Ronin by William Dale Jennings

Author:William Dale Jennings
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-4-8053-0883-7
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing

Rage and adoration….

The boy watched the historic Fight on the Landing in terror, of course, because on this day both parents were vanishing from his life. But he also watched in a certain amazement, the ferocity of the lone man holding off the arms of the entire Palace with only Weed Killer. He didn’t so much as touch Pecker Two. The boy had reverently handled both.

So, in spite of the fact that his father lay beheaded at the Peephole of Hell and his mother was being ruthlessly abducted upon the wide river, the scene that remained seared into his mind was that of a single figure with bared teeth, eyes wildly intent and movements as precise as they were economical.

The long blade was not mere opposition to all the Guard. It was Punishment and, as such, gave majesty to the Criminal.

The boy’s hating wonder gave birth to a wish. The wish bore a resolution and that became a Vow. In an agony of contradiction, he knew that one day he must kill this hideous man with the same courage, skill and grandeur that he now beheld upon the Landing. The Vow was a permanent part of him before the little covered boat was out of sight around the bend of the great river taking with it all he held to be Good and Evil.

As well as his Mother.

The Palace dissolved. With neither Lord nor Lady nor a regent for the young Daimyo acceptable to all, both relations and retainers went their ways to survive and thrive and die elsewhere. The Palace, once forbidden to all but the Select, became the home of wind and web, and bird and bee.

The boy himself was swept up by a paternal uncle, the daimyo of a province to the north. With grave delight at this gift of a precious little manchild, the humiliated father of nine daughters immediately adopted him as son and heir. And at the earliest opportunity stripped him bare and paid delighted reverence to the little pod with two peas in which hung the future of his realm.

In addition to the doting, the Uncle made a second mistake right at the beginning, that time of greatest danger. He solemnly revealed to the child that his Father had flagrantly invited death and that his Mother had herself done the abducting.

Because the truth is seldom self-apparent, the effect of this information upon the child was instant detestation of a lying benefactor. He knew very well that both of his parents were unquestionably Perfect as well as Beautiful.

After two years of excessive pampering, the seven-year-old prince announced that he was going to become a great swordsman as of Monday. There was unanimous approbation, from the Daimyo himself down to the assistant wood-gatherers. A full day before Monday, an expert teacher came to live at the Palace and to give the child daily lessons in the rudiments of kendo. There was much attention paid to costume and the appurtenances. Everyone admired the child and he became one degree more insufferable.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.