At the light of dawn (D3, EM, Open)

[Jiyo Ayumu]

Ayumu raised the sleeveless shirt high above his head so he could examine it thoroughly at the natural light of dawn.

So so. Not bad in absolute, but to his trained eye, the many small imperfections of the cutting and the stitching were glaring.

It could have been worst for sure, and he acknowledged that he had not lost his touch, the same way he acknowledged he hadn't become better either, stagnating at roughly the same level of skill due to a tremendous lack of practice. If he was to be a tailor again, he would have to make up for lost time.

At that exact moment, Ayumu had no idea if the future would call for Ayumu the tailor, Ayumu the teacher, Ayumu the guard or any variant of himself.

He just knew he had a wonky shirt in his hands, scissors, needles and other tailoring tools at his belt, and a bit of time before him. So he cleaned up a bench of the snow covering it, sat, and started sewing.

[Otomo Gusai]

It will not be long before the stalwart sea captain of the Stag, staring from his sole remaining eye, seats himself, as well, nodding to the tailor at work as he shakes out a long coil of cord--not rope, no, but more robust than twine or thread. His hands move decently enough as he begins working knots, practicing almost absently (Sailing [of which Knot-work is an Emphasis] 15, https://orokos.com/roll/896422) as he watches the tailor at his own craft.

[Jiyo Ayumu]

Ayumu raised his eyes from his work to find himself staring at an image from a picture book about pirates.

The surprised passed, he realized his brain had played a trick on him and this was simply a guest with a sailor tan, a sailor gait, sailor hands, a sailor pastime and an eyepatch.

He did a half bow, the bottom half of his chest and legs remaining still to avoid knocking down his tools:

"Good morning Otomo-sama. Can I be of assistance in any way?"

[Otomo Gusai]

"Might be," Gusai replies before sketching a seated bow. "Otomo Gusai, Skipper of the Hopeful Endeavor. With whom have I the honor of conversing now?" he asks.

[Jiyo Ayumu]

"Jiyo Ayumu, born of the Isawa, nowadays serving Shiba as an itinerant teacher. I might be able to help you even if your request is not related to learning the letters and the numbers though I will need to hear first to make sure of that."

[Otomo Gusai]

"You teach literacy, then? You're a librarian?" Gusai asks, knowing, of course, of the Imperial Library system. Indeed, he's ferried scrolls for it more than once.

[Jiyo Ayumu]

"I work with them regularly, but I don't have their full training and experience. I'm more of a jack-of-all-trades that give a hand where he can. At the moment the priority is training a full generation of civil servants to meet the need of an empire expanding at the speed of a racing horse, so this is what I do. In other times I have assumed the role of a guard, a cook, a diplomat...

At the beginning of the Empire, when the Kami had only so many followers, everyone had to do a bit of everything really. Now that things are more organized and stable, there's less need for versatility and more for specialization... But a few adaptable persons here and there still help greasing the cogs."

[Otomo Gusai]

Gusai nods to that. "And those who will command have to know something about all they would command. There's wisdom in that."

[Jiyo Ayumu]

"Different jobs ask for different degrees of width and depth of knowledge indeed. Proper balance is key, as in all things.

And the Hopeful Endeavor really? Such a name suggests a daring ship, the kind that goes as far at it can into the outer sea in search of new lands."

Ayumu's tone was light, slightly amused, but not mocking.

[Otomo Gusai]

Gusai's eyebrow rises.

"So you've heard of the ship and her crew, then?"

[Jiyo Ayumu]

"While I grew in what was then Isawa lands, not so far from the coast, I was not born at the seashore and my day-to-day life was far more focused on the inland rice fields that on the mysteries of the sea. My second life in service of Shiba has then kept me even further away from the coast.

So what's happening at sea is definitely a blind spot in my knowledge, both from a theoretical point of view and regarding important events that may be have happened there in the recent past.

Outside that educated guess this was no small coastal fishing ship name and its captain name, I'm in total ignorance of both ship and crew."

[Otomo Gusai]

"Ah, well," Gusai says, "I'll have to share some of her stories sometime. Perhaps with a bit of drink to warm the belly and in company--for more of an audience makes for a better tale!"

He laughs a bit, wipes at his eye.

"But I can say now, and without boasting, that the Hopeful Endeavor has sailed to shores no others have found, and braved great dangers in doing so and coming back! But for that, the crew can claim the glory more than their captain; no commander can command without a willing crew, after all."

[Jiyo Ayumu]

"Can you expand on the shores no others have found part? Without context, I'm not sure if you're referencing the ports of the Nezumi Empire, some rocky island barely big enough for a single man to stand on it, new lands that no man or god has explored beyond its shores yet, or the legendary palace of the sea king.

In the later case, please don't open the box you were told not to open."

[Otomo Gusai]

"Well," Gusai replies, "if the ports are in the Nezumi Empire, our allies, we can hardly say no others have found 'em, right?" He laughs. "But I have seen such small stones amid the sea as your speak of, as well as other lands that showed no sign of human feet--or Nezumi--upon them.

"As to the Sea King, well," Gusai smiles, "that would be telling."

[Jiyo Ayumu]

"And what happens next?

You find a new land, you go home, you report the discovery to your lord or lady... And? Is a new team sent to explore it? Who gets to name it if it turns to indeed be inhabited?

And were some natural resources to be discovered there, who would get to exploit them? The limits of each clan on the mainland are already sometimes contentious in spite of clear landmarks, in the middle of the open sea these issues must reach another level altogether."

[Otomo Gusai]

Quite probing, Gusai thinks, but that's sensible enough.

"Depends on what's in the report, of course. Charts get updated for most everything, of course, and it's usually who finds it as gets to name it--or have it named after them. As to the rest," and Gusai grins wickedly, "the sea is vast, and not all ships come home again."

[Jiyo Ayumu]

Ayumu gave the sailor an inquisitive look:

"That one joke isn't funny Otomo-sama.

What happens at sea stays at sea. However as soon as a man sets foot on the soil of the Empire, he is responsible for his acts, past and present, before the Emperor's justice.

I was hoping for an actual explanation, so we may eventually fix up the legal code regarding land ownership if a glaring flaw was to be found."

[Otomo Gusai]

"My apologies," Gusai replies smoothly, "for the failed attempt at levity. But I might note that it is not only upon the soil that matters stand; there are concerns, and sometimes disagreements, about who has what rights in which waters. Nor are they always resolved amicably, or swiftly."

He considers. "But it's an idea worth considering, who may claim what and in what circumstances. And it might be well to have some standard for such things. As you say, there're already contentions; it's too much to expect that no more will come up."

[Jiyo Ayumu]

"The Empire stands on the promise of peace. The Imperial legal system is the soul of that promise.

It hopes to grant a happy ending to any situation that would have in days past simply devolve into violence. To break the cycle of enmity by providing as fair as possible of a resolution for all parties instead of letting the issue bounce back and forth depending on who's the mightiest at the moment.

The law, being collected, interpreted and enforced by humans, is of course very much imperfect. But if an issue arises for which the law proves unable to protect the peace, then it's our duty as servants of the Empire to fix the law as soon as possible, so no other has to be harmed in the same way."

Ayumu smiled:

"Teacher, remember?

But for real, since this is a subject you know firsthand, I encourage you to discuss it with the Imperial magistracy. They're always very sympathetic with people that proactively come to them with good intents. And far more grumpy when they learn through their own sources of issues people decided not to report to them. And trust me, they always know in the end, that's part of their job."

[Otomo Gusai]

"What you say makes sense," Gusai replies, "though I've not exactly had experience of teaching outside of working alongside someone who knew more.

"But as to the magistracy: to whom would I speak?" he continues. "I suppose I'd have to ask you to introduce me, since you do know more about this part of the world than I, and by a wide margin."

He spreads his hands wide. "It is no shame, of course, to defer to the more knowledgeable."