The Unending Search for Understanding [D2 EE, Invite]

The Saravya · **Joined:** Sat Apr 04, 2020 10:30 am **Posts:** 99

The Saravya bowed to the newcomer. "Welcome."

"Not one of us, but there was an incident at a winter court two years ago, apparently."

Isawa Tomomi · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 11:07 pm **Posts:** 93

The Shakanar wrote:

As the pheonix joined t hem he sat up a little higher, coils rearranging as if he stood to bow to the new arrival. "The day finds me well Isawa-sama. I am known as The Shakanar. My companion is the Saravya. And the snow slows us all. As much as we may wish, we are all still at the whims of the fortunes and nature."

Tomomi Bows to the group, at a somewhat uncertain angle. Their is no note in the etiquette texts for sentient non-humans, though there's a footnote for the time there was a bear recognized as a samuai at court. Afterward, she takes a seat, inhaling the scent of the Golden Needle on the table.

"I hope the Fortunes have smiled upon you all today, beyond the small inconvenience of snow. I am Isawa Tomomi, historian of the Phoenix." She pauses a moment and decides that, under current circumstances, there was no sin in coming to the point. "I appreciate Ryuuta-san arranging this meeting, as I've yet to speak to one of your kind and I hear you're looking for information I may be of help with."

Ryuuta Kin · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:29 pm **Posts:** 269

"The snow is just a blessing from the fortune that oversees it, giving us the opportunity to wear fashionable winter kimono," Kin says with a smirk, while in his standard sturdy clothing. "I have been well enough today."

Kin pours a cup for Tomomi and offers to fill the cups of The Shakanar and The Saravya. He otherwise does not get in the way of any conversation, hoping to simply relax and possibly learn a thing or two from either side of the conversation for now. If his input was needed he would offer it at that time.

The Saravya · **Joined:** Sat Apr 04, 2020 10:30 am **Posts:** 99

"It is a pleasure to meet The Tomomi," she greeted with a nod before looking toward The Shakanar to lead the discussion.

Isawa Tomomi · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 11:07 pm **Posts:** 93

The Phoenix takes the cup with a nod of thanks, carefully holding her not terribly fashionable, but heavy, winter kimono sleeve out of the way to avoid dragging the snow-damp edge along the table.

The cup pauses as The Saravya addresses her by her given name, an unexpected intimacy. Tomomi hides for a moment behind a sip of the delicate tea, steam obscuring her eyes as she considers. There was no reaction from Kin, and this was how their names were constructed in the introduction. 'The Isawa,' certainly wouldn't do. By the time the cup returns to the table, cradled in her hands, she's found her composure again. Outside of the more formal strictures of court, she could accept the odd form of address.

Politely, she too waits on The Shakanar's word, considering that she's sitting with giant snake people and it's her own name that's shocked her the most so far. How interesting.

The Shakanar · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 9:04 am **Posts:** 218

"Recently The Saravya and Myself journeyed to Phoenix lands in search for information on a.....Malady that has struck at the Naga." He looked thoughtful. "What do you know of the naga's shared connection, the akasha, and the war against our kind almost three summers back." He looked thoughtful, as if ordering his thoughts.

Isawa Tomomi · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 11:07 pm **Posts:** 93

She orders her thoughts for a moment, answering almost apologetically. "Very little, I'm afraid. I know the broad outlines of the battles fought, and a fair bit more about the descriptions of the ruins, but published information about your people has been..." one hand wobbles in a so-so gesture. "Those interacting the most with Naga are not necessarily those best suited to research or clear communication. Add in the flatly fabricated tales, and I don't feel that I know anything for certain. If you were to look at one of the booksellers today I could find more pillowbook adventures with Naga in the roles of heroes or monsters than scholarly scrolls."

With a nod to Kin, she adds, "No knock on the Ryuuta, they've only existed for those three years and I imagine have a fair bit of work just keeping things running smoothly in the courts without the expectation of publishing enough scholarship to drown out the flood of popular imaginings."

She counts the few things she counts as facts on her fingers, "So, I know that you have some rough similarity to snakes physically; I've heard of this shared connection but don't really grasp it any more than I grasp the Void connecting everything and yet being none of those things; I know you are few but formidable and it's a great blessing that we don't need to spent years fighting in the Shinomen."

The Saravya · **Joined:** Sat Apr 04, 2020 10:30 am **Posts:** 99

"I think our connection is a little less esoteric than the void," she mused. "We share a collective soul. We still all have separate experiences and perspectives, but it gives a connection and insight into each other, and those experiences become part of the whole of our species experience."

Isawa Tomomi · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 11:07 pm **Posts:** 93

"Much more personal than the void, then." She nods. "And this ties into that...malady you mentioned?"

The Saravya · **Joined:** Sat Apr 04, 2020 10:30 am **Posts:** 99

"Indeed." The Saravya nodded. "One of our people had been reborn elsewhere for a long time. By the time he rejoined the Akasha, he had gone quite mad. Now that he has rejoined the whole, his madness and prophetic abilities are affecting some more than others."

Isawa Tomomi · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 11:07 pm **Posts:** 93

Tomomi nods in sympathy. "That sounds very distressing," frankly terrifying to someone who's never given thought to sharing the mind of anyone, much less a madman...snake...whatever. "Those who commune with the Void are known to fall more readily into madness here. For us, just reaching out to encompass everything can be maddening. It sounds like...being cut off is what does it for your people. I am neither a healer nor a great student of the elements, but it seems like our Void shugenja might have some insight into helping ease a mind back into a whole without cracking everything."

The Shakanar · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 9:04 am **Posts:** 218

"It did not help that when he returned, a portion of his......soul would be the best term I suppose, remained behind, locked in a.....I believe that the proper term in Rokugani would be a Nemenurai?" He struggled slightly with the word, ()as the player can't remember the spelling.) looking thoughtful. "That portion was returned to the rest about a year and a half ago. It is hoped that with the parts reunited, that it can heal in the calmness of the Akasha. But if there are those among our allies who can...ease the suffering of those who hear his ranting most keenly, then it is an opportunity we hope to persue."

Isawa Tomomi · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 11:07 pm **Posts:** 93

Listening offered a chance to sip at the very fine tea. It was like a fantastic old folk tale of souls torn in two, and now a quest to solve the endless trouble that resulted. "Nemuranai," she murmured almost automatically, as she might to nudge a student reciting a passage.

"That is indeed far from my areas of research, but my family, the Isawa, are the foremost authorities on things spiritual. I do think you're seeking in the right directions. Do you know if anyone of your folk, or the Ryuuta," she inclines her head toward Kin, "sought among the delegation at the Emperor's court this winter?" She didn't want to tread on agreements already in the making, though she supposed those might have been scattered to the winds in the evactuation.

The Unending Search for Understanding [D2 EE, Invite]

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