The Ushitora Mountain range

Present: Late Spring, 1472

Although it was already late into spring and the sun should have already risen, the shadow of the mountain seemed to eat up any light. The bronze door had stood sentinel the entire time, but now with the sorceress and Furusawa standing before it, it seemed to hum and groan, answering the call of the pass token. 

Kana stood before the door, muttering under her breath while Furusawa smirked with satisfaction.

“This should be a good show…” he said, gesturing as the huge bronze door slowly creaked open on its own, revealing a deep swirling mist.

“I think you will regret this,” said Feiyan, aiming her words at the person she knew was listening through Furusawa. “The guardians aren’t here to do your bidding.”

For a moment, Furusawa’s eyes flared red, but then he shrugged.

“Don’t be so sure, Crown Prince of Moutan,” was the mocking response.

A flash of lightning shot up Feiyan’s spine. Although it had been Furusawa’s voice, it had not been his words. 

So I was right! He’s being controlled by someone else, she thought, before turning to the bronze door.

Whooosh!

Hajoon frowned as he stared through the opening and into empty space. Other than the mist, nothing could be seen beyond that dark emptiness. 

Behind him Su Qian Qian quivered as the opening suddenly erupted into a wall of shadowed hands, grasping and clawing at the air. Moans and shrieks echoed as if the creatures trapped inside were howling to get out. Howling to pull them in…

It’s exactly like my dream...thought Feiyan with a small shudder.

On the other hand, Lady Kana’s expression remained calm.

“Go. Once the door is shut behind you, you will enter the realm that belongs to the gate guardian,” explained Lady Kana. “If you survive the trial, then a torii* will appear that will allow you to pass through.”

“Will we all get sent to the same place?” wondered Feiyan aloud.

“Only the mountain decides. I wish you well, your Highness,” Lady Kana responded.

Feiyan nodded, a little surprised that the woman’s tone was devoid of irony. However, she didn’t notice the speculative look that Kana flashed at Hajoon.

Uta swallowed visibly, eyeing the shadowy hands that stretched towards them.

“Don’t be afraid,” said Feiyan to the others. “I’ll go first.”

The wind blew back her hair as she stepped towards the opening without showing an ounce of fear.

“Wait!” Hajoon said sharply, pulling her back. “Let’s hold onto each other…hopefully we’ll end up in the same place…”

She nodded and quickly directed the others to do the same. 

Even with Hajoon’s hand in hers, she could not suppress a squirm of revulsion when the shadows grabbed onto her legs and hurled her headlong into the darkness beyond.

***

Clang! Clang! Clang!

When Feiyan’s vision cleared, she heard Uta’s voice up ahead and realized she was crouching on a dirt road.

“W-What sound is that?” he asked. He was rubbing his head, obviously still disoriented.

Despite feeling nauseous, Feiyan stood and walked over to join him. Her brow creased at what she saw. They were standing at the entrance of a perfectly normal looking Shoban style village with some larger buildings that billowed smoke from their chimneys.

Interesting, she thought, looking around to get her bearings.

“Wait…did all of us get through?” she asked, scanning the faces around her.

“No, your Highness. We lost three of ours and also Lord Li’s group,” reported the remaining Shadow, a willowy girl named Eunhae.

Feiyan squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that they were somewhere else rather than dead.

Not good…That leaves me, Eunhae, Usa, Uta and…

“Hajoon?” she asked, stuffing her feelings down. Now was not the time to lose her cool.

“I’m here,” he said, coming from behind her.

She looked down to hide her relief.

Although Feiyan was the center of their fighting triad, Hajoon had always been her anchor. She was relieved to see him standing before her, as solid a presence as ever. His calm look spoke of reassurance, and she only just prevented herself from gripping his hand.

Looking back from where they’d come, she saw that the village was guarded by a large tori gate with gracefully curved lintels. There was something written on it, but the characters were in the old Shoban script and written upside down. To her surprise, before she was able to decipher them, the tori disappeared entirely.

Well…one step at a time...

“Is the village…real?” asked Usa, astonished by what he was seeing. He glanced ahead, mesmerized, as his feet took him forward into the broad dirt avenue that marked the main road.

Although she knew that time could move differently within Ushitora, it appeared to be early morning. The village was clearly inhabited and the few people who passed, turned to glare at the young man, giving him suspicious looks as they tried to put distance between themselves and the strangers.

Clinging to the side of the mountain, the small village and its houses bunched together, winding up and around the peak. Feiyan noticed that there was a single, larger house that was separated from the rest situated at the very top of the road, almost hidden by the trees. It was most likely the headman’s home.

Coming back to himself, Usa turned back to Feiyan, looking for instructions. His twin brother also waited patiently for her to speak.

“What do you make of it?” she asked the group.

“I can smell the water of a recent rain in the air and the smoke of furnaces. I can feel the chill of the elevation. From what I can see and smell…my senses are telling me that this is real,” said Hajoon grimly, folding his arms across his broad chest.

“It does feel real,” Feiyan with a frown, “but I think most of this is an illusion realm. The people look real enough. I can’t actually see anything out of the ordinary about them. If they’re human, that means they probably aren’t aware that they’re here. If they aren’t human, then their aura is so well disguised that even I can’t tell. If we can’t tell, then we can’t harm them. So let’s find out what we can…”

“You mean…that these could be real people in a dream?” asked Uta, blankly.

“Perhaps. If that’s true, then perhaps we are too,” nodded Feiyan, watching the expressions of her companions change. That is, if they’re actually humans...they could be something else, but I’m not sure yet...

“In an illusion realm, time will also move differently. What might be days or weeks here may only be a few hours outside or vice versa...I’m hoping it’s the former, not the latter.”

“If it’s an illusion, what happens if we die here, your Highness?” Eunhae asked. Feiyan noticed that her hand clutched nervously at her empty wrist sheath.

I’m not alone in feeling vulnerable…let’s try to reassure—

“That Shoban sorceress outside will eat up your soul,” Hajoon deadpanned.

Eunhae tittered, but Usa and Uta looked horrified.

Mu. Ha. Joon! 

Feiyan glared at him. It was out of character for Hajoon to make jokes at a time like this, especially ones that affected morale.

“Let’s be serious. We don’t know what’s going to happen,” she sighed, expression becoming set.  “The gate guardians will reap the benefit of any beings who become ensnared in the illusion realm, but as long as we stay alert and work together, we can fight our way out.”

Hajoon nodded and then crouched down.

“I almost forgot…Lord Mu suspected that something odd would happen, but I didn’t think I’d need to use this even before we reached Shobu...” Hajoon sighed, tapping something on his index finger as they gathered around him.

Startled, Feiyan stared at him, realizing that Hajoon was wearing a ring…a ring that she’d only seen on her father’s finger.

So that’s what he gave Hajoon…

“No way! Is that a legendary spatial ring?!” breathed Usa. “How did they not take this from you when you were searched?”

Hajoon grinned.

“He wouldn’t be the Vice-Captain of the Shadows if he didn’t know how to hide something that small,” Eunhae laughed in her whispery voice.

Hajoon didn’t offer any clarification and Feiyan felt that it was probably better for Usa and Uta if they remained blissfully ignorant about what that meant. Despite his size, Hajoon was a master of concealment.

On the other hand, perhaps given her rank, the Shobans had not searched her, thus her fan and the white jade token were still in her possession. Her heart twinged as she thought of her father and the look on his face as he had passed these things to her.

“I see that I was not the only one who left with Father’s gifts...” Feiyan said with irony. “ Well then...I assume that you are carrying a small arsenal?”

“Not small...” Hajoon answered. “There’s also food and water...” he said, tossing her a full pack of throwing darts and poisoned needles. For himself, he buckled a sabre to his back.

No...apparently not small...she thought, taking the pack gleefully. Ever since she’d left the capital, she’d been feeling naked from the lack of concealed weapons. Neither the fan, nor the jade token had given her the same sense of security as being fully armed with a Shadow’s natural tools.

But Father...

She tried not to show her dismay. Just as the legendary creatures that had once walked the lands of the three kingdoms had disappeared, so had treasures like the spatial ring that Hajoon was currently wearing. In all the three kingdoms, only Lord Mu had one and he had not even told Moon where he got it.

It’s too much of a coincidence that Father gave it to Hajoon. He’s never talked much about his clairvoyance, but how else would he know...? Sometimes I wonder if he knew that Moon was going to die and still sent him to Beichun river...No, I’m a terrible daughter for thinking that. But Father…if you knew this would happen, why didn’t you tell me?

She mentally shook herself.

Focus.

“Alright,” breathed Feiyan. “We’re ready. Let’s go.”

I just have to trust him…as he’s always trusted me. Father would not have forsaken me.

Pushing aside all of her misgivings, she forged ahead, leading them into the village.

__________

* A torii is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred. Here, it’s an inversion and marks the transition between guardian realms within Ushitora.