Despair and Wisdom: Imperial March

There isn't a lot of personal time on the march. Plenty of time to think while walking, walking, walking, of course. But you can't really *do* much else in that time (besides minister to the occasional bit of heatstroke, ankles twisted in gopher holes, and the like. And then there's the flurry of setting up or tearing down camp at either end of that walking, along with the greater number of injuries.

So Mari tends to get up a early to tear down her tent, grab breakfast, and find an out-of-the-way-of-foot-traffic spot to drink her mug of tea, spread out a speckled silk cloth with a prayer for insight and good fortune, and toss a handful of stones across it. There's a few minutes of peace to sip tea and stare intently at the stones.

Not too far away, the giant Agasha similarly tears down his tent and eats breakfast. He doesn't seem overly worried about not having any free time or the amount of work that he has to do to help the legion make good time. He looks to be doing some basic maintenance on his own weapon at the moment, a standard looking yari But with a haft covered with carvings that tell the story of Bishamon. It looks like it belongs in the hands of a monk rather than a samurai, though Daikumo also has the trappings of a priest so it's not exactly strange, but it's definitely not standard. He looks over Mari's direction, his eyes showing something similar to recognition, "Do I recognize you from the medical tent?"

Mari glances up; mention of the medical tent meaning that she's probably the one being spoken to, 9 times out of 10. "Most likely. I'm there often enough." She looks around at the deflating landscape of tents being dismantled. "When there's a tent to work in, at least."

She scoops up stones and cloth, pouring the former back into their bag. "Isawa Mari, 5th Kaisha medic...hence the medical tent and all," she offers as introduction with a bit of a seated bow. "I know you look familiar. Hard to miss someone your size. Afraid I never caught your name though."

"Agasha Daikumo, 4th kaisha medic and smith. I split my time between there and the supply tent making repairs and adjustments. I bet you got a much more in-depth understanding of medicine than I got. I'd be interested in talking technique and methods to learn how the Isawa take care of folks, if you are up for it," Daikumo says as he continues working on his gear and packing it up.

"Honored to meet you Agasha-san. Well, more formally meet you. I'm sure we were both there for Isawa-sama's briefings back at the hub village." The cloth is carefully shaken off and folded as she speaks. "I specialize in the herbal side of things, so I'd imagine there's some differences. I know we often work around a few things that are more common elsewhere, and it's been interesting getting a feel for what's in the Legion's medicine cabinets. I'd expected them to be more like a library of medicines from across the Empire, but not really."

"Still, I imagine the 4th's medical equipment is the better for having someone good at repairs to equipment as well as people, no?"

Adoka had hours ago packed and was returning from a long stroll. The sight of a Dragon and a Phoenix, spelled the perfect start for a day in his mind and thus slowly he approached but stayed far enough to not interrupt them.

He would reply if prompted but otherwise will chill and pray to Bishamon.

Daikumo acknowledges the presence of the Yogo, and seems open to any input they'd want to provide on the topic of conversation.

"I have ensured the tools we use are well maintained and looked after since my arrival, but the actual tools we have are limited in scope. And I tend towards relying on the kami to deal with health issues that they can help with. But I would agree with your assessment on available medicinal resources, they could be expanded. My exposure to using herbs for medicine is limited to the herbs we had available in the mountains."

Agasha Daikumo wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 17, 2024 1:55 pm

Daikumo acknowledges the presence of the Yogo, and seems open to any input they'd want to provide on the topic of conversation.

"I have ensured the tools we use are well maintained and looked after since my arrival, but the actual tools we have are limited in scope. And I tend towards relying on the kami to deal with health issues that they can help with. But I would agree with your assessment on available medicinal resources, they could be expanded. My exposure to using herbs for medicine is limited to the herbs we had available in the mountains."

"May be an issue of how much they want to store, and some redundancies out there. Like, I notice the mint is a mountain variety and not the one I've come across wild around the capitol." She finishes bundling up the divination kit and picks up her neglected tea. "Human tools will always have trouble being as complete as the kami, they can mend...and injure...far beyond anything we do. But I know their attention can't be taken for granted. But I was toddling through herb gardens well before I really learned what the spirits could do." Her head tilts in thought. "I take it you were a smith first, then? Mending people being a bit later?"

She notes the newcomer with a nod and appraising glance. They don't *look* like they're carrying injuries to ask about, though you never know with those masks.

Having been acknowledged, Adoka used bird talk to send Metsuki up in the skies and approached. At the proper distance, he bowed to both, once.

"Blessings of the kami to you and yours dear samas. I couldn't help but overhear that you are fellow enthusiasts of herbalism. My collection of herbs is of course at your disposal. I have brought along all the basics, plus some recreational." He informed and went to more focused observation of them.

"I am Yogo Adoka, a student of the resplendent Soshi Taiyou, the Keeper of the Amaterasu Seido in the City of Stories. I was recently transferred to the 3rd Kaisha of this Legion. It's always a pleasure to meet other servants of the kami."

"I wouldn't be surprised if it was an issue of logistics and transportation," Daikumo agreed with Mari on that point.

He then looks to the Yogo and says, "Your offer is appreciated, But with the number of people here, I imagine we would deplete your personal stock of herbs pretty quickly. They don't have a lot of different medicinal herbs, but what they do have they have in large supply. Personal stocks are probably better shared for any abnormal injuries or illnesses that might require specialized treatments. I'll keep your offer in mind if I run across any such issues. I am Agasha Daikumo, by the way."

Looking back to Mari, " I did start out more with smithing than with healing, and it is my stronger aptitude, but the agasha teach flexibility and breadth of knowledge more than depth. It is a core foundational principle of our family, to better understand how the different elements interact."

Mari nods in agreement with the large Dragon. "The supplies don't really seem to lack for anything we need. I just came with this idea that, with everything available, everything would be stocked. But...that's more like a library or scholarly collection, and this," she gestures off in the general direction of all the packing up, "is an army. It was my first lesson in how I really had little idea of how an Imperial force worked. Wasn't the last."

She glances to Adoka, "might be careful who you mention the recreational herbs to. Everything in stores is meant for medical use, regardless of what else we know they *could* be used for. And some commanders wouldn't be too thrilled when they have enough trouble just keeping alcohol use at a functional level." Some samurai--and servants--thought they held their sake better than they actually did. "Not a big deal when we're settled back home waiting to move, but they're tetchier now that we've got to watch for bandits and are settling in for whatever happens at the end of the march."

To Daikumo she says. "How the elements interact? That's pretty fundamental to healing, where you're dealing with all of them at once in living people, neh? Adjust for too much fire in the kidneys, and now the heart's weeping with too much water. Always learning something new!" She considers. "Does working with them in metal help pick up principles faster? ...where you're not going to see someone sick or dead on account of your learning curve? There's a lot to learn from mistakes, but in healing, you've got a lot less room to make them."

"Well I had severe head trauma a couple of years back and for my functionality depends on those recreational drugs and strong quantities of sake." He replied to the Isawa. "Plus I don't see any commander around. Do you see one?"

He avoided geeking out with the smart kids. I mean no one likes a smart ass.

"As for my stocks, I am pretty sure that I will be resupplying in every camp we will make, so I suppose, I could make arrangements for you." He added as if he was talking about the weather.

"A bit different from the fundamental elements of the body. I was speaking more about the elements of the kami. Among the Agasha we learned to do things a little bit different. Understanding the connection between a person's health and the fire in their body allows us to use our techniques in order to call upon the fire kami to heal. Or any of the elements really. All elements are in all things for the most part, and we learn how to call upon different kami than what is standard to achieve the same results through our prayers," Daikumo explains to Mari.

Looking to the Yogo, "And doing what we can to replenish supplies is always useful. I have no skill at gathering herbs from the while. I know which ones are useful for healing, but I have no clue where to find them outside of a medical kit. Having the necessary skills to help us restock is a boon."

Frowning a bit in thought, Mari asks Daikumo, "but elements are elements? The fire kami within the body and without are just...in different places, doing different things." With a rueful smile, she adds, "though we don't seem to have invocations subtle enough to encourage healing calling on elements other than water. Exciting the other elements within the body can be hard to control... and messy...since they're normally present in so much smaller amounts that any shift really seems to have an oversized effect. It's a bit of a feat the Agasha have pulled off." There's a genuine note of respect in her voice. "I'm afraid trying to entice someone's inner fire to heal them would end poorly for me, so I end up relying on ginger for a milder way of stoking inner fires."

There's a polite hint of smile with a shake of the head to Adoka. "I gather enough for the small things we might need." She wasn't sure she wanted to trust supplies offered by the Scorpion in general, and this one in particular. "Other kaisha may have a use."

" I can see it being a difficult task trying to excite the different elements in someone's body with medicinal herbs to promote healing. But from an elemental kami's perspective, it is a simple task. In a way, asking the kami of air to stimulate the air in someone's body to heal them is a simpler thing than finding the proper herbs to stimulate someone's air in order to heal them. Of course it comes with the complexity of actually having to ask the kami in the first place, but beyond that, it's easy to trust them to understand their element and nature."

He was comfortable with not really participating in the conversation. He had said his piece and apparently they weren't interested. He acted as if interested in their words but in reality he didn't paid much attention.

Agasha Daikumo wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 19, 2024 2:59 pm

" I can see it being a difficult task trying to excite the different elements in someone's body with medicinal herbs to promote healing. But from an elemental kami's perspective, it is a simple task. In a way, asking the kami of air to stimulate the air in someone's body to heal them is a simpler thing than finding the proper herbs to stimulate someone's air in order to heal them. Of course it comes with the complexity of actually having to ask the kami in the first place, but beyond that, it's easy to trust them to understand their element and nature."

Mari chuckles. "I find the opposite. The elements seem to react with too much excitement if I call upon them, with only water having the balanced nature required for restraint. Then one problem is solved, but I have several others...like stones forming where they shouldn't or hot flares in the joints. Herbs offer a gentle correction, but more attention to diagnosis so I'm correcting the right thing."

"Makes me wonder what basic, underlying elements of our training shape those effects." The Isawa would no doubt say it's just that their techniques were so powerful, they sometimes overshot the mark. "Still, if there's ever time, I'd be interested in observing what the kami are doing during your treatments." Granted, the times when the kami were needed for healing, often didn't allow for that sort of side project because *everyone* was busy.

Head tilted, she looks to the Yogo. "I'm guessing Yogo teachings also differ on why and when to call upon the kami for healing and when to use mundane medicines and treatment?"

A typical question to ask a Yogo. As if the family's fundamental paradigm isn't based on the principles the tribe of Isawa set.

"Well, we favour efficiency and most of the time access to herbs is a non issue. Personally I have a shikigami, who usually covers these needs. Metsuki-san, my raven, is also quite skilled and loves finding stuff." He explained.

"Thus using the kami for this purpose rarely is my go to solution. Ultimately the body will heal. Making it to easy for it, sometimes undermines the purpose of the injury."

It was indeed fascinating, seeing how paradigms shifted across time, seeing how incredibly different Yogo paradigms were from those of the Asahina, and where the focus on fire had taken the Moshi, despite all having essentially the same origins. Making assumptions based on knowledge of that origin would almost certainly lead to screwy conclusions.

"Hmm...I'd say the Agasha approach is honestly the most efficient, requiring no gathering, only the resources of the healer and patient, and functional even in areas with severe water imbalance." There was the beginning of a thought, not nearly formed enough to grab onto yet, relating this to the looming specter of elemental imbalance that they'd been wrestling with for these past few years. But while this Isawa was willing to grant methods other than hers might be better for various circumstances, she wasn't quite ready to reach for the idea that some other school might be the ones with the answer to a question of that magnitude.

"But I'm not sure how leaving injuries unhealed fulfills some purpose. Gaining them in the first place can be a reminder of...well, what not to do. After that, it's just suffering and possibly keeping someone from work that needs doing."

"Efficiency is definitely a quality I hold in high regard," Daikumo replies to the Yogo. "My school teaches flexibility, but the forge demands efficiency. Crafting with steel takes a lot of time and resources that beg not to be wasted."

"As for our methods with the kami, there's we can call upon them in a flexible manner and convince them to perform favors they wouldn't normally do, their nature also influences it in their way. So it doesn't work exactly the same, but it can also sometimes have unexpected benefits as well."