[Day 2, EM, Open] A Crisis of Forethought

[Togashi Mizohachi]

The shadows of pre-dawn were held at bay by the flicker of the paper lantern on Togashi Mizohachi's desk. He had the wall of the delegation house open, letting the chill air waft over him as he stared into the middle distance, his hands folded in his lap.

[Agasha Yuna]

Yuna rose unexpectedly early, and decided to head to the medtiation space they had arranged in the Dragon House. She was wearing a simple robe. Her hair was bound back only in a sleek ponytail. Considerably more casual than her court appearance.

She paused at the sight of Togashi-ue at his desk.

I shouldn't disturb him. He's right there. You ought at least to ask if he is expecting someone and would prefer privacy.

And she *did* have a question for him. “In order to choose the correct path, you must know the pitfalls that await you.”

She stepped a little closer and bowed deeply to him. "Togashi-ue. Forgive me for disturbing your reflection. Are you expecting someone? Do you wish privacy? I can return to my sleeping mat."

[Togashi Mizohachi]

His raspy voice seemed to emanate from deep within him.

"You have not disturbed me unduly, Agasha-san, but now that you have my attention, I could hardly send you back to bed."

[Agasha Yuna]

"Thank you, Togashi-ue. I am so honored to have been chosen to be part of this delegation. I am eager to be of faithful service to the clan."

"I wanted to ask your advice on the matter of the four candidates for succession. Do you have concerns if any of us support one of the candidates? Does it create trouble for you if we follow our hearts and speak our minds, in this regard?"

[Togashi Mizohachi]

Mizohachi could not help but chuckle.

"It would create trouble, of course, but any action, positive or negative, creates a reaction. In this case, the reaction would be the Empress' displeasure. Is that a burden you can bear?"

[Agasha Yuna]

She looked thoughtful.

"The choice is the Empress' to make, as it must be so. There should be nothing any of us can do to sway that choice if Heaven has revealed it to her clearly. If she is still waiting for the mud to settle - as the wise do - to see clearly, anything else is just a person expressing their personal opinion, while awaiting hers."

"I did assume the succession candidates will favor those who support them, and - if they are vindictive - potentially punish those who do not. No matter how faithfully they are committed to serving whoever is selected."

"But I had not considered that the Empress herself would take umbrage if anyone expresses an opinion."

She paused. Contemplating.

"To serve the Tao is to serve the Empire. The one cannot be parted from the other, no more than the sea can be parted from the land.” Is the Empire the one person of its leader, or the many? Its strength, as the Little Teacher says, is the hearts of its people. A leader can greatly increase the burden and harm to the people. For example, by encouraging unnecessary war. A leader can reduce the burden and offer good to the peope - if that is the kind of heart that the leader has."

"It is a matter of courage to speak when you might benefit more by staying silent. I see that I must carefully weigh the risks and timing and manner. “Guard your words carefully, for you own every word you speak.”"

[Togashi Mizohachi]

Mizohachi nodded in agreement.

"All apropos. And yet, the way before me is no clearer. Is it any clearer for you?"

[Agasha Yuna]

She considered.

"I think if I act solely from genuine earnest opinion, and make it clear that it is my own thought - not speaking for the Agasha or the Dragon... I can gently repeat what I value. And it will be clear who I value. The Way is detached from outcome. We do what is honest, simple, and humble. We care for those that others may overlook, and do not care if we, ourselves, are overlooked or denigrated. Because it doesn't matter. Every day of his life a man has only one judge, and that judge is himself."

"I ... I have a freedom you do not. I still can speak for myself. Your word is the Dragon's word. I am a dragonfly to your dragon. But “The dragonfly's buzz is no different from the lion's roar. All creatures have a voice with which they express the Way. So it is with us."

"I am here with my small voice. I am here with the chance to buzz."

"If I am dismissed or undermined because I am genuine and truthful, I am still myself. I am still whole. “Those with pure purpose have the strength to never fall.” And, if they do fall, they learn and continue. The center is still the center. Balance is still balance."

[Togashi Mizohachi]

"All true, all true." Mizohachi nodded along. "And the wisest among us is the un-carved block, who needs not think and does not understand, but lives the Way because he is the Way. There is no separation between his existence and truth."

"But we are cursed, Agasha-san, because our blocks were carved long ago. We cannot toss them aside and become new ones. So we must look and seek to understand, to remove our ignorance so that we can make the most harmonious choice. That is what is responsible. That is the Way. And yet, I am without knowledge. I am ignorant. How can I become less ignorant, while not introducing disharmony?"

[Agasha Yuna]

"We can observe. We can listen. We can read and research."

"I have so far had the chance to speak to Seppun Tomaru-sama. He is a Shinseist, which is important to me, but also respectful of Fortunists, which is equally important for the sake of peace and prosperity. He is a talented shugenja. My House only lets shugenja ascend to leadership roles. I do not believe that should be the position of the Empire, but in a case of excruciatingly close qualification, it is an obvious tie breaker. It is the clearest sign of Heaven's favor that we know. Favor from birth. He has thoughtful ideas about education, with a view towards opportunities to provide more education to more people. Consistent curricula. These are sensible ideas, compassionate ideas. He is kind. He listens. I found nothing false in him in that interaction. He wants peace. That is what we want, too. A further point in his favor - simple fact - is that he has three children and eight grandchildren. "Study what the pine and cherry blossom can teach. Man is not the only keeper of enlightenment.” He is a tree with a healthy root system. That is important to avoid this crisis ever happening again."

"That is what I currently have observed. That is what makes me want to speak."

[Togashi Mizohachi]

"So you know one of these Winds well. This is good. You have observed, you have listened, you have detected nothing of danger. That suggests to me that you do not have a full picture of this man, who is not divine, but that is not the point I wish to make.

"There are three others. One of them also has children and has been touched with the heavens' signs. What of them? Are they dross because you have drunk deep of the Seppun's well?"

[Agasha Yuna]

She nodded.

"They are all gold. The finest gold. Any of them may be Emperor or Empress."

"I know my opinion is biased. But it is the Empress alone who is tasked to judge between them. To try to do that is ... presumptuous. And challenging given the time and access possible."

"I thought ... to simply speak positively of the one I know is honest and... human nature ... and less likely to offend than to cast myself as judge, or seek to undermine any of them, which I certainly don't intend to do."

"But that may be a poor read of how it will be perceived. You may already think me a little more foolish than you did when you woke up this morning." She said that simply. It might be so. But she was learning, and so it was worth it.

"Some things are easy to say. That he is Shinseist is simply true. If any others are, I do hope to find that out. Perhaps their allies will correct me, and I will update my understanding."

"There seems a safe space to say - here is what I know about him from my observation - I truly don't know about the others."

[Togashi Mizohachi]

Mizohachi shrugged. "You can do that, of course, if that is all that you are doing. Your certainty surprises me, is all. They all have pasts, Agasha-san. And they all envision futures. Did Seppun Tomaru share his with you?"

[Agasha Yuna]

she nodded. Thoughtful. Considering.

"You are right. It is ... it is a mistake that to speak with certainty on what I know or what is best. I only know what I have perceived, and what feels best to me - a Shinseist, a woman raised to prefer shugenja in leadership positions, a woman who enjoyed a conversation with a kind old man who I believe shares many of my values."

"He did. He talked about a desire for peace. He talked about a desire for providing more education to more people. The importance of teachers. The importance of making sure there is a core set of documents available to every village. A copy of the Tao. An encyclopedia of the Fortunes. Other key books. Perhaps wood block printed for ease of copy and standardization. Perhaps a collection of poems from each clan."

"It sounded like something that would be good. Very good."

[Togashi Mizohachi]

"Perhaps it will be. Did he tell you what he would not include?"

[Agasha Yuna]

She paused, thinking. Her recall was perfect. But... had they even discussed that?

"I don't think we talked about that. That's an interesting question."

"I imagine less war and more peace. From what he seemed to value. More standardization. More sense of an imperial culture that is effectively shared across Rokugan. More education. Less isolation perhaps?"

[Togashi Mizohachi]

"Hmm... I will have to think about the virtues of those things. I have found that a little isolation can be good from time to time. And there is a value in the individual. I do see much to gain in a great spread of education among all the people of Rokugan, but I remember..."

He paused. "There was a monk, this was during the reign of Hantei Ningi, 200 years ago, more, in fact. In any case, there was a monk by the name of Togashi Kaze, and he felt that there was a great injustice in the land because the peasant was subordinate to the samurai by force of arms. There was more to it, of course. Hantei Ningi had just decreed that all of the land in the Empire belonged to the Emperor for the first time. Did you know that that was not true in all of the reign of Hantei and of Hantei Genji?

But I digress.

This Kaze took it upon himself to start evening the field by training the peasants to defend themselves. Defend themselves against whom, you might ask. And many did at the time. Indeed, so many asked this question that nervous samurai began to try to attack these Kaze-educated peasants, and sometimes they'd win, but sometimes they'd lose. That upset people. Important people. So Hantei Ningi summons this Togashi Kaze to Otosan Uchi and asks for a demonstration of this fighting style that evened the field between peasant and samurai. And do you know what Kaze said?

He said no. No to an Emperor. It does not belong to you, he said. And that was not a concept that Hantei Ningi found harmonious. So, challenged in his own court, Hantei Ningi lashed out, and Togashi Kaze was killed. What they don't say in the story is that most of the peasants who knew Kaze's style were also killed."

Mizhohachi bowed his head. "The weight of it all," he said quietly.

[Agasha Yuna]

She listened attentively, expression troubled.

A nod.

"“To master the future, one must study the past.” Our actions can have unforeseen consequences, but some portion of what risks being unforeseen could be anticipated by diligent study of the past. I could better help Seppun-sama by researching historical examples of the kind of effort he is describing, and informing myself and you and him of that research, than by simply praising what sounds inherently praiseworthy to me. An objective analysis. A faithful and thorough one."

"There is no better place to do that research than the library here if I can gain access."

"It is certainly an option that a teaching corp could be - explicitly - a resource that reads to villager from a common library, but never teaches reading itself."

"But the best proposal will take into account centuries of history of actions and consequence - and not just that one example."

[Togashi Mizohachi]

Mizohachi nodded. "There are patterns in history, but the individual can nudge them. I hope that your teacher will not share Kaze's fate."

[Agasha Yuna]

She nodded.

"All cannot be foreseen. But this conversation has helped me immensely to focus my thinking about what support is needed, helpful, and proper at this time. Thank you so much, Togashi-ue."

"It is fortunate that what is needed in this moment is not a cheerleader, but a student of lore and history."

Now she just needed access to the library. Had she done enough to earn it? Ikoma-ue had understood the value of her gift at the gift giving. It had been an introduction of a kind to him. Jihen had offered to help arrange the introduction. It was a moment for patience, perhaps.