White Rabbit Bowl: Introduction

Sporting Event / Competition

Following complaints from Yagokoro Tokuyo, the Cardinal Generals of the Hashinara traveled to Ise Province to render their assistance. The issue therein was that any rift Tokuyo attempted to open to the Dreamlands inevitably led to a place she'd never seen before, likely somewhere in the Enchanted Wood rather than Baharna as she normally visited. Further, a note from a mysterious individual known only as The Concierge indicated that this state of events would continue until the Hashinara generals visited to help him with a problem.

Deciding to do just that, Hashinara Yoshitakatomo, Ryūzaki Sanosuke, Aotsuki Tsukamoto, Matsumoto Ooawagaeri, and Maxim all stepped through the portal and into a prim courtyard. The Concierge was waiting for them, wearing his same cityscaped western jacket that Aotsuki had seen him in at the Gauntlet of Games. He welcomed the Cardinal Generals and, without hesitation, launched into an explanation.   This event, dubbed The White Rabbit Bowl, was being held to establish one singular character to exist in the human subconscious from several variations. These Figments, mere concepts and interpretations created by the dreams of humans, would battle it out to determine who would be granted the opportunity to become more "real", while her sisters would eventually fade away. In order to effect this, The Concierge called upon the generals of the Hashinara, five in number, to each represent one of the five figments and fight alongside her. Figment and general together were to battle against the other teams in an expansive hedge maze, with glamorous prizes offered to each tier of victory. Of course, The Concierge urged them, there was no possibility of actually dying in this realm, so they should fight each other without hesitation.   In order to balance the scales a bit, he asked that Yoshitakatomo take a more passive role in her* team. The Princess-Daimyō was to be able to alter the battlefield however she* liked indirectly, but directly casting a spell on another participant other than her* partner would result in a disqualification.   With the rules explained, their host then revealed a set of five cards, one for each suit of Diamonds, Clubs, Hearts, Spades, and Fools. Each represented a figment, he explained, and went on to give a brief and cryptic overview of their various strengths. Maxim immediately made to step for the Fool, but Sanosuke was just ahead of him, claiming the card and vanishing before the Knight Commander could intervene. Aotsuki was next, taking the Ace of Hearts without hesitation. Maxim settled with the Ace of Spades, while Yoshitakatomo took Clubs and Ooawagaeri fell dramatically backwards onto Diamonds.   When each general awoke, they found that they had been transported to various parts of the maze, and that they were not alone. Accompanying them was a version of Alice, from the fabled tales of Wonderland that they surely were unfamiliar with. When the introductions and (in some cases) quibbling was done with, The Concierge announced the start of the contest, and The White Rabbit Bowl had begun.