Where the Wind Takes Us
(Book 13 of the Guardian of the Spirit Series)
Author: Uehashi Nahoko
Translator: Ainikki the Archivist
Part 3 - The Wind's Direction
Chapter 9 - Uncle and Niece
Lord Azal looked down at his
niece, dumbstruck. “Who proposed this? Agachi?”
“My mother and father,” Rumina
said. “I was remembering all the things they had taught me, and all
the things they wanted. I believe this proposal reflects what they
would have wanted for myself, my brother, and the Magua clan.”
Azal set one hand in his lap, then
rubbed his chin with the other. He’d gone mute with shock when Rumina
had first suggested her proposal, but given a bit of time to reflect,
all Azal felt now was surprise.
The proposal wasn’t something Rumina
could have thought up herself. She had little experience with
governing. However, it was obvious that Rakul Province was on the
brink of open rebellion against the Magua clan. Azal expected Rumina
and Kumu to oppose him, maybe, but not to offer him a deal that would
grant equal benefits to both sides.
When he thought about it, Azal
realized that Agachi could never have proposed such a thing, either.
He hated the Magua clan too much. For it to come from the mind of his
sister made a certain kind of sense. He only regretted that Rumina
hadn’t come to him with it sooner.
Azal glanced at his guards, who were
standing in the corners of the reception hall. “You may
leave,” he said.
The guards appeared surprised. Azal
waved his hand and dismissed them again. The guards bowed once, then
left. The hall seemed larger with them gone. There was a fire
crackling in a large hearth. Cool air blew in through an open window.
“What do you mean?” Azal asked
Rumina. “How did my sister and brother-and-law prompt this
plan?”
“How... well, I suppose I was
remembering them. I know that they wanted the Aru clan to continue on,
so I considered how my mother would have managed it if she were alive,
and asked my father’s retainers for advice. I think they would both
approve.”
Azal nodded thoughtfully. He was used
to thinking of his sister as someone who didn’t plot, plan, and
scheme, but that didn’t mean there was anything wrong with her mind.
Oria was an idealist, and so was Shisal. They suited each other
and wanted to make their ideals into reality... but they never got
the chance.
Rumina might now have that chance,
and Azal was also sure they would be happy if he accepted the
proposal. He doubted that they would have used their own daughter to
secure peace terms, though. He was stunned at the revelations Rumina
had told him so far. Oria had grown to fear her birth family, it
seemed, and had put precautionary measures in place to protect her
children.
I guess my sister truly became
part of the Aru clan, in the end, Azal thought.
Rumina was looking up at him, her
face pale and her expression tight with nervous tension. She’d always
resembled his sister, but he’d never seen such a light of
determination in her eyes.
Azal had pushed her to this, not
because he’d wanted to harm her, but because he’d been trying to do
what was best for his family. He regretted that now as he remembered
reading to Rumina as she sat on his knee when she was a child. Before
he became the Magua clan’s ruling lord, he would bring candy and
presents for his niece and nephew and spend as much time with them as
he could. Rumina always shared gifts she received with her brother and
parents. She was a kind-hearted girl.
But she was now grown, and her
parents were no longer around to advise and protect her. That role had
fallen to him, and he had failed in his duty... but she hadn’t. And he
could still help give her the future that her parents wanted.
“Very well,” Azal said. “I agree
to your proposal. Shall we discuss particulars?”
Rumina’s eyebrows shot up, making her
appear younger for a few moments until her expression settled.
“If we both agree, we will no longer
greet one another as uncle and niece, but as clan lord and clan
lord,” he said. “I’m inclined to agree because I think this will
help us both. You found my clan’s weakness, and I know the Aru clan
needs a fair amount of help. I’m relieved that we can help one
another.”
Rumina had told Azal that she knew
the secret about Larago’s remains. She knew everything that her
parents had done in the Valley of the Forest King twenty years before.
She had proposed that Azal accompany her to the Valley of the Forest
King in two days so that they might recover Larago’s bones together.
Rumina wanted the Aru clan and the
Magua clan to decide what to do with the bones and the secret they
held, without trying to use that secret against one another. Larago
was a hero who had wanted peace and tolerance, and now, they could
finally give that to him.
But that wasn’t the end of Rumina’s
proposal. If it was, Azal wouldn’t have any real reason to agree. The
bones were currently hidden and the secret was undiscovered; that was
enough for the Magua clan. He was saddened that his sister had known
or guessed everything--and that her father had tried to murder her
friend, the leader of the Sadan Taram. He hated that his sister had
been forced to resort to blackmail to protect herself. He expected
Rumina, Kumu, and their servants and retainers to hate him for his
part in ordering the new leader of the Sadan Taram assassinated.
But Rumina, at least, had no hatred
for her mother’s family. He believed her when she said she wanted to
reconcile and make things right. It helped that her proposal would
also improve the fortunes of the Aru clan, which had suffered
tremendously over the course of the past few decades.
Azal still had reason to distrust the
proposal, if not his niece. The Aru clan’s retainers might see his
visit to the Valley of the Forest King as a prime opportunity to
assassinate him. The Valley of the Forest King itself was said to be
cursed. Only Aru clan lords and the Sadan Taram were supposed to be
able to enter it safely.
And so, Azal had rejected Rumina’s
initial proposal, but agreed to her amended one. She offered to invite
King Ihan to the Valley of the Forest King as well. No harm would come
to anyone then, and Rumina and Azal could focus on their primary
purpose, which was to decide what to do with Larago’s bones and the
secret of his assassination.
It was too late in the year for King
Ihan to arrive in time for the ceremony, so it was decided that they
would all go to the Valley of the Forest King the following year,
provided that King Ihan agreed.
Rumina penned the invitation. She
summarized Larago’s history and indicated that King Ihan might have an
interest in him as a heroic icon of peace in the province. King Ihan’s
reply was favorable and came swiftly: he would come to Rakul Province
the following year for the ceremony on the appointed date. He promised
that if there was urgent business that prevented him from coming, he
would send representatives and guards in his place, as well as scribes
to record the event for him.
Azal understood why Prince Ihan would
find Larago’s story appealing. He was new to his crown and had
inherited a country on the brink of war. Only the Talsh defeat had
made Rota whole again. A hero whose ideal was peace suited King Ihan’s
goals as a ruler and as a person.
While King Ihan visited, Rumina and
Azal intended to make the case for the final part of her proposal: to
establish the Aru clan and the Magua clan as separate again. Sadly, it
was too late to amend Rumina’s marriage contract, which she’d already
signed. Her marriage would go on as planned, but in a year, Kumu would
become the new lord of the independent Aru clan.
King Ihan would probably agree. He
had always favored the Tal people and other peoples who were
downtrodden and oppressed. If the Tahsa people could regain some of
their lost pride and glory through Kumu, King Ihan would support
it.
This outcome wouldn’t harm the Magua
clan, either, since neither the Magua clan nor the Aru clan could try
to harm one another with the secret of Larago’s assassination any
longer. They could publicize what they found in the Valley of the
Forest King as they saw fit. Rumina’s marriage would satisfy the Magua
clan; Kumu’s new status as the Aru clan lord would keep the Aru clan’s
retainers from revolt. Both sides would benefit from Rakul Province
being truly at peace. Instead of hating one another and trying to
sabotage one another’s success, it was time for the Magua clan and the
Aru clan to work together, like Larago had always dreamed.
Azal had never expected this outcome.
A proposal like Rumina’s could never have come from him or anyone in
the Magua clan. He hadn’t expected the Aru clan to offer an olive
branch, since they were clearly the ones who’d been wronged more.
Bright sunshine cut through the open
window onto a beautiful woven rug at their feet. The autumn light was
warm and burnished gold. Azal and Rumina sat in his audience hall
again, as they had done often these past few weeks, and read over the
amended terms of the shared proposal one last time.
It’s time to start over, Azal thought.
“You shall be the acting lord of the
Aru clan until your marriage,” Azal said. “And with that, let us
seal our agreement.”
Rumina nodded cautiously.
“I think I owe you at least a little
bit of the truth,” Azal said. “Every lord of the Magua clan since
ancient times has been told about Larago’s poisoning. We did it: I
won’t deny it. But the Magua clan lord wasn’t responsible. He
sincerely wanted peace and intended Larago no harm.
“However, on the night that Larago
was set to return to his own estate, he came down with a terrible
fever. A woman was in the room with him, laughing. She was one of the
Magua clan lord’s concubines, and she had poisoned Larago because her
son had recently been killed in a battle against the Aru clan. The son
would have ruled the Magua clan after his father’s death, if he had
lived.
“Larago commanded that his poisoning
be kept secret. He didn’t want his brother or the rest of his family
to find out. He had no desire to provoke another war. He also gave
commands to be buried in the Valley of the Forest King, so that the
manner of his death would be kept secret for as long as possible. It
was better for people to believe that he had died in an accident or
from than illness than from poison. All he truly wanted was
peace.”
Azal frowned. “Larago didn’t blame
the Magua clan for his death, but Magua clan lords have borne the
shame of it all the same. We did not prevent it, and a Magua clan
woman performed the deed. It will be a relief not to have to keep this
a secret anymore.”
Rumina appeared surprised by this
information. Her eyes went wide and she bit her lip as she processed
it all.
“Rumina,” Azal said, “you have
been leading your clan for a few months already, and will be an
official clan lord for a few months. Please tell your brother what I’m
about to say, too. Being a clan lord is a lot of responsibility, and
responsibility isn’t just a word. We bear our people’s shame and guilt
and fear as well as their hopes and dreams for the future. Everything
you do reflects on the clan, and if the clan suffers, your people
suffer. Think about what might have happened if Larago had decided to
blame us for his death. It would have meant war, and he knew that. It
would have meant more suffering for our people and for his.”
Azal considered for a moment. “I know
your brother bears a certain grudge against us, but it’s not something
I can permit to affect policy. If he treats us poorly, we’ll have no
choice but to do the same. I intend to give him every advantage I can
to get his feet under him as a new clan lord, but if he rejects my
help or tries to create division again, I will have to intervene for
the sake of all our people.”
Rumina nodded thoughtfully. “When we
go to the Valley of the Forest King... if we find the bones, would you
permit Kumu and I to rebury them? I think that would do a great deal
to quench his anger against the Magua clan.”
Azal thought about that. “Your
brother is under Agachi’s influence, is he not? I’ve heard him
speaking of Tahsa pride and preserving the legacy of his people with
alarming frequency--as if the Magua clan was actively trying to stamp
out Tahsa people in the province. Did you know your brother held such
thoughts?”
“Um, I did, yes.” She looked
down. “There’s a lot of complaining going on in our province. Food
shortages, bad roads, not a lot of places to work. A lot of people,
including Aru clan retainers, blame the Magua clan for all of that,
and Kumu listens to them.” Her eyes lit up. “Uncle, I have a
request.”
“What is it?”
“Could you postpone my marriage? Just
for a while.”
“Why?”
“Even with the reassurance that the
Aru clan won’t be swallowed up by the Magua clan forever, the people
in the Aru domain are still suffering. They won’t trust the Magua clan
unless things improve. With your help, I can start making improvements
on their behalf, and hand the province over to Kumu better than when I
first took over.
“Kumu is still young. Agachi’s son is
his best friend. I’ll be able to change more hearts and minds if they
see us working together for a few months than I will if I simply
vanish from my ancestral home. That might spark more discontent before
we create a lasting peace.”
Rumina’s eyes reminded him of his
sister when she’d first discovered the cause of Larago’s death in the
Valley of the Forest King. She had come to her father to bargain, and
Azal had been present. Rumina was preparing to step into her mother’s
place.
Azal took in Rumina’s serious
expression, then nodded. “Postponement, then. Until when?”
“Until next year,” Rumina said.
“King Ihan’s visit.”
Azal nodded. “All right.”
“And on that occasion, I’d like to do
something else.” Rumina leaned forward, causing the pendant
around her neck to hang down. It was small and relatively plain,
covered with symbols: the Magua clan flower, grain representing the
goddess Hanma, the shape of a star to symbolize Ten no Kami, the God
of the Heavens.
Azal remembered that amulet. It had
belonged to his sister, and she’d worn it everywhere.
“Do you remember my mother calling me
and Kumu her precious Tol Asa children, since we descend from both the
Tahsa people and the Magua clan?”
“I do,” Azal said quietly. Oria
had started calling Rumina her precious Tol Asa child right after
Rumina was born. She’d loved the story of the Hanma festival and had
singers and storytellers repeat it for her over and over again.
“I want to revive the Hanma festival
in my mother’s memory,” she said. “She wanted to revive it more
than anything, before she died. I want to at least try to do that for
her. What do you think?”
Azal didn’t have to think too long
about that idea at all. He was already feeling guilt for not
supporting his sister’s children as he should have. Besides, it truly
would be a fitting memorial for Oria.
Azal shifted in his seat to look out
the window. Evening was coming on. There would be time enough to start
making plans for the future tomorrow.
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