It was Min who managed, somehow, to calm things down. Min who, with a few quick words, got them inside the tent along with the General and the Darwur leader Temaj.

Chang-li was still too busy wondering how Hiroko had gotten here, of all places, and what exactly Joshi had ever tried to do to the General.

When at last they were assembled inside the tent, Min bowed politely to both men.

"Generals, I am Gao Min, senior cultivation spouse of the Morning Mist Sect, also sister of Governor Gao of Rice Flower Province. On behalf of my sect, I greet you. "

She turned to Temaj. Pressing her hands together, she bowed again to him. "Khan Temaj, I formally greet you. My husband and his sectmate and I have traveled long to reach your people. We are here peacefully. We wish to make bargains with you for permission to travel through your lands."

One of the General's men, an officer with a red face and angry manner, snarled. "Your sect hosts an assassin, a man who sought to strike down the General!"

General Li raised a hand. "Enough," he said quietly. The man subsided. The General turned to Khan Temaj. "My friend and ally, may I have the first words with them? Or do you claim rights of kinship here?"

Temaj crossed his arms and scowled at Joshi. They were clearly brothers, and yet quite unalike. Temaj had long, dark hair, which he wore hanging loose past his shoulders. His fingers were covered in silver rings, and his ears pierced in half a dozen places. He even wore a gold nose ring in his hawk-like nose. "This one was told by my father that he is no kin of ours when he was sent away."

"Convenient of them to disown an assassin right before his attempt," the General's officer muttered. General Li cast him a glare, and he subsided again.

Meanwhile, Hiroko was watching them all with a pensive look on her face, as though she were trying to unravel the situation.

General Li turned to Chang-li. "You claim him as part of your sect?" he asked.

"We do," Chang-li said without hesitation. He'd worry about the consequences later.

The General was clearly a cultivator. Chang-li could feel his will held in tight. But then, he had to have been, to have married a Violet Princess. Not just a cultivator, but one of some note.

Equally obviously, Joshi's brother was not. His core was empty and spinning pointlessly inside him, without any kind of rhythm to it at all. But there was so little lux here, it didn't make much difference. Unless the General was a Prism and capable of separating Lumos into lux, he was limited to whatever lux crystals the army brought in from outside.

Here in these wastes, even though he was trying to avoid channeling, Chang-li felt the lack of lux as something physical. It was like he couldn't get enough air to breathe.

"Father," Hiroko said, coming forward and setting her hand on his arm, "please, let them talk. These are my friends, my fiancé. They have saved my life several times over, and I have saved theirs."

The General scowled. "Very well. State your business here. Do not lie, or I will know."

Hiroko gave a tiny nod from beside them. Still, Chang-li hesitated. After how the monks of Harupa had reacted, he didn't exactly want to tell the General everything.

But it was Joshi who spoke up now. He faced his brother and the general without flinching.

"General Li, I have faced you twice before. The last time, you stood over me in judgment and ordered me sold as a slave. The time before that, I stood over your unconscious body with a knife in my hand. We have this between us, and we have the war between your people and mine. But I see you here with my brother, which means perhaps the reports brought to my ears by the Prism Eri were false."

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At that name, both the General and Joshi's brother reacted. The General flinched, though if Chang-li hadn't been watching him, he might not have noticed.

Joshi's brother cried out, raising a fist. "That lying, murdering wretch! She killed our father!"

Joshi's face was set in a hard line. "She told me, General, that you had killed him in battle, and taken his head to display on the walls of Westgate."

"Your brother permitted me to light the funeral pyre for your father," General Li said. "Your father and I were engaged in negotiations when that bitch, Eri, interfered. It very nearly restarted the war, but your brother saw reason."

"Father knew it was time to end this war with the day of our inheritance approaching." Temaj said, his eyes flickered to the General.

"Indeed, he was wise," General Li said. "I suspect these newcomers are drawn here for the same reason we are. Perhaps they are the first cultivators to have come to the wastes in search of the Heart of Ice. They will not be the last."

"Our master sent us here," Joshi said.

"Is your sect so weak he can spare only two? And you," General Li frowned at Chang-li, "Something is wrong with your core. Your foundation must have been badly set, and then you pushed past it too fast. You seem unstable. Your master put a binding on you, is that correct?"

Chang-li shook his head. "No. We were, our sect was attacked by..." He hesitated, wondering if he should blame it on Prism Eri, then said, " by one of the imperial inquisitors. While that happened, I accidentally bonded an ancient cultivation artifact. Our master said my only hope was to come here to the Heart of Ice and learn to master the device before it destroys me."

The General's eyes narrowed. "We'll speak of that later," he said with a hint of warning in his tone. Chang-li was happy to shut up about the Lens.

General Li turned back toward Joshi. "So, the prisoner I had sold into slavery has returned a triumphant cultivator,. How is it that you arranged betrothal to my daughter?"

"I took the chances Heaven granted me," Joshi said, meeting his gaze. "When a chance to escape came, I took it. When a chance to cultivate came, I took it."

"And when my daughter came, you took her?" Li's voice had an angry note.

"I chose him, Father," Hiroko said quietly.

The General turned to her. "Why? Why this man, of all —"

She shook her head. "I did not know about this thing between you all. I know is that from the first time we met, I was drawn to him, and I think him to me. Joshi is one of the strongest cultivators I've ever known. And also…" She hesitated and looked angrily defiant, her glare taking in the whole room. She was challenging her father and Joshi both. "And also because I came to love him, even knowing that he did not want to be tied to me."

The General scowled. "I have trouble believing any conspiracy mad enough to have intentionally brought the man who tried to murder me and my daughter together. And so, like it or not, I must believe what you claim."

He added, "It doesn't mean I'm going to leave him alive."

Hiroko gave a little squeak.

"Enough," Joshi's brother said. "My brother was given a charge by our father, to learn the secrets of cultivation and bring them to our people. He failed that. Then he brought us shame and disgrace by attempting to kill you, general, and failing. He has no place with us. As for you," he looked to Chang-li, "we do not trust outsiders. We will not give you entrance to our people's treasure."

"Those secrets of cultivation, we can share them," Chang-li ventured.

Temaj sneered. "We have no need of your offers of help. Already, the general's advisors are instructing my people."

The general turned. He clapped his hands, and a pair of soldiers appeared.

"Take these two away. Place a lux restraint on this one." He gestured to Joshi.

Now Joshi, who had been standing relatively quietly, exploded with anger. "No," he snarled. "You put a collar around my neck once. You will not do it again."

"And if I order you executed?"

"Better that than in chains. I will give my word to remain here until you have heard my friend out. But I will not be restrained."

"The word of a man who sought to kill an enemy in his sleep," Temaj taunted.

"Father?" It was Hiroko. She stepped forward quietly. "Father, these two men are the best young cultivators I have met. You are short on cultivators. Why keep them prisoner when we have need of aid? You already are desperate. Chang-li and Joshi can help teach the Darwur students. And when the Heart of Ice surfaces, with their help, perhaps you can reach your goal."

"What do you know of it?" her father demanded.

"I know this one thing. They have no more liking for Prism Eri than you do. Make a bargain with them, Father. Set it round with bonds and promises."

Her father snarled. "Take them from here. I will give your words consideration. By tonight, you will have my answer," he told Chang-li and Joshi, "whether to make a pact with you or to have you executed."

The escorting soldiers beckoned them forward. Chang-li decided to follow without making a fuss. As he stepped forward, Min began to follow.

"Wait," the general called. "Lady Min, I would have you stay and negotiate with me. It may be that I can decide whether to trust your sectmates based on your answers."

Min hesitated, looking from Chang-li to the general.

"Yes, of course," she said, falling back. Chang-li took half a step forward, but she shook her head. "Trust me," she whispered, and Chang-li allowed the guards to sweep him away.

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