Age of Succession
7216 IC (Imperial Calendar)
Month of The Sea Dragon
Last Day of Winter
Fifth Hour of the Afternoon
Cold & Rainy (visibility reduced 1/2, Perception checks & ranged attacks -4, protected flames extinguished 50%)
Empress Ameiko, last of the Amatatsu bloodline, stands clad in heavy silken robes with her head bent over the grave of her friend and trusted advisor. An old woman stands next to her holding a white umbrella decorated with crane designs. She tries to shield the empress from the cold raindrops that fall over the cemetery. Somewhere on the gray horizon to the west, the sun is setting.
Before the empress is a stone monument with seven faces and seven stone tables radiating in different directions. Each is a grave of one of her gaikoku hito kyōgi-kai, a tightly-knit inner circle of companions who helped her survive the long journey over the Crown of the World, defeat the Jade Regent, and also hold onto the Jade Throne for the last five years. None of them now remain. Retainers, servants, and subjects surround her, but can she truly call any of them "friend?"
Nearest to her, just on Ameiko's right, is the old housekeeper, Taki. Rumor has it, the empress had to dismiss most of her household due to the imperial coffers being almost empty. Some say the palace is now like a tomb with only Taki shuffling about, performing her duties all alone. Other reports suggest that the empress prefers to have a smaller staff since then there are fewer left to betray her.
To the left of the empress is the governor of Kasai Province, Osawa Shunjei. He is relatively new to his station, as well, for the previous governor was a puppet of the Jade Regent and had to be removed from his office. He is, by all accounts, a loyal & competent administrator, but has his hands full trying to manage the affairs of the province and the city as well. With Ameiko focused on keeping Minkai as a whole united, most of Kasai's daily operations fall to Osawa.
Left of the governor stands Hamada Ichiro, the aged but well-respected war hero & general who is now retired, but serves as one of Ameiko's closest advisors. His knowledge & experience is said to be invaluable to her.
Arranged in ranks to the left of the gravesite are the imperial guard led by their mammoth captain Kondo Tsubame. Kondo rarely speaks and some assume he is as stupid as the ogre he appears to be. But, when the empress held an open competition to decide the new captain of the palace guard, Kondo swept through all other combatants easily. Sine then, he has remained loyal to the throne, which is all Ameiko cares about.
On the opposite side of the stone monument are more ranks of armored soldiers. These men belong to the house of Tokugawa. They are all samurai, elite warriors who follow a strict code.The Tokugawa are currently among the highest-ranked families in all of Minkai. While loyal to the Jade Regent during his reign, when Ameiko returned to claim the throne, the Tokugawa immdiately gave their support to the rightful heir. The clan patriarch, Tokugawa Kiyoshi, is present, along with his second wife, a woman half his age named Yokuki. All of the eldest sons are elsewhere, commanding armies & castles in service to the empire, but the youngest son, Hojo, is in attendance.
To the right of the Tokugawa, are the priests of Shizuru, Empress of Heaven. The funerary ceremony was presided over by Kaeda Minoru, high priest of the Temple of the Sun's Blade. Amongst his attendants is a curious young woman who has rarely been seen outside of the temple grounds. Rumors say she is a samsaran, a creature who has lived hundreds if not thousands of lifetimes in different bodies. To most, she is the subject of much superstition, if not fear.
To the left of the priests (and just to the right of Taki), is a handsome young man named Morimoto. He sits cross-legged on a reed mat that is spread over the wet ground. Little is known of his family or past, only that it is believed that he was once a travelling performer. Often he can be seen in the company of the empress.
The graves are in a clearing surrounded by a grove of ancient Minkaian maple trees. Their long, crooked branches twist in many directions weaving a leafless, yet still dense canopy overhead. Some of the contorted shapes formed by the bare branches make the trees look like they are in agony. In truth, the Setting Sun Cemetery is said to be haunted by unquiet spirits that were cut-off from the rest of the temple grounds when the canal system was implemented over 200 years ago. Ameiko's fallen companions -- most of them foreigners -- were only permitted to be buried here. Even her friends who were born in Minkai chose to be laid to rest by their comrades-in-arms.
The high priest has completed his ceremony, and now a pall of silence hangs over the proceedings as night begins to fall...
OOC: Most of you know where you are positioned in relation to the empress and the gravesite. If anyone would like to state actions, please feel free to do so now. Takeru is probably around, too, though he might not be visible.
