Three Sacred Treasures

THREE SACRED TREASURES ORDER OF THE BLACK SUN BOOK 49 PRESTON WILLIAM CHILD Copyright © 2023 by Preston William Child All rights reserved. No part of this publication might be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. Publisher's Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author's imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental. BOOKS IN THIS SERIES Thank you for reading my book. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. You can find all books of this series (in proper order) here: ORDER OF THE BLACK SUN SERIES CONTENTS Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Epilogue Bibliography PROLOGUE THE GIFTS FROM THE GODS There was a legend that every child in Japan knew. Genji even knew it, and he was only eight years old. He would sit out in the fields and watch his father practice with his katana, preparing for whatever battle he was going to ride off to next, and he couldn’t help but think about that legend as he watched his father. It was the story of three tools that were forged by the gods and passed down through the emperor’s lineage. Ninigi-no-Mikoto, the grandson of the sun goddess, Amaterasu, came down from heaven and brought the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan with him. Ninigi-no-Mikoto is said to be the great-grandfather of the first emperor of Japan, and it was his arrival from heaven with the treasures that started the imperial line. The three things that Ninig-no-Mikoto brought with him were the Sacred Sword, Kusanagi no Tsurugi; the Sacred Mirror, Yata no Kagami; and the Sacred Jewel, Yasakani no Magatama. The idea of being able to see those heavenly objects made Genji feel so excited by the possibility, but he knew that very few people were allowed to see them. Usually, only the people that protected it or the emperors themselves got to actually see what they looked like. He didn’t know if he would ever get the chance, even when he was grown up. His father, however, a respected warrior, had been asked by the emperor himself to pledge his sword to protect one of those Three Sacred Treasures. He would travel far away and be gone for a very long time, swearing his life to the duty of guarding one of the gifts from Ninigi-no-Mikoto. It was one of the highest honors one could ever hope to achieve. Genji would miss his father, but he was also envious of him for getting the chance to be so close to one of those treasures. That was why his father had been rigorously training every day, sharpening his skills to make sure that he was a fit sentinel when it came to protecting some of the most important things in all of Japan. His father approached him in the field, sheathing his glimmering katana. He had not told Genji much about his task, but now that it was one of his final days at home, he seemed ready to open up about it. He sat with Genji in the field and smiled at him. “I am going to need you to be strong, Genji,” Father said. “I do not know how long I will be gone, but it may be a very long time before we see one another again. You will need to protect our home and your mother. You will need to be the warrior here while I am away.” That made Genji both excited and nervous. He did not feel old enough to be any kind of warrior, but he knew that he would have to start trying to be if he was going to protect his mother. With his father gone, someone would have to guard their home. Still, there was so much he wanted to know about what his father was going to be doing while he was away. “Which of the treasures are you going to be guarding, Father?” His father gave a thin smirk. “I cannot tell you that, Genji. That is known only to myself and to the emperor.” “I hope it is Kusanagi.” The legendary sword was something that Genji only ever dreamed of one day being able to wield. It was probably the greatest sword in all of Japan. “It would be much greater to wield than your sword.” His father chuckled, shaking his head. “Kusanagi is not to be wielded, especially by someone as lowly as me. Perhaps the emperor would be fit to hold it in his hands, but my duties do not require me to touch any of those treasures. I never will.” “Who would try to take them, Father?” “Many have tried, and many have failed. Many more will try, and just as many will continue to fail as long as I do my duty to our emperor and to Japan.” “Will I be able to protect the Sacred Treasures someday, Father?” “Perhaps, my son. If you are a good citizen of Japan and prove your honor to the emperor, he may give you the honor of protecting one of Japan’s greatest possessions. The ones that guard them will be chosen throughout time, always making sure that they are safe and undisturbed.” “They always will be?” “As long as we do our duty, yes, the Three Sacred Treasures will always be protected. Always.” That made Genji feel good. He wouldn’t want anything