Lords of the Liudongli

Lord Chancellor Zhukelion sat with his eyes closed, running through the details of his last meeting with the General in his mind. He was distantly aware of the chatter around him, as members of the *Liudongli* debated ideas or discussed the developments of the Imperium following the Siege of Terra. His momentary solitude was ended as he heard a set of distinctive footsteps heading in his direction. He sighed to himself and kept his eyes closed. The footsteps slowly circled him until they halted standing in front of him. Zhukelion maintained his blank expression, determined to force his opponent onto the offensive.

“Zhukelion, I see you are clearly very busy.” Zhukelion could hear the contempt in his voice, and opened his eyes. Captain of the 5th Grand Army Sun Li stood in front of him, looking down at him with his nose upturned.

“Sun Li, what can I do for you? This time.” Li laughed with his usual harsh bark.

“Care for a game of Regicide? We have not played since the Siege, it would be interesting to retest our skills given the current situation.”

Zhukelion smiled at Li “You did lose the last game, if I remember correctly.” Sun Li stopped himself from angrily retorting. He drew a deck of cards from a pouch on his waist.

“Well let’s see whose skills are really the best in *Liudongli*. I will even let you play as the Warriors of Peace, you need the home field advantage.” Li placed the cards on a table and began shuffling. Zhukelion sighed and stood up, walking over to the table.

“And who will you be playing, Li? Tenzin and the Monastic Ascendants? A legion loyal to the Imperium?”

“Let’s make this interesting.” Sun Li replied, as Zhukelion arranged his cards in the formation of the Qui-Tan Domain. Li flipped his first card at the south of the formation, revealing a once-mighty oak tree sick and withered. Zhukelion arched his eyebrow.

“The tainted one? Interesting that you think it would be strong enough to challenge us.”

Li smiled, not a reassuring smile but one that covered Li’s thoughts from Zhukelion’s gaze. He moved several pieces as one, as the large force moved from the south towards the outer edge of Zhukelion’s pieces. Li turned over a second card, revealing the Fallen Star. At the same time, the first card shifted, turning dark green and revealing the Burning Sorcerer. A few of the other members of the *Liudongli* had noticed the game, and began moving to watch.

“The odds turn against you, Zhukelion. You may surrender whenever you wish before the end, I will not hold it against you.” Li turned to the small crowd and laughed. Zhukelion remained focused on the game, refusing to acknowledge those around him.

The next series of moves happened rapidly, as Zhukelion moved his pieces from right to left and played several cards, drawing off a portion of Li’s forces with the Lure of Pleasure card and sacrificing one of his pieces at the Space Port. Li moved his pieces in a bizarre and disconcerting fashion, catching Zhukelion by surprise at several turns and playing his Insurrection card, forcing Zhukelion to discard two of his own. Eventually Li’s pieces converged on the Steel Bastion, as it blocked their path to Zhukelion’s home base. Zhukelion moved his crowning piece, the Blind Philosopher, to hold. The crowd that had grown around the two players fell silent, shocked by the radical move.

“You risk your prize piece for the Steel Bastion? A poor decision, Lord Chancellor. Maybe after the game I shall show you how I would have played that.” Li gloated, leaning forward to survey the slightest differentials in the board. He moved the bulk of his pieces to challenge Zhukelion, though some of his pieces lagged behind. The Fallen Star and Burning Sorcerer flanked the Blind Philosopher, and Li played his final card, Incursion. Some of Zhukelion’s pieces were consumed, but Li frowned as the majority of Zhukelion’s forces remained in place. As Li’s pieces were committed, Zhukelion played his last card. A symbol of a burning cog on a dark blue background. Zhukelion took a piece out of his sleeve and placed it next to the Steel Bastion. Zhukelion moved his pieces and pushed aside all of Li’s pieces. The crowd began clapping as Zhukelion removed both the Fallen Star and the Burning Sorcerer, and stood up. Li remained seated, his eyes fixed on the board as he refused to look up at Zhukelion. He picked up the piece Zhukelion had placed and examined it.

“This is not a piece in the game, I have never seen it before. I cannot believe you would stoop to cheating, Zhukelion.”

Zhukelion bowed to Sun Li. “Maybe in time you will learn that the most dangerous piece is the piece you do not know about.”