[D4 LM, open] Green light, red light

[Agasha Sorato]

Sorato hadn't realized there was a religious edifice up here in the foothills until the grumpy Kaiu officer mentioned it yesterday. He'd taken a peek at the urban Temple of Daikoku after arriving finding it fairly conventional, but the embassy staff had never so much as mentioned a "Temple of Light." Surely he had better check it out. The pleasantly cool(er) and breezy weather this morning is perfect for a ride from city to suburb on his rented auto-bike, the pedal assist making the uphill stretches easy.

The Temple of Light is... not what he expected, though. That is, whatever he was vaguely expecting, it definitely wasn't this. He parks his bike and straightens his clothing before approaching the warehouse-turned-temple, brows drawing together in thought.

[Tamori Kanna]

Sorato wasn't the only one thinking to take in the scenery of the wider area. As she had been nearby at the Ryu Onsen earlier, Kanna took the trip down to Tenjin Town instead of returning to Nakahama City.

Kaida's tongue flapped gloriously in the breeze as he stood up on his hind legs to look out of the basket on the scooter that moved through the town. At some point, the arrived at the local temple, and stopped.

"Oh, good morning, Agasha-san! Out sightseeing too?" she called to the familiar Phoenix as she parked the scooter.

The Dragon was dressed in something like a business casual-attire, in black and white.

[Agasha Sorato]

"Yes, exactly that." Sorato smiles at Kanna as he bows politely. "I heard there was a temple out here. Not a very typical temple, it turns out."

He'll crouch and offer a hand to Kaida to sniff, although unfortunately he doesn't have anything delicious to bestow as tribute.

[Tamori Kanna]

"Ah? I wonder how it's different..." apart from the architecture. It didn't seem very TEMPLE to her. Then again, Dragon and Phoenix were all about temples, and would probably call themselves experts on the topic.

Kaida gave a few excited spins as he was back on the ground, before zooming over to Sorato to see if he had anything of interest... none, but hand could still be licked in hopes of head-pats or ear-scritchies.

[Agasha Sorato]

"I mean, it looks different from out here." To make up for his disappointing falure to pack snacks, a kneeling Sorato delivers some head scratches and ear rubs to Kaida instead. "When I heard this was a 'Temple of Light' I thought it might be a sanctuary of the Jade Sun or Osano-wo, but it doesn't have any of the usual iconography for those."

[Boogiepop]

The warehouse was indeed a warehouse, it seemed, at least from a distance. While there was a slim possibility that the Crab had different ideas about what could constitute a temple, given how some swimwear fashions here were a bit more liberal, it seemed unlikely the case with the Temple to Daikoku in the city would stray far from that definition. In this case, Sorato and Kanna were right to criticize.

The warehouse was simple, the exterior had seen better days. The concrete building was solid but there was a good share of rust staining on its grey exterior. The roofing was metal, much like the many abodes found on the coast. Most of the windows were draped with red cloth. It lacked all iconography and trappings of a traditional temple. This would likely seem especially glaring to more devout Clans, such as the Dragon and Phoenix.

There was a peculiar icon, which was a simple triangle.


Art by Joanne Kwan

There were 3 heimen on the roof, seemingly preoccupied with fixing the roof. They would cast a gaze at the shugenja, probably longer than the usual heimen, to the verge of disrespect before bowing deeply.

[Agasha Sorato]

Sorato straightens up from petting Kaida and waves a hand and nods politely to the heimin on the roof, which is about the right amount of bow from visiting samurai to commoner (especially when the commoners are overhead). "Good morning," he calls out, raising his voice--hopefully just enough to be heard from above. "I hope it's all right to visit?"

He knows the answer is probably 'yes,' especially when the askers are samurai, but it seems courteous to ask anyway. After all, some Fortunist temples are closed to outsiders except on certain days to protect the sacred images from unhallowed influences, or restricted only to the kuge of certain old families. But those temples... generally don't look like this one.

--
OOC: Is there anything in particular wrong with the roof, or is it just old?

Is there an appropriate Lore skill for recognizing the peculiar icon?

[Boogiepop]

Tonk!

The labourers don't seem to say at first, but there was a sudden drop of a hammer before one of them seemed to descend down a ladder that was poking through the roof, likely leading to the interior of the building, presumably to the second floor. The others seem to glance at this act and go back to what they're doing. It didn't seem like this labourer was making a break for it, but rather fetching someone else.

It might be hard to see what is truly wrong with the roof, but judging from Sorato's visit to the coast of Tenjin Town. I might have been just some late post-storm maintenance.

(Lore: Gaijin Culture will do for an inspection check, might need Sage or Void.)

[Tamori Kanna]

"Maybe they're going to get whoever is in a charge here? A monk, or some sort of priest...?" Kanna spoke her own theories out loud, picking up Kaida for now. It wouldn't do if he suddenly decided to get rowdy on holy ground.

"Temple of Light... hmmm... maybe it's for the older aspects of the sun? Lord Yakamo or Lady Amaterasu?" At least she had paid enough attention in class to remember those two, but otherwise the triangle wasn't something that jumped out at her.

[Agasha Sorato]

"That could be," Sorato agrees with Kanna's guess that the laborer is fetching someone in charge.

--
Lore roll before sleep... it's not very effective.

D4 LM--Lore: Gaijin Culture/Intelligence, unknown TN, Skill from Sage | 4k3 ⇒ 14

[Boogiepop]

It seemed like they were right in that estimation when the double front doors of the warehouse would open. The momentary reveal of the interior would seem to hint at something of a converted loft inside. A low-ranking Yasuki, dressed in a simple functional navy blue jumpsuit (the sort you wear for a job) and a matching hoodie would approach them. He doesn't look like the business sort of Yasuki, many whom resided in Nakahama City.


Yasuki Haruto

"Ah, good morning. Agasha-sama and Tamori-sama. This one is Yasuki Haruto, process assistant to the administrator of Tenjin Town. Welcome, and please be kind to us," he said with a polite bow. "How may I help you on this blessed day?"

[Agasha Sorato]

"Good morning, Yasuki-san." Sorato bows. "Agasha Sorato, of no particular rank." In other words... please don't Agasha-sama me, Agasha-sama is my father. "This is Tamori Kanna. And Kaida."

"I heard there was another local temple out here and wanted to pay a visit. Professional interest, you could say. Hope we're not interrupting anything."

[Tamori Kanna]

"Good morning," Kanna greeted with polite cheer, bowing also to the man, which meant Kaida also bowed since she was holding him.

"... Did the storm do this?" she asked, looking up at the roof.

[Boogiepop]

Yasuki Haruto

"Oh, not at all," Haruto would say gently at the request. "And yes. We're just a bit behind on storm maintenance. Much of the town needed work. There was a little water that got in, and we're just patching things up before tomorrow. There's a particularly big storm coming tomorrow, and it's bound to create a mess if you're not prepared. Wherever you're staying, I pray that there's no incident."

"Please, come in," he said before going back to the doors and holding one open to let them in.

Now that the door had opened wider, they could see something of a smooth concrete warehouse floor with dividing curtains waiting for them on the other side. A great deal of outdoor light flooded in the interior.

[Agasha Sorato]

"Thank you, Yasuki-san. Very generous."

Sorato follows the man inside, looking around with interest. The triangle-image that seems to be the only distinct iconography here means nothing to him. In fact, it all looks quite plain, without the wall paintings or statues, incense burners or offerings he would usually expect in even a small temple.

"I don't recognize the symbol decorating this place," he admits, overcoming some trained-in reluctance to confess not knowing about a spiritual topic. "Excuse my ignorance, but have you a little time to tell us something about what's enshrined here?"

[Tamori Kanna]

Kanna followed the man and Sorato, carrying Kaida with her who looked around curiously.

As Sorato spoke to the Yasuki, she looked around them for familiar things she expected in a shrine or temple, such as a place for purification (or simply just washing hands and mouth according to less religious folks!), or anything else really. This place already seemed so strange to her sensibilities as a shugenja... maybe they should offer to purify or sanctify it?

[Boogiepop]

Once inside the warehouse, both visitors could get a better look at the interior of this particular "temple". As evident outside, it seemed like a semi-converted loft set up. Half of the warehouse space seemed to be still dedicated to storage with a good number of skids kept to the side where the bay doors were still installed in the warehouse. At a glance, they seemed to hint at various cans of foodstuffs, namely those that are canned or preserved.

The other side of the warehouse seemed to have several rubber mats and rugs rolled out on the ground to make it more livable for some of the occupants, with several curtain walls dividing the space to function as both living space and gathering space. There were a few chairs and even rows of bunk beds that were found here, looking to house perhaps around 20 inhabitants. The doors and the interior windows to the connected office space seemed to have been repurposed as a sort of assembly hall with several rows of seating found inside. At the moment, there only seemed to be workers up above on the catwalk with ladders leading to the roof, and only a few were present indoors

Other than the singular iconography, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of religious imagery. No space to cleanse oneself in the traditional way, nor any sort of shrines erected dedicated to any Fortune. If this weren't named a temple, it might have been merely mistaken for a converted living space. They might have kept it to a minimum on purpose to escape some scrutiny.


Yasuki Haruto

"My apologies that we didn't prepare for your visit, Agasha-san, but I am more than happy to enlighten you in any way you can." He gave a small bow of apology and motioned one of the heimen crew to fetch some refreshments. "We are a place of gathering and worship of the religion of Lavoie, The Way. Quite different from the traditional interpretation of worship, in many ways, a new perspective."

He was well aware that he was in the company of two shugenja, but seemed rather confident in expressing that their way of worship, even if it could be something so blatantly blasphemous.

[Agasha Sorato]

Well, Sorato is no Inquisitor, and all Phoenix know at least a little bit about the heterodox Asako who have followed the peculiar Path of Man for thousands of years without being tossed out of the Clan. This sounds unusual, definitely, but not in a way that sets off any loud alarm bells, especially on an island with plenty of Kuni around.

"A different Way of reverence?" he echoes, looking around at the rather austere space. "Different how? Are there many such temples on Green Carp?" He glances at Kanna, curious about her reaction as well.

[Tamori Kanna]

The Way? It sounded strange to her. "Hmm... I don't think I've heard of it before," she said kindly, "but, would it be like a philosophy of enlightenment perhaps?"

At least that wouldn't be too strange too her if it was. The Dragon had seen plenty of Togashi seek enlightenment in their own way, different from previous masters said to have found it - all unorthodox in their own way. It was always a challenge to determine which ones of them were heretical, in her opinion.

"As Agasha-san and I are both priests, is there anything we can offer here perhaps? I wouldn't want to assume that the local Crab priests aren't offering to bless or purify your place of worship..."

[Boogiepop]

Yasuki Haruto

"Yes, Agasha-san. Please, follow me" he said before directing the conversation to a rounded table that was found in one of the curtained, segregated "rooms". It was a quaint little created alcove where there was a circular table with four chairs and lamp for added light.



As they made their way there, there was a Crab woman who stood at the top of the stairs to the warehouse catwalk overhead. She was dressed in a soldier's uniform, it seemed, and carried a military rifle on her shoulder. There was a moment when she would look at the two visitors with a bit of scrutiny, prompting a quiet exchange where Haruto would seem to bow to her apologetically. The woman would merely frown and make her way to the upper levels to keep watch in the building.

(Make a Lore: Crab Clan/Intelligence roll at TN20, GM fiat allowed for post-day rolling.)

When they settled down in the room, a heimen attendant would bring them some already-poured tea in tall plastic cups without the tea teapot.

"To be up front Agasha-san, the Way eschews the traditional way of thought where we've accepted that the world that we know was solely formed by the Kami and the Heavens. Of course, they might have played some role in that, their involvement is a small debate among those in our beliefs to this day. Instead, we view the world and the universe, governed by three celestial elements. We refer to them as the Trinity. This Trinity is made up of the Sky, the Sun, and the Sea. Heavenly bodies that make up the world we know today," he would say, his gentle tone showing patience in the quick introduction to the Way.

He would continue on further, "The Sky is what makes the world as we see today, everything terrestrial on land, the people, and mostly everything we've accepted in this mortal realm. The Ocean is what makes up the great unknown, ambition, and, in extreme cases, all things fearful. However, it also provides to the Sky and the Sun, reflecting their glory as one of its many aspects. The Sun is what grants us blessings from the heavens, granting us things such as hope, sensation, and everything beyond our control such as time. The Way honours these aspects, teaching us to become our best selves while we roam this realm, in hopes that perhaps we may join those who've ascended to the heavens."

"To answer your question, yes, Agasha-san, we do have other temples such as this one on the Green Carp. Admittedly, many are quite reclusive. We've been thankful to have a space such as this one so close to Tenjin Town," he gestures to the area around them.

"We don't need any blessings or purifications in this holy place, Tamori-san," he smiled with a gentle smile. "But if you wish to offer your aid, there are other ways you can do so as a benefactor."

Of course, they could join too, but he wasn't going to make that leap yet.