Daily History Lessons (Day 1, Late Morning)

[Suki]

"As a devotee of Benten, I've come to offer advice to those who are seeking a spouse this season," Suki offered, bowing her head.

"Domo arigato," she replied to the Bayushi's praise, keeping her gaze down-turned. "This one will work diligently to live up to your assessment of the Brotherhood, Bayushi-sama."

[Soshi Bantu]

“Or should I speak of the Black Jackal, who once tricked a spirit of an oasis out its water for a shiny stone! Moto Jumiri was my great uncle and he was craftier than the queen of jackals. He sired many children, and spread his seed far. It is known that he cheated death itself with a wager of coin and dice!”

"The Black Jackal sounds positively fascinating, was he from Rokugani stock or from the ancestry of those encountered beyond our borders?" Bantu asks with a genuine interest.

[Moto Khulun]

"He was Moto, as those before him," she replies.

[Bayushi Hotaru]

"A devotee of Benten? Ohhhh..." She said with a growing smile, looking quite impressed with an evident glint in her eyes. "Then perhaps what I said about you is doubly true. I'm sure that many here will either call to or honour Benten-no-kami during their time here, one of the Fortunes known for grace and guile, channelling those aspects to find love. We hope to be so lucky, especially when it comes to marriage."

"I know I hope to be!" She added with a giggle.

"You're going to be quite busy, I bet." She nodded a few times, seemingly quite sure of that. "I wonder if that means I'll be seeing you around the..."

Hotaru trailed off as she was a little unsure, having yet to see the full lay of the land and what it offered. "...temple, around here?"

[Suki]

"There is a nearby shrine. I will likely perform my devotions and meditations in the open air, given the lovely weather here. And yes, I do hope to be busy throughout the miai. I will gladly advise any and all those that appreciate beauty and are seeking romantic love."

[Bayushi Hotaru]

"Maybe...we'll be neighbours in the next few days. I plan to devote myself to the local shrine as well, helping in whatever way I can to keep the place hospitable for devotion. It would be great to make it a place of gathering here. Even away from home, we mustn't put aside our devotions elsewhere. Your usual temple may be elsewhere, but the Fortunes are omnipresent." She nodded twice at that, likely repeating a quote that had been told to her many times before.

"Hopefully the weather will stay as pleasant...but we're probably due for some rain as well. I can only imagine the day after tomorrow will be a very pleasant one." She raised a finger as if to point out something. "I can only assume this because we're quite close to the Setsuban, are we not? Quite a fitting time to have the Setsuban, a time for renewal, but with a returned family. The Empire will see a renewal indeed with the Unicorn among us!"

[Suki]

"I would certainly welcome the chance to have gatherings at the local shrine. If Bayushi-sama wishes some assistance in making it hospitable, this one would gladly help."

"The Setsuban is bound to be quite the event this year," she agreed, nodding quickly. "The Heavens speak in the changing of the seasons. It will be fascinating to discover what they have to say."

[Seppun Hitako]

Seppun Hiitako had been on the edges, listening, paying attention, but not responding. She wasn't there to respond, not yet. She was there to learn. Not just about the Unicorn, but about the other clans, how they were reacting to the Unicorn.


She continued to observe, to listen. To learn.

[Bayushi Hotaru]

"I'd be more than happy to accept your assistance! Actually, that should be one of my next destinations around here, visit the shrine, get a feel of the surrounding spiritual strength of the land and see if the local monks have any need of our assistance. If they would allow me, perhaps I could even perform a kagura to invite good fortune and blessings from the local kami. That might just get a few visitors over!" She nodded eagerly at that idea.

She looked to Tomoe and gave her a small bow. "I don't think I had the chance to thank you for your splendid telling, Usagi-san. It seems that it incited some good discussion among the residences here, which is a sign of a good story. I enjoyed it, at least. While we await what the Heavens may say with the new season, perhaps we get a glimpse of what the next tale might in a few days for the Setsuban?"

[Usagi Tomoe]

"I admit I haven't made any plans for the topic yet," she chuckled. "It should be something suitable for the occassion of Setsuban and this miai."

Tomoe wondered what historical event could be best suited.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. It takes work to distill several volumes of text into something more condensed and easy to understand for those who are new to the subject."

[Bayushi Hotaru]

Hotaru gestured upwards with a hand. "Well...I'm hardly a historian by any measure but if I could offer my own suggestion on the matter. I do recall our talk with our mutual acquaintance not too long ago and perhaps we should consider the possibility of a more than perfect divergence from our norm. There have been little bits of details that have been altered, or maybe entirely unchanged and we are the ones who have changed! Sometimes it's best to start from the beginning before you can go forward? We know what happened in the beginning but some might have missed bits and parts since then. The Setsuban is known as a time of renewals and beginnings."

[Moto Khulun]

The Moto listens and frowns at the conversation, so many words and fancy talk. Were they talking about Uchibong? Or was it Iuchi-ban but not Iuchi? Now talks of changing history?

She finally interjects speaking to the Usagi, “So who killed the Iuchi-ban? Why you know so much about dark sorcerer? Is this also like evil but not evil things and things that did not happen or this happened… I don’t understand.”

[Bayushi Hotaru]

Hotaru blinked and took a step back to open up the proverbial circle to include the Moto if she wished to join in the conversation. She looked curiously to the Usagi, as she had taken on the burden of being their teacher on history. It made her wonder if she would have just as much or more difficulty if she were to do the same in reconciling the Fortunes or associating with kami.

[Usagi Tomoe]

Tomoe looked at Khulun, once again adopting her patient approach to the matter. At least Khulun didn't test her patience as much as Butaj had.

"In the Battle of Stolen Graves, it was Akodo Minobe of the Lion Clan who defeated Iuchiban. At the Battle of Sleeping River, he was defeated by a member of the Togashi Order of the Dragon Clan... I'm sorry, I do not know his name, only that he sacrificed himself to defeat the evil."

"As to why I know a lot... most of it is somewhat recent history for the Empire. I imagine most you will meet here from the other clans where children old enough to remember the Battle of Bloody Retreat and Battle of Sleeping River, with parents who fought in them. I am also a historian, it is my duty to study history and to share it with others so that it won't be forgotten."

[Moto Khulun]

“So is Iuchi-ban dead?” she asks.

“Iuchi-ban seems to survive many battles, and even sadder that great hero lose name in defeating evil sorcerer. Why study history? Do you not have the storytellers to recite the tales? What is there to study? It happened. It is done.”

She scratched her chin and adds, “Shinjo defeated the old tribes and we bound ourselves to the Unicorn, nothing to study but the old tales keep the names alive for the next. It is known.”

She does add, “So Lion and Dragon are strongest since they defeated Iuchi-ban.”