by Ryan Kirk
Ryuu frowned. “What do you mean?”
“The histories will always talk about who did what, and I have no doubt they’ll place a value on whatever is done here today. But that isn’t for us to know or even to worry about. In my mind, the only question is: do we have the strength to do what is necessary?”
She paused before continuing. “There isn’t a person here who wants to do this. None of us are monsters. But we have agreed we need to act, and so we will. Our burden isn’t light, but we must be strong enough to carry it. If we don’t, think how many more people in the Kingdom will die. We are causing suffering, yes. But we are preventing much more.”
Her words steeled Ryuu. Perhaps it was a thin justification, but as she said, it was what needed to happen. He turned around to the assembled nightblades. There was no need to yell or to encourage them. Everyone knew what needed to be done. He spoke in his normal voice. “Let us begin.”
With that, they ran towards the Gathering. They had elected not to ride into battle, being less experienced mounted. Moriko had not returned to the nightblade camp, but she had allowed Ryuu to sense her. She had gone into the Gathering and left it, so he assumed she had completed her mission and was staying away until the business was concluded. He hoped she had convinced many of them not to fight. He had no idea what kinds of debates they would be having in the Azarian camp.
They ran, their robes and footsteps no more than a whisper in the night. They crested the final hill before the Gathering and ran down it, blades drawn as they neared the first line of tents. As they got closer, they spread further and further apart from one another. Their plan was simple. They would spread out and charge straight through the Gathering, from east to west. Anyone standing outside was a target. They would meet again on the other side of the Gathering.
As the others fell away from him, Ryuu focused on summoning all of his own physical strength. He couldn’t risk absorbing energy, not if he could help it. He ran among the tents and was relieved when he saw the walkways between tents were empty. His sense told him he was surrounded by people, but all of them were huddled together inside. A small wave of relief washed over him.
He moved further into the Gathering, walking slowly. Tents were everywhere, and it would be an easy matter for someone to jump out and attack him. He kept his sense alert. In the distance he could hear the sounds of steel on steel and knew not everyone was hiding. There were still those who fought.
Ryuu encountered his first attackers as he neared the center of the Gathering. A small group of men stood around a campfire, their swords ready. Ryuu approached them without fear. They weren’t hunters. His blade cut them down, moving so fast they didn’t even have a chance to meet steel. He didn’t think about what he had done. He just kept moving forward.
In the very center of the Gathering he found four hunters patiently awaiting his arrival. They had sensed him coming, hoping to spring a trap on him. He walked into it without hesitation. They charged in unison.
Ryuu allowed himself to bring in some of the energy surrounding him. He wanted it all, but he didn’t allow himself. To do so would mean death. He brought in just enough to rejuvenate his exhausted limbs and give him the speed and strength he needed.
At the last moment, Ryuu dashed to the right, throwing off their attack. They were strong, but so was he, and he was much faster. His move brought him one-on-one with the hunter farthest to the right. The hunter swung too early, his shorter blade passing a hair’s width in front of Ryuu. Ryuu cut across, a deep cut against the hunter’s arm and chest. The hunter’s left arm went limp and blood poured out of his chest. He had a few moments to live, but Ryuu moved on to the next hunter.
By the time they met, the other hunters had regrouped. Ryuu turned away one cut with his blade and stepped towards the middle of the three remaining hunters, dodging an attack from another one. He rotated inside of the center hunter’s guard but didn’t strike him. For the moment, he was safe from the middle hunter’s blade. He continued his rotation, swinging his sword with all his strength against another hunter. It was a strong, slow attack. The hunter got his blade up in time to block it, but Ryuu had hoped he would.
Ryuu’s cut knocked the hunter a few steps off-balance, taking him out of the fight for a few precious heartbeats. He finished his rotation by driving his elbow deep into the stomach of the center hunter, knocking him backwards as well. The third hunter, still balanced and on his feet, saw an opportunity and struck.
Ryuu swung his blade up and easily parried the thrust. His blade was inside the hunter’s, and with a quick flick of his wrists, he rotated his own blade and cut down and across the hunter’s throat. Two down, two to go.
The hunter Ryuu had knocked backwards with his sword was quick to recover. He slashed at Ryuu, forcing him to dance backwards over the bodies of the other hunters. This hunter was focused, keeping his balance as he unleashed a devastating flurry of attacks. Ryuu kept giving up ground, allowing the hunter to tire.
Abruptly, he stopped retreating and parried a strike instead of dodging it. The hunter had sensed it, but he had grown accustomed to the pattern. Ryuu’s block left him in an indefensible position, and Ryuu saw the hunter’s eyes widen as he realized he had lost. Ryuu thrust his blade through the hunter’s heart just in time to meet blades with the final hunter.
Alone, the hunter didn’t have a chance. Ryuu cut him down in two passes. He scanned the area around him, making sure there were no more hunters out to spring a trap on him. Confident, he faced east and continued moving.
The way out of the Gathering was more crowded for Ryuu than the path in. He encountered three more groups of Azarians, one as large as twenty people. In later cycles he would be haunted by the vision of a lone child who attacked him. Ryuu easily knocked the blade out of the young girl’s hands. He kicked her, once, viciously, to ensure she stayed down.
He didn’t encounter any more hunters. The Azarians who raised their blades against him fell. Not one of them was even able to scratch him. His power and ability sickened him, but he kept putting one foot in front of the other, always moving to the east through the Gathering.
When he came out the other side of the Gathering, he saw he was one of the last to arrive. Many others were already there. He looked down and saw his blade was slick with blood. He wiped it off as best he could, but there was no way to get all the blood off. There was no telling how many people he had killed. Fifty maybe? It was far fewer than it could have been, but it was still far too many.
He felt empty inside, as though his soul had departed his body. The moon was out and almost full, but still the world seemed bathed in shades of gray. He shook his head, but nothing seemed to change. His body felt heavy and slow, and his body felt tired in an unfamiliar way.
Ryuu met up with the other nightblades and together they waited for others to join them. He thought about trying to use his sense at a distance, but he couldn’t summon up the energy to care. They would come or they wouldn’t. He wasn’t going to go back. They waited, and a few more came. But not everyone. They had lost friends, too. With a silent look at Shika, Ryuu turned and led them away from the Gathering, their black robes disappearing in the night.
Chapter 39
Akira opened his eyes and swore as pain tore through his body.
His mind raced to catch up with what was happening. The last thing he remembered was looking at the blue sky and thinking he was dying. He had been at peace. But if he was still in pain, he was still in this world. There wasn’t any way it should be possible. He had felt his guts leaking from his stomach.
Another wave of pain crashed across his body, and Akira’s eyes were drawn to a man kneeling next to the cot he was laying on. Step by step, Akira’s mind tried to start. The man seemed familiar. When the memory came to him, he understood everything at once. The man was the same one who had come to take Rei away. He was a dayblade. If he was here, he was attempting to heal Akira’s wound.
Akira managed to get some wo
rds out. “How am I?”
The man started. He hadn’t realized Akira was awake. Akira noticed the dayblade’s face was covered in sweat. Whatever he had done, or was doing, he was working himself to exhaustion.
The man’s voice was steady, but Akira noted a hint of sorrow in his voice. “I have done all I can. I can keep you alive for a while longer, but you are going to die before the sun sets again. Some wounds can’t be healed.”
Akira’s heart sank. The pain was bearable if it meant life, but without life it was meaningless. Why was this man torturing him? He had been ready to die an honorable death. His mind latched onto fear and wouldn’t let go. Had he misjudged the nightblades?
“Why?”
The man frowned, confused by Akira’s question. “Why am I keeping you alive when you are still going to die?”
Akira nodded, sending another wave of agony down his spine.
“You still have work to do, although I know little of what that may be. More importantly, he told me to.” The dayblade pointed his thumb back behind him. Akira’s focus widened, and he saw that the dayblade was pointing towards Ryuu.
Almost everyone he cared about was in the tent with him. Ryuu and Moriko were there, and Captain Yung as well. Yung looked as though he’d been on the wrong side of a fight. He had a patch over one eye and his left arm hung limply from his side. Makoto was there too, seemingly whole and healthy despite the battle they’d just fought. All of them were covered in blood. Only Sen was missing. Akira would have liked to have seen him one more time. And Rei. It would have been good to see her again too. The thought of her made him smile.
“Did we win?”
It was Ryuu who spoke into the silence that answered Akira’s question. “Your Kingdom will be safe. Makoto has come to terms with the Azarians. Don’t worry about anything else.”
Ryuu’s answer confused Akira. A simple yes would have sufficed. Something had happened, but if Ryuu said the Kingdom was safe, and everyone was here, Akira believed him. He didn’t need to know anything more.
Akira turned back to the dayblade. “I want you to heal Captain Yung when I die. He deserves your care more than I do.”
He saw a tear come into Yung’s eye. The dayblade bowed. “It will be as you wish.”
Yung stepped forward, and Akira could see his captain was ashamed. He smiled. “Yung. You did all you could to protect me from myself. Have no regrets. You have been the best captain of the guard I could have asked for. If I could bow to you, I would. Thank you.”
Yung lost all control of his emotions. Tears streamed down his face, and his body was wracked by sobs. It made even Akira tear up to see such a strong man weep. After a few moments, Yung got control of himself and straightened up. He made no move to wipe the tears from his face. “It was an honor to serve you. I couldn’t have asked for a better king. I will miss you, Akira.”
Akira laughed, causing him to cough up blood. The dayblade gave him an evil look. In the end, all it had taken for Yung to call him by his name was his imminent death. Their eyes met, and there was nothing more to be said. Yung retreated to the rear of the tent, where he dried his tears.
Makoto came up next. There was a sadness in the giant’s eyes, but he composed himself well. “Thank you for everything. I will always honor your memory.”
This time it was Akira who teared up. He was the one honored to have commanded men of such skill and strength. “The honor was mine. If I still have any authority. . .” Akira glanced around. Was he still king? Makoto nodded.
Akira started again. “Then I promote you to commander of whatever forces remain. Lead them as well as you have, and the Kingdom will be strong again. It was an honor to serve with you.”
Makoto bowed, and also backed to the edge of the tent.
Ryuu advanced next. Akira wasn’t sure what to say to the young nightblade, and when he looked into his eyes, he saw something new there, something that hadn’t been there before. It was more than sadness. It was a deep sorrow. Akira knew, deep in his bones, that Ryuu had done something that had changed him. Something he would carry for the rest of his life.
“What did you do?”
Ryuu’s eyes met his. “Everything that was necessary.”
“Will you tell me?”
Ryuu thought for a moment and shook his head. “The Kingdom is safe. Don’t carry your concerns for those of us still living with you into the Great Cycle.”
Akira reached out towards Ryuu, and Ryuu took his hand in his own. Akira’s own hands were rough, but Ryuu’s were even more calloused. The two of them locked eyes. Akira searched for the perfect thing to say, something that could express how he felt. Everything seemed wrong, pathetic compared to the depth of his true emotion. But he couldn’t think of anything else to say. “Thank you, for all you’ve done.”
Ryuu nodded. “And you as well. May your rest be peaceful.”
Akira spoke to the group. “Someone write up an edict. Nightblades and dayblades are allowed in the Kingdom once again. Write it up and I’ll sign it.”
Makoto stepped out of the tent to make it happen.
While he was gone, Moriko came up to Akira. It didn’t look like she wanted to, but everyone else had. Akira smiled. He didn’t know her well, but if she was with Ryuu, she was a good person. She spoke to him. “Akira, I misjudged you when we first met. You are a good man and a good king. I will miss you.”
“Coming from you, that means a lot. Thank you, Moriko, for all you’ve done. I know you have also made many sacrifices for a Kingdom you don’t care for.”
He beckoned her closer and whispered in her ear. “I don’t need to know what Ryuu has done, but will you look after him for me?”
She stood up and nodded. It was good Ryuu would have someone to watch over him.
There seemed little else to do, but Ryuu spoke up. “There is someone else you should see, Akira. We will give you a moment.”
They all walked out of the tent. The dayblade, the nightblades, even Captain Yung. He was left completely alone, but then the tent flap opened and Rei stepped in.
Akira could have sworn his heart skipped a beat. His eyes were drawn straight to her belly, full with child. There was only one conclusion, but he couldn’t believe it.
“When?”
She smiled, and Akira could see she had grown up in the moons since he had last seen her. “Just before I left, I think.”
Suddenly, the enormity of what he was looking at hit him. Right in front of him was the heir to the Kingdom, the offspring of nightblade and royalty.
“This child is the future. It will unify us once and for all.”
Akira was at a loss for words. To think that at the end of his life he would discover he had a child.
"It's going to be a son," Rei said with a smile.
Akira frowned, a small effort that still caused him to grimace. "How do you know?"
"We have our ways."
Akira didn't seem pleased with the answer, so she continued. "Different sexes usually give off a different energy. I can sense the life inside of me, and I can assure you, it's going to be a boy."
A wave of sadness crashed over Akira. He had always been driven primarily by the needs of his kingdom, but there had always been a part of him that had wanted to start a family. Now, at the end of his life, he finally had his chance. Tears streamed down his face.
"I wish I could be there to see him grow up. I wish I could spend more time with you, help you to raise him."
Rei quieted him. "It's okay. I know the type of man you are. I will raise him as a nightblade, and he will know the strength of his father."
Akira made a decision. "You will raise him as a king, too." He called for everyone gathered outside his tent. They all came in. He figured Ryuu and Moriko knew already, but it would be quite the surprise to Makoto and Yung.
"Rei is carrying my son." Akira spoke with a direct tone that accepted no argument.
"I have decided that my child will not grow up as a bastard in the ne
w Kingdom. I know we face an uncertain future, but you can accept this and deal with it as you will. I hereby bequeath all of my titles and all of my land upon my son. Until he reaches such age as he is prepared to rule, I ask that Sen act as regent in my stead. Makoto, write out the edict."
His general and captain couldn't have been more surprised, and Akira enjoyed looking at the expression on their faces. "It is a good thing, here. Perhaps he can be the one who finally bridges the divide between the blades and the citizens of the Kingdom. Yung, Makoto, please, protect him and train him. Make him worthy of the crown."
They both bowed to Akira, and he waved everyone out of the tent except Rei. "Thank you, Rei. You've given me hope as I pass into the Great Cycle."
Rei embraced him, an awkward affair with him flat on the cot, but a gesture Akira appreciated. She held him tightly, and he treasured his final moments against her.
"Rei, will you stay with me until the end?" He was seized by a sudden fear. He didn't want to die. He wasn't ready to leave, not anymore.
She nodded. "I will. We all will."
She sat down next to him and propped his head on her lap. It was a painful transition, but he couldn't think of a better way to spend his last moments.
Rei called everyone back in. They all knelt down by Akira's cot, and together they talked of meaningless things. At one point Makoto had Akira sign and seal the edicts he had proclaimed. Akira studied each face, so that he could take their memories with him. There was sorrow in the eyes around him, but there was hope too. He had heard once that the quality of one's life was determined by the quality of those one surrounded themselves with. He agreed.
That evening, as the sun began to set, everyone was still next to him. But he was tired. More tired than he had ever been. His spirit was light, but his body was unbearably heavy. He got their attention, interrupting a conversation debating different sword styles.
"Thank you, everyone. Now it's your job to lead the Kingdom."