April Training

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: November 6th
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 rear of 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 a much nicer room than the warehouse where the last set of new gods got their informational speech. It's a smaller meeting room, with tatami floors and a small dais at the front of the room where the speaker stands. 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.

Butterfly spirits are swarming the flower garden to one side of the dojo, fluttering across bright pink late-blooming cosmos. Shinki who want to practice more precise borderline aim can try using them to gently herd the butterflies one way or another, or, if their borderlines aren't quite that good yet, they can try to catch one with a net. Just be careful! It would be a shame to hurt them.

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.

The animated training dummies are missing this week, although the mundane ones are still intact on their stakes; the white-robed shinki who has previously been seen looking after them is wandering among the mundane training dummies, muttering, making notes to himself and swearing under his breath. Anyone who stares at him for too long, god or shinki, newcomer or established, is going to find him marching over and assigning them a task. Measure the air temperature in each square foot of the dojo, determine the exact height of each dummy and the location where it's most likely to be hit by opponents of different heights, hook an accelerometer to someone's sleeve while they smack a dummy around -- there seem to be hundreds of little, fiddly measurements he needs, and he's not taking no for an answer.

Rest and Refreshments

There are casks of fresh, cold water near the dojo to make sure no one gets dehydrated, and a fresh autumn-themed lunch will be served a little after noon. Rice with mushrooms, salt-grilled fish, roasted sweet potatoes and fresh fruit are on the menu; the shinki will try to accommodate any special dietary requests, and both the new arrivals and more experienced volunteers are welcome to partake.

One of the white-robed shinki has a whole pack of half-grown puppies that she seems to be trying to train. A few have mastered sitting, a few have figured out how to fetch, and all of them are young and excited enough that they're dashing off in all directions at the least provocation. Watch out! Dog incoming! Maybe she needs some help with that?

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 with the dogs
• Spectate if you want
• Have fun~

Comments

[onehandsomeslickninja]

Yeah, it's disappointing that I can't do anything on my own... It means a lot of the time I'm just dead weight. [Which bothers him profoundly. How many ayakashi had he faced down now that he couldn't handle?]

[swordofzero]

[That didn't seam right, that someone as skilled as Edge felt like he was useless in a fight.] Well there is something you can do now [The better his borderlines were the more he would be able to help people]

[onehandsomeslickninja]

Still doesn't kill ayakashi, though. [Which is the only thing that ends a threat.] There's a weaponized version of the Borderline, though, isn't there?

[swordofzero]

Yes, you can throw a borderline to cut things. [He thought a moment] I don't know if it would kill an ayakashi, it might drive one back though.

[onehandsomeslickninja]

They're pretty clear -- nothing kills them but Rending. But man, I was running low on strength at the end of the last fight. Another trick in the bag would sure help!

[swordofzero]

[Nothing but rending. That made sense. That was the power of a god and the reason they needed Shinki.

But driving them back, trying to protect civilians from them. All those things were used too. Not that Suzaku had ever fought an ayakashi, he was guessing.] Do you know how to attack with borderlines?

[onehandsomeslickninja]

[Edge chuckles.] If I did, I wouldn't be wondering about it all! All I can imagine is putting one up, then tossing an enemy into one!

[swordofzero]

Ginia and Kairi taught me how. [He turns away from Edge, to an area of the dojo where there were no people in the way and brought his hand up] Line! [He swiped his hand outwards, the energy was thrown out like a knife rather than a shield.] You don't make it as wide, but you concentrate on throwing it further.

[onehandsomeslickninja]

Oh, that -- that looks incredibly easy, honestly.

[It's like a combination of throwing and ninjutsu, two things he's really good at! Edge lifts a hand, curls back his smaller fingers, then stabs out a hand.] Line!

[The Borderline snaps out through the air, quick and vicious.]

[swordofzero]

[Suzaku nodded, it was a pretty natural progression from shields to throwing them like weapons, he's not surprised that Edge found it easy.]

There's a third way as well, you summon the borderline but you hold it back, close to you and it can be used a bit like a dagger. [It was harder, at least for Suzaku. It took a lot of concentration for him to keep the energy close rather than just throwing it outward.] Line!

[It was a more subtle movement and the borderline energy stayed close to his hand, ready.]

[onehandsomeslickninja]

Wait -- how does that work? How can you move an active borderline like that?

[Edge looks down at his hand, trying to comprehend a borderline within it, but it flies in the face of everything he'd been told thus far. Even cutting Borderlines are just projections, right?]

[swordofzero]

I'm not sure [ Suzsku admitted with a shrug, letting the energy shatter and disapperate] It was one of the ways Kauri showed me but though I can get it to sit in my hand it shatters whenever I try and do anything. Either that or I accidentally throw it instead of holding it.

[Maybe Edge would have more luck than him]

[onehandsomeslickninja]

Ugh, you know what, I think I'm going to keep that one in mind for a later day. [Edge rubs at one temple with his fingers. Just when he thought he was getting the hang of all this...]

[swordofzero]

[Suzaku nodded] You got the hand of the cutting line really quickly and we made good progress on letting people through borderlines. It's probably enough for one session.

[Borderline practice was tiring in a very different way to physical training]

[onehandsomeslickninja]

Good session though! [Focus on the positives, and not on how ridiculous these different ways of making what amounts to a wall of energy have proven to be.]

[swordofzero]

It was. [Suzaku smiled at him.] I learned a lot. Hopefully we can practice again sometime.

[onehandsomeslickninja]

Sure, if these things are regular occurrences, I'm going to keep showing up. Especially after what I've seen, we can't let our skills get rusty for a moment! There are too many people depending on us!

[Even if they couldn't do a thing without gods. STILL A STICKING POINT.]

[swordofzero]

There are. [He nodded] I'll see you around again, Edge.

[onehandsomeslickninja]

Time to hit those snacks they promised!

[With a wave of his hand, Edge heads for the garden at a clip that practically screams "this is a hungry shinki!".]