God-Blooded: The Sword of Fate 00-02

I shook my head. "All nobles do. We all have a trace of the Children of Mother Sun and Lord Moon.."

"Not just a trace, Motoki. Yours is far greater than all other nobles."

"How?"

"It's been preserved since the beginning of the empire by never being diluted with human blood."

"How is that possible?"

"Through inbreeding." She was looking at me now as if I were a child that couldn't seem to grasp some basic lesson.

"But inbreeding like that would produce deformities-"

"It would unless the blood of a god were involved." She whispered. Her face had gone soft with concern but her eyes still hadn't left mine. "Think of what you've done since you left. Even the greatest heroes who have ever lived could not have stood alone against entire armies over and over as you did. A year has not passed here in some time that we have not received tales of you single-handedly killing bandit armies or bloodspeakers or rogue shugenja or demons who made it past The Wall."

"But that's insane. Inbreeding like that. Why would anyone ever do that?" I gasped as my mind took in the staggering implications. The real problem was that I knew Nene would never lie to me.

"The Empire needs that power Motoki. It needs your power. What would have happened to the Crab if you had not been there?"

I stood up. Could not stay seated. Numbly walked a few paces. Then turned and walked a few more.

"When I first touched Meiyo I saw myself killing shadowlands with it. So I just went to The Wall! I mean I wandered with Ichibei until he got himself killed but I knew I was meant for The Wall. It made perfect sense. Where else would I go...?" I ranted as my mind reeled, my heart raced, and my breath shortened.

"Motoki."

Why did Nene suddenly seem like she was so far away?

"Motoki..."

Inbreeding. My blood should stay in my family where it belonged, obviously! Why waste it on someone who I wasn't related to like Misa?

"Motoki!"

I looked at Nene. For an instant our eyes met. She whispered, "Who is your mother?"

I grabbed the sake keg and downed it straight, chugging until it was empty. More than a few cupfulls soaked into my beard. My blond beard. Because Lady Matsu herself was a blond. Just like Father. Just like..

"Shiori."

***

2. The Legacy We Share

I awoke back in my old bed.

I almost wanted to believe that the night before had been a bad dream. The taste of old sake in my mouth said otherwise. I sat up and felt something move inside my sleeping robe. I reached in and briefly touched it, feeling the paper. It was the scroll that represented my father's dying effort at reconciliation.

Too little too late. I thought. But how much did I really know? For most of my life I had thought that I understood the man. That his nastiness was born of bitterness from first losing out on the daimyo-ship of the Matsu to his sister (my mother, I reminded myself) and then losing his one true love, Shoken (who he had cheated on with Nene's mother: whoever that was, and his sister: my mother I also reminded myself). Now I knew that his life had an unperceived dimension that I had never had any awareness of.

As I stood stretching, I found myself longing for the simplicity of the unrealized thing that had led me home: Father was dead. Now I could be a Lion again.

There was a small basin filled with water on the writing desk that I wiped the sleep from my eyes with.

Inside my old clothing chest I noted that someone (probably Nene) had replaced my childhood clothing with adult-sized robes. I dressed thinking of what I should do with the scroll. As I finished getting clothed I pulled it out of the sleeping robe and stared at it. I looked to my bed, the thick sleeping futon that seemed like such a luxury after ten years of sleeping with just a layer of straw cloak between my body and the cold hard earth. I looked to the big heavy box that held Misa's items. I hid the scroll between my white under robe and my plain tan cotton winter kimono. I would carry it until I felt ready to face it's words.

Today I would meet at least 2 of my sisters. They would hide the bizarre truth of our family from me, and I would have to pretend that I didn't know that they were hiding it. It felt so wrong. We were Matsu after all. No, we are more and that is the crux of the matter.

Amongst the 7 Great Clans of Rokugan the samurai of the Shiba Family of The Phoenix Clan are considered to be the most spiritually focused. It was on the road right outside the northern Matsu border that I had met my final sensei, Ichibei, who had drank his way out of their ranks. In our brief time together, I learned a great deal from him. Mundane things like how to survive on the open road and how to navigate The Empire. But his lessons also went much deeper. He taught a young, haughty, headstrong me how to look past my selfish emotions and see the greater meaning of what it meant to be a samurai.

I could still see his body face down in the pouring rain. His blood diluted by the tears of heaven that puddled across the ground. I had told him that he was too drunk to duel. The ronin that had just killed him had told him that he was too drunk to duel. I held no bitterness towards that man. He had even seemed apologetic as he handed me Ichibei's daisho.

I turned away from this memory, finding what I was looking for: what Ichibei would've advised to do in this moment. I sat down on my bed, assumed the lotus position and closed my eyes. Ichibei's words came back to me: "We who are mortal are composed of the five elements: air, earth, fire, water, and void. It is that last element that we reach for in meditation. The void within us connects us to the infinite void that permeates and unites all things. In meditation we find clarity by finding our place in the whole."

For how long my meditation went on I cannot say. I came out of the timeless stillness feeling calm and empty. There was a knock at my door.

"Enter." I said.

It was Tamiki. In the 16 years of my absence she had grown to somewhat look like her mother. Her eyes hadn't changed, they were still that dark brown that seemed to see everything. Her shoulder length hair was a light brown with noticeable blond highlights. Her face held a mature beauty that actually made me think of our stepmother, Gemmei. Only the paleness of her skin and 6 foot height revealed the Matsu (and I now knew, more) blood in her. She wore a simple unadorned orange cotton winter kimono, tied at the waist with an elaborate obi. Beneath it was a lithe body gone rounder with age and childbirth.

Even as I took her in I couldn't help but wonder if Father had touched that body. If so, how often? What were the rules about breeding in our family? How many children had she had with him? I felt the beginnings of something like jealousy. Where was that coming from?

This is going to be a long day. I thought, taking a deep breath as I stood.

Tamiki was the eldest of Father's children. It was my automatic assumption that she had become daimyo of Katei Province at his death. I gave her the deep bow from the waist that a ronin gives a daimyo. As I straightened I gave her a shy smile and said, "Good morning, Tamiki."

She smiled, giving me a quick bow from the neck, and said, "So the prodigal Lion returns to the pack. It is good to have you home, brother. I thought you might join us for breakfast."

"I believe I am still technically a wolf but I would be glad to eat at the Lion's table again." I said, as I reflexively grabbed Meiyo and stepped towards the door.

She looked at my weapon and then back at me. "You can leave that here. There is no danger for you in our home."

I hesitated. I had no desire to have any conflict with my sister this early in the process of reconnecting with my family. But none-the-less, to not have my beloved no-dachi within reach was unthinkable. "If the daimyo of Katei commands it I will leave it here. Otherwise.. to be without it is akin to being without my own beating heart."

What she would've said next I will never know.

"I will hold it for you, Motoki." Nene whispered meekly as she stepped out of hiding from behind Tamiki. She had gotten better over the years. I hadn't sensed her there at all. Above her usual baggy servant's robe her mask of black hair was back in place, and I found myself missing the open straightforward friend I had drank with the night before.

A long long day. I thought as I trailed Tamiki and Nene trailed me to the dining room.

My family's castle actually had 2 dining rooms. The first was the common dining area which was used for large gatherings. Otherwise it was where the servants and guards ate. The other was the daimyo's private dining room, which was reserved for family and private visitors. It was the second that we headed to. The dining room was still pretty large. The long table in it sat 20 people. As we entered I noted two people waiting for us. Both stood as we approached the table.

The first person on the left side of the table was a young boy. He looked to be maybe 5 years old. His hair was an interesting mix, being somewhere between Matsu blond and Akodo brown. His face held the slightly wider Matsu features that I saw when I gazed at my own reflection in pools of water. He was tall for one so young. His skin was pale like mine but not sickly pale like Nene's. I noted a nervous tremor to his body as his amber eyes took me in. He wore a simple orange cotton kimono.

At the opposite seat on the right side of the table was my sister, Chiumi. I remembered because her bizarre mix of Matsu and Kitsu features were impossible to forget. Her neck length blond hair perfectly matched her otherworldly golden eyes and olive complexion. Her face had the exotic leonine features that I associated with Kitsu beauty. On her they were simply breath taking. She was on the short side for our family, being a mere 5 and a half feet tall. Short as she was, however, she still had the Matsu Body. There was very noticeable thick muscle all about her limbs, but she was very round in all the right places. I tried not to think too much of that body but couldn't help lingering on those curves. Her tan haori worn over her white winter kimono complimented the rest of her look.

I saw Tamiki going left and followed. As we approached the boy and Chiumi gave a quick bow. Tamiki took her proper place at the head of the table and I took the spot next to the boy.

Before Tamiki sat she looked toward us with a smile and said, "Motoki meet my son, Denbe. Denbe, this is your uncle Motoki."

Little Denbe looked up at me stoically and said with a hint of anxiety, "It is an honor, sir."

Denbe, named after Father. In his amber eyes I saw the truth and for a moment the blood went cold in my veins. This was my nephew but he was also my youngest brother. In that instant I saw more. I saw a tall, strong, samurai in light armor bearing the Matsu mon holding a nagamaki at the head of a massive Lion army. But why was the army in the barren Crab lands?

The very slight touch of a small hand into my right hand brought me back to reality. I shook my head, smiling with unfeigned pride at the boy. "I'm sorry, my mind is just filled with so many questions. The honor is mutual, nephew."

I saw little Denbe relax and even smile. Tamiki sat and then the rest of us sat. I couldn't help but notice Chiumi staring at me across the table, a curious look to her lovely features. Servants began bringing out the first of 3 courses of food. As the bowl of miso soup was set before me I turned to my right where Nene sat, mouthing a quick 'thank you' to her.

It actually amused me that everyone at the table seemed intent on focusing entirely on their food, lest we would have to lie to eachother. When Gemmei was lady of the house she would have never allowed the awkward silence that encompassed the first course to stand. Which actually made me talk. I looked around the table, making a point of catching everyone's attention. "I know my return must be strange for you all. It's strange for me. You are my family, a large part of myself that I have lived without for too long... I don't even know where to begin."

"What do you want to know?" Tamiki asked.

"Anything. Everything. Where is Gemmei? Arisa? Kadiri? Oniji? How many nephews and nieces do I have yet to meet?.." My voice trailed off. I saw Tamiki and Chiumi exchange a look.

"After... you left.. father and Gemmei's marriage got worse and worse until she left and took Arisa and Oniji with her.." Tamiki began. I didn't see specifically what she left out but there were gaps as wide as mountains.

"Kadiri had just married our cousin, Akodo Yoshiki, so mother, Arisa, and Oniji went to live with them." Chiumi picked up. Again, the massive gaps that a Great Clan army could march through.

"..Yoshiki is our mother's nephew. You should remember, Motoki, he and Aunt Eriko visited a few times when were children. His little sister Ochiyo really liked you." Tamiki ranted, obviously over-joyed in being honest.

"They're all wintering at Yoshiki's family estate right now." Chiumi picked up. There was something massive there that she had just run right past. Out of fear of giving myself away I turned towards Nene. She looked a little awkward. She was sitting at an uncomfortable angle very obviously meant to hide her from the others. I listened closely and could barely make out the quietest possible snorting of laughter from behind her hair.

"As for the children of our family, there is only Denbe here, my other son Iemasa, and my daughter Makaira." Tamiki concluded.

There was no talk of anyone being married. Which would've been entirely abnormal in any other noble family. The standard way of things was that a noble would be married within a year of their gempukku if not immediately after. Marriages were arranged and occurred to cement political ties. It was a noble couple's duty to produce as many children as possible to fill their Clan's armies. Apparently, my family were beyond such customs. It would've been odd in any other clan but in the extremely traditionalist Lion it was doubly so. I politely skipped over any such questions and gave my sister an opportunity to talk about what she most wanted to, "Tell me about your children, Tamiki."

She smiled and said with pride, "Iemasa is a genius. He was invited to The Akodo War College. That's where he's at now. As for Makaira, she's spending the winter studying and preparing for her gempukku.."

She stopped and looked at me. "That's why you're here, isn't it? You got my letter?"

I smiled, "I did. It was handed to me over the corpses of 400 dead bandits right outside the Kitsune Mori."

Normally I would not speak so pridefully. Here among my family, no matter all the lies and omissions between us, it felt right.

All color drained out of Tamiki's face. Next to me I heard little Denbe sputtering as he tried not to choke on his omelet. On my other side, Nene was giggling. Across the table Chiumi burst into laughter and excitedly said, "Well, I guess the Scorpion don't have to worry about that bandit problem any more, do they?"

Tamiki stared at me, her face filled with awe. "It was the oddest thing. This tattooed Dragon just walked into Matsu Castle one day and said 'I have been sent by The Togashi himself to deliver your letter to your brother'. We heard that you had been sighted in Ryoko Owari and I was about to send my letter to one of our courtiers there."

I nodded. "Togashi Kin. She found me."

In all the uncomfortableness of our breakfast I had barely noticed the food as we ate it. Servants had begun to clear the table. Tamiki contentedly said, "This was good but you didn't say much of your travels, brother. Perhaps you'll have a few interesting tales for us tonight at dinner?"

"Gladly, sister."

"I have some things to discuss with Chiumi. Nene will lead you to the bath house if you wish.." It was a daimyo's polite dismissal.

"Actually, I was hoping for some time in the dojo."

Tamiki looked at me for a long moment. Something massive seemed to shift in her in that moment. There was an unreadable look to her face. "Actually, I think there's something I need to show you, then."

***

Though it is in fact one big structure, my family's castle can be broken up into 3 connected parts. The entire west side was built into the mountain behind it. On the north and west side was the daimyo's personal quarters. The south and west side were the quarters for our family. The south and east side are where retainers and visitors were quartered (near the front gate, which faced east). Originally, the estate was actually 3 distinctly separate structures, divided by various courtyards, gardens, and practice yards. Over the centuries the 3 ancient buildings were built into each other, forming one large labyrinthine structure. When I said I wanted to go to the dojo I had assumed I would be taken to the southeast where the family's dojo adjoined the mostly deserted barracks. Instead, I found us headed directly south.

This area of the castle was walled off, via a 10 foot high wall, from the rest except for the family quarters north of it. I looked to my right and saw a small stone building built into the wall of the mountain that was entirely separate from the castle. This was my family's ancestral shrine, where the ashes of our forebearers were kept in their honored places. At least once a year a Kitsu shugenja would be called in to make certain that all was right in the sacred place. I always got a feeling of unease walking past here. It was as if a hundred sets of eyes were watching from within.

As this was the only thing that I knew of in this part of my family's estate I found myself curious as we continued south. When we got to the southwestern corner of the outer wall I noted a set of steps that had been added since I was last here. At the top a wooden bridge had been added that connected to a tiny outcropping from the side of the mountain. Beyond that was another wooden bridge that led to a small shelf on the side of the mountain.

"Be careful with your step. I'll have to have a servant come out to sweep all this snow off." Tamiki said over her shoulder. As we approached the end of the second bridge she said, "Give Motoki and I a few minutes, you three."

A stone foot path had been placed into the shelf which led up hill to what appeared to be a massive house. My jaw dropped as I saw painted above the door a realistic depiction of The Crab Wall. On the side of it was the Lion Clan mon. I turned to Tamiki but before I could speak I found the words dead in my throat. Tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"In the end the only thing he wanted was to see you one last time so that he could make things right between you. When it became clear that that would never happen, he ordered this place built. 'A place in our home your brother can be without even a hint of my hated presence.' He never even set foot here. No one but the builders and Nene has ever been inside." Her voice held the grief that I still felt when I thought of Misa. Whatever the hidden truths of our family, I knew now that my sister had loved our father as a woman loves a man.

Out of respect for her grief I looked away. I didn't know what to say but knew I had to say something. All I could find was a feeble, "I'm sorry."

"Are you truly?" She said bitterly as she turned away from me and walked back. Over her shoulder I heard her say, "I'll have your stuff sent from your room."

I stood there in the cold mountain air not knowing what to do.

"I was afraid she'd get like this." Chiumi said with concern. "Of all of us, father's death got her the worst."

"I just wanted to go to the dojo." I muttered.

"That's what this place is! A private dojo for the legendary swordsman! C'mon, let's have a look inside!" With that, Chiumi took off up the path. I noted strapped to her back was a Crescent Sang Kauw, an unusual weapon that I had only ever seen in the hands of a few sohei (warrior-monks). It was a double-sided spear with a crescent-shaped blade set into the center of the haft so that it's two corners faced outwards.