This is the second storyline of my Jade Empire novel. I'm eventually going to tie the two together and maybe a third.
Chapter One
Jared didn’t look up as the commotion stirred the camp. He kept his eyes on the fish he was frying, even while his father, Rho Sai, made his way over.
"Zhe Bo is causing trouble again. Be careful Jar Sai, he’s out for blood this time."
Jared looked up, his Outlander emerald eyes meeting his adopted father's black eyes. He didn't speak. He didn't have to. Steely resolve seemed to fleck his eyes with an icy blue. He went back to his cooking, seemingly oblivious, but Rho Sai knew his son and saw he was tense and ready.
Zhe Bo strutted over to Jared's fire and reached for the fish. Before his fingers could even brush the fish, though, a stick came out of nowhere and cracked his knuckles. Zhe Bo yelped, more from surprise than pain, and a few snickers from the assembled tribe painted a snarl on his face. He reached for the fish again, and once again the stick lashed out, this time at his elbow. Open laughs from the more audacious members of the tribe, and Jared smiled, silently mocking Zhe Bo.
Trembling with rage, Zhe Bo spat in Jared's face and snarled, "You're getting a little big for your saddle, Outlander. Maybe the tribe needs new leadership. One of their own kind."
Jared looked up, a hard glint in his emerald eyes. "Is that a challenge, Zhe Bo?"
Zhe Bo was taken aback by the ferocity in the younger man's eyes, but he'd made his boast and he wasn't backing down. "Yes," he snarled, "I challenge you, Jar Sai, for our tribe."
Jared spoke one word, "Finally."
He surged forward into the bigger man’s stomach, throwing all of his two hundred thirty pounds into Zhe Bo and knocking him back. He started throwing punch after iron punch into Zhe Bo’s gut. Zhe Bo had a full head and forty pounds on Jared, but all that meant nothing when compared to the smaller man's speed and agility. As blow after blow fell into Zhe Bo, he struggled to strike back as his tormentor. He had been expecting a pitch fight, not a brawl, and he was being very severely beaten for his mistake.
Finally standing, Jared rinsed his hands in the stream and looked at the gathered warriors. "Does anybody else wish to continue Zhe Bo's challenge? I am Jar Sai! My ancestor was Jen Sai the Tree That Defies Flame! I am your leader, and if any wish to challenge me for the right to lead, let them speak now!"
Nobody spoke up, so Jared walked over to where Zhe Bo was struggling to stand. "Zhe Bo thought he was my better. He though, that because I'm not born of the Horse Lords, that I am not a Horse Lord. I will say this now, if anyone, anyone, believes this, speak now. If not, then I am your leader. I am your chief. And I will have your obedience!"
Again, nobody spoke. Then, defiantly thrusting his chin forward, Zen Ja strode forward to stand behind Jared. He glared at the gathered warriors, daring them to object, and stated, "I stand with Jar Sai. I am yours to command."
That started a trickle, that eventually gave way to a flood, as one after the other the other warriors knelt before Jared and muttered, "I am yours to command."
Finally, Zhe Bo stood alone, beaten and broken. He struggled to his feet and glanced around at his tribe, looking expectantly at him. He breathed a sigh of defeat and knelt before Jared, also saying, "I am yours to command, Jar Sai."
Rho Sai looked on, a smile on his face. Since stepping down as Chief the week before, he had been worried about Jared’s ability to take control. But he had trained his son well, and Jared was just as much a crafty politician as he was a fierce warrior.
Having asserted his control over the tribe, Jared turned his attention back to his dinner, only to see it burning in the fire. He smiled to himself, thinking how ironic it was that the source of the conflict was now useless. Picking up his pole and tackle, he headed to the corral to get his charger and head to the river.
Chapter Two
The Sai tribe rode hard across the plains, Jared in the lead. Some dark force, some inner drive, pushed him onward. He didn’t know what called him, but he knew it lay to the South, in the Golden Delta. Few of the Horse Lord tribes dared venture into the Jade Empire, and even fewer now that tales abound of enchanted statues quickly replacing the Imperial Army. But somehow Jared knew his tribe would encounter no patrols, no resistance. So reinforced by this inner knowledge, he rode onward, toward he knew not what.
Near midday the border between the Jade Empire and the land of the Horse Lords came into sight. It wasn't hard to miss, as it was an enormous wall breaking the landscape in an attempt to keep the Horse Lords out of the Empire.
