[Day 1 Evening/Night Side] A Name whispered in a Dream

[M'thack-kir]

As soon as he has excused himself from dinner with the largest crew he has ever had the privilege to lead, M'thack-kir retreats to his private quarters, where he immediately throws himself into a particularly arduous dance.

Unfortunately for Shinwa, elsewhere on the ship, the ronin who shares Kiru's Name feels a constant, itching tingle in the base of his neck, the indication of rather powerful magic being enacted. This lasts for three hours before relenting, when Kiru opens a private call on his commlink. "Shinwa? Sleeping soon? Kiru needs to see the Tribe."

All the while, tiny Rik observes in silent reverence from his hemp canopy above. He watches with interest as the radiant pistol in Kiru's hand glows as intensely as the midday sun, knowing from experience that its blinding glow will fade in the next few minutes.

(OOC: orokos.com/roll/524647# 8 spell slots, including the one used to cast, expended to grant +4k4, allocated thusly: +3k3 to Attack rolls with the weapon, and +1k1 to damage rolls with the weapon. Duration: 3 days.)

[Shinwa]

For three hours...

Hidden behind a locked door, sealed away from any eyes that could look at him in this quiet moment, by the dim light of the artificial window in his cabin and the candle that flickers within it, there kneels the figure of a man in grave distress. His body is itching with the alien tingle of nezumi magic, but his mind is suffering far more as he considers the dreadful implications of the scenario that has been presented to him. He tries to meditate, to bring his mind to center, but the darkness is too great.

Spread out before him on the table lies the sheet of thin plastic with the copy he has written of his latest chapter's 'review'.

Finally, he makes a decision. He stands and rips the haiku off the cabinet that had been taped up there in his room.

He reaches into a drawer and pulls out his tools: a real, for true, traditional calligraphy set, and real, for true, traditional white paper, crafted from bamboo.

He closes his eyes, trying again to focus through the thrumming in his spine.

Then he begins to compose...and write.

The poem is terse and dated. The calligraphy not of the finest, though passable. It does not matter. Shinwa tapes it up to the cabinet anyway.

In this world
we walk on the roof of hell,
gazing at flowers.

Just then, the commlink sounds with a private call. It is Kiru. After the Nezumi asks his question, the ronin snaps, "Yes." The answer is curt and his voice betrays his emotion but he disconnects the communication before anything more can be pursued. Then he feeds the plastic sheet with his notes into the slot that goes to the ship's recycler, turning it into a thin gray ooze that will be used to press out new sheets for the written word or into an extrusion for whatever small plastic pieces need to be custom-generated. He closes up his calligraphy supplies, drops the table into the floor, and rolls out his futon.

Shinwa stares at the haiku on his wall for some long minutes before he falls asleep.

[M'thack-kir]

Shinwa isn't happy. Not for the first time, either. Maybe I shouldn't renew the bond in two weeks' time. I'll have to see what he thinks.

Kiru returns his pistol to its hidden repository in the wall and sends a text message via commlink to Itsuki to inform him he is 'Dreamwalking' for the next eight hours.

After around half an hour or so of waiting for Shinwa to fall asleep, Kiru enacts one last dance for today, one that only takes an hour but involves more erratic, rhythmic movement and wild abandon as he sends his soul to a particular area of the Field of Dreams.

(OOC: orokos.com/roll/524834#)

[M'thack-kir]

Meanwhile, in another Realm entirely...

M'thack-kir opens his eyes and sighs in relief, seeing his family and Tribe on the field before him. He wants desperately to speak to his mother, find out what she knows of the Crane Tribe, Standing Courage Hammer Tribe and most importantly, the Lion, whose historical name has been synonymous in Nezumi for centuries as the Spider: 'Flee for safety with great haste from death.'

However, such education must wait, because much of significance has occurred this day amongst the stars, and Chief must be informed. "Zin'tch!" Kiru calls out above the chitter and chatter of his gathered kin. He sprints over to the central firepit, to the Chief's sitting place of honour. He offers a quick bow of obeisance as tradition demands, and then speaks, informing the pensive but powerful Zin'tch of the Asako's mission, the suspected new Festering Pit, the oni's attack on the Crab, all of it.

"Chief, the other wanderers need to be wary and watchful. We cannot just search for the Bright Happiness Day any longer, but this undiscovered Mouth-to-the-entry-of-all-evil-evil also."

[emeralddragon]

The Chief's eyes widen, and he looked to a nearby Rememberer, who M'thack-kir would know as Set'tchr'foo, an elderly (By Nezumi Standards) Rememberer who spent most of his time in the Dream. In turn, Set'tchr'foo very carefully and hesitantly pulled out a memory stick that she carried with her. Unlike most such sticks, that were made to tell stories, empower the Nezumi and to move around the tribe to those whose Niche had earned them such a gift, this stick was aged, as if the Rememberer carved it once and never wanted to do so again.

It was a Memory stick only a Rememberer would carry, N-ki-tchr, the Evil Stick, that which told the tale of The Terrible Day.

Sniffing the stick carefully, and nawing in a few places to make sure the story still told the true vision of the past, as it had been pass through memory stick to memory stick, Rememberer to Rememberer for 3,000 years. Finally, when it is done to her satisfaction she passes the stick to the Chief so he can see the visions it inspires. As she does so, Set'tchr'foo begins to tell the story kept on the stick to the small crowd that was gathered.

"Nezumi live in the After Time, as One Tribe. Nezumi search for a new home-home, in hopes of restoring what Lost-lost. But it wasn't always like this. Before the After Time, before the Race against Tomorrow, was the Before Time, where Nezumi had their own land, a powerful empire and all could Remember. Nezumi had a beautiful Empire, and vast cities, and no one needed to seek-seek. Nezumi lived in the Bright Happyness Day.

Then came the The Terrible Day When Air Became Fire And Heaven Fell from Its Perch to Crush Our Glorious Home Beneath Its Blackened Corpse. Nezumi watched as a Second Sun appeared in the sky. It fell-fell from above and crashed into our home-home. It fell so hard and fast it kept falling, even the Earth unable to stop this Tomorrow from falling. So the Mouth-to-the-entry-of-all-evil-evil was made. And the Nezumi began to forget-forget, and the One Tribe was Shattered into the Many Tribes, and many Tomorrows roamed over our home, coming forth from the Mouth-to-the-entry-of-all-evil-evil that was once our home-home, and the Human Tribes rose up and many Nezumi were lost to Tomorrow."

And so the Before times ended and Bright Happyness Day was lost, and the Race Against Tomorrow began. So gone-gone was our first Home-Home that not even the greatest Rememberer or the oldest memory stick mentions is Name. Our first Home-home is gone, its Name-Name Forgotten-Forgotten by the Nezumi and all was there is lost to Tomorrow."

Grabbing another Memmory Stick Set'tchr'foo sniffed that one, feeling along its length, clearly trying to forget what she saw. Then she spoke once more, "But out among the Stars their is a new Bright Happiness Day, a hope, promised-promised by Those-Whose-Power-Shines-Brighter-Than-a-Thousand-Torches-and-Whose-Name-Stands-As-a-Great-Wall-Against-Tomorrow. Kan'ok'ticheck, the Chief of Chiefs told us Bright Happiness Day will be found again, and all that was lost to Tomorrow will be found again, and we will know the true name-name of our first home-home once more. And so Nezumi search for the Bight Happiness Day."

The Chief slowly came out of the memories and visions that the Evil Stick inspired and looked over the gathered audience. They were scared, nervous. The first Mouth-to-the-entry-of-all-evil-evil had been formed by such a powerful Tomorrow they had forgotten the Name of their home. Names, especially that of their home was the one thing Nezumi didn't forget. Finally Zin'tch spoke.

"Nezumi will not let Mouth-to-the-entry-of-all-evil-evil destroy Bright Happiness Day again. Zin'tch will not let Mouth-to-the-entry-of-all-evil-evil destroy Bright Happiness Day. Zin'tch thinks this is a sign we are close to Bright Happiness Day though, for otherwise why would the Mouth-to-the-entry-of-all-evil-evil come again. Zin'tch order-orders, all Nezumi Wanderers to look-look for this Mouth-to-the-entry-of-all-evil-evil for Asako-Asako. Zin'tch is confident that when Nezumi find this, and when Nezumi defeat Tomorrow as the Chief of Chiefs did, Nezumi will finally find the Bright Happiness Day."

[M'thack-kir]

Kiru bows in acceptance of this command, although nobody else does—he has spent longer than most present among humans.

"M'thack-kir met Ti-ikak, the one known as Shou, today. The Council has proven themselves out ally again. Have the same goal."

When Chief is done with M'thack-kir, Kiru seeks out his mother, who is playing with her latest child by another fire, one that is still near the central one and indicates high status, but not the central one itself.

"G'hihi, looks well," he says softly, hugging her briefly.
"M'thack-kir, you're still alive, in spite of the dangerous adventures you always engage in. That is good." She tells her young one to go play with others for the evening.
"M'thack-kir has new comrades, wishes to learn of their culture. Know what to expect."

They sit down together, warm themselves by the fire, and talk for many hours, until dawn takes M'thack-kir back to his body.