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About Ishnalla - Ayzek - 01-13-2017
Mahdiraaju, Ishnalla
1581 Ochtyr 21
It had been seven years since Lanryu-il took the reigns of the Ishnall Empire from her mother. Seven long years of ruling over a country of nearly half a billion people, living in overcrowded, polluted cities along the river valleys of central Ishnalla. Seven long years of balancing tradition with change, the privileges of decadent bureaucrats with the needs of the people, the needs of Ishnalla with the growing pressure and demands of the western powers. Though only entering her thirties, Lanryu-il was already developing wrinkles and graying hairs. She almost wanted to resent her mother for handing the reigns to her so young—until she looked at the older woman, in her sixties and still serving as the empire's Prime Minister.
Lanryu-il sighed and reached for her tea. Her mother sat across the small wooden table, silent as she absorbed the scene outside the open shoji doors. It was early morning. The sun had ascended enough to hit the koi pond directly, avoiding the trees that otherwise protected it. Cicadas still sang behind the walls beyond the pond. From this distance, it served as pleasant background music for their morning tea. Perhaps because it reminded Shoon-ya of her childhood.
"Are you troubled, child?" Shoon-ya asked, her eyes still watching the pond. A koi jumped. The elevated floor gave Shoon-ya a view over the rocks that bordered the pond.
"No more than any other day," Lanryu-il answered. She followed her mother's gaze, in time to see another fish momentarily venture beyond its home. What was that like?
Shoon-ya nodded solemnly. "I understand." It was an Ishnall tradition for the Empress to abdicate when she reached sixty years of age, if her heir was of age. Shoon-ya too had experienced those difficulties. Her mother had participated in their morning tea as well, until she passed not too long ago. "You are in fact getting older, Daughter. Isn't it time you bore an heir?"
Her daughter frowned. "I suppose. But it is difficult to meet a good man while I'm so busy with work."
"Whether the man is good or not is irrelevant," the Empress Mother replied. "What matters is whether his daughters will be. We have concubines if we want good. You watch too many western movies, Daughter." Lanryu-il stared at her tea, avoiding her mother's gaze. "I have prepared a list of potential candidates. They're all successful men who will surely bare successful children."
"I'll review it this evening."
Her mother nodded, returning her eyes to the pond outside.