Fantasy Legends of Paozu

[Agent23]

Warlord of the Wilderness
Borderlands, Town of Karthus.

The massive man stood atop the hill with a look of melancholy adorning his face. The fourth town in as many days and still no worthy foes were there. Sure he could just go back to sparring with Jin, she was making huge improvements after all, but he had a hankering for a new kind of battle. To his left Nona sat upon her horse and spoke "We are here. Now what would you have us do Wise Lord Ghett?" he rolled his eyes absolutely hating the was she stroked his ego in front of his men. Behind him each of the 16 Warrior wives all simultaneously shifted their eyes to him awaiting his orders. He looked to either side spotting his hundreds of men, horses stamping nervously beneath them as if sensing the coming chaos. Down the hill sat the town likely aware of their presence by now, a scout had spotted them a few miles back and while His fourth wife Tatiana wanted to snipe the young man as he rode back to the town Ghett stopped her. It was no fun for the town to be unprepared. Finally his gaze landed upon the town itself where he could faintly make out the figures of several armor clad men getting themselves ready. "How many are there?" he said flatly to Nona who seemed to gaze at the town for a bit as if zoning out. "Seventy seven of them seem to posses some decent chi...but i assume you arent talking about decent. I only see three possibly four who have levels worth noting though none will need your direct attention from what i see." her tone was knowing as if she knew what came next.

The warlord looked at the town again with disappointment. "Curses...then just bring me the strongest one...alive this time. Someone will face me today, who it is depends upon you all here." a look of worry washed over the faces of most within earshot, Nona and Jin being exceptions with the warrior wives masks hiding any emotions they may have felt at the time. He lifted his right hand and at once the entire small army straightened up and fell silent readying for the charge. "Do not disappoint me, im in no mood for bad news today." his voice carried far and before any reply came he dropped his arm into pointing at the town. At once the charge began with the battle cries roar filling the air as hundreds of men and horses charged downhill at the town. Each of the 16 wives seemed to vanish into the shadows. Only three would remain on the Hill. Ghett, Nona, And Jin, However the Warlord turned his back to the town beginning to walk back towards the camp a few miles away. "Jin your in charge...make sure you keep that fountain in the square intact...i kinda like it." with that the giant man began his trek down the other side of the hill no longer interested in the one sided battle that was about to unfold below.

Yokai Amiko Ieno
The Yokai's Spire, Western coast of Yangzee.

The most powerful woman in the world entered a room filled with the rambunctious sounds of her students eating, each of them placing among the top ten most powerful people in their own right...the amount of hi in that room alone could knock weaker beings into a coma just from feeling it. The Yokai stopped placing her hands on her hips with a coy smile she managed to look about as unassuming as any mother would. She wasnt upset in the slightest just surprised it was still going on. "When you are finished with your games and your meal i have a task for the four of you...the time for training has officially passed. It is now time for us to act." Rather than leaving the room she would drop down crossing her legs and closing her eyes, meaning she expected them to meet her in the astral realm she had taught them to access through meditation.

The astral realm was a bright tapestry of colors and abstract shapes, but as soon as she entered it the realm shimmered and shifted as she used her psychic presence to shape the world into a clean room with five mats spread around a purplish flame. Slowly she added a few things here and there. Wood panels for the floor, a large garden just outside, and windows to view it. Lastly she added a few torches to illuminate the room. Once she was content with the room she placed a mirror in the back wall and smiled a bit when she saw herself, here her illusions were not in effect and she was happy to see that wrinkled as she was ,with her silvery hair and sagging skin, she still had much of the same beauty of her youth, even still those wrinkles wouldn't do and she went to work smoothing them out and crafting an illusion to match her appearance here to what it was out in ths real world. Now completed she would wait on her children hoping that they wouldn't leave her waiting for too long.

The Ao Siblings
The Southern Forests of Yangzee.

Amaterasu hummed as she walked occasionally stooping down to pick up a decent sized stick here and there. After she had a good enough bundle she began to walk back to where her brother waited. She was painfully aware of his position as the animals who followed her singing their sweet songs quickly fell silent and found somewhere else to go as they neared the older sibling. Tsukiyomi sat around a circle of stones he made wiping a rabbits blood from his sword. When his sister approached he shifted his gaze up to her. A smile came to his face but both he and his sister knew it was not genuine. "I don't know why you even do that...it just looks weird on you." She said in a joking tone. "My apologies sister, it is a force of habit now." he said , the smile fading as he rose to take the wood his sister had gathered and stacked it into a pyramid. After digging around on the forest floor for a few moments he found a stone and using leaves as tinder struck the stone with the metal tip of his swords sheathe. It took a few strikes but he did eventually send sparks onto the tinder and in a few moments they had a fire and Tsukiyomi began to cook their dinner.

The two of them would sit for several hours feasting upon their rabbit and some berries and herbs Tsukiyomi had found while Amaterasu was gathering the firewood. After nearly an hour of Silence Amaterasu finally broke it asking "Tsuki...what if more of them come for us? What are we gonna do? Where do we go?" her voice seemed frantic and full of fear, and sadly Her brothers answer would do nothing to comfort her. "There is no doubt that more are already on their way and eventually they will find us...at which point i will kill them all down to the last man. All they send will fall until i myself do." it wasnt just what he said however that bothered her, it was the nonchalant way he said it, even without emotions she could tell how light or heavily something weighed on him. Much to her surprise the prospect of having to take more life didnt seem to bother him in the slightest. Having spent most of her sentient life trying to convince others that her brother wasnt a psycho or monster had her buying into it as well, but now she was beginning to doubt herself, after all if he would kill six men on her behalf how many would be too many? Twelve, twenty, a thousand? Saying nothing else she rolled over putting her back to the fire and weeping silently.

She wept for her parents, lovely people who made sacrifices to provide for them. She wept for her friends, the years spent with them destined to fade to memories as she knows she can never return. She wept for her town likely to be harassed for a long time after this. But mostly she wept for her brother, the dark path that he had once expressed the belief he was destined for, seemed the very path they were walking now and there was nothing she could do about it. She was just greatful that her sobs were to low for Tsukiyomi to hear...or at least she thought so. In reality Tsukiyomi heard them all to well but rather than feeling any sympathy and trying to comfort her , he simply tuned it out and kept his eyes and ears scanning the woods around them, sword in hand ready to strike down any who approached.

Feng Bantu
Yangzee Ancient fair grounds

The elderly emperor slowly bobbed his head to the beat of the hundreds of ceremonial drums that beat out the epic battle rhythm for the third time today marking the completion of the area's. Each year this ceremony was held and the mightiest of warriors in all of Yangzee would compete for the opportunity to be given a Lords Quest, which basically meant they would go off to do some impossible task and if successful they would be elevated to a position of extreme power and wealth within the empire itself. Though he had to admit on paper this current quest seemed trivial, yet he knew better than most that this was far from the case. This quest would be to bring the warlord of the wilderness to the emperor for peace talks. He puffed his long pipe one good time before tapping his staff on the pedestal beneath him. At once the pyramid he sat on came to a stop. With one final tap the teams of burly men who carried the house sized structure set it down and stood in a circle around the pyramid as the emperor stood to address the gathered fighters the drums falling silent as he reached his full height.

"You here are the kingdoms finest warriors, budding young prodigies, wizened veterans, both military and Civilian. However great as you all are, i only need one. Before you there are eight stone stages. You may notice they each have four corners, i will only take the 32 who stand on each of these corners as the tournaments contestants. You have one hour to decide amongst yourselves who will be on each corner, consider this the preliminaries. Conserve your power if possible, as soon as the hour passes we will begin the first round."

Upon finishing his speech he lifted his right hand and the sound of a single loud gong announced the battle royal that would be the preliminaries. Hundreds of warriors fighting to fill 32 positions. Luckily for all involved this was a place where weapons and armor would not be permitted. Even still the emperor couldn't help but feel sorry for the warriors who would meet their end here. The preliminaries always where the most blood is shed, even still this tradition existed long before him and was deeply ingrained into their culture, so he silently fulfilled his duty watching the warriors struggle below and silently praying to Yang for their protection.


Jin Akinara
Capitol city of Aki

From the central spire of the palace Jin could see the majority of the city, the perks of having a palace built on a hill, and the very reason it was selected as the capitol location after all the first emperor of Yinsig was a master of the bow and a protector of his people. Jin did not use a bow, the people he protected were too numerous and the city to large for all but the finest of bows to hit. Jin's weapon milled about the street in perfect step and formation, the mighty armies of Yinsig were the bow that he would use to protect his people, though he was only approaching his first year as emperor he had almost doubled the might of the army by getting rid of excess expenditures on amenities he could afford to pay soldiers more resulting in a flood of recruitment from the poorer parts of the country, which due to his fathers own lazy and lavish style of governance there were plenty. It was a boon all around, more troops and less poor everybody wins. Many assumed it was to take revenge on the warlord for killing his father, but in truth he was partially glad that oaf was gone he was nearing the point of doing it himself but the warlord did the job for him. If anything he was grateful to the brute, he would nonetheless be dealt with in short order after all the savage had taken a large chunk of land from Yangzee and crushing the rebels and taking all of it would be greatly beneficial.

A smile spread across his face as he thought of the coming prosperity. Yet a shuffling behind him caught his attention and he turned to see a servant holding a letter with the seal of the high council. "Of course those old fools want to speak to me, i probably should have told them about the drills." He said nor expecting any answer from the servant. Sure enough the letter stated that they wanted to meet with him to discuss the future of the empire. He had still not forgiven them for the whole arranged marriage thing they whipped up. They told the public about it before him and made it seem as if it were his idea, he would've looked like a foolish child had he declined and they knew it. The military drills were a show of force in more than one way, by making sure none of them heard anything about it he was showing them that he too could play the political games...but when he played swords came out. Smiling he tossed the paper back to the servant and dismissed him before going to meeting room where his high council, and no doubt his future wife would be.


​

 

[Seraph Darkfire]

Various types of food had been shoved into Suvon's mouth. The raw ferocity he possessed when he ate and fought for his food was only matched by the ferocity he had when actually fighting someone. There was even the belief that the two separate events weren't entirely so in his mind. He barely even faltered or slowed down when their Master entered the room and began speaking to them. He grinned and brought both his hands down onto the table, sending a ripple of chi that caused the entire object to upend itself. Food from all over shot into the air and he bolted forwards. His bulky frame belied the grace and majesty he used to twirl through the air and snatch any food not immediately stolen by his fellow Disciples before landed near his Master and taking a seat. His mirth seemed to drain out of him for a moment, though the cocky grin on his face didn't recede. He hated entering the Astral Realm. It required him to remain still and focused, concepts he was difficult to grasp.

He didn't cross his legs or enter a meditative pose, he instead just sat there for a moment breathing as he digested his food, his fingers gently caressing the tip of his tail, making small drawing motions. His eyes slowly shut and the world fell away. He didn't meditate by being introspective, he meditated by focusing on something entirely different, such as when he was painting.

With a *poof* he appeared in the Astral Realm, though definitely not as he appeared in the physical realm. He grinned as he bounced around the room his Master had created "Master!" he laughed as he did "While we wait for the others, lets get in a quick spar!" a staff appeared in his hands as he twirled it as he tumbled around the room like a child.

 

[LadyOfStars]

Haruki
Fox Guardian

As usual meal time had been a battle of the disciples with Suvon of course being the instigator and this time the winner. It was normal for the Onmyoji to eat very little, even less though when at the table with his fellow students. Fighting over food was something he’d grown accustomed to but still didn’t look forward to. Society would perhaps...no definitely call Suvon a savage, barbarian, animal. All things that Haruki was certain his peer would take as compliments. Seated at the table, his kimono fanned out behind him, Haruki glanced up from the mess to spot their sensei as she entered the room. The awe he felt upon seeing her had worn off years ago, but seeing her did instill a bit of excitement in Haruki as she never acted without purpose. No matter how small the goal.

When the table and all its possessions were launched into the air Haruki sighed and slid backwards a little so as to avoid any falling food or furniture. Dull moments were few and far between with Suvon and his comrades present. Haruki had known such rowdy people prior to his apprenticeship and somehow it was comforting to still have similar people in his life.

“Can this be considered a game when we’re forced to participate?” His tone held a hint of amusement which contradicted the serious, straight-faced expression that Haruki wore. As the Yokai sat down and Suvon did the same, the Onmyoji followed. Laying his hands in his lap and closing his eyes, Haruki exhaled heavily and let his body relax. He didn’t rush into the world though as he knew his master and knew she would take time to arrange a cozy scene. Instead he thought of the things he wanted to keep from his mind. People he didn’t want to think of.

Once the garden took shape and Suvon began his next spectacle, Haruki entered the astral plane. His silhouette darkened by the exterior light as he entered from the garden to see the form Suvon chose to take. “Why am I not surprised? We are finally breaking away from the traditional routine of training and you take an absurd form and challenge our master.” Haruki’s hair, kimono, and haori trailed behind him as he made his way to the empty cushion beside the Yokai. “Master please ignore Suvon and tell us what it is you need us to do.” His gaze settled upon the woman who had also altered her appearance within the astral plane. He didn’t see the point, but he wouldn’t argue.

Equipment:
2x Barrier Charms
4x Healing Charms
2x Sealing Tags

Agent23 Seraph Darkfire Fill SilverFlight

 

[SilverFlight]

Su-li

Su-li never got tired of mealtimes. He was getting faster. This time he managed to swipe a good number of his favourite dumplings, shoving them in his mouth before Suvon could gobble them up. There had been a few bouts, which Su-li engaged in happily, saving the dished from being broken too. Master Ieno entered the room and he immediately put his hands together before him in a formal bow.

"Master." He stayed like that for only a split second however as Suvon pounded the table and the blitz round was on. Su-li caught the last of the dumplings, and left Suvon unchallenged for the rest.
Laughing he ran to sit, brushing the trim of his robe out from under his knees. Meditation came easily to him and he slipped into the astral realm as easily as he got out of bed in the morning.

Suvon was leaping about as expected.
"Your stomach will defeat you before Master Ieno has a chance if you keep jumping like that. You just cleared half the table!" Su-li laughed.
He saved a bright smile for Haruki. "Master will probably need you to babysit, as per the norm."
In truth, Su-li was nervous about this meeting. He knew the master was going to ask them to do something, but for the most part, Su-li had not been permitted to go. He hoped against hope he would be permitted this time. He had dedicated so much time and energy to mastering all he had been taught. He was ready. He just knew it.

LadyOfStars Seraph Darkfire

~~~

Jin

Jin looked on, her expression plane as stone as the warlord's forces began to move on the town. She did not look round to any of them as they spoke. She listened, but gave no indication.

Her thoughts drifted back to her fight with Ghett. She had never experienced such incredible force, and such complete lack of technique. Was it even possible for a human to become that strong without discipline? The answer to that question scared her. Still, Ghett was not omnipotent at least, but for now, he was the strongest, which meant he made the rules. It was hard for Jin to consider her present employment any different from her last one, save for she had just a bit more control over her own day to day life. The work was the same however, less conniving and back-alley brawls and more systematic destruction. She still was not sure she believed in what Ghett was doing, but for most of her life, her own beliefs had not mattered a lick.

Ghett gave his orders and she inclined her head.
"Yes lord." Was all she said before spurring her horse on.
Any who resisted were killed out right. Jin worked the force to take the provisions they needed to run the army, and anyone who fought too close to the fountain was struck hard as a warning.

There didn't seem to be anyone that would amuse their warlord for even a moment and just then a small explosion erupted from one of the huts.
A man rolled away from the smoke and was up again, quick as a rat. With three strikes he left three men dead and with one flick of his wrist another explosion echoed across the square. He would have killed many more soldiers if Jin hadn't intervened. They exchanged blows briefly, each gauging the other's strength, and it was Jin who let up first.

"Get the Hell out of my home." The man demanded. He was thin and lithe, but possessed enough power for Jin to be wary.
"You want to protect this place." It was a statement. Jin, never asked questions. When she was young, questions got her beaten, so she learned to ask everything in the form of statements.
The man nodded slowly, he eyed the elderly, women and children, caught or half beaten, most of the soldiers in the square had stopped to watch the fight.
Jin did not loom at them as the silence began to fill the space.

"Come with me, and we let them go." She gestured to the villagers.
The man didn't move. Jin snapped at the soldiers to her left and they released the people they had captive.
"They all go."

The man scowled at Jin, tossing a savage look to her men. "Fine."
The solders reluctantly started carrying out Jin's orders. "Is that wise general? Ghett might not--"
"Not your problem." Jin cut the soldier off. "Just follow orders."
At length, Jin marched the gunpowder martial artist back up the hill to meet their warlord.

Agent23 ((lemme know if this is too much))

 

[Fill]

*"Dialogue"
**Inner dialogue.
***Master Yoshi inner dialogue.

These were tumultuous times. Two nations in conflict. A rising warlord to upset the balance of power. Rumors of the twin reincarnations of the dead god Ao. Any one of these would be troubling enough indeed for the world alone, but for all three to occur simultaneously was another matter. For any lesser man, it would seem to be an issue reserved for anyone but themselves. For greater men, it was a test of their fortitude and courage in these trying times.

For a certain man, however, the worst problem plaguing was that he overslept. Again. This was starting to become a bad habit, but, at this point, he could not really help it. After a quick bite and packing his twin bags and tossing them over his shoulder, Daiwa got into a running stance, kicking away dirt as he sped forward. If he hurried, maybe he could make it to the tournament on time. He had been traveling down in Yinsig to gather some tea and herbs he could not find in Yangzee and had been meaning to make a return as quickly as possible. His tardiness had been caused by his few additional hours of sleep, and now he was afraid he may miss his chance completely.

C'mon! Move it! Master Yoshi would kill me for being late. Dammit!

Deep imprints of his unsandaled feet would be left as he took the main paths and dust and various debris was kicked up a storm behind him as he continued along his path. The wind greeted his face and he smiled as he bounded off a few trees before resuming his trek. He always loved running like this, hopping around in the woods. Not a care in the world.

That blissfulness lasted a full second before he heard the sound of warfare. Screams. Panic. Pain. If he had not been sprinting before, he did now.

Arriving at the outskirts of the area the village was in, Daiwa caught a glimpse of the carnage. Soldiers attacking and capturing men, women, and children, killing any who resisted.

The blood inside Daiwa began to boil. The tournament did not matter any more. These people did. Someone was tearing apart their home.

And he was not going to stand for it. No, he was going to stop them.

A quick sensory pulse of chi escaped him, allowing him to ascertain the positions of the various soldiers and villagers. The ones who were running away had to be the villagers. The ones who were running after those villagers and into their homes were his targets.

Sprinting through the entrance, he launched himself at the nearest soldier.

From there on, he took the fight to them.

All the first soldier would see was the bokken taichi. The next would see his fist. The third, the ground. Another, his foot.

The last one caught Daiwa’s masked face before being promptly put sleep.

"What the hell is going on?"

Daiwa huffed through his scarf. He should be interrogating a few of them, but, with so many of them and the number of people who needed his help, he did not have the time to waste. Right now, all he could do was fight until he was the last man standing.

Thanks to his earlier efforts, a small group of the village people had been saved. Now, he had to get them out of here.

"Everyone head to over there, that ridge with the trees. Stay together and don’t stop running until you find the nearest village or a main road. Warn anyone you see. Go!"

As they left the village, Daiwa coughed a few times before he went further into its depths. More soldiers. More fights. While he had killed none of the soldiers, only incapacitating those he had stumbled upon, the soldiers had not returned the favor in kind in regards to the village and its people. The odd detail however was the fact none of the villagers had been killed so far, only the soldiers guarding the small town. Interesting but not enough so for him to give it more than a passing thought. He had more important issues to deal with.

He saw a pair of the same warriors surrounding a young girl. Twin hands slammed into the back of their necks, resulting in instant unconsciousness for the pair. He reached his hand out towards the child. She had not been much too old and small in stature.

"Pft. Two of them picking on a sweet girl like you? What a bunch of weaklings, am I right? Pretty sure ya’ could’ve-," he smirked behind the scarf as he tried cracking a bit of humor, but soon the jovial attitude soon vanished.

A small hand greeted his own, callused and scarred, before the child slammed into his body, hugging and crying. He lowered himself and returned the hug in kind, patting and rubbing her back.

"Hey hey hey. It’s okay. Everything's gonna be okay. Where are your parents? I’ll make sure these people don’t hurt anyone else. Okay?"

A meek answer returned.

I don’t know.

Daiwa sighed. These people were going to pay. All these people wanted was peace so they could live their lives. And always the children were the ones to suffer the most.

"Then, we’ll find them. You can count on me."

Shifting his wood katana into his left hand and sitting its blade against and along his shoulder, still carrying his twin bags, while his right grabbed hold of the child and lifted her up, cupping her in his arm as he continued his trek forward. He could not leave her behind or tell her to run off. No telling what could happen to the child if he left her to fend on her own or even if she had been able to catch up with the other villagers he had freed earlier.

Another pulse of sensory chi. It appeared a number of the marauders were in the town square, and there were a number of villagers fleeing the area. A few passed by him, but he strode forward. He sent another pulse of sensory chi. If her parents were around, their chi would be similar to the child's, but, so far, he could not find anything. He tried asking her a few times, pointing a few people out, but each time was met with a negative response. Daiwa frowned and stopped asking. It must have been hard on her. He would find them. Somehow.

He strode calmly into the square, carrying the child in his arm. His gaze was stern as he peered into each and every one of the marauder’s eyes as a grim smirk would grace Daiwa's lips under his cloth mask. He coughed a few times before speaking.

"Attention idiots. I'm not in a generous mood, so I'll say this once,” he declared, loud enough for each and every soldier in the plaza, "Surrender now, leave this village, and never return, or I send each and every one of you crying home to your mothers. Or worse."

None of them had the adequate chi to take him on one-on-one, much more a hundred- or even a thousand-to-one. And with the amount of chi and anger pumping through his veins, it might as well have taken an army or two to abate the flame of righteous rage in Daiwa's heart. He was giving them one chance, and one chance only to think about this, turn, and walk away without any serious consequences or repercussions.

But only one.