Behind the Serpent Throne (CK2)

[veekie]

[X] Plan Random

Not what I want, but much closer

 

[keios]

Just caught up... and now I have to actually think (wahhhh) :X

[X] Plan Random

---

Total aside and completely unhelpful to other questers, but can I just say, this is a beast of a quest? I loved the mythic quality of the beginning, and I love how full and alive the culture is. Kiralo's great too—his background continually feeds back into the story in wonderful ways.

Because I'm a sucker for quotes from readers myself, I tried to quote a few of my favorite passages as I got farther into the fic:

How many young men had Kuojah made sons of? Or tried to, at least. Had he done it with every son-by-marriage, every young scholar whose thoughts aligned with his own? Kiralo wondered at the desperation for a son, for a legacy. It wasn't something he'd felt, not like that, and yet it was something real.

Kiralo stood slowly and gestured at the door, a trifle theatrically. A spirit of wind came when he muttered and opened it. "Yes, children. Without them all is dust."

"And with them," Kuojah began, and then he shook his head, turning, his robes shifting as he did. Still wearing black and white, still mourning even now. "Never mind. You may leave unless there is another matter you would like to discuss."

Click to shrink...

I think this is a beautiful shifting point in their relationship, even if Kiralo isn't aware of it(?). He doesn't despise his father the way he used to, but of course it'll never be easy between them. Watching them interact is one of the great pleasures of this quest.

"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."

Click to shrink...

It's a pleasure to follow Kiralo as he verbally outwits people left and right, but his relationship with Yanmae is especially sweet. They share more than they realize, and well... I just really feel for her. I thought, similarly, that the handling of Mingzhu was also really compelling.

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.

Click to shrink...

"I suspected as much. Your reputation is mixed, but precedes you. My own play, though, is already being talked about in ways I did not wish when I began writing it, over a year ago."

Kiralo blinked. "A year ago?"

"Did you think it was about the recent troubles?"

He...had. The aide of a slowly dying general in a lovely, and yet remote village. A strong man reduced to insanity and weakness, where once he had been a powerful man, if one who was sometimes cruel. And a town filled with people who similarly felt like they were at different stages of a decline. The widow whose best days were behind her, the holy man whose pious words were not matched by pious actions, the broke nobleman recklessly building a palace to honor his ancestors despite having no money to pay the workers, who were working because they liked it, and yet would soon demand pay…

And all the while, a story of love slowly unfolded, but also madness. The general died, the aide wandered through the streets, cast out. He talked with the beggar, who was a happy man, who suggested that one should follow that which they love. He went to her house, the aide to his romantic interest, and tried to seduce her, but when she rebuffed him at the last moment, he turned away and then considered what it was he truly loved, and reminisced about the days when the general was a strong man and being his aide had been one act of glory after another. Tired, he killed himself, but at the end, there was something with the way his spirits moved that seemed to suggest...something.

It had seemed to Kiralo that the general surely was the Empire, or at least, the town was the palace.

Click to shrink...

I just love this plotline. The plays were so meta—feeding right into the themes of the Empire and Kiralo's relationship with his dad—and they were also used for political gain!! Plus, I can't be the only one who is rooting for Bei'ren...

It went on down the line...and then skipped Kiralo. Han, to Kiralo's joy, received a position as one of the Emperor's personal dancers with eager gratitude. The names wound towards the end, and suddenly the Emperor stood up.

He spoke, his tiny voice booming thanks to the spirits, "All shall bow and excuse me. I shall be back within a minute."

Kiralo gaped at the figure as he stepped down, soon flanked by his elite guards, and left. Left people to mutter, as Kiralo tried to focus and think about why he was passed by. It was a position that had wrecked many, many men before.

Nobody had truly possessed the power and that position for more than two or three years at a time, even if some remained in that post for a decade or more. It was not cursed, nothing so simple as that, but navigating the army and the Imperial court was a lesson in madness. People had been executed, or failed to uphold the wishes of one side or another and found themselves sidelined or unable to act.

In fact, this could be just such a moment. If the Emperor returned and said that he was withdrawing the offer to one Cs-Kiralo, or that he had found evidence of treason and therefore Cs-Kiralo could not be Envoy To the Army From the Imperial Seat, or anything at all other than a corpse.

It was unlikely, of course, but even if all it was was merely an enemy of Kuojah managing to prevent the ascension at the last moment by some gossip of scheme, it'd leave Kiralo vulnerable and exposed, his promises shattered on the ground like glass after a wind storm.

He'd have to desperately scramble to survive, and there would be no use in bringing his mother's remains here to bury and put a pool over them, there would be no use planning a future. It would not be quite so bad as to necessitate a withdrawl, but he realized suddenly just how vulnerable he might be.

He was the son of Kuojah, but he was a son who was certainly not loved by his father, and being his father's son meant attacks, too. It meant that he needed to step carefully, less confidently than he had. He hadn't an estate to go to to brood if he was banished from the court by politics and circumstances, he didn't have a base, peasants and nobles that would stand with him if he wished to pressure others.

He was a scholar-general-poet-bureaucrat without a post, without an army, without poetic credibility. Kiralo, in other words, was in a bad position if it all crumbled now.

And he considered it all, every move, every way out. If he was refused he'd have to press hard on the victory with the play, and emphasize that aspect of himself while working with the army to attempt to at least keep them neutral.

Or perhaps it would be time to start plotting with them for the downfall of whoever it was.

There were thirty minutes between the Emperor's exit and when he arrived again. Long enough for desperate plotting, and for more than Kiralo. Everyone was thinking furiously, muttering among themselves to see what it was. But if this was a trap, if this was doom, then Kiralo wasn't going to let it show on his face.

One maintained a mask in court, or one lost. So he was the only person who did not gasp when Emperor Dai'so walked in. He was dressed in a new outfit, his hair more elaborate, and in his hands he was holding a lacquered box which seemed to have carefully painted scenes on it. Most importantly, though, he was dressed in silver, inlaid with gold flowers and hints of blue and green to break up the color. But silver dominated, and he walked forward to stand just in front of the throne area, near the serpents, his elite guards in their serpent armor at his back.

"Cs-Kiralo, of Lineage Ainin. I have been told that you have a strong arm, one that can pull back any bow and hit a target ten times out of ten. Whose very spirits dance with the power of war. Is this true?"

Click to shrink...

Just epic. Thank you for this. Excited for the rest.

 

[The Laurent]

Vote closed, tally please.

 

[Random Member]

Spoiler: Tally Results

Vote Tally : Original - Fantasy - Behind the Serpent Throne (CK2) | Page 89 | Sufficient Velocity
##### NetTally 1.7.3.2

[x] Plan Random
No. of Votes: 6

Spoiler: Voters

Plan: ◈Random
Gingganz
keios
Neptune
Random Member
veekie
Zeitgeist Blue

[x] Plan Bakkasama
No. of Votes: 4

Spoiler: Voters

Plan: ◈Bakkasama
Bakkasama
mori
Muer'ci
No7sHere

[X] Plan Strategic Over Personal
-[X] A Father's Decision
-[X] The Science of Spiritual Warfare
-[X] Hari-Bueli Hopes
-[X] Near-Southland Temptations
-[X] Know Thy Enemy (Prince)
-[X] Magical Assurances.
-[X] Let The Forges Sing
-[X] The War Room
-[X] The Choosing of Generals
-[X] The Signs of Victory?
-[X] A Cart, A Cart, My Empire...
-[X] Marching Drills
-[X] Just Have to Put Your Lips Together...
No. of Votes: 0

Spoiler: Voters

Plan: ◈Strategic Over Personal

Total No. of Voters: 10

 

[The Laurent]

Turn 8--A

"Public records," Arimi said, "Why not just ask the guy on the street what he thinks of Prince Jinhai?" Arimi asked, taking a pull from his flask.

"Why indeed?" Kiralo asked, glancing down at the documents in his hands.

Prince Jinhai was somewhat older than Kiralo, with a ten year old younger brother who would likely have to be executed, and a number of married sisters his age, which meant...well, the story was old and bloody, and defeat would send the entire family toppling into death. He also had younger sisters, and a brother who had just been born. His father was very inactive, and had conceived that last child on a sickbed, which seemed to Kiralo to indicate something rather improper about the medical advice he'd been receiving.

As far as the Prince himself went, he was well-educated by a variety of tutors. From a young age he had shown an interest in war and politics and a capacity for education that meant that he had passed the very first degree of the civil service exam, despite disdaining it in other ways. More importantly, he had served as his father's eyes and ears for his small force, which had been a loyal retainer of the Governor, an even more distant relative of the Imperial Seat, who relied on the close connection of Prince Jinhai's father to maintain a certain control over what orders he was given and how he interacted with the Emperor.

Over a decade of campaigning, the Governor had been all but usurped by the charisma and political skills of the young Prince Jinhai, who as known to reward his friends, punish his enemies, and never forget a debt.

He lacked any obvious and visible flaws, neither drinking too much nor too little, and writing poetry that was judged staid and yet accomplished, with calligraphy that was excellent but not too daring. A careful man, then, someone who either had no fire...and yet somehow thought of, dreamed of, dominion over an entire Empire…

Or someone who had hidden it so well as to be untraceable. As it was, he was unmarried now only because he was waiting. Once he was the right hand of the Emperor, standing behind the throne as Kuojah did, or once he was the Emperor himself, then there would be no end to the number of offers he'd receive.

In the meantime, he seemed to refrain even from visiting courtesans, at the least often enough for it to be commented on.

No secrets, no hooks. A man who had prepared for power the same way another man might prepare for a test.

And Kiralo would have to kill him.

If he did not kill Kiralo first.

*****

It happened when he was walking back from a rather expensive session of bribery. The auguries were downright hostile, the old men who read the bones frowning and not even needing to be prompted to start offering up terms to make this better. To read the fight of birds, in a second case, as not foretelling total and complete disaster.

Bones, birds, every form of reading towards the future all seemed to hint at some great disaster, the kind that would destroy the entire army.

Fire, some said. No, it would be water. No, the army would lose all of its men in a single great battle, as Prince Jinhai, "Triumphed riding a horse of steel."

Some prophecies seemed little more than nonsense, but after the dozenth augur had to be bribed to keep from telling of doom, it meant that either Prince Jinhai was bribing them, or there was some disaster in the telling. Some disaster that was impossible to forestall.[1]

Kiralo was glad he'd bribed them all to tell of great victory. It would have been a disaster otherwise. As it was, he was stressed and thoughtful when one of his guards let out a yell.

A man dressed in city guard armor rushed at Kiralo screaming out as he drew a sword and slashed aside a guard's stab at him. He was moving in a blur, shockingly, his form horrible but the element of surprise and a certain intensity about his plain, drawn face indicating that he was willing to die for this.

Kiralo, who had no problem with others dying to try to kill him, as long as he didn't die, drew his…

He didn't have a sword, he realized, and it was only then that his heart started to beat a little faster, and then only a little. He had four guards, two of them quite close, and the second advanced, stabbing at the man, who slid around the attack and had almost reached Kiralo when the third guard, a scrawny, eager man who had seemed to stick far too close to Kiralo, sometimes, leapt right at the man.

The other man had a sword, it should have been madness. But instead, the assassin was taken by surprise and hurled to the ground, and Lian'o, if Kiralo remembered it right, knocked the sword out of the man's hand, taking a cut to his arm in the process, and then pinned him down.

"I...have him," Lian'o panted, "He...won't."

Kiralo glanced at his other three guards. "Secure the area. There will probably be a second assassin."

Kiralo, meanwhile, approached the first assassin, senses tuned for any hint of a spiritual attack from him. "Why have you attacked me? What did Prince Jinhai pay you?"

"Jinhai! You think it is about that!? Your father destroyed my family! I'll kill his!" The man thrashed, this way and that, screaming himself hoarse.

Kiralo shook his head. Prince Jinhai was behind this somehow, and yet...if he'd tried this, did that mean he had no real in? It was startling, how inept an attempt it was. A single man running at him in a hall that was often used.

When he had four guards, and might have tried ot fend him off barehanded, or just run, if need be.

Mediocre at best.

Which two elements does Kiralo focus on for the follow-up?

[] Trying to unravel where Prince Jinhai falls in all of this. Hunting down his network if he has one. But there's a good chance that this man was a patsy, a cutout that...well, if it leads anywhere, Kiralo would be shocked.
[] Increasing security, adding a guard or two and advising his father at their meeting to add one to Yanmae's room and that of others related to her.
[] Figure out this man's motivations, and make sure that he is properly tried, convicted, and disposed of as an object lesson...perhaps to Prince Jinhai if he learns of it. He needs to try harder. That was just pathetic.

[1] A natural one was rolled on the *actual* Auguries. You now get a -1 to all rolls involving the actual military campaign from now until...who knows when. You're fated to get fucked. Fight fate.

*****

Spoiler: Roll-Play

[] The Signs Of Victory
Need: 25, Rolled: 1d100+6+4=34

[] Know Thy Enemy (Prince)
Rolled: 1d100+9=40

Follow-Up on the Previous 55 Assassination Roll:

Alea Jacta.

Edit: We are fucked.

Click to shrink...

Assassin!: 1d100+14 (Martial) vs. 1d100+18 (thrice, guards)

146 vs. 92, 66, 163

A/N: And so it's finally happened. Jinhai-sempai has noticed you!

I know it's short and not much, but I wanted to have the attack happen early on in the turn.

 

[Gingganz]

[X] Increasing security, adding a guard or two and advising his father at their meeting to add one to Yanmae's room and that of others related to her.

This looks like the best short term solution and we don't need any long term solution. The first option seems like it will take some time to properly implement, by which time Kiralo or Jinhai will be dead anyway. And the third..., well justice is nice, I guess, but we have a war to win and we need to survive. Encouraging Jinhai to try harder somehow seems counterproductive.

 

[Neptune]

[X] Increasing security, adding a guard or two and advising his father at their meeting to add one to Yanmae's room and that of others related to her.

Click to shrink...

Which two elements does Kiralo focus on for the follow-up?

Click to shrink...

For the update itself, kind of surprised our Rassit bodyguards that have been following us around for months weren't mentioned given the opportunity presented itself.

 

[The Laurent]

For the update itself, kind of surprised our Rassit bodyguards that have been following us around for months weren't mentioned given the opportunity presented itself.

Click to shrink...

They actually weren't there. They aren't actually your bodyguards. They're your hanger-ons...that do sometimes loom.

So, they were busy elsewhere.

 

[Gingganz]

Oops. I should try to read the story post properly before voting. Could be helpful. Thanks for the heads-up, Neptune.

My reasoning stays pretty much the same, though. Trying to unravel Jinhai's plots is not likely to work, but I guess it won't hurt, either.

[X] Trying to unravel where Prince Jinhai falls in all of this. Hunting down his network if he has one. But there's a good chance that this man was a patsy, a cutout that...well, if it leads anywhere, Kiralo would be shocked.

[X] Increasing security, adding a guard or two and advising his father at their meeting to add one to Yanmae's room and that of others related to her.

 

[Random Member]

[1] A natural one was rolled on the *actual* Auguries. You now get a -1 to all rolls involving the actual military campaign from now until...who knows when. You're fated to get fucked. Fight fate.

Click to shrink...

Bah, looking at entrails and studying the flights of birds. It's not like these charlatans can really determine fate. Right? (On the other hand, it sounds like the Prince has one of those 'turtles'....)

[] Trying to unravel where Prince Jinhai falls in all of this. Hunting down his network if he has one. But there's a good chance that this man was a patsy, a cutout that...well, if it leads anywhere, Kiralo would be shocked.

This could lead us to more agents we can root out, or it can do nothing.

[] Increasing security, adding a guard or two and advising his father at their meeting to add one to Yanmae's room and that of others related to her.

I don't see anything wrong with this, more guards is always good. Unless the guards themselves have been bribed, but in that case we're fucked.

[] Figure out this man's motivations, and make sure that he is properly tried, convicted, and disposed of as an object lesson...perhaps to Prince Jinhai if he learns of it. He needs to try harder. That was just pathetic.

Eh, why would we want the Prince to try harder? This might make future assassins more hesitant though. And figuring out the guy's motive would be helpful, I suppose.

 

[Tanor]

[X] Figure out this man's motivations, and make sure that he is properly tried, convicted, and disposed of as an object lesson...perhaps to Prince Jinhai if he learns of it. He needs to try harder. That was just pathetic.

 

[mori]

[X] Trying to unravel where Prince Jinhai falls in all of this. Hunting down his network if he has one. But there's a good chance that this man was a patsy, a cutout that...well, if it leads anywhere, Kiralo would be shocked.
[X] Increasing security, adding a guard or two and advising his father at their meeting to add one to Yanmae's room and that of others related to her.

I wanna know the motivations, but making a big kerfuffle out of it could just look like weakness, or radicalize dissidents. not that i think it's likely, but im like eh, dont see a strong need to pick this option anyways

 

[No7sHere]

I'm honestly less worried about this assassination attempt than the QM telling us we're fated to get fucked. We need to deal with this somehow, maybe our spirit of fate can help us somehow, and we need to prepare contingencies in case of military disaster, maybe prepare to hire a bunch of mercenaries or something.

 

[Random Member]

[X] Trying to unravel where Prince Jinhai falls in all of this. Hunting down his network if he has one. But there's a good chance that this man was a patsy, a cutout that...well, if it leads anywhere, Kiralo would be shocked.
[X] Increasing security, adding a guard or two and advising his father at their meeting to add one to Yanmae's room and that of others related to her.

Hmm, fire, water, lose all our men in a single battle, horse of steel.... If I had to make a guess right now, I'd say a battle at a river or wetland (water) with the Prince's troops using alot of explosives and/or cannons of some kind (fire) and atleast one of those 'turtles' from Anlan (horse of steel). I can't imagine how we'd lose "all our men" though.

 

[keios]

[X] Trying to unravel where Prince Jinhai falls in all of this. Hunting down his network if he has one. But there's a good chance that this man was a patsy, a cutout that...well, if it leads anywhere, Kiralo would be shocked.
[X] Increasing security, adding a guard or two and advising his father at their meeting to add one to Yanmae's room and that of others related to her.

 

[Varano]

[X] Figure out this man's motivations, and make sure that he is properly tried, convicted, and disposed of as an object lesson...perhaps to Prince Jinhai if he learns of it. He needs to try harder. That was just pathetic.

 

[Muer'ci]

[X] Trying to unravel where Prince Jinhai falls in all of this. Hunting down his network if he has one. But there's a good chance that this man was a patsy, a cutout that...well, if it leads anywhere, Kiralo would be shocked.

[X] Figure out this man's motivations, and make sure that he is properly tried, convicted, and disposed of as an object lesson...perhaps to Prince Jinhai if he learns of it. He needs to try harder. That was just pathetic.

Meh. Vagually unhappy with all options and the situation in general, but Yanmae probably wouldn't want a guard breathing down her neck, and I doubt they'd be that useful, so.

 

[Mors]

Fire + Water + Horse of Steel = ... Steam Engine? Are we steampunk already?

 

[veekie]

[X] Trying to unravel where Prince Jinhai falls in all of this. Hunting down his network if he has one. But there's a good chance that this man was a patsy, a cutout that...well, if it leads anywhere, Kiralo would be shocked.
[X] Increasing security, adding a guard or two and advising his father at their meeting to add one to Yanmae's room and that of others related to her.

 

[pantherasapiens]

Which two elements does Kiralo focus on for the follow-up?

[X] Trying to unravel where Prince Jinhai falls in all of this. Hunting down his network if he has one. But there's a good chance that this man was a patsy, a cutout that...well, if it leads anywhere, Kiralo would be shocked.
[X] Figure out this man's motivations, and make sure that he is properly tried, convicted, and disposed of as an object lesson...perhaps to Prince Jinhai if he learns of it. He needs to try harder. That was just pathetic.

 

[Zeitgeist Blue]

[X] Trying to unravel where Prince Jinhai falls in all of this. Hunting down his network if he has one. But there's a good chance that this man was a patsy, a cutout that...well, if it leads anywhere, Kiralo would be shocked.
[X] Increasing security, adding a guard or two and advising his father at their meeting to add one to Yanmae's room and that of others related to her.

Hmm, fire, water, lose all our men in a single battle, horse of steel.... If I had to make a guess right now, I'd say a battle at a river or wetland (water) with the Prince's troops using alot of explosives and/or cannons of some kind (fire) and atleast one of those 'turtles' from Anlan (horse of steel). I can't imagine how we'd lose "all our men" though.

Click to shrink...

We'd lose all our army once Jinhai wins the war, takes over Csirit the city, kills us in the battle, cuts off our father's head, and executes the Emperor.

 

[Neptune]

[X] Trying to unravel where Prince Jinhai falls in all of this. Hunting down his network if he has one. But there's a good chance that this man was a patsy, a cutout that...well, if it leads anywhere, Kiralo would be shocked.

[X] Figure out this man's motivations, and make sure that he is properly tried, convicted, and disposed of as an object lesson...perhaps to Prince Jinhai if he learns of it. He needs to try harder. That was just pathetic.

 

[The Laurent]

Vote'll close sometime Thursday.

 

[Molyneux]

[X] Trying to unravel where Prince Jinhai falls in all of this. Hunting down his network if he has one. But there's a good chance that this man was a patsy, a cutout that...well, if it leads anywhere, Kiralo would be shocked.
[X] Increasing security, adding a guard or two and advising his father at their meeting to add one to Yanmae's room and that of others related to her.

 

[wingstrike96]

[X] Trying to unravel where Prince Jinhai falls in all of this. Hunting down his network if he has one. But there's a good chance that this man was a patsy, a cutout that...well, if it leads anywhere, Kiralo would be shocked.

[X] Figure out this man's motivations, and make sure that he is properly tried, convicted, and disposed of as an object lesson...perhaps to Prince Jinhai if he learns of it. He needs to try harder. That was just pathetic.