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Burden of the Emerald Empire (A Legend of the Five Rings Tale)

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I believe that our front page elemental ranks are inaccurate - Earth should only be skill 3, with the new Emerald Champion. so...

On the matter of masteries:
- Doji Yuriko's focus is Diplomacy, so her mastery applies, giving a +2k0.
- Tsuruchi Etsuko's focus is Reform, which probably doesn't apply to road building
- Hida Ginchiyo's focus is on Defense, which this probably doesn't apply to. Arguably, this would actually fall on Togashi Shiko, but her stat is 4, and her focus is Balance, which means that she'd have the same +5k0 that non-focus Ginchiyo does. No change regardless.
- Yasuki Chitose's focus is on Growth. Taxing people and belt-tightening doesn't seem like a fit, there.
- Horiuchi Shem-Zhe's focus is on Reform. From a Jade Champion standpoint... honestly, I'd expect that "figure out this bizarre gaijin magic" actually fits that one pretty well. He probably gets the +2k0. Writing in below as if he does.

Air: 9k3 for ????, clan rating effects unknown (uncertain percentage)
Earth: 6k3 for 25, +5 Lion/Crab, -5 Crane/Unicorn (a bit better than 50%)
FIre:7k2 for 20, +5 Unicorn/Scorpion, -5 Phoenix/Crane (a bit better than 50%)
Water: 6k2 for 25 +5 Crane/Crab, -5 Dragon/Lion (a bit better than 40%)
Void: 8k3+5 for 25 (effectively 8k3 for 20) +5 Unicorn/Dragon, -5 Phoenix/Crane (a bit better than 90%) (a bit better than 80% if no specialty bonus)

Crane is 45
Scorpion and Unicorn are 50
Lion is 50, with a floor of 45 for 3 years
Dragon is 55
Crab and Phoenix are 60

Worth noting here that even 40 is "The Emperor has ruled somewhat against what we like." We do have flexibility here, in ways that we might not have in earlier years.

Fire and water are 2 picks from ranking up. Void skill is 2 successful picks from ranking up. None of the others are close enough to matter, and with how soon we're going to be retiring, the existing ranks-ups aren't enormously likely to matter either. How likely are we to make 3 picks of the same type between now and retirement? Does anyone remember how many years we have left between now and our intended retirement date?

So... breaking that down further, and ignoring the exp system for now...
- Air has lots and lots of unclear. Could be nothing, could be super-important, and the warning that Togashi gave us is the best clue we have as to which one it is. Does anyone remember which update that was in? The particulars of that warning seem like they'd be really pertinent here.
- Earth seems like a generally somewhat useful pick. Success is only a bit over 50%, and it'll drain the treasury at a time when we might need that treasury for other things. Also, Clan Ratings aren't particularly bad for the moment, but even so, Crane/Unicorn isn't a particularly good combo to be dropping, and Lion/Crab isn't a particularly good pair to be raising. Also... it's talking about long-term benefits. We're about to head into a war with an existential threat. This is not the time to be optimizing for the long term.
- Fire is potentially important, given that we're going to ant battlefield coordination with not one by two different cultures, and Rokugani aren't so hot at doing that without Bad Things Happening. "slightly better than even odds" isn't terrible. On the clan ratings side, taking a hit on Crane isn't great, but improving both Scorpion and Unicorn certainly doesn't hurt. A reasonable pick. I'd certainly call it better than Earth.
- Water is potentially important, but mostly seems focused on stocking away for logistics. The success chance is the only one that drops below 40%, and we've been told that if we go too heavy into this plan, it's going to start to get ugly. The clan rating distribution isn't terrible, but the action as a whole seems kind of weak. I'd be signing a different tune if our treasurer were freaking out about it, but that's just not the impression that I'm getting from the interactions here.
- Void is the other really competitive option, combining a very high chance of success with an appropriate military focus. Of course... he might be able to figure it out even without our help, but the vibe I'm getting from him definitely suggests that he sees the extra focus as important, rather than as a "nice to have". The Clan Ratings arent' great, but the rest of it is looking pretty solid.

So... I guess in my mind it comes down to which of the three dangers you're more concerned about. Void will help us handle the enemy magics. Fire will help us avoid coming to blows with our allies. Air will help us with... whatever it is in the north.
 
Adhoc vote count started by gman391 on Mar 9, 2021 at 11:10 PM, finished with 6 posts and 3 votes.
  • [X] Yuriko had a point, being taken in the rear would be catastrophic for the war effort, a small delegation now was a small price to pay even if it would seem odd. (TN ??? Air)
    [X] No you couldn't procrastinate anymore, the Empire needed to know how to counter the gaijin magic, if you waited to long...you could lose so many people that it wasn't worth it just to do anything else.. (TN 25 Void) +5 Unicorn, Dragon/ -5 Phoenix, Crane
Click to expand...


Alright guys can I get a few more votes please?
 
[X] No you couldn't procrastinate anymore, the Empire needed to know how to counter the gaijin magic, if you waited to long...you could lose so many people that it wasn't worth it just to do anything else.. (TN 25 Void) +5 Unicorn, Dragon/ -5 Phoenix, Crane
 
Well... fine. If no one else is going to dig up the warning, I'll do it myself.

gman391 said:
"Lord Sun is soon to step down." Togashi says remarkably blunt.

"....what?" You go after a moment.

"With him Lady Moon, the two are linked though both deny it." He continues like you didn't say anything.

"What?" You try again.

"When the sun fades, look to the north" Togashi finishes.

That phrase...you know that phrase, Lord Sun said it to you in that dream. What does that? How?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
...and now I recall that Lord Sun and Lady Moon were reincarnated among the Yobanjin, and that whole diplomacy thing starts to make a lot more sense. There is action going on up there, and it's a revitalized Yobanjin operating under the union of the reincarnations of Hida Yakamo and Mirumoto Hitomi.

So, given that....

[x] No you couldn't procrastinate anymore, the Empire needed to know how to counter the gaijin magic, if you waited to long...you could lose so many people that it wasn't worth it just to do anything else.. (TN 25 Void) +5 Unicorn, Dragon/ -5 Phoenix, Crane

I think it would be potentially useful to open diplomatic ties in that way... but I'm also less worried about this turning into an attack that we can't deal with than I would be if it were some other threat... and the numbers on our Void actions are really nice.
 
[x] No you couldn't procrastinate anymore, the Empire needed to know how to counter the gaijin magic, if you waited to long...you could lose so many people that it wasn't worth it just to do anything else.. (TN 25 Void) +5 Unicorn, Dragon/ -5 Phoenix, Crane
 
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Year 18: Omamori and Wanderers
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    • ---Research the Icons.
    Pass (44 v 25)
    Month of the Horse, 25th day (Early Summer)

    You look over the strangely upsized omamori. The paper made of sacred wood taken from Isawa Mori, is painted with deep red ink in ritual words and symbols most of which seem to be entreating the kami.

    "So this will defeat their Icons?" You ask, a glance at the nervous excitable looking Agasha woman that Shem-Zhe had assigned as the lead on this project.

    Agasha Momoe, that was her name.

    "Hai, Emperor, the Icons work on a very strange method to us, but with Horiuchi-sama and Kitsu-sama's expertise, we were able to figure out something. To be honest if not for the efforts of the Jade legion and the Imperial Bureaucracy, we wouldn't have been able to coax Kitsu-sama out of her temple. " Momoe says.

    "How does it work?"

    "Hmm, it's hard to explain to someone not a shugenja. In essence Icons themselves seem to work by invoking the meishodo true name on to an ancestral spirit that has been deified by the Yodotai, utter blasphemy, but it gives their 'Saints' immense power in the here and now, even if it condemns them away from whatever their conception of Yomi is." Momoe fiddles a bit with a small piece of fabric.

    "And this will stop that from happening?" You ask.

    "No, once an Icon is made it's not really possible to to stop the Saint from performing whatever act they are being venerated for. The Yodotai use this to deafen the kami and other forms of magic to anything a simple human can make. But there's an interesting property about this 'sound' for lack of a better term. Like real sound, it can be muffled, distorted. That is what this will do, until we formally see it in battle, it is hard to say if it will be a hundred percent effective, but it definitely should prevent the normal 'anti magic' effect reported to us by the Senpet and Pelmyrians. While not all the kami will be able to hear as they should, most should be able to."

    Cupping your chin in your hand, you nod. "Remarkable, given how much we rely on shugenja to keep our troops going, this will be of great aid to us. You have done your team proud Agasha-san."

    Momoe bows. "We live to serve."


    You're about to enquire more into the production of these...hmm dai-omamori? No that doesn't sound right, you'll leave it to Jade Legion to figure out a better name, when out of your eye you spot the tell tale white hair of your younger daughter, Yuina.

    Which is odd because last you heard she was in the Isles of Silk and Spice learning from the Storm Callers of the Yoritomo. You give a polite nod to Momoe and make your way over to her.

    "Yuina-chan, I hadn't heard you were in the capital." You say.

    "I'm not technically...step mother's speech with the kami has opened up new possibilities...And it was always possible to create a mirror of yourself in the Void, we are after all both of and apart from it." Yuina says.

    You decide to file that under 'Ishiken are weird' in your head. There is no grand embrace of your younger daughter or anything, it's too public for that, but you do give her a small smile.

    "How long are you staying?" You ask instead. "It'd be nice to catch up with my other daughter and for you to meet the twins."

    "Unfortunately not long, if I was my uncle or grandmother, I could stay, weeks, months maybe? But I am me, and no other, thus an hour or so is all I can manage. " Yuina smiles back.

    "Ah well, walk with me then and at least see the twins." You say.

    "Of course." Yuina says falling behind you.

    It's a familiar path that leads you into the imperial nursery. While you still...struggled with working too much, Kana and Ayumi between them had finagled it so your schedule always had a half hour or so just to spend with your children. On the one hand you really should be chastising them for managing you like that, on the other hand, Kouya and Kaya were adorable and so much easier to make happy than Minoru or Yuina was.

    "Has my sister arrived yet?" Yuina asks.

    You frown slightly, Minoru...had indicated that she would travel in the spring, but the journey south from the Phoenix lands could be treacherous in the extreme, so it taking until later in the summer was hardly unheard of. Especially if she decided to spend time with the various samurai lords along the way.

    "No, she said she was leaving in the spring"

    Yuina stops for a moment.
    "...Just like father." she whispers.

    "What's just like me?" you ask.

    "Minoru, Father, let me put to you a question."

    A nod from you, as your frown deepens. That gnawing feeling of an impending head ache was beginning to grow.

    "If you before grandfather had passed, had heard that the army was on the march against a foreign foe, and been told that the Clans wanted to see you in action to get your measure...what would you do?"

    Well that was...that was...
    You cast your mind back all those years when you had yearned for a chance to do something, anything beyond training in the forest under Itsume-sensei. If you had heard that...you would have weighed the risks of joining the Imperial Legions. You weren't a bad fighter, and your grandfather the now legendary Toturi I had made his name fighting on the battlefield. To try and live up to that legacy...
    On the other hand you weren't trained precisely as a warrior but a courtier first and a warrior later, the risk of failing to live up to it, would have made things unstable.

    Yet, and yet, you knew that you of seventeen years old definitely would have done it anyways, the benefits of a victorious war that early in your reign? It would have been too much to resist without Itsume-sensei talking you down.

    "...she went to join Hida-san's detachment didn't she." You say less as a question.

    "I...think so. The divination I performed indicated she would either come here, or she would take great personal risk. I had hoped that her beloved and sensei would have her come here. I see the skein is twisted away from that now." Yuina says thoughtfully.

    You never liked divination, it felt all too ephemeral to you. Still you can deal with that later, your daughter, your heir, your precious child
    Promise me

    No you wouldn't let Minoru put herself in that kind of danger.
    "I'm bringing her back. It's one thing to meet the clans here, but it's a different thing entirely to let her go off to war. I'll send order to Hida-san at once. " You say moving towards the correspondence room for the Imperial Legion.

    "As father says, but the reasons she has for going aren't bad ones, and while I know that myself will never sit on Steel Throne, you do have heirs now" Yuina says softly.

    "It's not about that!" You say in a terse voice, lowering it so you don't yell in your own home.

    "Then what is it about?" Yuina asks.

    "I...I won't fail your mother. I can't do anything to protect you from the Void, I can't do anything to protect her from the Throne. But the least I can do is keep both of you away from the war." you say quietly.

    "Would mother approve of that?" your daughter says taking a word shaped knife and stabbing it into your kidney.

    Because Kaname probably wouldn't approve of the idea of making everyone else sacrifice while she didn't have to.

    Promise Me

    Those words, that promise...you, dammit, you don't even know if Minoru is amongst the Legionnaires...maybe your both wrong, and Minoru has gotten herself into some other danger. Which comforts you not at all. You had to check.

    "No, and I'll thank you not to prod any further my daughter...anyways all we have is supposition, we must first find out if Minoru-chan is amongst the soldiers moving west."

    "And then?" Yuina presses anyways.

    And then....

    [] "...I'll have her to come home, there's plenty of work she can do for the Empire here, there's a time to learn how to lead, in the middle of a war isn't it"

    [] "...I...I'll put my faith in my daughter, and order her to come back to me after the war"

    AN: In retrospect, it's very easy to see why Naseru's solution to the Toturi Protagonist gene was to shove you in the middle of nowhere and keep you away from any and all plot hooks.
     
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    • Not a lot of traffic here, probably because not a lot of people here know the settings. This thread needs more love.

    Anyway, it's a hard vote and I can't decide yet. Mostly because I forgot too much about the character of the daughter and can't make any informed decision before rereading the quest first.
     
    [X] "...I...I'll put my faith in my daughter, and order her to come back to me after the war"

    This is my choice. I recommend everyone else to put some thought into this.
     
    [X] "...I'll have her to come home, there's plenty of work she can do for the Empire here, there's a time to learn how to lead, in the middle of a war isn't it"
     
    [X] "...I'll have her to come home, there's plenty of work she can do for the Empire here, there's a time to learn how to lead, in the middle of a war isn't it"

    She'll definitely hate the Emperor for this, but let's not give the daughter a chance to get herself killed. There's already far too many deaths around Hisao.
     
    [X] "...I...I'll put my faith in my daughter, and order her to come back to me after the war"

    Faith is pretty important, showing none of it will sever the relationship as cleanly as death.
     
    [X] "...I'll have her to come home, there's plenty of work she can do for the Empire here, there's a time to learn how to lead, in the middle of a war isn't it"
     
    [X] "...I...I'll put my faith in my daughter, and order her to come back to me after the war"

    Duty is heavier than a mountain, after all.
     
    [X] "...I'll have her to come home, there's plenty of work she can do for the Empire here, there's a time to learn how to lead, in the middle of a war isn't it"
     
    [x] "...I...I'll put my faith in my daughter, and order her to come back to me after the war"

    What the Empress must know, the heiress must learn... and where she goes, she is driven by Courage and Honor. I would not gainsay that.

    ...and, really, our youngest is correct. Ugly as it is, we do have more heirs after this one, if need be. The war will make her a stronger empress, or it will make her dead. This is the better choice for the health of the Empire overall.
     
    Year 18: Ambassadors in the Garden
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    • Month of the Goat, 14th day (Mid Summer)

    It was a lovely summer evening, the breeze just enough to keep you pleasantly cool as Lady Sun painted a kaleidoscope of colours on the horizon. It was the sort of lazy summer evening that made you want to sit in front of a garden and enjoy music as you told stories long into the night.

    Alas, what you wanted so rarely coincided with what needed to happen. Ambassador Ahmes had not been particularly amenable to the idea of a full meeting of the Pact Ambassadors, and you had refused to meet with him separately, you weren't going to give any of the pact members the appearance of being closer to you than the others. The last thing you felt like dealing with was the nascent conservative movement gaining new life from your apparent 'infection' by the Pelmyrians or Invidi or Senpet.

    Oh they would never move openly against you, but your daughter, well she was of course an unknown someone they could at least make indirect insinuations of. One of the reasons you had finally told Yuina that you would trust your daughter to be a Toturi. Trust, but Kisada had willingly sent a few of his more adept students to guard her back in addition to the small contingent of Seppun that had set out to join her. Minoru may have to make her own mark, but you had no intention of leaving her totally defenseless.

    All of which brought you back to the here and now. A evening party with the various foreign staffs of the Embassies, something that Ahmet had not been able to beg off, but brought all of you into in one place. Ayumi had advised Shiko on how to isolate the Ambassadors somewhat so that you could indeed have a meeting with all of them while not making it 'official'. It all felt very much like the steps you had to go through to have a Yasuki and Doji in the same room in the early years of your reign.

    You swirl around the clear sake in your cup for a moment, then taking a sip, move towards the gazebo of your garden where 'coincidentally' Bogadana, Kavita and Ahmes had all ended up. The two had aged as you had. No long was Bogadana's hair as bright as it was when you first met her, streaks of grey painting her golden hair silver. Ahmes had remained hairless but wrinkles around his body were pronounced now, Kavita for her part was the only one who seemed to have fought off the effects of aging at least a little. Though the crows feet at the corner of her eyes, and the careful shawls she now wore showed some acceptance of time.

    Bogadana had a wry smile as large cup, closer to bowl of sake sat in her hand. Ahmes preferred the Senpet version of beer, you would never be able to understand why but held a large clay pot with it all the same. Kavita being still the most civilized of them had a smaller cup of sake in her hand. The trio was making polite small talk, asking after each other's families, and so on, when you arrived.

    Ahmes gives a glare at you, but gives the polite bow that had become accepted for the ambassadors. Kavita and Bogadana following suit.

    "My dear ambassadors, I hope you are enjoying yourselves?" You ask.

    "It's a lovely party Emperor Toturi, I quite enjoy the music" Kavita says demurely

    "Ah, I'll never say no to booze." Bogadana says with a smile.

    "It is pleasant..." Ahmes says.

    "Now now Ahmes, don't be upset just because the Emperor is doing his thing. " Bogadana says.

    All three of you look at her in surprise, as she takes a long sip.

    "The Tsar didn't send me just because I'm a pretty face you know?" Bogadana says. "While the Emperor's people are quite loyal, word gets out that you want a private meeting and he says no Ahmes? That's just how the game is played."

    Kavita nods slowly. "I too have to appreciate the Emperor choosing to bring us all together as no doubt the declaration of war has sprung for between our ally and the Yodotai."

    "Indeed, the Pelymri are glad to have a fight at the Jewel rather than their own lands"

    "The Sultan is not particularly enthused" Ahmes says taking another drink of his beer.

    "Well no, he shouldn't be." You agree. "But you wanted to discuss something with me, but I will not keep secrets from our allies." You say.

    Ahmes looks at you like he wants to throw the beer in your face.

    "Very well, the Pharaoh wishes to revist the terms of the Pact." he says blandly.

    "On what grounds?" Kavita asks. "If anyone should the Ivindi should given everything, but we have not, so there is nothing to discuss," she says primly.

    "On the grounds that it manifestly failed." Ahmes says. "The point of the Pact was to dissuade the Yodotai from reaching out for the Jewel, with the Yodotai now marching to war against it and the Emerald Empire, the Pharaoh sees no reason to hold on to a broken latch."

    Bogadana scowls a little.
    "So you would break your word Senpet? I know your gods hate that as much as mine do."

    Ahmes frowns even more somehow.

    "...The Pharaoh intends to keep his word for this war. However, if you wish to keep the pact going afterwards, if it even can be maintained, he requires more."

    Kavita folds her arms.
    "Too much depends on the over all outcome of the war, if the Yodotai are crushed, then revisiting some matters becomes practical. If they are not then by the Gods we dare not break apart then, the Yodotai will not stop merely at the Jewel, they will strike in all directions and we must hang together lest the put us all in chains."

    Bogadana shakes her head.
    "The Pelmyrians will not agree to any change in the pact. We have what we want, the Jewelled City has provided incredible benefits to all our realms. To ask more is just being greedy."

    You speak up.
    "I find myself in agreement with Ambassador Kavita. The war itself will change much about our disposition, but we will not see any change in the pact that disadvantages our loyal allies. Is that clear Ambassador Ahmes?"

    "Unfortunately, " Ahmes says. "With that bit of business out of the way, I will see myself out for now."

    The bald Senpet leaves you alone with the other two ambassadors.

    "Almost prefer the Zanj over them" Kavita says.

    "Oh the Fire worshippers are bit much for me...but aye, I see where you're coming from" Bogadana agrees before taking a long drink of her sake.

    "So to get the taste out of my mouth, rumor has it that your daughter is joining the armies Emperor Toturi, any truth to that?" she asks.

    You nod stiffly.

    "Its rough to be a father or a mother in this war. My own son is set to join in the Ivory Expedition." Kavita says.

    Bogadana nods. "Never had little ones of my own. Left that business to my brother, besides none of the men here were willing to marry a 'foreign princess' for some reason." She smiles a little.

    You are sure that some of your more orthodox courtiers would have a stroke at the idea of marrying Bogadana.

    "My people are slow to change, and for those of us in the capital marriage is done quite young after all in most cases." You say diplomatically.

    Bogadana laughs. "Well apparently my niece is going to the front too, so maybe our heirs will meet each other."

    "I doubt the Pharaoh would risk so much" Kavita says primly.

    "Whatever his reasons, the Pharaoh is holding to his word for now, and thus we treat him with respect." You say calmly.

    Bogadana shrugs a little and drinks some more as Kavita asks you about the band playing this evening.

    It had not been a productive meeting but an enlightening one.

    ---------------
    Winter Court is in the Phoenix this year, which castle did Hisao pick as the site of his court?

    [] Kyuden Isawa
    [] Shiro Shiba
    [] Kyuden Asako
     
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