Advantages

A Zheba came from a small tribe, one of the few Lineages not controlled by the Northern Court's Ten Kings. By custom, he had joined the Old Khan King's Imperial Guard at sixteen. After eight years of service, he had been assigned as a Centurion at the prison in the restricted zone. It was neither a particularly high nor a particularly low post, but it had taken him far from the heart of power—something of a demotion.

Without powerful backing and poor at ingratiating himself with the influential, a minor noble had almost no chance to make a name for himself in the Dragon Court. A Zheba had been working at the prison for a year. In another year, he could finish his term and return to his tribe, but since he had made no mark in the Dragon Court, even his prospects within his own Lineage looked bleak.

A Zheba wasn't willing to sink into obscurity. He had befriended a group of young people, all lacking influential backgrounds. They shared his sense of the injustice in the Dragon Court's noble circles and his deep concern for the grasslands' future.

Aside from the princes bent on fighting for the khanate, they were among the very few who dared to discuss and criticize the Old Khan King. "He's old. He cares more about longevity and women than the whole country. The Northern Court needs a young leader—someone vigorous and capable of breaking the shackles." That was their central belief.

But the youngest of the Ten Kings, Kuayue King, hadn't won their allegiance. "Kuayue King may look young, but inside he's just as decrepit as those old men."

So the group of young people chose their own leader: Prince Dudun.

Strictly speaking, they had no complete, clearly defined plan. Each served Dudun