(D11, LM) Respect

Agasha Poemu · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:47 pm **Posts:** 896

"I am not the sort that believes violence will prevent violence, Doji-dono. I would much rather talk than raise a sword. I can understand your concerns about the Empress, about the clan of her birth and her own priorities. I have not met the woman before, but if you have, then by your honor, I believe your understanding of her nature."

There was a pause, and her tone lowered with obvious compassion. "Do you truly believe her beyond any sort of words?"

Doji Suiminko · **Joined:** Sat Apr 11, 2020 1:56 am **Posts:** 120

"A single clean stroke in court can stop a war, Agasha-san." It was a Crane maxim, repeated without any real desire to argue the ideology behind it.

Suiminko falls silent as she considers the question. "I believe the Empress is an honorable woman. But she is also a Matsu. When they have it in their heads that something should be a certain way, there is no changing their minds. After the birth of her son, she withdrew from the public and fell into low spirits. It was as if she became a ghost, haunting the less-traveled rooms of the capitol, barely seen and rarely heard."

She sighs. "Now? Now I expect that we will see Matsu fury on full display. The Empire will shake with the fury of her roar, and I do not know how much will survive. I have seen her wither way under pressure, and soon we will see her rage outward. I believe that a measured, tempered response is beyond her capabilities."

"Remember, this is not a Crane woman who grew up learning how to maneuver through social situations and disarm tensions, or a Hantei who was raised on stories of balancing power and projecting an inspiring image. This is a woman who learned how to pick up a weapon and murder people in the most efficient way possible. That is her primary life skill. Do you believe it a fitting one for an Empress?"

Agasha Poemu · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:47 pm **Posts:** 896

Poemu thought deeply before speaking. "...I believe the woman you describe would need to be tempered and taught compassion and etiquette. I think she could rule quite well indeed if she did."

There was another pause, and Poemu thought of a different path to understanding. "Perhaps Doji-dono can tell this one of the circumstances surrounding the late Son of Heaven's marriage to the Empress? Certainly it would seem odd to me that an arrangement with a woman not of the courts would be made. Surely the possibility of the Emperor dying young and the Empress being regent was not unexpected after the death of his late father."

Doji Suiminko · **Joined:** Sat Apr 11, 2020 1:56 am **Posts:** 120

"I would have thought that you would know the story. No?" Suiminko smiles in a friendly manner. "At the Winter Court held in your family's lands, the Matsu daimyo saved the late Emperor from an assassination attempt by the late Imperial Chancellor. I believe the official policy is that the Chancellor had gone mad with senility or some such." She waves the reasoning off with a hand.

"Whatever his incomprehensible reasons, he set into motion a clumsy plan to kill the Emperor. That plan was foiled by Matsu Shikyo, a Lion daimyo, and as a reward for her heroics, the Emperor agreed to marry a Lion." She pauses for drama. "The Lion had already promised all of their candidates to others, however, and desperately scrambled to find a deal that they could break without great political fallback. They settled upon Matsu Tokiyo, who had been promised to Suzume Hokusei, a minor poet of the Sparrow. Faced with the suddenly great need of the Matsu daimyo to put one of her own in the hands of the Emperor, they broke the agreement, and viola!" Suiminko waves her hands in the air, as if performing a magic trick. "Matsu Tokiyo goes from Sparrow-wife to Empress of Rokugan."

She leans back, her smirk showing that she is quite amused by the situation. "Brilliant bit of politics, there, especially for a Lion. I'm sure that the Sparrow poet has bored his friends to tears with the story of how he almost married the Empress."

Agasha Poemu · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:47 pm **Posts:** 896

"I knew some of the very basics, but not the full story. Unfortunately, I have not been back to Kyuden Agasha in some time." She gave a slight seated bow. "I am... a not surprised at the events at court, since I had heard the jist, as I said. I am, however, more than a bit surprised that the Lion would not take time to consider who they would put forth. As I understand it, it is rare indeed for a Lion maiden to marry into the Hantei, and I have never heard of a Matsu bride. Was there not even a single Lion courtier that was not pledged in the entire Empire?"

Doji Suiminko · **Joined:** Sat Apr 11, 2020 1:56 am **Posts:** 120

"I am led to believe that the Lion wished to strike while the iron was hot," she says, shrugging. "But who can say. I do not believe that anyone honestly expected that she would end up serving as regent for a young heir."

Agasha Poemu · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:47 pm **Posts:** 896

Poemu gave a small frown. "A strange mistake, if true."

There was another long pause. "... Regardless, this moment doesn't seem good for starting anything, considering the siege. Besides, there are already others trying to push Hantei Okocheo or Seppun Kato to power. I take it you would rather see the Empress stay and try for peace than support one of those... different routes?"

Doji Suiminko · **Joined:** Sat Apr 11, 2020 1:56 am **Posts:** 120

"I believe that the Imperial Heir is the best choice," she states, her conviction clear. "I also believe that the Empress would be a disastrous regent in the fifteen-some years it will take for the heir to reach governing age. I would rather see a trained politician in the role, one with the courage and conviction to stand up to the Empress for the betterment of the Empire."

The Advisor's smile turns sad. "I will most likely be disappointed."

Agasha Poemu · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:47 pm **Posts:** 896

Poemu's face had been thoughtful, and remained that way as she nodded. "H... hai. Perhaps. There are ways of course, but I am ever the optimist Doji-dono."

After a moment she shook her head and gave a seated bow. "Thank you for receiving my gift in memory of those lost to violence... and for giving me things to think about. I will pray that things turn out better than you expect in the end."

Doji Suiminko · **Joined:** Sat Apr 11, 2020 1:56 am **Posts:** 120

"Thank you for the visit and conversation." Suiminko stands, waits for Poemu to join her, and then walks the Dragon to the door. "The Dragon are secluded and distant, but perhaps they would welcome a friend as their gaze turns outward. Perhaps your diplomats could join me at Kyuden Doji to discuss the future in less vague terms."

Agasha Poemu · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:47 pm **Posts:** 896

Poemu nodded as she followed the Advisor to the door. "I am likely to remain here in Lion lands when this is all over, or perhaps to the capitol, but I am most certain that we can have someone come to Crane lands on my recommendation and letter. I hope that we will speak again in better circumstances."

Once she was to the door, Poemu gave one last bow before taking her

/exit

(D11, LM) Respect

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