The Initiate Brother Duology (100 page)

“Hakata wrote that, as he grew older, spring became more beautiful and more painful each year. I, personally, have reached the age where spring is more beautiful but has not yet begun to cause me too much pain. Perhaps in
a few years you will be able to appreciate the spring as I do. War cannot be helped now, but there will be beauty in spite of it. The truly brave soul will find time for beauty in the midst of the most terrible destruction.”

“Lady Nikko,” Nishima said. “Though I believe she meant that the truly brave hearts would see beauty at the hour of their death.”

“Poets…why must they all be so dramatic?” Shonto gestured toward a branch of the plum that grew down to eye level, not an arm’s length away. “See these blossoms? I have been watching them all morning. They prepare to open. They gather their resolve as we speak. Their opening will be an act of singular beauty, more lovely than the blossoms themselves. In the midst of all that occurs, we will sit here and observe. It will be a test of the bravery of your heart.”

Nishima nodded and they both shifted their cushions to face the emerging flowers. They stayed like that for more than an hour, side by side: a tall, willowy young woman and the strongly built older man. Despite this contrast in their appearance, there was little doubt that they both focused on the same thing.

The plum blossoms unfolded in the sun. “As slowly as the timid heart,” Lord Shonto whispered at one point. A quote from another poem and the only words either of them spoke until a flower had spread its petals like fragile wings. A bee came then and thrust its head into the flower, emerging covered in pollen.

The two renegade aristocrats turned away then, Nishima holding back her sleeve as she poured more wine into their cups.

“There is one other matter, Nishi-sum, that I hesitate to speak of.”

Nishima nodded, recognizing seriousness in her father’s tone.

“The river people have a saying: ‘A whisper aboard ship is a shout upon the land.’ Keeping secrets aboard a boat is a difficult thing.” Shonto looked down into his cup, turning it slowly, then up at the plum blossom again.

Nishima nodded, sipping wine into a suddenly dry mouth.

“Brother Shuyun is a magnetic young man, but he is a monk who has taken a sacred oath. A heart can be broken against more malleable things, Nishi-sum, I have seen it.”

Nishima gathered her nerve, not quite certain whether she heard disapproval or concern in her father’s voice. “Satake-sum had taken this same sacred oath, Uncle, yet he did not live according to its letter, as we both know.”

Shonto nodded. “He remained a monk despite his independent spirit. Shuyun-sum—what will become of him?”

“Do you fear to lose your Spiritual Advisor, then?”

Shonto considered this. “Shuyun-sum would always be invaluable, there is no question of that. I feel little need of a guide to the words of Botahara—I can read them myself. That is not my concern.

“You are a lady of a Great House, Nishi-sum, and though I have often spared you the responsibility that comes with your position I may not be able to continue to do so in the future. This war will require sacrifices of everyone—perhaps even of you. You may not be able to choose your own course, Nishi-sum, any more than I chose the path followed now.”

Nishima nodded stiffly. She looked out over the canal at the trees blowing in the soft breeze, wafting their spring greens like new robes. A guard stood up in one of the patrolling boats, looked off to the far bank. Years ago Nishima had trained herself to remove such things as guards and walls and strong gates out of any scene she viewed, but she knew this was only an act of the imagination—they had not gone away.

She swallowed with difficulty. “Your words are wise, as always, Uncle. I thank you.”

Shonto nodded, half a shrug.

“Uncle, there is something I have not spoken of. Kitsura-sum asked Jaku Katta if he would have a letter conveyed to her family, which he agreed to do. Kitsu-sum received word from her family that this letter arrived. This would seem to indicate….”

Shonto held up his hand. “Kitsura-sum has already informed me of this. It raises another question of the Guard Commander’s claims.”

Nishima suppressed her annoyance at her cousin’s interference. “I believe Jaku Katta is no longer in favor in the Emperor’s court, Sire.”

“Huh.” Shonto looked down at his cup. “I agree, daughter, but I am not sure who this young Jaku supports—Tadamoto—is he loyal to his brother and family or is he loyal to his Emperor? It appears to have been Jaku Tadamoto who convinced the Emperor to raise the army. Does the younger Jaku intend that army to fight barbarians or to fight Shonto, and perhaps even his own brother? It is a curious puzzle. For the time being, at least, Jaku Katta has little choice but to side with the Shonto and hope the Yamaku do not stand. He plays out the charade quite admirably, I think.”

Nishima picked up her cup but did not drink. “I confess that I no longer find much to admire in the guardsman,” Nishima said softly.

Horses were heard coming to a halt outside the compound and General Hojo appeared at the opening.

“I must excuse myself, Uncle. Please give my regards to General Hojo.”

Shonto nodded. “I thank you for viewing the plum blossoms with me. It added another facet to the beauty entirely.” Shonto bowed again to his daughter as he had when she arrived. She bowed as her position required, slipped into her sandals, and made her way down the bank.

The boatmen pushed out into the slow moving current and began to scull toward Nishima’s barge.

But Uncle, she thought, I have discovered the rarest beauty in the midst of terrible destruction. If my heart is truly brave, can I turn away?

*   *   *

Guards cleared a way through the long line of refugees strung out along the south road. It seemed a last indignity for these people. They had been turned from their homes, crops torn from the fields, livestock taken, feed stores set to the torch, and any food they could not carry confiscated to feed the growing army. And now they were being forced to stand aside for the lord who had failed to stop this alleged barbarian army in Seh where such things should be done.

Yet when Shonto and his company rode past, the refugees bowed low, displaying nothing of what they felt. They were fatalists in a manner that a person of action like Lord Shonto would never understand. Karma dictated that they would occasionally be the victims in the machinations of the Empire. It had always been so and would never change—unless one progressed, perhaps becoming a monk or a sister of a Botanist Order.

Passing on horseback, Shonto was saddened by the endless procession of villagers and peasants, some leading ox-drawn wagons, others carrying everything left to them on the backs of mules or on poles slung across their own shoulders. It affected him, but he knew what he had said to Nishima was true—everyone would make sacrifices in this war. There would be few exceptions.

They crossed a stubble field, damp from the spring rains but firm enough for horses. Another group of riders waited on a low rise and Shonto could see the banner of the Komawara House—the mist-lily against a night blue background. Komawara bowed from his horse as Lord Shonto approached while his men dismounted and bowed properly. Shonto noticed the trim of green lacing on two of these men—the Hajiwara Komawara had found in the Jai Lung Hills.

“This is the place?” Shonto asked.

Komawara nodded.

Spurring his horse, Shonto gained a few feet in elevation and then turned to look west toward the hills, trying to gauge the height of the undulating land.

“This entire plain has been under flood many times,” Komawara said, coming up beside Shonto. “Six years ago there was a sea here sixty rih wide. We can dam the canal and defend the dam. This defense could last many days. Once the dam is burst the land will still be impassible for days until it dries.”

Shonto nodded as he looked both east and west again. “What of the canal? It will have no source of water, yeh?”

Hojo pointed off to the south. “Ten rih away the river Tensi joins the canal. There will be no difficulties once the fleet has passed that point. The section of the canal from here to there may be shallower than usual, but…” He shrugged.

“And the roads through the hills are narrow and perfect for ambushes,” Komawara added with satisfaction. “We can hold the barbarians here for many days, I think.” The young lord rubbed his sword hilt and Shonto realized this was not the weapon Komawara usually carried. The Toshaki gift, the lord realized.

“General Hojo, Lord Komawara, begin planning the tactics to be used in the hills. Lord Taiki will take responsibility for seeing the dam built and defended. We will move the fleet south immediately.” Shonto gestured to the line of refugees. “These people must be clear of the area by this time tomorrow.” He looked around again as though weighing the plan one last time. “We will see what this Khan can do when he meets the unexpected.”

T
HE FIRST SWALLOWS had returned to the north that day, and the wood vibrated with the excitement of birds calling and courting. Rohku Tadamori held his horse by its bridle and watched the city of Rhojo-ma. The Flying Horse Banner of the Province of Seh had come down from the high tower of the Governor’s Palace and the gold banner of the Khan with its strangely twisted dragon had appeared in its place. The dissonant sounds of horns and clashing of metal had echoed across the water then. Rohku’s horse nudged his shoulder, pulling at the lacing of his armor.

Seh had fallen. For the first time in the history of the Empire the province had been taken by the barbarians. And Rohku served the man who had allowed that to happen. Though not a man of Seh, the captain felt the loss all the same.

Smoke curled up from the eastern end of the city, but there were no signs that the rest of Rhojo-ma was being put to the torch. If anything, the smoke was diminishing.

Five thousand men, Rohku thought, may Botahara rest their souls. It was impossible to say how many barbarians had fallen. More than five thousand, Rohku thought, many more. He looked out at the floating causeway that connected the shore and the eastern edge of the city. Beneath the waters lay uncounted warriors of both armies. The fighting had been hard.

The barbarians had not shown themselves to be brilliant tacticians, but they had not exhibited any lack of resolve either. The Khan had thrown wave
after wave of men against the walls of Rhojo-ma, spending as though he had endless resources, and in the end this had won the day.

Rohku made a sign to Botahara and mounted his horse. He looked back at the city again.

Now we play gii, he thought, struck by how cold this seemed to him—but it was true. Who would learn the most from this first encounter? Who would come to the board next time armed with greater wisdom? He prayed that he could provide his lord with all the information they would need. The good name of his family depended on such things.

S
OLDIERS WERE NEITHER numerous enough, nor skilled in the work, and in the end, peasants were pressed into the effort as well. Poles with baskets hanging from their ends proved more effective than oxen and carts when loading and unloading were considered. Shonto’s advisors in this matter soon realized that stopping the flow of the canal would not be enough—the dam needed to stretch from higher ground further back from each bank to create the depth of water required. The volume of water flowing into the new sea was simply not great enough to backup sufficiently due to a mere constriction. Near the forming dam, workers dug away the bank to allow the blocked waters quicker access to the lowlands beyond.

Imperial messenger boats had been confiscated for the war effort and they plied back and forth to the north bringing news and moving observers. The word had passed to most now—Rhojo-ma had fallen and this news cast a shadow of desperation over the men who built the dam. Suddenly the war seemed real and the odds truly impossible.

There was as yet no news of the barbarian army moving south and, predictably, there were some that speculated the Khan had already achieved his goal. The victory in Seh would be consolidated and all this dam building would prove a fool’s work.