The Eternal Exile: A Nation Hopping AAR

Range: Thanks!
blsteen: The key fact to remember here is two things. Firstly, the practicality of getting such a device back to the time, and then of course the humanitarian consequences of killing millions. Of course, you also have to remember both who is saying what...and whether they are both truthful or actually knowing what it is they're saying.
morningSIDEr: Thanks! Yes, Lucille's done this sort of thing before. I had another story once where she had to set right history after Washington was inadvertantly killed on the Delaware, and the new US collapsed.
Sather: Welcome to the AAR! Glad you like it so far. Yes, poor Zoe. Had she but had a few thousand more men or ships she might well have survived. My Byzantine game (of which I planned an AAR) reconquered the bounds of Basil II's Empire by 1510 in what I hoped was a realistic manner.
Beowulf: Epic indeed! A great battle...or series of them is brewing.
Dewirix: Look at it in the context of modern problems. With all the tech we have, it's hard enough (and sometimes impossible) to find one person in a country as large as the US or Australia. Now consider that you are looking at all points in history for targets who could be anywhere in the world. The way I have written up this time travel thing, the Order knows approximately when the disturbance begins, but not where or who. Thus it takes research and investigation to discover them. As for EU3...the game is actually rather good in the way that it throws up interesting countries and challenges I can work into the story.
adamclason: No, not quite. But I did the next best thing - rebels!
mkhuh: Welcome to the AAR! You raise good points that I had to answer myself before writing. It's something I've actually given some thought to as it becomes a bigger plot point later.
Hauritz and Cade at this point have no especial reason to be cruel to Talena. She's done nothing to them except inadvertantly send them back. But, they're virtually Emperors of China, so that's not a loss. They see she is dangerous though, so locking her up is a good policy. I assure you that if they captured her again they would not be so...humane.
As for the regeneration; their bones are practically unbreakable. This causes problems for killing them. A blow through the heart will paralyse them. The only way to kill one of them is two secret ways which will become apparent later in the story. The third way is total destruction of the body, by immersing it in fire or acid until whatever power binding them together breaks.
So it is a very powerful ability, but tempered by the fact that they still feel pain, do not have supernatural strength, and naturally attract mistrust wherever they go.

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TIANSHUN II PART 5

By the middle of 1510 many of the rebellions begun to die down at last. Hauritz was nothing if not a capable minister in this regard, and it is especially true that a reduction in taxation did help.
However, the Emperor was always alert to new threats, and became distrustful of the aristocrats and leaders of the Empire. After receiving reports as to the location of their escaped prisoner Talena, and also the mysterious blonde rebel leader, Hauritz dispatched a small unit to remove the threat by any means possible.
It is into this framework that the events of late August 1510 must be viewed.

XXX

22/8/1510

It was a day like any other for Talena. In the two months since she had come to stay with Houlong she had spent much of the time learning the language, especially from a young servant girl named Min. Min was patient, and was amused by Talena’s attempts to speak the new language. Still, despite becoming more proficient, Talena still had to use the translator to catch some of the more complex phrases. Talena had learned that Min had been adopted in the past by Chiyoko, and stayed as a servant with the family.
It was while they were sitting across from each other in Talena’s bedroom that there was a sudden noise. Talena stopped and stood up suddenly. It was dusk outside, and a quick glance out the window showed nothing untoward.
“What’s wrong?” Min asked, worried by her sudden seriousness.
“I heard something break. Wait here.”
“It could just be an accident!” Min said.
“Then maybe I’m wrong. Better safe then sorry.”

(Min)


Talena instinctively reached for her side, but the gun was in Hauritz’s possession still. Instead she took a small knife from her supper plate and crept out the door. It was there, at the top of the stairs that she saw what she had expected, and yet hoped not to; armed men.
They were dressed in peasant’s garb, but they carried soldier’s weapons concealed under their cloaks, and they acted with cohesion.
On seeing her a group of three advanced on her, while below more and more flooded in, splitting up and heading to the rest of the rooms.
“Intruders!” Talena shouted. “Min! Warn people!”
There was no time to shout any more, as her enemies were on her. These three were armed with like halberds and also carried nets and coils of ropes. The thought that flashed through Talena’s mind was that they were there to try and capture her. Had she been in the room with Min they might have been able to ambush and carry her off for whatever punishment her enemies demanded.
As it was, Talena was ready, though barely armed. They pressed her back with their spears, hoping to pin her in place, and then grab her.
Armed only with the blunt knife she had only one chance. She hurled it as hard as she could right into the face of one intruder, drawing blood and making him flinch. Diving forward she barrelled right into him and punched hard into the jaw.
A glaive cut across her back, but in the narrow room the other two could not move quickly to react. Snatching up the fallen man’s sword she attacked her remaining two enemies with ferocious skill. A century of using swords had made her extremely proficient with them, and she drove them back.
Above all, Talena was angry, angry at so many things, but mostly because she could not ever find peace without war coming to find her.
With a final, anger fuelled strike with the sword she struck one of the glaives so hard both weapons shattered. Not even really consciously noticing, Talena followed up by ramming the shards of her weapon into one of the soldiers. The final soldier, the only one still standing, fled.
Seizing the broken glaive from the ground she struck the first man she had knocked down repeatedly until he lay bleeding to the ground, begging her.



She raised the weapon to kill the cowering soldier, but then Lucille was running in from the villa’s courtyard, quarterstaff in hand, leading some of Houlong’s own soldiers.
“Wait, Talena!” Lucille called. “He might know something!”
Talena was vaguely aware that she was covered in blood and that she was standing over a helpless prisoner. One thing she did not do was kill those who had surrendered, and so she let the gory weapon drop.
Lucille came up the stairs. She too had some blood on her. “It’s not mine. Are you alright?”
“Of course I’m alright,” Talena said grimly. “But he won’t be if he doesn’t talk,” she added, looking down on their prisoner.
“We’ll deal with that in a moment. Houlong wasn’t hurt, thank God. He wasn’t in his room, but they killed his secretary.”
Suddenly the door to the courtyard opened again and Houlong Shang entered. He carried in his arms the bloody body of his wife, Chiyoko. The red blood stained her white silk robe. Behind the pair Min walked, her face suffused with tears.
Lucille instantly ran forward, but there was nothing to be done. She was dead.
Houlong looked from Lucille to Talena, and then to the wounded prisoner. “This will not go unavenged. The Emperor and his demon advisors have gone too far. Lucille, you will help me?”
“Yes, my Lord. In any way I can.”
“And you, Talena?”
“This betrayal deserves vengeance. Now we both have reason to hate them.”
Houlong trembled with mixed grief and fury as she reverently laid the body down on a couch. “This day the Emperor, the man I supported, and my father before me, is no more. He is a devil, possessed by those foreigners. We will destroy them, and we will overthrow this enemy once and for all!”

Talena looked down at the prisoner. She had Lucille’s translator, but she hardly needed it. The look on her face was enough. “Who sent you?” When he said nothing she reached for the broken sword. “Do you want to be a eunuch?”
“The Vizier Hong Wei!” the man gabbled.
Talena glanced at Houlong, and the young man sighed.
“Take him to the dungeons. He is not to be tortured...that would not be just. But he is not to be released either.”

XXX

The effect of the ill-timed assassination attempt was disastrous. Tapping into deep resentment among the nobles and peasants Houlong Shang raised the standard of rebellion. Importantly he proclaimed that he was restoring the nation from the tyranny it was under, and restoring it to the proper Confucian ways of their ancestors. Within two months all of Fujian was under their control, and the rebel had a large army swelling under his control, helped by deserters and renegades from the Emperor’s justice.
The civil war that now begun threatened to topple the dynasty, and China as a whole.

Boris: Thanks! Glad to have you back.
Beowulf: Compliments are always welcome! Thanks so much for your continuing support.
Dewirix/Sather/blsteen/adamclason: It is always the most difficult things with time travel stories. If you can do so, why not go back in time before the trouble starts? It's one of the illogical things with Doctor Who that merits work arounds.

I'll lay out my universe's basic structure as explanation. The key thought I gave to this was that time travel is very difficult in this universe, but travelling across planar (ie divergent universes founded at the Big Bang) bounds is easier. So most of the time Lucille is travelling from plane to plane, but at the same time. With this in mind, Talena's time travel is both unusual...and interesting, since people in the past logically notice the changes, only the Order which is outside time and normal planar space would. However, Order agents back in 1399 wouldn't know that anything had happened until they got reports that someone is using future weapons. Thus, it's easy for Hauritz and Cade to stay under the radar.
It is rather confusing, and my whole scheme is neither universally thought out nor practical for this story, but I try my best.

I had doubts about including the Order in this AAR, since it's an added complication in an otherwise basic story. However, I wanted to include some of my characters from other stories such as Lucille...so I've put them in. I hope the result...actually makes sense.

Anyway, enough with that. Next part!

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TIANSHUN II PART 6

XXX

20/10/1511

The city of Hangzhou burned. It had not been planned, but Imperial forces retreating before the rebel army had set fire to the citadel. A wind had fanned the flames though, and much of the city had also caught fire. It was not ideal, that was for sure.
However, in the light of the flames and the early dawn light they could see the Imperial army encamped before the walls. It was a tiny force, less than three thousand, Talena reckoned, but still powerful.
Even with eight thousand troops under his command Houlong could not be assured of victory. His troops, such as they were, were mainly deserters, peasants and fugitives. They were by no means a fearsome army.

In a tent overlooking the plain Talena, Lucille and Houlong met to discuss their plans with the other leaders. Talena could see that Houlong was nervous, after all, this was his first battle. Previously he had led the coalition of forces in sieges and raids but never against a proper enemy.
“We will march down to engage them. The infantry will hold them while the cavalry moves to flank them,” Houlong said.
“The cavalry is not in position, Lord,” one of the leaders said. “It is behind the infantry. We must move it immediately.”
Lucille nodded. “I agree.”
“Send the orders at once!” Houlong said. “Go now, and may justice prevail this day!”

Talena went with Lucille back to their tents. Min was waiting for them. Since the attack which had killed her adoptive mother she had become a servant to Lucille and Talena.
“I didn’t realise you were such a strategist,” Talena said to Lucille.
The blonde woman shrugged. “I’ve had experience. I prefer to resolve things without violence, but sometimes that just doesn’t work. By inclination I’m a scholar and a pacifist...but sometimes you need to fight. Some of my colleagues never understood that. It’s the times and careers of your upbringing that affects you.”
Talena picked up her sword and belted it to her side. “You just using the staff?”
“It’s what I’m used to,” Lucille replied. She hefted the three foot oak rod with its steel sheathed head. “I’m not a brawler like you, Talena. But then I have a few tricks that you haven’t seen.”
“Such as?”
Lucille gave an airy wave. “You’ll see eventually. But do you know the reason why I had to leave my native time?”
“How could I?”
“I left because I was accused of witchcraft, sentenced to be executed.”
“And? Did you really have magic powers?” Talena asked sceptically.
Lucille gave no answer, just an airy wave. For just a moment the campfire twisted and formed the shape of an eagle before resuming its normal flickering tongues.

The Imperial army begun its advance soon after dawn, moving faster then expected. This caused problems as the rebel cavalry, their best unit, was still out of position. The rebel infantry on the wings were spread out too far, as the Imperial forces were formed in a rough column shape. And now those Imperial troops moved to the attack.
Standing their ground, the rebels in the centre prepared to receive the inevitable charge of the Imperial cavalry. And indeed those horsemen begun to canter forward, lowering their spears to deliver a devastating charge to their enemy.
However, before the Imperial riders could close into combat their infantry fired a hail of arrows over their heads.
Talena watched from the cavalry position and saw the arrows forming a black cloud that partly blotted out the sun. Then the arrows hit, and to Talena’s surprise and consternation there were loud bangs and explosions from in among the rebel troops! Some form of firework or explosive had been attached to some of the arrows, timed to detonate in among the ranks.
The infantry wavered and the Imperial cavalry charged into the confusion. Instantly Talena knew that things were not going well. The Imperial cavalry penetrated deep into the phalanx of rebels, cutting them down and starting a panic.
Houlong Shang just sat on his horse and watched as disaster unfolded.
“You must do something...now,” Lucille told him.

Seizing a flag with his personal symbol on it, he raised it high. “With me! Charge!”
Without order, but with considerable spirit the cavalry followed him down the hill, and the infantry at the rear of the rebel lines who had been retreating let out a cheer and returned to the fray.
Lucille meanwhile had pulled Talena aside. “Go to the left and get them to come down onto the enemy’s flank. Quick movements! I’ll take the right.” With that the blonde rode off, her hair streaming behind her.
Talena just blinked and stared before she realised the urgency of events and turned her horse. A century ago she couldn’t so much as mount a horse, but all that time had made her experienced and even and expert with one.

The leader of the left wing was a local noble known as Xeng Dai, and he looked down his nose at her.
“Advance and come at the Imperial forces from the flank!”
“I have received no orders from Lord Shang,” he said.
Talena could already see Lucille getting the right flank moving. Even though she was more exotic to these people then she was she somehow knew how to make people do what she wanted just with diplomacy. Unfortunately Talena didn’t have the time or patience for that.
She leaned close to the man. “Move your forces or I will cut your throat!” she hissed in his ear.
He looked at her in shock and reached for his sword.
“I’ve killed better men then you, so if you value your life you will move!”
Xeng Dai slowly moved his hand from his sword, glared at her, and ordered his banner raised. “Forward!”

The battle was not long after the initial confusion. With foot soldiers coming down from both sides, the rallied troops in the centre combined with the cavalry made short work of the Imperial troops. More then half of them surrendered when escape was impossible, and the few diehards were cut down.
It had been a somewhat predictable result, but for one moment the issue had clearly been in doubt.

After the battle was done Houlong with his two advisors met on the hill overlooking the battlefield.
“You did well, Lord Shang,” Lucille said quietly. “But one day the Emperor himself will lead a great army to battle against you. We must be prepared for when that happens. For now they are distracted by the rebellions to the north and west, but they will come here. If you are to prevail you must prepare your army, strengthen it, train it.”
“Yes. We must do so. Lucille, Talena, can I rely on your aid?”
“You can,” Lucille said. “I will give you the ability to produce weapons to counter those of your enemies. Talena can train your soldiers so they are the match of the Imperial forces.”
“I can?” Talena asked.
Lucille gave her a look. “You can, and you will.”
“Thank you. We will begin in the morning after the dead have been properly buried.”








When they were alone Talena looked at Lucille. “You’re no better then Hauritz you know. You just manipulate and change him.”
Lucille seemed taken aback by the accusation. “My job is to restore balance to this timeline, Talena. Not even you can take on an Empire by yourself, so the only means is to work with Houlong. Besides, he’s a wise man, and he will prove to be a great leader in time.” She saw that Talena still looked unhappy, and smiled. “Look, Talena, please help me do this. I’ll find a way to help you, I promise.” She held out her hand towards Talena.
“Well...alright. You seem to know what you’re doing.” She took Lucille’s hand.
“I learned through experience. Like you, I always found that being a woman made it much harder. That’s why Hauritz can do what he does so easily. Were it you or I we’d not last. It’s a sort of inbuilt misogyny.”
“I know the feeling. But...well...we’re about to help start a war that will kill thousands.”
“It must be done. Look, between the two of us we’ll fix it all. After it’s all fixed up we’ll see what I can do for you. I mean...are you feeling...content?”
“I don’t want to die,” Talena replied flatly.
Lucille gave a wry smile. “All those who have power are afraid to lose it. I don’t want to die either...the longer I live the worse the thought is. I guess it’s the same with you.”
“True. Come on...we better get started.”
With that the two friends walked off arm in arm.

Heh, yes. In 3-4 more updates. It's only a cameo, but a nice one, I think.

Thanks!