Open letter to the Imperial Court

[Kakita Kyoshi]

It reached my ears that there is much talk at court about a conflict between the shogun and my person. Sadly I cannot find the time to make an appearance in Toshi Ranbo and clear a few things.

I had a few concerns about the actions the shogun took. My greatest were that he raised an army and marched without the emperor's blessing to meet the yobanjin. We all heard about that war, the Khan had send couriers into the land to tell about it to nearly everyone. So, of course I myself lead my family to assist the Khan and the marching troops through the land. Then the shogun decided to exclude me from planing how my men, members of the Kakita family, should be deployed in upcoming battles. Sure, he might not like me, but to endanger whole Rokugan because he took offence in my words at court? There is then gossip I had slandered the shogun even more, but that is just that - gossip.

At moment I try to find a solution for peace, so that the crisis ends soon and the shogun's army can be dissolved. I have clearly better to do than to make it worse by starting a feud with the shogun. Nobody wins with such a feud, so I hope that the issue can be put aside and not become an even bigger issue where the shogun and I had to resolve it in a duel that might lead to a death. So, stop these infightings!

- Kakita Kenshi

(OOC: I had said out of character many other things, but who minds them, since metagaming is here totally forbidden... actually that the whole thing that it can be voted on is based only on metagaming, I had never said a word about all this in game before. But I don't mind it much, since I have still fun with how the things roll).

[Hida Setsuro]

One of the most rare things in the Empire was about to happen. Hida Setsuro was about to write a letter of response.

Samurai and Samurai-ko of the Empire, I have and always will be one of the biggest supporters of the Shogun. I find that he is a glorious and strong leader in our days or the Emperor would not have appointed him otherwise. On top of that, the Emperor has decided to grant the Shogun his blessing.

I do not care who you are, what you have done, what you do or what you will do. My duty as a Crab has always been clear. I protect the Empire against the looming threat of the Shadowlands. My brothers and I stand ready to sacrifice our lives to protect all within the Empire and the Empire itself. The Emperor is of the highest priority and is so very high that he himself can ignore such slanderous remarks about his blessing for only so long. I can not.

If you go against the blessings of the Emperor, if you go against His wishes or against Him at all, make no mistake.

I will find you.

And then I will crush you.

Be very careful what you do and say because any Samurai, any samurai worth being called a Samurai, will stand with me at the ready to oppose any that would dare speak against the Emperor's decision. There will be no duels. No fancy one-on-one focused match. It will be a bloody, painful and merciless assault on whoever would stand against the Empire.

You do not argue with the Son of the Heavens. You do not argue with the Celestial Heavens themselves.

Kakita Kenshi, Daimyo of the Kakita Family, glorious master duelist of the Crane Clan. I have heard of your exploits and I have even supported and celebrated your victory at Iaijutsu tournament as of late, but this is a decision you have to make. Stand down or face the wrath of the Empire and anyone who cares about it's people. I give you this one chance and only one. I believe you to be a man of intelligence and honor. I hope that you will make the right decision.

And so Setsuro set down the brush and left, preparing for what might become an inevitable war.

[Kitsuki Yuushahime]

The contents of the Kakita letter were read to the Kitsuki daimyo as she was in route between courts. She frowned further as the message continued and sighed at the end, not entirely sure how to approach the latest issue facing the Imperial Court. Was the war not enough? Then all the other matters? Now this matter threatening to undermine the authority of the now endorsed Shogun and to potentially harm the unity of the combined Clan army he led? How could people follow him if others below his status openly disrespected him she wondered...

This could not do she decided. He wished to stop the infighting but would not step down from his position. His passive aggressive words showed a clear disdain for the Shogun and a lack of acceptance of his right to choose who to invite to his strategy meetings. He was not excluding the whole Kakita family. Surely their daimyo could send a representative? Yuushahime thought about all of this while she mulled over an appropriate response.


On rose flowers and sunflowers in a shared spring

A rosebush may become the loveliest in the garden according to some who see it. Its fine scent and beautiful flowers are enticing. Almost always there is one flower, most captivating of all. Imagine that nearby in the garden a tall sunflower stands, pleasing the Lord of all the flowers - the gardener. It is the prized flower of the gardener - higher in importance than each individual other flower in the garden. It has also been supported most openly by the gardener; any who come to the garden easily notice this. It is a shame then when the rose flower and the sunflower become tangled. One is clearly tied to its kin and the other is to be supported by the gardener and all who visit the garden. To damage the sunflower with thorns displeases the gardener and all else who see it and it disrupts the harmony of the garden as a whole - a dangerous thing when a garden is united in the need for strong growth in Spring. However, to untangle the two is not easy. To harm the rose flower may also harm the rose bush and none wish that. However, to continue to risk the wellbeing of the sunflower is even worse when it risks the despair of the gardener, who is tasked with overseeing all of the plants in the garden. The only thing that can make this worse is a rose that is so caught up in its own beauty that it forgets its place and the virtue of humility - it strives to dominate the sunflower, though the sunflower is higher in importance and taller.

Now, I - Kitsuki Yuushahime - am no expert on gardening but if I saw such a predicament and was allowed to act I would certainly advocate moving the rose flower away and properly supporting the sunflower at a time of its peak growth. This will uplift the gardener and best enable the sunflower to inspire the other flowers and lead confidently as the gardener hoped. For its part, the rose flower can work with the other roses in the rose bush. It can always have other roses remain close to the sunflower if that was all it ever wanted. I imagine none of the other occupants of the garden would wish for the elegant rose bush to be removed. However, they may advocate for the rose flower to be if it does not soon learn to direct its thorns towards its enemies rather than its fellows.

This general message is the one Yuushahime eventually decides upon and she directs this to be sent to the courtiers and ambassadors who will understand its meaning. She nods satisfactorily at the letter she has composed before moving on to other business

(ooc: If anyone has any trouble understanding this, please pm me!)

[Mirumoto Machu]

OOC: Kenshin thank you for being a good sport and just having fun in the game. But I have to warn you I have a pile of slander burning a hole in my poket.

[Bayushi Haruka]

Mar 8, 2011 23:26:25 GMT -5 Mirumoto Machu said:

OOC: Kenshin thank you for being a good sport and just having fun in the game. But I have to warn you I have a pile of slander burning a hole in my poket.

OOC:
If you wish to call that rather obvious attitude of his a 'good sport' and 'having fun' then I think you've got a very different meaning of the words to most.
This is a bit much really all truth be told, but at this point I don't think anyone's going to be willing to back down. It's only a wonder what'll come of it, and I somehow doubt it will be terribly peaceful.
Crane singing to the tune of 0 for 2 in my eyes. I'd pick your words carefully.

[Kakita Kyoshi]

(OOC: the following are just thoughts of my character, to give a little insight, but not to be used against him):

Is Setsure threatening me? Do he did not know I spoke against the shogun before the emperor gave is blessing, not after that? That this was the whole point of my concern and I would never stand against the will of the emperor? Maybe he has just no clue about politics... Would only weaken the empire if I had to kill him in a duel over a matter of honour... But luckily I can pretend that I never got aware of this latter, like I can do with all the slander against me that happens in the capital. Wonder if the courtiers how slander me are aware of the irony that in slandering me they do exactly the same what they are think I did wrong in the first place, and just proving that they are not any better than I am.

Mar 8, 2011 23:26:25 GMT -5 Mirumoto Machu said:

OOC: Kenshin thank you for being a good sport and just having fun in the game. But I have to warn you I have a pile of slander burning a hole in my poket.

OOC: Go ahead and us the in every way you like. I know that my character will get much more slandering than flattering (because there should still much slander in the game, not everyone used that against the shogun, and there are many Crane enemies out there that prevent folks from supporting me). So, I don't mind much, because the whole vote is implemented into the game that I can just lose there. So why should I take offence when it was never about a fair vote?

[Agasha Taeshik]

Agasha Taeshik sends a Court Attendant to support Kakita Kenshi, in his stead, at the courts, despite the lack of Flattery to do so publicly. Just a single individual who stands in support of Kenshi-san, applauding any that speak in his favor, and scowling at any that don't; but never saying a word in either argument.

[Hida Setsuro]

Following is OOC: Setsuro would not engage in a duel with Kenshi. Instead he would personally meet with Doji Yoshi and ask him for one of two things;;

1) The Seppuku of Kakita Kenshi
2) The right to march through Crane lands (disturbing no one) and assault the Kakita Daimyo's home. Anyone who wanted to leave the fortress would be given express leave to do so and there would be no collateral damage to any outlying properties. Setsuro would bring the entire might of the Crab Clan down on Kenshi for disrespecting the Emperor and the Shogun, regardless. Setsuro already made it a point that he would not duel anyone but instead would bring about a bloody and merciless death.

It would be Doji Yoshi in a difficult position, which Setsuro would apologize for, knowing what kind of stress that would put on him. However, in a similar situation, if the Hiruma family Daimyo really pissed off someone that wanted to go to war with ONLY the Hiruma, Setsuro would work something out. Obviously, in this situation, Setsuro would not be happy until either Kenshi surrendered or was dead. And trust me, Setsuro would call in favors and have more than just the Crab Clan marching. You'd be lucky if the Shogun wasn't there himself after dealing with the Yobanjin threat.

[Agasha Taeshik]

OOC: either i am missing something, having tried to find where this problem is, or your fantasy doesnt mesh with how things would go at all, Hida Setsuro.

First off, i cant find anywhere that Kakita Kenshi has done any deflammation about the Shogun nor Emperor, incharacter at least. All i have seen is that he is upset that the Shogun doesnt accept his council, which, considering the low level, low honor, low glory dynastyy i have that i see have completed that particular quest, isnt a shocking dissappointment at all. The shogun being more interested in who is patting him on the back, than who might actually offer good advise.

One of my dynasty with double digit glory, and a near equal amount of taint and infamy have completed that mission twice now it seems.

If theres a problem with being disappointed, youre gonna have to battle a lot more than his guy, and in truth, pretty sure Doji Yoshi would laugh you out of his court with those moronic requests. That and the shogun would be asking for your seppuku for having the "entire might of the crab clan" leave the wall for some petty bickering that, from what i have seen, has been more you instigating and accusing than Kakita Kenshi complaining. You have been so busy trying to turn his legitimate complaint into a war between the Empire and Crane, one has to wonder if you even spend time doing any actual fighting.

Again... This is all just OOC, Agasha taeshik has no interest in your petty squabbles and threats of war over some slight you fabricated for the purpose of instigating a war.

[Bayushi Senshi]

OOC: As this is an RP thread I would appreciate it if there was less OOC talk. I don't want this to get out of hand, so lets chill out. Please stay civil, and in character. It is important to point out at this juncture that Kenshi has been banned for severe breach of rules, so further IC posts may yield little at this time.

[Komori Yukio]

Warai perused the copy of the letter that a friendly Tortoise had sent along to him. Finishing, he nodded.

Kasuga-san,
Thank you for forwarding this to me. It does appear to put to ease some concerns. Let us pray that the future sees this remain true. Please rest assured that all may continue to proceed as already discussed, all contingency plans in place, but without overdue fear of their necessity. Thank you again for your diligence in this matter.
- Komori Warai, Bat Clan Champion