<div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/7/79/Tevinter-aesthetic.jpg)</div><strong> Ualan Yoson (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=274532.msg13563593#msg13563593)</strong><br/><strong>Time:</strong>Three days after the battle of Oshiro castle<br/><strong>Location</strong>: Aka ka Clan territory<br/><strong>Tagged</strong>: Kogatana<br/><hr/><br/>It was a rare day that Ualan’s alertness waivered, but for once he was oblivious even as the sky outside darkened to midnight, and the candles burned low. It was only the sound of approaching footfalls that finally snapped him out of his reverie, and acting more on instinct than thought, his hand quickly reached within his kimono for a sturdy dagger. Breath bated, he fixed the shadows beyond the doorway with an unblinking stare, waiting for the footstep's owners…<br/><br/>“Kogatana-dono! Forgive me, I was sorting through some Clan communications. A few of the landlords are dragging their heels with the draft, but I assure you their stalling will be short lived.”<br/><br/>Releasing the grip of his knife, Ualan stood from behind the table and offered a deep bow, as was his sole concession to decorum. In all the weeks and months he’d been doing it, it had never once occurred to him that the gesture unwittingly served to highlight the odd contrast between him and his leader. Ualan on one hand, tall and leanly toned, with an air of precision which bordered on fussiness; Kogatana on the other, stout and powerfully muscled, with a rightly earned reputation for ferocity. In terms of both appearance and personality, their partnership was bordering on comical. It was as if a finicky crane had decided to play adviser to a rampaging she-bear.<br/><br/>It was, however, also an unexpectedly productive arrangement. For all his shrewdness, Ualan operated through coin and martial authority rather than lofty notions of<em>bushido</em>, and that made the budding spymaster a natural fit with the warlike Aka ka Clan. He also held a genuine respect for Kogatana – a woman who had risen to the top of the Clan through simple virtue of being the most able to do so, with not a single iota of preference or privilege to aid along the way. An empire where<em>competence</em>was the metric for command, not one's proficiency for reciting poetry whilst sipping tea: that was a future Ualan could believe in. Knowing better than to question his warlord’s own reasons for being up so late, Ualan made his report in brisk, dispassionate terms.<br/><br/>“First and foremost, some of the soldiers are feeling disgruntled after your defe-… after the unsuccessful assault against the Oshiro. You needn’t worry, though. I dealt with this sort of thing when I was in the Emperor’s service, so I took the liberty of dispatching a few men to ensure their agitation is properly channelled. There’ll be enough sake, women, and rousing speeches of revenge to ensure their mood doesn't turn sour.”<br/><br/>Striking as it was, the broad lacquered table was not the archive room’s grandest feature: that accolade belonged to an immense, richly detailed map of the empire that was fixed against a wall. Rendered with paint, canvas, and truly painstaking effort, time had not faded the cartographical masterpiece, and it served as well as ever. With the aid of a candle, Ualan wandered over to the map and gave a demonstrative gesture to the Oshiro-Aka ka border as he made the second part of his report.<br/><br/>“There’s also trouble from the north. Word is spreading that Lady Emiko Oshiro has been kidnapped, and many people are reflexively suspecting the Aka ka Clan.” Ualan scoffed, shaking his head. “This means our lands are now being infested by foreign scouts searching for a captive we don’t even have! It’s maddening. Every time I kill one, their masters grow more convinced we<em>are</em>hiding something and send two more.”<br/><br/>The candle drifted lower to illuminate the fabled southmost island of Shindo, replete with depictions of plump rice fields and imposing strongholds.<br/><br/>“You might find this last part amusing. Earlier today, I received news that the legendary twin fortresses of Clan Ota have fallen… which comes as a surprise, given nobody even attacked them. It seems Lords Kyuwa Ota and Akeno Ota managed to kill each other during an honour duel, and now the entire southern isle tears itself apart in a succession crisis of its own. Their lands are in total disarray, and their fortifications are being ransacked from the inside out by their own men. Clan Gunba must be<em>salivating</em>at the prospect of their neighbour’s defencelessness.”<br/><br/>Ualan’s report ended with the same brusqueness that it began, and for a moment, silence lingered throughout the room. Ualan used the pause to regard the bruised, dishevelled air of exhaustion that surrounded Kogatana.<br/><br/>“Kogatana-dono, it’s late, and respectfully you should be gathering your strength for the day ahead. However… if sleep is eluding you<em>anyway</em>, perhaps you would care to see something? I made a rather interesting find while I was idly sorting through the old archives. It involves a rather novel application of the Krai's anatomical know-how, and I think you might like it."