Beyond the Werefox Whistle
Written by Uehashi Nahoko
Illustrated by Yumiko Shirai
Part 1: A Seal is Broken
Chapter 4: Broken Seal
Umegae Estate was large; it took some time for Dairou to give Sayo the tour. He ushered her into a kitchen early on, introducing Sayo to an old woman who was grilling fish.
The old woman was the only other person in the kitchen at the moment. She looked up briefly and bowed to Dairou and Sayo, then returned to her work without saying a word. Her general air reminded Sayo of Yata, who seemed duty-bound to obey Dairou no matter what.
As they left the kitchen and entered a hallway, Dairou raised his eyebrows slightly. He looked down at Sayo. “That old woman is a great cook, but she’s very quiet. She’s Yata’s mother. They’re both very diligent workers.”
The hallway was lined with fine stone columns. Colorful charms hung from the top of them and bright pictures and designs were painted on the stone. Sayo found this luxuriance quite unusual and paused frequently to observe a new painting or charm. Dairou indulged her and never hurried her along, but he also never explained what the charms and paintings were.
Dairou guided Sayo from the kitchen to the side-rooms and then side buildings, but there was one building he avoided showing her. It was on the opposite side of the hallway from where she’d entered the mansion.
“I’ll show you that place after lunch,” Dairou said when Sayo asked what the mysterious building was.
For lunch, they served freshly cooked rice, grilled fish, hot pickled vegetables, and a spicy soup. I wonder if these people eat this kind of lunch every day, even though it’s not the rice planting season, Sayo thought.
Such an extravagant lunch was unheard-of for Sayo. Maybe Dairou could eat like this because there were so few people in the house? Feeding a few people was always cheaper than feeding many. Besides Dairou, Suzu and Ichita, the only other people Sayo had seen were Yata and his mother.
“Sayo, try drinking this. It will ease the pain in your legs,” Dairou said, passing her a cup over a low table.
Sayo took a few sips from the cup and felt much of her weariness melt away in moments. Her legs definitely felt better, though they were still a little sore.
Dairou smiled at her, then said, “Sayo, you’re so quiet. I’m sure you have a lot you want to ask.”
Sayo looked at Dairou and Suzu. There were certainly many things she wanted to ask them. She had so many questions that she couldn’t decide which one to ask first. After thinking for a while, Sayo finally said, “I… I think I’d like to know more about my mother, first.”
Dairou nodded. He stood up and urged Sayo to follow him. Suzu, who was full and dozing off, put a short-sleeved overcoat on Ichita and soothed his fussiness. She waved lazily as Dairou led Sayo away.
Sayo followed Dairou to the building they’d skipped touring earlier. It was out of the way of the main house and most of the other outbuildings. It was also entirely enclosed; there was no way to enter directly into it from outside the estate’s gates and walls. Heavy double doors sealed it shut. It resembled a storehouse or warehouse of some sort—there were no windows that she could see—but Sayo got the sense that this was no ordinary storehouse. There was no lock on the doors, only a bar that held the doors shut.
“Yata!” Dairou called out.
Yata sprinted out of the garden at top speed.
“We’re going inside the storehouse. Keep watch outside until we come out,” Dairou commanded Yata.
Yata nodded, turned around and placed himself close to the double doors without putting himself in Dairou’s or Sayo’s way.
Dairou stood in front of the door, muttered something to himself, and then placed his right palm in the groove between the doors. He removed the bar and opened the doors leading inside, pushing hard with both hands. He invited Sayo to enter.
The inside of the room was dim. Sayo smelled something strange inside. Incense hung heavily in the air.
Dairou came in after Sayo and closed the door behind them.
Sayo suddenly felt deeply self-conscious. Her ears went red along with the rest of her face. She was as alert as if someone had just poured cold water over her head. Sayo swallowed and blinked to calm herself.
As her eyes adjusted, Sayo took in her surroundings. Her eyes widened in shock. There was a mountain inside the storehouse! Before her eyes, the mountain stood tall. A thick stone wall rose from its height surrounded by a deep moat. Green trees and a flowing river completed the scene. She took it all in: the sturdy stone castle on the mountain peak illuminated by a single high window in the storehouse. The black tiled roof outside the window contrasted sharply with the white of the storehouse walls.
The mountain, river, and castle were all so realistic that they looked indistinguishable from the real thing, but they were all teeny-tiny. Sayo felt dizzy. It feels like I’m in a very large place, she thought. It was as if she could see the clouds passing by over the castle, looking down from above on the vastness of the landscape.
All of what she saw appeared familiar.
That’s right. I saw this in my dreams last night…
The mountain and the village looked like this from high up.
“That mountain is Mt. Yona. And your house is right over there, Sayo, do you see it?” Dairou asked.
Sayo found her house: a black speck on the side of the mountain that stood inside a forest surrounded by fields and tall silver grass. Deep in the forest was Morikage Estate. It might have been a trick of the light, or simply Sayo’s imagination, but the whole area around Mt. Yona glowed a faint green.
Dairou noticed Sayo’s gaze drift to the castle. “That is the castle of Lord Yuuji Harumochi, the lord and defender of the country of Haruna.”
“Lord Harumochi?” Sayo asked.
“Do you know of him?” Dairou asked.
“I’ve heard his name before. The village leaders venerate him. I don’t know why he’s important.”
Some time before, Harumochi’s eldest son Yasumochi had taken a bad fall from his horse. Sayo had heard rumors that Yasumochi was on his deathbed. She had no idea who Harumochi or Yasumochi were—news of them was like a story from a faraway land to her—but she did feel vaguely sorry for Harumochi and his family.
“He is important,” Dairou said. “He’s the leader of this country. He’s in charge of protecting us from threats from the Shiraone Mountains to the north and the Senba River to the south.”
The Shiraone Mountains were cold and always covered in snow. The Senba River was so far away that Sayo hadn’t heard of it before, much less seen it. Dairou pointed them out on the living map in front of her. The river flowed silently out of the wall of the warehouse, only to be sucked in by the other wall and disappear.
Goosebumps prickled Sayo’s arms. Was this place magical? Was she under a spell or an enchantment?
Seeing Sayo’s expression, Dairou spoke to her in an encouraging manner. “There’s no need to worry. Indeed, there is a mysterious power here. However, it is not a power that harms, but a power that protects.”
“Protects?”
“That’s right. It was not some stranger who created this, but my father. The feudal lord asked my family to protect this country’s spiritual welfare, so my father made the protective spells around this mountain and the rivers near it. Look closely. Can you see the green light that covers this mountain and the rivers like a net?”
Sayo squinted. The green light she’d seen had a mesh-like texture when she looked closer at it. It was like the veins of a leaf, bright and almost firefly-colored.
“This vein of light was not created by my father,” Dairou said, pointing. “Originally, the earth itself had veins like this running through it in many places. My father read them and followed the flow.”
As Sayo stared at the web of light, she thought she saw one or two dark spots. She blinked instinctively. She thought it might be her eyes, but the dark spots did not disappear even after she blinked.
Dairou was impressed. “You see them, don’t you? The dark places.”
“I can see dark spots. There and there… and there,” Sayo said.
“That’s where my father’s magic was broken.”
“Broken how?” Sayo looked up at Dairou. Dairou was frowning slightly and staring at dark places.
“Broken by a sorcerer from Yuki, which is to the west. You might not know this, , but the lord of Yuki, Moritada, is blood related to our Lord Harumochi. Masamochi, who is Harumochi’s father, has a younger brother named Yoshitada. Yoshitada’s son Moritada is the lord of Yuki. Harumochi and Moritada are cousins.
“You might think that it would be best for families to all get along with one another, but that’s not how it works in warrior families. Masamochi was granted wide lands to rule in Haruna, and Yoshitada was granted rulership over Yuki, which is quite a bit smaller. It is only natural that Yoshitada would be jealous of his brother.” He gestured to Mt. Oro. “Much of the jealously began when Masamochi was given the entirety of Wakasa Fields, which is a rich agricultural area. It’s on the border between Yuki and Haruna, as you see. Many battles have been fought over trade rights to use the Sugitani River.
“During his short life, the Lord Iyotaikou governed Wakasa Fields himself and did not allow the Yuuji clan or the Yuki clan to rule over it. Lord Harumochi is a gentle man and leader, but his father was fierce and warlike. When Lord Masamochi achieved great deeds in war, Lord Iyotaikou asked him what he desired as a reward. Lord Masamochi asked for the Wakasa Fields, and the Yuuji clan has held those lands ever since. The Yuki branch of the family has never forgotten this. There has been hatred and resentment between Haruna and Yuki ever since that time.”
Dairou’s eyes shone with a dark emotion. “Iyo no Arimoto was a great warlord in the distant past who unified the lands of Haruna and Yuki. Small clans were crowded together and fought each other for advantage or land. In order to win these bloody battles, every country had its own sorcerers who pledged allegiance to their fief or lord.
“Sorcerers became a curse upon the land. Their magic killed many, and many bloodlines and clans died out. In Haruna up until the rule of Lord Harumochi father, there were sorcerers who could unleash familiars to torment their enemies. But sorcerers have bloodlines, too, and over time their clans and influence too have dwindled.”
Dairou hesitated for a long moment, then said, “When my father came to this country from across the sea, there was only one sorcerer in the the whole of Haruna. Lord Harumochi suffered many losses of vassals and allies because of this foul sorcerer. After he died, Lord Harumochi asked my father to protect the country from similar threats. My father was a master of a technique called Ogi.”
Dairou gestured expansively with his hands. “My family served the king of a country across the sea, and they used this kind of magic to defend the king. But one day a great war broke out and the country we served was destroyed. So we fled across the ocean. But a wanderer is looked upon as suspicious everywhere. He cannot settle down in one place and cannot lead a prosperous life because of this mistrust. My father was fortunate. Because our family’s technique proved successful, we are given an honored place as respected vassals of the lord.
Dairou smiled, but it had sharp edges. “Ogi is magic—you might even call it sorcery—but it is not evil or harmful magic. Its only purpose is to protect. Its original purpose was to protect people from monsters. When my father built this storehouse, he did it to defend Haruna’s mountains and rivers from harm.”
Sayo’s goosebumps receded into her skin. She stared at Dairou and his dark eyes as he spoke.
“Unfortunately, my father fell ill and died young. I was only fifteen when he died, so I didn’t inherit most of his techniques. I can’t keep this protection going as well as my father could. Every time a sorcerer in Yuki breaks through my father’s spells and opens the doors to dark places, Suzu and I join forces and desperately try to banish the darkness. But our strength is not enough. No matter how many times we close the doors to darkness, the sorcerers find a way to open them again.
Sayo stared at the dark places in the mountains and frowned. The dark spots felt wrong to her, like concentrated thoughts of hatred.
Such hatred and resentment… why doesn’t Lord Harumochi just give the Wakasa Fields to Yuki? Wouldn’t that solve everything? Sayo thought. She didn’t understand the kind of hatred that could tear apart families. Over what? Land? How stupid!
Yet the old grudges between Yuki and Haruna were very real. When she thought about the hostility of Haruna’s neighboring country slowly creeping up on her, she felt a vague sense of unease as if she’d only just noticed a wolf staring at her from the bushes.
Dairou stood near her, exuding a powerful aura that reminded Sayo of sunshine and heat. Dairou was so powerful, but even he couldn’t bring light to the dark spots. And if he couldn’t, then who could?
As if he had heard Sayo’s thoughts, Dairou said, “The reason I cannot prevent the darkness from spreading is that I lack the power to connect with the spirits of the plants and animals of this land. I can manipulate words and engrave runes that contain magical powers. I can also summon gods that are connected to me by a deep bond with my bloodline. But my lack of connection to the spirits is a serious one. I cannot borrow or lend power of local gods. If I could do that, I would be able to banish the darkness forever.”
Dairou gazed at the dark places before him with an regretful expression.
“How was your father able to do that?” Sayo asked.
Dairou looked at her out of narrowed, wary eyes. “He couldn’t. He came from across the ocean, so this was a foreign land for him. But then your mother came to his aid. With her help, my father was able to put up a defensive barrier around the entire mountain to prevent abominable spirit beasts from crossing the border and devouring defenseless people.”
Dairou reached out and placed his hand on Sayo’s shoulder.
“Your mother was called Hanano, and she was a wonderful woman. She had the gift of listening. She could hear the voices of the spirits that dwell in plants and tell them to others.”
Sayo was stunned. Was the gift of listening the same as her gift? She could hear thoughts and things that people didn’t say. Dairou kept talking, so she didn’t ask.
“My father met your mother when she was about the same age as you. He looked after her as she grew up. Your mother was like an older sister to my siblings and I. Until my father passed away, Hanano helped him. My father also protected Hanano from others who wished her harm.”
There was a tightness in Sayo’s chest. She knew that her mother hadn’t been protected, right at the end, and that hurt her. She didn’t like where this conversation was going.
“Even after my father passed away, Hanano continued to work for Lord Harumochi. I was only fifteen when he died, and I was not at all like my father. I couldn’t protect her.” Dairou’s voice was hoarse and quiet. “And Hanano was murdered. I…” He swallowed. “We didn’t make it in time to save her.”
Dairou’s hand tightened on Sayo’s shoulder.
“I arrived at the hut where we were supposed to meet. A fire broke out. I saw that the door had been kicked open. Hanano was on the floor. She was covered in blood and already dead. I wanted to kill the man standing over her with a bloody sword, but I had a good reason not to, at least not yet. I let him escape. After he disappeared into the darkness, I sat down beside Hanano. And then I saw something.”
Sayo rubbed a sore spot on her chest over her heart. She was breathing too fast. Everything hurt.
“Next to Hanano, in the shadow of a rice paper screen, I saw a young girl—perhaps five years old. She was crouched down, hands protecting her head.”
Dairou knelt down to Sayo’s eye level. “Sayo, there is a place called Awai. It is a deep forest where beasts with spiritual powers live, on the border between this world and the world where the gods live. Only sorcerers can enter it, and while in Awai they capture beasts with spiritual powers. When they return to our lands, they can summon those beasts to do their bidding.
“But you, Sayo—you were hiding in Awai. I was certain of it. I was shocked so see a child so small able to retreat to the spirit world. Awai overlaps this land, you see.”
It was cold. Sayo was breathing hard.
“The man who killed your mother was an enemy spy called a hakage. Hakage are people who sacrifice their soul to a sorcerer. In exchange, they receive the inhuman strength of beasts and simple minds that can only obey commands. Just like the man you met at the New Year’s market, they blend in, find out what is going on around them and secretly report the information to the sorcerers they serve.
“The hakage seem to think that they’ve been passing unnoticed, but both Lord Harumochi and I know all about them. Suzu and I can pick them out of a crowd easily, just by their smell. You smelled it, too, right? The scent of a beast.”
Sayo remembered how terrified the dog had been of the castle guard. He had smelled strange, yes, like horses, and his eyes had been terrifying. Sayo shivered. She gritted her teeth and looked up at Dairou.
Dairou wrapped his hand around Sayo’s shoulders and brought his face close to hers. “I know that you remember me. I am in your memory of your mother’s death. I sealed it away so that you wouldn’t remember for a time. It was too tragic a memory for a young child. I told the woman who adopted you that I’d sealed away that memory for you, but that you might one day remember. She was furious with me for tampering with your mind.”
“My… grandmother?” Sayo asked.
“Yes, your grandmother raised you. My father knew her from long ago, and she was a brave woman. If the sorcerer who killed your mother learned of you, he would surely attempt to kill you, too. Your grandmother kept you safe and hidden in Yona Forest. It is there that my father’s Ogi techniques are the strongest. There is no place safer for you in the whole of Haruna than in your grandmother’s hut. Such places have a strong aura. Normal villagers find such places frightening and shun them. But for you and your grandmother, the forest was the perfect place to hide.”
Dairou chuckled. “But I’ve digressed a little. Your grandmother was furious about the seal that I placed on your mind. She said that sealing away your sad and broken memories would leave your heart empty. She urged me to perform a spell to break the seal.
“But I didn’t. I was young and stubborn. I thought that if you didn’t remember, you wouldn’t be attacked. I had a falling out with your grandmother. That’s one reason you haven’t seen me or Suzu until recently. But now, I think your grandmother might have been right all along. She raised you well.”
Hot tears flowed down Sayo’s cheeks as she thought of her grandmother.
“Sayo, Sayo. I will now remove the seal I placed on you. Brace yourself, and hold on to something.”
Sayo did as she was told leaned against the floor, gathering strength in her stomach muscles.
Dairou muttered unknown words under his breath and rubbed his hands together over Sayo’s head. Then he opened his hands and moved his fingers as if he were drawing something.
Both of Dairou’s hands dropped on Sayo’s head like a hammer. There was a loud thud that reverberated throughout her entire body, and Sayo dropped to the floor, unconscious.
Light in the distance. Sayo felt herself moving toward it at incredible speed. The light grew larger and brighter. Sayo felt herself be thrown down in front of the hearth in an unfamiliar place.
“…Sayo, hide behind the screen and lie down. Be a good girl and don’t make a sound. Close your eyes and cover your ears,” her mother said.
And Sayo knew it was her mother. She wanted to cry again, but she was in the memory and simply did as her mother told her to. She had only ever remembered this in bits and pieces before, but the scene around her now was cohesive and uninterrupted.
The wooden door of their hut was smashed down by a violent kick. Sayo heard her mother gasp. Blood splashed on the body of the man who rushed through the broken doorway. Sayo looked at her mother from behind as her murderer pushed her down, bloodstained and unmoving.
Suddenly, Sayo could hear the man’s thoughts.
⟡ I found it. ⟡
The man’s eyes found hers in the dark and widened as if he had realized something. ⟡ Damn it, I’m just a decoy. ⟡
Sayo desperately pressed her face against the screen and cowered. “Screen, hide me!” she whispered.
It was hard to breathe. Sayo tried to take a deep breath and found that her throat was painfully swollen. It was too painful for her to even cry. Her poor mother! How much had she suffered? Sayo couldn’t even think about it. She’d bled so much.
“Mama? Mama!” Sayo crawled out from behind the screen and cried out for her mother, wrapping tiny arms around her unmoving body.
There was no response.
Sayo cried and cried and couldn’t stop.
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