The Legend of Hieda III: Esteemed Companion

[Jq1790]

>Cover our eyes slightly to deal with the brightness until our eyesight is improved.

>Do we know much about the spiritual field spoken of?  Is it related to Fantasy Heaven?

>Go to the shrine as asked, then explain our overloaded senses to see if she can tell us why we're so sensitive right now.

[Fightest]

>Cover our eyes slightly to deal with the brightness until our eyesight is improved.

> You bring up your hand to your eyes, but it is almost worse. Black things twist and crawl under your skin, burrowing and growing. Key and Mountain grabs your hand.
> "Remember. Stay calm."

>Do we know much about the spiritual field spoken of?  Is it related to Fantasy Heaven?

> You do not know what she means.

>Go to the shrine as asked, then explain our overloaded senses to see if she can tell us why we're so sensitive right now.

> You follow Key and Mountain to the shrine.
> "It is not your senses. Not in the way you think. You are being assailed by the little curses of everyday life. A normal person's spiritual field repels them, but yours has been burnt away."
> The shrine is only a minute or so away, but in that time the noise and crawling things under your skin have grown to near-unbearable.
> "I have had a mentor once," says Key and Mountain, "who described to me a purification ritual of the mind and body. It is yet untested, but it seems that now is the time to see if her theory holds."
> She rummages around inside the shrine and brings out a cloth bundle. She unwraps the bundle and points out the contents, one by one.
> "Salt," she says, pointing to a little laquered box, "to ward off the little curses."
> "Bells," she says, holding up a rod with little bells attached at even intervals, "to call the gods and petition their aid."
> "The go...gohu...gohei," she says, stumbling on her words a little, "to purify the object of veneration - you."
> "The mind we have already cleansed, back there, in the pool," she says, "now it is up to you to finish the ritual."

[Jq1790]

>"What do I need to do?"

[Mr_Bob]

>Do we have any background knowledge in such spiritual means? Do we understand the theory?

[Fightest]

>Do we have any background knowledge in such spiritual means? Do we understand the theory?

> You have lived amongst spirits since you remember, you have never needed ritual means to help you contact them. This, however, is something else entirely. You understand the principles of the ritual as Key and Mountain explained them, but you would not be able to reproduce the train of thought that brought them about without significant research.

>"What do I need to do?"

> "It is up to you. You must finish the ritual. How, it does not matter." says Key and Mountain.
> You have completed one of four parts of an unknown purification ritual, the cleansing of the mind. You will probably need to complete all the other ones as well.
> What do you reach for first?
> The salt?
> The bells?
> The gohei?

[Fightest]

Fightest's note: there is no puzzle here, dudes, you just get to design the ritual yourselves.

[Jq1790]

Fightest's note: there is no puzzle here, dudes, you just get to design the ritual yourselves.

Ah geez, I thought I put a post in here.

>Take the salts, sprinkle them in a circle around ourself.

[Fightest]

>Take the salts, sprinkle them in a circle around ourself.

> You take the little box and open it. The contents look like regular salt, if very white and pure.
> You stand a ways from the shrine, where there is room enough to move. The old cobblestones are rough against your bare feet.
> A deep breath to calm yourself. The light is still dazzling.
> Scoop, left, right. Scoop, left, right. Scoop, left right, turning slowly all the way until the box is empty.
> You feel better already. The little blackness has abated, and you no longer feel the pressure.
> What do you take next?

[Jq1790]

> You take the little box and open it. The contents look like regular salt, if very white and pure.
> You stand a ways from the shrine, where there is room enough to move. The old cobblestones are rough against your bare feet.
> A deep breath to calm yourself. The light is still dazzling.
> Scoop, left, right. Scoop, left, right. Scoop, left right, turning slowly all the way until the box is empty.
> You feel better already. The little blackness has abated, and you no longer feel the pressure.
> What do you take next?

>Next, the bells.

[Fightest]

Updates are sporadic, aren't they? Blame the eurozone crisis.

> You lay down the empty lacquered box and pick up the rod, its bells jingling lightly with the motion.
> You pace along the inner edge of the circle inscribed in salt, shaking the rod every second step. The sound of the bell-chimes does not travel far, almost as if muted.
> With every one of your steps, Key and Mountain sinks deeper to the ground, clutching at her head.
> "The bells, like sounds of knives... Heaven cracked and broken, stop the bells, stop the bells!"

[Jq1790]

>Set the rod down.
>"What happened?"
>Try to assess Key-and-Mountain's condition.

[Fightest]

>Set the rod down.
>"What happened?"
>Try to assess Key-and-Mountain's condition.

> As soon as you stop ringing the bells, Key and Mountain starts to recover.
> "The bells. They call the gods, petition their aid. But no god will approach you."
> Her breathing is still ragged.
> "There is a space around you, a terrible boundary of grey where glass cracks underfoot. It was subdued during your cursing, but... its strength now is incredible. Like a hole in the world where dreams go to die."
> You notice that the feeling of pressure has died away entirely. The little blackness still crawls here and there, but it does not grow and multiply. It is as if your broken Heaven wards away curses as well as it does blessings.

[Jq1790]

>"I see...Then I'm not yet prepared to use these.  Perhaps the...gohei, was it?"
>Take said gohei, see howw we feel holding it.

[Fightest]

>"I see...Then I'm not yet prepared to use these.  Perhaps the...gohei, was it?"
>Take said gohei, see howw we feel holding it.

> Unlike the bells, the gohei feels right.
> You concentrate. This ritual is about you. You are the object of veneration, your body - the sanctuary to be cleansed. You pace around the circle of salt, swinging left on the left step, right on the right.
> Left -  the little blackness is torn out of your body.
> Right - it is expelled outside the circle of salt.
> Left - the impurities of today's events are pulled out.
> Right - to be expelled and warded away.
> With each step you feel lighter. Stronger. Better. You can continue cleansing. Purify deeper. Just how close can you come to perfection?
> Proceed?

[Fightest]

Fightest's note: while I appreciate the attention, is there any particular reason I'm stickied?

[Jq1790]

[fightest's note: crap, edited instead of quoted]

>Proceed!  Cleanse as far as we can go.

[Kilgamayan]

Fightest's note: while I appreciate the attention, is there any particular reason I'm stickied?

This was probably my fault. I tend to accidentally futz with threads when phone browsing. Sorry for the disruption.

[Fightest]

> Why stop now?
> Physical impurity. Gone.
> Purify further.
> Fatigue gone. Uncertainty gone. Symmetry, perfect supersymmetry in all things.
> Purify further.
> Decay gone. Age gone. Purify the blood, the lymph vessels, the nerves, the muscles, the bones, the organs and the skin.
> Purify further.
> Pure mind. Anger gone. Compassion gone. Greed gone. Love gone. Fear gone.
> Hope gone.
> You stop. There is nothing left to cleanse. You are perfect.

[Jq1790]

>Assess our newly perfect self, and see if Key-and-Mountain has anything to say regarding our transformation to what we are perceiving as perfection.

Will hopefully give a better reply tomorrow, but I wanted to do SOMETHING so you don't think I left this to die or anything.

[Fightest]

>Assess our newly perfect self, and see if Key-and-Mountain has anything to say regarding our transformation to what we are perceiving as perfection.

> Aah, what wonder! What splendor! What glory! Yet what is perfection if not to be measured against something? Already you sense a little blackness within you taking seed. It is barely there, but it will grow slowly, sapping at your purity, and with your spiritual field burnt away, the curses that come from within will have nothing to repel them.
> It matters little. Performing this purification ritual daily should keep the sin at bay. You can even skip the salt and bells, should you choose to, it is not as if the gods will help you.
> Key and Mountain is keeping her distance. It makes sense, approaching you is difficult for her. Just as well. You have little need of her now, she can hardly help reconstruct your Fantasy Heaven, and she is too tied to this island to travel with you further.
> "Are you...well?" says Key and Mountain? Her voice is timid. Rightfully so.

[Jq1790]

>"Perfect, in fact."
>Do we have any way of locating Illuminating Decree, since they seemed to know of the Anguish Engine?  Now, we may be able to combat it.
>"May I keep this gohei?  It will prove useful if so.  If not, where might I obtain one?"

[Fightest]

> "I-it is but a rod. Of wood and paper. You can keep it, of course, it should...will be no trouble to make another!" says Key and Mountain.
> Contacting Illuminating Decree should be no harder than entering your Fantasy Heaven. The world shifts like breathing, so easy it is for you now. You pay no mind to the glass underfoot and the sound of knives. It is your realm, after all, as much a part of your perfection as anything else.
> The little crow creature is as you left her, sifting through fragments of glass, occasionally picking one up and holding it up to her eyes. On the ground next to her is a beautiful glass mandala, about the size of your hand, different from the flower you saw earlier - she is probably finished reassembling another story.

[Mr_Bob]

Home for winter break.

>Address Illuminating Decree, "What have you been able to piece together?"
>Examine the story.

[Fightest]

> "Ah, Dream-Child. How strong you look. Here, another story finished. Family story, tragic perhaps, hmm? An estranged daughter to an old father, a clash of values. Father dies before reconciliation can happen, but daughter comes to terms with her father's teachings, brings honor to the family in her own way. Not kind, but..."
> She draws a talon along a crack with a horrible, jagged sound.
> "No suffering."
> You remember this one as well, mostly for the pointless inevitability of it. The fox daughter of an elder forest spirit, the latter quite literally set in his roots trying, as all overconcerned parents, to impose his values on the fundamental free spirit of the former. The daughter ended up taking over her father's duties upon his passing, and learned dignity and wisdom with her new function.

[Mr_Bob]

>Would purifying the story atune it to us, or erase it?

[Fightest]

>Would purifying the story atune it to us, or erase it?

> For you to do anything with the story, you will need to reintegrate it into your Fantasy Heaven first. To do that, you will need to get to the mainland, where the event occurred.

[Mr_Bob]

>Hypothetically, would a story that did have suffering in it stabilized? Could I. Decree build something that did have suffering?
>How far away from the mainland are we? Where is this island located?

[Fightest]

>Hypothetically, would a story that did have suffering in it stabilized? Could I. Decree build something that did have suffering?
>How far away from the mainland are we? Where is this island located?

> You should be able to, with Illuminating Decree's help, work suffering into a story that she has reassembled.
> You have traveled around, so you more or less know by the climate and elemental attunement that this is very far West. Ani's skiff managed to cover the distance in the better part of two days, but it was an artifact of her grandmother's time, and such artifacts are getting rarer and rarer these days.
> Still, this is a major port island. Maybe you could be able to find a fast merchant vessel.

[Jq1790]

Wait, why are we doing that?  Did I miss something?  I didn't hear any obections when I mentioned the alternative...  What one should we go with, other players(s)?  I wanna make sure I don't step on anyone's toes if I act.

[Mr_Bob]

The bit about suffering? 'Twas a hypothetical.  Wanted to know if introducing suffering was possible without being where the event occurred.

>Muse on Ani's whereabouts. Hope for her safety.

Thinking that without a coin to our name (isn't it sad Reimu?) we'll have to smuggle ourselves onto a main-land bound vessel.