Friday, July 8, 2005

No Surrender: Tragic swordsman, Yuukanmaru
*episode 8*

There once was a wise lord who ruled for many years. In his service he drew the finest warriors in all the land. They became known as his Nijuu. In addition to each one being a formidable fighter, they were also men of the highest caliber. Among them there were monks, painters, musicians, poets, philosophers, and craftsmen of great renowned. Their loyalty to their lord was unwavering and he was a master befitting such servants. In time, he died and left his domain to his only heir, his nephew whose name was Tawakemono. Along with the old lord’s land and wealth, he inherited the Nijuu and their absolute loyalty. But Tawakemono was not his uncle, and he was not a wise lord. For nearly a year the Nijuu served him and there was not one among them who questioned his stupidity. But none of them left him, out of loyalty to his uncle. It came to pass that lord Tawakemono took offense at a casual remark made by another nobleman. Seeing insult where none had been intended, he allowed anger to seethe within him. Eventually, deaf to all console, he ordered a sneak attack against this lord. What he refused to hear was that this other lord was protected by powerful alliances of blood and marriage. Even with the full force of his uncle’s army, Tawakemono would be hopelessly outnumbered once his enemy had time to summon his forces. The attack went ahead and the lord was slain. As predicted, the dead lord’s clan rose to seek vengeance. As their armies approached, all of lord Tawakemono soldiers fled seeing that they would surely be slaughtered. All except the Nijuu. With their lords promise that he would lead them into battle, regardless of the odds, they stayed by his side. When the enemy moved to within archery range, the lord could not be found. As the arrows began to fly, his body was found. He had been trying to flee disguised as a woman. It was too late for retreat or surrender, so the Nijuu fought to the last man. Every one of them took down a dozen enemies, but they faced many times those numbers. Their blood flowed through the fortress of their foolish lord. After their enemies had left with Tawakemono’s remains, Naraku found their remains and he buried a jewel shard with them for a month. When he took it out, it was as black as coal.
Comments (5)