January Training

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: March 24th, 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 (God or Shinki), the name of the god they will represent (Gods) or the god they will serve (Shinki), and directions to the temple that will be their new home, regardless of role. During these initial meetings for Gods, paper and pens are provided as an unsubtle suggestion to take notes on the information they're given. For Shinki, there are stacks of informational pamphlets sitting out on a table inside the room, and which new shinki are offered as they are leaving the Meeting Hall.

Gods and Shinki alike are cordially invited to a training session beginning in early afternoon - several hours later - after they've had the chance to return to their homes, meet their new partners, and have their questions answered.

This time, it is implied that the Training Session will have a different purpose, so it is highly encouraged for ALL new gods and shinki to attend, no matter how long they have been in the Far Shore.



Divine Service

New gods are assigned a time to meet with an attendant in white robes with a chrysanthemum on their robes bearing a notepad. Gods can request a changed time slot, but they are not given an option to avoid the appointment entirely. Unless they are bullied into allowing multiple gods in one interview session, they insist on one god per time slot. All meetings take place in private rooms similar to those for New God and New Shinki meetings.

The interview consists of questioning the God's commitment to serving the needs of their followers, the Far Shore, and in turn Amaterasu herself. There is the matter of "A God's Actions Are Always Just" and The Gods' Greatest Secret as well, to see if the God believes these are true and important. Do they espouse these opinions to other Gods? Will they respond to a summons by Amaterasu to defend The Far Shore? (If prodded, the attendant will admit that they are in fact an Old God, despite wearing clothing similar to Amaterasu's shinki. They will claim it an honor to do a favor for Amaterasu during her preparations.)

The second round of questions are about their shinki. What vessel forms do they take, in order starting with Exemplar? How do you use them in combat? What sort of opponents have you faced with your shinki in vessel form - human, ayakashi, or other? Do you have any plans to personally train your shinki for battle ahead? For wielders of multiple shinki, when was the last time you used all of them working together?

They insist that all questions are answered. Afterwards, the God is dismissed.

(An OOC breakdown for you characters IC answers to the God Interview...)
On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being low and 10 being high, what is your commitment to serving the needs of...<blockquote><b>1. Your followers?</b> ## <b>2. The Far Shore?</b> ## <b>3. Amaterasu herself?</b> ##</blockquote><b>4. Do you believe that A God's Actions Are Always Just?</b> ... <b>5. Do you protect The Gods' Greatest Secret?</b> ... <b>6. Do other Gods know your opinions on the above matters?</b> ... <b>7. Will you respond to a summons by Amaterasu to defend The Far Shore?</b> ... <b>8. What vessel forms do your shinki take, in order starting with Exemplar?</b> ... <b>9. How do you use them in combat?</b> ... <b>10. What sort of opponents have you faced <i>with your shinki in vessel form</i> - human, ayakashi, or other?</b> ... <b>11. Do you have any plans to personally train your shinki for battle ahead?</b> ... <b>12. For wielders of multiple shinki, when was the last time you used all of them working together?</b> ...

Tempering the Vessel

Shinki are assigned time slots to meet with the white-robed shinki as well. While their sessions are shorter, the conversations are similar, and likewise held in private meeting rooms.

What is your vessel form? How many battles have you been in while in vessel form and what were your opponents? Do you have any opponents you would resist fighting alongside your God and fellow temple shinki? What have you done to increase your resilience while in vessel form? If you have other shinki at your temple, how often have you fought alongside them in vessel form? What spells do you know? Do you have any plans to further that training?

The shinki are then dismissed after all questions are answered.

(An OOC breakdown for you characters IC answers to the Shinki Interview...)
<b>1. What is your vessel form?</b> ... <b>2. How many battles have you been in <i>while in vessel form</i> and what were your opponents?</b> ... <b>3. Do you have any opponents you would resist fighting alongside your God and fellow temple shinki?</b> ... <b>4. What have you done to increase your resilience while in vessel form?</b> ... <b>5. If you have other shinki at your temple, how often have you fought alongside them in vessel form?</b> ... <b>6. What spells do you know?</b> ... <b>7. Do you have any plans to further that training?</b> ...

Shinki Training

A well-appointed dojo has been prepared for newcomers to practice their physical or magical arts. There are five or six white-robed shinki present, who will willingly answer any questions or instruct newcomers in the use of the borderline. They accompany their answers, or their lessons, with an explanation of what is expected of a shinki and the importance of teamwork with other shinki and with gods.

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. (Shinki characters who are interested in learning more about the borderlines or want to learn new shinki spells or songs may approach any of the training shinki for advice or instruction. Please remember to comment on the Shinki Spells page when your character begins to learn a new spell, excluding the borderline.)

Physical Training

While each month the Far Shore attendants try to adapt the physical training to the Near Shore's weather and holidays, the weather is fair and any festive impulses have been subdued. This time, Physical Training encourages pitting a God with one or all of their Shinki against another God with one or all of their Shinki. This is touted as a benefit to the Shinki, so the white-robed shinki make clear that certain Shinki need this training more than others. For example, the ones who answered their Interview questions saying they hadn't spent much time in their vessel form, or fought in many battles, or hadn't fought with their fellow Shinki much - if at all.

There are Old Gods (NPCs - not run by a mod) who can be targeted as opponents, allowing the temple residents to gel as one fighting unit. (OOC: So that your multi-person thread can be limited to as few players as possible, if you choose.)

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. Moreso than other Training Sessions, there is a wide array of international alcoholic options this time. If you've heard of it and you can get drunk by imbibing it, it's probably here in a bottle or glass. Guests can help themselves, settle in, chat, and make new friends.

The Old Gods in particular will begin to regale the crowd at the end of the afternoon with War Stories from the ages past, speaking of their great deeds they performed as prayers for their followers, miracles to convert the unbelieving, powerful ayakashi they fought, and other amazing feats, especially if they involved a shinki at their side - who it was and the form they took. After many Old Gods have spoken, they turn to the New Gods as if in challenge to tell better stories, mocking words exchanged that imply the New Gods could not possibly have done anything so impressive in their short time in the Far Shore.

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
• Answer Interview Questions
• Tell the truth - if you dare - or lie through your teeth... if you dare
• Tell War Stories
• Have fun~

Comments

III

[alchemists]

Is it really ok for you to drink all of that?

[ Elfnein knows everyone has different levels of dealing with for this sorta thing but that is a lot of drinks lined up. ]

[unlucky7]

[Hi Elfnein. Ginia finishes jotting down a note before waving.]

Yes. I can't get drunk.

[Which also explains absolutely nothing besides sounding incredibly foolhardy, arrogant, and the kind of thing someone drunk would say. Ginia drums her fingers against the table before she signs again.]

Have you heard of nanotechnology? ['Nanotechnology' is definitely fingerspelled out.]

[alchemists]

I've heard of it, though right now the uses of it aren't used within the human body from where I'm from.

[ Elfnein had certainly used it before when upgrading the symphogear relics and when crafting other items, but it was still far from being implanted directly into humans. ]

[unlucky7]

[Good, one less thing to explain. Ginia turns her wrist up and looks at her veins. There's nothing different about them compared to anyone else. She doubts even a microscope in this world could detect them. Is there any way to prove her claim? Probably not.

All that matters is they keep working the way they should.]

I can't get drunk since they filter anything out of my blood before it can affect me.

[alchemists]

Really? That's something I would love to know more about function wise. If that's ok with you.. I don't want to intrude since it's more personal.

[unlucky7]

Ask what you want, though I don't know how it works. Only what it does.

[Not a lot of people know, but enough do it doesn't feel like a secret. Besides, it's Elfnein; even with her young age, she's reliable.]

[alchemists]

Have you always had it or was it something given to you? Does it also work with other substances like poison or other toxins?

[unlucky7]

I can't really say with the first question. I guess it was given to me?

[She was able to inject herself with new nanites here so it seems like something she wasn't born with.]

I guess they're like vaccines in this world? Everyone gets them when they're young and then you get flu shots every year.

[With the world-based understanding of nanotechnology, it's the closest conclusion she can come to.]

Anything that isn't suppose to be in my blood is filtered out. Poisons, toxins, caffeine, over the counter medication. I can't get sick from any diseases or illnesses either.

[alchemists]

That is fascinating, so it's a common practice for you and people from your world.

[ Elfnein is making a lot of mental notes, if it's like vaccines and whatnot that could help with figuring out how to get it to work in the human body with her current level of knowledge. ]

If everything is filtered out doesn't that make every day things boring? Drinking coffee wouldn't give you an energy boost, there is no need to take any sort of medication for simple aliments.

[unlucky7]

I can still taste things.

[Ginia gestures at the selection of alcohol lined up. To be honest, she can't see the appeal of getting drunk. Not being able to take pain medication is annoying when she aches, but she can dull pain well enough. Caffeine isn't missed either when she maintains energy well enough.

She's not blind to the implications though. It's a system designed to survive anything and keep her running efficiently. Coupled with the skills she knows and what she doesn't, plus the slim memory she has, personal enjoyment was not a part of things.

It's an assumption though, one she can't press too deep into.]

There are also other functions. I'm stronger and faster than the average person. I don't tire easily.

[alchemists]

Super human levels, but still retaining your senses for things. That's really amazing!

[unlucky7]

Is it? It seems like a lot of people can do similar or more without nanotechnology.

[All shinki can jump further and move faster because they're technically spirits. Plenty of (seemingly) unaugmented people like Shun move fast and hit hard. Then you have all the people with magic or other abilities on top of their strength and speed.]

[alchemists]

Well comparing it to a standard person that isn't a god or a shinki it is extremely impressive.

[unlucky7]

[Ginia can concede to that point. With how commonplace her nanotechnology seems from her understanding of her world, are most people like her? Logic says yes, but the brief flashes of memory makes her gut say no.

It's too dangerous a thought to consider. Let it be. Let the past go.

She takes a sip of a bright green drink. It's incredibly sweet, almost cloying. Not bad. She jots down a note.]

Is there anything else you want to know about nanotech?

[alchemists]

I think I get the basics of it from what you've told me.

[unlucky7]

[If that's enough, then Ginia's glad to change the subject. She looks at the room around them, gods still boasting of their achievements.]

What do you think about today?

[alchemists]

Today has been interesting, there's a lot of stories from other gods I haven't heard of before so I want to make sure to pay attention to everything.

[unlucky7]

[Ginia nods. Were the situation different, she'd be far more interested in the stories. Right now, informative as they are, she finds the tone irksome.]

The meeting in October aside, I don't think I've seen so many old gods gathered. A pity they only want to engage when they have something to prove.

[alchemists]

Isn't it just human nature to want to brag about the things you've done though?

[unlucky7]

Yes, but there's a way to do so without--

["Being assholes about it" is what Ginia is inclined to sign, but she changes her wording.]

--making a show of it.

[alchemists]

I guess that's true, making it into a show is just bragging.

[unlucky7]

[Ginia takes a drink of water, watching the gathered crowd. She could handle some friendly bragging without the underlying intention of gathering for war.

War against two rogue gods. One she's directly helped, the other under the protection of her god. Also one of her boyfriend's gods. Light treason! It's fine! Everything is fine!]

I don't know how things will go in the following days, but you and Romeo stay safe, okay?

[alchemists]

Don't worry, we've been making sure to train more lately in case something happens again!

[unlucky7]

If either of you need help, feel free to ask.