Accounts from the Palace of Treason

I never thought I'd be writing this. Personally I really am not much of a writer. But I suppose the boredom and gloom inside what is essentially a prison is getting to me. Maybe one day this'll get out, and people will know what it's like. Not that it will change the government's mind or anything. After all, we are serving our sentence as their dogs.

Not that I mind too much. It's death or confinement - you can guess what most of us picked. Anyway, I am Tian Lan Hu, leader of Meizha's Shadow and the fourth imperial general. I command what is essentially a secret police branch full of spies and assassins. The only thing is, it's largely composed of unsavoury brutes and criminals who all initially had a death sentence. Sounds safe, right? Of course not. We do our job, but a lot of people don't trust us. Courtiers and noble folk especially. They're the ones we rebelled against.

I and the other convicts are locked inside an old section of the imperial palace, nicknamed the Palace of Treason. What a fitting name. They also call it the Den of Thieves, Lair of Murderers, etcetera.  We're on lockdown practically all the time. Windows barred and there's only one way in. The training area is heavily guarded. I always feel bad for the servants that bring us our meals. They must be scared to death. 

The den is an unwelcoming place. It's quite dark and cold compared to the rest of the palace. We had to rebuild parts of it on our own, which is all well and good I suppose. Several inmates love putting their own flair on things around here. But I suppose for the lover of darkness, it's almost cozy in a way. Having paper lanterns next to silk and tapestries might not be a good idea in practise, but the court doesn't seem to mind. If anything all our secrets will just burn to the ground. However so would all our valuable maps and other accounts. Life is full of risks, don't you think?

Gods, it sure is stagnant in here. I don't know why we keep burning all this incense but I suppose it produces a calming effect. Honestly, if somebody cleaned this place up it wouldn't look so intimidating. There are weapons strewn everywhere - and I mean everywhere. Tread carefully or else you'll cut up your feet in seconds.

I suppose I'll chronicle on how I ended up here. It's a bit of a long story, but it's simple. After my mother died defending the village we lived in - she was a city guard by the way - I ventured out to travel. I didn't like the idea of leaving my siblings and other family behind but I felt that there wasn't much else to do. I'd rot away there, but I'm not doing any differently now am I?
Anyhow, I traveled far and wide across the empire, picking up all sorts of things. Young, impressionable, the works. 

That's how I ended up getting tied together into a rebel group. It wasn't my plan at all, I swear. Probably one of the more famous ones, the House of Wo Ping. Most of 'em have been wiped now, but we'll get to that soon. They missed a spot. Heh. That's where I recieved most of my training that I carry with me today - daggers, sneaking, you name it. They were warriors unmatched, there's no contest there. 

I'd carried out several sabotages and other jabs at the upper echelons of society with them. Back then I didn't particularly question why. It just sounded like a good idea. Smash the class differences and whatnot. They were trying to bring a new era about. Until the empire smashed them to bits, that is. I know it sounds unlikely for an organization such as Wo Ping to be figured out, but somebody had done it. And I don't think we were sold out either.

So, the royals captured us all and pinned a death sentence over the entire bunch. Talk about fair judgement. Our current emperor was already at the throne during this time, and this part is important. He was the one who had the brilliant idea of putting us convicts to use instead.

A lot of my Wo Ping comrades resisted and got executed in the process. But when I sat in a cramped cell with rows of sharp bamboo and mesmite for bars, death really wasn't appealing. Especially when weighted alongside Wo Ping's ideals against life. It may not have been a free life, it certainly isn't, but I don't regret my choice. It's like... they've got a plan for today, but what are they going to do after the government falls? Nowadays I don't think picking is an option anymore. If the empire deems somebody skilled enough they'll automatically be put with us. The rest of the criminals get to sit out their sentence or get executed. Xin Dáo bless their souls.

Oh, I think Vinh is plucking at his guzheng again. Something to fall asleep to, I hope.

I'll cut my writing here, for now.