BZPRPG: Kentoku Archipelago
Kentucky
IC: Higashi
"Yep, definitely vague."
Ic:
"You have to focus on what you what the energy to form into," Jiyu said, after observing silently.
IC (Enali)
"I can't—I mean, my teacher said I can't really do that until I can reliably make the energy..."
IC: Higashi
"How big can you go without going all wonky?"
IC (Enali)
"Well, I...I haven't really got past the 'projectile stage', you see," she explained. "I mean, I can make a sort of ball sometimes, but it normally turns into mush."
The young Menti demonstrated, creating a sphere of energy between her hands, screwing up her face in concentration. It began to droop into an egg-shape one it was more than a couple of inches in diameter.
She let it splat onto the ground, where the energy sizzled gently as it evaporated.
"The only time they've been happy with my technique was the time Miss Arisaka taught us, and...well...I don't really want to try that again..."
Ic:
"... And what did she show you?"
IC (Enali)
"She didn't show us anything, exactly," the young Dasaka replied. "She used her Pakari to throw boulders at us. It was terrifying...my friend Seri went down...there was a rock coming right at us...I thought we were both going to be crushed!"
Ic:
"And what did you do? Since, you're standing here in front of me."
Ic:
Jiyu's mind began to leap to conclusions.
"I see. Perhaps there is a way for you to try that again?"
IC: Kaede
Kaede had been daydreaming for the entire conversation, but a thought came to her mind.
"Are you -sure- that you should be studying Soulsword? Are none of the other disciplines working for you?"
IC (Enali)
Enali looked at Jiyu like he'd grown an extra head.
"With all due respect, sir, I'd rather not have deadly chunks of rock thrown at me again..."
She turned to Kaede.
"I've had the basic tests, just like everyone else," she said. "Soulsword's what I'm best suited for, none of the others feel right. I just...I don't know..."
She shrugged again.
OOC: Permission gained to wrap the riots up...
IC: (Dastana Shivada/Sado Streets)
Order had been restored to the city. With her guardswomen around her, Shivada looked upon the scene of the clashes. Three guardswomen and several Hogo had perished bravely against the revolutionaries. The bodies of Dastana sympathizers were far more numerous. They were her clanswomen, she knew, but the fact troubled her little now. Whereas the Umbralines akin to the assassins of Yomiken numbered little, and were suppressed, it seemed treachery and disharmonious thought had infiltrated her clan. Her fellow Dastana, it became clear, had grown fond of encouraging each other to go against the natural order, and against the caste system that held society together. If they continued, the isles would plunge into a era of chaos and blood unseen since the days before Empire. She knew she had reasonable clanswomen, but it pained her that they had been overruled.
The Taajar they had hired began to clear the bodies of the rioters from the streets, and began to scrub the blood off the roads. Carts, cloaked in white cloth, went away from the scene. Occasionally, Dashi crossed the roads in a hurried pace, to escape the stain upon the gleaming city. It would return to normalcy, she thought, in a week or so. New traders would come in, and it would seem exactly as it was before. If she knew anything of her Saihoko kin, it was that they always bounded back when pushed to the ground.
"Come, let the Taajar finish their work," she said. "Return to the palace, and report upon the actions of today."
IC: Kaede
Kaede shrugged. If Soulsword really was her best discipline but her progress was this slow... Kaede dismissed the thought. Surely this Menti couldn't be hopeless, right?
IC: Higashi
"You fine with smaller chunks of deadly rock?"
IC: Minami
"... So what now? What's our plan of action?"
EDIT:
IC: Kaede
"... Are you insistent on the rock thing? It might actually hurt her you know. Considering we don't have any mindarms..."
Ic:
Jiyu walked to retrieve several large crates, which he easily picked up with the strength that benefits his size. And his telekinetic mask power.
IC: Higashi
"Crates are good enough."
IC: Kaede
"... Okay..." She looked at Enali with a concerned look.
IC (Enali)
Enali stared at Jiyu like a rabbit in headlights.
Is he—
NO. No no no.
Not this again.
...
After a moment's hesitation, the young Menti bolted for the training area's exit.
Ic:
"I have the suspicious feeling she doesn't want our help."
IC: Higashi
"What was the clue? Her running away?"
IC: Kaede
"... Suspicious ceiling. Huh-wait, oh. Anyways, bye." Kaede ran after Enali; while she wasn't too concerned with where the young Menti would be running to, she did want to make sure that she stayed out of trouble.
IC:
.:Not a problem. I'm a personable man. I've already made some friends - and I have a few dinner dates on the books yet..:. Jasik leaned back calmly and traced back and forth across his left cheekbone with a finger, staring at Nera.
.:What of you? The Fursics aren't without their...friends, and the Umbralines are an old name steeped in respect even with Yumi at their head. If you mean to win, and you mean to give us your support over the Umbralines, we're going to need all your support.:.
-Tyler
IC (Enali)
Having escaped the immediate crate-related danger, Enali paused from running, peeking around a corner to see if the huge male or the possibly-unhinged Hogo lady had come after her.
IC:
... And noticed another Enali.
Continuing to run.
Even though she'd stopped. Kaede saw much the same sight, but unlike the young Menti, she lacked the context to know that what she was seeing was impossible. The young Ageru was bright enough to piece together the puzzle quickly and realize that whatever she was seeing as a Sighteye's doing. A quick glance confirmed that theory, as she noted a familiar black armored form perched on a chest-high wall, book held open in her hands.
"Afternoon."
IC (Enali)
"Kagesu!" Enali cried, happy to see the older Dasaka. "How have you been?"
Ic:
Jiyu put the crates down and went on his merry way.
IC: Kaede
Kaede continued chasing the Enali illusion.
... Straight into the harbor.
IC: Eldani Kyoshi Drakata (Odaiba)
"Well, we must unite our clan or do our best to stay out of the war. There are no other options, and the second one is difficult to accomplish. But your brother is doing a wonderful at upholding peace within our clan. But that might not be enough. If you.. pass away without leaving behind an heir, the peace will be shattered like a crystal plate dropping on the floor. Even your brother won't be able to prevent that from happening."
I let out a long sigh. "That is why you need an heir, at the very least. Preferably someone strong and determined, who can keep this clan together if something happens to you. But you're unmarried, and childless..thankfully, both of those can be fixed with time and effort" Minami seemed slightly uncomfortable for a slight moment. I rested my hand on her arm. "Marriage is difficult and time consuming, and getting a child even more so.. but adoptation is easier. I suggest that you talk with your brother about this. These are not things that should be taken lightly, but instead they are very important, life changing decisions. And necessary for the survival of our clan." I hope I'm not pushing her too hard. but I need my plans to start moving finally. Now, I must wait again..
IC: Higashi
"I am so confused right now."
IC (Kilanya)
The highest tower of Mahuika hall, while nothing to the lofty spires of Sado, commanded a beautiful view of the lands of Odaiba. Naturally, it was here that the Toroshu's chambers were located: a suite of comfortable and well-furnished rooms that had belonged to the Ageru's leader for as long as the Hall had stood.
As the sun sank down towards the western horizon, staining the sky orange and the clouds grapefruit-pink, Kilanya leaned on the rail of her balcony and looked out across the fields of the Ageru towards the rolling hills, and beyond them, the distant, darkening sea. In the calm of dusk, one could almost forget the tensions of the Archipelago, the many sorrows that had been caused and the more that might well lie ahead. But Kilanya did not.
The political situation was a growing stress for the Ageru Toroshu: what she would say, what she would do, with whom she would side...which strings to keep and which to cut, and what would come crashing down if and when she did. And yet despite this, her thoughts were not on her own burdens, but on those of others.
She thought of the young Rora and her sister, and of the twins of the Dastana: despite their many differences, both pairs of siblings had lost their mothers to violence, a pain that must still be keen for both of them.
She thought of the people fighting and dying on the streets of Sado, the the people for whom the madness of war had already become very real.
She thought of her fellow Toroshu, who must be faced with situations just as difficult as hers. She wondered who would weather the storm she feared was coming, and who would drown.
She thought of Nachi, the poor woman broken by the Chaotic Six, who now lay empty-eyed in one of the castle's guest-rooms, tended to by her court doctor; and of Nihi, for whom it might almost have been better to lose her sister than to have her reduced to the shell Kilanya had taken in.
She thought of the explorers of the Chiisai Ryuu, traveling to a distant and unfamiliar land—and of one man on that ship, the man she loved but knew would never be hers, and the pain of their last conversation on the fateful night of the Chojo's party.
And last, before she turned away, she thought of the girl, the young Menti with the Rau.
Enali...
IC:
"Enali." The Eiyu greeted, a slight smile on her face. She did not yet move, however, as to do so would disrupt her illusion. As soon as Kaede was gone, she permitted the ethereal Enali to dissipate, dropping to her feet from her perch. Kaegsu closed her book with a quiet snap, slipping it into her pack as she refocused on the Ageru Menti.
"I've been well, I think. As well as one can be in these times. How are you?" A momentary pause, and a slightly sly grin. "Aside from narrowly avoiding thrown crates?"
<snip>
Ic: That's always been a possibility, Inokio considered. Civil Wars have been a historical recurrence over many centuries, and he still bore some memories of the last one. Indeed, like with several others of their kind, the last war was what made him a First Son. Even so, his learned mind understood many times a civil war had served as a cleansing fire, purging the old growth to make way for new foliage. If the archipelago still had even a handful of forests left maybe more people would understand that lesson...
But it would be a lost cause trying to argue the necessity of revolution to a man such as Rayuke. This was a man consumed by his station, obsessed with keeping order and tradition. That much was made obvious by the confrontation in the throne room. And he was at his wits end, so testing him further would only lead to disappointment on all sides.
"This is a fragile time," Inokio spoke gravely. "I agree. The stakes are absurdly high, but... I wonder, when haven't they?
"Maybe under the microscope you used your actions are justified, but the station of the rora has always been the keystone to keeping order in this empire and by compromising her authority in the presence of her chief vassals you wreck the dignity that young woman has strived so hard to construct. She is not her mother, Rayuke, but she is the rora, and it is your duty as much as it is mine to make certain she becomes a great one. You don't know the empress as well as I have gotten to, and Yumiwa is a gemstone. Maybe in your short time serving her directly you haven't seen the greatness I do, but I know leaders are polished with care and precision, not bashed into shape with a mallet.
"The whole of the empire is watching her, and if you are to preserve order and peace you must first preserve her."
IC:
"A genstone cannot be made beautiful through polish alone. Subjected only to polish, a gem will never change its shape. It will only serve as an attempt to cover up the flaws." I speak, an unusual choice. I am Rayuke's silent shadow, the ace hidden underneath their notice. On this, however, I cannot keep my silence. A problem unspoken will not cease to be a problem, it will merely rear its head anew at a later date. I am intimately familiar with nobles and their 'privilege', the 'gemstones awaiting polish.
I will not permit it, by Zuto Nui's will.
"An empire built upon covered flaws will not survive. You would sweep this problem under the rug, as you do so many problems." My tone surprises even myself. It is civil, but with a biting undercurrent unfamiliar to my tongue. But my ire has been earned, and I cannot help but grant it. "If you attempt to build on an imperfect foundation, your castle shall crumble in upon itself like so many cards."
"What would you have Lord Rayuke do, Battlemaster? Permit the Rora her delusions? Let her eat cake, while the streets drink their fill of blood?"
IC:
"Enali." The Eiyu greeted, a slight smile on her face. She did not yet move, however, as to do so would disrupt her illusion. As soon as Kaede was gone, she permitted the ethereal Enali to dissipate, dropping to her feet from her perch. Kaegsu closed her book with a quiet snap, slipping it into her pack as she refocused on the Ageru Menti.
"I've been well, I think. As well as one can be in these times. How are you?" A momentary pause, and a slightly sly grin. "Aside from narrowly avoiding thrown crates?"
IC (Enali)
"Oh, so you heard that?" the young Menti answered with a wry smile. "I'm fine. Well, mostly. I mean, all this...stuff going on..."
She gestured around to indicate the Archipelago's strife as best she could.
"...it does...scare me."
Enali looked at the floor, holding one upper arm with the hand of the other.
Ic: "I don't hold the station to tell Lord Rayuke what to do," Inokio calmly stated to the Executioner's shadow, though he also carefully gauged the ham's reaction just the same, "but it is within my place to advise what he shouldn't do, but did.
"The foundation is already made and it is good—Yusanora and I, by her choice, have ensured that much. The polishing must now be completed. And what happened back there..." he said and motioned to the past, "was not done with a tumbler but with a chisel. You are daft to think otherwise, or that I sweep anything under the rug."
IC:
"My apologies, Battlemaster. I wasn't aware that looming civil war constituted a solid foundation. My eyes aren't what they used to be, I must have mistook the seamless lines of perfection for cracks." My heart rate ticks up another notch per second, but my outer facade does not change. I am in control of my body and mind, even if my tongue is beginning to strain against my will.
"Perhaps I have mistaken how a tumbler works, as well. Does it not operate by turning gems on their heads?"
IC:
"I understand." The quiet Menti responded, before pausing. "... I might have a suggestion, if you'd like to hear it."
IC (Enali)
Enali looked up again.
"What is it?"