The storm had ended not two hours earlier when the lookout first spotted the debris floating on the horizon. There were trading ships that had been missing, over three days late in port when the storm first arrived, and the Rising Sun had been sent to try and locate them. With a heavy heart, Captain Yoritomo Yorikane ordered his crew to approach the debris.

The field was wide, far more debris than could have been created by the breaking up of a single ship. Yorikane’s expression was sour as he surveyed the wreckage. He signaled for his men to slow the ship as he strode to the edge and examined the fragments of wood there. “The storm, captain-sama?” his first mate asked.

Yorikane grunted in a noncommittal manner. He reached out with his kama and leaned far over the rail, sinking the blade into a piece of wood with a solid blow, then bringing it aboard the ship. He ran his hands over the wood carefully, feeling the slick, smooth surface. “This has been in the water too long,” he muttered. He turned back to his first mate. “This was in the water before the storm,” he said. “A day, two perhaps.”

The first mate, a veteran of many years on the sea, paled ever so slightly at Yorikane’s words. “Then they were destroyed long before the storm,” he said quietly. “Lookouts!” he shouted, turning to the crew without having to be ordered. “Stations at all sides! Make ready for port!”

Yorikane shook his head and tossed the wood back into the water. He knew it would be too late. Their fate was sealed, as had been so many others over the past few years. Never this close to the islands, however. In truth, that was what bothered Yorikane the most. He had always known his death would come at sea. It was what he wanted, and he had no regrets save that he could not warn those at port.

“Dark Wave!” the port lookout shouted. “Dark Wave ships on the horizon!”

Yorikane drew both his kama and looked at his men. “We cannot outrun them,” he said, confirming what they already knew. “Their maho-tsukai give them unmatched speed. All we can do is delay them, and hope that the other patrols recognize the pattern when we fail to return to port.” He smiled, hoping to assuage the dread he saw in his men’s eyes. “I intend to give the traitors a taste of the suffering that awaits them if they ever reach the Islands of Silk and Spice.” He lifted his kama. “Yoritomo!”

“Yoritomo!” his men answered, and their fear was gone.

Yoritomo Naizen ran a hand across his face, then stared at the table’s surface, fighting not to show his frustration. “As you command, my lady,” he said tersely.

“You obviously disagree,” Yoritomo Kumiko said. The Daughter of Storms had a playful glint in her eye as she chewed on a piece of fruit. “What would you do, given your leave, Naizen?”

The Mantis general looked up with a fierce expression. “I would lead our forces to the City of Remembrance, and I would make it ours. I would use it as a focal point for our supply lines and feed forces directly north into the Shiba and Isawa lands. Without a major land base to coordinate out efforts, we continue to fight a running war, with no appreciable gains.”

“We have taken a number of small islands along the Phoenix coast,” Kumiko said.

“None of which have any existing infrastructure to exploit,” Naizen muttered.

“The City of Remembrance remains off limits, now and always,” Kumiko said. “That will not change, Naizen. Redirect your efforts.”

The general threw up his hands. “Toward what, my lady?” he said. “The Isawa lands are so thoroughly defended that they cannot be breached. Shiro Shiba and Kyuden Agasha are likewise immune to all but the lengthiest siege. Morkage Toshi is a cursed wasteland. There are no coastal settlements large enough for us to exploit save for the City of Remembrance.”

“Then look inward,” Kumiko said. She pondered it a moment. “I will send as many shugenja as you need, no matter how many. Take your forces and move inland to Nikesake.”

“Nikesake?” Naizen said. “That is the center of the Phoenix alliance with the Crane. Do we dare risk Kurohito’s wrath?”

“Kurohito’s wrath?” Kumiko laughed. “We will be nothing but courteous, offering all Crane samurai ample opportunity to vacate the city. They will be incensed, of course, and wish to retaliate. The Phoenix, in their arrogance, will have none of it. In the end, the Crane will forgive us, because oureconomic alliance is too valuable, but the embers of resentment will be sown between the Crane and Phoenix, just as they have been between the Isawa and the other families.”

“And what if the Crane do not react as you predict?” Naizen asked. “What if they fight?”

“Then we fight back,” Kumiko said, chewing absently as she stared directly back.

Naizen drew back and thought carefully. Already plans and contingencies formed in his mind. His rough face twisted in a slight smile. “As you wish, my lady.”