Toturi stood on a hill outside Otosan Uchi and watched clouds of smoke roil into the morning sky. His gaze took in the great city, the imperial precincts, the palace, and the sea beyond. What he saw tugged at his heartstrings.
The City of the Shining Prince had fallen into chaos and insanity. The great walls hemmed that madness in, and Ikoma Tsanuri's Lions manned those walls. Even from this distance Toturi recognized her, walking energetically among her troops, cajoling and encouraging her grim-faced samurai.
Occasionally, a Lion war cry would drift over the parapets and out to where Toturi and his troops stood, waiting for the battle. Kitsu Motso's Lions, separate from Toturi's troops, shouted back defiantly at their former comrades.
Toturi frowned. The Black Lion's army had grown great—but the Lions had not joined it. Dragon, Unicorn, Phoenix, and Crane were
among his troops. Even the Crab general Hida Yakamo had rallied his forces to Toturi's side.
Scorpions came with the Black Lion's troops, too. Shoju's people had been stripped of their names but not their willingness to fight. The Dragons also brought Naga, the strange serpent people from the deep wilderness. Nezumi, the ratlings, sent envoys as well; they were a brave, feral people, ready to fight the dark lord.
The minor clans—Fox, Hare, Dragonfly, and others—supplied samurai where they could, and support elsewhere. Each stood united in the allies' cause—to free Rokugan from the Evil One's grip, or perish trying.
The absent Lion, though, played on Toturi's mind. Thoughts of his former people kept him from calling the attack. He hoped Tsanuri—hidden behind the emperor's walls—might change her mind; he hoped that Motso's people might yet rally to his side. He hoped that his troops would not have to spill Lion blood.
Toturi sighed and gazed toward the great pavilion in the center of his camp. Soon, the allied powers would gather—the greatest generals, the clan champions, the Elemental Masters, the Hooded Ronin, and even Togashi Yokuni himself. Thought of the Great Dragon filled Toturi's breast with awe and hope.
When he was younger, the Black Lion had seen visions of dragons. The mighty creatures had appeared to him in moments of trouble or need. Time froze when they spoke to him, always guiding him toward the path of right—even when Toturi did not heed their words. No one else ever saw the dragons that spoke to him, and the Black Lion never knew whether the beasts were real or some amazing figment of his imagination. They'd ceased appearing to him after Hantei the 39th stripped Toturi of his land and titles. Perhaps the dragons were tired of his failures. Or, perhaps, they merely had nothing more to teach him.
Togashi Yokuni reminded Toturi of those dreamlike beings. The Dragon daimyo had a presence unmatched by any other person in Rokugan. The way the late Bayushi Shoju had inspired awe and fear, Yokuni inspired respect and admiration. Toturi doubted that the world would see the like of either man, ever again.
As Toturi stood atop the ridge, lost in thought, Toku came scurrying up the hill to the Black Lion. "Bentai's coming back!" the boy gasped. "And Gohei's with him!"
"What?" Toturi asked. "Are you sure?" Bentai had been sent to parley with Kitsu Motso. Toturi had not seen nor heard from Gohei since the Lion general left his camp following Tsuko's seppuku.
Toku scratched his shaggy head. "I saw them. Do you think it means the Lion will join us?"
"We'll know soon enough," Toturi replied.
General Ikoma Bentai, his horse breathing hard, thundered up the hill after the boy. Gohei sat in the saddle behind him.
"Well?" Toturi asked.
Bentai and Gohei dismounted and bowed low.
"I have failed, Toturi-sama," Bentai said. "Motso refuses to join us."
"It is my fault, Toturi-sama. Forgive me," Gohei said.
The Black Lion noticed that Gohei's skin looked sallow, unhealthy. A large bandage wound around the Lion general's left shoulder.
Gohei knelt and pressed his head to the earth. "I was not worthy of the task you set me. I fought Shadowlands forces that I should have avoided. I... I lost Matsu Tsuko's poem. It was destroyed in the combat."
"Did you not deliver her message, then?" Toturi asked sternly.
"I did, Lord," Gohei said. "Even without the paper, I conveyed Tsuko-sama's words to the rest of the Lion."
"Motso said as much," Bentai added, "but he still wasn't swayed. Tsuko's loss has been a heavy blow to our former clan. Motso and Tsanuri are as divided and stubborn as ever."
"But will Motso attack when our army does?"
"Hai," Gohei said. "I think so. Even though he will not ride with you, he has no love for the emperor. If I had only been able to show him the poem ..."
"I doubt the actual paper would have made any difference," Toturi said quietly. He gazed at the city walls and saw that Tsa-nuri's forces moved when Motso's did—each echoing the other in a deadly dance. The possessed emperor was making sure the two Lion armies would clash.
"I will walk into the jaws of death to atone for my failure," said Gohei, still prostrate in front of Toturi.
"Rise, Matsu Gohei," Toturi said.
Reluctantly, the Lion general stood.
The Black Lion gazed into Gohei's face. "You have fought the enemy well," Toturi said. "No man could do more. That the hearts of Motso and Tsanuri are hardened against us is not your fault. In the days ahead, I will need men such as you. Return to your troops and see that they are ready for battle."
Gohei bowed low. "I will, Toturi-sama." He rose and walked downhill.
Toturi turned to Toku. "Are the clan leaders ready?" he asked.
Toku nodded. "Hai, Master. They're assembling in the great pavilion even now."
"Good," Toturi said. "Let's go. Bentai, see that our troops are ready."
The old general bowed again, mounted his horse, and rode into the sea of tents. Toturi and Toku walked quickly downhill after him.
Soldiers shouted encouragement to the Black Lion as he and Toku walked through the vast encampment. Many of the samurai had waited a long time for this battle, and their spirits soared at the prospect. Toturi acknowledged their cries, nodding to the troops and occasionally stopping to speak with a samurai he'd known a long time.
The ronin lord's heart swelled with the enthusiasm of his army. The battle ahead of them would be terrible, but they were ready.
It took him only a short while to reach the great pavilion. It was not a tent, but an immense space ringed with silken fabric wound around stout support poles. The interior of the pavilion lay open to the sky. Toturi's battle standard, a red wolf in a circle, blazed on the outside of the silk. Hot wind tugged at the fabric, making the bracing timbers groan and shudder.
Toturi's shugenja chanted outside the pavilion's silken walls, shielding the meeting from spies and enemy magic. Two dozen of Toturi's best samurai surrounded the enclosure. As
Toturi approached, Toku took his place among the other guards.
Doji Hoturi stood by the flaps, waiting for his ronin friend. He and Toturi nodded and smiled to each other. They walked past the guards and through the pavilion's sole opening. Two samurai stepped forward and closed the fabric behind the Black Lion, making an unbroken circle. Once inside, Toturi allowed a confident smile to creep over his lips.
Before him stood the greatest assemblage of power seen on Rokugan since the original Seven Thunders slew Fu Leng; Doji Hoturi of the Crane, Hida Yakamo of the untainted Crab, Utaku Kamoko of the Unicorn, and Aramoro, formerly of the Scorpion. The ronin lord's eyes lingered for a moment on the Scorpion's so called "Master of Assassins." Toturi moved on.
Every clan must contribute, the Black Lion reminded himself, or all will fail.
Commanders and generals were there as well: sour-faced Mirumoto Yukihera of the Dragon, lovely Shiba Tsukune of the Phoenix, and the Emerald Champion Kakita Toshimoko. Four of the five Elemental Masters of the Phoenix had come: Tadaka, Tomo, Uona, and Tsuke, all from the Isawa family. Only Kaede, Toturi's former fiancee, remained missing. The great Phoenix shugenja stood t
o one side of the enclosure, talking quietly to one another.
And, at the back of the forum, the Hooded Ronin and Togashi Yokuni, the Great Dragon, stood side by side. If they spoke, Toturi did not hear them.
The other people in the pavilion nodded polite bows to Toturi as he entered. Some bowed lower than others, but many of the samurai here considered themselves the Black Lion's equals, or perhaps—since ronin were held in very low regard—even his superiors.
Toturi bowed curtly in reply. Politeness demanded that he mingle amid the august company before calling the proceedings to order. Hoturi left the Black Lion's side and walked over to the Unicorn Kamoko, smiling. Toturi crossed to where the Elemental Masters stood, cloistered by themselves.
Approaching, he noticed that the Phoenix shugenja did not look nearly so vital as they once had. Isawa Tadaka, the Master of
Earth, glanced around nervously. His round-brimmed straw hat and black hood hid most of his face from view. Only his eyes shone out from beneath the shadows. Tadaka's brother, Isawa Tomo, the gentle Master of Water, rubbed his hands together as if he were cold. His body looked hunched and slightly twisted. Isawa Uona the Mistress of Air held herself stiffly erect. Her pretty face had a new harshness, and she fidgeted restlessly with the hem of her gold and red kimono. Stern-faced Isawa Tsuke, the Master of Fire, paced back and forth as if anxious for something— anything—to happen.
The alteration in the powerful shugenja disquieted Toturi. He pushed the feelings down. Bowing slightly to the Master of Earth, he said, "Tadaka-san. Your sister, Kaede—is there any word from her?" His heart fluttered at the thought of his former fiancee and the wrong he'd done her.
"Not since she left Kyuden Isawa with Seppun Ishikawa and Shiba Ujimitsu, the Phoenix Champion," Tadaka replied. His voice sounded hoarse and weak. He coughed and wiped his lips with the back of his sleeve.
"Ishikawa has returned," Toturi said. "He's joined my army, along with his brother, Kiaku. Kaede forced Ishikawa to leave her as she entered the deep mountains."
"Oh?" Tadaka said, arching one black eyebrow. "Did Ujimitsu return with him?" The Master of Earth's quiet voice sounded hopeful.
Toturi shook his head. "Not so far as I know," the Black Lion replied. "I wish that your champion were fighting at our side. He's one of the finest blades in the empire. He'll be missed."
"Ujimitsu goes where he is required most," Isawa Tomo said softly, running his long fingers over his shaved scalp.
"I'm sure that, when the time comes, he will be here," Uona added, her black hair fluttering in an unfelt wind.
Toturi nodded.
Tsuke, the Master of Fire, frowned. "In any case, you'll find the four of us at your side when you assault the city." He folded his muscle-knotted arms across his broad chest.
"Good," Toturi said. "I'm counting on every one of you."
"As I am counting upon you, Toturi," said a deep, pleasant
voice.
Toturi and the Elemental Masters turned to see the Hooded Ronin standing next to them.
"You, and many others as well," the ronin finished. He leaned against his long staff and smiled. "May I speak with you, Toturi-sama?"
Toturi nodded. With polite bows to the Elemental Masters, he and the ronin walked to a more private section of the pavilion.
"We are as ready as we shall ever be," the Hooded Ronin said.
"What about Hitomi of the Dragon, and Kachiko?" Toturi asked. "Are we to be five Thunders rather than seven?"
The ronin shook his head. "Yokuni and I have everything prepared. Kachiko is where she needs to be. Aramoro can speak for her at this assembly."
Toturi glanced from the ronin to the former Scorpion. Aramoro stood watchfully, talking to few, but taking in everything. "My gut tells me not to trust him," the Black Lion said.
"Are there no Scorpions in your army then?" the ronin asked.
"Yes," Toturi said, "but..."
"And is one of them not the cousin of Bayushi Shoju, the usurper you killed?"
"Hai, he is, but..."
"Then why should you doubt the Scorpion's brother more than his cousin?" the ronin asked. "Every person has his place upon Rokugan, his own karma, his own unique destiny to fulfill. In carrying out his mistress's will, Aramoro is completely trustworthy. Besides, if Kachiko fails us, we are lost anyway."
Toturi nodded slowly. "You speak with Shinsei's wisdom."
"At times," the ronin replied, smiling, "I have that gift. Call the others together. The moment has arrived."
The Black Lion nodded. He strode to the center of the assembly and said, "Friends, comrades, allies—long have we felt the heel of Fu Leng upon our necks. His minions have ravaged our lands. His plague has slain our people. Clan has battled against clan while the Evil One grew strong.
"In the beginning, Hantei the 39th was just a boy orphaned by terrible circumstance. In the past two years, though, he has become more than that. No longer is he a callow youth whose foibles can be dismissed as the actions of a naive foundling. Make no mistake about it, now he is our enemy."
The last word brought a grumbling of assent from those within the pavilion.
"Evil itself dwells in the palace walls," Doji Hoturi said.
Toturi continued. "The emperor has allied himself with the armies of the Evil One. More than that, he commands those terrible forces himself. The Emerald Throne has been corrupted, and he who sits on it has become the pawn of evil. He is possessed by the spirit of Fu Leng." He turned in a slow circle, gazing at each of the attending samurai in turn.
"I speak not for myself," Toturi said, "not for the Lion and the countless others the Hantei has betrayed. Rather, I speak for Rokugan. Will we allow this blight upon our land to grow?"
"No!" the others in the circle shouted.
"Will we allow evil to hide and fester within the great city itself?"
"No!"
"Will we pay whatever price, take whatever risks necessary, to free the land from this evil?"
"Yes!" thundered the others.
Toturi nodded, and his eyes grew grim. "Yosh. We will take the palace and destroy the evil that waits there. The Seven Thunders will assemble once more.
"Before the Thunders can do their job, destroying Fu Leng for all time, all must do their duties. Many will die, and not all those who lose their lives will be evil."
Togashi Yokuni stepped forward, next to Toturi. Such is the price of freedom, the Great Dragon said, his voice booming in the minds of all those present. The silk curtains billowed and shuddered as though buffeted by a thunderstorm. We are ready to sacrifice all for this cause.
Toturi nodded again. He turned to all those present. "Prepare your troops. We attack at sunrise."
xxxxxxxx
The goddess wore red when she rose from the sea the next morning. Peering out beneath storm clouds, Amaterasu cast her vermilion light over the choppy waves and across the ravaged land. Her bright fingers crept up the shoreline, painting everything scarlet—first the beach, then the houses, then the moldering palace of the Hantei, and finally the hills beyond Otosan Uchi. The advancing dawn made the vast sea, the poisoned river, and the choked waterfall dance with heavenly fire.
Toturi sat astride his charger amid an ocean of samurai. Ronin, Dragon, Crab, Unicorn, Crane, Scorpion, and the rest stood ready, waiting for his command. The Black Lion gazed downhill at the pestilent city, anger and pity filling his heart. In the hills nearby, Kitsu Motso's Lions rumbled like a thunderstorm about to break.
As sunlight touched the top of his army's banner, Toturi raised the standard high and gave the order to charge.
Motso's Lions charged of their own accord.
With a thundering cry, Toturi's combined army swept forward across the hills toward the outer walls of the city of the Shining Prince. The gates of Otosan Uchi opened wide, and Hantei's forces surged out: goblins and demons from the Shadowlands, undead foot soldiers and horsemen, tainted Crab troops, and honor-bound Lions led by Ikoma Tsanuri.
/> Toturi's jaw grew tight as he saw his old friends take the field. This day, the Lion would slay their kin. His soul wept, but his resolve stayed firm. In his mind, he heard the words of Matsu Tsuko: "There is no other way."
Lion met Lion first. Motso's people crashed into Tsanuri's with flailing swords and shouts of "For the empire!" Tsanuri's troops cried out, "For honor!" The two Lion generals commanded their samurai vigorously; blood soon drenched the armor of both leaders. Overhead, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, though no rain fell.
Toturi's army crashed against the legions of evil like a huge wave breaking against the rocky shore. Flights of bat-winged oni arced through the cloud-darkened sky. "Fire!" Toturi cried, and the air grew black with the shafts of his army's arrows.
Some demons died and fell like fireballs to the earth. Others dived on the front lines of Toturi's force, tearing with iron talons and using dark magics to slay the vanguard of allied foot soldiers.
Fu Leng's army fired arrows of their own. Black shafts screamed as though possessed by evil spirits. Several samurai next to Toturi fell under the barrage, but the Black Lion's armor turned aside the only arrow that struck him.
Nearby, Doji Hoturi pulled a black fletched shaft out of the shoulder of his kimono. Hoturi smiled, indicating that the arrow had not found flesh.
As more arrows flew, Toturi called, "Tsukune, do something about those oni!"
The Phoenix general nodded. She directed her shugenja to bolster the vanguard against the demons' attacks. Soon crimson and jade fires burst up from the front lines as Tsukune's people confronted the oni and fought the dark magic of Junzo.
Toturi rode with Hoturi, Kamoko, and many other allied generals straight into the heart of the enemy formation. The Shadow-lands forces surged around them like a black tide. The bodies of the fighting and dying looked like great mounds of insects squirming before the city gates.
The Black Lion peered to where his kinsmen fought. The Lion partisans attacked their brethren viscously, neither asking quarter nor giving any. As the sun slipped behind the looming thunderheads, a final ray of light struck Kitsu Motso's mon. The golden lion emblazoned on the banner turned the color of blood.
L5r - scroll 07 - The Lion Page 16