The casket contained inestimable knowledge. From the heart of darkness beneath Kumogakure had come wisdom. Her faith had been rewarded, and her powers once more renewed. She sat silent in her office, staring at nothing. Perhaps another person in her stead might have cried out or sobbed, but all the tears and words had been wrung from her heart. What she had now was an obligation to her people, to the people of her village, to the people of her nation, and perhaps to the people of her world--gather the keys she had found, lock the door, and destroy any hope of the other side ever being invited through again. The sacred underworld could not be allowed to take the living earth. What Izanami and Izanagi had together wrought there had to stay there for the rest of time. Should one thousand good men die every day, ten thousand more would be born. That promise did not mean that mankind did not need to defend itself. That promise was the
opportunity to do so.
She had sorted the keys according to themes and assembled mission documentation. Two would-be trainees had already begun the tasks of retrieving the most immediately useful pieces of the puzzle. Rin smoothed the paper she had taken her spare notes on. All but useless to anyone but herself, the document provided nothing more than an effort to coordinate the retrieval efforts she had to organize.
The List said:
Exam Rose - algorithm *
Exam tongues - book *
C Abandoned - map
D Path - constellation
C Death - finger bone
C Madness - skull
D Darkness - broken hourglass
D Dance - lantern
A Past - throne
Present - key
Eternity - scalpel
D Song - music box
C Chaos - vial
C Hate - cloak
C Mind - knife
Love - protection (aegis?) *
C Famine - apple
C Frost - snowflake
D Flame - flower
C Speed - anklets
C Twilight - opal and pearl bead
C Dream - trinket
D Wind - chimes
D Fear - mirror
Confusion - beast's resolve
C Word - cue
C Center - mark
B Future - secret
B Wisdom - knowledge of death
Truth - the eye *
Honor - gauntlet
War - arrow
Cowardice - breastplate
B Peace - sword
Simplicity - whetstone
C Grail - grail
B Anvil - hammer
B File - file
B Pivot - pivot
Chance - dice
C Divinity - feather
She secured the documents in a secret location, well away from prying senses and all but the most obscure techniques. Some day, the time might come for the information within to be seen by the rest of the world, but that time was not now. Few could withstand the temptation they presented. Fewer could handle the fear they ought to instill in any rational being. It would be best if none of her seekers ever understood the true nature of their objectives, for the sakes of their own souls. The reach of hell was long, and its grasp often seemed stronger than heaven's. If she could avoid delivering any of her children to that hoary abysm, she would try--but as much as she wished it to be so, she could not complete this task alone. She was one woman with too little time and too few resources. She had to make the best of what was available to her. One could only use the tools at hand and be grateful.
If she found herself seeking solace in solitude a little more often, if she found herself awake at odd hours, if she sometimes lost track of her days... Could she be blamed for that?
[Exit - Run Time 30 Minutes]
