Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia (天幕のジャードゥーガル)

You're the one who will be teaching me this book, yes?

Jaadugar

Incredible.

Tolui really found a copy of Elements, just for me.

Otchigin

What's your name?

Fatima is me.

I help you in studies, Highness.

I look forward to it.

But...

What does Highness want with book?

It holds not much value.

What?

"A point is that which has no part."

"A line is breadthless length."

All it does is state obvious.

Not terribly useful.

Is that so?

I can't say for sure why she wanted the book to begin with,

but that prince, Tolui, didn't seem to understand its value.

She might part ways with the book if she loses interest.

Stating the obvious.

Yes, that's true.

For your people, at least.

What?

But for us, this book marks the beginning.

Of our journey to acquire western knowledge not found on the steppe.

Huh?

Tolui, my husband, is the Otchigin.

He is the keeper of the hearth, tasked with watching over its fire.

Even after his older brothers set off and received their own pastures,

the youngest son remained in the household

to protect the family fortune and eventually inherit it.

As the Otchigin, Tolui will one day become emperor.

But well...

He's not exactly the brightest at times, is he?

And it's not just Tolui. The same can be said for many of our people.

They know only of life here on the steppe.

Vast as it may be, the world is vaster still.

I wish to learn more.

About the many lands within reach of Mongol hooves.

Your people have predicted the movement of the stars since antiquity, yes?

How curious it is that you can figure out the size of the Earth.

This person traveled to the ends of the Earth?

Of course not. He used geometry.

What makes "obvious things" obvious?

It is by amassing examples one by one that we prove universal principles.

Gaining knowledge to pass down to future generations.

That is my role as the one who will one day be empress.

Oh, why is it that she...

Why does she infuriate me so?

You don't know anything about how that book came into your possession?

You can't imagine the misery we must endure

when thanking those who robbed us of everything for the charity you now offer?

You mean to say you know nothing of how I'm feeling as I sit here?

What's wrong? Do you feel unwell?

No. I admire your mind.

A pleasure to serve Highness. I shall do utmost.

I'm fortunate to have your help. Thank you in advance.

I know you must be tired. You may leave for now.

I excuse myself.

Your wisdom is something we need greatly.

I'm ashamed that I wavered back then, if only for a moment.

I must...

I alone must not forget this anger.

I will never yield...

to that woman!

Welcome back, Fatima.

I can't thank you enough for venturing out in this sandstorm.

Think nothing of it.

Here in Mongolia, spring arrives once the sandstorms have passed.

How I miss the Persian spring.

My mother hasn't adjusted well to life here.

Fatima.

Princess Sorghaghtani asks you to come to her tent.

She'd like you to start teaching her Elements.

Certainly.

Fatima! What happened to your face?

There are too many animals in Mongolia.

They're nothing but a nuisance.

Perhaps.

But they can be quite charming once you get to know them.

Can they now?

Here, just a moment.

It's already our second winter here.

Your health has improved as of late, Mother.

I've finally gotten used to life here in Mongolia.

This cold weather's the one thing I can't get used to.

Tchou, tchou!

Summer, A.D. 1224

Three years after Sitara became Sorghaghtani's tutor...

The Mongol army defeated the shah of the Khwarazm,

a major power in Central Asia,

and returned in triumph to their home camp on the steppe.

To welcome the Mongol army, Sorghaghtani and her court

Tus

traveled southwest of the Altai Mountains to the basin of the Emil River,

where they held a feast and a hunt to celebrate their victory.

Father!

Hulegu! Kublai!

I killed a deer.

And I killed a hare.

You two truly take after your father.

Father!

It was my first time on a hunt.

Well? Aren't I amazing?

Yes, that's amazing,

Prince Hulegu. Prince Kublai.

Please get ready, for the Great Khan will be here soon.

Fatima! Look at that!

My, what a splendid deer.

And taking down a nimble hare is no small feat either, Prince Kublai.

All my practice with the bow has paid off.

Who's the girl?

She's the tutor for reading Elements you found for me.

Oh, the scholar's daughter?

How is she? Does she perform her duties well?

She is quite diligent in her work. Not to mention, clever and thoughtful.

I can only tell how young she is when she smiles so fetchingly.

You've brought me not just Elements, but also a capable tutor.

Why, of course.

Don't I look dashing?

A force to be reckoned with.

It's tradition after a child's first hunt to rub the animal's fat on his fingers.

The Great Khan himself will do the honors.

The Great Khan has arrived.

Brother Kublai, let's go.

Yeah!

The emperor of the Mongols, Genghis Khan.

It was he who built this vast empire.

In three years' time, the fates written in the stars of those present here...

would be set into grand motion by the fall of that glorious star, Genghis Khan.

Summer, A.D. 1227

Rest assured, Great Khan.

The future of the Mongols shall be as you willed it.

Dad.