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Post by Hida Tetsuko on Sept 11, 2018 16:13:58 GMT 10
This story is not mine but James Geraci’s as part of the Rokugan Go game. It is posted with permission.
So the context, Akodo Toturi has been possessed by Ambition which was given to him by Yajinden himself when Toturi was kidnapped. Since then he has been super paranoid, seeing plots everywhere by the Crane. He takes a 50+ army to Otosan Uchi...as the Emerald Champion Kakita Kaiten opens the Third Black Scroll, destroying the city and everyone in it...
It was to be ours, it was MEANT to be ours, how dare they... HOW DARE THEY
Matsu Tsuko rushed through the camp, in the distance the smoke of the burning capital rose in the distance. She didn't know what to feel, horror at the death of the capital, despair at her fallen kin, or concern at what news she had received. Of the few survivors of the explosion, her champion was reported to be alive, but the condition could only be called alive in the slimmest terms.
As she approached the Akodo tent, medical staff come in and out of the tent. They bow and inform the Matsu Daimyo that he will live, his body will survive, but they whisper that the man... the man is changed. He survived, untainted due to a single Blessed Jade found clutched in his left hand, offering the piece of heavenly perfection to Tsuko. They hurried away from the door to let Tsuko enter, some whispering prayers to Kami, but all warning her that he is not well.
She enters the tent to find it dark, with a few candles burning on the left table. Pieces of armor lay strewn across the table, its form irreversibly changed, as if the golden plate melted across its surface, burned red by the flames. Torn flesh, freshly ripped off with the armor shows the horror of it all, that his armor had melted to his very flesh. The stench of burned skin, of blood and pus and death washed over her senses, a horror even her training were insufficient to deal his.
"Tsuko..." A voice echos in the darkness.
She turns and gazes into the black, recognizing the wheezing voice. Her eyes make out a figure seated in the throne at the back of the tent, overlooking the war table.
"Toturi, what happened to..."
"They took it from us, they took it ALL from us."
The form shifted in his seat, what tiny light from the candles showed a single eye reflecting in the darkness.
"We were to be the hand, the defense of the throne. It was right there, in front of us. Our armies were marching in, our forces securing the guardianship from those failures among the Seppun, from that fool who thought wearing emerald gave him our birthright at the emperor's side." The fallen lord coughed from broken lungs, pausing to spit blood on the table in front of him in a spasm of pain.
"My lord, what are you saying? The capital is lost, but we can still save the empire, we can still-"
The room ignited as Toturi drove his blade into the war table. The blade itself comes alive with a flash, burning a blue flame that crackled as if shrieking. The flames revealed the Lion, his burned skin, dotted by molten gold fused into his body. His single remaining eye, rimmed with blood looked out at the warrior in front of him, the other gone from the blaze. Though his body looks broken, that single eye stares with a fire inside, the fire of hatred, of thirst for a justice that cannot be sated.
“There is no saving of the empire Tsuko, there is no patience, there is no time. I gave them all time, I gave them all my faith, and they have tarnished it, abandoned it… betrayed it.”
Matsu Tsuko recoils in shock, gazing in a mix of fear and reverence at the man before here. No longer stood before her the monk raised scholar, the lesser brother, the slow acting boy. Before her stood a burning avatar of rage, the embodiment of some primordial emotion long lost to the people of Rokugan, wakened by trauma and despair. He was now more then he was before, more then his older brother. As if drawn to that flame Tsuko felt herself kneel.
“What then my Lord? What are the wishes of Akodo Toturi?”
At the mention of his name Toturi twisted the blade in the table, like he would twist a knife in a wound. The flames of the blade roar out from this action and the table cracks in half, its pieces succumbing to the flames.
“Akodo Toturi is dead, only Toturi remains… and what I want Tsuko, what I desire, is vengeance.”
He holds up the burning blade, its flames intensifying as he stares into it’s brilliance. Tsuko had to look away, the brightness near blinding her.
“I was given this blade to push me to do what others thought impossible. We waited and waited, we planned and planned, and right as we were to achieve our goals we were denied. If we could not save our emperor, save our empire… we will avenge it.”
Tsuko remained kneeling, eyes averted as she heard the man rise from his chair. He walked forward and with him the heat of his rage burned through the sword passed over her like a wave.
“Rise daughter of Matsu, rise and join me.”
She rose from her position, looking again into the eye of her champion. He looked golden red in the flames, his burned skin forever marking him with scars.
“What is your bidding, Lord Toturi, the Matsu stand with you.”
His face sits as a mask of stone, his eye being the only betrayal of the devotion within.
“Send for scrolls and ink and make ready the messengers. I, Toturi the Red hereby claim the title of Shogun. I declare that I will find the enemy, break their armies, scorch their lands and remind them of why the Lion are a clan to be feared. The fallen Emperor, his worm of a champion and any wretches that dare stand between me and my vengeance will burn in the fires of my Ambition. Then, rally our men, rally the survivors of the empire and I will lead us on a quest of legend.
“We shall march to slay a God.”
Within the mind of Toturi, the voice of his blade, once subtle and planning now roars like an inferno. A cacophony of hatred and rage, the fruits of denying Ambition its due. It feeds off of its masters fury, directing it all at those that denied it. It desired to place its master at his highest, and was denied. It now desires blood, and it will never tolerate failure again.
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Post by Hida Tetsuko on Sept 13, 2018 21:23:59 GMT 10
Toturi walks back and forward in his tent, checking maps, writing orders, occasionally pausing for moments that seem to last for eternities, like he has to will himself back into action.
The Deathseekers that guard the doors part to allow the Master of Void to enter, their white mempos hiding all expression.
Isawa Ujina arrives by rounding a corner into view. None actually saw him journey into the camp and he bring with him no attendants or servants. Just a stooped old man with a cane, struggling his best to make it the last few yards.
As he enters, he bows as low as he can manage, a gnarled shaking hand gripping hard on the stick that gives him balance.
"Forgive me, Shogun-sama. I cannot give you the proper respect that you deserve."
"Forgive me Isawa-sama, I deserve no respect. Any honour goes to you." Toturi turns to face him. "Why have you come? This camp isn’t fit for one your age."
Ujina does not shrink back from Toturi's appearance, though his expression is one of sadness. "I have come to save an empire, I hope that I am not too late. The Void murmurs to me that there is yet something that I can do."
"And what would that be?" Toturi asks
"To help you, my son." Ujina’s eyes glimmer black, a star shooting behind and between them. "I do not mean to be cryptic." He waves his free gnarled hand. "I tried before to help you, and I was unable to do so. I have come again to finish what I started."
"Help me? Have you brought armies? Have you brought weapons?" Toturi waves at the papers littering the floors, the walls. "This is the help I need, to burn them, to break them, to avenge them."
"What if I could bring you a clear mind, honed and focused. A samurai of immense glory and honour, trained his entire life for a singular purpose,” says Ujina. "Destroying the enemies of his empire."Ujina motions to the room as well. "A sword in the dark that stands brightly defiant in the darkness that surrounds it."
Toturi turns to the Master of Void, as if the old man struck the wrong cord. His face is rage incarnate. His voice almost seems to reverberate, as if two voices are speaking instead of one.
"Clear mind, we have a clear mind! We need not glory and honour, we TRIED glory and honour and LOOK AT THE RESULT!"
His hand shoots to his sheathed blade, holding it down as if holding it in its sheath. His blinking eye wavers, revealing the shaken mind inside.
Ujina’s did not move. "Kill me if you wish, I cannot stop you."
The flood of fury washes over the poor man, but his steadfastness works. Toturi pauses before drawing the blade, a look of true despair as he recognized what he was about to do.
He collapses to his knees.
"I-I'm sorry... I-I don’t..." He stammers for a response.
The Master of Void studies Toturi closely in this moment
Behind the damage of war and the stress of command, Ujina senses another influence, neither natural or good. A malevolent spirit, a kuei, and he is completely under its sway.
"Toturi-san, I see why my daughter loves you so. She needs you, the empire needs you. You fought it, bravely and stolidly until you had nothing left and then you kept fighting, " Ujina leans on his cane. "This is why I have come."
Ujina produces a set of impossibly black prayer beads from his sleeve and wraps them around his hand. He extends the hand palm out to Toturi revealing a seal that seems to shift and change. "Spirit, I speak to you now. Set this man free, he is not yours to control. This is not your body, not your place. I am Isawa Ujina, Master of the Void, seer of the unseen, knower of the unknowable."
Toturi’s body shakes, once, twice before the head jolting up, glaring into the old man.
"How DARE YOU!"
Toturi draws himself to his full height. He draws the blade, flaming and bright.
"I Am the pull that draws men to greatness, I AM the will to see that greatness fulfilled, I AM the reason this mortal lives, why this mortal fights!"
A wave of heat emits, so terrible that the papers, the furniture, the tent itself begin to catch blaze.
"I WAS the one to succeed, I WAS the one betrayed, I HELD this mortal soul in my grasp and THEY betrayed me! THEY must burn, THEY must bleed, THEY must suffer! And this instrument will be my avatar! We are bound in death, life, and purpose... He had his chance, now is MINE!"
He holds the sword out, the flame near blinding.
"I AM AMBITION INCARNATE! HOW DARE YOU DENY ME MY PRIZE!"
Toturi's voice roars, half man, half spirit.
Ujina does not even blink, his eyes now a mass of stars burning brightly against the fire. "A mistake, to give me your name."
The cane drops, and Ujina braces his beaded hand with his other, concentrating with all of his might. "I bind you Ambition. Return to your true form. Return from whence you came. Return and trouble this mind no longer." Ujina advances, his steps straining against the light.
Toturi, or what is him at the moment, gasps as it realizes its error. It screams, a loud and terrible wail.
It struggles to fight the Void. Its flames grow brighter and brighter, but they are nothing to the all and never invited by the Master. Soon the two are dwarfed by the cosmos surrounding them. Toturi shrinks under the power, the blade struggling for an opportunity before lashing out in a fit of fury, swinging one last time with Ambition as a death defying roar emits from the Lion. Those outside, hearing the conflict dive as the war tent erupts in flames, as deep blue as the oceans.
The blade stops, mere inches from the face of the old man. Toturi's left arm catching the right, like the man clawing control back of his own limbs.
"A curse on you Old Man, A curse on Toturi, A curse on you all... How Dare You... how dare you... how...dare...you...."
There is only the roar of the inferno, engulfed by the brilliance of the stars, before a single long sigh rips through the minds of all present.
The blue flames change, burning red, burning natural again.
In the center of the inferno stands the old man, and the broken lion, kneeling as he holds his blade. Its blue glow gone, only a pale white glistens off its surface.
Spurred to life, people around the camp start putting out the fire.
Ujin’sa breath comes in short spurts... he falls to his knees even as the stars leave his eyes. "You must... be rid... of it..." He crumples to the floor.
Toturi looks up, confused as if waking from a dream. "Father in law... what are you doing here? What am I... what happened?" He takes in the shock of where they were, the flames and the madness, as if experiencing them for the first time. Then he catches the gaze of the blade. he reaches for it, gazing into its sheen.
"I-I remember now, I remember fire, rage and pain. No more... no more."
It is all he says to the blade as he puts it back in its sheath. He reached for the old man, picking him up before walking from the flames.
"Rest my lord,” says Toturi. “I am me again, at least…what is left of me."
To the guards outside, desperate to stop the flames, they see their lord emerge from fire, carrying the Master of Void like a myth stepping out of legend, the mortal fears gone and a clarity in his eyes.
He strides to a nearby bench and puts the Master down gently.
Even as they attempt to put out the fires, they bow solemnly. A water shugenja quickly runs to Toturi’s side. "My Lord, you are injured, we still need you."
Toturi holds out his arm, allowing the shugenja access to his body while he addresses the crowds surrounding them.
“Assemble, the legion of the damned, draw our forces and be prepared to move at sunrise. I burn with the flame of my ancestors, we shall make our move before that flame goes out."
The Deathseekers rise and move to draw the legions and raise the banners.
After tending to their Champion's wounds, the shugenja examines the Master of Void. He shakes his head.
Toturi kneels to the old man, resting so peacefully on the bench. With gentle hands he opens the palm of the Master and leaves a single piece of Blessed Jade before closing his hand around it.
"You gave me back my eyes,” he says. “You gave me this last chance to do things right..."
The camp is silent, all realizing the sacrifice that must have happened. As more and more of Toturi's legion surround them, they watch the Lord of Lions, Toturi the Red, rise from his father in law’s side. His words are quiet, but carry across the crowd.
"He was just one of the sacrifices, one of many. More will be asked of us all, more will be demanded. The Lion will meet that demand..." He turns to face the crowd. His single eye watered and red as tears pour from it. He draws his blade again, but this time the flame glows not blue, but red, brighter and more brilliant. "Brothers, Sisters, Mothers, Fathers, Friends, Samurai, Lions!" The crowd tenses. Toturi raises the blade high. "FOR ISAWA UJINA, FOR ROKUGAN!" The roar of a thousand throats echoes into the night. The Lion is roused for his last war.
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Post by Hida Tetsuko on Oct 4, 2018 23:10:25 GMT 10
The war camp of the Lion is a rustle of moving men, preparation, and delegation. As Yoritomo is led to the center he sees the once mighty tent of the shogun a ruined and ash filled ground. A new tent has been raised inside the charred ring in the middle.
An army of Lion, bearing bone white armor and mempo signifying them as Deathseekers, hundreds of them, labor hard in deathly silence. The only sounds rising above the din are Ikoma bards, playing tales of fallen heroes and tragedies.
The Son of Storms is led to the captain's tent. The entrance of the tent is flung open as the Matsu Daimyo storms out. She looks at the arrived pirate, glares at him, then leaves off into the camp.
Inside the Lord of Lions, Toturi the Red, sits alone. The flags hung depict the Shoguns mon, a symbol few in Rokugan ever believed to actually see use.
Toturi motions for the Mantis to enter.
"Leave us, I must have words with the Son of Storms."
The Guards turn and leave
After surveying the scene, in the tent, Yoritomo replies with wariness. "It... appears you have... had troubles here Toturi-san, I.. appreciate the escort...I think.”
"Quite the opposite,” says Toturi. “I have had revelations."
His voice is no longer wrapped in rage, as if he has shed the monstrosity he was before. The smell of burnt flesh still lingers, but there is an insight within his single eye.
"Tell me, Storm Lord, what remains of your armies after the battle of the south?" Toturi asks
"The Isles have been very chaotic at late, I'm afraid I don't know, as most are still recoiling or trying to find even safe ground to sit on,” answers Yoritomo. “All I know is the size, eighty force, every man and woman who could hold a sword or spear or crew a ship. it nearly broke the clan—" He corrects. "—the people... But a beautiful woman told me if we can stand we can fight... if they can reach... a fight they will bring" He says, his tone changing from forlorn to serious.
Toturi walks over to the map hanging from the wall. He traces his fingers from their camp to the pit in the ruins of Otosan Uchi. "Tell me Yoritomo, you and your clan have given everything for us all. Just years before this you were nothing but a nuisance to us high born Great Clans. You were at best seen as irrelevant, at worst seen as vermin. Yet many of your detractors now are dead, or undead, and yet you remain. You had no obligation to leave your islands, you could have just let our ungrateful empire burn, but you stood firm sacrificing all you had, your very future for us." He looks at the Mantis, appraising him. "Tell me why?"
Yoritomo thinks for a moment, not an easy question to answer, remembering all that has happened in the past he grins "Always the easy questions i get asked, I'm probably not even the foremost authority on what I even do. "You could probably guess... and I can’t say honestly Toturi, that the thought didn't cross my mind... Graciously granted permission to attend court only to watch a paradox of fools who treat the past as if it were present, and the present as if it were a dream. Bickering like children time and time again of petty reasons when the enemy was clear... and sadly under our noses. When the Wall grew weak and the Oni amassed at our boarder, I had three choices..." he counts "Flee to the Ivory Kingdoms, Live as a Pirate King Amongst the Shadow, or... fight destiny and let whatever kami that watches the Mantis decide our fate." He grins. "I was once told the Minor Clans were nothing but children at the dinner table of adults... so, our modus changed, if we were to be recognised we would need to start acting as a Great Glan... and what better achievement for a clan no one would acknowledge to do what no one was willing to do and face down certain destruction, even slow its pace for one day. Just as we, a force of seventeen starred down the mouth of a force of one hundred and thirty five Oni, The Unicorn came to our aid, The phoenix, then surprisingly Crane, Dragons, even a Lion.. supplies and trust. So, there I am, a Champion of a Clan of misfits trying to stop water passing through a sieve, ready to give all for the Emperor, to prove ourselves to the Great Clans or die trying, For Rokugan. I’d like to think my friends rallied to the Mantis call of spirit and bravery. They call me reasonable Toturi.” He chuckles. “The short version... hope"
Toturi listens, never once looking away. "Have you found that greatness?" He pauses, as if talking to himself as much as the man in front of him. "Hope... I had given up on notions such as hope."
He shifts the weight of his shoulders, reflecting a shift in his approach. He walks to his desk, resting his hand upon a single orange cloak, the mon of the Master of void upon it. He runs his hands gently, like he is still holding his father in laws hands, like he was still here for Toturi to speak too.
"Hope is what we need though, I was blind to that for the longest time. We think so long about being great, of living up to the legends of our past, but we always forget the trials that make them legends. And now the empire needs heroes, and many of us have realized too late what that entails."
He lets the words sink into the room, the failures of the Lion Champion. He turns however back to the Mantis.
"You haven't though, you never had heroes like us, ancestors of greatness that bound you in their shadows, you never were thrown into the games of clans, the 'paradox of fools' as you like to call it. You kneel to no lord, you see the truth of what needs to be done, why it needs to be done, and act on it. I've come to admire that of you. If you did not speak up at Kyuden Doji, a Jade Champion would not have provided us with hope. If you did not command the defences of the Island, the Shadowlands would have laid waste to the heart of the empire more then they even had, we wouldn't BE here to talk about it."
He looks Yoritomo in the eye. "What say you Yoritomo? Do you believe yourself worthy of the greatness you have searched for?"
He mulls over the words of Toturi, of Lady Thunder, the state of the isles... of friend's fallen to shadow "Not quite yet... there's still more to be done"
"Good, I was hoping you said that,” said Toturi with a nod.
Toturi turned his documents. reaching for an order in the middle. He lets out a sigh. "I am dying Yoritomo."
The silence is smothering.
"I endure as I am through sheer will, a flame with only so much fuel to keep me burning enough to bring my wrath on the enemy, but I will soon be gone regardless of victory or failure. I thought nothing of the empire's future, nothing of those who come after, I only lusted for vengeance. But now I must, or else what good is victory if it will only bring further ashes?"
He points to the map, the capital and the state of the clans.
"The emperor lies corrupted, only death will avenge him. The Heirs are trapped at his side, corrupted themselves most likely. The heir of Shinsei has fallen, the Emerald Champion is no more, the Jade Champion is dead, the Unicorn champion is lost to us, the Lion Champion will soon follow, the Elemental council is broken...”
He reads the list stoically, each one a wound.
"So much is lost, the clans will look for guidance in these times. I claimed the title of Shogun believing I could be that man, but I am not. Yet here I sit, the title now known to the entire empire. I may die in these coming days, gloriously or in ruin, but I will not let my ambition deny the empire what it needs, hope in these dark times and the struggle to come."
He motions to a stack of papers.
"Outside of this tent stands the army of the damned, who will join me in sealing the pit. But the remains of the Lion forces stand in wait for leadership, they wait for their Shogun, not knowing he will be leaving them."
He points the Mantis.
"You are a brilliant tactician, a well tonged diplomat, you have the support of the great clans of Rokugan and have already lost anything you might have been seeking to save this empire. Your dedication was tested in the heart of war, and though the others might begrudge your origins, you are more trustworthy than all the others because you don't care for the game. I intend to abdicate the role of Shogun, defender of the realm, and intend to name you my successor. I have informed Matsu Tsuko of this, and the Lion forces left will stand besides your own in the coming struggles, until my daughter Tsuado comes of age or you abdicate yourself."
He shows the order, left unsigned.
"I need someone impartial enough to aid in guiding this empire forward should we win, and glorious to die with fury should we lose. Do you accept, Son of Storms?"
Yoritomo is not usually a man lost for words, hell he even interjected in front of the Emperor at court, told the Crane off in their own Tea House, Mouthed off at his own kidnappers
"I...uh, I....., I.., what!?, Surely I misheard Toturi... Its a greater responsibility than I could fathom, its far greater than even I aspired...you’re positive I'm the man?”
Toturi never breaks eye contact with the man, watching him stutter about. "Yes, If I wasn't you wouldn't be here. Now do you accept?"
Yoritomo pauses a moment. "...I Yoritomo, Son of Storms... I will accept the last will of a friend, a brother." He reaches out to clasp arms.
Toturi meets his grasp, but with less energy then the Mantis. "Good, go rest today, drink and be merry for you will have much to do tomorrow." He returns to his chair and continues to fill out orders, dismissing the Mantis.
Once the Mantis is well and gone, Toturi looks over his papers. He takes the ink and hovers his hand over the two documents before him. With a shaking hand he signs both, the first to announce his abdication and the succession of Yoritomo as Shogun of Rokugan, and the next dedicating himself to the march on the pit.
Servants arrive, kneeling low as they bring in his new armour, repainted to bear the marks of the Deathseekers. He rises and walks up to the armour, its mempo a half mask, covering his lost eye. Like a man gazing at his own casket he raises a hand and feels the hard iron mask, gazing into the void behind it.
He places his hand on the hilt of his cursed sword. Feeling its pull, its power sustaining him. But his will is stronger. "The seeds of the future have been planted. All that is left is to bring the rain and the storm."
Iuchi Hiruko arrives leading the Iuchi army, compromised of many Shugenja and their Baraunghar Yojimbo. She informs Toturi that the travelling spells will be ready at his command
Asako Togama travels with a small retinue of yojimbo and the Asako Inquisitors, followed by several Asako monks. They carry jade powder in large pouches, and march with a determined look on their faces. They know they march towards death, and possible oblivion. But they know this is for the safety of the Empire
A single unbroken line of stark white has been formed. In silence. The Deathseekers stand at attention, waiting on their Lords command.
Toturi walks back and forth, checking the men. He nods to the Iuchi and the Asako.
He raises a single solitary black flag, the symbol to advance. The army begins its silent march into the the abyss waiting below them. Some contemplate their doom, some pray for redemption, but all seek vengeance.
The Kaito fall in step very far behind the rest of the party, keeping close enough to be able to aim at any threats beyond the main group, examining their Jade-tipped arrows, and watching for any threats. Kosori leads them on holding her family bow, Mikazuki, close and at the ready. Quiet whispers move through the unit with a general feeling determination, and acceptance of their probable fate.
Soshi Bantaro leads a small group of scorpion Shinobi. Though he stays by Toturi’s side, his scouts disappear into the shadows, watching for danger.
The heavens open but it is not rain that falls from the sky, but jade. As if Lady Amaterasu weeps for her children.
Toturi reaches out and lets the jade collect in his hands. He looks up, his single eye watching the small pieces fall down.
The Asako quickly kneel down in supplication, thanking Lady Sun for her vigil over the Empire. After which, the monks quickly gather the jade and set it aside.
A number of creatures seemed to be slithering towards the party. They moved like snakes.
One of the creature’s heads falls from its body. The others turn to see colour bleeding into the shadows. A scorpion shinobi appears he is quickly devoured, but he has bought scant seconds for his allies
The Naga lopss the head off of a number of the Bayushi. These Naga look infested - their scales black and polished to an almost mirror like shine. Thanks to Asako Togama however, a path is made through them.
"They tried to turn usssss against the Unicorn" they say
"You will not get to the pit. You are better undergoing the ritual."
"Ritual?” asks Toturi. “Speak clearly serpent! You are Naga, the taint has no effect on you, why are you here?"
"We are here becaussse we are meant to be. We chosssssse one of you to send a messsssage but he hasssss left us." The Naga respond "The guardian is not at his gate. Thingssss are not the way they are meant to be."
"Explain, what guardian do you speak of, what ritual?” Asks Toturi.
"The Tenth brother." Says one Naga.
"The ritual would have saved usssss. Saved you. But you chose not too."
"What ritual?" Toturi’s patience is running out.
"To ressssisssst the moonsssss touch."
"It matters not. We cannot do it. We are too far gone." Said another Naga.
"Then why bar my way?” Toturi asks. “The pit must be clensed."
"To send a warning. Should any of you survive - This will not be the land that you once knew,” says the Naga.
"This land is already a land I do not know,” says Toturi.
"You have no idea. Please, contain the corruption,” says the Naga.
"Where are you going then?" Toturi asks the Naga.
"To guard the gate. To watch and obsssserve,” the Naga answers.
"Tell me serpent, the pit, how deep does it sink?" Toturi asks
"It is a deep wound. Deeper than anything before or since. It will take many, many tears to seal it."
Toturi looks to his sullen men, then to the Kaito and the Asako. "We have tears aplently. Farewell serpent
"Die well, Lion."
"Live well serpent."
The Lion forces part to allow the snakes to leave.
He waits for them to part. With a gesture Toturi calls the Asako and Kaito Daimyo to him.
"It seems there is more at risk then we intended. Tell me, do either of you wish to turn back, now before we enter the pit?"
He gives them one last chance to turn back.
‘I will not abandon you here,” says the Kaito Daimyo. “We will press on, and assist you however possible. The Kami will keep our aim true.”
“We will not fail the Empire in this dire time. We stand ready to sacrifice all for Rokugan,” says Asako Togama
Toturi raises his war fan, the army begins their march.
As they progress through the wood, the land begins to look more and more unnatural. The sky seems to lose its colour, the rocks glow in deep greens and purples, and the trees have begun to morph and change under the pressure of the pit, branches end in eyes or mouths that try to scream but cant. The few streams they come across run not with water, but a pus like substance, as if the world was infected with Jigoku's curse.
Through all this the Lion army marches silently. The Death seekers are broken into 4 prides, the first acting as a vanguard, the fourth acting as a guard for the archers and Shugenja and the second and third at Toturi's fists.
Their eyes are vigilant, always watching for the enemy, wherever they appear.
Finally they set eyes on the pit. A festering hole in reality, spewing out black filth into the waters surrounding it. But alas, they are not alone. From the depts rise beingd, things that at least try to seem human, but their parodies are noticeable, their many eyes white as ghosts, their maws lined with needle teeth and their claws razorblades. These cruel mockeries of mankind Jigoku has created scream as one as the army moves into sight, alerting the pit, which churnles with its decay, birthing abominations of all kinds and shapes, Oni without names... only with hunger to slaughter and kill.
Toturi looks down at the abyss and sees his destiny, he draws a red flag and the first pride draws their blades. The beasts of the abyss and the Lions doomed to die seem caught in an eternity until Toturi lowers the fan, signifying the attack. The first Pride charges, the monsters of the abyss answer in kind and the roar of Lion and prey meet in the black stained waters.
The two forces tore into each other, both sides thirsting for murder. The Lion fought like madman, screaming oaths and tearing into the forces below. For each horrific beast of the pit that killed a Lion, three more roared back as they fought all the harder to avenge them.
But the truth begins to show, Toturi was wise to send only the first pride into the battle. To the Kaito and Asako they would see to their horror that the Lion soldiers fight harder and harder, with furiosity far out stretching what should be possible. They scream and fight less like soldiers and more like butchers, the black ichor of the Pit staining their armor, and the black tendrils of corruption flowing up their skin as the pit corrupts their very souls. Before their eyes the soldiers are twisted by the ichor, to the point that the lion between man and beast becomes blurred. Lions, with crazed eyes and twisted features, slaughter Oni and monster alike, feral and almost immune to pain. One can even be seen fighting without an arm, sustained by his desire to die fighting.
No longer were there men fighting monsters, only the screams of hellspawn and beasts. Such is the twisting nature of the realm of evil.
Toturi watches his vanguard devolve into madness before he raises his white flag, the symbol for an archery volley. But with the forces so tangled, it would be impossible for the Kaito archers to pick out friend or foe, all would be caught in the rain of arrows. No, the order is clear what Toturi is asking.
"Deliver mercy Kosori, please."
His voice is pained as he gives the command.
As Kosori watches the fight, she sees it devolve into a mass of Lion and Oni, watching recent allies become nothing short of monsters. She stops her unit from letting arrows fly too soon. Having promised to wait for the signal. Finally she sees it, and with a sad sense of relief, hoping to end it, she signals to unleash a rain of Jade tipped arrows, turning the light rain of jade into a torrent, each arrow seeking out any taint it could kill
Like a flood the arrows rain down, the jade tearing apart both demon and man. What arrows that make it through to the blacked water leave it boiling. Demon and Lion scream, one in pain, the other in relief as they are allowed to die.
As the Kaito lower their bows a single Lion limps back from the battle, the only that avoided the Jade rain. He is missing his left arm entirely, a chunk of his torso and bears his families daisho in his shaking right hand, the blade shattered. His eyes are pure black, showing the complete corruption of his flesh as blackened puss leaks from his open wounds. Toturi steps forward to meet this lone Lion. "Re-Re...Redemption?" the creature stammers as it looks into its masters eyes, beckoning the question if it did enough, if it earned its honor back. Toturi fought back tears as he drew his blade. "Yes, yes you did." He drives the blade into his soldiers chest, the blade igniting instantly within the creature. Its death sound was a whimper, a weeping cry as the flames consumed it to ash, leaving the broken Daisho as all that is left. The remaining lion forces remain silent, they know now what the price of victory will cost. Toturi returns to the battle line as the pit turns and twists on itself. It has smelled blood and the demons within have come for the feast. Hundreds more demon men rise, Oni of greater sizes and more terrible form claw their way from the pit. Toturi looks at Kaito and Asako. His face is grave, but undefeated. "Lord Togama, begin the ritual, we will buy you time." "Kosori, no lion that enters is to leave that pit. Promise me this."
Togama nods at Lord Toturi and gives a brief signal to the monks nearby. All of them went into a martial arts stance at the same time. A deep inhale of air was heard, and as the breath was held, each of the monks started to perform a kata of quick snapping motions. Each monk had a scholar behind them open a scroll and begin chanting in a loud voice. Each was chanting something different, a prayer to various kami. Calls to the Air Kami, to provide light and to show the truth of things. The Pit grew brighter.
Calls to the Earth Kami, to purify and strengthen the land. The Pit grew smaller.
Calls to the Fire Kami, to burn and cleanse anything that remained. The Pit became singed.
Calls to the Water Kami, to invigorate the water around it, and to encourage life to return. The Pit became clearer.
Calls to the Void, to bring it all together and restore the natural order of things. The Pit was merely a hole.
The horde of demons, sensing their realm closing, charge forward desperate to interrupt the ritual. Toturi stares into the oncoming horde, raises his flaming sword and orders his men to charge. The Lion meet the demon once again in the black stained waters, this time led by their Lord, a blazing star at the center. Buying desperate time for the ritual to complete itself.
The monks, still holding their breath, brought the jade up to their faces. Each piece had a bright green luminescence to it, aglow with the purity of Earth. The monks took the jade and cast it into the Pit. The echo of the screams would haunt the survivors for the rest of their lives. But the Pit remained. Half the size, that it was, it still floated above the water, pouring malfeasance into the ocean. The Monks took their first breaths in minutes. Exhausted from the precise maneuvers, they were now prone to mistakes. And a mistake would cost them their souls. Asako Togama walked towards the hole in reality, opened his scroll... and tossed it into the surf. He then took his Kimono off, and showing a surprising amount of mass for a scholar, began to perform the same ritual of the Kata.
The pit releases its most horrid abominations upon the Rokugani, beasts the sizes of houses, insect like creature that breath corruption. The land itself roils and bleeds, cracking under the Asako's prayers
One of these beasts rises on leather wings, soaring over the reach of the Lion to dive at the Asako. Its maw open as to devour him.
Asako enters the Kata, seeing the Oni lunge at him. He swiftly delivers a strike with a fist full of jade into the abominations' mouth. The beast roars in pain, its eyes rolling back. The Asako Daimyo's prayers and supplications begin, this time towards the Lady Sun. Calling out appreciation for her skill and beauty. Apologies that his weak body cannot look upon her without pain. Another strike hits the stunned oni, along the neck. Falling to the ground, the Oni spits up corruption onto the sand where Asako was just standing. Sand without footprints.
Asako makes his way closer to the Pit, reaching into his pouch of the Jade that fell from the heavens earlier in the day. He takes two pieces and with a final prayer, claps them together. His prayer resonates with the monks nearby:
"It is our nature to bask in the glory of the sun, but we are unable to return the favor. We will endure all evils, as the Sun endures the Moon."
With this prayer, the jade is crushed underhand and the dust flies to the edges of the Pit.
Where Toturi charged with one thousand death seekers, now less than fifty continue to fight. The rest have devolved into monsters themselves, tearing at the Oni surrounding them, or have fallen.
The samurai scream out, some scream names of loved ones, some of masters they have failed, some even call to ancestors, but all roar out against the abyss even as it claims them. At the center of it all strides the Lord of Lions. His burning blade rising and falling, on demonic foe and corrupted lion alike. He stands before the gaping hole in reality, finally free to gaze within to the realm of evil.
Something stirs within the blackness, a demon greater then any before it. Eyes of black obsidian and maws flowing with blood. It moves above an endless army of darkness. This is the end of the world, the doom the pit brings to all of Rokugan
Toturi pauses for a single moment, as the last of his men fall in battle. He looks back to the Asako and the Kaito, for the briefest of moments, no longer a lord, nor a hero, just a single man.
"For Rokugan..." he says as he turns to the portal and steps into the maw of hell itself. His burning sword illuminating him as he takes the fight to the endless horde in their own twisted realm. Buying time with his own existence.
As the Asako's ritual ends, as the portal finally begins to crumble into itself, the last thing Togama would see is Toturi inside Hell itself, roaring as he fights into eternity against an endless army. The gate bends, then folds, then is no more.
What is left is a ruined battlefield, littered with the bodies of the slain, both demon and man.
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Post by Hida Tetsuko on Oct 4, 2018 23:13:43 GMT 10
Within the realm of Jigoku, admist the screaming hurricanes and the burning wastes, a Kami dueled his attacker. Cursing the brother that stole his power, stole his place in Hell's hierarchy and banished him back into Jigoku he had wandered the twisted realm seeking allies, but each time the same fate befell them, the same fate that he fights against now. The defeated Kami desperately tried to stave off the monster fighting him, but the heat of his aggressor's blade was far too much.
Fu-Leng is cast down, his sword torn from his hands by the force of his opponent. He looks up at the monster, the unyielding predator within this twisted realm. "What do you want with me!?!" Fu-Leng shouts. "Vengeance..." was all the man said as he sunk his flaming sword into the 9th Kami's chest. Fu-Leng screamed in pain as he turned to ash, blown away by the winds. This wasnt the first time he had hunted down the Kami, the first time he burned him away. Here in Jigoku death, true death, is impossible, only pain and suffering exist. The 9th would reform and the hunter will resume his hunt, the cycle never ends. Killing the fallen Kami is supposed to free him from his curse. Each time he comes so close, but the nagging thought echos in his head. He vowed to kill a God, but this one was already dead. However, the wheels of fate turn and within the realm of evil Toturi, Dark Fortune of Vengeance smiled into his sword. Vengeance, true Vengeance born of ambition would be theirs... One way or another. In the lands of the Phoenix a young girl plays by a river, she plays with a bokken, with which she pretends to be the heroes her mother always told her and her little brother about in her stories. Though the Dark Lord sits upon the throne, Tsudao's mother always told her that one day someone would come and free the land of Rokugan, one would be great enough to slay the dark god. She always wished for her mother's story to be true, but today was different, for in the waters of the river something shiny caught her eye. She cannot resist reaching down and taking it. Almost hidden in the river bed is a sword, a Daisho of amazing quality. It gives a beautiful sheen, like it glows blue. Staring into the blade, the future Lion champion knew one thing, she no longer wished for her Mother's prayers to be true, that a samurai great enough to topple the false emperor would appear, she BELIEVED it to be true. To topple a dark lord, to save the empire, what greater Ambition could exist? |
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