It’s a special time of year and the sword army is invited to come down from their citadels and celebrate. What? A summer festival, an offering to the gods, or perhaps a special ceremony of sorts. The normally quiet, rural village at the foot of the mountains will transform for the night with lanterns, fireworks, and music all around but first! Some preparations need to be done. Did you really think you would be invited down here without having to do some work? Prepare to dance, prepare to sing, prepare for a night of fun.
1. CEREMONY PRACTICE
At the citadel, a new chore has been added to the list: ceremonial practice! The swords selected to perform at the festival will have to practice their song and dance or else they'll risk embarrassment in front of the crowds. Or maybe this entire thing is embarrassing... either way, this is your duty! Saniwa's orders! Where and when is up to you but you better be ready.
2. PREPARING THE OFFERINGS
Those who aren’t practicing have been going on a lot of expeditions lately, haven’t they? Some of the materials brought back from missions has been set aside to take to the festival and offer later. The same can be said for the crops in the field, the alcohol that is suddenly off limits, and ah… do you smell that food from the kitchen? Yeah, that isn’t for you either. These are offerings to the gods though so don’t you dare try to get greedy! Are you listening?!
3. SPECIAL CLOTHES
You can’t wear those same old clothes. They’re all torn and worn or just not appropriate at all for the type of festival you’re going to. The organization has all of your measurements and has sent special robes for the spirits and saniwa to wear. It even comes complete with accessories! What’s taking you so long? We should have left twenty minutes ago. Do you need help? Or are you trying to perfect your appearances for your big debut?
4. PERFORMANCE
Everyone is dancing and everyone is singing. Are you one of the performers? Or are they dancing to you? What kind of songs are you hearing? What dances are you watching? Did you see the ceremonial sword dance? Or maybe you were invited to dance in a special performance with your saniwa! When the performance is over, make sure to congratulate the performers on a job well done… or tease your friend.
5. PAY RESPECTS
After the festive ceremonies, a more somber moment takes place. Remember, we are fighting a war and it’s important to remember those that have fallen. The swords that were broken and damaged beyond repair are gathered up and taken to a sacred fire so that their spirits can be purified and reborn. Later, all of those offerings you have been saving are offered up to the gods for their blessings. One by one, you can come up to the shrine or fire and say your prayers.
6. SPECIAL SUMMONING
What better day to summon a sword spirit on the day you’ve made offerings to the gods and have prayed for good fortune? Maybe it’s a first-time saniwa summoning their first spirit or a veteran saniwa trying their luck. Maybe a saniwa has tried to purify a particularly corrupt sword tonight... Either way, a special spirit is going to be born tonight. Are you the spirit? Happy summoning day to you all.
7. FESTIVITIES
The ceremonies are finally over! Wow, that sure took up a lot of time, huh? There are still a couple of more hours left in the night so enjoy the festivities. Try the food, play the shooting games, win a couple of prizes. How many goldfish can you catch? Or maybe the important question is: How are you going to take care of this goldfish? At the end of the night, you can catch the fireworks before the night ends.
8. WILDCARD
Pick your own adventure.
This is a meme inspired by this plurk. What if the saniwa had to perform other duties besides just summoning swords to fight? What if they had to take part in special ceremonies? What if they had to invite their swords to perform with them? Feel free to get as creative as you want with this prompt as far as things like: Why are they celebrating? How often do they get to leave the citadel? Etc.
[It's not that Mirai is having trouble putting on the ceremonial robes, as years of doing this has given her practice to learn how to wear these things without suffering too much. Not at all, but she is certainly taking her time. Really taking her time with putting her hair up along with the hair pins. As one of the elder saniwas who has been doing this for a long time, she needs to look like a veteran and perfect like she is still a young maiden.
Someone... should remind her about the time. Or help her get her hair done as she seems to be lost in her own little world in her head as she works on her hair, humming one of the songs softly.]
4.
See? That wasn't so bad.
[As her and her spirit stepped off the stage after finishing their performance, she gives them a reassuring smile. Okay there was some pressure since judging eyes get more stricter on the performances by older saniwas, but she kept her partner calm (or as calm as she can) and repeated to only focus on her, not the crowd. Practice was a little intense with her, but with firm teaching and a right schedule, she believes the result is satisfactory.]
[Sayo's already dressed up and ready for the festival, thanks to Souza's help early. He's not the chosen sword for the ceremonial dancing (a good thing, as he's not the most delicate or refined sword around), so he doesn't have the extra preparations he need to take care of, like the saniwa or the chosen sword.
Speaking of the saniwa, he quietly went over to check on her. Almost everyone is ready, so where is she? He stands outside of her room and speaks up.]
[Mirai may have felt some pressure, but she was definitely much more calmer than the other swords. Namely, this one. Hasebe was adamant that he will assist the older saniwa, being that he's taken it upon himself to be a caretaker. Much to her chagrin sometimes, he's sure.
He even made sure to perfect this dance, there is nothing he can't do for his masters. But that was pretty embarrassing.
I could've been better to match with your expertise. Do you need any tea, aruji?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
tachizuru) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
130bladeworks2015-08-14 04:05 pm
no subject
[It's not that Mirai is having trouble putting on the ceremonial robes, as years of doing this has given her practice to learn how to wear these things without suffering too much. Not at all, but she is certainly taking her time. Really taking her time with putting her hair up along with the hair pins. As one of the elder saniwas who has been doing this for a long time, she needs to look like a veteran and perfect like she is still a young maiden.
Someone... should remind her about the time. Or help her get her hair done as she seems to be lost in her own little world in her head as she works on her hair, humming one of the songs softly.]
4.
See? That wasn't so bad.
[As her and her spirit stepped off the stage after finishing their performance, she gives them a reassuring smile. Okay there was some pressure since judging eyes get more stricter on the performances by older saniwas, but she kept her partner calm (or as calm as she can) and repeated to only focus on her, not the crowd. Practice was a little intense with her, but with firm teaching and a right schedule, she believes the result is satisfactory.]
You performed very well.
8.
[come at me with anything~]
3
Speaking of the saniwa, he quietly went over to check on her. Almost everyone is ready, so where is she? He stands outside of her room and speaks up.]
... Master?
4!!!
He even made sure to perfect this dance, there is nothing he can't do for his masters. But that was pretty embarrassing.
I could've been better to match with your expertise. Do you need any tea, aruji?