[Day Three, Early Morning] Wake up and Aw dang, it's wet out

Kodama · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:17 pm **Posts:** 404

"Hai, south of the Spine of the World Mountains. Some of the closest lands to Kyuden Miya. I primarily serve at the one near Shiro Usagi, although I have been wandering the Empire for some time learning from different shrines and sites honoring heroes of the Empire's past."

A look out at the rain again and then back to the shrine. "This Shrine here brought me to Toshi no Omoidoso. Matsu Hitomi's tale is one that's spread far and wide, I thought I should make a more in-depth study, as her example will be frequently used by many when they think on heroes and what makes one."

Agasha Poemu · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:47 pm **Posts:** 896

Poemu nodded. "Hai hai. I came here to pray for courage myself. Even with this rain, one should always find time to offer prayers."

She paused and sighed, giving a weak smile to the monk. "I hope you have learned all you can here Kodama-sensei. I would not be surprised if this city is evacuated before too many days."

Kodama · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:17 pm **Posts:** 404

A small thinning of the lips in determination. "Hai. It is the Temple of the Seven Dragons that I've not had enough time to research at now. I learned the Void Dragon has occasionally appeared in the dreams of different heroes over the centuries. Which likely has huge implications for how my order will be interacting with those heroes they can identify."

Agasha Poemu · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:47 pm **Posts:** 896

"I imagine you would have some time this afternoon at least. It is not much, I admit, but we all must make what we can of the time we have." She brightened up a bit. "I was already there two days past in fact, and I found the monks there quite informative and helpful. I imagine you could learn much is you went and asked."

Kodama · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:17 pm **Posts:** 404

A grateful nod, "Hai, they have been most helpful. I hope to go there this afternoon."

Agasha Poemu · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:47 pm **Posts:** 896

"I shouldn't be surprised you've already been. Still, I am glad to hear you mean to go back. I am not what one would call a scholar, but I would still be interested to learn of what you discover." She gave a soft smile. "I am a curious woman, and it sounds like you have important things to discover."

Kodama · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:17 pm **Posts:** 404

"If only to help guide the philosophy and action of one of the Empire's newest orders, hai. Anything I locate there will have already been discovered, I may just be looking from a different angle."

Agasha Poemu · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:47 pm **Posts:** 896

The rain wasn't showing any signs of letting up, and Poemu was in no hurry to be elsewhere, so she nodded before speaking up curiously. "I do not believe you told me what your order's philosophy is, Kodama-sensei. An order of the Fortune of Heroes must obviously look to and study great heroes of Rokugan's history, which is why you traveled here to Hitomi-Kami's shrine. What else is there to it?"

Kodama · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:17 pm **Posts:** 404

"We hope to recognize and honor those who have found such a calling as hero. It is a careful line to walk however, for if we go out and seek to inspire, we must make sure that we do not accidentally inspire villains."

A frown. "That's one reason we're in a time of study. In many cases, the difference between hero and villain is only the viewpoint of the onlooker. All things will be as the Heavens will it, but for those of us who are not Emperors, there can easily be times where we are proven wrong."

Agasha Poemu · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:47 pm **Posts:** 896

It was an interesting line of thought, but Poemu ended up with even more questions. Looking thoughtful, she nodded slightly. Does your order seek out samurai alone, or do you seek heroes from all paths? One does not hear much of heimin or eta heroes after all."

She had wanted to say 'nothing at all', but her training had left her more open minded than other samurai might have been to the very idea.

Kodama · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:17 pm **Posts:** 404

"We seek what heroes we can find. The Brotherhood advises all."

He looks out towards the sky.

"There is less written down about non-samurai heroes, but there are some."

Agasha Poemu · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:47 pm **Posts:** 896

"I'd be interested to hear about one, if you can remember Kodama-sensei." She gave a slight bow. "I am Miya trained, so I have a soft spot for such matters."

Kodama · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:17 pm **Posts:** 404

A brief nod.

He stretches a bit, lifting his arm above his head and then back down.

"Well, okay then. Have you heard of the monks of Koshin? How they deliver messages across the empire for whomever asks?"

Agasha Poemu · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:47 pm **Posts:** 896

She nodded softly. "They are an Order that visits Kyuden Miya often actually. In fact, I seem to recall that there was a temple to Koshin."

Kodama · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:17 pm **Posts:** 404

He blinks a moment. Wasn't Kyuden Miya south of the Spine of the World?

A nod. "Well, if you end up seeing a shrine to Reichin or another Fortune you feel relevant, I would beg an offering be left."

He pauses briefly before beginning. "I'd expect they would often have messages that would travel there. Well, this story happens because of one such monk who stopped at an eta village. They were given some food and water, and one of the eta braved the chance of getting his village killed in order to send a message."

He adjusts his clothes a little against the coldness of the wind. "Ale had once served an Emerald magistrate far to the east. The magistrate died to an illness unrelated to any case years prior, and Ale remembered a servant of a lord he'd met during a case that had showed him kindness and a measure of respect."

He looked to the Agasha a moment, then back to the rain. "Ale had seen what he thought was over a thousand armed men taking an old road near the eta village, all heading towards an old shiro they had thought abandoned. Not once, but twice. Others in the village started getting requests for bodies to be taken care of. So when the monk stopped by, Ale braved the chance that speaking up would only bring them all disaster to ask that servant to tell their lord of what was happening in the outskirts of the Empire."

He coughs slightly to clear his throat. "It took a week or two for the monk to arrive after finishing his previous delivery. This is an old story I found written down in a roadside shrine to Koshin a year ago, and the writer was not clear on time frames. So I apologize for not having specifics." A shake of his head. "Where was I?"

His brow furrows a moment and then a bit of clarity smooths it. "Ah yes. The monk arrived and delivered the message. The servant wasn't sure what his lord would think of a message from an eta, and so simply told his lord that a monk had told him the tale."

A quick look back to Poemu. "The lord, Akodo Dentaro, was close to retirement at this point, and still looking for some glory to meet his ancestors with. And so seized the story with both hands as an excuse to ride out. But still, the story said a thousand armed warriors. So Akodo Dentaro called on his decades of allies."

"And they rode out." He waves vaguely westward. "A great battle was had. Glory, victory, etc. Many were named heroes. A bandit otokadate vanquished before it could become even more powerful."

He looks to Poemu. "Only that lone scroll, those who've read it and shared it, and now you, know of the eta Ale who set it all in motion. It is up to you whether you feel him a hero, if the monk is. Or if the samurai who claimed victory is. Or if they all are. Perhaps the long dead magistrate, for having had such a loyal servant."

He shrugs slightly. "That's a decision we all make, whenever we decide to call someone a hero. We define ourselves in the calling."

Agasha Poemu · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:47 pm **Posts:** 896

Listening attentively, so that the rain didn't drown out the monk's words, Poemu looked thoughtful as he ended his take. She gave a slight bow finally. "Arigato, Kodama-sensei. Do you think a man such as Ale could go to Tengoku for his deeds, or do you believe the kharmic wheel would still merely move him higher on his next life?"

Kodama · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:17 pm **Posts:** 404

"I am not Emma-O, to make such decisions. But I don't think he'd go to Tengoku. That's for Emperor's and Fortunes, Agasha-sama. Yomi? Possibly. A new spot on the wheel is likely."

Agasha Poemu · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:47 pm **Posts:** 896

"Well, I am not familiar with eta heroes, so it is good to at least have an idea from one more familiar with the workings of the spirits." She smiled softly. "I had come here to the Shrine for prayers, but I learned a few lessons as well. Arigato, Kodama-sensei."

Kodama · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:17 pm **Posts:** 404

He bows a bit in thanks. "Yours is the mind willing to hear, all I may do is speak the words."

Agasha Poemu · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:47 pm **Posts:** 896

Poemu gave a slight smirk. "I could not listen if you did not speak. I only wish that I had a tale to share with you as well. Perhaps there is a question I can answer for you?"

[Day Three, Early Morning] Wake up and Aw dang, it's wet out

Who is online