When he had woken up that morning before he visited Chief Priest Hirano Tijo would never have guessed that soon after he would be traveling southward with the greatest speed. It would have been even harder to guess that his three cats would accompany him.

Sugar, Sagwa, and Honey peeped out of a basket that Nanako wore like a backpack. Occasionally one of them would let out a small meow, but for the most part they were silent. The bishop could not believe that he had let Nanako talk him into this. What was the point in taking the cats across the country? He had planned on rushing the trip from the outset and could've probably gotten to Rupanda and back in two weeks if he avoided the worst of the winter weather. But here he was, and there was no changing the situation anymore.

His dreams on the road were strange and filled his mind with ominous portents of what he might find in the south. A young man led an army that crashed against the walls of the Holy City like a wave, splashing and spraying. The True Runes gathered closer together than since they first divided, filling one point on the continent with a raging power. He saw destruction, disaster, and horror. It was death. Of course he mentioned none of this to Nanako, who came along with a cheerful smile on her face, enjoying a chance to get out of Eina and see the first snow of winter in the other states.

He kept the package from the chief priest under his traveling cloak at all times. The bishop wondered what was inside; he did not let his curiosity get the better of him. The white paper package was not stiff or heavy, but that still lent little to the solving of the mystery. He would have to wait until it was delivered to Father Kiisan, and he was not making as good of time as he had previously hoped.

Suddenly, a bright light flashed in their path. Nanako covered her eyes, blinded by the brilliance, and Tijo blinked hard. A woman robed in gold appeared before them, "Fear not, children of the church. I come bearing hope for thee."

"Are you an angel?" Nanako asked in awe, her eyes still tightly shut.

"Not so, my daughter, but what I am matters not," the golden woman replied. "Leave the main path and walk between the two trees that form a gate. The circle completes itself. You will find yourself closer to your destination. I fear without the shortcut you would not make it in time."

"W-why, yes, thank you," Tijo stammered, "We'll certainly take your advice."

"Good, I feel relieved at this," the longhaired woman answered, heaving a deep sigh, "Fare thee well, children. I will depart now. Blessings from the Circle Rune and may the wind speed you on your way."

With this she was gone.

Murasaki Fuji no Shita ni Kuni

"The Country Under the Purple Wisteria"

Chapter 77- Golden Gates and Decisive Corners

The two travelers did not make any move in any direction for a few moments, sitting silently astride their mounts. Neither was quite sure if what they had just seen was real. "We both saw her, right?" Nanako asked Bishop Tijo, "If both of us saw her, she must have been real and not an illusion. Two people don't have the same hallucination."

"If you say so..." Tijo reluctantly agreed, not being any kind of expert on hallucinations.

"So then, where are the 'two trees that form a gate?'" she wondered, glancing around the area.

"Somewhere close by I would expect," the bishop speculated, dismounting and leading his horse off the road into the groves of apple trees. Nanako hopped down from her black horse and hurried to join him. They walked slowly around slowly for some time, looking for two trees that stood together in a gate-like shape.

"I don't think there are any," the Lirwani woman sighed, "Or if there are, we're looking for the wrong thing entirely." She took the basket off her back and sat down, leaning against the trunk of one of the thicker trees. Sagwa squeezed out of the basket and began to sniff around in the grass.

Tijo threw his hat on the ground and kicked at it moodily, "Nanako, don't let Sagwa wander off anywhere!"

"Don't be snippy with me, Excellency!" she shot back, crossing her arms defiantly. The bishop chose not to reply to this and paced about in silence, examining trees as he sulked.

"Meow!"

Nanako and Tijo looked over suddenly to see the small Siamese cat batting a delicate paw at something between two bent over apple trees. Both scurried over, Tijo snatching up his hat as he ran, to see what apparently invisible thing might be capturing the cat's attention under two such trees. Tijo cautiously stretched out his hand to Sagwa and reached past her. It felt as if his hand was passing through water. He swiftly pulled it back and clutched it, as if to see if he still had all his fingers.

The man and woman from Sanjan stared at each other, wide-eyed.

The space created by the trees was not very large. Nanako picked up Sagwa and tucked her back into the basket with Sugar and Honey. Tijo placed his large hat onto his head and held out his hand to Nanako. She took it wordlessly. The bishop whistled and their two horses ambled over. Five animals and two nervous humans passed through the mysterious gate.

Falina rubbed her hands together and breathed on them. She was cold, and once again Kano and Mieno were taking a long time to get back from their mapping efforts. Atera seemed to have disappeared into thin air. When she asked Azai about the little girl, he had simply shrugged, "Atera keeps track of herself and no one else can ever know where she's headed. To her mother, or to Sensei, or to play with Sasshalai. No one can know, no one will know..." He placed a blade of grass to his lips and blew.

As she walked along the hard turf, listening to the sound of the mournful tune he played on the green blade.

"I know why you took that path

I could see you coming 'round

Looking to where the sun set

Coming up to higher ground"

A cheerful song began to rise, hanging on the air in opposition to Azai's sad melody. Falina strained her ears to recognize the singer's voice, and then realized that there were two voices, gradually drawing nearer. When the other singer's voice became louder and clearer it was obvious who sang.

"I al'ays 'old my groun'

Ag'inst the strongest storm

An' wield my 'eavy sword

Ta slice the wind"

The ebony-haired girl grinned. The longbow archer's singing voice was somewhat comical with his thick accent chopping up the words. Between each line, Mieno and Kano fought hard to hold back their laughter, looking at each other with twinkling eyes. They could not see her yet as they dancing up the slope. They had been gone for nearly an hour. Falina thought they probably took so long with the map-making merely because they enjoyed being in each other's company.

"Awk! 'Tis Miss Falina!" Kano shouted happily, waving a large hand over his head. Mieno blushed and giggled in embarrassment, realizing that they had been overheard.

"Yah gettin' a wee bit lonely?" the northerner inquired with a smile. Falina nodded. "Well, we'll be takin' care o' that right soon enough."

"I think I'm pretty much finished with this area," Mieno added, "So my work won't be holding us back anymore. It's all up to the turan now, as to what he wants to do."

"He migh' be a'wantin' to stay 'ere," Kano remarked, "'T's a pretty fine spot to attack the north wall of the Holy Capital. There's a bit of height 'ere that gives an advantage from the other sides. ...Well, a' least an advantage to archers."

"Which side will the other rebels attack from?" Falina asked thoughtfully.

"Probably the west an' south corner," Kano said, squinting out at the roofs of Rupanda, appraising the region, "I 'ear they're all holed up in S'n'Nyang, or some'at like that an' others came from the east. They'll hit both sides a' once since they got a lot o' sense."

"West and south corner..." the brightly clad girl repeated, "That's where I want to be then."