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Chapter Six

The Magician of the Rift

The cabin is every bit as cozy on the inside as it appears from the outside. The delicate-looking man directs them to a sturdy looking wooden table and as they take their seats he goes to the kitchen and begins to prepare the tea. It only a takes a moment and when he returns Morgiana asks, "Um…who are you?"

The man smiles again and seats himself across from them. "I'm Yunan," he replies. "The guardian of this valley."

"Guardian," she repeats, looking at him quizzically. She can't think of any reason why an empty canyon would need a guardian but she's hardly an authority so she keeps the thought to herself. Instead, she asks, "How did you know my name?"

Yunan's mouth makes a small "o" of surprise. "Ah, I apologize. I've done something impolite. I knew it because I heard it while you were walking through my valley with your friend here. I can hear everything in the valley, as well as what happens on both sides of the rift." His smile falters somewhat. "That's why…I also know that your goal is to meet the Fanalis living on the other side."

Morgiana stands from her chair. "You mean the other side really does exist?" She feels excitement swell in her chest. "And there are Fanalis there?"

Yunan nods. "Yes. If you really want to go, I can take you there."

Morgiana smiles broadly and turns to beam at Hakuryuu. After so long, the chance to reunite with her people is right in front of her at last. It's all thanks to him. She pushes aside her chair and throws her arms around him. She's so happy, the joy might actually burst out of her. Hakuryuu braces himself against the back of the chair to support her added weight. Even after so many days of walking in the dark he still smells of kind and warm plants. "We did it!" she tells his collar. "We found them."

Yunan waits for her to release him before imparting his single caveat. "Indeed," he says. He's still smiling, but his eyes lack joy. "However, before I take you there, I have to warn you that it will be a one-way trip. Once you're on the other side, you can't come back." He looks into her eyes as he says this and Morgiana feels her heart sink. "Or rather, I don't think I'd want to bring you back."

All at once, Morgiana's excitement dies. She sinks back down into her seat. A one-way trip? She can't ever come back? She feels a hand touch hers and she looks over at Hakuryuu. He's looking at her with a concerned expression.

"You may have some time to decide," Yunan tells her. "Stay the night tonight and we'll see how you feel tomorrow."

Morgiana nods. She feels suddenly empty. Can she really cross over to the other side if it means she can never come back? She thinks of her friends; Alibaba, Aladdin, Hakuryuu, Masrur…all the people she's met and come to care for since she was freed. Is she really okay with never seeing them again? She thinks of the promises she's made—to Alibaba and Aladdin to meet them again at the end of a year; to Hakuryuu to accompany him on his own mission; to herself to find her people, but also to be a pillar of support to her friends and to try every kind of food from every country and to visit the small desert town with the rain feast again someday. There are so many promises she won't be able to keep if it turns out she really can't ever come back.

Yunan sets her and Hakuryuu up with a room and some beds. The room is small but comfy and the beds are soft. When Morgiana questions how he was able to find all the materials to build everything he explains that the house and everything in it were actually created through the use of alchemic magic. He describes it as magic that allows him to gather particles from the air and reconfigure them into whatever he wants. This is almost cool enough to temporarily take Morgiana's mind off her present dilemma, but the guilt she feels at the prospect of leaving everyone refuses leave her in peace.

As they prepare for bed that evening she finally decides to consult Hakuryuu. "I don't know what to do," she confides to him, staring hard at the floor as she speaks. She can't bring herself to look at him when she knows she may end up going back on her promise to him after everything he's done for her.

Hakuryuu lays a hand on her shoulder. "If you decide to go, I won't hold it against you," he tells her gently. She finally looks up and sees him smiling softly at her. "You'll be safe on the other side. You can live freely without ever worrying about people coming after you."

"But," she protests, "if I go, I won't be able to keep my promise to you or see Alibaba or Aladdin or Masrur ever again."

Hakuryuu takes her hand by the fingertips the way he did a month ago when he asked her to come with him in Aktia. "No, you won't," he agrees. "I can't say anything for them, but as for me…" He trails off and gives her a look that's so full of emotion that it nearly breaks her heart. "There are things that are much more important to me than that silly promise."

Morgiana has to look down again. She can't handle the look he's giving her. She doesn't know what it means, but even so, it hurts her to see him wearing it. "You…don't want me to come with you?"

Hakuryuu adjusts his grip to hold her hand properly. "That's not it," he denies quickly. "I just want you to be…" He falters. "I…I want what's best for you."

"And you think that going to the other side is what's best for me?" she presses.

"You'll be among your people," he answers. "You'll have what you've been searching for all this time. But whether that's what's best for you or not…I don't know. I've never been an authority on what's 'best' for anyone." He coaxes her eyes back up to his and offers her a smile. She's glad for the change of expression. "Whatever you decide, you have my full support. If you choose to cross over, I'll find Alibaba and Aladdin and tell them what happened. And I swear that you will never, ever be forgotten." He makes a fist with his wooden hand and holds it up to his chest. "But if you choose not to go, I hope you'll still join me. I want to teach you Kou chess and I'll need someone with strength like yours if I'm going to protect my country."

Morgiana takes his hand in both of hers and nods in understanding. He's right; this isn't a decision anyone else can make for her. She has a lot to think about before tomorrow.

That night, she lies in her bed and thinks long and hard about what she wants to do. It's such an amazingly difficult decision…and yet, she feels like she's made it before. She feels like she's been in this exact place thinking about the exact same thing sometime long ago, but that's so impossible that it hurts her brain to even think about it. Why? she demands in her own head. Why do I always feel like I'm forgetting something really important?

At some point she drifts off, because when she opens her eyes next Hakuryuu is no longer in his bed. Despite that, her body is telling her that not much time has passed. She can't have been asleep for more than a few minutes. She sits up and rubs her eyes. She's just wondering where her companion has gone when she hears muffled voices coming from the other side of the door. Curious what Hakuryuu and Yunan could be discussing at such an hour, she leaves her bed and creeps over to the door. She can hear their voices clearer now.

"Does Aladdin know what you've done?" she hears Yunan ask softly. She hears the clink of cutlery and judges them to be sitting at the table. Yunan must have made another pot of tea.

"No," Hakuryuu replies. His voice is heavier than normal. He sounds older, somehow. More worn. Morgiana presses her ear against the door. Just what are they talking about? What doesn't Aladdin know? "It's for the best. He has enough to worry about right now as it is."

Yunan is silent for a long time. Morgiana presses her ear harder to the door in case he's just decided to talk very quietly but that's proven incorrect a few seconds later when he finally says, "I don't pretend to know all the circumstances or how you've managed to hide it but…you've fallen into depravity, haven't you?"

Morgiana's eyes grow large. What?

It's Hakuryuu's turn to fall silent. A few seconds pass and then he says, "My rukh are white."

"And yet, you've cursed fate and gone against the flow of destiny. Do you mean to tell me you've found a way to do that without borrowing the black rukh's power?"

Morgiana holds her breath. Just what is going on here? What is this conversation they're having? She can't understand any of it. How could Yunan accuse Hakuryuu of falling into depravity? She's seen no sign of her companion behaving like any of the other fallen she's met.

When Hakuryuu answers, his voice contains a hard edge that isn't unfamiliar coming from him but it's been a long time since she's heard it. "It's true that I've cursed fate. But I haven't gone against Solomon's will." He pauses again for a short moment and when he next speaks the quality of his voice has changed again. He sounds sad. "I would never have been able to face her again if I did."

Yunan's voice is as calm and measured as ever when he says, "So you have, then. I would be very interested to know how you've accomplished such a thing."

Hakuryuu laughs but the sound contains no mirth. It's a hollow and tired laugh and it pains Morgiana to hear it. "In order to fall, you need to reject fate as a concept," he explains. "I've done such a thing before and it brought me nothing but self-loathing and bitterness. I learned that rejecting fate is the same as rejecting the world and everyone in it. Nobody can live like that without eventually and inevitably destroying themselves. So this time, I chose not to reject fate as a whole, but simply the parts that I don't like. Taking destiny into your own hands and forging a fate that brings happiness to yourself and the people you love…couldn't you argue that such a thing is the essence of Solomon's will?"

Yunan hums. "I see. You propose that the power to change destiny is written directly into the will of the world itself."

"It is. It's just as a good friend once told me; nothing is ever set in stone. There are as many ways to change destiny as there are people in the world."

Nothing's ever set in stone. Morgiana takes a step back from the door. Suddenly her head is pounding. She clenches her teeth together against the pain but it quickly becomes so bad that she can't even hear Hakuryuu and Yunan anymore. She reels. The door and then the whole bedroom fall away and in her mind she can see a shadowy figure. She knows who he is but her brain has locked that information away so she can't summon a name. He's walking alongside her and smiling. "It's up to everyone to decide the course of this world," he says, "Nothing's ever set in stone. If we don't like something, we'll just find a way to make it better. That's what it means to be human."

She abruptly returns to awareness and stumbles as she makes for her bed. Her head is hurting so badly that she thinks she might pass out. The last thing she remembers is falling onto the mattress. She's unconscious when Hakuryuu finally returns.

An older Aladdin is looking down at her. "Hey, are you feeling okay?" he asks, appearing somewhat concerned. "You look a little pale."

"Huh?" she replies, blinking blearily up at him. "Ah, yes. I just have a bit of a headache."

Aladdin laughs. "You're probably just hungry."

As if to prove him right, her stomach chooses that precise moment to let out a loud growl. She blushes.

"See?" he says, grinning. "Let's go find Alibaba and get some food." He holds out a hand to her and she takes it and lets him pull her up. She sways a bit as a wave of dizziness hits her. Ugh, she thinks, she must be getting sick. Of all the rotten times… Not that it really matters much. The Fanalis are a hardy race. Colds never last long for her. She makes a mental note to stock up on tissues and follows Aladdin back inside the palace where they've been staying with Empress Kougyoku. She perks up when she remembers that Hakuryuu is supposed to be coming back in a few weeks. She hasn't seen him in such a long time…she wonders if he managed to locate Judar like he wanted to. She'll be very interested to hear what he's been up to and see his reaction to the changes in the Kou Empire.

Before that, though, they still have a lot of work to do. And before that, food.

The next day, Morgiana awakens like normal. The pain is gone. She recalls the conversation she heard between Yunan and Hakuryuu the night before but the details are fuzzy. She remembers that they were talking about fate…and that Hakuryuu had apparently done something that Yunan thought Aladdin should know about…or wondered if Aladdin knew about? She can't remember. Something about rukh and rejecting fate and falling. Had someone fallen? No, everything was alright. Thinking about it too much causes her head to start aching again so she casts her wonderings aside and thinks instead about what she's going to tell Yunan today.

Will she go? Or will she stay?

She thinks back to her conversation with Hakuryuu and thinks she's made up her mind.

When she walks into the main room, Yunan is reading a book and Hakuryuu has pulled one of the wooden chairs away from the table and is sitting in it with his halberd across his lap. He's got a polishing cloth out and he's dutifully tending to the blade. They both look up when she enters.

She decides not to beat around the bush. "I'm staying," she declares simply.

Hakuryuu's response is instantaneous. He stands from his chair and gives her a worried look. "Lady Morgiana…" he protests. "Are you sure? I mean, are you really fine with that?"

She nods. "The rift isn't going anywhere. There are things I still have to do on this side. I can return when I have finished them."

Yunan stands as well and steps forward. "Before you decide for sure, there is something you should know," he warns. "Trouble is brewing on this side of the rift. A great war, one that will involve the whole world, is very close to breaking out. Consider your choice carefully."

Hakuryuu's expression hardens. "You're referring to what's about to happen in the Kou Empire."

Yunan gives him a serious look. "That's right. Very soon something is going to happen that will likely plunge the Kou Empire into civil war. If that should happen, some other countries may…find it difficult to not become involved."

Hakuryuu grimaces. "Yes. I'm afraid the fault for that is partly my own."

Yunan gives him a knowing nod. "Moreover," the hermit continues, "a conflict between Reim and Magnostadt is escalating as we speak. Reim plans to invade Magnostadt and has already planted the seed of its gambit. Kou, of course, also has its eyes on Magnostadt. The whole world teeters on the brink of a crisis that will change the lives of all who dwell on this side."

Morgiana looks between the two men wide-eyed. She'd known already that the Kou Empire had been running many campaigns in other nations and trying to gain territory, and also that something fishy was going on within Magnostadt, but she did not know that the whole world was on the verge of being plunged into war. She thinks about Alibaba in Reim and Aladdin in Magnostadt and wonders if they have any idea that their countries are about to go to battle with each other.

"I plan to return to Kou to prevent just that," Hakuryuu confesses, tightening his grip on his halberd. "I already know that my mother plans to kill my uncle and take the Kou throne for herself. In order to do that, she will need the conflict in Magnostadt to keep my eldest cousin Kouen occupied. However, if I can convince Kouen to suspend his campaign in Magnostadt, my mother will have no excuse to deny him the throne. As long as my mother is barred from any position of real power, we can keep the situation in Kou from getting out of hand. I know my people and a civil war is the last thing they want."

Morgiana's face lights up and she turns to Hakuryuu. She doesn't know anything about the politics of the Kou Empire, but she does understand strategy and an idea about how to handle the situation between Reim and Magnostadt is beginning to take form in her head. "In that case, what if instead of conquering Magnostadt with violence, Kou offers to ally with them against Reim," she suggests. "Reim is powerful, but when faced with the combined forces of Magnostadt and Kou, they will know they cannot win and will be forced to rethink their plan. This stops war from breaking out between Reim and Magnostadt. Then, because Kou came to their aid, they will gain a political advantage in Magnostadt. It's not a full-on takeover, but it still furthers the Kou Empire's agenda."

Hakuryuu blinks at her in surprise and seems to consider this. "Kouen doesn't yet know of Reim's intentions. He might be willing to listen if we explain things clearly to him," he agrees. "In any case, of top priority is keeping my mother off the throne. I'm afraid it's likely already too late for my uncle, so it's imperative that I talk to Kouen immediately. I must warn him that it is crucial that war not break out in Magnostadt."

Morgiana nods in understanding. She then turns to Yunan. "Thank you for the information, but this just means I have even more reason to stay on this side. I must protect the people I care about. I cannot cross over while I know they are in danger."

Yunan graces her with the ghost of a smile and nods. "I admire your determination and loyalty," he tells her. "In that case, allow me at least to teach you how to properly use that household vessel of yours before you go."

Morgiana starts slightly at the unexpected offer but quickly regains her composure and bows low to him. She's surprised that Yunan of all people possesses knowledge on how to control a household vessel, but she's happy to accept any help she can get. "Thank you."

oO0Oo

I feel like I should have proof read this much better. I think I'm going to have many regrets. Oh well.

Next chapter: It was a wig all along.