A Collection of Future Events: The Month Ahead.

[Cearnach]

-The day after court ends, Kotobe Haruto, a ronin and drunkard, is executed for accidentally starting the granary fire in a drunken stupor. The execution itself is conducted in private. No display is made of the criminal's head.

-It is formally announced in Otosan Uchi that Otomo Keihime has adopted Seppun Anzai, the only daughter and third child of Seppun Tomaru.

-Lord Gorobei officially acknowledges Mirumoto Tsukuhara's invitation for an exhibition duel when the pass to Shiro Mirumoto clears of snow.

--Lady Shiba and the Phoenix Delegation return to Phoenix lands. When her distressed lieutenants ask her for direction, she instructs them to pray. But in her study, day after day, she writes letters. Some long, some short. They go out to house after house, and daily to each Wind, exhorting them to observe carefully the Will of Heaven and the Force of the Law and surrender their claims for the good of the Empire. Thus far, no Wind has set their claim aside, but the Great Clans remain at peace, so perhaps some good has come of it.

--Shiba Ryusei returns home to prepare for his wedding to Agasha Yuna. The preparations include maneuvers both subtle and direct on the part of his mother to oust his father from lordship of House Shigi in Ryusei's favor.

--Bayushi Kaguya elects not to commit Shosuro Asakaze to Traitor's Grove just yet. After a long conversation with Togashi Mizohachi, she instead summons Shosuro Ryusei to Kyuden Bayushi and places him in charge of the joint medical research project. The humanitarian effort rapidly turns into a complicated intelligence exercise, with the Seppun and Crab delegates routinely confounded by Ryusei's tight control of information. Unfortunately for Ryusei, the caginess of the Seppun and Crab have him straining to his limits to keep them in the dark, and he is entirely unable to work against his Champion for the duration of the project--many months indeed.

--Yogo Tenka's madness takes a turn for the worse when he learns that his Curse manifested for the 409th time when his protege Yogo Kiuchi perished as a direct result of the invitation to Winter Court he obtained for him. Manifestations 410, 411, and 412 all occur the following day, and while that rate is not quite sustained, there is a marked uptick in incidents over the course of the month.

--Yogo Kiuchi's mother initially exults over his death, but finds that her spirit is troubled by its heroic nature and the catastrophic effect it has on her husband, whose grief quickly overcomes him.

--Doji Hikaru joins Doji Noriko's personal entourage, accompanying her on her journey to the Imagawa estate in Otosan Uchi.

-Demand for the art produced by the Lion clan, and especially by Akodo Sanae, spreads across the lands of the Scorpion, Crane, and Fox clans. The Lion clan, unable and unwilling to galvanize for war under Matsu Tsuruyo, begins to place its faith in an effort for peace and prosperity under Akodo Sanae's leadership. But tensions rise as bad blood among the houses continues to foment new struggles, and malcontents reach for Winds to justify their aggression against their neighbors. The future looks uncertain, but Akodo Sanae and Ikoma Ryota (assisted by a Crane play that heralds his selfless service to the throne) continue to work to hold the clan together over the next few months.

--Ikoma Honoka returns to House Kamoshita to find a family preparing for conflict. Her words about the opportunity the Era of the Winds represents find purchase among her people, but her insinuations about the perfidy of the Dragon fall on deaf ears. The Dragon are, after all, far away. The Kamoshita have enemies enough close at hand

--Akodo Kenji begins writing the first part of what will be his life's work: the History of the Interregnum, called by some the Time of the Winds. He goes home to House Kusama and begins trying to parlay the treaties he designed at Winter Court to the advantage of his house. He soon attracts some Mantis house-guests.

--Jihen accompanies Seppun Sadako to Otosan Uchi to serve as her adviser, working to the Way and Right Thinking in the capital.

--After the return to the Capital, Otomo Mariko is found dead. No testimony points to any late visitors to her; no sign of struggle or violence appears on her body. Just a spilled bottle of shochu...

--Hantei Retsuhime is laid to rest in the usual formal ceremony, Seppun Sadako presiding. The Lords Otomo and Miya are in attendance. So are three of the Winds (Keihime, Tomaru, and Noriko). Gorobei is en route to Shiro Mirumoto, while Tatsuya is in Crab lands.

-Agasha Yuna conveys the Agasha Heir's invitation to Kyuden Agasha to her brother, and then begins her journey east to the lands of the Phoenix, where she will serve as a mediator between the Phoenix and Dragon clans until the preparations for her marriage to Shiba Ryusei are complete.

--Agasha Sanjuro braves the snows in the passes to return to Lord Mirumoto, there to explain to him the events of court, though of course Tsukuhara's full attention is taken by the fact that Lord Gorobei has accepted his invitation to duel. Disgusted, Sanjuro returns home to begin his correspondence with the Empire and his prayers to enhance his capabilities as an observer: he means to be of service to Lord Togashi as best he can.

-The first bell for the refurbishment of the Shrine of the Ki-Rin is cast in Kyuden Asako.

-After a series of harrowing adventures and near misses, Yasuki Ryoichi successfully gets Tatsuya to Kyuden Hida. Lord Hida personally guarantees Tatsuya's safety and acknowledges him as a claimant to the throne, but stops short of declaring him Emperor. There is talk of Lord Hida sending Tatsuya with his brother and Ryoichi to tour the castles of the Crab clan.

-Seppun Sadako appoints the surgeon and scholar Doji Tsumeru to the position of Imperial Physician--the first Crane appointment to the Imperial Bureaucracy in 15 years.

--Asahina Hoshiko lingers at Kyuden Ikoma long enough to learn that the spirits in the immediate area remain agitated from the trauma of Winter Court. She decorates the shrines and temples on her journey home with paper cranes made from the paper she took from Yogo Kiuchi's scroll satchel, with the last of it given up in offering to Emma-O for his spirit.

-Isawa Sorami appears in Otosan Uchi late in the month to receive the welcome of Miya Hachi. Her reputation rehabilitated by the embarrassment suffered by the Otomo and the death of Otomo Mariko, Sorami becomes instrumental in planning Miya Hachi's solution to the Succession Crisis, though she does not remain in Otosan Uchi long--events in Kyuden Isawa soon call her back to the Elemental Council and the problem of Isawa Takao.

--Asahina Junpei arrives at Kyuden Isawa for his stay accompanied by a small coterie of Asahina priests. Initially confronted by Isawa Takao over the possibility of Crane meddling in the business of the Elemental Masters, no one is more surprised than Takao himself when Junpei pours water on his rage with boundless cheer and confidence. Akihiro and Enju may be harder to reach, but Orimitsu cannot help but feel just a little of Lord Asahina's infectious optimism.

--Moshi Naruko arrives at Sunda Mizu Mura, where she joins a platoon of Hida Cavalry riding for Shiro Hiruma.

--The first naval incident under the new treaties occurs when Mantis ships identify that a Tortoise vessel has been commandeered by gaijin. The ensuing battle is swift and merciless, ending with the Tortoise kobune on the bottom of the sea.

--Soshi Eiji arrives at Shiro Matsu as Scorpion Resident to the court of Matsu Tsuruyo.

-Kitsune Aiko's triumphant homecoming goes awry after Miya Hohatsu announces that Kitsune Fumihito has been deposed by the Imperial Court and that Kitsune Aiko is the new Daimyo of the Fox. Jubilation among Aiko's people is matched by shock and horror among many of the Fox. Arguments break out, swiftly turning to duels and then violence as a resistance movement centered on the House Guard begins to form. Fumihito is confined to his rooms for his own safety, but Aiko's people lose control of the forest. Hohatsu is escorted to the border and, at the end of the month, carries word of the chaos to the Otosan Uchi.

--Doji Shinnosuke begins rehearsals for the Golden Spring Noh company's tour of Scorpion lands, but is distressed to learn that several of House Tanaka's letters to Kyuden Kitsune have been returned, as the forest has been deemed a no-travel zone.

--Ryunosuke is recognized after becoming involved in a successful attempt to rescue the Sparrow delegation from a bandit attack. He escapes to the east, killing two Sparrow bushi who attempt to detain him.

-In Kitsu country, the conflict between the Kan and the Ogata heats up after Hantei Retsuhime's death removes the political cover the Kan relied on to survive. Although Otomo Keihime has stepped into the breach with a letter reinforcing her commitment to the legitimacy of the Kan, rumors of Otomo Gorobei's private disavowal of her position have been spreading in Shiro Kitsu.

--The first Yasuki surveyors arrive in Otosan Uchi to identify the land that must be appropriated for the bank and dock.

-Amid the celebrations attending the announcement of her youngest daughter's betrothal to Doji Machiko, Lady Soshi suffers a stroke, after which her health begins to seriously deteriorate. Unable to rise from her throne much of the time, and unwilling to be moved or treated, her children and vassals begin to gather at Shiro Soshi to prepare for her death and the accession of her eldest son as the new Soshi daimyo.

-4 gaijin pistols, 2 muskets, 2 detached matchlocks, 1 rifled barrel (unattached to a firing mechanism), 1 pocket watch, and nearly 1 ton of tuna are unloaded from the Sea Swallow, a Mantis ship docked at Sunda Mizu Mura. Much of the fish is quickly repackaged for transfer back north, but the gaijin weaponry and clockwork is packed onto wagons and sent on its way to House Terada for research.

--Daidoji Sae heads to Asahina lands to marry her fiance, assisted by Daidoji Ryu until he is recalled to Kyuden Doji by the Crane Champion herself. There, he becomes a fixer and troubleshooter for Minehime. For her part, Sae makes plans to join the Legions at the Castle of the Emerald Champion.

--A unit of Hiruma arrive at Shiro Heichi after narrowly fending off an attack by gaijin raiders on their caravan. Placing themselves under the leadership of Heichi Batsuda, the Crab and Badger begin preparing to strike back at the interlopers.

--Gusai Monchou sails the first Mantis taskforce south to look for new lands and riches.

-Isawa Akihiro's chief student and a small research team head to Shiro Yogo at the invitation of Bayushi Kaguya to begin a research project under the watchful (and completely mad) eye of Yogo Tenka.

--Kitsu Sayomi spends her month working to bring her house and that of her fiance, Hiruma Daichi, toward close cooperation.

--The Scorpion lay claim to the territory between the River of Gold and the Shinomen Mori. Expeditions are sent to investigate the feasibility of a Scorpion lumber industry. It will take time and effort to clear the bandits in the forest, but it would seem that the Phoenix-Fox duopoly on lumber may be about to encounter some competition.

--Hiruma Daichi spends the greater part of the next month ensuring that his vision for the Emerald Manor can be realized. As time passes, he finds that the Fox grow less responsive, but the contributions of the Crab, Scorpion, and Sparrow are more than enough to see the project close to breaking ground. He is the last of the courtiers to return home, barely reaching the lands of House Tetsumura (after a stop in Shiro Hiruma) as the month comes to an end.

--Exactly 1 month from the end of court, a letter arrives in Shiro Matsu from Kakita Hajime explaining that it was in fact Tortoise operatives that set fire to the Kyuden Ikoma granaries to cover their attempt to steal a bargeful of grain (thwarted by the Hirasawa). Lady Matsu vows revenge.