Then, looking at the tree, Tsukiko decided for certain not to harm such beauty. She gently pressed her palm against the bark and wanted to stroke it, but suddenly she was struck by a feeling... A kind of peace bordering on bliss. Shimizu still wondered about the cause of this, but then, somewhat belatedly, a terrible pain pierced her, and the girl realized that she could not move. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the branches of the tree quickly curling to seize her, as well as her allies running to her aid, shouting something... Suddenly, the Nihonkan realized one sad thing. These three fighters drawing their weapons against the jubbokko would most likely not survive. Based on her extensive experience in encounters with magical creatures and spirits, they were unlikely to win. And she herself would soon die. But what was much sadder was that her careless desire would doom her comrades. Well. Perhaps this is not the worst death. Yes, she had not managed to correct all her transgressions, had not managed to purify herself completely, but perhaps Taro would accept her even like this? Come to think of it, she had never been perfect, but before, that hadn't stopped her friend from sincerely loving her.
A small tear appeared on Tsukiko's face, which was pale from blood loss and almost lifeless, and everything ended.
Sirocco
For many years now in Rheime, in a modest, dilapidated country shack, lived a Camelian elf. He was nothing special, just a long-eared old man, but for some reason people became accustomed to coming to him for advice.
-- Hello, I'm buying a cow.
-- Well done. Buy it, -- the monk said, counting his prayer beads.
-- Now, would it be better if it were black or spotted, do you know?
-- Hi, man. I've come for a blessing.
-- And hello to you, human.
-- Well?
-- What "well"?
-- The blessing. Give it.
-- Why? Who am I to give you a blessing? I am just an old man. I can, of course, but there will be no use in it for you.
-- What, are you extorting money? Ugh, a business vein is immediately apparent. Well, I don't mind. Will a thousand rumies be enough?
-- I don't need money.
-- Alright then, two thousand, you win.
-- ...
-- And would it be better to get a one-year-old or a two-year-old, O sage? They say the yield of a one-year-old is small. But a two-year-old -- what if it kicks the bucket in a week?
-- Hey, sage! Tell me, do you actually help people?
-- I don't think so.
-- Then what do you do?
-- Mostly -- I sit.
-- You're a joker, sage... Listen, there's a matter. I'm a member of the League, but we have a specific task; we need a Camelian. And you aren't really busy with anything anyway, right?
-- Well, yes.
-- Will you help?
-- You haggle well, man! Alright then, twenty-three thousand and silk clothing. Last word, I won't add another rumie!
-- You seem to have misunderstood...
-- Ah, maybe not a cow, but a goat would be better? It's cheaper, and the udder is just as big!
-- Listen, woman, I know nothing about agriculture...
-- So what should I buy? Tell me!
-- Mmmm... Well, buy a cow, two years old, spotted, named Meadow.
-- Aha... Aha... That's right! There was one called Meadow for sale! I remember! Spotted! Two years old! How did you know?
-- And what do I need to help with?
-- Listen. An interesting scroll came to our League. Camelian. No one can read it; maybe you can?
-- Well, if it's Camelian, I can.
-- We just don't have any money. We live on donations, actually.
-- Well, I don't need any.
-- Really? That is just very cool. And since we're at it, wouldn't you like to join the League? You help us, and we help you.
-- Oh, why did I come back. Meadow -- he's actually a bull!
-- Then buy a bull.
-- Fine... Thank you, sage!
-- You win. Thirty-five thousand, silk clothing, a staff with a ruby, and amber earrings. Although I don't know why you want earrings, that's for women...
-- Mmmm... Very well, I bless you. May your soul be pure, and may there be brains in your head. Go and give everything listed to the orphanage. Say it is from me. You may go.
-- Eee... Thanks, of course... But this was a gift for you, man...
-- You may go.
-- Well, alright, I'll join your League, why not. Where is the scroll?
-- Here it is. But be careful, sage Sirocco. Maybe there's an ancient curse on it? That would be typical, heh. But maybe, conversely, we can use it for something. These donors!
*Sirocco reads and translates*
-- "I am writing to you from distant lands, mother, from Rheime itself! Everything is fine with me; the local barbarians are not so wild after all. I feel they might even teach me a lot... I think I will be here for a long time. Do not wait for me, mother. My path of wisdom, the path to enlightenment, requires me to perform one thousand and one good deeds. And here, in distant lands, among mortal people, poor and suffering from numerous ailments, I believe that I can help much more than in wealthy and pure Camelia! However, all this will not happen until I can subdue my Camelian pride, a feeling that unimaginably hinders and turns any good deed into an evil one!.."
*cries*
-- Interesting letter. Not what I expected, of course... Why are you crying?
-- I wrote this once...
-- Heh. Will you finish reading it?
-- If you're interested. But I don't think the League will benefit.
-- Probably. And how is it? How many good deeds have you done out of a thousand?
-- Not a single one.
-- No way?
-- It's unlikely that anything can be considered a good deed. You all confuse me with someone else... Many people come to me, convinced that a silver-haired wise elder lives here, but how could I think of myself that way? Unlike you, I once lived in Camelia; I understand what true wisdom means, how it looks, how it behaves. Camelian daikyo rarely look like me. Few walk around with wrinkled faces, for example. They know how to bring their physical state into alignment with their spiritual one. And as for me... Just a mad old man.
-- Come on, don't be like that, don't despair!
-- What are you saying, I am not sad at all. Does my voice sound sorrowful? I am just stating things as they are. My case is not so terrible. Some time ago in Rheime, I happened to see an interesting young woman. And I was amazed then by the state of her heart. Do you know what hearts, souls look like in people? Yin and yang, white and black, good and evil. The truth is that almost always it's not so, and souls are simply gray. Good and evil are completely mixed in them; people do a bit of both and pay no attention at all. This girl's soul was black. But not entirely. Within it, small white grains, droplets existed separately. White droplets in a black soul. And there was no mixing; the droplets were like an independent entity and they were not satisfied with the presence of darkness around them. They fought. They tried, if not to eradicate the darkness, then at least to hide it, to force it not to break out as actions. I don't know how such a combination was achieved. I think that to everyone around her, she was just an eccentric villainess, but to me, she then provided an example of true virtue acting against everything around, even against the very inner nature of man. Having seen such a thing, I certainly cannot be despondent. It has always been much easier for me.
-- I wonder what happened to her.
-- I think toward the end of her life she overcame the black within her. For the most part.
-- She died, then?
-- Who told you that?
-- Well, you did.
-- What am I to you, a clairvoyant? I cannot know such things.
-- You're an interesting conversationalist. You know... My offer to join the Free League -- it still stands. If you want to perform your thousand good deeds, this is a great chance. Come along!
-- Yes. Perhaps.
The daikyo watched the departing guy with his eyes.
-- Perhaps...
Origin: CameliaAccess to Camelian skills, +10 Charisma, +10 Wisdom.
Faction: Free League
+20 Charisma, -25% cost of legal goods and services, enhancer, ability to call for help in any major city of the empireConviction: Traditions+30 to selected characteristic (Wisdom)
Conviction: Asceticism+3 own points, +1 HP, +20 XP, +3 Movement Speed, refusal of rewards and inability to use money except for satisfying the character's basic needs.
CharacteristicsStrength: 10
Intelligence: 12
Will: 11
Agility: 26
Perception: 40
Wisdom: 36 (+30)(+10)(+5)
Charisma: 5(+10)(+20)Skills and Abilities
DaikyoCombat Mastery
Binding Flame
Ultimate Ability — Eight Trigrams
ScholarPhilosopher
Perks
Mental Disorder+ conviction
EquipmentStaff from a branch of a flame tree -- "Rare flame tree? Travelers see such a thing once in a lifetime? Strange, I found this stick in a ditch. Slugs were eating it."
Monastic prayer beads for meditation -- "What beads? Why are they beautiful? These are my teeth. -- Eee, I am quite suuuure that this is jade. -- Count them. Four. Eight... Thirty-two. Thirty-two teeth. All here."
Possibly invisible boots -- "Sage, do you happen to need footwear? The League can help, otherwise you walk around barefoot. -- Barefoot? Me? Nonsense, how could I be barefoot? I am old and my feet get cold. I wouldn't last a day without warm boots."
All other daikyo attributes: clothing, trigrams, whatever else is required or makes sense.
League enhancer. Buffs: health, aquilon (if only two are available).
Небо
Happy Life
