013 | Down To Business

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Training
When: Morning June 16
Where: Bishamon's temple
Summary: Training sessions for everyone to learn more about their abilities and jobs!



Many people have been wanting to know more about their abilities and what they are required to do here in the Far Shore. So, in conjunction with Bishamonten, the Heavens have seen fit to offer an open training session for everyone to participate in. Here you will be able to learn anything and everything about what you should be able to do and what is expected of you in your new positions.

Bishamon's temple is sweeping and gorgeous, having previously been home to hundreds of shinki. She has graciously offered to hold this training session and will be available to help anyone who needs it.



Equipment

Various kinds of mannequins and dummies have been provided for practice, as well as targets that are either stationary or move, depending on your will. Punching bags, jumping blocks, and a large pool area have also been provided for your use, so that you can find a tool for pretty much anything that you might need to practice. Plenty of practice weapons of various weights, sizes, and shapes are also available upon request from any of the many white-clad shinki that are also attending today.

God Training

Bishamon herself will be the foremost source of information regarding being a god and what is expected of you. It is also encouraged that gods group up together to practice what they've learned and discuss their ideologies. Random groupings can be provided by the mods or you may come up with your own groupings together.

Shinki Training

Various shinki are available to help with shinki training, including Kazuma and all of Bishamon's shinki. Additionally, the white-clad shinki will be more than happy to train you on using the borderline and some of the basics of what is expected of a shinki. It is also encouraged that shinki group up together to practice what they've learned and discuss their ideologies. Random groupings can be provided by the mods or you may come up with your own groupings together.

Refreshments

There is a refreshments table provided. It is covered with light snacks and various kinds of hydrating drinks. There is a little sitting area set up for people to relax in after they have finished their training or if they're even just taking a quick break to cool down. The Heavens want you to stay in good condition!

In Summary:

• Use the state of the art equipment
• Learn about your job
• Form groups to practice
• Don't get dehydrated
• Spectate if you want
• Have fun~

Comments

[nibelungvalesti]

[Even describing herself as possessing normal strength and fighting skills is more than many here can do, which is somewhat of a relief for Lenneth. But one particular phrase catches her attention.]

Forgive me -- your 'relic'?

[declamando]

[Maria doesn't seem surprised at the question, though she hesitates somewhat habitually when it comes to actually showing what she means. However, after a moment, she does so, hooking the rest of her necklace out of her shirt and into view with her thumb. Attached to the string is something that looks almost like a long red crystal, shining oddly in the sun.]

I used this to fight back home, but I needed special injections to resonate with it properly. Without those, the discord between myself and the relic damages my body.

[nibelungvalesti]

[That -- opens up so many questions, Lenneth doesn't know where to begin.]

Special injections? That seems like a very dangerous and inefficient means by which to fight.

[declamando]

[Well, Lenneth isn't exactly wrong there, and Maria's expression becomes a little more serious.]

It's dangerous, yes, but someone has to do it. It's incredibly rare for someone to inherently resonate enough with a relic to use it without damage, and even then they can suffer life-threatening injuries if they use enough power from it. In my case...I know well that if I use too much of its power, I'll die.

[There's a certain weight to her words there, one of someone who more than knows the consequences, they've seen them.]

[nibelungvalesti]

And yet, why use such relics in the first place? Do they offer such a powerful advantage over ordinary swords and spells? [Is she like unto a Dragonian, capable of transforming herself with the use of this relic?]

[declamando]

[That's a much more simple question to answer, and Maria nods firmly. With such a hefty cost to their use, there had to be a significant strategic advantage to using a relic.] In my world, there are creatures that can't be defeated with conventional weapons - swords, guns, or whatever else. Those are what relics are used to fight against. As well as acting as a weapon, they shield the wearer.

[nibelungvalesti]

And the gods of your world provide no aid? [Unsurprising, but irritating. It is one thing to speak of such creatures as the enemies of Asgard; it is quite another to, having so proclaimed them, do nothing about them. At the very least, their gods ought to send their own Valkyrie.]

[declamando]

[That...is a difficult question to answer, and a frown tugs at Maria's mouth as she tries to find a way to put the main issue there.]

I'm...not sure any gods my world once had exist anymore. We have remnants of them, in the form of some of the relics, but those are wielded by people like me. Just humans. We have to be as good as the gods who would otherwise respond.

[Though Maria's tone is weighty, there's a certain confidence to it. Wielding her Symphogear is one of her particular strengths, or so she would consider it.]

[nibelungvalesti]

Lax gods or absent gods. To the mortals who must suffer under the yoke of enemies the heavens ought to oppose, there is little difference.

[Her fist clenches at her side, the muscles of her jaw tightening. Maria might have several inches on the Valkyrie, but in a moment like this the goddess's presence seems farm larger than her form.]

[declamando]

[Given the nature of their conversation earlier, it's not much of a surprise to Maria that the god takes the idea of lazy or absent deities so seriously. It's definitely something Maria thinks she would in the same position too, and even with the fearsome presence, she nods seriously.]

No, I don't suppose it does. I wouldn't know myself, but whichever it is, they've left things to mortals to deal with.

[nibelungvalesti]

[One convulsive jerk of the head and Lenneth lets her anger relax. She cannot do anything, much as she might wish to.] I am sorry for the circumstances in which you found yourself. Though it will serve this world well to have gods in place who are not so ignorant of duty.

[declamando]

It's fine. [Maria gives a somewhat reassuring and overall very genuine smile.] It's difficult, yes, but I've done things and met people I would never have been able to otherwise. And being here is the same, even if I do worry about being away from my own world sometimes.

[nibelungvalesti]

To gain the power and position of a god is no small compensation. [But even as she speaks, the Valkyrie's mind jumps ahead, chaining thoughts and conclusions together. Little sign of this shows on her face, save that she turns her attention back to the relic.] Can others use your relic, or is it bound to you?

[declamando]

I suppose. [There's a gentle smile there, because Maria doesn't quite want to admit she doesn't consider herself fit for the role. But the other question distracts her soon enough, because it's a difficult one to explain without it sounding confusing again.] It's...complicated, but I'd call it bound to me. It's very rare for someone to synchronise with a relic enough to use it, and even I don't synchronise well enough with mine to use it without damaging myself, but the only other person I've known to be able to use it was my little sister, Serena.

[And the use of "was" combined with the sudden heaviness to Maria's words at the end there may contain a conclusion of their own.]

[nibelungvalesti]

I see.

[Yes. That answers a great deal. The Valkyrie ponders offering some reassurance that her sister no doubt earned a place in the heavens... but perhaps now is not the time.]

So the answer is yes, but with such rarity it might as well be no. What determines the ability to synchronize?

[declamando]

Something physical, I think. The relics respond to and are maintained by our singing, but myself and a friend of mine were both able to wield the relic Gungnir when our registers and styles of singing are very different, so it isn't just that. There's a drug called LiNKER that's used on people like me to increase our synchronisation to the point we won't hurt ourselves using our relics, but it wears off quickly and I honestly have no idea what the science behind it is.

[Given they hadn't even been able to create more of it since the experts in heretical technology had all gone evil on them, Maria doesn't even have an inkling of the complexity and work involved. She does look somewhat apologetic for her lack of information, but she can't really answer more than that.]

[nibelungvalesti]

Your singing?

[This just took a very curious turn, and dark besides. The Valkyrie folds her arms, head lowering slightly as she considers this tail. Physical ties, a response to sound, drugs, death...]

Your circumstances must have been dark indeed to rely on that relic. Has becoming a god improved matters for you at all?

[declamando]

Yes. It's a bit unusual, but that's what the relics react to best. [That, at least, is said in a very certain tone, because Maria's seen what happens when people try to force relics to react to other methods. It doesn't tend to go down well.

Lenneth's next remark is one Maria has to consider for a few moments before answering, and even then, she still sounds a little uncertain when she answers.]

...It's hard to say. I can still help people when they need it here, but not as effectively as I could in my world. And there's still all kinds of things here I don't really understand that get in the way of that.

[nibelungvalesti]

I was referring specifically to the relic. Would it not seem that divine strength could more capably wield such a device than mortal? [This is not a slur against mortals, merely a recognition that the two beings are quite difficult. Of course, to the Valkyrie's mind, gods are in many ways a world apart -- those that were not once Einjerhar are not human entirely. Though there is little difference between the two on the surface, Lenneth is herself Aesir, not human.]

[declamando]

Ah, my apologies. [That's actually something else Maria has to think about a little, because she's only used her relic here once, and that was a while back. She at least seems more certain in her knowledge when she answers this time, though.]

It's a bit hard to tell, but I don't think it's made too much difference. Airgetlam was always easier on me than Gungir, so the damage was mostly internal anyway, but other than maybe making me a little more resilient, I haven't felt much change. I'm not sure the change to god does much to anyone physically here.

[nibelungvalesti]

Which is patently ridiculous. [Don't mind her irritation.] And yet surely you must have gained something from the process?

[declamando]

That healing ability I mentioned earlier, even if I don't know the details of it. Other than that, I'm really not sure. I haven't done as much fighting as you might expect since I got here.

[She definitely gave the zombies that turned up at that one festival a run for their money, but that had mostly involved either her Symphogear or wielding Natsuru's shinki form against them.]

[nibelungvalesti]

This relative peace astounds me.

Do you wish to learn? [With the implication that she had better lurking in the hard edges of her voice.]

[declamando]

I have to admit, it's surprising to me as well. I can't help but think it won't stay this way for long. [Her tone is thoughtful at that, but with the way Lenneth's voice is edged with that follow-up, Maria's attention turns to her. It's subtle, in the way her eyes faintly narrow and her tone clips, but the fact that this is no unfamiliar territory to her is hard to miss nonetheless.]

I've never stood down from anything that can help me help others.

[nibelungvalesti]

[Good. That is as it should be. Too many others had no interest in their duties.]

I will teach you, then.