The Wind and the Werewolf: Star Mirror and True Sight

By

Kaze

* * * * *

            A quiet breeze blew softly through the darkened town, causing tree branches to gently sway.  The sky was clear, and thousands of tiny stars sparkled brightly above.  A light gust of wind brushed the town dojo, and a shadow, barely distinguishable from the surrounding darkness, seemed to materialize from the air stream to hop lightly over the windowsill to the blackness within.

            A pair of bright golden eyes surveyed the interior.  As expected, they saw nothing but an empty practice room: smooth wooden floor and walls, pillars around the perimeter, and two racks of well-used training weapons at opposite corners.  Had an observer been present, he might have seen a smirk of satisfaction, or a pair of pointed ears, alert and twitching.  He might have seen the muted colors of a dark Kevlar vest and frayed blue jeans.  But then again, probably not, for that must have only been a trick of starlight and darkness; the shadows barely shifted, and any uncertainties were swallowed up.

            Kaze stole softly across the glossy floor, searching for any hint of irregularities in the structure of the building.  She knew from observation earlier that week, and tonight’s visit only confirmed it, that several doors lining the back wall opened up into the rest of the extensive complex, living quarters and such.  The sliding door opposite those, on her right, opened up into the courtyard.

            After arriving in Japan, she had spent some time traveling cross-country, exploring, killing the occasional monster, and generally getting a feel for the land.  Until she arrived here.  It had been a bright, sunny day, cool with the onset of fall, and Kaze was ready to pick up a few more supplies, stay a day or two, gather some information, and then be on her way.

            She had finished making most of her purchases, actually shelling out money for the majority of the supplies, just for a change of pace, and retired to a hidden spot in a pine tree with a nice view of the nearby dojo.  She had taken a half-wolf form for the convenience of increased perception, and proceeded to relax in the cool breeze, eyes shut, content to lazily sift through the sounds and smells of the area.

            The comings and goings of several people in the dojo eventually conspired to wake Kaze from her light slumber.  Turning her head slightly to the side, she watched their activities through half-lidded eyes.  She pulled a small branch from the tree, stuck the end between her teeth, and tried to make out what all the commotion was about.

            After a few short minutes Kaze was able to discern that they were having some type of a match, probably a competition of sorts.  At that point, a figure wearing a white kimono exited the building, sliding the door shut with a bang.  Both its scent and something about its mannerisms told Kaze all she needed to know, and the wolf inside her quickly identified it.  Oh.  Dog.  Who cares?  Yawning, she turned away to go back to sleep.  Except…that’s no dog.  What the heck?  Kaze jerked her head back around to stare at the figure.  Yes, it was indeed a female human…and…not-human.  Kaze ran through a quick mental checklist.  Face is human, walks upright like a human, wears human clothes…hands and feet are human…Why am I telling myself it’s also a dog? 

            The figure half turned to shout something back inside, before straightening her baseball cap and sauntering down the path towards town.  Intrigued, Kaze decided to stay awhile longer.  She was never one to let a puzzle go unsolved, after all.

            By that evening, Kaze concluded that the girl was indeed human, but also part dog, unless someone was playing an illusion spell.  But that wasn’t too likely since Kaze could now easily detect the mix of human and dog scents given off by the figure.  And who’d want to create that elaborate an illusion anyway?  Who’re they going to fool?  The trees?

            Kaze stayed in town a few days longer than she had planned, just enjoying the sights, the food, and returning to spy on the dojo every so often.  She learned that Dog Lady was also a demon-hunter like herself, and studied under the dojo’s sensei.  The dojo was also an academy of sorts, teaching martial arts to the village people and their children.  The morning classes were particularly amusing, the loud shouts and laughter of the children ringing out as they practiced new skills.

            Eventually, Kaze entertained the notion of sneaking inside the dojo and taking a look around.  She tried to tell herself it was only because a demon-hunter headquarters must certainly have some nifty gadgets worth testing, before she gave up and concluded that she didn’t really need an excuse to break in and steal something; it’s what she did all the time anyway.  So, after determining that the best time to investigate would be a few hours after sunset when the occupants had retired for the night, Kaze put her plan into action.

And here she was.

Kaze didn’t know if there was anything worthwhile stored in the training room, but it was a simple structure, so she decided to take a quick look just in case, and mark it off her list.  Initial inspections revealed nothing out of the ordinary, but she hadn’t survived this long by being anything less than completely thorough.  So she extended her senses and made a swift circuit of the room, searching for any hidden items or chambers. 

What luck!  Sharp ears detected the faint irregular movement of air over a thin seam in the floor.  Vaulting lightly over the weapons rack blocking off one of the corners, Kaze landed without a sound and spied the source of the disturbance.  Cleverly camouflaged within the wood grain of the floor was what appeared to be a trap door.  There were no hinges on this side, so Kaze suspected that it swung inward.  But how to open it?  There were no visible latches either.

Or were there?  Careful not to scrape the floor with her claws, Kaze slid her hands along the polished surface near the door.  She felt a slight give at two knots in the wood.  Kaze pressed both downwards at the same time and was rewarded when the door fell open with a soft clunk. 

There was a ladder, but Kaze didn’t trust it, so she slipped through the hole and dropped to the floor.  Her eyes quickly darted around, seeking out threats.  Finding none, she reached up – and it was a stretch, even for her werewolf form – and swung the door shut.  It latched with a barely discernable – for humans – click.

A short listen and feel of the room’s air pressure revealed no adjoining rooms, so Kaze assumed she was safe in using a little extra light.  Taking out a chrome lighter, she flicked it on and lit an old fashioned lantern sitting on a nearby stool.  I guess they never bothered to install electric lighting down here.  Cheap. 

The flickering glow lit an old storeroom of sorts.  She gathered that it didn’t extend beyond the training room above.  Facing down the length of the room, the wall on her right held a rack of katanas, some relatively plain, some quite ornate.  On the left there was a rack of staff weapons of varying lengths and widths, some bladed, some blunt.  Immediately on the wall to the right of those hung two gigantic shuriken with wicked looking blades, making Kaze’s fingers itch to give them a try.  A few crates and barrels also lined the walls on either side of the room.  A small cannon wedged between two barrels and a sharp whiff of gunpowder left no doubt about the contents of at least some of the containers.  Everything was covered in a generous layer of dust.

Roughly two-thirds down the length of the room were two sets of shelves, one on either side, effectively acting as dividers and leaving a door-sized passage between.  The one on the right held several aging books and scrolls, along with a few random knick-knacks and statuettes.  The left held quivers of arrows; arrays of smaller shuriken, throwing knives, and darts; and several strands of prayer beads of all sizes and lengths.  There were also several wooden and silk-covered boxes of all shapes.  At the foot of this shelf lay various pieces of armor, leather shields, boots, and bows.  Back on the right, in the corner between that shelf and the wall, stood a complete set of samurai armor, metal pieces glimmering in the lantern’s unsteady blaze despite the dust.  Propped against the armor was some long, unidentifiable object swathed in pale cloth.

Glancing upward on her way to the other half of the room, Kaze noticed a line of faded Japanese prayers strung along the perimeter of the ceiling with once-brilliant red cord.  She chuckled softly.  Wonder if those actually work to keep evil spirits away?  Die evil presence!  Cower before this flimsy piece of paper upon which I have scrawled barely legible characters!…Does it still work of the spirits are illiterate?  What if you have a fire spirit?  Will the burnt ashes still scare it away?

Kaze shook her head and ducked around one of the shelves.  On the right, piled in the corner and spilling out onto the floor, were several colorful rolls of patterned silk.  Oooh!  Now that’s nice!  Picking up a corner, Kaze shook off the worst of the dust and examined it for quality.  Very fine weaving.  Wouldn’t be surprised if this was imported from China.  Sure would fetch a nice price on the market!

Turning away to investigate the last section of the room, Kaze saw a large mahogany table upon which appeared to be a model of some building complex.  She strolled over for a closer look.  Indeed, it looked to be a scale replica of the dojo and its immediate surroundings.  Everything was sculpted in incredible detail, right down to the trees and that small well off in the woods to the side.  Just amazing!  Why would anybody want to stash this away?  It’s beautiful!  A quick search of the table revealed no hidden compartments, so Kaze walked back into the larger section of the room, pondering what to examine further. 

Well the silk’s always an option.  I can make a few trips tonight and tomorrow night and clear it all out.  Then sell it.  But that’s no fun.  What use do I have for money, when I steal everything I really want anyway?

Kaze decided on rifling through the boxes on the shelves.  Then she turned aside at the last moment and headed for the samurai armor, leaving the obvious for last.  She plucked off the helmet and set it on her head to get it out of the way.  A thought occurred to her, and, pausing in her explorations, she skipped silently over to the giant shuriken, blew off the dust, and examined her reflection in its gleaming surface.  Oh wow.  That is so not me.  Grinning and shaking her head at the mental image of a werewolf in samurai’s armor, Kaze set the helmet to the side and turned back to the rest of the armor.

Nothing inside, no bags or sashes.  Idly, Kaze picked up the cloth-wrapped item lying against the suit.  She removed the fair, cream-colored fabric, pausing to adjust her grip as the item inside shifted.  A moment later she revealed two swords, securely locked within their scabbards.  Setting them gently down upon the cloth on the floor, Kaze knelt to inspect them.

The scabbards were made of some dark, almost black, wood, incredibly smooth and highly polished.  Reflected firelight from the lantern Kaze had set beside her showed dark swirls in the grain, nearly blue or dusky gray in color.  Slightly tarnished golden fastenings reinforced the scabbard and attached the sword to black leather carrying straps.

The sword hilts sported the same golden pommel, collar, and guard.  The length of the hilt was covered with tight, Japanese-style, deep royal blue wrappings over real blue-gray ray skin.  Kaze could already tell that these were quality swords, and much care had gone into their making.  Other than that, though, they weren’t terribly ornate.

She hesitated only for a moment before picking up the nearest sword.  Kaze smiled.  Already she could tell that the sword had excellent weight and balance.  Slowly, she drew it out of its scabbard. 

A burnished golden blade collar was revealed, followed by a brightly gleaming, slivery blade.  There were a few Japanese characters beautifully inscribed on the blade just above the collar, and Kaze stopped to read them.  They were an older script, but still understandable.  Star Mirror, they read.  Kaze flipped the blade over and saw additional characters on the reverse.  Masamune.  Kaze’s jaw dropped and her mind stuttered to a halt as she just stared at the shining surface. 

…Masamune…the most legendary Japanese sword smith of all time…oh…my…

These swords were so rare…they were beyond priceless.  If Masamune had indeed forged the pair of them, and, judging by their nearly pristine condition…this could be one of the greatest treasures Kaze had ever found.

With a ring, Kaze swiftly drew the remainder of the blade, and held it up to the light.  It reflected the room perfectly, glistening firelight dancing along its brilliant surface.  The flawless, milky white hamon line ran down the length of the blade, reaching the point and unexpectedly curving back for an additional third to half of the blade’s length along the opposite edge.  With a start, Kaze realized that the katana was double-edged, or nearly so.  Indeed, its shape was that of a normal katana, though slightly less curved, and the broader back narrowed to a fine edge at the far third of the blade.  Interesting.

The irregular hamon line pretty much guaranteed that the blade was authentically hand-forged, and closer inspection revealed the jihada, wood grain patterns in the metal itself.  The fine, intricate detail in the designs told the story of countless foldings in the blade’s creation to make one whose metal was incredibly pure, strong, resilient, and of exceptionally high quality.  The pattern here almost resembled stars, or perhaps a storm of swirling meteors…

Oh, yes.  Definitely hand-forged.  I wonder what the fold-count was?  Kaze pondered, after staring, enraptured, for a few moments.

After verifying that the blade was perfectly straight, Kaze unsheathed the second one.  It was identical to the first, except it was called True Sight, according to the inscription.  Kaze stood, sword in each hand.  They were amazingly lightweight, almost feathers to Kaze’s enhanced strength, and their balance was ideal.  Kaze decided to give them a whirl.

Mindful of her limited surroundings, and ever alert for sounds from above, Kaze launched into a well-known practice dance, starting slow, but increasing in speed.  Before long, she was nothing but a dark blur, swords flashing like lightning and fire, throwing reflected lantern light onto the walls, ceiling, and floor.  The rapidly whirling blades sang as they cut through the air, and hummed with slight vibrations of the wind against the flat of the blade.