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1. Hidekazu

1

Hidekazu

A

winding

road

of

pure energy curled from the lip of Tatsu-Ji’s eighth floor, glittering coral and violet as it passed from the pagoda and over the pathway of protective wisteria toward the Cedar Palace. Thousands of Nagasou’s citizens cheered to the beat of the ceremonial drums as Aihi descended along the Path of Celestials, beginning her journey to the mythical Garden of Starlight.

Within the raving crowd, Hidekazu shouted Aihi’s name amongst the others, but his cries of delight were lost to the music, to the ebb and flow of people. Such stories had once fascinated Hidekazu: a hidden garden, reserved only for the heir of the Warlock Throne on the night of her Ascension, giving her one opportunity to commune directly with the Goddess. Now, he saw through these tales: narratives woven to hide the true horrors of the Warlock Empire.

After uncovering a journal detailing the truth about the Genshu clan, the only stories that mattered were the ones left to poison Hidekazu’s mind. A history rife with deception and sick experiments. A family who thrived on murder and slavery.

Stories about

his

family.

Under the pretense of attending Aihi’s coronation, Hidekazu came to Nagasou, revelling alongside the rest of the city as she bathed under the Goddess’ Purifying Waters and Ascended to Exalted Dragon Shōgun. He prayed for his sister’s fortune, and the sound of his voice rung out above all others when he called for her success. This ceremony, despite the shadows haunting Hidekazu, filled him with a sense of warmth and joy, a promise of a future: if anyone could right the wrongs of the Warlock Empire’s dark past, it would be Aihi. She was a beacon of hope, brighter than the fireworks crackling through the skies.

He had always intended to stand by her side as she rewrote history. But now, as Aihi’s soaked robes sprayed blessed water on those beneath the Path of Celestials, Hidekazu’s intended position as a shōgun-bushi seemed further away than ever before. Mist splashed his face as she strode across the sky above him. He clutched a wyvern leather journal to his side to protect the pages containing the secrets that changed how he would perceive the Genshu family for the rest of his life.

The notebook undermined the power and influence of the Genshu clan, challenging their carefully constructed image of piety and devotion to the Goddess.

Hidekazu could be responsible for destroying his family’s reputation. He could reveal them for the hypocrites they were and

really

rewrite their clan’s future, as his parents intended.

But not before first interrogating his parents about their roles in the horrific experiments undertaken by their clan. He wanted answers, ones the journal couldn’t give him. Where did his father, Genshu Dano, and his mother, Genshu Sachi, stand on the results of their clan’s tests on shishajya? Did they know that Hidekazu was the final product of generations of fusing the sacred serpents’ blood and spirits into the Genshu line?

Did they hide the truth because they believed him a monster, as he now did?

If he rushed into his clan’s ruination, he might never pry this information from his mother and father. Hidekazu needed to understand why they hid from the past instead of confronting their truth.

As soon as Aihi’s path led her into the cedar forest deeper within the Palace District and she disappeared between the trees, Hidekazu looked up to the highest floor of Tatsu-Ji where her journey had begun. On both sides of the Path of Celestials, dragon lanterns flared with gold and storm-blue light, and between them stood the person Hidekazu sought an audience with.

The woman’s blonde hair was braided with blue ribbons and a dragon hairpiece that rivalled the intricacy of the new shōgun’s, and yet she was the High Priestess of Tatsu-Ji, Genshu Sachi. Hidekazu’s mother.

People often called Sachi unnatural, unable to discern the source of her ethereal beauty; many said her devotion to the Goddess elevated her to another plane. Her stunning appearance came with an unquestionable gravitas, leading to stories about how her grace and wrath were one and the same, like Shirashi herself.

Hidekazu seldom witnessed Sachi’s displays of power, and never anything to substantiate the fear and caution other nobles regarded her with. She had always looked at him with the warmth befitting a prized son. Still, she was the High Priestess, favoured by the Goddess. Sachi wielded Shirashi’s strength without reservation. To some, that was intimidating enough.

Now, gazing from the top of Tatsu-Ji, she wore her displeasure with Hidekazu like a blade meant to maim. And though he did his best not to show a reaction, he recoiled from her golden glare.

A chill wrapped around his mind. “

I warned you not to come here

,” Naoji, the White Warlock, said. “

She will not relinquish the information you require. If you remain nearby, she will sense the Book of Inochi. You risk us both.

Hidekazu dismissed Naoji’s concerns and pushed in the opposite direction of the crowd, which would follow Aihi into the cedar forest until she disappeared into the Garden of Starlight. As much as Sachi’s look stung Hidekazu’s pride, she was one of the few with the background to explain the contents of the Genshu journal he’d found in Tsukiko Academy’s library. Her disappointment wouldn’t keep him from the answers he deserved.

Besides, he preferred the idea of confronting her rather than his father Genshu Dano, who had banished Hidekazu and Masanori from their clan in the first place. Hidekazu wasn’t sure he could maintain his composure if faced against Dano.

Since Sachi was the High Priestess, she met with the last living shishajya whenever the creature visited Nagasou. Hidekazu needed her to confirm that the serpents weren’t sacred to the Goddess, but slaves taken from an ancient war with the kan’thir.

Did she play a role in imprisoning Teruzame, the last shishajya? Or was she ignorant to the truth?

If Hidekazu went much longer without an explanation, the higher chance he convinced himself of the worst truth he could imagine: that every word he read was fact.

Fragrant sandalwood incense burned around the statue of Shirashi, which Hidekazu bypassed and headed for Tatsu-Ji proper. Two monks clad in simple blue robes guarded the temple entrance. Their shakujō staves were adorned with silver dragon heads and rings that jingled whenever the monks moved.

The first took one look at him and barked, “Apologies young master, but there is no entry during the Ascension Ceremony. Please come back tomorrow morning.”

The second scrutinized Hidekazu with more care. This monk was Ena, only Ena, for unlike priestesses, monks relinquished their clan and family names. He bared his black-stained teeth, revealing silver dots that copied the shape of the Goddess’ constellation. The mark of one of the High Priestess’ most trusted within the temple.

“Ah, it’s you,” Ena said. “Our Lady Priestess gave special instructions in case you came snooping around.”

He and the other monk hefted their shakujō, pointing the horn on the dragon’s head at Hidekazu’s ribs. Though not sharp, the staff was as deadly as any other weapon in the hands of one of Shirashi’s monks.

Despite the threat, Hidekazu bowed his head in respect. “I request an audience with the High Priestess.”

“Denied. Now leave.”

The command bounced off him, ineffective. He held his ground.

“Is making a scene on the day of the Exalted Dragon Shōgun’s Ascension a wise decision?”

Cold energy swarmed inside Hidekazu like a hive of wasps, the monks having rattled their nest. Frost coated his skin as the Book of Inochi at his waist trickled ki through his veins. These monks were nothing to him. With the tome’s power, he could freeze flesh solid with a touch, force his way into the pagoda and confront Sachi. He would

make

her give answers.

Hidekazu reached for Ena’s shakujō. He would turn the metal to dust, he would—

He curled his fingers away from the staff before making contact. What was he thinking?

Attacking a monk was a severe offence and would jeopardize any position in Nagasou that Hidekazu might still obtain. As uncertain as he was about his future, burning bridges over a petty monk seemed pointless. He shoved the Book of Inochi’s energy away, blinking away the daze brought on by the artifact.

“Surely you will deliver a message to her instead,” Hidekazu said.

Ena grunted. “What’s the message?”

What would catch Sachi’s attention? Hidekazu looked up at the glittering starlight path, which was now fading from sight. On the night of Aihi’s Ascension to shōgun, one phrase came to mind.

“Tell her, ‘Ascension has three meanings.’ She will understand the importance,” Hidekazu said.

He left without waiting for Ena’s decision. The monks would understand the message was coded and deliver it, or perhaps they would decide it nonsense and not bother Sachi at all. However, Hidekazu wanted to believe Sachi would order the monks to report anything he said, regardless of the content. In any case, whether Sachi interpreted the message the way Hidekazu intended, he would have to wait and find out.

In Ryuugo, otherwise known as the Old Language,

ascension

was usually translated as

jouten

, which was the name of Sachi’s beloved katana. Jouten also had several meanings. Ascension to a higher purpose. Shirashi’s realm in the sky. Less often, the term was used as a name for Shirashi herself, the Creator of all Yumihari, the world.

You should not have told her that

,” Naoji said. “

She will come looking for you. And when she does, she will not give you the reunion or the confrontation you crave.

“Don’t speak of my mother as if you know her,” Hidekazu said. “You don’t.”

Naoji sighed, and then his presence drifted away.

Hidekazu pushed through the crowd and toward the palace next. If Sachi wouldn’t talk to him, he still had a chance with Dano, though the prospect was unsavoury. However, as Hidekazu walked the palace’s halls, doubt nestled in the back of his mind.

For jouten also had a fourth meaning: death.

Not simply death, but the destruction of a spirit. And that meant Sachi could interpret his message as a threat.

The telltale sensation of ki biting Hidekazu’s fingers and dissipating into the air came when the Book of Inochi disabled the protective spells on Genshu Dano’s office. Hidekazu tripped one of the alarms to avoid the hassle of tracking Dano down; the disturbance would, instead, lure him here.

In the meantime, he slid open the fusuma and entered the room. Dano’s office was minimalistic yet refined by Seiryan standards, with ravens painted in different flight patterns on the wall panels. Shelves fitted with organized rows of books and scrolls lined one side of the room, and though Hidekazu was tempted to snoop, the hanging scroll behind the desk caught his attention.

The scroll hadn’t been there the last time Hidekazu visited. It was the same height as him and decorated with a single raven and a golden dragon. Unlike most of the other scrolls in the palace, the watercolour wasn’t animated, so the only characteristic of note was the dragon’s colour: gold.

Naoji’s younger sister was the only known golden dragon in existence. Why did Dano have a painting of her in his office? Hidekazu expected Naoji to comment on the discovery, but he remained silent.

With Naoji always close, Hidekazu acclimated to using the Book of Inochi for small tasks such as breaking into this office. A frivolous use, perhaps, but now that he and Naoji were bonded, using the tome felt

good

. Yet the words of Hidekazu’s former spirit companion, Sayuri, echoed in the back of his mind:

when it comes to the Book of Inochi, there is no ‘only once.’

How right she had been. Naoji’s and Hidekazu’s spirits were intertwined as a result of the book. Inseparable. And she was gone.

In the future, Hidekazu would use the tome many more times without remorse.

He ran his hands along the spotless oaken desk and knelt on Dano’s cushion, where he performed his duties as Emperor Takeha’s daijō-daijin. His most trusted advisor. Once, Hidekazu believed himself set to inherit the role when Aihi became empress. In the end, Dano’s plans had been much grander; he’d devised for Hidekazu to marry her instead.

The title of empress used to be absolute, controlling all aspects of the Warlock Empire, including the military. However, scholars now believed that one person possessing so much power was the cause of the Warlock Empire’s quick and violent expansion and, thus, its eventual fall.

As a result, Emperor Takeha—the first male leader of Seiryuu in over two hundred years—penned the tradition of dividing the empress’ responsibilities by turning his wife into the first shōgun. When Aihi Ascended to empress, her husband—rather, future husband—would become shōgun in her place.

Had the arranged marriage between her and Hidekazu gone through, he would taken the noble position.

A whole different life from his current one, playing the part of a dutiful son, oblivious of his family’s crimes. An impossible life to imagine, now, with what he knew. He might still wear the title of daijō-daijin one day, but he could not feign ignorance.

At last, a flash of ki probed the room, detecting Hidekazu’s presence within. He folded his hands on the desk, and then the door slid open to reveal Dano in the doorway. He wore his finest kimono and haori, all vibrant blues and golds, fit for an Ascension Day celebration. The scar he’d obtained during the civil wars shone on his chin.

“How did you get in here?” he said.

Hidekazu placed the worn wyvern-leather journal on the desk. He had waited long enough for the truth. Now he would have it. “You have one chance to explain yourself.”

The threat hung in the air as Genshu Dano knelt on the other side of the desk. He brushed a hand over the bumpy cover. “The bushi will arrest you for trespassing, and I will have you thrown out of Tsukiko Academy.”

“After all your efforts to preserve the Genshu name? To truly forsake me would render your work meaningless. You would not risk it.”

Dano’s eyes narrowed on Hidekazu. “And you risk losing your status forever. For what gain? Pride?”

Last year, Hidekazu would have done anything to recover the Genshu name and reclaim his position as scion. Now, he’d uncovered the secrets his father tried to erase from history. This journal, written by one of their ancestors, detailed their clan’s experiments from about 160 years ago. And, if Naoji told Hidekazu the truth

which was always up for debate

then those experiments had persisted until Dano ended them less than three decades ago.

“What makes you think I want to come back? If the contents of this journal were made public, the Genshu family would be destroyed.”

“You would bring yourself down with us. Whether you possess our name or not, you are our blood. For whispers to breathe life to these crimes again… no one would forget you no matter where you go.”

Hidekazu paused to consider. Perhaps so, but for the impurities in their blood, he deserved to fall into the mud alongside his parents and anyone else who colluded with them. A nagging question popped out: “It’s true, isn’t it? Every word.”

Dano focused on the journal. He was a man of few emotions, and yet, for the first time in Hidekazu’s life, he witnessed the turmoil on Dano’s face.

He splayed his fingers across the leather cover. “I destroyed this notebook.” Though he didn’t acknowledge Hidekazu’s statement, Dano weighted his words with the unspoken truth.

“You told us the Genshu clan would pursue peace because Seiryuu’s time for war was over. That was a lie.”

With this journal as evidence, the Genshu family was indicated for unimaginable crimes. Now because of the dead shishajya killed by the Genshu clan, war was on the horizon. In six years, when the kan’thir finished their game of Yolilice Patolli, they would declare war on Seiryuu for the first time in centuries and take revenge. The shishajya were sacred to the kan’thir, not the Dragon Goddess. War would not be with the Genshu clan, but all of Seiryuu.

“If you read this journal from front to back,” Dano said, “you understand these experiments empowered the Genshu bloodline to compete with warlocks.”

Seiryuu’s enemies were numerous and growing, and still Dano insisted upon reciting his usual song about peace and prosperity.

Hidekazu scoffed. “Because our ancestors couldn’t stand to be second to the Goddess’ own kin?”

“Had their reasons been so vain, the Goddess would not have permitted the experiments to persist.”

“And now you defend them. What they did.”

“I

personally

put an end to these disgusting experiments,” Dano said. “Condoned by the Goddess or not, continuing was unethical after the warlocks died.”

“After enjoying your fair bounty of the shishajya’s power as a result?”

Ki spiralled around Dano as heat rose in the room. He required but a spark to ignite a blaze and send Hidekazu scrambling.

“Do you think I relished witnessing my father dissect a shishajya?” Dano said. “Our ancestors believed Shirashi destined our spirits to merge with that of the sacred serpents. Their power was our power, granted from the Goddess so long as we kept our blood separate from the warlocks who were her kin—and, of course, did our part to keep the noroi and their wyverns in their place.”

“Our family failed.” Hidekazu pushed further, risking igniting his father’s fury. “All those shishajya died for nothing.”

“My forefathers took joy from such experiments. I may not share the attachment you have to the beasts, but it made me sick, and I vowed to put an end to their heinous crimes.”

“Yet you attempt to justify these sacrifices. Why?”

Dano turned the journal’s pages to a familiar entry, and he read aloud, “‘

Grave tidings arrived in Nagasou. Not a jun ago, Kyozan burned to the ground. A dozen wyverns crossed the Blithe Desert and laid waste to all dwellings within the Konarerian Mountains. Her Shining Blade, Warlock Empress Reo the Second, mourns the loss of her mountain palace and the thousands of lives lost to the Wyvern God’s bloodthirst.

“‘

Today, we, the warriors of the Genshu clan, set out on Her Shining Blade’s behalf to slay the terrors responsible for this slaughter and destruction. The Goddess and her sacred serpents fuel the energy in our veins. Our power shall not be wasted this day.

’” Dano shut the journal and slid it back to Hidekazu.

The Eastern Capital, Kyozan, had burned about 140 years ago. Though the land had since been purged of wyverns by Genshu warriors, Hidekazu didn’t understand how this event justified butchering hundreds of shishajya.

“When did you last spot a wyvern over Seiryan soil?” Dano said. An answer formed on Hidekazu’s lips, but Dano continued: “What a privilege, to live without the daily fear of a rogue wyvern reducing your home to ash. Your only experience with wyverns is the binding making this book, a testament to our family’s hunting prowess in ridding the scourge from Seiryuu. This fact you take for granted. Our ancestors sacrificed themselves to accomplish the security we Seiryans have today.”

Tales came from Tajida, every now and then, of how sand wyverns destroyed caravans and whole cities with their ruthless storms. Stories were told of when the same vicious creatures attacked Seiryuu on the regular as well. Now, they didn’t dare come over the mountain border between eastern Seiryuu and the Blithe Desert.

“The truth you tried to hide with this book is unchanged,” Hidekazu said. “Our family has been murdering shishajya for generations. Why not leave warlocks to tend to the wyvern plague?”

“I do not condone our family’s methods,” Dano said, “nor that they persisted far after the wyvern threat was all but eliminated. However, this does not mean we, in the present, must bear our ancestor’s crimes in their entirety.”

Hidekazu’s hands betrayed him. They shook with the immense ki he wielded in his palms, energy that had resided within him even before he gave in to Naoji and accepted the Book of Inochi. Ki he had once attributed to the Goddess as her blessing, the favour of shishajya and benevolent spirits.

Now, when he looked at himself, all he saw was the final product of a genetic experiment—the result of generations of tainted blood and spirit infusions.

“Doesn’t it?” he whispered. “All my life, you let me believe our family earned this extraordinary power.”

“Our power

was

earned. Through means neither of us are proud of, but—”

“It was

stolen

!”

Dano raised a palm. “Quit your insolence.”—The energy in the room shoved Hidekazu’s head into a bow—“You may not be a member of the Genshu clan anymore, but I am still the daijō-daijin to the reigning emperor of Seiryuu and you

will

remember your place.”

A growl rumbled in Hidekazu’s throat. He shoved his energy up to fight against Dano, but he was far more practiced in the ways of bending people to his will. Hidekazu alone had experienced such discipline at Dano’s hand several dozen time in his life.

“My

apologies

, Master Genshu,” Hidekazu gritted out, “I must have forgotten I am worth less than the mud on your sandals.”

“You will not forget again.” Dano released the field of pressure. “You may not like where our power comes from, but it is a fact of our lives. Ever since you were a child, your instincts always fought the nature of our blood. You always desired an explanation, always searched for one. Now you possess the truth.”

You are one with a future birthed in books. Pages are your roots, and within them, one day, you shall unearth your latent power’s origins.

The last living shishajya had said this to Hidekazu ten years ago after rescuing him from a pack of oni. He’d made a suicidal attempt to leave Nagasou, in the dead of night, in search of the sacred serpent.

But it was more than a whisper as to the secrets Hidekazu had found. His family’s crimes were why he had been selected as the Serpent Incarnate, the one responsible for finding justice for the crimes committed against them.

If only he could claim that power—power which Naoji, to no surprise, withheld from him.

“The shishajya warned me,” Hidekazu said.

“You always worked to feel worthy of your ki,” Dano continued, “and I pushed you to this purpose because our responsibility is to the future. What made us is irrelevant; all that matters is what we do with what we are given. You are misguided and wasteful of your power. Instead of threatening to tear our family apart, you should be supporting our mission for a better world.”

In a sense, Hidekazu understood why Dano went to the extreme to teach Hidekazu and Masanori lessons of humility and obedience. Honour and duty. Hidekazu liked his position no more now than he did before he’d uncovered the truth, but to wield this history—and the Genshu family’s blood—was a greater responsibility than he had ever been prepared for.

But that was just it:

no one had prepared him

to take on his family’s burdens.

“Had you been accountable for our history, Masanori and I would have grown up as different people.”—Hidekazu retrieved the journal and rose from his seat—“Perhaps you could not have shaped us into the heirs you wanted us to be. But even running from the truth, you failed to shape us into your perfect image. Now, we will bear the scars of your failures for the rest of our lives. Though I might understand the depth of the decisions you were forced to make, I will

never

forgive you.”

He swept around the desk and Dano. At the door, Hidekazu rested his hand on the frame. “War is coming, Master Genshu. And we are so woefully unprepared.”

“That is where you are wrong, young Hidekazu; we are more prepared than you think.” Dano’s gaze locked on the wall scroll of the raven and the Gold Warlock as Hidekazu left the office, his father’s final words following him as he left: “And that is what I fear most.”

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