December Training

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: March 8, 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 midafternoon, once 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, which are spreading out even further with the onset of Spring. Strangely, there are many fewer flowering trees than might be expected.

Shinki Training

A well-appointed dojo has been prepared for newcomers to practice the 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 what look like old clothes and sheets rescued from the rag pile and hung from trees or stuffed with straw to serve as targets. Some of the children are trapping their straw-stuffed targets by dancing in circles around them, hands held as they sing the Kagome song; others are using cutting borderlines to bring sheets fluttering down.

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 interact with one of them or if you have any questions about handwaving an interaction.

Physical Training

The cherry blossoms that had begun to bloom across the Meeting Hall grounds seem to have experienced a mysterious mishap. Buds and half-opened blossoms alike have rained down from the branches, carpeting the fresh spring grass below with soggy brown and black rot. Several gardener shinki, with their sleeves tied back and sensible heavy aprons to protect their white uniforms, are raking up the fallen blossoms and trying to coax the trees back to health with powders and straw wraps to protect the trees' trunks from nightly chill. They need help: climb the trees and sprinkle the knots along the branches with invigorating powders to encourage fresh buds, or help the gardeners hold the straw in place around the tree trunks while it's wrapped with cloth, or just help rake up the dead flowers.

Besides the cherry problems, the gardens are beautiful and just beginning to burst into spring bloom. Tulips, crocuses and daffodils are sprouting everywhere, and once the borderline game is done, the child shinki are quickly organizing a garden-wide game of hide-and-go-seek. Find the best hiding spot you can, and make a break for home base as soon as you're sure the seeker is too far away to catch you! But don't run into anyone on the way.

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. A fresh springtime menu is available: lightly flower-scented teas, plum wine, and a variety of little savory or sweet snacks to nibble on while waiting for dinner. Dinner turns out to be okonomiyaki: bowls with mixed batter and a plate full of tasty add-ins are brought out, and griddles at the center of the table heated to let every guest set out their own favorite add-ins, pour batter over, and make a savory pancake. It's a little tricky to flip with the tiny spatulas provided, but it should only take a few pancake disasters to get the hang of it, probably!

After eating, a few doves will flutter into the room, dropping off scrolls to certain people, and the frazzled-looking adult shinki from the earlier training session dashes to the front of the room to try to keep everyone occupied. He's reading from a handful of printouts with corporate icebreaker ideas: pin a secret card to the back of everyone's shirt and ask whoever you meet for clues to figure out what it says! Fill out a bingo card with different skills or experiences your fellow gods and shinki have! Figure out how to stack every piece of furniture in the room onto just one table... play a game where you're only allowed to reply with questions... switch tables every five minutes and see how well you can get to know the other person there before your five minutes are up. Wait, isn't that speed dating? He seems to be running out of ideas.

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 some icebreakers
• Have fun~

Comments

[fierceredlips]

“It wasn’t spring back where I was yesterday,” Hong calls up to the woman in the tree. Snakes can climb trees, but they prefer to stay on the ground. Or, at least, this snake does.

“Could you help me find the Western District, by any chance?”

[timeforpink]

"Fair point." But Jen would rather stay far away from the topic of her past, so she just shrugs.

For her part, she likes having the higher ground. There's an advantage to be had in seeing without being seen. That, and it's pretty here, surrounded by flowers

Still, she won't be rude. A god has just asked her for help, and even though this isn't her god, Jen feels like she owes her some respect. She makes her way down a few branches before sliding off and landing gracefully on the grass. She straightens then, nodding.

"We'll have to search together, but I can go with you."

In case there's danger or a fight. The Heavens are safe, they say, but you can never really be sure.

[fierceredlips]

Hong is about to demur, thank the woman for the offer and go it alone, but thinks better of it. If she can strike up an acquaintance with a local, maybe she can figure out more about this place and how she came to be here.

"All right."

She waits for the other woman to get back on solid ground and then says, "I'm Zhu Hong. Apparently I'm a goddess."

Saying it out loud feels utterly ridiculous.

[timeforpink]

'Apparently'?

"So you just got here too." It's more statement than question, but not as firm as it could be. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Jen, a shinki."

So, you know, she might be at a disadvantage here, especially without her god. Right? She can't teleport, after all. She doesn't know spells or rituals yet.

"I guess we both have a lot to learn."

[fierceredlips]

Well, there goes her plan of interrogating the locals. Still, the fact that Jen is also new is very intriguing. Just how many "new" people are there? And this while god versus shinki thing seems like a very...interesting dynamic.

"Likewise. Listen, what did they tell you when you first arrived?"

[timeforpink]

Straight down to business, huh? Jen appreciates that.

"They told me what I am and what that means, the names of my god, and where his temple is." Sooo not much, really. "Pretty basic. I assume you got told a little more, because you're a god."

[fierceredlips]

So not much, basically.

"I wouldn't say that. They told me which god I'm representing and where to find my temple, which I still haven't found." She wishes they'd given her better directions. "And they gave me a smartphone."

[timeforpink]

"Huh." That doesn'r seem very efficient. Wouldn't they want the new gods to be more informed? "...they must have reasons."

And either way, it's too soon to do more than wonder why. This calls for investigating, but it's not at the top of Jen's to do list. Not yet.

"The phones are nice. Job perk?"

Or a way for them to be able to keep you on call? If nothing else, it'll help gods keep in touch with their shinki.

[fierceredlips]

"If they do, they certainly didn't share them with me." The whole thing is more than a little alarming. She has a life to get back to, a city to help rebuild, and she doesn't have time to be playing goddess somewhere (Japan?).

She takes out the phone and gives it a look over. "They are nice," she muses, turning it over in her hand. It's not a brand she's familiar with, but it seems to pretty state of the art. "Nicer than what I had back home, anyway." Hers was a couple of years old, and she'd cracked the screen during a recent fight against one of the Dixingren.

She'd never gotten around to getting it fixed.

"So, you're a shinki. What's that like?"

[timeforpink]

Jen is trying not to be a little worried, but she's slowly failing at that. At least she isn't showing it. Hong's question is a welcome distraction.

"It's hard to say. I don't have anything to compare it to. But I like that I'm here to help my god help people. That kind of purpose feels good to have, you know?"

It feels right. Much better than wondering if this is a cover-up for something more evil.