The Temple of Inari 50: Foxside

[Fenric]

You have entered the temple of Inari, in her capacity as the Goddess of Foxes.

You walk down an elegant white gravel pathway between full-grown pines. Stone lanterns provide a pure white light to the path, while casting elegant shadows among the trees.

At the end of the pathway, a bright red gate stands. A large fox carved from white alabaster gleams at each side of the gate. As you pass between the foxes and through the gate, you feel the presence of the goddess. Gentle and caring, but mischievous and lighthearted, you are never quite certain what will happen.

Past the exquisite formal gardens, you finally step into the pagoda itself. There, at the end of chamber is a raised dais. There rests a statue of a beautiful vulpine woman, flanked by two snow-white celestial foxes. Offerings of rice and incense stand before the statue.

In a niche off to the right side of the door sits a Fox-Cola vending machine. Next to the coin slot, the sign reads "10 cp".

To the left side of the door is a magic mirror. This mirror is actually a portal to Trog's Tavern.

Profile for Inari

Spoiler

Show

Alignment Chaotic Good
Primary Domains Good, Plant, Chaos, Healing
Secondary Domains Magic, Sun, Animal, Trickery, Knowledge, Water
Forbidden Domains Evil, Law, War, Death, Destruction
Priest Granted Powers
Rice Paddy Once per day. As <i>Entangle</i>, but the ground changes to knee-deep mud, and instead of creepers, mature rice plants twist and writhe to grapple anything in the area.
Sushi Bar Once per day. You create rice, fish, and sake. You can create enough to feed one medium sized creature for each two caster levels.
Summon Celestial Fox Special. You summon an image of Myobi (if you are a priestess) or Myobu (if you are a priest). The fox has HD equal to your level plus your wisdom bonus. In combat, the fox fights the same as a normal fox, but with appropriate bonuses for HD.

Inari is the goddess of rice: The plant itself. The cultivation of it. The products made from it. She has countless billions of worshipers spread across the various planes of existence. Foxes are her children. Inari created foxes to watch over the grain and eat the birds and rodents that would destroy the sacred plant. Kitsune are her especial messengers: sacred foxes endowed with the ability to take on human or elvish form. Inari is an agricultural and racial goddess. She is concerned predominantly with nurturing and growth. She is good, but it is the quiet good of the countryside rather than the formalized good of high society. We don't go on crusades. We don't try to win converts or convince people to change their beliefs. We don't really feel a conflict with "evil" beings at all, unless they threaten us directly. Finally, since rice is a critical component in many economies across the multiverse, she is revered as a goddess of wealth and prosperity as well.

The worship of Inari is mostly personal. The sanctuary is open for prayer and meditation as you feel led. There is a small ceremony at dawn every day, where the main sacred fires are lit. There is a celebration at the full of the moon each month, and a quiet time of prayer at the dark of the moon. There are major ceremonies and holidays at the times of rice planting, transplanting, and harvest. The fox festival is held at the time when the wild cousins give birth. We feed them a special treat made with rice wrapped in fried bean curds. Otherwise, the temple does not hold regular formal services.

Inari is not overly fond of ceremony: for it is not ceremony that will lead you to enlightenment.

All things have a spirit, and the spirit is in all things. But this perception is dulled by the impurities of physical life, and you fail to reach your true potential due to this. It is therefore in your best interest that you seek for purity in your emotions and your mind; for through that purity, your spirit may shine through. Ceremony is of limited value because the quest for purity begins and ends with your inner self. This is why the main altar generally houses a mirror, not a statue, on the altar.

The state of purity is difficult to explain, because it does not mean the same thing to everyone. Only by meditating on your spiritual state can you learn what things hinder you personally. An earnest, honest, open heart is needed for this. The goddess, who can read your very being, can help with this: but it is a private matter between you and her. Therefore we provide a quiet setting: a peaceful sanctuary free from distracting clutter, a quiet garden where you can relax your mind, a serene place where it is easier to distance your true self from your physical self and focus on what needs to be. One more thing: purity is not merely a matter of eliminating that which is "bad". It is also a task of strengthening which is "good". Your task may be to grow in an area of yourself that you have neglected, or imperfectly developed. Regardless of the details, when you know what needs to be done we provide the support, council, and assistance to help you do it.

Profile for Tamamo

Spoiler

Show

Alignment Chaotic Good
Primary Domains Good, Plant, Chaos, Healing, Darkness
Secondary Domains Magic, Sun, Animal, Trickery, Knowledge, Water
Forbidden Domains Evil, Law, War, Death, Destruction
Priest Granted Powers
Darkness Once per day.
Speak with Shadows You can speak with creatures from the Plane of Shadows
Sushi Bar Once per day. You create rice, fish, and sake. You can create enough to feed one medium sized creature for each two caster levels.
Summon Celestial Fox Special. You summon an image of one of the Ninetails. The fox has HD equal to your level plus your wisdom bonus. In combat, the fox fights the same as a normal fox, but with appropriate bonuses for HD.

<Work in Progress... please stand by>

Temple Facilities
Map

Spoiler

Show

Interior wide-angle shot

Spoiler

Show

Everything but the Sanctuary and Garden has Dimensional Lock. The entire facility is Hallowed as per the spell with the Bless effect. A permanent Flame Quench (the reversed form of the 2nd edition Fire Storm spell) is on in a quiescent form on all the buildings. It can be triggered by any full priest.

- Sanctuary: the main sanctuary has the altar. This is where you must pray to speak to the goddess directly. There is a general magic circle in the center of the room.

- Meditation Gardens: accessed through a door at the far end of the sanctuary. This is a standard zen garden with raked gravle, shady nooks, picturesque pines, stone lanterns, and small intricate bridges. An artifical stream hosts large koi, and a grand cherry tree resides on a picturesque island in the middle of a good sized pond.

- Priest's Quarters: accessed by going down the stairs "halfway down the sanctuary, to the right"

Priestly Ranks

Spoiler

Show

The relative power and abilities of priests are driven by their talent, learning, experience, and gifts. The rank of a priest can be recognized most quickly by looking at their robes: the combination of main color and trim uniquely identifies each rank. The following chart summarizes the current ranks.
Update: Each rank spans two D20 system experience levels instead of the former "three with an error".

Current Staff

Caroline Primerra (Fenric)
Helen Avery (firedaemon33)
Atore Tavlii (Recaiden)

[Recaiden]

Tavlii bows deeply to Lady Caroline, before stepping back. The fading energy of the initiation is not at all disturbing to her now. It's even comforting, like the presence of the rest of her.
"How fares the rest of the temple, Caroline? Is there anything I must attend to immediately?"
There's so much to learn and do.

[Fenric]

Caroline nods, and in answer turns to Helen and Edouard

Your turn: what, exactly, happened?

Edouard shakes his head

It was most strange indeed, my lady. We found the place already breeched, and a trail of lights stuck to the walls. We followed, eventually coming to room where a number of people had been killed messily. Helen managed to speak with some shadow creatures who were there, and received some cryptic information just before this... thing attacked. As she said, it resembled that southern farm animal, but had demonic features as well. All that aside: it was a construct, made of shards of broken glass and inhabited by some fell spirit. We fled, and it pursued us until we reached a strange doorway set into the stone which it could not cross.

Caroline frowns

That is unpleasant, but perhaps fitting that those evil men were killed by the guardian of the place they went to loot.

Edouard shakes his head

That was my first reaction as well, but Helen said the shadows were distressed by the construct's presence, and certainly it did not seem to fit the otherwise peaceful area. We had some words with the thing, and that there is some "staff of evil light" down there that is some manner of key, and likely the goal of the robbers... and at one point it's voice changed. It is all very strange to me.

[Ionbound]

Helen nods, and says, "Exactly that...Though, beyond even all that, something worries me...Why was I able to speak to the shadows?"

[Recaiden]

Tavlii turns to listen to the two explain, turning more and more of her concentration on it as they talk.
"What differentiates you two? Perhaps the shadows can only make themselves heard to initiated clergy, or the people of this temple. We would need to remove this guardian construct, or re-purpose it. Is this staff of light more of a threat than the men it killed? Even if it is a dangerous creature, if it is protecting the staff, might it better to leave it there?"

[Fenric]

Carolines considers

DART will likely try again, and sooner or later they will bring their Mundane field generators - who knows what would happen then? I don't think we want to trust to some construct... and aside from that, I dislike the thing being under our temple on principle.

Then she looks at Helen

Edouard is a holy knight certainly, and blessed by his god, but he is not a priest and has little in the way of magical ability. But in a way that shouldn't matter... the ability to speak with shadows is not one of our standard granted abilities. Tell me, Helen: who inducted you?

[Ionbound]

Helen thinks, massaging her forehead as she does so before eventually saying, "Well...I got here at night...And there was a priestess with black fur here...And then she told me to pray to Inari and when I did, a white furred fox appeared as a messenger and inducted me."

[Recaiden]

"You're right; it needs to be dealt with."
Tavlii's eyes light up when Helen confirms what they had suspected.
"Exactly what we were thinking. It could be something Myobu has done."

[Fenric]

Caroline tilts her head

Myobi and Myobu almost never appear as foxes, and messengers don't usually induct priests: that is irregular. What color were the fox's eyes?

She trails off after her question, and her eyes go a bit wide

Wait... dark fur? There was a priestess of Tamamo in the sanctuary at the time?

[Ionbound]

Helen nods, and says, "I think so...Do you think maybe Tamamo had something to do with it?"

[Fenric]

Caroline frowns, then stomps her foot: looking genuinely angry

NORIKO!

Tamamo's chief Messenger arrives without any special effects.

Hello, Caroline. What can I do for Inari's most favored priestess?

She flashes a grin at Helen

And greetings, Helen.

[Recaiden]

"I imagine you could answer some questions for us. About shadows..." How embarrassing, to recall the name of the messenger when she had been thinking of Noriko all along.

[Ionbound]

Helen nervously nods, and says, "Greeting, Lady Noriko. Um...Did you do anything to me when I was initiated? When I went down into the tunnels, I was able to...Talk to the shadows there."

[Fenric]

Norkio nods cheerfully, ingnoring the fuming Caroline who is starting to growl (though a fox growl is NOTHING like a dog or wolf).

Oh, yes: I certainly can! That is one of our specialties, you know. What did you need to know?

Then Helen's question. Noriko tilts her head

Why no, I didn't do anything to you. The ability to speak to shadows is one of our gifts to our clergy.

Caroline yips

I knew it! You did steal her!

Noriko chuckles

I did no such thing: she pledged herself to Inari in the presence of one of our priestesses. That makes her one of ours.

[Recaiden]

"Does it matter, Caroline? Are we not all Inari's children, just some more distant?"
Tavlii turns to regard Noriko suspiciously. All these vulpans. Too many to handle being in one place.

"We mean, it helped, didn't it?" She sidles over to Caroline, hoping she'll calm down.

[Ionbound]

Helen dizzily raises a hand to her forehead and says, "So...Am I not a priestess of Inari, then? What am I?"

[Fenric]

Noriko looks at Caroline, arching an eyebrow. Caroline takes a deep breath and regains her composure

Tavlii is quite right: it is not that significant a matter. Tamamo is subordinate to Inari: so even as her priestess, you are still a cleric of Inari. Tamamo adds a certain... flavor to your service that is different from mine, but in the end you are still seeking the same goals.

She smells Tavlii's increasing distress, but isn't sure exactly what to do about it.

[Recaiden]

Caroline is calmer. Good. Tavlii calms herself slightly as well.
"Congratulations, Noriko."

[Ionbound]

Helen nods nervously as she says, "O-Okay, I guess. Um..." and runs her hand through her hair, causing a strand of the once brick-red hair to flop in front of her eyes while it swiftly darkens to black. "Oookay....Why is my hair black?" she asks, somewhat confused and disturbed.

[Fenric]

Norkio chuckles

Thank you, Tavlii. And don't be alarmed, Helen: the color change is the mark of our favor... though it makes rather less of an impact on a human, in my opinion.

Caroline sighs

We'll get one of Tamamo's clerics to help you with the specific details, but this doesn't really change much.

[Recaiden]

"You're welcome. So we know, are there any other divisions among Inari's followers?" Not that they actually want to be associated with Tamano, particularly.

[Fenric]

Caroline sighs.

There is another division that may matter here someday, you might as well know of... Honorable Liu? Could we trouble you for a moment?

Noriko sticks out her tongue

Liu! Ick! I'm out of here.

And she is gone, as an ostensibly human man in ornate oriental court robes and mortarboard hat appears. Liu is haughty and sarcastic.

What is it you need, Caroline?

Caroline gestures to him

The messenger to the humans of the Empire: The Minister of Rice. Liu is a lover of bureaucracy, rules, forms, and structure. He does not particularly care for us - considering us only slightly better than animals. I'm surprised he actually used my name, to be honest

Liu snorts

Your complaints last time caused me a great deal of extra work, and I do not need that at this time. Do you have something to discuss, or shall I add this to the endless list of kitsune foolishness that I must endure?

[Ionbound]

Helen shakes her head, and asks politely, "Um...Apologies for briefly interrupting you Lady Caroline, but where should I go from here?"

[Fenric]

Caroline turns to Helen

Go? You don't have to go anywhere. Tamamo doesn't have a separate temple here, so it doesn't change anything. I'm sorry I overreacted, truly I am...

[Ionbound]

Helen nods, and says, "Alright...I'll be back in a while...I need to take all this in."

With that, she heads to her quarters to lay down.

[Recaiden]

"While you deal with Liu, Lady Caroline, I will go acquire my proper vestments, and add these things to the donation room."
Tavlii follows after Helen out of the sanctuary, to return whenever it is convenient.

[Fenric]

Everyone leaves, and Caroline sighs.

Oh, do go away, Liu.

Liu bows and vanishes

Gladly

Caroline shakes her head, ears drooped

"Go to the Nexus", they said. "They need help, and it will be a nice change of pace", they said. "You can really make a difference!", they said.

Edouard clears his throat

My lady... I do still have my duty to the Elteron family.

Caroline sighs

It never rains, but it pours.

[Ionbound]

An hour or two later, Helen is back in the Sanctuary, looking kinda groggy, and she says to Caroline, "Okay...Took a nap, spent a while thinking about what I'm going to do...So, what should I do?"

[Fenric]

Caroline looks up as Helen enters.

Oh, hello again, Helen! There's a small cabinet in the first store room on the right where the priests of Tamamo had been keeping a portable altar and furnishings - we might as well just get them up on the main altar, now. I'm going to have to help Edouard downstairs for a bit, so if you could mind the sanctuary, that would be great.

[Ionbound]

Helen nods, and says, "Of course. Would you mind if I begin setting up Tamamo's paraphernalia while I do so? If I'm going to be her priestess, I might as well do it properly."