Somewhere in the distance, a rabbit screamed as some predator ended its life. Hakuryuu paid the sound little mind. The path to the temple of the Kirin had been all but swallowed by the forest, and he had to pick his steps deliberately to avoid twisting his ankle in foxholes or underbrush. Here and there, he could see signs of where his father had laid his step- a shattered spirit house here, a crumbling stair there- and those remnants served as his map.
Hakutoku had not needed a map to find the Kirin, and had the first prince lived, Hakuryuu was sure he would not have needed one either. Hakuryuu was not a great man like them, and he did not have anything that a godly creature would find worthy. He hopped from one stone to the next, weaving his way up the steep forest path. Such things did not matter. He would find the Kirin, and he would be acknowledged. He passed under the remnants of a shrine gate, the true sign he was still going the right way, and up ahead he could see another where the ground levelled out. Hakuryuu pushed himself onward- he could rest when he reached that gate, to resume his search in the morning. It was so close now…
Hakuryuu gasped at what he saw through the gate.
Before him laid a temple overgrown with earth, its doors chained shut and then tied shut again with consecrated ropes and paper seals. The air held a charge of power that took Hakuryuu's breath away. Eight days and eight nights he had searched, and now, here, he seemed to have finally reached his goal. He crept forward to the temple entryway, barely daring to breathe. He laid his hands upon the ropes, feeling here the sinister twist of his mother's magic.
"Disgusting," he whispered, shaking his head. Sleep could wait- exhaustion pushed from his mind by the tantalizing promise of his goal. He drew his sword from its sheath, meditating on its weight, on its power as an instrument of his will. In, out. In and out again. The blade began to glow as he concentrated, and he swung, the rope and chains melting away beneath his strike. The very wind itself seemed to hold its breath as they hit the door's bonds hit the ground. Hakuryuu waited to see if there was some other recursive protection, but nothing came. The breeze picked back up, and birds began to twitter in the trees. Hakuryuu sheathed his sword and drew open the door to the temple.
Inside the air was stagnant and cold and smelled of forgotten things. Hakuryuu held his sleeve over his mouth as he stepped inside. The only light came from the open door behind him, and soon Hakuryuu was creeping cautiously forward in utter blackness. The temple seemed to stretch infinitely forward, an unending hall filled with nothing but old smells and his own creaking footsteps. Hakuryuu decided that enough was enough and fumbled a match from his bag. The flame scratched into life, and instantly the fire was snuffed out as all around Hakuryuu lanterns flared to life from the stolen flame.
Hakuryuu found himself moments away from tripping over the first steps to a raised dais, upon which he saw a monstrous sight.
In Hakuryuu's memories, the Kirin was a beautiful, shining thing. He had only seen the Kirin once that he had been old enough to recall- on his sixth birthday, the Kirin had appeared in court to announce the unification of his father's empire. It had been a herald to great celebration- his father and brothers arriving not long after, and Hakuyuu had born Hakuryuu up onto his shoulders and shouted with joy for how a new dawn had come for Kou. When no one was looking, Hakuryuu had stolen close enough to pet the Kirin's shining mane and gaze upon its fiery eyes. Wherever it had stepped, flowers had sprouted, and Hakuryuu had thought it the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.
The Kirin stood motionless on the dais. Or, more accurately, the Kirin slumped on the dais, held upright only by the thick black spears that ran through its body. Hakuryuu climbed the steps and carefully drew close to the creature. Its once shining mane was black with dried blood, and the scales and fur of its lithe body looked dull.
"What did they do to you?" he whispered, gently pushing the mane from the Kirin's face.
At the touch, the Kirin's eyes snapped open, and Hakuryuu flinched back from its fiery gaze. The Kirin made an awful noise that sounded almost like a question. They stared at each other, the Kirin waiting. Hakuryuu swallowed thickly.
It seemed forward to touch the Kirin, to try and act as though he was worthy of it, but- "I'm going to free you," he said. "Please hold still. "
Hakuryuu yanked a spear from the Kirin's side, and then another from its chest. The Kirin made a terrible noise of pain, but it did not attempt to struggle. It was now looking at Hakuryuu oddly, almost appraisingly. The metal of the spears felt like the chains on the door- ripe with wrongness and magical binding force. He yanked a third spear out, and the kirin adjusted itself, standing more by its own merits.
Then a kind of magic trick happened. One moment, Hakuryuu was reaching for the final spear planted in the Kirin's leg, and the next his hand was slapped away and the Kirin was replaced with a handsome young man who was and was not the same. Hakuryuu watched as the man with the Kirin's fiery eyes pulled a spear from his own leg, straightening with a slight wobble. "Thank you for your service." He gave Hakuryuu a crooked smile as he tossed the spear aside.
Hakuryuu could not find his words, and so he simply fell down into a deep bow, his forehead touching the floor. The Kirin crossed to him, crouching down over him.
"You're Hakutoku's aren't you? The youngest of his. You were tiny the last time I saw you. Barely prince material, let alone the stuff of kings." He lifted Hakuryuu's face, twisting it from side to side. "Why should I stay for you?"
Hakuryuu's mouth felt dry as he stumbled to speak. "I- I am who you assume: Prince Hakuryuu, the youngest of Hakutoku's sons. I come to you now as your noble servant, for our goals are the same. I want to depose the false monarchs who imprisoned you here. I want revenge for my father and brothers." He couldn't bear to look at the Kirin's wounds, but he also did not dare meet its gaze. "I cannot help but imagine that you also want revenge for the way you must have suffered here."
The Kirin released Hakuryuu's face, standing back up with some difficulty. "I only stay for worthy kings. So it took some persuading to get me not to leave Kou when they took mine from me." He spat out the word persuading like it was poison. "And you think you're worthy of me?"
No, said the voice in Hakuryuu's head, but he forced himself to ignore it. "I think that I am the one who can give you revenge."
"Kirin are meant to abhor violence," the Kirin said in a haughty tone that seemed almost mocking. "We're symbols of harmony, of a kingdom united!" The Kirin laughed, and it made the pessimistic voice in Hakuryuu's head all the louder. But there was something awful about the laughter- something bitter and broken and hurt and hungry. The noise stopped almost as fast as it had started, and the Kirin looked back down at Hakuryuu. "We are, however, righteous and steadfast in our justice, a justice that is greater than the petty thoughts of man. And my justice does not feel very harmonious or peaceful today." He held out his hand to Hakuryuu. "I accept your offer."
Hakuryuu's head spun as he took the Kirin's hand. "Do you really mean that?"
The Kirin smiled. "I am a creature of the utmost integrity, and I could never lie."
They made their camp on the steps of the forgotten temple, rather than within it. The Kirin was thirsty for the open air. Some of the things Hakuryuu remembered still seemed to hold true- where the Kirin stepped, flowers bloomed, and his eyes still burned like liquid fire in their sockets. But this new form, so human and yet utterly alien, was not something that matched his memory. Had this been how his father had seen the Kirin? A beautiful man of strange grace, with only suggestions of the Kirin's true nature?
The Kirin refused Hakuryuu's offerings of food and instead helped himself to the heavy, almost spoiled peaches that sagged the boughs of the temple's trees.
"You don't need to worry so much," the Kirin told him. "Like you said, our goals are similar. I'll judge your kingliness on my own time."
Hakuryuu nodded. "Very well. In that case, O Noble Kirin-"
The Kirin waved a hand. "Judal is fine. Though I appreciate your noble address."
This threw Hakuryuu for a moment. He had never considered that the Kirin might have a name. "I… Of course, O Noble Judal." Judal looked as though he wanted to say something more but thought better of it at the last moment. "As I was saying, do give me the honor of your attention for a moment." Hakuryuu spread out his map. "I'm lucky to have found you so quickly. This moves up the steps of my plan considerably. From here we can begin planting the seeds of our victory by ensuring that the peasants of my current princely land holdings are contented and not planning an uprising. Once that is ensured, we will-"
"Are you serious? Peasants? Planning?" Judal looked offended. "You go to the trouble of freeing me and this is what you want me for? To follow you around playing bureaucrat while the house of Ren is twisted and besmirched by those false kings?" He pitched the remains of his peach over his shoulder and vanished inside the temple. "If you really want to make a stand, if you really want to impress me…." He reappeared with one of the cruel black spears that had bound him in hand. "Then show me blood."
In Judal's hand, the spear twisted and changed, growing longer and sprouting new, wicked spikes that twined around the rest of it. The magic in it was changing, Hakuryuu could feel it just to watch. Gone was the sick, oppressive binding magic, replaced with a riotous, domineering force. In the center of the twisting black skewers, a red gem like the Kirin's flaming eye materialized as Judal drove his new staff down into the map.
"There. If you want to make a real stand, then there is where you must go." Hakuryuu stared at the fort that Judal had driven the point through. "The Liar-Prince Kouen is headed there now with his armies. If we travel swiftly, we will beat him there, and there you can make your move to prove yourself the only inheritor to the crown of Kou." Judal's words echoed like pure power in Hakuryuu's mind, dizzying and inescapable. He tried to open his mouth to protest, to argue his plans, but his Kirin was not done. "If you kill Kouen and take his armies, then we can ride for Rakushou, we can blaze a trail to remake Kou as it should have been. No more Witch-Empress. No more shadowy priests trying to steer your kingdom. Only your true and divinely inspired vision." Judal leaned down, lifting Hakuryuu's chin to force him to meet his gaze. "I believe in you, Hakuryuu. Make a stand. Kill Prince Kouen."
Judal's gaze was terrifying, this much was inescapable. His red eyes burned like fires straight into Hakuryuu's very soul. And yet, now looking at him for what felt almost like the first time, he could see the beauty he had seen as a child. In the blazing inferno of Judal's stare, Hakuryuu could see the path before him as something other than a fool's suicidal errand. He saw Kou united, he saw the evil purged, he saw Judal at his side. Hakuryuu's mouth worked wordlessly as he felt tears begin to well in his eyes. Judal smiled and wiped them away.
"No tears."
Hakuryuu rubbed at them as well. "I'm sorry. I still am a bit of a crybaby, even as a man. But…" He looked Judal square in the eyes once more. "I will. I will kill Kouen and reclaim my country."
Judal nodded, yanking his staff from the map and sitting back down beside Hakuryuu, his head coming to rest against Hakuryuu's shoulder. "I know you will. Let's get some rest for now."
The next day, Judal and Hakuryuu set out for the fort. Their departure from the forgotten temple was hard, and the path twisted in ways that did not match Hakuryuu's memories of the ascent. Judal gripped Hakuryuu's hand and lead him through the woods.
"I am your Kirin after all," he had said. "Let me guide you."
And Hakuryuu let him, trusting his life to Judal's seemingly non-existent sense of direction. The trees wove into a dense net above them, blocking out any sense of the passage of time. Their trail was unblazed, and the only evidence of their passing were the wildflowers that sprang up wherever Judal stepped. Hakuryuu clutched tight to Judal's hand, forcing himself to have faith in the power he'd sought.
They emerged from the forest in the foothills of a mountain range Hakuryuu had only ever seen on maps. Stretched out before them lay the fertile valleys of the recently conquered, dotted with Kou military encampments to mark the claim. Hakuryuu looked between Judal, the forest, and the nearest fort, an incredulous look on his face.
"Kirin truly are miracle workers," he said, bowing to Judal.
Judal fluffed with the praise. "This willing an impossibly swift pass through a forest is a mere fraction of what I can do. The stars move for my whims, and your kingdom shall flourish for my favor." He hopped down from their rocky outcropping onto another and then down once again, making his way into the valley. Hakuryuu followed after him a bit more cautiously, mindful of loose rocks that threatened to twist and snap his ankles. Judal was as sure-footed as a mountain goat, a reminder of his true quadrupedal appearance. Or perhaps this was his true face, shown only to kings? Hakuryuu was as uncertain about that as he was of the footing.
Their trek across the plain was horridly unguarded. Hakuryuu found himself glancing about every few paces, desperately searching the horizon for sentries. Not that there would be much he could do even if he saw them- there was nowhere to hide on the open, fertile plains, and Hakuryuu cursed the treacherous rocks they'd climbed down to get here for not extending further. Judal laughed at him.
Hakuryuu's fears came true at high noon- a mounted patrol came riding up, swords drawn. He turned to ask Judal what they should do, but the Kirin was gone. Alone and betrayed, Hakuryuu flinched as the mounted riders drew near.
"State your name, boy," the one at the head demanded, pushing up his helm to look at Hakuryuu.
"I…" Hakuryuu scarcely had time to tumble through his options before his was interrupted.
"Wait a moment," said one, "I recognize you! You're Prince Hakuryuu, the last of Hakutoku's sons!"
The sentries looked to their fellow and then back to Hakuryuu, their whole demeanor changing. Hakuryuu cursed his scars for making him so easily recognized.
"What are you doing out here all alone, Your Highness? You could get captured by brigands, or worse, dissatisfied Gai vermin!" The man at the head of the pack dismounted, coming over to Hakuryuu.
"I was travelling incognito," Hakuryuu replied quickly. "I needed to speak with General Kouen of urgent matters in Rakushou, and I did not trust a large party to make it here swiftly or discreetly."
The head sentry nodded. "Take my horse then. We'll accompany you back to fort."
There followed a somewhat comical shuffling of horses that let the head sentry and Hakuryuu ride solo and left the other two doubled up on the remaining horse. Hakuryuu looked out over the plains, wondering where Judal had gone, and then spurred his horse to action. The horses made the trip over the plains far swifter, their hoofbeats swallowing up the distance with ease. The sentries made little conversation, seemingly satisfied that Hakuryuu's words were urgent and for Kouen's ears only. The fort rose from a speck on the horizon to an imposing force, crimson flags streaming from its ramparts. They paused briefly at the gate as the sentry announced himself, and then Hakuryuu was within.
It was not like the palace at Rakushou- a fortress of both beauty and strength- nor was it quite like any of the nearby outlying forts he had on occasion visited with his sister. The overall shapes were similar, but the adornment and structure were all Gai. Hakuryuu repressed a scoff. Were it him, he would have made sure that the fort looked like a proper Kou fortress by now.
They dismounted in the courtyard, and the head sentry made sign for Hakuryuu to follow after him. The inside of the fortress was military and spare of opulence- a place meant for housing men, not entertaining princes. Hakuryuu wondered idly what Judal would think of it. Were Kirin fond of opulence? Judal seemed like he might be. The sentry led him to a receiving chamber, where Hakuryuu was left alone to wait for Kouen.
As soon as the door clicked shut, he sank into a chair and buried his face in his hands. He had done it. He was in the middle of enemy territory, and no one suspected a thing. His pulse pounded in his ears, and his fingers itched for the sword at his side. Hakuryuu clenched at his hair to quell the feeling. He was right where he needed to be, but it all seemed too neat, too easy, too-
Someone drew their finger down the back of his neck. "Miss me?" Judal purred in his ear.
Hakuryuu nearly lept out of his skin, staggering back to his feet and away from Judal's touch. "Who-" He stopped his hand from drawing his sword when he realized it was just Judal. "Where were you?"
Judal cackled, straightening. "Around. A Kirin would attract too much attention, so I just made myself scarce for a bit. Have some faith!"
Hakuryuu eyed Judal. Part of him wanted to yell, or at least chastise,but he knew Judal was far above his station. It was just that he'd never expected a Kirin to be such a capricious creature. "I do trust you. I'm just not used to relying on others."
Judal laughed. "Well, if it makes you feel better, you're still the one driving this caravan. And look where it's gone already! You couldn't ask for a more perfect setup. We can take out Kouen, steal his army, and boom!- we're on our way to a brave new Kou."
Hakuryuu watched Judal stalk around the room. The boldness of his words and gestures filled the room with intoxicating, claustrophobic bravado. "You make it sound so easy."
"It will be, if you're worthy."
Hakuryuu opened his mouth to reply, but he was interrupted by the door swinging open. Kouen swept into the room, his armor clinking as he walked. Hakuryuu's eyes darted to where Judal had been, but the Kirin had thankfully made himself scarce once more. Kouen cleared his throat, and Hakuryuu jolted, turning back to bow to his elder cousin. Kouen offered a curt nod in return.
"I was told you had urgent word from Rakushou." Kouen took a seat at the table and indicated for Hakuryuu to sit across from him. "Elaborate. I have dismissed all prying ears from the area, so you may speak freely."
"Of course." Hakuryuu remained standing. It was not luck that brought him here, it was destiny, orchestrated by his Kirin, and he did not need to yield to Kouen's instruction. "For some time now, an evil has been growing in Kou, festering and growing ever stronger, its tendrils reaching out into every facet of government and military. The general populace is ignorant to its spread, and many of those in power are either blind to its dangers or complicit with its wickedness."
Kouen's brow furrowed. "Speak plainly."
Hakuryuu held his head high. "I will speak at my own pace. You know full well of the evil I speak. You know because you are a part of it." Hakuryuu drew his blade and pointed it across the table at Kouen. "Draw your sword."
Kouen stood, slamming his hands upon the table. "What you say is madness. I would never conspire against Kou in such a way."
"It's the truth! You were complicit in the deaths of my brothers, in the coup that put your own father on the throne and in the lap of my mother. Now draw your sword!"
Kouen opened his mouth to bellow back, but instead his face went paper-white. Hakuryuu felt Judal's presence beside him once more, draped along his shoulders like a lazy cat. He glanced to Judal, but Judal was looking at Kouen- drinking in the sight of a man so powerful and driven, every inch a storybook general-king. In another life, Kouen might have been the man Judal chose.
But other lives were not the destiny Judal had wrought.
"My king is so honorable to give his opponent such a chance to draw," Judal chuckled, finally glancing at Hakuryuu. Hakuryuu shrugged.
"Only a coward would be dishonorable when they know destiny is on their side." He gently pushed Judal away. "Allow me to prove you made the right choice."
Kouen's eyes were only on Judal though, and they were filled with disgust. "What," he spat, "is that."
Hakuryuu could hardly keep himself from smirking. "I suppose someone as unfit to rule as you wouldn't know a Kirin to look upon him."
Kouen shook his head. "That is no Kirin. They don't exist in Kou anymore, and even if they did-"
"Kill him," Judal urged, and it was an order Hakuryuu did not need. He sprang to action before Kouen expected it. The quiet, withdrawn prince who wilted from confrontation and deferred to his elders was no more, and he lept up onto the table. Kouen had to dive aside, rolling when he hit the ground, to avoid having his head cleft from his shoulders. When Hakuryuu lept down, Kouen barely managed to draw in time to parry the next blow, steel clashing on steel. Kouen was stronger, and he managed to drive upwards with enough force as he stood to knock Hakuryuu off balance for a moment. The next several strikes came in quick succession, driving Hakuryuu back through the room and out into the hall. Hakuryuu focused simply on blocking, on dodging, each of Kouen's blows like a hammer upon his arms. Just because he wasn't being cleft in two didn't mean it didn't hurt.
And so, Hakuryuu took the offensive, parrying a blow and twisting under Kouen's guard to strike. Kouen's footing faltered, and the tempo of the fight changed, Hakuryuu swinging like a madman and driving Kouen back down the hall. Kouen tried to pull a similar move to get under Hakuryuu's guard, but instead was driven further back, Hakuryuu's sword missing his face by mere breaths. Kouen retreated down the hall, always keeping his blade between himself and Hakuryuu, but there was only so far he could go. Kouen's back hit the wall, and Hakuryuu surged forward with a yell, only for Kouen to side step the mighty blow that buried the sword in the wall instead of in Kouen.
Kouen kicked Hakuryuu in the ribs, and he went sprawling.
"Look at yourself, Hakuryuu," Kouen shouted. "This isn't you!"
Hakuryuu pushed himself to his feet. "Go to hell."
"That thing has put a curse on you," Kouen said. "You're not a killer. You're-"
A blur of movement put Judal between them, and in that moment he was both the blood-blackened beast and the cruelly beautiful man. He raised a hand, and a blast of energy sent Kouen flying. Hakuryuu pushed himself to his feet, picking up Kouen's sword from where he had dropped it. His every muscle ached as he took the staggering steps to bring himself to where Kouen struggled to right himself.
"You're right, Kouen, I'm not a killer," he said, staring down at Kouen with the utmost contempt. The sword in his hands felt right as he swung down. "I'm a king."
Judal padded down the hall after Kouen's decapitated head, picking it up and then turning back to Hakuryuu. "You have blood on your hands," he said as he took one. His lips were soft as he kissed Hakuryuu's bloodied fingers, and the tongue that licked away the blood was even softer. As he pressed Kouen's decapitated head into Hakuryuu's hands, he kissed his king on the lips with a terrible softness. Hakuryuu accepted both.
They made their way down the halls to the outer gate, and when Hakuryuu emerged, a shout went through the crowd. Anger, disgust, and fear rocked the soldiers who had been milling about, and Hakuryuu held his head high. "For too long, Kou has been weakened from within by treacherous snakes. Even you noble servants of the empire have been blinded to the wickedness around you, serving a false idol instead of the true good of our kingdom. No more!" He held Kouen's head aloft, and the sounds turned to rage and terror. "I will not let poison like this kill my people any longer. I am Hakuryuu Ren, the one true king of Kou, and I will lead you to justice!"
Judal drew up to his side, and the crowd's rage turned to stunned silence as the men all took a knee. Judal's fingers found their place on Hakuryuu's shoulder, and he leaned in.
"They see you for what you truly are," he whispered, "their rightful better." His grip tightened, and world seemed to close down to the two of them and the bloody path before them. "Your kingdom awaits."