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

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Year 1: The Emerald Championship pt 1
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    • --Emerald Tournament

    The summer heat bears down on you like a thick blanket. Made all the worse by the fact that you have to wear full court regalia to oversee the tournament. The Plains of Thunder were beautiful, but as expected of a land dedicated to the Fortune of Thunder and Fire, it lived up to its patron. Heat and the coiling air of impending thunderstorms pushed down on everyone. You glance to the side to see the other two diases. The Clan Champions also in full court regalia sit each of them handling the heat in their own way. Well, except for Togashi Satsu, as was the Dragon's want to be completely weird, Satsu wore the bare minimum to be modest and had exposed his chest to the outside air.

    Beside you, while slightly behind and beside you, sat the two counsellors who had asked to be seated with you. Yoritomo Hiroko and your fiancée were both more interested in the test of Jade, thus it was easy to give Kaneka and Kistuki Akane what they wanted. A servant hands you a cooled water skin, which you duly drink.

    In front of you, arranged in straight lines according to clan were all the contestants for the position of the Emerald Champion. Of the one hundred forty contestants, only twelve of them would advance to tomorrow for the final test. There were no shortage of capable splendid samurai, Kakita Noritoshi daimyo of the Kakita, Akodo Shigetoshi the former heir of the Lion Clan, and Utaku Tama, the favoured counsellor of Moto Chagatai stood out as early favourites. Yet, for all their ability only twelve got to compete in the challenge of iaijutsu

    The wind blows for a moment as you stand up and hold out the sacred Fan of the Oracles, gesturing for silence. The soft murmur ends instantly.

    "We the Son of Heaven, now convene this most sacred of tournaments. All of you have been granted the privilege and honour of competing to take up personal service to me as my champion. You will have the joy of serving the Empire as a whole in the grand traditions of Lord Kakita, Akodo Kenburo-shiryo and most recently, Yasuki Hachi-shiryo. There is no duty greater than service to the Emperor for a Samurai, and now, I ask all of you that wish to compete, step forward, and begin the Test of the Emerald Champion!"

    Your voice is clear, its strong, your words entirely traditional, yet for all that they feel hollow somehow. Perhaps you should have written your own opening? Well it is done now, and all you can do is watch as the samurai en-mass step forward and bow to you.

    With the opening ceremony done, the skilled Otomo and Miya begin directing the candidates to the various judges that will administer the first test, the Test of Etiquette. Your part is over now, all you can do is watch and wait to see what happens.

    A part of you wonders how much work you could be doing if you weren't here, but you suppose this too is a part of your job. Even if you are already gesturing for more water. Fortunes its hot today.

    It is extremely difficult to fail the Test of Etiquette, the Clans send their best, and to get ahead they all know that this test is coming. Thus it is only those who flagrantly don't want to win, or by some miracle of incompetence that manage it.

    Somehow you are not surprised that several Unicorn, Mantis, and even Scorpion manage it all the same. A protest of sorts over how shamefully you treated them all, without making anyone but themselves look bad. It still burns in the back of your mind at how you were outplayed, you almost, almost had it.

    Kitsuki Akane frowns slightly looking over the departing contestants, even as Kaneka seems to take it in stride. You wonder what your counsellors are thinking, behind your own personal fan, you can cover your mouth enough to have a normal conversation with them, but which one do you want to speak with?

    [] Kitsuki Akane
    [] Kaneka

    And you will ask them their thoughts on....

    [] The early drop outs
    [] Who they expect to win
    [] What they think the Clan Champions are thinking
    [] How to integrate the Emerald Champion in court
    [] Write in?

    (Some what short this time. Whoever you don't pick today will be your conversation partner for the next part of the tournament)
     
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    • [x] Kaneka
    -[x] What they think the Clan Champions are thinking

    Kaneka is something of a badass, and has had a few significant political coups in his time, even facing off against the likes of Naseru. He'll have insight... and it woudl be good to get his perspective on things from time to time.

    Integrating the Emerald champion is going to depend somewhat on who wins it - which we know OOC, but they don't know IC. Insight into the Clan Champions, though, could be quite valuable, and we know that Kaneka has history with them that we don't.
     
    [x] Kaneka
    -[x] What they think the Clan Champions are thinking
     
    Well not as many votes as I would like, but lets have another tally.
    Adhoc vote count started by gman391 on Jul 7, 2017 at 2:39 PM, finished with 11 posts and 9 votes.
    Click to expand...

    Adhoc vote count started by gman391 on Jul 7, 2017 at 2:41 PM, finished with 11 posts and 9 votes.
    Click to expand...
     
    Hey guys, I was going to update today, but I have been informed that my girlfriend wishes me to spend time with her. Thus, I will not write an update today...and probably not until Tuesday, my apologies.
     
    Year 1: The Emerald Championship pt 2
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    • You fan yourself with careful grace. It does little to alleviate the heat, but it does move the air around so that's something, you suppose. More importantly as you fan yourself, you can talk out of the corner of your mouth.

    While you have no doubt that Akane would have ideas about how to integrate the future Emerald Champion into the council, you want to wait to see who wins first before discussing that. Instead you set yourself towards Kaneka. The older man has spent years in the upper echelons of power, while he had ultimately proven worse than your father in the realm of politics, he wasn't incapable. Thus you want to get his take on the Champions

    "Lord Shogun, what do you make of the Champions?" You ask quietly.

    "That they do not trust you yet." He says simply.

    "Explain."

    "While none can truly fault you for how you handled the recent crisis...no one can praise you either. There was no grand victory, no true conspiracy that could be trotted out. Lord Yoritomo respects you slightly more for arranging for the assassination of Kaukatsu-shiryo, but even that is slight. You have yet to prove yourself to them."

    You don't sigh, but you do let yourself slump slightly.
    "Tell me then Lord Shogun, which ones can I win over to me?"

    "...Mikado, they are all for the moment still loyal, less important to winning them over is that you, would keep in mind their relationships."

    "Oh? I believe I have kept up, but what is your opinion?"

    "Chagatai and Naizen at present, are both willing to work together, but there is no real love between them. They respect each others strength, but they ultimately have different goals. Ikoma Otemi is waiting for an opportune moment to end the Lion and Crane alliance. Doji Domotai has no intention of giving him an easy way out."

    A pause as you consider that. Otemi seeking to end the strongest alliance in the Empire but why? the Lion and the Crane together were more or less unstoppable...and there it was. Otemi was far seeing enough to know that sooner or later the rest of the Clans would pressure you into breaking them, and that was not something he was willing to suffer. You'll keep the Otomo working on them regardless, but that is one worry to push to the back of your mind for now.

    Kaneka takes a long drink of water before continuing.

    "Shiba Tsukimi wants to give you more support but is hamstrung by the Elemental Council throwing a fit. They expected you to give them the Jade Championship, they cannot blame you and the Phoenix as a whole do not...but they do not wish to give more for now. No doubt that will change when your bride to be is Empress in full."



    You nod, thinking back to your lessons with sensei. The Phoenix have always lacked the unity of purpose that would let them put forth their full might into the world. Which admittedly was one less head ache for you.

    "Then there are the three neutrals. Lord Satsu, Lord Paneki and Lord Kuon" Kaneka says looking at the field as a particularly loud gong indicates the start of the third test.

    "Togashi-san is playing his own game, Kitsuki-san would be a better informant for that than I would. Although I think that he's looking less at the internal matters of the Empire than something external. Kuon is facing a crisis, he can't fight the Scorpion and the Crane, but to give up either fight will leave him dishonoured. I expect him to push for arbitration on the Yasuki war and pour most of his focus into smashing Paneki's face in.

    "Paneki is a man on the back foot, his strongest servant has been murdered, he's surrounded by hostile powers, and has been cut out of the political networks he needs to survive, if he respected you more, he'd consider it a masterful play by you. As it is, he's looking for a way out. He'll probably push for arbitration himself." Kaneka finishes his assessment.

    "Murdered? Kaukatsu-shiryo redeemed himself by committing sepukku" You say dryly.

    "Yes, that is what happened. That does not mean that Kaukatsu-shiryo was not murdered. There are more ways to kill a man than simply stabbing him in the chest." Kaneka says.

    Akane shifts, using her fan to indicate her desire to speak. You give the barest of nods.
    "Kaukatsu was indeed murdered, the Scorpion were as off guard by the event as we were, even if we made use of it. What's more is that Lord Bayushi is 'on the back foot' specifically because he doesn't know who killed Kaukatsu" She says quietly.

    "I had hoped that the age of conspiracies ended with the destruction of the Kolat Temple."

    "Mikado, the age of conspiracies will end when men do." Kaneka says simply.

    "I suppose so. Hmm, looks like competition is heating up in the go tournament." You say, leaning forward slightly.

    Kaneka nods, taking that as a dismissal to let you gather your thoughts. Which to be honest it is, but as you watch the crowd of samurai slowly dwindle through the day, you can't help but wonder who killed Kaukatsu...it was so convenient yet it wasn't you...or seemingly anyone who would normally have reason.

    That the Unicorn Mantis alliance still held was worrying, but you would deal with that as you can. Hiroko was likely your strongest ally there, if you turned her. The Lion and Crane breaking up was a blessing, but hopefully not a poisoned gift. Then there was the Phoenix, you knew you could rely on them...but the Elemental Council had failed to guide the Phoenix over the last century. How much longer could they do so before the Clan overthrew them? And how much damage would that incur on your Empire?

    These thoughts occupy your head until the sun sets, and you can see the twelve remaining contestants for tomorrow. To your surprise not only are there two minor clan candidates in there, but even a ronin.
    This is shaping up to be a very interesting tournament tomorrow.

    You rise and give them all congratulations before sending everyone to their tents. You retire yourself, and settle down into the palatial tent. The names of the twelve candidates settle down in your mind.

    Kaiu Hirayuki, Kakita Noritoshi, Mirumoto Shin, Akodo Shigetoshi, Tsuruchi Kaya, Shiba Masumi, Shosuro Jimen, Utaku Tama, Seppun Yusuke, Suzume Rei, Usagi Kenshin and Utagawa the Ronin. The expected favourites were there of course. However the Minor Clans getting so far wasn't...hmm you might want to reward those two somehow. Although truth be told you're pretty sure that Kaneka is hoping one of his better commanders does well, you don't have high hopes for the ronin. After all ronin.

    You play match ups in your mind coming up with the most amusing outcomes that you can. Noritoshi versus Hirayuki for the final is a particular favourite, but no way that could happen. Grante you like the idea of Usagi Kenshin somehow managing to overcome Mirumoto Shin too...

    Slowly you begin to drift off to sleep when there's a clap outside your tent. You sit up and look around, hands moving just so you can throw a punch if you need to.

    Your ever faithful Miya Kanasuke announces
    "Emperor, Doji Domotai-ue has requested permission to speak to you. Do you grant it?"

    [] Yes
    [] No


    If yes, pick a demeanour
    [] Calm
    [] Warm
    [] Irritated
    [] Write in (Must be one word and an emotion)
     
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Yes
    [X] Calm

    Okay since the QM offered us a choice so I assume there is reasons to say yeah or nay.

    Is there any reasons for a pretty woman coming to our tent, at night, where we have limited guards and advisors that aren't Seduction or Assassination?
    That couldn't be done during the day? I mean she is Crane not a Scorpion, but the Doji are supposed to be master courtiers so maybe she is trying to engineer a scandal to blackmail us? I mean she is a Clan champion how hard is it for her to get a private audience with us if she wants to talk about something Discretely?

    @gman391 does Hisao know the probable reasons for this that aren't based solely on hormones?
     
    keenscythe said:
    Is there any reasons for a pretty woman coming to our tent, at night, where we have limited guards and advisors that aren't Seduction or Assassination?
    That couldn't be done during the day? I mean she is Crane not a Scorpion, but the Doji are supposed to be master courtiers so maybe she is trying to engineer a scandal to blackmail us? I mean she is a Clan champion how hard is it for her to get a private audience with us if she wants to talk about something Discretely?
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    This is the Crane Champion. Matsu trained too. She'll rather publically, messily gut herself than to try this in person. Crane diplomacy is more about trapping your opponent in layers and layers of supposedly "mutually beneficial" deals until you can't go on without their support...and gifts (definitely not bribes).

    Maybe she's coming clean about that whole Daidouji business. Maybe Satsu's actually reached out to her? I mean verbally rather than the typical Dragon trolling. Sort of hinted at the coronation. No she's more likely to misdirect or straight up lie about that what with Noritaka on the line. It's about the Lion or Crab more likely.
     
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    So in that case is there a reason to say no then? More information is almost always good when you are the Emperor.

    If we don't need to worry about the Optics then this should be relatively straightforward then.
     
    keenscythe said:
    [X] Yes
    [X] Calm

    Okay since the QM offered us a choice so I assume there is reasons to say yeah or nay.

    Is there any reasons for a pretty woman coming to our tent, at night, where we have limited guards and advisors that aren't Seduction or Assassination?
    That couldn't be done during the day? I mean she is Crane not a Scorpion, but the Doji are supposed to be master courtiers so maybe she is trying to engineer a scandal to blackmail us? I mean she is a Clan champion how hard is it for her to get a private audience with us if she wants to talk about something Discretely?

    @gman391 does Hisao know the probable reasons for this that aren't based solely on hormones?
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    Hisao has a few ideas. Domotai could be coming to talk about the events of the day, seeking for some sort of assurance that the Crane can rely on you, help mediating one of the wars she is technically in, or just seeking to build a personal connection to you so that you stop ignoring the Crane, any are possible. (Domotai is extremely unlikely to try seducing you, although you could try seducing her I suppose, wouldn't recommend it, Doji Kusari is just crazy enough to make your life difficult.)

    Choosing to accept or not is more of a statement for the kind of Emperor you are, its another characterization question. Can people come to you if they need to, or do they have to go through the channels? Because it can take months to get an audience particularly if you don't live in the Imperial City, which none of the Champions do because they have their own jobs. These large scale gatherings are often times when the Clan Champions can informally come to the Emperor to get things talked about without having to put it in the records. More pragmatic Emperors allow it, while more law focused Emperor's tell them to get in line.
     
    Well she's not going to be physically or morally a danger to us.

    But that doesn't mean she can't screw up relations simply by the fact that she is meeting with us privately where all the other Clan Champions can find out. There's a Championship on the line here. As well as a bunch of plots still in the process of playing out. Also egos...
     
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    Yeah I suppose it's worth mentioning that unless you feel like pissing one of them off, letting Domotai means you have to let the others in to (although this too can be used as a tool of diplomacy, shutting someone out from access after offending you is a valid tactic)
     
    Well in this case I Switch to:

    [x] Yes
    [x] Friendly

    As most of the Clans have problems with us more than we have problems with them.

    If the Clan Champions want to come to us and reassured that we don't actually hate them then we should let them.
    Being able to talk some of these issues out before they become problems, well worse problems as we have no positive clan ratings.
    If nothing else it should give us more information than just a Number (Their Clan Rating, which I figure is just an abstraction.) on how to deal with their issues.
     
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