“We are quite enamored of the real world,” the emperor told him. “To us, it is a sacred land. A land of the gods. It is my most sincere wish to fashion my empire to be as much like the real world as I can make it.”
This revelation brought a smile to Mitsuru’s lips. Considering the wars and slaughter that had taken place in the real world, and comparing those to what he knew of the north, it seemed like the emperor had already been quite successful in his mission, whether he knew it or not. Still, something struck him as odd. Though he had learned it only in passing, Mitsuru was sure that the Northern Empire embraced the beliefs of the Old God rather than the Goddess. Travelers, everyone knew, were the servants of the Goddess—yet the emperor seemed quite pleased to make his acquaintance.
He asked about this, and the emperor hesitantly replied.
“Of course, as a Traveler you are well informed. I’m impressed to hear you know of our country’s religion. Indeed, our empire is, on the surface, a bastion of faith in the Old God. But this is merely a convenient means to an end. It became necessary to spread this religion to unite our people against the nations of the south where the Goddess is worshiped. That is all.”
“So, do you mean to say that you, in fact, worship the Goddess as Creator?”
The emperor laughed at the question. “No, no! Of course, the Tower of Destiny does exist somewhere here in Vision, and a Goddess surely lives there who controls the fates of those in the real world. But she is no god of Vision. The Goddess who sits in the Tower of Destiny is a goddess only to those from the real world. She has nothing to do with any of us who live here in Vision.”
The true creator of Vision is none other than the real world itself, the emperor explained. “Do you know how Vision was formed? Vision is a world created by the imaginative energies of people living in your world—the real world. It follows that the gods of Vision, if we must name them, are actually the people of the real world. Is this not so?”
It certainly did make logical sense. “Then why support a religion that teaches people to mistrust Travelers? That completely goes against what you just told me.”
The emperor waved away Mitsuru’s objection. “Master Mitsuru, we know that the Porta Nectere opens once every ten years. But we do not know what kind of person will visit us. If they are talented and wise, this is a good thing. But sometimes, they may be evil or weak. It falls to us to create a difficult environment to separate the good from the bad. If they are truly emissaries from the holy land, they will gain our admiration and worship.”
Mitsuru was stunned. Then he remembered something Wayfinder Lau had mentioned earlier. Many Travelers, he said, abandoned their journey, unable to stand the hardships along the way. They lost their lives somewhere in Vision, or disappeared, never to return to the real world.
“Yet you, Master Mitsuru, have reached our palace. All by yourself, you have penetrated its most heavily defended chamber.” The emperor bowed deeply. “You have proven your worth beyond all doubt. I’m honored to greet you as a guest in our world. You will be accorded all the respect an emissary of the gods deserves, and I welcome you as a trusted ally. But first, you must rest, for I fear your journey has been quite long.”
And so, Mitsuru became a guest at the Crystal Palace.
Mitsuru later asked how many Travelers like him had visited the palace before.
Only one, the emperor told him. Once during the peak of the war to unify the north. “The records say that this Traveler, too, was a man of great power. It was he who first proposed the idea that land should be governed by a single race. He taught us that peace, prosperity, wealth, and power come only to those unified by blood. This became the basis for our empire, and brought us victory in the war of unification.”
Mitsuru wasn’t sure whether to be astonished or bemused. So the source of the oppression of non-ankha, and the genocide that had occurred in the north, had all been another Traveler’s idea. Not to mention the fact that the emperor seemed to think this Traveler was a true emissary of the gods.
Mitsuru was surprised at his own shock. He had decided a long time ago that after what he had been through in the real world, nothing could surprise him.
Still, his bewilderment lasted only a moment. I’ve got more important things to do, he told himself. Events in Vision have nothing to do with me. I need only to reach the Tower of Destiny and do what I came here to do. Then I’ll go home. And I’ll use whatever means I have at my disposal.
The next day, when he awoke in the luxurious guest chambers, his life as an honored guest of the palace had already begun. He was brought before the beaming emperor, his family, and the retainers at the Crystal Palace, and informed that an elaborate welcoming ceremony was in the works. He was shown around the palace and told about its making, and he began to learn the history of the Empire.
But, of course, Mitsuru wanted none of this. Feeling unusually pressed for time, he sought another private meeting with the emperor.
This was when he revealed the reason he came to the north. He told the emperor that the last gemstone he sought was none other than the one adorning the Imperial Crown. If he only had this, the way to the Tower of Destiny would open to him. And he needed it as soon as possible.
He also explained how he had learned of a need for haste in his journey. By this, of course, he was referring to Halnera.
Mitsuru did not care to lose to Wataru in the race to reach the tower. Not that he was worried. But now that there was a danger of one of them being chosen as the sacrifice, it behooved him to achieve his goals and make it back to the real world as swiftly as possible.
But the emperor’s only response to Mitsuru’s urgent request was to laugh. “We know nothing of this Halnera in our empire. Nor do any of our scholars acknowledge such a thing. It wouldn’t surprise me if this was all a legend cooked up by the United Southern Nations government. I’m afraid you’ve been hoodwinked, Master Mitsuru.”
This was a possibility. But the reverse was also true. Maybe you’re just ignorant. Mitsuru gritted his teeth in silence, and it took a great deal of effort to not let his frustrations show.
“Then, are you saying that I am not to worry about Halnera?”
“Why concern yourself with something that does not exist, my dear Master Mitsuru?”
“Yet, even if Halnera is merely some scheme dreamed up by the south, I would like to reach the Tower of Destiny and finish my journey as soon as possible.”
To this the emperor frowned and lifted his heavily bejeweled person from the throne, “I understand how you feel, but I must ask you to wait,” he said in a harsh voice.
“Whatever for?”
“This jeweled crown you claim to seek—this is most surely the prized treasure of my family for generations: the Crown of the Seal.”
“The Crown of the Seal?”
“Indeed. It would be most difficult for me to give you this treasure now, you see. For, were I to move the Crown of the Seal from its current resting place, a great calamity would visit our empire. It would rock the very foundation of Vision. The gemstone you seek currently protects Vision from that calamity. Thus is the crown that bears it called the Crown of the Seal—it seals the portal behind which the doom of Vision waits.”
For a good while, Mitsuru found himself in the unfamiliar position of being at a loss for words. At length, he spoke. “Then, what would you have me do? If the gemstone I need must protect Vision from some calamity, how might I ever hope to claim it?”
“No, there is hope. I merely said that it would be difficult to give you the gem now. In fact, there are other ways of preventing this calamity from visiting itself upon us. Or rather, there is one other way. Yet, sadly, the Northern Empire lacks the power to achieve this other method. We require certain materials from the south.”
What’s he babbling about now?