Heretic, Betrayers of Kamigawa

CHAPTER 13

General Takeno stood outside the door to the daimyo’s private sanctuary deep in the center of the building. Though there were sentries and soldiers aplenty on each level of the tower, no guards were posted outside this final threshold. Takeno and the daimyo’s other top advisors would have preferred to have warriors standing by at all times, but Konda refused.

“Not even the kami would dare attack me here,” he once said, and so far he’d been proven correct.

Takeno’s breathing was labored. He was no longer a young man, and the trip from ground level to the very top of the daimyo’s tower was difficult. His legs had weakened, and his joints had stiffened over the years, but he could still ride and fire a bow better than anyone in Konda’s army. Sometimes he toyed with the idea of riding to the top of the tower to spare his aging knees-certainly the stairs could accommodate his mount.

The general had served Daimyo Konda for almost thirty years. From his humble beginnings as a cavalry officer over a single unit, he had risen to supreme command of the daimyo’s entire mounted army. He had fought at Konda’s behest and at the daimyo’s side, and together they had achieved great things. Takeno would gladly lay down his life for his lord and for Eiganjo, knowing full well that every soldier in his command would do the same.

Along with his fatigue, it was Takeno’s devotion to Konda that caused him to hesitate on the verge of the daimyo’s private rooms. He hated to bring his lord bad news from the frontier, especially when the situation here was so desperate. But the general had always presented Konda with the most accurate and up to date assessment of their campaigns, no matter how sobering. They had suffered reversals before and prevailed. He shook off his weariness and his doubts and put his trust once more in Daimyo Konda.

“My lord,” Takeno spoke as he climbed the short staircase. He did not expect an answer, but he did want to alert Konda to his presence. The daimyo was becoming more distant than ever, and the more time he spent communing with his prize, the less aware he seemed of the world outside.

Takeno reached the doorway at the top of the stairs. He steeled himself, opened the door, and called out again.

“My lord. I bring news from the bandit frontier.”

The old soldier could see Konda through the open door. He was at the far end of the room, kneeling before a thick pedestal with his back to Takeno. A rough stone disk hovered above the pedestal, throwing off a harsh white glare and steaming as if it had just been drawn from a boiling pot. Konda spent hours each day bathing in that glare, breathing in that steam. When he laid hands on the disk, the glow spread to him and surrounded his body, as if the disk and the ruler were awash with the same energy.

Takeno knew the disk’s face bore the carved outline of a fetal dragon, but he did not look at it. Doing so always made him shudder, which never failed to annoy Konda. Takeno had been present on the night the daimyo created the thing with a ritual that required the assistance of a mysterious soratami mage and Minamo’s highest-ranking wizard. Takeno would do anything for his master, but he prayed that Konda would never ask him to revisit that terrible night.

The general still believed Konda when the daimyo declared the act would lead to the ultimate salvation of all Kamigawa. Takeno also prayed nightly for that salvation to come, and quickly, before there was nothing left of the daimyo’s kingdom to save.

“Daimyo Konda,” he said loudly. Though he was old and out of breath, his voice still carried enough force to command the attention of a thousand men assembled for battle.

Konda lifted his head. He did not turn to face the general but said, “Ahh, Takeno. I have only to think about you, and here you are. Yosei is an awesome sight, is he not?”

“He is, my lord. The people sing the Morning Star’s praises daily, and yours. There have been almost no deaths from kami attacks since you summoned him.”

“Excellent. The wizards of Minamo have already followed my advice and raised their own dragon: Keiga the Tide Star, who stands as Yosei’s brother in the company of spirit dragons. It is part of my new campaign against the other kami-the myojin may be exalted, but they are no more formidable than the guardian dragons of Kamigawa itself.”

Takeno nodded slowly. “An excellent stratagem, my lord.”

“I must find a way to raise the others,” Konda said, “the guardians of Jukai and Sokenzan. Perhaps even the dark spirit dragon of Takenuma could be compelled to join our cause.”

The daimyo rose, trailing his hand along the stone disk as he stood, then turned to face Takeno. The General bowed, using his obeisance as a pretext to avoid looking into Konda’s eyes.

Takeno did not understand the link between Konda and the stone disk, nor did he care to, but it was clear that the ritual that created the prize had also bestowed semi-divine powers upon the ruler. Ever since the night Michiko was born and the prize was taken from the kakuriyo, Konda’s eyes had been stricken with that eerie drift, vacillating from side to side within his sockets. He had also shown flashes of incredible strength and demonstrated knowledge of events on the far side of the world.

In his most private thoughts, Takeno resented the stone disk. To him and the rest of the army, Konda had been godlike without the benefit of magic and divine vision. The force of the daimyo’s personality and the skill of his retainers was more than enough to unite a nation-commandeering the spirits to cement that union was unnecessary at best and vulgar at worst.

Now Konda approached him, still glittering with the stone disk’s power. His eyes bounced slowly back and forth as he strode up to Takeno.

“Why have you come, General? Did I summon you?”

Takeno bowed again. “No, my lord. I have come to report disturbing dispatches from the border guards along the Sokenzan range.”

“Ah. Do so.”

“My lord, the commander of the unit stationed there reports that Godo has employed a powerful new spell that appears to either increase the cold or negate our army’s efforts to keep warm. We have lost nearly one-tenth of our forces to the weather, which is far worse than normal for that region. The bandits are visible, but they are not taking any aggressive action. They are merely watching and waiting while our troops freeze to death.”

Konda gestured impatiently. “Send them more cold-weather gear,” he said.

“There are … more disturbing aspects to the dispatch, my lord. Most of the fallen soldiers inexplicably abandoned their posts before they froze. Sentries go missing, only to turn up dead far from where they were assigned. Patrols equipped for freezing weather die fully dressed, their bodies scattered a short distance from one another.”

Konda leveled his strange eyes at Takeno. “This sounds like a discipline problem. Have they forgotten the basics of winter warfare? Tell them to burn more campfires and stay closer to them.”

“My lord,” Takeno said. “There are also unconfirmed reports … rumors … that your daughter has been seen along the border. The sight of her is enough to send the bravest and most disciplined soldier into harm’s way. Meanwhile, the casualties continue to mount, no matter what steps are taken, and morale is declining rapidly.”

Konda growled, his voice harsh and urgent. “My daughter,” he said, “is in the tower, not three floors below where we stand. Am I such a joke among my own troops that they believe I would lose track of my daughter twice in the same year?”

“Certainly not, my lord. The commander fears that Godo is using a look-alike to lure your loyal retainers into ambush, stunning them, and leaving them to freeze in the cold.”

“My daughter wandered off once. She would not dishonor me so a second time. And I will not be goaded by the likes of that sanzoku dog.”

“My lord,” Takeno said. He swallowed hard. “This morning the sentries posted outside your daughter’s room reported that it is empty. They did not see her leave. While they searched for hours, it seems Princess Michiko is no longer in the tower.”

Konda’s face grew tight, though his eyes continued to drift. “How is this possible?”

“I cannot say, my lord. She must have had outside help.”

“This look-alike on the Sokenzan border,” he said. “Could this be Michiko herself?”

“No, my lord. The timing is wrong-the look-alike appeared while the princess was still inside the tower.”

“This is outrageous. This is unacceptable.”

Takeno bowed.

“Find my daughter,” the daimyo growled. “Find her and bring her before me. Send riders into Numai, the Araba, and into the depths of hell itself. This will not stand!”

“It shall be done, my lord.”

Konda composed himself. “The bandit chief seeks to provoke me. Well, he has done so. Let him now suffer the consequences.”

“My lord, if I may-”

“Concentrate all available companies on the Sokenzan border. Spread them along its length.”

“Please, my lord-”

Konda was lost in his own mind. “Godo obviously wants us to focus on that one area, but we will not be fooled. Most likely he plans to penetrate the border somewhere else and sneak a large force of his sanzoku into our territory.” The daimyo looked up. “Make sure the new companies are mobile and ready to respond quickly. They should patrol the entire border regularly, converging on any group of bandits numbering more than a dozen.”

“As you wish, my lord, but we do not have enough reserves to cover the entire border.”

Konda, who had started to turn back to his prize, stopped. He narrowed one strange eye at Takeno.

“Explain.”

“The kami attacks on Eiganjo led us to pull most of our army off regular duty and station them here. There are enough border troops to monitor the bandits but not to engage them. If we spread them any thinner, they will be vulnerable. If Godo is able to exploit this, we could lose the entire force.”

Konda raised a clenched fist. “I will send Yosei to the mountains, where he can destroy Godo and his bandit rabble once and for all.”

Takeno lowered his head. “As you wish, my lord. Who, then, will protect Eiganjo from the kami?”

“We will, old friend. We will. You have seen how quickly the dragon moves, how fiercely he fights. Surely the armies of Eiganjo can protect one city for a few days. That is all the time the Morning Star will need.”

Takeno kept his head bowed. “As you wish, Daimyo Konda.”

He heard the daimyo straighten up. “You are not convinced?”

“I am cautious, my lord. We are far from full strength and have been so for months. A new campaign, among all the other crises the army is facing, would put a huge stress on a system that is already taxed to the breaking point.”

Konda placed a hand on Takeno’s shoulder. “You do not comprehend the dragon’s power, General. That is why you hesitate. Come. I will show you the full scope of Yosei in combat.”

The daimyo spun Takeno around and draped his arm across the general’s shoulders. He steered Takeno over to the door, tilting his head for one last glance at the prize on its pedestal. Marching the general down the short staircase, Konda extolled the dragon’s virtues and waving excitedly as they went. As they passed the daimyo’s personal guard, all twelve retainers fell in step, keeping a respectful distance behind.

“Yosei is blinding,” Konda said. “His speed, his power, the righteous glow that surrounds him. He could travel to the mountains and back in a single day. I doubt it will take him longer than that to destroy Godo’s horde down to the last bandit. With your finest horsemen outside the gates, my moths in the air, and our best-trained troops inside to protect the populace, our losses will be minimal. Those of our enemy will be total. You will see, Takeno. In this new era I am ushering in, wars will be decided not by force of arms but by the will of a single ruler. I have planted the seeds for a kingdom based on spiritual power as well as martial strength. Yosei is but the first bloom I have harvested.”

As they shuffled from the center of the tower to its outer edge, sentries, soldiers, and servants all stepped aside. The civilians bowed and sang Konda’s praises, the retainers stood rigid and saluted.

Takeno’s head swam, both from shortness of breath and from Konda’s overwhelming presence. It was like standing near an open furnace whose heat and vapors sapped the strength from mind and body alike.

At last, they reached the exterior wall and the grand doorway that led outside. Except for the observation level at the very top of the tower, this balcony offered the clearest view of southern Towabara. If not for the haze and the yellow clouds, Takeno could have seen the tips of the Sokenzan.

“Behold, Konda said. “The full majesty of-”

The daimyo never finished his thought. Instead, his hand tightened on Takeno’s shoulder as they both stared at the spectacle just beyond the edge of the balcony.

Yosei, the Morning Star, guardian dragon spirit of the realm, was little more than a blur as he circled the tower. His body seemed to be a constant, uninterrupted ring as he went round and round like a dog chasing its tail. Takeno had to concentrate to spot the dragon’s head, which overlapped the end of his streamlined body as he whirled around. Nearby, dozens of riders steered their battle moths clear of the frenzied guardian’s path.

The haze was thinner today than it had been, allowing Takeno and Konda to see much more of the horizon. In fact, there was a large circular hole in the center of the cloud cover, the clear eye in a swirling storm of yellow fog.

Yosei continued to race around them. Takeno heard the rising screech of the dragon’s increasingly panicked cry. He craned his head and peered into the clear, calm center of the sky.

“My lord,” he said, pointing. “Do you see that?”

Konda did not answer, but he dropped his arm from Takeno’s shoulder and shuffled to the stone railing at the end of the balcony. His vacillating eyes were fixed on the same spot Takeno had pointed out.

In the far-off sky, a flame sparked to life in the calm center of the storm. A similar spark flared nearby, mirroring the first, but at this distance it was impossible to gauge how large the flames were or how far apart.

The twin fireballs moved as one, orienting on Konda’s tower like a great pair of eyes. A second matching pair opened behind the first, then a third. Each pair moved together but independently from the others. All the flaming orbs fixed on Eiganjo then stopped, hovering ominously in the sky.

Takeno felt a rush of air flow past him as something unimaginably vast inhaled. Then, the old soldier dropped to his knees as an ear-splitting roar rolled up southern Towabara and slammed into the tower like a gale-force wind.

Blood dribbled from the general’s ears. Beneath his feet, Konda’s mighty tower shuddered, and for a delirious moment Takeno wondered if it too was frightened.

On the horizon the matching pairs of eyes began to move. Fog, smoke, or something unknown was coalescing around the huge flaming orbs. It appeared as if each set of eyes was housed within a great reptilian head that was still taking shape, each perched on top of a long and sinuous neck. Their progress was slow and ponderous, but they were definitely coming straight for Eiganjo.

Takeno climbed to his feet and went to Konda’s side at the rail. The daimyo’s eyes were steady and fixed on the monstrosity slowly inching its way toward them.

“My lord,” Takeno gasped. “What is happening?”

Konda did not seem frightened but resolute. He gripped the balcony railing before slamming his closed fist into his open palm.

“It has come at last,” Konda whispered. “As we were told it might.”

Takeno forgot himself and tugged on the daimyo’s sleeve. “Forgive me, my lord, but I am at a loss. What has come? Who warned us?”

“The Great Spirit Beast,” Konda said. Takeno noticed his eyes begin drifting anew. “O-Kagachi, the Great Old Serpent. The embodiment of the kakuriyo itself has come to claim The Taken One, that which now rightfully belongs to me.”

Konda turned suddenly, tossing off Takeno’s hand.

“Order all available troops to the Sokenzan border as we discussed. Yosei is needed here, to aid me in my struggle against O-Kagachi.” Konda paused, musing. “I must also send word to Minamo. Keiga must also prepare for this battle.”

The daimyo turned and clasped both hands on Takeno’s shoulders. “When you have dispatched your riders, return to me. We must repair to my sanctuary to meditate, commune, and prepare for the great serpent’s arrival. This will be a decisive battle, old friend, one that we must win.”

Takeno struggled not to swoon. Before him, the daimyo’s mad eyes swam back and forth. In the distance, a vast, three-headed titan was crawling across the sky.

“I am your servant, my lord.” Takeno stepped back and saluted. “I will do as you command.”