You ask this a fresh autumn afternoon, as the leaves are slowly turning red. "Of course i can, silly. I just like this pond, it's very pretty. And i keep running into my friend here," she says, smiling at you. Then, as if to demonstrate, she boops you on the nose, shouts "TAG! you're it!" and runs off, right past Jun-dono, who shivers, and you run after her.
"I asked him to help me with some very important rituals that were never going right. he found that the problem was a troublesome spirit, and he sent it away. And then he sent me some very kind poetry." You see her smiling behind the screen, vaugely.
[X]: Calligraphy and writing. Writing beautifully is very important in heian society, and it is believed that a person's character and soul can be seen in their skill at calligraphy. A letter written in beautiful characters will always matter more than a letter that is merely functional; and a poem, ugly written, will be considered far beneath a lesser poem, beautifully written. [X]: Poetry and art. While not a major focus of your studies, every young man of good birth is required to learn how to compose beautiful poems, which form the basis of nearly every form of formal social interaction, from courtship to seeking allies to simply connecting with friends.
[X]: Meditation and breathing exercises aimed at honing and expanding your mind, and making you more aware of supernatural energies and spirits. The exercises als focus on calming you down, and sorting through your emotions and thoughts to clear your mind and focus your will. While not all onmyoji deal with demons directly, your father emphasizes that if you plan on doing so, you will need a strong will and the ability to keep your mind clear from the lies of evil, deceitful spirits.
The exercises themselves usually const of simple meditation and breathing exercises, sitting, crossed-legged, and focusing on nothing but your breath for hours on end, but are sometimes accompanied by the recitation of sutras or the repeated chanting of mantras. Now and then, your father would take you places, to shrines particularly, and have you close your eyes and try identifying spirits around you or the energies around you. [X]: Divination by way of the stars, that is, astronomy and astrology. By observing the stars, using astronomical tools like a bronze armillary sphere, and referring to books on astronomy, I learned to predict the future for people, places, families, and the world in general. This is an exceedingly technical skill, moreso than a purely mystical one, but is nevertheless of the more commonly used skills among onmyoji, as divination of every kind is in high demand at the Heian courts. [X]: The preparation and blessing of ofuda and omamori, small paper talismans used for blessing, protection, good luck, sealing away and a number of other uses. Onmyoji may also use them as part of rituals of banishment, exorcism and other spells. This involves very carefully, and beautifully, writing the correct prayers and mantras on paper or silk talismans, and blessing them with rituals and the invocation of the right divine spirits and patrons. That said. The training itself consists mostly of writing the same prayers and mantras over and over and over again, focusing on their meaning, as well as studying the rituals of their blessing and empowerment.
Soon after, the new year comes. You go to the shrine with your minders, and all around you in the streets there are candies and food and people drinking. Both of your parents are very busy in the time leading up to the new year's and just after, but all around the palace and the city, there is an air of joviality and happiness, and you get to gorge yourself on candy and pastries.
And then, your education proper starts.
You enter the house, ritually cleansed by your father, and he offers you pastries and tea, and lays out your next few years. You will be continue your lessons with your minder in the morning, until the hour of the goat, when you will eat and go to the Abe residence for your onmyodo-specific training.
Then he spends the rest of the morning and early afternoon with you, walking you through the daily life on an onmyoji, and he takes you to the Onmyoryo buildings, introducing you to several high-ranking officers of it, including the Kurodo-dokoro Onmyoji, the personal onmyoji in service of the emperor and the head of the beauro, also known as the Onmyo no Kami, Kamo no Mitsuyoshi. He has apparently only recently gotten the title.
You also meet the third-in-command, Onmyo no Jo, your uncle, Yoshimasa, and learn that your father is the second-in-command. You are also introduced to the Onmyo Hakase, the doctor of onmyodo responsible for teaching other students - the students who work at the onmyoryo - and to Kamo no Hatsuo, one of those students, who will be your mentor for a while.
With every introduction, you bow and thank the person, even if it's just a very short introduction, and the whole experience is quite overwhelming for you - you've never had an adult pay attention to you except for your minders, and your parents - and then, only just barely. You mumble and stumble over the words your minders drilled into you, but the various lofty passonages. Eventually you are sent home, and though allowed half an hour of play before nighttime, you just fall asleep in Jun-dono's lap.
In the morning, you spend hours and hours sitting alone, or with a minder, writing the same Chinese characters over and over, trying to force yourself through reading difficult Chinese passages with Jun-dono's help, writing poetry on your own in the demanding Waka form.
This time, writing poetry in the early morning, is an eternal pleasure to you. A few times, you snuck away to write poetry outside, and eventually, your minders would just go outside with you, find a spot, and sit back, interfering only to correct mistakes or answer questions. Eventually, your mother sees you in the garden, writing, and reads one of your poems - and, to your surprise, she smiles. She offers you a bit of criticism, then sits down and… writes. With you. You ask her as you write, and she offers you guidance and help.
The next day, she isn't there, but every week after, she sits down with you at least once, and fairly soon, you hear people - servants in the household, even the other children you still play with when time permits, talking about your skills as a poet, or at least your aptitude.
That's not to say that you have nothing but joy in the morning - your minders, and particularly your mother, are incredibly strict about the right way to write each letter, and several times, when you write a poem well, but less than prettily, your mother forces you you rewrite it until it is perfect - a habit Jun-dono quickly picks up. Other times, you are forced to read the sutras, again and again, as Jun-dono quizzes you intently on their meaning and content.
Then, after you've eaten lunch, you go to your father's house, where Kamo no Hatsuo greets you and recieves you. Though your father is officially training you, most of the actual training is done my Kamo no Hatsuo, and even then, he gives you complex homework or leaves you to read texts while he writes poetry and letters.
The most difficult of the things he teaches you are the complex mathematics and interrelations needed for astrology and calender-keeping, and the variety of different meanings and symbols each star, year, planet, comet and so on are assigned and their complex five-elements interactions. The system is complex, deep, and requires a large amount of rote learning of seemingly arbitrary interactions, and it grates and grates. Endless hours memorizing tables of interaction and effect, your teacher's stern rebukes as you fail his quizzes, and tired eyes and a tired head.
It is not the only thing, however. You much more enjoy reading the chinese classics, which form the basis of the great law the empire, and which you need to understand to understand the later, more complex books. Kamo no Hatsuo also comments on your readings here, though he seems less strict about it than about the astrological and Five Phases scholarship.
Now and then, your father helps you with your education too, sitting down with you to help you understand the material you're going through, or helping you compose poetry on your own - he seems genuinely pleased with your skill. He comments, like your mother, but his comments are all about how to make the poetry more appropriate for letters and for giving to girls.
At least, that how it goes early on, the first two and a half year of your education. One day, during the summer of your ninth year, however, you show up at the Abe household, and your father is there to receive you. He tells you that it is time to move on in your studies, and start with the basics of the various arts necessary for an onmyoji.
That day, you follow your father around most of the day, as he goes about his job. Most of that is traveling to a nobleman to do some ritual or other, doing weekly and daily rituals on behalf of various aspects of the government, or sitting in his office at the Onmyoryo doing paperwork as he explains the various roles am onmyoji must fill and skills he must possess.
The first few days are similar; you follow your father around, ask questions, and spend time reading the new texts he gives you.
Soon, you stop following your father around every day, and spend most days reading, then going over things for a short while with your father at the end of the day. Some days, it is instead Kamo no Hatsuo who who goes things over with you at the end of the day.
In addition to new texts and following your father around, you also get new exercises to do, and soon, a daily routine starts.
You wake up every day, and do meditation exercises, sometimes with mantras, sometimes without. Then you eat breakfeast and go sit in the garden, writing poetry in a quiet corner.
There are plenty of other kids about, many of them not having quite as rigorous regimens as you, and they play. When you can, you often go join them, and usually Jun-dono allows you to do so, if you've finished your work, but not when you are reciting and learning sutras.
The kids around you include your sister, but only for the first year, and then she is introduced at court, and the rules for her change.
Beyond her, you see Junpei, Aiko, Tomiko and Toichi. Junpei is a young boy, a year older than you, and somewhat gruff, but he does seem to like you; he's always trying to offer you 'advice' because he's older, but most of his advice isn't very good. His sister, Aiko, is just a kind and smiling girl, about your age. She always wants to play games she can win, particularly kemari, a ball-game popular at court.
Tomiko and Tochi are other children of courtiers. Tomiko is a another girl around Aiko's age, but more shy. She does like your poetry, though, as sometimes even listens in when you're composing it. Tochi is a bit younger than you three, and somewhat annoying, but he is the child of another important lady in waiting, so you have to play with him. Now and then, when you can, you sneak of from the rest, and find Tsuzura to play with, and she always appreciates your company.
Once you eat lunch, often in the beautiful garden of the imperial palace, you go to your father's house, where you read complex books on five-elements theory and astrology, books you are under no circumstances allowed to move from where they are, for hours of end. Then you eat lunch, have a quick walk to freshen your mind and stretch your legs.
Once you return, you sit down for half an hour meditating. Usually, you then practice mantras and mundras, sitting for hours repeating the same words and movements of the hand, teaching your mind to focus only on that movement and those words as you become intimately familiar with them. Now and then, you even see a flash of light or hear the wind move in response, as you slowly become better at them. At other times, you practice to make and write Ofuda, paper talismans, writing them exactly right, again and again, and practicing the words and rituals of blessing. You always have to burn these, however - you aren't allowed to make them on your own, for use.
Then, at some point, your mind reels and your fingers hurt; at this point you often take another walk, calm yourself, and then read up on divination methods, from tortoise-shell cracking to dream interpretation. Eventually, your father will return, and you will eat dinner together as you go over what you've studied, and you ask him questions in response.
It is often here you feel like you learn the most. He might explain to you how there can be no third force in ying-yang theory, as every other force must arise from either the passive or the active principle; or tell you that while Buddhism is the best guide we have for morality and ethics, onmyoji cannot forget the native gods of the land, as they often are the cause of, or the remedy to, many of the supernatural problems that onmyoji must solve. When he is a philosophical mood, as happens, he might tell you that men are the ones who handle many issues of the spirits, as men are often the ones who cause them through the casting of curses, or by treating each other ill and in so doing engender the wrath of vengeful ghosts.
Later, once your questions are over, you show him some poetry, and in summer time, you have about an hour of playing outside before it gets dark, at which point you go inside, read for half and hour, meditate for half an hour, and then go to bed.
Every day, both evening and morning, you sit in the position your father suggested for meditation, lotus position. You begin slow measured breaths. With each successive one the world around falls away, and you sense something different. You open your eyes to world just slightly different from the one you were in just a moment before. Colors are more vibrant the wind just slightly more melodic as the kami begin to fill your senses.
You look around you and see spirits as they have been described by your teacher; many are pretty,some beautiful, but there are also many tiny ugly things, small demons no more powerful than a leaf on the wind, like those you saw when you were young, but no longer anything to be afraid of.
Then suddenly you snap back, you spirit sight receding. Once again, you repeat the meditation as you attempt to reach the state you were just in. Having reached it before it comes easier to you the second time. With you senses returning to the spirit world you set to practice extending the time that you can maintain your spirit sight. Your progress comes at jagged pace but overall you ability to maintain your spirit sight grows, though only slowly.
About once a week, however, the pattern of your day breaks, and you follow your father around for a day, or more rarely, Kamo no Hatsuo. This is where you learn some of the more involved, ritualistic skills required of an onmyoji, as you help your father light incense for cleansing rituals, visit noblemen who fear they have been cursed, and prepare amulets and talismans of protection, fortune and luck.
Often, you have to stay outside when your father, in the prestigeful position of Onmyo no Suke, second in command of the Bureau of divination, goes and visit high ranking officials, or is summoned by Fujiwara no Michinaga, one of the most powerful men in the country, but even so, you learn much from these days.
Your interest in these rituals is clear and obvious, and you remember the chants very well. One day, your father catches you repeating them without thinking on it, and that is when he begins to teach you more about how and when to speak with and to the gods, and what to say. He teaches you a short ritual, a chant to gain the attention of a nearby spirit. He tells you that inside of the palace and its garden, it's fine to use, if you want to, and he adds more chants and spells which invoke certain gods to your curriculum.
It is also around this time your father starts taking you to the seimei shrine. It is, he tells you, a part of his own childhood, erected at the house where he did most of his studying, to the honor of his father. He tells you that one of the people here can help you with your education, leads you into the shrine propper, and, while he can't stay, tells you to practice your meditation until the priest joins you.
You do so, breathing in and out, in and out, in and out for a few moments, but are soon interrupted by a man entering the room; he wears long, white robes, like a priest's, or an onmyoji's and the same large hat every courtly nobleman wears, and he looks old, much older than even your father. He smiles at you and sits down, and you bow, of course, as you must, and then he… asks you questions, and lets you do the same.
He asks about your education, and how much you know, and helps explain even the most complex theories in simple, understandable ways; shows you, both with his hands and in his descriptions, the various nuanced ways each mantra and mudra interconnect, and the differences between each, and how one movement of the hands, or way of folding them, recalls passive and active principles and invokes the gods. He also teaches you the names of many, many gods and spirits, and sometimes even small secrets - this one likes offering of cake, this one will listen if you give it a poem first, and so on.
You learn much when you visit the shrine, which is around once a month, and each time, it goes the same way: you're told to wait, and you practice your meditation for a bit until this kindly old priest interrupts you and helps you work through all the things you are learning.
You are 13 years old. Today is a good day - like many other days, it is a festival, but this is a large and important one. You spend the morning slightly differently - you eat, do a bit of poetry, then hurry to the palace courtyard, where you help your father with very important rituals for the cleansing of the capital, and drawing the favors of the gods, particularly Fudo Myo-o, a god favored by onmyoji.
Soon after, you return home, ready to spend the rest of the day to go and enjoy the festival and eat incredible amounts of candy. You're rarely followed about by minors anymore, you're old enough to walk around on your own, as long as you stay in the palace area, or along the main road, where there will be plenty of things to see and buy. You can go to either the east or west market, where there will also be plenty of things today.
As you return, however, you are met by one of your mother's court ladies, who smiles in a … strange, knowing way, and hands you a folded piece of paper, folded as… a letter. It's a letter. With your name for it. "This was left for you ealier," she says. "I'm not sure who it is from," she contines, still smiling. You take it, sit in the carde, carefully open it up, and read.
Last rays of the sun
There at Itsukushima
Turns the lake golden
As the sun, a poets words
Spreading ever joy and warmth
It's… a poem. For you. You blink several times. Those are usually sent to lovers and friends, but who could it be? It's written on very nice paper, lightly coloured, and with a somewhat flowing calligraphy - something someone has put a lot of effort into.
It mentions a time and place - Itsukushima, a shrine, at the last rays of the sun. It's… not where you'd usually go, but you wouldn't get in too much trouble if you went. You have several hours to decide of course, so for now, what will you do?
[ ]: Ask one of my friends for advice. Who? Write in the specifics. [ ]: Find my mother if i can, or, more likely, one of her court ladies, and ask her for advice. She is after all the most prominent poet of the era and surrounds herself with poets. [ ]: I go to the Seimei shrine, and ask the priest there for help. He's old, and smart, and perhaps he knows what this all means. He also seems like a kind person, so he probably wants to help me. [ ]: I find my father and ask him for help. This is probably going to make him at least a little mad at me - i'm not supposed to disturb him when i'm not working with him. But he probably won't be too mad, and i've never gotten a poem before - he can probably tell me what to do. [ ]: I spend the next few enjoying the festivities, eating pastries, and trying not to freak out with jitters, then I got Itsukushima shrine, at sunset, to meet whoever wrote this, or see whatever they wanted to show me. [ ]: I go to the shrine of Tenjin, a former disgraced nobleman now venerated as the god of knowledge. He was a patron of the arts in life and a great poet - perhaps prayers to him will help me know what to do? [ ]: I go to the centre of the house, and ask the servants to give me the room - an odd request, but one they will probably follow. It's where the hearth is, and each Hearth has a god, a spirit. I sit down, cross-legged, and meditate, then enchant the chants my father has taught me. Perhaps the hearth god knows who brought this and can give me help? [ ]: I just entirely ignore it. I can't go to the Itsukushima shrine because it's too far out in the city, and I don't want to ask anyone for advice, so I just… do nothing. [ ]: Something else! What? write in!
[X]: I go to the shrine of Tenjin, a former disgraced nobleman now venerated as the god of knowledge. He was a patron of the arts in life and a great poet - perhaps prayers to him will help me know what to do?
Funny thing is, IIRC Tenjin wasn't actually regarded as a god of scholarship and academics until the Edo Period; his worship until then was propitiatory, done to avoid the natural disasters he was believed to have visited upon the capital after his wrongful death. But whatever, making sure a tidal wave doesn't hit us while we're at an island shrine would be just as helpful.
... That said, though, Itsukushima is a bit more of a trip than I can actually imagine us being allowed to make ourselves, or even one that can be done in a day period in this time period (unless magic is involved, of course, which it very well might be). Unless there's another, less famous Itsukushima Shrine that I just haven't heard of, the one I'm familiar with is something like 250 miles away from Kyoto.
[X]: Find my mother if i can, or, more likely, one of her court ladies, and ask her for advice. She is after all the most prominent poet of the era and surrounds herself with poets.
[X]: I go to the shrine of Tenjin, a former disgraced nobleman now venerated as the god of knowledge. He was a patron of the arts in life and a great poet - perhaps prayers to him will help me know what to do?
Funny thing is, IIRC Tenjin wasn't actually regarded as a god of scholarship and academics until the Edo Period; his worship until then was propitiatory, done to avoid the natural disasters he was believed to have visited upon the capital after his wrongful death. But whatever, making sure a tidal wave doesn't hit us while we're at an island shrine would be just as helpful.
He was well-known as a scholar early on. though 'the god of knowledge' was probably overstating it, he was probably known to be able to give scholarly advice early on
... That said, though, Itsukushima is a bit more of a trip than I can actually imagine us being allowed to make ourselves, or even one that can be done in a day period in this time period (unless magic is involved, of course, which it very well might be). Unless there's another, less famous Itsukushima Shrine that I just haven't heard of, the one I'm familiar with is something like 250 miles away from Kyoto.
There are at least, like, three in kyoto, one of which existed in the heian period, within the walls of the capital. I would have made a bigger deal if you were planning to run to goddamn hiroshima.
[X]: Find my mother if i can, or, more likely, one of her court ladies, and ask her for advice. She is after all the most prominent poet of the era and surrounds herself with poets.
[X]: I go to the centre of the house, and ask the servants to give me the room - an odd request, but one they will probably follow. It's where the hearth is, and each Hearth has a god, a spirit. I sit down, cross-legged, and meditate, then enchant the chants my father has taught me. Perhaps the heath god knows who brought this and can give me help?
[X]: I go to the centre of the house, and ask the servants to give me the room - an odd request, but one they will probably follow. It's where the heath is, and each Heath has a god, a spirit. I sit down, cross-legged, and meditate, then enchant the chants my father has taught me. Perhaps the heath god knows who brought this and can give me help?
(for reals though, it's late, thank you for catching my typo)
Adhoc vote count started by Magnusth on Mar 5, 2019 at 7:31 AM, finished with 13 posts and 9 votes.
[X]: Find my mother if i can, or, more likely, one of her court ladies, and ask her for advice. She is after all the most prominent poet of the era and surrounds herself with poets.
[X]: I go to the shrine of Tenjin, a former disgraced nobleman now venerated as the god of knowledge. He was a patron of the arts in life and a great poet - perhaps prayers to him will help me know what to do?
[X]: I go to the centre of the house, and ask the servants to give me the room - an odd request, but one they will probably follow. It's where the hearth is, and each Hearth has a god, a spirit. I sit down, cross-legged, and meditate, then enchant the chants my father has taught me. Perhaps the heath god knows who brought this and can give me help?
[X]: I go to the centre of the house, and ask the servants to give me the room - an odd request, but one they will probably follow. It's where the hearth is, and each Hearth has a god, a spirit. I sit down, cross-legged, and meditate, then enchant the chants my father has taught me. Perhaps the hearth god knows who brought this and can give me help?
Adhoc vote count started by Magnusth on Mar 5, 2019 at 5:09 PM, finished with 18 posts and 13 votes.
[X]: Find my mother if i can, or, more likely, one of her court ladies, and ask her for advice. She is after all the most prominent poet of the era and surrounds herself with poets.
[X]: I go to the centre of the house, and ask the servants to give me the room - an odd request, but one they will probably follow. It's where the hearth is, and each Hearth has a god, a spirit. I sit down, cross-legged, and meditate, then enchant the chants my father has taught me. Perhaps the heath god knows who brought this and can give me help?
[X]: I go to the shrine of Tenjin, a former disgraced nobleman now venerated as the god of knowledge. He was a patron of the arts in life and a great poet - perhaps prayers to him will help me know what to do?
[X]: I go to the centre of the house, and ask the servants to give me the room - an odd request, but one they will probably follow. It's where the hearth is, and each Hearth has a god, a spirit. I sit down, cross-legged, and meditate, then enchant the chants my father has taught me. Perhaps the hearth god knows who brought this and can give me help?
[X]: I find my father and ask him for help. This is probably going to make him at least a little mad at me - i'm not supposed to disturb him when i'm not working with him. But he probably won't be too mad, and i've never gotten a poem before - he can probably tell me what to do.
[x]: I go to the Seimei shrine, and ask the priest there for help. He's old, and smart, and perhaps he knows what this all means. He also seems like a kind person, so he probably wants to help me.
Adhoc vote count started by Magnusth on Mar 5, 2019 at 8:50 PM, finished with 18 posts and 13 votes.
[X]: Find my mother if i can, or, more likely, one of her court ladies, and ask her for advice. She is after all the most prominent poet of the era and surrounds herself with poets.
[X]: I go to the centre of the house, and ask the servants to give me the room - an odd request, but one they will probably follow. It's where the hearth is, and each Hearth has a god, a spirit. I sit down, cross-legged, and meditate, then enchant the chants my father has taught me. Perhaps the heath god knows who brought this and can give me help?
[X]: I go to the shrine of Tenjin, a former disgraced nobleman now venerated as the god of knowledge. He was a patron of the arts in life and a great poet - perhaps prayers to him will help me know what to do?
[X]: I go to the centre of the house, and ask the servants to give me the room - an odd request, but one they will probably follow. It's where the hearth is, and each Hearth has a god, a spirit. I sit down, cross-legged, and meditate, then enchant the chants my father has taught me. Perhaps the hearth god knows who brought this and can give me help?
[X]: I find my father and ask him for help. This is probably going to make him at least a little mad at me - i'm not supposed to disturb him when i'm not working with him. But he probably won't be too mad, and i've never gotten a poem before - he can probably tell me what to do.
[x]: I go to the Seimei shrine, and ask the priest there for help. He's old, and smart, and perhaps he knows what this all means. He also seems like a kind person, so he probably wants to help me.
[X]: Find my mother if i can, or, more likely, one of her court ladies, and ask her for advice. She is after all the most prominent poet of the era and surrounds herself with poets.
The unknown letter is suspicious and i prefer having spiritual backup in case it goes south.
Going for the hearth has chance to meet new kami, though doing both sounds better.
[X]: I go to the centre of the house, and ask the servants to give me the room - an odd request, but one they will probably follow. It's where the hearth is, and each Hearth has a god, a spirit. I sit down, cross-legged, and meditate, then enchant the chants my father has taught me. Perhaps the hearth god knows who brought this and can give me help?
[X]: Ask one of my friends for advice. Who? Tsuzura. Tell her about the poem and your worry of it being malicious or a trap.
[X]: Ask one of my friends for advice. Who? Tsuzura. Tell her about the poem and your worry of it being malicious or a trap.
I'm not quite as worried about it being a trap as the vote implies, but asking Tsuzura does sound like a good idea. Besides her, our father does sound like a pretty ideal option to ask for advice, but he's bussy. Shame.
I do wonder if the sender of the letter is somebody we already know. In that case, Tomiko would seem somewhat likely given the update. I suppose we'll find out soonish.
[X]: Find my mother if i can, or, more likely, one of her court ladies, and ask her for advice. She is after all the most prominent poet of the era and surrounds herself with poets.
Not sure if I would be actively participating in this quest but this is certainly a fresh theme on the board which is worthy of following. Kudos to QM.
[X]: Find my mother if i can, or, more likely, one of her court ladies, and ask her for advice. She is after all the most prominent poet of the era and surrounds herself with poets.
[X]: Find my mother if i can, or, more likely, one of her court ladies, and ask her for advice. She is after all the most prominent poet of the era and surrounds herself with poets.
We would find it easier to travel with parent knowledge
[X]: Find my mother if i can, or, more likely, one of her court ladies, and ask her for advice. She is after all the most prominent poet of the era and surrounds herself with poets.
We would find it easier to travel with parent knowledge
You've been to Itsukushima before. It's located about 2 miles away, inside the city in the north-east corner. The area is a large park with the residences of many prominent families and several shrines. You know the emperor often lives in one of the houses when he is not at the inner palace. Actually going there is not going to be difficult; it's a long stroll, but nothing more. It would take you about half an hour. Note: ancient japanese hours were twice as long as the hours we use today.
[X]: I find my father and ask him for help. This is probably going to make him at least a little mad at me - i'm not supposed to disturb him when i'm not working with him. But he probably won't be too mad, and i've never gotten a poem before - he can probably tell me what to do.
If he didn't want us to bother him with Stuff like this then he shouldn't have focused so much on how to write Poetry and Letters for Girls.
He has no one to blame but himself!
[x]: I go to the Seimei shrine, and ask the priest there for help. He's old, and smart, and perhaps he knows what this all means. He also seems like a kind person, so he probably wants to help me.
[X]: I go to the centre of the house, and ask the servants to give me the room - an odd request, but one they will probably follow. It's where the hearth is, and each Hearth has a god, a spirit. I sit down, cross-legged, and meditate, then enchant the chants my father has taught me. Perhaps the heath god knows who brought this and can give me help?
Well.
You stare at the poem a bit more.
Poetry is always layered with meaning. This is obviously an invitation, but beyond that… who knows? Well. It has its perks to be the son of the most renowned literary mind of the age. Your mother will be able to help.
Race through the palace corridors looking for her, but a quickly stopped by one of her ladies-in-waiting, who asks you what the hurry is. When you tell her that you're looking for your mother, she sighs.
"Murasaki no Ue is at court with the empress, and cannot be disturbed," she says, using your mother's most common name and title, with a significant mark of respect in the appelation 'no ue'.
Well. You have to ask someone for help, so you explain the situation to the lady-in-waiting, who slowly begins smiling. "Oh, I see," she says, when you finish. "I certainly see why you would want your mother's advice. Let us go see if she has time to recieve you."
Huh. That's strange - you've never been allowed to interrupt your mother at court before. You can't tell if the lady is sincere or not, but she leads you to Emperor's Soshi's courtroom, bids you wait outside and then goes in. moments later, you hear laughter ripple through the room, and the lady returns, opening the door.
You enter the room; the Salon of the Empress Soshi, one of the most powerful people in the land. In a year or two, you probably won't be able to, at least not without everyone hiding behind screens, but for now, you are a child, and the rules aren't quite as strict.
The room is not quite as large as you'd thought, but it is a large room; all around it are pillows for the many, many ladies in waiting to lounge around on, in their 7-layered robes, all of which are full of colour in a hundred different patterns, most of them in purple, the colour of the high nobility. The room is hot and heavy with sweat and many, many many perfumes and incenses intermixing, and the heavy air weighs on you.
Not as much as the eyes of twenty or so ladies in waiting, your mother, and the Empress. They are all smiling ever so slightly, and one of the seems to be stifling a laugh.
The empress smiles at your mother, who turns to you and speaks. "Ah, Kogitsunemaru," she says, with a soft tone and a smile. "You wanted some advice? Well, I'm sure we can give you some. What do you need?"
What do you reply?
[ ]: I run away! A room full of adults staring at you and laughing is scary! I just turn and run! I'm definately getting in heaps and heaps of trouble for that later, but i do it anyway!
[ ]: I tell them that I've gotten a poem and I'd like help to understand what it means. Focus on the poem, puzzling out all the metaphors and ideas.
[ ]: I tell them that i've gotten a poem, and i'd like help to figure out who it's from, if there's anything i can learn from the composition or the handwriting.
[ ]: I tell them that i've gotten a poem, and i don't know what it means or what to do! Focus on getting practical advice about what my next actions should be or why it might've been sent.
[ ]: I tell them that i've gotten a poem, and i'd like to compose a reply! But i'm not sure what the right reply would be.
[ ]: I tell them… something else? Write in!
Adhoc vote count started by Magnusth on Mar 6, 2019 at 11:19 AM, finished with 9 posts and 8 votes.
[x]: I tell them that i've gotten a poem, and i'd like to compose a reply! But i'm not sure what the right reply would be.
[X]: I tell them that i've gotten a poem, and i'd like help to figure out who it's from, if there's anything i can learn from the composition or the handwriting.
[x]: I tell them that i've gotten a poem, and i don't know what it means or what to do! Focus on getting practical advice about what my next actions should be or why it might've been sent.
[x]: I tell them that i've gotten a poem, and i don't know what it means or what to do! Focus on getting practical advice about what my next actions should be or why it might've been sent.
[X]: I tell them that i've gotten a poem, and i'd like help to figure out who it's from, if there's anything i can learn from the composition or the handwriting.
[x]: I tell them that i've gotten a poem, and i don't know what it means or what to do! Focus on getting practical advice about what my next actions should be or why it might've been sent.
[X]: I tell them that i've gotten a poem, and i'd like help to figure out who it's from, if there's anything i can learn from the composition or the handwriting.
[x]: I tell them that i've gotten a poem, and i don't know what it means or what to do! Focus on getting practical advice about what my next actions should be or why it might've been sent.
[X]: I tell them that i've gotten a poem, and i'd like help to figure out who it's from, if there's anything i can learn from the composition or the handwriting.
[x]: I tell them that i've gotten a poem, and i don't know what it means or what to do! Focus on getting practical advice about what my next actions should be or why it might've been sent.
[X]: I tell them that i've gotten a poem, and i'd like help to figure out who it's from, if there's anything i can learn from the composition or the handwriting.
...they definitely think Kogitsunemaru has a girl interested in him and his cluelessness are endearing. This is why i am not picking going to his mother for advice.
