CHAPTER ONE
Emperor Kinmei confidently graced his Chrysanthemum throne, early in the morning the moment that he had been able to see some traders in his Empire off.
He was leaning on his right hand when his head Eunuch Sato walked into the throne room at that very moment.
"Your Majesty." Sato said as he bowed his head, holding in his possession what was a small gilded and marvellous chest.
"What is it?" Emperor Kinmei asked.
"I have something for you your Majesty." Sato replied.
"What could it be at this hour?" Emperor Kinmei asked.
"The Envoy from the land in the West bids you farewell and also as a token, he offers on behalf of his Sovereign King Songmyong, the King of Paekche a gift to the sovereign of the land of the rising sun hoping you'd accept it." Sato replied as he knelt down with the chest in his possession stretched out towards the Emperor.
The Emperor stretched out his hand towards the chest and then lightly opening it was overwhelmed with a brilliant glow that emerged from it.
It was amazing.
"Guatama Buddha." Emperor Kinmei said.
Sato looked up at the idol as well.
"Your Majesty." Sato called.
"I am very grateful, I am very honored, the Buddha with which I have been gifted from the Western nation has the most solemn appearance, one I have never seen before." Emperor Kinmei remarked.
Saio Shinaga, the High Priestess awakened from her deep slumber sweating profusely and her heart beating fast. Herself trying to comprehend the situation was later reminded that it was late in the night and the sound of thunder reminded her of the storm that vastly spread across the land. A room filled with darkness accompanied by a darkened sky outside she lit a small lamp and looked around not so far from her bed.
She studied the relief not so far away that was stationed at the end of an entirely small hallway with a set of windows on either side, depicting the sacred sun goddess Amaterasu with a crown on her head, one must have wondered why it looked awfully different.
Lightning appeared through both windows, and it cast two shadows on either side of the relief. It was in that moment she beheld what to her surprise appeared to be three crowns
"Three crowns." She said "Three crowns she confirmed that second that it had occurred.
"Mihari." The High Priestess called out in the dead of the night and with but another small light to fight the resisting darkness inside, a young girl walked into the room.
"Yes ma'am." She said as she bowed her head. "What is it that I may do for you." She added keeping her gaze low.
"Make haste my child, I need at this very moment to speak to both Emperor and his wife at once. "The high Priestess ordered. "Hurry up." She added.
"yes." Mihari said as she turned around and hurriedly walked out of the room.
Saio Shinaga was left alone as she stared at the grandoise relief.
"What sort of omen has befallen this land?." She said to herself.
She headed out only a while later while being escorted by some shrine maidens and with swift feet she made it under the aegis of a roofed corridor to the entrance of the Eastern Place shelter where she intersected with the Emperor and His wife.
"Your Imperial Majesties." The High priestess said.
"You seem to be greatly bothered so let's talk inside." Emperor Kinmei said as the doors of the Eastern Palace shelter and the three walked into the room.
The doors were closed and the three sat down at a round table with curiosity very much visible in the Emperor's eyes met with worry in the High Priestess' very own.
"Saio." The Emperor called. "To what exactly do I owe your immediate calling at this very late and begotten wee hour?." he added.
"The downpour is ceaseless and too absurd, some greatly awkward omens have long been prevailing in the land this past couple of days and the stars are shifting too much of late as it seems heaven is trying to communicate something I can eventually concur with." The High Priestess replied.
"It must be cumbersome." Emperor Kinmei asked.
"Utterly confusing I doubt that I'm entirely valid in my premonitions." The High Priestess replied sternly.
"Whatever you say Saio, what is it?" Emperor Kinmei asked.
"Heaven has spoken and I have received revelations along came a set of prophecies in each of the dreams I had." The High Priestess replied.
"Saio, has there been anything to do with this child I am carrying in my womb?" Soga no Katashishime asked.
"I can not conclude anything yet your Majesty but in the first vision, I received the first prophecy that stated that 'The birth of a royal child shall come along with whom in their rule of absolute power, the land is bound to be baptized with blood." The High Priestess replied.
The Emperor and his wife shrieked
"No Saio." Soga no Katashishime said.
"We can't hastily come to the point of drawing baseless conclusions as I find something else to be more troubling that it feels more suspicious." Saio Shinaga replied.
"Enlighten us your Eminence." Emperor Kinmei said.
"The moon shall shed it's light upon a star, from the star there'll come a glow, the glow will birth a mighty light, a mighty light from which the presence of the one who would one day unite this land of Yamato in peace under all heaven shall finally grace on us this sacred land." The High Priestess replied.
Soga no Katashishime looked at her husband.
"There is hope, what hasn't this great Emperor of mine done for his people? As a wife I had always hoped to be the first in his heart but I learnt that I can live with the fact that I'll always be the second given that he possesses a vast love towards Yamato above me." Soga no Katashishime said.
"The second has come after the first, these implications reveal a future geared to civil war for as I laud the Emperor's efforts for strengthening and uniting our land under all heaven a shadow of division has been cast amongst your men." Saio Shinaga said.
"Have I not fought towards a united empire which all of us can enjoy, one the generations in the future to come can be very proud of?" Emperor Kinmei asked.
"At what expense Your MAJESTY, as your influence has grown and become to vast so have all your foes and enemies surrounding you, I am also far more worried and quite devastated as I find the third revelation to be the most appalling of all." Saio Shinaga sternly replied.
Prophecies aren't entirely accurate and nor do they rest upon one very particular individual, some even never come to pass in the end given they can be prevented or contained, they shift like the wind which howls while blowing from one direction into another and the waves at sea swing and shift both forth and back." Emperor Kinmei said.
"Nevertheless your Royal Majesty, there is a very great reason to worry and that alone in nature provokes a greater reason for Your Majesty to act if at least not the very will of self let it be for the sake of this empire that you have strived so hard to build and all its people." Saio Shinaga said. "A warning from the heavens that is not heeded at once could birth the most inevitable war and provoke the greatest disaster." the high priestess added.
"There is something much bigger." Soga No Katashishime said.
"I beheld three crowns in my third revelation, we can all bear witness from the mainland." Saio Shinaga said as the other two looked astounded at each other.
"Three crowns, three contenders....." The Emperor Kinmei muttered as the high priestess shook her head in affirmation.
"Could it be?" Soga No Katashishime asked.
"Yes." Saio Shinaga said. "Three kingdoms." She added.
"Impossible!" Emperor Kinmei said, his composure slowly starting to wane.
"Did you not succeed in uniting people, people of paralleled beliefs and customs? This is a flaw and an even greater task for us all, particularly you as a monarch, your majesty. One crown alone must exist. And if you cannot eradicate whatever force, be it of the heavens or of men that dare to contend with the royal house, the empire might be divided into three kingdoms. As it was with Han and Gojoseon, would our forefathers' and our founders' dreams for this our great nation under heaven have been realized?" The High Priestess asked.
The Emperor Kinmei, devastated, looked down.
"I must stop it all." He said, as the High Priestess stood up.
"Saio." Soga No Katashishime called as the High Priestess turned.
"It is with my great concern and I shall return to the temple at once, there I shall fast and pray in the signs of Sagittarius and Capricorn. In the meant time, we'll expect a royal birth. Should it be a male, the royal house shall be graced with a prince. Let it be a girl, with the advent of a princess would come with assurance of peace and tranquility as well, for if the heavens touch me and hear my humble plea, they will send us an angel to bring us peace." Saio Shinaga replied.
She bowed her head and gracefully made her exit until when eventually stopped halfway through the roofed corridor.
"Mihari!" She called.
"Yes please."Mihari replied, making her way towards the high priestess.
"Prepare the Royal Shrine for tomorrow and have all the shrine ladies and maidens in all their respective ranks and titles gathered there. Well fast and pray as I lead them all in consecration , first of the Royal Birth, the Royal House and lastly, this our Sacred land." She said.
"Yes, your Eminence." Replied Mihari, making her withdrawal from her Mistress's presence.
The High Priestess turned and faced the shelter whose grand doors still closed stood in a distance, an immediate implication that the Emperor and his consort had not yet departed.
"If only the heavens could be more merciful, then could they reward his majesty with no ill intent. The opportunity to never live and see the end of the prosperous age he ushered us into and the beginning of a chaotic and tumultuous era it brought us." Saio Shinaga whispered and walked away.
It was not so long that eventually the sun possessed the saffron firmament in the early morning.
***********************
The shrine ladies and maidens all dressed in white, led by the High Priestess, walked into the temple courtyard. The High priestess further continued into the "Naiku", the inner shrine dedicated to Amaterasu, and there she commenced the prayers with the talismans.
With the sound of clanging bells and the fragrance of burning inscence, food was brought before the altar of the Sun Goddess and the whole place was overwhelmed by a very lively spectacle. The smoke rising and diffusing in the air, accompanied by the sweet melodies of the flutes, the consecration was set in motion.
A number of hours passed. Kowtowing to the second eventually the third day, until the High Priestess was left alone to pray and meditate while Soga No Katashishime stood on a balcony from the palace and gazed at the shrine.
Emperor Kinmei on the other side knelt down as he gazed at the chrysanthemum throne.
The high priestess gazed at the constellation chart stationed ahead of her and in a single breath took a deep sigh.
"Where now are the heavens. Has their will entirely abandoned us?" Saio Shinaga asked herself in the dark of night, with nothing but the moonlight penetrating the constellations and projecting them on the ground before her.
She was surprised when among the projections laid before her, one had a glow that appeared far more prominent than that of the other eleven stars.
"Sagittarius!" she exclaimed as the light waned. "Indeed I was certain something auspicious is bound to very soon grace us all" She happily whispered to herself.
Saio Shinaga returned to the Eastern Palace shelter where her prescence was announced upon her arrival. Following the Emperor's consent, she was granted an audience, which she fulfilled, walking in with a smile on her face, sitting before the Emperor and his consort.
"Saio," Soga No Katashishime called out. "What has been the heaven's reply?" She asked.
"The Heavens have abandoned us not! Even in this trying time, I have received an auspicious sign. When Sagittarius glows brightest, a blessing shall be bestowed upon us. By ancient prophecy and by immortal grace, with the coming of every predestined ruler, a new light shall emerge from this newly reformed Heavenly kingdom and shine beyond the land." Saio Shinaga replied.
The Emperor sighed.
"Even so, I have only come to worry not for myself but for my people, for it is because of my enemies, those cunning and disloyal men, that I have failed to realise their dreams and aspirations." The Emperor said.
"This is new found strength and courage that provides the assurance that Yamato itself shall never come to fall." Saio Shinaga said with a smile on her face.
"I rest assured my Emperor, and so should you. Certainly, if Heaven's servant has indeed spoken, it must be true. If the heavens favor deserts you not, you must find reason to keep believing no harm will come from good." Soga No Katashishime spoke.
"Then so it must be," the Emperor said.
"I will take my leave now," Saio Shinaga said, bowing her head as she made her departure.
She walked out through the empty hallways with nothing but the company of some of her shrine maidens as she reached her personal quarters. Inside, she sat down and leaned on her left hand, immersing herself in a series of thoughts.
"Your Eminence!" Mihari called out, overwhelmed with concern as she noticed the worry clouding her Mistress's face.
"Reserve it" Saio Shinaga said, halting Mihari with her right hand. "I need some time alone to think. There are things I must be in position to comprehend. As for the position I hold, ignorance should know not a place in my mind." Saio Shinaga added.
"Yes your Eminence." Mohari replied. Turning around, she left the room, leaving the High Priestess in solitude, still trying to find her composure.
Saio Shinaga recalled a series of activities that happened in the shrine not so long ago, things she herself had decided to keep away from the Emperor and his consort.
By chance before she had made her exit form the inner shrine, there had been a moment she was afraid when the moon was at its highest peak. A garland adorning Amaterasu's idol split into two and fell in the fires beneath, the smoke rising and darkening the constellation chart.
It was at that same moment that the moonlight, breaking free from the veil of the cloud, illuminated the chart once again.
Even with the Emperor and his wife's stars being shadowed, Sagittarius prevailed, marveling the High Priestess.
"There is something utterly perturbing about this child the Imperial consort is about to bear. It'd be quite foolish for me to ignore the possibility that this could be the advent of the strongest being, whose presence shall certainly hamper the Chrysanthemum throne." Saio Shinaga whispered to herself.
Could there have been but a great thing, certainly not. In all of Emperor Kinmei's wives, perhaps Soga No Katashishime was the most able. Another child at hand, one would have expected the royal house to be turned upside down.
Meanwhile, Soga No Katashishime was led towards the main palace. Her intent alone being to meet the Emperor, she was more determined than ever to meet the Emperor as it would not be so long anyway for her to give birth.
When she arrived at the entrance of the Emperor's private quarters, she halted with her ladies as she stared at the pair of royal guards waiting outside. The guards bowed, paying their homage to the Imperial consort.
"Is their a problem My Lady?" Sara, her personal maid asked.
"Sometimes it could be very disheartening but what's more is the loneliness I am filled with." Soga No Katashishime replied.
Hardly had she spoken when the doors of the Emperor's room were opened. Surprisingly, a very familiar and cool looking face came into her view.
Just as she looked dignified, her face was fierce, capable of striking fear in any being bold enough to look at her. She was none other than the Empress consort Ishi Hime herself. Her face, although graced with dark features, was nevertheless very striking and beautiful.
It was behind her that the Emperor eventually made an appearance. Judging by his expression, he was quite surprised to see Soga No Katashishime stationed at his door.
The two had been married not so long ago yet their intimate feelings came as rare as the eclipse of the moon.
"Your Majesty," Soga No Katashishime bowed with the ladies in waiting.
Empress Ishi Hime smiled ghastly, a mixture of emotions hidden beneath it.
"Is there a problem for which you need to see me?" The Emperor eventually asked. Soga No Katashishime glanced first to Ishi Hime them back before she replied.
"Forgive me your Majesty for I have sinned." She said. "I did not mean to waver this far into your business as it so happenned that I was just passing by." She added.
Silence filled the space as the Emperor was momentarily unresponsive.
"What are you saying my dear?" Empress Ishime asked as she walked closer to Soga No Katashishime and held her by her left hand, both of them facing their husband. "It is understandable, your Majesty, consort Katashishime above all is immaculate yet with the same Heaven's grace has become more delicate. Even with child, her feet seem light enough for her to wander without a doubt yet she, amongst us all is the most able, isn't it?" She added.
It only made the Emperor feel more guilty than he had ever been, bringing back memories of his cold heartedness and emotional insecurities. Surely, he had acquired the throne with a much tender political image in the presence of his court. With the Soga's growing influence, he'd realise their support would serve a pillar too essential to him. To secure it, a political marriage with another daughter of the clan head was the best available option an antidote to his political career.
He did hold a special place for each of his wives in his heart but to play the roles of father, husband and monarch at the same time proved to be an impossibility.
"Be still, dear wife, for I find no offence but purity in your actions." The Emperor eventually spoke.
"Your grace is immeasurable your majesty." Soga No Katashishime gracefully replied.
"I am rather astonished and at the same time to know that even deep down in your heart there is still a place for an old and rugged politician like me." The Emperor replied to the envy of Ishi Hime.
"You are our husband. What more is our duty if we cannot understand you?" Soga No Katashishime replied.
"Your majesty, in such a condition I feel it is best that we reserve our respect. I am concerned that consort Katashishime looks a bit too unwell under this morning sun. More so, if anything were to happen to her and the royal child she is carrying, how then could I forgive myself for letting you down?" Empress Ishi Hime said as she bowed her head.
"No your Majesty, her Highness even takes such good care of me. What more is there for me to ask?" Soga No Katashishime asked.
"I understand, my Lady." Emperor Kinmei replied.
"Lately, I must have been very busy with the ladies of the Royal Court that I temporarily ignored the welfare of consort Katahishime yet still, if his Majesty is pleased, I shall take her back to her chambers where I hope to massage her feet and look after her." Ishi Hime said.
"I concur with you. Do as you please." The Emperor granted.
"Thankyou, your Majesty." The two consorts said in unison and bowed their heads as the Emperor walked past the with his Eunuch and retainers.
"This way." Empress Ishi Hime said as the Royal Women set off towards the East of the Palace till they approached the very doors that led to consort Katashishime's private quarters.
"Let no one come in unless it is on my order. There are things your Lady and I find way too important to be publicly discussed." Empress Ishi Hime ordered in a very sharp and staunch tone that accompanied her serious and tough look.
"Yes your Highness." The ladies replied, bowing their heads as their Mistress walked into the room with Empress Ishi Hime and closed the door.
Empress Ishi Hime lowered herself at the table opposite from Soga No Katashishime who despite her condition did the same independently.
"Pardon my insolence consort Katashishime but I will be straight forward and tell you not to expect too much from me. Tell me where it has ever been for the master to serve their servant?" Empress Ishi Hime asked.
"Nowhere, your Highness." Soga No Katashishime replied.
"Very well, I understand that you are aware of your royal status and I will pretend that it did not happen before. I do not expect you to stretch out your hand toward my husband for I might be forced to sever it from your body." Empress Ishi HIme said, her face illuminated with a smile.
"Please understand me your Highness, at least as a fellow woman." Soga No Katashishime pleaded.
"Understand me as a woman as well. I am his legal wife and can be in the position to tolerate the fact that he can have other consorts in his harem yet I cannot tolerate the fact that apart from me, there can be another woman in his heart. Yours is but a series of mixed emotions, some of which are nothing but nostalgic fantasies, which is why I tell you, there is no love between your Majesty and you. Even if you had all the children in the world, none of them could serve efficient a symbol to awaken it. Your was a marriage the Kinmei hastily made to meet the demands of great political support and ensure his reign is peaceful. I advise you to wake up from your dreams as there is nothing more to that. When he looks at you that way, don't take it too seriously for I am worried that it will only become more unbearable because to him, you are but a young and beautiful woman who was ignorantly dragged into a political game to fulfill his own selfish intentions, and that is all you will ever be." Empress Ishi Hime replied.
A painful blow to Soga No Katashishime, it made her eyes teary at that very moment.
"Your Highness!" Soga No Katashishime cried.
"Don't waste your tears on me for all I have spoken is the truth. To you , the Emperor shall always remain nothing but a piece of barren land to give you hope when the rain falls on it but to disappoint you in the end without yield." Ishi Hime coldly remarked.
"I know my place your highness. I now understand it very well." Soga No Katashishime sobbed.
"I understand that you do, and that is why if I were you, I would rather waste my tears and shed them for the child I am carrying for I would not be certain for I would not be certain how often the Emperor himself would surely remember it." Empress Ishi Hime said, satisfied at Katashishime's reaction.
"Yes your highness." Soga No Katashishime said.
"That is why I like you the most, consort Katashishime, in all my husbands concubines. I must commend you for being the most understanding because compared to his other wenches, it is only you that I find able to learn a little bit faster." Empress Ishi Hime smiled.
The doors opened as Empress Ishi Hime walked out having achieved her goal. She halted at the top of the stair case as she beheld the young Soga No Umako staring up at her.
He was a brave looking lad with an exquisite and strinking appearance, his eyes dark but filled with life, complemented with his wide jawline and crooked nose. He was muscular and very handsome that his skin was flawless and his pitch black hair beautiful under the sun.
"Your Royal Highness," He said as he bowed his head to greet the Empress.
"Umako," Empress Ishi Hime called. "I suppose you're here to see your sister." She added.
"Yes, your Highness." Soga no Umako replied.
"Pardon me if I may have made you wait so long, Consort Katashishime and I had very urgent matters to discuss especially now considering the fact that she is with child, I won't hamper you if you are going to have a word with her but you should at least be careful not to really exhaust her so much, in her state I comprehend that she needs the company of a close relative and her sister happens to be absent so tell her to watch carefully and so should you, she is a bit too overwhelmed with fragility." Empress Ishi Hime said.
"Yes Your Royal Highness." Soga no Umako said as he bowed his head once again.
Empress Ishi Hime made her descent from the height with grace as she made her way past Soga no Umako along with her palace maids following behind closely.
Soga no Umako hurriedly made his Ascension of the staircase and walked into the room where he found his sister still seated at the table and looking very much absent minded with her eyes red which indicated that she had been grieving not so long ago.
"Sister?" Soga no Umako called.
Soga no Katashishime didn't reply as her mind had long drifted elsewhere that Soga no Umako was forced to come a little bit closer to her.
"Sister." He called once again as he touched her shoulder that she instantly turned around and then looked at him.
"Brother." Soga no Katashishime eventually said recognizing him while he sat down in the very position that Empress Ishi Hime had possessed a while ago.
"What is it that is bothering you, I can tell from your expression how grief stricken you are and the aura around you seems very much cold as well, It is without a doubt that the Empress Consort has done something to you." Soga no Umako said.
"Huh." Soga no Katashishime sighed.
"Is it really that painful?" Soga no Umako asked.
"Painful?" Soga no Katashishime said.
"Yes." Soga no Umako replied.
"What is pain?" Soga no Katashishime asked.
Soga no Umako looked so puzzled.
"You tell me now brother after all you understand me and you yourself are a man as well." Soga no Katashishime added.
"If I can." Soga no Umako replied.
"Has the Emperor ever loved me?" Soga no Katashishime asked.
"Why are you saying such things?" Soga no Umako repelled the question.
"I know it all and the truth has long been very clear in my eyes everyday, my sister and I married to the same man and eventually we must contend for his affection like lionesses in a pride jockey for the lion's favour." Soga no Katashishime replied.
"Don't let such things overwhelm you even in your current state." Soga no Umako said.
"For heaven's sake do not evade me, I am well aware I have served my purpose in father's political game and I have long been the very good and obedient pone. I married the Emperor to consolidate my Father's power in his court, heighten our Clan, supported the Chrysanthemum throne and given it males to continue the Imperial dynasty but tell me with what have I been left with when I paid the price for my father's undoubted loyalty to the Emperor?" Soga no Katashishime asked.
"For that we laud your efforts sister, life outside the palace is not that interesting at all, it is difficult to survive out there alone." Soga no Umako replied.
"For my children I chose to put on this wonderful charade, pretending to stay strong with each and every day that went by but I was decaying inwardly like a corpse without a soul, my spirit had sunk so deep without a chance of redemption.
Perhaps because I am nothing but a woman, it is inevitable for me to have desires of my own, those yearnings that petty things like wealth are in no position to buy." Soga no Katashishime said.
"Life is not fair and it has never been, you can either live with or without somethings but nevertheless, while you still can there is a certain purpose attached to it." Soga no Umako replied.
"I too wish to be loved like any other woman, I too wish for my husband to comb my hair and take me out to the hills. I wished for honour and the privilege to be that one woman closest to the Emperor's heart, the one to be there for him and the one in whom he can confide in his entire life.
Had it been any other man I would have still taken the risk as well and would I have failed to find them in the whole of Yamato, then I would have sailed to Sui, Paekche, Koguryo, Gaya and Shilla just to find them." Soga no Katashishime said.
"I get it sister but for triumph to be realized on our part then it must be laden with suffering on your part." Soga no Umako said.
"It is perturbing and only makes my heart ache having to think of such great happiness from a loveless marriage, this kind of life is far too strenuous for me that I can't help but feel myself on the verge of breaking one not so distant day." Soga no Katashishime said.
"Calm down Sister." Soga no Umako said.
"How could I?" Soga no Katashishime asked.
"Is it not temporary?" Soga no Umako asked.
"I am envious." Soga no Katashishime replied.
"Why?" Soga no Umako asked.
"Why does Empress Ishi Hime have everything that I do not, why the Emperor sends and feels nothing but minimal regards towards me, envious that to him my only duty is nothing but to give an expanse to the Imperial dynasty.
I am so envious and on the brink of explosion being a Consort and not his most legal wife, unable in the world to even become his Empress." Soga no Katashishime replied staring closely at her brother.
There was some silence.
"I have been his political refuge and shield to contain Soga aggression and win him their support." Soga no Katashishime added.
"Please sister, cheer up for now." Soga no Umako said.
"It is already burdensome enough for me to even try and consider that good enough a final resort." Soga no Katashishime said.
"But you have every reason to do so." Soga no Umako replied.
"Why?" Soga no Katashishime asked.
"I bring with me news of very great fortune to our house and to your marriage as well." Soga no Umako replied.
Soga no Katashishime looked curious instantly and reserved her words.
"Not so long ago, Saio Shinaga graced me with good news in the presence of the Emperor that feels me with curiosity as well, I could be carrying with me a miracle baby in my womb." Soga no Katashishime said as she lightly patted her abdomen.
"Same for us sister." Soga no Umako replied. " Father received from heaven a marvellous vision last night and he was able to envisage a three legged sacred bird resting on this very rooftop above our heads." he added causing Soga no Katashishime's face to be overwhelmed with shock.
"What?" Soga no Katashishime asked.