Ivory Chrysanthemum by Yoritomo Reiko
"No wall stands forever. Only duty stands forever."--Kaiu Hosaru, A Perfect Cut
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Ivory Chrysanthemum
by Amanda Carlston/Yoritomo Reiko
It was a shift in the rocking of the ship that alerted Washi that the end of the trip was close. He looked up from his meditations, listening to the sounds of the water against the hull. Over that were the sounds of sailors, the captain calling orders and the others jibing each other none too gently.
Washi chuckled, looking around for his staff. He picked it up and stood slowly, leaning heavily on the wooden staff. The sounds of the ocean and the easy camaraderie brought him back to his days on similar vessels as a simple samurai of the Mantis Clan.
He made his way to the ladder, using the staff to steady himself. He had retired to the Order of Osano-Wo five years ago, when a fight in the Sea of Shadows had cracked the ship's mast and it had fallen on him. Shugenja had been able to save his life, but his right leg had never healed correctly, leaving it weakened. It could bear his weight if necessary, but walking was easier with his staff.
The sea breeze hit his face as he made it to the deck. The ship was nothing like the kobune that he was used to in Rokugan. It had been captured by Yoritomo Aramasu; spoils of the silent war against the Ivory Kingdoms. Washi didn't know what it had been called before, but the first captain and named it the Thunder's Favor. In the intervening years, the Mantis had learned the ins and outs of the foreign ships. They were far stronger than the kobune and better able to make the trip across the Sea of Shadows.
The captain turned, caught sight of him and smiled. "We have arrived, Washi-sama."
"Please, Taishi. I knew your father when we were just boys, and I was with him the day you were born. There is no need for that."
The young man grinned. "Should I not show the proper respect to so honorable a personage as yourself?"
"Proper respect? That would be a first." Washi tapped the much younger man behind the knee with his staff.
Taishi had to take a moment to get his balance back, but only laughed. He sobered quickly and shook his head. "Are you certain of this, Washi? We could turn back even now. You don't have to see her."
The monk paused for a moment, then shook his head. "No, Taishi. I do have to do this."
"It's been nearly eight years. She won't remember you."
"No. But I remember her. That will have to be enough."
The captain looked at him for a moment, and Washi had to wonder what he saw. An old man, head shaved and dressed in the saffron robes of a monk. An old man who couldn't even stand up straight, bent from leaning on his staff so much. The monk tilted his eyebrow up. "Come, Taishi. Hogosha awaits us."
*
Though the architecture was different from Toshi Ranbo, or even the once-glorious city of Otosan-Uchi, the cities of the Ivory Kingdoms didn't differ so much from cities in Rokugan. There were warriors, and peasants to serve them. There were those who were considered "untouchable" and served much the same purpose as the eta. The people of the Ivory Kingdoms had slightly darker skin, but for the most part, there were few differences between the cultures.
Yoritomo Hogosha was a large man, a throwback to his Crab ancestors. He was older than Washi but still just as vigorous as he had been at half his age. He bowed to Washi as the sailors helped the monk onto the dock. "Greetings, Washi. It has been a long time."
"It has, Hogosha." Washi straightened, brushing his robes smooth. "And how is your wife?"
Hogosha grinned. "Old, the same as me. But her daughters are glad enough to have even an old Mantis to watch out for her. They've each married and gone off to live with their husband's families, and with no sons, nobody was left to take care of her after her first husband's death. So, they like me."
"Good, good." Washi set his staff forward and began walking down the docks. He looked up. "The city has grown since I was last here."
"House Rafiq used to take a lot in taxes from the people here. It meant that they had little to live on, and nothing to help the city along while their protectors spent the money on their worship of the Destroyer." Hogosha's face had grown dark as they walked along. Then he brightened. "You're still considered a hero here, you know."
Washi chuckled. "Really? They have so few people to write songs about here?"
"The followers of Ruhmal would have killed hundreds of people that day had you not found their bombs." The older samurai flung his hands toward the west. "An entire section of the city, gone, had it not been for you."
"That was another life, Hogosha. It isn't Washi the monk that they speak of in those stories."
"Are you kidding? There are people in this city who name their sons after you."
The monk shook his head, concentrating on placing his feet and staff so that he didn't trip. It wasn't that he was uncomfortable with what he had done. It was just that he had been a simple soldier. Such accolades were for great generals, not for samurai who were just doing their duty.
They walked in silence for several minutes, heading toward the center of the city. The streets were filled with people, all of them wearing clothing that was exotic to Washi's eye. Several of them called greetings to Hogosha in their language. The old Mantis responded in kind, pausing once to talk to a young boy and passing him a few coins. They were too far away for Washi to hear what was said, but the boy nodded and ran off.
Hogosha walked back to the monk. "The girl is in the care of some friends of mine. They will bring her to us at the shop. I have had men with her, trying to teach her the language of the Empire, but I'm afraid she isn't that good yet."
"That's all right. My command of the local language is rusty, but passable." Washi frowned. "Why did you not turn her over to the authorities?"
The old samurai thought for a moment as they walked. "Because she has her father's eyes."
*
The curry shop was in the same district that had once held the household of the Rafiq governors. The house had been razed and the new protectors of the city were building anew.
The grilled vegetables and spices were not new to the Mantis who had long been among the people of the Ivory Kingdoms, first for trading and then to help get rid of the Ruhmal followers. It was the nann that accompanied it that was so exotic. It was popular with the sailors, but the flatbread didn't travel all that well on the seas.
"Can you imagine what the Mantis could make on this if we could get it back to Rokugan?" Hogosha shook his head, tearing off a piece of the nann and using it to scoop up the rice and spiced vegetables. "Best curry in town. But the bread has to be it fresh or it's no good."
Washi smiled, bowing his head slightly. "We'd be better off learning how to make it and selling the recipe to the Yasuki."
"Sell it to the Unicorn. Nobody will be surprised if they have it. Though I know a Daidoji who might enjoy it as well." Hogosha chuckled. He glanced up and wiped his hands on a cloth he carried. "Ah, here we go."
The monk looked up from his bowl to see several men outside the shop. With them was a girl, her hair long and black. She was bit shorter than the men around her but broader in the shoulder. Her face was slightly narrower than the men's, her eyes almond-shaped. The most surprising thing, though, was those eyes. While everyone else Washi had known in the Ivory Kingdoms had dark eyes, her eyes were a light color, possibly blue or green. Both were common among the Mantis.
Hogosha stood, nodding to the men. "Leave us be," he ordered them. "I'm sure we can defend ourselves against a small girl."
The monk wasn't so certain. The girl wasn't all that small, though he knew her to be no more than a dozen summers old. Hogosha walked to her side and took her arm, bringing her over. "We will have lunch together, the three of us." His voice didn't brook any argument.
Washi started to stand, but his friend waved him down. "Don't stand, Washi. We'll be here all day waiting for you to get up." The samurai pulled the girl to the table. "Sit."
The girl glowered up at Hogosha, but she sat. Washi watched her carefully. Except for the darker skin, she looked like any of a hundred women he had seen in Rokugan. There was little of her mother in her looks, he noted. That saddened him.
"Savarna, I would like to introduce you to Washi, a monk from the Islands of the Mantis. Washi, this is Savarna. She's a bandit."
The girl gave Hogosha a dark look. The old samurai seemed immensely pleased with himself and went back to his curry. Washi shook his head. "Savarna. That's an interesting name."
She glanced at him. "It means 'daughter of the ocean,'" she said matter-of-factly. "My father was of your clan." She looked at the food placed before her and pushed it away. "That's what my mother said, at least."
"And what happened to your mother?" Washi picked up the nann and pulled off a piece.
Savarna shrugged. "She died seven years ago. Nobody could find my father, so they sent me to an orphanage. I ran away three years ago."
"And became a bandit."
She shrugged. "It's not like I killed anybody. Me and a couple other kids got together and we'd beat people up for their money." She leaned back, as though daring him to judge her.
The monk looked at her steadily, then bowed his head once. "You needed to eat."
She blinked, surprised by his reaction. She took a moment to school her face. "I didn't expect you to understand."
Washi shook his head. "I don't. Not really. In Rokugan, the daimyo makes certain that everyone in the clan is taken care of, from the samurai down to the lowest peasant. No child would have been left to such a fate as your 'orphanage.'"
Savarna's expression turned cold. "It doesn't matter," she muttered, finally reaching out and picking up the bread. "We aren't in your country, and your daimyo couldn't do anything for me here. Even being the daughter of a great hero couldn't help me."
"You're still young," Washi noted. "You could come to the lands of the Mantis."
Silence reigned over the table for a long moment, broken only by the sound of Hogosha eating. Finally, the girl looked at him. "Why?"
The monk looked at her. "Because you are a daughter of the Mantis. You're...thirteen?"
"Twelve," she corrected.
He shook his head. "Thirteen in Rokugan. You are one when you are born." He smiled slightly. "Just one of our strange customs. Anyway, you are only thirteen. It would take a few years to get you fully trained in our ways, but not that long. The Mantis are a small clan and every child is needed. You would be accepted and wouldn't have to worry where your next meal is coming from."
Savarna brushed her hair out of her face, her expression thoughtful. "What of my father? What of Yoritomo Geiha?"
Even Hogosha stopped eating in the silence that followed. Finally, the monk shook his head. "You will not find Geiha among the Mantis any longer. Such concerns are beyond him now."
Her face fell and she closed her eyes. "It's funny, but...I always thought that he would come to rescue me. I remember him as a large man who used to laugh with my mother and threw me up into the air. Then he was gone from our lives and I never saw him again."
Washi shook his head. "I am sorry, Savarna. But I'm certain that he thought of you often."
She sat back, looking at the table. Then she looked up between Hogosha and Washi. "Your Mantis clan. They would take in even a bandit?"
Hogosha threw his head back and laughed. "Savarna, my girl, there are some who would say that the Mantis is made up of nothing but bandits..."
"And pirates," Washi added.
The old samurai nodded in agreement. "You can start your learning on the way back to Rokugan. The crew will teach you how to sail and some of the language. And having Washi around will make certain that they don't teach you all of it." He grinned. "And Washi, of course, will be able to teach you about our religion."
"How long do I have to think about it?"
"A few weeks," Washi replied. "We have only just arrived, and there is trading to be done before the ship returns."
She licked her lips nervously and nodded. "I will think about it." She stood and bowed clumsily to them. Hogosha stood and bowed as well, Washi doing his best to bow from where he sat. She backed away from the table to where the guards were still waiting down the street.
Hogosha sat again, pushing his bowl away. "Well, that was interesting."
The monk nodded, sitting back as well. "Do you think she will take up the offer?"
"She might." The samurai raised an eyebrow. "Would her father have?"
"Her father should have stayed in the Ivory Kingdoms, like you did, Hogosha."
Hogosha chuckled, shaking his head. "Geiha was too much of a servant to just stay here, as well you know, my friend."
"If he had stayed in the Ivory Kingdom, Geiha might still be around today."
The older samurai looked him over. "And wouldn't have a limp?"
Washi nodded. "Maybe."
"Well, it's likely that she'll return to Rokugan. You'll have a lot to explain to her."
Washi nodded slowly, looking off down the street. "I would have come back for her had I known."
Hogosha reached out and patted the man once known as Yoritomo Geiha on the shoulder. "I know you would have, my friend." He stood. "Come. My wife has been looking forward to seeing you again and catching up."
Washi nodded, picking up his staff and struggling to his feet. Savarna might return to Rokugan or not, but at least she now had a choice. And he was going to make certain that things would be better for her from now on.
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