Hey, everyone!
This is one fic that I actually planned; some aspects of it are based off a Chinese TV series called Da Han Tian Zi, so if you're Chinese and some of the situations seem slightly familiar, that might be why ^_~!
And a forewarning about the word testing; I do not know how to write Japanese, so I'm totally making up the formations, so don't flame me telling me I'm wrong.
I don't own CCS or Da Han Tian Zi.
I'll shut up and start writing now!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the little town called Tomoeda, an oracle sold his services 3 times a day. He tested words; according to the formation of the word, he predicted the outcome of a certain event.
Each day, he sold three tests, no more. Once the three tests were sold, he would leave the marketplace, to return at dawn of the next day. If he hadn't finished selling his three tests by normal time, he would stand near his stall and wait.
Every day, all three tests were sold, for he was an excellent oracle, and none of his predictions were incorrect. He never accepted payment until his prediction was proved accurate, and even so he was a very rich man.
Although the oracle was so wealthy, he gave his money to some needy person. He did not donate his money to a charity, instead he would give the money directly to someone desperately in need of money, as if he knew their plight.
This oracle was sometimes called a prophet, sometimes a miracleworker, and sometimes a demon, but no one knew what his purpose was, and he never acted improper or showed his true feelings.
This oracle's name was Eriol Hirizigawa.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A man carrying a baby ran hurriedly towards the marketplace. His child, only one week old, was sick with a strange disease. He had a high fever, and wouldn't eat anything.
Being from a poor family, the man was frantic. He didn't have enough money to hire a doctor, but there had to be some other way to heal his son. Asking around the marketplace, and finding more than one heartless stranger, the man was in despair.
Suddenly, a hand tapped his shoulder, and he turned around, only to face the oracle, Eriol Hirizigawa. "Oh, sir, oh sir! Please help my child!" The man didn't think an oracle would be able to heal his son, but right now he had no other choices open.
"I will try." It was already dusk, and normally, by now, Eriol would have been in his home.
"But sir...I have no money," the poor man stuttered, not wanting to accept charity.
"Money is no matter. Just say that I give you this service as a gift." Eriol smiled his mysterious, unearthly smile.
The man fell on his knees, thanking the oracle, holding out the child for the oracle to inspect.
Eriol shook his head. "I am not a doctor, noble sir, I can only test words. Please suggest a word of which I can test."
By now, they had gained a crowd, most of them customers Eriol had refused as his last test. They were indignant, but kept quiet because whatever Eriol did always had a purpose.
The poor man was at a loss. He never had any schooling, coming from a poor family. He was raised and trained on how much water the field needed, how to tell a good crop from bad, and how to get rid of injurious pests. He never learned how to read or write, and did not know the characters for anything except his own name.
Eriol seemed to read his thoughts, and asked, "What is your surname?"
"My surname is Zhu." The man was confused as to why his surname was important. The oracle wouldn't go report him to the lord of Tomoeda for not paying him, would he? Eriol smiled reassuringly, and all his doubts disappeared.
"Alright, let us use your surname as the word. What situation would you like to have tested?"
"I would like to test a way to save the life of my child, honorable oracle."
Eriol wrote the word on a bamboo scroll, then studied it very carefully, turning it this way and that. Everyone was silent, waiting for the oracle's prediction. "Ah, yes," he murmured. "This word contains another word within; the word 'all'. This represents the 'all' in the saying, 'all or nothing'. It appears that your child will be fine, but the cure is harder to figure out. This word you have chosen, it is your surname, and therefore it is a name representing your household, is it not?"
The man nodded, and Eriol continued. "Therefore the cure for your son is in a name." Looking at the man, Eriol asked kindly, "Have you given your son an official name yet?"
The man shook his head, and said, "We were planning to do it today, but he suddenly took ill and we couldn't do it when he was ill. We call him by his nickname, Waku."
"I see. Therein lies your solution, humble sir. Give him a name which protects his health. How about, Jenkang? In Chinese, the name Jenkang symbolizes health. Are you willing to name your son thus?"
"Oh, yes sir...as long as it will cure him!" The man looked a little uncertain, but the oracle was wiser than he, after all, and he was desperate. Once he had said that, the child began to cry.
"Ah...his health is restored. You may return home now, and bring the good tidings home to your wife."
The man nodded, ecstatic, and still unbelieving of the miracle that had been performed, and ran towards the outskirts of his village, managing a breathless "Thank you!" on his way home.
The crowd that had collected around them dissipated as Eriol folded up his bamboo scrolls, collected his ink and brush, and left for his home in the opposite direction.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There was another famous place in the city of Tomoeda where people liked to frequent. It was the Water Dragon Pavilion, a famous brothel where the famous prostitute lived.
The prostitute was very strange; she did not sell her body, but only sold her arts. She spent her time talking with her customers, sometimes giving them massages. Mainly, she was in call for her music. She was an excellent singer, and also knew how to play the zither. She knew how to dance, as well, and was talented in all forms of art. Her talent was great enough so that she could be a professional performer, but instead, she insisted on staying in the brothel.
Many people visited her, mainly only rich people, for only rich people could afford her company. Her most frequent visitor was the lord of Tomoeda. Always, when he came, he would try and persuade her to bed with him, but she always refused, asking of the outside world, and any dark secrets he was keeping.
She asked this of all her customers; had they seen any mysterious people? Had they seen anyone strange with a beautiful young lady?
Due to her charm, these people always replied honestly, and told her of any news they had. Always there were men insisting on bedding with her, but since she was the 'treasure' of the Water Dragon Pavilion, she always had personal guards standing outside her door, at her beck and call.
Like the oracle, this prostitute was also very rich, and like the oracle, this prostitute gave much of her money away. However, she targeted different people. The people she donated to were always orphans, and girls who were being mistreated.
Surrounded by so many suitors, the prostitute always seemed charming and graceful, but she never told of her true feelings, and no one could read her thoughts.
This prostitute was named Tomoyo Daidouji.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The lord of Tomoeda walked proudly into the Water Dragon Pavilion, commanding them to bring out the lady he always visited, Tomoyo Daidouji. He always sought her favor, bringing her this trinket and that jewel. However, riches were not what she asked for. What she asked for was news. Always news on what was going on, were there any suspicious kidnappings lately, were there any spectacular performers around town.
He always told her this news, but she never responded to any of his questions, like why was she a prostitute, why didn't she become a performer?
He frowned. If Tomoyo would just quit being a 'prostitute' and leave the Water Dragon Pavilion to become a performer, he could marry her, but his subjects would never accept a prostitute as the lady of Tomoeda.
His frown was wiped off his face when Tomoyo glided into the room, her hair styled perfectly, her robes arranged flawlessly, her makeup drawn impeccably. He stood up to greet her with the usual, giving her his arm.
"Tomoyo-chan, why don't you leave this ugly place? Make a better life for yourself as a performer. Your music is wonderful, your dancing beautiful, and your artistic work lovely. Why settle for being a low prostitute?"
Tomoyo responded with the same, her voice tinkling as usual. She led him over to the cushions in her room where he could recline. "My lord, your humble servant is satisfied with this job, and your humble servant wishes to know the news of the town."
The lord sighed, plopping down on a brightly embroidered cushion, no doubt made by Tomoyo herself. "What do you wish to know today?"
"Have you found any horrendous criminals lately? Captured any kidnappers?" It was always the same sort of questions; any new criminals, any new performers, any orphans seeking for family, any outstanding ladies.
"No, my lady." The lord changed the subject. "Now, sing for me."
Resigned, Tomoyo bowed. "With the zither, sir?"
"Yes."
The music that floated from the zither accompanied the heavenly voice of the prostitute, Tomoyo Daidouji, perfectly, and the harmonious tone floated through the open window.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay. Done with this chapter! It was pretty long, but I liked it. Next chappie I'm gonna introduce the emperor and the servant girl. I guess this 'prologue' is a little boring, ne? Sorry, once I finish the character intros, I can start the actual plot.
Anyone wanna tell me why my formatting is still not right? Because whenever I write 'apostrophe s' it turns out as 'I line s'. It's weird. And my quotation marks aren't right, either. Or is it just my computer that does this?
Well, that's all the news for now, so bye!
Pink_hime_sakura
This is one fic that I actually planned; some aspects of it are based off a Chinese TV series called Da Han Tian Zi, so if you're Chinese and some of the situations seem slightly familiar, that might be why ^_~!
And a forewarning about the word testing; I do not know how to write Japanese, so I'm totally making up the formations, so don't flame me telling me I'm wrong.
I don't own CCS or Da Han Tian Zi.
I'll shut up and start writing now!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the little town called Tomoeda, an oracle sold his services 3 times a day. He tested words; according to the formation of the word, he predicted the outcome of a certain event.
Each day, he sold three tests, no more. Once the three tests were sold, he would leave the marketplace, to return at dawn of the next day. If he hadn't finished selling his three tests by normal time, he would stand near his stall and wait.
Every day, all three tests were sold, for he was an excellent oracle, and none of his predictions were incorrect. He never accepted payment until his prediction was proved accurate, and even so he was a very rich man.
Although the oracle was so wealthy, he gave his money to some needy person. He did not donate his money to a charity, instead he would give the money directly to someone desperately in need of money, as if he knew their plight.
This oracle was sometimes called a prophet, sometimes a miracleworker, and sometimes a demon, but no one knew what his purpose was, and he never acted improper or showed his true feelings.
This oracle's name was Eriol Hirizigawa.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A man carrying a baby ran hurriedly towards the marketplace. His child, only one week old, was sick with a strange disease. He had a high fever, and wouldn't eat anything.
Being from a poor family, the man was frantic. He didn't have enough money to hire a doctor, but there had to be some other way to heal his son. Asking around the marketplace, and finding more than one heartless stranger, the man was in despair.
Suddenly, a hand tapped his shoulder, and he turned around, only to face the oracle, Eriol Hirizigawa. "Oh, sir, oh sir! Please help my child!" The man didn't think an oracle would be able to heal his son, but right now he had no other choices open.
"I will try." It was already dusk, and normally, by now, Eriol would have been in his home.
"But sir...I have no money," the poor man stuttered, not wanting to accept charity.
"Money is no matter. Just say that I give you this service as a gift." Eriol smiled his mysterious, unearthly smile.
The man fell on his knees, thanking the oracle, holding out the child for the oracle to inspect.
Eriol shook his head. "I am not a doctor, noble sir, I can only test words. Please suggest a word of which I can test."
By now, they had gained a crowd, most of them customers Eriol had refused as his last test. They were indignant, but kept quiet because whatever Eriol did always had a purpose.
The poor man was at a loss. He never had any schooling, coming from a poor family. He was raised and trained on how much water the field needed, how to tell a good crop from bad, and how to get rid of injurious pests. He never learned how to read or write, and did not know the characters for anything except his own name.
Eriol seemed to read his thoughts, and asked, "What is your surname?"
"My surname is Zhu." The man was confused as to why his surname was important. The oracle wouldn't go report him to the lord of Tomoeda for not paying him, would he? Eriol smiled reassuringly, and all his doubts disappeared.
"Alright, let us use your surname as the word. What situation would you like to have tested?"
"I would like to test a way to save the life of my child, honorable oracle."
Eriol wrote the word on a bamboo scroll, then studied it very carefully, turning it this way and that. Everyone was silent, waiting for the oracle's prediction. "Ah, yes," he murmured. "This word contains another word within; the word 'all'. This represents the 'all' in the saying, 'all or nothing'. It appears that your child will be fine, but the cure is harder to figure out. This word you have chosen, it is your surname, and therefore it is a name representing your household, is it not?"
The man nodded, and Eriol continued. "Therefore the cure for your son is in a name." Looking at the man, Eriol asked kindly, "Have you given your son an official name yet?"
The man shook his head, and said, "We were planning to do it today, but he suddenly took ill and we couldn't do it when he was ill. We call him by his nickname, Waku."
"I see. Therein lies your solution, humble sir. Give him a name which protects his health. How about, Jenkang? In Chinese, the name Jenkang symbolizes health. Are you willing to name your son thus?"
"Oh, yes sir...as long as it will cure him!" The man looked a little uncertain, but the oracle was wiser than he, after all, and he was desperate. Once he had said that, the child began to cry.
"Ah...his health is restored. You may return home now, and bring the good tidings home to your wife."
The man nodded, ecstatic, and still unbelieving of the miracle that had been performed, and ran towards the outskirts of his village, managing a breathless "Thank you!" on his way home.
The crowd that had collected around them dissipated as Eriol folded up his bamboo scrolls, collected his ink and brush, and left for his home in the opposite direction.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There was another famous place in the city of Tomoeda where people liked to frequent. It was the Water Dragon Pavilion, a famous brothel where the famous prostitute lived.
The prostitute was very strange; she did not sell her body, but only sold her arts. She spent her time talking with her customers, sometimes giving them massages. Mainly, she was in call for her music. She was an excellent singer, and also knew how to play the zither. She knew how to dance, as well, and was talented in all forms of art. Her talent was great enough so that she could be a professional performer, but instead, she insisted on staying in the brothel.
Many people visited her, mainly only rich people, for only rich people could afford her company. Her most frequent visitor was the lord of Tomoeda. Always, when he came, he would try and persuade her to bed with him, but she always refused, asking of the outside world, and any dark secrets he was keeping.
She asked this of all her customers; had they seen any mysterious people? Had they seen anyone strange with a beautiful young lady?
Due to her charm, these people always replied honestly, and told her of any news they had. Always there were men insisting on bedding with her, but since she was the 'treasure' of the Water Dragon Pavilion, she always had personal guards standing outside her door, at her beck and call.
Like the oracle, this prostitute was also very rich, and like the oracle, this prostitute gave much of her money away. However, she targeted different people. The people she donated to were always orphans, and girls who were being mistreated.
Surrounded by so many suitors, the prostitute always seemed charming and graceful, but she never told of her true feelings, and no one could read her thoughts.
This prostitute was named Tomoyo Daidouji.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The lord of Tomoeda walked proudly into the Water Dragon Pavilion, commanding them to bring out the lady he always visited, Tomoyo Daidouji. He always sought her favor, bringing her this trinket and that jewel. However, riches were not what she asked for. What she asked for was news. Always news on what was going on, were there any suspicious kidnappings lately, were there any spectacular performers around town.
He always told her this news, but she never responded to any of his questions, like why was she a prostitute, why didn't she become a performer?
He frowned. If Tomoyo would just quit being a 'prostitute' and leave the Water Dragon Pavilion to become a performer, he could marry her, but his subjects would never accept a prostitute as the lady of Tomoeda.
His frown was wiped off his face when Tomoyo glided into the room, her hair styled perfectly, her robes arranged flawlessly, her makeup drawn impeccably. He stood up to greet her with the usual, giving her his arm.
"Tomoyo-chan, why don't you leave this ugly place? Make a better life for yourself as a performer. Your music is wonderful, your dancing beautiful, and your artistic work lovely. Why settle for being a low prostitute?"
Tomoyo responded with the same, her voice tinkling as usual. She led him over to the cushions in her room where he could recline. "My lord, your humble servant is satisfied with this job, and your humble servant wishes to know the news of the town."
The lord sighed, plopping down on a brightly embroidered cushion, no doubt made by Tomoyo herself. "What do you wish to know today?"
"Have you found any horrendous criminals lately? Captured any kidnappers?" It was always the same sort of questions; any new criminals, any new performers, any orphans seeking for family, any outstanding ladies.
"No, my lady." The lord changed the subject. "Now, sing for me."
Resigned, Tomoyo bowed. "With the zither, sir?"
"Yes."
The music that floated from the zither accompanied the heavenly voice of the prostitute, Tomoyo Daidouji, perfectly, and the harmonious tone floated through the open window.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay. Done with this chapter! It was pretty long, but I liked it. Next chappie I'm gonna introduce the emperor and the servant girl. I guess this 'prologue' is a little boring, ne? Sorry, once I finish the character intros, I can start the actual plot.
Anyone wanna tell me why my formatting is still not right? Because whenever I write 'apostrophe s' it turns out as 'I line s'. It's weird. And my quotation marks aren't right, either. Or is it just my computer that does this?
Well, that's all the news for now, so bye!
Pink_hime_sakura
