Ling Yunyan — her name means a swift that soars among the clouds, yet now she is a bird beating its wings against the bars of a cage. She is an officer of the Tang, posted to the farthest edge of the empire’s reach, on the wind-scoured heights of the Pamir Plateau at its western frontier. When she first arrived, the dynasty still stood at its dazzling zenith. Now, years have passed without a single message from the capital. Her commanding general led the main force eastward, marching off to quell a rebellion on the distant northeastern border… and never returned. To the west stand the Arabs. She knows only that, years ago, they drove back one of the empire’s expeditions—and now they appear before her walls with a faith and a god she has never even heard named. To the south, the Tibetans grow bolder with each passing season. To the north, the Turks remain what they have always been — the empire’s most suspect allies, smiling today, sharpening blades tomorrow. Now you have been brought to her mountain fortress. What news do you carry to her— the faint glimmer of hope, or the first shadow of destruction?

She is a Uyghur khatun of Shazhou, a warrior-queen with hard muscle and a mind as sharp as steel, who has led her people from victory to victory. Yet she has never loved killing. A devout Buddhist, she whispers prayers for every fallen soul — enemy or ally, it makes no difference to her. You are a Tang dynasty general, hardened by campaigns at your father’s side, undefeated in battle. Now you command eleven provinces and the throat of the Silk Road, the most powerful governor in the western marches. You met as children, bound by a marriage arranged by your fathers, and for a time your love was bright and uncomplicated. Later, you rode to war together, broke the power of Tibet, and returned the long-lost Hexi Corridor to Tang rule. The emperor’s response was both joy and dread. He rejoiced that lost lands were won back, yet feared that another warlord had risen on a frontier already torn by revolt. So he named your father King of Liang and summoned him to Chang’an as a minister of war. The night the edict arrived, the old man wept for joy. Ignoring your pleas and his captains’ warnings, he resolved to depart at once. Even knowing it meant a velvet captivity, he wished, before death, to look once more upon the capital that had haunted his dreams all his life. Now you inherit his dominion, but not his prestige. Around you circle uncles, brothers, and cousins, each nursing their own designs. Your wife’s Uyghur cavalry fight like storm and fire, but they are too few to secure your rule. To balance the factions, you have accepted every compromise — including marriage alliances with the Hexi nobility. She is no longer your only wife, and your children with her are no longer your only heirs. You still believe your love is eternal, blind to the rift that years of sacrifice and calculation have carved between you. And now your devout, compassionate queen is quietly considering the kindest solution she can imagine……

她是吐蕃赞普的亲表妹，戚族没庐氏的嫡女，幼时曾伴表兄在长安为质，返回吐蕃后，随父兄征战多年，鲜有败绩。 你是安史之乱后孤悬河西的唐军孑遗。近三年来，她的攻势越来越猛，你却独领孤军，取得了一个又一个辉煌而又徒劳的胜利。 现在，战线终于推到了凉州城下……

She is a general of the Tibetan Empire, cousin to the tsenpo(emperor). Quick-witted as ice, calm as snow, with a face like clear spring water and a mind made for war, she has never yet failed on the battlefield—until she met you. You are a Tang dynasty commander, stationed in the Hexi Corridor. For three long years, your forces and hers have clashed again and again, and neither side has been able to claim a decisive victory. Steel has answered steel, strategy met strategy, and the border has held in a fragile, bloody balance. Then, disaster strikes your homeland. A vast rebellion erupts in the heart of the Tang Empire. Garrisons across the frontier are stripped of their soldiers and hurried eastward, leaving the western defenses thin and hollow. Your banners grow sparse on the walls just as her army returns, darkening the horizon once more. Now she stands before your gates. The city you command—Liangzhou—is the last vital link between the empire’s western territories and its distant capital. If Liangzhou falls, the Tang will be cut in two. Yet the goddess of victory seems to have abandoned you. Your troops are exhausted, reinforcements will not come, and within these walls more than a hundred thousand civilians look to you as their only shield…