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scene three, questions of an emperor
The emperor sat on his throne with eyes that told stories made over many ages, his wrinkled old hands having held the dirt of the earth for generations. His thinned, wiry gray hair fell across his shoulders beneath his crown, as he stared outwards at myself and Deng Tuo. The two of us stood, honoring the man before us and despising the small distance held between us. The tension was obviously thick enough for even the emperor to notice, as he looked at us in wonder and offered a smile, shaking his head.
"Young warriors... you desire so much in so little time. Tell me, Deng Tuo, why is it that you wish to remain my faithful protector?" his voice spoke softly. Though he spoke to Deng Tuo, his eyes glanced towards my own and searched deep within me, his gaze keeping me still as he seemingly studied my very presence. I could tell that this man, too, was a blessed one... blessed with the knowledge of time itself.
And thus he would know... that his own time was wearing thin. His abilities were once greater then my own and Deng Tuo's combined... but old age has brought forth weakness, and now more then ever he needs someone to protect him.
He needs a student... to surpass the master.
"My lord, I only wish to advance our age to a better day. My eyes are set to the shadows, where many a samurai have advanced their abilities. I believe that in continuing our age into tommorow, all will benefit. I wish to stand by your side and watch as the tides move onward, and the people begin to lead prosperous lives by following the ways of the samurai. By doing this... I know that I could halt any rebellion against you-- for what samurai would rebel against his lord?" Deng Tuo spoke, abruptley looking towards me with a glare as he continued, "Why... only a radical fool."
As the emperor's eyes parted with mine, I took the time to cast an angered glance at Deng Tuo, who continued to be an unaware hypocrite-- not realizing that that which he was accusing me of was in fact what he was currently doing. Deng Tuo was becomming so consumed with this power-hungry nature, that it might not be long until he tries to turn sword on the old man and take his power for himself.
"I see..." the emperor spoke, stroking his long gray beard as he looked over to Deng Tuo, offering him a warm smile, "Thank you, Deng Tuo... you may step to your wall."
Deng Tuo bowed in respect to the emperor, turning and making his way across the room. My eyes followed his movements until I heard the emperor clear his throat, averting my attention back towards him. I bowed my head to the emperor, who shook his hand and smile.
"You need not bow yet, Bei..."
... how?!
I lifted my head sharply to look at him, my eyes frantically and curiously searching for an answer in his own. How did he know of my name? Only Mai Xin and my family knew of my true name... how did he too know of such a thing?!
"I can see that the sound of your name has startled you... forgive me. You see, Bei Tai... I know all. I am the emperor of these lands with the blessings of time, and with these blessings I can peirce a man's eye and see through to his past. All your memories... all your adventures, your travels, your journeys... I know it all, dear Bei. I can see your future, just as Deng Tuo's. I know which of you shall triumph on this day because I can see it in the both of your eyes. One of you holds the sword of the earth, the other holds the blessings of the heavens in his heart. One of you is a wanderer of both day and night, and the other is a dweller of the shadows. One of you shall walk out of this temple today a new man, standing beside me on the trip back home... and the other shall be buried in a week's time."
This old man knew so much... because in his eyes was the ticking clock of time itself. I remember as a child my father telling me a story of a particular samurai who went off in search of the taim sword, which was said to grant the holder an elongated life. Of course, time could not allow a man to live forever without disrupting itself... but it could prolong his lifespan. Legend had it that the man captured the sword after a bloody battle against the sundial dragon, and then went on to rule this continent.
Could it truly be that the man of my father's stories, in which he too was told as a child, was still our emperor today?!
My eyes stared into his deeply, as I myself attempted to search into this man's soul and seek out his memories. He allowed me to gaze until I finally found my answer-- that he was indeed the samurai of my father's tales... and that I was face to face with the most legendary of all samurai. My eyes widened as he offered me a kind smile, chuckling softly. He gave me the time needed to properly put this information to the side within my mind... and then he addressed me as he had Deng Tuo.
"Tell me, Bei Tai, why is it that you wish to become my faithful protector?"
My eyes closed softly, as I searched my mind for a way to answer his questions. I could feel thousands upon thousands of words urging their way through my thoughts, trying their best to surface from my lips and speak to the emperor the true reason for my desire to stand at his side. My mind... my mind was telling me so many different things to say, so many different ways to say them, and so many different tones to say them in.
But my heart was telling me one thing, one way... and one truth, worthy of an emperor's ears.
"My lord... I wish this so, because this land deserves a brighter future... and because my story deserves a proper ending."
The emperor smiled once again, nodding his head and leaning forward carefully in his throne, looking to address me at a closer level. I stepped forward to listen to my lord's words... and the words he gave me brought with them the knowledge of time itself.
"My dear samurai... all great stories do deserve a proper ending... but the greatest of stories never need to end."
He sat back into his throne, ushering me to my own wall as my eyes focused down on the floor, my mind trying to process exactly what I'd just heard. My spirit was fluttering about within my body madly, bringing forth an anxious feeling in my stomach as my hand gripped the handle of my sword. I closed my eyes to concentrate on these wods... and come to the realization that the heavens had been waiting for me to make for so long...
"Keep your faith... and you shall never fall."
Finally... I understood.
"My honorable samurai, today you face one another for the opportunity to stand at my right hand. To serve and protect me until the day that I perish, where then you shall take your rightful place at my throne... should you still remain. Deng Tuo and Bei Tai... the Shadow Samurai and the Wandering Samurai. I wish you both good luck, and may the best warrior proclaim victory. You may begin."
Deng Tuo let forth the bloodiest of all battlecry's ever set free... and I closed my eyes in prayer.
If e'er the sun rises over this bloody battle... so shall I.