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A tengu dressed in fine white silks of Tien make floats a few inches above the grass as he glides onto an open field in the grand lodge. He is holding a small white ball of remarkable quality a little larger than the size of his head.
He effortlessly slides to a stop and, with a slight sign of annoyance, he decends until he is firmly planted on the ground. Curiously, he then drops the ball on his foot, and begins kicking it around, not letting it touch the ground, and without mussing his clothes.
His performance is reasonably satisfying, though a couple of times the ball gets away from him, to his obvious annoyance.
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A frog the size of a pony speedily hops into the field and lets forth a bellowing croak as the miniscule figure on its back chirps out, "Whoa there, Frankie!" Frankie is a lean and sleek giant frog, ably carrying a saddle and packs laden with adventuring gear and a very small wheelock musket.
A green and red Grippli barely larger than a cat hops down from the much larger frog and scampers over towards the tengu. "Howdy there, fella! Watcha up to, some sorta game of sport? Mah name's Annie, pleased to meetcha!"
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The Tengu's concentration is obviously broken by the loud croak coming from the mounted frog, and the Tengu struggles to regain his composure as the ball hits the ground. Somewhat annoyed, he moves over to fetch the ball as the Grippli comes up.
Ahem . . . yes, kaeru this is the honorable court game from my homeland, called Kemari. It is normally played with more people, but it seems the inner sea isn't enlig- ehm, pardon me, my Taldane is . . . not as practiced as it should be. Eto-sa It seems that the refinement of the game has not yet reached the inner sea proper, and so I practice alone.
"Ah, yes, introductions. Where is my herald? Oh, nevermind, I suppose I shall have to introduce myself. I am Kamihane Taiicho, eldest son of the Kamihane clan of Kwanlai." The Tengu gives a slight bow.
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"Annie Croakley, of the Blackwood Swamp Irregulars. Right outside o' Cassomir. So how do you play this little game o' yours? By Kurgess's rippling biceps, it looks like a barrel o' fun!"
"Ahem, Yes, well . . ."
"Normally you must be dressed in proper attire, a kariginu, as a large portion of the game is to not soil your clothes while playing. However, seeing as I shall be teaching you, I suppose we can skip that part for now. Secondly, I shall be the mariashi, I shall start the ball on its journey. My job is to serve the ball to you in a way that allows you to receive it easily. You then keep the ball aloft-without using your hands- and, if you can, return it to me in away that makes it easy for me to receive it.
This is a non-competitive sport. It is about cooperation and teamwork. The goal is to test ourselves, see how well we can keep the ball aloft as a team. As you are new to the game, we shall allow the use of elbows, though in some courts this is not allowed."
Taiicho drops the ball to his feet and kicks it to Annie.
(Take ten on perform-Kemari: 18)
(Anyone playing Kemari with this ball receives as +2 bonus, as the ball is a 50gp masterwork Kemari ball.)
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An elderly half-elf enters the grounds, and smirks bemusedly when he notices the sport in progress.
(take ten on Knowledge Local = 22)
"Ah, Kemari, I haven't seen that sport since I was in the courts of Goka. It is nice to see that there are those who wish to bring such a cultured sport to the Inner Sea Region." Owen comments as he seats himself in the grass at a respectable distance. "A shame I'm no longer in the prime of my youth, I was a fairly capable Kemari player in my youth..." Owen scowls, before muttering, "Now, was that before or after my time in the mines of Shemen?"
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A young man dressed in monk's robes approaches the game tentatively. The bluish tint of his skin suggests that he is not human, and his hair seems to move in the wind even when those nearby feel no breeze.
"Pardon me," he addresses Taiicho, politely. "I see that you are already teaching the game to one new player. Would it bother you if I attempt to play also? Irori teaches that we should always seek out new challenges to improve ourselves."
He performs some simple stretches and takes a few warm up kicks without the ball.
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The tengu deftly catches the ball as he receives it from Annie.
"Ah, yes, good. I have been hoping to bring the game more notoriety in the inner sea region. This is Kemari, a cooperative sport. We kick the ball back and forth and try not to let it touch the ground, or let it muss our dress. As I was telling our Kaer-er, our Grippli friend, normally it should be played in Kariginu, my style of dress, but we can forgo that for learning the basics. Come, set yourself equadistant from me and Annie over there. You can use any part of your body to move the ball between players, except for your hands. Some courts don't allow elbows either, but we will allow them for today to teach the basics.
"Oh, my name is Kamihane Taicho" he continues with a shallow bow. "Eldest son of the Kamihane clan of Kwanlai. I should have my herald introducing me, but I believe I gave her the day off. Of all the days . . ."
Kamihane serves the ball to Qibli
(Perform Kemari-take ten=18)
(Note anyone playing Kemari with this ball gets a +2 bonus for a 'masterwork ball.'
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A teifling in a graceful blue vudrani styled dress walks over behind the regal tengu, trying not to disturb the game they are playing.
She watches quietly for a bit, intrigued by it. Once her interest is perked, she speaks calmly to him. "That does seem to be an intriguing game. Though why cooperative? Shouldn't games like these show superiority? Or to improve one's ability? Seems like a waste otherwise."
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A teifling in a graceful blue vudrani styled dress walks over behind the regal tengu, trying not to disturb the game they are playing.
She watches quietly for a bit, intrigued by it. Once her interest is perked, she speaks calmly to him. "That does seem to be an intriguing game. Though why cooperative? Shouldn't games like these show superiority? Or to improve one's ability? Seems like a waste otherwise."
Caught by surprise, Taiicho tries to save the game by not letting the ball fall to the ground.
Luckily he is able to recieve the ball gracefully and send it to the other participants. While still keeping an eye on the ball, he speaks to the newcomer.
"My dear lady, you, like so many others, fail to see the complexity of the game. The game reflects the celestial order itself. The kami aid the mortals, the mortals aid the kami, it is a representation of how the universe is to run. If everyone does well and plays their, part, many disperate entities come together to form a beautiful whole. Kemari helps us to practice, and reflect this in the real world."
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Owen seems distracted with the Kemari game, only to jump slightly when the newcomer speaks up.
(take ten on knowledge planes for 19)
"I may not put it as eloquently as our Tengu comrade here, but the point of Kemari also helps us anticipate the actions of allies, allowing us to heighten our ability to work together as a group. To be honest, I believe that Taiicho's intent on bringing this game to the Inner Sea Region is a truly noble one indeed. And, though the game is largely reserved for nobles and others of high social standing, it could be used to allow for groups of Pathfinders to build their teamworking skills." Owen remarks, smiling thoughtfully as he continues, "With Pathfinders being better trained to anticipate each others actions, they will be able to work in tandem much more efficiently, and as a result, will be able to greater succeed in their endeavors and trials!"
With a bout of enthusiasm, Owen hops to his feet and moves to pass the ball along to another player.
With movements not quite normal for one of his age, Owen bounces the ball off of his knee as he passes it off to another player.
"Ah, the passion one has for something, it can certainly drive them to actions even they might not expect. Nevertheless, the sport requires no competition with another, for the true competition of the sport is with oneself, to better understand your allies, improving your own reflexes, your understanding of your allies movements as well as your own, this sport represents co-operation and much, much more!"
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Naomi quickly peers towards the older half-elf, as if someone has got between a predator and its prey. She mentally shrugs off the notion and relaxes, acknowledging the wisdom to his words. "I see. It is a game to improve oneself in addition to improving teamwork." She walks to the perimeter of the game area and watches the ball.
She raises an eyebrow towards the regal tengu. I don't think I have heard of any games like this. Oh well. "I must say I have not heard much of such noble games though. Maybe there are others as well that will, promote such... Qualities." She eyes the ball, waiting for it to come near. Though while she waits she begins to move gracefully in a practiced, circular motion.
While dancing, she tries to recall what the Tengu mentioned of these Kami creatures. I wonder what they are... Are they spirits?
She furrows her face trying to recall specifics of these Kami, but it eludes her. Feeling a bit frustrated, she takes a deep breath to calm herself before she speaks. "I believe I have heard of these Kami, but I do not know of what they are. It is frustrating when it might very well be known by the society. That is something I sadly lack."
She continues to dance in a calm motion, making sure to keep her eyes on the ball as it gets passed around. When it comes close, she interrupts its movement by flicking it up into the air with her tail.
And having it land on a forearm, she lets it roll to her shoulder before it goes down her back. She bounces the ball over her head with her tail, letting it land on top of a foot. She then gracefully bounces the ball towards another player nearby. "I think I like adding a little bit to it. If nothing else, I improve my skills at balance." She lets out a slight chuckle that sounds more like a slight growl before continuing. "But I think one can prove how well they can contribute as well."
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"My name is Qibli," offers the Sylph. "Named after the wind." He watches the other players, thoughtfully, before joining in the game . . .
He manages several successful passes to other players with a variety of kicks, but once misses an attempt to play it off of his head. He tends to play very energetically, kicking the ball with force, but lacking the graceful movements of a more experienced player like Taiicho. "An interesting game," he comments. His efforts do not seem to have winded him, or distracted him from conversing. "I see that I have much to learn."
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"My name is Qibli," offers the Sylph. "Named after the wind." He watches the other players, thoughtfully, before joining in the game . . .
He manages several successful passes to other players with a variety of kicks, but once misses an attempt to play it off of his head. He tends to play very energetically, kicking the ball with force, but lacking the graceful movements of a more experienced player like Taiicho. "An interesting game," he comments. His efforts do not seem to have winded him, or distracted him from conversing. "I see that I have much to learn."
Taiicho tries to recover the ball passed so energetically to him and gently serve it back to Qibli
And does so
"A common mistake for first time players. Remember, your goal is to make the serve as softly as possible to the other player, so that they can easily receive it. As our Half-elf Friend said, it is about teamwork. It is not simply enough to hit it away, you must avoid excessive force. Still your skill at recovering the ball and preventing it from hitting the ground speaks well of you for your first time."