It was going to be a long night. In fact, this night might prove to be one of the most significant nights in modern Wind Country history. That would almost seem to be absurd to think about, but with the battles raging in both Sora and Suna, the Daimyo and his party infiltrating Suna and various other things still happening in the darkness, it would seem like many pieces of a larger puzzle were starting to rapidly move into place.
In Soon's Haven, this would not be any different. Soon's Haven, essentially the third largest location in the country, was home to potentially the third of the three great governmental powers. Suna had their Kazekage, Sora had the Daimyo, and Soon's had the Merchant Lords. The Lords were a large ruling body of the premier merchant and industrial capital of the country. While they may not have raised armies or have the most physically dominating appearance, the Lords were capable of crippling the country, if they show chose to do so, with the stroke a pen. Their power was different from that of the Daimyo and the Kazekage, but just as impactful. Yet, they tried to keep a front of neutrality, when oftentimes, because of their own competing interests, they would be very involved in disputes across the country. This was something that was coming to a head in the standoff between the Daimyo and Suna. It was rapidly approaching a point that they would have to make their true intentions known and publically announce their support. Thankfully for them, Dominus appeared, the Daimyo fell, and their status quo returned to equilibrium. Well for most of the Lords...
"Lady Mako...Zennyo Ryūō is here."
"...*sigh*"
The Lady Ishii Mako would roll her eyes at the update. This past year, the current 8th wife of Daimyo Ishii Shiro had been dealing with more complications than conveniences. At one time, she felt she was almost completely at the top of the country; her marriage to the Daimyo supplanted herself, already powerful due to her status as a Lord and with a personal army, as the highest female in all of the land. Now, following the fall of her husband, she found herself driven back to Soon's in an attempt to plan her next move. Her husband, once a strong and powerful man she coveted for those various charms, was an obsessed monster of revenge and rage. His eyes no longer even attempted to look at her, so she no longer saw the need to stay within his Palace. Now she found herself receiving requests from traders within the in-lands.
"Bring him in..."
"My apologies, mylady, Mako..."
Her attention would snap to the door to see a rather young man, who due to his tight-fitting clothes seemed to be in peak physical shape, with short blue hair and a confident grin. Behind him there would no longer be a door guard but merely a puddle of water that seemed to be seeping in from outside the closed door.
"...I seemed to have been rather impatient."
"Well, the inlanders are getting awfully brash these days. What do you want, sand pusher?" Her attention would drift away from him casually throughout her words as she would return to her previous focus; her glass of whiskey.
"Well--"
The glass would shatter but by the time that would be heard, the blonde-haired Merchant Lord would already be upon the young man with her blade draw at his neck.
"My door guard, a rather common man, is more valuable than whoever the hell you think you are, inlander. So state your last message... and no, just your death won't be enough to replace his life. I will raze whatever business venture you come here to shell for."
The man would smirk as his body would suddenly become translucent. Within a flash, he to would seemingly disappear. Her eyes would scour the room and would quickly pick up on his new location as he would be standing at her liquor cabinet.
"Apologies for being rude once more, but I don't mind pouring my own glass. Please. Have a seat."
She would sheath her blade and begin to make her way to the table to join the man. She would not have an expression of concern, fear, anger, or even all that impressed. She had seen her share of spectacular men. So far, he had potential but still was a little wet behind the ears. She would chuckle at that thought for a moment.
"Your clothes are too tight. Is this the look of the young people?"
"My, now you can't be much older than myself."
"Flattery is wasted on a warrior, and if you keep attempting to lick my boots you will find yourself upon the ground soon enough."
He would raise his hand to ease the hostility as he would plaster a smirk upon his face.
"Very much noted. Anyways, Lady Mako... Ishii, Mako, correct?"
"Of course."
She might have placed space between herself and her deranged husband, but at the end of the day he was the strongest man in this country. It only made sense to stay committed to such a person.
"Even in his... unfortunate state?"
The table holding their drinks would suddenly split in half as Mako, holding her glass already, would put the drink to her lips and take a drink before answering the man, "Please refrain from talking ill of my husband in my presence."
"Also noted." He would smirk once more.
"You are boring me."
"Well then allow me to change that. My name is Zennyo Ryūō and I am here to speak to you on behalf of the Golden Sanctuary Merchant Guild."
"You mean the cover name for the San F--?" She would pause with a sly grin upon her face.
The smirk would fade from the man as his eyes would narrow in on the female. The atmosphere in the room, even after all the theatrics from earlier, would finally turn to a tension that could almost be seen.
"Either your husband... or it is true what the say about you. You are a dangerous one."
She would smirk at the compliment, or at least what she perceived as a compliment, "It is always the latter, boy. Now go on, what do you flesh peddlers want?"
"Oh now, don't act like you weren't in on the game. Your husband sure was... but, neither here nor there. We have unified the Expanse business enterprise, decades ago, but due to the promise that the Daimyo brought, we felt no real sense of urgency. In this past year, chaos has started to bubble up. Uncertainty has started to creep even into the Underworld. So my associates and I--"
"Your faction within the little Fangy Wangy, is what you mean."
"--my associates and I decided it was time to stop playing passive games. We assumed command of an organization that still had mental scars from the past and revitalized it. We are now wishing to enter the main stage as a player."
"Say it."
"We would like the title Merchant Lord, I serving as the Lord."
"And this would be the... Golden Sanctuary Merchant Guild... that you would be assuming Lordship with?"
"That is correct. Not everyone knows our deeper affiliations, and it is honestly not important. Do the current Merchant Lords, yourself included, carry any saintlier of a background? Sure, there are a couple, but for the most part... it seems like we would be a perfect fit."
"What do I get out of this?"
"Access to the treasures we, simple inlanders, can only provide."
She would roll her eyes at the implication she would be tempted to support such an unprecedented thing for merely human trafficking.
He would smirk, "How about this... the days of Daiymo Ishii Shiro are done, but the future of a new Daimyo, a strong-willed person who has the support of not only the Merchant Lords but the support of the greater Expanse region... well, maybe She would bring balance during these troubling times?"
She would smile, a full smile, before taking another sip of her drink.
"Tell me more..."
_____By the start of the next day, when the sun was breaking across the horizon, and the rest of Wind Country attempted to make sense of all the things that were happening, the news of a "New Merchant Lord" being voted on by and with the support of Ishii Mako, would quickly travel across the land. Machinations were continuing to twist and turn as Wind Country continue to progress deeper into this new second coming of the Chaos Era.
[End]
In Soon's Haven, this would not be any different. Soon's Haven, essentially the third largest location in the country, was home to potentially the third of the three great governmental powers. Suna had their Kazekage, Sora had the Daimyo, and Soon's had the Merchant Lords. The Lords were a large ruling body of the premier merchant and industrial capital of the country. While they may not have raised armies or have the most physically dominating appearance, the Lords were capable of crippling the country, if they show chose to do so, with the stroke a pen. Their power was different from that of the Daimyo and the Kazekage, but just as impactful. Yet, they tried to keep a front of neutrality, when oftentimes, because of their own competing interests, they would be very involved in disputes across the country. This was something that was coming to a head in the standoff between the Daimyo and Suna. It was rapidly approaching a point that they would have to make their true intentions known and publically announce their support. Thankfully for them, Dominus appeared, the Daimyo fell, and their status quo returned to equilibrium. Well for most of the Lords...
"Lady Mako...Zennyo Ryūō is here."
"...*sigh*"
The Lady Ishii Mako would roll her eyes at the update. This past year, the current 8th wife of Daimyo Ishii Shiro had been dealing with more complications than conveniences. At one time, she felt she was almost completely at the top of the country; her marriage to the Daimyo supplanted herself, already powerful due to her status as a Lord and with a personal army, as the highest female in all of the land. Now, following the fall of her husband, she found herself driven back to Soon's in an attempt to plan her next move. Her husband, once a strong and powerful man she coveted for those various charms, was an obsessed monster of revenge and rage. His eyes no longer even attempted to look at her, so she no longer saw the need to stay within his Palace. Now she found herself receiving requests from traders within the in-lands.
"Bring him in..."
"My apologies, mylady, Mako..."
Her attention would snap to the door to see a rather young man, who due to his tight-fitting clothes seemed to be in peak physical shape, with short blue hair and a confident grin. Behind him there would no longer be a door guard but merely a puddle of water that seemed to be seeping in from outside the closed door.
"...I seemed to have been rather impatient."
"Well, the inlanders are getting awfully brash these days. What do you want, sand pusher?" Her attention would drift away from him casually throughout her words as she would return to her previous focus; her glass of whiskey.
"Well--"
The glass would shatter but by the time that would be heard, the blonde-haired Merchant Lord would already be upon the young man with her blade draw at his neck.
"My door guard, a rather common man, is more valuable than whoever the hell you think you are, inlander. So state your last message... and no, just your death won't be enough to replace his life. I will raze whatever business venture you come here to shell for."
The man would smirk as his body would suddenly become translucent. Within a flash, he to would seemingly disappear. Her eyes would scour the room and would quickly pick up on his new location as he would be standing at her liquor cabinet.
"Apologies for being rude once more, but I don't mind pouring my own glass. Please. Have a seat."
She would sheath her blade and begin to make her way to the table to join the man. She would not have an expression of concern, fear, anger, or even all that impressed. She had seen her share of spectacular men. So far, he had potential but still was a little wet behind the ears. She would chuckle at that thought for a moment.
"Your clothes are too tight. Is this the look of the young people?"
"My, now you can't be much older than myself."
"Flattery is wasted on a warrior, and if you keep attempting to lick my boots you will find yourself upon the ground soon enough."
He would raise his hand to ease the hostility as he would plaster a smirk upon his face.
"Very much noted. Anyways, Lady Mako... Ishii, Mako, correct?"
"Of course."
She might have placed space between herself and her deranged husband, but at the end of the day he was the strongest man in this country. It only made sense to stay committed to such a person.
"Even in his... unfortunate state?"
The table holding their drinks would suddenly split in half as Mako, holding her glass already, would put the drink to her lips and take a drink before answering the man, "Please refrain from talking ill of my husband in my presence."
"Also noted." He would smirk once more.
"You are boring me."
"Well then allow me to change that. My name is Zennyo Ryūō and I am here to speak to you on behalf of the Golden Sanctuary Merchant Guild."
"You mean the cover name for the San F--?" She would pause with a sly grin upon her face.
The smirk would fade from the man as his eyes would narrow in on the female. The atmosphere in the room, even after all the theatrics from earlier, would finally turn to a tension that could almost be seen.
"Either your husband... or it is true what the say about you. You are a dangerous one."
She would smirk at the compliment, or at least what she perceived as a compliment, "It is always the latter, boy. Now go on, what do you flesh peddlers want?"
"Oh now, don't act like you weren't in on the game. Your husband sure was... but, neither here nor there. We have unified the Expanse business enterprise, decades ago, but due to the promise that the Daimyo brought, we felt no real sense of urgency. In this past year, chaos has started to bubble up. Uncertainty has started to creep even into the Underworld. So my associates and I--"
"Your faction within the little Fangy Wangy, is what you mean."
"--my associates and I decided it was time to stop playing passive games. We assumed command of an organization that still had mental scars from the past and revitalized it. We are now wishing to enter the main stage as a player."
"Say it."
"We would like the title Merchant Lord, I serving as the Lord."
"And this would be the... Golden Sanctuary Merchant Guild... that you would be assuming Lordship with?"
"That is correct. Not everyone knows our deeper affiliations, and it is honestly not important. Do the current Merchant Lords, yourself included, carry any saintlier of a background? Sure, there are a couple, but for the most part... it seems like we would be a perfect fit."
"What do I get out of this?"
"Access to the treasures we, simple inlanders, can only provide."
She would roll her eyes at the implication she would be tempted to support such an unprecedented thing for merely human trafficking.
He would smirk, "How about this... the days of Daiymo Ishii Shiro are done, but the future of a new Daimyo, a strong-willed person who has the support of not only the Merchant Lords but the support of the greater Expanse region... well, maybe She would bring balance during these troubling times?"
She would smile, a full smile, before taking another sip of her drink.
"Tell me more..."
_____By the start of the next day, when the sun was breaking across the horizon, and the rest of Wind Country attempted to make sense of all the things that were happening, the news of a "New Merchant Lord" being voted on by and with the support of Ishii Mako, would quickly travel across the land. Machinations were continuing to twist and turn as Wind Country continue to progress deeper into this new second coming of the Chaos Era.
[End]