December Training

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: September 25th
Where: Bishamon's temple, the Far Shore
Summary: Training and informational sessions for newly arrived gods and shinki



Gods and shinki arriving at heaven's meeting hall are, should they allow it, guided to Bishamon's temple, where a reception area and a traditionally styled dojo and training ground have been made available for the day. The gods and shinki are free to take their time during this day to learn about the details of their new life from Amaterasu's shinki or from the many veteran new god and shinki volunteers.




God Training

Newly arrived gods are escorted into a Western-styled reception hall within Bishamon's temple for an informational meeting covering the basics of proper god behavior, although the minor deity conducting the meeting is in too much of a rush to take questions afterwards. They are encouraged to discuss the information with each other and ask questions of more experienced gods, as well as instructed to guide their new shinki appropriately.

Shinki Training

Various shinki volunteers, both in the white-and-gold of Amaterasu's shinki and in Bishamon's red-piped black uniforms, are stationed around the dojo, passing out helpful informational pamphlets. They will be happy to instruct the newcomers in the use of the borderline as well as offering an explanantion on the basics of what is expected of a shinki and the importance of teamwork with other shinki and with gods. Shinki are encouraged to work together to practice what they've learned and discuss their perspectives.

Someone has brought two overflowing boxes of back issues of From Ama, the Heavenly magazine, which includes profiles of successful shinki and gods, historical tidbits, and the occasional magazine quiz to help shinki determine how well they're currently working with their god or what their greatest strength might be.

Physical Training

The dojo is stocked with a wide variety of practice weapons, traditional and modern, to offer some practice opportunity to gods who, for example, find themselves with a sword shinki but are at risk of cutting off their own toes. It's also useful for veteran new gods wishing to train with their current partner shinki.

This month, a clever shinki magician has created a dozen straw-stuffed training dummies, some with sword-length sticks and some with polearm-length sticks, that have been enchanted to really fight back. Unfortunately, the spell isn't perfect yet! They're good training partners, but sometimes they might go a little haywire and try to smack passersby.

Rest and Refreshments

Along with bottled water, there are several large boxes of energy drinks and vitamin drinks in small amber glass bottles, and an array of protein bars and meal bars. One particular shinki in white, a bespectacled twentysomething man, is explaining the health benefits of everything on the table (even the water!) with great enthusiasm to any guest who looks even a little confused. It takes great tact to discourage him.

Party games have been set up on the lawn near the refreshments table: Twister, Kubb, lawn Jenga, and more.

In Summary:

• Get all the information you can handle
• Veteran new gods and shinki are welcome to volunteer showing the ropes
• Get in some training
• Play some games
• Spectate if you want
• Have fun~

Comments

[declamando]

[Maria only slightly purses her lips at the sight of Chikusa - she hasn't forgotten that conversation either, but she has to bear in mind the circumstances of the night. When everyone was a little bit messed up from the emotional influence, she can't exactly dive on the argument they had as being one they would have had normally.

Still, it didn't seem to completely change anyone either, and they came to somewhat of a stalemate. So she doesn't smile, but she also doesn't pick up that thread of conversation so they can just argue to a standstill again.]

I suppose, but they might have been better served animating slightly stronger dummies. A lot of people here don't seem to hold back when they're training.

[kokuyoyo]

....Just as many people have no idea what they're doing, either...

[So, really, murder dummies or injure people (worse)?]

[declamando]

Most people won't willingly go that hard on a person. [Some will, but there's a line between hard enough to learn and so hard you'll do damage. Maria prefers to stay firmly on the lighter side.]

Aren't there usually sturdier targets anyway?

[kokuyoyo]

....Isn't that just other people?

[Even Chikusa has sparred, for a given understanding of that word, if only because training dummies can get you so far.]

[declamando]

No, I don't just mean other people. Sometimes people need a target sturdier than straw that isn't another person.

[She glances around the area - she swears she's at least seen things like wooden sword towers before, so it seems odd that they would have taken that away.]

[kokuyoyo]

They're probably around... somewhere.

[It takes effort to move things as heavy as that, after all, even with as many shinki as Bishamon and Amaterasu do.]

But things like that.... probably didn't need distractions.

[declamando]

I suppose we would have been worse off if they'd tried to animate something stronger and they went off like that.

[Maria sighs slightly at the oversight before turning her attention back towards Chikusa.] Have they been doing that often?

[kokuyoyo]

...24% chance so far.

[He'd shrug, but he's already finding unnecessary movement to be distasteful, so he doesn't.]

But that's only roughly what I've seen.... I haven't been keeping track that much.

[declamando]

[Despite herself, a very brief smile of amusement tugs at the side of Maria's mouth at that.] Most people who haven't been keeping much track of it wouldn't have a statistic.

[The smile fades again as she goes on, though.] I suppose at least it's not a majority, then, but that's still a dangerously high failure rate for something like this.

[kokuyoyo]

It's just from what I've seen.... and I can't be sure if I'm just counting the same one twice.

[Some are recognizable from their battle damage, but he can't be sure of that. So. By his standards, this isn't the most reliable notekeeping.]

[declamando]

I see. Though there is only a limited number of them, so that would narrow down the possibility a bit.

[She's only counted a dozen herself, and a few of them have sustained very obvious injuries. A few others might have even been destroyed by now, the way people have been going.]

[kokuyoyo]

[Chikusa can confirm that one is definitely destroyed.]

...Before.... There have been more dummies for people to practice with in the past, right...?

[declamando]

I think so. Maybe the animating magic could only work on a limited number of them.

[Maria glances at the one she downed by removing its head. It's still shuffling around a bit, but it's going to have some difficulties until it finds the missing part of itself.] Or maybe the number of them is what's making them go haywire.

[Magic like that usually gets harder the more it's affecting.]

[kokuyoyo]

Or Bishamon just didn't want more of her training equipment destroyed than is necessary.

[Who knows. For a moment, he stays quiet, watching the training dummy's plight.]

....I'm.... trying to ask around for who enchanted them this way...

[declamando]

Also true...though I haven't seen Bishamon herself at these for a while. [She's fairly certain Bishamon used to lead the address to the new gods, but now it's another god she doesn't recognise, who always seems to be running off at the end.]

It's a good question. It seems too powerful for shinki magic, but there are a lot of things we don't know about the magic in this place.

[kokuyoyo]

She's busy.... apparently.

[This is just what Chikusa has heard from eavesdropping on some of the other shinki, and in his course of trying to figure out who's behind the dummies.]

[At her question about shinki magic, his head tilts up a little.]

....Most people... only know the most basic of spells. They can actually get more complex...

[declamando]

So I've heard. A few of the shinki at these gatherings have mentioned it. [It certainly makes her wonder what exactly it is that's been keeping Bishamon so busy for so long, but she can't really linger on it too long right now.

Especially considering that remark on shinki spells, which immediately has her looking interested.] Is that so? None of my shinki have ever learnt any, so I haven't had much exposure to them.

[kokuyoyo]

I don't think many people have learned too many spells here.... Information on them is scarce because of the library.

[Useless pain in the ass thing. Chikusa sighs quietly.]

And.... they take some time to learn.

[declamando]

I can imagine. I've never had to research anything there myself, but I've seen others doing it. [It seems to be a quest in and of itself, which is in some ways appropriate for a library in the Heavens but otherwise very inconvenient.]

That doesn't surprise me. How long is it usually?

[kokuyoyo]

A month.

[A pause as he lets that sink in.]

With constant study... Practice... and how quickly a shinki gets the hang of it.

[declamando]

So it's a significant investment, but not so much that it's not worth it. [A month honestly isn't that long to master something, considering, though it is true that there are probably shinki who wouldn't have as easy a time getting the hang of it.]

Does it help to learn it off others? I remember hearing that the school here was setting up classes for it.

[kokuyoyo]

Probably...? I don't know who Hakkai has teaching them...

[Kairi apparently knows some spells, although Chikusa isn't sure of which ones. Beyond that... Hakkai has outright told him that he's the shinki who he knows that is most knowledgeable about them so far.]

[declamando]

So you learnt yours on your own, then. [If Chikusa hasn't been taught himself, it would make sense that he wouldn't know whether it makes a difference or not. And she presumes someone had to find the techniques initially, since she knows it took them a little while to become more common knowledge.]

[kokuyoyo]

I practiced one with someone.... but they're gone. [To his knowledge, anyway.] It's not as if there's anyone else to learn from....

[At least until now, possibly, which he's going to figure out.]

[declamando]

Isn't there? I would have assumed the older gods' shinki might be more receptive to that than the gods themselves, but obviously not.

[Otherwise they should have no shortage of people to practice with, yet here they are with, apparently, none at all. Or only the newcomers at the school, which means they're limited to existing knowledge among the newer shinki.]