GLOSSARY
A variety of non-English words are used in this story. Most diacritics have been removed for ease of reading (like the accents on the word mèiguǐ), but some remain, such as in the word shōji. The accent on this letter simply indicates a longer sound.
BODHISATTVA
In the story, a bodhisattva is an individual that has delayed their own ascendance to Heaven in order to guide others on the Long Walk of Sudhaar.
BOODOG
A Mongolian food dish that is cooked by inserting heated stones into an animal’s carcass.
DAIMYŌ
In the story, daimyō are lords appointed by the emperor to rule individual regions.
DAISHU
Female ruler of Han.
DAISHUN
Male ruler of Han.
DANGO
A dumpling made from rice flour.
DAO
A type of Chinese sword, single-edged and slightly curved.
HANFU
Refers to the traditional style of clothing worn by the real-world Han Chinese.
HANNYA
A mask used in Japanese Noh theatre that resembles a jealous female demon.
HAORI
A traditional jacket worn over a kimono.
JINMAKU
A type of curtain used for setting up a military encampment.
JISHU
Daughter of Han’s ruler.
JISHUN
Son of Han’s ruler.
KAWARA
A traditional style of clay roof tiles in Japan.
KIMONO
A traditional garment of Japan.
LONG WALK OF SUDHAAR
A set of non-deity beliefs originating in Jinha focused around the concept of contributing to the overall wellbeing of all living things, including oneself.
Individuals who succeed on the path sometimes agree to leave a part of themselves behind in the world of the living so that they can guide others through the Walk of Sudhaar. An individual such as this is known as a bodhisattva. One example would be Bodhisattva Ravi, the sage that pours rivers from mountains. In the true story, Ravi provided irrigation for much of Jinha’s northern lands.
MANEKI-NEKO
An ornamental cat with a beckoning arm. They are believed to bring good fortune.
MEIGUI
Trickster ghost.
NAGINATA
A polearm similar to a glaive.
OBI
A sash or belt used to tie together clothing.
ŌDACHI
A large Japanese sword, curved and single-edged.
OKONOMIYAKI
A type of savoury pancake.
PAGODA
A tiered tower with multiple eaves commonly found across Asia.
SHAASAK
Unisex title for the ruler of Jinha.
SHIRASAYA
A plain wooden sword hilt and scabbard. Typically used when a sword is going to be stored for a long time.
SHŌJI
A sliding door.
TORII
A traditional Japanese gate typically found in Shintō shrines.
SETTING
TWIN PLANETS
The events of Through Spring and Autumn take place on the planet Taizo. Following a devastating event twelve years ago known as the Earthen Cataclysm, Taizo is now joined with another planet called Zetian. Huge roots stopped the two planets colliding, sprouting from somewhere southwest of where the story’s primary setting. The roots connecting Taizo and Zetian were named Zetian’s Bridge. For an unknown reason, Zetian’s gravity has no noticeable effect on Taizo, and vice versa.
FOUR GREATER NATIONS
Sakao, the story’s primary setting, is a continent dominated by four nations, typically referred to as the Four Greater Nations. These countries and their capital cities are:
-Han, Land of the Weathered Storm (Hanshi)
-Won, Land of the Fertile Sun (Raane)
-Sen, Land of Scorching Earth (Ei Yosai)
-Jinha, Land of Flowing Ice (Ayasi)
Out of the four, Jinha is the only nation not located on Sakao’s mainland, but rather a large island to the southwest.
TITLES
Nations in Sakao have different titles for their rulers. These are as follows:
-Han is ruled by a Daishun (male) and/or Daishu (female). Their children are referred to as either Jishun (male) or Jishu (female), and are typically raised in the Royal Harem by eunuchs.
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-Won is ruled by a Sky-Chosen (unisex). The Sky-Chosen is advised by a council of individuals known as the Verdant Seers.
-Sen is ruled by an Emperor (male) and/or Empress (female).
-Jinha is ruled by a Shaasak (unisex).
HISTORY
Sakao has a long history of terror and bloodshed. Chronologically, the most significant time periods are:
-Dark Age of Stagnation/Haken Period
A time lost almost entirely to history. This period led up to the collapse of Seihito, a nation that once dominated much of Sakao.
-Thirty Kingdoms Period
Following the collapse of Seihito, Sakao erupted into total war, forming thirty independent factions vying for control.
-Unification/Tong Period
At the end of the Thirty Kingdoms period, the state of Zuo Han grew in power at a fast enough rate to annex its neighbouring states and use that combined force to unify the surrounding lands. This unified country was once again named Han.
-Thousand Demon/Senma Period
For much of the Senma period, the west of Sakao was occupied by clusters of isolated settlements. The wilds beyond were inhabited by spirits and other supernatural creatures, and most notably, demons.
-Warring States Period
A state called Iwanashi rose out of the isolation of the Senma period and established its court in the ancient capital, Zensei. Deposing rival lords and instating weak lords in their places allowed Iwanashi to maintain its power. Conflicts with Han and allied rivals led to Iwanashi’s downfall and the complete destruction of Zensei. Following the war, the allied kingdoms formed the nation of Sen, taking its name from Senma.
-Cataclysm/Wazawai Period
Two hundred years after the Warring States period, Sengoku Naga came to power in Sen. His renouncing of the Heavens sent waves through Sakao and led to war on an unprecedented scale. With Han and Won forming a coalition army in the east and Jinha invading from the southwest, Sen was utterly defeated. Toward the end of the war, the world was shaken by the Earthen Cataclysm, beginning the Cataclysm period.
Through Spring and Autumn begins in the twelfth year of the Cataclysm period.
XIA'AN
THE ABYSS
Sometimes referred to as the Dark or Heaven, the Xia’an Abyss is a mythical realm shrouded in mystery.
DECAY ESSENCE
A living substance that encourages decomposition and the growth of fungi. Decay essence is the cause of an ancient disease recorded as ‘The First Heaven’s Scourge, The Seihito Rotfever’. Ingestion will often lead to fatigue and falling into a comatose state before eventual death. The symptoms differ if the substance enters the body through the blood or other methods of contamination.
HEAVENS
Commonly known as the Ten Heavens, these elusive beings are revered as gods by the majority of those living in Sakao.
HOSTS
Hosts are individuals carrying a small fragment of a Heaven within their blood. They are able to regenerate their bodies rapidly and wield powerful magic. Hosts are also capable of bestowing the Mandate of Heaven.
IDEAS OF HEAVEN
Deadly monsters born from one’s own cognition. In the words of Sio, “What attacked the girls originated from within their thoughts, their ideas, the mental image of what they could see, and was born into a brief life of instinctual malice. Ideas of Heaven.”
LIVING MEIGUI
Descendants of the Xia’an Abyss. Resembling people, they are creatures that specialise in tricking humans in order to feed and reproduce. They are capable of creating illusions and can shed their human skin in order to fight with a monstrous inner form.
MANDATE OF HEAVEN
The Mandate of Heaven is a mark granted by the Heavens that shows an absolute right to rule. Bearers of the Mandate possess increased healing capabilities and magical strength.
SPLINTERS OF XIA’AN
Creatures born of the Abyss. The weakest incarnations are called fiends, and usually possess the corpses of small animals or sections of larger animals. Certain larger incarnations are referred to as demons.
PLOT SUMMARY
Devil Children, the first volume in the dark fantasy series Through Spring and Autumn, follows the branching journeys of Lin Ko (16), a girl that has lived most of her life in isolation, Ravi Jie (17), a fugitive wanted for murder and high treason, and Fuu Jie (18), the runaway heir to the nation of Han. The story is set across a continent inspired by several Eastern cultures.
The story begins with Lin and her adoptive mother, Sio Ko (age unknown), travelling toward a mountain shrine; the two are at odds due to lies told by Sio and Lin does not know the reason for their journey. They reach a decaying village at the edge of a rotting forest where Lin and Sio become separated. Lin enters the forest where she wanders aimlessly until nightfall. Ghouls attack her in the dark.
Following a mysterious invitation, Ravi and Fuu Jie are travelling to the same mountain shrine as Sio through the rotting forest. They hear Lin scream. Fuu urges him to ignore it, but Ravi pushes on nonetheless and finds Lin. Together, they all stumble across a teahouse run by shapeshifting monsters. They defeat the monsters, but Lin and Fuu become infected with a deadly disease. Ravi captures one of the monsters, Ai Mitsuki (19).
Sio catches up with Lin and travels with the Jie siblings to the mountain shrine. There, Sio tells Lin that a demon they encountered in the past is pursuing them. Lin remembers accidentally releasing the demon from a filthy shack near their solitary home and the bloody path it carved through a nearby town.
The next day, Sio tells Ravi that he was invited to the shrine for the Traitors’ Summit, a conspiracy to join several nations under one flag. Lin’s condition rapidly deteriorates due to her disease however, and Sio uses her blood in order to heal her.
Ravi discovers that Sio carries a part of the Ten Heavens (elusive godlike creatures) within her. He discovers a ritual to cure the disease and travels with Ai and Lin to the mountain’s summit so that it can be performed. Ravi is grievously wounded during a fight near the summit and Lin discovers that she is able to use Sio’s power due to the mixing of their blood. Fuu is cured. She attends the Traitors’ Summit in Ravi’s place alongside the Emperor of Sen and the disguised Sky-Chosen of Won where Sio reveals her plan to unify the continent. Three months later, Lin witnesses the form of the Tenth Heaven and is attacked by the Ideas of Heaven, creatures born from one’s own cognition. Sio suppresses her memory to protect her.
Sio, Fuu and Lin set out with the Emperor’s host to find a missing conspirator. Ravi awakes after they have left and, as requested by a letter from Sio, journeys with Ai toward his home, the capital of Han. Ai finds her mother still alive in the rotting forest but is forced to kill her to survive. They find that the decay has spread further. Meanwhile, after reaching their destination, Lin takes the lives of several townspeople in self-defence. The Emperor escorts her to a castle while Fuu searches for information on Lin’s attackers. As Ravi and Ai continue toward Hanshi, the town in which Fuu is searching is taken over by an organised mob of refugees. Fuu and Sio meet their leader, the brother of one of Lin’s attackers, but when Sio sides with the refugee leader, Fuu is utterly defeated.
Left at the castle, Lin is tracked down and attacked by the demon from her past. It devastates the castle and its garrison, yet does not kill Lin when it has the chance. Lin takes the opportunity to attack and flee. Having reached the coast, Ravi struggles with the decision of bringing Ai to Hanshi. Ai discovers his plan to leave her behind and takes advantage of his weakness to have her way with him. On the ferry to the capital, she reveals to him that she is pregnant with his child.
Still on the run from the demon, Lin reaches her childhood home. Sio meets her there, having followed her distress signal. They defeat the demon together, and it is then that Lin discovers the demon is her brother, kept prisoner as a child and warped by Sio’s cruelty. Sio then explains that Lin now also carries a part of the Ten Heavens within her, a piece that is maturing and still somewhat malleable. Lin loses her composure and tries to kill Sio. Sio wins however, and suppresses her memory again to keep her subdued.