As the snows began to thaw and the days began to lengthen, Sumire felt a lightness of spirit she’d forgotten she could feel. Life was not easy, but it was better than before. Though no longer living hand to mouth, money remained thin. With the constant need to re-invest in the family business, the amount

At dusk the children began to gather, trickling in from the streets by ones, twos and threes. They were of all ages, these homeless war orphans. Some of the older ones carried the littlest ones at their hips. Grubby, scrawny and leery-eyed, they slinked about like alley cats, ever cautious of their surroundings and those

The journey that had taken Sumire and her family many longs months to make through the wilderness they completed in less than a fortnight by traveling along the main roads. Still the snows raced ahead of them, blanketing the western countryside in such thick drifts that the scars of war were largely hidden. Yet Sumire

As the days grew short and the air grew chill, a spirit of grim restlessness descended over the residents of Shurei’s court. More than two years had passed since they’d made the journey east. The feat had been so arduous and costly that for the first year it was fair to say they’d had no

Sitting on the veranda of Shurei’s court, Sumire watched the children play as she smoked her slender pipe. It was a fine clear day, not too cool. In their game of tag, occasionally a child would dart up the steps from the yard and hide among the chatting women, who’d pretend not to notice. Bundled

Hirokin broke the surface of the pool, only feeling slightly more invigorated than when he’d first plunged in. This was his private spring, within his private wing of the Western palace. Beautiful and serene with its glittering blue stalagmites of crystal, its mirrorlike waters and luminescent vining flowers. An oasis all his own. Most importantly,

They buried the body beneath a slab of gold-flecked stone. It felt far too little, yet it was the best that they could do. Though Shurei should not have been standing, she lingered long by the makeshift grave. Leaning against the scratchy bark of a pine, she seemed to Sumire to be etching the glade

The journey east was arduous and long. Despite the size of their party, traveling by the main roads was out of the question. They were three women to a man, with more than a handful of defenseless children between them.  Kouta and his kinsmen were tradesmen, not swordsmen. To this end, the expertise of old