The Whistling Borderlands

Synopsis (Alternate History + Battle for the Throne) The sands of Yanmenguan had been blowing since the year Xiao Lie came of age. The youngest deputy general in the Western Garrison Army, he always had gravel from the desert clinging to his armor. The blood of northern horsemen, spilled by his saber Windcleaver, was more familiar to him than the wine of Chang’an. He had thought he would spend his whole life on this border, just as his father had, until black-clad assassins stormed his camp one night and a blood-written accusation of treason was nailed to his command tent. Only then did he see the raging currents beneath the appearance of peace. To clear his name and uncover the truth behind his father’s death in battle, Xiao Lie flees with his trusted soldier Su Shier. From abandoned grain roads outside Chang’an to the herders’ tents on the Chilechuan plains, he gradually discovers that the dreaded “Wolf Lord” of the northern frontier is a force raised by the Grand Tutor at court, and that the “Sandstorm Incident” twenty years ago, which condemned the entire Xiao family, was merely the first step in the powerful families’ seizure of military authority. Every new clue brings him closer to death. Those hunting him include not only imperial pursuers but also assassins serving the Wolf Lord; even among the comrades who once fought beside him, some are secretly in league with the enemy. In his darkest hour, Xiao Lie finds unexpected allies: Agula, a tribal princess persecuted by the Wolf Lord; a former-dynasty artisan who commands the secrets of ingenious devices; and even chivalrous fighters from the jianghu who once crossed swords with him. Unwilling to see the northern frontier consumed by war, they choose to stand with him. When the horns sound once more at Yanmenguan, Xiao Lie stands atop the wall with Windcleaver in hand, a coalition of soldiers from many peoples behind him. As the wind and sand roar, he cleaves not only through the enemy’s ranks but also through the web of conspiracy that has shrouded the northern frontier for twenty years, bringing light to a land long ravaged by war.