by Ryan Kirk
Moriko looked at Ryuu and slightly nodded her head. She thought he was telling the truth. Good.
“I believe you.” Ryuu watched as Akira relaxed. “We were hoping you could help us find out who sent them.”
Akira looked at them helplessly. “I’d be delighted to help if I could, but I don’t know if there is anything I can do. If I can’t find you, I don’t know how anyone else could. Rumors of your existence spread after you killed Orochi, but because you’ve stayed hidden they’ve stayed rumors.”
Ryuu reached under his soldier’s uniform to pull out the items he had retrieved the night of the attack. He handed them to Akira. “Do you recognize any of these?”
Akira turned the objects and insignia over in his hands, settling eventually on a piece of jewelry Ryuu had torn from one of the bodies. It was a leather necklace with what appeared to be a tooth. There was a small inscription near the root. Akira almost fell backwards in surprise. “This can’t be. Where did you get this?”
Ryuu held his silence. He had no use for meaningless questions. He had already said they were attacked.
Akira glanced up at Ryuu, true fear in his eyes. “You need to tell me exactly how you got these. Don’t leave out any detail.”
Ryuu glanced at Moriko, who shrugged and moved to cover the entrance to the tent. They were going to be here a while.
Ryuu told the story, relating to Akira how they had been tracked and hunted in the hut. Ryuu left out any description of the place, making sure not to give any details to Akira he could track them with later. He talked about the attack itself and brought out the sword he had recovered.
As Ryuu finished his story Akira sat down on some of his traveling cushions, dazed. Moriko and Ryuu shared another look of confusion. Whatever had happened, Akira knew something that scared him more than the two nightblades in his own tent. Akira was muttering silently to himself.
Ryuu was losing his patience. If Akira knew what was going on, he needed to share his knowledge.
“Akira, out with it.”
Akira looked up and shook his head. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. I don’t believe it. Ryuu, either this is the greatest prank ever pulled, or a nightmare is coming true.”
Rage erupted in Ryuu, burning away his self-control. He stepped forward and effortlessly picked Akira off the ground in a single movement. Akira went for his sword but Ryuu slapped his hand away. He brought Akira’s face to his own. “This is not a joke.” He looked at Moriko. “She almost died, and I need answers.”
Akira was shaken, both by the artifacts Ryuu had brought and by his rough handling. Ryuu almost felt a moment of sympathy. As one of the three most powerful people in the world, he probably wasn’t often threatened this way.
“Okay, calm down. I’ll tell you what I know.”
Ryuu released Akira abruptly, and he stumbled backwards.
“When I was young I studied under my father. He believed I had a duty to know not just about the Three Kingdoms, but the world beyond the Three Kingdoms as well. We don’t know much, as we’ve always been isolated by our geography. The only other people we’ve ever had regular contact with are the Azarians, and that has only been in the war in the pass. There has never been a significant amount of trade between the people.
“Anyway, the items you have there, they are Azarian. But they shouldn’t even exist.”
Ryuu was losing his patience again, but Akira held up his hand. “No, you need to know this.”
“There is a legend in Azaria, a legend very similar to that of the nightblades and dayblades here in the Three Kingdoms. In the Azarian language they are called ‘hunters,’ but everything I ever learned indicated they were nothing more than legend. They don’t exist. Maybe they never did. In over sixty cycles of battles in the pass, we’ve never encountered one, and I never believed they were real.
“The legends claimed these hunters were warriors beyond the ability of regular mortals. But they were bedtime stories used to scare young Azarians, much like the nightblades are used by our own people.”
“What does this have to do with anything?”
Akira spoke, his voice a carrier for a story he didn’t believe. “Legend has it that when Azarian hunters see their tenth cycle, they are sent away from their village. They go on their first hunt, armed with nothing but their bare hands and a knife. It is the first of their trials. Their prey is a large cat, considered one of the most dangerous animals in Azaria. There is only one way to pass the trial. They must return to their village with the hide of the cat over their shoulder. If they attempt to return without a hide they are killed.”
Ryuu listened to every word, and Akira continued.
“If they pass, they are given a tooth from the cat to keep on their person at all times. It is to give them luck in their future endeavors. It is engraved with an inscription, just like this tooth.”
Ryuu couldn’t hide his disbelief. “It’s a good story, but it’s a long stretch between an Azarian legend and the attack on us. I don’t think I’ve ever had any contact with any Azarian.” He looked at Moriko, who shook her head in the negative. She hadn’t had any dealings with Azarians either.
“True, but the sword proves it. This is an Azarian design. I’ve seen hundreds of these on the battlefield. They are wielded by some of the elite Azarian clansmen. It’s a dangerous weapon.”
Ryuu was ready to blow. “But that doesn’t explain anything. You’ve told us nothing but a legend!”
Akira looked at him wryly. “Ten cycles ago I would have said the same thing about you. But here you are. Since you’ve come the world has changed again.”
The truth of the statement stopped Ryuu in his tracks. He had been trained to be open to all possibilities. It was foolish to dismiss something simply because he didn’t believe in it. The facts were laid out in front of him. “Why are you on the move?”
Akira was surprised at the abrupt subject change. “I thought you knew. Everyone should know. The Southern Kingdom has been invaded by the Western Kingdom.”
Ryuu couldn’t hide his shock. “That’s impossible.”
Akira almost laughed, managing instead a harsh grunt. “So are you. But here we are, going to the first real war between kingdoms in hundreds of cycles.” He stood and returned to looking at his maps.
Ryuu shared a look with Moriko. She was just as undecided as him. Silence settled in the room, and Ryuu tried to hide his disappointment. He hadn’t thought Akira would be responsible for the attack, but he had thought that by coming here they would have a clear next step. Instead, they had only learned they had been attacked by a mythological being from a land they had never been anywhere near.
Akira turned abruptly and looked at the two of them. “Would you stay here overnight? There is more to the story, and I need to think about it. Can we meet tomorrow night?”
Ryuu nodded. He didn’t have any better ideas.
Akira went to the door of his tent and called for soldiers. Two came in and almost jumped out of their uniforms when they saw Moriko and Ryuu in the tent. Akira calmed them down. “Have no fear. They are two of my best shadows.” There was a hint of mirth in his eyes. “There isn’t anything you could have done to stop them. They need a tent, first ring.” The soldiers barked their acknowledgment and led the two nightblades to a vacant tent nearby.
Moriko looked at him with worry in her eyes. “Ryuu, what’s happening? It seems like the world is going mad.”
Ryuu shook his head and stared at the ceiling of the tent, wishing she didn’t seem so right.
Ryuu did not sleep well. It was unnatural for him to contain his sense, but when surrounded by so many people there was little else he could do. If he let his mind wander he would be overwhelmed by the information crashing into his mind. But he didn’t trust Akira so completely that he would let his guard down either. Instead, he settled for tossing and turning all night, eventually giving up in favor of meditation.
Moriko didn’t seem to have the same pro
blem. Ryuu didn’t know how she did it. She was every bit as paranoid as he was, but somehow managed to sleep easily.
Their tent was spacious enough for Ryuu to practice his forms in the morning. By the time he was finished, Moriko was awake, watching him without a word. He laid down next to her and held her, the two of them together in silence as the sun rose. Ryuu enjoyed the feeling of his skin against hers. He was relaxed, content. It was all he wanted, to live like this forever, next to her.
Their peace was soon disturbed by a nervous messenger. The army was on the move around them and the tent needed to be packed up and transported. Ryuu and Moriko donned their uniforms and joined the movement, lost in the mass of soldiers. It was surreal, to be surrounded by soldiers trained to kill them. As they walked, they spoke, their voices not carrying further than their own ears, trying to understand what was happening around them.
Ryuu tried to explain himself to Moriko. “I trust Akira. He’s got nothing to gain, and he’s clearly got larger problems. I don’t see any reason to doubt what he says. His story is too unbelievable to be a lie.”
“But if it’s true, what can we possibly do? I don’t think hunting mythological creatures is our best plan.”
Ryuu agreed. He didn’t know what to do.
Moriko was lost in thought.
“What are you thinking about?”
She looked up at him. “Do you think the Azarian hunters are just nightblades?”
Ryuu shrugged. “I’ve never considered it. They might be. There have to be more nightblades out there, Orochi said as much. I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t be down in Azaria.”
The idea tumbled around in Ryuu’s brain. He could see it happening. Orochi hadn’t come from Azaria, but if there was one enclave of nightblades remaining, it stood to reason there could be more. It was both a comforting and disturbing thought. Ryuu liked that he and Moriko weren’t alone in the world, but if there were others out there with enough strength to be a threat, he and Moriko weren’t as safe as he had imagined. Again, Ryuu felt like there was too much he didn’t know.
Moriko seemed to be reading his thoughts. “Are you thinking about the island?”
He was. Perhaps they wouldn’t have the answers he was looking for, but if there was a community of nightblades in existence, they had to know more about the world than he did. The idea of going to the island intimidated him. He had grown up thinking he was unique, the strongest warrior. But on the island, he’d be just another nightblade to them, and one that hadn’t been trained properly. What if there was some sort of test he didn’t know how to pass? Neither he nor Moriko had been trained formally. Ryuu’s education had been more thorough, but was still the equivalent of being taught at home instead of at a school. More than anything, he didn’t want to fail Shigeru’s memory.
When they set up camp that night they weren’t any closer to answers. But as Ryuu struggled to rest and calm his mind, he couldn’t help but acknowledge that he felt like he had to travel to the island. It was a gut feeling, one he was learning to trust more and more every day.
Akira summoned them to his tent well after the sun had fallen. Their tents were close enough together that Ryuu could sense the happenings in Akira’s tent, and he had little doubt Akira was in conference with his generals late into the night. Only after they departed did a messenger come and usher the nightblades into Akira’s tent.
The Lord of the Southern Kingdom looked like he had aged ten cycles since they had seen him the day before. Ryuu knew Akira was a man who was as hard as steel, but he was a good man, and Ryuu had let him live because he believed Akira cared about his people and their fate. He was driven by more than just power. Ryuu was convinced of it the moment he saw Akira, worn down and dispirited.
“How bad is it?”
Akira rolled his shoulders back and tried to release tension in his neck. “I don’t know. Tanak has split his armies apart and they march quickly across the land. They are only hitting major cities and forts. His men are moving much faster than I would have expected. They will have control of a significant portion of the kingdom before we can even mount an effective counter-offensive.”
Akira paused and rubbed his eyes with his fingers. “But honestly, that’s only one part of what I’m worried about. I’m just as concerned about what happened to you. Something strange happened down in the Three Sisters this season.”
The two nightblades sat down as Akira told his story. He filled them in on the barren lands to the south of the Three Sisters. He spoke of the scout’s unbelievable report and his unpopular decision to leave the First to guard the pass. When he finished, Ryuu thought Akira looked like all the air had been let out of him.
A heavy silence hung in the tent. Ryuu didn’t know what to make of Akira’s story. It seemed unbelievable. There had been war in the pass as long as he’d been alive. But it was such an unbelievable story, it was hard to accept it as a lie. Perhaps he was telling the truth.
Akira found some of his inner steel and straightened up. “I can’t believe it is a coincidence the strange events at the Three Sisters happened at the same time you were attacked. There is something afoot in Azaria and in our kingdoms, but I don’t know what it is. It worries me more than Tanak. He is a dangerous opponent, but one I understand. I fear what I don’t understand, the attack I can’t see coming.” He looked up at Ryuu, and Ryuu knew Akira wasn’t just referring to the Azarians.
Neither Ryuu nor Moriko could speak. Neither had expected Akira would believe their story to be as important as he did.
Ryuu could see Akira was working up the courage to say something. Both he and Moriko waited. He respected Akira, but he didn’t see any reason to make his work easier for him.
“I would like to ask the two of you to go down to Azaria and investigate what is happening.”
“You have no right!” Ryuu startled at Moriko’s outburst.
Akira was also startled. “I know. But I need to think about my people, and I can’t fight a war on two fronts and win. My men are good, but we aren’t prepared for this. I need you two to find out the truth. I’ll have you carry messages to Toro, a trusted general of mine who is down in the pass. He’ll support you in any way necessary.”
Ryuu stood up. He could sense more than see Moriko’s anger. “We’ll need to talk it over. We will let you know.”
Akira glanced from one of them to the other and he understood. “Please, let me know as soon as you decide. I’ll leave a messenger outside your tent.”
Different emotions tore at Ryuu when the sun came up the next day. His efforts at meditation were laughable and his forms were a joke. Try as he might, he couldn’t focus. He believed they were doing the right thing, but it tore him up inside. He asked himself for the hundredth time if he was making the right decision. There was a part of him which spoke loudly, a part that had shouted at him over and over last night. It told him he didn’t owe the Southern Kingdom anything. He should live as he please, returning to hiding with Moriko.
But there was another part of him, quiet and insistent, that rebuffed all attempts at selfishness. It was Shigeru’s voice, pleading with him to use his power well. He was gifted with abilities that few people had. It would be a horrible waste if he didn’t use them to help those who needed it.
Moriko did not share his sentiments. She felt strongly that they didn’t owe anything to anyone. She enjoyed their time together and was just as willing to stick a sword through Akira as listen to him. Even though they fought, Ryuu saw that deep down, Moriko recognized a truth he had already come to accept. If they tried to resume their life together, they would fail. The world was crashing around them and there wasn’t any place to hide from the incoming storm.
It was tempting to go back to the hut and hide. More than tempting. It was all he wanted to do. But it was wrong. He had tried to describe his feelings to Moriko last night, but he was much better with a sword than with words. It was only an instinct, but an instinct so strong it overwhelmed hi
m. Moriko knew it too, she was just more resistant to the idea of returning to the world again. They were warriors and war was coming for them whether they desired it or not.
Moriko argued that he was letting his emotions get the best of him. He was a fool to be taken in by Akira, a man who just two cycles ago had taken away almost everything Ryuu had loved and cared for. Moriko couldn’t shake her distrust completely, even after meeting him.
They had gone back and forth through the entire night. Both of them were uncertain, and their uncertainty made them volatile. Both of them wanted to run and hide, but neither of them could.
The moon had almost run the full length of the sky when their argument sputtered to a halt. A silence descended upon their tent as they both processed the consequences of their actions.
Ryuu looked up at Moriko. “Are we sure about this?”
Moriko shook her head. “No, but I don’t see any other way.”
Ryuu didn’t either. His mind raced for alternatives, but there weren’t any. They were going in different directions. They both hated the decision, but there was nothing else to be done. They had never argued the way they had last night.
Moriko would head to the south and through the Three Sisters. She would carry out Akira’s request, even though she detested it. If they had been attacked by Azarians, they had to find out why. It may have been Akira’s request, but they needed the information even more than he did. If they were targets, they needed to know who had ordered their deaths. If they didn’t find answers, they’d never know peace. It had taken time, but Moriko had relented. She would find out what was happening and see if there was a solution. Ryuu wasn’t happy about her going alone. She had almost died at the hands of a hunter and she was heading straight into the belly of the beast. He wanted to be with her to protect her, but he had his own mission.
Ryuu was going to the island Orochi and Shigeru had come from. It wasn’t his first choice either, but he felt he had to. If there was any place he could learn more, it was there. He didn’t know what he would find. Shigeru had only spoken of it once, and Orochi had done nothing more than give him directions. He suspected he would find a small village, a small enclave of nightblades who knew more than Shigeru had. If Ryuu was going to face hunters, he knew he would have to be stronger. It was the only solid lead they had. Perhaps the nightblades would have information on the Azarians too. Whatever knowledge was there, both Ryuu and Moriko felt it couldn’t wait any longer.