Post by Yun Liànshi on Jan 6, 2014 12:45:31 GMT -5
“There is nothing greater than the Earth!”
“The Tsuchikage will lead you to Greatness, Honor, and Glory!”
“We are Strong!”
All throughout Iwagakure, banners etched of the Tsuchikage's likeness draped from nearly every structure, swaying in the winds in tune with the nationalistic themes that routinely hummed over intercoms laden about the village scape. Impossible to escape the onslaught of rousing national speeches and anthems, seemingly every suitable emptiness, whether it was a courtyard or training grounds, were littered with practicing warriors. Fluid, robotic, routine, the lined up mass of townsfolk demonstrated kata before stone faced overseers, each of them shouting another thundering chant that seemed to shake the earth itself.
Lan escorted the Shoko and her guest through the bustling streets, streets that while packed, were brutally orderly. The populace moved like a well oiled machine, straight, efficient, and swiftly, echoing the same disciplines of the warriors that were numbered upon every corner, all venues of the hidden village, until it became gravely aware that the absence of guard posts throughout Tsuchi no Kuni was not negligence.
It was an invitation.
Guardsmen, elite, commoner alike who laid eyes upon Lan offered a nod or a salute, ensuring that they recognized the authority as well as the guest in tow. The gatekeeper smiled gently, appearing far less hardened and resolute than her masked ANBU neighbors also in proximity, nearly pausing to exchange more than a few passing words of politeness. Even as they ventured from the less populated regions of the village, the atmosphere of an orderly regime remained ever evident, emphasized by the stone faced footmen who, like the mountains that encased the village, appeared stolid and unmoving.
Eventually, the approached not the building of the Tsuchikage but gardens. A mixture of earthen tranquility with the curious ruggedness of the lands that embraced them, the expanse was open to all with merely the tranditional buildings set in the horizon, and the quiet pattering of fish vying for food in the contained lakes beneath wooden walkways.
“Good afternoon...”
Lan, including the ANBU ensemble, immediately dipped their heads.
Though the woman's voice was soft, there was an undeniable pressence of authority laden within silken whispers. A woman, drapped in more furs and silks than her slender frame should have been allotted to carry, rested forlorn in a simple chair. To her side, another teenager, baring a resemblance far too uncanny to dismiss easily held an unraveled scroll to her, though both the little one and the elder had already shifted their attention from whatever parchement to their newly invited guests.
“You've traveled far I suspect,” she greeted, making a gesture to Xiao Lan, to which the gatekeeper hurriedly left the Shoko and her companions side to retreat into the building. “I have drinks and other comforts at your disposal...anything to extend our hospitality to anyone who've made such an effort to our noble kingdom...”
Standing up, though likely so she could appear to be looking down upon them and less so for sincerity's sake, the lady's fur's shifted about. “I am Yun Liànshi...first Lady of Tsuchi no Kuni...”
“The Tsuchikage will lead you to Greatness, Honor, and Glory!”
“We are Strong!”
All throughout Iwagakure, banners etched of the Tsuchikage's likeness draped from nearly every structure, swaying in the winds in tune with the nationalistic themes that routinely hummed over intercoms laden about the village scape. Impossible to escape the onslaught of rousing national speeches and anthems, seemingly every suitable emptiness, whether it was a courtyard or training grounds, were littered with practicing warriors. Fluid, robotic, routine, the lined up mass of townsfolk demonstrated kata before stone faced overseers, each of them shouting another thundering chant that seemed to shake the earth itself.
Lan escorted the Shoko and her guest through the bustling streets, streets that while packed, were brutally orderly. The populace moved like a well oiled machine, straight, efficient, and swiftly, echoing the same disciplines of the warriors that were numbered upon every corner, all venues of the hidden village, until it became gravely aware that the absence of guard posts throughout Tsuchi no Kuni was not negligence.
It was an invitation.
Guardsmen, elite, commoner alike who laid eyes upon Lan offered a nod or a salute, ensuring that they recognized the authority as well as the guest in tow. The gatekeeper smiled gently, appearing far less hardened and resolute than her masked ANBU neighbors also in proximity, nearly pausing to exchange more than a few passing words of politeness. Even as they ventured from the less populated regions of the village, the atmosphere of an orderly regime remained ever evident, emphasized by the stone faced footmen who, like the mountains that encased the village, appeared stolid and unmoving.
Eventually, the approached not the building of the Tsuchikage but gardens. A mixture of earthen tranquility with the curious ruggedness of the lands that embraced them, the expanse was open to all with merely the tranditional buildings set in the horizon, and the quiet pattering of fish vying for food in the contained lakes beneath wooden walkways.
“Good afternoon...”
Lan, including the ANBU ensemble, immediately dipped their heads.
Though the woman's voice was soft, there was an undeniable pressence of authority laden within silken whispers. A woman, drapped in more furs and silks than her slender frame should have been allotted to carry, rested forlorn in a simple chair. To her side, another teenager, baring a resemblance far too uncanny to dismiss easily held an unraveled scroll to her, though both the little one and the elder had already shifted their attention from whatever parchement to their newly invited guests.
“You've traveled far I suspect,” she greeted, making a gesture to Xiao Lan, to which the gatekeeper hurriedly left the Shoko and her companions side to retreat into the building. “I have drinks and other comforts at your disposal...anything to extend our hospitality to anyone who've made such an effort to our noble kingdom...”
Standing up, though likely so she could appear to be looking down upon them and less so for sincerity's sake, the lady's fur's shifted about. “I am Yun Liànshi...first Lady of Tsuchi no Kuni...”
Recovered from the deleted thread. And the reply here from the missing posts.
Where Liànshi expertly guarded her thoughts behind a noble disposition, her daughter's facade cracked-the shards of demure and decorum left Xiuying with a quivering frown of disapproval. Her cup of tea touched the table abruptly, rattling against the china whilst the stare she shot across to both visitors from Kusa was nothing short of feral. Strangely enough, perhaps even the rest of the elements gave pause to the suddeness of Shoko Yumi's request, the perpetual dance of mountain air finally stilled, stunned by what the younger Yun felt bordered on sheer audacity. Liànshi, however maintained her smile and charming demeanor, though raised a brow in feigned surprise, perhaps to appear intrigued by the whole affair. Quite, her insight on Kusa no Kuni's affairs was limited to what slivers intelligence offered and the Shoko stood out widely amongst the details penned on scrolls and missives. Silently, she thought back to her own carrier as a Shinobi, musing if during her active days, she pit herself against them. Before losing herself to the nostalgia of yesterdays glories, the Lady of Tsuchi no Kuni closed her eyes, taking a long sip of her tea which became seemingly the loudest and longest thing in all of Hidden Rock. “Xiuying.” She finally said, her gaze half lidded though piercing behind long lashes, her tone cool and even. Yet it warred on impossible to deny the sternness laden amongst silken words. The youngest of Liànshi's daughters straighten up. Hands went to find some solace in her lap and under the table, all while keeping her head slightly lowered in reverence of the Tiger that had shifted predatory sights upon her. Sights that, when moved to Shoko Yumi, became difficult to discern between inviting and nefarious.. “What you ask for, weapons, supplies, is as bountiful as the pebbles that make up these mountains, Shoko Yumi.” Her words took on a timbre often fitted for subjects than guests of foreign nation. “ They''re but the smallest of coin in coffers suited for kings. But if that was all you were bargaining for, then you could settle for any run in the mill dealer of arms, any warlord with the assets you wished to purchase.” “You're not.” “Is the current leader of the Grass so unbearable that she must be over thrown? Imagine what favors I could bargain from her, simply by offering the heads of two rogues and their insufferable clan to by her feet?” As if her words were the trigger, the ANBU guards, once being as animated as lawn furniture, unanimously placed their hands on partially drawn swords. Through stoic masks, their hostility was only in check by the lingering word of their lady. “Are you certain, with any aid by this nation, eschewing the gravity of the situation even by participating by proxy...that you will win?” A Tiger often tests her litter by tossing them over a mountain. And though Yumi and Ijin were not her kin, this was her peak, and they would be evaluated nevertheless. |
