by Ryan Kirk
“The group of blades decided they deserved more power in the Kingdom. A famine was beginning, and they saw the suffering that the shortsighted policies of the lords and king had caused. They believed they could do better, and separated from the guidance of the Council of the Blades.”
Koji was surprised again. Today such an action meant imprisonment or death.
“Remember, the council existed largely as a figurehead. There was no need to control the blades, and the council was an honorary position. The council didn’t have the authority it does today. They didn’t need to. There was no census at the time, so no one kept track of the blades, and the splinter group just slipped away and built Two Falls. They took husbands and wives and tried to live normal lives. Most tried to farm the land, as difficult as that was for them.
“But at the same time, they met regularly to discuss the future and began to lay plans for assuming authority in the Kingdom. For a little while, several cycles in fact, everything seemed to go well. The village grew, and the blades lived in peace. Those who lived there felt called to a larger purpose, and everyone, even those who weren’t gifted, worked toward the same end. The village wasn’t too populated and was far off the typical trading routes, so people only visited if that was where they wanted to be.
“But call it fate or call it horrible luck, the good times came to an end. The cycle of famine hit, and I assume you’ve studied your history, so there’s not too much I have to say about it. The famine struck the village of blades just as hard as it hit anywhere else.
“The famine tested them. Because of their foresight, the village itself didn’t suffer from the effects of hunger. But they decided it was time to expand their reach. They knew nearby villages were suffering, and they believed they could ease their pain.
“The conflict began when House Kita sent soldiers to acquire grain from the village. Rumors had spread claiming the village was feasting during the famine, and a troop of soldiers came to redistribute the food. The blades wouldn’t allow it, and the conflict became violent. The soldiers didn’t know they had walked into a town of blades. Needless to say, the troop disappeared.
“Eventually, word of the attacks made it to the king. It wasn’t the first time such reports had reached his ears. In the cycle of famine, more and more people were resorting to violence, and the king always responded the same way. He launched large-scale attacks against the hideouts, the better to send a message to everyone else who was tempted. The king needed to make the cost of hoarding food far greater than the possible reward.
“So another troop marched up to the village of the blades. And now came the second test. The orders of the troop were clear: kill all the men, and kill any women or children who resist. A death sentence for the entire village, even if not all by the sword. Everyone was involved. The blades didn’t feel like the time had come to set their plans in motion, but they also felt as though they had no choice but to act. Tell me this, Koji. If you were one of those blades, would you accept death calmly, or would you fight for your family and your land?”
Koji’s expression said enough.
“The blades made the same decision. The blades left their homes and met the king’s troop on their way to the village. They laid into the troop, leaving no survivors.
“When word reached the king, he was racked with uncertainty. He had sent in the troop assuming he was attacking a small, helpless village. They shouldn’t have met any worthwhile resistance. He didn’t want to send more troops in until he knew what was going on. So he went to the Council of the Blades and asked them to send a shadow into the village. To make a long, boring part of the story short, the shadow went and discovered Two Falls wasn’t your typical village, but one comprised of blades trying to establish a better Kingdom. As the meager harvest concluded, the shadow made his report to the Council of the Blades.
“Now the king faced a challenge. Word of the destruction of his troops was spreading through the ranks. Most people believed that the village was hiding a huge number of bandits, some sort of tremendous hideout. But the king knew better and knew the truth was even worse. The blades, sworn to protect the Kingdom, had turned against it, killing its own soldiers.
“The king was a strong man, and he made a tough choice. He met with the Council of the Blades, and together they summoned an expedition of blades to attack the village. The mission was very difficult and marked the first time that blades had been asked to kill other blades in large numbers. For the best chance of success, they assigned the mission to their most prized leader, a commander everyone looked up to.
“Koji, I was at that battle, and my actions that day continue to haunt me. They were people who were only trying to do their best.”
Minori paused and thought about what he wanted to say. There were too many memories from that day.
“It was the first time I ever fought another nightblade to the death, and I’m happy to say it was my last. I remember fighting with one blade in particular, the third one I came across. He’d already been hit with two arrows, and he knew he had only a few breaths left. His impending death gave him energy, but he just couldn’t move fast enough. He didn’t have a chance, but that didn’t stop him from coming at me with everything he had.
“His strikes were strong, and if any of them had come close, I certainly would have died. But I could sense them coming, and he wasn’t fast enough to overcome my advantage. For a while I let him strike at me. I think I was hoping he would die from his arrow wounds so I wouldn’t have to draw my sword again. But he managed to back me into a corner, and I was forced to respond. He could sense me, but he wasn’t fast enough to react. I killed him easily.
“Now, mind you, I wasn’t young at this time. I already had a long history as a nightblade and I was no stranger to death, but nothing could prepare me for what that felt like. I couldn’t believe what I had done. When I finally looked up, I saw a woman and child huddling inside their house. I believe they were his family. I looked into their eyes, and I saw hatred and sorrow like I’ve never seen before.”
Minori stopped his story again. He could continue his confession, but he saw from the look on Koji’s face he knew how the story went. To say more would be wasted breath, and Minori wasn’t sure he ever wanted to visit those moments again.
“I need you to understand this: I was ambitious then. You may think I’m still that way, but you’d be wrong. I no longer seek power for my own ends. Today I want to use my power to make a difference. Back then my ambition convinced me to follow orders, and I made decisions for which I’ll never forgive myself.
“Afterward, you know what haunted me the most? It wasn’t the killing, not exactly. It was the idea that we were punishing other blades for making a rational choice. They had chosen to live a different type of life, and yes, it went against the wishes of the Kingdom, but they had not harmed a single person until they were pushed. For that, we ended their lives.
“I’ve thought a lot about those days, and I’ve realized that our freedom to choose is all that matters. It’s what separates us from the animals, who only react on instinct. We can choose to create art, remain chaste, dedicate ourselves to a cause, or do horrible things. But it’s always our choice.
“Perhaps you’re right. It angers me to admit such things, but maybe Kiyoshi and I are similar in many ways. Still, there is one aspect of our personalities that divides us, a gap we will never bridge. Kiyoshi accepts the idea of taking away the freedom of nightblades. I understand his philosophy. He believes we are servants to the Kingdom, and I agree. But he believes that as servants, we should give up our ability to choose. That we should be beholden to the will of the lords. And that, I will never agree with. Servitude without choice, without intent, is slavery, pure and simple. It makes us less than human. Like Kiyoshi, I believe we should serve the Kingdom, but we should choose to do it in our own ways.”
Minori looked at Koji, meeting his eyes without hesitation. “The reason I rescued you wasn’t because it wo
uld give me some political edge over the others. You had done your duty well, and still you had been imprisoned. It reminded me uncomfortably of that battle, and I couldn’t sit by and let all your freedoms be taken away for good.”
Minori took a breath and leaned backward.
“That’s all I have to say. Now you know what motivates me and why I’m willing to go to any length to succeed. The cost is higher than what I’d like to pay, but my heart is already black. I’m willing to make the sacrifice.
“And now, I leave you with a choice. You know me, better than maybe anyone else does. You can choose to follow and help me. The end of our journey is coming close—this I can feel. Know that if you do join me, I may ask you to do tasks you won’t find pleasant, but I wouldn’t ask for them if I didn’t think they were absolutely necessary. You can also choose to leave. As I promised, I release you from your duty to me. You have served me well, and I respect your strength.”
Koji stood up from the table. “Would you ask me to kill Asa?”
“Possibly.”
“I wouldn’t. Not without a good reason.”
“I won’t take that choice away from you.”
Koji paced the room, and Minori studied him in a new light. He had always considered Koji to be a bit of a simpleton, but he realized now he had underestimated the young man. Koji was a strong blade and far more intuitive than Minori had expected. A powerful ally, but a dangerous enemy.
Koji stopped and stared at him. “There’s another choice.”
Minori raised an eyebrow.
“I could kill you now.”
“Certainly. If you do, all I ask is that you do it face-to-face, honorably. I’ve had enough of being attacked from behind for the foreseeable future.”
Koji looked around the room, as though the answer would be written on one of the barren walls.
“I think I’ll need more time to make my choice.”
“Take it. I don’t know how much time you have to decide, but I will give you as much as I am able. Until then, you are still welcome to live here. If you want to continue in your other duties, I would be indebted to you.”
Koji nodded and bowed deeply. Minori noted the gesture, and in his mind he thought about how the pieces were moving on the board.
His conversation with Koji had helped clarify Minori’s own mind. The elder warrior had been honest with Koji. His entire goal in life was to earn autonomy for the blades. He hated to see what had been happening to them in the past several cycles, and he wouldn’t be content until they all had the same rights as normal citizens.
Second to that, he did want to see stability in the Kingdom. In his mind, there was no other option but Shin. The lord would provide the strong leadership the Kingdom would need in a time of transition, and his heavy-handed nature would be ideal to pit the blades against a few cycles from now, when they had the support of the people. But getting Shin into power through nonviolent means just didn’t seem likely. Minori had tried to solve the problem over and over during the past moon, but every option he came up with eventually resulted in violence. There just wasn’t any reason for any of the other lords to accept Shin. Their claims were equal to his.
Minori realized he had been putting off a major decision, and he now had to take a stand. He had asked Koji to make a choice; now it was time for him to do the same.
To distract his mind, Minori looked over a chessboard. So many options, but the path to victory was always clear.
Minori turned over different ideas in his head. It would be hard to take the Kingdom by force, but it might fall by subterfuge. Unlike so many, Minori had a different concept of honor. Honor wasn’t the rules and structures placed by society. Honor was doing the right thing, your actions in line with your conscience. If those actions were distasteful to others, that didn’t matter. Minori considered himself an honorable man, but he wouldn’t hesitate to take any action he felt was right.
Minori stood up. His decision was made. He would go as far as necessary. He looked down at the board. The key piece was Kiyoshi. If he fell, the king fell. It was time for the Kingdom to have a new king. It was time for Kiyoshi to die.
Chapter 18
As he had been doing every day, Kiyoshi wandered the energy pathways of Masaki’s brain. Every day when he came to work with Masaki, the damage was a little worse, a little more widespread.
The dayblade did his duty, realigning the intricate pathways with the gentleness of a mother caring for a newborn child. When he had given all the energy and focus he could, he gently broke contact with Masaki, lying backward and exhaling. He had never felt as old as he did now. He could feel his own end approaching, but he would go to the Great Cycle fighting.
It was a measure of Kiyoshi’s focus and subsequent exhaustion that several breaths passed before he noticed he wasn’t alone in the room. He frowned. The guards had specific instructions. No one else was to be let in. When he turned around, he was surprised to see Asa.
Kiyoshi tried to summon a smile for her, but there wasn’t one left in him.
She came to him and knelt down. “Can I help?”
Kiyoshi noticed the difference in her voice. Before, she had been all determination and hardness. But now there was a hint of kindness in her voice that hadn’t been there before. Something was starting to change. After their meeting, Kiyoshi stopped having her followed. He hadn’t seen much point.
He nodded, and Asa helped him stand.
They walked together, Kiyoshi putting far more of his weight on Asa than he cared to. They moved in silence down several halls, Kiyoshi wondering exactly what question he wanted to ask.
“What changed for you?”
Asa looked at him, surprised he had seen so deeply into her intentions. She smiled and shook her head. “I was thinking about what you said and thought maybe you were right.”
Kiyoshi had to let out a small laugh. Asa’s glance indicated her offense.
“I’m sorry; it’s just that no one changes their mind based on rational argument. Not anymore. If you did, you truly are a rare and special woman.”
Asa wasn’t sure how to respond and didn’t say anything until they got back to Kiyoshi’s room. “I would like to help you, if I can.”
Kiyoshi lay down on his bed, not caring at all if it was rude. He was drained. He swiveled his head to face Asa. “Does this mean you’ve given up on revenge?”
There was hesitation on her face, and Kiyoshi’s heart sank. She met his gaze. “No. But I am at an impasse and have decided that perhaps there is room in my life for other pursuits. I want to help the Kingdom. I want to help those who need protecting. It seems, from everything I’ve seen, that means helping you.”
Kiyoshi closed his eyes. He didn’t know why, but he felt like so much was pinned on Asa. His heart raced, risk and reward balanced precariously in his mind’s eye. He took a deep breath to calm himself.
He opened his eyes. “Your offer is accepted.”
She bowed slightly to him.
“Now, for your first task.”
Asa leaned forward, curious.
“Leave me alone so that I may sleep. I gave everything I had to the king and need to recover.” This time he did manage a grin, to let her know he wasn’t being too serious.
Asa nodded her head, and as Kiyoshi closed his eyes, she stood up and left the room.
It seemed like no time at all had passed when Kiyoshi was woken up by a firm, familiar hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes slowly, awareness reluctant to return to his mind. In his windowless room, he couldn’t tell how long he had been out, but it hadn’t been long enough.
Daisuke had woken him up. The nightblade who couldn’t be sensed was Kiyoshi’s closest friend and ally, in addition to his best shadow. There was a look of concern in his eyes that brought Kiyoshi to attention. It almost felt physically painful to focus.
“What’s wrong?”
As his mind came to him, Kiyoshi saw that Asa was in the room as well. That surprised him. Dais
uke caught his glance. “I ran into her as she was leaving the castle. She told me she had joined your service, and so I brought her with me.”
Kiyoshi nodded, which was all he could do in his state.
Daisuke told his story.
“Something is happening. Shin’s grounds are emptying in ones and twos. All the guards are leaving. They’ve been leaving all day, but it took me a while to realize what was happening. If I couldn’t send my sense into the grounds themselves, I might never have figured out what they were doing.”
Kiyoshi was slow to understand, his mind still struggling against the chains of sleep and exhaustion. “What do you mean?”
“They’ve been leaving the castle but not the city, and none have been returning to the estate. By the time I figured it out and started making my way here, Shin’s castle was almost empty of guards. I think they’re preparing to take over the city.”
The healer’s mind spun in confusion. What was Shin up to? Did he know Isamu had gathered far more troops in his own castle than Shin had? If it came to open combat, Shin’s troops would be overwhelmed. Although, he considered, if Shin’s troops were able to station themselves in key places throughout the city, they could put up far more of a fight than otherwise possible.
Daisuke looked at his old friend. “What would you like me to do?”
Kiyoshi struggled to a sitting position, his mind racing. What could they do? They didn’t have the men necessary to stop combat. The nightblades in the city would be caught by surprise, but unless they received a clear order, they would probably stay out of the fighting. After all, Shin and Isamu had equal claims to the throne.
Unless Minori was prepared to issue an order. Kiyoshi wasn’t sure he would be so bold, but he wouldn’t put it past the nightblade.
Before Kiyoshi could come up with an answer, there was a knock at his door. All three blades looked over expectantly, Daisuke and Asa both keeping hands on their swords. Kiyoshi invited the guest in. A castle guard appeared with a note for Kiyoshi. The dayblade took the message and tore it open as the guard left, his mission complete.
