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Post by Sapphire on Dec 8, 2011 17:07:58 GMT -5
The glasslands how she hated them with a passion...
It was too rainy, too hot, and their people weren't exactly the most cheerful she has seen. They shot back menacing glares at her like if she were the black plague, but of course she didn't blame their hostility towards her or her kin, after all with this freaking civil war going on, it wasn't in anyone's minds to say hello and kiss their feet. The war was sure quite annoying and it has been going on for some long years now. The motive was a very simple one: The food. It was obviously something vital for everyone be it you were a dragon, spellcaster, warrior or a mindless beast, but of course not all wanted to share, and THIS is were the problem came.
Sapphire released an annoyed growl as she continued her journey, her large white wings flapping gracefully in the air. She being the ruler of a city were nothing but dragons lived it was up to her to resolve any matter that was troubling her people, that be it food, shelter or protection; it was a very tough job, and she really couldn't understand how her once husband could handle all of this without snapping out and losing his simple little mind.
"The things one need to do for their people..."
She whispered finally reaching her destination, she signaled the two dragons she bought a long with her, and all three took a deep dive into the now dense vegetation, quickly spreading their wings and extending their legs for a smooth landing. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon released a soft growl before it's large body was covered in a bright light until nothing was seen of the creature but the figure of a woman with blue-hair and eyes.
Sapphire took a step forward and eyed the rather large and majestic temple before her. She already contacted with the Shogun a few days ago, and finally after many tries they agree to meet right in his territory.
"Psh...of course. I am but a lone dragon. If I actually threaten him his dozen of soldiers will be on me in a second..." she chuckled.
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Post by YolkaEd on Dec 9, 2011 15:50:52 GMT -5
"...my liege. Your guest has arrived."
The Shogun shot a glance towards his aide, who bowed before him with a respectful nod. She, along with five others, had been the Shogun's most trusted comrades in the era before he rose to the rank of Shogun. However, since the death of one of them, she had reserved herself as a mere spy for his forces; something he didn't see as befitting of one of his comrades.
Still, she gave him quite valuable information.
"...thank you, Mizuho. You may send her in."
With a nod, the woman, Mizuho, vanished into the shadows; leaving the Shogun on his own. He had anticipated his guest to arrive around this time, as he had brought forth his finest sake. He only took this in use for when he would negotiate with others who came to either seek his alliance, or to end a conflict.
What fools. He never ended a conflict peacefully, even if he brought out the sake.
With a wry smirk, he glanced to the side, where he saw his prized armor. That armor had allowed him to win many a battle, even if time had wrought its accursed fate upon it; the crimson armor was weathered with age, and was, in his own opinion, a mere shadow of what it once was.
Still, it served him well in battle.
---------------------------
The massive doors leading into the temple slowly opened, and Sapphire would spot a woman wearing a white robe and a purple-and-yellow kimono exit the temple. "...the Great Shogun Shien is expecting you. Enter." she said firmly, yet also in a disinterested tone.
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Post by Sapphire on Dec 9, 2011 16:24:31 GMT -5
The dragoness just glanced down at the petite woman who greeted her oh so happily, her dark blue eyes getting fixed in her attire which she thought was rather lovely since she was at the same time also wearing a white robe but it was adorned with golden talismans and jewelry that represented the country where she came from. She raised a thin eyebrow at the tone that woman spoke to her but decided not to say a word, it won’t be of help if she started to insult this side of the country most powerful leader.
“Why yes…thank you”
Sapphire said with a dry tone before walking past Mizuho to enter the temple, signaling her two guards to follow behind her, she rolled her eyes a bit not knowing why exactly she bought two guards along, she could protect herself fairly well, and she thought that they would just get in her way of doing her things. She raised her head lightly as she continued to walk the long hallway that lead to the room Shien was located and chuckled lightly, amused at the decorations the temple had.
“He must had gone through A LOT to have all these things…” she thought.
Sapphire stopped right in front of an enormous door to wait for the one who greeted her at the entrance, the dragon woman might not be the nicest but she still had her manners.
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Post by YolkaEd on Dec 9, 2011 16:43:42 GMT -5
Mizuho eventually caught up to the dragon woman, before she pushed the doors open, leading into a great hall.
Directly inside of the room, several figures noticed the guests. Along with the Shogun himself, a great number of footsoldiers, along with some samurai and advisors, gazed towards where the dragon woman entered.
"...hey, now; who's the beaut?" one of the samurai chuckled, as he rubbed his chin whilst eying the dragon woman. The peculiar thing about him was that his entire armor was adorned with sticks of dynamite. "I didn't know we let dragonkind inside our walls."
"Show some respect, Kamon." a different samurai scolded the dynamite-fit samurai; this one wore green armor, and seemed fairly buff. "She's the Shogun's visitor. Keep your remarks to yourself."
"...hm." a third samurai hummed impassively; this one wore dark armor and robes, and wore a visor that shielded his eyes.
"Nothing much else to comment on, eh, Irou?" a fourth samurai chuckled; he seemed paler than the others, and wore armor with an orange outline, along with a two-pronged helmet. "And Nisashi, you don't need to be such a sourpuss. Let the boss speak for himself."
Two more samurai were present; though they at least had the courtesy to not speak up. One of them wore dark-blue armor with a pointed helmet, and the other wore dark armor with a yellow outline.
"Enough, my Six Samurai." the Shogun spoke up quite loudly; his voice bore a commanding presence to it, though no hostile intent was hinted at in his voice. As soon as he had opened his mouth, the other samurai instantly fell silent, and bowed their heads in respect.
Smiling, Shien waved his hand at the other end of the table he sat by. "Come, blue-eyed dragon; sit." he spoke.
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Post by Sapphire on Dec 9, 2011 17:03:04 GMT -5
One of Sapphire guards glanced at Kamon with a frown when he spoke of his leader, he wore a black armor with orange outlines, and it was also covered in large sharp spikes, he growled lightly but was soon silenced when the dragon woman raised her hand lightly.
“There is no need for that Garra…” she whispered to the middle-aged Armed Dragon who just huffed and crossed his arms.
Her other bodyguard was younger than the Armed Dragon and just glanced at all the soldiers and samurais present at the large table. He looked a bit worried but it was blamed for his inexperience, they only picked him to be a guard because he was a Red-Eyes Black Dragon who their species were known for their ferocity and violence in battles but this…this might be too much for him. Who guaranteed that these warriors weren’t going to betray them right now? His leader was a very powerful woman but…
Sapphire also glanced at the young black dragon before shaking her head and looking at Shien who was at the other end of the table, she just chuckled as he ordered her to sit down, and took the nearest empty seat which was of course opposite to the shogun.
“Ah the great Shien…" she purred and crossed her legs "So many stories I had heard of you and your samurais”
She said staring at the Shogun before her blue eyes moved to stare at every member that was with them at this moment, her lips twisting into a smirk, her fangs poking out of her lips, obviously giving them the impression that she was no ordinary woman.
"Now please do tell why the hurry for this meeting?"
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Post by YolkaEd on Dec 9, 2011 17:18:01 GMT -5
Shien chuckled, before he snapped his fingers.
At that point, one of the footsoldiers, who was a monkey wearing armor, stepped forward with two sake cups; one for his liege, and one for the guest. When Shien waved him off, the monkey made a graceful bow, before running back to his position.
"...you dragons are a curious lot." Shien began, before he took the flask of sake, and poured into both of the cups. "You possess enough power to raze several cities at once, and yet you have a gentle disposition to yourselves... it is an admirable feat."
"...someone's being courteous." the paler samurai mused with a chuckle.
"Zanji." the dark-clad samurai, Irou, instantly said, as he glanced at the pale samurai. "Be at peace; our lord is speaking."
"He is right. Do be quiet." the samurai with dark-blue armor nodded.
"Sheesh, are both you and Yaichi gonna get on my case, Yariza?" the pale samurai, Zanji, sighed, before he folded his arms. "Fine, fine..."
Shien simply chuckled at the antics of his underlings. "...you ask why I hurried to get this meeting arranged?" he mused, before he took his own cup of sake, and raised it to his lips. "To put it in simple terms... I intend to end things sooner, rather than later." And he drank the contents of the cup.
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Post by Sapphire on Dec 9, 2011 17:32:34 GMT -5
“Now why must my kind lower themselves and act like horrible brutes?” said the dragon woman glancing at the cup of sake that was brought to her before taking it gracefully with a hand, the classes she took of mannerisms when she was a child coming in handy “We might have the soft spot…but we are formidable in battle don’t you agree?” she chuckled lightly before taking a small sip of her drink.
“My lady you should had let me take a sip, what if it’s poisoned?” said the Armed Dragon a little bit alarmed that she took a sip of that sake without even first making sure that it was safe.
Sapphire shook her head lightly and flipped at her blue hair “It is not necessary. I would had noticed if something was wrong with it right away besides why would they lower themselves to that?” she said in a taunting voice before leaning on the chair and listening to what Shien said about ending with the battle.
“End things sooner you say?” the dragon woman looked at him in surprise, before placing her elbows on the table and placing her hands together, her eyes narrowing lightly “You do realize that you are asking for an impossible feat…” she closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again “But please tell me how exactly do you plan in solving the matter hm?”
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Post by YolkaEd on Dec 9, 2011 17:56:01 GMT -5
Shien chuckled, as he placed the cup back down on the table. "...obviously, you're not accustomed to how the forces of Shien operate." he mused. "We do not simply stand our ground indefinitely... we conquer." Then, with a smile, he looked back at his armor. "That is how it's been ever since I came to power in this region."
"...getting nostalgic, my liege?" a chamberlain spoke from where he was seated; glancing at the Shogun with a bemused look.
"Not at all, Kageki." Shien chuckled. "I'm simply bringing up a point."
"I see." the chamberlain nodded, before he returned to what he was doing to begin with; polishing a sword.
"...good man." Shien chuckled. "I can count on him for a lot of things." Then, he looked at Sapphire. "As a leader, I assume that you understand what I'm talking about." Then, he rubbed his temples. "But I digress; we should get to the point."
After saying that, he pressed his hands together. "...normally, I would solve this form of situation like any other situation; dominate the opposing forces and integrate them under my rule. However, I understand that this time, it won't be that simple; supplies would still be at a low among all of us."
"...so he came up with an alternative." Zanji chuckled.
"...this alternative," Shien began, as he ignored Zanji's remark, "is simply to claim supplies from a different region; one that is not embroiled in this civil war. For that... I propose an alliance; even a temporary one."
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Post by Sapphire on Dec 9, 2011 18:10:40 GMT -5
“As expected from brutes such as these warriors…” growled the Armed Dragon not very much liking the ways these people do their things, why take things by brute force when you could negotiate like civilized people?
“Hush! Don’t say that so loudly! We will get in trouble!” said the young Red-Eyes in a rather loud whisper.
Sapphire just rolled her eyes as her comrades just kept arguing quietly about how things need to be done in a nation. She never replied to Shien when he spoke about his good man, she bet her very soul that he indeed had good people, her husband did as well…he trusted his men with his life but she guessed that even that couldn’t save him from sudden death at the hands of the Dark Lord…
“An alliance you say…” the dragoness leaned on her chair and rubbed her chin a bit as if she were thinking. An alliance, even if it were a temporary one, with someone as powerful and influential as Shien might actually do good for her nation, and of course it will do excellent for him. His empire and army were indeed powerful but they didn’t had the immense destructive force a dragon army possessed.
“It will be risky for your men to cross paths with my people. We might be peaceful like you said but looks can be deceiving” she said with a serious look “Not all dragonkin are as understanding as me but…” she smirked “We could come to an agreement, it would never hurt”
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Post by YolkaEd on Dec 9, 2011 18:28:52 GMT -5
"Excellent." Shien chuckled. "I'm glad to see that you're open for suggestions." Then, he clapped his hands together. "Mizuho, would you fetch Enishi and Kizan?"
The aide gave her lord a bow, before she went out of the room.
"...he's bringing in the Grandmaster?" the samurai sitting by Yariza, Yaichi, commented. "I suppose they'll negotiate the terms, then..."
"...well, of course." the chamberlain, Kageki, chuckled. "Would you expect Shien to make a decision without input from his right-hand man and the Grandmaster of the Six Samurai?"
"Oh, come off it." Shien chuckled. "You make it sound like I do not know how to rule my own land."
"Oh, there have been some times in the past where that was the case, but I won't go in detail." Kageki said with a slight smirk.
Yariza simply looked between Shien and the chamberlain, tilting his head a bit. ...if only we knew how they came to know each other... he thought.
Eventually, the aide returned, followed by two people. They were both shown to be aging, though one more so than the other. He wore an eyepatch over his right eye, and both his hair, beard and moustache were a stunning silver. The other man, who wore simpler clothing as opposed to the gauntlets the silver-haired man wore, had generally black hair and facial hair, though one could clearly see that it was begining to gray in the back.
"Aah, there you are." Shien chuckled. "Allow me to introduce to you the Grandmaster of the Six Samurai, Kizan, and my personall chancellor, Enishi." Upon saying that, the two men made a brief bow, before they approached the table, and took their own seats. "Now, then... shall we begin a negotiation of terms for the alliance?"
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Post by Sapphire on Dec 9, 2011 18:48:55 GMT -5
“Hmm…” Sapphire watched as the Grandmaster and Enishi entered the room. She even stood up and returned their polite bow, the same did her men. The dragon woman was known to be cunning and very ferocious with others, going to the extend as to threaten their lives, but…this weren’t dragons she was dealing with. Dragonkin were not bound to follow orders from others (especially a woman) and they were incredibly brute people. Not those…these gentlemen were warrior people, true legendary beings who had seen it all; of course that was what her husband had told her…
“It’s a pleasure to meet them. I am Sapphire”
Taking a seat and fixing her clothing that got a bit wrinkled, the dragoness took her cup of sake for another sip while she thought of the negotiations. She was thinking the positive things about this and of course all the negatives. An alliance with the six samurai would be excellent; they would come in handy if she ever needed some sort of support when a time for battle comes to threaten her (or their) kingdom.
Now the negatives…
What if they get greedy and want to take over her nation? While that would be close to impossible there is always the slight threat of them after all these people were feared by many for some reason.
Shaking her head, the dragoness smiled lightly “Well like I mentioned earlier…if you want provisions from my land there is always the threat of dragons and winged creatures attacking your men” she tilted her head slightly to the side “I propose that the one who will visit my lands carry a token that identifies them as an ally”
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Post by YolkaEd on Dec 9, 2011 19:04:42 GMT -5
"An envoy, I see..." Shien chuckled, as he rubbed his chin. "...well, that would be the most ideal option. Though I would expect that an envoy visiting our lands would have to carry a similar token."
"...though choosing the envoys for the different kingdoms would be a tougher nut to crack." the Grandmaster mused, as he rested his hand on his knuckles. "Me, Enishi and our lord Shien are out of the question; as we're needed here to keep the land in order. Mizuho and Kageki would be more ideal choices..."
"...but at the same time, not really." Enishi hummed, as he folded his arms. "Mizuho is the spy of our land; she is vital for us to perceive what other countries are plotting." Then, he glanced at the chamberlain. "And Kageki has other duties to fulfill."
"...it is a shame that Shinai no longer is around." the chamberlain mused. "He would've been perfectly able to handle this form of mission."
"...I have my doubts regarding that." Mizuho spoke up. "Shinai was the sort of man who preferred to directly deal with his opponents. He would not be pleased with the job of an envoy."
"...that leaves us with the Six Samurai." Shien mused with a slight chuckle. "But who among them would be more suited?"
"Well..." the Grandmaster began, as he cleared his throat. "...Irou is a likely candidate; though his cold demeanor would likely put the dragons at unease. Zanji is far too wild for that sort of thing, and his strength is better served for the field of battle. Nisashi, too, is a necessity at the front lines. Yaichi is more suited for missions requiring more than one person at a time, and the same goes for Yariza. And Kamon... is absolutely out of the question."
"Y'know, we can still hear ya, Grandmaster." Kamon said with a dry tone in his voice.
"You're just mad because he didn't compliment you." Zanji said with a grin.
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Post by Sapphire on Dec 9, 2011 19:19:17 GMT -5
Sapphire and her men watched in amusement as Kizan just practically was discarding each and every single one of his Six Samurai force. Garra, the Armed Dragon, just chuckled lightly, even giving out a toothy grin, true if any of them had bad behavior the dragons will just think of them as a threat and get killed without even a second change. He wondered what his leader will do in this situation if neither of the samurai could travel along to get their vital supplies for their people…he gave her a look.
“Your people are amusing…” the dragon woman smirked before placing the back of her hand on her cheek “I could provide an envoy as well but there is a slight problem…”
She leaned on her chair and crossed her legs, while still keeping her hand on her cheek “Not all dragonkin are too fond of these lands, so what would stop them from killing your men and destroying your empire?” she chuckled darkly "But of course I DO NOT allow that behavior, and anything related to threaten my allies will get killed by me…being my kind or not”
Her words caused her companions to shudder in fear, such powerful words from this tiny little woman; it was true that no one in their kingdom dare to oppose her. While she was fair and kind, deep down was the heart of a fearsome ruler, and anyone who dared place a claw or a hand on her companions will get brutally murdered by hers truly.
“Well it is you decision my dear friends…I already stated the outcomes” she purred.
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Post by YolkaEd on Dec 9, 2011 19:34:00 GMT -5
"...you know, you're an interesting woman." Shien noted with a chuckle. "I'll note that you do not take kindly to threats of any kind... I like that kind of attitude in a leader. And I appreciate the concern for our forces, but rest assured; my empire will not be destroyed that easily, even by a force as powerful as yours."
"Do take note that he isn't making any sort of threat." Enishi shot in. "He's just confident in the strength of his troops."
"Not to mention, he's got the Six Samurai serving him!" Zanji called out with a boisterous laugh. "We're the toughest warriors in all of the grasslands; because unlike the other muscleheads, we know how to work together!"
"...I swear, you and your loud mouth are going to get us in trouble, Zanji..." Nisashi murmured with a grunt.
"...well, you cannot fault him for being enthusiastic about it." Yaichi said with a slight smile.
At least the other samurai seemed to mutually agree upon that fact. Aside from the obvious leader, the Grandmaster, the Six Samurai didn't seem like the kind of warriors who let one of them order the others around. They seemed more like brothers than simply companions.
"...well, we can decide on the envoys at a later date." Shien mused with a chuckle. "For now, we should figure out how our forces could begin cooperating to bring more food and such supplies to both our kingdoms."
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Post by Sapphire on Dec 9, 2011 19:53:31 GMT -5
“Ah. You are also quite an interesting man, having your comrades trust you a hundred percent, and of course having quite the powerful empire…are features that truly make a powerful leader, I like that” said the dragon woman, nodding lightly.
“Hm…I smell a flirt” whispered the Armed Dragon.
“Ah! Hush you!” stammered the black dragon, it seemed even
she had quite the trouble with her comrades having loud mouths.
Sapphire smirked slightly, a single white fang poking out of her lips “I can see that you are all enthusiastic. I rather am as well…we should make this alliance last hopefully”
She crossed her arms slightly and hummed, the envoys could indeed wait so now it was the time to decide on how to exactly cooperate with them in terms of bringing supplies “As you have noticed our method of traveling is very convenient, and fast. I have no problem in entrusting my best men to you temporarily while we gather the envoys…”
Both her guards blinked…was she talking about them?
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