Mulan Gets Down to Business to Defeat the Huns
The first thing you hear as you pass through the rounded gateway is moving water. Immediately, you feel yourself relax as you pick out the sounds of bubbling waterfalls and small waves gently lapping at the edges of blooming lotus flowers. The garden is beautiful, but you expected nothing less. Its sprawling lawns are lush and green, dotted with blooming pear trees and brilliant orchids.
As you move deeper into the heart of the garden, you try to take everything in but find it extremely difficult. The estate is sprawling, expanding far beyond your scope of vision with pavilions, galleries, and bridges artfully placed at just the right spots. It’s truly magnificent, but as you pause to enjoy the delicate cherry blossoms kissing the mirror of the pond you remind yourself why you’re here.
She’s expecting you, and you don’t want to keep her waiting.
You hurry along the path, moving through doorways and along corridors until you find what you’ve been looking for. At the end of the path is a stunning white gazebo, perfectly silhouetted against a brilliant blue sky. From here you can see that the rest of your teammates have already arrived, and you quicken your pace. It’s not enough that you’re the rookie — now you’re the one holding them up, too.
You mount the steps quickly and take your seat. According to custom, you sit closest to the entrance on the right hand side. Your coaches and the starting line sit at the other end, quietly speaking amongst themselves.
As you pull your chair in, you can’t help but notice the beautiful details around you. Stunning hand-painted vases sit around the perimeter of the gazebo spouting gorgeous cherry blossoms and boasting intricately hand-painted designs of flora and fauna. Above you, a cascade of hand-folded paper cranes are suspended from a large tree branch, showering you and your teammates with good fortune and success.
Lost in thought, you notice that all chatter has stopped and jerk your head up to look towards the head of the table. Your team’s owner is standing with her back to you all, her short dark hair cut in a blunt bob that just brushes the shoulders of her perfectly tailored suit. She cracks her neck and squares her shoulders before turning around and making eye contact with you and your teammates.
She reaches for a small glass on the table in front of her and indicates everyone else should do the same. With a toast, she raises the glass and brings it to her lips as everyone else follows suit. The smooth taste of baijiu, a drink for good luck, fills your mouth as you hand your glass to the waiter standing nearby with a tray.
Once the drinks are cleared, it’s time to get down to business. The table in front of you glows to life as complicated defence strategies and offensive plays animate themselves across its interactive surface. Wasting no time, your new owner jumps into her plans for the season, her eyes coming alive as she describes how you and your teammates will overcome the challenges before you this season. While she’s never managed a team before, you had heard about her success in other battles and are immediately impressed by her work ethic, eye for strategy, and professionalism.
Her fingers fly over the table, drawing you into her visions for victory as she speaks about team synergy, running plays, and your opponents’ weaknesses. You listen quietly as her voice weaves in amongst the sounds of dropping petals and lapping water, lulling you into a deep focus you didn’t have when you arrived.
Since she started talking the sky’s gone dark, the last of the golden sun eking its way across the horizon. Sweeping her hair over her shoulder she leans forward, both palms pressed against the glassy surface of the table.
“This season,” she says calmly but fiercely, “we will defeat the Huns.”
And just like that, it’s time for battle.
Katana and cherry blossom art by Zerocool748 on DeviantArt
Shan Yu fan art by LPSSL on DeviantArt
Gazebo 3D model by Depth_space on 3DSky