Dragmire's War – Part 15

-Kei Ki, Eastern battlefield-

In similar fashion, the battle between Kei Ki and the Zhao general of the eastern battlefield would be decided this day. Since the day Kei Ki had entered the eastern forest, he knew his plan. In short, he disappeared completely and his army scattered, each going their own way. Where he established his command tent was anyone's guess, even Ouki could not find him. And if Ouki could not find him, what were the odds the enemy could?

The Eastern Zhao general scratched his head while looking at the map before him. He was an old general, skilled in tactics and warfare. He was nearly as old as Abhdan if one would like a comparison. He was fragile and bent over with time weighing on his back.

The map before him had the best guess of the terrain on the western battlefield as drawn by his scouts. The entire area was forest, but there were a few landmarks that could be used. A great pillar of stone here, a hill there, a trench here, the lumber yard there. Thanks to the landmarks his army was able to situate itself in the difficult terrain, but also because of the forest, it was no normal battle. While the battle for Matsubi had been one of holding a passage, and the battle for Moubu had been two large armies clashing a great many men on open terrain, the battle against Kei Ki would be of tactical warfare with two tacticians dancing around each other. Knowing where the enemy was would be half of the battle as you commanded the units to surround and slaughter them. Every unit was hidden in the forest, and it became a battle of a hundred skirmishes as opposed to open battle.

The Zhao general clicked his tongue in annoyance. The reports that came back by the hour showed a war of nearly uncontrolled chaos. The Qin units moved and attacked in such a way he found it almost impossible to predict. He struggled to find the big picture in Kei Ki's tactics. When a Qin unit was found, the Zhao units would be instructed to surround and kill it, only to find the Qin unit had disappeared. At the same time all of the other Qin units would disappear and reappear elsewhere fighting a Zhao unit before disengaging again.

It was maddening, and to make it all worse, he had no clear idea of where Kei Ki had set up his command structure. By the very nature of leadership, the general knew Kei Ki would have to set up his command somewhere from where he could give out orders to the Qin units under his command.

This form of warfare would go on without any clear victor. The general did not sense he was winning, nor did he feel he was losing. Perhaps that was not entirely accurate, as the general did sense he was perhaps on the losing end. His inability to grasp the mind of Kei Ki from the movements of his men, despite having many times more men than him, made him feel the Qin commander was skilled and had a great plan in mind.

This continued on for the first day. The second day a cart arrived at the barricade of the Zhao command by Zhao escort. The cart was presented to the general, and the general could only gape. The men howled in fury and anger.

Kei Ki had sent him an arch-like structure of limbs sown together, an arch from which heads hung, and carried on a wooden cart. The cart was also filled with sacks of ears, eyes, and many other organs. One organ was to each sack. From the number of eyes and ears passed to the general as a gift, there were a great many bodies the Qin had mutilated, many more than could all of their organs put in the cart. It was only the smallest organs that were put in sacks and sent as a gift.

Seeing the gift had a profound impact on the Zhao. Their fury increased tenfold until they vowed they would not eat before each taking the life of a Qin.

The general looked on the map with renewed purpose. In a way, he knew now a part of the mind of Kei Ki. Kei Ki had sent the gift to taunt him, to force him to make a mistake, to stir up anger in him until he was blinded by it. But the general vowed he would not be stirred up as his men were, and he forced his mind to calm. He looked over the map once more until a revelation came to him.

The Qin units were all seen in large area, and this area was thoroughly examined and no command structure of Qin had been found there. But there was one area of the battlefield, in an alcove, where no Qin unit was found near, so the Zhao did not go there either. If Kei Ki wanted to truly hide, one possibility was that he could hide in a place completely separate from his army. And this alcove in question was near enough that orders could be sent by riders through a mountain pass behind it, while being far enough to be out of the way.

"Here! Send our reserves here and take the Qin's head!" He touched the point on the map.

Immediately the reserves made their way to this area. Zhao left until the command was nearly empty, save for a hundred men and the general. The Zhao made their way to the alcove to make war, and they found the Qin command.

However… the command was empty. The tents were there, the flags were there, the barricades were there, the horses were there, even the food was there. But there was not a soul.

One of the Zhao general's bodyguards sat by him, and casually put his arm around the General's shoulders. The general found this behaviour barbaric and told him off, only to be struck silent as he looked at the man's face beneath the helmet.

"Yo-you aren't-"

"No. I'm not." Kei Ki replied. The Qin commander removed his helmet to openly reveal his face.

The Zhao general looked around to see all of his other bodyguards remove their helmets as well, and not a single one he recognized. The servants, who wore no armour, bore no weapon, and had no helmet, he recognized and were his… but the hundred bodyguards who had stayed were not. He had been infiltrated. He had been defeated.

"I don't know who this guy was…" Kei Ki casually made small talk as he gazed into the eyes of the helmet he had worn. "But he squealed like such a pig!" He laughed. "Swear, I haven't heard a man make such a high tune in freakin' ages!"

His men laughed.

"Course, I had his toes to a fire. Might be why."

"How…?" The general asked. He knew he was dead. Of this there was no doubt. But oddly enough his instinct was not to beg for mercy, nor to yell out profanities against Qin, but to satisfy his curiosity. He had been defeated. His last wish was to know how.

"Think about it a moment. I sent you such an obvious gift after all. I'm sure if you try the answer will come to you." Kei Ki reached out, grabbed a bit of fruit off the general's table, and ate it.

The Zhao general's eyes widened. "You were the ones who brought the cart… It wasn't Zhao soldiers who escorted the cart. It was you! You killed the men, made that construct out of them, put on their armour, and walked in!"

"Got it in one!" Kei Ki clapped. "Not bad for an old man."

"But your army… how did you…" The general struggled to grasp his tactics. "How did you command them from afar! What incredible strategy did you convey to them, that you could leave them to it and hide yourself in my company?"

"Now, see. That one I can get if you don't understand." Kei Ki smiled widely. Kei Ki was cheery, having someone to talk to who was smart enough to get it, to ask the right questions, to try to understand. "There was no strategy."

"Huh?"

"I know! That's the beauty of it! There was no strategy! I took all of my units aside and I told them, 'Do as you will! Operate on your own devices. Fight by your own schemes. Fight, flee, dance, piss, whatever you want. Only know this: If you flee from the battlefield I will kill you for treason. If you want to avoid battle, avoid it. If you want to fight battle, fight it. Only do not stop.' I told them this so each unit would devise its own plan. I told them this because I did not want them to win. I did not want them to lose. I only wanted them… to play." Kei Ki smiled. "To keep the gaming going endlessly. The longer the game went, the more frustrated the Zhao would be. The sooner you would seize the opportunity. I also helped in this with a gift, and as I expected, you exposed your neck in an attempt to reach me… when all along I was right here. Waiting. Anticipating. Ever. So. Patiently." As he spoke, Kei Ki put his arm around the General's shoulders, and put a knife to his neck.

"I see…" The general said.

Kei Ki the Beheader beheaded the eastern Zhao general.

Kei Ki sighed, looked up, and relished the moment. This general understood, at least a little bit, and so Kei Ki would hold a special place for him in his heart. "Kill the rest. Spare no one, unless you wish to take them as a prize."

The servants and slaves were killed or enslaved at the Qin's leisure or fancy, but minutes later Kei Kei and his men disappeared into the forest. The Zhao command was in flames and lifeless.

-Middle battlefield, Ouki Mitagi-

Following the victory on the western side, the Zhao fled toward the center. The same day the Zhao on the east fled to the middle, scattered and broken. Ouki smiled. The massive growth of soldiers on the hill across the field from him meant his plan had succeeded.

The Englishman stood by his side and said, "Commander Matsubi reports they have taken the hill on the west and are prepared to hold it or flank the Zhao at your command. Commander Kei Ki reports the eastern forest is ours and he has the Zhao surrounded from the east as well."

"Good. Good! He must be absolutely furious!" Ouki laughed. He stood from his seat and picked up his halberd. "Dragmire came to us as a general of Zhao, but hoped for a battle as a warrior. If he had wanted a duel, I would have obliged him long ago! But the coward thought he could come to my home! Play my game! I will not oblige him. I will fight him my way. I will make him suffer, and when he realizes how defeated he is, then and only then will I satisfy myself with taking his arrow-riddled head."

Ouki motioned to his messenger and said, "Send orders to the commanders on the left and the right, and send an order to General Moubu! Surround the Zhao on all sides! When I sound the trumpet, all sides will converge." Ouki continued his order with a more elaborate plan on how they would destroy the Zhao. The men all bowed and hurried off as quick as they could. Commander Matsubi and Commander Kei Ki were not in sight of the flags, so they needed special messengers sent on horseback or hawks sent. Flags could be motioned to signal Moubu of his orders.

"There is only one way Dragmire can escape his fate…" Ouki grinned ferociously. "If he comes at me, he will die, surrounded and pummeled with arrows. If he retreats, he will have proven himself a coward once again! If he stays, we need only tear him down! He can only live if he flees! How much you want to be he is going to take it?"

"I cannot say, sir. I have not had the displeasure of knowing him."

"Oh, of that is true, but then even you would know what happened the last time Dragmire fought. They stood their ground."

"They all died or were captured and enslaved. Not the most successful strategy."

"Indeed. And Harken Dragmire is at once a coward and thinks himself great at once. He thinks nothing of others. He showed his colors once before. I expect he will show it once more."

Faint movement in the distance stirred and before long Ouki pointed. The Zhao were fleeing north. "Look. Look at him! He has proven himself a coward once again. Nothing has changed!" Ouki motioned to more messengers. "Send a message to the commanders! They are ordered to hold their position. There is a great forest north. We must be careful."

The messengers departed to send the message. At the same time Ouki ordered for the command to be deconstructed and moved north to take the hill Zhao was leaving behind.

Qin took the hill from Zhao, and Ouki and Moubu and Matsubi and Kei Ki looked out north to where Zhao fled, and it was such a dense land of forests and hills that they could not make them out.

"Works for me." Kei Ki smiled.

"No…" Ouki replied. He considered and perceived the Zhao. He knew Kei Ki to be skilled, but Kei Ki's nature would not win against Harken. Kei Ki could not perceive Harken, nor did he have the strength to defeat him. In the same way, Matsubi's men were skilled in defense, but they would be nothing against Harken. This was not a forest filled with men with which they might do battle, it was a forest where a great ogre hid… waiting.

"We must be very careful." Ouki decided. "I have a plan, but it will take patience. Harken Dragmire is a great beast who has hidden himself in the brushes, and you are all nothing more than insects to him. If we are to fight him, we must sow a great web so that when he springs at last, he will be entangled by his own nature. His men are few, but it is at moments like this that you will come to understand how truly dangerous a Dragmire zealot can be." Ouki looked up at the waning sun. It had been a good day, but it was now over. They should not go further. Either Harken will flee back to Zhao, he will stay in the forest and wait. "Assemble your tents closer to my command! We will rest here for the night."

"What if they continue to flee and go around us! What if they go back after Qin while we tarry here!" Matsubi questioned.

"In most cases, you would be right to think that. However, this is destined. Harken is here for me." Ouki Mitagi replied. "He has a deep seated hatred for Qin, but he is not here for Qin. No… he is here for me. He is here to settle it. He took everything from me, so I took his pride. He wants it back."

"Perhaps, but if he wanted a duel he would have stayed." Moubu said.

"And that is why it is safe to rest here for tonight. He has shown himself for a coward. Let us use that. Flush them out!"

-Behind Ouki's camp, Roboku-

"Most impressive." Roboku said with the greatest admiration. "Ouki Mitagi has completely routed them." The other men from the other nations across Hyrule were similarly impressed, but none had the open admiration the Zhao man had.

"They are your countrymen. I would think you would be sad at such a strong defeat." Moubu's son said.

"I am sad for the losses, do not mistake it, but it goes to show the power of Ouki Mitagi, the Bird of Qin, that seeing his war makes my heart flutter and beat this ferociously. My countrymen are on a complete retreat, and Harken Dragmire has chosen to flee into the forest rather than stand and fight. I had met the man briefly, and I perceived him to be a proud and strong warrior. No, more than that. He was a monster, a ferocious untamable spirit of a beast! Goes to show even he is not unaffected by Ouki's war." Roboku looked to the son of Moubu. "Tell me, son of Qin, can you perceive it? Can you see into Ouki's mind and know what his war is?"

"I can see a bit of it. He places pieces on the field as the field suits them. My father's power suits the open field and the strongest spear. The strong shield of the Royal Guard suited the passage to the west. The cunning of a bandit suited the forest to the east."

"No… that is but a part of it." Roboku sat on a stone and motioned to the west. "Even from here we can barely see the western field, so you can know Ouki could not see it at all. Yet, without the ability to see at all, he saw it! He saw into the mind of his enemy and knew them! In such a short time he has completely understood his enemy and perceived every move they will make. This… is no normal general. He has the instincts of a great warrior and the mind of a strategist… and the eyes of a bird! He has a talent for war born of the heavens. With such a general, it is no wonder Qin is greatly feared among the nations! He truly is the pillar of Qin."

The men chuckled nervously. More than a few found it odd to see the Zhao man praising the Qin general so highly.

"But, alas. It is time to move on." Roboku stood again and started to gather his things. "The battle is going north. I had best be on my way."

"What good will any of us do? If we go north, we could be caught up in the battle. There is nowhere to hide out there that will keep us from the fighting." A man of Lorule argued. The stony Goron of Gorondis nodded in agreement, as did the Zora. The others of Termina and Gerudo also agreed it would be dangerous to leave the castle.

"Then stay, if that is what you wish." Roboku turned and started to leave, but the Qin guard stopped him.

"It is best that you stay here." The Qin said.

"Please, let us stay. It is not often men of so many nations are gathered in one place." Mouki smiled with encouragement. "This is a rare opportunity! Why don't we learn of each other?"

The Zora and Goron briskly looked away from each other, the Gerudo rolled his eyes, the Lorule stood proud and stubbornly closed his lips. The man of Termina was the only one who seemed open to talking and agreed with the young man of Qin. Roboku looked about him, and found he quite liked the lad. The lad was smart enough to understand a portion of Ouki's war, was raised in the house of a general who's offensive abilities was top-grade, and yet had a gentle nobility among his aversaries that spoke of a high degree of charisma. No doubt he learned charisma from Chancellor Ryo, who employed his father.

Roboku expected to be hearing much of this lad in the future.

"Unfortunately, I am not here to learn of you lot. I'm here for Ouki." Roboku replied.

In a swift movement, Roboku extended his hand, pulled the Qin guard's extra knife from his waist, and thrust it up into the man's chin to pierce his head. The diplomats and scholars stepped back fearfully and screamed their surprise. The guards of Qin hesitated, briefly surprised, before hardening themselves and attacking him.

Roboku killed all of the soldiers.

Roboku wiped his newly acquired sword on a dead soldier's clothing. The diplomats and scholars kept their fearful distance. Only Moubu's son dared not move since the whole fight started. He watched Roboku without fear… and he perceived.

"You are more than just a man of Zhao, aren't you? You aren't just a nobody."

"Do not try to perceive me, Mouki, son of Moubu." Roboku rebuked him. "You will not be able to find what you seek, because the truth will disappoint you. I have yet to lie. I am a nobody… but when this is over, I won't be."

-Royal Palace, Zelda-

"Your highness, if I may make a request."

Zelda stopped walking to turn and see Ryo bowing slightly at the hip with a hand over his heart in a respectful salute. She raised an eyebrow. They were alone. He had no need to hide his true thoughts.

Also for him to be straight forward was normal, but a request? He had to know Zelda would be instantly suspicious. He must be making a request alone in her presence, so that others, namely Impa, would not overhear.

"What is it?" Zelda questioned. "It is odd of you to seek me out, without witnesses." She added.

"I have nothing to fear from witnesses, if you question my reasons. By all means, call for them. If you question my intentions, then allow your most trusted Chancellor listen in."

Zelda did not immediately respond. Ryo also did not offer anything to still the silence. What he had to ask must be important, and though Zelda felt she was being baited into doing it, she called for Impa to be brought here. Better to deal with Ryo's scheme with Impa at her side, then to try and read too deeply. Whether he truly wanted Impa there, or if it was merely a bluff, Zelda would be better off.

Impa approached and immediately hissed at the sight of Ryo. "What is it, scoundrel? What request would you make of the princess?"

"Such a harsh tone." Ryo clicked his tongue. "I mean what is best for Qin."

"You mean what is best for you?"

"Funny thing about economics. What is best for Qin has also been best for me."

"Chancellor Ryo, what is your request?"

Ryo glanced briefly to Impa before answering, "By no means a small thing. You see, I have been having sleepless nights, fretting for the state of Qin. I know we all have. And though I have the greatest faith in General Ouki Mitagi, I cannot help but feel there is more to this war than meets the eye. And I seek to find out what it is."

"You said as much before." Zelda mused.

"Then you know I mean it. I told Ouki, of which I am sure you can find witnesses from the palace staff, to be careful, as I feel there is more here than we know."

"If I feel it necessary to have your words proven by witness…" Zelda answered.

"What is your request?" Impa inserted.

"You see… Harken Dragmire is the enemy. I wish to learn of him. What led him to fight the Qin. What brought his victory against General Kyou Mitagi, and what brought his defeat at the hands of General Ouki Mitagi. I feel in this victory and in this defeat is the key to understanding him more. Surely there are records of Harken, of Kyou, and of Ouki in these walls? As well as how these three men are connected."

Impa was wary of Ryo. She tried to pierce his mind and find what it was he was seeking after, but she could not think of it. It was true, what he asked was in direct relevance to the war. To learn of the battles between the three men could indeed offer insight into Harken Dragmire, and then they could send a note to Ouki Mitagi via hawk. It all fit true and whole.

But Impa could not shake an uneasy feeling. Who else would perceive there is more to the war than meets the eye than the very man to whom there was always more than meets the eye. It was Ryo's nature to have that instinct because it was how he himself was.

Zelda did not speak, but watched Impa and Ryo. She waited for Impa's judgement. Zelda knew that Impa would know Ryo best of them.

"Is there a fault with wanting to learn of the enemy?" Ryo pressed.

"No."

"And how would we know an enemy than by the life he led, the victories he gained, and the defeats he suffered?"

Impa narrowed her eyes briefly, still trying to see through him, but failing. In a way his desire was earnest, but he was a snake. She could not for the life of her read into this thoughts… she never had been able to. At times this was a bad thing… but at times it was also good. Ryo was not an evil man. Nor was he a good one. He was a difficult one to judge.

Impa sighed. "It is true. We might be able to find something of Harken in the records. Something we can pass onto General Ouki."

"Then?" Ryo nodded.

"Do you feel it is worth the try?" Zelda asked.

"Ryo is right. I don't want to admit it, but he is. I apologize, Chancellor, for my wariness." Impa bowed.

Ryo laughed. He waved it aside. "Do not apologize, Chancellor! If you were not wary of me, you would not be worthy of being my equal."

The three of them entered the king's library, and a scribe who knew the library was tasked with going through the scrolls, books, and pamphlets for anything and everything pertaining to the these men. Impa did not fear too deeply for the information to be presented, as there were secrets even this library did not contain. However, she still insisted on being where she could see what Ryo was reading.

So the three of them read the scrolls. There were not many of them.

Harken Dragmire was an elder of the Dragmire clan. The king at the time demanded more of the Dragmire. They turned to fusing Twilight and Divinity in such a way as to be demonic power. For a short while, it brought them great power, but it also caused them to turn on their allies. (Whether by accident in madness or this was on purpose, was not written.)

The Mitagi gathered the armies of Qin and fought the Dragmire for their rebellion. Along with them were the four other great generals of Qin with General Kyou Mitagi at the lead. It was a great slaughter. The woman and children were scattered across Qin. All was quiet, until Harken Dragmire alone came out of hiding and killed Kyou Mitagi. He then went on to hunt down and kill other great generals before Ouki flew into a blind rage and defeat Harken.

"This we already know! What are we missing?" Ryo rolled up a scroll and cast it down. "What brought him to be able to defeat the five generals, but not Ouki! What strength did Ouki have that the others did not! And why did Harken wait so long before taking his revenge!"

It was at this point that Zelda did exactly as Ryo wanted. She looked to Impa and said, "Is there anything more you know that is not in these scrolls?"

Ryo listened intently, though not appearing to do so.

Impa hesitated. She said, "What are you asking, Princess?"

"As the former Shadowmaster of Qin, surely you know of secrets not within these scrolls."

"A-are you asking me to compromise my clan?"

"I am asking you to act as a Chancellor," Zelda replied. "Not as a Shadowmaster of the Sheikah. Are you still loyal to them?"

"I-I… Princess…"

Ryo saw this was a very dangerous question now for her. Zelda was not being harsh, but was asking a question that brought a harshness of its own, because it was real and was the kind of question to force one to choose a side. It was asking her to choose her relationship with the girl or the clan she had stepped down from but had devoted her life to up this point. Ryo sympathized a bit for Impa, but was pleased all the same.

Impa found her voice. "I am loyal to the promises I have made all my life, and to you. I act no more as Shadowmaster, but with my background within the Sheikah I do recognize there are secrets that are far more damaging than helpful."

"Be that as it may, are there secrets here that are more helpful than harmful? Surely there are some."

Impa gulped, took a breath, and nodded. "There are a few I can tell that are… safe. The first being that Harken and Ouki had an unfair advantage over the other generals."

"Oh?" Ryo wondered.

Impa nodded. "The Mitagi have secrets of their own, but I think they will not mind if I reveal a minor one in veiled detail. You see, in the fall of Hyrule, the Mitagi collected relics of power and hid them away. Relics of ancient power. Gauntlets, shields, swords, spears, whips, magical rods, whatever they could get their hands on. It is written the Mitagi are the descendant of the Rebel Hero. Kyou Mitagi and Ouki Mitagi were able to use some. Ouki Mitagi's halberd is an ancient relic, once wielded by the Rebel Hero."

"This is not much of a secret. Even I knew that. Ouki bragged to me about it." Ryo said.

"Ouki told me much the same for musical instruments." Zelda said.

Impa sighed. "Did he now? Oh well. However, what is not known, is that the Dragmire had their own collection of relics. Harken Mitagi wields a cursed blade. The blade of Ghirahim."

"I've read of that one." Zelda murmured. "Its written the blade hungers for blood, and every time it is drawn, it kills. It gives incredible power, but at a risk. Either the blade kills the wielder's enemy or the blade kills the wielder itself, either way it never fails to kill something."

"Talk about a double-edged sword…" Ryo said.

"The cursed sword gave Harken an advantage, undoubtedly, but there was another reason he could kill Kyou Mitagi. He was sick."

"Sick? Who? Harken or Kyou?" Zelda wondered.

"Most likely the loser of the fight, General Kyou." Ryo reminded her.

"Oh… right." Zelda's ears went red.

"Yes, Kyou Mitagi had come down with deep fever for a year. He had caught a fever while on the battlefield and was sick, so he retired back to the deep valleys in Qin to heal. Kyou was very weak and vulnerable at the time… vulnerable enough to bring Harken out of hiding."

Zelda nodded. Such a secret would be one that Mitagi would have wanted to keep quiet. They would not want the name of Kyou Mitagi to be sullied by the idea of dying in weakness. They would want him to be proclaimed as having fought the good fight.

Ryo stilled and struggled to keep his composure. Kyou Mitagi had been ill for a year? What if it wasn't a simple illness? What if it was the nine month variety? He could hardly believe what he was hearing. To hear Kyou had been ill for a year fit! Now Ryo was sure of it! Kyou Mitagi was a woman!

But why? Why would they hide that? Why would they hide that she was a woman? Surely it was not for merely being sexist. It was frowned upon, but not illegal or inherently wrong anymore for woman to be great leaders. What kept Kyou Mitagi from revealing herself?

What's more, Ryo remembered the records now of Kyou. She had been revealed as a man, not just for her years as an army officer or general, but her entire life! She lived her entire life pretending to be a man! While the reports did not explicitly state that she pretended, the earliest record Ryo could remember of her mentioned her in the masculine form when she was listed for training in the Mitagi military as a teenager.

Ryo needed to dig deeper. Much deeper. How far did this go? What was so important that it warranted them trying to kill Link? What was so important it warranted them hiding the woman's gender from the world all her life?

"Does Ouki know that Harken wields a cursed blade?" Ryo wondered. He forced himself to change his focus back to the matter at hand before he reveal his thoughts.

Impa shrugged. "I do not know. Even if it did, I do not believe it changes anything. Ouki defeated him once before despite the blade being cursed."

"If the blade takes a life every time it is unsheathed, then how did either one live?" Zelda wondered.

"Good question." Impa said.

"Sounds like the curse isn't so real if that is the case, or Ouki's blessed blade overcame the curse."

"Quite possibly. A good boon for us all if that is so." Ryo said.

"Unless Harken is strong enough to overcome it… A terrible prospect. At the very least, I think it is warranted to warn him of the curse." Zelda said. "If it comes to be true that Ouki knows of it, then we will have gained nor lost anything. But if it comes to be true that Ouki does not know, then we have gained something from this."

Ryo nodded in agreement. "Most wise, your highness. You're learning."

"I would have expected you to be the one to say that, though." Impa looked to Ryo. "Are you well? You seem distracted."

Ryo felt a small chill. Seemed his composure had cracked slightly, if he had allowed himself to be distracted. "I am well, I assure you. Merely surprised an illness of all things would do in a legend like Kyou Mitagi. However, I cannot help but wonder. What made him so important?" Ryo considered he may be reaching a bit too deep now. He did not want to reveal his thoughts or hand, but he also was a man who took calculated risks, and he rationalized to himself that he was still in the clear.

"Important?"

"Yes, of all the generals, what made Kyou so important that Ouki flew into a blind rage and for Harken to target him. And even ill, could not Kyou Mitagi have been moved from the danger?"

Zelda nodded. "True. I can agree with that. If Kyou was too ill to fight properly, they should have sent him away on horseback. And though Ouki would have been angry with any general falling, what did make Kyou so special?"

"I am sure we can ask Ouki the next time we see him." Impa answered.

"But-"

Deciding it was now too dangerous to press forward, as well as a chance to pull back, Ouki said, "Now, now, princess. Impa is correct. It is impudent of me to wonder of the friendship between Kyou and Ouki from Impa. Rather better to inquire of Ouki what his friendship was, and why it was so special compared to his friendships with the other generals. It is a small matter all the same. Though it is small, we have found something we can gain from this. Unless there is anything more you believe is worth sending to Ouki Mitagi, Chancellor Impa?"

"Nothing I can think of that he would not already know."

"Then let us send him what we have discovered, and pray it will benefit him." Ryo suggested.