I nod respectfully as I fall into stride beside her.

"Hai, Sensei."

I do indeed like mountain climbing, and I have dreamed about having the ability to fly.  To climb the clouds...  Nothing to trigger any fear of heights, right?  It is a good thing that this is only a dream...?

In reply to Oak (msg # 133):

After a bit, she nods, as she notices you are a capable climber.  She points out herbs and flowers as she passes them, mentioning who or what they are sacred too, and various uses for them ranging from spices for food to healing injuries to rebalancing energies.

As you keep on going, she speaks more in a crystal clear fashion explaining in detail her comments.

"Upon reaching the top, we will be in a deeply sacred space.  Such a space is defined by Man, but it has additional matrices created by Man, or the Beings that live there.  Such matrices are what we will access to go to the Dream.  For while my sister showed you the Edge, and over the Edge into the Dream.  I will show you a way to step over the Edge in the plain view of other Men, provided you have a sacred space.  Depending on how well you do, we may not need to go cloudwalking."

I attentively drink in the knowledge regarding herbs and flowers, and as she discusses entering the Dream.

"Hai, Sensei."

"Sensei... when I first encountered you both, she appeared from the fire, and you appeared from the cherry tree.  Later, when you and your sister conversed, her eyes appeared as magma, and your eyes appeared as stars.  When came the time of instruction, she brought me into the earth, and you are bringing me to the clouds."

"Please, what is the significance of these differences?  How would you compare and contrast yourselves, and how you approach the Dream?"

In reply to Oak (msg # 135):

"She is a goddess of the Ainu who were the people here before my people came here.  She is more emotive and grounded while I am more intellectual and speculative.  She comes from the Earth, and I the Stars.  But her cinders rise to the stars, and my cherry tree grounds me to the Earth. Campfires are sacred to her, and cherry trees to me. I am closer to ghost, and she to beast. And from this, all of our selves and our actions grow. Do you understand?"

I nod respectfully.

"I will not presume to say that I understand fully, but your words give me insight."

"What brought you from the Stars to the Earth, and to this land?"

"How would you describe your relationship?  There seems to be tension between you and between your people, yet also kinship.  Is there anything I can do to help?"

In reply to Oak (msg # 137):

"I am the grandaughter of Amateratsu.  She has the mirror of the Sun."

She bows.

"The word is kind, but the action unkind although unwitting. As is the way of Man, we took their land with sword and bow.  Now we own the wide spaces of the land, the goodly pastures, and they hide their villages away on small islands and in thickets. We make no more war on them for they have accepted the bounds we put on them.

What would happen if you brought a release of tension between us?"

And suddenly you're whirled away so that you and Princess K stand far in the sky looking down on Japan.  You see Nipponese and Ainu merchants meet, and greater friendliness.  At first it is well, and then the Ainu want more, and  they spread.  But they hold to their ancient bitterness.  And the Nipponese do not spread into the Ainu small islands, except when they do, and they do better than the Ainu and outfish them, and make the Ainu poorer.  And eventually, theland is overthrown in violence with the Ainu wiped out, and many Nipponese dead as well.

And then you're back on the side of the mountain.

I nod thoughtfully.

"How were you able to share this vision of such a resulting future, even though we are not in the Dream?  Am I able to learn skills such as this foresight, and this ability to share such visions?"

In reply to Oak (msg # 139):

She pauses.

"Let me be clear, this is not a vision of the Future.  This is my understanding of what would happen.  There are powers of various sorts that do not rely on the Dream.  I have many of them.  As to whether you can gain some of them, it is possible.  Visions? Perhaps. I could tell you of a way to achieve such, but I am uncertain you would survive.  It is very dangerous."

I listen soberly.

"What are the powers, and what are the dangers?"

In reply to Oak (msg # 141):

"The powers are a hundred fold, and the dangers a thousandfold.  I can cause a cherry tree to grow anywhere, and four of its fruit from the first season will suffice a man for a day.  I can step into my Grandmother's Palace on any bridge. I can look into the heart of a maiden, and I can judge whether a man's oath is true.  By the touch of my hand, I can cause anyone to sleep, or I can ease the passing of the fatally injured.  By my will, cherry trees bloom all across the islands.  I can call a great fish to let me ride on its back."  She smiles mischievously.  "There are some few others powers I have.  My skin cannot be broken by any ordinary sword or arrow.  And I fight with the strength of a dozen men.  I have on occasion snatched an arrow out of the air, and planted it so that it grew a tree with a hundred arrows, all sufficient to strike down a ghost. "

I node respectfully.

"You are blessed with many gifts.  Did you receive them at birth, or later?"

"I would like to know how to be a blessing to those around me, how to subdue hostiles peacefully and influence others toward harmonious interactions, how to heal the afflicted, how to discern thoughts and hearts, how to converse across language barriers, how to change forms, how to know when and where I am needed, and how to get there swiftly."

"Can such things be done outside of the Dream?  Can such things be done within the Dream?  And, if so, how can one such as I acquire such gifts, and what are the dangers?"

In reply to Oak (msg # 143):

"Some I was born with, others I attained through bargaining and challenges.  I learned how to call fish to ride by wagering my hand in marriage against the skill over a game of Go against the Fish King's son."

She smiles.

"I won."

"You need to learn how to make the tea ceremony.  And become a master at it. This will encourage harmony. I can teach you afterwards in  your next lesson.  I will not be able to show you how to be a master, but you can start."

"As to healing the afflicted....the small lord, his mother is the goddess of creation, and he is but the size of your thumb. Sukunabikona knows much about medicine. He lives in a hot spring in the central reed plain."

"As to subduing those peacefully, go to a shrine, and follow the monk's directions to meet Ungyo.  If you can subdue him, you will gain what you desire."

I consider these things...

"And are you able to teach one such as me to discern hearts, or to discern truth, or to cause sleep, or to transport to distant places, even apart from the Dream?

In reply to Oak (msg # 145):

"Sleep yes, but the discerning of hearts and truth would possibly break your human mind.  But if you are okay with the risk of being dashed to the ground, I can teach you the Way of the Fan so that you may fly with the wind, the Kamikaze to where you wish to go."

I ponder these words.

"Which skills are easier, and which more difficult?  What order is best to learn them?"

In reply to Oak (msg # 147):

She paused.

A question I had not considered in regard to these skills, she says.  Sleep is easier in the sense that it is less powerful, but you can be sucked in by subtleties of the mind and spirit.  On the other hand, windriding is much simpler, but more obviously hazardous.

As you can see it is a mental vs a physical hazard.

It does seem easier to learn sleep, she says.

I nod thoughtfully.

"Hai, Sensei.  So how can one such as I cause sleep?"

In reply to Oak (msg # 149):

She shows you a wide dance, with swirling arms, and kicks, each action individual, and after about a minute of this, you yawn, and realize you have a problem, and before you can fight back, you're sound asleep.  You wake to a smiling Princess K shaking your shoulder.

I blink up at her, and smile back at her.

"That was... effective... but what makes it so?  Is it the movements themselves, or something else, or a combination?"

"And if I employ them in the same manner, will it work for me as well?"

In reply to Oak (msg # 151):

She shows you the wide stance....'this claims their mind's attention', and the careful kicks...'these kick aside distractions and worries', and the swirling arms....'this mimics the slow rise and fall of the waves which soothes them to sleep as if they were on a boat'.

"And yes, you could. In fact, let us try.  First stand, and then let us teach you the wide stance...which is also useful in fighting."

I stand, and assume the "horse stance" that I learned in my Hung Gar Kung Fu classes.

Of course, I haven't done so in ten years, so my memory and stamina are going to be quite suboptimal...  :o

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_stance
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hung_Gar

In reply to Oak (msg # 153):

You're not sure where it came from as its suddenly there, but she has a cherry blossom stick in her right hand.  She pokes, prods, and pushes you with it until your stance improves.

"You do have some training, albeit from a corrupted source.  Let us work on this." And she takes the form as well, but slightly different.

After a few minutes, your legs are burning, and you glance over at her, and realize she's so relaxed that she has fallen asleep.

Over the next week, she corrects your stance, improves your stamina, and you start getting better.  Then she arrives on a new day of training with two flat and smooth river stones in her hands.  After you take your stance, she puts the five pound stones on your thighs.  Your body immediately begins protesting, and explaining to you that this is impossible, and you should stop now.

I pray silently for strength, and endure as long as I am able...

In reply to Oak (msg # 155):

You feel a sudden impulse to sing of the power and glory of God Almighty, and as you do, you find your legs are not strained anymore.

1@2 Supernatural Endurance for Leg Day while loudly singing of the Glory of God, and not walking. RS/2, I think.  Your ability lasts for 25 minutes this time.  This ability allows physical improvement to continue during the time used.  It does not give you the physical ability to do so at the same level, but it is as if you had practised for 25 minutes normally.  If that makes sense?  It would be the effect of condensing several hours of practise and rest into a half hour, but without you feeling exhausted at the end.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:32, Tue 21 June 2022.

I give thanks to God for the answered prayer.

"This stance is also used in martial arts.  Is that a coincidence, or is there a connection between the power it has for inducing sleep and the power it has in martial arts?"