A Hero Rises
By Rich Wulf

The city still smoldered as the Emperor gazed out over his domain from the balcony of his new palace. His face betrayed no emotion, but the smoke-filled air was electrified with the force of his anger. “What can you tell me about this, Sume-san?” he asked casually. “What have your people discovered?”

“The fire began in a warehouse in a district controlled by the Crane, Your Majesty,” Ikoma Sume answered, tugging at his long white beard thoughtfully.

Naseru glanced over his shoulder at the aging Lion courtier. “Are the Crane responsible by any action or omission of their duty?”

“No, Your Majesty, I do not believe so. Nimuro-sama has spoken to Kurohito, and while there were some initial accusations and hostilities, both men seem to agree that neither Clan is responsible.”

“Interesting,” the Emperor mused. “Then whom do they suspect?”

Sume shuffled uncomfortably. “We do not yet know, Your Majesty. Someone that wishes to foment chaos between the Crane and Lion. Perhaps even dissidents within one of the two clans, seeking a return to the old ways. Nimuro-sama and Kurohito have both pledged to find the culprit, no matter the cost.” He paused for a moment. “What would you have us do in the meantime, my Emperor?”

“In the meantime,” Naseru offered, “we shall demonstrate to whoever began this fire that they have failed. I am certain we can repair the damage swiftly and capably but that is not enough. The people need a symbol.”

“A symbol, Your Majesty?” Sume asked.

Naseru smiled. “A hero,” he replied. “Fortunately this is a resource our Empire never has in short supply. Find me a hero, Sume. A samurai who acted with courage and selflessness during the fire. I will reward them for their valor, and appoint them the governor of the damaged district, and as their first act the district shall be renamed to commemorate their valor. We shall show this saboteur and his masters that any such cowardly act against my city shall only make the Empire stronger.”

“It will be as you wish, my Emperor,” Sume said with a bow.

“Forge for me the finest Kakita katana, the symbol of excellence, and the finest Akodo wakizashi, the symbol of honor,” Naseru continued. “I would give this hero my blessing, and a gift from the clans he or she served with his courage.”

Sume smiled. “I think I know just the smiths to see, Your Majesty.”

Several Days Earlier…

“Brothers of the Lion!” Ieshige roared. “To me!”

The Lion could not hear the sound of his own voice for the roar of flames all around him. He could barely see more than a few feet for the swirling smoke and glare of flames. The young warrior held a torn scrap of damp cloth to his face, breathing roughly as best he could. He held a long spear low and to one side as he searched around for… for anything - a foe to smite, an enemy to lay low. This was not the sort of battle he was accustomed to fighting. Only hours ago he had arrived from Toshi Ranbo to report his commander's progress at the City of the Rich Frog. He had arrived to find the capital in flames, Lion and Crane at each other's throats as the city burned.

Ieshige did not know what had happened. He had arrived to find the Lion barracks empty, every available soldier summoned into the streets to fight the fire. There was no one to guide him, no one to explain what must be done. Ieshige was just a soldier. What could he do?

“Brothers of the Lion!” he shouted, knocking aside a blockade of burning rubble with one sweep of his spear. “To me!”

He heard no reply, but above the city's death cry Ieshige heard the call of steel on steel. The young Lion's eyes narrowed and he kicked his horse to a gallop. The horse's eyes rolled in wild terror but it obeyed its master, plunging through the burning streets toward the sound of fighting. He rounded the corner to find two men standing in the crossroads. One wore a soot-stained kimono of deep blue, his long white hair hanging in an unkempt mess around his shoulders. The other was dressed in the golden armor of a Legionnaire, her face a mask of fury. Both held their katanas drawn, each trained upon the other. The woman was already wounded, a deep gash on her right thigh from the man's sword, but the man was much older and tiring quickly from the smoky air. They circled one another warily, each remaining out of another's reach. Lion and Crane, they battled as the city burned.

As Ieshige arrived, both turned their eyes toward him. The Lion's eyes lit in victory, the old Crane frowned in concern. He rode directly forward, placing his spear between them both.

“What is the meaning of this?” Ieshige demanded, looking from one to another. “The Lion and Crane clans are at peace! Why do you fight one another while the Emperor's city burns?”

“The Crane are to blame for these fires,” the Lion woman snarled, her eyes narrowing at the Crane. “They seek to blame this sabotage on us so that we will be shamed in the Emperor's eyes.”

“And you Lion have failed to protect Toshi Ranbo,” the Crane snarled, blue eyes flicking from Ieshige to his opponent with no trace of fear. “You role in our truce was to keep the city safe, to provide a secure home for the Emperor. The Lion are responsible for this tragedy, whether by direct action or failure in their duties.”

“Arrogant Crane!” the woman snarled. “Cousin, help me strike this one down and we shall see to the others!”

A roar rose from the depths of Ieshige's chest, a sound filled with such rage and anger that the Lion and Crane each fell back a step. They looked up at him in shock and surprise. Ieshige's spear remained between them, now quavering slightly in his hand - it was all the young Lion could do to hold back his rage.

“You call yourselves servants of the Emperor?” Ieshige shouted. “You disgust me, both of you! This is no time to fight among ourselves! Toshi Ranbo burns! And should it fall the honor of both our clans will perish!”

A silence fell over the burning city in that moment, as both Lion and Crane looked up at Ieshige in silent shame. In that moment of silence, the sound of a crying child carried itself over the streets. Ieshige quickly glanced in that direction, toward a five-story temple, windows now blighted with fire. He scowled down at the pair before him.

“I have no more time for this!” Ieshige hissed. “I place each of your lives in the hands of the other. If either of you dies today, I shall find the other and punish them for failing to preserve a fellow servant of the Emperor!” He glared down at them. “Is that understood?”

The two samurai nodded meekly at Ieshige but he barely noticed. He was already galloping toward the temple, following the cries of the terrified child. He did not pause at the temple doors, commanding his horse to rear and split the wood asunder as he galloped inside. The halls beyond were choked with ash. The bodies of Shintao monks lay collapsed on the floor, overcome by the smoke. Ieshige leapt from the saddle and checked the nearest for signs of life, but he was too late. He pressed on, following what hope remained, the cries that now beckoned from the floors above. Most likely the child was a servant of the temple, an orphaned peasant given to the monks for safekeeping.

Peasant or no, this was no way to die. The young samurai charged toward the stairs, tilting his helmet forward as he leapt through a wall of flame, ignoring the sickening smell of burning hair and singed flesh that he knew was his own as he surged up the stairs. He felt a weakness pass through him, a buckling in the knees, a shortness of breath. He pushed aside weakness, threw the doors aside, and entered the second floor…

And found himself in an endless cavern, shadowy tunnels yawning into the distance. The only light rose from stubby candles planted on the earth around a pool to his right. Their flickering light reflected from the surface of the water.

No, not water, Ieshige realized as the sickening coppery smell burned his nostrils.

“What is this place?” Ieshige roared, searching the shadows for any enemy. “What sorcery has pulled me from my duties in the Emperor's city?”

The only reply, at first, was a mocking laughter that seemingly echoed from all sides at once. Ieshige's hands tightened on the haft of his spear. His face twisted in a scowl.

“Show yourself!” Ieshige commanded. “If I find that any have perished because you drew me here…”

“Calm yourself, Ieshige-san,” replied a deep voice, filled with obvious amusement and disdain for the confused Lion. “Toshi Ranbo is quite safe. The Lion and Crane will survive. Even now, they direct a brigade of peasants to quench the roaring fires. They will remember how you reminded them of their honor. You were the great hero of the day, if a posthumous one.”

“Posthumous?” Ieshige replied, and for the first time in his life there was fear in the Lion's voice. All Lion were taught that death was a part of their existence. It was their privilege and their purpose to give their lives on behalf of the Emperor. At the end of that life, one could expect to join his ancestors on the golden fields of Yomi.

This… this was not Yomi.

“Did you not see the bodies of the monks?” the voice asked with a chuckle. “Even unencumbered by the weapons and armor you wore, they could not survive the smoke. Your pride and courage carried you further than they, but even Lion pride is not invincible. You are dying Ieshige, even as we speak.”

Ieshige did not wish to believe it, could not believe it. Even still, behind the musty damp smell of the cave he could detect the tinge of soot and smoke. Behind the eerie silence and hollow, cackling laughter he could hear the roar of flames… and the terrified cries of the child.

“I am dying, you say, but I am not dead yet,” Ieshige said quickly. “Is that correct?”

“Yes,” the voice replied simply. It fell silent again, waiting for what Ieshige would say next.

“Can the child still be saved?” he asked.

“Yes,” the voice replied simply, “if you save him.”

The dim light of the cave did not illuminate Ieshige's expression, but his voice was firm. “What must I do to survive?” he asked. “Can you help me?”

The reply, at first, was only laughter. “I thought a Lion cared little for his life, only for his honor.”

“And for the lives of those I protect,” Ieshige retorted.

“It is only a peasant,” the voice replied. “Surely you suspect what I will require in return. You do not know this child. Would you damn yourself for his sake?”

Ieshige lowered his head. “How could I dare take my place among my ancestors if I had not done everything possible to save him?” he asked in a defeated voice.

“Very well, Akodo Ieshige,” the voice replied. The pool beside him began to churn and froth, as if heated from below. A dark shape rose from its depths, a figure woven of slick red sinews and clotted blood. It rose above Ieshige, its torso extending to a serpentine trunk that disappeared in the pit of blood. Hollow eye sockets glowed with a faint, hateful red light. A toothless mouth chewed the air as the horrid apparition looked down upon the Lion. “I will return you, Ieshige. I will heal your wounds and grant you the strength to be a hero. In return you will forget this meeting… until I have reason to call upon you.”

“What are you, creature?” Ieshige asked, looking up at the creature of blood and filth impassively. There was no fear, no disgust within Ieshige - it was as if those emotions had already been burned away.

“What am I?” the thing said with an arrogant chuckle. “I am your master.”

With that, Ieshige sat bolt upright in the temple. The flames were gone, the walls untouched. In the hall behind him, his horse looked down at him solemnly. Several monks stared at him curiously, confused by the presence of the Lion and his horse in their temple. The memories of his meeting with the strange creature of blood lingered in Ieshige's mind just long enough for him to realize the truth.

The child had never been in danger at all…

“”Emperor,” Matsu Nimuro said simply, “I give you Akodo Ieshige, hero of Toshi Ranbo.”

The Champion of the Lion Clan was impressive in his full ceremonial armor, wild golden mane flung back against his shoulders. At his side stood Doji Kurohito, Champion of the Crane, wearing no armor but no less impressive in a sleek kimono of sky blue. The two stood side by side before the Emperor's court, an open display of unity and solidarity in the wake of the chaos that had consumed Toshi Ranbo. Ieshige knelt humbly before them, keeping his eyes averted from the Emperor and his court. This was the greatest honor of his life, and yet Ieshige could not help feeling very small. The new daisho at his hip felt strange, uncomfortable there. He was still not used to the balance of the new blades, but he would adjust in time, presumably.

“This is the man who evacuated the Temple of Fukurokujin and rallied the bucket crews that saved our city?” the Emperor asked in a mellow, vaguely disinterested voice. “This is the man who stamped down the riots in the burning quarters and returned peace to Toshi Ranbo?”

“He is,” Matsu Nimuro replied.

“Akodo Ieshige, you have proven your worth where others would have faltered,” the Emperor said. “You retained direction amid chaos, and led others by your example. You are a true servant of the Empire. Rise.”

Ieshige rose before the Emperor, though he did not meet the man's eyes. The young Lion was surprised - he had heard that Toturi III was young, but the Emperor looked much older than he expected. Ieshige could feel the weight of countless worries upon the Emperor's shoulders, but Righteous Emperor sat strong and straight in his father's throne.

“For your services, Ieshige, I appoint you governor of the district that was damaged in the fire,” the Emperor continued. “Its protection and restoration will be your responsibility.”

Ieshige bowed his head to the Emperor.

“But before I dismiss you to begin your duties,” the Emperor continued, “I must ask you one thing. It is customary for the governor of a district in the Imperial capital to give that district a new name, usually his own name. What name will you give your district, Akodo Ieshige?”

Ieshige did not hesitate. Though he had not considered this question in advance, the name sprang instantly to his lips.

“Okura,” he said.

A gasp echoed through the court. Some of the Emperor's servants glanced uncomfortably at one another. Others stared at Ieshige in open confusion.

“The name of the demon who guards the gates of Heaven,” Naseru replied. “A servant of Jigoku whose corruption was purified by the noble example of the Lion Clan. An odd choice for a name, Ieshige-san.”

“It seemed appropriate, Your Majesty,” Ieshige replied. “Let the site where chaos nearly threatened to divide the Empire once more instead serve as an example of the honor of those who truly serve the Emperor. The Okura district will be the jewel of Toshi Ranbo.”

The Emperor gazed down at Ieshige for a long moment, his single eye seeming to pierce through to the depths of his soul. Ieshige was afraid for a moment, as if he feared that the Emperor had seen something that displeased him, though he could not imagine what that would be.

“I will not fail you, your Majesty,” Ieshige said confidently.

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