Plans

[Loki]

Shen sat with his legs neatly folded beneath him. The cushion he was on was thin, too thin to mask the hard wooden floor of the meeting room. He didn’t mind the pain, though. The dead felt no pain, at least not the way mortals did. Even as a living man, he had enjoyed such seating that kept him from drifting into comfortable distraction. The familiar sensation kept him focused on the task at hand. The Tyrants were gone, and had been gone for a great deal of time. They weren’t coming back, but there were others in the world who might impose their will on the Valley.

The barbarians had been discovered and battled by the Tyrants, but the war had never been completed. Barbarians still populated the lands that were far across the great sea. If the Tyrants could find the barbarians, then the barbarians could, in all likelihood, find Yisrael. This thought did not sit well with the Feng Huangdi. He was unwilling to allow his people to fall under the control of outsiders ever again, and the best way to do this, he had decided, was through crippling the enemy before they could ever strike.

He had sent his warriors to Kuroda Teruo, of the Twin Countries, with an invitation. The other undead, his brother through royal adoption, would be arriving at his palace soon, if he had not already arrived. The rotted monks that guarded the walls and gates would bring the entourage to Shen’s meeting room. Several large maps were spread across the floor of the room, each one detailing another section of the world. The maps of the barbarian lands were mostly blank, reflecting the lack of information that faced the Valley and the Twin Countries.

[Kirin]

The entourage that arrived in The Valley was a small one. It consisted of the Daimyo of the Twin Countries, Kuroda Teruo, the retiring Shogun of the Twin Countries and Master of the Kakashigoto, Kuroda Shinkan, the Royal Scribe, Ryuu Setsuka, and her brother, Hiro. Once they arrived in The Valley, they were greeted by warriors. The horses travelled quickly towards the palace. Kuroda Shinkan was silent the entire ride to the palace. Lord Teruo knew that she was listening like always.

Lord Teruo rode next to his master, Shinkan. Shinkan appeared to have aged, but that was impossible. She did things now more wearily. Perhaps it was in disguise. It was easy to fool the unsuspecting. It was difficult, but Shinkan found herself deferring to Teruo more. Once the group arrived at the palace, they greeted the undead monks respectfully, bowing their heads. Setsuka and Hiro bowed at their waists.

The group was escorted to the room where Shen sat. Lord Teruo's eyes moved immediately towards the maps spread across the floor. Then he and the rest of the group knelt on the floor and bowed deeply. Of course, they would not rise until greeted by Shen.

[Loki]

Shen bowed his head in a greeting to the undead. He waited an appropriate amount of time before lifting his head and speaking, “The Phoenix Emperor greets his brethren of the Twin Countries. He hopes that their journey was without trouble, and asks if they require anything.” Several hidden doors opened at the end of his statement, and living monks entered. A tray of food, and a tray with tea and cups were placed between the two groups. There were strips of roasted fish, raw and cooked vegetables, and bits of cooked meat. A final monk led two men dressed in funeral robes into the room.

“For the enjoyment of the Glorious leaders of the Twin Countries,” Shen gestured to the various food stuffs. He reached out to take a piece of fish, and brought it to his half-rotted lips. It was the custom of the Valley for the host to eat before guests would touch food, and he had no desire to make the party wait before satisfying their own hunger.

Once each person had eaten at least one bite, as courtesy demanded, Shen pointed to the maps. “It is vital that the Twin Countries and the Valley learn more of the barbarians from across the great ocean. The Emperor is curious if the Twin Countries have prepared any scouts to be sent to the unknown lands? The Valley has begun its preparations already; a vessel used by the Tyrants has been located that is capable of crossing the deep waters.”

[Kirin]

Lady Shinkan and Lord Teruo bowed respectfully. Once the tray was set before Setsuka, she waited for Shen to eat before eating herself. Shinkan beckoned for the two men to come close to her son and herself. Once the men were close, the two were discreet about their actions. The men were dead and Shinkan and Teruo both prayed for his spirit. Their deaths were quick and relatively painless. Both of them bowed three times, then clapped their hands.

"The Emperor is gracious." Lord Teruo spoke before bowing.

Lady Shinkan bowed appreciatively to Shen. Teruo watched Shen unroll the maps while Setsuka sat still, taking in mental notes. Lady Shinkan studied the maps with a thoughtful gaze.

"The Twin Countries has ships capable of crossing the deep waters, yes. However, there is always room for improvements to be made. Our ships are fast, but not very strong." Lady Shinkan explained. "We, though, have been preparing for a large ceremony. I would like to personally invite the Glorious Phoenix Emperor to the capital of Daikifuji."

Lord Teruo bowed, remaining silent.

"We have waited for the Tyrants to leave before performing this ceremony. It begins with the marriage of Lord Teruo to his betrothed, Lady Ryuu Setsuka, then another ceremony is to be performed." Lady Shinkan's face was solemn. "I am to be passing The Sword of the Hundred Souls to my son."

[Loki]

Shen, though he would have liked to continue speaking of the vessels, allowed Shinkan to finish talking. There was no polite way to steer the conversation back to the vessels, not now that she had mentioned a ceremony, and invited him. It was, of course, to be expected that further strategic talks take place at this ceremony. She would not have mentioned it at this time if it were otherwise. This could work in his, and the Valley’s, advantage.

He bowed to an appropriate level before speaking through rotted lips, “The humble Emperor is honored at such an invitation. He will, of course, be present for the ceremony. The Valley, also, held back its ceremonies due to the Tyrants. The Emperor thinks it is a gift from the Heavens that the Valley and the Twin Countries may openly act as they please. He is honored at this invitation, and he will ensure his presence at the ceremony.”

Shen didn’t know what the sword was, or what it meant, but he thought it would tie in to the marriage. It was possible that it brought Teruo, his adopted brother, closer to the throne. It was also possible that it was a mother’s wedding gift to her son. From what he knew of the culture of the Twin Countries, though, the second was less likely to be truth. It was both courteous and wise for him to treat it as something on a grand level.

[Kirin]

Lady Shinkan nodded slowly to Shen's words. As much as she hated these meetings, she couldn't just push the importance of the meetings behind her. She took a deep breath.

"Forgive me for that sidetrack of conversation, Glorious Emperor. I'm growing older and with my age comes the loss of sanity, it seems." Lady Shinkan mused mostly to herself.

It was true that Lady Shinkan was old, but no one knew exactly how old she was. Lord Teruo's best guess was that she was double the age of Teruo himself. Lord Teruo knew better than to interrupt his mother. Teruo pursed his lips together.

"Yes, thank the Heavens that the Tyrants are gone." He spoke softly. "Would the Great Emperor like to continue discussing the vessels?"

Lady Shinkan remained silent, not knowing much about the ships other than what was just said to Shen. The ships of the Twin Countries were a subject to which she'd admit to having ignorance of.

[Loki]

“The Lady Shinkan need ask no forgiveness of the humble Emperor.” Shen spread his hands slightly, and bowed his head. Inside, though, he was smiling. This was a perfect opportunity for him to gain further advantage with the Twin Countries. All it would take was a well-chosen gift for the ceremonies, and he had one in mind already.

“Yes, the Emperor thinks it would be best to finish discussing the voyage to the barbarian lands. A single Tyrant vessel is capable of carrying a thousand warriors, including cavalry, across the Great Waters. If those warriors are trained as the Lady Shinkan’s Kakashigoto are, the Twin Countries and the Valley could easily cripple the barbarians.”

[Kirin]

Lady Shinkan found herself smiling inwardly. Lord Teruo tilted his head. The thought of training Shen's soldiers in the ways of the Kakashigoto had struck him once before. But that was in the past when the relationship between The Valley and The Twin Countries was rocky and still new. Lady Shinkan had never really had the oppurtunity to meet with the Emperor. She found herself beginning to admire his train of thought.

"A few of the skills that are..prevalent in the Kakashigoto are inheritted, Glorious Emperor." She stated simply. "But we would not be adverse to training soldiers in the skills of the Kakashigoto that are not inheritted. Much of the training is a matter of honing one's potential."

Lord Teruo could attest to this. Lady Shinkan had trained him as a bakeneko, able to change into a Jaguar Warrior. Shinkan wisely did not go into detail about the training.

"A few of our ships travel with Kakashigoto bodyguards on board. There are occasions when they are needed, though, those are few and far between. However, our ships are built for speed. Nothing more than pirate ships, really." Teruo stated simply. "There is definitely room for that caliber of warrior on board a ship."

[Loki]

Shen needed a moment to think. He hadn’t quite expected it to be this easy, though he was glad it turned out to be so. To give himself time, the undead reached down and took a piece of fish, which he began to eat. He waited until he was finished chewing, and had swallowed his food, to speak. It wouldn’t have been proper for him to address his guests with a mouth full of partially chewed food.

“The Emperor believes that many ships, styled after the Tyrant vessels, can be built for the Valley and the Twin Countries. A fleet of that size would truly leave the glorious nations protected from ocean assault, as well as opening an avenue for the destruction of the barbarian lands. The Emperor would be honored if the Twin Countries would allow the ship builders and engineers of the Valley into a jointly-ruled port for the construction of these vessels.”

[Kirin]

Lord Teruo rose an eyebrow. He thought for a moment, folding his hands in front of him. Shinkan watched her son, wondering what he was thinking. One of her eyebrows arched towards him. Teruo appeared relaxed. Shinkan couldn't say the same for herself.

"We are honored. The Twin Countries will open its humble ports to the Glorious Emperor, should he desire to use them for building the ships. I must admit that I am curious as to the plans of the ships." Lord Teruo turned to his mother.

Shinkan just bowed her head. "We'd be honored to allow our ship builders into the Valley." She said simply.

[Loki]

Shen’s rotted lips curved back in what was meant as a smile, but which came off as a predatory animal showing its teeth. “The ships will be the end of the Barbarians.” He dropped the formal speech he preferred when dealing with foreign dignitaries, for it would impede the passion with which he spoke. “Just twenty of the Tyrant ships, and the Barbarians will cease to be. Only five of them could destroy the enemy, utterly. Perhaps we do not have enough soldiers now, but the lands are full of the dead. The Catastrophe left many corpses to be raised. Even if the barbarians have not been struck similarly, our initial force will bring such death that the army will grow larger and larger with each battle!”

The Emperor’s eyes were lit with his ambition, “Just one swift stroke, and all under Heaven will be ours. There will be no threat that can hope to even slow our victory. We have seen the Tyrants do battle, we know how to fight against larger numbers. The barbarians are just that, barbarians. They are uneducated, and they will fall to the inevitable advance of civilization. The Heavens have shown us favor, by removing the Tyrants. We act with their mandate, and we will not fail. Three waves of Tyrant vessels, seven each, and the barbarians will be non-existent as a threat to us. That is the plan for the vessels.”

Shen leaned toward the two, his lips still pulled back to show his teeth, “The path to victory has been cleared by the Catastrophe. We must seize it, now, and decimate our enemies while they are still unaware of our position.” His fingers dug deeply into his legs, where they were held, and punctured his robes and his flesh. “The Almighty Phoenix Emperor generously offers partnership to the rulers of the Twin Countries. He extends to them an offer to take all under Heaven…”

[Kirin]

Both the Lady and Lord turned to each other. Teruo rose an eyebrow. They had no plans for world domination. Their only priority was securing their country, rebuilding the temples to their former splendor. But slowly, Teruo's reservations had faded and he grinned, bearing deadly fangs. Shinkan nodded her head, affirmitive that she supported Teruo's decision.

"We are extremely honored and humbled by the Emperor's graciousness. We accept the Glorious Emperor's offer of partnership." Teruo continued grinning.

Shinkan bowed deeply. "Our nations shall prosper long after I am gone. I am sure of that."