Guardian of the God
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Return from the Hard Journey
The light of the setting sun bathed the palace’s garden in golden light. Ihan looked out at the garden from where he sat nestled in the roots of a tall Tou tree. The sensation of being surrounded by the tree roots was deeply comforting.
The garden was attached to the royal family’s personal living quarters, so most people never came here except his brother and the garden’s tenders. It was one of the only places in the palace where Ihan could be alone. Ihan had been raised in this palace; this spot under the tree was his favorite.
The ceremony to celebrate the new year had only just ended. It was still winter, but there was no snow in the garden. This palace had been built on the border between northern and southern Rota, so its weather shared characteristics of both halves of the country. Ihan’s own palace in the north was probably still buried in snow.
The evening light wavered. The garden was quiet and warm as if it was the beginning of spring. Ihan felt a profound sense of peace and restoration being here after his long day among the noise and busyness of the rest of the palace, like a snake shedding an old skin.
Yosam had departed the palace for Sangal that morning to attend the new King’s coronation. The spears of his guardsmen had glittered in the sun as they’d marched away from the city. Ihan smiled fondly to himself as he thought of his brother. Surrounded by his royal retinue, Yosam had appeared every inch the King of Rota.
My brother is a wise and wonderful ruler. Ihan thought something like this whenever he looked into Yosam’s eyes. His sincerest wish was for Yosam to live a long life in health and happiness. Yosam excelled in arts related to both diplomacy and warfare; he was physically strong and well-trained in the use of weapons. Ihan had never known him to be very ill or sickly, but recently he’d heard about Yosam catching fevers and being indisposed far more frequently than usual.
Yosam and Ihan’s father had died young. He’d been healthy for most of his life, but died of a high fever after a prolonged illness. During his fevers, their father had kept silent on most matters of government; Yosam was similar to him in this. Ihan wished Yosam would show more consideration to matters regarding his own health. He also wished that Yosam would have sent him to Sangal as his representative, but he understood why he hadn’t. The coronation was a good opportunity for Yosam to meet many of the rulers of the northern continent in person.
But the country is in crisis right now. If something happened to him now, matters would quickly get even worse. Why didn’t he stay here and hold the country together and let me handle Sangal?
There had been a terrible massacre at Shintadan prison fortress last year. A Tal woman had tried to invite the terrifying god Talhamaya into herself; if she’d succeeded, she would have gained great destructive power. But she’d failed and been executed at Shintadan. Yosam had sent Rota’s greatest hunters and magic weavers, the Kashal, to investigate the massacre, but so far there had been no word from their leader Sufar or any of the other Kashal.
Ihan watched the shadows of the garden’s trees in the failing light of the early evening. He thought about the significance of Yosam going to Sangal while leaving Ihan to govern Rota. Ihan would have to hold Rota’s founding ceremony without Yosam. All of the clan lords, including the southern lords that completely detested him, would gather in the Ritual Hall at Jitan, which was close to Ihan’s own castle. Yosam had left him with a gravely important task. He was glad Yosam trusted him so much, but he was still worried about the ceremony.
Maybe he’s trying to test me, to make sure I’m ready to be King?
By having Ihan conduct Rota’s founding ceremony, Yosam was directly demonstrating that Ihan was his immediate heir. Moving against Ihan without Yosam there would be an act of treason. Perhaps Yosam was expecting that all the lords would gather and show Ihan respect at the ceremony.
I doubt it will work out that way. The southern clan lords hate me. Ihan smiled to himself and looked up at the sky. I wish I could work with the northern clan lords more...but that would probably only make things worse.
Ihan hoped to make broad and sweeping reforms that went against a lot of established traditions. He frowned as he considered the northern lords and their hidebound families and clans. He understood how they felt, to an extent. The climate of the south was warm; the southern lords grew rich and fat with almost no effort. The southern lords had grown arrogant in recent years and wanted to manipulate the rest of the country for their own benefit; the south viewed the north as nothing but dead weight.
People who lived in the north suffered long winters of blistering cold and deep snow. Their herds and flocks were frequently attacked by wolves; the winter wind was so cold that it froze the tears to their faces. Summers in the north were all too brief. The soil in the north was also not as fertile as it was in the south, so their harvests were always smaller. Laborers in the north gained nothing but pain and exhaustion from their hard work.
The purpose of many of Ihan’s proposed reforms was to support the north by leveraging the strengths of the south. He wanted to save the country--but he was worried about the clan lords’ stubbornness and quickness to anger. They might not hear him out before deciding to oppose him.
“Prince Ihan.”
Ihan looked up in surprise and saw the shadow of a figure with a drawn sword standing over him. They were perhaps ten paces away. He squinted and identified a woman with a monkey sitting on one of her shoulders.
“Shihana? Is that you?” he asked. He let out a long breath. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”
Shihana smiled. “Sorry. Force of habit.”
Ihan gestured for Shihana to come closer. “I’ve been waiting for your report,” he said. “Where have you been all this time?”
Ihan thought he’d be hearing this report from Sufar, the leader of the Kashal. He’d been waiting a long time for it, much longer than he’d anticipated, so he let his irritation show plainly.
Shihana stared straight at Ihan and said quietly, “I have news of Torisha.”
Ihan felt like Shihana had just shot him through the heart. Shihana’s report was entirely different from the one he’d expected.
me: why is he recapping all that stuff we already know?
ReplyDeletealso me: oh wait this is a new book. right.
I must say, Shihana is not very polite considering she's speaking to her king's brother. (And the man she hopes will become king himself soon/eventually.) Rude, rude, rude. Can you imagine one of the hunters showing up at the Holy Sage's door with his weapons drawn? Dude would probably get executed for treason or something. My girl Shihana is playing a dangerous game.
Also: lol yes not the report you were expecting, no indeed. XDX
Guardian of the God is 635 pages long. O_o It's probably just about time for a recap. :)
DeleteShihana has known Ihan since she was a teenager and Ihan's not really one for standing on ceremony. And Shihana would *never* kill Ihan no matter what he did (I actually sense something like a crush there, when we get into her head). I suspect Ihan knows that, too, even though he spends most of the scene wishing she was Sufar.
Its interesting how long Guardian of the God and Guardian of Heaven and Earth are compared to Guardian of the Spirit.
DeleteI feel like very first Guardian novel would have benefitted from being about a hundred pages longer, but since the author intended it as a children's book it makes sense why its so short.
I mean, all the books are written in the children's register of Japanese (simplified vocabulary and usage), especially the "Guardian" books. The "Traveler" books are definitely for older kids. Chagum was nearly sexually assaulted in the last chapter I translated. O_o
DeleteI don't think Uehashi had much of a plan for where she'd go after the first book. I suspect that's why the second is essentially a spinoff and the third has very little plot. Until the Talsh appeared as an antagonist, she had no clear direction. (She's admitted as much in author's notes). Consequently, I think what we got in the first book is what she intended. If you want to see the central section with Balsa, Tanda and Chagum fleshed out, watch the anime. :)