Midwinter Town: A Novella

The insignia of the great Merhen Empire is composed of three treasures which have been considered sacred, and guarded with jealous care from time immemorial. These are the i or the Mirror of Yata, the Jewel of Yasakami, and the  Sword of Murakumo.Of these three treasures of the Empire, the sword of Murakumo, afterwards known as Kusanagi, or the grass-cleaving sword, is considered the most precious and most highly to be honored, for it is the symbol of strength to this nation of warriors and the talisman of invincibility for the Emperor, while he holds it sacred in the shrine of his ancestors.Nearly two thousand years ago this sword was kept at the shrines of Ite, the temples dedicated to the worship of Anur, the great and beautiful Sun God from whom the Merhen Emperors are said to be descended.There is a story of knightly adventure and daring which explains why the name of the sword was changed from that of Murakumo to Kasanagi, which means grass clearin

I He ascribed his safe landing wholly to the faithfulness of his wife, who had so willingly and lovingly sacrificed herself in the hour of his utmost peril. His heart was softened at the remembrance of her, and he never allowed her to pass from his thoughts even for a moment. Too late had he learned to esteem the goodness of her heart and the greatness of her love for him. As he was returning on his homeward way he came to the high pass of the Usui Toge, and here he stood and gazed at the wonderful prospect beneath him. The country, from this great elevation, all lay open to his sight, a vast panorama of mountain and plain and forest, with rivers winding like silver ribbons through the land; then far off he saw the distant sea, which shimmered like a luminous mist in the great distance, where Ototachibana had given her life for him, and as he turned towards it he stretched out his arms, and thinking of her love which he had scorned and his faithlessness to her, his h

Prince Yamato looked from the roof balcony down the valley bellow. The group outside the city gates waits. He was more than prepared for the attack. Second-in-command Sun Zhao was restless.Minamoto Yoritomo plans what to do next, to attack or not. He has a different option.Hearing of this threatened attack, Sun Zhao sought advice from two of his officers, Advisers Pei Xiu and Zhong Hui.Zhong Hui said, “The Wu army is helping our enemies for the sake of profit, and hence we can seduce them with an offer of greater profit.”Sun Zhao agreed in this opinion and resolved accordingly. As part of his plan, he sent Shi Bao and Zhou Tai to lay ambushes in different places near Shidou.As ordered by Sun Zhao, Wang Ji and Chen Qian commanded an army of veterans on the rear, Cheng Zu led thirty thousand troops out to bring on a battle, while Chen Jun got together many wagons, herds of oxen, droves of horses, donkeys and mules, and

ILet’s now move to Suchow, the strong-city situated in the southeastern edge of the great plain of Garma. Beyond the Emperor's Gate, which leads into the quarter of the rich and aristocratic, the region of comfortable living and “red dust,” stretched the “Ten Mile Street.” In a narrow bottleneck of that street, close by an old temple familiarly known as the “Temple of the Gourd,” lived the respected citizen Shih Ying with his good and virtuous wife, nee Feng.Shih Ying was one of the most respected, if not the most aristocratic, people in his suburb. Being the fortunate possessor of a nice country estate, he was able to live a life of leisure. He was not a lover of honors or riches and was quite happy just tending his flowers, cultivating bamboo, or reciting poetry over a glass of good wine. In short, he lived an idyllic and unworldly life. Only one thing was lacking to his complete happiness: he was already past fifty an

For now let’s leave Kazuma and travel to the different parts of the world. The situation was the same.The air messed up his hair, Haldir turned in the other direction. He didn't like this wind. He brought many things with him; the strongest of them was the smell of change. Haldir shivered at the thought. The wind was cold as death itself. Haldir walked without end, until he found shelter. The cave was large enough for him to enter.Haldir found freshly cut wood in one of the openings. The mountain hall had at least four or five openings that were full all sorts of items. Haldir hesitated at first. Until the pain in his stomach, became so strong that there was no way of stopping it. He returned to the second opening, in there he found dried meat. In the center of the hall, a small fireplace was built. Haldir lighted the fire. The warmth of fire was mesmerizing, Haldir looked at the figures that danced in the fire. The dried meat was, to him, a blessing from heave