The Day of Thunder

[Saru Shang]

Shang felt rather uneasy going to sleep tonight, especially when it seemed increasingly obvious to someone not spiritually adept such as herself that the influences of Jigoku were tightening around the dreamworld. In the past to more peaceful days, the dream world was considered to be a refuge for mortals, a whimsical place where they could remove themselves from the every day for just a short time. This was the place where artisans such as Shang could sometimes exercise their creativity and at times, inspiration. Now it was a foreboding place and after Shinsei's outburst earlier in the day, it became clear Jigoku itself may very well claim them soon enough. If she were to sleep, would she wake up as the same person? Would she wake up at all?

She lay on her mat as she tried to ponder those questions. Despite turning and tossing in her sleep, she tried to get comfortable as the rain continued to pour overnight, Shang would eventually tire soon enough. Even a restless mind would become exhausted if it was running long enough...

At first, she was brought to a strange place, it felt nebulous and almost primordial. Her body felt like rejecting it, sensing that this wasn't a place where she wanted to be. It lacked everything but wasn't quite the dreamless sleep she would have hoped. She was frozen in this space that seemed like a void, a limbo where nothing could be. However, perhaps it dawned on her that it only remained this way because she was afraid and only her own reflection of fear. She pushed back against the void that contained her and found herself 'awake' as she was greeted with a bright beam of light shined directly on her face through dense foliage.

Shang became the huntress, the protagonist of her tale. The huntress was dressed in furs and rudimentary clothes, in the fashion of those who roamed Rokugan even centuries before the fall of the Kami. At least, based on what she heard and known of the less spoken bygone days. She was in the great past in a large far from what she would call home now.

She wasn't here alone. There was a huff nearby and she would see her stead waiting for her by a tree. She would climb atop her steed and begin riding through the thick clearing, emerging into what almost seemed like a foreign landscape at first. It was a thick and vibrant forest, filled with thick trees that reached high to the skies above and had all manner of vines dangling from them. The weather was humid, the air was thick, and far hotter than she was used to. The forest was alive with tropical birds and the sharp cries of insects. This place felt alive and real. Far too real to be a mere normal dream.

Something screeched behind her and the ground rumbled. The earth began to shift, pushing upwards as old trees were toppled over with shocking ease. A monstrous wurm emerged from the ground, almost as tall as a mountain itself. At least, it seemed like a wurm, it seemed to lack its full details and seemed more like just a living shadow with the bare semblance of the creature, only made of the primordial material that trapped her earlier. It was coming to take her back. The huntress would kick her horse and coax it to ride harder to put some distance from the monster. Faster, faster! There was no use however, the thing would easily follow her and destroy the vibrant landscape in its path, slowly blanking the canvas she had painted earlier. The huntress couldn't run forever.

She quickly drew her bow hastily and turned to face the thing, releasing a well-aimed arrow for its eye. It seemed in vain, however as the ground below her gave way and she found herself falling. Failing endlessly. Her horse would fade away from existence and she would become Shang once more, if barely even that...


The
world
before
her
would
fade
to
nothing
as
she
continued
to
fall....







Nothing...was...left...







Except for her arrow. The arrow continued to fly toward the monstrosity as the world continued to dim, looking like a lone night star in the sky. As fast as the world tried to fade around it, it could not catch up to it as it found its mark and struck the beast in the eye. The eternal darkness rippled with colour once more as a howling roar echoed in her ears.

And, she awoke.

Day 4 - Early Night, Lucid Dreaming with Perform: Storytelling/Willpower : Void used for +1k1 with +2k0 from School and Emphasis | 8k3 ⇒ 34 (TN: 25)

Day 4 - Early Night, Lucid Dreaming (2/3) with Artisan: Painting/Awareness : +2k0 from School and Emphasis, void for +1k1, 1 Raise Called | 10k5 ⇒ 44 (TN: 30)

Day 4 - Early Night, Lucid Dreaming (3/3) with Kyujutsu/Reflexes : +2 Free Raises, Void for +1k1 | 8k5+10 ⇒ 61 (TN: 40)

Success!
Gained Lucid Dreaming Advantage