Usual disclaimer, I claim nothing and everything belongs to its owner. All the epigraphs are from the Keene translation of Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.

Prologue: The Marshal

This child had a purity of features quite without equal anywhere in the world, and the house was filled with a light that left no corner dark.

If ever the old man felt in poor spirits or was in pain, just to look at the child would make the pain stop.

All anger too would melt away.


The silken pennants that usually flew from every corner of the palace roof were gone. Woven into a strange, almost weightless fabric that floated to full length without the slightest breath of wind, the long, thin banners stood out distinctly under any light. In their absence the gibbous earth was left to illuminate the dark silhouettes of the palace buildings alone.

This moment would be etched in the memory of many of the citizens of the capital, as very few could possibly remember the flags having ever been struck. Those familiar with protocol might recall it even more vividly: combat-ready troops were likely already stationed and on full alert.

Soft footsteps, betrayed only by the planks on which they fell, came closer and closer to the main entrance of the physician's chambers in the princess's wing. The violent staccato of hard sandals had died out over an hour ago and the occupant of the room knew that the soft shoes must belong to an elite officer: only they were required, even in times of war, to wear full dress regalia in the palace.

Apparently noticing the officer as well, the acting commander of her personal guard turned and walked out to meet him. Little of their rushed conversation was audible, but what she heard confirmed two of Eirin's suspicions: her own palace guardsmen had arrested her on military, not royal, authority, and the man who had ordered it, standing outside her open door, was a lunar marshal. Royal assent must have been granted to a declaration of martial law if a military official was arresting civilians.

The guard returned and prompted his men to leave. Eirin heard a loud, single clomp through the thin walls as the troops saluted the officer in step, before they fell to the hard ground and disappeared along pathways running to the main palace, the Marshal's men (none youkai) taking their place.

She recognized him as he passed a round window and then came into full view in the doorway. He was one who preferred to be addressed by his title, and he wore the plain white uniform of trousers and coat of his office. His face was not severe, but this was only because he did not allow it to betray his feelings.

Or he tried not to. He couldn't keep his eyes from widening when he saw the half-empty vial on the table where his captive sat, snatching it to smell its contents. Recognizing the mild sedative, he put it down and sat on the floor across from her, not bothering to conceal his relief. Eirin slouched slightly further, and her eyes were unfocused. Her flesh appeared paler than usual and she was obviously wracked with fatigue.

"Your guards tell me that you have taken no nourishment since your arrest," he began in a level, probing tone. "And one has heard from the kitchen staff that you have been unable to stomach anything but water, tea, or broth. It may be fine for a physician as skilled as yourself to live off of supplements and abstain from food for some time, but I am not a doctor and you have given me little reason to trust your recent medical decisions. A meal is being brought up, which you will eat in full while I answer the questions that I suspect you wish to ask. Then we are going to talk."

As if he had been waiting for this cue, a servant flanked by two soldiers carried in a tray buried under a various delicacies and set it down before Eirin, then poured two cups of tea. They all left, none bowed.

She made no move to touch the food, but the Marshal reached across the table and picked up a slice of fish with his fingers, ignoring the tableware. He chewed and swallowed with his eyes on her, then swallowed a mouthful of tea and exhaled. Eirin realized that she had been following his motions very deliberately, and for a moment had forgotten her situation. She blinked when she realized that he was staring back at her.

"It may have been the fear of capture that kept you from hunger. If so, that fear should now be absent. If instead it was your guilt that staid your appetite, I would suggest that you start eating regardless. That will not leave you so easily, and you will surely need to eat before it does."

With voice given to her thoughts she had no excuse to ignore them. She took a bite of something grilled but needed a mouthful of tea to swallow, and didn't taste either.

"Take your time.

"Your charge, the Princess Kaguya, has been placed under house arrest. The legality of such an arrest had been called into question, the legal status of immortals is unclear despite your… well… detailed exploration of the subject, so martial law was declared. If she is to be tried it will be by court martial, making some convenience of the technicality that royals officially serve from birth. Your advice on this matter has left quite a legal tangle, but it will soon be dealt with. Any delay may serve those who would use this calamity to further their political interests." He took another bite of fish and the sound of chewing filled her skull. Before beginning to speak again he swallowed some more tea and poured himself another cup. Eirin was making slow progress, so he went on.

"I cannot currently discuss with you the means by which suspicions arose and were confirmed with regards to her current condition, as you are a suspected accomplice. Actually, though I have no doubt that you did so, do you confess to preparing an Elixir of Life?"

After a pause she nodded and continued eating. He showed his palms.

"Then here we are. You can obviously see the need for us to reach a quick resolution. Although the Royal Family is distraught I imagine that their political advisers are even more agitated. Their advice may trigger hasty decisions, and the presence of the Princess threatens the sanctity of the capital. Security necessitates expediency in this matter. I see you are nearly done, so allow me to pour another cup of tea before we start."

He did so, and Eirin pushed the tray to the side before proffering her own cup for a refill. When all was squared away the marshal looked at her until she met his eyes, and then spoke with a new seriousness.

Time was passing too quickly. She suddenly wished she hadn't finished eating.

"Did you…"

She shook her bowed head before he finished.

"Eirin Yagokoro, you are a traitor both to your oath and your office, and to your patron."

Hearing it said so plainly by a voice of authority drove the full weight of her betrayal home, and she couldn't stop a sharp intake of breath from catching in her throat. What the Princess had done to her critical mind was so bizarre. Her odd, innocent fascination with strange things had been impossible to escape, and although they were misplaced, the way that Kaguya's fears pierced Eirin was all too real.

Seeing that she was not prepared to talk, the Marshal decided to start a little less bluntly. "I seem to recall having had a particular academic article forced before my eyes many times during my education, and I have always found the insight that it offered difficult to forget. It was a piece intended as a discussion of medical ethics, but since its publication it has gained notoriety as a treatise on philosophy and the nature of our species. It's full title was quite long, but it framed and presented a conclusion on the implications of human immortality. You are familiar with it."

"...am." Eirin spoke for the first time, her voice hoarse from disuse. "I am," She repeated after clearing her throat. "I wrote it."

"It has become required reading for students in many fields, as you know, and it starts quite interestingly by claiming that 'human immortality' is in fact an oxymoron; quite a controversial assertion at the time. It has been a while, and of course you articulated these ideas with much more talent than I can currently muster, but perhaps I can prompt your memory.

"Humans might age or be ageless, or so the essay says, but human lives must be thought of as a set of events: deeds, ideas, emotions, so that in ending one might look back upon a life and see it as a comprehensive collection. 'People' die, you said, but immortals, who live forever, undergo all events countless times, regrowing, forgetting, transforming. The time over which they live erodes to nothing the 'person' that they once were, or are, or will become, again, and again, and again, and they are fully aware as it is happening of one thing: that there is no escape, that the meaning of their actions will not only be forgotten, but eclipsed again and forever in and endless pseudo-cycle. In fact, I recall now that in trying to find a name for this kind of being you reached a strange, but interesting conclusion that even I am still not prepared to agree with. But you are smarter than I am." He paused and waited.

"Mon..." She paused and inhaled a deep, shaky breath before trying again. "Monstrosities."

He gestured her to continue, so she finished the passage more loudly than she had intended: "Monstrosities who must forever churn in torment. That is what I wrote." The room returned quickly to silence, and Eirin didn't think she could break it. Fortunately the Marshal decided to do so himself.

"I hope you can understand my confusion then, since I do not suspect that your actions are an indication of a change in your opinion." Again he paused as if expecting confirmation, with the familiarity of one speaking to a common partner in conversation, but again Eirin let the silence hang.

"I suppose that I cannot hope to understand your actions, but I hope that you do not think I am enjoying this," he said. Eirin was taken aback so much that she blinked: he was clearly reconsidering his opinion of her.

"I don't think you're enjoying this!" She exclaimed, too hastily. Then, to balance: "I think that if you were less of a professional you would enjoy this."

Eirin's words made him smile.

"I still do not resent you, or the advice you have given the court recently, and fewer others do than you think. I am not a politician, and the choice to phase out the Marshals as chief military authority was not yours alone. I was surprised at your reasoning at first, maybe, but I think the Watatsuki sisters will be capable leaders, and having a lineal head of the military may prove beneficial. After all, they learned everything important from you, although that may soon count for little in the political arena."

This surprised Eirin. If he was telling the truth then the marshals that were currently in office had hidden their sentiments well. Were the resentment and military backlash she feared all a fabrication of her stressed mind? Possibly, but the marshals had always aptly concealed their intentions, and if they could hide their indifference they could hide their displeasure, which is what she had been expecting them to feel when told that a further layer of military command would be placed between them and the crown.

"If you fear for your career because of your ties to me, then there is an easy way to fix it." She said, knowing his answer.

"I do fear for my career, and because of that I will not take that path. I will carry out my task as my station demands. Besides, I had more reason to fear for my career when Marshal was still an official office."

"They will cry for our blood, and you will not be a marshal for much longer. Can you really expect that rumours will not surface?" Eirin's voice had been falling, and now she was whispering. "That you were my pawn all along, ready to bail me out?"

He drank. His eyes narrowed. "What makes you think that you will be saved by me?" She could see that she had driven a wedge back between them. "That you were once my teacher and remain my mentor? Do not forget that I came to you first as a lawyer requesting tutelage, a scholar of laws, and that that remains my profession and the practice to which I shall return in full once my tenure in the military concludes. You are still mortal, so the law courts carry undeniable jurisdiction over you. Furthermore, regarding this princess whom I have only ever seen at court and whom I now must try as an immortal, I knew you for a long time before her, and even on the eve of her birth I would never have imagined that the bulk of your brilliant mind might crumble as it has at her gentle smile." A gradual crescendo carried the marshal to the end of his outburst. Incredulously, Eirin tried to respond, but he cut her off almost immediately.

"I didn't…"

"…Don't tell me what you did and did not do. When someone like you, with millennia of experience in nearly every field, by far the most brilliant and creative mind in our entire society is swayed... Eirin, you possess the most adept and subtle intelligence that I have ever known. Some called me one of the most convincing debaters in history while I was at law and you could still effortlessly convince me of anything. Whenever there was something I didn't understand or I had some new idea that needed the right words to take shape you would patiently sit and lead me down a path that you seemed to know by heart to every important epiphany that I have ever had. You may think that I..." Eirin tried to cut in, but he cut her off again: "No, don't speak, I am going to finish." He paused, and although he expected that Eirin would ignore his request she remained silent and attentive, more attentive than before. His abandonment of his careful concealment had surprised them both.

"It may seem like I am envious. I know that I have always been too competitive and sometimes malicious, but it is not because I was not the one to break you that I am now frustrated. And you were broken, make no mistake, there is nothing else to be said. She broke you."

Eirin remained silent, sensing his desire to continue. "How did this happen to you? An elixir of immortality, Eirin, when you wrote the book? You wrote the book Eirin, you decried it yourself so convincingly that it became law. You convinced the soldiers, the artists, the politicians, the whole moon, why couldn't you convince one more child?

"So now I have to go stand before this girl who wore such an iconic scholar so thin. I must stand before her as a soldier and a scholar myself even though I am so much weaker than you. You could not stand there, so what will become of me? I know why you thought I was enjoying this, you were thinking that maybe I wouldn't mind being remembered as the first judge of an immortal in history. But we both know that such a memory will be short-lived. I will be remembered only as the representative of the moon who condemned an immortal to death. My name will become synonymous with futility and inability and ineptitude all while I wear the uniform of a disappearing military rank, and I wonder, will you feel for my career? You knew this would happen, maybe not that it would be me who caught on, but you knew someone would need to take the stage and play the fool. Even if I am written about in history as a legal icon she will be in exile—and she will eventually be exiled—with any impact I may have had long forgotten. Slowly my image will change and I know that your sympathy for me will drown in that which you bear her."

The marshal drew another breath as if to go on, but then exhaled, tired. He finished his lukewarm tea and this reminded Eirin of her own, so she drank with him. "Yes," she said, without thinking.

They both became aware of the guards again at the same time, and of the many ears that they had both uncharacteristically forgotten. "You must remain in confinement. Military guards will be posted alongside your own. As her personal physician, you will confirm the execution, so I would imagine that you will be reporting a number of failures to me in the next while. You will only get to see her at those times, but my men will be guarding her and they will not interfere with you if you do not always seem to be practicing medicine. I will come for a report at the required intervals." And without any courtesy he stood and left.

Sandals on the wood sounded again and two men came to stand at either side of the door and every window. They shut it, and silence flooded the room. Through one circle the distant, tiny earth that had somehow filled the princess's imagination hung stationary in the sky. In Eirin's mind the Marshal was speaking: "…I condemn you in the name of..."

Nearly every mechanism in whatever process was about to take shape, from the elixir to the court to the charges being laid, had in some way doubtlessly been influenced by her. Sometimes it seemed as though she had constructed a strange machine.

Sitting in the deafening silence of a warmly lit room surrounded by perfect darkness, her vision blurred. The seventy-second hour of lunar night had just passed.


Its been too long. Sorry about that, if you cared: time has a habit of slipping away from me.

This will be a longer project than any I've posted here, and though it's been in the pipes for a while I feel that an update schedule might push me a little more. Lets aim for weekly updates for now, shall we? Subject to change. I'll comment more on the upcoming chapters and freshen my profile too, maybe even revise my older stories while I'm doing so. Maybe this can even be kept to schedule. Comment for any reason please; I hold praise nearly as dear as criticism. And I should probably say at this point that most of this story will take place in familiar settings with familiar characters, if you were put off by the foreign prologue.