Sea of the Wind, Shore of the Maze, Prologue

bit and your opponent concedes his loss, his aggression will subside. At that  time, you will be able to discern his name. Actually, I don't quite understand everything about it either, but  this is probably how it is. In the blink of an eye, a name will suddenly appear in your mind, and when you  shout out this name, the youma will come to your side and serve you. From then on he will always follow  your orders, up until the moment you die. At that time, he will gain his freedom."
    After he said this, Keiki smiled a little.
    "As far as what characters to use for his name, just choose characters that match the sounds."
    "I thought I heard you saying incantations just then."
    "The incantations are not completely necessary, but if you know them, it makes it easier."
    "Oh..."
    Taiki sat down upon the rock though he looked like he still had some uncertainties, and Keiki sat  beside him.
    "When we want to tame youma and make them become our shirei, we must exchange pledges with  them--It would probably be more appropriate to say that we bind them."
    "Bind them?"
    Keiki nodded.
    "Youma have been excluded from the Providence of the Heavens, so what we're doing is  reincorporating them into the Providence of the Heavens and binding them, in order that they not deviate  from the way for a second time. If they let us bind them, then they become our shirei."
    "I still don't understand it."
    Keiki sighed.
    "I'm sorry..."
    Hearing Taiki apologize, Keiki hurriedly added, "You don't have to apologize. It is natural that you do  not understand it."
    "Yes..."
    "This world was created by Tentei for the happiness of the people, and he established the Providence of  the World. However, if this is so, why do people die and why do they get sick? Why are there youma in the  world that attack people? Why do calamities occur? ...Do all of these things exist through the deep  deliberations of the Heavens, or do they pass beyond them? Regardless of how it is, all of them go against  Tentei's 'goodness.' This is an indisputable fact."
    Taiki thought for a little bit and then nodded.
    "However, Tentei has his own intentions. They are not things that we can guess. It is like where there is  life, there is also death. Because there is a Providence of the Heavens, there must also be some sort of  opposite providence."
    "Just like the light and the shadow?"
    "Your analogy is very accurate. We kirin are shinju that exist to help the people. Still other magical  creatures exist that have similar purposes. On the opposite side, there are also some magical creatures whose  exist expressly to harm the people."
    "Are those the youma?"
    "Yes." Keiki smiled.
    "So we should tame those creatures who are outside of the Providence of the Heavens and bring them  back in, right?"
    "That's exactly right. Speaking in terms of the analogy you used, the youma are creatures of the  shadow, and in order to command them, we must pull them back into the light and bind them in order to  prevent them from returning to the shadow."
    "I understand now. But...how do I do that?"
    Keiki sighed again.
    "This is very hard to describe in words. Actually, I don't understand it completely either. I think I can  only explain it in terms of will. That is, you must possess the power of a strong determination to pull these  youma under your own control. However, it's not enough to simply have the determination."
    Hearing Keiki say this, Taiki's face filled with uncertainty.
    "Let me say it this way. All kirin possess a special 'power.' As to the magnitude of this power, it differs  from kirin to kirin, but it is certain that every kirin possesses this special power."
    "Is it because of this special power that kirin are all able to transform?"
    "Yes, this is a power we are born with and have nothing to do with our will. Thus, no matter how much  we hope to tame a youma, if our natural power is not strong enough, we will still be defeated in the end."
    "It's just like people's physical strength or their running speed. They're all born with it."
    "Right. You understand my meaning." Keiki sighed in relief. However, Taiki tilted his head again and  spoke.
    "But...using our strength to bind youma into the light side is a very difficult thing, rite? Can we not be  distracted even for a second? If we do lose our attention a little bit, do our powers weaken?"
    Keiki sighed again.
    "I'm sorry..."
    "You don't need to apologize. Perhaps...I am being too hard on you by