22 - Harvest Moon Viewing

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Harvest Moon Viewing
When: September 10, 6 PM
Where: The Meeting Hall grounds
Summary: The Heavens are throwing a moon-viewing party!







Party Games

Children are dashing all over the moon-viewing grounds in the early evening, flying kites or playing tag and other games. Many of them are wearing cute seasonal rabbit masks made of paper, or sporting ink curlicues and scribbles drawn over their faces, if they've lost too many games.

Card games and spinning top battles, a few practice archery butts towards the edge of the park, poetry-composing competitions, and even badminton: there's something for everyone, and anyone who doesn't look too busy may find themselves offered a rabbit mask and a game to play. Or perhaps you'd like to try your hand at drawing people into your own game?

Moon Viewing

The moon rises not long after sunset, looming over the garden in hazy golden and red splendor thanks to the volcanic fumes in the atmosphere. The games are winding down as darkness falls, and the faint scent of burning incense fills the air as people settle to view the moon rise. Shinki in their festival best, adorned with Amaterasu's golden chrysanthemum, are serving the guests. They set out trays of fresh seasonal fruit (Japanese pears, persimmons, and chestnuts) and plates of mochi, serve sake, and light portable grills to cook sweet potatoes and skewers of meat.

Mazed & Confused

Part of the grounds have been rearranged into a hedge-maze made of tall, plumed grasses packed close together. A sign at the entrance reads, "Bring back my ribbon from the center of the maze,
and I'll give you a special prize!"

Unfortunately, that's harder than it sounds. The maze is full of dead ends, confusing turns, and twisty little passages, which all look alike. It's almost magical how easy it is to lose your way inside, and the tufted grass will prove to have painfully sharp edges if anyone tries to cheat by pushing their way through the "walls" of the maze.

Those who successfully find their way to the center will find a white ribbon fluttering from the top of a tall pole. If they can climb the pole, pull the ribbon free, and make it back to the entrance, they will hear the sound of a child's laughter, and the ribbon in their hand will disappear to be replaced by a round cake of mochi. Enjoy the prize!

Wild Moon

One of the children participating most energetically in the games of tag and dashing around the party is wearing an oversized gray hoodie with the hood pulled up right to the edges of his happy rabbit mask. He's not being very careful, either: he keeps bumping into other party attendees and barely taking the time to mutter an apology before he sprints away.

Although nothing noticeable happens at the time, anyone who's been tagged or bumped into by that particular child will begin to feel more emotional, quicker to react, and less self-controlled as the night wears on. Those who he only brushed by won't be too powerfully affected, but the more times that he has run into someone, the stronger the effect will grow.

(Note: This won't cause anyone to have emotions that they wouldn't feel otherwise, but both ongoing moods and temporary reactions could be amplified.)

In Summary:

• Play party games
• Relax with snacks
• Try to solve the hedge maze
• Go wild
• Have fun~

Comments

[nibelungvalesti]

Hrist is most commonly the active Valkyrie. [To the Valkyrie's own knowledge, the role has traded between her two sisters prior to now.]

[The truth is more complicated than she knows.]

Lord Odin called upon me to serve in anticipation of Ragnarok.

[declamando]

[There's something unusual about one specific valkyrie being primarily active when there's three sisters it should be able to switch between, but she's distracted from that point by what Lenneth says next.]

So he was expecting the world to end and appointed you because of that?

[nibelungvalesti]

[Maria, you have no idea.]

I am greater than Hrist, and my power more suited to choosing and training Einherjar.

[She is so matter-of-fact that even such blunt and direct claims can't be considered bragging. Moreover.]

[declamando]

So you were creating an army then, I suppose. [Maria only has a loose grasp on the mythology here, but given the context, it certainly sounds like they were preparing an army to face the oncoming calamity.]

[nibelungvalesti]

[A loose grasp is probably best. The mythology of the 'Norse Pantheon' holds names and occasional tenets in common with the Valkyrie's world, but little else.]

Correct. Once they are suitably trained, I send my Einherjar to Valhalla, where they join the ranks of the gods. Their skill and power will swell the armies of the Aesir, ensuring our victory against the Vanir.

[declamando]

How long did you have to prepare? I know the idea of something being soon would be very different to immortals.

[It could mean anything from months to centuries, really, depending on the kind of scale they were using. Maria isn't really sure of it herself.]

[nibelungvalesti]

....Take no offense from this, but it is exceedingly difficult for me to put it in terms you would understand. Perhaps I could best say that, it was expected to occur well within the adult lifespan of a mortal from when I first descended to Midgard.

[Asgard simply did not keep time as Midgard did, to the point that the Valkyrie did not know how to describe it.]

[declamando]

I didn't think it would be easy, no, but that's still fairly soon even by a mortal's standards. [Within a hundred years is a lot more tangible than something not expected to happen for a few centuries.]

That's really not a lot of time to prepare, though. Was there something in particular that made him suspect?

[nibelungvalesti]

[Adult lifespan, Maria. Anywhere between a year and 20. She does not measure time as humans do.]

Long has Ragnarok's inevitability been known, but the head of Mimir told Lord Odin that it was nigh.

[declamando]

Is that an oracle of some sort? [Surely it would have to be, if they knew something like that was coming. All the power in the world won't help tell something's coming unless one can get some sense of the future.]

[nibelungvalesti]

That is correct. Mimir was a Vanir goddess, and though she was beheaded, Odin kept her head to rely on her powers of prophecy.

[declamando]

[That's...a little disgusting, but Maria only recoils very slightly. She's used to some pretty awful mythological tales by now.] So you had warning, but it still doesn't sound like a lot of time to prepare for the end of the world.

[nibelungvalesti]

The amount of time does not matter, only whether you succeed. I had no doubts that the time I possessed was enough.

[declamando]

If you say so. [Maria still sounds a little concerned.] Still, compared to what you were dealing with back home, what happens in this world must not seem like much. I'm sure trying your hand at things outside your duty a little more couldn't hurt.

[nibelungvalesti]

Between battling ayakashi, answering prayers, and training those in heaven, you seem to believe me possessed with more time than the day is long.

[No, this isn't hypocrisy in the Valkyrie's view. As a goddess, she has the ability to fulfill her duty without rest or need for leisure and self-care. So she does.]

[declamando]

If there was enough of that to occupy all twenty-four hours of a day, I feel like all of us would be a lot busier.

[At best, Lenneth would have to be actively seeking out things that are out of the way.]

[nibelungvalesti]

There is if you seek it, though I would not expect anyone else to do that. Mortals must have a chance to live... even those that are dead. [The afterlife is still a life, after all...]

[declamando]

I really don't see why you should be expected to do that either. You might be an immortal, but in this world, we're all considered equal regardless of our actual power.

[To her, there's no reason Lenneth should be seeking out so much when there are doubtless other pantheons and gods to handle it.]

[nibelungvalesti]

Whatever the considerations of this world, the fact that I am an Aesir and the rest of you are mortals is nonetheless truth. The lines have blurred, but neither of us have become other than what we are, even as more has been added atop it.

[declamando]

But you are still performing a different role than you did in your world. Your sisters aren't here to step in when needed. There's no cycle of work. Burdening yourself with this for an extended period is still not the same thing as what you were once doing.

[It's just the opposite of what Maria's suggesting in terms of trying to balance herself a little.]

[nibelungvalesti]

[The Valkyrie is perfectly aware of that, but... she is a goddess. She is not a human.]

Hrist performed the role for countless years without rest, for she was best suited to it at the time. This is not an extended period to a goddess.

[declamando]

But there are other people to pick up the work here as well. You're not acting alone as you and your sisters did taking turns. Just because most of us are mortals doesn't mean there aren't people to distribute the efforts more evenly, or even other pantheons dealing with their own problems.

[She admittedly doesn't know how much the other pantheons have trouble stirred, but they've never needed to call for help, and she's never heard of any major incidents in the others.]

[nibelungvalesti]

That is true, but surely you must admit that the scope of duties is wider as well. Beyond which, my own duties of Choosing the Slain continue here. I cannot simply cease that, and so I must continue to seek out Einherjar and ensure their strength.

The more so because most humans of the Near Shore, regardless of their worth, have no skill at arms.

[declamando]

I suppose, but often the duties come hand-in-hand as well. [Prayers that can be solved by destroying an ayakashi, for example, are not uncommon.

She's distracted a little by the mention of continuing to raise Einherjar, though.] How long does it usually take you to train them up well enough to be satisfied? You are right, it's not that common for people to be particularly combat-capable unless they've had to be for some reason.

[nibelungvalesti]

Training is complete when they meet the standards set by Lord Odin. In his absence... I train them to ensure they are the best. That is a neverending duty, but I am far from approaching even where I would be satisfied. [Another factor of that 'start from the beginning' approach.]