The Twelve Kingdoms: The Shore in Twilight

large numbers of refugees are leaving the shores of Tai. Tai is currently in a terrible state of affairs."
    "Yes it is. Youma are flocking to the coasts in no small numbers. The once numerous flow of refugees has dwindled considerably."
    "A pretender sits on the throne. The appropriate enthronement rites and rituals have not taken place. The kingdom is still in chaos. Don't we have any way of correcting these injustices?"
    "As long as the true king lives, the term pretender doesn't technically apply. But it's close enough. In situations like this, the only recourse is for the people of Tai to rise up. We don't know what has become of the Royal Tai and Taiki, but the province lords and the people must unite their strength and strike back against the pretender. Doing so remains true to the rule of law."
    "But it's been six years since the Imperial Rescript stating that the Royal Tai was dead. If all that was needed to strike at the pretender was a call to action, then it would have happened already. Didn't Risai risk life and limb to come here and petition me because that was not possible?"
    "Probably."
    "At any rate, even after having you come all the way here, we haven't gotten hold of any really useful information. In the final analysis, things in Tai are the way they are. Even a shoku occurring on the grounds of the Inner Palace and causing a great deal of damage was news to us. All evidence indicates that the chief government officials and senior statesman who would know the most about the situation--not to mention the citizens of the capital--haven't been able to escape. Risai is the sole exception. It's from her account alone that we know about the dire straits Tai is in."
    Shouryuu and Rokuta fell silent.
    "Risai has no means to save the people of Tai by herself. Even if we could dispatch people solely to search for the Royal Tai and Taiki--"
    Youko hadn't finished her thought when Shouryuu raised his voice. "That is as much as we understand about Tai. But that is not what we came here to tell you. I came here to put a stop to that. "
    "To what?"
    "Listen. No matter what happens, you cannot send the Imperial Army to Tai."
    Youko blinked. "Why not?"
    "Because you can't. That's what it comes down to."
    "Didn't I return to Kei with your backing?"
    "That was different," he replied fiercely. "You came and asked for my assistance. The Royal Kei was driven from her kingdom and sought refuge in En. I did nothing more than lend her the use of my Imperial Army."
    "Splitting hairs, as far as I'm concerned."
    "So it may be, but that doesn't change anything. It's the Law of Heaven. The sin of leading troops into another kingdom for any reason brings down immediate consequences. A violation so severe that both the king and kirin will succumb in days."
    When Youko cast a bewildered look around the room, Taishi Enho nodded. "Are you familiar with the Jun Tei incident?"
    "No."
    "Long ago, in the kingdom of Sai, there was a king by the name of Jun Tei. During his reign, the king of the neighboring kingdom of Han strayed from the Way. Many of his subjects suffered great privations. Feeling pity for the people of Han, he dispatched the Imperial Army. To be precise, he had not intent of striking against the head of another kingdom. He stationed troops in villages close to the borders of Han to assist people from Han wishing to cross the border into Sai. He was doing nothing more than trying to effect an evacuation, but a scant few days after the Imperial Guard crossed into Han, the kirin died. Jun Tei soon followed him. This was not something Heaven would allow under any circumstances."
    "But that--"
    Shouryuu shook his head. "Even if you say that you are doing the will of Heaven, there are no allowances. Even if you invade nothing, usurp nothing, and do it all for the welfare of the people, the armies of one kingdom cannot encroach upon another. However pure the motives, Providence has declared this the sin of all sins. Moreover, after the Jun Tei incident, the kokushi was changed from Sai, meaning: purification, to Sai, meaning: command or dice. "
    With a look taking them all in, Shouryuu said, "When Jun Tei died, the engraved characters disappeared from the Imperial Seal as they usually do. But when the new king ascended to the throne, the characters on the seal changed to the latter reading of Sai. The actions of the king themselves changed the Imperial Seal. That was how grave his sin was. The kokushi of a kingdom rarely