Turan Magno tore through the halls like a hurricane slashing his way through doors, guards, furniture, and anything else that got in his way. "To victory!" he roared, leading his troops forward.
Candal was drinking a cup of tea in his office when the leader of Serif kicked the door down. The strategist took one look at the bloodthirsty warrior and fainted. No one bothered to do anything with him, simply leaving him strewn across the floor and moving on. As Amarilla, who brought up the long string of warriors, passed by she laughed, "I think this battle is ours!"
Meanwhile, Mio stood below the front gates calling to his father, "Thanks for coming out!"
Kiyon leaned over the side and stared down curiously at his son, "What's gotten into you now, Mio? Are you here to surrender?"
The orange-haired young man drew the rapier Natchi had loaned him and held it aloft, "You want to have a match, Father?"
The older strategist squinted and strained his eyes, thinking there had to be some kind of mistake. His son, who had a great distaste for fighting of any kind, was asking him to fence in the middle of a siege. Obviously Mio had lost his mind, "Come now, Mio, now's not the time! Put away that toothpick and go home!"
Sanada sighed and shook her head before stepping forward to join her fiancé, "Lord Kiyon! He's serious! Get yourself down here and fight!"
"Miss Sanada! Glad to see you made it through our earlier assaults!" the Imperial strategist replied, "But you must believe I'm as unhinged as you rebels if you think I'll come down there."
"Fine then, Father," Mio spoke up, sheathing the blade and throwing up his hands, "If you won't fight then I suppose I win this one by default."
Kiyon clenched his fists in frustration, "Son, that's ridiculous! I you can't win if I don't lose!"
"He has a point, Sir," the female strategist pointed out with a chuckle, "Some might say that you actually sound afraid to challenge him..."
The assorted rebels watching this exchange took this as their cue to boo and roar at the Imperial. Kiyon's face was beginning to turn red as his frustration grew. He stomped over to the guards on the wall with him who were having some difficulty holding back their amusement at the stern strategist's anger, "Quit that!" he commanded them, and snatched a rope from their equipment. He carefully knotted the rope around a protruding part of the battlement and then tossed it over the side. Slowly he climbed over the side of the wall and went down the rope hand over hand. The guards stared. Sanada rubbed her eyes in amazement. She had assumed that Kiyon would come down, but had never imagined that it might be in such a reckless manner.
The only one who appeared unsurprised by this development was Mio. He had known from the beginning that once his father was mad enough to come and do it, nothing would stand in his way. That was part of the reason he was not particularly keen on the plan. "My mother would never approve..." he muttered, rolling up his sleeves and readying himself for the action ahead.
Kiyon, his gloves helping him to keep a grip on the rough rope, continued towards the ground. The guards stared down and the rebels stared up.
Just thinking about it made Kiisan a bit dizzy. He put a hand to his head and stopped watching. Soon he would enter the palace and seek out the emperor. He did not know what he would have to do when he finally encountered Leo Maximillian in person, but he prayed that he would be able to accomplish something. "Not just something..." he amended the thought, "I hope that I can do the right thing...whatever that is..."
You will know what to do when the time comes.
The words of the Circle Rune always took him a bit by surprise. He could never anticipate its sudden interjections or strange advice. The only pattern he could recognize was that its intervention was becoming more frequent.
Why don't you just trust me?
Kiisan did not so much as think a reply. He turned his mind to other things, picking up his staff and standing ready. He would just have to be prepared for that moment. It would come. Time was hurrying ahead for him.
Murasaki Fuji no Shita ni Kuni
"The Country Under the Purple Wisteria"
Chapter 89- Say a Prayer
Hiiragi and Takauka had scuttled off to the throne room to hide from the invaders and to speak once more with the emperor. Leo Maximillian was not pleased to see them, "You are lousy prophets, I'll tell you that," he muttered, "You told me what I wanted to hear for years, but telling me what I want to hear doesn't let me win the war! How about it, priests! Prophesy for me now!"
Hiiragi smiled vaguely. Takauka frowned and stroked his chin, "No need to cast auguries. We've already seen rebels in the palace."
"What!" the emperor practically jumped out of his throne, "There are rebels in the palace!"
"Yes," Hiiragi intoned politely, "We have reason to believe they came through a hole made by the catapult somewhere in the back wall."
"I thought I told Sembre to take care of that!" the red-haired man fumed.
A scrawny messenger rushed into the throne room and knelt down before the emperor, "Your Majesty! Chancellor Sembre and his staff just fled the compound! Should he be stopped?"
"The fool...!" Leo Maximillian spat. He took a deep breath before answering the blond messenger, "No. Let them leave. I don't need them."
"Yes Sir!" the messenger saluted, getting up and running back out of the room.
The emperor began to pace back and forth along the embroidered red rug. Takauka and Hiiragi watched him in silence. Eventually he spoke up, "I am going to stay here until the last moments. I order you to stay with me."
"We will stay," Hiiragi stated plainly, "Not because you order us to, but because that is what we had already planned to do, from the very beginning."
Their ruler rubbed a hand across his temples, but said nothing more. He paced for several more minutes before returning to his ivory and gold throne to sit and await whatever might come.
Kiyon and Mio faced each other silently. Everyone else had backed away. Sanada held her hands behind her back, fingers crossed.
Mio had waited patiently for his father to regain his strength after climbing down the long rope. His father had not taken long to prepare himself for battle. "He's probably been itching to do this for years..." the young man noted to himself.
Swords ready, they advanced on each other quickly, their blades meeting with a resounding "Cling!"
As they each leaned into their swing, using some weight to strengthen the blow, Mio felt his hand begin to slip. He disengaged swiftly, hopping back a few steps as Kiyon lunged again.
Liyuin was sweating heavily as he concentrated on his spell, he was nervous that his timing would not be right. He had only one chance to pull it off...
A shadow passed over the scene of the battle. Junsuke glanced up in time to see the dragon turn west to make another circle over the gates. Garret had proved a most obliging man when he had awoken, thanking them for their assistance and offering to help out. The Dragon Knights in Goya, although free from Aronian rule would be happy to have the pressure of such a militaristic kingdom off their backs.
Haneh saw the dragon as well and held her breath. Lucien and Rizu had flown up with Garret to launch their attack on the gates. She wondered if they were scared up being so high in the air. From beside her, Ayu chuckled, "Who would've thought, eh? The struggled to get into the place comes down to fight between strategists?" The blond woman shrugged. She had not been involved in the plans for this action and had no real idea of what course the upcoming events would follow.
Kiyon lunged again. Mio was loosing ground at a moderate pace, being driven back towards the crowd, that constantly ebbed and flowed closer and further to get a better look, but avoid being in the way.
Tiko tried to explain a bit of the situation to Adeline and her daughters. "Ya see Mio here," he pointed, "One of our strategists is the son of Kiyon and they don't get along." The mother nodded thoughtfully, keeping her eyes on the match.
"Will they stop if anyone is injured?" Father Chico inquired with a bit of worry on his unshaven face.
"Err," the boy paused and pushing back his white hat, "I don't know."
Garret directed his dragon to move lower, closer to the gate, and as they passed over the frightened guards, Lucien and Rizu hurried to pour the barrel of oil over the gate. Angeline and Liyuin were prepared. The oil, flaring up and spreading quickly, multiplied the fire spells directed at the gate.
Kiyon turned in shock, letting down his guard for an instant.
Mio was unable to stop his swing quickly enough; not realizing his father had paused.
Lord Kiyon de Silverberg fell to the ground, the borrowed rapier in his side. Mio sunk to the ground in shock, "Father!"
Many revolutionaries rushed forward. Mekkachi and Tywin came with Dr. Clark, carrying a stretcher. Sanada ran to Mio and grabbed his arm, pulling him up, "You don't want to stand here next to this towering inferno!" She dragged him away from the burning gate towards the city buildings.
"M-my f-f-father..." Mio stuttered.
"He's not dead," the dark-haired woman replied.
"You didn't mean it, Mio," Hai-Yong reminded him, "It was entirely his mistake for losing his concentration."
"...But I knew what was coming, and he didn't..." the orange-haired man choked out with a sob.
"Come on! Let's go see what the doctors say!" Kira urged, gesturing towards the makeshift infirmary.
It was the reddest winter sunset to ever shine over Rupanda. The great heat of the fire kept the soldiers from making any serious attempts to extinguish it and so it blazed on into the night, melting the thin layer of snow around it. Kiisan stayed watching for many hours until Carlos came out after him, "Aren't you going to get some sleep? They want you to head in first thing in the morning, you know."
Kiisan sighed and Carlos sat down beside him, "Something on your mind?"
The revolutionary leader turned and looked into this friend's big green eyes, "Lots of things...I'm worried about what's going to happen in there tomorrow, what the future holds for the new country...my friends, my personal future...there's a lot to worry about."
Carlos looked at him sympathetically. He placed an arm around Kiisan's shoulders comfortingly, "I know what you mean. And it feels like destiny is moving you along like a leaf on the surface of a river. Like there's nothing you can do about it. Times like these I just have to stop and say a prayer."
"Let's say one together then," Kiisan said softly, with a bit of a tremor in his voice, "That way it should be twice as strong."
"Fine," the black-haired man agreed, "Please bless us and our comrades on this winter battlefield that we might not fall in vain. Give us the strength we need to move forward into a new day and a new future for the country."
"Send everyone home safe to those they love," Kiisan added.
"You've got the symbol of the highest power on your hand, Kiisan," Carlos noted, "That's got to count for something. If anyone's prayer should float like incense up to the most high, I am certain it would be yours."
The younger priest hung his head, "You still have a lot more faith than I do."
"I have to," Father Carlos grinned, "I don't have the luck that you do!"
Kiisan stood up and brushed himself off and Carlos followed his lead. They turned and headed back through the crooked streets between the snow-dusted buildings side by side. "Let's stay friends for the rest of our lives," Kiisan smiled. Carlos laughed, "Of course! For the rest of lives and ever after into eternity!"
"Carlos...that way you talk...you read too much scripture."
"Hmm, I suppose so."
Father Kiisan threw back his head to the clouded night sky and laughed.
The Circle Rune on his right hand glowed faintly.