Traveler of the Void
Epilogue - Falcon Flying Through the Void
Each of the Island Guardians received the Three-Day Judgment. They were imprisoned for the entire length of their sentence and new Island Guardians were chosen from among their sons and siblings. The King said to these new Island Guardians, “You must swear loyalty to the nation of Sangal, and that you will never engage in traitorous relations with other nations. Swear this, and there is a chance that after the war the imprisoned ex-Island Guardians will receive some compassion.” Thus, their brothers and fathers were held as hostages to ensure their loyalty.
As for the King of Sangal's foreign guests, those that had observed the assassination attempt on Prince Karnan in the banquet hall censured the King harshly. New Yogo, Kanbal and Rota were the only nations that knew the whole truth of what had happened. The guests of other nations were further angered by the fact that representatives of New Yogo, Kanbal and Rota had concealed weapons in the banquet hall.
The King of Sangal honestly and forthrightly told all his guests that the actions of his allies had managed to save Sangal from Talsh invasion. So much was clear from looking at the casualties: New Yogo and Rota had each lost men in Sangal's defense, and many of Sangal's guards and soldiers at the palace had died.
Sangal had the role of defending the northern continent against the south. Consequently, it had been the first to face the threat of a Talsh attack. The King used every means at his disposal to convince the nations of the northern continent to support Sangal as much as possible to fend off the invasion of their own nations by the Talsh empire. The Sangal navy gathered in the harbor and goods were shipped to the capital in large quantities to prepare Sangal for war. The southern sky was as blue as it always had been, but people looked at it with growing unease. The threat of the huge empire to the south spread fear over Sangal.
Tarsan wasn't able to see Chagum off—instead, Chagum said goodbye to him before he set out with the navy for his first battle. Tarsan was set to board a ship the morning before Chagum returned to New Yogo. Before he left, one last feast was held for Sangal's foreign guests. Tarsan presided over the farewell ceremonies.
First, Tarsan relayed the King's orders regarding the steps Sangal would be taking to secure the kingdom. In the wide open space, Tarsan's voice carried as well as his father's did. He declared the truth of the Talsh plot with the strength and conviction of his own life behind it. His posture was stiff from the rigor required for the ceremony. The pose made him appear even taller and stronger than usual.
As musicians played on shaguram flutes, Tarsan offered each of the King's guests a personal farewell. When Tarsan stepped in front of Chagum, he was briefly overcome with emotion and bowed deeply. “Crown Prince Chagum. I will never forget what you have done for us.”
Chagum looked at Tarsan from behind his face covering and offered him equal thanks. Tarsan's polished armor gleamed, reflecting the lights in the hall. Suddenly, the reality of Tarsan being sent to war hit home for Chagum. He might never see Tarsan again. He was the first friend of his own age that Chagum had ever made, and this was goodbye. Was Tarsan scared? What did he think of going to war and attacking people, and being attacked in turn?
Tarsan held his head high, his eyes shining with strength and pride.
“I pray for your success in battle, Prince Tarsan,” Chagum said. “I will never forget you.”
Tarsan grinned widely at him. He leaned in a bit closer and whispered, “Your Majesty, I need to apologize. The first time we met, I got angry because of that face cloth that you wear. Hiding behind it so that people couldn't look at you directly seemed a little...well, to tell you the truth, I still don't like it. I can't see your eyes.” Tarsan smiled warmly. “I guess I'll have to win this war quickly so I can see your face again.”
Tarsan bowed once more, then moved away to bid the other guests farewell. Chagum watched him go, his face flushed from the heat and having his head covered. He felt the distance between them growing. He missed Tarsan already.
I hate the face covering, too. I've always hated it.
But he and Tarsan were princes. Chagum wondered if Tarsan understood the face covering in that context—as something duty demanded. He watched Tarsan lead a long line of proud, strong soldiers out of the hall. If Chagum was ever in the same position, he was sure he wouldn't feel pride or strength, but pain. It would hurt, leading men off to die.
Light rain fell steadily on the roof at dawn. Surina was at Rakora's, boning and gutting the small fish she'd caught while listening to the rain. Eshana was still asleep. She'd been greatly weakened by her weeks spent as the Eyes of the Nayugul Raita. Her fever still hadn't gone down. As soon as she recovered, Surina intended to take her home to her mother.
She also had to consider what she would do after getting back to Kalsh. She wanted to see her family again, but if she headed to the islands where the Talsh kept their slaves now, there was a high possibility that she'd get mixed up in the war between Talsh and Sangal.
I kept my promise. I'm sure Dogol did, too. My family is safe on those islands. I'm sure of it. Surina did her best to encourage herself as she continued preparing the fish. She wanted to return to Kalsh soon. If she had her way, she'd never go near Sangal's royal palace again.
Whenever she remembered what Princess Saluna had told her on the morning she'd woken up in the stone cell with Eshana, a shudder went through her whole body. She didn't understand why anyone would want to poison her and Eshana. They had nearly been crushed between the royal family's fingers like wharf roaches crawling along the hull of a ship. It was a bitter experience, one she wouldn't forget. She wanted nothing further to do with the palace.
The wind blew over the sea up to the boundless sky. She missed the sound of the waves lapping against her small ship. She'd return to Kalsh very soon. Eshana's mother would probably weep for joy when she saw her again. The King had also granted Surina a large monetary reward, so she could bring the islanders many strange and wonderful gifts from the capital. Everyone would be happy to see them. When she thought about that, her heavy heart got a little lighter.
Chagum and Shuga prepared for their departure while listening to the drizzling rain.
“The rain just won't stop,” Saluna grumbled as she watched Chagum board the oxcart.
“I'm sure we'll see each other again,” Chagum said.
Saluna gave him a lonely smile, then nodded.
Chagum's cart traveled slowly, step by slow step, away from Sangal's royal palace. The cart stopped at Sangal Hasai, the Hill of the Full Moon, for a short rest, just as it had before they'd arrived at the palace. It was just about noon when the oxcart halted.
As Chagum stood high up on the hill, the rain stopped. Chagum could scarcely believe that only twelve days had passed since he'd last stood in this place. He felt Shuga's presence behind him and looked down at the thin clouds reflected on the surface of the ocean. The clouds drifted slowly overhead. The light of the sun was dim, but far away along the curve of the horizon, golden light was barely visible.
It was silent all around, like the silence before a great and terrible storm. The continent to the south was no longer just a passage in a history book to Chagum. He wondered what form the Talsh invasion would take and what he would do when it came. Buffeted on the advancing waves, his heart longing for the light on the horizon, constantly chasing it...
He heard the whistling call of a bird. A falcon glided over the ocean, between the sea and the sky.
“Shuga.”
“Yes?”
“I'm kind of dangerous as a Crown Prince, aren't I?”
Shuga's eyebrows rose. He frowned as if he were trying to figure out what Chagum meant.
“Sometimes, I can't be held back,” Chagum said. “Being a godlike prince of New Yogo is like that. Unrestricted. Unrestrained.”
Shuga offered him a pained smile. “I suppose you're right.”
Chagum didn't turn to look at him. He kept his gaze fixed on the sea and the bird flying above it. “When I was falling to my death with Eshana, you didn't let go of my hand. You've given me something far more than loyalty or duty. Thank you.”
Shuga blinked and said nothing.
“Forgive me, Shuga. I'm dangerous, so I might destroy you one day without meaning to. I might try to drag you down with me. If you ever feel that happening, I want you to let go. I don't want you to hate or resent me, and I don't want you to die. Live. Find some other way to help the country.”
“Your Majesty...”
The falcon flew farther and farther away until it was a speck on the horizon. Chagum tracked it with his eyes. “I intend to keep being dangerous. Like a falcon flying through the void between the sea and the sky, connected to both of them but influenced by neither. I'll do nothing but fly. I want to make a country where soldiers' lives aren't sacrificed like pawns in a game, and where I can talk to my people without the need to hide my face from them. Do you think that's just a dream? Even if it is, I'll fly with it. I'll keep it in my heart.”
Chagum turned to face Shuga. “I don't think your genius is limited only to star reading and matters of government. When you see the other world, keep looking at it. Experience the new perspective and don't close your eyes to it. Never blind yourself to the other world.”
A single tear fell down Shuga's cheek.
Above their heads, the clouds parted, bathing their shoulders in bright light. It was a light from the southern countries, clear and strong and golden.
This is the end of Traveler of the Void. The story continues in Guardian of the God - God's Appearance.
Well, thank goodness she tied up Surina and Eshana's fate. *grumbles about cliffhanger endings* I'm with Surina, man - get away from that terrible palace and Karina and the rest and never look back. Though (and of course this is a little hypocritical following on my sort-of rant about fanshippers, but...) I could totally see Tarsan and Surina becoming an item - just because of their similar mindsets, and their childhood friendship, and the bonding experience of rescuing Eshana and fighting the Talsh. But man, if Tarsan was like "oh, yeah, I'm going to marry some commoner I met on Kalsh", you just know his relatives would flip out - except Saluna, who would tell him it was kind of foolish but would end up supporting him in his decision, and then find some clever way to get the rest of the family on board, too. XD She's a good sister, Saluna. I like her lots.
ReplyDeleteSo, like, I know I mentioned it in an earlier comment, but Tarsan's definitely going to die, huh? He doesn't strike me as the surrendering type. He's leader of the Sangal fleet; Sangal falls to the Talsh; ergo, Tarsan must be dead by the time Blue Road rolls around. I know Saluna is alive because she's the one who warns Chagum about the trap. I'm sure Karnan is still alive, safe in the palace. But Tarsan... RIP, kid. :/
I suppose Shuga's having that "my little boy's all grown up" moment that parents have in movies all the time. And there is loads of foreshadowing in that last scene. Ah, Chagum, poor boy, you're going to be leading scads of men to their death before this is all over. :\ But I think the future he's envisioning will happen. Shuga will be a much better Holy Sage than Hibi Tonan - just as shrewd, but with a human side too. Come to think of it, there's a little bit of a leitmotif going on in the palace here: the cold, calculating, tradionalist older generation (Hibi Tonan, Mon, the Mikado, and actually Tafmur too even though he's in a different country... and by the same token, Karina) and the warm, open-minded, somewhat reformist younger generation (Shuga, Jin, Chagum, Tarsan, Saluna). I would not be surprised if we see the same theme repeated elsewhere - in the army leadership, perhaps, or in one of the other countries. Yosam and Ihan might be another example, IDK. I don't think the Kanbal folks follow the mode exactly - Kahm might be different from Kaguro, but he strikes me as a different breed than the aforementioned younger folks. And Radalle is not Rogsam, of course, but he's also no reformist. XD
Anyhow, I'm very excited to continue the series. Bravo! Well translated! Applause from everyone!
I think Tarsan would be overjoyed if he got to pick Surina to marry, but (as we've seen) that's not how royal marriages work. I don't actually remember if Tarsan dies or not (I know, I'm awful) but I think I'd remember if he died on-camera...and the Talsh only kill when they can't help it, so I want to say that Tarsan is alive and imprisoned (Saluna doesn't mention it in her letter; I just read it over again just to be sure). Saluna implies that the status of the royal family protects them in some way in her letter...so I'm choosing to be hopeful, for the moment.
DeleteSome cultures are definitely more hidebound and stubborn, Kanbal being the prime example. (The Rota and Kanbal cultures and even language are quite similar; this detail was glossed over in the drama but it's quite important in the books). But one of Chagum's beliefs is that anyone is capable of change (water is a very mutable sign), and it definitely rubs off on people, even stubborn people. He is not going to enjoy being a general, at all, but he is going to be good at it. (It's a curse XD) What I do find heartbreaking is that he's only allowed to show himself to people as he is after he's been disfigured...there's symbolist power in that, but it seems unfair. Chagum doesn't mind it too badly (Chagum's always pretty comfortable with who he is) but the Mikado cares about physiognomy as well as spiritual purity, apparently. (It is fun for Chagum to make the Mikado squirm while looking at him IIRC.)
Shuga is a man of two minds, with one foot in the far past of tradition and one foot set along the path of reform in the future. He's had a very thorough traditional education, from a very young age, and sometimes the conditioning from that comes back to shoot him in the foot. He's very two-steps-forward, one-step-back as a character, but like all the other good guys, he gets where he needs to go...and eventually (as you know) he has to figure out what to do with himself when Chagum leaves him behind. How do you continue to serve/honor the wishes of someone that might be dead? There are back-to-back conversations with Torogai and Hibi Tonan in Traveler of the Blue Road that make Shuga's priorities pretty clear.
I'm glad you enjoyed this one! I did, too (even more than I thought I would). I agree with Uehashi's assessment of this novel as broadening and adding a rich sense of realism to the world. More than the other books, it's also a character-driven plot; things don't just passively happen to anyone in this plot (even Eshana has choices). "Guardian of the God" is also really character-driven, and the choices Balsa makes completely changes Rota, in the end.
I'm about 3 chapters in to "Guardian of the God," and I've pulled the images and posted the map, so hopefully this next one will be a smooth ride. :)
You make another very good point about Chagum being water-like. He can be both gentle and forceful, like water, and adaptive to various obstacles, including ones you'd think he wouldn't be able to get past. But, like water, he always manages to flow through. XD Somehow I'm not surprised the Mikado is one to be all "ew, you have a scar, ew, you're ugly and gross now, get out of my sight". (It makes me think of that scene in the first season of the drama where Jin shows up with his arm missing and the Mikado is all OH EM GEE DID YOU *ACTUALLY* JUST *BLEED* ON MY FLOOR YOU HORRIBLE EXCUSE FOR A PERSON, NOW THE WHOLE ROOM HAS TO BE REDONE GAWD. (I'm paraphrasing here.) Basically the Mikado is, as we've established, the worst.
DeleteI remembered just now I was going to reply somewhere else that I feel bad for any woman who ended up marrying the Mikado (and you know those marriages were arranged when they were tiny children - at least, according to my manga they were). Can't imagine he'd be much of a husband even if he didn't have three wives dividing his time. Maybe his element is stone: totally unbending, totally unfeeling, and totally set in its ways. And crushes anything that gets in its way. >[
Chagum reminds me a bit of a character on Xena: Warrior Princess that I loved (Lao Ma): "Nothing is as soft as water. Yet who can withstand the raging flood?"
ReplyDeleteTraveler of the Blue Road establishes a lot of things about the palace culture of New Yogo, and Chagum's relationship with the Mikado in particular. (Your manga doesn't contradict any of it, as far as I can tell.) The Mikado is certainly disgustingly ableist and his ability to just...flagrantly ignore or actively hate anything not pure or perfect has got to be conditioning; I don't see any other way a person could just ignore basic feelings of compassion for seeing someone else hurt.
Chagum's mother also resurfaces in Traveler of the Blue Road, though her role isn't as large as I'd like...she does continue to display a sort of craftiness and quick insight into complex situations, and moves fast to protect her and Chagum from them as much as possible. (Chagum gets his gift for political strategizing from his mother. *nods*) The Third Queen and Tugum also get some screen time, finally, though of course that whole situation is strained. I would not want to live in the Kosenkyo imperial palace. Hard pass on that. Hunter's Hole is much more comfortable.
I wish they'd give us the first names of Chagum's mother and the third queen. Riano's is the only one we get, as far as I can tell. But then, we don't get Riano's house, and we do get Chagum's mother's (Harusuan) and the third queen's, in my manga (Yuguraku), if one considers that canon. So part of a name for each other but not a full name for any. Or the Mikado's name, for that matter! HMMPH. (Though tbh I expect the Mikado would flip if anyone called him by an actual name. Like... how DARE they, right? *eyeroll*)
ReplyDeleteOn another mildly-related tangent, I remember Xena and Hercules being on TV all the time, but I haven't seen hide nor hair of each of them since, like, the 90s. I never did watch them while they were on. Some streaming service should offer them. XD
In conclusion, I wonder what would happen if a Mikado had a disabled child. Would they kill it? Abandon it in an alley somewhere? Put it anonymously in an orphanage? Raise it in a hidden corner of the palace like Quasimodo or something? Tell everyone the queen miscarried? But even that might be a blight on the Emperor's reputation....
My best friend has often complained of the non-nameness of Japanese. I an confirm that that's a feature, not a bug...the only people who would know the second queen's first name would be peers from childhood; otherwise she'd always be known by her title. Ditto the Mikado and the other wives. So you can think of their titles as their names, as that's how they're used (and is probably what 99% of people call them). Chagum has a half-sister that is named in Traveler of the Blue Road IIRC (because she gets a scene where knowing her name is important), and Tugum, Sagum, and Chagum are named, but that's mainly because they're in the in-between stage between being a child and holding a title. I also think their names are also ceremonial and not personally/freely chosen, much like the Hunters' titles. It's possible that every first son was named Sagum, then Chagum, then Tugum etc.
ReplyDelete"Xena" is in Netflix from time to time, and on Amazon Prime. I'm not sure about Herc as it's the weaker show, and I caved and bought DVDs ages ago anyway. If you're gonna watch one, "Xena" is better in pretty much every way, though "Hercules" borrows some of the best characters from "Xena" (Ares and Callisto) and does some very wonderful things with them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxfJnX0SFWM&feature=emb_logo
Japanese folklore is full of Moses-type narratives about unwanted or disfigured children being abandoned (cf. "Dororo"). They often die of exposure and become demons or ghosts that haunt their parents. "Dororo" is a bit different in letting the abandoned child live; things don't usually happen that way, except in shounen anime. "Dororo" was the very first shounen anime and I see its fingerprints all over everything now. Whenever there's a story where a main character was abandoned or rejected and comes back to prove their worth and/or enact revenge, it's borrowing all of "Dororo's" story beats.
It's probably just my Western perspective, but I want to have, for instance, Tosa refer to his daughter by name, to emphasize their close familial bond. And as a reader/writer, having a name makes me feel like I know the character better. "The Second Queen" is much harder for me to relate to than "Michiko" or whatever her name might be, and "The Mikado" is aloof and unapproachable, while "Jimmy" (YOU DON'T KNOW HE ISN'T NAMED JIMMY) seems automatically more human. Of course, in the Mikado's case that fits with his characterization. But the thought that Chagum might not know his own mother's name is discomfiting to my touchy-feely American sensibilities.
ReplyDeleteSee, now that's the kind of camp I can get behind. XDDDDDDDDd
I had no idea that Dororo was the first shounen! Tezuka is like... even more influential and seminal than I thought. (Though TBH if someone had asked me what was the first shounen anime, I might have guessed Astro Boy, come to think of it...)
Astro Boy vs. Dororo gets tricky as to which was first.
DeleteAstro Boy was the first shounen anime (with heavy mecha elements; its genre isn't pure) to be broadcast in Japan. Dororo was the first to be broadcast around the world (and its genre isn't pure, either, but it pretty much invented whole cloth the genre that encompasses stuff like Bleach, Naruto and Rurouni Kenshin). The manga existed at the same time (parts of Dororo were obviously written first), but Astro Boy was published first. (They also share shockingly many plot points, especially at the start, but Astro Boy stayed pretty light and child-friendly despite some early traumatizing scenes; Dororo leaped off the deep end of trauma until Tezuka lost control of its darkness and abandoned it for Black Jack.)
For Japanese people, using first names is very informal and is really only done with people you live with, and even then the rules for royal and famous people have always been different. (I corresponded with my pen pal for over a year before we dropped the -san, and modern standards are way more relaxed.) Tosa referring to his daughter by her first name in that palace probably wouldn't be safe. There are ears everywhere, and she outranks him (though not by much). In the current timeline of the series, the only ones that would be allowed to call her by her first name would be the Mikado and the other wives.
I briefly imagined the Mikado being named Jimmy. XD
There's a story by my old standby Ryuunosuke called "Loyalty" where a retainer that helped raise a lord in childhood calls him by a pet name based on his first name in his head but always uses his title. So the older you get, the more titled you become.