Mother----
Voting continues until I can get my head on straight apparently.
Burden of the Emerald Empire (A Legend of the Five Rings Tale)
- Thread starter gman391
- Start date
- Fantasy
Voting continues until I can get my head on straight apparently.
Sirrocco
Pedantic
Again I will encourage people to pick Not The Mantis (which, at this point means Unicorn). There are the various "gaming the Clan Rating system" reasons I raised before, but also, the Mantis are just shy of hating us right now. Being in a somewhat friendlier environment might be helpful in case Things Happen.
It also shows our support for the Unicorn prior to the enormous battles they're going to have to fight against those glass golem things. That's not a terrible message to send.
It also shows our support for the Unicorn prior to the enormous battles they're going to have to fight against those glass golem things. That's not a terrible message to send.
keenscythe
No longer NEET
- Location
- WA, USA
Could we send an assorted Fruit-Basket to smooth things over?
Sirrocco
Pedantic
...and I'm thinking we need to be ruthless. In this case, being ruthless means exploiting their patience while we have it, to improve the overall attitude of the court, while slicing away any allies they might have in the endeavor, then getting them to a happier place once we no longer have an exploitable lock on their clan rating.
Right now, they're grumbling and unhappy. They can keep right on grumbling and being unhappy for a while, and our treasurer can slip them little concessions on the side to keep it from ever getting worse than that.
Year 2: Winter Court II
Shiro Moto is in a word strange. Not quite Rokugani, not quite gaijin either it stands in the middle ground of the two. A strong formidable foundation, capped with seven different towers, one for each of the Great Clans it is said. These towers are mix between the smooth rolling almost circular architecture of the Burning Sands and the more angular and graceful angles of the Empire. All in all it did its job of showing the Moto's strength and commitment to being of two worlds.
You look out from the top of the Scorpion Tower, or Tower of Water as the Moto call it. (The subtle mockery does not go unnoticed by you or Paneki.) The open solarium letting to feel warm even though the winter has begun in earnest and covered the world in a thick blanket of snow. Toshi Ranbo is no stranger to the stuff, but here it seems to fall without end, kicked up by winds flowing in from the east and north. Its strange really, to think that it is so bitterly cold here, but a mere thousand miles away, the sun burned so hot and with such wrath, that it burned the land itself. You had asked Sensei about it once and he had only muttered something about ignorant children meddling with things they didn't understand.
The memory is dismissed from your mind as the door to the solarium opens and Bayushi Paneki walks in.
The thin mask does little to hide a classical masculine beauty that has reportedly made women swoon through out the Empire. In your opinion it's a little gaudy.
He kowtows as appropriate, and you bow back.
"Rise Bayushi-san."
"Thank you my Emperor" He rises up.
"Did you wish refreshments or anything?" You ask.
With one hand you gesture at the empty table waiting for only a word to be filled.
"I would not be so crude as to refuse such gracious behaviour from my host." He says smoothly.
You nod and gesture.
"Please sit then, you prefer Hotei's Favourite yes?"
In less subtle words 'I know all about you, don't try anything'
Paneki gives a ghost of a smile, not enough to break the rigid rules of protocol but enough to make himself seem warmed by the thought.
"I do thank you my Emperor, and you yourself prefer Iron Benten as I recall"
'and I you' in other words.
You sit down, Scorpion and Crane these two clans had made an art form of saying one thing but meaning another, thus you would play the game, and grasp the words behind the small talk.
He asks after your daughter and admits that he himself is expecting a child from his wife. Bayushi Miyako, your theoretical adoptive aunt. Not a true blood tie, but a tie. Paneki seeks to put you on the defensive.
You parry his thrust about family with a warm congratulations and then a question about his relatively unknown father. Paneki shrugs, accepting the unspoken rebuke. He has not been your friend, and thus he does not get to claim ties.
This game of cat and mouse continues, and a picture emerges. Paneki has indeed been behind some of your difficulties, but not all of them, and indeed, his most recent attempt was to see if there was any steel at all in your spine, if you were worthy to lead.
And, reluctantly, he is impressed, his efforts are now directed at the self same conspiracy that Akane deduced exists. Although he apologizes that not all of his work will fade so quickly. While there is no proof from your side, you suspect he was behind the initial scepticism of the Clan.
However, in between the sly conversation and counter truths, he does slip in something of an apology gift for his actions. His first born will become your hostage as soon as he or she is old enough. This isn't entirely for your benefit only. The chance of Minoru growing up with the future Scorpion Champion as friend is quite a coup, but even if you invite other children, he'll hold to your agreement. For now though he asks that you accept his nephew, Bayushi Azoki as your hostage when the winter snows end.
You accept, although you'll be sure to warn Kotaru about this.
Finally the conversation turns to what the supposed topic of this meeting was supposed to be about anyways. As you two both finish your tea, he admits that he often thinks about becoming a tea master of a monk, as his great grandfather did.
You recall that his great grandfather had in fact been one of the principle movers behind the Brotherhood's slowness to react to the Scorpion coup. Loyal to the last, he was later executed for this, even as a Monk he still held to his clan.
You admit that your great grandfather didn't have the chance to die in his bed, dying in a skirmish sometime before Hantei XXXVIII took the throne. Although you hope he looks on at his name sake with favour.
Paneki nods, and continues his tale. Stating that his great grandfather could never have been trusted to retire, that it was unfortunate the man had forgotten his vows, but the blood of kin is a strong siren call indeed. Even the greatest of Samurai have been undone by their families, as the champion Bayushi Minoko found to her sorrow.
The unspoken truth was simple. Paneki did not trust Kisada not to fight for the Crab if the Crab called on him, and the ability of Kisada was legendary with good reason. Such a threat lay as a dagger to both his clan and the Crane. For the good of the Empire, Kisada had to be removed. So long as this was true, there was no peace to be had.
You consider this for a moment, and slide it mentally into your list of demands of the Scorpion for peace. It was as it stood a rather large one, but not terribly unreasonable. Kisada was after all the man who had done more than any other to tear the Empire apart in the Clan wars.
After some more chatting about the decor, Paneki excuses himself, stating that he has already taken up too much of your time. As he leaves, he does leave a question.
If the Crab were so certain that the Scorpion were behind the attack, why didn't they bring it to your mother for arbitration?
You don't have a good answer for that one.
----------------------------------------------
The rest of the day is given over to your various amusements and official duties, but you find time to talk to...
[] Akane (Focus Political solutions)
[] Kotaru (Focus Hostages)
[] Shem-Zhe (Focus Spiritual)
About you meeting with Paneki
You look out from the top of the Scorpion Tower, or Tower of Water as the Moto call it. (The subtle mockery does not go unnoticed by you or Paneki.) The open solarium letting to feel warm even though the winter has begun in earnest and covered the world in a thick blanket of snow. Toshi Ranbo is no stranger to the stuff, but here it seems to fall without end, kicked up by winds flowing in from the east and north. Its strange really, to think that it is so bitterly cold here, but a mere thousand miles away, the sun burned so hot and with such wrath, that it burned the land itself. You had asked Sensei about it once and he had only muttered something about ignorant children meddling with things they didn't understand.
The memory is dismissed from your mind as the door to the solarium opens and Bayushi Paneki walks in.
The thin mask does little to hide a classical masculine beauty that has reportedly made women swoon through out the Empire. In your opinion it's a little gaudy.
He kowtows as appropriate, and you bow back.
"Rise Bayushi-san."
"Thank you my Emperor" He rises up.
"Did you wish refreshments or anything?" You ask.
With one hand you gesture at the empty table waiting for only a word to be filled.
"I would not be so crude as to refuse such gracious behaviour from my host." He says smoothly.
You nod and gesture.
"Please sit then, you prefer Hotei's Favourite yes?"
In less subtle words 'I know all about you, don't try anything'
Paneki gives a ghost of a smile, not enough to break the rigid rules of protocol but enough to make himself seem warmed by the thought.
"I do thank you my Emperor, and you yourself prefer Iron Benten as I recall"
'and I you' in other words.
You sit down, Scorpion and Crane these two clans had made an art form of saying one thing but meaning another, thus you would play the game, and grasp the words behind the small talk.
He asks after your daughter and admits that he himself is expecting a child from his wife. Bayushi Miyako, your theoretical adoptive aunt. Not a true blood tie, but a tie. Paneki seeks to put you on the defensive.
You parry his thrust about family with a warm congratulations and then a question about his relatively unknown father. Paneki shrugs, accepting the unspoken rebuke. He has not been your friend, and thus he does not get to claim ties.
This game of cat and mouse continues, and a picture emerges. Paneki has indeed been behind some of your difficulties, but not all of them, and indeed, his most recent attempt was to see if there was any steel at all in your spine, if you were worthy to lead.
And, reluctantly, he is impressed, his efforts are now directed at the self same conspiracy that Akane deduced exists. Although he apologizes that not all of his work will fade so quickly. While there is no proof from your side, you suspect he was behind the initial scepticism of the Clan.
However, in between the sly conversation and counter truths, he does slip in something of an apology gift for his actions. His first born will become your hostage as soon as he or she is old enough. This isn't entirely for your benefit only. The chance of Minoru growing up with the future Scorpion Champion as friend is quite a coup, but even if you invite other children, he'll hold to your agreement. For now though he asks that you accept his nephew, Bayushi Azoki as your hostage when the winter snows end.
You accept, although you'll be sure to warn Kotaru about this.
Finally the conversation turns to what the supposed topic of this meeting was supposed to be about anyways. As you two both finish your tea, he admits that he often thinks about becoming a tea master of a monk, as his great grandfather did.
You recall that his great grandfather had in fact been one of the principle movers behind the Brotherhood's slowness to react to the Scorpion coup. Loyal to the last, he was later executed for this, even as a Monk he still held to his clan.
You admit that your great grandfather didn't have the chance to die in his bed, dying in a skirmish sometime before Hantei XXXVIII took the throne. Although you hope he looks on at his name sake with favour.
Paneki nods, and continues his tale. Stating that his great grandfather could never have been trusted to retire, that it was unfortunate the man had forgotten his vows, but the blood of kin is a strong siren call indeed. Even the greatest of Samurai have been undone by their families, as the champion Bayushi Minoko found to her sorrow.
The unspoken truth was simple. Paneki did not trust Kisada not to fight for the Crab if the Crab called on him, and the ability of Kisada was legendary with good reason. Such a threat lay as a dagger to both his clan and the Crane. For the good of the Empire, Kisada had to be removed. So long as this was true, there was no peace to be had.
You consider this for a moment, and slide it mentally into your list of demands of the Scorpion for peace. It was as it stood a rather large one, but not terribly unreasonable. Kisada was after all the man who had done more than any other to tear the Empire apart in the Clan wars.
After some more chatting about the decor, Paneki excuses himself, stating that he has already taken up too much of your time. As he leaves, he does leave a question.
If the Crab were so certain that the Scorpion were behind the attack, why didn't they bring it to your mother for arbitration?
You don't have a good answer for that one.
----------------------------------------------
The rest of the day is given over to your various amusements and official duties, but you find time to talk to...
[] Akane (Focus Political solutions)
[] Kotaru (Focus Hostages)
[] Shem-Zhe (Focus Spiritual)
About you meeting with Paneki
- Location
- Moon-Station
[X] Shem-Zhe (Focus Spiritual)
- Location
- Virginia
[X] Akane (Focus Political solutions)
- Location
- Dreiländereck
[X] Shem-Zhe (Focus Spiritual)
We are in unicorn lands, I think it is only apprpriate to speak with our unicorn shugenja. And we haven't done much about our religious responsibilities until now, a few pointers what is going on there should be useful.
I guess we will hear the other sides of the story in the following meetings with the other champions.
We are in unicorn lands, I think it is only apprpriate to speak with our unicorn shugenja. And we haven't done much about our religious responsibilities until now, a few pointers what is going on there should be useful.
I guess we will hear the other sides of the story in the following meetings with the other champions.
keenscythe
No longer NEET
- Location
- WA, USA
[X] Akane (Focus Political solutions)
- Location
- Leeds
[X] Akane (Focus Political solutions)
Frankly I'm not sure what the focus hostages or spirituality is meant to achieve.
Frankly I'm not sure what the focus hostages or spirituality is meant to achieve.
The hostage focus is to discuss in detail what to expect from said hostages and how you're going to keep them from doing ninja shenanigans. It's putting off the political settlement between the Crab/Scorpion to later.
The Spiritual focus is seeing if there's a way more or less to move Kisada through using the Brotherhood of Shinsei for stuff. And thus let everyone just walk away.
Political option is talking about how to bribe the Scorpion to drop the issue.
Sirrocco
Pedantic
Hold on.
Kisada is a military genius, right? That's the basic issue here. He's a military genius, and it's either difficult or impossible to keep him from supporting the Crab.
The Empire is about to be attacked by an army of glass golems, generated by the Void Dragon - who, if nothing else, definitely counts as being a creature of Jikogu. Glass in particular is the sort of thing that responds well to crush damage - like tetsubos.
Surely there must be some way of redirecting his energies at the enemies of all who live.
@gman391 - would that be a political solution or a spiritual one?
Kisada is a military genius, right? That's the basic issue here. He's a military genius, and it's either difficult or impossible to keep him from supporting the Crab.
The Empire is about to be attacked by an army of glass golems, generated by the Void Dragon - who, if nothing else, definitely counts as being a creature of Jikogu. Glass in particular is the sort of thing that responds well to crush damage - like tetsubos.
Surely there must be some way of redirecting his energies at the enemies of all who live.
@gman391 - would that be a political solution or a spiritual one?
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@Sirrocco
Honestly it's a bit of both. Spiritual because technically Kisada is a monk now, and monks aren't supposed to do things like lead armies. You'd need to come up with a pretty good reason theologically to let him change which sect he's in and that he should. Political because while Kisada himself is indeed a military genius that is arguably worth establishing precedent for, virtually none of the Clans outside of the Dragon are at all comfortable giving the Brotherhood of Shinsei the de facto ability to make and command armies effectively.
Honestly it's a bit of both. Spiritual because technically Kisada is a monk now, and monks aren't supposed to do things like lead armies. You'd need to come up with a pretty good reason theologically to let him change which sect he's in and that he should. Political because while Kisada himself is indeed a military genius that is arguably worth establishing precedent for, virtually none of the Clans outside of the Dragon are at all comfortable giving the Brotherhood of Shinsei the de facto ability to make and command armies effectively.
Sirrocco
Pedantic
Huh. Perhaps... well, letting the brotherhood raise armies is a bad plan, I'll admit, but monks are supposed to offer advice and insight, right? Could we as emperor request that he not so much take command himself as "offer advice and insight" to the commanders of the armies that will soon be fighting the glass golems? Perhaps if we asked him in his role, not as a monk, but as the Fortune of Persistence? Something something special exception only against external threats to the Empire?
Let's see...
- The clans in general don't want generals coming out of retirement to involve themselves in clan wars. This gets handled by making "external threat", "Fortune of Persistence" and/or "Direct Imperial Intervention" a specifically required part of the precedent.
- The Scorpion specifically (and probably the Crane also) really don't want to give him personally an excuse to turn around and start doing it to them directly. This means that "external threat" and/or "direct imperial intervention" need to be part of it.
- There's some need for bowing to tradition, and explaining *why* this all makes sense as a reason why its okay in this particular case.
- If imperial intervention is explicitly part of the precedent, then it needs to be in a way that won't diminish the August Imperial Presence.
So... perhaps forming a new order, somehow dedicated to assisting those who protect Rokugan from external threats? Possibly instead refurbishing an existing order? What are the principles of the monastic order Kisada is in currently? What is its status? Could we possibly influence it a bit with the right sort of donation? (you know... like giving them a donation of a notable plot of land on which to create a new monastery... on a particularly defensible bit of the border with the Burning Sands, where the golems are pretty much guaranteed to try and trample over it...)
[X] Shem-Zhe (Focus Spiritual)
Let's see...
- The clans in general don't want generals coming out of retirement to involve themselves in clan wars. This gets handled by making "external threat", "Fortune of Persistence" and/or "Direct Imperial Intervention" a specifically required part of the precedent.
- The Scorpion specifically (and probably the Crane also) really don't want to give him personally an excuse to turn around and start doing it to them directly. This means that "external threat" and/or "direct imperial intervention" need to be part of it.
- There's some need for bowing to tradition, and explaining *why* this all makes sense as a reason why its okay in this particular case.
- If imperial intervention is explicitly part of the precedent, then it needs to be in a way that won't diminish the August Imperial Presence.
So... perhaps forming a new order, somehow dedicated to assisting those who protect Rokugan from external threats? Possibly instead refurbishing an existing order? What are the principles of the monastic order Kisada is in currently? What is its status? Could we possibly influence it a bit with the right sort of donation? (you know... like giving them a donation of a notable plot of land on which to create a new monastery... on a particularly defensible bit of the border with the Burning Sands, where the golems are pretty much guaranteed to try and trample over it...)
[X] Shem-Zhe (Focus Spiritual)
Year 2: Winter Court III
---Meeting Horiuchi Shem-Zhe
You parry a blow from Shem-Zhe, his fist barely grazing your shoulder as you launch a palm strike out to his chest, sending the man sliding back on the ice. He balances himself, and gives a wry smile. With a calmness that seems oddly distant you take up your stance again. The two of you had left the confines of the winter court for a while. Standing on a frozen pond, you and Shem-Zhe had used what the more esoteric members of the Order of Strength called 'spar meditation'. The ice had added a different element entirely, your mind needing to empty it self so you could maintain your balance and hold you own.
Shem-zhe rubs his chest.
"I must apologize my Emperor, but if you wish to gain more from this form of meditation, you need a better opponent than this one."
You allow a small quirk of amusement to grace your face.
"You were the one who suggested this...sliding spar meditation no Horiuchi-san?"
"I did...and it works wonderfully if the peace in your chi is anything to suggest. But you are not a man to find peace in defeating someone weaker than him." Shem-Zhe says.
Weaker right. You had seen Shem-zhe crack lumber with those fists of his, water shugenja often had a strength that seemed out of proportion to their frame...you know in a contest of pure strength, your Jade Champion would win handily.
You also know he would never have the guile to hold back and let you win. If a single one of his fists had hit you, you would have felt it for days.
But you hadn't let him.
You shrug.
"Perhaps you are right Horiuchi-san, still I thank you for suggesting this, it was a pleasant break. Your Clan's generosity will be justly remembered."
Shem-zhe shrugs.
"The Khan wishes to rub in everyone's face the power of the Unicorn, so far he is succeeding. If my Emperor permits, how did the meeting with Bayushi-san go?"
You quote an old haiku.
"Shadows wrapped in red silk,
Words flow into a river of mist
I walk away wiser"
"So well, then." Shem Zhe shays.
You shrug a little.
"Well enough. Bayushi-san has his conditions, but is on the whole willing to accept losing so long as we can remove the monk Kinten from the Crab lands. It seems they are not quite willing to hold to the belief that a monk is always a monk."
Shem-Zhe frowns.
"Kinten of the Order of Ancestors...it'll be hard to move him with tensions as they are."
"But is it possible?" You ask.
"What do you know of the Brotherhood, my Emperor? Perhaps your eyes can see around my conundrum." Shem-zhe says.
"The Brotherhood of Shinsei is the duly invested religious authority of the Empire. Ascetics and Devotees of the Gods bound by the wisdom of the Tao are given leave to practice their traditions so long as they are not teaching a false path of Enlightenment, as determined by the Brotherhood of Shinsei." You quote verbatim.
"Very true my Emperor, in theory the Brotherhood takes representatives from every itinerant order, sect, temple, and shrine, and through the wisdom of the Little Teacher guides them towards Enlightenment."
"You said in theory."
"Yes, forgive me my lord, but somehow things changed since the time of the Hantei. The orders, the sects, the temples, the shrines, are not..." he trails off thinking for the words.
"Always united in harmony as they should be. Over time various groups have been given land by pious samurai, daimyo and Emperor. With this land has come responsibilities, and many orders and temples now have temporal concerns in addition to purely spiritual ones. It is a sad truth that some allow this to corrupt them, it is a sadder truth is that they sometimes conflict."
You frown, you had known that the lands of the Brotherhood had grown in fits and spurts since...forever, but you had never really thought about how that would eventually add up into domains perhaps as great as some lesser daimyo. A part of you wishes to relieve them of this burden...but political instincts tell you that taking land from the gods and their servants; Is the equivalent of going into a thunderstorm and calling Osano-Wo-no-kami, lord of Thunder a giant pussy.
You might live, but by all rights, you really shouldn't have.
Shaking your mind away from that terrifying thought, you nod at Shem-Zhe to continue.
"There are...three broad factions within the Brotherhood: the Ancestral Orders, who venerate the families, the founding kami, and the dead. The Devoted Orders, who follow the Fortunes and their teachings. And the Shinseists who adhere only to the Tao of Shinsei. They are forever jockeying for how to guide the Brotherhood into unity."
"And Kinten is of the Ancestral Orders..." You frown.
"The Order of the Crab is always a small order, but by their own teachings they are forbidden from leaving the Halls of the Dead...and the rest of the Ancestral Orders will back them up on this."
"Which means just telling him to leave won't work without precipitating a theological crisis, the Hantei could claim descent from the First Emperor who gave them all the Spiritual authority. The Toturi have always maintained it through their generosity, but we won't keep it if we literally refuse to respect their laws." You finish.
"More or less my Emperor. However, I do have an idea" Shem-zhe says.
"And?" You push.
Shem-zhe answers.
"Kisada is a god, the Fortune of Persistence in High Rokugani if you prefer. I believe it can be argued successfully, that because of that a new order, specifically for gods should exist, with the express intent of returning them to the Heavens. Since it's self evident that even though Kisada-no-kami has assumed a new name with Kinten, that his divine essence makes it impossible for anyone to see him as anything else, I can make the argument that Kinten should be retired, that the name be granted to the Halls of the Dead for all time as a testament to the esteem the gods hold that place in...while Kisada takes up his mantle as head of the new order. Theologically it's sound, politically...well you'd be better off asking Kitsuki-san."
You look at the sky. Looks like free time is over going by where Lord Sun was.
Turning back to Shem-zhe, you nod.
"I'll consider it. Thank you Horiuch-san, I must return to my duties"
"Of course my Emperor"
The pair of you return to the warmth of Shiro Moto, and you can feel a plan beginning to percolate in your head, but it needs more time to form. That said, tonight you're set to spend time with....
[] Hida Kuon
[] Doji Domotai
[] Togashi Satsu
Maybe you can come up with something after talking to them.
===================================
AN: Sorry for the delay on this one. That said, Shem Zhe is in fact proposing something radical in line with his reform tendencies, so while his theology is fairly sound. There will be opposition to it on those grounds by more conservative types.
You parry a blow from Shem-Zhe, his fist barely grazing your shoulder as you launch a palm strike out to his chest, sending the man sliding back on the ice. He balances himself, and gives a wry smile. With a calmness that seems oddly distant you take up your stance again. The two of you had left the confines of the winter court for a while. Standing on a frozen pond, you and Shem-Zhe had used what the more esoteric members of the Order of Strength called 'spar meditation'. The ice had added a different element entirely, your mind needing to empty it self so you could maintain your balance and hold you own.
Shem-zhe rubs his chest.
"I must apologize my Emperor, but if you wish to gain more from this form of meditation, you need a better opponent than this one."
You allow a small quirk of amusement to grace your face.
"You were the one who suggested this...sliding spar meditation no Horiuchi-san?"
"I did...and it works wonderfully if the peace in your chi is anything to suggest. But you are not a man to find peace in defeating someone weaker than him." Shem-Zhe says.
Weaker right. You had seen Shem-zhe crack lumber with those fists of his, water shugenja often had a strength that seemed out of proportion to their frame...you know in a contest of pure strength, your Jade Champion would win handily.
You also know he would never have the guile to hold back and let you win. If a single one of his fists had hit you, you would have felt it for days.
But you hadn't let him.
You shrug.
"Perhaps you are right Horiuchi-san, still I thank you for suggesting this, it was a pleasant break. Your Clan's generosity will be justly remembered."
Shem-zhe shrugs.
"The Khan wishes to rub in everyone's face the power of the Unicorn, so far he is succeeding. If my Emperor permits, how did the meeting with Bayushi-san go?"
You quote an old haiku.
"Shadows wrapped in red silk,
Words flow into a river of mist
I walk away wiser"
"So well, then." Shem Zhe shays.
You shrug a little.
"Well enough. Bayushi-san has his conditions, but is on the whole willing to accept losing so long as we can remove the monk Kinten from the Crab lands. It seems they are not quite willing to hold to the belief that a monk is always a monk."
Shem-Zhe frowns.
"Kinten of the Order of Ancestors...it'll be hard to move him with tensions as they are."
"But is it possible?" You ask.
"What do you know of the Brotherhood, my Emperor? Perhaps your eyes can see around my conundrum." Shem-zhe says.
"The Brotherhood of Shinsei is the duly invested religious authority of the Empire. Ascetics and Devotees of the Gods bound by the wisdom of the Tao are given leave to practice their traditions so long as they are not teaching a false path of Enlightenment, as determined by the Brotherhood of Shinsei." You quote verbatim.
"Very true my Emperor, in theory the Brotherhood takes representatives from every itinerant order, sect, temple, and shrine, and through the wisdom of the Little Teacher guides them towards Enlightenment."
"You said in theory."
"Yes, forgive me my lord, but somehow things changed since the time of the Hantei. The orders, the sects, the temples, the shrines, are not..." he trails off thinking for the words.
"Always united in harmony as they should be. Over time various groups have been given land by pious samurai, daimyo and Emperor. With this land has come responsibilities, and many orders and temples now have temporal concerns in addition to purely spiritual ones. It is a sad truth that some allow this to corrupt them, it is a sadder truth is that they sometimes conflict."
You frown, you had known that the lands of the Brotherhood had grown in fits and spurts since...forever, but you had never really thought about how that would eventually add up into domains perhaps as great as some lesser daimyo. A part of you wishes to relieve them of this burden...but political instincts tell you that taking land from the gods and their servants; Is the equivalent of going into a thunderstorm and calling Osano-Wo-no-kami, lord of Thunder a giant pussy.
You might live, but by all rights, you really shouldn't have.
Shaking your mind away from that terrifying thought, you nod at Shem-Zhe to continue.
"There are...three broad factions within the Brotherhood: the Ancestral Orders, who venerate the families, the founding kami, and the dead. The Devoted Orders, who follow the Fortunes and their teachings. And the Shinseists who adhere only to the Tao of Shinsei. They are forever jockeying for how to guide the Brotherhood into unity."
"And Kinten is of the Ancestral Orders..." You frown.
"The Order of the Crab is always a small order, but by their own teachings they are forbidden from leaving the Halls of the Dead...and the rest of the Ancestral Orders will back them up on this."
"Which means just telling him to leave won't work without precipitating a theological crisis, the Hantei could claim descent from the First Emperor who gave them all the Spiritual authority. The Toturi have always maintained it through their generosity, but we won't keep it if we literally refuse to respect their laws." You finish.
"More or less my Emperor. However, I do have an idea" Shem-zhe says.
"And?" You push.
Shem-zhe answers.
"Kisada is a god, the Fortune of Persistence in High Rokugani if you prefer. I believe it can be argued successfully, that because of that a new order, specifically for gods should exist, with the express intent of returning them to the Heavens. Since it's self evident that even though Kisada-no-kami has assumed a new name with Kinten, that his divine essence makes it impossible for anyone to see him as anything else, I can make the argument that Kinten should be retired, that the name be granted to the Halls of the Dead for all time as a testament to the esteem the gods hold that place in...while Kisada takes up his mantle as head of the new order. Theologically it's sound, politically...well you'd be better off asking Kitsuki-san."
You look at the sky. Looks like free time is over going by where Lord Sun was.
Turning back to Shem-zhe, you nod.
"I'll consider it. Thank you Horiuch-san, I must return to my duties"
"Of course my Emperor"
The pair of you return to the warmth of Shiro Moto, and you can feel a plan beginning to percolate in your head, but it needs more time to form. That said, tonight you're set to spend time with....
[] Hida Kuon
[] Doji Domotai
[] Togashi Satsu
Maybe you can come up with something after talking to them.
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AN: Sorry for the delay on this one. That said, Shem Zhe is in fact proposing something radical in line with his reform tendencies, so while his theology is fairly sound. There will be opposition to it on those grounds by more conservative types.