The Four Wheel Saga Book 1: THE LEGACY TRIALS

Daigo crossed his arms but pricked up his ears. He had never enjoyed indulging in speculation, but a prodigious young scholar like Shigeo had his way of making others listen. After their displays of power, the former had developed a respect for Keiji and Yuuki over the past month. They were young but highly accomplished, and Daigo valued strength and ability above all else. Hajime and Yuuta stopped badgering Megumin and became attentive. They had become aware that they were disrupting a vital discussion. The girls were already tuned in.

Shigeo: “Spare me a few minutes first, to explain the essentials. Has anyone here read the book- ‘Kinheni- The Provenance of Kitsu’ by the late shuzen healer Ogino Ginko?”

“Anyone?”

Kafu scoffed but said nothing. The name of the late heasler had irked him somehow. As nobody else chimed in, Shigeo pricked his spectacles up his nose again and began.

Shigeo: “We have been taught for years- that kitsu is the art of channeling raiki and giving it physical form. The technique is very fundamental for us. It is the heart of all our economic and military activity. Be it running a sugar mill, sailing a boat, building a house, conveyance, agriculture, mining, fisheries or carrying out military defense, kitsu plays an integral role in almost every trade and activity. But, the origin of raiki- the substrate of kitsu, has always been ambiguous. A great deal of knowledge was lost when valuable records and research materials were destroyed, during the incessant wars of the previous century. It had come to be believed that raiki came from our lifeforce. But, Ginko-sensei suggested that raiki is drawn from an alternate world, which he named Meido.”

are inherently made of condensed, tangible energy. This energy, which we know as raiki, is several times more easily molded and manipulated, as compared to the rigid energies of

dagger, or a bow and arrow. A compact form of kitsu is essential for military matters—a sword, a dagger, a bow and arrow and so on. Then there is bestial-kitsu, an intelligent manipulation of raiki that manifests animal forms and gives them live attributes. They mimic original animals while obeying the commands of the creator. As the descendants of the first kitsu-users, we can make raiki surge within our bodies and perform kitsu-manipulation with a bit of practice. But how wide the gates can be opened and how much raiki an individual can endure- differs from person to person. The better is one’s ability to possess raiki, the stronger is the kitsu form. While someone like Kafu can manifest small animals like fire-shrews and earth-moles, someone like

warriors of legend, and aspired to become a General one day, seemed electrified as well. The history of Kinheni resounded with references to mythical worlds, all-mighty entities and supernatural events. Even the most recent war saw the mightiest of

have to do

He cannot open

accomplish what he did, without being able to use

a foreign mercenary for the Legacy Unit, and due to his military accomplishments and loyalty towards Karasuma, he was admitted into the Daigaku. The same goes for Yuuki-sensei of course; both of them are too young

he looks and fights, like a seasoned warrior, who