The Mystery of the Second War

Prince Yoh tried to hide his smile from his tutor to no avail. He was proud of himself for being able to successfully answer every question about the first war. Had the questions been about the second one, he would definitely be looking like a fool in front of Anna.

I wonder if she would believe me if I told her about Faust's story….

Flashback...

A youthful Faust looked amused at the young prince of Kasai as he devoured every word from the old history book. Anytime now the curious boy will ask him a question about today's lesson and the medicine man was prepared to give him an honest answer.

"Why did another war start Faust? The book did not tell me anything about the cause of the second war." Yoh Asakura's eyes begged for clarifications as he handed the volume over to his tutor.

Faust took the book and slid it back to its proper place in the shelf. "Books can only tell us so much. They only tell us about things that their authors want us to remember." He sat down across the prince and leaned forward to him so that the young boy can clearly see the dark circles below his eyes to scare him off a bit. "Do you really want to know the truth, your Highness?"

The nine-year-old boy gulped, "Er.. yes.."

Faust sat back on his chair and chuckled to himself. "After the war, the new king, Yohken Asakura tried to win back the confidence of his fellowmen and neighboring kingdoms. He was successful in regaining the trust of Kouri but the other two kingdoms were still doubtful of Kasai and the Asakura clan's advocacy of peace. He worked hard to the point of neglecting family affairs. The king had a son named Yohmaru. He was known all over the land for being a gallant and dashing prince. Everybody from Kasai expected him to follow his father's footsteps in becoming a peace-loving king. However, the prince had other things on his mind. He wanted to be as free as the wind. He loved to go to different places even to enemy territories. It was near the Great Spirit's River when he met the princess of Kouku. They fell in love but love between two people alone could not heal the wounds of war. The Kouku royal clan disapproved of their relationship and forbade the princess from seeing Prince Yohmaru. They had arranged her marriage with the prince of Kaminari but no royal decree could even separate the two lovers. Every night, they would meet each other by the Great Spirit's River in secret. They planned to elope and leave for a foreign land where they could settle and start a new life on their own. On the night that they had agreed upon, King Yohken discovered their plan and kept his son from doing more trouble. He had him thrown temporarily in the dungeons. The princess of Kouku was already at the Great Spirit's River waiting for her beloved to show up. She waited for several hours but the prince did not come. There was a storm brewing that night and she was caught in the middle of it. Some people say that the princess was delirious when she saw the figure of some man whom she thought as the prince on the other side of the river. Some say it was the Great Spirit who disguised itself as Prince Yohmaru and lured her into the water."

"She drowned and died?" the young prince looked downcast.

"Well, she died. Her father's soldiers found her naked body near the river bank. The circumstances surrounding her death are still shrouded in mystery. Nobody knew what happened to her exactly. The king of Kouku was furious but he was a level-headed man. He knew that the peace-keeping efforts between the four kingdoms will be put to waste if he started another war."

"So who started the second war?" The prince was too eager to know.

"It was the king's remaining sons, those who had survived the first war. They wanted to avenge their only sister. They sought the aid of the crowned prince of Kaminari who was set to marry the ruined princess. The Taos and the Asakuras were said to be mortal enemies in love and war. I personally think that the crowned prince just took this opportunity to bring back the glory of his clan after being defeated by King Asaha's forces during the first war. "

"Did Prince Yohmaru find out that the princess died?"

"Oh yes, he did. He was devastated but there was nothing he can do. They were in a state of war and his king father needed him to fight for this throne. The war lasted for only three years because of the continuous clamor for peace coming from the commoners. Prince Yohmaru heeded the people's request and surrendered to the enemies. The king of Kouku was compassionate enough not to behead the prince for he knew it might instigate another war for the Kasai people loved their prince dearly. Instead, he demanded that a treaty with stringent terms be forged forbidding his people and Kaminari's from mingling with the rest. He had also demanded that Kasai pay the other two kingdoms with gold for their losses."

"And so, the four kingdoms were divided into two..." everything was now clear to the young prince.

"Yes, and Kasai's once filled treasure room was almost emptied. This is the reason why you're stuck with me and not with an expensive instructor at the Royal Patch Academy." Faust grinned at him.