Aguzen - his father named him after the vast desolate wilderness of the North with its severe weather. He was born on a freezing winter day. Of the ten brothers he had, he is now the remaining heir. Such was their harsh life. Only the fittest and smartest survive.
His tribe, the Zhounuo, is the strongest of the ten in the confederacy of their kind, the Kangalachi, defenders of the Great Land Spirit.
Their tribal totem is the large red wolf, the King of all animals in their lands. While not as impressive as the bear totem of the Badewai tribe, wolves hunted in packs and even the bears were no match for a pack of them.
These outsiders referred to them as the Hu, a derogatory term which means feral. For the Kangalachi are wanderers with the skies as their roof and the lands of their home.
They respected the spirits of the land, who tells them when to come and when to leave. No one could own or divide land - the land only belonged to the Great Land Spirit, which fed, nurtured and clothed them.
He watched the twinkling stars in the dark skies amidst the fragrant smell of the warm roasted trotter in his hand wafting to his nostrils, and listening to the rhythmic claps of his men about to break out into a tune.
He didn't understand why the outsiders liked chairs. A waste of good firewood. If they liked hard surfaces, a rock will suffice.
The furs on soft grass and soil were more comfortable than their hard wooden chairs. The breeze was tussling his braids. It was better than staying in the suffocating environment of the wooden building.
He looked at his wizened adviser, Okutai, who was watching the dancing men sing in praise of the land and thanking the hog for its life, which had filled their empty bellies.
"That young man is beautiful. Too bad, he is not a girl," Aguzen said with an evil grin.
His deliberate attempt to tease his conservative adviser had succeeded when the old man grumbled, "Of all things, man and man do not reproduce future generations. He is a Prince of this Kingdom, so don't get any funny ideas in your head, boy."
The damn old nag was a pain in his bum. If only his older brothers had survived the tribal conflicts and the attacks from Shuanglong, he would be free of Okutai to do what he wished.
At 18 years old, he should have fun on raids. Instead, he was stuck in the meetings of the tribes, where old men talked over their fat bellies.
Alas, he is now the sole heir to the chieftain of the Confederacy of the Ten Tribes. His father was training him how to contend with those elderly chiefs, who snubbed their noses at his suggestions while rubbing his age and lack of experience.
Those old men had not ridden a horse or fought for a long time, yet contented enough to send out their young men to dangerous armed confrontations. Their old-fashioned ideas were as impotent as their libido.
Little wonder why their confederacy is in trouble now.
Okutai was his father's adviser and key bodyguard. Despite the aged appearance, the old shaman had powers of foresight. Enough to pull him away before the lunging sword could do serious damage to his body.
"So, how do we get out of here? The men told me that there are guards around the compound now. It is like they are keeping us as prisoners. Shall we summon the old spirits to distract while we get away?" Aguzen asked.
Okutai bowed his head in a pause and then said, "They could have let die, but they did not. My guess is that they want to hold you as hostage to negotiate with your father, Ashilan. And the situation is getting dire."
"You should have let me speak to them in their language," Aguzen pointed out.
"Sometimes, hidden weapons are better," Okutai answered. "If we don't like their instructions, we can pretend not to understand. We have to be wary of that young prince. He isn't simple."
"He has not reached manhood yet. How can he…"
Okutai shook his head.
"Don't underestimate him. There was something I saw when I touched his hand. The Star Gods favour him. Not just one, but three."
Aguzen rubbed his chin as he contemplated what Okutai said. For a great King or chieftain, one Star God can bestow greatness through favour. For a great conqueror, two. But three?
"They have already granted him favour? Or the future is not set."
"Two has already granted him favour. That sword by his belt, is a symbol of one's favour. It uses xuan qi, which is the power of the stars. Not ling qi."
So this young man will be a great conqueror. The prophecies had never been wrong before. The Star Gods were far more powerful than the Great Land Spirit. That's what their ancestors had said. They descended from someone who came from the stars.
A commotion broke out. Aguzen got up from his cross legged position to look in the direction of the noise.
The prince was here with a sickly looking man who had a walking stick and armed guards. A few of his men stood in front of Aguzen's position in defence.
Okutai slowly pushed himself up from the patch of grass with Aguzen, pulling him up and steadying him.
"Governor Zhao. Tell them we need them to pack up. We are leaving for Beihou in three days. We will escort them back to their tribe."
Aguzen raised his hand and his men stood down. The sickly man hobbled over and started translating into his language as he nodded.
"And horses?" Aguzen asked.
He will not trek for days again across the mountain ranges.
"We have enough horses for your men. The Third Prince only requests that you stay with our armed troops for your own safety. Because there might be refugees with a grievance against your tribe. We do not intend to hold you hostage," the man spoke his language.
Unsure, Aguzen turned to Okutai, who gave a slight bow. It was acceptable. A bit too generous for an offer. They had saved him and will soon let him go without so much of a bargain for something in return.
Whatever is too good to be true cannot be trusted. Especially with the outsiders. They have been deceived too many times.
"Okay, we will follow you," Aguzen said
The man turned to the prince and translated, "Your highness, they have agreed."
"Good." The prince bowed to Aguzen, who returned the courtesy.
***
"All of you, if you can make makeshift weapons out of anything, do so," Aguzen ordered.
The men broke themselves into groups to delegate their workload. The bamboo will make good spears. Aguzen had already taken the knives and bone cleaver from the kitchen and laid them on the ground in his room for distribution.
A wrinkled hand grasped his shoulder. It was Okutai.
"He will keep his word," the old man said, referring to the young prince. "Like those villagers."
Aguzen sighed. It indeed surprised him that the border villagers were desperate enough to make a deal with them.
Unfortunately, they underestimated the Shuanglong troops and his large unit of 1000 men separated in different directions.
Later, the villagers whom he helped had discovered a traitor in their midst, who had sent information to the Shuanglong troops.
"You and I can trust him, but I don't trust the others coming with us."