The Shadow Shield

By Charles T. Whipple

~ Short Japanese Fantasy Adventure story – part of a continuing saga of stand-alone tales by award-winning author, Charles T. Whipple ~

Now behold, I Hikarinomiko am called of Amaterasu to record the deeds of those anointed during the dark days of Toh rule, to write somewhat concerning the curse the wicked Toh placed upon the land, the loss of the sacred talismans of Amaterasu through which the Chosen One is proclaimed unto the people, the search to discover the talismans in their place of hiding, and the fearful battle against the Toh, their dark Yami bonzes, the creatures and demons the priests commanded, yeah even every dark beings of the underworld of Yami.

Therefore I have searched among the scrolls left me by she who preceded me, even the sacred Washinomiko, who has gone before and must surely rest in the bright fields of Amaterasu. Yea, I have searched, and Amaterasu has guided my hand. Yea, even as mine hand and mine mind were guided to record the beginning, even the calling and the sacrifices that did strengthen and sanctify the Seeker, so have they been guided also to record the works of Amaterasu in providing the Seeker with a Shielder, even a warrior honed upon the stone of Kage tradition and called by the spirit even from the land of Okuhida, where the people of the Sanka do call upon the ways of the Kage to preserve their kind.

As with the account of the Seeker, I will now lay aside my brush so those who read of the Shadow Shielder, a stalwart subject of Amaterasu, might search the accounts and come to believe in the might and sacred power of Amaterasu Omikoto, creator of all and ruler of Heaven and Earth.

Now behold, in separate scrolls, I have inscribed and will inscribe accounts of the labors and sufferings of the anointed of Amaterasu as they search for the sacred talismans. Until such time, I lay aside my brush again and bid each and all sayo nara, for the moment, sayo nara.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Charles T. Whipple
• Release date: Jul 21, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463928745

Charles T. Whipple

"The only thing I do well is write." Charles T. Whipple is an international award-winning copywriter, journalist, author and novelist. His awards include Editor & Publisher Magazine DM Award, World Annual Report Competition Award, 2010 Oaxaca International Literature Award, and 2011 Global eBook Award.Whipple was born in Show Low, Arizona. He spent two and a half years in Japan as a volunteer youth missionary, and majored in Japanese History as a graduate student and grantee at the East West Center, University of Hawaii. He is fluent in spoken and written Japanese, and has long been interested in the fantastic aspect of traditional Japanese tales. Whipple lives in the city of Chiba, the capital of Chiba Prefecture, which encompasses the ancient Kanto Kingdoms of Awa, Kazusa, and Shimosa. Today, Chiba hosts the Magic Kingdom of Disneyland and is gateway to Japan via the international airport in Narita.He has one wife, four daughters, two sons, and 19 grandchildren. Whipple writes western novels under the pen name of Chuck Tyrell and fantasy based on ancient Japanese history and mythology as Charles T. Whipple. Visit Charlie at his Blog: http://chucktyrell-outlawjournal.blogspot.com/.

Book preview

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THE SHADOW SHIELD

The Masacado Scrolls

Story 2

CHARLES T. WHIPPLE

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Smashwords Edition

THE SHADOW SHIELD

Copyright © 2012 by Charles T. Whipple

Illustration Copyright © 2012 by Gustav Oslo

Cover Art Design Copyright © 2012 by Laura Shinn Designs

http://laurashinn.yolasite.com

[Republished/2018]

Smashwords Licensing Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this ebook with other people, please purchase an additional copy for each person. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.

The Shadow Shield is a work of fiction. Though actual locations may be mentioned, they are used in a fictitious manner and the events and occurrences were invented in the mind and imagination of the author except for the inclusion of actual historical facts. Similarities of characters or names used within to any person – past, present, or future – are coincidental except where actual historical characters are purposely interwoven.

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The Words of Hikarinomiko

Behold, I am Hikarinomiko, daughter of Amenomiko who was the daughter of Soranomiko who was the daughter of Asanomiko who anointed the Chosen One of Amaterasu Omikoto, even Taira no Masacado, who drove the wicked Toh from the eight kingdoms of Kanto, even unto the forfeiting of his own life.

Never again have the Toh held sway in the kingdoms Amaterasu hath set aside for the people of Ya and of Yotsu and of Sanka and of Wako, even those selected to husband this land and bring forth fruits of the land and of the sea whereby all within the kingdoms of Amaterasu, which are called the Kingdoms of the Rising Sun, should prosper.

Now behold, I, Hikarinomiko am called of Amaterasu to record the deeds of those anointed during the dark days of Toh rule, to write somewhat concerning the curse the wicked Toh placed upon the land, the loss of the sacred talismans of Amaterasu through which the Chosen One is proclaimed unto the people, the search to discover the talismans in their place of hiding, and the fearful battle against the Toh, their dark Yami bonzes, the creatures and demons the priests commanded, yeah even every dark beings of the underworld of Yami.

Therefore I have searched among the scrolls left me by she who preceded me, even the sacred Washinomiko, who has gone before and must surely rest in the bright fields of Amaterasu. Yea, I have searched, and Amaterasu has guided my hand. Yea, even as mine hand and mine mind were guided to record the beginning, even the calling and the sacrifices that did strengthen and sanctify the Seeker, so have they been guided also to record the works of Amaterasu in providing the Seeker with a Shielder, even a warrior honed upon the stone of Kage tradition and called by the spirit even from the land of Okuhida, where the people of the Sanka do call upon the ways of the Kage to preserve their kind.

As with the account of the Seeker, I will now lay aside my brush so those who read of the Shadow Shielder, a stalwart subject of Amaterasu, might search the accounts and come to believe in the might and sacred power of Amaterasu Omikoto, creator of all and ruler of Heaven and Earth.

Now behold, in separate scrolls, I have inscribed and will inscribe accounts of the labors and sufferings of the anointed of Amaterasu as they search for the sacred talismans. Until such time, I lay aside my brush again and bid each and all sayo nara, for the moment, sayo nara.

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GLOSSARY of unfamiliar words:

chawan – a cup used for green tea

danna – colloquial word for proprietor or husband

doburoku – a cloudy white liquor

gampi – tough inner bark used as string or for paper

funin – outcasts, non-people

fusuma – wooden sliding doors covered with paper

kagaribi – metal baskets on legs in which wood is burned for light

lorcha – a type of boat similar to a junk

mezashi – small dried fish strung on straw strings through their eyes

momonga – a type of flying squirrel

monme – a weight measure

mu – a skill that makes heartbeat, breathing, etc., undetectable

nara – a type of oak

o-negai – almost a begging way to say please

oni – a kind of demon

oni ika – demon squid

reikan – the ability to see with spiritual eyes

ri – about two and a half miles

sadame – fate

sakaba – a place where alcohol is served

sakaki – a tree held sacred by Amaterasu

sanmu – bonzes who typically live in the mountains

seiza – sitting formally with legs tucked beneath the body

shaku – about one foot

shoji – a door that is a wooden frame covered on one side with paper

sugi – a type of cedar

tabedokoro – a place that sells food to be eaten on the premises

Tengu – a race thought to be supernatural

tono – lord, as in feudal lord

tsun – one-tenth of a shaku, about 1.1 inches

yakusugi – a very old and venerable sugi cedar

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