The Day of Thunder

[Saru Shang]

Shang had been circling around the cemetery but eventually, her stroll would bring her back to Ai as she finished talking to the stranger. She raised her brows initially at first, curious to see others here. Then again, Shang was here without any business of importance. She would greet the other woman with a bow. "Oh, good afternoon, Crane-sama! I suppose quite a day for a stroll, hm? This rain isn't showing any signs of letting up!"

[Nanzi Ai]

Thankfully her wide brim hat and straw coat kept her relatively dry as she replied, "It is... well nourishing for the land, and lends a certain ambiance to the graveyard."

[Saru Shang]

"Oh, I'm sure we'll have many flowers awaiting us once the sun shows itself again, if ever," she said with a glance up at the cloud skies. "You're right about the ambiance, however! It does make it a rather ominous and dreadful place. Normally, I would never venture here so casually. Never on a lark, at least. However, after the restless night, I'm starting to find this place almost bright and welcoming in comparison."

[Nanzi Ai]

"It's even better when the spirits speak your secrets back to you," she muttered. "Have you had much trouble sleeping then?"

"I know I slept not a wink a couple of days ago but since it has been middling."

[Saru Shang]

Shang snapped a few blinks and tilted her head with a bemused look on her face. "...what's this about spirits now?"

She shook her head, fine with her question being overlooked. A part of her wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a thought than something said out loud and the feeling that she might have been prying in the dark here. She did let out a sigh as she could talk about the ailments they see, to have all been suffering. "As for my sleep, I have to say that my relationship with the dreaming world is very complicated. At first, I thought it was just me but it seems from the talk at the camp, that it's at the very least a lot of us. First, the great difficulty to sleep then followed by these strange dreams invading our thoughts. Worst still, waiting for us when we awake! Why, it's almost enough to make anyone go over the top and become mad!"

"My apologies, I'm being dramatic here," She quickly shook her head, telling herself to tone it down. "I am very sorry to hear that it has been less kind to you. And my manners! Forgive my manners, this one is Shang of the Saru."

She offered a hasty bow at her introduction.

[Nanzi Ai]

She turned to look at the old, perhaps ancient graves, and said, “I have heard them whisper our secrets and thoughts… and others have had similar experiences. It could be the crafty dead or something else that rouses such voices. I am more versed in the things that try to Corrupt our souls and dreams than the dead.”

When the Dragon explained about her troubled rest she responded kindly, “I had trouble the first night but thankfully have been spared issues since then, but still it is a concern as I feel it is the forces of Yume-Jigoku marshalling against our dreams and further corrupting the world of Dreams.”

“Driving us to madness is only one of the goals of the enemy,” she said with a nod.

“Nanzi Ai, daughter of Lord Nanzi and Lady Doji, Yumenosenshi in service to the Crane and member of the Raven Guard, there is nothing to forgive Saru-san.”

[Saru Shang]

"So I see..." she said as she turned to regard the graves with renewed opinions. If concentrated enough, she supposed that thing she was hearing might have been less the patter of rain and more the restless whispering coming from the area. Ignorance might have been bliss here. "And here I was going to nominate this place as one of the more peaceful places around the village. It really makes me wonder further on why they've decided to settle here in the first place. Did you know that most of the graves seem to be from the settlers prior to the ones we see in front of us? These locals must be made of really stern stuff!"

"This is something that had been coming for a long time, hasn't it? When they said that the final battle for this realm was fast approaching, I had painted in my thoughts a vision of a grandstanding army with a front line to hold them off. Now it really seems like this battle might not even be realized on the physical plane! So I suppose, yes, it would be best to steel yourself from their sway," she nodded to herself, looking unconvinced. After all, it was better said than done.

She looked to Ai. "I imagine that your training has long prepared you for such a day. Maybe not this final battle but have you already fought many battles with this corruption?"

[Nanzi Ai]

She nodded grimly and responded, “I have prepared all my life for the Day of Thunder, to protect Ningen-do from the forces of Evil just as others have done before me.”

[Saru Shang]

"It is indeed a blessing to have you in our camp, Nanzi-sama," she nodded, noting that Ai seemed to be dressed for combat at the moment.

After a beat, she frowned faintly on her next thought. "If it's not too bold to ask and I'm sure the extraordinary circumstances might excuse it but what sort of servants of evil have you dealt with before? Are you used to dealing with them when they are less tangible? Like when they are in your dreams or manifest in other ways beyond the physical? I suppose when are just a concept or a figment, you can't so easily slay them with mere swordwork."

[Nanzi Ai]

“Most of what I have dealt with are the physical manifestations of Corruption, the evils come in your dreams and poison your thoughts feeding you with desires of what could be. It… the Corruption believes it can better us help us realize our potential… or so it claims and then it changes you,” she responded.

“Like the wolf beast that attacked, it was once a person but it succumbed to the lies of Yume-Jigoku and was transformed into a form that they wanted… or maybe needed… and thus they sealed their corruption.”

[Saru Shang]

Shang gave a few wide blinks at that. "I think I heard about the monstrosity of a wolf with many heads that was valiantly put down a few days ago but I didn't that it used to be someone. That's so strange that the corruption could make monstrosities like that. Here I thought the effects would be more subtle and insidious but this is a bit obscene. Grotesque, event! That said, I don't know which one is worse, really."

[Nanzi Ai]

"Both are worse."

"Corruption can do both," she said calmly.

[Saru Shang]

"And what do you suppose would be the early signs of corruption? I imagine once you're entirely in its influence or worse, made into some sort of monstrosity beyond most imaginations, it would be already too late for you. I did recall speaking to Hiruma-sama and he noted that so many things around here could be attributed to such an influence and corruption. Is there a chance that we might already be under its effects?"

[Nanzi Ai]

“Early signs are nearly invisible even to the individual,” she said recalling… personal experiences. “But one sure way is Jade, if the Jade becomes painful against the skin then that is a key sign that Corruption has taken root.”

“But it can be very subtle at first, which is the greatest danger.”

[Saru Shang]

Shang paused for a moment and pattered the side of her robes under the cloak to double-check if that piece of jade that she picked up from her detour through the Wu lands was still there. She gave a relieved nod when she confirmed that she still had it on her. Or was that the dreamstone that was gifted by the village? She wasn't so sure now. Anyway...

"At this point, I'm sure the forces of evil are trying to muddy the waters as much as possible as to what constitutes subtle signs if that's the case. The hostile environment, the lack of sleep, the horrifying dreams, and the fact that we have to balance all of this with the village's continued hospitality. It's likely enough to tilt some of us to go off into the extreme of ourselves. Thankfully, there haven't been many of these incidents...except for Shinsei. So strange that someone who hasn't been so act here would be the first to snap. Maybe that rock was more than just a physical metaphor for the burden he carried." She mused with a tap of her chin a few times.

[Nanzi Ai]

“There is a precedent for this, Shinsei… or something wearing his face once tried to kill Matsu as a child, to obstruct her potential destiny. My Honored Father was there and defended her in that moment,” she responded.

“One time could be out of character, twice… could denote an inclination… a third time is definitely a pattern,” she added.

[Saru Shang]

"I've always been told that he was a living legend, he had great wisdom and everything he did was with an intended purpose. Admittedly, I found myself a bit...disappointed when I saw him sitting there a few days ago? Maybe the tales and lessons have painted him to be three times as big with a mystic equal of celestial dragons! That said, wanton violence wasn't anywhere on my list of personality traits. I could only imagine his most devout fans and followers must be in flux after what happened." She shook her head. Then again, she didn't recall anyone speaking highly of him.

"My conversation with Jiyo Sora did reveal that apparently there were some early signs that pointed Matsu-sama as a potential Thunder. It would seem so strange that he would thwart the destiny of mortals, even when we scarcely had the idea of Thunders. We're working with something of an unreliable narrator, I'm suspecting now."

[Nanzi Ai]

"I believe he is a guide, but ultimately our fate is in our hands, perhaps we perceive him to have answers we do not because monks tend to be... fluid in their response," she mused.

[Saru Shang]

"It can be tempting to be vague and merely leave your creation up for interpretation. I say that as a painter, at the very least. There are certain emotions I hope to evoke with the mood I infuse into my work but it's ultimately up to the audience to make their own definition. They must decide what the art means to them personally. However, the fate of the world doesn't rest with me or my work. So, I can understand that being an enigma would only infuriate the destined subjects involved..." She let out a sigh and gave an open shrug with her hands. "Still, I guess we're only left with seeking our own definition at the end of the day."

[Nanzi Ai]

“I prefer specificity, it leaves less to ambiguity and confusion,” she responded. “I sense that Shinsei has to be ambiguous for whatever reason due to rules outside his control… our control… ancient rules that care little about what makes sense o us mere mortals.”

“All said I do hope he can be helped,” she finished.