If a section of the decking were removed, there would be no beach or base of the cliffs to be seen, only this huge, floating, raft-like deck jutting out from beneath the cliffs. Boats were tied up where the raft met the water. In the other direction, where the raft touched the cliffs, was a line of small houses.
That makes sense, Suzu thought to herself. There's no beach so they built a beach. But how would anyone climb that cliff? When she tilted her head back and looked more closely, there were stone steps and ladders running up the tall cliff face. That must be how they got up and down.
"Climbing a ladder like that would make my head spin," Suzu muttered to herself.
The men glanced back at her. Pointing, they drew her attention to the top of the cliffs. Then they escorted her across the platform to the stone steps carved into the face of the precipice.
It was the beginning of her gauntlet. She climbed the face of the cliff. Whenever she wanted to stop and sit down, somebody gave her a push from behind or somebody ahead of her pulled her up. Glancing back over her shoulder and quelling the dizziness brought on by the towering heights, she finally struggled to the top.
"I'd hate to have to actually live here," Suzu said, plopping herself down on the ground. The men laughed and clapped her on the back and shoulders. She didn't understand anything they said, but she thought maybe they were praising her for a good job done.
"I'd much rather work in the fields."
There had been nets spread out and drying on the decking, so she could imagine that they had returned from fishing. Every time they brought in a catch, having to haul themselves up and down these cliffs, it must be a horrible amount of hard work. Working in the fields wasn't easy, but at least it was a quick jaunt out to the paddies across the causeways.
Along the top of the cliffs ran a stone wall much higher than she was tall. She was motioned toward a door off to the side, so she dragged her weary body along behind the other men and kept on going.
Inside the wall was a tiny village made up of a line of small shanties that looked like row houses. She was brought to one of the shanties where she was handed over to the care of an old woman. The old woman stripped off Suzu's waterlogged clothing and pointed her towards a futon spread out on a raised platform on the dirt floor. Suzu obediently crawled under the futon. With Suzu's clothing in hand, the old woman left the hut. Suzu watched her leave and then closed her eyes. She was exhausted.
I wonder if I'm going to make it to Tokyo? she thought as she fell asleep. I'd better get to Aoyagi-sama's house as soon as possible. After all, I was sold to him.
There was no other place for her to go to, and no home for her to return to.
Of course, Suzu had no way of knowing that there was no such place as "Tokyo" in this world. The ocean she had nearly drowned in was the Kyokai, or the "Sea of Nothingness."
The place where she had finally arrived was the Eastern Kingdom of Kei.
Many years passed.
0-2
Amongst the lands of the Twelve Kingdoms, that found in the far northwest is known as Hou, or more specifically, the Outland Kingdom of Hou.
The ruler of the kingdom was the Royal Hou Chuutatsu. His registered family name was Son, his original uji, the surname he had chosen at adulthood, was Ken. As a minister of the Rikkan, Ken Chuutatsu had been commanding general of the Imperial Army. After the passing of the previous king, he was chosen by Hourin and acceded to the throne as the Royal Hou.
In the Sixth year of Eiwa, the reign of Chuutatsu had reached only thirty years. That year, Youshun Palace, the Imperial Seat, was stormed by a force of 100,000 soldiers. Unable to bear his tyrannic rule any longer, the armies of the eight province lords had risen up against him.
The like-minded citizens of the city opened the gates of Hoso, the capital city of Hou, and let them in. Almost immediately, they breached the palace perimeter to the inner sanctum where the soldiers of the Eight Provinces battled undauntedly with some three hundred of the king's bodyguards.
In the end, the Royal Hou Chuutatsu was dead.
"What is all that commotion?"
Her mother's arms wrapped around her, Shoukei heard the bloodcurdling war cries. Shoukei was the daughter of Queen Kaka, Chuutatsu's wife. The plaintive query came from the prone and ailing Hourin, the kirin of Hou. The three of them were hidden within the depths of the palace.
"It came from outside. Mom, whose voice was that?"
Shoukei was all of thirteen. She was doted upon by her parents, the very apple of their eye. This young girl, bright and clever, beautiful and graceful, and praised as the veritable jewel of the crown, she twisted her face with dread.
"No… it can't be."
The people of Hou, provoked to revolt by the province lords, surrounded Hoso on all sides. The clanging of the instruments of war echoed inside the palace walls, as did the curses they sang out against the king.
A surging tide of ashen blue armor. And those ferocious screams.
"It can't be! Father… . "
"No!" Kaka held Shoukei tightly in her arms. "This is not happening!"
Kaka railed against the inconceivable. Overcome by the stench of blood, Hourin cried out disconsolately.
"Hourin!"
Hourin's pale face went white. "The king… the king is no longer with us."
In that same moment, in the heart of the palace, came the sound of the door to queen's chambers opening.
The soldiers tread into the room, their armor smeared with blood. The design of the insignia worn by the young man at their lead was that of a constellation of stars, the coat of arms of the province lords.
"Such impudence!" Kaka shouted at him. "Where do you think you are? Heaven forbid you should be allowed for an instant before the queen and Taiho!"
The man's fearless young face hardly wavered. Without a word, he cast down before Kaka the thing he was carrying in his right hand. It struck the floor with a heavy thud and a splatter of blood and rolled next to Shoukei's feet. Bitter eyes stared into space.
"Father!"
All kings were promised immortality, but even an immortal king could not live once his head had been separated from his body. Shoukei and her mother screamed. They cast themselves upon the divan where Hourin lay.
The man laughed. "Do you find your father's--your husband's--visage so frightening?" he asked darkly.
Kaka stared him in the face. "Marquis Kei!" She corrected herself, addressing him more rudely by his name. "Gekkei! You bastard!"
Gekkei, Province Lord of Kei, lowered his voice and said coldly, "The Royal Hou has been deposed. The time has come for the queen and princess to part company."
"What are you saying!" Kaka implored. Clinging to her mother's arm, Shoukei trembled violently.
"The king who enacted cruel laws and oppressed his people and the queen who executed the blameless citizens who criticized him--I desire them both to know something of that suffering."
"The king--the king did nothing but what was good for his subjects."
"What good are laws that reward a child with death for stealing a loaf of bread? A child gasping beneath the weight of poverty, having no place else to turn? Or laws that treat a missed tax payment as a capital crime? Or laws that enslave a man and condemn him to death when he falls ill and cannot pull his load? Whatever you are feeling now is nothing compared to the horrors experienced by the people."
Gekkei motioned with his hand. From the rear of the phalanx, a soldier ran up to Kaka and tore Shoukei from her arms. Shoukei wailed. Her mother cried bitterly.