Scion – Petro Campaign – Session 24
This account was originally found on Livejournal, I am not the original author—I am just a fan of the journal and have found reading it on livejournal clunky to navigate and rife with errors/instability (such as having to refresh multiple times due to the page in questions becoming unavailable often requiring multiple refreshes. The original post can be found here, published by DJ-Yomi, and was published on May 4th 2008.
It’s late night at the temple where the youkai are hiding out. We’re all here resting after a big fight in which we wiped out the core of the nekomata’s forces, including Chaser and Nyanyan, the ringleaders. It was a great victory, but not without cost. Amy, the loneliest and, in many ways the most endearing of my shikome, is dead, killed by a single blow from a bakeneko. I’m actually pretty depressed right now, but that’s okay. With death comes grief. That’s the way things should be, I guess, and there’s definitely something beautiful about it. Honestly, I’m more upset about how badly Amy’s death has affected Sera.
But let me back up and start from where I left off last time.
Upon returning from Tokyo with Sayuri and reuniting her with Hinako, we set about preparing for the battle to come. I spoke to Chiaki and the other youkai, and after a rousing speech, I managed to convince them that if we are to defeat the darkness at hand, we would need their help. The others helped me rally our youkai allies around us, and they agreed to do what they could to help us. I’m really, really glad of that. Even if it does put them in danger, I think it’s important for them to fight for their land. And I feel pretty close to youkai in general; it’s nice acting as a leader to help galvanize them into doing what they know is right!
We also discussed Sayuri’s information with the youkai at the temple, including Chiaki and the nopperabo priest. They were able to tell us a bit more about the Mountain of Resurrection, including a bit more of its history. The place really is a dark blight upon the world, created when the titans escaped. And that’s how the created the Mountain of Resurrection was created.
Purifying the mountain will be a complicated process involving a difficult purification ritual, and the befouled denizens of the mountain aren’t likely to let such a ritual take place without opposition. Fortunately, Keiko, Sera, Kimiyo, Quinn, and Dahlia are know quite a bit about Shinto rituals (being the servants of an Amtsukami in training, that’s not really surprising), and Ray has also taught his followers as much as possible about the occult. So our followers can probably handle the ritual with a bit of guidance while the rest of us defend them from the forces that the mountain might throw against us. Of course, we could also find Sarutahiko-no-kami, the head of the earthly kami, and get him to help us out, but he’s been missing since the titans escaped, and finding him is likely to be considerably more involved that we’re prepared to deal with right now. I need to talk to Ray about looking into that, though.
Getting onto the mountain will be difficult. It’s a kind of pocket reality, a terra incognita, I believe. The only way we know of to get in without the use of divine psychopomp powers is to draw a door with the blood of a woman who is a vengeful ghost, or is on the verge of becoming one. I could probably convince Oiwa to help with that. Of course, it’s also possible to wander into the place under the right circumstances, such as when chasing someone who is utterly terrified, but that’s bit more challenging, and we can’t really wait for the mountain to find us.
Getting out is harder than getting in. To do so, a person has to purify the mountain’s kami (which is our plan), bathe her face and hands in the blood of a pure and virtuous person, or kill everyone else until she is the only thing that’s left alive. So…once we’re on the mountain, failing to purify the kami is not an option.
I’m still not sure exactly how we’re getting in, but I think I’ll have to ask Oiwa if she can offer her blood to do so. I don’t want to ask her for something so painful, but it may be our only real choice. Anyway, we’ll deal with that in the morning…
After settling on a plan of action, we set out to rally the remaining youkai that we could: Sayuri’s friend Togo (an azuki-arai…bean washing youkai) and the kitsune we’d met before. We went to speak with the kitsune first, and I made sure to take plenty of red bean buns for them this time. ^_^ It didn’t take much to convince the kitsune to join us. Once we explained the situation, they were willing to join forces with the other youkai to protect their land. They are inari-kitsune, after all, so they’re used to acting as protectors. They headed to the temple to join the rest of the youkai milita.
Then we went to find Togo. I was a bit worried that he’d be in trouble…after all, the nekomata knew about Sayuri, so they might have come for Togo too. Fortunately, he was safe, and we brought him back to the temple in short order. He was overjoyed to see Sayuri. And he gave Ray one of his beans. It’s a potent charm that, when eaten, will empower Ray with the strength of those he has protected. That should be an awful lot of empowerment!
As an aside, we also agreed to tell Hinako about her taint. She deserves to know, and if she’s going to make it as a scion in this world, she needs to be more aware of the dangers she’s facing. So I sat down with her and Sayuri and told her what we knew, leaving out some of the more unpleasant bits, like the fact that she was drinking a foul concoction and that she had slept with a few people already. Thanks to Pierre, we learned that her perceptions are being affected by the taint. HE used his cheval powers to possess her and discovered that through her eyes, things are dull and hazy, as though there was a film covering her eyes. That’s troubling…but hopefully once we’ve dealt with all this she’ll begin returning to normal. I’ll have to take her to the Shrine of Ise to see if they can’t help purify her once this is all over.
With the stage set, we decided to go and deal with the nekomata. Before doing so, though, Adam prepared a horrible-smelling potion of the venom of various creatures. Burning it would keep the specters away. We gave it to Mad Dawg, who stuck with me and my followers so that we could protect him during the fight.
With a small army of youkai at our backs, we marched through Nankoku. It was magnificent…a real Hyakki Yakou (“Parade of 100 Monsters”)! As the parade of youkai wound through the city streets, the locals locked their doors, shuttered their windows and witnessed a scene straight out of myths and legends from the safety of their homes. Being a part of something so hauntingly legendary like that was deeply inspiring! ^_^
The nekomata weren’t expecting us, which was good. We sent our forces in from all sides of the house to prevent any escape and were able to ambush both Chaser and Nyanyan, along with ten or so bakeneko and another gashadokuro (which we were able to defeat before it grew too large). With Adam’s burning potion keeping the specters at bay, we didn’t have to worry about being possessed, so we could concentrate entirely on the fight.
There was too much going on for me to recount every detail, but it was a brutal fight. Ray, Anna, and my other allies were at the top of their game, but the enemy was powerful. And at some point during the fight, Ryu-no-Maru destroyed the second floor of the house we were in, bringing it crashing down along with the nekomata.
Sadly, a few of the youkai who fought with us were lost, but they died valiantly in the battle. Amy died as well. She was killed in a single blow by a strong bakeneko, torn in two before she even knew what had happened. At least she wasn’t in pain for long, anyway.
I was furious when I saw her killed. My shikome may be psychotic, and they may cause me a lot of trouble, but I still love and care for them as though they were my children. I unleashed the fury of my anger on them, drawing upon the power of life and death to tear the bakeneko apart from the inside. Alongside Pierre, who was doing the same thing, I finished off two bakeneko that way. By then, the battle was over.
Tabby and Robin stared at Amy’s corpse coldly. They didn’t feel sad or upset over Amy’s death, even though they knew they should. Tabby especially seemed bothered by this, and so I gathered her into a gentle hug, doing what I could to comfort her agitation while I myself sought some sort of comfort from her presence. My own grief over losing Amy was still growing inside me, and I didn’t know what else to do. Tabby asked if she and Robin could eat Amy’s body, but I angrily forbade it.
I kinda wish I had let them now. Maybe that’s what Amy would have wanted. Tabby said she wanted me and Robin to eat her body when she dies…I suppose it makes sense that, as shikome, Amy would have wanted the same thing. As it was, my followers and I gathered up Amy’s corpse and bore her back to the temple along with the bodies of the fallen youkai while Adam and the others cut the ears from the bakeneko and nekomata. After all, such ears are known to be powerful talismans that twitch when shapechangers are nearby and hiding in an alternate form. I wonder if they’ll work when I’m hiding my divine appearance?
Back at the temple, I assisted the priests in performing funeral rites over the dead and cremating their bodies. I had to add a Shinto touch since the priests, being mostly Buddhist, could only give Buddhist rites. In truth, that’s all Japan really has anymore. We need Shinto funeral practices again…but that’s problematic because of the taint of death in Shintoism. Of course, it could be argued that Buddhism is really just a part of Shintoism in Japan now…but I don’t think that’s what the Amatsukami really want.
Once the dead had been honored and sent on their way, I went to check on my girls. I was extremely depressed, and so were my followers, though they were bearing up relatively well thanks to Echo, who was a really pillar of strength for us. Sera was in bad shape, though. She’s been having a really, really hard time lately, and she and Amy had become quite close. Amy’s death hit Sera extremely hard. I did what I could to comfort her, but I don’t think it was enough. Actually, since I was so upset myself, I doubt I helped much despite my efforts. Even so, it was good to just hold her and offer silent comfort. It helped me too.
But what really helped me resign myself to Amy’s death were Echo’s words. She actually scolded me a bit. She told me that I was an aspiring death goddess, and that being so, I couldn’t let deaths like this affect me too badly. Echo used herself as an example. She’s buried many lovers and children, and it always hurts…but she’s continued onward and she acknowledges it as a part of the cycle of life and death. I represent that very cycle…so it should be something I’m comfortable with. I began to think about that, and realized that she’s right. Amy’s death happened. It is sad, but death is a natural part of existence. I’m not going to go on about honoring her sacrifice or anything…that’s more Ray’s thing, and it’s not the way I see Amy’s death anyway. But there is a beauty in death, just as there is a beauty in life. Thanks to the further discussion that Echo and I shared, I’ve come to see the bigger picture…the balance of life and death that I always claimed to understand but guess I never really did before.
And that’s one reason the Mountain of Resurrection needs to be dealt with. It has forced life and death out of balance, at least here in Shikoku, and that cannot be allowed.
Actually, even though I was comforted by these thoughts and revelations, I still felt bad for Amy’s death. It’s only been a few hours, but I already miss her, and the sadness keeps tugging at me. That too is only natural…I’d probably be more upset—like Tabby—if I didn’t feel such sadness. Even a death goddess can mourn the dead, right? Anyway, I went to see if I could find and speak to Ray. Lately, it seems like he knows just what to say to help comfort me.
I couldn’t find him at first, and his followers weren’t very cooperative. I managed to get them to admit that he was talking to Chiaki and didn’t want to be bothered. I confess I felt a twinge of jealousy at that…but I pushed it aside and convinced them to let me talk to him, which they eventually did.
Ray didn’t exactly offer me the sort of comfort I was looking for…he never does. But, as always, he managed to comfort me anyway, if that makes sense. He shared his own thoughts about death. Basically, it’s the bushido ideal. He’s ready to die, as are his followers. You know how bushido works—a samurai has to constantly live in preparation for death. They don’t look for it, but they know it’s an inevitable possibility. I got the feeling that Ray was telling me that he was resigned to death, and that I should be as well. Good old Japanese stoicism.
Even though the nature of his bushido views and my views on the balance of life and death aren’t exactly the same, we both arrive at the same place. It’s important to accept death. And knowing that we are on the same page really did help me feel more at peace with my loss. And there are a lot of hard-hearted death gods out there. Perhaps mourning the dead is a part of what I should do, even as I celebrate life. Yes, I think that’s exactly what I should do.
Anyway, I still feel that I have a responsibility to Amy. I kept one her rings, and I hope to be able to summon her ghost and ask a favor of her. I’m still not sure whether I’ll keep my taint or not. It is problematic, but right now I’m feeling very comfortable with it. But regardless, I’d like to ask Amy to be my shepherd and envoy in the underworld, at least for the time being. I’d like her to guide the souls of any other shikome I might lose to the Underworld…assuming Amy herself can find her way. If she can’t maybe I’ll summon Karen and see if she can’t help. In any event, I feel I have a responsibility toward my followers, and I won’t abandon them in death.