A/N: You guessed it! Each of the books is going to be named after one of the Tarot suits. So after Wands, you’ll have Cups, Swords, and Pentacles…but not necessarily in that order. –Rivka

TEN YEARS (RELATIVELY) LATER…

Ten’ue Hoshiko, the heir to the lead Mage of the East Quadrant of Kaiooshin-kai, was now an attractive young lady, eighteen or so in human years. Her beauty, she found, was much to her disdain; Ten’ue males from (figuratively) miles around wanted her hand in marriage. She had to say no, because being young, she had to use every last bit of her essence for her magick. And she didn’t see what the big deal was with men, anyway. She would much rather be reading a new spell-book than courting even the most attractive gentleman.

The current East Kaiooshin was mysteriously ill, and so he had commissioned Hoshiko to gather some potions or herbs from the North of the planet to cure him. Even though she knew her efforts would be futile in the end, as the current East Kaiooshin would die and another would soon be born, she went anyway to placate her God.

Looking around the bazaar, she saw all sorts of mysterious potions and herbs, as well as the artwork that the Yuki clan was famous for. She trudged through the snow to a small tent where she was sure to find the cure for her lord’s disease.

But, sadly, none existed.

Dejected, she went onward to the metal-smith’s tent. Her eye fell upon a pair of hammered gold earrings; but when she inquired about them, the smith told her they were fashioned by the North Kaiooshin and had a reputation for bringing bad luck to the wearers. She picked them up, admiring their beauty, put them back, and walked away.

On the road back to the East she came upon a very pregnant Ten’ue woman, walking alongside her
husband. There was something peculiar about this woman, something familiar even, even though she had never met her before in her life. She concentrated less on the woman and more on the unborn child now, noting that even in utero, it was quite powerful…and also comforting and familiar.

She just stood on the road, nervous about her discovery.

The woman was to bear the next East Kaiooshin!

The couple kept walking along the road, seemingly unperturbed by Hoshiko’s presence.

The Hoshiko yelled, "Wait! WAIT! Ma’am, wait! I have important news!"

"What?" The woman seemed a little mad. Hoshiko came up behind her.

"Ohoho, I didn’t know it was you, Miss Hoshiko. I’m sorry for being so short. Now what is it you have to tell me?"

Hoshiko looked the woman in the eye and stated calmly, "Your child…"

"Yes?"

"He or she will be the next in the long line of East Kaiooshins. I can feel it. Mages can feel the presence of gods, even inside of their mothers."

"You jest, my child."

"I jest not. I felt the distinct energy pattern of a god."

The woman just stared at her blankly, until labor pains began to grip her insides. Hoshiko and the woman’s husband began to carry her off to the nearest birthing-tent, where she could bear her child in peace.

After a relatively short labor, a baby boy was born; a boy who, when grown, would change the face of the Universe and rule over it.

Hoshiko, being in the position that she was, offered to train him in magick and other practical aspects of godhood. The parents recalcitrantly agreed to the deal, so by the time he was four, the child would be entirely in Hoshiko’s hands.

The parents were stumped as to what to name a young god, so Hoshiko named him Ban’noh. Almighty, a traditional appellation for a high-ranking male god.

Hoshiko looked into the infant’s charcoal eyes and smiled. "I pray you will grow up to be more powerful of a mage than I and a better god then your predecessor…"