It was a cool night when they lit a fire outside. The days were growing warmer, but the heat of the crackling logs was relaxing.
“We need to decide what to do next.”
Moriko sighed. “I want to go to the island. That is all.”
Ryuu shook his head. At least she didn’t bother with polite formalities or dance around the question. “Will you allow me to try to persuade you otherwise?”
Moriko gave him a look which indicated she’d rather not, but she nodded.
“There are two facts I’d like you to know, which may change your mind. The first is that yesterday, the armies of the Three Kingdoms were defeated by the Azarians. The armies are in full retreat, and to the best of my understanding, it feels as though they are splitting up.”
Moriko shook her head. “They never had a chance. I’m sorry to hear it, but it isn’t a surprise.”
Ryuu hadn’t expected it would be. Moriko had been among the Azarians. More than anyone else alive in the kingdom, she had some idea of the power they controlled.
“The second fact will surprise you. I’ve finished translating the documents you found. The invasion wasn’t random. In fact, it’s been planned for a couple of cycles now. The Azarians always planned to invade, with the help of the Western Kingdom and Tanak. . . and the monasteries.”
Moriko’s eyes went up, and her eyes lit with fire. “The monasteries were involved in planning the invasion?”
Ryuu nodded. “From what it sounds like, there was quite the web of betrayal. Tanak wanted the Azarians to attack the Three Sisters last spring. His hope was that it would distract Akira and tie up most of his troops down in the pass. At the same time, Tanak would sweep through the Southern Kingdom. Tanak planned on a treaty between himself and the Azarians. He was led to believe the Azarians only wanted their land back.”
Moriko shook her head. “No. From the first time I met Nameless, he made it clear his only goal was to invade and conquer the Three Kingdoms.”
“I remember you saying that, and these documents have cleared it up. Tanak was deceived from the beginning. It doesn’t say as much, but I assume Nameless wanted the kingdoms as weak as possible. With the Southern and Western Kingdoms at war, he could have walked right into the land without a fight.”
Moriko continued the thought. “So Nameless wouldn’t care that he was late to the pass. Maybe he never even planned on being there in the spring. The more the soldiers in the Three Kingdoms fought each other, the better for him.”
“Exactly, but then his plan started breaking down. Akira surrendered without fighting the final battle that would have destroyed the remaining armies.”
“And Toro held the pass long enough for the snows to settle in, allowing the Three Kingdoms time to regroup.”
Ryuu was silent as he allowed Moriko to consider all the implications.
“But even if that’s all true, Nameless still invaded, and we still couldn’t stop him.”
Ryuu nodded. “But they are hurt. There’s no way for me to judge numbers, but our soldiers killed a large amount of their population. They are weaker than they’ve been in a very long time.”
Moriko shook her head. “They won’t think of it that way. In their eyes, only the strong survive. They’ll consider themselves stronger than ever having come through such an intense trial. I fear for the land.”
There was another silence. Ryuu wondered if Moriko was changing her mind.
“Regardless, I still want to leave for the island. The concerns of the land are not my own.”
“You still haven’t heard how the monasteries are involved.”
She shook her head. “And I don’t want to. I know you want to stay here and do something. And yes, we are strong, but we’re still only two people against an entire nation. We can’t change what’s going to happen.”
“The monasteries have always known Nameless was going to invade. Not only have they given him knowledge of the Three Kingdoms, they have a plan for taking over everything once he’s here. That’s what’s in the documents I’ve found. Terms to be sent to Nameless regarding the ruling of the Three Kingdoms.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that it looks as if the monasteries are going to take over the rule of the kingdoms. Nameless doesn’t care about the people here. The monks are planning to make each of the monasteries its own little kingdom. Those who want shelter can flee there. It sounds like they plan to make monasteries into towns and cities.”
Moriko stood and paced around the fire. “They are foolish if they think they can protect anyone from the power of the Azarians. I’ve met regular Azarian warriors more than strong enough to kill a monk.”
“But the monks don’t see themselves that way.”
Ryuu watched as Moriko decided what to do. She didn’t just dislike the monasteries, she actively hated them. If there was anything in the Three Kingdoms that would motivate her to take action, it was the idea of allowing the monasteries greater power.
When she finally stopped her pacing, Ryuu knew he had convinced her to take at least some action. “And what would you have us do?”
“At the very least, we need to let Akira know. If the monasteries are allowed to gather power, there’s no way the Three Kingdoms will hold together. Maybe we help him, maybe we don’t, but let’s at least let him know. If nothing else, he’s not that far away from the path we’d take to get further north anyway.”
Moriko thought for a moment and then agreed. But she saw the look on Ryuu’s face. “There’s something else, isn’t there?”
Ryuu nodded. “I wanted you to make the decision first. Hopefully this doesn’t change your mind, but I think Nameless is hunting us.”
Chapter 16
If there was one action Akira couldn’t afford, it was to reflect on the past. It had been several days since their defeat at the Three Sisters, and still Akira couldn’t bring himself to think about it. It seemed unreal, a nightmare he couldn’t wake up from. There were times he thought, just for the briefest of moments, the battle had never happened and his land wasn’t being conquered right in front of him. But he dismissed this fantasy, because if he allowed it to last for too long, the reality of their situation would crash down on him, and he wasn’t sure he could handle the truth.
Instead, Akira focused on the day to day, completing one task at a time. Fortunately, there was always another task demanding his attention. Before the battle, Makoto and Mashiro had the foresight set up a system for surviving troops to communicate with one another, to maintain something resembling order even in defeat. So far, the system appeared to be working. Messages poured into Akira’s tent day and night. Sometimes the groups were small, only two or three men. Sometimes they were large, headed by commanders who had gotten their men to safety.
They had been fortunate that the Azarians hadn’t pursued their retreat. Akira was only two day’s ride from the battlefield, but they thought they would be safe for at least another day or two. After the battle the Azarians had split into their clans. They were spreading in every direction. From everything they were hearing, the Azarian clans simply went where they wanted.
Akira and his honor guard were to the north and west of the Three Sisters, and so far, no Azarian clans had come this way. It was a small break, but one Akira was grateful for. His men weren’t just physically exhausted, they were spiritually broken. The fate of the Kingdom had rested on that battle, and Akira and his men had failed. The knowledge took its toll on them all.
Akira’s most pressing question was what had happened to Sen’s First Army. Not only did Akira miss Makoto and his wisdom, but if the First was still around, they were the nearest whole army. Because the relays had been killed, Sen’s First hadn’t seen combat at the Three Sisters. They would have the strength to take actions Akira could only dream of with the troops he now possessed.
But they had no word of either Makoto or the army, and Akira feared the worst. If Mashiro was right, the Azarians had known where they would be, had known the exact layout of their forces. At times, Akira began to replay the battle in his head, wondering if there was anything else he could have done. But he had to push those thoughts away too. They had done everything in their power, but the strength of the Azarians had just been too great. Akira had heard dozens of horror stories from units who encountered a hunter in the battle. They had been hopeful in their stand against the Azarians, but their hope had been misplaced.
Amidst his regrets, Akira also grieved for Mashiro. The general and his men had covered Akira’s retreat and had paid for it with their lives. His loss was most keenly felt when Akira studied his maps, trying to decide his next move. Mashiro had been young, but he had possessed a mind unlike any other.
But the past was the past, and Akira couldn’t change it. There were supplies to manage and orders to give. He tried to put himself in the place of the Azarians, tried to figure out how they would expand through the land. He gave orders to the remaining soldiers to stop the Azarians however they could.
Time passed by like a swift river current, gone almost before he noticed it. He focused on the larger problems, and Captain Yung, the commander of his honor guard, worried about their personal safety. Most of Akira’s honor guard were still alive, about ninety of his best warriors, all camped with him. Soon he needed to decide what to do with them. They were probably one of the largest fighting forces left in the land that used to be the Southern Kingdom. Akira studied his maps, marked all over with the positions of small units of troops.
Yung barged into his tent, interrupting Akira’s study. “My king.”
Akira waved his hand dismissively. “You can just call me Akira, Yung. We’ve known each other long enough, and I don’t feel much like a king these days.”
Yung shook his head and stepped up to Akira. “With all due respect, you are still the king. Act like it.”
Akira straightened his back and Yung let out a slight grin. “Very well. News?”
“There is a clan moving in this direction. We’ve identified at least one pair of hunters with them.”
“So it’s time to move?”
“It does seem to be the wise decision, my king.”
Akira studied his maps. They had been considering their next moves for a while now, but they hadn’t settled on any specific plan yet. “Where do you think we should go?”
Yung stepped next to Akira and pointed at the maps. “My opinion hasn’t changed. Sen is well defended with mountains and men. I think we should head west and lead a rebellion from that direction. That way the Azarians will always be between us.”
Akira nodded along. It was the same argument Yung had made earlier, but Akira was uncomfortable with it. It meant retreating from the potential safety of Sen’s strongholds and risking everything out in the open. It also kept their forces divided, and Akira wondered if it might be smarter to keep their forces together as much as possible.
But Yung seemed able to adapt more quickly to a new way of thinking. They weren’t going to drive out the Azarians through brute force. If they combined their forces, all they would do was provide a larger target for the Azarians to attack. By staying separate, they could divert some of the Azarian attention from their allies.
Akira struggled to decide what to do next. The king in him wanted to go to Sen, to rule over what was left of their kingdom, but the warrior in him wanted to run towards death and danger, wanted to follow Yung’s advice. The two sides of his personality warred, but there was little time.
“Very well. Let’s send a message to Sen to let him know what’s going to happen. He’s to take over command of the Kingdom for now. We move west.” He placed his finger on the symbol of a small village nearby. “We’ll stop here for supplies and keep moving.”
Yung grinned from ear to ear, perhaps the first time Akira had seen him do so. “Perfect. I’ll inform the troops.”
Just as he was about to leave the tent, Yung turned around, “By the way, it’s the decision your honor guard wanted too. They want revenge.”
Akira paced his tent and started packing his things, meager as they now were. He had the feeling his honor guard would have their revenge sooner than they expected.
Akira and his men rode down the trail in silence. They traveled the main roads, choosing speed over stealth. Besides, there were almost a hundred of them all together, and the idea they could hide from expert trackers like the Azarians was a foolish one. A blind man would be able to find their trail.
It was disorienting, to be riding through his kingdom like this. When he looked around, the last of the winter snows were melting despite the shade of hills and trees, the sun was shining, and birds flitted across the sky. It was a normal day in his land, and nature continued to follow its course despite the actions of the humans who made war on the land. If not for his memories, Akira could almost believe everything was right with the world. But then his memories would return, and all would not be right.
One of their outriders came back to the main group, a look of alarm on his face. Akira watched as the scout spoke with Yung, who then came and spoke to Akira. He knew the news would be bad as soon as he saw his captain’s face. It was even more somber than usual.
“My king, the village we are approaching has been attacked. The scout reports that some terrible deeds have been done. I suggest we go around.”
“Are there survivors?”
“Yes.”
Akira considered, but only for a moment. “We go to the village. I am still their king, and if there is anything I can do for them, I will.”
Yung studied his king and nodded. “As you will.”
“And captain, let’s make haste.”
With that, Akira’s entire caravan took off at a gallop. They were only a league from the village, and the distance passed swiftly underneath them.
Akira rode into the village and saw the scout hadn’t been wrong. Several huts were burning, and blood was everywhere. Akira dismounted and looked around. Some of the blood was still drying. Whoever had attacked the village had done so recently. What happened here couldn’t have happened more than half a day ago.