- Pronouns
- They/Them
Update on Monday morning.
Behind the Serpent Throne (CK2)
- Thread starter The Laurent
- Start date
- Original Fantasy
- Pronouns
- They/Them
While you're waiting, do you have any setting questions? I'll answer them to the best of Kiralo's IC knowledge.
Turn a--Results, Part 6
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Turn A--Part 6
1d100+23=80
1d100+11=81
Knowing something was not the same as being willing to state it just yet, Kiralo thought, shifting a little where he stood. She wanted him to think something, she wanted him to think something because she thought it was to her advantage. But why?
She got something out of this, and it had to be more than showing off her intelligence. Or rather, was she trying to argue that she could be an asset to Kiralo in the same way that she was to Kuojah. It was an interesting way to frame things. In fact, the more he considered it, it was a unique way to frame things.
While showing off some level of erudition could be important, for many men wanted a wife who was at least not dull to talk to, there was thought to be very little value in educating a woman beyond a certain level. It was thought, essentially, to be wasted effort. Kuojah had not agreed to a certain extent in his writings, that extent being to state that some education is needed so that women can be upright and moral mothers to teach their sons moral character and their daughters moral obedience. And of course, Kiralo himself had seen the uses to which education could be put: and if it wasn't for his mother, he would have had no education worth having at all.
So it was an interesting stance to take. "Northern Hirand? And the rest of Hirand, I assume?"
"Ah, for the laws? Yes. Though they are especially aimed at that region," she said, closing her eyes. It was a common technique to bring up information. One closes one sense, and the Gods provide another, the brain. No doubt, growing up as Kuojah's daughter, she was quite pious, and a few of the books did seem to be meditations on Yi'sha, the God of Learned Discourse, and other such important figures in the pantheon.
"Because three-hundred and twenty-five years ago, give or take, in the reign of Emperor Ning-Tu, known to some as the Brilliant, there was a famine predicted by the wise scholars of the court."
Kiralo thought about it...and he remembered it. Ning-Tu, whose regnal name was a reference to the peace and prosperity which his reign did indeed bring before the upheaval of the Southlander invasion almost led to an end to the young dynasty, the next founding of the Imperial Line which had reigned only two full Emperors before it all was challenged. He was an active, powerful Emperor, whose advisors were conservative and goodly men whose morality was unimpeachable, and he didn't allow himself to be given over to favorites or pleasure, though it was said he had a large number of men and women with whom he took pleasure.
He'd reigned until he was fifty-three, by the reckoning of years, and then in great ceremony he had created the position of 'Celestial Emperor' and retired for the sake of his second son, though the position itself had died along with all possible influence of foreign elements from the far east after the war with the Southlands redirected focus away from naval exploration.
"Ah, and so he acted?" Kiralo asked.
"He passed it into law that if the Emperor decreed that there was reason to think that a famine or crisis was coming, that he could then demand crops as tribute even before there was a provable crisis, rather than having to bargain and haggle over the needed goods. With it, he was able to avert the famine in part, and the lives of tens of thousands of peasants, if not more, were saved from destruction." She nodded to herself, "The laws are all there."
"How often have they been invoked?" Kiralo asked calmly, his voice and words formal.
"Five times since then, each time in reaction to a foreseen famine. It is why, Cs-Kiralo, I was thinking that father would emphasize the crisis in Irit…" Yanmae said, and there was a sort of light in her eyes that seemed to belie any calm words, any distance at all. She liked talking about this, and Kiralo smiled.
"That could make sense. Just how many law books have you studied?" Kiralo asked.
"A-as many as I can," Yanmae said, flushing at his smile and turning away. Embarrassment, or that's what it came across as.
"Have you studied their effects upon the world?" Kiralo asked, "I think...and this is just speculation on my part, that looking at where laws are ignored, or looking at laws that were promulgated and then canceled on the part of a later Emperor, would be helpful."
"I have, some, and it seems...well, I have thoughts, but I am just a woman, and--"
Kiralo, while not ready to reveal that he was aware of her rather clever ruse, leaned forward. He knew he loomed a little bit over her. He was tall, though not giant, and she was small even for a girl of her age, though again, not tiny. "My mother was a woman, Yanmae. I count her as the only person who ever acted as my parent, and she was a woman who was quite learned and intelligent, if not in the way of laws. She was a pious woman, who knew that the purpose of the gods and the study of morality was what suited her best...but that does not mean that it suits all. So, what is it that you were thinking?"
"That it has…" Yanmae looked away for a moment, and gathered herself. She breathed out once, and then turned her calm face to Kiralo, "It has been almost two-hundred years since anyone wrote a complete digest and gathered together a council of learned bureaucrats to codify the laws again. It is something that has to be done often, it can't be done once and be expected to stick. What is done will be done again, what is built will be torn down and then built again," Yanmae said, quoting the start of the Holy Book of Cycles, which told the story of the world under Heaven and the Gods who took greatest concern with human affairs.
For of course, some Gods managed the nature of the sky and the sea itself, while others oversaw the matters of governance, of learning and architecture and hunting.
"Yes," Kiralo admitted. All things that man created were doomed to eventually fade away, that much many sources agreed upon. And so that a thing was done did not mean it should not be done again. "Though such an action...there is a war that might happen soon, after all."
"Yes, but as a simple woman, I merely consider what is best, not how to…" Yanmae trailed off and said, "There are many capable men who have experience in writing laws who could take part in this, if it was gathered, and no matter who sits upon the seat, in one sense, there will always be a need for working laws. And there's the matter of the laws for each of the Provinces…"
Kiralo listened carefully to her idea, which seemed too ambitious in some respects. Creating a body of Imperial Law was only the first step for her, because she then wanted to convene a body to follow up on her father's actions towards creating order in the religious laws and codifying and creating books that at least held all of the laws of the Empire from the twelve Provinces, even if they didn't exactly...explain the contradictions yet alone do any of the work that, according to Yanmae, was vital for good governance.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I've been talking far too much," Yanmae said.
"It is fine. However," Kiralo said, "I could use with some tea, if possible, Cs-Yanmae."
"Oh, of course, Cs-Kiralo. Yin'la says that I am making decent progress on such matters for a girl who spends far too long with books and learning. I can prepare your tea."
"You have no other servants?" Kiralo asked, rather shocked, actually.
"Father says that it teaches responsibility," Yanmae said, in a small voice that couldn't quite hide that this did not make any sense. Or at least very little.
*****
1d100+23=107
1d100+23=109
Some time later, Kiralo sat in a small, neat little room, sipping tea. It really was quite good, but at the same time, it was the sort of thing a servant was supposed to do. She had absolutely no servants? Her, a young lady, the daughter of one of the most important figures in the entire empire, with only a single tutor who apparently did not cook her meals?
Kiralo knew he himself was unusual in mostly dressing himself, with only help when he needed it, and even if the same serving girl dressed her, cleaned the house, and cooked...that would be two. Two or three servants was all but the minimum her dignity required, and that was bare bones indeed. If he had guessed, he would have guessed a cook, at least one or two girls to handle cleaning the house, perhaps with a boy as a runner, or a young girl if one feared such things. And then one girl to dress you. So, four or five, and that was merely what was needed, without positions such as one's personal priest, or tutors in further areas, or…
It didn't make sense. "So, my compliments on this household. It seems clean and well run."
"I do it myself, with the help of Yin'la. It teaches one compassion and sympathy for the lower orders," Yanmae said, "And it is decent exercise." Since of course, running, let alone riding, were not things that she would be allowed to do, if she even possessed the aptitude.
"It seems as if it might be lonely, if Yin'la is as dismissive of education as she seems."
Her face was carefully blank, clearly hiding the truth in that respect, but her words rang true as she said, "It is indeed lonely at times, but it is also freeing, in a sense. I have learned much, and I still learn much."
"From a woman who hates learning?" Kiralo asked.
"I...teach myself," Yanmae said, but now here was a slight crack.
"Perhaps you do. What is Yin'la like?"
"She is strict," Yanmae said, "A proper tutor in the feminine arts." She shook her head and sipped her own tea carefully, her movements measured down to the very fingerswidth.
"I doubt that such a proper person would gossip to me as to your erudition before a meeting," Kiralo said.
"Well, she can…" Yanmae began, and then sipped her tea, clearly flustered.
"I believe that she might not be as she seems, and that you might have in fact set this up," Kiralo said, "If that is so, I am impressed, in a way."
For a moment, there was an odd sort of defiance on her face, before she nodded. "I may have...misrepresented a few things. For this I am sorry, Cs-Kiralo."
Kiralo shook his head, finishing his tea and standing up for a moment to stretch before settling back down on his knees. She watched him the whole time, before he said, "You should not be sorry. I am curious about why you have done so?"
She paused, but he watched her, his face passive, and then she said, "I wished to impress you."
Kiralo looked at her and asked what he had asked before, "What do you want?"
And this time the girl he asked, her face wasn't confused. Instead, he realized, she wanted so many things, so many things...enough ambitions that he was left wondering.
"I do not want to marry," she said.
Kiralo frowned, "Why not?"
Again, there was this sensation, that she was choosing from a wide selection. That she had a hundred reasons why she didn't want to marry, and that...wasn't normal. Women married, and men did as well. It was the way of the world, even if Kiralo could not imagine marriage, he had this feeling that of course he would get married one day, sooner or later.
"Ma...My mother was a small woman, a very small woman," she said, "Smaller than me. Like a dove, I'm told. Fragile. She died in having me," Yanmae whispered, her voice so gentle and so distant that he knew she was picturing her. A mother she had never known, and suddenly he felt like telling her about his mother, about Jia. And yet--
"I don't want to die."
She...was afraid of childbirth? Of course it was dangerous, but so was war; the world was as the gods made it, and just as men must march to war though it may kill them, though they may wish otherwise...women marched towards their own fates and lives. It was the way the world continued to exist. Yet, of course she was afraid. Her mother had died in childbirth, had died to make her, and it wasn't as if that was her only reason, odd though it might seem to him.
"That's…" Kiralo began.
"I know," Yanmae said, "And what else do I want? I want to study, I want to learn, I want to...be of value to someone else."
Kiralo looked at her. She had looked down, her long, rather dark lashes flicking as she did, her small, delicate hands buried in her lap as he asked, "I can try to help you, Cs-Yanmae, though at the moment, I would be curious to know more about your capabilities and, more than that, about what I can do for you right now? I cannot solve your problems, but I could help you."
"I…" she frowned, "I could use more books, but I shall ask father for those."
Kiralo considered it and asked, "Do you have enough servants? I could convince Kuojah to grant you more servants?"
She perked up at that, unable to even hide the fact that of course she did not enjoy having to cook and clean for herself, to dress herself and dust the vases and scrub the floors, that she was sixteen, and probably had far better things to do with her time. "If you can get father to agree to it, of course…"
"Of course," Kiralo said, "I'm curious as to the breadth of your knowledge, if I may ask. I am curious about how Yin'la has taught you. Forgive me if I am being too blunt."
Yanmae shook her head and said, "I can understand that desire."
******
Kiralo had to consider the possibility that she might be a smart as him, and might be smarter. Or at the very least that she knew far more than him in certain areas, and he couldn't honestly say that his greater knowledge of cultural or diplomatic forms, or of the logistics of war, or the great works of military teaching, outweighed her own specialty and focuses.
It was something to consider, and something to muse on while he sat listening to the gossip at a party to discuss the closing of the plays. Because even now it was clear that some plays had no chance of winning the award, or any award at all. And it seemed as if the Duel was getting some talk, but having seen some of the other plays, he understood that it was unlikely that he'd win.
Not merely because of any biases, or even bribery, but because some of the plays this year were exceptional in quality, and others were somewhat less exceptional, but captured a careful mood or fit with the traditional beliefs regarding what a play was meant to be.
Others, of course, were doomed. The Houseguest, a farce, had torn itself apart just before 'The Duel', with actors who barely knew the lines and jokes that were not all that funny. Its plot was a simple formula, and yet it did not reach the court well, and in a less refined theatre, the nobles might have started to boo or throw things. As it was, there was no chance, for all of the bribes in the world, that it would do well.
Dawn in Mourning, on the other hand, was a good set of poems and scripts by Inida of lineage Ula, an easterner who, by all accounts, was a good and radical poet, whose allegorical play about the dawn itself and her grief over the death of her lover, the dusk, was rather bold in how it was set out. Its costumes had interested Kiralo, and yet it was also clear that the material was too heavy for the actors chosen, and that it could use some revising. Similarly, Slice was too martial, too warlike. Its author was trying to bank on the mood of the people, and yet that wasn't enough, not even close.
It also had a few annoying inaccuracies in how warfare worked, but its poetry was nice, and it was a success despite that. Meanwhile, the Fools Mirror, a satire of court life, failed because its attacks felt too personal, too directed.
The less that was said about Blossoms Unending, the better, in Kiralo's mind.
And thus the only work of comedy that had any chance of winning was his own, but there were still others that were quite amazing. Iwari was a play of history, of the grand eastern wars of the old days when the Sea-Raiders had nearly conquered Hari-Os, and was amazingly acted. Women in White, Men in Red, seemed too sentimental to him, and yet the poetry was delicate, and the themes of the nature of war and death were timely, and the Final Days of Summer had the entire audience crying when the hero committed suicide at the end of the play.
And Atonement?
Kiralo still wasn't sure whether he'd ever seen a play in the Csiritan style that was quite as beautiful. He was, in other words, facing stiff competition, plays just as worth if not more so.
She touched his face and said a single word, and he melted. "Atonement?" He lashed out at her, standing on that stage in the pose of a dying man, fury eating into his eyes and turning his words into biting daggers as a stunned audience watched a man who had spent the whole of the first act a perfect gentleman turn into something darker, something more horrific. And then once the set of scenes was done, a man had come on stage and said that there were in fact two plays.
And the second? Refinement. The story of the man's son, and the man's sins, the story of his guilt.
Yet, he had gotten applause, and he had gotten laughter such that he knew that he was not as far inferior in this regard as he might have been. He'd stretched his limits in this play, and he could stretch them farther, if he wished to do so.
He sipped his drink and considered it for a moment.
What does he do? (Choose 1)
[] Attempt to build talk around his play, trying to influence the mood of the court in such a way that it might triumph over the others.
[] Try to talk to one of the people on the judgement committee and perhaps sway their opinions.
-[] Towards 'The Duel'.
-[] Against two of the plays (name them).
[] Bribery...could work. Possibly.
[] Just let the chips fall as they may.
*****
A/N: So, the next update is the last one of the Turn. You did pretty good, honestly.
Also, to note, I've already done the rolls for 'round two', but Kiralo of course doesn't know whether it's a sure thing or not. For all he knows there's no chance of him winning the first three spots no matter what he does, or he's already won and any efforts to sway it could be counterintuitive. Or it might be so close that a little bit could help.
1d100+23=80
1d100+11=81
Knowing something was not the same as being willing to state it just yet, Kiralo thought, shifting a little where he stood. She wanted him to think something, she wanted him to think something because she thought it was to her advantage. But why?
She got something out of this, and it had to be more than showing off her intelligence. Or rather, was she trying to argue that she could be an asset to Kiralo in the same way that she was to Kuojah. It was an interesting way to frame things. In fact, the more he considered it, it was a unique way to frame things.
While showing off some level of erudition could be important, for many men wanted a wife who was at least not dull to talk to, there was thought to be very little value in educating a woman beyond a certain level. It was thought, essentially, to be wasted effort. Kuojah had not agreed to a certain extent in his writings, that extent being to state that some education is needed so that women can be upright and moral mothers to teach their sons moral character and their daughters moral obedience. And of course, Kiralo himself had seen the uses to which education could be put: and if it wasn't for his mother, he would have had no education worth having at all.
So it was an interesting stance to take. "Northern Hirand? And the rest of Hirand, I assume?"
"Ah, for the laws? Yes. Though they are especially aimed at that region," she said, closing her eyes. It was a common technique to bring up information. One closes one sense, and the Gods provide another, the brain. No doubt, growing up as Kuojah's daughter, she was quite pious, and a few of the books did seem to be meditations on Yi'sha, the God of Learned Discourse, and other such important figures in the pantheon.
"Because three-hundred and twenty-five years ago, give or take, in the reign of Emperor Ning-Tu, known to some as the Brilliant, there was a famine predicted by the wise scholars of the court."
Kiralo thought about it...and he remembered it. Ning-Tu, whose regnal name was a reference to the peace and prosperity which his reign did indeed bring before the upheaval of the Southlander invasion almost led to an end to the young dynasty, the next founding of the Imperial Line which had reigned only two full Emperors before it all was challenged. He was an active, powerful Emperor, whose advisors were conservative and goodly men whose morality was unimpeachable, and he didn't allow himself to be given over to favorites or pleasure, though it was said he had a large number of men and women with whom he took pleasure.
He'd reigned until he was fifty-three, by the reckoning of years, and then in great ceremony he had created the position of 'Celestial Emperor' and retired for the sake of his second son, though the position itself had died along with all possible influence of foreign elements from the far east after the war with the Southlands redirected focus away from naval exploration.
"Ah, and so he acted?" Kiralo asked.
"He passed it into law that if the Emperor decreed that there was reason to think that a famine or crisis was coming, that he could then demand crops as tribute even before there was a provable crisis, rather than having to bargain and haggle over the needed goods. With it, he was able to avert the famine in part, and the lives of tens of thousands of peasants, if not more, were saved from destruction." She nodded to herself, "The laws are all there."
"How often have they been invoked?" Kiralo asked calmly, his voice and words formal.
"Five times since then, each time in reaction to a foreseen famine. It is why, Cs-Kiralo, I was thinking that father would emphasize the crisis in Irit…" Yanmae said, and there was a sort of light in her eyes that seemed to belie any calm words, any distance at all. She liked talking about this, and Kiralo smiled.
"That could make sense. Just how many law books have you studied?" Kiralo asked.
"A-as many as I can," Yanmae said, flushing at his smile and turning away. Embarrassment, or that's what it came across as.
"Have you studied their effects upon the world?" Kiralo asked, "I think...and this is just speculation on my part, that looking at where laws are ignored, or looking at laws that were promulgated and then canceled on the part of a later Emperor, would be helpful."
"I have, some, and it seems...well, I have thoughts, but I am just a woman, and--"
Kiralo, while not ready to reveal that he was aware of her rather clever ruse, leaned forward. He knew he loomed a little bit over her. He was tall, though not giant, and she was small even for a girl of her age, though again, not tiny. "My mother was a woman, Yanmae. I count her as the only person who ever acted as my parent, and she was a woman who was quite learned and intelligent, if not in the way of laws. She was a pious woman, who knew that the purpose of the gods and the study of morality was what suited her best...but that does not mean that it suits all. So, what is it that you were thinking?"
"That it has…" Yanmae looked away for a moment, and gathered herself. She breathed out once, and then turned her calm face to Kiralo, "It has been almost two-hundred years since anyone wrote a complete digest and gathered together a council of learned bureaucrats to codify the laws again. It is something that has to be done often, it can't be done once and be expected to stick. What is done will be done again, what is built will be torn down and then built again," Yanmae said, quoting the start of the Holy Book of Cycles, which told the story of the world under Heaven and the Gods who took greatest concern with human affairs.
For of course, some Gods managed the nature of the sky and the sea itself, while others oversaw the matters of governance, of learning and architecture and hunting.
"Yes," Kiralo admitted. All things that man created were doomed to eventually fade away, that much many sources agreed upon. And so that a thing was done did not mean it should not be done again. "Though such an action...there is a war that might happen soon, after all."
"Yes, but as a simple woman, I merely consider what is best, not how to…" Yanmae trailed off and said, "There are many capable men who have experience in writing laws who could take part in this, if it was gathered, and no matter who sits upon the seat, in one sense, there will always be a need for working laws. And there's the matter of the laws for each of the Provinces…"
Kiralo listened carefully to her idea, which seemed too ambitious in some respects. Creating a body of Imperial Law was only the first step for her, because she then wanted to convene a body to follow up on her father's actions towards creating order in the religious laws and codifying and creating books that at least held all of the laws of the Empire from the twelve Provinces, even if they didn't exactly...explain the contradictions yet alone do any of the work that, according to Yanmae, was vital for good governance.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I've been talking far too much," Yanmae said.
"It is fine. However," Kiralo said, "I could use with some tea, if possible, Cs-Yanmae."
"Oh, of course, Cs-Kiralo. Yin'la says that I am making decent progress on such matters for a girl who spends far too long with books and learning. I can prepare your tea."
"You have no other servants?" Kiralo asked, rather shocked, actually.
"Father says that it teaches responsibility," Yanmae said, in a small voice that couldn't quite hide that this did not make any sense. Or at least very little.
*****
1d100+23=107
1d100+23=109
Some time later, Kiralo sat in a small, neat little room, sipping tea. It really was quite good, but at the same time, it was the sort of thing a servant was supposed to do. She had absolutely no servants? Her, a young lady, the daughter of one of the most important figures in the entire empire, with only a single tutor who apparently did not cook her meals?
Kiralo knew he himself was unusual in mostly dressing himself, with only help when he needed it, and even if the same serving girl dressed her, cleaned the house, and cooked...that would be two. Two or three servants was all but the minimum her dignity required, and that was bare bones indeed. If he had guessed, he would have guessed a cook, at least one or two girls to handle cleaning the house, perhaps with a boy as a runner, or a young girl if one feared such things. And then one girl to dress you. So, four or five, and that was merely what was needed, without positions such as one's personal priest, or tutors in further areas, or…
It didn't make sense. "So, my compliments on this household. It seems clean and well run."
"I do it myself, with the help of Yin'la. It teaches one compassion and sympathy for the lower orders," Yanmae said, "And it is decent exercise." Since of course, running, let alone riding, were not things that she would be allowed to do, if she even possessed the aptitude.
"It seems as if it might be lonely, if Yin'la is as dismissive of education as she seems."
Her face was carefully blank, clearly hiding the truth in that respect, but her words rang true as she said, "It is indeed lonely at times, but it is also freeing, in a sense. I have learned much, and I still learn much."
"From a woman who hates learning?" Kiralo asked.
"I...teach myself," Yanmae said, but now here was a slight crack.
"Perhaps you do. What is Yin'la like?"
"She is strict," Yanmae said, "A proper tutor in the feminine arts." She shook her head and sipped her own tea carefully, her movements measured down to the very fingerswidth.
"I doubt that such a proper person would gossip to me as to your erudition before a meeting," Kiralo said.
"Well, she can…" Yanmae began, and then sipped her tea, clearly flustered.
"I believe that she might not be as she seems, and that you might have in fact set this up," Kiralo said, "If that is so, I am impressed, in a way."
For a moment, there was an odd sort of defiance on her face, before she nodded. "I may have...misrepresented a few things. For this I am sorry, Cs-Kiralo."
Kiralo shook his head, finishing his tea and standing up for a moment to stretch before settling back down on his knees. She watched him the whole time, before he said, "You should not be sorry. I am curious about why you have done so?"
She paused, but he watched her, his face passive, and then she said, "I wished to impress you."
Kiralo looked at her and asked what he had asked before, "What do you want?"
And this time the girl he asked, her face wasn't confused. Instead, he realized, she wanted so many things, so many things...enough ambitions that he was left wondering.
"I do not want to marry," she said.
Kiralo frowned, "Why not?"
Again, there was this sensation, that she was choosing from a wide selection. That she had a hundred reasons why she didn't want to marry, and that...wasn't normal. Women married, and men did as well. It was the way of the world, even if Kiralo could not imagine marriage, he had this feeling that of course he would get married one day, sooner or later.
"Ma...My mother was a small woman, a very small woman," she said, "Smaller than me. Like a dove, I'm told. Fragile. She died in having me," Yanmae whispered, her voice so gentle and so distant that he knew she was picturing her. A mother she had never known, and suddenly he felt like telling her about his mother, about Jia. And yet--
"I don't want to die."
She...was afraid of childbirth? Of course it was dangerous, but so was war; the world was as the gods made it, and just as men must march to war though it may kill them, though they may wish otherwise...women marched towards their own fates and lives. It was the way the world continued to exist. Yet, of course she was afraid. Her mother had died in childbirth, had died to make her, and it wasn't as if that was her only reason, odd though it might seem to him.
"That's…" Kiralo began.
"I know," Yanmae said, "And what else do I want? I want to study, I want to learn, I want to...be of value to someone else."
Kiralo looked at her. She had looked down, her long, rather dark lashes flicking as she did, her small, delicate hands buried in her lap as he asked, "I can try to help you, Cs-Yanmae, though at the moment, I would be curious to know more about your capabilities and, more than that, about what I can do for you right now? I cannot solve your problems, but I could help you."
"I…" she frowned, "I could use more books, but I shall ask father for those."
Kiralo considered it and asked, "Do you have enough servants? I could convince Kuojah to grant you more servants?"
She perked up at that, unable to even hide the fact that of course she did not enjoy having to cook and clean for herself, to dress herself and dust the vases and scrub the floors, that she was sixteen, and probably had far better things to do with her time. "If you can get father to agree to it, of course…"
"Of course," Kiralo said, "I'm curious as to the breadth of your knowledge, if I may ask. I am curious about how Yin'la has taught you. Forgive me if I am being too blunt."
Yanmae shook her head and said, "I can understand that desire."
******
Kiralo had to consider the possibility that she might be a smart as him, and might be smarter. Or at the very least that she knew far more than him in certain areas, and he couldn't honestly say that his greater knowledge of cultural or diplomatic forms, or of the logistics of war, or the great works of military teaching, outweighed her own specialty and focuses.
It was something to consider, and something to muse on while he sat listening to the gossip at a party to discuss the closing of the plays. Because even now it was clear that some plays had no chance of winning the award, or any award at all. And it seemed as if the Duel was getting some talk, but having seen some of the other plays, he understood that it was unlikely that he'd win.
Not merely because of any biases, or even bribery, but because some of the plays this year were exceptional in quality, and others were somewhat less exceptional, but captured a careful mood or fit with the traditional beliefs regarding what a play was meant to be.
Others, of course, were doomed. The Houseguest, a farce, had torn itself apart just before 'The Duel', with actors who barely knew the lines and jokes that were not all that funny. Its plot was a simple formula, and yet it did not reach the court well, and in a less refined theatre, the nobles might have started to boo or throw things. As it was, there was no chance, for all of the bribes in the world, that it would do well.
Dawn in Mourning, on the other hand, was a good set of poems and scripts by Inida of lineage Ula, an easterner who, by all accounts, was a good and radical poet, whose allegorical play about the dawn itself and her grief over the death of her lover, the dusk, was rather bold in how it was set out. Its costumes had interested Kiralo, and yet it was also clear that the material was too heavy for the actors chosen, and that it could use some revising. Similarly, Slice was too martial, too warlike. Its author was trying to bank on the mood of the people, and yet that wasn't enough, not even close.
It also had a few annoying inaccuracies in how warfare worked, but its poetry was nice, and it was a success despite that. Meanwhile, the Fools Mirror, a satire of court life, failed because its attacks felt too personal, too directed.
The less that was said about Blossoms Unending, the better, in Kiralo's mind.
And thus the only work of comedy that had any chance of winning was his own, but there were still others that were quite amazing. Iwari was a play of history, of the grand eastern wars of the old days when the Sea-Raiders had nearly conquered Hari-Os, and was amazingly acted. Women in White, Men in Red, seemed too sentimental to him, and yet the poetry was delicate, and the themes of the nature of war and death were timely, and the Final Days of Summer had the entire audience crying when the hero committed suicide at the end of the play.
And Atonement?
Kiralo still wasn't sure whether he'd ever seen a play in the Csiritan style that was quite as beautiful. He was, in other words, facing stiff competition, plays just as worth if not more so.
She touched his face and said a single word, and he melted. "Atonement?" He lashed out at her, standing on that stage in the pose of a dying man, fury eating into his eyes and turning his words into biting daggers as a stunned audience watched a man who had spent the whole of the first act a perfect gentleman turn into something darker, something more horrific. And then once the set of scenes was done, a man had come on stage and said that there were in fact two plays.
And the second? Refinement. The story of the man's son, and the man's sins, the story of his guilt.
Yet, he had gotten applause, and he had gotten laughter such that he knew that he was not as far inferior in this regard as he might have been. He'd stretched his limits in this play, and he could stretch them farther, if he wished to do so.
He sipped his drink and considered it for a moment.
What does he do? (Choose 1)
[] Attempt to build talk around his play, trying to influence the mood of the court in such a way that it might triumph over the others.
[] Try to talk to one of the people on the judgement committee and perhaps sway their opinions.
-[] Towards 'The Duel'.
-[] Against two of the plays (name them).
[] Bribery...could work. Possibly.
[] Just let the chips fall as they may.
First Round/Preliminary Thoughts (over 50s pass on to the second cut)
The Duel (Kiralo): +5+3 (Houseguest failure drives positive comparisons)=70
Dawn In Mourning (Inida): 23
The Houseguest: 1
Iwari: +1=92
Final Days Of Summer:+5=85
Slice: -5=48
The Fool's Mirror: 15
Women In White, Men In Red: +10=86
Blossoms Unending: -10=6
Atonement/Refinement: +10=94
Passed through: The Duel, Iwari, Final Days of Summer, Women In White, Atonement
Second Round
???
???
???
???
???
The Duel (Kiralo): +5+3 (Houseguest failure drives positive comparisons)=70
Dawn In Mourning (Inida): 23
The Houseguest: 1
Iwari: +1=92
Final Days Of Summer:+5=85
Slice: -5=48
The Fool's Mirror: 15
Women In White, Men In Red: +10=86
Blossoms Unending: -10=6
Atonement/Refinement: +10=94
Passed through: The Duel, Iwari, Final Days of Summer, Women In White, Atonement
Second Round
???
???
???
???
???
Martial: <8
Diplomacy: 8+
Stewardship: 18+
Intrigue: >8
Personal Combat: 0
Magic (d10): 6
Learning: 20+, likely below 25
So, these are Kiralo's general guesses as far as her stats go. These are, note, general, but having all but one stat above 8 and two of them in the high teens/twenties means she's an incredibly accomplished woman, all things considered.
A learning of above twenty is enough to get the second of three ranks in the Civil Service Exams, and she might even be able to achieve the highest rank, and likely high marks/status within that rank.
Of course, she's also a woman, and thus that's never going to happen.
Diplomacy: 8+
Stewardship: 18+
Intrigue: >8
Personal Combat: 0
Magic (d10): 6
Learning: 20+, likely below 25
So, these are Kiralo's general guesses as far as her stats go. These are, note, general, but having all but one stat above 8 and two of them in the high teens/twenties means she's an incredibly accomplished woman, all things considered.
A learning of above twenty is enough to get the second of three ranks in the Civil Service Exams, and she might even be able to achieve the highest rank, and likely high marks/status within that rank.
Of course, she's also a woman, and thus that's never going to happen.
*****
A/N: So, the next update is the last one of the Turn. You did pretty good, honestly.
Also, to note, I've already done the rolls for 'round two', but Kiralo of course doesn't know whether it's a sure thing or not. For all he knows there's no chance of him winning the first three spots no matter what he does, or he's already won and any efforts to sway it could be counterintuitive. Or it might be so close that a little bit could help.
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Zeitgeist Blue
Currently Made of Metal
- Location
- Manila, Philippines, GMT +8
[X] Attempt to build talk around his play, trying to influence the mood of the court in such a way that it might triumph over the others.
Because of course, some good natured competition won't kill anyone. Hopefully.
Because of course, some good natured competition won't kill anyone. Hopefully.
[X] Attempt to build talk around his play, trying to influence the mood of the court in such a way that it might triumph over the others.
I think this is the best of the choices, given the unknown nature of the results. We've also had some great luck recently, so we're going to get some poor luck and having that come about during bribery or trying to persuade the judging committee would be bad.
Yanmae was an interesting character anyway, but it just makes me wish that whole family gathering had won given the benefits for Kiralo meeting all his family but also for them to meet each other.
I think this is the best of the choices, given the unknown nature of the results. We've also had some great luck recently, so we're going to get some poor luck and having that come about during bribery or trying to persuade the judging committee would be bad.
Yanmae was an interesting character anyway, but it just makes me wish that whole family gathering had won given the benefits for Kiralo meeting all his family but also for them to meet each other.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Oh, and the three awards are as followed.
Golden Master: First place.
Blue-River Player: Second Place.
Green Mountains Journeyman: Third Place.
Green Mountains Journeyman is because it's often thought of as the position for promising young playwrights, while a Blue-River Player is one who is experienced and keen, and of course a Golden Master has reached the top of their game. On some occasions, a man might win the position of Golden Master in different fields, or in the same field on different years.
This makes him, in the case of different fields, a Golden Master of Poetry and Plays, or whatnot, or a Double Golden Master of Plays, and a Golden Master of Poetry, or so on and so forth.
One has the right, when one wins, to append such a title at the end of one's letters, and for it to be announced if one is entering a place, but does not come with any special kind of address.
Let's see, other random notes.
Kiralo's Learning of 11 is roughly equivilent to someone graduating from a non-community-college (but not famous school) with a high B average.
The first rank of the Civil Service Exams is thus within his range, though he'd have to stretch and train some to reach it.
Each rank, in my mind/organization, has a minimum *likely* rating. Obviously someone can get lucky with the questions, or have specialized knowledge and traits that puts one over, but the ratings are 12, 18, and 24.
With 24 being the equivalent, as you might guess, of having a PhD in being learned.
Obviously, people who graduate to the first rank are far more common than those who graduate to the second (Provincial) or third (Imperial) ranks/merits.
Though the third degree usually has tests for individual subjects, such as how Kuojah aced his tests (the highest score of the year/class) in order to become: "holder of the Highest Distinction of the Highest Merit of the Civil Service Exams for Calligraphy, Theology, and Policy"
Which is pretty damn hard, as you might imagine, since having Highest Distinction in even one area is a matter of great honor that might resonate down generations. And he has three.
Golden Master: First place.
Blue-River Player: Second Place.
Green Mountains Journeyman: Third Place.
Green Mountains Journeyman is because it's often thought of as the position for promising young playwrights, while a Blue-River Player is one who is experienced and keen, and of course a Golden Master has reached the top of their game. On some occasions, a man might win the position of Golden Master in different fields, or in the same field on different years.
This makes him, in the case of different fields, a Golden Master of Poetry and Plays, or whatnot, or a Double Golden Master of Plays, and a Golden Master of Poetry, or so on and so forth.
One has the right, when one wins, to append such a title at the end of one's letters, and for it to be announced if one is entering a place, but does not come with any special kind of address.
Let's see, other random notes.
Kiralo's Learning of 11 is roughly equivilent to someone graduating from a non-community-college (but not famous school) with a high B average.
The first rank of the Civil Service Exams is thus within his range, though he'd have to stretch and train some to reach it.
Each rank, in my mind/organization, has a minimum *likely* rating. Obviously someone can get lucky with the questions, or have specialized knowledge and traits that puts one over, but the ratings are 12, 18, and 24.
With 24 being the equivalent, as you might guess, of having a PhD in being learned.
Obviously, people who graduate to the first rank are far more common than those who graduate to the second (Provincial) or third (Imperial) ranks/merits.
Though the third degree usually has tests for individual subjects, such as how Kuojah aced his tests (the highest score of the year/class) in order to become: "holder of the Highest Distinction of the Highest Merit of the Civil Service Exams for Calligraphy, Theology, and Policy"
Which is pretty damn hard, as you might imagine, since having Highest Distinction in even one area is a matter of great honor that might resonate down generations. And he has three.
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slybrarian
Creature of Fable
- Location
- A Far and Sunless Land
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Attempt to build talk around his play, trying to influence the mood of the court in such a way that it might triumph over the others.
Bribery is so passe, and trying to talk to the judges may come across as trying to lean on them.
Bribery is so passe, and trying to talk to the judges may come across as trying to lean on them.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
More votes please? Also, should I look for character art? To whom should I look to?
Random Member
Gardener of Human Happiness
- Location
- Behind You
[X] Just let the chips fall as they may.
To be honest, I don't think it'll make any difference and I don't want to risk a failure causing bad rumors about us at court.
To be honest, I don't think it'll make any difference and I don't want to risk a failure causing bad rumors about us at court.
Zeitgeist Blue
Currently Made of Metal
- Location
- Manila, Philippines, GMT +8
Well there's the Creatives Section down under if you want to choose your type of style. Most of them would probably charge a commission 'lest you let them read BST and they love it. Or you could luck out and have an existing artist reading this quest who's a fan and can do one for free!
Not me though, unless you think stick figures are darling.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I need to find someone who does realistic stuff. Hrm.
Zeitgeist Blue
Currently Made of Metal
- Location
- Manila, Philippines, GMT +8
Hmmm... Shyft comes to mind. Guy really likes drawing buxom women, but does guys as well, and all in a realistic style. I'm thinking you'd want something like black&white to replicate the feel of the Imperial chroniclers or something like that.
pantherasapiens
you were always my best friend
- Location
- somewhere over your shoulder
Buxom guys. Kiralo would (probably?) approve, if only I remembered enough about his taste in men to be sure.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Well, you don't have specifics, but his taste in men is a taste in men. Doesn't mean they have to be the same age, or can't be younger than him, but his taste doesn't run towards shy, naive, fifteen year old boys (partially because it makes sense for his character, and partially because while not culturally frowned upon in this world...um, the rules of SV?)...or hoary men in their forties and fifties.[1]
[1] Remember the scene where a sixteen year old Kiralo was leered at by them? Ych.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Vote closes this afternoon.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Tally please.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I'll start work on it soon, then. Oh, I also forgot something else. Can someone roll a d100.
In order to stop people from panicking, this isn't an important roll. Sorta? If you roll poorly, you just dont' get a certain bonus. If you do roll well, it could help with something.
