Divination

This spell combines the communicative powers of the Air kami with the clarity and divination abilities of the Water kami to grant a potent form of long-distance divination. The caster must have access to a body of still water (a large basin or tub, a koi pond, a moat, etc) in order to cast this spell. By gazing into the water, the caster gains access to the vantage of Air spirits within the spell’s range, allowing him to look down on any location within that range as though gazing down from the sky, and to hear anything happening in that location.

The greatest form of augury is one that speaks directly and allows others to witness it. By focusing your energy on a still body of water, you can invoke powerful visions of the future based upon your questions. You may ask one question, and the waters will reveal the answer. The answer takes the form of three separate images, which may be connected in any number of ways, including events occurring over time, or perhaps three facets of a single event. Unlike other forms of augury, others may witness these visions as well.

The greatest bonds can never be broken. This spell allows you to detect the location of one object or individual well known to you, regardless of their location. The object must be one you have spent tremendous amounts of time around, or have handled frequently in the past. If the target of the spell is an individual, it must be someone well known to you, such as a member of your immediate family or a close friend.

The Fortune of the Sea is a wrathful entity, but one who nevertheless blesses those who entreat him properly. This spell, created by the Mantis clan, allows you to peer into a body of water, which must be at least one foot across and one inch deep, and see out of any other body of water anywhere in the Empire, so long as it is within range of the spell. This can be at any point along the seacoast, a lake, a river, stream, or even a puddle, but you must know the location of the body of water you are targeting.

Although not as reliable as the natural (if extremely rare) gift of foresight or the (equally rare) Void spells that enable divination, this spell still allows powerful visions of the future. It was first developed by the Tonbo family of the Dragonfly Clan, and is found infrequently outside their ranks. The spell requires use of a large pool of still water into which you must gaze. Upon completion of the spell, you enter a brief trance, and see images of things that have not yet come to pass.

Even the lightest touch forges a connection, and through the spirits of water that connection may be explored. This spell allows you to seek out the spirits of Water within a single, specific object. You must be familiar with the object in question, either having spent a great deal of time around it or handled it personally. If the object is within the range of this spell, you will know the direction and relative distance it is from your current position.

the inscrutable knowledge of water is a great boon to those who know the means by which it can be invoked. you may stare into a body of water, which may be as small as a puddle, and through it view a familiar location as if you were present, although you can only see what is taking place, not hear it. In order for a location to be familiar to you, you must either have spent a great deal of time there (your home, the dojo, a preferred temple, etc.), or have spent a minimum of ten minutes in meditation at the location.

Divining the abilities of an object is among the simplest lessons a student of water learns in the temple. If this spell is successfully cast on an object, you automatically learn all powers and abilities that object possesses. This is most frequently used to identify any supernatural qualities an item possesses, such as a nemuranai or a cursed weapon, but it can also identify the spell contained within a shugenja's prayer scroll. This spell will not allow a shugenja to read a scroll if it is written in a cipher he does not understand, but he can at least identify the spell in question.

When a priest invokes this incantation, the Air kami gather together and form a mystical lens through which the shugenja may see the world as the spirits themselves perceive it. The lens lasts only a few moments and the caster can normally only use it to observe one person or creature. That brief moment of observation, however, allows the caster to learn the target's 2 lowest Rings and the values of their constituent Traits, in effect showing part of the person's Elemental composition. Additional Rings may be learned with Raises.

The air kami see very little difference between speech and thought, and can perceive both with relative ease. By comparing the two, the kami can determine if what has been spoken is true or a lie. Unfortunately, they have notoriously short attention spans, and thus can only assess extremely recent conversations. By invoking this spell, you may determine if the last thing said by the target was true or false. The kami have no concept of personal opinion, however, and if the target truly believes what he said was true, the kami will believe it as well.