A Wind Lord's Fury

[Kazanna]

~Disclaimer


To all concerned, to all reading or writing within, this is a tale set within a universe of my own devising, Any religious, political, or economic views displayed within are purely for the story, they may or may not reflect the authors within and are not to be used in any analyzing of the authors themselves for any reason. This disclaimer allows the characters within to be their own persons, to display their own opinions without the judgments of Living people. Any persons described within this play that are similar to any persons in real life are not related in any way and as such do not reflect the opinions, views, or thoughts of such persons.


That being said, the species within are my own creations, any use of them or the technology stated within is not to be used without my express permissions. It is potentially material I will be using at a later date for other projects that may or may not become copy written.


I herby give @DescriptedEnd Permission to add to, and modify any materials within this play as she sees fit for the needs of the play.


~


In the old days, before man had conquered the realm of the beasts, humans were not the only sentient creatures to roam the land. It was a time of Wandering Kami, ancient, powerful gods that were capable of great miracles and greater acts of destruction, Oni, Beasts of the spirit underworld that were terrifying beyond imagination, and lesser spirits and sprites that wandered the land.


As man pushed it's way further into the wilds, they advanced their technology and used it to wage war upon the spirits, the Oni and even the Kami. As such, humans gained a great foothold, and were able to drive the spirits out of the settled areas of the main land, and into the deepest wilds. But as the empires of man grew, so too did their need for land and resources, for outposts that would serve as defensible points against future enemies.


It was one such island that was desired by the human Daimyo so greatly, that he sent an entire battalion to conquer it in the efforts. There had long been rumors that it held a well that when someone drank of it's waters, was granted eternal life. Other rumors of a chalice that held a fluid that could heal any wounds, and even further of a tree that bore fruit that would grant a man more wisdom then he could ever gain in his life.


The Daimyo's fleet was so vast that a hundred ships were launched against the island, each ship holding a hundred men or women within the Daimyo's army. The journey to the lands would take days at best, so he sent his vast army all at once, that reinforcements would arrive in waves, upon the waves, to land upon the sands, and coat them red with the blood of his enemies...

 

[Kazanna]

Narrative


The Imperial Diamyo of the southern region of Japan had expanded his territory from the northern edge of his stronger ally, to the southern islands that surrounded his land. But as the population of his empire grew, so too did the needs of his people, and so too did his greed.


It was that greed, the greed of mortal men, that led to the launching of a fleet so vast that it took the men from nearly every province within the Diamyo's territory, and it took the fighting women from every guild, mercenary group, or other fighting sect within his territories and sent them off to fight a war, that was rumored to pay better then any before. They were to find the fabled Temple of the Wind Lord, a place where the Diamyo had heard was rumored to contain a well at it's bottom that granted eternal youth, and eternal life to it's drinker.


So, the Mercenaries were upon the ships with the armies themselves, even those from far off lands had been drafted into the service of the Diamyo, regardless of alliances. War was at hand, but the strength of the enemy, was unknown, rumors flew between the ships, close as they sailed together, that the men were against a legion of monsters, of Oni, of Kami, of even the gods and spirits of nature themselves.


~


In the forests that surrounded the Temple of the Wind Lord, bamboo and conifer trees fought one another for dominance and vied for the warmth of the sun. But as the wind lord's power caused gales to caress them, the warmth was shared, it spread, and life flourished as the ecosystem thrived. Oni, Kami, and spirits lived in a basking harmony that their kinds envied from far away. It had become an oasis in the hell that the mainland was becoming.


The Wind Lord, as the islands residents had come to call him, sat on the top of the islands massive temple, a pipe in one hand, he took a long drag off of it,and blew it out, releasing another spell into the world, his emerald eyes shimmered as he gazed out to sea, waiting, knowing what was coming. He frowned, took another puff off the pipe, and blew it out into the air, towards the far off ships that were beyond even his sight. But he knew they were coming, he knew what he had to do to stop them, how many lives he had to take, and it was a burden he would bear himself, a burden that would scar, and haunt him for all of time.


"War..." He murmured in a rumbling tone, "War never changes..." he let out a low groan and let his jaw rest in his free hand, his elbow on his knees, he was seated with his legs crossed. He watched as the sun began to set, as his storm began to brew, from his spell issued on the smoke of his pipe.

 

[DescriptedEnd]

She sat upon a crate on the top deck, a crude map in one hand and the other simply dangling over the guardrails. Her body shifted each time a wave rolled under the ship's hull, darkening waters spitting ice cold droplets at those who ambled up on the deck. Already, her fingers were brushed, in some places bleeding, from the difficult new work and splintering wood. She was used to it, however, having spent many years traveling and before hard working as a farmer's daughter. Her back did not ache too terribly, nor did her muscles pull from their natural places, a fact for which she was thankful for. Many of the men and women around her, though, were not so fortunate.


The map in her hands was not one of their destination; no, that was in the captain's office. Rather, it was a hand-scrawled depiction of her home town, albeit a bit rough and completely pulled from her memory. It pained her to think that it was most likely much different, bigger, perhaps, or maybe entirely nonexistent. She hadn't seen her family in so long; and more likely than not, after this, she was never to see them again. She signed sighed, slightly laying her upper body over the rails. Upon looking up at the sky, she noted that there were clouds building. Slight worry started to build in her stomach as she expected an oncoming storm - bad for the large fleet. There was the possibility of steering them off course, driving them into each other, and numerous bad possibilities that could fall to her plate. The ship was mostly inhabited by Japanese; pale faces and dark hair their primary traits. She did not fit in very much, and, as to be expected, people stared at her while doing their jobs. And such, when they saw her brow slightly furrow when her eyes trailed upwards towards the sky, they looked up as well.


None of them were too terribly bothered, as it was most likely just a normal cloud covering. However, she had also noted there was a slight change in the wind. It was almost colder, more dangerous - but it was most likely just her superstition getting in the way of her logical thinking. Instead of pulling herself from her duties, she instead slid down from her perch and resumed any work that was left to be done.

 

[Kazanna]

To most, magic was a slight thing, something that was scoffed at, something that the governments of man rejected as fallacy and hearacy in most cultures. But to Kazanna, The Lord Of Wind, it was as commonplace to cast a spell as it was to speak. To those in his court it was science, so as he began conjuring the massive storm that was to devastate the enemies before them, most of them simply looked on with grim satisfaction, knowing that thanks to his actions, they would be safe for another day.


It wwas collection of spells that were required to build the storm he was designing, a gale spell, combined with hundreds of cyclone spells, a series of tidal wave spells, and a mixing of lightning and thunder spells as well as a multitude of darkening spells, confusion spells and even a spell that caused the loss of coordination. He began muttering, low at first, but with a slowly building crescendo until the collection of spells was a cacophony of noise so great, the men and women on the ships would hear it was it began to approach, announcing the beginning of the storm.


As he unleashed the spell, Kazanna's emerald eyes flashed with spellforce, pure unleashed ether clawed its way out of his form through his eyes and he bellowed in latin "Die autem omnes moriemur. Ecce tempistatis!"


Of course, being that they were Japanese and not of one of the latin speaking countries this would be nothing but strange words on the wind to the sailors. He finished the spell with a canine like howl, as though a thousand wolves suddenly began howling in a state of bloodlust. This the Japanese would understand, this would bring terror to the crewmen and the soldiers, young and old, green and veteran.


The storm would be like no other the Japanese had ever seen, tornadoes upon the sea, like so many hurricanes they would tear into the fleet as the sun began to set. Rain would come on in great torrents and the spells would be fueled by Kazanna's great power. He stood atop his temple and continued to act as the source of the storms power, carrying out the howl. Such was his channeled attack, The Wind Lords Fury.

 

[DescriptedEnd]

Even as it seemed that the seas were to remain calm for the remainder of the trip, the water quickly turned sour. Chaos erupted upon the water craft as some rushed to tie down the sails, others dragging supplies to the hulls, and yet some dove right down to the bottom deck to seek salvation in the sudden onslaught. Words seemed to whip around them, as fierce as the wind. Many thought they were simply going crazy, and so did Oriana - it wasn't uncommon for somebody to simple lose it while out at sea. But dread caused her stomach to fall through the wooden hull of the ship when definite words hit her ears. Before, it had almost seemed to be nothing but gibberish, but these she understood. And it absolutely terrified her.


What was even more frightening was the animalistic howl that followed, plunging every member on the ship into a fear-induced silence. Were they really to be defeated this easily? Was this the end? To many, it seemed to be so and they huddled, pressed together on the floor, praying to whatever God or deity they had placed their faith in at this current moment.


Oriana glanced out to the tormenting waters, dark and swirling worse than she had ever seen in her lifetime. Many of the other ships that had accompanied were gone - driven into rocks, turned around, or simply swallowed into the ocean's hungry depths. No matter what the case, Oriana found herself praying as well. She wasn't as religious as some, but if there was any time to believe, it was now.


The prayers seemed to do nothing. Conditions seemed to only get worse until much of the crew had hidden below deck, the remaining supplies be damned as they lay on top where the water that washed upon them carried them away. She was disoriented, confused, afraid. But instead of hiding, she had a thought instead - before being forced out she had taken a brief moment to study the vessel she was to be sent of upon. The front mast, as it seemed, was to be particularly weak. If she were to tie herself to it, or hitch a ride, as some might say, there was a chance of her surviving. There was nothing she could do for the common folk now; they had cursed themselves to a watery grave upon retreating to where the water was closest. She held a length of soaking rope in her hands, desperately attempting to find purchase on the equally slick deck as the waters attempted to drown her even as she stood upon the ship.

 

[Kazanna]

Morning would come to the Japanese as a sick reminder of the monsters they had challenged. Kazanna strode along the beach, a vulnerable spinner, a six foot tall spider demoness accompanying him. He held his Katana in one hand, his pipe in the other. Scavengers and carnivorous demons following in their wake, devouring the bodies left behind. Kazanna, warlord that he was expected to be, was taking the heads off of all of the bodies on the sand as the storm continued to rage. He had set archers in the sands, firing mystical arrows at his enemies ships that floundered in the water around the island. He took a drag off his pipe and let out the smoke slowly.


"Geniva, do you know why I gather their heads?" he asked the Vulnerable Spinner beside him.


She turned her many eyes towards him and gave an odd shrug of her working , "To use as trophies I would assume." she said in her eerily wispy voice.


He paused and considered her assumption, "A thousand years ago perhaps. But today, I am harvesting them to learn from them why their Diamyo has sent such a large force to conquer such a small tract of land."


"Perhaps... He envies us for our tranquility?" Geniva said as a calm question.


Kazanna shook his head, "No, I do not think so most vulnerable one. It is something more materialistic he seeks..."


Another voice chimed in, female, confident, "He's looking for the well Aquarius. You know that as well as I or anyone else does."


Kazanna turned towards the voice. It was his retainer, she sat atop a massive fire Oni, it had the face of a lion and the body of a mountain ogre. It's mane burned brilliantly despite the morning light. Kazanna looked at his retainer with a frown, she wore full battle regalia, at least for her. Tight fitting spider silk garments that had heavy laminated bamboo plates sewn into them that made her look almost reptilian. If not for her humanoid face, she looked entirely demonic in her heavy armor. She held a long sword in her hand, a six inch wide blade that was seven feet long and jagged on the cutting edge. She bore no helm and her violet hair reached to the ground when she stood, even with it braided tightly. Her matching eyes burned with obvious anger.


"I still do not understand why you are so passive against him even now Aquarius. A thousand years ago-"


"But it isn't a thousand years ago... Now is it Carlith..." he said interrupting her mid sentance.


Carlith scowled as Kazanna returned to his work. He went through a few more bodies before he paused. He knelt down and regarded the limp body, he raised a brow curiously.


"You... Are not from here..." he muttered.


Before him lay an Italian. Something he had not expected.


"Still alive too..." he said calmly.

 

[DescriptedEnd]

Oriana was oblivious to what was happening around her in the conscious world - instead, she was in a black void, warm and comfortable despite he uncomfortable pinpricks that covered one side of her. She was at peace for the moment; all was calm within this void and not even a trickle of water was to be found. In here, her thoughts were to herself and herself alone - perhaps, she pondered, was this death? Were the lords kind to her in her time of death? Or, maybe, this was punishment. What if a good death was so much more? Despite these questions, the strawberry blonde found they did not cause her even a bit of worry. Where she was now was plenty good enough after drowning at see.


Or, what if she hadn't really drowned? Taking a hand, she rubbed at the side of her face that was covered in the odd sensation. A gasp held in her throat when she pulled back said hand, now crumbling into sand and falling into the depths below. Quickly, her entire body was disintegrating - all at once, she was washed over with nausea and her head felt as if it was going to split in two. Just before her head was enveloped itself, she went to let out a scream.


But then she woke up.


Her eyes opened then re-shut themselves upon gazing directly at the sun, launching into a coughing fit instead of a scream. It most certainly felt like she was alive now, all the sensations of a physical body rushing back to her. It felt violent, especially after spending so long in the comfortable nothingness. She rolled over to one side, still spitting out one cough after another, until her breathing settled and she could open her eyes again. When they cracked open, lashes caked with dry seawater, she was briefly taken aback by the appearance of a man in front of her.


And several other things she would rather not have gazed upon at this current moment.


She whipped up her upper torso and scooted herself back a couple inches, heels scorching with each press into the sand. She couldn't find the words, instead silenced by her predicament.

 

[Kazanna]

With a brow raised, Kazanna turned to Carlith, shrugging, who in turn simply stared at Oriana, her head cocked slightly to one side. Kazanna stood up, dusting himself off, he turned to the spinner, and nodded at her, who quickly took a few steps back, shifting into a human form, all but her eyes, which, were still eight of them on her face, starting near her temple, ending near her nose, she donned a light cowl until only two were visible at a time. Kazanna returned his gaze to Oriana, as Carlith stepped off her mount, which rapidly shrank in size, and bounced onto her shoulder. Carlith stroked the now tiny, miniature fire lion, which purred as it stared at Oriana curiously.


Kazanna cleaned his blade of the filth that adorned it, and then sheathed it calmly, placing it in the sash of his Hakama, He crossed his arms over his chest, remarking, "Have a nice swim Miss?" He said plainly, in Italian.


Carlith stepped around behind Oriana slowly, her own weapon balanced on one shoulder, she gazed at the strange human in front of her, "It survived your storm... That's noteworthy in itself..."


Geniva shivered slightly, clasping her hands against her bicep as though she was genuinely cold, she rubbed her biceps slowly and stared at Oriana with a nearly frightened look, "Is it armed... I'd rather not get hurt Mi'lord... I'm not as spry as I once was... and regeneration takes a toll as you know..." The Vulnerable Spinner withdrew slightly, her exposed eyes glimmering as they darted between Kazanna and Oriana.


Kazanna ignored both the women and regarded Oriana, "Are you aware of where you are?" He asked softly.

 

[DescriptedEnd]

Oriana decided to ignore the morphing of the creatures, the woman's long violet hair, and the miniature lion that now perched upon her shoulder. It was all too much to take, if she was to be honest, and it made her head spin slightly. She didn't respond verbally at the man's first prodding, just nodding along and then trailing her gaze to the sand - it barely processed that he had spoken in Italian. They didn't seem hostile, but hell if she knew since the man had just sheathed a god damn sword. She didn't look up when the one noted that she didn't want to get hurt, something about regeneration, etc etc, she didn't want to listen. Not all all, she just didn't get it. At the second set of words from the man, this time a question, and she managed to vocalize he response.


"No-... not exactly, no?" Her response came out in the form of a question itself, voice dry and throat soar. She was still disoriented, but a stray thought crossed her mind. Was this her destination? If it was... then she was in trouble.


"Wait, is this..." she murmured, voice creaking like a rusty door with a bad hinge. Immediately, her sore muscles tensed as much as they could and she prepared herself to be attacked.

 

[Kazanna]

With a smile, Kazanna motioned to Geniva and Carlith, he strode away slowly, a level of arrogance that would make him seem totally disconnected from the situation. He made his way to the next corpse, and nudged it with his foot as he considered what to do with it.


"Where do your loyalties lie now mercenary..." he mused aloud as he reached down, and simply tore the head off of the corpse, his foot keeping the body from moving. He held the now severed head by the hair, before tossing it towards Geniva, who caught it dutifully and began to remove the spinal column, which, had stayed attached to it during removal.


Carlith glanced to Geniva, and then turned, walking away, she waved towards them, remarking, "Once you figure it out, I call dibs on eating her if she loses." her armor clinked quietly as she walked away, her tiny lion eying Oriana for a few moments before roaring as loudly as a full sized lion would as though it were yawning.


Kazanna turned back to Oriana his emerald eyes shimmering as he motioned to her, "Come, Let us talk... About your continued survival..." there was a horrible look in his eyes, as though a single wrong answer would end her life.

 

[DescriptedEnd]

Bile rose in her throat when the head was simply torn off the other's body - something she never wanted to see again. It simply caused her to be more afraid, temporarily stuck in place as if she had melted into the sand. Instead of screaming, she simply let out a short whine and curled her legs closer to herself. She definitely did not enjoy the comment about being eaten, and she had no intentions of letting that become true. Taking a deep breath, she attempted to steel her mind so that she could pick her cards carefully and get out of this situation. The look in his eyes meant death - which really seemed to be a reoccurring theme here - and nodded feverishly. It took a few more breaths before she felt calm enough to stand, which was to be a job in itself. Every joint, muscle, and bone protested such a movement and it took her a couple tries - she counted three - before could actually get her knees to support her weight. At that point, her challenge was putting up with the soreness, which she was sure would wear itself off. She chose her steps carefully, avoiding bloody and decapitated bodies, scarlet sands, anything that used to be human but no longer was. She felt like vomiting, falling into the sand and sobbing in terror. Instead, she suppressed it and continued to follow after him, albeit tentatively.

 

[Kazanna]

Kazanna glanced back lightly as he heard the soft footsteps of a female, he raised a brow, and nodded at Oriana, "It's a start..." he thought to himself. He motioned to Geniva, who was binding the human remains they had collected into a tight sack of spider silk she was generating from her fingertips. Geniva paused in her actions, and then nodded, recognizing the command, she edged away, off into the forest that lay just beyond the sands. Within moments, the beach was clear, save for the carrion scavengers that were cleaning the beach of the dead.


Kazanna inhaled sharply, before he spoke, "You... were a mercenary on board the Diamyo's vessel... when I... interrupted his plans... to conquer my sanctuary... You survived a series of spells that were specifically designed to drown all of those on board those ships at sea, and to fling the remaining vessels so far off course it would take them weeks to regroup, let alone land a vessel upon my lands. For your tenacity, and fortitude, I am prepared to grant you your life..." he took several more steps away from her.


"However..." He stopped, and spun on his heel, "Geniva is quite concerned, quite... fearful for not only herself, but her own kind... as they are... few..." He said calmly, "She worries you might endanger her few remaining daughters, and their very scarce number of potential mates..."


With an all but looming presence, he asked the question that was apparent, "Are her fears justified..?" his eyes were hollow of emotion, but showed the capacity for not only great mercy, but great rage as well.

 

[DescriptedEnd]

To Oriana, the answer was easily apparent and it just about flew out of her lips without a second thought. But she stopped herself, knowing that she was treading on thin ice. If she outright said yes, then she would be killed. But if she said no, then she would be seen as weak and might be preyed upon. Instead, she cleared her throat and looked straight at Kazanna. "It could go both ways," she began, her tone heavily suggesting that she was not finished speaking. She took a pause to phrase her words correctly, then resumed. "If they are to become passive to me, I will be passive to them. If they attack me, however..." She paused once more, knowing that the continuation of her sentence was obvious. Despite this, she decided to spell it out anyways. "I will have no choice but to defend myself. Logical, no?" She ended off with a question, hoping she wouldn't get slaughtered due to her answer.

 

[Kazanna]

Pausing, Kazanna grinned at her, and nodded slowly, he'd said something similar once, it had gotten him the death sentence of being stoned to death. He'd survived, but just barely. He shifted to the next subject, drawing his mind away from his memories.


"The well, that the Diamyo believes is here on my island. It doesn't exist. It's a fable, it always was a fable, I just don't age, so there seems to be a lot of rumor as to why..." He glanced at her, "So yes, You were sent here for no reason..." He paused for the effect of it, then asked, almost comically, "How does that make you feel?"


The question was honest, it would help him gauge her based on her reaction, especially considering this wasn't the first time a foolish king had sent a legion to it's death because of speculation over his own mortality. Kazanna's temple was large, and it did descend into to the ground, but it wasn't filled with the wonders that the Diamyo suspected it did, it contained others, others that, to the Diamyo, would be worth less then the legion he had just sacrificed for nothing.

 

[DescriptedEnd]

"It makes me think I should've stayed in Italy," she stated simply, a slight sting in her tone. It wasn't like she'd gone on the mission voluntarily, anyways - but the fact that it didn't actually exists, what the king saught, it angered her. Many lives were needlessly sacrificed in the name that was nothing more than a fairy tale. She sighed, attempting to steady her temper, kicking her heal into the sand. The sand further down was cooler and slightly damp, a soothing feeling. Where had her shoes gone, anyways? Hell if she knew, not that it mattered. She continued along, maintaining a reasonable distance between her and Kazanna. She was still wary of everything that was going on, muscles tense. She wasn't sure what was going to happen to her next - would he cast her back off, or something else? She didn't know which she'd prefer - but she was most certainly missing her Italian blood relatives at this moment.

 

[Kazanna]

Kazanna snorted, then burst out laughing, he shook his head and sighed, nodding slowly. He knew that feeling, the feeling of wishing he had never set out on that day so long ago. He turned towards her, and motioned down the beach, towards the continued line of corpses that the surf was still washing in.


"I know how you feel... Every time I see another body in my path... I know exactly how you feel... I wish I had never been dragged out of Scotland... so long ago..." He flicked his wrist towards the nearest corpse, and it's form fell apart, blood, bone, and matter, armor, weapons, everything, began to tear apart, "Ah... but then..." He spun his hand at the wrist, "I'd have died as an old man in that village... and I'd have never seen the world... I'd have never gained a thing..."


He turned his attention fully back towards her, as the disassembled mass shifted and formed a new body. It was skeletal, barely human in it's appearance, tissues began to bind it together. It rapidly gained new features, fang like teeth for ripping, in a large maw of a mouth, long spindly fingertips that ended in talons, and a skeletal structure that gave it the appearance it was made for little besides eating things.


He motioned it towards the bodies on the beach, and it skittered along like a crab, walking sideways, his eyeless face was nothing but a maw of teeth, and it went to work, devouring bodies, cleaning the beach.


Kazanna turned his attention fully back to Oriana, "So tell me young Italian, What do you plan to do now? Survive, or be food for my little carrion eater there..." He said as the little creature moved onto the next body, the first was utterly gone, only it's armor and clothing remaining, mostly intact as well. He had a ruthless grin on his face, as his hand rested on the sheath of his blade, ready to flick it out and wield it.

 

[DescriptedEnd]

Oriana shivered slightly as she saw the horrible resurrection of this new creature, nausea swelling up in her stomach. She suppressed anything else, however, attempting to appear strong and confident. Which, she would admit, was harder to do than people may have thought at times. She answered hesitantly at the males question. W'hat cause would I have for just rolling over and becoming carrion? I've made it this far, so I should continue to try and survive." She shrugged, averting her gaze from meeting the male's and continuing to watch the bodies flood in from the sea. So many bodies... so man lives lost, all taken by the damn storm. For a moment, she was angry - but she calmed quickly afterwards. She supposed their deaths at sea saved them from doom on this island, most likely at the hands of this man and the many creatures that roamed upon it. Sighing, she trailed her sight back down to the sand, bending over to pull a scrap of seaweed off of her leg. When she stood up, she witnessed a terrifying grin on Kazanna's face. It sent shivers down her spine, feet freezing to the ground while her mind kept telling her to flee. "W-wait, what the hell?" she snapped, moving her arms into a defensive position.

 

[Kazanna]

Kazanna held the grin, his emerald eyes shimmering in the mid-morning lightly as he studied her a moment, "You won't... you know, survive that is..." He murmured quietly.


He relaxed visibly and stood up straight, his hand leaving the sheath of his weapon, coming to rest at his side. He turned towards the woods, that lay just beyond the sandy shores and said calmly, "You have a choice now Italian... Because I have no way to get you off of this island right now, the storm still rages, and will for many days, You can weather the storm here, in my lands, in my house, or you can try to survive on your own... and probably be eaten..."


He strode off towards the forest, saying clearly, "I still don't know your name either Italian... Though... superstitions say it's a bad idea to reveal your name to a demon..." He laughed lightly, his voice reverberating oddly on the wind.

 

[DescriptedEnd]

"Sure as hell doesn't mean I can't fight back," she grumbled, looking away from him for a moment. But, no matter how afraid of this man she was, it would be a cold day in hell before she chose trying to survive with creatures that ate whole humans, by herself, over staying in a home with some strange man. What could go wrong, really? Okay, lots of things, she knew, but there really wasn't any other option in this situation. Sighing, she quickly trailed after him, feet dragging slightly as she sped up to a light trot. "I'm not that superstitious," she noted, tying up her hair the best she could without some sort of threading for the simple result to get it out of her face. "It's Oriana."

 

[Kazanna]

Kazanna nodded, and the purple haired woman, Carlith, seemed to appear out of nowhere, standing beside him, a paper umbrella held aloft, shielding him from above, he smiled lightly to her as the rain began to fall in a torrential downpour, "Welcome then, Oriana, to the Island of Wind as we call it, My home, and yours now too, for the time being."


Carlith gazed at Oriana with a strange grin, as though she would eat the young woman at any moment, her skin tone was all wrong for the region, a darker tan, her facial features looked like she was from India, but her body was like something out of a mans imagination, curvy, without flaw, and she held herself as though she had spent most of her life dancing. "I am Kazanna Lunaris, the Lord of this Land, and this is Carlith, My prime, my retainer, and my life long companion. She's the islands legal system... Geniva is one of my advisers. You met her earlier..."


Geniva had stepped back out of the shadows, holding a glowing orb, that appeared to be made of spiders silk, she offered it to Kazanna, but kept her gaze on Oriana, wary as ever, fearful, the garment she'd had on her head had been removed, replaced by a large conical hat that was made of thatched bamboo. Her eight eye's were revealed, but besides that, her features were fair, and soft, but she looked as though she held the knowledge and wisdom of thousands of years.


"My lord, the orb, as you designed..." She said softly.


Kazanna smiled and took the orb gently, and muttered to it, before it shimmered and flashed away, he sighed and relaxed slightly, "I see... So your a conscript... I see that the Diamyo has placed little value on anyone... besides himself..." He offered an upturned palm to Oriana, "Your former... Employer views you as expended, Come, Join me. I'll offer you a better contract..."


Kazanna stood beneath the large umbrella, with the two inhuman women beside him, his hand oustretched, offering a devils deal to a waterlogged and downtrodden woman from a land so far away, no one should even know its name here.


He grinned...

 

[DescriptedEnd]

"The Island of the Wind..." The words trailed from Oriana's lips, resembling a warm breeze themselves. She was overwhelmed slightly, angered that she was expended, frustrated that she hadn't resisted being placed into this futile militarized attempt at taking pointless land, sorrowful at the fact that her family was so far away. No longer did the strange happenings bother her to extremes; rather, the normalities of her world were what bugged her the most. She managed to pull her lips into a small smile, tentatively striding towards the three that were under the umbrella. With her face scrunched up into a flinch and muscles ready to pull back, she gently laid her hand into Kazanna's.


"I accept," she mumbled, as proudly and loudly as she could.

 

[Kazanna]

Kazanna smiled and nodded quietly, but Carlith was a different manner, she moved with the grace and finesse of a dancer, but she held herself as though a warrior from birth, her weapon was still in hand, and her miniature lion was still on her shoulder, she was gazing at Oriana with a lust that was similar to hunger. She glanced to Kazanna, then back to Oriana.


"If I cant eat her, then can I at leas-" Carlith was interrupted halfway through her thought as Kazanna's hand pressed against her lips gently, there was a certain tenderness in his action, but it was without question the action of a lord, demanding one of his subjects follow his order.


"No..." he said flatly.


Kazanna turned to Geniva, holding his fingertips against Carlith's lips gently.


"Geniva, Be a dear, Help outfit Oriana with better clothes once we get back to the long house. She's human, she'll get sick if she keeps in that salty wet clothing..." Kazanna said, eyeing Oriana out of the corner of his eye ominously.


Carlith sighed, as Kazanna suddenly vanished in a flash of dark energy. She scowled and muttered, "He could have at least walked us up there... Now I have to guide the human all the way there... while..." She glanced to where Geniva had been, the space was vacant, and Geniva was already gone. She stomped on the ground suddenly, "Argh!!" Her foot made a small impact crater, shattering the earth around her, sending sand flying in all directions.


She sighed, calmed herself, and turned to Oriana, holding the umbrella over her, "Come on then, Your his new project, Guess I have to be on my best behavior around you..." She shot her a telling look, that she would definitely do horrible things once the leash was untied.

 

[DescriptedEnd]

Oriana's hand dropped to her side when Kazanna disappeared, fingers rubbing together nervously. While she didn't exactly want to be left with Carlith, she really had no choice. She felt the sand hit her face and helped, edging a couple feet back from the angry woman. She wasn't sure, at this point, if she wanted to be anywhere near this damn person - she'd just cracked the ground, for gods sake, by simply stomping her foot. Nonetheless, she edged forward, head down to avoid looking Carlith in the eyes. She was prepared to follow and keep up the best she could to prevent making her more upset - anger only seemed to make matter worse. But she was curious about this whole 'project thing'; curious enough, in fact, to ask a question despite her best instincts to keep her mouth shut. "Project?"

 

[Kazanna]

Carlith was instantly calm, she shrugged lightly, and motioned towards the woods, "Yeah, Master is... curious... he likes to find damaged, broken, or abandoned people... and..." She struggled to find the word in a language that Oriana would understand, Instead she erred and spoke in a language that most would not recognized, demonic, she paused suddenly.


"He... makes them better... Not the right wording... I'm... still... learning how to speak..." She growled out glancing away, shame evident on her face.


She recovered quickly, "We've rebuilt entire communities over the years... aided hundreds of your kind... but I suppose..." She shook her head, "Not for me to say... he'll explain it to you... eventually..." She said sullenly as she began to slowly step into the woods, making her way along an unseen path that her feet seemed to automatically know, "But at least... your a sign of change..."


~


Kazanna reappeared inside his long house, within what had become a sort of grand hall. There were Oni, and Kami, and spirits from each of the respective tribes and creature factions, each of them was waiting for Kazanna, So as he appeared, they all took notice of him respectfully. Kazanna sat down at his place, gazing down the length of the table at those assembled. He nodded to them all and spoke in fluent Japanese, a common language they were all familiar with, "Friends, Allies, Rivals, I have done as I said I would, I have protected this island... the threat... is for now... repelled." He paused and there was a general murmuring of approval around the room, "However..." He continued, "The enemy that comes for us, is still strong, and will come again, I have delayed them... but they will eventually make landfall.. Their forces are far greater then I first anticipated."


He let his eyelids drift almost closed before he said gently, "They will have... their foolish war... ready your best, and mask this place, make it seem abandoned, we will make them believe they have come for nothing, as that is what they have come for."


The collective within the room was solemnly quiet, before one of the most prestigious kami spoke, "I believe I can speak for all of us... when I say that you have our trust... Diamyo Lunaris, but we are fearful..." There was a murmur of agreement. The Kami who had spoken was a lithe figure, he was the leader of his clan, a master of poisons, part of a serpent clan. Sentai was his name if Kazanna's memory served correctly.


"Brother Sentai... We will survive, through stealth, subtly, and careful planning... we will disguise the island, make it look worthless and abandoned, then they will leave." Kazanna said softly.


Sentai nodded slowly, bowing his head. Kazanna sighed, and muttered, "We have a while though, a few weeks, this storm will not pass easily, and those that survived it, will be adrift for quite some time. So we have time to prepare."


The discussion trailed off after he gave out orders to the respective leaders, and then the doors of the hall opened, and they all milled out, save for a few of his more trusted advisors. Geniva was present, spinning the odd web like garment, she was in her humanoid form still, because it allowed her to fit better within the long house. A man with a wolfs head sat beside Kazanna, he was missing an eye, that was covered by a leather eye patch. He had his arms crossed over his burly chest, remarking, "My warriors will act as their ancestors during this, they will herd the invaders directly to the temple, and away from the primary villages. With Sentai and Jurokai, we can keep them confused and without proper scouting for weeks."


Jurokai spoke next, he looked human, but his hair was graced with small owl feathers, they gave him a regal look. He nodded towards the wolf man, "Malas is correct, the three of us can command our men to act as the beasts of the land, and frighten these fools directly to your temple, where you can disguise yourself as an old monk and shoo them away, They will surely become disheartened and leave... and if they do not..." he said gently, his tone was like a barn owl hooting gently.


"Then my clan will come from beneath the earth, and crush them..." A large booming voice that belonged to a massive red Oni Ogre bellowed out. The creature was referred to by most as The Red Ogre, but to Kazanna, he was known by his name, Orgon, he was one of the eldest of his kind, and had never lost the barbaric streak of his ancestors.


Kazanna considered what his advisers had come up with, and nodded slowly, "I have another part... to this plan as well... You will find out later... when my preparations are complete..." He said gently.

 

[DescriptedEnd]

Oriana nodded and started off towards forest herself, her pace indicating for Carlith to take the lead. She really didn't want to wander around aimlessly or get attacked - speaking of which, she wondered if the woman would protect her if she was. She assumed she'd find out, uncurling her left sleeve and gazing, unamused, as she ended up actually tearing it off. Discarding it onto the ground, she let her thoughts wander further. What did Carlith mean when she said she was a sign of change? Surely she was a sign of nothing, just a survivor of a freak storm that ended up washing ashore on the very island of the man she was supposed to kill. Nothing more.


Okay, perhaps it was a big deal, she let herself know, but what had she agreed to when she had accepted Kazanna's contract? She hadn't been given any terms or information over the subject and it made her uneasy. Nonetheless, she continued to stumble onwards.