Bayushi Iwamori
(Iwamori's story is told by Francis, a character the reader will be able to discover later.)
Once upon a time, a very long time ago, there lived a species of unamusing apes called humans. They lived on an ordinary planet called Earth, orbiting an ordinary star in an average galaxy in an unexciting corner of the universe. On Earth, only humans were able to speak. We weren't sure why, so the story went that humans had stolen speech from animals.
Humans lived in a vast archipelago and used to group together in families they called clans. Each clan had a totem animal. The most important clans were those of the lion, the crane and the dragon. There were also many minor clans. The clans were all very proud of their totems, which were usually powerful or fantastic animals. They tried to choose animals that were elegant.
Antique painting depicting an animal with class: the Phoenix (no it's not a chicken)
In each clan, a chief called the Daimyo was appointed according to family traditions. The daimyo was responsible for ensuring the security of his clan within his territory. All daimyos had to swear fealty to the emperor, the head of all clans. The emperor alone had the power to create new clans, but he always appointed a shogun to represent him and do the work for him. Most daimyos didn't joke around much, and the Shogun even less so...
The Emperor's Palace
Iwamori watched the sun rise over the mountain from his balcony at the top of his stilted home. There was no wind this morning and the lake reflected the first rays of sunlight. Iwamori closed her eyes to feel the gentle presence on her face. "May you give me the strength to be a little better every day," he thought.
Iwamori on his balcony at sunrise
He opened his eyes again and noticed a samurai riding alone on the path leading up to the lake. Noble visitors were rare at this time of year. "Perhaps a sign of destiny," he thought.
Iwamori began training on his vast balcony. He was forty-six years old and had been perfecting his katana fighting skills all his life. He was undefeated in duels, but as samurai didn't accept defeat easily, duels were almost always to the death. It was better to be undefeated if you wanted to stay alive.
Iwamori had also led armies into battle several times. He had won every battle, except once... He had to concede defeat because his Daimyo had ordered him to lose. He was convinced that he would have dominated his opponent and won if he had really fought the battle. "On the battlefield, all actions are noble", he had been told. Iwamori had seen to it that he lost the fight without anyone suspecting him - by shedding the blood of his men. He didn't know why the Daimyo of the Scorpion clan had given this order. It was certainly better if he didn't know. He had simply done his duty. "To lead, you must first learn to follow," he kept telling his men. And anyway, it certainly wouldn't have gone down well if he'd tried to argue with his Daimyo's orders.
Iwamori's Abode
In duels, Iwamori had never been hit. He knew how to read his opponent's movements, he could sense their intentions from the look in their eyes. At the slightest misstep, Iwamori hit with frightening precision. Without the need for powerful blows, Iwamori's strength of will always inflicted a swift and honorable death on his opponents. On one occasion, he fought three to one... Suffice it to say that when it came to katana combat, Iwamori really wasn't kidding.
He repeated his movements as he did every morning at sunrise. He was neither very big nor very strong, although he also trained to become more so. The secret of his art was not strength but concentration. Iwamori knew how to be at one with the elements around him, with no thought cluttering his mind. He could feel every breath of wind on his skin, the slightest quiver in the air. He could fight with his eyes closed. To become a samurai, the genpuku ceremony, the final test of his initiation, consisted in fighting naked with eyes closed against an armored opponent. The fight lasted less than a minute. Iwamori had struck twice: on the first blow, the armor's helmet had flown into the corner of the dojo, and on the second, the fighter's head was sliced clean off. "I learn nothing by winning", he had declared at the ceremony.
To acquire this level of concentration, Iwamori had spent a year training in the mountains of the dragon clan. Internships in the dragon clan were no joke. Firstly, you had to take a vow of silence for the duration of your internship. Not a word was to leave your mouth for a year. If one of the trainees spoke, the dragon clan senseis would make them start all over again. After that, there was nothing to do but meditate all day. Iwamori was allowed two hours of training a day, the rest of the time was meditation from morning to night. Before taking the final test, he had to survive for thirty days on river water alone. The final test was to remain perfectly still in a position of the trainee's choice for three days.
Iwamori on an internship in the Dragon Clan mountain
When his training session came to an end, Iwamori let his mind resume its train of thought. The visitor he'd noticed at sunrise must have arrived. From a distance, he had thought he noticed a bird on his banner, perhaps a messenger from the Crane clan, the Shogun's clan. "Better not to keep an envoy of the Shogun waiting", he thought.
He returned to his apartments and saw his most trusted man waiting outside the door until he had finished his training. With a glance, Iwamori gave the servant the floor: "Iwamori-sama, a samurai claiming to be an envoy of the Shogun arrived this morning and requests an audience."
"How did he introduce himself?" asked Iwamori, curious for more details.
"Yes, um," resumed the slightly embarrassed servant, "He says his name is Isawa Tenzen, daimyo of the owl clan."
Iwamori suppressed a sigh. "Daimyo of the owl clan?" he thought. "What kind of a clown is he?"
"An envoy from the Shogun?" asked Iwamori, skeptically.
"He showed me a parchment stamped with the imperial seal, my lord," replied the servant.
Iwamori turned his gaze to the jade scorpion carved on his desk. "This Shogun can't be serious," he thought. "Why not a goat clan, while we're at it?" Iwamori was careful not to show the servant any sign of his disdain.
"He made it clear that he was presenting himself in a personal capacity and that the Shogun's message was not addressed to you personally," continued the servant.
"Have him served a good meal. And bring him in early this afternoon," ordered Iwamori.
"Agreed, Iwamori-sama," nodded the servant.
This chapter is dedicated to my friends Bud, Mounette, Vinz, Arnaud and François.
Unofficial creation inspired by the "Legend of the Five Rings" universe2024 Legend of the Five Rings - All rights reserved