by Ree Soesbee
Something had gone wrong, terribly, horribly wrong, but Daini could not draw back his hands. Visions flickered rapidly across the water, and the incensed hissing of the Asps sounded like a pit of vipers preparing for a meal. Daini kept his eyes fast to the water, pulling the icy hands toward him with all his strength. In the waves, he saw Yukihera, standing beside a rotting corpse that could have once been a Scorpion.
Daini screamed, desperate to free himself, but the hands held fast. The visions came faster, some clear and others blurred, shifting from one face to the next without reason. He saw Mitsu, torn open and hanging; forgotten, on a broken and ruined arch. The ise zumi lifted his rotting head to stare into Daini's wide eyes. Mitsu smiled a festering smile.
Hitomi's face swirled into view, and Daini heard her voice call to him.
Daini... my brother ... how you have failed me....
A black carapace spread across her face, turning her to stone. The obsidian shattered, Yukihera's spear piercing her from behind. Daini felt himself scream again, drawn nearly chest-deep in the boiling waters.
Darkness covered the Crane lands, and the Lion plains were in flames. Was this a vision of the future ... or of a possible future? Daini screamed again, trying to tear his hands from the water's grip, but the River of the Sky was not yet finished with him. Scarlet spread out across the rippling water of the clear pool, staining his hands the color of blood. Dragon samurai lifted their spears and banners, and Yukihera stood before them in armor made of shining gold. "I have done this for you, brothers!" Yukihera cried. "The Dragon will live... ."Yukihera reached up from the waves, his body withering and his features losing flesh. When the white bone shone out from beneath rotting muscle, Yukihera smiled. "Forever."
With a massive burst of strength and terror, Daini drew himself upright, jerking his arms free to the elbows and trying not to listen to the awful, hollow laughter that echoed from the water. As he pulled his hands achingly toward the surface, Daini glimpsed the creature that clutched with knifelike fingers at his wrists. It lasted only a second, and Daini's mind struggled to reject the riddle it portrayed.
The beast had the face of the Emperor Hantei, twisted by madness and rotting with taint.
Flinging himself from the pool, Daini pressed his back against the cool stone of the cave wall. He stared in abject horror at the waters as they slowly grew calm.
Mara knelt beside him, taking his head in her cool hands and searching his eyes for life. "Mirumoto-daini?" she whispered, pressing her face to his.
Around them, Asps rattled their swords fiercely, shouting in guttural tones and hissing, shrieking wails of fury and war.
The Shahadet raised his tremendous bulk, lowering his hands before him, palms down.
As if cowed, the Asp warriors cringed back at his gesture, covering the floor in a writing nest of snakes and weaponry. Their gold armor glinted redly in the bloody firelight, and the lord of the Asp regarded the huu-man with new eyes.
Mara turned back toward the Shahadet, her soft hair brushing Daini's chest as she moved. After only a few sibilant syllables, she nodded and turned back to the Dragon samurai.
"The Shahadet says you have strength and courage. We have never seen such an act from a huu-man."
"I cannot..." Daini croaked, realizing that his voice was hoarse from screaming. "I cannot let my family die. Whatever those visions meant, they show me that the future of the empire is in terrible danger. I must go. You cannot understand— the emperor, his family... my people... they could already be destroyed." Daini felt heat swelling behind his eyes, and he blinked away visions of Yukihera's festering smile.
"No," said Mara, tears forming in her eyes. "I understand. The Foul destroyed my city while the naga slept, Mirumoto-daini. I will not let it destroy another, simply because we choose to sleep again."
"We have to convince them to listen," he began, but she interrupted him.
"They are listening, Mirumoto-daini. Now you must give them a reason to act."
"What can I do?"
The Shahadet raised himself high into the air on his thick tail, towering above the others and holding aloft the pearl and jade spear of the Pah'ra. The massive naga closed his arms, crossing them on his broad, muscular chest and lowering his head over the shaft of the ancient spear. He hissed briefly, clicking his tongue against his fangs and closing his eyes as if he intoned some ancient text. The other Asps grew silent, with only a faint hiss of agreement rising from their supine forms. Then, opening his arms once more, he presented the spear to Daini, holding it still with a stoic gesture.
"You will be tested. If you succeed in the Pah'ra, then you will become one of the warriors of the Asp. The naga will not fight for huu-mans. It is not our way. However, if you succeed in the Pah'ra, you will be a warrior of Siksa, a member of the Asp. Then, Mirumoto-daini, you will be one of us, and the naga will fight for you."
"And if I fail?"
"There is no failure, samurai." Daini felt a chill along his spine as Mara continued. "There is only death."
With no other choice, Daini murmured, "Tell him I accept."
Mara stood, grasping the spear by its long pearl shaft and speaking a few quiet words in her native tongue.
The Shahadet's scaled eyebrow raised, but there was no other sign of concern. The mighty Asp released the spear into her hands.
"We have only a short time to ready you for the Pah'ra, to teach you our culture and the words of the rite of passage. At the end of that time, your Sehalai will bring you to the council chamber, and you will undergo the rite. If you succeed, you will gain the favor of the Asp—and the troops you require to save your people. If you fail, both you and your Sehalai will be destroyed." Mara reached to help Daini stand. "Come with me, samurai. We have much to do."
"We?" Daini asked. Though he could walk, he doubted that he would make it very far on his own. His knees shook from exhaustion, and his hands still bled across the cold stone ground.
"Yes, we." Mara said faintly, worry creasing her green skin. "I am your Sehalai."
BEFORE THE GREAT DRAGON
The banners of the Dragon armies fluttered in the strong breeze that swept through Beiden Pass, and their shade dappled the faces of wounded, weary men. For a full week, they had fought the Crab. For a week, they had pushed farther and farther into the pass, beating back the constant waves of undead. Toturi's ronin guard continued to grow, though slowly—and between their fresh strength and Dragon training, the northern army managed slowly to turn the tide.
Yukihera knelt at the top of a tall stone cliff, looking over the rise at the windswept valley below. In a series of caves at the far end, where the canyon narrowed to a thin trail, the Crab army camped. Beyond the canyon spread the plains that were once Scorpion territory—the southern end of Beiden Pass.
"If we can beat them out of that encampment," Toturi said, kneeling beside
Yukihera and pointing at the Crab base, "then we can drive them completely out of the pass. With no stone at their backs, the Crab will be forced to turn south and go home to Carpenter Wall."
"If, Toturi. If." Yukihera said cautiously. "The Crab have caves to hide in. They have undead. Three oni still survive, and numerous scattered bands still roam Beiden Pass."
The ronin general harrumphed, clearing his throat in a long growl. "The strongest point is the least guarded." Thoughtfully, Toturi rubbed his stubbled chin. "The Crab are secure in their stone walls. They live behind one, in the far south. Why should they not trust their lives to walls of stone here in Beiden Pass?"
"The caves," agreed Yukihera. "But they don't have to guard them well. Their supplies are secure inside the mountain. We cannot even get to them to burn their food stock, and the underground river provides them all the water they could ever need."
Toturi smiled, rising to his feet. "Don't be so sure, Dragon. Where there is a stream, there is a path." He strode back down the cliff path, leaving the mystified Yukihera to follow, glowering at the ronin's back.
"Get up!" The command was sharp, and Toturi slapped the man's feet off the post on which they rested.
The shocked ronin gasped awake, his eyes fluttering and squinting in the broad daylight. His hand vault for his sword.
With a shove, Toturi pushed the man from his resting place, a wide board slung between two hitching posts.
With a thump, the ronin fell to the ground. The man was scruffy, his dirty gi and pants wrinkled from too much sweat and stained by grass and blood. He wore no mon, but only a sword that hung at his side from a long piece of braided cord. Yelping in surprise, he rolled back to his feet as if to repel invaders. Recognizing the general at last, he bowed hastily, slapping his hands to his sides and lowering his shoulders in respect. "To-Toturi-sama." His brown eyes were dark and shadowed, and his burly shoulders were broad with honest work. Unkempt hair spilled around his face, nearly hiding a charming smile.
"Well." Toturi looked at the ronin skeptically, as if measuring the man's girth and size. "Are you awake now?
"Hai." He gave a chagrined nod.
"Good thing I wasn't a Crab." The general half-smiled, and his man nodded in embarrassment.
"This ... beast... will help us?" Yukihera hissed, staring at the ronin in disgust.
"Ookami is no beast. He is a samurai," Toturi said, leaning casually on the post that the ronin had recently vacated. "An old companion of mine, from our school days at Matsu Palace, before I was sent to Shinsei's monastery."
"Ookami. That means 'wolf'." The Dragon scoffed. "Don't you have a real name?"
Slowly turning to level a deadly glance at Yukihera, the man whispered slowly, "I did."
A chill passed suddenly through Yukihera, and he saw for the first time the small tattoo of a lion's head, just below the man's jaw by his right ear. Akodo.
"I need you to do something for me, Ookami," Toturi continued solemnly. "Do you remember when we were children, playing at Matsu Palace, and you found the caves that lead into Beiden Pass?"
"Hai," the man said swiftly, his eyes shifting to Toturi's face.
"Did you ever explore them?"
The ronin's face reddened slightly. "We were forbidden to explore them, Toturi-sama. The sensei threatened to throw us out of the school is we risked our lives so foolishly."
"I know that." The general leaned closer to Ookami, squinting into the man's face. "I also know you never listened to the sensei unless he was giving a lesson. Did you explore the caves?"
A faint pause, and the man nodded.
"Good. Then you still remember the way?"
Ookami shook his head, disbelieving. "Through the river beneath the mountains? In the blind dark? Toturi, that's madness."
"You did it when you were twelve. You can do it again now."
"Send Ginawa. He likes suicide missions," the man said roguishly.
Toturi laughed aloud. "You're going. Take two more with you. And don't forget to bring flint and steel." The ronin general grinned. "You're going to have plenty of kindling to burn when you get to the other side."
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Screams of "Fire!" echoed from the walls of Beiden Pass. Crab fled the caves, shouting for water and blankets. Behind them issued billowing clouds of black smoke, rising out of the cave mouths and pouring onto the battlefield.
Exactly as Toturi had planned.
Dragon and ronin troops swarmed from the north, taking advantage of the smoke and confusion to pour into the Crab lines. Though the Crab pikemen stood their ground, it was too late to stop the onslaught of the allied forces. They had no shelter in the smoke-filled caves, and no safe ground in the pass. Within a few hours, the Crab had begun to retreat, without supplies and without quite a few samurai—casualties of the unexpected and unorthodox attack.
Now it was only a matter of time. The Crab and their Shad-owlands forces could not stand before the united attacks of Dragon, ronin, and Unicorn. In perhaps a day, in perhaps a few hours, the Battle of Beiden Pass would be won, at last.
Yukihera's horse pounded up the hillock. He reined the beast in with a strong hand and peered down at the encampment below. The banners of the Dragon were being removed.
Yukihera's tent, lowered to the ground, was being packed by eta and prepared for the long journey back to the mountains of his homeland.
"Home to the Iron Mountain," Yukihera breathed,watching his breath mist in the cold morning air. A si spread across his classically handsome features, making its golden-brown eyes shine. "To my destiny." The wind blew cold against his face, a reminder that winter, even in these mild southern lands, was not far off.
"Forgive me, my lord," a young guardsman on the hill said, bowing humbly before the Mirumoto general'The ise zumi have gathered at the torii arch, prepared trie their brother home. May I give them your permission release Togashi Mitsu?"
"Permission?" Yukihera laughed, a cold, cruel sound "Togashi Mitsu was to be released from his punishment when the Dragon found more allies. We needed no more allies win the day, it turns out, but that does not change our bargain. His punishment is fitting for one who disobeyed the daimyo of the Mirumoto, and dared to raise a hand to his superior. Mitsu is a traitor, and he will be treated like one.
"He stays atop that arch, Gunso, until he dies."
With that, Yukihera turned his steed once more ignoring the animal's pained whinny at the heels dug into its sides. With a caustic smile, the Mirumoto general rode down hill to collect his men and begin the long journey north.
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Yukihera knelt in the darkness near the ivory throne of the champion. "Beiden Pass is clear, and the Crab run like whipped dogs, driven back to their wall. Our people are safely returned home." He looked up at the silent figure that rested upon the throne. "I am of the line of Mirumoto's first son. I have won these battles, when the line of Shosan failed." The golden general clenched his hand into a fist. you must recognize my claim."
"You may lead the Mirumoto for now, Yukihera." The voice whispered like wind through the empty corridors of Mirumoto Palace. It did not come from the man sitting upon the throne, but came from all around, as if Iron Mountain itself spoke. The champion's eyes flashed beneath a golden mask, seeing the future shift and change. "But you will never be their daimyo...."
THE akasha
His mind lost in turmoil, Mirumoto Daini fell into an exhausted sleep. For a few hours, he was blessed with visions of his homeland—rich earth amid boulders and sharp cliffs, ringed around by high mountain walls. Iron Mountain rose above it all like a beacon, lighting his way home.
He awakened with a start to find Mara bending over him, gently stroking his hair in the soft light of a single candle.
"Is it time?" he murmured sleepily, banishing visions of clouds over jutting mountain peaks.
"Nearly," she replied with a worried glance. "The Asp gather beneath the temple."
Daini sighed. For one month, he had trained. His muscles ached from constant exercise with spear and bow, the naga weapons of choice. His mind ached from trying to absorb as much of their language and culture as possible. The Akasha, he now knew, was a single
consciousness that all naga could touch. Like a unified mind, it guided their actions and taught them their past from the gathered memories of their ancestors. If he was to complete the Pah'ra, he would have to touch this great mind, and it must choose to allow him to understand. As with a gempuku, the Pah'ra would make him an adult member of the society.
Any other samurai would have rebelled. A second gempuku? Insulting.
But Daini remembered his sister's words. If you have forgotten so soon... then you must begin your training again. Remembering her fallen body, crushed on the field beneath the Crab's iron tetsubo, Daini shivered. In his mind, he turned away once more and saw Yukihera's face beneath his golden helm, laughing. Yukihera, daimyo of the Mirumoto because of Hitomi's arrogance and Daini's pride.
He had forgotten, indeed.
The important thing was to stay alive—a
t least until he was certain that the naga would return to aid Toturi and the Dragon. After that, it didn't matter anymore.
Poor Mitsu. He must be dead by now—or worse, hanging from his arch in torment, realizing Daini was never going to return.
"Daini, we must go. The Asp are lighting the evening torches." Her green skin was radiant in the candlelight. Her golden hair swayed with each serpentine movement.
He rose from his bed, following her up the dry and dusty stone ramp of the small room he had occupied beneath the city's wall. The naga had allowed him to stay within Siksa, their guards watching every move he made. Even now, as he stepped out into the street, their eyes followed him suspiciously.
"Namaste, honored brother." Daini smiled, imitating the steepled hands and strange half-bow of the naga.
The guard stoically nodded, touching his forefinger to the center of his forehead in greeting.
lust how he was going to defeat the test, Daini did not know. In fact, he wasn't even certain that he understood what was expected of him. The physical exertion, he understood well enough. He would be hung by his legs (bound to serve in imitation of a tail) from the tall stalactite, and he would spin with his hands in the white-hot flames. Then, as the skin dissolved on his palms, he would stare down into the water of the River of the Sky, and ...
And what?
Visions, like before? Otosan Uchi, destroyed by the Dark God of the Shadowlands?