General Tej K'aan and General Cuaran Raecliff had left the Aronian capital city, Rupanda, in the state of Aurel, just two days earlier. With them they took a large portion of the army and head strategist Kiyon de Silverburg. Mitsu had seen them off alongside Lina de Silverburg that shining morning. He had crossed his fingers in hopes that his plan would succeed. ...If it did not...
But this was not the time for such concerns. It was his turn to head out. He scuttled down the marble hall leaning heavily on a wooden staff. At this time of day nearly everyone was busy doing something.
No one noticed the small, sickly man dragging himself along outside of the building and through the castle courtyard.
No one recognized the second-in-command strategist limping past the castle gates into the sprawling city.
It was a slow, painstakingly agonizing way to proceed for such a distance, but Mitsu was far from reaching his destination. He passed through the bustling city with as much speed as he could muster, breathing hard and feeling his muscles ache. There was so much further to go...
Mitsu Riyahd left the city of Rupanda, headed north along the Chien Highroad, an hour after he set out from his office. He was already exhausted, but the plan depended on so many things, and he for his plan, he many more miles to walk...
Murasaki Fuji no Shita ni Kuni
"The Country Under the Purple Wisteria"
Chapter 34- Varied Altitudes and Colorful Impressions
Yuki hiked along happily beside the other revolutionaries, enjoying the feeling of camaraderie. The whole rebel army appealed to him in many ways. He liked being with Kiisan and Louis Abdul again, even if he was not so sure whether the captain was as glad to see him. He liked the sense of purpose, never lacking for someone to talk to; the excuse to travel the country...he even liked the sort of uniform many of the revolutionaries wore. The soldiers from Serif and Onwya had traded their former colors for ocean blue, snow white, and dandelion yellow. Yuki was disappointed not be able to dress quite like them, but wearing a blue and white bandanna did make him feel as though he matched a little better.
The revolutionaries had been following the narrow, curving trail for quite a while since they broke camp and the blond man was beginning to wonder when they would stop for lunch. After listening to his stomach give a loud growl he turned to a nearby soldier, whose green cap effectively hid most of his face. "Are you getting as hungry as me?" the energetic man inquired.
"Yeah, I am pretty hungry..." the jacket-clad soldier replied.
The soldier's voice seemed somewhat high to Yuki. He tried to peer inconspicuously under the green cap, but was unable to do so without looking too nosy. Instead he carefully regarded the figure in the brown jacket. The dark-haired soldier seemed rather small and he carried an unusual looking dirk instead of a standard sword, bow, or spear.
"Umm..." Yuki began, unsure of how to phrase his question most politely, "...How old are you?"
The figure in the green cap coughed, "...eighteen..."
The scavenger mercenary Kurin, who was walking only a few steps ahead of them, turned and peered at the young man in question over his shoulder, peering over the tops of his dark glasses. "Your voice sounds very familiar..."
"Um, uh, what do you mean?" the young soldier asked.
Kurin snatched the green cap off, revealing the wide-eyed face of Tiko. "A-ha!" he exclaimed, "Thought something was fishy!"
Tiko grabbed his cap back from Kurin and shushed him noisily, "Shh! Be quiet! I'm not supposed to be here! You have to keep this a secret!"
"So crazy!" Kurin muttered, "It doesn't work! You are too little!"
Yuki adjusted his straw hat and laughed, "Eighteen?"
Tiko's face grew red as he fumed quietly, "...just keep it a secret."
***********
Father Izador read over the message slowly, absorbing its contents before bringing it to Kichitsu and Mekkachi to see their reactions. Lord Satis, the aristocratic ruler of Crona, who had been appointed by Emperor Leo Maximillian himself, had been overthrown and killed by rebels. This meant that the last large Imperial holdout in the "Wheat Field States" was gone and any sizable threat would have to come from the south.
Mekkachi crumpled up the dispatch and threw it on the floor, "Great! What'll we do now? Our connection said that Major Ko-Wen was going to sail up to Crona and head inward from there, right? Won't this make the Imperials change their plans?"
Kichitsu sighed and nodded; "When Major Ko-Wen hears this I suppose her transportation plans will change...it's such a shame that the independent resistance in Crona did that now..."
Izador picked the crunched piece of paper up and smoothed it out. He silently read over the words again while the two knights discussed possible ways to defend the citadel from attack. His creased brow lightened as he came up with his own way to counter the freeing of Crona. "Excuse me...Sir Mekkachi, Sir Kichitsu...I think I have an idea."
"Go ahead," the black-haired knight urged, "We're open to anything at this point."
"We have to make sure that the Imperial Army doesn't learn that Lord Satis was deposed. We'll go to Crona and dress up our troops as Imperial soldiers, making it look like everything is normal. After Major Ko-Wen disembarks we'll attack. ...What do you think?"
The two armored men looked at each other and smiled. "I didn't know you had it in you, Father Izador," Mekkachi smirked.
"Sounds lovely," Kichitsu added.
"I'll write up the official directions and pass them by Lady Hyoko and Lord Lucien. Then we'll set this plan in action!" Mekkachi cheered, jumping up and hurrying out of the room, leaving his companion to further congratulate Father Izador on the exceptional plan.
**********
The trail curled around the ridge like a vine twisted around a tree trunk. It grew so narrow in places that the revolutionaries had to continue on in nearly single file. Kiisan had never been somewhere where he could look down into such deep valleys and ravines before. He felt a little dizzy and placed a hand on his head. "How do you know if you're afraid of heights?" he asked Carlos.
"Do you feel like you might fall any moment? Do you think you might faint? Are you afraid to keep going, but also afraid to turn back?" the green-eyed priest questioned.
"If the answers are all yes?" Kiisan responded nervously.
"Then you definitely afraid of heights," Carlos said evenly.
"I would've imagined I'd hear that from you, Carlos, not Kiisan," Louis Abdul said with a grin.
Carlos shook his head enthusiastically, "No way! You have to give me some more credit than that!"
Mio laughed softly and Kusa chuckled. Sanada stopped in the middle of the path to scold the men, shrieking, "Less talking! More walking!"
As soon as the serious strategist had regained her lead, Louis Abdul whispered to his friends, "That's why she's not married!"
"I heard that Captain Louis Abdul!" she yelled. The tall man nearly jumped in surprise.
"I bet'y'r wife wishes she could keep ya in line like that," Kusa snickered, hurrying ahead to get a better look at the road around the bend.
Kiisan followed, and was greeted with another panoramic view of the mountains clothed in a myriad of lively shades of green, gold, and brown. The cold wind picked up somewhat, whisking a few crisp brown leaves past the revolutionaries. Falina pulled her scarf tighter and Hai-Yong rubbed his hands together to warm up. "Nice view," Han Li remarked without much emotion.
"The land here is alive," Sasshalai told the older man, "But the wind isn't."
"I know, kiddo," Han Li replied, "Don't get too cold."
After the widening point where Kiisan had paused the trail headed downward sharply. Sanada explained that before the path went up again it first had to go down.
"How many more days in the mountains?" Yuki inquired.
"It's already been four days," Carlos noted.
Sanada calculated something swiftly on her fingers before answering, "I would think about two more days. We've already made it through the hardest part."
"That's comforting..." Yuki said, "Smooth sailing until we reach Efttal, huh? ...What exactly happens once we reach Efttal?"
"That is when the next stage of the plan will begin. We will meet with Duchess Sita Katyana, Father Jie Jhin, and Lord Hal de Calico in Efttal's capital city and go on to engage the Imperials at Windfall Hill," Sanada told Yuki, her countenance shifting from a straight face to a devious grin, "...maybe I'll keep the rest of the plan secret from you, latecomer, and give you a little surprise..."
***********
The glowing embers were all that was left of the fire. Tiko stirred them with a stick and tossed a dry leaf onto them, watching it twist and curl as it caught on fire and burned up. Yuki and Kurin had decided grudgingly to keep his secret for the time being and the boy was still feeling excited about being part of the "adventure." His conscientious told him that he should've stayed at Slalain Citadel with Father Shiku, but the idea of traveling through the mountains had been too enticing. "At least I left them a note," Tiko thought, "They'll know where I am."
He looked up from the red-hot embers as Sasshalai sat down on the ground beside him. Tiko looked at the younger boy for a moment, but Sasshalai did not make eye contact and he did not know what to say. They sat beside each other without saying a word, watching the sparks of the fire die and the night grow darker.
Suddenly Sasshalai broke the silence. It felt awkward to Tiko and he was glad to hear it go. "Your parents would be proud of you," the boy with the odd-colored eyes stated plainly.
Tiko was somewhat confused, "What do you mean? I don't even remember them."
Sasshalai smiled peacefully and closed his eyes; "There are spirits in the mountains too. ...And stars."
"You're sort of weird," Tiko laughed, wondering what the younger boy meant.
The child with the dandelions on his head opened his eyes and gave Tiko a wide smile that showed his shiny white teeth, one of them not yet grown in all the way. "Look! The spirits are passing through!"
Tiko turned around sharply, to see the ethereal balls of glimmering light float around them on the breeze. The sleeping camp seemed to glow in their unearthly light. Tiko's felt his mouth drop open as he watched the lights bob up and down like ships on the ocean. He looked to Sasshalai for an explanation. The boy from Klikk had risen and was standing on the end of the ledge with the lights circling him.
"...I..." Tiko murmured, "...It's amazing..."