The Day of Thunder

[Yoshitsune Ayako]

"Oh, you're a priest?" Ayako asked, sounding surprised. "Most of our priests don't practice much in the way of the fighting arts. Well, except maybe the monks; some of them still do. They talk about it like you do: perfect the body and mind, that sort of thing."

"Do priests in your land worship the Sun and Moon and the Fortunes, too?" she asked curiously. "Or something else entirely?"

[Sugri]

"There are those among the Brahmin who tend the temples and lead the worship of our gods. Others, like myself, do seem more like your monks who focus more on tending to the spirit on an individual level and help guide others in doing the same. It is one of the reasons I have been very interested in learning more about Shinsei."

"We do not worship the sun nor moon though we recognize and respect the power of Shilah and the destruction she wrought upon the lands of our neighbors. We have our own gods. Sometimes they take the form of mortals in this realm in times of great trouble and peril. Such as when Vishnu came to us as Arun to defeat Revan. When I heard of your gods, your Kami, I thought perhaps it was the same thing and maybe even they were just new incarnations of our gods for these new troubles. But avatara usually know their true nature and it is a choice of the gods to so incarnate. From what I hear of these Kami they had no such choice and they fully believe themselves to be their own and not reflections or incarnations of another."

[Yoshitsune Ayako]

"Shinsei talks about reincarnation and the karmic cycle, but it's a pretty new idea," Ayako commented. "I really don't think most old people fully believe in it. Ancestor worship was good enough for their grand-daddy, so it's good enough for them!"

"Reincarnation is nice to think about, though," Ayako said, daydreaming a bit. "Maybe in a future life I might be a butterfly, or a great hero, or a flower." She sighed.

[Sugri]

"An interesting thought. Among my people returning as plant or animal is seen as a step backward in the cycle but for those who have not yet started upon it, and have known only strife, I could see how it might seem an alternative to explore. Though I think, when we see a butterfly and view freedom, we often forget how it lives constantly one flutter ahead of the bird that seeks a lunch. Strife comes to all lives in different forms and it is all about how we overcome it.

He smiles, "So do not rule out being a hero in this life - you are still young and who knows what you might overcome."

[Yoshitsune Ayako]

"I suppose I do see the butterfly and how free it seems, but never think about how it might be some bird's lunch," Ayako admitted ruefully. "I guess even animals have problems. Maybe better to be reborn as a rock! Nothing can hurt a rock."

[Sugri]

Sugri stifles a laugh, "I think the hammer and the river might disagree. Though if one cannot be hurt nor can they feel pleasure and joy. Even if the rock was truly eternal is that a life one would wish to live forever?"

[Yoshitsune Ayako]

"Hmmmm, perhaps," Ayako allowed. "Pleasure and joy are nice, but they are ... fleeting. Maybe it would be worth giving such things up, if nothing could ever hurt you ever after." She looked very solemn at this thought.

[Sugri]

"Pain, too, is fleeting. Both of the body and of the heart. While in its throes it may feel eternal, unlike joy where our dread of its end makes it seem so short, but it is not. To give up on life, because we do not wish to be hurt, is to surrender before a fight has even begun."

[Yoshitsune Ayako]

"Yes, you are right. One cannot just give up," Ayako conceded. "We all have things to do in this life, before moving to the next one." A wry smile crossed her face.

"What about you, though?" she asked. "What will you be in your next life? Or is being an Ivory Brahmin-priest already the best thing you can be born as?"

[Sugri]

Sugri looks to the sky with a slight grin, "There are certainly those who believe so but I fear my brethren with such thoughts have fallen into a trap. Among the ranks of our people we are generally viewed as the higher order though it is the Kshatriya who handle temporal leadership."

"To me, though, our position is that we are those far enough along the path to be able to risk turning back and aiding those who walk behind us without becoming lost ourselves. This does not necessarily make us better just... more experienced. We still need to walk the path and are no more certain of its end then those who are putting first foot upon it. Our goal is to find that end, to perfect mind, body, and soul and bring them into unity so that we transcend the mortal world entirely and become part of the greater whole of the universe."

He looks back down and chuckles, "But I will be the first to admit that I still do not know exactly what that looks like. The end of the path is still far away. Some believe those who transcend are as gods but I think that is a limited perception. The gods, though they can incarnate as mortals, are not the same as us and I do not believe our final destiny is the same. If the gods were the finality there would be no need for the world of mortals as the gods already exist."

[Yoshitsune Ayako]

"That's getting a bit deeper into theology than I really understand," Ayako admitted. "I guess the gods are different than us, but they walk among us... make friends, fight enemies, have children, form families, and all that. Doesn't that make them people, too? Albeit maybe more important than most."

[Sugri]

"When they take the forms of mortals than they are people like us but that is not the truth of their nature any more than an actor in a costume is the role they portray. They may bring that role to life, some may even find themselves believing they are the role in the moment, but when the play is done they are who they always were within."

He then locks eyes with Ayako to drive the next part home, "And they are not more important. More powerful, yes, but not more important. Here, on the cusp of destiny, it is not the gods who gather even if, from afar, they lend their strength and power. The gods can fight beside mortals, they can lead mortals, but only mortals can decide the final fate of their world and themselves."

[Yoshitsune Ayako]

"Huh," said Ayako, giving the Ivindi priest's words serious consideration. "That's ... a lot to take in. How can an ordinary mortal type person have more effect on the fate of the world than a god? It seems like the influence of a god would have the weight of a mountain, while regular people like us might only be grains of sand by comparison."

[Sugri]

"The role of gods is to rule and oversee the heavens and tend to the great wheel. If balance is lost, on the wider scale, then that duty may require them to work within our world. But this world is for mortals. It is where we live, and die, and return until we find a way to transcend it. Only mortals can shape its destiny. It is why, when the gods do walk among us, they are forced into forms closer to our own. The more mortal they become, in that incarnation, the more of a role they can play. But in the end it will still be our hand that shapes the final form of what is to come."

[Yoshitsune Ayako]

"But I don't really know how to shape the final form of destiny," Ayako protested. "I mean, I can hack at monsters and stuff, but that's about it. I suppose we'll each just have to do what we can and hope for the best."

[Sugri]

"But I don't really know how to shape the final form of destiny," Ayako protested. "I mean, I can hack at monsters and stuff, but that's about it. I suppose we'll each just have to do what we can and hope for the best."

"Sometimes hacking at monsters is exactly what is needed." He can't help but laugh a little.

He removes his bow from his back and shows the inlay the aged ivory carefully and skillfully detailed to depict its own origin. The rise of a tiger-headed demon feasting upon the innocent. A great battle where almost all were brought low. A lone woman, not in warrior garb, lifting the bow and drawing it back. The same demon its eye impaled by an arrow. Sadly the bow does not sugarcoat the truth as the woman then falls to the demon's servants. But still the sun eventually rises on a free and safe people once more.

"In the age of Revan, when balance was lost and demons ruled our lands, Vishnu incarnated as the mortal Arun to set the balance right. But though he was responsible for slaying Revan the demon's kin, the other Rakshasa, would have quickly taken his place. It came down to mortals to fight and destroy them. She did not know this would be her destiny. She did not choose it. She was not even a warrior but a priestess who had never known battle but watched as all those who could otherwise fight fell around her. In those moments, knowing that she was the only one between innocents and death she managed to fell the beast with a lucky, or fated, arrow. She paid with her life but she freed her people."

He traces the design, almost lost in memory once lived, "So knowing your destiny is not necessary for fulfilling it and sometimes hacking the monster is what is meant to be."

[Yoshitsune Ayako]

Ayako listened raptly as Sugri told the tale.

"I wish I could be a hero like in the stories," the young woman confided. "Knowing the exact moment of truth, then delivering a perfect strike. I've trained a lot, for when that moment comes. Maybe someday I'll get a chance to do it."

"What was the name of the archer priestess that helped Bishamon?" Ayako asked, apparently conflating Vishnu with some local deity. "I'd like to know; maybe I can say a prayer to her for good luck."

[Sugri]

Poor thing. Her pronunciation is terrible and her self-esteem might be even worse.

He frowns slightly, "Unfortunately that was many, many lifetimes ago and I fear, if it was ever recorded, it has since been lost. Some nights I can almost feel it, like when a word is lost between mind and tongue, but so far it always escapes. Still, that is more than most get I suppose."

[Yoshitsune Ayako]

"Ahh, too bad," Ayako said regretfully. "She must've been quite a brave lady, and you do her honor by telling her story. I'll be sure to remember her example if I see any raka... rakashasa."

[Sugri]

"Well one must honor what has come before, as best they are able, to understand where they must still go. As for the Rakshasa hopefully none of their kind remain but it is an unfortunate truth that demons tend to not wish to stay dead. If such a fell meeting were ever to occur know that ivory is said to harm them but that an arrow blessed by Vishnu is the only way to truly end the most powerful of their number.