Snow woke up with a splitting headache. Wincing, he held on to his head just to make sure it remained intact. He only noticed the presence of the warm hand resting amongst his hair when it disappeared.
Sitting up, he squinted, the gentle light of the close-by flames making everything much worse. Slowly looking around, he couldn’t help feel a bit lost.
“Feeling better?” a voice asked him in a quiet tone and he immediately turned towards it with a startle. Until he saw who it was.
That’s right, he thought, looking around once more. They were camping outside. He had been practicing controlling his daitai1Literally dai (light) + tai (mark), or Holy Markings, considered Heavenly Blessings. They’re the source of power. when …
The image of those vicious creatures flashed before his eyes and he immediately turned back to ZaiWin2Literally zai (blade) + win (chaos).
“Those things … Are they gone?” he asked urgently, trying to keep his voice as low as possible and, for a moment, ZaiWin simply stared back at him, the flames of the fire reflected in his blue eyes making them look almost red.
“Didn’t you kill them all?”
Those quiet words made his heart stop.
He’d killed them? Had he used that red array again? For an instant he really panicked, looking at the people sleeping all around him, trying to make sure everyone was all right, that no one was missing. But then he remembered …
No, he hadn’t used the red array. He had used a golden one instead, the one he had been practicing with just moments before they’d attacked. He’d commanded the trees to grow and to defend themselves from those creatures that killed and tainted everything they touched. He hadn’t really ordered anyone dead, he thought, lowering his gaze. That had simply been a consequence.
“I guess I did …” he admitted, and then another much graver thought crossed his mind. “Those things … those markings …”
“Quiet!” ZaiWin immediately cut in, giving him a severe glare. “Never! And I mean never! Say those words out loud! Never tell anyone about it either! Do you understand?”
Snow nodded reflexively, his harsh tone scaring him a little, even though he should be used to it by now.
“Those things … Are there more of them?” he asked instead, looking at the surrounding dark trees, and ZaiWin sighed.
“Where there’s one there’s always more. The old fox was right to be worried. That these things would appear in Wei is unthinkable.”
“They don’t belong here?”
“They don’t belong anywhere! They are a sign of a much larger problem. Where the feimao3Literally fei (raging / furious) + mao (beast / monster). Raving beasts that appear in unbalanced, ungoverned lands. They possess destructive markings that in turn corrupt the land even further. Hard to explain in just 2 lines -_-; Anyway. Bad, vicious things that need to be killed. appear the land, the water, the air, the people, everything your eyes can see, it will all get sick and rot away. They spread decay and corruption, and feed and prosper on it. They are a scourge!”
Snow lowered his head chewing the insides of his mouth. He wasn’t shocked or surprised by his words. They perfectly described what he had felt before, at the sight of those dark beasts, but hadn’t been able to put into words. And yet, on his back, he carried the same markings as them, the same markings that had indiscriminately spread death all around him.
“Stop brooding about things you cannot change, brat, and go back to sleep. We’ll ride out first thing in the morning, and I will not carry you if you fall asleep!”
Snow obeyed without another word, wrapping himself in his blanket and lying down, knees pulled against his chest. But sleep never returned.
