A Thousand Leagues of Wind, the Sky at Dawn

5-1

The Kingdom of Kyou is located to the southeast of the Kingdom of Hou. The Kyokai separates the two kingdoms. The strait between Hou and Kyou is also called the Kenkai, but is more generally referred to as the Kyokai as well. After all, you can't see Kyou from Hou, and for those who dwell along the shores, Kyokai or Kenkai, it is six of one, a half dozen of the other.

Shoukei was escorted by ten flying cavalry from the Kei provincial guard. As they headed toward Kyou, she again thought of her home country. There was of course sea traffic between the two kingdoms, but the crossing took three days. For the first time in her life, it struck her that, floating there in the Kyokai, Hou was itself like a winter-bound city, shut off from the rest of the world.

The species of you-creatures capable of flight were limited in number. As they must also conform somewhat to the disposition of a horse in order to be ridden, this restricted their kind even more. The primary you-creatures employed were striped rokushoku, or Szechwan deer, and they were definitely not beasts of burden. You had to ride on their backs. Shoukei was allowed use of a rokushoku, and, surrounded by the flying knights of the cavalry, headed to Kyou.

It was an uneventful trip. On the way there, they spent a night at a city on the shores of Hou and a night at a city on the shores of Kyou. After three days, they arrived at Soufuu Palace in Renshou, capital of Kyou.

The Royal Kyou, Empress of Soufuu Palace, had ruled for ninety years. Shoukei didn't know anything more about her than that. Hou had not enjoyed productive diplomatic relations with other kingdoms. On the occasion of her father Chuutatsu's coronation, envoys from Ryuu, Kyou and Han, the three nearest kingdoms, had come bearing congratulations, but from the start he rarely discoursed with the rulers of other kingdoms.

Shoukei and her escorts were shown by the palace officials into the Gaiden. Passing through the gates, Shoukei cast a painful look at the resplendent buildings.

I've got no reason to be a shrinking violet, now.

She had lived in the imperial palace, after all. Even reminding herself of this fact, she felt herself shrink. Part of it was being in the palace of a foreign potentate. The other part was, as always, shame at her slovenly appearance.

The officials who greeted them and accompanied them into the palace regarded Shoukei suspiciously. She hung her head, knowing she undoubtedly looked like some lost flower girl from the wrong side of town.

No, she thought as they walked down the polished black granite hallways, she was more wretched than any other flower girl of Kyou. Kyou was a wealthier country than Hou. She could tell that by what she had seen so far of Soufuu Palace. The city was beautifully arrayed. Hoso, the capital of Hou, looked like a one horse town in comparison.

Entering the Gaiden, she felt too miserable to raise her head. After shooting her a look, the envoy with her knelt down and proceeded forward on his knees, bowing low with his head touching the floor. Shoukei took his glance to mean that she was to do the same. Kowtowing like this only made her feel more miserable. It wasn't right that she had to humble herself like this. It should be enough to kneel. She was the princess royal, after all.

The envoy ceremoniously unfurled the decree from Gekkei and proclaimed his greeting. "The Marquis of Kei, together with all his retainers, humbly and with gratitude thanks the Royal Kyou for her great generosity in taking into custody the person of the princess royal."

Somebody chuckled. The Royal Kyou, Shoukei realized, catching her breath.

"Oh, it was nothing," she said. "We're neighbors, after all."

Shoukei opened her eyes and looked down at the floor. It was the voice of a young woman.

"But enough of that. How is Hou doing these days?"

"Fortunately, as well as can be expected."

The envoy again touched his head to the floor.

"Well, from my perspective, sitting upon the throne by right of the Mandate of Heaven, I'd say the Marquis of Kei is in a rather bad spot. But I'm sure you know that better than I do. I cannot thank you enough for all your good offices."

The echoes of her young voice rang out like a bell.

"Please congratulate the Marquis on his decisive action. The king was the cause of his own ruin. To escape his wrath, many refugees fled to Kyou in small boats and clinging to rafts. The people of Hou must all be breathing sighs of relief, now."

Unable to bear it any further, Shoukei began to lift her head. It was a breach of etiquette to raise one's head without permission. But not only that held her back. Shoukei didn't want to see the Royal Kyou. From her voice, Shoukei could tell she was a young woman, perhaps the same age as herself. She didn't want to see her, a girl clothed in silk, adorned with jewels, sitting on the throne.

"And I take it this is Son Shou."

Hearing her formal family name so casually spoken by the Royal Kyou, Shoukei bit her lip and fumed. That glib use of her name alone spoke volumes.

"Yes, it is."

"I shall take Son Shou into my custody. You needn't concern yourself about her any longer. The people of Hou and the ministers of Hou can forget all about her."

Understood, said the envoy with a bow.

"Please tell the Marquis of Kei to put the king behind him and work for the good of the realm, and so atone for his sins. A kingdom without a king can sink into the depths with alarming speed. That is the best way of keeping the ship of state afloat."

"I shall inform him thusly."

"Does the Marquis still reside at the provincial capital? He should take possession of the imperial throne as soon as possible. I believe it best that he assume the throne until the coronation of the next king and work on behalf of all the people. I will send along letters making note of the same. If any profess dissatisfaction with this course of events, let it be said that it was done according to the recommendation of the Royal Kyou."

Outraged, Shoukei raised her head. She couldn't stop herself. "Gekkei is a traitor and regicide!"

Their eyes met. The Empress sitting on the throne looked no older than twelve. She had the face of an angel. Standing behind her was a man with golden hair closer to a shade of copper. Kyouki, the kirin of Kyou.

The girl's coral lips parted. "The king destroyed himself," she said dismissively. "No king is killed except as the consequence of his crimes." She returned her attention to the envoy. "Sir, hasten back to Hou and give whatever assistance you can to the Marquis."

The envoy bowed deeply. With a voice filled with emotion, he thanked the Court and withdrew, leaving Shoukei behind. Shoukei continued to stare up at her.

The Empress said, "Once you are registered upon the census, would you prefer to live in the city or serve in the palace as a maidservant?"

The blood rushed to Shoukei's cheeks. A maidservant, a working servant, not even rising to the rank of a lowly clerk, not even listed upon the Registry! This child was asking her, the princess royal, if she wanted to be a maidservant.

Seeing the expression on her face, the girl giggled. "She still has her pride, if nothing else. Yet I am not so compassionate as the Marquis. Go to a orphanage or become a maidservant. Take your pick. You will reside at the orphanage until you reach the age of your majority, but as you are not a citizen of Kyou, you will not receive a partition. You'll have to find yourself a job. Well?"

"You're mean."

"And I don't much care for you, either." She grinned. "We took custody of you because your continuing presence in Hou would only cause more harm. Pity for your plight had nothing to do with it, and don't you forget it. So, which will it be?"

Shoukei could not imagine being at the beck and call of this girl. But her memories pushed those feelings aside. Ending every day covered with dirt, working until you could barely move, sleeping in a drafty shack. Everything she had experienced in Hou now mitigated her feelings of outrage.

"I'll be a maidservant."

Really, the girl chortled. "In that case, the first thing you need to learn is to prostrate yourself properly before the Empress, and never to raise your head and speak until and unless you are spoken to."

The Empress was about to return to the Naiden when the man behind her opened his mouth to speak. Shushou looked over her shoulder at him.

"What was that?"

He said, a flustered look on his face. "The way you dealt with the princess royal… . "

"Oh, nonsense," Shushou said flippantly. "Before you start feeling sorry for Shoukei, first feel sorry for the people of Hou who have so much cause to hate her. Really, you kirin do let your sense of compassion get the best of you, putting the cart before the horse and all."

"But… . "

Shushou laughed. She peered at face of Kyouki high above her. While most kirin had a willowy physiognomy, the kirin of Kyou was a big man.

"I have made up my mind. Okay?"

"Yes, but isn't it the Empress's duty to show compassion toward her subjects?"

Shushou snorted. "When I became empress, becoming a great humanitarian wasn't part of the deal. Sorry. Besides, you are my servant, right?"

"Yes, but… . "

"Then don't nitpick so. I don't want to hear any more about this Shoukei business. Governing the kingdom is hard enough. I haven't got any sympathy for some little fool who fiddled while her kingdom burned and utterly lacks discernment when it comes to her father."

Disheartened, the big man hung his head and continued to mope. "But that you would even consider recommending that the Marquis of Kei usurp the throne… . "

"Didn't think to. Recommended." Shushou plopped herself down in a chair. "So you're saying that because the Marquis of Kei killed the king, he shouldn't be the one to rule the country? Frankly, I wish the man would show a little backbone and just call himself king."

"It is Heaven who crowns the king. It's that throne you are recommending be usurped. If that comes to pass, and because of it Hou is destroyed… . "

Shushou rested her chin in her hands and sighed. "I really don't know what to do. Wave after wave of refugees from Hou."

"You should think about the refugees first."

Shushou poked her finger at Kyouki. "You are really such a dunce! Isn't there any room in that head of yours to consider anything other than pity? Hou is in chaos. And you're saying you don't want the Marquis to take charge and shore up the kingdom? Hou doesn't have a kirin, you know."

Kyouki glanced anxiously around the room. "Empress--"

"Don't worry, nobody's here. Of course I wasn't going to tell that to the envoy. I'm not stupid. There's no kirin on Mt. Hou. Who knows how long it will take for a new king to accede to the throne. If the people of Hou knew that, they would lose hope and the kingdom would collapse before our eyes."

There was no kirin on Mt. Hou to choose the new king. Not even Shushou knew why not. The wizardesses of Mt. Hou were the servants of God and Mt. Hou was the inviolable sanctuary of all the kings of the Twelve Kingdoms, yet no further details of the incident had been forthcoming. Three years before, an anomaly had passed through Kyou in the direction of Hou. A shoku. It was possible that this shoku had originated in the Five Sacred Mountains. When inquiries were made as to whether this was the case, it was said that all the palaces on Mt. Hou remained shut. None were open in order to welcome a new kirin.

When asked if Houki--word was, the kirin of Hou was a boy--was well and strong, not even a vague prevarication was heard in reply. Further investigation confirmed it. There was no kirin on Mt. Hou.

Shushou let out a breath. "We've got no choice but to let the Marquis get on with it. He's got a good head on his shoulders. And we don't know when a kirin will show up in Hou and chose a new king. That's why I'm trying to spur things on. You got a problem with that?"

"Empress--"

Shushou swung her feet back and forth. One of her shoes flew off. She said, "Chuutatsu brought this all upon us. It's not only his fault, but the fault of all his blockhead retainers and hangers-on who let it happen. That's why I can't stand Shoukei. Even you should be able to understand that. Now, quit crying me a river and get me my shoe and put it back on for me."

5-2

"It's freezing cold."

Rangyoku's voice carried in the morning air.

The Eastern Kingdom of Kei, the city of Kokei, prefecture of Hokui, Ei Province. Kokei was located to the northwest of the capital Gyouten, located in the center of Ei Province. The road east from Gyouten reached to the Kyokai. The road west ran to the Blue Sea. From ancient times, the thriving city of Kokei, prefectural capital of Hokui, had sat at the crossroads on the road west. Consequently, the city also came to be known as Hokui.

The village was undoubtedly the nucleus of the city that had grown up around it. In this, Kokei was not exceptional. However, the city associated with the village had greatly expanded over the years, displacing the village of Kokei from its critical location on the highway. As a result, the village was attached like a small appendage to the northeast of the big city. The sign over the gates read "Kokei," but no one called it that anymore. The name of the city was Hokui, and the small bump of a town connected to it was called Kokei.

On a quiet block in a corner of Kokei, Rangyoku filled a bucket with water. Glancing around her, she could see the cold and desolate mountains rising above the high walls. Pale white frost clung to the tops of the leafless trees. The gathering clouds were heavy with precipitation.

"I wonder if it'll snow," she said to herself, and went back into the house through the rear entrance. The house was the rike, or orphanage. Rangyoku had no parents, so she had be given over to the care of the rike.

"You're up early, Rangyoku."

The old man lifted his head when Rangyoku came into the kitchen. He was putting coals into a brazier in the middle of the dirt floor. His name was Enho and he was the headmaster of the orphanage.

"Morning."

"You're a good girl, out of bed before an old'un like me. I thought for once I'd be the first one up and get everything ready, but I'm not quite there yet."

Rangyoku laughed and emptied the bucket into the tank. She liked this headmaster. She might have otherwise expected an older man like Enho to get up before her. But she knew that he was concerned that if he got up early, everybody else would feel obligated to, too. So he stayed in bed.

"Looks like snow."

"Sure does. The water was freezing cold. Come over here and get yourself warmed up."

"I'm okay," she smiled.

She lifted up the lid on the big pot sitting on the stove. Warm steam filled the room. She started to prepare breakfast. Enho put the brazier down next to the water tank. He was only thinking of her. She stirred some leftover vegetables and meat into the simmering water, along with some dumplings.

"We're getting a new child today."

Rangyoku looked back over her shoulder and Enho nodded. He meant that the rike would be taking on another orphan.

"Should I set a place for breakfast?"

"More likely this afternoon or toward evening."

"I see."

When she and Keikei had fled the city, the headmistress of the rike had been a short-tempered old woman. When they returned, the old woman had died and had been replaced. Enho was not originally from the town. She had been quite nervous hearing that a strange old man had become headmaster, but now she was quite thankful.

"G'morning." Keikei ran into the kitchen.

"Hey, Keikei, you're up early."

"The cold woke me up."

Rangyoku laughed as her brother stamped his little feet. She filled a bucket for him. Enho dropped a hot rock into the water. That plop and sizzle was the sound of winter.

"Now, wash your face and dump the water outside."

"Alrighty," Keikei said with a nod and plunged his face into the water.

Rangyoku watched him smiling. There were three other children at the orphanage, but they got up later. Since Enho never scolded them, they stayed in bed as long as they wished. The three had been living at the orphanage for a long time. Because the previous headmistress had been so strict, they took advantage of Enho a bit. Perhaps aware of it himself, Enho let them.

"Man, it's cold!" said Keikei, opening the back door and tossing the water out onto the snow. His breath puffed white in the cold air.

"Better than last year, though. There's not much snow."

Half a year had passed since the coronation of the new empress. Just as the old-timers promised, the natural disasters had mostly ceased. Last year had seen an unusual amount of snow and many of the snowed-in villages had died off.

"I wish it would snow."

The braziers were the main source of heat. On really cold days, they put a kettle on the stove and boiled water and everybody gathered around the stove and warmed themselves with the steam and body heat. Wealthy homes had fireplaces, and even wealthier homes had a system that passed hot air between the walls and under the floorboards, heating each room individually, but few families in Kei could afford it.

Few could afford even to glaze their windows with glass. Instead, the windows were shuttered and paper affixed across the inside of the frame. That would let in some sunlight while shutting out the wind. Cotton was such a precious commodity that the futons were padded with the straw collected in the fall. As for winter clothing, it was practically impossible to get hold of fur or pelts. Charcoal for the brazier wasn't cheap, so the house was cold all the time.

Kingdoms to the north of Kei were colder, but as Kei was so much poorer it had fewer means to combat the cold. Winter in the northern quarter of Kei was particularly hard.

Nevertheless, Rangyoku liked the winter. Not only Rangyoku, so did all the children at the orphanage. Normally, from spring until fall, the people decamped to a nearby villages and hamlets, leaving the towns pretty much deserted. Only the orphans and town elders were left behind. During the winter, they all returned and would get together in big groups to spin cotton and weave baskets. That was a lot more fun.

Rangyoku took the lid off the big pot. "Keikei," she said, "go wake everybody up. It's time for breakfast."

Rangyoku was slicing steamed mochi into a bowl when suddenly she heard a scream from the courtyard. Taken aback, she looked around as Keikei came running back from the detached wing of the orphanage.

"Sis!"

"What's going on?"

It wasn't Keikei who had screamed. But then there came another cry.

"Youma!"

Enho jumped to his feet. Rangyoku put both hands to her mouth and swallowed her own scream.

"Go out the back and get to the Rishi." Enho gave the gasping Keikei a push. "Run for the cover of the riboku tree and stay there! You understand?"

"You, too, Gramps."

"I'll be along soon. Wait for me there."

Enho nodded his head at Rangyoku, urging her to go on ahead. Rangyoku bowed in turn, grabbed Keikei's hand, pushed open the back door and was about to stumble out when she heard the rustling of feathers and the sound of strong wings flapping.

She instantly stepped back and slammed the door shut. For a brief moment, she caught a glance of the sweep of its wings and the form of a tiger alighting on the ground. A kyuuki.

"Rangyoku?" Leaving the kitchen, Enho had turned back in the direction of her cry.

"In the back--there's a kyuuki in the back yard!"

Keikei began to wail. A kyuuki was a fierce, man-eating youma. It meant the end of the town. A kyuuki would devour every last person in sight.

Even now, the kingdom was still in this much chaos.

The back door reverberated with a crash. Rangyoku jumped back. She grabbed Keikei. Enho put his arms around them and hustled them into the main hall. Splinters came flying as the kyuuki tore through the wooden door with its claws. They bolted the door to the main hall and ran into the courtyard. Somehow they had to get to the Rishi. No youma would attack them beneath the riboku.

They rushed down the corridor toward the inner gate, down the stone steps, and emerged into the front yard. Behind them the screams of the children continued.

She wanted to help them but couldn't think of a way how. She knew it was inhuman to abandon them like this. She knew if it were Keikei back there, she would have turned back, even if it meant sacrificing herself.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

They reached the eaves of the main gate to the orphanage, Keikei suddenly shouted. Without thinking, Rangyoku turned and followed his gaze. Her eyes flew to the roof of the inner gate, to the crouching form of the kyuuki.

"Get going!" Enho urged them forward. "Run to the Rishi and don't look back!"

"No," said Keikei, clinging to Enho's coat.

"The others, they're probably already dead!"

"Gramps!"

Rangyoku took Keikei's hand in hers. She'd at least save him. She'd abandon Enho, use herself as a shield, and at least save him. The kyuuki licked its chops, crouched down low. Rangyoku watched it launch itself into the sky and fall on them. Transfixed, she held Keikei's hand.

A bright splash of red shot past them, grazing the creature's muzzle.

"What?"

That shock of red was a mane of red hair. Somebody had rushed past them and up to the youma. The image frozen in her eyes as she turned was that of the flutter of crimson and the brilliant flash of a naked sword cutting an arc in the air.

A boy, and a not very big one at that. His silhouette and that of the pouncing kyuuki merged together. Rangyoku hugged her brother to her chest.

The claws and fangs of the kyuuki, limbs as fat as logs. It's entire body was a weapon, yet the sword danced as it nimbly slashed at the youma. The spray of blood and gore belonged to the youma. The sword severed the steel-clawed limbs from its body. The youma slumped, howling, until the tip of the sword pierced its throat. The boy drew out the sword, swung it around and down. The blade bit deeply into the kyuuki's thick neck.

The kyuuki shuddered and toppled over. The boy jumped back and out of the way and then without a second thought, ran forward again and delivered the second blow to the beast's neck. Gripping the hilt with both hands, coming down on one knee, in a single blow cutting off the kyuuki's head.

Rangyoku fell to her knees. "I don't believe it." It was impossible, felling a kyuuki like that. She closed her eyes only briefly, only time enough to scream. She sat down on the ground, Keikei still in her arms. The boy wiped the blade clean and looked back at them.

"You okay?"

She couldn't answer, could only nod her head, yes.

Mouth agape, Enho finally put down the hand he had raised to hold them back. "And you are, sir?"

Before he finished asking the question, Keikei shouted, "Look out behind you!"

In a flash, the boy spun around, in the same split second drawing the sword as another kyuuki leapt down from the inner gate, throwing its entire weight against him. He feinted and ducked the charge. The kyuuki's bloodstained fangs closed on empty air. The sword connected, a mortal blow to the back of its head and then plunged in between its shoulders. He drew out the sword and in the same movement twisted his body and thrust backwards, impaling it through the throat.

Again, he made short work of it.

The sword was buried in the kyuuki's neck. Yanking it out, the boy tottered backwards in a manner Rangyoku found strangely affecting. He was so small compared to the kyuuki.

"Wow! Wow!" Keikei let go of his sister's hand and jumped to his feet.

Again, the boy wiped down the blade and glanced back at them. "It looks like you're not injured."

"Yeah. You were so great!" Keikei grinned happily.

The boy turned toward the heart of the compound. "I heard screaming."

Enho staggered up to him. "The other children--"

Not waiting to hear the rest, and without a second thought for the kyuuki, the boy leapt over the carcass and ran into the grounds of the orphanage.

Rangyoku and Keikei and Enho hastily followed after him, coming upon the ravaged exterior wing of the orphanage. Not a breath of life was left in the place. Three children between the ages of seven and fifteen lived there. They had lived together as a family until today.

The big window gaped open. The door hung from its hinges. A frigid wind blew into the quiet, cold room. Every surface was splattered with blood so fresh and acrid it almost seemed strange that no steam rose from the bodies.

They laid the three bodies out in the courtyard and covered them with matts of reeds. Hearing the commotion, the townspeople flocked to the orphanage, lending their assistance and sharing their grief and they bore the bodies to the town hall. By that time, news of the incident had reached the neighboring communities, and the center of town was crowded with unfamiliar faces.

Rangyoku looked at the spectators surrounding the orphanage, all keeping their distance, then at the boy. He stood in the courtyard, holding the sword in one hand, watching as the dead were born off. He had crimson hair and dark green eyes. His skin, darkly bronzed by the sun, had a vibrant quality to it. He was wearing a short, plain coat, but the sword he had killed the kyuuki with was magnificent.

"Um… " she said. "Thank you for saving our lives."

"It was nothing," he replied, in a quiet voice that somehow left a matter-of-fact impression on her. He seemed a little older than herself. They were both about the same height, so she guessed his age based on his overall stature.

"Are you from Hokui?" She asked, as he did not look like anyone she had seen around these parts.

"No," he answered.

Rangyoku tilted her head to one side. It being first thing in the morning, this struck her as a bit odd. The town gates opened at daybreak. In order to have gotten in so early, she reckoned he must have camped out the night before. When she asked him this, he nonchalantly nodded. "I considered seeking shelter in one of the hamlets, but there was nobody there."

Who would seek shelter in the hamlets at this time of year? Then the thought occurred to her. "Are you perhaps from Kou or Sou?" She had heard that in the kingdoms further south, people stayed in the hamlets year-round.

"No, from En."

"En is a cold country this time of year. The hamlets in En would all be empty, wouldn't they?"

"Probably so."

There was a smile in his voice. She turned to see Enho returning from where he had left Keikei in the care of the neighbors.

Enho said, "A kaikyaku."

Rangyoku looked at the boy with wide eyes. Enho said, "You're Chuu Youshi, correct?"

"Yes. And you are Enho-san?"

Enho nodded and glanced at Rangyoku. "This is the child I told you about, who was sent to the orphanage. Your new roommate."

"My what? But… . "

Rangyoku gave the boy a good long look. What Enho was saying was, this was the girl, a girl her same age, that he had been telling her about. "Oh! I'm sorry! I completely misunderstood!"

The girl smiled pleasantly. "No problem. I've gotten used to it."

Enho turned to Rangyoku. "Youshi, this is Rangyoku, one of the residents of the orphanage. She's the older sister of the boy you just rescued."

"I'm pleased to meet you," Youshi said with a slight bow.

When Rangyoku smiled and bowed in turn, Enho gave her a nudge. "While Youshi is changing her clothes, why don't you go fetch Keikei? He's still in something of a panic."

"I'll do that," she replied with a nod. Enho watched her hurry off and then looked up at the girl standing next to him. "With all these people about, we never greeted you properly."

"Understood. It's fine."

"I apologize. I'll see to it that you are properly treated as a resident of the rike."

"Well, that is why I came here."

Hearing her soft voice and seeing the look in her eyes, Enho nodded. "We are very grateful to you for saving our lives."

"Do youma still come into inhabited areas like this?"

"Yes, but less often since Kei got a new Empress."

5-3

Waiting for the ship to depart, Suzu leaned back against a bollard on the pier and examined her travel papers. Her passport was in the form of a small wooden token that she was to carry with her during the journey.

The people of a kingdom made their living on the partitions they were granted by the government. And the kingdom in turn governed the people using the land partition as the primary instrument of its control. Meaning, when you left your homestead, you gave up the rights and protections granted by the government.

Because of this, when a passport was issued, your name was inscribed on the face of the wooden token, and the back of the passport listed the name of the issuing prefectural office. The passport was placed on the person's koseki, or census record, and at three places along the edge of the token, a dagger was driven into the koseki. By lining up the grooves in the passport token with the puncture marks in the koseki, the authenticity of the passport could be confirmed.

It was also not uncommon for a guarantor's name to be inscribed on the back of the passport.

With a passport in hand, even when a person left his homestead, if circumstances required it, he could seek assistance from the nearest government office. It was the same when traveling abroad. Traveling abroad without a passport made one an itinerant or displaced person, and you lost all your rights. A passport was necessary even when going to a city in a neighboring jurisdiction. Consequently, you carried it with you everywhere you went, if only out of habit.

As Suzu's passport had been issued by the Royal Sai herself, the back was inscribed with the Imperial Seal. The passport was affixed to a small plaque called a rakkan, or financial guarantor. The seal burned into its face was that of the issuing bank.

The Royal Sai Kouko had given Suzu a generous sum for traveling expenses. These funds were deposited in a bank in Yuunei, the bank that issued the rakkan. Banks formed powerful trade credit unions by establishing strong and secure relationships with banks in other municipalities and even other countries. If you had a rakkan issued by a bank in the trade credit union, no matter where you went, you could withdraw money or establish a credit line at another bank in that trade credit union.

On the rakkan, the issuing bank and the stated credit limit were written in coded characters that could not be read by anybody outside the trade credit union.

"Unbelievable," Suzu muttered to herself. She carefully replaced her travel papers inside her jacket pocket, and secured it further with cord running through her belt.

It was too bad she wouldn't be working at the palace. However, if only a little, things seemed to be moving in the right direction now. Kouko arranged for the cavalry to fly her to the port of Eisou on the Kyokai. After a journey of ten days, they arrived at the coast and passage on a ship was arranged. She was asked whether she preferred a cargo or passenger ship. A passenger ship could only be booked as far as Sou. She would have to transfer several more times to get to Kei. If she went on one of the cargo vessels that plied the Kyokai around the Twelve Kingdoms, she could sail all the way to En, with a stop in Kei.

Suzu said that a cargo ship was fine with her, and the agent spoke with one of the commercial outfits on her behalf. This would get her to Kei. With the endorsement of the Royal Sai on her passport, getting a meeting with the Royal Kei shouldn't be too difficult.

I'm going to meet her. Somebody from Yamato, like her. Definitely the only person on the planet who could really understand her.

A tan-colored flag was raised. It was a small boat and there was only one flag. A small wheel was affixed to the top of the flagpole. It was a good-luck charm issued by the Ministry of Winter, called a junpuusha, a wheel-like talisman affixed to the top of the mainmast to ensure smooth sailing. As there were no deep harbors on the Kyokai, large ships did not travel these routes. Primarily cargo ships, though upon request they could take on passengers.

This takes me back.

Suzu looked down at the dark sea from the side of the boat. The ink-black sea, the faint, starlike flicker of lights. Swept away from her long-lost home, the first thing she saw of this world was this ocean. Suzu still didn't understand it. This ocean she almost drowned in, how far was it from her hometown in Japan? Told that the lights glimmering in the midst of the ocean were some kind of fish, that was good enough for her.

Glowing you-fish that lived deep in the ocean. They looked small to her, but in fact some were big enough to swallow a barge. Because they never surfaced except during storms, they were not considered dangerous. The youma that attacked people at sea were mostly beasts and birds that came from the Yellow Sea.

The boat left from a port in the south of Sai and sailed in an eastward direction across the Kyokai. They chose routes across the Kyokai rather than the Inner Seas because midway they would have to pass close by Kou. The king of Kou had fallen and the kingdom was in chaos.

"Usually, we don't see youma like that but once every three of four years," a sailor she'd gotten to know told her. "Youma are way worse than natural disasters. The Sonkai Gate up to the Reison Gate are particularly bad. They say that when sailing back to Sai from En on the Inner Seas, the flocks of youma from the Yellow Sea blot out the sun."

"Wow."

The Yellow Sea in the center of the world was completely close off by the encompassing range of the Kongou Mountains. You could only enter the Yellow Sea at one of four gates, called the Shirei Gates. The gate in the southeast quadrant was called the Reison Gate. The narrow strait between the Yellow Sea and Kou was called the Sonkai Gate.

"He must have done something bad, that Royal Kou. He hasn't been dead but a couple of months and look at the state they're in. Must be rough for the people of Kou. Until they get themselves a new king, you got to wonder how much worse things will get."

"So it's really bad… . "

The countries in this world are so strange, Suzu thought. It was one thing to say that the God in Heaven created the world, but children that grew on trees and all these strange creatures--she would hardly be surprised if God really existed. But if God did exist, why didn't He make it so kingdoms didn't go to pieces like that? If God did exist, it'd be nice if He'd make it so people didn't get turned into kaikyaku. And it'd be nice if He'd help her out for once.

The boat followed the coast of Sou east. Along the way, it stopped at three ports. The last was a small island close to Kou. From there, they passed through the straits between Kou and Shun and headed north. The water of the straits was a dark navy blue, somewhat bluer than that of the open sea.

"Why is the ocean a different color?" she mused as she rested her elbows on the railing and cupped her chin in her hands.

Out of the blue, a voice next to her said, "Because it's more shallow."

Suzu jumped and turned toward the sound of the voice. Next to her she saw a boy stretching as he peered out at the sea. At first, Suzu had been the only passenger on the boat. After three ports of call, the number had increased to eight. He must have been one of the passengers who came on board at Bokko, the last port of call.

"Shallow?"

"Shallow seas are bluer than deep water. You don't know much about the ocean, do you?"

Suzu glared at him. "I've never lived close to the ocean before."

"Really?"

The boy let go of the railing and laughed. He looked to be twelve or so. With his freckles and hair the color of oranges, he made a cheerful impression. When he laughed, his whole face lit up.

Suzu asked, "Are you going to En or Kei?"

"Kei," he answered.

Oh, Suzu smiled. "I'm Suzu. Pleased to meet you."

The boy cocked his head to one side. "That's a funny name."

"I'm a kaikyaku."

"Kaikyaku?"

So there are things people here don't know, either. "I'm from Yamato. I was washed ashore here."

The boy's mouth gaped open in surprise. "No kidding? That's great!"

"It's not great. It's pretty awful. It means I can't ever go home again."

Huh, the boy muttered, and stretched again. He looked down into the waves. "So your luck's not so good."

"No."

White waves washed the sides of the ship, vivid against the dark surface of the ocean. If you shifted your gaze to the open sea, your eyes met the clear line of the horizon dividing the heavens from the water. Somewhere beyond that distant horizon was the country where she had been born. She had wept profusely when she heard she could never go back again. She knew that it was possible for wizards to cross the Kyokai and had indulged the fantasy that if she served Riyou well, she would get a promoted to the class of wizard who could do so. But when she found out that she would have to become a wizard of the air, and a count as well, she gave up on the idea.

"Hey, cheer up." The boy hit Suzu on the shoulder. "There are lots of kids who can't go home again."

Suzu scowled at him. "No, there aren't. There aren't that many kaikyaku here."

"Even if you're not a kaikyaku. Like when your kingdom gets all messed up, your home gets burned down, there are people like that."

"That's different from what I'm talking about! I can't go back to the place I was before. Your house burns down, you can build a new one. Do you know what it means to never return to a place you once loved? Do you have the slightest idea what you're talking about?"

The boy looked up at Suzu with a perplexed look on his face. "I kinda think it's the same thing."

"You're just a child. You don't understand."

The boy puffed out his cheeks. "Kid or an adult, being sad is being sad. Not going home again would hurt the same, wouldn't it? You know how sad it is not being able to ever go home, but so do a lot of people."

"I'm telling you, it's not the same thing!"

The boy sulked for a minute. "Well, then, have it your way. Go on crying your eyes out. Excuse me for butting in."

Everybody here is just the same. Nobody understands anything. She said aloud, "Brat!"

The boy didn't turn around.

"So what's your name?"

The boy tossed the answer back over his shoulder. "Seishuu."