Day 5 - Mountains of Regret

Deep in the mountains above Otosan Uchi, she pauses and watches the red glow of a sunless sky fade into night. The cliffs around her turn red with blood, deepening into crimson as the darkness takes them.

"Amaterasu, where are you?" Hitomi asks, knowing the answer.

The mother has fled. Jigai, the traditional seppuku of the noble samurai lady, has taken her. Each star is a blade in the tanto that has been plunged into the throat of Amaterasu, torn open by her husband's treachery.

Did the Sun Goddess rest in Jigoku with her husband, or is there another land where immortal spirits go? Closing her eyes, Hitomi thinks of the dark land where the Shadow spins its lies. Everywhere, its power chokes the honor of the Jade Empire, drowning the Emperor and his court in blood and darkness.

Fire and Shadow. She cannot go there. Even the light of a new moon cannot penetrate the fire of dawning.

There will have to be another.

Source: posted to www.wizards.com/l5r on 1/26/00