The Twelve Kingdoms: The Shore in Twilight

aside, the consent of His Highness--"
    At that moment, a loud cry was raised: "The King is dead."
    The assembly room fell silent, quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Risai turned toward the sound of the voice. Asen stood in the entranceway to the assembly room. With all the commotion, nobody had noticed his absence.
    Asen's eyes swept the room, and then he thrust forward his hand. His hand contained the foot of a bird.
    "I am sorry to presume, but believing that a confirmation of His Highness's well being was of the first order, I took the liberty of visiting Godou Palace and the Castle of the Two Cries."
    The assembly room filled with mingled groans. Asen said in a very quiet voice, "The Hakuchi has fallen from its perch. According to precedent, I removed its foot and carried it here."

Chapter 20
    R isai stopped speaking. The five people in the room let out a collective exclamation of surprise.
    "That means--" Youko said, and Risai nodded.
    "The Hakuchi falling from its perch meant the King was dead. We all lost hope at that point. None of us had any cause to doubt Asen's word."
    He'd once been Gyousou's brother in arms. They were once known as the two jewels in the crown. Their friendship was said to encompass both their professional and personal lives. After the passing of King Kyou, Gyousou treated Asen as a brother, and Gyousou's subordinates paid him all due respect. Asen as well repaid that trust and seemed well disposed toward Taiki.
    From beneath the surface of still, undisturbed waters, Asen suddenly made his presence known.

    The assembly room again fell quiet. The shock rendered everyone dumb. It was left to Asen to break the heavy silence.
    "In any case, the victims of the disaster must be tended to. An area should be set aside to treat the injured officials and the servants. I believe that medical facilities should be set up in the Outer Court as quickly as possible.
    Senkaku nodded, and then suddenly lifted his head. "Now that you mention it, what of Kouki?"
    "The city appears unharmed," answered Asen.
    He'd dispatched his troops at once to help the residents of the city and confirmed that it was undamaged. The shoku had occurred above the Sea of Clouds, which had also shielded the world below from its effects. At any rate, a rescript was prepared ordering that an infirmary be set up to treat the wounded ministers and servants, to which the seal of the Hakuchi's foot was applied.
    At that stage, it occurred to somebody that the Imperial Seal--from which the impression would have disappeared--must be taken into safekeeping. Asen had already dispatched one of his subordinates to do so. But the Seishin had not escaped damage and the Imperial Seal appeared lost among the rubble. A frantic search was said to be underway.
    While the ministers ran around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off, Asen alone seized the day and did what had to be done.
    That was one way the story was told.
    After the death of the King, the foot of the Hakuchi became the Imperial Seal. Someone had to take charge of it. By right, that someone should be the Saiho, but he was missing. The Sankou bore the burden in the Taiho's absence, but they had perished, along with their retainers. The Chousai slept, grievously wounded.
    Needless to say, the Imperial Palace was in utter chaos, and dealing with the chaos would require any number of orders and rescripts. The foot of the Hakuchi would be necessary for all of them. Someone had to take custody of the seal and notarize the documents.
    It only seemed natural to hand that responsibility to the man bearing the foot of the Hakuchi. Asen. Nobody raised an objection. Considering their flustered states of mind, a general would do what had to be done. In this moment of crisis, it would be better to rely on a military chain of command than the regular political bureaucracy. This Imperial Court had evolved as a martial court in the first place, and was well-disposed to taking directives from military officers.
    Moreover, Asen had once ranked alongside Gyousou in terms of talent, and many had hoped that he would be the next King. After acceding to the throne, Gyousou himself had granted him all due respect and had treated him warmly. Such things were on everybody's mind.
    Gyousou had plowed his furrow with the sword, and none of the regular civil servants could stand in for him now. The military personnel remaining in the capital consisted of Ganchou, Gashin and Risai. Ganchou and Gashin