Lady Yu

She claims that love motivates her, but I have never seen a cupid wield a cleaver with such... ferocity.

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The proprietress of the city of Yulao, there are few figures of power in the New World that so... exemplify how strange things have become. On the surface, she is a self-styled empress, though one that is magnanimous to her people in a way that leaves many, especially outsideers, truly baffled.     Her city is one of pleasures of all kinds, and caters to all walks of life as long as they can make it to the front gates itself. The rich and powerful regularly travel there to indulge in anything from breaks in their work schedule, to the most 'important' meetings in the world, to extended vacations that can cause them to be left behind by the world at large. Yulao's reputation for the best food, drink, and flesh of all kinds pulls interest from even outside the solar system.   That is, if you do not mess with the Peace of the Lady of Yulao. Disruptors of that peace will find that the Lady's wrath is far less pleasurable. There is a robust enforcement system within the city itself, as well as projected over the whole of the region. Pickpockets and thieves get only slightly more lenient treatment than the raiders and Tech-Horrors. Abide by the Lady's rules, however, and the softness of Yulao will open up to you. You may even gain the attention of the Lady herself, though that may end up worse for you in the long run.   Lady Yu takes.... interest in particular individuals for unknown reasons, taking them under her wing. They're often inducted into her court, with little regard for their previous social status or even their skills, and then often... paired together. Married, really, though that is not their official status By what criteria Lady Yu makes her matchmaking decisions under is a mystery, if there even is one, but those in her employ know not to question them, nor to defy them.    From what I can gather, many of them simply hope for her whims to change, for when they shift like the wind she can return to separate a couple. Sometimes to shuffle them around, giving them new partners, but sometimes simply ending their relationship. On that topic, do not be caught in an unauthorized relation if you are one of her courtiers. Apparently the punishment for that is far worse than any other that she hands out.    My instincts tell me that her reasoning can't be good, and yet for the life of me I can't think of an explanation that makes even a lick of sense.  Then again, when have the powerful ever needed a reason...