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Courts of the Crane Clan • L5R - Ditched - A Winter Court 5 Sequel Story - Page 5
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Re: L5R - Ditched - A Winter Court 5 Sequel Story

Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 6:16 pm
by KakitaKaori
Late Spring, 1237 – The Ivory Palace

“Wake up, Daughter of Doji.”

The voice was deep. Powerful. Serene. Arahime opened her eyes.

It was still dark. A few stars twinkled through the small gap in the cracked dome of painted sky. On the ground before her, the fire glowed as a handful of rosy embers.

Across the fire, she could see the cloak that had covered the old woman, but she was not there. Arahime sat up, laying her hand on her saya.

Standing over her was a tall shadow barely visible in the dim light. The shadow walked to the small pile from the broken cabinets, picked up an armload of wood, and returned, setting the biggest piece on the low coals. The dry wood crackled into life with a burst of flame and a small shower of sparks.

In the brighter glow, Arahime could see that the shadow was really Shiba Tsukimi. But not as she had left her. This woman was old, true, but strong. She stood straight, like a trained soldier, and carried the wood like a bushi half her age. Her daisho rode easily at her hip. Arahime rubbed her tired eyes with the back of a hand and climbed to her feet. “Tsukimi-sama…has something happened?”

The deep voice answered, the Phoenix reaching out a hand to rest it on Arahime’s shoulder. “Tsukimi-san has finally decided that the time has come for her to lay down her burden and rest. She at last realizes that it is time to let me go.”

Arahime looked up into the taller woman’s face with eyes still hidden behind the blindfold. Confusion occluded hers. “I don’t understand. I am sorry.”

Tsukimi-not-Tsukimi gave her a sad smile, filled with compassion, and lowered her hand. “You may be Doji’s Daughter, Arahime-chan, but your grandmother, Nejin, was one of mine, and you have her smile. I have never forgotten even one of my children. None of us have. Perhaps that is why it has been so hard for us to leave you. There is duty and honor and glory in Tengoku. But the virtues of Ningen-do are love and death, and Ningen-do is a jealous realm. To touch Ningen-do is to know love. It is a hard thing to let go. ”

To say it aloud seemed like utter foolishness. But here, in the quiet darkness so far from everything she had ever known...she could accept that. She thought she understood. “Shiba-no-kami?” Arahime fell to her knees and pressed her head to the floor.

“Yes. Rise, little one. I do not want to fail to do what I must any longer than necessary, for your sakes. Tengoku is closest to Ningen-do at dawn. You must listen now, and do as I say.”

Arahime straightened, still kneeling before the Champion. “Hai!”

“You will go to Second City on the first day of Summer Court and present yourself to the Warlord. Powerful representatives of all the clans will be there, as will representatives of the Emerald Champion and of the Brotherhood of Shinsei.” Tsukimi Shiba paced with a calm energy as she spoke.

“You will need proof.” She stripped the blindfold from her eyes. They were a mass of hideous scars, destroyed by the poison of a Scorpion’s blade. She carefully folded the red strip of cloth and handed it to Arahime. “That will serve.” Arahime reverently accepted the blindfold, still not entirely certain she was not dreaming.

The Phoenix turned and went to the place where Arahime first saw the old woman wrapped in ivy. She bent and pried a stone from the floor, itself hidden under the vines that had concealed Tsukimi. She pulled a wood and cloth prayer satchel from under the stone. Then she strode back towards the kneeling Crane.

“Within this satchel are letters. They are not for you. They regard the future governance of the Phoenix clan and the Shiba family. Much sorrow has come because the Phoenix look outside themselves to find the wisdom to stay their hand. They have always relied on me. I have loved them and not abandoned them. Even when my mother called me home, I heard their cries and returned to guide them, as we always have.” She gave Arahime the satchel. “The heavens groan with the lessons they failed to learn, for we were always there. We withdrew to see if they would find their way without us. The pain of such testing may have torn the Phoenix apart, but they are rising again, without us.”

Arahime, gray eyes wide, accepted the satchel also, carefully setting the blindfold on top of it.

“I do not want to leave,” Tsukimi-not-Tsukimi said aloud, still pacing. “But the influence of Tengoku must decrease if the influence of Jigoku is to decrease. We disrupt the balance. Hantei understood this. All of us followed in our turn, even Shinjo, but love keeps calling us back. The touch of Ningen-do is strong. Tell them I do not abandon them...I hear their prayers even now, and I will when I stand with the Fortunes. Tell them...”

She looked down at the young woman with wide, innocent eyes who clearly understood very little, and gave a crooked smile. “The letters say what must be said. I consign my clan to the Brotherhood of Shinsei. Shinsei will help them make their new way.”

“Yes, Shiba-no-kami,” Arahime accepted the burden, numb in her confusion but humbly accepting the task she was given.

The Phoenix Champion looked satisfied.

“There is one last thing you must carry. Ofushikai,” She gestured at her obi and the pearl-encrusted sword that hung there, “and I are bound. It must come with me. But return this gift of the Heavens to my clan and it shall stand in Ofushikai’s stead, so the Phoenix know that they have been forgiven.”

The Champion held out her hand. A radiant light began to form under her fingers. The light grew brighter and brighter until Arahime had to hide her eyes from the silver glare. When she lowered her arm, the Champion held in her hand a katana, simple in appearance, with a copper saya and wrapped with orange silks. An orange tassle hung at the end. “This is Keitaku. I removed it from Midoru’s shrine when the Masters bound the Fire Dragon. It is time for it to be returned. I will pay any remaining price for my people to appease the heavens. And then we shall let a new balance be formed.” The sword lost its brilliant silver glow as Shiba passed it into Arahime’s trembling hands.

Arahime just nodded, dazzled and overwhelmed with the responsibility.

The Champion looked around the room, but could see no task remaining that had not been completed. The sky that peeked through the cracks in the dome above was beginning to brighten, though the sun had not yet risen. They sky was growing pale. “One last task for you, Little One. When these things have been returned, you must go to my sister. She has been dreaming for many years, but it is time to awaken. It is time to go home. Tell her I will wait for her there. Will you tell her this?”

“Yes, Shiba-no-kami, I will tell her.” Arahime answered, before her mind could really comprehend what she had been asked to do. She had no idea what Shiba was asking of her, knowing only that she would try her best to do it, even if it cost her life.

Shiba Tsukimi smiled, gazing down at the young woman. “You will understand. Be wary of that gift you wear. Even Doji’s daughters can lose their way gazing at foreign stars. But I do not think it would displease her. Farewell, Little One.”

The Phoenix Champion turned away, slowly ascending the steps of the dais to the place where the shattered throne once stood. She drew Ofushikai from its saya and held it up to the growing light. As the first rays of the rising sun streaked through the cool, jungle-claimed ruined palace, its light caught on the shining steel and flashed brilliantly.

Arahime blinked. When she opened her eyes, Shiba Tsukimi was not there. A tumbling cascade of peach blossoms fell from the dais, blowing and spilling all around her and filling the tropical air with the smell of springtime...and the sea.

She was alone.

Re: L5R - Ditched - A Winter Court 5 Sequel Story

Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2017 10:46 am
by KakitaKaori
Late Spring, 1237 – The Ivory Palace

The sun had climbed even higher in the sky before Arahime stood, still dazed at what had just passed. Had that really happened? But there was no denying it; the satchel, blindfold, and sword lay on the ground beside her in the empty throne room.

“You never told me how to get to Second City from here…” she said aloud.

Nobody answered.

Well. This is a problem.

For a time, she wandered through the great palace, though she did not know what she expected to find there. Overgrown gardens bursting with flowers, empty kitchens with broken dishes and dust, decayed chambers where once a noble court walked, but no trace of the passage of other people, at least not for many years. She returned to the throne room.

Sitting down next to the spot where she had found Shiba Tsukimi amongst the vines, she rested her chin in her hands tiredly. As she had been walking, her problem became more and more apparent to her. She had food for five days. Better than being here with nothing, but not enough that she could afford to stay for long. She could strike out into the jungle to find more, but she knew, better than anyone, how dangerous the jungle could be. Her stamina had been badly damaged by her injury, and she had barely survived before. Still, the Vānara had told her she was not far from the shore and more inhabited lands. She could reach the shore. But what then?

She had been so concerned with surviving and getting to Second City, she had not considered what she would do when she got there, other than dueling Parashi. To her, it didn’t matter before: she figured that she would find out where the politics of Second City stood by speaking to the local Samurai or Heimen and then determine an approach from there. But that was before she had been entrusted with the Celestial Sword of the Phoenix and Shiba’s letters, and that changed everything.

If Zogeku had decided on conflict with the Empire, those items could be held hostage over the Phoenix. Certainly their political leverage was vast. Even a single samurai or rinjin without honor could find great glory in taking them for himself, killing her, and presenting the bequest of Shiba as given to him. It would be a great temptation to any samurai, and as for her….she was already dead. If she were slain to win such glory, no one would ever know. And her recent experiences of rinjin honor found it very wanting.

She would like to think she could defend herself against an attack, but she knew in her heart that, while she might have once, that path was not open to her any more. Any such fight would be to the death, and she had drunk far too deeply from that well not to know that it lingered near. She simply did not have the stamina needed for such an encounter. It would be a great challenge just to defeat Purashi, though one she was determined to do, no matter the cost.

That left remaining hidden until the beginning of Summer Court. She didn’t know the date, exactly, but that could be some time. Even if she went directly to honorable samurai of the Phoenix, the ones to whom the sword belonged, she still could not fulfill Shiba’s will. Shiba had ordered her to present herself and the sword to the Warlord on the first day of Summer Court. The Phoenix would definitely not wish to do so and would take the blade from her. She had to hide from everyone until Summer Court, but still gain entry to the Warlord’s presence on the first day. In Rokugan, she had allies and friends. But here, there was no one but Doji Mushari, who might himself be dead.

Arahime buried her head in her hands, remembering the giant snake and the vast open wilderness that she had been trapped in. She had survived that, but even if she could get past the jungle between her and Second City, a jungle of politics awaited her. And that, she knew, could be just as deadly. I don’t have a single ally. What am I going to do?

You are Apsara, daughter of the Ikshwaku. Of course the people will protect you. The voice in Arahime’s head, which she had dubbed Big Sister, was calm and confident.

Arahime had not tried to actively seek out the knowledge of the navrathran haar. Such gaijin magic carried risks that should not be taken lightly. But Arahime realized that even long-dead princesses might be able to help her, and this was the only tool she had left. “Big Sister?” she said aloud, her voice small in the vast throne room. “Do you know how to get to Second City from here?”

There was a pause. I do not know this Second City. There was no city called such that I remember.

That makes sense. Arahime lifted her head. Even if she did not know specifically where she was, she knew in general that it was unlikely she was carried across the river. “What about to the river? The great river that lies to the east? Or to the sea to the south, if that is closer?”

There was a warmth in the tone of Big Sister’s thoughts as she answered. Each year at the beginning of summer we would travel the Road of Holy Pilgrims to reach the sea to the south and make salt. The fishing villages to the south are near the mouth of the Narmada river. It is only a few days travel and is an easy road.

The Kakita felt an initial wave of relief. It was too late in the day to start now, but at least she did not have to worry about finding food if she could get to the shore. She had seen small Ivinda fishing villages near Suitengu’s Torch on their journey west. But that left the question of allies, reaching Summer Court unnoticed, and receiving an audience with the Warlord still unresolved. But Big Sister had said…


“Which people would protect me? Would they help me?” Arahime asked the empty air.

Our people. The Ivinda. Of course, you wear a barbarian’s face, growing up in such wild lands. But if it was clear to them that you had been chosen by Lakshmi to bear the navrathran haar, that your desire was to bring prosperity and justice, then they will remember. They would not forget the Apsara so easily. You must convince them. But I may help. Do you wish me to?

To accept help from a mysterious artifact and the woman who seemed to lie within was dangerous, and Arahime was not about to give an unqualified yes. However, no matter how she played the angles out in her mind, she could not see any other prospective allies who would have reason to protect her and take her to the Warlord. “Show me.”

Big Sister offered calm affirmation. First, we must find a proper place to make preparations and sleep. Let us see if one of the Chambers of Bliss remains unsullied.

Following the guidance of the the navrathran haar, Arahime went exploring deeper into the Ivory Palace, lighting a torch to venture into the darkness. Finally she reached a painted wall of rough-cut stone, similar to the stone on either side. But Big Sister pointed out two small holes in the stone. She reached in and each finger found a metal latch. When she pushed both latches at the same time, the stone loosened and she found that it rolled along a hidden track. She pushed it aside and went in.

The chamber had been left almost untouched by the passage of time. Rich, heavy carpets covered the floor instead of tatami mats, and only a few mice had been able to chew at the edges. She lit the lanterns that hung from brackets on the walls and extinguished her torch. A large teak and gold cage filled one corner of the room, though she felt Big Sister’s amusement as she told her it was a bed. Exploring the cabinets in the cage, Arahime found a large, very soft futon that had been stored away in a box made of cedar. After so many months of sleeping on rushes under a coconut fiber blanket, the softness of the futon was heavenly.

A finely painted stand held a basin and pitcher for water, along with a low, padded stool and a large round mirror. Arahime knelt down to look at herself for the first time in many months. Her hair had grown much longer, but the humidity had made it curl as much as her father’s. She was thinner, her skin pale due to the change in her diet and the time that she had been hidden out of the sun as she recovered; all the darkening of her skin from her days aboard the boat was gone. There were red pocks where the biting insects had demanded their share. The clothes she wore, the Ivindi garments, were, miraculously, only stained and not torn from her journey through the jungle. Her gray eyes were tired. It’s a good thing Harun can’t see me like this. He’d be horrified. She smiled to herself, knowing that that was a lie. Harun wouldn’t care about little things like that. She was alive, and that was really what counted.

You will need to look like an Apsara. You have a barbaric beauty about you, Little Sister, but wearing the sari is insufficient. Most will not have seen the navrathran haar to recognize it. You must pierce your ears and nose to show your favored daughter status. You are not a concubine, after all.

Arahime’s eyes widened and she covered her nose with her hands protectively. “My nose?!” she squeaked. As a bushi, of course she’d seen duelists who had suffered far greater injuries to their faces in the cause of serving their lord, and such was a sacrifice that all had been instructed to expect. And she had heard of piercing the ears as courtiers do. But…

Of course. Only the daughters of a true wife are permitted to wear the Nath.

It was a small enough injury, and Arahime had become well versed in purifying her wounds. She had to laugh a little at the idea of marching into Summer Court looking far more gaijin than any rinjin ever had. Once her mother told her the story of a crow that stole the feathers of an eagle to take a message from Shinsei up to Tengoku for him. If a Crow can disguise himself as an Eagle, surely a Crane could disguise herself as a Peacock for a time in order to carry her own message to the Phoenix.

“Very well. What do I do?”

First…we wash. You are filthy, Wild Princess. Let us seek out some water.

Re: L5R - Ditched - A Winter Court 5 Sequel Story

Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2017 5:41 pm
by KakitaKaori
Credit for the background story to this chapter goes to Sean Fisk for his story from the Winter Court 5 background stories http://winter-court.com/docs/fictions/P ... angers.pdf

Late Spring, 1237 – Suitengu’s Torch

Prateet Dalai was no ordinary fisherman. In the village of Vadavannur, a moonless night like this would never find the other fisherman out on the streets. It had been different long ago. In the distant past, the village of Vadavannur would play host to music and dancing in the cool evenings, when everyone would congregate outdoors to smoke and drink and dance and love and gossip and talk about the latest catch. Parades of visitors and noblemen would come to their shores to enjoy the blessings of the sea. But then the Ruhmalites came and brought death with them, killing every man, woman, and child in the village. Only those who had been out on the boats at the time were spared. Now, the men and women of Vadavannur stayed inside at night and watched the jungle carefully. If they spoke of it at all, it was to speak in hushed tones of the glories of the distant past and the ghosts of ancient kings that walked the broken stone roadway into the sultry darkness. Each year the stories of the past grew fewer, glories forgotten. They knew little of true fear any more.

Prateet Dalai was not like them. His family had lived in Second City for generations, far more urbane and sophisticated than these simple villagers. His parents were poor, and life was difficult growing up in a land decimated by the cultists of Kali-ma there in the city. Poor, but they survived. When the strangers came, they adapted. They lived through the chaos of the conquerors and the purges. The strangers went insane, slaughtering each other and anyone within reach in the streets. But then came the Dark Naga, sweeping all before them. It was too much. Prateet’s father fled to this tiny fishing village, far from the strangers and their deadly blades and the city’s madness. It was hard to adapt once again to a new craft, but it was peaceful. These villagers were frightened of ghosts and memories. But not Prateet. He had faced true fear and was never afraid. He still had family in Second City. He remembered how his father’s cousin Sadhu always smiled when he handed him a sweet roll. He hoped they were well. He hoped Sadhu smiled still.

It cost much lamp oil to mend nets at night. But a fisherman who could do so could reach the fishing grounds first and bring back the biggest catch. Prateet found the great lighthouse more than sufficient to give him light for mending his nets. So each night he would carry one of his nets into the the Lighthouse’s glow to mend for several hours before returning home to sleep. He did not venture near the strangers who guarded the lighthouse, of course. They were more trouble than they were worth. But they did not bother him or his nets.

The other fishermen were too superstitious to follow. Each night his travels would take him up to the foot of the stone steps, that overgrown, grim pathway that climbed into the mountains. The villagers said death came from that road, that there lay the ghosts of the maharajah and the Ivory Court. It was there that the people of Ivinda were slaughtered by the cultists and from there that the terrors of Kali-Ma emerged. That was a long time ago, and Prateet had seen the Dark Naga in Second City. The steps held little terror for him.

Still, the jungle was very quiet tonight, and the road was dark. Prateet was climbing the small ridge that led to the base of the steps, and the dark jungle cliffs loomed over him with the weight of time and story. Even the insects chose not to sing. I am no superstitious bumpkin, he told himself, and pushed on.

He reached the stone tiles of the base, the path up a crack leading further into darkness. Around him were shrines to appease the angry spirits and warnings to venture no further, but his path went back down into the village of Vadavannur. Prateet was no village fool…he reached the center and turned to look up the path into the mountains.

At first, it was a glimmer, but it quickly grew brighter and brighter as he watched until it became like its own silver star. As the light grew closer, Prateet’s jaw dropped as the truth was revealed. What he had thought a star was a woman, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her sari of white and gold shone like the moonlight on the crest of an ocean wave. Her slender waist was encircled with gold and jewels, and gold and jewels ornamented her wrists and ankles. A fine white veil disguised her face and hid her eyes, but he could see her ruby lips and the delicate ring and chain that ran from her nose up behind the snowy veil which covered hair of purest white. In one hand, she carried a silver lantern, the source of her light. On her back, she carried a pair of swords, though they were hard to make out in the darkness.

He was more amazed than frightened, involuntarily taking a step towards her. “Lady...” he offered, not sure what to call her. “Are you of earth or of heaven?”

Those lovely lips curled in a small, sad smile. “Bound to earth, I bear a message from heaven.” She spoke in perfect Ivindi. “I offer story and memory to your people. All I ask in exchange is help delivering that message. The samurai must not know. Please take me to your headman.”

Prateet pressed his hands together and bowed. “Follow me, Lady.” Ghost of the Maharajahs or Spirit of the Wind or mortal woman, Prateet was not afraid. He was not like other men.

Re: L5R - Ditched - A Winter Court 5 Sequel Story

Posted: Wed Aug 16, 2017 9:41 am
by KakitaKaori

Re: L5R - Ditched - A Winter Court 5 Sequel Story

Posted: Wed Aug 16, 2017 3:42 pm
by Hendrick
I loved this entire story. Are you going to be writing more with this character in this world?

Re: L5R - Ditched - A Winter Court 5 Sequel Story

Posted: Wed Aug 16, 2017 4:56 pm
by KakitaKaori
I believe my co-writer (Kakita Harun on this board) is working on another story after Chasing the Wind is finished, and then when she is done, we will work on the sequel to this. It's shorter than this though. That will have Arahime and Harun. Once that is done, that will be the end of it. So I might take a good long break before I pick up my pen again. I'm glad you liked it.

Re: L5R - Ditched - A Winter Court 5 Sequel Story

Posted: Wed Aug 16, 2017 7:21 pm
by Kakita_Harun

Re: L5R - Ditched - A Winter Court 5 Sequel Story

Posted: Wed Aug 16, 2017 9:33 pm
by Kakita Shiro
You both honor us with your work. :bow:

Re: L5R - Ditched - A Winter Court 5 Sequel Story

Posted: Wed Aug 16, 2017 10:09 pm
by Kakita_Harun
Thanks guys, we do this because we love it. :)

Re: L5R - Ditched - A Winter Court 5 Sequel Story

Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2017 6:54 am
by KakitaKaori
Here is a PDF version of this story for those who want to read it off line: http://craneclan.weebly.com/uploads/6/9 ... itched.pdf