The morning sun hit the white marble steps of the newly built Imperial Academy of Alchemy. Li Mei stood at the top of the stairs and looked down at the courtyard. She wore a formal robe of dark green silk that was embroidered with the pattern of a silver needle and a medicinal leaf. This robe was the sign of her new position as the Head of the Academy. The air around the building was clean. She used her golden finger to analyze the scents in the air. She identified the smell of fresh ink and high quality paper. She also identified the smell of drying herbs like licorice root and wolfberry. The smell of the apocalypse and the rotting silver musk was gone.
Prince Zhao stood next to her. He held a wooden box that contained the official seal of the Academy. He looked at the fifty students who stood in the courtyard. These students were the sons and daughters of physicians and scholars. They were the future of the kingdom building project. They would learn the science of traditional medicine and the truth about the silver curse.
"The Academy is now open," Zhao said. His voice was loud and clear. "Knowledge is the shield that will prevent the return of the shadows."
He handed the seal to Li Mei. This was the moment of formal recognition for the protagonist. She felt a sense of achievement as she took the heavy jade seal. She had cleared her father's name and she was now the most powerful physician in the empire.
"We will study the six dimensions of the curse," Mei said. "We will ensure that the people of the Tang are never again victims of a poison they do not understand."
The ceremony was interrupted by the sound of heavy trumpets from the direction of the palace gates. A group of men on horses entered the courtyard. They were not Tang soldiers. They wore heavy wool cloaks and hats made of fur. They smelled of yak butter and cold mountain air. These were the envoys from the Tubo Kingdom in the high mountains of the west. The lead envoy was a tall man with a dark face and sharp silver eyes. His name was Lord Gombo.
"We come with a message for the Prince of the Tang," Lord Gombo said. His voice was deep and he spoke with a heavy accent. "We heard that the silver wolf walked the streets of Chang'an. We come to see if the Emperor is still fit to rule."
Zhao stepped forward. He did not show any fear. He was an invincible warrior and his personality was steady. He used his silver power to project a feeling of strength.
"The silver wolf is gone," Zhao said. "The Tang is stronger than it was before the plague. Why does the Tubo Kingdom care about the Mandate of Heaven in our capital?"
Lord Gombo looked at Li Mei. He used his eyes to scan her green robes. He smelled of a strange and ancient incense that Mei did not recognize. Her golden finger identified a hidden scent beneath the wool of his cloak. It was the scent of silver spores from the desert but it was mixed with the smell of mountain ice.
"The silver sickness has appeared in our mountain passes," Gombo said. "Our healers cannot stop it. We heard that an alchemist in Chang'an found a cure. If you do not share this cure with the Tubo we will consider the Tang to be an enemy of our people."
This was a diplomatic challenge that threatened the peace of the reconstruction phase. The Tubo Kingdom had a large army and they occupied the strategic passes to the West. Zhao realized that this was a new looming crisis.
"We do not share our secrets with those who come with threats," Zhao said. "But we are willing to negotiate a treaty of mutual assistance."
"The treaty will require the Alchemist to travel to our capital in Lhasa," Gombo said. "She must prove that her medicine is not just a trick of the palace."
Mei felt a cold sensation in her chest. She looked at Zhao and saw that his obsidian eyes were narrowing. This was a trap designed to take the protagonist away from her home. It was a new mission that would expand the worldview of the story from the city to the high mountains.
"I will not go as a prisoner," Mei said. She spoke with the authority of the Head of the Academy.
"You will go as an honored guest," Gombo replied. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a small stone. The stone was a piece of black basalt from the pyramid Zhao had visited in the desert. "Or you will stay here and watch as the mountain wolves descend upon your borders."