In a Sea of Mortals

Prologue

"A successful coronation is the most important step in the beginning of a new rule," General Tang said solemnly. His gray beard was slightly disheveled, and his armor clean, but far from proper to be present in the throne hall. On the throne, a young man of barely twenty dressed in regal attire listened to him with apprehension.

"Nobles and vassals alike hold their breaths and count their options as an unpredictable man sits on the throne, bringing with him unfathomable changes. It's high time for unrest. A successful coronation is, therefore, the first step which satisfies the public eye so that the new ruler might be permitted to set his course. Only then, can a king have the luxury to be judged by his actions."

General Tang finished his recitation and stood, expectant.

The young king was Fan, and he paced back and forth, his hands pulling at the sides of his black and golden robes nervously. His huff of frustration bordered on disrespect, but General Tang was too much of an old friend to mind his youthful outburst.

"I understand, General. But must we reach a verdict and a sentence during the coronation for my uncle?"

General Tang bowed, his fist against his chest expressing his earnest counsel.

"The Prince of Li has caused the people years of civil wars. His collusion with the Kingdom of Liang in order to usurp your father's throne, and consequently yours, has caused our beloved kingdom to be almost conquered by them."

"But... in front of everybody? Won't the people accuse me of gleefully ridding myself of a political enemy, moreover a member of my family, or taking my revenge on him in a publicly dishonorable way? After all, the people believed he usurped the throne legally for many years."

"Your majesty," the general took a deep breath and pointed in the general direction of the entrance, "the shouts of the crowd when we recovered the capital last week are solid evidence of how much of a traitor the people consider your uncle to be. Worry yourself not on the account of the people, your majesty. Do worry on the account of the nobles who wield influence and power, for they are the ones who need the show."

"The show? The boring ritual of pleading the heavens for acceptance so that the crown might be placed upon my head, and then the approval of the people so that I might sit on the throne? They're just a show of opulence, of which the nobles have enough! A formality, hardly a necessity, which wastes our scarce resources. And after years of civil war, such resources shall be better used somewhere else! The people might not criticize my denouncing, but can they watch as so much gold is being poured into a show? Gold which can rebuild their homes and fill their bellies after years of cold and hunger?"

"My very thoughts." General Tang had to raise his voice to retrieve Fan from his increasingly angrier reflections. "The coronation has been too hastily prepared to have spent a lot of gold, worry not. Hence the real show shall be the conviction of your uncle, so that the nobles might be convinced your majesty won't allow any more traitors, and the people might have their vindication in the hands of a safely established ruler."

Fan stopped in his tracks and sighed. The sound reasoning of the general's words were dawning on him. He began to nod slowly. Although he didn't like it, he found himself more and more sympathetic with the General's point of view.

Yet, apprehension tugged at a corner in his mind.

"There is no me. There's only the people," he repeated under his breath. It was the mantra he had been taught as a child when he was chosen as crown prince. "Therefore there are no feelings of mine, only the well-being of the people."

Feeling his fears draining from him, he sighed again in acceptance.

"It shall be done as you recommend."

He turned towards General Tang and proceeded to bow deep, his hands together in gratefulness, but a thought seemed to revisit him and he never finished the genuflection.

"Ah! General, which reminds me! We've received notice from the Isle of Seabirds that your family might be arriving a day or two after the coronation. The storm has calmed down, and although your honorable family may not arrive before it, as we hoped, they won't be arriving a month after either!"

The general's eyes lit up. Forgetting any sense of formality, he jumped and took a step forward. His enormous frame towered in comparison to young Fan's.

"Your majesty, you jest not!"

Fan fumbled with the documents on his desk, and locating the roll which contained the happy news, delivered it upon the general's open hands. The general read the message ecstatically, his hands trembling of emotion.

"Oh, my dearest son! My dearest granddaughter! At last! At last!" he exclaimed repeatedly.

Without so much as a bow or another word, the general dashed out of the hall. The jaws of the guards at the entrance fell and they glanced nervously at Fan, wondering what his reaction would be at such a breach in ceremony.

But Fan laughed heartily, and wishing to protect the General's reputation, lest these guards spread rumours and cause the military to disrespect him, he bellowed just loud enough for them to hear.

"Hah! Not seeing your only family for almost ten years will cause you to forget what you've done perfectly for the same amount of time: he's committed his first fault in ceremony ever! And I witnessed it! What a day to be alive!"

Satisfied the soldiers would continue believing in the general's integrity, Fan left through the side hall in the direction of his rooms. His laugh died halfway and he bit his lower lip. As if getting crowned the king of a bunch of nobles and peasants he hadn't seen in ten years wasn't enough... He had to deal with the business of his uncle's treason in front of them as well. He wondered whether he would have a firm grasp of his wits.

Ten years of bitter war... His uncle had been the cause of his father's death, murderer of his family, the usurper of his throne. Because of him, he had to escape the palace in the middle of the night, travel at top speed for days without sleep, and then live in faraway provinces like fugitives. Because of him, his mother died of illness and his father from exhaustion. Because of him, he received the education of a soldier instead the one of a ruler.

He would be soon crowned King of the Kingdom of Meng. And he knew, better than anybody else, that he wasn't even remotely close to being prepared.

"There's no me, only the people. Therefore these feelings of mine are not, only the well-being of the people," he muttered over and over.