Beatriss settles into her new fortress

The time came for Beatriss to bid farewell to Khanbaliq, the Imperial Palace, and the Emperor. Their infant son remained behind to be raised within the palace alongside his many imperial half-siblings, while Beatriss departed for her newly completed fortress in the Happy Valley. There she had been granted a small but beautiful dominion within the Empire—peaceful, fertile, and distant from court politics, with the promise of governing its people largely according to her own judgment.

Her five older children traveled with her, and as news of her arrival spread, friends old and new gathered to help build this new beginning. Naron and Ju-Mei, followed by Bangqiu and the monk Kafka. Bahen—the unlikely ally whose courage had helped destroy Red Nar's band—arrived with twenty seasoned riders and immediately set about organizing the valley's defense.

The Emperor sent his congratulations by way of twenty sohei who would remain as Beatriss's personal bodyguard. Once ladies of the palace, they had been trained by Bayan in the swift and disciplined Blackbird Style, making them as capable in unarmed combat as in decoding etiquette. Tetsukichi settled into his own wing of the stronghold with his family and faithful henchman, while the foreign travelers Prince Slash and Sir Crowler accepted Beatriss's hospitality and soon became valued companions and defenders of the valley.

For a time, Happy Valley knew peace.

That peace ended when Prince Slash, leading a routine patrol beyond the western ridge, noticed a column of smoke rising above the forest canopy. Riding closer to investigate, he discovered a large war band of dragon-people advancing through the woods under the command of a towering reptilian warlord. Realizing the danger, Prince Slash spurred his horse back toward the fortress, the dragon-people crashing through the forest in determined pursuit.

The alarm barely reached the valley in time. Villagers hurried inside the fortress, but the enemy arrived so quickly that the gates could not be closed. Beatriss, Tetsukichi, Naron, and Bahen led a desperate counterattack that forced the dragon-people back through the entrance before pursuing them into the fields beyond the walls.

There the Lizard Lord revealed his true strength.

Leading his elite warriors, the monstrous chieftain smashed into Beatriss's cavalry with overwhelming force. Beatriss was hurled from her horse, her bodyguard scattered. Naron's hastily trained militia lost heart, casting aside their spears and fleeing toward the forests. Tetsukichi and Bahen fought stubbornly but were driven back. Seizing the moment, the Lizard Lord roared in triumph and stormed through the still-open gates, his warriors pouring into the fortress behind him.

Inside, however, the defenders had used those precious moments to prepare.

Bangqiu stepped forward and unleashed powerful magic that shattered the momentum of the dragon-people's assault, throwing their ranks into confusion. Al-Fitar immediately seized the opportunity, leading a disciplined countercharge that drove the invaders deeper into the fortress courtyard. Suddenly the attackers found themselves surrounded rather than victorious.

Kafka and Bayan calmly closed the trap, fighting with practiced precision while wearing down the exhausted dragon warriors. Inspired by their example, the soldiers of Happy Valley recovered their courage and returned to the fight. Together they overwhelmed the Lizard Lord, striking him down at last.

When their chieftain fell, the dragon-people broke. Those who survived fled back into the forests beyond the western ridge, abandoning the field to the defenders.

The victory came at a heavy cost, but it accomplished something greater than the defense of a single fortress. On that day, Happy Valley ceased to be merely Beatriss's refuge from the Imperial Court. It became a home that had survived its first trial by fire, and a realm whose people had learned they could stand together against even the greatest of foes.