The Moonburner Cycle

by Claire Luana

  Kai patted Rika’s hand. “Of course. Maybe we can spend the day together,” she brightened, looking at Hiro. At that moment, a servant entered, dropping a pile of scrolls onto the table next to Hiro. He winced. “Duty calls, my love.”

  They spent the rest of the meal in silence, as they usually did, both her parents buried nose deep in scrolls and letters pertaining to the business of the kingdom. Rika pushed the food around on her plate, no longer feeling hungry. She didn’t really have plans with her friends today; she just didn’t think she could stand to spend the entire day with her magical family and their seishen.

  It wasn’t that she didn’t love her parents—she did—and she knew she was lucky to have them. It was just that she didn’t fit. She looked around the table, eyeing her mother, her silver hair pulled into a messy bun, a pair of reading glasses perched on her nose. Her mother didn’t look her near-forty years of age—she was willowy and strong, with a smattering of freckles across her small nose. Rika herself took more after her father, with his square face and striking features, but she had gotten her mother’s freckles and small, thin build. She wasn’t sure where the little gap between her two front teeth had come from. Koji was an immature, gangly version of their father but was already tall and sprouting more muscle than was fair. He would be as handsome as Hiro when he was grown, Rika thought begrudgingly. Some of the girls at the festival last night already had their sights on him. Gold and silver hair aside, she looked like part of this family. But the hair was impossible to ignore. As much as she wished otherwise, it was plain to see she didn’t belong.

  Rika dressed in a pair of white leggings and a long lavender tunic belted with a braided obi of silver. She had to make herself scarce today, so her parents didn’t catch her in her lie about going to the beach. The town of Yoshai in which they lived was about an hour’s ride from the southern coast of Kita-Miina, or Kitina, as they had taken to calling it for short. After her parents had wed and defeated the tengu, they had merged the two lands under joint rule. If Rika’s powers ever came in, she would rule everything from the Akashi Mountains in the north to the frothing oceans in the south, and all the lands in between. If her powers ever came in.

  She walked through the palace, enjoying the sunlight streaming through the broad windows. The palace had been built on the highest hill in the city and was tiered, so nearly every garden, walkway, and room had a sweeping view over the checkerboard city down to the sea. The water was as blue as she had ever seen it today, shimmering like a ribbon of jewels in the distance. The palace was filled with gardens, and Rika had explored every one. There were a few that were her favorites, including the one she found her feet had led her to now. It held a sundial set in the ground, as well as other carvings that Master Fortin had explained marked the movements of the moon and planets. Around the dial were climbing jasmine vines and flowering orange trees that attracted butterflies and flitting hummingbirds. She loved to watch the hummingbirds darting about so fast their wings looked invisible.

  Rika took a seat in a spill of sunshine, her face turned to bask in the morning glow. The crisp spring was giving way to warmer days of summer, and she, for one, was ready. She loved the heat—it seemed it was never hot enough for her, even when the rest of the palace was complaining about the steamiest days of summer.

  “Come to my garden yet again?” A lilting voice rang out. “You always seem to find yourself here.”

  Rika jumped at the intrusion. “Roweni. This isn’t your garden. And I like it. It’s my favorite.”

  A diminutive woman emerged from the flowering bushes, a tiny silver owl seishen on her shoulder. The woman had short, silver hair and violet eyes unlike any Rika had ever seen. She was the moonburner Oracle. According to Kai, she had made many prophecies over the years—prophecies that were uncannily accurate. But there was only one Rika cared about. The one that said that Rika would have magic someday. That prophecy was the only reason Rika hadn’t completely lost hope.

  “It is my favorite too,” Roweni said.

  “It’s big enough for two,” Rika said defensively, though in truth, she would have rather have been alone.

  “Perhaps, but your troubles take up far more space than they have a right to.”

  Rika bristled, standing. The woman was always impossible to talk to. “I’m sorry to inconvenience you with my woes. If your prophecy showed signs of ever coming true, I wouldn’t be so concerned.”

  “My prophecies always come true,” she said. “But rarely in the way we expect.”

  Rika was twirling the end of her black hair between her fingers and angrily dropped her hand. “I can’t wait anymore, Roweni. Some days I feel like I’m going to explode. If I’m not magical, then fine. I’ll deal with it, move on with my life. Koji will take the crown, and I’ll go…tell horoscopes in some backwater town. But the not knowing, the wondering…I can’t take it anymore.”

  “You must.”

  Rika ground her teeth in frustration. “I’ve dissected the prophecy a thousand times! Dark shadow falls, great danger calls; the first-born’s power fights at last hour. Was there nothing more? No explanation, no other verses?”

  “I am not a reference book, child,” Roweni said. “Don’t you think I would ask for more explanation from the universe if I could get it? Some clear direction?”

  Rika sighed, pacing across the face of the sundial. “I know. I’m sorry. Perhaps I need to find the answer elsewhere. I’ve looked everywhere in this palace, the library, nothing. Maybe I need to go journey to find Tsuki, to ask the goddess for insight. Or the seishen elder.” She had grown up hearing of her parents’ exploits in dealing with these wise and ancient gods. Surely, they would have insight into her circumstances. A thought occurred to her. “Maybe I could go to the Misty Forest and find my seishen. Why should I wait for it to come to me? Perhaps it’s waiting for me there!”

  “Seishen come when they are ready. And when you are ready. You know that. You can’t force it,” Roweni said.

  Rika closed her eyes, despair coiling deep within her. “I feel like…I’d rather throw myself off the palace walls than wait one more day.” A light flashed behind her closed eyelids, like one of the prior night’s fireworks had exploded. “What was that?”

  Roweni’s seishen, Giselli, was fluttering in the air, its little wings whirling with agitation. Roweni was looking out towards the sea, her face an inscrutable mask.

  Rika followed her gaze, and her heart skipped a beat. On the horizon, a shadow had fallen across a broad swath of the glistening sea—as if the sun didn’t reach. There was a patch of…darkness.

  Roweni and Rika both drew to the end of the garden, pressing themselves against the balcony wall. Rika squinted, shading her eyes with her hand. What was it? She hissed in a breath when she made it out. It wasn’t a patch of shadow or darkness.

  It was an armada.

  Ships with billowing, black sails, packed so tightly that no blue was visible between them. Thousands of ships.

  “Where did those come from?” Rika whispered.

  “Great shadow falls. Great danger calls,” Roweni said. “It seems your wait is over.”

  CHAPTER 3

  RIKA FOUND HER mother striding through the hallways towards the royal council room, her seishen Quitsu trotting at her side. “You’ve seen them?” Rika asked breathlessly.

  “Impossible to miss.” Kai nodded.

  Rika fell into step beside her mother. “Can I sit in on the council meeting?”

  Kai looked at her daughter sideways, considering. “You may observe. Not a peep out of you, understood?”

  “Understood,” Rika said eagerly. “Mother…I was with Roweni when the ships appeared. She said…a great shadow.”

  Kai frowned, and then her eyes opened wide. “She thinks this concerns your prophecy?”

  Rika shrugged. “Maybe.”

  “You must be pleased as a fox in the henhouse,” Kai said.

  “At a threatening armada at our shore? I’m no
t that selfish, Mother,” Rika said. But inside, she was jumping with excitement, twirling and spinning. Of course, she didn’t want any threat to come to her homeland. But the prophecy seemed to say her power would manifest when the threat arose. Maybe her wait was truly over…

  They reached the council room and Kai pointed at a chair at the far end of the table. “Sit. Listen.”

  Rika sank into it, shoving her hands under her knees to keep them from shaking with excitement. The council room was built like so many at the palace of Yoshai, a long chamber full of windows that let in the remarkable view of the city and sea. A long, black polished wooden table paralleled the row of glass that now held a perfect view of the stain that darkened their crystal sea. Rika couldn’t help herself, she stood and went to the windows, pressing her nose to the glass. The ships were reaching the shoreline, and had begun to spread to make the landing. There were so many of them. Kitina had no significant naval force, as it had no enemies that would attack by sea. Or so they had thought.

  She turned as her father and Ryu entered, and Hiro enveloped Kai in a comforting embrace. “Daarco and Emi are on their way, as is Master Tato. Nanase had some business in town, but I sent a messenger to fetch her.”

  “I sent for Colum,” Kai said. “He’s the most extensively traveled of us all. Perhaps he knows something.”

  “No doubt he stole something from these people and they’re here to get it back,” Hiro said, and Kai swatted at him. Hiro wrapped his arm around Kai’s shoulder, and they walked to the window beside Rika. “You’ll sit in?” he asked.

  Rika nodded.

  “I’ve never seen anything like it,” Kai said, her face grave. “It’s hard to imagine they come in peace.”

  “Not in such numbers…and with black sails.” Hiro shook his head. “Who are they?”

  “Where did they come from?” Kai asked. “Our sailors have traveled as far south as three months’ provisions would take them before turning back. They’ve never found evidence of any land that direction.”

  “When they appeared, there was a flash of light. Did you see it?” Rika asked.

  Kai and Hiro both shook their heads.

  “One minute, they weren’t there, and then the next minute they were. Like…”

  “Magic,” Kai finished. “But what kind of sorcery could manifest a fleet of vessels? And, presumably, men to sail them? There’s no way someone could use burning for such a purpose.”

  “We have to assume it’s a new kind of magic,” a new voice said from the door.

  They all turned, and found a tall, willowy man with golden hair and a stack of books under his arm. Master Tato, the chief librarian, and a member of her parents’ council. He had always struck Rika as too young, and frankly too handsome, to be interested in a lifetime buried in dusty books, but they seemed to be his true love. Rika had only hazy memories of the prior historian, Master Vita, as he had passed away of old age when she’d been five. But those memories of his half-moon spectacles and halo of his bright white hair were much more suited to the post of librarian.

  Master Tato was followed by Armsmistress Emi and General Daarco, who was head of the country’s military forces. They were married and had one daughter, Rika’s friend Oma. They were also two of her parents’ oldest friends, and they all spent a lot of time drinking sake and laughing together around the dinner table. Oma and Rika would always sneak away from those dinners as soon as they could to find their own fun. More often than not, Koji would follow, whining until they let him tag along on whatever adventures they had. He hadn’t been doing that as much since he had gained his powers. Actually, Rika thought with a little frown of dismay, she and Oma hadn’t spent as much time together in the few years since Oma’s moonburning powers had appeared, either.

  Rika, mired in her thoughts, realized with a start that everyone had sat down. Ryu and Quitsu had curled up next to each other in a patch of sunlight spilling onto the floor. She hurried over and took her place, trying to look meek and concerned.

  Her parents’ friend Colum chose that moment to breeze into the room, his curly, gray hair bobbing as he walked. “‘Bout time for a little adventure around here!” he exclaimed, settling into a chair and propping his boots up on the table. They were at Rika’s end. She wrinkled her nose and he winked. “Been positively dull. You’re all getting fat and lazy.”

  “Colum, always a pleasure,” Hiro said dryly. Perhaps “friend” wasn’t the right word to describe Colum. Acquaintance? Strange uncle-type whom they tolerated with half-fondness and half-weariness? That was more appropriate. Colum was an adventurer who had traveled across their land, but his weather-beaten face still managed to look surprisingly youthful. He had settled down in the past years with his wife, a moonburner named Mesilla. They lived a quiet life on an island to the southwest of Yoshai, as Mesilla didn’t like to be around people. Rika had gathered that the woman had ghosts in her past. Her parents didn’t like her for some reason. And they liked everyone.

  “What’d you think of those fireworks last night?” Colum asked. “Impressive, no? I’m glad I came to visit; now I can be in on whatever hijinks we come up with to foil these invaders.”

  “We can’t presume they’re invaders, or that we’ll be taking any action against them,” Kai said. “They’re foreign ships landing on our shores. That’s all we know right now. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions.”

  Rika had noticed that her mother seemed to lead the council meetings, while her father played a supporting role. She wasn’t sure how they had settled into their roles, but she hoped if she was ever queen, she could find a king who was similarly confident enough to not need to take charge all the time.

  “Hard to jump to any other conclusion with black sails,” Colum said under his breath.

  “Maybe black is a color of good luck in their culture,” Hiro suggested. “Maybe it’s to pay homage to their sea god, who rules the dark depths of the sea.”

  “Yah, yah. Maybe some apprentice accidentally squirted squid ink over the lot of them so they had to dye them black to salvage ’em.” Colum snorted. “We could speculate for days. But maybe, and far more likely, they are designed to intimidate.”

  “Can we table the issue of the sails?” Kai said wearily. “Master Tato, is there anything you can tell us about these new arrivals? Have you ever read of such a thing? Of another land to our south?”

  Master Tato ran a nervous hand through his golden hair in an unconscious gesture. “I’ve never come across mention of lands other than Kita or Miina in my studies. And, I might add, I went through a bit of a phase in my younger years where I fancied the idea of being an explorer. I did extensive cartography research in both the libraries of Kyuden and Kistana. I will comb through the library here, in Yoshai, for any mention, but I’m afraid I have very little counsel to give you at this time.”

  Kai nodded. “It was a long shot.” She paused, seeming to steel herself for her next question. “Colum, what about you? Have you seen any mention of such things in your travels?”

  “Why, thank you for asking, queenie.” Colum dropped his boots off the table and leaned forward. Rika didn’t know how Colum got away with such impertinence to her mother. She could only imagine that the familiarity went back years.

  Colum continued. “I’ve seen something. In a treasure case in the remote corners of Kita. I was in a cavern that served as an ancient burial ground for a past civilization…”

  Hiro pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. “You’re a graverobber now, too?”

  “You want to hear the story or not, Your Majesty?” Colum asked.

  Kai waved him on.

  “Inside the cave was a carved tomb that must have housed a real big shot. He was buried with all sorts of goodies—jewels, coins, golden goblets, you get the idea. But what concerns us today was a map I found. A map of the stars.”

  “Like for navigation at sea?” Hiro asked.

  “No, like for navigation among the stars,” Colum said,
his voice hushed. “Between the constellations were what I could only describe as paths. I thought it was fanciful—a stylized depiction of what some artist thought could be out there. But what if there really were a way to travel between worlds?”

  “It’s a remarkable thought,” Kai said.

  “Do you have this map? Could we examine it?” Master Tato asked, leaning forward eagerly.

  “Nah. Sold it years ago.”

  “Of course you did,” Hiro said.

  Kai shook her head with wonder. “To think there could be other unexplored worlds…”

  “Clearly,” Master Tato interjected, “these newcomers have some magic that enables them to travel at great speeds, whether across stars, or oceans, which seems far more likely. Otherwise, how else would they have appeared so suddenly?”

  “So these foreigners have started exploring,” Kai said.

  “Or invading,” Colum said, picking at his molar with his pinkie.

  “Our next step is obvious. We must go to these people and welcome them. I refuse to treat them with hostility until they show it’s warranted,” Kai said. “To do otherwise is to risk starting an unnecessary war.”

  “I’ll go,” Hiro said. “I’ll take our most elite warriors with me, and Ryu. We will provide a royal welcome.”

  “I’m coming with you,” Kai said.

  “One of us should stay here, my love,” Hiro said softly, taking Kai’s hand. “If they prove hostile, we should not have both monarchs in harm’s way. It’s not wise.”

  She frowned. “Then I’ll go, and you stay here.”

  “If this is a patriarchal culture, they might respond better to negotiating with another man.”

  Kai rolled her eyes. “If they’re matriarchal, they’d respond better to me.” Rika’s parents looked at each other, conducting the kind of silent debate that only married people know how to do. It seemed that Hiro proved victorious, as Kai was the one who broke eye contact. “Fine. Hiro will go. I’ll stay here and tend the hearth.”