“I will call someone I never met in life,” said Toshi. “My grandfather Tsutamu, also known as Soto Ansai.”
A Minkaian man appeared and bowed. “An Emperor who cares so little about his country that he never stands before the people and relies on assassins has no place on the throne.” As he spoke, he gradually seemed to become younger, and his merchant’s clothing shimmered and altered until it was the armour of a noble samurai.
The spirit of Soto Ansai then turned towards Toshi. He shook Toshi’s hand while clasping his shoulder, and then greeted Shinji in the same way. “Well done. I am proud of you both.”
“Serene,” said the gardener.
“I will call Matsu,” said Olaf.
Matsu appeared. He looked disoriented and startled, and he was also holding a shogi piece. He bowed to Olaf and then faced the gardener. “As a ruler, you must put the welfare of the people first, before the state.”
“Majest-” said the gardener. Before he finished speaking the word, the featureless white plain broke apart and the travellers were back in the Palace throne room.
The throne room still seemed to be intact, apart from a small amount of plaster dust that had fallen onto Ameiko and Jiro from the ceiling.
Although they had not been conscious of it at the time, the travellers found that they could remember hearing what Ameiko and Jiro had just been saying.
“We are the heads of the surviving ruling families,” Ameiko had said.
“Higashiyama Shigure, we declare you unfit to rule,” she and Jiro had then said in unison. “And we hearby depose you.”
And as the travellers’ awareness returned to the room, Ameiko and Jiro were exchanging glances. Ameiko’s expression was grim. “Palace,” she said, pointing towards the Emperor. “Destroy this traitor and murderer.”
Part of the wall behind the throne became like liquid, rushing forward and closing around the Emperor in a moment.
“Stop!” said Lahja.
The moving wall froze in place - the Emperor was already trapped but not yet crushed.
“Will you serve your people?” Lahja asked.
“I have always served my people!” the Emperor replied in a choked but still defiant tone. “I’m leading them to glory.”
Lahja stepped back.
Ameiko glanced at Jiro again and then spoke to the gardener. “Continue,” she said.
The wall engulfed the Emperor and pulled him backwards. A few seconds later, the space behind the throne had returned to normal. The wall was smooth and unmarked - the only sign of any change was a quickly fading aura of evil somewhere within it.
The gardener bowed low before Lahja. “Welcome, your Serene Majesty. I am the kami of this Palace, and I am bound to protect and obey you.”
“Is there anyone else left in the Palace?” Toshi asked.
“There are no oni in the building, my Lord,” the gardener replied. “Some of their lesser servants are still here, but they are all fleeing. There are some humans down the stairs from that trapdoor behind the throne.”
The travellers made sure that Renshii Meida was securely restrained, and then they climbed through the trapdoor.
A steep staircase led downwards to a vast chamber with dark green polished walls. In the centre of the room was an ordinary sleeping mat. Nearby was a stone statue of a middle-aged man wearing somewhat outdated garments. The statue held a box, with one hand supporting the base and the other placed firmly over the lid. The box was not made of stone, and it looked similar to those used for the Seals of the ruling families.
The travellers were immediately suspicious of the extremely detailed surface of the statue, and they noted a familial resemblance between its face and that of the late Emperor.
The shelves on the walls held many scrolls. Most of them were scrolls of sequester.
A door led from the chamber to another large room. Robed people were standing around a shallow circular pool.
These people answered questions politely but not very informatively - their understanding of the world outside these hidden rooms was limited and abstract, because they had not left the Palace for years or, in some cases, decades. They were seers trained to watch for signs of the Seals.
Further rooms contained rows of desks where people were copying scrolls.
A new ruler was a possibility that these people seemed not to have considered, but they accepted the idea without argument or distress. Lahja suggested a calm gathering in the Palace gardens; Tomoko organised tea while Shinji performed soothing calligraphy. The seers and spellcasters were quietly appreciative, although a few of them blindfolded themselves to protect their eyes from the light of the late afternoon sun.
A few sendings were cast to let Sandru and other allies know that the mission had been successful.
When they were ready, the travellers informed the guards on duty around the Palace walls that there had been a change in the chain of command, and Olaf instructed a few of them to go out into the city and take down all the notices offering a reward for information about people matching the description of the new Empress and her travelling companions.
Lahja discreetly left the Palace to pay a visit to the main temple of Shizuru. She told the high priestess what had happened and asked her to arrange for the news to be proclaimed across the city. Lahja then visited temples of all the gods openly worshipped in Minkai, including one dedicated to Susumu.
The general reaction to the announcement seemed positive but muted and cautious. Toshi then advised Lahja to order the immediate release of all prisoners currently being held on charges of sedition. As soon as this was done, the celebrations in the streets of Kasai become much more enthusiastic, with banners and fireworks, dancing and singing, and rather a lot of sake.
Meanwhile, Olaf used a scroll to cast stone to flesh on the statue in the chamber hidden beneath the throne room. As expected, the statue became a man. He turned out to be the late Emperor’s uncle, and he was somewhat confused. Early in his nephew’s reign, his comfortable and arguably dissolute existence had been interrupted when he was captured by strange beings and brought to this room in the Palace. He had overheard a voice saying something about needing one family member “not dead” as insurance, and that was the last thing he remembered before seeing Olaf. Olaf made sure there was a comfortable bedroom and some food and drink for the man.
Nearby, Toshi talked to one of the seers. “Do you have anything belonging to me?”
The seer looked briefly confused, then nodded. “This was given to us, to help with our scrying,” the seer said, and fetched one of the cooking pots Toshi had left with the caravan.
This inspired the travellers to search the Palace thoroughly. In an underground room near the treasury, they found some more items that Sandru hadn’t been able to take with him from the caravan. Toshi retrieved the rest of his cooking gear.
There were also some small empty bags with a faint aroma of coffee, and a few coffee plants, now dead from lack of water.
One of the large rooms on the topmost floor seemed to have been Kimandatsu’s office. There was a letter on the desk, addressed to Kimandatsu from Renshii Meida. In it, Lady Meida described the most recent message she had received from Colonel Arashin. She had made inquiries about who had delivered it, traced the message back to the high priest of Shizuru in Enganoka and had him arrested and questioned. Her letter to Kimandatsu reported her findings: it seemed that Colonel Arashin was in league with traitors. Meida made it clear that she did not care what happened to Arashin and that she would be glad if she never saw or heard from him again.
There were also several shelves of Kimandatsu’s personal journals. (Reading the journals was a time-consuming project, but they eventually made it possible to piece together some of the hidden history of the late Emperor’s reign.)
The next day, Lahja called upon some of her divine healing ability to restore one of the dead coffee plants to life. She continued this healing work the following day, to ensure she could present a reasonable number of Sandru’s treasured plants to him when he returned to Kasai from the caverns.
Meanwhile, the other travellers were discovering the difficulty of operating out of a palace that had no staff. Novices from some of the temples volunteered to assist with cooking, cleaning and delivering messages, and Tomoko managed to find a few kitsune to join them.
Lahja spoke again to Colonel Arashin about Renshii Meida.
“I have had some time to think,” Arashin replied, “and I realised that I have behaved poorly towards her. I should not have appeared at that wedding banquet, and I should not have continued to pursue her with letters after she refused me. I have no claim on her and no right to speak on her behalf.” Then he knelt before Lahja. “I will request only one thing for her: that you grant her mercy, if possible. And I will request the same for everyone. It’s self-interested, I admit. Some of us are in need of rather a lot of mercy.”
“I want mercy for anyone who means well when they ask for it,” the new Empress replied.
Lahja visited Renshii Meida. “Why did you help the Regent?” Lahja asked the prisoner.
“Because he offered me a position of power and influence,” Lady Meida said. “And much more power and influence than someone like you would ever give me,” she added in a defiant tone. “A husband who rules a province and is terrified of his wife is so very useful.”
“What do you want power for?” Lahja asked.
“Having power over others is interesting. Satisfying. Amusing.”
The travellers agreed to keep Lady Renshii Meida imprisoned until she could be handed over to an appropriate court system for trial.
A few days later, a coronation ceremony was held in a public park in Kasai, with the high priestess of Shizuru officiating. The sky was clear and it was an unseasonably warm day. A large number of jade-wing butterflies were seen in the surrounding areas.
Overall, the transition seemed to proceed very smoothly. (This can probably be attributed mainly to the major temples all voicing their support for Lahja, and to the amnesty granted to political prisoners. But tales were told of a glamorous, mysterious, elusive pair who had been travelling the realm in the months before the defeat of the Regent and predicting that a new ruler would appear soon.)
Hatsue, Matsu, Mateyo and Soseki arrived in the capital from their hiding-place among the mountains. “Congratulations on your victory,” Hatsue said to the travellers. “It’s so good to walk freely in the capital again... And a weary former samurai can be expected to listen to only so many arguments about political philosophy,” she added, glancing sideways at Matsu and Soseki.
Meanwhile, the rescued magistrate had returned to Enganoka. The most significant news from that city was that its lord had disappeared. Some clothes and jewels were also missing. The Lord of Enganoka’s final act as ruler of the province had been to pardon the imprisoned priest of Shizuru.
Matsu still considered himself sworn to Olaf’s service. But Olaf was happy to release Matsu, and thanked him for his aid in speaking wisdom to the gardener. “Without your help, we might have all been killed.”
“Was that real in some way?” Matsu asked. “We thought we’d just drifted off into strange momentary dreams...”
Matsu was now free to resume his rule over the province that his younger brother had seemingly abandoned.
Various high-ranking people in the military and other officials also disappeared, and there were reported sightings of dangerous oni - there was still some work for the travellers to do to ensure that the countryside was safe.
Tomoko gave Akumi (the bonsai kami) into the care of the gardener. Akumi chose a special shelf in the Palace overlooking one of the exquisite courtyards as his main location.
Shinji found an opportunity for a private conversation with Ameiko. “Apparently you already know how I felt about you. I’ve just learned what I said to you during that festival - I’d completely forgotten. I humbly apologise. We were very young when we first met and we’ve both been through a lot since. I think we’ve both changed and we both know it. The dreams I had then belong to the past.”
Ameiko nodded and hugged Shinji.
Ven hung a “closed” sign on her teashop, announced that she would be travelling to Varisia with Jubrayl, and asked whether anyone wanted to go with them. No one accepted her offer. However, Toshi was making other plans to return to Varisia - he hoped to continue Sandru’s work and establish a trading business using the tunnels they had discovered to make the trip across the Crown of the World much faster and easier. Safa said that she would return to Varisia with him on his first journey.
Lahja received word from Shalelu and Osserc - they were continuing to build ties with the kami in the woodlands of Hiyosai province. Meanwhile the Forest of Spirits across the northern border was steadily becoming a more welcoming place for visitors.
Koya hoped to help re-establish a church of Desna in Minkai.
Jiro volunteered to advise the new Empress on court protocol and other traditional Minkaian customs, and he seemed content with this role.
Tomoko took charge of the Palace staff, and may also have begun the work of setting up a vast spy network.
One night, Olaf was woken by a quiet sound outside the window of his bedroom in the Palace. He went cautiously out onto the balcony, and saw the commander of the Kasai police force hovering in the air just beyond the railing.
“Good evening,” said the commander. “I wish to discuss a continuation of our alliance. It seems to have been advantageous so far. That samisen makes a fine addition to my collection. And I trust that the warning I sent to your caravan master friend was useful. But first... I believe you have some interest in flight? Care for a ride?” Within a few moments, he had transformed into a huge dragon with glowing eyes and dark red scales.
Olaf accepted this offer.
As they soared swiftly through the air high above Minkai, the commander continued talking. “This need not be our last flight together. Journeys in search of new knowledge and journeys in search of new treasures are not incompatible.”
It seems that Olaf accepted this offer as well.
While Matsu respectfully hinted that it would be entirely reasonable to reinstate some older traditions that had been lost during the Regent’s time in office, Soseki rather bluntly informed the new Empress that her most important role was to listen to the people of Minkai. He immediately began making plans for processes to allow everyone to have more say in how the Empire would be run.
Meanwhile, Ameiko established a large new sake house near the Palace, and used it as an opportunity to hear what her customers had to say. Arashin resigned from the army and joined Ameiko’s staff as an entertainer. Recent rumours suggest that Ameiko and Arashin have been spending a lot of time together...
Some months into the reign of Empress Lahja, the Great Khan of Hongal paid a state visit to Minkai. “When I sent my earlier message,” Batsaikhar said to Lahja, “I was assuming that someone with... perhaps more traditional views would be likely to assume the Jade Throne. I understand that my request for an alliance through marriage was perhaps not appropriate, and I hereby withdraw it. But-”
“That won’t be necessary,” Shinji said. He swept Batsaikhar off her feet and kissed her passionately.
As soon as Batsaikhar regained her footing, she swept Shinji off his feet and kissed him passionately.
A formal alliance between Minkai and Hongal seemed likely.
A piece of paper among her belongings reminded the Empress of one particular duty she needed to perform. She paid a quiet visit to the parents of Lieutenant Kado and spent some time drinking tea and talking with them.
About six months after her departure from Minkai, Ven returned. “I think we both knew it wasn’t going to be a long-term thing,” she told the Empress. “He’s fun to be around, but the whole evil gang-leader thing...” Ven shrugged. “Besides, I have important work to do here. You need a court historian! And I should get started recording the first part of the story now, before everything becomes completely crazy around here with royal weddings. If you could just lend me the Seal... It knows so much about what happened!”
The Empress seemed a bit doubtful at first, but I eventually managed to persuade her that I wasn’t up to anything dodgy. She let me set up a desk in that hidden chamber beneath the throne room. With lots of ink and blank paper, the official court ninja-historian was ready to begin work! I carefully lifted the lid from the box containing the Amatatsu Seal and picked up a pen...
Kimandatsu was once the kami of the largest mountain in the Forest of Spirits, but became drawn to destruction. She eventually abandoned her guardianship and transformed into an oni. She led the oni of the Ceaseless Storm, who prized the destruction associated with war. They were prepared to make plans with a long scope, because order in the present can enable much greater destruction the future.
After one of their older relatives notoriously betrayed the noble he was supposed to defend, three siblings of the Soto family together swore an oath that they would be loyal to their appointed charges unto death and beyond. The elder brother Takahiro and the sister Onoko were both assigned to guard the young Emperor Shigure, while the younger brother Ansai was assigned to the Amatatsu family.
As a boy, Shigure had been appalled by the story of Empress Amatatsu Darriko being deposed by the heads of the other ruling families. He vowed that he would never let that happen to him. He also had dreams of glory through conquest and believed that the best way to protect the people of Minkai was to ensure their military strength.
One day, when Shigure and his bodyguard Takahiro were out hunting, they encountered Kimandatsu in the guise of a beautiful monk who had advice for how the young prince could preserve his reign when he finally became Emperor. Soon, Shigure had made a secret pact with the oni.
Kimandatsu arranged training for Shigure in some ancient monastic traditions. After years of combat practice against specially selected oni and other opponents, which lasted well into his reign, he obtained a degree of mastery that allowed him to choose to stop ageing. However, he knew that his natural life span had not been extended. So he spent years under the influence of successive sequester spells. His plan was to appear only during great crises or victories for Minkai. And as Minkai became ever stronger, his presence would be needed less and less, so that he could be sequestered for longer and longer and essentially rule forever.
When Soto Takahiro was appointed as Regent, this was intended to be a test of the people’s loyalty - those with a tendency to rebel would reveal themselves and be removed from the population. The hints that the Regent wasn’t human and that the Emperor was dead were made deliberately, to give an excuse to the rebellious. The Emperor hoped that after a few generations, this plan would create a culture where loyalty was paramount.
The Regent gave the command for all priests of Desna in Minkai to be killed, and this was a sufficiently evil act to allow him to perform a ritual in which he ended his mortal existence to become a void oni.
Soto Onoko was instructed to seek a form of immortality in which she could keep her powers as a wizard, so that she could use them to defend the Emperor. This is why she was researching methods for becoming a lich.
The Regent was continually building Minkai’s military capabilities. Kimandatsu’s presence in Kalsgard was intended to maintain a foothold on that continent, in preparation for an invasion using the tunnels across the Crown of the World. The assassination of Batsaikhar’s older brother was meant to provoke Hongal to attack Minkai, which would be an excuse for Minkai to begin its invasions.
The Emperor set his sights on conquering the entire world. The Regent and Soto Onoko only wished to serve their master. Kimandatsu was perhaps more pragmatic (although she did not tell the Emperor or the Regent this) - she expected that Minkai’s expansion would be halted at some point, but hoped that there would be a satisfyingly large amount of destruction and death along the way.
