01x08 - Dai Katun Borakuchin

[bunniefuu]

Thanks to your earrings, I've ascertained
that all is functioning as it should.

Will everyone see things my way
after we defeat the Jin?

I really have no idea what he's thinking.

The sl*ve girl is gone!

Huh? Huh? Huh?

Did she get lost again?

Lady Möge!

Hey, Fatima.

Ugh.

So this is where you were.

How dare you run away from me!

Qadaq!

Please help!

- Lord Chinqai?

- Chinqai?

You can write in Uyghur, yes?

Please take care of these as well.

Is there no end in sight?

I'm sorry about all this.

Everything the Great Kha'an bought
has to be recorded in our registers.

So why am I here? Isn't this a man's job?

Be quiet and get to work.

Many of the Mongols do not care
for reading and writing.

Thus, we are short on scribes.

Books!

Who will even read these?

This is by Jabir ibn Hayyan.

Huh?

Oh, nothing.

Why is this book hidden away, Mistress?

Oh, this book by Jabir?

Jabir was a man
who lived in Tus long ago.

But it's not the most reputable of tomes.

What's the subject of his book?

Alchemy.

What's that book about?

It details how one can heat and mix
various materials such as minerals

to prepare al-iksir.

"Al-iksir"?

What's that?

Something like a cure-all?
Or so I believe.

I'm not too familiar with it.

A cure-all?

Lady Möge.

Do you mean a medicine
that can cure any ailment?

This is Fatima, my attendant.

Boraqchin Khatun.

So this is the Mongol Empire's
chief empress.

The Great Khatun.

Why have I been brought to meet her?

Listen to this, Boraqchin.

This girl says she can concoct a cure-all.

You mean danyao?

Huh?

Um, my apologies. I'm not sure
what all of this is about.

All I said is I can read books
written in Arabic.

Huh?

Möge.

Oh, but...

That is all. Take your leave.

Sorry for making you come all this way.

What was that about?

Who knows?

Wait!

Lady Möge?

Say, there's something
I want to discuss with you.

The reason I asked you to come here...

Leave us.

Someone's been administering
poison to Boraqchin.

You saw how emaciated she was
and how sore-ridden her skin.

Poison? Who's responsible? And why?

I'm not certain.

But I suspect Boraqchin's physician.

Long ago, there was a Daoist doctrine
known as waidan.

Waidan?

By combining the likes of sulfur,
quicksilver, and sandarac,

an elixir called "danyao" can be made.

It was said taking danyao transformed
the body to become immortal like gold.

Is that true?

No.

All who took it succumbed to poison,
resulting in shortened lifespans.

That is but one reason the practice
was abandoned long ago.

I'm certain I heard him
utter the word "poison."

I'm afraid that's not much to go on.

If it worries you so,
simply keep the physician away.

As Great Khatun, surely it'd be
a trivial feat to replace him.

Töregene.

Let us return, Fatima.

R-Right.

We shouldn't get involved
with that eerie woman.

That was harrowing.

Today was the first time
I'd seen the Great Khatun.

She's a great deal older
than Emperor Ögedei, isn't she?

Yes. She used to be his stepmother.

What?

Boraqchin and Möge
were married to Genghis Khan.

Ögedei ended up inheriting them as wives.

Oh?

So those two have known
each other for a long time.

When the father dies, his wives go
to his son, except for his birth mother.

It's a common arrangement here.

Boraqchin.

She has no sons, and she doesn't come
from a particularly large family.

Truth be told, I have no idea
how she became Great Khatun.

It was said taking danyao transformed
the body to become immortal like gold.

That sounds just like alchemy.

Who knew they had something
similar in the east?

An immortal body.

You mean danyao?

Could it be?

Al-iksir...

The ingredients are quicksilver, sulfur...

And what else again?

Lady Töregene.

Let us go meet the Great Khatun once more.

Huh? Why?

You have something in mind, don't you?

I'd like you to lend me your power,
Lady Töregene.

Al-iksir. A wondrous remedy
that renders one's body immortal.

It lies at the very heart
of Persian alchemy.

It goes without saying
that I cannot prepare it by myself.

However, with your help,
Great Khatun, I could possibly...

Why the talk of this again?

Because it is you
who has been seeking it.

Am I wrong?

Wait, is that true?

It struck me the moment
I first laid eyes on you.

If I may surmise
based on your appearance...

Have you been ingesting rahj al-gar?

Rahj al-gar?

It's a red stone that
can be found in volcanoes,

and in the east,
I hear they call it sandarac.

So I was right.

Rahj al-gar is an essential ingredient
for al-iksir and danyao, after all.

According to the ancient
physician, Hippocrates,

rahj al-gar does have
medicinal effects in small doses.

However...

It acts as a poison
if you continue to take it.

Causing loss of appetite,
lesions of the skin, and tumors.

Which is what you seem to be suffering.

So you weren't poisoned by anyone?
You chose to ingest that yourself?

Oh, Möge. Is that what you thought?

Fatima, was it?

Take a look inside the drawers
on that shelf.

Rahj al-gar.

Why were you taking this?

Was it to become immortal?

Yes, that's right.

I'm getting on in age.

I'd like to live a long life.

Boraqchin.

Please ingest some of this,
Empress Boraqchin.

It's medicine that will cure your poison.

So what is this?

It's a jada stone.

A jada stone?

You're not supposed
to ingest jada stones.

You're wrong.

It's called a bezoar stone in Persia,
where it's recognized as an antidote.

You haven't put a curse on this, have you?

Is this the face of someone
who wishes you ill?

Please summon us here again
once you've recovered.

I can tell you more
about the al-iksir then.

Thank you very much.

I haven't done anything.

Surely you jest?

It was only because you were able
to find me those Persian physicians

that I was able to learn
of the rahj al-gar.

What will you do about Chagatai?

We were being too hasty by trying
to suddenly approach Prince Chagatai.

Instead, by earning the trust
of the Great Khatun,

a path is sure to reveal itself.

A path for both of us.

Yes.

It's just as you say.

Not long after that,

the Mongol emperor embarked
on an expedition against the Jin dynasty.

You can put those over there.

Möge.

Boraqchin.

You're well enough
to be walking outside?

Yes, as you can see.

It's all thanks to Fatima.

Right?

Indeed.

I come with a message
from Empress Boraqchin.

She wishes to speak to Miss Fatima again.

The following year, in order
to surround the Jin capital, Kaifeng,

Tolui's army sought permission to
pass through the lands of Southern Song.

However...

They k*lled our messenger?

So that's the Southern Song's response?

Do we turn back?

No.

We will proceed south as planned.

We received our reply,
unfavorable though it may be.

The Southern Song won't take this quietly.

Well...

We will simply defeat
the Southern Song as well.

Tolui's army breached
the fortified pass,

then continued along
perilous mountain roads.

These mountains turned out
to be no match for us.

The Great Kha'an is sure to be delighted.

You're right.

I know my brother will be overjoyed.

Dear God.

Please watch over Tolui.

Come now.

You know Father would never lose,
so why bother praying?

My word. How can you
say that before God?

I don't believe Tolui
would ever lose in battle.

However...

Misfortune can strike
outside of the b*ttlefield.

Those with too much power
are viewed with fear and resentment.

Then, you must be careful, too, Mother.

Me?

No one would give me any thought.

I can only hope so.

Hup.

Here you are.

Thank you. Just leave it there.

There. Fresh off the pot.

Thank you very much.

I've brought you some urum,
Lady Töregene.

I love it the most at this time of year,
when it's at its ripest.

It's delicious.

Autumn will soon be upon us,
and the urum will be used to make butter.

This will be the last batch of the season.

Why don't you have some, too?

Oh, I couldn't. Empress Boraqchin
has actually just summoned me.

Again?

My apologies. I shall be going now.

Fine by me.

In the natural world,
substance and qualities are intermingled.

One substance can be transformed
into another by maneuvering its qualities.

In simple terms, that's what this treatise
by Jabir is talking about.

What's that mean?

By understanding
the qualities of an object,

one can produce whatever one desires,
be that a weapon or a remedy.

Wow. That's amazing.

Take sandarac, for example.

Heating rahj al-gar turns it white
and increases its toxicity.

They approached the truth
of this world, it seems.

Both the scholars of your homeland
and the Daoists of the Middle Kingdom.

The Great Kha'an and Empress Boraqchin.

They're thinking about what happens
after they conquer the Jin.

They're taking a broader view
of the world.

What's the matter, Fatima?

Well, Lord Chinqai mentioned
a shortage of scribes.

Why would that be?

Haven't the Mongols obtained people
and knowledge from all over the world?

It's because most of the intellectuals
obtained by the Mongols...

now fall under the rule
of the House of Tolui.

What?

Just like the military, Tolui's house
is entitled to them as the Otchigin.

Couldn't the Great Kha'an
just use his authority?

You would have the Great Kha'an
pilfer his own brother's property?

My apologies.

There's an intellectual imbalance as well?

However, that works to our advantage.

Is that really for the best?

I can't help but feel afraid.

The House of Tolui controls a majority
in both military and intellectual might.

That only means...

It's even more important to work
in tandem with the House of Tolui.

But does Prince Tolui feel the same way?

Möge. Sorry, but could you leave us?

Until Möge brought you here,
I have no recollection of ever seeing you.

Who in the world are you?

It's natural you wouldn't
be familiar with me.

After all, I was serving
Princess Sorghaghtani.

I urge you to be cautious.

She has not given up on her ambitions.

To see Prince Tolui become
the Great Kha'an,

and herself the Great Khatun.

Sorghaghtani, you say?

I see. I shall bear it in mind.

But why have you
divulged this to me, Fatima?

Choose your answer wisely.
You could pay dearly for it.

It's all right. I can do this.

I have a good idea
of what's going on in her mind.

Truth be told, I have no idea
how she became Great Khatun.

No matter how wise
the Great Khatun may be,

there are surely many who wonder
the same thing as Lady Töregene.

That's why she surely clings
to her own acumen.

I have found hope
in Emperor Ögedei and yourself.

The wisdom you two display
makes you fit to rule this world.

You truly think so?

But of course.

I expected her to be a crafty one,
but she was surprisingly easy to handle.

I must report this
to Lady Töregene at once.

Excuse me!

U-Um, I was making butter.

But I'm still unaccustomed to it.

I have all the milk
we collected today still left.

Don't worry. I can help.

Thank you so much.

Lady Töregene.

It can wait for later.

Lady Töregene?

There's no need to be
so nervous, Töregene.

I have something to discuss with you.

Next time: "Tengri."