by Ryan Kirk
But there was always another voice in his head, a voice Ryuu had come to recognize as Shigeru’s. It was the voice telling him to think through all the angles, to think about what it meant to have the power and strength of a nightblade. It was a small and persistent voice that told him he had a responsibility to the Three Kingdoms, that all the blades did, whether the Three Kingdoms accepted them or not. Ryuu hated that voice, but he couldn’t rid himself of it either.
And so most nights Ryuu passed out from exhaustion, angry and undecided.
For Ryuu, the night started like any other. His day had been full of training and he practiced on his own in the evening. He settled down to meditate and expand his sense, filling his mind with all the information it could handle. He moved through the armies and events of the Three Kingdoms easily and focused on Moriko. It was her world that interested him most. He worried about her every day, though he knew she was capable of defending herself.
His mind searched for her, struggling to identify her in the sea of people she was surrounded by. She was closer to the center of the mass than she had ever been before. After sensing her every night, he understood something different was happening. He focused his attention, trying to pick out more details, sweat forming on his brow.
Here he was at his limit. Tenchi told him with practice he’d be able to resolve the sense down to an individual level, but tonight he couldn’t do any more than focus on groups. The only reason he could find Moriko was because he was so used to her presence. Sweat dripped as he tried to use brute force to no effect. He lost the trance-like state necessary to maintain contact with the sense. Ryuu cursed. He had the feeling that something was happening, but he didn’t know what.
Ryuu stood up and stretched his tired limbs. He’d try again, but he wanted to be in the best shape possible. He stretched in various angles, paying particular attention to the parts of his body that were especially tight. Then he drank some water and sat back down.
Again his mind rode upon the streams of the sense that ran throughout the world. He flew south, moving as fast as he was comfortable. Now that he knew where to look, finding Moriko didn’t take as much time as it had on his first attempt of the evening. He stayed calm and searched for details about Moriko’s surroundings.
She was surrounded by thousands of people. Beyond that, there wasn’t much that Ryuu felt he could discern. He kept a calm focus, trying to discover something, anything that would give him a clue what Moriko was up to. A little knowledge was worse than complete ignorance.
As he watched, he felt the presence of another, strong beyond belief. Ryuu tried to focus on the energy, but his skills weren’t sufficient. Wherever Moriko had found herself, she was facing someone of incredible power. The source of power was greater than that of the Abbot of Perseverance, greater even than Tenchi. A hint of fear flitted across Ryuu’s mind. If Moriko was up against that, she didn’t have a chance. He wouldn’t have a chance against that kind of power.
Ryuu held the connection as long as he could, long enough to sense Moriko being taken away from the source of power. In a moment of clarity, he sensed that she was bound, half dragged, half carried to a tent in the camp. The clarity faded and Ryuu was left with the vague impression of Moriko moving through the camp.
Ryuu broke away from the sense. He knew enough. Moriko was in danger, critical danger. He was a world away from her, but there wasn’t anything that would stop him. He stood up, only to find his legs wouldn’t support him. Sensing at that distance for so long had taken more out of him than he realized. He tried to stand again, only to fall to the ground unconscious.
Ryuu woke up to Rei standing over him, a concerned look on her otherwise happy face. He tried to grin it off, but there wasn’t any fooling her.
“What’s wrong?”
Ryuu sat up. He glanced outside, and from the shadows, he saw he had slept past mid-day. He wondered how long she had been by his side.
“It’s Moriko. She’s scouting the land south of the Three Kingdoms and is in danger. I’m worried for her.”
Rei raised an eyebrow. “What is she doing in Azaria?”
Ryuu glanced at her and debated his options. He liked Rei a lot, but he still didn’t know who to trust on this island. “It’s a long story. Do you know where Tenchi is?”
She nodded. “Yes, he’s with the council right now. Nothing urgent, just day-to-day matters.”
“Can I speak to him?”
“Certainly.”
Rei gave him one last look that Ryuu couldn’t decipher as she stepped out. He tried to decide what he would say to Tenchi when he got to the hut. It was time for him to leave the island.
It was some time before Tenchi arrived at Ryuu’s hut. Ryuu felt like he was ready to pace a track into his floor. When Tenchi arrived, Ryuu could tell Rei had already filled him in.
“Moriko is in trouble?”
Ryuu nodded.
“Tell me.”
Ryuu related what he had sensed. Tenchi paused him every so often to ask a question, but the story was short of telling. He spent most of the time trying to describe the massive power he’d sensed.
Tenchi waved his hand as Ryuu attempted another half-formed explanation. “I know, I’ve been sensing him for a while now. Get on with it.”
Ryuu tried to contain his surprise and failed. What else was Tenchi not telling him?
As Ryuu finished telling his story, Shika came into the hut and sat down. Ryuu had been so distracted he hadn’t sensed her approach. She listened to the end of his story, asking just a question or two to get caught up. Shika hadn’t known about Moriko, so there was some more explaining required.
When Ryuu finished the story the four of them sat around quietly, each with their thoughts. Ryuu wasn’t sure of the best thing to say, so he didn’t speak. Silence was his best council.
Tenchi spoke first. “Shika, what are your thoughts?”
She didn’t reply right away, taking the time to gather her response, testing it in her mind before loosing it on the world. “Ryuu needs to leave the island. This is the first I’ve heard of Moriko, but if she is a nightblade, she deserves our protection the same as any other, whether or not she’s grown up on the island. Ryuu could even take others if he wished.”
If Ryuu hadn’t been so serious about Moriko, he would have laughed. Shika would stop at nothing to have a greater presence in the Three Kingdoms.
Tenchi looked at Rei expectantly. She just nodded. Ryuu didn’t know what she was agreeing with or what passed between them.
Tenchi then turned to Ryuu. “What are your desires?”
“I love her. Nothing can stop me from going to her.”
“Even if she is at least a moon away, under the best of conditions?”
“Yes.” Ryuu didn’t mean to put as much force into it as he did, but his passion got the better of him. He couldn’t rest with Moriko in danger.
Tenchi looked at all the young warriors around him and sighed deeply. “Very well. The tide is already out today, but tomorrow you may depart the island. Rei, you are to go with him, and you alone.”
He held up a hand to still three different objections. “Shika, any more is too many. Rei, you are welcome back if you so decide. Ryuu, you can’t leave any earlier, no matter how much you wish. We can’t change the requirements for sailing off the island.”
He continued. “The plan comes at a price. Tonight we shall gather the blades for a display of strength. Ryuu, your first duel is with Shika. If you manage to defeat her, you must then fight me. Regardless of the outcome, you may still leave tomorrow.”
There were outbursts all around, but Tenchi rode the waves of outcry without losing his composure.
Tenchi waved his hand at the women. “Depart. I need to speak to Ryuu in private. Rei, make sure we are not bothered or overheard.”
Shika looked like she was going to kill someone, but she bowed and left, Rei following right behind her.
Tenchi held Ryuu’s gaze in his own. “
You have had time to consider your options. Will you kill Renzo?”
Ryuu shook his head. “I won’t. Violence will only beget more violence. It’s a lesson I should have learned a long time ago.”
Tenchi’s gaze never left Ryuu. He was silent.
“Thank you for allowing me to leave. I have been here over two moons, and I still feel like I know nothing.”
For just a moment, Ryuu saw Tenchi’s friendly exterior drop, and he got a glimpse of the steel that made Tenchi the leader he was. “That’s because you don’t.”
It was just a moment, and then the Tenchi Ryuu knew returned. “Sometimes we can’t fight the tide, and this is one of those times. I only hope we will survive this storm. Sometimes I wish you had never come, or that I’d never let you on the island.”
Ryuu was surprised. “What do you mean?”
Tenchi replied. “Ryuu, for all your strength, you still lack the control necessary to take the right action. You bounce around from crisis to crisis, only acting once tragedy is at your doorstep. If you wish to become more, you need to grow up. Until you do, you’re a danger to us all.”
Ryuu glanced up angrily. “That’s not true!”
Tenchi continued as if Ryuu had never spoken. “Your rescue of Takako was ill-informed. Shigeru should have stopped you. It was not wrong, wanting to save an innocent life, but every action is a pebble dropped in a pond, reverberating out far beyond the pebble itself. How many people died because of your decision to save one life, a life that was ended prematurely anyway?”
Ryuu was silent, anger burning inside of him. He had come to peace with his decision, convinced it was the right action to take. Tenchi’s words cracked the shell of his conviction.
“I am sorry. If I had more time, I would be more gentle, but again you have brought this pressure upon yourself. Again you go off to rescue a woman you care for, but at what cost? You will go galloping through the Three Kingdoms, heedless of all the danger around you. Your odds of rescuing her in time are slim to none, and the hunters are not to be trifled with. They are in every way as strong as we are. Their lore may be different, but their strength is no less substantial.”
“Your journey is a threat to this island and the Three Kingdoms, especially given your general ability to find trouble. You realize Renzo can sense at a distance, too. If he senses you coming down through the Three Kingdoms, he may come to finish the job, and despite your strength, I’m not sure you can beat him. He has experience on his side. You risk all for nothing.”
Ryuu couldn’t contain himself. “But at least I’m doing something, something more than hiding away from everything!”
Tenchi shook his head. “You are foolish. You are making the same assumption Shika and Rei are, despite my warnings. We aren’t on this island hiding or waiting. We are preparing.”
Ryuu’s confusion was apparent. He didn’t bother to hide his disbelief.
“Someday I will tell you what happened when the Kingdom broke up. We aren’t the demons legend has made us out to be, but we aren’t without blame. It was our responsibility to keep the Kingdom in order, but we forgot. We let power go to our heads. For better or for worse, the Three Kingdoms have survived without major problems for a thousand cycles, but again I feel we are the catalyst for war, especially now that I know Renzo is involved with the invasion. Perhaps they are better off without us.”
Ryuu considered Tenchi’s words. He had never heard the old man so worked up.
“For a thousand cycles we have prepared. We have learned, we have kept true to the old knowledge while developing it further. We have studied history and politics so the mistakes of the past won’t be repeated. Surely you’ve seen how even Shika and I, though we disagree, can work together so openly?”
Ryuu had to admit that he had.
“That isn’t by chance. We aren’t waiting. We are preparing for the day when we are needed in the Three Kingdoms once again, if that day ever comes.”
“Then why let me go at all?”
“Because not letting you go would become a much greater issue. Knowing your impulses, I suspect you would try to escape, and Shika would support you in an attempt to force the issue. Sometimes it is best to know when to bend. I’m hoping that sending Rei will temper your impulses, and it will be good for her to experience the Three Kingdoms herself.”
It seemed as though Tenchi had thought of everything. “Why the duels tonight? Shika seemed upset about that.”
Tenchi grinned his old mischievous grin. “I thought that was pretty good myself. There’s been rumors spreading around the island since you arrived. ‘Leader’ is a bit of a misleading title, but Shika has been trying to win my position for some time. We aren’t governed by strength alone, but we aren’t foolish enough to dismiss the usefulness of a strong, experienced warrior. The skills transfer well to leadership. Shika is mad because you’ll beat her. She’s very good, but I think you’re better. Then you’ll fight me and lose.”
Ryuu raised an eyebrow. “Are you telling me to lose on purpose?”
Tenchi laughed. “Oh, no. I hope you give me everything you’ve got. I’ll still beat you. You’ll be allowed to leave the island, but it will quell dissension for at least a few moons, giving the situation time to develop.”
Tenchi got up and left. “I’m not going to stop you, even though I should. Just know this. You need to think about your decisions more clearly.” With that he left, leaving Ryuu confused, but more ready than ever to duel with the leader of the island.
Ryuu was excited for the evening. He wasn’t sure if he was the best nightblade on the island, but he looked forward to finding out. A duel was something solid in front of him, something he could handle. It was black and white, life and death. It was simple. He was curious to see if Shika or Tenchi had the skill to beat him.
Apparently he wasn’t the only one. When the sun fell a great dinner was held, and all were invited to the amphitheater, a natural bowl with a flat bottom near the northwest corner of the island. Ryuu had never been there before, and as he was escorted to the front, he was amazed to see so many people in one place. He had known that over three thousand blades lived on the island, but it was another thing altogether to see three thousand dark-robed individuals gathered in one place. Ryuu thought of the power in the space and was in awe that the island had remained a secret for as long as it had.
Some entertainment had been arranged, individuals who specialized in exotic weaponry, some dayblades who had learned a fluid style of dance. Ryuu watched with rapt attention. None of the weapons styles would be useful in a fight, but the beauty of them was undeniable. He was also fascinated by the dancers, most of whom were female. Rei leaned over and explained there were some dayblades who believed that by moving their bodies in the same patterns that lead to healing, miraculous results could be achieved. Ryuu had seen dancers at Madame’s in New Haven, but those were dancers who danced to entice customers. This was altogether different, a force and sensuality combined into a feeling more powerful than either alone.
Ryuu didn’t see any miracles, but he was impressed by the style. It was fluid and graceful. At first glance the movements seemed random, but the more Ryuu watched, the more he felt like there was a deeper pattern, a deeper meaning than what was present at first glance. He gently opened up his sense and was almost blinded by the beauty.
There was a deep energy radiating from the dancers, a power that seemed to flow around them, shaped by them. He didn’t have the words to describe what he was seeing. In the end, he didn’t try. Instead, he sat and watched, taking it all in without trying to understand it. When it ended, he felt as though a void had opened up in him. Glancing around, he found he wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Rei said it was rare to see such a performance from the dayblades.
Then he was up, introduced to the entire crowd. Ryuu was sure that by now, everyone knew who he was, but tradition still dictated life on the island. Tenchi gave a brief account, leaving out Ryuu’s involvement in t
he affairs of the Three Kingdoms. Tenchi concluded by saying Ryuu should be considered an adopted member of the island, and in unison three thousand heads made a short bow in his direction. Ryuu was overwhelmed, but didn’t have time to process what had happened. It was time for his duel.
Any nervousness Ryuu held dissipated like the morning mist as he stood against Shika. Politics, consequences, these weren’t concepts that came to him easily. Combat was something he understood, something he excelled at.
As soon as the duel began, Shika struck like a cobra, her quick thrusts coming at Ryuu with blinding speed. He had been prepared, but not for the duel to start with such ferocity. He managed to block her first few attacks but was sent backwards faster than he could recover. Every time he thought he’d have a moment to gather his wits, she was on him again.
Ryuu cursed himself. He had gotten used to a certain type of duel, a duel where the opponents tested each other first, trying to gauge the other’s abilities. He had been foolish. Shika knew his abilities. She had watched him fight others over and over, though he had never seen her draw a blade even in practice. She was going for the quick win, trying to catch him off guard before he could bring his full strength to bear.
Without thought, Ryuu fell into a state of relaxation, dropping the stress of combat like a heavy burden he would no longer carry. His mind emptied and his body fell into the natural rhythms of the world. He felt the flow of energy strengthen his limbs and sharpen his mind, and Shika wasn’t moving as fast as she once had.
Shika was quick, but Ryuu had matched her for speed. He could sense, more than he could observe, the interest of all the spectators who were watching. It was a treat to see two warriors of such ability fighting each other. Ryuu had guessed Shika was capable, but he hadn’t any idea just how capable until this evening.
With speed being equal, the contest came down to a matter of skill and technique. Ryuu had thought he’d be her superior in skill, but wasn’t so sure any more.
