Closing the Wound [D15, EM]

[Shoji Haka]

Haka was among the crowd, waiting patiently for things to begin.

[Doji Kaze]

Kaze sat nearest to Nanzi. He meant to understand what was coming.

[Seppun Dawei]

Kaze sat nearest to Nanzi. He meant to understand what was coming.

Dawei gives him the briefest smile, the barest nod, and maintains his attention on the room.

I am glad he is here. And I shall have to speak to Kinsen about him.

[Nanzi]

Kaze sat nearest to Nanzi. He meant to understand what was coming.

Nanzi gave a nod to Kaze, it was good to have him there. He gave a friendly smile to Dawei as well.

[Doji Kaze]

Kaze returns the greetings from those nearest his heart on this journey, and if he favors Dawei with a smile, it is still well within the bounds of etiquette.

[Canary]

[Any who come in after can assume that they were already here and heard this]

The black-furred rat opened its eyes and handed the stick off to its companion. It rose and stepped forward, bowing in the more human tradition and touching jade despite being immune to the taint for the sake of their peace of mind - it had apparently heard of their shapeshifting enemies.

"Thank you all for being her today. I am Shaman St'tchrik. My companion is Shaman Matt. I studied that memory stick to give me a better understanding of your language because we're here to discuss what is entailed in our ritual to close the portal at the center of the Crater. Because of its delicate nature, we thought that any kind of misunderstanding would best be avoided."

She took a breath before continuing. "First, from what I understand from discussion with the Kami here and Shinsei, there will be a few people of strong mind and heart descending into the Realm of Evil inside a shield. They will be in position to explain what's going on to Fu Leng and get his approval before we act, but they must not explain it until Fu Leng is also inside with them. Given that this will take place tomorrow, alternatively, Reiko-sama may explain if her dreams take her to him."

"The underlying idea of this ritual is that a great force of Tengoku's power was what opened the rift between these two realms without the intention of the holder of that power. Thus, we must reflect this event in reverse to close the hole - the same being's force, not controlled by that being, must be used to close it. This is one of the reasons that we must alter his name to accomplish this. The other is that the Mortal Realm asserts itself on a being very quickly - as soon as he enters, the infusion of Tengoku will begin to fade from him because it is part of his divinity. He is an 'immortal entity' which must be 'made mortal' from the Realm's perspective. The power won't fade easily once taken because it will no longer be part of a particular entity which the realm can infect."

"So, we will alter his name slightly to remove the infusion of Tengoku from it, taking care not to alter anything else. There might be a risk of less skilled Shaman accidentally getting peripheral things associated with the infusion - memories of his time as a god and whatnot - but we are... Well, frankly, very old for Brave-Warriros-who-Remember. We have been doing this a very long time. We are aware of the pitfalls; there will be no errors."

"However, while we can affect Names and the nature of things, we can't easily affect what we would need to to close the pit - the remaining pure elemental kami in the area. That's where your shugenja will come in. We will infuse the essence of Tengoku into the remaining pure kami with Name magic, and your shugenja will communicate with them to guide them to close the pit. You will need one person each capable of manipulating each element to do this."

[Jin]

That... was much smoother than I anticipated.

Jin smiles and nods at the nezumi's words, "It will not be an easy task but it can be done... it must be done. I am willing to stand for the element of Water."

[Hanzou]

The archer looked around. He wasn't aware of everyone's specialties, but those he was familiar with seemed skilled with water, like himself, or earth. The fire spirits did not speak with him. Hopefully there were others who could fill that role.

"Depending on what is necessary, I could steeest stand for Air." he stepped forward.

[Shoji Haka]

Haka's frown only deepened as the Nezumi started talking about name magic.

"This one would remind everyone that speaking names in the company of the named will only invite the presence of malignant spirits," she says, her tone somewhat frustrated.

"This one also has doubts as to this plan. The fallen ones have powerful names, and if this one still has some measure of divinity to it, then its name is even more powerful still. Even if it is given a different name, many terrible things in this land have learned of its previous name and that gives them power. This one does not believe that simply changing its name will be enough; in Shoji lands, that works on ghosts only so long as they have not become focused upon the named. If Haka were to simply change her name now, it would not dissuade her companion."

She shakes her head. "This one believes that the portion of the fallen one's name must be given to another, so that the spirits that have attached themselves to that name can be fooled. If they are simply cut loose, they will immediately begin to seek out their quarry, and that could be disastrous if the fallen one is in a vulnerable and confused state at that moment."

Haka crosses her arms over her chest. "Haka is needed, so she will speak with the Great Emptiness and do what is asked of her, but she can feel tragedy looming if her words are not heeded."

[Seppun Chisei]

"The four elemental elements, or is Void also required?" Chisei asked.

[Nanzi]

Nanzi gave a nod to the ghost shaman, though he said nothing.

[Canary]

Haka's frown only deepened as the Nezumi started talking about name magic.

"This one would remind everyone that speaking names in the company of the named will only invite the presence of malignant spirits," she says, her tone somewhat frustrated.

"This one also has doubts as to this plan. The fallen ones have powerful names, and if this one still has some measure of divinity to it, then its name is even more powerful still. Even if it is given a different name, many terrible things in this land have learned of its previous name and that gives them power. This one does not believe that simply changing its name will be enough; in Shoji lands, that works on ghosts only so long as they have not become focused upon the named. If Haka were to simply change her name now, it would not dissuade her companion."

She shakes her head. "This one believes that the portion of the fallen one's name must be given to another, so that the spirits that have attached themselves to that name can be fooled. If they are simply cut loose, they will immediately begin to seek out their quarry, and that could be disastrous if the fallen one is in a vulnerable and confused state at that moment."

Haka crosses her arms over her chest. "Haka is needed, so she will speak with the Great Emptiness and do what is asked of her, but she can feel tragedy looming if her words are not heeded."

The Nezumi looked to her. "What works on ghosts and what works in other lands will not be the same as what works here. From our understanding, Fu Leng has never revealed his true name while even in the vicinity of Ningen-do, from what has been told by his siblings, so his name is protected at the moment. Only he and they know it, and they have not stated it. Fu Leng is an alias he wears, as you put it, to fool the spirits."

"We are also speaking a True Names, and not the name one wears from day to day."

[Shoji Haka]

Haka nods. "That will help. It is good that someone is wise enough not to toss their name around with abandon."

[Seidou Haruyo]

"I would know better no other than myself to speak for Earth but," she allowed those who may not have been directing attention her way to do so.

"I understand that perhaps there are others who may wish to speak for their own selves in this regard. It was for a feeling with the Earth that I journeyed all this way. I need no further questions before I claim my willingness to support this cause with all of my being."

[Kyosei of the Isawa]

"I would note, I have the ability, limited as it is, to speak to the Earth without having to bleed. Don't know if that would help or not, but... can't hurt. And I can't do that with the other elements."

"I also have to wonder - Fu Leng has been soaking in the essence of Jigoku for years now - how are you planning to prevent that from affecting him immediately, if the protection of Tengoku is removed?"

[Canary]

"If some of the shugenja performing the previous ritual continue to concentrate, the shield that will be around him should last into the Mortal Realm. They can try to keep it up until he's well away from the pit. On top of that, every Kami, from what Shinjo has said, is especially resistant to Jigoku even as mortals. We can preserve that. He won't be becoming human. We will become mortal. He will still be a Kami."

[Kyosei of the Isawa]

"Do you not think Jigoku will not use that moment to attack, both without and within? Seems... care will have to be taken, or we might find ourselves guarding a kami that is infused with Jigoku's essence. I apologize if it seems I push this, but if we do not plan for the worst, we cannot prepare for it."

[Canary]

The rat sighed. "As for physical assaults, we will still have those defending the shugenja on hand."

"If you have a suggestion of how better to protect him spiritually than the shield of purity he will be within, we are happy to entertain them."

[Kyosei of the Isawa]

"I have been working on this for years now. It may not be exactly what is needed, but it can't hurt." With that, Kyosei lifts the jade object he had been holding. "It is the largest jade I have found or heard of in all the land. And I feel there is something special about it."

The object is now roughly in the form of a gauntlet or long glove. It isn't finished, but it is obvious that is the shape it will take, if it continues to be worked on. "Perhaps if he holds it throughout? Send it to him right from the start?"

[Shoji Haka]

"Perhaps the spirits could be distracted with a sacrifice?" Haka offers.