Roanna felt her stomach churn the whole way down the long staircase leading from Roanna Castle to the streets below. Her father sensed this and, much to her embarrassment, gently clutched her hand. It did help, though, which is why Roanna let it slide. That was the only reason she let her father hold her hand.

Trying to take her mind off the platform and the stairs it was going down, Roanna looked out one of the many windows of the platform. On both sides of the platform and the servants holding the platform was twelve samurai, each one dressed in their red armor. The ones in front of the lines had a golden crest on the top of their helmets, signifying their rank. Each samurai had their sword on display, with the two Sergeants* and the samurai behind them having their swords drawn, ready for anything.

This was normal behavior from the samurai so it didn't cause any alarms to ring in Roanna's head. What did was the briefest glance of gold and red armor behind the platform, disappearing out of sight behind some bushes. Roanna knows that the armor coloring only belongs to the elites of the Empire. If they are following the platform then that means the Emperor sent them. 

'Just what could be going on?' 

Roanna frowned, though the frown didn't show on her face. She was great at controlling her facial expressions. She knew something is happening but she has no way of knowing what. The one shinobi that works for her is currently away on a mission she sent him on won't be back for a while and the only way to call him back is back in the castle which she just left. Plus, by the time he comes back, her father will probably have found a way to cover up what was happening.

As she thought about a solution, the platform was brought off the stairs and into the streets which were as crowded as ever. Yet, upon seeing the platform and the many servants that surround it, the citizens quickly got out of the way, most watching the platform with awe. Roanna noticed that many of them were wearing brightly colored kimonos and robes with yellow flowers on them. Even though the festival hasn't started yet, it seems people are already ready for it. 

Seeing this brought some ease to Roanna's mind and, after thinking it over again, she decides to forget about the problem. Her father is a wise man and, with the Emperor backing him up, whatever problem he is facing will be solved in no time. There was no point in worrying about it herself.

"Father, the festival starts when the sun is above us, right?" Roanna asked, trying to see if her knowledge of when the festival starts is correct.

"Yes, Kazuya. But we are arriving a little early so we can get some more time to spend shopping," Roanna's father explained, giving Roanna a warm smile.

Roanna nodded, returning the smile in earnest before returning back to looking out the window.

 

 

........

 

 

The ride to the main street was unremarkable as, even though there were plenty of signs of the upcoming festival, no one had started dancing or selling trinkets and other such stuff yet. No one even started roasting meat! The only conclusion Roanna came to was that it was still too early in the morning. Though, even though it was early in the morning, quite a lot of people were out and around.

Ashigaru* were also about and in larger numbers than normal. Roanna paid that no mind. They always came out in number when a large event was going to happen. Like the samurai under the Prime Minister, the ashigaru wore red and black armor with their hats being gold in color. Upon seeing the platform coming their way, the ashigaru bowed until it passed. Once again, Roanna wondered how their backs didn't hurt from bowing like that almost every day.

"So, when will people start prepping?" Roanna asked her father.

Her father turned away from looking out the windows and looked at his daughter.

"What do you mean? They already started," Taro asked, not getting what his daughter was getting out.

"No," Roanna said, shaking her head with a slight blush, "When will they start selling stuff and cooking meat? You know, those kinds of things."

"Oh!" Taro exclaimed, feeling a little sorry for making her daughter blush slightly, "Those don't start for a little while."

"Alright then," Roanna dismissed, stretching her arms before she continued to stare outside the window nearest to her.

 

 

--------

 

 

It didn't take long for the platform to reach the area where the rest of the hand-held large parade decorations were being prepped. When they arrived, Roanna immediately went outside of the platform to study one of the red dragons that were going to be used in the parade. After a bit of studying the dragon, Roanna walked up to one of the Han Womens* and tugged on her red outfit to get her attention. Upon gaining it, she asked her if she could learn more about the dragon, which the Han woman was more than happy to comply.

Nearby, Taro Vinulate Vant and his mother, Mitsuki Yada Vant. They watched Roanna walk around the red dragon with a Han woman in tow, the two chatting away.

"You're more on edge than usual, son. What's wrong?" Mitsuki asked, putting a hand on Taro's shoulder.

Taro let out a sigh before he responded.

"It seems a couple of Clans have declared war on the Emperor and, in turn, us," Taro explained, his eyes never going off his daughter.

"Worse yet, it seems the Oda Clan is helping them."

Mitsuki opened her mouth to say something but the only sound that came out was a sigh.

"Hundreds of thousands of years of endless warfare and peace and now this? Things never change for the better."

Taro shook his head and said nothing on the matter, though he did agree with his mother. It's okay if small things change but, when big things start changing, they never end well. 

If the Clans that declared war on the Emperor wanted someone else on the throne, there were easier ways of doing it. One of them would be to take over some other Clans and grow in power, wealth, and influence. In fact, that is the smartest way to change the Emperor. Whether the Clans attacking are stupid or are taking orders from the Oda Clan, Tora isn't sure. What he does know that, whatever is happening, it won't be safe for a while.

 

 

. . . .

 

 

By the time the parade started, Roanna was thinking of sneaking away to go shopping out of boredom. Luckily, the festival was in full affect. That was great for two reasons. One was because the parade would finally start. The second would be that Roanna would have something to do while she waited for the platform she and her family goes on to enter the parade. Their platform normally joins the parade near the end of it.

Roanna, even with the extra security provided by the ashigaru in the area, still needed bodyguards to walk around. Her father wouldn't let her walk two feet away from him otherwise. Her bodyguards, on this occasion...and most of every other occasions, were four samurai. Two of them were from the ones guarding the platform while the other two are from a group of twelve that were waiting in the area where the parade was being set up.

"So...you're the elites?" Roanna asked while walking aimlessly, taking in the different sights the lively streets have to offer. She decided it was better to make small talk to avoid boredom. 

The samurai looked at each other before one of them, the only female of the four, spoke.

"We are considered elite samurais. Normal ones don't have gold coloring on their helmets," She replied.

Roanna perked up at that and turned around to study the samurai again, even though she is aware of what they look like by now. Throughout all her life, Roanna has only ever seen samurai with gold coloring on their helmets and, as such, always thought they were normal samurai. Apparently, the only samurai she has ever seen were the elite ones. 

For some reason, that fact irked her.

"How do you become an elite samurai?" Roanna asked, continuing her walk around the market area.

This time, another samurai answered her. This one had a deep disciplined voice.

"You have to get a kill count of over eight hundred and survive four years of combat."

"Can't anyone get a kill count of eight hundred nowadays?" Roanna asked, unaware that her question sounded rude.

"It use be over eight thousand kills and survive for at least four years. However, things have been too peaceful over the past two thousand years so it was changed."

The rest of the samurai nodded in agreement at his words. What he said was true. In recent years, the numbers of Janarn have risen but, ever since an unprecedented disaster happened not long ago, including a long, complicated, and bloody war significantly decreased the overall population, not as many wars have been fought and, if they have, they never lasted longer than three years the most, and they always had low numbers.

Now that the numbers of Janarn are back up, Roanna had heard quite a few citizens talking to each other, asking if they thought that the normal wars would return again or if things would stay the same. Roanna personally wanted things to stay the same but she is aware that, if things do stay the same, some great change would have to happen, and the end result of that change would probably lead Janarn into following their Orokana sosen* made. Even Roanna, who wasn't taught the strict teachings everyone in Janarn learn, knows that she'd rather kill herself by slicing her own throat than accept that kind of peace her Orokana sosen sought. 

But, if things were to change back to how they were, Roanna's father would most likely die in battle. Roanna herself would also have to go and fight on the everchanging battlefields, and even though Roanna is just like any normal person in Janarn, she doesn't share their love for war. Well, she does love the tactical part of warfare. In fact, she loves it so much that she spends most of her time at home reading up on different tactics and weapons as well as playing Tartic*.

But, when it came to the tense close-quarter battles; where limbs and blood fly and the sounds of pain and the smell of sweat and death, Roanna finds it sickening.

Roanna had been in battle once. She was seven at the time. She accidentally got caught up in a clash between two wings of two armies. In a panic she hid inside a tree, the hole inside the tree mostly covered by a boulder. She nearly died four times during that battle, and three of them was when she hid in the tree.

She was only rescued when her father managed to track her down to the active battle. He stopped the fighting by bringing in his own army and scaring away the other two. It took three months to get Roanna to finally leave her castle and another month for her to start acting normally again. Even after that experience, Roanna still didn't stop her fascination of tactics. 

But, going back to original point, if things go back to how they were, Roanna would, without a doubt, have to go into the battlefield and probably standing with the soldiers like Lords* normally do. Then again, that seems like a small price to pay when it comes down to the alternative. Plus, on the bright side, at least she would die with honor. In Janarn, honor is one of those things that matter the most. 

The smell of something delicious broke Roanna from her long and somewhat confusing train of thoughts. Halting in her tracks, Roanna turned to the right, her eyes fixed on a stand that was roasting a seasoned pork. By the look and smell of it, the pork was done and ready to be served.

The elite samurai saw the nearly drooling Roanna, her "normal" blank expression falling away, instantly and, since they have been given instructions not to let her make a "fool" of herself by her father, the elite samurai came to a unanimous decision. Two of them stood in front of Roanna, hiding her face from the eyes of others while the other two went over to buy a large piece of the pork for their young master. 

 

 

........

 

 

Roanna let out a sigh as she stared at the sun as it began to slowly lower down into the horizon. She has been waiting for a while now but she hasn't gotten no word that she is needed for the parade. Clearly, something has went wrong. However, when Roanna requested to go back to check on how things were, she was blocked by her samurai escort. Though she gets why they did it, if something is happening to her father and grandmother, Roanna should know about it. 

Things just seem to be blowing up today. First, she woke up early in the morning and nearly threw up going on the platform. Second, she has to walk around under an escort without her father or grandmother. And now third, the parade was delayed and she can't go find out why. That is why Roanna decided to go to her favorite spot when in town.

Besides the Down-Eastern Plaza, her favorite spot is behind a large tan and dark blue beauty house. Roanna had never been a big fan of makeup but she did enter there to buy some perfume. In fact, that was how she found out about this spot. 

While she was browsing the different perfumes, Roanna happened to look out one of the windows. The beauty house was located at the edge of a cliff so the view out the windows was amazing. Roanna had seen it many times before. This time, however, whether it was from the angel Roanna was at or she never noticed it before, Roanna noticed that there was an empty grassy area behind the beauty house before it gave way to the cliff's edge. 

Instantly, Roanna found her way back there. She was honestly surprised that there wasn't any boxes or doors leading to this little area. hje was also surprised by how the cliff side wasn't as steep as she first thought it was. It instead was more like a rough hill. She would even bet that a well-trained samurai would be able to survive the fall with a lot of luck. 

The cliff overlooked the Gurē Swamp, the name coming from its odd grey coloring. The name swamp came from an old philosopher who apparently knew some knowledge from the other land where the Zhenshi were located. Normally, those places were called Mires. However, if anything he said was true or not isn't known as all his research and notes were destroyed during a siege. Still, the name stuck.

From up on the cliff, the smell of the swamp didn't reach, allowing Roanna to enjoy the beauty of the swamp fully without having to deal with the smell. At least, that's how Roanna sees it. The sight always managed to calm her and help her mind wander.

Today was no different. The sight of the setting sun and the grey swamp helped Roanna temporarily forget all her issues. Though, she couldn't forget them completely, especially with two reminders right behind her.

"You know, I don't think anyone would try to harm me here," Roanna said, giving the two samurai, the one female one and the one male one, both the two who talked in other words, "and I've been here enough times that I'm careful not to fall off the cliff."

The female samurai shook her head, though she seemed amused.

"Even if that's the case, we still have our job to do. Besides, you never know when a shinobi will sneak up," The female samurai told Roanna, though, judging by her tone, she is teasing her.

"Oh yeah? Well, I'm invincible with you two here, isn't that right?" Roanna jokes, catching on.

Both the samurai tried their best to hide their laughter when Roanna stood up tall and put her hands on her hips, striking a pose. It was at this moment when Roanna felt a slight tingling sensation. Before she could figure out what it was, she was distracted by the icy chill in the air coming from her two bodyguards.

Immediately, the female samurai stepped forward, her movements a blur. The very next moment Roanna realized that the samurai's sword was right by her neck. It took her a moment to realize she had just blocked an arrow. She didn't even hear the sound of it whistling through the air.

When the arrows came again, Roanna heard the sound of the arrows flying through the air. There was two of them this time. The one closest to her was batted away by the female samurai. The next arrow landed three feet away next to the male samurai. He took one look at it and Roanna could tell he was frowning even with his black face mask on. Roanna herself had studied up on many different kinds of weapons and even she has never seen an arrow like this before. Why did it look like it had a grey bag on the shaft?

Roanna doesn't know how it happened but the air was suddenly roaring, causing her ears to ring...and she was flying back. Orange and yellow filled her vision and the air felt like it was on fire.

What brought her back to her senses was one of her bodyguards grabbing her by the wrist, catching her before she fell off the cliff. Their eyes met for a brief moment before two more arrows came. One of them hit the bodyguard in her waist, but she still held on. However, the second arrow, this one having a familiar black arrowhead, shot through Roanna's hand and through the samurai's wrist.

The samurai's grip weakened and Roanna's arm jerked back in surprise on instinct. Roanna saw her bodyguard's eyes widen in shock and despair and the blood from their wounds flying through the air in slow motion before she felt herself plummet like a rock. She wasn't even aware she was falling until she felt her left shoulder hit a boulder, dislocating her shoulder and cracking the boulder.

....

....

....

....and her fall was far from over.

 

 

 

Han womens: Women who hold up the dragons and preform the Dragon Dance during parades. Unlike in our world, the Dragon Dance was invented by Janarn while the Zhenshi were more used to dealing with dragons with four limbs and massive wings, learning more to fear them and poison those that are near to drive them away while the Janarn appeased the leviathan-like dragons years ago to avoid their wraith.

 

 

Sergeants: Normally the leaders of a division or small group of an army. They are the Janarn version of Captains.

 

 

Ashigaru: The common footmen of the Janarn armies. Though they aren't the backbone, there numbers still make them a threat on the battlefield. They are also useful as guards.

 

 

Orokana sosen: Stupid Ancestors. This is how the Janarn view their ancestors who made the mistake of peace and powerful weapons and, in the end, brought their own downfall. There is not a single ounce of respect towards them and, if any Janarn were to meet someone like them, they are required, by law and tradition, to kill them on sight.

 

 

Tartic: A tactical game that is popular for including real-life war strategies. It is a great way of testing how good one is at the tactical side of warfare.

 

 

Lords: Each Clan is led by a Lord. All the Lords except for one take orders and answer to the Emperor. With enough power and influence, a Lord can become the new Emperor. The Sensō Clan used to not answer to the Emperor as well but, since their Lord was killed and her Clan all but dust on the wind, many of them being dead and the Clan itself thought to be a legend, the Oda Clan is now the only Clan that doesn't answer to the Emperor.