Legend of the Five Rings: In Service to the Emerald Throne RP Thread

[Maugan Ra]

"Yes, I do stand out among the rest of our little garden, don't I? Mmmm. I would not claim to know all of the Tsuruchi's thoughts, but....even if the true contest is between three or four, to be chosen at all is a great honor.

It is the Champion of your Clan declaring "This one is the fairest of us all, this one is worthy of an Emperor, this one represents all that we value, let all our samurai-ko take heed and follow her example." The older woman's voice rang off the walls, her proclamation taking on the cadence of a bardic chant as she threw her shoulders back with pride...then she let them slump, grinning with self mockery.

"Of course, that is only one way to look at it. Little Wasp...I served his mother before I served him, and while I flatter myself that I have served him wisely and well...someone you watched grow from childhood, it is occasionally...difficult. Not to see them as that child.

Some might say he offered me to the Emperor as a way to send me as far from Ashinagabachi as possible that I simply could not refuse."

Click to shrink...

"Ah, such is always the way of things - our lords command and we obey, no matter what we might think of their motives," Hana says with a sympathetic look on her face. "I at least have kin and clan here in the capital to keep me company, fine establishments to provide me entertainment and the odd merchant to supply those things I require beyond duty alone. Save for the odd bounty hunter passing through, I imagine you must grow lonely, even in such a busy place as this."

She sips her tea, letting the silence reinforce her point for a moment.

"It is a strange thought, it is not? But for the folly of your lord's father, we might be seated here as kin, clad in black and red," The Scorpion observes, smiling softly. "How strange the twists of fate may seem at times."

 

[Wade Garrett]

"It is a strange thought, it is not? But for the folly of your lord's father, we might be seated here as kin, clad in black and red," The Scorpion observes, smiling softly. "How strange the twists of fate may seem at times."

Click to shrink...

"Your compassion does you credit." The Wasp courtier said amiably.

"It isn't nearly as bad as all that...our 'Magistrates", Omi put a pointed emphasis on the word, "arrive and depart from the Capital more often than one might expect, and as for entertainment and the rest...the Tsuruchi is generous to those who keep faith with him. Still. You aren't wrong, fate and the Fortunes have been whimsical in these past years.

My Clan alone...borne of the love between a Scorpion and Lion, brought to the edge of destruction by folly, and yet here we stand, sworn servants of the Emerald Champion himself. A tale fit for an omidasu...not that it will ever be performed as such. The Akodo may study their defeats, but m...the Ikoma are strangely reluctant to sing of them."

 

[Maugan Ra]

"Your compassion does you credit." The Wasp courtier said amiably.

"It isn't nearly as bad as all that...our 'Magistrates", Omi put a pointed emphasis on the word, "arrive and depart from the Capital more often than one might expect, and as for entertainment and the rest...the Tsuruchi is generous to those who keep faith with him. Still. You aren't wrong, fate and the Fortunes have been whimsical in these past years.

My Clan alone...borne of the love between a Scorpion and Lion, brought to the edge of destruction by folly, and yet here we stand, sworn servants of the Emerald Champion himself. A tale fit for an omidasu...not that it will ever be performed as such. The Akodo may study their defeats, but m...the Ikoma are strangely reluctant to sing of them."

Click to shrink...

"It really does make for a good story, doesn't it?" Hana agrees, conceding the initial point. "Who knows, perhaps my own family will make a play out of it some day. Not just yet, though. We like to know the whole arc of a tale before spinning it for ourselves... it lets the playwright highlight the foreshadowing, weave a coherent narrative out of events that seem, in the moment, unconnected. Right now, there's too many possibilities; the family is divided on which path to embrace as the 'true story of the Wasp Clan'."

The Scorpion looks at her opposite number carefully for a moment, taking note of the various minor tells that even Omi's own courtier training were not quite sufficient to hide.

"I suppose there's value in listening to a first-hand source," she says with deceptive gentleness. "Some among my Clan believe the Wasp an aberration, a minor piece in the game created by a Crane and destined to endure for the life of their founder before flickering out. Others see in you the seeds of something more... lasting. Not a guarantee, of course, but possibility? Oh yes. I wonder which side of the line you fall, Tsuruchi-san."

 

[Wade Garrett]

The Scorpion looks at her opposite number carefully for a moment, taking note of the various minor tells that even Omi's own courtier training were not quite sufficient to hide.

Click to shrink...

It wasn't much. The slightest pause in Omi raising her cup to her lips. The faintest narrowing of her eyes. There and gone in a heartbeat, hidden behind the motherly facade that hid the older woman's true thoughts as completely as any Scorpion mask. But it was enough for the Shoshuro to know that shot had struck home.

(Had struck and lodged among a great many subtle and not so subtle hints about the fine qualities of a number of samurai-ko, many polite and not so polite suggestions about the benefits of naming a successor, many sleepless nights and many, many offerings and prayers made to the Fortunes)

"To speak of what the future may hold is the province of a diviner or a shujena...my abilities lie in other areas." Omi answered, still smiling. Still as pleasant and unconcerned as if her fellow Flower hadn't prodded her deepest anxieties, hadn't set them to slithering through her thoughts like rousing a nest of snakes.

"Still. There are means to chart the course of future events that are neither communing with the kami nor pure speculation. What was, shapes what is. Children of a strong bloodline grow strong themselves. A dojo that has trained honorable samurai shapes its new students to be worthy.

The Tsuruchi...we have endured a great deal. Endured that which should have destroyed us, and not only survived but thrived."