July Training

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: December 22nd
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 more experienced god and shinki volunteers.




Meeting Hall

God Training

Newly arrived gods are escorted into a small meeting room, with tatami floors and a stage 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. Paper and pens are provided to all the attendees as an unsubtle suggestion to take notes on the information they're given.

The speaker delivers his welcome speech in a rather bored tone, occasionally stumbling and checking his own notecards. He particularly dwells, towards the end of the speech, on the fact that an unauthorized god has recently tried to access the Heavens, and any contact from other gods asking to access the Heavens through their temples should be immediately reported. Newly arrived gods 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. They are allowed to remain in the room as long as they wish, should they want to discuss questions with each other or with more experienced gods who are here to help out.

Shinki Training

Various shinki in the white-and-gold of Amaterasu's hosuehold are stationed around the dojo, passing out informational pamphlets that have been freshly printed. They will be happy to answer any questions or instruct the newcomers in the use of the borderline. They also accompany their answers, or lessons, with 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 variety of weapons are available in the dojo for shinki and their gods to practice with, and a row of straw targets are set up along one wall. Outside, in an area carefully roped off with red ribbons, are six animated training dummies, also made of straw and dressed in plain cotton jackets and trousers. They will immediately engage anyone who enters the area marked with the ribbon, but will not pursue opponents outside it. A white-robed shinki nearby keeps a sharp eye on the animated dummies, and will intervene if anyone tries to destroy one.

Physical Training

A race track has been laid out, winding through the gardens to a towering pole, 9 meters in height, planted in the center of a pond with a cluster of pretty ribbons tied at the top. White-robed shinki are standing by with stopwatches: anyone who wants can race their friends along the path, with the first one to return to the starting point with a ribbon winning the challenge, or solitary racers can recruit a shinki to time them and try to beat their own speed. But be careful not to fall off the pole! The pond isn't dangerously deep, but the bottom is very muddy, and in late December, it's also very, very cold.

On the lawn near the dojo, a wide circle has been marked out in white paint, and big baskets set around the circle are filled with sachets full of chalk dust in a rainbow of colors. Pick your color, grab a handful of sachets, and join the fray! Anyone inside the circle is a fair target to have one of the sachets thrown at them, and on impact, they splash out enough brightly colored dust to mark the spot they strike. Head or torso hits are an automatic out, leg hits mean the target isn't allowed to move from their position, and arm hits mean they can't use that arm. Borderlines -- and any other magic -- are allowed, and the game can get intense.

Rest and Refreshments

The weather outside, although not freezing, is quite chilly, and in the middle of the afternoon, the shinki will invite everyone into a prepared banquet hall for food and to warm back up. Charcoal braziers set in the center of square tables radiate warmth, and are covered by grates; other shinki bring trays of fresh ingredients, both meat and vegetable, that can be grilled over the hot coals.

After the meal is finished, one of the white-robed shinki, a middle-aged woman with her hair cut in a fashionable modern bob, enters the room with an expression of great, if restrained, delight, pushing a cart with a portable karaoke machine and speaker on it. She sets up the karaoke machine at one end of the room, and begins encouraging others -- both her fellow shinki and the newcomer guests -- to join in with a song. Whenever there's a break, she puts in music selections of her own; she has a trained, jazzy voice and a great fondness for midcentury enka.

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
• Relax, sing and barbecue
• Have fun~

Comments

[unlucky7]

[Ain is one of the most distinctive people Ginia's seen around and as he was watching, engaging can't hurt. She nods, moving the bowl away so it can't accidentally catch anything on fire as she takes her attention off it.]

Trying to, but I can't tell if I'm doing something or it's the wind.

[abgrund]

[ He's worked with Rin in trying to control his flames before, so he thinks he has something to offer. ]

I can shield you from the wind if you'd like.

[ Given how his presence is sometimes quite creepy, he's grown into the habit of asking first before showing. ]

[unlucky7]

[There's a pause for a second before Ginia nods. Borderlines, other forms of shields, there are a lot of ways someone could help and Ginia's curious how he'll help.]

[abgrund]

[ Ain remains where he is, a distance far enough to be polite but close enough to be within conversational distance. He doesn't appear to move or even raise his hand to cast a spell - instead, a pair of black shadows emerge from his back, expanding to surround the both of them in a dome of fog.

There's no wind, but the darkness isn't oppressive - instead, it gives the impression of being underwater. Some light filters in from outside, so they can see without it being too bright. ]

[unlucky7]

[Ginia's legs tense as the shadows emerge, a brief impulse to flee rising; if she hadn't asked for his help, she would have. But as they're both inside the dome, Ginia settles, looking around at the enclosed space. Now that she's had a moment to appreciate it, it's impressive. She bows her head appreciatively at him, still feeling flickers of tension on her spine. Worst comes to worst, she can always borderline her way out of things and if things turn real bad, Caster will find her.

She focuses back on the small fire in the bowl, feeding it a few sticks from a small pile at her side to help it grow. Steadying herself, Ginia pulls up the song in her mind, whistling the notes as she signs the words to the tune.]

Come, pillars of frost, crossbeams of crystalline ice, and girders of snow. Rafters of the falling rain, and thatch covering of dew.

[And... nothing. Grr.]

[abgrund]

[ Ain watches as Ginia tries her work again - he doesn't understand sign language, so he has little idea of what the song is supposed to be; but from the look of concentration on her face he can deduce that she's probably trying to put it out.

But nothing happens... ]

Do you need to be magical to use this spell?

[unlucky7]

[Ginia's lips press together as she looks at the fire then at Ain. Borderlines and shinki spells never seemed to require any kind of magic. She's sure she's not magical in the way shinki can understand themselves. Maybe song spells are different? Her shoulders rise and fall in a shrug.]

To be honest, I'm not sure about any of the specifics. All that I really know is there are some spells that have a song component and I found what looks like a spell in the library.

[abgrund]

[ Maybe Ginia was trying to invoke the spell by signing out the word components. But isn't a song supposed to be conveyed just using sound? Maybe the signing part was distracting her. ]

Maybe you can sing with the words in your head instead of using your hands.

[unlucky7]

[With no more direction than some words and notes on a piece of paper, any suggestion is worth trying out. Ginia rests her hands in her lap and starts whistling the song, thinking the words along with the music, eyes focused on the flame.

Not a flicker or a flare in the fire. It's not much different from the other attempts though. Ginia forces a smile and bows her head at Ain as she picks up her phone again.]

Sorry, this has to be boring for you. You don't need to stay if you don't want to.

[abgrund]

[ Ain watches Ginia without a word, his eyes vacant. He focuses a little more after being signed to, though - a shake of his head sends his hair rippling as if in water. ]

It's okay. I'm not bored. I have time.

[ But what he doesn't have are ideas... ]

[unlucky7]

[The company and shield from the wind is not unappreciated, but Ginia hates unnecessarily taking up time. Still, if he's hanging around, introductions are in order.]

Thank you for your help then. I'm Ginia, shinki to Caster.

[abgrund]

[ When he says he has time, he means it. He has all the time in the world, so much that waiting is inconsequential.

Thought he name sparks a flicker of recognition in his single visible eye: ]

I've met him a little before. [ And then: ] My name is Ain. I am bonded to Add, or Henir.

[ Does Ginia know him? He's aware that Add doesn't have the best of reputations. ]

[unlucky7]

[Add. They've never met, but his post about his experiment was impossible to miss, especially considering his involvement in Caster's death. Her jaw sets a little as she regards Ain, reconsidering the decision to sit inside a dome of darkness.

However, as Caster doesn't seem to bear a grudge nor does the rest of her temple, what's the point of anger toward someone that isn't here?

Bonded. Huh.]

I've heard of Add, but I can't say I've ever met him.

[abgrund]

He's...

[ Ain hesitates, fishing for words. His eyes close in a slow blink ]

... different from the rest.

[ He had come to this place only after the conclusion of the void disaster, so a lot of it are things he's heard secondhand. It's quite the complex situation. ]

But, he doesn't talk to people much now. I don't think you'll see him around.

[unlucky7]

[Ginia's brow furrows a little. That's an oddly ominious statement to make about someone.]

Did something happen to him?

[abgrund]

He went home for a while. Now he's tired.

[ It is, he thinks, the most important trait about Add's stint away from the Far Shore. The rest isn't up to him to divulge. ]

[unlucky7]

[Huh. Ginia doesn't dwell on the information any more than she needs to. As long as Add doesn't kill anyone else with his experiments, she doesn't quite care what a stranger is up to. There are far more interesting topics anyway. She gives the shadowy dome around them another glance.]

How are you controlling the dome? Is it a kind of magic?

[abgrund]

[ He's partly surprised that she doesn't press the topic, but maybe Add wasn't as notorious after leaving for a while.

Ginia's question is a bit harder to answer, though. He doesn't want to frighten her with what it really is, so: ]

Kind of. They're... something like wings. I can change their shape.

[unlucky7]

It's very impressive. I've never seen anything like that.

[She smiles lightly, the compliment sincere. With all the people she's met so far, the spread of abilities is impressive. Ain's is certainly one of the most unique (even without knowing the exact details.)]

[abgrund]

[ The expression that Ginia gives is one of approval, so he's able to relax a little with regards to his own outlandishness. He always has to be careful in order to not disturb others. ]

Thank you...

[ It's interesting, how they don't act fearful if he controls himself well. ]

I'm not a human, [ he adds as an afterthought; it's well-established by now. ]

[unlucky7]

[There's no denying Ain's appearance is unnatural and eerie. The way his limbs seem unraveled and the non-organic look to him is something to process. Whether that makes him human or not is her place to determine. So he's not human; Ginia files away the point as simple fact.]

What are you then? Though it's okay if you don't want to answer.

[abgrund]

[ It's an important question. While he might have been coy about it in the past, the truth of it is evident to him. He is a unique existence; it can't be quantified using mere labels. Angel, shinki, spirit - he's none of them at all. ]

I don't know.

[ The flatness of his tone suggests it doesn't bother him. ]

I don't think it matters much. I am myself.

[unlucky7]

[It's an answer Ginia accepts readily enough. They are shinki, what they know and don't know is understood only by themselves. She smiles at his answer and nods.]

So you are. I guess as a shinki, accepting yourself is important.

[Or it's the wall you smash into. The drive to be stronger, better, to not let her temple down is the thing driving herself forward while also, unknowingly, holding herself back.]

[abgrund]

[ Oh. That was easy. He'd have expected her to question, but she doesn't; it makes her easier company. ]

It is pointless to worry over that which we cannot change....

[ He says this softly, ending it with a sigh. Though, he supposes he should turn this topic back to what is at hand: ]

... I'm sorry I can't really help with the spell. I don't know anything about it.

[unlucky7]

[There's no point prying. Maybe if it was information she somehow needed that moment, but if he's not volunteering it, then it doesn't matter. They've only just met, his god killed hers in the past, she's awkward at best, why make things more awkward?]

Don't worry about it. It's not like I know anything about this spell.

[Keep asking more people, keep trying, it's all she can do right now. She looks up at the dome around them, resisting the urge to get up and poke it.]

If someone was on the outside, what would this look like to them?