The Story beside the fire
The north mountain? Well within the lands of Seigi No Ha there are three great mountains. These mountains are called "The Great Elder Mountains." Nestled in the center of the three is the Yojinbukai castle, you are on the road headed for that capital city and castle. A beautiful place I have visited often in my travels. The north mountain stands alone whereas the other two stand side by side, the mountains that is. So, the Violet Shade had journeyed within the northern lone mountain. Known by the master Ki as, Yama No Kuro. I have a great deal more to say, but then there is also a great deal more Raike if your thirst is not quenched. As a sage of the red scarf, it is my pleasure and duty to spread the tales of mythical heroes. So, let us continue with the story of the Violet Shade, and see where her journey takes her before she left for the western frozen bronze realm...
Her eyes looked within the interminable darkness. Suiren crouched low and watched in silence. A drip of water in a far off corner and a tumble of pebbles were all that sounded in the blackness. Her muscles tensed and her toes gripped in her tightly bound shoes. Springing as a cat, Suiren leapt to the side, but a sharp edge still caught her in the right arm. Managing to keep her roll steady Suiren felt the slow dribble of warm blood on her arm. A soft tsk tsking noise filtered through the silent darkness. Suiren's brow lowered as she could form a clear picture of her master Ki shaking her head in disappointment. Her hand grew cold and her breath came in cold huffs as Suiren's ire began to rise. Her ability to see in the dark was nowhere near as refined as master Ki, but that didn't mean she didn't have her own tricks.
Slipping her shoes off she felt the jagged rocks dig into her feet. Suiren didn't seem to notice as she imparted a small spell upon her shoes. the spell would last only seconds but it would, with luck, last long enough. Splaying her legs wide and bending low to the ground, Suiren withdrew the chain with two weights at the end. The shoes shot off in a random direction and Suiren waited only for a second or two. Springing off in an arc Suiren hoped to catch master Ki as she attempted to track the noise of her shoes running off.
Only a second passed where Suiren saw what she assumed to be the slight shift of clothing. Her eyes could be playing tricks on her but her eyes were sharper than most elves, especially that of humans. Without a second thought Suiren flung the chain snare out in the direction. The chain caught around something and Suiren heard a loud "Oof!" As the young elven apprentice began to celebrate the almost invisible form of master Ki flopped on the ground and exploded into a mass of white mist. The torches which had been extinguished for this exercise roared to life. Behind Suiren master Ki stood with a tanto, a razor sharp curved dagger, across her throat.
"Not a bad ploy. Good use of low level magic so not to expose yourself to magic casters and a novel use of deception."
"But I failed," Suiren grumbled, "and you had the upper hand the entire time. That's nearly a hundred times more you've foiled me than I've ever managed to even get the drop on you."
"Suiren, your sight is infuriatingly short. How long have we been here, in this Yama No Kuro?" By now master Ki had sheathed her tanto and stood before the disheveled elven apprentice. A look of annoyance spread over master Ki's countenance.
"It's been a year now, an entire year. We've explored every single section, every nook, every cubby hole. We've met with every single monk, temple, small village and random house. I've picked countless spices, herbs, inspected rocks. I suspect that at some point I'll literally meld with the stone and-"
"Yes! Now you begin to understand." Master Ki looked on with rapt appreciation.
"What?! You want me to become part of the mountain?" Master Ki's face shifted from content to annoyance again.
"I see you still suffer from literal thinking. No, I want you to become the mountain in a certain sense. I see you are still somewhat confused. When you travel to a foreign land and are no longer under my tutelage what will you do?"
"A foreign land? But I am a branch family member..."
"Suiren, humor me. Say you travel to the FriizNacht Woods. How would you practice your craft? How would you meld with the shadows, use deception and sleight of hand. Most of all how would you utilize stealth in the land itself? Hiding in shadow is not enough, hiding behind a rock is not enough."
"I will use my smoke bombs and flash powder."
"And if the enemy is immune to these things, then what?" Master Ki stood there, arms crossed.
"Then," Suiren becoming frustrated blurted out, "Then I will fail and then what's the point?!"
"Suiren," Master Ki began, "you have much more to learn. It is that defeatist attitude which will get you into more trouble than save you. You may roll your eyes but you most come to learn a terrain so well that you feel you are indeed becoming part of it. You have picked countless herbs, spoken with countless people, trained and bled and sweated on this mountain. Now, now I will show you rather than talk. Words are cheap in the face of action. Suiren, go to the plateau of the abandoned hamlet of Kotake. There at the later afternoon hour ring the ancient copper bell four times. Do this and all this time training will become more obvious."
Master Ki did not wait for Suiren's answer, she vanished in a puff of white mist. Suiren stood dumbfounded but shook her head in resignation. This had not been, nor would be, the only time master Ki had vanished without letting Suiren inquire or comment. The young Suiren walked without the cavern mouth and into the blustery cold winds. Her hair flipped in different directions and gathering up her robe and tying her scarf about her face, Suiren trod off. The wind bit through her clothes to sap the warmth from her body. After an hour of hiking and trekking the young ninja arrived back at camp.
The small stone cottage was set within the side of the mountain upon a sheer cliff shelf. After a year's time the climb and trek had become as second nature. Suiren didn't notice how her breath no longer came in labored gasps. How when she walked it was with nimble feet and little caring for the sudden changes in wind. Suiren did not notice how she seemed almost to dance along the mountain as she sprang up the shelf and closed the heavy brass door behind her.
She had spent a long time within and without the mountain. Through labyrinth's of rock and obstacles of great spires she had flung herself with little care. Master Ki would berate her for the blithe and foolhardy way she would approach obstacles. Old habits were hard to kill, and images of dispatching vandals and brigands with the same carefree manner filled her mind. She sat upon a small bench before the fire coaxing more life out of the flames. The morning hour had only just begun to shift into midmorning.
Warming a damp towel before the fire the young ninja cleaned the dried blood from her arm. Wincing as she tied it with a taut firmness about her wound she shoveled the rice into her mouth. Satiating herself she prepped herself for the trek to Kotake. The village had long been abandoned many decades before. No one had deemed it worthy, or wise, of resettlement. So a lone hamlet, amongst many actually, sat quietly as though in reverence of Yama no Kuro. The curved gabled roofs had fallen apart and the thick boarded walls had fallen apart. Most of the buildings, though in disrepair, still stood. A testament to the ingenuity and craftsmanship of the people of Seigi No Ha.
Suiren stood and made a last check of her supplies. Re-honed daggers, shurikens, kunai. A fresh pouch of metal pebbles for precise ranged attacks and her purple and dark colored robes restitched. Her sandals were in a sad state of affairs but she managed to repair most of the egregious holes. She drew her hair back in a tight bun and wrapped her long dark purple scarf multiple times around her face. Donning a large thick lavender cloak of stiff fabric about her, she set out.
The frigid mountain winds caused her clock to flit in random directions. The young ninja grasped the thick cloak by the sides in a desperate attempt to keep a shell of warmth around her. She managed to pick her way through the overgrown foot path to Kotake. Every so often the sound of a different set of feet would cause her to pause. After a few times of hearing pursuit Suiren feigned ignorance and shifted her peripheral vision to try and locate the follower. It only took a few minutes to see a thick furred grey creature following from a distant and darting behind rocks at any pause she made. The creature had thick black stripes and a mask of black upon its face. Suiren smiled under her long scarf and pressed on, letting the curious little creature follow as it desired.
After morning and noon passed, with Suiren chomping on premade rice balls for lunch, the afternoon sun brought another onslaught of cold trade winds. Suiren looked up at the long and narrow stone stair case. Her face scrunched in frustration as she would arrive at the top and the abandoned village just at the turn of the late afternoon hour. Whatever Master Ki had planned, Suiren would be exhausted and have little time for rest before she had to pound on some old copper bell. The husky furry little creature had continued to follow her throughout the day. It seemed to be alone and half starved, even though its thick rotund body covered in fur spoke otherwise. Suiren had tossed bits of rice and dried meats its way, and while it didn't build an instant trust, the little creature had become accustomed to her random pauses and followed at a closer gait.
Her breaths billowed out of her scarf as freezing clouds of air. She rubbed her chapped hands over her crisp cheeks under her scarf. The young ninja arrived at the top and surveyed the abandoned village. The buildings were collapsed and the wooden high archways at the entrances were fallen over. No insects moved or creature called out in this desolate and lonely village. The sounds of the groaning winds sounded off the different angles of fallen walls. Sweeping her gaze from left to right Suiren spied the ancient copper bell atop a bluff looking out eastwards.
Lurching up to the stone bluff atop the mountainside hamlet Suiren gasped at the view. Below her the mountain crept out until ending in a range of countless hills and smaller mountains. Various villages and town littered the expanse. Small tendrils of smoke could be seen from the closer settlements. Dots of firelight began to shine against the dimming night sky. To the north the hills and mountains carried on for mile upon mile. Just a little beyond even her eagle vision she could imagine the hills and mountains giving way to the vase open plains of Kasorika. The mountain winds would be replaced by the cool sighs of the tall grasses and the rustle of different creatures creeping under the grasses.
A heavy handed iron club lay motionless upon the ground beside the bell. As the young ninja bent to pick it up she saw from the corner of her eyes two small reflections behind her. Smirking to herself, Suiren stood straight and cocked back her arm. Upon whapping the iron bar against the ancient bell she heard a loud thunderous boom in the darkening skies echoing below her. As the bell let cry its hollow sounds a loud squeak followed the sudden noise and a paunchy rump was all that Suiren saw as the creature scuttled away. Suiren bashed the iron club against the bell three more times and stood there in confused silence.
Sighing in defeat and turning to leave the young ninja heard a peeling cry in response. Turning back around, Suiren walked over to the edge of the bluff to look down. There, climbing through the air a great winged creature of scales and angry looking temperament was beating down on her. The winged beast had ash colored scales and the head of a lizard. Suiren had heard of dragons, but something about this didn't seem like what the tales spoke of. While they were a rare sight enough was told that this creature looked to primal, to mindless and chaotic, to be of the more intelligent class of dragon. And if it did share some familiarity with the dragon kind, it seemed of a smaller sort.
As if reading the demeaning thoughts on her face the winged beast opened wide its maw. A coughing sound blasted through the sky and a great ball of black like fire sped towards her. Just managing to leap back reflexively, Suiren saw four more balls of black fire speed up over the bluff. The beast screamed up at her and the sounds of the leathery wings beating against the cold mountain wind made Suiren's ears twitch. The young ninja looked around for a second and sprinted for a nearby collapsed house. As she crouched before a still-standing wall a great swooping shadow appeared.
Suiren gazed in wonder through a hole in the wall. the dark scaled creature had no arms save for its wings. Its thick muscled legs tucked under its body. The silvery white eyes flicked in different directions looking for its prey. Suiren did not see any intelligence behind those primal eyes. this creature could not be a dragon of lore, yet it shared similarities to the legendary creatures. This must be a more brutal offspring or subspecies of the usually regal scaled beings.
The silver eyes snapped at the two elven eyes peering through a hole in the wall. The young ninja almost didn't jump in time as another ball of black fire shattered the remnant wall and burned stone. While crouched behind new cover and using the shadows as best she could Suiren flung a dagger at the creature. The beast seemed to dodge the far flung dagger with ease. Suired whisper shouted a curse from behind her cover. She used the shadows well enough and the cover provided ample stealth, yet the beast seemed to know where she hid.
For what felt like hours, and could only be minutes, the two faced off. Suiren dodged and danced away while the beast hurled more and more balls of black fire. Exhausted, gasping for breath, strands of hair hanging loose from her bun and her scarf dangling in front of her, Suiren became more desperate. Another ball of black fire, she managed to leap away but a stone which had been picked up by the force blasted into her torso. She felt the air escape her lungs and managed to drag herself behind cover as another blast left a crater beside the young ninja. A resigned smile etched itself against Suiren's haggard appearance. She wouldn't be as lucky as the last time, her luck and dexterity would end. The black fire seemed to sap the energy from her, even when not hit directly some sort of magic worked against her. As an elf she always had a wellspring of energy and stamina, thought not at this juncture.
After moments drifted by and all she could hear was the leathery wings expanding and contracting she quieted her mind. Closing her eyes she felt her fingers curl against the loose gravel and dirt on the ground. The soil spoke to her, a silent chorus, a scrape of rock. The earth was whispering and after feeling defeated and exhausted she opened her mind and ears. The rigidity and fluidity of the earth, the life of it all, moved through her. Time slowed, the wind swirled about her in sluggish movements. The wings of the beast flapped slower than before.
A low toned roar echoed from the beast as another ball of fire came searing towards her. Suiren acted not as a set of movements, but as one flowing motion amidst the gravel. She pushed off from a thick rock and slid. In that moment she flicked two shurikens at the beast which reacted as lazily as it did with the daggers. Without halting her momentum she rolled once and bringing her legs up beneath her sprang out like a grasshopper. As she reached the collapsing roof of a small shack she flung four shurikens from under her sleeves which the best had to actually buffet itself about to avoid. Outrunning the collapsing roof she pulled two longer bladed daggers from her back under her thick belt about her robe.
It all seemed to happen in one continuous flowing motion. For a brief instant time came to almost a determinable stop. With both daggers aimed out and down like the fangs of a serpent Suiren snapped the daggers down. The points burrowed into the long neck of the reptilian beast and greenish blackish ooze poured from the gaping wounds. The wings went rigid as the creature let out a cacophonous cry and began to plummet towards the ground. Without thought, without planning Suiren brought her legs up again and as she pushed off she tore the daggers back, shearing the head from the beast. She back flipped and landed with a soft thud upon the edge of the bluff. The head of the beast caromed off the bell and with a sickening sound thudded against the ground. The tongue hang loose from the open maw of the dead creature. The body fell as a stone through the long fall and splattered against the rocks at the bottom.
Suiren smiled and turned about to see Master Ki watching with noted acceptance. The young ninja chortled and as she began to speak passed from conscious onto the solid ground of the bluff. The last image Suiren saw was Master Ki walking up and hearing her say,
"Well done Suiren. You heard the song of Entrathia, the soil and ground spoke to you, and you listened. Well done..." Suiren heard no more as she passed from consciousness. A smile splayed across her chapped lips...
TBC
You know as I realize that this is fanfic of my characters, and I try and remain faithful to their stories I wonder if they would enjoy this or not? Would they be offended that I take some writer liberties? Will I be looked at with embarrassment for the seemingly strange act of fanfic writing? I love to write and do it fucking often, but that does not mean I SHOULD do it at times. Of course if I'm writing fanfic for someone and they ask me to stop or don't appreciate it, well of course I'll stop. Then I find myself asking if my friends would be forward enough to do such a thing...? Do I create a wall of kindness that arrests others from being blatantly obvious? Are we doomed to humble brag about lack of sleep and over exertion of work? All these things I take into account. I suppose time will tell...though the bitch, time, certainly has been very UNtelling lately.
Anyways, I enjoyed writing it and we'll see what's next in store for the agile and training Suiren. Also, for a note of reference I think Suiren began her epic journey into the Frozen Bronze Realm at the age of 26? 27? If I'm not mistaken, hopefully someone will correct me. Of course that someone being the creator and ultimate say on the Violet Shade. :)
Roll roll rooollll that D20!
Ryan
