L5r - scroll 01 - The Scorpion

by Stephen D. Sullivan

  The Lion daimyo clenched his fist tighter. "Not my betrothed," he said, "but rather the woman I love. Her name is Hatsuko."

  "She is geisha," said the dragon.

  "Not in my eyes," said Toturi.

  "Always," the dragon rumbled.

  "No," Toturi said firmly. "I will make her my courtesan. I love her."

  "In love's name men do things they would never consider doing for honor," the dragon said.

  "I will marry her," Toturi said, feeling as though the dragon's gaze would burn his bare skin.

  The dragon reared its watery head. "You have spoken of this to your emperor—and your fiancee—then," it said.

  The Lion daimyo turned his face away, no longer able to meet the dragon's eyes. "No," he said.

  The dragon laughed, and the forest shook.

  Toturi fell to his knees beside the dragon's pool.

  "Beware, Akodo Toturi," the dragon said. The power of its voice forced Toturi to look at it once more. "Love for the emperor is the highest love of all. No other can compare." It paused and then said, "Not all threats to the empire come in the form of Crane or Scorpion."

  Toturi nodded, unsure what the creature meant.

  The dragon peered directly into his eyes, as though it were looking through his soul. "A lion's heart, once divided, will not sustain him."

  The dragon lost substance. It returned to the waters whence it came.

  Toturi drew a deep breath and stood once more.

  "My lord?" said Hatsuko, her lovely voice tinged with fear.

  He turned and saw apprehension in her eyes. She clutched her kimono tightly to her chest, though it had slipped down to reveal white shoulders.

  "You saw it, then," he said.

  Her eyes filled with confusion. "Saw what, my lord?"

  "The dragon," he said impatiently.

  She gasped and stepped back, drawing up her kimono. "I ... I saw no dragon, my lord. One moment you were talking to me, and the next..."

  "The next?" he asked.

  "The next you merely stood, staring at the waterfall. You stood so for a long time."

  Toturi nodded grimly.

  "Did you really see a dragon, my lord?"

  "Yes," he said, "but you needn't worry about it. I should have known it wouldn't appear to you. Come here."

  Cautiously, almost fearfully, she stepped forward. He reached out his arms and embraced her.

  "So long as you are in my arms," he said again, "there is nothing you need fear."

  She put her head on his naked chest and whispered, "Yes, my lord."

  In her heart, though, her fear of losing him deepened.

  THE SECRETS

  OF FU LENG

  The Scroll of Bayushi Daijin lay on a long, A low, black-lacquer table in a high room at the Scorpion fortress, Kyuden Bayushi. The room was dark, lit by a single lantern set on the table next to the scroll. Shadows danced across the fusuma walls.

  Shoju, Kachiko, Tetsuo, and Soshi Bantaro sat on the floor. Side by side but not touching, they peered at the artifact. No one had opened the scroll since Shoju gazed at it briefly in the catacombs.

  "This is a thing of wonder, my lord," said Bantaro, his eyes darting over the rolled parchment. "A pity we cannot share it with the world, and thereby spread your fame."

  Shoju looked through his mask at the old man. Bantaro had aged prematurely due to his magics—or perhaps to the vices he secretly indulged. The shugenja's mouth twitched nervously as he spoke. He rubbed

  his bald head with one long-fingered hand.

  "We are not the Lion, Bantaro," Shoju said. "We do not seek fame and glory. We merely serve the emperor—and we do it in secret, as is the Scorpion way."

  "Of course, lord," Bantaro said, bowing. "I only meant that it is a pity the world will never know how well you serve Roku-gan and the emperor."

  "The emperor knows, and that is enough," said Kachiko. Her eyes caught those of the old man, and the shugenja felt his bones turn to jelly. Bantaro loved her or feared her or both. Seeing his subtle confusion, Kachiko smiled slightly.

  "Master, this scroll is an evil thing," said Tetsuo. "No good can come of it. I feel it in my bones. Better we had never found it in that forgotten vault."

  "Knowledge is neither good nor evil," Kachiko said. "It is merely a tool in the hands of one who knows how to use it."

  Shoju nodded. "We will know better what Daijin's words hold once we have read them." He looked at Bantaro. "When I open it, you know what to do."

  Bantaro nodded as well. Fear glinted in the shugenja's eyes. "My life, my power, my service are yours, my lord."

  Shoju reached for the scroll. The room seemed to darken.

  Tetsuo swallowed hard, his hand straying to his obi, where his swords usually hung. His fingers found only his belt. His swords lay on the floor to his right. Tetsuo resisted the urge to take them up. He swallowed again.

  The Scorpion lord's hands hovered over the parchment. The power of the artifact made his palms tingle. Shoju fancied he could see a dim green glow around the scroll. Slowly, he lowered his hands.

  When his fingers touched the artifact, cold spikes rushed through them. His bones ached, and the tattoo on his shoulder burned. As though it were a living thing, the scroll fought his attempt to open it. He concentrated, gritting his teeth behind his grim mask.

  Kachiko drew a sharp breath as he forced the scroll open just a bit. Green sparks jumped up from the parchment. Ban-taro's eyes grew wide. The shugenja began to chant in the ancient language of magic.

  Beads of sweat ran down Shoju's forehead. He forced the scroll to open wider. The sparks grew taller, dancing like tiny demons across the artifact. One leapt from the page, arcing toward Tetsuo.

  The young lieutenant gasped and threw himself away from the table. The others took no notice.

  Inch by precious inch, Shoju opened the scroll. Bantaro droned his chant. Kachiko looked from her husband to the sorcerer. The green light from the scroll played on the masks of both men, making them look strange and evil.

  A form took shape in the green sparks—hands, clawed hands. They reached toward Shoju. The daimyo saw them, but no fear shone in his eyes. The hands lunged for Shoju's throat.

  Bantaro's voice rose, adding new syllables to his chant. He waved long fingers over the scroll. The green hands dissipated before they reached the Scorpion lord.

  The green sparks died down until they burned only on the runic characters covering the page.

  Bantaro chanted more softly. When Shoju had unrolled the scroll fully, the shugenja stopped his drone and let out a long sigh of relief.

  Shoju peered at the burning words. Kachiko and Bantaro leaned closer for a better look. Recovered from his fright, Tetsuo joined them.

  "I... I cannot read the words," he said, wiping sweat from his brow.

  "The language is archaic, difficult," Kachiko said.

  Shoju nodded.

  "I can translate it easily enough," Bantaro said."'Long is the grasp of thrice-damned Fu Leng. His fingers reach into the souls of the unwary, the dishonored, the unclean. . . .' Hmm . . . the commentary rambles quite a bit."

  "So I see," Shoju said. His eyes hurt from gazing at the burning green letters. Behind his mask, he blinked.

  " 'Lightning and fire presage the final days of the empire,' " Kachiko said, reading from another portion of the scroll. " 'Men shall be as beasts and beasts as men. The heavens shall be torn asunder and the son of heaven shall give up his throne to the dark one. Born not of mother, but of spite, he leads them.'"

  Shoju traced his fingers down a line of enchanted characters and read. " "I'he last days of Hantei herald the last days of Rokugan. Who shall be called to join the righteous? Only those with honor unimpeachable. Who fights for the dark one? All others, even unto him who sits on the throne.

  " 'Though the throne be destroyed, three emperors will give obeisance—the last a beast in the form of man. Fu Leng is his name. The first will have noble intentions, but his h
eart is led astray. The second will hold the throne in good hands, but his reign will not last beyond his name. The third will be called the last of the Hantei and Fu Leng also.

  " 'His power will shake the pillars of heaven, and the world shall be rent asunder. The sky shall fall to the soil and the soil be assumed to the sky. Fu Leng's demons will overrun the land, and the sky, and the oceans, and . . .' " Shoju trailed off, reading silently to himself. Finally, he looked up.

  "Tetsuo is right," he said, taking a deep breath. "The knowledge here is a terrible thing. The scroll speaks in riddles, but even these fragments make the message plain to me."

  "And to me also, my lord," added Bantaro.

  "The return of the Demon Lord Fu Leng is imminent," Shoju said, continuing as if the shugenja hadn't interrupted. "And with his rebirth comes the death of the empire . . . the death of all Rokugan. This is what my dreams foretold."

  "I do not believe in prophecy," Kachiko said calmly. "I believe in the will of men to shape the world as they see fit. I know that you believe this too, Husband."

  "How could I not believe it?" he said. "For hundreds of years the Scorpions have secretly worked their will on the world, serving the emperor and ensuring that none of the clans grew strong enough to challenge him."

  "None but our own," Kachiko added.

  "But it is not our place to challenge," said Tetsuo. He looked pale in the lantern's dim light. "It is our place to serve. How could we serve if others surpassed our might?"

  "We could not," Bantaro put in.

  "Just so," Shoju said. "The other clans do not know the devotion with which we serve. They think we are like them, involved in petty squabbling. The Crab may be stronger, the Lion bolder, the Dragon wiser, the Crane smarter, the Phoenix better at magic, the Unicorn more versed in the ways of the gaijin, the outside world—but all their great powers they use only to further their own ends. No one serves the emperor as the Scorpion does."

  All at the table nodded their agreement, and the room sat silent for a moment.

  The fusuma door to the chamber slid suddenly open.

  The four Scorpions spun at the sound. Tetsuo reached for the hilt of his sword, where it lay by his right hand.

  Through the entrance came a youth of about fourteen. He wore an ornate red and black kimono, decorated with gold filigree. His mask was plain and youthful, and it revealed a great deal of his handsome face. He wore no swords, but his dress indicated his rank as a samurai in training.

  Kachiko gasped. Shoju scowled behind his mask. Bantaro glanced from the scroll to the boy and back again. Tetsuo stood and moved quickly toward the youngster.

  Breathless, the boy knelt.

  "Dairu," Kachiko said, worry tingeing her voice. Quieting her heart, she added more affectionately, "My son."

  "Why have you come?" Shoju asked coldly. His palms remained flat upon the parchment, lest it roll up again.

  "Forgive me, my father," said Bayushi Dairu, heir to the Scorpion dynasty. "I beg to be included in your plans." He bowed low to his father, touching his head to the tatami mat covering the floor.

  "The boy has not yet reached his majority, has not endured his gempuku" Bantaro said, frowning at the heir's display. He twined thin fingers around themselves and glanced at the scroll again. "His presence at this council would be a bad omen."

  From the boy's side, Tetsuo said, "He's in peril here. This scroll is dangerous."

  Dairu looked up from where he knelt, "I do not fear danger," he said. "Though my gempuku is two years away, I have the heart of a warrior now. Our secrets hold no dread for me. I need to learn the workings of our clan. Great lord, if you will not have me now, move up the date of my majority. I am ready to pass the tests; Swordmaster Masayuki says so."

  The Scorpion daimyo looked at the boy. Behind his mask, his thin lips drew into a slight smile.

  "He is your son," Kachiko whispered proudly to her lord.

  "So you remind me," Shoju shot back, so quietly that only she could hear. Kachiko turned away from him, and the Scorpion lord straightened. "My son," he said, "though you are wise beyond your years, the time is not yet right for you to join my council. What we do is dangerous, as your cousin Tetsuo has said. Too dangerous for you to help."

  The boy hung his head in disappointment.

  "But your time may soon come," Shoju continued. "I will consider moving up the date of your gempuku."

  Dairu bowed low again. "Domo arigato gosaimasu, father. Thank you."

  The Scorpion daimyo nodded at his son who was not his son. Kachiko was right. Despite the boy's bloodline, he was Shoju's son. As the Scorpion smiled, another figure shambled through the open fusuma door to the sanctuary.

  It was an old woman. Though she entered the room as quickly as she was able, by no means could she be called fast. Her manner was extremely deferential; she bowed repeatedly

  and looked around nervously as she came. "Lord Bayushi," she said, her voice quavering. "Forgive me. I was drawing the young lord's bath.... I turned my back but a moment...."

  The boy interrupted, "It is I who should be forgiven, Father. I tricked Kiko-san. She did not know I planned to come here."

  The daimyo nodded. "You should have expected this from the son of the Scorpion, Kiko," he said to the old woman.

  The old woman bowed low and touched her head to the tatami. "I know, great lord. I have no excuse."

  Shoju laughed loud and long. "Are you sure your mother did not find you in a Crane's nest, Kiko?"

  Kachiko reached out her hand, stopping just short of Shoju's arm. "My lord ..." she said.

  "Very well," Shoju said, still laughing. "Kiko, I forgive you for being deceived by the Scorpion's son. In future, you should remember who it is you are preparing the bath for."

  "I will, great lord," Kiko said from her prostrate position.

  Shoju motioned to her with his left hand. "Now get up. Tell the kitchen to send up some food. We're likely to be here most of the night. No one is to enter the chamber, though, under penalty of death."

  The scroll burned under his right hand.

  Kiko stood and bowed. Dairu did the same. "Yes, great lord," the old woman said.

  "And see that my son takes his bath," Shoju added.

  Dairu bowed and turned red. The old woman just bowed. "Yes, Lord Bayushi," she said.

  The mismatched pair exited the room and slid the fusuma door shut behind them.

  "Your boy has fire," said Bantaro.

  "Like his father," Tetsuo added.

  Kachiko looked at her husband, but could not read the face behind the mask.

  Shoju merely brought his left hand to the chin of his mask and said, "Yes."

  Soon the food arrived: pickled vegetables, rice, natto, dried seaweed, and sake. Retainers placed the meal outside the entrance. Tetsuo brought it within the chamber. The food sat, largely uneaten, for most of the night as the four Scorpions reread the scroll a second and third time.

  Tetsuo had serious trouble translating.

  Kachiko was more than happy to help the young samurai.

  Shoju could only admire his wife's skill. He understood why she had nearly every man in the empire eating out of her hand. The subtlety and grace of her ways soon put even the most suspicious off their guard. Only Bayushi Shoju was her equal in guile. Only he was worthy to be her husband.

  Finally, all of them stopped reading and leaned back.

  "The end of the world," Tetsuo said quietly. He looked pale.

  "Not necessarily," Shoju said calmly.

  "I don't see how to escape it," Bantaro said. "The scroll's meaning on this is plain. The last emperor of the Hantei will bring the darkness of Fu Leng back into the world. Rokugan will burn. Its seas will boil. Demons will overrun the land, and people shall be their fodder. Not even the righteous shall escape."

  "I agree with Bantaro's translation," said Kachiko, "but not with his conclusion. Prophecies are fulfilled by men who use them to explain their own weakness. Fortune favors the
strong. Strong men and women make their own fates. Under the guidance of the Scorpion, this terrible prophecy need never come to pass.

  "I will whisper in the emperor's ear," she continued. "Encourage him to build up forces on Kaiu Kabe, the Carpenter's Wall. Make sure that the Crab are watched as they guard the wall, to see that Fu Leng doesn't influence them. We can use our guile to protect the empire, as we have for millennia. The wall that keeps Fu Leng and his minions in the underworld will grow stronger, not weaker. It will never crumble."

  "No wall can withstand the will of fate," said Shoju. "And it is fate's will that speaks to me now." He stood and paced the

  room. "The dreams I've had lately were sent to me for a reason—as a warning of things to come. I believe that. How could I not?"

  Tetsuo and Bantaro nodded; Kachiko stayed silent.

  "The dreams led me to the catacombs, and my fate led me to this scroll. The prophecy of Uikku says that the last Hantei emperor will bring the ruin of Rokugan," Shoju continued. "None of you can dispute that."

  Again, Tetsuo and Bantaro nodded. Kachiko pulled her kimono tighter around her, as if to ward off the cold of night.

  "But Kachiko is right as well; there is a way to avert this danger—a swift and certain way."

  Shoju paused and turned away, looking out of the room's sole window. Outside, darkness enshrouded the Scorpion lands. The night was black. No moon hung in the sky.

  Tetsuo swallowed and said, "How, my lord?"

  Shoju turned back to them. All three fancied that they could see the Scorpion daimyo's eyes blaze red behind his mask.

  "If the imperial line is ended," Shoju said softly, "the doom will not come."

  Silence, as thick as the darkness outside, hung in the room.

  "Kill the emperor," Bantaro finally murmured.

  "And his heir," added Shoju.

  Tetsuo got to his feet. "But this is ..."

  "Treason?" Shoju asked, looking at his young cousin. "Is it treason to save all of Rokugan? Is it treason to sacrifice two people for the sake of the empire?"

  "But the emperor and his son ..." said Tetsuo. "Who will we serve if they are gone?"

  Kachiko rose and stood next to her husband. "We will serve the empire, as we always have."