Kachiyo

Kachiyo was the fastest messenger the amber-leaved woods had ever known. The singers will tell you they heard a sound like tearing silk out by the wilder rivers, the day before Kachiyo stumbled back into the clearing. The foragers, who found the splintered remains of their carved cane, whisper that the ground was scorched black in a perfect circle where they fell. But Motoyoshi, who took the stunned messenger in and became their guardian, dismisses the rumors. They simply say Kachiyo needed rest. These days, they keep Kachiyo’s ramen hat filled with warm broth and wait for their ward to remember the message that was so violently silenced.