The Chrysanthemum Seal (The Year of the Dragon, Book 5) Read online

  THE CHRYSANTHEMUM SEAL

  Book Five of

  The Year of the Dragon

  James Calbraith

  Published May 2014 by Flying Squid

  ISBN: 978-83-936713-6-6

  Visit James Calbraith’s official website at

  jamescalbraith.com

  for the latest news, book details, and other information

  Copyright © James Calbraith, 2014

  Cover Art: Daniel Kordek

  Map Illustrations: Jared Blando, Flying Squid, Metruis

  Cover Design: Flying Squid

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  Fan fiction and fan art is encouraged.

  THE STORY SO FAR...

  Bran, a young dragon rider from Gwynedd, having graduated from the Academy of Mystic Arts, joins his estranged father Dylan, an officer in the Royal Marines and a powerful wizard, on an expedition to the distant land of Qin in the Far East. The mistfire ship they sail on, the MFS Ladon, the greatest warship ever built, is destroyed by a saboteur from a rebel Qin faction. In the ensuing chaos, Bran invokes a spell which transports him to a mysterious island country of Yamato.

  Washed up on the beach, Bran is found by two friends: Satō, daughter of a scholar of Western magic, and Nagomi, an apprentice at the local shrine, and half-Westerner herself. On the orders of the Taikun, the military ruler of Yamato and Mikado, the Divine Emperor, foreigners are banned from entering the country, and so Bran is hidden by the girls. Satō, a tomboy samurai and ice wizard herself, is teaching Wizardry in his father’s school of magic, where two young boys study: a timid commoner Yoshida Shoin and arrogant samurai son, Sakuma Keinosuke. Nagomi, timid and shunned due to her Western hair colour, is training to become a Scryer and a healer and works in her father’s hospital. During a Scrying ritual she is shown an ominous vision of three stones: jade, sapphire and ruby, together with a prophecy of the Eight-Headed Serpent.

  A demonic man in crimson robe, whose description matches that in the diary of Bran’s grandfather, who also had once travelled to Yamato, attacks the houses of Satō and Nagomi, searching for Bran and, failing to find him, abducts Satō’s father. Shortly before, Bran is transported to Nagomi’s shrine, where he is introduced to the High Priestess, Lady Kazuko, to whom he explains his predicament: he was separated from his dragon, Emrys, during the disaster, and believes Emrys to have been captured by the Yamato in a place known as the Satsuma. He must find the beast before it is killed or turns feral.

  Bran takes part in a dangerous ritual which bonds his soul with that of a long-dead samurai, General Shigemasa. This gives him the power to transform into a Yamato nobleman. However, the Spirit is not keen on letting him off without a struggle. With Satō, Nagomi and the translator Tokojiro, Bran leaves the city in search of the dragon, the man in the crimson robe, and Satō’s father.

  Following Bran’s premonitions and Nagomi’s visions, the three companions head south, towards Satsuma. Along the way, they are betrayed by Tokojiro, but manage to escape his ambush. Bran realizes he can speak Yamato through his connection with Shigemasa. Following an investigation into the Crimson Robe, they discover the existence of other creatures like him, known in the lore as the immortal Fanged. Not far from the borders of Satsuma, they are ambushed by a band of warriors and forced to flee. They barricade themselves inside an old forest shrine and prepare to make a last stand. The enemies, however, are cut down by an enigmatic samurai, master of the sword, who introduces himself as Dōraku.

  The day before the fight, Nagomi has a vision in which she witnesses the execution of Lady Kazuko for treason against the Taikun of Yamato. Nagomi is promoted to priestess and is asked by Lady Kazuko to continue her mission, crucial to Yamato’s future. Lady Kazuko is arrested and Tokojiro, who struggles with remorse, tries to save her from magistrate prison, but the assault is repulsed by the police chief Koyata. The same night Tokojiro is captured by the Crimson Robe’s men. Later, Chief Koyata, running an investigation in the case of Satō’s father’s disappearance, discovers his whereabouts and rescues him from a volcanic prison. He frees and befriends Tokojiro, who has been kept in the same cell.

  The companions head for the great shrine of Kirishima, where Emrys is held captive by the Archwizard Heishichi, serving Lord Nariakira, master of Satsuma. Soon they are attacked again, this time by spirit wolves sent by Ozun, one of Crimson Robe’s servants. Dōraku sacrifices himself to help Bran and the girls escape and reach their destination safely, in the company of Kumamoto samurai led by Captain Kiyomasa.

  In the Kirishima Shrine, during the preparations for an assault, Bran encounters Atsuko, daughter of Lord Nariakira, and falls in love with her. As part of Satsuma’s bid for rule over Yamato, Atsuko soon departs for the capital Edo, following a mission from her father.

  As Bran, Satō and Nagomi strike at the shrine compound, so does the Crimson Robe and his followers; among them is Azumi, the last surviving Koga assassin. In the ensuing battle, Nagomi is mortally wounded and Emrys turns feral and abandons its master. With the help of Captain Kiyomasa and a blind shrine servant Yōko, Bran and Satō manage to flee, carrying a dying Nagomi deep into the woods. In the morning, they encounter and save the life of a were-bear, a shaman named Torishi, who helps bring Nagomi back to health. Together, they decide to seek further help from Lord Nariakira. Torishi, the last of his kind, abandons his empty home and joins them.

  Emrys is soon captured by Crimson Robe’s men, and controlled by the orb of red crystal, similar to the stone on the ring Bran had been given by his grandfather.

  In the capital of Satsuma the companions meet Dōraku again. He reveals himself as one of the Fanged, just like the man in the crimson robe — whose real name is Ganryū — but claims to have reneged from their secret order and discovered a way to control his thirst for blood. On board of Lord Nariakira’s state-of-the-art private yacht, the companions travel to the far north, where Ganryū has built his island fortress. Meanwhile, Lord Nariakira, consolidating his hold on the South of Yamato, strikes against the neighbourly province of Kumamoto and takes it over in a bloodless coup.

  On the way north, Satō finally meets her father. The old man turns out to have been cursed by Ganryū and strikes at his daughter. Satō is forced to destroy him. She receives a thunder gun from one of his father’s friends, Master Tanaka, the scholar who had before made for her a glove using the forbidden blood magic.

  In the assault on the island fortress, Emrys is released by Nagomi and reunites with Bran, their broken bond mended; despite this, Bran is killed by Ganryū. Nagomi uses her healing power to resurrect him, and Bran manages to destroy the Crimson Robe through a sacrifice made by General Shigemasa’s spirit. Azumi, who survives the battle, flees with the sword Bran used to kill Ganryū, swearing revenge against Satō for killing her lover, Ozun, in the battle of Kirishima Shrine.

  With the General’s Spirit gone, Bran is no longer able to disguise himself as one of the Yamato, and has to leave the country. He leaves Ganryū’s red orb with Dōraku and flies away, unable to say goodbye to his friends. But Dōraku tricks the route into taking the route that leads him towards a hidden flotilla of Western warsh
ips. He is intercepted and taken prisoner by soldiers flying on the backs of enormous black dragons, who themselves are heading for Yamato.

  In Qin, Bran’s father Dylan, who has survived the Ladon disaster, is now commanding an army fighting against the rebels, with the help of Edern, of the Faer-folk race, and his lover, officer Gwen. Wulfhere Warwick, Bran’s school rival, is fighting in the same army and befriends the Qin interpreter, Li.

  Dylan discovers clues to Bran’s fate and location and decides to fly to Yamato with Gwen, staging his death on the battlefield. They are able to locate a Bataavian ship that sails to Yamato with special cargo for Lord Nariakira, but Dylan loses control over his dragon and is taken prisoner by the ship’s crew. Wulfhere, who suspects Dylan’s true motives, and Li, is concerned about Daracaland’s involvement in Yamato, follow them on Li’s golden dragon.

  Another Ladon castaway, Doctor Samuel, is found by the crew of a top-secret Varyagan under-water vessel, also heading for Yamato.

  In Yamato’s Imperial Capital, Heian, the young Crown Prince Mutsuhito discovers a strange dragon-scale-like blemish growing on his leg.

  And if we were never

  To meet again

  Neither my mind nor my body

  Would regret anything

  Chunagon Asatada

  PROLOGUE

  The shuttlecock whizzed past the Overwizard’s ear and with a flutter flew into the rose bush behind him. Curzius sighed and picked it gingerly from among the thorns.

  “I had no idea you were such a keen player, kakka,” he said.

  His opponent smiled. “We have a game like this one,” he said, “something for the women and children to play. This ‘feather-ball’ of yours is a man’s game.”

  He waved the racket a couple of times, tilting his head to hear the satisfying whistling sound.

  “Even the raketto feels like a sword,” he added.

  Curzius wiped the sweat from his brow, adjusted his spectacles and served. The shuttlecock bounced off the stretched parchment in his opponent’s racket and flew back to him, over the thin silk string. With effort, the Overwizard lunged forward and managed a return. Soon Curzius had to bow down again to pick up the missile from the dirt.

  “I shall have all my vassals learn how to play this game,” the other man said. “This is good training.”

  “I’m glad you enjoy it, kakka. But, I’m afraid I must take a break. The day is too hot for me.”

  Nabeshima Naomasa, the daimyo of Saga, though short in stature, was built of sinews and muscles. They had been playing for a good half an hour now, and he didn’t even break a sweat. The portly Curzius, on the other hand, was almost at the end of his strength.

  “Ah, of course!” the daimyo said, nodding. “How thoughtless of me; I’d forgotten how far you have travelled, Curzius-dono.”

  The daimyo clapped twice, and from out of the rose bushes emerged a servant with two flat pillows and a tray of cold saké.

  Curzius smiled weakly. He threw the racket away and sat down on the dusty ground of the courtyard.

  “It took you two weeks to get here from Edo, yes?” Naomasa asked, raising the saké cup in two fingers. In an instant he was transformed from a tough sportsman into a delicate gourmand.

  It will never cease to amaze me, thought Curzius, quaffing the ice-cold liquid in one gulp. He reached out and the servant poured another cup.

  “Yes, but I wasn’t in such a hurry at first. I was in Nagoya, meeting with some friends and relatives of my… late concubine when I received the first letter from Dejima.”

  The daimyo’s face turned grave.

  “I am sorry. I know how it is to lose someone to the disease.”

  He put his hands together and recited a brief prayer for the dead.

  Curzius nodded sadly, waiting for him to finish. He had known Misato less than a year, and most of it he’d spent travelling alone… Still, he had grown very fond of her, and her sudden death from smallpox had caused him as much distress as the recent events in Kiyō.

  “From Nagoya I travelled almost without stopping, day and night,” he continued. “Today is the first day of rest I have taken since then — I could not pass through Saga without spending some time with Your Excellency.”

  “You honour me,” the daimyo said, bowing lightly, “but, why not go straight to Kiyō?”

  “Once I’m back behind the sealed wall of Dejima, it won’t be as easy to gather information.”

  Naomasa raised a cup to his mouth to hide a smile. “I see.”

  “My men don’t know everything, and can put even less in the letters.”

  “You don’t trust your own couriers?”

  “Do you, kakka?”

  “Hah!” Naomasa laughed into his cup, spluttering the drink.

  Curzius sipped the second cup slowly, waiting. He didn’t have to wait long. Naomasa put the cup down, slid the tray aside and waved the servant away.

  “What do you want to know?” he asked sternly.

  Curzius quickly ran through the list of questions in his head. Which matter was the most pressing?

  “What exactly happened to Takashima-sama?”

  The daimyo nodded, as if expecting the question to come first.

  “Dead. Or rather, destroyed.”

  “Destroyed?”

  “Tell me, Oppertovenaar-dono, how much do you know of the events in Kiyō?”

  “I… know of the man dressed in crimson,” Curzius said carefully. This was the part where the letters were at their most vague and confusing. Demons. Blood magic. Is this really happening? It’s like the Wizardry Wars all over again.

  Naomasa nodded. “Shūhan-sama was turning into… some sort of dark being. He was burned down by his own daughter before it was too late. Most tragic.”

  “And what of her?”

  “Oh, that’s a whole different story to tell. She fought the demon and, somehow, defeated him. But that’s all over now. Last I heard she was heading for Kagoshima. That seems to be the right place for her.”

  “The school of magic?”

  “That’s right. Nariakira-dono may seem a difficult ally, but you can’t deny his devotion to the Rangaku arts. Those cups are a gift from him, by the way.”

  Curzius noticed that the saké in the cup remained pleasantly cool despite the heat. He traced the rim with his finger and found a faint ice rune scratched into the clay.

  They learn so fast.

  “Defeated the demon, you say?” he mused.

  “With a lot of help, of course. Shimazu-dono’s Arch-wizard was with her, if I remember right, and a few others.”

  “And the… boy?”

  “The foreigner? He was there too. But he’s gone now, I hear. Found a way home by himself, perhaps. I hear there was a dorako involved.”

  Curzius let out a discreet sigh of relief. That’s one burden less to worry about.

  “The Spy’s daughters,” said Naomasa, “I assume you took care of them?”

  The Overwizard nodded. “As long as they stay in Nagoya, the Itō family is safe. That’s as far as our arm can reach.”

  “That’s impressive. Right under the Taikun’s nose, too.” Naomasa raised his cup. “Things are looking up, it seems.”

  Curzius did not return the toast.

  “We got rid of one foreigner… and got a whole lot more in the bargain.”

  “The black dragons, yes. And the Varyaga Khaganate. You are worried that your monopoly of Sea Maze crossing is broken?”

  Are you not worried about any of this? You’re the protector of Kiyō! Was what he wanted to say, but instead he said: “That’s one of the two reasons I was in such a hurry, really. My masters in Noviomagus will demand answers.”

  “I have sent my engineer Tanaka-sama to Kiyō to investigate what kind of vessel the Khaganate used, but he has not yet returned. What do you think of them, Curzius-dono? Even though they are the nearest of all Westerners, I admit I know almost nothing about them.”

  “They are shrewd,”
said Curzius, shrugging, “and they are a wizard nation, too. I will have a report sent to you once I get to Dejima.”

  “I will be obliged.”

  Curzius wiped his brow again and reached for the saké flask to pour himself some more of the cool drink. He noticed the breach of etiquette at the last moment and offered to fill Naomasa’s cup first, but the daimyo shook his head with a smile.

  “I’ll just say this,” Curzius said, “their arrival may yet be a blessing in disguise.”

  “How so?” asked Naomasa.

  “We may be able to use them as a counter against the Black Wings — if they ever decide to return.”

  “Aah, have they really departed? That’s somewhat disappointing. And after making such a show of it.”

  “That’s what I heard. They were still in Edo when I left the city, but then they just flew away, back across the ocean. It was almost as if they got what they had come for.”

  “Some kind of… secret deal with the barbarians? That would’ve been a grave departure from the Taikun’s policy. Perhaps even enough to stir some of his fudai retainers to action…”

  Rebellion? Among the inner clans? Is that even possible?

  Naomasa put a finger to his lips in thought. “You said two reasons…”

  “Oh, the other one concerns only Dejima. It’s nothing for you to worry about, kakka.”

  “Anything that concerns my friend, concerns me, Oppertovenaar-dono.”

  Curzius coughed. Why did I even mention that in the first place?

  “If you must know, it’s about the Ship. It hasn’t arrived yet, and we haven’t heard from it.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. I hope it’s nothing serious.”

  “This much of a delay is nothing out of the ordinary yet. You know we are forced to use only the old vessels, and they are not the most reliable. We will need to prepare ourselves for winter if the Ship will not come at all.”