Living on a Prairie (D2-EE, Seppun Hideo)

[Iuchi Batul]

The hair spread across the sky as Lady Amaterasu disappeared into the horizon for the Day. Iuchi Batul bid her farewell from the Temple of the Emerald Champion praying for a new bright day after the approaching darkness. The darkness, it was something she had even touched not that long ago, and giving thanks to the Great One for her daily blessings had a new meaning for the samurai-ko.

[Seppun Hideo]

Hideo, despite being a priest, was not a man who seeks out every alter immediately after arriving. However this was no normal shrine, and he mentally scolded himself for arriving later than he had.

As he approached, he noticed another had already arrived, and paused. He didn't wish to interrupt the womans prayers, yet he noticed the more unusual clothes for a Unicorn woman - Rokugani silks!

A woman that has embraced her return?

He offered a bow as he drew closer but didn't disturb the womans prayers

[Iuchi Batul]

Batul finished her prayer, saluting the sun with a mixed ritual between the archaic rokugani and the learned ways of the desert, with an hymn of strange words that not even she knew the meaning of. The samurai-ko bowed to the shrine and turned to the door. Unexpectedly a samurai awaited there. The samurai-ko could not avoid a small jump of surprise.

"Samurai-sama!" She shrieked, "I had not been exbecting you there." She bowed as she remembered the greeting way of the Empire. "I am sorry for delaying your brayers. I hobe you did not wait long."

[Seppun Hideo]

The womans accent had made her harder to understand in her surprise, but he managed to understand it enough to know what she was saying. He gave the woman a smile.

"Please do not worry...Iuchi-sama?" He tested his knowledge of Unicorn mons "I have not been waiting long, and I would not wish to interrupt your prayers. My name is Seppun Hideo, priest of the Imperial Families. I hope you are well?"

He gave her another bow now she knew he was there.

"Forgive me if I am too forward in saying this, but your prayer ritual is very unique. Is it one that has returned with you from your time outside our Empire?"

[Iuchi Batul]

The samurai-ko saw the mon on the samurai, it could only belong to the Imperial families, that symbol she knew well. Now that was a hard name for her to pronounce, she noticed as he presented himself. "I am Iuchi Batul, Se... Sebbun Hideo-sama." At least the name was easy, it was the family name she struggled with. "Briestess of the Unicorn clan, guardian of the knowledge of the Kami and the Seven." She related to the Sons and Daughters, and to the Seven Fortunes, the only ones the clan had known, other than the ancient unnamed fortunes. "I am well, as I hobe you have been too. If Sebbun Hideo-sama needs anything of this humble host, he need only ask."

The Unicorn reached the Imperial with small, flowing steps. "We, the Iuchi, have learned much of the rituals to the Sun Goddess from the Sands. There the Divine One is strong, a watchful eye to those who are not her descendants, us. Their rituals we added to our own out of resbect, and till today we continue to berform. I would be interested to see the original ritual."

[Seppun Hideo]

Hideo noted the letter she was struggling with, and it helped with understanding her speech. Her voice and movements made for good company even if she struggled with the words though, so he smiled.

"It is an honour to meet Iuchi Batul-san" he replied, a curious look "so you are a priestess? I had heard rumour that the Unicorn did indeed have those who could commune with the kami, but I had yet to meet any. Unsurprising that such a meet would happen at the shrines, neh?" He chuckled, before nodding "so Amaterasu's light carried far beyond the borders of the Empire? I should not be surprised, and it is wonderful that the Unicorn were able to revere her outside the Lands of Rokugan like we do here. I don't suppose you have met with any of the Centipede clan yet? The Moshi family revere Amaterasu more than any other family, they would likely be the originators of the ritual. My prayers and respects are much simpler, I do not have the grace and poise that Iuchi-san carries in her movements sadly."

[Iuchi Batul]

"I would hobe there is much more to a briest than to commune with the kami, Sebbun-sama." The Iuchi seemed a bit offended by the words of the Seppun, but it was mainly because of the inability of speaking to the kami, though this was something the Unicorn had not shared with the Empire yet. Was she being belittled because of the ability to talk to the kami? "Does not a briest care for the soul of the clan?"

The samurai-ko took a deep breath, her tone, which had been slightly raised, turned back to its normal calm way. "Over the mountain She is known in another way. We know her as mother, giver of life and love, yet they see her as a vengeful goddess. I would think the... Centibede?" She asked as she did not recognize such clan, "to be interested in knowing this. The Unicorn braises were dedicated to the mother, who not only brotects, cares and cherishes her children, but also the mother who scolds them when their behavior is not reasonable. These rituals of the gaijin asked for her forgiveness if they had done wrong, and is what we added to our archaic rituals born from Isawa Tribe."

[Seppun Hideo]

Hideo frowned. "Forgive me if there is some misunderstand Iuchi-san. There is more to being a priest, hai, but in the terminology of Rokugan a priest is considered to be someone who is able to bless and protect the soul of the samurai as well as the clan. It is the term usually used for shugenja" he bowed to the girl, not liking her term but giving her the benefit of the doubt "so when you said you were a priest, I assumed you were also a shugenja. If this is not the case, I did not mean to offend you."

He decided to address the rituals once the offense was cleared up.

[Iuchi Batul]

"It is okay, Sebbun Hideo-sama, I can do magical invocations to bless and brotect the soul and bodies of the samurai of my clan. That I learned brior to my gempukku." She was on easier terms, it had been something not on her control to jump so easily, but the day events had gotten Batul on edge. She breathed slowly to catch her temper and mellow it down. "As a briest, I also berform the rituals for the clan, like births, marriages, funerals, blessings of new horses... " She could recall most of her common duties as a priest. The Unicorn had not had monks among them, so it was all on the priests to perform the daily rituals. "Same with the rituals to the Fortunes and the ancestors, we Iuchi did them. Like I said, there is much more to being a briest than calling magic."

[Seppun Hideo]

"I am fully aware that there is more to being a priest than calling magic Iuchi-san" Hideo said in a polite tone, his expression neutral even though he was annoyed by the child lecturing him "thank you for the clarification that the duties of the Unicorn priests do match up with the duties of the empire. Although we do not usually deal with blessing horses, or at least the Imperial priests don't."

He took a moment to calm himself, before speaking again.

"However, while I accept and acknowledge a priest is more than a magic user, I am still curious about your magic."

[Iuchi Batul]

"Well for Unicorn, the horses are brothers and sisters, so they are to be blessed as well, on birth and after they have filled their duty, same as would a katana and a daisho be blessed, neh?" She considered that to be the most similar ritual related to the blessing of the horses. No Unicorn would ride a horse that wasn't blessed by the priests.

"As for our magic, it is a magical mixture of the way of Embire and way of Sands. We make creations that allow to use magic with a small call to the power inside them." Batul deemed not reveal more, since it would tell about the secrets of the clan, and of their ways. That she knew she could not tell, even her speech implied that she was not aware if she could reveal as much, but then again it was an Imperial samurai, he could not wish misfortune to the samurai-ko. Anyway this was something that they would had probably seen the Unicorn use before, as even Batul had used her magic in one or two occasions before a samurai.

[Seppun Hideo]

"The importance of the horses to the Unicorn is something I had heard" Hideo nodded, happy to have moved on from the lectures, more interested in the discussion on the magic "and forgive me but...creations? You mean jewellery or something else? Might I enquire as to how they are enchanted to allow spells to be called from them?"

[Iuchi Batul]

The samurai-ko took one of her meishodo from her bag, it was a shiny amber gem of many angles that hung from a cord. "This is one amulet of Meishodo" She informed the Seppun. "I made it this morning. The brocess is something we swear not to reveal, for is secret of Iuchi family. Lady Shinjo no kami told us to keeb it among us alone."

The samurai-ko focused on the amulet for a mere instant, and instantaneously a cubic meter of earth emerged on her hand starting from a spec and growing quickly to its full size. "I can show you effects."

[Seppun Hideo]

"I would not ask you to reveal clan secrets Iuchi-san, you need not concern yourself regarding that" Hideo assured her with a polite smile as she cast magic in front of him "although if I may offer you some advice, I would not openly perform magic around or in the direction of other samurai, as I'm sure you know."

He paused to consider his next question as he examined the gem.

"I will not ask you how it is created, however may I enquire if you have ever found it...more difficult to call upon the magic within the Empire since you have returned?"

[Iuchi Batul]

"I thank you for your honesty Sebbun-sama." She added not knowing what else to say. After all magic was something normal in the Empire, from what she had heard, so it shouldn't be shunned upon for her to use it, as long as it was not in an aggressive manner.

"My amulets berform the magic in the same manor as always, Sebbun-sama. Should it not work the same way?" The samurai-ko could grasp some preoccupation on the Imperial, although she wasn't sure if it was because of the source of the magic of the Iuchi, or for some other cause.