War Changes Everything [Reboot] Past Thread

"Princess Iliara, look out!"

Iliara looked around at the shout, and whipped out her hand, holding it out as if telling the coming arrows to stop. A burst of wind hit the volley, shattering the arrows coming toward her. She turned to thank the woman who had warned her, only to find she'd been cut down by arrows. Iliara cried out in anger, and with seemingly impossible speed, had fired a near volley of arrows into a group of enemy archer. Many fell over dead, and Iliara turned to look out over the battlefield. For generations, their enemy's, the Takeda family, had been regarded as THE greatest military force in the country. They also commanded the largest territory. They sought to unify the Demon Realm by taking it over. But now Akashi stood in their way. Akashi, led by Kenshin Akashi, the affectionately titled Goddess of War, was holding Takeda back from expansion.

Of course, it wasn't easy. Takeda was powerful. It was only Akashi's alliance with Hojo, a house of powerful magic users and monks, that enabled them to hold Takeda at bay. While both Akashi and Hojo could single handedly hold Takeda off for a time, Takeda would, eventually, take over. But together, they were slowly, but surely, starting to push Takeda back.

"Iliara!"

Iliara was broken from her thinking as Kenshin herself appeared next to her, causing the archer to smile. "Finally here, eh, sister?" Kenshin smiled, nodding. Iliara pointed to where the Takeda army was rushing toward them. "Shall we?"

"Of course!" She drew her sword, holding it at the ready, as Iliara prepared an arrow. From behind them, their army cried out.



"For Lady Kenshin!"

"For Princess Iliara!"

"For Akashi!"

They charged, with their ruler and princess leading the way.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

~1 Month Later~

"Kenshin! Kenshin, where are you!?" Princess Iliara Akashi ran desperately through the halls of the castle, trying to find her sister. She had to tell her, had to warn her... She came to a sudden stop as she rounded a corner, finding her way blocked by soldiers. "No..."

"Yes, Iliara."

Iliara whipped around, and looked into the gloating face of her uncle, backed by more soldiers. "You bastard..." He laughed a bit.

"Iliara, foolish child. Did you really think I'd let you get away, so you could tell Kenshin about my plans? No, you are never going to get to tell her."

"...So are you going to kill me?"

"No, no...I'm not quite so heartless that I can so easily kill my own niece. But you are going to be exiled, my dear. If you set foot here again, then yes, I'll kill you. But for now..."

"Kenshin will know something is up! She'll get suspicious!"

"No she won't. As far as she knows, you've fallen to assassins from Takeda. It will motivate her better to kill them all off, once and for all."

"Why do this? Why go to all this trouble? If you intend to take control from Kenshin, why keep it secret? Why not just do it?"

"Idiot. I currently don't have the power to do so. There are too many who support her and ONLY her. Once I have the needed support, I'll take over. If she doesn't fight it, then not much will change, but she'll listen to ME for once. A mere woman should not be commanding men."

"You sexist pig! Are you really that stupid!? You'd do all this, going around murdering Kenshin's supporters and exiling me, all because of a chauvinistic way of thinking and desire for power!? You stupid bastard!" He suddenly slapped her, and she staggered back.

"Get her out of here, before Kenshin shows up." The soldiers, which were some of the few males in the Akashi army, making up only about thirty percent of the army, grabbed her and dragged her from the castle. They gagged her after awhile, what with all her shouting. In the end, she was knocked unconcious. She awoke just in time to see an elderly man kill another man who, it seemed, was attempting to rape her. She soon came to find out she was in the territory of Asai-Asakura, which bordered Akashi, and that the man who saved her was the lord of that territory, Yoshikage Asakura.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

~2 Years Later~



Iliara walked calmly behind and to the side of her charge, Princess Yuki, said to be one of the most beautiful women in the country, as they made their way up to the castle of the Lord of Komai. "Ilia, what is his name again? The lord of this territory?"

"I'm not sure, princess. It's a foreigner of some sort. Apparently he's from the outer territories, and moved here only several months ago, soon being made the ruler."

"From the outer territories? Why would they allow themselves to be ruled by a savage?"

"I don't know, Princess. I assume they have some reason."

"I know that, Ilia, I'm not stupid. Now shut up, we are almost there." Iliara did just that, though wanted to teach the princess a little lesson. Still, she'd say nothing. "Ilia, I need confirmation that you heard me."

"I was being quiet because you told me to, Princess."

"Right. Shut up then." Iliara's hand clenched tightly in a fist. Yuki could be sweet sometimes, but her manners were absolutely atrocious. She seriously needed humility beat into her, Iliara felt. But she was hired to protect her. She missed the old days. SHe missed her sister. She missed her life as Princess Iliara Akashi. But she'd been exiled by that treacherous uncle of hers, and in secret, so her sister wouldn't know. Now she was just Ilia, mercenary. At least  most of the hostilities had died down, Takeda having decided to cut their losses after Kenshin had very nearly ended it all when she caught all of Takeda's generals in an ambush. They'd barely escaped with their lives, and were now biding their time.

They arrived at the castle throne room, and were announced. "Princess Yuki Asakura, from Asai-Asakura, requests an audience with the Lord of Komai!"

The young Lord Reifer had more then a few things on his mind at the moment many of them having to deal with the stress and pains that came with ruling and leading a country. Since his father had died and his mother had gotten too ill to look after things meant he had to step up the plate all that much sooner. Despite this Reifer never complained or faltered, he simply did what he had to do. He still worried, he still fretted, but he tried to keep it to himself.

Over time that skill had become almost legendary, and he could keep his emotions under wraps under the more worse of times. Reifer wasn't infallible however, far form it; but he was generally good at hiding his emotions. It was a skill that proved infinitely valuable in politics, not letting the more shady people get a idea of what was running in his head.

One of his messengers told him he had company, and Reifer sighed before telling them he'd be there soon. He wasn't really in the mood for it but time was rarely good when it came to being a leader.

* *

A young woman came to greet Yuki and Iilara, she had horns on her head, wings and a tail with armor on. "Thank you for coming. I'll show you to them right away. This way, please."

She lead both of them to what seemed to be a throne room. A handsome young man in his later twenties at the most came over. "Welcome to my humble home. I hope things were well. What can I hep you with today?"

Iliara was surprised, to say the least. She hadn't expected such a young looking man. He didn't look threatening, either, but there had to be a reason he was in charge; whether it was political or strength, she couldn't say. She simply eyed him calmly, taking in the surroundings. As far as she could see, there were no signs of danger, no evidence that this man could not be trusted. That put her on alert, because if there were no signs, in this day and age, it was more likely that he was simply very good at hiding his intentions, which made him very dangerous indeed. Still, she would remain calm for now, as Yuki addressed the man.

"Lord Reifer, it is an honor to meet you. I am Yuki Asakura, princess of Asai-Asakura, and am here on behalf of my father Yoshikage, with hopes of discussing the future for our territories. Due to your sudden rise to power here in Komai, there are some concerns. My father has always strived for peace, and so wishes to know you better, to understand your intentions He would be here himself, but he is currently holding a summit among several territory leaders; hence, he sent me in his stead. This is my bodyguard, Ilia."

Reifer didn't know too much about Yuki or her bodyguard so he would have to choose to play things largely by ear. Yuki seemed decently pleasant enough so far but that really didn't mean too much of anything until he truly got to know the young woman.

"I understand. With my father dying and my mother too ill to work with me coming almost out of nowhere came a lot of surprise out of many people," Reifer said. "Trust has to be earned so I don't expect things to happen over night. Your father sounds like a good man; I would very much like to meet them when they get the chance."

Yuki was certainly surprised by how polite Reifer was, as was Iliara; though Iliara hid it better. "I'm sure he would feel the same, Lord Reifer. For now, we can discuss things to a degree. My father wants to know your intentions as the new Lord of Komai, considering it's surrounded by so many other territories, many of which are fairly hostile towards each other. It's even possible that our territories may benefit from being allies; we are allied with several other territories, so that helps the situation further."

Iliara remained silent during this, just watching Reifer carefully.

Reifer found that was a fair question and one he had been prepared to answer from the beginning. It helped pretty much everything he would say from this point would be more or less truthful. "My intentions? I simply want to keep a low profile and stay out of conflicts if I can. It's not a realistic option considering the state of things but I want to at least keep it down to a small amount. To that end besides self defense and war of defense I'll be largely keeping to ourselves."

"However, that too, isn't realisitic. We live in violent and fickle times so as such we'll need allies," He looked to Yuki, her bodyguard then back again. "I wouldn't be opposed to having more friends if we can find more common ground. After we dicuss things, if you like I could show you two around."

Yuki smiled, nodding to that. "That sounds like a good idea, yes. I don't know if you know the situation among the territories at the moment, and who is allied with who, so I can inform you of such things if need be. There are certainly nearby territories that you do not want angry with you... where would you like to talk about this? It's best we have a map to look at."

Reifer nodded a bit. "Of course. I don't think this is the best way, if you would follow me please."

Most people would think him a fool for not having his bodyguards around in sight but in truth those like Eon were around when he needed them; they were simply out of sight and out of mind for the most part. Another reason for this was it did cause people to often underestimate him if they didn't look past the surface that is. He would be meeting with one of his body guards soon.

The group was lead to a place that looked more like a throne room; people came too and from going about their business with others greeting them politely. One of them stood out, a blond man wearing loose armor and talking to another before noticing Reifer and coming over.

"It's a pleasure to always be in your presence my lord."

Reifer responded simply. "Laying it on thick as always Hester?"

"I, of course, have no idea what you're talking about."

Reifer looked more amused then anything. "Don't mind us, its how we typically are. This is one of my generals, Hester."

The other man smiled faintly. "We'll, this is certainly interesting. We don't get much for company with foreigners. You two ladies are?"

In the meantime what looked like a maid came over and whispered something in Reier's ear before nodding a bit to whatever was said. Done with their task they left without a word. However it did seem the 'throne' room was being cleared out so they could talk in peace for the most part.

Something strange was noted in the center of the room, more like a podium but in there was definitely a map of some kind. The key difference was the look. Instead of normal paper, it for lack of a better word was different: it was far more clear then what was normal.


___________________________________________________________

Yuki didn't seem overly interested in the comings and goings of the people around her; she was used to such things at Asai-Asakura. Ilia, however, seemed to be looking at anything and everything, as if curious. Only those who were incredibly observant would even notice that she was indeed on alert. Of course, the fact that her only weapon seemed to be a bow usually made people underestimate her ability to fight without range on her side. At Hester's question, Yuki smiled. "I am Princess Yuki Asakura, of Asai-Asakura, and this is my bodyguard, Ilia.... may I ask what kind of map that is? It's rather strange looking."

Hester smiled back. "Pleasure. As for the map, its from my home world and was built from material there."

Moving off to the side, Reifer retrieved the map. "Feel free to point things out as said. There's no difference between this and a paper map, besides it being more durable then average really." He didn't mention Hester's home world was gone, it wasn't his place. Even if Hester would shrug it off when brought up.

Yuki nodded a bit. Home world? So he wasn't from Halzara... interesting. Still, it wasn't worth mentioning. She went over to the map, and began to explain, pointing to Komai, in almost the center of the main territories of this region of Halzara. "Here is Komai, as you already know. You are bordered to the south by the ocean, which is nice. Komai is one of the few territories with a beach instead of sheer cliffs. Anyway, to the immediate east is Mikawa, ruled by the Tokugawa. They are a race of Tanuki demons, and are... mostly alright. Very playful, though they have a dislike for outsiders. You likely won't have much interaction with them. To the north and north-west are Kyo and the Mamushi Oil Fields, both ruled by Ashikaga." Here, she paused, and didn't notice Ilia's fist clenching.

"Ashikaga is led by Choushin Ashikaga. He's a strange sort of... fish demon? He's a very vain and cruel man... Ashikaga used to be a vassal under Komai, not sure if you were aware, but they went independent during the period of Komai being between rulers... if I am honest, I would expect Ashikaga to probably seek war. Knowing Choushin, however, he will try to provoke it, by extorting money from Komai for something until you refuse, and use that to declare war."

"That man also murdered the cousin of the current ruler of Akashi, when they were children, and used old laws to get away with it. He is not to be trusted." Ilia speaking up surprised Yuki, but she didn't say anything. She'd already let her nerves get the better of her and was rude to Ilia earlier; she'd prefer not to make it worse before she could apologize.

"I wasn't aware of that... though I see no reason for Ilia to lie, and she is well traveled. Anyway, to your west is Yamato, ruled by Iga, a clan of shinobi. They are not likely to be a problem... I don't think. They keep to themselves, they tend to resent other territories for using shinobi as expendable tools as opposed to people. I would advise keeping on their good side, mind. Their people are very skilled in the art of death. And then sharing your southern border is Ise, ruled by Hara. They shouldn't be much of an issue. They are a weak territory, more concerned with keeping it's citizens happy than anything else. The new princess seems to be causing problems, however, so things may change." There was more to tell, but she wanted to hear his thoughts on things so far first.

Hester went silent as Yuki talked as he absorbed the information he was given, taking what could be useful and discarding what wasn't. He wasn't a leader of Komai but he was a general so naturally he would have to pay attention to all the potential threats and how best to deal with them if they proved to be a problem. Though as the general policy of Komai, they would do all they could to avoid fighting and excluding that would do their best to end the conflict as swiftly as possible.

It also had another perk. This meant while other territories would be licking their wounds, they could be saving up strength, using it only when it was needed the most.

"You said 'may' be causing problems in Hara, what do you mean? And has your father had any dealings with this Ashikaga?" Reifer took note of Ilia's words but said nothing. He didn't know any of these people but they had been nothing but civil thus far, a limited amount of trust would be extended.

Yuki sighed. "Princess Aki, of Hara. She was married to the head of the Hara family in a political marriage. She is a spoiled brat, more concerned with herself than anyone else. She has recently been causing a lot of resentment from the citizens because of her attitude, and her husband... it's become clear that he loves her, and she leads him around by the nose. He gives her whatever she wants. As for Ashikaga... he gave himself the name 'Choushin', meaning 'Supergod', because he felt it was the only name fitting for him. He is already trying to convince people from other territories to ally with him against you in case war breaks out. We already know he would be the one to start the war, and none of the other territories want anything to do with him."

She shook her head a bit. "My father tries to avoid dealing with Ashikaga when he can, though he had to pay Ashikaga to allow us safe passage here, since Asai-Asakura is just north of Ashikaga's territories. Which also leads to our first ally. Akashi's territories of Sado and Mazo are to our north-east, your north above Ashikaga. To Asai-Asakura's direct east, between Ashikaga and Akashi, is Yamatai, home of the Miko Institute." She blushed ever so slightly there, but continued. "The Miko Institute is a neutral territory, they are left alone by everyone. To their east is Shinano and Kai, ruled by Takeda. Takeda is in a near constant war with Akashi, as Takeda wants to unite all the territories under their banner through conquest. They are currently in a temporary peace, however, because the leader of Akashi single-handedly defeated, and nearly killed, Takeda's Four Generals recently."

Ilia smirked slightly at that, while Yuki continued. "To the south of Takeda, and south of here on the other side of Tokugawa, is Imagawa... we don't really know what is going on there, the people of Imagawa are secretive. To the north-east of there, east of Takeda, is the three territories of Souun; Saitama, Edo, and Kazusa. They are allied with Akashi and Asa-Asakura, and help Akashi in keeping Takeda in check. Their main focus, other than that, is dealing with keeping the wild oni in check as well. They also sealed off Death Country, to the far west, where a small portal to the Abyss has caused the land to become uninhabitable, and are led by Houjo Souun."

"Finally, on the east anyway, are to the far north-east the two territories of the One-Eyed House. Ezo and Oshu are basically the capitals of Halzara, with the capital city of Noba being in Ezo. It's where the Demon King Gi, and the Demon Council reside. Strange things have been going on there in recent days, nobody is sure what is happening. I'm sure you knew about the Demon King, though. To the west of here, is Tenshi's territories of Naniwa and Mikan, led by the sage Seigan. Further west are the territories of Tanegashima, who house the best blacksmiths. Himeji is trying to rebuild after most of the ruling house were killed in a war with Mori, further east. Mori are... well, they simply love war, and to fight. Their ruler, Motonari, is a monster of a man, and his three daughters are rather terrifying in their own right. Finally, to the far south-west, are the Shimazu. They... are led by four brothers who... well, they all are only interested in women, and will conquer a territory just for the chance to woo it's women. I suppose the fact that they don't force the women is a good thing, but they are still building a giant harem for themselves. There is one woman they seem to hold in high regard as a sort of older sister though. Princess Kuro. Nothing is really known about her, though she seems to be a sweet person."

There was a great many things that interested Reifer when Yuki finished for now, among the first were the other territories and some of the people listed. Yuki would be able to tell him of some of the things she had spoken about but he had no doubt there were many things she had little, if any knowledge of for the most part.

"I have a few questions but I'll start off with just a few for now," Reifer said. "The first when you mentioned Miko's..why did you blush? The second about this 'Death Country'. You mentioned it being led by a Houjo Souun. What do you know about them?"

Hester's face turned into one of visible distaste. "This man who named himself 'Super God' has quite the ego, I wager. He is very lucky actual deities don't take offense."

"They more then likely have better things to do."

"Point Lord Reifer," Hester nodded. "I suppose from all said, conflict is a matter of when, not if. That being the case it'll be something to prepare for. Komai and I have no love for the bloody dances of war, but if it comes down to it so be it. Mori also seems rather worrying."

Yuki went red, covering her face briefly. Taking pity on her, Ilia spoke up. "If you'll forgive me for speaking out of place, I'll explain. The Miko Institute has shrines throughout the lands, but they are headquartered in Yamatai. People travel to Yamatai to have sleep with one of the Miko's there. The exact reasons that the Miko do this is unknown. There are many theories. What is known is that men and women travel there, and draw lots. If they 'win', they get to sleep with one of them; it is very rare that someone loses. The only Miko that never sleeps with anyone is Nitori, the leader of the Miko Institute. Another thing that is known is that it's apparently therapeutic, as the people who go there have stated that they felt calm and refreshed afterward." Yuki was clearly embarrassed, nodding a bit. Ilia continued.

"As for Death Country, it's not really led by Houjo. That territory technically belongs to his clan, but they really just sealed it off. Nobody is really sure what is going on in that territory. As for Houjo, he seems to be a good man. Like Kenshin Akashi and Yoshikage Asakura, his priority is preserving peace in Halzara."

Reifer was a bit satisfied for now, nodding. "I see. So potentially an ally if we manage to talk, assuming we're on the same page about things. However, seeing as they are rather far away I don't expect that to happen anytime soon."

 "It would be best to focus on our immediate problems here," Hester said. "I don't think we'll be encountering them anytime soon as is. Ashikaga is more of my concern as a general at the moment."

Yuki cleared her throat, sending Ilia an appreciative look for her help; Ilia simply nodded, while Yuki continued. "Well, I can say that if peace is truly what you are wanting, it may be possible for Komai to join the alliance with Asai-Asakura, Akashi, and Sounn. We can help each other with trade, negotiations, and the like. Though considering the current situation, it may be more difficult, with Akashi and Sounn having to keep Takeda in check. The likely looming war with Ashikaga isn't a good thing either. Asai-Asakura will not get involved in any fighting unless we have no choice; currently, we are only helping Akashi and Sounn with supplies and tending to the injured. Those two are also not likely to be eager to help against Ashikaga, ending up fighting on two fronts." She paused here, thinking.

"...I think... most likely, Asai-Asakura may be able to do the same for you if Ashikaga does what we think it will. Once that situation is dealt with, we can probably discuss more in-depth cooperation. My father will be very pleased to hear that the new lord of Komai has a mind for peace as well."

"I understand about not getting involved unless you have too," Reifer said. "If it were entirely up to me I would completely avoid conflict with Ashikaga but I don't think that's realistic. That said, I would be happy for a alliance once this dealt with. We can discuss in more detail once the threat is dealt with one way or another."

"Appease a bully once, they'll nudge for more. Gives them more then and I'll give another inch until you snap and strike back, then claim You were the aggressor." Hestor shook his head. "Seems to be about right if I have a basic idea of how they operate, but these are just guesses.."

He turned to Yuki. "Can you tell us anything about their miltary might? Numbers? Notable units they may have? Anything? It seems our friend Ashikaga prefers the language of violence, it just happens if need be I am quite fluent in it as well."

Yuki seemed to be thinking it over, but Ilia spoke up again. "In terms of numbers, they outstrip you, two-to-one, roughly. However, their soldiers are poorly trained, and Ashikaga is hardly a tactician. Overpowering and outmaneuvering them will be a simple matter. You have little to fear if you work toward a swift end to the conflict. The only issue would be if you get into a prolonged war, due to his numbers, but that is it."

"A swift end is what we'll aim for, and hopefully we'll get. Is there anything else you can tell us, or that we need to know?" Hestor was weighing in on their options of how to approach things. It wasn't really normally Komai's operating procedure to make the first move unless they needed too. More often then not, they just went on things defensively instead of wars of conquest. However, if there was ever a grave threat they couldn't ignore then they would sometimes strike if a peaceful option couldn't be obtained.

Ilia spoke again. "Secretly prepare your forces, and when Ashikaga inevitably declares war, immediately strike. The fool will assume you were unprepared for war, and be caught off guard. Strike swiftly, and cut off the head of the snake; push for the fools capital and end it."

"...That's a good idea... if you wait for him to declare war, you can't be seen as inciting war yourself."

Hestor chuckled a bit. "I do like that idea a lot. In fact I was thinking of something along those lines, great minds or coincidence?"

"Knowing you, probably the later." Reifer teased, turning to the two young women. "If there's nothing else I believe we could consider it closed for now. Will you be staying over or returning right away? It's getting rather late and Ilia I'm sure can take care of herself but it would be safer to wait until morning. Still its not my place to tell you what to do, but if you do stay I'd be happy to show you around before you retire."

Yuki wanted to see what Komai was like, but wasn't sure; she didn't want to make Ilia's job harder than she already tended to do. She looked to Ilia, who sighed. "I suppose we can stay one night. Probably best not to set off at night anyway, in this day and age. I hope you won't mind if I inspect the quarters you intend us to use?" Not that she was likely to sleep; she was more likely to patrol the halls around Yuki's room until morning.

"I don't have any problem with that. You're just looking out for yourself and your own after all. In the mean time I can show you some of the main places but I'll keep it short so you two can get some rest. Then, if you want, we could continue tomorrow. This way please.

There was actually plenty of daybreak out, but by the time they were even half way home they would have been in the dark. As is, when the group left some greeted them as they went noticing Reifer and the other two guest while others were far too busy and engrossed in their own work. That would have been odd to most people until you realized how mellow the Lord of Komai was at most times. When his temper did rise, it was rather frighteningly, but it was thankfully rather rare.

Further inside the palace, they reached one of the many guest rooms, Hestor being the one to open the door for them. It was overall pleasant to look at with enough space to breath in. There was two beds instead of one.

"Since she's your bodyguard, I figured you'd want to share the same room," Reifer said nodding to the beds. "We actually don't get as many vistors as we should. I suppose its both a blessing and a hinderance."

"A bit of both," Hestor agreed. "If you ladies need anything later tonight they'll be maids working their night shifts as well."

Yuki nodded, smiling, while Ilia seemed to be doing exactly as she'd said; inspecting the room. She seemed engrossed in what she was doing, while Yuki seemed more interested in talking to Reifer and Hestor. "So, if I may ask, how exactly did you come to be the ruler of Komai? Up until then, nobody was even aware of your existance. Were you living somewhere else?"