Page 18 of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns

The queen spoke in a grave, sorrowful voice. “We do not condone men’s wars and violence in the sanctity of the Great Forest.”

“We have the deepest respect for the Great Forest, Your Majesty,” Shiro said. “I believe the men came for me. I am a servant of the Boundless Sea, sent on a mission on behalf of our king.”

Xifeng felt a surge of irritation. Surely, with a destiny like hers,shejust as likely had been the killers’ target. But as quickly as it had come, her annoyance subsided into shame at her own conjecture. She sensed the queen’s attention returning to her at once.

“We should execute them all to appease the gods,” one of thetengarudeclared.

Wei went rigid, but the queen only shook her elegant head. “I do not intend to execute any of them. My time on this earth is almost ended, but theirs has only begun. They each have a part to play in the story that will unfold.”

She rose with difficulty. She was larger than the others, her head at the level of Xifeng’s elbow, but she was weak as a kitten. Each step she took seemed to pain her.

“The war has ended between the forest and the sea, but the tension grows,” she continued. “There will be no peace on Feng Lu. I have seen how humans adapt to a cruel world. I have watched this continent of peace and plenty become the grasping, violent place it is now.”

Hideki’s eyes flashed. “You speak truly, Your Majesty. Our treaty with Emperor Jun would seem to be fair and put him on an even footing with our king, allowing us to keep the jade on our shores. But we’ve been bullied into sharing a percentage. It’s a theft of our resources anda mockery of friendship, and the people are not fooled.” Shiro shook his head, but the soldier barreled on, beard quivering. “Kamatsu and the Great Forest have always been separate entities, though Jun may be Emperor of us all in name. His expectation that we accept unfair terms without question warrants a battle greater than the one we had.”

“Warriors.” The queen’s voice held a note of amusement. “Desiring bloodshed where there is none, and wishing for more where there has already been enough. Make no mistake: mytengaruwere summoned forth on your behalf, but they did so only to protect our forest.”

“Who called for our aid?” Wei asked, but the queen shook her head with an enigmatic smile.

“How do you know of these things, great queen? Of the ways of the world?” Shiro gestured to the surroundings, and Xifeng understood what he meant. Thetengarusanctuary seemed a world apart, removed from the troubles of mankind.

“My sons and daughters bring me the news. And I have other ways of acquiring my knowledge.” The queen turned to the pond, which reflected the sky’s glittering beauty, and Xifeng saw the slightest tremor on its surface. She did not need Guma’s skill to sense that the most profound magic lay within its strange, solemn depths.

“War after war has come to this continent for all the ages of mankind. Since the Dragon Lords abandoned Feng Lu and their human children, they have left only strife and hatred behind.” A deep despair rang in the queen’s words, recalling a greener world full of song and joy, when the gods had walked the earth like men. “Still, there is a thread of hope for peace among its five kingdoms. Do you know the shrine in the Mountains of Enlightenment?”

“It was a symbol of the alliance between the Dragon Lords,” Xifeng spoke, with another pang for Ken, who would have loved to hear thistale again. “They were ancient sons of the skies, and each ruled one of the five kingdoms of Feng Lu. They created the continent by bringing together the elements of the world: the wood of the Great Forest; the earth of the Sacred Grasslands; fire from the Everlasting Sands of Surjalana; metal from Dagovad, land of the Four Winds; and water from Kamatsu, the Kingdom of the Boundless Sea.”

“They each contributed a treasure to the shrine, as a vow of friendship,” Hideki added. “But it didn’t last, and they stripped it of its relics.”

“Why?” Wei asked, and for the first time, Xifeng felt ashamed of his ignorance.

“Jealousy,” she said quickly, to take thetengaru’s scornful attention off him. But she saw the queen tilt her magnificent horned head, missing nothing. “The Lord of Surjalana envied the Dragon King, mightiest of the five, who ruled the Great Forest. He believed that title belonged tohim,and his jealousy poisoned the others. They engaged in a terrible battle, then removed their treasures and returned to the heavens, battered in spirit and heart.”

The demon queen turned her face upward, her eyes reflecting the dreams of the stars. “Still, there may come a day when the kingdoms unite once more. When a great ruler of mankind joins them in alliance against evil. Or perhaps it is only my idealistic heart that hopes for such joy.” She turned, and they all followed her gaze.

A second bridge arched over the pond to the opposite side of the clearing, where imposing oaks stood like sentries by a stone gate. Beyond it lay another pond like a reflection of this one, in the middle of which stood a young sapling of a tree. Half of the tree reposed in winter, with clouds of snow wreathing its trunk, while the other half basked in spring, with pink-white buds emerging from its virginal branches.

It brought to Xifeng’s mind the poem that had frightened Guma:

The moon shines down upon us, beloved

The water a vast and eternal mirror

A voice whispers from every tender branch

Turn your face from the world’s apple-blossom fragility

And embrace this boundless night

The queen answered their unspoken question. “There have been no apple trees on the continent for more than a thousand years, save this one... the very last.”

Gooseflesh rose on Xifeng’s skin. According to the old stories, the Dragon King had removed every trace of these trees when he returned to the heavens. “But what does this have to do with thetengarucoming to our rescue, Your Majesty? Or with whomever called for our aid?” she asked.

The queen’s pointed ears swiveled. “Everything has to do with you.” But she explained no further and returned to her bed, head drooping against the blossoms. “You are my guests tonight. There is food, and you may drink of the waters of my pond and know you are safe in your sleep. You shall not be harmed. But you must leave this forest when the sun rises anew.” The light of her eyes disappeared as they closed.

A breeze rose up then, swirling Xifeng’s long hair around her.

For one breathtaking moment, she thought she could see her own face and that of Guma in the waters of the pond, side by side among the stars. But when she blinked, the images vanished, leaving nothing but a mirror of the sky.

---