Voice of the Emperor – Togashi Satsu

The Conclusion, Part 4

by Shawn Carman

The twenty-first day of the Month of the Dog, year 1170

The plains surrounding Seppun Hill were filled with a strange mix of tranquility and revelry. Less than an hour previously, the Voices of the Heavens had proclaimed the judgment of Tengoku, and a new Emperor had ascended to the throne. A new Dynasty was made manifest in the Empire of Rokugan, and it promised to herald in an age of unknowns. Many had flocked to the temples to pray, thanking the Heavens for their guidance and praying for their new lord’s wisdom and mercy. Others celebrated the occurrence, and many raucous parties had already been disrupted by the vigilant Seppun guardsmen before they became too disruptive.

None of that mattered to Mirumoto Kei.

The warrior studied her opponent carefully, looking for any sign of weakness, anything that she could use to gain an advantage. Unfortunately, her opponent simply stood there, virtually unmoving. After a few moments of enduring her scrutiny, he smiled slightly, and beckoned her forward with one hand.

Kei obliged and darted forward with considerable speed, the blade’s unfamiliar weight making it ever so slightly more awkward than she would have liked. Togashi Satsu stood perfectly still until the last possible second, and then moved only a matter of inches, allowing the blunted blade to pass so close to the flesh of his face that Kei felt sick seeing it, and wondered if it might not literally have trimmed the hair from his cheek.

Satsu reached out and touched Kei’s shoulder lightly. She felt no pain, but found herself spinning across the small dirt clearing where the two were sparring, her momentum turned against her. She regained her footing and dropped into a defensive stance, but once again Satsu failed to press the offensive, instead regarding her with that same expectant look that she found so frustrating.

She circled around until she was facing his left side, then darted in again. This time she adopted a somewhat modified strategy of a previous attempt that had not worked, hoping perhaps that he would not react in the same manner. She feinted low with her katana, then swung suddenly around backwards in a dangerous spin that brought her wakizashi speeding toward his neck. With the same calm, impossible grace and speed, Satsu caught her blade between the first two fingers of his right hand. The maneuver should have split his hand in two to the wrist, even with the blunted practice weapon, but he held it between his fingers seemingly without effort. His right hand darted out, snake-like in its speed, and tapped her upper left shoulder lightly. She felt a slight tingling sensation.

“You must not overextend yourself,” Satsu began.

Kei suddenly released the handle of her wakizashi and delivered a rapid unarmed strike with her left hand, catching Satsu unaware and striking him squarely on the chin. He staggered back, completely surprised, but never released the blade. He moved his hand away from his chin, and Kei saw with horror that she had cut him. “My lord!” she said, dropping the practice katana and bowing. “I did not mean… I do not… I am sorry!”

Satsu chuckled and tossed the wakizashi down to join the katana. “Well done, Kei!” he said. “You completely ignored the effects of the nerve strike! I am impressed. Few are so quick to master the Iron Sheath technique. I only taught it to you a few weeks ago, after all. You are a masterful student.”

Kei blushed furiously despite herself. “Not quite, my lord,” she admitted. She reached inside her kimono and removed a small metal plate that she had bound to her shoulder. It showed a clear indentation where Satsu had struck it despite the apparent lightness of his touch. “I simply hate to be defeated twice in the same manner.”

Satsu laughed again, this time more boisterously. “Well done,” he repeated. “Every day, you reinforce the trust I have placed in you.” His expression changed, and grew more somber. “It is my great regret that I must burden you with so much responsibility.”

“Never, my lord,” she insisted. “I am honored beyond words to serve the Dragon Champion.”

Satsu nodded and stared south, toward Seppun Hill. “You have not spoken of the proclamation.”

Kei said nothing.

“It concerns you somehow,” he continued. “I can sense your unease.”

“I should rejoice that the Empire no longer suffers an empty throne,” Kei admitted. “I should be filled with joy that the wars will end. And yet…”

“And yet you sense a darkness, something dark on the horizon,” Satsu finished for her. “I know the feeling well, my friend. I feel it as well. There are dark times ahead for the Dragon.”

“There was a promise to levy judgment. I find myself wondering if it could be the Dragon who are judged. I have no reason to think this, but I cannot help myself.” She shook her head. “Some days I miss the simple times, when I was nothing more than a soldier.”

“Those days are far behind you now,” Satsu said. “And I fear they grow more distant with each passing moment.” He smiled. “I regret that I must increase the burden you bear, Kei. I hope that you will forgive me for it one day.”

She frowned. “I do not understand, my lord.”

Satsu continued looking at Seppun Hill in the distance. “I am to become the Voice of the Emperor.”

Kei could not suppress a gasp. “My lord!”

“And you are to succeed me as Dragon Champion.”

There was a moment of pristine silence. “What?”

“There is none better to take up the task,” Satsu explained.

“My lord, no,” she began. “I am not fit to bear such a burden. Surely there is another better suited to…”

“There is not.”

“Mareshi,” Kei insisted. “Mareshi is far more suited to such a task than I.”

“He would not wish it,” Satsu answered. “And nor do I. None is more suited to this duty than you. And in any event, if your husband took my place in your stead, do you imagine your burden would be any lighter?”

Kei frowned and said nothing.

“Have you forgiven him?”

“My lord?”

Satsu smiled. “Your marriage was one of convenience, at least for Mareshi. The normal procedures were hardly followed, and I know that you are a traditional woman. There was resentment in your heart at first. I have seen it.”

“I… yes, there was,” she said. “I admit that now, but I have overcome that. I recognize the benefits inherent in the arrangement. And regardless of his motivations, Mareshi did what he felt best for the clan. I can see that now.”

“Yours is not a marriage of love, but of respect. In many ways, that can be a tremendous advantage.” Satsu took up the practice blades where they lay on the ground. “Your husband has achieved much for the Dragon, and will achieve more during his lifetime, but this is not his path. It is yours.”

She hesitated. “I do not know what to say, my lord.”

“Then say nothing,” he said. “Simply accept.”

“I have little choice.”

“It is as I said,” Satsu continued. “There are dark days ahead for the Dragon Clan. I do not know the severity of the trials we shall face, but they exist all the same. I believe that my grandfather foresaw them, to some extent.”

“Can you recall his visions?” Kei asked hopefully.

“Not clearly,” Satsu said, grimacing. “The power of a Kami can overwhelm and subdue your own vision, even without intending to. I know that Togashi struggled to understand what was to come, in order to spare the Dragon from it, but even he could not see it with clarity. I have pored over his journals, texts he wrote while his spirit was ascendant in this flesh, but this far I have found nothing more than vague omens.”

“What must we do, then?”

“Endure,” was his answer. “Persevere. Overcome. The Dragon will weather these trials. We are greater than that which awaits us, no matter what it may be.”

Kei only nodded. “And what of you, my lord?”

“My fate is greater than I ever imagined, it seems,” Satsu said. “My duty shall be to bring the Emperor’s word to the people. It is a duty that has been corrupted in the past, twisted by weak men who wished to advance their own agenda by flavoring the Emperor’s words. That shall not happen again. It shall fall to me to ensure that the Emperor’s word is pure, and the will of the throne is known to the people.”

“There can be none other better suited to the task,” Kei said. “It eases my disquiet to know that you shall stand among the Emperor’s Chosen.”

“Thank you,” Satsu said with a bow. “The Empire is about to change, my friend.”

“Yes,” Kei admitted. “We can only hope it is for the better.”

“There is more than hope,” Satsu said firmly. “We can work to ensure that it is so. Ambition and avarice have nearly doomed the Empire far too many times. The time has come for honorable men and women to stand fast and prevent it, rather than reacting after it has happened.”

Kei smiled proudly. “The Dragon will stand with you, my lord.”

“The Dragon will follow the Emperor’s will, as they ever have,” Satsu agreed, “but it must fall to you to pursue the clan’s own interests as well. To overlook the good of the clan will make them weaker in the face of their enemies, and that is something that I fear cannot be allowed.” He handed the blades to Kei. “I must make my way to the Divine One’s side. The documents citing you as the new Champion are to be found in your chambers. I had them delivered shortly after you left this morning.”

Kei took the battered blades with a bow. “As you command, Voice of the Emperor.”