Post by cerdigon on Jun 9, 2017 3:11:39 GMT
[ For timeline's sake, we can say Rhodri's trip took place before he headed south to Berranda. ]
'' Tell me of my grandfather's duel with the samurai. '' It was a petulant demand of a grandchild that had long been indulged and become the Emperor's favorite. Of course, he had heard the stories a thousand times and craved to hear it a thousand more. It had been put into song by bards and into a hundred songs and sang in a thousand taverns. The nursemaid's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper as she put the boy to bed.
'' Ikegami Naozumi was a great and feared warlord. Your grandfather and he had fought for fifty long years during the Great Rebellion, Naozumi for the Southern tyrant, and Aeron for the North's freedom. During the Great Northern War, once again, Naozum the Wicked invaded the Commonwealth. Your grandfather marshaled his armies and met them in the woods of the Great Forest in a great battle. It was there that Naozumi challenged your grandfather to a duel and both met in single combat to decide the fate of both armies. It was a long and drawn out affair, hours passed, both bleeding from wounds and exhausted. Naozumi had wounded your grandfather gravely and moved to strike him down. It was with that moment however that Aed himself reached down from the Heavens to intervene. A gap in the trees opened, blinding Naozumi with a ray of sunlight so pure that it burned his black soul to its core. Your grandfather took his chance, plowing his blade deep into the cruel samurai's heart. '' The nursemaid saidwith a flourish, tickling the boy until he could scarcely breathe.
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'' Tell me of your duel with the samurai. ''
It was late. Years had passed, decades, and always Rhodri had asked the question but Aeron had stubbornly refused to talk of it...
Tonight was different, the Emperor had been indulging in drink (something he rarely did), and his tongue was heavy with wine.
'' Naozumi was leading the advance towards Morgraig. I decided to lay an ambush in the Great Forest, a place I knew well, a place where I had won my crown. '' Aeron said, his eyes lingering on the crackling fire infront of them.
'' The Ikegami vanguard was cut to pieces but their center had begun to rally with the help of the Gospodors. I moved to take personal command of the advance. Naozumi and I didn't seek one another out, we blundered into another. The smoke, the chaos from the fires, it was a madness. '' Another long draught as Rhodri sat quietly, not judging.
'' Our bodyguards charged one another and the lines tangled. Naozumi and I met in hand to hand. But the years had robbed me...the death of your father, my wounds.... '' A low chuckle ''...and Naozumi was always the better swordsman. I was finished. ''
'' I didn't see the shot that wounded him as he stood over me, ready to claim my head. The bullet punched through his chest like a cannon ball but I remember his scream as he lay there. It was from close range, my bodyguard Captain Tedwyr, had pulled the trigger. I reclaimed my blade and ended it. ''
'' And the story? '' Rhodri said, incredulous.
'' A fable, fiction. Not one that I encouraged mind you. But soldiers have a mind of their own when I returned with Naozumi's sword. The duel that wasn't became a legend, in truth,I murdered a wounded man as he lay bleeding on the forest floor. I did not offer him mercy. For the first time in my life, I felt shame. ''
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The carriage carrying Rhodri Aeron Sefti and a company of the Imperial Lifeguard struck towards the Ikegami border. The Ikegami and Seftian's had known a tension filled peace, interrupted by the occasional skirmish but nothing on the scale of the fighting a century ago. It was along these very same borders that armies of his forefathers in earlier periods of Imperial history had clashed and fought bloody battles. The Crown Prince of the Seftian Esharan Dynasty was on a mission to end that tension -- permanently. A courier had been sent ahead, requesting an audience with Sayoko. The scabbarded blade of Ikegami Naozumi lay across his knees while the Prince admired its craftsmanship. He only hoped that its return could signal a thaw in relations.
'' Tell me of my grandfather's duel with the samurai. '' It was a petulant demand of a grandchild that had long been indulged and become the Emperor's favorite. Of course, he had heard the stories a thousand times and craved to hear it a thousand more. It had been put into song by bards and into a hundred songs and sang in a thousand taverns. The nursemaid's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper as she put the boy to bed.
'' Ikegami Naozumi was a great and feared warlord. Your grandfather and he had fought for fifty long years during the Great Rebellion, Naozumi for the Southern tyrant, and Aeron for the North's freedom. During the Great Northern War, once again, Naozum the Wicked invaded the Commonwealth. Your grandfather marshaled his armies and met them in the woods of the Great Forest in a great battle. It was there that Naozumi challenged your grandfather to a duel and both met in single combat to decide the fate of both armies. It was a long and drawn out affair, hours passed, both bleeding from wounds and exhausted. Naozumi had wounded your grandfather gravely and moved to strike him down. It was with that moment however that Aed himself reached down from the Heavens to intervene. A gap in the trees opened, blinding Naozumi with a ray of sunlight so pure that it burned his black soul to its core. Your grandfather took his chance, plowing his blade deep into the cruel samurai's heart. '' The nursemaid saidwith a flourish, tickling the boy until he could scarcely breathe.
--------------------------------------
'' Tell me of your duel with the samurai. ''
It was late. Years had passed, decades, and always Rhodri had asked the question but Aeron had stubbornly refused to talk of it...
Tonight was different, the Emperor had been indulging in drink (something he rarely did), and his tongue was heavy with wine.
'' Naozumi was leading the advance towards Morgraig. I decided to lay an ambush in the Great Forest, a place I knew well, a place where I had won my crown. '' Aeron said, his eyes lingering on the crackling fire infront of them.
'' The Ikegami vanguard was cut to pieces but their center had begun to rally with the help of the Gospodors. I moved to take personal command of the advance. Naozumi and I didn't seek one another out, we blundered into another. The smoke, the chaos from the fires, it was a madness. '' Another long draught as Rhodri sat quietly, not judging.
'' Our bodyguards charged one another and the lines tangled. Naozumi and I met in hand to hand. But the years had robbed me...the death of your father, my wounds.... '' A low chuckle ''...and Naozumi was always the better swordsman. I was finished. ''
'' I didn't see the shot that wounded him as he stood over me, ready to claim my head. The bullet punched through his chest like a cannon ball but I remember his scream as he lay there. It was from close range, my bodyguard Captain Tedwyr, had pulled the trigger. I reclaimed my blade and ended it. ''
'' And the story? '' Rhodri said, incredulous.
'' A fable, fiction. Not one that I encouraged mind you. But soldiers have a mind of their own when I returned with Naozumi's sword. The duel that wasn't became a legend, in truth,I murdered a wounded man as he lay bleeding on the forest floor. I did not offer him mercy. For the first time in my life, I felt shame. ''
-----------------------------------------------
The carriage carrying Rhodri Aeron Sefti and a company of the Imperial Lifeguard struck towards the Ikegami border. The Ikegami and Seftian's had known a tension filled peace, interrupted by the occasional skirmish but nothing on the scale of the fighting a century ago. It was along these very same borders that armies of his forefathers in earlier periods of Imperial history had clashed and fought bloody battles. The Crown Prince of the Seftian Esharan Dynasty was on a mission to end that tension -- permanently. A courier had been sent ahead, requesting an audience with Sayoko. The scabbarded blade of Ikegami Naozumi lay across his knees while the Prince admired its craftsmanship. He only hoped that its return could signal a thaw in relations.
