Chapter 7:
The sun had only risen above the eastern horizon bathing the world in a soft golden light .A solitary figure stood on the cliff that overlooked the valley that was once the bustling capital of Kutou. In its stead was a dense jungle with foliage so thick that no sunlight ever touched the forest floor. That could be a gross exaggeration since no body ever ventured in that particular jungle to ascertain the truth in these words. Everybody avoided the place like plague. It was rumored to be cursed!
"You up already princess?"
The figure turned towards the source of the voice.
"Yes Sotisku."Keeah smiled at the red haired boy.
"Well come to the camp princess. Breakfast is nearly ready " Sotisku informed her.
"I am coming "She returned to survey the valley, a smooth frown marred her brow.
Sotisku nodded and trudged downhill to the camp.
Keeah watched as the golden rays of the sun fell on the valley .She had the oddest sensation.
She turned her head. There was another man on the cliff with her .He too was looking down on the valley. She could not see his face or even him clearly! It was almost as if she was trying to see somebody through blinding rain. That was odd, since the man did not appear to be very far from her. His dark blue cloak flew lightly in the morning breeze and the sun glinted in his golden hair. He seemed to be staring intently at something in the valley.
Keeah followed his gaze and gasped .In front of her stretched a vast city shimmering as though a mirage, glowing slightly in the morning sun .She blinked .It was gone! She turned her head .The man had vanished! It appeared that he, like the mist that melts away at the coming of the sun without leaving a trace, had simply melted away!
She gulped. What was that?
" The world we see around us is like a giant tapestry woven in the loom of the Gods. There are many threads of a thousand colors joining to form the most intricate of patterns. They are the threads of destiny, that joins the life of a king with a pauper, records the rise and fall of nations, the love, sorrow, anger, greed, jealousy, ambition of they who came before us; and of they who will come after us! And even though we forget them, they will always be there woven into the fabric of life! "
"Sensei, what are you trying to say? It does not make any sense!"
" I know it doesn't stupid girl! But then life does not always make sense! Just listen to what I have to say and keep these words in your mind. You will understand later what I wanted to say."
"If you say so, sensei!"
" Your sarcasm is improving Hime-sama, it will serve you well in court!"
"You do realize that I have only two years to strengthen myself in order to take up the reigns of my country "
"Some things cannot be.must not rushed. Don't interrupt anymore! Just listen! As I was saying, you have ever seen a weaver at work, sometimes the old cloth overlaps on the new one as more and more cloth is woven..."
"Come again!"
" Don't interrupt! Let me make it simple for you! Look around you. What do you see?"
" Rocky walls, some grass..I think that was a rat .,you ,a water jug , the leaking soup pot , a tattered pair of slippers .."
"I think that is enough ! What I meant to say was that this place holds memories .Every rock ,every crevice , every tree has a story to tell .If you listen carefully then they will whisper their tale in your ears.
Now free your mind and concentrate ."
There was a moment of silence .
"I think my head hurts !"
" Obviously you are incapable of rising above the narrowness of your mind ."
" I don't understand why we should dig up the past .The past is gone ,it is a time that cannot be turned back .The only time that matters is the present and what we can achieve now !"
"Spoken like a true general ! You will make an excellent one someday! However sometimes the answers of the problems in the present can be found deep in the forgotten past ! Some times the consequences of a mistake made by the forefathers have to be borne by their descendants .Never heard of the term 'sins of the father ' !"
" To lynch someone solely on the basis of there past is the worst form of foolishness ! "
" I am not talking about the immediate past ,but the past that has become lost in the annals of time forgotten by all ."
" Now you are confusing me .The past is the past .I wish that you will leave this topic in the past !"
" You have rudimentary psychic powers .They will grow with the passage of time. Such a narrowness of mind hardly suits you .Let me tell you this then ,sometimes the actions of a person is done with such strong motives that it leaves a distinct impression on the fabric of time .Even though the person will be gone the memory of his deed will remain "
"R..Right "
" Naturally you don't understand or believe a word of what I am saying . But one day this shall hit you smack on your face and then perhaps you will understand what I am trying to say ! As I was saying your psychic powers will only increase with age .It is not improbable that you find yourself in a place which is full of memories so vivid that they might even become tangible to you .They will seem like visions ,but in reality it will be the spirits that reside there trying to tell their tale ...filling your mind with the memories of the bygone years ! "
"Princess "
Keeah was pulled back to the present hearing Sotisku's voice. That had been one of the lessons she had failed to understand properly. Even to this day she couldn't quite understand what her sensei had tried to say. It confused her !
"Princess come on ,the soup is getting cold "Sotisku hollered ,his voice impatient.
Keeah turned back and walked downhill to the camp, her head bowed deeply in thought .What had she seen ? Was it a memory ? If it was indeed a memory ,then, who was that man ?
"You look worried "Suraco remarked handing her a bowl of stew.
"I am ."Keeah frowned.
"Well then,let me cheer you up with a story !"Suraco grinned.
Keeah was interested "What kind of story ?"
"The story that tells why Kutou does not have a guardian or sacred warriors! I only dug this one up yesterday. "Suraco put down his bowl " The story goes like this...Before the Great War, Kutou was ruled by an evil and greedy king. He wanted to increase the size of his empire at any cost !He cared little for the welfare of his people and his country .All he cared about was sake and concubines. But the truth was that the real power in Kutou rested in the hands of the fair haired Shogun of Kutou !"
' The fair haired shogun of Kutou ' Keeah frowned ' was he the man I saw standing on the cliff today morning ?'
"His name was Nakago .Nobody knew about his origin .Some say he was the last of a cursed race. "Suraco continued "And he was a Seiryuu seishi !"Suraco paused dramatically.
"Go on" Keeah smiled .
She had not heard of this story before. But then she rarely had time for stories between training and affairs of the state .That and fending off Menesku..
Nodding Suraco continued "It is said that there was not a warrior in all the lands who could stand against Nakago. They said that it was ice that flowed in his veins and not blood and that he did not have a heart ! He rose to power ruthlessly crushing they who stood in his path and the Emperor was a mere puppet in his hands ! He gathered the seven Seiryuu seishi ,so that he could use the Seiryuu no miko's power to achieve his ultimate goal !"
"What was that ?"Keeah's lips twitched "World domination ?"
"It is said that he wanted to become a God !"Suraco smiled "World domination was the next step !"
"Ah ,I see !" Keeah chuckled.
"The only people who stood in his way were the noble and virtuous Suzuku seishi ,and their beauteous miko, a lady from another world ,Lady Miaka "Suraco said solemnly .
Sotisku snorted loudly "Oh well ,the heroes and villains have made their entry ,now move on "
"Don't rush me Sotisku !"Suraco glared at him "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted ..",he cast another nasty look at Sotisku " But Nakago had a plan to get rid of them ."
"Good for him !" Sotisku remarked casually .
"The Seriyuu no miko was Lady Yui .She was the closest friend of Lady Miaka. But when both Lady Miaka and she came to this world ,she fell in love with the Suzuku seishi Tamahome !But Lady Miaka also loved him and her affection was returned by Tamahome !Nakago used this to drive a wedge between the two friends !"Suraco continued smoothly, ignoring Sotisku's previous remarks.
"What good is a super villain if he can't break one little itsy-bitsy friendship ? " Sotisku twiddled his thumb innocently.
"Sotisku stop adding footnotes !"Suraco said irritatibly "As I was saying ... Nakago tricked the Suzuku seishi and foiled their attempt to summon Suzuku ,causing them to suffer many hardships !Still in the end Lady Yui succeeded in summoning Seiryuu first !Due to the wishes granted to Lady Yui by Seiryuu ,the power of the Suzuku seishi were depleted and their miko banished !Then , Nakago declared war against Konon! That was the Great War ! "
"I see." Keeah frowned "Go on !"
"The war continued for days ,the soil turned muddy with blood...both sides were faced with heavy losses "Suraco paused "Then Lord Hotohori fell in combat ,slayed in the hands of Nakago ! Seiryuu was very sad upon seeing this carnage .In his rage he destroyed the capital of Kutou and slayed the evil emperor ! Still his grief and rage at having his gift so misused was not abated !He turned his face from Kutou and denied Nakago his powers as a seishi ! With his power locked away the Suzuku seishi demon Tamahome succeeded in defeating Nakago !"
"Thus the good guys defeated the bad guys and peace eternal reigned on this world !" Sotisku smiled cynically "Bullshit !"
"Seiryuu was so angry at the corruption and the evil resident in the hearts of the people of Kutou that he refused to be guardian of Kutou anymore !"Suraco continued grimly "And that ladies and gentlemen is the story is why we don't have a guardian and sacred warriors !"
"That is a nice story Suraco ."Sotisku raked a hand through his already messed up hair "Though I don't buy the shit about Seiryuu refusing to be the guardian of Kutou ! That part of the story is too juvenile ! "
"I know !"Suraco said calmly "But it is just a story !"
"True ."Keeah agreed "But every story has a base in reality .In fact it is nothing but the gross exaggeration of ordinary day to day facts ! The truth of what really could have happened to Seiryuu might be hidden in these very stories !"
"Well then ,I have another story for you" Sotisku grinned "It is really more or less the same story Suraco told you ,only with a slightly different ending !"
" I see "Keeah smiled at Sotisku "Go on ."
"According to this particular story the seven Suzuku seishi gave their power to Tamahome .But even with the combined power of the seven warriors Tamahome was unable to defeat Nakago !"Sotisku paused "Then the Suzuku no Miko used her heavenly powers to seal Seiryuu inside a magical scroll ! With Seiryuu sealed away Nakago no longer had his powers as a seishi .Then Tamahome concentrated the power of Suzuku into a massive Chi blast in his hand .The sizzling ball of pure energy burned right through Nakago's black heart. The end. "
"And what happened to the scroll ?" Keeah asked .
"I don't know !"Sotisku shrugged .
"I guess the only ones who know the real story are the people who were really there." Keeah said thoughtfully.
"By the end of the great war only two seishis were alive .Tasuki and Chichiri ."Suraco remarked pouring some water on the campfire dousing its flames.
"I have studied some of the scrolls written by Chichiri .But he mentioned nothing of this even remotely in his writings .He and Tasuki were present there .Though I wonder what happened to Tamahome...But it hardly matters now." Keeah looked up at the sky "They are both long gone !"
"And even if they were alive I don't think they would have helped us .Not with the kind of trouble they got from the last Seiryuu seishi !"Suraco smirked .
"But I believe that part about Seiryuu being imprisoned in a magical scroll ."Sotisku said grimly "That means that there are already Seiryuu seishi, but since the power of Seiryuu is sealed away ,the seishi is cannot access their power !"
"A highly improbable but interesting theory !"Suraco's lips twitched a little
"In fact it so improbable that it just might be true !"Keeah said solemnly.
There was a pause .Then Keeah spoke again "I wish I knew more ."
"About what ?"Sotisku asked curiously
"About the past. The Seiryuu seishi ...The Suzuku Seishi...Their life, their sorrow ,their little heartbreaks...I wish I knew what kind of people they were, what made them into the people they were ,what drove them ...everything" Keeah's eyes held a faraway look.
"I thought that is why we are here ."Suraco remarked .
"Right !"Keeah's eyes took a steely hue "Let's move !we have already wasted too much time !"
Yusagi : Thanks again for all the lovely reviews and for pointing out the spelling mistakes .
I have a question though . Does anyone know the name of the capital of Konon ?
Keep reading !
And please review ! -