01x12 - Itsumo to kawaranai sôgen

[bunniefuu]

THE STEPPE, EVER UNCHANGING

What?

Princess Sorghaghtani
refused the marriage?

Yeah, it's a surprise—

What'll become of Lady Töregene?

Lady Töregene's freedom was contingent
on the princess marrying!

What did Empress Boraqchin say?

Calm down.

I'll tell you everything.

Sorghaghtani Beki.

This is what is best for the Mongols,
and it will benefit you as well.

Humbly accept this offer
we extend to you.

I deeply appreciate your courtesy.

However, our great foremother, Alan Gua,
once said to her five sons:

"A single arrow may be broken with ease,

but five arrows bundled together
shan't ever be broken."

Great Kha'an.

Tolui was one of the arrows at your side.

It falls upon me to raise his sons.

They are still young and fragile
arrows in the making.

The House of Tolui stands on its own?

She won't let it be engulfed
by the House of Ögedei?

And I'm sure your retainers
feel the same way.

Isn't that right, General Ilüge?

Huh? Uh, yes.

You are the head retainer
serving the House of Ögedei.

I imagine the Great Kha'an
will entrust you with his finest treasure,

as a sign of his utmost confidence in you.

Treasure?

You mean to say Lady Töregene is...

Yeah.

She's in General Ilüge's territory.

JAADUGAR

You seem to be in a foul temper.

Sorghaghtani sent over
a messenger this morning.

HOUSES OF JOCHI, ÖGEDEI,
CHAGATAI, TOLUI, TEMÜGE

If the Great Kha'an so wishes,

she's willing to offer up 4,000 tents
from the House of Tolui.

The territory and people I had planned
to deprive of her all along.

She's making a mockery of me.

Are you angry at me for what I've done?

Why should I condemn you?

I am finally able to do what I set out to.

It's all thanks to you.

However, I must say this.

Please don't involve Töregene any longer.

She is someone who is special to me.

I understand.

Prince Güyük and Sir Qadaq are heading
to General Ilüge's territory as we speak.

General Ilüge served as
the Great Kha'an's tutor for many years.

His influence rivals that
of the imperial family itself.

Not even Prince Güyük can intrude
upon his land without good reason.

Shira, let's hurry.

Be sure to hold on tight.

Thanks.

We've got a rough road ahead of us.

Excuse me, Lady Töregene—

Have you mistaken me
for that problem child again?

M-My apologies!

There are too many tents
for me to remember.

Why, if it isn't Prince Güyük.

What brings you to my home?

Lady Töregene is here, isn't she?

We'd like to speak with her.

I'm afraid I don't know what you mean.

Don't think we've come all this way
purely based on wild conjecture.

It's a long story,
but let me tell you all about it.

They told us to make sure she's safe
while they have him distracted.

But how do we even find her?

Forget about success.
If we're found, it could mean our heads.

H-Hey, Fatima!

This way.

This could mean trouble.

We must do everything we can to conceal
the fact that Lady Töregene is here.

What's wrong? Let's go.

Right.

And how is Lady Töregene?

I went to see her just earlier...

Did you hear that?

We've confirmed she's safe,
so let's go back for now—

Hey!

Lady Töregene, thanks for waiting.
I've brought your meal.

You're late.

My apologies. I got lost again.

No urum?

The season for urum has long passed.

I was just asking.

Now, leave me.

O-Of course.

Fatima.

Lady Töregene.

Lady Töregene.

Lady Töregene!
- Hey, wait. Let's head back.

Lady Töregene's so hard to please.

Lady Töregene!

Fatima?

Why are you here?

I'm so glad to see you safe.

We finally meet again.

I betrayed you.

Lady Töregene, look.

You managed to protect them.

The feelings most precious to me.

No.

To us.

The Great Khatun said this to me:

In the past, I waited upon Empress Khulan.

Khulan?

The one who taught me
to find joy in life.

And who offered herself to the Mongols
for the Merkits facing ruin.

Khulan.

I always sensed
she bore feelings of resentment.

To this day, you hide enmity
for the Mongols in your heart.

Khulan did?

Let me lend you my assistance.

So that you can carry out her wishes.

I thought my chance
to finally k*ll Ögedei had come.

The Great Khatun told me
you weren't to be trusted.

I was a fool.

I fell for her lies
and betrayed both you and Khulan.

Lady Töregene.

I found myself confronted as well.

With the thought of abandoning the past
and moving on with my life.

I betrayed you.

Fatima sure is taking her time talking.

We should get going
before we're discovered.

W-Wait, are you serious?

Sorry, but you're on your own
from here on out.

I'm coming in.

Great Kha'an.

What do you want?

If I'm to be ex*cuted, so be it.

That's not it. I have a favor to ask.

You may enter.

M-Mother.

My darling Güyük!

"My darling Güyük"?

Oh, what are you doing here, darling?

Are you okay, darling?

You didn't run into
anything scary, did you?

C-Calm down, Mother.

Mother, please come to my territory.

Huh?

It lies to the west, on the steppe
between the Altai Mountains and Tian Shan.

The winters are cold, but there's plenty
of water and the pastures are lush.

And what's more...

It's far from here.

I ask you to go as well, Töregene.

The court is much too tumultuous
for you and Güyük, no?

If you comply, I won't ask
anything more of you.

All I want is for you to be happy.

I see.

That would resolve everything tidily.

Empress Boraqchin wanted Prince Güyük
and Princess Sorghaghtani to get married

as a condition
for Lady Töregene's freedom.

Her aim was to remove the three of them
from the imperial court.

That particular scheme of hers
didn't bear fruit.

But this way, all three will leave
the political stage nonetheless.

It's not a bad proposal
for Lady Töregene, either.

Okay, Mother.

I'll come fetch you tomorrow.

Sorry to cause such a commotion.

Will that be all?

Yes.

But before that...

Töregene.

Can I speak with
your lady-in-waiting over there?

Huh?

Huh?

Why me?

So you're Fatima?

Möge's told me about you.

I hear you get lost easily.

And it seems you're a scholar's daughter.

Are you knowledgeable in the stars?

The stars?

P-Please, Great Kha'an!

You mustn't speak directly
to someone of such low class.

Allow my son to relay your words.

Go on.
- R-Right.

The emperor asks, "Are you
knowledgeable in the stars?"

Why, yes. Considerably so.

"Why, yes. Considerably so," she says.

I see.

Does she know why the stars
move across the sky?

"I see. Does she know why the stars
move across the sky," he asks.

Um...

Well, that much I do know.

I read it in a book by al-Biruni long ago.

"He created the sun, moon, and stars
to be subservient to His command."

So it is written in the Quran.

That is to say, the movement of the stars
is a blessing granted to us by Allah.

Furthermore, the heavens are eight layers
of spheres revolving in place,

and we reside in the center.

Let's see...

Oh? How amusing.

Amusing?

Hey, don't you...

Yes. It's different from what I know.

What I heard long ago is that the stars
are livestock tied to a pillar in heaven.

That pillar is the star in the north sky
that doesn't move.

With all due respect,
that is mere superstition.

Do you think so?

For all we know, our world could very well
be a galloping horse bound to a rope.

On that horse are myself, Boraqchin,
Sorghaghtani, and Tolui.

Plus you and Töregene.

All of us riding atop, circling around
as we head towards the same destination.

That's unthinkable. It goes against
the very concept of science.

"Science"?

By science, I refer to the laws
that govern nature.

The work of Allah, who created the world
and bestowed it to us.

Science is the discipline
that seeks to study this.

But in that case,
there are the spirits the kams speak of.

I would say their existence
explains the laws of nature just as well.

No.

The Quran tells us Allah made the stars
move across the sky to guide us.

The positions and paths of the stars
are calculated with Earth at the center,

giving us results without contradiction.

What more proof do you need
to see that this is the truth?

Anything else is a mere figment!

I see now.

I imagine you get along very well
with Töregene.

How about you and I have a wager?

A wager?

Yes. But one where all
you have to do is watch.

In the days ahead, I will bring prosperity
to the Mongol Empire.

With methods unlike those
of my father or Tolui.

So that you and Töregene
can find happiness.

Happiness?

That's right.

When I first laid eyes upon Töregene,
I realized what my duty is.

I must create the Mongol Empire anew.

For the sake of the look
in her eyes above all.

You've lost your homeland
and family as well, no?

Your eyes earlier...

They were the very image
of Töregene's on that day.

Watch my actions
with those very same eyes.

If you two manage
to find happiness here...

then victory is mine.

Fatima?

Fatima!
- Ah, Lady Töregene!

Fatima, are you all right?

Um, yes. And you, Lady Töregene?

You know, Fatima...

I've been thinking.

I won't go live with my darling Güyük.

Huh?

Why, doing that would be just what
the Great Kha'an wants.

The very thought frustrates me.

Fatima, will you...

Will you fight alongside me once again?

I'm...

I'm not clever in the slightest, you know.

Let the two of us summon a storm.

That's right.

I'm not fighting the Great Kha'an
all by myself.

This empire...

And the Mongols
who took everything from us...

We will never let them
be thought of as good.

Now it's our turn...

...to become witches.

That year, winter came as it always does.

And eventually, summer followed.

On the steppe, the grass
sprouts anew once more,

and the sheep graze upon the soft buds.

Perfectly unchanging.

The steppe, same as ever.

But is it really?

Good day to you, Great Khatun.

Fine weather we're having.

It's as though it embodies
the growing prosperity of the empire.

Yes, I would agree.

Second Empress Töregene.

And her lady-in-waiting...

Fatima.

That year, Emperor Ögedei
appointed a governor to Persia,

and Sitara's homeland fell under
the permanent rule of the Mongol Empire.

However, the dispute over this position

would eventually turn into a huge storm
that would shake the empire to its core.

But no one knew this yet.

JAADUGAR

ILLUSTRATION: KENICHI YOSHIDA
THANK YOU FOR WATCHING