by Guest Tue Jul 21, 2020 3:41 pmBorn in the dawn, creations of all shapes and sizes would wake from their slumber. Stretching and breathing in the fresh scents of the morning. In the beautiful wake between day and night, the warmth of orange rays, slowly pushing back the purple whimsy of the night. One by one the desert lands would come alive. Insects and scarabs, scattering on the granules wet with morning dew. Farmers waking their herds, shepherding them to the nearest well. Drawing cold water from caves deep below, letting the animals drink long and hard. As Aria's subject retreated further into the crevices of rocky mountains, the guardians of the night would return. Tired, cold and dirty from the winds, they would want nothing more than warm meat stew, sweet dried fruits, and sweet slumber.
The household of spirits would not have slept, eternal rest nothing but the practice of outsiders. Their buildings always had an early silence to them. The chimes ringing at their own leisure, soft shuffling of silk socks on hardwood floors. They greeted each other with simple nods and taps on the arm for they spoke not with their mouths but by the spirits of their mind. Plagued by both the horrors of their past lives as well as the invaluable experience. First-hand accounts, immortalized by their kin through rituals known only to the ghost clan. Imino Shizuka was one such member of the Yurei clan, host to two ancestors and soon a third. She was beautiful, mysterious, and deadly as jeweled vipers came. Colorful scales that adapted to the light, shifting their prismatic scales from bright as emerald green to dark as the desert night itself.
She went about her morning ritual, washing her face of the sleep from the night before. Hair combed to silky perfection and tied behind her head. Dressed in nothing but a training bra, a loose shirt and short pants she would join her numerous family members for breakfast. Rice steamed fresh, fish grilled this morning, pickles made for the winter stores, and lukewarm tea to wash it all down. Yet the only sounds would be of slow chewing, chopsticks looking for food on porcelain dishes. The occasional soft burp or yawns met with both a snort from the nose and shaking of the head.
Once it was all done, they all stood in silence, brushing their teeth in the courtyard. A communal space, where most members washed their faces, teeth, and hairs in the morning. Baths were of course a thing, but a full naked body required a more intimate setting. Usually reserved for nights and for those bloodied from battles. Water was a precious commodity in the desert, almost synonymous with gold. In fact, water was valued above gold as it was the source of all life. It raised crops, animals, and even humans. All goods that in turn generated gold. Only a fool in the desert would exchange a deep well for a pouch of gold. A smart man would sell it for a chest full. A genius would never sell it, instead of charging people a pouch of gold for a bucket of liquid cold and pure as the sapphires of Jeju Island.
As such it wasn't strange that the Shinobi Village sent out explorer teams to look for underground water sources. Sending out experts and water chakra users to search for them. Shizuka often accompanied these searches, serving as a bodyguard to the scientists. Today, Shizuka's search would be for her own, setting out by herself as she surveyed the land. Her mission was indeed for water but not for treasures buried below the lands but treasure that was readily available. See, everyone merely used and spent water, never investing in it. One day such resources would run out and the deserts would become even more desolate. Cactus and dry shrubs would be an extinct life form.
What Imino intended to do was extend the oasis. Increasing the influence of their little paradise ponds. The further they could expand, the more palm trees could grow, berry bushes that lined the banks, and more animals coming to drink and seek refuge in the shades. Shizuka needed the biggest water source she could find, one perennial yet unused by the local population. In her recent travels, she had found it. An oasis in which source was from a cavern deep within the ground, trapped underneath thick plates. The water was the purest she could find, the soil around it was wanting but was good enough to sustain palm trees and some elder trees. This was the perfect spot to begin her true dream.
In recent times she had spent hours and days in the libraries, looking up various genus of plants and their benefits. She spent time with farmers learning how to cultivate the land. What she wanted to do was terraform the lands, turning the endless expanse of yellow and white sands to pastures of rich green and blue. With more lands people could farm more, harvest more and it was her belief that with a better standard of living, crime would be greatly reduced. Of course, this dream could not happen overnight and required meticulous planning, manpower, and a lot of luck but she would start slow. The key part of her plan was the introduction of a certain animal native to the moon. That would be the next thing she would need to research.
WC: 904
The household of spirits would not have slept, eternal rest nothing but the practice of outsiders. Their buildings always had an early silence to them. The chimes ringing at their own leisure, soft shuffling of silk socks on hardwood floors. They greeted each other with simple nods and taps on the arm for they spoke not with their mouths but by the spirits of their mind. Plagued by both the horrors of their past lives as well as the invaluable experience. First-hand accounts, immortalized by their kin through rituals known only to the ghost clan. Imino Shizuka was one such member of the Yurei clan, host to two ancestors and soon a third. She was beautiful, mysterious, and deadly as jeweled vipers came. Colorful scales that adapted to the light, shifting their prismatic scales from bright as emerald green to dark as the desert night itself.
She went about her morning ritual, washing her face of the sleep from the night before. Hair combed to silky perfection and tied behind her head. Dressed in nothing but a training bra, a loose shirt and short pants she would join her numerous family members for breakfast. Rice steamed fresh, fish grilled this morning, pickles made for the winter stores, and lukewarm tea to wash it all down. Yet the only sounds would be of slow chewing, chopsticks looking for food on porcelain dishes. The occasional soft burp or yawns met with both a snort from the nose and shaking of the head.
Once it was all done, they all stood in silence, brushing their teeth in the courtyard. A communal space, where most members washed their faces, teeth, and hairs in the morning. Baths were of course a thing, but a full naked body required a more intimate setting. Usually reserved for nights and for those bloodied from battles. Water was a precious commodity in the desert, almost synonymous with gold. In fact, water was valued above gold as it was the source of all life. It raised crops, animals, and even humans. All goods that in turn generated gold. Only a fool in the desert would exchange a deep well for a pouch of gold. A smart man would sell it for a chest full. A genius would never sell it, instead of charging people a pouch of gold for a bucket of liquid cold and pure as the sapphires of Jeju Island.
As such it wasn't strange that the Shinobi Village sent out explorer teams to look for underground water sources. Sending out experts and water chakra users to search for them. Shizuka often accompanied these searches, serving as a bodyguard to the scientists. Today, Shizuka's search would be for her own, setting out by herself as she surveyed the land. Her mission was indeed for water but not for treasures buried below the lands but treasure that was readily available. See, everyone merely used and spent water, never investing in it. One day such resources would run out and the deserts would become even more desolate. Cactus and dry shrubs would be an extinct life form.
What Imino intended to do was extend the oasis. Increasing the influence of their little paradise ponds. The further they could expand, the more palm trees could grow, berry bushes that lined the banks, and more animals coming to drink and seek refuge in the shades. Shizuka needed the biggest water source she could find, one perennial yet unused by the local population. In her recent travels, she had found it. An oasis in which source was from a cavern deep within the ground, trapped underneath thick plates. The water was the purest she could find, the soil around it was wanting but was good enough to sustain palm trees and some elder trees. This was the perfect spot to begin her true dream.
In recent times she had spent hours and days in the libraries, looking up various genus of plants and their benefits. She spent time with farmers learning how to cultivate the land. What she wanted to do was terraform the lands, turning the endless expanse of yellow and white sands to pastures of rich green and blue. With more lands people could farm more, harvest more and it was her belief that with a better standard of living, crime would be greatly reduced. Of course, this dream could not happen overnight and required meticulous planning, manpower, and a lot of luck but she would start slow. The key part of her plan was the introduction of a certain animal native to the moon. That would be the next thing she would need to research.
WC: 904