Imperial Comedy (Open)

[Wei Xing]

The Oracle

W E I X I N G

"I will be the one the Chaos chooses to give the future, or I will bend it it my will."

Garb: Oracle
Mood: Calm
Post Type: Political

"So if I may ask my lord... Why was I summoned here?

The room was dark. A single candle was lit in on a finely crafted desk that was stacked with documents. A monotone voice came from what looked like a child in wrapped in a high quality robe. One that defied the position that she was placed in. Before her across the desk was a man who wore the traditional garb of a Han official. He seemed to sweat as he continued to wipe his forehead with a cloth. His hands shook as he placed a scroll in front of her.

"You were right. I-I cannot believe this... but it has happened. Dong Zhuo... he is slowly changing the capital. Turning it into something different, something that disrespects the honor of the Han. I have seen it, many of my colleagues are in denial, but I c-can't look away."

The man gestured nervously to the document before the mysterious girl. She made no effort to take it.

"Please, as you did once before Lady Oracle. Please tell me what will happen and how to stop this from continuing. I am only a minister of modest rank. But if could I be given an edge, a strategy, anything to stop this decay..."

A pale hand rose up to silence him. A sigh came from the visitors lips. She had heard enough of his whining.

"The Han will be faced with crisis from without and within. The Yellow Turban's will bring chaos to the land and awaken those who will take their own steps to the future. The ten eunuchs and Dong Zhou will be a key part of the final decay of the Han... that is it""

The Oracle, Wei Xing stared deeply at the official. Her eyes almost seemed to glow in the candlelight.

"I am simply a seer. A wanderer who has yet to find my place. I am nothing to you mighty Han ministers and generals. I came to offer you and several others my visions. And was nearly ejected from the council chamber when they were so very hurt by my words... The Han's very existence is denial at this point. You simply are the one of few who are somewhat enlightened. Good for you."

The man pounded his desk with his hand in anger. He had both fear and rage in his eyes.

"And? You refuse to give solutions? Only telling us of our doom? I demand to have answers! You realize what would happen if I told them you were here?"

".... Sigh. The only kinds of destiny that can be read, are those with a near certain outcome. The future is not completely prewritten. The Han is finished in the state it was. However, after the old perishes..."

Xing left her word to a crawl dragging the sentence out. The man looked at her with anxiousness. She looked a little past him into the darkness of the room and finally added with a tone of complete uninterest:

"It is not important. You want to stop the decay? You must attain a higher position. Become close to those who are the source. Perhaps you will ind your answers there. A way many in power do it is through a secret charm. Here..."

Wei Xing pulled a small silver medallion from her robe. She dropped it onto the desk with a light rattle.

"Your solution. Chant manzu mani alla mandu five times every night and you will have great fortune. You will find yourself promoted to the position to reach the Emperor's ear and even the eunuchs and Dong Zhou will find worth in you. If it is possible to save the Han, you have a opportunity now."

The minister grabbed it up greedily. He felt the markings along it's surface. He spent several minutes just admiring it when he noticed the strange girls presence again. He put it in his pocket and spoke with renewed confidence.

"Thank you Lady Oracle. I knew you would be of use to the Han the moment I saw your predictions come true. This document is what you asked for in return for the long and confidential summons yes? It is a detailed map of the central plans. I take it you get lost easily hahaha..."

Xing took the scroll and unrolled it. Her dark red eyes scanned it quickly. Indeed, it was just what she had hoped for. Imperial maps were very fine quality. She would have a use for this in time. She closed the scroll and placed in into her robe. Xing was through here.

'I suppose that will be all? Use the charm and only call for me after three moons. If it has not changed your fate, remember it is your responsibility to chant the mantra each night."

The Oracle left the man's room without as much as a mandatory farewell. After emerging from the secret path she had taken into the streets of Luo Yang. The sun was bright as could be. It was still daylight. Wei Xing headed through the back streets to her horse and stopped there. She looked around. So little protection in the capital. It was not just the Yellow Turbans that were causing this. It was the fact the palace was likely taking all the best soldiers for itself. This city could turn from nearly no authority into a complete military martial law in less than a day. Xing need not remain in this damned place any longer. She had other things to do. She needed to find a place... a place that would be where she would meet her destiny.

As she rode out of the slowly decaying great city. Wei Xing's face held a faint smile. The idiot... the minister really thought a single charm could do anything? It took much, much more... especially when said charm was not even enchanted. Now she had her map where she could witness the future begin to unfold in the next great battles and where she could find proper... "assistance".. The chaos had just begun and the Oracle was ready to find her way through it to her greatest dreams..........

The first thing she had to do was find out if this map was real. Just in case the official wasn't a complete fool. Though she doubted anyone wasn't a moron these days. 

[Kazami Yuuji]

Yuuji was accustomed to being used by others, he was simply a weapon used for national defense or perhaps he could be considered a particularly vicious attack dog given how tightly his superiors kept a grip on his leash. In that he was always carrying out orders on behalf of others, usually without knowing the reasons why. Today was another such example. Here he was spying on a certain noble under orders to kept an eye on his household and report on his dealings. He had infiltrated by climbing the lightly guarded outer wall using gloves with tiny serrated spikes that helped with scaling flat surfaces, before like a ghost slipping inside the residence. During Wei Xing's meeting he had been watching from the rafters listening to their conversation. Some people would probably think his occupation was exciting but more often than not it boiled down to surveillance type missions like this, in this case watching a young girl swindle an idiot noble.

'Really how gullible can you be' Yuuji had ended up thinking as he had watched the exchange, some people took their silly superstitions way too seriously. Also who ended up handing over the reward before even testing the product, nobles had far too much money and far little brains, not that this was usual for those in high government office. Honestly Yuuji didn't take any of this talk of magic charms seriously, he might be young only just 19 but he had seen a lot of things in his short life. He had been too many places and endured things that no one should be forced too and in all that time, he had never seen anything that could only be explained by turning to the so called 'super natural'. Not that this meant it was impossible of course it just sounded too good to true, which usually meant it was. Yuuji was when you got down it too an unflinching realist, but he wasn't above admitting his own potential ignorance. Even so he was inclined to think this noble an idiot, as the meeting drew to a close. He had already picked up some useful information, such as the nobles opposition to the Enuch's fraction that would no doubt he of value to his superiors. Even so he should really follow the girl around as well, just in case she turned out to be important or led him to any more information. He would not be doing his job if he just let her go. So when she left he followed her, covertly exiting the estate without being seen.

Objectively speaking a man following a girl without her knowledge of approval would be considered stalking but it would hardly be the worst thing he had ever done. Also on this particularly tailing mission, he had noticed something else, the girl he was tailing had another tail on her as well. Following someone around was actually quite difficult to do without being obvious, he was of course a pro but this guy was clearly not. He noticed the man almost immediately, wearing a dark cloak and staring at the girls back as he walked after her. He was clearly an amateur at least compared to Yuuji, no one working for HSDF was that careless at least. So probably someone working for the 10 attendants, or Dong Zhou having anyone who visited that noble watched. Of course their was one way to find out...he kept an eye on both the man and the girl as they continued to walk down the street. Before stopping to buy a drink of tea from a local peddler, having acquired what he needed he dashed down a side street that rejoined with this street several meters away. Having go in front of the two of them he turned back into the street just as the clocked man was passing. Casually he made sure he bumped into the man, splashing the tea over him as if he accident.

"Ooh dear, im so very sorry. This is all my fault." Yuuji gasped as he made a scene of trying to pat the man's cloak down as if trying to get the tea that was staining his robes out. The man desperate to chase after Wei Xing tried to get him to stop, his mission more important that his clothes. He was far too distracted to notice as Yuuji easily picked his pocket during the pretense of patting his clothes down. "Sorry, sorry." Yuuji repeated as he backed away now holding the man's wallet. As he casually turned to keep following Xing he disappeared into the crowd now looking threw the wallet. He found coins stamped in Xi Liang inside, a clear indicator the man was being paid by Dong Zhou...so that was it he thought. As back in the street behind him a certain man started screaming at the top of his lungs that his wallet was gone. Of course by that point Yuuji had down another street still following after this girl Wei Xing. When she left by the city gate he followed her flashing the guards a pass his superiors had given him, the guards knew better than to ask his business on seeing it.

When they got the the country side proper his job started to get a lot more difficult of course, he no longer had large crowds to hide his presence. He stayed quite a long distance behind her hoping she would not spot him or he was going to have to come up with a cover story fast. The girl was not stupid after all, given the way she had swindled that noble out of his map. What exactly she wanted it for was the subject of his current curiosity.

Outfit: Dressed in none conspicuous plain clothes like an ordinary citizen of the capital.
Weapons: Two concealed daggers 
Words: 988
Tag: Wei Xing/Open

[Wei Xing]

The Oracle

W E I X I N G

"I will be the one the Chaos chooses to give the future, or I will bend it it my will."

Garb: Oracle
Mood: Calm
Post Type: Political

Wei Xing rode her horse slowly across the vastness of the plains. She had left the main road that would lead to Xu Chang and avoided going close to the Yellow Turbans camps that were the sight of the current war. She had better things to do then get swept up in that silliness. The future wars would be much more interesting then peasants running into swords in mass. Also... it was not in her interest to make her tracks from Luo Yang too easy to follow. Her words in the palace had caused both the officials to be aware of the truth that she had foreseen but also to the fact that she had such ability. That would be dangerous if not kept under the Han's power. Having returned to the capital for no apparent reason could start up more interest in her. That wasn't entirely bad though. She enjoyed being one who gets attention from those in power. Even if it is from idiots.

Her horse was now over a steep cliff overlooking Hu Lao Gate and the surrounding area. She stayed on the horse as she opened the map. Yes... everything was matching it perfectly. She looked in every direction and began to mark places of particular interest on the map. The Oracle then closed the scroll and pulled her fan out. Gently fanning herself she remained in quiet silence for awhile.

Time past...

More time past....

Birds flew by............

The sun was just starting to fall..............

"Bored yet? Which are you? Dong Zhuo... the eunuchs... or perhaps another? I have so many people who follow me around, looking for me like lost sheep. Sometimes out of mere curiosity and yet other times with purpose. Do you have purpose?"

Xing continued to look off into the slowly setting sun upon her steed.

[Kazami Yuuji]

So the girl had caught on that he was following her, it was not the first time someone had detected him but he was still a little irritated as he stepped out from behind the small tree he had been trying to use to hide his presence. He was experienced in the arts of camouflage, disguise and deception yet it seemed stealth in a nearly zero cover environment was just too difficult a task even for him. Either that or their really was something to this girls fortune telling nonsense that had allowed her to detect him. If only the girl had not left the city where he was more comfortable working. Well it was too late for what if's now, some times it was the odd ones that were the most difficult to follow all he could do now was react appropriately.

"Do i have a purpose, a very simple or more philosophical question i suppose depending on the interpretation. Why don't we settle for saying that if i have a purpose i am not yet fully aware of it, that seems appropriate as a response whichever you're meaning." Yuuji answered cleverly as he stepped into the light as he did so getting a better look at the girl finally. She was dressed rather strangely, even for a rich girl in the capital. At first he had thought her quite young just a girl but closer up he realized she was closer to his own age, she was just quite small. Although those eyes certainly caught his attention too. "Of course their is little point asking the watcher who they are watching for you know. No one is going to tell the truth off hand for free and you would have no reason to trust them even if they decided to do so. So lets say i work for one or the other, or maybe someone you are not fully aware of, either way my tongue is bound by silence." He responded, despite the fact most soldiers tended to be poorly educated Yuuji was not exactly an exemplar of normality nor exactly a normal soldier for that matter. He was quite intelligent and capable of throwing a few words around himself. Although more often he preferred to pretend he was ignorant and foolish to get his enemies to let their guard down. Yet he was not convinced this girl was really his enemy, she was more a subject of curiosity at least for the moment. Still their was a question he wanted to ask of her as well.

"Tell me how long ago did you catch on that i was following you?" He asked her watching her eyes to try and catch her lying, his master had taught him that people tended to look away when they lied. A few little psychological tricks like this had been part of his HSDF special training.

Words: 485
Tag: Jia Lin/Wei Xing

[Wei Xing]

The Oracle

W E I X I N G

"I will be the one the Chaos chooses to give the future, or I will bend it it my will."

Garb: Oracle
Mood: Calm
Post Type: Political 

The Oracle looked back at him not showing even the slightest bit of interest. Even though she actually found him different and at the least... amusing. He was intelligent in his speech and was a above average snooper than most at a young age. He could have a place in the future, but of course, nothing close to her potential.

"You have more talent than the other one but not enough for one such as I."

She stopped fanning for a moment and continued.

"To have a uncertainty of your purpose is equivalent of none. You are a slave... such a shame. To follow me all the way out here. You must lack in work. I am not the one that will bring your masters to ruin. It will be left to other... false heroes. I simply am sharing the good news. Right now Zhang Jiao is leading a army of idiots to their death. You will likely be ordered to do something more immediately necessary than follow a silly prophet."

Xing looked back towards the setting sun. She gestured towards the capital of Luo Yang in the distance.

"You are of my generation and will endure the same era as I. You show a glimmer of intelligence so I will ask you this.... What do you see in that city. What do you think your masters think of it? This place... Hu Lao Gate will be a sight of bloodshed. Everywhere blood will spill across this land and nothing will change. Not until a true leader, a true Master comes forth."

Xing closed her eyes and imagined herself in the Emperor's seat controlling the land and bringing it to it's true path. The path of the future that she see's and no other idiots vision. No one else is worthy of it. They cannot fathom her growing power. The Oracle would not see the future but make it. She was not cursed by the symbol upon her hand but blessed. Chosen to be prefect. All her life was to put her in this position and in the future... she would be ready to claim her future at last.

Xing's eyes opened and she continued her fanning.

"...Well? Do you see the truth or falsehood? You are a slave but you could be a man. The time to choose is approaching."

[Kazami Yuuji]

She had not exactly told him how she had detected his presence but this was likely deliberate, she would probably prefer he think it due to her super natural powers. After all, as soon as you put in that category it gave them an advantage, you would start second guessing your own moves based on a power she may or may not really have. Which was exactly why he preferred to think to that some small error on his part his given him away. She certainly seemed to have quite a high opinion of herself. “You know someone once told me that when you’re acknowledge as being special and are put on a podium above others. What you gain isn’t so much fame and adoration, as enemies and isolation.” He said quoting something his big sister had told him before her death. She had been something of a special person herself. “Perhaps that’s why people follow you around.” He suggested rather cheekily.

She went onto suggest he was little more than a slave and that his efforts would probably be better spent targeting others like the Yellow Turbans. Not that he would deny the truth of that. The fact was however his organization had already been asked to murder Zhang Jiao, they had refused saying that the yellow turbans were not a snake, cutting off the head only made a martyr. They were more like a sickness that had to be treated by addressing the cause, in this case the courts own corruption. Naturally the court had not liked that dose of truth from its own special intelligence and assassination branch and had instead ordered the assassination of Yellow Turban leaders. Their deaths just as the court had been warned had only helped fan the flames of this rebellion.

Much as he suspected her deliberate phrasing of ‘slave’ was an attempted to rile him up, he could not exactly deny the correctness of the term in this context. He had a metaphorical collar around his neck that did not come off until the moment of his death. His was a job you could not ever retire from, the most that was permitted enabled him to be put on ‘reserve status’ even then that only reduced the number of missions he was assigned. If he as much as tried to leave the province without permission, he would have a squad on him for desertion. For obvious reasons the government didn’t trained assassins running around, outside their direct control. Especially given the high cost in training people like Yuuji. Additionally, if he decided to refused to accept a mission he was likely to be imprisoned, so the term ‘slave’ did seem fair he supposed. Especially when he his masters probably considered him little more than an expendable tool, expensive but expendable.

“You’re and odd one you know that little lady.” He commented finding her quite insightful and frankly yes odd. Not that he considered this to be a bad thing honestly, odd people could be all the more interesting. Most rich girls her age seemed to be interested only in dress’s and boys, much to his own frustration. Not that he was any position to necessarily be calling anyone else odd.

She went onto to ask him a rather philosophical question about how he and his masters saw this city, a strange girl indeed. He was starting to suspect her domestic environment growing up must have quite odd to produce a young woman like this. Certainly not many people stopped to question spies about this sort of thing, not that he was complaining.

“To me the city is less a collection of buildings and more a place made up of the people who live there, people who can only live safe and moderately happy lives thanks to the protection and sacrifice of others. It's their presence that makes this place have meaning." Yuuji explained his own point of view, sadly knowing it was not that one shared by the people that ruled over this land. "Unfortunately those in charge view this place as a...convenience, it's purpose in their view is to fuel their expensive life styles and extravagances by using up other people, either their gold or their lives. They really don't care what happens outside of their palaces as long as the flow of wealth to their front door continues unabated." Yuuji explained his own preservative, some might call it a rather depressing even fatalistic view but Yuuji considered himself an unflinching realist, he wasn't going to sugar coat the truth especially since he suspected this girl would be able to tell if he lied blatantly about things.

As for her he suspected her rather cryptic way of speaking was deliberate to make her sound more knowledge and impressive, if so it was a clever act when trying to fool nobles but he wasn't entirely sure he was buying it yet. Mostly due to his disbelief in anything super natural. He wasn't sure what she meant about him having a choice, in his perspective his life had contained precious few choices up to this point. The very idea of choice seemed something confined to powerful and influential...did that really include him?

Tag: Jia Lin/Wei Xing
Words: 885

[Wei Xing]

The Oracle

W E I X I N G

"I will be the one the Chaos chooses to give the future, or I will bend it it my will."

Garb: Oracle
Mood: Calm
Post Type: Political

Little lady... ridiculous. So worn was she of being seen as a child. Alas...

"Sigh... so you see it to a degree. I have experienced both of those however it is not a curse but rather what gives me power. I am untainted by the lands stupidity and guide it towards it's proper end. You should use those skills of yours back home and see why I am even speaking to you. You are more capable of bringing the idiots in Luo Yang to their knees than any army would."

The Oracle turned her horse completely around to look at the young man. She shook her head after a moment of staring at him.

"No... you lack something and until you gain it you will be useless. You are a slave and not a man, nor a player in this game. I hope you consider taking off your collar to play with the rest of those who matter in this world."

Her horse rode right up to him. She looked at him and squinted a little as if smiling to him, her eyes seemed to twinkle in the red hue of the setting sun.

"You think I am odd? I am the only sane person you have likely ever met snooper. I am the Oracle. Only with me can one see the truth of their future destiny. No one else. You should consider what you said this evening.... how you really feel about your position. If you have no purpose... create it for yourself."

Xing was just about finished with him. She had to complete her task for the night and return to her camp farther south. She knew he would possibly report everything to his superiors but it meant little difference since said persons would be brought to ruin in a short time. Luo Yang was nothing to fear anymore. It was just a dying man grasping at it's doctors shirt collar. Pitiful.

"Perhaps you should run along? Back to dance for those that are holding your leash? I have a life to live and destiny to accomplish. You should have more than enough to report. Right... slave?"

The wind picked up slightly as the night had fallen.

[Kazami Yuuji]

Yuuji put on a fake smiled as he listened to the girl, his master had told that a fake smile was a good way of hiding you're own feelings while putting others at ease, especially useful in his case since he had often been told he looked scary. Not that he understood why, but then he didn't carry about a mirror to check what sort of face he made in these situations. It was interesting to him that this girl had near the exact opposite opinion that his sister had held, at least while she was alive. It put him a little on edge, even more so as he had yet to understand her motive's or intentions.

Not that she was exactly wrong in the details, it was true that one master assassin could bring down a noble far more easily than any army could, but then she should not know anything about him, besides the fact he appeared to be a capable spy? Was she throwing out random guesses and got lucky? Or had she perhaps received some kind of information about his background? His profile with the government had been white washed by the organization he worked for, but then she girl did know some powerful people. Unless of course her claims to super natural abilities were true? A possibility he was currently unwilling to acknowledge.

"If only the collar came off that easily." He said knowing as he did so that it was not entirely true, he could take it off but doing so would mean going rogue, which would inevitably lead with a armed confrontation with his own superiors. That was the sort of thing most people tended not to survive, not that he was most people, he was Kazami Yuuji known as the janitor of the underworld for his many kills. "Besides my master once taught me that, being indebted to someone is nothing to be ashamed of. Not repaying that debt is." He quoted, the debt in question was owed by a certain women Liu Ye, his masters only friend a women who had once saved someone as worthless and pathetic as the brat he had used to be. Even though she could have left him to die, most people would have done. He had not been worth saving at the time, little better than scum. He could not walk out of her, so perhaps it was more for personal reasons that he was here.

Even so despite how rude what she seemed to be saying sounded, he didn't get the feeling she meant it as an insult, it was more like she was offering him advice, in which case he saw no reason to reject it out of hand. Even though he was not yet sure how she seemed to know so much about him, a question for later perhaps. Besides their was something else...something he had not even come to terms with himself yet, secretly he was tired of the killing the orders, he did want the collar off.

"Well at least you have given me something to think about, even if you are a strange one little Oracle." He said turned around heading back in the direction of the city. As he purposefully tagged on 'little' to her title, not so much to be rude as much as he just enjoyed taunting girls a little bit. Perhaps as revenge for the fact women tended to cause him nothing but trouble. Although that could always be a response to the fact he kept teasing them. He was well aware that their was no point in him shadowing her any longer, once the subject realized their were being followed you were not going to learn anything valuable. Besides she didn't seem to pose any immediate threat to his superior's interests, so he also had no reason to be harassing her. She appeared harmless enough, at least at the moment, despite her cryptic act.

"Naturally i intend to report this, as you noted you're-self i am a slave right and pieces on the game board can't just move as they wish you know." He said as he left raising a hand casually as he waved his goodbye. Not that their was anything exactly wrong with being a piece on the board or a cog in the machine, the whole didn't work without them. Although their was always the possibility that he might be able to play a bigger part in the story. Was this the part he was supposed to go on about the dictates of fate? No the hell with that he still didn't believe Yuuji thought as with a genuine smile on his face this time he headed back towards the city.

Words: 793

[Wei Xing]

The Oracle

W E I X I N G

"I will be the one the Chaos chooses to give the future, or I will bend it it my will"

Garb: Oracle
Mood: Calm
Post Type: Political

Xing said nothing as the man left. She had not even his name but it mattered not. He would eventually see events unfold that would trigger him into questioning his ways and his masters. The more turmoil in the Han... the better.

The Oracle smirked at the starlit sky. Time to move on to other tasks. The chaos was not yet hers to control and more work was to be done. She would have the entire area memorized within a a few days travel and all the spots she needed if she was to take part in the battles ahead. She needed to find someone still however.... someone who could be her... hero. But it required the right person at exactly the right time. Perhaps she should find one of the few others out there who are like her. Who see past idiocy and can grant her connections she had yet to gain, before she would destroy them as well of course. The 1%...

Whatever... it was the manipulation of the land and pulling the right strings that Xing so enjoyed. Time to move on into the future tomorrow would bring.




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