Through the Eyes of the Dragon

Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – The Dragon Rises

‘The scrolls on war tactics go on the left shelf… or was it the right… or maybe it was my other other other left…’ Confused as ever, Namikawa Tatsuya stared helplessly at the rows and rows of shelves before him, his arms loaded with unsorted war scrolls. He was currently stationed in the pagoda’s grand library, scurrying up and down the aisles helplessly as he tried to make out hiragana from katakana[1], and katakana from hiragana.

Sniffling as the dust in the air began to mess with his nose, he glanced down at the scrolls’ titles for the hundredth time and then at the signs posted at the head of each shelf, gradually becoming more and more frustrated with himself. “It’s times like these when I wish I paid more attention to my language studies…” he sighed prior to releasing hefty sneeze. ‘Either that or I’m just allergic to literature…’

“You having fun down there, Mr. Namikawa?” a young female servant asked, sliding down the rails of a small ladder and holding out a helping hand.

Reluctantly handing her half his load, Tatsuya felt his cheeks grow hot with embarrassment and he hurriedly turned away to investigate the shelves further. “Th-thanks… Yui-chan,” he murmured, skimming through some of his leftover scrolls for anything that looked familiar in his eyes.

“No prob!” she giggled, sliding the parchments down her large sleeves and climbing back up her ladder to finish sorting.

Although it did take a few hours and much pestering of the librarians for auditory translations, Tatsuya eventually found places for his parchments and lumbered out of the library as a sneezing, sniffling mess.

“Maybe being a librarian… isn’t your thing,” Yui suggested after fetching her fellow servant some herbal tea and a soft handkerchief.

“You think?” Tatsuya grumbled through a noseful of cloth, taking a few moments to blow out all the dust that had accumulated in his sinuses.

Smiling at him, the young servant unfortunately had no other words to reassure him with, and soon enough she was off to help elsewhere in the building.

Bidding her farewell, the tired servant dragged himself outside of the stuffy pagoda, where he hoped to catch some fresh air. ‘Can I do nothing right anymore?’ he thought miserably, reflecting on his previous failures at cooking (he didn’t think it was possible to overcook rice), tailoring (how was he supposed to know black and navy didn’t match?), cleaning (note to self: bleach is permanent), and record keeping (he kept writing in his native language rather than that of the Aerosian peoples). Luckily, there seemed to be a servant there who knew how to undo most of his mistakes, but thus far the only thing he hadn’t completely screwed up was crafting. Considering his more bulkier build, such physical labor was not so difficult for him, and he actually managed to acquaint himself with the local blacksmiths and artisans.

Seating himself on the smooth stone steps of the pagoda, Tatsuya let out a long sigh and rested his chin on the palm of his hand, staring wondrously out at the capital before him. Everyone he met seemed to have some sort of talent or skill that they utilized on a daily basis for work. But him? All he was apparently good at was raising his voice and lifting heavy loads.

Filled with a sudden surge of defiance, he soon shot to his feet and took off towards the countryside, deciding that a leisurely stroll could help him exhaust some of his cooped up frustration. Through the bustling capital streets he went, occasionally peeking over at the many performers, vendors, and shops as he went. The weather was notably warm for the early Sky season, he recognized, as he strolled along the various stone paths.

For a while, his head was lost amongst the fluffy white clouds, his attention only returning to the real world when he strolled right into a gate. Cursing under his breath, Tatsuya rubbed at his now-throbbing forehead, gazing out at the thriving farm hidden behind the gates. It seemed as though it was nearly harvest time on the eastern side of Aeros, as the vegetation and crops were bursting with signs of ripeness.