Post by Timespiraled on Jun 15, 2018 20:41:24 GMT
Set File
Somewhere within Shengin Province's Heartland...
Chisu Taiyohata gazed out across the windswept plain as the sun slowly rose above the distant mountainous horizon. She felt at peace as the fresh air invigorated her. Below, the children played in the stream that crossed just beneath the farmstead; and right beside them, her husband waved back at her.
She couldn't help but smile back. After a harsh winter, Spring was finally slipping into the Heartland's interior. The cold winds blowing down from the Moranai were now warmed by the sun's rays.
For the first time in many weeks, Chisu felt at home again. Even the distant sight of Kinjiru Castle's soldiers could not quash her high spirits.
The cadre of soldiers rode up to the farmstead and made as if to disembark before her husband. She couldn't hear them. but her husband's gesturing back up to her made it clear that he was most likely explaining to them that she was the household's head, not himself.
Two of the soldiers, a man and a woman, unhooked their weighted helmets and stowed them on their mounts before climbing the short hill to reach her.
She bowed to them as they did to her. Regardless of what sides one was on, respect was always shown.
The male soldier straightened. "Good morning Lady Taiyohata. We are here to collect the last of the Winter offerings." Chisu nodded and motioned that they could follow her inside.
She couldn't help but smile back. After a harsh winter, Spring was finally slipping into the Heartland's interior. The cold winds blowing down from the Moranai were now warmed by the sun's rays.
For the first time in many weeks, Chisu felt at home again. Even the distant sight of Kinjiru Castle's soldiers could not quash her high spirits.
The cadre of soldiers rode up to the farmstead and made as if to disembark before her husband. She couldn't hear them. but her husband's gesturing back up to her made it clear that he was most likely explaining to them that she was the household's head, not himself.
Two of the soldiers, a man and a woman, unhooked their weighted helmets and stowed them on their mounts before climbing the short hill to reach her.
She bowed to them as they did to her. Regardless of what sides one was on, respect was always shown.
The male soldier straightened. "Good morning Lady Taiyohata. We are here to collect the last of the Winter offerings." Chisu nodded and motioned that they could follow her inside.
As they entered her home, she indicated several burlap sacks filled with grain, rice, and other produce. As the male soldier began bringing the wares outside, the female soldier read over the proffered ledger Chisu was holding. She skimmed the pages, nodded once, and went to aid her colleague.
Fifteen minutes later the soldiers, were bowing and mounting their horses once again, the wooden cart behind them slightly heavier than it had been before arriving.
Her husband and children eventually made their way up the stream. As she hugged the two to her chest in greeting, she caught her husband's worried expression and simply shook her head slightly. They would talk after breakfast and work.
***
"They take more and more each time, Chisu." Concern gnawed at Kuta's features. The morning's work was done, and the two adults were cleaning up the meal's dishes. The children were off doing what they most excelled at; pretending to be samurais outside.
She rested a hand on his broad shoulder. "We both know it could be far worse. The offerings pale in comparison to what the bandits and marauders used to take by force." Chisu leaned in to brush her husband's lengthy hair out from in front of his eyes. She cupped his chin and turned it slightly so their eyes met.
"We are blessed, Kuta. Our children are healthy, strong, and intelligent."
Her daughter's voice echoed from outside in a loud, quick shout. She caught a glimpse of a flash of wood and saw her son tumble backwards into the mud.
"Look at them, love. Shina is a year younger than Orito, but she already has the advantage. I've seen how Orito looks up to you; how much he enjoys working beside you. They are strong children, and we are strong parents."
Kuta couldn't help but rest his head ever slightly on hers. He let out a long sigh. "I only worry for the future. Kinjiru promised safety and freedom. They have given it to us, but every year it seems they take a little more back. How long will it be before they leave us nothing?"
Chisu turned and kissed him slightly on the forehead. "We can only wait and see."
***
Southern Shengin Province; the City of Odaya
"You come right back here, boy!"
Anyone in Odaya's Fish Market that day would have had the pleasure of witnessing a tall, richly dressed man sprinting awkwardly after a thin, young boy. The man's fine silk robes splattered through the mud while the child easily dodged out of the way of the puddles and pitfalls.
The boy clutched a pole on which were hooked half a dozen large, gleaming, silver mackerel. He glanced back and saw the man had stopped running but was clearly still shouting after him. He laughed and sprinted even quicker. It was clear that the man would have never caught him, but he had never left fate to chance. He made his own path, and today he figured his lay a district or two away, safely concealed in one of his many hiding spots.
Minutes later, he scrambled beneath a leaning tenement and crept into the slightly rank, but thankfully dry, mud brick room that composed this particular refuge.
He perched the prized catch against the wall and leaned back alongside it, grinning. This was food for at least a week if he managed to get them smoked in time. He knew a woman down in another district who would gladly let him use her smokehouse in exchange for one of the fish.
A skittering at the entrance to his hideout made him sit up from his relaxed posture. He tensed, but a reassuring series of knocks put him at ease.
"Hey there Kuno, what treasure did you find this time?" Yubi's round face peered in at him smiling ear to ear.
She rested a hand on his broad shoulder. "We both know it could be far worse. The offerings pale in comparison to what the bandits and marauders used to take by force." Chisu leaned in to brush her husband's lengthy hair out from in front of his eyes. She cupped his chin and turned it slightly so their eyes met.
"We are blessed, Kuta. Our children are healthy, strong, and intelligent."
Her daughter's voice echoed from outside in a loud, quick shout. She caught a glimpse of a flash of wood and saw her son tumble backwards into the mud.
"Look at them, love. Shina is a year younger than Orito, but she already has the advantage. I've seen how Orito looks up to you; how much he enjoys working beside you. They are strong children, and we are strong parents."
Kuta couldn't help but rest his head ever slightly on hers. He let out a long sigh. "I only worry for the future. Kinjiru promised safety and freedom. They have given it to us, but every year it seems they take a little more back. How long will it be before they leave us nothing?"
Chisu turned and kissed him slightly on the forehead. "We can only wait and see."
***
***
"You come right back here, boy!"
Anyone in Odaya's Fish Market that day would have had the pleasure of witnessing a tall, richly dressed man sprinting awkwardly after a thin, young boy. The man's fine silk robes splattered through the mud while the child easily dodged out of the way of the puddles and pitfalls.
The boy clutched a pole on which were hooked half a dozen large, gleaming, silver mackerel. He glanced back and saw the man had stopped running but was clearly still shouting after him. He laughed and sprinted even quicker. It was clear that the man would have never caught him, but he had never left fate to chance. He made his own path, and today he figured his lay a district or two away, safely concealed in one of his many hiding spots.
Minutes later, he scrambled beneath a leaning tenement and crept into the slightly rank, but thankfully dry, mud brick room that composed this particular refuge.
He perched the prized catch against the wall and leaned back alongside it, grinning. This was food for at least a week if he managed to get them smoked in time. He knew a woman down in another district who would gladly let him use her smokehouse in exchange for one of the fish.
A skittering at the entrance to his hideout made him sit up from his relaxed posture. He tensed, but a reassuring series of knocks put him at ease.
"Hey there Kuno, what treasure did you find this time?" Yubi's round face peered in at him smiling ear to ear.
***
Powerful hooves crushed the streets of Odaya as the cadre of Kinjiru soldiers marched back towards their local quarters. The collectors had journeyed across the province and were bringing carts and wagons well-laden, but not overflowing, back to the Odaya branch before eventually heading to Kinjiru Castle proper.
Kuno and Yubi gazed out at them from atop a squat stone wall, each munching a juicy piece of their stolen supper. The woman had not only let them smoke part of their catch but let them sizzle a portion in hot oil. The pieces smoking in the evening air, the two imagined their futures.
"Think we'll ever eat as rich as them?" Yubi's hungry stare could have almost set fire to the wagon train.
Kuno nodded. "We will. Just two more years and we'll be old enough to join." Kinjiru soldiers were a safe bet. They weren't necessarily well liked, but they weren't despised. They weren't rich like the members of the Court, but they ate well and traveled far. For two young boys, the promise of adventure and free meals was a winning combination. The armor and weapons the soldiers wielded didn't hurt either. After years of fending for themselves with sticks and shivs, the boys longed to own weapons more suited for combat.
Yubi munched on in silence while Kuno continued looking at the soldiers before glancing up towards his friend. The pair had known each other almost as long as he could remember. Neither of them had known their parents, and they were far from the only ones. Throughout Shengin, the Bandit Years had ensured that a great many children found themselves orphaned.
Some neighboring families were able to adopt or bring the youths into their homes, but many were forced to take care of themselves. In a sort of irony, many of these children turned to thieving themselves, much like the brigands who had slain their mothers and fathers. A sort of unspoken law forbid murder however. If they were to be thieves, then so be it, but they would never stoop as low as to take another person's life unless truly necessary.
As the years passed, the older children turned to joining the military, with some now forming the guard of many of Shengin's major cities: Odaya, Kareki, and Uwaito. Others enlisted as Kinjiru Castle's soldiers and worked directly for the Governor herself. Others formed their own groups of soldiers for hire, and these mercenaries patrolled many of Shengin's furthest borders.
For Kuno and Yubi, the Kinjiru soldiers were the elite; the only choice among the all the options that would fulfill them.
Kuno finished his meal and clapped Yubi on the back. "The frontlines, Yubi, that's where we'll be. We'll make a steady living and earn our own lands. Somewhere nice, far from the cities. Masamori maybe..."
Yubi licked the grease from his fingers. "Masamori? I'd rather fight the snakes back in the Empire than tangle with whatever monsters lurk in that forest." He smiled his trademark smile. "Then again, Kuno, maybe if you're there with me, it won't be so bad."
Kuno and Yubi gazed out at them from atop a squat stone wall, each munching a juicy piece of their stolen supper. The woman had not only let them smoke part of their catch but let them sizzle a portion in hot oil. The pieces smoking in the evening air, the two imagined their futures.
"Think we'll ever eat as rich as them?" Yubi's hungry stare could have almost set fire to the wagon train.
Kuno nodded. "We will. Just two more years and we'll be old enough to join." Kinjiru soldiers were a safe bet. They weren't necessarily well liked, but they weren't despised. They weren't rich like the members of the Court, but they ate well and traveled far. For two young boys, the promise of adventure and free meals was a winning combination. The armor and weapons the soldiers wielded didn't hurt either. After years of fending for themselves with sticks and shivs, the boys longed to own weapons more suited for combat.
Yubi munched on in silence while Kuno continued looking at the soldiers before glancing up towards his friend. The pair had known each other almost as long as he could remember. Neither of them had known their parents, and they were far from the only ones. Throughout Shengin, the Bandit Years had ensured that a great many children found themselves orphaned.
Some neighboring families were able to adopt or bring the youths into their homes, but many were forced to take care of themselves. In a sort of irony, many of these children turned to thieving themselves, much like the brigands who had slain their mothers and fathers. A sort of unspoken law forbid murder however. If they were to be thieves, then so be it, but they would never stoop as low as to take another person's life unless truly necessary.
As the years passed, the older children turned to joining the military, with some now forming the guard of many of Shengin's major cities: Odaya, Kareki, and Uwaito. Others enlisted as Kinjiru Castle's soldiers and worked directly for the Governor herself. Others formed their own groups of soldiers for hire, and these mercenaries patrolled many of Shengin's furthest borders.
For Kuno and Yubi, the Kinjiru soldiers were the elite; the only choice among the all the options that would fulfill them.
Kuno finished his meal and clapped Yubi on the back. "The frontlines, Yubi, that's where we'll be. We'll make a steady living and earn our own lands. Somewhere nice, far from the cities. Masamori maybe..."
Yubi licked the grease from his fingers. "Masamori? I'd rather fight the snakes back in the Empire than tangle with whatever monsters lurk in that forest." He smiled his trademark smile. "Then again, Kuno, maybe if you're there with me, it won't be so bad."
***
Proofread and Edited by Fluffydeathbringer
Additional proofreading by HerziQuerzi
Additional proofreading by HerziQuerzi