15[20:08] The day arrives! Everything is tidy and in its place. Mentors have been chosen, the word promulgated -- what is Tepet Zhangyu calling this dojo in an ancient tomb? [20:09] 4...He did think up a name, right? [20:10] 6Young Lionheart Dojo and Finisher School. [20:11] 6...if someone wants him to change the name they should tell him now, for the record. [20:12] 4Nope! Piu loves it. Lot of history in that name. [20:13] 10No, no. It's respectable without being stiff, and bold without self-congratulation. It's good! [20:16] 07It seems solid. 15[20:17] Calls for students went throughout the population, from Hinokuni fans to laborers to sailors to peasants to more than a few random teenagers who happened to see his pitches to those other groups... but there's time until they're supposed to arrive. First to enter is a woman with big, bare arms and bright clashing facepaint. She looks around, brow furrowed, before nodding in Zhangyu's 15[20:17] direction. "We burying the students who fail out?" [20:17] 4Hehe. "Finisher" school. Jokes. [20:19] 4Piu grins and waves at Jungle Empress, but says: "Their corpses wouldn't be worth enshrinement as honored dead! Not unless they're 5th dan or higher!" 15[20:19] Jungle Empress chuckles darkly. "Nice." 15[20:19] She gestures at Piu and Zhangyu's hearthmates. "These them?" [20:21] 4Piu: "Yes! Cynis Dryas and Tepet Daizo of the Four Fangs, it is my honor to introduce to you the Hammer of Wavecrest, the Human Earthquake -- Jungle Empress." 15[20:23] Jungle Empress's red-painted jaw splits into a grin. "I like this. This could work." [20:23] 10Daizo is suppressing the urge to cluck his tongue at Piu's casual disparagement of the (hypothetical) dead. "It is always a good day to meet a fellow practitioner." [20:24] 4Sometimes you gotta work sacreligious. It's what the crowd wants to hear! 15[20:24] Jungle Empress cocks her head, looking past Daizo's head at his folded wings. "Are those real?" [20:25] 6This is... an alarming number of potential trainees. Jungle Empress will help him cut down to a more manageable number. "These things happen." [20:26] 10Daizo: "Mm. Yes. I was there when it happened, you see, atop the mountain." 15[20:27] This gets the first look of genuine surprise any of them have seen on her face. "You kill him?" [20:27] 4Zhangyu! Remember not to fail them all -- we still need people to clean the dojo! [20:28] 6Killing ALL the failures would be... problematic. People don't like it when you murder so many people. [20:28] 10A mortified look. "By all the— no! I got into a tussle with Hamoji's Chosen in the chaos, and he granted me a blessing, haha." [20:29] "If I hadn't stepped in I think he might have ripped Dryas' head clean off." [20:30] "Drryas didn't kill him either." 15[20:31] Jungle Empress: "It's a good look." Behind them a figure fills the entranceway, a head taller than Daizo and half-again as broad. He wears a black suit and red mask so taut and open they seem at constant risk of tearing themselves to shreds in the strain. [20:33] 6Zhangyu knows him, right? [20:33] 4Good thing we had the ceiling raised and reinforced! [20:33] 10Daizo smiles, but it's a bit of a sad smile. "That's what everyone keeps telling me. Oh, Cousin, who's this?" 15[20:34] Yep, that's him. He looks a lot more bright-eyed and alert than Zhangyu remembers from his wakeup call. [20:35] 6Zhangyu: "Lord Meteor. Glad you could join us." 15[20:36] Jungle Empress: "Holy shit you got fat." 15[20:36] Lord Meteor: "The signs of a virtuous life." 15[20:36] He bows deeply at the assembled. [20:36] 6Rude. Not wrong, just. Rude. [20:37] 6...how well do they know one another? Has Zhangyu made a mistake? [20:37] 4A Jungle Empress / Lord Meteor team-up is one of those things idiot kids wrote into the trade sheafs fantasizing about and got scoff-yelled at by the editors for not 'getting the sport.' Fuck to you, smart guys! [20:38] 07Dryas makes a perfunctory greeting to Jungle Empress. 15[20:40] Jungle Empress: "So I get it now. You wanted one washout and one real contender so the students know what right and wrong look like." 15[20:40] Lord Meteor: "It's strange, but I have missed this. It was never the same without you." 15[20:40] Jungle Empress: "I know." [20:40] 10Daizo: "The Lord Meteor? Cousin, what have you got on these people that they're working for you?" [20:41] 6Zhangyu: "I told them how I learned, and that I wanted better." 15[20:41] Jungle Empress: "He's good. Maybe they'll learn something." [20:42] "And also the Jungle Empress. For the record, cousin." [20:44] 10Daizo offers Jungle Empress a bow. "My apologies, madam." 15[20:44] Jungle Empress looks at Zhangyu. "You sure you two are related?" [20:44] 4She doesn't respect that shit! [20:45] 6Zhangyu: "Generally." [20:45] 10Lord Meteor wasn't a superstar or anything among the martial students at the Cloister, but it was still a name to conjure with. One of the so-called Bests in the West. But, come to think of it, so was Jungle Empress. 15[20:48] Lord Meteor: "So what's the plan? Where do you want us?" 15[20:48] "It's your show, sifu. We're just the guest stars." 15[20:48] Lord Meteor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvAk-O-kzBo - This is your mission: pretend it's television, where the good guys always win. [20:50] 6Zhangyu: "We start by demonstrating where they are. They'll figure out where they can be later." 15[20:52] As if on cue, people begin to filter in. This first group skews young - Seiri and Sadako are among them. Most of the youths, and Seiri, are wearing beat-up, comfortable clothes, while Sadako seems to have bought (or been bought) a simple but very finely made training robe. [20:52] 4Ah, Piu spies the hand of Caxi in this... [20:54] 10Daizo waves a hello to the girls, but Seiri's got the day off—he's not going to burden her with anything but focusing on the entrance ceremony. 15[20:55] Seiri, for her part, is very studiously not waving or smiling at the hearth. Sadako also isn't, but she never does anyway. [20:56] 4Embarrassing Uncle Prana from Daizo here...very high level. [20:56] 10If any of these kids can take half as much punishment as it sounds like Zhangyu and Piu handed out to their charges, they'll be a fine crop of students. [20:59] 10Oh come on, it's just a wave, it's not like Daizo's standing on tiptoes and going yoo-hoo. [21:00] 07Dryas, meanwhile, has taken down their names, writing with a short brush on a roll she unfurls bit by bit in an antechamber. Good idea to know your student body. 15[21:00] Seiri, like most of the others, is instantly cowed in the fearsome presences of Jungle Empress and Lord Meteor. The two of them aren't easing the mood; Lord Meteor scowls down from on high with huge, folded arms, while Jungle Empress very deliberately cracks her knuckles. [21:01] 6Yeah, so, graduation involves beating one of them. [21:01] 6You Gotta. 15[21:02] Sadako is the only one who seems unmoved by fear, and she's the one who says, "Move. Move!" as more people try to follow in and the stunned youths are still blocking the doorway. [21:03] 4Yeah, that scans. [21:04] 6It's normal to know what breaking a wrist feels like, right? 15[21:04] People that would've been streaming in in twos and threes built up outside and enter all in one glut - sailors, trade apprentices, farmer's daughters and glassblowers' sons. They're older and less eager than the first group, and more excited to meet the other sifus. The room instantly breaks into chatter as people trade stories, ask for autographs, flirt with one another, etc. [21:06] 4Piu isn't an accredited sifu at the dojo, but she's clearly going to be handling some teaching duties so she'll mingle. It's probably best if someone in dojo leadership isn't constantly trying to break these kids' arms. [21:06] 10Blessed is the kid who makes it through their childhood without at least one broken bone, unless they were just a homebody. [21:07] 6Hey hold up don't - beating one of us is - we're so strong??? And... please... [21:09] 6Also frankly if someone beats Piu Zhangyu is double-graduating them. 15[21:09] It's Zhangyu's room, whether the people here realize it or not. How does he take control? [21:14] 10Even if it takes Jungle Empress and Lord Meteor a mere thirty seconds to make a prospective student cry and run out the door, never to return, it's still going to take a while to get through all of these prospects. So if things go long, sure, Daizo can pitch in too. [21:14] 6Zhangyu: "Congratulations." 6I mean, we have to start with that. "Don't do that again. But for now? Impressive." [21:17] "Let's run through forms again and ensure everything is fine. Because... Jegus, I'm a better teacher than I thought." 15[21:19] This is a lot more people than Zhangyu has ever managed at once. There's got to be fifty people in here. [21:20] 6Fuck. That's so many. 15[21:22] But with the help of his fellow teachers and hearthmates, it's just about working out... [21:24] 6You have to bend and snap -- and then do a variety of grapples... 15[21:26] Zhangyu's about an hour through his first demonstrations, going from student to student, when a voice cuts through the chatter. 15[21:26] "OI!" 15[21:26] "The fuck is this then?" [21:27] 6Ah, the oi polloi. [21:28] 6Grunting: "Take five." 6He stands. "Who are you?" [21:28] 4Piu casually reaches for the fist tape. 15[21:29] Son-of-Sabers looks as lean and furious as ever. Everyone's looking from him to Zhangyu. "What is this, the blind leading the blind?" [21:29] "Oh. You. Sorry, I wasn't looking." [21:29] 10Wow. Daizo had expected Zhangyu'd be one of those sifus that gives you the beating of your life to *start* with. Then again, some of these kids aren't even at the grade where— oh, what's this now. 15[21:30] Son-of-Sabers: "Oh, he might not have moves, but he's got jokes. Tepet's war pig ventures out from civilization to teach people how to go 1-1 in sanctioned matches, is that it?" [21:31] 6Zhangyu: "You want to fucking go, mate?" 15[21:32] Dozens of eyes widen. [21:32]  [21:32] 4Piu, innocently: "Guess you're having trouble getting a match scheduled with Bruiser, huh Son-of-Sabers?" [21:34] "Not much of an expert on civilization," 07notes Dryas as she approaches the gayageum she had installed to the side of the training area. 15[21:35] Son-of-Sabers: "If that's what it takes to show these fools some sense before you ruin them, yeah, let's go." [21:35] 10Daizo's waving again, but this time it's to herd the students into a loose ring well back from the center of the dojo. [21:36] 4Piu, slightly annoyed now: "Surely you boys know this would be better as a one-night special event down at the docks." [21:36] "Instead of doing it right here, right now." 15[21:37] The students mostly comply, with much hooting and "oh shit"s and so forth, with one notable dissent: "Can we talk about this?" pipes up Seiri from the sidelines. [21:38] 6Zhangyu, glaring: "I'm listening." 15[21:39] Seiri: "We came here to learn. If you beat each other senseless, who are we going to learn from?" [21:39] 10To a cluster of particularly recalcitrant teens: "Have you ever seen one of the Blooded up close in a serious fight? No? There's a reason for that, it's the last thing some people ever—" 10Seiri's question cuts through his patter like a knife. 15[21:40] For their parts, Lord Meteor and Jungle Empress stay well out of this, helping Daizo maintain order. [21:40] 6Zhangyu: "The winner." [21:40] 07Dryas begins playing a tune, designed to enhance concentration and focus. 15[21:45] Son of Sabers draws in a breath. "I didn't come here for you," he says, jabbing a finger in Zhangyu's direction. "I came here for them." At this, he sweeps an arm around at the students in every direction. "And I'm here to tell you," he turns to address them arc by arc now, "That this man is a sick dog on a short leash, who knows nothing - and is fit for NOTHING - but murder." [21:48] 6Zhangyu: "Train them with me." [21:48] "I can't -- corrupt them, that way. So." [21:49] 4What the-- Piu's half-tempted to challenge this guy herself just so Zhangyu stops acting so weak around him! [21:49] 6Piu has eyes. Son-of-Sabers is so hot... 15[21:51] Son-of-Sabers: "We'd be working at cross purposes, mate. See, I don't want them to learn to fight from you. I want them to learn to fight you. You and everyone like you, who comes here like you own the place, taking your cut, and leaving it in the dust." [21:51] 4He's fine! That doesn't mean you let him ruin your life! 15[21:52] "You lot are worse than cowards. You're bloody tourists." [21:52] "We're the future," 07Dryas disagrees. [21:53] 4Piu: "Where's that accent from, again?" [21:53] 6Zhangyu: "They will learn that. Also I want to break your arm." [21:53] 4Piu: "I guess you're the real 'bloody' native then, you've learned all the rituals and enjoy all the privileges? Must be fun living in both worlds!" 15[21:55] Son-of-Sabers: "Fuck off back to your orgies and bloodletting, like you were going to anyway." [21:56] 6Asshole. [21:56] 4Piu: "Oh, so you're against orgies and bloodletting now." [21:56] "Throw fists or jump in a volcano about it," 07Dryas suggests. 15[21:57] "Listen up! You don't need to stay here and let these princesses and their hunting dogs knock you around. Come with me. I'll show you how real Mantis is practiced - and I'll show you how to stand up to them." [21:58] 6Zhangyu: "Fight me, asshole." [21:58] 4She glances over at Zhangyu. Is he gonna counterargue or-- [21:58] 10Daizo: "Opening a dojo and bringing two legends out of retirement. Are these the actions of a person who intends to, as you say, 'fuck off'?" [21:59] 4--Realm's blood. [21:59] 10Daizo: "What have you done, Son-of-Sabers?" [22:01] 10Daizo's glaring absolute daggers at the foul-mouthed miscreant. "What have you done, that Tepet Zhangyu should consider you a worthy opponent?" [22:02] 4Piu: "Oh, I can answer that. He's killed a bunch of people for fun, drank a bunch of beer for fun, and wasn't there when Ted died." [22:02] "Probably because he was out having fun." 15[22:02] Realm's blood is what Son-of-Sabers smells as he stalks around the open room like the two-faced ocelot whose head adorns a downstairs wall. "What have I done? I spit in the eye of thieves and plunderers - I stole this body, this blood from graspers and cowards like you." 15[22:02] He wheels on Piu in an instant, eyes wide, nostrils flaring... [22:02] "He's having fun right now. It just seems like a crusade because everything's a greivance." [22:02] 6Zhangyu: "I will break you." [22:03] 4Piu raises her left hand and ignites the sign. 15[22:03] The crowd gasps. [22:03] "If you had been there, this would still be his." [22:03] 10So much for debate. [22:03] 4Piu: "But now I have to wear it. For him." 15[22:04] Son-of-Sabers: "I'm sure you think of him every time you slit a throat on your master's orders. I'm sure he's touched." [22:04] 4Piu: "And again, I'm not hearing an argument the other way." 15[22:05] "Fuck your argument. This isn't a debating society. You going to call a judge?" 15[22:05] To the assembled: "This is the respect they have for you." 15[22:06] "This is how they talk about you when your backs are turned. This is what they're dreaming of when they think up new ways to drive their boots into your backs." [22:07] 6Zhangyu: "I'm going to break your fucking arm." [22:08] 4Piu: "If you want to compete for students, then compete for students. Go make a dojo from wine bottles. I've followed your career, Son-of-Sabers. You're a petulant son of a petulant son and the only thing they have to expect from you after the bromides stop is your disinterest, as you move on to the next golden dream." [22:30] 07Dryas sneers at the interloper: "Son of Ragara, uninvited guest, boor - Tepet Zhangyu is here to share his strength with others. We will all be stronger as a result, whatever we - or they - choose to do with that strength." [22:32] 10Daizo: "07Do not be fooled. This man is a turncoat and a scoundrel—a man who buckled under the weight of responsibility, and fled. Who justifies his cowardice as resistance! His confusion as freedom! He has lost his way and can only lead others to meet the same pitiable end as him." 15[22:34] The students murmur heatedly back and forth. People stare each other down across that empty-centered room like kids at a formal. There's a full minute's silence before someone - a sailor - crosses the floor to vehement jeers. [22:37] 4Piu simply crosses her arms and considers the defectors with contempt. But inside she's grateful. This is a much better way of winnowing the weak than feeding bodies to the sea. [22:37] 10Daizo folds his arms and says nothing. Let them make their choice. And if Son-of-Sabers proves himself incompetent, all the better for the Young Lionhearts. 15[22:37] Then another, and another - about a third of Zhangyu's nominal students leave silently with Son-of-Sabers. 15[22:38] In the back of the room, Seiri lets out a breath so big she starts coughing. [22:39] 4When they're gone, Piu's smiling again. "Excellent! This class size is much more manageable." [22:39] 4Getting to help run a real-life dojo...! With a rival dojo in a blood feud...! Teen Piu would be agog. [22:41] 6No, awful, HATE this... back me up. 15[22:41] People are just milling around now. Are they getting back to work, or... [22:42] 6wauuuugh [22:42] 4Piu is going to start sorting them, taking names, and breaking them into groups. Zhangyu seems a bit...distracted. [22:43] 10Daizo pats Zhangyu on the back. "Get out there and be a sifu to the ones who remain, Cousin." 10If Zhangyu doesn't start hauling his ass, the patting is going to get a little more forceful. 15[22:43] Counting Seiri and Sadako, Dryas and Piu mark 36 students. [22:43] 4As an aside to him before getting to work: "I'd say 'run after him,' but I think he's made it perfectly clear where you two stand. This story ends in the ring! Get your mind right!" [22:44] 6Zhangyu: "I'm - I'll adjust." [22:45] 6Muttering: "Snap his fucking neck." [22:45] 10Daizo: "Sure. But not today." [22:46] 436 is an auspicious number! [22:46] 4 36 is an auspicious number! [22:46] 6That's weird! [22:47] 10Yes, and no. 9: very auspicious. 4: not so much. Four nines? Concentrate and ask again. [22:48] 4There were 36 chambers in the greatest martial art to come out of the south. [22:48] 6Revolution number 9... [22:57] 10Daizo doesn't have any particular insights into Mantis, but there are plenty of basics that any martial artist needs to convey. There's always some students who approach it with a more brain than body approach; he's got a few insights there as well. 15[22:57] Aside from that hiccup, Zhangyu's first day as a sifu goes quite well! Students are attentive - Seiri in particular finds Daizo's analytical approach very useful - and have made an impressive amount of progress by the time the session lets out and people start to go home. [23:01] 4Piu makes a mental note to do some snooping and figure out where Son-of-Sabers is setting up shop. Wouldn't do for him to know where we are and not return the favor. 15[23:11] Piu has a time of it, but she's able to find Son-of-Sabers's dojo, called True Mantis, in a dockside warehouse. It's not as well-engineered as the work Dryas had done, but the furnishings are many and expensive enough that she detects the hand of another backer. She's still mulling it over when she turns away from the building and looks up at Hamoji, and realizes that Lao's compound 15[23:11] up on its cliff has a direct line of sight to this facility. [23:12] 14Clever boy. [23:16] 10When not at the dojo, Daizo's spending the majority of his time practicing the condensation and manipulation of Essence external to himself. He wants to come to Clara with more under his belt than "I turned into birds", as impressive a feat as that may be. Certain passages of books in his collection which he had previously thought allegorical or poetic reveal new depths.  15[23:23] Aside from that, there's always plenty of business to transact, correspondence to stay on top of, and - oh right - the mission. Good news - the Commodore and the Chief Petty Officer have patched the hole in the personnel ledger that the fire burned through, and are preparing to embark again. [23:23] 4Well, that's something. Though leaving so soon after setting up the dojo... [23:24] 14How successful was Caedus in getting some loyalists on the roster? 15[23:24] He seems very satisfied with his work. 15[23:25] It's at an all-hands meeting that the Commodore says: "I've been conferring with the crew, and corresponding with my contacts - I believe we need to make our way to Putu-on-Neck. Furia's closest ally outside the Navy holds a governorship there. If she turns to anyone for support, it'll be him." 15[23:26] "But... I want to run down as many leads as possible before we get there. I want to be exhaustive. We have to be able to make the case that we've left no stone unturned." 15[23:26] It occurs to Daizo that he had something written up for this... [23:27] 07Dryas has, naturally, begun compiling dossiers of information through the nascent Garden on major locations she's been able to wrangle out of the twins. [23:28] 10Indeed. It's been a while, but the list—and a marked map—are close to hand. "I believe I may have something to contribute on this front, Commodore." [23:28] 14Mmmmmmm. 15[23:31] The information Dryas gets is mainly for on-the-grid population centers. She knows that Brightwork is facing famine and instability as it continues to send its export quota out into pirate-infested waters, but the Realm ships that are supposed to drop off supplies and sundries aren't coming in kind. And she knows that Putu-on-Neck isn't accessible by sea until the rainy season's ended... 15[23:31] but also that it hasn't returned any of the sorcerous missives Caxi sent on Ratel's orders. [23:33] 10He spreads them out on a table. "These are locations that I believe Furia, or elements of her fleet, would have interest in investigating or claiming. Some of them—and I'n speculating here—may serve as access points for the Realm Defense Grid." 15[23:34] Caxi leans forward, studying the notes with fascination. [23:34] "And we know from Catela's testimony that Furia demonstrated capabilities commonly associated with Her Majesty's use of the Grid." [23:34] 4Piu: "Wow!" [23:36] "Maybe that's what those pirates sabotaging the post we found Catela at were up to," 07Dryas speculates. 15[23:39] Ratel: "Of these, which do you suspect of being tied to the Grid?" [23:43] 10Daizo sticks pins in the map to indicate his best guesses. "Jiewei is the first and most obvious choice. The Gyre has formidable defenses. The tale of Ulang Taun is far too consistent not to have a basis in fact. And Pazia Majira is the nexus of vast geomantic power." [23:44] 10Daizo: "And this is just a gut feeling, but something bothers me about Choten." [23:44] "Ulang Taun sounds neat...also I'll mention it because Daizo is too modest to: Petrichor could be useful. Monks know shit." [23:45] "Choten sounds like a lot of our interests intersect there. Especially, ah, Sadako's." [23:45] 4And Caxi's, but we're being polite. [23:46] 10Daizo: "Unless they've chosen to renounce the world. But… perhaps they renounce their House ties in service of a different purpose." 15[23:48] Caxi: "The Maw is significant too, no? A Manse in formal use - high-security use, even! - for as long as our forebears held the seas. You're right, it doesn't scream 'war manse'... but if she's held in the sway of Anathema, like Catela implied, she may be drawn there. They're often driven to settle scores from past lives. It's one of the things that drives them mad." [23:50] 10Daizo nods. "You raise an excellent point. A place like that could become a natural gathering place for all manner of Anathema." [23:52] 4Piu: "Frankly I think it wisest to start close and move far. No sense shipping all the way out to Danguro or Petrichor the first time out of dock." 15[23:53] Ito Pan: "Yeah, Piu's right. We should start at Jiewei, it's closest." 15[23:53] Ito Jun: "It's only closer if we start sailing from the far side of the island. The sea route to Mionzi is shorter." [23:54] "Both correct. But I'm with Caxi: if we hit the Maw -- if we can reclaim it, it opens the entire north of the archipelago to us." [23:54] "We need a dock without a governor controlling it." 15[23:55] Caxi: "Very true." 15[23:55] Ratel: "Not a fan of Abalone's new government." 15[23:55] Caxi: "I don't like his face. He's got a bad face." [23:56] 4Pointing at the map: "From there, we can hit Old Mionzi trivially, plan expeditions to the north, and still use Abalone as a stopover port to launch forays to the south." [23:56] "Assuming Furia isn't holed up in there. But if she is, well, that's good, right?" 15[23:57] "That is why we're here," Ratel agrees. "Alright. Finish up your business. We'll ship out tomorrow." [23:59] 4Piu nods. [00:00] 10Daizo: "Sounds like we have a plan." 15[00:02] NEXT TIME: The Girl the Earth Talks To