Before the Regency, the Sai family had been out of favour at court for almost a century. But Sai rose within five years from a lowly councillor to the Empress' left hand. What can account for such a change? Ambition, certainly, and an extraordinary--almost incomparable--intellect. She is, without doubt, the most accomplished sorceress alive in the Empire. But none of these can account for the bizarre admixture of obsessive loyalty and unearthly terror she inspires among the court. An example: she held a solstice banquet where a dolphin was sliced into sashimi, magic keeping it alive and in pain. The others at the table shivered and sobbed at the sounds of the animal's distress, but Sai only smiled. One man stood up, and I was certain he was going to protest. He wiped the tears from his face, and he recited a haiku in honour of her beauty.
Tales of the Celestial Court, by Soo-lin Vastra, Buruk Ambassador to the Empire.
Sai First is Regent of the Celestial Empire, ruling on behalf of the twelve-year-old
Empress. An extremely popular figure among the elite, Sai is somewhat divisive among commoners; her brutal and efficient industrialisation drive has improved infrastructure, but at the expense of thousands of slave-workers who have died in the process. She is known for exorbitant displays of both cruelty and beneficence, once granting pardon to one thousand prisoners on the same day as she snap-executed the same amount. Her actions within government have been ruthless, including the systematic killing of all blood relatives to avoid challenges to her power through the use of the 'silk rope' method, apart from her nephew and niece, who she intended to groom as heirs (see
Celestial Government).
Sai was born to a lesser Court family, but she quickly rose up the ranks and became head councillor for the previous Empress' vessel, as well as symbolic Regent during the birth. Her position meant she was immediately aware of the changes to the new Empress' genetic code implemented by
They-Who-Rose-From-Ashes. It was her who came up for the concept of
The Gauntlet of Mercy in celebration of the Empire's 10,000th year of existence, and who likely engineered the games to include and punish ex-lover
Noa and her niece
Rin Eighteenth.
Sai is aware that someone is attempting to interfere with the Gauntlet. She told
Team Ten that they were her favourites and offered them jobs with the Empire after the successful completion of the Gauntlet, if they were willing to keep an eye out for trouble. The team implied they would do so, although they continued to be unsure as to which side they were actually on.
Despite previously being heavily involved with the games, in round three Sai essentially disappeared from the process due to being 'indisposed', appointing her nephew
Zhou First to take over control in her stead. No one is certain what has caused her absence, but the
Round Three Legend Lores indicate it may have something to do with attempts to become a 'vessel' for the Empress' spirit. She returned for Round Four, and punished Zhou for his perceived 'leniency' during his round of the games by executing him--or so she thinks.
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