March Training

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: October 25th
Where: Outside the 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 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 what looks like an old, large warehouse behind the Meeting Hall for an informational meeting covering the basics of proper god behavior. Several chairs have been moved in, but they're squeezed together between packed shelves and boxes of old ritual clothing, scrolls and rusty or chipped household goods. 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.

Back copies of the "From Ama" magazine, including puff pieces about new or rising gods or successful shinki, advice columns for resolving problems between gods and shinki, temple photographs and other articles of interest to gods and shinki, have been brought out in boxes and piled up next to a table holding a few remaining copies of the shinki questionnaire for any new shinki who want to keep one around until they can answer the included questions.


What is your name?

What is your god's name?

How do you see your duties as a shinki?

What is your favorite part of life with your god?

What is your least favorite part of life with your god?

What advice would you like to give your god?

Do you wish to be assigned to a different god? []Y []N

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 white-robed shinki are still busy cleaning and preparing the Meeting Hall for the big annual meeting of the gods. They'll recruit anyone who looks as though they're not too busy in order to help scrub floors, weed, sweep paths and walkways, and shoo away any unwelcome little spirits that are hiding away in dark corners of the hall. Heavy lifting is good exercise... right?

Rest and Refreshments

There are casks of fresh, cold water near the dojo to make sure no one gets dehydrated, but for those who've finished working, hot tea and enough seasonal treats are available to make it look as though the Heavens bought out an entire sweet shop. They're being distributed by a few shinki in indigo-blue and plain brown robes with the sleeves tied back, who aren't above teasing the newcomers a bit.

Young shinki are playing in the nicely manicured garden, trying to catch crayfish at the lake edge, dashing around playing tag and hide-and-seek. Just be careful you don't get caught in the middle of a game of "Kagome"! If you do, you'll really be stuck until you guess someone's name.

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
• Enjoy a traditional tea
• Spectate if you want
• Have fun~

Comments

[abgrund]

[ Ain closes his fingers over the pole of the scythe, and it vanishes in a shower of black sparks. ]

Affinity...?

[ - is the first thing that comes to mind. Something about elemental types lingers in his thoughts, but not much more. ]

Do you think of anything... when you do that?

[cloak]

Stopping something, because that's what we're supposed to do...and direction. We're supposed to focus, they said.

[So he's tried to focus his energy, but what he's getting just doesn't seem right.

It could be that he's doing it the wrong way. He just hasn't figured out how]

[abgrund]

[ There is a difference between focusing and guiding, definitely. He thinks back to how he had drawn on the void to release the energy of his own creations; there had been a purpose to it. ]

What are you.... focusing on?

[ It had been so easy to key a gate into his core and let the power flood out. ]

Think of the effect... that you want; to make your thoughts real.

[cloak]

There's none of those ayakashi things, around here.

[And probably for the better. They sound like trouble, and there's something uncomfortably familiar about how they're described, too]

But it seems like the point's stopping them.

[Destroying them, rather]

[abgrund]

[ He's quiet for a few moments, trying to sieve out words from the murky mess that is his thoughts. How to convey this to someone who did not hear the song of the void in his mind....? ]

You have to.... focus on your intent.

[ Ain holds out a (visually disembodied) hand, willing a borderline to fall. It flares into existence a little shakily, but it's there. ]

Think less of lightning.

[cloak]

[He thinks the word here is Thunder, but that's besides the point]

That's the thing, I didn't think about it.

[Puffing out a breath, he drops his hand and glances back up at the taller fellow]

What kind of...intent...do you think of?

[abgrund]

.... separation.

[ The former angel closes his eye for a moment, dispelling the boundary line. ]

They said the intent should be to keep you separate from... something else. [ Ayakashi, perhaps. ] A.... boundary.

[ It comes naturally to him, though that may be because his mind interprets it as a cutting tool. ]

[cloak]

[Roxas weighs that thought, his line of sight sinking to the place where the boundary once was, his hood dipping along with it]

If I wanted to keep something away...

[He extends a hand, tries to bend his focus to such a task.

But instead of a boundary, a plume of black smoke and glitter heralds the appearance of what might best be described as a menacing, giant skeleton key in his grip. He jumps, holding the object as far from himself as possible, shoulders tense]

That's—

[Not right either, is it?]

[abgrund]

[ It doesn't look different from Ain's own scythe, so his only reaction is a slow blink. ]

... not a line.

[ But it is interesting, so he floats a little closer. ]

Is it... your weapon, that you hold now?

[cloak]

[Cautiously, Roxas turns the object in his grip]

I think so.

[That seems right, anyway]

But I'm not sure what it's supposed to be.

[abgrund]

[ Perhaps the correct word is a key, but: ]

A sword...?

[ He summons a projection sword in his own hand, the weapon composed of outlines of hard light in black and green. ]

I have some too...

[cloak]

Can all shinki do stuff like that?

[He doesn't remember it from the pamphlet he'd been handed earlier, but they can both do it. So maybe there's something to that.

Or it might not be something they're expected to do at the onset? It's hard to say]

[abgrund]

[ That is a Good Question. ]

... I don't know.

[ The projected sword shatters into a spray of black shards, fading away. ]

But, you now know something you can do...?

[cloak]

It's not what I meant to do, but I guess so.

[Hopefully he can figure out how to do it voluntarily, like this guy can]

Defense doesn't seem like my thing.

[abgrund]

[ Given how small Roxas' frame is, it doesn't seem suggestive that he can be defensive. Unless he learns to project a shield, that is. ]

Offense, then?

[ Nothing wrong with that. ]

[cloak]

[He tilts the weapon in his grip, assessing it once again]

If these are the things I can do...

[It stands to reason that his defense must be an aggressive offense, or something of the sort. Unless he just hasn't figured out how to generate something purely defense-oriented.

That's a possibility too, he guesses]

[abgrund]

We are meant to defeat the ayakashi.

[ That's what the dummies are for. He's convinced of it. ]

Practice...?

[cloak]

I'll need to.

[Not knowing how he's doing any of this won't make him a reliable partner for any deity, though he's as yet unsure why Add was so insistent upon that word]

You were practicing before too, right?

[He points at the decimated dummies with his...sword...thing]

[abgrund]

[ He nods again, letting his gaze trail back towards the dummy. Some of the shinki have already started to clean it up, so they'll have to use a new one now. ]

Want to try....?

[cloak]

[He nods, starting toward one of the new dummies]

Yeah, I should see what I can do.

[Though he doubts he'll have the natural finesse Ain has]

[abgrund]

[ Ain takes an observing position this time, floating to stand behind Roxas and the dummy he's chosen to try and unleash hell on. If anything, he can try to learn something.

How does one learn abilities, anyway? ]

[cloak]

[Loot boxes and boss battles, mostly.

But without these conveniences, Roxas just clouts the dummy with his new weapon. Once furtively, then again with more speed and force. Single strikes become a flurry...

Which ends in beams of light crashing down around them, decimating nearby dummies and leaving more than one senior shinki scowling their way]

...I don't know why that happened.

[A day in the life of a final boss]

[abgrund]

[ That's a greater expenditure of energy than even Ain would use, so that gets a raise of his eyebrow; however slight. ]

.... did you think of anything while you did that?

[ Back to the 'ol principle of intent, again. ]

[cloak]

Just doing better. [More importantly] Being useful.

[Though he doesn't know why, it's important to him]

[abgrund]

[ Being useful... he can understand that. ]

Can you control that?