My Brother's Honor

The year was 1118. Hiruma lands remained tainted and under the control of the armies of the Shadowlands. Hiruma samurai maintained estates in Hida and Kaiu lands and their war leaders acted as minor lords in those lands. Many Hiruma studied at the Far Runner Dojo in Shinjo lands. Those who did not often studied with the Hida or became berserkers.

Daisuke was one of many young Hiruma born into this state of limbo. His father was the renowned swordsman Ranmaru, who served under the command of Lord Yabu, a renowned and shrewd scout leader. Ranmaru married Kuni Kyoko, a beautiful sorceress renowned for her ability to nurture plants in desolate soil. The couple lived and served, until Kyoko gave birth to twin boys. Kyoko took leave to raise the children, but Ranmaru continued his duties.

The boys were fraternal twins, one older than the other by a minute. Kyoko named the older twin Nobunari and the younger twin was called Daisuke. From the beginning, the boys were inseparable, despite their many differences. Where Nobunari was gregarious and carefree, Daisuke was reserved and cautious. Daisuke was graceful and nimble, favoring archery and skirmishes; Nobunari was a bulky bruiser who favored close combat. Nobunari, with his immense physique and dominant personality, almost joined the Hida academy; Daisuke was alert and vigilant, a natural scout, making him a perfect choice for the Hiruma. By most of Rokugan’s standards, both would have been classified overgrown Crab, for the boys towered over other Crab of a similar age.

Despite their differences differences, the twins did everything together. This was not just a matter of happenstance, but one of fate. As soon as they were born, Kyoko sensed something unusual. She said that the destinies of her sons were intertwined. “Together,” she said, “you are two oaks leaning against each other in the wind.” “Apart,” she continued direly, “you are alone, a single bough against the darkness.”

Nothing was lost on Kyoko. Despite being the matriarch of the family, it was she and not our father who held final say over familial decisions. She put her foot down, insisting that Nobunari stay with Daisuke, when he truly wanted to join the Hida School. She reminded him of the trouble he was always in when his twin was not nearby.

Because of Nobunari’s reluctance to join the First Strike Dojo, he and Daisuke went through our Gemppuku quite late. They were among the few students that were admitted to First Strike Dojo prior to their Gemppuku, and only because Ranmaru pulled some strings. Despite Nobunari’s misgivings, it was Daisuke who suffered the most during their adolescent years. Nobunari, frustrated by his parents’ control, became quite the hoodlum, wasting his time playing at Fortunes and Winds with Lord Iwae, a brash young war hero, and his many friends. Daisuke always found such games distasteful, but would never say so to the Lord, so he spent his time practicing his archery. It was this that attracted the notice of another lord.

*   *   *

It was a crisp spring day, Hiruma Yabu had just returned from a ceremony in which the Hiruma lands were once again granted Daimyo. He was chosen to be the Daimyo of Ienikaeru, the central Hiruma province. Yabu’s duties were unusual because his province was home to the seat of the Hiruma family, the newly rebuilt Shiro Hiruma, or Daylight Castle. While Yabu was to oversee the day-to-day running of the castle, the province, and the Hiruma bushi school, he still had a Hiruma Daimyo looking over his shoulder. For the most part, Hiruma Yoshi, the family Daimyo, was a war-leader who left his provincial Daimyo to manage their lands. While Shiro Hiruma was Yabu’s responsibility, it was ultimately, the territory of Yoshi.

Coming back from the ceremony, Hiruma Iwae, Lord of the newly dedicated Hissori went back to Lord Yabu’s holdings to collect his things. Iwae was formerly Yabu’s hatamoto, but had been promoted to Daimyo of a smaller, but still important Hiruma province. During repeated games of Fortunes and Winds, Iwae regaled Yabu of his many “accomplishments.” He implied that his appointment was a better one because he did not have “the big man” looking over his shoulder. Yabu ignored the jibes, realizing the greater importance of his appointment, even if it was, at least on paper, slightly less appealing. Iwae was well into his sake, and had broken out the shochu, which Yabu found even more distasteful than the gambling. As Iwae became increasingly inebriated and lost focus on his host, Lord Yabu saw this as a good time to get some fresh air.

By the time Yabu diplomatically escaped the gathering, it was reaching twilight and the stark Kaiu lands were almost beautiful. He took a stroll through the holdings, finally coming upon an archery practice range. Expecting to see no one practicing at this hour, he was surprised to see someone there. Watching from behind, Yabu noticed that the archer was extremely tall and well-built, with a well-developed upper body. While his archery movements were quite fluid and his accuracy astonishing, his build seemed more appropriate to a swordsmen. Yabu’s first thought was that this must be a young Hida traveling with Iwae. He was certainly taller than most of the other young men drinking with Iwae, save for that one massive lout who kept laughing at all of Iwae’s jokes about goblin mating rituals. This one must have just completed his Gemppuku. He had that freshly scrubbed look.

So intent on the target was the young archer that it seemed to Yabu that he paid little attention to his rear guard. Yabu decided to teach him a defensive lesson. He snuck up behind the young man and drew a bokken from one of the covered training racks. He neared the youth and was about to touch the tip of the wooden sword to the youth’s back, saying, “You really should keep better…”

But the boy was faster. As the words left the Yabu’s mouth, the youth fell to a crouch, dropping the bow. He kicked out backwards with his leg, tripping Yabu before the Lord could strike. The kick knocked Yabu flat on his rump, causing him to drop the practice sword.

Turning around, and scooping up the practice sword with his now free hand, the young man pointed it at Yabu’s neck. Now that Lord Yabu could see the youth’s face, he realized how utterly wrong he had been in his estimation of the young man’s age. This youth was barely more than a child—perhaps 12 years old. His impressive height and physique were approaching adulthood, but his face was that of a boy.

From the look on the youth’s face, it was clear to Yabu that the boy recognized him. Panic stricken, the youth froze, unable to decide whether to prostrate himself before the Lord or to help Yabu up. But he pulled himself together rather quickly, clearly deciding that helping Yabu up was the smarter choice.

*   *   *

Daisuke immediately tossed the practice sword aside and gave Yabu both hands, helping him up off the ground. He said, “Gravest apologies, Yabu Dono. I did not recognize you and I was surprised.” With that, he prostrated himself at Lord Yabu’s feet.

Permission to rise did not come immediately, and Daisuke thought he heard Lord Yabu chuckling. He felt all the blood rushing to his cheeks, but waited, reminding himself that he must stay until the Lord gives him permission to rise. He did sneak a glance upwards. Lord Yabu grinned and said, “Ah, you must be young Daisuke. I haven’t seen you since you were an infant. Please don’t stay in the dirt any longer on my account. You have done nothing wrong. It was I who was foolish in assuming you were a Hida following Lord Iwae’s exploits. It is clear that you are both vigilant and sober. It is also nice to see that there are still some in our clan who understand both manners and duty.”

With that, Daisuke rose and bowed to Lord Yabu. He said, “My Lord. May I assist you in any way?”

Lord Yabu looked astonished, his eyes reflecting the rapidly fading twilight for a moment, and then he smiled, replying, “You are full of surprises young man. I only wish more of my samurai and courtiers would ask that very same question and mean it as sincerely as you do. As a matter of fact, there is a very special task with which I believe you are particularly qualified to assist me. Perhaps you would join me for tea in my quarters?”

*   *   *

Besides Lord Iwae, Daisuke had never seen a samurai approaching Lord Yabu’s status, let alone spoken to one. Iwae had never taken to him, clearly preferring Nobunari. Daisuke had always been serious and introverted, traits that were not of great value in the “devil may care” group in favor with the Lord of the new Hissori Province. Lord Iwae loved Nobunari, however, and he would never begrudge him anything. Daisuke felt that Iwae was a bad influence on his brother, but what can a twelve-year-old, un-vetted boy do about such a thing?

Growing up in the shadow of his brother wasn’t easy, but Daisuke always loved Nobunari. Despite some of his bad habits, Daisuke idolized him, against his better judgment. Nevertheless, hearing such glowing praise from the Lord of another province, a bigger and richer province, was a major boost to his confidence. Not only was Ienikaeru a more significant province among the Hiruma, but it was also the location of the new Hiruma Bushi School. Even as a young man, the power in this man’s hands was not lost on Daisuke.

When Daisuke entered Yabu’s guest quarters, the Daimyo was sitting at a large and simple, but extremely sturdy desk. It looked like he must have brought it with him because Daisuke doubted that Lord Iwae would have such a thing in his own chambers, let alone a guest’s chambers. Lord Yabu beckoned for him to sit in a seat opposite the desk. Daisuke sat down and waited. For a few moments, Lord and youth both sat in silence and Yabu just looked at Daisuke. He didn’t stare, but rather gazed, much in the way a father would at a son he was proud of or an uncle at a nephew he hadn’t seen in some time.

Yabu took out a small, but exquisite traveling tea set made from silver and jade. He explained, “Daisuke—the maccha is not just a beverage. We do not drink it merely to sate our thirst, like we would water or sake. The ceremony was first performed by Lady Doji herself, and has been passed down in its many forms from family to family, and from mentor to disciple through the years. One does not drink tea with someone, but rather, one shares tea. Sharing tea signifies that two equals have business of urgent import. You must honor your word in these dealings, for it is sacred as a written contract, as if you signed it in blood. Break it and you are befouled—“a thing.”

With that, Lord Yabu performed the ceremony and I observed, understanding from my mother that such events must be performed in complete silence. Despite the solemnity of the occasion, and the fact that I was a passive participant, I felt truly exhilarated. For the first time in my life, I was serving an authority figure who seemed to truly understand me. Lord Yabu could see me in a way that Iwae Sama and the rest of the people of Hissori never would. I could actually imagine a future with him, one I had never glimpsed in twelve years with Lord Iwae.

After the ceremony, Lord Yabu brought up the reason for the meeting. He said, “Daisuke—your parents have asked me to assist in bringing both you and your brother to study at the Hiruma School. They fear that if any further time passes, both you and he will be at a disadvantage as bushi. I have no doubt that you will flourish under the tutelage of our master Sensei at the Hiruma School. I see that you have already had some training with weapons—no doubt your father’s doing. Your brother would be considered a large and powerful man even as an adult and he is barely a teen. And I must profess; I am extraordinarily impressed with what I have seen of your abilities outside of weapons. Manners, vigilance, and dutifulness are qualities that all lords look for.”

“What I am asking is as follows...” Yabu continued. “Convince your brother that together you can accomplish great things. To help, you can reveal to him something that I have yet to tell anyone other than you. In your final year, assuming you start immediately, I will be holding a tournament, along with the other Hiruma lords. Everyone will be competing for a significant prize, though only you and I know what it is—at least until your brother tells everyone. The winner will receive a Kaiu Blade. But the winner must be skilled not only in Kenjutsu; he must be capable in Kyujutsu, Jiujitsu, Iaijutsu, Athletics, Hunting, Weapons, as well as some of the more cultured skills, such as Poetry, Etiquette, the Tea Ceremony, and the Bushido Code. Of course, we do not expect any one samurai to be an expert in all fields, but we will judge the winner both in excellence as a warrior and as a well-rounded samurai. We feel, or I should say that I feel that these other skills are lacking in Crab samurai, and I would like to give your generation motivation for pursuing them. I have spent much time convincing the other Hiruma lords of my feelings on this.”

Lord Yabu’s eyes softened. “Your father and I went to school together and have fought many a skirmish on the Wall. He has great hopes for both you and your brother and I can see why. I can see the power and might in your brother just by looking at him, but if he is half the man that you are, Hiruma School would be foolish to let him pass. And don’t let Kyoko…your mother know I told you this, but once upon a time I had quite the interest in her. But never for a moment did she stray from your father. From the moment she set eyes on him, she knew he was the man she would marry. You probably don’t know this, but there was quite the hubbub surrounding your birth in our dreary corner of the empire.”

“All throughout your mother’s pregnancy, the Shugenja of Hissori and Ienikaeru were buzzing, as if they were worried about a threat. Your mother had swelled to an unheard of size and they could not imagine that she would survive the pregnancy of such a large child. The priests waved their gohei wands to keep the goblins, spirits, and demons away, but the feeling of unrest in the void continued. Unsatisfied, your father called for me, asking me for my advice. He was quite worried, both for his wife and for his son. He was sure it must be a son, for what daughter could be so big. The notion of twins never occurred to anyone for they are extraordinarily rare. As I arrived, your mother was crying out about daruma, which I did not understand at the time. I admit to knowing little about medicine, less about childbirth, and even less about the work of Shugenja, but I asked her how I could help. She said, “Get me Kuni Riun!”

“I knew little of this Kuni Riun, other than that he was a well known dollmaker and puppeteer. I was worried that he would not be able to reach Hissori before the birth, but after speaking with a traveling Yasuki courtier, I discovered that the dollmaker was actually on his way here. The courtier also informed me that Kuni Riun was a renowned Shugenja as well as dollmaker and puppeteer. I immediately took a party of samurai, including your father to intercept the dollmaker and bring him back. Needless to say, Kuni Riun was worried, but when I to him explained the situation, I think he understood it better than I.”

“When we arrived, he began to converse with the Shugenja, speaking the magical jargon they discuss that means so little to you and me. Your father and I excused ourselves to visit a shrine to Bishamon, the Fortune of Strength. By that point, the province was engulfed in the greatest summer storm I have ever seen. As we knelt to pray at the shrine, hail the size of your brother’s fists began to rain from the sky. Lightning split nearby trees and thunder rocked the earth and the realms above and below.”

Your father turned to me and said, “Yabu, my friend. Do you believe that the forces of heaven and earth are telling me that they do not want my son to be born?”

I walked over to him and gripped his grasped his hands within my own and said forcefully, “No Ranmaru. That is not what this means. The heavens do not open and rain down on earth their full glory as a sign of disapproval. They crash and boom so the world will know the glory of your son’s destiny.”

“To be honest, I did not know Heaven’s true plan, but I did not believe it was to take away your sweet mother’s life and the life of her and your father’s unborn son. And of course, you and your brother are alive and more than kicking today, so no catastrophe befell the birth. But how did the events unfold?”

“The dollmaker Kuni Riun set to work enchanting a powerful daruma, a spirit doll that would balance the energy of the birth. He hoped that it would diffuse the disturbance in the void in a way that the gohei chants had failed to do. He set the doll, which I must say, was quite a beautiful piece of work, upon the front doorpost of your father’s home.”

“For some time, the buzzing felt by the Shugenja around your mother seemed to subside. But then suddenly it increased to a fever pitch. As soon as this occurred, the thunder and lightning swelled in frequency. And then we heard and felt a terrible crash. A bolt of lightning descended from the heavens, striking the doorpost, and shattering it to pieces. Your father and I were terrified, fearing that the dollmaker had angered the Fortunes in some way, but all of the Shugenja seemed to experience an immediate moment of calm release.”

“Your mother said, ‘Ranmaru, Yabu—why don’t you go look on the doorstep.’ We complied with her wishes, walking through the open portal over splinters of oak. What we saw was completely unexpected. Sitting upright on the doorstep, as if they were placed there as decorations, were two identical daruma dolls. It looked like someone, presumably the dollmaker, had taken the first doll, and made an exact replica of it, but we knew that this had not happened. We walked back inside and it was Ranmaru who spoke. “We’re having twins?!” I’ve never seen him happier in his entire life.

“When you and your brother were born, the rumors spread like wildfire around the Hiruma lands. A birth of unusually large and healthy twin boys with green eyes of all things, born to a Hiruma and a Kuni during a terrific thunderstorm was seen by some as a portent of great significance. You were both taken that very night by your mother to a shrine to be blessed by the Dragon of Thunder and her son, Osano-Wa, Fortune of Fire and Thunder and one of our greatest former champions. After communing at the shrine, she came back with a pronouncement. She said that you would have great strength, but that your fortunes would be inextricably linked for as long as you both shall live.”

“Of course, your mother and father, being reasonable people, did not fill your head with prophetic pronouncements. They felt that you both should find your own way and that you would meet your destiny together. But let me be clear: your mother is very serious about this; you must not be separated. Nobunari cannot go to train with the Hida. Among them, he would be just another brute. No doubt he would excel at swinging a sword, but true leadership, the true soul of a samurai: those things would be lost to him. And if he goes to the Hida, you would lose a part of yourself. He brings out the best in you, even if it pains you to admit it. In your heart, you know this.”

“Please. Think on this, but do not think long. The next class of Hiruma starts in one month in Ienikaeru. Daisuke. You must not fail. You must both be there when the class starts. I know you can do this.”

*   *   *

Lord Yabu was right about one important thing and wrong about another. When I told Nobunari about the tournament, he was instantly consumed by it. All thoughts of the Hida were gone from his mind within hours. He stopped playing dice games and starting devouring our mother’s books on Poetry, Etiquette, and Bushido. He asked her to show him some of the basics of the Tea Ceremony and began to read about dueling. He even asked me to give him a refresher on archery, something that has never come naturally to him.

It was a profound change, such as I’d never seen in my brother. Our parents were shocked at the difference and wondered if I had told him some sort of grand lie to get him to come to the Hiruma School. I took them aside and said, “I know that this is very sudden, but I must ask that you not mention this to anyone other than Nobunari and me. Lord Yabu believes that Nobunari will tell everyone about the tournament, but I believe he is mistaken. This is the first time anyone has ignited this sort of fire in Nobunari. He will do nothing to jeopardize his chances of winning the tournament.” They agreed, but were shocked at how much Lord Yabu had chosen to confide in me. It was true that they had asked if he could help, but they never expected him to go to these lengths, and they certainly hadn’t expected him to involve me.

It didn’t surprise me at all that Nobunari kept the secret of the tournament to himself. What did surprise me is that he stopped speaking to his friends. I struck up a conversation with him during one of the rare moments when he was taking a break from his preparations. He was drinking some water, something I hadn’t seen him do in years.

I said, “Hey Nobu.”

He replied, “Daisuke. We are adults now. You must address me as Nobunari San.”

I said, “Really? Do you think anyone there is really going to expect that?”

He replied, “According to Doji Rinji’s Manual of Etiquette, you must address all…”

I interrupted, “Let’s compromise. I will call you Nobunari San and you will call me Daisuke San when we are among authority figures, such as battle leaders, Lord Yabu or Iwae, and so on. When among friends, we can just call each other by our personal names.”

Nobunari replied, “How about this, little brother. When we’re among important people, you call me Nobunari-Sama. Better yet, call me Nobunari-Dono. And I will call you Daisuke-Kun or perhaps Dai-Dai-Chan like mother used to do.”

With that I punched him in the gut, knocking him completely off his feet.

He grunted, “You never used to hit that hard, little brother.”

I replied, “You never used to be so full of yourself.”

He thought for a moment, “You know you’re right, as usual.”

I looked at him thoughtfully, and said, “You surprise me.”

His eyes said “go on,” so I continued. “Up until a couple of weeks ago, I would have assumed that if someone told you a secret like I told you, you would have told the entire town already. What’s changed?”

“Why should I tell anyone?” he replied. “I would lose all of the advantages I have in the tournament if everyone has time to prepare for it. This gives me at least a three-year head-start, assuming Lord Yabu announces the event at the beginning of our final year. It’s bad enough that you know. You’re way better at all of the non-fighting subjects than I am and everyone knows I can’t shoot my way out of an origami whorehouse.”

I replied, “That seems like fair logic.”

He seemed pleased with himself, but then sensed that I had been priming him for another suggestion.

“One more thing,” I said.

“Mmhmm,” he replied with a quizzical look on his face. I’d seen that look before, and it usually meant “I don’t like what you’re going to say, you’re going to be right, and I should be the one saying these kinds of things.”

“You might want to think about not alienating all of your friends,” I said.

With that, water came spurting out of his nose. It clearly wasn’t what he was expecting me to say. “I’m wejasasdok ijrfg my friends?” he said through a nose and mouth of liquid.

I replied, “Since you found out about this tournament, you’ve ignored all of your friends here in Hissori. Has it even occurred to you that just about all of them will be going to Hiruma School as well? I understand that you’ve been excited about your preparations. And believe me, I wouldn’t mind at all if I never saw any of them again, but these are your friends, and you will need them at school. I have no doubt that you will make new ones, but these boys idolize you. You will be a leader to them...”

He looked contrite and I should have known when to stop.

But I continued, “And with any luck, you’ll wean them off of some of Lord Iwae’s less savory habits.”

His eyes lit with a brilliant rage I had never seen, “Lord Iwae is a good man. You should not be dishonoring him!”

I foolishly responded, “Drop the act, Nobu. Lord Iwae is a great skirmish leader, but he is a lout. When he is not leading a war party, he is drinking and gambling. He is not a proper role-model for any samurai.”

He responded in a controlled tone that made me exceedingly nervous, “Well Dai, no one can ever accuse you of not speaking your mind. And you are spot on about how I’ve treated my friends. That was a big mistake, but I think the damage can be repaired. After all, I’ve just been practicing with my little brother and we’ve got “so many things to show all of you guys.”

I sensed that he had a further point to say and I knew this one was serious. My brother was one of the most easy-going and tolerant people I had ever met in my life. When he handed out a reprimand, it was usually because someone had shown true disrespect. In this case, I had been a snotty little bastard.

His eyes set with calm and determination and he continued, “But now I get to be the big brother and come to you with a lesson. You are right that Lord Iwae does drink and gamble a great deal. But the Wall is a dangerous and brutal place and he deals with horrible things on a daily. You haven’t seen any of those things, so you don’t know why he does what he does. I hear his stories and I have gone on a few visits with him just to get a taste of what things might be like. I know that this still does not even come close to approximating the true danger of the Shadowlands, but at least I’ve tried to understand our lord. I know he may not be some Doji courtier, but he is a good leader and he cares about his men. So little brother: Do not fear to learn some of the higher things that our brethren sometimes miss out on, but never condemn one of your clansmen for venting the horrors he has faced in simple pleasures such as dice games or a little sake. You will need to do so at some point very soon. Refraining from such things does not make you a better man. And there are so many things you don’t know about Lord Iwae. He leads the efforts among the Hiruma to reclaim the lost land that is our birthright. He even speaks highly of you, believe or not. He thinks you are the best young archer in the province. What nice things have you ever had to say about him? Have you ever even tried to socialize with him? Lords know that he has tried to get me to bring you to social events countless times. So have more respect. This man has earned it and you have not.”

I sat and digested what he said for a moment, and then I made an extended bow. I replied, “You are right Nobunari. By isolating myself, I have failed to gain experience and perspective. I assumed that you, Lord Iwae, and your friends were wasting away your days drinking and gambling. I had no idea that you were learning about what we face in the future, what our duties will be, and how we must respect these duties. I viewed Lord Iwae and his actions from a place of judgment and inexperience. I made a young man’s mistakes, but at the Wall, we will have no time for mistakes. I have lost opportunities to learn from him Lord Iwae because of my stubbornness. I will be sure to thank him for what I have learned while living here and in the future, I will not make these mistakes again.”

I did thank Lord Iwae. I had a few drinks with him and did my best to play a few games of dice. I spoke with him about duty; about what it means to him to reclaim our birthright; about how he recovers from the horrors he sees daily; about the challenges this province and other provinces face and what he thinks can be done to improve and alleviate the problems; about what I should study and what my strengths are; about how to keep my brother in line; and about many other things. We talked all through the night, just him and I, and I realized that all the years that I judged this man were sheer folly. It was a revelation and one that was clear to both him and me. From that day forward, I viewed him in a new light and I know that he has looked kindly on me ever since.

*   *   *

I think the talk we had helped to put things in perspective for both me and Nobunari. By the end of the two weeks, he had returned from Tengoku and his mind and body were firmly in the Realm of Mortals. I felt far better about where I had come from and confident about my abilities to take on whatever challenges lay ahead in my Hiruma training.

As we neared our trip to Ienikaeru Province and Shiro Hiruma, father was bursting with pride. I was certain that it was for my brother. He was in even better shape then before; no more booze, no more gambling, no more girls, and way more studying. What surprised me was that he was at least as proud of me.

As my mother was helping my brother to decide what he was going to study, my father took me aside. He said, “Daisuke. You might have the impression, growing up in Hissori with a brother like Nobunari, that you are not as appreciated. But you must understand something. In the empire, it is often the peacocks, with their colorful feathers, that attract the fame and glory. But they do not always do the heavy lifting. They are not always what make the gears grind, the walls go up, the hordes push back, or the courts keep safe. Do not mistake me: I am not saying that your brother will be like one of those preening Crane or glory-seeking Mantis. He does not have an insincere bone in his body. But you must never feel that your gifts are any less important to the success of the empire.”

“And if you are thinking that your brother takes after me in his gifts or physical attributes, you are sorely mistaken. Where he comes from nobody knows. Perhaps it is the mix of Hiruma and Kuni. Perhaps there is a Hida was back somewhere among our ancestors. The truth is, both of you are much taller and much stronger than any of our family’s previous generations. And don’t forget, you are an inch taller than him, even if he is big and hairy as a bear. You should also know: when I went to school, I studied as a Hiruma Scout, just like I suspect you will. And when I saw your mother, I didn’t even think she would notice me. I assumed that she would be attracted to the sophisticated and resourceful Lord Yabu, one of the brave and handsome Hida Champions, or perhaps a learned Kuni like she. But she saw something in me. I guess what I’m saying is this: just do what you’re good at and you are doing your duty. You are fortunate in being blessed with abundant gifts, so that shouldn’t be difficult. Someone will notice you for your ability and your sincerity. You’ve already gone a long way.”

*   *   *

Hiruma Bushi School? It is like a Doji picnic every day. We braid each other’s hair and make origami butterflies to give to the goblins. -Hiruma Doka, when asked about his schooling

Other clans undoubtedly have rigorous schooling, though I admit to having my doubts about the purpose and rigor of some of the courtier training, but few offer training that is as hands-on as the Crab. For the Hida and the Hiruma, Bushi training has but one purpose: to make samurai as prepared as they possibly can be for what lies beyond the Wall.

The Crab may be blunt and we may often lack the niceties and fripperies of the less threatened clans of Rokugan, but we are not foolish. We do not toss our new recruits alone into the Shadowlands on their first days of schooling. The four years of training most samurai receive are part of a carefully coordinated process that gradually increases the exposure of young recruits to the Shadowlands. Of course, this assumes that the Shadowlands are complicit in the plans of the Hiruma instructors. More often than not, however, Hell has plans of its own.

*   *   *

From the very first days of our schooling, it was clear that things would be different. Unsurprisingly, Nobunari proved to be extremely popular among the other boys and more than a few girls in our class. Much as the Hida are the older brothers in the Crab clan, he was proved to be the “big brother” of many of the students. What was surprising, however, was how successful I was.

By our fifteenth birthdays, Nobunari and I were taller than most of our classmates. While I was a hair taller than him, we were built very differently. He was broad, muscular, hairy, and bearded, much like one might expect from a Hida—the very definition of a dominant male Crab warrior. I was even taller, and certainly well-built, but leaner and more nimble. We both wore our hair long, however, which was not uncommon among the Crab, but became “the thing” while we were students at Hiruma Bushi School. I think this was our point of vanity. Mother always liked to comb our hair, which was something her mother had always done. She never had any daughters, so from a young age, we always had combed hair. Many who look like my brother among the Hide have long a wild hair, but his was tamed, at least as best as he could ever get it.

While we had a number of similarities, but what made us interesting to our classmates was our differences. We were best friends, but we looked so different. Yet we both had the same startling green eyes, a feature so uncommon in Rokugan. Because of my relative shyness, I turned out to be the mysterious one of the pair of us. I made it a point to take part in my brother’s many social endeavors, but I was certainly never the leader. I came to realize later that my shyness was actually appealing to some people.

While life at the Wall was never easy, and we did face occasional skirmishes against minor threats, the first few years at the Hiruma Bushi School were quite uneventful in terms of outside affairs. This, at least in my opinion, was a good thing because it allowed us to focus on learning the intricacies of swordplay, archery, athletics, hunting, and moving silently. In our third year, we started to learn about the many beasts and strange phenomena that exist in the Shadowlands, though the teaching of this lore was always an awkward affair. The very first catastrophe of my years of schooling occurred as a result of a controversy over the study of Shadowlands Lore.

*   *   *

To know of such things is, at its very best, distasteful. At its worst, it is dishonorable. -Sensei Hiruma Katarangi, reciting the court’s most recent statement on the study of Shadowlands Lore

The Sensei continued, “This is what the rest of the empire would have me tell you. If they knew the truth of what you’ll really be learning, they’d probably send their inquisitors to investigate. But I believe that you must know what is out there. There is nothing dishonorable about being prepared. Do you think Zia’rao’zoan, the Hag of Masks, will stop and have tea with you if you explain to her that you have no idea who she is because a courtier in the capital said that you weren’t supposed to learn about the Shadowlands? She most certainly will not! As you are flailing and frothing in your death throws on the floor of her cave in the Festering Pit, she will be applying the skin of your face, which she has just ripped off your head, to her own rotting mug. And the Crane and Scorpion courtiers in Otosan Uchi will still be sipping tea and laughing as they try to “outwit” one another by thinking of more clever insults for perfectly reasonable pieces of art.

As it turned out, the study of monstrous creatures and strange anomalies of the Shadowlands proved to be one of our more engaging classes “book” classes. But the classes were never without their disturbances. One of the boys in our class, a scrawny and sour-faced young man by the name of Toji, consistently caused problems and questioned the authority of the Sensei. It was rumored that the ill-favored Toji came from the Kuni vassal family Ugawari. Apparently, most of his relatives were Shugenja, but he came to study with the Hiruma due to his lack of scholarly talent.

Rumor had it that Toji had complained to his parents that Sensei Katarangi was delving “too far” into knowledge about the creatures and forces of the Shadowlands and he felt that the classes had become “inappropriate.” His parents not only complained to Lord Yabu, but they also alerted the Kuni Witch Hunters. Given no other options, Lord Yabu graciously “invited” the Witch Hunters to “visit” Shiro Hiruma.

*   *   *

Nobunari and I were curious about the Kuni. Until that point, the only significant contact we had previously had with the Kuni was with our mother. We knew that there had been other Kuni around at various points in our lives, but the Witch Hunters were entirely different.

The other students came to us in the hope that we might know more. It was well known that our mother was a Kuni, so we were considered the resident experts on all things Kuni—a rather silly notion, looking back on it. We told them what we knew, which wasn’t much at all, but nothing could have prepared us for what was to come.

The Kuni arrived in Shiro Hiruma as a cohesive unit, as if they had come to investigate a Maho cult, rather than the curriculum of a Lore class. There were five Kuni Witch Hunters. It was clear to us that we did not know the whole story. For the first several days of their visit, we heard little and attempted to go about our business as usual.

From the little we were able to glean, Lord Yabu was meeting with several of the Kuni over a matter of some great import. It was clear that the issue of the class was of minor concern. It was not, however, of minor concern to Toji.

On the fourth and final day of the visit, as we were getting ready for Sensei Katarangi’s class, Toji walked in with young woman about two years older than us. She had been one of the Witch Hunters. You might say that she was beautiful. She had classic features that should have come together to form true beauty, but there was something about her I found unsettling. I noticed a slightly similarity between her appearance and that of Toji; it clearly favored her. This would like make her an Ugawari as well. Her expression was one of feigned civility and demure. She did not appear to be threatening. But from the moment I laid eyes on her, I instantly loathed her. My brother on the other hand, had exactly the opposite expression. I watched as his eyes met hers and her lips turned up in the faintest of smiles.

The young woman spoke, “Please excuse my entrance into your classroom, Sensei Sama. I am Kuni Sawagani-Jade. Lord Yabu merely wishes to show our family one of the more engaging classes in the Hiruma Bushi School.”

If Sensei Katarangi had any feelings about her presence, he didn’t show them, “Yes, of course. Please take any available seat.”

The Sensei conducted his class “business as usual,” but everyone present knew that a plot was afoot. After everyone left, my brother and I approached the Sensei.

“Excuse me, Sensei-Sama,” I said.

He replied, “Oh, Daisuke San. Did you have a question about today’s lecture?”

I said, “Not exactly, Sensei Sama. I was hoping you might be able to tell us more… about why the Kuni are here?”

He frowned and sat for a moment before you responding, “If you two are asking, that must mean that everyone wants to know?” It was not a question.

He continued, “It seems that the Kuni have decided that they need to know more about what we are doing. They fear that we might be corrupted by our proximity to the Shadowlands. They wish to make sure that any studies involving Shadowlands Lore be guided by their more knowledgeable hands.”

Nobunari replied, “But that doesn’t make any sense, Sensei Sama.”

Sensei looked at him and barked, “Of course it doesn’t. It seems that in their arrogance, the Kuni have assumed that we must be teaching about using dark magic and making pacts with dark creatures. They forget that in the past, or at least let us hope it is the past, they have been the ones that have suffered from these failings.

Nobunari and I took our leave. We agreed that it might be interesting to learn from the Kuni, but there presence could in no way be good for the school or for us. I felt that Nobunari was a bit distracted, and then I remembered the girl.

*   *   *

We were pleased to learn that the Witch Hunters were leaving and that business was going back to normal. We were told that Lord Yabu was receiving an important Unicorn ambassador and was not to be disturbed, no matter what, even if the Wall is under attack.

When we went up to the castle’s main training yard we saw that there was a great commotion. It seemed that the Kuni party had not departed Shiro Hiruma as expected. Kuni Sawagani-Jade and Toji were standing defiantly with their fellows, confronting an Endo engineer as he made his way into the bowels of the castle.

Toji exclaimed, “You there! We demand that you send a messenger to Lord Yabu requesting that he send a group of samurai to escort us to the tunnels. We must go there to… to assense the presence of corruptive influences.” He looked pleased with himself.

The engineer responded, “I do not know where Lord Yabu is, Hiruma San.”

Kuni Sawagani-Jade interjected, “Then you must go find him, Endo Kun.”

My brother bristled at the Shugenja’s flagrant display of disrespect toward the engineer, but I put a hand on his shoulder and responded, “I believe, Kuni Sama, that Lord Yabu is currently in an all-day meeting with the ambassador from the Unicorn Clan. I don’t think we can disturb him. Perhaps there is some other way we can help you.”

The Kuni exploded in rage, magic sparking off of her skin, “Then you must take me there yourselves!”

Luckily, Sensei Katarangi came up the steps to the training yards at just that moment.

I wasted no time, “Sensei Sama. Kuni Sama would like to investigate the tunnels for magical corruptions. Lord Yabu is indisposed, but it seems that this is an urgent matter. What is the best course of action?”

Sensei Katarangi looked over to the Endo engineer, “Katato San. Please make preparations for an excursion into the tunnels for the esteemed Kuni party, as well as selected recruits chosen by me.”

*   *   *

Endo Katato distributed fingers of Jade to the members of the Kuni party. As residents of Shiro Hiruma, we as students kept them on us at all times, even sleeping and bathing with them. Katato led the way down the same subterranean stairs he had been descending before he was accosted by the insolent whelp Toji. He was followed by Sensei Katarangi, Nobunari, Toji and Sawagani-Jade, as well as the remainder of the Kuni party. I took up the rear.

The engineer handed out torches to the party, which the Kuni proceeded to light using their magical abilities. The carved stone stairs descended for quite some time. I estimated that we must have been below the lowest level the castle. At that point the stairs transitioned into a more rough-hewn tunnel that led under the wall. The tunnel was fairly wide, perhaps 15 feet.

Once we were in the tunnel, the Kuni took at ornate sticks, ordained with jade, silver, or other decoration. I recognized these as gohei wands, based on the story Lord Yabu had told me about my and Nobunari’s births. They waved these around saying prayers. I could not say what the effect was, but none of the shugenja seemed alarmed in any way at what they saw.

As we progressed down the tunnel, the floor became rockier. Stalactites and stalagmites made traversing the area difficult and some of the Kuni suffered shallow cuts where their inappropriate clothing snagged on the sharp stone.

Eventually, the tunnel branched into three forks. The central tunnel was a continuation of the current path, but narrowed considerably. It would be a tight fit for four people. Both the right and left tunnels would fit about three people.

After all of the difficulties with the terrain, none of the Kuni argued when Sensei Katarangi took charge. He looked to me, “Daisuke San: escort Toji San and Sawagani-Jade Sama in their explorations of the left passage. Nobunari San: escort Sano Sama and Haro Sama to the right passage; Katato San and I will go with Mapo Sama and Nemuri Sama into the central passage.”

Nobunari and I said in unison, “Yes, Sensei Sama!”

Both Nobunari and Katarangi gave me looks of caution as I headed to the left passage with Toji and Sawagani-Jade. At face value, I had the least challenging of the three tasks. I was escorting only one Shugenja, and she was the least experienced of the entire group that came to Shiro Hiruma. But we all knew that she was extremely volatile and that Toji wouldn’t be worth a damn if anything dangerous were to occur.

When we went down the left passage, and as soon as we were out of site of the other Kuni, Sawagani-Jade put away her gohei and pulled out a different instrument. It was similar to a gohei, but longer and may from obsidian. It had a chain extending from its tip that ended in a hook.

“Excuse me, Kuni Sama,” I said, “but what is the purpose of that object?”

She replied, “Not that it’s any of your concern, Hiruma, but it will allow me to sense and trap any malignant spirits.”

This seemed like a bad idea to me, but I was not a Shugenja and I knew it was unwise to question the volatile Kuni. So we continued down the passage for a few dozen feet. After about five minutes of swinging the tool, Sawagani-Jade struck something. I could see the hook pierce the air as if it had found purchase. Black blood trickled from a rent in the dim nothingness of the cave, only to disappear. The hook then lost its purchase and swung back down.

Undeterred, the Kuni continued to swing the wand, causing rips in the air with the hook. I could swear that I heard shrieks as small drips of black blood fell to the ground.

I warned, “Kuni Sama. Perhaps it is best to turn back, unless you have some way of cleansing the area of this presence.”

She barked, “Silence whelp! I know what I am doing!”

Sawagani-Jade intoned mystical words I did not understand and swung her chain yet again. Suddenly, I saw rents appear in her skin as if invisible claws had slashed at her arms, and blood began to leak on the ground. I could not tell whether or not these wounds were the intent of her spell, but she did not seemed phased. She forcefully extended the wand, hurled the chain out and it stuck into the air in front of her.

Before our eyes, a swirl of darkness emerged from the rents in the air, coalescing into a ten-foot tall humanoid form. It had a translucent, vaguely humanoid appearance, with clawed hands and glowing red eyes. Vestigial insect wings grew out of where its shoulders might be. It dripped blood from a number of places where Sawagani-Jade’s hook had found purchase. The gouts of blood that fell to the ground from the Kuni’s slashed arms began to drift into the creature’s form where they swirled around like a half-formed system of veins.

Sawagani Jade spoke more in her mystical language. The spirit did not seem impressed.

She screamed, “Gaki! I command you into my gohei. You must relinquish your hold on this place. You must trouble this realm no more.”

Suddenly, I heard the creature in my head. It was laughing, its voice like a billion chittering insects. “Kuni Slave! You have not presented me with a proper sacrifice. I will claim the blood of this one.” It had made no gesture, but I could tell it was referring to Toji.

“No!” screamed Sawagani-Jade, “You will not!” She intoned a spell that unleashed numerous mystical chains at the gaki, but the creature batted them aside, launching itself at Toji.

Toji swung his katana at the creature in an attempt to ward off the spirit, but he might as well have been swinging at the wind. The gaki seized the young scout, picking him up off the ground. Its claws dug deep into Toji’s chest, but no blood dripped from the devastating wounds. Instead the blood wound its way through the creature’s form, causing its translucent body to turn red. The wounds it had received from Sawagani-Jade’s gohei chain disappeared as Toji’s lifeblood circulated through its form.

Terrified, Sawagani-Jade fled from the Gaki, running back the way we came, leaving me to deal with the creature. I brandished my katana at the spirit, steeling myself for the final moments of my life. Staring at Toji’s lifeless form littering the floor of the cavern, I briefly considered the idea that he had brought this on himself and on our school. But then I realized that there was no way he could have known that such a thing would happen to him. I felt a brief surge of pity for him before I turned back to my own troubles.

The creature approached. It looked down at me and at the katana and spoke again inside my head, “I have no need for more blood, Hiruma, but I have need of a body. Yours will do quite nicely.”

I remember feeling a presence inside me. It was like being in a dream in which you were watching your own body—a very cold dream. And for one brief moment, I experience a sensation of unimaginable terror. I saw a pit growing deep into the earth. It was a cancer in the land that festers and seethes, spreading and mutating. It was fertilized by hate and fed by blood and bile. But it was not just chaos and randomness. Something was pushing, clawing, trying to dig its way out of the pit! Something so big that it could not fit through the hole!”

And then everything went black.

*   *   *

Some say that the Hiruma have the most difficult job in the Empire. Is there anything more terrifying than being alone in the darkness? -Hiruma Miki, Sixth Patrol Leader

I awoke in the infirmary with no memory of what happened after my mind went black. My brother was asleep by my side, his hands clenched white around the arms of his chair.

When I awoke, he bolted upright and sputtered, “Daisuke, you’re awake! You must need water. Where is the healer? We must get the healer!”

I quieted him, “Nobunari, I am fine. My head is a little bit fuzzy, but I do not feel physically harmed in any way. How long have I been…incapacitated?”

He responded, barely able to suppress the anger on his face, “Three weeks. The Kuni were able to banish the gaki that had possessed you after Sawagani-Jade came running out of the tunnel. Of course, they managed to expel the spirit from you before it could befoul you with its taint. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do for poor Toji. They do not know what happened in the tunnel…”

“Nobunari San, you are not telling me everything.”

He continued, “Of course, no one expected you, as a recruit to have been able to do anything about a powerful gaki, especially if Sawagani-Jade, as a Witch Hunter, was unable to stop it, but somehow, Toji’s family has laid the blame for his death on the Hiruma Bushi School.”

I replied, “That’s absurd. It was Sawagani-Jade herself who…”

He prodded, “Who what Daisuke?”

I hesitated, “I must not make accusations concerning matters upon which I have no expertise.”

He replied, “I am not asking you to testify in court Daisuke. Just tell me what happened.”

I answered, “Very well. It seemed to me like she provoked the creature, perhaps even called it out of hiding. She expressed that she wanted to bind it or removed it somehow from the tunnel. I would have thought that destroying it or causing it to flee would have been enough, and that she would have called the other Kuni for that, much as you say happened later, but she seemed to want to deal with this on her own. And I could have sworn that…”

He prodded, “That what Daisuke?”

I continued, very quietly, “I could have sworn that she had used some of her blood as part of her magic.” I immediately shrank back after that statement.

He looked appalled, “You cannot make such an allegation, Daisuke.”

I responded, “I have no intention of doing so, Nobunari. I am not even sure that is what I saw. It might have been the creature causing the wounds, rather than her causing them as part of her spells.

He replied, “Then let us not speak of this again.”

I nodded.

He looked at me carefully, and said, “There is something more that you are not telling me. You have never hidden anything from me before.”

I answered, “Please understand, big brother. It is not that I am hiding anything. It is that I do not understand what happened. When the creature was inside of me, I saw something, something I would not wish on the greatest enemy of the empire. I do not know that there is any way for me to describe it to you. I do not wish to describe it to anyone. Let me only say that there are things beyond the wall that we have yet to see—things that would make us wish for a swift death.”

His face looked grave. I could tell that he suffered. For the first time in our lives, he could not understand what I was feeling. It scared him, even more than what I was describing. I was pleased when I saw new resolve in his eyes.

“Whatever this threat is, little brother, we will face it together,” he said. “I will never allow anything like this to happen to you again.”

It made me feel better to see such passion in my brother’s eyes. I did not have the heart to tell him that he could not always be there to fight my battles.

I decided to change the subject. “Nobunari. You never did tell me what the Kuni, or I suppose I should say, Ugawari asked for as recompense for the death of Toji and the assistance the provided in performing the exorcism.”

A sour look came upon his face. One of the things I appreciated most about my brother was that you could always tell what he was feeling. This was a most Hida-like trait, and was perhaps not the Samurai-ideal, but it was one of the many things that people loved about my brother and I loved it as well.

He replied, “The Kuni came to a deal with Lord Yabu. He has agreed to support them at court when they request that the empire allow them to divert some of the Hiruma’s supply of jade for use in their experiments, in particular the Ugawari vassal family’s experiments concerning the purification of taint inflicted on humans.”

I took a moment to think about what he said, “While I think it is noble thought that these Kuni vassals wish to help poor samurai who are afflicted with Shadowlands Taint, I cannot think of any worse possible request than what they made. We need that jade so much more than they do. The jade is better used to prevent the taint from happening in the first place, not in some hypothetical experiment that might not even work.”

He was in complete agreement, but as there was nothing either of us could do about the deal, we put it out of our minds.

*   *   *

Each clan is known for a particular tenet of Bushido. The Crab are renowned for their dedication to duty and courage. But invite one to a tournament of physical skill and it’s every man for himself. -Hiruma Yozo of Endo, Chief Engineer of Shiro Hiruma

The final two years of our schooling went by without any further calamities. There were significant events going on in the courts and we saw attacks and skirmishes, and even participated in some, but there were no catastrophes and no one else in our class died.

At the beginning of our fourth and final year, Lord Yabu made two announcements. The first was anticipated by everyone in the school: “All fourth years students must complete their Gemppuku ceremonies in the final week of the month of Hantei.” All students knew what that entailed for it was a group effort, involving small teams of the class going out on separate patrols with no assistance from established samurai. The patrols must survive for one week in the Shadowlands, and must bring back proof that they reached a designated destination, before returning to Shiro Hiruma. Exceptional performance will affect placement under Daimyo.

The second announcement, and one that only Nobunari and I were aware of, was about a tournament. This was posted on our training schedule board: “In the first week of the month of Moon, the school will host a tournament. The tournament will test participants in their skill with Swords, Archery, Wrestling, Athletics, Hunting, Dueling, and Weaponry. In addition, in order to win the tournament, a samurai must show that he is well-rounded. He must display aptitude in cultured pursuits, such as Poetry, Etiquette, Tea Ceremony, and Bushido Lore. In each physical contest, winners will be ranked first second and third; first place is worth three points; second, two points; and third, 1 point. Each of the non-physical tests will have one winner, and that winner will receive one point. Those who come in the top three spots will have their choice of Daimyo when they have finished their primary schooling. The winner will receive a special prize—the Kaiu Blade Kaminari.

Needless to say, the talk of the fourth-years for the entire year centered on nothing but the Kaiu Blade. It was “Kaminari this, Kaminari that. Oh how I dream of Kaminari”. There were young men and women vowing to give their firstborn to Bishamon if only they could win the tournament. All the while, Nobunari and I continued our quiet preparation as if we had no advance knowledge.

We both had to admit that neither of us was spectacular in all of those areas. We were both great swordsman, though Nobunari clearly had the edge. I was the top of the class in archery and he was not very good, though there were many good archers and a lucky shot might give that contest to someone else. He was head and shoulders, quite literally, above everyone else when it came to wrestling, and I had little hope of winning that contest. We both were strong in athletics, with the edge going to him. I was the stronger in hunting, though many people in our class were excellent hunters, but neither of us was a strong duelist. Neither of us was an expert in a variety of weapons, though we both knew the basics of most of them. But then the same could be said for most of our classmates.

It was in the non-physical challenges where we had an edge. While neither of us was spectacular in any of the challenges, we both had at least made an effort to pay attention to all of them on the site. I was fairly certain I was stronger in all four of the disciplines, but they were all subjective, so it was hard to say. My brother had at least some study in all of them, which was more than could be said for the significant majority of our classmates. The Tea Ceremony was a tradition in Ienikaeru Province, but many of the young men never bothered to learn its intricacies, much to the chagrin of Lord Yabu.

The strange thing was, despite all the preparation that my brother and I had done, neither of us was nearly as obsessed with winning as any of our classmates. I think the fact that we had focused on learning was a major reward in and of itself. We had taken the time to actually appreciate some of the things Lord Yabu was trying to emphasize. I suspect now that if he had told our class about the tournament in our first year, he might have achieved his aims much more completely, but hindsight is always more accurate.

Nevertheless, our fourth year did prove to be a learning experience for everyone. Lord Yabu brought in a Bayushi Master to instruct us on proper dueling technique. He called in a favor from an old friend among the Yasuki to teach us about Poetry, Etiquette, and the Tea Ceremony. He took over our existing classes on Bushido Lore, deciding that we might actually take them seriously if we felt that we could be serving him in less than a year.

I was pleased to see my classmates learning new things and being engaged in a variety of subjects. I did not begrudge them these improvements, and was not in any way worried about them beating me in the tournament. If one our classmates should excel, it would only mean that the Crab clan was defended by superior samurai who had the Empire’s best interests at heart. Of course, if our classmates improved, it would also provide more of a challenge for Nobunari and me. We felt sometimes like Lord Yabu had given us an unfair advantage and this might even the score, at least a little bit.

*   *   *

By the time the end of the month of Sun approached, tensions and expectations among the fourth-year students ran high. Some of the students who had given up on winning long ago had taken started betting pools, something frowned upon by Lord Yabu, but not banned outright. Most of those students, of course, were from Hissori. They put strong odds on my brother coming in first, and had even odds between me and another student by the name of Mori coming in second and third. Mori was quite strong in many of the areas in which I was weak, but I still felt that I had the advantage in enough areas to beat him. I wasn’t sure about my brother, but that didn’t worry me. I would do my best, and at the end of the day, that would be enough, whether I won or lost.

On the day of the tournament, all of the fourth-year students assembled in the Great Hall of Shiro Hiruma. Unlike many of the Empire’s greatest Kyuden, Shiro Hiruma is a fairly modest place. Much of its size actually lies in its vast network of underground tunnels. The castle itself is quite humble. In total, Nobunari and I estimated that there were about 22 students who could compete on some level in at least one of the challenges. All of those students showed up in the Hall, which we were pleased to see. There were a number of other students who showed up as well, but we did not expect them to play a significant role in the competition. Of the 22 students, perhaps eight of them could complete all of the tasks, though there were a variety of students who excelled, depending on the task.

We were escorted out to the training grounds by Lord Yabu and the various Sensei. A group of three judges, including Lord Yabu, would be deciding each contest, with Lord Yabu acting as the final arbiter. It was a windy, but warm and clear day. This would prove helpful for all contests, except the archery and hunting contests, my two strongest. I put that out of my mind and focused on the task at hand.

The first task was swordfighting. The goal of the task was to land what would be a killing blow with a wooden practice sword. Students’ names were pulled out of a hat, and then they would be paired off. Fortunately, none of my early opponents were particularly difficult. About mid-way through the task, I faced Mori. He was a solid opponent, but I had a significant height advantage, allowing me to land the “killing” blow. The rest of my opponents proved easy enough until the end, when I had to face my brother. We had approximately equal reaches, perhaps mine was a bit longer, but he had more power, able to block and redirect my strikes. We tired each other out, and it was quite a long fight, but eventually he knocked me to the ground and pointed his sword at my throat. But good-naturedly, he helped me up and gave me a big hug, much to the cheers of the whole school.

The archery contest was a much less exciting and much more frustrating affair, or at least it began that way. Students were given three shots, and after three shots, the student with the best shot won. If more than one student had an equal best shot, students would be judged on their shot series. Ordinarily, Hiruma are excellent archers, but in this case, the wind was so strong, that no one hit even the edge of the target on the first two rounds. And no one hit the target on the 3rd round either. I was the last two go in the third round and most of the remaining students were packing up to leave, but Lord Yabu ordered them to stay.

I decided to stop focusing on the target and started to focus on the wind. I picked up a fallen leaf from a nearby bonsai. I walked to the very front entrance of the archery range and released the leaf into the air. It flew away from the training grounds, but then swooped back in a loop over our heads, going back towards the target. The leaf stuck to the bull’s eye, unmoving due to the continued force of the wind. I took out my bow and fired and arrow out and away from the archery range, attempting to follow the same trajectory I witnessed with the leaf. My guess paid off. It pierced the bull’s eye, bisected the leaf, and knocked the entire target to the ground with incredible force. The entire school burst into applause. The judges decided to award me all six points for the contest.

The other tasks had mixed results. I failed to place in wrestling and came in third in Athletics, behind my brother and Mori. In Hunting, I took first, Nobunari took second, and a scout from Kinbou Province took third. In Weaponry, Mori took the first place, Nobunari took second, and one of Nobunari’s friends from Hissori took third. None of the three main contenders placed in dueling, so that had little effect on the results.

Going into the final tasks, the winner was guaranteed to be either Nobunari or me. Mori had a strong showing, but at best, he could tie for third place if he won all four of the non-physical tests. This was unlikely because he was quite weak in academics in general. If Nobunari won two or more of the contests, he would win. If I won three or more of the contests, I would win. But there were a number of scenarios in which we might tie.

The first contest was poetry. I had practiced this a great deal and wrote what I believed was quite a strong haiku describing the perils of focusing on one tenet of Bushido too heavily. I won the Poetry contest and was commended by Lord Yabu for my perspective. In the Etiquette test, both Nobunari and I were stumped by a question about how to handle a situation where another samurai offers you a gift that would be dishonorable to accept. To this day, I still don’t understand the proper response to that situation. The judges actually decided that no one gave a proper answer to the question and did not give a point to anyone for the challenge. In the Tea Ceremony, I was the only one who had the proper understanding of the ritual to know all the appropriate steps of the ritual and how they should be conducted. All the other students were asked to leave when they started or stopped different parts of the process at the wrong time. I was the only one left at the end.

Before we reached the challenge of Bushido Lore, I was in the lead in the contest. If I won this challenge, I would win the entire competition. If Nobunari won, we would tie. If neither of us won, I would still win. I was fairly certain that both of us had approximately equal knowledge in this topic, so the result would truly depend on the questions that were asked.

When we arrived in the classroom designated for the final challenge, Lord Yabu, Sensei Katarangi, and Yasuki Ryo were seated in judge’s chairs. After the competitors seated themselves, Lord Yabu stood. He said, “For this challenge, you will all be asked one question. You will answer it alone, in front of the panel of judges, and then at the end we will reveal the three competitors with the answers we deemed most acceptable.”

A number of students were called in to the room in no particular order. My brother was among the first. We he emerged, he shrugged, which told me little about the question or the reaction of the judges.

I was the last to go, much as I had been in the other challenges. I wasn’t sure if this was random or if Lord Yabu was simply curious about what I would say. I entered the classroom and sat down.

Sensei Katarangi stood up from his chair. I immediately rose. He spoke, “Daisuke San. We have been most impressed by your performance so far. We will ask you one question and will give you no time to think about your answer. We wish you to answer the question from your own perspective, informed but your study of Bushido. You should not speak for the Empire, but rather, you should interpret the Bushido as it applies to you and how you intend to serve your future Lord, your clan, and the Empire.”

Sensei Katarangi sat down. Lord Yabu rose, “Daisuke San: What is the most important tenet of Bushido?”

I spoke without hesitation, “The most important tenet of Bushido is duty. In fulfilling my future duty to my Lord, I will do my part to maintain the celestial balance that has been in place for thousands of years. I will be honoring my ancestors, my clan, and my empire. By maintaining that balance, I will be helping to keep all of the other tenets of Bushido in harmony. It will be my Duty to help my fellow men, which will require me to always show Compassion and kindness. In order to complete the missions my Lord will ask of me, I must show Courage in the face of hardship and fear. And should I not wish to tarnish my Honor, the honor of my ancestors, my family, my clan, or my Lord, I must always maintain the utmost of Courtesy around my fellow samurai. And only by being Honest and Sincere in my dealings will I be able to fulfill all of the duties and expectations that will be placed upon my shoulders by my Lord. In other words, all of the tenets of Bushido are important, but all can be accomplished if a samurai fulfills his duty in the service of his Lord.”

Yasuki Ryo stood up, “Thank you Daisuke San. Please join the rest of the students so that we may deliberate. We will call you back when we are ready.”

About ten minutes later, Yasuki Ryo came to the chamber where the competitors were waiting to summon us back to the chambers. Once we were again seated, Lord Yabu spoke, “I was pleased to hear that you have all been paying attention this year. I have heard many interesting answers and a few great ones.”

He continued, “Mori San. Please stand up. Mori San—your exposition on the importance of a samurai maintaining Compassion in the face of insurmountable darkness was incredibly eloquent. While the panel is not sure that Compassion is necessarily the tenet most likely to keep a samurai alive on the Wall, we do feel that what you said has true merit and would like to discuss with you the possibility of writing your thoughts down on the subject in a special treatise that we will send to the Courts.” Mori looked extremely pleased with himself.

Sensei Katarangi stood, “Daisuke San. Please stand. We were extremely impressed by your thorough and well-thought-out answer. It is clear that you have a firm and grounded understanding of how the Bushido code fits into your life. Your exposition on duty has left no doubt in our minds that you would be an invaluable lieutenant to any lord. We completely agree that most samurai do live their lives in the way you describe. Samurai fulfill their duty by doing as their lords ask, and in so doing, they do their best to live by the tenets of Bushido. We would have liked to have heard a slightly more realistic portrayal of how samurai operate, however. In addition, we caution you to consider the virtues of the other tenets of Bushido beyond how they might help you fulfill your duty, but we also understand that you were answering the question the way it was presented. We found that the haiku you in the poetry contest presented a somewhat different answer than what you said in this challenge. While it is expected that a samurai will consistently strive to reach greater depths with the Bushido, you should think about how your poem and your response here might be two sides of the same coin.” I wasn’t sure what to make of that.

Yasuki Ryo stood, “Nobunari San. Please stand. We were at first unsure of what to make of what you said, but then we collectively ‘got it.’ We agree with you that the task of choosing one tenet might be elusive when a samurai needs to consider which tenet is most appropriate to the situation at hand. But we also appreciated that if you had to choose, you would choose courage. As Hiruma, you face a situation that most other samurai do not. As such, we believe that you gave the most nuanced answer, and have decided to declare you winner of this challenge.” Nobunari looked perplexed. This put us in a tie.

Yasuki Ryo sat down and Lord Yabu stood, “Of course, if anyone has been counting points, and I’m sure you have, you are all aware that Daisuke San and Nobunari San are tied. I suppose this doesn’t come as a shock to anyone. Unfortunately, we do not have two Kaiu blades to award this year, though I would gladly give two to these noble brothers if I had them. Thus, we must break the tie. Seeing as there was supposed to be an awards ceremony, we will continue as planned, but will have one final challenge at the training grounds.”

*   *   *

Taking the short walk back to the training grounds, I felt that Nobunari and I were on a precipice and a pit of darkness was waiting to swallow us on the other side. I knew he felt the same way, though I did not know how. It was just a “twin thing.” For some reason I cannot explain, I was possessed by a terrible feeling that the road to come leading from the events of this today would be fraught with peril.

When we arrived at the training grounds, the entire school was seated and there were a number of visitors from throughout the Crablands, including our parents! Once everyone was settled, Lord Yabu stood and announced, “We had an incredible week of contests, but we are not quite finished. At final tally, Daisuke San and Nobunari San are tied at fourteen points. We must have one final challenge to decide the winner.”

Lord Yabu continued, “The challenge is as follows. Both contestants will take up practice swords. The first contestant to strike three blows is the winner. Begin!”

Nobunari and I both picked up our practice swords and circled each other. We knew every move and weakness of each other, so this could last quite some time. I have quite an advantage in this fight because I was faster. While power was helpful, the goal of the battle was to touch your opponent, not knock him down. Nobunari relied more on strength, and this would cause him to become fatigued more quickly.

I easily made it to two strikes before Nobunari made it to any. But then the sun came out and it was in my eyes. I attempted to maneuver around him so that he would face the sun, but he scored a hit against me before I could. Before he could score another strike, I managed to position him so that he was facing the sun. But suddenly I felt a flash of light that blinded my eyes and Nobunari managed to strike me twice.

Lord Yabu explained, “Nobunari is the winner!” He came down and held up Nobunari’s hand. But Nobunari wasn’t paying any attention. He was looking at me. I was still blinded and he knew that I hadn’t been facing the sun.

He said to Lord Yabu, “My Lord, I believe someone has interfered with the games. Look, someone has blinded Daisuke.”

Lord Yabu responded, “Nonsense my boy. He was just positioned improperly against the sun.”

Lord Yabu would hear no more of it and our parents were coming down to congratulate us. Lord Yabu moved off to speak with various dignitaries. By that point my eyes were clear. I clapped Nobunari on the shoulder, “Well fought Nobu!”

He looked distraught, “You should have won Daisuke. Someone flashed that light in your eyes.”

I responded, “Lord Yabu is correct, Nobunari. You won fair and square.” I whispered to him forcefully, “Now you must accept your victory graciously!” This sunk in and he immediately straightened. The truth was that I did believe that someone had interfered with the fight, but sulking about it right now wasn’t going to accomplish nothing.

Our parents came down and hugged us both. Father said, “You were both so magnificent. You will now both be Lord Yabu’s samurai after your Gemppuku.

Mother said, “And the Kaiu blade is so wondrous. Wait until you see it.” Immediately, father and Nobunari went off to look at it. She continued with knowing look on her face, “And you know, ‘’either’’ of you could easily have won it.”

I smiled back as if that very thing had occurred to me.

*   *   *

Following the competition, Lord Yabu invited all the students, relatives, and dignitaries to stay for refreshments.

As mother and I were walking back through the throng of people, I noticed someone descending from the crowd. It was someone I thought I’d never see again. Kuni Sawagani-Jade slithered through the gathered Crab, approaching Lord Yabu.

Noticing her from a distance, I whispered to my mother, “Do you see that woman in the crimson kimono over there, the one standing behind the Hida with the enormous tetsubo?”

She nodded, knowingly.

I continued, “You know who she is.”

She nodded again.

I said, “That is the woman who nearly caused my death.”

She looked grave, but said, “From what I have heard, you gave quite the speech in one of your final challenges regarding duty to one’s ancestors, family, clan, Lord, and Empire.”

I nodded, realizing that I was trapping myself.

She continued, “Lord Yabu has decided that he wishes for one of his daughters to marry a Kuni young man.”

I was sure I knew where this was going, but nodded again for her to continue.

Without emotion, she said, “The Kuni also wish to find a suitable husband for one of their young women.” She paused again.

My face must have turned ashen, but I gave another nod.

“As part of the deal, they have requested that Lord Yabu supply one of his finest young samurai. He has promised Nobunari… to Kuni Sawagani-Jade after he completes his Gemppuku.” She seemed to choke when she said the Kuni’s name.

My heart nearly stopped. I motioned for her to come over to a quieter corner of the grounds with me. She nearly resisted, but thought better of it. I whispered, “Mother, I have great reservations about this betrothal.”

She responded, a little bit more acid in her tone than I think she intended, “And you think your father and I do not?”

She took a deep breath, then continued, “I am sorry, Daisuke. I am his mother, but I cannot forget that he is your brother, your twin.”

I spoke again, “There is something I must tell you, something I have told no one other than Nobunari. And he did not understand.”

She looked at me and nodded, “When we were in the tunnels, I believe I saw her use her own blood in some of the magic she used.”

Her eyes blazed, “Are you certain of this!?”

I described to her in detail everything that I saw. She looked horrified, her normally beautiful face more lined, the weight of horrible knowledge suddenly inscribed upon it.

She gripped my hand, harder than I have ever felt her before, and whispered, “My son. How you have suffered at the hands of this woman. And I believe it is not yet over. We cannot call off this betrothal. Lord Yabu cannot break his word to the Kuni and their disgusting vassals. I am sure that they are still lording the death of that boy over his head. It would bring incredible shame to both families if anything stopped that wedding.

“Furthermore,” She continued, “We cannot accuse this young woman of being a Maho-tsukai. There is never only one. I could never have imagined the depth of depravity among the Ugawari. Naturally, there were some who studied among us, much in the way that you have known Endo at Shiro Hiruma. We always considered them to be…odd. But there was never any hint that they were associated with these diabolical practices. And she is a Witch Hunter! What you are saying is the most terrible accusation imaginable, and without proof, the consequences for us would be dire.”

She continued, “So it is you who must be the big brother. Nobunari is…he is an innocent soul. And though he feels he must guard you, having failed to prevent your assault by the Shozai-Gaki called forth by that by that filthy Ugawari Eta Whore, it is truly you who must protect him. He may well learn to love her, and perhaps that is best, for there is nothing we can do to stop this marriage. But you must watch her. You must find proof that she is what we know she is. Or you must catch her in front of witnesses. Otherwise, he may become lost to us, twisted and corrupted by her taint. Daisuke, we must root out the Maho. It is our duty to our family, clan, Lord, and Empire.”

*   *   *

We quickly made our way back to the throng of people enjoying refreshments. We thought no one had noticed our absence, but I caught a look from Sawagani-Jade that would melt the stolen flesh from Zia’rao’zoan herself. Fortunately, no one else seemed to have been paying attention.

When we returned to the area of the dignitaries, Nobunari approached me, “Have you heard, Daisuke?”

I answered, “Heard what, Nobunari?”

He beamed, “I am to be married!”

I responded, “Oh yes! That’s wonderful.” I gave my brother a bear hug. Then, I looked over to Lord Yabu and my father and nodded approvingly with the most sincere smile I could muster. Finally, I turned to Sawagani-Jade, giving her a look that would shatter Kaminari.

I was surprised to see that Sawagani-Jade’s parents seemed quite normal. The buzz floating around the banquet area was the two betrothed Kuni were cousins. In my mind, they could not have more different. Kuni Shenai seemed forthright, sincere, down-to-earth, and friendly. He had a ruddy health about him that was instantly likeable. In contrast, Kuni Sawagani-Jade was rude, debased, and deceptive. Everything about her was too preened, too artificial, as if nothing natural every touched her flesh.

Lord Yabu and his daughter Tari were speaking with Shenai’s family. Sawagani-Jade’s parents were making small talk with my father. Nobunari was mobbed by friends and dignitaries.

I decided to get some refreshments and some air. As soon as I moved away from the throng, I felt a presence behind me.

I said, “It’s a wonder that the others do not see it. I can feel how degenerate you are without even looking at you.” I turned around.

Sawagani Jade was sitting by a statue of Bishamon, one hand resting inappropriately on the Fortune of Strength, while the other held a cup of sake.

She responded, “You really are a paranoid little scout, aren’t you? Perhaps my fellow Witch Hunters didn’t succeed in preventing all of your taint after all. Maybe I should suggest that they look into it.”

I answered, “I do not like the fact that you are marrying my brother, Ugawari. It is a done deal, but don’t think for a moment that my eyes will stray from your every movement.”

She stood up and moved closer to me, “Isn’t it fortunate that no one cares what you think?”

I replied, “In the end, Sawagani-Jade, you will be alone in the darkness. No one has ever cared about you who wasn’t motivated by money or magic.”

She started to walk away, but then turned back around, “Funny thing, light and darkness. One can be used to blind one’s foe while the other can be used to snuff out his life force.”

With that she sauntered back to the banquet, dropping her cup of sake on the ground as she passed.

*   *   *

When asked about their Gemppuku Ceremonies, Hiruma often laugh, answering: every week for us is a Gemppuku Ceremony. -Hirumu Joto, Slayer of 1,000 Goblins

One month after the tournament, students began final preparations for their Gemppuku. In truth, if they weren’t prepared for it by that point, there was little they could do. For Hiruma, the Gemppuku Ceremony is much more significant than it is for many clans because it literally represents what they will be doing most of the time. If a Hiruma cannot survive for a week beyond the wall, she might as well go home.

Nobunari and I were more excited than nervous about the ceremony. Most of the class assumed that it would be easy for us. What made us most nervous was the notion that we might be split up. The teams that were sent out were made up of three people, so odds were good that we would not be on the same team. On the other hand, the teams were supposedly random, so it was still possible.

Most of the students spent their time practicing their martial training. As this was part of the morning rituals that Nobunari and I had done since we were children, there was nothing new about that. We also spent some time going over Shadowlands survival techniques and reviewing some of our books and notes on Shadowlands Lore.

About two weeks into the month, it occurred to me that it would be worthwhile to observe the departing and returning scouts to see what they were doing and how they were faring. So Nobunari and I went to the top of the battlements and watched. We encouraged the other students to do this, though unsurprisingly, only Mori saw the value in this. What we saw was quite informative.

It seemed like most of the patrols were going east and west, and a relatively small number were going south. We were unaware of what the current strategic plans were, so we could not hazard a guess as to why they were going where they were going. But we did notice that the patrols coming in from the south were always considerably more battered than the other patrols.

The day night before the ceremony rolled around. Sensei Katarangi called all the students into his classroom. It was a tight fit, but every managed to squeeze in.

He said, “There is no reason to beat around the bush. When I call your names come up to the desk and collect two fingers of jade each. Then get into the groups under the leader I assign. Keep in mind, I have assigned the leaders generally based on those of you who have displayed strong skills in Stealth, Archery, and Survival. These are the skills that will keep you alive in the Shadowlands. Of course, skill with weapons is useful, but if you can avoid getting close to enemies, do so! Also, some areas of the Shadowlands are currently much more dangerous right now than others, but I can’t have everyone going to the same places. For this reason, some of your groups might seem like they are unfairly loaded with stronger fighters. That is the way of things.”

He began calling groups. In general, I agreed with the names he called. I don’t believe he sent anyone to a place beyond their skills. Eventually he called, “Daisuke, team leader. Under you are Nobunari and Mori.” You are going to the south. This caused an uproar. As the three strongest members of our class, the other students were hoping that three of us would be spread out among the groups. But what they were forgetting was that Mori was weak on all three skills the Sensei had mentioned and Nobunari was only proficient in hunting. They would not have been chosen as team leaders, regardless of which teams they were on. And of course, because none of the other students bothered to observe the patrols, none of them knew the danger of our task.

Sensei Katarangi continued, “I have placed a marker on each of the maps I’ve given to your team leader. You are to journey to that location, retrieve something that has been hidden there, and come back. It may take you longer than a week, but no one has ever come back in less time than that. I suggest that you all get a good night’s rest.”

*   *   *

Nobunari, Mori, and I decided to get right to sleep and wake early in the morning to make our plan. We awoke several hours before dawn and marked the route we expected to take. Having observed the times and routes of the patrols, we knew when they left. We planned to leave later than they did. I didn’t believe there was a specific time we had to leave. Of course the later we left, the later we would return, but that was a calculated risk.

All of the fourth-year groups had their plans and were about to be released to follow them. We, however, made a special request.

“Sensei Sama,” I said, “We have an unorthodox, plan, which requires us to leave slightly later in the morning. But given the more volatile nature of the southern region, we feel it makes sense.”

He looked at me, “Alright. What do you have in mind?”

I answered, “We would like to use the tri-stone tunnel so that we can follow a different route, leaving after the guard patrol leaves for the south.”

He responded, “It’s a good plan, though I admit that I’m surprised you’d want to go back there after what happened the last time.”

I said, “A good samurai does not let personal issues cloud his judgment when making decisions.”

He agreed.

We waited until after the northern patrol had gone out, and then went down through the tunnel, taking the center fork. Unlike the first time we went through the tunnels, nothing accosted it us. It probably helped that there were no wicked Shugenja taunting the foul spirits of the place. Nevertheless, I was extremely pleased when emerged on the other side.

The tunnel ended in a small copse of trees. While the trees there were stunted and meager there was little to differentiate the area from the lands around Shiro Hiruma. A small, clear looking stream babbled through the area.

Mori cupped his hand and bent down to take a scoop from the stream. I knocked his hand aside before he could touch the water.

“What are you doing,” he shouted.

“Are you mad?” I responded. “You cannot drink any of the water in the Shadowlands. And keep your voice down. You’ve let everyone from the Wall to the Festering Pit know that we’re here.”

The trees led to the rocky, barren landscape that made up much of the much of the Shadowlands. As the map indicated, there were hills up ahead. We headed over to them and began to hug them for quite some time. Nothing accosted us by the end of the first day, so we made camp.

As we made camp, Mori began to light a fire, but I stopped him. I reiterated, “We need to remain as inconspicuous as possible. We do not need the fire for warmth, so we will do without.” I made sure that we conserved our rations and water and we set up watches. I took the first, Mori the second, and Nobunari the third.

Other than some chittering sounds, we didn’t hear anything that night. The dreams I had were wild and feverish, but they were just dreams, and when we awoke, it was a dim dawn and the camp was just as we left it the night before.

We continued for several days without any significant problems. We had a few close calls in which we came extremely close to large goblin camps, but we backtracked and skirted around them.

At one point, we passed a large and deep hole in the ground. Mori bent it over to look inside and said, “Hey guys. There are really big striped eggs in here.”

I whispered, “Mori. We should really get out of here.”

He continued dreamily, “But looked at these eggs. They are so pretty.”

I started to become extremely concerned. I looked over to Nobunari and gave him a nod.

Nobunari dragged an extremely resistant Mori into the nearby brush. It was almost like he was hypnotized by the pattern on the eggs. It was not a moment too soon. Just as soon as we were out of sight, something from a horrible nightmare sprinted up to the hole. It looked like an enormous ostrich, except half of its body was missing all feather, flesh, and sinew, while the other half appeared normal, or at least as normal as a twenty-foot tall ostrich can appear. It seemed to catch a lingering scent for it began to screech, causing us to clutch our ears in agony. While the sound was extremely painful, Nobunari and I were able to tolerate it. Mori, on the other hand, was not faring well. He began to writhe on the floor, his mouth frothing. Blood leaked from his mouth, nose, ears, and eyes. Looking around, I noticed that there were trickles of blood coming down my own face and Nobunari’s as well.

Nobunari held Mori down so that he would not alert the creature to our presence, but it probably was unnecessary. The avian monstrosity had gone insane. It stuck its massive beak down into the hole and began to smash all the eggs for a number of moments. When it emerged it was dripping in green blood. It began to run around in a circle, over and over again, and suddenly, out from its stomach exploded thousands of bright green larvae. The enormous creature fell to the ground, causing an enormous crash. The larvae swarmed over it and proceeded to feed to devour it, their bulbous bodies bloating and expanding. We decided that this was a perfect time to run.

Nobunari picked up Mori and put him over his shoulder. We ran for quite some time, until we were sure that we were out of reach of the larvae and any other predators. Of course we could not be sure of that, but we collapsed on the ground nonetheless. By that point, Mori had collapsed into a heavy sleep.

When Mori awoke, he explained, “I think that something burst from the hole when I looked into. Some sort of puff or pod perhaps. I am not normally prone to shaking fits, fortunately.”

After the incident with the bird-monster, the final few days to our target destination were fairly uneventful. The map indicated that we were looking for a cave containing a small shrine of a long forgotten Fortune. If such a shrine had ever been used, it had probably been desecrated long ago by the minions of Darkness.

We arrived at the approximate area on the map to find a hillside rising above a blasted plane. Set into the hillside were dozens of caves, but the map only indicated one.

Nobunari said, “I guess we better climb up there.” I agreed.

So we hugged the cliff, attempting to be as inconspicuous as possible. Fortunately, it was not a very bright day and the hillside was a rather drab color. We were already so dusty that it was unlikely anyone would notice. There was only one trail along the side of the hillside, but there were at least a dozen caves and there was no way of telling which cave was the one we wanted.

I whispered, “It would be dangerous to search each one of these. We have no idea how deep they go or who or what might be in them.”

But we didn’t have to wait long. As we were watching, three Nezumi, “rat-men,” came out of the seventh cave. It was hard to tell, but it looked to me like they were up to something.

We waited a moment to see if more were coming, but when none emerged, we decided to take action. Nobunari approached the group with no weapons out, while we remained hidden.

He said, “Hail Nezumi. We have been traveling for so long and it is good to see other travelers who are not tainted by this horrible place.”

The Nezumi looked unsure of how to respond to his approach. One stepped forward, “What do you want, man-man?”

Nobunari responded, “We are looking for a shrine, containing a statue perhaps. It should be somewhere on this hillside?”

The rat-man grew bolder, “Why we tell you, man-man? What you give us?”

Nobunari took out a sack of marbles and tossed a few to the Nezumi. He said, “I have many more of these, but you can’t have any unless you answer my questions.”

The Nezumi snatched the marbles and said, “Men-men like you camping in the cave.” He pointed to the cave that he and his fellows just came from. “But dead men came and took them in the night. Give us more shinies…now.”

Nobunari tossed them a few more marbles, “Did you take anything from the cave? If you want more shinies, you have to tell me the truth?”

The rat-man answered, “Man-man dropped this.” The Nezumi tossed a shiny Hiruma clan seal over to Nobunari. He caught it.

Nobunari peered inside the cave for a moment, and then stepped away. He tossed them a bunch more marbles, “I will give you all the rest if you show me where the dead men went. I have some friends nearby and they will come as well.”

The rat-men shrugged their shoulders, but seemed to agree.

*   *   *

We followed the Nezumi for about a mile. They took us through cave tunnels, winding, narrow paths, and under passages in rock formations we would have never found on our own.

As we were walking Nobunari informed me, “There was nothing by but a small smashed statue in the cave. I doubt it would have been anything to look at even before to ‘dead men’ broke it. It was probably nothing more than a marker used by the scouts.”

We emerged from a tunnel under bizarre rock formations, peeking out to see a dry river bed in a ravine. In the ravine, seven animated corpses guarded three battered and bruised Hiruma patrolmen. The patrolmen were tied together, their hands bound to a single rock pillar. Why the zombies hadn’t killed them was unclear.

The leader of the Nezumi said to Nobunari, “See man-man. Dead men hold other men-men. Now give us shinies.”

Nobunari handed the bag of marbles to the rat-men and said, “Thank you. We would never have found this place without your help.”

The Nezumi turned to leave, but just as they were about to walk away, the leader turned back and said one final thing to Nobunari, “Man-man, if you have something more else shiny, maybe I know something more else.”

I thought of what else I might have. I left all of my money back at the castles, assuming I wouldn’t need any of it. We thought to bring marbles for this very purpose, but didn’t have a backup. Fortunately, Mori did have something up his sleeve.

Mori took out a pair of fine bone dice he used to play Fortunes and Winds. He rolled them around in his hand, showing the Nezumi how they rolled. They seemed sufficiently intrigued, and snatched them out of his hand.

The rat-man leader said, “Witch-woman make zombies take men. She mean. Don’t make her mad.” The Nezumi then scurried off.

I said to my companions, “So we have two problems. We’ve got seven zombies and a Maho. There may be wards around the campsite, so if we do any scouting, we should stay as far away as possible.”

Nobunari replied, “That’s all up to you, boss.” Mori concurred.

I gave the ravine a wide berth. Fortunately, the ravine was at the bottom of a steep incline and there were many places from which to spy. From behind another bizarre bleached rock outcropping, I spied the Maho. She was quite the hag, perhaps due to the effects of the Shadowlands taint. One of her eyes was red and drooping. Her left hand was more of a claw. Her fuchsia kimono might have once been fit for court, but it was now destroyed. She wore an obsidian beaded circlet. She might be a fairly young woman, but it was impossible to tell because of the blighting effects of the taint.

I returned to my companions and reported, “The ravine presents us with a strange challenge. Taking out the Maho should be extremely simple. I can spray her with arrows from above, assuming she doesn’t have some sort of spell protecting her. But I assume that whatever magic she has holding the zombies back from killing the scouts would end instantly once she is dead.”

I continued, “So this is what I propose. I will place myself in a strategic position that will allow me to fire on the Maho, but remain out of her range. I want to be able to join the battle as soon as possible if I am able to take her out. Nobunari and Mori, I think it makes sense for you two to attack the zombies as soon as I shoot and be prepared to defend the scouts. If possible, set them free, but the highest priority is to be there when the Maho’s hold on the zombies is released.”

Mori asked, “Will your arrows work on the zombies?”

I responded, “Unfortunately no. I think we need to cut their heads off. Anything else will just delay them.”

*   *   *

I climbed up to what I deemed to be the best position. Nobunari and Mori got ready to charge at the zombies. My first shot flew true, taking the Maho by surprise in the shoulder. Apparently her magic was not tied to concentration because the zombies remained where they were.

Nobunari and Mori began their attack when I fired. My brother’s first strike with Kaminari cleaved clean through the neck of one of the zombies. Mori swung hard at one as well, but he only cut half-way through the brute’s neck. That zombie brought its fist down at Mori, but he dodged out of the way.

I fired another arrow at the Maho, but she dodged out of the way. I saw the Maho slash her wrist with a knife and then a cloud of blood and darkness swirled into the air. I sensed a malevolent terror pressing on my mind and for a moment I felt like my bow was possessed by a gaki spirit. I had the terrible urge to hurl it into the ravine. But something in the back of my mind told me that this was completely illogical and pushed the urge away.

Mori managed to saw through the zombie’s neck and moved on to another one. The fact that the zombies were ineffectually fighting back was helpful. Nobunari had cut down another zombie and was approaching a third.

I fired a third arrow at the Maho, this time striking her in the chest. I knew that it was a mortal blow and so did she. Sensing that her end was near, she tore off her obsidian circlet, hurling it at the feet of the zombies, who immediate flew into a frenzy. She then slumped to the ground.

I began a sprint to the battle, but it would be a little while before I could help my friends. I could see that a zombie was going for one of the scouts. I called to Nobunari, “Nobu! The scouts!”

My brother turned around and slashed and the arm of the zombie reaching out to the prisoner, severing it. The zombie turned around, changing its focus to the more dangerous target.

Nobunari was faring well, but Mori was having some difficulties. He bled profusely from where a zombie had clubbed him in the forehead and winced from where another punched him in the ribs.

As I reach the edge of the ravine, my brother managed to behead the zombie whose arm he had severed. Mori took an effective swing at another of the walking dead, taking a chunk out of its head, but he was beset on three sides.

I pumped my legs in an effort to reach him, but Nobunari was closer. I yelled, “Nobu, help Mori!”

Nobunari turned around to see Mori beset by all the remaining foes. He leaped into the fray, bull-rushing one of the zombies away from Mori with his shoulder. This freed up Mori to swing at the other, taking off what remained of its head. There were now only two remaining.

I reached the battle and immediately went to Mori’s aid, flanking the zombie he was fighting. I slashed at it with my katana, taking out one of its legs. Off-balanced, it fell to the ground. It had difficulty getting up, which gave Mori the perfect opportunity to behead it. When we turned around, Nobunari had taken care of his remaining foe.

I rushed over to the bound scouts and cut their bonds. I recognized all three as having graduated in the last few years from the Hiruma School. We gave them water and helped them to stand. They looked weak, but this was no place to linger.

The leader of the group was a young man three years older than us by the name of Hiruma Mako. He spoke first, saying, “We cannot thank you enough. Your task was only to retrieve the seal. It is our good fortune that you also saw to rescuing those who placed it. Now we must see to getting back.”

*   *   *

The trip back was not nearly as eventful as the first leg. This was probably due to the expertise of the patrol in avoiding dangerous areas. We informed them of what we had seen on our way here and combined with what they knew, we managed to get back to Shiro Hiruma without any further problems.

When we arrived there was quite the uproar. Apparently, a number of patrols had been sent out to look for both our party and the southern patrol, but neither had come back with any news. We had returned after thirteen days, which is the magic number when it comes to scouting patrols. They feared that if we spent any more time in the Shadowlands, our supply of jade would have become ineffective and we would have risked becoming tainted. Of course, that would be irrelevant if we were dead.

When Lord Yabu heard of the circumstances of our trip, he was astounded. “That is one of the most impressive Gemppuku Ceremonies we have ever had. Because of your efforts, three excellent samurai of our school live to see another day.”

Mori stepped forward, “I wish to say that if it were not for Daisuke San, I believe we would have been lost many times over. His knowledge, quick wit, skill, and leadership were astounding.”

Nobunari moved beside him, “I must concur with Mori San. Daisuke represents all the virtues we read about the best Hiruma warriors—quick on their feet, able to make tactical plans quickly and execute them, knowledgeable about the threats of the Shadowlands and how to circumvent them, able to hit a Maho from the top of a mountain through a cloud of darkness. Daisuke San looked out for us, but allowed us to contribute in every way we were able.”

I had to step in before I exploded with embarrassment, “I may have used my skills where they were appropriate, but these two fine warriors fought through seven zombies to save our clansmen from near certain death…”

Mori interrupted me, “But only because you planned out such a brilliant and…”

Lord Yabu clearly saw my distress, “Gentlemen. I think it is clear that you have had a Gemppuku Ceremony that the School will discuss for generations to come. Why don’t you go and get cleaned up. Tomorrow morning will be your graduation ceremony. The entire school has been waiting for you, after all.”

After Mori and Nobunari left, Lord Yabu took me aside. He said, “Nobunari San. I can tell from the look on your face that you know how close you all came to a most terrible fate.”

I responded, “I counted every day, monitoring the jade to see how quickly it was depleting. I don’t believe the others have any idea what could have happened if we had not returned when we did.”

He said, “But you could have just come back. Why risk the chance of tainting your soul forever?”

I responded, “Because I would never have been able to live with myself if I had turned my back on them. Because the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing at all; isn’t that the Hiruma motto, the very reason we all joined this school in the first placed. It certainly was the reason I came here. Because I would hope that they would do the same thing if they were in my position. Because by making the choice to help those men, I did not let the Shadowlands defeat me. Because doing otherwise would have set a bad example for other samurai and would have reflected poorly on everyone associated with me. Because I have peered into the Festering Pit and I have seen a glimpse of what lies in store for those who succumb to the foul taint of Fu Leng. If a single breath remained within my body, I would not allow that to befall anyone.”

I saw new respect in Lord Yabu’s eyes. He spoke, “It seems there have been things going on in your life that I have not been privy to. Perhaps someday, you might share them with me. For now, just know that I appreciate everything you have done. And just so you know, I am aware of the fact that someone tampered with the final contest between you and your brother.”

My expression betrayed my surprise.

He continued, “Do not look so shocked. There was nothing I could do about it. To the rest of the audience it appeared to be a fair fight and there would have been no way to have proven tampering. You yourself went along with the result without the least bit of resistance, which I must say was quite a smart move on your part. I realize that it is quite likely that you would have won the sword instead of your brother had the contest gone as planned. But you must ask yourself: would the result have been better?”

I thought for a moment and responded, “No. I think not. Nobunari is a much better choice to wield the Kaiu Blade. He is a better swordsman by far and for your current political purposes, as much as he may not understand them, it is better if the sword is in his possession.”

He responded, “I’m glad we’re agreed. Now let’s move on to the business at hand. If you and your brother wish to serve as samurai in my Daimyo, it would be my great honor.”

I answered, “I believe I can speak for Nobunari in saying that this has been our wish since before we came here, Yabu Dono.”

Lord Yabu replied, “Well, you should go find your brother because I’ve got a great deal of work for you to do.”

*   *   *

In the months following our oath to Lord Yabu, we went on a number of missions, both beyond the Wall and around the empire. At no point did I have the heart to bring up any of the many things that were troubling me. Nobunari was so exhilarated by our service that he did not notice my concerns, or at least that is what I believed.

For the most part, I hoped to keep these problems from him. If all went well he need never know of Kuni Sawagani-Jade’s despicable practices. I could not bring myself to tell him how close we had been to becoming tainted by the Shadowlands during the Gemppuku. I could not mention the fact that Lord Yabu had admitted that I probably should have won the Kaiu blade, but that he had allowed the contest result to stand for political reasons.

It is not in my nature to be dishonest. I do not believe in half-truths, concealment, or skullduggery. What drove me to shield my brother from these truths was that I did not want to hurt him. It was the biggest mistake of my life.

*   *   *

Six months after our Gemppuku Ceremony, Nobunari and I returned to Shiro Hiruma, only to find Sawagani-Jade waiting for us. She was wearing a lovely jade green kimono embroidered with delicate red flowers. Her face was made up with white powder and she had red coloring on her lips. I found her appearance to be somewhat reminiscent of a geisha, but Nobunari did not seem the least bit put off by it.

When we arrived, she greeted Nobunari, “Dearest Nobunari Sama. I am so pleased you have returned.”

He responded, “Thank you Kuni San. To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?”

That was clearly not the reaction she was hoping for, but she concealed it well. She answered, “Can I not visit my future husband simply to enjoy the pleasure of his company?”

If Nobunari was suspicious, he was concealing it, “Of course. I will have one of the attendants escort you to guest chambers while I recover from the road. He will summon you when I am ready.”

Nobunari called for an attendant, who escorted Sawagani Jade inside the castle. As we walked to our respective quarters, Nobunari asked me, “Daisuke, what do you make of her presence here?”

I hesitate for a moment, “That is a good question, Daisuke San. I cannot be sure.”

He responded, “Daisuke San? Speak what’s on your mind man!”

I sighed, “Nobunari. I do not like Sawagani-Jade. I believe you know the reasons already. But my opinions of her have no bearing on your relationship with her.”

His face crinkled in exasperation, “How can they not Daisuke? Do you think I’m a moron? Do you think I don’t know what people say about her? She is certainly not the flower she is pretending to be at the moment.”

I responded, “Nevertheless, she is an attractive woman, and if she has come to visit you, that shows dutifulness on her part.”

He snorted, “You are exasperating. It sounds like you are quoting a book.”

I lowered my head, “What would you have me say. Do you want me to say that I like the woman or that I trust her? Shall I say that your marriage to her will be wonderful? I am doing the best that I can to be civil. You do remember what she did to me!?”

His eyes filled with anger, “Not that again, Daisuke! You cannot blame that on her. She may have been unable to stop the creature, but she certainly didn’t cause it to come into being.”

“You weren’t there, Nobunari. You don’t know.” With that, I stormed out of his room. I stalked down the halls of Shiro Hiruma. I am not normally prone to fits of anger, so anyone who I passed me knew to stay out of my way. When I emerged, a lightning storm raged over the battlements. It seemed that the Thunder Dragon was in agreement over the situation at hand.

The following day, I was watching archery drills. I was mainly looking to see that students used proper technique in holding their bows and executing their attacks. The most common reason for poor skill in archery is an improper grip on the bow. This results in mis-aims and loss of stamina over time.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sawagani-Jade emerging from another part of the castle. She glanced over in my direction, a look of triumph in her eyes, before leaving the castle, presumably on the way back to Kuni lands. Whatever her reasons for feeling triumphant, I’m sure they were in no way beneficial to me.

Later in the day, I entered the Dining Hall for a mid-day meal. I saw Nobunari there, so I went to sit across from him. I hoped that we could put the previous night’s discussion behind us. I was sorely mistaken.

Nobunari spoke to me first. He said, “Daisuke San, I am surprised to see you eating with one of your inferiors.”

“My what?” I responded.

“Isn’t it true,” he said, “that you believe that you deserved to win the Kaiu blade over me.”

He cut me off before I could respond. “And isn’t it true,” he continued, “that you did not inform us about our dwindling supply of jade before plunging further into the Shadowlands. You failed to mention that we could have been tainted forever by the corruptive influences of the Dark Kami Fu Leng.”

I tried to stop him, “But I…”

But he continued, “And isn’t it true that you have confronted Kuni Sawagani-Jade, accusing her of being a Maho-Tsukai and threatening to expose her if she does not withdraw from the wedding arrangements.”

“I never…”

But he kept on going, “And isn’t it true that you and mother are plotting to frame Kuni Sawagani-Jade as a vile Bloodspeaker so that you will be given license to execute her.”

“Nobunari enough!” I said. “Where have you come up with all of this?”

He replied, “Kuni Sawagani-Jade came to me last night to reveal to me the many things you have been hiding from me over the last six months. She was in tears, imploring me to see how you have bullied her and intimidated her. I cannot believe that I failed to see this for it was sooner.”

I countered, “And you believe her? After all, she has done so much to earn your trust.”

He responded, “I did not expect you to see reason. She told me you would respond this way. If you must know, I have suspected that you were hiding things from me for sometime now. You were never a very good liar and you have been withdrawn and vague since I announced my marriage.”

I replied, “So you are going to take the word of someone you barely know, someone who has shamed our School, over that over your own brother, who has supported you at every point in your life.”

He answered, “She had something to say about that as well. She said that you have been riding my success for far too long. She thinks that I should rid myself of you and find my own identity. She offered to help me do that.”

I responded, “And you are going to take her up on that?”

He replied, “Maybe I will.”

I got up and walked out of the room.

*   *   *

I made a request to Lord Yabu that I be sent on a mission far away from Shiro Hiruma during the wedding. He denied my request. He had heard that I was on the outs with my brother, but was unaware of the details and unconcerned. I agreed to do some short missions in neighboring lands to take my mind off of my current problems. I did not expect what I found upon my return.

While I was away, my brother had gone to stay with Kuni Sawagani-Jade among her Uwagari people. It is unclear what happened, but when he returned he was afflicted with some sort of wasting illness.

When I returned to Shiro Hiruma, I inquired about the whereabouts of my brother. Despite the insistence of the healer in the infirmary, I demanded that I be allowed in. I sat next to his bed, “Nobunari, I am here.”

“Daisuke. I am sorry. I didn’t understand what you were saying. How could I? It didn’t make sense? No one could know what she was doing? What she said seemed so logical? It all made so much sense in my head at the time? And I was so angry at you...”

“Shh… Nobunari. None of that matters now. Just tell me what happened.”

“I went with her to her school this morning, or I think it was her school, but it seemed far too close to be Kuni lands. We met with some of her family and friends. Everything seemed normally, but they asked me to drink a potion. They said that it would increase my fertility once we were married. It seemed like a bad idea, but it would have been rude to say no, so I agreed. Then everything went really dark and next thing I remember was waking up here.”

I turned, but Nobunari had something more to say, “Daisuke…”

I replied, “Yes Nobunari.”

He continued, “You must do something for me.”

I nodded.

He whispered, “If I do not live through this ordeal, you must be my Voice After Death.”

I responded, “Nobunari. Of course you will live. I’m sure the Healer will have you back to full health in no time.”

He stared at me, incredible intensity in his eyes, “You must promise me, my brother, that if I die, you will be my Voice.”

I replied, “I promise, Nobunari. What would you have me say?”

He recited to me what I was to say in the event of his death. He then said, “Get me writing materials.” At that point, Nobunari wrote the things down that he said to me and had them sealed in Shiro Hiruma’s vault, only to be opened upon the occasion of his death.

Exhausted by those efforts, Nobunari went to sleep. I went to speak with the healer, Kuni Pana, a kindly older Kuni woman with gray hair, who looked like everyone’s favorite grandmother. Kuni Pana had been one of the Shugenja who had assisted my mother when she gave birth. She even acted as our nursemaid on occasion. “Where did they find him?” Pana Sama.

She responded, “The strange thing is that no one remembers him leaving. He was here this morning. The scouts found him unconscious on the other side of the Wall an hour ago. Lord Yabu had to send a patrol through the tunnels to get him because all of the patrols were already out.”

I asked, “What do you think is wrong with him?”

She replied, “This looks like Maho magic. I am no Witch Hunter, but I think this is some sort of soul-draining spell.”

I gasped, “Can it kill him?”

She answered, “I don’t think so, but it makes him really vulnerable. The smallest wound would put him over the edge right now.”

I asked, “How close would they have to be to cast such as spell?”

She responded, “Again, I’m only hazarding a guess, but I’d say no more than a mile.”

*   *   *

I didn’t have much time to waste. At any moment, Sawagani-Jade or her Uwagari Maho associates could have cast another spell on Nobunari. Or perhaps she might try to send an assassin. What her reasoning was for trying to harm her betrothed was unknown to me. I didn’t care. All I knew is that I had to save my brother’s life.

It was clear to me that Lord Yabu wouldn’t be of much help. He would have to go through proper channels to deal with the problem and those channels would not move fast enough. Fortunately, there was an improper channel passing through the castle at the time.

I sought out Yasuki Ryo in his permanent guest chambers. It was late in the evening, but I knew he’d be up. I knocked on the door.

The door opened and the extremely fat Yasuki courtier appeared in his dressing kimono. “Daisuke San. To what do I owe the pleasure this evening?”

I replied, “Yasuki Sama. Perhaps you and I might catch up over a game of dice.”

It was well known in Shiro Hiruma that I hate dice, so Yasuki knew that it must be a matter of great importance if I asked him to play. He, on the other hand, loves dice, which was a clear signal to him that this was a matter of great significance.

He replied, “I would love to play dice with you, Daisuke San, but I suspect that your business is far more important, so let us dispense with pleasantries, just this once.”

I responded, “That is greatly appreciated, Ryo Sama.”

“So what can I do for you, Daisuke San,” he said.

“I trust you have heard of my brother’s condition?” I replied.

He answered, “I did not believe you came to my room to play dice out of boredom or loneliness.”

I replied, “I need to find where the Kuni Maho are hiding. I know it’s nearby.”

He hesitated, “What makes you think I know anything about that?”

I responded, “Honestly? Nothing. I’m not implying you know anything about it. I’m only suggesting that if anyone here did know anything, or could find out something quickly, it would be you.”

He turned that over, “You do have a point there. Give me half an hour and I’ll see what I can do.”

*   *   *

I did not sit idly in that time. I went over who I might approach to go with me on a fight against the Maho. If Yasuki Ryo had confirmation that there were indeed Maho nearby, I would report it to Lord Yabu. Doing otherwise would be a dereliction of my duty.

At the end of the half hour, Yasuki Ryo knocked on my door. I let him in and he sat down. He looked nervous, but pleased.

He spoke first, “I know where your Maho are.”

I responded, “But…?”

He answered, “But no one can know that I told you.”

I replied, “Not that I was planning on telling anyone, but why not?”

He responded, “I had to offer them something or I would have blown your whole operation.”

I reassured him, “I assume they wanted jade?”

He nodded

I replied, “Do not worry. We will honor our bargain with whichever Maho are declared innocent.”

*   *   *

They say that the things you do not do reflect just as much on you as the things you do. For this reason, you must be certain before you choose to refuse a presented opportunity. -Yasuki Tanaka, Master of Materials

The walk to Lord Yabu’s office had never seemed so long. I was sure he was up as he usually worked on papers late into the night. With the current unusual affairs, he was prone to insomnia on many nights.

I walked up to the two guards at the door. Neither seemed put off by my presence, so I knocked on the door. The guards stepped aside. Lord Yabu opened the door. He did not seem the least bit surprised to see me.

He said, “I was wondering when you would come. Please, sit down.” He poured some tea into two cups. This was not a tea ceremony, just simple hospitality.

He inquired, “Please Daisuke San. I know you have a very important reason for being here, so let us not waste time on nonsense. Just tell me what troubles you.”

I told him, “Yabu Dono, I know this must be a most distressing thing to hear, but I have significant reason to believe that we have Uwagari Maho near the castle at this very moment. In addition, I believe that they are responsible for what has befallen Nobunari San.”

He clearly had not expected me to say that. He replied, “Daisuke San. What has given you cause to believe this?”

I responded, “Nobunari San has been affected by a spell that our Pana Sama believes is likely to be the work of Maho. This supported some suspicions that I have had for some time, so I did some investigations of my own. A very trustworthy source has confirmed the location of the Maho.”

He replied, “Who is the trustworthy source?”

I answered, “He has asked that I do not reveal his identity. He fears the Maho and fears he might be associated with them simply for knowing about them.”

Lord Yabu responded, “Daisuke. You understand that if you are wrong about this, the potential result would be more terrible than I can say.”

I replied, “My lord. I understand your concerns, but I am not wrong about this. And if we do not act soon, we will give the Maho time to strike again. My brother’s life is at stake and many more may be in jeopardy.”

He nodded, “What do you need?”

*   *   *

Within the hour, I had gathered together a number of stalwart samurai. I requested that Sensei Katarangi come along as well as Hiruma Mori. Endo Katato offered his aid. Hiruma Mako, the leader of the scouts we rescued came as well. The one thing we were lacking was a Shugenja. Kuni Pana the healer offered her service, but I felt much more comfortable with her looking after Nobunari, especially should another threat arise. Fortunately, Lord Yabu had someone in mind—his son-in-law, Kuni Shenai, who just happened to be visiting at the time. He was a skilled earth Shugenja and eager to set the record straight concerning his family. He wanted no one to confuse the actions of these Ugawari Maho-tsukai with the Kuni family as a whole.

So the six of us—me, Katarangi, Mori, Katato, Mako, and Shenai—left the grounds. I followed the rough map south for about three-quarters of a mile. I asked everyone to stop and listen. We could hear on the wind the sound of chanting. I looked to Shenai. He put out his hands, but immediately snatched them back.

“Maho-tsukai,” he hissed, “no question at all.” He continued, “It sounds like a ritual of some kind. I hear three distinct voices.”

I spoke, “I don’t know how to combat the Maho. Katato San. is there anything you can do to smoke them out of the building?”

He replied, “I can do one better. I can blow the building up.”

Katarangi replied, “Now that man thinks like a Crab.”

I responded, “I like that idea. Who has ranged weapons?”

Surveying the group, Katarangi held up a bow, as did Mako. I knew that Mori couldn’t shoot his way out of a paper screen, but he was otherwise a solid combatant. I had my own bow and Shenai had magic spells.

I continued, “Once the explosion is set off, presumably those inside the building, assuming they survive, will be forced to evacuate. When they do, begin firing missile weapons and ranged spells at them. Do not give them an opportunity to speak, look at you, touch you, or otherwise engage you, if possible.”

*   *   *

We continued the final quarter-mile to the small shack used as a hideout for the Maho. It was in scorched terrain, quite similar to that of the Shadowlands but there was no taint here, at least none beyond what might have been recently caused by the Maho.

Endo Katato prepared the explosives and it became my job to set them. I moved as silently as I could and laid the explosives as instructed at the foot of the structure. As I moved towards and away from the structure, I heard no change in the chanting, so I assumed that they must not have heard me.

When Katato gave the signal, Kuni Shenai released a small palm of flame, lighting the fuse on the explosive. Nothing happened for several moments, and then suddenly the structure exploding in a blast of flame. Pieces of the structure started to crash down, the flames licking hire. We heard screaming and the chanting stopped.

We expected the Maho to emerge rapidly in an effort to escape the flame, but it seemed like something was blocking their escape. Every time a hand reached out from a hole in the wall, a shadowy tendril pulled it back inside. We watched in confusion as the fire consumed the building. The flames were much more powerful than they should have been and the structure was quickly reduced to ash, leaving a blackened mystical circle in its wake. Licks of shadow flickered around the circle.

A heaping mound of jade fingers sat upon the circle. The licks of shadow and fire seemed to blacken some of the jade, but most of it seemed intact.

Sensei Katarangi remarked, “So this is what those bastards are doing with all of our jade. They are trying to destroy it with their dark magic so that we won’t have any to use against them.”

Kuni Shenai warned, “No one touch that if you value your life. We will send some of our people to make sure that it is safe to use, and then it will be returned.” No one seemed to have any desire to go near it.

I did, however, examine the remains of the bodies. There wasn’t much, but there were blackened skeletons. It was hard to tell, but it was fairly clear to me that Sawagani-Jade was not among these people. All of the Maho that died summoning that creature were taller than the diminutive witch.

I called to everyone, “We must return to the castle. I fear that this is not all of the Maho.”

*   *   *

We ran back to the castle, making our way down to the infirmary. The doors hung off their hinges as if they were blasted open. Lying in his bed where I left him was my brother. He seemed to be fine. Who was not fine was Kuni Pana, the healer. She seemed to be suffering from sort of madness. She kept screaming, “Tainted, filthy, corrupted.”

I walked through the doors and called out to her, “Pana Sama. What has happened?”

She screamed, holding her hands up. I saw black veins of taint spreading throughout her body from where something evil had touched her. “I cannot! I cannot abide such filth, polluting! corrupting!” Suddenly, she pulled her wakizashi from her belt and buried it in her stomach, crumpling to the ground.

As we walked into the room and spread out, we noticed Sawagani-Jade. She was sitting on one of the empty beds, examining her nails as if she hadn’t just caused the death of a member of her clan. She looked up slightly as we fanned out. I stayed close to my brother.

Sawagani-Jade spoke, “Ah, Hiruma San, and friends. So nice of you to join me. What is the purpose of your visit?”

I responded, “We were going to ask you the same, Kuni Sama?”

She answered, “I was simply visiting my husband, who has clearly taken ill. As you can see, the Healer had no choice but to commit Seppuku after the inferior care she has given my husband. I am obviously more skilled in such things.”

I decided to play along, “And what, in your expert opinion, is ailing Nobunari San, Kuni Sama?”

“Clearly, he is suffering from love sickness after being away from me too long,” she replied.

I responded, “I’m sure we all hope Nobunari San lives. After all, were he to die, the wedding would not take place. And one would wonder about the connection between those involved and the Maho we just slew in the barrens south of the castle.”

Her face reddened, “Clearly, Brother-In-Law-To-Be San, you are not implying that I have any knowledge of such nefarious villains as Maho.”

“Of course not. What possible reason could I have to think such a thing, Sister-In-Words-But-Not-Deeds San? It would not be like you at all to feed your husband poisons and lies!”

With that, her face lost all semblance of civility humanity, transforming into a skull made of shadow. She whipped out her chained wand and began to chant to her Dark Lord. Dark energies swirled around the room, threatening to snuff out the torches. In moments, an enormous skeletal bat crashed through one of the windows, swooping down to harry the warriors among us. Unperturbed, Kuni Shenai had magic of his own to cast.

Calling on the power of the earth, Shenai slammed his fist into the ground. “Maho-tsukai. You must accept the judgment of the Celestial Heavens!” From the earth, a blast of iridescent green energy erupted at Sawagani-Jade. She screamed as the blast slammed into her with incredible force, searing the skin of the right side of her face and burning much of the right side of her body.

I fired arrows at the bat, trying to keep them from inadvertently injuring Nobunari. I felt somewhat helpless in the battle, but realized that it was better to let the two Shugenja face off against each other.

Furious at Shenai’s audacity, Sawagani-Jade replied with her own, equally destructive spell. She pulled out a pin from her hair and jabbed it viciously into her own bare left leg, drawing blood. Kunai Shenai’s leg immediately shriveled, causing him to lose his balance and fall.

Katarangi, Mako, and Mori were taking solid swings at the bat, but its frantic movements made it an elusive target. Katato looked like he had a plan.

Shenai may have been on the ground, but that was no problem for an earth Shugenja. He banged both fists repeatedly on the stone floor, imploring the earth to answer his plea. The entire room rumbled and large chunks of rock broke away from the floor and launched into the air, turning into translucent jade. The Kuni slammed his fists down one more time, causing the jade boulders to plummet towards the earth, crushing Sawagani-Jade beneath their weight.

Katato had come over to me at this point, bearing an arrow like I had never seen before. It was quite heavy, its head packed with some sort of powder. He said, “Daisuke San. Now is a good time for one of those miraculous shots of yours.” He yelled, “Hiruma, hit the floor.”

I fired the arrow at the enormous undead bat. As soon as it struck, an enormous explosion tore through the creature, sending showers of razor sharp bone everywhere. The creature took a nose dive, slamming into the wall of the infirmary, where what remained of it shattered into a thousand pieces.

“Good shot! Daisuke” shouted a number of voices in unison.

Unfortunately, Sawagani-Jade was not out of the battle. Her hip was broken, but she still had the crazy zeal of the Bloodspeakers driving her to fight. She intoned in her dark language, summoning shards of bone and drops of blood from all over the room. These entered her body, reforming her broken him and healing her scarred flesh. Miraculously, she stood up, though her veins were now pulsing with shadow energy and her eyes were pools of shadow.

“You fools,” she said, “Do you really think you can defeat the power of darkness?”

But apparently she, like the rest of us, Sawagani-Jade had ceased paying attention to poor Kuni Pana. It’s true that after being driven mad by the taint inflicted upon her by the curse cast upon her by Sawagani-Jade, Kuni Pana had committed Seppuku. But in a final act of noble defiance, she wrenched the wakizashi from her belly. While the rest of us had been fighting, Kuni Pana hung on, blocking the urge to let go and pass on. She had crawled, inching along the floor, the wakizashi in her teeth. She would not let this harlot of hell harm the boys that she had worked so hard to bring into this world, even if it took her dying breath.

And with her dying breath, Kuni Pana rose up and screamed, “I will not abide!”

Sawagani-Jade turned around just in time to take Kuni-Pana’s wakizashi clean through her chest. The sword pierced her heart and came out the other side. Kuni Pana collapsed to the floor, finally ready to pass on.

Shocked, Sawagani Jade cried, “You! It cannot be you! This is not how it ends. It cannot be!”

Her gaze drifted back to Nobunari. “Dear husband. If I am to meet my end so ignominiously, then you will be coming with me. As she fell to her knees, she recited one final dark word.”

I did not understand how she could have harmed Nobunari until I saw the blood begin to ooze from a small wound above his heart. She had left a tiny pin there for this very purpose. And now, her spell had caused that wound to fester.

I implored Kuni Shenai, who limped over to Nobunari’s bed, “Surely, there must be something you can do.”

He answered, “If Kuni Pana was here, she might have been able to stop the spell, but unfortunately healing magic is one of my weaknesses. I will attempt to strengthen him as best I can.”

Kuni Shenai cast a spell that seemed to bolster Nobunari slightly. Katarangi came over and did his best to bandage the wound, but the bandages immediately became soaked with black blood, as if the wound did not want to be bound.

*   *   *

To die on the battlefield. To die in service to our Lord. To die doing our duty. To die serving the empire. What is the samurai’s duty? To die. -Unknown

Soon after the end of the battle, Lord Yabu rushed into the infirmary.

“I came as soon as I heard,” he said. “I have sent word for any available nearby Shugenja to immediately travel here with the greatest haste.”

Within two hours, Kuni Shugenja began to trickle in. They performed magical tests and cast protection and healing spells on Nobunari, but nothing seemed to be able to break the Maho curse.

I conferred with Lord Yabu, “My Lord. I understand that it is likely that my brother will die because of this wound. But I do not want him to be tainted in death by Maho magic. If there is anything the Shugenja can do to grant him a peaceful death, I believe that would be the best possible outcome.”

Lord Yabu went to confer with the Shugenja for several minutes and then came back. He said, “The Shugenja have a proposal for you. I believe you should hear them out.”

I listened to what they Kuni Shugenja had to say and it was the most beautiful, the most sacred thing they could do for my brother and for my family. I nodded and stepped back to allow their efforts.

The Kuni asked that Nobunari be moved to someplace much more open. I knew that the place he loved most in Shiro Hiruma was the training grounds of the castle. The castle attendants carefully moved his bed up to the training grounds. At this point, he was asleep, and I knew that he could no longer feel any of the pain or suffering of the world. He was close to death.

The Kuni asked, “Please place him on the ground in the center of yard.”

The attendants moved in order to do as they were told, but I held up my hand. I walked over to Nobunari and kissed him on the forehead. He smiled. I picked him up. He was so light. I placed him gently on the floor and moved back, standing next too Lord Yabu.

I said, “Wait! He must have his family daisho! I ran frantically to get it and placed the daisho at his hip.”

That effort nearly cracked my resolve and Lord Yabu saw that, but did not say anything.

The Kuni spread powdered jade in a circle around Nobunari. They began to chant peaceful words. Oh how different were there words from the harsh and angry words of the Maho. These were words of peace, of balance. They honored a living man, a man who was good, and truly undeserving of such a fate.

As the chant continued Nobunari rose into an upright position. The powdered jade began to coat his skin.

And as the jade began to coalesce, the tears started to roll down my face. I did not care who saw, be it Daimyo, Sensei, or Shugenja. This was my brother.

Eventually, he began to look more like a jade-skinned man than a real person. By the end of the ceremony, all of the jade was gone. In its place, a perfect replica of Nobunari stood, crafted of translucent jade. But it was not a replica, was it?

After the ritual, a kindly older Kuni by the name of Kono took me aside. He said, “Daisuke San. We were most honored to have had the opportunity to grant your brother a peaceful death. But we do not wish to give you any false illusions. After one day, the statue will be gone, dust in the wind.”

I stood for a moment, and then responded, “Thank you Kono Sama. I was not expecting a permanent statue to my brother. He is not the Emperor or Daimyo. What you have done has saved my family a lifetime of suffering and no doubt has made it possible for my brother to be reborn an even greater samurai than he was in this life. We are forever grateful to you.”

I admit that when I saw the statue, the possibility of being able to see my brother every day, to be able to ask him for guidance, was a powerful notion. And as much as I was devastated by his loss, I knew that we were lucky that such as solution presented itself.

*   *   *

I could not sleep that night, so I made a request of Lord Yabu to set up the funeral chairs in the training grounds. He knew that I wanted to spend as much time near my brother as possible before the jade crumbled, so he did not begrudge me this, even though this sort of labor was not a typical part of a samurai’s daily routine.

I spent several hours that evening thinking about how things had come to this point. I thought about the chain of events from Toji’s complaining, to his sister’s meddling, to my brother’s death. I knew that Lord Yabu’s daughter’s wedding would still happen. No one could find fault with that, given that both members of the other wedding party were dead.

I still did not understand the motivations of the Uwagari Maho. It would have been to their benefit for the wedding between Nobunari and Sawagani-Jade to have taken place. Sawagani-Jade was unstable, but she was not stupid. I could not figure out what they hoped to gain by attacking the castle. The only possible answer I could imagine is that they expected that by weakening one of Shiro Hiruma’s greatest defenders, they would be able to steal the castle’s supply of jade. And if the Hiruma had no jade, they would be vulnerable.

In the end, the Kuni recovered the vast majority of the jade that the Uwagari received as part of their original deal with Lord Yabu. It seems that the presence of Maho was not widespread among the vassal family, which was fortunate.

I did not look forward to the funeral. I found it awkward to speak of things that concern me, especially things that could be seen as benefiting me. The Kaiu Blade was not the most important thing to me at the time, but there are others in the Clan who might think that I duped my sick brother into giving it to me. I put those thoughts out of my head.

I lay down to sleep, my mind full of too many thoughts. I awoke to the sound of people outside. I quickly made myself presentable, donning my finest armor, my daisho, and the seal we won during our Gemppuku. I carried the Kaiu blade, wrapped in an ornate cloth, but I did not wear it.

As I walked through the halls, I heard strange bits of conversation and gossip. “Did you see it? Where did it come from? It looks just like? You don’t think?” It would have been undignified to run, so I walked briskly towards the training grounds, which had been laid out with the Hiruma banner. Many of the chairs I set up were now occupied. All eyes however, mine included, were on the jade statue at the center of grounds.

As I walked into the training grounds, all eyes immediately shifted to me. I felt the eyes go back and forth, peoples’ voices fluttering like little birds. The Crab are not like the Crane, who hide behind their fans, dithering for hours about the weather, the price of rice, or the latest kabuki play. But even we are prone to gossip when something truly unusual occurs.

I walked over to the area of the grounds where the Kuni contingent was sitting. I bowed to Kuni Kono and said, “Kono Sama, it is quite a marvelous thing this new statue.”

He nodded, unsure where I was going with this.

I continued, “One might almost think it was a permanent exhibition.”

He replied, “It’s anyone’s guess, but if it’s still here, there’s no reason to believe it won’t remain.”

It was a brilliant day for the funeral ceremony. The statue of Nobunari gleamed brilliantly in the bright morning sun. A number of Sensei from the school gave speeches, as did Lord Yabu, who extolled my brother as the samurai every Lord wishes he could have. Before the priests said their prayers, I was called up to speak.

I stood at the dais and began, “You are all here because you recognize the greatness of Hiruma Nobunari. The Sensei and Lord Yabu have told you of his many gifts as a student, a warrior, an athlete, and a leader. What they have not told you was how my brother, Nobunari, was a compassionate and kind person.” This got a surprised, but not unwelcome reaction from the crowd.

I continued, “Nobunari San never had an unkind word to say about anyone or anything—not his most bitter enemies, his least liked teacher, his most challenging subject in school, or his normal human troubles and doubts. Some might say that he was innocent, that he needed to be protected. But he did not want that. As kind as he was, he wanted others to tell him the truth. He had difficulty seeing ill in others, even if there was ill to be found. You see, he wanted to find the good in other people, and when it was hard to find, he searched for it, and helped others to cultivate it. His classmates loved and adored him—they emulated him. When he won the tournament last year, they were not jealous for they knew that he deserved it. And they also knew that if he had lost, he would not have begrudged the winner any of the glory or the prize. And yet this paragon of virtue, this wholesome friend was also a fierce warrior. For you see, he could balance his human instincts and his warrior’s instincts, employing each when it was necessary. Let Nobunari San serve as a guide to future warriors, struggling to find harmony between their duties as a civilized man and their duties as a fierce and courageous warrior. It is not an either/or situation. My brother knew that better than anyone.”

I concluded, “Finally, before he passed away, Nobunari San asked me to act as his Voice After Death. He left me with specific things he would like me to tell all present. Yabu Dono, if you would please act as witness.” Lord Yabu nodded.

The crowd leaned forward in anticipation.

I read, “I have bequeathed the Kaiu Blade Kaminari to my brother Daisuke. It should have been Daisuke’s to begin with, but unbeknownst to everyone at the competition, the Maho Sawagani-Jade, who I hope is now dead, used her magic to interfere with the final competition, blinding Daisuke San, which allowed me to strike the final two blows. If she had not done that, there should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that Daisuke would have easily beaten me. Furthermore, let it be known that Lord Yabu’s vision of the Hiruma School is one of great worth. A true samurai must know more than just how to swing a sword and shoot a bow, though these are, without a doubt, vital skills. I feel that my life was much more complete because of all of the other things I learned under Lord Yabu’s initiatives. And finally, let it be known that I will always be watching over my brother Daisuke and the rest of the Hiruma.”

With that, I unwrapped the Kaiu blade Kaminari from its cloth. I looked over to Lord Yabu. He nodded. I held it palms open so that everyone could see it, daring someone to challenge my right to wield it. No one met my gaze except my father and mother, who seemed to bursting with…was it pride? I wore the Kaiu blade alongside my existing daisho and then sat down alongside Lord Yabu.

Lord Yabu motioned for Kuni Kono to conduct the final funereal rites. As there was no actual body, these were largely symbolic, but Rokugan is an extremely traditional culture and the funeral service is an important part of the grieving process.

I can honestly remember little about the funeral. The true ceremony had occurred for me when the Kuni encased Nobunari in jade. What was happening now was done to appease the rest of the Clan. And of course, my parents had not been there for his transformation, so they needed an opportunity to say goodbye. For me, there was never a true goodbye. I could see Nobunari whenever I wanted to and speak to him. Perhaps he wouldn’t answer, but that wasn’t important. By this point in my life, I knew him so well, that I could anticipate what his answer would be anyway. I think just having the comfort of his presence—knowing that the Maho really didn’t succeed in killing him—that was and remains a great comfort to me.

*   *   *

Epilogue

One of jade’s most well known properties is the fact that it absorbs and repels Darkness. But has it ever occurred to anyone that perhaps jade absorbs Light as well? -Hiruma Daisuke

Several months have passed since the funeral. I’ve traveled the breadth of Rokugan in service to Lord Yabu. Not a day goes by in which a do not miss my brother. Following my last mission, I returned to Shiro Hiruma. I was pleased to see that the statue of Nobunari was still standing at the center of the training grounds. It was summer in Rokugan, so little training was occurring at the school, though patrols went out as normal. This afforded me a rare opportunity to be alone in the training grounds.

It was just before sunset, but still extremely warm. I walked up to the statue of my brother and touched it. It held the heat, which was not what I expected. The rays of the sun glittered and refracted through it, causing dancing patterns of green to splay out upon the stone blocks that made up the grounds.

I turned around to look at the sunset, much in the way I might have done with my brother on the many days we trained together at this very spot. For a fleeting moment, I could swear I saw a change in the shadow behind me. I turned back to Nobunari’s statue. Had he just saluted me? Was his arm in a slightly different place? Perhaps the heat or the light and shadow were playing tricks on me? Or perhaps I been out in the sun too long?

As I walked back inside, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the statue was watching me. Ordinarily, this would be troubling to me, but in this case, it did not bother me at all. I grew used to the feeling that my brother’s eyes were watching over me. This did not just happen here; it became a constant for me everywhere I traveled in the empire. Knowing that my brother remained at the heart of it all—that made life in this harsh and brutal world a little bit easier to bear.