014 | A Whole New World

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Exploring the world
When: All day June 26
Where: The Near Shore (All Over)
Summary: So many shrines have popped up! Go visit your homelands!



The Heavens have received reports of many shrines to the "new gods" they are harboring appearing all over the world. These shrines seem to be additional, new shrines to those gods. Older shrines to those gods still exist, but these ones are shiny, new, and way more compatible with the "new gods". God characters, as well, will have felt the sudden pull towards their homelands and be compelled to travel to them. But the Heavens have taken it a step farther, offering the Meeting Hall as a place for gods and shinki to group up and go out for the day to the various places that are now calling out to them.

Please ignore the fact that they are mostly doing this so that you all will collect information for them without their begging for it or having to reward you.



Meeting Hall

The Meeting Hall is being used as a sort of hub right now. Any groups that are planning to meet up and travel together can meet here, but you might also find someone who's going somewhere you'd like to and tag along with them. Additionally, the Heavens have provided packed lunches for everyone to take with them, should they desire to. This also serves as a meeting place for all of the new gods and shinki.

Locals

Local pantheons have been alerted to the impending visitors. They are happy to welcome their brethren home and are likely to make a big fuss about their brothers and sisters staying with them. Local gods are welcome to be interpreted however you would like, just be sure not to NPC any god that is already taken by a god player. Also, you may find yourself running into some local spirits during your sight-seeing - including local ayakashi and various folklore spirits.

Flyers

They may not stick out at first, but those who are paying attention will notice that there are a large number of flyers being left around at their new shrines. Heck, even walking through the human towns, you will find flyers scattered on the ground and pinned to cork boards and nailed to telephone poles. All bear the same message: "Down with the Heavens. Down with Amaterasu." The locals gods are well versed in the flyers, saying that there have been some strange characters around throwing these flyers at anyone who will give them the time of day. Even humans will note that some shady-looking people have been putting up these strange posters.

Destruction

Whether you return early because of boredom, never left because you're uninterested, or late because you've been having fun, the middle of the night will bring an interesting sight to all. The Heavens will find themselves under attack - in the form of a large fire set at the temple of Amaterasu herself. The entire home is going up in flames and no one knows where Amaterasu is. They're asking for help in dousing the fire or even entering the burning home to find the small goddess and possibly look for the saboteurs, though the only people who are still around are Amaterasu's shinki, in varying states of distress and consciousness.

Note: Who will discover Amaterasu will be decided randomly on 3/20/17 OOC. At that point, a follow-up post will be made by Amaterasu herself.

In Summary:

• Explore the world
• Get to know your homelands
• Investigate insurgents
• Deal with a riot
• Save Amaterasu
• Have fun~

Comments

Dokugakuji | God: Ksitigarbha | China and Far Shore

[royaltyloyalty]

Meeting Hall

[ Dokugakuji is primarily listening for other gods and shinki talking about going to India and its surrounding countries where Buddhism is prevalent, not just the big ones like China and Japan but smaller ones as well. He's learned that it's spread out a lot in eastern Asia. He doesn't expect to earn any long-lasting friendships out of the loose common thread, but he also figures it can't hurt to be more aware of these people if Heaven is actively encouraging them to go back to the regions their gods are associated with.

He's spent a lot of time in India lately though, so perhaps it's no surprise he's off to China today. ]

Locals: Mount Jiuhua, China

[ He's sometimes wondered if this is like a punishment or a practical lesson, coming to know so much about the religion of his enemies and visiting the temples where such a person as a Bodhisattva is revered. Scratch that, a Bodhimaṇḍa - the place of awakening, where a mortal achieved enlightment and became Ksitigarbha.

Unlike a lot of places, there's fewer natural spirits in this area - a lot of monks, and some holy energy wafting around, but not even a holy animal to be found. Just a lot of quiet on the mountaintop, away from bustling cities. Big surprise since Mount Jiuhua is one of the four sacred mountains in Chinese Buddhism. ]

Destruction

[ Dokugakuji hasn't had need of Mokki's power just yet but he figures today it might actually happen. He'll be teleporting around with all of his godly power looking for people who are about to get hit with something fiery falling on them and targeting them with Mokki's power. The result is that he ends being ... a little crispy by the end of it, as he gains some of the fire damage the other people were suffering. And he has a healthy constitution, and he can heal faster than a human can, but still not THAT fast, so it'll be rather obvious. ]

Destruction

[tadanokusuriuri]

[Leaving the Heavens so unattended was a miscalculation.]

[The Medicine Seller feels nearly guilty about it, about as close as he gets to feeling personally guilty about anything. His curiosity, perhaps, got the better of him. He spent too long out in the world, drawn from one holy site to the next, taking in all that he could from them...]

[It's rare that he's caught off his guard, he's found, but he was as surprised as anyone to come back and find Amaterasu's temple under attack.]

[As useful as he can be for fighting ayakashi, he isn't precisely made for this situation. He doesn't have any sort of elemental powers, only spiritual ones, and being able to fight isn't much use against a fire. All he's got going for him is his quickness of mind, and there's only so much good even that is going to do for the moment.]

[Dwelling on what he hasn't done and can't do, though, won't do any good. Thought means little without action, and so he's focused now on action, making his methodical way through the halls in search of the missing goddess or any shinki that might be trapped, with a damp cloth draped over his head and another wrapped around his lower face like a scarf. His fine, colorful clothes have seen better days, and the pale skin of his hands is singed here and there, but there's absolute calm in his eyes when he hears Dokugakuji's footsteps and turns towards him.]

Ksitigarbha. [He has a goddess now, so he'll refrain from bowing, but he does avert his eyes respectfully for a moment or two.]

[Now... He's coming from a direction the Medicine Seller hasn't explored yet. Perhaps he can save him some time on his search.]

No one is left in that hall?

Re: Destruction

[royaltyloyalty]

[Dokugakuji was actually concerned that naming Medicine Seller would be trouble for the man, in terms of getting blighted possibly, so he doesn't mind getting treated at a distance. It's better this way.]

Medicine Seller. [He gives a nod back.] I don't think so. They've found Amaterasu finally.

[He heard the shouts and that might have been what brought the other youkai over too.]

Seems like it's just down to the embers now. A waste of a fine building and the start of something much more sinister, I'll bet.

[tadanokusuriuri]

Is that so?

[He looks around them, silent for a few long moments. It's good that Amaterasu has been found, at least...]

And her household... are they accounted for?

[royaltyloyalty]

[Doku points in the general direction of the strangers who found her.]

I have no idea how many would even be in her household, honestly. I haven't even met her myself. I just heard the cry go up.

[So apparently that's not what Medicine Seller is after.]

You didn't happen to see any of the bandits that set the blaze, did you?

[tadanokusuriuri]

[The Medicine Seller shakes his head, brushing some of the soot from his hands.]

When I returned to the heavens, it had already begun.

[His eyes and his tone are just a little bit harder, at that thought. He ought to have been more vigilant.]

[royaltyloyalty]

Hm. Same here.

[He crosses his arms over his chest, contemplating.]

What're you thinking then? What brought you over this way?

[Because he doesn't know the guy that well, but he does look deep in thought.]

[tadanokusuriuri]

[Whenever someone asks him something like that, he has the oddest urge to come up with an excuse. Even when it's completely implausible to pretend he just happened to be in the area, even when he can't see any real benefit in doing so, he gets this vague sense that it would be best not to discuss the truth too directly.]

[That's just not sensible right now, though, so he shrugs, still looking around at the smoldering remains of the temple.]

I thought to seek for Amaterasu, and to help her shinki escape.

[...And perhaps to investigate what caused all this. He doesn't have to tell the entire truth.]

[royaltyloyalty]

Hmm. Just thought there might be more to it, that's all.

[Since Doku is still trying to figure out if this guy is actually from his part of the world or not. He's seen plenty of humans from other worlds, but no other youkai except Hakkai, so it still stands to reason with him that the Medicine Seller could have come from a clan he's just not familiar with.]

They say every once in awhile a shinki will remember something if it's kind of relevant at the time. I know this wouldn't be uncommon where I'm from. Oh well. At least Amaterasu's safe.

[tadanokusuriuri]

[He nods, more or less agreeably.]

As expected of her. The culprit behind this... won't have an easy time with a god as old as she is.

[Then again, her age means she's had a long time to make enemies....]

[royaltyloyalty]

[He catches that it's something Medicine Seller doesn't want to focus on, so he proceeds.]

Oh yeah, why do you say that? You know how old she is?

[It's a distinct possibility. He's been around just long enough to know he hasn't been around long at all.]

[tadanokusuriuri]

[The Medicine Seller smiles his vague, distant little smile. Granted, this does not mark a significant departure from his resting expression.]

She must be ancient, to hold so central a place here. Wouldn't you think so?

[...Okay, so he totally knows just about everything he could find written anywhere about all the Japanese gods. Knowing seemed important, okay?]

[royaltyloyalty]

Hmm. Guess so. You know the gods that have temples closest to hers?

[ He starts looking around as if they'd have brightly-lit signs on them to answer his question. ]

Cuz I definitely don't know enough about the other gods to know if that 'central' thing holds up.