CH 1.1

Characters appearing in the first volume of the novel (part 1)

The map of the continent

1

‘So bored,’ Yaet thought.

Ever since a while ago, there were only three words spinning in his mind. ‘So bored, so cold, so stupid’.

Yaet was in a stone hall. He was secretly wearing woolen underpants beneath his official uniform, but it could only provide a temporary comfort. Was it some kind of bad joke that none of his colleagues were shivering in the cold with their lips purple?

There was something wrong with the people of the Northern Mountains.

No, saying that ‘something’ was wrong with them wasn’t cutting it. Everything, was wrong with them.

“What did you say?!”

The shout shook the thick glasses fitted in circular windows.

First of all, this loud voice was strange.

The room might have been large, but there was no reason to shout so loudly. Yet, what actually happened? They yelled. They screamed.

“What did you say just now?!””

They also asked for something to be repeated a lot, even though the conversation couldn’t go further as it was.

It would be understandable if they asked for repetition because they couldn’t hear something the first time, but that couldn’t be the case either. After all, the other person also talked loudly. Or, were they all hard on hearing?

“I’ll say it as many times as you want!”

‘No, stop please’ Yaet pleaded in his heart. It’s meaningless. And it’s also very loud.

“You sore loser!”

“Who’s a sore loser?!”

“Who can it be besides you?!”

“Looks like you’re only good at bad-mouthing people!”

“What?!”

“Did you not hear me?!”

‘Yeah, no,’ Yaet thought. ‘That would be impossible.’

“Looks like you’re the one who can’t hear well. I said that I’m sick of listening to your stupid ideas!”

‘Did he really say that though?’

He couldn’t confirm it even when he reviewed the record of proceedings. After all, he hadn’t written down all the streams of personal insults. He hated himself for wondering even for a second if he should have recorded everything.

Something like that wasn’t the job of a secretary. As somebody who received a stipend from the Empire, he would at least do everything that was required of him. However, he wouldn’t do anything more. It was Yaet’s personal theory that — that was both undesired and stupid. Those who worked too much were hated. He had started to understand this after his mid-30s. Albeit it was a bit too late, he thought while looking at the records.

When he was dismissed to a remote region, he was fine with it because he thought he could take it easy, but leaving the boredom aside, he couldn’t endure how cold and stupid this place was. It was like his limits were being tested.

“Stupid? Who are you calling stupid?”

“Would you prefer to be called a fool instead?”

It was amazing how they hadn’t touched on the original agenda ever since a while ago. It was almost a talent! You all really should quit working as State Officials. You’re absolutely not suited for it.

“By ‘fool’, do you mean yourself?”

“Who are you calling a food?!”

“Who else besides you?! Cast away your vanity and know thyself!”

Who would have thought that a verbal fight between people of such pitiful vocabulary would turn out so boring? It would be more bearable if there was a fresh surprise.

“It’s not vanity!”

“Then why insist on an archery competition?”

They finally returned to the main subject.

Today’s agenda was about the theme of the competition for the match between villages during the ‘Summer Festival’. Yelling continued endlessly but nothing actually was decided.

This wasn’t limited to just today. Yesterday, the day before yesterday —— they were dragging this theme for more than 5 days, but amazingly enough, still nothing was set in stone.

Yaet did feel like everything would be solved in a second if he took control of the scene, but this wasn’t a matter where an outsider, who was only reassigned here 10 days ago and didn’t even know the name of the God they were worshipping, could meddle in.

“What about you? Why do you dislike the idea of an archery contest so much?”

“It’s not the archery contest that’s the problem. Do you not get it? Know that there are some who don’t like the fact that each and every year, it’s your village that gets the honor of winning.”

“But, that can’t be helped, Isyam. Selk is the best at the short bow. God rejoices at the heroic archer. After all, it is the bow that brings the summer.”

Isyam glared at the man who butted in.

“I know very well that you bet on Selk’s victory each year and make a good fortune, Grandak.”

“Don’t lie. I’ve barely made a swallow’s egg’s wor-“

“I’ve told you so many times to stop betting!”

Selk scratched his head.

After thinking for a moment, Yaet wrote in the records: 『There are voices advocating for equality in each village』. While he was at it, he also added in a small print: 『The pros and cons of betting on divine rituals』. The assembly hall was always divided into two groups.

Isyam represented one of the groups. He was a middle-aged man of around 40 years with average height and a loud voice. He belonged to the 『anti-imperial faction』and had scruples about anything Empire related. His remarks themselves were innocent. They were just harmless complaints. The other group was the 『Imperialist faction』that was represented by Selk, whose face kept changing colors constantly. That being said, Selk was the only one who directly expressed his admiration towards the Empire with his words and actions while the rest were his friends who looked like they were just playing with him.

Selk’s emotions changed rapidly. Moreover, he was honest to a fault and very earnest. Even now he seemed so shocked after finding out that people were betting on the outcome of his performance in the archery competition that he had become speechless.

Thanks to that, the assembly hall had become slightly quieter. Perhaps it was because of his honesty that everybody liked him, making him popular. However, it was also true that he was being played with.

“… I get it. Let’s don’t do it this year.”

Grandak panicked. He was Selk’s friend, and consequently, good at playing around.

“Selk, don’t be too hot tempered. This year’s betting has already started. Refunds will become troublesome. Everybody will start complaining.”

“So you’re the bookmaker!”

Hearing that earth-shattering voice, Grandak moved back half a step.

“No, that’s not it.”

One of their friends slapped Grandak’s shoulder and spoke up.

“Don’t worry about it. Selk. You’re a big favorite because you win every year, so he wouldn’t be able to make much profit even if he bet on you.”

“That’s not the problem!”

“Have you finally noticed your foolishness, Selk?”

“Shut up!”

“So you try to silence others whenever things become inconvenient for you?”

“Quit it, Isyam. You’re being silenced? By whom? How?”

“Hey, Grandak, I bet on 『Selk will win but Isyam will ruin the festival』, so do I win now?”

“No, Selk hasn’t won yet.”

Selk declared with a growl.

“I won’t do it this year! I won’t be in the contest!”

“Now that’s horrible.”

“That wasn’t calculated.”

“I guess that’s the end of making money with the festival.”

“Refunds will raise a ruckus.”

Even Yaet couldn’t help whispering in response. It’s already a ruckus—.

He finally stood up.

He was still doubting if this was his job, but what would happen if he left them alone was proven by those past 5 days. It was meaningless to waste one’s limited life attending stupid yelling contests.

“It is a well-established fact that holding competitions during the festival is not the problem.”

There was no reason to raise his voice. He stood out without that even if he didn’t want to. Among the people of Northern Mountains, who were characterized by all shades of blonde hair from light to dark and clear blue eyes that were described as ‘like a miracle’ by some happy-go-lucky poet, Yaet with his black eyes and black hair was a different species above being a different ethnicity, a foreign object.

After checking the shabby record of proceedings, he continued talking.

“However, as there is a bad balance between odds each year, a change was proposed to avoid the worsening of the relationship between the villages. If that is rectified, changing the theme of the competition will be unavoidable, but it is unknown how effective that will be. In addition, no valid competition has been proposed as an alternative so far.”

Sure enough, by the time he had finished talking, the Hall had become silent.

He raised his gaze and “Mr. Isyam,” he designated.

“Your opinion please?”

“Do you have a complaint about me?”

“Since you were the one to raise an objection, I would like to ask you to propose a new competition.”

“I don’t have anything prepared.”

The surroundings became noisy.

“Isyam, nobody would forgive you for the festival without a competition.”

“Right, right, nobody will be able to bet.”

“Dude, forget about the betting already.”

Selk, who had finally recovered, turned towards Yaet and asked in his characteristic loud voice.

“What kind of competitions do you hold during festivals in the Empire?”

“Northern Mountains are also a part of the Empire. Festivals held here are no different from the festivals held in the Empire.”

Because of his position, Yaet had to point it out. Whether they all had forgotten it or didn’t understand it in the first place, this was a part of the Empire.

The empire, formed through the repeated conquests and fusion, was an aggregate of diverse ethnic groups and was tolerant towards the unique cultures of conquered ethnicities. Fusion over suppression. That was the Empire’s policy. That was the reason why the festival in the Northern Mountains was left free, but they didn’t seem to understand that either.

“That’s not what I meant. What do they do for Imperial Festivals?”

As expected, they didn’t get it. Suppressing his slight annoyance, Yaet replied.

“I can only answer that ‘there are various festivals’. They fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites.”

“Anything’s fine, but what about a competition in the style of the Empire? If we’re changing things up, might as well go big,” The one who talked was Selk again.

He was the only one who tried to talk to Yaet directly.

But, hearing Selk’s words, everybody started yelling.

“Why do we have to copy the Empire?!”

“Enough of your obsession with the Empire, Selk!”

“I’m fine with anything, but I’d rather it be something with a clear winner and loser. Ah, a short match would be fine, how many-”

“Stop thinking about betting, already!”

“The matter of concern is,”

When Yaet raised his voice, everybody closed their mouths again.

When he looked around, he noticed that a lot of people were avoiding looking at him. He was almost being treated like a monster the eyes of which people were afraid to meet, it only accentuated how foreign the people of the Empire were for them.

— You guys were conquered by the Empire more than a decade ago.

There’s a limit to being carefree.

“There is not much time until the festival. We cannot put off the decision anymore. In my humble opinion, we should go with the archery competition like last year. Divine rituals have a tradition and significance which cannot be easily neglected. If any of you have objections, I will gladly hear you out.”

Only silence answered Yaet’s question. After he silently counted to 10, he turned towards the older man sitting in the seat of the chairman.

“Well then, would it be okay to decide on the archery contest for the competition?”

The old man nodded. He looked like he was sleeping and rowing a boat but Yaet didn’t care. After all, if they took too much time, another yelling match would start.

“In that case, this is the end of the council meeting.”

After declaring so, Yaet bowed and left the assembly hall. He didn’t have the authority to do so, but he decided that nobody would say anything. Sure enough, nobody even cleared their throat, let alone let out an objection. It was quiet. As he moved forward, Yaet’s feelings still didn’t clear up. He had a bad premonition that he would have to shoulder bigger trouble in exchange for cleaning up the mess before his eyes.

He had planned to live out the rest of his life quietly, without standing out. At the moment, he kept attracting other people’s attention with his unusual appearance, but as long as he refrained from acting out, there was a chance that he could be treated as a harmless background. Shutting down a verbal argument was out of question.

—— Am I stupid?

He closed his mouth shut and swore in his heart to never say anything extra again.

He was finally demoted to the infamous Northern Mountains with no chances of being called back to the capital. Wouldn’t it be a waste if he didn’t enjoy the proper and lazy life until he died? There were only a few people in the castle. The spring was close, but the air in the corridor was chilly. It would still take some time until the mountain castle built with dull black stones would warm up.

The wind was cold and the chilling air in the mornings and evenings was harsh. If this was called summer, then what would the coldest period of the year be like? He could be dead half a year later.

Yaet’s body was weak. Each time he pushed himself a little harder, he would break out in fever and collapse, ending up on the boundary of life and death countless times. Even when he was sent to the Northern Mountains, he had collapsed the moment the transfer was over, spending 2 days in bed. Thanks to that, he didn’t remember the name and the face of his predecessor.

Despite being told that he wouldn’t be able to live long, Yaet had already reached the age 36. Everytime he woke up, he felt like was doing something bad.

—— I don’t know how many years I have left, but I want to live a comfortable life.

After passing through the not-so brightly lit corridor, he reached the stairs leading to the next floor. The big elevation here could only exist in this Mountain Castle, due to the fact that it was built on a natural slope. Yaet stopped in the middle of breathlessly climbing the stairs.

The scenery from where he stood was uniquely amusing. The roof of the castle, that was originally supposed to be black, was now reflecting the sunlight, looking silver instead. Beyond it stretched out a clear light blue sky. And the sacred mountain, “Heaven’s Spear”, was showing off its divine form. Yaet stopped reflexively and hummed a passage from an old song.

‘What do I do, what do I do

I am the wind, blowing down from high mountain

I am the words, dwelling within the human voices

I am the song, filling the gaps between heaven and earth

I am the Present, severed from the worldly relations’

(The Harbinger, 69 B.C)

This mountain is as beautiful as it is cruel, thought Yaet. As if it was the power of the God itself —— I see, ‘Heaven’s Spear’ is a name well chosen.

According to the legends, that tall mountain was initially a weapon gifted by the Gods. In ancient times, there existed an evil dragon that disrupted both heaven and earth and shook the world. The spear that pierced its heart became a steep ridge.

This wasn’t a myth that was known only in the Northern Mountains. It was also widely believed in the east of the desert.

What a drastic difference from the west side of the desert, Yaet ruminated. There was no evil dragon in the western myth. The dragon was a sacred beast and the symbol of the imperial family. The flag that the imperial family used to announce their whereabouts depicted a golden dragon, the members of the imperial family were called dragon seeds, the face of the Emperor was called dragon face, the voice was called dragon voice and the carriage was called dragon carriage.

It was interesting how drastically different the interpretation of the dragons was. He once again felt impressed by the generosity of the Empire, which didn’t try to change them.

But what about the people of the Northern Mountains? Could they accept being ruled by dragon seeds while worshipping the spear that killed the dragon? Could they be able to separate one from the other?

Beyond Yaet’s line of sight, ‘Heaven’s Spear’ was repelling the sunlight, shining brightly.

Perhaps this so-called 《Summer Festival》was held in honor of this mountain. The discussion ended before he could confirm that.

—— Was this really all right? No no, Yaet thought better of it.

Ritual rites weren’t a part of his job. If they wanted to manage it, the Empire should have sent over the government official from the Ministry of Rites. This was all right.

—— This was a job well done.

Yaet was a chronicler that belonged to the history bureau within the department of State Affairs. Compiling the history was his original work, but in actuality he was more often sought after for his skills as a secretary. The piled up records would become the materials to knit the history, so it was a reasonable job for a detached chronicler, but in actuality, he was a handyman who just finished the jobs he was given in order. The only thing he remembered from his predecessor’s words was ‘There is no past or future here’. The no future part most likely was talking about the fact that being sent to the North meant that he was dismissed, but what exactly had they meant by ‘no past’? He couldn’t understand it at first.

Now he could understand those words. There were no records in the Northern Mountains. The last record was from 16 years ago, when the North first became a part of the Empire, written by the imperial chronicler. There was nothing before that.

Yaet couldn’t help feeling creeped out by it, but what wasn’t there wasn’t there.

—— I don’t get it.

They had a high literacy rate, and yet had no records at all. With what kind of twists and turns was this kind of local character born? Since there were no ways to look into it, he became even more curious.

“Lord Secretariat!”

As he turned back after being called, Yaet rebuked the other person for the time being.

“You are also no different from a secretariat. How many times have I told you so?”

Selk shrugged apologetically. He was slightly shorter than Yaet, he had wider shoulders and thicker chest, so even if he was slanted, he was still uselessly big.

“I don’t think I’m doing the work deserving of that name.”

‘Then, work’ Yaet stopped himself from cutting in.

“What did you need?”

Selk scratched his head and started searching for words. He truly had a pitifully small vocabulary.

“Um, the thing is, about the festival, was that really all right?”

“And by ‘that’, you mean…”

“The archery competition like last year,”

Yaet narrowed his eyes.

“If you had any objections, you should have brought them up during the meeting.”

“You’re right, but… I just couldn’t help thinking about it.”

‘It’s too late now, shut up——is how Yaet wanted to reject him but the other person didn’t seem to get it. ‘This is exactly why I hate people like this,’ Yaet sighed. No wonder he felt so drained.

“As I have explained before, the ritual rites have their reasons and the origin. Is it not reasonable to follow the precedence?”

“Is that really right?”

Selk looked dissatisfied. Was he perhaps still minding that discussion about making money and whatnot? That’s the kind of man he was.

“How about looking into the origins of an archery competition?”

“The origins?

“A bow is a tool created for hunting, but it is also a type of a charm and prototype of musical instruments —— although, I’m not sure which one it is in the North. What was used in olden times as a way to have gods descend by playing the bowstrings changed into an archery contest, or perhaps it’s the remains of the competitive spirit of warriors that started at the victory banquet. Everything has an origin. Wouldn’t you be able to come in terms with it if you investigated its connection to the divine ritual?”

Selk looked absentminded.

“But, how?”

“Why don’t you ask the person who performs the ritual?”

“It’s the Elder.”

Yaet smiled.

“Well, good for you. Go on your way then.”

“No, that’s not it. You’re wrong.”

Yaet, who was about to leave just as their talk ended, stopped because his sleeve was grabbed. The official uniforms were long and hard to escape with.

“What do you mean?”

“How exactly do you know that? I mean, something from so long ago”

Selk’s expression was serious. Yaet also had no other choice but to answer seriously.

“Are you aware of the origins of the official name for Secretariat?”

“No? Now that you mentioned it, I’m not.”

“The word ‘State Affairs’ is originally from Old Kingdom. The proper pronunciation is Pal’kakar. In Old Kingdom’s language, Pal means ‘Old truth’, in others words, history. Kakar is a plural for a ‘character’, in other words, a passage. Here, it means a book. Secretariat is an official post that was born in order to write history books.

“History… history books?

It looked like he couldn’t understand the term itself. It wasn’t very surprising.

“It means to record what happened on a specific day of a specific year and organize the past, to put it simply.”

Selk blinked. And then said apologetically.

“I don’t get it. What’s Old Kingdom?”

Yaet unintentionally laughed out loud.

“Are you telling me to explain the 3,000 years of Old Kingdom’s history while standing here?”

“No… huh? 3,000 years?”

As Selk lost his ability to talk, somebody called for him. While this was an ordinary thing, things sounded somewhat noisy.

“Please find me after you have at least learnt about the history of the 16th year of True Empire. However, as I see it, you are more suited for the military affairs than state affairs.”

“I… think the same too, but they weren’t recruiting military officers.”

Oh, Yaet nodded. It wasn’t surprising because the Empire didn’t intend to let Northern Mountains keep the troops near.

“They are calling for you over there.”

“Yes. No, but after looking at you, I’ve been thinking. That being a secretariat is an honorary job.”

If Yaet had been sitting in a chair, he would have slid down. Even while he was standing, he felt slightly dizzy.

“Well, thank you. But, now you have to go. The voice sounds urgent.”

After that, he put his hands together and bowed. Selk also hurriedly repeated the same gesture and ran to where he was called.

–He’s not so different from a 10 year old child. Everything he says and does is childish.

Since he was officially appointed as an official, he must have been over 20 years of age, but no matter what, he grew up in a land with no past. Was it actually okay to trust his self-declared age?

—The job of a secretariat, huh?

Yaet looked up at the ‘Heaven’s Spear’ again and once again hummed in a low voice.

‘What do I do, what do I do

I am the breeze, tracing the wall ‘round the city

I am the words, dwelling in the voice of humans

I am the song, carrying the sacred sound of gods

I am, severed from the earthly relations’

(The Harbinger, 69 B.C)

This was a poem from 3,000 thousand years ago when humans still communicated with gods.

Nowadays, god stopped sending his words to the earthly world. However, what humans gained from their contract with the god wasn’t completely lost. It still dominated the lower world and had the power to repaint the borders.

In the west of the desert, God is a single pillar.

The true god, the god of wisdom, the one and only great god — It has so many natures that it’s impossible for humans to grasp its true form, each of its parts have their names, symbolizing their powers. If a person chose one name for all the countless names and made a contract with it, the contractor’s family would gain the power of grace.

Imperial family was also a clan that had received the grace from god. That power was now being tested in the east of the desert.

—– Yet, it will eventually perish.

It was a fate that no kingdom on earth could escape. It would eventually befall on the Empire too. Even without imperial family’s power of the grace exhausting, all they had to do was err in its use.

— The Old Kingdom also perished before its grace was exhausted.

Feeling the wind on his nape, Yaet returned to himself. He didn’t have to choose such a windy place to wallow in reverie. Wile rubbing his hands together with ‘so cold, so cold’, he headed towards his private quarters.

But a shout made him stop in his steps.

Hearing a voice wasn’t so uncommon in this castle. The problem was in the sound itself. It sounded like a city accent.

Most of the Empire’s territories used the 《Commercial Language》that originated from the desert’s merchant city.

The Northern Mountain wasn’t an exception either. However, even if it was the same language, pronunciation differed from one land to another.

What Yaet heard now wasn’t a northern dialect. It was an intonation specific to the southern plains, or more broadly, the capital.

It sounded like it came from the side of the gate, Yaet strained his ears. He heard some other sound too. What could it possible be? — Perhaps, footsteps? He also heard the neigh of the horses. That also didn’t come from the sound of the stable.

To start with, there were no horses in this castle’s stable.

“I absolutely refuse!”

The answering voice undoubtedly belonged to Selk. And what’s more, it sounded like he was on the verge of snapping in fury.

Oh no, I should’ve ignored it, he thought but it was too late. Shivering from cold and cursing himself, Yaet turned on his heels and headed towards the gate.

—-

TL Note:

Just in case things got a bit confusing, Yaet is a 尚書. He’s a secretariat under the Department of State Affairs and his main job is record things. He’s a historian basically. That’s why he’s referred to as a chronicler at some places.

In addition, as you’ve probably realized, the poem is definitely not a very accurate depiction of the original. The gist is pretty much the same though. I can guarantee it.