Shanji

THEY HAD KILLED AND
RAPED HER MOTHER—
AND NOW SHE HELD THE FATE OF
TWO WORLDS IN HER HANDS

Poor Kati! She was a barbarian child, she was violently orphaned, she was taken captive by the Emperor's men . . . and she was not quite human. Taken into the Emperor's court, she saw the glitter, and she saw the secret city where people labored from birth to death. And she learned that another sun was closely approaching, pursuing its own trajectory . . . which on its last occurrence had brought unimaginable turmoil, and this time would bring pitiless invaders! Then she found that she was to lead the armies that might save the planet . . . that she was the Warrior Empress, whether she wanted to be or not, her nose hooked into a cruel beak, her eyes glowing an eerie red.

A tale of barbarian courage and imperial splendor. Of a girl who shared the heritage of two races, and found she was born to rule both!

"Shanji is rich in good things. Here is hard science with all the gorgeous colors of fantasy, and storytelling with the sweep of historical epic."
—M. J. Engh

"Well written, and of a piece, and it comes pretty close to singing."
—Algis Budrys

Cover art by Darrell K. Sweet

Paperback

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

First printing, February 1999

Distributed by Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN: 0-671-57789-1

Copyright © 1999 by James C. Glass

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.

A Baen Books Original
Baen Publishing Enterprises
P.O. Box 1403
Riverdale, NY 10471
http://www.baen.com

Typeset by Windhaven Press
Auburn, NH

Electronic version by WebWrights
http://www.webwrights.com

FOR A.J., HONORED TEACHER

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Special thanks go to John Dalmas for his valuable comments on the first draft of this book, and also to Mary Jane Engh for another reading. Thanks also to the Virginia Kidd Agency, the numerous editors and writer friends for their encouragement and support, and Algis Budrys for his teaching, especially during the WRITERS OF THE FUTURE workshop in 1991. Finally, love and thanks to my wife Gail, for putting up with all the quiet hours.

Notes On Character And Place Names

All names have meanings, and are drawn from either Mongol or Mandarin roots on Old Earth. The Tumatsin people are more closely related to Mongol, while the Hansui are ethnically pure Han. Names of the telepathic Moshuguang (Magic Light) elite are often compounded with Meng (dream) or Moshu (magic), and the reader should carefully note these names as they first appear, in order to avoid later confusion.

Key names are given in the following listing:

Gong-shi-jie (world of light), the source of light which fed the big bang, and formed our universe.

Huomeng (fire dream), Kati's teacher and confidant.

Juimoshu (old magic), Moshuguang woman, and the Emperor's seer.

Kati (pronounced Kahtee), short form of Katian.

Mandughai, Mongol name of the warrior-empress of Tengri-Nayon. Known as First Mother by the Hansui people.

Mei-lai-gong (ruler of light), super-being long sought by the Moshuguang to transfer energy and mass at infinite speed within the gong-shi-jie.

Mengmoshu (dream magic), the Chancellor of the Moshuguang.

Mengnu (dream daughter), the name given to Kati in the Emperor's city.

Mengyao (dream medicine), Mengmoshu's executive officer.

Moshuguang (magic light), a telepathic brotherhood of scientists and engineers working with First Mother to bring new rule to Shanji.

Shan-Lan (blue mountain), Crown Prince of Shanji.

Shanji, short form of Shan-shi-jie (mountain world).

Sheyue (musk), Kati's palace companion.

Shizi (lion), mountain cat of Shanji.

Tanchun (taste of spring), Weimeng's servant.

Tengri-Khan (sky ruler), Shanji's sun.

Tengri-Nayon (sky prince), neighboring star, from which the first people of Shanji fled a harsh rule.

Toregene (princess), Kati's mother.

Weimeng (dream feeling), Emperor's First Wife, and Kati's foster mother.