One would not guess Isawa Kiriko formidable at first glance: notwithstanding the splendid crimson and gold kimono she wore, emblazoned with the Phoenix clan<i>mon</i>, she seemed a mere wisp of a girl scarce past her<i>gempukku</i>, hardly seasoned enough to command the confidence and regard of the Emerald Champion. Yet here in a salon within the Emerald Champion's estate in Toshi Ranbo, as she drew tea for her six samurai guests with perfect courtier's etiquette, there was no arguing with the unsettling intensity of the gaze she lingered upon each of them.<br/><br/>She resumed her seat. "The Empress," she began, with a faint smile "has selected you all for a great honor."<br/><br/>Her<i>yojimbo</i>, an impassive bushi attired in a kimono no less striking than Kiriko's, brought forth a small lacquered wood box and set it on the table in front of his mistress. She slid back the lid with a slim hand to reveal six identical jade orbs within, each of them etched with the laurel wreath<i>mon</i>of the Emerald Champion. "Ji-Yun-sama sorely wished to present these to you herself, but her duties occupy her elsewhere. She bade me deliver them to you as symbols of your authority as Emerald Magistrates, and charge you with enforcing our Empress' law; with keeping the peace between the clans; with being our Empress' eyes and ears throughout the lands; and with protecting her roads and those who travel upon them. Will you accept this task, and bring honor to your clans, your families, and yourselves through your service?"<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>