Overcast Your Doubts (D8 LE, Open)

[Jihen]

Jihen had made it a habit it seemed... to wander out beyond the city after the sun had gone down. To stare up at the heavens and wonder what it was they had in store for the people down here.

Today was a varied day... he could feel things moving around him and underneath him. His discussion with his master had unsettled him more than anything... But being unsettled was never the worst thing. Comfortability was often far more dangerous.

Even so, not understanding the pitfalls that waited for him, his master, and their temples was never a proper thing for a follower of Shinsei.

And so Jihen found himself once again... asking questions of the half covered sky. Attempting to glimpse the briefest glimmering stars among the emptiness of darkness around them. There was beauty in the world still... and surely the stars knew where it was. They could see so much from their place in the heavens.


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D8 Sky Divination, VP, 4 Raises | 10k8 ⇒ 73 (TN: 40)

[Fukurokujin]

The five-star constellation Jihen had marked before remains in place.

The sixth...something...is far more visible now, showing enough color to show as ruddy in the sky when the clouds allow.

[Jihen]

Jihen marveled at what this new heavenly image could possibly mean… It grew in brightness in a way that many of the stars did not.

It was apparent that the heavens were trying to communicate, but what would that serve if Jihen could not figure out what the message was…

He would need to figure it out as soon as he could. Ignoring the heavens never led to harmony…

[Yasuki Ryoichi]

A slim Crab samurai in a dark blue kimono was out in the hinterlands, gazing up at the stars that night. He looked puzzled by what he saw.

Seeing Jihen, he bowed in greeting. "Good evening, honored brother," he said. "What does it all mean?" The Crab looked up at the sky again.

"I can't make any sense of it."

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8LE Sky divination, +5 TN succession penalty, Divination/Intelligence TN20 | 3k2 ⇒ 10 (TN: 20) fails

[Jihen]

“What is it that you see?” He asks in response.

[Yasuki Ryoichi]

"It all seems in disorder," the Yasuki admitted vaguely, making a helpless gesture with his hands. "We need to find a way forward, to agree on a direction to go. But which direction, I'm not certain of. I was hoping the stars would reveal something."

[Jihen]

"What if everyone looking at the stars needs to travel a different course for us to get where we need to go? If there was a map that showed what every soldier on the field should take... that would be quite the mass of squiggles and ink would it not?" He replied.

"It must be hard for the heavens to have to communicate in a way that makes no sense... but still hope there are those who will seek to understand. Maybe it is in the external search that we open ourselves up to the answers that already lie within..."

He smiled, "I am called Jihen by the way..."

[Yasuki Ryoichi]

"Oh! I must apologize for my rudeness," the Crab said, turning to face Jihen and bowing politely. "I am called Yasuki Ryoichi."

"It seems like it would be better if there were a map that showed where every soldier should go," Ryoichi commented. "No cartographer could draw a map in such detail, of course. But it would surely help."

"I suppose it would be enough if the stars only told one soldier - myself - where to go." He sighed.

[Jihen]

"The stars are not the only guides in our lives. How do you normally know what to do?" He asked warmly.

[Yasuki Ryoichi]

"I try to use my best judgment when I can," Ryoichi said truthfully. "But I find that it often helps to consult the fortunes for advice - especially when the situation is as confusing as it is now."

[Jihen]

“Have ever you gotten an answer from a fortune?” He asked with a playful tone in his voice.

“I have not been so lucky myself.”

[Yasuki Ryoichi]

"Not directly, no," Ryoichi admitted. "But sometimes they make their intentions known, through horoscopes or stars or the way yarrow sticks fall in a particular way. Sometimes I've gotten really good advice that way. Sometimes, though, the signs seem meaningless."

"I'm not sure why that is," he said. "I suppose it's just my lack of skill at divination. I knew the Court Astrologer back in Kyuden Hida was much better at reading portents, but he has studied and worked at it for years."

[Jihen]

“What is a fortune, I wonder?” He asks.

“Do they make the sticks fall as they do… When one thinks of all the diviners all across the empire, it seems like a very busy job. Maybe that’s why there are so many minor ones.”

[Yasuki Ryoichi]

The Crab pondered this. "There must be local spirits that guide the fall of every stick," he suggested tentatively. "Just like a local spirit must help every leaf to fall from the tree in autumn."

"Is that right, honored brother?" Ryoichi asked, as if checking his answer on a test. "What do you think happens?"

[Jihen]

“I’m not sure to be honest. The Fortunes are probably very different from what we understand them to be. Describing who and what they are with our knowledge is sure to make all sorts of silly sense here and there.”

He thinks, “The elements I understand a bit more… You and I are made of them. We can feel them in our emotions and with our hands and feet. See them with our eyes. And since they are everywhere… even in us… I wonder if the answers we seek are often better sought inside. Those same elements that make up you and me also make up the Heavens and its inhabitants.”

He points to his chest, “I tend to find answers in here after looking to the sky. When I quiet my mind enough to hear what the things that connect me to those stars up there are saying.”

[Yasuki Ryoichi]

"Hmm-m," the Yasuki said, clearly giving Jihen's words some thought. "Perhaps I should give that a try. Life at Winter Court has been ... frantic, really. It feels like any idle moment is wasteful. Like I should be talking to someone, negotiating a deal, doing something every single moment of the day." Unconsciously, his fists clenched as he thought of the pressure.

"It doesn't leave much opportunity to quiet one's mind," Ryoichi reflected. "But maybe I need to make time for it."

[Jihen]

Jihen nodded, "It is good to focus on that which is your duty. The Little Teacher says: When you are doing one thing, be concerned with that one thing and nothing else. Distraction breeds disaster."

He adds, "But when those things are done... and you are left with a moment to think. Be concerned with that one thing to the same degree you would treat your duties."

[Yasuki Ryoichi]

Ryoichi nodded thoughtfully. "Thank you for the good advice, honored brother. I shall keep it in mind, and try to make more time for quiet reflection." He bowed.

[Jihen]

“If you ever need help in that effort… or any other matter during your stay here. Do not hesitate to call upon me.” He bowed deeply to the samurai.