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

[artificialrose]

"I'm sure there have been others who've been around longer, but that long has been enough for me to practice a lot." Smiling, he moves the staff around to see just how far apart he and Romeo need to be. With that settled, he begins to shift into a stance with his staff held firmly.

"Even still, there have been people who've been practicing all their lives, huh?"

[myblueskies]

"Yes some people already know how to fight when they get here." He also goes into a stance, making sure his feet are the right distance apart and that he's holding the spear in way that is a good balance.

Romeo hadn't known how to fight, not like the way people do here anyways. He hadn't known there were special ways to stand and move. He was really happy that mister D2 had agreed to teach him, especially since Elfnein was learning too so they could practice together.

"Ready?"

[artificialrose]

"Well, we'll catch up to them one day!" There's nothing else to do but practice, if they're going to reach that. So, with one last smile, Garry gets to practicing. It's nothing flashy, but there's no need to be. All the flashy stuff is built on the basics anyway. So strikes, jabs, all the simple things that will help him out in a fight, before he slides back into a starting position. As he does so, Garry glances back towards Romeo to see how he's doing.

[myblueskies]

Romeo got to work as well, practising the very basic blocks and strikes. Sometimes he had to go slow to make sure he had gotten it all right, to remember to move his hands and his legs and use them both to jab at the imaginary foes in front of him.

Once he got into the flow of things he sped up a little, you had to be fast to fight things or you would get hit a lot! He grinned at Garry when he saw that he was looking towards him. Garry was good! Romeo stopped as well, bringing his spear back towards himself.

[artificialrose]

The action doesn't miss his attention, and Garry perks up a little. On one hand, it's just warm ups, so he doesn't want to be too, well, overprotective. He's well aware that even children want to be independent, and Romeo especially has shown himself to already be doing quite well.

Regardless, he can't help but ask, "How long do you usually go before you get a break for a drink of water, or something like that? If you don't mind me asking."

[myblueskies]

"Um..." Romeo thought and then shrugged. "I don't know sir. I just go until I feel really thirsty and then I get some water or until mister D2 tells me we are having a break."

Training could be thirsty work after all! "Are you thirsty?"

[artificialrose]

"Not yet. But I'm different than you, aren't I?" He gestures to himself, smiling. "For example, I'm much taller, and I'm older. So when I get thirsty, it might be a long time after you. So I wanted to check that you were alright, or else I won't know."

[myblueskies]

"Oh. You need to drink more water than me though right? Because you're so tall." There's more to fill up with water but it also takes longer to use all of it up so big people could keep going a lot longer!

"If I get thirsty I'll tell you sir!"

He grinned from behind the spear. "What do you want to try now?"

[artificialrose]

"But it takes longer for me to need it," he says, smiling. Still, biology lessons can happen later.

"Have you ever practiced spinning around your spear?"

[myblueskies]

Romeo nodded, that made sense he guessed! He shook his head a moment later. "Spinning it around? No I haven't learned that yet!"

It's very big! Spinning it looked like it might be tricky!

[artificialrose]

"Then let's give that a try. It's useful for more than just looking fancy." Although it'll undoubtedly be the kind of thing that looks fancy anyway... Adjusting his position on his own staff, Garry keeps talking. "It helps you get a feel for the weapon a little better, which is a good thing, and it can help you regain your grip too. At least, that's my opinion."

For someone younger with smaller hands like Romeo... Something simple should be fine. So Garry starts out slow at first, doing a simple spin in front of him by turning his hands and exchanging the staff between them.

[myblueskies]

"Okay!" He nodded, always happy to learn something new. Learning how to keep hold of the staff would be a good thing, he was much better at not dropping it now than he used to be but it still sometimes slipped out of his grasp!

He watched carefully as Garry span the staff, turning his hands and keeping hold. Once Romeo had watched for a few spins he stepped into a space where he wouldn't get his staff tangled with Garry's and began to spin it carefully, slowly, concentrating hard on where he put his hands. "Like this?"

[artificialrose]

"That's right!" It's not the hardest staff spin to do, but Garry is still glad to see Romeo get the hang of it so quickly. It can still be tricky to do, after all, especially for the smaller hands of a kid. "You might want to adjust how your hands are spaced... But that's something you can experiment and figure out for yourself. Everyone is different."

[myblueskies]

Romeo beamed when Garry told him he had done it right he looked at his hands and moved them slightly, careful to not let the staff wobble too much.

"How are they supposed to be spaced?"

[artificialrose]

"However feels comfortable for you. Everyone has differently sized hands, or go at different speeds." He won't be so strict as to squash down on something that would work for him, after all. Still, after a second, he adds, "But it should ideally have enough room for you to both be able to turn it but not hit your other hand in the process by accident."

[myblueskies]

"To turn it and not hit my other hand." Romeo nodded and looked at his hands again, moving them a bit more. "Do I just got to practice until it feels right?"

Staff fighting was tricky! But Romeo was determined to do his best so he could help protect Elfnein and all of his friends!

[artificialrose]

"That's right. You can go slow at first, and get a little faster whenever you get confident." He grins broadly. "And once you get the handle of that, we can learn all sorts of other ways to move a staff around! But there's no rush, right?"

Sure, they might disappear... But a rushed job is hardly any better.

[myblueskies]

"Well..." Romeo always wanted to learn all the things right now. But he knew he couldn't go fast all the time. He had to make sure to practice until he got good before moving onto the next thing!

"If we practice together lots we can get good and learn all the new things!"