“The local manors have been going to the monks for their protection, lord,” he said. “Those that aren’t under watch of the lower houses. Lord Zusho and his neighbors told me they are concerned. He said as much last year: on the mountain, the monks are divided, arguing bitterly over the Age of Plagues.” He shook his head. “A monk known as Moro leads a faction that supports imperial control, and House Hara support him because it increases their power as regents to the emperor. Against you, lord, in the chancellorship. At the same time, an exiled monk named Ryaku’in leads a group against Moro and the Hara interference with their temples. The whole thing is a mess.”
“What of the Gate?”
“Loyal,” Yora said. “To the sovereign. They have no love for the Mountain but are waiting to see how this internal conflict is resolved.”
Seikiyo scowled. “Those monks, they have too many faces, too many names. You never know what they intend.”
“They’re important for the regents and the old Hara clanline,” Yora said. “You know this. The emperor listens to their advice.”
The Hara clan, one of the great families from the south, had held the position of regent-to-the-throne for generations.
“The emperor’s regents do what they’ve always done,” Seikiyo snarled. “Which is to suck power from the emperor’s bones.”
“Regardless, the temples are divided,” Yora said. “They disagree over whether the Age of Gods will return, or the Age of Monsters. Ryaku’in says the spirit-world is in decline. There may be a change in leadership, and depending on how it goes, it may be beneficial to the throne…”
“Or not?”
He gave a pause. “Some of the factions are not supportive of the emperor – or his father,” Yora said. “Some believe the so-called cloister system leads to too much manipulation.”
“What can I do about this?” Seikiyo turned. “I’m merely chancellor of the ministry… one of many. Emperors have taken religious vows for generations.”
“The former-emperor named you chancellor before he took the cloister,” Yora said. “Surely you can speak to him. His son Ashihara-the-Emperor has a Hara regent… Andhisson will have a regent, yes, but the regents…”
Yora trailed away. No one would say it aloud, but all knew Seikiyo was the power behind the throne. The regents grudgingly obeyed, and they both knew how hard Seikiyo worked to make that happen.
Seikiyo coughed a bitter laugh. “The former-emperor has not been known to give up power easily. Even retired, he still plays his games. We need the monks to be a strong source of support for this government. And if they’re not, we’ll have to take actions.”
A silence fell. Yora knew not how to fill it. He saw that, in his hands, Seikiyo held a smooth black stone, a totem from his youth. “Enough of this,” the chancellor said. “There’s more pressing business for us today.”
“What is that, lord?”
“I hear things, Yora,” he said. “There are rumors…There is a plot against me.”
He moved on. “The exiled monk, Ryaku’in. He has been seen east of the barrier plains. They say he’s looking for something. Orsomeone. In Lady Ogami’in’s lands.”
Yora felt his chest go tight.
“What does that sound like to you, poet?” Seikiyo asked.
“It could be a great many things,” Yora replied, cautious. “I can’t claim to know Ryaku’in or the workings of his mind…”
“And yet you should. We never found Sen Hoshiakari after your brother’s war. There are some who say he lives.”
“Hearsay,” Yora said. “There will always be rumors.”
“Yes,” said Seikiyo. “But are they true?”
When Yora didn’t answer, Seikiyo frowned: “You werethere, Yora. Seventeen years ago. You went to Azemichi.”
“I did, lord,” Yora said. Seikiyo turned to him.
“Then tell me. What did you see?”
And so, Yora thought,the memories come back. They come back and they come back.Suddenly it was a different night, a different province, a dozenleagues from the capital where they now stood. Suddenly Yora was back, as he was in dreams, in the flames of Azemichi, and it was the night he’d learned his brother had died.
When he’d stood, as it seemed he’d always stood, surrounded by a ring of bodies.
He had called to them at first. Five men, sent by his lord Seikiyo in the night. He went to them with his hand held high, and they turned as one when they heard him, watching as the last of the town lay burning into ash. And then, the blades came out.
