Winds of Autumn

November 28th

The King's special forces, the Third Division, led by a boy in his teens, set out to render aid in response to the distress call that had reached the headquarters of the King's army.

By the time they arrived at the village of Gowa, the sight was like a small dramatisation of a genuine catastrophe.

The land was completely burned, without a trace of the signs of life. Only fires filled the place. And in the middle of that flat ground stood the giant stone sword, striking fear into the soldiers' hearts.

As they watched the place in silence, one of the soldiers spoke.

"Whoever sent that message asking for help, I doubt we'll find any trace of him. Commander, what do we do now? Do we return to headquarters?"

While he was speaking, a strong red light flared from the north and vanished after a few seconds, followed by the sound of a powerful explosion coming from the direction of the Pine Forest, and then fierce winds swept across the place. After several moments, a strange calm settled over everything.

It stirred unease among the soldiers, until each of them began to feel afraid of remaining in this abandoned land. Then the young commander began to speak.

"Whatever happened in this place, it has most likely not ended yet. Something is happening close by. And we have to find out what it is. But first, there is something I need to make certain of."

Despite his youth, the men respected their commander. However anxious they were about what was happening, they believed in his decisions.

The boy, who carried a strange calm in his two red eyes, made his way towards the stone sword, questions filling his head. When he moved a little way off, the horse pulling the cart panicked and followed after the boy's footsteps.

When he reached the sword, he found nothing strange about the place.

This is strange. I was certain I had seen something strange in this place. Was it my imagination? In any case, I can't believe I'm looking at something like this. What really happened here? A single day ago, there was a village on this spot. And now the place is nothing but barren land.

While he was lost in thought over what had happened, the horse licked his head and drew close to him.

The boy smiled and patted its head.

"What's the matter? Are you frightened? Has this place unsettled you that much? Well, I don't blame you. I feel a little afraid too."

In a moment of strange stillness, the sky turned pitch black. The moon rushed towards the earth at tremendous speed while the stars danced with joy. A warm light issued from the north, lit the darkness of that sky, and planted calm and peace in the hearts of those warriors. Within a few short moments the light was gone, the blackness faded from the sky, and everything returned to normal.

What was that? Is this a dream, or what?

While the boy fretted over what had happened, a kind of transparent barrier rose from the stone sword and covered the ground around it, sealing in both the boy and his horse.

The soldiers hurried towards their commander to find out what was happening. While the boy was trying to break through the barrier, he saw a colossal explosion burst out of the north, and after a few seconds it was already washing over the area. As the blast passed, the boy saw his comrades burning in its flames.

Several minutes later, the boy recovered from his shock and got to his feet. The impact had been strong enough that his head had begun to bleed from his fall to the ground. When he opened his eyes, all he saw was the burnt and charred remains of his followers.

The barrier that had shielded him from death vanished, leaving the boy alone with his horse in that place. He sank to his knees, blood streaming from the crown of his head. While pain and grief wrung his heart, he was on the verge of blaming himself for the loss of his soldiers. But something proved stronger than that pain, and it drove him to his feet and sent his cart towards the Pine Forest. Without any hesitation or sign of fear, his hollow red eyes simply gazed towards the horizon.

After half a day's travel on the cart, the boy reached the outskirts of the Pine Forest, and all he found there was barren ground from which the scent of life had vanished. The scene was desolate at sunset, for that stillness and pitch darkness were enough to make anyone feel fear. But such thoughts never even crossed the boy's mind, and he turned back towards the headquarters of the King's army, disappointment plain on his face.

Fourteen days later, at the edge of the King's Garden, some soldiers came upon the boy lying unconscious beside a small lake. The moment they saw his face, they realised who he was, and they carried him to the hospital that specialises in treating injuries of the King's army.

The army's main headquarters is a great sanctuary lying within the lands of the King's Garden. The soldiers stationed there number ten thousand, and the place holds every necessity of life, from restaurants and hospitals to living quarters and training barracks, which makes it the greatest defensive fortress of humankind.

After two weeks of treatment, the boy regained a little of his strength. As he sat on his bed, someone knocked at the door of his room. When the visitor entered, it was a person 162 centimetres tall, wearing a courier's hat and a pair of sunglasses.

"So you're the one in charge of delivering the messages in this section. What is it? I don't recall having anyone who might send me a message from anywhere."

"To be precise, it isn't a message. It's an invitation to enter the World Tree."

The invitation was a piece of gold shaped like a ticket, and it carried several pieces of information. The boy took no interest in anything the invitation might mean. He slipped it into his pocket and began to dress.

Then he set out for the general headquarters of the King's army. Along the way his legs failed him with the weight of exhaustion, and he leaned against the wall as he advanced slowly.

In the office of the Commander General of the army headquarters, a soldier burst in at great speed.

"Commander General, the commander of the Third Division requests permission to enter."

"That boy. Wasn't he asleep in the hospital this morning?"

"Yes, his condition is truly bad. It seems he slipped out of there."

With a long sigh that spoke of exasperation, he gave the soldier leave to bring him in.

Without any greeting, the boy entered, staggering, and dropped into the chair before the Commander General's desk. The commander settled into his own chair, laced his fingers together on the desk, and questioned him.

"So what brings you here, Haizaki? Are you that eager to get out to war?"

The boy caught his breath and answered while gripping his head against the pain.

"I told you to stop calling me by that name again. I am called Yol now."

"Do you think the name you go by means anything? In any case, now that you're here, can you tell me what happened to your division?"

Then Yol began to explain to the commander what had occurred.

"I see. So you don't know what happened."

"Commander, do you have any idea what is going on? What happened in the village of Gowa, and what became of the Pine Forest? However I turn it over in my mind, I can't find an explanation. How can a village and a very great forest vanish from existence in a single day? Is such a thing even possible?"

"Whatever caused it, the cause is unknown to us now. We can do nothing without any evidence. And as for your division..."

Yol was pressing down on his wound, wracked by the pain.

"I'm sorry, Commander. Once again, I couldn't protect anyone."

"No, this is not your fault. You did only what you could do. Even so, you cannot remain commander of the Third Division for now. No one wants to join the same division you are in. All of them are afraid of death. Do you understand? If that doesn't sit well with you, you can leave the army. No one will blame you."

The words did not trouble Yol greatly, but they left a sad smile on his face.

"It's all right. I never asked to lead a division in the first place. I'll simply go back to being one of the soldiers. That doesn't bother me at all."

Yol's manner of speaking troubled the commander more than before. He sighed in irritation and said:

"How long do you mean to keep shouldering all of this? You had no reason to join the army in the first place, and yet you carry heavy burdens on your shoulders without a moment's rest. At this rate you will soon collapse. As commander of this army, I cannot allow you out on another mission. On the other hand, you've received it, haven't you? That invitation to Auralia. It's a good opportunity. Fighting is forbidden there, so you can go and take some time to rest until your wounds heal."

"I don't need rest. My comrades died before my eyes, and I was powerless to do anything for them. And you still want me to take time off to rest? Not before I know what happened..."

Garth struck the table with tremendous force, anger written across his face.

"I have ordered you to rest at this time, and that is a military order. You will depart once you have rested. But if you return to the main headquarters, I will count it as defiance of military orders, and I will kill you. Have you understood? If you have understood, then get out of here."

Yol nodded and left the office, hiding every trace of anger from his face. The moment he departed, the commander heard a light laugh coming from inside the office.

"That annoying boy. Is he still that stubborn?"

Through the office entrance came a man in his late twenties, with thick black hair hanging over his ruined eye and a faint smile playing on his face.

At the sight of him, the commander sprang upright, saluted and said:

"Your surprise visit gladdens me, Lord Highest Minister. Is there something that has brought on a visit like this?"

The man settled into the chair, laughing as he spoke.

"You can stop with all this formality, Garth. You know I don't care for such things. Besides, I was on my way to Auralia and thought I would stop and pay my respects."

"Hah. So you're here to waste time. Are you trying to run from your duties again?"

"Hah! Isn't that a great change? I can no longer hear any respect in the way you speak!"

"What are you talking about? Isn't that how I always speak, Hiroshi?"

"There, that's exactly what I mean. You don't even care how you address me any more." He shouted it in irritation, pointing at him. Then he calmed down and carried on as though nothing had happened.

"In any case, I heard what you said to that annoying boy. I know you're trying to keep him away from this war. But no one understands better than you what that boy is worth to the King's army. Young as he is, his skill in combat is beyond compare, and since he took command of the Third Division he has never failed a single mission he was given. More than that, he has always come back alive, even when he went in alone. Someone with his gift will outstrip Traydor before long. Talk like that has reached the King's own ears. And yet here you are, playing the doting father and trying to talk him out of the war. May I know the reason?"

Garth's reaction was perfectly ordinary, as if he had known Hiroshi would ask him this. He drew a deep breath and answered.

"Hiroshi, you may not get along with him, but you know him for what he is. Have you ever asked yourself why he never runs from a battlefield? You saw it in his eyes, didn't you? He places no value on life at all. Death does not frighten him in the least. That is why he is always the first to advance into battle, even though he has no reason to fight. Why do you think he keeps doing it?"

Signs of irritation had begun to show on Hiroshi's face. But he calmed himself a little and said:

"Searching for a reason to live. Isn't that it? Is it truly so hard for you to see that?"

"Hiroshi, whatever the life he has led, that is not something a child his age should be thinking about. Every time I see that pale face of his, I grow more afraid and more anxious. I am simply tired of looking into those eyes."

Then Hiroshi rose and made to leave, and just before he went out he said:

"If that is how you feel, then I have nothing to say to you. See you later, Garth."

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