... but outside the main lines of battle, it's also a typical drinking party.There are two essential beverages in the snowbound capital: wine (whether brewed sake or distilled shochu) and tea. Fortunes help Rokugan if either runs out before the snow clears.
For the amusement of the courtiers, several of the resident Scorpion Clan members have organized a grand debate to settle, once and for all, which of these two substances is the true Champion among drinks!
The palace dining hall is stocked with a generous sampling of teas and wines--mostly products of Bayushi's clan lands, supplemented with whatever else the Scorpion could dig up around town. In most respects it looks like a typical drinking party, except that it's also been decorated with two paper "war banners," one for the grand cause of Tea and one for that of Wine. This is to be a war of words, of course...
As the host of the event, Kogi is remaining impartial in the great battle. She can be seen sometimes with a tea bowl in hand, sometimes with a wine cup--or, even more often, holding a bottle or teapot and making sure someone else's cup is full. She's still wearing the usual veil over the lower part of her face, but she seems quite practiced at slipping a cup of tea or wine behind it. (Of course, come to think of it, one would have to watch pretty closely to tell whether she's really drinking in there.)
She'd been nervous before the gathering started, but once it gets going, playing the host-role absorbs her enough to forget about some of that.
Status: 3.0 
