by Ryan Kirk
As she lay on the ground, she felt the tendrils of someone else’s sense. It was a cold presence. They knew who she was, and thanks to Lobsang, moving was going to hurt for a day or two. She never should have agreed to the contest. Being rude was the least of her worries.
A cheer went up from the crowd. They had seen a fine battle, and all were excited. It was a worthwhile end to the Gathering for them. Moriko was swarmed by Red Hawks congratulating her on a great fight. She tried to scan the crowd. There they were, two hunters speaking to Dorjee. One was staring at her with curiosity in his eyes. She could only see them in fits and starts as the crowd crushed around her, but it looked like they were arguing. One was pointing angrily at her. Moriko’s heart sank, but Dorjee stayed calm.
It didn’t take long for the hunters to leave, but Moriko wondered what was in store for her now that the hunters knew where she was.
20
The captain of the ship Destiny lived for the feel of salt air on his face. Like all the inhabitants of the island, he had been saddened to hear that the Three Kingdoms had descended into war; but there was an upside, and that was that he got to sail more often. He glanced west at the sun, about to set on the horizon. Nothing beat a sunset at sea.
Usually there was little need to sail back and forth from the Three Kingdoms. There were goods to be traded and food to be purchased, but it amounted to only a handful of trips every cycle. But with war, Tenchi wanted goods and foods stockpiled on the island, and he wanted news. So the two ships were at sea much more frequently than usual. Though his crew complained, the captain was happy. Unlike most people he knew, he was only content when the ship was rocking underneath his feet. He had no stomach for dry land.
They were riding low in the water, but he didn’t worry. He prided himself on predicting the weather, and he predicted the last leg of the journey would be a calm one. Already they were over halfway to the island. The winds were light, and they weren't making as good of time as he wanted, but they'd be in dock before the sun rose again. Although he’d be glad to see his wife back on the island, he was already looking forward to his next journey.
His attention was distracted by one of the men, Hikaru. The captain had sailed with him a few times. They didn’t always have the same crew, but it ended up being mainly the same people working the ships. Most were content to stay on the island. Hikaru had been acting strange on this journey. He was often the clown of the ship, acting silly and having fun, but on this trip, he was serious and pensive. The captain supposed they were all a little on edge. He'd never seen the island as divided as it was now. It was the war, he supposed, making them reconsider their decision to stay on the island.
Now Hikaru was meditating, but he was throwing off a tremendous amount of energy. It was almost blinding to the captain’s sense.
"Hey, Hikaru," the captain called.
Hikaru opened his eyes and the energy dissipated. "Yes?"
"You're releasing a lot of energy!"
Hikaru gave the captain a boyish grin, and for a moment, the captain saw the same man he’d journeyed with before. "Sorry, sir, but I just feel like I need to practice right now, what with everything going on. Do you need me to stop?"
The captain thought for a moment. He respected the sentiment. All of them could use more training.
"No, but if we go fishing, I'll need you to stop. I’m not sure any of us could sense anything right now. I'll let you know if it happens."
"Thanks, Captain."
The captain shook his head. It was good to see the younger generation taking their studies seriously. There wasn’t much need for the sense out here on the seas. Sight carried further than the sense for most people here. He scanned the horizon. There were two ships, one to the southwest and one to the southeast. The one to the southwest had been with them for a while, but the captain didn't think much of it. They had a long night of sailing ahead of them yet. If he could see the ship's light when they were near the island, he wouldn't dock. The secrecy of the island was paramount, and as captain, it was his responsibility to ensure no one found their small bay. But for now, there were a dozen reasons why the ship would be in sight. He pushed the thought out of his mind.
The captain was inspired by Hikaru's behavior, and in a moment of determination, went down to his cabin and began to meditate. He didn't come up until evening. There wasn't much moon to see by, but the stars were clear and their destination was approaching.
The captain scanned the horizon and wasn't surprised to see it was clear in all directions. There were few ships that sailed this far north, so being observed was rarely a problem. The uninterrupted blackness of the ocean stretched as far as he could see. They were almost home.
Ryuu’s days seemed to pass by too quickly for him to keep track of. There was a part of him that knew he was spending more time on the island than he had planned, but there was so much to learn, and Tenchi seemed intent on drowning him with knowledge. He no longer trained with nightblades in his age range, and there were few lessons in combat. Tenchi had decided there was little swordsmanship left for Ryuu to work on.
Instead, most of his days were focused on developing his skill with the sense. He worked with Tenchi or the older nightblades. It was special treatment, but Ryuu didn’t care. He was learning faster than the nightblades who worked together in a group. In the space of a few days, he felt had learned more than he had over the course of several cycles with Shigeru.
Ryuu was astounded by how much Shigeru hadn’t known or hadn’t taught him. He didn’t blame his former master. Shigeru would have been young when he left the island. Ryuu sometimes wondered how strong Shigeru would have become had he had the chance to stay. So much had happened because of Shigeru’s exile.
One afternoon, Ryuu learned the secret he had come to the island for. Ryuu went to Tenchi’s, as he always did after lunch. When he entered, both Tenchi and the nightblade who had broken his arm were in the room. Tenchi motioned for him to sit.
“Today you are going to work on a new skill, Ryuu. You will work on aligning your new knowledge of the sense with your combat ability. Your other instructors and I have noted how quickly you seem to pick up new skills, and we believe you are ready for this. Know however, this skill is usually not taught until an individual has seen at least thirty cycles. You may not be able to master it.”
Ryuu nodded. He would learn how he had been beaten, and he thirsted for the knowledge. Finally, he would have the strength he had come to the island for.
“Do you remember what I taught you about dayblades and how they fix bone and illness?”
Ryuu nodded again. He had been over it several times. The idea made sense to him, but the actual ability seemed well beyond his grasp.
“Good. The idea is the same as what you will learn today. A dayblade not only senses the energy which moves through all things, they also manipulate that energy to achieve desired effects, like mending a bone at an accelerated rate. Nightblades, at least some of them, are capable of manipulating the same energy to lend power to their own movements.”
None of this was surprising to Ryuu. He had gathered as much on his own from everything he had learned. What he needed to know was how.
“In essence, a nightblade can tap into this energy. Their mind gets quicker, their cuts get a little faster, and they are a little stronger. Essentially, a nightblade becomes as powerful as the degree to which he or she can manipulate the energy that surrounds them.”
Ryuu saw what Tenchi was getting at. He wasn’t beaten earlier because he was a weaker sword. He was beaten because the nightblade sitting calmly across from him was able to manipulate this energy better than he could.
“You already do this when you ‘snap,’ as you call it. The difference is it isn’t intentional for you, and you lack control. It’s an instinctive reaction to being in danger. If you learn this technique, you can control it, and when you control it, you have the ability to make this energy work for you even more. Come, lay your hand on m
e and we will attempt this together.”
Ryuu stood up and walked over, resting his hand on Tenchi’s shoulder. He focused his sense on Tenchi, and he could feel Tenchi’s will as it went to work. Ryuu first sensed Tenchi focusing his own sense, feeling out and understanding the energy around him. Then Tenchi seemed to insert his will into the energy, and Ryuu felt his own body come alive with a feeling of power and understanding. The action was almost impossible to describe, but Ryuu couldn’t deny the extra power he felt. Tenchi let go of the energy and the power disappeared.
“Do you think you can do it on your own?”
“I’m not sure. But I’ll try.”
Ryuu hadn’t told Tenchi he had been practicing long distance sensing every night after his formal training was over. Every night he had searched for Moriko, and he had even found her a few times. He didn’t have the ease with the technique that Tenchi possessed, but Ryuu was confident that with time and practice, he could be equally skilled.
The evening trainings came in handy now as he reached out his own sense, trying to understand the flow of energy surrounding him. He found it and inserted his will as he had felt Tenchi insert his, feeling immediately the power that came into him. Ryuu stood up, flexing his hands, amazed at how he felt. He saw Tenchi nod and the nightblade across from him leapt to his feet in an attack of blinding power. Ryuu was surprised, but his instincts took over and his will warped the energy around him. His sword was resting in the corner, but he was able to sidestep the swing and deliver his fist right into the nightblade’s stomach.
He didn’t think he had hit too hard, but the nightblade went sprawling backward, tumbling over his head before coming to a rough stop along the wall. He coughed up blood, and Ryuu felt the power leave him as he lost his focus.
Tenchi had a stunned look on his face, but he called for a dayblade, who came rushing in moments later. Ryuu realized that Tenchi had expected someone to get hurt.
Tenchi looked at Ryuu with a mixture of awe and fear in his face. “Practice, Ryuu. He will be fine, but you should rest and practice. Let this skill become second nature to you.”
They sailed in the dark. Not being of the seas, they trusted their lives to the smugglers who brought them across with promises of riches untold. Their ship was crewed by eight, all vicious-looking men with gold and death in their eyes.
The smugglers didn't need any light, practiced as they were at sailing at night. The two passengers didn't either. The beacon they followed was as bright as fire, and as easy to track as smoke on the plains.
They reached the island before the sun rose. The beacon on the ship had stopped shining, but another beacon directed them to a hidden passage; not the bay their target had sailed into, but a depression in the rock covered with painted leathers, a lifeboat for an emergency no one expected to occur.
The two killed the eight then. It was nothing to them, though the smugglers were surprised to be killed by only two. The passengers climbed out of the ship and followed their guide up the dark and hidden ways. Already they could sense their prey. The island was filled with strength, but one stood out among the rest. He would be easy to find.
They climbed upward in the dark, their hunt drawing to a close.
21
Akira’s decision to call a Conclave had been controversial. He didn’t dare trust anyone besides Makoto and Mashiro with his plans, and even their approval had been begrudging. If his plan was going to work, Tanak needed to be taken by surprise.
The Conclave was a measure inserted into the treaty which governed the Three Kingdoms, designed as a way for the three lords to seek reunification should it ever be needed. Akira hadn’t been sure the Conclave would still be honored. Tanak had ripped the treaty to shreds with his invasion. Fortunately, the power of the Conclave still drew them all together. For the chance, Akira was grateful.
A Conclave was a right granted to each lord of the Three Kingdoms, designed to bring the kingdoms together. When called, all lords were required to assemble. Each was to appear with no more than one hundred soldiers, the number which had become the size of each lord’s honor guard. In the thousand cycles the treaty had stood, only one Conclave had been called, about six hundred cycles ago. There had been a great famine at the time, and the Three Kingdoms had come together to save their people. The records said that after the famine passed, there had been hope the One Kingdom could be rebuilt, but the lords at the time couldn’t agree to terms, and life and politics had returned to normal.
Now a second Conclave would be held, and Akira was certain Tanak would lose his throne.
Though the Conclave had been called, it hadn’t halted Tanak’s advance. He continued to drive deeper into the Southern Kingdom, and the second significant battle of the campaign would happen soon. It might already be happening. Akira had felt guilty, abandoning his men as they went to war for him, but he could do little of practical use in the battle. Makoto and Mashiro would be fine without him. His troops would be fine without him.
The Second and the Third Armies would meet Tanak’s Second in battle. Akira’s forces needed an overwhelming victory. If Makoto and Mashiro could pull it off, there would still be a chance to save the kingdom if it came to war. Akira hoped his work here at the Conclave would prevent more violence. If he could depose Tanak, the invasion would fall apart. In his imagination, Akira even saw some paths which led to reunification. He hoped it could be true.
Their caravan followed a trail that curved around a mountain. As they came upon the city of Stonekeep, Akira was struck again by the sheer brilliance of the Northern Kingdom. The Northern Kingdom was the least populous of the Three Kingdoms, largely because of the geography. Even though there were fewer opponents, Akira felt sorry for any general tasked with trying to conquer the territory. In all his planning, Akira had never dared to dream of taking the Northern Kingdom by force. Their army was small compared to his, but the land here would give the northern soldiers an insurmountable advantage. Akira had been in the kingdom for days now and had the opportunity to watch the mounted riders and scouts who ranged far and wide over the land. Even the least skilled of them could control their mounts over terrain the best of Akira’s riders would think twice about. A small group of northern riders would be a match for any regiment of Akira’s in this mountainous kingdom.
When Stonekeep came into view, Akira stopped his horse to take in all the details. The capital of the Northern Kingdom was perfectly positioned, the most defensible position Akira had ever seen. It wasn’t a large city. It sat high in a valley, the trail they were on the only entrance. The trail dipped down into the valley and worked its way back up, edged by a precipitous drop on one side and sheer cliffs on the other. Akira wasn’t even certain there was space on the path to bring up a battering ram.
His eyes moved up the trail to the wall. From his current position Akira could see that the wall was both tall and wide. It was an engineering marvel. Akira scanned it carefully, but he couldn’t see any way to attack the wall without tremendous loss of life. He wasn’t sure the wall could ever be taken by military means.
Beyond the wall was the city, a tightly packed maze of narrow corridors. Like the surrounding mountains, Akira suspected it was easily navigated by those familiar with the area, but a nightmare for those new to the passageways. Akira shook his head. Even if an army was to somehow breach the wall, their blood would make slick the roads of the city.
A siege wouldn’t work either. Akira saw that above the city were terraced fields, currently full of a bountiful crop. A river came down from the top of the mountain, and even this late in the season, it crashed down the valley, strong and clear. It wouldn’t dry up, no matter how long the siege lasted. In short, Akira wasn’t sure it would be possible to conquer the city. It had been many cycles since Akira had last visited, but the place instilled a sense of awe in him every time he saw it.
Akira waved one of their escorts to him. The man, a young officer in Sen’s army, rode over with an easy grace.
“Yes, Lord?”
“What is behind the valley which contains the city?” Akira asked, pointing to the crest of the valley.
The officer chuckled. “Many leagues of mountains. There are few of us that dare to venture in there. The mountains are too steep and too high even for our mounts to carry us.”
Akira chuckled. It really was the perfect place to keep a city. He admired Sen’s ancestors. It was the safest place he could imagine to hold a Conclave.
As soon as they were in the city, Akira was led to Sen’s palace. It was small and compact, fitting for a city in which everything was smaller than Akira was used to. From the outside it barely looked like a palace, but once inside there was no doubt. The space was warm and decorated lavishly with fabrics and scents Akira couldn’t place. Most of the outside trade with the Three Kingdoms came through the Northern Kingdom, and through Stonekeep in particular.
Sen stood up to greet him, his bow deep. Akira bowed to an equal depth. He was impressed by Sen’s vitality. He had seen fifty-six cycles this summer, but he still moved with the grace of a warrior. There was strength in those bones, and his eyes were lit with an intelligence that couldn’t be hidden.
Akira had always looked up to Sen. They had been introduced when Akira was young, and his father and Sen had been as close as two rulers of the Three Kingdoms could be. Sen ruled his kingdom well and his people were content. He had ruled for over forty cycles, close to a record for any lord of the Three Kingdoms in history. The man was wise and benevolent, but Akira had to remind himself that he was dealing with another lord. To Sen, the needs of the Northern Kingdom would always come first.
Sen had granted the location for this meeting, but Akira didn’t make the assumption he was dealing with an ally. As lord, Sen had the interests of his Kingdom first, and no bond of friendship or respect would change that.
