En Garde

[Asako Saburo]

"Well, do we have the shoulderblade of an ox? That and a proper fire could serve sufficiently for the purposes you seek." Of all the divination tools Saburo could have mentioned, his first was scapulomancy, a rather outdated method to say the least. "We would, however, require a stencil to inscribe the words for the purposes of which the divination was to be conducted."

[Kuni Yotsuo]

"I don't think they know what will happen, because if they did they would not bother providing guidance. I think they understand the direction that the future flows in and does what it can to defend us by showing us the path most likely to lead to our successful resistance of evil. When we seek our path, we can do so without the guidance of the heavens and we may succeed despite that, but it is the trust and deference that we give to the heavens and it's wisdom that strengthens us against the threats we face," Yotsuo offers.

"The heavens plan is not the only one that exists, but it is the one that guides us to preserve ourselves against evil. We still make the decisions that determine our eventual fates, hopefully for the good of all, but sometimes not so much. We are mortals after all, prone to mistakes and failure."

[Kaito Haruki]

"Which brings up an interesting question regardless of which way you see fate, what happens when one does something so out of the ordinary that it cannot be forseen?"

[Matsu Qiang]

On the other side of the courtyard, the new Lion student could be seen practicing defensive stances with a bokken. It looked like he knew how to handle the bokken, but switching from high guard to low guard and back looked somewhat awkward for him.

[Kuni Yotsuo]

"I think that probably happens more than we might guess. And it probably doesn't have to much impact on the way things go. My family's duty exist because there are people that act in accordance with plans that the lower realms lay for them. They don't follow the path laid for them by the heavens. But I imagine that there are plenty of people that follow paths between those two, the higher and the lower. And that makes a certain amount of sense because Ningen-do is in the middle. But what can we do when something unexpected happens other than react to it? The heavens likewise would probably react, but they do so with their great wisdom for the benefit of us all."

[Asako Saburo]

Saburo didn't know whether or not to agree one way or another, and wasn't entirely sure that there was a 'correct' answer in this regard. He didn't favor the Isawa's approach, mostly because deciphering through omens had never been truly a strong point for him. He preferred defined, clearly conceivable results, ones that could be reproduced, verified or at least testimonies that could be collaborated. Divination was even less sure than speaking to the kami at times.

Continuing through his exercises in iai, he happened to notice the young lad of the Lion. They'd remained quiet throughout these proceedings. Enough so that he was surprised to see them. He'd begun to wonder if there were any here. Bowing once to the boy, he didn't move to interrupt his work, but made mental note he was there for the future.

[Kaito Haruki]

"Regardless of why we do divinations, surely it wouldn't be cost efficient to use an ox's shoulder bone every time you needed to see what the future holds. Aren't there some coins or something?"

[Iuchi Prashant]

Still practicing his Iai stance and sword drawing while the others discussed divination, the Iuchi bows to the Lion as he entered the room, and finally stops for a moment when they mentioned coins.

"I have brought some Kawaru coins, Isawa-san. I'm... not particularly well-versed in divination, and... I think I tend to agree with Kuni-san's views on how the great tapestry of fate is knit. But we might try to see what we can fathom of destiny's voice later today, or tomorrow, if minna-san are interested in doing it.

[Kaito Haruki]

"Tomorrow sounds good for that, and thank you for having a way to do divination that doesn't require butchery."

[Iuchi Prashant]

He nods to the Isawa, smiling. "We'll do that tomorrow then". He then looks at both Saburo and Haruki in turn. "But... I guess all different methods of divination take the matter up in different ways, so I could see the value in the diversity. It is not unlike with weapons", he turns his head towards the wooden weapon rack. "Or with ways of talking to and entreating the Kami, even. Different families focus on different elements, different prayers... some of us even use different methods", he says as he holds an aquamarine pendant hanging from his neck. "Some may be more traditional, and we may find the one or the other more pleasing, but that doesn't mean diversity is inherently bad, I guess", he says with a gentle smile, his eyes half-closed.

[Kuni Yotsuo]

"I know very little of divination. It's not something I've studied before so other than common uses like coins and stars, I really don't know the different ways it can be done."

[Iuchi Prashant]

The Unicorn looks at Yotsuo for a moment. "Well.... To be honest, as I said it's not an art I'm particularly well-versed in either. I just feel the variety in its methods is probably not unlike that in other matters!", he says, shrugging with an easy smile on his face.