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"The Gathering of Arms" (Outside Muse) Deep within the confined walls of the Temple of the Silver Moon, the rich, oaken fortress that was the agent, the punishing hand of the High Priest, sat the Master, Sai, his long, black hair and dark, all-knowing eyes shown the power he held within him. His purple robe, marred with the dark, contrasting black collar and sleeves of his kimono, exhibited his rank, and proved his greatness, for none in this fortress would dare defy his commands. And as this man, his dark nature and wisdom sat pondering the commandments of the High Priest Sasarai, a new person entered his sacred chamber, intruding upon his thoughts. “You called for me my lord?” The intruder stated, his words reflecting the shadowed existence of his life. “Yes my dear disciple, I have a mission for you.” Sai commented, his words giving away no baring on his motive or his inspiration. “I am sending you to find and dispose of…one of our own. He is a cunning man, who must be stopped. Our spies have him located in the Jowston City-States, though his exact location is yet to be determined. It is believed he intends to interfere with our plan.” “Yes master, I shall not fail you.” The solitary shadow exclaimed, his very presence shrouded in the darkness of the temple. “Yes, I expect nothing less. The man you seek is named Genshu. Find him, destroy him, and bring me proof of your victory. He must not be allowed to succeed.” Sai finished his statement. The shadow bowed to his master, before a surge of energy rippled from his body, and just as quickly as it began, the shadowy figure shrank in upon himself, vanishing in the dark nothingness of the chamber. “Genshu, my old friend,” Sai smiled, speaking to no one in particular. “Your day is coming.”
Genshu and Valeria left the safety and protective fortress that was the city of Muse. Their trek would take a greater part of the day, and already Genshu was eager to end this. His past had haunted him for what seemed eternal. Now, even in what seemed to be the furthest place he could find from his home of Harmonia, he was met with his destiny. Why could he not find peace? “Dammit.” Valeria stated, shattering Genshu’s thoughts and looking through the canvas bag of goods she obtained from the shop in Muse. “That shop keeper shorted me a medicine.” Genshu turned to face Valeria, his cold eyes burning into her with the icy intensity. “Oh well,” Valeria said, turning back toward the path and continuing her hike. “I guess that was your medicine.” The two continued in awkward silence, yet Genshu felt comfortable in
that solitary peace. Valeria however, seemed edgy. She was constantly watching
the forest that lined the makeshift path; her eyes centering on the thick
undergrowth that seemed made her so nervous. She was a warrior and a
“We’re being watched.” Valeria said, her voice a mere whisper as she cautiously leaned toward Genshu, trying to alert him of her unease. “No, we are not being watched, we are being followed.” Genshu stated, neither breaking stride nor turning toward Valeria. He would say no more; there was no need to. “Followed, by who?” “Do not concern yourself. It is not an issue to be tampered with.” “This temple you told me about. Are they following us?” Valeria chose to push the issue. Genshu would not give away any more information than he felt necessary, but she needed to know all she could. “If the temple were following us, we would already be dead.” Genshu responded. “With luck, they do not even know we are coming.” Valeria turned back to the woods. She knew someone was out there, but whom she was not sure of. She decided to forget the shadow, and ask Genshu about this temple. She needed to know all she could. “So, this temple, what do you think our chances are of succeeding?” Valeria inquired, looking directly at Genshu. “If we are successful, we will die quickly.” Genshu responded, refusing to return nor acknowledge Valeria’s stare. “You couldn’t have sugar coated that a little?” “That was.” Genshu continued, his eyes fixed on the path before him. “Why now this sudden curiosity? You were not so uncertain when you demanded you assist me.” “ A warrior must know what they are getting into before they charge to their death. Asking is the only way to get that information.” Valeria concluded. “How many samurai do you expect to be in there?” “ I know not.” Genshu continued, turning to now face his companion. “And a warrior must also compensate any situation before them. Facts are rarely true, unless you believe without questioning. For when you question, you understand the false face shown to us by life." “So, I'm guessing...what? 20? 30?” Valeria stated, her mind calculating the probability of success. “I only hope you’re as good as you pretend to be. Personally, I’d like to live a little longer.” “It is not too late.” Genshu responded. “You could turn back. Remember, you were not invited.” “You know, you might try to work on your people skills a little bit.” Valeria answered. It seemed almost amusing to her, to hear her response. Yesterday, such a comment had infuriated her, to the point that she emotionally exploded, and went after Genshu, only to have him prove what a weakness her emotion was. Now, she had recanted with this smart-ass answer. She had to admit, maybe she was getting used to Genshu, or if not, at least she was getting better at throwing his game back at him. “Fine.” Valeria stated after several minutes of silence. “But why won't you tell me how many are in the temple we face?” “There are no answers. We will face our challenges when we arrive. Before then, we must prepare ourselves.” Genshu responded, returning to his silent seclusion. “Can't you ever answer a question directly?” Genshu did not answer. He paused only briefly in the path, and turned
to face Valeria. His eyes held no answers, nor did his body language. Yet
his stare down, this eyeing of this woman made her stammer, if only for
a moment. Valeria understood, that Genshu had no intention of answering,
nor
“You are so damn infuriating!” Valeria screamed. She stormed ahead, her mind recalling the coldness Genshu held, and his blatant disregard for her feelings or her quest. Why could he not accept her? Damn, why'd it always end like this? All the time, conversation between Valeria and Genshu would disolve...among considerable dissention. She could feel tears, yet they were not of pity for the samurai man, but of fury. Why did she have to take this from him? As Valeria marched away briskly, she pondered, her thoughts circled
with no ending. A couple of things came to realization:
He's just so Goddamn infuriating! And as question from Valeria's thoughts arose, she screamed out loud: "What is the meaning of all this?? Anyone!! Tell me the answers!" As Valeria was alone to her thoughts, nobody heard her catharsis. Or, at least, that was what she was to believed. Two samurai had heard her scream, and were now converging on her. Valeria never reacted to what hit her. Before she could've stomped any more steps through the forest, before she could thrash any more of the dried trees and underbrush in her rant of fury, a red mirage fissured; the sound of leaves blew the hairs on her neck. And the blow to it knocked Valeria out cold.
Lorelai stopped her march to wipe the sweat from her brow. It felt like 125 degrees, and her stomach was a maelstrom of pain and queasiness. Her vision was slightly blurred, and she was beginning to stumble slightly as she walked. Had anyone asked her, she would have claimed to have been crossing a volcano in the middle of a desert, instead of Muse’s green plains. Lorelai simply made a subconscious effort to suppress her sickness a little longer. She could not afford to lose the trail of the kidnappers. She had to rescue Pete. ~ Why? ~ And there was that damnable voice again. Why couldn’t it just leave her alone? ~ Cause we’re having too much fun to leave. ~ Another wave of queasiness passed through Lorelai, wracking her stomach with the force of an earthquake. Using every ounce of her will, she managed to regain control of herself. ~ That wasn’t enough? Try this! ~ Lorelai’s stomach then felt like it had collapsed in on it’s self. As she felt the acid and bile crawl up her throat, she had no choice but to exhale. And what a mess she made when she did. Apparently something about Hilda’s pea soup didn’t agree with her. ~ Nah, we just didn’t agree with it. ~ Smacking herself back to awareness, Lorelai began to feel concerned. If she felt this bad now, how was she going to survive any kind of fight? Then she retched some more. ~ Whee! This is fun! Ew! That green stuff can’t be healthy! ~ Lorelai simply droned out the voices in her head. As she continued her march on a now empty stomach, her vision began to blur badly. “Dammit, can’t you find something better to do?” ~ Nope. ~ Great. Now she was talking to the voices in her head. She hadn’t been this distraught since… ~ Since when? ~ No. She didn’t have time to stroll down memory lane right now. ~ Why not? ~ Because she had to save Pete, that’s why. Plus she was going to have to find a runemaster, to remove this cursed rune, so she could actually function normally again. ~ Hey! We have the perfect thing to ease your pain! A flashback! ~ Lorelai couldn’t even manage to speak an opposing word.
10 years earlier in the kingdom of Faleena.
“Lorelai! Wake up Lore!” Lorelai turned over to find one of her subordinates shaking her awake. It had been 2 years since she had joined Faleena’s Royal Army, and she still hadn’t found who she was looking for. Of course, rumor had it he was the Queen’s personal “guard.” “What is it Mio?” The exuberant cadet quickly snapped to attention. “Lady Alyssa wishes for you to lead today’s exercises ma’am.” “At ease Mio.” Lorelai grabbed her head in her hands. “And why can’t she do it?” “Because she’s currently occupied with some one.”
“Figures.” She’s been a complete bitch since I beat her to Killey. Now she’s determined to make my life hell. “Mio, be a dear and and warm up the company for me. I still need a few moments.” “Yes Ma’am!” With that, Mio left. Lorelai rolled back over. This was turning out to be a fine day.
Genshu had been watching Valeria. Since the moment she stormed off. He wondered, why was she so emotional? Could she not see how it hindered her skill? She was talented, that he had no doubt. But her emotion, her anger at the world, made her blind in her fury. She would get herself killed, if she were not careful. Genshu stalked through the forest, his eyes focusing on the angry woman. She was so animated in her fit of anger, Genshu had to smile. It’s not that he intended to spark this reaction. He did not wish it, nor did he revel in the anger he provoked in others, but as Valeria had pointed out, he needed to work on his people skills. It’s not as if he had much experience in the matter of communicating with people. Life in the temple was so much easier. Never speak unless spoken to. Never make eye contact with your superior. Never feel. Life outside the temple was so much more sporadic. There was no structure to life, no orders, no stagnating confinement, yet the world without boundaries is a complicated adjustment to one, who has spent his life in a structured environment. Though he did not blame Valeria for her actions, nor did he blame himself for his comments. Genshu and Valeria were from two different worlds, and although their philosophies on life differed, they were very much alike. And Genshu recognized that. But as he cast his vigil over Valeria, pondering her, his mind was thrust into the pit of memory. He saw Valeria, beautiful and strong, yet her long black hair shortened, and grew black, her red and gold uniform grew into a long, blue kimono, and her smooth skin, changed to the copper creamy texture, that haunted his dreams. Again, Valeria began to shrink. No longer was she the woman who had joined his mad crusade; she was now the woman he had once loved, Marai. Genshu stared, his mind forgetting everything around him, except the woman before him. Marai turned, and smiled at him, before her skin began to dissolve, and her body melted to ash. She fell in upon herself, the dust that was her, blowing away in the wind. “No…please don’t leave me again.” Genshu whispered, his voice strained by the sudden shock to his senses, as he fell to his knees, his hands covering his eyes. How could he fight the temple? He knew how powerful they were, and yet, his pride and arrogance led him to bring this woman, who was, in all likelihood, going to die. His death would be welcome, for at least he would finally be at peace. But must he bring another down with him? He was a fool. And yet, in the visage of Marai, in the image of her that plagued his mind, he could sense another presence, the presence of his old friend and rival, Sai. “How dare he?” Genshu asked, his eyes adjusting to the world around him once again. “How dare he put that image in my mind.” Genshu now felt the anger rise in his soul, for he was not some puppet to be manipulated by Sai. He was a human, and he would not let Sai win. Distress dissolved into unrelenting desire for justice. Genshu would see to it the temple was destroyed. For he would not let Sai win. Turning back toward where Valeria was, Genshu saw the brown haired warrioress
lying on the ground, as two samurai’s, members of the Temple stood over
her. “No.” Genshu said softly, rising to his feet and walking forward.
Drawing his sword, Genshu stalked into the clearing. The two
Present day. Lorelai opened her eyes. Had she been sleepwalking. Her eyes slowly
beginning to focus, she looked down at the ground in front of her. “Damn.”
Lorelai bit her lip. She had lost the trail. There were some different
footprints here, that had apparently came from Muse. Maybe another set
of
~ Ha Ha You screwed up! ~ “Don’t you ever sleep?” ~ No. So… Who’s Killey? ~ “A nobody.” ~ Ooh. Sounds awful special to be a nobody! ~ “I’ve met better.” ~ Ooh ooh. The general, right? ~ “Now how did you…” ~ We know all your little dark secrets. ~ “Great.” ~ You’ve been a bad girl Lorelai! ~ “And tell me why I should care.” Silence. She had finally managed to shut those voices up. And it was true what they said. Silence IS golden. Lorelai felt a little better now, maybe the fever was starting to wear off. She had been practically running along the trail, and she was noticing that the tracks were notably fresher. She’d catch these two, and then she’d find Pete. Then every thing would be OK. Finally, she came upon a clearing, from which she heard some sounds of combat. Crouching low to the ground, she slowly crawled up through the bush. What she found there put her in a state of shock “This will not happen again.” Genshu said aloud, as he approached the two samurai. He had accomplished what he intended, as the two samurai realized they were not alone. These two men had prepared to kill Valeria, but they would never get the chance. The first man, standing over Valeria ’s unconscious body, was struck down, as Genshu backhanded him, sending him to the ground. The second man had not been so lucky. Genshu swung his sword in a downward arch across the man’s body. The force of the attack split the man open, nearly cutting him in half, as a gurgled cry escaped his lips before he fell to the hard, uncaring earth in a heap of death. Genshu now stood over Valeria, protecting her, as the first samurai rose to his feet. Drawing his own sword, the first samurai walked toward Genshu, his eyes as hard and empty as Genshu’s. A quick strike from the first samurai was easily blocked by Genshu’s own sword, yet the stirring of the bushes brought both of these men’s attention to the forest.
There was Valeria, of the Toran republic, lying in a bloody heap at the feet of a silver haired samurai. Lorelai slowly rose to her feet while drawing her weapon. “Val?” ~ Say, didn’t the guy that burned down your village have silver hair? ~ Yes, but this couldn’t be him. ~ Does it matter? ~ No, not really. ~ So kill him! ~ Lorelai let a light smile cross her face as she leapt into the clearing. For the first time, she was in total agreement with the voices.
From the forest emerged a woman, in a gray cloak and a weapon, unlike any Genshu had ever seen. Looking at the scene, this new woman stared hard at the unconscious form of Valeria on the ground. “Val?” She said, only briefly, before turning her attention to Genshu, who stood over her form. Genshu ignored this woman, and returned his attention to the samurai, only to see that he was gone. Genshu then paused, looked at the unconscious form of Valeria, then his sword, before looking at this woman, her eyes digging into him. Genshu then realized, how he must look, standing over this woman with his sword in hand. Fate is a strange mistress.
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