by Ryan Kirk
Ryuu wished Moriko could come with him. He could tell she was jealous. Both of them had a relentless desire to get stronger. But he was the logical choice. Moriko’s ability to hide herself from the sense would be invaluable if she was scouting among hunters. They were heading to the opposite edges of the world, and it frightened both of them.
When there was nothing more to say, they came together with a violence that wasn’t typical for the two of them. Moriko’s quiet was typically more than skin deep, but their coming together had been more passionate than anything Ryuu had ever experienced. When they finished, he sat at the edge of their bedroll, Moriko cuddled up against him, feeling emptied and content.
“Moriko?”
She murmured at him. She wasn’t quite asleep, but wasn’t fully awake either.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
With that, she was sound asleep.
The two of them left the camp with little fanfare. Ryuu and Moriko embraced one last time in the tent before stepping outside, but there were no more words to say. The sense was strange in that way. Ryuu couldn’t read Moriko’s mind, no matter what some legends about nightblades claimed, but it didn’t stop him from knowing exactly what she thought. It was the same for her.
They announced their decision to Akira. He wasn’t pleased. Ryuu did not say where he was going, simply stating there was something else he needed to take care of. Akira gave both of them documents which would allow them to pass anywhere in the Southern Kingdom. He gave other letters to Moriko to pass along to Toro when they met. Ryuu wished Akira well in the defense of the Southern Kingdom. He did not promise aid, despite Akira’s attempts to get him to do so. He trusted Akira, but he wasn’t sure if it was his place to support him in war. It was exactly the sort of behavior which had led to the slaughter of the nightblades in the first place.
Ryuu and Moriko parted outside the camp. Ryuu kissed her gently and embraced her tightly. After a few moments, she turned and hopped on the horse she had been loaned by Akira. She would need the additional speed. Azaria was a huge kingdom. Scouts had never found its borders. She could have a very long journey in front of her.
It was some time before Ryuu could turn the other way and begin his own journey. He mounted his horse and took one last glance over his shoulder at Moriko as she rode away, now just a speck in the distance. Seeing her leave brought tears to his eyes, although he refused to let them fall. He hadn’t told her this, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he would never see her again.
7
On horseback, the journey only took a few days. Akira’s armies hadn’t made it that far out of the pass, and she moved much faster alone than an army did. She could have covered the ground even quicker, but she wasn’t an experienced rider. Horses brought back memories she would rather forget forever. She remembered when Goro, a monk from the monastery where she had been raised, had taken her from her family on horseback. It had been her first time riding. Since then she’d only ridden a handful of times, and never by choice.
So instead of covering the ground as fast as the horse was able, Moriko was content to let the horse eat up the distance at its own leisurely pace. It was still faster than walking. It gave her time to reflect.
Moriko was troubled, the frown on her face matching the overcast spring storms that occasionally wandered across the prairie in this part of the Southern Kingdom. With little natural beauty to distract her, her mind flitted quickly from thought to thought, most of them angry.
She loved Ryuu for his selflessness, but she also didn’t understand it. He had grown up in isolation, away from the society that hunted their kind. It had given him an unrealistic perspective of the world. He tended to believe other people were kind and good. Moriko’s own experience indicated they were scared. Scared of death, scared of hunger, scared of life itself.
She knew Shigeru had raised Ryuu to fight for something greater than himself. But he had died before Ryuu found his cause. Listening to Ryuu’s stories, Moriko decided Shigeru had expected Ryuu to bring a change to the land, but hadn’t known how the change would happen. After Shigeru died, it left Ryuu with a vague dream of something greater, but no plan or goal in sight.
Moriko didn’t share Ryuu’s outlook or his upbringing. She had grown up in a monastery. She had seen the fear in the eyes of everyone who visited. It had always been clear to her that she wasn’t a part of this society. She had known it from the moment she was torn from the arms of her mother. Moriko didn’t hate or detest the people of the Southern Kingdom. She just didn’t care about them.
After three days of these reflections, Moriko’s mood was far less than pleasant. The horse made her legs sore in places she wasn’t used to. The foothills leading up to the Three Sisters were dry and hot, and Moriko wanted nothing more than shade and cool water. Instead, she had to deal with the regiment of soldiers stationed on the Southern Kingdom side of the Three Sisters. They were skittish, even though she knew all the correct passwords and carried letters marked with Akira’s own seal.
They let her stay in their camp that night. For a single messenger, the Three Sisters would take another full day’s ride. She tossed and turned through the night, upset and unwilling to trust the soldiers who surrounded her. She was a young woman in an army full of young men. Her life was frustrating enough. She didn’t need to kill a soldier who couldn’t control himself.
When the sun rose and ended an uneventful evening, Moriko was ready. She rode through the pass, some of her anger dissipating as she experienced the beauty of the Three Sisters. She had never been in the mountains before. Tall, jagged and impassable peaks rose thousands of paces into the air on either side of her. As she rode through the pass she could sense the men who were hidden in watch, but she had a hard time seeing them. Without the sense, she wasn’t sure she would have been able to. She understood why controlling the whole pass was of such importance. A small force could hold the entire pass for a full moon if they had to, cycles maybe. Every step forward would cost the lives of dozens or more.
Moriko came upon the southern outpost of the First Army just as the sun was starting to touch the horizon. She danced the same dance of doubt with the guards stationed at these gates, even though they had to know she had already passed the scrutiny of their comrades on the north side of the pass. They were nervous, scared of an enemy they couldn’t put a face to.
Her horse was gently taken from her, but Moriko wasn’t sad to see the beast go. He had been well behaved, but Moriko was more comfortable on her own two feet. She was led without fanfare to the command tent. Akira had given her some information about Toro, but the man still gave off a powerful first impression.
He wasn’t a tall man, but he seemed incredibly strong for his age. His gray hair seemed to cut like a blade, sharpening his appearance rather than weakening it. He held himself ramrod straight and Moriko saw his hands were calloused from regular handling of his sword. The man was still a warrior, proud and intelligent. Moriko felt respect for him right away.
He dismissed his guards out of the tent. “They say you bring messages bearing Lord Akira’s seal?”
Moriko nodded and handed him the two letters. “The first is a general update on the status of the armies. You are to read it at your leisure. The second is about my mission. You are to read it immediately.”
Toro looked at her, unable to hide his curiosity. Moriko suspected he had never seen a woman carrying swords. Since leaving Akira and Ryuu she had worn her blades openly and had attracted a fair amount of attention. Women were not normally allowed to carry swords in the Southern Kingdom. Many had lost their hands for less. “Who did you say you are?”
She gave him a blank look. “I didn’t.”
Toro frowned and opened the letter. He read it once and then once again, pausing to stare at her between readings. Moriko didn’t know what the letter contained, but it clearly shocked Toro. He turned pale, his skin almost turning the color of his hair. She saw him pu
t the letter down and reach towards his sword. She tensed up, cursing herself. For all her complaints about Ryuu being too trusting, she had let herself be led right into the heart of the most well-trained army in the Southern Kingdom. Akira had betrayed them, separated her and Ryuu with a story they had bought completely. Moriko started searching for the exits.
“You should be put to death immediately!”
Moriko heard the fear and anger in Toro’s voice. She had heard that fear before. It was the fear of nightblades, embedded in even the sternest warriors. But Toro made no move to act on his words. His inaction saved his life.
“Lord Akira should not be using the likes of you.” Toro’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not a nightblade. You’re just a charlatan who has taken the lord in.”
Moriko’s anger, simmering just beneath the surface, broke through.
“I don’t need this, old man. If you don’t believe your lord, draw against me. You won’t be the first southern general I’ve killed.”
Understanding dawned on Toro, and he took a step back, fear overriding his anger. “The rumors are true then?”
Moriko didn’t dignify the question with a response. She wasn’t feeling charitable.
Toro was muttering to himself. “I thought they were only rumors. Surely he would have told me if they were true.” His anger struggled to reassert itself. “Why would he work with you if you killed Nori?”
Moriko glanced at the letter. She wasn’t in any mood to repeat the story. “He thinks I can discover what’s happening south of the border. I have my own reasons. Our purposes align, at least for today.”
Toro sat down on a cushion. He had regained his reason and was starting to think through the implications. “Are there more of you?”
Moriko nodded.
“How many?”
Moriko stared at him. “I only need to restock my supplies and cross the border.”
Toro let out just a hint of a grin, trying to master his fear. “You’re not very friendly, are you?”
“It’s been a long moon.”
Toro nodded and thought. “Well, Lord Akira did instruct me to give you all possible assistance. Feel free to load up on any supplies you need. Other than that, there isn’t much help I can offer you. I’ve sent out one more scouting party since the lord left, but no one has returned. I couldn’t convince another group to go even if I wanted to, which I don’t. I hate to admit it, but I’m starting to share the lord’s concern about Azaria. I don’t know what is happening, but I have the same feeling I get in my bones when a storm is brewing. Something is coming, something that will wash over us. I only hope the First is strong enough to hold against it.”
Moriko debated. But Toro needed to know. “Have you heard about hunters before?”
“The legend?”
Moriko nodded.
Toro shook his head. “Only a very little. Some sort of Azarian bedtime story they tell their children to scare them straight.”
“They are real. I fought two of them that came into the Southern Kingdom.”
She let Toro digest that for a while. “What do you know about them?”
Moriko shrugged her shoulders. “Not much. Think Azarian nightblades. They are very good. It was mostly luck that I survived.”
“Any weaknesses?”
“They don’t fight too well without a head.”
Toro looked up from the point on the floor he had been staring at. It took him a moment to realize she had told a joke. The tension seemed to drain out of him. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Whatever techniques you use against us will probably be effective against hunters. Their swords are shorter and lighter than ours, which makes them faster than us, slightly more defensive. They are also experts at stealth. Even with our abilities, they almost caught us unaware.”
Toro reacted when Moriko said ‘us.’ She silently cursed herself. But what was done was done.
“I will keep your words in mind. Thank you.”
They sat in silence for a while, Moriko studying Toro, Toro thinking through the implications of the news he had been brought. Moriko gave him credit. His whole world had essentially been turned upside down. He was taking it with a good deal of grace. She could see hints of the mind that made him a great general.
“Well, no matter, my dear. It is a problem for me to solve, and it seems like you have enough to do. I’m sure you are exhausted by now. Take rest tonight. You are welcome to leave whenever you would like.”
Moriko nodded her appreciation. Toro ordered her escorted to a private tent. She was asleep as soon as she laid down on the ground.
Moriko stayed for a full day and night, not leaving camp until another day had passed. Her sense of urgency clashed with her need for rest. Her time on the horse had left her sore and stiff, and she spent the day of rest stretching out her aching muscles. She knew she should learn to ride better, but her mind was made up. Horses were not her favorite mode of transportation.
Moriko threw out her sense as far as it would go, even though it was a pointless exercise. In the wide open plains, with so many people surrounding her, sight traveled further than her sense, and there was nothing hiding in the bushes she wouldn’t have expected anyway. The plains in front of the fortress were as deserted as they looked. She had grown up in the forest and between the walls of a monastery. She wasn’t used to open spaces, but even accounting for that, this space felt dead to her. It wasn’t that there wasn’t life. There was the usual assortment of small creatures living off the land, but they felt almost lethargic, as though their energy had been sucked from them.
When the sun rose the next morning she felt better. She found her horse again. As much as she didn’t want to ride again, Azaria was huge. If she was going to have any chance at all of making good time she would need to take a horse. Like it or not, she needed to make friends with the beast. With help from some of the stable hands she was able to load up the horse with supplies in only a few moments.
She met with Toro on her way out. She was surprised to discover there was a hint of regret in Toro’s voice. His attitude towards Moriko had changed over the past day. She could tell he had started to think about the advantages of having a nightblade attached to his army. “Be careful out there.”
Moriko nodded.
“Is there anything else you need?”
Moriko took a moment and thought through her supplies. She had enough food to last for a while, even longer if she hunted. If hunting was good she could stretch it out well past a full moon if she needed to. She carried her sword and a folded cloth which she could use as shelter. It was all she needed. She shook her head. “Thank you for your kindness.”
“Let us know anything you find out. I am more worried by the day.”
Moriko offered a short bow. It was more than she often provided, a mark of respect from her.
Toro seemed to recognize it and gave her a slightly deeper bow. Several soldiers surrounding them were surprised. Moriko held her mirth. Rumor in the camp the first day had been that she was a mistress of Toro’s, but that rumor had been quickly dismissed when they found out she was heading further south. It was obvious they didn’t have any idea what type of woman she was. Maybe they thought she was some sort of special whore who could succeed where soldiers had failed.
It was a problem for Toro to deal with, but she trusted he would keep her secrets. Akira had no doubt left orders, but even more so, Toro knew the chaos it would cause in the camp if they found out nightblades were alive and well among them. Technically, her existence was also punishable by death. Moriko had been impressed that Akira trusted Toro enough to even let him know. If Toro had wished, it would have been a justifiable reason for a coup.
She left the camp with little fanfare, but she could feel thousands of eyes on her as she began her journey to the south. She knew they would watch every step until she got far enough away to be hidden from sight. She was a creature of the woods, used to being able to hide within a couple of foo
tsteps. The plains were not friendly to her. But there was little to be done. She continued onward, stopping randomly to throw out her sense. She wasn’t expecting anything near the fort, and she wasn’t surprised.
If there was one word Moriko would use to describe her surroundings, it would be “empty.” She had grown up within woods and walls, and open spaces weren’t to her liking. The spaces here were so vast, so devoid of life. It seemed like nothing could be further from the old woods she called home. As far as her eye could see there was nothing but rolling hills and grass. She had killed some small game to supplement her own food, but outside of the occasional rabbit, there was little for her to see or sense.
After a short time she was bored of the monotony. As the days blended together, Moriko began to wonder if she was falling into madness. There was nothing here. No towns, no villages, no people out on the land. If this was Azaria, where were the Azarians? She had been riding for days without a sign of habitation.
Moriko wasn’t an expert on the development of land or the running of a kingdom. She had never studied those subjects. But this she didn’t understand. How did the Azarians live if they didn’t farm their land? They had fought against the Southern Kingdom for hundreds of cycles. She was following a path that went more or less straight south. It wasn’t a road, but it had been trampled over and over. She suspected it was the path Azarian armies took to the pass every season to attack the Southern Kingdom. Having no better options, she followed it, curious as to where it led. But by now she should have seen something.
