Distant Thunder: Chapter 1

The Third Day of the Month of Shinjo, 1137

There were two ogres and a squad of goblins charging Hida O-Ushi's position, a small, bare rise that overlooked the battlefield. The brown-grey stones and chalky dust that were the mark of the Hiruma lands these days ended just a few hundred yards in front of her, replaced with thin, green-black grass and low scrub as far as she could see. To the untrained eye, it was not clear why the Crab would be fighting for this desolation over the seemingly healthier land beyond, but O-Ushi knew that the grass had blades sharp enough to cut through unprotected skin, and the bushes might suddenly lash out with tendrils concealed within the tangle of their branches and leaves.

Besides, this was Crab land. That was reason enough for any Crab to fight for it.

With a roar, O-Ushi leapt forward to meet the charge, her massive hammer swinging far too quickly for its size. One ogre raised a massive sword – it looked like a rusted no-dachi of Lion make – to block the blow, but with a practiced movement, O-Ushi twisted her wrists, dropping the hammer's head to clip the ogre's legs out from under it. She finished the movement with a short, vicious swing that drove the hammer head into the ogre's throat, killing it. Around her, the goblins swarmed, but O-Ushi's yojimbo, veterans of the Hida House Guard, hurled themselves forward as well, tetsubos and ono swinging wildly. Blood and ichor flew.

As the ogre toppled, the second tried to move in, the "club" in its hands looking to be an actual tree trunk. Almost without thinking, O-Ushi's grip on her hammer shifted, left hand pulling back while the right grasped the handle just below the head. Holding the hammer like a staff, she spun, raising her weapon to deflect the club with all her strength. It rocked her back, but the club was unwieldy and awkward, even for a beast of the ogre's unholy strength. Even as it readied itself for another attack, O-Ushi rushed in; the butt of the hammer caught the inside of the ogre's elbow, the hammer head smashed its kneecap, and as it began to collapse, O-Ushi slammed her helmet into its nose for good measure. One more swing, and the ogre's skull shattered in a burst of bone shards.

Without pausing, O-Ushi turned to find her next opponent, but there were none to be found. The charge on her small hilltop had been stopped, the horde's push faltering in its wake. The other Crab forces below her had held their lines perfectly, and with the advance stopped, she signaled to her gunso – signs flashed down the lines from his war fan, and the Crab began an advance of their own. In minutes, it was over, the last of the Tainted creatures fleeing back toward the foul terrain of the Shadowlands beyond the uneven border separating it from the bare Hiruma provinces. As they ran, O-Ushi watched a goblin get snatched up by a tendril flung out by one of the bushes. It didn't even have time to scream, and O-Ushi grinned fiercely.

"Victory!" she screamed, raising her hammer high, and around her, the air resounded with the answering cry from her Crab brothers and sisters. "Victory!"

A day later, O-Ushi rode back through the gates of Kyuden Hida, still grinning. Though the monsters of the Shadowlands continued their endless assaults on the Empire, they had never regained their strength after the assault on Volturnum four years ago, and the fears of a resurgent population of Lost – born of the long list of samurai who fell to the Taint on that painful march – had never materialized. The Crab had cleansed and held the lands that had once been – and were now again – the territory of the Hiruma family, the first time the Shadowlands had been forced to give ground in ten centuries. She looked up at the sun shining down on her as she dismounted in the castle's courtyard. `We hold, brother,' she thought. `The Crab are the Wall, and the Wall still stands.'

In many castles, the return of a Clan Champion in a state such as O-Ushi's would have been cause for shock and scandal; her battered armor, dusty clothes and half-healed bruises (her forehead in particular hurt – headbutting the ogre had seemed a good idea at the time, but the headache she had now suggested perhaps not) would have caused many a Crane courtier to go pale and fan himself frantically at the very sight. Here, however, they drew no comment or reaction whatsoever, and O-Ushi allowed herself another smile at the thought. They knew their mistress was a warrior first, and they respected her all the more for it. That was why the Crab remained strong.

As she entered her quarters, preparing to strip out of her armor and perhaps find a bath, she was surprised by a warm voice, whispering almost in her ear as she came through the door. "Yoritoko-chan," it said, a smooth tone that unaccountably made her shiver slightly. "I am very glad you have returned."

O-Ushi turned to face her husband, Hida Yasamura, a slim, disarmingly handsome man with sparkling eyes and a slightly bowlegged gait, a constant reminder of his birth among the Unicorn Clan. They were an oddly matched pair, physically – though O-Ushi was called beautiful by many, few had ever called her "feminine," while Yasamura's casual grace looked almost girlish beside the imposing stance of his stocky, strongly-built wife. Nevertheless, O-Ushi found that she had come to appreciate his company, even when he called her Yoritoko. For what seemed the hundredth time, she opened her mouth to tell him not to call her by her real name, but as it always seemed to, the urge died out as he smiled at her. Instead, she smiled back, stepping closer. "I'm glad to see you too," she replied. "Weren't you supposed to be gone until winter?"

"I… may have slipped out to see you and the boys," Yasamura answered, grinning mischievously. "The western towers are quiet as a mouse, and I was due some leave, so I left Feshin in charge and headed here. I thought perhaps we might have some time together before I am forced to return to patrolling the incredibly thrilling Shinomen Mori. I swear, it's like even the birds don't want to wake the Naga in there."

Whatever else she might think about him, O-Ushi could admit – at least to herself – that time spent alone with Yasamura was extremely pleasant. Yasamura knew a number of ways to put his natural athleticism to very good use. She smiled wider, beginning to reach for the silk that tied her armor on. "A sound plan, general. Just get me out of this, and we-"

A cough outside her door interrupted her. "Ushi-dono?" called a servant's voice.

"Is the Wall under attack?" she snapped through the door.

"Uh, no-" the voice answered uncertainly.

"Then I'm busy," she said, starting to work on the silk knot again.

"-but Rohiteki-sama has returned, and requests a meeting," the voice continued with a slight squeak.

With a slow glare at the door, O-Ushi stopped untying the silk. She glanced at Yasamura, who shrugged apologetically, nodding. He understood. O-Ushi grunted in frustration, then shook her head. "Later," she told him, thumping his chest with her finger.

He chuckled and leaned in, whispering "Yes, Ushi-dono," into her ear. She shivered again, then straightened her shoulders and headed toward the door, Yasamura trailing a step behind her. `Might as well get this over with.' She strode out into the corridors of Kyuden Hida, conscious as she went of an overwhelming sense of belonging. Her ancestors had bled and died for these stones; she and her sons would one day do the same. She reached out to touch the stone, trailing her fingers over it.

As they walked, O-Ushi and Yasamura talked of their lives since they had last seen one another. Yasamura was training the small force of Crab cavalry that had once been commanded by O-Ushi's uncle, Hida Tsuru, before Tsuru died at Oblivion's Gate; O-Ushi spoke mostly of their twin sons, Kuroda and Kuon, now a year old. Yasamura's smile as he listened to her stories made O-Ushi want to turn around and head back to their chambers, but she refrained. With difficulty.

Hida Rohiteki was waiting in the central hall of the castle. There was no formal court here, and the space was traditionally used for tactical and strategic planning among the various Commanders of the Watchtowers, the ranking samurai in charge of the defenses along each of the sections of the Kaiu Wall. Large tables covered with maps dominated the room, and runners sped in and out in a continual rush, carrying information and orders. As she entered, O-Ushi spotted Rohiteki near one wall, studying a map of the Yasuki provinces while she waited. "Good news, you think?" Yasamura asked.

O-Ushi shrugged as Rohiteki looked up and spotted them. The young shugenja bowed deeply as her Champion approached, but O-Ushi smiled warmly and said, "It is good to see you again, cousin." Rohiteki blushed slightly as she straightened back up again, and then blushed again as she glanced at the handsome ex-Unicorn standing at O-Ushi's side. Rohiteki was Hida Tsuru's daughter, and she had begun making it a habit to visit her late father's former unit as often as possible, now that Yasamura was in charge. O-Ushi hadn't yet decided if she was jealous or amused. It was hard not to feel some sympathy for the teenage girl caught by her crush, however, and O-Ushi had no fear for her husband's attentions.

O-Ushi said, "Report, Rohiteki-san," and Rohiteki jumped slightly, looking at her own feet for a moment before beginning to address O-Ushi's hakama.

"Hai, Ushi-dono," the shugenja replied. "Ah… I have just returned from the funeral of Kaede-sama. The Emperor has ended his seclusion and appointed an Imperial Advisor: Ide Tadaji."

O-Ushi glanced at Yasamura, who blinked back in surprise. O-Ushi murmured, "For a guy with a club foot, Tadaji certainly seems able to climb fairly well." She looked back at Rohiteki. "Where did you stand on his nomination?"

"I, ah, I… thought we should support the Mantis Clan, Ushi-dono. I placed the Crab's strength behind Yoritomo Hogosha. We are kin, of a sort, and Yakamo-sama always seemed to be very fond of them, so-"

"You committed no error, Rohiteki-san," O-Ushi interrupted, "as long as you gave the Unicorn no insult." At Rohiteki's frantic headshake, O-Ushi nodded. "Go on," she commanded.

"Ah… hai. As part of the negotiations, the Mantis have agreed to send us discounted trade goods, including silks, and promised a discount on shipping as well." Rohiteki paused, then continued hesitantly, "And then, of course, there is the… problem… up north…"

"Spit it out, girl," O-Ushi said, exchanging another glance with Yasamura. Had she ever been this young? Yasamura probably had, at least. "The Dragon and the Phoenix are ready to tear each other's throats out over the Agasha. That's what you're talking about, yes?" At Rohiteki's nod, O-Ushi shook her head. "Fortunes, if this is what one week in Otosan Uchi has done to you, cousin, remind me to never send you to a Scorpion winter court. I'd be lucky if you could speak in a straight line ever again. What about the `problem' in the north?"

Rohiteki blushed once more as she answered, "I didn't think we should be seen to be taking sides. It's not our fight, and we can use them both as allies. So the Dragon have promised us gold and the Phoenix will journey south this winter to bless our rice crops for the harvests next fall. In exchange, we will send weapons to the Dragon and the Phoenix shugenja will return to their lands next spring with Kaiu engineers, who will work to strengthen their fortifications. By supporting both sides, we make it clear we support neither."

O-Ushi nodded slowly. "Well done, Rohiteki-san. Your instincts were correct. Is there anything else?"

"Two more things, Ushi-dono," the shugenja replied, visibly straightening at her cousin's praise. "Hida Tsuneo-san has gathered support from most of the other Great Clans to aid in strengthening the fortifications in Kinbou province. He plans to begin that offensive sometime next year, I believe. He recruited a number of samurai from across the Empire – I think we will soon see an influx of visitors that will need dealing with, but the Hiruma will no doubt appreciate the help."

O-Ushi said, "I just came back from Kinbou Province. The scenery isn't the greatest, but I did have a pleasant time with the locals." She grinned at the memory. "Very well. I will speak with Tsuneo soon to coordinate the effort. And the last thing?"

"Kitsu Motso extended a `hand of friendship' to us and the Unicorn. I am given to understand that this constitutes some kind of agreement to not attack us."

"A `hand of friendship?'" O-Ushi snorted. "With that and a piece of paper I could wipe my ass. Still, it's better than a declaration of war, and I'd like to think Motso hasn't forgotten what Tsanuri and I built. Is that all, then?"

"Hai, my Champion."

"Very well. Send word to Utsu to prepare the weapons shipments and ready two regiments of engineers for the Phoenix. I will make the arrangements with Tsuneo and Yoshi to fill in the gaps on the Wall. You are dismissed, Rohiteki-san. You did very well." O-Ushi smiled at her cousin as Rohiteki bowed her way out, then turned to Yasamura, her mind already returning to the interrupted events from before. She was surprised to see her husband frowning at her, however. "Yasamura? What is it?"

The former Unicorn looked around the room as though to reassure himself no one was listening. "Tsuneo," he said finally. "I don't trust him, and I don't think you should either. He is a spirit, but he refuses to discuss his former life – and you know it was a spirit that killed Kaede, right? We have accepted them back into the Empire too easily, and I think we're making a mistake in doing so. This is our Empire, not theirs, and I can't help thinking there are too many of them that don't know that… or worse, that don't care."

"You've spent too much time listening to Shono," O-Ushi snapped, annoyed. "We've had this discussion before. Tsuneo is not your father; the Stone Crab is mastermind of no grand conspiracy. He is a Crab, and his help has been invaluable on the Wall since he returned. He has earned my trust and the loyalty of his men. He's going to bring the Empire to support the Hiruma, for Shinsei's sake! Why isn't that enough for you?"

"But that's just it! He's been transferring most of the Crab spirits to his units – doesn't that bother you? Do you know his men are loyal to the Crab, or are they just loyal to him?"

O-Ushi's hand clenched on the handle of her hammer, and she was dimly surprised to realize that she had readied the weapon as though for battle. Yasamura had taken two steps away, his eyes wide with shock at his wife's sudden fury. "You. Will. Never. Question. My. Men. Again," she snarled. "We are Crab. That means something. And if you have not yet learned that, perhaps you have never been a Crab yourself." Yasamura hissed in pain, as if she had cut him with her blade, but she turned away, heading across the room toward one of her other generals. "You should return to your post, Yasamura-san. Your unit no doubt requires your presence."

After a long, pained pause, Yasamura bowed deeply. "Hai, Hida-dono," he said, straightening up to go. Before he could leave, however, O-Ushi raised her voice and stopped him.

"And Yasamura? Don't call me Yoritoko. My name is O-Ushi."

Yasamura's face was white as he bowed again, then turned and headed out. He did not look back. O-Ushi watched him go, wanting to call out to him but unable to make herself do so. She noticed her hands were hurting slightly, and looked down to see that she was gripping her hammer so tightly that her fists were shaking. After a long, slow breath, she forced her fingers to unclench, then set aside the hammer and turned her attention to the map she was standing over.

She never noticed that her cheeks were wet, and none of the samurai standing around her dared mention it.