NIGHT HAD FALLEN IN AKUNI and Yokina wore his finest robes on his usual stroll through the palace’s flower garden. All of the flowers in the garden were organized by species and color, with priority given in that order. As Yokina sat down on a bench and began to clear his mind, he heard footsteps approaching. Turning toward the sound, he saw one of his messengers.
“Your Majesty,” he began, “an atrocity has befallen the people of Akuni! The towns of Shirotaun and Kimura were attacked, only a little over a week apart. Testimony seems to suggest that these were deliberate attacks by Emperor Mujihina.”
“That is a very serious allegation,” Yokina scoffed. “What proof do these people have that these incidents were an act of war?”
“My lord, we have spoken with all eyewitnesses to these events,” the messenger answered, presenting his king with a folder of various papers. “Their testimonies are consistent with the sight of the aftermath and all of them line up with one another. Your people are afraid that they may be next, Your Highness.”
Yokina began looking through the papers, seeing that they were testimonies of two attacks. The first set documented an attack on Shirotaun, during which a house was burned down and three of its residents beheaded in the night. One of the perpetrators was wearing an official uniform of the Aotoshi military, more specifically, that of a high-ranking officer. The other told of an attack on Kimura, during which a house was destroyed on the inside by having its floors broken with axes and the house’s owner was stabbed through the torso with an abnormally large blade. Several testimonies nearby remark the presence of Aotoshi guards, the same uniformed officer from Shirotaun, and even seeing Emperor Mujihina’s sedan parked outside of the house. He looked at the dates of the attacks. May 12th and May 21st. Two weeks ago for the attack on Shirotaun and five days ago for the attack on Kimura.
“Post message boards to assemble the citizens,” the king began with a more grave tone of voice. “I will be making an important announcement tomorrow morning.”
“As you wish, my lord.”
The messenger departed from the garden as Yokina stood up from his bench to return to his chamber. Yet, even still, he struggled to rest that night, knowing what he had to do the next morning.
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Daylight peeked through the barred windows of Silverhold Asylum. Yukan’s eyes were soon bombarded with the warm light of the rising sun, prompting him to groggily rise and peek out of the window. Looking out into the town square, he saw several fliers nailed to several bulletin boards. The pounding of a hammer rang through the corridors as Yukan looked into the hall and saw that same flier on the opposite side of his cell.
“A statement from His Majesty King Yokina Jogi the Ravaged will be presented at 9:30 this morning,” Yukan read aloud. “Any willing attendants will be escorted to the town square to hear this important message.”
“Anybody?” Kadaina grumbled, waking up as he heard Yukan read off the pamphlet. “Even prisoners?”
“I would hope so,” Yukan added. “Although, I will say it is a bit too good to be true.”
“In what way?” Ite asked, suddenly making her presence known.
“If I were to guess,” Kadaina began, “it’s that there’s a perfect opportunity to break out the day after we’re- wait a minute, when did you wake up?”
“I’ve been up,” Ite replied. “I was up before either of you.”
“Wait, really? Since when-”
“Exactly 6:09, every morning,” the archer stated, indifferent to her routine, as foreign as it may seem to Kadaina. “It gave me the perfect amount of rest while also allowing me enough time to prepare for the rest of my day, so I just got used to waking up at that time.”
“You mean you manipulated your own circadian rhythm to respond to that exact time?” the mage splurted. “Isn’t that a bit overboard?”
“In Ite’s defense,” Yukan added, “we do that all the time, even if we don’t realize it. But yes, Kadaina. That’s exactly why it seems too good to be true.”
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A guard for the asylum passed by the door after a few moments and unlocked their cell door.
“His Majesty requested your presence at the announcement,” the man said as he opened the door. “I trust you do not wish to upset him.”
“Not at all,” Yukan answered, perplexed. The guard then latched Yukan, Ite, and Kadaina into handcuffs and a chain before escorting them out of Silverhold.
The walk to the city square was not too lengthy, only taking them about ten minutes. Following this, the three prisoners were positioned a good distance away from the stand where King Yokina was to give his announcement from. After an even shorter period passed, Yokina stepped up to the podium. The audience was not focusing on the podium at the time, but this was quickly corrected when Yokina shot a pistol into the sky, which caused them to turn their attention to the sound. After the shot finished ringing out, Yokina returned the gun to its holster and faced the podium and the scribes readied their pens.
“Good morning, citizens of Akuni,” the king began. “Thank you for joining me here so early. As I am sure you have heard by this point, we have been attacked by the forces of Aotoshi in the cities of Shirotaun and Kimura. Both attacks were orchestrated by Aotoshi’s own Emperor, Kunshu Mujihina. One would be a fool to not see these invasions and the bloodshed that resulted as a declaration of war. And it is the unfortunate truth that we must make them answer for these direct attacks against the people of Akuni.”
Yukan, Ite, and Kadaina caught onto what Yokina was saying. The man who had been so avidly against the prospect of declaring war the day prior and had thrown them in jail for proposing the idea was now being the one to usher Akuni into a period of martial action. The people soon realized as well, going into a slight pandemonium, which was soon silenced once more by Yokina’s firearm.
“I know that you all are concerned about this,” he continued as he once more returned his pistol to its holster. “I was reluctant to declare war before this news as well. However, when innocent lives are left unavenged, their screams in the night unanswered, I cannot turn a blind eye to their suffering. These atrocities must be dealt with. This man, this power-hungry maniac must be dealt with. Their souls will not rest until Emperor Mujihina is eradicated. If we don’t stop him, who will? How can we ensure our safety so long as Kunshu threatens us? Pacifism is not an option with a threat like him. He will not hear diplomacy without the downfall of our nation. If this is the path he wishes to take, then we shall pave the road to Hell for him.”
Yokina then turned away from the audience and left the stage. The spectators were left in a stunned silence, with only an occasional murmur emerging. As to be expected, the people were hesitant to accept a life of war. Regardless of whether or not they were on the frontlines, they would need to sacrifice something to assist in the survival of Akuni.
In the meantime, Yokina approached the three prisoners before turning to their guard.
“Remove their cuffs at once,” he demanded.
“As you wish, Your Majesty.”
The guards promptly uncuffed the trio.
“Did you finally realize what I was talking about?” Yukan said as he rubbed his wrists.
“Information doesn’t travel here as fast as I would like,” Yokina clarified. “A part of me had been in such a strict denial that our own allies could betray us. Granted, even I had reason to be suspicious of Kunshu after he usurped the throne of Aotoshi, but I had thought that I was safe in Akuni.”
“But now?” the swordsman asked.
“I realize I was wrong to make such quick assumptions,” the king continued. “I should have considered why you would want to declare war on Aotoshi. I now see what Kunshu has wrought upon our people. Yukan, was it? You have a certain look in your eyes. It’s dangerous, and yet determined. You’ve been contemplating this too long to consider it an impulsive decision. All three of you are being forced to grow up so quickly. I can’t guarantee that you’ll be safe, but I will ensure your safety in Acophis in the meantime.”
“We have no intention of hiding ourselves away,” Ite scoffed. “We were planning on joining the forces on the battlefield. It’s the least we could do for roping you into this. Rest assured, however, the three of us will come back together.”
“If you so insist,” King Yokina began once again. “I shall write to General Imoru to inform him of your admittance to his regimen. But let it be known that war is not the same as you see in stories. It is a drawn-out battle where will is just as important as might. You are just as likely to be killed from the stresses of battle as your wounds. This experience will change the three of you. Undoubtedly, you will have many scars. Just don’t allow any on your back. I expect you to uphold your promise and I wish to see the three of you again once this war is over.”
“Thank you, Your Highness,” Yukan said as he and his travel companions turned away.
They returned briefly to the Maynard residence to gather their belongings before heading out as the sun began to set. Their first journey into Acophis had finally been completed, but now a second had begun. The two were expected in the military citadel of Murasakino in three days. Despite this time constraint, Yukan was overjoyed, as he knew that his family was, in due time, going to be avenged.