The Fall of Awa
The Masacado Scrolls
Story 1
By
Charles T. Whipple
Smashwords Edition
The Fall of Awa
Presented by Publishing by Rebecca J. Vickery
Digital ISBN: 978-1-4658-2524-7
Copyright © 2011 by Charles T. Whipple
Cover Art Design Copyright © 2011 by Laura Shinn
Illustration Copyright © 2011 by Gustav Oslo
Produced by Rebecca J. Vickery
Design Consultation by Laura Shinn
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The Fall of Awa 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.
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 being 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. Yeah, I have searched, and Amaterasu has guided my hand, even unto the creation of abridged accounts of the deeds leading to the recovery of the sacred talismans, and the rise of the people to follow the Chosen one and overthrow the curse of the wicked Toh.
Even so, Amaterasu Omikoto did call from amongst the people, even the Ya, the Yotsu, the Sanka, and the Wako, the mighty one did call and anoint those destined to provide the Chosen One of Amaterasu all that was necessary to prevail against the dreadful Toh.
Behold, I name not these anointed, but write herein accounts of their calling, even the calling of the Seeker, the Shielder, the Bearer, and the Fuku—the bringer of good fortune to all.
For the moment I lay aside my brush that those who read the accounts of the calling and the anointing of these stalwart subjects of Amaterasu might search these 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 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 and bid each and all sayo nara, for the moment, sayo nara.
GLOSSARY of unfamiliar words
choko – small handle-less porcelain cup
gampi – tough inner bark used as string or for paper
Gi – a philosophy that forbids consumption of animal flesh
kujira – whale
mu – A skill that makes heartbeat, breathing, etc., undetectable
nara – a type of oak
reikan – the ability to see with spiritual eyes
ri – about two and a half miles
sadame – fate
shaku – about one foot
tokkuri – a small necked container used for liquors
tono – lord, as in feudal lord
tsun – one-tenth of a shaku
yoi – good
Chapter One
The Toh warriors came from the south and the west, crushing the Minamoto and the Taira as they came, using the dark powers of Lord Yami to gain their victories.
One by one, the seven kingdoms of Kanto fell. Only the tiny fiefdom of Awa remained.
The Toh knew no stealth in their conquest. After resistance was weakened with sorcery and rites to call forth demons and withes and cause the earth’s great plates to grind together in madness, Toh warrior hordes crushed all.
Ryo’s eyes flew open. A sputtering hallway candle threw shadows and light on the white paper of the room’s shoji doors. A rumbling groan began in the bedrock below. Her gift of reikan sensed evil as the priests of Lord Yami, at the command of their Toh overlords, hurled dark forces from a lair beneath Mt. Osorezan, aiming at the colossal plates that supported the Boso Peninsula.
Turmoil throbbed in her bones.
She reached for her mother, but her small hand found only an empty sleeping mat. Ryo buried her head in her arms and tried to shut out the sound of the earth's ragged breath.
The ground rumbled. Malevolence weighed heavy on the air. Dawn grayed the room through the white paper coverings on the doors. The burnished plank flooring vibrated and shook. Shifting bedrock screamed. Ryo clapped her hands to her ears, and swayed back and forth on her pallet.
The rumble grew to a roar. The floor bucked, tossing Ryo into the air. A crockery cupboard crashed across the hallway. The great timbers of Nokogiriyama castle complained and shifted, their mortise-and-tenon joints coping with the temblor as they were designed to do.
For nearly sixty seconds, the earth shook. Then the dark power withdrew. The earth stilled. But despite terrible destruction throughout the kingdom of Awa, the 5-tiered Nokogiriyama castle survived.
Tsubomi rushed in just as Ryo slid open the wood-and-paper door across the tiny room.
“Ryo-chan. Don’t go. The earth may quake again.”
“Okaa.” Ryo used her pet name for mother. “Something’s wrong. Something besides the shaking of the earth. I know. I feel it inside. I can tell. The earth has shaken the castle many times, but this time is different. I must go to the ramparts. I must see what is happening. I must learn of these forces. I must.”
Ryo slammed the door shut behind her and sped along the corridors of Nokogiriyama castle, running for the ramparts that overlooked the northern hills.
Guards strode the hallways, their confidence bringing order to the after-quake chaos. “Never fear. Never fear. Nokogiriyama lives. Lord Masaharu lives,” they shouted.
Ryo climbed the stairs, slipping between servants, warriors, shrine maidens and priests, moving always upwards toward the ramparts. The sun broke from the horizon as she hurried onto the overlook. She shaded her eyes against the sunrise and peered north toward the fortifications that protected the kingdom. Dark clouds gathered far beyond the Wall of Awa, throwing lightning bolts at the ground. A black line spread across the horizon. Gooseflesh swept up Ryo’s spine. She squinted, sharpening her vision. The black line in the sky bobbed toward Nokogiriyama, thickening as it came.
A clanging fire bell wrenched Ryo’s attention from the undulating black line. Smoke enveloped a third of the town and the onshore wind bore the acrid odor to the ramparts. Orange flames danced from dwelling to dwelling, devouring wood and paper. Villagers scurried like mice in a warren. Nothing they could do put out the fires. A rift in the earth ran from the castle gate piers across the moats and through the town. Most of the water had leaked from the moat, and enemy hordes could attack across the drying bottoms. Only the high stone walls protected Nokogiriyama castle now.
Ryo turned her eyes once more to the black line. Lightning cracked. She blinked. Her eyes teared. She swiped an impatient hand at her wet cheeks. And she smelled evil again. The dark line on the northern horizon thickened, wavered, and dissolved into flocks of ravens—one to the east, one to the west, and a third flying straight south toward Nokogiriyama.
The huge black birds wheeled and dove, harassing Awa warriors as they retreated toward the castle from the breached Wall of Awa. Ryo tasted hate in the ravens' screams. It seemed some evil force drove the carrion-eaters to attack the living.
Ryo trembled in fear. What would happen to her castle home? She liked Lord Masaharu, master of the castle. He was a good man. Honest. Beloved by the people of Awa. But Ryo could not sense enough power within the castle to counter the dark strength of the approaching enemy.
Fear drove Ryo down from the ramparts. She ran to the room she shared with her mother in the servants' quarters. Perhaps Tsubomi, Lord Masaharu’s favorite, could warn him of the dark danger, and perhaps the castle could be saved.
“Okaa!” Ryo slammed the sliding door aside and ran to her mother.
“Ryo?” Tsubomi looked up from the kimono she was sewing, her porcelain face serene.
“Okaa. The Toh are coming. And they’re bringing something dark and evil. Black ravens fight for them. Even the land works for them. I’m frightened, Okaa. What shall we do? You must tell Lord Masaharu. You must . . . You . . .” Ryo’s throat tightened. Her voice died away. She swallowed. “We should leave,” she managed to say. “We should run away. We should, Okaa. Listen to me. Please listen.”
Tsubomi laid the kimono down at her side. Her voice was quiet, patient. “Ryo. We cannot leave Lord Masaharu. He needs me and I shall be here for him as long as he lives. My destiny is entwined with his, as is yours. Although your powerful gift lets you read the winds, none can escape sadame.”
Tears rolled down Ryo’s face. Her eyes overflowed. She sensed a terrible danger. She fought the panic, and bowed to her mother, accepting her decision.
Ryo could not bear to sit motionless. She fled the room. Her heart thumped and thumped, leaping from fear to love to dread and then to duty—above all, duty.
An aftershock shook the castle.
Ryo swayed with the movement, and felt the natural result of the preceding unnatural quake.
“Tono! Tono!” Kinoshita, captain of the castle guard, ran past Ryo and on down the corridor, his lacquered armor clacking with each stride. The scent of camellia, from the oil on his hair, wafted in his wake. Ryo crinkled her nose at the odor, then slipped along the corridor in the same direction as the captain.
“Tono!” The captain still shouted for Masaharu, his liege lord. “Tono! The main gates, sire. We cannot close them!”
Ryo stopped. The gates stood open. The Toh, with their ravens and their pikemen in the tens of thousands, could enter the castle grounds.
She heard the deep bonging of the bronze bell at Seikokuji Temple, bongs soon joined by higher-pitched clangs. Then a third temple bell added its warning voice. Danger closed in on Nokogiriyama castle. The ringing bells sounded like a death knell to Ryo.
Lord Masaharu strode up the corridor, armored warriors at his back.
“Archers to the walls,” he shouted.
Turning to Guard Captain Kinoshita, Masaharu said, “The Wall of Awa is breached. Listen to the bells! They say the Toh armies will shortly come. Set the castle guard before the gates. Allow the men from Awa to enter, but none other. We will seal the gates with our lives.”
Ryo scurried around in front of Masaharu and went down on her knees. “Masaharu-sama, you must not go out to fight. You must escape with Lady Fujiko and the children.” She bowed to the floor, begging her lord to listen.
The guard captain kicked her. She sprawled against the wall. “Servant girl. Think not to tell the Lord of Awa what to do.”
Ryo jumped up and bowed before Masaharu again.
“My Lord, the people of Awa can bear anything,” she cried, “if they know that you are alive and can hope that you will lead them again.”
Masaharu paused. Ryo held her breath. For a moment, the castle seemed almost silent. Then the cries of ravens invaded the walls, followed by a distant hum, a rumble, and then a faraway roar as the Toh hordes surged toward Masaharu’s stronghold.
“It is not the time for flight, Ryo-chan. A man must stand up to his destiny. Each man’s sadame is set the day he is born.” Masaharu snaked his sword from its sharkskin scabbard and thrust the weapon out before him. “My Hayabusa blade would drink of Toh blood,” he declared, raising the burnished sword above his head. “Let us meet this enemy steel to steel.”
Ryo sucked in her breath. A fight to the death. If Masaharu died, who would lead Awa?
The warriors roared their promise to fight and die. Captain Kinoshita and his guard section took their positions around Lord Masaharu, and the master of the castle strode off toward the gate.
The Toh came in their tens of thousands. The people of Awa disappeared from their homes, taking to the hills and refusing aid to the invading army.
Ryo peeked through a loophole in the ramparts two tiers above the main gates. She watched the warriors of Awa. Bravely they fought, and bravely they withstood the hordes of Toh pikeman and their raven allies. The hours stretched into days. Corpses piled up before the gates and black birds fell like hail as Awa arrows found their marks. The onshore wind scattered black feathers before it, but new flocks of ravens arrived from across the Uraga straits. The ground drank the blood of man and beast and bird and became slippery with gore. Ryo felt a faint dark force beneath the Toh assault as their numberless hordes pressed toward the open castle gates.