Reflected Purity

 

by Rusty Priske

Edited by Fred Wan

 

 

         Hitomi Kagetora looked over the windswept mountains. Wind signified change to many. It brought fresh ideas while sweeping away the old. The wind could not still; to do so would mean its death.

         The mountains, however, were resolute. They did not change easily and stood for strength and an unyielding nature. So how do wind and mountains coexist? How does one embrace change while remaining steadfast?

         Kagetora turned and entered the monastic building overlooking the craggy peaks. Among the Dragon, no monastery was more revered, as it was the center of the Togashi order. It was first created in the early days, at the dawn of the empire, in order to better learn from their great kami, Togashi. This was where the monks of that time came to be tattooed with the blood of their god.

         A single monk near the door bowed when Kagetora entered and motioned for the head of the Hitomi order to follow him. He led him to a room deep within the cloister where he joined two other monks, waiting for him, therein.

         “Thank you Razan,” spoke one of the waiting monks and Kagetora’s escort withdrew, closing the screen behind him.

         Kagetora bowed to the two men in the room. “Wayan. Nyima.”

         They returned his greeting, with Nyima bowing lower than the others. Hoshi Wayan gave a half-hearted smile. “This must be serious if Lord Satsu asked the heads of the Orders to convene. Will he be joining us?”

         Nyima shook his head. “He will not. He asked that I sit in as his duties with the clan take him away from his duties as head of the Togashi.”

         “Very well,” said Kagetora. “We recognize your authority here. What has Satsu asked us to meet about?”

         Nyima motioned for them to sit on the tatami mats arranged on the floor. Once seated, he drew a deep, cleansing breath and began. “Lord Satsu has recently come into possession of a powerful relic. This item has been put into the safekeeping of the Dragon and under grave circumstances. Lord Satsu has asked as to deliberate as to whether the item should be used, and if so, how.”

         Kagetora pursed his lips. “What is the item?”

         “Might we ask what the circumstances are that you spoke of?” asked Wayan. “The path taken by this relic could tell us much about its purpose.”

         Nyima nodded. “It was taken by Mirumoto Rosanjin from the Tomb of the Seven Thunders at the behest of the Emperor. Rosanjin died so that it, and other relics from the Tomb, could be returned to the Empire.”

         Wayan’s face darkened. “That is an inauspicious path, as it is connected with the Emperor himself.”

         “Yet the Emperor wished it placed into our care,” said Kagetora. “His decision is not for such as us to judge; we can only determine how we can proceed.”

         “Destiny is a powerful force,” Wayan added. “If this item came to us, of all the clans, then there must be a purpose to it. We must determine what that purpose is, and if we are capable of fulfilling it. Nyima, may we see it?”

         The Togashi nodded and rose. From behind a screen partition he brought a covered item. He discarded the cover and exposed a mirror, ringed completely in jade. He kept the surface angled away so that the occupants of the room cast no reflection in it. “This jade mirror is what Rosanjin retrieved from the Tomb of the Seven Thunders. Lord Satsu has studied it, and he is convinced that it has great power. Anything that is reflected within it shows its true self, no matter its outward form. No secrets are safe in its glass.”

         Kagetora’s eyebrows shot up. “Then we must question why it was brought to us. We study mysteries, not secrets. Should this not be wielded by the Scorpion?”

         Wayan shook his head. “I have great respect for the Scorpion, but in giving it to them we would subject them to enormous temptation to use it for themselves. With it, they could expose secrets in the hearts of men. No, it was brought to us. It is our burden, not the Scorpion’s.”

         “If we use it only in the service of the Empire, there is much good we could do.” Kagetora pondered.

         “And much ill,” Nyima said ominously. “Some secrets should remain.”