked with them to the gate. At the threshold, Wang Tian pressed something into Li Mei's hand. A ring. She looked down at it, then back at her husband.
"Everything we have is in there," Wang Tian said quietly. "If things go badly, find the Silent Path people I mentioned. They can get you to Ironforge city quickly."
Li Mei's fingers closed around the ring. She didn't argue.
She looked at Wang Ben. "Don't do anything foolish, Ben'er."
He nodded. Wang Tian guided her through the gate. Neither of them looked back.
Wang Ben stood in the empty courtyard until the sound of their footsteps faded.
...
The final war council convened at midday.
"The Xue Clan hasn't adjusted their eastern defenses," Grand Elder Wang Feng said. "They still believe we're hitting the west."
"And the mercenaries?" Patriarch Wang Tiexin didn't look up from the map.
"Two days out. If we strike at dawn tomorrow, we can hit them before they have help."
"The groups are ready," another elder confirmed. "Three groups. The first breaks their outer defenses, the second seizes the stores, the third shields the retreat."
"Losses?"
"Between one in six and one in five of those we send." Elder Wang Qing's voice was flat. "Higher if the Xue Clan responds faster than anticipated."
One in five.
The council continued for another hour. When it was over, Wang Feng caught Wang Ben's arm.
"Stay near Wang Qing. If things turn, you leave with him."
...
An hour later Zhao Yu found him in the equipment hall.
Wang Ben was sitting with his hands in his lap, turning the Golden Bell Shield Talisman over between his fingers.
"Your hands are shaking," Zhao Yu said, dropping onto the bench beside him.
"So are yours."
Zhao Yu looked down at his own hands and laughed. It wasn't a good laugh. They sat there for a while, not talking, listening to the sounds of the clan preparing around them.
"Remember those meat skewers from the vendor near the south gate?" Zhao Yu said eventually.
"The ones with too much pepper."
"Those ones." Zhao Yu was quiet again. "We should get some. After."
"Sure," Wang Ben said.
...
By evening, Wang Ben was on the ridge with Elder Wang Qing and a few others. Wang Qing had set up a formation array on a flat stone, etched lines that would track the positions of their people below.
Redstone City was quiet. The Xue Clan's torches flickered in the distance.
Wang Ben found a sheltered spot among the rocks. He closed his eyes, but sleep was a long time coming.
...
Moonlight pooled between the rocks, turning the ridge to silver and shadow.
Wang Ben drifted between waking and sleep.
"You're thinking too loudly."
His eyes snapped open. Shen Ruoxi sat on a rock three feet away.
"Relax. No one knows I'm here."
Wang Ben glanced towards the others. None of them had stirred.
"The ones I told you about. They won't interfere tomorrow." She tilted her head. "Whatever they want, it's not this."
"You're certain?"
She rose from the rock and began to fade, her outline thinning like morning mist. A quiet hum was the last thing he heard before she was gone.
...
Dawn came slowly.
The sky shifted from black to gray to pale gold. Wang Ben stood on the ridge with Elder Wang Qing and the others.
Below, the city stirred.
"They're moving," someone said.
Wang Qing's formation array flickered to life, points of light appearing on the stone.
The sun crested the horizon.
Somewhere below, a horn sounded. Low and long, the note carrying across the city.
The grace period was over.
"Here we go," the team leader murmured.
The first wave moved forward. Fire bloomed as techniques clashed against defensive formations. The sound reached the ridge a heartbeat later.
The first group hit the Xue Clan's outer wall. The formation lines held for three breaths, then shattered.
"They're through," Wang Qing said quietly.
The war had begun.