The Twelve Kingdoms: Dreaming of Paradise

revealing to her the world below. "I shall show you a dream of Paradise."
    The western sun streaked across Yuunei and Choukan Palace. The countenance of the king, young both in years and the length of his reign, glowed from the rich copper glow of the Sea of Clouds. All Sairin could see in the direction indicated by the new king was the chaos left behind by meandering reign of the Late King Fu.
    Yet Sairin did not doubt the words of her liege. If he was showing her his dreams, then that must be what would be.
    The Kasho Kada was the Imperial Regalia of the Kingdom of Sai. When placed next to one's pillow, this bejeweled peach tree branch would reveal in dreams a vision of Kasho. Paradise.
    A long time ago, the dynasty of the Yellow Emperor was foundering. In his dreams, the Emperor sojourned in the kingdom of the people of Kasho. Seeing there a vision of the ideal world, he corrected his ways.
    And so it came to be said that, through dreams, this mysterious bough revealed the form a kingdom ought to take. Shishou was saying that he would show her this dream in the flesh. He would create a "Kingdom of Kasho" in this world and give it to her.
    As proof of this promise, he placed the jade bough in her hand. "I'm giving this to you. Night by night, you will see for yourself as the dream draw closer to reality.
    Sairin nodded and grasped the Imperial Regalia. From her perspective, Shishou was a large man, high-minded and full of hope and conviction. The arms holding her were strong, his countenance clear. His purposeful eyes took in the ever-expanding future. Self-confidence suffused his being. He would, if he could, spend eternity in that space between the brilliant day and the slumbering night.
    I shall show you a dream of Paradise.
    She pressed the peach bough to her cheek. But why this maddening sense of unease? When she closed her eyes, she could still see in her mind's eye the brilliant image of Shishou and herself standing on the golden shore. In memory yet so green. Tears came unbidden to her eyes.
    A dream of Paradise.
    The light all but blinded her. But promises had been made. Vows had been exchanged.

Chapter 2
    S airin said, "So there's nothing to worry about. Is there, Shuka?"
    Shuka managed a reassuring smile. She was in an opulent bedroom. Buried beneath the embroidered futon, the young girl turned her white, sickly-looking face toward her. Her unblinking eyes seemed to cling to Shuka. Her sunken cheeks bore the scratches from the withered tree branch.
    "Yes, that's right, Taiho."
    The girl seemed relieved. She again pressed the branch against her cheek. Another welt appeared along with the others. Shuka had never seen it before, this dried-out old branch that was wounding her so.
    The bejeweled Imperial Regalia was obviously not this dried-out old branch. Sairin had given that one to the king's brother, Junkou. He had entreated her, she had relented, and he had presented it to his brother, who like the Yellow Emperor was befuddled as to the management of the Kingdom.
    Even that seems to have slipped everybody's mind— Shuka glanced down. Her tightly-clasped hands trembled slightly. She'd heard Sairin was not well. At least that was the reason given for her fewer and fewer public appearances. Two weeks ago they had stopped altogether. For her to be confined to her bed this long pointed to only one conclusion.
    The kirin chose the king. When the king strayed from the Way, persecuted the people, and laid waste to the land, the kirin bore the weight of that failure. Heaven made its choice known through the kirin, and took the throne away from a failed king by taking the life of the kirin.
    Hence, the sickness brought on when the king strayed from the Way was called the shitsudou, meaning literally, "the loss of the Way."
    For the Saiho to be struck down by the shitsudou meant the dynasty's demise. The ministers were all scrambling about trying to discover the truth of Sairin's condition. But none of them had the means to ascertain her actual condition, for she had secluded herself in her manor. Permission to visit had not been granted. Her personal physician, the Royal Surgeon, wouldn't divulge anything.
    The Chousai convened the Rikkan and together they converged upon Jinjuu Manor. Finally, Shuka alone was granted an audience.
    Shuka wondered why the Chousai, the head of the Rikkan, had not himself sought an audience. But now it was obvious that Sairin could no longer leave her sickbed. Hence Shuka, the sole