(D7, EA, Library) Blessings and Curses

[Isawa Natsuko]

While she did not expect the Academy library to have a particularly strong selection of theological tomes, spiritual themes lace through quite a bit of Crane art. So, after making her requests to the librarians, and carrying off their recommended scrolls as a reasonable spot to start, Natsuko found a low table to settle at, asked a servant to bring tea, fished paper and tools for note-taking from her satchel, and...settled in for an afternoon of study.

[Shosuro Kaoru]

Kaoru was studying a treaty on Crane customary laws when she noticed the Isawa presence. First because her senses were of course always on the edge for people moving around her. Second because her book, while intellectually interesting, was, unsurprisingly, chock-full of jargon and implicit references to imperial laws that required frequent breaks for complementary researches, a bit in her own memory, mostly in other books.

Her working station in fact had turned into a mess of scrolls as she slowly gathered all the pieces of the puzzle in one place. Among her several pages of densely packed notes was one solely dedicated to keeping track of all her documentation.

All in all, she had fully switched to researcher mode and after a couple of hours of intense work, her brain was actively seeking possible distraction.

She thus focused on the other samurai.

"Good day to you Isawa-sama. This one is Shosuro Kaoru, daughter of Shosuro Nagisa, advisor in training, and unlikely to get the legal counseling side fully covered before the end of the day even if progress does get done.

Are your own endeavors fruitful?"

[Isawa Natsuko]

Her head pops up at 'Isawa-sama,' blue eyes wide, hands suddenly stilled on the scroll being opened. "Shosuro-sa..sama? We are children and probably all -san but if you are training as an advisor--legal advisor? Magistrate?--that will change soon enough. Probably."

She lets the scroll roll closed again, offering a bit of a seated bow, more a nod with a forward lean to it. "Isawa Natsuko, acolyte of Starry Heaven Sanctuary." Glancing back down to the scrolls, she muses, "fruitful though? These endeavors? Almost certainly these." Her eyes come back up with a rapid one-two nod. "Of course. I know more things than when I began. I do not think I have entirely understood what I am seeking to unravel, but I always expected that would take more time and other resources."

Considering the scatter of work before the Scorpion, she adds, "I hope Fukurokujin and Saibanken have smiled upon your own investigation. But...what legal counsel is needed for the Tournament?"

[Shosuro Kaoru]

"Politeness is like rice: Too much is preferable to not enough.

And as you said, it won't be long before we'll all be '-sama' here. As an adult Isawa shugenja who but your own family will dare '-san' you? Might as well get used to it.

How does this library compare to those of the Phoenix out of curiosity? Did you manage to find texts on your subject of choice that you wouldn't have in your lands?"

Kaoru's eyes lingered for an instant on the scrolls before the Phoenix – force of habit – before going back to face the stare.

"I am not studying for the tournament itself so much that I'm keeping up with my studies in general. I am to acquire some solid basics about Rokugan judiciary system. Though it's not my main focus. I would even say my focus is about not having a focus.

I am to become the person my lord calls when they need some random piece of information about any subject, and that I must in turn discover a way to learn of it, whether it be by reading books, by finding and asking an actual specialist, through putting together already available but scattered pieces of data, by going to see the situation on site myself... Whatever is the best method to obtain an accurate answer in a timely manner.

Not an uninteresting job, but one that requires spending a lot of time building a base of working knowledge on so many different subjects."

[Isawa Natsuko]

The scrolls scattered around her appear mostly literary, plus a play or three, judging by the markings; which one could do if one has become familiar with the filing system here.

"Isawa only briefly, and then Shiba, but the point is taken, and the politeness." There is little inflection to her quiet voice, but her manner seems polite.

"The library does not have much in the way of theological works compared to the one at the Sanctuary. I do not think that surprising." She gestures to her overflowing basket. "But the librarians did find quite a lot to offer me regarding Benten's attentions, benevolent or wrathful in poetry, plays, and the like. My training was not strongly focused on such things, and I find myself with recent questions."

She listens to the job description, nodding slightly. "That sounds a bit more like the sort of position that comes with some status, depending on what lord you are advising...particularly after attending this tournament. How has their collection compared to what you are used to?"

[Shosuro Kaoru]

"Different. Everything can be found in Ryokō Owari if you're explicitly looking for them, but when you just stumble in one of its libraries without a clear idea of what you're searching for, you'll be welcome with mostly practical books – encyclopedias about plants and animals, medicine treaties, atlas – as well as some lightly provocative pillow books to keep up with the city's reputation.

This very library has more of a focus on the history and the theory of dueling, as well as the thing without which dueling would be but a brawl: Etiquette. Less down-to-earth, more targeted toward an ideal.

The libraries of both cities however have a common ground in that they share an equal love for poetry and plays."

She nodded in direction of the likely very well-stocked aisle of the libraries dedicated to the arts.

"I indeed won't become advisor to the clan's champion or something like that as soon as I received my blades. It's but the beginning of my path, and I have still much to learn by performing my duties for less important personages or under the tutelage of more experienced persons.

But isn't the same true of all of us? An Akodo may train to become a general from their birth, but they're unlikely to be given command of the armies of the Lion at the age of fifteen.

As an example of my current shortcomings, my training didn't have time yet to delve into the theological side. All my knowledge of the Fortunes' whim is that you should treat them like natural blessings or disasters: Respectfully, focusing on dealing with their consequences and little on understanding their causes as there's nothing you can do about them.

But of course, that's only true of people that cannot literary command the elements."

[Isawa Natsuko]

"Treating them as natural blessings or disasters is as much as most of those who command the elements can do." She nods in agreement. "Even if one can bend reality to circumvent causes or consequences, it is not necessarily wise to do so. Setting oneself against the will of a fortune will not end well if they notice."

"As you say, they are well stocked here in all pertaining to the arts, and the Crane have a particular reverence for Benten. There is something to be learned from the depictions, some no doubt drawn from experience, of the myriad manifestations of the fortune's attentions and people's hopes to attract or avoid such attention."

She reaches for her tea, refilling the cup. May as well keep it from growing colder. "As to positions, no, I suppose even those honored here will not be given great commands just yet. I know next to nothing of military organization, but that seems sensible." Gazing into her tea for a considering moment she then adds, "I suppose the equivalent for me is...that it will be some time before I have the experience for assignments involving repairing the more serious mistakes of past members of my school. The void is not forgiving of inexperience."

[Shosuro Kaoru]

"Sins of the parent, duties of the child.

In that case though, what honor asks and what's practical are but one, as there isn't really anyone else that can help with such issues. I guess you were served the 'great power, great responsibility' talk every other day through your childhood? As a mundane samurai, I only got it once a week."

Her own eyes wandered into the void, looking at her past instead of the current room.

"My sensei is a firm believer that it is neither age, the number of years you've spent training, or passing some kind of exam or ceremony that made one ready to take upon their duties, but the call. One day your lord asks you to jump off the nest, and you either take flight or drop like a stone. Conscientious training hones your body and mind for that day but the last piece can only be acquired on the field of duty itself, when everything clicks because it just has to.

For the warrior it might be the first time they have to face someone in a clash to the death. For the scholar how they deal with an unsolvable question they must nonetheless solve. For the courtier to keep afloat in a situation they've lost control of. Or some less traumatic events. The specifics aren't important. Only the moment itself."

[Isawa Natsuko]

She nods. "Not exactly that talk, but the danger we present is on an entirely different scale than someone with a sword, and strikingly different nature than someone with status and authority. There is no test or exam that grants us that power." Her head tilts, "I suppose it is a call unto itself. But...no small number of my classmates were found when someone or something was damaged beyond repair. We spend much of the rest of our time understanding that power and when to employ it more responsibly."

"Would you like tea?" She taps her own pot. "I can ask the servants for another cup."

[Shosuro Kaoru]

"I wouldn't say no, thank you. I plan to hit the training grounds just after I'm done here, and I could use the light energy boost and the hydration.

Out of curiosity, what does ishiken training even look like? Elemental shugenja learn the fine art of interacting with the spirits, but there's no negotiating with the fabric of the universe. Or is there?"

[Isawa Natsuko]

"It is more navigating than negotiating," she says quietly. "sorting all of the maybes and might-have-beens and...exerting a thing the void does not inherently have, a will, a choice. The Void is everything, and so it chooses nothing." She flags down a servant for another cup..and more hot water. It isn't as if they'll complain of the small divergence from their days of dusting shelves endlessly. Really, these scrolls were the cleanest she'd seen, very attractive marking system for filing as well.

"It is also different depending on when one starts being able to interact with all of that. I was very young, so the first lessons were how to not interact when I could. We learn restraint, and...how to be firm about the edges of our selves, lest we bleed away into the ocean of everything." When ready, she passes a cup of tea over to the Scorpion.

"Then there is time to," she pats one of the scrolls, "study things as solid as words on a page, to refine understanding of all that may be found in the void." She glances up, "So you probably actually have a head start on me there. Where do you start for such a future?"

[Shosuro Kaoru]

"I'm not sure I fully understand your question if I am to be honest.

If you're asking me how I would proceed when faced with something whose nature I have no idea... Well, that was part of my training actually. My sensei once gave me a small wooden contraption, a broken part of an unknown item, and asked me to determine what it was and where it came from.

At first, I tried to identify the variety of the wood, the constituents of the paint, what kind of tool could have been used to manufacture it... Objective, logical, hints. That lead nowhere.

Then I remembered of my sensei's meticulous nature, with training tools that had to be impeccably cleaned and put back in their spots at the end of each session, and made the hypothesis they wouldn't have left the remains of a broken item just lying around. A thorough search through the dumping ground for noncompostable waste later, I had my answer. It was a decoration of some old ornamented chair if I recall correctly.

So... If you don't know what you're looking at, focus on the context in which you got to see it?"

[Isawa Natsuko]

Natsuko sits up a bit straighter as the tale rolls out, attentive. "I had actually wondered where one starts for the future career you envision, but this answers a bit of that and something more. I begin to see why some of my sensei worded questions as they did."

"Where does one begin, before moving on to identifying random objects?"

[Shosuro Kaoru]

"Oh, for my practical immediate future, I'll be assigned to people in need of assistance for such research tasks on a per-mission basis. For example, one day checking someone's background on behalf of a magistrate, the other building up a list of more commonly exchanged goods in a market for a tax collector.

I won't be permanently assigned to the retinue of a given lord before years, maybe decades. It's a rare and prestigious position, and it requires far more on-field experience than I currently have to do properly.

And it all begins with classical education really. Leadership, Ninten, The Sword, all the fundamental texts of the empire. Delving deep into the theoretical foundations upon which samurai's society is built, understanding the great principles that guide them, and iterate from here.

My sensei used a mathematical analogy. You cannot know all the theorems. But if you know the base axioms of math, and the process to demonstrate a new theorem from already proven or accepted rules, you can iterate until you attain a solution.

So, all in all, I've got maybe one of the less original educations you could imagine, most of it being extremely by the book."

[Isawa Natsuko]

While the tasks sounded remarkably commercial, and thus a bit opaque to the young priestess, the idea of working from basic theory into more advanced was a familiar one, at least.

"I admit, I've only relatively recently read The Sword. I do think we might benefit a bit from an earlier read, as it includes some very interesting hints of how others might perceive their fleeting glimpses of how the void connects them." The value of the text to her actual ability to duel is rather questionable though. "I admit that I haven't not expected I might need to make use of the more practical information in that one."

"Iterating from known interactions both does and does not work well among those who interact with the kami. At a certain point you can be working with powers that don't begin to acknowledge earlier methods of channeling such energy. I'm told it becomes more a matter of spiritual strength and instinct."

[Shosuro Kaoru]

"I guess that's the fundamental difference between our respective duties. My job always boils down to interacting with humans in the end, and all humans are similar in some aspect. We all breathe, eat, sleep, age, love, fear, desire, etc. A common ground to work on.

I would myself be utterly lost if I had to deal with a sentient being not playing by the same rules."

Kaoru pointed at a shelf filled with books commenting on The Sword, and how Kakita's words should be interpreted:

"The extra tricky part of analyzing books like The Sword nowadays is that they tend to use words in the sense that was theirs one thousand years ago. And sometimes meanings have shifted quite a bit in the meantime. Or they employ metaphors that might be not obvious. For example I had a Kakita student tell me the original Kakita sometimes used 'katana' as a synonym for 'soul' instead of talking about the actual blade.

I'm also not sure the book is the easiest starting point to learn the art of duel, whether now or then. The book implicitly assumes the people reading it are already quite used to manipulating swords in some capacity, and are now looking for more than hitting the guy on the other side with a sharp blade."

[Isawa Natsuko]

Natsuko nods. "I suppose if trained in analyzing humans, they are more predictable. I find them rather mystifying at times. The proliferation of possible paths says that they are not entirely predictable."

"I do not have the historical knowledge to know where an ancient idiom differs from the modern, but..while a blade may awaken, it seems strange to me to call it a soul. Was he saying that he was actually striking in a duel with his soul, rather than his blade...or perhaps in addition to?"

[Shosuro Kaoru]

"The explanation behind some rather confusing passages might be of a relative simplicity: Kakita was a poet, and poets sometimes cannot help themselves from sacrificing the clarity of a sentence on the altar of having it sound more melodious. A far fetched metaphor for a richer rhyme, spiced with one millennium of cultural differences, and voilà.

Kakita's human flaws also transpire in The Sword in how he can switch from a lengthy passage about how a duel is solely decided by how pure and strong one's duelist soul is to a rant on how using two swords at once is a dumb idea. Sometimes putting in perspective what he wrote is wise."

[Isawa Natsuko]

"That does make it less practical, certainly," she says slowly. "To be honest, my limited practice so far makes me think that practice is more valuable than scholarship in actually being good at duels. I suppose that is true of most physical skills."

"Though I could see a poetry to the way fates connect in a duel." Looking up to the Scorpion once more, she asks, "Have you found the text of much use in your own martial practice?"

[Shosuro Kaoru]

"I would say it's useful to have studied it when interacting with people who live by it, on duel grounds or anywhere else, as it helps anticipate their moves better. No true Kakita would do a feint strike for example, at least not with an actual blade, as it would go against all the principles of their philosophy.

As for if it helped with own handling of a sword... Not really. As you said, practice is just better to teach the body how to move right.

If you're a true beginner, I doubt three days of ordinary training will be enough to get on par with other contestants sadly."