Whispers from the Year of the Falling
By Sana Komaru

Published by Sana Komaru in 223, this slim tome contains the last year's gossip and other courtly events, as seen through one lady's harsh and bitter eye.

Possession of this tome is worth **** Research Point per session, on the subject of ****. You may only use points from one book on this subject in a year. If delivered to the Church, this tome is worth **** Church Prestige Point.

One wonders when it all becomes too much to bear.

Her Highness Kimiko was once, I have heard, a simple viscountess and not very noticed within the ranks of her family. She had good blood, she was good with a sword, and she swore an oath to the Code of Blood. Maybe she did it to set herself apart from the rest of her family, all the other young viscountesses. Somehow, miraculously, she married the Crown Prince. In her role as the Princess Consort, she was given leadership over countless armies, and she led them to victory. Now she is the Regent for her daughter Crown Princess Adriana.

How far she's come from a simple viscounty. How her peers must envy her the throne! And yet... and yet... her husband, for whom she harbored some affection, I've heard - her husband is dead. She is the only thing standing between her daughter and the weight of the world.

And now Sebastian Komaru, her son, is dead as well. He was seven. He died in an accident.

The most precious things are those you never expect to lose, and you always lose them in the most senseless ways. Every hint of meaning, no matter how sinister, makes the grief just a little bit easier to bear.

I never did find the men who killed Kahana.

Once upon a time... no, never mind. Let's just get this started.

I have been spending warm summer days beside the river lately. Sometimes I am with Zoe and Vincent and Malena, but occasionally I also keep the company of more respectable sorts. One fine day, I had a picnic on the banks under a willow tree with Her Grace Sayoko Komaru and her little son Korin. Soron declined out invitation, but Roese Sone and their daughter Michiko joined us. Roese is a very sweet woman, with a surprisingly forceful personality; I imagine His Excellency Crescentino Sone's estates must be falling apart without her. Roese and Sayoko are both terribly interested in their children and went wading in the river when the little ones demanded it. I stayed on the beach; I was trying to be respectable, after all, and I do not have the excuse of children.

After the two ladies joined me back on the blanket again, Sayoko started teasing me about when I might find a husband and have children of my own, and I explained that with Midoko safely wed, I felt as if I could dodge the issue indefinitely. Roese frowned at me and I was forced to admit that a husband might be tolerable, although her darling was enough contact with small children. It amazes me how interesting I have become to the opposite sex now that Midoko is no longer available for wedding. I believe she still gets love letters every so often, but she's not very tolerant of those. Instead I get letters serenading my beauty, my wit, my parties.

I must laugh; Zoe is the mistress of parties, and Midoko is still the beautiful one. I gave a letter from a dazzled Touraine boy sent me to Zoe, though, so I am glad that somebody is benefiting from my unexpected good fortune. Still, I think I shall send souvenirs to those whose letters have pleased me.

Possibly I should also start routing letters to Aimee. I have heard that she gets some of her own, but she seems to ignore them all. I don't know why she continues to be infatuated by men who are not interested in her. Gahariet, Zoe's brooding elder brother and Aimee's darling, also happens to be strictly interested in other men - well, used to be, anyhow. Many years ago, he and Vincent used to be lovers, but there was a rather horrible break-up. Since then the only gossip from his house has been about his sisters.

After thinking about this for a while, I demanded that Gahariet have lunch with me. To my very great surprise, he agreed. Apparently Zoe has a high opinion of me, and brings it home to him. He told me he has made no secret of his deep and brotherly affection for Aimee, and has tried gently to guide her to those who will respond to her interest. I also convinced him to show me the book he is working on, which is a rather complex history of the troops and tactics used in many battles over the past five decades. He was very excited about it, and I think it will be quite the hit among the military set if he can ever let it out of his hands.

Now, I have always been vaguely aware of Gahariet; he is Zoe's older brother, after all. I have since decided that my original opinions are correct: he is an extremely nice and even pleasant man who takes his affairs extremely seriously. He's also too fond of Aimee to do what seems to be necessary. Still, I'm sure something will be worked out. Nobody wants to see her unhappy.

I had an unsettling experience in the autumn. One of my farm supervisors came to me and asked my permission to go off and join the Church in the East as they fight to subdue remains of the Aten dominion. He told me that he hoped I wasn't offended by his request, because he'd had a fine life as my farm manager, but that there was a young lady he was hoping to win after he had some land and a name of his own. I offered to help him win this lady - honestly, I was more confused by his request than anything else - and he turned me down, saying that she would only have him if he had something of his own to offer her. I suppose it was some merchant girl with ideas about property. I let him go - some people do the damnedest things for love. I'd certainly rather have such an ambitious young man remembering me fondly than not. The entire issue occupied me well into the winter, as I did my best to make sure the rest of my people didn't get any notions into their head. It seems to have worked; nobody else has asked to leave yet, although I've noticed some merchants in town have packed up and vanished off to the East.

One cold day, Maria invited me to have tea with her mother Mei and her aunt Romana. I think she was nervous at what the two ladies might have planned for her, and wished that I would be there as respectable moral support. She's really a very sweet, if misguided girl, and I enjoyed teasing her about this for almost a week after. As it turned out, they just wanted to have a nice family gossip about their dear cousin Nadeshiko. I've seen her occasionally in the capital, but not as much as I'd used to. She mostly seems to spend her time with her husband and little daughter. The Yuasa elements of the Council are once again making noises about Romana's husband Xavior Yuasa, and apparently Lissende is still spearheading the movement to block this affront against Romana's honor. Lissende, of course, is as close-lipped as ever, but Zoe talks, and so do other members of the Council. In any case, there's been some commentary on Nadeshiko's role within the Council, and specifically how her choice in husbands has alienated the Bellatrix family. Mei is still convinced that Nadeshiko is an absolute embarrassment to the family and doesn't deserve to represent the Komaru on the Council. I wonder how much her arranged marriage to her late Bellatrix husband figures into her opinion on the matter. Emeric Bellatrix was a powerful, reasonable man, but there was no love in Mei Komaru's marriage. Apparently the Bellatrix agree with Mei's assessment; they are less present in the capital these days, and less companionable when they are. I wonder where their interest has turned.

Vincent and Lorien have had a duel! I wasn't present, and I shall never forgive them. I have heard that Vincent has been marked across the cheek, and Lorien was shot in the chest. Both of them have survived, and each is claiming the victory. Keiji Sone brought me the story and I had to comfort him, even though I couldn't discover which duelist he was more worried about. Fatherhood has gone to Soron's head; he has growled at both young men and ordered them to stop bloodying the streets with their quarrels. I shall have to find them and lecture them as well.

It makes me itch. Just as the question of who the Royal Heir is has been raised, Lucien Skye has decided to move his wife and his pack of children to the city. He doesn't belong here.

He belongs on his estates building girl's schools or whatever he's doing there. I wish that people would stop even considering the possibility that he is a Komaru. Glory Touraine is very warm, but there is nothing to trust about her. I worry about what Lucien has in mind for Adriana, but I have seen how strong she is.

However, since half the city us excited about who might be an appropriate Royal Heir, I thought I would do my part and illustrate the most likely options.

First and foremost, there is Tohru. He's the logical choice; he's closest to the throne by blood and birth order. He's married to Arabelle Sone, and while she continues to be obnoxious and I find her personally distasteful, I am forced to admit that her behavior is only more blatant, not worse, than that of many other nobles I know. They haven't had any children, after many years of marriage, but I've heard hints this is due to choice rather than lack of ability. Tohru's a competent military leader, and well-liked, and his years with Arabelle have given him more perception as well as grey hairs.

Secondly, there's our sweet Aimee. For those new to my readership, Aimee is Tohru's younger sister. She's still unmarried, but presumably that will change soon one way or the other. She's kind and loyal, and excellent at convincing people that her ideas are worth hearing. She has a lot of experience being close to the throne and I've never seen her shaken or nervous speaking in crowds.

After that, I think my friend Maria is closest to the throne - Mei is, truly, but Maria is what the lines comes to. Maria is very kind and somewhat sheltered; she is also unmarried and I still think of her as a child. She also has experience in court; she was Alessandro's favored cousin. I think he would wish to shelter her from this role, but her blood is pure and she is no stranger to politics even if she lacks experience socially.

I'm not sure I should mention her, but since I started my little list with those who are directly and recently connected to the blood, Nadeshiko Komaru should at least be mentioned. I think the Komaru would riot if she were declared Royal Heir, and the Bellatrix also aren't very fond of her, so it seems extremely unlikely. I'll just move on.

Past there, everything gets a bit muddy. Out on the cadet branches, there is Yashi Komaru. He's married to the duchess Sayoko Komaru, and he has two children, Kiseki and Korin. He's been distant from the throne, usually, and seeks his entertainment among the merchants of the city. While Sayoko is socially savvy, Yashi has always seemed to take noble affairs as a grave burden and dark responsibility. His daughter Kiseki is at the age of majority and is in fact one of the Regent's ladies in waiting. I personally like her, and as far as I know, her county has never been mismanaged.

Yashi's brother Soron - now remember, he's the playwright - would change under the burden of Royal Heir. His wife is Sone, as is his daughter. I think if it were offered to him, Soron would accept out of responsibility, but the pressures attendant on the role would destroy a national treasure. I suppose the country is more important, though.

And after Soron... after Soron, I think the list comes to Midoko Komaru, my sister.

I don't think I've ever been so close to the lines of succession before. It makes me want to cry.

But I suppose that if Lucien were made a Komaru, though I would be farther from the throne, it would be much worse.