Dawn broke over the Wei River, its mist curling like smoke around the clans' camp. Lin Han stood on a low hill, the jade seal tucked beneath his tunic, its faint warmth unsettling since his oath to the clans. Below, Yara's warriors, some three hundred strong, sharpened spears and strung bows, their faces grim. Zhao's army, two hundred elite soldiers with crossbows and chariots, would reach the riverbank by noon. Lin Han's rebellion, barely born, faced its first true test, and failure meant annihilation.
Yara joined him, her scarred face set. "Your seal stirred them, boy, but Zhao's men are iron. What's your plan?"
Lin Han studied the terrain: the river's bend narrowed the approach, forcing Zhao's forces into a choke point. The clans' rafts could flank, but their spears were no match for Qin armor. "We don't fight their strength," he said. "We break their order. Fire rafts to scatter their chariots, archers in the reeds to thin their ranks. They'll panic, and we'll strike."
Yara nodded, respect flickering in her eyes. "Clever. But if it fails, we're fish in a net."
Mei-Ling approached, her noble braid tucked under a clansman's cloak, her bow in hand. Since the slum escape, she'd fought beside him, but her silence about her brother, a captain under Zhao, gnawed at Lin Han. "The clans trust you," she said, her voice low. "But they're watching me. They know my blood serves Zhao."
"Then earn their trust," Lin Han said, his tone sharp. "Or tell me what you're hiding."
Her eyes hardened. "My brother, Liang, leads Zhao's vanguard. He's loyal to the empire, not Zhao's greed. If I fight, I face him. You'd understand, if you had a family."
Lin Han's jaw tightened, his slave-born past a void where family should be. Before he could reply, Xun emerged from the mist, his cloak damp, his gaze fixed on the seal's bulge under Lin Han's tunic. "You felt its heat," he said. "It woke when you swore the oath. Blood calls to it, and not just yours."
Lin Han's hand drifted to the seal, its warmth pulsing now, like a heartbeat. "What does it want?"
Xun's voice was a whisper. "Power. It sealed the First Emperor's decrees, but each carved a life from his allies. Use it again, and someone here will pay."
The words chilled Lin Han as Yara barked orders, sending rafts into the river. He pushed Xun's warning aside, focusing on the plan. The clans' archers slipped into the reeds, and fire rafts, smeared with pitch, bobbed in the current. By midday, Zhao's army appeared, their banners black with Zhao's sigil, chariots gleaming under Legalist discipline.
Lin Han signaled, and the fire rafts ignited, slamming into the chariots. Flames roared, horses screamed, and Zhao's lines faltered. The clans' arrows flew, felling soldiers, but Liang's vanguard rallied, their crossbows cutting through the reeds. Lin Han's heart sank. Mei-Ling's brother was no fool.
Mei-Ling fired beside him, her arrows precise, but her face was taut, her gaze locked on a figure in Qin armor leading the charge. Liang. Lin Han grabbed her arm. "Choose now. Him or us."
She wrenched free, nocking another arrow, but her shot went wide, grazing Liang's horse. The clans pushed forward, spears clashing with Qin blades, but Zhao's men held. Then Lin Han's chest burned, the seal searing his skin. He staggered, vision blurring, and saw a clansman fall beside him, blood pooling, as if the seal had claimed him.
Xun's voice cut through the chaos. "You used its power, boy. It's begun."
Lin Han's eyes widened, the battle fading as he clutched the seal. Across the river, a new force emerged, not Zhao's but robed figures bearing no sigil, their leader holding a scroll that glowed like the one in the vault. Zhao's army hesitated, and Lin Han realized the rebellion wasn't just his anymore. Something older, tied to the seal, was waking, and it answered to no one.