Part IV: Fire
"Of all the elements, Fire cannot exist by itself. It must have a source, and fuel to feed it." The red paper flickered like it's elemental namesake as the old man began to work it into folds. "But in return, it gives light and warmth to those who gather around its flames."
It was like looking through a distorted mirror sometimes, how he almost, but not quite looked right. His hair was crimson and long, but the style was different. The eyes might flash redly at times, but a second look darkened their color. The mark on the left cheek only appeared to be bloody streaks, they quickly resolved into the flaming clan mark. Kougaiji was not his brother, and he was no longer Jien.
It was easy to serve him though, the demon prince attracted followers like moths, and had Kougaiji so chose, he could easily match his step-mother, Gyokumen, in body servants. That Kougaiji only kept Yaone and himself as personal retainers only intensified the prince's mystique. He was a remnant of the older days, before the War God had fractured the demons' society, turning a once great nation into isolated clans. Gyokumen ruled in Houtu castle, but it was a precarious balance. Her position depended greatly on Kougaiji's loyalty to her, enforced with the imprisonment of his mother. That, and Lirin. Lirin was so clearly Kougaiji's half-sister that Gyokumen could stake her claim as a wife to Gyumaoh.
Where Kougaiji was a smoldering blaze, Lirin was a bright spark. She was light and laughter in an increasingly oppressive atmosphere. Neglected by her mother, who saw her as nothing but a tool for power, it had fallen to them to raise her. He had startled Kougaiji and Lirin with his skill with children, he had given a small smile and a murmur about once having a younger brother. They didn't press him, they knew all too well the dangers of living.
Today, he found Kougaiji sorting through the dispatches, windows flung wide to take advantage of the coolness of the fall. The prince barely glanced up at him as he entered, and offered up one of the reports. "Here, Doku, have a look at this one." Doku rested his hip against the desk and began to peruse the sheets of parchment, one eyebrow slowly arching.
"Is this right? The entire clan gone?" Dokugakuji asked, disbelievingly. At Kougaiji's nod, he continued reading. "Well, they never were a very stable group, but still, the whole clan, just like that?" He continued down the page, reading the collected rumors. "Gods, Kou, this is crazy. The evidence points towards a single killer? A Sanzo priest spotted in the area? The Centipede Clan were no pushovers, and Maoh was well hidden."
Amethyst eyes locked with his. "You may have said it Doku. Gods." A dark smile twisted his lips. "Or one god anyway. He could have done it. The question is why. Why now? Why them? They weren't allied with us, in fact with them gone, the smaller tribes may come and join us for protection." The prince leaned back in his chair, scrubbing at his eyes. "We need to be careful; the last thing we need right now is the gods sniffing around here again. In a few years, we'll be ready for the next phase, and then..." Kougaiji's eyes glittered with an old hatred. "Then we'll make them pay for what they've done to us."
Dokugakuji shivered at the venom in the prince's voice. If there was one thing in this world that he hated more than Gyokumen, it was the gods. For 500 years he had screamed into the nothingness of a binding spell, a spell his mother was still trapped in, a spell that had been laid on Gyumaoh's family by the gods. How Gyokumen had been freed, she never said, but she was the only one now who knew the counter, the only one who could free Kougaiji's mother. One day, Kougaiji would see her dead, but not today. Not before he had his mother back, not before he found a way to strike back at the gods.
"Fire must always be treated with respect and careful attention. That which warms and comforts can also destroy. Fire is opportunistic, if you give it an opening, you'll be burned before you feel the heat. Best to keep a bucket of water nearby." The red paper joined the other three on the desk. "Ha, and speaking of Water..." a black sheet emerged, "let us end today's lesson with a look at the most unchanging element of all."
"Of all the elements, Fire cannot exist by itself. It must have a source, and fuel to feed it." The red paper flickered like it's elemental namesake as the old man began to work it into folds. "But in return, it gives light and warmth to those who gather around its flames."
It was like looking through a distorted mirror sometimes, how he almost, but not quite looked right. His hair was crimson and long, but the style was different. The eyes might flash redly at times, but a second look darkened their color. The mark on the left cheek only appeared to be bloody streaks, they quickly resolved into the flaming clan mark. Kougaiji was not his brother, and he was no longer Jien.
It was easy to serve him though, the demon prince attracted followers like moths, and had Kougaiji so chose, he could easily match his step-mother, Gyokumen, in body servants. That Kougaiji only kept Yaone and himself as personal retainers only intensified the prince's mystique. He was a remnant of the older days, before the War God had fractured the demons' society, turning a once great nation into isolated clans. Gyokumen ruled in Houtu castle, but it was a precarious balance. Her position depended greatly on Kougaiji's loyalty to her, enforced with the imprisonment of his mother. That, and Lirin. Lirin was so clearly Kougaiji's half-sister that Gyokumen could stake her claim as a wife to Gyumaoh.
Where Kougaiji was a smoldering blaze, Lirin was a bright spark. She was light and laughter in an increasingly oppressive atmosphere. Neglected by her mother, who saw her as nothing but a tool for power, it had fallen to them to raise her. He had startled Kougaiji and Lirin with his skill with children, he had given a small smile and a murmur about once having a younger brother. They didn't press him, they knew all too well the dangers of living.
Today, he found Kougaiji sorting through the dispatches, windows flung wide to take advantage of the coolness of the fall. The prince barely glanced up at him as he entered, and offered up one of the reports. "Here, Doku, have a look at this one." Doku rested his hip against the desk and began to peruse the sheets of parchment, one eyebrow slowly arching.
"Is this right? The entire clan gone?" Dokugakuji asked, disbelievingly. At Kougaiji's nod, he continued reading. "Well, they never were a very stable group, but still, the whole clan, just like that?" He continued down the page, reading the collected rumors. "Gods, Kou, this is crazy. The evidence points towards a single killer? A Sanzo priest spotted in the area? The Centipede Clan were no pushovers, and Maoh was well hidden."
Amethyst eyes locked with his. "You may have said it Doku. Gods." A dark smile twisted his lips. "Or one god anyway. He could have done it. The question is why. Why now? Why them? They weren't allied with us, in fact with them gone, the smaller tribes may come and join us for protection." The prince leaned back in his chair, scrubbing at his eyes. "We need to be careful; the last thing we need right now is the gods sniffing around here again. In a few years, we'll be ready for the next phase, and then..." Kougaiji's eyes glittered with an old hatred. "Then we'll make them pay for what they've done to us."
Dokugakuji shivered at the venom in the prince's voice. If there was one thing in this world that he hated more than Gyokumen, it was the gods. For 500 years he had screamed into the nothingness of a binding spell, a spell his mother was still trapped in, a spell that had been laid on Gyumaoh's family by the gods. How Gyokumen had been freed, she never said, but she was the only one now who knew the counter, the only one who could free Kougaiji's mother. One day, Kougaiji would see her dead, but not today. Not before he had his mother back, not before he found a way to strike back at the gods.
"Fire must always be treated with respect and careful attention. That which warms and comforts can also destroy. Fire is opportunistic, if you give it an opening, you'll be burned before you feel the heat. Best to keep a bucket of water nearby." The red paper joined the other three on the desk. "Ha, and speaking of Water..." a black sheet emerged, "let us end today's lesson with a look at the most unchanging element of all."