A grain of offering rice rolled from the altar, turned half a circle on the stone and stopped at Princess Chenyue’s shoe.
Still holding the offering bowl, she bent quietly to retrieve it and returned it to the bowl. The Heartland Emperor of Shen glanced at her and smiled, then bowed with his household, ministers and foreign envoys as bronze bells sounded at the terrace’s four corners. Chenyue stood behind him, the rice in her bowl catching the colours of the rainbow currents overhead. They stretched across the five continents and met at the distant Celestial Tower, whose summit lay beyond the sky.
Shen’s sun stood at noon.
The grain split in two.
The last bell-note broke off in mid-air. The master of rites struck again; his mallet met bronze without a sound. A crack opened across the bowl in her hands.
Rice streamed between her fingers. Before either half of the bowl reached the terrace, fields in the distance sank into the earth, ripe grain disappearing row after row into the widening fissures. Her father caught her by the shoulder and drew her back from the edge. Wind swept past them, knocking the officials to the ground.
Chenyue remained standing. In a single instant, she saw calamity sweep the four corners of Shen.
In the Far East Kingdoms, a herb-gatherer knelt beside a mountain path, straightening a sapling her basket had bent. Before she could bind the stem, leaves and blossoms crumbled into white mist, swallowing the basket upon her shoulder. The mist settled as ink, crept towards the fallen and entered them between the brows.
In the Vermilion South, an apprentice with soot upon her cheeks worked the bellows with both feet. The furnace fire collapsed inwards. A hundred hammers fell, but no sound came from the anvils. Black cloud pressed over the ridge; the last glow beside the furnace died.
Disciples were crossing a crystal valley in the Golden Country. At the outer edge of their formation, a young disciple held an injured spirit beast inside her robe. Before the mantra ended, the cliffs split from within. Snow and crystal poured down, burying her outstretched hand.
In the Oceanic North, a girl stood at the bow, guiding her ship into harbour. Flags waved from the shore, urging her onwards, but she raised a hand for the rowers to stop. Before they could lift their oars clear, rain streamed upwards and the sea surged after it, carrying the whole ship into the air. Before the first spray could fall, ship and harbour froze together.
Cold crept over Chenyue’s open fingers. The bowl struck the terrace, and hundreds of grains of rice tapped the stone.
A few li from the Celestial Tower, black lightning split the plain. Eyes opened deep below, and wind surged from the abyss, forcing the rift wider.
The Founding Master of the Golden Country shrank upon his white-jade seat. His mantra stopped in his throat; only a whisper escaped him. ‘The Shadow Princes.’
Vast shapes climbed from the abyss, blackening the earth beneath their feet. One pair of eyes passed over the Tower and the fleeing officials to settle on Chenyue. They did not move. Her father reached out and drew her behind him.
The palace lamps burned all night as orders went out to the five continents and the Imperial Iron Cavalry gathered at the gates. Days later, her father put on his armour and ordered her to remain in the capital.
Chenyue bowed her assent. Once he had gone, she changed into a trooper’s armour, fastened her own helmet straps and rode out with the column.
The rulers of the five continents brought their armies before the Tower; blades, incantations and cannon fire struck the vast shapes in turn without forcing them back a single step. The northern fleet reached shore three days late, and while the rulers were still issuing separate commands, its masts sank into black water with the broken keels.
The Heartland Emperor was stationed at Wenchang Fortress.
From among the Iron Cavalry, Chenyue watched her father stand amid the quarrelling rulers. His officials were speaking behind him, but he removed his helmet and looked back towards the distant capital.
Her hand rose to the rim of her helmet.
The wall collapsed above him.
Chenyue rushed through the falling brickwork and knelt where he had disappeared. A slab longer than she was tall lay across the ruin. She thrust both hands beneath it and lifted. It rose a finger’s breadth before the battlement above began to shift, sending broken bricks past the rim of her helmet. Bracing her shoulder beneath the slab, she bent to look through the gap. Dust kept pouring out, hiding the place where her father had fallen.
She shifted her shoulder and pushed again.
Far off, a great claw closed upon the Celestial Tower. A crack raced up its side. The wounded Tower’s cry swept across the plain, and the last light faded from the gap beneath the stone. Chenyue kept her shoulder where it was.
In the ruined capital, four bronze bells rang without a hand to strike them. The constellations had withdrawn. Only five stars remained, one above each land, and five shafts of starlight descended.
Azure light found the sapling in the herb-gatherer’s arms. Roots entered the soil; leaves and blossoms broke through the mist. In the south, vermilion light fell into the bellows. The apprentice looked up as red lotuses opened among the ashes across the mountainside.
White light pierced the snow. The spirit beast opened its eyes inside the young disciple’s robe, and flying swords rose through the shattered crystal.
Dark radiance sank into the Oceanic North. The ice along the ship’s rail thawed, and the suspended sea returned to its bed. The girl steadied herself on deck and raised her hand, pointing out the channel into harbour.
Yellow light fell across the backs of Chenyue’s hands, illuminating the grit between her fingers.
The slab rose.
She straightened from her crouch, bearing the battlement’s weight, and heaved the broken wall aside. Before the dust had settled, her father had pushed himself up and was looking past her.
Chenyue removed her helmet.
His gaze stopped upon her face. Starlight had changed the girl’s features into those of a Celestial maiden. He looked at her for a moment, then reached up to touch her cheek, leaving a streak of grey.
She bent, took his hand and helped him to his feet. Once, when they walked down from the altar together, her hand had fitted inside his palm. Now he was standing, but his fingers still held hers.
Tears ran through the dust upon his face.
In the distance, four streams of light turned towards the Tower.
She waited for him to let go. Then she set her helmet at his feet and stepped into the yellow light. The other four rose with her, following her over the scattering armies to the Tower.
The Emperor stood beside the broken wall, looking up. ‘The Celestial Princesses.’
Five-coloured starlight became petals, washing over skin and hardening into scales that joined to form battle-robes. The five sisters stepped from the light. The Earth Princess clasped the hand of the sister beside her, released it and stepped forward, bringing one fist to her other palm before the looming shapes.
‘I am the Earth Princess. Through life after life, our vow remains: to protect the living. Have mercy upon them, Shadow Princes. Return to your appointed places.’
A giant scorpion stepped from the dark, its poisoned tail held high and its claws blocking the starlight before the Tower.
‘I thought the Celestial maidens had come to welcome me. What are these foolish mortals, that the hosts of the Celestial Heaven should stoop to care for them?’
The Scorpion Prince’s laughter crossed the plain.
‘Since you have come in person, allow me—’
A great claw bore down upon the Tower. The Earth Princess stepped forward and raised the Diamond Shield to meet it. Yellow light burst from the shield’s face, lifting the giant scorpion off the ground and hurling him several li away—