Pilgrim 3, p.44
Pilgrim 3, page 44
“Somewhat relevant?” Jelmay threw his hands up, but it was in a playful way. “You heard me mumble it back there: Abbot Monpo stole my thunder. I was really going to put the squeeze on Usagi, and for him to simply step in like that and fox-handle the situation. Bah, I guess it is better this way, a bit more diplomatic. Fine. That rabbit will get what’s coming to him one day, mark my word.”
“Do you really hate him that much?” Yato asked. “He seemed sort of cute.”
Kudzu made a gagging sound. “Cute? If by cute you mean ‘easily edible,’ then I agree with you, but Usagi is anything but cute. And you didn’t see the real side of him back there. He can be absolutely detestable.”
“Why is everyone so scared of him again?”
“While detestable, he does have some power, and is able to do things like mask his appearance and the appearance of others. Let’s just say he spent a hundred years or so bending his echo after the fall of Sunyata, and even though he’s a lazy slob now,” Jelmay said as he kicked at a stone, which went tumbling into an overturned root, “he’s by no means weak; Pilgrim here could still easily kill him. Maybe he’ll get the pleasure of doing that one day.”
“I have no intention of killing Usagi.”
“That’s what we all have said. Trust me,” Jelmay assured Danzen. “He really does bring out the worst in us.”
“But you used to be friends, right?” Yato asked.
“I’m fairly certain we’re still friends,” Jelmay said, his tone of voice changing. “I think he knows how much I pretend to hate him. And he pretends to hate me, but I think he likes me, that he thinks I am clever, at least to some degree. It has become a game of who is conning who at this point, and I don’t know if I’m winning or not.”
“What are you even talking about?” Kudzu asked Jelmay as they came to a dip in the pathway, which looked as if it used to be a stream.
Danzen could imagine it running now, pressing past some of the rocks that were interspersed with foliage. What happened to the stream? Was it only active during monsoon season?
He tuned his companions out as he thought of what would come next.
The plan was to rest and recover for a few days, and then take the northwestern passage to his mother’s nunnery outside of Odval. It would be a pioneering trip, one that would be similar to the time that he had spent in the southern wilderness albeit with new dangers, potential demons and yokai that didn’t live in the Valley.
It would certainly be an adventure.
As he walked, Danzen made a decision to go a bit easier on his mother once he saw her again. Even though he still wasn’t all that comfortable with her presence, she had given birth to him, and she was well-liked by others. While her intentions may have been misguided, they were pious in their own way, Shodren wanting the same thing that Danzen wanted, the same thing that Abbot Monpo had spoken of about an hour ago, to rebuild Sunyata and create a balance once again. Like many things Danzen had encountered in life, there were multiple solutions, but for now, only one path would work for him.
The sooner they began collecting and transporting remnants, the better.
If Shodren wanted to stay in the monastery while he started the process, Danzen wouldn’t prevent her from doing anything like that. After all, he would be gone for the most part, his quest for remnants taking him across the kingdom. With his mother around, at least the monastery would maintain a presence, and if it helped people, even better. If she decided to leave, she could either take the traditional route through the Tudan outpost to Arsi, followed by Bahlingar and finally Odval; or, if she wanted to rough it, she could join Danzen and his companions through the northwestern passage in a few days.
It really was up to her.
Danzen turned back to the conversation at a strange moment in which Jelmay started to sing some ancient song while Kudzu joined him, the white fox humming along. He picked up on the fact that they had been speaking about a song that Yato had never heard before, Jelmay hamming it up as usual with his arms out wide, occasionally twirling as he walked, the pudgy bakeneko humorous in both appearance and action.
Danzen recognized the song, realizing that it was something that was sung at the start of a new year, something he hadn’t heard since he was a student at the Brotherhood. Not at all musical, Danzen knew better than to jump in, even if he remembered some of the words. But he did nod his head along, which Yato noticed, a hint of surprise tracing across her face.
They reached Jelmay’s humble, forest-side home, the bakeneko debating with himself whether he should go in, or make his way up the hill.
“I suppose I could always roll down the hill if I got too tired to walk…”
“You wouldn’t actually do that,” Kudzu said.
“I’ve seen him do it,” Danzen told her, Kudzu slowly shaking her head.
“Come on, Jelmay…”
“What? I was drunk. You were drunk that night too. Too bad I didn’t make enough of that moonshine to get us through until we decided to make our way through to uncharted lands. I’m surprised that no one here is worried about that little trip we have coming up. I mean, I’ve been in the area of the northwestern passage, but only on the Asura Forest side. And let me tell you, that’s a long story that involves a couple not so happy bakenekos that I was able to win some kip from.”
“I await the day that you aren’t scheming in some way, shape, or form.”
“Heh… I don’t think either of us will reach that day, fox.”
Once they were about halfway up the hill, Danzen spotted a woman seated before his mother. He hadn’t known when he would see Nomin again, and he certainly wasn’t expecting her to show up so soon. Yet there she was, Nomin in her white robes, a pleasant look on her face as she sipped from a cup of tea.
“She really is alive,” Jelmay said.
“We told you she was.”
“You tell me a lot of things,” he said to Kudzu. “It doesn’t mean I have to believe them.”
But he was just being ornery, the two playfully bickering to the point that they were actually starting to annoy each other. Luckily, Nomin and Shodren added a new dynamic to their group, the blind assassin turning to Danzen long before he actually approached her, everyone growing quiet.
“I’m glad you came,” Danzen said once he joined her. “We are a little tight here, but you’re welcome to stay.”
“Your mother was discussing with me your plans to rebuild Sunyata,” Nomin said, jumping right into it. “And I would like to offer my services, if they would be helpful to you in some way. Perhaps I could begin by escorting your mother back to her nunnery…”
“She doesn’t need to leave,” Danzen said before realizing that he should have told it directly to Shodren. “I’m sorry if I came off as upset yesterday. But to do what…” He cleared his throat. “To do what we need to do, what Abbot Monpo and the yokai of the Asura Forest have pledged to help us do, we’re going to need your help.”
“I see, and I am glad to see that Abbot Monpo is a champion of your cause,” Shodren said after a long pause. “We should speak privately of the matter. But after dinner. Your friends look hungry, at least one of them, anyway.”
****
After their meal, a humble affair of panbread and greens, Shodren motioned for Danzen to join her behind the monastery, while the others rested out front, Yato taking a particular interest in Nomin while Jelmay and Kudzu continued a debate they were having about the various seasons, and which one was better in Genshin Valley.
Basan clucked, and once Danzen and his mother got too close to her coop, the fire chicken let out a burst of flames followed by the thunderous clap of her wings.
“She can be quite disturbing,” Shodren said, the two moving far enough away from the coop as not to disturb the chicken.
“She really can.”
“But the eggs she lays are always good.” Shodren turned to him, and as she did she placed both hands behind her back. “I suppose we should begin. I wanted to speak to you about your father and me, what really happened.”
“I shouldn’t have pried,” Danzen admitted. “It’s clear that he enjoys manipulating people, and he has done so with me.”
“Yes, he does, and you should know that when he manipulated me, I was very young, younger than Yato. I wasn’t lying to you when I said that he raped me, but this wasn’t the first time that the two of us… That…” Shodren lowered her head. “I wanted to stop it, I knew it couldn’t go anywhere. But he didn’t want it to stop, and… and when you came, or, it was clear that you were going to come, that I was pregnant, I forbade him from ever seeing you or me again.”
“Why did he listen to you?”
“I’ve often wondered that myself,” she told him as she looked up at Danzen, her eyes wet. “He could have simply ignored my request, or he could have gone a different direction, turning brutal and killing you when you were born, or me for that matter, thus killing both of us. There are times that I think I have come to understand all of the angles, every scenario that may have been only for a new one to come to me. But in actuality, I don’t know. I don’t know why Tengir did what he did, and as I’ve told you, I left you where I left you so you could grow strong enough to one day…”
“Take the throne,” Danzen said once she didn’t respond.
Shodren turned in the direction of Diyu. “Yes, but I am well aware that your wishes differ from mine, and I support them. Maybe I took the easy route so many years ago, the cowardly way. You are not like me in that regard. You are brave, Danzen, son, and in the face of incredible odds you still push forward. Your friends see it in you, and I see it as well.”
Danzen didn’t say anything. He too was now looking in the direction of Diyu, the darkness of the night sky obscuring the red glow of hell itself.
“And if this is what you want to do, and how you want to do it, then I support you. As your mother, your estranged mother who has now put herself in your life, I support you, and I will do what I can to help bring this dream to life. Because I share the same dream, one of a balanced world, Sunyata and Diyu in their rightful places. Let me know how I can help.”
Over the meal they’d had earlier, Jelmay and Kudzu had discussed the plan to use the northwest passage to transport remnants and how Abbot Monpo planned to store them at the fox shrine. Nomin, still eager to help in any way she could, volunteered to hunt for remnants as well, which came as somewhat of a surprise to Danzen. It still was odd to think that he had killed her and that she had been brought back to life, which came coupled with a new perspective on her existence and her change in personality.
As foolish as it was, Danzen wondered if there was still a chance for Soko, if death would bring her new perspective on life. The likelihood of this was slim, but Danzen had seen how Nomin had changed in her time in Diyu, maybe there was a chance for Soko as well…
“We will need to work as a team going forward,” Danzen finally told his mother, who was now looking at him again, no longer dipping her head forward.
“I agree.”
“Even with all of us working together, it still may be impossible,” Danzen admitted.
“That’s something that I also agree with, but we have to try. I believe I was wrong about this in the past, that my heart was being guided by a thirst for something akin to vengeance, I don’t know.”
“You mean in combating my father?”
She nodded. “Even with your power, and how you have continued to bend your echo and get better control over your abilities,” she said, referring to his command over his demons, which was something that had been discussed over dinner, “your father has the power of a god, as does your brother.”
“They do, I’ve seen… I’ve seen what they are capable of doing, if they so choose,” he said, recalling his father bringing Nomin back to life, or how Nomtoi had animated the Penumbra corpses.
“So I was likely wrong in that notion anyway.”
“And the only other option aside from collecting remnants would be waiting it out, and we don’t know how long…”
Shodren shook her head. “No, we don’t know how long your father will remain on the throne, nor what he, or others, will try to throw at you during that time. I’m sorry that this is how your life has turned out,” she said, the tone of her voice growing increasingly melancholic. “I’m sorry that I gave birth to you in the world like this, one in which you were constantly pulled from both sides, always having to fight for survival. It’s not what I would want for anyone, let alone my own flesh and blood.” She reached her hand out to him and took his. Shodren ran her thumb along one of the scars across Danzen’s knuckles, a single tear streaming down her face as she did so. “I’m sorry.”
****
Even with the emotional turn of events of the night, Danzen felt well-rested the next morning, ready to start the day anew, to prepare for the journey to come. He began by bending his echo alone, and was later joined by Yato, the two going through their routine until Nomin came out of the monastery. It was always fascinating to see her move around; even though she was blind, there was no real indication of her blindness aside from her white pupils.
After joining them, Nomin encouraged them to continue. “I want to watch,” she said.
Danzen fell back into his cadence, Yato coming forward, always inches away from striking him with her gauntleted blades. She used her Sunyata talisman now, and she was three times as fast as she once was, which certainly kept Danzen on his toes. It also seemed to have an effect on his echo, giving him what felt like a boost. Parrying her attacks, Danzen brought his weapon down as if he were going to strike her, Yato folding out of the way to avoid it.
They continued their combat dance.
Once they stopped, Yato turned to Nomin. “I would like you to show me how you do it,” she said, “how you use your echo, and echoes all around you to see.”
“Yes,” Nomin said. “I believe that is something you could benefit from. Do you mind?”
“By all means,” Danzen told her as he stepped aside. He crouched, and as he did he saw a tuft of white moving in his direction, Kudzu arriving for the day. She joined him, and the two watched Nomin go over the same instruction she had given Danzen so long ago, starting with examples which he realized were similar to what he had shown Shimaru and his mother, Oiwa, back in Odval.
“And the tradition continues,” Kudzu said. “What did your mother say last night?”
As Yato and Nomin trained, Danzen caught Kudzu up on the conversation he had with his mother, and her sincere apology, how she was willing and able to work with them going forward.
“She should be apologizing,” Kudzu said once he finished.
“That’s not really what I took from it, but I am glad that she said something. And I’m equally glad that she has decided to join our cause. We need someone like her.”
****
The day dragged on at a leisurely pace, Jelmay eventually making his way up the hill and collapsing near the entrance of the monastery, his hands on his stomach, the bakeneko staring up at the sky with a big smile on his face.
“What’s gotten into you?” Kudzu asked when she finally took the bait.
“Me? I’m just enjoying life,” Jelmay told her. “You should try it for once.”
While his companions relaxed out front, eventually moving to the side of the monastery so they could sit in the shade, Danzen helped his mother with a few of the tasks she had been working on, including cleaning several items in the kitchen and finishing up some of the detail on the doorframes. She had already stenciled where the paint should go, and all Danzen had to do was simply follow her outlines.
There was something calming about it, Danzen impressed with just how many stencils she had put up. Even while the others eventually moved on to afternoon tasks, including Nomin and Yato going for a quick hunt in the mountains and returning with a goat, Danzen continued painting. It really was enchanting in some way, and it was only when he heard some commotion outside that he put the paintbrush down.
“Danzen Ravja!”
A feeling of anguish moved through him.
Danzen recognized the voice immediately as belonging to his brother, and once Nomtoi called his name out again, Danzen instinctively turned to the exit. He already had both his swords with him, and since it was bright outside, he didn’t go for his Blade of Darkness, nor did he feel he had time to strap on his gauntleted weapons.
He took one step out the door and found Nomtoi floating with his arms crossed over his chest, a scowl on his face as he glared at Danzen’s companions, including his mother, who stood behind his two lion dogs, Nama and Yama ready to pounce.
“There’s no reason for you to be here,” Jelmay said carefully.
The bakeneko was next to Yato, who had both her blades drawn, her fists at the ready. Standing near her was Nomin, who had yet to withdraw her basket-hilted short sword, along with Kudzu in her fox form, her hair standing to attention as she bared her teeth.
“These are the people you care for,” Nomtoi said as he shifted his gaze toward Danzen. “The people who have somehow made the mistake of placing their faith in you.”
Danzen pointed his sword at his brother, reeling from the fact that he had gone from a place of utter calm to a burning animosity in a matter of seconds. He knew what Nomtoi was capable of; he had seen his actions in Suja Village and was aware that with a sweep of his hand, his half-brother could kill Danzen’s companions.
He also knew it was useless to try to use his Demon Speak power on his companions. It would likely only affect Yato, the others immune to the power. Still, if he could save her…
There was no time.
Nomtoi rushed toward Danzen at a blinding pace; he was barely able to bring Astra up in time to deflect his strike. In the time it took for Danzen to settle into his stance, Nomtoi returned to his floating position.
