Dev Shadows of Atrisia

[Junko Ike]

"The Western Wolves." The empress said it and pointed to the standards... flags flying over some of the districts that were being fought for and it wasn't as chaotic as it seemed... it was more controlled she knew and this was where some of the finest generals of Atrisia were born and trained... the Onyx Empress was many things but she was smart and dangerous above all else. She knew how to distill the strongest fighters and tacticians by making them fight each other which other emperors and empresses had kept but changed it to no killing scenarios instead relyig on honor and prestigue because it didn't serve to just kill everyone.

Junko though looked towards the more dangerous of them.. the western wolves were considered a dangerous new group as they collected several who had something to prove. Different warriors in the academies and they were often considered to not... preform everything with honor but it was hard to prove. Still the few who had come out were in the army and were a strong asset based on their records... some were even pilots who flew the new fighters with skill and precision. "THey are still producing new members but if their reputation is anything their fighting skills is much better then their manners or their sense of honor... sure you want to talk with them first.

 

[Junko Ike]

The battles themselves... well there was no other way to describe them... Junko could see one of the rising talents as the woman moved... her naganita moved and she was considered by many as the top fighter... a demon even before she was weavin through a crowd of enemy fighters. The flags that they were working to denote who was alive and who had the higher count as she was taking them from the defeated. her one arm covered in ribbons of red while she had one blue. The big four from the western wolves though then did somethign she had not been expecting as the empress looked on and her honor guard were escorting them.

"Is she turning on them?" The empress said it and Junko looked closer as she was able to hear the words and read the womans lips before she was moving around. Jnko could see more of it and it did look like Unchou was turning on her own people... mostly speaking that she had been wanting a challenge and he others were boring... why fight someone she knew she could win against. Smirks and bravadowere given but Junko understood a few things about this... wanting to test their skills as they brandished weapons.. one of them using a half blade not quite a katana or a tanto and another using a spear as they started fighting.

 

[Junko Ike]

The battle between the four fo them was intense and it suddenly became three on one but the one was holding their own usually fighting two at a time before sending them bacl. She moved through the alleyways and narrowed the fight letting her be able to move around and limit the range of movement that was going on for her opponents. The naganita she was using gleamed as the jeweled metal shown the finest craftsmenship and the ones they were leading into battle presented themselves as two armies fighting in the streets and making it a dangerous place. The people were out of the immediate area though which was an important thing.

Then there was the sound of the horns and drums as the empress seemed to just be getting into the mood of the situations. "Ahhh it is over, it was just getting good." She looked at Junko pointed to the one leader as it were who had caught the other. The battle was over but the big four seemed ready to keep going as the honor guard were escorting Junko and the empress from the port to the academies... They would hopefully be able to check out a few things. The soldiers who worked as her guards were not yovshin but they wore crimson armor with black markings... from the time of the Onyx empress she had assigned them to oversee th students.

 

[Junko Ike]

That was maybe one fo the more interesting things.. this province of Kansai was like a time capsule thanks to mos of its isolation and while they had changed they had still kept many of the traditions that had been developed and refined during he reign of the Onyx empress. The battlng schools and academies serves a purpose and the unique guards served a purpose as they were considered some of the most loyal of all the yovshin to the emperor and or empress. Junko was looking at the guards tough who were not yovshin here anymore but they were pre or quasi as it were as they could be transferred and showed some of the best dedication to their lifestyle.

The empress though as they got down was approached by her. Unchou stood tall and lithe... well not entirely she was clearly muscled and worked out. The more dangerous part of her was the naganita that was with her as she adjusted and removed the ribbons from her arm indicating what side fo the conflict she had been on. The others seemed in good humor about it while the empress spoke with a smile on her face. "A good display of your skill, I don't think I have seen many use a naganita in recent memory as strong as you have been." She said it and the student fighter bowed while holding it and Junko noted her jade necklace and long hair.

 

[Junko Ike]

"Welcome empress." Her voice came out and she stood before the two of them, her impossibly tall size wasn't as big up close but she was still taller a head and shoulder then the two of them. her naganita gleaming with the jeweled metal as its blade was sharp and smooth. Its owner grinning and holding it behind her back as she was given a position at Junko's side and the other big three of the fighters stood there off to the other side of the empress... silent but prepared. Their armies as it were had dispersed and the empress spoke. "That was most impressive, I hope you four will be bringing your skills to the Yovshin."

She got some looks from them as they were joined by the guards and instructors. Unchou spoke with a look towards the empress as she seemed to think about it. "I do plan to my empress if they will have me. I know while we are skilled here we are just a small group in Atrisia." She said it and Junko was surprised at how humble she seemed to have become. There was a smile on her face though as she spoke. "Perhaps but this series of Academies have been known to produce some of the strongest and most dedicated Yovshin on Atrisia." That seemed to make them happy as they were thinking about it and a little pride in their reputation as a school got the teachers to have some bluster.

 

[Junko Ike]

The empress though didn't seem to mind as they were going through the streets with Unchou and the other students of the Western Wolves.. she could see that there were far more of them when they finally arrived as the academies entrance with its large gates and tall buildings. The other first year students training in the courtyard of the building using various weapos that were more suited to their style from chain sickles to single katana's or jar'kai blades... she even saw some naganita and energy bows there for spice. Handheld crossbolts which were like miniature wookiee bowcasters and some of the most dangerous weapons in the proper hands.

Jnko was seeing more of the adacemy as the students with their weapons was impressive but the instructors were also some of the best. Hardened Yovshin who had served and trained the next generation... spearmaidens... the onna-bugeisha who served as local defense forces since having children and not leaving the cities. They were quite talented and she could see many of them as they had their own sections.. the statues showing them nursing a child while holding a spear. The message was clear as they were some of the best in terms of motivation to protect the cities and the people. The villages where they would be stationed were impressive.

 

[Junko Ike]

She could see more and they were practicing other things here... hover cars, speeders, archery with energy bows and traditional bows.. the guardians of the whills had presented their powerful bows once upon a time and well... they had been taught to the others here. The Western Wolves also lived up to their name as she was seeing the trophies and awards they had managed to get from competitions across the city and regions in the area. The empress was looking impressed at it before she was speaking. "I see a lot of awards but what about the other students... how have they been fairing under the new educational reforms that we have been implementing across the planet?"

Unchou looked at the empress as they entered one of the larger buildings and it was an auditorium where thousands of seats were located. A battle plan across the city was on display and statues of prominent figures were on display for all of them to see and looking down upon them it was like they were judging the teams. Junko looked at some of their battle plans and the different districts were set up there with minor schools for as well as information about the cities. Now she could at least see the scope of what the Onyx empress had wanted to to and it was impressive as they had to follow within certain rules for gaining political favor while not overwhelming or taking the schools.

 

[Junko Ike]

Junko and the empress sat down in one of the areas as several of the students were explaining what it was that happened and while they had still won there was a risk since one of them had switched sides to simply get stronger fights... something that wasn't always recommenced ..... hell it was frowned upon but that it seemed to happen often enough that they would see it as blase to the point of shrugging it off... their fighters just wanted to be stronger and get stronger they wanted to face off against the really powerful members that they fought. Unchou was looking at them and she presented a few of their past battles as the empress had asked about changing sides.

"So it happens often then?" The empress was looking at them and they presented a few things. "Yes but usually because the other schools have not been getting stronger or feeling the thrill of the fight like some of us do. They are talented but what they have been doing is more academic but they fell behind with the reforms. Likely they need to be reworked as the student bodies care more about being popular or using the media that has been geneated totalk down about others. We have just proven their intimidation tactics rarely if ever will work in a real world situation." Unchouc rather liked it as she could see and there was always a time to change it out.

 

[Junko Ike]

Junko had to agree, there was a sense of entitlement as comfort from advances would be making the people look towards things that are not as important. no one cares about moral justice when there are criminals but as law and order have become stronger to stop such dangerous things then they have time to think about it and really well she found them annoying. THey seemed to think things were supposed to be given to them and they didn't have to work for it. An age without war or strife would be dangerous in emboldening them butit was also the parents who were trying to teach them properly. The empress had expressed concern mostly with their views of wanting to rewrite history and paint people as evil.

The empress though was impressed and well there was some things that they might be able to do.. if the schools were failing or falling behind then they would have to be reformed and reworked in many things. They might be able to improve vastly the fighting spirit and competition of the schools here as they were getting the full idea of the history lessons about that had been happening. A smirk appearing on Junko's face though while she was looking at one fo the instructors who was wearing the synthleather outfits that Sasori had developed with a nod of her head. Itwas tight across her frame and she filled it out but her hair was massive.

 

[Junko Ike]

Junko could see more of it and one of the instructors came up to her while she was waiting and... "Meiko?" Junko's voice came out and she shot up from her seat for a moment. The two of them embraced and she couldn't believe her little cousin was here. "I had heard you were accepted into an academy but I had not been expecting it to be here... I didn't know you would want to be involved in all of the fighting." There was a smile though as she was looking back at the empress who was pleased and offering a hand for the girl to kiss the ring and bow. Meiko did just that and there was more going on with all of them. Meiko stood next to Junko afterwards rising back up.

Junko was looking at more of it as Meiko brought out some of her friends as well.. the western wolves were well they were not like expected and were talking about their prison... a sort of place they put captured spies from the other schools who try to come and get their plans of attack. The empress expressed an interest in it and the two of them went with the small group out to it as the large building was mostly focused on keeping the people there in minimal comfort but it wasn't inhumane in any terms. They worked by agreement when caught to hard labor as it was agreed by many of the other schools. They had captured in the recent battle two of from other schools.

 

[Junko Ike]

It wasn't very impressive and seemed more for show then actual use. The other students who were around them before she and the Empress stood off to the side. They could see some of the captives trying to protest their treatment as terrible and calling the western wolves racists... speciests. The danger that was coming to them well they didn't understand... the risks of it as she had seen what some of them were trying to do. Their local networks talking about it and how they needed to tear it all down and just give everyone free stuff didn't help... no JUnko wanted to be a jedi and help but their views were dangerous.... the Empress would have to do her reforms if they were lucky.

"Well this is a development that we will have to deal with." The Empress said it but she was mostly unfazed... the teenagers who were trying to protest had no real ground to stand on as half the things they were complaining about. They were still using the makie class droids that were made by the governemtn to give them access to the services and capabilities here. They were trying to march and impeded by soldiers and students from the school who were more then happyy to make sure they knew they supported the school and people of Atrisia. "The empress and emperor are despots who want to genocide all indigenous people."

 

[Junko Ike]

Junko continued to hear it and was trying to figure some of the things out... only Atrisians were well native to Atrisia and there were many of them.. these students were... infected mentally with whatever it was mythos had brought back with him as they seemed to support him and wanted to tear everything down and have themselves in power. It wouldn't work.. they had worked to ensure the important things were safeguarded and Atrisians were very much a generation of traditionalists with environmental terraforming and cleaning so that they would be able to ensure the planet was well protected. The air processors would be an important part of it.

There was more of course.. they were working on some parts of the planet that would be used to renew and redevelop... fix problems along with the massive walls that would be able to protect the cities and villages.. towns would be able to spring up and in some cases district blocks that were designed to house tens of millions within an area in comfort would be given for low cost... they would preserve many of the historical sites across the planet and give nature a chance to regrow itself. The massive shinra company that was able to be part of the planet would serve a purpose with all of them. Junko just had to well test the waters in terms of ideas and planning stages.

 

[Junko Ike]

Junko could see more of it around them as well, the first set of walls had been augmented. The orchid platforms were visible as were the shielding an atmospheric processors that would work with everything that they were doing. She wanted to try and check out them later with the empress and get the massive tourism as powerful biofilters would serve to protect the cities. There were others like what had been developed on Coruscant to handle the powerful smog produced by the factories and she knew one of the cities that they were making looked like what the moon would eventually look like. The walls served but it was made as a massive multi layered city.

It was a practical experiment and meant to well be a massive boon for a population center. the walls would still be massive and taller then the city but the way that they were developing it was more like a small slice of Coruscant as it had been developed with two hundred levels plus internally set up water and power systems so the city could be self contained. The neo Ishi temple above and royal palace that had won out with the builders. The city here was also something that was going to be improved and now well.. now these students would give the Empress and Emperor a chance to really do it and not feel bad as new educational institutions sprung up.

 

[Junko Ike]

The empress though seemed impressed as she stood there. "Hmmm well I am sold on a few ideas, I know it is't the best but eventually the city will get the rest of the reconstruction efforts that we have been trying to get to all of the cities and towns. Hopefully you hve been filling in the requests and gotten everything of value ready to be used." She said it with a smirk on her face though seeing everything else that they had. The school here was well one of the best looking as they kept with the upkeep and she could see where they had their wall of honors for military groups and units their people had gone into. All some fo the highest honors that could be bestowed.

Junko was able to see many more things that might be of interest and the larger grin appeared on her face for the two of them to travel along the walls of the academy. Down below she was seeing the martial prowess and prospects of the different educational reforms... the students were being taught much much more. The different subjects, he techniques to enhance their memories and recall capabilities, their training in aspects of the physical and mental aspects of combat ad Junko could see what was one of the biggest things. The final test for graduation to one of the military academies... a simulator using a thrawn AI that would test them on everything.

 

[Junko Ike]

And from what she could tell that was the biggest difference.. the academy had taken to the challenge and the test while the others had wanted to make it easier. Instead of rising and seeing what their students could do they wanted to coddle them and it explained why in so many ways the Western Wolves were dominating... they just had that edge which was going to be given to the other schools and districts as not allof them were falling behind but.... "I think we should gather the academy heads for a meetings and explain what it is that will be happening bot to the schools as well as to the districts and the cities empress. They should know if they hadn't already figured it out."

The empress seemed to be thinking about it and nodded her head in agreement. "They should be told if they haven't already... we want to develop and change a great deal across atrisia and kansai is part of it. Visiting the Kensai will be next as they has some explaining to do but have also been so reclusive I almost hate going to try and disturb them." Junko agreed and motioned for one of their attendants to go off and handle it. Getting the different academy leaders to meet would be easy enough... explaining the situation to them would be easy... it was going to be the questions of what would become of them as the tradition had stood for thousands of years.

 

[Junko Ike]

The next few days were spent organizing said meeting... staying at the Western Wolves academy... the empress and Junko with their handmaidens were going over all of the information and trying to learn what they could about the new leaders of each school. The teachers were mportant but they were all being represented by one administrator who was te head... so had to make sure they were not going to offend and the Empress was one for making sure everyone was happy but she knew how to be firm about not giving into demands. Junko though was wondering what they were going to react to about the new plan for educational reforms and reconstruction.

The meeting place itself was considered a neutral ground.. in truth it was just outside of the academy districts that had been constructed as part of the city and it was hard to explain in some cases. Kansai's city had three major districts.. the crystal city which was where most people of originally great houses were, the lower districts with homes and markets and the academy district with all of the schools that were in a constant state of conflict. Junko was looking at the massive crystal buildings that has been carved and it was said but hard to prove that it was all from a single crystal, shaped and hollowed and carved into the massive original city that was built around.

 

[Junko Ike]

The first to arrive was Himiko from the northern academy, black kimono and black hair that hung over it. Junko knew a little about her before she took over the academ... largely that she had been of some importance when it came to the priestesses of the Sarnoi;.. originally from there but she hadn't been born there... no children were born there the old priestesses didn't have children... they didn't produce any as far as people knew... but she had come from there and been trained so she had to have come from somewhere. Her jade colored eyes though were piercing to look at and her expression was not something that invoked warmth or jokes.

Then there was the southern most academy with Tanu Guiying... a rarity to see any of that clan outside of Zongbao but she was here andwearing a mixture of armors. The kimono and armored pieces giving her a much more commander-esque look compared to many of the others. Unchou stood there to represent the west and Tanu grinned stetching out as her white hair contrasted with the darker armor. Ebony eyes searching the faces of the others and there was still several who were coming to provie perspective.. with eight points of a compass there was seven academies. the eight pointed towards the palace where their empress or emperor had once been.

 

[Junko Ike]

Unchou was from the western academy and stood there in her normal attire... with a look on her face though of disinterest as she knew well enough what the meeting was about and there might only be a detail or two that was new to her. The lesser western academy though was different their representative stood there and with his sash over his eye from the most recent battle that had seen him get injured but not permanently he was looking around and bowed to the empress offering thanks for allowing them a seat at the table. The other minor academies were showing up as well and they were considered lesser only because both within and without there was supposed to be a one upping for position.

The other minor academies with the exception of the north were there... the two who had come. Konfu who was a first year and one of the academies leading for the cultural reforms in saying there shouldn't be any competition and blady blady blah as the empress had said was trying to overtake her other counterparts and the eastern academies leader seemed to let her just take over and do the talking. That was where Junko suspected most of it came from the lack of a spione in eastern academy was why these upstarts who couldn't fight were winning because they just wanted the authority and the other academies were resisting them.

 

[Junko Ike]

"Thank you all for coming here." The empress stood there with a look at all of the others and she waited for them to turn to look at her. The eastern academies were the last to do it but the northern offered much in the way of respect. "We of the northern academy are honored by your visit empress. We hope you have been pleased with our latest victory against the Western Wolves." Junko noticed Unchou's face tighten but well the western academy had shown even losing once wouldn't be a problem since they were largely ahead of the others and she could hear the eastern academy sucking in air like they were going to speak.

"Ah point of priviledge... I don't think we should have castes here... everyone is equal and saying you are above us in anyway is a sigh of systematic oppression." Junko blinked... mostly looking at the others at the table who seemed annoyed and bored. There was a reason the eastern academy was ranked the lowest... more so it was barely in any of the standings but it had been getting more and more people because it didn't have standards or they had become so relaxed and deregulated. The empress was all for well fun and jovial but she became stern now... her face once showing humor and now was blank while looking at the woman.

 

[Junko Ike]

The empress though spoke with a humoring look on her face that JUnko knew she reserved for well... people she didn't like being around. "I see..." She trailed off and looked at the others who were there and spoke. "As you know with the sweeping changes to Atrisia since the beginning of the Jishi era we have been working on health and school reforms. Kansai is the next one as we have been trying to really build upon what was created here. Seeing the academies here now well... I will be happy to work with you and get your the additional funding you need." She said it and had ignored the eastern sub academy leader who was standing there and looking more and more angry.

"Ah that won't do, we have been creating a system of oppression against the people by having these exclusive academies that exclude offworlds and people of color, marginalized groups. We shouldn't be making them more exclusive, they should be free and paid by the rich." Junko was looking at them and gauging the others who seemed uncomfortable with this... the eastern academy leader seemed to just be subservient to the sub academy leader and the empress looked bored now. "I am sorry, I have no idea what you are talkig about with that word salad... so I am going to go back to discussing with the grown ups and if you have any real questions or concerns please keep them until we are done.