Lord Lo - Mark J

Email: lord_lo@endoftheline.chaosdeathfish.com

Lo is a somewhat elderly gentleman who is considered by many to be obsessed with tea. His establishment, “Lo Tea”, can be found in the Floating Market.

From a series of ornate scrolls from the post-Intercession period:

There once was an Emperor who had two sons and a daughter. The younger son had the temperament of the mountain, patient and immovable. The older son had the character of the flame, impulsive and with unquenchable ambition. The daughter tried to keep peace between them and was beloved by both, but when the younger son saw his sister cut down in battle his great spirit was broken. He wandered across the great whorl of worlds in grief, and on his return he found that the fire brother had assumed the mantle of their late father with his henchmen holding every position of influence.

Even secure in his place as ruler, the new emperor could not stand the presence of his brother. Guilt and jealously ate away at him, and in his madness he set his brother an impossible task; to return from the eternal prison. The younger brother had his own flaws, rigid and unbending in his honour, and so had to agree. His sister had a son still alive and so the younger brother took him under his wing, for the son was still weak. Together they travelled to the impossible prison, and made their homes there.

Alone on his throne, the emperor's paranoia and guilt grew unchecked. He knew of his father's suspicions in the days before his death, and his father's closeness with his grandson. Gathering his most dedicated servants, he sent them into the prison realm to hunt down his brother and nephew so that his secrets would never be shared.

Long silence followed. The emperor grew yet more mad and proud, and the people suffered terribly. One day, he received word that an army of peasantry was marching on his castle. Gathering his best soldiers to him, he rode out in preparation to scour them with flame and steel. As he reached the field of battle, however, he found no-one there but a single man, drinking tea in the shade of a tree. “Where is the army?” he demanded. “Tell me where to find those who dare to stand against me, and you will be rewarded!”

The man taking his tea laughed. He set down his tea, and started describing in exhaustive detail the movements of the army. How they had bought out every one of the emperor's lieutenants, and infiltrated the cities, and how they had struck but an hour ago, taking down every force still loyal to the false emperor and installing a true one. As the man talked the emperor's heart filled with dread, for this clearly was his brother returned from the eternal prison to exact his revenge.

The emperor drew steel and brought flame to bear, lunging at his brother. The brother was a true warrior, however, and knocked his sword and flame aside with but a gust of wind. With three quick blows the emperor was brought to his knees, his own blade against his neck. As his soldiers prepared to cut down the righteous brother the air shimmered and strange beings stepped through, clanking and wheezing and roaring flame into the air. The soldiers' will to fight soon fled.

Thus ended the reign of the Crimson Emperor, and so began the reign of Emperor Li of a Hundred Suns. Of the righteous brother, however, no more is known.

From the journal of Tiberius Kirlian, Gentleman Explorer:

Day 132. Our spirits were flagging. We'd been in this new realm for a week and made no discernible progress towards the mountain that towered ahead of us. We were all considering just packing in this quest for the fountain of youth when we saw the house coming round the corner. A strange construction, out of place with this world, but we recognised it as a teahouse in the traditional style. As we entered, the elderly proprietor was still setting tables and putting kettles on to boil - with so few people living here, he must only put the place in order when customers arrive. As the porters set down the gear outside, I expressed my surprise to the owner that he could keep a teahouse running out here in the wilderness. “Oh, don't worry about me!” he said, with a smile. “Wherever there's people who need a rest and refreshment, I'll be there to serve them.” Queer fellow. I can't shake the feeling there was something off with that place, though. As we resumed our journey and passed out of sight of the teahouse, I'd swear I heard the distinctive thrum of a MkVII Worthington Planar Harmonics System coming online. I'll have to check if the teahouse is still there when we return from the mountain…