under, and it was lost from view.
26
The Capital
My eyes hurt from staring.
Kin Heigen Toshi, the City of the Golden Plain, could be seen long before we even reached its impressive gates. Built on the juncture where two rivers—the Hotaru and the Kin no Kawa, the River of Gold—met, it spread for miles in every direction. The tightly packed inner city was surrounded by river and protected by steep stone walls, but the urban sprawl had crossed the natural moats and continued to creep across the plains. I had never seen so many buildings in my life; from afar, it looked like a ragged blanket of roofs, walls, bridges and roads had been spread over the entire valley.
Near the very center, rising from a vertical hill and surrounded by sheer stone ramparts, a magnificent castle soared into the air, towering over the city. Though its bottom walls were white and trimmed in dark wood, its roofs and top floors had been covered in what seemed to be pure gold, for they gleamed brilliantly against the cloudless sky, almost too bright to look at.
“Behold, the Palace of the Sun,” Daisuke told me, sounding almost as proud as if he’d designed the castle himself. “Home of the emperor, and the heart of Iwagoto.”
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” I admitted, shading my eyes against the glare. “Is it really made of gold?”
“Gold leaf, my lady,” Daisuke replied. “The walls and roof are gilded with it. Sadly, we’ve yet to figure out a feasible way to build a castle of pure gold. Though Emperor Taiyo no Ryosei did try, until the peasants revolted.”
“It seemed they weren’t satisfied with starving to death while their emperor built himself a palace made of gold,” Okame added behind us. “Ungrateful wretches.”
Daisuke ignored him. He had changed outfits since the night at the bridge and was now wearing a pair of dove-gray hakama trousers and a sky blue haori jacket with silver clouds curled along the hems and billowy sleeves. The crest of the Taiyo, a blazing sun within a circle, was etched onto each shoulder. In the light of day, with his double swords thrust through his obi and his long white hair tied behind him, he looked every inch the noble warrior.
Very unlike Okame, leaning against a tree at our backs, the end of a reed poking from between his lips. Or Tatsumi, standing to the side, a shadow that nearly blended into the shade cast from the branches. I could feel both of them watching us, one cold and alert, one mockingly amused, and wondered if either of them had felt anything close to amazement before.
“When it was built,” Daisuke went on, unaware of the intense scrutiny at our backs, “the emperor at the time, Taiyo no Kintaro, demanded a castle that would shine brighter than sun itself, so that everyone would see our family’s influence for miles around. Since its construction, it’s been burned to ashes no less than four times but has always been restored to its former glory. A Taiyo has ruled from that palace for over seven hundred years.”
“It’s beautiful,” I said, squinting as one of the roof tiles caught the sun and flashed a searing white against my eyelids. “Though, I am curious—does everyone living around the castle go blind on very bright days?”
He chuckled. “You learn not to look directly at it in the summer.”
We followed the road, which soon merged onto a wide thoroughfare, with crowds of people traveling to and from the capital. As we crossed the bridge and walked beneath the wide, sweeping gates, my heart beat faster in excitement. Everything here was so grand! So large, and noisy and fast paced. I felt very small as we walked past dozens of shops and market stalls, unable to stop myself from looking at everything.
There was a sharp tug on my sleeve, and Tatsumi pulled me to the side of the road, just as a man jogged by pulling a two-wheeled cart. He shouted something that might’ve been an apology or a curse and continued down the street without breaking stride.
“Oi, was that really necessary?” I called after him, then turned to Tatsumi, who raised a brow. “Gomen,” I apologized. “I suppose I should pay attention to what’s going on around me.”
“That is probably prudent.”
“Oh, lighten up, Kage-san,” Okame broke in, striding up beside us. “She’s never been to the capital—of course she’s going to be distracted. So, Yumeko-chan...” He grinned at me. “We have officially arrived