Preoccupied Plans [Open]

[Michi]

Death is the catalyst of change. Death, once a word that represented the passage of the world around them took on a new meaning when Primus slew his first Lord. Known as a paragon of human potential, his victory was not ensured by his strength or his valor alone but his god-slaying blade. Something that could not 'kill' but rather negate the existence of her brothers. After the war it was believed that Primus fell to grievous wounds suffered in this culminating battle. His blade, something that would have been treasured by his consanguinity was never recovered or if it had been, there was no record of it. It was the nature of the desert to not interfere and for this reason the Earth Court remained mere spectators to this fray. Following the defeat of the Solar Court and Flame Court Lords, both at the hand of a single man recreant Ancients and even the bold were demoralized with this turn of events. Humanity, on the other hand, was emboldened and pushed back the armies of the Ancients. Unlike Homura or Fuujin's own demise, those Ancients would one day return after they were sufficiently fed - it might take days or even years but eventually they would 'come to be' once again. Suna never learned of their fate, very soon after the war humanity continued their onslaught. Her kind was hunted to near extinction, but she was one of the few and the lucky.

She waited for the rebirth of her kin. The return of her brothers. But nobody came.

It was a moment of desperation and a taboo to do so, but she returned to Homura and Fuujin's grave. Same forfeited her own essence to hasten her brother's return but nothing happened, despite draining herself to nothing but dust, a state she stayed for centuries, neither Ancient was resurrected. At the time she did not know the power of sanban, the god-killing weapon that negated their very existence. It was truly a testament to their power that she even remembered them. The Ancients whom never existed but she remembered. History remembered. Man remembered. Her children were gone, to where she did not know. All that remained was the trapped remains of an antediluvian monster trapped in the depths of the Obsidian - the Lord of the Wild Hunt Orochi and the Lord of the Shadow Court, Mikaboshi. She wondered how many of her brethren were trapped within a blade similar to Mikaboshi.

She tried to live among humans. She suffered the hunger pangs as she denied herself sustenance and allowed herself to remain weak. So weak that she was killed at the hand of a brigand. So weak that she was taken by a madman. So weak that she was defeated in fair combat against the Steward Kazekage. The truth be told, she was in love with the Steward. How or why was difficult to explain, the Takahashi clan always had good, strong breeding stock but she, unlike her brothers never touched a human in such a way. It was unseemly, yet she would have made an exception for him. Yet her sentiments were unrequited, he was an intelligent man but he was also insensitive and self-absorbed, he was cruel but he did not seem to see it that way. She seemed to tolerate this, this chosen paramour that took no more notice of the Queen than he would have a coat rack. When she died and took a new shell, he never even took notice. When she tried to tell him what she was, he denied the existence of this reality and chose his own. And all of these things hurt her heart but she still loved him. She still denied herself what it was that differentiated her from a human. She did this until she saw what the Steward could do. Mikaboshi, her brother was offended and his talon-like hand wrapped around her throat. With a single word, Sousuke brought the Ancient to her knees. Sousuke admitted to tasting Mikaboshi's power on an as needed basis defined by the Steward and without the Shadow Court Lord's consent. It was there she saw it again but in its final form, this selfish want and take without consideration of its true owner. This one-sided view of friendship. She came to fear him, knowing that soon enough she would share her brother's fate.

She confronted the Steward but he did not show hesitation. He did not show regret. He was not going to relinquish his hold over her brother and one day when he truly grasped what she was, he would have a second blade intended for her. She declared war. Her desire to find her brothers rekindled and her anger towards humanity burned brighter than ever. There is a saying that it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. They never considered this case - one where passions were ignited and then stripped away. There was loss and anger, but then there was indignant rage.

Sousuke ultimately killed her in a brutal fashion, the kind one does not do merely for a logical assessment of his threat. She had to leave the village, at least for a time while she recovered. A headset on her crown, there was only one tie to the village that would or could call on her - Kaza. The ANBU who accepted her as his disciple, a near shameful situation considering the fact that she could have fought him there and broke him to remind the Steward that nobody was safe - even his most elite of forces. Still, she was recovering and she was curious and the mask of the neophyte gave her a place to hide. An opportunity to be close to her enemies without being known. A chance to learn what secrets humanity harbored.

For now, she was looking for her kin.

The desert itself was pristine. The dry heat of the desert made the sun less painful over her cloaked form. She was listening more than she was watching, for the sounds of lingering life and existence. She and Mikaboshi could not be the last. The sands about her shifted restlessly as she ambled through this great arid expanse. It was then she heard something -- not the sounds of one of her brethren, but the other sound... the sound of a meal. The beating of a heart and the churning of a stomach. The scrape of shoes and the rustle of clothes. Such slight and distant sounds that she could hear from afar.

OC: I promise to not actually eat you. Looking to play with pretty much anyone but newbies are a hope! Fair warning, we are in the midst of the sandworm threat as well. There is a chance one might show up. There is a roll with every post. =O

 

[Yamaryuu Sora]

[col]The desert. The shifting winds, the rolling waves of sand, Sora had been told once that the dunes looked like waves flowing in ultra-slow motion. To Sora they were home. For almost the entirety of his life he had lived here in the rolling sands. Running up and down the shifting hills, with the pounding sandstorm ripping skin from his torso, arms and hands. All for the sake of weeding the weak from the strong. How many brothers had he not seen falling face first down the hills? only to pick themselves up to charge at the next hill of shifting sand. All for the sake of not being the last one to reach shelter. The Yamaryuu was unrelenting in training its youngling. And as time passed Sora began to like the environment, when the howling of the great sandstorm ended some time ago, Sora found that he missed the sound. Missed the strain of just moving through the sand that was seeking to bury you if you stood still for too long, or rip your flesh from your bones if you traveled for too long. He had developed a kinship with the storm. His skin had learned to turn into stone, allowing him to stay there for longer. His senses had developed to a point where he could perceive the surroundings through the vibrations in through the ground or air allowing him to navigate through the storm with ease. And now it was gone. His world had changed in more than one way. He had been accepted at the academy and was supposed to take the graduation for Genin. Things were going as planned. And fast that is, he had bought a house and started to learn his way around civilization. Helping his neighbors, the people on the street. Participating in the education. He was becoming a good decent shinobi he had been told at more than one point. All this he was on his way back to the Yamaryuu clan to make report.
The clan was very concerned about their image, and therefor only graduates of their own education were allowed to venture to become a shinobi. Not many were able to. And such Sora was traveling alone, back to the civilization from the life giving water that was the only safe spots. And the more unknown they were the more likely it was a Yamaryuu hold, one such were present only 1½ days walk behind him.
Sora found the sun, the heat and the grinding sound of sand calming as he walked, unnaturally unhindered by the sand, strolling in fact. His mind lost in thoughts. Chances of a good day’s walk was looking pristine as mentally recharged his energy for the return to civilization.
He was wearing His usual fighting gear, a custom made suit fitted to be durable and sturdy enough to be classified as armor, but made of the finest materials, silk, satin and the like. he was a well dressed boy-soon-to-be-man|

[/col]

 

[Michi]

The Kirishii:

• Not defined as human but they share common ancestry with the first men. Once slaves of Homura's Court, these warriors were his gladiators and were forced to fight the slaves of the other courts. Those that lost but survived were transformed into these Stone-like men by Homura in his wrath. Homura's lust for blood and war was insatiable and he lived war vicariously through his chattel.
• They fought alongside man during Godsfall, an invaluable resource thanks to their great strength and durability but they were never considered the peer of humanity.
• Due to their greatly differing physical aesthetic mankind never truly accepted them as fellow men so many of the Kirishii returned to their nomadic roots after they were liberated from the Ancients.
• Many Kirishii have misinterpreted Suna's non-interference in Godsfall as her silent support of man's war against their Ancient captors, some revere her for this still. [Please don't, Ray wrote that part =(]
• The Kirishii still subscribe to the old ways including but not limited to their nomadic lifestyle and the existence of the Orders. While unknown even to Fuu, the Kirishii still very much keep the Orders alive.
• Physically harsh and unyielding, physical might is a sign of value. Many Kirishii do not even survive childhood due to their hard upbringing.
• Considered to be fierce taijutsuists primarily.
• Many beleive that the Kyoujouran Clan and the Kirishii are one in the same.
• Many believe that the Kirishii are made entirely of Stone, this has not been verified.
• Few people in modern society have seen a Kirishii, the last being Sousuke who met the Kirishii during the Cabal incursion.
• Many Kirishii have pun names where their names are similar to various gems, rocks or minerals. [Blame Ray again]

---

The sun, domain of the Solar Court was high above her, the heat radiated off her flesh and the sand. She could feel the heat even through the soles of her stiletto heels. Her direction changed as she sought the victim of her hunt, a lone traveler here in these sands? Hubris was something she did not lack but she was not above an easy meal in these trying times. Until she reached her pinnacle of strength once again she would take what she could without being seen, without being caught. She would devour a thousand if she had to and then she would return with her brethren and take back what was hers.

She came upon the solitary traveler. He seemed familiar despite the gregarious covering he chose but that mattered little to her as she called out to the stranger. "Help," she lied. "I fear I have lost my way," the tall blonde called out to the Yamaryuu. She did not seem adorned for such desert travels, but her needs differed from those of most humans. She thirsted and hungered all the same but this desert was her home and it was her. She knew every oasis. She knew every chasm. These pock-marked cities throughout the desert were new to her but that was of littel consequence when they would all soon burn. "Would you know the way to..." her voice stopped as her approach brought her before the massive stony man or rather teen with the size and girth of a man. She recognized him from a previous life and she frowned. He was an unfortunate and foolishly amiable teen who offered to be her protector for no other reason than because she asked. Who said that chivalry was dead.

He would be an easy mark if she so chose to continue with her original pursuit. She did not owe him anything because she never needed him in the first place but he was willing to try. A human that wanted to help just because he could but it was exceptionally rare and would likely lend to his short span. But she would not be a party to his end. Even a force as old as her had a sense of honor. "Actually," she shaded her eyes as she still looked up to him despite her gains in height. "I think I now remember my way, please avoid travel in that way." She pointed to the west over the seemingly endless horizon. "Monsters live there." She was of course not referring to the Kirishii, although they too lived in that general direction but to the thing there that would likely devour them: a sandworm.

---

Some random Sandworm facts:

• • Historically Sandworms have been a creature of both reverence and fear. There is a nomadic tribe that exists to even this day that worships the sandworm as it represents the strength and tenacity these nomads wish to possess. These Sand Sages subsist off the Sandworms: their meat a food-source, their armor could be fashioned into natural armor that is said to have uncanny properties, the various enzymes and even the carmot are used for a variety of healing ceremonies. Even the soft flesh hidden beneath the natural armor of the Sandworm can be tanned and worn as leather.
  • The teeth of a Sandworm have no special properties but are made of a dense nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium and calcium network that when ground-up acts as a nutrient rich base for agriculture.
  
  Statistic/Properties
  • Water is very damaging to Sandworms - water attacks ignore damage reduction.
  • Sandworms are very large, it is impossible to miss a Sandworm with a non-genjutsu attack.
  • Sandworms have natural armor that reduces the damages taken by 90% until a piece of armor is natural armor removed.
  • Natural armor must be pried off, prying armor off requires a physical action (taijutsu/physical attack), the user must announce intent to pry off a piece of armor and it requires a full round's AP to remove the armor.
  • By entering the maw of a Sandworm, the user will be exposed to progressively higher levels of heat until they are incinerated - 5% max HP round 1, 10% max HP round 2, 15% max HP round 3, 20% max HP round 3, etc.
  • From inside of the sandworm, there is no natural armor, all attacks hit for full damage and all AOE attacks hit for double damage automatically.
  • ATT Score for this sandworm is 25; EVA is 0.
  
  Sandworm HP:
  E Rank: 5,000
  D Rank: 10,000
  C Rank: 20,000
  B Rank: 40,000
  A Rank: 80,000
  S Rank: 160,000
  
  Techniques:
  Thrash: A technique where the worm moves violently side to side and acts as a melee AOE attack.
  Quavering Earth: A technique where the worm smashed itself violently into the earth causing an AOE attack that we would consider AOE ranged taijutsu
  Impale: A technique where the worm releases a harpoon-like organic implement that used Ranged taijutsu accuracy and progressively draws a player into its maw over 3 rounds. If the fibrous material is broken (has HP) then the player is free. Can only draw in one player at a time. During these 3 rounds the player will not be attacked by the worm or effected by any of the worm;s other techniques.
  Tail Sweep: a single targeting attack that damages a player as well as sends them flying. It will cost the player AP to return to the battle and be considered in range to attack or to be attacked.
  Consume: When 3 rounds have eclipsed since a player has been "impaled" a player is consumed. This is a damaging attack that causes level 3 bleed.
  Bite: The worm bites a player causing damage and bleed 1 (or +1 each time this happens).
  Rend: An attack where the worm attempts to take a bite out of a player, there is a percentile chance of limb loss (can recover the limb after battle or get a prosthetic depending on the player's preference).
  Roar: Considered to be a genjutsu attack - it disables player evasion, accuracy and causes severe pain - AOE attack
  Furnace: Once inside the worm, player takes fire damage that is equivalent to a percentage of their max HP.
  Emesis: The worm vomits - this may include vomiting up a player if a player is inside of the worm. The vomit is hot and damaging, it is also smelly and slippery. Has an effect on the ability to cast certain jutsus.
  Burrow: The worm attempts to either hide under the ground to flee or to initiate an attack.
  Surfacing: When a worm emerges from beneath the ground. Considered to have a stealth bonus to accuracy and damage. Percentile chance that a player will be consumed.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

Wandering the desert since his creation the amalgam that thought of itself as Homura was ashamed that he had not the power he believed he should. Homura stood at seven feet, four inches, weighing in at three hundred and ninety pounds. His crimson hair looked as if it were perpetually wet. He bore a twenty eight inch neck, and a vastly muscular back. Crimson eyes with gold tomoe peered watched every flicker of sand. He wore a blackened leather strap around his forty two inch waist that held up his guilded leather pants. Massive steel arm guards and leggings clasped the earth empowered muscle. His black gi top failed to conceal his overly muscular upper body. Truly, he could feel the strength of the earth through his feet. His mind was filled with visions of a vast empire, slaves of great martial prowess had once been his thralls. The losers he would witness their transformation by his hand or Homura's hand, he would watch as his master shattered their humanity.

His thoughts were tormented as he saw things from a third person point of view more than he did from first person. He could not trust himself, Was he truly whom he believed himself to be?

 

[Yamaryuu Sora]

"Help"
... Sora was jolted out of his feeling of loneliness and peace. as a woman called out for aid.
"I fear I have lost my way,"
He had not expected anyone out here, most travellers here were the occasional stone creature, monsters and the Yamaryuu. not often did others travel here, it did happen but most occasions it was like this, someone who had become lost. usually this happened because people had tried to cross the desert area at the wrong spot because they did not know the desert. Sora had not met anyone not Yamaryuu or stone creature here before, so he was a bit startled.
He immediately altered his course to aid this person, as he felt compelled to do so. not only because it was the right thing to do. but also because if she continued past him she would eventually find one of the larger Yamaryuu clan settlements. one for the few who was almost always settled by one part of the clan or the other. it was used as one of the larger intelligence hubs for the Yamaryuu. and the Yamaryuu preferred if it was not readily known where this was.
"Miss how have you found yourself out here?" Sora asked
The woman started to answer but at mid-sentence she changed her statement. witch made Sora wonder, if she truly was lost, feigning helplessness, maybe to circumvent the security around the clan hub. or she had malicious intent, and when noticing a person of Sora's size and potency, she had become cautious. if it was the latter Sora had to take care, he was by no means a powerhouse in the clan rankings, he was gifted with a frame potential of great power, but he had not yet learned enough to be more than a nuisance to the powers of the Shinobi world, he had learned this within his first month in Suna ash he had unintentionally involved himself in a family feud between the Kage of Suna and his cousin. he had found himself helpless with the powers of strange figures and random strangers supporting the city in their work as a shinobi. as such Sora flipped a switch in his mind, and his eyes switched from kindness to calculations and observance.
"Would you know the way to..."
"Actually,"
the woman was a blonde, by far not reaching Sora's own stature, but very few did this. What did spring to his attention was her wearing High heels, in a desert? this was not common, in fact Sora had not seen this at all before out here. Stilettos were in no way a fit footwear to the shifting sands of the dunes. although Sora was no one to speak of this, as he himself had shoes clearly not made for desert walks as the leather on them was scared from the sand. they looked like ordinary leather shoes, big ones though and they were a well fit for his tailored suit, but because of the harsh environment that the leather was not designed for, it had become dull in its shine and it would not be days before it would start to crack from the heat and the constant grinding of sand. he had considered going barefoot but this was as much a test for his new shoes that he had especially crafted for his size. even as a shinobi in the making he needed resistant wear, but no one had told him not to do it with a bit of style. if they broke he would just go barefoot, as his skin would accommodate the use by turning into stone.
"I think I now remember my way, please avoid travel in that way."
"Monsters live there."
Sora thought for but a brief second before he answered this was due to his trouble actually reading this woman. was she here with malicious intent or was she simply just wandering the dunes. Sora knew the feeling of just wandering the dunes in fact he very much enjoyed it. and thus for the brief second a smile crossed his battle scarred face and a glint of longing replaced the observational glint of his eyes.
"You are in the desert, there be monsters everywhere, in front, behind and under us. where are you headed, perhaps I could be of assistance?"
Mainly he asked to know where she was heading, or if she was simply lying. if he was lucky he could read it from her answer, but it could be that she was too trained for him to notice but he did hope not. with that intention his wording was still inspired so because of his deeply embedded sense of honour, which could not let anyone suffer the desert if they were not so prepared for it.

[MFT 250+ WC]

 

[Michi]

OC: Sorry for the delay.

IC:

"You are in the desert, there be monsters everywhere, in front, behind and under us. where are you headed, perhaps I could be of assistance?"

"Searching for something I lost," she replied. Her mind elsewhere. She was in fact looking for something or rather someone. At godsfall, the site of the first Ancient defeat that marked the progressive end to their civilization she came across a stranger. He knew her but she did not know him. She was not nearly as weak as the lesser courts who kept the company of humans, dared to have affection for their livestock. Certainly, she was never cruel but then she had no more love for man than a human would have had for a goat. Perhaps she had forgotten and perhaps she had toyed with him, cursed him to be at her side forever more. Certainly with time, proximity and lack of other option her affections for some humans had changed. She felt a sense of begrudging respect for a few, a sense of duty-like debt to others to at the very least reciprocate their kindness. Not necessarily human sentiments but Ancients felt something akin to emotion, it was dull in comparison to their labile nature but with time and circumstance she found herself looking in the mirror and she would see a human staring back at her. So pink and so small. So limited. They live in the breadth of a mayfly and in that time perhaps they did not have a chance to truly ponder and consider all the things they would do and have done with their lives.

"I am sorry for taking your time," she apologized as she heard something. Something that moved with no heart. Brother? Her heels dug into the pliable earth and she kicked off in the direction of what would have been her 'brother,' Homura. She had no taste for the souls of those she knew. Those she did not actively dislike. Those who shown her unnecessary kindness in an unforgiving world. Perhaps it would have been different if he knew what she was or what she had done or allowed. If he knew of the things she would one day do. "Do not follow Sora," she cautioned as she attempted to move to the west. Yes, she knew his name from a previous encounter where she knew him but he did not know her. A troublesome fact indeed, one she realized after she said his name. A foolish idealist most certainly, he nearly got himself killed being in the wrong place at the wrong time all because a complete stranger asked him to. He would die an early hero's death with choices such as these. A pity really.

She was making her way not only in the direction of the monsters she had warned Sora to avoid but also in the direction of one of the most infamous Ancients the old Courts ever knew. The spiritual essences that fractured and sarcophagi and released her brothers had to of been vast, greater than she could truly fathom considering the fact that even in her prime she was drained to dust without any discernible benefit.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

Broken, shattered, immortal essence of the first Ancient to fall to a human had been compressed into the body of one of Homura's most trusted and enhanced servants. With unquestioned loyalty he had been one of the few humans to fight with the ancients against the First Men. Unlike the Kirishii whom were melded with stone for losing in the Gladiator pits this servant had simply been granted power and linked to the earth in the likeness of Homura. After nearly dying in battle with the First Men and literally having his eyes ripped out and cast into the desert to die as a traitor of humanity for not divulging any of Homura's secrets he wandered alone living by the strength granted to him by his Ancient master. Homura found him and in an uncharacteristic act of pity and praise forged him eyes of fire to rival the flames Homura himself used to forge armor and weapons for his brethren that hunted with him. The chosen servant rededicated himself to his master's cause and managed to kill some of his master's enemies but he did not arrive in time to save Homura from Primus. After his master's defeat and Fuujin's subsequent defeat attempting to carry Homura's shattered elemental body away, his chosen arrived and with Fuujin's chosen they placed their remains in sarcophagai waiting thirty years for them to revive as Ancients normally did but nothing occurred. Suna herself came and pulsed her entire being into their broken remains and yet nothing stirred. Suna in her forgotten might then called upon one of her lesser Ancient Lords but he too had fallen prey to man's vengeance. She was however able to call upon his full spiritual and elemental essence since he had not fallen to the blade of Primus and with the body of his Chosen Natsumeyashi was reborn. A chimera in essence but so much more than that simple spell used by the Ancients of the Wild Hunt. At Natsumeyashi's demon assistant's urging, the forest builder gathered the essences of all the fallen ancients of Fuujin's and Homura's courts, and then began a centuries long campaign to ferret and capture the souls whom wandered too far into the desert. Oases became places of demise for the weak as they would be drained of their souls and their bodies broken down to form new trees. Natsumeyashi had been diligent in his duties even after Mother Suna forgot him, after the chosen finally gave up their spirits to time their bodies already touched and reforged by their masters were used as Vessels. The rare half breeds of Ancient and human crossbreeding were also used as fodder and fuel. Then came the return of Mother Suna and Natsumeyashi was at last released from his fused state. Once upon a time he would have rebirthed a true ancient but he had made a pact with the desert queen and his essence was eternally bonded to her own. His powers and his contract with the Youkai passed onto her. Many of Homura's powers and memories now resided in the body of his chosen reborn at Natsumeyashi's betrayal and Suna's needs. He was not her true brother but a pieced together amalgam of all that could be recovered. The glass half full as it were... his spirit, his powers were that of an Ancient, his body that of an altered human. Seemingly the best of both worlds but he was not Homura whom could have shattered a mountain with his will alone. The memories were there but the truth was not. Now he searched for meaning and existence Homura's amalgam.

"So long have I slept that not even the land remembers me nor do I remember myself. Who, what am I?"<i></i>

 

[Yamaryuu Sora]

"Searching for something I lost"
Sora wondered for a second.. why would she search for something lost in the desert.. when things disappeared in the desert they belonged to it. they were not to be found. but only given back when the desert no longer wanted it.
it was not for us mortals to demand returns from it.
before he could make up his mind she continued.
"I am sorry for taking your time,"
Sora nodded to underline his reply.
"no time lost, I hope you find what you are looking for"
he sad as he turned to continue his walk back to the civilization. and just then, he felt something. a surge of some kind. it was like something deep inside him resonated with an external power. a bell echoing the tune of its neighbor. deep within him, his ancestry recognized a power that had the marks of its maker the unbeknownst to Sora as of yet. He was related to the beings created by the power of Homura. the Kirishii this ancestry now echoed the radiance of the being located in the exact direction that the woman was turning to venture at.
only then he noticed what she had said:
"Do not follow Sora,"
Sora?, where did she know his name from?, he did not know her? but that was quickly pushed to the back of his mind, as the uneasiness formed from the echo inside of him, not only resonated but started beating of its own volition.
"Wait" he implored.
"do you feel that?, hear that?"
Sora's mind was a mess. what was happening? as he had motioned his hand in a gesture to underline his words. he noticed that his skin was slowly turning to stone. why was this happening? he had not felt threatened. nor had he activated this defense by himself. ans as he soon after learned, nor could he deactivate it. it simply just happened, slowly but surely.
perplexed he stared at his hand turning into stone, he looked up at the woman again with eyes lacking in experience. he did not know what was happening, and he certainty did not know how to handle it. as he just stood there not knowing what to do, the petrifaction sped up. and turned from the regular Stony consistence, to a black glass-like shine. obsidian?. did he just turn into obsidian? his movement was as it always was when he had his skin infused with the stone chakra.
through the resonating powers he heard the eccho of a voice:
"Who, what am I?"<i></i>
He looked back up at the woman
"Tell me you heard that!?"

[MFT : 250+ WC]

 

[Michi]

She warned him that he should go the other way. She was hunting for a victim, not an ally in this matter between gods and not men. She had seen her brothers escape their sarcophagi and depart from their resting place. It was not far from the site where they had actually died, godsfall being the site of a Ancient slaughter where Homura and Fuujin were both mortally wounded only to later succumb to their grievous wounds. While their death might not have been on public display, it was rapidly broadcast that not only did Primus defeat these two great Lords but he also killed them. That was the turning point in a war that prior to this moment was entirely one-sided. She had eventually found herself back at her brother's grave, they were not being watched by any dedicated servants at the time, otherwise she too would have been sealed away in one of those dark, tight boxes. She did not remember this dedicated self-claimed lover or what bound him to her and why he bothered with such a drastic sacrifice only that it happened. Zealots rarely made choices she fully understood, but humans and their various forms of copulation were rather disgusting in her opinion. The proximity and the exchange of fluids, something that was perhaps too intimate for her and her kind.

"Wait."

He implored her to wait, she did not heed his call. Away with you, shoo...

"Do you feel that? Hear that?"

She halted abruptly. She heard everything, why did he hear anything? A regrettable question perhaps, "what do you hear?" Her ears were surpassed by none, but what Sora felt was of course not sound but rather vibrations. Similar in many ways, instead of being sensed via the auditory canal he felt movement and vibration through the soles of his feet. An uncanny skill that the Ancient would not yet be able to discern of course. Yet curious still, on a firm surface could he feel and decipher sound? Something to ask another of course, Suna is far from an inquiring mind. "How can you hear anything?" Her voice seemed to take on a sharp, accusatory tone when she asked him this. She had no heart but she had a reasonable facsimile and she could feel it pound within her breast. She had no heartbeat but she was far from dead. "How can you hear that?" Her brow furrowed and her hand on her hip as her free arm swept across the thin air to reveal the vast expanse that was their arid landscape. Nobody could be seen, not from where they stood and from their vantage point and even with a significantly greater proximity most humans would still not be able to discern those words.

It was then that she saw the change, perhaps rather the transformation that caused her to stagger back several steps. Her eyes widened with astonishment or perhaps a perverse form of glee at the sight of obsidian overtake his flesh. Was the young man a Kirishii? Was the young man's body being called upon by his predecessor's former master? It was dark and it glistened so in the daylight. She could not help but let out a low guffaw at the irony that the only human whose path she had crossed in the desert for some time was not only a person she recognized but also one of her brother's former slaves, or rather his ancestors were. "...Homura," she muttered. Her ears twitched as she listened for the sound she had previously heard, the sound of someone or something walking. The same sound that this Kirishii youth had picked up upon.

"So long have I slept that not even the land remembers me nor do I remember myself. Who, what am I?"<i></i>

She heard the voice, a strange foreign voice that seemed disembodied from the Flame Court Ancient she remembered so long ago. Time seems to place a fog on memories and space does not always make the heart grow fonder but rather makes the mind forget trespasses and fears. Homura!

"Tell me you heard that!?"

Sora looked 'up' art her and announced (how short are you?). He heard that? Of course he did. He was more built to be a part of this desert than even Suna was, an amalgamation of man and the powers rather than the genetic makings of an Ancient as they were imbued with something that ultimately changed them and arguably not for the better it made them in many ways more like Homura than like men. Homura, like herself was born of the desert and they were essentially the progeny of Wind Country but the Kirishii were something else entirely. The Kirishii were in part the desert itself but they were also the invasive species known as man, a strange bridge between the two although their station and lot was not of their choosing as their fate was thrust upon them in Homura's cruelty. "Yes I did," she replied grimly as her long pale fingers attempted to encircle Sora's obsidian wrist. "It would seem that my brother would like to have a word with you," she announced as she attempted to take Sora with her in pursuit of the sound... the felling... the cull.

OC: Sora, please feel free to do some character development for yourself. This combination of Kirishii and Flame Court whatever this thing is is actually a good set-up for you if you run with it so please do.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

He stood amidst the blackened sands as heat spiraled around him to coalesce into what was once Homura's true form. As a servant his name was forgotten and with the shards of his master's memories overwhelming his once mortal mind, the amalgam gave in to his beliefs and his fate came to pass... he took on the persona and the name Homuraah. He would remember watching himself fall from the blade of Primus, he would remember watching his original body crumble away with Fuujin trying desperately to spirit him away. The portions of him that were belonged to his Chosen remained, but they were docile beneath the ferocity and strength that was the mere remnants of Homura. His eyes became golden tomoe spiraling in crimson irises to resemble the flames of the flame court. Battle lust consumed his core and he marveled in his own miniature potential. He felt movement and with a flicker he merged with the earth to rise before Suna and Sora some five hundred yards away. She felt familiar, the young male resembled a soldier he had once honored with his touch and imbued with a link to stone. Lava traced his foot steps ever so briefly as he moved his toes seeking recognition but gaining nothing as he would have in Homura's true form.

"You feel familiar, kindred... desert woman. My memories leak but you feel like some place I once belonged. This male in your grasp feels like a soldier, he could fight in the pits, they are somewhere near here south or southwest. I had pet demons there that I recall would eagerly await the challenge of one such as he. I am Homuraah, I cannot recall much save that I fell in battle to a rather powerful slave with a more powerful sword. It seems I have taken too long to recover and the world has changed in my absence. Who or what are you and why do you feel so familiar to me? Speak and know that you are both safe from my wrath."<i></i>

 

[Yamaryuu Sora]

As shocked as Sora was of this, the woman seemed to know exactly what was happening. coming closer in stead of walking away. she did seem surprised when he started to change. enough to step back. but not appalled, just surprised and just for a second or two.
"Yes I did,"
"It would seem that my brother would like to have a word with you,"
your brother?..
"Who are you?"
He said, or he tried to, as his voice came out not with the vibrations of his former self, it was dusty, it was deep and it was rumbling. the sound reminded of the heavy impact of stone hitting stone, but still understandable. just very different.
if this was a sign of her brother, who was her brother?.. but most importantly as she was in front of him, who was she?
she grabbed around his wrist as she spoke, and pulled him along, he could easily, if he wanted, had held his ground, but in his confusion, he did not event think the thought. as he felt the pull, weak considering his heavy mass, even more so when he had turned to stone.. or this black stone form, it looked glass like, obsidian maybe? as such he leaned forward in pure reflex as he had learned his mass and movement could destroy buildings, he set himself in motion following her. if one were far enough away, one maybe would confuse them as a man walking hand in hand with a child, and not the other way around a woman walking with a boy instead.. well at least he still was.
Sora felt confused. he just followed this woman "pulling" him along. not not long after his mind cleared and he reconciled with himself. this was a change, A change that would have to wait for him to figure out another time. the elders of the Yamaryuu would probably know what to do. until then he would help this woman. as such he adjusted his gait from just following, to walking less than half a step behind her, she knew where they were going, He did not.
he made no attempt to remove her hand from his. and for some reason he was fascinated of this woman. somewhere deep in his mind a dirty minded boy was screaming, but Sora did not notice... he just observed, listened and, for now.. followed

when they had walked not more than a few minutes. Sora's time perception was not the best considering what he had just gone trough. a man emerged from the sand with molten sand following his footsteps.

"You feel familiar, kindred... desert woman. My memories leak but you feel like some place I once belonged. This male in your grasp feels like a soldier, he could fight in the pits, they are somewhere near here south or southwest. I had pet demons there that I recall would eagerly await the challenge of one such as he. I am Homuraah, I cannot recall much save that I fell in battle to a rather powerful slave with a more powerful sword. It seems I have taken too long to recover and the world has changed in my absence. Who or what are you and why do you feel so familiar to me? Speak and know that you are both safe from my wrath."<i></i>

the man would be me sora thougt... a warrior?.. sure I'm a graduated Yamryuu ofcourse I'm a warrior.. but this sounded different.. he meant something else.. slave pits.. this looked more and more like the stories he was told. the wars of the ancients, the liberation of man, did he speak of Sora as a Kirishii? and Homuraah`?... if he were not in this stone form, he would have felt cold sweat running along is spine. Homura was an ancient that had cursed the Kirishii with their stone form. Homura hated man..at least that was what the stories told. but he did not seem hostile. and as he did not seem to speak to Sora. Sora held his tongue. waited, observing. if one were to observe him, nothing would show, except his Blue Tanzanite gem eyes' inner glow seemed to focus on the man, observing!

[OOC: will do.. and sorry for the short stuff my mind is bombed atm]

 

[Michi]

Cinderal sands, blackened and burnt by the encroaching Lord. In his wake, footsteps of flame. Heartless and living, moving but not thriving. T'was the fate of a modern Ancient. The world felt dead and the winds no longer sang, the fires no longer danced and the sun no longer watched. "Homura!" Shiori, or rather Suna's voice beckoned. It was far from a whisper, this booming voice that the dedicated winds distributed with a thunderous roar for miles.

He had changed, greatly so from his true form but so hadn't she. The tall blonde clad in white approached the elemental Lord and called to him again "Brother Homura."</B><i></i> She kept her distance but relinquished her grip on the young man's hand, the Kirishii was in the presence of his creator. She could not fathom the unfortunate sentiment, a generational blight and hatred that may have been passed down as a heirloom from one to the next.

"You feel familiar, kindred... desert woman. My memories leak but you feel like some place I once belonged. This male in your grasp feels like a soldier, he could fight in the pits, they are somewhere near here south or southwest. I had pet demons there that I recall would eagerly await the challenge of one such as he. I am Homuraah, I cannot recall much save that I fell in battle to a rather powerful slave with a more powerful sword. It seems I have taken too long to recover and the world has changed in my absence. Who or what are you and why do you feel so familiar to me? Speak and know that you are both safe from my wrath."<i></i>

<B>"...Brother, it is me Hahaoyasuna," she replied with a furrowed brow as she used her proper name purposefully for the first time in a long time. The name from which her more common moniker was derived where the words Hahaoya and Suna were said separately and became in common her present moniker. Both of them anthropomorphisms of the natural world, he did not know her but then again Mikaboshi had not remembered her either. Not in these strange, foreign humanoid shells that she had grown almost accustomed to over the years. The perpetual sense of disembodiment seemed to fade with time as the hand before her became her hand and her cheek would feel a caress or a brutal blow. Then she remembered something, something that Homura could not deny. Something he could not truly promise with a sincere heart. "What do you desire most brother?" She had to know who he was and there was only one answer that was correct, it was an undeniable compulsion for the Flame Court as it was in their nature as much as it was a part of the Deep Court to be bound to their word or that she had to follow the first law to the point of damnation and destruction.

She scanned the Kirishii at her side. He juvenile, at least in terms of the these stone-men. "Do you know who he is? Who he claims to be?" The answer was the former master of the Kirishii. A man that a few centuries earlier would have expected a human's knees to touch the ground or for his knuckles to break someone else's jaw. She took a step away from both. She wondered the same thing Homura asked -- who and what was he? Was he truly her brother, reincarnated and renewed by a power that exceeded even her own in her prime? She wondered about the Kirishii she had taken with her -- his calm quiet. Something she thought Homura had bred out of his livestock.

Was anybody truly who they seemed?

She turned back to 'Homura.' "Your remains were locked away in a sarcophagus alongside Lord Fuujin and several of our other brothers. You were fed in excess and were somehow revived by demonic intervention. Their method and magics unknown," Suna explained "two and one-half centuries almost have passed since your death. All your kin and brethren are dead or lost or bound." The truth, as simple as it seemed was dire. Their numbers have dwindled to the point where they were both on the cusp of extinction. The terrible loneliness that she, her other brothers who were still alone had experienced was stifling. It hurt more than even the empire lost, this lack of companionship and family more important than the splendor of an entire realm.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

Homuraah flared with rage at the mention of his kin being dead or enslaved.... the soldier could wait. "Hahaoyasuna, she who aided death, Fuujin thought you had betrayed us but no I could see the purpose of your actions just as I punished my soldiers whom failed me in the coliseum you punished those self righteous humans with power as well. Power that would aid us when they fell, but now you are starved and trapped in flesh as I am or not so much trapped bound in flesh. I know I am not as you remember me to be as your brother but enough of my memories remain to be true. I am a shadow of what I once was and with what you have said that means I was never truly revived. Well if I must be an abomination then I shall, NO ANCIENT SHALL REMAIN BOUND TO A HUMAN!!! I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!! What I want most is A RECKONING by Battle!! I will take back our homes and forge our weapons anew. Even this one will be of service, yes he will serve us well. I will make him the first guardian. But first you must feed sister, your form before my elemental eyes is starved, take my hand and be blessed with my connection to the earth, rejuvenate... for even now I overflow with power that this body can only barely tolerate. Use my excessive energies and stand strong again. Fuujin is nearby but his mood is dangerous, even in my need for battle I would not bother with him now. He sits upon the remains of a mountain overlooking a chasm made by one of our desert beasts. Come with us soldier and you will tell me of your world and your people. The land will be healed and all will know the Ancients have returned."<i></i> A gigantic pulse of earth and fire spiritual energy surged from his body engulfing him but granting power to Shiori's starved form if she accepted it, otherwise it would flow back into him, as he had become a living recharging battery of natural chakra. A unique and powerful circumstance of being an amalgam. His gold and crimson eyes danced like twin bonfires as he looked upon Sora with eagerness to learn what had become of his servants. Shiori would recognize this effect from Natsumeyashi's efforts just as he had formed a link with the natural chakra of the very elements themselves so to had Homuraah.

​

 

[Yamaryuu Sora]

The woman recognized the man and named hum Homura as he had named himself, and followed suit by naming herself Hahaoyasuna. Two names that both filled the boy that was Sora, with dread, with wonder and with excitement. Before him unfolded events that quite possibly could be the start of a reshape of the world as he knew it. 2 legends stood before him. Both of a caste much higher than himself. The ancients of old. Living, breathing, recharging.
"Do you know who he is? Who he claims to be?"
Suna asked the boy. But as he barely knew himself anymore how could he answer that question? He did not know who he was, he knew legends and he knew scare stories. It was long before his time that Homura and Hahaoyasuna had ruled the lands. And as it came to his mind had enslaved man. If Sora really was a Kirishii his ancestry would be in line with the slave soldiers that Homura had used to battle man. But why had his elders never told him? Why were none of those rock “monsters” like him now? He could not deactivate his rock armor, but he could feel energy flowing from the ground into his body, he revitalized more than he ever had was this because of the presence of Homura? Was this the proof of his ancestry was this a proof of the identity standing before them, claiming to be….
“Homura…“
Sora forced the words out, his breath a vapor as if he walking in the frozen mountains of the lightning country. Even though the heat of the desert was ever strong. Soras inner was burning sulfurous golden hot from the energy he was absorbing unwillingly turning his body closer and closer to that of an original Kirishii. Of gemstone and rock alike.
Sora had not realized that Suna had stepped away from him as it all happened, and he did not know if it was because of him or something else, as he was now, he did not care. He would watch these events, and learn, evolve and become more. He had no other choice anyway so he could just as well do as the events bid him to.
“… Come with us soldier and you will tell me of your world and your people. The land will be healed and all will know the Ancients have returned." </COLOR><i></i>
Sora understood he was the soldier, he did not like the lable but it was what he was in the eyes of these beings, closer to the level of a god than he. They had the power to name him whatever they felt like. In his mind he saw himself as a warrior, a defender but not a soldier. He could think. And he could act independently. He did not need commanders and he never had. All his life had been a training to survive to act and to live, unchained. And thus the lable of of a soldier was not fitting. Sora would have to at one point rewrite that lable.
But it would have to wait. He had not the power to stand against beings of this magnitude as he was now.
<COLOR color="#BF0000">“I have nothing to tell Homura.. I have just now learned of my ancestry. Just mere minutes ago I was but a Warrior of the Yamaryuu. Not a soldier of the Kirishii.”

 

[Michi]

"Homura."

The young Kirishii answered. His body was responding to Homura's presence, it was reverting back to the terrible form that her brother had twisted his gladiators into. A man still, many saw them as monsters, even to this day. So different in form but in matters of the heart and spirit they were no different yet they were treated as so. Some could never get past the wrapping. "You're changing," she warned him with a terse tone. He might wish to step back, away from Homura's volatile and cancerous chakra, tainted not only with demonic energy but also with elemental earth and fire. Like a calefactor to stand near, most humans would have overheated by this point but the Kirishii seemed to more than receptive to his former Lord's heat and seemed rather adept at making his own.

"Hahaoyasuna, she who aided death, Fuujin thought you had betrayed us but no I could see the purpose of your actions just as I punished my soldiers whom failed me in the coliseum you punished those self righteous humans with power as well. Power that would aid us when they fell, but now you are starved and trapped in flesh as I am or not so much trapped bound in flesh. I know I am not as you remember me to be as your brother but enough of my memories remain to be true. I am a shadow of what I once was and with what you have said that means I was never truly revived. Well if I must be an abomination then I shall, NO ANCIENT SHALL REMAIN BOUND TO A HUMAN!!! I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!! What I want most is A RECKONING by Battle!! I will take back our homes and forge our weapons anew. Even this one will be of service, yes he will serve us well. I will make him the first guardian. But first you must feed sister, your form before my elemental eyes is starved, take my hand and be blessed with my connection to the earth, rejuvenate... for even now I overflow with power that this body can only barely tolerate. Use my excessive energies and stand strong again. Fuujin is nearby but his mood is dangerous, even in my need for battle I would not bother with him now. He sits upon the remains of a mountain overlooking a chasm made by one of our desert beasts. Come with us soldier and you will tell me of your world and your people. The land will be healed and all will know the Ancients have returned."<i></i>

He remembered as her brother did, or at the very least he believed he did. But what was he -- he was a shade... an echo of an Ancient in a former life. He, just as Fuujin was, they were both destroyed utterly and completely. So much so that they never even existed. The fact that she, that they could remember them was truly a testament of their might. Yet still, a memory was all that he could be and how could a memory capture all his strength, his valor, his complexity, his utter perfection and imperfection. He was just what a dreamer would dream, what a man, an Ancient, a demon could recall. Yes, he might be just that and that was the best that anyone could do. But, sorry to say you're just not good enough.

Heat and energy rolled off the Flame Court Ancient, it radiated like a hearth. A vacuum and a repository always, energy was not something to be wasted and she scavenged from his aura what he leaked. "Then you should not have declared war without every Court being afforded the opportunity to also raise their banner. You died because you were arrogant," Shiori protested as she braved the heat. "You and I both know that we cannot deny our nature, even if it brings us to ruin as yours will again surely," she warned the war-mongering Lord. "The Country is in the brink of war, and again it is man against Ancient but this time it is we who fight for the right to survive." It was a statement that she did not relish but likely Homura would see things from a different perspective - the battlefield was a place of joy and peace was something to be reviled in his Court. That was why he was such a powerful Lord, the constant, aggressive encroachment of other domains where he pushed the weaker out. Sated by gladiatorial tournaments and spars, he knew nothing but the call of war. "This time it is Ancient tethered to man." A dirty little secret to most, how Ancients were killed, trapped or subjugated. Even she did not know the extent, only the fate of one -- brother Mikaboshi but that was enough. with that she knew what man could do and what they would do.

“I have nothing to tell Homura.. I have just now learned of my ancestry. Just mere minutes ago I was but a Warrior of the Yamaryuu. Not a soldier of the Kirishii.”

"This Kirishii are free-men, ever since Primus broke their chains centuries ago," she reminded Homura. "And perhaps freedom is best," she added cautiously. "I would rather war and liberate our brethren and then part from humanity, they are reckless but have an unbridled potential and an ingenuity that we lack. Their leader, a Takahashi," an old family name that belonged to the Solar Court if she recalled. "Tethered a Court Lord to his will and I do not believe him to be alone," she added. "Considering he killed me also, but fortune shone in that I did not share Mikaboshi's fate." She nodded in the direction of Sora. "Humans have become increasingly durable on their own and have become entertaining to watch -- they fight and love and live in their limited span more than we do in a full cycle. I have come to appreciate most, and to loathe some."

There was a reason she brought Sora along. It was to sate a curiosity, that there was at least of shred of Homura in there. False, arcadian... yet still something to remind her of the days that once were. And second, to send the Steward a message -- Homura was resurrected. It was everything that Sousuke feared, it was why he tortured her and why he killed her. There was a time when she thought they could have peace and a part of her desired it, but it would not be achieved until after a great deal of bloodshed. She did not want an army or a house of slaves, she would conquer them if she had to. Put them in chains and march them into the sea if she had to. She wanted to live and she did not love humanity more than her own existence. She did not love humanity more than the existence of her brethren either. "I would not have expected you to have anything to tell Homura," Suna finally responded to Sora. "But, I do have you here for a reason. You have validated something very important to me. You have proven to me that Homura, or at least a reasonable facsimile has been revived." She took a breath, her pale eyes looked the Kirishii over. "And you are quite lovely by the way, do not let those ruffians ever tell you otherwise," she was referring to the ever-forming stone that seemed to threaten to encapsulate his body. "In fact, I need you to perform a favor," her fingers pinched the air "...just a tiny one." She paused for a moment in case there was an indignant hero's rant. "I need you to tell the Steward that Homura has been resurrected. That is all. SIMPLE really." Her lips crept upwards into a thin smile, not the genuine kind but rather the tense kind that someone demonstrates when things were not truly cordial but it was nice to play pretend.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

Homuraah held his head down for a brief moment in the knowledge that he alone in his indignant wrath had indeed been the cause of his own downfall. He and his brethren had raced across Suna's desert to do battle with the First Men only to be shattered by the will of Primus and his sword that severed even the elemental binds. "You are correct sister I did race across your domain to do battle with the human invaders and suffered greatly for it. Were it not for you I would never have returned at all, even in this capacity so I thank you for allowing this small part of me to return so that I may sate my eternal battle lust once more."<i></i> He then turned to see his power reflected in Sora and smiled. Warrior of the Yamaryuu, the mountain dragons, mmm that is a good name for a strong clan, I like it, do as my sister bids but shed the power my presence has granted you lest they attack you on sight alone. If necessary allow me to set your humanity to rights that is but a trifle to those such as my sister and I because it only requires the removal of elements that block your humanity. Rebuilding you to make you stronger however that will take a bit of time. Know that you alone are welcome in my presence and you alone among humans may find me when needed as we will one day fight and I shall test your strength first hand. It will be a glorious test of your strength and tenacity."<i></i> Smiling easily he turned to Suna and began to lead her to the amalgam of Fuujin where she might find some measure of true respite from humanity.

Spoiler

ooc: Homuraah has offered to help you regain your humanity or show you how to do it on your own, you need not do either... it was simply an offer.

 

[Yamaryuu Sora]

"You're changing," Sora had noticed how his form had "evolved" further, he suspected this was how a Kirishii looked. he had never seen them, only heard tales about them in this short span of time that He had been standing close to the being calling himself Homura, he had felt reservoirs inside unlocking, there were no danger in this, at least not from what he felt. but at the words of Hahaoyasuna he stopped his walking, and such gained a minor but significant distance between Homura and himself. and as such he felt the evolution of his skin halt. and he gained a small will over the change. he could stop it and change it now. not much different than his stone skin before. in the meantime the two ancients talked between themselves Sora heard it, but he were none to barge into a personal conversation of beings of this status.

"I would not have expected you to have anything to tell Homura," sora focused his attention on Suna
"But, I do have you here for a reason. You have validated something very important to me. You have proven to me that Homura, or at least a reasonable facsimile has been revived."
as he noticed her taking in his form
"And you are quite lovely by the way, do not let those ruffians ever tell you otherwise,"
"In fact, I need you to perform a favor,"
...just a tiny one."
"I need you to tell the Steward that Homura has been resurrected. That is all. SIMPLE really."

Sora took that in.. he was not sure that the steward would like that information. and certainly not the messenger of said information.
even so, he kneeled, "As you command" never once did his eyes waver from her face as he spoke the words
"am I to return ?" was he nothing more than a discarded pawn. not that he could do anything about it if that was his fate. he was after all a krisihsii apparantly. his fate was bound to the first men, and the ancient war. all he could do was to become the powerhouse his genes provided and his tenacity supplemented.
"Warrior of the Yamaryuu, the mountain dragons, mmm that is a good name for a strong clan, I like it, do as my sister bids but shed the power my presence has granted you lest they attack you on sight alone. If necessary allow me to set your humanity to rights that is but a trifle to those such as my sister and I because it only requires the removal of elements that block your humanity. Rebuilding you to make you stronger however that will take a bit of time. Know that you alone are welcome in my presence and you alone among humans may find me when needed as we will one day fight and I shall test your strength first hand. It will be a glorious test of your strength and tenacity."
Homura seemed not to bring an ill will of the kirishii as Sora had feared. or maybe it was Sora alone that had achieved his good will.
"I will do as asked, but I will do it with the pride of my clan, if I am to be a Kirishii, I want to boast it to the world, who ever will kill me for it, will find a challenge met."
as he spoke he rised again. standing tall. taller than both the 2 ancient beings. he did not imagine that he had the power to challenge them. but he would certainly endure any onslaught wrougt upon him for bringing the message trust upon him.

[MFT: 250+ wc]

 

[Michi]

"You are correct sister I did race across your domain to do battle with the human invaders and suffered greatly for it. Were it not for you I would never have returned at all, even in this capacity so I thank you for allowing this small part of me to return so that I may sate my eternal battle lust once more."

She nodded, in thought. If they could be resurrected, at least in part it was still better than nothing at all. "Recherché brother, but humanity is attempting to re-forge a God=slaying weapon once more," she warned. She did not do such to deter him, but rather to encourage him to work with haste.

"As you command."

The young Kirishii genuflected before her. Her time as a human had made her less accustomed to some things - for one to have humanity prostrate themselves at her command. It was unsettling and queer these days, there was a time not long ago where she did not want to be the queen. Where she did not want to command these deserts as she once had. But what pride had had was squashed when she allowed herself to subsist weak and near-starved to simply be not-alone. She was rejected still for what she was and for defending her own kind against grave offense and it signified her undignified end. It is amazing how shallow 'love' is, be it familial or romantic. Now she was filled to the brim with spite, she never disliked humanity before. She was more angry with herself than with them for the Ancient's defeat at Godsfall -- at Fuujin's hubris and Homura's thirst for battle. She was also disgusted at her own nature that left here a mere spectator as she witnessed the first law in action. As she watched the time of Ancient fade away and the dawn of mankind unable to intervene, only to eventually see herself and her children hunted down like dogs.

This was the way it was supposed to be. Humanity and Ancients could never be peers, there was a time not long ago where she thought they could but Sousuke put an end to such foolish ideals.

"Am I to return ?"

Sora asked, pulling Shiori or rather Hahaoyasuna from her thoughts. "No," she replied. She would be able to find him, it was not as if he would easily blend into a crowd any longer. "But I do expect you to survive your encounter," she added. He would not know it yet, but she had a soft-spot for the head-strong, charitable Kirishii who has now stepped twice into the affairs of Ancients and their impending war with man. Perhaps it was fate that he would side with them before the very first cannon sounded. Perhaps there was a sense of cloistered amity in the Earth Court Queen, even in the presence of her almost-brother, newly resurrected.

"Warrior of the Yamaryuu, the mountain dragons, mmm that is a good name for a strong clan, I like it, do as my sister bids but shed the power my presence has granted you lest they attack you on sight alone. If necessary allow me to set your humanity to rights that is but a trifle to those such as my sister and I because it only requires the removal of elements that block your humanity. Rebuilding you to make you stronger however that will take a bit of time. Know that you alone are welcome in my presence and you alone among humans may find me when needed as we will one day fight and I shall test your strength first hand. It will be a glorious test of your strength and tenacity."

That sounded very much unlike the Homura she knew, but it mattered little. Time changes a great many things and in the end he was just a shadow. A shade. An echo of his former self.

"I will do as asked, but I will do it with the pride of my clan, if I am to be a Kirishii, I want to boast it to the world, who ever will kill me for it, will find a challenge met."

...and that sounded like Homura. Well met. Her brows raised when he said those words, the boy had some tenacity after all and sounded like a flame court denizen. Perhaps Homura had imbued more of himself into that clan than she had realized. "Then I will have no problem finding you," she replied looking upward at the giant before she passed her gaze to Homura. "Brother, find Fuujin and take up arms," Hahaoyasuna requested. It was her brother's favorite game to play -- war. Their success or failure a non-issue at this time. "The small communities that are sprinkled throughout the desert have limited resources to defend themselves with -- the exception being Sora, Soons and Sunagakure. Eat to your stomach is full and find me in Sunagakure." If he heeded her words, they would be successful in regaining some of their lost power. If they did not, there would be fire and light incarnate splattered over the desert floor once again. She would sweep them up eventually but not until every last one of these cows was either dead or in chains.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

Homura laughed aloud "GOD SLAYING WEAPONS!!! The First Men had one such weapon. ONE! and it was not forged by men. Whatever weapons these humans dare create are nothing before the weapons of war which are mine to forge. I will forge weapons that even the forgotten masters of old would weep at their sight and all the living and the damned will cower at their birth. The spirits will disperse in their wielding and the very gates of heaven and hell will close their gates to bar those slain by my weapons in the battles to come from reincarnation. As for Fuujin, he needs no weapons, the skies and all their power answer to him. Let this brave one know we have returned and let all the kindred of man know that we will reclaim our place in this world. As for this Mountain Dragon his pride serves him well, it will be a great thing for you to do battle, combat is its on reward and a testament to true strength."<i></i>

Homuraah cycled his power surges anew as he contemplated new weapons to smite man. Lost in thought he drifted towards the mountains uncovered by Fuujin's winds where he would tell his kindred of the war to be renewed and the battles to come.

He was easy to find as he focused his powers and the very storm took on a likeness to his humanoid form while he looked into the heavens with eyes as terrible as the sun.

At the epicenter of this living storm was Fuujin reborn, his amalgam was far more complete than Homuraah since the memories of Fuujin were far more complete and his death had resulted in the death of Primus. His demise had been one of far slower decay than Homura's and as such his essence had been far easier to gather. His true form could never be restored but his energies carried on with the same Imperial hubris. The winds themselves never forgot Fuujin and so his return in any form was simply a long wait.

 

[Michi]

OC: Is it my turn? Has Sora left topic? I have been waiting on him. =/