Of Past And Future (D9, EA)

[Shinsei]

"So, it is possible, by your admission, that you were simply underestimated by a kami, who did not wish you death, because you challenged her to a fool's errand over a matter of pride?" Shinsei didn't sound particularly venomous as he spoke, but his choice of words did speak to his respect for Shinjo, and displeasure at having her spoken lightly of.

[Seidou Satone]

Satone looks sternly at Shinsei.

"I have never met you before, so I do not wish to misunderstand you, but you should be careful of insulting the ways of those who raised me."

[Shinsei]

"Now, perhaps, you know how I feel when someone walks in here and speaks so lowly of one I consider a friend." Shinsei's tone was no less stern than Satone's. "You come into my presence asking for guidance, yet the first act you take upon my words is to correct me. Your second act upon hearing my opinion is to correct me further. What guidance could I offer to a woman who would not bend even before the Kami?"

[Seidou Satone]

"I did not insult her, but it seems you have it set in your heart to be in opposition to me regardless of what I say. Perhaps you are not such a great teacher as I have been told. "

[Togashi Saruko]

"Satone," Saruko interjected gently, keeping a respectful tone for both her and Shinsei.

"No one is saying or thinking that you are insincere or mocking your ways. As for what happened, we know that Shinjo did not knock you out in one blow, as you requested of her. We offer possibilities of why that might be, as we know of Shinjo's compassion, and no one had declared that the Kami were all-powerful... but I would also like to point out that it is possible that you are uniquely blessed in your sturdiness. It's possible that the Kami are divine and children of Sun and Moon, and for you to be remarkably tough. One doesn't need to disprove the other."

"Perhaps you have achieved a true pinnacle of human capability and talent."

[Seidou Satone]

"Perhaps there has been a big misunderstanding then. When people have called them Gods, to me that means all powerful, creators of life and all we know."

At the second suggestion, Satone shakes her head.

"I am no more blessed than Haruyo, we share similar strength of stamina. I highly doubt either of us are pinnacles of humanity. "

She looks back to Shinsei.

"I came here to seek guidance, to understand why no others share my concerns, why all think my challenge to be foolish and arrogant, when to me it proved that the Kami are not all powerful and should be looked at with skepticism instead of blind followership, and why it seems everyone can only see good in the future but I see more of the same I have seen or heard of time and time again. Conquerors taking over and destroying what we all hold dear and close to our hearts. Traditions being stamped out. Spirituality deemed improper and punished. The will of one, or in this case, eight, being forced on the unwilling because they are powerless to stop it. "

She takes on a pleading expression.

"My charge, Haruyo, has taken the role of spiritual leader for the remnants of the Seidou, and I cannot bow down or live in a world where she is suddenly told she is wrong and that her spirits are leading us astray. That her guidance is improper. Because from what I have seen, that is not true at all, and if not for her and her ways, many times over we would have suffered greatly. She teaches important things like acceptance of outsiders, of unity, of equality. She tells that slavery is wrong, and guides those who can speak with spirits on how to properly use their talents..."

[Shinsei]

Shinsei folded his hands into his lap, and his expression became much softer than it had been before. "Forgive my prior harshness then Satone, but I must express that there is a reason why others refer to your act as foolish. Most notably, it is because you asked someone to hit you in the head with a hammer. It matters not who you asked, many will struggle to understand why you chose that specific challenge instead of something less...risky."

He lifted an arm and gestured at Saruko. "Your concerns demonstrate many things, among them the lack of knowledge shared among the tribes about what it is the Kami represent. Shirayuki has just come to me to speak on an idea for a place of learning open to all, and I now see the need for it is far greater than I expected." He paused, sighing softly. "To many, the knowledge that the Kami are fallible has been well known since the day they fell. I have known this for a time myself, and when I discovered this I sought to teach them about mortals, for my concerns about conquerors mirrored your own."

Shinsei sat up straighter. "I am also fallible, for I am merely a man, but I can tell you what I discovered about these gods: your concerns are not completely without base. Some of them are conquerors, and would see our ways changed in favor of theirs, but not all of them are so arrogant. I actually happen to like Shinjo. But the one who stood at the top of the tournament, who many now call Emperor? I like him the best. Shiba has proven uniquely willing to bend to the will of mortals, and will not carelessly throw away the things that they hold dear."

[Seidou Satone]

"I do not mean to antagonize you, but a small point of correction. I did not ask them to strike me dead, I asked them to knock me out in a single blow, a test that no one has ever been able to do. In any case, I have not had any chance to meet or speak with Shiba, so I would be glad to hear more of his wishes. "

"For what I have seen from the others however, Shinjo excluded because she only took up my challenge and then walked away without revealing her intentions fully, it does not give me hope. Specifically, one I am incredibly offended by is what I have learned of the Crane, who wish to change the way we speak, the way we conduct our affairs, and even how we render judgement on the guilty."

" Did you know that according to a man named Sora, the husband of Doji; Nanzi, is attempting to have all legal matters be decided by who can swing their sword faster? All the Kami I have spoken with seem to agree with this method as well, which is partly why I issued my own challenge. If they think that one who swings their sword faster is blessed by the heavens to be the one who is in the right, I saw no difference in my challenge of asking them to knock me out in a single blow. Both seem quite the folly, no?"

Satone sighs.

"I know I am antagonistic in this. I know I come off as stubborn and brutish, but I have very good reason to do so. How can I follow someone when I am afraid that they will erase all I believe in? No one has been able to comfort me in this manner. If I could have some sort of promise that my way of life, and the way of life Haruyo is teaching people, would be preserved, I would be much more willing to follow. Unity between people of all tribes is something I would dream of seeing fulfilled. Pointless aggression against each other only inhibits us. But, just because the Seidou believe in tattooing one after certain deeds does not mean that all should have to do so, and if another tribe deems tattoos reprehensible should not mean the Seidou need to give them up. We can be in unity but still have disagreements and different customs, ideologies, and religious practices, no? As I have shown outwardly thus far, I do not put my faith in the Kami, but yet I am still here to conduct a dangerous mission to save one of them because I believe that it is something right to do."

"These are things I need guidance on. Please share your wisdom here and help me reach a conclusion that can benefit all."

[Togashi Saruko]

Whatever Saruko wanted to say, she remained silent, as it wouldn't help if it felt like Satone was being ganged up on.

[Shinsei]

"There is a certain distinction between standing in the path of a hammer and testing one's will against another with a display of the blade. For one whose belief is steeped in one method, they would likely fail to see the comparison as you do, so the demonstration you chose may not have had the impression you intended on the minds of the Kami present with us."

Shinsei frowned deeply. "I know the one of whom you speak, and I have my issues with him as well. Take your pick, honestly, for they are numerous, but the adjudication of the duel is one that appeals to him for a very distinct reason; it is the sole summary of the conqueror's way, and Nanzi is the epitome of the definition. Allow me to express what the duel represents in clear terms, and perhaps you will come to understand the dichotomy of my opinion towards it. I both respect and revile it, to a degree."

He inhaled deeply, needing to take his time to explain his understanding of heaven's chosen rite of law. "Dueling is, at its most fundamental level, the conqueror's way, in total summary. Any person, mortal or otherwise, who believes themself correct will fight to uphold their belief, as you have in your own way already. Some of them, however, will fight to force others to think as they do, and they will fight back. Lives are lost in the altercation, the sheer devastation of war wrought by those believing their way to be best, and no resolution is reached until one way is crushed beneath the other." He lifted one hand, palm up. "Thus the duel. A war of wills, in summary. Blood shed before ideals, requiring neither the loss of life nor the devastation of total war, save the most extreme of circumstances. On one hand, I respect the idea it represents in preserving the lives of those who stand to either side of their representatives. On the other, I can see it as nothing more than an elegant display of an ugly fact of life, and a tool of suppression. I find it unlikely that it will not, in some fashion, be brougt into this empire as it grows, but the scope of its influence may yet be tempered."

Shinsei let his words stand in silence for a time. "I will offer what guidance I can, but I cannot provide succor you need to cure your ails about the future. That power lies with Shiba, far to the North of us, for he has the insight to listen to your words, and the might to back behind them or stomp them out. I am but one man, and while he may regard my council, it is your words which will impact him the most. But, take some faith that he is not so cold and calloused as you might fear. We march south into danger to save his sibling at his behest, not by imperial decree. The man who would call himself Emperor asked for volunteers to aid him in an act of compassion and mercy. He is no inhuman monster seeking only power and to see his way above all others. If you speak, he will listen."

[Seidou Satone]

"Your explanation of the duel makes sense, though I still am unclear on how it represents a divine righteousness to the one who wins. My challenge is not a custom of my people, it is simply something I have developed over the years as a test for people to determine their strength. I make no claims though that if I win that I am divinely right in the challenge, simply that the looser of the challenge is not as strong as they say."

"Would not a duel with swords always give outcome to those who have a fair amount of training in the manner? I have never wielded a sword, and while I understand the basics of all weapons as a good smith should, I make no claims that I could beat anyone if they spent as much time honing their craft as I have with my hammer. Would this not then lead to any who do not spend the appropriate devotion to the training woefully inadequate to represent themselves in the duel?"

"It is good to know that the information I was told by Sora is not yet something official and only an attempt to be made the way, but even the fact that it is being proposed and winning favor has me concerned."

"As far as this new Emperor, Shiba is concerned, it seems unlikely I would be able to gain his audience having not bowed to him. I feel as if I must make a choice, and soon, on either swearing to one of these Kami, or forever be silenced. Is there not room for tribes to continue on without being part of a clan? Or is my assumption that any who do not fall under them will be eventually forced out? I met a man named Jin who said he now rules a 'family' that he is able to set their ways, is that not a path available to me? Or could I establish my own clan?"

[Togashi Saruko]

Saruko wasn't sure how someone would be able to form one of these Families in a Kami's clan if one didn't want to follow a Kami, or only chose to do so out of nescessity rather than interest. Though, she figured that was a question better left to the Kami themselves, and not her.

"Even if you haven't bent the knee to Shiba-Kami, it doesn't mean he'll nescessarily turn you away. He is a kind and compassionate soul, it's possible he would hear you out."

[Shinsei]

"That is not my place to say. The empire as it grows may not itself fit well with the lifestyles of tribesmen, but it may not try to oppress them either. I cannot think of any Kami who would take on a family that marks themselves by challenging their authority and strength. As for starting a clan..." Shinsei paused to think about that idea more fully. "Ultimately the choice in that direction lies with Shiba. I do not know for sure where he would stand on such an idea."

[Seidou Satone]

"I see. "

Satone sighs, frustrated.

"It seems my best chance of getting answers is to seek Shiba out. Until then, what would you suggest I can do to repair how the Kami here think of me?"

[Togashi Saruko]

"Well," she shrugged, "If you feel that you have done them wrong, an apology is always a good start." Saruko kept it rather simple in the advice.

[Shinsei]

Shinsei nodded towards Saruko. "That is sound, the Kami will not idly overlook an apology freely given." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Satone. Is there a custom among the Seidou for offering apology?"

[Seidou Satone]

"None in particular. Though, while I feel...bad?...that they may not want anything to do with me, I still feel my challenge was appropriate and not wrong. I understand better I could have possibly gone about it a different way, however"

[Togashi Saruko]

"Perhaps consider it a practice of the harmony and unity you wish for? In order to achieve such, we must sometimes let go of the feeling of needing to be right, or proving others wrong," Saruko suggested.

[Shinsei]

Shinsei nodded towards Saruko. "Perhaps something to increase understanding of each other, then? The Kami enjoy ceremony and exchanging of gifts as part of their customs. Perhaps you could find something unique to the Seidou that you could educate them on, and in exchange agree to listen to one of their customs in return? This may help to bridge any gaps which were created between you."

[Seidou Satone]

"Hmmm."

She thinks for a few moments.

"While I do not wear any because I feel I have not earned them, our tribe has a custom of permanently drawing on ones skin through piercing the skin with ink, to commemorate great deeds."