1st Spellcard: Transcendence of Faith "Armed Only With Prayer"

[paradisemiko]

Action A: 842 Hastings Boulevard; locked to housemates

(Greetings, housemates! You have a new daughter/sister in your home who's understandably worried about her new location and the loss of her powers; unlike typical Mayfield newbies, however, Reimu here has gone and pretty much littered decorated the entire house with paper charms to ward off the evil that brought her here. You just might see her writing up a few more charms or hanging up the finished ones, but she's taking as much of her shrine as she can into this new place.)

Action B: Outside 842 Hastings; Open to all

(With the house now buried protected by charms and seals, Reimu, in an unfortunately gray plaid dress, sits outside her home in a state of meditation and prayer. With her hair bow gone, her long hair flowed with the wind. While she should investigate the area, the lack of her power and even her normal clothes made her feel vulnerable. With her shrine gone (again), the yin-yang orbs missing and the Hakurei border nowhere nearby, Reimu resorted to prayer as her only means of leveling her mind so she could think rationally.

Translation: this is the best time to annoy her and disrupt her with whatever you want. Fellow Touhou girls are more than welcome to taunt greet her and tease comfort her regarding the formerly powerful miko of Hakurei losing everything but her sense of self.)

Comments

[paradisemiko]

Paper, yes. Protection, never enough. My charms may have lost their value because of my powers being stolen, but enough charms could count for something, can't they?

[splitthebaby]

Try not to worry so much. Besides, charms are...hm, they won't protect you from the real problem here so there's no reason to waste your time.

[paradisemiko]

Likely so, especially if they can already strip me of even my shrine maiden abilities.

One thing they'll never steal from me is my faith; my training has taught me to never let go of it.

[splitthebaby]

When it comes to faith, you're preaching to the choir.

[paradisemiko]

Then at least I have an audience. Would you like a charm? They have the Hakurei seal of approval.

(Miko puns galore she is funny.)

[splitthebaby]

I'll pass. A charm would do more harm than good to me.

[paradisemiko]

I understand. The Hakurei Shrine might not be much at the moment, but in enough time, it'll return to its former glory.

[splitthebaby]

You really don't understand, do you. I work for the Church. Your Eastern religions are considered heresy and it's part of my job to eliminate heresy, if you know what I mean.

[paradisemiko]

(...okay, she didn't understand. Things are clear enough now, at least; this isn't the first time her shrine has been threatened.)

If you wish for your church to continue doing what it does, then the Hakurei Shrine won't interfere. However, it won't simply step down because of idle threats; there's no reason faith has to be monopolized. Should your church choose to take action against it, then it'd best prepare for an appropriate counterattack.

[splitthebaby]

The Church is very selfish about making sure others worship the 'one true god'. But here, it may not be so bad for you. Just consider it fair warning though the drones will not be converted. That I can assure you of.

[paradisemiko]

Based on what I've heard about this town, the church might have a lot more to worry about than my humble little shrine. It has more value back home where it and the Hakurei border kept my world sealed away from the outside world.

Your church can keep the outside world and Mayfield. Either way, following a religion that selfish without question makes them all drones, don't you think?

[splitthebaby]

It does make them all drones. Even the Church considers me a heretic but sometimes, they know when to take advantage of an opportunity.

[paradisemiko]

Sometimes all it takes is an opportunity to turn things around.

That's some exemplary loyalty if you'll side with a church that treats its emissaries like that. You must be special if you're not just another tool for them to wield.

[splitthebaby]

Loyalty? Hardly. They have to bribe me. When it comes to tools, I am certainly one but also one of their greatest tools. Keep that in mind if you ever see me fight, which will probably be never.

[paradisemiko]

So you're a mercenary and it's more of a business transaction. I suppose even I can look past religious name-calling at the right salary.

I may not be as experienced with such transactions, but even I know mercenaries have their loyalty towards something.

[splitthebaby]

If you say so.

[paradisemiko]

Does that mean for the right price, you'd work for my shrine?

(Not like she could raise the money for that; her shrine seldom receives any donations.)

[splitthebaby]

I don't work for money. I work for research and I doubt you have anything worth studying that I would find interesting.

[paradisemiko]

Aha; so there is more than just a paycheck!

...and my shrine's plenty interesting! It's one of Gensokyo's greatest landmarks and many people gather there, including spirits, magicians, vampires, oni, tengu, celestials and youkai in general.

It's also in the middle of a border that sealed off Gensokyo from the outside world for generations.

[splitthebaby]

Where is this stuff now? Now to mention I deal with those things on a daily basis. I'm what you would call a vampire too.

[paradisemiko]

So that's why your church views you as a heretic. Organized religion can be so hypocritical sometimes.

It's in the mountains of Japan, isolated from any city. Not many people from the outside world drop by, but many people in Gensokyo like to visit. The shrine itself is special because it appears in the exact same spot in both worlds.