godsoffortune: (Default)
The Far Shore Mods ([personal profile] godsoffortune) wrote in [community profile] thenearshore2018-08-17 02:23 am

August Training

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: January 6th, 2017
Where: Outside the Meeting Hall, the Far Shore / the Ryukyu Islands
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 her welcome speech in the monotone of someone who's practiced it far too often. Hopefully no one's feeling sleepy! She adds that gods should be cautious of anyone on the Near Shore who might ask to use their shrines to visit the Heavens, and should instruct their shinki to be cautious as well. There is an unrecognized god who the Heavens believe to be attacking them. 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. Each of the shinki is wearing a brightly-colored sticky name tag reading HELLO, MY NAME IS ________, and all of their names appear to end with the syllable "mei."

    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. The white-robed shinki appears to be a particular expert in magic, and will occasionally offer to help out anyone who's practicing a spell more challenging than the Borderline, especially if they look quite lost. His nametag reads HELLO, MY NAME IS SABIMEI. (To interact with Sabimei, please comment on the "NPC REQUEST" thread below! If you prefer, you may also handwave his assistance or advice with your character learning spells.)


Physical Training

    Two of the white-robed shinki, whose nametags mark them as Toumei and Kimei, are standing off to one side of the training area near a pair of large, curtained tents. They each have an enormous wicker basket full of clean, folded beach towels, and a rack of what appear to be wetsuits and swimsuits in a variety of styles and sizes. Once suited and toweled, new and veteran residents of the Heavens alike will be handed a pretty white-and-gold cockade that can be pinned to their suit or tied around their wrist by its ribbons, and either Toumei or Kimei will escort them to a beautiful, but rocky, Near Shore beach. Tropical plants, palm trees and high grasses surround the area, and although the sounds of cars are audible from a road not too far away, the only sign of human presence on this beach is an ancient, rotting fishing boat pulled up well past the high tide mark.

    It's quite chilly, with a brisk sea breeze, but there's room to run up and down the beach, a net set up for beach volleyball, younger shinki building sand castles, and showers for the brave souls who venture into the water. The surf is impressive today, so swimmers will get the chance for some serious exercise. There's also the chance to climb through the wreck of the old fishing boat; inside, piles of old seaweed and drifting sand host curious crabs, and a curious explorer could even find treasure... although nothing more valuable than large seashells, old one-yen or five-yen coins, and bits of weathered sea glass.


Rest and Refreshments

    When sunset comes -- early, at this time of year -- the shinki bring giant picnic-sized bento boxes with five or seven layers of carefully packed foods, and pile wood for bonfires that leap with flames edged blue-green from the salt. The bento boxes contain a wide variety of traditional foods, many in the style of traditional New Year's dishes: sweet potato and chestnut, slivered carrot and burdock, whole fish, toasted mochi, sliced lotus root and more. A fireworks display starts over the ocean once full night falls, fountains and bursts in every color imaginable, some so ornate that it's hard to believe they're not helped along by a touch of magic. The display lasts half an hour.

    After the last fireworks, the shinki will guide everyone back to the Meeting Hall to return to their homes. The wind is getting chillier, and gods or shinki who stay too much past the firework display will notice the tiny, creeping forms of glowing ayakashi no larger than a fist, looking like little jellyfish on land. They don't seem hostile; instead, they're fixated on the boat, and will climb on it and settle onto the rigging and wood of the boat, chirping quietly to themselves and snuggling in so that the whole boat seems to glow with an unearthly blue-white light. They can be fought and defeated, but if attacked, will fight back: and be careful! Those jellyfish tentacles spread blight instead of stinging, and they're longer than they look.




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 at a beach (isn't it winter?!)
  • Relax and watch the fireworks
  • Have fun~
letteropener: (that is how it is)

[personal profile] letteropener 2018-09-25 12:54 pm (UTC)(link)
"They both represent the transformation of mental energy to magical energy." If the key factor in shinki spells was indeed willpower, as she was given to understand, that parallel seemed self-evident.
kokuyoyo: (Tell him next time I'm going to be)

[personal profile] kokuyoyo 2018-10-01 09:17 pm (UTC)(link)
"Huh." Well, he guesses he can't argue with that. It sounds similar enough, after all. "So, differences?"
letteropener: (that is how it is)

[personal profile] letteropener 2018-10-02 12:54 pm (UTC)(link)
"Well, I am not a shinki, but my understanding is that there is little actual conscious patterning going on in shinki magic. If one wants to create a Borderline, one simply performs the necessary steps of the gesture and the invocation, yes? Whereas unicorn magic shapes the mental patterns to produce the magical patterns. And of course, unicorn magic requires a horn for the translation of energies, while shinki do not."

Celestia may be a wise and serene princess, but she is also quite the magical scholar.
kokuyoyo: (Tell him next time I'm going to be)

[personal profile] kokuyoyo 2018-10-02 04:43 pm (UTC)(link)
"So, then, basically, a unicorn doesn't require any particular steps... It just happens." That's sure a much easier way than shinki magic. Chikusa is almost jealous. "Unicorns are just born with horns, right..."
letteropener: (chatting away)

[personal profile] letteropener 2018-10-03 01:28 am (UTC)(link)
"For simple spells and effects, especially those relating to the unicorn's special talent, that is true. But more complicated effects require a very deliberate mental pattern. Imagine focusing on a specific shape, or several such. And yes, unicorns are born with horns."
kokuyoyo: (Woke up with a squirrel in my bed.)

[personal profile] kokuyoyo 2018-10-04 01:11 am (UTC)(link)
"....So I guess there's no way to grow them..." He looks away a little bit. Is there a bit of deja vu going on in the air..? Don't worry about it.
letteropener: (fond smile)

[personal profile] letteropener 2018-10-04 01:05 pm (UTC)(link)
"Well. It is true that a pegasus can become an alicorn, and thus gain a horn, if they prove themselves truly worthy and deserving of the responsibility and scope of an alicorn's power. Just as a unicorn can gain their wings, in that same circumstance." A bit of pride crept through for her dear student, who had done just that.
kokuyoyo: (Tell him next time I'm going to be)

[personal profile] kokuyoyo 2018-10-04 05:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, that probably explains her, he guesses. That's one mystery solved. "Then how does that work?"
letteropener: (sun goddess)

[personal profile] letteropener 2018-10-05 02:13 pm (UTC)(link)
"Very deep magic." Cheerful as she was, Celestia nonetheless said this quite seriously. "I do not believe a parallel exists to it among humans, who in this case are different in very complicated ways."
kokuyoyo: (Tell him next time I'm going to be)

[personal profile] kokuyoyo 2018-10-05 04:34 pm (UTC)(link)
"Well, I mean..." His head rolls a little bit. "We're not human anymore, technically. I'm dead."
letteropener: (look at this thing)

[personal profile] letteropener 2018-10-05 11:56 pm (UTC)(link)
"That is true, but even so, you at no point had quite the connection ponies do with -- well, everything." She gestured around at the beach and the sky and the clouds.
kokuyoyo: (At which point did I decide that it)

[personal profile] kokuyoyo 2018-10-06 09:19 pm (UTC)(link)
...With... Everything. That seems like a whole lot for even ponies, magical or not. Just a little bit, he squints at her. "How are ponies connected to everything...?"
letteropener: (that is how it is)

[personal profile] letteropener 2018-10-07 02:10 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, had she not told him? She thought she had at one point, but she had to admit she'd explained this so many times since coming here it had all blurred together. "In addition to the weather, we ponies control the seasons and the movement of the sun and moon."
kokuyoyo: (And the cops are back.)

[personal profile] kokuyoyo 2018-10-07 02:27 am (UTC)(link)
"....But not all ponies, right." He's pretty sure he remembers that being a key point somewhere.
letteropener: (chatting away)

[personal profile] letteropener 2018-10-08 03:50 pm (UTC)(link)
"Pegasi control the weather, unicorns the season. Earth ponies tend to the land and the animals, and my sister and I raise the sun and moon." All ponies had some role, was the message, though it was also true their natural gifts by no means obligated them.
kokuyoyo: (Please don't place wagers on my)

[personal profile] kokuyoyo 2018-10-10 11:57 pm (UTC)(link)
"...I don't control the weather, but does being a giant cloud count as having a connection with the weather...?"

Asking for a friend.
letteropener: (fond smile)

[personal profile] letteropener 2018-10-11 01:55 pm (UTC)(link)
"I must admit, it's never come up before," Celestia said with a smile. "But I imagine it might."
kokuyoyo: (And the cops are back.)

[personal profile] kokuyoyo 2018-10-11 06:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Softly, he blows a bit of hair to make his bangs flutter. "...Then I guess I'm not getting a horn even with that."
letteropener: (a smiling wave of hair)

[personal profile] letteropener 2018-10-12 02:46 am (UTC)(link)
"That seems more worthy of wings than a horn in any case." Weather being the pegasus specialty, after all.
kokuyoyo: (Please don't place wagers on my)

[personal profile] kokuyoyo 2018-10-12 05:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Slowly, Chikusa looks down at his shoulders. "...None of those either. At least not like this." How unfortunate, or something.
letteropener: (nonplussed)

[personal profile] letteropener 2018-10-13 03:48 pm (UTC)(link)
"When I take on human form, I can still do magic even without a horn." As he'd seen in occasions past. "But I cannot fly. So humans may have some natural talent with magic or some ability to transform mental energies in other ways just as part of their being."
kokuyoyo: (Apparently I kept telling people I was)

[personal profile] kokuyoyo 2018-10-14 07:44 pm (UTC)(link)
"Maybe that's what shinki magic is then..." His head lolls back. Chikusa has never particularly tried it, but he's fairly certain that he can still cast magic while in vessel form. "At least for the dead here. I wonder if that means it's locked inside a person while they're still alive..."
letteropener: (raised hoof)

[personal profile] letteropener 2018-10-15 01:26 pm (UTC)(link)
"And yet, do not some gods have magic? Had magic, in fact, even before they came to the Far Shore?" Magic and other talents; she's seen quite a few things here that simply didn't mesh with her understandings of Equestrian magic.
kokuyoyo: (Please don't place wagers on my)

[personal profile] kokuyoyo 2018-10-18 11:56 pm (UTC)(link)
"They're all weirdos, so it doesn't count."

....Chikusa, no.
letteropener: (a little sly)

[personal profile] letteropener 2018-10-19 12:41 am (UTC)(link)
"That isn't a very effective argument coming from a non-equine," Celestia returned with an amused smile.

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