Offering to the Fire (D2, EM)

[Seppun Hitako]

Seppun Hitako, thankful to the Fire kami for their help guiding her ancestors to her the evening before, and finally feeling a bit better, headed out to the shrine. She came close, bowed, and said a prayer, then carefully hunted along the bottom edge, till she found a single grass that was leaning against the Torii Arch. Pulling the stem, she carefully carried it to the brazier she had brought with her. She again prayed to the kami, and brought the seal to mind, to manipulate it to bring forth a small globe of fire, which she placed in the brazier, to light the coals in it. Once it was lit, she carefully offered the single grass stem, to propitiate the kami, and hopefully also her little smokeless fire companion.

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

Some moments later another figure waded to what remained of the ancient shrine. The newcomer was clad in a purple grey robe woven from fine wool and carried a number of trinkets and charms hanging from his belt. His long, dark hair was tied on a pony tail that ebbed in the gentle morning wind.

"Good morning, samurai-san." Dong-Ha greeted the woman as he waded within walking distance.

[Seppun Hitako]

The shugenja rose from kneeling in front of the brazier, then her eyes lit up. She bowed, the demure Imperial maiden. "Lady Sun's blessing on you this day. I am Seppun Hitako, Jade Sahir. Have you had rice this day?"

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"No, I have not, Seppun-sama." Dong-ha bowed to the woman, trying to make his bow deeper than hers. It seemed that he had rudimentary understanding of the etiquette even if he wasn't familiar with all the common phrases. "We tend to break our fast with milk and cheese anyway." he added with a sheepish smile before turning to glance towards east and the raising sun on the cloudless sky. "Lady sun seems to be bless us indeed. The day will be warm."

"I am Iuchi Dong-Ha, son of Iuchi Dong-Suk, practioner of meishodo and healer in training." A short introduction followed. "What's a Zade Sahir?" The second word sounded oddly familiar...

[Seppun Hitako]

She waited till he turned away, then shivered at the reminder of the milk that had been served the night before.

"Ah, Jade is a sacred substance, which is made of all of the elements, and so can affect that which is impure, that which is - wrong on a fundamental level. The Jade Champion is the Highest ranking shugenja-magistrate, tasked with maintaining the purity of the Empire from those who would call on that which is... impure. The current Jade Champion, my master, is a man named Fairuz, who's ancestors were from the Burning Sands. He calls himself, and those of his students, like myself, Sahirs, after the ones from there that can manipulate a, a Seal, a sort of metaphysical image, to call upon the kami. If I might ask in return, what is meishodo? Is that like an herbalist, to assist in your healing training?"

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Ah, hai... Matsu Yurio-san told me of Jade Champion." he nodded briefly. "Ah, Fairuz. He also mentioned your kind and your master." Dong-Ha moved a hand to rub one of his stones. He didn't know what he had done to get this lucky, but wanted to make sure that his luck persisted. "Seals?" His eyes were brimming with curiosity. "How do they work?"

"Ah, no. Meishodo is the way of the names of creation." He corrected her, keeping his tone polite. "We call upon the power ancient words, uttered at the moment of very creation to command the elements. Iuchi-Shiryo gleamed this power from the City of Sorcerers to give us power... when we had none. For there are no kami beyond the lands of the Empire. Or so the legends tell us." Dong-Ha paused for a moment to fish out one of his amulets. Carved from limestone and hanging from a string of leather, the smooth stone had been inscribed with esoteric runes. "The charms are merely means to and end, containing the power of the words. Wherever we go, the power comes with us."

[Seppun Hitako]

Hitako leaned a bit closer to examine the gem. "Interesting. Very interesting. Does it power a call to the kami, or are the kami contained within?"

Looking up, "Oh, he called it, um, the Seal of Hakhim, I think. At least, the one we use."

Then, blinking. "City of the Sorcerers? A whole city of magic users? Are they any potential threat to the empire?"

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"As far as we know, no kami are contained within. The legends note that the original amulets indeed trapped kami within them, but Iuchi Tsubei-shiryo, Iuchi-shuryo's greatest student refined the gaijin magics in such a manner that no kami are imprisoned within." He explained slowly, placing emphasis on the fact that the Unicorn had adapted the magic into something that Iuchi himself could accept. "And as far as we know, the words inscribed on the amulet command the elements themselves, for nothing can resists the words of creation. In a way, we are reshaping the universe..."

"The City of Sorcerers, or Laramun as they call it in dahabi only comes up in the stories regarding Iuchi-shiryo and the past of Ki-Rin... and according to some of the stories, the Otaku family was enslaved within the city for almost five decades. Though if you want to know more about that, you might need to find an Otaku to talk with. Whether the city still exists or not, I do not know. I've never heard of anyone heading there... or hailing from there." Understandably Unicorn wanted to about the city.

"And how does this seal work?"

[Seppun Hitako]

Hitako nods as she listens to his descriptions. "Otaku? Otaku? What is the difference? Otaku I have heard of - she was one of the 7 Thunders. Who was Otaku?"

"It is, hmm. How to describe it. Well, here's what I was told, as I was told it. 'The seal is one the Divine ones created to bind and release. We, with our more limited understanding of reality may use only the smallest part of it's powers, but even that is most useful. Small alterations to it may have small effects, or large effects.' Or so he said."

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Ah, you speak Mekhem. Alem Saleikum friend." Dong-Ha laughed, his tone friendly. Manners and social conventions came with the language and so the Imperial had become a friend as the Dahabi called everyone friends. Well, besides the people they were trying to kill, but that was besides the point. "Otaku.. please pardon my pronunciation.*" Young Unicorn waved his hand to dismiss the issue.

"So, Fairuz himself is has more power then? " His eyebrow rose ever so slightly.
"Though... you make it sound a little bit like our meishodo. Could you show me how it works? "

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OOC: * and player being more used to Rokugan of 12th and 32nd centuries.

[Seppun Hitako]

"A simple demonstration, I suppose." She images the Seal in her mind, raising her hands to manipulate it carefully, for a moment as she murmurs the prayer to the fire kami. As she finishes, a ball of fire appears above the brazier, then falls into it, bringing the coals within to a blaze.

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"I see. You don't need a scroll... or you have memorized the words?" he asked, still curious about her magics. "I was under the expression that Rokugani priests inscribe their spells on paper..."

[Seppun Hitako]

"Yes, most are, hai. This is what we use the Seal for. It takes as long, sometimes longer, and isn't as strong, but it works."

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"And this seal is more a mental image?" Dong-Ha's eyes narrowed. "It reminds me a bit of the magic of the Dahabi.. but then again, they are called sahir.." Chances were that was not a coincidence. "I would be curious to meet your esteemed lord, though that is probably impossible... " Someone that important had to be busy with more important things.

[Seppun Hitako]

"Looking for training under him? He is a very busy man, yes. Very much so. It is not impossible, just unlikely. One way would be to find out where he will attend Winter Court, and get an invitation there yourself. Another would be to join the Jade Magistrates, working your way up. Or, just get very lucky. Oh, or as I first joked, train under him."