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]

[If he's so tired, shouldn't he be catching a nap instead? Or, maybe he just woke up from one... Was he sleeping during training hours? Too mysterious.]

Possibly. [Or maybe it'll make him sleepier... ah, well, let's get the pieces out and start setting the board up, in any case.] My name is Shinji, by the way. Shinji Ikari.

[kokuyoyo]

Chikusa Kakimoto.

[That sure is a pretty Japanese name for someone who look and sounds Italian. Don't worry about it. Chikusa doesn't seem to care, instead reaching over to nudge some of the pieces separate from one another.]

...Rooks and Bishops can go as far or little as they want, right...? And the Queen.

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Nice to meet you.

[That is... a bit weird, but he's really not sure that he has any room to really be questioning it. Things just are like that sometimes, right? It's Fine.]

Right, those are these pieces. [He sets the appropriate tiles, 'Hisha' and 'Kaku', in the appropriate positions on the board after a moment or two of thought.] There are just the 'Rook' and 'Bishop' pieces, though. There's no Queen piece. The 'Lance'... [He picks up another couple of pieces, 'Kyosha', arranging them as well.] Go can forward any number of spaces. [So, sort of similar to the other two.]

[kokuyoyo]

I see. That seems simple enough so far...

[So obviously, like many games, it's the tactics themselves which make everything complicated. Hm.]

Is there another piece?

[hedgehogsdilemma]

A few of them, yeah.

[He sorts out a few more pieces, recalling quietly before recounting their properties out loud. 'The King can move one space in any direction', 'the Pawn moves one space ahead', 'the Silver General can move one space diagonally in any direction, or forward by one', and so on until his side of the board is set up and all of the pieces have been explained.]

The goal is to capture the opponent's King, and you can place other pieces you capture back on your side of the board. [Still easy enough, right?]

[kokuyoyo]

[Totally easy enough, although Chikusa might be underestimating things here. Still, he nods slightly.]

I think I get it... Then, does it matter who goes first?

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[That one takes him a moment of thought, but then it seems to come together.]

It's sort of like a coin flip? You toss a few pieces and depending on how they land, that determines who goes first. [But, you know,] I think actually just tossing a coin would work as well, too.

[kokuyoyo]

...Yeah, probably. [And the good news is... It only takes a moment for Chikusa to dig through his pocket for a yen coin to hold out.] Flower or number... or however it goes.

[He's not sure how heads or tail works in yen.]