The Great Wall - The Official Movie Novelization

12

Removing a stone from the base of the wall behind his bed, Ballard reached into the hollow and withdrew a tightly rolled scroll of brown parchment. With long, deft fingers he untied the twine around it and carefully unrolled it. William caught enough of a glimpse of the scroll to realize it was a map, but before Ballard could explain exactly what kind it was, and why he was showing it to them, a simple, steady drum beat began to pulse through the maze of corridors within the fortress.

Like a rat sensing danger, Ballard froze and looked up.

“That’s a tower call,” he hissed. “A warning. Something’s happened.”

The top of the Wall was already thronged with soldiers who had answered the call. Yet still they flowed from every opening, illuminated by thousands of torches, which blazed in defiance of the night.

General Shao, lying on a stretcher, his black and now hideously crushed armour splashed with green Tao Tei blood, was being carried quickly but carefully through the milling crowd. Despite the chaos, soldiers moved back to make way for him, bowing reverently not only to their injured commander but also to Lin Mae, who was by his side.

The stretcher bearers were heading towards the opening in one of the towers, from where they would be able to descend to the fortress, when Shao weakly raised a hand.

“Far enough,” he croaked.

Immediately the stretcher was lowered gently to the ground. Lin Mae and the other commanders knelt beside it, the rest of the soldiers in the crowd around them—including William, Pero and Ballard, who had rushed to the top of the Wall like everyone else—craning forward to see and hear what was happening.

Turning his head with obvious pain, General Shao swallowed and softly said, “Commander Lin.”

Irritated by the buzz of alarmed and speculative conversation around them, Commander Chen turned and barked, “Quiet!”

Instantly the clamor ceased, to be replaced by a respectful silence.

Lin Mae leaned forward to hear the General’s murmured words. “They led us into a trap. We underestimated their intelligence.” His trembling hand reached beneath the collar of his armour and emerged holding a gold medallion attached to a length of silk thread. The rim of the medallion was studded with five precious stones, each a different color to denote the five Corps of the Nameless Order.

“Commander Lin,” Shao said again, and although his voice was weak, such was the depth of the silence around him that it carried a good distance through the crowd in all directions.

Lin Mae leaned forward as General Shao, summoning the last of his failing strength, reached out towards her with both hands. His left hand found hers and cupped it so that her palm was facing upwards. With his right hand he pressed the medallion into her open palm, then closed her fingers tightly around it.

Raising his voice as much as he was able, he croaked, “The Nameless Order is yours to command. This is my final order.” Turning to the rest of his commanders, he said, “From this day forward, Commander Lin will lead you.”

Lin Mae looked alarmed. “General,” she began, but he silenced her with the tiniest shake of his head.

“You are ready.”

Through the tears, which first blurred her eyes and then began to run down her cheeks, Lin Mae saw blood on her beloved General’s lips. She glanced around at the other commanders, and saw tears in their eyes too.

Moving forward, Commander Chen cupped his hands in a gesture of respect and obedience.

“It will be so, General,” he said. “The soldiers of the Nameless Order will stand firm. The Wall must not fall. We will defeat the Tao Tei.” His voice cracked, but with a gargantuan effort he held himself together. “Rest in peace, sir.”

Kneeling beside the stretcher, he and the other commanders bowed their heads. All around them, the action spreading out like ripples from the center of a pond, every soldier present did the same. When the entire force was kneeling, an echoing rumble rolled through the crowd, gradually rising in volume and clarity.

“Rest in peace, General.”

Lin Mae saw the General smile and close his eyes. His chest rose and fell one more time. Then his ravaged body relaxed as the life slipped away from him, and he was gone.

Wiping away her tears, swallowing her emotions, Lin Mae slowly rose to her feet and turned to address the silent, kneeling throng.

“There will be time for memories and offerings later. Today we honor General Shao by letting our weapons do the talking.” Her voice rose, ringing out in the night. “To your stations!”

Immediately the kneeling soldiers rose in unison and began to move in all directions, heading to their various posts. Within a minute or less the area around the General’s stretcher was clear. One by one the commanders rose, turned to Lin Mae and solemnly made a gesture of fealty. After Lin Mae had bowed to each in turn and the commanders had silently filed away, she gestured to the stretcher bearers, a pair of Bear Corps warriors standing to attention nearby, and indicated that they once again pick up the General’s stretcher and follow her into the fortress.

Observing proceedings from the rear of the now thinning crowd of soldiers, Pero turned to William.

“A woman?” he said scornfully.

But William said nothing. In truth he had been impressed, even overwhelmed, by the manner and consequences of the General’s death. Never had he known such bravery as the General had shown in his last moments. Never had he experienced such a sense of community among warriors, or encountered such dignity in grief, such genuine compassion and love for a fallen leader. And as a soldier he had been overawed by the way every single member of the Nameless Order had accepted without question their dying leader’s final wish, by their instant deference to their new commander Lin Mae, and by the discipline they had shown in instantly obeying her orders and returning to their duties.

He understood Pero’s disbelief. A few days ago he would even have shared it. But now, having seen Lin Mae in action, and witnessed the level of respect she was shown by every other warrior on the Wall, he honestly couldn’t imagine anyone but Lin Mae taking on the General’s mantle. He watched her, spellbound, until she had disappeared from view—and it was only then that he realized Shen, the man he had previously seen behind his desk in the Hall of Knowledge, was standing at his shoulder.

Shen’s voice was curt. He barked a string of syllables at them, only one of which William understood—the name Wang.

Before he could respond two hulking Bear Corps soldiers were lumbering forward, prodding both him and Pero in their backs, a silent but unmistakable command that they should follow Shen, who had already turned and was marching away. William flashed a look at Pero—What the hell have we done now? But Pero, scowling, looked just as mystified as he was.

As they were ushered through the now rapidly dispersing throng of soldiers, William caught a glimpse of Ballard, who had disconnected himself from their company (possibly when Shen appeared) and was now skulking in a shadowy alcove nearby. Ballard too looked disconcerted, and William knew instantly that the man was wondering whether their earlier conversation could somehow have been overheard, their escape plans discovered.

Then he was prodded once more in the back, hard enough to make him stumble, and biting back a rejoinder he focused on Shen, who was moving with a kind of fussy imperiousness towards the nearest tower opening. With their menacing escorts looming behind them, William and Pero followed their guide into the gloomy interior of the Wall.

Lin Mae, walking beside the General’s stretcher through the labyrinthine corridors of the fortress, still protective of her leader even in death, looked up as Strategist Wang appeared around the corner ahead and hurried towards her. As Wang squeezed past the stretcher bearers in the narrow corridor, Lin Mae saw tears in his eyes, glistening with reflected lamp light. The expression on his face, though, was not one of grief, but of suppressed urgency, even excitement.

Reaching her, he bowed in fealty, and then to her surprise leaned forward to whisper something in her ear. She listened for a moment and then straightened up, the urgency on Wang’s face now mirrored in her own delicate features. Knowing there would be runners nearby, ready and waiting to carry her orders far and wide, she shouted, “All Commanders and First Officers to the Great Hall! Immediately!”