Senpū Dojo [T|C|Invite]

[Flower]

SPOILER: Click to show

History, Local (Land of Rain) [SP: 0/125]
Rank: "E"
Skill: Academia Skill
Effect: The character with this skill is a storehouse of facts about the history of a country.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: Relevant Abilities: Intelligence Skill. Die Rolls: 5 Die Rolls. Check Requirement: Described. Characters with this skill can train 1 Country (declared when the skill is chosen) to gain knowledge of the Country History. A character may acquire additional Countries by choosing this skill again. The character with this skill is a storehouse of facts about the history of a country. User has knowledge of legends, personalities, inhabitants, laws, customs, traditions, and even humanoids of a Country. For example, the character will know when the ruined tower on the hill was built and who built it (and what happened to him). User knows what great heroes and villains fought and fell at the old battlefield and what great treasure is supposed to be kept in a local temple. User even knows how the mayor of the next town miraculously grew hair on his balding pate. The Game Master will provide information about local sites and events as the character requests it. Furthermore the character can try to retell these events as entertaining stories. Once the subject is chosen, the user can attempt a skill check and, if successful, add that tale to their repertoire. This skill also provides the character with knowledge of the codes of law be they formal statutes or informal rules. Synergy: A user with Local History gives a +5 per Mastery Level Synergy Bonus to Investigate when Coaxing. Some practical applications of Local History follow:
Limit: Must learn from Skills.

[1/8 posts] [40 tp]

As Valerys was spending time at the Senpu dojo, she began to meet various individuals around the grounds. When she was not training there were plenty of people she met who were interested in telling her stories or asking her questions (a topic that she was much less comfortable with). On one of these occasions, Valerys met a man by the name of Eldwich from the Land of Rain. He said that he had spent much of his life there and knew much about the country. Valerys found herself interested in him immediately, as he was willing to share with her all sorts of pieces of information about the country. The first time that they met, Eldwich told her that he had born in the Land of River thirty years ago -- when the man who led the nation was called Yaban. He was not a kind leader and Eldwich filled her in on his legacy. It was a grand story and took some time to tell. Normally not very patient, Valerys sat and listened -- enthralled by how much knowledge was being transmitted.

[Flower]

[2/8]

"Yaban came into power in the Land of Rain during his youth," Eldwich explained, "He was about six years old when his father passed, meaning that a regent ruled in his place. The regent was Halifax who was used jutsu and techniques often to manipulate individuals." To Valerys this didn't sound so bad. She had often done the same thing, but it was clear that Eldwich held some sort of animosity. He continued to tell her the story of this leader and the more Valerys listened, the more it sounded like how she would like to act as a leader. When he was done with this tale, Valerys found that her knowledge of the Land of Rain's history had increased significantly. And this was not even close to everything he knew. "Listen Eldwich," Valerys would say, "I'm a girl who is quite interested in knowledge. If you'd be willing to tell me more of the Land of Rain, then I would kindly repay the favor with those things that I know of the Land of Wind." By reaching a compromise, the two of them decided to swap information back and forth about the various countries. Valerys prided herself on her ability to manipulate people and got ready to prepare herself for future journeys to the Land of Rain.

[Flower]

[3/8]

It was clear that Eldwich was a knowledgable man. As he had grown up in the Land of Rain, he had acquired certain titles after the death of his mother and father. This struck Valerys and made her feel a bit guilty, as she had abandoned her own mother and father. He told her that he joined up with an organization in the Land of Rain that was titled to the country leader. They were supposed to keep the peace, but he found that many of them were committing cruel acts. But through his time there, Eldwich had learned many things about the country and was willing to tell them all. When he had just started working for the Land of Rain, they had him investigating anbandoned sites all over the countryside for signs of thieves and deplorables. He often would run them out of these places, sometimes taking them to prison. From them he acquired a lot of information about the underground activities of the city and what was going on that nobody could see. But after much investigation, Eldwich determined that these people were not really bad -- but just making a living out of a poor country. He grew more beign toward them, and the organization harbored a distaste for Eldwich after that.

[Flower]

[4/8]

As Eldwich told her all of this, Valerys knew that she had to do the same and told Eldwich as much as she knew about the Land of Wind -- superficial information anyways, nothing that could be linked to her or the Sand Village. It didn't take her long to discuss this and by the time she was done Eldwich was already telling her more. By the end of that day she had learned a lot and decided to make her way home to go to bed. She meditated a bit before bed, trying to remember all of the details of what she had been told, and then climbed into bed to go to sleep. The next day she was walking around the Courtyard when she happened to see Eldwich once again, moving among the buildings. She stopped him, rushing over and saying, "Hey Eldwich! You wanna get together for another lesson?" He was more than agreeable. This time the two of them went to the Mess Hall for some food and drinks which seemed to loosen their minds and their tongues. The two of them got into deep discussions about the information that was held within each country. Eldwich began to tell her a deeper story, of the legend of why it always rained in the land he was from. Valerys listened closely, always one to pick apart the metaphor from a story.

[Flower]

[5/8]

The legend that Eldwich told her involved two lovers who lived to different families within the early days of the Land of Rain, before man wrote letters on paper and instead on papyrus leaves. It is said that the two lovers met secretly for some time, always among a deep valley where it was said to rain all of the time. One day, on her way home, the woman was caught by the man's family and was murdered her trespassing into their territory. The man was so saddened by this that he brought his family out to the valley and murdered them there, beneath the rain, and when he did the gods were so sad for this man that they cried day and night. So the Land of Rain became covered in this massive cloud. It was a cute story, and Valerys appreciated that now it was in her memory bank, but she didn't believe it. Perhaps based on a true account, but rain came and went. Who could say why? The later it got, the more was told over that table in the hall. The two of them had eventually drunk three pints of beer a piece and Eldwich was beginning to slur his words. It was still early in the day but the two decided to leave. Valerys went home and tried to maintain herself, remembering all of the things that her companion had told her.

[Flower]

[6/8]

The next time that Valerys saw Eldwich was a couple days later, when he was with a group of his friends. Valerys came forward and introduced herself, once again in the courtyard, and discovered that these two individuals were also from the Land of Rain. One of them was named Rarilue and the other Tata (male and female, or so it appeared). As the four of them would get together, Valerys would find that there was much to learn from this group of people. Each of them had grown up in the same area and it was apparent that they knew all of the surrounding features well. Tata would say something such as, "Remember the mountain near Jitsin? How many people died up there?" And Rarilue would respond, "Who knows? Everyone knows that place has been shrounded in mystery for decades." In this way Valerys vested her interest for some time, hearing the legends and lore that the group passed back and forth. Valerys listened closely, memorizing every fact and storing it for later recall. She did like to think that she was quite academic. After a while, however, the group became interested in her. And Valerys found that she would need to provide something if she wanted to carry on this conversation.

[Flower]

[7/8]

Valerys told them about her own home near Mtn. Agathia when she was young. And the docks that she grew up on. At first she had not wanted to be honest with them, but knew that they had given her much and what was the harm? So long as none of them knew her. The three of them seemed entranced by her story and it seemed to work at stimulating their conversation. They said that they knew of no volcanoes in the Land of Rain, that it was much too wet for that and began to talk to her of the climate there. Other than the rain it sounded pleasant, and the agriculture sounded particularly lovely. Valerys wondered to herself how easy it would be to grow herbs for alchemy out in this place. The group told her that the soil was readily plentiful because of all the rain and that if she was interested in agriculture she should definitely go there. Apparently, rice had become a major crop and it was said that people could make a living as it became more and more popular as a cash crop. There were several restaurants which served all sorts of different rice dishes, very similar to other agricultural hubs. Valerys asked if there was any knowledge about certain individuals within the Land of Rain.

[Flower]

[8/8]

The gruop knew many individuals from the Land of Rain, it was almost hard to keep track of them all. But Valerys kept her mind on the mission and determined to know as much as possible about the people there. They told her first about local farmers and shopkeepers who were of no interest to her, and she told them that she was more interested in those of powerful reputations. The group looked at her, suddenly interested in why she wanted to know. "I'm a girl of much knowledge myself," Valerys said, "And I'm always looking for more. You'd be surprised how much knowing the right information can help you when you need it." The determined that she was right and Rarilue was the first to speak up, telling her of the stories he had hear df certain powerful ninja that ventured into the countryside occasionally. Apparently there had been several great battles in the Land of Rain, between ninja and non-ninja alike. Valerys was surprised to find that there was so much history associated with this place that she had never visited. When they had told her much about all of the different people, Valerys knew that she could remember no more. She spent the rest of the time enjoying her time with friends and took off later that day. Surely she had become quite knowledgable over the past few days about the Land of Rain thanks to her new companions.

[Hamura]

Trained.

[Flower]

SPOILER: Click to show

Getaway
Rank: "C"
Skill: GenJutsu
Effect: This Jutsu helps the user elude pursuers by causing them to run down blind alleys, make wrong turns at intersections, and bypass obvious directional indicators during a chase.
Special: "Handseals"
Drawback: ---
Description: A Mind-Affecting Technique. Affects 5 city blocks per Class level. The user is able to perform this technique on themselves. The duration of this technique lasts for 50 minutes per class level. This technique may be negated. Any pursuer who loses sight of the user and fails a save has a 50% chance of making a wrong turn or heading in the wrong direction, even in the face of physical evidence (such as a dangling rope or an open door) as to the user's true path.
Limit: Must know the Enchantment Perception.

[0/10]

After Valerys had learned the Kiss of Luck technique, she had become quite accustomed to spending time in the building with Sekai and her genjutsu students. Valerys herself was becoming one of these students, and found that every evening there was some different skill that she could learn. On the next evening, however, Valerys did not spend time with Sekai but instead spent her time investigating the dojo, and moving around the sand paths that wove their way in between the different buildings. As she was investigating, she met a man who claimed to a be student under one of the leaders. "Well hey there, how are you?" Valerys got to talking to him and decided that she didn't like him much and chased him down the street. Once out of eyesight, however, she lost him among the buildings. She determined that he had tried to put her under a genjutsu and wondered what type of genjutsu could hide one in the streets? She went to Sekai and asked her -- who showed Valerys the handseals necessary for the technique called Getaway. Valerys memorized them for later use.

"The technique is useful for avoiding enemies," Sekai explained. "Once you're out of eyesight, use this genjutsu to make them fall off of your trail." Valerys wondered at how useful this could be for her and thanked Sekai before taking off to the buildings to train by herself for a bit. As Valerys was moving in and out of the buildings she attempted to memorize their patterns, hoping that this would help her use her technique. When she was ready, Valerys performed the handseals and tried to stretch her chakra out among the walkways, knowing that she would need to take over the mind of an opponent from any position. With her technique she knew that there were several figures around her, but she did not attempt the technique yet afraid of the risks. She hid down a sectioned off corridor and performed the handseals, remembering a young girl that she had seen in the street before hiding. She concentrated her chakra and sent it rushing over the ground, looking for this girl.

It took a substantial amount of energy to weave around the buildings and attempt to locate her mind, pushing her chakra into her brain and affecting her mind. However, Valerys had been getting better at genjutsu and did not find this difficult. But the strength of her technique was not up to par and the girl was not affected, walking right past the sectioned off corrdior. Valerys cursed a little under her breath and took another stroll around the city, remembering different individuals and locations. After finding a spot to hide behind one of the more popular dojos, between a couple of bushes, Valerys got a man in her crosshairs and began to perform the handseals. As with the girl, she was able to reach him and get into his brain. This time the technique seemed to work, or at least the man did not walk nar her and took a different path entirely. Valerys wondered at the power of this technique and got a move on, hoping to use it again. In an urban environment she knew this technique could mean the difference between life and death.

[Deleted]

(L)Earned


Get out of here Hamura!

[Flower]

SPOILER: Click to show

Aggressive Soul Drain
Rank: "C"
Skill: NinJutsu
Effect: A Ray attack does ability damage that cannot be stopped.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: Target is 1 creature. Range is 20 meters. Duration is Instantaneous. User decides that their pain might be worth it to destroy their foes in combat. Black lightning jumps fro the user’s hands raking their enemy. The user takes 2 points of ability damage of their choice then shoots a ray at a target within 20 meter. If it hits the user does 1d4+1 ability damage to one ability of the user’s choice. There is no save for this effect.
Limit: Must be a Soulcaster.

[0/10]

Valerys liked being able to train with dojo, but often found that she needed to go off into the desert by herself for short periods of time. Being around people for too long wore on her thin and she had techniques that she wanted to master that they could not teach her. While outside of the dojo, Valerys found herself messing with her Searing Soul ability. As she was doing so, blasting off hit after hit, Valerys found that she could shape her chakra in a different way through her soul. Instead of her energy moving through her body and out in a blast, she could direct her energy to her hands. Valerys didn't know what exactly was going to happen when she tried this, but allowed the energy to burst forth from her soul's hands. All of a sudden she heard a crackling sound and black lightning started to form around her fingertips. In an instant black lightning had covered her hands and Valerys knew what needed to be done. She outstretched her hands and allowed the chakra to fuel out of her -- the black lightning rushing forward as an attack.

She wasn't exactly sure what the attack would do, but Valerys knew that it wouldn't be good. In order to find out she made it her mission to finding one of the students within the dojo to try to the technique out on. When she talked to Rarilue again he said that he would be more than happy to assist her. The two of them went out into the desert and she sent the energy running through the arms of her soul again, coating her fingertips in the familiar black lightning. It seemed to rage through her, and the more angry Valerys got the more powerful it seemed to become. In order to tune the technique, Valerys began to concentrate on the strength of her opponent and injuring that ability. She shot the black lightning forward at Rarilue, who stood bravely in front of her and allowed the attack to hit him. In an instant the black lightning had coated him, and Rarilue fell to his knees for a second.

"What? What's going on?" Valerys begged to discover.
Rarilue slowly got to his feet and said, "My strength. It seemed to sap it away." Valerys was surprised at how well it had worked. The connection between what she had desired and the ray attack had worked perfectly. Valerys asked Rarilue if he could go one more round and he said that he thought so. Valerys prepared herself again and this time when she shot the black lightning she imagined her opponent's intelligence, and making him dumber. In this way they may even be easier to manipulate into certain acts. The ray rushed forward and Rarilue was hit. He stumbled a bit and told her that it had in fact worked. Valerys wondered at the amazement of her own soul, having mastered many soulcaster techniques and being pleasingly surprised each time. Her soul was becoming more powerful, and Valerys knew with time her evil nature would fuel through even her techniques. None would be safe from her, even in the ethereal.

[Hamura]

Learned (+10).

[Flower]

SPOILER: Click to show

CO 17: Tianding (Heaven's Vessel)
Rank: "C" - Always 30 TP no matter the class
Skill: TaiJutsu
Effect: On the lateral side of the neck, superior to the midpoint of the supraclavicular fossa ST 12: Quepen (Empty Basin), around one cun below CO 18: Futu (Support the Prominence), on the posterior border of the sternocleidomastoideus muscle. Tian means heaven and ding is the term used by the ancient Chinese for a cooking vessel with two loop handles, here Tian implies upper and the head looks like a Ding (Wok).
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: This point is one of the most dangerous points which when struck will cause death. The blood will be blocked, the Qi will be blocked and the brain will be shocked. Not even CPR will revive a strike here. Medical Purposes: Used as a Local Point. Used to effect the circulation within the carotid artery. The left side is used more for physical complaints and the right side more for psychological issues due to the internal connections of the common carotid. Useful for alzheimer's, brain tumors, dyslexia, MS, and many brain issues related to circulation as well as the full range of psychological issues.
Limit: Must know Meridian Location "Colon Meridian".

[0/30]

As Valerys finished learning some of her soulcaster techniques with Rarilue's help, she discovered that she was not quite done for the day and decided that she wanted to learn more. She employeed Rarilue to tell her about the leaders at the Senpu Dojo in order to discover one that might be of some help to her. One of the leaders, Karui Kaze, sounded as if she had things that she could teach Valerys. Valerys traveled to her building and found it much more dimly lit than Sekai's. Everything seemed covered in a dim haze and when she walked in, the receptionist told her to go down the hall if she was interested in learning from the master. She ran down the hallway and entered the room that had been pointed out to her, moving inside and seeing a crowd of students already sitting down all around her.

Valerys awkwardly took a seat beside her peers and looked ahead of all of them. There was a body stretched out on a table, and a woman with blue hair standing in front of the male body. It was completely naked and the hair had been shaved, and it had a faint grey-tone. It was clear that this was a dead body, or else one that was deeply unconscous. The woman, who Valerys assumed was Karui Kaze, was standing beside a large wok held up with two loopholes on a post, which was filled with water. "The point that I'm going to teach you today," said the woman, "is the 17th point of the colon meridian -- known as Tianding or Heaven's Vessel. That's why today you'll notice that I've brought a woke filled with warm water. As you know we must always clean the subject before showing you all the points and valuable information. By imagining this point as the vessel which holds the blood of life, and knowing that attacking it will severe that connection, you will be most prepared."

The master took a rag and dipped it in the wok, cleaning the dead body of all the grime and dirt. Then she pointed to a spot on the bodies neck, just below some of the tendons, and rubbed at it. "This is Heaven's Vessel. You'll notice that it is about one cun away from the colon meridian's 18th point. This point, however, has devastating effects." Valerys perked up, interested to hear what this point was capable of doing to one's enemies. "When struck hard enough this point will cause death," Karui explained, "by stopping the flow of blood to the brain. Truly, these is a powerful point which equilizes the mind and the body. If you disrupt this flow, then it can wreak havoc to a person." Valerys made it a point to memorize the location of the spot and what it did, feeling it on her own neck and rubbing it softly. It was a tender spot and she understood how a hard hit here could have some lasting effects.

[Flower]

SPOILER: Click to show

CO 17: Tianding (Heaven's Vessel)
Rank: "C" - Always 30 TP no matter the class
Skill: TaiJutsu
Effect: On the lateral side of the neck, superior to the midpoint of the supraclavicular fossa ST 12: Quepen (Empty Basin), around one cun below CO 18: Futu (Support the Prominence), on the posterior border of the sternocleidomastoideus muscle. Tian means heaven and ding is the term used by the ancient Chinese for a cooking vessel with two loop handles, here Tian implies upper and the head looks like a Ding (Wok).
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: This point is one of the most dangerous points which when struck will cause death. The blood will be blocked, the Qi will be blocked and the brain will be shocked. Not even CPR will revive a strike here. Medical Purposes: Used as a Local Point. Used to effect the circulation within the carotid artery. The left side is used more for physical complaints and the right side more for psychological issues due to the internal connections of the common carotid. Useful for alzheimer's, brain tumors, dyslexia, MS, and many brain issues related to circulation as well as the full range of psychological issues.
Limit: Must know Meridian Location "Colon Meridian".

[??/30]

It seemed that Karui was not done and, in fact, was just getting started. She rolled the body around on the metal table (wheels screechng on the stone floor) and showed the students this point on the other side of the body. "As for the healing benefits," Karui explained, "this is a little more complicated. The Heaven's Vessel is in direct control of a variety of ailments that can appear within the body and mind. Brain tumors, which are caused by an imbalance of blood cells in the brain, can be greatly regulated with medical applications of this point. Additionally, Multiple Sclerosis, which causes damage between the spinal cord and the brain, can be inhibited by this technique. From a mental perspectives, the weilder can stop issues related to alzheimer's or dsylexia, thanks to heir assocations with the brain. Now that you have learned everything there is to know about the Heaven's Vessel, who was to come down and try it out?"

Valerys raised her hand, as did various other students, and Karui started picking them out one at a time to come down. Valerys was the first one. She walked down and Karui took her hand, showing her where to put her pointer and index fingers on the dead body so as to succeed in striking the point. Valerys felt around that area of the body, remembering the position, and moved on so that somebody else could get a try. When all of them had touched the point, Karui instructed the students to come with her down a hall. She took them to an area covered in training dummies, all with detailed markings of all the colon meridian points. "They change them everytime we train a new point," one of the girls whispered to Valerys, perhaps knowing that she was new. Valerys wondered at all of the people here and their deep knowledge of all the meridian points.

Valerys was placed in front of one of the training dummies and told to strike at it with her pointer and middle finger. She struck at the point, doing so while shaping chakra around her hand to do enough damage to a person to stop their blood flow. Valerys could feel the power rising through her and went for another strike, this time on the opposite side and with her other hand. Karui instructed the students to continue striking at the dummies, making sure that if it were a human that would have had them on the ground by now. Valerys obeyed, striking repeatedly at the points with her fingers until they developed calluses and began to bleed. At that point Karui said, "Alright. Now partner up. We're gonna begin to attempt to find the point on one another." The girl who whispered to Valerys turned to her now, expecting to be her partner.

[Flower]

SPOILER: Click to show

CO 17: Tianding (Heaven's Vessel)
Rank: "C" - Always 30 TP no matter the class
Skill: TaiJutsu
Effect: On the lateral side of the neck, superior to the midpoint of the supraclavicular fossa ST 12: Quepen (Empty Basin), around one cun below CO 18: Futu (Support the Prominence), on the posterior border of the sternocleidomastoideus muscle. Tian means heaven and ding is the term used by the ancient Chinese for a cooking vessel with two loop handles, here Tian implies upper and the head looks like a Ding (Wok).
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: This point is one of the most dangerous points which when struck will cause death. The blood will be blocked, the Qi will be blocked and the brain will be shocked. Not even CPR will revive a strike here. Medical Purposes: Used as a Local Point. Used to effect the circulation within the carotid artery. The left side is used more for physical complaints and the right side more for psychological issues due to the internal connections of the common carotid. Useful for alzheimer's, brain tumors, dyslexia, MS, and many brain issues related to circulation as well as the full range of psychological issues.
Limit: Must know Meridian Location "Colon Meridian".

[??/30]

Valerys and the girl looked at one another, knowing that now they were in one another's hands. Karui instructed the first partner to begin feeling the other's neck, looking for the point on their right side. Valerys did as instructed to the girl, who had beautiful blonde hair and a slender body. It was hard to keep her eyes on just the girls neck. "That feels good," the girl said, more sensually than Valerys expected as she rubbed at Heaven's Vessel. Karui then said that it was time to trade-off, and suddenly the girl was rubbing Valerys' neck on the right side. All the while both of them were obtaining a much more intimate understanding of the point's location, and Valerys doubted that she was soon to forget this. Karui wanted them to move on after this. "You must now learn how to heal with the Heaven's Vessel point."

Karui instructed the first partner to attempt to release the tension between the blood and brain of the bood, enhancing the receipts memory and skills with their attention. "But be careful," Karui warned, "one false move and you could seriously hamper the blood to your receipt's brain." As Valerys went up to the girl, the girl said, "Be careful not to cut off my blood flow." Valerys smiled and said she wouldn't, and of course her hand stayed steady as she tested the technique. Valerys reached out to the girl's neck, whose name she did not know, and began to massage the area with her fingertips to stimulate the Qi. Valerys could almost feel the fluid beneath the girls skin, flowing more freshly up to her brain and clearing up her mind and body. Karui instructed the partner's to switch and the girl did the same to Valerys.

With their minds and bodies refreshed, the two girls felt very happy after the practice. Karui told the students that in order for their trianing to be complete, they would need to do a few more exercises in order to finish out the night. She wanted them to strike at the training dummies 100 times with their palms, at the point of Heaven's Vessel. Valerys was absolutely tired of training and all the work that she had already done today, but submitted and began to do the exercises. She sent her chakra to her palm and smacked repeatedly at the point, her fingertips still bleeding from the early exercises. As she worked, Valerys looked over at the girl who was also going away at her training dummy. She was stronger than Valerys had expected. As she watched, Valerys felt like she knew what it was like to watch her own self attacking the point and admired the young girl who had helped her all day.

[Deleted]

learned

[Flower]

SPOILER: Click to show

Rock of Remembrance
Rank: "B"
Skill: GenJutsu
Effect: This unique Enchantment imbues a single rock, stone, or boulder with the ability to “remember” all sounds that occur within 40 meters of it.
Special: "Handseals"
Drawback: ---
Description: Affects 1 rock. The user is able to perform this technique on the target they touch. The duration of this technique lasts for 5 days per class level. This technique may be negated. By speaking a special command word, the user (and only the user) can listen to the sounds. Sounds are retained by the rock permanently unless it is destroyed, turned from rock to mud, or other similar Jutsu that affects stone, in which case all sounds retained are lost forever.
Limit: Must know the Enchantment Perception.

[0/40]

After learning about the Dian Xue Shu techniques from Karui, Valerys went to her room and went to bed for the evening, waking up the next day and once again visiting Sekai. She was becoming much more familiar with this master, learning all sorts of techniques from her. This time when she went to Sekai she saw very few students there. "Hello Valerys, how are you doing?" Sekai asked. Valerys came up to her and said, "Looking for a new technique to learn. I see that you're not busy today." Sekai told her that most the students were learning other techniques at the moment, but promised to help her figure out a new one to assist her on missions. "There is a technique called the Rock of Remembrance," Sekai said, "that I think would be particularly useful for you. With certain genjutsus you can manipulate even rocks to befriend you. They can record certain sounds and play them back for you -- allowing you to know whatever you need to without being there in person." Valerys was happy to hear this and watched Sekai as she showed her the proper handseals.

Valerys took only a few seconds to remember the hand signs and nodded her head to her mentor. "I will remember. Thank you, Sekai." With that she dashed out of the tower, running into the middle of the dojo and then off to find some sort of rock that she could train. Although the desert wasn't the most plentiful for rocks and minerals, she found one after a bit of searching that could fit perfectly in the palm of her hand. It had some weight to it, definitely not hollow or porous, and so it seemed to feel good as well. Valerys sat on a low wall near some of the sensei towers and held the stone in her hand, accumulating an understanding of the order of the rock. With her mind and genjutsu techniques she seemed to be able to swarm over it, trying with her soul to determine how much could be known about it. Had anyone ever used it before? How was it made?

She tried imbuing the stone with her chakra, letting it pool in her stomach and then focusing her awareness so it would travel up to her chest, through her shoulder, and into her right arm. Her palm suddenly became enshrouded in power and she let it leave her skin, like beads of sweat with their own mind, and sock into the stone. Now she felt that she had much greater control over the object and allowed her mind to search it out, discovering how to manipulate it. Although it was a rock, and not a plant or animal, and although it lacked a mind it was still filled with all sorts of atoms. And who was to say, not also a soul? Indeed with her soulcaster techniques, Valerys knew that she was able to retrace objects, indicating that they had some relationship to the metaphysical idea of a "soul." And if that were true, genjutsu could in fact work on them. Valerys formed the handseals, the rock still in her hand, and let her chakra activate.

[Flower]

SPOILER: Click to show

Rock of Remembrance
Rank: "B"
Skill: GenJutsu
Effect: This unique Enchantment imbues a single rock, stone, or boulder with the ability to “remember” all sounds that occur within 40 meters of it.
Special: "Handseals"
Drawback: ---
Description: Affects 1 rock. The user is able to perform this technique on the target they touch. The duration of this technique lasts for 5 days per class level. This technique may be negated. By speaking a special command word, the user (and only the user) can listen to the sounds. Sounds are retained by the rock permanently unless it is destroyed, turned from rock to mud, or other similar Jutsu that affects stone, in which case all sounds retained are lost forever.
Limit: Must know the Enchantment Perception.

[??/40]

Suddenly the rock seemed more of a person than it did before. Now that chakra was running through and Valerys had discovered what she needed to about its soul, she sat down and began trying to affect it with a genjutsu in the same way as any other technique. She found this difficult and the rock did not react appropriately. Valerys began to change her mindset, shifting her consciousness with the help of her breath, and suddenly found that it was easier to connect with the rock through meditation. After learning this, she formed the handseals again and reached her hand out with the rock -- allowing her energy to fuel through the air and into it. In this way the environment around the stone seemed to shift and this allowed Valerys' consciousness to add even greater changes.

The rock suddenly seemed more a part of her than before, as if she could understand not only its physical makeup but chakra and spiritual essence as well. The chakra began to circulate inside of the stone and Valerys held it, excited to see if her trick would work. Walking through the streets of the Senpu Dojo, Valerys left the rock at the entrance to one of the buildings and went just a short distance away. She was within still within eyesight of the rock at this time, wanting to make sure that nothing went array or that anyone spotted the stone. As she watched, Valerys allowed her breath to steady and set more of her energy in that direction in case it was necessary. Now that she had imbued it once, Valerys could feel that she had some sort of connection with the stone. Probably her chakra signature.

Ten minutes past and Valerys got up the courage to go retrieve her rock. When she discovered it, she brought it back to her room and attempted to play back the recording that it had captured. She closed her eyes and held it in her hand, sucking back up the energy that she had originally placed into it. She had been close by and the duration not very long, as such Valerys found it relatively easy to read the stone. It played for her mostly the sounds of feet and people talking outside of the building, of which they were mostly students. But their voices were clear and it was apparent that she had succeeded in capturing their voices. Having come this far, she kept a hold of the rock and thought about what to do next. Gathering her things she took the rock and started heading toward the building of her genjutsu mentor, Sekai.

[Flower]

SPOILER: Click to show

Rock of Remembrance
Rank: "B"
Skill: GenJutsu
Effect: This unique Enchantment imbues a single rock, stone, or boulder with the ability to “remember” all sounds that occur within 40 meters of it.
Special: "Handseals"
Drawback: ---
Description: Affects 1 rock. The user is able to perform this technique on the target they touch. The duration of this technique lasts for 5 days per class level. This technique may be negated. By speaking a special command word, the user (and only the user) can listen to the sounds. Sounds are retained by the rock permanently unless it is destroyed, turned from rock to mud, or other similar Jutsu that affects stone, in which case all sounds retained are lost forever.
Limit: Must know the Enchantment Perception.

[??/40]

As Valerys walked across the dojo and beyond the various buildings, she held the stone in her hand and concentrated her energy and awareness to her palm so she could fuel it as she walked. It felt comfortable here, as if she was already beginning to get better at the technique. Eventually Valerys made it to Sekai's section of the dojo and formed the handseals outside of the building. Her chakra pushed out around her body and into the rock, and Valerys held it up her sleeve. She walked inside, dropping it just inside the lobby where Sekai often was, and was about to walk out as she had a familiar voice say, "Valerys. You've come back?" Valerys turned around quickly to find Sekai standing in front of her.

"In fact I have," Valerys said, "I came by to say thank you for instructed me on the Kiss of Luck and Rock of Remembrance. Was wondering if you had any more clues for the latter. I seem to have gotten a bit stuck." Sekai smiled and Valerys wondered briefly if she knew the truth about the stone was lay beneath them -- hopefully recording every sound as Valerys had intended.
"Hints or tricks, huh? You must imbue the stone in a certain way so that the energy will know to replicate sound. There is no point in putting useless energy into your stone. Try this and perhaps you'll see better results," Sekai said. Valerys took this piece of information and hid it way in her mind, planning to take advantage of it soon.

Walking out the building, Valerys spent her time going outside of the dojo and searching for yet a second rock. There was no rule that said she couldn't set up another stone while her first was still recording, so she found a rock and gripped it in her palm. This one was different from the other, more porous and pale, but still dirty and earth capable of holding what she needed. Valerys looked down at the stone and did as Sekai had instructed her, imagining her energy playing throughout the stone like a tape in a recorder. The chakra seemed to respond appropriately, filling the stone and then swirling back and forth, making a mirror like pattern. Although she couldn't see chakra, somehow Valerys knew this was the case. Only then was Valerys ready to move on with her rock to the next destination.