The two rows of dignitaries lined the aisle as Emperor Banisu walked down the rutted path leading to Kintari's military docks, incense wafting from the steady swing of Abbot Cibu's censer. Banisu studied the tracks ahead of him. He was not used to seeing a dirt road even if it was heavily compacted and leavened with smoothed rocks. The Imperial Court was a small temple complex tucked away in a quiet forest, surrounded by walls and silent sentries. 

Banisu himself spent most of his time indoors, learning calligraphy and religious customs from his appointed guardians, carefully sheltered from his subjects and only brought out for special occasions. Occasions such as this one, the anointing of the Sea Dragon for its maiden voyage. Which really just boiled down to poking a boat with a stick, mumbling a few words while Abbot Cibu waved his censer around, and catching a few glimpses of the subjects he supposedly commanded. Although if I ever actually tried commanding any subjects, my heroic guardsmen would rush to bundle me up back to the palace, and probably kill the poor peasants just for being commandable.

The press ahead brought an end to his musing. The procession had arrived at the secluded military docks and was now filing through a guarded entranceway. The guards stood at attention, eyes diplomatically averted from the Emperor and his retinue. Like all Hangyul soldiers, the guards were outfitted with lacquer-black helmets in the style of rice farmers, with a cuirass of hardened lacquer and banded lamellar over a simple white tunic. Passing through the gateway, Banisu could see that the docks were filled with soldiers in shining lacquer armor, as well as gawking sailors in simple tunics.

Although a few silk-robed bureaucrats were in attendance, the gathering had a distinctly martial air, one which was very different from most of the state functions the Emperor had attended. He recognized the stout Lord Marshal Hangyul Feruke heading a group of nobles and armored officers. Though Hangyul Feruke was in his sixties he still cut a powerful figure in his jade and black armor as he strode along with all the dignity of a man accustomed to obedience. As the procession wound through the single curving street, Banisu’s eyes widened as he saw the reason for his presence.

A meticulously carved dragon's head, with scales painted green and bulging eyes of white and black, adorned a curiously squat but otherwise unremarkable ship. Indeed, the ship was shorter than the barges floating nearby, but the proud figurehead and sloping design indicated it was the newly built Sea Dragon. From the open mouth of the dragon a small caliber cannon poked out as if it were a black tongue. The ship was quite unlike any other Banisu had seen before, tied up against a jetty and sitting low in the tide with banks of oars sticking out like wooden wings.

The large pile of canvas nearby and the lack of a substantial civilian presence indicated Hangyul Feruke’s preference to keep this vessel a secret from the other clans. Still, though Banisu could be safely ignored on most occasions, it was customary for the Emperor to bless a new warship and so he had been fetched from his stately isolation.

The procession halted nearby, forming a rough semi-circle focused on the ship, with inquisitive soldiers and sailors lining up behind them. Abbot Cibu stepped neatly up to the dragon figurehead and turned around to face the assembly, Emperor Banisu mirroring his movements.

"Soldiers and sailors of Hangyul, hear my words!" Abbot Cibu proclaimed, his deep and sonorous voice echoing off the nearby barracks buildings. "In ancient times the Sea Dragon Beppusagonsara rose forth from the Hidden Kingdom, laying waste to the Sky Kingdom until she was slain by the Lotus Prince. Beppusagonsara's fall into the Great Sea brought forth the rain and rivers that weave through the Three Kingdoms today, spreading carp into the mountain lakes and frogs into the jungles. As the sutras tell us, Beppusagonsara's body was so large that when she sank under the waves the three largest spikes on her carapace remained, becoming what are now the volcanic islands of the Sagonsara chain. Well, our Sea Dragon is not so large, but she also packs the dragon's fire, and will lead us to victory against any who oppose the Three Kingdoms. Three cheers then! Hangyul, Kintari, and Shinzen!"

The onlookers loudly echoed his cheers, a respectful silence quickly falling once more. Hangyul Feruke frowned from amidst his retinue, doubtless irked at the glory of his own work being shared with his political rivals. The Lord Marshal’s personal guard took their cues from the irascible old man, imitating the Lord Marshal by remaining stiff and formal. Even so, they were but a small patch of tranquility in the crowd of applauding Hangyul retainers. Banisu was sullenly mulling that there was no cheer for the Emperor when Abbot Cibu turned to him.

"Your Majesty, Emperor Banisu of the Three Kingdoms, Supreme Pontiff, Long May He Reign."

Abbot Cibu bowed obsequiously, as he only did on formal state occasions. During this facade of a courtier's bow he still managed to point at the ship and give the Emperor the look of a weary tutor to an imbecile. His finger even waggled with the universal signal of “get on with it.” Banisu turned to the audience and tried with all his might to match Abbot Cibu's voice.

He failed. "Soldiers and sailors of Hangyul! Um. The ship you see before you is indeed a mighty vessel. Long may it ride the waves with vensome fear… um. Fearsome vengeance!"

The first row of onlookers were leaning in as if straining to hear. The Emperor took a deep breath.

"The Emperor blesses this vessel! It shall be the flagship of the Three Kingdoms!" he announced squeakily, then strode through the cascading smoke of Abbot Cibu's censer and tapped his ceremonial staff upon the dragon's head.

"The Emperor blesses the Sea Dragon!" bellowed Abbot Cibu, and the crowd began to cheer. "I will now recite from the Saga of the Lotus Prince," the Monk added, lowering his censer to the ground, and beginning the tale of the fight with Beppusagonsara with a slow and deliberate cadence. Although Abbot Cibu had brought the Saga of the Lotus Prince, he did not deign to open the holy tome, confidently reciting the epic poem from his own memory. All monks, as well as emperors, were expected to memorize the sacred sutras, as Banisu was painfully aware.

As the scent of the incense intermixed with the tang of saltwater, the Emperor took a moment to observe the sloping lines of the Sea Dragon. Like the Sagonsara islands, the Sea Dragon did have a series of metal spikes along its hull, probably to repel boarders. Hangyul Feruke was notorious for his frugality and would not waste precious iron merely for ceremonial purposes. The Sea Dragon had only one deck of oars, although the oars were tightly compacted and the ship was much longer than the two-decked barges flanking it, so that both styles of vessel had an apparently equal complement of rowers. Rather than a full second deck, there were small holes where the barrels of cannons jutted, and the sloping and spiked roof that resembled the back of a dragon.

Abbot Cibu’s steady, reverberating voice began to draw to a close, the audience spellbound. Most of the onlookers were completely illiterate, and in any case would have only heard a garbled version of the story from wandering monks or their grandparents, rather than a renowned orator such as Abbot Cibu. Abbot Cibu finally bowed his head, the discipline of the audience finally breaking into appreciative murmurs and scattered applause. Smiling broadly, Abbot Cibu picked up his censer, and the procession began reassembling for the journey back.

"Well said, Emperor," said Abbot Cibu, with a glance towards his ward, although he did not look sincere.

"Thank you… Abbot," Banisu replied, but Abbot Cibu was already walking forward. Banisu sighed, and hurried to join him, while making his best attempt to retain the aloof dignity his station demanded. Soldiers not much older than him stared in frank curiosity, only occasionally looking away when they remembered themselves.

“Why was this ship built, Abbot Cibu?” Banisu asked. He felt that this was something he should know.

“There has been a lot of piracy in the area, and this should go a long way to putting a stop to that.” The abbot gave a rare smile and leaned in close. “Actually, Hangyul Feruke has another trick. A merchant vessel with a regiment of soldiers below decks. I’d like to see one of those brigands like Black Bekhar or Xhe-San the Scimitar just try and capture that. Hah!”

Abbot Cibu leaned back and chuckled. It was one of the few times Banisu had seen the man show any sort of amusement, though the abbot’s face soon changed back to its customary stoic expression, and he nodded at the gathered officials in a dignified manner as they strode out of the encampment.

As they left the port's gate, Abbot Cibu began talking to the Emperor in a conversational tone. "It's not really the navy of the Three Kingdoms, you know. Your Majesty. It’s Hangyul Feruke's navy, and it isn't like him to share. He wouldn't even let his own civilians see his ship! It's a fine-looking ship, but I do not think it is so special."

The Emperor listened in silence as they approached the palanquin and the waiting collection of guards and jailers. He knew it wasn't really the navy of the Three Kingdoms. It was only called that for form's sake. He looked at Abbot Cibu, striding along the dirt path, giving off every impression of contentment and serenity. Banisu knew he wasn't really the Emperor of the Three Kingdoms either. He stared in gloom at the dirt road, shoulders slumped as he kicked a stray pebble aside. He was only called that for form's sake.