Blood of Dragons: An Epic Progression Fantasy

By Erynn Lehtonen

Their blood holds secrets... secrets that could destroy the Dragon Goddess' legacy, or save it.
Masanori will do what he never thought possible: face his demons by travelling straight into the Nightmare. In a strange realm filled with dragons and spirits, he finds that some are out for his family’s blood and the secrets hidden within.
War is coming.
While Naoji urges Hidekazu to weaponize his dark gifts to turn the tide in their favour, Hidekazu is far more concerned with atoning for the Genshu clan’s atrocities.
But what if the only way to absolve himself is to undo the Warlock Empire’s oldest crime, a violation committed by the Dragon Goddess herself?
Aihi marches into their first battle with the confidence worthy of her new position as shōgun. What she doesn’t know is how deep the Goddess’ treachery runs… or how far her enemies will go to annihilate Aihi and all Seiryuu because of it.
Genshu ancestry pushed Hidekazu and Masanori apart, but if they refuse to join Aihi on the battlefield, rogue magicians and legendary beasts descending from the sky will be the least of their worries.
The Goddess must answer for her crimes… but the survivors can only answer in her place if they learn why the Warlock Empire fell.

Jump into the world of Yumihari, a land filled with spirits, dragons, monsters, and stunning characters wielding elemental magic to save their homeland. If you love epic fight scenes, mystery and political intrigue, mythology, monsters, mayhem, and progression fantasy, you will love Blood of Dragons and the Yokai Calling series.

Pick up your copy of the book and experience the last installment of the adventure today!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Erynn Lehtonen
• Release date: May 25, 2021

Book preview

Blood of Dragons

An Epic Progression Fantasy

Erynn Lehtonen

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White Raven Chronicles

Copyright © 2021 by Erynn Lehtonen

BLOOD OF DRAGONS, 2nd Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

To request permissions, please contact the publisher at [e-mail]

Hardcover: 978-1-990602-06-1

Paperback: 978-1-7778497-6-4

Ebook: 978-1-7778497-7-1

Layout Design by White Raven Chronicles via Atticus

Cover Design by EL Geron

Published by Dragon's Hoard

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A White Raven Chronicles imprint

Cawston, BC

Contents

Free Short Story

Dedication

A Quick Refresher

1. Hidekazu

2. Aihi

3. Masanori

4. Masanori

5. Hidekazu

6. Aihi

7. Aihi

8. Masanori

9. Masanori

10. Aihi

11. Hidekazu

12. Aihi

13. Masanori

14. Aihi

15. Hidekazu

16. Masanori

17. Aihi

18. Hidekazu

19. Masanori

20. Aihi

21. Hidekazu

22. Masanori

23. Aihi

24. Hidekazu

25. Aihi

26. Masanori

27. Masanori

28. Hidekazu

29. Aihi

30. Masanori

31. Hidekazu

32. Aihi

33. Masanori

34. Masanori

35. Hidekazu

36. Aihi

37. Hidekazu

38. Masanori

39. Aihi

40. Hidekazu

41. Masanori

42. Hidekazu

43. Aihi

44. Masanori

45. Hidekazu

46. Masanori

47. Aihi

48. Hidekazu

49. Aihi

50. Masanori

51. Masanori

52. Hidekazu

53. Masanori

54. Aihi

55. Hidekazu

56. Masanori

57. Aihi

58. Hidekazu

59. Masanori

60. Hidekazu

61. Epilogue - Sachi

Glossary

Author's Note

Acknowledgments

Free Short Story

Also By Erynn Lehtonen

About the Author

Free Short Story

Join Erynn's reader list to claim the subscriber-exclusive The Boy and the Dragon short story!

https://erynnlehtonenwriting.com/sotd-freestory/

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I dedicate this book to all of my readers, for without you, my stories wouldn’t have a voice.

Thank you.

A Quick Refresher

MAIN CHARACTERS

Genshu Hidekazu (AKA: Hide) – Gen-shoo / (Hee-deh)-kah-zu

The former scion of the Genshu family and Masanori’s twin brother.

After his exile from the Genshu clan, Hidekazu began mentorship at the Tsukiko Academy under Meki Barame. If Hidekazu completes his training and becomes a bushi, he will be welcomed back into his clan, taking his rightful place as scion again.

However, after discovering the secrets of the Genshu clan with Ryuu Naoji’s help, Hidekazu isn’t so sure he wants to rejoin the clan anymore. Regardless of his hesitation, he is bound to Barame’s service until he becomes a bushi—and a year so far as Barame’s student revealed that his mentor is more than happy to resort to violence to force Hidekazu’s obedience.

With Naoji and Hidekazu now on the same side and bound to the power of the Book of Inochi, their goal is unified: finish Hidekazu’s bushi training so they can better position themselves to stop a war from coming to Seiryuu’s shores. But finishing school won’t be so easy when everyone else has turned against Hidekazu.

Genshu Masanori (AKA: Masa) – Gen-shoo / (Mah-sah)-noo-ree

After falling into the Nightmare during the trip to unlock the secrets of the Dragon’s Eye, Masanori started seeing corruption and demons everywhere he looked. When it felt like everyone he cared about had turned against him, he ran from his family, and Hidekazu, and didn’t look back.

Running away wasn’t as easy as he hoped, though—after nearly being eaten alive by some yōkai, he was rescued by the priestess and kami Youko Ryoka. She trapped him at the Seika Shrine, which was the first and only haven for Masanori against the Nightmare’s effects… with the exception of the spirit Hana.

Ryoka taught Masanori about the darkness that afflicted him and the spirits who haunted him, including the kawama, who feasted on his nightmares in the warlock library. However, before she could direct him to the Ishoki to continue his training, she was murdered by the kawama. Though Hidekazu and Masanori slew the kawama in the end, Masanori was left at the shrine with Ichika and Kira to search for the Ishoki before the Nightmare finally devoured him.

Furahau Aihi (AKA: Exalted Dragon Princess) – Foo-rah-ha-uw / Aye-hee

After failing to heal her dying mother with the Dragon’s Eye, Aihi returns to Nagasou to take Mika’s place as Shōgun. Her new position is rife with difficulties from the beginning: conflicts with the Sānlóngguón Magician’s Guild peak after Aihi learns of a missing medallion—the Amulet of Inochi—believed to have been stolen by magician emissaries. Believing the amulet the artifact keeping Lacotl alive, Aihi set out to find it no matter the consequences. With the help of the Teacher’s son, Fu Chunfeng, Aihi rooted out the corrupted diplomats, restored relations between Seiryuu and Sānlóngguó, and found the amulet. However, as a result of removing the Amulet of Inochi from Nagasou, Mika died.

Aihi almost killed herself trying to, in her rage, slay Lacotl for good. She would have if Hidekazu hadn’t arrived in time with the Book of Inochi, allowing Aihi to, at last, end the life of her foe.

Of course, with Lacotl dead, there are still so many other problems left for Aihi to resolve, namely Seiryuu’s southern neighbour—Kairo—whose king decided to test Seiryuu for weakness in the wake of Shōgun Mika’s death. Now it’s up to Aihi to show them the true extent of their strength.

Other Noteworthy Characters

Meki Barame (AKA: Headmaster Meki) – Meh-key / Bah-lah-meh

The Headmaster of the Tsukiko Academy, a former bushi, and consultant of Governor Benri. Barame is the only survivor of the Meki warlock clan, theorized to have survived because he never manifested any warlock ki. Though he has retired as a bushi, he uses his expertise to guide young majyu and warriors toward bushido, and to serve Seiryuu, through Tsukiko Academy.

He was held partially responsible for the inaction of Tsukiko authorities during Lacotl’s attacks, although he ultimately contributed a tremendous amount to the kan’thir eventual discovery and capture.

He shares an en-bond with his student, Hidekazu, and intends to turn him into a suitable bushi fit to guide Aihi when she becomes empress. He also had a failed mentor-student relationship with Aihi, which ended after some event resulting in someone’s death—details which both have remained tight-lipped about.

Guo Jing

One of the diplomats from Sānlóngguó; she died after one of the attacks on Sānlóngguón ships, and her death was the trigger for the current hostilities between the Magician’s Guild and Seiryuu.

Hana

The little girl that Masanori saw for the first time in his Nightmare. In the dream, she was his sister, and ever since she’s started manifesting in the real world, she still calls herself his sister. But Masanori and Hidekazu don’t have any biological sisters. However, they recently discovered that she is actually Naoji's niece.

Worse, she helped kill Ryoka at the Seika Shrine and has been working with the kawama.

Ichika

One of the orphans at the Seika Shrine, the only other survivor besides Masanori and Kira. Ichika and Masanori grew close while they stayed together there, now they travel together until they find a new home. She looks up to Masanori as a father figure, and Kira as a mother figure.

Ijichi Kira

A promising student formerly of the Tsukiko Academy. Although she doesn’t seem to like Hidekazu, she helped train him a bit and gave him information that went against Meki Barame’s orders so that Hidekazu could help save Mezan Taniya, one of Kira’s few friends.

Despite this, she betrayed Hidekazu, Masanori, and Aihi to Barame when she found out that they planned to leave for Najadu in search of more information about the Dragon’s Eye.

Mezan Taniya

The former librarian from the Tsukiko Academy who helped Hidekazu find the book he needed to turn his staff into an artifact (and therefore summon Sayuri’s spirit). She is the only survivor of Lacotl’s attacks and, upon her rescue, Hidekazu and Masanori learned that she already knew Aihi, even though the twins had never met Taniya before. After she helped Aihi, Hidekazu, and Masanori learn more about the Dragon’s Eye, she also helped them escape Barame after Kira sold them out.

Because Taniya is yōkai-kin, she can shapeshift into a perfect appearance of any other person. She used this ability to take Aihi’s place in Nagasou while the others went on their adventure, and she has remained in Nagasou helping Aihi ever since.

Ryuu Naoji (AKA: The White Warlock or The Keeper)

The White Dragon or White Warlock, one of the original Three warlocks. He has a younger brother and sister referred to as the Black and the White respectively. Naoji both torments and rescues Hidekazu within the Nightmare. He also requests a favour from Hidekazu—something that will, hopefully, result in Lacotl’s death. As a result of this favour, however, now he follows Hidekazu around everywhere, and he’s determined to get what he wants from the young majyu.

Maeda Chizue

A student in Hidekazu’s year at Tsukiko Academy; she’s taken an interest in Hidekazu since she first woke him up from a nightmare after he fell asleep in the library. She’s one of the best fighters in their year, although she’s from the tengu—strategy—faculty and not combat. She’s friends with Arisa and Usui.

After last year at the academy, though, Hidekazu’s kept so many secrets from her and she’s not so impressed with his lies anymore.

Nideke Yehan

The mysterious Ishoki shaman that Masanori must seek out to learn more about the ways of the nightmare. All Masanori knows about them is that they trained Ryoka when she was younger, and that they are old and powerful enough to have transcended beyond male and female energies. If Masanori can earn their favour, perhaps they will help him with the Nightmare.

Fu Chunfeng

Formerly known as Li Fengge, he was pretending to be a Magician Diplomat at court while negotiating with Seiryuu regarding the destroyed Sānlóngguón ships. However, he was revealed as Fu Chunfeng, the fourth son of the Teacher, the head of Sānlóngguón royalty. Chunfeng is also the founder of the Immortal Blossoms cultivator sect.

ESSENTIAL TERMS & PLACES

Seiryuu – Seh-ii-riuu – The homeland of Hidekazu, Masanori, and Aihi, in the northwestern corner of Shimensoka continent. The Seiryan people worship the Dragon Goddess Shirashi, dragons, warlocks, and often ki itself. Kairo used to be a part of Seiryuu and was called Aoryuu long before the fall of the Warlock Empire.

Tsukiko – A city two days north of Nagasou, not far from the Kin Sea. Home of Tsukiko Academy, the Benri Clan, and Torra.

Tsukiko Academy - A renowned school for majyu and warriors, famed for producing master majyu, bushi, and warriors. It is operated by Headmaster Meki Barame, the former bushi.

Dragon Eye - A powerful artifact once exclusively used by warlocks. Supposedly, they are made from the eye of a dragon after a dragon passes away. The warlocks protected their Dragon Eyes so well that none have been found since the fall of the Warlock Empire until now.

Kan’thir - A race of goat-men who live on the Yaotlan Isles far from Seiryuu, east of Tajida. They are humanoid, completely covered in fur coloured anywhere from black to creamy white. Kan’thir do not grow their horns until between thirty and fifty years old and often wear the skulls of their ancestors until theirs are fully grown.

Bushi - Bushi are warriors and majyu of unparalleled skill and finesse; they are the elite forces charged with defending the Seiryan royal family and their interest. Some teams of bushi are assigned to specific duties or people, which are identified by a prefix, i.e. Shōgun-bushi.

Ki - Literally energy. Ki is the material that makes up all things, and majyu can use it to manipulate the elements to their will. It can also be used in its raw form, which is not associated with a specific element. It is also said that some majyu can use ki to manipulate much more than the elements…

Ki-Engineer - A relatively new discipline, having surfaced within the last two decades, devoted to merging and utilizing the power of mechanical parts enhanced with ki. Previously, ki-engineers used to also refer to constructionalists, but now it is used exclusively for mechanical engineers. Masanori has been training as a ki-engineer for most of his life.

Kigou - Literally symbol. They are written characters that, when drawn with ki, can compel the energy to action. They are the fragmented remains of the Old Language.

Majyu - Short for majyutsushi, which literally means conjuror. Majyu are people who can use ki to control the elements of water, earth, fire, and wind.

Warlock - A powerful majyu—male or female—with the blood of dragons running through their veins. All the warlocks died out almost fifty years ago for unknown reasons during a war between Seiryuu and Kairo.

Irezumi - Literally inserting ink. A tattoo traditional to Seiryuu where ink of pure ki is threaded into the skin, usually along the forearms. Only bushi and some exceptionally skilled healers receive irezumi; they cannot be removed. There are five different ranks of irezumi: green (for new bushi and healers), blue (skilled), white (masters), red (royalty), and purple (warlocks).

Tapper - A round, metallic device made by Masanori. He keeps it in a leather pouch draped around his neck.

Anti-tapper - A device similar to Masanori’s tapper, but instead of drawing unusable ki from the body to form spells, it takes ki from within and stores it in the device, making it inaccessible.

Dragons - The children of the goddess Shirashi, gone from Seiryuu for centuries. They are associated with water, wind, and storms—not fire. These dragons are long and serpentine, usually with no wings, and flowing manes. Some have only front legs, others have four.

Shishajya - Literally messenger serpent. They are the messengers of the Dragon Goddess Shirashi, the dragons, and the warlocks. There is only one left in all of Seiryuu.

Yōkai - An umbrella term for supernatural creatures, ghosts, spirits, and unexplainable occurrences. There are yōkai specific to certain regions

Shirashi - The Goddess of thunder and storms, mother of yōkai and dragons. Centuries ago, she came to Seiryuu with her dragons to teach them how to use ki. She is the deity of Seiryuu, said to be both benevolent and cruel. Sister of the Wyvern God, Ozeki.

For more characters and information about individual terms, please visit the glossary at the back of the book!

1

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Hidekazu

Awinding road of pure energy curled from the lip of Tatsu-Ji’s eighth floor, glittering coral and violet as it passed from the pagoda and over the pathway of protective wisteria toward the Cedar Palace. Thousands of Nagasou’s citizens cheered to the beat of the ceremonial drums as Aihi descended along the Path of Celestials, beginning her journey to the mythical Garden of Starlight.

Within the raving crowd, Hidekazu shouted Aihi’s name amongst the others, but his cries of delight were lost to the music, to the ebb and flow of people. Such stories had once fascinated Hidekazu: a hidden garden, reserved only for the heir of the Warlock Throne on the night of her Ascension, giving her one opportunity to commune directly with the Goddess. Now, he saw through these tales: narratives woven to hide the true horrors of the Warlock Empire.

After uncovering a journal detailing the truth about the Genshu clan, the only stories that mattered were the ones left to poison Hidekazu’s mind. A history rife with deception and sick experiments. A family who thrived on murder and slavery.

Stories about his family.

Under the pretense of attending Aihi’s coronation, Hidekazu came to Nagasou, revelling alongside the rest of the city as she bathed under the Goddess’ Purifying Waters and Ascended to Exalted Dragon Shōgun. He prayed for his sister’s fortune, and the sound of his voice rung out above all others when he called for her success. This ceremony, despite the shadows haunting Hidekazu, filled him with a sense of warmth and joy, a promise of a future: if anyone could right the wrongs of the Warlock Empire’s dark past, it would be Aihi. She was a beacon of hope, brighter than the fireworks crackling through the skies.

He had always intended to stand by her side as she rewrote history. But now, as Aihi’s soaked robes sprayed blessed water on those beneath the Path of Celestials, Hidekazu’s intended position as a shōgun-bushi seemed further away than ever before. Mist splashed his face as she strode across the sky above him. He clutched a wyvern leather journal to his side to protect the pages containing the secrets that changed how he would perceive the Genshu family for the rest of his life.

The notebook undermined the power and influence of the Genshu clan, challenging their carefully constructed image of piety and devotion to the Goddess.

Hidekazu could be responsible for destroying his family’s reputation. He could reveal them for the hypocrites they were and really rewrite their clan’s future, as his parents intended.

But not before first interrogating his parents about their roles in the horrific experiments undertaken by their clan. He wanted answers, ones the journal couldn’t give him. Where did his father, Genshu Dano, and his mother, Genshu Sachi, stand on the results of their clan’s tests on shishajya? Did they know that Hidekazu was the final product of generations of fusing the sacred serpents’ blood and spirits into the Genshu line?

Did they hide the truth because they believed him a monster, as he now did?

If he rushed into his clan’s ruination, he might never pry this information from his mother and father. Hidekazu needed to understand why they hid from the past instead of confronting their truth.

As soon as Aihi’s path led her into the cedar forest deeper within the Palace District and she disappeared between the trees, Hidekazu looked up to the highest floor of Tatsu-Ji where her journey had begun. On both sides of the Path of Celestials, dragon lanterns flared with gold and storm-blue light, and between them stood the person Hidekazu sought an audience with.

The woman’s blonde hair was braided with blue ribbons and a dragon hairpiece that rivalled the intricacy of the new shōgun’s, and yet she was the High Priestess of Tatsu-Ji, Genshu Sachi. Hidekazu’s mother.

People often called Sachi unnatural, unable to discern the source of her ethereal beauty; many said her devotion to the Goddess elevated her to another plane. Her stunning appearance came with an unquestionable gravitas, leading to stories about how her grace and wrath were one and the same, like Shirashi herself.

Hidekazu seldom witnessed Sachi’s displays of power, and never anything to substantiate the fear and caution other nobles regarded her with. She had always looked at him with the warmth befitting a prized son. Still, she was the High Priestess, favoured by the Goddess. Sachi wielded Shirashi’s strength without reservation. To some, that was intimidating enough.

Now, gazing from the top of Tatsu-Ji, she wore her displeasure with Hidekazu like a blade meant to maim. And though he did his best not to show a reaction, he recoiled from her golden glare.

A chill wrapped around his mind. "I warned you not to come here, Naoji, the White Warlock, said. She will not relinquish the information you require. If you remain nearby, she will sense the Book of Inochi. You risk us both."

Hidekazu dismissed Naoji’s concerns and pushed in the opposite direction of the crowd, which would follow Aihi into the cedar forest until she disappeared into the Garden of Starlight. As much as Sachi’s look stung Hidekazu’s pride, she was one of the few with the background to explain the contents of the Genshu journal he’d found in Tsukiko Academy’s library. Her disappointment wouldn’t keep him from the answers he deserved.

Besides, he preferred the idea of confronting her rather than his father Genshu Dano, who had banished Hidekazu and Masanori from their clan in the first place. Hidekazu wasn’t sure he could maintain his composure if faced against Dano.

Since Sachi was the High Priestess, she met with the last living shishajya whenever the creature visited Nagasou. Hidekazu needed her to confirm that the serpents weren’t sacred to the Goddess, but slaves taken from an ancient war with the kan’thir.

Did she play a role in imprisoning Teruzame, the last shishajya? Or was she ignorant to the truth?

If Hidekazu went much longer without an explanation, the higher chance he convinced himself of the worst truth he could imagine: that every word he read was fact.

Fragrant sandalwood incense burned around the statue of Shirashi, which Hidekazu bypassed and headed for Tatsu-Ji proper. Two monks clad in simple blue robes guarded the temple entrance. Their shakujō staves were adorned with silver dragon heads and rings that jingled whenever the monks moved.

The first took one look at him and barked, Apologies young master, but there is no entry during the Ascension Ceremony. Please come back tomorrow morning.

The second scrutinized Hidekazu with more care. This monk was Ena, only Ena, for unlike priestesses, monks relinquished their clan and family names. He bared his black-stained teeth, revealing silver dots that copied the shape of the Goddess’ constellation. The mark of one of the High Priestess’ most trusted within the temple.

Ah, it’s you, Ena said. Our Lady Priestess gave special instructions in case you came snooping around.

He and the other monk hefted their shakujō, pointing the horn on the dragon’s head at Hidekazu’s ribs. Though not sharp, the staff was as deadly as any other weapon in the hands of one of Shirashi’s monks.

Despite the threat, Hidekazu bowed his head in respect. I request an audience with the High Priestess.

Denied. Now leave.

The command bounced off him, ineffective. He held his ground.

 Is making a scene on the day of the Exalted Dragon Shōgun’s Ascension a wise decision?

Cold energy swarmed inside Hidekazu like a hive of wasps, the monks having rattled their nest. Frost coated his skin as the Book of Inochi at his waist trickled ki through his veins. These monks were nothing to him. With the tome’s power, he could freeze flesh solid with a touch, force his way into the pagoda and confront Sachi. He would make her give answers.

Hidekazu reached for Ena’s shakujō. He would turn the metal to dust, he would—

He curled his fingers away from the staff before making contact. What was he thinking?

Attacking a monk was a severe offence and would jeopardize any position in Nagasou that Hidekazu might still obtain. As uncertain as he was about his future, burning bridges over a petty monk seemed pointless. He shoved the Book of Inochi’s energy away, blinking away the daze brought on by the artifact.

Surely you will deliver a message to her instead, Hidekazu said.

Ena grunted. What’s the message?

What would catch Sachi’s attention? Hidekazu looked up at the glittering starlight path, which was now fading from sight. On the night of Aihi’s Ascension to shōgun, one phrase came to mind.

Tell her, ‘Ascension has three meanings.’ She will understand the importance, Hidekazu said.

He left without waiting for Ena’s decision. The monks would understand the message was coded and deliver it, or perhaps they would decide it nonsense and not bother Sachi at all. However, Hidekazu wanted to believe Sachi would order the monks to report anything he said, regardless of the content. In any case, whether Sachi interpreted the message the way Hidekazu intended, he would have to wait and find out.

In Ryuugo, otherwise known as the Old Language, ascension was usually translated as jouten, which was the name of Sachi’s beloved katana. Jouten also had several meanings. Ascension to a higher purpose. Shirashi’s realm in the sky. Less often, the term was used as a name for Shirashi herself, the Creator of all Yumihari, the world.

"You should not have told her that, Naoji said. She will come looking for you. And when she does, she will not give you the reunion or the confrontation you crave."

Don’t speak of my mother as if you know her, Hidekazu said. You don’t.

Naoji sighed, and then his presence drifted away.

Hidekazu pushed through the crowd and toward the palace next. If Sachi wouldn’t talk to him, he still had a chance with Dano, though the prospect was unsavoury. However, as Hidekazu walked the palace’s halls, doubt nestled in the back of his mind.

For jouten also had a fourth meaning: death.

Not simply death, but the destruction of a spirit. And that meant Sachi could interpret his message as a threat.

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The telltale sensation of ki biting Hidekazu’s fingers and dissipating into the air came when the Book of Inochi disabled the protective spells on Genshu Dano’s office. Hidekazu tripped one of the alarms to avoid the hassle of tracking Dano down; the disturbance would, instead, lure him here.

In the meantime, he slid open the fusuma and entered the room. Dano’s office was minimalistic yet refined by Seiryan standards, with ravens painted in different flight patterns on the wall panels. Shelves fitted with organized rows of books and scrolls lined one side of the room, and though Hidekazu was tempted to snoop, the hanging scroll behind the desk caught his attention.

The scroll hadn’t been there the last time Hidekazu visited. It was the same height as him and decorated with a single raven and a golden dragon. Unlike most of the other scrolls in the palace, the watercolour wasn’t animated, so the only characteristic of note was the dragon’s colour: gold.

Naoji’s younger sister was the only known golden dragon in existence. Why did Dano have a painting of her in his office? Hidekazu expected Naoji to comment on the discovery, but he remained silent.

With Naoji always close, Hidekazu acclimated to using the Book of Inochi for small tasks such as breaking into this office. A frivolous use, perhaps, but now that he and Naoji were bonded, using the tome felt good. Yet the words of Hidekazu’s former spirit companion, Sayuri, echoed in the back of his mind: when it comes to the Book of Inochi, there is no ‘only once.’

How right she had been. Naoji’s and Hidekazu’s spirits were intertwined as a result of the book. Inseparable. And she was gone.

In the future, Hidekazu would use the tome many more times without remorse.

He ran his hands along the spotless oaken desk and knelt on Dano’s cushion, where he performed his duties as Emperor Takeha’s daijō-daijin. His most trusted advisor. Once, Hidekazu believed himself set to inherit the role when Aihi became empress. In the end, Dano’s plans had been much grander; he’d devised for Hidekazu to marry her instead.

The title of empress used to be absolute, controlling all aspects of the Warlock Empire, including the military. However, scholars now believed that one person possessing so much power was the cause of the Warlock Empire’s quick and violent expansion and, thus, its eventual fall.

As a result, Emperor Takeha—the first male leader of Seiryuu in over two hundred years—penned the tradition of dividing the empress’ responsibilities by turning his wife into the first shōgun. When Aihi Ascended to empress, her husband—rather, future husband—would become shōgun in her place.

Had the arranged marriage between her and Hidekazu gone through, he would taken the noble position.

A whole different life from his current one, playing the part of a dutiful son, oblivious of his family’s crimes. An impossible life to imagine, now, with what he knew. He might still wear the title of daijō-daijin one day, but he could not feign ignorance.

At last, a flash of ki probed the room, detecting Hidekazu’s presence within. He folded his hands on the desk, and then the door slid open to reveal Dano in the doorway. He wore his finest kimono and haori, all vibrant blues and golds, fit for an Ascension Day celebration. The scar he’d obtained during the civil wars shone on his chin.

How did you get in here? he said.

Hidekazu placed the worn wyvern-leather journal on the desk. He had waited long enough for the truth. Now he would have it. You have one chance to explain yourself.

The threat hung in the air as Genshu Dano knelt on the other side of the desk. He brushed a hand over the bumpy cover. The bushi will arrest you for trespassing, and I will have you thrown out of Tsukiko Academy.

After all your efforts to preserve the Genshu name? To truly forsake me would render your work meaningless. You would not risk it.

Dano’s eyes narrowed on Hidekazu. And you risk losing your status forever. For what gain? Pride?

Last year, Hidekazu would have done anything to recover the Genshu name and reclaim his position as scion. Now, he’d uncovered the secrets his father tried to erase from history. This journal, written by one of their ancestors, detailed their clan’s experiments from about 160 years ago. And, if Naoji told Hidekazu the truth—which was always up for debate—then those experiments had persisted until Dano ended them less than three decades ago.

What makes you think I want to come back? If the contents of this journal were made public, the Genshu family would be destroyed.

You would bring yourself down with us. Whether you possess our name or not, you are our blood. For whispers to breathe life to these crimes again… no one would forget you no matter where you go.

Hidekazu paused to consider. Perhaps so, but for the impurities in their blood, he deserved to fall into the mud alongside his parents and anyone else who colluded with them. A nagging question popped out: It’s true, isn’t it? Every word.

Dano focused on the journal. He was a man of few emotions, and yet, for the first time in Hidekazu’s life, he witnessed the turmoil on Dano’s face.

He splayed his fingers across the leather cover. I destroyed this notebook. Though he didn’t acknowledge Hidekazu’s statement, Dano weighted his words with the unspoken truth.

You told us the Genshu clan would pursue peace because Seiryuu’s time for war was over. That was a lie.

With this journal as evidence, the Genshu family was indicated for unimaginable crimes. Now because of the dead shishajya killed by the Genshu clan, war was on the horizon. In six years, when the kan’thir finished their game of Yolilice Patolli, they would declare war on Seiryuu for the first time in centuries and take revenge. The shishajya were sacred to the kan’thir, not the Dragon Goddess. War would not be with the Genshu clan, but all of Seiryuu.

If you read this journal from front to back, Dano said, you understand these experiments empowered the Genshu bloodline to compete with warlocks.

Seiryuu’s enemies were numerous and growing, and still Dano insisted upon reciting his usual song about peace and prosperity.

Hidekazu scoffed. Because our ancestors couldn’t stand to be second to the Goddess’ own kin?

Had their reasons been so vain, the Goddess would not have permitted the experiments to persist.

And now you defend them. What they did.

"I personally put an end to these disgusting experiments, Dano said. Condoned by the Goddess or not, continuing was unethical after the warlocks died."

After enjoying your fair bounty of the shishajya’s power as a result?

Ki spiralled around Dano as heat rose in the room. He required but a spark to ignite a blaze and send Hidekazu scrambling.

Do you think I relished witnessing my father dissect a shishajya? Dano said. Our ancestors believed Shirashi destined our spirits to merge with that of the sacred serpents. Their power was our power, granted from the Goddess so long as we kept our blood separate from the warlocks who were her kin—and, of course, did our part to keep the noroi and their wyverns in their place.

Our family failed. Hidekazu pushed further, risking igniting his father’s fury. All those shishajya died for nothing.

My forefathers took joy from such experiments. I may not share the attachment you have to the beasts, but it made me sick, and I vowed to put an end to their heinous crimes.

Yet you attempt to justify these sacrifices. Why?

Dano turned the journal’s pages to a familiar entry, and he read aloud, "‘Grave tidings arrived in Nagasou. Not a jun ago, Kyozan burned to the ground. A dozen wyverns crossed the Blithe Desert and laid waste to all dwellings within the Konarerian Mountains. Her Shining Blade, Warlock Empress Reo the Second, mourns the loss of her mountain palace and the thousands of lives lost to the Wyvern God’s bloodthirst.

"‘Today, we, the warriors of the Genshu clan, set out on Her Shining Blade’s behalf to slay the terrors responsible for this slaughter and destruction. The Goddess and her sacred serpents fuel the energy in our veins. Our power shall not be wasted this day.’" Dano shut the journal and slid it back to Hidekazu.

The Eastern Capital, Kyozan, had burned about 140 years ago. Though the land had since been purged of wyverns by Genshu warriors, Hidekazu didn’t understand how this event justified butchering hundreds of shishajya.

When did you last spot a wyvern over Seiryan soil? Dano said. An answer formed on Hidekazu’s lips, but Dano continued: What a privilege, to live without the daily fear of a rogue wyvern reducing your home to ash. Your only experience with wyverns is the binding making this book, a testament to our family’s hunting prowess in ridding the scourge from Seiryuu. This fact you take for granted. Our ancestors sacrificed themselves to accomplish the security we Seiryans have today.

Tales came from Tajida, every now and then, of how sand wyverns destroyed caravans and whole cities with their ruthless storms. Stories were told of when the same vicious creatures attacked Seiryuu on the regular as well. Now, they didn’t dare come over the mountain border between eastern Seiryuu and the Blithe Desert.

The truth you tried to hide with this book is unchanged, Hidekazu said. Our family has been murdering shishajya for generations. Why not leave warlocks to tend to the wyvern plague?

I do not condone our family’s methods, Dano said, nor that they persisted far after the wyvern threat was all but eliminated. However, this does not mean we, in the present, must bear our ancestor’s crimes in their entirety.

Hidekazu’s hands betrayed him. They shook with the immense ki he wielded in his palms, energy that had resided within him even before he gave in to Naoji and accepted the Book of Inochi. Ki he had once attributed to the Goddess as her blessing, the favour of shishajya and benevolent spirits.

Now, when he looked at himself, all he saw was the final product of a genetic experiment—the result of generations of tainted blood and spirit infusions.

Doesn’t it? he whispered. All my life, you let me believe our family earned this extraordinary power.

"Our power was earned. Through means neither of us are proud of, but—"

"It was stolen!"

Dano raised a palm. Quit your insolence.—The energy in the room shoved Hidekazu’s head into a bow—"You may not be a member of the Genshu clan anymore, but I am still the daijō-daijin to the reigning emperor of Seiryuu and you will remember your place."

A growl rumbled in Hidekazu’s throat. He shoved his energy up to fight against Dano, but he was far more practiced in the ways of bending people to his will. Hidekazu alone had experienced such discipline at Dano’s hand several dozen time in his life.

"My apologies, Master Genshu, Hidekazu gritted out, I must have forgotten I am worth less than the mud on your sandals."

You will not forget again. Dano released the field of pressure. You may not like where our power comes from, but it is a fact of our lives. Ever since you were a child, your instincts always fought the nature of our blood. You always desired an explanation, always searched for one. Now you possess the truth.

You are one with a future birthed in books. Pages are your roots, and within them, one day, you shall unearth your latent power’s origins. The last living shishajya had said this to Hidekazu ten years ago after rescuing him from a pack of oni. He’d made a suicidal attempt to leave Nagasou, in the dead of night, in search of the sacred serpent.

But it was more than a whisper as to the secrets Hidekazu had found. His family’s crimes were why he had been selected as the Serpent Incarnate, the one responsible for finding justice for the crimes committed against them.

If only he could claim that power—power which Naoji, to no surprise, withheld from him.

The shishajya warned me, Hidekazu said.

You always worked to feel worthy of your ki, Dano continued, and I pushed you to this purpose because our responsibility is to the future. What made us is irrelevant; all that matters is what we do with what we are given. You are misguided and wasteful of your power. Instead of threatening to tear our family apart, you should be supporting our mission for a better world.

In a sense, Hidekazu understood why Dano went to the extreme to teach Hidekazu and Masanori lessons of humility and obedience. Honour and duty. Hidekazu liked his position no more now than he did before he’d uncovered the truth, but to wield this history—and the Genshu family’s blood—was a greater responsibility than he had ever been prepared for.

But that was just it: no one had prepared him to take on his family’s burdens.

Had you been accountable for our history, Masanori and I would have grown up as different people.—Hidekazu retrieved the journal and rose from his seat—"Perhaps you could not have shaped us into the heirs you wanted us to be. But even running from the truth, you failed to shape us into your perfect image. Now, we will bear the scars of your failures for the rest of our lives. Though I might understand the depth of the decisions you were forced to make, I will never forgive you."

He swept around the desk and Dano. At the door, Hidekazu rested his hand on the frame. War is coming, Master Genshu. And we are so woefully unprepared.

That is where you are wrong, young Hidekazu; we are more prepared than you think. Dano’s gaze locked on the wall scroll of the raven and the Gold Warlock as Hidekazu left the office, his father’s final words following him as he left: And that is what I fear most.

2

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Aihi

Starlight glowed beneath Aihi’s bare feet as she traversed the Path of Celestials in search of the Garden of Starlight. Chilly ki misted around her with each step, the starlit path cool and slippery on her soles like walking on ice. Drums beat through the Palace District, erratic in their ceremonious rhythm. As the music picked up, so did Aihi’s racing pulse.

She was still drenched from the Ascension Ceremony where the High Priestess doused Aihi in the Goddess’ Purifying Waters. The silken layers of her cloak and kimono weighed her down even as she rose into the sky, droplets splattered the people of Nagasou below. All of them were gathered here to witness her Ascension to shōgun. Her people. Their cries buoyed her, lending her strength against the permanent ails inflicted upon her body when she killed Lacotl.

Everything she did, from now on, would be for them.

Yet she wanted to run with the quick beat of the drums and the cheers of her people as her guide. Their energy was her energy. Their strength, her strength.

She kept her steps steady, unhurried. Show no weakness. Rise above all others. She was a beacon of resilience and hope so long as her head remained high, no matter the troubles she faced.

Her purpose was far too important to show any cracks: tonight, she would earn the blessings of the Seiryan people, and, if she was lucky, one from the Dragon Goddess Shirashi.

Though there were stories of the Garden of Starlight, no empress had shared its secrets. Aihi would discover them for herself.

Cedar trees brushed her sides, perfuming her with their woody scents as she left Tatsu-Ji and delved into the forest. Streams of people followed her into the thicket, but she rose high above them, and soon, their clamour quieted as she moved where they could not follow.

Neither her mother, the former shōgun, nor her father, the emperor, had walked this path before. Aihi was the first since the last Warlock Empress had been crowned and died. No familiar spirits could guide her through this place.

The prospect of walking alone didn’t fear Aihi anymore. She now understood the road she must tread; not as a copy of her mother nor the empresses who came before her, but as the one who would lead Seiryuu away from their war-torn past. Even if, to do so, she had to navigate a thousand more threats to the livelihoods of her people. She took this task upon herself gladly.

Ahead, a curtain of gold and silver oscillating light fell upon the pathway. Aihi kept walking. Fear and hesitation were her enemies. The time had come to commune with the Goddess and receive direction for the arduous years to come.

A slight buzz burrowed in her gut. Would Shirashi be as fierce and benevolent as Aihi imagined?

She bowed her head and stepped through the shimmering curtain. A mixture of warm and cool air flooded over her shoulders, like wearing a cloak of wind. On the other side, it took a moment for her eyes to adjust to her new surroundings.

Aihi stood at the centre of a breathtaking grove, where every blade of grass reflected moonlight like shimmering glass. The cedars lining the path were gone, replaced by swirling constellations that danced into a vast forest of silver trees. A swarm of leaves flowed through the air, their unintelligible whispers like a song as they floated by.

A sense of uneasiness lingered on the edge of Aihi’s senses, imposing upon the serene beauty of the starlit copse.

Someone was watching her, wary of her presence. Could it be the Goddess? Besides the prickling sensation, Aihi found no other evidence of another person in the garden.

Still, she bowed her head again, bells clinking in her hair as she did. O Goddess, hear my prayer. I am but a humble servant of your will, seeking guidance for the troubling years ahead. Show me how best to defend your sacred land and I will act on your behalf.

Across the grove, the floating leaves flew toward a makeshift stone monument and collapsed to the ground. Aihi’s eyes fluttered open in surprise. Here, the Goddess responded in an instant, whereas so often before, she spent days or months waiting for a response.

Leaves caught in Aihi’s toes as she crossed the garden to examine the rocks. Several boulders were piled together and unmovable, but the space at her feet was a smooth, oval bowl implanted in the earth, big enough to fit a human in.

An empty pond, perhaps. But where was the water? Had it been too long since the last empress came here?

On the side of the rocks, a horizontal bamboo tube stuck out from the formation and a second larger one was propped vertically beneath. Both were motionless and empty like the pool, but Aihi recognized the device. Together, the bamboo tubes formed a sōzu, where the higher pipe poured water into the second, which then filled up and clattered down on its hinge to scare away animals. There were many of them on the grounds of the Cedar Palace in the areas where the gardeners wanted to keep the wildlife away.

Aihi liked to listen to them rise and fall; she found their rhythm soothing, reliable, adding character to silence. She hadn’t expected to find one in the Garden of Starlight.

Was this her task, to bring water back into the pool so she could commune with the Goddess?

She glanced around in search of other clues. The grassy area covered a circular plateau about half-way up the height of the trees, whose roots and trunks floated on stars and nothingness below the garden. There were no pathways leading away from the grove. There was only the unusual, waterless pond and sōzu. She would fill the pond, then, and seek the Goddess’ blessing that way.

The irezumi on her arm flickered crimson, and she called to the water kigou, mizu, imprinted on her flesh. Drawing energy from the tattoo and deep within herself, she searched the air for water. She sensed the power of the wind, but water molecules wouldn’t budge, as though the Goddess has made them an unmovable force. Aihi relaxed her draw on the elements. If water wasn’t the key, prayer might be.

She gathered her robes, knelt at the base of the monument beside to the bamboo tubes, and then pressed her forehead to the cool stone.

O Great Goddess, she murmured, Mother of Storms and Seas, Dragon of Life and Creation, I come to you with one wish: how can I prevent the war with the kan’thir from coming to pass?

A high-pitched warbling reverberated through the garden. Aihi covered her ears, but the sound penetrated her skull, rattled deep inside her mind. It echoed through her bones and skin, shaking the foundation of her spirit and ripping through her like a bolt of lightning. She let out a hoarse cry as the sensation abated.

Trickling water came from above. The world spun when Aihi lifted her head in search of the source, and black spots obscured her vision. Her teeth chattered as if the shrieking noise had taken all warmth from her body.

Clank.

Cool liquid fell over her knees. The sōzu was working again, and she tried to move her legs out of the way, but her body was waterlogged; the sound triggered by her prayer had sapped away all her strength.

Goddess? she whispered.

Icy wind rushed through the Garden of Starlight, and frost formed on Aihi’s damp eyelashes and clothes.

Clank.

She peeled her eyes open again. The rocks in front of her were hazy, but a flicker of colour brought everything into focus. The liquid falling from the bamboo tube was silver, like starlight, but a faint streak of violet tainted its purity.

Purple, the colour of corruption, the twisted energies used by Lacotl. How could such taint reach this sacred place?

Clank.

The sōzu tipped over again, spilling the silver and purple mixture over her hakama. Ki sizzled through her from the liquid, spurring Aihi from her seat. She stumbled away from the device, but the thick fluid was stuck to her clothes, clinging to her in grey globs. Aihi flinched, expecting the violet energy to assault her as it always did in Lacotl’s presence.

Clank.

Another batch of star-water fell into the pool, bringing it to Aihi’s ankles. The flow of lavender energy increased from the tube, deepening the colour of the stream. This ki, despite the dubious colour, didn’t affect her the same was as true corruption did. Was it something else altogether?

Goddess, what do you want me to do?

Clank.

The stone at the apex of the monument shimmered, and when the glow disappeared, a black porcelain bowl was balanced on top.

Lavender gushed from the pipe until the silver was but a thread of white within.

Aihi could put the liquid into the bowl, but what would she do with it then?

Clank.

Goddess Shirashi, Aihi whispered, I do not understand. Please, help me. How can I stop the coming war?

The leaves from the grove picked up again, swirling into the shape of a woman’s face. She was breathtaking in her beauty, and though she appeared not as how the statues depicted Shirashi, there was an unusual familiarity to her features, the curve of her jaw and nose, her cheekbones. Ki crackled in the air around her with immense pressure. Aihi’s mouth parted with awe, for while this woman was not the Goddess, she still beheld divine authority.

Where had Aihi seen her before?

Drink. The woman’s command vibrated through Aihi’s spirit like the strings of a plucked koto.

Clank.

You are not the Goddess.

Silver leaves fell from the woman’s face and twisted into the shape of two cupped hands. She lifted the porcelain bowl toward Aihi.

Drink, and you will understand.

The dish hovered in the space between them, but Aihi hesitated. This woman was not the Goddess as all stories of the Garden of Starlight spoke of. Should Aihi question Shirashi’s absence, demand the audience she was promised? But to do so might risk leaving the garden empty-handed. Without the Goddess’ blessing, Aihi would fail her ambitions. To secure a future for her people, she had to return to the Cedar Palace with word from the Goddess. A plan for what would come next in Seiryuu’s history.

Regardless of whether the blessing came directly from the Goddess, or an avatar of her authority, should make little difference so long as Aihi received the boon she came for.

She took the bowl, and the woman flitted backward, hovering over the monument.

Clank.

The next time the sōzu tipped over, Aihi let it spill into the dish. Violet smoke drifted up like steam even though the liquid was cold. When the water settled, her reflection stared back at her.

Drink, the woman repeated.

With a deep breath, Aihi subdued her reservations and tilted her head back, pouring the purple substance down her throat. The concoction burned as it went down, and bile, in turn, swirled in her stomach. Holding it down and not throwing the liquid back up was a matter of self-preservation: she would succeed at this task, no matter how strange or difficult.

She would not leave the Garden of Starlight without the Goddess’ aid.

An unnatural amount of ki seared Aihi’s insides. The energy spread from her stomach into her blood and skin like a disease.

Clank.

Aihi screamed and buckled, collapsing into the pool. She thrashed, covering herself with the metallic liquid. Corrupted energy consumed her insides, eating her alive. A trap. The visage was a trap. The Goddess was gone, and Aihi fell for a trick.

What did… you… she moaned. Oh, goddess. H-help…

She gagged, trying to force her body to throw up the substance, but the corruption tore through her veins, burning her up, up, up. She could have drowned in that pool, convulsing in the darkness, and no one would have known. Clank. Clank. Clank.

No legacy to uphold. No responsibilities. Only death.

Clank.

Crimson flashed on Aihi’s arms, and she gasped in a breath of fresh air, dragging her back from the precipice. Ki from her irezumi trailed up her spine, across her shoulders, through her biceps, easing the burning as it went. But the energy also crossed her collarbone, seeking downward where it wasn’t supposed to go.

Tingling coursed up her torso, and another red glow danced from beneath her robes. With shaking hands, Aihi pushed her kimono down her shoulders and to her waist, exposing her front. The outline of a dragon’s tail circled her navel, its body coiled around her breasts, its maw snapping for her throat.

Clank.

The dragon’s scales solidified on her flesh in lifelike detail: the shimmer of an iridescent fish, the sharp edges of a knife. With each additional thread of ink, the ki within her flickered and changed.

Aihi raised her palms. Flames coiled around her fingers at a thought, directed by the tattoos imprinted on her arms and shoulders. She delved deeper into herself, focusing on the new ink snaking up her torso. Energy blazed within, responding to her call with eagerness.

Fire erupted from her hands. A serpentine coil of ki swirled around her, taking the shape of a dragon before smoldering down, threading back through her fingernails and into herself.

She laughed, breathless. Not by exertion, but by the mere thrill of how easily ki came and went through her body.

With this new irezumi, she claimed the strength of a true shōgun.

At last, she would follow in her mother’s footsteps. But where did she go from here?

Clank.

Water rippled around Aihi. Her eyes fluttered closed, searching for an answer in the energy floating through the garden.

May starlight guide your path, the woman whispered, and when ink splatters the heavens, let the eyes of dragons bring you peace.

Those were Torra’s last words to Aihi before her spirit faded away forever. But this woman wasn’t Torra—why was she repeating those words?

Aihi tried to open her eyes and object, but her lids stayed shut. The specks of starlight floating around her intruded on the blackness of her mind. Like stars, they shimmered behind her eyelids and collected into a cluster of energy. Their silver light flickered and faded, overtaken by violet. They solidified as a crystal with tall facets where corrupted energy breathed around the base, leaking into the world beyond.

The aki that had killed her mother, the former Honourable Shōgun, Furahau Mika. The aki that still dwelled beneath the Cedar Palace. A sense of purpose rose within Aihi.

Clank.

She knew exactly what her first act as shōgun would be.

Clank.

3

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Masanori

Strands of pink and white blossoms swayed from the tamashii tree’s tallest limbs, swirling around Masanori’s kneeling form. The tree responded to his presence, and yet, whenever his focus drifted from prayer, a branch whipped his face. He gritted his teeth against the affront and lowered his head again.

O great tree kami, I beseech you... Masanori mumbled for the thousandth time. I need your help. He pressed his forehead into the dirt beside the thicket of gnarled roots. Youko Ryoka, daughter of the kami O-Hinagiku and warden of the Seika Shrine, sent me to request your aid.

Wind rustled the branches, and the trunk rippled with energy.

Masanori let out a frustrated breath. The tamashii tree had been growing on these cliffs, which was more rock than fertile soil, for thousands of years. The stories said the tamashii tree sprung up when the Dragon Goddess, Shirashi, first came to Seiryuu.

Perhaps that was why he failed to invoke the voice of the tree’s spirit. The tamashii tree saw through Masanori’s faithlessness, how he held no love for Shirashi. The Goddess played with him like a toy, never granting him her gift of ki, yet blessing Hidekazu. Leaving Masanori stuck in his brother’s shadow. She, and Ryuu Naoji, tortured him with the Nightmare and the dark spirits who came with the affliction.

In that sense, when the spirit inside the tree sang only in the dead of night while he slept, it treated him much like the Goddess did: leaving him to flounder, without guidance, no matter how much he begged. For over a month, Masanori climbed the cliffs daily from his campsite on the beach to wallow in silent prayer.

However, his reverence for spirits and kami ran deeper than his displeasure with the Goddess. Even if the spirits messed with him in a similar manner, at least he knew with certainty they were there, listening. He had only to convince them to answer him.

Had he not spent time with Youko Ryoka, a tenko fox who would have been a kit when the tamashii tree was but a sapling, Masanori might not have such patience for the tree’s games. She had taught him the way of spirits; how they were all distinct in their personalities and their roles in the world. Unlike the Goddess, who tried to control everything—including life itself—kami stuck to their strengths and preferred domains. Ryoka was one such