Honestly... at this point I care more about getting someone who will fit into our life reasonably well than any particulars about this clan or that clan... someone we can develop some sort of an affection for, but who will not interfere with what we have going on with Megumi.
It concerns me that Lion and Unicorn are our lowest... but picking one is highly likely to upset the other.
@gman391 Are we planning to retire to the Brotherhood? If we are, and I recall the implications thereof correctly, then the marriage in question might not last all that long.
our approval ratings and her approval ratings are not necessarily going to be on the same base. Also, she has things like a fully functional Otomo family to work with from the beginning.
our approval ratings and her approval ratings are not necessarily going to be on the same base. Also, she has things like a fully functional Otomo family to work with from the beginning.
@Dark as Silver
I intentionally had in the background Naseru giving Hisao something of a blank board. However the same will not apply to Minoru (but she will have something of a hit in approval until she proves herself...probably by killing some Yodotai or something)
It had been a subtle thing that led to you and Isshin walking through the gardens alone. So subtle that you really doubt that anyone who wasn't aware of what Paneki was doing would even notice. However, you were and so you did not find it particularly surprising that as you rounded the corner. You spotted a woman painting the gardens.
Isshin looks at you with a slightly raised eyebrow asking silently if you wanted to meet privately with her while he coincidentally had to secure the area and make sure there were no ninja assassins made of flowers waiting to attack you.
You nod silently even as you put a name to the picture. Kintaro having heard of your desire for 'Unicorn blends' had provided you with a briefing on the five most politically connected candidates.
Shinjo Izumi, a relatively young woman whose family were rulers Haisho province in the north eastern corner of the Empire. Not the strongest Shugenja with regards to the kami she did however excel in many courtly arts. She likely hopes to help the Shinjo eventually regain the leadership of the Unicorn.
You approach Izumi and wait for her to notice you. The painting is not the best you have seen, but it is not terrible either, likely with a few more years practice she would be considered quite the talent.
"No needs more green...he'll never notice you if you don't stand out more." She mutters.
Oh the painting was for you...well you suppose that makes sense, but honestly it seems a waste.
She turns down to her painting supplies to pick up the green paint and freezes in place, her eyes going up your legs towards your face.
An instant passes, then two, and suddenly she is on her knees kow towing to you.
"Forgive me Mikado I did not see you, this unworthy...."
"Enough Shinjo-san, you may rise." You say cutting off the babble.
She is young, not that it matters beyond your own peace of mind, but you could see it in how nervous Izumi is. Her voice is soprano that rings faintly with musical training.
"Thank you my Emperor" She says rising still not meeting your eyes.
You kneel down a little to pick up the green paint and hand it to her. There should be something you could say to her, but on the other hand...you have to see how she stands with you.
While there was no one who could replace Kaname in your heart. You had no need for a wife who could not look you in the eye.
A few moments of breathing from her as she reaches out and takes your hand in hers, bold, but if she thinks that is enough...
"They're rougher than I expected" She says.
Izumi's eyes rise up to yours as she firmly shakes your hand.
Unicorn custom, but a little too familiar you decide, still there was some spark there.
"Jiujutsu remains one of my favoured hobbies."
"It shows my Emperor, thank you" She says letting go of your hand and taking the green paint.
"Go on finish your painting Shinjo-san, tell me about yourself."
Izumi blinks and nods firmly before turning to do so.
"I always wanted to be an artisan, I love to make things, I love to create, but the kami speak to me, not as strong as some but they speak and I cannot help but respond...who could ignore the divine around them like that?" She asks herself.
The garden comes into clearer view as her brush strokes firm and in dexterous move around the page.
"I was raised as a priestess, but I taught myself to be an artisan. I..." she trails off.
"Do not know what to say. You are the Emperor, divinity, you who created the Laws, Reclaimed Otosan Uchi, Broke the Mantis...what can a priestess like myself offer to that? I love to make things, to leave the world more beautiful than when I lat left it. I cannot promise you that I will be able to rise the rivers at my command, to see the Water Dragon roar. I will promise you this though my Emperor, my heart is true, my compassion pure, and that there is magic just as great in the art of a brush or a string...and in that magic I am strong indeed."
You nod.
"So tell me then what about this magic makes it so strong?"
This was something you expected from the Crane, but it wasn't terrible as you spend the afternoon discussing art with the Shinjo
----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Tea Hall of the Bayushi, Late Night, 8th day of the Rat.
Today hadn't been a day you could totally spend engrossed with one woman, there were ceremonies to observe, things to do. But as the day ended, and you finished watching a lovely little play on the history of the Toturi, you found that a late night snack would hit the spot.
The hall was curiously empty, even as you saw one woman alone in the corner, reading a book.
Ide Ami, an older woman whose first marriage had been cut short before they could wed by the the last Unicorn Lion War. A woman who had thrown herself into her work after that, tending to the various shrines of her family domain in Eijitsu province. Word was that she had turned down over a dozen confessions over the last few years. Kotaro had argued that her nature along with her kuge status made her a good match. You weren't so sure yourself.
Isshin glances at you again.
"Go make sure that the kitchens make the daifuku I like Seppun-san."
"Hai" and he hurries off to do that, content that the hidden guards in the rafters will keep you safe.
For your part you move over to Ami and stand in front of her table.
Ami quickly looks up from her book and kowtows to you, not saying anything, but submitting to your presence.
"Rise Ide-san, may I sit with you?"
"Of course my Emperor, how could I deny you anything?" She asks.
Ami's deadpan voice is deep speaking of more suffering than you'd like. Also you were pretty sure that was sarcasm.
You sit down across from her all the same, as you look at the book she was reading. 'An Inquiry into Celestial Wheels and Effects on Crops.'
"A heavy topic for so late is it not Utaku-san?" You ask.
"Oh the book?" She asks, pouring you tea perfectly as she does so. "Perhaps, but I am always trying to learn new things to do my duties in the spring more efficiently."
"In the spring? You could go somewhere else after spring." You say.
Ami does not smile the wan smile of a woman who has heard every pick up line before, who knows what to expect. Yet some how you see it in her eyes all the same.
"My Emperor knows best of course. However, I do not expect to be swept off my feet. I am not exactly the flower of youth as many beauties here are, and well, expectation breeds disappointment." She says simply.
You take a sip of the tea.
"Am I disappointing then?" You ask to see her reaction.
Her eyes meet yours, without flinching.
"My Emperor could hardly disappoint me in anything, but my eyes are not blind to my own faults. The question I should be asking is if I disappoint you."
"Not yet" You say as she drinks her tea in turn.
"I have no intentions of ever doing so." She says. "However, I do not see myself being someone you would pick for a bride. So expecting the handsome Emperor to sweep my off my feet is too arrogant even for me." Ami says.
"Why would I not pick you?" You ask curious.
"I am sure that Otomo-sama has already told you my past, how I was betrothed but my fiancee died before we could exchange our vows...However, I see it in you the same thing I see in me. I still love him, Moto Jiyang...even after all this time. You still love the Empress." She says.
You raise one eyebrow.
"Perceptive." you say.
"I was there when she passed, at Shiro Moto, I saw your grief. " Ami says. "I won't say that I don't want to marry you, because I would like to. It would be good for my family, and I like to think that I could make you happy somewhat. But you deserve better than to compete with a dead man's memory."
By that same token, didn't all of these women? You wonder, before you can do more than that Isshin arrives with the daifuku. The heavy topic is chased away by his arrival and the sweet deserts. You end up talking about the nature of the stars for some time before going to bed.
------------------------------ Hall of Fortunes, Month of the Rat 9th day.
You had slept in today. There was nothing particularly on the agenda, so after a small breakfast you had gone to the vast indoor complex that held all the Fortunes in Kyuden Bayushi. While you had prayed every day for Kaname and to the gods, during this early winter, so close to the anniversary to her death...you wanted to do it more.
Not for the first time you cursed the nature of life that meant you could not just take a week off to mourn her. The Empire never stopped, so neither could you.
Yet, here in these holy halls, it seemed to stop as you whisper prayers and go through the bone deep grief you feel allowing it to flow out of you through the incense sticks into heaven. There is nothing you can do to bring her back, but you will honour her and show Kaname the love you still have for her.
Ami might have gotten to you more than most.
Hours it feels like but it could not have been so many, you rise and begin to head out to the wider world. Only to stop at the small entrance to the shrine of Musubi-no-kami the fortune of marriage and child birth. There stood another woman that Kotaro had offered up to you.
Utaku Erina, another younger woman, but she had served with the armies despite her less than martial appearance mostly as a healer, although reportedly had once simply used her bare hands to wrestle down a rampaging boar. You kind of doubted that though. A powerful shugenja her family ruled Tsuriai province, and was thus of sufficient status, but her personality was something of a mystery. Kotaro reported her being very outspoken to most but demure to those in authority, although like most Utaku she adored horses.
Erina quickly kowtows to you as she catches your eye, waiting for you to say or do anything for her to move. So instead you approach and gesture for her to stand.
"Utaku Erina-san was it?" You ask.
A slight blush from her.
"Hai, my Emperor, I am glad that you have remembered my name amongst the dozens of others here." She says.
Her voice is not the low deadpan of Ami, nor the high pitched music of Izumi, but something in between, a voice used to shouting, a voice that could be kind one moment but absolutely terrifying the next.
"Praying to Musubi-no-kami for guidance?" You ask.
Erina nods. "Hai, while Benten-no-kami is great and I wish her blessing as well. I think it better not to tempt her, her blessing is a dangerous thing." She says.
"But it is still a blessing" You say.
"Blessing is a good thing, love is good, I believe that Mikado, but I do not believe that people are always ready for such things. You give a child sweets before a meal and his appetite is ruined."
"That's a different analogy. Am I keeping you from your prayers?" You ask.
"No my Emperor. I was finished and thinking if I should go to the stables or not."
"The famed Utaku steeds, do you have one?"
The light in Erina's eyes at the mention of steeds dims as the question sinks in.
"No, I am not a Shiotome, while I love Galenz dearly he is not one of the fabled Utaku Steeds." Erina admits.
You reflect that you could probably keep Erina happy just by giving her a lot of horses.
"I see, beyond the stables what do you enjoy otherwise Utaku-san?"
"My Emperor should not just ask me to talk about me, its a little too arrogant to brag about yourself to someone like that. " Erina says faintly blushing again.
"But..." you prompt.
"I love to learn about animals, people. I was just of age to fight with my Clan against the Lion, and while it was really hard in a lot of ways. I found that I never felt more fulfilled when I was saving people, helping them walk again, I suppose that you could call me a naturalist? But in the end I just like to learn how bodies work so I can fix them even better. I also enjoy swimming, not just a bookworm I promise!" Erina says in one long breath.
That was just impressive.
"Swimming that's a bit different for a Unicorn how did that happen?" You ask as the pair of you begin to walk through the hall.
Erina is bubbly but yes opinionated going at great length how she hates when people judge by stereotypes and her will to go out of the way just to prove them wrong.
A sweet girl, but Fortunes, that's a lot of personality. You never do actually ask her about marriage, she seems simply happier talking about various other things. Granted, you get the feeling that there's a reason for that.
Something for Kotaro to look into.
One of these days you should like give him a vacation or something.
------------------------------------------------- Dojo of the Forgotten, Month of the Rat, 10th day
Was there anything better than the feeling of your fist going through stone? Lots of things, but there was still a visceral satisfaction about it as you broke the stone block before you in the dojo. After a day of listening to a lot of minor complaints.
(Seriously who cared that this one group of Emerald Yoriki kept ruining this merchant's cabbages?) The ability to cut loose by leveraging your martial arts to the fine past time of destruction was welcome.
Too bad it made you sweaty though, you think as you take off your training gi to cool off.
A sharp inhale of breath alerts you to the fact that you are not alone. Isshin is already moving to see what the fuck was that. (If it was zombies, you were going to throw Paneki through a window, maybe two)
Instead stepping out from the corner, and fiddling with her hair, face redder than a Scorpion's mon, stands a woman. She quickly remembers to kowtow just before Isshin kicks her.
Wait a minute, you know this woman. Iuchi Hanae, the only daughter of Iuchi Yue former Daimyo of the Iuchi family. A woman of tremendous strength in the kami so it was said, but also secretive preferring to ride outside the Empire to the Jewelled City rather than reveal herself closer to home.
"Iuchi Hanae, you know there are laws against spying against the Emperor?" You ask.
"Hai, I know, I will offer my life to atone, but please let me explain my Emperor!" She says her voice lilting like there were many gaijin tongues influencing it.
"Rise Iuchi-san, and speak quickly. Seppun-san here is a bit twitchy." You say.
Isshin looks at you with a simple nod. Yes twitchy was a good word for him.
"So last night Utaku Erina-san came to talk to me about you, and we ended up staying up all night. So I thought I would go to this dojo to catch a bit of sleep so the servants can clean the Unicorn rooms, but I ended up sleeping too long and when I woke up I heard you going through your forms. I swear I did not know it was you until I looked..." she says quickly but more slowly than Erina did.
"How did you keep the Seppun from finding you? They're very good at this." You ask.
"Well, I um, asked the Kami to make sure I wasn't disturbed and to tell everyone else I wasn't dangerous...and I'm not! I would never hurt you my Emperor!" She says.
And yet you can tell she's struggling not to look over your body again. Well you're going to choose the option that boosts the old ego.
"You just asked" Isshin says deadpan.
"Yes I did Seppun-sama, the kami like me, always have."
Isshin looks at you asking for permission to jab crystal into her with his eyes. You nod.
Isshin takes a small crystal pendant and stabs Hanae with it.
Hanae flinches more out of reflex than pain. "Hey what the...oh..."
The crystal does nothing, so it seems she's not some evil demonic entity trying to assassinate you. Just a really lucky/unlucky woman.
"Well I suppose then Iuchi-san, that this is as good a time as any to get to know each other" You say.
"Hai." She says still red.
"Seppun-san. You want to referee?"
"As you wish." Isshin says stiffly moving to the central sparring ring in the dojo.
"Referee?" Hanae squeeks.
"Well Iuchi-san, since you interrupted my training, you get to be my training partner." You say.
Hanae looks down, takes a deep breath.
"As my Emperor commands." she say and moves over to the ring.
So the two of you spar, in terms of raw power she has you easily outclassed, but in terms of flexibility and experience, well you are superior there and you use it over and over again to win. However Hanae adapts and with each bout you have to work harder and harder to get that win. More than that you begin to learn about her. How she is very open in one sense with her stance, but her actions are very closed, she puts everything into single strikes, but refuses to stop tunneling from your own blows. Its interesting as a contrast.
Finally she raises a hand.
"My Emperor, I wish I could continue but I cannot..." she says.
"Hai, it was a good match" You say wiping the sweat off your brow.
Before you even ask, a servant with water is there. You take a long drink.
Thank you helpful Scorpion ninja servants.
"Why did you ask me to spar? I mean I know I can throw a punch but you were...well a lot better, I couldn't have been that much of a challenge."
"I wanted to get your measure" You say.
"Oh..." Hanae looks down. "You were amazing, I felt like every time I had you figured out, you would just add another piece and make the whole puzzle different."
"Puzzle?" You ask.
"Hai puzzle, I love puzzles, I love figuring out how people think, how things happen, why magic is the way it is. I am not always lucky, but I love learning itself.
I am glad I got to learn from you, even if I'm pretty sure I sunk my chances of marrying you" Hanae says.
Although she is sad at that, the Iuchi quickly bounces back.
"Oh well, that means Utaku-san has a better chance, and I'm happy for her."
You give Isshin a look of bemusement before prodding the younger woman on how her journeys in the Burning Sands were.
Hanae is much more subdued that Erina, but you can figure out why they're friends.
------------------------------------------- Hunting Grounds, Month of the Rat 11th day
After the last few days, you decided that it was time to get out of the castle for a bit, so with your trusty retainers you began a grand hunt going through the forests with a spear and a bow. The spear was for boars and bears, the bow was for everything else.
You moved through on your horse, when you come upon a clearing, at one end was a boar dead, from multiple spear wounds a horse wanders around at the far end. In front of the boar, a woman stood, one you also recalled
Moto Jinae, daughter Moto Namagi who ruled over the province of Enkaku. She was the second generation of the nascent order of Death Priests that had come from the West. A strict woman as all Death Priests were, she had ranged far afield being with the group that had gone to Pelmyria to scout years ago. Kotaro said that she was a bit shy but very comfortable with theology.
Which you hoped explained whatever the hell she was wearing on her face.
"Moto-san" You call out.
The woman goes stock still and turns to face you slowly and kowtows in the snow.
"My...Emperor" She says softly.
Almost too soft to hear, her voice is deep almost masculine but still manages to convey that she is a woman.
"You can stand. Did you kill this boar?" You ask.
"Hai..." Jinae says standing. "Was...worried..."
"Worried?" You ask tilting your head as you ride closer to her.
"For you...very tough..." she gestures with one spear to the boar.
"Are you saying I couldn't handle a boar?" You ask faintly amused.
"Do not...want you to..." she says.
"What are you wearing on your face anyways?"
She reaches up and takes off the mask, revealing a beautiful face
"No...old Moto invention...not used much since...moved south." She says.
You study her, why is she slow in speaking, hesitant even. When you realize that for all she is looking at you, she is trying very hard not to quite meet your eyes.
The Moto is scared she will ruin this and her family. You realize.
"Please, join me then Moto-san, and explain to me about this Moto invention." You say.
Jinae takes a moment but mounts up and rides beside you. It was a strange dichotomy, as she spoke about things she knew. Her words came slow, but careful and well formed as if she was searching for the best meaning for each of them. When it came to asking about herself however...
"I...am...a...priestess. I..." a long pause. "Enjoy...things."
Not the most outgoing, you were about to call it for a day when out of the underbrush stood a tiger, chased away by something else, it looked at you with fear in its eyes, but knowing that you would hunt it down, attacked...
Only for Jinae to simply stare at it, as she whispered something in a foreign tongue and the tiger stopped in it's tracks, falling over as it passed out.
"Sorry..." she manages as you look on in confusion.
For the sake of the peasants around here you had killed the tiger and ridden back with Jinae. A woman supremely confident in her abilities, but not in herself.
------------------------------
As you went into your chambers, you were about to turn in when a familiar tuft of hair appears.
Yuina stands before you, which is odd because she should be in...Tamori province? That was what her sensei had said anyways. Oh she has grown taller since you last met, but the white hair, the eyes and the movement remain the same.
You reach out to her shoulder and give a gentle squeeze, to prove to yourself that she is here.
"Yuina-chan, what are you doing here?"
"Hello Father" she says giving a smile.
"I wanted to meet my new mother...the Void...decided to let me."
"You traveled across the Empire through the void?" you ask.
"Hai...was that a bad thing?" she asks.
"Would your sensei say it was?" You ask in turn.
Yuina lowers her head.
"Missed you and Minoru. Can I stay?"
A deep breath.
"Of course you can, you're my daughter."
Yuina hugs you close.
"So have you found her yet?" She asks.
"Who?"
"The woman you're going to marry."
[] Write in a name
[] No, you intend to look into brides from (Insert other Great Clan here)
[] Ask Yuina something instead to distract her.
=======================
AN: Okay so I know this is a week late, but uh....yeah this took a lot of work.
Have fun. (And please choose a clan with less families next time if you go that route...oof)
Reason: We have people we love; our future Empress is someone who needs to be able to make us content, and vice versa. Additionally, Kuge status is very useful.
I assume that if we shop around in some of the other clans the options previously presented would still be available? It doesnt really make sense otherwise
Reason: We have people we love; our future Empress is someone who needs to be able to make us content, and vice versa. Additionally, Kuge status is very useful.
I agree that Ami is probably the most fitting of the current bunch, since we dont really want to inflict a man in mourning and who already has a lover on the other 4 who are young and have hopes for romance. But I would rather not commit just yet. We are the Emperor this whole Winter Court exists to Court us, aint no one who is gonna want to rush us.
I like the personality, and she's definitely interested...while on a pragmatic side she seems likely to do the surprising on enemies sneaking up, which is nice.
Seriously guys there's no hurry in choosing another Empress right away. We should see at least one more Clan just to know the options, since in our situation a bad choice could lead to a civil war if we get killed. Shopping around, as bad as that terms makes me feel, is a more than reasonable thing.
So yeah. While I don't want to work gman to death getting all the options, because I do have some mercy in my heart, we should at least look into 1 more Great Clan.
Seriously guys there's no hurry in choosing another Empress right away. We should see at least one more Clan just to know the options, since in our situation a bad choice could lead to a civil war if we get killed. Shopping around, as bad as that terms makes me feel, is a more than reasonable thing.
I think we can repair our relationship with the Lion without marrying one.
Not very impressed with them to be honest, always struck me as a bunch of bullies whenever i read about them.
Not that the other clans are better (Freaking Crane) but the Lion are right there near the bottom of my preferred clans, just above the Crane, but beneath the Scorpion (The Crab are at the top as my favorite).
I think we can repair our relationship with the Lion without marrying one.
Not very impressed with them to be honest, always struck me as a bunch of bullies whenever i read about them.
Not that the other clans are better (Freaking Crane) but the Lion are right there near the bottom of my preferred clans, just above the Crane, but beneath the Scorpion (The Crab are at the top as my favorite).
We cant really go for the Crabs at this point due to potential issues of favortisms that comes from Hisao's heritage, who leads the Brotherhood that he just gave a city too and who his current Marshal is.
And like, you might like the Crab, but two of those three things have been causing us no end of headaches. From the mother almost fucking over the whole dynasty to the Marshal constantly stirring up trouble among our advisers.
We cant really go for the Crabs at this point due to potential issues of favortisms that comes from Hisao's heritage, who leads the Brotherhood that he just gave a city too and who his current Marshal is.
And like, you might like the Crab, but two of those three things have been causing us no end of headaches. From the mother almost fucking over the whole dynasty to the Marshal constantly stirring up trouble among our advisers.
Isshin looks at you with a slightly raised eyebrow asking silently if you wanted to meet privately with her while he coincidentally had to secure the area and make sure there were no ninja assassins made of flowers waiting to attack you.
"Praying to Musubi-no-kami for guidance?" You ask.
Erina nods. "Hai, while Benten-no-kami is great and I wish her blessing as well. I think it better not to tempt her, her blessing is a dangerous thing." She says.
"But it is still a blessing" You say.
"Blessing is a good thing, love is good, I believe that Mikado, but I do not believe that people are always ready for such things. You give a child sweets before a meal and his appetite is ruined."
"My Emperor should not just ask me to talk about me, its a little too arrogant to brag about yourself to someone like that. " Erina says faintly blushing again.'
"Well, I um, asked the Kami to make sure I wasn't disturbed and to tell everyone else I wasn't dangerous...and I'm not! I would never hurt you my Emperor!" She says.
So the two of you spar, in terms of raw power she has you easily outclassed, but in terms of flexibility and experience, well you are superior there and you use it over and over again to win.
)
