November Training

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: February 21st, 2017
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 brought into small one-on-one meeting rooms as they appear, with a white-robed shinki offering them an explanation of their current role, the name of the god they will represent or the god they will serve, and directions to the temple that will be their new home.

They are cordially invited to a training session beginning in early afternoon, after they've had the chance to return to their homes, meet their new partners, and have their questions answered.



Morning/On the Road

New gods and shinki are being packed off to their new temples for the morning to settle in and meet their partners -- this is also a good time to visit with new neighbors or explore the area! What does your new temple look like? Are you headed straight there, or taking the scenic route to get a better sense of your new surroundings? The Western District is still scarred from the aftereffects of a recent volcanic eruption and earthquake, with fissures in some of the roads and burn scars in the wild landscape. The volcanic ash, though, seems to be serving as fertilizer for vast swaths of unfamiliar and colorful wildflowers that line the roads despite the fact that the weather is late-February chilly.

Shinki Training

A well-appointed dojo has been prepared for newcomers to practice their physical or magical arts. Outside, there are two impromptu target practice areas: one is for long-range weapons, with targets set up against hay bales at the other side of a wide, grassy area and a line drawn for the weapons' wielders to stand behind. The other is for borderlines, and a number of young children wearing short coats marked with Amaterasu's golden chrysanthemum on white are dashing around practicing their own borderlines against scary paper masks tied onto bushes or other haybales. The game seems to require a cutting borderline that will cut the mask without damaging the gardeners' hard work on the bushes.

Inside the dojo, there's room for several pairs to spar, and weapons are set up all along one wall, everything from polearms to rifles, chakrams to broadswords. They're all meant for practice, with edges dulled or padded to avoid any accidental deaths, but sparring partners will still have to be careful to avoid injury. Although there are many fewer white-robed shinki here than usual, except for the children, there is one adult shinki keeping an eye on things inside the dojo and one keeping an eye on things in the yard. They are willing to answer questions, help with borderlines or teach shinki new spells on request. Comment to the NPC REQUEST form to request a thread with one of them or if you have questions about handwaving an interaction.

Physical Training

The last vestiges of winter have melted away from most of the Heavens, but one section of the Meeting Hall grounds appears not to have gotten the message. Snow is piled waist or even shoulder high, the trees and bushes show no sign of fresh leaves, and an ornamental pool is frozen as hard as a rock, with the drifting shadows of koi barely visible under the thick ice. It's the perfect opportunity to play in the snow, and many of the shinki children are already taking advantage of it, sliding on the ice or throwing snowballs.

For those who brave the heavy snow, they may discover an an old woman in the center of the frozen area. She's wearing heavy white makeup and a straw coat, and humming cheerfully as she pounds rice into mochi. Anyone who finds her will be offered freshly made mochi and a cup of warm sake to fortify them for the snowball fights!

Rest and Refreshments

Gods and shinki who are finished with their training can step into a large room in the Meeting Hall that has been set up with comfortable cushions and low tables. Tea, liquor and a wide variety of savory dishes are available, with the drinks already set out on the tables and the savory dishes set up in chafing dishes on a buffet table along one wall. Guests can help themselves, settle in, chat, and make new friends. There's even a dessert table, well-stocked with plenty of chocolate, most of which seems to be mysteriously heart-shaped.

After eating, there are a variety of board and card games available for guests to play. From classic games like shogi, go and mahjong to more modern ones like Trivial Pursuit or Pictionary -- or Cards Against Humanity -- there's something for everyone.

In Summary:

• Get all the information you can handle
• Veteran new gods and shinki are welcome to volunteer showing the ropes
• Practice sparring or shinki magic
• Enjoy a buffet dinner and party games
• Have fun~

Comments

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Thank you, that sounds like a good plan.

[Genuinely, he appreciates the offered consideration. With that, let's set up the board.]

My name is Shinji, by the way. Shinji Ikari. [That might be helpful to know while they play.]

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[Okay, yeah, that's a much more reasonable sounding offer.]

There might be. [That's something he can easily check, at least.] If you're interested in trying to learn, I'd enjoy the company.

[And also, you know, having an opponent to play against is pretty important.]

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[Ah, that's the part he's a tiny bit apprehensive about. Testing it out on someone else...]

Are you sure you wouldn't mind?

[It's important to be able to do this kind of thing properly, he assumes, but something about trying it out during a simple practice session feels off to him, somehow.]

[kokuyoyo]

[For a second, dragging on just a little too long, it almost doesn't seem like Chikusa will answer... but he stirs soon enough.]

I guess. [Let him just adjust his seating and food, now...] Maybe it will help me wake up...

[alchemists]

That is correct, they have died in some fashion and have no memories of that event.

[reloves]

You can move in whatever direction you want! Come on and make a choice, big guy!

[ Maybe it'd help if she explained what color is what category of questions, but Minako doesn't seem to be intending on that right now.. ]

I'll read you a question once we know what color you land on!

(ooc: sshh, it's alright, i literally haven't played it since i was super young.. we can just wing whichever color they land on since looking up the specific order of the colors on the board is so tiring, haha.)

[towards_okeanos]

All right.

[Iskandar takes his piece and places it on a yellow field.]

Yellow then.

[towards_okeanos]

[Iskandar smiles back at her. That's the spirit.]

I'm absolutely fine with metaphorical. Let us keep it that way.

[Enough with this doom and gloom already.]

[unlucky7]

[Ginia eyes the new borderline as it appears, stronger in its clarity. Good. Repetition and experience makes a borderline strong, so does having its limits tested. She holds off on attacking, finding it more pertinent to answer his questions first, but she paces along it as she types. It's a solid wall of light, as transparent as glass, no inconsistencies she can see in the surface, though that's something that only appears after a longer duration. Holding a borderline for seconds is usually no problem even for a beginner. Minutes can get trickier.

And hours?

Well. Ginia can only pray he doesn't find out what that feels like so soon.

She eyes the height of the borderline, a generally fixed standard. High enough to stop a shinki from jumping over it - can't have a shinki escape during an ablution after all - but there are always ways around it. The length of the borderline is good given the space. It's always best framing the borderline with a wall, but even forcing someone or something to go around can buy crucial time.]

There are two types of spells shinki can use. The first kind, which most call shinki spells, require a direct target through a name. These spells don't work on gods. [Humans on the other hand... well, that's a point for later.] The second kind of spell, song spells, can work on anyone.

[She stops at the centerpoint of his barrier, gives a slight nod in approval. What else can damage a borderline? She knows from Kiwami there's a spell that can weaken borderlines, but doesn't know specifics. A shinki in vessel form she assumes can cause damage to a borderline, but there's nothing to back up that theory.]

Given a borderline is tied to a shinki's energy and well-being, attacking the shinki is effective enough.

[Ginia drops a defensive borderline to intersect his, slamming in like a wedge to crack through the wall, will and power and confidence bolstering it. She follows up the attack with a slash of her hand aimed at him, broadcasting the attack to give him a chance to react, but a second lighter slash follows in its wake.]

[reloves]

I think it's just us new ones..? I'm not sure though, I haven't talked much with the other kind of shinki. So you might have to ask them yourself if you manage to chase one down today. [ Since they don't exactly seem to be around as much as usually, so there's no way to just.. drag one over right now.. ]

But.. hmm, ayakashi, huh? I guess it's kind of hard to explain since they come in so many different forms. Sometimes they're shadow-like creatures controlling humans, but I've also been chased down by one in the shape of a bear!

[ She does not sound nearly as bothered as one should probably be by that last part.. Just as if she's only casually recalling a story. ]

[unlucky7]

You are in good hands.

[Ginia won't pretend to know Zelda well, but she is reliable and kind and a long-standing god. Plus there's also Minako at the temple, a true delight.]

Terms of address vary depending on the individual. Most seem to prefer their real name over their god name. I's worth knowing both as gods are always addressed by their god name in systems. Shinki always go by their given name.

[eluci]

[It's not, and he's just going to continue trying to liberate it from Chikusa's hand.

He's totally fighting this teenager over the last...whatever this is, it's okay.]

I--no, you weren't even looking in this direction a minute ago.

[sing_for_me]

It's okay, really! [ She felt bad that he seemed bothered by that. ]

Honestly, I hadn't heard of her until I I arrived here. [ Oshun wasn't as popular outside of the African continent, save for a few other countries. ]

The same with many of the other ones here. I hadn't realized how many there were...But it's interesting to learn about them.

[sing_for_me]

[ Alex waited, and waited, but when nothing happened, she slowly opened her eyes.

Except it was an attack she wasn't expecting. ]

Huh?

[ Alex wasn't ready for any test today!! She didn't study!!]

Uh--um...I.. [ Didn't it depend on perspective? She didn't necessarily think of it as honorable. Snitches just ended up dead (not that she thought the kids would do anything, but that stuff sticks to you). But on the other hand, was there even a point to it? So it really could be seen as foolish too. ]

Probably..foolish? But..it's a foolish I can live with?

[towards_okeanos]

[Iskandar nods.]

I see.

[He didn't have any warm feelings toward the old gods, to begin with. He also believes to court quite incompetent. Especially after that last fiasco. Still, that is some new level of rotten.]

That's cruel but it makes sense. At least from their point of view. If a god dies and then returns he has all his retainers already waiting for him and will be able to pick up his matters without much delay. I can understand where it's coming from. Even if I don't approve.

[This not his style of rule. Bad news, it is not exactly his country so his options are limited for now. Good news, it does not affect new shinki so his people are safe.]

[trustheart]

Yeah. Even my own world is full of weirdness, but I still never manage to keep from feeling blindsided. [She nods.] Okay. I think I'm pretty confident I won't fall on my ass, at least.

[trustheart]

Don't blame yourself. [Chris tilts her head away, just in time to avoid a snowball aimed at her.] Just try to make as many as you can before they realize they can flank us. [Chris picks up one of Shinji's snowballs, and then quickly pops out again, lobbing it as hard as she can. It hits one of the kids smack dab in the middle of the chest.] Bullseye!

[trustheart]

Then... [Chris looks down, a regretful and angry expression on her face.] ..That means, that in some world, we weren't able to save her... We're supposed to fight at each other's side, and we couldn't stop her from dying...

[holygrailed]

I too hope for fortune, but if fight is what I must do, then I will do it.

[She gives Ovelia a reassuring smile. What a kind, gentle woman.]

Will you tell me more about yourself?

[phantomtrick]

It's nice to meet you, Shinji. I'm Ren Amamiya.

[ Sounds like they're both Japanese. Shinji's a nice kid. Ren hardly minds his company. ]

Are you a Shinki too?

[trustheart]

[Chris nods, and lets out a short laugh.] Alright then! And uh... you can visit me at my temple anytime you feel like, alright?

[holygrailed]

Heaven did nothing?

[There's a firmness to her voice, a hint of calm anger. More than half a dozen gods and shinki killed and not a hint of help? It's more and more clearer the ones to count on are the ones brought here and not the ones in power.]

[ofnovalue]

Ayakashi come in all shapes and forms. And some will place themselves among humans in order to make fighting them more difficult.

The precision is more than expected. It is required of us.

[ofnovalue]

... What would my lady wish to know of me?

[boneofsword]

I share the sentiment. A good weapon that fits your hand is hard to find. [it's not a surprise; for a Servant their weapon is most often their most prized posession.]