"Coral, go get some rest. I'll watch over your brother while you sleep a bit."  Coral looked over her shoulder, but didn't really have to.  She had felt her mother's presence at the door for nearly an hour.  She stood up and looked her mother in the eyes, not out of anger, but to determine her intentions.  "Don't dawdle. Go to sleep."  Coral nodded.

"It's Yun, mother.  It's still him behind those eyes."  She then left the room.  Biyu sat down in the chair, not surprised that her daughter could read her intentions.  She watched her eldest son carefully, then leaned down.

"Your father is not sure Yun lies here.  He wonders if he should go and wait on the path, just in case his son is already there."  Then Yun opened his eyes briefly.

"Great father waits, why should father go?"  She frowned, but heard his weakened voice.

"Why does he wait for Yun?"  This confused her.  Why would Yun know that his grandfather was on the path, and that he waited for Yun, just in case he should pass away, and needed guidance.

"Yun is great father's son.  Patriarch. Shun is great father's son.  Patriarch waits."  This effort took its toll on her son.  She looked into his eyes carefully, but could only see extreme exhaustion.  Not only was she confused, now she was no longer as sure as she had once been that Yun still remained within his own body.

"Are you my son?"  Yun closed his eyes, and fell into another fitful sleep.  Biyu groaned, and sat back.

"Patience, Biyu.  Patience."  She told herself over and over, in spite of her need to know whether or not Yun was still her son.  If he was, she couldn't risk his health, and force him to stay awake.

"At least they didn't break that hard head of yours, Yun."  She heard a soft voice at the doorway.

"Go to bed, Shen.  I'll need you to sit with Yun in three hours."  He left the doorway, and didn't say anything.  He didn't need to.

It was a family trait, to not speak the obvious.

 

 

Biyu heard a voice, and though her eyes were heavy, it pulled her awake faster than cold water ever could.

"Mother and father are here?"  Yun thrashed in his sleep.  He was more then upset.  His whole body trembled.

"Yun?"  She leaned in and held his hand.  He calmed a little.

"Am I dreaming?  I saw your stones!"  She sat back, her eyes a bit wider, and felt even more confusion.  Yun had never shown any abilities to divine the future.  A shiver went down her spine as Yun cried out in agony.

"Yun!  Yun!"  Biyu felt a palpable dread enter her heart.  Was it the pain of his wound, or something else?

"Yun, my son, why does your voice fill with sadness?  Why is it filled with despair?"  She had no way to know that the stones he spoke about were his own parents from another world, as he and his sister were orphans.

 

 

"Keep watch on your brother, Coral."  Biyu felt shaken to her core.  Her beliefs were in disarray.  She went into the family room to where her husband quietly sipped water cut with wine.

"Wife?"  He saw her eyes and saw how disturbed she was.

"S-Sian waits on the path for Shun and for Yun."  He frowned.

"Father waits for me?  But also Yun?  I don't understand"  Her hand trembled.

"Sian is the patriarch.  Great father is also his father."  Shun nodded.

"That is how I remember it."  Then he frowned.  "Wait, does that mean Yun knows the patriarch will wait for him if he dies before me?"

"That is what he said."  She lowered her eyes, then looked up at her husband fearfully.  "He said he saw our stones! He was surprised we were alive!  Has he come back from the gate to protect us?"  Shun looked at her carefully, then turned away.  "What are you not saying, Shun?"  He looked down, picked up a helmet, and handed it to her.  She took it in her hands, and looked at it carefully.

"This is the helmet our son wore on the battlefield.  A 'gift' from your father."  She frowned at his tone, and looked more carefully.  Her fingers rested on the metal, then her eyes narrowed.

"The metal...is copper?"  He nodded.

"Carefully painted to look like iron.  Iron would not have shrugged off that blow, but it might have done more to protect his head."  He took another sip of the water.  He had not moved far from his chair for nearly the entire night.  "If it was supposed to be copper, the smith would have made the plates thicker."  He saw the look in her eyes, and knew how she felt.  The murderous hatred she felt for all her enemies had entered her eyes.  "Wife, he is your father."

"And Yun is my son."  Familial reverence was bred into their bones, but betrayal of this magnitude could sever it as cleanly as a sword could.

"What would you ask of me?"  She shook her head.

"Tomorrow, I'll take care of it.  I am his mother."  Her eyes only closed for a brief second before she opened them again.  Her eyes were clear and calm again.  "I must send him to the gate before Yun ever gets to walk that path."  It was said coldly, but Shun knew what his wife meant.

Tomorrow, when she was sure Yun was not going to die, she would battle her father, and send him to the gates of hell for betraying his own family.

 

 

For everyone inside their household, it was a hellish night of praying to their gods, and focusing their attention on each twitch from Yun's body.  As the night slowly passed, so did the most critical time for Yun's survival also pass.

"How is he?"  Shen asked quietly at the door.  Coral turned only slightly.

"He is breathing...steadily."  She took a slight pause to listen.  Shen came into the room.

"Mother is getting her gear ready."  Coral nodded.  "I heard their words last night.  Yun's helm was made of copper."  Coral frowned slightly as she thought about it.

"Copper is a light metal.  Why...."  Then her eyes went wide.  "Why is mother getting her gear ready?"

"The metal was disguised with paint to look like iron."  Coral closed her eyes.  "Don't be upset.  She doesn't need your prayers to exact the price.  You know how advanced mother's arts are."  Coral adsently nodded.

"Yes.  I know."  A vision of her mother's Ghost Steps appeared in her mind.  It was something she seldom saw her mother practice, as it took a toll on the body.  If one was young and strong, it would only borrow energy and they would be weakened for a few days.  If they were older, it could sap their vitality, and even steal a bit of their life's energy.  The more it was used, the more it took.

No one, not even her father, could block all the strikes of this secret martial art.

 

 

"Father.  Come out."  She called out loudly.  Slowly, members of her family came out of the old family residence.  Her four brothers filed out ahead of her father.

"Biyu, why do you call out our father?"  She looked to the right only briefly.

"This does not concern first eldest brother.  It concerns him."  She pointed at the one who showed himself last, not ashamed to send his sons out ahead of himself.  When she addressed their father in such a manner, they knew something was terribly wrong.

"Daughter, why are you here? Why has your husband not come too?"  The firmly spoken words also held a hint of contempt for her chosen mate.  Her father was a master of a dojo, while her husband was a mere soldier, and in a village their size, he was no more than a guard.  Her dowry was an insult to him, to show how much they valued the marriage.

"I have told him to stay home and watch over our son.  The one who now lies at the gates of death.  He fights for his life because the helmet my father gave to him was made of copper disguised as iron."  Her brothers looked at their father closely, to see if her words were true.  He appeared to be a little bit embarrassed at being caught, but not as ashamed as he should be.  He shouldn't be able to face his daughter at all, but he still appeared to be proud of his decision to betray them.

"Your son was foretold to bring great destruction upon our lands. He had to be taken care of."  The self righteous tone was not lost on the villagers who happened to witness this scene. Her brothers lowered their eyes and backed away.  He looked at them with disdain in his eyes.  "I did what was necessary!"

"You betrayed your family, father.  Yun is at the gates, but you shall precede him through them!"  She pulled her sword, and though her father was a stoic man, he felt the breath of the angel of death before him.  His daughter had learned all her lessons well, and had additional tuteluge by her husband in techniques unknown to him.

He didn't say another word.  There was no need, and no sense in trying to sway her decision now.  Her sword was out, and she advanced towards him.

With only three of the Ghostly Steps in her martial art, his arm was on the ground, he had a sword wound on his belly, and the last was along his neck.  His life's blood sprayed out until the blood pressure was reduced.  The fight didn't even last ten seconds before he was on the ground, breathing his last few breaths while blood pooled around him.

"Yun saved our village from those mercenaries that you almost let kill him. You not only betrayed your family, but also the village you swore to protect. Prepare for the hell reserved for betrayers."  She made one last quick stroke to take him out of his misery, and to prevent pollution of the air with any words he wished to say.

She looked at her brothers, her face still closed in anger, then turned away.

It was a very simple warning.  They could not defeat their father, but she did. Do not look to her for revenge or they would take their place beside their father.

She didn't need to level the warning.  They were not cowards, but they felt the shame of his betrayal now weigh upon them.

Their dojo was now without a master, and no one within the village would seek their guidance for training in martial arts with such shame now draped upon their shoulders.  They would become what their father hated the most.

Ordinary soldiers without rank, and without prestige.  The price of betrayal was incredibly steep.