February Training

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: October 15th
Where: Meeting Hall, 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 the Meeting Hall, 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 traditional reception room within the Meeting Hall for an informational meeting covering the basics of proper god behavior. A minor deity is giving the speech, and none of the white-robed shinki enter. 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 in the white-and-gold of Amaterasu's hosuehold 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 explanation 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.

A training game has been set up through a section of the Meeting Hall gardens, with little cut-outs of ayakashi hidden in the landscaping, tucked into bushes or taped under bridges. Prize ribbons are being offered for every ten "ayakashi" a shinki (or team) discovers.

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. Several magically animated straw-stuffed training dummies, many of which have been carefully mended and patched with neat black stitching, are set up on the lawn with a white-robed shinki hovering nearby to watch over them. They make good training partners, although anyone who comes too close risks being targeted for a sparring match whether they wanted one or not.

The pond behind the dojo has had dozens wooden poles sunk in it, spaced a few feet apart, with a bunch of brightly colored ribbons tied around the pole in the very center. Some of the white-robed shinki are practicing scaling the poles and leaping from one to the next, until they get close enough that they can snatch a ribbon from the center pole, and several have fallen in and are being teased by their fellows.

Rest and Refreshments

Instead of snacks being served at the training session, this week, white-robed shinki with little flags are conducting groups of newcomers and volunteers down to the Tokyo Daijingu shrine and into a street festival currently being held in Tokyo. Traditional dance troupes are performing on street corners, and vendors have every kind of fall street foods, from barbecue to takoyaki, chocolate-dipped bananas and red-bean pancakes. New arrivals will get a white-and-gold envelope with spending money for the fair, although gods and shinki who have had some time to settle in will have to handle their own lunch expenses.

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
• Go to a festival
• Spectate if you want
• Have fun~

Comments

[mylanceisbiggerthanyours]

[Look as long as you don't pull a Devdan, you're good, Tana. She's heard plenty of talkative folks.

The mention of the weapon immediately grabs her attention, and she unhooks the shield and weapon from her back to show Tana, her eyes shining a bit.]

Ain't it jus'! Ah won it in a war back home. It's called the Wishblade. Probably the best lance Ah've ever seen, an' sure the best Ah've ever used.

Would ya like to hold it?

[At least Tana doesn't look like she'll break if she tries to hold it, heavy as it is.]

[wingedprincess]

The Wishblade? (Tana's no expert on naming weapons (she thinks), but the name itself seems to stir some thought within her mind.)

Do you know the meaning behind the name?

(She asks, taking a couple of confident strides closer to the woman.)

I'm not sure if I should hold onto it, by the way. I'm trying to learn what weapons I might have wielded before and have yet to hold onto anything sharp. (She doesn't want to cause a mishap with her experience, but she'll admire it all the same.)

[mylanceisbiggerthanyours]

[Ah, a Shinki Time to be a bit careful. But Nephenee thinks about it for a minute. A meaning?]

Well...Ah'm not the original owner an've only named another lance, so Ah can't be sure beyond what Ah've heard an' noticed beyond the name on it.

[She helpfully taps to an engraving in a foreign language on the halberd's handguard.]

Ah've...noticed that Ah seem to find weak points a lil' better when Ah use it? Ah dunno if it's luck or jus' the weapon bein' that good.

[OR MAYBE IT'S BOTH ooooooooooo]

Though, if ya ever want to learn more 'bout if ya were used to lances back home, Ah've got lots of practice ones at my temple.

[Oh right...she blushes and holds out a hand.]

Oh, s-sorry, Ah'm Nephenee. The goddess Athena, 'round these parts.

[wingedprincess]

(Tana nods, following along. She has her own (newly formed) opinions on naming weapons and the possible meaning behind one with a name involving wishes, though that's for a later discussion it seems.)

There's a lot of gods here, aren't there? (She wonders if she spent a life surrounded by them... though the lingering doesn't last for long.)

Oh oops, I did forget to give my name? I think I'm just used to everyone recognizing me. I'm Tana! (Though she does have another name, that giving her pause.) Is that the name I'm supposed to give? I don't really know... everyone having two names here kind of complicates matters.

(A pause.) At least the weapons don't need more than one name, right?

[mylanceisbiggerthanyours]

Yeah, there's quite a few...it's still a lil' weird to me.

[Hm, does that mean Tana met her god, then? Sounds like it. Not many would know the person's name so easily.]

It's real nice to meet ya, Miss Tana. Don't worry, ya don't hafta give the other one. That's more what your god'll use for ya when they need help from ya. Least, that what it feels like to me.

Yeah, weapons are a bit more simple, ain't they?

[wingedprincess]

Oh, it's like a code name then? (Tana please, that's not... well, she's already thinking that's what it is, so she's going to go with it.)

They are. Except in a way, shinki are a lot like weapons too...

(In a single conversation, she's managed to wrap herself around something and contradict herself. Good thing she's not so easy to confuse... yet.)

I think the weapons you can hold are better than the weapons one would command. It's a lot more reliable to wield a weapon in your hand by your own choice than to risk making a choice someone else can't live with.