[Original] Onmyouji Eclipse [Novel-Length] [WIP]

Chapter 3: Legends Never Die

Chapter 3: Legends Never DieWhen Satoshi entered the pavilion, his mother was tending to the garden in the Hiroyuki manor which was resplendent with blossoms of orange, yellow, and reds, much like the legendary phoenix. Blooms of colorful flowers burst into a prismatic display, and his mother appeared a serene portrait among the garden, tending to the flowers. She also worked the loom where she was sewing an Onmyouji regalia for Satoshi out in the garden, working hte needle and thread on the rippling silk.

"Welcome home, Satoshi-kun," his mother, Akiko Hiroyuki, said. "Have you been practicing your Onmyoujutsu?"

"They won't pass me," Satoshi said with a frown, but then he puckered his lips in thought. "The one Elder...the one I don't get along with...he said some nice things."

Akiko looked gentle and opened up her arms. Satoshi then flew towards his mother and wrapped his arms around her. She chuckled and smoothed Satoshi's black hair, which was dark like her own. The tell-tale signs of laughter in the creases of her eyes told him much about her love and affection for Satoshi and the wonderful zest she had for life.

"I know how he is, Satoshi-kun. Though treat your elders with respect, for they usually have experienced things in life that you young ones haven't yet. No matter what, I'm proud that you're my son and that you wihs to walk the path of an Onmyouji."

Satoshi grinned and parted from his mother. "I want that more than anything in the world!"

A more solemn look came across Akiko's features, as she regarded Satoshi's words.

"The Onmyouji are a dying breed, Satoshi-kun," Akiko said. "That is because mankind is losing touch with spirits and the gods. What will become of this world, as mankind continues to build his structures of steel and his weapons of destruction? The land is becoming choked with smoke. I tried to divine through the wind, though I find I can no longer hear the wind spirits."

Her hands worked with the needle and thread. Her hands never remained idle, always doing needlework and calligraphy and tending to the earth and soil of the gardens she kept in resplendent shape. Even watching her doing something simple like separating the threads and weaving the tapestry of colors together for the regalia she wove for him was fascinating to watch. It reminded him of the theaters and plays that he'd come to see in the spectacles people performed in Jipangu.

Satoshi often loved to watch his mother weave brilliant colors of cloth and silk, her slender fingers dancing among the threads.Red and gold blossomed forth in the highly coveted silk they harvested from their neighboring country. Satoshi imagined it cost a fortune to acquire though his mother only indulged her son in the highest quality materials and things he wished for. The love and pride he held for his mother was regarded as one a dutiful son should bear—of, family, kinship, love and devotion.

He watched in entrancement while her fingers worked the threads.Satoshi cocked his head to the side and frowned upon his mother's words. He understood Onmyouji were highly sensitive to the supernatural and heard the voices of wind spirits like his mother. Or they sometimes summoned shikigami to come to their aid. His mother told him his father, a legendary Onmyouji, defied death three times, though he disappeared for reasons unknown. Perhaps death finally caught up with him, as it always did. No one, not even the greatest Onmyouji in the world, lived forever.

"I want to become a great Onmyouji, like father. When I get my shikigami, I'm going to travel into the spirit world!"

Akiko's smile had a sad tilt to it. "I don't think that you will find your father there, Satoshi-kun. He most likely has passed into the afterlife...or perhaps he ascended to nirvana."

"I will find him," Satoshi insisted. "I know I will."

The beautiful Onmyouji beside the loom stopped her work. She knelt by Satoshi's side and patted him on the head. "You are full of hope. It gladdens my heart to see that your heart is still pure and your mind is full of dreams. You will make a powerful Onmyouji someday. Just like your father."