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

[phantomtrick]

Cool, I'll do the same thing.

[ Ren's happy to share his knowledge of this place with others. Sora's in good company. ]

Let's see...something weird happened a while ago. Wanna hear about it?

[oathkeeper]

[Ooooh. There's deets already. Sora perks up.]

Yeah, what happened? Is it about the volcano? Some people have been mentioning that.

[phantomtrick]

Not that. About a week or two ago...we all fell into each others dreams, somehow.

[ Dreams are awful like that. ]

In some cases it felt like an invasion of privacy. I hope that doesn't happen again.

[oathkeeper]

[That makes Sora slip up in his movements as he hesitates.]

Fell into... dreams? How? Did someone fall into yours?

[Honestly, that sounds a little scary. What would Sora be dreaming about and what would someone see? He can't really remember his dreams right now.]

[phantomtrick]

I'm sure someone did at some point. Sadly, I don't remember much. The details slip my mind.

[ He can talk about what he does remember. That's an idea. ]

I saw my friend's family in one of them. Weird, right?

[oathkeeper]

Dreams are can be hard to remember, sometimes when I wake up I can't remember anything after a few minutes.

[Sora tilts his head.]

That is really weird, though.

[phantomtrick]

The ayakashi around here can do a number of strange things. We have to be mindful of our surroundings just in case.

[ Ren seems to be taking a moment to relax. He doesn't want to overdo the training thing. ]

..Want to take a break?

[oathkeeper]

[Sora stops too and stretches his arms.]

Yeah, sure. That was a good start.

[He's heard so much about the ayakashi lately but he hasn't seen a real one before.]

Have you fought an ayakashi?

[phantomtrick]

Just once before.

[ Ren makes a short wave of his hand. ]

I got in over my head and I think my god wasn't too happy about it. They're difficult to fight sometimes.

[ And so he learned that the hard way. ]

[oathkeeper]

But that must have been so cool...!

[Sora is a little impressed. He wants to fight...]

[phantomtrick]

Haha, I guess so. You'd do fairly well in a fight.

[ Ren pats Sora on the shoulder. ]

Seems like you're off to a good start.

[oathkeeper]

[Sora seems to glow at the praise. It feels good to get a compliment. Someday he wants to fight and prove that he's a great shinki too.]

Thanks. I'm glad I ran into you today, Ren.

[phantomtrick]

Same here. It's been fun.

[ Sora's a good guy. He'll do just fine and Ren isn't so worried about him. ]

I think they have refreshments over to the side. I'm beat.