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  For all those who left their teeth on the board in service of mutagé

  A NOTE ON PRONUNCIATION, TRANSLITERATION, AND TRANSLATION

  Many names in Dara are derived from Classical Ano. The transliteration for Classical Ano in this book does not use vowel digraphs; each vowel is pronounced separately. For example, “Réfiroa” has four distinct syllables: “Ré-fi-ro-a.” Similarly, “Na-aroénna” has five syllables: “Na-a-ro-én-na.”

  The i is always pronounced like the i in English “mill.”

  The o is always pronounced like the o in English “code.”

  The ü is always pronounced like the umlauted form in German or Chinese pinyin.

  Other names have different origins and contain sounds that do not appear in Classical Ano, such as the xa in “Xana” or the ha in “Haan.” In such cases, however, each vowel is still pronounced separately. Thus, “Haan” also contains two syllables.

  * * *

  The notion that Classical Ano is one fixed language, unaltered for millennia, is attractive and commonly held among the less erudite in Dara. It is, however, false. As the (primarily) literary language of learning and officialdom, “Classical” Ano has continued to evolve, influencing and influenced by the vernacular as well as contact with new peoples, new ideas, new practices.

  Scribes and poets create neologisms based on Classical Ano roots, along with new logograms to write them with, and even novel grammatical forms, at first deemed solecisms, become accepted over time as stylists adopt them with little regard to the carping of Moralist grammarians.

  The changes in Classical Ano are most readily seen in the logograms themselves. However, it’s possible to see some of the changes even through transliterations (we leave aside, for now, the problem of how even the way Classical Ano is spoken has changed over time). The Classical Ano in which Kon Fiji wrote most of his observations is not the same language in which Vocu Firna wrote his poems.

  To emphasize the different register that the language evokes for the people of Dara, Classical Ano words and phrases are always italicized in the text.

  * * *

  The representation of Lyucu and Agon names and words presents a different problem. As we come to know them through the people(s) and language(s) of Dara, the scrubland words given in this work are doubly mediated. Just as English speakers who write down Chinese names and words they hear with Latin letters will achieve only a rough approximation of the original sounds, so with the Dara transliteration of Lyucu and Agon.

  Lyucu and Agon do not pluralize nouns in the manner of English. For the benefit of the anglophone reader, certain words, such as “pékyu” and “garinafin,” are pluralized in this book as though they have become “naturalized” English words. On the other hand, other words and phrases, less common, retain the character of their non-English origins.

  “Dara,” “Lyucu,” and “Agon” can refer to a language, the people who speak that language, the culture of that people, or even a single individual of that culture—a practice closer to the way these languages represent such concepts natively.

  Also, in contrast to Classical Ano, Lyucu and Agon words and phrases are not (with very few exceptions) italicized in the text. For the people who speak the language(s), they are not foreign.

  Like most matters involving translation, transliteration, assimilation, adaptation, and migration, these practices represent an imperfect compromise, which, given the nature of the tale re-remembered here, is perhaps appropriate.

  LIST OF MAJOR CHARACTERS

  THE CHRYSANTHEMUM AND THE DANDELION

  KUNI GARU: Emperor Ragin of Dara, who died during the Battle of Zathin Gulf, though his body was never recovered.

  MATA ZYNDU: deceased Hegemon of Dara, worshipped by some cults in Tunoa and among the common soldiers as the pinnacle of martial prowess and honor.

  THE DANDELION COURT

  JIA MATIZA: Empress and Regent of Dara; a skilled herbalist.

  RISANA: an illusionist and accomplished musician; posthumously given the title Empress of Dara.

  KADO GARU: Kuni’s elder brother; holds the title of King of Dasu without the substance; father of Prince Gimoto.

  COGO YELU: Prime Minister of Dara, one of the longest-serving officials at the Dandelion Court.

  ZOMI KIDOSU: Farsight Secretary; prized student of Luan Zyaji and a noted inventor in her own right; Princess Théra’s lover; daughter of a Dasu farming-fishing family (Oga and Aki Kidosu).

  GIN MAZOTI: Marshal of Dara and Queen of Géjira; the greatest battlefield tactician of her time; posthumous victor at the Battle of Zathin Gulf; Aya Mazoti is her daughter.

  THAN CARUCONO: First General of the Cavalry and First Admiral of the Navy.

  PUMA YEMU: Marquess of Porin; noted practitioner of raiding tactics.

  SOTO ZYNDU: Jia’s confidante and adviser; aunt of Mata Zyndu.

  WI: leader of the Dyran Fins, who serve Empress Jia.

  SHIDO: a Dyran Fin.

  LADY RAGI: an orphaned girl raised by Jia; serves the empress on special missions.

  GORI RUTHI: nephew of the late Imperial Tutor Zato Ruthi and husband of Lady Ragi; a noted Moralist scholar.

  CHILDREN OF THE HOUSE OF DANDELION

  PRINCE TIMU (NURSING NAME: TOTO-TIKA): Emperor Thaké of Ukyu-taasa; Kuni’s firstborn; consort of Tanvanaki; son of Empress Jia.

  PRINCESS THÉRA (NURSING NAME: RATA-TIKA): named by Kuni as his successor and once known as Empress Üna of Dara; yielded the throne to her younger brother Phyro in order to journey to Ukyu-Gondé to war with the Lyucu; daughter of Empress Jia.

  PRINCE PHYRO (NURSING NAME: HUDO-TIKA): Emperor Monadétu of Dara; son of Empress Risana.

  PRINCESS FARA (NURSING NAME: ADA-TIKA): an artist and collector of folktales; youngest of Kuni’s children; daughter of Consort Fina, who died in childbirth.

  PRINCESS AYA: daughter of Gin Mazoti and Luan Zyaji; given the title of Imperial Princess by Empress Jia to honor the sacrifices of her mother.

  PRINCE GIMOTO: son of Kado Garu, Kuni’s elder brother.

  SCHOLARS OF DARA

  LUAN ZYAJI: Kuni’s chief strategist; Gin Mazoti’s lover; he journeyed to Ukyu-Gondé and discovered the secret of the periodic openings in the Wall of Storms; known during life as Luan Zya.

  ZATO RUTHI: Imperial Tutor; leading Moralist of modern times.

  KON FIJI: ancient Ano philosopher; founder of the Moralist school.

  POTI MAJI: ancient Ano philosopher; the most accomplished student of Kon Fiji.

  RA OJI: ancient Ano epigrammatist; founder of the Fluxist school.

  ÜSHIN PIDAJI: ancient Ano philosopher; the most renowned student of Ra Oji.

  NA MOJI: ancient Xa
na engineer who studied the flights of birds; founder of the Patternist school.

  GI ANJI: modern philosopher of the Tiro states era; founder of the Incentivist school.

  MIZA CRUN: renowned scholar of the silkmotic force; once a street magician.

  UKYU-TAASA

  TENRYO ROATAN: seized position of Pékyu of the Lyucu by murdering his father Toluroru; conqueror of the scrublands; leader of the Lyucu invasion of Dara; died at the Battle of Zathin Gulf.

  VADYU ROATAN (NICKNAMED “TANVANAKI”): the best garinafin pilot and current pékyu of Ukyu-taasa; daughter of Tenryo.

  TODYU ROATAN (NURSING NAME: DYU-TIKA): son of Timu and Tanvanaki.

  DYANA ROATAN (NURSING NAME: ZAZA-TIKA): daughter of Timu and Tanvanaki.

  VOCU FIRNA: a thane close to Timu; a poet.

  CUTANROVO AGA: a prominent thane, commander of the Capital Security Forces.

  GOZTAN RYOTO: a prominent thane; rival of Cutanrovo.

  SAVO RYOTO: Goztan’s son; also known by the Dara name Kinri Rito.

  NAZU TEI: a scholar; teacher of Savo.

  NODA MI: a minister at the court of Tanvanaki and Timu; betrayed Gin Mazoti at the Battle of Zathin Gulf.

  WIRA PIN: a minister at the court of Tanvanaki and Timu; once tried to persuade Prince Timu to surrender to the Lyucu under Pékyu Tenryo.

  OFLURO: a skilled garinafin rider.

  LADY SUCA: one of the few non-Lyucu to learn to ride a garinafin; wife of Ofluro.

  THE SPLENDID URN AND THE BLOSSOM GANG

  RATI YERA: leader of the Blossom Gang; an illiterate inventor of ingenious machines.

  MOTA KIPHI: member of the Blossom Gang; a man rivaling Mata Zyndu in pure strength; survivor of the Battle of Zathin Gulf.

  ARONA TARÉ: member of the Blossom Gang; an actress.

  WIDI TUCRU: member of the Blossom Gang; a paid litigator.

  WIDOW WASU: head of the Wasu clan; she knew Kuni Garu as a youth.

  MATI PHY: sous-chef at the Splendid Urn.

  LODAN THO: head waitress at the Splendid Urn; Mati’s wife.

  TIPHAN HUTO: the youngest son of the Huto clan, rival of the Wasu clan.

  MOZO MU: a young chef employed by Tiphan Huto; granddaughter of Suda Mu, legendary cook in the time of the Tiro kings.

  LOLOTIKA TUNÉ: Headgirl of the Aviary, Ginpen’s leading indigo house.

  KITA THU: head of the Imperial laboratories in Ginpen; once led the effort to discover the secret of garinafin fire breath during the war against the Lyucu.

  SÉCA THU: a scholar; nephew of Kita Thu.

  DARA AT LARGE

  ABBOTT SHATTERED AXE: head of the Temple of Still and Flowing Waters in the mountains of Rima.

  ZEN-KARA: a scholar; daughter of Chief Kyzen of Tan Adü.

  RÉZA MÜI: a troublemaker.

  ÉGI and ASULU: a pair of soldiers in the city garrison of Pan.

  KISLI PÉRO: a researcher at one of the Imperial laboratories.

  THE CREW OF DISSOLVER OF SORROWS

  RAZUTANA PON: a scholar of the Cultivationism school.

  ÇAMI PHITHADAPU: a Golden Carp scholar; an expert on whales.

  MITU ROSO: an admiral, commander-in-chief of the expedition to Ukyu-Gondé.

  NMÉJI GON: captain of Dissolver of Sorrows.

  TIPO THO: former air ship officer; commander of the marines aboard Dissolver of Sorrows.

  THORYO: a mysterious stowaway.

  THE LYUCU

  TOLURORU ROATAN: unifier of the Lyucu.

  CUDYU ROATAN: leader of the Lyucu; son of Tenryo; grandson of Toluroru.

  TOVO TASARICU: Cudyu’s most trusted thane.

  TOOF: a garinafin pilot.

  RADIA: a garinafin rider.

  THE AGON

  NOBO ARAGOZ: unifier of the Agon.

  SOULIYAN ARAGOZ: youngest daughter of Nobo Aragoz; mother of Takval.

  VOLYU ARAGOZ: youngest son of Nobo Aragoz; Chief of the Agon.

  TAKVAL ARAGOZ: pékyu-taasa of the Agon; husband of Théra.

  TANTO GARU ARAGOZ (NURSING NAME: KUNILU-TIKA): eldest son of Théra and Takval.

  ROKIRI GARU ARAGOZ (NURSING NAME: JIAN-TIKA): second son of Théra and Takval.

  VARA RONALEK: an old thane who refuses to give up riding garinafins into battle.

  GOZOFIN: a warrior, skilled in the crafting of arucuro tocua.

  NALU: Gozofin’s son.

  ADYULEK: an aged shaman, skilled in the taking of spirit portraits.

  SATAARI: a young shaman.

  ARATEN: a thane trusted by Takval.

  THE GODS OF DARA

  KIJI: patron of Xana; Lord of the Air; god of wind, flight, and birds; his pawi is the Mingén falcon; favors a white traveling cloak; in Ukyu-taasa he is identified with Péa, the god who gave the gift of garinafins to the people.

  TUTUTIKA: patron of Amu; youngest of the gods; goddess of agriculture, beauty, and fresh water; her pawi is the golden carp; in Ukyu-taasa she is identified with Aluro, the Lady of a Thousand Streams.

  KANA AND RAPA: twin patrons of Cocru; Kana is the goddess of fire, ash, cremation, and death; Rapa is the goddess of ice, snow, glaciers, and sleep; their pawi are twin ravens: one black, one white; in Ukyu-taasa they are identified with Cudyufin, the Well of Daylight, and Nalyufin, the Pillar of Ice and the hate-hearted.

  RUFIZO: patron of Faça; Divine Healer; his pawi is the dove; in Ukyu-taasa he is identified with Toryoana, the long-haired bull who watches over cattle and sheep.

  TAZU: patron of Gan; unpredictable, chaotic, delighting in chance; god of sea currents, tsunamis, and sunken treasures; his pawi is the shark; in Ukyu-taasa both he and Lutho are identified with Péten, the god of trappers and hunters.

  LUTHO: patron of Haan; god of fishermen, divination, mathematics, and knowledge; his pawi is the sea turtle; missing from Dara when he became mortal to hitch a ride on Dissolver of Sorrows.

  FITHOWÉO: patron of Rima; god of war, the hunt, and the forge; his pawi is the wolf; in Ukyu-taasa he is identified with the goddess Diasa, the she-wolf club-maiden.

  PART ONE HAIL-PUMMELED FLOWERS

  CHAPTER ONE BACK IN THE FLOW

  WORLD’S EDGE MOUNTAINS: THE FIFTH MONTH IN THE NINTH YEAR AFTER THE DEPARTURE OF PRINCESS THÉRA FROM DARA FOR UKYU-GONDÉ (TWELVE MONTHS UNTIL THE LYUCU MUST LAUNCH THEIR NEW INVASION FLEET TO DARA).

  For much of the winter and spring, the last remnants of the rebels of Kiri Valley lived in constant fear.

  They would find some hidden valley on the western side of the World’s Edge Mountains and make camp, careful to mask smoke, middens, noise, and other signs of their presence. But a few days later the pursuing garinafins of the Lyucu would be sighted in the sky to the south, and they would have to pack up and be on the run again.

  Tipo Tho, with her newborn son strapped to her chest, suggested several times that perhaps the group should attempt to scale the massive peaks to the east and cross over the mountain range, but most of the surviving Agon warriors strenuously objected to the plan. To cross the mountains was to move into the realm of the gods, and that was simply something mortals did not do.

  “But that is also why we would be safe,” Tipo said. “Cudyu wouldn’t think of chasing us beyond the mountains either.”

  The other surviving Dara fighters nodded. This seemed the most obvious choice.

  But Takval and his warriors looked at her as though she were babbling nonsense.

  “Look at how tall the mountains are,” said Takval, pointing to the snow-capped peaks. They were about halfway up one of the mountains, and already everyone was shivering and having trouble breathing. “The cold gets worse the higher we go, and Alkir can’t fly that high.”

  “We can make the crossing on foot,” said Çami Phithadapu. “There are ways to keep everyone warm. We can come up with some plan—”

  The old shaman Adyulek swore and walked away, disgusted.

  “With all due respect, I don’t think this is the best time for Dara to be suggesting any more changes to the ways of
the Agon,” said Gozofin.

  Tipo, Çami, and the others held their tongues. After the disaster at Kiri Valley, the reputation of the Dara allies among the Agon was in tatters. Takval’s people blamed Théra for pushing them to farm instead of pasturing and hunting, for putting their trust in weapons enhanced with Dara magic instead of the known ways of the Agon, for insisting on delaying the attack until the Lyucu had returned to Taten instead of following Volyu’s original suggestion of a quick strike at Aluro’s Basin…. Among the people of the scrublands, the only argument that ultimately swayed was victory in war. And since Théra had been responsible for the greatest defeat of the Agon since the death of Pékyu Nobo Aragoz, everything she had pushed for was worthless.

  And so, as spring came to the mountains, they continued to meander north, following no clear plan beyond survival.

  * * *

  While the rest of the Dara survivors seethed at what they saw as the unjust treatment of their princess, Théra was unperturbed.

  More accurately, she remained in the near-catatonic state she had fallen into after the loss of Kunilu-tika and Jian-tika. Most of her waking hours were spent fingering the bag of baked clay logogram playing blocks and an old silk mask with an edging of embroidered tolyusa berries, so worn that it was nearly in tatters. She made no suggestions and gave no orders; she obeyed whatever instructions were given to her docilely; the very act of survival seemed to her a burden more than she could bear.

  Takval, though weighed down with the responsibility of keeping the small band alive by himself, never stopped trying to help Théra. He held her in their tent and spoke to her of his love and need, even if she never responded. He asked Adyulek to intercede with the gods on Théra’s behalf, but the old shaman shook her head, explaining that there wasn’t much she could do when the princess had neither trust in nor fear of the gods of Gondé.