The Storm Bow
A
shrill cry rang out across the serene, sunlit courtyard, followed by the clatter
of a pottery vessel being smashed. A door slid open with a resounding bang. The
hasty footsteps of a small, barefooted child pattered softly past the outbuildings,
barely disturbing the delicate petals of the fallen sakura blossoms that carpeted
the landscape. The footsteps continued across the wooden footbridge and up the
wide, smooth, stone steps leading to the Seiden, the main hall of Shimada
Castle.