The New Winds

D4 LA Cartography R! Tech TN 20: 8d10o10k3+5 47

Wyn is set up in the common room of the tea house having some tea and working on some sketches, quietly at a nice corner table.

Across the common room sat alone the young lion Kichiro. Eyes closed his thoughts focused totally inward. No notice given to the cup of tea that has long lost its rising steam and gone totally cold. A deep exhale, Kichiro's eyes crack open. Another day of successful tastes brings him that much closer to leaving this place and facing the life of an adult samurai. He's going to miss the simplicity of this tournament.

Mind finally in the present, Kichiro glaces around the common room and spots Miya Wyn in the opposite corner. A fellow competitor and an imperial as well. Gathering himself and his cup, he leaves his table to approach Wyn's. "Would company disturb your work Miya-sama?" Kichiro asks and bows deeply to the imperial.

"Not at all Akodo san, please join me" He waves to an empty spot at the table.

Kichiro takes his seat and takes a sip of his tea. A brief shock at how cold it was before he sits it down.

He takes a long moment observing Wyn's work. Lines crossing parchment first unrecognizable then coming together into familiar geographical shapes. "An artist's interpretation or an acedmic calculation? I am unfamiliar with your creative process. Only the final result in regards to territorial control." Kichiro asks curiously about Wyn's art. Unsure if inspired from a bird's eye view atop mountains or if there is a deeper process at play.

"Art and Academics can be one in the same, no? Things can be beautiful and still have function"

"Without a doubt Miya-sama. What I meant was how does one go about gathering that information? An artist observing from mountain side view? A collection of geographical studies passed down through the generations?"

"Miya Cartographers collect all the information themselves, from personal observation. I spent the last two days, in my free time, exploring the city, judging weather patterns and road gradients, the tilt of the dojo floor and the percentage of water kami in the air, to prepare these findings."

"A labor of passion or the burden of duty?" Kichiro finishes his cup of tea. "Seems like extremely rigorous work."

"It is the Miya Technique, that which I have been trained in, that which I am to prove myself proficient in as part of this contest"

Kichiro simply enjoys his tea and continues observing. A pause before his questioning becomes relentless.