Mind Training II

[Tokugawa Ieyasu]

Your Lordship has requested that as a soldier you train your mind as well as your body. You will be given tasks to test your resolve and become at peace with yourself.

Objective: After your last test, your lord has decided that you must undergo training more suited to training off the mind in extremely unsettling surrounding. You have been taken to a small cave system underground. You must make your way from one side to the other, a good 20 mile underground. However the caves are strange, pitch-black, and seem to leave the people inside with no senses. You must manage without sight, scent, smell, taste or even touch, and exit the other side with your mind intact from the experience, and then still be willing to force yourself back through the cave to where you started.

Requirements: Must have completed Mind Training.

Reward: Up to +3 Spr

Location: A location in your faction's territory, Joetsu for those unaligned.

[Sanada Yukimura]

After being led to a small cave system located underground in Kofu by two soldiers, a good 20 miles underground, once Yukimura came to a stop in front of the entrance way, the two soldiers would turn and leave him alone, as they were certain Yukimura would be able to make his own way back to his home. Watching the two soldiers leave, once they were out of sight, Yukimura would turn back to the cave entrance. Reminiscent of the first trial of Amaterasu he tackled, he had to make his way from one side of the cave to the other, and with a deep breath, Yukimura would step into the cave. The cave pitch-black, just like the trial, the large difference between this and the God trial was almost immediately, all his senses would be cut off, like something had shut them down arbitrarily. Left without all five senses, Yukimura would panic almost immediately, and start to stumble through the cave system blindly (hur hur), not caring which way he went, as long as it was forward. Bumping into the rough rock wall every so often, his mind consumed by panic, his breathing would become labored, not only from steadily growing tired from running, but also from the truth slowly sinking in: he was lost, and without any of his senses to help him, felt like he was going to wander through the cave forever, trapped inside, and never finding his way out. Soon his throat began to feel constricted, his physical state reflecting his mental state, like the darkness was suffocating him from the inside out.

After going forward for what felt like an eternity, tripping over a rock on the ground, he would tumble forward, instinctively throwing his hands out to catch himself as he landed on the ground roughly, pain shooting through his arms as he was pretty sure he had scrapped his palms. But the pain did more than just make him curse colorfully, it also snapped him out of his blind panic-stricken state. Even though he could not see, smell, hear, touch, or taste, he could still feel pain, and in order to navigate through the cave system, it would just like if he was blindfolded. Even if he couldn't see, he could still react. There was difference between the presence of living things, and non-living things, but he would have to be very careful every step of the way. Pushing himself to his feet, with his mind starting to calm down and refocus, he would start forward once more, but this time, he would use what was essentially a sixth sense, chi, to navigate his way through. Though he stumbled over some loose rocks every so often, for the most part, he would steadily make progress through the underground cave system, his mind slowly returning to its usual calm state, and his breathing, no longer labored and constricted, was now normal. After what felt like a long time, he would stumble out of the cave into the light, as he felt the warm sunlight of the afternoon shine down on him, the literal light at the end of the tunnel.

But now that he had reached the other side, he had to make his way back through the cave once more, back to where he started. With a mildly exasperated sigh, Yukimura would take in as much of the sunlight as he could, before turning around and stepped into the pitch-black cave system once again. Once more, stumbling through the cave system, at least it wasn't as bad as the first time. Granted, it was just as horrible to navigate as before, but this time, he was prepared mentally, and he spent less time tripping over rocks and bumping into the rocks walls. By the time he stumbled out of the cave entrance, instead of sunlight greeting him, it was now the rays of sunset that greeted him, meaning it had taken him the rest of the afternoon to get back through, and the day was nearly done. But right now, he didn't care about that. He was out of the cave system, and though his mind had nearly been shredded from panic, he had come out of this more enlightened, his mind even clearer, and that was what Lord Shingen wanted him to achieve from this. Yukimura had never been more happy to see the sun in his life, and would begin to make his way back to his home.

[Mōri Motonari]

Sanada Yukimura: +3 Spirit

[Shinomori Katsumi]

Her abusive father had made it so that Katsumi was well-trained physically, but before meeting Kenshin she had never really trained her spirit. She had never really believed in the gods, knowing very few stories about them. Perhaps once her father had been a godly, religious man, but never when Katsumi was alive. She had never even entered a shrine until more recently, and her belief and faith in the gods and magic only born within the last few months after all of her various encounters with them and now having a musou.

She was very grateful towards Kenshin, for him helping her train, especially with the mind, and was now before a cave. Kat was to go through it, and had been given a vague warning about how this would be a great challenge she would need to overcome... from within.

Trusting in Lord Uesugi, Katsumi entered the cave and immediately realized what he meant. Her senses... they all disappeared and the archer found herself wandering aimlessly. Even with the warning, Katsumi was frightened. She had gone without sight, working in the shadows plenty of times, but to not hear or even feel... it nearly shattered her. Katsumi was probably crying, but the tears rolling down her cheeks registered nothing. She had seemed to collide into something, and Katsumi figured it was the wall of the cave. Having tripped a bunch of times, the archer kept on the wall to give herself balance. While she could not feel it, she knew it was there and continued onward. Perhaps she could not trust her own senses, but Katsumi could trust the wall to lead her where she needed to go.

Time slipped by and Katsumi worked on calming herself down while heading forward, telling herself what she knew and that she would make her way out of this, and eventually back to the Uesugi camp. She would succeed for Kenshin, showing him that she was not a waste like her father had claimed over the years, and then she could see Haji. Be in his arms again. Hold him. Yes, those kept her going, and eventually everything came back at once once she exited the cave.

Never before had sunlight felt so incredible. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and Katsumi fell onto her knees. Her fingers ran through the grass and she rolled on the ground, breathing in deeply, enjoying all of her senses, realizing just how much she had taken most of them for granted. She stayed there for several house, resting and enjoying herself, feeling peace of mind for her revelation, before finally heading back. But this time she was not afraid as she traveled through, knowing what to expect and that she was far stronger than she ever realized. Even without her senses, Katsumi could keep going, and that was an incredible thing.

[Takeda Shingen]

Shinomori Katsumi: +3 Spr

[Nomi no Ōkata]

Once more, Okata was off for spiritual training, which was fine by her. Although time spent away from her lord was always saddening to the woman, but necessary, and so she did her training and her work without complaint or so much as hesitance. It pleased him, after all, and helped him, and that was what the courtesan lived for. It was what she wanted most of our life now.

The concubine dismounted her palomino upon reaching the entrance of the cave and tied its reigns onto the branch of a tree. She had been warned of this trial by her lord, although no warning could hardly prepare her for the terror once she entered the magical cave. Her senses were obliterated, and Okata was left blind, deaf, mute, even without a sense of touch. Her knees went weak, and fear flooded the woman. It was like that night when she was a child, running for her life with her older sister, but, in a sense, worse, considering the loss of all of her senses. A feeling of dread overcame the concubine, and, after wandering for a short time, leaned her back against a wall of the cave. Okata felt herself breaking, bit by bit, and she desperately wanted to return to her home by the Seto Sea. She wanted to be back in her whore house, or, better yet, in Lord Motonari's arms. Despite how nervous she was around him, she greatly desired to be in the daimyo's presence.

But... Okata paused in her fret. Men weren't coming after here. Okata was in the cave alone. That could have been a frightening prospect, but there was no danger. It was frightening, surely, but it wasn't worse than that terrible night when she was a child. She was not running for her life. Nothing could hurt her here, nothing beyond herself. All the spy had to do was get through this, and she could return to the light, and to her Lord. Okata would be damned if her will was to be crushed.

And so the concubine continued forward, slowly navigating her way through the cave, banging and scratching up her body all along the way. Thinking of her success and her quick return kept Okata moving forward confidently, despite the scenario. She trusted in herself that she could finish the task, for herself and her lord, and so she did. Many hours passed and Okata made it to the other side, bathed in beautiful, glorious sunlight. With a soft smile, the woman laid onto the ground, resting under the comforting rays of the sun, imagining them to be a certain someone's arms.

When the sun set, her resolve came back. Okata could not stay here forward and needed to return, and so she stood up and went through the trial again to make her way back out. It went faster this time and without an emotional and psychological crises. She made her way through slowly but with confidence, all due to face and perseverance.