The New Winds

The hour of the Dog found Bayushi Jiro sat at table, a large array of writing materials spread in a semi-circle around his seat. He was staring into the middle distance, tapping the blunt end of a brush against his chin, lost in thought.

A familiar sight by now, no doubt. As Jiro was getting ready for his correspondence, Saburo emerged in the study space with a scroll. This one had different seals on it, hinting that he had reached a certain conclusion in his readings of the Otomo's treatise. Tonight, he would be reading from the 'Parables of Wise Old Sochoku,' a set of dictated treatises and parables by Soshi Saibankan. Admittedly, the lessons contained within the ancient judge's writings were the ones that were recorded for the empire, and not the Scorpion Clan in particular.

He caught sight of Jiro and grunted, bowing to the young an and setting into his customary table while he began to read once more. He glanced over and offered a small, thin smile. "It is always good to see you in the study room, Bayushi-san. You have an appreciation of the importance of quiet in study I can relate to," he said with the tone of someone for whom that might be the only thing he said all night, unless Jiro decided to inquire a little later. The Bayushi wasn't stupid in Saburo's estimation, so he probably wouldn't say no to an occasional interruption. Besides, Saibankan had been of the same clan. He might have some insights.

Jiro's mouth quirked upward in a small smile. "I suppose that I do appreciate a quiet library, Asako-san, though I treasure your quiet presence as well. The intensity of your focus inspires me to greater efforts myself."

"I have heard that it also scares certain warbling creatures away, which is an added bonus." He managed a small chuckle at his own expense. His conversation yesterday with Kokyou still stung a little, but if it kept him from having to listen to Sakura sing twice in a day, that was a bonus. "But, if my intensity helps others to study, I would definitely consider that a positive. You've been doing well so far, from what I am told." he started to unfurl the scroll. There would be time to get in the reading soon. A moment would not hurt.

"And you, though I suppose what we have gained in success I have lost in firm connections. I feel...aloof, I suppose." Jiro sighed. "I don't blame the others, of course, but I worry about my ability to serve to the fullest if I consistently put others on edge."

"I suppose that is a concern for one who will serve as a courtier. Connection to others is a distinct part of your tasks, though a certain aloofness is not always a problem. There are occasions where you must be above concern." A shrug and he set the scroll in place. "I have never been good with people. Spirits are easier to speak to."

"What is the difference?" Jiro asked; "I have never spoken to a spirit."

"Their thoughts are ephemeral. Fire and I have the closest connection. A fire kami is a being who is short lived, but burns brightly with deep understanding. Their world flickers and fades like the flame they inhabit. So their impressions are fleeting things of a world that may exist no more than a day. Like little children who age swiftly and live in their moment. Their impressions are light and hunger." Which probably didn't make a whoe lot of sense. "They do not see this world as you do with their eyes. A water spirit might show you a reflection of the past, but it does not necessarily perceive it the same way you do. You learn to see things... differently. The earth, you feel their impression, like feeling the feet walking upon you. Though I admit Earth is not easy for me. My deficiencies there have always been considerable."

"In a spiritual sense it has also been one of my failings, though I am trying to correct this. Kakita-sensei was most helpful earlier, but I confess that I am still quite sore from the exertions required."

"Much of my efforts have been to reach the point I am at. It is my mother's hope that the lessons we are taught here will afford some level of growth in my meager Earth in due course." A grunt. It was sort of painfully obvious that his Earth wasn't where it should be, wasn't it? "I just need to work on my patience to help with that." Patience wasn't exactly his strong suit.

Jiro nodded quietly. "I can understand that. From what you were saying about your schooling, it seems that your patience has not been tested very much until recently. One seldom develops a skill that one does not see a reason to nurture."

"It is tested in one sense almost every day... but only by my limitations. In all others, private tutelage has advantages, when there are no more than a few students to work alongside. It allows for personal training to take precedent." A nod. "Did you study among the primary academies of the Bayushi? I've never been south of the Pass myself."

"Hai, at Kyuden Bayushi, though I grew up in its court. In fact, I was about to practice a method of communicating I came to know from the courtiers there."

He looked at the various correspondence that was laid out in front of him, several empty pages worth and considered for a moment. "What sort of communication? You look like you're preparing to write a few letters home." Oh, man, did this kid not know what this was all about.

Jiro smiled. "No, I think my father would kill me if I wrote a letter home. It is a poor sensei that does not read his students' correspondence. No, this is for the Game of Letters, an ancient but very effective method of communicating in the courts."

Letters are not a game. They are serious opportunities to inform relatives of goings on... ink is costly. Resources are costly. Every scroll used for a letter is one not used for historic... ugh, I do not understand the court. My sister is right. That decides it. I know what I will do tomorrow.

A breath in and out and he closed his eyes for a moment. "And if I may ask, how are letters a game?" He was going to ... tryyyyyy to understand. He had the natural faculties. He just wasn't familiar.

"Game is a misnomer. They are really a tool, and sometimes a weapon. You craft a message into a poem and create shades and overtones of meaning with metaphor, as you normally would, but also with the paper choice, with scent, with accompanying items, and, sometimes, with folding the paper into interesting shapes. Then the letter is carried through the court, and anyone can stop the messenger and read it. Reputations have been utterly destroyed with these, but clandestine affairs have been celebrated and peace treaties signed as well."

It would be simpler to just burn your enemy to a crisp.

"Courtly affairs are prone to circumspection and a lack of ... direct response, are they not? Rather like air spirits." He wasn't actually bad at speaking to air spirits. he just didn't like doing it. They were flighty, fickle little things always playing games on the wind. It was a test of his patience. "Every time I read from the Otomo's work, it appeared that there were so many feints and countermaneuvers. Moreso than what I would see in the battlefiedl traditionally."

"If we are circumspect in our dealings, it is because the consequences are stiffer. Death is a release, whereas a life of shame is...not." Jiro smiled pleasantly. "Shaping the peace is a much more delicate business than fighting a war, but the rewards are greater as well."

Jiro looked down at his papers. "Now, who should receive a letter, I wonder?"

Jiro considered this a moment, then began to write.

Pure brew untasted
Leaves bitter dregs, lonely friends
Rooster's hour for tea?

The writing was in the formal style of the court, on medium paper. The poem was...passable, but the origami was somewhat better. The letter took the form of a scorpion--sort of. Close, anyway.


Games: Letters=19
Origami=9
Practice Calligraphy=13
Practice poetry=6