Traveler of the Void - Part 1 Chapter 5 - The Eyes of the Nayugul Raita

 Traveler of the Void

(Book 4 of the Guardian of the Spirit Series)

Author: Uehashi Nahoko

Translator: Ainikki the Archivist

 

Part 1 - City on the Sea

Chapter 5 - The Eyes of the Nayugul Raita

 Chagum was welcomed with a feast after his long journey. He always loved trying foreign foods. The specially prepared dishes fried in unfamiliar oils and flavored with exotic spices made his nose twitch. After spending three days in Sangal, he became accustomed to the new tastes and smells and considered everything delicious.

 Women of Sangal's royal court sat around him during meals, treating him with refined manners and graceful service. He was a bit embarrassed by this practice, but apparently it was a Sangalese custom for these women to seat and entertain guests that wished to discuss politics or affairs of state. Listening to them talk, it seemed to Chagum that the royal family agreed about most things, though they had their fine points of disagreement.

 Shuga found it hard to relax with both him and Chagum being physically boxed in by all these women. Sometimes when he caught Chagum's eye, he got the sense that Chagum was secretly laughing at him.

 To Chagum, simply listening to the situations and experiences of people from places he'd never been was fascinating. Clothing and appearance varied as much as the guests' experiences of life did. The shape and face of every foreign dignitary was completely unique. Chagum became obsessed with understanding all of it.

 He had a particular interest in the King of Kanbal, who was usually seated on the opposite end of the banquet hall. He was the King of Balsa's homeland. He seemed weaker than Chagum had imagined, but his features did remind Chagum a bit of Balsa. This was the son of the king that had turned Balsa's life upside down. When Chagum realized that, he wasn't entirely sure what to feel.

 After a while, servers removed the meat and fish dishes from the tables and replaced them with wine and fruit. Guests stirred in their seats and exclaimed in admiration when they saw the fruit: it was brightly colored, ripe, and two or three times as large as any fruit that grew on the northern continent. Chagum took a bite of a huge red peach and was amazed at its overwhelming sweetness.

 "Sangal is certainly a wealthy country," Chagum said.

 Saluna, seated at his side, smiled at this declaration. "Wealthy in some ways, but not in others. We royal women of Sangal visit every island in the kingdom, and while many are rich, some are small and impoverished, lacking even the absolute basics for for day-to-day survival."

 Chagum turned his head toward her. Shuga, remembering the small fishing village where he'd grown up, asked without thinking: "Basic things like water?"

 Saluna's eyes widened a fraction. "Just so. You understand us well. Most people would have guessed grain, or rice." She paused. "We are surrounded by water, yet the main resource we lack is sufficient clean drinking water. There are islands with clear clean springs, but these are not enough to provide for all our needs. That is why we collect and and make use of rainwater."

 "Really? We do the same thing on the small islands off the coast of New Yogo," Shuga said.

 After the fruit and wine had been served, many of the guests changed seats to visit friends and acquaintances at other tables. Chagum, who was still speaking to Shuga and Saluna, saw a shadow pass over Saluna's face. He looked over his shoulder and saw Prince Tarsan standing there, holding a wine jug.

 Because of what had happened on the first night of the ceremonies, Tarsan had been ordered to repent and reflect on his errors in private, so he had not attended any gatherings for the past two days. Now, though, he was here.

 Chagum wondered anxiously about what Tarsan must think of him, since he was responsible (intentionally or not) for Tarsan's punishment. But Tarsan's expression was free of any darkness or ill intent.

 "Please pardon my behavior at the Martial Arts Demonstration Ceremony," he said a little forcefully while pouring white wine into Chagum's glass.

 "...Thank you. But please don’t apologize. There's no need," Chagum said. He picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and choked a little. It was the first time he'd drunk such a bitter wine. Hiding his embarrassment, he worked on imitating the behavior of the adults around him. He accepted the wine jug from Tarsan and poured Tarsan a glass of the same wine. When he finished pouring, he got the sense that he had just done something very adult and grown-up, and felt as if he'd crossed some invisible line. The idea depressed him.

 Tarsan downed his entire glass in one gulp and showed no signs of choking.

 "Prince Tarsan," Chagum said, "do you always drink such strong wine?"

 Seeing an expression like admiration on Chagum's face, Tarsan's mood visibly improved. "This isn't strong, not for us. Something like saccharon—that's distilled liquor—is hot enough to burn all the way down. The second I drink it I feel like my head's on fire." He paused. "Sangalese men love alcohol. I've been drinking since I was very young."

 "Oh?"

 "If you're on board ship and you're drinking, it's hard to tell if you're seasick or just drunk."

 Chagum laughed. "But can you keep your balance well aboard ship if you're drunk?"

 Tarsan's lips twitched upward. "I'm used to being drunk on board ship, you see. I feel like I wobble more when I'm on land and sober."

 "So that's why when they're back on land, men drink to feel like they're at sea?" Saluna asked with a touch of sarcasm. Tarsan moved to pour more wine into Chagum's glass, but Saluna stopped his hand with her own. This was her signal to cease pouring before something terrible happened, like Chagum getting drunk and sick and Tarsan getting drunk and violent. Tarsan sat across from Chagum and changed the topic of conversation.

 "Your Majesty, what kind of martial arts do you practice? Are they unique to New Yogo?"

 Chagum's smile was difficult to interpret. Chagum could feel Shuga's concerned eyes on him from his place at the table. Looking between Chagum and Tarsan, Shuga realized that they had more in common than seemed apparent at first glance. If Chagum sincerely disliked Tarsan, he would have no trouble putting up and maintaining his mask of the saintly and untouchable imperial being. Shuga knew that Chagum only showed his true self to people he got along with. He was still concerned, though, about Chagum forgetting his image a little too much.

 "Well... I really only know a little of one technique, called chiki."

 "Oh?" Saluna asked. Both Chagum and Tarsan looked at her in surprise.

 "Are you familiar with chiki, sister?" Tarsan asked.

 "Only the name. I've heard it is a Kanbal art." Saluna looked at Chagum with an expression of interest. "Is it really real? We have heard of your great exploits in Sangal, of course—about you saving a water spirit and preventing a drought. But the details of your adventures, and what is true and just tales, I cannot tell..."

 Seeing her floundering for words, Chagum threw her a lifeline. "I imagine it must all sound like an over-embellished fairy tale."

 Saluna blushed a little. "As you say. I'm sorry. Until today, I had not even considered that a practitioner of an ancient Kanbal combat art would visit our kingdom, to say nothing of your role in stories surrounding the water spirit. I've heard many tales and legends of my own people that seem as unlikely as what I've heard of your story, but what I have heard is also far more detailed than our legends. It is sung that you were saved by a woman from Kanbal, a great warrior and martial artist."

 Chagum's heart beat faster.

 "A song?" Chagum asked. "What happened to me is...a song?"

 "Yes. It is in Yogoese, of course. A singer with a beautiful voice came to the capital once to sing it."

 Chagum couldn't prevent his face from reddening. He was fairly sure he knew who the singer must have been. He was a man with a destiny even more mysterious than Chagum's. Having met him once, Chagum believed that the man only sang of frivolous matters, but it seemed that he'd made a song about Chagum and Balsa—and had traveled to other countries to sing it. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. For Yugno to treat his life so casually—!

 "You probably shouldn't believe that song," Chagum said. "The singer must have made it all sound like a grand adventure—wind on rough seas, persevering to the end, and all that."

 "I'm more interested in the truth than the song."

 Chagum looked into Saluna's hopeful eyes and felt a part of himself retreat. Whenever he discussed state matters or politics, he always stilled himself to a state of unflappable composure. He felt himself snapping into this state now. His experiences with the water spirit and Balsa were deeply personal, but Saluna had asked him in good faith, so he began to tell his story in the same way that he might narrate a legend from a foreign country: simply, and unemotionally.

 Chagum told the story of a spirit from another world that granted this world the blessing of rain. He explained that this spirit laid eggs, and that those eggs were pursued and devoured by monsters—all except for the one he'd carried. He told the story of the guardian of the spirit.

 Tarsan and Saluna listened eagerly, leaning in toward him as he spoke. Chagum used great care to excise the parts of the story where his father had sent assassins after him. He twisted some facts around other personal circumstances as well. The result, from his point of view, was an utterly dispassionate rendering of what had happened to him.

 "I was causing so many problems for everyone because of the egg, but I couldn't think of anything to do to fix things except run away. On my own, I couldn't run very far. I was only eleven, and I'd never left the palace before. The person that found me and rescued me against all odds was the person you mentioned, Saluna—the female bodyguard from Kanbal named Balsa."

 Tarsan looked at him in disbelief. "A female bodyguard?"

 Chagum's eyes shone with delight. "Prince Tarsan, if you ever have the opportunity to see Balsa fight, I'm sure it would leave a lasting impression. There are many fine warriors in New Yogo, but I've never seen a better one than her."

 Prince Tarsan grunted as he remembered the incident that resulted in his hidden blow being deflected by the comparatively tiny Chagum. "So this Balsa taught you chiki, right?"

 "Yes. Mainly for protection, though I only grasped the basic principles of the technique from her—she knew many others. Balsa is an incredibly strong warrior. To see her with a spear is a sight to behold. Many people know her as Balsa, the short spear wielder." 

 Chagum's expression lightened considerably after his uncomfortable narration. Saluna and Tarsan looked like they were having fun as well. They completely forgot about the wine in front of them and became engrossed in the conversation.

 But suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by the loud chime of a bell. The guests relaxing at the feast wondered aloud to one another about the disturbance. All eyes turned toward the King of Sangal.

 The King of Sangal stood up. "Everyone, I am sorry if this interruption has troubled you. I shall explain the meaning behind the chiming of the bell."

 Every conversation in the room ceased as people leaned forward in their seats to hear what the King had to say.

 "That bell rings whenever a certain personage has been sighted arriving in the harbor. In our land, there is a legend passed down from ancient times about the Nayugul Raita." In a voice that carried, he told the assembled guests about the water-dwelling Nayugul Raita. These sea-dwelling creatures supposedly lived at the bottom of the ocean in another world. One of them would occasionally take possession of a young girl using some kind of magic. "The personage that has just arrived is one such girl. She is possessed by a Nayugul Raita."

 The guests and foreign dignitaries all began talking at once.

 "I know this may cause discomfort and concern for many of you," the King of Sangal went on, "but in Sangal this girl is considered to be a messenger of the goddess of the sea. She may appear to be a filthy fisherman's daughter, and having to welcome her among you grieves me to the heart, but you must understand that she must be treated with the highest respect. I beg you humbly to cooperate in this matter."

 Chagum's eyes fixed on Shuga. Shuga stared back. Without words, they understood one another: Nayugul? An ocean in another world?

 Chagum had only just spoken of something similar to Saluna and Tarsan. He was familiar with spirits and creatures belonging to another world, having hosted one himself. The indigenous people of New Yogo, the Yakoo, called the other world Nayugu.

 Shuga's heart pounded loud in his ears. He'd dedicated his life to the study of Tendo, the magic by which Star Readers interpreted the heavens. In the Star Palace, he read omens and signs to help guide New Yogo in the right direction. The people of New Yogo had originally fled from the southern continent. They'd founded a new nation on the northern continent, displacing many of the Yakoo that lived there. The Yakoo already possessed their own kind of magic, so they generally considered Tendo as something of a foolish notion. Consequently, they ignored it completely, along with the Star Readers that practiced it—with a few rare exceptions.

 When Chagum had gotten mixed up in the matter of the water spirit from Nayugu, Shuga had met Torogai, the great Yakoo magic weaver...and had been irresistibly drawn to Yakoo magic. He now met with Torogai in secret. In exchange for him teaching her Tendo, she taught him the magic of the Yakoo people. If this exchange was ever discovered, the repercussions would be severe. It was a dangerous correspondence that they shared, but Shuga valued gaining a greater understanding of the world more than he feared any danger. It was probably the scholar in him. He thought Chagum shared much the same quality, to an extent.

 I should be more careful, Shuga thought. Chagum had gotten involved in the matter of Torogai, too, although he hadn't wanted him to. He had let slip his dealings with Torogai to Chagum, but now he wished he'd restrained himself better.

 "The Eyes of the Nayugul Raita is a girl from Kalsh, isn't it, sister?" Prince Tarsan asked in a troubled tone. "Do you know who it is?"

 There was an internal struggle in progress: Saluna didn’t want to answer her brother’s question.

 Tarsan's face clouded over. "You know. I'm sure of it. Who is it?"

 "Tarsan, the Eyes of the Nayugul Raita is no longer a person. Who they were before is what you must be asking."

 Tarsan fell silent. He interpreted his sister's curt discomfort as her way of not losing her composure in front of their guests. She was communicating using her expression alone that the Eyes of the Nayugul Raita was a girl he knew well.

 But who? Who was this girl that would be feasted and feted before being thrown to her death in the sea?

 In a soft voice, Chagum said, "Please forgive a foreigner's ignorance. I have a question, but I do not know if it would be appropriate to ask it." He paused.

 Tarsan looked at Chagum. "Ask."

 "Well," Chagum began, "His Majesty just told us all that the Eyes of the Nayugul Raita has come to be celebrated and hosted and respected, and...I'm not sure why that would make everyone so upset," Chagum said. "Everyone seems so nervous. Why is that?"

 Saluna sighed. "Forgive us. The timing for the announcement was poor, with us all in the middle of a party. And we are unused to disciplining our emotions before guests," Saluna said with an apologetic smile. "What I have to say may be somewhat disturbing, but I will try to explain as best I can."

 Saluna adopted a detached tone and told Chagum the particulars of the legends surrounding the Eyes of the Nayugul Raita. She explained why the girl would be celebrated and revered before being cast to her death.

 Chagum donned his own polite mask, hiding behind it so that he would not display his own agitation. Controlling himself was difficult. This girl had been dragged into a fate that could not be changed, and the result of it was that she would be killed. She reminded him far too much of himself.

 "That's..." Chagum tried to calm himself. down. "Is there no way for the girl to be saved? Must she be thrown in the ocean?" He searched for signs of hope on Saluna and Tarsan's faces.

 Saluna's shoulders collapsed inwards. "If the girl's soul returns to her body before the night of the final ritual, she will not be killed. If her soul returns and that of the Nayugul Raita departs, there is no reason to cast her into the sea. I do remember one time in our history when a girl was spared this way."

 "Then I hope her soul returns," Chagum said.

 Tarsan's sunburned face reddened slightly. "She must be one of the girls I was raised with on Kalsh. She must be."

 Chagum saw true solicitousness and concern in Tarsan's eyes. That surprised him a little. Tarsan was supposedly a prince of high rank, but apparently he'd been raised outside the palace among the children of common fishermen. More than that, he knew and cared about those people enough to genuinely worry about this girl. Chagum felt a strange kinship between them form. They both had strong emotional ties to the common people of their lands.

  The sound of a Sangal shell flute called a shaguram echoed throughout the hall.

 The guests saw the shadow of a small figure surrounded by soldiers enter the hall. Whispers of unease passed from guest to guest. The girl's clothes were beautiful, but her head was entirely covered by white cloth. All that could be seen of her face were the outlines of her nose and mouth.

 "Eyes of the Nayugul Raita, welcome to the royal palace! Please, come in and be welcome among us." At the King of Sangal's booming proclamation, two of the soldiers surrounding the girl seized her hands and guided her through the hall.

 She walked like a soulless doll. Tarsan stared fixedly at her as she passed by the tables and gasped when he noticed a crude ring wrapped around one of her fingers, formed of polished shell. He'd made it himself and given it to Eshana as a toy after one of his deep water fishing expeditions on Kalsh.

 Eshana! Is it her? He glanced at his sister. She nodded sadly.

 Chagum didn't notice the exchange between Saluna and Tarsan at all. The moment he looked at the girl, a sharp, cold pain spread out from his forehead to the rest of his body. He clenched his fists. As she passed near him, a familiar smell reached him: one he had never forgotten. It was the same smell the water spirit had given off when it had possessed his body—the smell of the water of Nayugu.

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