^^ Ink-Mage ^^

--- Tama Arashi-Kumo ---

The Emperor gasped softly at the sight of the glorious amalgamation of color, the fishermen and merchants saluting the sunrise with their best flags, kites, and lanterns.

He smiled slowly. "When we return... I command you, Lord Ran... to make this happen in Tokyo Bay, and twice, no, ten times as resplendent. We simply Cannot have someone else who honors the sunrise more than the Land of the Rising Sun!"

Ran bowed, and I continued looking around for any security threats, while they fawned over the view.

Eventually, the sun left the horizon, and the flags slowly came down, with the other decorations slowly following as well.

The royal procession began slowly making its way down towards the palace, the Elder dragon's flying ahead with Sora, one by one, as he helped them fly the distance.

Once he'd gotten them settled, he returned, lazily flying over us with his mate.

Father hummed, looking at me on the seat beside him in the sedan chair he'd grudgingly submitted to riding in.

"Yes, father?" I asked.

"You are happy, then?" He asked suddenly.

I blinked. "I am. It is an odd feeling, honestly. I am used to only being happy around Yoko, but... yes. I am happy, being here, dealing with baby dragon's, meeting extraordinary people. It is... fun."

He smiled. "Good. That is very well, then... and your wife?"

"She is very interesting. She was the Commander of the Guard, until her father brought her home for this situation, and we've reached a healthy compromise in our relationship." I nodded.

"Compromise?"

"She enjoys only women in her bed. In China, this seems to be taboo, for some reason." I waved a hand dismissively.

He hummed. "Yes, China has many more strict ideals than us. So what was your compromise?"

"I will have her choose her own Harem. She will have them, and I will have Yoko, and my own Harem. We have already become friends, so the stretch to collaborators is not a far one." I chuckled.

He laughed heartily. "No, no it isn't, is it? Well, I'm happy you and Lady Tanjo will be able to make up... I went to see her, to comfort her, and she had closed her shop for the day, a few hours earlier than usual. Her father nearly refused to allow me to see her..."

I blinked. "Well, that's reasonable... to him, I must've seemed like I was wasting twelve years of her life."

He nodded. "Mm... when I did see her, though, she seemed physically healthy, at least, but very saddened by the news she'd been given. I gave her the new news, from your letters, and she brightened a bit, but she still suffers without you around." He shook his head sadly.

"And there are a few more months, besides, until I may marry her... tsk." I grumbled, and looked out the window, then froze.

"Son?"

"There should not be Geisha on this street." I leapt out of the chair. "HALT THE PROCESSION!!!" I roared, and everything halted, just as assassins began pouring through the alleys, dressed in rumbled guards uniforms.

Lee-Kahn stepped towards Me, but I pointed at my mother and Tiān, and he nodded, pushing Ten-Moro towards me roughly.

The guard handed me my swords, and then the Emperor his as well.

Father grinned savagely. "Ahhhh, so long since I've been in a decent scrap... I hope I'm not rusty."

The geisha I'd seen smirked in my direction, and sensually stripped her blouse, leaving her torso bare, but instead of embarrassment, my blood ran cold.

Tattooed upon her skin were two small Imperial Dragons, and they were slowly pulling themselves off of her breasts.

She smiled and pet them gently, redressing her blouse, then smirked at me again.

"Ink-Mage..." I whispered, feeling what might have become fear, for the first time in my life. Humans could not kill a shadow, after all.

Father grumbled at the sight of her. "Ran, my boy, handle that Mage, and Tan, guard the other dragons with Sora." He commanded simply.

Ran appeared from thin air, his hands glowing with chaos magic. "It would be my pleasure..." he frowned at her.

She recognized him, evidently, because she lost any and all of her earlier swagger, shakily pointing the two dragons at him.

They swarmed towards him, and before he could do anything, Sora simply stomped on them, grinding them into the cobbled street, and Qiáng-Lòng scorched the mage to death, then looked at the other assassins, a crowd around us.

They slowly drew their weapons, conviction in their gaze.

Sora looked at his daughter. "Look upon this, my daughter, and tremble at the might of a True Dragon." He said, disdainfully shaking the ink/blood from his paw.

His mate let loose her Flames, he let loose his Divine Breath, and the assassins rushed forward, ever true to their purpose.

I drew my blade, and surged to meet the first of them as storms gathered above me at my call. I cut the first assassin cleanly in half, crown to crotch, and continued on next to my father, wading through the enemies as lightning began falling around me, targeting their weapons.

Father's enchanted blade caused some minor problems for me, because it turned his opponents into pure gold upon death, and flying golden body parts hurt, apparently, when they struck skulls.

Lee-Kahn and Tiān-Kōng surprised me by coming behind us, and clearing out the remainders after we waded past.

I growled at them, and Lee-Kahn shrugged towards the Empress, who, with Mother, were both also killing assassins with a pair of swords they'd gotten somewhere.

"Holy shit... Mother can fight?" I asked incredulously, and Father laughed loudly, despite the situation, then cut a man's head off.

The heavily reduced numbers, now walled in by a barrier of Ran's making, dropped their weapons, as cowards were know to do, and then almost in unison drank from a poison flask on their belts.

I took the flask of one of them before he drank, and knocked him out, watching the others die a horrible, painful death.

I nodded to Ran, and the barrier slowly shrank, passing by us, and as it passed, it took all the blood from our clothes, and the bodies from the ground.

Once collected, he set it alight with the heat of the sun, melting the bodies and pouring the liquid meat into the harbor.

It was a nauseating thought, but realistically good for fishing, as the poison had been removed, and the fishermen quickly began netting in the fish who came up to eat.

I sheathed my weapons. "Well, it's not a wedding without an assassination attempt, eh?" I joked to father quietly, but in the silence of the aftermath, everyone heard me, and they all laughed, the tension shattering.

I grinned and looked at Tiān. "I like your hair this way." I said simply, gesturing to the beautiful ringlets and waves down her back.

She smiled, and bowed her head. "Very good, then. Thank you."

I straightened my clothes, and nodded. "So, shall we continue on, father?"

---

We entered the Main Hall, and the Chinese nobles quieted, seeing our perfectly groomed appearances, despite the lingering blood on our weapons, and the scent of violent death that followed us.

"Great Opal Emperor. I present my father, the Great Jade Emperor." I said into the silence, and knelt slowly.

Father bowed his head in sync with the Chinese emperor and his dragon, Kuryuu. "Our Clan brings honored Greetings." He said simply.

The opal emperor smiled. "Ahh, yes... our friends from the East. It would seem you met some trouble, on the way here. Nothing too much for your guards, we hope?" He asked.

Father smirked. "Of course not. Our guard did not even draw his blade."

He handed me his sword, and then nodded to the Empress, who came to his side with a grace and elegance many of the women in attendance immediately coveted. "Greetings." She bowed her head, and then nodded to her husband, confirming her health.

Mother stood by my side as Tiān-Kōng knelt next to the Emperor's throne.

The Opal Emperor hummed softly after she'd recounted the events. "We see... well, it is resolved now, however it came about. The wedding begins at Sun-High, and so we may eat the morning meal before we must get... well, we say dolled up, for us. Our servants seem to think we must be as beautiful as our daughter, which we find odd. We are not getting married, after all." He chuckled softly.

Father smiled. "Ahh, yes. Servants who have too much pride in their masters. We also have this issue. It is born of love and loyalty, and so it is not a bad thing, only slightly bothersome." He sighed gently.

They laughed at the apparently exclusive joke, and Tiān and I sat next to one another as a table was brought in, and place settings placed.

"They're getting along well..." she murmured.

"They're Emperors who don't want to go to war." I said dryly.

She snorted, covering her mouth quickly. "Ahem... yes, I suppose you're right... still, it's not entirely falsified, I don't think." She gazed at them critically.

I shrugged. "It doesn't matter. We can get them through today smoothly, and then, hopefully, that's the last of it, and they'll never meet again."

She nodded. "Agreed. Oh! Suckling Pig! My favorite..." she stared at the pig being brought out, grinning.

I chuckled. "Oh shiny..."

"What's that?"

"Nothing, dearest. Enjoy your food, I will keep the peace." I smiled.

---

I laid on Sora's back, with all the other dragons around us, surrounding the two emperors, who sat in the circle created by the dragons, carelessly playing a game of Go, and speaking of improving trade relations.

"We'll need a fleet of Warships, of course, to patrol for any Demons or Pirates..." Father nodded.

"Though, pirates are good for business..." the Opal Emperor hummed.

"True, but they can increase their activity in the Malaysian and Fiji islands, targeting exports and imports, instead. And they'll have to learn to leave be, any ship flying the Imperial Navy's Flags." Father moved a piece, and captured two of the emperor's pieces.

"That could work, yes... and that way, cargo between our countries would be protected... yes. I'll have my Carpenters and Boatbuilders working with you by the summer..." the Opal Emperor nodded slowly, retaliating by making a 'Ko' move, and retaking a single piece, for his two.

Father tsk'ed. "Ko... ahem, well, I will also have my best Blacksmiths on the project. I have a few ideas... and we have a few prototypes for advanced Black-Powder Ballistae..." he refused the repetitive Ko, and instead took a corner pocket, with one Liberty, a stronger placing.

"And Cannon's, no doubt... but that is good, either way. I've teased the idea of a ship made of metal, but I've never felt the need to waste that much metal on something that wouldn't be able to leave Harbor." The Emperor shrugged.

Father smiled. "Oh, it'll leave Harbor. And it will be able to handle the Harshest Monsoons. I shall have it tested against the Greatest Storm Mages the world has ever seen. Only if it passes will it be allowed to be reproduced."

The Emperor nodded. "Good... and the Dragon Army you'd like to build? How may I assist?"

"That is actually my project... I shall spearhead it. I shall need, of you both, every type of dragon in Asia. I will breed them, and find the best combinations for War. I shall also require intelligent men and women; Mages, if possible. They must be intellectual, to bond with a dragon, though soldiers with a good head for strategy will also be acceptable." Sora hummed.

Father nodded. "It will be done. What else?"

"If at all possible, I'd like a location in the Sea, an Island of generous proportions, to establish a training facility. I will also need food, for the dragons who require it." Sora clenched his claws in excitement.

Father hummed. "I have a few... the Mysterious Floating Island of Kaarth might do very well, now I think of it."

The Opal Emperor flinched. "You have managed to secure that Island?"

"It is chained to Tokyo Harbor, yes. It turns out, it is a fully-grown Lion-Turtle. The inner meat has long-since gone, but the bones, skin, and shell remain, nearly indestructible. It also has some sort of magical barrier around it, and even though there's numerous holes that reach the ocean, no water come into the shell, and the mile-tall mountains made of stone, dirt, metal, and even coral on its back is perfect for training dragons." Father nodded triumphantly.

Sora hissed gently. "This news is pleasing to me... I shall use the area inside to house the dragons... I shall make my own Sovereign Nation."

I blinked and looked at him, shocked, and he grinned savagely. "I shall be Sora Tama, Ryuujin-Sora. Of course, we will be one of the Kingdoms within the Asian Empire, simply we will govern ourselves internally, in all but international disputes. To be clear, I am not rebelling, I simply think that the Dragon's will react better, knowing one of their own is their King, even if he is companion to the Next Emperor of Asia." He nodded seriously.

Father chuckled softly, then roared with laughter, leaning back against his companion dragon, the eldest of all of the dragons, besides Sei.

The elder chuckled softly. "Well spoken, little Cousin... and spoken truly. Dragons do not accept rule by humans. Rule by a Japanese Imperial Dragon... that may do the trick. Even without Companions, they may follow your orders."

Sora bowed his head slowly. "Thank you for your praises, Elder Hao."

The elder chuckled again, and then laid his head back down.

Father hummed, getting ahold of his laughter. "Yes, Sora, you make a very good point. I shall have the Island moved to a tall part of the sea, between China and Japan, as an Independent Nation, and anchored to the Sea Floor." He nodded.

"And I will begin collecting dragons of breeding age-"

"Age is irrelevant... as Arashi has proven, time and again, it is possible to inseminate a female without active sperm, or active eggs. I simply need one female or more of breeding age, and she may lay the eggs, even though they are not hers. It is possible, like the human Surrogates." Sora twitched his tail, excited by his research bearing fruit.

Father blinked. "Oh... that is fascinating, actually... we might be able to have more Imperials, then? Without Inbreeding?"

Sora nodded. "Such was the purpose of my research. Now... I hate to interrupt our fascinating conversation, but I do believe there is a wedding to attend shortly, and we are something of the main attendees." He said dryly, gazing up at the sun, which was almost directly above us.