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Mar 21, 2017 7:49 PM
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| EDIT : As of July 30th 2020, the four main volumes of the series have been translated and published under two volumes by Pushkin Press. I would recommend you read them for yourself. :) Kemono no Souja is a fantastic series of 4 volumes of which none have been officially or fan translated in English, and for which exists a 50-episode anime adaptation, Kemono no Souja Erin, which covers the first 2 volumes of the series. I have written a detailed summary of the events pertaining to the second half of the series assuming you have already experienced the first half through its adaptation or, less likely, through reading the first two volumes (as from what I know, the first 2 volumes have officially been translated in French). The summary spans roughly 120,000 characters (22,000 words, 63 pages... 3 posts here) and is written in a way, I believe, that should allow readers to experience some intrigue and draw conclusions on their own. The idea was to write something I would like to read myself were I unable to read the source material, without getting into the translation territory. Before getting onto the summary—assuming you are here coming from the anime adaptation or perhaps just to refresh your mind on the events that happened in the first half of the story—I would like to invite you to read about some important differences between the anime adaptation and the novel for the first half of the series by clicking on the following spoiler tag. There's nothing bringing the story in a completely different direction story-wise, but some things, most notably the tone, are different in the novel. Note: I only wrote down the more important differences I remember, all while providing a very rough summary, from the point of view of the novel. I am no doubt forgetting about many details from the anime that are either not present or told differently in the novel. If you remember a specific scene from the anime that is not mentioned below, and wonder how it plays out in the novel, I can probably answer that though. The novel doesn't play around the bush in the beginning. We are briefly introduced to Touda, their function, how they treat them, but we very rapidly reach the moment where we hear Touda cries after the Kiba died. There are very little slice of life-ish moments throughout the novel really. Erin doesn't meet with the sick Touda from another village and his rider. She doesn't play around the field with sheep nor really explores the Touda caves. Her friend is not married off nor does she get sick, and I'm now wondering if she's even friends with her. There is no Touda egg hunting either. We still get that Erin is especially curious and attentive from her interactions with her mother though. When her mother is brought to be sentenced at the Touda lake, they don't throw her down a huge platform, rather, carry her to the middle of the lake with a boat. I'm not sure if it's specifically mentioned in the anime, but the Mist People attribute the death of Soyon to fatigue; the benetrophic water they apply on Touda to strengthen them becomes too strong (poisonous) when Kiba, which are more fragile than other Touda, are at their weakest (during mating season). She would have allegedly poisoned the Kiba using benetrophic water by mistake due to fatigue/overworking, perhaps because mistreating Touda has had a toll on her. The Mist People elders said something to the effect of "Even the wise Soyon can make such mistakes." Either way it's not something that was obvious, I think. Following these events, Erin seems to harbor some hatred against the head villager, her grandfather, because he did nothing for her mother, but it's possible I misunderstood that part. The comic relief duo doesn't exist. Mostly the same events happen with John as well. She learns to care for bees and displays a lot knowledge and curiosity, but she does not meet Ial playing the harp in town and therefore doesn't get his harp. In fact, hardly nothing happens in the village, John just goes there to sell his medicine. She gets introduced to the harp straight from John. We still get a glimpse of Ial, where he is seen to be a lot more sharp and serious than what I remember. His first scene depicts him passing by an alley where someone is clearly being aggressed without getting involved because he's off-duty and is heading towards the castle. H also has no particular interests in instruments as far as I can tell. His father is still a craftsman, and Ial was indeed supposed to inherit the business, but I don't think he was crafting instruments. He does have an interest for crafting various furniture in his free time. When Erin and John go to the villa in summer, she does not find a Beast-lord feather, and John's friend does not come to visit and play the harp and sing. The rest plays out mostly the same way, bar the comedic duo being absent. Oh and no fart jokes either... When she gets to the academy to study, there are no extended classes where she's more aloof and doesn't adapt very well to her new environment. There were no classes on the field, where they explore the area and its flora and where she demonstrates a lot of knowledge like in the anime. And besides Yuyan, the other girl with which she shares a room, the other students are not named nor are giving and spoken lines. Erin demonstrates the same curiosity and interest towards Beast-lords, and is eventually introduced to Lilan, again demonstrating the same determination into taking care of her. It turns out Erin got the care of Lilan without Tomura, the senpai who was taking care of her, being warned first, so he barges into her class angrily and initially attributes her getting the care of Lilan to her upbringing, but they make up fairly fast once he understands just how serious she is about Lilan. During the summer, she gets news about John's death without the strange dream episode or the getting-lost-in-the-woods story, and doesn't reminisce about her mother at that time either. I don't remember exactly how it plays out in the anime (I think Esal reads the letter first?), but in the novel, I felt that Esal was more happy when calling Erin in because she received a letter and a package (containing books) from John, only it turns out the letter very shortly stated John's death. Esal then reads it and goes "hm." After the second timeskip, it's very clear Lilan understands Erin speaking. Erin also taught her how to communicate simple needs and thoughts using her harp. Lilan is given a few "spoken lines" such as "my back, itchy, scratch," "I'm happy" and "I flew." The first flight is a bit more awkward and with added communication: Lilan is by the ledge and watches birds fly. She inquires Erin about the sky. Erin tells her they're flying, which you would need to flap your wings to achieve (she flaps her arms). Lilan lays down and asks Erin to scratch the back of her neck, Erin gets on her back, there's a sudden earthquake, they fall off the ledge and Lilan flies. Oh and Erin is terrified and cold, and shouting to Lilan to land while Lilan is all "I'm flying~ I'm happy~" And Kirik, the teacher that witnesses her flying atop Lilan in the anime, doesn't exist here. His backstory, involvement in the story, nothing of it. When she lends in the forest after the flight and meets Nason, he recounts history, but we don't get to read it yet actually. They do talk about the consequences of her actions shortly though. Then they graduate. There weren't many interactions between Yuyan and Erin, but we know they cared for each other. Yuyan's love interest is named, but has no spoken line, and Tomura had already become a teacher by then too, but they've hardly spoken together since the time skip. All the other students remain unnamed, with no lines of dialogue, as do the new students they welcome the next year really. The little girl who wants to follow into Erin's footsteps does not exist. Actually, there are barely any interactions with the other teachers throughout either, besides Esal obviously, and the meeting to get all teachers/students to keep Erin's secret safe before the time skip. I think Eku (the male Beast-lord whose leg was broken after land-crashing from being petrified mid-air) and the birth of Aru, Eku and Lilan's child, mostly plays out the same way. Then the queen and Damiya visit. This is the first time Erin and Ial meet. They had never met when she was younger so she didn't get his harp nor encountered him while adjusting her harp (she had crafted her own harp herself) at the shop to mimic the sound of Beast-lords, which is pretty unfortunate. He was still as quickly intrigued with her and I'm pretty sure this is the first time someone mentions her hair colour... I'm not sure if it's supposed to sound neutral, but he describes them as being "wet straw-coloured" instead of the green hair from the anime lol. I'm not sure about Soyon's hair colour now. The attack on the Queen's ship mostly plays out similarly. Everyone is watching the ship go down the river and Erin rushes back to get Lilan as soon as she notices Touda rushing towards it, specifically skipping the saddle as well. Obviously Kirik isn't there in an to attempt to stop her though, she does not think of the consequences of her actions nor does she need to voice that opinion. We don't really get the point of view from the boat however. It's kept mostly on Erin who witnesses Lilan going ape-shit and reeking of blood, and she vomits when they land. After that she tends to the injured, round and back to get the Kiba poison antidote, and still ends up sharing the same intimacy with Ial, where she also brings up the fact that the Touda were unmarked and therefore didn't belong to the duke, but this is the first time this is brought up in the novel as far as I was able to follow, since she doesn't meet with the Touda rider at the very beginning of the series (not that anybody else knew about those marks anyway so I don't know, but I kind of liked that the slow beginning explored these things). When she is asked to come to meet the Queen, she relays Nason's story, and yet again, we don't get to read it. When Shunan demands an audience with Seimiya, the late Queen's daughter, after her death, and shows her the reality of his people, he asks right then that she presents herself on the sacred ground, Tahai Aze, with her decision to fight against him, show him a miracle or accept his marriage proposal. Damiya doesn't speak up too much during his speech, Shunan and Seimiya don't meet in the garden, and Damiya hasn't pushed marriage with her himself at all yet, although he has comforted her rather suggestively after the Queen's death. I forget in which order these events take place in the anime so I'm just saying. Now Lazare's beastinarians come to get Erin and Lilan. The one who had captured Lilan when she was a child gets his hand, nose and lips bit off by Lilan as he was about to use the whistle, and Erin gets her left middle finger through pinky eaten as well. They bring the beasts to Lazare, Damiya tries to get Erin to teach them how to control Beast-lords, other dude fails and Erin tricks him saying nobody else has been able to because she's an "Akun me Chai," given her upbringing. Same thing. Then Damiya calls Ial in, and that's when he mentions, in front of a poisoned drink, that Seimiya has accepted his offer to marry him, but the real purpose of the talk was to trying to get him to talk about what Erin said to the Queen. Ial runs away, gets injured in a fight against subordinates and finds himself by Erin after riding a horse for a bit. She thinks about using a certain ingredient used to make the benetrophic water they apply to Touda/Beast-lords to treat him. I didn't remember the last part from the anime so I'm bringing it up to make sure. After the night avoiding guards, they spend the entirety of the next day together and the both of them open up a lot. I don't remember exactly what is said in the anime, but they talk about their past a bit, politics and how Ial thinks positively of Shunan and how to get the country in the right direction. So Erin meets with Seimiya and that's when we finally get our history lecture. It goes fairly similarly otherwise. Right after that, instead of scene where she meets with Nason before heading to Seimiya's cleansing ceremony, there's a similar scene where Soyon's parents meet with Erin in a attempt to stop her from committing a crime (by getting her to come with them). After a small introduction, their conversation goes (very roughly) as follow (where M:grand mother, F:grand father, E:Erin): M: So you have chosen the path of the crime. M: Is that how you were risen? E: ...Yes. And I'm sure my mother's spirit is regretting having saved your lives right now. E: I hate you from the bottom of my heart for raising my mother to have to choose between her daughter and her life. E: You and my mother may consider going against your code to be a crime, but I hate that you bind people with that word, hiding behind your own. E: Using the silent whistle to petrify Touda and Beast-lords is no less a crime than petrifying humans would be. It makes me sick. F: (to M) We should go. F: (to M) She's lost reason. She's clearly driven by her emotions. Whatever we say will fall on deaf ears. I hope that wasn't too awkward a translation :L. Of course there are also details and descriptions I've omitted between every line, but that's the gist of it. She was very hot-headed while talking, you could tell it was heavy on her and that she still had more to say—her grand father just called it quit very quickly. Then Erin mourns Soyon again in her thoughts and wonders if she's sad that she's raised her this way. A pretty short exchange that brings a lot of closure to Soyon's death. The finale plays pretty much the same way as well, until just before Lilan rescues her, there's a moment of despair when she's surrounded by Touda and she's wondering how her mother felt back then, if she felt she knew it would end that way and just let go. The novel novel ends a few pages after Lilan flies away with Erin in her mouth, bringing up a lot of questions while in there that makes the ending a lot more open-ended; she absolutely has to know why and how Lilan cared enough to come back and save her. She has to know more about beasts. Oh and she again remarks the stench from the blood and flesh in her mouth. So there's no mention of Damiya being killed, no epilogue with Erin's child, and nothing in-between either. I guess the conclusion might have been borrowed from the next volume to bring a bit more closure to the adaptation as the third and fourth volumes were released a few months before the last episode would've aired. Afterthoughts Overall, the role of Psi-Gamul is downplayed a lot in the novel. We never really read about them, so it never really forced Damiya under the light, which is himself never really caricatured, and I don't remember anything about Ial's partner being a traitor and killed either. Am I remembering the anime right? I also remember Kirik and Erin going back to the village she was raised in the anime. That doesn't happen in the novel. We never hear about them again. I didn't get the impression that she cares about them at all. There really isn't a lot of embellishments. The novel kind of sticks to the essential of the story and Erin's inner thoughts. It's also a lot less sappy and more serious in tone, even without counting the comic relief moments. I also threw together some sort of glossary in the following spoiler tag, mostly from memory after the read, containing proper nouns and novel terms used in the novel for you to see where they come from, because I thought they were rather interesting, if not straightforward. I'm sure there are some (many) missing so ask me specifically if you're interested. Touda: 闘蛇 ["Touda"], literally "war snakes," are the giant lizard-looking animals that have been tamed and used as war weapons. Kiba: 牙 ["Kiba"], literally "fang," are stronger, but more fragile Touda. Beast-lord: 王獣 ["Oujuu"], literally "beast king" are the bird-wolf-looking animals of legends that naturally prey on Touda. Benetrophic water: 特滋水 ["tokujisui"], literally "particularly nourishing water," is the substance they apply to Touda/Beast-lord to strengthen them physically. Shin-Ou: 真王 [ヨジェ, "Yoje"], literally "[the] true king," is the name of the Queen's region. Tai-Kou: 大公 [アルハン, "Aruhan"], literally "Archduke," is the name of the Grand Duke's region. Psi-Gamul: 血と穢れ [サイ・ガムル, "Sai Gamuru"], literally "blood and sullied," they are the group passing themselves for Tai-Kou in order to orverthrow the Queen. Sezan: 堅の楯 [セザン, "Sezan"], literally "hard shield," they are the Queen's guards. Akun me Chai: 魔がさした子 [アクン・メ・チャイ, "Akun me Chai"], literally "child from the devil," is a child born from an impossible joining. Ephon Noha: 様々の山脈 [アフォン・ノア, "Afon Noa"], literally "mountain of gods," is the mountain Je and Oujuu inhabited at first. Ophalon: オファロン ["Ofaron"], is the city in which the fabled massacre happened. It is often refered to as 様々の山脈の彼方 ["Afon Nao no kanata") in the novel, which would be "[the place] beyond the mountain of gods." Green-eyed people: 緑ノ目ノ民 [トガ・ミ・リョ, "Toga Mi Ryo"], literally "the people with green eyes," they are people that came from beyond the sea after losing their own territory and who helped Ophalon fight to protect its territory atop Touda they managed to tame, and eventually revolted against the King when he became greedy. Mist People/Arryo: 霧の民 [アーリョ, "Aaryo"], literally "the people of the mist," what "[the] Green-eyed people" are now referred to, after overthrowing the king and suffering from a crushing defeat against Oujuu in Ophalon a decade later. Tahai Aze: 降臨の野 [タハイ・アゼ, "Tahai Aze"] literally "advent valley," is the sacred ground where everything started (and subsequently ends as far as the anime adaptation is concerned). And with that, here is the summary of volumes 3 and 4. Voices from the past Shunan and Seimiya married. The people from Tai-Kou, the Grand Duke's region, had noticably grown more peaceful as a result, but the people from Shin-Ou, led by the Queen, have grown more worried of the Grand Duke's greater influence on politics. We also learn that Nudan, Shunan's brother, who led the rebel attack and had killed the Grand Duke, was imprisoned and wound up killing himself. Now, Erin is asked to meet Shunan at his castle in Tai-Kou, which she remarks is very intimidating compared to the palace in Shin-Ou, it being specifically build with defense in mind. She is worried she'll be asked to involve Beast-lords in another war, going back on Seimiya's promise made when she asked Erin to save Shunan on the sacred ground, Tahai Aze. After introductions, Shunan remarks how Erin hasn't changed, and Erin replies she's just reached her thirties—clearly she's changed—but that's not what he meant. He asks her how her son is doing. Apparently he's a bit mischievous and hard to manage. After a bit more small talk, Shunan suddenly hands Erin a pile of papers which happen to be records of incidents where all of a village's Kiba inexplicably died. She browses through the roughly two dozen recorded cases and lands on her mother's. There is no mention of her on the record, and Shunan remarks how her sentence to death by wild Touda was a ridiculously harsh penalty; the usual penalty for this offense is the loss of an arm. But Shunan didn't ask Erin to come here to apologize for the zealous actions of subordinate under his father; the event has occurred once again, just a few days ago, in Tokara, a village neighbouring the one where she grew up. He asks that she lends her expertise as a beastinarian to solve the mystery. Erin is aware that her mother chose to die rather than reveal secrets concerning Touda, but she has to find out for herself, if anything, what it is that her mother kept secret. She accepts to lend a hand in the affair and promptly heads towards the village in question, accompanied by Yoharu, an aid of Shunan who will serve as a guard. * Once there, she introduces herself to the beastinarians in charge and quickly finds herself investigating the dead bodies. It is indeed the same situation as her mother's. She recognizes the smell and notices traces of those fluorescent insects, which after inquiring, were indeed present in greater numbers right after their death. When Erin asks if she can check their sex, however, the other beastinarians don't want to involve themselves further. Seeking knowledge about Touda is taboo, and finding answers would go against laws on how to raise Touda. More specifically, their script tells them not to discriminate Touda based on their sex. A Touda is a Touda, a fighting tool. However, one person remains behind: Chimuru, the younger brother of the guy held accountable for the death of Kiba. After a quick, but exhausting examination, we learn that all the Kiba that died were female. But before dissecting them, she made it a task to investigate the large number of other Touda to know if this was just a concidence. While they didn't manage to complete this task before calling it a day, all the other, live Touda they had examined so far were male. Chimuru invites the pair to their house, where he is living with his mother and a few siblings. On their way there, Chimuru casually mentions that all the Kiba were three years old. "Did you not have any Kiba before then?" asked Erin, taken aback. They did, but Kiba also often die on the battlefield, being that they are on the front line. The Kiba before them would all have been eight years old now, and those before them thirteen… * Meanwhile we see a glimpse of Erin's son, eight years old Jessie, and the Beast-lords, in the care of Esal at the academy. Lilan and Eku have since given birth to Ukaru, a male, and Mina, a female, on top of the already known Aru, which is a female as well. However, while both Aru and Ukaru have reached maturity, neither have reached sexual maturity. Despite this, their small number is still starting to give everyone trouble since they're all risen without the use of benetrophic water or the whistle, especially in Erin's absence. Jessie was specifically asked by Esal not to go close to them while her mother wasn't present, but clearly Jessie is having none of it. He wants to play with his onee-chan. To get him to stop, Esal threatens to use the whistle if he gets any closer. Jessie pleads her not to sound the whistle—he'll obey and wait for her mother if she doesn't. And the both of them head home, back to his father… * The next day, Erin heads back to the Touda grotto to start dissecting the Kiba. She locates the uterus and quickly notices the strangely shaped, swelled and sick-looking fallopian tubes. She cuts them open. "Is that an egg…? I thought they were not supposed to give birth?" asked Yoharu, who was standing behind her. The egg is unfertilized, but because of the swelling of the fallopian tubes, the egg was pressing on the Touda's internal organs, which is likely the cause of their death. Yoharu asks how it came to happen, but Erin did not have the heart to tell him the disease was most likely caused by benetrophic water. How could Soyon allow herself to willingly poison Touda? Did the Mist People's code have that much power over her? It can't be that simple. Erin thought. She needed to take a breather and went to take some fresh air outside. There she is approached by a fifty years old-looking woman, who introduces herself as Asson—her father—'s cousin, Tsurana. Soyon would sometimes visit them when Erin was younger, so the two of them had already met on a few occasions. Tsurana points out how tragic Soyon's death was. Everybody has heard of it. And to think she died before even reaching her thirtieth birthday. This last bit of information shocked Erin. Surprisingly, it’s the first time she's had any clue about Soyon's age. It was never something that came up naturally. Erin was not aware she was already older than her mother ever was. Tsurana recalls how sudden her father and mother had met and gotten married. Soyon was only sixteen years old at the time. Tsurana wasn't sure if she liked Soyon at first, being that she was from the Mist People, but she quickly came to like her. She was truly gentle. Soyon gave birth to Erin at seventeen, and by then, Asson had already died at eighteen years old. Soyon would've been twenty-seven years old when she died. When Erin asks her more about her father, a light appears in Tsunara’s eyes. "He was very warm and kind… Not a big talker, but everyone around him loved him." Unfortunately, Erin then notices Yoharu leaving the grotto in the background—stopped, and talking to the guards, but looking this way. Much to Erin's chagrin, Tsurana can't afford to let any rumors spread and must go. She hands Erin a small basket with some food and a letter. "Read it when you're alone," she said, "I'm sure it'll make you very happy." She grabs Erin hands and continues. "Should we not meet again, I was very happy to have met you again… Make sure to live a long life for the sake of your parents." A whole day passed before Erin could find the time to be reading the letter alone. The letter contained a surprise: a memento from Soyon. Soyon's father-in-law had burned all of her belongings after her death, but one item remained among the ashes, some sort of coded diary which was relayed to Tsurana by a neighbour, which she held onto for twenty years. Quite simply, the calligraphy was mirrored, and Soyon had taught her how to read it when she was a child. The diary seemed to be documenting effects of medicine on Touda, seemingly in an effort to counter the effects of benetrophic water on her own. One segment mentions a flower with a special fragrance from the valley of the people who stayed behind (残った人々の谷間 (カレンタ・ロウのバレ, "Karenta Tou no Bare")) which she's never heard of—and before she can finish her reading, she gets interrupted by Chimuru's mother, where they had been invited to stay for the duration of their journey. The following day, Chimuru had completed the investigation on other Touda: two of dozen ponds of Touda were all females, which Erin is relieved to hear—perhaps there was another cause of death. However, it's definitely strange how all the Touda born the same year happen to be the same sex. It also means that their investigation wasn't over. Yoharu, which seemed unusually interested in this quest, proposes that they visit Uhan, another village raising Touda. While Erin had planned to go back to the academy to care after her family and Beast-lords since it's their mating season, she reluctantly accepts to follow him to Uhan… Seimiya's days Seiyima passes her days raising her two children, Yonan and Nuimiya, respectively a nine years old boy and a four years old girl, perhaps a bit less receptively as of late as she is expecting a third child. On this particular day, Shunan is welcoming southern Toura Kingdom royalty, prince Tauroka, to Shin-Ou's palace in order to expand their relations at a banquet scheduled that night. Toura Kingdom thrives on commerce. It'll be the first time any other royalty will have set foot in the palace. Shunan enters Seimiya's room, where she was sat by the window, having heard their arrival. He asks if she feels well enough to come visit Toura's prince, which she isn't. However, Yonan shall attend. Shunan still maintains his role as the Grand Duke of Tai-Kou and in this case is responsible for foreign relations. Seimiya and Shunan have agreed that Nuiyima is to inherit Seimiya's title while Yonan shall inherit Shunan's. This will be his first learning experience. A bit before the banquet, Ori, Shunan's younger sister aged twenty, visits Seimiya as well. "Shouldn't you be attending the banquet?" asks Seimiya. She knows that Ori is aware that she is not comfortable attending any formal event. Ori is just passing to share a few words of encouragement. Ever since that night where Erin showed up atop a Beast-lord, relaying a still hard-to-swallow story in order to save Beast-lords, Seimiya has lost the firm beliefs she held in her bloodline. Despite visibly being in love with Shunan, their relation has soiled her bloodline from the point of view of her people. She's had a hard time dealing with any social events ever since. She can't ever possibly compare to her grandmother's greatness, and is also very sad about eventually leaving all those responsibilities onto to her clueless daughter. During the banket, prince Tauroka, boasting their messenger horses' strength, asks Shunan if he would be up for a ride alongside him, which surprises Shin-Ou nobles present. In this proud Touda-raising country, horses are for peasants. And just when Shunan was going to talk, Ori speaks first. "You might not have asked me, but if you are fine with me, I would go with you." The two will pass the next few days together and Ori shall eventually be invited to their castle… Descendants Yoharu and Erin are headed towards Uhan, which turns out to be the village where Yoharu grew up to be a fine Touda rider before remaining by the Grand Duke's side. It'll be the first time he visits since then, ten years ago. While they are travelling, Yoharu shares a bit of this territory's history. Uhan is the first Touda raising village, founded by hero Oshiku Hasaru, who had responded to neighboring country Hajan's aggression by invading them through the large river Amasuru, atop Touda, that otherwise served Hajan as natural protection. Oshiku Hasaru's army of Touda slaughtered Hajan's army, and conquered the vast land to the east that went on to become part of today's Tai-Kou province, as per gifted by Shin-Ou's Queen. Along this very river now thrives the city of Amasuru, a huge city of commerce that's brought wealth to their country, Ryoza. Further east is Raaza's country, which has been relentlessly attacking Tai-Kou's province, he starts saying, but as Erin asks why, he changes subject. Uhan village was founded after they'd conquered Hajan. Ever since their inception, Tai-Kou has been very secretive about its villages raising Touda. They've managed to keep their secrets for hundreds of years to this day. Then, and still today, there have been countless attempts at stealing and smuggling Touda eggs across the border. However, Touda themselves are not what constitutes Tai-Kou's strength; how they raise Touda and ride them are. To avoid their secrets leaking out, people born and raised in Touda villages almost exclusively remain there their whole lives. * Once they arrive at heavily guarded Uhan, in a very damp area reeking to Touda, they're greeted by the head villager and are welcomed to his house. They share a warm dinner, after which Yoharu goes straight to the reason of their visit. "This is the person who saved the Grand Duke," said Yoharu, presenting Erin with a big smile on his face, "we're here because of a mass-death of Kiba happening in another village, and were wondering if it's ever happened here as well." "Ah, as would you expect of Green-eyed people. It's an honour to have such a person here. However, such a thing has never happened here, I'm afraid." Erin is immediately taken aback by his statement. Only a few important people beside her know about Green-eyed people, otherwise known as Aaryo or the Mist People today… She suspects that is the reason Yoharu brought her here. "Where do you know that word from?" asks Erin. "Um… Nowhere in particular, we have our own Green-eyed people in this village. That's what we call them." His own younger brother had green eyes, and so does his niece, which he presents to Erin. Later, lost in her thoughts, Erin is suddenly reminded of that strange line in her mother's diary (the valley of the people who stayed behind). How could I have not have noticed earlier? she thought Shin-Ou's ancestors controlled Beast-lords… for Oshiki Hasaru to have conquered Hajan atop Touda, surely he had some ties to Green-eyed people. Yoharu confirms her thoughts. They say Hero Oshiki Hasaru was assisted by one who would also have left shortly after the war, but he'd left an heir behind. That heir is an ancestor of the current head villager. The next day they visit the first ever Touda grotto. Immediately, Erin notices how much more damp and humid it is compared to others she’s come across. The smell of moss and Touda is considerably stronger, and they don't use torches in order to avoid smoke as well. The Touda here are raised to be smaller and more agile. They're used for reconnaissance missions in enemy territory during the night. "Do all they eat is fish?" asks Erin. "Of course, that's all they originally ate, the goat meat other villages feed them can make them sick." replies the old man. "And benetrophic water?" "Of course, we don't mess around." Besides the strict fish diet, they are raised the same way as Touda from other villages. And, after asking and getting help, it turns out that all three Kiba are male. Erin narrows down possible explanations for why there has never been a mass-death of Kiba in this village to 1) they've always been male, 2) fish… but the first is very unlikely and the second is farfetched considering the cause of death… most likely it would be 3) the damp area they're in combined with the egg-picking. Well, it's currently mating season, Erin will go on her first experience picking eggs. * On their way to the swamp where wild Touda live, the group informs her of the dangers of the area and to pay very close attention to where she puts her feet. The area is especially damp and slippery, and so is deceptive. Eight years ago, the head villager’s younger brother, the one who had green eyes, was lost during the egg-hunting, and his body was never found. [The next paragraph I was a bit confused during the whole explanation since it used some metaphor with kettles. It's pretty inconsequential until we reach the conclusion anyway I think.] Erin approaches eggs bathing in shallow water. One of the Touda raisers explains that if this were a Kiba year, those eggs wouldn't be Kiba. Kiba tend to be laid in warmer, less shallow waters. They find some and she can feel the difference in warmth between these and the ones she saw earlier. As they're about to move on, Erin hears the sound of a bow being released. "Yoharu!" she shouts, as an arrow strikes him. As Erin in running towards him, he shouts back. "Everyone, run!" From the higher ground, the Erin and Yoharu can hear a man speak. "Go after them! The arrow should've hit him. Don't kill the woman!" People from another country possibly? How and why? Erin thought. Without any breather Erin can hear Trouda trampling towards them, attracted by Yoharu's blood. Erin is once again reminded of her mother but she has no time to lose. Erin and Yoharu painfully start running in one direction, eventually reaching an impasse. Yoharu is at his limits and they are surrounded by a wall, a fast current river and both Touda and unknown enemies coming their way. Erin takes a deep breath. Erin then brings her fingers to her mouth. She whistles. The Touda stop moving. She whistles again and shouts. "Come up and put your arms around me!" she shouts, and she whistles again. Ering grabs onto the horns a wild Touda, and Yoharu wraps his arms around her. The two of them escape down the river, arrows raining on them. * The two ride the wild Touda down the river, all the way back Amasuru river and into a smaller current not far from the city, at Yoharu's request. He is familiar with the area. By then the smaller wild Touda is sinking and visibly tired of holding onto two adults, for which Erin feels sorry. Yoharu asks her to stop by the small house, midway through what looks like a feudal castle and the city, and to knock on the door and give his name. Also suffering an injury from an arrow, Erin crawls her way to the door, knocks, asks them to go save Yoharu in the river, and then she falls to the ground herself. When she wakes up, she is greeted by the old man who threated her. She asks if Yoharu is fine. "Yes, he'll be fine. However, pay attention how you're calling Yoharu from now on. I'm his old man, but Yoharu Amasuru is the feudal lord here." Not very surprised by this discovery, Erin still wonders why a feudal lord would be assigned as her guard. The following day, Erin is woken up by a lot of ruckus. Many people were coming and going while she remained in her room. Eventually she is invited to dinner by a young lady who introduces herself as the feudal lord's daughter, Eri. Present at the table are also her (laid-back) husband Muhan, who looks like a soldier, and her (eccentric) younger brother Roran, war orphan from a different race, darker skin, adopted into the family after Eri's older brother had died of illness at a young age. He is a master musician. They all come from vastly different backgrounds, yet somehow all form what looks like a healthy family. They reassure Erin their father is well—just resting his injuries. They share many stories, tease themselves and have bad table-manners that Erin can't help but notice, all while never bringing up what happened between Erin and their father. By the end of the dinner, she'd taken a liking to the whole family. After dinner, Roran asks Erin to follow him to a dark room, where a guest is waiting for her. He lights a candle, illuminating both an old, sickly lady with the same skin colour as Roran, and a wall covered by an old map of the known world. "Ah, you really do have green eyes." said the old lady. The old lady introduces herself as Kuriu. Her ancestors lived in Imiiru, where there were some Green-eye people. Roran points at the old map for her; Imiiru is a city, south-east of Aphon Noa, east of Amasuru, at the time past Ryoza and originally part of Hajan. It is bordered by plains and deserts. Today it serves as a defensive point for Ryoza's Tai-Kou province. She herself was born in Ashe country, however, far to the east. For the first time, Erin remarks how vast the world is, and much of it is still unknown. "I have witnessed so many people repeating foolish mistakes in my time, on this land… wherever they come from, they're all the same," says Kuriu. "I… I want to learn why… In this vast land, all these living things, why do they all live the way they do? Why do humans kill each other?" struggles to say Erin. And the three continued lamenting on this subject at length, Roran even bringing out his string instrument, playing and singing mellow songs, lamenting human's idiocy, until they deem it was time to sleep. While bringing Erin back to her room, Roran says. "My father wants to see you, he has something to share. Will tomorrow night be alright?" * The next day, Erin enters his room, they ask each other how they're doing, he thanks her for saving him, and without skipping a beat. "So you can control wild Touda too." asks Yoharu "…That was a gamble." replied Erin. … "When my mother was sentenced to death, she did the same to save me then. I… whenever I was alone I would practice whistling until I perfected it. This is the first time I've had to use it." "…I thank you from my heart for saving me… and I must also apologize for putting you into such a situation while I was supposed to serve as a guard." "It's not your fault that we were attacked by those people—" "…I'd actually expected that it would happen." … "I knew Psi-Gamul was after you." … "They were fine with how events played out since the Grand Duke had gotten his hands on politics, until now. The public opinion from Shin-Ou's side has changed. Ever since the Queen barely shows up in public, her people assume the worst. The majority now seeks the annulation of the Queen and Grand Duke's marriage so that they return to how their former positions. And you, Erin, possesses a power that Psi-Gamul cannot afford to ignore should this situation arise." "And that's why the Grand Duke asked you to protect me?" "I'm afraid the Grand Duke wasn't aware of their plan, I used the death of Touda in Tokara—" "Then how? How do you know?" "…Psi-Gamul was founded by my great-grandfather." … "I used to take part in its activities until I realized they would never bring peace." Yoharu gets up, in pain, and heads towards his library, taking an old book out. The cover reads "The annals of the people who stayed behind" (残った人々の記(カレンタ・ロウの記, "Karenta Tou no Ki")). "It's from my ancestors, seven generations ago. Green-eyed people." said Yoharu. Erin doesn't know what to say and instead just listens to him talking. "You know about Uhan? The first Touda village… My family would pass down secrets on how to raise Touda, but only once the son had reached maturity. One day, however, my great-grandfather's father was summoned to Shin-Ou's castle and never came back alive. Presumably, he would have been killed to avoid these secrets being passed down. My great-grandfather was eight years old… He grew up harboring hatred for the Queen and wound up founding Psi-Gamul." … "He's the one responsible for burning her castle, which killed her and all her heirs. Or so he thought. One young granddaughter had survived." Yoharu then brings up a story about this ancestor being grandson directly under Je, the first Queen, and Green-eyed people. That's why he knew Shin-Ou's Queens were not gods. Only he doesn't know about what happened beyond Ephon Noha. Erin explains what happened, how they were essentially sworn enemies. It wouldn't make sense. "There's still so much we don't know… Why did Je cross Ephon Noha to come here? Why would her descendants enlist the help of Touda to conquer territory? Were Je's family and Green-eyed people really enemies?" said Erin. "I think we might be able to find answers in this book. But I can't read it. Do you think you can?" By now, however, it was getting late. The two agreed to follow through the following day. On her way to her room, all this talking about family is making her wish to see her own husband and son… * The calligraphy in the annals was mirrored, hence why Yoharu couldn’t read them. However, in the end, they didn't prove to be useful history-wise. There are vague mentions of a mistake made, but no mentions of relationships or what happened in Ophalon. Neither Yoharu nor Erin seems to be in the wrong as far as they can tell. However, his ancestors do speak of regulating the number of Touda through the way they raise them so that they maintain a strict population of Touda to manage, both in order to maintain firm control over the species and to avoid a second catastrophe, all of which is extrapolated by Erin. 1) Touda's sex is determined by the warmth of their eggs, which would explain why all Touda born the same year are the same sex. 2) All Touda born the same year are put in the same bath, so they can't breed. 3) On top of making Touda stronger, benetrophic water also lowers their sex drive. 4) Kiba are only made every 5 years, at different intervals across villages, so that all female Kiba do not end up dying at the same time across them all. 5) The climate and grotto in Uhan are such that they allow prospect Kiba to be born male. [Kiba are normal Touda which are treated with considerably more benetrophic water.] Yoharu then proposes that they head to the Grand Duke to inform him directly of the situation and propose that they change this situation. Surely they can come up with better policies while still avoiding going down the route of Green-eyed people. "Do you remember when you asked why Raaza kept engaging in war with us? Truthfully we don't know the real reason, there could be many… but whoever's governing them, they're savages. They took pleasure in pillaging smaller countries and have grown their military significantly since then." Then Muhan knocks at the door, bringing news that he and his men had captured their attacker as well as some of his accomplices from foreign countries. Some are still roaming free with intel however. Among the captured is one pleading for his life, offering intel about his own country, Ashe. Supposedly, their country offers big money either for Touda eggs or intel concerning Touda, as per a successful attempt eight years prior. Immediately Yoharu is linking that intel with Uhan's head villager’s younger brother's disappearance and is expecting the worst. He asks Muhan that they obtain more intel by whatever means and that every Touda villages ready their soldier for defense. Father and son Ial is back home, living in the city close to Kazalm's care centre. He hears Jessie coming back down the road and gets ready to prepare dinner. However, it gets noisier outside, and Ial goes to check what's going on. Jessie is fighting against another kid, making noise in front of a local shop, to the point that the shopkeeper intervened by throwing a bucket of water at them. Ial calls Jessie out, insisting that he comes home. "I didn't do anything wrong!" says the bloody-nosed Jessie. … "Look, my teeth is all wobbly!" "Oh that's cool," says Ial while handing him a towel, "I was going to make the dinner, but we should probably go take a bath before that." "No way, I'm super hungry!" Ial goes seeking a clean change of clothes… Umm, I guess I should've done the laundry today… he thought, while also passively wondering when Erin may be coming back. He grabs Jessie and forcibly carries him to the public bath. Jessie doesn't like going in the men's bath with his father. The old men will have none of his antics and will tell him to shut up and stay calm, unlike in the women's bath with his mother. However, his favourite moment was when they were living at Kazalm. At the end of a long day of work, the two would have the whole bath to themselves, and she'd always snuggle with him on her knees, sharing plenty of stories about Beast-lords… While in the bath, they are approached by another father who'd witnessed Jessie's fight against a certain Oguran. "This hooligan's already thirteen, old enough to work, and yet he gets into fights with kids. My son gets bullied as well. You should just run away when you see him." Then the father gets up and leaves. Both Jessie and Ial, however, aren't the kind to run away. "I'll teach you a way to beat him when we get home." says Ial. * On their way home, before turning the corner of the alley leading to their house, Ial hears suspicious noise coming inside their house. Immediately, he searches around his pocket and hands over some money to his son and speaks. "Go back to the public bath, if I don't come back in an hour, I want you to take use this money to take a carriage back to Kazalm and explain the situation to Esal." Jessie is visibly afraid, it's like his father transformed into a completely different person. He starts running away. Without losing a beat, Ial turns the corner and surprises one of the assailants in front of the house, stealing his blunt weapon and striking his ribs, leaving him down on the ground. The second assailant starts running immediately, and Ial pursues him. This entire scene was still within Jessie's hearing range. Worried sick, Jessie can't help turning back to where he came from to see what happened, only to find himself frozen in front of a body bleeding on the ground, with a rod sticking out of his ribs. He runs away again. Ial catches up to the other assailant, exchange some punches, suffering a strike to the head, but knocks him down fairly quickly as well. He then swiftly carries both bodies back to his home, ties them down chairs and searches them. One of them has marks on fingers that are common among archers, and the both of them carried Rajimu gold coins—currency from Raaza—as well as knives, appropriate to fight in alleys, yet they were using metalic rods instead. Did they mean to catch me alive? He thought. He caught two assailants, but he did see a third figure who he couldn't identify in the dark alley. It looked like Damiya from afar, but that can't possibly be right since he'd killed the man himself right in front of Seimiya, back on Tahai Aze eleven years ago… Ial remembers the rage he felt against the man for killing Queen Harumiya as well as many innocent people in order to gain power. Ever since then, huge changes were made in the government, and many of the men that were in ties with Damiya held a grudge against Ial for essentially robbing them of their position. For a while, a few mercenaries were sent after him, and Ial didn't care if he were to die in those meaningless fights, only it never happened. It was Erin that brought light back into his life. Ial grabs a few necessities and leaves the house, men still unconscious, and goes to the public bath to find Jessie. He is not there. He goes to the carriage shop and finds out there was a misunderstanding. Jessie thought Ial was seriously injured and instead of waiting at the public bath, would've gone straight to Kazalm. He'd embarked in the previous carriage. Ial waits until said carriage comes back, and once relieved that Jessie had made it there safely, he starts walking towards Kazalm himself. * Ial arrives at Kazalm pretty late, but a lot of lights are still on—there seems to be a lot of activity. First, the staff is surprised to see Ial is well given the story Jessie has told them, but then they inform him that Jessie has fled the premises and they're currently looking for him. "I'm sorry for the trouble my son has caused everyone. I'll have something to tell you alone, Esal, but first let's search Jessie. Did you search Lilan's housing?" "Of course, that's the first place we searched." "Can you bring me there?" When Esal opens the door, Lilan becomes agitated, flapping her wings and sounding alarming noises. Ial enters, closes the door behind him as Esal leaves, and just sits on the floor. "Do you remember me, Lilan? A long time ago… you saved me by hiding me under you—I was very surprised that a Beast-lord would be doing that for someone. I still remember the warmth." … "…You did know, Jessie, that your mother used to hide behind Lilan all the time, right?" Lilan still agitated, Ial can hear a crying voice from within the barrier. "Lilan, thank you for taking care of my family…" … "You know, the first time I met your mother… Aku was just born. She was the first Beast-lord born in the care of humans, truly a miracle. The Queen at the time, Harumiya, wanted to see it. At the time, I was a Sezan, my role was to protect the Queen. I met your mother when we came to visit." … "Do you know what Sezan do?" … "A Sezan, as its name implies, is a shield. If the Queen was under attack, I would use my own body to protect her. If an arrow flew towards her, I would jump in front of her to take it instead. Being a Sezan granted the same privileges as being from the aristocracy, but my job mostly implied killing people or being killed. Becoming a Sezan also meant cutting ties with my family." … "I was born in the lower parts of the town. My father—your grandfather—was a great wood artisan. He made a lot of furniture. However, when I was your age, there was a huge earthquake which made our house crumble with only my father inside at the time, killing him." Ial continues talking about his past, sparing no details, and ends on a long silence. By then Lilan was already sleeping. Jessie comes out from under her, walks towards his father, and speaks. "Is everything you said true? Are… are you still my father?" Jessie didn't know anything about his father’s past, and when his father suddenly changed, he was afraid. "Jessie, everything's the real me. The artisan that you know, but also the cold-hearted soldier… I know that was scary… These guys, I think they were trying to kidnap us, but their real goal is probably Erin." "Mo… mommy? do they want to kill her?" "No that's not it, stay calm and listen, OK?" "…Unn." "Like I was telling earlier, mommy can control Beast-lords. And Beast-lords are strong against Touda, so these guys want to control Beast-lords to use them as weapons. And your mother is the only person who can control them." … "And your mother absolutely doesn't want Beast-lords to be used as weapons." "Ah! I understand! And then they would threaten mommy using us, right!? Oguran did the same thing with my friend Choi." The two then leave Lilan's housing and head towards Esal's room, where Jessie will be apologizing for what he's done. And then Ial apologizes himself for he has something important to tell her. He tells her about the attack he just sustained, how the assailants might be related to Raaza and Erin, and how if they need her, most likely they aren't able to control Beast-lords themselves. He needs to leave the city and find Erin. The thought of Erin getting captured makes his blood boil. They'll stay the night—Jessie is already asleep—but they'll be heading off first thing in the morning. Esal had noticed Ial had sustained injuries and had advised to stay here for a couple of days, but she has nothing to say against his concerns. She always felt it would eventually come down to something like this. She'll get a horse and cart ready for them to leave in the morning. "Promise me that you'll come back here safe with the whole family." "I promise." * Later, in the dead of the night, a significant number of horses are heard coming towards the care center. Ial wakes Jessie up and head downstairs with him, staying hidden to hear what's going on. Military men are knocking at the door, looking for Erin's husband and son, presumably to bring them under protection in Tai-Kou. Before Jessie lets out a word, Ial is covering his mouth. "They're not here, they live in the city," says Esal. "We already went there and witnessed two individuals who seem to have been had at their own game, we know Jessie came here by carriage and heard Ial had also left the city." "Jessie was here indeed, but I'm sure you can ask everyone here and they'll tell you he fled." Despite this, the soldiers enter the premises and start searching for them. Ial and Jessie go upstairs and into a room, open the window and drop down below, onto a cart. Ial checks its content quickly—a huge bag of clothes—and then asks Jessie to hide under the floor and stay there, he'll be back quickly. Jessie hears men coming his way, currently checking the content of the cart, and he's panicking as they're about to bend down to look under the floor. "I can't see anything, it's too narrow and I don't see any traces on the ground either…" That's strange thought Jessie, I thought for sure we left traces. And then he notices his father is actually hidden with him. Where did he come from? Was he the one who erased our traces? After the men leave, Ial follows suit, telling Jessie to stay there again, and sleep if necessary, everything will be alright. He comes back a bit later and asks Jessie to hide in the cart. They're going through the front gate. Ial, supposedly incognito, is stopped by military men to search the cart before allowing him to pass, but one of them tells them they've already searched that one, nothing to worry about, they head out the front gate. "Can I come out now?" whispers Jessie from the back. "No, you'll have to endure it for a bit." "Where are we going?" "To where mommy is." * continued... |
DramaJul 31, 2020 6:35 PM
Mar 21, 2017 7:53 PM
#2
Meanwhile, Erin and Yoharu have arrived at their destination. While Yoharu is speaking with the Grand Duke, Erin is resting in a room, from morning to afternoon. Looking out the window, she witnessed many homing pigeons coming and going from and to the same direction, until one specifically looked like it was headed towards Kazalm. Yoharu comes back to her room, informs her he's explained everything to the Grand Duke and he's on his way to meet with her as they speak, but he has something to tell her as well. "Psi-Gamul is still looking for you, there are many of them in the city." … "The Grand Duke understood the situation very fast as well, he's supposing they are also after your family." Very soon Grand Duke Shunan makes his way into her room and thanks her for having found the cause of death of Kiba. "An army of Touda, umm… It wouldn't be possible overnight, of course, but if they really had eigth years to get prepared, we might be facing a real danger." … "…A bit earlier, soldiers came back from Kazalm… It seems your husband and son were attacked by thieves." "What!" "Don't worry, it seems they were had at their own game. However, we don't know where your husband and son are. We think that a group in Raaza is responsible for that, and if that were the case, it would seem Raaza is aware that you are able to control the only beasts that can best Touda." Without letting Erin speak still, he continues. "…We won't repeat the same mistake. Our ancestors, with the help of Green-eyed people, build an army of Touda. Today I, with the help of Yoharu, will create an better army of Touda thanks to you. And you, Erin, like your ancestors, shall land a hand to Shin-Ou." "What will you have me do?" "Create an army of Beast-lords that shall serve under Seimiya, while Touda shall serve under me." "Is that really what Seimiya wishes?" Shunan couldn't answer this question. Erin's heart sinks as Shunan approaches her, putting his hands on her shoulders and further spieling about patriotism. A very sad speech from someone Erin doesn't recognize anymore. After a long silence, Erin speaks. "Do truly free people exist in this world?" "Right now soldiers are looking for your family. We'd have more trouble were Ial alone, but we are bound to catch up to him if he has to carry your son as well. We intend to bring them here safely." Erin remained still, looking out the window, lost in her thoughts, ignoring the already cold dinner she was served earlier. She is surprised by Roran who climbed the tree leading to her window, where he sits. He'd been watching her for afar. After exchanging greetings and words of worry about climbing trees, Roran whips out his instrument and starts stroking the strings. She just listens in silence for one, two, five songs. —We sleep side by side in this moonlit night, the voices from the frogs and the bird of dawn breaking the silence. Immediately, warmth runs through Erin's torn heart. —Don't cry, bird of dawn, don't cry, because you make me remember her voice. She is taken back to a long time ago. A lovely bearded man who she met and who took her in and raised her as her own daughter, twenty years ago. She remembers the warmth, the smell. She hadn't thought about John in a long time. Tears are rolling down her cheeks. "Erin, you cannot die. Nothing would come from your death but your family's sorrow." And just like that, Roran is gone. Erin had regained some of her footing, thinking about what she could do for Beast-lords and for her family. She passed the whole night idle, witnessing the sun rise on a new day still. * That morning, an attendant knocks on Erin's room. The Queen wants to meet Erin over breakfast. Erin quickly gets a change of clothes and follows her, out of the Grand Duke's mansion, far into the garden and what seems to be a huge hedge structure leading to a smaller garden with a table and chairs, where Seimiya is waiting. Erin bows. Seimiya asks her to raise her head and to get closer. "I wouldn't want your wound to hurt you, are you hurt?" asks Seimiya. "No, it doesn't hurt anymore. Thank you for your concern." "It's been a while since we met for the first time… over ten years." "Yes, it's been 11 years." "One of us seems to have aged more than the other." said Seimiya, with a bitter smile. "I'm sorry, I'm very tired right now…" "Enough of this. Let's get to the purpose of our meeting." … "Erin, a long time ago, I vowed that I would not use Beast-lords as weapons should you save Shunan." "Yes." "I am breaking that vow." … "Other countries are trampling on our territory. I cannot let that happen. Just like our ancestors called upon Yaman Hasaru to command Touda to protect the country against Hajan, I order that you do the same, today, with Beast-lords." Erin gets up of her chair, gets on one knee and speaks. "I'm terribly sorry, but I cannot follow through this order…" "You don't understand, I'm aware of the atrocities from your old tale, but it would still save hundreds of thousands of my people." "I cannot follow through this order even if I wanted to. As it is, I cannot make an army of Beast-lords. You see, while Lilan has given birth to three Beast-lords, Aku and Ukaru, who would already have reached sexual maturity, haven't." Seimiya visibly shocked, continues. "…You must be feeling relieved to have such a good excuse, but if what you say is true, I fear for the future of this country." "Your Majesty, is there really no other way to deal with our aggressors than an army of Beast-lords?" "You are not the only one who would like to avoid the battlefield… our ancestors may have been greedy seizing Hajan's territory, but this territory has made us a rich country. Its population has grown accustomed to it. …I am no longer Seimiya, I am the Queen of this country, a nook who wants her people to live happily. My decision to make an army of Beast-lords is firm." "Erin," continues Seimiya, with tears rolling down her cheeks. "Yes?" "How do you think we could end this war with Raaza?" "I don't know anything about politics, if you think that is the best answer, then I have nothing to add." "Yes. This is the best way. You see, Raaza will not stop fighting until either side loses, and it'll cause immense loses on both sides. They wouldn't accept our surrendering either. …The best way to prevent this war is to have an overwhelming force on our side." "…Why can't Aru give birth?" continued Seimiya, trying to break the silence. "I don't know, I'd raised both Aru and Karu the same way I have Lilan. The only difference is that Lilan was born in nature." At this point the solution sounds obvious to Seimiya, who has a light appearing in her eyes. Erin continues. "First, it wouldn't be that simple, but I'm also worried about something else." "Something else?" "Surely you must remember, on Tahai Aze, how Lilan alone practically stopped the Touda by herself." … "I didn't notice it either at first, but about that disaster that happened beyond the mountain… the story might not have been passed down properly." … "I can't imagine a war waged with two thousand Beast-lords ending in anything but an overwhelming victory from the little we know about Beast-lords. For it to have ended in a disaster costing the lives of most people involved…" … "Seimiya, do you know about feudal lord Amasuru's ancestors?" She explains how their ancestors are related, and how there's very little chance this country would've adopted Touda as weapons had the disaster happened. "Then what really happened?" asks Seimiya. "That's also what I want to know… your Majesty. Why did your Majesty's ancestors not command Beast-lords to the battlefield and instead chose to rely on Touda?" "Was it not to preserve the Queen's image of purity?" "While that might also play a part… I don’t think that’s it. I'm afraid. There's still a lot I don't know about Beast-lords. I don't want to raise an army only to replicate Je's mistake." … "Seimiya-sama, can you postpone your order?" "What are you thinking about?" "I want to investigate. Go where everything started and find the truth and answers to all our questions. Why did Green-eyed people lend a hand to Je? Why did they stop breeding Beast-lords? Why won't Beast-lords born under the care of humans reach sexual maturity…?" "You would really head to Aphon Noa to find these answers? Alone?" Still kneeing in front of the Queen, Erin is crying. "It's our only hope. If I were to raise an army now, we'd never escape this cycle. My family—" "Tonight… healers from around the country, wearing large white gowns, are assembling at the temple to help the diseased. Erin, hide among them and go on your journey." Towards a new path The both of them on an empty stomach, Ial and Jessie are walking down a busy alley looking for a restaurant. Jessie follows his father into an empty, gloomy restaurant. They'd reserved a room where an old friend, Kyle, was waiting for them. The two exchange greeting and laughs unlike Jessie has ever seen from his father, and then Kyle remarks how Jessie has grown, how much he looks like his mother and seems to take after his father, being mostly silent. All three start eating, and Kyle asks. "So what happened to you guys?" "I'm not sure, but I think people are after Erin, and so they were looking for us as well." Kyle looks towards Jessie and back to Ial… "Don't worry about him, he knows as much as me and he won't make a fuss, you can talk," assures Ial. "Yesterday… I did some ground work after I received your letter… it seems Erin was at the royal palace three days ago." "Is she still there?" "I'm not sure about that. I have a kouhai Sezan who kept me informed. He saw Erin enter the garden and never come out. There was a group of healers who the Queen had invited a few times before come in." "You think the Queen let her leave? But why?" Ial is also wondering what happened before that, as it had already been over a month since Erin was gone, but Kyle doesn't know. His only clue is that Erin came to the palace accompanied by Yoharu Amasuru, but Sezan only have so much influence. As they wrap up the meal and get ready to leave, Kyle mentions something he'd forgotten. "Ah right, Erin was injured. She had bandages on her ear and left arm. But she had no problem walking so I'm sure there's no need to worry." … "Take care, and contact me if anything happens." The two leave the restaurant and start walking. Jessie inquires what they're going to do now, to which Ial anwers he might have an idea where Erin is… * "Ah, it seems I was right, your mom has already come here." "Whose house is it?" "That's my old house. I always thought someone like this might happen, so we kept it like it. You used to live here as well, when you were still inside your mother. We moved to Kazalm soon after you were born." Ial thinks back on how Erin came to see him for the first time at his house. Erin had been invited to Lazar to find the cause of some of their Beast-lords' cramps. It turns out their caretakers attempted to raise Beast-lords like she did, and the sudden lack of benetrophic water caused cramps. While Erin was in the area, she tracked down Kyle and asked him where Ial lived. Only he and Yantoku knew were he lived. [Yantoku is his old friend from when his dad was alive, he is also an artisan.] Entering the very modest house, Ial tells his son that they hid money somewhere and if he had any idea where it would be hidden. "Um… under the floor?" "How did you come up with this answer?" "Well, the floor is much less dusty than the rest of the room, and we know how much mommy like to clean…?" Half points. There was also a clean stool used to reach the ceiling, take one specially crafted plank from it that acts as a key to an area on the floor. There they'd hid a dagger and money in two separate bags, one of which was gone with a letter left in its place. Jessie takes it and reads it. "Mommy here, I'm heading to the place Je comes from. I'll come back, please tell Jessie to wait and be a good child." Jessie starts bawling, is comforted by his father, and a thunderstorm suddenly starts. Erin is headed north-west, past a river that gets dangerous under heavy rain. "…Jessie, it's time to stop crying. We're going to follow your mom." * By the time they reach the river, it was night, thunderstorm still going strong. The river is particularly large and rapid. From afar, Ial can see a light on the bridge crossing the river. It's being guarded by soldiers, investigating anyone who passes through. Most likely, Erin couldn’t cross the bridge because she is easily identifiable—tall, green eyes and injuries—so he walks along the river to find possible clues. "It's so dark already, can you really see anything?" asks Jessie "Don't worry, your father can see pretty well in the dark." Suddenly Ial starts sprinting, ties a rope around himself and a tree and jumps in the water frantically, leaving his son behind. Here lied Erin, against a rock in the middle of the fast, cold current. Getting to her was already difficult, no wonder Erin, in her injured state, couldn't make it through. She looked lifeless. He swims back with all of his might. "Is mommy alright?!" shouted Jessie. Ial holds her jaw, pinches her nose, presses his lips against her cold ones and blows. He places both his hands against her chest and compresses. Jessie is crying. Thunder can be heard. Ial is still pressing against her cold chest. "Don't die, mommy, don't die!" Ial is still desperately performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Suddenly, Erin sends forth water from her mouth. "Erin!" After turning her sideways, Erin lets out a violent cough, starts breathing, and barely opens her eyes to her husband embracing her before going back to sleep from exhaustion. * Meanwhile, the next day, Ori and Roran meet. Their conversation quickly turns to the ruckus Erin has caused these past few days. Roran has taken a liking for her, her who even the Grand Duke would talk about, her who seeks happiness, her who is also an instrumentalist (奏者 ("souja"), from the title). A very different kind of player. A very interesting kind that unfortunately put her in a peculiar situation. Erin has helped renew his beliefs, he who also seeks peace. Because of it, and thanks to his upbringing, he is set to go his own way, where his ancestors come from in Imiiru, and then to evaluate the situation in Raaza. * During the long night, Ial carried Erin on his back and walked until they found refuge at a local farm. He'd made up a story about how they fell off a boat in the river, and got to sleep in the barn. Erin wakes up to Jessie embracing her. "Jessie? Is that really you?" Erin doesn't remember what happened the day before, only she hurts all over. Ial who had come out of the barn a few minutes before comes back with a meal. "How do you feel?" he asks, "can you eat?" The three ate in silence, Ial feeding Erin, and Jessie, wondering what they're both thinking about, can't speak a word himself. After that, Ial gets up, walks outside the barn, followed by Erin. Jessie opted to stay inside and let the two of them talk. He didn't hear much, but it was about Touda, the Grand Duke and all. Erin comes back in alone. Ial is heading back to the main house to return their plates and then to the city to buy a few things. "Eh! But we just left! Isn't it dangerous with all the soldiers after us?" "Don't worry, your father won't get caught." "Why? You mean because he's a Sezan?" "Where'd you heard that from?" "Mommy, I'm eight years old, I'm not a child anymore, right? Papa told me everything about you, how you met, how you control Beast-lords, everything!" Erin didn't say anything. Jessie follows up. "So… so… where were you all this time? What did you do?" "…Mommy was visiting various Touda villages." … "I'm sorry I've been away for so long. The Grand Duke had ordered me to investigate on Touda." "What happened to Touda, did you cure some disease?" "It's a complex disease, you see… your grandmother was a Touda bestinarian." "Eh!" Then they get an impromptu visit by the old lady living here, asking how they're doing. Erin thanks her for her hospitality and offers to help preparing the potatoes she is currently carrying. While peeling the potatoes, Erin thinks back on her short talk with Ial. —Do you want Jessie to grow up without a mother? —What's most important to you? Obviously, Ial and Jessie were the most important to her, however she still absolutely have to go through this journey. Not only that, she feels she's a burden on her family—if she were to die, the two of them would be free from all these circumstances… She could leave now before Ial comes back… but her legs won't move. Ial came back a bit later than expected, but with a big carriage he got out of his friend Yantoku. Erin notices how sweaty and hot Ial was—because he jumped in cold water. And before long, she also noticed a rope injury around his ribs. Erin starts treating him, and he says. "I've been thinking all this time." … "What if we all lived a quiet life." … "We could run away and live in a quiet town." Still no word from Erin's mouth, he continues. "…Today, the palace sent men to get in touch with feudal lords all over the country, to look for us." … "I even thought about living in the mountains… but there's no way we can do that to Jessie…" … "Will this situation change if we go to Aphon Noa?" "I don't know, maybe there's no one left, maybe they don't have any record of what happened hundreds of years ago. And even if there is, would that information be enough to convince the Queen and the Grand Duke not to raise an army of Beast-lords? Our only way out of this situation is…" "…you’ll go through with it, eh?" Ial brings Erin's teary-eyed face to his chest. It'll be a tough journey for all of them. "I'll always stay by your side. These past ten years… I've been happy. Really." Erin cries again. This chapter is now over, and a new one, making light on history, is to come. It won't be an easy journey. They stayed at the farm for another day while Erin was nursing Ial. During that time, Erin wrote a letter addressed to Esal. * The next day, Ial, Erin and Jessie went back to the guarded bridge and quickly found themselves surrounded by guards and brought back to the palace, as per their wish. Jessie mostly clueless of what was going on, but his parents were calm so he remained silent as well. The family is brought in front of the Queen and Grand Duke for an audience. Seimiya greets Jessie personally, comments on his eye-colour not being that of her mother, only to stingily bring up the fact that her own daughter doesn’t share her eye-colour either. That is the end of her pure lineage. Erin formally apologizes for her conduct and confirms she'll follow their order to raise an army of Beast-lords, under two conditions. One, that no one ride them. Unlike Touda, Beast-lords are not controllable on the battlefield, and because of their velocity and movements, would likely endanger their riders more than anything, but also because the fewer people are aware of how Beast-lords are raised, the fewer are the chances of their secrets leaking. "So you plan to raise an army by yourself?" says the Queen. "I have also requested the help of beastinarian Esal, from Kazalm." "I've heard great things about Esal indeed, but she's getting old, isn't she?" "Yes, and I also have another person I would like to share my secrets with… You, your Majesty. "…Me?" "Yes, had your grandmother not lost her family in that fire, she would likely have inherited them. I would hope these secrets be safe in your hands." "That sounds like a sound idea… but what about the Queen being pregnant?" asks the Grand Duke. "Of course this is a long term plan. To adapt new techniques and breed an army, I would expect this to take no less than five years, probably ten. Your Majesty will have the time." "…I accept your proposal, Erin." Jessie recognizes the concealed pain in the face of her mother as she was speaking. And the Queen, now facing Ial who had his head down, speaks to him. "Ial, it's been a while… you haven't changed." "I make furniture now, like my father used to." "Your father was an artisan? I always had the impression you came from a family of soldiers." "I picked the sword for the first time at eight years old, in this very palace." "And now you want to live by the chisel?" "…No." … "Yesterday, I talked with feudal lord Amasuru, and if her Majesty will permit it, I would like to become a Touda rider." Erin jumped, her face turning white. …Why? she thought. Clasping her cold, trembling hands together, Ial continues. "If Erin were to serve under her Majesty, I would want to serve under his Majesty." After a small discussion, it came down to the Grand Duke speaking. "Considering your age and your experience, I would accept you as commanding officer, operating from behind the lines." "While I appreciate your consideration, I want to be a Touda rider." "Why?" "There is no greater honour than being on the front line." Family Two years have passed. Erin has been studying Beast-lords' mode of life further, back at Kazalm, as well as putting into practice many theories. Sleepless nights spent around Beast-lords, akin to when she was a child. With Ial gone, Erin always working and the semester ongoing, Jessie is particularly lonely these days. He knows he must not bother Erin while she's working, but he can't help but hide in the distance to observe their training, which she's not going to scold him for doing. On this particular winter night, Esal comes out to where Erin is training the Beast-lords to hand her a letter from Ial. Wrapping up the day, Erin plays a note on her harp to get Lilan and company’s attention, into a short string to get them all fly, lined up from oldest to youngest, back to their housing. Kazalm has gotten a lot more financial support from the palace. They are now providing better food and new housing for Beast-lords, as well as provide guards for the academy as well as their house night and day. Back inside Lilan's housing, Erin opens the letter to read a rather descriptive, emotionless letter of Ial's last month. Despite being forty-one years old now, he's made a swift shift from back when he was Sezan to being a Touda rider. He is well regarded and performs better than most anyone. In his letter, he also mentions having met with Yoharu, whose son had come back and gone again from Raaza. For one thing, Raaza is not the full name of the country. Urishi (ウリシ) is its name. Raaza would be an abbreviation of their saying 「Raaza Omu Karuda」 (カルダを崇める我々 (ラーザ・オマ・カルダ)), which stands for something like "We worship Karuda," who is their own revered deity. And in Urishi, there are two major provinces, East Urishi (東ウリシ (ウリシ・ヤ)) and West Urishi (西ウリシ (ウリシ・オ)), which compete against each other for their god's affection. Every five years, Karuda is said to come from the sky to thank its believers. This is the practice that's led to religious fanatics conducting invasions of other countries in the name of their god. Just last year, they'd have led an attack on Tai-Kou's defensive point. The next one might happen in four years from now. Erin is taken back to when she met with the old lady, Kuriu, with the large wall-mounted map. War. Despite this vast land, it seems unavoidable as long as there are people… she thought. I want to see you… why did you choose to become a Touda rider? * The next morning, while Erin was preparing for her training by the river, a shriek resounded from the forest. It caught the attention of the Beast-lords, which caught the attention of Erin. She ran towards the shrieks, not too far into a small meadow within the forest, only to find Jessie moving anguishly on ground, covered in fire ants. She tries her best to swipe the ants off him, then carries him back to the river to throw him in the glacial water. She quickly retrieves him, call onto Lilan, get the both of them onto her back to their house. Jessie is crying, swelling, feverish and hurting all over. "Mo…mmy… I'm thirsty." As she's nursing him throughout the night, feeding him the same medicine John served her when he found her for the first time, she regrets not having educated him about the area despite knowing he's been lingering around in the distance for so long. What have I been doing? she thought. These last two years, she's neglected Jessie and let time pass she'll never get back. All in order to prepare for a war against Raaza that might or might not happen… * A few months later, after most of the snow had melted, Erin took half a day off to pass some time with Jessie. She wanted to show him something along the animal trail Jessie had taken the day he was assaulted by fire ants. By now, his scars had mostly healed. "Are you afraid?" she asks. Jessie would like to convince his mother that he isn't but as they were approaching the lone tree, in small meadow within the forest, in became apparent that he was. "You know, that day, I saw a rabbit. It was all white. I ran after it and slipped on the snow here…" recollected Jessie. "Can you tell how different this tree is from the others?" "…um. Its crevice?" "Is that all you see? There are other trees with crevices as well." "…Oh! It's lighter than the others." "And do you know why that is?" "…Because it's receiving a lot more light than the other trees?" "That's right. This tree grows a lot, and a lot of insects feed on it. Fire ants are part of its habitat." "That's awful!" "No, no. I'm sure the tree is actually grateful these ants are here. You see how some branches are in a bad state or have fallen? Unlike other insects, fire ants feed on those ones, which allows for the tree to have more space to rebuild new branches. And fire ants usually live much more to the south, in damp forests where there is no snow." "Eeeh… they're like soldiers, defending this tree from attacks, I'm sure." Erin, surprised by his comparison, comments. "…When you think about it like that, it's true. Somewhat like us too." "This tree is lucky to have them around here then, huh?" "The tree makes its own luck actually. You see, unlike other trees, this one creates sap within its branches whose smell attracts fire ants." After thinking hard about this, Jessie says. "But why does only that tree make sap? It isn't the only tree damaged by insects, it doesn't sound fair." "…I'm afraid I don't know that, but fire ants aren't trees’ only allies. Take birds for example. They're also attracted by the smell of flowers, nest and produce manure by pooping on the ground, which help trees grow." "Oooh that's smart…" Jessie said, "I always thought trees didn't think about anything, but this is frightening somehow." Erin approches Jessie and hugs him. "Your mother has also thought about all these things for a long time. Trees, insects, birds and animals all have big differences. How is it that trees, who cannot talk, have birds and insects helping protecting them and helping them grow?" … "I've read and examined a lot of plants and animals since I was a child, in order to find all those answers… unfortunately, I don't think that day will ever come." "Why is that?" "…The world is large. One person cannot do this on his own. But I can pass down the knowledge." … "It can take a long time for one person to find just one piece of a puzzle, and now that piece of the puzzle can be acquired almost effortlessly in a few lines of text." … "Our lives are short, but at least we can share our discoveries with future generations." Jessie might not understand now, but Erin's had a lot of those conversations with her mother as well. She might not have known what her mother meant at the time, but she's never forgotten about them either. "Imagine a lit torch, Jessie. That torch can only illuminate what's around you, but you can light other people's torches around you and soon you'll see much farther, right?" Still within Erin's embrace, Jessie says. "Mommy, I want to become a person like that, a person who passes the torch around." * Next, the two headed to the riverbank, where Erin usually trains her Beast-lords, to eat with Jessie. She'd cooked a rice-based meal akin to one they've make back when she was a child, which Jessie wasn't familiar with, as well as the usual faco, Shin-Ou's staple starch which Erin was introduced to by John. Eventually… "Hey, Jessie, you remember that letter I received two days ago from your father?" "Yeah." "Your father was curious about what you wanted to do in the future, if you had any plan. You'll be ten years old this year already." "I want to become like you." "You mean a beastinarian?" "…Unn. But I mean like you. I want to control Beast-lords." Control Erin thought. That's not a pleasant word. Is that how he hears it from the others? But that's also all he's ever known… "Jessie, if you want to become a beastinarian, I can teach you so you can enter Kazalm." "But, Beast-lords—" "Don't you ever use the word control again, Jessie." "Why?" "You have no idea what it entails. If you want me to teach you seriously, you might be able to find out for yourself one day." … "…You don't have to give me an answer right now, you should think about your future carefully." It took Jessie three full days of thinking, just before going to bed, to speak up. "Mommy, I've decided. I want to stay by Aru and the others. I want to become a beastinarian like you." "Then you'll be the one to write about it to your father, okay?" "Okay!" "And from tomorrow on, we'll be studying daily so you can eventually take the test to enter Kazalm. Don't expect it to be easy, there are a lot of children from across the country who also want to study here." * Jessie's been studying for a year already. Erin is feeling the effects of sleep deprivation from working so much and teaching Jessie, who reminds her too much of him. She feels bad for his eventual teachers who will have to put up with his questions and different thinking. On a particular foggy day, as she’s riding Lilan during her training as usual, she loses the grip of her harp, which while attached to a string, put her momentarily unable to command the troop. Despite the sky being very foggy, the Beast-lords manoeuvred the area with ease, in particular avoid a mountain as if they were able to read the wind. Is it the sound, what else do they hear that I can't? * It's already fall, the day Jessie is taking the entrance test. Erin is nervously doing busy work while the test is ongoing, worried Jessie might not have had enough time to study. As soon as the bell signaling the tests have been compiled, Erin starts walking firmly in the direction of the academy. Esal is passing the tests back and announces that only those who have obtained at least 87% were accepted. Many visages immediately express relief while others sank. Jessie, who just noticed her mother, sports a smile. Erin is relieved as well. "…Congratulations." Words can be heard from Tomura, laughing and trying to get Erin’s attention from behind. "Your son breezed through the test, you taught him things way beyond the curriculum for his age… and it's also the first time I've had such an essay too," he said, laughing again. "What do you mean?" "You know, the 'Why do you want to study at Kazalm' essay? Your son wrote, in big, black calligraphy, 'I love Beast-lords! I want to become like my mother!'" Erin becomes red. Tomura, still smiling, says. "He's your son, so it makes sense at least." On the morning of the day of the opening ceremony, not long after the tests, Erin was thinking about Ial, thinking about what he’s missing. During the ceremony, as they welcome the new students, Erin is again lost in her thoughts, this time remembering her time with Yuyan and the others who she hadn’t seen ever since. The door suddenly opened and behind it appeared Ial. "Ah!" exclaimed Jessie, as he rushed towards him, "that’s my father!" "Get back in line Jessie!" had to shout Esal. And they began signing as Ial was calmly making his way towards Erin. A faint scent of Touda lingered from him, but Erin was happy that he made he took the time off to travel back here in this occasion. Spring's flight Midway through the winter, a letter from the Queen reached Kazalm. Four baby Beast-lords—Ressa and Ossa, male, and Kase and Fuse, female—were brought to Kazeruma four years ago, and the Queen was wondering how they were fairing—if they would be able to fly by Spring. After the day's work, Jessie goes to Beast-lords' housing to visit his favourite onee-chan, sharing treats and cuddling with her. A bit later, Erin comes to check on them before the night. They're all sleeping soundly, but she stop in front of Aru. Why have you yet to reach maturity, Aru? she thought. What am I doing differently from Je? Why did she start feeding them benetrophic water and turned to Touda? She takes a deep breath and sighs. "…And yet here I am, leading you all on a dangerous path myself." She then notices her sweet, sleeping breath. Jessie… she thought. Erin headed back home, greeted by a 'you're late!' comment by Jessie, but she immediately asks him to come with her to the Beast-lords' housing. Upon entering, the Beast-lords wake up, notice it's only Erin and Jessie and go back to sleep. "Do you know why we're here?" she asks. "…Yes." … "I'm sorry." "You promised me you wouldn't come close to them. How can I expect you to keep your promises if you keep breaking them?" "But it's not fair! You know I like them as much as you do!" he shouted. Erin walks towards to back of the housing and brings back a broom. "You know, I've passed the last twenty years with Lilan. I'd like to think we love each other the same way you love Aru. But if I were to suddenly hit her with this broom, she would instinctively bite back." … "And like you, I thought it would never happen. But, a while ago, Lilan got angry, and it's cost me these three fingers," she emphasised to Jessie, "and I don't doubt I'd have died had I not used the whistle then." And Erin proceeds to do exactly that; she enters Lilan's cage, hit her in the stomach with the broom, causing Lilan to be startled and going at it on the broom, which wound up cutting what's left of Erin's left hand, much to Jessie's horror. She appologizes profusely to Lilan which eventually calms down, then leaves her cage and applies first aid to herself with the help of a crying Jessie. The night was a particularly long one, dreaming back to strange lost memories and Lilan using human speech in her feverous state, and sweating profusely in this cold night. She called for Esal to come late into the night. "Was that your idea on how to teach your son?" she sighs, "you haven't changed at all." Esal just played along Erin's game, aiming to scare Jessie by enumerating numerous treatments to control for possible diseases. He was sent off cooking something for his mother. And Erin takes it with a laugh. "I'm sorry for calling you at this time." "It's fine, I'm used to it after dealing with children all this time. You're hardly better than them." "I also have a favor to ask of you, could you ask mister Oramu to come here?" asks Erin. "You mean the old Beast-lord ranger? I thought he had retired? Wasn't it his son who brought Ressa and company here?" "Yeah, he has, but his mind is still clear and he's the most knowledgeable person I know about wild Beast-lords. There are some things I need to know." * Winter season had mostly passed before Oramu made its way to Kazalm, as he wanted to avoid moving in the snow due to his old age. A long time ago, Oramu was the one responsible for injuring Eku while chasing after another Beast-lord, which had always shamed him. Knowing that Eku had become the first father among human-raised Beast-lords had brought him to tears at the time. Oramu's first comment on Beast-lords living at Kazalm was how cramped their space was. It didn't take long before Erin brought the conversation to what she wanted to know out of him. Beast-lords rangers share an excellent relationship with beastinarians as their jobs depend on each other, but both are mostly secretive about their activities, hence Erin requesting how they breed in the wild. "What I'm about to say is a secret among us…" he says. Essentially, Beast-lords are territorial. They live in groups, but they respect the main Beast-lords couple of the area. No other Beast-lords breed within a certain distance of them. That would be Lilan and Eku in Kazalm. When the breeding season comes around, males of age fly far out to find a mate. However, Beast-lords raised by humans have never hunted on their own. Everything is handed to them, therefore they have no incentive of flying away. "What do you intend to do, knowing that?" "What the Queen has asked of me. We'll extend our area to allow them to breed." "If you are successful in doing that, it would rid us of our job," said Oramu, laughing. And he continues. "But then again, everything has changed since the Queen married the Grand Duke. The next Queen to be will not have golden eyes. I won't be responsible to what happens to Beast-lords." … "Well, I have other things to attend to, so if you'll excuse me." On his way out, Oramu comments on how Kazalm's Beast-lords have lost their "lord" status, their edge, anyway. There’s no way they would stand their ground against wild Beast-lords if it came down to that. * Erin put her plan into action, and on a nice day of Spring, after all students but Jessie had left for Summer vacations, the Queen came to visit Kazalm in absolute secrecy. Her youngest daughter was already five years old. And so, she'll be sojourning at Kazalm for the next two months to learn of Beast-lords' skills. On this sunny morning, Erin and the Queen are already out in the plains, with Jessie looking in their direction from afar, wishing he could be there learning as well. Some sounds are still carried to where he stands, and he can somewhat guess what they're talking about by looking at them as well. First they’re talking about their housing, next their habits and personality. Then basic harp commands that make Beast-lords heads turn in her direction but not listen, followed by explanations of bonds. Jessie had learned by now what his mother meant when she told him to stop using the word "control." Beast-lords are not tools. And neither are Touda. Like humans, they mourn their dead. They're very smart creatures. Erin’s teaching went on for several days—most of the time starting very early and finishing very late—until Jessie noticed the Queen's behavior looked like someone who might truly appreciate Beast-lords. He came to like her despite hardly have exchanged any words with her. And one morning, Aru suddenly sported a red-ish chest and emanated a sweet smell. "…They're mating, aren't they?" asked Seimiya, while Aru and Ukaru were dancing in the sky, "They're beautiful…" "You finally did it Aru…" said Erin, tearing up. At age seventeen, Aru’s first mating. In the wild, they reach sexual maturity at age four, Erin explains to Seimiya. She also expands on her recent findings after consulting with ranger Oramu, and also shared his comment about them not being lordly. "I wonder if they're happy to be born here?" asks Seimiya. "That's not something I can answer for them…" "You're being hard with yourself." … "I myself am in a position where I have to make my country, my people happy." "I'm sure that's how your ancestor, Je, thought as well, after that incident in Ophalon. She still resorted to control Beast-lords and Touda, but created rules and regulations on how to raise them, all for the sake of her people." "You're still uneasy about using Beast-lords in war, are you?" Erin did not answer. "I understand your feeling more now," follows up Seimiya, "these last few days, I noticed the care that had gone in creating bonds with Beast-lords. I understand now that it's something that takes a long time to achieve." "Your majesty…" "I understand that's what you were expecting to show me, and that you want to assume this position for yourself." "I'm afraid of leading them to their death," suddenly spurts Erin. "But you would still save this country's people." "That may be so, but it has nothing to do with Beast-lords." Erin continues. "Benetrophic water… you remember what it is used for?" "To control Beast-lords and Touda, wasn't it?" "My mother… chose to sacrifice herself to keep that secret. I naturally grew to choose the opposite path, but I don't want it to end in a bloodbath with all Beast-lords, Touda and soldiers dying on the battlefield." "You don't have to torment yourself with this, I am the one that would bear the responsibility." "It doesn't matter who takes responsibility," retorted Erin, "it wouldn't change the fact that those soldiers and animals would've died in vain." That left Seimiya speechless… the both of them looking in the direction of Aru and Ukaru who had landed and were cuddling each other. * Meanwhile, Jessie is alone at home, wondering why both his parents got themselves involved in a potential war. Crying himself in fetal position, he is thinking back on the time they were living comfortably in the city. His father was crafting furniture while his mother was making dinner… Suddenly he hears a noise coming from his mother's room. He is alone, but can't help to take a peek. Nobody. But he notices a crevice similar to that in his father's old house. Curiosity overwhelms him and he has to look what's inside: a huge bundle of paper, with calligraphy mirrored in a way Erin had taught him to read. The same her mother used for her diary. The notebook detailed Erin's past. From the execution of Soyon to her relation to the Green-eyed people and her relation with the Queen, along with a multitude of information on Beast-lords and Touda alike. Jessie thinks back to a specific moment when he was laying down in a flowery plain in the mountains with her mother, looking at the sky. And she was crying. It was because of John. Did she intend this to be a memento for me to read after her death? crossed his mind. And it made him sad. The whole letter made him sad. * Moving forward, Seimiya's two months are ending today. She made a last visit to Lilan who never wound up listening to her this whole time. "When do you think she'll answer to me?" she asks. "It will come one day, don't worry." answered Erin, laughing. "Being able to control Beast-lords at will must be a good feeling, huh?" "It's always terrifying, especially when you're flying. You never know if they'll listen to everything you say and instead move instinctively… There's always a huge pressure." "I guess I can understand. Ever since you came flying to me, on that night where you told me I was not a descendant from gods, but a simple human, I've been afraid of facing my destiny… but the next time we met, I understood. I may be a weak person, but I will not run away from my duties. I will make you fly above the battlefield when the time comes despite knowing what could happen." "Let's hope for the best," adds Seimiya. "…I've had this dream so many times already. Flying above Ochiwa, where Green-eyed people and Golden-eyed people live together, trying my best to warn them about the disaster," said Erin. "Ochiwa, why Ochiwa?" "The old diary I read at Yoha--feudal lord Amasuru's mansion, from the story I told you in your garden. Je and 'the people who stayed behind' had a history in Ochiwa." "Is that the origin of 'Ochiwa's Flight'?" "Huh?" "Per tradition, we send out a new year letter intended to Ochiwa every year. I didn't know the origin." "Do you receive anything back?" "Umm, always the same thing, just a simple thank you letter… with the scent of a flower that I remember being called the flower of gods from my childhood." Erin, taken aback, replies. "…Maybe 'the people who stayed behind' still exist to this day." "What?" "My mother mentioned the existence both of a flower scent and 'the people who stayed behind' in her diary, from when she was alive." "Surely that can't be…" said Seimiya, laughing quietly. "I agree it could be a huge coincidence… but what if?" replied Erin, herself laughing back. As soon as Seimiya got back to her castle, she sent out a letter to Ochiwa, and got back an empty letter with the lingering scent of the flower. Parting Summer comes around. A particularly cold summer plagued by a lot of rain and a poor harvest season across the country. Rumors of the country’s standing had spread over neighboring countries through merchants. The Queen and Grand Duke are losing sleep over facing difficult political decisions to carry their people through this season. After Seimiya refusing to let her people suffer from not loosening taxes and instead propose to take from their own coffers to help their people through this year, it came down to Shunan calling for Ori, his sister, in the middle of the night. "You haven't changed your mind?" asks Shunan, to Ori. "I haven't changed my mind," replied Ori, sporting a fake smile, "please, your Majesty, proceed with my betrothal with prince Tauroka." It hurt Shunan to have to resort to this decision, she who he knows has never whished for this lifestyle, she who he knows loves another. "…Thank you, Ori, for this…" he said faintly. "Wait, dear," interjects Seimiya, grasping Ori's hands, "Ori, I'm deeply thankful for your thoughts, but please don't sacrifice your future for ours if that's not what you truly want." "Your Majesty…" "Don't you love Roran?" Bursting into tears, Ori speaks with a trembling voice. "There's nothing I can hide from your Majesty… I've loved him [aishiteru-form] ever since I was a kid… despite rumors of him going around these days. I'm sure he feels the same way towards me… but Roran can bring a lot of happiness through his songs wherever he goes…" "And I'm the younger sister of the Grand Duke," she adds, "if I can bring happiness to our people through uniting our two countries…" Firmly gripping into Seimiya's hands herself, she continues. "Please, let me marry prince Tauroka. He's an interesting character if anything. I'm sure I'll come to be happy. Please take this opportunity for yourself and your people as well." "…Thank you, Ori," said Seimiya quietly in her ears after embracing her. And the accord was passed, but the announcement would be delayed until spring so as to avoid rumors of selling into marriage from spreading. As their first act of friendship, Toura Kingdom sent more than enough grain Royza's way to make it through the year. All that as a fall storm seemed to be brewing, coming from eastern skies. * Meanwhile we get a glimpse of Ial. While in a Touda grotto, Ial hears loud ruckus coming from another pond. Chimuru—the same Chimuru that helped Erin investigate Kiba way back—warns him that a fight seemingly randomly broke out between two Touda caretakers. Ial makes his way there running and interjects between them as one is striking the air with a fish-cutting hatchet. Ial gets badly hurt from the strike and reflexively hits the guy back in the jaw, knocking him out before falling on the ground himself. He is woken up to Yoharu commenting on how unlike him that situation was. Ever since Erin brought up long-lost secrets about Touda, Tokara village was chosen by Yoharu as the village that shall host a plethora of experimentations on breeding and raising Touda differently, with Chimuru as the head beastinarian. The village has changed a lot since then. Touda have changed a lot since then. A different application of benetrophic water has changed their outward appearance as well as their nature. They are now paler, have bigger bones, fangs and body overall, and they are more obedient—learning simple commands faster. All that happened in a single generation. This situation doesn't sit very well with Ial, and yet here he is. When Ial joined the military, I didn't take long before Yoharu assigned him as an executive officer within his ranks. He had already demonstrated skills, but also loyalty, and he happens to be one of the few people roaming the country to be in possession of sensible information concerning many parties, himself included. "That cut of yours will take ten days to heal. That's a good opportunity to take some time off." Said Yoharu. "It's not that bad of an injury," insisted Ial. "Take the time off. Go back to your family in Kazalm." * Ial is greeted at Kazalm's gates, looking at an outdoor class, walking pensively towards the academy to meet Esal in the principal's office. "Ara, you're quite early aren't you, I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow. How's your injury?" "Ah, it's nothing really. It was just an excuse to get me here," replied Ial. "Well it's a good thing you're here early, something happened just earlier and Erin is busy so I didn't want to disturb her." … "…with Jessie that is. He got into a fight and is currently in penitence." "What happened?" "I'm not blaming anyone here, but when a classmate told Jessie he was getting special treatment from all the teachers and soldiers because his mother can control Beast-lords… Jessie… he smashed a flower vase against his head." Ial enters the locked classroom to find a surprised look on his son's face. Likewise, it had been a while since Ial had seen Jessie. He gotten taller and looks more like a young man now. "…It sounds like you caused quite the commotion today," commented Ial. "Why the vase?" he added. Jessie remained in silence. "Come with me." Ial brings Jessie outside, into the calming forest, away from all eyes and ears. "You've changed a lot in the short time we haven't seen each other. You've grown much taller… but you're also averting your eyes, you're shrugging and don't answer anymore. You look like a coward… smashing things onto others…" "I'm not a kid anymore, and you only come here once a year, what do you know about me!" "Everyone here only sees their parents twice a year. If anything, you're the lucky one having your mother here at all times." "…Me? Lucky?" retorts Jessie, "how am I lucky?" "How are you not lucky? You eat every day, sleep with a roof over your head and are studying to become a beastinarian—you won't have to worry about any of that in the future either. Sure, I'm absent a lot, but not unlike more of your classmates' parents. And you have your mother here…" "But… but to all those parents… their children are the most important. Don't tell me that's what you think, you're so stuck up on the country…" "That's not true." "Yes it is!" "That's not the case…" said Ial, weakly. "Then why did you leave everything behind and join the army… what if you die?" Jessie starts crying profusely. Shaking and wiping his tears with both arms. It's a feeling Ial knew too well, yet he didn't realize his son could feel this way right now. He approaches Jessie and hugs him, and Jessie welcomed him, still crying. "There's nothing more important to me than you and your mother. I know my path is rather foggy right now, but I swear, someday, we'll all be living together, happily." "But, there's also mommy…" "I know, Jessie, I know. But even her decision was also for your sake. She chose to raise an army of Beast-lords so we wouldn't be living the rest of our lives on the go, constantly on alert." … "The Queen and the Grand Duke were never going to give up on the idea of raising Beast-lords as tools—your mother chose this path because it puts her in the best position to prevent a disaster from happening, not only for Beast-lords, but for everyone, for me, for you… so that you can marry and have children of your own." "Blegh, I don't want to marry, I hate girls." "That's fine too, just do what you want." said Ial, laughing. "But then why did you become a Touda rider if mommy could do it on her own?" "To overwhelm the enemy before we even resort to Beast-lords." "Aahh…" Of course that wasn't the only reason, but he needn't worry him further. * continued... |
DramaMar 21, 2017 8:01 PM
Mar 21, 2017 7:55 PM
#3
Next, Ial went to visit Erin who was tending to Beast-lords. Ial immediately noticed how Erin had lost weight. They passed a calm moment together, eating, thinking about nothing. Then Erin requested she take a look at his wound, which really turned out to be nothing to be concerned about, and then she also voices her concern about Jessie's character as of late. "I suppose you weren't aware of what happened earlier," said Ial. "Eh, what happened?" "Male-bonding secrets--I promised I wouldn't tell," he teased. "Dear…" "Don't worry, everything's fine now." "…But I want to know. What happened?" Ial didn't answer. "Aw, you're always like that, keeping important things to yourself…" said Erin. "I promised, is why," said Ial with a smile on his face. "So… how long are you staying?" "Including the transport back and forth, ten days." "For this small injury?" "The injury was a pretext… no, in fact we suspect a war with Raaza is closing in. Yoharu would've given time off to all front-line soldiers. The injury just gave me a bit more time." The rest of the day went by by Erin side without Ial noticing. The following day, Ial assisted to a session of training. Ten Beast-lords flying very fast in V formation, with a single person leading them. It was flashy, both beautifully and terrifyingly. Erin proudly claims they can make it Lazar in an hour, which Ial knows would take a full day riding a fast horse. He can't recall Erin ever sporting a smile such as when she's talking about their training. "Really?" asked Ial. "Yeah, I've actually done it a few times during the night without telling Esal… They always want to fly. They could probably fly much faster too, but I can't handle it myself—the wind is too strong." No wonder she lost weight, pushing herself like that thought Ial. "I'm sorry," spurted Erin. "What do you mean?" "…I always get excited like that when training with them." Then Ial draws a parallel between her state and new Touda riders as well. The shaking from excitement. Which reminds him Chimuru had a question to ask to Erin, about Touda. He wanted to know if emitted some sort of visual stimulus that we can't see. He noticed that Touda have a greater response to the whistle inside the grotto. Erin is not surprised at all that Chimuru would think outside of the rules and laws in order to raise Touda. And he was right, that's something that's more easily observable through Beast-lords. Beast-lords will petrify Touda when there are many of them, but for instance— Erin noticed during their training—if the Beast-lord faced a single Touda, it would instead use a menacing roar to keep them at bay. And that's something she noticed of wild Touda as well. They emit different sounds when they want help, etc. Erin has no doubt Green-eyed people had deciphered all their quirks as the base of their skills. The only skill she knew how to use was the one she learned from her mother, but she didn't know any detail about it. Touda and Beast-lords are the only animals affected by the silent whistle. From her training, Erin determined that Beast-lords can identify distances within fog or darkness… "I would've guessed it was due to the echo, but that doesn't explain why the whistle's effective range is so short against Beast-lords… It's very possible that it emits something that we cannot see or feel." "There are things we cannot see or feel…?" "Certainly, there is a ton. Take benetrophic water for example, it looks just like water to us, but changes Beast-lords and Touda bodies—" "Speaking of which, newborn Touda are now more poisonous than before." "Really?" "Yeah, Chimuru told me, someone cut himself on their scales and it didn't take long before he stiffened and fell before he had to be resuscitated." "Rather than it becoming more potent," she starts, "that sounds like its property changed entirely… oh how I want to investigate this…" Looking at the sky, Erin yells. "If only I had more time! There are so many things I want to know! A human's lifetime is so short…" And just like that, the two of them passed the rest of the day sat in the plains, looking at the sky. * Meanwhile, we learn that Roran had just come back from his journey in Raaza, bearing bad news. During his journey, Roran's activism got the attention of the kingdom and his identity was soon compromised. Waiting for an opportune moment to use him, Roran was held captive within West Urishi's leader's—Nozugura—quarters. The trigger was a sudden, successful capture of a Uramu, the south-east-most city within Royza's kingdom defending the border, with the help not only of their own bred Touda, but also rumored to have been made possible with the help of the people from the city. Accompanied by one of the soldiers that was defending said city, Roran makes his way back to his father, passing by the closest cities to relay Nozugura's demands: that Ryoza hand over cities Ikishiri and Toguramu, held at stategic points to defend mountain ranges, in the territory that used to belong to Hajan. Ryoza has, financially, greatly benefited from getting their hands on Hajan in the past, and its descendants have likely never forgotten about it. It's not like Shin-Ou’s people are very welcoming of anyone living outside of their province despite reaping their rewards. Aware of what her people think about her, Seimiya herself gathered the most influencial people from both Shin-Ou and Tai-Kou to announce that they will meet their demands with war, despite despising this approach. She will respect her ancestor's decision, for the sake of her people, to have taken over Hajan. She will defend her people regardless of what they may think of her. She will make it known that she still has an intimate role in politics despite being bond to the Grand Duke. All at the same time and at their surprise. * Back to Kazalm, Erin is caring for Beast-lords as usual, thinking about how far they've come, how long they've been together. She doesn't know how long Beast-lords live in the wild, but not many of them live thirty years in their care, which she herself has already passed. She's known Lilan for over twenty years already, and it shows. Suddenly, a messenger, holding an urgent letter from the Queen, is knocking at the door. The letter explains some details about Uramu, that they're going to war and for Erin to answer to the call and start preparations. Still shocked that the day had to come, Erin calmly informs the messenger that she will answer her call and depart for the palace as preparations are done. The messenger bows and goes on his way. Today would be the last night Erin would pass with Jessie before leaving. Jessie had heard from the teacher about the messenger that was looking for Erin this morning, which worried him all day. After school, he came home as soon as possible to the smell of faco. As a main course, Erin has prepared shishi (wild boar) meat and miso-like sauce to serve on top of both the meat and faco. "I promised Ial I wouldn't cry when this day came," said Jessie, "I didn't want to see you off with tears." Erin embraced him tightly and let him cry his heart out like he hadn't done since he was a child. When he finally calmed down a bit, he notice his mother also had teary eyes. "The war has started?" he asks. "Probably, but I don't know the details, I don't know if I'll have to fly Lilan yet." "When are you leaving?" "Tomorrow night." "Are you bringing everyone with you? Even Aru?" "No, Aru and Ukaru will stay behind since she's pregnant." "And you'll come back… right?" "Don't think about taking responsibility for the Queen and Grand Duke's orders…" he adds. "Who told you that?" said Erin, surprised. "I know you! You didn't want to train Lilan and the others that way, didn't you? If they happen to die on the battlefield, I don't want you to atone for their death with yours too. I know you were looking for a way for everyone to be happy, but, mom, I need you to live for that." "So you hear our conversation…" "Jessie… I won't die to make up for anything," she adds. "Really?" "Really. If I were to take responsibility, it would be through life, not death." "…" "I mean I won't flee from the consequences of my actions. You see, ever since I was your age, I've wanted Lilan and the others to live as if they were in the wild, only this created a strong bond between them and me…" "Even now I don't know what would have been best," she adds. And she continues. "I couldn't bring them back to the wild nor avoid sending them to the battlefield, but there's still something only your mother can do." "What is it?" "To make public what Je tried their best to hide. I want them to know what happens when you use Beast-lords as weapons against Touda." Jessie silently listens to Erin talk. "I want to expose Je and Green-eyed people's greed and stupidity in sealing their knowledge away from the general public and still choosing to go at war at every step." … "A long time ago, I used to say to your father that if humans wanted to kill each other all the time and bring themselves to extinction, it would be better that way." … "You may think I'm cold saying that, but the truth is that I now believe it's worse than that. People won't stop fighting each other. Despite their ability for speech and thought, they always purposely choose the wrong path. And that's why I won't give up until I die." On the night of the departure, Erin has Lilan and the other Beast-lords lined up, wondering what they're thinking about. As the sun is about to set, she's talking to Esal, taking notice of how long they've been together, how old she'd gotten. "Thank you for everything, Esal." said Erin. She'd selflessly raised her—strictly, but with love. And she was happy. Erin embraced her. "Don't do that! It'll bring bad luck," said Esal, crying, "if you're really thankful, then come back and show me your face." Erin cried in her arms. After leaving Esal's arms, Jessie hands his mother a bag of food made by the girl the dorm lady, still working at Esal's sides—something she could eat anywhere without any problem and even share with the Beast-lords—as well as a scarf, since it's always cold flying in the sky. "Don't worry about Aru! I'll take care of her while you're gone! And when you come back, we'll find a way to get them back in the wild!" exclaimed Jessie. "Great intention, little boy," teased Esal to loosen the atmosphere, "but you still have a lot to learn before I let you take care of Beast-lords." "She's not wrong there, Jessie, but thank you, I'll count on you," added Erin, embracing her son one last time before leaving. Frenzy Erin flew to Lazar’s care center to house her Beast-lords and then made her way to the palace where she will meet directly with the Queen. Upon entering her chambers, Erin bows. Seimiya greets her and remarks the sweet smell Erin emanates. It was from the candy her son gave him. Without further small talk, Seimiya points to the map on her desk. "This is Amasuru's territory. And these are major merchant cities Imiiru, Hoze and Kashoru…" Imiiru is the closest city, on the eastern part of the territory, while Hoze is in the northern part and Kashoru in the southern part, not too far from the country Toura. Uramu would further east of Imiiru, bording the mountain range that devides Ryoza and Raaza. "We have troops stationed in all three of them, but there's also this small relay station, Tsaru, between Uramu and Imiiru. Two thousand of Raaza's cavalry are currently marching in its direction." Seimiya continues. "I remember, a long time ago, Shunan made me witness the conditions of sick and wounded soldiers from war, missing eyes and limbs. They were defending the mountain pass by Ikishiri." Erin also recalls hearing about this event from Ial, back when she was nursing him in Beast-lord housing, after he'd escaped from the palace. Incredible that Seimiya would remember this event so clearly she thought. "But it would seem their demands were mere distraction since their troops are headed straight for Imiiru," she added. Imiiru was the city where Ial was stationed. She remembers that wise, old woman, Kiriu, coming from there as well… "Erin, we’ll be moving to Amasuru, to the west of Amiiru, and I want you to lead the way." Imiiru is bordered by a large river of its own, Saafu. It possesses two entrances to an otherwise walled off city, one they call the bridge gate, leading to their port, and the other is the eastern gate, leading to eastern plains. Both of which are closed during the night. Within the city, Ial and his commanding officer, Oruku, met with other Touda troops commanders, the shougun as well as influential figures of the city for a war council. Roran and Kiriu happen to fall under the latter category, and Ial recognizes them from Erin's descriptions despite having never met either. "Raaza's cavalry is about here," said Oruku, pointing at a map everyone is gathered around, "they're about two days away from our position along the main road." "What about their troop of Touda riders?" asks the shogun. "We don't know, we've never actually seen them." The shogun turns towards Roran, expecting him to speak up. "…I'm not trying to trick you. I was adopted into the Amasuru family, I've seen my fair share of Ryoza's Touda. The Touda I saw there were unlike any I've seen in Ryoza." "Either way, let's concentrate on the cavalry first," said the governor-general. Then Kiriu spoke up, thanking everyone for protecting their city, but she had a problem to share. "About Touda’s reprovisioning?" asked the governor-general. "Yes. Since we are considerably more Touda stationed in the city, we will need more food. We came into contact with neighboring nomads who fled their encampment after hearing about Raaza’s invasion and for whom goats and sheeps are precious resources, and their asking price was above our budget…" "We’ll see what we can do about it." After the war council wrapped up, Roran approached Oruku to ask him if he could see their new Touda. Knowing his status, Oruku gladly invited him. On their way to the ponds, Roran recalled history he lived twenty years ago in this city, when they were attacked by Raaza and he was saved by Yoharu… Upon reaching the pond and observing Touda swimming for a moment, Roran remarks. "They don't make much noise, huh…" "Yeah, that's also something we noticed, I suppose we can't hear it very well somehow." "…Are all newly bred Touda this colour?" "Yes." "They remind me a lot of Raaza's, except Raaza's are a bit smaller." "Really?" "Down to the sound." Ial and Oruku look at each other perplexedly. "But that's impossible, we bred those Touda through trial and error… There's no way they could've have similar Touda from the secrets they stole in Uhan," said Oruku. "It's true that like Uhan's Touda, theirs are smaller, but I'm not mistaken." "If we think about it, Raaza was never bound by laws and regulations, they may have raise them their own way from the basic secrets they stole," said Ial, "This could mean that Raaza’s number of Touda bred that way far exceeds our own." Ial had to make sure of something. He approached a Touda beastinarian withing the pond and asked. "This might be nothing, but I have a strange question to ask." "Try me," answered the man. "When you fed your Touda, did you bring them along the river outside of the city…?" "The river? Why would we do that?" Turning back to Roran and a commanding officer, Ial shares his thoughts. "The nomads who came here reported the river to the north smelling of Touda along their way here." "What!?" exclaimed the officer. "Raaza's two thousand cavalry men might be a distraction. They want our army of Touda to fight against their cavalry while their Touda are swimming straight to Amasuru." "Wouldn't that be a poor tactic?" asked a superior officer, "what if they underestimated our defenses in Amasuru and lose on both fronts?" "I think they've thought this through for a long time," replies Roran, and he goes on a tangent, "for Hajan, Amasuru is a symbol. When it fell to the hands of Ryoza's Touda, it was a crushing humiliation. They've never felt accepted by Ryoza's people. The same for Ikishiri, Toguruma and Uramu. It's possible they interprated Raaza's constant squirmishes as a sign of hope to get their country back." "Sai-Gamul…" muttered Ial, "the Grand Duke's people have also felt similarly towards Shin-Ou's aristocracy. I can understand their feeling." "Exactly, people who live here are still all descendants of Hajan, and they've grown to harbor hatred for Ryoza, but can't do anything about Touda," continues Roran, "and that's what Raaza is betting on. Should their attack fail, they're hoping they can gain the help of Hajan in the future. Imagine how much easier it would be if Raaza didn't have to fight at the mountain range." "Everything depends on if the nomads were right," said Oruku, "Ial, can you take some men and investigate the area to see if there are traces of Touda there?" There was no doubt about it. The smell of Touda was lingering the area, and upon investigating, traces left in the river. Ial estimated their number at at least a few hundreds. They would be two days away from Amasuru from there. * On the other side, Erin has installed her Beast-lords in a large camp and is casually welcoming both Yoharu and Shunan in. The beasts are groaning. "…Can we talk?" asks Shunan. "No problem, but we should probably just move away slightly, because of your Touda scent and all." "They sure look scary, huh. Well, I'm sure Touda also are, but it's the first time I've felt this way. I don't remember that feeling from that one time I rode Lilan…" "Me too… my goosebumps won't go away," said Yoharu, "king of beasts…" Just a bit late, Seimiya now makes her entrance as well, passing in front of the caged Beast-lords without them making a noise. "Ah, I'm glad they seem to remember me." Erin hands her a whistle and the harp, so that she can greet Lilan. She starts playing, and Lilan responds in harmony, immediately bringing Seimiya to tears. "Thank you, Lilan." After speaking a bit longer, they left Erin to herself. Erin stressfully tends to her Beast-lords for the entire day. Feeding, picking up poop, making sure they were all healthy. Until she hears a lot of ruckus outside and someone calls for her to come meet with the Queen and Grand Duke in their tent. The tent is crowded with influential people. Finally the Grand Duke speaks. "We've received an express message from Amasuru's mansion. Raaza's Touda army is swimming along the river. The two thousand cavalry are only a distraction for the Touda to come here in Amasuru, the message says." Nobles visibly started to panic, but before it escalated anywhere, Seimiya started giving orders. They were going to defend the city with what they have. From the point they determined Touda would come off the shore, they would flank with archers and come from behind with cavalry. She looked like a completely different person. "Erin, go at the top of the hill with your Beast-lords and be ready to take off at any time." The night will be particularly cold, so neither Ryoza's nor Raaza's Touda would be effective. And judging by the distance their enemy is at, they should easily be able to rest a full night, which Shunan recommends Erin does. On her way out, Erin looks in the direction of Imiiru, thinking about Ial and Jessie, before making it back to her quarters. She's shaking, afraid of what's to come. She doesn't want to die—she doesn't want to leave her family behind. She wants to live with the two of them. Still thinking about them, she hugs herself to tears. From behind, Lilan, who was asleep just prior, started to lick her all over. Rather than making it stop, Erin turned around and embraced her nose as well. A warm, comforting feeling in this cold, autumn night. Soon she would lay on the ground, looking at the sky, by Lilan's stomach and close her eyes, thinking about how her journey brought her where she is. * On the day following Erin's takeoff, three mysterious people visited the academy and found themselves in Esal's office. Jessie, who had seen them walk in the corridors, barged into Esal's office as well. There stood, in front of him, two men with green eyes and a woman with a left green eye and a right golden one. Like his mother, they were tall and had distinctive facial features. "Let me introduce you Jessie, Erin's son," said Esal, putting her hands on his shoulders. "Are you… the people who stayed behind?" asks Jessie. "Yes. Well, these two are," said the older man, "I myself am Nason, from the Mist People. These two have heard about Erin and Seimiya from beyond the mountain and have traveled for several months in order to get here." "And as I was telling you, Erin just left the academy," added Esal. "We're aware, but they also wanted to take the opportunity to meet this boy… You may not know me, but I've been monitoring you all for many years, ever since your mother came into contact with Beast-lords, ever since your grandmother chose to live among other humans." Glaring at Nason, Jessie is recalling what he'd read about him in his mother's letter… "We want to make sure you do not repeat your mother's mistakes after her death," continues Nason. "After her death? Mistakes? Don't you say that, old geezer! I'll follow into her footsteps all I want!" yelled Jessie, bursting with rage. "…and kill a lot of people as well as yourself?" said Nason, calmly, "if it came to her dying, they wanted to make sure you do would not create another disaster yourself." … "In truth, your mother doesn't know everything about what happened in Aphon Nao… perhaps it was my mistake to not tell her then… we may have avoided another tragedy otherwise." "Nason," said the younger man, from behind, "if that's okay, I'll speak from now." Nason invites him to speak. "Nice to meet you. My name is Ryoza. My mother, Soyon. We both come from the valley (of the people who stayed behind)." "…are we talking about Erin's mother here?" asks Esal. Nason shrugs from behind. "And Ryoza, as our country?" asks Esal again. "As I've heard, yes. Have you ever thought about the origin of those names?" said the young man. "I can't say I've ever given it a thought…" replied Esal. "Then we'll eventually get there," said the young man, leaving the lead to the young girl. "We share the same roots with the Mist People, we share relations with them, but we are not from the same family, and unlike them, we never leave our valley. After the disaster, our ancestors chose to lead a peaceful life in the valley, hence our name." … "When our common ancestor, Je, left for Ochiwa to create your country, we still kept in touch with them, and it became a custom even after her death." … "Somewhere along the way, however, we started receiving mirrored letters." "Ah!" exclaims Jessie, "that's where the secret writing my mom thought me comes from, I didn't know it was you." "Yes," interfected Nason, "in fact, Je created a new writing system simply by mirroring our own alphabet, which she taught her people. Of course we've always written them the same way ourselves, it's just that someday, Je's descendants had forgotten about it." "Sai-Gamul's terrorism," added Esal, "I suppose is the reason for this disconnection." "I suppose that was it although we hadn't heard about it at the time," answers the young girl, "either way, instead of sending in written letters, we started sending out flower scent to keep the tradition regardless." … "This year, however, we received an extra letter earlier in the summer, a peculiar letter in an attempt to rekindle our relations. We were perplexed to say the least." … "I'm afraid we responded to the call just a bit too late." "And so, a fight between Touda and Beast-lords really will result in a disaster?" asks Esal. "Yes." "Even knowing that, couldn't all the training we have undergone help prevent it?" "I don't think it would prevent it. Beast-lords aren’t the only party who go mad when they come in contact with a large army of Touda…" * The three of them would try to meet with Erin before anything happens, but while Esal was readying horses for them, Jessie took it upon himself to meet with Erin himself, atop Aru. What the lady was talking about was on a different level compared to what his mother thought would happen, Jessie thought. No amount of training would change anything. The short flight to Lazar would feel like an eternity for Jessie. His first flight, atop a pregnant Beast-lord, during a cold night. It took Jessie every ounce of force in his body to cling onto Aru, who herself had difficulty breathing. Once Aru landed at Lazar, Jessie fell to his knees in cold sweat, but picked himself up and ran into an old man who was obviously surprised to see him. Jessie introduces himself as Erin's son, and is informed that she was already gone to Amasuru, east of here. If he had something to tell her he would gladly send a homing pigeon that would arrive at daybreak. "I have to go myself," said the visibly exhausted Jessie. "Even if you're fine, your Beast-lord looks even more exhausted, that's Aru, right?" Jessie looks back towards Aru, who is gasping for air with her tongue out. There was no way she could fly right now. He would let her rest for a few hours. * Meanwhile, Erin is woken up by a loud alarm. The morning had broken out, it was raining and windy, she could hear a lot of noise coming from the encampment. That was it. The enemy Touda were in sight. She could see everything from her position in the encampment. Shunan and Seimiya. Yoharu and his son-in-law also commanding troops. Around a thousand Touda on their side, many of which had come in reinforcement from Imiiru. Only slightly more than the enemy seems to number. Shunan rose his right hand, white flags were raised and soon their Touda would shake the earth, creating a cloud of dust, and clash into the enemy's… Before long, the dust would settle and Shunan would clearly notice something strange: Touda didn't attack each other. In fact they avoided each other. "What is happening?" was wondering Yoharu, "when there are more than ten Touda in the same pond, they attack each other. Why won't they attack the enemy now? Is it the flat surface?" The field soon developed into a vortex-like movement of Touda avoiding each other as their riders were clinging onto their horns. The already unthinkable situation evolved for the worst when the enemy instead took advantage of that and slowly left the vortex to make a run for it towards the city, leaving Ryoza's Touda stumped while they regrouped, and its archers barely making a dent in their marching. Immediately, Seimiya is looking into Erin's direction. "Erin…!" "Promise me," started Erin, "whatever happens, promise me that you will not hide these events from your people." "Without fail," said Seimiya, her hand brought to her chest, "I'll answer your wish." And with that, Erin ran towards her Beast-lords and took flight. The Touda were trampling the farms just outside of the city, casually destroying wooden farms and feeding onto some animals left behind. Erin caught up to the Touda before they reached the city walls and started nose-diving. The Beast-lords let out shrieks, stunning the front row of Touda, much to their riders' confusion. The sound of broken bones resounded, the smell of blood set in. "Fly away!" shouted Erin, before the situation degenerated. And Lilan reluctantly obliged. Was her training effective? Looking back behind her, Erin noticed that no other Beast-lord was following her lead. They all had gone mad, shrieking and slowly mauling through the army of Touda. Not only did their riders start yelling, confused, the Touda themselves started acting strangely. Running in all direction, shrieking themselves, the Touda started emanating a misty substance from their body, mixing with the dust. Erin was witnessing this scene from above. Loud screams were coming out from the riders until suddenly, most of them were silenced, paralyzed while clung onto Touda. Beast-lords also started letting out painful shrieks as well. Before Erin could assess the situation, Lilan nose-dived back into the mist herself. The cloud of mist felt like thousands of needles piercing her face. She could already hardly let out a sound from her mouth despite the intense pain, but she immediately reached for her harp. The Beast-lords were moving with anguish, their shrieks blending together with those of Touda. Through her harp, Erin commanded Lilan to fly back up. This time, Eku, Nora, Kasa and Touba also responded to the call, but the four youngest Beast-lords stayed behind. Before anything could be done, Ryoza's army of Touda had also joined the fray. Whether they were from Raaza or Ryoza made no difference anymore. There would be no victor in this cold, rainy day. And here lies the ties between Green-eyed people and Golden-eyed people, as the young lady was sharing Esal and Jessie earlier. The calamity brought them together. Ryoza was named after Je's little brother who fell in the war after saving as many people as he could from the horror, regardless of their affiliation. The situation continued to escalate. In a timed battle against Beast-lords, Touda had reached city walls, crushing their body against the wall and door and eventually found their way in. Arrows flung at them were useless. Touda were still emanating their mist which would spread faster with the wind. Buildings were starting to fall, chaos ensued within the city. Erin never imagined it would turn out like this. Touda didn't emanate poison in Tahai Aze. The screams were constant throughout the city and yet, no sound seemed to reach the four youngest Beast-lords as one of them fell to the ground, paralized. The others were still frantically gaining height only to dive back in the mass of Touda. Erin let out a wail and started thinking, she had to do something to stop this. Before she would lose Eku and the other Beast-lords to madness once again, she asked them to fly away, which they did. And then Erin noticed one of them came back flying towards her—It was actually Jessie and Aru. Thank you, Jessie thought Erin, but before letting Jessie reach her, she murmurs to Lilan. "Let's go, Lilan, to where you children are." And Erin started to cry as Lilan dived once again towards the fray. Would she have pursued the same path had she known? As Erin was rapidly approaching the ground, she brought her whistle to her mouth and whistled with all her might. Erin closed her eyes as Lilan crashed to the ground. * Ial, whose troop had moved to Amasuru, was stationed in front of the city as the battle erupted from the other side. He had witnessed the Beast-lords taking altitude and diving relentlessly. His troop was told not to intervene as messengers informed them of the chaos that had ensued, but Ial wasn’t going to stand there. Ial would borrow a horse and go around the city from outside—going through remnants of the farms, intense smell of blood, lingering irritating mist, crumbled walls and buildings, and bodies everywhere. The Touda that were still standing were letting out cries, mourning their dead. Jessie also followed after her mother after the battle had settled. After landing Aru on a roof, he went down into the city, through the same scenery, until he stumbled on his father carrying Erin in his arms, with a pale, exhausted look on his face. * Erin would live on for four days. She survived the impact thanks to Lilan acting as cushion and Ial treating her as fast as he could, but she would succumb to the poison. During the time she had, left she asked for a writer who would write down her lifetime’s worth of experience and knowledge to be passed down as she recalled them. This document would become a pillar for people aiming to, or engaging in politics, teaching or beast care. She would also meet with Seimiya, Shuhan, Yoharu, Esal, as well as the people who stayed behind. Seimiya vowed to never raise Beast-lords again and to release those in their possession. Stories from witnesses of the events spread to Raaza and everywhere. Ryoza sent back Raaza's deceased in an attempt to start a new relationship with them. The political marriage between Ryoza and Toura would also strengthen their bonds. But was just the beginning. Jessie, now twenty-seven years later, has always carried this metaphor about holding and sharing torches. He was the first to propose, in an audience with Queen Seimiya, that they create schools for the common people. The first one would be established in the city he grew up in as a child, but they would eventually spread to farming and fishing villages alike. Esal died peacefully at eighty-two years old. Ial went on to live twenty-two more years after Erin's death, eight of them still as a soldier, but the rest he lived tranquilly as an artisan with his son and grandson. He was buried alongside Erin, each under a tree on the plains of Kazalm, where also lied Lilan, Eku, Ukaru, Nora, Ressa, Ossa, Kase and Fuse. Jessie would often lay peacefully under his mother’s tree, a tree bearing fruits who she was named after. Jessie heard heavy footsteps coming his way. "Professor! Professor! Yuma is going into labor!" "Ooh, is that so?" mouthed Jessie, "that old mare sure is giving her best. Let’s make sure everything goes well shall we?" Fin. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Feel free to leave a comment here or in my inbox if you have anything to say or ask. :) Note: I'd originally posted the summary on reddit because I'm a lot more active there, and I'd eventually linked to it in another thread on MAL, but reddit archives its posts after 6 months, disabling further commenting in the process, so I figured I'd post it in its own thread on MAL. |
DramaMar 21, 2017 8:12 PM
Nov 2, 2017 11:37 AM
#4
| That had to be a lot of effort to go through, to create such a thorough summary. Thanks a lot. I only recently found the series, as I ran into the small bit of the manga that had been translated. It immediately caught my attention, and discovered to both my delight and dismay that the original work was by written by the same person who'd written Seirei no Moribito, of which the anime adaptation is one of my all time favorites. Turns out, now that I've blitzed it, Kemono no Souja isn't much lower on that list either. If only I didn't know that there were another two volumes that weren't adapted and not translated either, I could have been satisfied with that. So yeah, despite my mixed feelings towards the conclusion, I'm definitely happy to have this little bit of closure. I suppose I should finally go and read the first two books in the Moribito series, since at least those are translated. After that I might have to go and learn Japanese just to finish it. I honestly doubt I'll be able to leave the matter without really delving into the works of the author originally behind two of my favorite animes of all time - although I certainly think that there's a hell of lot to thank the other people behind those adaptations for as well. |
Oct 10, 2018 3:58 AM
#5
| Thanks a tons for this, very sad and bittersweet ending, wish those last two volume got an anime adaptation, most likely won't happen, a real shame. |
Nov 22, 2018 3:52 PM
#6
| Thank you. Reading this made me appreciate how the anime ended. I'm all for poignant bittersweet endings, but it feels like the events in the final volumes undermine the hope and optimism setup by the first 2. |
Mar 5, 2019 6:41 AM
#7
| Thanks for this. I found your Reddit post by chance from someone who recommended it on r/Anime. I started watching it about a month ago and liked it so much that I binged the entire show in like three days. Thankfully, it's still quite fresh in my mind as I read this. I've reformatted it into a word document so that it's in an easier to read format. Posting it in Reddit/forum isn't that great IMO. https://docs.google.com/document/d/17OYQquBI1IUxumuJ_wIc3DEA9yBozO2uZY1m75ixLis/ |
Mar 7, 2019 8:22 PM
#8
PigeJapePu said: Thanks for this. I found your Reddit post by chance from someone who recommended it on r/Anime. I started watching it about a month ago and liked it so much that I binged the entire show in like three days. Thankfully, it's still quite fresh in my mind as I read this. I've reformatted it into a word document so that it's in an easier to read format. Posting it in Reddit/forum isn't that great IMO. https://docs.google.com/document/d/17OYQquBI1IUxumuJ_wIc3DEA9yBozO2uZY1m75ixLis/ Thanks for the editing, it seems to be in a much better format for reading. But, there's a problem with the document, it does not allow to be printed, copied or downloaded... Can you please fix that? |
Jun 13, 2020 10:21 PM
#9
| Man, thanks for the effort you put on this, now I can get to know what happened after the anime conclusion. |
| No tomo malas decisiones, solo me gusta apoyar causas perdidas. Disfruté Mayoiga, Ou-sama Game, Evil or Live, Mirai Nikki, Big Order, Arifureta, Ex-Arm, Tesla Note, Shuumatsu no Harem y Platinum End nope les falle con esa, lo siento pero todos tenemos nuestros límites. Así de jodido es mi gusto en anime, ¡Y estoy pinche orgulloso de ello!  |
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