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Description
Daiwa no Moribito

Part I: The Re-Awakening

1. Ichi, Hito(tsu), Mon

A small life

blue light glows

water

•••

Crown Prince Chagum was having dreams again.

Being a human being, he was bound to have dreams. Being the crown prince of the Shin Yogo Empire, he was bound to have troubled dreams. And Prince Chagum's dreams were, in fact, troubling.

Not the dreams themselves. They too quickly faded away upon waking to have the contents carry any weight upon the young prince's mind. It was the feeling that the dreams left him with.

Blue. Water. A sense of restlessness, of searching for home.

A feeling almost identical to that of the dreams he had wandered through when the egg of the water spirit had been laid inside him. But why would Chagum have such dreams now? The great spirit had been safely delivered to the ocean three years ago, the drought avoided, and Chagum returned to the bosom of his family. It couldn't be repossession, as the—Chagum's mind struggled to recall the term Balsa and Tanda had used—as the spirit only laid an egg every hundred years.

So why—

The calls of the nahji echoed throughout the night, a comforting reminder that things were returning to the way they should be. Several eggs of the endangered bird had been spirited from their nests and bred in captivity, the majority of the individuals released, with the exception of those kept for further breeding. Laws were passed forbidding anyone from killing the bird or destroying its natural habitat, thus further protecting it.

The nahji had helped, too, in his quest to deliver the egg of the spirit safely, without Rarunga eating it… Or him.

Perhaps, Chagum reasoned, perhaps the dreams were his body's way of telling him that he missed those days when he was with Balsa. Except that he knew that he missed her. So why would he need a dream to tell him so?

Perhaps, Chagum thought, perhaps the dreams were a sign of another adventure, an adventure where Balsa would come spirit him away and they would flee from the hunters, enlist Tanda and Torogai to help them find the truth behind things, all the while going on a dangerous mission to save the world from certain destruction.

Chagum stopped thinking for a moment before he started to laugh hysterically. Of course, he'd already done all that. Three years before, he'd done all that once and didn't particularly feel like being chased by a hungry egg-eating monster again.

But the dreams were real. They left the same sense of unease, of questioning, of seeking for something. Chagum was surprised nobody had told him he was glowing blue and smelling like water in his sleep again. Perhaps his father, the Mikado, had forbidden talk of that. Perhaps he hadn't.

In any event, Chagum knew the dreams had reached a point where he needed to tell someone. His mother would only worry, fret, and tell more people, while his father would try to exorcise him with painful rituals. Chagum doubted he could get to see the master star reader, and even if he did, the old man would probably read too much into the dreams. And the Hunters would be completely out of their depth.

This left, of course, Shuga. He would understand how Chagum was feeling. He would find a reason for the dreams, a rational one. Chagum stroked his chin thoughtfully and was shocked to feel roughness there. For a minute, Chagum panicked, not knowing what it was. Then he grinned and burst out into laughter. It was about time! Perhaps he could talk to Shuga about this, too. After all, the man was 23, just about to turn 24, yet his face was as smooth as a baby's was. Chagum grinned , imagining Shuga with a shocked and then jealous expression on his face over so petty a matter as facial hair.

But that would have to wait. From the stillness of the night, dawn was about an hour off, and Chagum had duties to attend to the next day. What Chagum needed to worry about right now was getting to sleep.

But for the life of him, he wouldn't drift off. And that sense of wanting to 'go home' was slowly coming towards him in the waking world. Whatever was causing the dreams was getting stronger, worrying Chagum more, and causing him to stay awake. With a sigh, Chagum got out of bed and descended the stairs from his chambers, feeling hot as he left the cool night breeze his window provided. Chagum slipped out into the Royal Gardens, heading for one lake in particular. Midsummer's Day was about a week away, so the shigu salua would be in full bloom.

First, on Midsummer's Day, there would be Chagum's own four-year anniversary party. Shuga might attend it. They would probably request a small pastry from the palace kitchen and eat it next to the pond with the blooming shigu salua while folding origami cranes and talking about that day. Then, about a week later, there was Shuga's twenty-fourth birthday, a fact that Chagum had made very well known to his father. Chagum kept dropping hints that he wanted the occasion to be celebrated, so inconspicuously that the Mikado had sighed, made arrangements for the celebration without Shuga noticing, and acquired a tutor for Chagum in the art of subtleness.

All this Chagum ran over in his mind on the way to sit by the pond. He double-checked every detail, making sure things were exactly was they wanted them to be. When he was satisfied, Chagum found himself at the pond in the palace gardens where several dozen fragrant white blossoms floated.

Chagum inhaled deeply, smiling at the memories that the scent re-awoke within him. As he stared at the flowers, he noticed something odd about one located near the middle of the clump. It appeared to be in a heat haze, and if Chagum squinted he could almost see two flowers, superimposed on one another. The prince blinked, surprised. Suddenly he realised that the shigu salua flower must grow in both worlds, which explained the heat haze and afterimage. But how could Chagum see that…?

Without really thinking about it, Chagum reached out and picked the flower. Pulling it closer to inspect it more carefully, Chagum was shocked at what he could see. Why would there be a flower blooming in both worlds in the palace gardens? And how could he have picked both flowers?

Not knowing what else to do with it, Chagum ate the flower. Or flowers, at this point he wasn't really sure any more.

The sweet nectar trickled down his throat as he sat there, not knowing what he had done to himself. His consciousness felt almost as if it was slipping away, and something else was taking its place, something blue that wanted to go home.

Without thinking about it or understanding why, Chagum leapt up and began to run toward the Aoyumi River. His eyes glowed a light blue in the moonlight.

•••

midsummer's day

nahji call

small blue life

ocean-bound

Description
Daiwa no Moribito

Part I: The Re-Awakening

1. Ichi, Hito(tsu), Mon

A small life

blue light glows

water

•••

Crown Prince Chagum was having dreams again.

Being a human being, he was bound to have dreams. Being the crown prince of the Shin Yogo Empire, he was bound to have troubled dreams. And Prince Chagum's dreams were, in fact, troubling.

Not the dreams themselves. They too quickly faded away upon waking to have the contents carry any weight upon the young prince's mind. It was the feeling that the dreams left him with.

Blue. Water. A sense of restlessness, of searching for home.

A feeling almost identical to that of the dreams he had wandered through when the egg of the water spirit had been laid inside him. But why would Chagum have such dreams now? The great spirit had been safely delivered to the ocean three years ago, the drought avoided, and Chagum returned to the bosom of his family. It couldn't be repossession, as the—Chagum's mind struggled to recall the term Balsa and Tanda had used—as the spirit only laid an egg every hundred years.

So why—

The calls of the nahji echoed throughout the night, a comforting reminder that things were returning to the way they should be. Several eggs of the endangered bird had been spirited from their nests and bred in captivity, the majority of the individuals released, with the exception of those kept for further breeding. Laws were passed forbidding anyone from killing the bird or destroying its natural habitat, thus further protecting it.

The nahji had helped, too, in his quest to deliver the egg of the spirit safely, without Rarunga eating it… Or him.

Perhaps, Chagum reasoned, perhaps the dreams were his body's way of telling him that he missed those days when he was with Balsa. Except that he knew that he missed her. So why would he need a dream to tell him so?

Perhaps, Chagum thought, perhaps the dreams were a sign of another adventure, an adventure where Balsa would come spirit him away and they would flee from the hunters, enlist Tanda and Torogai to help them find the truth behind things, all the while going on a dangerous mission to save the world from certain destruction.

Chagum stopped thinking for a moment before he started to laugh hysterically. Of course, he'd already done all that. Three years before, he'd done all that once and didn't particularly feel like being chased by a hungry egg-eating monster again.

But the dreams were real. They left the same sense of unease, of questioning, of seeking for something. Chagum was surprised nobody had told him he was glowing blue and smelling like water in his sleep again. Perhaps his father, the Mikado, had forbidden talk of that. Perhaps he hadn't.

In any event, Chagum knew the dreams had reached a point where he needed to tell someone. His mother would only worry, fret, and tell more people, while his father would try to exorcise him with painful rituals. Chagum doubted he could get to see the master star reader, and even if he did, the old man would probably read too much into the dreams. And the Hunters would be completely out of their depth.

This left, of course, Shuga. He would understand how Chagum was feeling. He would find a reason for the dreams, a rational one. Chagum stroked his chin thoughtfully and was shocked to feel roughness there. For a minute, Chagum panicked, not knowing what it was. Then he grinned and burst out into laughter. It was about time! Perhaps he could talk to Shuga about this, too. After all, the man was 23, just about to turn 24, yet his face was as smooth as a baby's was. Chagum grinned , imagining Shuga with a shocked and then jealous expression on his face over so petty a matter as facial hair.

But that would have to wait. From the stillness of the night, dawn was about an hour off, and Chagum had duties to attend to the next day. What Chagum needed to worry about right now was getting to sleep.

But for the life of him, he wouldn't drift off. And that sense of wanting to 'go home' was slowly coming towards him in the waking world. Whatever was causing the dreams was getting stronger, worrying Chagum more, and causing him to stay awake. With a sigh, Chagum got out of bed and descended the stairs from his chambers, feeling hot as he left the cool night breeze his window provided. Chagum slipped out into the Royal Gardens, heading for one lake in particular. Midsummer's Day was about a week away, so the shigu salua would be in full bloom.

First, on Midsummer's Day, there would be Chagum's own four-year anniversary party. Shuga might attend it. They would probably request a small pastry from the palace kitchen and eat it next to the pond with the blooming shigu salua while folding origami cranes and talking about that day. Then, about a week later, there was Shuga's twenty-fourth birthday, a fact that Chagum had made very well known to his father. Chagum kept dropping hints that he wanted the occasion to be celebrated, so inconspicuously that the Mikado had sighed, made arrangements for the celebration without Shuga noticing, and acquired a tutor for Chagum in the art of subtleness.

All this Chagum ran over in his mind on the way to sit by the pond. He double-checked every detail, making sure things were exactly was they wanted them to be. When he was satisfied, Chagum found himself at the pond in the palace gardens where several dozen fragrant white blossoms floated.

Chagum inhaled deeply, smiling at the memories that the scent re-awoke within him. As he stared at the flowers, he noticed something odd about one located near the middle of the clump. It appeared to be in a heat haze, and if Chagum squinted he could almost see two flowers, superimposed on one another. The prince blinked, surprised. Suddenly he realised that the shigu salua flower must grow in both worlds, which explained the heat haze and afterimage. But how could Chagum see that…?

Without really thinking about it, Chagum reached out and picked the flower. Pulling it closer to inspect it more carefully, Chagum was shocked at what he could see. Why would there be a flower blooming in both worlds in the palace gardens? And how could he have picked both flowers?

Not knowing what else to do with it, Chagum ate the flower. Or flowers, at this point he wasn't really sure any more.

The sweet nectar trickled down his throat as he sat there, not knowing what he had done to himself. His consciousness felt almost as if it was slipping away, and something else was taking its place, something blue that wanted to go home.

Without thinking about it or understanding why, Chagum leapt up and began to run toward the Aoyumi River. His eyes glowed a light blue in the moonlight.

•••

midsummer's day

nahji call

small blue life

ocean-bound