A Tangled Web We Weave (IC)

[Maugan Ra]

"Correct. The Scarlet Empress, and through her the Realm, sponsors and supports the Immaculate Order. She provides funding and political backing to their work, enough that the faith is slowly becoming recognised as the official state church. That is obviously an extraordinarily valuable thing to a religious order, something the Empress obviously recognises. So, what does she gain in exchange?"

Lotus pauses for a moment, to let Saiko mull that over. "Some people would look at the cadres of supernatural martial artists the Order produces and call that adequate repayment. But between the Legions, the Navy, the Ten Thousand Dragons and the Sword of Creation itself... well, the Scarlet Empress scarcely has more need of mere physical strength."

"No, what she gains in exchange for her backing is the aid of individuals like me. You asked me earlier where I grew up. The answer is Yu-Shan."

[Ifni]

Taras Saiko blinks. "Some would say that a religion that reminds the populace of their proper place, and destined reward should they adhere to it, requires no further justification for a ruler who desires stability," he says, very carefully. "But... Heaven. All right. Suppose I believe you. You're claiming to be a god? One who agrees with the precepts of the Order?"

[Maugan Ra]

"A god?" Lotus chuckles. "No. I'm flesh and blood, just as you are. But I count gods as allies, and contacts, and even subordinates in a few cases. And that is the service that I and those like me provide, to the Scarlet Empire and the Shogunate before it. We are ambassadors and intermediaries, representatives to the divine. We advise and facilitate, making sure that the wheels of the Celestial Bureaucracy keep turning, for the benefit of all."

His expression becomes serious, now, as he looks at Saiko. "That is why I am here now, Prince of the Earth. You spoke of keeping the Isle safe, of the importance of builders and judges alongside that of soldiers. It is something we agree on. And, I think, it is something I could help you with, if you so desired."

[Ifni]

"You're claiming to be a... a go-between from the Imperial Throne to the gods? Or vice versa?" Saiko manages a faint smile, although he still looks shaken. "You realize your existence is utter heresy by the Immaculate doctrines, at least the ones I was taught? Dealing with the spiritual sphere is reserved to the Dragon-Blooded."

"But... go on. What are you offering, precisely?"

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The most annoying thing about being an ST is that I can't write my much-beloved internal monologues I should give you a Gem of Surface Thoughts just for that purpose...

[Maugan Ra]

Oh, the Immaculate faith has more reasons to call me 'heretic' than you know...

Lotus shrugs lightly. "What I offer depends on what, precisely, you need. Let us speak of three examples. Firstly, information. Anything known to perhaps a hundred or so people within Creation, no matter who or where they are, can be obtained within an hour or so. I am sure you can see the potential uses."

"Secondly, martial arts training, for you or those you would perhaps wish to gift, equal to that you might find at any Immaculate temple. We helped to design the Glorious Dragon styles, and I personally know the first few elements of the Fire Dragon style."

"And third... access to Yu-Shan. It is a place quite unlike any other, with rivers of silver and streets lined with jade. The luxury one can find there outstrips just about anything left in Creation, not to speak of the potential opportunities available."

He sits back, expression open and reasonable. "In exchange, all I would ask is that you assist me in certain matters, and give consideration to advice I would offer. Hardly anything strenuous."

[Ifni]

"That seems to depend on the nature of these 'certain matters'," Saiko says dryly. "Care to expand?"

[Maugan Ra]

"You are not a fool, Magistrate. I suspect you know perfectly well how these things go." Lotus says with a smile. "I have no real hold over you save what you stand to gain. So obviously, I cannot ask anything of you that would outweigh the benefits of continued association, or you would likely do the entirely sensible thing and walk away. Do the specifics really matter all that much?"

[Ifni]

Saiko laughs, a little too loudly. "Ah. So the assurance you'll give me that your requests won't be, hmm, strenuous - is simply that if you ask anything unreasonable, I can walk away?"

He puts his fingers together. "I take your point, and yet there seem to be a few assumptions there. That I could walk away, from your city of silver rivers and jade streets. That seemingly innocent dealings with you wouldn't already be grounds for blackmail. That this isn't some kind of test, by my father or my father's enemies or my superiors, to see how easily I can be bribed."

The Water Aspect leans back in his chair, watching Lotus closely. "Would you be willing to sign a contract? Say, an assurance that you'll speak no lies, and not seek to harm me, blackmail me, or turn me against House Taras or the Empire."

"And as well... I'd need to see some evidence of these powers you describe."

[Maugan Ra]

"A contract is feasible, if that's what you'd need. Though... not those exact terms." Lotus says slowly. "Lies are a resource too useful to cast lightly aside. Narrow down which types of lies you do not wish me to tell, and yes, I will sign your contract... and accept the magic that comes with it."

"As for evidence, well... what would satisfy you?"

[Ifni]

"I meant that you wouldn't lie to me. But indeed, let us be precise."

The Water Aspect rises to his feet and walks over to a case set on a wooden chest-of-drawers. Undoing the latches, he takes out a sheet of thick paper - smooth and white and silky, clearly high-quality - and an inkstone and brush. He sits down again and begins to write, pausing now and then to consider his wording.

At one of those pauses, he looks up at Lotus. "As for the question of evidence..." He taps his chin with the handle of his brush, considering, and then stops, rather abruptly. "Ah. That will do."

There is a certain bleakness in the handsome Water Aspect's eyes as he goes on.

"On the estate of Taras Chamin, there is a family cemetery. There are cenotaphs there, for the honored fallen, and a reflecting pool where the ashes of the dead are given back to the water. Behind the cemetery, there is a hill where plum and cherry trees grow, and a stream flows down to the pool below."

He takes a slow breath. "High on that hill, where the stream bends and a plum tree casts blossoms down on the water, there is a cairn and a marker. What is the name written on the stone?"

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When you inevitably do Efficient Secretary Technique:

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The name is Terasu.

[Maugan Ra]

Lotus studies the Water Aspect thoughtfully, his scarlet eyes lost in contemplation (and you might as well contemplate, while waiting for those long moments to pass and the small spider to return to the palm of your hand, hidden from view by the simple expedience of dangling it on the other side of the armchair from watching eyes).

Who was that, to him, I wonder? A burial beyond the limits of the family cemetery, beyond official recognition but still somewhere beautiful...

"Terasu. The name is Terasu." he says softly. "I will not offer insult, by pretending to know who they were to you. But I would ask, out of concern for the old pain in your eyes."

[Ifni]

"Taras Terasu was my older sister, once." The Water Aspect's voice is level and calm as the frozen surface of a pond. He smiles, faintly, without humor. Something about it makes one think of cracks, spiderwebbing across ice. "She failed, too. But so. It seems you can deliver what you've claimed..."

He blows on the sheet of paper to dry it, and holds it out to Lotus.

The contract is written in fairly dense legalese, but the essence of it seems to be contained in four paragraphs near the end.

I pledge that I will not deliberately deceive or mislead Taras Saiko, actively or by willful omission, in any matter directly impinging on his own safety, the welfare of his family, the duties of his employment, or the security of the Empire.

I pledge that to the best of my ability, I will keep confidential any information provided to me by Taras Saiko, unless I first obtain his permission to disclose it, and that if such permission is granted I will abide by its terms and conditions.

I pledge that I will do no harm to Taras Saiko or his interests, insofar as I am aware of such interests.

I pledge that I will not, by any means natural or unnatural, attempt to coerce Taras Saiko into any course of action or inaction.

I pledge that in the hour after signing this contract, while in private conversation with Taras Saiko, I will speak no word that is not true.

"I will also need your name," Saiko says, as Lotus reads. His voice is dry. "I take it Saram Zen is an alias."

[Maugan Ra]

"For the record, and in the interests of honesty... I can almost certainly survive whatever kind of retributive feedback is attached to this contract." Lotus says calmly, weighing up the possibilities in his mind. "Still, I suppose pain can serve as an effective deterrent, as can the revelation of any violations. So, I will request one additional clause."

He sits back in his chair, and steeples his fingers. "Namely, that all those clauses fall aside if I truly believe such a course of action is required for the good of Creation." he says solemnly, with the air of a man who fully expects to find himself in such a situation one day. "Rest assured that in the face of such, I would not allow this contract to hold me back. But I would rather not have to make that decision."

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Also, I just realised that this probably counts as a new scene, so Telltale Symphony might have gone down. If it has, putting it back up... I want to know if there actually are charms on this contract.

[Ifni]

"Understood," Taras says evenly. "The contract is primarily useful to me in that it will be fairly obvious if you break it." Another faint smile. "And since you claim to be an agent of her Majesty, it would be rather daring of me not to include some statement of loyalty to the Empire."

His eyebrows go up at the second half of Lotus' statement. "A little megalomaniac, don't you think?" The somewhat-forced amusement fades after a moment, and he adds more quietly, "The 'good of Creation' seems pretty nebulous. If you want some kind of clear-and-present-danger clause, that's one thing, but if all you need to believe is that in some way it might make the world better - well, I'd rather make the disincentive a tad more robust than that."

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No Charms on it yet (in particular, he's not using the fine-print one, because he still thinks Lotus is higher Essence). The way Drowning In Negotiation Style works is that you draft a contract and then charge it with Essence.

[Maugan Ra]

"True enough. Very well... a clause releasing me from those obligations if any of them clearly give aid to acknowledged enemies of Creation. By and large, that would mean the Raksha, and demons... perhaps some of the dead as well."

Lotus smiles, and there is no humour in it. "Megalomaniac? Perhaps. Occasionally, one of my order starts to think of themselves as above both sides in the various disputes we manage... arbitrators, rather than facilitators. It rarely ends well. But there are threats out there worthy of such regard, and loyalty to Creation as a whole takes precedence over just about anything else."

[Ifni]

Saiko chooses not to reply, instead adding another paragraph, this one reading:

None of these pledges shall be construed to impose any obligation upon the signatories to aid acknowledged enemies of Creation, including but not limited to: the Raksha, demons

"Should I include the Anathema on this list, as well?"

[Maugan Ra]

"I have some difficulty imagining a scenario where the existing terms of that contract would compel me to render aid to one of them." Lotus says dryly. "Besides, as dangerous as they are, I've yet to hear of one who wishes to tear down Creation as a whole. They're generally far too interested in subverting and ruling it."

He shrugs. "Still, it can't hurt to take an extra precaution there."

[Ifni]

"But you do find it plausible that it would require you to render aid to the Raksha? Please. I'm not that much of a fool."

Saiko adds the Anathema to the list, and then brushes his fingers over the contract. To Lotus' enhanced hearing, the paper sighs with the sound of waves on the shore.

The Water Aspect hands the calligraphy brush to the Sidereal, and waits.

[Maugan Ra]

Lotus weighs the brush in his hand for a moment, then leans forward and signs.

Unfolding Lotus of Gentle Summer

That done, he sets the brush down and leans back.

"Well, since you've just secured yourself an hour of truthful words from me... your move, Taras Saiko." he says with a faint smile.

[Ifni]

Saiko dries the ink, then rolls up the contract and tucks it into his coat. "Well, to begin with - has anything you've told me so far been untrue, or technically true but highly misleading?"

[Maugan Ra]

Lotus pauses, and mentally revises the conversation they've had so far. "Not since I stopped being Saram Zen." he says carefully. "Granted, I've not told you everything, but I'm sure you can see why vomiting forth everything I know on the first opportunity would be less than ideal."

He snorts. "And don't think I haven't noticed how that contract requires no particular types of behavior from you, either. Fortunately, I don't particularly need it for this to work."

[Ifni]

"I was waiting for you to ask, but you didn't, so -" Saiko shrugs. "Far be it from me to advise an agent of her Majesty on negotiation tactics. I assumed if you weren't asking for assurances, it was because you didn't need them."

He sits back in his chair. "Anyway, if you're an Imperial agent, what are you doing going to Sunrise Gap? It's in the middle of nowhere: I'm only going because I was halfway there anyway and I've heard Leranis throws a good party. And what kind of help do you think I can give you, in exchange for what you've offered?"

[Maugan Ra]

"Oh, this particular assignment isn't on her Majesty's command. It's been handed down from the Heavenly side of things... Gods are proud beings, and they would never accede to any sort of arrangement that didn't benefit them somehow. They are also very, hmm, political."

He shrugs. "I'm going there to make sure a particular race ends in the way that my Heavenly superiors want it to. Also to do a little snooping, fix the result of a few bets, and generally get to know how everyone is getting on. That last part is where your aid could be useful."

"I'm not so good with parties, with reading the delicate social structures that bind everyone together. You, I suspect, are... and if absolutely nothing else, another few sets of eyes and ears would be exceptionally useful in getting a proper view of the full picture. Like I said, nothing too strenuous."

[Ifni]

"All right," Saiko says, sounding faintly surprised. "Yes, I can do that." He grins. "I hope you'll tell me which races you're going to fix, and in which direction, even if that'll take a bit of the thrill out of the gambling."

"You'll be traveling as Saram Zen, I assume?" He sounds faintly disapproving, although it's well concealed.

[Maugan Ra]

"I could do. There are other options available, if you'd prefer." Lotus replies amicably. "Of course, there's no particular guarantee that we'd be traveling together. I don't know how fast your progress is, but my companions and I have been going at least somewhat faster than you, even when that little diversion into a Shadowland was factored in."

He grins. "In future, I think I shall try to avoid mysterious old ruins infested with the restless dead. It was... not an especially enjoyable experience.""

[Ifni]

Saiko looks mildly embarrassed. "It's fine. Just... odd, to see someone who's not Exalted pretending to be. I can handle it."

"And... shadowland, huh? I'll ask about that later. First - you said the Empress knows about people like you, that she supported the Immaculate Order in part to secure your services. So that raises two questions. One, how many people aside from the Empress know about you? And two... your organization works with the Order, then?"

[Maugan Ra]

"Pretending to be Dragon-Blooded has quite a few advantages when you have to work... actually, just about anywhere remotely civilized." Lotus says with a shrug. "Especially when you can then drop out of that role and adopt another identity to escape the increased scrutiny."

"For the first question... I honestly couldn't say. We're a secretive bunch, generally, but there's a lot of ways a determined or fortunate individual could find out about us. And two... yes, but rarely openly."

[Ifni]

"But high officials generally wouldn't know about you unless they'd taken particular steps to find out?" Saiko's eyes are intent on Lotus. "And... I see. I remember you said your people had helped design the Glorious Dragon Styles. Can I ask why it is important to you that the Empire supports the Order?"

[Maugan Ra]

"Because the Order is doing our job - interacting with and regulating the activities of the gods within Creation." Lotus says bluntly. "Only they are doing it in a systematic and persistent fashion, with greater infrastructural support and public recognition than we could ever manage."

"Every divine dispute the Order mediates, every demon they slay or zombie they put to rest, is one less for us to deal with. They do good work, in short, and we all benefit from seeing that work continue."

[Ifni]

"So they're the public and non-secretive branch of your organization, more or less? Makes sense." A slight smile. "I never thought a shaved head would suit me... but I may take you up on that offer of training in the martial arts."

"And... my question about high officials of the Realm? As a body, they wouldn't necessarily know about you?"