We had come far into the Phoenix lands, to the Shrine of the Phoenix Heart seeking answers, but all we found in the end was more questions. None of us were sure what to do next. We had with us a hugely powerful weapon, one that we had been told had in it to save the Empire from the madness we were entering into, and yet no idea how to use it.
We talked of many possibilities, taking the sword into Lion lands and trying to use it to force peace. None of us were sure how that could happen. Most likely the sword would simply serve as a focus for the Lion, being seen as a sign that their cause was right.
Suggested, and rejected almost as soon was using the sword as a focus to raise a counter army to stop the fighting.
Horiyuki told us of the Shadow Banner, a group made up of samurai of all clans. Perhaps that was where we should go.
Unable to come up with a plan we split up, remaining in the area, but no longer together.
Akayama took Niya aside and began practising with her, teaching her how to fight, honing her skill with a katana. Murusashi went with them, but mostly watched.
Hiro and Hashi travelled back to Hiro’s Unicorns where they talked of the Oni that Hashi was tracking.
I spent time with Akira, trying to get him to tell me of the Dragon’s plans, what they would do, who they would side with. Akira would not answer me, cleverly directing the conversation to other areas before I noticed, forcing me to politely bring it back to what I wanted to know. Ultimately it fruitless.
He did tell me of Isawa Kojin, or what he knew of him and his story. If he was the man that Akira thought, he was a Daimyo, or had been. Interesting, but I was not sure if it had any real importance.
Later I went off on my own, heading up a mountain path towards waterfalls that I had been told of. I wanted a little privacy, and wanted to think about what was happening. It seemed like a quiet place to meditate and purify myself. I also wanted to wash out some clothing.
Back in the shrine area Hiro and Hashi had come charging into the village on horseback with several other of his people in tow. Hashi had detected the presence of the Oni close by and he thought that it might be coming to the village.
An Otaku was sent to find me as the other planned the defence.
The Otaku found me and told me what was happening. She then pulled me upon her horse and we rode back to the village. The war horse ran like the wind, it’s hooves clattering on the path. I held tight to the woman, feeling pure exhilaration as we raced down the path.
Back in the village we talked of what was going to happen. It was thought that the attack, if it came, would come up the only path to the village. We would wait for them the come, and then react. Perhaps not the best plan, but it was what we had.
Niya cast a ward against the creatures of the Shadowland and put it at the gates of the shrine compound. It was a line of defence for the priests and monks and others if we could not hold the creatures back. I noticed, as did some others, that Hiro quickly moved away from this area after the spell had been cast and stayed out of the ward area. It was the first sign we saw of the taint he still carried at that time.
We prepared for the possibility of battle, asking Akayama for advice as he knew the most of these creatures, Unfortunately we did not have any jade to make any sort of weapons with, or to grind into powder. We did have Hashi’s blade, and the Tears of Morning, though we did not know what that sword was capable of.
It would have to do.
Sunset was still a few hours away when Horiyuki realised that we should warn Tamoko and Kojin about the coming attack and arrange for them to come the shrine complex where they might be safer. Horiyuki and Murusashi went together to where they were told Kojin could be found.
They discovered a small but well appointed house, but there was no sign of Kojin there. Murusashi, rudely, entered the structure to be sure of that. Beyond the house they found a set of stairs leading up the mountain. They began to climb the steep, stone stairs.
Some distance up they came around one of the switch backs to find Kojin standing on the stairs, facing them.
Horiyuki told him of the suspected attack by the Oni, or even Onis and that he thought that he and Tamoko should come down to the shrine.
Kojin refused, saying that Tamoko would not leave her home, and that he would make sure that no one got past him to threaten her.
Horiyuki entreated the man to come down with them, to the relative safety of the shrine but Kojin continued to refuse, and it came close to them drawing steel over the issue. Finally the Lion realised that nothing he could say would bring Kojin down the mountain.
Murusashi and Horiyuki turned about, walking down the stairs.
They arrived back at the shrine with the rest of us just as the sun was beginning to set and told us what had occurred. It was unfortunate the two would not come down, but we had other concerns. Akayama was of the opinion that any attack would likely come at dark. As the sun set, we prepared, building several large fires for light.
Hashi and myself sat under a large tree outside of the gates. Hashi half asleep, and I looking over my arrows, making sure they were ready. The others prepared as well, waiting for whatever was going to happen, if anything was going to happen.
We were beginning to think that nothing was going to happen when we heard a piercing wail off in the distance. The wail repeated itself several more times, getting closer. It was soon accompanied by a loud, thudding sound.
They came into the light. Six ogres, accompanied by a large Oni with a female form and four arms. I had never seen Ogres before, let alone Oni and for a moment just stared in amazement.
Hashi leapt to his feet and charged the creatures, drawing his crystal katana which glowed in the darkness. He was followed closely by Akayama, Goro, Hiro and Horiyuki. I saw Murusashi circle around the walled shrine compound. He would eventually come out of the forest in the middle of the ogres. Following them at a distance was Niya.
As the others charged I snatched an arrow from the ground and fired. It flashed across the space and buried itself deep into the neck of one of the Ogres. The beast howled in pain, but did not fall.
The Oni hurled bolts of fire at those charging it. Several hit Goro who went down. Another spell flashed out, missing Niya, but dropping one of the men that Hiro had brought with him. Hashi dodged around one of the ogres and slashed at the Oni. The blade cut into the Oni and it wailed in pain.
Akayama lashed out with his huge sword, nearly cutting an ogres arm off. Horiyuki came in quickly and slashed at the ogre that was trying to hit Hashi. Hiro attacked the one that Akayama had wounded.
I fired another arrow, this one hitting another ogre.
Hashi avoided the Oni’s flailing arms and cut at it again. Again the sword cut into the Oni, but the foul creature did not seem too harmed by it. Akayama felled an ogre and Horiyuki cut into another.
It was not long after that that Murusashi came out of the forest, his katana and wakizashi whipping around him, a hurricane of blows that killed another ogre and wounded another.
One of my Arrows found the eye of one of the beasts and it fell over. Realising that it was getting harder to target the ogres without the worry that I might hit one of my companions, I threw down my bow, drew my blade and charged into the fight.
Niya had already reached the fight and she drew the Tears of Morning.
The Oni shrieked in pain, and it seemed to burn. It was burning. The taint within it was being destroyed by the blade. As Niya move close, Akayama chopped down another ogre, and Horiyuki finished one off. Murusashi cut another of the beasts down.
Niya had closed on the Oni and slashed the creature. It did not seem like a mighty blow, but the Oni howled with pain, and around the wound the skin began to bubble, as if its blood was boiling. Perhaps it was.
The Oni shrieked and it looked as if it was being torn apart by forces within and without. A moment later it was gone, completely destroyed.
The night grew eerily silent. The Oni was gone and the ogres were dead. We stood about the carnage of the battle and it dawned on us that we had won.
It was then that Hashi pointed out that Kurenshoku was not there, it was not over.
Niya, Akayama, Murusashi and Horiyuki set off to see if Kojin and Tamoko were all right. Hiro rode off the make sure the rest of his people were all right and Hashi and I remained, in case anything else happened. The priests and monks came out to treat the wounded.
Akayama and the others climbed the stairs, soon reaching the place where Kojin had been. He was gone. On the step where he had stood were his kimono, neatly folded, and his daisho, carefully placed on the kimono.
They continued up and at the top of the stairs found the small shrine where Tamoko had lived. There was no sign of the woman, no sign of a struggle, nothing to suggest anything was wrong, yet she was not there. After they looked around Niya called to the spirits within the water of a small pool near the house and asked them to show her what had happened there.
The waters showed Tamoko preparing for a journey, taking little other than one small picture. She left, perhaps walking towards someone.
Later, they saw Kojin appear, wearing a loincloth and nothing else. He looked around for a moment, then walked off the way Tamoko had. That was all the water had to show.
By the time they returned Hiro was already back—his people fine. They told us what they had discovered and that left us with decisions to make.
All of us had felt a connection between us. Now, it was even stronger than before, as if the fight with the Oni had forged us into something. We knew, somehow, that we had to stay together, to deal with the problems in the Empire.
We had heard rumours of a terrible assault out of the Shadowlands on the wall, but were the clans marching to deal with it? No, they were fighting amongst themselves. What could we do? What should we do?
For a time, until the sun rose, we talked of what was happening and what we should do. The behaviour if this Oni, this Kurenshoku, confused us, and we finally agreed that we would go with Hashi, track this creature down, and destroy it. Perhaps then we would find some of the answers we sought. And what of Tamoko and Kojin? Had Kurenshoku taken Tamoko? We did not know and it was another reason to go after the Oni.
So we left that day, leaving the Shrine of the Phoenix Heart. Akira choose that time to leave us, saying he had other business to take care of. I could not longer claim to be following my Daimyo’s orders, not if I went of with Akayama and the others.
I wrote Hoturi-sama, telling him of all I had found out, and of my choice. I told him that when it was over, if I lived, I would take my life for disobeying him. Only his word might stop me. It was the only way I could go on and keep my honour.
We travelled with Hiro’s Unicorns, making good time. Hashi could feel the Oni ahead of us and hoped we might catch it in a few days. When we set up camp the night that it happened we were only a few days away from Shirukozuko, not far from Mamoru Kyotei Toshi.
Late at night, we were all woken to a rumbling sound. It took us a moment to realise that it was the sound of many horses as they ran. There were shouts and screams before the sounds of the hooves began to fade. Hiro questioned his people and discovered what had happened. A large group of men, mounted on black horses had ridden up the road, at full gallop, without the aid of any lights. Three of Hiro’s people had been ridden down by the horses.
What had happened? Who were the riders, and how did the ride so well and so fast on such a dark night? What were they doing in Phoenix land? One of the people who had seen them said that they might have been Scorpions, though he was not sure.
While we were all curious about the nature of the riders and what they might do, Hiro had other reasons. Three of his people had been killed by the riders and he would have answers.
We decided that we would split up at that point. Hiro, Niya and Murusashi would travel with Hiro’s force and track down the riders. Akayama, Horiyuki, Hashi and I would continue to follow the Oni. We would meet or leave a message at the Shrine of the Seven Thunders. Hashi was certain that the Oni travelled that way.
So we parted.
First I will tell of what happened with Hiro and the others, for it is much more important in many ways.
It was still dark when Hiro and his people left. They might not have been able to match the unnatural speed of their quarry, but they were Unicorns and they rode fast.
The Unicorn tracked the horses, at times finding campsites where their quarry had stopped to rest. They did not seem to be closing on the dark horsemen, but they did not seem to be falling behind either. The Unicorn pushed their wonderful horses hard to keep up. I’m sure for Niya and Murusashi that this was a most difficult ride.
They all considered it odd that they were not stopped by Phoenix patrols as they rode, nor did they see any sign of people around them. The dark riders took paths that passed as far from human habitation as possible.
Finally, after many days, they seemed to have found the goal of the dark riders. The City of ******** where the great Library of the Phoenix was. The city was in flames, and their was sign of battle within the city itself.
Hiro split his forces up and sent them in to city to find out what was happening. He went in with Niya and Murusashi as well as several Otaku. They made their way through the streets, seeing many obvious signs of the fighting that had taken place. The city was still burning, and several times they had to find away around a particularly dangerous area. The horses were of course nervous, but their riders calmed them and they kept going.
They finally arrived in the centre of the city, and there they were presented with a terrible sight.
Standing in a semicircle were a group of men, dressed in the black and crimson of the Scorpion clan. Standing within this semicircle were four people, standing slack and unmoving. From these figures came what looked like black ribbons, but the way they moved was nothing like a ribbon made of any mundane material. It was more like thick, cloying smoke had been forced into a single form, yet always wanted to break free. The ribbons rose into the air, then arced over and came down, meeting in the hands of the man who stood at the apex of the semicircle.
"Who are you?" Hiro demanded. "What are you doing here?"
"You are in no position to demand answers of me," the man at the apex said.
Hiro drew his blade, as did the others with him. "We will see."
The man laughed. Several more black non ribbons rose from the man and lashed out, hitting three of the Otaku that Hiro had brought with him. The Samurai turned about, backing up towards the figures in the centre, obviously ready to fight with Hiro and the others. Somehow the Scorpion had taken control of the Samurai, turning them against their former companions.
"What have you done?!" Hiro’s anger made itself evident as lightning flashed in the sky and thunder rumbled.
"What I will do to you," the man laughed. "What I have done to the Isawa Elemental Masters!"
Hiro lifted a hand, and from the sky a bolt of lightning flashed down towards the man, lighting up the entire city with its intensity.
I do not doubt that had the bolt struck it would have burnt the Scorpion to ash. It did not though. One of the enslaved masters threw up a shield over the Scorpion and the bolt shattered over the shield, leaving the Scorpion unharmed.
"You offer no threat to me Son of Osano-wo," the Scorpion told Hiro. Another black non ribbon lashed out and took another of the Otaku. The enslaved Otaku moved forward and Murusashi moved to meet them.
Hiro realised that there was no way he could win. The Scorpion was protected by the Elemental Masters, and the longer he stayed, the more of his people would be taken, enslaved. He chose to retreat then. Death he was not afraid of, but he would not let the Scorpions take any more of the Unicorns.
Murusashi killed two of the Otaku, freeing them I suspect and then they retreated, moving back into the city. Hiro met with other Unicorn parties and ordered them out of the city, sending a few to find others and relay his orders. He had lost nearly a quarter of his people in the end, and he feared that most of them had been enslaved by the Scorpion. He did not know how to deal with the threat they had discovered, nor did Niya who had never heard of such a thing before.
The Scorpions had a powerful, and unknown magic to call on. Hiro realised that this news had to be spread. He sent many of him men back to his lands, telling them that they must let their Daimyos know of what was happening. The rest he took with him to meet up with the rest of us to tell us what had happened.
The Unicorns rode off, splitting up into two groups, leaving the burning city, the Scorpions and the enslaved individuals behind them.
While all that had been happening Akayama, Hashi, Horiyuki and myself were following after Kurenshoku. We travelled fast and often found signs of small camps along the path. This confused Akayama as he saw no reason for the Oni to need a camp. Was it possible that the Oni was travelling with others? It was another question we needed answered.
We travelled through Crane lands, and into Lion lands, avoiding patrols easily enough as we continued following the Oni. What became obvious that it was heading towards Beiden Pass. We hoped that we might catch him before he passed over the mountains.
One night we were camped close to a small shrine. Akayama and Horiyuki were playing go, Hashi was sitting off in a shadowy area, some distance from the fire, I was hunched over a piece of paper, trying to write a poem. That was when he entered the firelight.
A tall, handsome man, wearing a black kimono with the daisho in his obi.
We were all a little surprised by this sudden intrusion, though Akayama was the first to stand and welcome the man to share our fire if he so chose. I noticed, even as the Crab was making the polite invitation, he was also setting himself up if he needed to suddenly draw his blade.
When asked who he was, the stranger said to us, "I am the Oni Kurenshoku, who you have been following. I tell you now to stop."
I for one did not know what to make of this. A man had walked into our camp, told us he was a powerful Oni and then asked for us to stop following him. It seemed completely unreal. My brush fell from my fingers, leaving a blotch of ink on the paper, obscuring several characters on the page. Most distressing really.
Akayama remained standing, staring at this Oni, as if trying to understand what was happening. He had fought in the Shadowlands many times, he knew much of Oni, yet this one perplexed him. I saw his hand move towards his nodachi, then stop, then start again.
Hashi remained where he was, his eyes glittering in the fire light.
Something was bound to happen, and it was Horiyuki that started it.
The Lion samurai shot to his feet, his hand on his sword. "Why do you come here Oni!" he spat at it.
"I have come to tell you not to follow me. There is no need."
"You lie."
"Are you challenging my word?" Kurenshoku asked.
"You have no honour, there is nothing to challenge."
"Then we shall see," the Oni said, dropping into a duelling stance.
Horiyuki did not hesitate but dropped into his own stance.
I could see that the Oni was the superior of the two, his a stance of a master. Oh, there are many cranes who were better, but the Lion was not. Still, if he saw the truth of the situation Horiyuki did not let that daunt him. We watched as the two stood facing each other, eyes narrowed, bodies held ready.
A log in the fire cracked loudly. Horiyuki began to draw. Kurenshoku moved so fast then, his sword coming free of its saya, lashing out as he stepped through his attack.
Horiyuki fell forward in a spray of blood, landing hard on the ground. Kurenshoku cleaned his katana off then returned it to its saya.
I moved over to Horiyuki, discovering he was still alive, though badly wounded. I began to stop the bleeding.
At that moment Akayama did something very strange. He sat down and looked at the Oni. "Would you like to play a game?" he asked, indicating the Go board.
It was, to say the least, a surprising thing to say, and it confused Kurenshoku somewhat. He looked at Akayama, then at the others, and said. "I do not feel like spending the rest of this night fighting."
"I will not challenge you this night." Akayama said.
Not sure what was going on, or what Akayama was doing, I agreed. Hashi sat where he was, saying nothing.
As I bandaged Horiyuki’s wounds Kurenshoku sat down in front of the board and began to play.
The camp was silent but for the crackle of the fire and the faint clicks as Akayama and Kurenshoku placed their stones on the board.
Having finished with Horiyuki and making his as comfortable as possible, I moved to watch the game. It was hard to see this handsome man as an Oni, the way he acted, it was like he had honour. The game went on for a long time, but finally Akayama trapped the majority of the Oni’s pieces and took the game.
Kurenshoku nodded and got to his feet. "Well played," he said.
"You played well," Akayama said.
"I tell you that Shiba-ojousama follows me of her own will. If you continue to follow me, you will enter into great danger. I tell you that she is in no danger."
I was not sure of that claim, but Akayama nodded.
Kurenshoku turned and walked away. I thought to follow but Akayama stopped me telling me that nothing could be gained.
We stopped following the Oni then. We had to remain where we were for several days as Horiyuki recovered and Hashi no longer felt the drive to hunt after the creature. He also told us his ability to sense Kurenshoku had faded.
We would meet the Oni again, but not for some time.
After Horiyuki recovered we went on to the Shrine of the Thunders where we promised to meet Hiro and the others.