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 Post subject: Re: Shining Light on the Sea (D7, EN)
PostPosted: Thu Nov 16, 2017 7:30 pm 
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She chuckled, "Some good, some bad... just like most people with considerable power. Potential for great good, and potential for great evil."



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 Post subject: Re: Shining Light on the Sea (D7, EN)
PostPosted: Thu Nov 16, 2017 8:48 pm 
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He sighed and looked toward the sea.

"We may be differing here, Bella. I believe in the Mandate of Heaven. Cherry-picking them is not something I would do, neither from moral nor practical reasons. They have been given the right to rule the Emerald Empire, not just one or the other of them. There was a time when three Great Clans thought they could choose the Hantei they liked more, particularly that Soujiro was the eldest, but then Yugozohime happened. Then the Lion thought they could remake the Empire in their image, and Retsuhime happened. Now two brothers struggle for succession and who knows what will come out of it. There are those who line up behind one or the other for various reasons, thinking that makes deriding the other one legitimate. For me, they are like two sides of the same tao. A whole."

He glanced at her thoughtfully.

"All that we are is because of that Hantei whole. By we I mean the Tortoise, Bella. Lord Muhaki... he served at the pleasure of the Empress. And believe me, both Hohiro and Jama are lambs compared to who she was, executing Kasuga herself the moment she thought he had committed a blasphemy. Terrible things happened during her reign in her name, and yet the Empire consolidated and moved forward onto a new path that created... us, the Tortoise. Then, we had to change for another Empress, and then for another Emperor. And all the while remaining committed to that one controversial thing they had asked us to do, the one I have so many doubts about these days the more complicit I've become."

He bit his lip.

"Jama is a schemer. Likely a very ruthless one. He is dangerous to his enemies, but that can be said about any Hantei really. He wants power, but blaming the Hantei for it is like blaming them all back to the First who fought for that right against his siblings. Whether he did it for himself or for the Empire is a distinction very hard to make. In Jama's mind, what he does is justifiable by what he wants to accomplish. And what he wants to accomplish is bound to change things for us. Does he want to unmake us? I will withhold the judgement on this until I meet him and listen to what he has to say about this expedition. But if he treats his birthright seriously, I don't think it is his goal." Saionji chuckled. "It looks to me like he tries to be more like us. His grandfather and father were us. Seafarers living in all words at once, precipitating change."



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 Post subject: Re: Shining Light on the Sea (D7, EN)
PostPosted: Thu Nov 16, 2017 9:19 pm 
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She nodded and rubbed her hand on his back, "I too feel that the Hantei should be served mi amor, that they have the right to rule over their people. And that we live to serve them... but they are capable of making mistakes. Capable of bringing great death and destruction on the things that they claim to protect. What Muhaki did, what Genjiko did, what you have done, is urge and direct those on high towards a better future... a better choice. One that doesn't lead to war between two brothers who prioritize themselves over the Empire that they protect and still achieves the great duty which was entrusted to us."

She leaned her body in close to him, "I see him positioning himself to wrestle control of that duty away from us and to put it to his own uses. He may well have right to do so... and as I have told you before I do not see violence as the way of solving this problem. But I see it as folly. Even in the Rokugani system there are safeguards put in place to limit the amount of damage a person of import can have on the whole... we have been one of those safeguards for the past half-century. We have the knowledge, the skills, the experience, and the character to conduct this labor. We have only ever faithfully fulfilled our duties... and yet he encroaches on them... It begs the question as to why? I am not sure he is as interested in becoming more like us as he is in utilizing the things we have managed and mastered for the past 50 years. And it makes me worry when in the place of good men and women he puts children with no practical knowledge of the world whose claim to his favor is that they follow him blindly and without question... We stand uniquely posed to help them in their training, but rather than work together with us in this endeavor he has taken our holdings and pushed us around. He plays with powerful forces... and we see that it already causes reactions across the globe. I am not confident in he or his people's ability to suitably manage those forces and lead us to the future he has imagined in his mind."

She held him tightly, "I do not trust him... I know I can trust you, I know what your intent is.. and know that you will pursue a path of reason. If you tell me things are alright after you meet with him, then I will trust your judgement."



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 Post subject: Re: Shining Light on the Sea (D7, EN)
PostPosted: Sat Nov 18, 2017 6:59 am 
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"I think you absolve the Tortoise of wrong decisions a little too easily, Bella. If you allow that the Hantei can err, even more so can we. What you're saying sounds a lot like what Doji Raigu, Shiba Gaijushiko or Bayushi Atsuki would have said about how the Hantei should be constrained in their bad choices, and how they usurp what should be the exclusive domains of the Clans. Is it what you advocate, Bella, a new Gozoku, us as the new Nasu? I don't know if I am ready for it." He sighed, worried, leaning in to embrace her. "For all purposes, Bella, we have a Tortoise Emperor now. Before Hantei Reikado there was a Tortoise captain of that name. And Jama is his son. Who is the greater encroacher here, he or us?" He looked into her eyes. "Please understand me. I want to avoid my own illusions of grandeur, and for that I need to see things as they are. It'd be too easy for me to find a line behind which I could entrench. But then, I would not be able to continue to be the man I am, belonging to many worlds at once."

He chuckled to ease tension "You're right of course that he's fetched himself a hefty keg of gunpowder with his actions and machinations. But the big question is where he wants to toss it. Only then we can decide if there should be a foot on the fuse or not. But even then, what he does is still a lesser issue than the imminent grand kurultai. This is more or less where my current thoughts are."



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 Post subject: Re: Shining Light on the Sea (D7, EN)
PostPosted: Sat Nov 18, 2017 7:12 am 
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That’s not what I’m saying mi amor...” She shook her head. “I just wish to live a life of conscience and loyalty. If those below don’t do their roles properly then those above can’t do theirs. Delegation is the good aspect of this society... it’s never fully ours, the rights always lay in the Emperor’s hands... but to reward skill and proper service with vengeance is folly... It tears at the Hantei’s legitimacy. And there are many in this world who would wish to see them debased.

She continued to scratch his back, “What of the Kurultai mi amor?



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 Post subject: Re: Shining Light on the Sea (D7, EN)
PostPosted: Sun Nov 19, 2017 3:36 am 
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"I think my late mother was not right to deny the Imperials help with the fleet. It were the personal interests of de Almerias that must have influenced it, the way Jose had reported it. And there is a reason they had not been granted the Muhaki name, Bella. In the purge of Cornejos, they supported the Crown. I know you are in good standing with them, but my own impression on how they have served Tortoise interests are mixed." He shivered from the pleasurable scratching. "And the kurultai... are you trying to distact me, Bella?" He leaned in for a small kiss.



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 Post subject: Re: Shining Light on the Sea (D7, EN)
PostPosted: Sun Nov 19, 2017 3:50 am 
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She accepted it without hesitation, smiling afterwards. "Not a distraction... a sounding board. Perhaps help you focus your thoughts like you are helping focus mine..."



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 Post subject: Re: Shining Light on the Sea (D7, EN)
PostPosted: Sun Nov 19, 2017 8:00 am 
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"It certainly prevents me from falling asleep again." He chuckled before another kiss as she had made his thoughts shift a little toward more pleasant aspects of sitting together. But he would not let those thoughts prevent him from addressing her question. "It will be stormy. Both Kublai and Hulagu want it all. It may be that neither will claim it, and it will all turn inward, then our long effort will be frustrated. But if one of them prevails without a compromise... it'd better be Kublai."



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 Post subject: Re: Shining Light on the Sea (D7, EN)
PostPosted: Sun Nov 19, 2017 8:05 am 
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She leaned in and kissed the tip of his ear and gently slid a hand down to his inner thigh where she gently drew lines with her fingernails. “And why is that mi amor?



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 Post subject: Re: Shining Light on the Sea (D7, EN)
PostPosted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 5:37 pm 
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His loins reacted vividly to her touch but he still tried to continue. "Because I know him enough to know that the Unicorn under him have a much greater chance to find a place among other Rokugani once the Purple Fleet arrives at their shores. For him, ancestry means something. Both of Shinjo's swords stand just behind his throne in Khanbalik. Hulagu has made his own destiny from scratch, and all is but an instrument of power for him, religion, heritage, custom. Maybe if he dies and one of his pups takes over with Grand Vizier or Grand Mufti assuming power behind the throne... but this can turn ugly in so many other ways that I don't want to contemplate supporting this scenario. His sons and daughters are ruthless. Hulagu would grab the Fleet and invade Merenae right away if he could, and if Mamluks ever reach Rokugan en masse, they will have no sentiment for any of its inhabitants. Loyalty to any land or people have been erased from them, doubts drilled out. One of the stages of training involves killing someone from your former homeland in cold blood... It's only to the Tarkhan and the corps."



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 Post subject: Re: Shining Light on the Sea (D7, EN)
PostPosted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 5:51 pm 
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She nodded and continued to caress his leg, "You really are pressed on from all sides my dear. I wish I could be of greater help... We must do whatever we can to bring the Unicorn in peacefully. The Lion will be looking for any type of excuse to start conflict upon their return... and if Kublai will help reduce the scale and scope of the bloodshed, then we must put our efforts behind his candidacy. No point in reuniting the Empire only to have it crumble in ruins."



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 Post subject: Re: Shining Light on the Sea (D7, EN)
PostPosted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 6:08 pm 
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He released air audibly and looked at her inquiringly as she kept him suspended between pondering matters of global importance and an urge to pin her against the crenelage. "There has..." He shook his head, trying to cast off desire and not truly succeeding. "The chance that the Lion accept the Return has ever been minimal. There will be war, Bella, in some form. Jama swaying their current Champion into supporting the Explorers might be a step in the right direction but I don't think it's enough. The question is about who else will oppose the Return. The Crane don't look good. The Phoenix don't matter much. The Crab, the Dragon, the Scorpion are all a possibility of unknown distance and weight on this. Our influence among the Minor Clans has dwindled, but it has never amounted to much more than clever circumvention in times of peace. The Mantis are both a stakeholder and an opportunistic option, but they would probably try to outmanoeuvre us." He sighed. "We have long concluded that if the Unicorn can return, it's only with preponderant power. Only a fear of defeat can convince Rokugan not to take up arms." He closed his eyes, inhaling. "Or a truly strong Emperor."



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 Post subject: Re: Shining Light on the Sea (D7, EN)
PostPosted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 6:28 pm 
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She nodded in agreement. She too knew that in one way or another this level of change was going to bring about strife. To her each life that could be saved in strife, however, was of great worth. "I have tried to leave a positive impression on those that I could... I've been pleased with the support I've found among some of the Explorers... It gives me hope that something good can come of this despite the obstacles..."

She squeezed his thigh gently and asked, "Do you feel the current Emperor is such an emperor?"



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 Post subject: Re: Shining Light on the Sea (D7, EN)
PostPosted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 6:33 pm 
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His self-restraint broken, his hand went toward the inner side of her thigh and began its own stroking and squeezing. "Five years ago I would say so. Now, we are where we are with his illness he will not recover from unless a miracle happens."



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 Post subject: Re: Shining Light on the Sea (D7, EN)
PostPosted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 6:38 pm 
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And his sons?” She asked.



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 Post subject: Re: Shining Light on the Sea (D7, EN)
PostPosted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 7:02 pm 
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"Between Hohiro and Jama, it should be obvious to you where my preferences lie. But you'll have to excuse me for the fact that in my mind the warmth of your thighs and Imperial scions don't occupy the same place. Our scions, on the other hand..." He leaned in for a kiss of a sultrier kind.



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 Post subject: Re: Shining Light on the Sea (D7, EN)
PostPosted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 7:08 pm 
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She chuckled playfully after their lips parted and a pleasant smile crossed her lips, "Already thinking of our scions are you? Haven't even taken me to the church to make me a good girl yet... Makes me think it's the process making of scions that has your attention at the moment."

Her hand slid up his thigh gently as she leaned in to whisper, "Not that I'm opposed to any of it..."

She gently kissed his ear, pulling on the lobe ever so slightly with her lips.



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 Post subject: Re: Shining Light on the Sea (D7, EN)
PostPosted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 7:16 pm 
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"You need to build the temple I can take you to." He smirked between kisses as his hands took advantage of declared lack of opposition...

/FtB?



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 Post subject: Re: Shining Light on the Sea (D7, EN)
PostPosted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 7:22 pm 
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"Excuses, excuses...But hey, if that isn't motivation to get this temple done, I don't know what is." She said with a smile and a return of investigative hands.

/ftb



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