Never Die (The Mortal Techniques)

by Rob J. Hayes

Guang Qing - the Steel Prince Unyielding as the ancient earth, unflinching as the tide, unstoppable as a forest fire. The Steel Prince was born from tragedy to be Hosa's last hope.

"I'm not the prince." Zhihao gestured to the corpse in the corner. "Hero." Then he patted his own chest. "Bandit." Again towards the corpse. "Leader." And once more to himself. "Man hiding at the back with a bottle of wine, waiting to see which way the wind blows."

"Prince Qing treats others with the respect they are due," Daiyu continue as if Zhihao hadn't even spoken. "Where possible he always uses names or titles. He stands straight. No slouching. His voice is slightly deeper than yours, and his accent lighter. Perhaps you could affect a slight growl, put some gravel in your voice." "Would you like to fetch some stones for me to swallow?" Zhihao said, lowering his voice to a painful rasp.

Iron Gut frowned. "I do not like this Steel Prince. But The Emerald Wind... there is a man I would call a friend. He was the one man who would laugh with me." "You sound like you've never had a friend before, Chen Lu." Iron Gut shrugged. "I had a monkey once." Zhihao looked down at Iron Gut. "Whatever did happen to that monkey?" Iron Gut shrugged. "Perhaps I ate him." Zhihao snorted out a laugh and quickly covered it up with a cough.

Roi Astara - Death’s Echo Somewhere between the crack of thunder and the hammer striking the anvil, lies Death's Echo. Those who hear it have mere moments to describe the sound, for they are already dead.