Never Die (The Mortal Techniques)

by Rob J. Hayes

Some fight for honour, and some for reward. Some for glory, and others for a cause. Some fight for freedom, from tyranny and hate. And some fight for love, not for a person but a name. With death as their guide, their companion and goal. They cross all Hosa, spirit, flesh, and soul. Hounded by demons, from the pages of lore.

What starts with a whisper, must end with a roar.

Oong, Cho's comrade, known as the Red Bull of Fades,

Qing, often called Hundred Cuts, pouted.

She whispered a prayer for those she had slain, knowing full well the stars were deaf, and those men didn't deserve it anyway.

The difference between the rich and the powerful was always made so much clearer by walls. The rich hid behind them, the powerful tore them down.

Some were born to follow, not lead.

Murai, the Century Blade, the greatest living swordsman in all Hosa.

"The truer test is to do nothing when called to action. Though the reward is often thankless. I will protect those in need of it, and leave the glory to those more suited to it. Good luck, Itami."

Itami Cho - Whispering Blade Some swords strike with a growl, some with a roar. Some shake the battle like a rock slide, some bring ruin like a wild flame. But there is one sword that passes with but a whisper, and you shall know it for it says: Death has been here.

There were monsters in the world, Cho knew that well enough, but none were nearly so monstrous as man.

Zhihao Cheng - The Emerald Wind Whither it blows, east to west or north to south, The Emerald Wind carries the stench of death. Such is the way of those who prey on the living, and steal from the dead.

"You're crying." Ein stood at her side, staring up at her. "I'm sad," Cho whispered. "It feels as though some of the light has gone from the world."

"The thing about this world, the way to survive, is you either become the worst monster you can be, or you find someone else willing to be an even worse monster and make yourself useful. I learned early in life there are some things I'm just not willing to do, to others and to myself. So, I found someone who was."

Tomorrow is just more of yesterday.

"It takes a lifetime of evil to be a villain, and only one moment of good to be a hero."

"I have a name," Whispering Blade said eventually, her eyes still locked on the boy walking ahead of them. "So do I. It's Zhihao, in case you were wondering." She turned a smile on him. "Not Zhizhi?" "No." "And you may call me Itami." Zhihao sighed. "Wonderful, and now we know each other." "Is that such a bad thing?" Zhihao sighed at that. "Yes. It's much easier for me to betray someone whose trust I never had in the first place."

"In my experience, it is those who claim to be trustworthy who are most untrustworthy. Those who claim to not deserve trust, are often far too scared of trusting others."

Zhihao snorted. "You swear an oath to keep your oaths?"

"Ban Ping is full of monks. Have you ever fought a monk? Most of the time they're all smiles and bows, and 'May the stars shine down favourably upon you'. But if you anger them, they swarm you like a pack of angry hornets. And they're all trained. The monks of Ban Ping are the most peaceful elite soldiers in all of Hosa."

Heroes were little more than fools waiting to find the one battle they couldn't win.

Honour can be lost a dozen times, and regained. Life can

only be lost once, and never regained. He was wrong about the second part, apparently.

Chen Lu - Iron Gut "To master one's qi is to master one's body. To master one's body is to master one's self. To master one's self is to master one's destiny. Now bring me another chicken!" - Iron Gut Chen, on the mysteries of qi.

The silence bothered Zhihao. It left him alone with his own thoughts and they more often than not turned to self-reflection, which in turn led to self-recrimination.

"I died." "Well, who hasn't?" Zhihao laughed to cover his despair.

Iron Gut waded into the conversation with his high voice. "Are you certain? It is quite common for people to stop strangulation before the victim is actually dead." "Common?" Zhihao asked. "So I've heard," Iron Gut replied. "Not speaking from experience then?" The fat man turned a smile on Zhihao. He looked almost demonic, shaded by his yellow paper parasol. "How is your neck, Green Breeze?"

Zhihao glared. "The Emerald Wind. And my neck is just fine, Lead Belly. Thank you for asking." He gave the fat man a mocking bow, but Iron Gut just turned back to the road and laughed a high-pitched belly laugh.

But a person's eyes are not skin, they are windows from which they see out and others may see in. Windows can be broken."

To me everything is shades of light and dark. Everything is grey.

I fear death, but it would be a relief to not feel rather than feel nothing."

"One can either let their losses define them, or define those losses by what is left to them."

"For you cannot find yourself, if you do not first lose your way."

"I don't think I understand," Chen Lu said. "The forest showed him the Eeko'Ai, then kicked the Century Blade out?" "No." Roi Astara's voice was muffled and thick, as though he were on the edge of sleep. "The forest ejected the Century Blade because he saw the Eeko'Ai. It was no blessing. Spirits do not haunt places. They haunt people. It is said the Eeko'Ai come only as portents of events that will shape the world. Whatever event they came before, the forest did not wish to witness it."

"That worked," the leper said. Zhihao nodded. "I tried my best." "Whispering Blade's best was better."

The remainder of their journey was peaceful, save for Chen Lu's complaining about running out of wine and Zhihao's complaining about Chen Lu's complaints.

hope was a dangerous commodity to

give voice to. Inside it could be suppressed and denied, but once it was out, there was no taking it back.

"Zhihao Cheng..." Zhihao said. "The Green Breeze," Chen Lu added with a laugh. "The Emerald Wind." Zhihao stared daggers up at Chen Lu, but the fat man ignored him.

Bingwei Ma - the Master of Sun Valley None so strong and kind. None so skilled, none so humble. None so free of fear.

"Sometimes peace is no more than oppression in disguise."

"Sometimes the few need to stand against the many, so all can see what is right,"

"He's clearly lying. Chen, eat him." Chen Lu gave a mountainous shrug. "I'm warming to the goat. I like the way his voice makes a song of his words."

"Why can't shinigami wear shoes?" Zhihao asked. "Because IoSen," Roi Astara rasped, "the goddess of consequences, cursed them to always feel the consequences of where they tread."

"So, the gods can curse each other?" Roi Astara shrugged. "The shinigami are not like the other gods. They are the reapers, the lords of death. It is their job to collect the souls of those whose time it is to die. But they have, from time to time, strayed from the path. It is not their role to cause death, only serve it. So IoSen cursed them to never wear shoes, so that they might be more inclined to stay upon the path."

Zhihao let out a groan "That's ju...

Zhihao slapped Chen Lu's arm. "You really don't do subtle do you, fat man?" "Subtlety is for small people. Do I look small to you, small person?"

Shinigami are not known to be charitable. They are, after all, gods of death. It is risky to believe in capricious powers that view life as worth so little." "Every day is a risk," Cho said. "A hundred risks. Maybe I'll cross the wrong person, start that fight I can't win. Maybe something in the broth I eat will be off. Maybe a tree branch will fall at just the wrong moment as I pass underneath. Every fight we enter is a risk. Perhaps I'll have a bad day. Perhaps I'm a little too tired and slower than normal. Perhaps my enemy knows how to counter every move I make. Life is a series of risks, Bingwei Ma.

She taught to me think three different ways at once. The past, for it is important to remember what has come before in order to see what may come again. The present, because one cannot make plans without first knowing what resources one has available. And the future, to know what one's opponent must do and

when, and to position oneself to counter their every move.