“I was going to say impossible.”
“Clearly it’s not, even if you and I cannot fathom it.”
“But the goronku don’t exist in the Zangaiden I know. How can this be a copy when so much is different?”
“This copy was made over a dozen millennia past your time, after the sun began to fade.”
“So we’re in the future now … the far future?” She nodded. Satsupan hadn’t been lying; not that Turesobei had doubted him, but it had seemed too far-fetched to believe. Turesobei glanced at the text scrolling on the inside of the dome. “That means you know everything that will happen to me and my companions, right? My future is your past.”
“Well, I know of one specific past that involved you, yes. My past. But your future will be different from what I know.”
“How?” Turesobei asked.
“That’s simple. In my past, Chonda Turesobei never came to the Winter Realm. There are most likely thousands of other, smaller differences as well. The short of it is that your venturing here did not happen in the time-stream from which this land was taken. From the moment you entered the Ancient Cold and Deep, the history of the world which I possess here will be different from what occurs in your world. Suffice it to say that anything I tell you about your future or the future of your world is largely irrelevant.”
“Why was this place copied into a pocket dimension? And how?”
“The Ancient Cold and Deep,” Ooloolarra said, “was created by the Blood King. He created all nine realms.”
“Wait, I thought there were only four realms!”
“There are only four whose existence were known and remembered in your day. But there are actually eight gates that each take you from Okoro to one of the realms. And in each of those eight realms, you will find a gate that takes you to the ninth realm, the Nexus.”
Turesobei’s head began to swim. “So who’s this Blood King?”
“Bad news,” Lu Bei said.
“You know something about him?” Turesobei asked.
“Only a few legends Master was trying to track down before he died. But that’s not how I know he’s bad news. Blood King, hello? No one going by that name’s gonna be friendly.”
Ooloolarra grinned. “Lu Bei is right. The Blood King was a mad tyrant who conquered Okoro millennia before your time. Only with the help of the Earth Dragon were the Kaiaru of Okoro able to defeat him and imprison him in the Nexus of the Realms, where he sleeps for eternity. Of the twenty-one Kaiaru brave and powerful enough to oppose the Blood King, just nine survived. They absorbed his power and that of the realms. From that moment forward, the zaboko, and even your people, have worshiped or honored them as the Shogakami.”
“That’s the origin of the Shogakami?!” Turesobei said.
“Indeed, as much of it as I know.”
“And you don’t know why the Blood King did it?”
She swept her hand out toward her screens. “All this knowledge, so many secrets, and yet so very little about the Blood King. You might as well search for a record of Vôl Ultharma. The only thing I know for certain is that he was mad.” She sighed. “I think the purpose of the Ancient Cold and Deep was to preserve this library. I was here the day this realm was made. When I was copied into this place.”
She closed her eyes and shuddered. “A day I can only describe as pure torment, when it felt like my insides were being shredded and my brain melted. You cannot imagine the chaos and confusion, especially along the boundaries. People and homes were severed. Loved ones lost beyond the boundary. The many who walked unknowingly into oblivion for days and years afterward. And I tell you, the sight of a hundred panicked Keepers is not one you will ever forget.
“That morning, before everything started, a tall man with baojendari features came to the library. He was clad in black leather and wore a cloak of scarlet. The Keepers, if you can believe this, let him walk in without consulting me, without challenging him. They abandoned all their protocols. I went down to meet him and … the rest is lost to me.”
“You think that was the Blood King?” Turesobei asked.
“I do, and I wish I recalled more. The Keepers don’t remember seeing him at all. Or they claim not to, anyway.” She turned to Lu Bei. “So Chonda Lu knew nothing more than that about the Blood King?”
Lu Bei shook his head. “I don’t know that he knew even that much. Master began researching the gates soon after he discovered Okoro and met the Shogakami. He often tried to pry secrets from them, but the Shogakami resisted him. I think he had pieced some secrets about the realms together but was far from understanding all of it. Unfortunately, he forbade me from recording any of what he learned. That wasn’t something he normally did, so he must have thought the knowledge dangerous. Perhaps he knew as much as you, but if so …” Lu Bei shrugged.
“So why are the gates lost?” Turesobei asked.
“The Shogakami wanted them forgotten.”
Turesobei rubbed the palms of his hands across his face and took a deep breath, trying to absorb all the information. “So if all this knowledge is important for me to know, that means —”
“There is no way to open the Winter Gate from this side,” said Ooloolarra.
“I’m going to have to enter the Nexus of the Realms, aren’t I, since it connects all the realms together?”
“Yes. From the Nexus you should be able to venture into other realms and seek a way home. Perhaps some of the other realms will have a means to be opened on their side.”
“You mean you don’t know? I could travel through the realms in vain searching for a way home?”
“I don’t know everything for a reason. The Shogakami didn’t want people passing between Okoro and the realms. But just as the Winter Child was a key, there are bound to be others. The Ancient Cold and Deep once had a key on this side that corresponded to the Winter Child, the Winter Crone, but the Shogakami removed her when they imprisoned the yomon here.”
He began to piece all the information together. His heart stopped. His hopes crashed. “The Shogakami used the Nexus as a prison for the Blood King. I can’t go there. I can’t risk waking him and giving him a way to escape.”
“You must go there to have a chance at returning home,” she said.
Lu Bei scratched his chin. “If he’s asleep, perhaps we can pass through without waking him. And his power was absorbed by the Shogakami, right? So maybe he’s a pushover now.”
“That assumes the scraps of information we have are correct,” Turesobei said. “And that might be relative. He might still be too powerful for us to deal with. Even weakened, he would probably be amazingly powerful.”
“I think that even if you entered and left the Nexus,” Ooloolarra said, “the Blood King would be unable to follow.”
“But the risk,” Turesobei said, shaking his head. “What if I unleashed the Blood King on the world again? The Shogakami disappeared centuries ago, and we have only one known Kaiaru in Okoro now. There would be no one who could stop him.”
“We can’t stay here, master,” Lu Bei said. “You have to go back. And poor Lady Shoma.”
“Worry about the risks later,” Ooloolarra said. “Now that you are here, you must continue moving forward, or the Keepers will execute you. Don’t even pretend you can escape them. Win their approval and get the sword you need to enter the Nexus. You can decide if it’s worth the risk after you leave the library.”
She frowned as if she pitied him, and perhaps she did. “I do not want to get your hopes up. Just acquiring the sword will be next to impossible. First, I must convince the Gathering of Keepers to accept your bid. Then you must persuade them that your cause is worthy. The Keepers are peculiar and difficult to reason with, and you must understand that they don’t like dealing with situations not foretold by the Keeper of Destiny.”
“The Keeper of Destiny knows what will happen in the future?”
“Not exactly. It’s not simply that Keepers prevent powerful objects from falling into the w
rong hands. Their mission is also to put those objects into the right hands, hands that will lead the world to the destiny they wish to bring about.”
“So it’s like the k’chasan Sacred Codex.”
She nodded. “Well, there is a lot more power involved with further-reaching consequences, but yes, it is like Jujuriki Notasami’s childish book.”
Lu Bei giggled, and Turesobei filed that comment away in things he should never mention to Iniru. “So this sword I need to open the Nexus Gate …”
“It is an ancient sword buried halfway up to the hilt in a stone block lying at the heart of the library. Its name is Fangthorn. When the sun faded, all the Keepers who yet remained, across the world, converged here at my Grand Library of Okoro, which was built on top of the shrine that housed the sword in its stone. You see, this place is more than a library. It is a treasure vault and a museum. Every item stored here has already played its part and awaits the end of the world. The Keepers must allow you to have the sword, but your having it was not foretold. So they must wake their lord and get his permission.”
“But if they are guided by destiny, wouldn’t they already know if I’m to have it or not?”
“No Keeper was ever appointed to guard this sword, and yet here it is. When the Keeper of Destiny took over the library and allowed me to stay on, I asked him what he wanted to do with the sword, and he told me to leave it be. If the Keepers decided someone deserved the item, he should be awakened and presented with that person. He would then make the final decision.”
“So I have to convince you, all the Keepers, and then their lord?”
Ooloolarra nodded. “And it gets worse. The Keepers have no control over Fangthorn, and unfortunately, the dragon bound into the sword hates you.”
“Dragon …” Turesobei winced. “The terrible shadow I saw in my nightmares! That’s why it knew I’d come to her. Because I’d want to get out of the Ancient Cold and Deep. She thinks I’m Naruwakiru.”
Ooloolarra gestured toward the storm sigil. “I cannot imagine why.”
“My life stinks.”
“So a sword with a dragon bound inside is the key to the Nexus?” Lu Bei asked. “That’s a really weird key.”
“Well, it is not a key exactly,” she said. “The Shogakami didn’t create a key to open the Nexus. They did not intend for it to ever be opened again. Perhaps you have noticed that the Shogakami prefer imprisonment to killing? Though it’s possible the Blood King could not be killed.”
“Then how can the sword get me in?” Turesobei asked.
“There is always a loophole in an imprisonment spell, yes?”
Turesobei didn’t have much experience with imprisonment spells, especially any that would have been cast by a Kaiaru, but he had studied the theory behind the common variety. “An imprisonment spell can be interrupted or broken by the one who casts it.”
Ooloolarra nodded. “The dragon within the sword helped the Shogakami cast the spell that locked the Blood King within the Nexus. That is why you need her cooperation. It is not enough to merely wield the sword. The dragon must be willing to help you. She can open the gate to the Nexus.”
“But the dragon hates me.”
“Because she thinks you’re Naruwakiru, master. It shouldn’t be hard to convince her otherwise. Once she sees you in person, all will be fine.”
“You are infused with the power of the Storm Dragon, though,” said Ooloolarra, “and this dragon … she has gone mad from millennia of captivity and isolation. I’m not sure she will understand the difference. She may not even care.”
Turesobei slumped. “Great, more good news.”
Eyes narrowing, Lu Bei asked, “So who is this shadow dragon?”
“Not a shadow dragon,” Ooloolarra replied with a pitying sigh. “The Earth Dragon.”
Turesobei gulped. “The Earth Dragon?!”
“Lady Hannya of the Caverns, powered by the depths of the earth, rivaled only by Mekazi Keshuno the Shadow Dragon and Naruwakiru the Storm Dragon.”
“No, no, no.” Lu Bei fluttered his wings nervously. “It can’t be Hannya. The Earth Dragon vanished ages … oh.” Lu Bei scratched his chin. “But wait a second, lady, who could possibly bind the Earth Dragon into a sword? And what kind of sword could hold her?”
“Hannya was bound into the sword by Tepebono.”
“The hero who killed the Storm Dragon centuries ago?” Turesobei asked. “But he was just a zaboko man. How could he bind something as powerful as the Earth Dragon?”
Ooloolarra chuckled. “He may have looked zaboko, just as you look baojendari, but he was Kaiaru. Did you think a normal human could slay the Storm Dragon on his own?”
“Well, no, I guess not. But none of the tales mentioned it.”
“I didn’t know, either,” Lu Bei added.
“Perhaps the tales are wrong because the people of Okoro forgot about the Kaiaru until the baojendari invaded. The Shogakami were more than Kaiaru by that point, just as the dragons were.”
“So he bound Hannya after he killed Naruwakiru?” Turesobei asked.
“Before. He bound Hannya into the sword and used it to kill Naruwakiru. That is the only way he could rescue his lover, Lady Amasan, whom Naruwakiru had kidnapped. Remember, by that point Naruwakiru had more than a dragon’s kavaru heart. She had merged her kavaru with the jade heart made by her priests with blood magic. Her power had tripled and was growing steadily.”
“How could he bind her into a sword?”
“It wasn’t just any sword. This blade was forged of dark-steel.”
“Dark-steel? That’s impossible … right?” Dark iron was temperamental, and it supposedly couldn’t be forged into steel, unlike the equally rare white iron.
“Fangthorn is a unique sword. Only its forger ever knew how it was made.”
“Even still, I don’t get how he could bind the Earth Dragon so easily.”
“Tepebono was a master of binding spells, and in this case, he prepared them in advance using blood magic, which centuries later killed him so thoroughly he couldn’t be resurrected through his kavaru.”
“Why not use the sword directly against Naruwakiru?”
“She was too powerful for him to kill by that point.”
“Okay, I understand why Hannya would hate me if she thought I were Tepebono, but she thinks I’m Naruwakiru. As a sword, she was used to defeat Naruwakiru. Why would she hate the Storm Dragon so much?”
“Yeah, I don’t get it either,” Lu Bei said.
Ooloolarra shrugged. “That is the great mystery. I know they were rivals long, long ago, before Hannya and Naruwakiru became dragons. Obviously, something happened between them. What, I couldn’t even guess. But Hannya has had millennia to nurse this grudge.”
Turesobei started to speak, but she put a finger to her lips and shook her head. Then, smiling sympathetically, she leaned forward and touched his arm. “I know you have dozens more questions in you still, but let us not delve into more mysteries. I have told you everything you must know to move forward.”
“I’m never going to get home.”
“No,” she replied, “I do not think you will. But nevertheless, I will aid you as I can, and wish you the best. Tomorrow morning, I will formally present you to the Keepers and speak well of you.”
“Thank you, Ooloolarra. I’m indebted to you.”
“Of that, I am certain.” Her lips peeled back into a broad smile, revealing razor-sharp teeth. “My services have a price, though.”
Turesobei sighed. Of course. None of this could be easy. “What’s your price?”
“Here it comes,” Lu Bei muttered dejectedly.
“You have something I want.” Her eyes fell upon Lu Bei. “You must leave the fetch with me.”
Chapter Forty-Eight
“Yep, just as I expected,” Lu Bei said. “There’s a good reason Master kept my book form secret from you.”
“No!” Turesobei clenched his fists. “I can’t leave him behind! I need Lu Bei
. He’s bound to me — and he’s my friend.”
“I am, above all, a collector of books and information,” Ooloolarra said. “And he is the most unique book I have ever seen. You know, you might be better off without him. If you understood your destiny well enough, I think you would agree.”
“I don’t care about my destiny,” Turesobei replied. “I love Lu Bei, and he’s mine. I won’t leave him here.”
“I’m sorry, but that is my price.” She twirled her hair through her fingers.
“Once he’s more than two hundred paces away from me, he won’t even be a fetch anymore!”
“I’ll find a way to work around that,” she replied. “And if not, so be it.”
“I can’t agree to this deal.”
“Without me to plead your case to the Keepers, you have no hope of returning home,” Ooloolarra said. “And you will die here.”
“Do as she says, master. If my staying here is the price, then so be it. You must return home with the others.”
As he glared at Ooloolarra, the storm mark on Turesobei’s cheek started to burn — but he reined it in. Freeing Lu Bei from this deal would just be one more problem to solve, one there was no point in worrying over yet, since he might not even live that long.
Turesobei gritted his teeth. “Fine. I agree.” He stood to leave. “If you speak on my behalf, you may keep Lu Bei.”
“Go now and rest. The Keepers will gather at dawn.”
* * *
The Keeper of Scrolls met him on the staircase.
“She will represent me tomorrow,” Turesobei told him.
“So be it,” the Keeper replied.
“I can find my own way back.”
The Keeper stepped to the edge of the gallery, jumped off, flew several levels down, and disappeared. To where, Turesobei didn’t care.
Stoically, he walked down the staircase, crossed the library, pausing for a moment to look at the door that led to the Lower Stacks, and returned to the building that housed the guest rooms. Lu Bei fluttered along silently behind him.
Motekeru bowed and opened the door to his room for him. He didn’t ask anything.
Storm Phase Series: Books 1-3 Page 91
