Year 12 of Toturi IV's Reign, 1182 Isawa, Month of the Dragon, 13th day (Mid Spring)
There was a quiet around the gathering of your council. The small room that you had met with them so many times before felt different now. Though it still remained more a room for meetings than anything else, no decorations, no real change physically. The air however was distant, unsettled, and the reason was obvious.
You.
The long trek back from Shiro Moto had seen the fallout of your decisions play out, and...and not allowed you to get over Kaname's loss. You don't think you ever would, that it would always be a wound in your heart. But, you were learning to live with it.
Live with it, what a hateful phrase.
Live with it, live with the Unicorn and Lion for the most part making peace with the existence of the new Frog Clan (The city had a theme and there seemed no real purpose in denying it) even if the the marriage between the Moto and the Matsu to form the clan had apparently precipitated a three day brawl between them to see who was the clan champion.
The Matsu won and thus the newly formed Hikagareu family had a begun a tradition of matriarchy apparently.
The Crab had been less than pleased with your decision, but they couldn't find grounds to argue it, they had lost, and you were 'helping' while the Crane had simply preened and demurely agreed knowing that you knew that they were going to twist the knife against the Crab just enough to remind them that despite their pretensions the Crab needed Rokugan just as much as Rokugan needed the Crab.
Yes you had learned to live with that sort of thing for a while, living without your wife...that was still ongoing. Bad days and good days happened, and none of them were sure if this was a bad day or not.
"Until such time as I appoint a new Imperial Treasurer, I believe the duties fall to you Kakita-san?" You say.
Noritoshi nods.
"It is so, and so long as the Mikado chooses, I will of course perform both functions. While Hiroko-san and I did have our disagreements, she left me or her successor a fully functioning department as such I anticipate only minimal delays in implementing the policies that have been compiled. "
"And they are?"
"The Emerald Magistrates have noted that with the continued maintenance of the Legions in the East that the roads have become well not as well as patrolled as they could be, with permission I would like to expand the Emerald Legion to handle this task. It is as of yet not a major issue but current projections suggest it will be sometime in the next ten years barring no active interference on our part."
Noritoshi shuffles a paper.
"However, the Treasury does not in fact enjoy this plan, feeling that the time has come to revitalize Otosan Uchi one way or another, while there have been a number of proposals for this, up to and including moving the capital back and ceding Toshi Ranbo to the Seppun to prepare it as a second capital in case again the worst should befall us. They are somewhat premature"
"Premature?" Ginchiyo asks with an arched eyebrow.
"Otosan Uchi when it was founded, was founded because it is where Hantei-no-kami and the other founders fell to Nigen-do. However much of the land that was used to support it has since been either reclaimed by us and directed to other communities, or simply was overtaken by the city itself as it expanded and grew in size. As much as it would warm the heart of us all to have the home of Hantei again the capital, at this time I cannot recommend it being such. Instead I have directed the Treasury to begin inquiries into what it would take to revitalize the city, particularly given that Eight Spokes City is naturally flourishing as it stands, beyond expectations. If the Emperor wishes we could bend all of our efforts to this and perhaps reclaim the city quicker....but we do have other considerations." Noritoshi finishes.
Ayumi nods.
"Fortunately, negotiations with the Ivindi have proven far more fruitful than even I thought they could be. Not only do they find the Doom of the Mantis ingenious, they are also sending ahead a large supply of 'blessed Ivory' for us to use. According to reports while it is lesser in all forms than Jade, it is still effective in sufficient quantities, and perhaps most importantly it is already worked into usable material for us. Jade should arrive at the start of the summer after next."
Shem-zhe speaks up. "Forgive me Shosuro-san, but while your negotiations are most impressive, I have reports from across the Burning sands...it seems that regardless of how we go about retrieving the Jade. The Zanj are still intent on sending missionaries into our realm, if not with an official party than through other means. A large number of these missionaries have come to stay in the Senpet Quarter of the Jeweled City and are...taking every opportunity to preach to to our merchants and samurai about the Liberation of their god."
The Unicorn sighs.
"The Inquisitors and my own organization wish to organize our own efforts in the Jeweled City to stamp out this apostasy as quickly as possible, but it seems it will be hard, when they can just run into another quarter, we will have to be vigilant on the matter."
You nod your head.
"Hida-san?" You ask.
"While not the focus of our efforts, I have begun rebuilding the legions, but further effort would be...ideal, particularly given that the Shadowlands seems set to be upon us and the Jade Champion does nothing." She says gruffly.
Silence fills the room.
"Hida-san" Shem-zhe's voice says quietly. "Do you care to reword your statement?"
"No, the Empress is dead because of the failure of the Jade Legion and your Clan Horiuchi-san, and all the words in the world will not change that" Ginchiyo says without flinching.
Shem-Zhe looks at her, the faint feeling of cold in the air.
"And it is the Crab's fault that the infiltrator's even got past the wall, Hida-san. We all failed"
"Because you took the Jade they needed. Time again the Crab give everything, and time and again you take and you take." Ginchiyo
"It was Unicorn and Lion Blood that spilled to fight the Shadow Dragon, not Crab, it was Jade Legionnaire blood that stained the grounds of Otosan Uchi to retake it, not Crab. You claim we take and we take. We take because we must, not because we want to you petulant child." Shem-Zhe says.
"ENOUGH!" You shout.
"Hida-san, Horiuchi-san, apologize to each other, you're both out of line. My wife is dead, my Empire is hurting, and you two bickering like brats does nothing to improve my mood. I blame one person for the loss of my wife and she is not here, U-N-D-E-R-S-T-O-O-D?" You say drawing out the last word.
Shem-zhe takes a deep breath.
"Hai, my Mikado, my apologies Hida-san, it has been a trying few years for me."
Ginchiyo slowly releases the tension in her shoulders.
"I am, not unsympathetic, The Empress was a woman I cared for greatly, her loss wounded me deep and I was discourteous...my apologies as well."
Akane coughs slightly.
"In any event, I intend to focus on finding a new Imperial Treasurer as you might expect. I am also currently in talks with the Crane regarding the marriage of your young daughters, the betrothal is certain but if you wanted to set to whom and which young boy will be given the honour, that is an option."
The way she says it, it sounds like she doesn't think you need to do either of those things, but feels like she has to because Kaname...Kaname is no longer with you to do that for you. You swallow, pushing the pain away.
"Very well, for the coming year we will..."
[]Focus on arranging betrothals for my daughters, in light of the changed circumstances (TN 20, +5 to Crane, Unicorn, -5 to Crab, Lion)
[] Expand your Emerald Legion to maintain the roads.
(TN 20, +5 to Unicorn, Scorpion, -5 to Dragon, Phoenix
[] Rebuild your legions again after all that has happened
(TN 20, +5 to Dragon, Crane, -5 Lion, Unicorn)
[] Set up the revitalization efforts for Otosan Uchi
(TN 25, +5 to Scorpion, Phoenix, -5 Crane -5 Lion)
[] Send out Inquisitors and Jade Magistrates to stamp out apostasy in the Jeweled City
(TN 25, +5 to Phoenix, Dragon, -5 Crab, Scorpion)
AN: The more things change, the more they stay the same. Sorry for the delay on this one, dice roller on discord was down and took me a bit to get a new one.
