[rp]Spirit of the Fallen.

[Shoju]

Shoju marveled at the upper chamber of the Citadel. He thought back to the former Lord and fellow Scorpion who had once occupied this chamber. Shoju hoped his fate and the fate of the Spider were not doomed to repeat Junzo's Folly.

Shoju was lost in thought and admiration for the Citadel when Tenshi began speaking again. He snapped back to reality. "That sounds like a fantastic idea Tenshi-san. Please, tell me what is on your mind."

[Tenshi]

The citadel would start filling with the living and the dead rather steadily as one such unliving servant came shakily over, placing the necessary cups and implements down. But Tenshi dismissed him with a gentle wave as she was content to pour serve Shoju a cup herself.

She wondered what it might be like to drink again as she served herself as well, taking a moment to sit and loosen some of her armor down to the underlying padded clothing that kept it from the skin. The armor had shown resilience to her time in the cavern, but the fabric seemed soaked with all manner of blood and sweat as the color was a distorted violet.

"I meant to thank you more formally, lord Shoju-sama. As much as the prospect of returning to life is a frightening thought to the living..." She hesitated, taking a slow drink to regain the feel of warmth in her bones, "I would have never imagined it would be anything like this."

She would shift in posture to relax moreso, resting with her legs to the side as only her breastplate armor remained, since it was much more difficult to remove and frankly didn't hinder her now by itself.

"Bushido paints such an unrelenting hatred for these people, considering them to be those fallen from grace. But I have seen it now, training with them, exchanging blows and showing them how to better themselves...
There is hope, there is a hunger. I was groomed to recognize the potential of others and instruct them in the arts of war, and they are... exceptional in their desire to serve and fight."

She took another long drink as she gave a long breath, the steam of it coming from her breath as the temperature change was rather significant, but quite pleasant.

"But then I suppose when you've no where else to turn and this is your last hope... you're more willing to give it everything you've got."

But now her gaze rested on the Maho Tsukai that gave her this new life.

"In truth though... I wished to learn more of you. Where you came from, who you once were. Everyone travels a journey through life, and both my sister and I always held a fascination for how one arrived at this point in their lives... or secondary lives as the case may be."

Shoju could see it now, a little smile of mirth. It seemed Tenshi was enjoying the chance to let her guard down once again and nearly joke with him. It was certainly a change from the intense woman who had not shared a quiet moment with another human in so long. Speaking seemed to soothe her from the traumatizing fate that had befallen her and it visibly improved her nature into something more polite.

[Shoju]

Shoju relaxed and enjoyed the Tea. It was soothing to his body and mind. "It has been far too long since I enjoyed a simple moment for Tea." Shoju thought out loud. "The prospect of the existence led by many here is daunting to most of Rokugan because it doesn't take place in Yomi, and as such falls outside of the accepted 'normality'. The trush is, as you have found, it doesn't need to end as a horrid existence."


"Bushido Tenshi-san, is merely a perspective. When its tenants are held too tightly, it quickly distorts that perspective. The Empire views this place as a wretched blight because of that perspective, and seeks to snuff us out like an errant flame, and move on. What you have seen from these people, is the desire to not go quietly into the night. The desire to serve, is a result of understanding the worth of a person is not measurable by perspective."

Shoju stretched out, and relaxed. Tenshi was quickly proving to be the companion that Shoju had searched for. Intelligent, insightful, and decisive. Qualities that Shoju would certainly value in times of crisis.

"I was Bayushi Taizin a long time ago. A Magistrate appointed to Ryoko Owari. It was there that I had my first taste of Maho. A Tsukai had gone mad with power, and his sect was reeking havoc in Ryoko Owari. I tracked them, I followed them, and I brought many of them to justice in Scorpion Lands, but the Tsukai who had been the leader of the sect had eluded me. I spent years learning all I could about Maho, and it's practitioners in an effort to capture him. In the end, It was he who won. I realize now that my path here began when I started my quest against that bloodspeaker sect, and it is because of that Tsukai that I wield my power the way I do."

Shoju pushed his sleeves back, looking for his scars, before realizing that they were no longer there. "You see, there are those who use the art of Maho for power, and wield it blindly. These Tsukai are the ones who cause the majority of the problems that the great clans deal with. Tsukai like this should be rooted out and destroyed. Maho is not a toy. It isn't the final goal. It is a tool. And like many powerful tools, it is often wielded by those who truly do not understand it."

Shoju closed his eyes, and thought for a moment. "Tell me Tenshi-san, What would you like to know about me? I don't intend to depart for Scorpion Lands until the morning, after addressing the whole of Saisei."

[Tenshi]

Tenshi had watched him tuck back his sleeves in mild curiosity as the meaning of the gesture, but just quieted her mind. "I must admit, Shoju-sama, you're exhausting my questions quite easily." But she said so with such a content demeanor.

"While you use such power, at the same time you have such incredible respect and control over yourself and it. I think if I was not so prejudice of taint and the nature of the blood magic we would have gotten along before I died. Even if only for a moment before my conviction would have forced me to act."

She seemed to stumble over a bit of a dark chuckle. But then she started to catch herself as she took another drink.
Out of sight though she wrestled with what was left of the spark of her emotions, as they seemed to be dwindling a bit as her life left her and the taint was starting to weather her. She was resilient but there was no denying its influence, but the only hint she gave of her struggle was a slight flinch as she brushed a strand of her limp hair from her face.

Her thoughts churned silently, Tenshi... are you really doing this? Are you making comfortable company with the maho tsukai?
What is this.. loyalty you're forming with this bloodspeaker?

[Shoju]

Shoju smiled at the thought of having a friend again. So many people have been a part of this transient existence since his first death, and only 2 had been 'friend'.

"Tell me Tenshi-san. What shaped your opinion of the world? Did you hold the same hatred for Rokugan that you have seen in your sister?" Shoju was curious. "Family values sometimes find themselves manifesting in odd ways. My Yogo mother had bloodlines that trace back to the family of the last daimyo of the Snake Clan, and look at myself today. In the end I fulfilled the curse of my family, and then took up the mantle of my ancestors."

[Tenshi]

Tenshi was able to straighten her demeanor at the mention of her sister.
"She and I were twins, true enough. But as we've come to find we are nothing alike."

Holding her cup, she swirled her drink somewhat while her mind churned with the memories. Her eyes grew more distant as she subdued the resistance to conversing with Shoju.

"My opinion of Rokugan?" She would sigh, "Hardly matters as much, but I cared for nothing beyond my clan. Purity isn't in the nature of the Unicorn as we mingled with the Gaijin races willingly. We believed in exploring and including the good qualities of people from far and wide. The other clans see such value in their own blood and ancestry, but we see otherwise.

My own family has the blood of great maidens and men, but you will not see us parading around with our pedigree in hand. We maintain the record, but our pride is in who we are now, and what we achieve."

Her eyes shifted as she lit up slightly.

"My sister believed in the beauty of our empire, the honor, the image of it in the history books. 'What will our passage be in the book of ages?' she'd ask me."
With this she set the cup down and sat forward, looking to Shoju.
"But what future would there be at all if we neglected what is here and now, I said. I'll start my legacy with my own strength..."

She sighed deeply and sulked a bit, "But it seems that was all for nothing. I was forgotten and there is no legacy they will remember now besides the maiden who was lost in Beiden Pass. Now only Tenshi will be the name they come to know... and if they're lucky, live to fear."

[Shoju]

As Shoju prepared his reply, a noise could be heard. Shoju turned and saw a trusted advisor crest the stairs to the upper chamber.

"My Lord. Forgive the intrusion!" The Lost bushi immediately fell to his knees "I bear knews from the City of the Lost, from The Dark Lady herself." The Lost bushi lifted his face from the floor to look up at the pair.

Shoju sighed. The conversation with Tenshi was good for his soul it seemed, and now it would have to wait. "What is the news?"

"The mighty Daigotsu has requested your presence in The City of the Lost to discuss the news of a Civil War brewing within the Empire. It appears that The Shogun has proclaimed himself Emperor Toturi III". The courier continued looking at them.


Shoju's face betrayed no emotion, but his mind was already in motion. This was fortuitous indeed. "I am sorry Tenshi-san, it seems there has been a change in plans. Would you accompany me to the City of the Lost? I feel that we will have much to plan for."

[Tenshi]

She let no tea go to waste as she tastefully finished her cup. "Always at your side my lord Shoju-sama."

The city of the lost looked so interesting from afar, Tenshi's wonderment of the city had been quiet, but to see it up close and the master of the Lost, her heart would have skipped a beat if it still moved.