It is the dawn of the age of the East Wind. Times have been hard in the Empire. There have been plagues and famines. Corruption is widespread. There has been a series of weak Emperors; many provinces are under the control of warlords, and outer provinces have fallen to the barbarians. However times are changing. There is a new dynasty founded by a vigorous Emperor. He has restored public order, reformed the judiciary, and is bringing the straying provinces back under control of the Empire.

You are the daughter of one of the Emperor’s new generals. Yours is not a noble family; your grandfather is a tradesman. You are an army brat; you and your mother have followed your father in his campaigns. Your mother feels that it is time for you to go back to a school in the Imperial Capitol where you can learn to play the part of a lady. You don’t want to do this at all; you like the army life, and you like being the mascot of the soldiers.

There is a junior officer of good family who seems to have a crush on you. He is good looking, and you like him. You could let him seduce you, have an affair with him, and get pregnant by him. He would have to marry you, and you could remain with the army.

That would be fun, but you aren’t sure that you are ready to be married. Perhaps you should just accept your mother’s wishes and go to her awful school. Maybe you can talk her out of it. If all else fails you could run away. You have an uncle in the capital of the North; he dotes on you. What ever will you do?