May Training

[brynwieldr]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: May 23rd 2017
Where: Odin’s Temple
Summary: Training and informational sessions for newly arrived gods and shinki; bonding opportunities for all other gods and shinki

Gods and shinki who arrive at the meeting hall are, for once, not led to the back for an introduction to their new roles. They’re instead rounded up and shown the way to Odin’s Temple, where "Odin" is waiting for them. Hopefully the sight of a twenty-something in loose pants and a t-shirt isn’t too shocking compared to the formally dressed old gods.

Basic Information

Unlike previous introductions, Leo has all the newcomers meet in the front room. There’s chairs and a sofa and ottomans for anyone who wants to sit, and they’ve brought in a dais of sorts for Leo and Kairi to stand on.

"Welcome to Heaven, or the Far Shore as some of the older gods call it. I am Leo de Borel, formerly a prince of the Kingdom of Nohr and currently the god Odin. This is my shinki, Kairi. The old gods have asked me to host training this time, but before we do that, you should know what you’re getting into. Some of this information is not my own, but was gathered by my husband, Aymeric de Borel. Unfortunately he's currently down with a sleeping sickness and couldn't join us today."

Leo then launches into basic rundown of Heaven and how things work here--the gods answer prayers, the shinki assist them, ayakashi are the monsters they fight and are generally the main thing causing the people on the Near Shore grief, and a brief summary of the greatly diminished cult--and asks for the gods and the shinki to follow either him or Kairi, depending on which they are. He’ll help anyone who’s not sure which they are figure it out, and then he and Kairi take their groups outside where Leo has set up some training grounds.

God Information

As they head outside, Leo explains a god’s role a bit more in depth to any newcomers and will answer questions should anyone else ask them. Once they get outside and most of the important questions are answered, Leo hands out pamphlets he had made that summarize most of the important information shared today, with an emphasis on not telling a shinki about their past no matter what, and tells them that today is mostly going to be about them figuring out their powers and perhaps finding a shinki or two they work well with, should they not already have one. If they have any other questions, they’re welcome to come find him and ask.

Shinki Information

All of the shinki, no matter how recently they arrived, are treated to a parallel speech by Kairi, but it’s with a bit of passion focusing on god-shinki bonds and what they could be, which she hopes applies to brand new shinki as well as shinki who are only as "new" as she is. She cites a shinki’s ability to help their god/dess with prayers in more ways than as a vessel, for one thing, and that temple structures will vary with the gods themselves. Some become families, for instance - here she looks to both Raichi and D2 - and deep friendships that can last beyond any struggle you can imagine - she looks at Lance and Dust. She explains how there was a time when just being attached to the same pantheon as your god meant that another temple might help you, and some of the new gods may still feel that way. Her point remains that if there’s a specific sort of bond you’re looking for, that god might be out there waiting for them, and she encourages them to ask an older shinki for advice if they’re uncomfortable in their current temple setup. "No one will understand better than your fellow shinki," she insists with a smile.

Speech over, she offers pamphlets to those who might not have received one previously and directs any shinki still struggling with spellwork to where Leo has arranged for a few of Amateratsu’s shinki to teach them how to cast a borderline. More experienced shinki are welcome to assist, but once you think you’ve got it the shinki are welcome to join the gods in the training grounds. Kairi tells the newbies the same thing Leo told the gods: their main goal for today is to get in some practice and maybe find a god they work well with.

Physical Training and Pair Ups

It’s a simple set up this month, since Leo’s yard isn’t really built for this sort of thing, but the basic set up is what you’d expect; there’s dummies for more solo practice, a sparring circle for some one-on-one training, and food laid out for anyone who gets hungry. (And if anyone asks who did the cooking or otherwise thanks Leo, he will direct them to Yoon because he did all the cooking, except for the pizzas. Praise him.)

Once everyone is more or less at the training area, Leo asks everyone to hold a moment so he can explain one last thing.

“The Heavens have asked that my shinki and I do our best to pair unpartnered gods and shinki up, be they new or old, in hopes of making stronger, more lasting bonds. If you meet someone you think you might work well with in the long term, please let either Kairi or I know and we’ll make a note of it.”

And that’s the last you’ll hear from Leo officially, unless you have questions.

Battle Tactics

Or maybe not. For those of you with a partner or who are just interested in learning new techniques, Leo’s arranged for something a little unique this month.

Perhaps you and your partner aren’t really fighting optimally, no matter what you do, or are just getting outmatched by some of the more intelligent ayakashi and have to resort to brute forcing your way through them. Leo has offered to spar against those who want to work on their teamwork (with or without his own shinki) or otherwise observe a fight so he can offer advice afterwards on how you might improve your teamwork.

If you don’t have a partner or are just interested in something not physical (which Leo totally gets), Leo’s also set up a few things inside. There’s a couple of chess sets out (always a good option) as well as, oddly, a few video games. Leo found a game that allowed him to set up simulated large scale battles if you want to try your hand at that sort of thing, as well as games to encourage cooperation between a god and their shinki. This includes a game where up to four people are trying to run a restaurant and one game that has one person reading from a manual and the other trying to defuse a bomb.

Have fun!

In Summary:

• Be baffled by this millennial looking god
• Attend the information meeting
• Train
• Eat, meet people, maybe find a partner
• Play video games
• Have fun~

Comments

[disregardeddagger]

You just handed me a tome on the game. I assumed you wished me to study it before our game. [She raises an eyebrow over the book.]

I probably understand enough to start if you don't mind me using the book as a reference.

i am the world’s worst chess player but Hibiki can play a go champion to a draw. This is fine

[priforprince]

[ Ah, a false alarm. Merely a deep reader. Hibiki, reassured for now, smirks. ]

Then, the first move is mine. [ She turns the chessboard around so the appropriate color is facing her.

Incidentally, many of these pieces are. Tiny statues of Hibiki. ] I’ll teach you the glory of the most high-class game, played by the most high-class opponent.

[ And we’re off! Hibiki moves her first piece. ]

I am equally terrible!

[disregardeddagger]

[White goes first, Nesir had read that. So she was the black pieces and... Why did these all look like the woman opposite her? It does not help her understanding of the pieces. But she can figure it out.]

You play often then?

[The arrogance is a little annoying, but she can deal with it. She can move two spaces this turn, but then only one with the little pieces, pawns, from then on.]

[priforprince]

Quality over quantity is my style.

[ Ah, the pawn’s opening move had sunk in. Well!

Hibiki has a habit of leaping her knight into action early....for some reason. Behold! ]

[disregardeddagger]

[Behold indeed. The book had spoken of tactics and openings and that it told a lot about a persons play. But she hadn't had time to read any of the specific tactics so she was in the dark about what moving a knight early said about a player. At least it gave Nesir a better idea of how that piece moved at all. It made sense when she saw it in action.

For now she moved another pawn.] Did you learn this game here?

[priforprince]

[ An amused snort at the query. Hibiki continues setting up her ideal formation. ] As if I would live in such ignorance.

What about this world has been explained to you?

[ She went to the god intro, not the shinki one, and didn’t see this person. She could have checked her spygoat feeds....but, well. Other matters had pressed. ]

[disregardeddagger]

[A flicker of anger but Nesir keeps her face neutral. She doesn't like being laughed at, or the insinuation that she is ignorant. She continues moving pieces, glancing at the book a couple of times to check she is doing do correctly. She keeps the goal in mind, capture the king.]

I know that this is the land of the gods, that we are able to go to the 'Near shore', where humans live. I know that that is not the land I come from, we are all from different places and no one knows how we are here.

There are 'old gods' and a 'new generation', those who are old have always been here. There are likewise different kinds of shinki, old, new, soulless and cracked. There are difference between them and I assume tension. [Or they wouldn't be so defined, if they mixed well.]

You are a god? [Nesir is keeping an open mind, but this woman seems too arrogant to be anything but.]

[priforprince]

But of course. [ Is her opponent thinking defensively at all? Hibiki begins placing a trap, as an experiment. ]

Your god hierarchy is insufficient.

[ It is, frankly, a pain to consistently need to point out she is not merely an important person, but THE MOST important person Shun is a fluke, Hakkai is dropping, and every old god beneath Amaterasu except possibly Ebisu and Orihime are incompetent. Certainly they can’t compare. But, so mote it be. She’ll tolerate such ignorance, in the face of possibly getting to enact some choice staging.

She supposes. ]

[disregardeddagger]

[The book mentioned thinking ahead and that is quite difficult when she is still unsure of the movements. She takes her time, thinking about each piece and trying to work out what Hibiki is doing.

She draws blanks on the latter.]

Ginia mentioned the Seven gods of Fortune and other gods of fortune among the old gods as well as three in the new generation. Is this the hierarchy you speak of?

[Hierarchy is important, knowing who considers themselves the most important is key to survival.]

[priforprince]

Indeed. [ This piece goes here.....inviting her to move there.... ]

As expected of Ginia. More thorough than the adprinistration.

[ She can time this reveal, she suspects, perfectly....though it will be. Quite. The hefty sense of suspense given how long her opponent is taking to make her moves. ]

[disregardeddagger]

[There's a space, an opening. Nesir moves her piece and frowns. Was that too obvious? She glances up at Hibiki, trying to read her face.]

She was very helpful, you know her well?

[There are quite a few people here, but in circumstances such as this it is likely everyone knows each other. At least by name.]

[priforprince]

Ginia is one of the few competent people this puniverse has seen fit to supply. The rest are mismatched parts in a scrap-heap primension.

[ Gotcha. The queen sweeps over and snaps up Nesir’s piece.

Hibiki has no shame. She smirks, gloating - but studying her opponent carefully, all the same. ] Which are you, I wonder?

[disregardeddagger]

[Her words might have had a bit more weight if it was not for the cutsey way of speaking. It took a moment for Nesir to figure out what she was saying, on top of that one of her pieces was taken.

Annoying. But it can still be remedied, if Nesir moves her knight over here... She is close to the king.]

That remains to be seen. [Her voice is still neutral as she sits back slightly, examining the board from afar in an attempt to get a grip on the big picture. Annoyance bubbles under the surface, she doesn't like the insinuation she isn't competent.]

I am sure you will inform me when you see fit to bestow your judgement.

[Slightly less neutral... She raises an eyebrow.]

[priforprince]

Unequivocally.

[ Ah. She’s managed to almost put Hibiki in check. But what if Hibiki places this piece here, anticipating her next move...? ]

[disregardeddagger]

[Ah she had spotted it. Of course, this woman might think a lot of herself but it is clear that when it comes to chess at least her talent is far greater than Nesir's.

Her eyes flicker across the board and she moves a different piece, taking on of Hibiki's pawns. No where near the king, she needs to think further on that situation.]

[priforprince]

[ Dodged it. Ah, well. If she couldn’t do that much, this bout wouldn’t be worth playing....

Hibiki strengthens her own defenses, to be a jerk. ] Who is your god?

[disregardeddagger]

[Where to go? It's hard when every move she makes is going to end up with a piece captured. But perhaps a sacrifice is necessary? Sacrifice a lesser piece to break up the defences of her opponent. But which one? One of the pawns perhaps?]

Noctis, the god Nox. [She answers readily enough, it is not like the information is private. She does note that this is the first personal information the woman has asked her for.]

You are a god?

[priforprince]

[ A slight nod. ] Think back.

[ Before Hibiki has gotten sidetracked by the mention of Ginia and therefore a chance to insult the Far Shore, she had claimed Nesir hadn’t mentioned enough about gods. What had been left out then....?

Incidentally, she’s not taking the bait. Yet. ]

[disregardeddagger]

[Think back. They had spoken about gods when Hibiki had told her that it was not enough to speak of only old and new generation gods. Nesir had mentioned the other gods Ginia had told her about, but the conversation had moved on.]

You are a god. A new generation god and one that is important.

[Or thinks she is important anyways, often it amounts to the same thing.]

[priforprince]

Well done.

[ The reasoning, not the chess, though this is rather exciting for a first game. Hibiki waves her fingers, and a golden laurel crown appears, shining through her curls. ]

My name is Shikyoin Hibiki. God of performance, prophecy, ideals - and radiance.

[ Check. And, as she deliberately places her piece to threaten the king: ]

Mortals call me Apollo, God of Fortune.

[ YOUR MOVE. ]

[disregardeddagger]

[Is that a crown? Well.

A god of fortune. Ginia had mentioned three of the newer generation that had became gods of fortune through their popularity with humans.

Shikyoin Hibiki, performance, prophecy ideals and radiance, many things for a god to be. No one has explained any kind of rules towards deference or behaviour, so far no one seems to have been insulted by her behaviour but so far none of them have been so important. Or so arrogant. Both were dangerous.

She gave a styalised half-bow from where she sat.] It is an honour to meet you Skikyoin Hibiki, Apollo. I am Nesir Aeser.

[Ah she's in check. She remembers from the rules that her move must be to get out of that situation... She moves the king.]

[priforprince]

The pleasure is mine.

[ Since she actually showed respect - a good sign. So, to Hibiki the pleasure, and to Nesir the sense of being honored by Hibiki’s presence. All is well.

She captures another of Nesir’s pieces rather than press her attack on the king...for now. There’s no rush.

The, uh. Mighty God of Fortune, above all pettiness, does seem to be enjoying scooping this piece off the board, however. ]

[disregardeddagger]

[Well her cobbled together greeting had not managed to insult this god, that was good. She would rather not get into trouble on her first day, not until she understood this place better.

Also Hibiki doesn't seem awful, a bit arrogant but if she is a god of fortune then perhaps that arrogance is well earned.

Another piece is taken, Nesir focuses on defence. Her king needs more guards it seems.]

You must have been a god a long time, to have such a title.

[priforprince]

A genius’s necessary time to obtain worship is a fraction of the common man’s.

[ She’s shoring up. Tch. What to do....?

Despite her nonchalance, Nesir is actually making Hibiki think, now. ]

[disregardeddagger]

I see. [She doesn't, but she knows when to not burst someone's ego. It is a dangerous thing, someone who thinks so highly of themselves.

She continues defending, the game is getting tense now. Less pieces to play with. Honing down to the important ones, the ones who matter rather than pawns.]