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

[sing_for_me]

How can she hint at violence with such a pure expression? Truly a formidable person. She's also really good at somehow making bad ideas sound kind of fun to Alex.

Well, it was training. It would be good for them to understand her vessel form better.

"Alright, alright." It sure was difficult to say no to her.

"Come, Kaki."

[nopixiedust]

"Yay!" Laughing brightly, Wendy skips and hops right into the little arena that's been set up. People's eyes are naturally drawn to her for that alone, plus the bright pink of her outfit... and then they're drawn to her for an entirely different reason as she disappears into light that very quickly warps into something much larger.

Some back up when a giant crocodile curls into the arena, snapping her jaws in delight. "Alright! Challenge a god that looks really smug, Alex!"

[sing_for_me]

You want her to what now?

She can't just call someone out like that! Even if she may have glanced at one or two gods that may have fit that description. Maybe they should have challenged someone first? Who on earth would want to fight a giant croc--

"Ha! If you think size is all it takes, then the new generation is a lot more foolish than I thought." An older man steps up onto the arena, arms crossed, beard quite majestic. He has a small entourage of shinki behind him, their eyes narrowing as they judge Wendy's form.

"It seems a lesson needs to be taught here."

[nopixiedust]

That guy. That guy would fight a giant crocodile.

And you can bet the giant crocodile is aching to fight him, as Wendy opens her maw to let out a loud hiss. This! This is exactly what she's talking about. "Just who needs to be taught a lesson here!? I can't stand men like that, or his little gang."

People move out of the way as Wendy begins to adjust herself, curling around Alex with her tail grinding against the ground. "Let's crunch him in half, Alex. We can tag team him, so let's see him avoid THAT."

[sing_for_me]

"I don't think we're allowed to do that.." Alex wasn't trying to be full of herself here, but she had no doubt in Wendy's abilities to possible take out half of the guy.

The older god calls for his shinki who form on him, new attire and weapons appearing. That makes it easy enough if they're in one place. The giant axe was intimidating to look at though.

"Think you can use your tail instead? Maybe distract them with watching out for your mouth?" The tail would still hurt, but he should remain intact. She can also help keep the focus on her head.

[nopixiedust]

"He's a god, he'd come back." Is it really murder if the victim can come back to life? Still, Wendy lets out a long sigh, the breath rustling along the ground. "But fine. You know, I wonder if I could catch them off-guard in mid-transformation..."

That's an idea, huh? Going from little girl to crocodile to little girl again, throwing him off-guard. Wendy will keep that in mind. For now, she does a faux-lunge forward, just to see how this guy reacts.

[sing_for_me]

What an optimistic way to look at things...

"That might work." Alex will follow her lead.

When Wendy lunges, the man perks up. He lists the axe over his head and throws it at her. Big doesn't mean fast, right?

[nopixiedust]

Big might not be fast, especially because this isn't the best place for a giant crocodile... but that's for her whole body. There are some parts of a crocodile that are extremely fast.

For example: her jaws.

Wendy knows she's usually tiny, and not all that threatening otherwise. However, she can gladly say that the rest of her is more than quality. For whatever reason, she's an acrobat... and being an acrobat means having an excellent eye coordination with the body. With her enormous jaws, she snaps them down, catching the axe in her teeth. "Jump over, Alex!" Because she's making a turn to swing her enormous tail at the god.

[sing_for_me]

[ It's great that gods were given the ability to jump and float, otherwise, Alex would've been crushed.

The other god is obviously shocked at the axe being caught, which was enough to distract him from reacting quick enough to the incoming tail. He does a raise an arm just in time to brace himself, but the hit does send him off the side.

Alex lands and goes to check on Wendy. ]

Did the axe hurt you?

[nopixiedust]

I think I chipped a tooth.

[Will that reflect on her regular human body? Wendy isn't entirely sure. Well, it's not as if her dental situation was great anyway... As petty revenge, Wendy snaps her jaws open again and closes them fully on the axe flat in her mouth. She doesn't swallow, but she does make sure to keep eye contact.]

[Intimidate your opponent. Eat their weapon.]

Let's keep going, Alex!

[sing_for_me]

[ The god, and probably the rest of his shinki, look in horror at Wendy's display. Was that even allowed?! Calling the shinki back into their human form seemed like an even worse image. ]

How dare you!

[ The angered god pulls out a sword this time and lunged towards Wendy, this time not risking letting go of his weapon. ]

We..should probably put him out of his misery. [ Okay, not in that way, but it was probably best not to prolong this before someone really gets eaten. ]

Do you think you can keep him still for a moment?

[nopixiedust]

The only answer Alex gets is what sounds like quiet malicious giggling bouncing around in her skull, the kind that one of many hapless victims hears while tromping around a haunted house before ghostly child hands shove them over a railing or drag them under a bed into the darkness never to return.

So that's probably an agreement.

Still, that sword looks like it'll hurt if it hits her... And she's pretty sure that she won't be able to catch his sword like she did the axe. So Wendy turns her head to the side to try and swipe her long snout towards him, aiming to hit him towards the inside of her curled up body.

[sing_for_me]

No one would ever think such a bright giggle would come from such a giant lizard, but maybe that's what made her more terrifying. Just as fearsome as her human form.

"Oof!"

Wendy manages to make the hit, and the force has him loosen his grip on the sword. He tumbles to the ground, and once he does, Alex moves next to him and covers his nose and mouth with her hand.

"Stay down." Her intent is to get him drowsy enough to not move, but his eyes don't flutter shut. However, he does stay there on the ground, not attempting to get up. So ...it technically worked, didn't it?

"..I..I think we can go, Wendy."

[nopixiedust]

"Then we've won!" If that's the case, then she carefully opens her mouth. It's admittedly a little hard to get the ax out of her mouth. As a crocodile, her head isn't really... meant to drop things, at least like a dog or cat does. You know, animals that aren't pressed so close to the ground. Still, with a little bit of moving the muscles in her mouth and shaking her head, she manages.

"What did you do?"