Read Online L5r - scroll 04 - The Phoenix by Stephen D. Sullivan - Free Book Online
Authors: Stephen D. Sullivan
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water. Earth, sea, and sky merged with the castle, creating a serene whole. If Otosan Uchi, the imperial capital, was like heaven, then surely this place was heaven's gate.
Within the castle, the Phoenix had spent a millennium perfecting their spellcraft. The keep's low, kanji-covered walls protected the Phoenix's home with the spells of forty generations of shugenja. Those powerful magics
kept their castle safer than any army could. The enchantments extended deep into the ground, below the building's foundations, and high into the sky. The wide beach and gracefully curving ocean gave the keep's inhabitants command of everything within sight. No one could approach the Isawa fortress unseen. Kyuden Isawa was proof against attack by air, sea, or earth.
The modest walls and powerful spells safeguarded something more precious to the Isawa than life itself—knowledge. Deep within the bowels of the castle lay the Great Library, repository of all the Phoenix's wisdom. Indisputably, the library held the greatest collection of magical scrolls in all of Rokugan.
Access to the library was restricted to the most learned Phoenix shugenja. The five Elemental Masters numbered among that elite group. Today did not find the elemental lords gathered deep within the castle's bowels, though. Rather, they assembled in the topmost tower of the ancient keep—in their most sacred council chamber.
The chamber was, in fact, a large, square, open-air garden measuring twenty-five paces to a side. An engawa, a roofed veranda, surrounded the perimeter of the garden. The engawa was just wide enough for three people to walk comfortably abreast. It was built of tawny wood, and strong beams supported its red-tiled roof. The outer wall of the garden was stone, plastered to exquisite white smoothness. The walkway circling the garden had a short wooden railing that ran around its inside perimeter.
Within the engawa, the garden lay open to the sky. Only the masters, their invited guests, and the garden's keepers were allowed into this sacred space. The magics of the Phoenix protected it against invaders.
At the entrance to the garden stood a wooden pillar on the right and a stone dragon on the left. Atop the pillar sat a single white lacquer bowl filled with ashes. The dragon held a broad white basin with a simple bamboo ladle. Water fountained from the dragon's mouth into the bowl and flowed out into a tiny waterfall. The waterfall cascaded past the dragon's breast and into a pool lined with white rock. Though no stream led from the pool, the water never overflowed.
A white sand path, Jinsei no Tabiji, the Road of Life's Passage, led between the dragon and the pillar and then circled the garden counterclockwise. Lush, green bamboo, carefully pruned to knee height, separated the path from the wooden veranda.
Just before doubling back on itself, the path turned toward the center of the garden. There it met an exquisite wooden bridge, arching toward the middle of the space. The bridge passed over a wide circular pond, ringing the garden's inner precinct like a moat. The water of the pond, Mezami no Kawa, I he River of Awakening, ran gently, and without any obvious source, in a never-ending circle. Lotus flowers sat placidly on the water's surface.
Beyond the water, the bridge passed through the great torii Chishiki no Tobira, the Gate of Knowledge, a wooden arch standing as high as two men. The gate's dark wood was decorated with inlays of ivory, gold, and red jade. The inlays depicted flames and birds chasing each other endlessly over the torii's surface.
Past the gate lay a circular isle covered in smooth, green grass. Five small wooden sitting platforms dotted the circumference. At the end of the bridge, to each side, stood two wooden pillars. Atop one rested five large black lacquer bowls, marked with the mon of the Phoenix.
On the other pillar rested a cylindrical iron bell, hanging from a wooden arch. The surface of the ancient bell had been cast
Within the castle, the Phoenix had spent a millennium perfecting their spellcraft. The keep's low, kanji-covered walls protected the Phoenix's home with the spells of forty generations of shugenja. Those powerful magics
kept their castle safer than any army could. The enchantments extended deep into the ground, below the building's foundations, and high into the sky. The wide beach and gracefully curving ocean gave the keep's inhabitants command of everything within sight. No one could approach the Isawa fortress unseen. Kyuden Isawa was proof against attack by air, sea, or earth.
The modest walls and powerful spells safeguarded something more precious to the Isawa than life itself—knowledge. Deep within the bowels of the castle lay the Great Library, repository of all the Phoenix's wisdom. Indisputably, the library held the greatest collection of magical scrolls in all of Rokugan.
Access to the library was restricted to the most learned Phoenix shugenja. The five Elemental Masters numbered among that elite group. Today did not find the elemental lords gathered deep within the castle's bowels, though. Rather, they assembled in the topmost tower of the ancient keep—in their most sacred council chamber.
The chamber was, in fact, a large, square, open-air garden measuring twenty-five paces to a side. An engawa, a roofed veranda, surrounded the perimeter of the garden. The engawa was just wide enough for three people to walk comfortably abreast. It was built of tawny wood, and strong beams supported its red-tiled roof. The outer wall of the garden was stone, plastered to exquisite white smoothness. The walkway circling the garden had a short wooden railing that ran around its inside perimeter.
Within the engawa, the garden lay open to the sky. Only the masters, their invited guests, and the garden's keepers were allowed into this sacred space. The magics of the Phoenix protected it against invaders.
At the entrance to the garden stood a wooden pillar on the right and a stone dragon on the left. Atop the pillar sat a single white lacquer bowl filled with ashes. The dragon held a broad white basin with a simple bamboo ladle. Water fountained from the dragon's mouth into the bowl and flowed out into a tiny waterfall. The waterfall cascaded past the dragon's breast and into a pool lined with white rock. Though no stream led from the pool, the water never overflowed.
A white sand path, Jinsei no Tabiji, the Road of Life's Passage, led between the dragon and the pillar and then circled the garden counterclockwise. Lush, green bamboo, carefully pruned to knee height, separated the path from the wooden veranda.
Just before doubling back on itself, the path turned toward the center of the garden. There it met an exquisite wooden bridge, arching toward the middle of the space. The bridge passed over a wide circular pond, ringing the garden's inner precinct like a moat. The water of the pond, Mezami no Kawa, I he River of Awakening, ran gently, and without any obvious source, in a never-ending circle. Lotus flowers sat placidly on the water's surface.
Beyond the water, the bridge passed through the great torii Chishiki no Tobira, the Gate of Knowledge, a wooden arch standing as high as two men. The gate's dark wood was decorated with inlays of ivory, gold, and red jade. The inlays depicted flames and birds chasing each other endlessly over the torii's surface.
Past the gate lay a circular isle covered in smooth, green grass. Five small wooden sitting platforms dotted the circumference. At the end of the bridge, to each side, stood two wooden pillars. Atop one rested five large black lacquer bowls, marked with the mon of the Phoenix.
On the other pillar rested a cylindrical iron bell, hanging from a wooden arch. The surface of the ancient bell had been cast
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