The Sword of Kaigen

The boys train with Yukino Dai, their swordmaster and Mamoru’s favorite teacher. The boys of Kumono Academy are from the warrior families of Shirojima, who uphold ancient traditions of fighting with sword and jijaka; the latter is a “theonite” ability for controlling water and ice. Mamoru belongs to the Matsuda family, the most powerful warrior family in Shirojima, which is famous for a secret bloodline technique called the Whispering Blade. This is an ice blade that can cut through solid steel. After class, Mamoru confides to Yukino that his father refuses to teach him because he cannot make a Whispering Blade. Yukino has faith that Mamoru will master the technique eventually.

In a history class, the teacher describes a major international conflict that occurred over 80 years ago. There are three major political powers: the Kaigenese Empire, made up of jijakalu (water wielders); the Ranga Union, made up of fonyakalu (air wielders); and the Yammanka Empire, made up of tajakalu (fire wielder). Eighty years ago, the Ranganese attacked Kaigen, beginning their assault in Shirojima. This region is protected by the famous warrior houses of Matsuda, Tsusano, Yukino, and others, which are collectively called the Sword of Kaigen. The Sword of Kaigen fought off the Ranganese invasion single-handedly. By the time allies from Yamma arrived in fighter planes, the battle was already complete, and the beaches were red with the blood of the defeated Ranganese. Now, Chul-hee laughs at the lesson, and Mamoru glares at him.

As Misaki puts the children down for a nap, she recalls her success as a fighter at Daybreak Academy, an international theonite academy in Livingston, Carytha, that she attended as a teenager. With the children asleep, Misaki, Setsuko, and Hyori continue their conversation while they mend clothes. Setsuko remarks that her mother has had a premonition that the Ranganese will attack soon. Hyori laughs because everyone knows that the Ranganese are too weak to defeat Kaigen. If the Ranganese were a serious threat, the government would warn them. Misaki suggests that the news on television might not always be true. She has been abroad and knows that Kaigen is not nearly as strong as it claims to be, but the government keeps strict control over the news within its borders.

Hyori asks Misaki if she is suggesting that the government lies to them. Knowing that it would be dangerous to say yes, Misaki explains that jaseliwu (the caste responsible for storytelling, history, record-keeping, and politics) are trained to tell people “not necessarily [what] […] gives them the most information, but [what] they need to hear [in order] to do what they need to do” (40). She adds that contrary to popular belief, the fonyakalu are not inherently weaker than jijakalu. A well-trained fonyaka army could defeat them.

After class, Mamoru confronts Chul-hee about laughing during the history lesson. Chul-hee claims that almost everything the teacher said was based on lies and propaganda perpetuated by Kaigen to keep Shirojima under control. He calls the Sword of Kaigen mere “cannon fodder”: tools that the Emperor neither values nor respects. Mamoru furiously attacks him.

The headmaster, Takashi, reprimands both boys for fighting. He is Mamoru’s uncle and the head of the Matsuda family. He orders both boys to stay after school to clean the roof of the building as punishment. This is a dangerous job that requires them to use their jijakalu skills to stick to the steepled roof with ice while they work.

Mamoru is ashamed of his behavior. He is aware that his temper sometimes overcomes him. His father blames this on Misaki’s bloodline from the Tsusano family, another prestigious warrior house known for their passion and anger. However, Mamoru is supposed to be a Matsuda like his father: cold and unyielding. He apologizes to Chul-hee. Trying to prove that his claim about propaganda is true, Chul-hee shows Mamoru images on his info-com device of a memorial for the Yammankalu fighter pilots who lost their lives assisting Kaigen during the Ranganese Invasion. This information contradicts everything that Mamoru has been taught. Chul-hee insists that the Kaigenese government has lied about many things and that Kaigen is neither as powerful nor as rich as it claims to be. Mamoru runs away, unable to accept the truth.

After classes end, Mamoru regains his composure, and the boys fulfill their duties of cleaning the roof. Chul-hee is not skilled enough to hold himself with ice, so Mamoru holds them both steady. Chul-hee is afraid that Mamoru will let him fall in retaliation. He begins to slip. Mamoru tries to hold them both, but Chul-hee’s flailing knocks them loose, and they fall off the roof and down the side of the mountain below.

Mamoru creates a snowdrift beneath them, cushioning their fall. Still, they are injured, and Chul-hee sustains a broken arm. Mamoru uses an ability to form a scab and stop Chul-hee’s bleeding. His mother taught him this technique and told him only to use it in emergencies because the Matsudas believe that the Tsusano family’s blood techniques are disgraceful and impure. Tsusanos have the rare ability to control substances that only contain some water, like blood. Some Tsusanos can use a technique called Blood Needle to form a tiny needle in a person’s veins and organs, killing from within. There is even a myth that Tsusanos can use Blood Puppetry to control an entire body.

Mamoru gains his bearings on the mountain. They have fallen at the site of a plane wreck from decades before. Mamoru claims that the plane was part of a Kaigenese experiment—an unnamed aircraft that crashed. Chul-hee says the plane is from Yammanka and is made of unbreakable black zilazen glass. Mamoru climbs to the cockpit to disprove Chul-hee’s claims only to find a skeleton inside wearing a Yammanka uniform. Mamoru freezes, feeling his entire world falling apart with this revelation. Unable to face the implications, Mamoru decides that they must start climbing back up the mountain.

Mamoru leads Chul-hee to the numu (craftsmen caste) village, not far from Takayubi. This numu village is home to the Kotetsu, famous swordsmiths with whom the Matsudas have a close relationship. They are also skilled healers and will know how to help Chul-hee. They enter the home of master swordsmith Kotetsu Katashi and his family. Mamoru apprentices with Katashi every summer and respects him as his teacher despite being in a higher class.

While Katashi sets Chul-hee’s arm, Katashi’s mother tells a story. Centuries ago, the Kotetsu family earned the patronage of the noble Matsuda family. The Matsudas were renowned for their ice abilities, and the Kotetsus made them swords to match. During this time, the new religion, Falleya, sent missionaries from Yamma to convert the local population. The Matsuda patriarch followed the religion of Ryuhon and therefore hated Falleya. He executed the Falleya missionaries. In retaliation, the Yukinos, another powerful house who had already converted to Falleya, killed the Matsudas and took the family estate.

However, a Kotetsu blacksmith saved the youngest son, Takeru (for whom Mamoru’s father is named), and raised him. As Takeru grew, he learned more about Falleya and came to respect it. Eventually, he challenged Lord Yukino to a duel. Yukino drew his sword but was dead in the next moment. Takeru had used his combined knowledge of ice and sword-smithing to create the first Whispering Blade. The Matsudas became lords of Takayubi again, though they made peace with the Yukinos. The Matsuda men train with the Kotetsus as children, with the belief that doing so will help them learn the Whispering Blade technique. Additionally, the Matsudas and Yukinos ushered in the combined Ryuhon Falleya religious state of Shirojima.

Though Mamoru has heard this story many times, he is confused. He does not understand how Takeru could abandon his family legacy to accept Falleya. Katashi suggests that Takeru was wise enough to see the value of multiple perspectives and combine the best of both.

Recalling the Yammanka plane, Chul-hee asks Katashi about zilazen glass, wondering if it is as unbreakable as the stories claim. He also asks if Katashi has ever made a sword with zilazen glass. Katashi has never seen such a sword but believes it would be unbreakable. The boys finally walk back to Takayubi. Unbeknownst to them, Mamoru has lived his whole life with a zilazen glass sword just beneath his feet. His mother, Misaki, has hidden it under the floorboards of the kitchen.