EM - Hot baths are for Low Landers (Open)

[Nozomi]

"Oh, some of them almost certainly were, or had relatives who were." She looked like she was smiling. "It was never personal, but we're putting the past aside to be here. All of us." Or they weren't, and they'd end up dead, one or both.... People could be fools about grudges, after all, couldn't they?

"Jade is pure, and there is something to the south that is not. What little I learned wasn't specific, only that jade was a ward of purity and to have it." A shake of her head. "I barely know about this evil. I know only that it exists. That alone, I fear, is something." She wondered how much the others really knew.

...and deep down, she was a little concerned that she'd been lucky to pick up any tales of the darkness to the south at all.

[Jiyo Ayumu]

"Who told you those tales? Do you know of someone who actually went that far south?

Do you think it was a practical counsel, or more of a metaphorical one? Like, keep your heart pure as the jade to keep the evil at bay?"

[Nozomi]

"That far south? No. When Reiko came to my tribe's lands, I asked her things about her master, about what was happening. What she knew, what she was willing to share, but I picked a few things up as a result." Though she'd asked nothing of the other spiritual realms, and so her understanding had ended up more focused on the Shadowlands and Jigoku. "If you wished to know more... she is likely a far better source than me."

[Jiyo Ayumu]

"Oh, I know of Reiko. I'm Isawa by birth, and she was quite the important character there. I've heard of her message, though apparently I didn't ask the right questions at the time.

I'm curious to hear the tale of your encounter. On one hand, she is very driven. On the other, the Hikaru is not the easiest tribe to approach."

[Nozomi]

"We knew next to nothing of this Fu Leng when she came. I pestered her with questions." About all the kami. The topic of the spirit realms had eventually come up. "She only came on us last year. Most had joined Shinjo's ranks. We had wintered for years in a remote cleft, and I think it was hard for her to find. Probably heard rumors from the Scorpion we were still around. She's driven alright. Was looking to make sure everyone knew."

The Hikaru hadn't been inhospitable, but they'd been less than receptive as a body. Getting them to remember and pray about his plight had been as far as that went.

[Jiyo Ayumu]

"You're clearly very driven yourself. And proud. There's a strength in that.

Tell me, is there anything I can do for you today? Any questions that I might answer? Any help that I might provide?"

[Nozomi]

She considered for a moment and then paused. He was quiet insistent, wasn't he? Her gaze turned and bored into him once again, an eyebrow raised. Well, if he was going to ask, nothing came to mind in terms of her preparations. She'd gathered gear for the journey before coming, and would help with the logistics. But, fine. She could come up with something.

"Do you pray to them? To the kami?" Yep, totally out of the blue.

[Jiyo Ayumu]

"Shiba and his siblings you mean? No. Why would I? Actually speaking to them seems far more efficient."

[Nozomi]

"They are gods. Gods are generally worshiped, yes? And the Emperor is not here now." It wasn't an argument, not at all. She was gauging reactions, those eyes staring straight into his. It had the feel of something important. "We pray to the fortunes. To the lesser kami that dwell on the mountaintops. If these are gods, are they not worshiped?" The 'why' was implied pretty strongly.

[Jiyo Ayumu]

"That's an interesting theological question I'm sure some scholars would enjoy debating for hours. In practice though, I think the answer is quite simple: They did not request it."

[Nozomi]

"Ah... that ... might explain some of what the people have told me." If the kami had not asked for this, then there would be far less impetus. It was not like Bishamon, who expected people to give offerings before battle, whose ire could be earned without. "I am not a shaman. I would know little of these debates."

[Jiyo Ayumu]

"Neither am I. My knowledge of most powers that be is purely theoretical. I cannot feel them like a priest can. Conceptualize them, respect them, honor them, acknowledge their existence through the result of their actions, sure, but still, I cannot feel them as a I would feel the presence of another person.

The Kamis on the other hand are very tangible. Very present. Like overwhelmingly so. When one is in the same room at you, they tend to eclipse the presence of mere mortals around. The light of the sun against the light of mere torches metaphor is a bit overused, but it's appropriate to describe that sensation."

[Nozomi]

"I could see that being overrused quickly." She already didn't like it, and she'd only heard it once. Phi was a woman who took a certain pride in her minimal, limited accomplishments. Besides, she always liked those accomplishments to be in the shadows, not of great men, but where they belonged given her line of profession among the Hikaru. "But it gets the point across."

She shook her head. "I have trouble thinking of them as gods then. Powerful beings, perhaps, but if it is not worshiped it feels less like a god than a man you follow."

[Jiyo Ayumu]

"Defining godhood is not an easy task. But does it really matter how we label them? They are and they shape the world around them."

[Nozomi]

"To know one's place, and one's place relative to others is important," she said, her tone distant. "They are an unknown quantity. But the answer will come in time. This is as far as either of us are likely to get today. I should get to the town, help with logistics. Millet doesn't pack itself."

She gave him a nod. "Try not to get yourself killed on the march, lowlander. See you around." And with that, she started to lope off at a healthy clip towards the city.

[Jiyo Ayumu]

"Have a good day. It has been a pleasure. I look forward to working with you."

Honest words. Phi had a grumpy "I will never admit that I'm nice but I'm actually nice" aura about her that was reminding him of Sora-sempai. She'll be a good match for the expedition.