Romance of the Lute

A romantic tale from the late Shogunate, originating in the daimyo’s court at Chiaroscuro, though not known to have spread widely.

It is the tale of a young Dragonblooded from an impoverished fiefdom, who has just wed his childhood sweetheart. His father commands him to travel to the distant capital and take the Shogunal examinations to join the central bureaucracy. He does so, and a mix of talent and the patronage of the Minister of the Right see him rise quickly to high office… however this necessitates a new, more suitable marriage which he is forced to accept.

Back in his homeland, matters have turned from bad to worse, as harvests fail and starvation reigns. The young Dragonblood’s parents perish of hunger and the crushing weight of their land’s afflictions, and his first wife takes her lute and travels to the capital, playing as she goes, in search of her husband.

Politics and conspiracy amongst high officials keep them apart for many years, as the Dragonblood travels Creation for his duties and his first wife travels with her lute, but at long last they both come to the grave of his parents, and are reunited in each other’s arms to live happily ever after.