act49side

...It is an honor, Your Imperial Majesty.

I've long heard of the twelve 'extraordinary talents' of Yan, credited with no small number of achievements for the empire. I've been curious for some time.

I therefore perused the Sui Regulator's archives, and found something rather interesting.

Be it reports of triumph, or suspicious activities...

No name has been mentioned more often than yours.

But I see your visage is not as terrifying as the rumors claim.

Why has Your Imperial Majesty summoned me?

They call you the most cunning strategist in all Yan.

How do you propose to resolve the two great obstacles we face?

The northern rebellion is hardly a major threat. The rebels may be influential in their local area, but they are powerless to expand. Nevertheless, it would be inadvisable to allow them to consolidate their position.

Fifty-thousand soldiers and six months' worth of rations will be sufficient to defeat them.

Your estimate is much more optimistic than the Ministry of War... but I have more reason to trust your judgment on this.

What about the other matter?

As for the modification of Baizao into a nomadic city... I understand the Ministry of Works has validated the engineering principles. The only issues are funding, supplies, and...

...the Tomb of Sui beneath Baizao.

Yes. You understand the problem.

It is for this that I have summoned you.

How do you intend to eliminate Sui?

If you are familiar with the scrolls of the Sui Regulator... you understand that 'we' were the same and one as Sui, and our fates intermingled.

Do you mean to ask how to kill 'us'?

It is only 'Sui' that Yan is concerned about, and no other being.

You understand, of course, the price that Yan paid for the hunt that occurred centuries ago.

The price that must be paid, if Yan is to force the issue, is seven-tenths of its armies, one-tenth of its population, and fifty years of unceasing unrest.

If that is the case, Yan will be in no position to ensure the safety of the twelve of you.

The proxy looks up and meets the gaze of the man behind the curtain.

I am determined to cleanse Yan of this thousand-year bane. I am not afraid to pay the price—any price.

The Sui will be destroyed. The tremendous energy that was used to suppress that beast shall be reutilized to build a hundred cities and ten thousand battleships, and usher in another thousand years of prosperity for Yan.

I had hoped that there would be a place for the twelve of you in Yan's future prosperity, on account of your past deeds. It is regrettable.

If your decision to eliminate Sui comes from practical judgment, rather than reckless pursuit of glory...

...I may have a way.

Oh?

The twelve of us were one and same as Sui. We were destined to fade, whether It awakes or is destroyed.

But it is possible that I could... replace It.

How sure are you?

I will need time...

The young man behind the curtain points at the courtyard outside.

That ginkgo sapling was planted in the spring of this year.

The Ministry of Works swore an oath in this hall several days ago that the rebuilding of Baizao into a nomadic city will be complete before the tree bears fruit.

Twenty years. That is the time you have.

That is too little time.

I am not here to bargain.

Immortality has made you arrogant. Perhaps you have forgotten that mortals do not have many 'twenty years'.

Yan cannot wait, and neither can I.

You're the new Candleholder? So much time has passed, in the blink of an eye.

Has the previous Candleholder...

She retired last month, and asked me to tell you not to worry.

I will take over your communications with the Sui Regulator from now on.

Well, you'll have your hands full.

Most Candleholders have to worry about tracking down my free-roaming siblings. As for mine...

They have to sit in this office all day, handling books and scrolls. They are more like secretaries than Candleholders.

I enjoy reading and writing. This is right up my alley.

Perfect.

What's your name?

I'm Chun.

'Chun'?

'For the ancient tree that shares your name, eight thousand years is a spring and eight thousand years is an autumn...' Was the one who named you remarkably ambitious, or remarkably cautious?

Wait, you are...?

...An Elf?

Yes.

Judging from your appearance... you're an Elf of Yaan?

The bestial Yaan and its Elves are well-versed in the ways of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements. The element associated with spring is wood, and the character for 'Chun' combines both 'wood' and 'spring', representing vitality and longevity... I see.

My mother told me about it when I was young. I didn't expect anyone else to know.

Stuff like this is what history is about.

It's your first day. I won't put you to too much hard work. Just familiarize yourself with the space; you can look at any books and documents in this study.

The Candleholder carefully scans the room. She could not conceal her eagerness as she sees scrolls and books that fill the wall shelves.

Did you write all of these?

No, I simply collect the materials. The historians of the Imperial Historical Cabinet are the ones who actually write the books.

After all...

Is writing history a difficult task?

It's a heavy responsibility.

History books form people's perception of the past, but a few words are hardly enough to give them a complete view.

Choices must be made as to which parts to record for posterity, what sorts of lessons those who come after should learn...

It's easy to say, 'write with an impartial pen,' but it is a most profound and complex discipline.

What if there is a mistake in the history books?

Then it should be corrected.

History is inevitably warped by the position of the narrator, no matter how impartial the writer attempts to be.

I see a few more problems because I've lived longer than most and remember more than most.

Most... it's true that your kind, the proxies, are different from other long-lived. Before I joined, I heard that each of you had your own 'powers'.

Do you use your powers to correct the errors in the history books?

I heard you have a magical writing knife... do you use it to correct those errors?

It can, but this is not how it should be used.

...Huh?

Mistakes take root in people's hearts as they are passed down from one generation to another. The proper way to fight them is to form a new consensus through debate and clarification, not to simply erase it.

Erasing a wrong word from one's own writing is not a significant issue, for it only concerns oneself.

To do it to a published book would be to meddle with the memories of thousands.

As for history... setting aside the question of how much I can alter, it will not be a good thing, for myself and for Yan.

Frankly, it's already a chore to ensure that history is not altered. I hardly have the energy to alter it myself.

Hm...

Seems like there's something you would like to change with the knife yourself.

Huh?! I—

I...

Before my mother passed away, she said I may be the last of the Yaan Elves.

She... she wanted me to find a home.

I wandered for many years. I tried many ways to blend in, but I always failed. Yan does not want—

Yan does not want to accept you, because the Yaan Elves were depicted in the Great Hunt as... 'fickle and disloyal.'

But I know that's not true...

The bestial Yaan stood against Yan simply to survive. That cannot be denied.

The Elves, though, had only wanted to mediate the conflict, yet they became the enemy of both sides... ultimately, most were killed in battle, and their deeds lost to time.

So you wanted to alter this history?

I don't deny that I thought about it. But I'm your Candleholder now, and my work comes before all else.