Look here for the clothes, colors and flowers. document/d/1W25vNzhas5VfJKJWzzGRlHGLWzSWV0HrnIA0_qLp4OI/edit?usp=sharing
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The Emperor opened his eyes to a pure-white dreamscape, the brightness of his surroundings dimming slowly until he was finally able to see. As he looked down, he noticed the pair of billowing sleeves and found himself dressed in the shōzoku Ikan-style seisō robes of a high temple priest. His hō had a beautifully embroidered flaming phoenix on the front, and the weight he felt on his head told him that he was also wearing a kanmuri. His hair was dry and set in a long solitary braid down his back. As he looked around to see where he was, the white background slowly filled in around him, bleeding in like a living watercolor painting. He was immediately able to recognize his location. He was at天火神社, the Shrine of the Goddess Elianna, Queen of the Gods and Mother of Fire. His family had made the pilgrimage to the shrine when the time had come for him to inherit the Goddess Fang. The shrine was the grandest in all the land, set in Orientalis' most sacred mountain; Fujisan. Fujisan was a living mountain with a belly full of fire, the perfect place for a shrine dedicated to the goddess who ruled over the element.
An ethereal glow emanated from the center of the shrine complex and he felt drawn to it, almost compelled to go there. He stopped at the chōzubachi, purifying himself before entering. It had been at least ten years since he'd last been to the shrine and although everything still looked the same, he was experiencing it differently now that he was older. He was able to pick up on a lot more details and appreciate things like scenery and decorative nuances. He had been so nervous and uptight the last time he'd been here, the weight of the clan's future squarely on his young shoulders. Ha had been internally panicking the entire time, praying that he didn't screw up any part of the ritual. He made his way through the shrine complex, marveling at its quiet serenity. There was no other human in sight, and all he could hear were the sounds of the mountain around him.
He approached the central pavilion, pausing to look up at the beautiful five-storied pagoda standing there. It was tall and majestic, its golden accents shimmering in the light. Each story of the pagoda represented a vital worldly element, showcased in ascending order: earth, water, fire, wind, and space. The fire element story was the most ornately decorated, golden flames adorning every facet. He went inside, slowly climbing the stairs until he reached the third story. As soon as he stepped onto the floor, an overwhelmingly pure, radiant, and powerful presence flooded the room.
He immediately dropped to his knees, kowtowing deeply toward the altar and keeping his face plastered to the ground. He knew instantly that he was in the presence of the goddess herself, the power in the room resonating deep in his soul. He did not dare remove his face from the ground and tried to keep his trembling body as still as possible. Not only was it highly disrespectful to look into a deity's aspect in their own home, but a mere human would burst into ashes if they ever saw a god in their true form.
"Rise, Katsuki Yuuri. It is now safe for you to gaze upon your goddess."
The Emperor got to his feet, careful to keep his gaze averted, still unsure as to whether he should actually look up at the goddess or not.
Gentle laughter suddenly filled the room and the Emperor felt such love filling his heart that it brought tears to his eyes.
"Be not afraid, brave warrior. I assure you that you have my full permission to look at me. I have gone to great lengths to take on a form that is befitting of a heavenly maiden of Orientalis. How will I know if I have been successful if you do not look at me?"
Slowly and timidly, the Emperor raised his eyes to look upon the source of incandescence. When his eyes leveled out, they settled on the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She was wearing a stunningly exquisite jūnihitoe, each of the twelve layers more extravagant than the one before. The kosode was plain white cotton, and the Nagabakama hakama was a deep red silk. Next was a deep plum-colored hitoe, and the itsutsuginu layers painted a beautiful story with its spectrum of colorful flowers. The first layer of the series featured pure red spider lilies on silver fabric followed by a second layer with magenta Iaponica primrose. The third and fourth layers were comprised of coral-colored Mitsuba azaleas and peach anemone flowers. The fifth and sixth layers were rounded out by light pink fujizakura flowers, and pure white Iaponica dogwood on burnt-orange fabric. Next was the scarlet-colored uchiginu, or stiff support robe.
The following layer, the uwagi, was a magnificent imperial purple and had embroidered flames all along the hem of the sleeves. The jewel of the ensemble, the karaginu, was a snow-white short coat with two strips of color at the sleeves. A thin strip in a rich tangerine color was sandwiched between two thin strips of deep carmine. The Emperor surmised that a large flaming phoenix spanned the entire back of the garment, as he could clearly see its wings extending over the shoulders to the front. He could also see the belt of the mō, shiny silver with phoenix feathers embroidered on it. He could not see the back of the train, but guessed that it was most likely as stunning as the rest of the ensemble.
Her hair was coiffed in the typical suberakashi style of the era. She had floor-length silky black locks pulled back into a simple ponytail around her mid-back. It was cut at the sides of her face in a layered fashion and a golden ornament featuring a phoenix sat regally upon her forehead. The Emperor was simply speechless as he looked over the heavenly maiden before him. He was completely enraptured by the beauty and grace and stood in stunned awe.
The goddess' amused voice rang out in the silence, suddenly shattering him out of his reverie.
"Well?"
The Emperor shook his head to get himself back to Earth and then cleared his throat before he spoke.
"I'd say that you were very successful indeed, Goddess Elianna Sama. You are a vision of elegance, refinement, and poise."
The goddess smiled, temporarily raising the brightness of the room so much that the Emperor had to shield his eyes with his sleeve.
"I am very pleased. Although, I must say… these layers are a bit heavy and quite cumbersome. How do the women of your land manage to walk with such weighted vestments?"
The Emperor smiled wryly.
"Very slowly and with lots of assistance."
Another giggle made its way past the deity's lips and the Emperor's heart was set aflutter once more.
"You must be wondering, brave warrior, why I have come to appear before you."
"Yes, Goddess Elianna Sama. I am incredibly honored to be standing here before you today. I am not aware of any instances where an ancestor, other than Katsuki Hideo, came to be in your presence. Forgive me, but I am especially curious as to why Ihave been chosen."
"Allow me to explain. As you are aware, at the time my husband and I created the twin swords, we removed some magic from within ourselves and used it to create the noble creatures whose souls make up their core. Something went a bit awry at the time...something we had not planned to happen. What we did not anticipate were the shards of our own souls slipping out, unnoticed, along with our magic."
The Emperor stood before his goddess in stunned silence. His sword had a fragment of the goddess' soul residing within it?
"We at first did not realize that this had happened, but as time went on my husband and I began feeling as if we were no longer 'whole'. Draconikus and I are soulmates, mated and bonded. Those missing pieces have brought us increasing discomfort and pain over the last few centuries. They long to be together and yearn to return and be reunited. I see my beloved every day before me, but my heart aches as if he were not there."
The Emperor was incredibly saddened to hear of the Goddesses' suffering. The Gods had saved humanity from complete destruction by stepping in and providing it with tools to fight for itself. Without the Gods' sacrifice, humanity would not presently exist. It was heartbreaking to find out that they were suffering even more greatly because of it.
"Forgive me for asking, Goddess Sama, but was there no way to simply remove your soul shards from the swords?"
The Goddess shook her head, her eyes briefly filling with melancholy before she spoke.
"Unfortunately, that is not possible. To attempt a removal would have killed the soul of the noble creature within it. The swords would have shattered and your clan would no longer be able to use fire magic."
The Emperor gasped, the weight and seriousness of the situation crashing down up him in one fell swoop. The Gods longed to have their souls returned to them, but to do so would mean dooming humanity and undoing their original act of intervention.
"For the last five hundred years, those two soul shards have been frantically calling out to one another, desperate for reunification, yet the two clans never met during all that time. We were forced to sit back and watch helplessly, unable to interfere with the fates, nor influence any outcomes."
The Goddess' face lit up once more, filling the room with light yet again.
"But destiny has finally brought the two clans together and the soul shards trapped with the swords have reacted to each other. I'm sure you've noticed it as well."
The Emperor's eyes widened as he thought of how the two swords had glowed, hummed and thrummed at one other the instant they had been brought together. It all made sense now, the caged souls were rejoicing after having found one another once more.
"I believe that the reason for the two clans finally meeting after all this time is due to the fact that you and King Nikiforov are both the closest earthly representations of Draconikus and myself. Before mating Draconikus and becoming Queen of the Gods, I was a fiery, fierce battle-tested maiden. My power was great, but my capacity for love was even greater. I treated all those around me with great respect and cared for them all as if they were my own family. However, once I was crossed or betrayed, I rained down vengeance with an iron fist. I've been watching over you since the day you were born, Emperor Katsuki, and I see a lot of myself in you."
The Emperor didn't know what to say. He was standing in front of the Goddess of Fire and being told that he shared many of her attributes. To say that he was feeling humbled was an understatement.
"I'm afraid that this situation has unintentionally created a bit of a…dilemma…for you and the bearer of the Ice Dragon Sword."
The Emperor's head shot up and his heart began to beat wildly in his chest. It was no secret that whenever a god came into some problem, humans were usually the ones who ended up paying the price for it. A million questions flooded his mind at that moment, but the Emperor chose to remain quiet and wait for the Goddess to elaborate.
"When Goddess Fang and God Claw 'met', the soul fragments within them activated. inexorably linking you two to one another. Since the pieces of our souls cannot return to our heavenly bodies, they must be reunited on Earth."
The Emperor's jaw just about dropped to the ground, his mind racing ahead and putting all the information together.
"Goddess Elianna Sama, is what you are saying is that King Nikiforov and I are destined to…be mated and bonded?!"
The Goddess sighed and stared awkwardly down at her hands.
"That is correct, brave fire warrior. Your soul is tied to the Goddess Claw as you are the current leader of the clan and the one who wields it. And as long as you wield the sword, you will be influenced by the fragment of my soul. The two soul fragments will pull at each other and gravitate unyieldingly toward one another until they become bonded once more. Draconikus and I will be made whole by proxy and balance will be restored."
The Emperor remained silent and he processed everything that he'd been told. The more he thought about it, however, the more incensed he became. The Goddess instantly picked up on his distress.
"You are…displeased."
"Forgive me Goddess, I am."
"There is no need to ask for forgiveness. I should be the one prostrating myself before you. You have been dealt a rough hand and had a situation forced upon you that you did not ask for. Your feelings are perfectly normal and understandable. Please Katsuki Yuuri, I demand that you be as candid as possible with me."
"Very well."
The Emperor clenched his fists at his sides as he tried to control his rising anger.
"I was born into this role and grew up being told who to be, what to say, and what to do. The weight of humanity's hope was placed squarely upon my shoulders, and although I did not ask for the responsibility, I strove to do my best and become humanity's strongest hope. I accepted my fate and sacrificed everything I had, knowing that I would at least have control over whom I chose as my life partner. And now…now I'm told that even that has been taken out of my hands!"
The Goddess wept helplessly at the Emperor's despair, each drop crystallizing into a clear gemstone before skittering across the floor.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry that this cruel twist of fate has befallen you. We did not know…we did not intend for this to happen!"
"But it did happen, whether you intended it or not! Was there no way that we could have been warned? That this...situation could have been dealt with before my generation?"
"I'm sorry, it was impossible! That would have constituted as interfering with the fates...and not even a God is exempt from punishment if they choose to do so! We had no choice but to sit back and watch."
The Emperor's entire body trembled with rage as he grew more and more incensed.
"You were able to choose your mate and fall in love with him. How will I ever know if my mate loves me for me and wants to be with me, and is not just being driven by a God's soul in a sword?! You have doomed me to a loveless partnership driven out of duty!"
"I understand your concerns, dear Emperor. Please take comfort in the fact that you and the King are extremely compatible. As I mentioned before, I have been watching over you. I noticed that there were sparks between you even before your swords came into play. Certainly, you noticed it as well?"
The Emperor rubbed at his temples in frustration. He could not deny that he had immediately been attracted to the ruler of Occidentis, but he was now wondering if that had been his own reaction or simply one dictated by the godly soul shard in his sword. He was rethinking and doubting every thought and feeling, every flirtatious action. What annoyed him the most was that he had thought that all those actions had come from himself. What surprised him was the crushing disappointment that they hadn't. He actually liked the King, and had thought that perhaps he had finally met his match. Now everything he knew had been flipped on its head, and he felt like he didn't know anything anymore.
He caught some movement out of the corner of his eye and looked up to see what was happening. The Goddess had extended her hand, palm up, directly in front of her. One of her crystallized tears floated up from the ground and levitated gently until it landed on her palm. She stared lovingly at it before looking up to face the Emperor.
"A Goddess' tear is one of, if not the most powerful artifact in our world. It has the power to grant wishes and would normally never be offered to a mortal."
The crystal gem lifted off the Goddess' hand and floated toward the Emperor until it was hovering directly in front of his face.
"I offer this to you, as a token of my deepest and most sincerest apologies."
The Emperor reached out and took the gem, almost instantly overwhelmed by the immense power radiating from it.
"This gem has the power to heal a mortal wound, negate any spell or ailment...human, demonic or otherwise. It has the power over death and may be used to return someone to the land of the living."
The Emperor was absolutely awed. He was stupefied by the massive powers contained within the tiny little crystal. He did not feel as if he were worthy enough to be trusted with such power.
"But most importantly, this gem has the power to sever your link to my soul fragment in your sword. It can become whatever solution you need it to be, but can only be used once."
The Emperor looked down at the little crystal, his heart suddenly filling with hope. In the same moment, however, reality came crashing back down and he looked at the Goddess with horror.
"But...what would that mean for you? For God Draconikus? For King Nikiforov?"
The Goddess' mouth formed a sad little smile.
"My soul shard will continue seeking its other half, sparing your generation but manifesting itself in another. The Goddess Tear only has the power to affect one person, whether that be yourself or another. If you use it on yourself, King Nikiforov will carry on searching for his other half, and any of his ties to you will be severed. You will be free to choose your own mate once more."
"Is there no possible solution for the King? It seems...rather callous to offer only one of us a solution when we're both affected by this predicament."
"Ah, how it brings joy to my heart that you can still think of others in this situation. You make me proud, and give me hope, Katsuki Yuuri."
The Goddess closed her eyes for a minute and then reopened them to look at the Emperor once more.
"The King is currently receiving his own visit from Draconikus. I have communicated my decision to my beloved and he will offer the same choice to him as well."
_terminology_
shōzoku: vestments worn by the Shintō priests of Japan during the performance of religious ceremonies.
hō: top/shirt of the shōzoku, colored and sometimes patterned. Worn belted
kanmuri : headdress worn with the Seiso robes.
天火神社 (Tenpi Jinja): Heavenly Fire Shrine, my made-up name for this story. Based on the Toshogu Shrine in Nikko (I've been there, it's such a beautifully stunning shrine set in a mountain background.)
chōzubachi: a Shinto water ablution pavilion for a ceremonial purification rite known as temizu. The worshipper first washes their left hand, right hand, mouth and finally the handle of the water ladle to purify their bodies before approaching the main Shinto shrine.
jūnihitoe: a set of formal and highly complex kimono garments worn only by court-ladies in Japan. Translated, the term means "twelve-layer robe", however, the number of layers varies, and during the Heian period up to fifteen or twenty layers of kimono may be worn.
suberakashi: Heian era hair style for noble ladies featuring very long hair, only cut at the sides of the face in a layered fashion, and sometimes worn tied back. An ornament is sometimes work on the forehead.