Act 3, Scene 16
12th of the 7th Cycle
The Tail of Watatsumi was the third largest island in the Watatsumi Archipelago, behind Suigetsu Island and Watatsumi itself. It was home to only a few hundred residents, who live in a single village surrounding a central shrine.
Since the shrine was integral to the Goryou Matsuri, the Tail is widely regarded as a holy island. As such, it was a good place to hold negotiations, as it is unlikely either side will be inclined to spill blood on holy land.
The negotiations itself took place in an inn built for visiting pilgrims, but the usual pilgrimages have stopped due to the war. Thus the innkeeper was very happy to rent out his inn for the dialogue. Banners of both the Sleeping Dragon of the Sangonomiya and the Electro Mitsudomoe of the Raiden Shogun hung from flagpoles and walls.
In the first phase, bodies were exchanged. The Shogunate returned the bodies of General Gorou and other important Watatsumi figures and the Sangonomiya returned the bodies of various Kujou, Kamisato and other important Inazuman figures. Things proceeded smoothly, false smiles were shared, meaningless pleasantries exchanged, so on.
All the hallmarks of a good peace treaty, Aether thought. Then, the two parties moved inside the inn to begin the dialogue. Aether wasn't privy to it, he was merely a mercenary, after all. So he returned to his ship and took a nap.
15th of the 7th Cycle
There was one, tiny little detail Aether overlooked, he thought as he laid down on the poop deck, staring at the Sun for the fourth day in the row. It was that neither side was willing to give an inch of ground.
The Sangonomiya laid out their demands first, as is right, for they started the dialogue. They demanded that the Vision Hunt Decree will not be enforced on Watatsumi Island. How does Aether know this? Well, while he wasn't privy to the negotiations, he was able to attend the nightly meetings between the Shogunate envoys.
They were using his ship as a council chamber, after all.
So, the Sangonomiya demanded the Vision Hunt Decree would not be enforced in their domain. This was perfectly acceptable to the Shogunate. That was the trick to making a good peace treaty, you wanted to ensure the other side thinks they won. The Sangonomiya were fighting to reject the Decree, the Shogunate was fighting to regain authority over Watatsumi. Thus the Shogunate was willing to give the Sangonomiya what they wanted, in exchange for the actual goal.
Of course, things didn't go as planned, because the second Sangonomiya demand was that the Shogunate will not post garrisons in their domain. Now this was totally, absolutely unacceptable for the Shogunate. If they bent over here, they would be wasting two years of war for literally no gain at all.
What would the people think, if the army returned home with nothing to show but dead bodies? Thus, they did not bend. The Shogunate demanded that Tenryou garrisons will be stationed at key points on Watatsumi, and that the Sangonomiya Clan will pay yearly tribute to Tenshukaku.
The Sangonomiya did not budge, and now they were in a deadlock. Neither side wanted the war to continue, but neither side wanted to lose either.
On another note, did you know Watatsumi Island rose from the sea? That's why the 'island' is actually below sea level, with gargantuan waterfalls pouring into the basin. How the basin isn't filling up, Aether doesn't know, he assumed that some ancient Watatsumi magic is at play.
Why was he bringing this up? Because Aether offered to sail the Deicide down one of the waterfalls, sail over to the seat of the Sangonomiya - the Coral Palace, and blow it to smithereens.
They denied the offer, saying that it would be kept as a last resort.
So now Aether was bored out of his fucking mind, doing nothing on his ship all day, for four days.
That night, he demanded to be let into the negotiation chamber the next day, or else he'll sail his ship away. They accepted.
16th of the 7th Cycle
"This is Aether, a provisional admiral serving under the Shogunate's banner. He is the captain of the Deicide, and will be observing the dialogue today."
"Very well, it is a pleasure to meet you, Sir Aether." Sangonomiya Kokomi gave him a pleasant smile, her wickedly sharp teeth on full display.
Aether bowed, as is Inazuman custom, "My pleasure as well, Lady Sangonomiya."
He pointedly called her 'Lady Sangonomiya' and not 'Your Excellency,' because calling her the latter would be recognising her as an authority figure over him.
She didn't seem to notice, but her eyes widened incrementally nonetheless.
"You speak Tokoyo?" She asked, faint surprise colouring her voice.
Whoops.
"I speak all languages, my lady."
"I wonder how you learnt it."
As Aether's brain was racing to find an answer, someone coughed in the background.
"Ah! Pardon my rudeness, let us begin negotiations." The Sangonomiya spoke, and so it was.
The two parties sat down at the table, while Aether leaned back against a wall.
"I am afraid the Shogunate will not move on this issue, Lady Sangonomiya. We must station troops on Watatsumi Island, we will not negotiate on this." General Nagamasa spoke, his voice firm.
"We are already allowing you to disregard the Decree, but Watatsumi autonomy must be lowered, lest a war like this occurs again." General Sara continued.
The Watatsumi envoys whispered to each other in Tokoyo. Lord Yuna spoke up when they finished.
"We can allow Tenryou troops on the eastern islands of Watatsumi. The Tail, Suigetsu, and everything in between. But we cannot allow foreign soldiers to be stationed on Watatsumi proper."
"Foreign!? Do you not understand that we are negotiating Watatsumi's reentrance into the Shogunate?" General Sara grew heated, "You understand that Watatsumi will starve without the Shogunate, your coral earth cannot sustain crops!"
A Watatsumi general scoffed, "Ignorant as ever, you Inazumans. We can sustain ourselves, and will continue to do so! Watatsumi is rich in sea life, crops were never our staple food. We will continue fighting, if we must."
Silence fell over the table, this was the first time someone mentioned the chance of the war continuing. It was taboo, to mention the war at a table trying to forge peace. Since it was the Watatsumi who uttered it, it was a bad look for them.
Sangonomiya Kokomi gave the general a smile, "Get out."
To the general's credit, he did not argue.
The Sangonomiya bowed low, "My apologies for my impertinent subordinate."
General Sara waved it off, "Your retainer has a point, my lady. If we cannot come to terms here, the war will continue. And you know as well as I, that the Shogunate will emerge victorious in the end."
Sangonomiya's features didn't even twitch, still in that damnable smile with her eyes half closed. It unnerved Aether, as it did the other members of the Shogunate party.
"Dear General," The Divine Priestess started, "it is true, that your men outnumber mine."
"Then you understand-"
"But the ocean runs deep." Inhuman teeth were now on full display, pointed and serrated like a shark's, "And I am certain… that you will run out of men… before the ocean runs out of space for their bodies."
Sangonomiya Kokomi rose, brushing off her garb. "I believe we are done for today," She spoke, gesturing to the setting Sun outside their window.
"Indeed." General Sara followed her lead, standing as well. Both parties faced one another, and bowed in unison.
They left, one by one, until only the Sangonomiya, the Kujou, and him remained,
Kujou Sara spoke more freely now, away from propriety.
"My lady, this war must end here. Inazuma will not accept this as a victory if we do not occupy your lands."
"I can say the same for my people, General."
"Except you lost, Priestess. Watatsumi has lost this war, you know this, your people know this. We are bending over backwards for you, by allowing you to abolish the Decree on Watatsumi. Do not see this as a treaty, if you must, but as a trade. In exchange for occupation, the Decree will not be enforced. Please, do not waste this chance. What is more important, you people? Or your pride?"
For the first time since the negotiations started, Sangonomiya Kokomi flinched. It seemed to Aether that General Sara's words had struck the priestess deeply.
"..."
"I will think about it."
With that, they parted ways.
Mona greeted them on the ship with some ominous words.
"The war will either end tomorrow, or the Inazuma will end as a nation and people."
General Sara frowned, "I find it hard to believe that Watatsumi is capable of-"
"Not Watatsumi, General. If the war doesn't end tomorrow, Watatsumi will be sunk back into the sea as well."
"...What calamity is this?"
"An age-old calamity, one Inazuma has fought against for countless millennia. The stars speak of the Dark Sea stirring again."