by Stan Brown
Sukune had their attention again. Despite Sukune's personal belief that Toturi was ill-treated by the emperor, most samurai had grown to hold the "Black Lion," as Toturi was now called, in complete contempt. A murmur rose through the assembled Crab, and many shook fists and weapons in the direction of the I >ragon army.
"Clearly no true samurai would ever do such a thing! The army you face is merely using our brothers' colors to shake your belief in the ancient Crab duty—to stop anyone who threatens the empire. They dress in Dragon armor in hopes of scaring you off the battlefield. They want to make you doubt the righteousness of our cause!"
Now Sukune had to shout over the angry voices of his troops. They were incensed, ready to take vengeance on Toturi's army for pretending to be honorable warriors. Their discipline held them in place—but only barely.
"Today we fight for Rokugan! We fight to uphold the duty of our clan! We also fight for the honor of all the clans! Commanders, move your men out! Fight with honor, die with glory, and remember—we cannot fail. If we do the empire falls!"
XXXXXXXX
"How could I have been so wrong?"
No answer came, but Sukune did not expect one. He was alone in his tent, kneeling before a small altar. Incense burned in a tiny brazier and wafted across a carving representing Lord Moon, Lady Sun, and their son Hida—the father of the Crab Clan. Sukune did not often seek answers at the altar. His father taught him too well to rely on the deeds of his own hand rather than the unseen movements of the kami, but tonight the youngest Hida had nowhere else to turn.
The Dragon troops were indeed under the control of Toturi— a boon from the mysterious Togashi Yokuni, champion of the Dragon Clan. Toturi had a different notion for how to keep peace in Rokugan, one that did not include the Crab shutting down travel through Beiden Pass.
The Crab army fought well. Their ferocity was a terrible thing to behold, but they were completely out of their element. They did not have the experience or instincts for offensive battle. They wanted to center themselves on a particular patch of battlefield and defend it, the way they defended the Wall.
The army needed a real leader today, someone who could order troop movements that would confound the Dragon forces and allow the two sides to fight to a standstill. They needed someone who could thwart the strategies of the great Toturi, for the Black Lion was a brilliant tactician.
Sadly, Sukune was none of these things. He had a strong mind for strategy, but he lacked Toturi's years of experience. He knew that his samurai were the toughest and most brutal fighters in Rokugan, but the enemy had used quick troop movements and deadly magic to keep the Crab off balance and on the move.
When the battle was done, fewer than half the samurai Sukune had spoken to that morning returned to Beiden Pass. In one day, he had crippled the Crab army's ability to hold off an enemy charge into the pass—something that should have been simplicity itself.
"What shall I do?" Sukune asked in a desperate voice.
"What you should have done all along, Sukune-san—use the Shadowlands troops."
Kuni Yori stood just inside the tent flap; the young Hida had no idea how long he'd been there.
"Never!"
"Your father did not strike a bargain with his most hated enemy out of the goodness of his heart. Nor did he send these troops with you on a whim. They are here for you to use and, I must agree with your brother, you are using them extremely foolishly."
Sukune rose from the altar and walked past Yori into the cold night. Fog rose all through the pass, covering what was left of the Crab forces in a blanket of clouds no less chilling than their own thoughts. In the morning, the Dragon forces would surely attack Beiden Pass. The decimated force would have to hold them off, probably for days, until Yakamo's troops returned from Kyuden Kakita. It was not an impossible task, but certainly a difficult one following today's debacle. Sukune had led them to the brink of disaster.
"I believe in my father's vision," the young man said through chattering teeth. "If he believes the only way to prevent civil war is to force peace upon the land, I will support him at every turn. But I cannot believe he dealt with the oni for any reason other than to keep the Wall safe in our absence."
"Even more reason why you should use the monstrosities to your best advantage," answered Yori. He seemed to be directly behind Sukune, breath hot on the back of his ear. When Sukune turned, he saw Kuni was a respectful distance away. "Every goblin that dies in defense of this pass is one that will never assault our great Wall. Every zombie dismembered by the Dragon warriors is a fiend that will never threaten Rokugan. They are remarkably useful tools for your use, especially now that your forces are weakened. You said it yourself this morning: We cannot fail, for if we do, the empire falls."
Sukune shook his head.
"Words," he muttered. "And my father's words at that. I've never believed in them as strongly as he does. There is a line over which we should not cross."
"You sound like a posturing Crane diplomat," Yori said without hiding his disgust. "Perhaps you are as soft as Kisada and Yakamo fear!"
Sukune shot Yori a patronizing look.
"You have a great many talents, Yori-san, but inflaming my familial rivalries is not one of them. You and I both know that honor is more than a political concept. There are right and wrong things to do. No matter how right an end may be, some means are never justified—they are too dishonorable. Using another warrior as a shield or allowing someone else to die in your stead is not only honorless—-it smacks of cowardice. I would rather die the most painful death imaginable than take on the karma of an unprincipled, frightened failure."
Yori bowed and withdrew. As he went, he muttered to himself, "That can quite easily be arranged, young Hida."
xxxxxxxx
"Here they come again!" Hida O-Ushi raised her dai-tsuchi and squared her feet. The warhammer was cumbersome in hand-to-hand combat, but it served her well when she found herself fighting larger opponents or those on horseback.
The samurai-ko was quite upset when Sukune told her she would not be leading her troops into batde on the floor of Beiden Pass. That was where the heaviest fighting was taking place, and O-Ushi wanted her chance to earn glory in the battle for the fate of the empire. She grew even angrier when he ordered her company to climb up to the ridge overlooking the main battle and protect the archers perched there.
"You want us to miss out on the most important battle in history so that we can nursemaid a unit that will never fall under direct attack?" she had yelled so vehemendy that she inadvertently spit in his face.
O-Ushi had no interest in Sukune's explanation that the position the archers held would be the key to whether the Crab held the pass or were pushed back out in less than a day. But she did follow orders. For all her headstrong ways, she was still a samurai, and her brother—her younger brother—was her commander.
At first the assignment was as dull as she'd feared. She and eleven other warriors stood on a narrow path looking down on the developing battle as the archers launched volley after volley of arrows over their heads and into the chests of advancing Dragon samurai. Not long into the battle, though, O-Ushi recognized that there was another faction among the attacking troops. The Dragon forces were bolstered by samurai wearing the mon of the Unicorn Clan. Though Unicorn foot soldiers were highly skilled, the clan's true genius lay in their cavalry units, particularly the—
"Batde Maidens!" came a cry from below.
Sukune had placed several pockets of warriors along the path up the ridge-—originally another source of frustration to O-Ushi. It now seemed one of the wisest moves her brother had made since the start of the campaign.
The Battle Maidens were an elite unit of the Unicorn cavalry made up entirely of samurai-ko. They had a reputation for being twice as skilled as their male counterparts and three times as vicious. From the sounds of the battle below, O-Ushi suspected that the stories did not do them justice.
The Crab lines held most of the
day. As afternoon wore on, O-Ushi occasionally heard the sound of a war-horse whinnying. Finally, with less than an hour before the sun would sink below i lie peaks, a single samurai-ko riding a pure white steed rounded .1 bend in the path and urged her horse up the ridge.
Her armor was purple streaked with yellow, and her helmet had a flowing golden mane. She guided her steed using only her feet and rode holding her katana in a classic dueling position. She seemed more graceful and ready for action than many samurai standing on their own two feet.
One of O-Ushi's men charged the Battle Maiden. He brandished a no-dachi and howled like a demon. In spite of his weapon's long reach, the Unicorn easily avoided the Crab's blow. She neatly dispatched him with one slice of her katana. Then she turned her eyes on O-Ushi.
A simple nudge from the rider urged the horse to resume its charge.
O-Ushi waited, her shoulders turned and her hammer resting near her left ear—as patient as a cat by a rabbit hole.
The Battle Maiden locked eyes with O-Ushi. Just before her steed came within striking range, she used her knees to command I he beast to stop its charge and withdraw. The Crab unit was too much to handle without the aid of her sisters.
The Batde Maiden rode back around the bend to rejoin the lighting below.
The sun was now less than a quarter hour from setting.
Just when O-Ushi thought they would see no more of the Unicorn cavalry today, the same rider rounded the bend in the path. This time, she was followed by two more mounted samurai-ko.
"Here they come again!" she shouted.
Her fellows aligned themselves in a staggered pattern. O-Ushi had ordered this tactic so that any rider would have to pass through a gauntlet of attackers on both sides to get up to the archers. She might strike down one Crab, and her war-horse might take down another, but a third and fourth would always be close enough to strike back.
However, with three riders, the odds shifted in the Unicorn's favor. They were skilled enough riders to send two horses up the path nearly side by side and still be able to use their swords in combat. O-Ushi did not have enough samurai to counter.
With an earsplitting, "Kiiiiya!" the lead Battle Maiden led the others in a charge. All three were attacking at once.
"Stand back," O-Ushi ordered her men. "If I fall, give the signal for the archers to open fire into our midst!"
"Hai!" said her second in command bravely.
O-Ushi resumed her earlier stance—feet squared, chest facing the oncoming Battle Maiden, dai-tsuchi cocked by her ear, ready to try to unseat the lead rider.
The horses climbed the hill at a lightning pace.
O-Ushi nodded her head in time with their hoofbeats. She breathed slowly and deeply, calmly awaiting the right moment to strike.
She seemed a bit too calm. The Battle Maiden was nearly upon her, and O-Ushi hadn't even tensed her arms. The Unicorn rider lashed out with her blade, striking right for the seam between O-Ushi's shoulder and neck.
But the samurai-ko was not there anymore.
She dropped to her knees. Instead of attacking the rider, she swung her hammer with all her considerable might into the horse's chest. It crusted its sternum.
The beast reared in pain and threw its rider. The Battle Maiden twisted in midair, trying to angle her body toward the narrow path. It was no use. Instead she bounced off the rocks just below the path and tumbled end over end to the canyon floor below. To her credit she did not scream once.
The other riders reined in their steeds and retreated down the path. Crab arrows peppered the path behind their mounts' hooves. As they rounded the bend and withdrew, the sun dropped below the mountains. Dusk settled over Beiden Pass.
xxxxxxxx
"It cannot go on. I have no choice." Sukune hung his head in abject defeat.
Kuni Yori's voice dripped with mock compassion. "You are merely following the path your father laid before you."
The young samurai glared at the shugenja. The Hida temper flared so bright in his eyes that Yori took a step backward. If this were not his father's most trusted adviser Sukune would surely kill the man on the spot. Sukune knew when to accept defeat, but he never accepted gloating. Not from his brother, not even from his father, and certainly not from this snake.
"My honor, indeed my soul may be forfeit for a decision I must make," Sukune growled, "but I will not delude myself that this is a good choice."
Yori lowered his shoulders and approached again.
"You must make your own peace with this," Yori said in a more neutral tone. "I am certain you will see the wisdom of your actions tomorrow evening when the number of Crab samurai in the pass still outnumbers the Shadowlands troops in our midst."
At the end of the second day of fighting, Sukune's army was only slightly larger than half its original size. They still held Bei-den Pass, but they were now evenly matched with the Dragon and Unicorn forces opposing them—and the enemy had reinforcements on the way.
Of course, with any luck he did as well. Would enough troops remain in Yakamo's army to let the Crab secure the pass once and for all? In truth, they had to hold it only another three or four weeks. By that time, snow would cover the countryside and make further battles nearly impossible. Before spring, the Crab would be able to fortify their position and bring more troops from the Wall. By that time his father would arrive; that would certainly raise the samurai's spirits.
Sukune still had to hold the pass until Yakamo's troops arrived, but he wasn't sure he could, given the losses of the first two days. He had no choice. He had to move at least some of the
Shadowlands troops into the contested territory. They were fresh warriors, unscathed by the recent skirmishes. What's more, they were creatures of evil. Their mere presence would unnerve even the most disciplined veteran.
Placing goblins and zombies at important junctions would surely save Crab lives and shift the tide of the battle for at least a day. None of that made the action any more palatable.
"We cannot lose this battle, Yori," Sukune said wearily. "But in order to win, I must lose my last shreds of honor."
XXXXXXXX
On the third straight day of battle, Hida O-Ushi got her wish. She and her troops were relocated to the floor of Beiden Pass. The Crane and Unicorn troops had not yet renewed their assault on the pass, but already on the ridge she defended the day before, Battle Maidens urged their steeds up the narrow mountain trail. The sounds of shouting, neighing, and steel against steel told O-Ushi they had already met the company of Crab warriors positioned at the first bend in the path.
These samurai were not meant to stop the Unicorn cavalry, but merely to slow them. O-Ushi had worked with those troops to prepare them for a cavalry assault. By now, they'd dug plenty of small but deep divots into the ground, deadly for riders. They'd also rolled small boulders into the path to keep the Battle Maidens from having an easy ascent. The Crab would strike hard at the horses and try to keep the Unicorn off balance, and then retreat to the next switchback on the ridge. If all went well, it would take the Battle Maidens most of the day to reach the archers' stations.
"I wonder if they'll like what they find at the top?" She chuckled.
The sound of archers above, shouting and loosing their first volley toward the pass' mouth, told O-Ushi her own battle would begin soon. The Crane and Unicorn troops were inside the pass. It wouldn't take long for the first wave to charge through the deadly rain of arrows and reach her.
"To victory—or a glorious death!" she shouted to her troops.
"Hai!" they responded as one and bowed perfunctorily. Weapons drawn, they stared down the canyon for the first sign of the enemy.
A line of Crane samurai charged around a corner and raced headlong at the Crab defenders. Some of the Crane wore bandages over wounds suffered the day before. Others had fresh arrows protruding from their arms or shoulders.
O-Ushi noticed her breath coming in short puffs of steam. It was a cold day for a battle but a fine day to die.
> The Crane reached their position, and the battie began. Some of her samurai tried to challenge two enemies at a time. There weren't enough Crab samurai to stop the entire line, so other Crane continued their charge down the pass. Out of the corner of her eye O-Ushi noted that the vaunted Crane chivalry remained intact. None of the attackers stopped to engage the Crab in groups—even in a war, the code of bushido demanded that duels be settled between individuals. The unopposed Crane quickly disappeared around another bend in the pass.
O-Ushi stood nose to nose with a samurai who was a full head shorter than she. His katana pressed hard against the shaft of her dai-tsuchi, forcing the great hammer against the samurai-ko's chest and pinning her arms back where she could get no leverage. However, the Crane needed both hands to keep her off balance and couldn't draw his wakizashi. The two stood locked in a contest of strength and will. O-Ushi's greater size and power countered the Crane's proximity and leverage.
All around, other duels raged. To O-Ushi's right, her second in command slew his opponent with a brutal crushing blow from his tetsubo. To her left a Unicorn samurai evened the score. The young Crab who fell had joined her company only three weeks earlier. She didn't even know his name.
The whole time O-Ushi and her opponent remained practically motionless, each waiting for the other to make an exploitable mistake. A faint but impassioned battle cry reached the two combatants. As it grew louder, the short man smiled. The second wave of Crane samurai was nearly here. His company's mission clearly was to tie up the Crab defenses and allow the following waves to penetrate deeper into the pass—and it seemed to be working perfectly.
The grin disappeared when he realized the shouts came from the south, not the north. A second later, the Crane who had so bravely charged around the bend rounded the corner again, this time in full retreat. When the short samurai saw the reason, his arms went numb and his katana slipped from his hands.
Now it was O-Ushi's turn to smile. The Crane were being chased by a horde of enraged goblins and, if the powerful footfalls were any indication, at least two ogres. The whole lot ran past the ongoing struggles and back around the first bend. The Shadow-lands were taking the fight to the Crane.