There are Two Kinds of Fools 2
darthcourt10
Well worn.
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Yellowhammer
There are Two Kinds of Fools (Part II)...
Higashiguchihongu Fujisengen Shrine (Base of Mount Fuji)
Spoiler: Higashiguchihongu Fujisengen Shrine
Spoiler: Prayers For The Ascent
Colombe rinsed her hands and mouth in the shrine's spring just like she had done at Hachimangū while snow from the flurry the night before coated the roofs and trees. Her lips curled in a smug smile as she thought back to her travels, and the lesson that she had learned that "Custom is the King of All." The smile then warmed as she remembered Professor Aetios back at Beauxbatons tutoring her in Greek as well as Charms.
I had such a crush on her Fourth and Fifth Year. Beautiful, intelligent and highly competent, one can do worse as a schoolgirl crush. I do regret never telling her that introducing me to Herodotus stood me in good stead when I started my travels around the world.
"Σας ευχαριστώ Madeline Aetos," she whispered as she finished the ritual.
Next to her, Tokunotakai gave an inquiring glance.
Colombe blushed slightly. "One of my old teachers at Beauxbatons back in the 1720s. I had a schoolgirl crush on her back then, nothing came of it though. I was remembering one of the things that she introduced me to. Two and a half millennia ago, a Greek scholar named Herodotus wrote The Histories. One of the things he mentioned is that 'Custom is the King of All'. Something that has served me well in my travels since generally customs are in place for a good reason and should be respected until you find out the reasons for them. Such as our preparations here by praying at the shrine for the kami of the mountain for a safe ascent that honors Fuji-san."
Toku nodded slowly. "Wise words indeed." She then laughed a little after they prayed to the shrine, resulting in an inquiring glance from Colombe.
"I... underestimated you when we first met. At the time, I saw you as an arrogant gaijin who looked down on The Land of the Gods , like many others who I had heard of during that time. Not as a pilgrim looking to gain understanding humbly - well as humbly as you can, which is not very!" Colombe laughed and stuck out her tongue at Toku, which caused the Masamune's cheeks to redden as she finished her explanation. "And now I learn a piece of wisdom as I venture out into the unknown path ahead of me."
Colombe took Toku's hand and squeezed it gently. "Nervous?" A hesitant nod answered her. "Excited?" A more confident nod. "So am I. Now, Fuji-san awaits us."
"Indeed it does." A voice to their right sounded and both looked to see a shrine maiden with pink hair in cherry blossom patterned robes by a small stand. "Avalanche threats have closed Subashiri and Gotemba trails and I do not recommend that you use them. Your best choice is Tsuki e no jōshō now."
Tokunotakai's eyes widened and she bowed deeply. "I thank you for the kind advice. I confess that while I have heard of Tsuki e no jōshō, I do not know how to get there from here."
A serene smile. "Few do. From the fifth station of Subashiri, head north toward Kofuji peak and pray at the Komitake Shrine that you find in your path."
Colombe bowed in turn. "Thank you very much. I wish to purchase two walking staves for myself and my companion along with two headbands, although I am unclear as to which ones to get since I do not read kanji..."
Toku picked two out. "These two, they say Tōkon. Fighting spirit."
Colombe smiled as she paid the miko. "Perfect. You told me that these are used in kendo and were originally worn under a helmet in war to keep sweat from the eyes of a samurai and pad the head?"
Toku took the hachimake and tied one around Colombe's forehead before doing the same with her own dark hair. "Yes. now they show that the wearer is filled with the spirit written on them."
Colombe handed the staff to Toku and squared her shoulders at the looming bulk of the mountain ahead. "Well then, let us draw upon our fighting spirit to fulfill our promise to climb Fuji-san."
As they left the shrine, Konohananosakuya-hime watched them go with a knowing smile on her face as she put away the money that the two junior kami had offered her.
-----------------------------
Spoiler: Ascent
Komitake Shrine, 6.9 kilometers from the summit, 2000 meter elevation
Colombe dug the end of her staff into the virgin snow of the path and heaved herself up another step up the slope. While her legs were burning with the efforts of the last four hours as they continually trekked up the mountain slopes, it was a old and familiar pain. Unlike Tokunotakai's experiences.
With that she looked back at her Masamune love. The elder sword was certainly fit and active, but had never subjected herself to the grueling push of unrelenting constant effort that Colombe had in her centuries of exploration and war. Measuring the determined look in Toku's eyes, and the tightness of her grip on her walking staff, the Muramasa came to a decision. "Once we reach the top of the ridge here we take a brief rest."
Toku nodded and levered herself up through the ankle-deep snow covering the steps to the shrine as they made their way through the cedar trees. "Hai, Co-chan." She then continued up the path to the top and looked around briefly as they entered a small clearing. The woods were hushed, and she could see several crows int he upper branches surveying them curiously.
Then her eyes narrowed at the sight of the simple shrine in the middle.
Spoiler: Komitake Shrine
"This is the Shrine?" Colombe asked as she unslung her pack with a hiss of relief
"Hai, it is." Toku gave a gentle smile as she lowered her own pack and sat on a boulder. She then whispered a prayer and her eyes glowed. "It is warded too, and...there is a well four meters to your right. We can draw water there to purify ourselves for our prayers."
Colombe nodded and then moved in the indicated direction, finally finding the promised well with a stone cover. Lifting it off, she frowned. "Rats, it's too far down. Hm. To-chan, can you get me my true body? I have a spell that should work."
Tokunotakai pulled Colombe's rapier body and swordbelt out from her pack and carried them over as the Muramasa cleaned out the basin for the water.
Colombe drew herself and saluted the well, then gestured with her swordpoint, a rolling blue-green aura surrounding her blade. "Right, let's do this. Ο Ποσειδώνας φέρει το νερό από την άνοιξη!" With a roar, water shot forth in a rope to fill the basin as the ground shook slightly. Colombe smugly smirked at a somewhat wide-eyed Toku. "Ta-da!"
Toku blinked twice and then bowed. "Impressive. What was that spell you used?"
Colombe shrugged. "I called upon Poseidon, ah the Greek deity of the ocean and earthquakes among other things. I had a very old girlfriend teach me that invocation, actually shortly after I found out what I truly was."
Toku nodded and pulled her own sword body out of her pack. "There is a story involved there, I suspect."
"Oh yes. This happened, oh back in 1745. At the time I was working as a mercenary in the Mediterranean and got hired to protect a trade ship out of Venice to Istanbul. Well we got attacked by pirates enroute, and boarded." Colombe's eyes grew distant and she had a smug smile. "anyway, it was a rough fight, especially since they had a mage. I was dueling him while I fought off the boarding party and deflected a Blasting Curse he tossed into the quarterdeck where one of our cannons was being loaded. Well it exploded and the blast knocked me over the far rail."
Toku's eyes widened as the Muramasa laughed. "So I landed in the water with sword in hand and decided to swim for it. Fortunately, I had learned, and also the Aegean is filled with islands. I wasn't feeling that strong, though, so dropped my sword to keep afloat." Colombe shook her head. "Back then I had no fucking clue that I was the sword, I just knew that it was magical and was 'right' in my hands. Anyway, I found out the hard way that if my avatar is separated from my blade by a certain distance, this 'me' blinks out and reforms wherever my sword is."
Toku shook her head. "So you would have...reformed where your sword was?"
Colombe laughed. "Oh yes. Fortunately, I immediately realized that I was deep underwater, and cast the Bubble-Head Charm to get myself some breathable air. Remind me to teach you that one just in case. Of course I had no clue where I was, so cast a divination spell, then started walking the way it suggested I go. Eventually I walked ashore... days later perhaps? You lose track of time underwater."
"I finally made landfall on a rather nice uncharted island. With only one inhabitant who found me when I crawled ashore."
Toku blinked, "Didn't this get made into Lady Chastity #2, Lady Chastity and the Witch of the Waves?"
"Oh yes. In brief, she nursed me back to health although I had a few suspicions about her and her suspiciously tame housepets. So I seduced her...well we seduced each other, she really really did not like men. Then I did some research while playing dumb, helped by the fact that Professor Aetos had taught me Old Greek so I could read her scrolls and figured out that she was Circe. Not wishing to find out what kind of an animal she would turn me into when she tired of my skills in her bed, I decided to escape first. I recognized one of the potions she had brewed as Felix Felicis, so I swiped and chugged it and then blind Apparated myself off the island." Colombe smirked, "I wasn't lying when I told her that I was terrible at brewing potions, but I paid attention in class when it came time to identify them."
"Anyway, I popped back into Papa's castle and after the family reunion took a horse for Austria since Circe was associated with ships and supposedly a vicious bitch who lived on that island. Spent the next decade out skirmishing with the Ottomans and Italians well away from salt water until I got the notice that Papa had died, which is a different tale." Colombe finished as her face clouded.
Toku hugged her and then nodded to the basin. "Still, let us pray now."
Colombe nodded and began to wash her hands and mouth. "We wash our hands and mouth to purify ourselves, ring the bell twice if present to alert the Kami to our presence, bow twice to the Kami, then clap twice to signify our wish to speak, and finally bow once more, correct?"
"Hai, and then leave an offering. For this shrine, I brought daifuku cakes."
Colombe frowned thoughtfully at the enshrined object as she carefully left her pink-colored daifuku rice cake at the shrine."That is a bronze axhead, but..not a weapon, I think. A tool, perhaps."
"A woodsman's axe, such as I saw in my youth." Toku said thoughtfully. "Perhaps it could be...." She walked around the clearing and then paused as a patch of undergrowth faded like mist to reveal a path leading away. "Co-chan, I believe that we have found our path to the summit of Fuji-san."
Colombe shouldered her pack. "Well let's be about it. Daylight is fading."
There are Two Kinds of Fools (Part II)...
Higashiguchihongu Fujisengen Shrine (Base of Mount Fuji)
Spoiler: Higashiguchihongu Fujisengen Shrine
Spoiler: Prayers For The Ascent
Colombe rinsed her hands and mouth in the shrine's spring just like she had done at Hachimangū while snow from the flurry the night before coated the roofs and trees. Her lips curled in a smug smile as she thought back to her travels, and the lesson that she had learned that "Custom is the King of All." The smile then warmed as she remembered Professor Aetios back at Beauxbatons tutoring her in Greek as well as Charms.
I had such a crush on her Fourth and Fifth Year. Beautiful, intelligent and highly competent, one can do worse as a schoolgirl crush. I do regret never telling her that introducing me to Herodotus stood me in good stead when I started my travels around the world.
"Σας ευχαριστώ Madeline Aetos," she whispered as she finished the ritual.
Next to her, Tokunotakai gave an inquiring glance.
Colombe blushed slightly. "One of my old teachers at Beauxbatons back in the 1720s. I had a schoolgirl crush on her back then, nothing came of it though. I was remembering one of the things that she introduced me to. Two and a half millennia ago, a Greek scholar named Herodotus wrote The Histories. One of the things he mentioned is that 'Custom is the King of All'. Something that has served me well in my travels since generally customs are in place for a good reason and should be respected until you find out the reasons for them. Such as our preparations here by praying at the shrine for the kami of the mountain for a safe ascent that honors Fuji-san."
Toku nodded slowly. "Wise words indeed." She then laughed a little after they prayed to the shrine, resulting in an inquiring glance from Colombe.
"I... underestimated you when we first met. At the time, I saw you as an arrogant gaijin who looked down on The Land of the Gods , like many others who I had heard of during that time. Not as a pilgrim looking to gain understanding humbly - well as humbly as you can, which is not very!" Colombe laughed and stuck out her tongue at Toku, which caused the Masamune's cheeks to redden as she finished her explanation. "And now I learn a piece of wisdom as I venture out into the unknown path ahead of me."
Colombe took Toku's hand and squeezed it gently. "Nervous?" A hesitant nod answered her. "Excited?" A more confident nod. "So am I. Now, Fuji-san awaits us."
"Indeed it does." A voice to their right sounded and both looked to see a shrine maiden with pink hair in cherry blossom patterned robes by a small stand. "Avalanche threats have closed Subashiri and Gotemba trails and I do not recommend that you use them. Your best choice is Tsuki e no jōshō now."
Tokunotakai's eyes widened and she bowed deeply. "I thank you for the kind advice. I confess that while I have heard of Tsuki e no jōshō, I do not know how to get there from here."
A serene smile. "Few do. From the fifth station of Subashiri, head north toward Kofuji peak and pray at the Komitake Shrine that you find in your path."
Colombe bowed in turn. "Thank you very much. I wish to purchase two walking staves for myself and my companion along with two headbands, although I am unclear as to which ones to get since I do not read kanji..."
Toku picked two out. "These two, they say Tōkon. Fighting spirit."
Colombe smiled as she paid the miko. "Perfect. You told me that these are used in kendo and were originally worn under a helmet in war to keep sweat from the eyes of a samurai and pad the head?"
Toku took the hachimake and tied one around Colombe's forehead before doing the same with her own dark hair. "Yes. now they show that the wearer is filled with the spirit written on them."
Colombe handed the staff to Toku and squared her shoulders at the looming bulk of the mountain ahead. "Well then, let us draw upon our fighting spirit to fulfill our promise to climb Fuji-san."
As they left the shrine, Konohananosakuya-hime watched them go with a knowing smile on her face as she put away the money that the two junior kami had offered her.
-----------------------------
Spoiler: Ascent
Komitake Shrine, 6.9 kilometers from the summit, 2000 meter elevation
Colombe dug the end of her staff into the virgin snow of the path and heaved herself up another step up the slope. While her legs were burning with the efforts of the last four hours as they continually trekked up the mountain slopes, it was a old and familiar pain. Unlike Tokunotakai's experiences.
With that she looked back at her Masamune love. The elder sword was certainly fit and active, but had never subjected herself to the grueling push of unrelenting constant effort that Colombe had in her centuries of exploration and war. Measuring the determined look in Toku's eyes, and the tightness of her grip on her walking staff, the Muramasa came to a decision. "Once we reach the top of the ridge here we take a brief rest."
Toku nodded and levered herself up through the ankle-deep snow covering the steps to the shrine as they made their way through the cedar trees. "Hai, Co-chan." She then continued up the path to the top and looked around briefly as they entered a small clearing. The woods were hushed, and she could see several crows int he upper branches surveying them curiously.
Then her eyes narrowed at the sight of the simple shrine in the middle.
Spoiler: Komitake Shrine
"This is the Shrine?" Colombe asked as she unslung her pack with a hiss of relief
"Hai, it is." Toku gave a gentle smile as she lowered her own pack and sat on a boulder. She then whispered a prayer and her eyes glowed. "It is warded too, and...there is a well four meters to your right. We can draw water there to purify ourselves for our prayers."
Colombe nodded and then moved in the indicated direction, finally finding the promised well with a stone cover. Lifting it off, she frowned. "Rats, it's too far down. Hm. To-chan, can you get me my true body? I have a spell that should work."
Tokunotakai pulled Colombe's rapier body and swordbelt out from her pack and carried them over as the Muramasa cleaned out the basin for the water.
Colombe drew herself and saluted the well, then gestured with her swordpoint, a rolling blue-green aura surrounding her blade. "Right, let's do this. Ο Ποσειδώνας φέρει το νερό από την άνοιξη!" With a roar, water shot forth in a rope to fill the basin as the ground shook slightly. Colombe smugly smirked at a somewhat wide-eyed Toku. "Ta-da!"
Toku blinked twice and then bowed. "Impressive. What was that spell you used?"
Colombe shrugged. "I called upon Poseidon, ah the Greek deity of the ocean and earthquakes among other things. I had a very old girlfriend teach me that invocation, actually shortly after I found out what I truly was."
Toku nodded and pulled her own sword body out of her pack. "There is a story involved there, I suspect."
"Oh yes. This happened, oh back in 1745. At the time I was working as a mercenary in the Mediterranean and got hired to protect a trade ship out of Venice to Istanbul. Well we got attacked by pirates enroute, and boarded." Colombe's eyes grew distant and she had a smug smile. "anyway, it was a rough fight, especially since they had a mage. I was dueling him while I fought off the boarding party and deflected a Blasting Curse he tossed into the quarterdeck where one of our cannons was being loaded. Well it exploded and the blast knocked me over the far rail."
Toku's eyes widened as the Muramasa laughed. "So I landed in the water with sword in hand and decided to swim for it. Fortunately, I had learned, and also the Aegean is filled with islands. I wasn't feeling that strong, though, so dropped my sword to keep afloat." Colombe shook her head. "Back then I had no fucking clue that I was the sword, I just knew that it was magical and was 'right' in my hands. Anyway, I found out the hard way that if my avatar is separated from my blade by a certain distance, this 'me' blinks out and reforms wherever my sword is."
Toku shook her head. "So you would have...reformed where your sword was?"
Colombe laughed. "Oh yes. Fortunately, I immediately realized that I was deep underwater, and cast the Bubble-Head Charm to get myself some breathable air. Remind me to teach you that one just in case. Of course I had no clue where I was, so cast a divination spell, then started walking the way it suggested I go. Eventually I walked ashore... days later perhaps? You lose track of time underwater."
"I finally made landfall on a rather nice uncharted island. With only one inhabitant who found me when I crawled ashore."
Toku blinked, "Didn't this get made into Lady Chastity #2, Lady Chastity and the Witch of the Waves?"
"Oh yes. In brief, she nursed me back to health although I had a few suspicions about her and her suspiciously tame housepets. So I seduced her...well we seduced each other, she really really did not like men. Then I did some research while playing dumb, helped by the fact that Professor Aetos had taught me Old Greek so I could read her scrolls and figured out that she was Circe. Not wishing to find out what kind of an animal she would turn me into when she tired of my skills in her bed, I decided to escape first. I recognized one of the potions she had brewed as Felix Felicis, so I swiped and chugged it and then blind Apparated myself off the island." Colombe smirked, "I wasn't lying when I told her that I was terrible at brewing potions, but I paid attention in class when it came time to identify them."
"Anyway, I popped back into Papa's castle and after the family reunion took a horse for Austria since Circe was associated with ships and supposedly a vicious bitch who lived on that island. Spent the next decade out skirmishing with the Ottomans and Italians well away from salt water until I got the notice that Papa had died, which is a different tale." Colombe finished as her face clouded.
Toku hugged her and then nodded to the basin. "Still, let us pray now."
Colombe nodded and began to wash her hands and mouth. "We wash our hands and mouth to purify ourselves, ring the bell twice if present to alert the Kami to our presence, bow twice to the Kami, then clap twice to signify our wish to speak, and finally bow once more, correct?"
"Hai, and then leave an offering. For this shrine, I brought daifuku cakes."
Colombe frowned thoughtfully at the enshrined object as she carefully left her pink-colored daifuku rice cake at the shrine."That is a bronze axhead, but..not a weapon, I think. A tool, perhaps."
"A woodsman's axe, such as I saw in my youth." Toku said thoughtfully. "Perhaps it could be...." She walked around the clearing and then paused as a patch of undergrowth faded like mist to reveal a path leading away. "Co-chan, I believe that we have found our path to the summit of Fuji-san."
Colombe shouldered her pack. "Well let's be about it. Daylight is fading."