Where the Wind Takes Us - Part 3 Chapter 9 - Uncle and Niece

 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.