Bayushi Satomi
Unwanted Betrothed
Scorpion Clan
Posts: 1,080| Likes: 322
Rings: Earth 4 * Fire: 5 *Air 3 * Water 1 * Void 3
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Post by Bayushi Satomi on Jan 31, 2014 18:23:32 GMT
OCC: Closed thread to Moto Arandaru, Togashi Moeru, and Kaiu Satomi
semi open thread: in order to join, please PM the involved characters first.
When Satomi could finally get rid of her ceremonial obligations to her deceased spouse, at least in the tradition's eyes, she prepared to do her last duty act for that bitter marriage.
Soon, she joined Moto Arandaru and Togashi Moeru in a private place on the Crab Wing of the palace, where they could talk without inrterruption.
Bowing to them as she arrived (though of course the monk couldn't see), the Kaiu general looked at both, showing more than respect, gratitude. Anyway, Satomi was one of direct speech, and said as soon as she seated:
My friends, I appreciate your good will to this one.
Then, speaking directly to Togashi Moeru:
Moeru-san, I'm afraid once again I need your help. Today, Arandaru-san told me he saw a ghost... He's sure it's Shigekazu. His spirit is tormented, seems to have a message but wasnt' able to speak in a manner Arandaru-san could understand. The last thing I wish is that my late husband's soul... cannot find its way in the Kharmic Wheel.
Please, Arandu-san, can you explain the proper mechanics of what you have in mind? This way, Moeru-san can say if he can help me or not...
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Moto Arandaru
Unicorn Clan
Posts: 199| Likes: 103
In Kyuden Seppun, eager to find a way to save the Empire!
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Post by Moto Arandaru on Feb 1, 2014 10:41:06 GMT
Arandaru frowned.
"There is no such things as mechanisms Satomi-san. What I presume is that the spirit of your husband lingers around the palace halls. It is understandable as the last remembrance of a place a mortal person has might resonate with the echo of his chi in the place." he looked at her.
"All that I personally can afford, is a proper ritual to make your spirit "discernible" to the chi energies of the spirit realm. With that in mind, I will summon your husband's spirit. But that won't be enough." he said rather grimly.
"The next thing that needs to be done, is for the spirit to interconnect with the chi of the living, granting it both its mortal memories of its relationship towards the recipient. As I am perfectly aware, the only once capable of such a feat is a practitioner of the elemental balance." he repeated once more.
"Surely a sodan-senzo or a void ishiken would've helped as well, but as I perfectly assure you they won't suffice, me included if a malevolent gaki is drawn." he explained.
"Let me be frank, all that can be opened is a window to the spirit realm. The spirit of your husband sounded rather troubled and we certainly don't wish to attract any unwanted attention should he wish any kind of harm." he looked at her in the eye.
"And my knowledge gets limited up to this extent."
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Bayushi Satomi
Unwanted Betrothed
Scorpion Clan
Posts: 1,080| Likes: 322
Rings: Earth 4 * Fire: 5 *Air 3 * Water 1 * Void 3
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Post by Bayushi Satomi on Feb 1, 2014 11:05:43 GMT
So, in one way or another, we can definitely free him from this awkward situation, right? To be sincere, that's my main interest. Shigekazu and I are bonded by marriage ties... for bad and for good. it's horrible to think he's in such situation... I think I owe him this little...help.
If he wish to speak something of importance... that's just secondary, for me.
Emphatic persons could think it was the contrary, in fact.
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Post by Togashi Moeru on Feb 1, 2014 14:14:00 GMT
Moeru listened, and nodded. "I have at times, been able to make a connection through the elements." Moeru scratched at his chin, thinking. "I have never tried to make a connection with a spirit from beyond. I have been able to make tenuous connections with the Dragon Lands to speak with Satsu-Dono, and I've made connections with fortunes in a way.
Moeru paced for a moment. "I am more than willing to try to make a connection for you Satomi-san." Moeru untied his Kimono, and began to fold it. "I do need a few things. First, I need a clear space on the floor. The more room, the better." Moeru patted at Shinko's hand on his arm. "No need to repeat any past mistakes eh?" A sly grin passed over his features. "I need a candle, and I will need you to be absolutely silent, and still while I try to make the connection."
Moeru reached up, and untied the blindfold from his face, and wrapped it into a bundle, and handed them to Shinko, who took them. the scars around where his eyes should have been could be unsettling to those who didn't know why he wore the blindfold. His eyelids sat a little flatter than what you would have expected, closed.
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Bayushi Satomi
Unwanted Betrothed
Scorpion Clan
Posts: 1,080| Likes: 322
Rings: Earth 4 * Fire: 5 *Air 3 * Water 1 * Void 3
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Post by Bayushi Satomi on Feb 1, 2014 23:56:05 GMT
Being a very practical woman, Satomi took no longer than a few minutes to have it all prepared, as Moeru demanded. She trusted him and Moto Arandaru to do what was needed.
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Post by Togashi Moeru on Feb 2, 2014 1:05:32 GMT
Moeru sat down cross legged on the floor with the candle in front of him. He reached out, picked the candle up, and brought it to his lips. He inhaled, and exhaled a small stream of fire, lighting the candle. He wasn't sure if it would help, but the thought crossed his mind that maybe "his" fire would aid him in the journey more so than using a match to light the candle.
He placed the candle back down on the floor, and settled in. He moved, as if he were "looking" at each person sitting in the room, and spoke. "Please, try not to do anything too sudden." His tone serious. "This is a taxing process, one I'm not even sure will be successful. Interruptions will only further hinder the process."
He rested his hands, palm down on his knees, and fell still.
[ooc] If you want to Pm me info that the spirit will be sharing, I can write a follow up post with the information. [/ooc]
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Moto Arandaru
Unicorn Clan
Posts: 199| Likes: 103
In Kyuden Seppun, eager to find a way to save the Empire!
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Post by Moto Arandaru on Feb 2, 2014 15:37:45 GMT
Arandaru stood still in eminent silence as the monk required all the tranquility he could muster to perform such a difficult feat. He briefly looked at the blind man that stood stoically as he performed his technique that was taught by the Togashi senseis.
And the world stood still...
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Post by Togashi Moeru on Feb 2, 2014 17:58:07 GMT
A few moments went by, and Moeru was beginning to get frustrated. Not only was he not reaching a meditative state, but he began to hear murmurs from others in the room, and it hadn't even taken that long for them to get restless. Moeru opened his eyes, and snapped at them. "I told you I needed...." his voice trailed off.
His hands went to his face. He touched at his cheeks, the skin around his eyes, and then closed his eyes, and felt at them. Surely, this was a trick. The figures in the room looked at him curiously. One figure moved forward, and intot he light of candle. He was a tall man, dressed in crab garb. Shigekazu bowed to him. "Moeru-san, You are quite the ise-zumi."
Moeru was confused. When he had tried to commune with his champion, it was far more difficult than this. "Shigekazu-san. I was told by a Moto that you were looking to speak with you wife, that there was some message that needed passed." Moeru spoke calm, and clear.
Shigekazu chuckled, and sat across from Moeru. "Satomi is a good woman. Alas, I don't believe that I have any words solely for her, Moeru-san." Shigekazu's voice was reminiscent. "As I'm sure you gathered today, Satomi and I's marriage had seen better times. No, what I was trying to tell the Moto, was not about Satomi. But about the Kitsuki." Shigekazu's face grew stern.
Moeru looked around the room, and realized that also in the room, were other victims of the attacks in the castle. He recognized the Crane servant, a Crab Yojimbo, a young Mantis Shugenja, The Mirumoto Yojimbo, and a few he couldn't recognize. "I don't understand, Shigekazu-san. What do you all have in common? Why are you still here?"
Shigekazu nodded, and began. "There is a shadowed presence hanging over the area Moeru-san. It has corrupted, killed, and poisoned much for some further goal, not even I can see from this vantage." Shigekazu leaned over and touched Moeru's head, filling it with a vision of a ravine on the outskirts of the region. He could see shadowed figures going to and from a keep deep within the fracture in the earth. "This, is where they stream from, like maggots to a bloated corpse. Within the keep, resides a presence powerful enough to obscure itself from the outside world. The elements run from it in terror."
Moeru thought about what he had seen since arriving at court. the maho tsukai puppet, the murders, the kitsuki gone mad. He thought about what he had heard from the Kitsuki in her final moments. Something was amiss, but what was causing it, was surely a question that would need investigated.
Moeru began to form a question, but he could feel the weight of the travel wearing him down, just as he had with his journey to speak with Satsu. He began to feel the crushing weight, and Shigekazu nodded. "It is time for you to leave this place, Moeru-san. You expend great energy in this realm."
Shigekazu picked up the candle, bowed, and began to leave the room, the other spirits in the room falling in behind him. He looked back as the monk still tried in vain to force out a question. "Tell Satomi, that in death, I have found what I had lost in life." And with that, Shigekazu then blew out the candle, and everything vanished.
Moeru became conscious gasping for air. The candle had blown itself out at the exact time that he regained conscious, something that was not lost on the observers in the room.
Shinko moved quickly to his side, set him up, and handed him a glass of water. He took a drink, and exhaled, a slight puff of smoke coming out with his breath. "I thank you Shinko-san, but I would love a cup of tea."
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Bayushi Satomi
Unwanted Betrothed
Scorpion Clan
Posts: 1,080| Likes: 322
Rings: Earth 4 * Fire: 5 *Air 3 * Water 1 * Void 3
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Post by Bayushi Satomi on Feb 2, 2014 18:42:06 GMT
It took a long time, in spite of what could been perceived by Moeru's mind, until his face showed a signal of change from its serene introspection to a turbulent expression. Satomi anxiously observed the monk as he relaxed his face once again, entranced and kept still for another considerable amount of time.
In fact, she was used to some displays of affinity with the elements that were mostly flashy and garish; the subtlety of this enigmatic manipulation of an element (or several; she couldn't entirely fathom what was really happening) was different and made an indelible impression in the Kaiu woman's mind.
When the candle blew out in a sudden whiff, Satomi stiffened in her cushion, tense. Out of respect for the obvious weariness the mental exercise caused on the Dragon monk, she remained silent, waiting Moeru to have his first cup of tea and feel prepared to share his experience.
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Post by Togashi Moeru on Feb 3, 2014 13:19:06 GMT
As Moeru began sipping the tea, he could feel the eyes in the room upon him, waiting... Paitently... He gulped down the rest of the tea, and began. "There is a growing cult here, in the heart of the Empire." Moeru let the words hang in the air momentarily. "They murdered Shigekazu, The Crane Servant, a Mantis Shugenja, a Crab Yojimbo and at least a few more I couldn't make out, that were present with Shigekazu-san."
Moeru groped for Shinko's arm, and stood. "The cult, is not the chief concern." Moeru held his head in his hand for a moment. "There is a ravine, or... crevasse... nearby. Their keep is there. And in it..." Moeru pointed down at the ground, his face growing stern. "In it, is something so foul, that the elements themselves fear it." Moeru shook his head. "That's not what he called it... He said.... Terror. The Elements flee in terror from it."
Moeru moved through the room, getting re-acclimated with the auras in the room. When he found Satomi, he took a seat close to her. If someone saw, they would think something scandalous, had they not realized the monk was blind. He leaned in close to her, and whispered in her ear. "Your husband wanted you to know, he found in death, what he had lost in life." The monk wrapped his arm around the sturdy crab woman and gave her a gentle squeeze.
He slid his arm from around Satomi, and slid to the side to give her room, and began groping for where he thought the tea cup would have been, and sighed. "My vision was confounding. I could see."
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Moto Arandaru
Unicorn Clan
Posts: 199| Likes: 103
In Kyuden Seppun, eager to find a way to save the Empire!
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Post by Moto Arandaru on Feb 3, 2014 13:55:05 GMT
Arandaru seemed to relax a bit.
"So it is true.." he mused "Everything comes to a conclusion that there is a coven that resides down there. We had a share of assassinations, sabotage, threats in a week or so. Something needs to be done." he stopped.
He saw Moeru groping the Crab woman while she stood idle. He narrowed his eyes.
"So, I am afraid that we need to take the matters at hand. It would better be good if we informed the magistrates. Hai?"
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Bayushi Satomi
Unwanted Betrothed
Scorpion Clan
Posts: 1,080| Likes: 322
Rings: Earth 4 * Fire: 5 *Air 3 * Water 1 * Void 3
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Post by Bayushi Satomi on Feb 3, 2014 17:30:59 GMT
Of course, Moeru's revelations were not quite unexpected. But his visions, caused by his contact with Shigekazu's spirit, of what exactly to look for... that was something!
Satomi went uneasy by the Togahi monk's proximity, but then understood it was his way of showing more than feelings, a sense of sympathy for her loss. When one can't use the eyes to help expressing himself, must find other manners... And using the sense of tact was the way Moeru found out. Also, the message Shigekazu sent to her troubled even more the paradoxical feelings she had about his death. But, leaving it behind for when she could delve into her feelings alone, Satomi paid attention to Arandaru's words.
Nodding, she said, with a tone of resolve:
We must talk with someone, yes... But we're going to talk to Yasuki Hachi-tono, no less.
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Post by Togashi Moeru on Feb 3, 2014 17:51:21 GMT
Moeru nodded in agreement as he placed the Tea Cup down, and took his kimono from Shinko. He stood, and began to dress, Shinko tending to him, to make him presentable. "When an avalanche forms, those who stand and marvel at it's beauty forget the destructive force it carries with it."
After Moeru dressed, he stood, wrapped the cloth around his eyes, and smiled. "Come, let us stop an avalanche."
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Bayushi Satomi
Unwanted Betrothed
Scorpion Clan
Posts: 1,080| Likes: 322
Rings: Earth 4 * Fire: 5 *Air 3 * Water 1 * Void 3
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Post by Bayushi Satomi on Feb 4, 2014 15:22:55 GMT
The spokeperson for the Dragon, The Unicorn Hatamoto and a general of the Crab, arriving together to talk to the Emerald Champion, were not persons to be easily dismissed with excuses or refusals, and Yasuki Hachi soon discovered they had a good reason to be united in an uncommon plea. Asking the Empress' Champion permission to investigate the maho-tsukai in the area, exposing their reasons and better, telling him the three would investigate in person, given the permission,... It was something he couldn't simply discard. Thus, after the long meeting with Yasuki Hachi, the three earned their temporary permissions to proceed with the investigation, with the Blessings of the Empire. continues...
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