Night had fallen down over the desert, and not just that artificial nighttime that the Sunan's had in the cave, no, this was real nightfall; it had been years since Tama had seen it.
It had taken some time to gather up all he needed to go searching out into the open air, and not all of it was supplies, per say.
Though he had conquered a lot of his fears, the idea of leaving his cozy cave home to go into the terrible destructive weather outside that had kept them in the dead creature frightened him a little. Tama of course was trying to create a way to get out of the cave via a grand invention, but it was still different in the fact that he would be inside the contraption instead of having to face the elements himself; the blonde still had very bad memories of the last time he had braved the open desert.
He had been a child back then, and then had barely survived by following what seemed to be a very deranged mother who had been forced into a corner. The Wind Country was the last place either one of them had wanted to try and make a home, but with Tengokai constantly on their tail they had little choice. Ironically not only did they survive the trek but the Maelstrom had done very well to keep his father out of the majority of Tama's life.
Yet here he was again, battling the swirling gusts of the nearby Maelstrom that made it hard to navigate anything out in the open sky. As anxious as he was the scientist knew of the vast importance of the mission that had been handed down to him in his little mission box. Wrapped up in thick cloth weaved from a light alloy metal the grey robed figure slowly made his way through the hidden paths, only stopping to take brief reprieves when the old map given to him showed him a cave. Even then he didn't really rest as each cave he stopped at he was forced to search, looking for a group of bandits with a piece of a dangerous chain link that could very well create another possessed monster like his father.
He wasn’t a fool, the young man was quite acquainted with old destructive weapons.
The mission read not to do anything but protect the pieces of the chain, but with the suggestion that someone might be in possession of a piece of an ancient weapon told him that situation needed to be handled before he went searching for the other pieces.
The blonde had a good idea where two other pieces were that the bandits hadn't found, but it was simply a guestimation based on legend and theory; it would also force him to enter a deeper part of the storm. The safe paths through the desert were very few, but any good researcher knew that the safe paths aren't always the most enlightening. Judging by when and where the weapon was last seen he could guess how far the storm and other desert elements had spread them but it also required him to know what kind of power the chains would pulse for him to know it was there - yet another reason to bug a bandit nest.
Tama collapsed against the wall of the third cave he had finally found after an hour’s worth of searching through the paths. Twice he had almost fallen into a dead end that would have left him lost and wondering till death, but had somehow managed to make sense of that map at the last second.
Night had fallen completely and the cold air drove him to seek shelter from the now blizzard like winds as the sudden cooling of the desert forced the warm-blooded creatures like him to seek warmth and shelter. He had thought to struggle on for a bit into the night since there was another shelter not too far from this one, but would be no continuing tonight unless he had a heat generator; and that wasn't something he figured into his budget. The only chance he had at survival now as the cold continued to creep into the cave entrance was to explore for bandits, find a nice nesting spot, and make a fire for the night. Pulling off the metallic cloth from his face and stuffing his gloves into his belt the shinobi scientist placed his palms together to focus a small amount of chakra into his hand that, after a little nature bending, became visible in the form of a small golden orb. Lifting his left hand into the air the orb levitated from his palm and up into the air to act as a guiding beacon he could use to traverse the cave.
This cave went deep in comparison to the last two as he traveled a little further and further underground. The golden light bobbed back and forth through the tunnel guiding the researcher as he used the wall to hold up his tired frame. For twelve straight hours Tama had traversed the gusty perils outside and all he wanted now was to rest for a moment. Yet the golden light continued to bob onwards around the corner beckoning the scientist to follow. He knew that resting without knowing his surroundings was foolish for he knew the moment he stopped his body would shut down and go into sleep; his blurry vision told him so.
So onward he went towards the small light as he turned the corner, noticing quickly that the small light was growing larger down the tunnel. Smells and small sounds began to whisper in his ear of activity below and the shinobi quickly caught his second wind as he crouched down and made his way slowly towards the growing light.
Once past the entrance the light showed itself in the form of campfires and large torches as he happened not upon just camp of bandits, but an entire freaking village. His eyes slowly looked around the cave and took note of the buildings, tents, and the age of this society based on the wear on everything. So far he was able to tell that the bandits had been down here for quite some time, and judging by the other tunnels leading out the entrance Tama used was only one of many.
Slowly he crept forward towards the edge of the rock shelf he was standing on to look down into the large village structure. It seemed to sink downwards; all focusing on a single point where a large statue was holding a small alter. He couldn't see it from this distance but for some reason Tama just knew that's where he would find the black chain link that the bandits was reported to be looking for.
He started to inch forward when he heard the sound of tired shuffling feet. Quickly he darted behind a barrel with a flame burning out of it and watched as ten, maybe fifteen, bandits of both genders began to shuffle down towards the statue. He watched in amazement as they all seemed to be drawn down towards the stone monument as if in some sort of trance. Once the group passed by the scientist slowly crept back towards the edge and bore witness to the entire village moving towards the center.
His curiosity perked the scientist reached into his robes to pull out an iron pocket watch that read that the time was 23:50 - very close to midnight. His bi-colored eyes peered down to watch as a black robed priest walked among the horde to 'bless' them by placing a smudge of something black on their foreheads before walking up to stand beside the statue where a small open area was.
"Brothers and sisters we gather here again tonight to pay tribute to the Meteor Hammer that has finally given us the strength to take back the desert from the other bandit tribes!" A cheer went up from the crowd,
"The Eventides and the Rax'nox both have a piece of the chain, but they have yet to work out how to open its power up! To sacrifice to it great power, that equal to that of an Ancient, we have the way to tapped into the dark energies and awakened our true power - our true potential!"
Another cheer went up from the crowd as Tama watched eagerly, his attention immediately caught completely when the priest mentioned sacrificing Ancient Energy; the rarest of all energy signatures. How on earth a bandit tribe managed to get their hands on a piece of the Black Chain, let alone ancient energy, was beyond the scientist - either one of those feats really should have been impossible. It told him that the bandit tribes out in the desert held a lot more ground than they had previously thought.
Another robed man appeared from the crowd carrying slowly up to the priest a black box with ancient runic symbols all across it. The box traded hands as the priest gently coaxed the runes into waking up by slipping a little chakra into them. The signets on the box began to glow an eerie red color before the top slid open to reveal a strong golden energy that lit up the cave and pulsed out a power that, when it hit Tama, nearly drove him from his hiding place.
It was his stolen chakra coil.
He had no idea what kind of sorcery had managed to place his stolen powers inside of a box, but once again found himself appreciating the genius of the late doctor that had stolen his inherited powers.
Calming himself down he watched as the priest climbed a small, nearly unnoticeable, staircase that spiraled up towards the alter. The robed man stopped at the top with the box and held it up high before beginning a chant that caused Tama's old powers to slowly filter out and sink into a small area on the stone table. A black glow began to emerge as it rose up in a compact ball of shadow that seemed to drink in all the light. Black streams of energy shot out of the orb and against the heads of everyone the priest marked.
A black and terrible transformation occurred with those affected with the dark energies as their bodies mutated into large humanoids with demonic features. Some held reptilian forms, some looked to be capable of flight and the scientist feared for his home village a little more now. A thundering cheer rose up from the weary bandits as they saw their salvation being created. The priest cackled as the energies absorbed out of the box continued to strength the creatures via the black orb.
Without a clue as to how to stop the ritual the scientist helplessly watched as his lost powers were being fed to a bandit tribe when he noticed the little golden ball of light being sucked into the black orb. The scientist's eyes widened before he scooted back quickly and covered his hands over his head.
When the ball of light impacted against the black orb the energies destabilized and exploded the rays into harmful energies that caused the affected to explode into large pillars of flame that took chunks out of the bandit horde. The priest screamed as the chaotic energies began to tangle around him and melt his flesh Indiana Jones style.
Seeing it as a good distraction as any Tama activated his 3rd chakra coil and broke his body down into atoms to send it warping up next to the priest. He reformed just in time to keep himself from being sucked into the surrounding energies and created an edge of atom splitting chakra on his hand to chop at the black orb, completely destabilizing it and revealing the piece of black chain link that dropped down to the stone alter harmlessly.
The blonde then quickly tore away the box from the melting priests hands before flipping the lid closed on the box and injecting his chakra into the runes to lock the box once again. The deadly energies ceased to shake the world, but it was still too much for the cavern to handle. As a shake began to rock his footing, it motivates the scientist to get a move on.
In almost an instant the tribe in the cave was decimated all by accident. Tama gathered up the box and placed it in his robes then reached out to grab the black chain link. As his skin grazed the black smooth iron he felt his body freeze up. A dark presence within the metal glared at the scientist for daring to interrupt its feast. The shadow held him locked in place as the cave started to crumble now, using his multiple chakra coils against him by locking them all together. He hadn’t realized that such a creature with knowledge of the chakra system could exist with this power but here it was terrorizing his body. Something from an ancient time, be it the soul of a dark and powerful being or an actual demon, it still held the scientist down in a death grip.
It was a lone rock that saved the blonde's life as it dropped from the ceiling to smack him on the head, breaking him free of the genjutsu like mind trap enchanted into the iron. Rubbing the top of his head to try and keep the pain from knocking him out the scientist quickly tore off a piece of the priest’s burning robe and used it to scoop up the chain before breaking himself down and reforming back to the place he had entered to make a quick escape up the tunnels, blindly running into the walls while the cavern behind him collapsed into a thick wall.
A large explosion of dust blew out of the cave and into the storm outside as the entire structure fell, leaving nothing but the bare entrance to shield a traveler from the storm now. Coughing, the scientist huddled against the wall with the precious treasures he had discovered so far and panted wearily as the effects from the chain had worn him out. There was something dark and terrible laying in that iron, but what he couldn’t say. Exhaustion finally took him and he closed his eyes no longer caring what found him…
Falling asleep in that cave was the last thing the blonde remembered. From there on it was all one great big orange, red, and black blur. He had no memory of ever leaving the cave to search for the other chain links, but apparently he had. Three weeks after the event with the bandit tribe Ryuu Tama appeared at the entrance to Sunagakure looking like death with a host of wounds brought about from the terrible Maelstrom.
The chakra coil that gave his body a near infinite healing source was the only thing that kept him alive during those three weeks in the desert as the winds tore at his body. Very little was left of his metal cloth robes and for a week he laid in a coma muttering in a strange language.
When he finally did awaken from his slumber the first thing the scientist did was grab his notebook and a pen to beg to write down what appeared to be a novelization of his journey through the desert. He is still unsure of what dark force rested inside the chain pieces, but he knew from his dreams that if the metal was broken down and reformed it could create a brand new power source for Suna to take advantage of. At the same time, though, it could also accidentally unlock an ancient evil sealed away into the chains that had managed to possess Tama and guide his body across the desert to locate the remaining pieces.
One thing was for sure, the chain links were real. They were about the size of a full grown man’s hand and had ancient runes skittered across the edges, each telling an ancient story of how the Willbreaker was forged if anyone could actually read the dead language…
[WC = 2712]
[Topic Entered/Left]
[MFT]
It had taken some time to gather up all he needed to go searching out into the open air, and not all of it was supplies, per say.
Though he had conquered a lot of his fears, the idea of leaving his cozy cave home to go into the terrible destructive weather outside that had kept them in the dead creature frightened him a little. Tama of course was trying to create a way to get out of the cave via a grand invention, but it was still different in the fact that he would be inside the contraption instead of having to face the elements himself; the blonde still had very bad memories of the last time he had braved the open desert.
He had been a child back then, and then had barely survived by following what seemed to be a very deranged mother who had been forced into a corner. The Wind Country was the last place either one of them had wanted to try and make a home, but with Tengokai constantly on their tail they had little choice. Ironically not only did they survive the trek but the Maelstrom had done very well to keep his father out of the majority of Tama's life.
Yet here he was again, battling the swirling gusts of the nearby Maelstrom that made it hard to navigate anything out in the open sky. As anxious as he was the scientist knew of the vast importance of the mission that had been handed down to him in his little mission box. Wrapped up in thick cloth weaved from a light alloy metal the grey robed figure slowly made his way through the hidden paths, only stopping to take brief reprieves when the old map given to him showed him a cave. Even then he didn't really rest as each cave he stopped at he was forced to search, looking for a group of bandits with a piece of a dangerous chain link that could very well create another possessed monster like his father.
He wasn’t a fool, the young man was quite acquainted with old destructive weapons.
The mission read not to do anything but protect the pieces of the chain, but with the suggestion that someone might be in possession of a piece of an ancient weapon told him that situation needed to be handled before he went searching for the other pieces.
The blonde had a good idea where two other pieces were that the bandits hadn't found, but it was simply a guestimation based on legend and theory; it would also force him to enter a deeper part of the storm. The safe paths through the desert were very few, but any good researcher knew that the safe paths aren't always the most enlightening. Judging by when and where the weapon was last seen he could guess how far the storm and other desert elements had spread them but it also required him to know what kind of power the chains would pulse for him to know it was there - yet another reason to bug a bandit nest.
Tama collapsed against the wall of the third cave he had finally found after an hour’s worth of searching through the paths. Twice he had almost fallen into a dead end that would have left him lost and wondering till death, but had somehow managed to make sense of that map at the last second.
Night had fallen completely and the cold air drove him to seek shelter from the now blizzard like winds as the sudden cooling of the desert forced the warm-blooded creatures like him to seek warmth and shelter. He had thought to struggle on for a bit into the night since there was another shelter not too far from this one, but would be no continuing tonight unless he had a heat generator; and that wasn't something he figured into his budget. The only chance he had at survival now as the cold continued to creep into the cave entrance was to explore for bandits, find a nice nesting spot, and make a fire for the night. Pulling off the metallic cloth from his face and stuffing his gloves into his belt the shinobi scientist placed his palms together to focus a small amount of chakra into his hand that, after a little nature bending, became visible in the form of a small golden orb. Lifting his left hand into the air the orb levitated from his palm and up into the air to act as a guiding beacon he could use to traverse the cave.
This cave went deep in comparison to the last two as he traveled a little further and further underground. The golden light bobbed back and forth through the tunnel guiding the researcher as he used the wall to hold up his tired frame. For twelve straight hours Tama had traversed the gusty perils outside and all he wanted now was to rest for a moment. Yet the golden light continued to bob onwards around the corner beckoning the scientist to follow. He knew that resting without knowing his surroundings was foolish for he knew the moment he stopped his body would shut down and go into sleep; his blurry vision told him so.
So onward he went towards the small light as he turned the corner, noticing quickly that the small light was growing larger down the tunnel. Smells and small sounds began to whisper in his ear of activity below and the shinobi quickly caught his second wind as he crouched down and made his way slowly towards the growing light.
Once past the entrance the light showed itself in the form of campfires and large torches as he happened not upon just camp of bandits, but an entire freaking village. His eyes slowly looked around the cave and took note of the buildings, tents, and the age of this society based on the wear on everything. So far he was able to tell that the bandits had been down here for quite some time, and judging by the other tunnels leading out the entrance Tama used was only one of many.
Slowly he crept forward towards the edge of the rock shelf he was standing on to look down into the large village structure. It seemed to sink downwards; all focusing on a single point where a large statue was holding a small alter. He couldn't see it from this distance but for some reason Tama just knew that's where he would find the black chain link that the bandits was reported to be looking for.
He started to inch forward when he heard the sound of tired shuffling feet. Quickly he darted behind a barrel with a flame burning out of it and watched as ten, maybe fifteen, bandits of both genders began to shuffle down towards the statue. He watched in amazement as they all seemed to be drawn down towards the stone monument as if in some sort of trance. Once the group passed by the scientist slowly crept back towards the edge and bore witness to the entire village moving towards the center.
His curiosity perked the scientist reached into his robes to pull out an iron pocket watch that read that the time was 23:50 - very close to midnight. His bi-colored eyes peered down to watch as a black robed priest walked among the horde to 'bless' them by placing a smudge of something black on their foreheads before walking up to stand beside the statue where a small open area was.
"Brothers and sisters we gather here again tonight to pay tribute to the Meteor Hammer that has finally given us the strength to take back the desert from the other bandit tribes!" A cheer went up from the crowd,
"The Eventides and the Rax'nox both have a piece of the chain, but they have yet to work out how to open its power up! To sacrifice to it great power, that equal to that of an Ancient, we have the way to tapped into the dark energies and awakened our true power - our true potential!"
Another cheer went up from the crowd as Tama watched eagerly, his attention immediately caught completely when the priest mentioned sacrificing Ancient Energy; the rarest of all energy signatures. How on earth a bandit tribe managed to get their hands on a piece of the Black Chain, let alone ancient energy, was beyond the scientist - either one of those feats really should have been impossible. It told him that the bandit tribes out in the desert held a lot more ground than they had previously thought.
Another robed man appeared from the crowd carrying slowly up to the priest a black box with ancient runic symbols all across it. The box traded hands as the priest gently coaxed the runes into waking up by slipping a little chakra into them. The signets on the box began to glow an eerie red color before the top slid open to reveal a strong golden energy that lit up the cave and pulsed out a power that, when it hit Tama, nearly drove him from his hiding place.
It was his stolen chakra coil.
He had no idea what kind of sorcery had managed to place his stolen powers inside of a box, but once again found himself appreciating the genius of the late doctor that had stolen his inherited powers.
Calming himself down he watched as the priest climbed a small, nearly unnoticeable, staircase that spiraled up towards the alter. The robed man stopped at the top with the box and held it up high before beginning a chant that caused Tama's old powers to slowly filter out and sink into a small area on the stone table. A black glow began to emerge as it rose up in a compact ball of shadow that seemed to drink in all the light. Black streams of energy shot out of the orb and against the heads of everyone the priest marked.
A black and terrible transformation occurred with those affected with the dark energies as their bodies mutated into large humanoids with demonic features. Some held reptilian forms, some looked to be capable of flight and the scientist feared for his home village a little more now. A thundering cheer rose up from the weary bandits as they saw their salvation being created. The priest cackled as the energies absorbed out of the box continued to strength the creatures via the black orb.
Without a clue as to how to stop the ritual the scientist helplessly watched as his lost powers were being fed to a bandit tribe when he noticed the little golden ball of light being sucked into the black orb. The scientist's eyes widened before he scooted back quickly and covered his hands over his head.
When the ball of light impacted against the black orb the energies destabilized and exploded the rays into harmful energies that caused the affected to explode into large pillars of flame that took chunks out of the bandit horde. The priest screamed as the chaotic energies began to tangle around him and melt his flesh Indiana Jones style.
Seeing it as a good distraction as any Tama activated his 3rd chakra coil and broke his body down into atoms to send it warping up next to the priest. He reformed just in time to keep himself from being sucked into the surrounding energies and created an edge of atom splitting chakra on his hand to chop at the black orb, completely destabilizing it and revealing the piece of black chain link that dropped down to the stone alter harmlessly.
The blonde then quickly tore away the box from the melting priests hands before flipping the lid closed on the box and injecting his chakra into the runes to lock the box once again. The deadly energies ceased to shake the world, but it was still too much for the cavern to handle. As a shake began to rock his footing, it motivates the scientist to get a move on.
In almost an instant the tribe in the cave was decimated all by accident. Tama gathered up the box and placed it in his robes then reached out to grab the black chain link. As his skin grazed the black smooth iron he felt his body freeze up. A dark presence within the metal glared at the scientist for daring to interrupt its feast. The shadow held him locked in place as the cave started to crumble now, using his multiple chakra coils against him by locking them all together. He hadn’t realized that such a creature with knowledge of the chakra system could exist with this power but here it was terrorizing his body. Something from an ancient time, be it the soul of a dark and powerful being or an actual demon, it still held the scientist down in a death grip.
It was a lone rock that saved the blonde's life as it dropped from the ceiling to smack him on the head, breaking him free of the genjutsu like mind trap enchanted into the iron. Rubbing the top of his head to try and keep the pain from knocking him out the scientist quickly tore off a piece of the priest’s burning robe and used it to scoop up the chain before breaking himself down and reforming back to the place he had entered to make a quick escape up the tunnels, blindly running into the walls while the cavern behind him collapsed into a thick wall.
A large explosion of dust blew out of the cave and into the storm outside as the entire structure fell, leaving nothing but the bare entrance to shield a traveler from the storm now. Coughing, the scientist huddled against the wall with the precious treasures he had discovered so far and panted wearily as the effects from the chain had worn him out. There was something dark and terrible laying in that iron, but what he couldn’t say. Exhaustion finally took him and he closed his eyes no longer caring what found him…
Three Weeks Later
Falling asleep in that cave was the last thing the blonde remembered. From there on it was all one great big orange, red, and black blur. He had no memory of ever leaving the cave to search for the other chain links, but apparently he had. Three weeks after the event with the bandit tribe Ryuu Tama appeared at the entrance to Sunagakure looking like death with a host of wounds brought about from the terrible Maelstrom.
The chakra coil that gave his body a near infinite healing source was the only thing that kept him alive during those three weeks in the desert as the winds tore at his body. Very little was left of his metal cloth robes and for a week he laid in a coma muttering in a strange language.
When he finally did awaken from his slumber the first thing the scientist did was grab his notebook and a pen to beg to write down what appeared to be a novelization of his journey through the desert. He is still unsure of what dark force rested inside the chain pieces, but he knew from his dreams that if the metal was broken down and reformed it could create a brand new power source for Suna to take advantage of. At the same time, though, it could also accidentally unlock an ancient evil sealed away into the chains that had managed to possess Tama and guide his body across the desert to locate the remaining pieces.
One thing was for sure, the chain links were real. They were about the size of a full grown man’s hand and had ancient runes skittered across the edges, each telling an ancient story of how the Willbreaker was forged if anyone could actually read the dead language…
[WC = 2712]
[Topic Entered/Left]
[MFT]