Searching

Searching
In the Phoenix lands, the Elemental Masters and their acolytes struggle to understand the nature of the threats plaguing the Emerald Empire.

By Rusty Priske

Edited by Fred Wan

Something found in all things surrounded her, yet if one asked her to describe it, she would have said it was nothing. She was alone, yet connected to everything. It was infinite, but she was as one with it.

It was where she felt the most at home.

Isawa Kimi glided through the darkness at least that was how her mind interpreted it. There was nothing to move through, and even had there been light, there was nothing to be illuminated.

Yet through the Void, Kimi searched. She searched for a thing unseen. She searched for truth unknown, but not unknowable. In the Void nothing was unknowable. It was not a question of knowing, but of understanding.

Kimi searched for the little lights, which were not lights, that show where each person or being reached into the Void. Her mind gave each of them colors, translating what was more like a feeling into something she could define, or relate to. Through these colors she saw emotion and in some case the true essence of who they were.

She had searched for Kali-ma for a very long time.

This was very dangerous. The Phoenix’s knowledge was vast but they knew little of this foreign god. It was possible that she had great powers within the Void. It was also possible that Kimi’s search was fruitless because Kali-ma had no connection to the Void whatsoever.

She searched.

She searched past anger, jealousy, fear – things that that the people of Rokugan would rather remain hidden. She let them remain. One of the first lessons she learned from Shiba Ningen is that the secrets of the mind should remain that. It was actions, not thoughts, which dictated a person’s place in the world. Their thoughts dictated their place in the universe, and mankind had no business interfering there.

Then she found what she sought.

That it took so long for Kimi to find a being of such great power should have been a surprise but once she realized what she was looking for, it made much more sense. Where Kali-ma touched the Void was indicated in tendrils of black. Not smoky black or inky black, but utter black – absolute black. On a backdrop of the Void this made it nearly impossible to discern. Once perceived, however, it was as if Kimi could not comprehend how she had missed it. Having discovered that which she sought, she could perceive the exultant dirge that indicated its presence. It was a terrible, ominous music.

Once she found this essence, however, she held on to it tightly, which was difficult because it flailed about in a violent and powerful manner. The music surged and ebbed without warning, as if seeking to escape her perception.

The tendrils splayed out from a center point in a net that undulated and criss-crossed, as if trying to touch all points of the Void that it could.

Kali-ma was not searching the Void. It was merely representative of her spirit, as dark and foreign as it was.

Kali-ma was searching for something. Kimi could feel the hunger and ambition behind the search.

The Master of the Void knew that all of Rokugan needed to find whatever Kali-ma was searching for before she did. Everything could depend on it.

* * * * *

“My apologies, Yutako-san. It is time.”

Isawa Yutako looked up from her worktable with weary eyes, assessing the three Phoenix who stood waiting for her. “So soon?”

Shiba Morihiko glanced to his charge, Agasha Asai, who said, “It has been three days, Yutako-san.”

A flash of surprise crossed Yutako’s face. It vanished quickly and she sighed deeply. “I had not realized.”

Asai glanced to Isawa Toshiji, the third of their number. “Have you slept since we saw you last, Yutako-san?”

The water shugenja thought for a moment and then said, “I think so – a few hours at any rate. This visit is different, though. I was not expecting Toshiji-san. Was there something I was not told after the last inspection?”

Toshiji bowed slightly. “Do not take my attendance as alarming, Yutako-san. It is true that I would not normally attend a routine testing, but these are no longer routine times. The studies you undertake are dangerous and we live in dangerous times. Asai-san will conduct the test, of course. I just wish to observe.”

A tired smile snuck into Yutako’s face. “So do not concern myself with the judgment laying upon me, is that it?”

Toshiji did not return her light tone. “You understand my role. The clan must be protected. The consequences you will bear for conducting this research are unknown. Should you falter, should you become compromised, or should I judge that it is necessary, I will protect your soul, regardless of the consequences for your life.”

Yutako grimaced. “It is lucky for the empire that you are not responsible for research. This investigation is closely supervised by one of the Masters. Do you question Asako Bairei’s decision to assign this task to me?”

Toshiji said nothing.

Asai interjected before Yutako could respond to the judge’s silent statement. “I am sure we all agree that testing is warranted.”

Yutako’s body slumped slightly as she refocused her attention to the inquisitor. “Of course. It is in all of our interests.”

“To properly test, we need to know the extent of your exposure. In the past three days you have handled the black scroll?”

“Yes with the proper precautions.” Yutako looked towards Toshiji, whose face revealed that he did not believe there were any precautions that he would consider sufficient.

“Have you read what was contained therein?”

“Of course not. I would not risk opening the scroll.” Yutako looked annoyed at the mere suggestion.

Asai merely nodded. “Of course. Now if you would just sit still while I conduct the test.

* * * * *

Isawa Mitsuko sat patiently, waiting for Isawa Kimi to emerge from her chamber. She did not give any indication that she was there, and she knew she did not need to. Kimi would know and if she did not emerge it was because she was otherwise indisposed.

Mitsuko simply waited.

When Kimi slid open the screen to her room she showed no surprise that her fellow Master was already present, nor did she offer any apology for leaving her waiting. Her grim expression told Mitsuko that her apprehension was deserved.

“I have news.”

Mitsuko nodded. “I sensed it.”

“Kali-ma’s presence is no accident of conquest. She seeks something specific. She searches Rokugan for something contained within our borders.”

Mitsuko’s eyebrow rose. “Do you mean the Phoenix borders or Rokugan?”

Kimi pursed her lips. “That is unclear. Definitely Rokugan, but there are certain signs that connect her to us here.”

“That is disturbing, yet also a relief. If what Kali-ma seeks is here, then she needs to fight her way through most of the empire before she can reach her goal. That gives us time, at a minimum, to discover what it is that she seeks.”

Kimi nodded. “Time is something that is never easily saved. I think it is time to discuss this with the other Masters, and quickly.”

* * * * *

Agasha Kamarou sat in the lotus position and cast her spirit into the sea. The sensation of casting her spirit into the world waters was not as natural as it normally felt. The sensation was as if she were swimming when encumbered by something heavy. She knew without opening her eyes that it was the presence of the woman sitting across from her. The vestige of her consciousness that remained within the chamber detected the subtle shifting of position that her kinsman Kokiden constantly engaged in. Her spirit was too consumed with matters of a political nature, Kamarou felt. Would that Kokiden had returned to the Imperial City, the home she preferred, before lord Bairei and lady Mitsuko had arranged for this experiment to take place. Whatever her failings, it seemed that Kokiden possessed the necessary skills, or at the very least the necessary political acumen, to be given an assignment by one of the Masters. No doubt she would benefit greatly from such an accolade upon her return to Toshi Ranbo.

Kamarou struggled to free her mind from worldly concerns and submerged herself into the sea of spirits that comprised the vast ocean just a short distance away. She felt the grainy shore of the Phoenix lands, and the sharp, jagged presence of the islands off the shore. She swam with the seas of the world, seeking the presence of something new. She was familiar with the sensation by now, but it still felt different. She reached out toward the Mantis Islands, sure that this time, unlike all the others, she would be successful.

The Thunder was there. She could sense it. She drew closer to it, seeking understanding, seeking communion, and then the barrier was there. Whatever the Yoritomo shugenja of Tempest Island had done to protect the Thunder from outsiders not only protected it, but also barred all outsiders from reaching it. Frustration and resentment surged up within Kamarou’s spirit, but she struggled to put it aside. She searched for something, anything, that would permit her to reach the Thunder.

What was that?

Even within the barrier, the Thunder raged like a hurricane. She could feel it fluttering against her soul, struggling to reach her, perhaps consume her, even as she wished to understand it. It was as if she stood next to a house that was burning brightly at midnight. And yet, there was something else. A pinprick of sensation that she had previously overlooked. Somewhere in the distance, there was another portion of the Thunder. She could barely sense it, like a lantern in the window of a house miles and miles away. She hesitated, then reached for it.

Kamarou was unsure how long she struggled for the Thunder. It felt as if her spirit was stretched so far that it began to tear, and flashed of cold pain began to erupt throughout her body. She put the sensation aside, but could not ignore it completely. There was Thunder, and she would know it. She felt the assistance of Kokiden pushing her forward, allowing her to reach farther than before, even as Kokiden withdrew to avoid the same pain she felt.

Then there was Thunder. She reached it, her spirit at its absolute limit, and the Thunder came forward to fill he soul. She gasped and spasmed where she sat, pain consuming her. Despite it, she saw something, something impossibly far away.

“What is this?” whispered Moshi Kinyo. “Who is this?”

Sensation rushed in as Kamarou opened her eyes, her spirit surging back into her body with anguish like she had never known. Instinctively, against her will, she came to her feet and staggered across the room, knocking over a table and shattering a vase. “What is it?” Kokiden was at her side. “What happened? What was that whisper?”

Kamarou wretched, causing Kokiden to withdraw in horror. She brought her hand to her face and it came away stained with the blood streaming from her nose. “Something,” she rasped “something has happened.”

* * * * *

“And the verdict?”

Asai looked towards Toshiji and then back to Yutako. “Your precautions were adequate, Yutako-san. The black scroll has not affected you in any manner.”

“That the inquisitors can detect, at least.”

Yutako turned to Toshiji. “Are you questioning the effectiveness of the inquisitors’ methods, Toshiji-san? Will you now judge based on your own biases rather than the work of those tasked with the protection of our clan and empire?”

Toshiji’s face impassive expression did not break. “The Inquisitors are very effective at detecting the effects of the taint. I am concerned with more insidious crimes. These tests do not detect things such as ambition or recklessness.”

“I am certain that their methods are sufficient – just as I am also sure that the Masters will never allow your fear of the unknown to stop our studies. The fate of the empire may rest on what we find. It is a good thing we are allowed to do what we need to do.”

“I would never stand in the way of what is best for the empire. I am just not sure that we agree what that would be.”

Once again Asai disrupted the argument’s flow. “The tests have been completed. We will be back, Yutako-san. Try to get some more sleep. You know as well as anyone the importance of a clear head when working with these sorts of forces.”

Yutako bowed. “Of course Asai-san. Your concern is appreciated.”

Soon Yutako was alone once again and she turned back to her worktable. With an unconscious flourish she removed a cloth to uncover the black scroll hidden beneath. She looked at where the corner of the scroll had been pulled back so she could peer at the paper surface. She knew that if Toshiji knew that she had done that much he would have attempted to arrest her. He had no idea the importance of her studies or the length she would go in order to find the knowledge she needed.

She knew the risk and knew what she needed to do to protect herself from it.

Then she saw something she had not seen before. She leaned over and peered closely at the small space where she had peeled the scroll back.

She gasped.

She sat up and thought for a moment before leaning back in and peering at the scroll again.

Finally she sat back, exhaled quickly and then unrolled the scroll.

* * * * *

Isawa Ochiai shook her head. “How can we be certain?”

Kimi sat impassively, as was her norm. “I am certain that she seeks something. The Void revealed this to me. This also fits with the behavior pattern reported from the front lines.”

Ochiai nodded. “Yes, but how can we be certain that we know what she is looking for?”

Asako Bairei paced behind them. “The signs are unmistakable. They are well documented and each of us has reported seeing them, in dreams or here in the physical world.”

Isawa Emori sat cross-legged. His posture was casual but the other Masters had learned to make no assumptions about his thinking based on his body language. “The signs are there. She seeks the black scroll.”

Ochiai frowned. “But are we sure? If we focus all of our efforts on the scroll, will we be overlooking something else? I have read the reports as well and it seems like Kali-ma seeks something underneath Scorpion lands. The Destroyers’ progress has slowed significantly since departing the Crab lands, and not merely due to the efforts of Benjiro and Shigetoshi. If she was seeking the scroll she would be sending attacks against us here. Even the Army of Dark Fire has focused more on the Dragon than the Phoenix.”

Mitsuko gestured as if she were about to make a statement but she was interrupted by a noise at the chamber’s entrance.

Bairei stopped his pacing and then said, “Let her through.” Yutako stepped past the yojimbo who had blacked her access and her Master said, “What is it, Yutako? I know you would not interrupt us without good cause.”

Yutako said nothing at first, but withdrew the black scroll from beneath her robes.

Three Masters quickly drew their power to them, seeing the threat exposed in their midst. Only Kimi and Bairei did not adopt defensive postures.

Ochiai gasped, “The scroll has been opened!”

Bairei waved the others back, “Yutako! What is the meaning of this? Explain yourself quickly!”

Yutako bowed. “This scroll has been opened, but it was not today and the threat is not now. This scroll is old, very old. The information we were given was that this scroll was created by the ritual that you devised, Master Bairei, and that it was responsible for Seppun Tashime’s victory over Kyoso no Oni. That simply cannot be the case, not given what we now know about the scroll I hold in my hand.”

Emori frowned. “What? Where did this scroll come from?”

“It is an ancient artifact of unknown origin with significant abilities that we do not as of yet understand. You may be aware of a relatively recent occurrence of such artifacts appearing in the Empire.”

Bairei rubbed his forehead. “The Tomb of the Seven Thunders,” he said darkly. “So many things were removed from it and returned to the Empire. It must have been among them.”

“How can a Black Scroll have been removed from the Tomb without it having been reported?” Ochiai asked. “Who could be so foolish as to conceal such a thing?”

“The Scorpion never disclosed the nature of any artifacts they retrieved from the Tomb,” Bairei observed.

Mitsuko’s hands fell to her sides. “We have been deceived.”

Emori nodded. “The Scorpion must have switched the scrolls to keep the unopened one for their own purposes. And if this one has been opened” he left the comment unfinished.

Bairei ran both hands through his long, black hair. “This is madness! The danger to the empire is incalculable! It must be studied by us!”

Kimi raised her hand. “The danger is not only in the scroll itself. Kali-ma seeks it and if we are correct it is in the hands of the Scorpion.”

Emori’s mouth fell open slightly. “It is practically at her feet.”

Kimi nodded. “And if we do not find the scroll before she does, all could be lost.”