Swallowtail and Sword — H. Leighton Dickson

Before there was a Shogun, Before there was a Journey, there was a Story. As a collection of short stories, poems and Ancient songs, these are the tales of the Captain and the Geomancer, the Scholar and the Alchemist, the Major and the Priest before they came together to change the world. From Ling's first hour as Empress to Solomon's last hour in the world of men, these are the events that shaped them, molded them, set them on the Road to Pol'Lhasa and it's proud, high-winged courts. "Fascinating, Exotic, Original Fantasy " - Jennifer Quail, Strange Roads