[M] Jianyu and the Shogun

[Tolvo]

1 AD, June 15th

Jianyu had sent word of his desire to meet the Shogun. At her war camp he arrived after receiving a message that she would meet with him. Streams of smoke rose from the war camp of the Shogun, Hokarimitsuji. The leader of the formerly called Burning Isles had just finished speaking to her troops and left them to themselves. In the camps humans, undead, and demons walked in harmony. They did not fight nor did they squabble. There was a gruff attitude about as soldiers cooked their meals and ate together in hundreds of small camps throughout the larger camp. Arms were stored within specific tents while a portion of the soldiers acted as guards, carrying spears and patrolling the sites. When Jianyu arrived he was escorted by six soldiers two of which had guns. They were rather pleasant. "Your Fatal Grace it is a pleasure to see you!" All of them bowed their heads to him. "We will take you to the Shogun. She has been awaiting you."

He walked up and into a massive tent. Inside the Shogun sat atop a large wooden stage. At each side of her were tall brazers lit with her own flames. Jianyu recognized the fire of the Burning islands instantly. Pillars had been set up behind her which were adorned with skulls. The scent of blood was thick in the air while she had the remains of food sitting beside her. On the stage she sat with her legs folded, a style known as that of monks. This was common in the Burning Islands but originated among holy orders. The guards left Jianyu with the Shogun. She didn't appear to have any bodyguards while Jianyu had brought his weapon hand Fang with. Around the pillars hanging from the back wall of the tent were her weapons. Her guns, her swords, her daggers. She was clad in her full suit of armor. Jianyu hadn't seen her out of that armor in years.

[Minkasha]

Jianyu let his red eyes fall on the Shogun, studying how she wished to carry herself and the way she chose to represent the culture that came before her. So much of her individuality lined sloppily with the structures of power once held on the Burning Islands. Much of her was molded to meet her role, and yet so much of her entirely missed and destroyed the purpose of her role. It did not escape him the solitude they shared, spare his Weapon Hand. He would return the gesture.

“Feng, thank you, leave us.” He commanded with a soft-spoken voice, eyes never leaving the woman. After he heard his loyal man leave, Jianyu’s talon feet guided him a foot before her stage. The fires of her displayed strength was reflected of the intricate metal pieces of his tri-pronged headpiece which neatly held his white hair back. The silvers and reds shined brightly. For a minute of time Jianyu continued to look at the Shogun. The memories of her, the face he knew behind the mask, the hatred for all that she was. It touched him, and he again felt the heart ache of Wei’s loss that had been so quietly pushed aside for duty to the Five Kingdoms turned Ryudeshi Empire. He peered, searching for that girl he once knew. He couldn’t see her anymore. This was the woman she wanted to be.

She said the Islands chose them, her words were promising. Could she fathom the depth of belief and respect? He wondered. At least a decade has passed since he was so physically close to this human.

“Hokarimitsuji, I have not been on the Burning Islands for years. I want to know if me returning to the Fire and Smoke will incite further war between us. The distance has been great and,” His Fatal Grace paused, his chest filling with air slowly with a quick release “I seek its reflections.”

[Tolvo]

Fang bowed his head and left carrying Jianyu's weapon. Hokarimitsuji lifted up her plate from beside her and dumped the food onto her stage. She then held it up towards Jianyu. In it was the image of himself, somewhat blurred by juices. "There reflect all you want your Fatal Grace, or considering how close I am to family O Great Ancestor." He could not see her face, her mengu facial mask projected the face of a demon. It had red skin with sharp wicked fangs that bent inward. Beneath the mask her eyes were visible, as only burning sockets full of ember and flame. Her kabuto helm was made of red colored steel plates which were affixed together. On her forehead were two long golden horns that were thicker at the ends, their mountings curled from her forehead to the sides then upwards. A coin depicting a dragon sat at the very meeting point of the horns. From head to toe she wore red and black. It was rumored that her armor was designed in such a way to make her move faster, she was a demon on the battlefield so perhaps it was true.

"You seek to set foot on my islands? My islands!" She rose up and clenched a raised fist. "I'm surprised you'd even ask with how far your head is normally up your own ass uncle. Is it uncle? Frankly the family lines are very confusing to me." Her fist slammed into her armored chest and beat against it three times. "If you want to visit my islands, your Burning Spirits be my guest. I don't really care. But since I have the power to act like I care, I want something from you in return. The body of Wei. Which I think is a small price to pay." An arm raised towards her wall of weapons. "Or if you prefer we can duel over it. Survivor wins."

[Minkasha]

His Fatal Grace’s temples throbbed as Hokarimitsuji continued on her words after such a crude display of her sacred power. The food scraps on the stage made his lip pull to the side briefly in a swift sneer. But the Greatest of Nan kept still otherwise as she continued to act her ways out. She called to a challenge of life and death and Jianyu closed his eyes, the drumming of his temples took his mind.

“I see the formality was a mistake. Unveil confusion Hokarimitsuji, the islands will not be yours for long. Death’s touch, the Deathborne, will sweep it away when they are done with you” His eyes fluttered open and held through the masks to the burning sockets. “I will do everything in my power to maintain and protect the Ryudeshi Empire. I will not grant you the enjoyment of combat, I didn’t come here to waste my vitality. As the Deathborne invade our future the power of the Burning Islands has grown stronger in my veins. This time is critical and the Fire and Smoke burn to sear the undeath away.

I yearned to see how through their wisdom. That, I will not allow to require petty politics to partake. I was chosen by the Burning Islands before even your grandparents were brought into life. I had the respect to not lord myself over the islands.”

He sharply turned away, the plumage flew into the air and returned gently to curl around his feet, white bands wove through the sky and his wings blew in the breeze of his quick movement. His back was to her and he looked to the exit of her domain. “How close you are to family. Family swears life and entire devotion to the protection and guidance of its youth. Family swears fidelity to the lineage. You loved Wei, not Nan. But Wei and Nan are one in the same. Nan is all every of its members are, house is all any one is” His white locks bounced off his quaking shoulders. He had to digest rejection of the Burning Islands when he most needed their input in what was happening. The loss, the disconnect from something so sacred and so available to him for centuries. The hope he had felt hollow and painful.

Then where he would reflect was to be where he had much of his life: in the quiet of his own mind and experiences. The place of quiet solitude and wizened isolation.

“Everything worth living for…is close to…” Were these tears he felt falling from his eyes? The weight lined under them tugged hard enough now? The pain in his skull drummed deep enough into his mind?

A drop of water fell onto his smooth talon, curving down and slowly sinking onto the Shogun’s floor. “When did the spirit of the Burning Islands die in our people?” Jianyu mumbled to himself quietly, dazed and lost in new and old pains that cycled in and out of current perception easily. His sharp eyes were frozen to one spot before him, not glazed over, yet…not wholly present to the stimuli entering them.

[Tolvo]

"Oh do not misunderstand old one. The Deathborne use me just as I use them. We will both betray one another someday. I count on it!" She spread her legs as she stood and motioned towards her feet. "Do you think I merely sit on my ass all day? I am the greatest warrior this world has ever known! A part of being a warrior is preparation, it is planning, out thinking your enemies. And do not forget!" Forcefully she pointed at Jianyu. "I fought my battles, Nan failed me twice! I gave the Deathborne more fire and fury than your precious Nan ever did. My people are defiant and powerful, yours are weak!"

She took note of his tears and mumbling. "Oh Jianyu brought so low by my mere words? How delicious!" Her cackling filled the tent. "Oh Jianyu you are always entertaining. Fine, come to the Burning Islands. You have my blessing, one Burning Spirit to another. I am not a monster as everyone thinks I am. There is a heart below this immaculate chest." Hokarimitsuji put her hand on her breast and the other on her brow as she tilted her head back in a dramatic pose. It hearkened back to Noh theater, of a maiden lost in thought. "Oh Great Ancestor, you deal with such hardship and heartache. O Great Ancestor my Islands are not what they once were. Whatever shall I do?"

The fire beside her turned into great pillars of flame as she again stood in a wide stance, now she raised her arms. The tent caught fire and it began to spread quickly. "My islands, MY ISLANDS! I am Hokarimitsuji the Shogun, Warlord of the Burning Islands! We will not just survive, we will conquer this entire world. If you do not wish to be a part of that Jianyu, fine, but do not tell me the woes of your people when mine still fight! If you wish for Nan to survive then stop playing at politics! Actually do something. You are Jianyu His Fatal Grace of Nan! You think the Deathborne are a problem go too war with them already!"

[Minkasha]

Jianyu had many times to stop her speaking for the disrespect she sowed so commonly, but it would have been a useless struggle and he need not cling to pride to sate her emotional hunger. His single tear shed and no more fell, he looked over his shoulder with drying eyes. The light of her growing fires lit of his white frame. He stared at her and the call of power she tossed into existence so loudly.

“I am aware of who I am. I serve at word of Nan’s rulership and the Empire’s. I serve as councilor and guide. It is the mortals who live in this world, of this time that must decide the fate of all things.” He casually stood while fire continued to burn her tent, he raised a wing overhead to prevent ash from falling onto his white silken hair and turned to face her entirely once again.

[Tolvo]

"Perhaps that's your problem Jianyu!" The Shogun jumped down from her stage and stood to the side. "You want to let everyone else do the work for you! Why don't you just rule Nan? Why don't you just rule the Ryudeshi? Guanyu is but a child with no vision or true power. Why someone could assassinate him like it was nothing at all! Me, you, we'd kill any would be killer! We'd kill any champion who challenges us! Why deny the rightful path to rule with true power when it's right before us!" Hokarimitsuji again pointed at him. "Are you that afraid of yourself Jianyu?" The fire continued to roar and burn down the tent. A portion of it opened up to reveal soldiers were trying to use dirt to calm down the fire. Fang was far away drinking water from a cup while eating a rice ball meal, his face was full of confusion as the tent burned.

[Minkasha]

His Fatal Grace stared the Shogun down intently.

“Fear doesn’t sway me. It is humility and centuries of observation. Look at your own merits of power, it burns your own shelter. The gift of the Burning Islands does not need to consume everything if tempered by disciplined use.” During discourse his shielding wing flapped down, shedding the offensive soot on his white feathers, while the other rose to continue giving him coverage from the debris. “Hexin, Dong, Xi, Bei and Nan must heed wisdom of the wise but choose their own methods for the future. Unanimous power over all five kingdoms leads and will always lead to corruption and decline. We are no better, power tempts many minds in slow incriminates. It is a poison. And I refuse to bring to our lands a reincarnation of Baigujing. His fire is a fel flame and is one I will never mirror. I observe so I may uproot the snakes each generation inevitably births into our lands”

[Tolvo]

"Oh Baigujing! You fear another will rise like him? Baigujing was weak, it was how he was killed in the first place." With her hand she waved up into the air and the fire immediately died out. Soldiers stopped fighting the fire and just went back to eating rather unceremoniously. Fang approached the tent but stayed outside near the entrance awaiting Jianyu. The Shogun seemed to mellow out a bit. She spoke rather frankly now. "Baigujing was a fool. He wanted others to bend to him, he wanted slaves. While I want warriors of my people. I want them to one day be powerful enough to challenge and defeat me. I am the Dragon of the Burning Islands. In the West they see slaying dragons as the ultimate challenge. am the final dragon for my people. I will be the dragon for you all. I will temper your metal with flame and heat until one day you're all ready."

[Minkasha]

Jianyu cast his eyes up and studied the tattered bits of her tent, 'Hokarimitsuji you think you use your power to inspire' he though to himself with disappointment. How could both turn to the Fire and Smoke and see such different drives? The endless elemental mystery brought him to such a youthful state of pondering. The unanswerable questions brought a zest to life. This zest wasn't one he wanted, thought was wise to have, but enjoyed the prospect of finding its answer. In this one way, he would be thankful to the Shogun. In all others he had his disfavor.

"I will see you on the field and on the islands" His Fatal Grace concluded. "If there are people to meet your heat, I suspect they will not be of our Empire yet." He left the conversation at this, taking his leave from her ruined tent.

**