Spirits in the Material World

[Brian]

"Excellent," the spirit says, before vanishing.

"Many spirits know you," Din says, impressed.  "You must be very powerful.  Maybe it is not so bad, this war thing."

[Bjorn]

"No," Bjorn disagrees.  "War is never a good thing, Din.  It brings death and suffering.  War is necessary, for there comes times when the alternative is far worse.  And even with the greatest advantages, war can always be lost."  He looks around, studying the horizon.  "But now war is necessary, and I believe that it is ours to win.  So let us make plans while we rest, and do what is needed for victory."

[Brian]

"Okay," Din agrees.  "Where do we begin?"

[Bjorn]

"Let us set up camp," Bjorn says, "and as we do so, you shall tell me how your people hunt."

[Brian]

Din goes about setting up a camp -- clearing enough space for a small fire, gathering grasses that burn with minimal smoke, and then explains the process of the hunt for Bjorn.

For ceremony, on certain days of the year, Bjorn would apparently summon a spirit related to whatever the goal of that hunt was -- typically wildebeests.  Then the spirit would be asked for assistance, and Bjorn would bargain; the people of the plains have the best voices to please spirits, so this is typically not difficult.

The rest of the year, if an opportunity for a hunt arises -- such as when a herd is threatening to graze away one of the plainsmen's groves -- then hunts are made to scare them off.  And of course, the hides are the animals' payments for the incursion on the groves that the spirits have granted.

Therefore, because it's done so rarely, the hunts have to center around activities and exercises that the plainsmen can practice at other times.  This means that the men and children (and many women, too), spend a lot of time practicing the art of sneaking around, masking their scents, and creeping up on the local animals.

The hunt is a contest to take the prey unawares, with slow patience, and determined aim.  It can often take a skilled hunter more than an hour to take down a kill ... but almost all hunters are skilled.  It's a rarity, Din says with evident pride, for anyone who can call themselves a man to make a mistake when going after prey.

[Bjorn]

When Din is done, Bjorn nods.  Good.  This is very workable.  He gestures to Din, calling him closer, and squats down in the dirt.

"First," he says, "we must think about how the Churchmen will fight.  This I do not know for certain, but based on what I have seen, it is likely they rely on two things.

"Their muskets will be inaccurate and slow to reload.  Enough men shoulder by shoulder, however, with enough men to keep a ready gun in their hands, and the result with be a storm that would tear any opponent apart.  For this reason, they cannot be attacked directly.  Their guns will be of little use when mounted; it is difficult to train an animal not to panic at the sound of gunfire so close, and it is nigh impossible to reload a musket while mounted.  Horseback, they will use swords, and charge at their enemy to break them, and chase them down when they run.  For this reason, one cannot try to stand against them.

"The key to victory begins with taking their weapons away from them.  Once they begin their march, your people must vanish.  The lodges must be abandoned, and all must slip away into the plains ahead of their army.

"When they are deep into the plains, and far from their strongholds, you may begin.  Come upon them quietly at night.  Take away their mounts; kill them, or drive them off into the wilds, or stampede them through their camp.  Take away the powder which powers their guns.  It is dangerous, and will explode when touched with fire; you may try to burn it, but this is risky.  Better, perhaps, to ruin it.  It must be pure to work well.  Mix in dirt, salt, or dung.  Spread it out over the ground, or mix it with their food, for it is noxious.  This, too, you should also do: destroy their food and water.  You may kill some few of them, but do not kill too many.

"Too great a show of strength and they will flee, and the Church will return with strength redoubled.  Instead, we wish to plague them, to remove their teeth so that they might not harm us, but to leave them with the thought that the might yet succeed.  Doing so will they press on, unwilling to return to their masters and admit failure, and so that then when they do flee, their masters will think them incompetent, and not think us a risk.  If the Church becomes wary, if it uses its full might wisely, then the path to victory will be dark indeed.  

"When they have no mounts or guns, you may appear before them during the day.  Never stand to fight.  Always stay just beyond their reach, drawing them to chase after you.  Lead them away from water, from food.  If they stop to rest, then turn upon them.  From hidden places, throw spears and rocks at them until they must return to their chase or perish; and then again lead them on.  

"At night, continue your campaign.  Destroy their weapon, and any food or water they might have found.  Kill a few men, every night, so that they will feel fear and not dare risk sleep.

"An army such as theirs depends, necessarily, on caravans that bring to them supplies, replacement weapons and mounts, and new soldiers.  These must not be allowed to arrive, and it is for this reason you will have lured the army deep into the plains.  While some continue to harass the Churchmen, others must stalk the plains between their army and their strongholds, finding all of these caravans.  At night, come upon them and destroy them.  All of these men, if you can, you might kill, for silence of their replacements will strike as much fear as their stories of devastation.  But always will the priority be on their equipment.  Do not let them regain their strength.

"Now.  Their will come a time when their leader will realize that their tactics are futile.  There are three courses of action he might decide upon.

"If he is foolish, he will choose a place and begin to build a fort.  Let him do so.  Do not attack the fort, but instead redouble your efforts upon the supply caravans.  If you come across hunting parties sent out from the fort, do away from them.  Let them stay in their hole and rot for it.

"If he is wise, he will realize that he must close the distance between himself and the strongholds, so that the supply caravans might reach him without perishing.  Should they begin to withdraw, and ignore your attempts to lure them away, attack!  Lay hard upon them with spear and stone, striking always from a distance, and leaving the paths behind them into the heart of the plains clear.  If they reach the woods, fall back.  

"Most likely, though, it will fall to the third option: the army will break, and run for fear back to their homes.  If this should happen, harry them along.  This is the end we desire: the army to return humiliated, seemingly incompetent.  In their pride and arrogance, the Church will likely attack again, with more men, but without changing their tactics.  The attack will not come again soon, and much time will have been earned, for the end of this battle will not have come quickly; when the attack does come again, it may be defeated by the same tactics."

From the sketches he's etched into the dirt, he looks up at Din.  "Is this clear to you?"

[Brian]

Din nods slowly.  "It will take time," he says, "but it makes sense.  We can keep our young ones and the chiefs far away from danger.  This is a good plan."  He looks up from the sketches in the dirt, to Bjorn.  "Where will you go?  When will you return Bjorn to us?"

[Bjorn]

"This plan will not stop the Church," Bjorn explains, "but only slow it down.  That it will take time is its goal.  So I must away from the plains, towards the Churchmen's strongholds.  I must learn more of them, their strengths and their weaknesses, so that final victory can be won.  There are other spirits like me in this world; some of them work towards our end, and some, perhaps, are hear to forestall us.  All of them, too, I must find.

"I do not yet know exactly where I will go.  I am hunting; I head towards where prey should be, and when I find its trail I will follow it wherever it might go."  He shakes his head.  "Nor can I tell you when Bjorn shall return to you, other than that it shall come when your people are safe."

[Brian]

"Are you....  Will you be safe, traveling alone?" Din asks, poking a stick he found somewhere at the fire.

[Bjorn]

"I will be fine," Bjorn reassures him.  "This is a mission of stealth, and I will need to walk among the Churchmen and their like.  We cannot easily pass without notice, especially not if we are many.  Alone, perhaps, I am strong enough already to disguise myself."

He concentrates, letting go his hold of the Dream once again, and concentrating on his own body.  He then glances down, to see what he's managed to accomplish.

OOC: Reassigning all my Influence: 1 CP to bring my STR up to 14, 6 CP to bring my CON up to 14, 4 CP to bring my REC up to 8, and 3 CP to bring over my Light Sleep talent.  Hopefully this is enough to make me look less like a voodoo midget.

[Brian]

The effect is almost instant.  Bjorn gains a few inches in height, and becomes slightly paler.

Din backs away, rubbing his eyes.  "You are a very powerful spirit," he determines.  "I will return to my people, now."  He salutes with his spear, then hesitates, and drops his javelins before turning to run off into the grass.

[Bjorn]

Releasing his hold on his other self, Bjorn reaches out to stop Din.  "Hold one second, Din.  There is one other precaution I would take before you leave."

Turning his attention back to the fire, he reaches out for Kerwhizzle, or another of his kin.

OOC: Back to default Influence spending.

[Brian]

Kerwhizzle is the first to reply to the summon, situating himself comfortably in the firepit that Din had arranged.  "I am summoned," he says, in Japanese, sounding vaguely pleased.  "What bargain shall we make today, Bjorn?"

[Bjorn]

"With your agreement," Bjorn replies in English, so that Din will understand, "I will tell you of our need, and then you may set the terms of the bargain.

"Shortly, the people of the plains will go to war with the Church, that they might keep to their ways and honour the spirits.  But I am afraid, friend, that when they feel the sting of defeat, the Church may choose to set fire to the plains, rather than stand and fight.  I do not know that they will do this, o Flame, but if they do, then it will be a heavy blow to us.  And so we implore you: is there ought that might be done to make sure that such an end does not come to pass?"

[Brian]

"I am but a fraction of the spirit of fire," Kerwhizzle replies after a moment of thought.  "And songs are pretty, but nature's rule is nature's rule.  To oppose it in your favor is a possible thing, but I would require ... leverage against the other spirits of fire to make it happen.

"This will require more than your people could offer easily.  It can be done, however."  The coals dim a bit, then flare up, "If you are willing, you could bargain with the spirits of the void.  Their word is law to us, they who sit in the shroud beyond the spheres, and if you could get one in your debt, and give even some of that debt to me, then I would be able to accomplish what you ask."