[D6, LM](Soyokaze's Forge) Charging Storm [Expecting]

[Asahina Soyokaze]

A way out

"You must be incredibly well traveled, have you visited all these place? I know the sands cannot be unending and I vaguely remember references to a vast city out there but you make it sound like there are entire kingdoms out there, that incredible." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, I do not say that I don't believe you, I'm just incredulous that I ever believed otherwise. The Moto came from beyond, the Yobanjin still live outside the empire I believe, that I would think that life would begin and end here. I suppose my real question is this, if there really is so much out there and you had the freedom to explore it why come here?"

[Moto Mitsuki]

"There very much are entire kingdoms on the other side of the sands. Stories even speak of other empires beyond the sea of the west, but that's a trip that I even had undergone yet.

The more you travel, the more you realize how big the world is and how little of it you know. And while I've had the chance to glimpse at a lot of places, the other side of the coin is that there are many I didn't get to explore as thoroughly as I wanted, duty always calling elsewhere too soon."

She smiled at his last remark:

"Ironically, there was a place I had heard a lot about since my birth, but had never seen with my own eyes, and was quite curious to discover too: The Emerald Empire.

I'm only half-joking here. This is the first time in my life east of the Spine of the World."

[Asahina Soyokaze]

"Well I am glad to have gotten to meet you, with the Scorpion and Lion between us we do not see may of our Unicorn friends in my family lands. How are you finding this event? It is not at all what I had expected."

[Moto Mitsuki]

"That... kind of sums it up yeah. I was expecting far more interviews, both with matchmakers and potential candidates. A strict and busy schedule from dawn to dusk until the perfect match is found.

In practice, I've never had such a relaxed schedule in my life, and instead of interviews the Deer have us go through the most unexpected challenges. Though, in retrospect, how pillar to post they seem might be related to the wide diversity of profiles here, each person having their own specialty asking to be tested. Go for the military officer, poetry for the artist, archery for the warrior, kemari for... Okay, I have no idea what this one was for.

I won't rule out that they have our crafting skills tested eventually. Maybe by asking of us to mend a broken cup or something as equally symbolic."

[Asahina Soyokaze]

"Kami bless me that there is such a test, it may allow me to make up for the poetry event. I expected the same thing as you, it's how the Crane matchmakers do things. The schedule is relaxed but I find this all far from relaxing, the Shika keep preaching to us about love but all the power is in their hands. At least everyone I have met here have been friendly and agreeable for the most part, yourself included."

He paused a moment to refill their tea.

"Forgive my curiosity but I have been asking this of everyone I've met. How do you feel about the prospects of leaving your clan and family for another? You've already said that you're well travelled but all that time you were a Unicorn no? Do you see settling down in one place under a new banner a future adventure or misfortune you hope to avoid?"

[Moto Mitsuki]

"I would say I approach it like I approach any upcoming battle. There's a chance it will turn for the very worst. There's a chance it will turn for the very best. I am to do everything I can to favor the last option: training, planning, on my feet thinking.

And when I've reached the point where there is just nothing I can do anymore to improve the odds, it's also my duty to relax and preserve my strength of body and mind in prevision of the decisive moment.

In doubt, a good prayer can also banish most of them."

[Asahina Soyokaze]

"I admire your warrior resolve and pragmatic mindset and I must admit I expected the idea of being tied to one spot would rankle a Unicorn more but this event has shattered many of my preconceived notions; though some have been reinforced. You were at the tea house the other day, you decoded the scroll we all got, would you by chance be a theologian? I understand the Moto have some, controversial beliefs though I lack the details. Are these additions to the celestial order or something separate?"

[Moto Mitsuki]

"Technically, I cheated my way in for this event: Since I was one of the organizers, I knew when and where it will take place without the need to divine it. Though, as long as the seer's answer is right, is it really important how they got it?

... Well, probably. But that's not the subject.

My actual experience with the forecasting arts is limited yet expanding. I have begun training under a Ujik seer on the side of my duties as a commander, and I'm slowly getting the hang of it. Slowly, because the schedule of a samurai is just too busy to fit a lot of out-of-curriculum training, and being always on the move means only seeing my teacher every so often. But slow progress is still progress and I'm learning.

And I would more described my own religious belief as expanded Fortunism. Myself, the Moto, and the Ujik before them, have always worshiped the Sovereigns of Death, the spirits of their glorious ancestors that watch over them.

But even if the details and the rituals vary a bit, these practices actually fit quite well within Rokugan cosmology. I'll let the scholars decide if the Sovereigns are from Yomi, Tengoku or elsewhere, but in practice, the Moto pray to them as the Lion pray to their ancestors and the Phoenix pray to the Fortunes."

She gave him an amused look:

"From your own presence at the seer event, and maybe some misunderstand with Kaito-sama, I actually thought you were a sort of priest yourself. The kind that craft sacred, 'evil-defeating' blades."

[Asahina Soyokaze]

Soyokaze gave a weak smile. "No, I lack the gift, but as the son of a shugenja lord and lady my religious schooling was extensive. I an a weaponsmith but i do not know the secrets of crafting Blessed Blades nor can I craft Fetishes but I promise you will be satisfied with the work on your shield and anything else you might brig me. In truth I was pure instinct that brought me to the tea house for your meeting but given the forces in play it must have been divine will that brought me the answer to your letter. But I am curious about your Lords of Death, how do they differ from Emma-O-no-kami? I gather by the name that there are more than one of them."

[Moto Mitsuki]

"Though one of them, Erlik the First Lord, is indeed associated with overseeing what happens to souls after death, and might or might not be an aspect of Emma-O, most of them are not really servants of death but instead serving beyond death. They're the ancestors of the Moto who lived lives so exceptional they were granted the chance to keep helping their descendants even after their last breath.

For example, the drawing on my shield is a symbolic representation of Jamsaran, a warrior who swore to protect travelers when he was still alive, and still continues to do so long after his death. He is a bit like our in-family Fortune of Travel if you will. I've actually lead a ceremony of thanks in his honor upon arriving here after a long but happily uneventful trip."

She gave a quick look at the items on display in the forge.

"Hey. Gift or not gift, the frontier between the mundane and the sacred is often quite thin, and the spirits might decide to bless a blade that was originally made without their help if they're impressed enough with it. Don't rule out that you'll made an evil-destroying blade one day.

Are you especially proficient at making spears out of curiosity? Since that seems to be the Deer's weapon of choice."