Yatagarasu Series
Volume 4:
The Raven of the Empty Coffin
Author: Chisato Abe
Part 4: Yukiya
“I win. Referee, please verify the result.” The boy’s voice carried across the hall, clear and calm.
Two men stood on opposite sides of the map. One was a burly middle-aged official dressed in a splendid iron blue over-robe emblazoned with his family crest. The other was a short young man in a plain black feather robe.
The official went pale. He stared at the map in disbelief, but no matter how many times he looked, the situation didn’t change.
The boy waited patiently for the referee’s verdict. He wore a feather robe and a ceremonial sword belted to his waist with a length of crimson silk. The gem embedded in his sword hilt was bright green. His brown hair fell neatly down his back.
He was only two years older than me, but we were about the same height. His ceremonial sword looked oversized on him. He stood with absolute confidence—unflinching and certain. He looked like a boy who was used to being underestimated, for his height and other reasons.
“Verified. Yukiya wins.”
The boy bowed politely. “Thank you for the match.”
Whispers spread through the crowd. The middle-aged man who’d just lost was a high-ranking official and an active commander in the Aerial Army of Heaven. No one had expected the boy to win.
And he’d actually done it! A boy close to my age defeated a commander in a strategy game!
People from the audience crowded around the boy, pelting him with questions about the match.
“Why did you choose that strategy?”
“How would you have countered him if he’d attacked differently?”
The boy answered every question easily. As the crowd disperses, the boy stepped down from his place to the side of the map and left the room. I watched him go with some reluctance.
The provincial governor of Ayukuni—the man who’d brought me here in the first place—laughed. “Why don’t we go and say hello?”
We found the boy just outside the hall. He was eating rice balls and chatting with his friends.
“Sapling Yukiya, do you have a moment?” the provincial governor of Ayukuni called out.
Sapling Yukiya noticed us immediately. He straightened up. “What a surprise, provincial governor. It’s an honor to see you again. I didn’t expect you to come all the way from Ayukuni multiple days in a row.”
“I’m here for my own amusement. Your match today was splendid. I have rarely seen so many skilled generals and strategists gathered in one place before this week.”
“I thank you for the compliment, sir.”
The two of them spoke politely for a while. I couldn’t stop staring at Sapling Yukiya.
He was so short. He looked like any other boy on the street. I could see no substantive difference between him and my peers aside from a general air of maturity. He carried himself with dignity. Speaking with the provincial governor of Ayukuni didn’t intimidate him in the least.
“I’d like to introduce you to someone,” the provincial governor said. “I thought that the match today would be a good learning experience, so I brought him along. He’ll be enrolling in the Keisōin next year.”
“Oh, a future cadet?” Yukiya’s attention shifted to me.
“I-It’s an honor to meet you! I’m Haruma of Ayukuni Province! Your match earlier was amazing. You were so imposing, Sapling Yukiya, despite your, uh…”
I froze mid-babble, mortified by what I’d just said. My face burned.
Yukiya didn’t fault me for discourtesy. He laughed. “Size doesn’t matter much in strategy games, does it? I hope you enjoyed the match.”
“I really did!”
He was so kind and generous. We talked about his tactics for a few minutes until the provincial governor interrupted us. He was in a genial mood, but he knew that I could talk forever once I got started.
“As you can see, Haruma here is a bit of an oddball. I’ve been hoping he has what it takes to become a second you.”
“I see.” Yukiya tilted his head, considering the provincial governor’s expectations of me. “It’s good to meet promising trainees like you. We’re both oddballs, so I wish you luck. I look forward to seeing you in class next year.” He gave me a bright smile.
That was the day that my path in life changed forever.
***
The lecture hall’s roof tiles gleamed in the early spring sunlight, each one slightly different in color because of years of repairs and replacements. This was Akeru’s first visit to the Keisōin in a long time. He didn’t regret dropping out, but being back stirred up nostalgia all the same.
He was working through complicated feelings about being an outsider when someone shouted to him from behind. “Hey! Isn’t that the Noble Professor?”
Akeru turned to find two young men jogging toward him—Hisaya and Tatsuto. He’d looked after them quite a bit when they were all Seeds.
“It’s been a whole year, hasn’t it? How are you?” Hisaya asked.
Akeru forced a smile. “I’m doing well serving His Imperial Highness. How about you two? The Trial of the Storm should be almost over, right?”
Hisaya and Tatsuto exchanged uncomfortable looks.
“First and second place were basically decided before the trial even started, so the rest of us were just fighting for scraps,” Tatsuto said sadly.
“I feel bad for Shige, though,” Hisaya added. “If it were only the practical courses, he would’ve had a shot—he beat Yukiya and Chihaya in some of those. But he still ended up third because of how many points he lost in theory classes.”
“And if you’d been here, the results might’ve been different,” Tatsuto said quietly.
Akeru laughed. “What are you implying? Don’t tell me you want me to tutor you now? You’re Trees already!”
“No, that’s not what I meant!”
“But you passed the Trial of Frost, didn’t you? Why didn’t you become a Tree with us?”
Akeru snorted. “Well, I definitely would have taken first place if I’d stayed, of course. But what choice did I have? His Imperial Highness asked me to return to his service at once. Such are the problems of those overflowing with talent, such as myself.” He waved his arms theatrically.
The other two cackled, well aware of Akeru’s actual grades. “Don’t make me laugh! You never beat us in riding even once while you were here.”
“You’re still the same person, huh? That’s kind of a relief.”
“Why would I change?” Akeru huffed. “Anyway, do you know where Yukiya is? I came here to see him.”
“Uh, it’s bad timing to have business with Yukiya,” Tatsuto said.
“We decide the order for exams by lottery. Yukiya and Sadamori’s match ended up being dead last. They’re the only ones who haven’t finished the Trial of the Storm yet—their strategy match is tomorrow.”
In the Trial of the Storm, two Trees took the roles of generals in a large-scale mock battle. Seeds and Saplings acted as their soldiers. Information about the training field—chosen from among a few large ones across Yamauchi—was kept from the generals until the day before.
Yukiya was currently sequestered in his assigned headquarters, going over the information he’d been given and finalizing his battle plan for tomorrow.
“We haven’t seen him since this morning. Chihaya and Shige have way too much time on their hands right now. My guess is they’re bothering him even though they know he’s busy.”
“Can you tell me where Yukiya’s headquarters are?”
“No idea. The instructors might know.”
Akeru was considering what to do next when a Seed approached him.
“Excuse me?” The boy was thin and had a splash of freckles across his nose. He had an earnest, serious air about him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but if you need to find Tree Yukiya’s headquarters, I can guide you there.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. I just need to pick something up from the dining hall first. Could you wait a moment?”
He was remarkably polite. Tatsuto and Hisaya smiled at him. “Yukiya’s working you to the bone as usual, huh?”
“You know you can say no to him, right?”
“Oh, but I’m doing this because I want to! Don’t worry. I’ll be back in a moment.” The Seed bowed and dashed off.
“Who’s that?” Akeru asked when the Seed was out of sight.
“Yukiya’s disciple. His name’s Haruma. He’s got the best scores in strategy among the Seeds by far. Yukiya dragged him into his Tactical Research Group the second he got here.”
“Poor kid.”
“Haruma really admires Yukiya, so I think he’s okay.”
“He’s been fooled by appearances—that makes me feel even worse for him.”
They were still gossiping when Haruma returned at a sprint with packages in his arms. “Sorry for making you wait. Follow me, please.”
Akeru said his farewells to the two Trees and left the Keisōin with Haruma as his guide.
“Oh, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m—” Akeru started, but Haruma cut him off.
“It’s fine, I know.” Haruma gave him a cheerful smile. “Akeru of Saike, right? You enrolled in the Keisōin at the same time as Tree Yukiya and the others, but now you’re working as His Imperial Highness’ personal attendant. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Akeru’s eyes widened. “You haven’t heard anything weird about me, right?”
“Not at all! Tree Yukiya compliments you. He says you are very wise.”
Haruma seemed well-meaning, but Akeru had a hunch about what Yukiya really meant by describing him as wise. At least Yukiya wasn’t spreading terrible rumors about him.
He might have bragged to Tatsuto and Hisaya, but Akeru knew better than anyone that he was no match for Yukiya.
After passing the Trial of Frost, Akeru had gone to see the Crown Prince. “I’ve learned enough combat to protect myself, but even if I stayed at the Keisōin, I could never reach the heights required to protect Your Imperial Highness.”
Akeru had requested to serve directly under the Crown Prince again.
The Crown Prince appreciated Akeru’s efforts and employed him as his personal attendant. Akeru knew his lack of talent as a warrior would have become painfully apparent if he’d stayed in the Keisōin longer. He was certain that he’d made the right choice.
Yukiya was telling people that he was ‘very wise’ for dropping out. Not everyone could put the pieces together, but Akeru could. Easily. “That bastard… I heard that you really admire Yukiya—is that true?”
“It is! I wouldn’t have had the chance to enroll in the Keisōin if not for Tree Yukiya.”
Haruma was a commoner from Touke Territory. He’d always liked studying, but his social status greatly limited his options. Since he had some skill with a sword, he requested admission to the Keisōin, hoping to get a recommendation from his provincial governor. His physical capabilities proved to be one step behind the other candidates taking the entrance exam, though.
“I lost the entrance exam matches. I thought that was it for me and was ready to give up, but…”
The provincial governor gave Haruma one of his precious few recommendation letters despite the entrance exam results. “I couldn’t believe it! When I asked him why he chose me, he mentioned Tree Yukiya.”
The provincial governor had long believed that only the physically strong could become Yamauchishu. Recent events had made him reconsider that stance. Perhaps having a guard with a sharp, analytical mind would be valuable as well.
“And then he brought me to the Reed Waters Temple!” Akeru could already tell how the rest of the story would go.
Two years ago, Yukiya had defeated Instructor Suikan in a strategy game. News of Instructor Suikan’s defeat spread through military circles like wildfire. The fact that Instructor Suikan had actually left the Keisōin afterward made the rumors spread wider. The Keisōin was in need of a new strategy instructor, and the applicants came rolling in.
Yamauchishu, members of the Aerial Army of Heaven, retired scholars focused on military tactics, and anyone else with confidence in their tactical skills applied for the position. They would play strategy games against one another in a tournament at Reed Waters Temple to determine the winner.
The event was called the Reed Waters Strategy Tournament.
Yukiya, the source of all this upheaval, became the center of attention at the tournament. The record of his match with Instructor Suikan had already made the rounds by that point. Anyone who studied it could tell that Yukiya’s winning strategy was based almost entirely on luck.
Everyone expected the Keisōin’s teen prodigy to expose himself as a fraud at the Reed Waters tournament, but Yukiya didn’t employ tactics like the ones he’d used against Instructor Suikan. He fought with orthodox strategies, employing textbook tactics against his opponents. Sometimes he won, sometimes he lost. He also performed brilliantly during the post-match review process.
That was when Yukiya began to earn the respect of the military minds present at the tournament. He was a true prodigy, not a fraud or a cheater.
The man ultimately chosen as the Keisōin’s new strategy instructor was a retired Yamauchishu, but the renown Yukiya gained during the tournament was second to none.
“I was shocked when I first saw Tree Yukiya,” Haruma said with a dreamy look, lost in the memory. “Back then, he was even shorter than I am now. But he wasn’t intimidated by anyone! I got so worked up that I ended up being rude to him after one of his matches.” Haruma smiled shyly. “But he didn’t seem bothered by it at all. He was so kind to me. He even offered to help me after I enrolled in the Keisōin.”
True to his word, Yukiya had looked out for Haruma since his first day at the academy. “There are lots of cadets who admire Tree Yukiya just like I do, but for me, he’s not only an example to follow—he’s someone I owe my life to.”
Akeru was conflicted. He wanted to warn Haruma somehow, but he didn’t know what to say. Anything he said would make Haruma’s bright smile disappear.
“I’m glad to help him however I can. I don’t care what other people say about it.”
***
Akeru pulled Yukiya’s tent flap open. “Hey, you wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
Yukiya sat on a camp stool. He was studying maps spread across a low table. He laughed without looking up. “What did I do now?”
“You have no conscience! You’re deceiving that poor innocent boy.”
“Deceiving? Perish the thought. I’m just a kind and caring senior.”
“Bullshit. I know you’re twisted to the core. You can’t lie to me.”
Yukiya laughed again. “So, why are you here?”
A pause.
Yukiya looked up from his maps.
His appearance had changed significantly since their days as Seeds. His features had sharpened with age, though remnants of the soft, round-faced little boy still peeked through. Akeru knew that the average person might mistake Yukiya for an eloquent, respectable young man based solely on appearances. He’d undergone quite the transformation.
Yukiya had been the shortest cadet at the Keisōin when he’d enrolled. Years of training had made him taller and obviously stronger. He looked like a warrior now. Someone who hadn’t seen him in three years might not recognize him. Most frustrating of all was his height—Yukiya was taller than Akeru now, because the universe was distinctly unfair.
Akeru cleared his throat. “I came here with a message from His Imperial Highness.”
“From His Imperial Highness?” Yukiya asked.
Shigemaru interrupted before Yukiya finished asking his question. “Hey!” Shigemaru called out from outside the tent. “I can hear you guys. Is that okay?”
Before Akeru could ask where he was, Shigemaru lifted the tent’s back flap and poked his head inside. “Hi, Akeru!”
“Shigemaru! What are you doing here?”
“Chihaya’s here, too. I was making tea for my best friend since he’s in the middle of the Trial of the Storm. Do you need us to leave?”
“No, you can stay. You two are going to be second and third in your class, right? You’ll be tasked with His Imperial Highness’ protection in the future anyway, so it’s probably for the best that you hear this.”
Besides, Shigemaru and Chihaya had already met the Crown Prince several times before. The Crown Prince’s supporters knew that they were allies. There was no point in keeping information from them.
“Really? Hold on a minute, then!”
Shigemaru’s face vanished. A moment later, he and Chihaya came through the tent’s front entrance. Akeru and Chihaya exchanged vicious greetings with a shared smile.
“Hey, little lord. Playing messenger now? Menial tasks suit you,” Chihaya said.
“Shut up, you impoverished simpleton.”
Chihaya carried in bamboo tea cups. Shigemaru held a steaming iron kettle.
They pushed aside the table with the maps and spread a mat out on the ground. Everyone sat down in a circle.
“It’s low-grade tea. Sorry about that.”
“Thank you. I’m sure it’s fine.”
Shigemaru poured the tea. Akeru took a sip and then opened his package, which was full of papers. “Take a look at this.”
Yukiya accepted the papers. Chihaya and Shigemaru peeked over his shoulder.
“What the hell is all this?” Shigemaru asked.
The paper was covered in a grid of evenly spaced lines. Shigemaru and Chihaya appeared puzzled, but Yukiya figured it out quickly. “Is this one of those foreign statistical graphs?”
“It is. At His Imperial Highness’ request, we reviewed records from the last century and gathered data on water levels in Souke Territory. Can you read it? The vertical lines represent the amount of water. The horizontal lines represent time.”
Yukiya traced the lines with his finger and said, “I can. This makes it easy to see changes over time.”
“What do you mean?” Shigemaru asked.
Yukiya set the paper on the mat so that Shigemaru and Chihaya could see it more easily. “The higher this line goes, the more water we had at that time. The lower it goes, the less water there is.”
The line moved up and down, but the overall trend was downward.
Chihaya gave Akeru a questioning look. “The water level in Souke Territory is going down over time?”
“That’s what it looks like.”
The Imperial Court’s investigation was supported by numerous cases of wells drying up in Souke Territory over the past few years. The mountain that the Imperial Court was built within had always been blessed with plentiful water. Waterfalls sprouted directly from the mountain’s surface. Residences of Souke’s noble families had been built between waterfalls, filling the spaces between bodies of water.
Chihaya and Shigemaru looked confused. Why was this graph important?
“Have you forgotten how the Kuisaru attacked us three years ago? They used a dried-up well to enter Yamauchi,” Akeru said solemnly.
“So this is about the Kuisaru?” Shigemaru asked.
“It is. And it’s urgent,” Akeru said. “Ever since the Kuisaru’s first invasion three years ago, the Imperial Court has been examining all the wells and caves in Souke Territory.” The investigation hadn’t uncovered any other potential invasion route besides the initial dried-up well—or so the official report claimed.
“There are more passages than the one that the Imperial Court has under its control.”
“What?!” Shigemaru yelped.
Yukiya took over the explanation. “Don’t worry. The known passages are already sealed. There are guards constantly keeping watch.”
Shigemaru blinked. “You already knew about other passages?”
“I did. I entered one with the Crown Prince three years ago. I saw the Kuisaru with my own eyes.”
“Crazy. You’re completely crazy,” Shigemaru muttered.
“Back to the topic at hand. What’s the relationship between the Kuisaru and the water?” Chihaya asked.
Akeru looked directly at Yukiya. “Let’s ask Yukiya, since he knows about these passages from firsthand experience. The passage you entered wasn’t at the bottom of the well, correct? Does it have anything in common with the dried-up well passage?”
“Geographically speaking, both were holes or underground pathways that led deep under the mountain,” Yukiya said like a cadet answering an instructor’s question.
“What do you remember about your path to reach the Kuisaru’s territory?”
Yukiya was stumped for a second. Then he looked down at the graph. “Water. Now that you mention it, I swam through an underground lake. There was shining water. The Kuisaru were right there after I surfaced.”
“Exactly.”
The invasion route that the Imperial Court had sealed off was a passage at the bottom of a dried-up well. The sealed passage that Yukiya had entered in the Underground also led to the Kuisaru.
“We can tentatively assume that water separates us from the Kuisaru’s world,” Akeru said. “Or so His Imperial Highness believes.”
Water flowing from the mountain to Yamauchi’s different regions had been steadily decreasing over time. The trend was not isolated to Souke Territory.
“We received a report saying that the water coming from the waterfalls on the central mountain has suddenly dropped over the past three days,” Akeru said.
“The past three days?” Shigemaru asked weakly.
Yukiya and Chihaya said nothing, but their attention sharpened on Akeru.
“Hopefully it’s nothing, but His Imperial Highness believes it’s significant. He’s told me that he has a bad feeling about what’s happening to the water.”
Yukiya groaned. “That’s terrible. A true Golden Raven’s instincts might as well be prophecy. If His Imperial Highness is saying that, something awful is going to happen in the near future.”
“We have eyes on any suspicious spots that were found during the last investigation. The Yamauchishu are already on the move, but the area to cover is too large. If the worst happens, they could end up fighting the Kuisaru, and they’ll be badly outnumbered. His Imperial Highness commands you to join the search as soon as the Trial of the Storm is over.”
“Understood.” Yukiya straightened his back. “Tell His Imperial Highness that I’ll join him as soon as I’ve taken care of things here. The Trial of the Storm will be over after tomorrow’s match.”
“Got it.”
“My Trial of the Storm is finished,” Shigemaru said, leaning forward eagerly. “I’m not an official Yamauchishu yet, but can I help?”
“I’ll go, too,” Chihaya added.
Akeru nodded. “I’m sure His Imperial Highness will be happy to accept your assistance.”
Yukiya watched the three of them, all ready to leave that very moment. He frowned slightly. “I’d honestly rather leave right now. The Trial of the Storm seems like child’s play compared to what’s happening.”
“You can’t leave now.” Akeru refused to hear Yukiya’s complaints. “Even if we know some kind of disaster is going to happen, we don’t know when or where. It could be tomorrow, in ten days, or even a month from now. Having you fail out before your last test would be stupid, and you’re not stupid. The Crown Prince gave me a message in case you insisted on coming back with me: ‘Yukiya, don’t panic. Return only after you’ve finished your trial. We’ll talk soon.’ That’s it, word for word. The Crown Prince asked the Princess of Sakura Palace to speak on his behalf for your message.”
Yukiya blinked in surprise. “Princess Hamayū said that?”
“She did. And His Imperial Highness agrees with her. After he heard her say that, he added, ‘Yukiya probably knows that already, but tell him I’m of the same opinion just in case.’”
Yukiya held his head in his hands. “Then please tell both His Imperial Highness and the Princess of Sakura Palace that I understand. I’ll join them after the Trial of the Storm.”
“Good. And you’d better not screw it all up at the last moment and fail.”
Yukiya’s lips curved into a sly grin. “Who do you think you’re talking to?”
***
The tent fell silent after Akeru and the others left. Yukiya sighed. “Well, then. Back to it.”
The topographical map he’d been reviewing represented the surrounding terrain. He’d finished a preliminary inspection while the sun was still high—the ground was rocky and there was a crude, narrow tunnel he could use as a shortcut if needed. If he tried to win by the book, the battle would be long and drawn out.
He wasn’t worried about losing, no matter how complicated the battlefield got. He’d trained in this field many times before and his opponent was someone he knew well.
What concerned Yukiya most wasn’t victory, but time.
There were Seeds unaccustomed to mock battles taking part in the matches, so he wanted to avoid using overly intricate strategies. After hearing what Akeru had to say, he wanted to finish the trial quickly so he could join the Crown Prince and the others in the search. He’d intended to win conventionally before, but time pressure forced him to revise his plans.
“Tree Yukiya, I brought you dinner.”
“Come in.”
“Sorry to intrude.” Haruma entered politely and placed a four-legged tray full of food in front of Yukiya. He’d grilled some mochi with miso sauce from the kitchen. It smelled wonderful. “Everyone’s gone back to the academy except for you.”
“Yeah. You didn’t have to go to all this trouble to make food for me.”
“Oh, it’s no trouble. I’ll bring the leftovers back and share them with the other Seeds.” Haruma had prepared dinner for him, Shigemaru, and the others over a fire a little way away from the tent. He was a a kind, considerate junior, always careful not to be a bother.
“About tomorrow. I’m thinking of giving you command over a detached force,” Yukiya said.
Haruma straightened up in surprise. “Me? Is that really all right? That’s usually a role for a Sapling…”
“I’ll carefully consider the members. There shouldn’t be many complaints if we gather people familiar with your talent. I’ll leave the decision-making on the field to you.”
Haruma’s eyes sparkled. “That’s such an honor! I’ll do everything I can to help you, Tree Yukiya!”
“Good. Go rest now.”
“I will! See you tomorrow.”
Yukiya watched Haruma leave with light steps. He smiled slightly.
Haruma didn’t seem to realize it, but Yukiya had been suspicious of him when they’d first met. When he’d first become a Sapling, the two juniors he’d shared a room with had been terribly rude. Yukiya had hammered the Keisōin’s hierarchy into their bones, literally.
Yukiya was very aware that he’d been far from a model junior cadet. Before meeting Haruma, he’d been convinced that obedient, meek juniors didn’t exist.
It took quite a while for Yukiya realize that Haruma was genuine in his admiration. The shock of this realization made him reflect on his life choices.
Haruma joined Yukiya’s Tactical Research Group every single day without fail and took care of menial tasks of his own volition—Yukiya rarely gave him orders. Haruma was so ridiculously considerate that Yukiya’s peers had started poking fun at him for working a poor Seed to the bone.
Then there was Haruma’s talent. He was brilliant, as expected of a cadet recommended to the Keisōin for his intelligence. His practical skills were somewhat concerning, but his skill in military strategy was beyond question. Haruma was one of the only cadets in the Keisōin who could keep up with Yukiya’s strategies. He understood Yukiya’s thought process, even without explanations.
Over time, Yukiya had started to view Haruma as another little brother. Like Yukichi, but a bit older. Haruma’s progress interested him. He wanted to see the boy do well in life.
Yukiya shouldn’t be thinking so much about Haruma right now. He had a trial to prepare for.
Under normal circumstances, this would be the time to pull an all-nighter perfecting his strategy, but he was already set on a course of action. He felt a little sorry for his opponent, but he fully planned to finish things quickly tomorrow.
Yukiya went to bed early that night.
***
The next morning, Yukiya woke at sunrise and immediately took raven form, flying around to study the training field from above. The weather was good—no significant wind. Nothing would hamper his plan.
Reconnaissance done, Yukiya returned to the tent where he’d spent the night. By then, the cadets assigned to his forces for the match had already begun mustering.
Haruma stood in front of them all, waiting eagerly. “Good morning! How does the sky look?”
Yukiya took human form as he answered, “The wind is gentle, and there are no clouds. Perfect conditions for a match.” He quickly retied his ceremonial sword to his belt.
“That’s good to hear.”
“I’m counting on you all today.”
“We’ll make you proud.”
The cadets lined up by the command tent. Shortly after, the instructors who would act as referees arrived from the Keisōin. White banners rose across the camp. Participating cadets tied white sashes around themselves.
Yukiya’s forces totaled thirty cadets. Their only weapons allowed were bamboo swords and whistling arrows. The goal was to steal the enemy general’s banner. Cadets who had their sashes stolen by the enemy had to leave the field. The time limit for the match was midday the following day.
The cadets stood in line waiting for the match to start. Drums sounded in the distance.
Yukiya’s final trial at the Keisōin had begun.
He wasted no time issuing commands. “Haruma, take your three men through the tunnel to the enemy’s side. Go now.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Everyone else: we’ll leave one person behind to protect our banner, then march together to the enemy’s camp.”
The cadets looked at Yukiya in disbelief. His assigned lieutenant, a Sapling, gasped and asked in a high-pitched voice, “But—what about scouts? And why leave only one person to guard our banner—”
“One is enough. This is a swift attack. Our true enemy is time.”
In field exercises like this one, the key to winning was to get the enemy to spread their forces too thin. Considering his opponent’s track record, Yukiya expected that he would use the badger strategy. That strategy made use of only a few scouts, assigning all remaining forces to defend the banner.
His opponent had also lost to Yukiya many times and had grown cautious. He’d probably send out more scouts than usual at the start.
“I assume he’ll send at least seven scouts. He’ll also be worried about the tunnel and send people to guard it, so that’s another four or five people away from their camp. Even if some of them realize what we’re doing and return, that’s still two or three fewer fighters. If my calculations are correct, we’ll only face about twenty men when we arrive.”
If the enemy planned to defend, the best time to attack was now—before the enemy had information on Yukiya’s forces.
“Depending on the circumstances, we might even be able to start the battle without their scouts returning,” Yukiya said as he jumped onto the back of one of the cadets who was already in raven form.
A Sapling lieutenant smiled slightly. “And that’s why you think one person is enough to defend our banner?”
They’d only lose if one of the enemy’s scouts came to check on them, found the empty camp, and charged alone before they could finish their attack. Their prospects were good. As long as they left an archer with plenty of whistling arrows, Yukiya believed that one cadet could take out any enemy scouts without engaging in close combat.
Yukiya’s main concern was the tunnel. His opponent could use it to send troops directly to their camp. That was why he’d sent Haruma there.
“Let’s finish this quickly.”
“Yes, sir!”
They headed to the enemy’s camp at full speed. When they arrived, there were only nineteen cadets with red sashes rushing around the enemy’s camp. Yukiya saw a few shift into raven form to fight back—but the battle was already won.
“Disperse!”
Following Yukiya’s order, his forces divided cleanly into three units. The two flanking units approached the enemy’s camp, dodging arrows from above. Some were intercepted by the enemy’s raven fighters. Others took direct hits from whistling arrows. Most survived the charge.
The red-sashed defenders fought valiantly, but most of Yukiya’s final unit charged from above. The defenders didn’t have time to release a second volley of arrows.
Yukiya led the dive, flying into the thick of battle and striking down four or five opponents with his ceremonial sword. The attack cleared a path for one of his Saplings to seize the general’s banner.
“We win!” the Sapling yelled breathlessly, raising the banner high.
One of the referees beat his war drum.
The match was over.
***
“And I thought just this once I could get back at you. What are you? A demon?”
“Some people call me that,” Yukiya said mildly.
After the match, there were no commendations or emotional scenes. Instead, Sadamori made his forces line up and verified the actual losses on his side. Then he headed toward Yukiya with a bitter look on his face.
“Sadamori, you should have instructed your troops at the start on how to fight back—whether to use bows and arrows or to transform into raven form for melee. It should be one or the other—trying to do both made them trip over one another. The Seeds aren’t used to field exercises like this, so they get confused without clear orders.”
“That’s a very fair point, and I thank you for the feedback. But you attacked before I even had time to give those orders! Damn it all!” Sadamori cursed.
Sadamori and Yukiya hadn’t shared many classes together before they became Trees even though they were both from Hokke Territory. Sadamori was a sore loser—Yukiya knew that from previous strategy games—but he was good-natured in general and didn’t hold grudges.
“It really annoys me, but this confirms your graduation as first in the class, right? It was inevitable, I guess. Congratulations.”
“Thank you. Congratulations on completing the Trial of the Storm.”
The casualties on each side totaled six for red and nine for white. Of those casualties, three lost their sashes on the red side and two lost their sashes on the white side. The other casualties were counted based on injuries suffered during the mock battle. Victory was victory, but Yukiya’s side had suffered heavier losses.
Yukiya realized how reckless his approach had been, but his main preoccupation had been speed. He was considering asking Haruma for his opinion when he noticed that his detached force hadn’t returned yet—they were taking too long.
“Hey, did you send someone to the tunnel to bring Haruma and the others back?” he asked one of the cadets.
“No? I thought that everyone was back now. Are we missing someone?”
Maybe Haruma and his group hadn’t heard the war drum from inside the tunnel. Yukiya turned his gaze toward the tunnel’s exit. He saw a dark shadow flying toward them in the blue, cloudless sky.
There they are, Yukiya thought.
His detached unit had four members including Haruma, but he only saw one shadow approaching. The raven was panicked and flying wildly. The sound of desperate caws reached Yukiya on the ground.
Yukiya had seen this exact same thing before: a panicked, out-of-control raven cawing for help. Almost four years ago, that crazed raven had crash-landed in Taruhi Village, his home. Yukiya didn’t want to think about the horrific violence he’d seen shortly after that.
The Yatagarasu reached the camp, transforming into their human shape and falling to the ground. Yukiya shoved through the crowd and dashed toward the cadet.
“Koroku?”
It was of the Saplings from his detached force.
“Tree Yukiya…”
“Yes! Tell me what happened.”
“The Kuisaru attacked us.”
The world around Yukiya went silent for a moment. Rising tension sharpened all his senses. His heart beat so loudly in his chest that he could hear it echoing in his head.
“How many?”
“I only saw one. It came from behind us suddenly and—I wanted to help fight, but we didn’t have real weapons…”
“Where are Haruma and the other two cadets?”
“I don’t know! I had to warn everyone—What should I do now? I left Haruma, Teppei, and Akitoki behind!” Koroku wailed.
Yukiya left him and turned to the petrified cadets behind him. “Bring the instructors here right now! Contact the nearest Yamauchishu outpost! Tell them to bring every soldier and weapon they have to block the northern tunnel on this field!”
Several cadets sprinted away like headless chickens to follow Yukiya’s orders.
Yukiya returned to Koroku and said, “Leaving to warn everyone because you had no weapons was the right choice. You must tell the instructors exactly what happened when they arrive. Your information will help us save our friends, understand?”
Koroku nodded. He was shaking uncontrollably.
Yukiya stood up. “I’ll go to the tunnel’s north entrance. Sadamori, go to the south entrance and stand guard until reinforcements arrive. Don’t go into the tunnel until we have weapons.”
“Understood.” Sadamori responded immediately to Yukiya’s orders, stress lines visible on his face.
“All remaining Saplings, divide into two groups and follow us!”
Yukiya transformed into his raven shape and flew to the tunnel as fast as he could. After Yukiya confirmed that there were no Kuisaru around, he landed and took human form.
Two cadets were already near the tunnel: Teppei and Akitoki. Teppei was trying to take raven form, but his panic made him fail. Akitoki was barely moving.
“Teppei, Akitoki! Are you all right?!”
Akitoki remained motionless, but whispered, “Tree Yukiya…”
“What’s wrong? Where’s Haruma?”
“Haruma—the Kuisaru took Haruma.”
It took Haruma?
Yukiya froze.
Akitoki’s face twisted horribly. “He shouldn’t have protected us! We tried to get him back, but that thing was too strong. It shook me off. I’m hurt.”
Akitoki’s arm was bent at an odd angle, his forehead drenched in cold sweat.
Yukiya forced himself to nod. “I know. This isn’t your fault.”
The Kuisaru had taken Haruma.
“Tree Yukiya, we should go and find Haruma!” the Sapling following him yelled as he caught up.
“We can’t!” Yukiya answered. “Without weapons, we’re just as powerless as they were.”
“Are you telling us to give up?! Haruma could die while we’re standing here!”
“We’re not going to be stupid about this,” Yukiya insisted. “And we’re not giving up. Going into that tunnel without weapons is suicide.”
The Sapling gasped sharply, but he didn’t protest.
By the time soldiers arrived with weapons, Yukiya had sent Teppei away for medical treatment. He’d injured his wing and was mute from terror. Yukiya managed to reset Akitoki’s dislocated shoulder. Akitoki remained conscious and determined, so Yukiya and the soldiers brought him along as they entered the tunnel.
“This is where we were attacked.” The spot Akitoki pointed to was connected to a subterranean stream. It was the only part of the tunnel that touched water. A narrow waterfall trickled down the side of the tunnel into the stream below. The stream’s current made a soft rushing sound.
Yukiya had surveyed this place during yesterday’s preliminary inspection. Why hadn’t he noticed anything wrong then? They were in Souke Territory and the playing field had water all over the place. This tunnel went further underground. It was the perfect place for the Kuisaru to stage an attack.
Yukiya followed the stream. The cavern was dark. Yukiya wanted to keep going and find the entrance to the Kuisaru’s domain, but that would be reckless and stupid. He bit his lip.
“Tree Yukiya,” someone on the path above called out.
“Yes?”
“Look at this!”
Yukiya ran up to the cadet. There was a piece of paper in the middle of the path, illuminated by torchlight. The paper’s quality was atrocious, but it was carefully folded.
On the front of the paper was written, To the Golden Raven.
***
Barely four and a half hours had passed since Prince Natsuka received news of the Kuisaru attack. He was supervising the investigation of the wells in Souke Territory when he heard the news.
It’s time, Prince Natsuka thought. He’d been waiting for another Kuisaru attack for more than three years, and it was finally here.
Prince Natsuka and the Crown Prince had not spent their time idly waiting. Countermeasures were in place for every situation that could be foreseen. These countermeasures had been shared with the Imperial Court. As long as everyone kept calm, they should be able to avoid the worst outcomes.
Prince Natsuka rushed to the tunnel where the Kuisaru had been sighted. By the time he arrived, guards were already posted at the tunnel entrances. Someone had established a command center not far from there, repurposing a tent used in the Keisōin’s Trial of the Storm that morning. Many officials had already gathered in the tent after receiving the news. They were busy arguing about what should happen next.
The Crown Prince and his retinue had arrived before Prince Natsuka. They stood in the center of the throng of officials. Among them was Yukiya, who was standing directly in front of his lord. For reasons Prince Natsuka couldn’t fathom, they’d chosen this critical moment to have a fight.
“What’s the situation?” Prince Natsuka asked.
“The Imperial Court is following the procedures we established,” Akeru said.
Prince Natsuka looked around. The court officials were all arguing with each other as they figured out how to proceed. The goal was to figure out the most effective way to block and then seal the tunnel.
“Something has happened that we didn’t plan for,” Akeru said.
“What is it?”
“We found this in the tunnel.” The Crown Prince offered something to Prince Natsuka without looking at him. His attention was fixed on Yukiya, who was scowling at him.
Prince Natsuka couldn’t believe his eyes. “What?! The Kuisaru left us a message?”
Prince Natsuka opened the folded letter and read it.
I want meet Golden Raven.
If young Golden Raven comes, little raven return safe.
I not eat little raven.
I not hurt Golden Raven.
The penmanship was hard to read, but the message was clear enough. “Unbelievable. They’re asking you to meet with them?”
“They kidnapped that cadet to use him as a hostage,” Rokon said. He wasn’t upset. He appeared vaguely amused by the letter.
“Your Imperial Highness, this is a trap. An obvious trap,” Yukiya said, glaring daggers. “We don’t know what their goal is, but the Kuisaru pulled this trick because it knows the true Golden Raven’s weaknesses. If we do what they ask, we know what will happen.”
A true Golden Raven possessed power beyond any ordinary Yatagarasu, but that power came with painful restrictions. Even if a Yatagarasu hurt the Crown Prince, he couldn’t retaliate. He was incapable of making rational choices when Yatagarasu hostages were involved. This situation was the one that those serving the Crown Prince feared most.
“Are you suggesting we abandon that poor cadet? Don’t you care about him?”
“I’m not about to put you and all of Yamauchi in danger for one person, even if that person is Haruma. We should prioritize sealing the tunnel.” The tension between the Crown Prince and Yukiya was plain to see. The surrounding officials’ chatter seemed quaint in comparison.
“Do you have a different plan? Any contingencies? You’ll get yourself killed if you agree to their demands,” Rokon added. “The rational choice is to give up on the kidnapped cadet.”
“I think so, too. You really shouldn’t go,” Prince Natsuka agreed.
The Crown Prince gave them a firm nod. “I see. I understand your points, but I’m going anyway.”
This declaration surprised no one. Nazukihiko couldn’t fail to act when there was a Yatagarasu hostage to save.
The Crown Prince looked at the letter in Prince Natsuka’s hands and added dispassionately, “The sender says they want to speak to me. What bothers me is their insistence that they won’t harm me or eat the hostage.”
Prince Natsuka heaved a sigh. “What are you saying?! This is a trap. You shouldn’t believe a word they say.”
“I won’t know if it’s a trap or not until I go. More importantly, the specific phrasing in that letter bothers me.”
Prince Natsuka looked at him suspiciously. “Bothers you how?”
The Crown Prince smiled slightly. “Don’t you see it? There’s nothing in this letter about what they’ll do if I don’t meet them. I don’t actually have to go. The threat to the cadet is implied, not stated.”
The Crown Prince would have had no choice but to go after Haruma if Kozaru had written something like, ‘Haruma is dead if you don’t come.’ Instead, Kozaru had only expressed a desire to meet the Golden Raven and to return the hostage after the meeting.
What was this Kuisaru thinking when they wrote the letter?
“They had this letter prepared, so we can assume they came here planning to take a hostage from the start. Other cadets were injured, but none were killed. I’m not saying we should lower our guard, but… there’s something different about this Kuisaru.”
“Are you suggesting that it’s not the same Kuisaru you spoke to before?” Prince Natsuka’s voice cracked on the last word.
The Crown Prince nodded seriously. “That’s how it feels to me. I want to talk with this Kozaru. We can judge his intentions after the meeting.”
“I can’t accept that,” Yukiya said. He shook his head slowly in denial. “This is a problem that threatens your life, Your Imperial Highness. It’s possible the Kuisaru wrote the letter that way to lure you into their territory.”
“If the situation sours, we can always retreat. I’m sure you’re skilled enough to secure an escape route for us.” The Crown Prince spoke decisively. No one could change his mind now. “We shouldn’t give up while there’s still a chance of success.”
“But…” Yukiya’s expression twisted horribly for a second, but the Crown Prince paid his anxiety no mind.
“I’m not asking for your opinion. This is an order. Stop talking and come with me. Understood?”
The Crown Prince left the tent. A troubled-looking Sumio followed after him.
“Hey! Wait, Nazukihiko!” Prince Natsuka rushed after him. He saw his younger brother turn back with a hint of a smile.
“He’s quite formidable now, isn’t he?” Nazukihiko asked.
***
Yukiya remained in the tent. Shigemaru patted his shoulder. “Good for you, Yukiya. You tried.”
Yukiya said nothing.
While Yukiya prepared to enter the tunnel, he kept replaying the earlier conversation in his mind. He bit his lip. He didn’t want to abandon Haruma. The Crown Prince was morally in the right, but he didn’t want to risk the Crown Prince’s life for Haruma’s sake.
The Crown Prince had seen right through him. The worst thing about this whole mess was that the Crown Prince was trying to be considerate. Yukiya was equal parts grateful and terrified. He felt like if the Crown Prince died while meeting Kozaru, it would be all his fault.
Yukiya was going to bring the Crown Prince back to Yamauchi even if it cost him his own life. He would save Haruma, too. Somehow.
***
“He never listens when he gets like this,” Prince Natsuka said. He knew his brother well. After Nazukihiko’s mind was made up, he would never change it.
Prince Natsuka took it upon himself to gather everything required to make an expedition into the tunnel. He did this while soothing Imperial Court officials and sending messages with orders and contingency plans. No one outside the people in the command tent could know that the Crown Prince was going into the tunnel himself.
The effort required to slow down the Imperial Court’s frantic attempts to seal off the tunnel was substantial. Yukiya didn’t envy Prince Natsuka’s responsibilities. He had his own role to play in the expedition, but he wouldn’t trade places with Prince Natsuka for anything.
Aside from Sumio, three others would accompany the Crown Prince as guards—Yukiya, Chihaya, and Shigemaru.
“We can’t bring too many people or we’ll have trouble moving in such tight quarters. That limits us to elite fighters. Right now, you’re the most skilled people we can trust.”
Prince Natsuka gave them a command—the kind of command that only he could give. “If it comes down to it, act according to your own judgment. You must protect His Imperial Highness at all costs, even if that means ignoring his orders. Understood?”
There were no objections.
Yukiya and the others finished preparing, but they didn’t set out just yet. It was likely that the Crown Prince’s expedition would pass through the barrier that protected Yamauchi from the outside world. Burning incense was the best way to prevent getting lost in the illusory mazes created by the barrier’s magic, but they didn’t expect the smell of the incense smoke to travel far because of the running water in the tunnel.
Akeru came up with a solution. “How about we put some nisinda in the torches?”
“The Saike family’s specialty incense?”
“Yes. The strong smell should travel far.”
With that problem solved, the expedition force turned their attention to the terrain. The stream in the tunnel made this infiltration route impossible to block off entirely. To solve that problem, they sharpened bamboo stakes to build a lethal, temporary barrier that would block the way until the Crown Prince returned. Rokon would remain with Prince Natsuka near this bamboo barrier and attack any Kuisaru that attempted to get through it.
“We’ll have our best soldiers waiting by the tunnel entrance with as many arrows as they can carry. If the Kuisaru appear there, we’ll assume you won’t be coming back. We’ll have to seal the cave,” Rokon said.
The Crown Prince nodded. “That’s fine with me. If the worst happens, brother, I’ll be leaving what comes next to you.”
“I hate it when you say things like that,” Prince Natsuka said. “Come back to us. I’ll share your burden, but I’m not sufficient to take it from you.”
“Please be careful.” Akeru sent them off, wringing his hands.
The expedition force entered the tunnel. They were bringing along the largest waterproof lantern available. They dropped a lump of sugar inside. The blue-white sparkling dust inside the lantern grew into a fist-sized ball of light.
Yukiya tested the lantern’s range before the expedition set off. Its light reached the edge of the stream from the tunnel’s entrance.
Everyone set smaller portable lanterns around their necks. Chihaya carried the large lantern. He took the lead with Yukiya right behind him. The Crown Prince followed them, staying in the middle of the group. Sumio came after him, with Shigemaru taking the rear. Shigemaru carried a spool of strong spider silk thread with him. He tied one end to a rock near the entrance so they wouldn’t get lost and unwound the spool of thread as they advanced.
They passed the bamboo barrier—green stakes sharpened to points like spears. Then they held on to the rock walls to either side so that the stream’s current wouldn’t separate them.
“Let’s go,” the Crown Prince commanded.
The expedition force stepped into the dark water.
***
They proceeded up the underground stream. The stream’s current was swift, as they’d expected. The water was very cold. The bedrock, polished smooth by the stream, was slippery. The rock walls to either side of them were almost perfectly smooth. Progress was slow because they had to verify that each step they took was safe.
Chihaya’s outstanding physical capabilities proved useful in his role as the expedition’s leader. He stumbled but never fell, not even in the most treacherous spots. Everyone else quietly followed him.
The entrance to the tunnel passed out of sight as they followed the winding stream. Their lanterns were sufficient to light the way as they advanced.
Then Chihaya stopped and looked up.
“What’s wrong?” Yukiya asked. His gaze followed Chihaya’s.
The narrow stream they’d been traversing opened up and outward. The transition was sudden; that was why Chihaya had halted. Huge stones rose out of the water ahead of them. Stone formations sprouted like bamboo shoots from whatever rock surface rose above the water level. Icicle-like stones hung closely packed together on the cavernous ceiling.
Shigemaru gasped. “We’ll all be skewered if those fall on us.”
“There were rocks like those in the tunnels of the Underground,” Yukiya said. “Not nearly as many, but I remember them.”
“They’re stalactites. I heard that word for them in the human world,” the Crown Prince said. He’d studied abroad for years as a child. “They formed that way because of the water dripping from them. It takes quite a long time for stalactites to become so large. I doubt they’ll break easily, but we should be careful.”
They all nodded. Chihaya followed the stream again and then stopped after a few minutes. “The stream splits here,” he said.
“What?”
Chihaya held his lamp forward. The underground stream separated into three tributaries just ahead of them. Yukiya was about to ask the Crown Prince how to proceed when Chihaya’s shout distracted him.
“Wait!” Chihaya jumped out of the water and ran along the slippery shore.
“Chihaya?! Did you find something?” Yukiya asked, following after him in a panic.
He noticed the same thing before Chihaya could answer. “That’s Haruma’s sash!”
A piece of pure white fabric rested on one of the bamboo shoot-shaped rocks. It was completely out of place in this environment. Upon closer examination, the sash wasn’t simply wrapped around the rock, but tied down. It hadn’t fallen by accident—someone had left it there intentionally.
“Do you think Haruma waited for an opening to do this?” Shigemaru asked.
“I don’t think so,” Sumio answered. “Kozaru went to the trouble of inviting the Golden Raven. He probably left the sash here to guide us.”
Yukiya’s gaze drifted upstream.
“Let’s move on. The Kuisaru and Haruma must be in this direction,” the Crown Prince said.
Everyone nodded.
The water had been up to their knees until then, but it got deeper from that point on. There were more stalactites above and more rock formations around them as they progressed. Some stalactites were so long that they nearly touched the stream’s surface. The expedition force swam underneath them. They were all cold through, but no one suggested stopping for a break.
Whenever the path got particularly rough, there was always a sign confirming that they were going in the right direction.
Needle-sharp tips of stalactites, all broken off.
“The Kuisaru passed through here, most likely.”
“It must have hit its head, then.”
“Or it broke them to make it easier to pass through.”
They moved on, wading in the water until Sumio found something on the bedrock where clay had piled up. “Here. Footprints.”
The water was quite clear, so it was easy to see traces of the Kuisaru’s passing in the lantern light.
There was only one set of footprints. Yukiya tried not to worry prematurely about that.
The water level came up to Yukiya’s chest now. Haruma was shorter than him. The water here would have gone over his head.
“Let’s hurry,” Sumio said.
Nobody else spoke.
Finally, they reached a spot with terraced pools. They almost looked like rice field terraces, all connected by stairs. Yukiya had seen similar sights in Taruhi Province.
The expedition force followed the terraced paths, climbing stairs as they went. They came to another branching path. As before, a torn white sash had been left behind to guide their way. The stream widened into a pool at that point. The group got out of the water and stepped onto a sandy shore.
They held their lanterns up, searching for the way forward.
Chihaya gulped. There, blending in with a strangely shaped rock, was a hunched figure.
“You bastard!” Yukiya threw himself at the figure, but Shigemaru caught his arm and hauled him back. “Calm down, Yukiya. Leave this to His Imperial Highness, or did you forget why we came all the way here?”
Yukiya was briefly ashamed. He didn’t usually lose his composure. He wasn’t here to murder Kozaru, even if Kozaru richly deserved it.
The hunched figure curled in on themselves, shaking. They looked up slowly. “You raven leader? Golden Raven?”
“Yes, I’m a true Golden Raven.” The Crown Prince introduced himself warily.
The figure came out from behind the rock. “Read letter, yes? Me Kozaru. Me no hurt you. I want meet you, talk you.” Kozaru was a tiny little old man. He spoke brokenly, but with great intensity. There was no doubt that he understood at least some of the Yatagarasu language.
The lantern light bathed the old man in an orange glow. He wore a robe that resembled a priest’s. It was made of a glossy gray material that shed light. His white hair was sparse and his face was deeply wrinkled. He looked like a human, but his features were roynish enough to suggest that he was a Kuisaru in human form.
“I came here as you requested. Return Haruma to us,” the Crown Prince said.
“Little raven?”
Yukiya’s shoulders went rigid. The Crown Prince had wasted no time cutting right to the heart of the matter.
Kozaru looked like he might cry. “Little raven safe. Not hurt.”
“Really?”
“Really. Go home now. Come.” The old man was about to set off when he caught sight of the spool of thread in Shigemaru’s hand. He shook his head. “No good. From here, many monkey eat raven and human. They not know path home. If they see, they know.”
Shigemaru held the spool up. “So there are man-eating Kuisaru from here on, but they don’t know this path exists. You’re telling us we’re at risk of them discovering it if they happen to find this thread?”
“Yes! Man-eating monkey see.”
Kozaru didn’t group himself in with the Kuisaru.
The Crown Prince tilted his head. “You don’t eat ravens and humans, then?”
“No!” Kozaru appeared horrified. “No. I not hurt you.” He said this slowly and deliberately. He turned his back to them and started walking away, his movements full of nervous energy.
The Crown Prince gave Yukiya a careful signal with his eyes. Yukiya gave him a firm nod back. Both Yukiya and the Crown Prince knew for certain that Kozaru was not the Kuisaru they’d spoken to three years before. He was different. His grasp of the Yatagarasu language was much worse, but he seemed to have better intentions.
They decided to follow Kozaru for the time being. Shigemaru left his spool of thread behind. They reached a stone cave and stopped.
“From here, silence. Silence.” Kozaru put a finger to his lips. Then he led them through a small hole that was well hidden behind rocks. If Kozaru hadn’t led them right to it, they might never have found the hole.
What awaited them on the other side wasn’t a natural cave, but something like a proper road. This road was even and regular and had obviously been created with tools. Something intelligent had made the road.
As Yukiya came to that conclusion, a younger man, much bulkier than Kozaru, appeared in front of them. Was that a Kuisaru? They all drew their weapons.
The young man raised both his arms, showing his empty hands. He scowled at them.
“This one good, so silence,” Kozaru said hastily.
Even with his assurances, the expedition force didn’t relax.
“He not know raven words. He keep see… look? View?” The old man tried to explain himself with great effort.
“Do you mean ‘watch?’” Yukiya asked.
“That! Watch. He keep watch. Is good. Here, hurry,” Kozaru said as he trotted down the road. The group ran after him, their hands still on their weapons as they advanced. The young man stayed where he was, watching them go with his hands still raised.
It didn’t take long to reach their destination.
“We here.” The old man pointed at a place covered densely with dead wisteria vines.
Yukiya frowned at Kozaru. What did ‘here’ mean? He crouched down and saw the gleam of metal hinges. There was a set of double doors under the vines. Some of the hinges were broken.
The surrounding walls were built of carved bare rock, but the doors were made of wood. The hinges and rivets on the door looked like iron. The doors had been made to last, but they’d taken a beating. If Yukiya had to guess, he’d say that at least one person had taken an axe to them at some point. Withered wisteria vines spilled out from a broken piece of the one door. Those vines had spread over the doors completely, concealing them from simple discovery. Yukiya might not have seen the metal shine on the doors if he hadn’t crouched down.
Yukiya could see the doors, but he wasn’t sure how to open them. The vines grew too thick for him to make out much detail.
Kozaru went down on his knees and crawled through the vines. He moved them out of the way and slipped through the hole left behind by the broken part of one door.
They’d come so far. Hesitating now would be stupid. Yukiya asked Shigemaru to keep watch outside and followed after the old man. He was small enough to slip through the hole—just.
Yukiya stood up the moment he hit the ground on the other side of the hole. He held his lantern up to illuminate the space beyond the doors. The ceiling was much higher than he’d expected. He was standing in some kind of stone hall carved out of the mountain. It was perhaps half the size of the Keisōin’s largest lecture hall. The walls and floor were covered in more dead wisteria vines.
Haruma lay in the center of the hall. He looked like he was being devoured by vines.
“Haruma!” Yukiya felt his chest tighten at the sight of the boy’s unmoving body. He dashed over as fast as he could to make sure that Haruma was still breathing.
“Little raven good. Just sleep,” Kozaru said quietly.
He wasn’t lying. Haruma’s heart was beating, but he was unresponsive. Yukiya let out a huge sigh of relief. He turned around and nodded in the direction of the Crown Prince and the others, who’d followed after him.
Someone—perhaps Kozaru—had gone to the trouble to dress Haruma in a dry white robe. There was a bamboo bottle filled with water right next to his head. A plate of dumplings rested on Haruma’s other side.
“This food. What is it?” Sumio asked, his voice strained. “Meat?”
“No!” Kozaru shook his head adamantly. “Fruit. No meat.”
Everyone focused on the Kuisaru, who explained himself in hushed tones. “If eat human meat, body get bigger. But get stupid. Everyone, everyone get stupid.”
“So eating human meat makes Kuisaru grow larger, but it makes them dumber in exchange?”
“Yes!”
“So that’s why you won’t eat human meat?” Sumio asked.
“I won’t get stupid,” the old man resolutely affirmed. Kozaru hesitantly bent forward and bowed his head. “I use little raven. Poor child. Not good. Bad of me. My most sincere apologies.”
That last apology was unlike any of the old man’s other broken sentences. He sounded shockingly fluent for a moment.
“How do you know our language?” the Crown Prince asked him.
The Kuisaru lowered his head. “I learn. Long time ago. Very long.”
“Who taught you?”
Kozaru stared at the Crown Prince for a long time. He slumped his shoulders in dejection.
Haruma was safe. Kozaru hadn’t tried to harm anyone. Why had he brought them here?
“Why did you do all this?” the Crown Prince asked.
“Is needed,” Kozaru said. “I want meet for long time. No way meet before. Was path before, but not now.”
“Did the Kuisaru and the Yatagarasu interact before?”
“Yes!” Kozaru nodded over and over. “Serve mountain god together. No poor, no starving. Had,” he said, but then he paused. “We had proud, prosperous lives.” His addition sounded fluent again, like he was repeating a set phrase he’d heard a native speaker use. “Then monkey eat raven, go crazy. Monkey that eat raven eat humans first. Not used to eat ravens or humans.”
Kozaru started walking, pushing wisteria vines out of his way. He went toward the wall opposite the door they’d all come through.
“Path,” Kozaru said as he patted another hidden door with both hands. The door was concealed by the vines. It was about twice as large as the broken door they’d passed through before. Its construction was reminiscent of the Imperial Court’s Grand Gate. The door was rounded with decorative wing-shaped protrusions to either side.
“This opens path. Open it,” Kozaru said. His earnest gaze fixed on the Crown Prince. “Raven’s house on other side. Monkeys not open it. Only Golden Ravens.”
“Was this your goal?”
“Yes.”
“Why do you want me to do this?”
“Is needed. Everyone die if not open. But not yet. Still time.”
The Crown Prince frowned at these ominous words.
“Mountain god will sick. Bad. Ravens, monkeys, everyone bad. If open, not as bad.”
“Wait a moment! What’s the connection between this door and the mountain god? Give us a better explanation. I can’t figure out what you’re trying to tell me.”
“I not know. Open better than not open. Open it!”
“Wait, Your Imperial Highness!” Yukiya prevented the Crown Prince from moving toward the door.
“What is it?” the Crown Prince asked.
Yukiya pointed to a spot close to the door they’d come through. “Don’t you find it familiar? The way these wisteria vines grow.”
It was easy to tell that the vines extending over the whole place had multiple points of origin. The Crown Prince checked their surroundings.
Sumio approached a wall and then said, “An arrow. Look. It’s starting to rot away, but this old arrow here is where the wisteria vines are coming from.”
Mending the tears in Yamauchi’s barrier using wisteria vines was one of the Crown Prince’s powers as a true Golden Raven. He shot those arrows from a bow made from green wood. The arrows that the Crown Prince used had stone arrowheads. The one in the wall also had a stone arrowhead.
“This place is magically protected,” the Crown Prince said.
“So it seems. Someone with powers like yours closed this door. They did that for a reason. I’m not sure it’s a good idea to open it,” Yukiya said. “We need to know why it’s here and why it was sealed shut.” He turned toward Kozaru. “You, there. What can you tell us about these vines and the barrier protecting the door? Answer me!”
Yukiya’s tone was harsh enough to make Kozaru flinch. The little old man didn’t say a word.
The Crown Prince wandered around the room. His gaze fell on something right beside Kozaru, below the door itself. He froze.
“Is something wrong?” Sumio asked the Crown Prince. He followed the Crown Prince’s gaze and made a harsh sound low in his throat.
Yukiya left Haruma in Chihaya’s care and ran toward them.
There it was, on the ground more than half-buried in wisteria vines: an old, desiccated corpse. It was sitting, leaning against the tightly closed door. It hadn’t rotted. The skin had dried and withered, barely adhering to the bones underneath. The clothes it was wearing were intact, but the dyes had faded so much that it was impossible to tell what color they were originally. A bow was clenched tightly in one hand. What hair remained was bound up behind its head.Wisps of hair fell over the corpse’s shoulders.
Yukiya turned around, confirming the direction the corpse was facing. It was probable, even likely, that this archer had shot the arrow that Sumio had discovered. The corpse had a line of sight to that arrow, even when sitting down.
“It seems that he put up the barrier. And then he died—almost immediately.” Yukiya turned around.
The Crown Prince broke out of his daze and took a few tottering steps forward. He almost fell.
“Your Imperial Highness?” Yukiya asked, alarmed.
The Crown Prince approached the corpse, extending his hands to touch its face. “It’s me.”
“Huh?”
“This corpse is me.”
Yukiya felt a shiver go down his spine. “So this is the previous true Golden Raven?”
“Have your memories returned?” Sumio asked.
The Crown Prince didn’t answer immediately. He looked around the room like he was seeing it with new eyes. “No… Well, yes. I died here. I had to protect my children, the Yatagarasu, and I—I was so desperate. I was lost.” His eyes widened. “This is bad.”
“What?”
“We can’t be here. We can’t open this door. Hurry, let’s go back!”
“No! Not run! Not go!” Kozaru yelled angrily.
Sumio stepped in to keep distance between Kozaru and the Crown Prince.
Kozaru’s face twisted in despair. “Last chance! This bad, no other chances. Golden Raven ran long ago. All bad. Why run away again?!”
The sounds of people running and Shigemaru’s shouts came from the other side of the vines. “That young Kuisaru from before has brought a lot of other Kuisaru with him. They’re coming!”
“Really?!”
“They’re still far away, but we don’t have much time.”
“So it was a trap after all!” Sumio cursed under his breath.
“We don’t have time to panic,” Yukiya said. “We still have the advantage as long as we get to where we left the thread spool.”
The Crown Prince glanced at him. “Will we be able to hold the Kuisaru back until we get there?”
“It’s not that far. With our current group, we can manage.”
“We could. If we left Haruma behind,” the Crown Prince said. “And you know we aren’t doing that.”
“Our duty is to bring Your Imperial Highness back to Yamauchi safe and sound. Leave Haruma’s well-being to me,” Yukiya said. He’d feared that it might come to this. He wanted to save both Haruma and the Crown Prince, but that might not be possible.
The Crown Prince looked back at him.
“I knew the risks when we came here,” Yukiya said.
“Your Imperial Highness. A decision, please,” Sumio said.
Before the Crown Prince had a chance to utter a single word, Kozaru muttered, “Many monkeys come. Stupid monkeys, strong monkeys. Death. One safe way. Save everyone.” The old man’s tone was somber. “Open door. Run away. Through it.”
“Did you plan to have us assaulted by the other Kuisaru from the start?” the Crown Prince asked.
Kozaru gave him a wry grin. “I write: I no hurt Golden Raven. I not want hurt Golden Raven. You go home with little raven. Everyone safe. Open door.”
“There’s no need for that.” Yukiya seized Kozaru by the arms and twisted them, pinning him to the ground. “We have you here with us. You’ll be our hostage this time.”
Yukiya had noticed the other man—the younger Kuisaru—salute Kozaru with a small gesture when they’d crossed paths, while he was holding his arms up. Yukiya thought they’d been trying to be surreptitious about it, but he’d noticed Kozaru give the younger Kuisaru a magnanimous nod back.
Add to that the clothes the old man was wearing, and Yukiya was certain that Kozaru’s position in the Kuisaru community was high. That should make him valuable enough to use as a hostage. Kozaru had succeeded in luring the Golden Raven to a Kuisaru lair, but even a smart Kuisaru like him turned out to be fairly stupid.
Kozaru laughed hoarsely. “Me? Stupid monkeys come kill me. Kill you. All die.”
“What?”
“Monkeys eat humans, become Kuisaru, not monkeys. Different things. I want meet. Kuisaru leader not want meet. I—” He looked away. “Betrayed leader. He not forgive me.”
Was that a bluff? Yukiya had no way of knowing if Kozaru was telling him the truth.
The Crown Prince tilted his head and looked into Kozaru’s eyes. “Yukiya, let him go. He’s not our enemy.”
Yukiya released his grip on the Kuisaru.
Kozaru sat up sluggishly.
“Listen. Have we met before?” the Crown Prince asked.
“You remember me?” Kozaru asked.
The Crown Prince held one hand to his forehead. “I don’t know. I know that I experienced something horrifying here and then died—but I don’t know why. I can’t shake off the feeling that I’ve seen you before.”
Understanding dawned on Kozaru’s face. “Trust me. I not pretend hurt. I not hurt you. I humbly entreat you, open the door!”
“They’ll be here soon! And they have bows with them!” Shigemaru yelled. He crossed over to their side of the vines.
“Everyone, get in position,” Sumio commanded.
Chihaya and Shigemaru placed themselves between the Crown Prince and the hole in the door, their swords out.
The sound of the Kuisaru’s shrill voices and heavy footsteps reached them. There was no time. Their attackers had bows; they’d be easy pickings if they just stood here.
Yukiya didn’t know what to do. “Your Imperial Highness, this situation can’t be resolved logically with any speed. We’ll do whatever you think best. No matter how things work out, we won’t blame you.”
The tension in the room was palpable. The Crown Prince looked at everyone one by one: Yukiya, Kozaru, his bodyguards standing around him, and the unconscious Haruma.
“Let’s open the door,” he said quietly.
***
Attempting to open the door brought pain, sharp and horrendous. Nazukihiko felt like there were webs sticking to his hand, seeping poison into his skin. The last true Golden Raven was fighting him. He didn’t want Nazukihiko to open the door.
What few memories the Crown Prince had recovered were warped. He didn’t know what his predecessor feared so much. Why did the Forbidden Gate have to remain closed? He knew for certain that Kozaru didn’t mean him any harm, but it was hard to justify going against his predecessor’s wishes. What he was doing didn’t honor the last true Golden Raven’s sacrifice.
Nazukihiko clenched his fists, feeling something within him twist. He caught that strange sensation and pulled.
The Forbidden Gate opened a bare inch, the pain lessening as the powerful seal over the gate came loose and fell away.
The dead, withered vines covering the gate sprouted new leaves. The breath of life moved from one vine to the next. Green leaves grew, then buds, then purple flowers.
“Open!” the Crown Prince commanded. New flowers bloomed, filling the air with a sweet scent. The vines moved away from the gate like a living curtain in response to the Crown Prince’s will.
The Kuisaru were attempting to break through the broken door. The sight of the Forbidden Gate opening made them pause.
The Crown Prince turned around. Life had returned to all the vines in the room. The vines covering the double doors strengthened, covering gaps and creating a strong defense against the Kuisaru.
“Impressive,” Yukiya said.
Shigemaru and Chihaya hadn’t seen the Crown Prince’s powers before, so they stood there in shock for a few moments.
The Crown Prince didn’t acknowledge Yukiya’s compliment or his guards’ awe. He turned toward Kozaru, who was petrified and sitting in a clump of purple flowers.
“You’ll be killed if those other Kuisaru find you, right?” the Crown Prince asked. “Come with us.”
Kozaru’s eyes went as round as saucers. “I come?”
“There’s too much we don’t understand. What happened in the past. What took place here. Please share what you know with us.”
Kozaru’s lips trembled. He stood up, staggering. Then the Kuisaru tore the wisteria vines covering the broken door off with sheer strength, creating a small gap.
“Your Imperial Highness!” Sumio and Yukiya both jumped forward immediately. An arrow passed through the gap, but it wasn’t aimed at the Crown Prince. It was aimed at Kozaru.
Kozaru’s gaze drifted between the arrow sticking out of his chest and the Crown Prince. Then he chuckled. “Farewell.”
The Kuisaru’s angry yells echoed all around them. The wisteria vines wouldn’t keep them back for much longer. A rain of arrows fell near them, forcing the Yatagarasu to retreat.
The Crown Prince touched the Forbidden Gate again. There was no mechanism to open it; no knob or handle. Now that there was no resistance from the previous Golden Raven, it opened the rest of the way. The expedition force passed through the gate, bringing the corpse of the last true Golden Raven with them.
Yukiya sprinted through with Haruma on his back. After they confirmed that everyone had gone through the gate, Shigemaru and Chihaya pulled it shut. The Crown Prince locked the gate.
The expedition force caught their breath and rested for a few minutes.
“Are we back in Yamauchi?” Shigemaru asked.
Sumio wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Yes.” Water poured from the numerous stone coffins nearby. From afar, they heard the stunned shouts of priests who’d heard the gate open. Sumio grimaced. “We’ve entered the White Raven’s Hall.”
***
“How rare, a little monkey. Where did you come from, little fella?” the man asked, his voice tinged with mirth. “I guess you don’t know our language… Do you want a snack? I’ve got sweets.”
The Golden Raven had been kind to Kozaru. Who knew why. Maybe it was just a whim. Kozaru never found out why the Golden Raven had gone out of his way to be kind, but he learned that not all ravens were bad people like he’d been told. Kozaru couldn’t hate the nice man who’d never harmed him in any way.
As Kozaru came back to himself, the sweet scent of wisteria flowers and iron reek of his own blood stung his nose. He didn’t feel any pain, but he was desperately cold. The Kuisaru leader stood over him, sneering. He’d betrayed the leader. He hadn’t wanted to do that. He hadn’t had a choice.
“You went and acted all on your own, huh? It’s too early for that kind of initiative.” The world got darker by the moment, but the leader’s voice reached Kozaru clearly. “At least now we won’t have to break the gate open using brute force. Thanks for that. It may be beneficial to have the gate open when the time comes.”
“I plead with you, stop.” Kozaru forced the words from his throat. Blood gurgled in his throat; he swallowed it. “Our kin have all lost their minds to stupidity because of all the human eating. At this rate, it won’t only be the Yatagarasu but us too who will suffer—”
“And? What’s the problem? We knew the consequences before this all started.”
“Please reconsider. I earnestly entreat you—”
Kozaru admired the Kuisaru leader, but the leader wasn’t listening to a word he said. He never listened.
“I’m looking forward to this. Wait for us, Golden Raven. We’re coming.”
Kozaru heard the chief talking to himself, eager and excited. His voice was getting farther and farther away. Kozaru was so, so cold.
And then, darkness.
***
The Imperial Court fell into chaos. The Kuisaru were just beyond the Forbidden Gate! The gate was locked, but there was no guarantee that it could entirely block invasion attempts. Yamauchishu were posted at the Forbidden Gate around the clock in case the Kuisaru tried to come through.
The Imperial Court couldn’t stay in a place that the Kuisaru could attack at any moment, so its functions were moved away from the mountain. The rich fought one another for who could flee first. Nobles moved to new residences in the countryside.
Such a funeral would normally have been held for the entire Imperial Court, but the only nobles in attendance were the Crown Prince and Prince Natsuka. Not even the Emperor, the Empress, or the lords of the Four Families were present. The hall was hushed, silent. Priests prayed to the mountain god for the true Golden Raven’s repose. Then they placed the corpse in his wooden coffin.
In this way Naritsuhiko, the previous true Golden Raven, returned to Yamauchi after being missing for a century. Water bubbled up within his coffin and poured out. His funeral had been delayed by a hundred years.
Yukiya looked at Nazukihiko’s face. He didn’t need expression on his face to look sad, somehow. His memories had returned, but only partially. He had more questions than answers.
“Naritsuhiko tried to let Kageki escape,” the Crown Prince said to Yukiya while they were walking back to the Sun Palace.
“He knew that locking the Forbidden Gate wouldn’t be enough. He didn’t believe himself capable of protecting the Yatagarasu from some threat, so he opened a way for Kageki to go back and stayed there to seal the gate.” The Crown Prince’s eyes wandered, uncertain. “I still can’t remember the most critical part—why. I don’t know what Naritsuhiko was so afraid of.” He covered his face with his hands. Recovering even a small amount of his missing memories was a torment. It was better when he hadn’t remembered anything at all.
Yukiya didn’t know how to help with this problem. Nobody could help the Crown Prince with this. “I wonder if the danger was the Kuisaru?”
“I don’t know.”
What could have made the previous Golden Raven so terrified?
***
A cool breeze made peach tree blossoms dance in the gray sky. The sun peeked through dark clouds that morning as a spring thunderstorm blew in.
There was no rain, but the threat was there. Yukiya remembered his first morning in the Keisōin. It had been a clear day then, not a cloud in the sky. Then as now, he’d watched the sky through a latticed window.
The Keisōin’s graduation ceremony took place right after the previous true Golden Raven’s funeral. It was a much smaller affair than originally planned.
The event took place in the Keisōin’s great hall. The Crown Prince, Prince Natsuka, and the Commandant stood at the front with Rokon, Sumio, and Akeru right behind them. The instructors in charge of the graduates, like Seiken and Kashin, stood in an orderly line. The cadets were in formation, their numbers fewer than they’d been just a few days before.
After the latest Kuisaru incident, a high number of cadets from noble families had dropped out of the Keisōin. Seeing them all leave at once gave Yukiya a lot to think about.
First in line among the Seeds was a recovered Haruma. He’d woken up safe and sound shortly after their group had returned to Yamauchi. He’d listened to what had happened, only half-believing it all.
“All I remember is what happened during that first encounter with the Kuisaru. I turned my back to it as I tried to run away, and then I remember feeling something hit my head. I don’t remember anything else. I was wet when I woke up, but I don’t know why.” Haruma had suffered no wounds aside from a small bump on the head.
Yukiya guessed that Haruma had been carried all the way to the Forbidden Gate. It would explain the lack of a second pair of footsteps on the bottom of the underground stream. He suspected that the kidnapper had actually been the younger Kuisaru who’d been on watch. The path had been a difficult one; Yukiya was mildly impressed that the Kuisaru had managed to carry Haruma safely through the water, the stalactites, and the narrow passageways safely. He also knew that the Kuisaru had changed Haruma’s clothes and brought him food and water. He still didn’t understand Kozaru’s motivations for luring the Crown Prince to him. Perhaps he never would.
The ceremony proceeded in silence. Yukiya’s thoughts roiled within him like a witch’s brew, invisible to all others. Out of the forty-four Seeds who’d taken part in the opening ceremony the year that Yukiya had enrolled in the Keisōin, only eight were graduating today.
One by one, the graduating cadets returned their ceremonial swords to the Commandant. The Crown Prince changed places with him and gave an actual sword to each of them. Their names were called from worst score to best.
“Third place, Shigemaru of Shimaki.”
Shigemaru stepped forward in a dignified manner to receive his sword from the Crown Prince. “I’ve heard you possess both skill with a blade and a virtuous heart. It is my wish to protect all of Yamauchi from danger. Can I count on you to help me do that, defending what is most important to you with honesty and strength?”
“Gladly, Your Imperial Highness.”
“From this moment onward, you are a Yamauchishu. I entrust the protection of the Sun Palace to you. Salute!”
Shigemaru saluted. “Yes, Your Imperial Highness!” He accepted his sword and then returned to the line.
“Second place, Chihaya of Hae.”
Chihaya approached the Crown Prince quietly. He bowed. “I’ve heard you excel in all manner of combat. It is my wish to protect all of Yamauchi from danger. Can I count on you to help me do that, defending the weak from oppressors and tyranny?”
“Gladly, Your Imperial Highness.”
“From this moment onward, you are a Yamauchishu. I entrust the protection of my person to you. Salute!”
“Yes, Your Imperial Highness!” He accepted his sword and then returned to the line.
“First place, Yukiya of Taruhi.”
Haruma gasped. Yukiya glanced at his junior, who was clearly more moved by this ceremony than Yukiya was himself. He stood before the Crown Prince. Unlike the other graduates, he’d sworn his loyalty to the Crown Prince many years before.
“I’ve heard that you are a skilled martial artist and archer. More important is your unparalleled talent as a tactician, the likes of which our nation has rarely seen before. It is my wish for you to aid the Yatagarasu in the ways that I cannot. Shall I count on you?”
“Gladly, Your Imperial Highness.”
“From this moment onward, you are a Yamauchishu. I entrust the protection of my person to you. I also appoint you my tactical advisor and create this position within the Imperial Court.”
Yukiya bowed his head.
“Salute!”
Yukiya took the sword. The real sword felt so much heavier than his ceremonial sword.
Thunder rumbled in the distance. Lightning split the sky as the Crown Prince stood before the seat of honor.
“A storm is coming,” the Crown Prince said, his eyes searching the faces of the Keisōin’s graduates. “The Kuisaru will come again, and we will need to fight them. The Imperial Court is changing. Yamauchi is changing. But I swear to protect you all to the best of my ability, so long as I am the true Golden Raven.” His voice was clear and loud enough to carry. There was no trace of the fear and confusion that Yukiya had seen in his eyes when he’d been thinking about his restored memories. “We will withstand the storm as the mountain does, standing strong in the tempest. I dedicate my life to this task.” He smiled slightly. “I trust you all. I’ll be in your care. Let’s weather this storm together.” He said these last few sentences quietly, confidentially, like he was telling a secret to his friends.
Then the new Yamauchishu saluted, offering their third leg to their lord.
***
In the third month of the twelfth year of Kanu, the Yatagarasu suffered a second Kuisaru invasion. The year after that, the Imperial Court’s operations were fully moved to a detached palace, the Palace Above the Clouds. Although much chaos ensued during the early part of the move, the Imperial Court resumed its usual functions in a timely manner.
Crown Prince Nazukihiko performed large-scale reforms at the Imperial Court during the brief, chaotic period of the move. A group of young officials hailing from the Keisōin spearheaded by two young men from the Saike and Hokke families were responsible for pushing through many of these reforms. The Crown Prince gained the support of two of the Four Families and succeeded in establishing a government power structure with him at the center.
Shortly after this new government started operating, a terrible earthquake shook all of Yamauchi.
Translator's Notes
Kozaru means “small monkey.”
The language spoken in Yamauchi is called miuchikotoba by the Yatagarasu. mi- is an honorary politeness prefix that adds no meaning. Uchi means “inside;” it uses the same kanji as Yamauchi. Kotoba means “words,” though the kanji usage here suggests poetry more than words used in day-to-day speech. It is a fancy way of saying “Yamauchi language,” literally “honored inside words.”
The garment Naritsuhiko wears at his funeral is a joue, an outfit employed during religious ceremonies, particularly those requiring a purification. They’re mostly white and never made with patterned fabric.
Eiju’s name can also be read as Kageki. It’s implied that Eiju decided to change the reading when he became the Yellow Raven, but his name was originally Kageki. Naritsuhiko was familiar with the name Kageki, so that is the name that the true Golden Raven remembers.
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