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My younger son asked me, "Mother, other queens wear jeweled crowns. Why do you not?"
"Jewels are merely pretty, my son," I answered. "The tiara of Jurai is more than this."
As was his way, he argued with me. "The other queens look down on you, Mother. You should be prettier than them."
He was stubborn, but I handed him my tiara and answered him honestly.
"This tiara is like your father's circlet and sword. They all have great power."
The crest glowed for him, and I smiled at the wonder in his eyes. This was when I told him of the keys of Jurai.
* * *
Once when the Enemy threatened the palace, Father and his two loyal knights, Azaka and Kamidake, sought the goddess, the Woman of Mystery. She appeared to them and was moved by their plight.
She said, "I will not allow Jurai to fall. I will give you five keys to the Light. For you and your kin, they will turn back the Darkness."
The goddess took seven branches from the First Tree and turned to Azaka.
"You, whose wisdom flows like a fount, shall be the unstoppable tide."
One of the branches was given to him, the great azure staff which now lays with him.
To Kamidake, she gave the second branch.
"You, whose youth burns like a fire, shall be the consuming blaze."
In his hands, he then held the great crimson staff which now lays with him.
Lastly, she turned to my father, King Jurai Sho. To him, she gave two branches, a circlet and a tiara.
"You, the most noble of my people, shall continue the lineage of Jurai. These two crowns will protect you, and your descendants."
He wore them both and asked the goddess, "My Lady, for what are the last three branches?"
Before him, she wove the branches together and bestowed upon him the sword of Jurai.
"This is Jurai's sword, made of Heaven, of Earth, and of Divinity."
My father named the blade "Tenchiken", as the goddess had told him.