Beijing, China
24 A.B.H. (After Battle of Hogwarts)
Axai Khan stood on the balcony, watching the seething crowd below him with a large swelling in his chest - a feeling of triumph. It had been a few months ago that the National People's Congress had proclaimed him Chairman of the Communist Party of China. It was…intriguing, Khan thought, to hold so much power. And also a bit ironic. His ancestor, Genghis Khan, had once ruled an empire that stretched across the world. Now Khan had finally begun his own path to power. Starting here, in the land his other ancestor, Kublai Khan, had ruled so famously. Axai smiled inwardly, though his face could have been carved from stone. It had been a long time getting here. But it was going to be worth it.
He raised a hand. The crowd quieted at once. Khan had based his rise to power, his influence in the Congress, on his reputation as a tough and brutal man. "Just the kind of man China needs," his supporters had said. China was crumbling, falling apart before he came along, from the influence of the Western democracies' Internet, the corruption of the government, the gigantic population problem, the scourge of pollution…so many problems. So many reasons to have a strong leader, someone who could take charge - someone like him.
And with such a massive nation to finally meet his needs, Axai Khan could finally realize his forefathers' dreams of conquest.
But there were many things that made Axai Khan more than just a normal dictator. He smiled inwardly again as his left hand touched on one: the wand in his back pocket.
Khan spoke. "People and workers of China, today is a new day. For I have come to bring you victory over those who would hand you hardship and misery. Your previous leaders have failed you, they have besmirched this noble land, and they have done little but cater to the pathetic Westerners.
"Mao Zedong once founded a great nation without petty regard for such abominations as 'private ownership' and 'human freedoms', which are code words for destruction and oppression." At this point he used a gift he had, the embellishment of anger and furor to get the crowd so riled up that they hardly noticed what he was saying. He sneered, knowing the malicious look would be on millions of television screens across China, and slammed the railing of the balcony with his fist. "I will NOT see my people bent to the will of petty bureaucrats and Western capitalists! By the blood in my veins, I will see the world avenged for what it has done to each and every one of you! The great robber-barons of the weak Asian puppet states propped up by imperialist powers have denied China her true fruits of victory! And you will not stand for it! And I will not stand for it! Together, we will lead China to great victories, and destroy the enslavers and thieves, and claim our rightful ownership over the world!"
The crowd was incited. Khan could feel it. Had he used the Imperius Curse on the entire crowd, he could not have done better. He could see raw emotion on their faces, love of their new righteous leader who would stand up for them, hate for the Westerners, anger, malice, vengefulness…
Khan smiled on his face now. It was almost a twisted parody of a smile more than anything else. "Good evening to you all, and remember - we shall prevail."
To roaring cheers, he left the balcony.
* * * * *
One hour later, Khan was reliving this moment in his office, drinking some liquid - he didn't know what it was and wasn't particularly concerned right now - when another man entered through the door. While Khan was clean-shaven, as he knew the people of China respected, this man was not. He looked barbaric. His scraggly beard came down over his chest, long wisps of hair stuck out from underneath a hat he wore, and two small mustaches ran down his cheek. There was also a fierce glint in his eyes that normally struck fear into most people. But Khan was not most people.
"My Lord Warmaster."
Khan chuckled deeply. "Call me President now, Marshal Choibalsan."
"But you are the Warmaster of the Golden Horde." Yumjaagiin Choibalsan cocked his head. "Surely that must supersede all Muggle titles."
"But what wizard has ever held this much power?" Khan laughed in delight. "Even that English upstart, Vel-something…oh, I can't quite remember, it was so long ago…could not order the death of thousands of people with a few keys typed into a computer. But I can. I have the power to create, change, destroy, all at whim. Because the people of China love me and trust me."
"Yes, but where would you be without us?" Choibalsan looked at a gigantic portrait framed over one of the plush armchairs in the office. "Your ancestor Genghis would be proud of you. But as you well remember, he was a very powerful wizard. You cannot abandon your magical side."
"Make no mistake, Marshal. The cult of the Golden Horde means much to me. I intend to use you."
Yumjaagiin Choibalsan was no fool. He had been alive longer than Axai had, and Axai had survived for over three hundred years. Choibalsan had served under various aliases many times before, as officers in the Czarist Russian Army, the Soviet Army, the Chinese People's Liberation Army, the British Navy - the list was endless. He knew all the tricks, all the technology that Muggles used to make their weapons of war. He had told Axai of all this when he was training Axai to be the man who would bring the Golden Horde to victory once again. But Axai, rather than becoming amused at the silly ways Muggles got on, had been fascinated. Such power! What wizard could destroy a city with a single weapon?
But Choibalsan still counseled Axai to rely on magic, his lineage in the arcane arts, as his inner strength. And Axai did. But the Muggles held power too…and Axai wanted both. He would have both. As the (relatively) young leader of the ancient and powerful cult of Mongolian wizards known as the Golden Horde, and now the President of the People's Republic of China and wielder of its vast Muggle army, Axai Khan now held more raw power in his hands than anybody who had ever lived.
"How many wizards does China hold? Millions, hiding in secret among the populace. And our Golden Horde? Hundreds of battle-trained wizards, prepared to fight for ascendancy. The Golden Horde will rise again, old friend. But we will need help. I intend to start a war."
Choibalsan's look was flat. "A war. Really. Young one, is this a wise choice?"
"Think, Marshal. The Muggles are strong. We are strong. What if we joined? Imagine the possibilities! I have been working in secret on several programs that will secure us complete victory over all enemies - and I know just the man to implement them. You. I am asking you to take over the role of Chairman of the State Central Military Commission."
Marshal Choibalsan looked at Axai for a while. "You wish me to take over a Muggle government office? But what will they think? This could destroy the secrecy that wizards have maintained for centuries…"
Axai laughed. "That is the point, old friend. How am I going to whip Muggles and wizards into a cooperative, efficient fighting force if I do not reveal our presence? We already so heavy in power that nobody can remove us. And I believe my people my take it in stride."
"You intend to reveal to the entire world our secrets?" Choibalsan looked shocked. "Have you gone mad, man?"
"Of course not. Many people already know it. I told the National People's Congress in a closed session the other day. And the heads of the People's Liberation Army have known for a long time. Believe me, the secret is already out. And our people have had time to become accustomed to it. But the other nations…they will regard wizards with suspicion and hatred, because of our use of wizards in war. They will turn on them, and persecute them. There will be nowhere for the wizards and witches of the enemy countries to run, and they will be hunted down and killed, and thus our opponents will not have any idea of what magic can do…until it hits them." Axai Khan waved a hand. "We will win this war in years. Several years, yes, but by then the People's Republic, steered by the invisible hand of the Golden Horde, will hold the world at its feet, and the only wizards left will be ours. It is an unbeatable plan."
The old Marshal looked at his protégé with a distinct gleam in his eyes. "You are right. As astounding as it is…you have come up with a brilliant plan." Suddenly he croaked a laugh. "By the eternal blue Sky of Tengri, you will rule!"
Axai stood and looked out the window. "The world will fall to its knees. And we will be there to put the chain around its neck, as our ancestors would have wanted." He raised his hands. "By the power of our ancestors, the Golden Horde will reign supreme!" He pulled out his wand, lifted it to his forehead, and said by rote, "I swear by Blood Oath on pain of death that I will force the lands to bow to the name of the Golden Horde, or I will die in the attempt." As he finished these words, there was a loud clap, and a thin cut spread in his forehead. A drop of blood oozed out, landed on the end of the wand, and then a bright light emitted from the tip of the wand. The light was accompanied by a throaty, cruel laughter.
At that moment, on the other side of the world, a man named Harry Potter woke with a start, rubbing his scar as if it were on fire.
Legacy of the Phoenix: Juggernaut by The Webspinner
Chapter Notes: The first look at the enemy, and only a hint of what Dark magic they possess...