As best I can figure, this is how the whole process works:

1. If the kirin died with the previous emperor, then the whole process can't start until a new kirin is born on Mt. Hou. This appears to have been the case in Kyou.

2. The kouki (flag of the kirin) is raised over the rishi. This signals the beginning of the Shouzan. In the meantime, some kirin don't wait for potential candidates to come to them but go looking on their own.

3. The kirin chooses the next empress (emperor). The moment she accepts (or at least doesn't say no), she becomes immortal. This is what keeps Youko from dying a dozen times over before the next three steps can take place.

4. Her formal investiture takes place on Mt. Hou (her name is entered upon the Registry of Gods).

5. She is officially enthroned in her kingdom (with much pomp and circumstance).

6. She issues her inaugural rescript.

These events can be spaced quite far apart. Youko doesn't deliver her inaugural rescript until the end of A Thousand Leagues of Wind.

By comparison, in the U.S., the election and inauguration take place three months apart. The inaugural address is delivered at the same time as the inauguration. In exigent circumstances, as in the case of LBJ, the swearing-in can take place anywhere and by the authority of any federal judge.

Kindle (Mobi) and ePub files should be available on the download page next week after the last chapter is uploaded.

Labels: 12 kingdoms, tonan