[L5R] Minor Clan Quest
- Thread starter storybookknight
- Start date
Wade Garrett
Just trying to do the right thing
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
I don't know about literally naming the family "Prosperous", "Generous", etc etc though. That's just begging the Fortunes to keep us dirt poor for forever, they love that kind of low irony. 
- Location
- United States
A Nation's Virtue
南國山河南帝居
I'm just voting Koi because of the fish and I think it's a homonym for the word love.
Wade Garrett
Just trying to do the right thing
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
Well, I voted that way because you threw it out there, and also the puns. And it's not like the latter would be a thing except OOC.
Tsubaki's Name
- Pronouns
- She/Her
In recognition of the distaste for the blessed pun and perhaps the bit too much on the nose-ness of invoking prosperity this early in the game, I've had a change of heart.
[X] Tsubaki
It has a complicated relationship symbolically, "In Love" in the language of flowers, but also closely resembling the decapitated heads of warriors in that it drop its blossoms as a whole instead of petal by petal. The red color fits with her birthmark, and the name is at once an affirmation of her disturbing features and the beauty juxtaposed within, and a challenge of sorts. It wouldn't be an easy name to live with looking like she does, but she's obviously taken everything life's thrown at her and tossed it right back with a laugh.
Wade Garrett
Just trying to do the right thing
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
I like it.
That is...it has this pretty, artful, oh so cultured meaning, and it has the "severed heads of my enemies" meaning.
Sort of ties into some of the ideas I had for our Couriers, the Yasuki Couriers have the "Mr. Yasuki wants to know why you're behind on your payments. And it better be a good reason, or else my friends Mr. Hida and Mr. Hida are going to break your arms" mafioso Courier school sewn up already, but...
I was thinking our Clan Couriers should be gangsters, but the cultured, refined gangster stereotype. Or at least they like to think of themselves that way and aspire to it, they leave flowers on a victim's grave, patronize the theater, deliver flowery, innocuous sounding threats in perfect haiku, that sort of thing.
[X] Tsubaki
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- Location
- United States
[X] Tsubaki
I will agree to withhold my picard facepalm in the face of this gesture.
0.3 - Prologue
- Location
- Connecticut
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Tsubaki.
You feel your face flush with embarrassment and thank the Heavens that it is too dark for the Emperor to see. You bow as deep as the boat allows. "...Tsubaki, your majesty." You manage to say, only to feel a hand on your shoulder pulling you back up to face the Son of Heaven.
To your shock, the emperor bows back. Not as deeply as you did - he's still in armor, for one thing, and it doesn't look like he's used to boats at all - but the gesture is unmistakable. "Please. You have risked much to save my life." he says. "I am in your debt."
"Hantei-heika..." you begin hesitantly. "We have only done as our duty commanded." You look about the boat, and see that out of your six brothers, only two have survived the night's excursion. Your heart, formerly elated at your escape, sinks. It is no tragedy that your brothers died in the Emperor's defense - no man, and especially no ronin could ask to die better! Yet when you look and see that gentle Miki and stolid Hideyoshi have fallen, that nearsighted Hachiman will no longer be hunched over his rice bowl at the table, that Hana will never again see that Lion caravan guard of hers, you cannot help but miss them fiercely. You take a deep breath. "These are my little brothers in the Warakkoi-gumi. Be known to Gohei and Taigen."
Gohei does his best to stand and bow, but collapses before he can do so, his leg black with blood in the darkness. He lets out an involuntary bark of pain, and Taigen straightens from her bow to rush to help him.
"How bad is it?" You ask, rushing forwards to take a look.
"Bad enough," she says grimly, her youthful features in a serious expression incongruous with her normal cheerfullness. She places her hands on the wound and squeezes to try and staunch the bleeding, causing Gohei to groan again.
In the distance, you begin to hear a far-off drum of hoofbeats, and you almost curse aloud before realizing just whose august presence you are still in. Hurriedly, you strip off the outer layer of your kimono, leaving yourself in just a breastband, and draw the tanto from the scabbard at your back to cut strips of fabric off of it.
"Can I be of help?" You have just a moment's clarity to realize that this is the Emperor asking you this question, and then suddenly you realize that you no longer care. "Here! Take this, take my knife, cut strips for Taigen so she can get him bandaged. Once she's done, help keep pressure on Gohei's wound so she can row." You hurriedly thrust your kimono at the Emperor, hand him your tanto much more carefully, then grab your oar and move to the front of the boat. The prow dips alarmingly as you kneel much farther forwards than is usually safe, but with the boat riding high in the water thanks to its lack of passengers you are able to keep it from doing more than getting your shoulders close to the water.
You kneel down and begin to row.
It's a craft built for six with one to steer, a lightweight scow meant to carry small amounts of goods discreetly - but 'small' is a relative term. Your shoulders strain and shake with effort as you scoop at the water, just trying to keep moving down the river as fast as possible until you finally hear the word 'Ready!' from Taigen. Gratefully you move back to the first bench and have Taigen come up to meet you, then as politely as possible ask the Emperor to move with Gohei to the back to keep the craft steady. With two people rowing, you can move the water on both sides of the craft at once; you slowly but surely begin to outpace your pursuers' tired steeds as the hoofbeats fade into the distance.
Rowing in the dark is difficult, and the path ahead is uncertain. You really can't afford to get stuck on a sandbar up ahead, so despite the fact that your pursuers could hear you, you begin to sing the rowing-songs once again so that you can keep rhythm with Taigen.
You feel your face flush with embarrassment and thank the Heavens that it is too dark for the Emperor to see. You bow as deep as the boat allows. "...Tsubaki, your majesty." You manage to say, only to feel a hand on your shoulder pulling you back up to face the Son of Heaven.
To your shock, the emperor bows back. Not as deeply as you did - he's still in armor, for one thing, and it doesn't look like he's used to boats at all - but the gesture is unmistakable. "Please. You have risked much to save my life." he says. "I am in your debt."
"Hantei-heika..." you begin hesitantly. "We have only done as our duty commanded." You look about the boat, and see that out of your six brothers, only two have survived the night's excursion. Your heart, formerly elated at your escape, sinks. It is no tragedy that your brothers died in the Emperor's defense - no man, and especially no ronin could ask to die better! Yet when you look and see that gentle Miki and stolid Hideyoshi have fallen, that nearsighted Hachiman will no longer be hunched over his rice bowl at the table, that Hana will never again see that Lion caravan guard of hers, you cannot help but miss them fiercely. You take a deep breath. "These are my little brothers in the Warakkoi-gumi. Be known to Gohei and Taigen."
Gohei does his best to stand and bow, but collapses before he can do so, his leg black with blood in the darkness. He lets out an involuntary bark of pain, and Taigen straightens from her bow to rush to help him.
"How bad is it?" You ask, rushing forwards to take a look.
"Bad enough," she says grimly, her youthful features in a serious expression incongruous with her normal cheerfullness. She places her hands on the wound and squeezes to try and staunch the bleeding, causing Gohei to groan again.
In the distance, you begin to hear a far-off drum of hoofbeats, and you almost curse aloud before realizing just whose august presence you are still in. Hurriedly, you strip off the outer layer of your kimono, leaving yourself in just a breastband, and draw the tanto from the scabbard at your back to cut strips of fabric off of it.
"Can I be of help?" You have just a moment's clarity to realize that this is the Emperor asking you this question, and then suddenly you realize that you no longer care. "Here! Take this, take my knife, cut strips for Taigen so she can get him bandaged. Once she's done, help keep pressure on Gohei's wound so she can row." You hurriedly thrust your kimono at the Emperor, hand him your tanto much more carefully, then grab your oar and move to the front of the boat. The prow dips alarmingly as you kneel much farther forwards than is usually safe, but with the boat riding high in the water thanks to its lack of passengers you are able to keep it from doing more than getting your shoulders close to the water.
You kneel down and begin to row.
It's a craft built for six with one to steer, a lightweight scow meant to carry small amounts of goods discreetly - but 'small' is a relative term. Your shoulders strain and shake with effort as you scoop at the water, just trying to keep moving down the river as fast as possible until you finally hear the word 'Ready!' from Taigen. Gratefully you move back to the first bench and have Taigen come up to meet you, then as politely as possible ask the Emperor to move with Gohei to the back to keep the craft steady. With two people rowing, you can move the water on both sides of the craft at once; you slowly but surely begin to outpace your pursuers' tired steeds as the hoofbeats fade into the distance.
Rowing in the dark is difficult, and the path ahead is uncertain. You really can't afford to get stuck on a sandbar up ahead, so despite the fact that your pursuers could hear you, you begin to sing the rowing-songs once again so that you can keep rhythm with Taigen.
Amid the branches of the silvery bowers
The nightingale doth sing:
Perchance he knows
That Spring hath come
And takes late snows
For the white petals of the plum's sweet flowers
Oh Lotus leaf! I dreamt the wide earth
Held not more pure than thee
Held not more true
Why then when on thee
drops the morning dew
Pretend that tis a gem of priceless worth?
The nightingale doth sing:
Perchance he knows
That Spring hath come
And takes late snows
For the white petals of the plum's sweet flowers
Oh Lotus leaf! I dreamt the wide earth
Held not more pure than thee
Held not more true
Why then when on thee
drops the morning dew
Pretend that tis a gem of priceless worth?
Into the night, though your voice runs hoarse and your palms run with blood, you sing and row, fending off sandbars and following the currents, cursing the river's every lazy switchback with a song on your lips and doing your best to ignore Gohei's cries of pain as the boat shakes in the rapids. In the limpid shallows you stroke long and slow to songs of lost love, heartache in your voice thinking of your fallen friends. As the current picks up, marching songs carry you along through the constant effort it takes to keep the prow straight. Hantei is curiously quiet throughout it all, though he maintains his pressure on Gohei's wound, and does not once slip into sleep despite the lateness of the hour and the exhaustion of battle.
Taigen begins to fade as the night goes on, no longer able to keep pace with your tempo, so you send her back to the tiller to 'assist Hantei-heike with Gohei' and switch to only stroking as necessary to keep the boat pointed straight and heading downriver, gratefully allowing your abused voice to finally rest.
As dawn finally approaches, you can see the town of Maemikake on the horizon. You hear a quiet noise from behind you, and you turn with exhaustion to look at your Emperor. "Well done, Tsubaki-san."
Taigen begins to fade as the night goes on, no longer able to keep pace with your tempo, so you send her back to the tiller to 'assist Hantei-heike with Gohei' and switch to only stroking as necessary to keep the boat pointed straight and heading downriver, gratefully allowing your abused voice to finally rest.
As dawn finally approaches, you can see the town of Maemikake on the horizon. You hear a quiet noise from behind you, and you turn with exhaustion to look at your Emperor. "Well done, Tsubaki-san."
"My thanks, Hantei-heika." you respond wearily, and you turn to look at him directly.
With the light, you can make out the colors of his face, and realize too late that he must be able to do the same to you, must be able to see the accursed red patch that mars the contours of your face and envelops your right eye. You quickly turn away to hide your disfigurement, pretending to look over the waters of the river, but he evinces no shock or anything other than open sincerity on his face. "I have been to many Winter Courts over the years, Tsubaki-san, and I have never heard those songs sung in quite that manner. You are very talented."
"You do me too much credit, Hantei-heika!" you exclaim in surprise, forgetting to look away from him once again. You quickly compose yourself, trying to regain your on, but fatigue and the emotions of loss make it more difficult. "They are only simple river-songs."
The Emperor smiles slightly, allowing his perfect on to slip to match yours. "Your simple river-songs may have saved the life of an Emperor, Tsubaki-san. As did your actions this night. Rest assured, I will not soon forget either."
You don't really know what to say to that, and for a time you both fall silent as the town drifts closer. Now that you have finally reached the safety of the Crab, you find yourself speaking of -
[ ] Yourself
[ ] Your companions
[ ] The Wakkakoi-gumi
[ ] The assassins
[ ] The town ahead
[ ] Write-in.
With the light, you can make out the colors of his face, and realize too late that he must be able to do the same to you, must be able to see the accursed red patch that mars the contours of your face and envelops your right eye. You quickly turn away to hide your disfigurement, pretending to look over the waters of the river, but he evinces no shock or anything other than open sincerity on his face. "I have been to many Winter Courts over the years, Tsubaki-san, and I have never heard those songs sung in quite that manner. You are very talented."
"You do me too much credit, Hantei-heika!" you exclaim in surprise, forgetting to look away from him once again. You quickly compose yourself, trying to regain your on, but fatigue and the emotions of loss make it more difficult. "They are only simple river-songs."
The Emperor smiles slightly, allowing his perfect on to slip to match yours. "Your simple river-songs may have saved the life of an Emperor, Tsubaki-san. As did your actions this night. Rest assured, I will not soon forget either."
You don't really know what to say to that, and for a time you both fall silent as the town drifts closer. Now that you have finally reached the safety of the Crab, you find yourself speaking of -
[ ] Yourself
[ ] Your companions
[ ] The Wakkakoi-gumi
[ ] The assassins
[ ] The town ahead
[ ] Write-in.
If you have any questions for the Emperor, or things that you'd like to ask before you get to town, now is the time.
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Wade Garrett
Just trying to do the right thing
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
I'm thinking "Who were those men that attacked you?" Seems like a reasonable thing to be curious about..then again, I'm not exactly up to snuff on Rokugan etiquette, asking the Emperor for details about the small army that tried to assassinate him may be a dreadful faux pas, I'm not sure.
- Location
- Connecticut
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I changed the ending around so that people have a bit more flexibility as to how they want to interact with Hantei Tetsumaru. It doesn't have to be in the form of a question! I also have some ideas prepared if people don't feel comfortable writing in just yet. Write-in elaborations on the topics I mentioned are also fine!
- Location
- Virginia
[X] The town ahead
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Your companions
While our songs helped and it was our decision to turn around, our little brothers did their duty and deserve remembrance. Family is important, such that it is, and it certainly isn't sad. This is the Son of Heaven, alive, in our boat, tending to the wounds of a lowly ronin at our direction, and the rest died well saving him. Etiquette and the normal observances are beyond relaxed, and while we shouldn't push that I think it can't hurt to show some compassion and pride for the sacrifices of the crew.
While our songs helped and it was our decision to turn around, our little brothers did their duty and deserve remembrance. Family is important, such that it is, and it certainly isn't sad. This is the Son of Heaven, alive, in our boat, tending to the wounds of a lowly ronin at our direction, and the rest died well saving him. Etiquette and the normal observances are beyond relaxed, and while we shouldn't push that I think it can't hurt to show some compassion and pride for the sacrifices of the crew.
[X] Your companions
They died for the emperor, they deserve to be remembered well.
They died for the emperor, they deserve to be remembered well.
Wade Garrett
Just trying to do the right thing
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
[X] Your companions
EtchedSteel
*mumble mumble*
- Location
- Lima. Peru
[X] Your companions
