<div dir="ltr">“I never said the rugs flew,” said Trey worriedly as Merlia led them deep into the library through seemingly endless stacks. Labels had recently been added, sorting things by continents. Besides Galendor, Kitchelande, and Sonngefilde there were also Irombi, Fan Shoar, and Oroz–which Trey had never heard of before. “Oh, I know. What I mean is I could make them fly if I wanted. It’d be easier than walking all the way back. I’m just not sure how many I could buy. Assuming any are left after this, of course.” The Galendor section was largest and had numerous subsections, making Trey’s head spin. How much knowledge was in the library? “Here we are, the section on what we call the Oriental Coastlands. What we have here was brought many years ago by a scholar.” “Yes, that would be Zhang Yazi. My clan aided him in his endeavors as the fragmenting of the Empire began.” “Oh? Do tell. Mr. Zhang was reluctant to say more and didn’t stay very long, fearing the Curse. He left a dictionary and these materials and that was it.” “Guo Chor became Emperor Mu on his sixteenth birthday when his father died. At that time, it was the height of the Dì Wǔ Empire. Our land was at peace, our military protected our borders, and our merchants traded well with others, including the Sathmore Empire. “Emperor Mu took a bride as well as concubines from the leaders of the twelve districts. This has been traditional to ensure peace, since the children of his bride would be his successor and those of his concubines top aides or military commanders, ensuring loyalty, or so we thought. “Time passed. No children were born, though this was not unusual. Emperor Mu was young, and there was no rush. As it continued, though, whispers began circulating. Treacherous rumors I will not repeat. Finally, though, after twelve years, the Empress Mei gave birth to a baby girl. Within that same year the concubines also gave birth to girls. A strange coincidence, if it was one.” “What do you mean?” asked Merlia. “I fear the emperor may have meddled with magic to ensure an heir. My clan has been charged with protecting the royal line since time immemorial, so naturally we tried to sniff out anything causing the birth issues. If it was magic, it was beyond us. But the next time, yes, that was magic. “It was the twenty-first year of his reign. Signs of trouble were on the land. Something was wrong. The Emperor had become increasingly indulgent and haphazard since the birth of his daughters. We tried desperately to find the source, but could not. And then the thirteen princes were born. The Empress and the concubines went into labor as one, and all produced a boy at exactly the same time. All divination magic confirms it!” “But only his and the Empress’s son could be heir, right?” asked Trey. Kasaima gave a bitter chuckle. You would think, little one. The leaders of the provinces had become restless in the nine years that had passed. Evil thoughts seemed to fill the land. Some evil spirit was at work, more powerful than my clan could detect. We think…” he paused, looked around, and said in a whisper, “we think it was the Dark Ones. Those you call the Daedra.” Trey gulped and Merlia blanched. “Why?” “Do they not seek the ruin of souls for their own pleasures? The why or how hardly matters now. What happened was a civil war. The emperor and empress were murdered, despite our best efforts to protect them. We were barely able to keep their child safe! Rivals strove to control the country and also destroy all records of the births. Fortunately we outwitted them there and Zhang Yazi was smuggled out of the country with as many records of our history as we could. Others were stored by my clan. Naturally, it was rather unorganized.” “Yes, that would explain a lot,” said Merlia. “What happened? Were the princesses okay? What about the princes?” “The royal princess had been away and has stayed away. The royal heir remains under our protection. The lords have feuded until recently when a truce was made, but each still wants the throne for his own and treachery abounds. My clan wants to restore the true heir to the throne, but we will need help proving it is him. Genealogy will only go so far. What we need is the Celestial Sword, created ages ago with runic magic. It was hidden long ago for unknown reasons, but I think one of the volumes that were brought here has a clue as to its location. We’re hoping it’s here because it’s certainly not among the records my clan has.” --[Next Part Below]-- </div>