The Wings of Dreams

kingdoms. Maintaining the same trajectory, it finally disappeared over the horizon toward Ryuukou, the imperial capital.

    Seikan Palace snaked along the peaks of the Mt. Ryuukou, the capital of Sou. This was the imperial residence of the renowned Emperor of Sou.
    Rising more prominently above the Sea of Clouds than the mountain summit itself, the alabaster palaces jutting out over the water, the multistoried pagodas, the gardens, and the white stone bridges and corridors connecting them came together to form a single palace structure.
    Abutting the inner palace at the very back was the Enshin, the compound that constituted the imperial living quarters. A large courtyard bordered a calm pool of water in which reflected the shimmering arc of the Milky Way.
    A court lady quietly appeared on the portico surrounding the courtyard. She knelt and bowed to the woman standing there.
    “Ah, Taiho, there you are.”
    The Taiho turned and smiled softly. Her golden hair was streaked with silver. The court lady bowed lower.
    “His Excellency has returned.”
    “Oh?” the Taiho said in her crystal clear voice. She thanked the court lady and proceeded to Jinjuu Manor.
    The living foundation of this long-lived dynasty, she was officially known as Sourin. She had placed the present Emperor of Sou on the throne.
    It was a fair distance from Jinjuu Manor to the main hall of the Rokuchou. Sourin declined an offer to have a boat summoned and instead crossed through Jinjuu Manor to the Rokuchou at the back of the inner palace. She bowed and entered the room.
    Flanked by several assistants, the emperor was changing out of his ceremonial traveling robes.
    “Welcome back, Your Highness.”
    He glanced over his shoulder. “Oh, Shoushou,” he said with a broad smile.
    He was a man in his fifties, a big man in fine physical condition. The uncommon Emperor of Sou who’d bestowed on Sourin the name of Shoushou. Or it might be said that doing so was part and parcel of being an uncommon man.
    “How fares Kou Province?” she asked with a welcoming nod.
    “The harbor is coming along splendidly,” he answered with a jolly grin.
    Having shed his formal attire, he strode deeper into the building. She followed him. The custom of the Rokuchou being assigned to the emperor as his main residence and Jinjuu manor being assigned to the kirin was not followed in Sou. The emperor and the kirin resided in Tenshou Manor in the middle of the expansive Koukyuu, otherwise known as “the palace at the back.”
    Ministers and bureaucrats were forbidden from the Koukyuu. Only a select number of attendants and the emperor’s closest relatives lived there.
    “Just what you’d expect of engineers from the Kingdom of En. You should see the anchorage they built, Shoushou.”
    “It must really be something.”
    “Yes,” he said, with a strong hint of pride.
    His name was Ro Senshin. Shoushou found him in Kou Province, where he was managing a large harbor inn. Her visit scared the living daylights out of him. But that too was a story from a very long time ago.
    Word had already been sent, so when the two of them arrived at Tenshou manor, his bodyguards were waiting for them. (As he paid them out of his own funds, “bodyguard” was probably the best word.) They opened the doors with amiable bows.
    Walking through Tenjin Manor to the Seiden, Senshin talked to Shoushou about the changes taking place in his beloved harbor town. Inside the Seiden, three people were seated around the big table. They stood as soon as Senshin came in and bowed.
    Their official titles were Queen Sou, Prince Eisei, and Princess Bun (often shortened to “Bunki”).
    “Welcome home,” the three intoned in proper and dignified voices.
    Though her bow was a tad more respectful than the rest, Bunki was the first to raise her head and ask, “Your Highness, how was Kou Province?”
    Senshin nodded and sat down. “Kou is doing splendidly. Now, let’s see: one, two, three, and Shoushou makes four. We’re missing the fifth. Where is that prodigal son of ours?”
    He looked at the queen. She sighed deeply. “Not only has he not come home, but we haven’t the slightest idea what he’s been up to these days.”
    Senshin echoed his wife’s sigh. “He goes missing for a full six months at a time.”
    “And yet knowing that, you indulge his whims and let him fly about free as a bird.”
    “After giving my brother a kijuu like that, did you expect him to show up anytime