I’ll be honest, I’ve been putting off these last three episodes of Seirei no Moribito.  As sublime as they are, the ending is very difficult to watch, a full-on emotional bombardment.  That said, this episode is strictly focused on the battle to save Chagum’s life.  It’s the series in action mode for an entire 22 minutes, which is a real rarity over the course of its run.  It’s just a preamble of what’s to come, though – the real drama is the human drama that comes after the theoretical climax.

The problem, of course, is that those battling to save Chagum are working with limited information – and even much of that turns out to be wrong.  Torogai is certainly the wisest person on the scene and even she’s pretty much guessing – she has no idea what she’ll actually do when the time for the Nyunga ro Im to hatch actually comes.  When Balsa, Tanda and the Hunters take off after the fleeing Prince, she convinces Shuga to stick around and pool their knowledge rather than hopelessly chase after them with their mini-army in tow.  The only one who really knows the details is the egg – and even Chagum is only able to get bits and pieces of information from it.

As for the Hunters, I find it rather absurd that under the circumstances they were willing to kill (or more likely, be killed by) Balsa if it turned out that she had disrespected them by sparing them earlier.  Seriously, aren’t there greater priorities at the moment than their honor?  At least they’re willing to concede the truth – Balsa is stronger than any of them and perhaps all of them collectively, and if they want to save Chagum (and survive themselves) their best bet is to fall in line behind her.

Gakai’s messenger does arrive, stone tablets in tow (poor horsey), with the information that the Place of Feasting is not in fact the Aoike – it’s a place called Sanaan, 20 nan (I actually have no idea how far that is, apart from about three bells travel) to the north.  This is the moment for Torogai to use her wisdom to do triage in a bad situation and figure out what to do with this information.  Her decision – ride on ahead (poor horsey) with Shuga while the soldiers follow, but not before sending a message to Tanda using a Yona Ro Gai as a messenger.  Shuga’s willingness is not in question, but I’m inclined to agree that the two of them being the only ones present at the moment of truth would be far from an ideal scenario.

This, then, is really Tanda’s moment in the sun double moon.  He’s a truly great character, but it’s in this final arc that he really shines – a quiet hero surrounded by larger-than-life companions.  Of course Tanda is the only one who can receive Torogai’s message, but his moment of glory is still to come.  He’s also the one who’s figured out how to interact with the La Lunga in Sagu – imbibe the Shuga Salua flower, which he’s cleverly thought to bring a stash of along in his knapsack.  And interact he does, as Balsa and the Hunters are helplessly unable to harass the La Lunga in the slightest.

Tanda, you brave and noble man…  He’s not a superhuman like Balsa, not trained in combat like the Hunters – all he has is resourcefulness and courage, but thankfully he has those in spades.  It’s remarkable enough that he’s been able to keep up with freaks like that at all, but he still has the strength to attack a La Lunga head-on – which he does, with no regard for his own safety.  The quiet hero roars like a beast and flies into action – action that will lead to one of the Egg Eaters being taken down for good.  Tanda isn’t the one on the Blu-ray covers or being bowed to by the Hunters, but when the moment calls for it he becomes more powerful than any of them.  That’s a real hero in my book.