Okay, I'm back. I wanted to address some issues going on in this thread, and hopefully let you see what our thinking on this was. I don't really plan to make a habit of drawing back the curtain and letting you see the inner workings, but this is such a major fiction series that I feel it's warranted.
I want to start with something very important to me, and that is the personality of Akodo Shigetoshi. I love this guy! I'm so happy that he finally got a chance to shine, as I've been looking for somewhere for him to get his game on for quite a while. There have been comments here and on the Lion board that he acted like a Matsu, and that is partially correct. So what happened there? In the beginning, you see Shigetoshi as he truly is: the Terminator. He's an ice cold killing machine that feels neither remorse or pity. Everything was going exactly as planned, and then... he was betrayed. Many of his brothers were killed because someone stabbed them in the back when all they were trying to do was defend the Imperial City and the honor of the Toturi line. The first time I tried to write it, what came out just didn't feel right, and I couldn't figure out why. Then I realized what was wrong: Shigetoshi was enraged at this betrayal. I could feel it, even though I never planned on it with that character. In the end, I had to do what felt right, even if it makes him deviate a little from the Akodo ideal.
(On a tangental note to this, regarding the esteemed Ikoma gentleman's assertion that the Lion are not allowed to win... you are mistaken. The Lion won. They defeated the Unicorn, without question. They were prevented from killing them all by the Phoenix, but the outcome of the Battle of Toshi Ranbo was not in question. I'm not sure what criteria you require in order to consider an engagement a victory. Perhaps Shigetoshi should have stabbed Chagatai so hard that his grandfather came back to life and then died again! But that's just silly!)
I know there are some among you who lament that your clans did not play a greater role in this arc, and I do regret that. The Dragon's role changed so dramatically that it just made more sense to remove them altogether rather than engage in a massive retrofitting. Also the fiction was already over nine thousand words, and I just couldn't put anything else in there. In the end, I hope that you are comforted by the notion that the honor of the Dragon Clan cannot be purchased with rice. Someone also mentioned the apparent dichotomy between Satsu in this piece and the letter he sent out a while back. Curious, isn't it? I wonder what that could mean.
To you Unicorn fans out there, I'm sorry if you feel like your clan comes out of this smelling like fertilizer. That is an unfortunate by product of the overwhelming condemnation the Khan recieved during the Kotei season. I regret that. If it makes you feel any better, I think the story that could have been told with the Khan on the throne, desperately trying to forge alliances and keep the other clans from sacking his city, would have been fantastic to write. For now, though, there are other tales to be told, and rest assured that the Unicorn are not out of the picture.
Regarding Bayushi Kaukatsu... man, I can not get a break from the Scorpion fans out there! I felt that this was one of the only ways that he could have been taken out of the equation. The man was simply too great an adversary for any mortal to eliminate him. He could only be killed by something that he had no chance to anticipate. Let's face it, he's the Batman of Rokugan, and I for one will pour out a forty in his memory. For those vocal few among you who feel that I do not have a handle on the Scorpion, I want you to know that I wrote the Scorpion rulebook fiction for Samurai Edition this week, and I believe that you will see what we are doing with them for this arc is very much going to be to your liking.
Some folks say we killed too many people, and others that we didn't kill enough. So I guess we got it just right.
I mourn the loss of Sezaru and Kaneka. They've been like good friends for the past six years, and I will miss writing them. Their time was done, however, and I think they both went out in the way that was most suitable for how their characters had developed over recent months.
The Khan, his secret ally, and his master plan. Of course you know by now that the Dragon were originally going to be his secret ally, but that was changed via the dedicated work of Dragon fans out there. Never let it be said that we don't listen! Certain other quarters, however, found the Khan's ambition interesting, and chose to assist in the fomenting of chaos that was taking place in the city. Witness, the gaki. A gruesome spectacle, and one that would have both made the Khan's takeover of the palace easier, and his occupation of the Imperial City more difficut. Oh, what a fickle mistress those hungry undead be. And of course it goes without saying that the Khan was neither aware of their assistance, nor would have have accepted it had he been. So don't even go there!
What was the Khan's master plan? It's really not as complex as it might seem. He attacked during the winter, using a combination of powerful travel magic and weather manipulation to keep one step ahead of the Lion while sacking their supplies throughout their provinces. He continued this the entire winter, waiting until just the right moment as spring was breaking. He waited for the Matsu and Ikoma to converge on his location while remaining at the absolute maximum distance from the Imperial City that he could and still have the Baraunghar conduct their ritual. Then, he moved the Baraunghar and his private guard to Toshi Ranbo and ordered the Khol to retreat. The Lion, their supply lines in absolute ruin, had to either go hunting for the Khan (they didn't know where he'd gone), or try and chase the Khol out of their lands. Given their situation, the only reasonable choice was the latter, which of course left the Khan unimpeded at the Imperial City. If the Akodo had not been recalled, the Khan would have had weeks to seize and fortify the city. Fortunately for the city, Yoshino and Shigetoshi suspected treachery, and they were correct.
And of course there's the Phoenix. I am more excited about what we're going to be doing with them in the coming months than perhaps anything else about SE. Just wait. You haven't seen anything yet.
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