[D2 LE] Heroic Tales

[Kuu]

The Order of Heroes has a few tales to tell of those it immortalizes in it's temples. But they promote the celebration of heroes great and small from across the empire. They seek to gather the tales of heroics that have been performed across the land so that it might keep a written record of all those that struggle and lead for the good of their people. But the Order of Heroes believes that those heroes should be honored with just a smidge of excitement and adventure thrown in if needed. The future generations should learn of the heroes that make their way of life possible, but they should be excited to learn those tales.

The dining hall has been organized in conjunction with a meal and drinks so that people may honor the heroes that are spoken of with toasts and cheers.

Location: Dining Hall

Participants: Unlimited

Time: LE

Rules:
The Greatest Tale: The first roll in the event is the actual story. This is a performance roll using either Perform: Storytelling / Awareness or Perform: Oratory / Awareness vs TN 20. Success gives the character 2 Story Points plus 1 more for each successful raise. Failure and failed raises simply result in a poorly told story that is incoherent and it will not be recorded.

The Tallest Tale: The second roll in the event represents how believable the story is. This is a Sincerity (Honesty or Deceit) / Awareness check vs TN 15. If the story that you are telling is meant to be accurate with no embellishments, use Honesty. If it is meant to be embellished a bit use Deceit. Since this is meant to be used in an artistic and entertaining way, this use of Deceit is not considered a low skill. Success gives the character 1 Story point plus 1 more for every 2 successful raises. Failure and failed raises simply result in a story that seems too outlandish or unbelievable and it will not be recorded.

Rewards and Consequences:
Every character that at least passes both rolls will ensure that the hero they tell their story about will have their tale recorded in the histories of the Order of Heroes. The character with the highest number of story points will be given a personalized and stylized full accounting of their hero's story in fine calligraphy before the court lets out, as well as the services of Kuu himself for any one meeting during the court that they may wish to have documented for them. The character with the second highest number of story points will be able to request a purely artistic calligraphy scroll with a simple word or phrase on it, to be delivered before the court lets out.

[Kuu]

Kuu stands near an open spot at the far end of the dining hall.

"Please, feel free to step up and offer tales of heroics from your lands, your people, or your past. Let's share the stories of our empire's strength," he states, before moving to a small writing table he has set up.

[Nozomi]

Nozomi looked almost in her element as she settled down amongst those sharing stories that day. She got a bit of a smug, almost nasty grin on her face, giving a bow to the present samurai and winking when she did so. "Why don't I start us off? A piece of an old story most of you wouldn't have heard too much about all this time. Not everyone got world famous when they participated, but at the end of the day everyone that risked their lives would be worthy of a tale or two told about them. I'm sure the big guy would approve to hear the story of someone he fought beside no being forgotten." She knew Taochusu that much. Oh, he'd probably like someone not being forgotten for what they did.

"We met this man, Riki, on the way in. He had a run in with old man Yamadono-sama, last of the great Noriaki no Yamadono and Ko had a run in with him, out in the mountains across the great river to the south, in Stag lands. Mountain of a man. He was huge, but not quite so big as old man Yamadono or Taochusu. Haha, Tao, oh he stood as tall as two of us sometimes, with a grin twice as wide." She chuckled softly, her eyes gleaming at the memory of old friends alive and dead. "Riki was, let's be honest, a man who lives by the grace of Yamadono and Ko-sama's forebearance. He meant to waylay us, to hassle our train on its work, but no. No. Yamadono-sama would have none of it. They gave that old rogue a chance to be more than he was."

"It takes all kinds, he used to say. Life forfeit when he could not bring the mountain down, Riki picked his blade up and traveled with us to the very heart of things. To the very last day, when we marched out. He stood with the rest. You could not say a rogue like him was one ruled by fear. No, all the worst of the lot we faced didn't scare him. He just howled right back. I remember he came back from another part of the fray, a pair of ogre heads gripped in a fundori, a grin like a viper. He won his life back that day."

Most of that arguably decent little quip as she went on regailing them in short about the finding of the cutthroat brigand Riki and his men, their recruitment into Hisomu's clan and his service, was complete and utter horseshit. She'd never liked Riki that much. He reminded her of the worst in the Noriaki and her own people, so she'd kept her distance, but it wasn't hard to embellish things. Hell, he probably did kill at least one ogre that day. He hadn't been in the worst of the fighting, but there'd been plenty of those to kill. Anyone paying attention could easily catch on that she was putting an effort in, so as not to embarrass herself, but Nozomi wasn't angling to win any awards here. she was doing what she did naturally, drawl on about others' exploits and give someone forgotten a little spotlight. She was opening the floor and getting them warmed up for the next story to be told, giving them a taste of the kind of thing they were doing here.

<small>(Rolls: (Forgot to include TN +5 for Disturbing Countenance, but she's still fine))
Storytelling - VP, Success: 37, 2 Points
Sincerity (Deceit) - Success, 28, 1 Point

Specific Note: Nozomi will politely refuse if she gets first or second, and praise the next highest story. She's here to support the practice and Kuu, and to bullshit)

[Togashi Satsuki]

Alright. This was important. Her mother had a reputation of being one of the foremost storytellers in the Empire. She had done so for uncle Shiba's court even! It was important that she not be a complete embarrassement.

Opening herself to the inherent powers of her blood, causing the crane on her collarbones to flutter in shimmering light, Satsuki told her story.

"Allow me to tell the tale of Mirumoto, hero among the Dragon, who once saved me and my brother from our own foolishness as youths." She smiled, pleased with that little introduction.

The story told of the two young heirs of the Dragon Clan, young and adventurous. Seeking excitement without their parents knowing. Which involved travelling far north in the mountains in search of the fabled heavenly dragons that could be seen from the tallest peaks, after they had snuck out before the break of dawn with a little food packed that they thought would be enough. Even if they knew the mountains well, the two of them eventually were lost, unable to figure out where they were or how to get home. The princess shared in the embarrassement of being a child that had done her share of Stupid Things as a youth.

Their father had entrusted Mirumoto to look for them, along with others who had joined the search, but it would be Mirumoto who found them. Not only did he save them from starvation and thirst with the rations he had brought with him, but he had also fought off a mountain lion and an enraged spirit that had been awoken from an avalanche.

Maybe all wasn't true in the story, but how would someone share a story with themself as the one in need of rescue if it wasn't true...?

"... But most of all, Mirumoto was a hero for dealing with two very difficult children who didn't know much about what they were doing, and teaching us along the way the mistakes we had made. So we were much better prepared the next time we set out for adventure, thanks to him!"


------------

D2 EVENT: Heroic Tales. Perform: Storytelling/Awareness. Sensation. +2k0 Crane Tattoo. +1k1 Void. 2 raises. TN 30: 7d10o10k4 31 4 Points
D2 EVENT: Heroic Tales. Sincerity/Awareness. +2k0 Crane Tattoo. +1k1 Void. 2 raises. TN 25: 7d10o10k4 43 2 Points

6 Story Points

[Nozomi]

"... But most of all, Mirumoto was a hero for dealing with two very difficult children who didn't know much about what they were doing, and teaching us along the way the mistakes we had made. So we were much better prepared the next time we set out for adventure, thanks to him!"

Nozomi's eyes sparkled and her daughter clapped behind her. "Hah. Children are a blessing, a curse and a trial the fortunes give us to keep us humble. I wish I had more time to know Mirumoto, but life always seems busy. But it looks like he helped you two grow nicely. What is a lesson, if you cannot learn from it?" She snickered and nodded. "Togashi has good seeds in his garden, but I know that all too well."

[Makime Ayano]

Ayano had decided to attend, after the last few hours of near passing out...being able to just sit sounded wonderful. Also stories were something she could critic. The Lioness had listened to Lord Ikoma himself and thus had a very high baseline from which to look down upon anything not meeting those standards. Which was probably everything.

She nodded quietly at the first two, acceptable...good...not great. 2 and 1/2 sake cups on the first and.... 1/4 Ikoma and a sake cup on the other.

[Jiyo Ayumu]

History does not repeat itself. But it rhymes. The situation was reminding him of another exchange of stories after sunset an eternity ago. It would be easy to get lost in reminiscing, to confuse Phi with Nozomi, Saruko with Satsuki.

And unfair to all. And ultimately pointless. He had been criticizing people about romanticizing the past a lot as of late, and here he was himself about to fall into that temptation.

Ayumu refocused on the present and reported his own story, quietly, without much fanfare:

"Don't be a hero. Heroes die.

I heard these words from an old man when I was a kid. At least he seemed old to my young self, but maybe he had been prematurely aged by a bad life, or maybe I was at that age where any adult seems infinitely old.

He was what we could call a veteran. Had been outside the tribe – this was in the time the before the Kami. Had had to fight for his life – this was a time of small tribal estates and huge patches of lawless lands. Had seen blades eat away the flesh. Had seen blood pour, sometimes his own, someone his friends', sometimes his then enemies'. Had seen injuries and death. No idea how many times, but too many.

It had let him broken. The symptoms were numerous, disturbing, crippling. But one in particular left a mark on me. He had become afraid of courage. He would tell us that courageous people are always the first to die in any situation, as facing danger head-on was the surest way to die of that danger.

Don't be a hero kids. Heroes die.

One day, we heard a tremendous racket in the village, enough to cover the sound of the heavy rain that had been plaguing us since before dawn. A house had collapsed into the river. One of the poorest ones, barely more than a fisherman hut. But inhabited nonetheless.

People rushed to the wreckage. Several members of the family were quickly found on the shore, having managed to escape on their own from the remains of their home and of the river turned wrathful by the rain.

But one of the kids was missing.

People looked at the water, at the former home being swiftly reduced to pieces by the fury of the flood, uncertain about what to do, about where to start.

And then the broken man surfaced from the chaos, hiccuping from having almost drowned, bloodied from having banged into bits of wood. In his arms, the missing child, safe and sound.

It should have been a moment of relief and joy. Yet the first words that broke the silence were harsh, barked by one of the bystanders with that weird spitefulness tone people throw at what they don't understand: I thought you didn't want to be a hero.

And the man looked at them like they had just said something beyond stupid and answered in the voice one take to explain a baby they shouldn't eat things found on the ground:

I don't want to be a hero. Heroes die.

But sometimes you have to."

---

D2LE | Heroic Tales | Perform: Storytelling / Awareness (TN20) | No Raise | VP for +1k1 | Tawagoto's Army: 6d10o10k4+4 28
D2LE | Heroic Tales | Sincerity/ Awareness (TN15) | Unskilled (a skill for telling the truth? what new Crane madness is that?) | VP for +1k1 | Tawagoto's Army: 4d10+4 28

Both rolls successful, total 3 story points.

[Jiyo Sora]

Like Sora was going to miss a chance to show some Imperial support to the Brotherhood.

He had all three of his children with him, and they were proving.... unusually quiet, perhaps since they were just enjoying the stories.

"Well. As I famously told Togashi-san's mother a long time ago, I'm not much good at telling stories."

He held a hand up to forestall a comment from Shirayuki.

"Despite what my children might say. But I've got a story- a short one. It's about one of the heroes of the trip to rescue Hisomu. He was one of the four of us who accompanied Hantei-Kami into the heart of the Realm of Evil. That's a story most of you know, albeit probably with some embellishments. But to me, that wasn't the most heroic moment in Seppun Dawei's life. By the time we made that venture, there was no choice, not really. All of us knew what it might cost us, but none of us had gone that far to stop. We'd made that decision when we answered Reaiko-sama's call. But anyway."

He cleared his throat. He was rambling. He'd always been better at remembering them than telling them.

"Anyway, Dawei was always carving wood. Carved the Fortunes for a portable shrine, that sort of thing. And at one point, he made something... magical. It was a carving of a Nezumi, and if you said a specific Nezumi's name, you could communicate with them, wherever they were."

He paused. He could see everyone was already tuning him out.

"Anyway, he gave that thing to White Moonrise, asking nothing in return. Gave the finest thing he could have made away to someone of another species because it was the the right thing to do. That's when Seppun Dawei became a hero in my eyes."

[Rolls: Step 1: HAH. Yeah, no.
Step 2: Also no ]

[Makime Ayano]

Ayano continued to listen to the next two stories but held back a small yawn. She was tired and her standards were skewed. Going back to the Ikoma scale of storytelling:

1 Unnecessary Violence and 1 1/2 sake cup for the first Imperial.

1 slightly sprained finger and 1/3 sake cup for the second.

[Doji Hikaru]

Hikaru had been there, listening quietly. His eyes mostly watched the falling snow, although he would turn his attention politely back as each performer began and ended.

Finally, he felt it was his turn to begin. "Everyone knows the tale of how Lady Doji and Nanzi-sama came to be wed. Of the three impossible tasks she demanded he perform: to receive the blessing of her mother, the Lady Sun, to gain wisdom from a blade of grass, and to find a work of perfect artistry and nature. He did all of these things, and in doing so, won her hand."

His lips pressed together a moment. "But everyone knows that tale. Nanzi has already won his acclaim for it as well as Lady Doji's hand. I mean to tell of something else." It was a sudden shift, and a bit jarring.

Hikaru's chin tilted upwards. "Nanzi's will is strong, but will alone cannot bridge the barrier between worlds. At least, not always." A thoughtful frown; it seemed Hikaru was reflecting on other matters as he spoke. "Without the aid of Togashi Saruko, he would never have been able to visit Amaterasu's realm, and ask her permission to wed her esteemed daughter. Her gifts helped him where he alone could not..."

He stopped suddenly, giving Satsuki a sudden sharp look, his eyes intense.

Shaking his head, white lock dancing about, he went on. "Nanzi found a blade of grass, and studied it for his wisdom. But he was not alone. Our Emperor's consort Jiyo helped him to interpret what he learned. While he gained wisdom, she helped him refine it."

Another pause. "I do not know if Nanzi received help in finding the work of perfect artistry. Some secrets are never shared, never known."

He bowed. "I tell this story to remind us that a hero is more than an individual. They are their friends, and their allies. Their teachers... and their parents." A frown at this last, and then Hikaru sat down suddenly. He cast one more strange look at Satsuki before his gaze returned to the window.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

D2LE Greatest Tale, 1CR, VP1k1, sensation: 5d10o10k4 23 - booo!
D2LE Tallest Tale, sincerity: 4d10o10k3 30 - 1 point!

[Kakita]

Kakita had been quietly listening in the back for the duration of the meeting gathering insight on the various clans and their values...

One face continue to come to him in his mind as he heard the tales of those these people respected... And eventually he stepped forward to speak of her.

"I would like to share the story of the most lovely woman I have ever known. She was born into a body that most of us would not immediately attach to heroism... She was a twin. Sickly while her brother strong. Her first years were in the time before the kami fell to earth. And in those few years she lost her mother." He paused ever so slightly.

"The reason why this woman is so lovely... is because of her ability to... love. She fiercely loved her family. Supported her father in his time of grief. Cared for her brother when still only a child. When the Lady Doji came to their village, and her father dedicated their tribe to her service... This woman poured her whole soul into serving the Lady Doji."

"She learned to excel in matters of the mind... A wonderful poet. Compassionate listener. She was a favorite of the Lady Doji... who would share poems with the young girl. When she came of age, she took the name Doji Kiyamori. Her poems brought understanding and unity among the followers of the kami. Their beauty gave us a common language... something to share and feel together."

He paused as his eyes and lips tightened for just a moment, "I share with you her last known poem... Her brother was sent to protect a village in the mountains from a wild troll... A mission from which Nanzi Hayaku did not return for many years. But despite the passage of time... Kiyamori's fierce love for her family maintained a hope that endured even when all others said it was over:

The depths of the mountains’,
Where even flying birds’
Songs do not reach;
The depths of my heart
I would have you know..."

He let out a long breath, "She was a light... for all who knew her... and should be remembered."

He bowed his head politely to the group and withdrew from the circle.

----

D2 Storytelling Event, Storytelling/Awa, VP 2 Raises TN 30 Luck Reroll: 6d10o10k5 35

D2 Storytelling Event, Sincerity, VP 2 Raises TN 25: 6d10o10k5 25

4 points and 2 Points for a total of 6 points.

[Nozomi]

-snip-

She was good enough not to wince. Look, Sora was right. He was terrible at storytelling, and he knew it. They both knew it. Still, the story brought back memories and she smiled fondly, lips cracked in a grin. "Heh, fussy old Dawei. Good man, that hunter. I haven't seen him in an age and a half," she admitted. "How has he been?"

-snip-

Kakita's story got an appreciative nod. "Good," she said with a certain surety. She never even bothered to think about the truth of the stories she listened to. It wasn't the point of what was happening in her estimation. "Heroism comes in all forms. And for some, it has to come in what they are able to do, and what they do with all that they have. Wish I could have met her. Sounds like she was something else."

[Doji Misaki]

Misaki told a true tale indeed. But too true. So true, the details seemed too exact to be believable.

......

The Greatest Tale = 29 (1 story point)

The Tallest Tale = 24 (0 story points)

[Makime Ayano]

From her spot the Lioness gave more Ikoma scores:

Crane 1: 1 Mild argument that might have turned violent

Weird Bat: 4 Sake Cups and 1/8 an Ikoma

Crane 2: 1/2 Sake Cup and a mild hangover

[Akodo Moshi]

Akodo Moshi tries to tell a story about her father, but the words won't come out. The truth of her words, whenever they do come out however, could not be questioned. Tears are held back to maintain proper face.

D2 LE: Perform/Storytelling, VP for skill, Air Kami's Blessing +4, 3 raises, TN 35: 5d10o10k4+4 24

D2 LE: Sincerity/Awarenss, TN 15 Air Kami's Blessing +4: 5d10o10k4+4 40

[Akodo Daigoro]

The old man wasn't one for flourishes and fanciful displays. Back home, there were people that could pull tears out of a rock, but he wasn't one of them. If he knew a thing, he was going to tell it to you. Plain. Simple. The request was for a hero. He knew a few.

"In the old days, before there was an Empire to speak of, when the kami had just come to earth, they spread out like the fingers of a great hand to feel their way through the new world they'd come to. And you might've heard the tale of some other meetings in those times. How Lady Doji found her shadow under Shinomen's eaves--the one that she gave to the Stag. How Lord Hida stopped a landslide with his body to save a village. But there's one tale whose shape might not have been made known, at least not in its particulars.

You see, Lord Akodo, like all the kami, is a being of destiny, and destiny has a way of collecting engines of the momentous, people who can stabilize or prolong the moving and the shaking that a being of destiny is liable to produce. The most famous of these is the tale of Ikoma, but that story is so well known it doesn't need repeating just yet. No, this here story is about a slightly different engine of destiny, but you might say that he's fruit from the same tree.

Now, after Lord Akodo declined to scrap with Ikoma, the old man thought it wisdom to invite the kami to share a drink with him. And as many of you are no doubt aware, sake being served in small cups, just one drink is not enough. So they tied one on and..."

The tale meandered for some time, introducing a wide cast of characters but eventually settling its focus on Ikoma's eighth son, Atsutoshi. Atsutotshi was a bit of a wild man, not unlike his father, and the tale becomes a story of how the rugged individual and force for chaos chose to settle down and become a force for civilization, eventually becoming a father to his (many) illegitimate children and a strong contributor to the team of men and women making Akodo's vision reality. In this way, Atsutoshi's story served as an allegory of the taming of the Rokugani countryside, an allegory that had the advantage of being entirely true.



Heroic Tales, Roll 1: Perform: Storytelling/Awareness, Void. Tn=20: 5d10o10k4 33
Heroic Tales, Roll 2: Sincerity/Awareness, Void Tn=15: 5d10o10k4 22
2 storytelling points.

[Jiyo Sora]

She was good enough not to wince. Look, Sora was right. He was terrible at storytelling, and he knew it. They both knew it. Still, the story brought back memories and she smiled fondly, lips cracked in a grin. "Heh, fussy old Dawei. Good man, that hunter. I haven't seen him in an age and a half," she admitted. "How has he been?"

"Last I heard? Still happy in his marriage, and still elevating the art of woodcarving- he did a lot of the internal decor for the first library in the Stag lands, and I managed to wheedle a few pieces out of him for the branch here. I can point them out, but they don't usually need it..."

[Nozomi]

"Last I heard? Still happy in his marriage, and still elevating the art of woodcarving- he did a lot of the internal decor for the first library in the Stag lands, and I managed to wheedle a few pieces out of him for the branch here. I can point them out, but they don't usually need it..."

"That man could carve just about anything. I remember that much. He was always working on something." Look, she tried not to sound nostalgic, but the older she got the more she was. It was sort of an outcropping of the ways of the Order. Besides meditating on the path of enlightenment, they shared so many tales that she found herself always a little wistful, not to experience those halcyon days, just at the memories. "Though I have to admit. I have to get a few more stories. I always go back to that river too easily, hah. Tales of the mountains are just so much less interesting." Not to mention more than a touch more murder-y.

[Doji Misaki]

From her spot the Lioness gave more Ikoma scores:

Crane 1: 1 Mild argument that might have turned violent

Weird Bat: 4 Sake Cups and 1/8 an Ikoma

Crane 2: 1/2 Sake Cup and a mild hangover

Misaki comes over and sits down next to Ayano with a small frown; Nothing too deep, but Ayano would be able to notice it from so close as the Crane woman sits on the cushion with her legs to one side.

[Jiyo Sora]

"That man could carve just about anything. I remember that much. He was always working on something." Look, she tried not to sound nostalgic, but the older she got the more she was. It was sort of an outcropping of the ways of the Order. Besides meditating on the path of enlightenment, they shared so many tales that she found herself always a little wistful, not to experience those halcyon days, just at the memories. "Though I have to admit. I have to get a few more stories. I always go back to that river too easily, hah. Tales of the mountains are just so much less interesting." Not to mention more than a touch more murder-y.

"Well, I'm sure I could bore you to tears with stories about my better's half's heroic rearing of this trio of little monsters during my long hauls across the Empire... and not just because I have all of the graceful delivery of a punch to the gut."

"Dad!"

"You keep saying that like you think it'll slow me down, Phi."