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A Rose In The Wind: A Saga of the Halmae -- Updated June 19, 2014
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<blockquote data-quote="Ilex" data-source="post: 6189932" data-attributes="member: 82687"><p><strong>35x04</strong></p><p></p><p>Yutori, the palace’s protocol director, was quite possibly the most Sovereign Sovereign Twiggy had ever met. He was obsessed with nitpicky propriety, not to mention making sure that Akiko-san’s honored guests bathed before they attended her dinner. </p><p> </p><p>Naturally, Acorn <em>deeply</em> approved of him. </p><p> </p><p>When Yutori began explaining the proper order for use of different pairs of chopsticks during the meal, the mouse demanded tiny chopsticks through his mental link with Twiggy. </p><p> </p><p>“My mouse generally dines with me,” Twiggy said out loud, half to oblige Acorn and half out of curiosity to see what Yutori would do with this wrinkle.</p><p> </p><p>The man barely blinked an eye—the relevant word being “barely.” Twiggy caught the repressed twitch of his eyebrow.</p><p> </p><p>“Of course,” Yutori said. “A small pillow beside your own.”</p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #8b4513">Find out if he’s married!</span> Acorn mentally sighed.</p><p> </p><p><em>I don’t think he’s your type…</em> Twiggy sent back.</p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #8b4513">Not for <em>me</em>!</span></p><p> </p><p>And so, Acorn beside her, Twiggy took her seat at Lady Akiko’s table along with the rest of the party. They were not the only guests at dinner. Lady Akiko sat to the left of the seat at the head of the table, which was conspicuously empty in tribute to the ailing Lord High Regent. Tavi was seated not far from Twiggy, next to Corrado di Riori, the Hennan ambassador to Divine Mark. Kormick was immediately deep in talk with an Undian woman beside him; presumably, Twiggy guessed, she was Lukas’s ambassador. <em>Or at least as much of an ambassador as Kormick himself is a Justicar</em>, Twiggy thought, suppressing a smile.</p><p> </p><p>Twiggy herself was seated next to a merchant who told her, proudly, that he had charge of a lucrative Karonian contract. She tried to nod politely while, at the same time, listen past him to Tavi and Signor Corrado: Tavi had asked for news of the Peninsula.</p><p> </p><p>“Things are tense,” Signor Corrado answered. “The Alliance and the Confederacy are verbally skirmishing. There was a slave revolt in Pol Aego--don’t worry--they put it down quickly. But the slaves have been restive there ever since, and the rumors at home are that the Confederate states, Dar Pykos and their ilk, have been encouraging such revolts to undermine the Alliance. Dar Pykos, by contrast, claims that the Aegosians are hiring mercenaries--Sunblades, you know--as if the Aegosians are the ones making trouble. And of course Pol Thane is always up for a good war, and I’ve heard even Ebis is antsy. It’s starting to sound like nearly everyone’s spoiling for a fight, and so it’s tricky, Signor. Damned tricky.”**</p><p> </p><p>At that moment, the musicians struck a louder chord and Unsuku stepped forward to dance. All conversation gave way to laughter—at least among the Sovereigns—as Unsuku’s movements told a whimsical tale that Twiggy couldn’t quite follow. She was distracted, anyway, by the news from home: she hoped the cooler heads in Pol Henna would be able to speak for the Alliance and soothe matters with the Confederacy.</p><p> </p><p>### </p><p> </p><p>The next morning, in accordance with Lady Akiko-san’s suggestion that they conduct more research into the prophecy and the Sheh, one functionary arrived to announce that they were expected at the Military library, a second appeared to declare them invited to the Adept Archives, and third followed almost immediately with word that Akiko-san herself would like to see them briefly first.</p><p> </p><p>As they were led into a drawing room high in the palace, where Akiko-san rose to greet them, Twiggy was startled to see an ancient man sitting in a soft chair in the corner, staring at the floor. </p><p> </p><p>Akiko-san made no attempt to introduce the man as she wished them a good morning. The old man did not look at them.</p><p> </p><p>“I am very sorry to inform you,” Akiko-san pronounced, “that it will be impossible for a group of heathens such as yourselves to meet with the Lord High Regent.”</p><p> </p><p>Twiggy noticed how very fine the old man’s robes were. She noticed the ornately carved staff of stone leaning against the chair beside him. And she noticed the barest hint of a smile on his face as he continued to contemplate the carpet beneath his slippered feet.</p><p> </p><p>“Of course. Such a meeting would be quite impossible,” said Nyoko.</p><p> </p><p>“We understand perfectly,” said Mena.</p><p> </p><p>“Perhaps,” said Tavi, “you would not mind if we told you the whole story of my sister and <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?251423-A-Rose-In-The-Wind-A-Saga-of-the-Halmae-Updated-September-12-2013/page23&p=5125819&viewfull=1#post5125819" target="_blank">the prophecy</a> once more, just to refresh your memory.”</p><p> </p><p>“What an excellent idea,” said Akiko-san, gesturing them to couches and chairs.</p><p> </p><p>The old man listened, impassive, as they told the story and recited the prophecy once again. Occasionally he coughed a grating, painful cough; Twiggy saw Savina watching him with concern.</p><p> </p><p>“I wish I could offer you more insight,” said Akiko-san when they were finished. “If my Lord were able to meet with you, I believe he, too, would suspect that he is the dying king named…”</p><p> </p><p>She paused for a single second, but the old man remained silent. Not even a cough. </p><p> </p><p>She continued: “...for not only is he ailing, but also his greatest experts in divination inform us that his death will occur soon, in the season of Kettenek.”</p><p> </p><p><em>The season of Kettenek,</em> Twiggy thought. <em>Winter.</em> It was only just turned autumn.</p><p> </p><p>“Can’t something be done?” Savina was asking.</p><p> </p><p>“Even if something could,” Akiko-san said, “he would not wish it. Already he has begun to prepare for and anticipate his return to Rikitaru’s side.”</p><p> </p><p>“The prophecy says that we’re supposed to ‘find the last breath of the dying king,’” Twiggy said. “Prophecies are rarely literal, so I’d guess that means his last words. Does that sound correct?” She cut her eyes to the old man, who remained silent, impassive, listening. </p><p> </p><p>“That is possible,” Akiko-san said. If they were to hear his last words, then, they would need to be in Divine Mark three months hence. Twiggy tried to imagine waiting for three months in Divine Mark, enduring tedious formal dinners every night. Acorn sent up a hopeful cheer at the thought.</p><p> </p><p>“He will, of course, be attended upon his deathbed…?” Nyoko asked. </p><p> </p><p>“Of course,” Akiko-san agreed. “I will be there, as will an Adept. A Lord High Regent rules until his soul departs, and if he issues directives in the final moments, they must be recorded and obeyed.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you think he will?” asked Kormick, looking at and addressing the old man rather than Akiko-san. “Because—allow me to speak as plainly as I can—it’d be <em>very helpful</em> to know <em>now</em> if he plans any major deathbed speeches.”</p><p> </p><p>Akiko-san allowed a pause once more, during which the old man coughed but said nothing.</p><p> </p><p>“I cannot predict that,” Akiko-san said. “But as I said, I will be there, alongside an Adept, and all concerned will bear in mind that you would very much like to know what transpires.”</p><p> </p><p>The old man’s cough was growing steadier, and Akiko-san stood up. “I am sorry I cannot help you more,” she said. “But I must resume my duties now.”</p><p></p><p>As they all shuffled out of the room, Savina murmured, “He’s consumptive. What time he has left will be painful. I wish I could help.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you believe he’ll live three more months?” asked Mena.</p><p> </p><p>Savina shrugged unhappily. “Maybe. But if he makes it much past Kettenek Rising, I will be surprised, and… and sorry for him, if he must suffer for too long.”</p><p> </p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>**Anyone who wants a refresher on all these place-names might revisit <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?42423-Welcome-to-the-Halmae-(updated-2-27-07)/page8&p=933970&viewfull=1#post933970" target="_blank">this sidebar post</a> from alllll the way back in the original “Welcome to the Halmae” story hour. That said, in the in-game years between that campaign and this one, the Darine Confederacy endured a schism primarily over the issue of adopting a Universal Law code: these days, the Confederacy consists only of Dar Darine, Dar Pykos, Dar Karo, Dar Sirrus, and Dar Und. A number of city-states who objected to Universal Law split off from the Confederacy and formed the Peninsular Alliance: Pol Henna, Pol Aego, Pol Thane, and Pol Stonecraft.</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ilex, post: 6189932, member: 82687"] [b]35x04[/b] Yutori, the palace’s protocol director, was quite possibly the most Sovereign Sovereign Twiggy had ever met. He was obsessed with nitpicky propriety, not to mention making sure that Akiko-san’s honored guests bathed before they attended her dinner. Naturally, Acorn [I]deeply[/I] approved of him. When Yutori began explaining the proper order for use of different pairs of chopsticks during the meal, the mouse demanded tiny chopsticks through his mental link with Twiggy. “My mouse generally dines with me,” Twiggy said out loud, half to oblige Acorn and half out of curiosity to see what Yutori would do with this wrinkle. The man barely blinked an eye—the relevant word being “barely.” Twiggy caught the repressed twitch of his eyebrow. “Of course,” Yutori said. “A small pillow beside your own.” [COLOR=#8b4513]Find out if he’s married![/COLOR] Acorn mentally sighed. [I]I don’t think he’s your type…[/I] Twiggy sent back. [COLOR=#8b4513]Not for [I]me[/I]![/COLOR] And so, Acorn beside her, Twiggy took her seat at Lady Akiko’s table along with the rest of the party. They were not the only guests at dinner. Lady Akiko sat to the left of the seat at the head of the table, which was conspicuously empty in tribute to the ailing Lord High Regent. Tavi was seated not far from Twiggy, next to Corrado di Riori, the Hennan ambassador to Divine Mark. Kormick was immediately deep in talk with an Undian woman beside him; presumably, Twiggy guessed, she was Lukas’s ambassador. [I]Or at least as much of an ambassador as Kormick himself is a Justicar[/I], Twiggy thought, suppressing a smile. Twiggy herself was seated next to a merchant who told her, proudly, that he had charge of a lucrative Karonian contract. She tried to nod politely while, at the same time, listen past him to Tavi and Signor Corrado: Tavi had asked for news of the Peninsula. “Things are tense,” Signor Corrado answered. “The Alliance and the Confederacy are verbally skirmishing. There was a slave revolt in Pol Aego--don’t worry--they put it down quickly. But the slaves have been restive there ever since, and the rumors at home are that the Confederate states, Dar Pykos and their ilk, have been encouraging such revolts to undermine the Alliance. Dar Pykos, by contrast, claims that the Aegosians are hiring mercenaries--Sunblades, you know--as if the Aegosians are the ones making trouble. And of course Pol Thane is always up for a good war, and I’ve heard even Ebis is antsy. It’s starting to sound like nearly everyone’s spoiling for a fight, and so it’s tricky, Signor. Damned tricky.”** At that moment, the musicians struck a louder chord and Unsuku stepped forward to dance. All conversation gave way to laughter—at least among the Sovereigns—as Unsuku’s movements told a whimsical tale that Twiggy couldn’t quite follow. She was distracted, anyway, by the news from home: she hoped the cooler heads in Pol Henna would be able to speak for the Alliance and soothe matters with the Confederacy. ### The next morning, in accordance with Lady Akiko-san’s suggestion that they conduct more research into the prophecy and the Sheh, one functionary arrived to announce that they were expected at the Military library, a second appeared to declare them invited to the Adept Archives, and third followed almost immediately with word that Akiko-san herself would like to see them briefly first. As they were led into a drawing room high in the palace, where Akiko-san rose to greet them, Twiggy was startled to see an ancient man sitting in a soft chair in the corner, staring at the floor. Akiko-san made no attempt to introduce the man as she wished them a good morning. The old man did not look at them. “I am very sorry to inform you,” Akiko-san pronounced, “that it will be impossible for a group of heathens such as yourselves to meet with the Lord High Regent.” Twiggy noticed how very fine the old man’s robes were. She noticed the ornately carved staff of stone leaning against the chair beside him. And she noticed the barest hint of a smile on his face as he continued to contemplate the carpet beneath his slippered feet. “Of course. Such a meeting would be quite impossible,” said Nyoko. “We understand perfectly,” said Mena. “Perhaps,” said Tavi, “you would not mind if we told you the whole story of my sister and [URL="http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?251423-A-Rose-In-The-Wind-A-Saga-of-the-Halmae-Updated-September-12-2013/page23&p=5125819&viewfull=1#post5125819"]the prophecy[/URL] once more, just to refresh your memory.” “What an excellent idea,” said Akiko-san, gesturing them to couches and chairs. The old man listened, impassive, as they told the story and recited the prophecy once again. Occasionally he coughed a grating, painful cough; Twiggy saw Savina watching him with concern. “I wish I could offer you more insight,” said Akiko-san when they were finished. “If my Lord were able to meet with you, I believe he, too, would suspect that he is the dying king named…” She paused for a single second, but the old man remained silent. Not even a cough. She continued: “...for not only is he ailing, but also his greatest experts in divination inform us that his death will occur soon, in the season of Kettenek.” [I]The season of Kettenek,[/I] Twiggy thought. [I]Winter.[/I] It was only just turned autumn. “Can’t something be done?” Savina was asking. “Even if something could,” Akiko-san said, “he would not wish it. Already he has begun to prepare for and anticipate his return to Rikitaru’s side.” “The prophecy says that we’re supposed to ‘find the last breath of the dying king,’” Twiggy said. “Prophecies are rarely literal, so I’d guess that means his last words. Does that sound correct?” She cut her eyes to the old man, who remained silent, impassive, listening. “That is possible,” Akiko-san said. If they were to hear his last words, then, they would need to be in Divine Mark three months hence. Twiggy tried to imagine waiting for three months in Divine Mark, enduring tedious formal dinners every night. Acorn sent up a hopeful cheer at the thought. “He will, of course, be attended upon his deathbed…?” Nyoko asked. “Of course,” Akiko-san agreed. “I will be there, as will an Adept. A Lord High Regent rules until his soul departs, and if he issues directives in the final moments, they must be recorded and obeyed.” “Do you think he will?” asked Kormick, looking at and addressing the old man rather than Akiko-san. “Because—allow me to speak as plainly as I can—it’d be [I]very helpful[/I] to know [I]now[/I] if he plans any major deathbed speeches.” Akiko-san allowed a pause once more, during which the old man coughed but said nothing. “I cannot predict that,” Akiko-san said. “But as I said, I will be there, alongside an Adept, and all concerned will bear in mind that you would very much like to know what transpires.” The old man’s cough was growing steadier, and Akiko-san stood up. “I am sorry I cannot help you more,” she said. “But I must resume my duties now.” As they all shuffled out of the room, Savina murmured, “He’s consumptive. What time he has left will be painful. I wish I could help.” “Do you believe he’ll live three more months?” asked Mena. Savina shrugged unhappily. “Maybe. But if he makes it much past Kettenek Rising, I will be surprised, and… and sorry for him, if he must suffer for too long.” [INDENT][I]**Anyone who wants a refresher on all these place-names might revisit [URL="http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?42423-Welcome-to-the-Halmae-(updated-2-27-07)/page8&p=933970&viewfull=1#post933970"]this sidebar post[/URL] from alllll the way back in the original “Welcome to the Halmae” story hour. That said, in the in-game years between that campaign and this one, the Darine Confederacy endured a schism primarily over the issue of adopting a Universal Law code: these days, the Confederacy consists only of Dar Darine, Dar Pykos, Dar Karo, Dar Sirrus, and Dar Und. A number of city-states who objected to Universal Law split off from the Confederacy and formed the Peninsular Alliance: Pol Henna, Pol Aego, Pol Thane, and Pol Stonecraft.[/I][/INDENT] [/QUOTE]
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A Rose In The Wind: A Saga of the Halmae -- Updated June 19, 2014
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