Distant Thunder: Chapter 6

The Sixteenth Day of the Month of Shinjo, 1137

The world, thought Shiba Tsukune, is full of cycles.

Tsukune was not terribly old – she still had yet to reach her thirtieth birthday – but there were parts of her soul that had seen centuries, and so many things recurred. Births, deaths, war, peace, love, loss… the Celestial Wheel turned on and on, and every moment was in some way and echo of a moment that had happened before, not once, but many times. There were so few things that were in some way truly new. Nearly everything was one more point on the eternal circle. Sometimes the cycle was a vast one, seen only on a scale of centuries and across Empires. Other times, however, it might be just months or years, and one could find oneself precisely back in the same place, in the same circumstances.

Like now, for example. She had definitely been here before.

Tsukune continued her patient vigil, kneeled in supplication, in the waiting room outside the Council of Five Masters, but her thoughts drifted to another moment, some three years before, when she had waited in this same spot. Then, however, her impatience had gotten the better of her. She had stormed into the Council, demanded to be treated as an equal and no longer kept waiting like a common servant; she had even drawn her blade and shattered the Council table, snarling, "Let it be remade – with room for six." Even now, the memory shamed her. The impulse had not been her own, of course: she had been influenced by a cursed wakizashi, a blade that had already claimed the blood of two Emperors. The Bloodsword was gone now, destroyed by the Masters she had been told, but the memory of shame remained, and she could not excuse it by laying the blame elsewhere. She had not been strong enough to resist the Bloodsword's call. Shiba-kami himself had knelt before Isawa at the dawn of the Empire and given oath to serve the Thunder's descendants. She had no place trying to set aside that oath, no matter the provocation.

And yet… there were times when she wondered if she had been right after all, oath notwithstanding. Shiba had had the wisdom to kneel before Isawa. But Isawa had not had the wisdom to bid him rise.

The door to the Council chamber slid open, and Shiba Kyukyo, the young Voice of the Masters, said softly, "Shiba-dono, the Council of Five awaits your report." Tsukune rose and nodded, offering Kyukyo a brief bow as she passed. His was not an easy job, she knew – she had held it herself once, before the Soul of Shiba came to her and declared her to be the new Phoenix Champion. It was his job to act as the Council's direct representative, their emissary to the outside world and to the Champion in particular. It required diplomacy as well as wisdom, and Kyukyo did it well. Now, however, was not his time.

"Kyukyo-san," Tsukune said, turning to lay her hand on the door behind her, "your presence will not be necessary for this meeting. Please wait here until I have finished my briefing." Kyukyo's eyes widened, and he hesitated for a moment, but could do nothing save bow and take a step back. Tsukune closed the door firmly, then turned to face the Elemental Masters.

All five of the Masters were present in the Council chamber. Although the room held five of the most politically and personally powerful samurai in Rokugan, and was the political center of the Phoenix Clan, it was not large, containing just a moderately-sized round table, carved with the kanji of the Five Elements, five well-made cushions equally spaced around the table, and a collection of partially-filled scroll racks along the walls. Carefully tamed fire kami flitted around the walls, giving light as they swirled and chased one another, and a small stand to one side held cups and a pitcher of water. Beyond those simple furnishings, the room held only Tsukune and the Council members.

Isawa Hochiu was, as usual, the first to speak. The Master of Fire, though still young for his post, was without question the leader of the Council, having earned the respect and gratitude of the entire Empire by slaying Goju Adorai and ending the War Against the Darkness four years prior. "What is the meaning of this?" demanded Hochiu, gesturing toward the door that Tsukune had just closed on Kyukyo.

Tsukune bowed deeply, waiting until she had straightened to reply, "My report, Isawa-sama, is for the ears of the Masters alone. Once I have delivered it, you can share what you choose with Kyukyo-san."

The Master of Earth, Isawa Taeruko, looked skeptical. "What could you possibly have to tell us that Kyukyo could not hear?" she asked. Although her element was traditionally associated with stasis and passivity, Taeruko was known to be a woman of fierce passions, rivaling even Hochiu's well-known aggression at times. The only time Tsukune had ever seen her smile was when she was with her young daughter; usually, she looked like she was chewing rocks as often as communing with them.

"I have returned from the funeral of Kaede-heika," answered Tsukune. "While you have already received reports, no doubt, of the general shape of the negotiations, I thought it most wise to offer some… specifics… on the events."

Isawa Tomo, the Master of Water, looked pained by the topic. Tomo was a returned spirit who had rejoined the Council at the Battle of Oblivion's Gate even as Hochiu had battled Goju Adorai, but more than that, he had been Kaede's brother. The two had spoken little since his return to Ningen-do, as Tomo had died corrupted by the Shadowlands Taint, taint gained by opening some of the Twelve Black Scrolls; while still the Master of the Void, Isawa Kaede had argued against the decision to open the Scrolls, and had fled the Council when the other four Masters – including both Tomo and their brother Isawa Tadaka – had chosen to go ahead with their plan. Hochiu's father had also died corrupted as a result of that decision, and had killed Tomo and much of the Phoenix legions in the process. Kaede was nothing if not a sensitive issue in these chambers, but her death could not be ignored.

"According to our reports," Hochiu said dryly, "you achieved some success in gaining allies in the Unicorn and Crab Clans… but also managed to offend the Crane, even as they promised to help us, failed to prevent the Dragon from building even more support from the rest of the Empire – including from the Mantis, the Lion and, oh, yes, the Crab as well, proving how little their assistance is actually worth. What is it that you hoped to add to these facts?"

Tsukune's lips thinned. "The facts are, indeed, as you have stated, Isawa-sama. What I want to add is context," she replied, an edge developing on her tone. `Careful,' came a whisper from within her soul. `This must be handled carefully.'

"Context," spoke up Shiba Ningen, the current Master of the Void, "is usually more important than facts." Tsukune looked over at Ningen and winced. The young ishiken – just barely nineteen, and he had been an Elemental Master for nearly a decade – looked slightly pained, his face drawn and eyes dark; he had looked more and more like that since Kaede's death. He had not explained why, or rather had claimed he could not explain it, but every time Tsukune saw him, he seemed a little worse. It did not help that he was her little brother, and as often as not, when she looked at him she only saw the oddly-serious toddler who had followed her around and stolen her hair ribbons. The pain in Ningen's voice made her want to hold him, whisper everything would be all right, and tuck him into his bed, but he was an Elemental Master now; she had to protect him in a different way. "Say what you have to say," he continued hoarsely.

Tsukune took a deep breath. "It is the place of the Phoenix Champion to serve the will of the Council, save in matters of war," she began slowly. She had to be careful. "You speak, and it is my honor to answer. When my delegation left, we knew the stakes – we face a rising threat from the west, as the Dragon seek retribution for the… departure… of the Agasha family." She did not look away from Ningen as she spoke, but she felt the weight of the eyes of the fifth Master, the Master of Air, on her as she continued. "We had to reach out to the other Clans to turn away this threat, to maintain the peace to which we have long been sworn. To that end, I was given detailed instructions."

Now she looked around the room at the rest of the Masters. In turn, she met the gazes of Ningen, Hochiu, Taeruko, Tomo… and Agasha Gennai, the Master of Air and the former Dragon who had led his family out of that Clan and into the waiting arms of the Phoenix, fleeing the commands of a mad Dragon Champion. It was to him that she directed her next words. "From you, Agasha-sama, I received instructions not to engage the Dragon directly, which left us completely unable to try to defuse the threat before it increased further. From you," she turned to Tomo, her voice rising, "I was advised to seek aid against `bandits,' rather than speak plainly of the Dragon threat; this lead to an offer of cavalry training for our magistrates from the Unicorn, rather than an offer of troops or training for our regular units. You, Hochiu-sama, told me to try to build a military alliance with the Crane in hopes of distracting the Lion, but you, Taeruko-sama, specifically instructed me to offer nothing to anyone who did not offer something to help us militarily, meaning that I could do nothing but step back from our Crane negotiations when I learned they had no military resources to offer us. You can imagine their response to that course change. At least you, Shiba-sama, did not further `advise' me – we might well have been exiled to the Burning Sands if you had."

Ningen shook his head, saying only, "I had no advice to give." The rest of the Council looked stunned at Tsukune's outburst, but even Hochiu had not yet regained his footing enough to reply. Tsukune did not give him a chance. She leaned forward, placing both hands on the table, and glared around the table.

"You yourselves do not know what you want," she snapped, "and the price of your short-sightedness has been any hope of long-term benefit. We have given up too much and gained too little. The Crab build us walls, but they sell swords to the Dragon and chortle over the koku they earn on both sides. We persuaded the Crane to lend us their voices in the courts, but we have taken away their cause to use those voices with true vigor. We are alone, isolated, and it comes from your incoherence."

Tsukune shook her head, straightening back up again. "No longer. The Phoenix Champion serves the Council, save in matters of war. When war comes, however, I am your equal, and I command our armies. You have brought war to us, Masters; I will be the one to lead us through it to the peace on the far side."

"That will be enough!" Hochiu snapped, finally finding his voice. He stood up, raising a threatening finger toward the Phoenix Champion. "You go too far, Tsukune! It is not your place to give lessons to the Elemental Masters-"

"If she does not," Ningen said flatly, his quiet voice somehow shutting off Hochiu's entirely, "who will, Isawa-san?" Shocked, Hochiu spun toward Ningen, his mouth opening to rebuke the young ishiken, and Tsukune saw Taeruko rising as well, but Gennai managed to beat them both.

I agree," Gennai said mildly. "My instructions were wrong, given what we now know. I had hoped to avoid an escalation of the conflict, but I merely guaranteed one. Tsukune was in the field then, and should have been given free license to act as she saw fit. I will not make the same mistake again. You have my support, Tsukune-san. Act as you think best."

Hochiu spun again, and Taeruko made an angry squawk, but Tsukune was too experienced a tactician to overlook the opportunity. "My thanks, Masters," she said. "I will not fail the Phoenix." Not waiting to be dismissed, she rose, bowed once more, and left the Chamber, passing a startled-looking Kyukyo on her way out.

`Cycles,' she thought again. `I have been here before.' But this time, she felt the Soul of Shiba inside her, welling up with approval. This was not mad ambition fueled by a corrupting nemuranai. This was the sole hope of the Phoenix Clan. Once the coming conflict was over, she would step aside, return to her oath-sworn place at the Masters' feet. But until then, she had a job to do. That was always the duty of the Shiba: to protect the Isawa.

Even from themselves.