The Day of Thunder

[Otaku]

Otaku's tent site is at an edge of the Imperial camp, leaving room for Tsubame to graze (sometimes alongside Xiaochen's horse, Zhanshi) in the fallow field nearby. The tall, tough horses are snoozing under a scrubby tree, seeming largely unbothered by the light rain.

Otaku has the side of her tent staked up to keep the rain off a larger area and there are a couple of logs and an upturned bucket as well as her saddle and bedroll for seating. Fancy! The only bit of frippery (broadly defined) in the whole campsite is a very proper portable stand to keep her daisho and yumi off the ground.

"Thank you for making time. It's been an eventful day," she says to her visitors in quiet understatement.

[Makime]

Makime stood nearby, looking out at the fields. Her expression was one of contemplation. She turned back to face the others, "Indeed. And of course. Given the events of the morning and last night...we should probably have had this meeting earlier."

The Lioness rubbed the back of her neck, she allowed herself one brief release...and for a moment the normally unflappable General looked thoroughly exhausted. It was gone quickly and the stoic woman who ruled a family known for it's commitment to order was back.

[Anjing]

Cometh the hour, cometh the Auntie. Anjing stomps into the assembly and nods politely at everyone.

"Otaku, Makime. No sign of that monk yet then?"
She scans turns to scan the horizon as if a yoked Shinsei might leap from the treeline at any moment and just start throwing hands.

"Things are only getting worse."

[Yuzuru Hoto-Hori]

The Imperial stomped up looking as angry as usual. There was a streak of dried blood across his cheek that he totally wasn't aware of and some patches of red on his clothing looked a little . . . deeper red than they had before. He made a beeline for Makime.

"At least someone sensible is taking charge I've got fuuuu . . . " Which was when he noticed Anjing . . . " . . . some info you need to know."

[Makime]

Makime frowned as she recognized an Imperial approaching. "So Sora and the Princess have finally decided to..."

Her eyebrows shot up, "Are you alright? Bleeding?"

[Matsu]

Matsu would arrive, unarmored. She was cleaned up, though bruises were very clearly visible upon her form. She breathed in deeply,

"Sorry I was slower getting here than anticipated." She said with a small smile.

[Togashi Satsuki]

(here by permission from the Aunties OOC)

Satsuki approached the tent as well, and paused in the entryway of the tent where she was safe from the rain but also not yet intruding. "Uh... hope it's alright if I share some discoveries with all of you? Oh... Hoto-Hori, you're here too!" There was some sense of relief and anxiety at the same time in her tone at seeing the Imperial.

"... I can wait of course." She wasn't the best at manners when it came to big important meetings like this, but she knew enough to not intrude too much.

[Makime]

Makime rubbed the bridge of her nose between thumb and forefinger at the latest arrival. She nodded for Satsuki to join the gathering.

The bulk of her attention remained on the blood covered Imperial.

[Yuzuru Hoto-Hori]

"Bleeding?"

He looked like he was noticing the blood for the first time.

"Oh fuuu . . . not mine. Don't worry."

Matsu's arrival got a nod.

"Ok I'll be quick. Met a Baku yesterday. A Dream Eater forced into this Realm by the filth invading it's own. Had a chat with it and it told me that the Demon Hag . . . . oh what the fu . . . the Harbinger, that's it, is here. Well not exactly here but in Yume-do and taunting Doji something fierce. Oh yeah . . . Doji is here too, in the dream world."

He ticked that off on one finger.

"And the fucking donkey . . . " He looked at Anjing. "I get that one for free, right? The Donkey has strayed too close to the Filth in his attempts to beat it and it's taken control of him."

He looked around the 'Aunties' and nodded.

"I think that's the major points. The Baku did tell me a lot more but it's not all relevant to this Realm."

[Matsu]

"That explains the fight this morning." Matsu would punch one hand into her other palm. "Demonfuckers." She muttered under her breath, "Is it that hard to resist or even resist dealing with the bastards?"

[Anjing]

"And the fucking donkey . . . " He looked at Anjing. "I get that one for free, right? The Donkey has strayed too close to the Filth in his attempts to beat it and it's taken control of him."

He looked around the 'Aunties' and nodded.

"I think that's the major points. The Baku did tell me a lot more but it's not all relevant to this Realm."

"Hmmmm." Anjing taps her chin. "The little teacher has been possessed by a demon, I'll allow it."

She listens intently to Hoto-Hori's explanation.
"Right, so do you know where Shinsei is and how we can free him from its control? Perhaps if we were to strike him repeatedly?"

[Togashi Satsuki]

Letting Hoto-Hori speak first after stepping in, Satsuki observed the daimyo... and focused mostly on Matsu. Slowly her breath adjusted in a gentle tempo, finding the natural rhythm between herself and the Spider daimyo, attuning the void between them.


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D4 LA To The Last Breath for Matsu. Meditation/Void | 6k3 ⇒ 26 (TN: 15)
D4 LA To The Last Breath for Matsu. Meditation/Void | 6k3 ⇒ 26 (TN: 15)
+2 VP for Matsu.

[Matsu]

"And the fucking donkey . . . " He looked at Anjing. "I get that one for free, right? The Donkey has strayed too close to the Filth in his attempts to beat it and it's taken control of him."

He looked around the 'Aunties' and nodded.

"I think that's the major points. The Baku did tell me a lot more but it's not all relevant to this Realm."

"Hmmmm." Anjing taps her chin. "The little teacher has been possessed by a demon, I'll allow it."

She listens intently to Hoto-Hori's explanation.
"Right, so do you know where Shinsei is and how we can free him from its control? Perhaps if we were to strike him repeatedly?"

"From what I understand he flew off. But I am all in favor for beating him. Repeatedly. Maybe while everyone is holding him down." She cursed him silently.

[Togashi Satsuki]

(a bit redundant for more Satsuki post, but just supplying IC-chain for folks to have their Void restored)

She looked around at the older women speaking. All four people she respected for various reasons. I'm glad to see they're all working together... Satsuki thought, allowing her breathing to adjust to the room and the people within it. The unity of the four daimyo lent itself well to finding the small connections of the void that existed in all.

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D4 LA To The Last Breath for Anjing | 6k3 ⇒ 25 (TN: 15) +1VP for Anjing
D4 LA To The Last Breath for Makime | 6k3 ⇒ 30 (TN: 15)
D4 LA To The Last Breath for Makime | 6k3 ⇒ 21 (TN: 15) +2VP for Makime

[Anjing]

"He can run, but not forever. Plenty of trackers and hunters amongst our people, we'll bring him down."

Anjing takes a deep breath, feeling slightly reinvigorated. The restoration of void or the prospect of punching Shinsei? Who could say?

[Makime]

"Hmmmm." Anjing taps her chin. "The little teacher has been possessed by a demon, I'll allow it."

She listens intently to Hoto-Hori's explanation.
"Right, so do you know where Shinsei is and how we can free him from its control? Perhaps if we were to strike him repeatedly?"

"Can he be released from it's control," Makime took in a depth breath. She admitted it, the Lioness found the monk insufferable and far too esoteric...but he was an ally. Still it had to be said, "Or must his life be ended? Either way he is a danger in his present state. We can not risk his interference in what ever the Day of Thunder brings."

Her eyes shifted to the young Dragon for a moment, she had felt something odd and that had seemed the source. Her mental fatigue had seemed to whisk away. "Thank you, Satsuki-san."

[Togashi Satsuki]

She gave a calm smile to Makime in return, happy to provide a little relief.

"Speaking of which... this won't solve our current situation with Shinsei, but it is a way forward for us in general. Regarding this place, the enemy, and the Day of Thunder."

Satsuki produced from her satchel the copies she had made of the discovered diagrams and notes, and the translated version she had deciphered.

"As some of you may already know, a dreamstone cave was found in the forest during the scouting party led by Hiruma Naraku. We found a hidden scroll there - writings and a diagram. He and I have been able to crack the cipher the notes were written in, and the diagram was very similar to the project my father's been working on around the Shinomen Mori."

She smoothed out the papers, allowing the daimyo to read as she best explained the theories of the guardian beasts and how this could be accomplished. [see quotes below for those who haven't look at this thread: https://dayofthunder.fallenash.com/view ... 518#p13518 ]


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Satsuki finally gets through the cipher, and it is a chore. Whoever wrote the document seemed to change the cipher every so often, making her have to figure out the trick all over again. Fortunately, they're all relatively straightforward.

I think I've cracked it, how to make this work. Naturally, it all comes back to will and stories, like anything with Yume-do.

The festival hones one's will over time. At this point, because of the past four festivals, most people in the village are skilled lucid dreamers. Properly directed, their will could power this enough to be able to bind this whole area if the barrier between Yume-do and Ningen-do is thin enough. It could be done with fewer people, but... well, I'll go into that in a bit.

I struggled for a long time with the idea of "how do you lock down a dream"? How to set it down in physical form.

It finally hit me last night - stories! A dream in physical form is a written story. Therefore, a dream like what we're dealing with should be able to be bound into its own tale.

So here we have it. Four scrolls, each with a part of a story strong enough to contain this area and its two future inhabitants. The four directional animals as guardians, using the power of their existing stories as extra force to keep everything locked down. Separate them into the proper directions, and it should keeps things relatively safe.

The story needs to be strong enough to hold them, so it needs to be something both impressive and believable. If people blow it off as a fantasy, the binding will likely be weak. With what's coming, that's not acceptable.

The trick is getting the time to be able to set it up. Everything will be focused near the end of the festival. If I can get free long enough

The writing abruptly ends there. It seems to have been done after the diagram was finished, which makes much more sense with explanation - it seems to be designed to be on the back of the four story parts she mentioned, such that it will match if they're put together.

In regard to spellcraft, you can assess from the construction of it and what little you know of Nezumi magic that this ritual will essentially take a dream - so, a discreet unit of Yume-do, like an area of it or a being from it, like the Harbinger, or The champion, or a baku or whatever - and trap it inside the four scrolls that tell its story. The scrolls would then be split apart into their four directions to lock it.

OOC, the idea isn't too far off from the Black Scrolls, but the hows and whys are different, as well as potentially grabbing a whole dream-region within Yume-do with enough power behind it.

[Otaku]

Otaku listens intently while the other women and Hoto-Hori hash out all the day's discoveries. It's rare that she'd raise her voice to be heard through crosstalk or interrupt someone else's explanation; she stays attentive and orders her own thoughts until a pause opens in the conversation.

"So, then, all this means the Harbinger is definitely here?" A glance to Hoto-Hori and another to Satsuki punctuate this question. "It could have been her watching the one who wrote that note you scouts found with these diagrams?" She frowns. "Can we find her? There is no old woman in the village who matches the description of the false Crane from five years ago, but if she can change her form..."

[Yuzuru Hoto-Hori]

"The Baku said she was in the dream Realm. I did press on her being here as well either in the flesh or spirit riding someone but it wasn't totally convinced. Did concede it could be happening though."

He was watching Satsuki carefully, but she didn't say anything to make him growl.

[Togashi Satsuki]

"I would not wish to point fingers without cause, but we could limit any suspicion to someone who would be able to write I think, judging by that note they must've written. It's still not a widely spread skill, despite the efforts of the Imperial libraries and many other daimyo." Satsuki suggested thoughtfully, unsure of who it could be.

"We can't also rule out the possibility that it's not so much changing form but taking over? Similar to what must have happened to Shinsei? Our enemy is one who seems to be able to seep into the minds of people, as we've seen in troubled villages all over the Empire - driving people to madness."

She caught Hoto-Hori looking at her, and she tried to give him a reassuring smile before focusing back to the others. "The monk Ukyo might know more about Shinsei though, as he was the one who alerted Matsu, Sugri, Ayako, and myself to Shinsei's situation."