The Twelve Kingdoms: The Shore in Twilight

toward them.
    "The Taiho--" were the first words from his mouth. He didn't look any better off than Tansui.
    "The Seiden, it seems," Gashin replied.
    He left Seirai in the care of the soldiers and accompanied Tansui and Risai into the building. Her thoughts were a frozen mass as she searched amidst the rubble. She saw no sign of Taiki anywhere, not in the Seiden and not in the surrounding grounds. The search continued on through the night and proved similarly fruitless.
    A messenger pigeon arriving from Bun Province forced them to suspend the search for the time being.
    The message it carried only threw the state of political affairs into greater confusion.
    The Imperial Palace had been severely damaged by the meishoku and many ministers and bureaucrats had been injured or were missing. Not surprisingly, in the living quarters and elsewhere, there were few deaths among the ministers because of their wizard class. But this was not to say there were none. And the losses among the ranks of the maids and menservants--those not listed upon the Registry of Wizards--were substantial.
    Because of the number of injured bureaucrats and the general confusion in the court, the government came to a grinding halt. Nobody knew what to do next.
    "What in the world has become of His Highness?" asked Risai.
    Haboku replied, "According to Sougen's letter, His Highness disappeared in the midst of the battle. They searched for him but haven't found him. That's all they know at this juncture. They haven't the slightest idea what happened. I have directed that they--or only Sougen himself--return to the capital for the time being, but hurrying as fast as they can, and factoring in the time it'll take for the pigeon to fly there, it will be ten days before he can get back."
    "How are things in Bun Province?" asked Ganchou.
    Haboku shook his head. "By all accounts, the rebellion remains active. They seem to have fought their way to an impasse."
    "So what do we do next?" asked Kaei.
    Nobody had an answer that question. Nobody knew the best course to pursue, and none of them had the authority to pursue it. The Chousai was supposed to step in during the King's absence, except that Eichuu, the Chousai, had been injured during the meishoku and was still unable to get up or even speak. The King's principal advisor, the Saiho, was missing, and the civil servants of the Imperial Court who enacted the King's will in his name simply weren't there anymore.
    "What are we supposed to do in a situation like this? Who gives direction to the ministers?"
    "According to precedent," said Haboku, "the Minister of Heaven takes over the post of Chousai as head of the Rikkan."
    They all fell silent. They had confirmed that at the time of the meishoku, the Minister of Heaven, Gaihaku, had been in the offices of the Sankou adjacent Jinjuu Manor. The Sankou served as counselor to the King and advisor to the Saiho. Its offices had been damaged severely and had collapsed. Of the Sankou and their assistants, two of the six were dead and one was severely wounded. The whereabouts of the remaining four--including Gaihaku--remained unknown.
    "Things having come to this, after the Minister of Heaven, I believe the job falls to the Minister of Earth."
    When Haboku said this, Senkaku, the Minister of Earth, shook his head. "Impossible. I am in no way equal to the task."
    Having declined the honor, nobody tried to encourage Senkaku to take it up. Senkaku was a young, meek civil servant. Having been plucked out of Zui Province for the position, he had no previous connections to Gyousou or the Imperial Army. He was honest and forthright, but lacked experience.
    Furthermore, at a critical time like this, an understanding of military affairs was a prerequisite. Gyousou's was a military court, and most of the remaining ministers had been commanders under Gyousou. In that light, the fact remained that only someone with a military background--even from the lowest military ranks--would be able to unify the Imperial Court.
    "What about Seirai-dono?" said Senkaku.
    Nobody seconded the suggestion. Seirai was also injured and was resting, but his wounds didn't seem mortal. Seirai was famed among the civil servants for having served as one of General Gyousou's commanders and his personal retainer. That made him the best qualified to lead the ministers. Everybody there knew this, and yet no one else put forward his name.
    "Until His Highness returns, if anybody is to knit the Imperial Court