Sirrocco
Pedantic
Well, realistically, we did pretty well by our game goals...
- The Matsu thing is a lock,
-- They owe the scorpion pretty seriously on matters of honor.
-- They've promised to accept a Scorpion embassy
-- They're planning to invite in a bunch of Scorpion Magistrates
-- We died honorably enough that they have no reason to retract these things.
-- Our spy ring in Shiro Matsu is likely doing quite well for itself
- The Lying Darkness (who we hate) took a serious blow here.
-- No convenient war
-- The word about Jade and Crystal is known at least as far as the Scorpion (who are pretty sure to reveal it at the appropriate time)
-- Rokugan in general knows that they exist and are messing with important letters
- The Commercial aspect... is kind of uncertain. Yogo Hanzo may or may not live through the season. If he does, and our pet ninja does, then they can probably cobble together something resembling a decent attempt at commerce. The Mantis and the Unicorn, on the other hand, are horked here, and they'd be our main competition.
-- For the mantis, they've taken a massive honor hit here. The Yoritomo is reasonably likely to commit seppuku, leaving them with no one who can meaningfully do the courtier thing, no one actually of their clan, and the court generally disliking them. Add that to the bit where they lost the Bowman's Wager, and they basically have nothing.
--- On top of that, they pulled the Crab in on their dark dealings. The Crab are going to be somewhat desperate to avoid the taint surrounding the Mantis/Unicorn... sharpened a bit by the letter we just sent them. They'll probably be more inclined to trade through the Scorpion, and might not gouge us *too* badly.
-- The damage to the Unicorn might be lesser - particularly if they manage successfully to play "seven seconds to think like a Matsu" in response to this - but there are still going to be reparations there, and they've already lost at least one of their own to the infiltration. In a broader sense, they're likely to be pretty thoroughly investigated as a Clan... which is going to make the Kolat sweat.
- The political situation of the Scorpion as a whole has been helped considerably.
-- We've successfully pushed that "emperor's Under Hand" thing at least a bit, and sent back home ammo to do more. On top of that, there's a known shadowy infiltrating opponent or two that have been brought out into the light enough to help justify our existence.
-- Both the Lion and the Crane have reason to appreciate what we've done here. The Lion are glad they weren't pulled into a dishonorable war, and the Crane are glad that they weren't pulled into a war at all.
-- The Emperor has reason to appreciate our peacemongering ways, and his representative here (if he survives) is personally motivated to present us in a good light.
As for rampant speculation....
Who wants to bet that Hanzo reacts to this by firing off a Ward of Purity? After all, it's an obvious way to attack the known tainted creature in the room. If it happens to reveal any other tainted creatures... well, that's not his fault. Today could turn into a *Grand* old purge. Probably a pretty high body count when all is said and done - but Matsu tendencies, and the fact that the room is full of them, mean that any that *are* revealed as tainted are likely to get swarmed by them, reducing the death toll in plot-significant characters.
...He always *had* wanted to take the fight to the Tainted. The opportunity is probably pretty satisfying for him, all things considered.
- The Matsu thing is a lock,
-- They owe the scorpion pretty seriously on matters of honor.
-- They've promised to accept a Scorpion embassy
-- They're planning to invite in a bunch of Scorpion Magistrates
-- We died honorably enough that they have no reason to retract these things.
-- Our spy ring in Shiro Matsu is likely doing quite well for itself
- The Lying Darkness (who we hate) took a serious blow here.
-- No convenient war
-- The word about Jade and Crystal is known at least as far as the Scorpion (who are pretty sure to reveal it at the appropriate time)
-- Rokugan in general knows that they exist and are messing with important letters
- The Commercial aspect... is kind of uncertain. Yogo Hanzo may or may not live through the season. If he does, and our pet ninja does, then they can probably cobble together something resembling a decent attempt at commerce. The Mantis and the Unicorn, on the other hand, are horked here, and they'd be our main competition.
-- For the mantis, they've taken a massive honor hit here. The Yoritomo is reasonably likely to commit seppuku, leaving them with no one who can meaningfully do the courtier thing, no one actually of their clan, and the court generally disliking them. Add that to the bit where they lost the Bowman's Wager, and they basically have nothing.
--- On top of that, they pulled the Crab in on their dark dealings. The Crab are going to be somewhat desperate to avoid the taint surrounding the Mantis/Unicorn... sharpened a bit by the letter we just sent them. They'll probably be more inclined to trade through the Scorpion, and might not gouge us *too* badly.
-- The damage to the Unicorn might be lesser - particularly if they manage successfully to play "seven seconds to think like a Matsu" in response to this - but there are still going to be reparations there, and they've already lost at least one of their own to the infiltration. In a broader sense, they're likely to be pretty thoroughly investigated as a Clan... which is going to make the Kolat sweat.
- The political situation of the Scorpion as a whole has been helped considerably.
-- We've successfully pushed that "emperor's Under Hand" thing at least a bit, and sent back home ammo to do more. On top of that, there's a known shadowy infiltrating opponent or two that have been brought out into the light enough to help justify our existence.
-- Both the Lion and the Crane have reason to appreciate what we've done here. The Lion are glad they weren't pulled into a dishonorable war, and the Crane are glad that they weren't pulled into a war at all.
-- The Emperor has reason to appreciate our peacemongering ways, and his representative here (if he survives) is personally motivated to present us in a good light.
As for rampant speculation....
Who wants to bet that Hanzo reacts to this by firing off a Ward of Purity? After all, it's an obvious way to attack the known tainted creature in the room. If it happens to reveal any other tainted creatures... well, that's not his fault. Today could turn into a *Grand* old purge. Probably a pretty high body count when all is said and done - but Matsu tendencies, and the fact that the room is full of them, mean that any that *are* revealed as tainted are likely to get swarmed by them, reducing the death toll in plot-significant characters.
...He always *had* wanted to take the fight to the Tainted. The opportunity is probably pretty satisfying for him, all things considered.