A Chronicle from a Time of Darkness

by PhycoKrusk

Chapter 1

From the sky, the expanses of green grass covering the land of Animalia seemed endless. And seemed so even if one were flying through the sky, cutting through the air and banking around low clouds like he was, a brown and black speck against the white and blue sky.

Owlowiscious Nightwatch, Master Sorcerer, Demon Queller, and retainer to Philomena, Empress of Light, sucked in a deep breath of cold air as he flew. Although his lungs chilled, the rest of his body was kept warm enough by the thick, black jacket and matching trousers he wore, or in the case of his wings, the thick feathers covering each from shoulder to tip. Briefly, he rose slightly in altitude as he looked over his shoulder to make sure the bag resting on his back and slung across his shoulder and chest hadn't come opened, and then lost altitude as he glanced down at his waist to make certain the sword strapped to his hip hadn't somehow fallen free from its scabbard. Satisfied, he turned his attention forward again to the white wall in front of him. As he broke through that final bank of clouds, his goal appeared in the distance: The glorious city of Heavenspire.

Perched on the side of Jindaiyama, the Great Mountain, it was built in tiered levels, each one progressively smaller as they climbed the slope. On the highest tier rested the Imperial Palace, where the Empress resided. Where the contents of his bag would eventually go. Where it was forbidden to fly to directly, forcing a less direct route.

As the mountain approached, Owlowiscious angled his flight path downward towards a well-traveled and packed dirt and gravel road, landing gently on the path before dusting himself off, ensuring all the contents of his pack were where he'd left them, and then continuing on foot towards the market and its shops built from wood and paper screens. So close to noon, the road wasn't heavily traveled, with only a few parties either on their way to the market or returning from it. One or two, likely on their way to the countryside for a holiday, even recognized him and waved their hands in greeting, which he returned.

Ahead, the city loomed larger still, and the sounds from the market grew louder as Owlowiscious approached. But before the market and city proper was the city gate, for as much of a gate as it could be considered. The road was wide; wide enough for three carts to safely traverse side-by-side (or two of the large caravan wagons that sometimes came from afar, if the drivers felt particularly daring). The primary function of the gate, which was little more than two short stone walls on the road with two of the city guards posted to watch it, was to restrict traffic, making it easier to check for unsavories and contraband, and to make it harder to an invading army to attack: To the right of the gate was the stone of the mountainside, and to the left was a sheer drop down one hundred shaku <unit of measure, approx. the length of the forearm>.

“Ho, Master Nightwatch!” called one of the guards as the owl approached. Owlowiscious knew both of the guards well, or at least as well as he could hope to. Both were of the dog tribe, both had light brown fur in the same shade and hue, both had green eyes, both joined the city guard at the same time, and both were named Ron. Dressed in uniform, consisting of brown trousers and a green jacket with a yellow stripe around the cuff of each sleeve and the Empress' crest on either breast, there was really no way to tell them apart. Owlowiscious had taken to thinking of them as Ron One and Ron Two, but could never decide which was which aside from location; Ron One was always to the left of the gate, and Ron Two to the right.

“Ho, friends!” the owl answered as he approached, coming to a stop just before and to the left of the gate. “What's the news of the day?”

“Oh, not much of anything to note, honestly,” replied Ron One. “In fact, not much of anything to note for over an entire month!”

“It's true. The last big thing around here happened right before you left!” chimed in Ron Two. They even sounded alike. “You remember, don't you, Master? That ruckus with the merchant who tried to summon the goblin-spider?”

“How could I forget?” Owlowiscious asked with a chuckle. “Although I'd say it was it was more of a fracas than a ruckus. Even if we hadn't stopped him, he had neither the materials nor the knowledge to actually summon anything, thank goodness.”

“Well, the point is,” began Ron Two again, “It's been dull without you around, Master. It seems like exciting things only happen when you're home. It's a good thing, too, because we'd be in real trouble without you.”

“The role I play in the city's defense is almost inconsequential, Ron. It's the city guard that does all the real work. Heavenspire is lucky to have such competent defenders.”

Both Rons swelled up just a bit with pride. “You're too kind with your praise, Master,” said Ron One. “But we've delayed you long enough. You only just returned! I'm sure you're eager to get home and have something to eat. Or maybe a drink, even.”

Owlowiscious gave a nod. “I’ll see you around Ron, and Ron. Keep the troublemakers out!” With that, he continued through the gate and further up the road towards the city.

“Oh! Master Nightwatch!”

Owlowiscious looked back over his shoulder to see one of the two gate guards — Ron Two, he decided — running to catch him, although he did not appear to be in that much of a rush. “I nearly forgot! This came for you.” ‘This’ being a nearly plain envelope that bore no markings other than his name written on the outside. “Don't know who it’s from, but it came for you earlier today with instructions to deliver it once you arrived.”

When the envelope was offered, Owlowiscious accepted it and gave it another inspection, learning nothing new. “Peculiar, but thanks all the same.”

“Of course!” replied the guard with a smile and a nod. “Well, better get back to it. Welcome home, again.” Owlowiscious answered with his own nod, and then turned his attention briefly back to the envelope as the dog hurried back to his post. He only pondered it for a moment before moving further along the road, away from the gate and further up the mountain, following the crowd towards the market quarter.

Shuffling further from the thoroughfare and closer towards the shops that began to line the road, he focused for a moment, willing eldritch energy into the tip of the wing not holding the envelope and causing one of the primary feathers to shimmer sky blue, and then stiffen and sharpen enough to function as a letter opener. Which it was used for almost immediately before returning to its original state. The use of magic was not uncommon in Animalia, although the majority of its use did require rituals and foci. Owlowiscious was one of the lucky few known as a Void Shaper, able to call upon supernatural forces to change the world around him without the need for rituals and foci, much as a phoenix could.

But at that moment, the mechanics of magic use and spell casting weren't important. What was important at that moment were the contents of the envelope. A simple letter of no small importance, it was a summons directly from the Empress herself! This was... well, expected, really, given who he was. What wasn’t expected was the designated arrival time of ‘noon.’ A quick glance skyward revealed that if it was not noon at that moment, it was a bit past it.

“Why does this keep happening?” he demand of no one, taking off in a dead run towards the Imperial palace, or at least as close to one as he could manage through the crowd. Without fail, anytime there was a summons waiting for him when he returned to Heavenspire, he was always late, no matter what he tried. He was certain that the Empress was doing it on purpose, especially since this was the first time she’d sent it unmarked. “Out of my way!”

Briefly, he considered taking to wing, but shoved the thought aside as he shoved past a bystander. Even if he had the room he needed to get into the air, Heavenspire had a strict ‘no-fly’ law, except for emergencies. This didn’t quite qualify. Accordingly, by the time he arrived at the palace gates, Owlowiscious was gasping for breathe and all to thankful that his active life did not leave him with a weaker body. His effort to recover the use of his lungs was momentarily interrupted — momentarily — by mirthful laughter coming from ahead of him.

It was, of course, the brown-furred bear sitting on a small chair in front of the palace gate. Tall, a bit rotund, and dressed in an iron breastplate, along with matching greaves, and armguards over his shirt and trousers, spear resting against the wall and sword at his side, he was not a simple guard like the Rons at the city gates, but was a proper soldier in direct service to the Empress, even if the short beard that was not quite as well-groomed as it should have been did much to dispel that particular image. And he was laughing in the way he almost always did.

“Running late as usual, Master Nightwatch?” he asked with a wide smile. He stretched one arm forward, offering a sloshing water skin to the owl. Rather than respond, Owlowiscious elected to accept the full water skin the soldier offered to him, feeling immediate relief as the water cooled his throat. “Every time you come home, your summons is also for the time you step through the gates, and you run yourself half-dead trying to get here. Hm.” For a moment, the bear examined him more closely, before reclining back against the wall surrounding the palace. “Well, I suppose today you're only a quarter-dead, but you know what I mean. I'm waiting for the day when you take your time getting here, just to see how the Empress reacts!”

“You would wait for that, Lantier,” Owlowiscious finally replied, wiping some stray drops from his beak onto his wing, “If it ever happened, of course. I'm afraid you'll be waiting forever, but I’m feeling generous enough to make you a deal.” The conversation, by that point, had become a ridiculous conspiracy, both Owlowiscious and Lantier sporting grins that were dangerously close to being too large for their faces. “On the next summons, I will casually and leisurely stroll up to this gate from across the city if you will shave that ridiculous beard.”

“Ha! We both know that you’ll casually and leisurely stroll up to this gate from across the city years before I’ll shave my glorious beard. I suppose I’ll have to settle for seeing you constantly arriving in such a state. And also in constantly making you even later than you already are.”

Owlowiscious’ face flashed with shock, and then with horror. “I — you... huh?” he stammered, and then he bolted through the gate with renewed vigor, while Lantier stayed behind, laughing jovially. “Damn!” The soldier and the Empress had to be working together, playing some game with him. It was the only explanation that made sense.

Once he crossed the empty courtyard before the palace, he stopped before entering it and took a few moments to compose himself, and then stepped inside, stopping only long enough to grab the ornate, stiff-bristled brush just inside the entrance to dust off the soles of his taloned feet. Only then did he step the rest of the way in and begin making his way across the wooden floor, every step producing a creak in the boards not unlike the chirping of a nightingale; without magic, sneaking through the palace corridors was impossible. As Owlowiscious walked down the corridor and into the main hall, where access to other rooms and floors was located, he passed by a few more soldiers standing guard at the twin staircases leading up and each of the three doors leading to other wings of the palace, who did not acknowledge him at all beyond a quick glance to confirm who was approaching.

Finally, though, he reached the door at the far end, producing the summons for soldiers flanking it. They pushed the red-painted wooden doors open, allowing access to the corridor behind. This next corridor was not terribly long, and ended in the large, iron doors leading to the throne room. The doors themselves were not terribly remarkable, but the soldiers that flanked those doors were another matter entirely, standing worlds apart from the others Owlowiscious has passed by in the previous room.

They were covered head to toe in black, steel armor lacquered and polished to a shine, and adorned with protective incantations and charms etched into the metal and painted onto strips of heavy white paper in vibrant red ink.

Armored masks, shaped and carved to look like spirits, faces twisted in rage, covered their faces completely and concealed their identities and hid their eyes. Each of them was a dog, if Owlowiscious were to guess from their build and posture, but beyond that, they were enigmas.

Their swords and spears, forged from the purest metals and blessed by Empress Philomena herself, all but shimmered and hummed with mystical power.

They stood still and impassive as statues, but saw everything around them, could be fooled by no lie or illusion, and would react to danger faster than the eye could blink.

These soldiers were Tengu, the Empress’ personal honor guard. And no matter how many times he passed by them, no matter how many times he witnessed them snap into action against some demon or wayward spirit that thought it could infiltrate the palace, Owlowiscious never felt comfortable around these faceless, nameless monsters, as if they themselves were more demon than mortal.

Nevertheless, when he came to stop just a few feet from them, he tried to be as impassive and stoic as they were. For the most part, he succeeded. After a few moments, a silent call came, and both Tengu turned to the side in sync and pushed the massive doors opened. Not wasting a moment, Owlowiscious stepped inside and waited, the doors closing behind him. After another moment, a soft breeze beckoned him forward.

The throne room was accurately named, being little more than a large room with a throne at the far end. Filled up, it would easily accommodate a thousand men and women, for the occasions when the Empress wished to address crowds of administrators and lords and ladies at once. Now, it sat as empty as the throne that the owl was approaching. The light blue carpet under his talons — a wide strip down the center of the room — felt softer than he remember, meaning it had probably been replaced recently. When he had nearly reached the throne, one of the Empress' attendants, dressed in a plain lavender servant’s robe, stepped from behind the throne: An aging sparrow named Elegy. She raised one wing and beckoned Owlowiscious to follow her, which he did.

Behind the throne were passages that allowed the Empress' to enter and leave the throne room without passing through the rest of the palace, where security was unquestionably more difficult to maintain. More importantly, those passages provided quick access, after a short walk, to the Empress’ personal quarters. Only a select few were permitted access to these passages: The Empress’ attendants, of course, a handful of trusted advisors, what immediate family she had, the Tengu, and Owlowiscious, one of the privileges of being her personal retainer.

Unlike the throne room, the passages behind the throne were small — large enough, Owlowiscious once noted, for two fully equipped Tengu to fight side-by-side — and simple, with polished wooden floors and walls with heavy paper stretched across and pasted to them. Lighting was provided not by lanterns, but simple rods with a small dollop of gold on one end, enchanted to glow like a torch; sun globes, as they were commonly known. Elegy ignored several of the passages branching off from the main one, moving straight to the stairs at a central junction and then up them. Owlowiscious followed her up to what he knew to be the second-to-topmost floor and down one more short corridor, finally stopping at a pair of sliding doors — screens made from wood and heavy paper, really — leading to another room. Grasping a hanging, tasseled rope, Elegy ran a bell twice, waited for the required seven seconds, and then opened one door enough to slip inside, closing it behind her. Several seconds later, she opened the door again, having received permission to allow Owlowiscious to enter.

Stepping into the Empress’ quarters was not, as some suspected, like stepping into another world. Rather, it reminded Owlowiscious very much of stepping through the door of his own home in the city (for although he was her retainer, he was not permanent staff, as it were). A spacious, single room with a small fire pit in the center (although it was so small it would do little more than provide some warmth and heat water for tea, while his was large enough to serve as a cook fire also), a small shrine occupying one wall (though for Empress Philomena, it was more ornamental than ceremonial), another wall covered in windows to let the outside world inside (presently opened to allow light and a pleasant breeze through), and a final wall covered in bookshelves (though these ones boasted locking cabinets only the Empress could open), and a low writing desk just a short distance in front of the bookcases (behind which the Empress presently sat, quietly scribing a letter). The single biggest difference was that Owlowiscious used the main area for sleeping, while the Empress had a separate room for that. There was also the fact that he had never quite been able to locate her latrine, but he never pondered that particular question for long.

With a nod to Elegy, who let herself back out and closed the doors once more, Owlowiscious approached Empress Philomena, stopping several shaku away from her. It was not for safety’s sake, but for politeness; he had received permission to enter her quarters, but not yet received it to enter her personal space. She stopped briefly to dab her pen into her ink pot, taking the opportunity to raise her unused wing, all primaries folded down save one, which pointed towards the ceiling, acknowledging his presence and asking him to be patient for a few moments more.

Even in the midst of something as simple as writing a letter, Philomena was the very picture of an Empress. Though most strongly resembled an eagle, it was undeniable that features from the other tribes were a part of her appearance, even if no one had ever been able to explain exactly what else they saw in her face; it seemed to be different for everyone. Her red and orange feathers were all perfectly in place, and shimmered slightly in the afternoon sunlight spilling in from the windows. Even her clothes seemed imperial. A white robe, the shoulders stiffed and raised to strike a broader, more imposing figure, symbolized both her purity and her strength, while the red sash draped over her shoulders symbolized her identity as the Sun and her hate of all things evil. The gold that lined the very tips of the sash, so small that it would be missed except by close inspection, symbolized her disinterest in material wealth. Finally, another sash around her waist, colored black and binding the outfit together, symbolized her mystical nature, which could not be truly seen by mortal eyes. Information that Owlowiscious well knew already, but couldn't help thinking over as he waited, as he often did.

The few moments of waiting were filled with the patient, precise scratching of pen on paper, and when the Empress had finished, she just as patiently placed her pen aside, replaced the stopper in her ink pot, gently picked up the letter and waved in through the air three times to finish drying the ink, carefully folded it, placed it in an envelope, and sealed it with wax before applying her crest to the seal. She pushed the envelope aside, and only then did she look at Owlowiscisous.

In an instant, all pretense of formality faded. Her eyes widened with glee, the corners of her mouth, just past her beak, turned upward in a smile, and she clasped both wings in front of her, looking less like an Empress and more like an excited niece. “You have it?”

“After all that flying, walking, and even a very minor demon, I regret to inform you that I do not have it.” Philomena’s expectant smile never faded, and Owlowiscious himself could not keep a straight face for long before adopting an appropriately wide grin. “Of course I have it! Was there ever any doubt?”

Not wasting another moment, he opened the top of his bag and dipped his wing inside. The parcel that came out in the grasp of his primaries was expertly and tightly wrapped in heavy, brown paper. “One book, as arranged, from a series I cannot find anywhere but your library, by an author who I remained convinced does not ex —”

The parcel suddenly glowed a fiery orange and flew from his grasp and into Philomena's, who immediately began unwrapping it with all the excitement of a child who'd been told the paper hid a box filled with candy.

“— ist. Hmph.” As he always did, Owlowiscious walked over to join the Empress and took a seat beside her just as she finished unwrapping the brand new, unmarred, and freshly printed Daring Do and the Mask of Shadows, the art on the cover featuring a horse — a pony, really — with feathered wings, a most absurd looking outfit and eyes that were rather too large for its face, staring at an ebony mask as if it held the secrets of the universe. A book, as he had said, that appeared to exist only inside of Philomena’s personal library. And Philomena herself could not be happier.

“Finally here!” she nearly shouted, looking at the cover with eyes that clearly wanted to throw it open and begin reading the words inside immediately. She restrained herself, though, and instead threw one wing around Owlowiscious’ shoulders, nuzzling her face against his affectionately. In her own quarters, and with only his company, she had no appearances to keep up. “You really are the best.”

After a moment, he managed to slip out from under her wing. “So I’ve been told,” he replied, taking a second look at the strange book. “Who exactly did you say was supplying these for you?”

Clutching the book to her breast as if it were treasure, the Empress only gave him a coy smile. “I might tell you, some day. But until then, as you may have guessed, a secret delivery is not the only reason I called you here.”

“Of course not. That would make too much sense.”

Her smile changing from coy to wry, Philomena placed her book on her writing desk, forgetting it for a moment. “As you know, in two days’ time it will have been one thousand years to the moment since the Day the Earth Froze and Darkness Covered the Land. A millennium since the greatest evil we have ever known was conquered, and this calls for celebration, despite what the doomsayers in the streets would have you believe.”

Owlowiscious just sighed and rolled his eyes. He remembered passing those ‘doomsayers’ in his mad dash to the palace, and while they were doing little in the way of harm, they were an eyesore nonetheless. They had also drawn small crowds around them that made maneuvering more difficult, which had surely delayed him more than he would have been. “I take it from your telling this directly to me that you’re not thinking of celebrating here in Heavenspire.”

“Oh, among all the courtiers and courtesans, in their dandiest clothes, all congratulating and thanking me for everything I’ve done to make Heavenspire so wonderful for them? Ha!” Philomena rose to her feet — a movement that Owlowiscious was quick to mimic — and made her way to the wide windows overlooking the countryside. “Who fought for my generals, Owlowiscious? Who stood against the darkness, never faltering even though their hearts were filled with fear, never doubting for a moment that the Sun would never dim even as their families and friends fell around them?”

Intrigued, Owlowiscious joined the Empress at the windows. Although there were cities, one larger than even Heavenspire barely visible in the distance, the land around the great mountain was largely occupied by smaller towns and villages, themselves surrounded by farmland and pastures, or ponds, or small groves and orchards. Including one in particular that seemed to hold Philomena’s interest the most, a nearly unnoticeable dot in the midst of a spread of fields, a small lake, and bordering an untamable forest that Owlowiscious knew as Mei-Shinrin in Classical Animan, but that was more commonly called the Dark Wood or even the Tangled Skein.

“As you’ve told me, Empress, farmers and artisans. The peasants are the ones who fought and died, even as later narratives ‘corrected’ the accounts so everyone knew it was the noble families who stood on the front lines. And, I assume —” He pointed out towards that nearly unnoticeable dot with the primary feather of his wing — “That ‘peasant hovel,’ as those of high-breeding are so fond of referring to anything that doesn't meet their standard of taste, holds a particular significance to you.”

“That village is Taiyō-sen, and it does hold particular significance.”

Again, Owlowiscious quirked his brow. “I thought that village was new, speaking relatively. It has a Classical name?” Even Heavenspire didn’t have a Classical name, or at least did not any longer, and had stood for a millennium since the Maiden of Flames first commanded its construction.

Again, Philomena gave a coy smile. “Ask one of them, if you can find the time. Their magistrate was notified while you were away, so I imagine they’re in the midst of making sure everything is perfect for the Empress of Light. I imagine you know me well enough to be able to keep them from overdoing everything.” With a half-turn, Philomena extended her wing, the air around it shimmering with magic, towards her writing desk. Several objects on the desk likewise shined fire-orange, floated gingerly into the air and over to Owlowiscious, who deftly took them with his wing. Two envelopes and a large sheet of folded paper, all told. “A letter of identity, in the event you need it, a brief list of what to expect for the preparations and instructions should you need to help the villagers see reason with their grandiosity, and a spell formula should you get bored. You’ll see.”

For his part, Owlowiscious looked at the three items for a moment, and then slipped them into his bag. “I suppose I should leave as soon as I am able?” he asked, receiving a nod for his answer. “Then I shall resupply my purse and be off. By your leave, you majesty.” He bowed deeply, rising only after Philomena had returned the bow — although hers was not nearly so deep, as dictated by custom — and then turned and started towards the doors.

“Oh, and Owlowiscious?”

He stopped suddenly, looking back over his shoulder at the warmly smiling Philomena.

“Bring my nephew with you. He can’t hope to experience the world from here, and I think the atmosphere of Taiyō-sen is exactly what he needs to truly understand the people he shares that world with.”

Owlowiscious quirked his brow at that, filled with just the tiniest bit of concern. “Which nephew?” he asked.

The Empress grinned a sly grin. “Which do you think?”

Owlowiscious furrowed his brow for a moment, but rapidly reached a conclusion with a smile: Of course, there was only one of those nephews that would see any value in experiencing the world outside Heavenspire. “Of course, your majesty,” he began, “It would be to my greatest delight to show your nephew the joys of a ‘peasant’ village.”

With another half bow, he took his leave and returned to the passages outside, then to the throne room, and finally to the passages outside of that. The Tengu he passed when he first entered were still there, and were just as unmoving and impassive as they had been before. Suppressing a shudder, Owlowiscious left them behind and began his trek towards another part of the palace.

It was not a far walk to the Imperial Garden, even from the throne room, and if the truth were to be told, it was perhaps Owlowiscious’ favorite feature of the palace. Carefully trimmed trees of all sizes and varieties, precisely maintained paths, expertly groomed shrubberies serving as a low perimeter wall, and a small stream passing through, it was intended to remind the palace staff of the serenity of nature, so that they would not become lost in the noise of the city. Stepping from the palace and into the garden, the owl drew in a deep breath of the clean air, the temperature perfectly comfortable despite how high on the mountainside he was. Whether this was the result of magic or benevolent spirits that had taken up residence was not clear, but ultimately unimportant.

There were a few soldiers standing at key locations, even if their presence was not strictly needed, as the garden was a poor point to attack from. There were a few administrators taking a moment to calm themselves from the day’s work. And, as Owlowiscious came to a stop and cleared his mind, the sound of a flute being played floated into his ears. It was not exactly the sound of the flute that his attention; he was expecting to hear one before he arrived. What perplexed him was that the music was not very good. The tune was slower than it should have been, and several notes were off-key. Approaching the sound, moving only along the paths as he did, he saw rapidly the reason why the music was not very good.

The flute in question was floating in the air, wreathed in the fire-orange glow of phoenix magic. The music itself was genuine enough, air being pushed through it by wind and invisible force changing the tone as needed. And seated just a short distance from the flute, one eye squeezed shut and tongue pinched between his beak, was a small phoenix of the eagle tribe, dressed in the robes of a noble, focusing intensely and expending far too much energy on what should have been a straight-forward task. Finally, the boy’s concentration faltered and the spells broke, the flute silencing and dropping lamely to the ground.

Without wasting a moment, Owlowiscious began applauding (although in all his study, he had never figured out how clapping his wings together could produced the same sound as a pair of hands). The boy looked over in alarm, and he immediately smiled as brightly as the sun. “That’s a new trick, isn’t it?” asked the owl.

“Owlowiscious! You’re back!” The boy leapt to his feet, charged and with a flying leap, throw his arms around his elder's waist in what would have been a crushing hug, had he been older. All the same, Owlowiscious was nearly bowled over by his enthusiasm.

“Well, I missed you too, Peewee.” He ruffled the feathers on the boy’s head, and gently as he could, pried him off. “And I know for a fact that you weren’t doing anything like that before I left. If you’ll walk with me and tell me what you’ve been up to for the last month, I’m thrilled to listen.”

Phineus Wilhelm, or ‘Peewee’ as he preferred, was the son of a merchant, and to most of Heavenspire, was of absolutely no consequence aside from being a phoenix. The distinct lack of this sort of behavior from Owlowiscious, coupled with his happy willingness to tutor the child in the finer points of spellcasting, explained completely why one was something of an idol to the other. Accordingly, after Peewee scooped up his flute and Owlowiscious caught up to him, he proceed to speak nonstop about the events that had transpired in the absence of his mentor, from spells he had been practicing, to interesting foods he had eaten, to when he attempted to sneak into the Empress’ quarters to find out exactly what books she kept in her library.

For all their stoniness, the Tengu that caught him had been quite good natured about the whole thing, letting him off with a warning and a promise that it would be kept secret. That, at least, is what Peewee was pretty certain had happened; the Tengu had been silent as a statue throughout all of it, so it was a little difficult to tell. But since nothing had come of up, that was surely what happened. Probably.

As they walked and talked, the subject eventually turned from Peewee to Owlowiscious, and what the latter had been doing while he was gone. Of course, the retrieval of the Empress’ book was summarized as not knowing what the contents of the parcel were (which, truth be told, was not a complete fabrication), but the festival to celebrate a thousand years without darkness could not be avoided in any way. Least of all when Peewee finally learned that such a festival was being held and eagerly rushed to the garden wall so he could peer at the almost unnoticeable dot of Taiyō-sen in the distance.

“As she wants you to make sure it goes okay?” the phoenix asked, eyes wide with amazement. “Wow! You really are her favorite!”

“Peewee!” Owlowiscious' admonishment was admittedly less stern than he had intended. “Now where did you hear something like that? You shouldn’t trust the palace gossip, you know. Just because someone says I’m her favorite, doesn’t mean that I am.”

“But she said you were her favorite,” Peewee replied, turning around from the view of the countryside to face Owlowiscious directly.

Oh.

“Well, that changes things a bit, I suppose. What else did she say?”

And at that, the little phoenix realized what had just happened, his smile faltering. “Um. She also said that people might get jealous if that kind of talk got around and that I shouldn’t repeat it to anyone, not even to you, just in case.” He was caught, and probably in trouble too. “Oops.”

“Oops, indeed.” Owlowiscious ruffled the feathers on Peewee's head once more with a chuckle. “But if you won’t tell, I won’t either. Deal?” The only response was the return of a smile and a definitive nod of the head. With that, the matter was settled, and their attentions could be turned to the original matter.

“In any case, it’s not so much that she wants me to make sure it goes okay, as you said. The villagers are more than capable of that by themselves. She only wants me to make sure they don’t get so wrapped up in trying to make everything perfect that they don’t enjoy it themselves.” Owlowiscious approached the wall then, and looked down at the village, or at least to the more visible lands surrounding it. “She also said, in no uncertain terms, that you get to come with me.”

If the phoenix’s eyes got any bigger than they did at that moment, they would have covered half his face. “Really? I get to go with you?” When Owlowiscious nodded, Peewee jumped and shouted for joy. “Is the horse ready yet? Or! Do I get my own horse? I haven’t been riding that far before! Not on my own horse. Can I please ride my own horse? Please?”

Owlowiscious just chuckled and shook his head. “No, there won’t be horses for this trip,” the owl replied, looking out over the wall at the almost unnoticeable dot he would soon be standing before, “After all, what need do we have of horses when we have wings?”

Peewee, for his part, looked and was thoroughly confused. “But, I can’t fly yet...” he said feebly.

“Well, perhaps you aren’t flying just yet, but I understand you become quite good at gliding. And Taiyō-sen is not so far if you travel in a straight line from up here to down there.” Owlowiscious turned his head and smiled down at the phoenix, whose own face was now brightly lit with an even bigger smile, eyes wide with excitement; as always, Owlowiscious had a cunning plan. “It’d be good practice riding thermals, and I’ll bet if we do everything just right, we could glide all the way there without any walking at all. It would be almost like flying.”

“Yes!” For a second time, Peewee jumped for joy, this time into Owlowiscious’ waist for another hug. “You’re the best, Owlowiscious!” The hug was short-lived as the phoenix bounced anyway, so giddy he wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself. “This is the best day ever! I, oh, I have to pack! I’ll go pack my things!”

“Pack light!” called Owlowiscious as Peewee hurried back into the palace. With a chuckle, the owl turned and looked over the wall once more, down at that almost unnoticeable dot that was Taiyō-sen, and smiled. Having the past weeks of adventure capped with a nice, quiet evaluation and then the grandest festival he could hope to see in his life fit perfectly into his vision of a perfect day. And in two days’ time, that festival would be the perfect end to a perfect day.

And with himself, the Empress and an entire troop of Tengu present, for a change there was absolutely nothing that could go wrong.

Author's Note:

For those who wonder, Usagi Yojimbo is a big inspiration for writing this, and although I doubt I'm able to match Stan Sakai's style perfectly or even get close, I like to think I'm doing a pretty good job.

As you may have noticed, any terms that get use and are not English will be explained in some fashion, either directly or in a note immediately following the word in question.

Comments

[suijin]

Would suggest reading over that first paragraph again. And fixing it.

You said momentarily twice, at one point, too.

Maybe you should just check over all of it...

Maybe you should add an author's note somewhere, and mention the japanese influences?

Also. "... there was absolutely nothing that could go wrong." Sounds like some famous last words, to me.

[PhycoKrusk]

3128420
Could you be a bit more specific about "the first paragraph"? I looked over it, but I feel like I'm missing something that should be obvious....

An author's note is under consideration, though.

[suijin]

3128496
You describe the way that things look 'from the sky' twice, and seem to be splitting up what should be a single, coherent sentence with a period

[PhycoKrusk]

3128543
... well. That's embarassing. Seriously, that's like a grade school mistake right there.