The Day of Thunder

Some writing was recovered in a Dreamstone Cave on Day 3, and on Day 4 it's code has been deciphered, learning the following contents:

Canary wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 06, 2023 3:56 am

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.

This will be shared with the Council of Aunties (Makime, Matsu, Otaku, and Anjing) on Day 4, as well as Hoto-Hori. Hiruma Naraku also knows this now (up to him who he shares it with).

To me, this seems like a way to erect a barrier around this village that will "lock down a dream in a physical form", meaning it would make the Harbinger and Champion (the two future inhabitants referenced by the document) draw into the physical world instead of hiding on the outskirts of the dream realm.


My thinking so far is that we create these four scrolls, with four stories, each connected to the Four Guardian Beasts of myth ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Symbols ). To do this fully, I'd suggest leaning into the theme as much as possible, which also means drawing on the elements relevant to each Guardian, its cardinal directions, colors, and maybe even something more solid like figurines or statues (rough ones since we don't have much time, but something safe and symbolic for the scrolls would be good).

I think Tiger-Kai will be a great help here. Shang maybe too for the story part. And at least four shugenja to cover the four elements, hopefully Ryoshun Huan as our only active Ishiken too to balance it out?

Folks with good Spirit Realms or relevant Lore skills for the Four Guardian Beasts will also be useful I imagine!

If anyone wishes to roll Spellcraft/Int to determine the exact purpose of the scroll in a thread, they can. TN 25.

Canary wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 06, 2023 6:20 pm

If anyone wishes to roll Spellcraft/Int to determine the exact purpose of the scroll in a thread, they can. TN 25.

I assume my roll with 2 raises there already gave me the answer? xD

OOC: That is interesting.

IC: Smells like Heresy.

Togashi Satsuki wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 06, 2023 6:21 pm

Canary wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 06, 2023 6:20 pm

If anyone wishes to roll Spellcraft/Int to determine the exact purpose of the scroll in a thread, they can. TN 25.

I assume my roll with 2 raises there already gave me the answer? xD

Yes, thank you for the reminder. I need to go back and give that answer.

Also... uhh what Guardian Beasts? Closest I can think of is stuff I saw in FF14. Tiger, Bird/Phoenix, Turtle... Snakes? I got nothing.

The Four Symbols of Chinese cosmology were the Azure Dragon of the East, the Black Tortoise of the North, the White Tiger of the West, and the Vermillion Bird of the South.

Would likely be what you are looking for in way of an answer.

I'm not sure TS could help much with the story or Lore bits, but could definitely step in for the Water bit!

Assuming the whole thing is shared with him. He's seen the scroll during the trip to the cave, but he won't know the cypher was broken unless someone shares that (and he's not around the main camp much to hear that from others).

Haka Tae-soo wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 06, 2023 6:35 pm

I'm not sure TS could help much with the story or Lore bits, but could definitely step in for the Water bit!

Assuming the whole thing is shared with him. He's seen the scroll during the trip to the cave, but he won't know the cypher was broken unless someone shares that (and he's not around the main camp much to hear that from others).

Tae-soo will be contacted by Satsuki at some point about this, since he's the only Water-dude she knows of!

I'm just waiting for some answers before filling out other parts of my day. ^^; Still have stuff in the GM Questions pending.

That hits a number a spots on Nao's Bingo card.

I'd like to help as best as I can, but we will see if I can do much on this

We may actually not have that many options for the Elemental bits needing shugenja, I think?

Fire - Satsuki
Earth - Tai
Water - Tae-soo

Are our main specialists, I think?
Then Nao could probably step in for Air (and help with Spirit Realms shenanigans!), and maybe Huan could help keep things in balance as Satsuki said.

Other research stuff could very much use help from nonshugenja, I think! Especially those with high int (like Naraku!), and the shugenja might try to boost them a bit while at that.

(And okie on that, Satsuki! Got most of the day free so far; had some plans but kinda waiting to see what happens at the cave atm)

More relevant information shared from Satsuki regarding the Spellcraft section:

Canary wrote:

Mon Nov 06, 2023 6:30 pm

Subject: Assemble Mistery Inc [D4, EA]
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.

Non-shugenja needs:

- Solid materials for scrolls (I think also colorful ink would be good as well as high-quality made scrolls, usually by combining fabric and paper/parchment)
- Decorating scrolls in relation to its symbolic beast+virtues+story
- Accurate reads on the four cardinal directions
- Lore relevant to the Guardian Beasts or similar to construct the story
- Storytelling or similar skill to compose said story


Shugenja needs:
- The four elements in spellcasting, with most likely Void to tie it together/stabilise the ritual
- Dream-connection (Chuchu and Nao seems like our connections there)
- Actually creating the magic ritual (Satsuki has some background for this, but strikes me as being a co-op shugenja thing for ritual possibly?)

Kai's fluff is effectively taken from the Four Guardians of Chinese Cosmology, with her being what's left of the White Tiger of the West after they fled Yume-do, following the Guardians' defeat at the hand of Jigoku. I haven't been exactly hiding it (this is literally from a D1 very public thread), though it's true most details are spread in various IC threads.

I say fluff because don't expect her to pass a Lore roll to save her life.

Hiruma Naraku also knows this now (up to him who he shares it with).

Hiruma Naraku wrote:poke

I do suppose you'll tell Kai about that?

Yes, Kai is so human now she can even do passive-aggressiveness.

Kaijarisuigyo wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 06, 2023 7:24 pm

Kai's fluff is effectively taken from the Four Guardians of Chinese Cosmology, with her being what's left of the White Tiger of the West after they fled Yume-do, following the Guardians' defeat at the hand of Jigoku. I haven't been exactly hiding it (this is literally from a D1 very public thread), though it's true most details are spread in various IC threads.

I say fluff because don't expect her to pass a Lore roll to save her life.

Hiruma Naraku also knows this now (up to him who he shares it with).

Hiruma Naraku wrote:poke

I do suppose you'll tell Kai about that?

Yes, Kai is so human now she can even do passive-aggressiveness.

Yes, Kai does hear it from Naraku

Satsuki can definitely out do Nao with Fire. Nao is Agasha trained, so she does have some elemental versatility, but is still Fire/Water Affinity/Deficiency.

She can help with Calligraphy, Spellcraft, Storytelling, Lore: Elements and Lore: Spirit Realms.

I see that mention of Shang!

She can definitely help with Painting and other skills up for potential debate. I imagine that being a Saru Artisan will also allow her to provide some materials for the craft too!

Saru Shang wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 06, 2023 7:44 pm

I see that mention of Shang!

She can definitely help with Painting and other skills up for potential debate. I imagine that being a Saru Artisan will also allow her to provide some materials for the craft too!

The scrolls will be truly, truly OUTRAGEOUS.

Please don't look at heretic shapes though

Going with things bit by bit:

Togashi Satsuki wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 06, 2023 7:02 pm

Non-shugenja needs:

- Solid materials for scrolls (I think also colorful ink would be good as well as high-quality made scrolls, usually by combining fabric and paper/parchment)
- Decorating scrolls in relation to its symbolic beast+virtues+story

Apparently Shang can help here! I guess some others of us could have other Craft or Artisan skills that might come in handy? TS can do Woodworking, but not very well.

- Lore relevant to the Guardian Beasts or similar to construct the story
- Storytelling or similar skill to compose said story

I'm not sure what Lores this would entail, but assuming Spirit Realms I think someone mentioned having at least a 2?
Storytelling may also be up the alley of one of our Artisans, maybe?

- Accurate reads on the four cardinal directions

I remember us having at least someone with Absolute Direction, although iirc it wasn't working properly here, so not sure how much that helps. Failing that, Lore: Nature (or maybe Lore: Geography... which I dropped XD) may be our best bets, I think.

Shugenja needs:
- The four elements in spellcasting, with most likely Void to tie it together/stabilise the ritual
- Dream-connection (Chuchu and Nao seems like our connections there)
- Actually creating the magic ritual (Satsuki has some background for this, but strikes me as being a co-op shugenja thing for ritual possibly?)

For the four elements I stand by what I said above: Satsuki, Tai, Tae-soo and Nao can probably cover Fire, Earth, Water and Air? Void will have to depend on our resident Ryoshun Mystic.
Chuchu and Nao do seem like our best bets for the Dream connection.
And full agree with Satsuki that creating the magic ritual is probably best done as a co-op thing!

On skills: Tae-soo's best skills are unlikely to be very helpful - Investigation, Hunting, the lot.
He's got a Craft skill at 3... but it's Craft: Fishing XD So again not very likely to be helpful.

Other than that some things at 1 that could be useful. Lore: Theology, Lore: Nature, Calligraphy, Artisan: Woodcarving. If we can do things collaboratively, that might maybe contribute (a small bit...) to collaborative rolls.