I write some more.
The world seemed so much bloodier since he had begun his journey mused Hideo. He was sitting in the very center of the room with his legs crossed underneath him and a bowl of clear water in front of him. His reflection from the water's surface showed a clean face with a pensive expression drawn across it.
He was no true stranger to death, every few years a disciple would disappear into the wilderness. The lucky ones were found quickly, often the victims of extreme frostbite or animal attacks. Such wounds required time and skilled healers which the monastery had in ample supply, though the scars both inside and outside would linger for years. The unlucky ones either starved to death or were never found at all.
But the death that Hideo had seen and been personally responsible for was somehow different. The unfortunate souls who would get lost in the mountain side were not like those he had crossed blades with. The mountains did not care about those who walked their paths. They had stood tall for a thousand years before he had been born and would stand a thousand more after he was buried. But he did care about those he killed. Last night Hideo had ended 3 lives and if those wounded bandits had not made it to the boats then he was responsible for the deaths of two more. Hideo was no mountain, incapable of feeling pity for those who made the mistake of standing against him.
He remembered the first enemy he had fought the thin armed farmer who had fled across the sandy beach. The look of fear and desperation had been physically sickening. Even now Hideo felt pangs in his chest for the obviously troubled peasant. But the compassion for this would-be farmer had to be arrayed against the duty he felt as a samurai to protect the weak. The heimen needed guidance, that much was clear, and the bandit had abandoned his purpose of cultivator to rob others of their lives.
Hideo's face at this point was scrunched up as his brain tried to pick through the snarls of this problem. His heart went out to those less fortunate but it seemed to be getting clearer that those who preyed on the weak were little stronger than their prey. Were the lives of heimen so cheap as to be exchanged for a robe and some coins. Hideo's long hair shimmered as he shook his head violently.
Blood cannot be taken so cheaply Hideo decided. Those who put things above life would find little mercy in him, especially those lower than himself. For the weak to prey on those even weaker than themselves was absolutely abhorrent.
This resolution did not completely quiet the feelings of unease in his stomach over his actions but he could not imagine that anything would. Taking lives could be quick but it should never be easy.
Hideo's musings were interrupted by the first slivers of light from the morning sun. He opened his eyes and turned to face his window. The clouds were few and thin, moving off breezily in the sky while the sun climbed slow over the horizon basking the city in a golden glow. The brown and green roofing tiles were slanted every which way giving the view in front of him an organic feel, as if the city were one great big plant that had spread its roots for miles.
His mind was busy with this thought as he slipped into his robes and tightened his sword around his waist. By now the weight of his katana was almost unnoticeable given the long distance he had traveled with multiple daisho on his back. It occurred to Hideo that he should bring the existence of the swords to the attention of someone important enough to know how to get them back to the correct families. Assuming he thought the deputy guard commander was trustworthy enough after today's meeting then it would be simple enough to mention it. Something to consider at least; with that he slipped out of the room and down the hall.
There were few customers sitting in the tavern area and fewer still who glanced up as he walked by on his way to get directions from the innkeeper. Despite the smell of grilled fish wafting from behind a curtain Hideo did not feel the meal was worth what few coins he could spare and he did not feel hungry anyway. None of this made its way to his face as he apologized to matron for being unable to sample her cuisine but he really was in a hurry to visit the nearest shrine to Bishamon. If only she could point the way?
His earnest question earned him a frown and directions which led him out of the inn through several streets that were just starting to stir. The noise was markedly quieter from the afternoon before which Hideo put down to either the earlier hour or perhaps the impact of being attacked during the night.
The attack was something that occupied Hideo's thoughts as he deftly twisted through the carts and crowds. It made little sense for over a hundred people to throw themselves against a city wall for little gain. The bandits he had killed in the forest had made their living attacking unsuspecting travelers. A city was garrisoned by guards in armor and was built for repelling armed forces, especially cities that sprung up during the Great War.
There was something deeply wrong in this city Hideo decided as he stepped around a puddle of filth. There were two options that seemed most likely, either the bandits were convinced they could not fail or things outside the city were so dire that they would risk their lives for little gain. Neither option was comforting.
It was with some relief that Hideo gazed upon the temple in front of him. On either side of the building were merchants hawking armor or trinkets for protection. The building itself was tall and narrow with sloped roofs and boltholes for windows. It was much smaller than the massive complex he had seen in the municipal district, but still much larger than the outdoor shrine the village at the bottom of the mountain had. The doors were open and Hideo could see there were few supplicants at this time so he crossed the busy street and entered.
The inside was made of white stone and the floors were polished to a slick surface. Lanterns with burning torches hung from the walls giving the place a bright if flickering glow. The building was set up like a 't' with a statute of Bishamon dominating the center and two shrines with incense burners set up on either side. Beyond the statue was an archway with the gates thrown open to showcase what looked to be open training grounds. Hideo could only see a little from the front of the building but the red clay clearing appeared spacious enough to fit another temple.
Hideo was not here to only look around however, and so he made his way purposefully to kneel before the dais which the statue rested on. Last night he had been engaged in battle and so he felt it most appropriate to pray before Bishamon first. As his head touched the cold floor he began.
"Bishamon, Fortune of Strength, this one prays to you for the strength to stand against those who would harm the weak. Let my arm be a test against the craven and the dishonorable. Guide my sword Lord Fortune."
He rested there a few moments more to see if any masonry from the ceiling would come falling down before rising again to stand on his feet. Hideo bowed again before turning to one of the altars to light the incense. It was with the smell of cloves and a hint of ash that Hideo left the temple.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
His next destination was a shrine he had seen earlier when he had entered the city. There was no large temple in the city to the Fortune of Love but Hideo was sure that every geisha house had at least one shrine nearby. And he was right, tucked away between a tea house and a colorfully decorated geisha parlor was a wooden hut with Benten's symbol splashed across the door.
Hideo waited for a pair of young girls to come out of the doorway giggling between themselves before ducking his head and entering. The single room shrine had red and pink papers peppering the sides of the altar that took up the back wall. From what Hideo remembered these papers would have wishes for future romantic success or prayers thanking the capricious Fortune for her meddling. The figure of Benten was spread across a long wooden table with small burners and a few odd trinkets. Whoever had carved her had some skill. Hideo could not tell if she was a young maiden or an older woman, the beauty and elegance that had been worn into the wood defied time itself.
He had a few reservations about Benten given that drawing her attention in the stories always ended up making things more complicated. But spurning her and visiting all the other major Fortunes was an even worse idea. By now Hideo had been standing near the door for some time and had drawn the attention of the other occupant to the shrine. Clothed in white robes a priestess with a short straw broom had been sweeping debris into a corner of the room. She had few wrinkles on her face and the cut of her hair framed her neck nicely but the roughness of her hands betrayed her youthful looks. Hideo imagined she was in her early 30's.
She smiled at him and he smiled back a little unsure if he should say anything. His discomfort must have been obvious because her smile widened and she took a hand off the broom to gesture to the back wall.
"Take a seat samurai-sama, if you have need of fortunetelling then let me know. I would be more than happy to assist you," she said.
"Ah, no...thank you that will not be necessary," Hideo said.
He nodded at her before moving to sit in front of the shrine. He could feel her gaze on his back for a long moment before she returned to sweeping. The soft sounds of straw on wood played about in the small room while Hideo thought about what he should say. He could not truthfully say that he had ever given much thought to romance. There were no real prohibitions against Taoists taking partners aside from the arduous lifestyle of living in a remote mountain monastery. There were few outside of the Dragon who would be willing to seek understanding of the Tao with the fervor that the Taoists displayed.
Hideo knew that this made normal marriage arrangements impossible for many of the monks. That is not to say that romances did not bloom on the mountainside. Kept in tight quarters together there were always a few acolytes who would be drawn to one another and spend what little free time they had together. But Hideo had the fortune, or misfortune, of being removed in some years from his seniors. When he had been very young there had been a girl who had caught his attention but she had been half again his age. Following her gempukku she had left for a year and his boyish feelings had faded without her presence, by the time she had returned he had forgotten all about his crush. Now when he thought back to her he felt only the brotherly affection he felt for everyone in the order. And there was another gap albeit shorter with those younger than himself.
Hitomi and Rouki were both at least a year younger than himself, though given that they were all orphans it was hard to pinpoint their exact birthdays. He had been their senpai during training and had watched them struggle and grow under the harsh conditioning the Tao required. There might have been a chance for something with Hitomi but once he had been assigned to his sensei his training took him further and further from the monastery. They had seen little of each other up until the end of his trials just recently.
Hideo realized that he had been sitting for some time and the sounds of the priestess cleaning had faded. His head was still dropped down to the floor and so he squeezed out a quick prayer.
"Lady Benten, this one thanks you for your mercy and prays for your continued blessings over Rokugan."
With that he raised his head and noticed that the priestess had taken the spot next to him and was also praying. Not wanting to disturb her Hideo swiftly rose without a sound and walked across the room and out the door. As he stood in the street between the tea house and geisha parlor he took stock of the sun. Its position was just barely level with the tea house roof, suggesting that there was some time before his appointment in the municipal district. He frowned as he considered the problem of where to go next before realizing there was a building filled with people right next door. Hideo entered the tea house and was out in a few moments armed with the knowledge of the nearest shrine to Hotei.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Hideo's path through the shrines of the city was largely uninterrupted and he made good time through the Seven Fortunes. He knew that his appointment with the deputy was in the municipal district which housed the largest shrine to Fukurokujin in the city. So he intended on finishing his pilgrimage through the city at the temple of his second favorite Fortune.
The building looked the same as it had the day before, a large white and grey stone complex that stretched across half a city block. Built the same way most everything else in the district it had smoothed walls and slanted roofs with boltholes at the top. Hideo stood and looked at it. Even a temple to the Fortune of Wisdom was decked out in the building equivalent of heavy armor. The stone blocks reminded him of the plates while the steel tiles of the roof were reminiscent of a kabuto with the visor down. He was left with the impression that any attempt to siege the city would be met with stiff resistance from the very architecture.
He did not let his feelings about the design of the building get in the way of paying his respects however. He passed through the huge wooden gates which had spikes embedded into the ground to keep the doors from moving. Entering the temple he was struck again by its sheer size. There was a stone stairway from the entrance leading up to a second floor, and given the size of the building he was sure there was another stair he could not see to the third floor. On the first floor alone however, there was a long hallway that terminated into what looked like an altar room.
Hideo nodded to two junior priests in the brown robes of their order that were standing on the stair as he passed by. They looked at him with curiosity but did not say anything. Such a massive temple likely served as training center for many in their order, where those who felt called would stay and learn under elders of the brotherhood. There were likely dozens of their kind housed in the rooms above his head, Hideo mused as he passed through the hallway. Along the hallway he noticed there were doors evenly spaced on each side and when one opened he realized what they were.
A man wearing a scholar's robes and with ink stains on his hands walked out without looking up at him. In the few seconds that Hideo could see into the room he made out a dozen rolls of paper and scrolls, as well as a candle and an ink well. A room like this was used by the Fukurokujin priest back in the monastery to copy documents and keep track of the order's accounts. Any elder who needed clerical work done could approach the priest, who was also an accomplished swordswoman, and have it done.
Hideo nodded to himself as he continued striding to the end of the hall. The priests in this temple likely did the same, though he imagined they charged a price for their services.
Once there he turned to look at a spacious room set up for personal reflection. Silk panels were set up along the walls with mats and tables arrayed around the room. In spite of the number of people who were sitting around the room there was very little noise, only the occasional scratch of parchment being unfolded broke the silence. In the center of the room was a statue of Fukurokujin pouring over a scroll, his long beard reaching the floor. If one ignored the fact that his skin was made of jade and he was laying against a stone of granite it almost seemed like the Fortune was going to look up from his reading and peer at someone from under his large eyebrows.
Surrounding the statue were burners for incense and after bowing deeply to the Fortune Hideo took one and walked over to an unused space near the center of the room. The silk panels had been previously arranged so that two people could sit across from each other without being seen or heard from the rest of room. Hideo placed the burner carefully on the table and sat down in seiza in the seat closer to the wall. Fukurokujin rarely demanded acts of overt worship and praise from his followers, instead the Isawa taught that the Fortune of Wisdom could best be worshiped through meditation or debate. As Hideo arrived alone, he felt it was more appropriate to meditate and feel out any guidance Fukurokujin offered.
The soft smell of the burner wound its way around the alcove. Hideo's breathing slowed as he got in control of his heart.
Hideo rolls 5k4 (Meditation/Void) = 21 vs TN 20
Hideo regains 1 Void Point to get back up to 4 Void Points.
Ocean is unavailable for 2 more days.
Soon enough the sounds and smells of the room faded from his mind. Down, down, down...
Hideo was standing on the ocean. The breeze was coming in fresh off the water filled with salt and vapor, thick with the pressure of the waves. He could see the shore line as a distant thought on the horizon. A long, thin, black stretch of earth that faded into the curve of the sea. Beneath his feet was clear water and beneath that water was huge yellow flowers filled with seeds. The flowers were plates with a ring of golden fire around the dark bunch of seeds packed within their center.
They moved by some unseen breeze under the ocean. The waves rocking his feet did not touch the beautiful sea of flowers beneath him. He stood there for a breath that stretched on into eternity. As he finished exhaling the world went sideways and the ocean, flowers and all, disappeared.
There was only a void, an utter lack of direction.
He inhaled and the world existed. He was on a mountain standing above a ring of stars. The stars circled around and around until they fell to the ground. He exhaled.
The void swallowed the world.
Breath in. A wall of sand rose to tower above all existence and choked out the light of the sun. Breath out.
A blanket of darkness consumes everything.
Breath in and the world exists. Breath out and everything is destroyed.
Time had no meaning in this space. Hideo lived and died for a thousand breaths.
In the end the only constant was the void.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A faint tapping noise was the first thing that Hideo noticed. He opened his eyes to find himself sitting on a mat with a burner on a table in front of him. As his memories of the morning came back Hideo rolled his shoulders and moved out of seiza. The meditation had given him a well of renewed energy to draw on, and he rose with a spring in his step.
Putting the burner back was the work of a few moments and he paused in front of the statue. Hideo stared at the jade eyes of the Fortune for a few moments. Then he dropped to kneel before Fukurokujin and prayed under his breath.
"Fortune of Wisdom, guide my steps these next few days. There is much in this city that seems out of place and I feel I will need all the wisdom you can offer. I beg your protection and guidance."
Hideo lit a bit of incense and then turned to leave. He had a meeting to get to.
