Story name: Winter Blossoms
Author: Tatsushu
Publication date: June 16, 2000 (TSA-Talk)
Date: Late November or early December, 706 CR
Location: Metamor Keep (Deaf Mule, barracks), Metamor Valley (Viper's Head)
Overview
Ryuo joins a scouting patrol with Misha, sharing a bit of his personal philosophy in the face of tragedy.
Summary
As a small group of Lutins revel in their hunting camp, two Keeper scouts sneak away and return to Metamor Keep. They are watched by a mysterious figure with glowing eyes and a runic stone in their hand.
The scouts enter the Deaf Mule to give their report to George, much to his annoyance as he is off-duty. After they leave, and George grouses to his friend Misha about how the Long Scouts seem to be taking away all his best soldiers, he decides that 5 soldiers will be enough to handle the Lutins; among them will be the new arrival Ryuo, on his first scout patrol. Despite his inability to communicate in all but basic words and hand signals, George thinks him very combat-ready. Misha has an idea for the communication issue, and decides to join the patrol, to George's chagrin.
At that moment, Gil had challenged Ryuo to hand-to-hand combat, and is easily beaten. Rose, meanwhile, is helping Ryuo learn the language with hand gestures, while Ryuo teaches Rose some of his combat training. A messenger interrupts them to report to the barracks.
Two other members of their patrol are there: Guilliame, a child morph specializing in throwing daggers; and Laura Hrottsdottir, a primate morph and backup mage. Their fifth party member, Toby, arrives late. Misha is talking with Laura when Ryuo and Rose arrive; as they do, Misha has Laura cast a spell on him to communicate with Ryuo. It mostly works, but the spell doesn't perfectly translate Ryuo's response.
After the briefing, Misha takes Ryuo to find a mage to cast a longer-lasting spell. Ryuo says something about his countrymen being in brief bright bloom like a flower, but Misha can't understand it.
On the patrol, Guilliame takes point, being the most experienced of the 4 regulars. Misha is annoyed by the patrol's inability to stay quiet and professional, but holds his tongue.
They arrive at the last known sighting, near a rock formation called Viper's Head. There is no sign of activity. Misha sees something on the rock formation, and shouts everyone to duck just before a flame spell hits the area. All but Laura take cover; Rose tries to extinguish the screaming Laura, but arrows rain down, one hitting through Laura's head. An army of Lutins and 3 ogres rush from the forest. Misha and Ryuo draw their weapons and charge into battle.
After an intense battle, all the Keepers are alive, except Guilliame, whom they find hanging from a tree, a wire through his neck. Misha orders him and Laura brought back to the Keep for burial. Ryuo explains to him again that once a brightly bloomed blossom has fallen, nothing can put it back on the tree. Misha remembers Craig and Caroline, and vows revenge. Ryuo agrees.
A dark figure sneaks away from the forest. He regrets having to kill Guilliame for seeing him, but his mission has succeeded. He has found the Inari warrior Ryuo, and though he does not why his masters care about him, he returns home to report his success.
Characters
Main Characters:
- Ryuo: An Inari kitsune warrior from Yamato. He is learning the basics of the Western language, though with Misha's translation spell, he is able to hear Misha's words perfectly, and respond partially in return.
- He is about 4.5 feet tall.
- He has been learning basic hand gestures from people who can speak his tongue — though in this story, we only see Rose teaching him.
- He is disciplined enough to not speak on patrol. Despite his attempt at stealth, he is still too loud for Misha's taste.
- Among his abilities, he is able to attack with kiai — a fighting spirit that can slice from a distance, dispel fireballs, and shake the air.
Supporting Characters:
- Misha: A fox morph, amateur clockmaker, leader of the Long Scouts. He joins Ryuo's patrol, and becomes an invaluable help when they are inopportunely attacked by Lutins. He also tries a translation spell to communicate with Ryuo, though it only works partially.
- On patrol, he wears a cloak.
Minor Characters:
- Robert: A mountain goat morph, a scout for the Keep regulars. He reports the Lutin camp to George, not understanding his faux pas.
- He sometimes shows off his dexterity by walking along the Keep parapets. Coe disapproves of this — it's possible Robert has had an accident before, or that Coe doesn't approve of recklessness.
- He reports directly to George, rather than to his on-duty superiors. He appears to have had no reason, other than naively assuming he should always report to George.
- Heather: A deer morph, a scout for the regulars.
- She has been on patrol for some time, and feels confident fighting Lutins. She also likes the barbaric, if uncomfortable, feeling of Lutin blood on her.
- George: A jackal morph, the Keep patrol master, a friend of Misha's. He wishes the regulars had more disciplined soldiers.
- His back is black-furred.
- Guilliame: A child morph, a scout for the Keep regulars. As the most experienced member of the patrol, he was assigned to take point. He was last seen sneaking into the bushes, just after arriving under Viper's Head. He dies soon after, when he caught sight of the shinobi, unknown to the others, who then killed him with a wire through the neck. His death is likely blamed on the Lutins.
- His default age was 12 years old.
- Of the four regulars (him, Rose, Toby, and Laura H), he had the most military experience. He was good at handling and throwing daggers. He was the only one besides Misha who could walk stealthily through the forest to Misha's satisfaction.
- Toby: A talbot (hound) morph. Though reckless, he is competent in battle, and one of two Keep regulars to survive the patrol.
- He has a casual, boastful attitude. Before the mission, he bet on making the most Lutin kills, to everyone's amusement.
- He wears very light brigandine armor, less than is advised, for extra maneuverability.
- Laura Hrottsdottir: A primate morph, a mage. She was killed on patrol, having burst into flames by a spellcaster and shot through the head by a Lutin arrow.
- She wore light armor. She wielded an amethyst staff just shorter than her.
- She was practiced some magic, but is not an expert in language translation spells.
- In combat, she was too slow to dodge a surprise fireball. Her screams were mercifully cut short by an arrow through the side of her head.
- Gil: A lion morph. He challenges Ryuo to a friendly hand-to-hand bout, and is easily defeated, but within minutes is ready to challenge someone else.
- Rose: A female gendermorph, a Keep infantry regular. Her full name is Rose Nathaniel Crantz. She is one of two Keep regulars to survive the patrol.
- She wears a cloak over a full hauberk of maille, over a padded linen gambeson. She carries a large shield.
- As with the other regulars, she lacks discipline on patrol, such as relaxing too quickly after battle.
- A human spellcaster for the Lutins. From Viper's Head, he casts nothing but fireballs upon the Keepers. As the battle is ending, he is killed by Ryuo.
- He had withered but surprisingly quick hands.
- A shinobi. He watches Robert and Heather leave the Lutin camp, and is presumably the same figure who kills Guilliame and flees the battle, having been told by his master(s) to find Ryuo.
- He has slender hands and glowing eyes (always glowing, or just sometimes?). He dresses in black and in silk. He carries a runic stone.
Cameo:
- A bull morph, whom Gil challenges after his fight with Ryuo.
Referenced:
- Coe: A raccoon morph, the Keep physician.
- Caroline: An otter morph, a Long Scout, Misha's girlfriend. She was raped by Lutins several months ago, shortly after Craig's death.
- Craig: A deceased prairie dog morph, a Long Scout, one of Misha's friends. He was killed by Lutins several months ago.
- "A true friend" of Misha's, who stopped him from his foolish rage.
The Lutin Attack
- A hunting party of 15 Lutins was initially spotted in the birch forest near Viper's Head. When the Keeper scouts return, at least a day later, they perform an ambush with at least 3 ogres and innumerable Lutins in the forest, with 1 human spellcaster and several Lutin archers hiding in Viper's Head.
- The patrol was organized with Guilliame in front, then Toby, then Misha and Ryuo, then Laura, then Rose. Guilliame is hidden by the time the battle starts; his contributions, if any, are unknown.
- The ogres do not seem to have much armor; the leading ogre has exposed wrists and abdomen, and seems to be relying on its natural resistance to damage.
- The battle begins with an ambush by a spellcaster; Misha warns the patrol just before he attacks. Misha ducks behind a cedar tree, Toby behind a bush. Rose trips over a root while trying to reach Laura. Ryuo likely also drops to the ground. Laura, left exposed, is set on fire.
- Ryuo is the first to return fire, aiming at the spellcaster. The Lutin archers on Viper's Head fire a volley of arrows. The Keeper patrol hastily fires its own arrows. The spellcaster is hit at least once by an arrow, along with a few Lutins.
- Suddenly, the archers stop firing. The Lutin's forest division attacks. The Keeper party switches to melee.
- Ryuo targets one of the large ogres, cutting the ogre's wrist and cuts open its abdomen.
- The next opponent (implied to be the 2nd ogre) has its legs cut off by Misha.
Ryuo's Points
- For the rest of the battle, Ryuo speaks a series of short phrases, each of which is illustrated in his attack. Tatsushu gives a translation of each phrase in the author's notes (see Behind the Scenes).
- "Yaru koto na yaru" — Do the thing that is to be done.
- Ryuo executes well-trained moves without needing to think about them.
- "Yaru toki ni yaru" — Do when it is to be done.
- Ryuo perfectly times his movements to the motion of battle, like a dance — cleaving through someone's head.
- "Zettai ni yaru" — Do with your entire being.
- He deflects a Lutin's weapon, sweeps into an opponent's "dead zone" and kills him with a Lutin's spear.
- "Tettei teki ni yaru" — Do exhaustively.
- Ryuo blocks the 3rd ogre's club, stabs a nearby Lutin, and then raises both swords, leaving himself exposed for the 3rd ogre to strike at.
- "Shinnen de yaru" — Do with conviction.
- As the ogre swings, Ryuo slices its wrist with the short sword. Ryuo leaps forward, aiming his other sword for its throat.
- "Zenin itchi yaru" — Do in conformity with everyone.
- The ogre block with its other hand, sacrificing a finger. He grabs Ryuo and starts to squeeze him. Toby stabs the ogre in the back of the head.
- "Kihon doori ni yaru" — Do in the basic way.
- Ryuo continues with well-practiced, simple and efficient moves.
- "Kimeta koto ha yaru" — Do what has been decided.
- Ryuo and Misha now focus on the big picture, as the number of opponents dwindles.
- "Genkai muyou de yaru" — Do without limits.
- With the ogres dead, the Lutins lose their focus and try to flee, but are easily killed.
- "Nani ga nandemo yaru" — Do anything there is to do.
- The Lutin archers from Viper's Head charge from the bushes and fire upon the Keepers.
- "Rikutsu nuki de yaru" — Do what is logical.
- Ryuo realizes the threat of the arrows, and charges at the archers.
- "Inochi wo kakete yaru" — Do without fear for your life.
- The arrows bounce off of Ryuo's armor.
- "Mokuhyou tassei made yaru" — Do till the target is reached.
- Ryuo slices through one of the archers, and uses its corpse as a shield.
- "Ima koso yaru" — Do in the moment.
- After 4 archers have died, the human spellcaster quickly casts a fireball at Ryuo.
- "Yaru-ki de yaru" — Do with a doing spirit.
- Ryuo channels his energy into the sword and swings. The kiai slices apart the fireball and knocks the spellcaster to the trees.
Locations
- The barracks are located in the Lower Keep. Unmarried soldiers can sleep and store their gear here.
- The common room is where most soldiers hang out. It can also act as a briefing room.
- The Viper's Head is a granite rock formation north of Metamor Keep. From the birch forest (with occasional cedar) below, it resembles the head of a diamond-head viper, where a dark cave forms an eye, and two shallow pits form its nostrils.
- It seems that the rock formation is less than 1000 feet from the forest, given that it is within firing range.
Society
- Robert and Heather's orders, as Metamor Keep regulars, are to report groups of over 10 Lutins instead of attacking.
- George suspects that the Lutins are invading the valley more often because of scarce food up north — probably a regular occurrence, and one which Metamor responds with more patrols.
- Misha feels that the Long Scouts are currently understaffed.
Chronology
- It is a cold day today, with an overcast sky, and snow on the ground that is unlikely to melt anytime soon.
Continuity
- Misha tells the patrol to meet up at the north gate. This is a common mistake in MK stories — unless Misha is speaking in reference from Euper, or to some gate for the road northward, Metamor doesn't have a north gate. Metamor has a cliff to the north; all of its gates are to the south.
Story Connections
- Misha thinks of Caroline and Craig, and a true friend stopping his rage, referring to Casualties of War.
- George comments that, each time he rosters a good soldier, the Long Scouts have already taken them on a mission. However, the only to-date mission the Longs have gone on, and involved members outside the Long Scouts, was the Stepping Rock raid in Cry Havoc and Killing Time. George may have been referring to Charles Matthias, who joined the Long Scouts soon after beginning patrol duties, or to Rickkter, who despite refusing to join the Long Scouts in Stepping Up To Destiny has often accompanied them on missions, or to David Guardian or Drake, who had already made connections with Misha and several Long Scouts (A Hunt in the Dark and Into the Wild respectively) despite not joining them.
- The shinobi remarks on Ryuo's cure, referring to Rurouni Ryuo.
- George mentions Ryuo's creepy mask, referring to Getting Settled.
Points of Interest
- The last time Robert and Heather were on patrol together, the Lutins heard Heather. Hence, on this patrol, Robert conspicuously acts stealthy to Heather.
- George is annoyed that the Keep's regular soldiers are inept, and that the Keep needs to rely on the Long Scouts to get anything done, as they have all the Keep's best soldiers. This seems both in-universe frustration for George, and an out-of-universe remark on the Long Scouts getting so much more attention than the regular scouts.
Behind the Scenes
- Tatsushu received "The 15 points of a doing spirit" from his sensei while studying kendo.