Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark (D2, LE, Closed)

[Otaku Chi-Pu]

"This is true! It was a good fight for all. And we showed this Oni that the Unicorn are not to be taken lightly either. "

[Asako Hirase]

"Heard and remembered." It was a solemn enough promise, coming from one of his training. "I do not mind teaching, as it happens, so if that is of more use to you, feel free to ask what you will. My knowledge is, as a teacher once put it, a league wide and a few feet in depth. If I do not know what you seek, I should at least be able to direct you to someone who will know an answer. Of course, I would not have it one-sided...there is so much that you and yours have seen that I would love to learn."

[Moto Khulun]

"Where do these oni come form?" she asks.

[Asako Hirase]

"Some are created by Jigoku itself, it is said. The Realm is jealous of other realms and eager to add to itself and so it is also said that Jigoku steal spirits from Gaki-Do and from Yume-Do to embody and inflict upon the world.If what you fought is such a creature, child of two realms, it might have found a crossing point from it's less malevolent Realm."

Vaguely, he gestured toward the distant Shinomen.

"During the War against the Naga, it is said that the whole of the army slipped briefly through such a portal into the Realm of Animals. They are not always easily seen, so it may be that one is, or was, here."

[Otaku Chi-Pu]

"The sand!"

Chi-Pu exclaims

"None must touch it then, if it is a portal!"

[Moto Khulun]

She frowns and says, "Why do none talk of this?"

[Asako Hirase]

"Sand...yes. That is certainly not native. It might be a cause, or something the creature brought with it. It should certainly be cleansed carefully either way."

Curious, he asked, "Is that a skill that your priests retained? Or, perhaps, improved? I am certain there were dark evils in the Realms beyond ours that would need to be put down, after all, and I am not so vain as to think that there are no other clever peoples than our own who might have put a different view on an old problem."

At Khulan's words, he frowned, then said, finally, "As I said before, the knowledge is dangerous. Perhaps it is easiest to explain it the way the Kuni do. 'If one looks into the darkness, at times the darkness looks back.' Jigoku, as I said, is an active evil. Those that study it can, if they are not careful, slip to it's grip. For many, willful ignorance is a defense."

Then, because he was an honest man, he added, "Too, I think many simply hope that if they ignore the problem it will go away. Or, rather, that such matters are the Duty of others than themselves and so such unpleasantness need not sully their ears. "

[Otaku Chi-Pu]

"Our Iuchi have many rites they can perform. And someone said something this morning about the Fairuz? Or Jade Magistrates? Perhaps they could?"

Chi-Pu places a hand to her forehead and sighs

"There is so much we do not know and so much we cannot say. It is a frustrating thing."

[Moto Khulun]

“We should crush evil under our hooves,” she says with a frown.

“Empire create great army find source of evil and kill it. Then none fear darkness.”

[Asako Hirase]

"Ah, yes, the Fairuz." Hirase frowned a bit. "They are...a strange situation. But, yes, they might be of assistance."

Looking back to Khulun, he said, softly,

"It has been tried. Many times. As it stands, the Empire sent many of its best and brightest to reclaim a castle of the Crab lost and it took the lives of most of them. Fully two thirds who went on the mission did not survive it. There is a famous tale from a few centuries ago wherein a mighty warrior of the Lion, Daimyo of his Family and Lord of the Lion as a whole, tried to go and close the Pit. It nearly lead the Crab and Lion to war. It took the act of the Champion of the Crab to return him and both men died upon return to the Empire proper. They did not come even close to success."

[Otaku Chi-Pu]

"Nearly all of the Otaku were enslaved in the City of Sorcerers, For nearly 5 decades my sisters were slaves until a wise plan to infiltrate the City as concubines was developed. My beautiful sisters manipulated the immortal sorcerers to infighting and the Otaku were freed, as well as our mystical steeds."

She looks to the Asako

"Sometimes, a new way of thinking is all that is needed to defeat an enemy."

[Asako Hirase]

"A bold and worthy plan. To risk the dishonor for their kin is admirable." He nodded to Chi-Pu, remembering this was to be a story they had meant to share but guessing this might not be the time. "And you are right. Perhaps there is something that you learned in your travels that can be used to turn the tide."

Turning back to Khlan, he said, "If you are in earnest about wanting to fight the armies of the Lost Brother, you should seek out a Crab for your mate. That desire, to utterly defeat the Enemy, is as deeply ingrained in them as love of horses seems to be in your people. Even if you do not wish to wed into the Clan, you might befriend them and bring up the idea later. Once you have grown in your career, perhaps joint maneuvers may be possible. There is a Family of the Crane who has such an arrangement with the Crab...the Moto may be able to forge a similar bond."

[Moto Khulun]

"Wise words, I will consider it," she replies.

[Otaku Chi-Pu]

"These are all things we can do in the future, yet nothing we can do in the now."

Chi-Pu looks slightly defeated.

"Perhaps my blood is still charged form the fight and I need to just relax. Moto-san, are there other questions you might have? I cannot think of anymore. Maybe we do something fun now?"

[Moto Khulun]

"We will find the path, Otaku-nikutai. For now we celebrate victory," she says tossing the Phoenix a skin of kumis.