Traveler of the Void Part 3 Chapter 3 - The Banquet

  Traveler of the Void

(Book 4 of the Guardian of the Spirit Series)

Author: Uehashi Nahoko

Translator: Ainikki the Archivist

 

Part 3 - The Night of the Ceremony

Chapter 3 - The Banquet

 

The sun set over the ocean, streaming red and purple light through the clouds. Excited guests hurried to the banquet in the light of the setting sun. While the dignitaries from many foreign nations said their farewells before their departure the next morning, four of Prince Karnan's servants carried him into the banquet hall on a litter, causing a stir among the guests. Prince Karnan's face was very pale, but his eyes were alert, and when guests asked after his health, he reassured them with a solid wave of his left hand.

Decorations done in the style of flowers and vines hung from the hall's window frames, casting their shifting shadows along the walls. The chalk-white walls were patterned with designs painted in gold. The sweet scent of hanoral flowers, which bloomed at sunset, hung heavily in the air.

Karina took her seat casually, placing herself so that she was surrounded by the monarchs of New Yogo, Rota, and Kanbal, to make herself easy to defend in case the worst should happen. Their seats faced the wall, so they couldn't be easily attacked from behind. Karina had also prepared one additional protective measure, but Chagum prayed that she wouldn't have to use it. He'd never seen anyone die before.

The Eyes of the Nayugul Raita was also seated in the banquet hall. This was the last time she would receive the King's hospitality. The servants and priestesses that had been entrusted with her care gently worked her mouth open to pour in small quantities of fruit juice. It was strange to watch. It was the first time the assembled guests had seen her consume anything at a feast, and the special attention caused people to look more closely at the child, who had become utterly emaciated.

    The magic weaver's soul was still concealed within her. When Chagum realized this, he felt as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over him; goosebumps rose all over his entire body. In order to prevent the magic weaver from suspecting his thoughts, he avoided the gaze of the Eyes of the Nayugul Raita.

    The sun completely set. As the light streaming in from the windows dimmed, the sound of a shaguram flute echoed through the hall. A singer entered through the banquet hall's great doors. She was completely naked save for the connected patterns of tattoos decorating her skin. She was accompanied by a troupe of dancers, and together they approached the banquet hall's stage.

    Chagum smiled and clapped politely while holding his wine glass, but his heart was heavy. He knew that the defenses he'd organized were solid. He'd done everything he could. But there was one life he couldn't save with all his preparations: Eshana's.

    “Shuga,” Chagum whispered. “I know you practice Tendo...”

    Shuga looked at Chagum, puzzled.

    “Can you feel it when Nayugu and our world are touching? Feel it physically?”

    Shuga blinked. “ Yes. Like an ocean current, I can feel when Nayugu is close—that's a strong current—or far away, which would be like a weaker one. For me, it feels like rising to a great height and looking down on my own littleness. When I'm in that state, the pressures of government and the sacrifices I've made to advance myself all seem like petty and foolish things. ”

    He smiled bitterly and looked at Chagum. “ But I don't often have the time to indulge such feelings. I live in our world, which is full of the struggles of human beings. I do not walk the path of the Holy Sage; I'm just an ordinary Star Reader. Perhaps if I'd walked a different path, I would have no time at all to contemplate the perspective from the sky. ”

    Chagum covertly looked out the window while listening to Shuga's reply.

    “But why would you ask me something like that?”

    Chagum returned his gaze to Shuga. “ I was just thinking that people are so strange. I'm largely indifferent to the world, even though it's all around me. That's what I think, anyway, but it's hard to express...”

    Chagum scanned the faces of the guests in the hall. “ Relationships between people, negotiations between countries...most countries seem most interested in what will make themselves rich, but there are some countries that provide assistance to others as well. I think the latter have the power to change the world. ”

    Chagum's eyes shone brightly. “ I protected and hatched the egg of a water spirit from Nayugu that brought forth the blessings of clouds and rain. But when this role was thrust upon me, my father and the Holy Sage secretly tried to kill me. They saw nothing but the human world of Sagu. They were not able to grasp the meaning or significance of the spirit, which was from a different world than theirs. They didn't even think about me or my life. ”

    Chagum stared at Shuga. “ You told me to live for my country. That living for New Yogo was more important than anything. And I know that's something that I have to do. But I'm wondering, Shuga...is that even true? ”

    Shuga felt the pressure of Chagum's gaze upon him, but he did not give him an answer.

    “ I was only eleven years old. If I'd been killed then, I wouldn't be here now. If there hadn't been people who  cared enough to protect my tiny, solitary life over everything—over protecting the country, over money, over themselves—I wouldn't be here. ”

    “Your Majesty...”

    Shuga's words were interrupted by the tolling of a bell from above. The sound resounded from a bell tower, once, twice...echoes lingered in the hall, reverberating in the night air. This was the bell that announced moonrise in the palace. The performers in the hall ceased their playing and dancing. Silence fell over the hall.

    The King of Sangal rose languidly from his seat and said in a sonorous voice, “ The moon has risen. The time has come for the Eyes of the Nayugul Raita to return home. Honored guests, please feel free to enjoy the feast and its entertainments. Those of the royal family, our Island Guardians, and their guards and retainers must depart for Hosorou cape for the Soul Return Ceremony. ”

    The Eyes of the Nayugul Raita stood with help from her attendants. The King's household and the Island Guardians surrounded the young girl and departed from the hall.

    After a short time, the guests heard a strange sound from the window. It was like the cry of a bird, but long-held; the sound changed pitch from low to high, then faded, then sounded out once more.

    Seeing the confusion on the guests' faces, one of the King's servants said, “ That is the Song of Grief. It is a grievous thing for the Eyes of the Nayugul Raita to leave us.”

    Some of the guests, curious about the song, stood up and gathered around the window along the western wall, where it could be heard clearly.

    After whispering to Karnan's guards not relax their vigilance, Chagum faced the window as well. The night air carried the faint tang of the sea. Salt stung Chagum's eyes. In the enveloping dark, a flickering light was visible in the courtyard gardens. The King's procession passed through the palace gate in a long line. Those that led the procession carried strange lamps aloft. These lamps shone brightly for a few moments, then smoked and fizzled and went out before being replaced with another bright light.

    “That is susuki fire,” one of the King's servants said softly. “ It burns swiftly and brightly, and then fades, representing the sad and sudden passing of human life. Before they arrive at Hosorou cape, a thousand susuki fires will have burned out.”

    The guests sank into a melancholy mood as they contemplated the short-lived flames.

    “Is Hosorou cape far from here?” Chagum asked.

    “Hosorou cape connects to the very edge of the palace grounds. It would take perhaps twenty minutes to walk there from here.”

    The procession passed behind the shadow of a building and was no longer visible. The guests returned to their seats, including Chagum. He couldn’ t get the image of the susuki fires out of his head. That procession was winding its way toward Hosorou cape in the darkness. The leaders of the procession carried flames that continually flared up and burned out. He couldn't ignore the symbolism there; the grief he felt for Eshana overwhelmed him. He closed his eyes.

    He felt like was about to cry and passed his left hand over his face to conceal it. He heard a faint rustling sound coming from his sleeve. Something was lodged inside it. It was a wedge of folded paper, packed tight with Sangalese writing. Chagum stealthily removed the paper from his sleeve and hid it in his lap, where he unfolded it and began to read.

    As he read, his heart beat faster; he could hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears. Tarsan, what have you done?

    The scribbly handwriting was Tarsan's. He must have written this letter while he was concealed in Chagum's closet, then slipped it into Chagum's sleeve before he left for the banquet. He'd probably done it last night, when Saluna had taken a bath and left Tarsan alone.

 

Crown Prince Chagum,

Please forgive me for choosing a course of action that will not allow me to repay your generosity in saving my life. I can't let my soldiers be killed. They were raised with me on the sea. They are my brothers. They have no bond of loyalty to Adol, or to my sister Karina. Whenever I think of their faces, I can't bring myself to let them die without at least trying to help—even if their deaths would expose the Talsh plot for all to see. My uncle Yunan, High General of Sangal, often said to me: “ A king defends his nation from the rear guard. It is generals that ride at the head of the army, leading all the soldiers. Soldiers risk their lives so that the life of the king may be saved. Soldiers will only follow you if you are prepared to die to protect them. ” 

    My soldiers' lives are in danger, Your Majesty. I can't hide behind you and watch them die. Forgive me. I entrust my sister Saluna to your care.

 

Chagum passed the letter to Shuga, who read it with a mortified expression. “Do you think we have time to stop him?” Shuga asked.

Chagum shook his head. “Impossible. We can't leave now, and we can't make ourselves conspicuous.”

He completely understood how Tarsan felt, but he also thought his actions were alarmingly reckless—immature, as Princess Karina might say. If he was only risking his own life, that would be one thing, but he seemed not to realize how many other people he'd endanger with his rash behavior. It was likely that he'd gone against Saluna's wishes, too, and Chagum couldn't forgive him for that.

 

 

While Chagum was getting upset on Saluna's behalf, Saluna was assisting with Tarsan's escape. She'd known in advance what he would do, and she hadn't stopped him. When she'd realized that his desire to save his soldiers was stubbornly ingrained and would not shift, a plan to support his had occurred to her as well. It was an odd example of symbiotic synergy, as if her plan and his had been designed to work together to support one another.

Even if Karina's plans went well tonight, Saluna and Tarsan had no immediate prospects. But if Saluna's plan worked, the two of them might be able to live freely again instead of fleeing and hiding in the shadows. Saluna chose to bet on her brother.

When she'd told him her plan, his eyes had lit up in admiration, and he'd sworn to her that he'd make the plan succeed. After seeing him off, Saluna knelt down on the floor in the light of the setting sun and prayed.

Mother of the sea, protect our small ship from stormy seas, and make us a safe path through the waves. I beg you.

 

 

After the King and his procession left to travel to the site of the Soul Return Ceremony, the banquet revelers picked up where they left off. The first group of singers and dancers to enter the hall were replaced by a fresh troupe of entertainers. The dancers were as lithe and supple as whips and capable of great feats of acrobatics. They soared through the air, tumbling and flipping from their hands to their feet before rising through the air again as if in flight.

From the edges of the hall to its center, fifteen men danced in unison, often crossing by one another in midair. Surrounding and complementing the male dancers were an equal number of beautiful female dancers.

The thirty dancers used their entire bodies and all the available space in the hall to whirl around the banquet's guests in a stunning display. The dancers wore bells around their wrists and ankles that glittered and tinkled as they moved, creating a cheerful song to encourage Prince Karnan's renewed health. The singers matched their song perfectly to the rhythm of the tinkling bells.

    The assembled guests broke out in loud and prolonged applause. They seemed to completely forget about the King's solemn procession with the Eyes of the Nayugul Raita, so lost were they in the lavish richness of the performance.

    Then the bell in the watchtower tolled again, signaling that the Eyes of the Nayugul Raita had arrived at the edge of Hosorou cape. The Soul Return Ceremony was about to begin.

    Sitting in the seat nearest Prince Karnan, the first of the King of Kanbal's Spears, Kahm Musa, suddenly felt uneasy. This premonition of coming trouble was a well-trained bodyguard's trait.

    Without showing even the slightest hint of exhaustion, the movements of the dancers in the hall became rougher and less coordinated. The bells jangled. Kahm saw one of the men face Prince Karnan before leaping into the air with one hand extended. He left his seat and stretched his own arm out over Prince Karnan's litter to protect it.

    Something glinted in the dancer's extended hand. The dancer flicked it and sent it flying in a straight line right at Karnan.

    Kahm grabbed his short spear from its hiding place beneath Prince Karnan's litter and waved it aloft. There was a high keening sound of metal striking metal. Something small struck the ceiling and fell to the ground.

    At the same moment, all thirty dancers—the men as well as the women—pulled out daggers concealed beneath their belts. They adjusted their grips on their weapons and threw them at Prince Karnan at the same time.

    “Assassins!”  Kahm called out. His declaration was echoed in the same breath by warriors of Rota, Kanbal, and New Yogo. The mats beneath their seats concealed shields and weapons, which the warriors took up before running toward Prince Karnan and forming a solid wall of protection around him.

    Two warriors from Rota took daggers to the throat and chest and fell dead to the floor. A warrior from New Yogo was injured in the side and collapsed.

    The door to the banquet hall slammed open, revealing Karnan's personal guards. They entered the banquet hall and stood before the King of Sangal's terrified retainers and the foreign guests with their swords raised, blocking any possible retreat for the assassins.

    It was all over in a few moments. The assassins gathered in the center of the hall and gave themselves up.

    The banquet hall lapsed into sudden silence. Prince Karnan sat up and said in a surprisingly robust tone of voice, “Throw these people out. ”

    The assassins' expressions became ones of wild desperation. They had failed to kill Crown Prince Karnan, so now there was nothing they could do except wait for death. A muffled cry of despair echoed in the hall. Then the assassins produced more daggers from beneath the decorations covering their chests and attacked the men blocking the exit of the hall.

    Screams came from every direction as weapons clashed together, shooting sparks. Blood sprayed everywhere until the air was thick with the stench of it. Some of the assassins managed to break through the line of defenders at the door and escape, but most were cut down where they stood.

    The guards and the allies of Prince Karnan also suffered casualties. Many brave soldiers of Sangal were stretched out on the floor, groaning as they bled to death. Some had died instantly from their wounds.

    Chagum looked around the room, trying to process the situation. It didn't seem real. So many people had died tragically and needlessly. He didn't even know their names. Men and women laid scattered on the floor of the hall, along with their possessions. There was so much blood. Some of the corpses had been disemboweled; the smell of the blood and fluid leaking from their wounds made Chagum want to vomit.

    Why would anyone do this?  Chagum thought. When he'd first conceived of this plan, he never thought that it would turn out like this. He had not expected the hidden weapons of the assassins, or that the men in the hall would be armed. He had considered the arrangement of protectors for Karnan largely as a precautionary measure.

    Around him, men and women groaned and gasped as they struggled to breathe. The light in their eyes dimmed and went out as he watched. Chagum shook from head to toe. He couldn't understand what he was looking at. He felt like he was witnessing life itself disappearing. What was he supposed to think at a time like this?

    Shuga was giving first aid to injured soldiers. Chagum heard Shuga call out to him, but his voice seemed impossibly far away. The entire world felt far away. Chagum realized dimly that the bell in the watchtower was ringing again. When it stopped ringing, Eshana would be thrown into the ocean.

    Will the same violence that happened here happen at the ceremony, too? No,  he thought decisively. Enough. This is more than enough.

    As the bell tolled, Chagum felt rage and despair fill him, piercing him through. And then, he felt a splitting, agonizing pain in his forehead... 

 

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