NationStates Jolt Archive

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The quest of ones life, Komichi, is one of unexpected twists and turns, adventure and hardship. One's Komichi defines the essence of one's being. Komichi can neither be good nor bad, but is destined and designed to test oneself before the Chishiki, the knowers, the gods, who will pass judgement on your life. Take all life gives you and seek the best result in all you do. Curse not your fortune, rather seek to learn from all your experiences. Your Komichi is a knowledge quest, one must learn from it or your time here has been wasted. Now go... find your way...

The words of master Tama rung in Yoshi's head. How was he supposed to know what the best result would be? What would life give him? Thoughts trailed in his mind as Yoshi drifted deeper and deeper into his meditation. The young monk had much to think about, he was only a few days away from his trials and he had to be prepared for anything they might ask him and the examiners were notorious for asking questions one had never thought of prior to that moment just to see your reaction. He feared what they might ask him. Many of his friends had passed and he knew he could not repeat another year of training while they were out in the world as true Seishin Monks and he was back at the temple relearning the basics.

Yoshi's meditiation was abruptly ended by the heavy bag that hit him while he sat. His good friend Ichiro Masamune, a prince of the Ichiro clan, stood over him laughing, "Come on, you will have plenty of time to "Ponder the universe" while we sail the seas."

Yoshi never could not resist the adventerous personality of his friend and shook his head before finally standing. "You know I have my exam in a few days don't you?" Yoshi said to his friend, knowing the futility of the petition.

"Yeah, yeah, but thats days from now. Now the only thing we should be worrying about is the wind in our hair and finally meeting my future bride." Masamune replied impatiently. When he set his heart on something, he would usually not be denied it and this was no exception.

Several servants were loading the Prince's boat, The Kamabooken (Divine Adventure), everything he might need was being loaded onto the ship along with his personal guard (a unit of Ichiro Archers) and the belongings of his friends that would be accompanying him, Yoshi the monk, Hojo Rizuka (a noble of the Takaiyama Clan), and Isoroku Hide taka (an apprentice Sorcerer). You can’t forget his personal bodyguard/ mentor either, Master Uri of the Ryudo Sect. Uri was really more like a father to Masamune, having been with him since he was a small boy. Uri kept the wily Masamune in check also, for without Uri, Masamune likely would not have lived past the age of 14.

As the last crate was loaded and the ship finally departing, Masamune felt a sudden freedom like he hadn’t felt before. The open seas, the fresh air, and the wind that blew his long hair back where ever it pleased. Uri immediately determined that sea travel was unnatural and not for him and so left the boy alone on deck. Alone that is, with all his friends. The guys plus Roku, a peasant boy who was learning the art of the Ichiro Archers, completed the party. They did all kinds of dangerous stunts, just to see who would actually do it. Masamune actually walked on the mast of one sails over the ocean while the ship was moving. Had master Uri been there, the frivolity would have been quickly abolished.

After a long day of just pure exhilarating freedom, Masamune and his friends retired below deck to one of the guest quarters. The day was over and their fun had come to an end. Tomorrow he would wake up to Yamato Province and meet his new wife. His youth would be over and he would finally have fully crossed over into the sphere of men. The prospects of the life were not entirely against him, he wondered what it would be like to command so much respect and power, but he knew his accustomed level of freedom and adventure would greatly diminish and be replaced by many great responsibilities…sleep was starting to take him and bring and end to his wondering…tomorrow would come…and if only he could have had... one… last… day.

Masamune woke up in a strange place. White sand was everywhere, bits and pieces of wood were scattered about. He was not sure where he was. It must be a dream, but what about the dreams he thought he had. They were vague but disturbing. He thought he could hear the captain speaking about being blown off course and being in a strange water. Then there was nothing but darkness and screams, things dropping on the floor above him with thunderous power. His master was clutching him uttering a prayer. It was so... distant.

The scene made no sense, where was he and what did his dreams mean. Finally his mind began to put things into their place. The ship crashed somehow. This debris was from his ship and now he was who-knows-where with no one. His first instinct was to drop to his knees in fright. Why? Why did this happen? Men go their entire lives on the sea and not experience this. He was to be wed soon. He had it all and now, now he had nothing but the clothes on his back. He could only sit and wonder, usually he would have liked to explore this new world but now, he felt no yearning for adventure. Now all he cared for was the warmth of his castle back in Ichiro. He shook his head and looked at this strange white sand. Tears streamed down his face. Things looked grim, the gods had failed him.

***

Yoshi was searching frantically for any signs of life on the beach. He knew that if he was to survive he would need the others, plus, he wanted to know who all had made it. He came upon a few bodies, dead though, but no one he knew. He searched even harder, this time he spotted a familiar sword lying in the sand, as he went to pick it up, a hand reached out and grabbed him and a person emerged from the sand. "What in the gods happened? I can't remember anything." said the person groggy voice. Yoshi immediately recognized him, it was Rizuka. Rizuka wiped the sand from his face and spit out the granules that got in his mouth. The anger was quite apparent in his face. He did not like being confused.

Yoshi and Rizuka continued along the beach, Rizuka noticed a distinct change in Yoshi, somehow he looked, he seemed, different like a sudden resolve had taken over him and he became so determined in all his efforts.

They eventually stumbled upon Hidetaka trying desperately to conjure a teleportation spell back home. The distance was just too far he assumed, he couldn't find the power to do it, and with each effort he sapped more and more of his energy. With the ship totally destroyed and its remnants prominently displayed on the beach, their chances of returning home seemed grim. Rizuka and Hidetaka could not stop complaining about their misfortune and how they would be stuck. Yoshi never seemed to reply to their questions or add on to any of their statements. It just looked like he was just accepting it. Yoshi never said anything out loud, but his biggest concern was for Masamune. Masamune, he believed, likely would have begun exploring the surroundings and somehow endanger himself and Yoshi could not bear the thought. When Rizuka and Hidetaka began a small camp with what they could find and started a fire, Yoshi would only use the wood as torches to continue his treks along the beach. He had to find Masamune, and fast.

***

Masamune found some weapons scattered along the shores and put them in front of himself. The one he was most fixated on was the tanto, a small knife he could use. Not as a tool or a weapon, but as a means of ending himself. The thought rang through his mind all day. He could just not bring himself to do it. Was this truly what he was, a coward? Had all his training been for naught? Finally Masamune decided to look for Master Uri, if only he had his wisdom right now, Uri would know what to do.

Masamune armed himself with a bow he found and a few arrows plus a sword and the tanto. He was unfamiliar with this terrain and if he had been taught one thing, it was to always be prepared for the worst. He trekked through the wood surrounding the beach for signs of Uri, finally he found the master's necklace. Masamune's heart fell. Master Uri was not the kind to lose things, something happened to him. Why him? Why Uri, the one person who would know what to do right now? It seemed that the gods of fortune were not looking favorably on him now. He grew frustrated and cursed the heavens, he drew his tanto and almost struck himself when he heard a painful groan in the bush near where he found the necklace. Masamune approached it cautiously, he grew nervous as to what he might find. His mind created all sorts of things it could be and when he finally moved the leaves back he saw his old friend Roku covered in blood. When he saw Masamune he winced in pain and could only whisper "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

***

Masamune and Roku went back to the beach, and Roku informed Masamune about what transpired. Some creature had attacked the ship, many died just trying to get the ship near shore when finally the creature broke the ship in half and many people died then. Masamune, Roku, Master Uri, and a few others had survived by grasping onto a floating piece of wood. The initial attack had knocked Masamune unconscious and he remained that way for several days. Uri left the beach to get help with a few of the survivors. That night a straggler came limping back to camp saying they had been attacked and robbed and that several men were still alive in some sort of cage. Roku left Masamune on the beach to go help save the others but in the ensuing battle, Roku was hit several times while he tried to drag Master Uri out of a cage. He only managed to get his necklace before he collapsed. He wasn't sure what became of everyone else.

Masamune was devastated. But in his devastation he drew resolve. He had to find Uri and avenge his men. Even in this new world he still had his honor. The threat of these attackers plus his vengeful intentions led Masamune and Roku to arm themselves with whatever they could find remaining on the beach.

Boldly, they left for the forest, in search of what remained of Master Uri.

***

Yoshi's fears became greater when he found Masamune's seal but no other sign of him on the beach. Had Masamune even survived? Perhaps Masamune had gone into the forest and began exploring. Yoshi had to find out. He went back to the camp and the guys found what they could and left into the forest, in search of their dear friend.

(Meh, forgive the typos, I am really tired and spell check only makes sure all the words are spelled right, not accurate.)

((OOC:This will be a culture clash, Vetia is a very typical Western Kingdom. The only different is there Roman like engineering skils))

When word came of an unknown ship close to shore the coast fort nearby had to react quickly, a letter was sent to Angersmith to report what had happened another letters telling WildPass what happened and got together a group to investigate.

When Almerius and his group of 6 other Elves found the shipwreck they were quick to study the footprints and after some careful tracking they managed to find the path leading into a nearby forest. He hoped they were not that deep inside since they were near the western mountains and could not afford a Goblin raid right now.

They were lucky to not of been spotted by the coastal forts that run the entire coastline otherwise they would have been shot down by cannon fire, but if these were spies or anything sinister they had to be found. Veta liked roads for a reason because it made tracking immigrants easy.

Almerius gave a blow of his horn so any nearby patrols knew their position, Vetia had lost allot of patrols before so this was common practice. The chances of another patrol nearby to hear it was rare but it was just a precaution. Because patrols always vanished on the Western border the King made it a part of training to blow a horn whenever going into a place where you couldnt be seen easily so atleast another patrol in theroy had a direction to point too when people came asking where they were.

Armed with their bows and riding on there brown horses they trotted through the trees of the forests. In times of old this is where the Elves would of lived but Assimilation into Human culture has destroyed much Elven tradition in these lands. Infact when Almerius was about 40 years old (now he is 160) he lived in a Elven town near the darkstar reserve but with cities like Mitra and Angersmith with so much work and away from Goblins we couldnt resist. Now look at him, he hasnt spoken elven since his parents died and he would rather been seen dead then wear his old Elf garments since he found Human clothing much more comfortable.

Almerius was wearing a brown overcoat with a red shirt and black trousers underneath, he was supposed to be relaxing at the Fort but apparently you never stop working for the Vetian Garrison. It was allot like that in vetia everybody had no choice but to do their jobs unless they were rich and could afford for other people to do the job for them.

“Keep together now everyone, we have no time to wander around or hunt. If the intruders get any deeper in Vetia they could harm the nearby farmers” his fellow Elves were getting restless, but it was our role in the military to patrol. It just came naturally with our tracking and hunting skills. Just like the Orcs are used as shock troops to charge at the enemy, it was discrimination with good reason.

An anxious Masamune stormed through the forest wildly, brandishing his sword before him. Roku trailed behind, desperate to keep up. Vengeance was the only thing Masamune could think of, no one would hurt his master. Roku kept petitioning to him, "Master please, take caution. If they captured your master then they could be in this same forest."

Masamune would hear nothing of it. The only thought on his mind was killing the first man he saw. Finally Roku shushed his master and threw him to a bush then pointed in a direction. From that direction was the chatter of speak, some form of elven Roku presumed. He whispered, "Master, quietly, perhaps we can follow them back to their camp."

Masamune nodded, anger had swept over him and he would do whatever he had to to find his master. The two silently sat the bushes and watched as the patrol drew near...

***

Yoshi, Rikuza, and Hidetaka all went through the forest, however they felt no need to take precautions. They were moving about yelling "Lord Masamune" in their native tongue. Their calls bounced through the forest but they heard no reply. For many hours they searched and found nothing. They were indeed very far from Masamune it seemed. Yoshi's fears grew worse. What if something had happened to Masamune, he could hardly return without his lord and dear friend, if returning was even a possibility. The group continued to search, yelling and shouting as they went. They cared little for their safety at the moment, especially because they felt no danger...

As darkness started to creep up on them it was obvious they were going to have to make camp before continuing the track. Almerius orders one of the scouts to head back to the Fort to report in there position.

They take firewood and other supplies out of their bags, the horses and tied to trees as they setup tents and a fire. There was one rule for camping in the forest, don’t camp in the forest.

As the fire starts burning Almerius pulls out several vegetables from his bag and starts putting them in a pot with water. They were still elves and were not keen on eating animals more then were needed.

“Ok, there will be a rotation system for night watch going in opposite alphabetical order so that means it’s Zenacul, Wilpo, Nilo, Harris, Bera and then me. Each watch will last for 2 hours each, ok lets hit the sack” as they get into there small tents made out of a mix of animal hides and wool Almerius had to admit he was troubled by the situation.

Attacks on ships in the black sea were common with the Orc Raiders, but the Vetian navy has always managed to keep them back thank god. It was either the creature he heard about in Angersmith or maybe the fleet was in such bad shape they failed to keep back the raiders.

Atleast if it was the Orcs that would mean the King would finally put more funding towards shipbuilding and might actually upgrade the ships to take advantage of cannons.

Zenacul climbs a nearby tree to keep watch, a torch in his hand to help him see and a horn to blow if they are attacked so nearby patrols cold help, his bow was in his other hand ready to drop the torch and start firing if something was sighted. At this time of night patrols in this area would be limited, only Elves really patrolled the forests and only really during the day. The problem was the border with the Goblins was only a 3 day ride away, even if the pass was the only entrance through the mountains there was a little known coastal road that was used during the days of the Unification by Lorein.

Masamune and Roku sat silently and watched the camp from their bush. Masamune was growing impatient. He did not like having to sit and wait for battle, he though it was cowardly. Roku, however, was adept at ambush and tracking. That was his part of his job. This was easy for him, but he felt that at any moment Masamune could give away their cover and he would have to fight another unfavorable battle. There were only a few of them though., a few clean arrow shots could eliminate any resistance, especially since the men were sleeping. Roku whispered for his lord to sleep after he realized that the men were camping for the night. Roku was used to long periods without sleep, Masamune would need all his energy if battle was to be had.

Begrudgingly, Masamune finally went to sleep leaving Roku at ease, for he knew that he could be silent and still like the forest, blending in perfectly.

***

Yoshi and his companions drew closer and closer to the location of Masamune as they skirted along the forest extremities. Night had not quieted their calls as they had camped earlier and rested, they figured that Masamune would not move at night and so they could hopefully pin him down somewhere.

Their calls cut the silence of the night and could be heard for miles. Roku’s eyes grew wide as he heard the calls but he cursed his fortune as he knew he could not leave the sleeping Masamune nor reply to the calls. He knew also that those camping could not have missed the calls either. This did not bode well.

Yoshi and crew were not aware of the patrol and so continued their calls as they drew nearer and nearer. Yoshi was still anxious about Masamune, it was so long, he could be anywhere…

Nilo was on call when she heard shouting in the distance

"Almerius! I can hear people shouting!" she jumps down from the tree to wake the others.

Almerius who was sleeping in his Armour gets up fast, he cuts the rope holding the horses but he had no plan of riding them fast through such thick foliage.

"Everybody arm up and get ready for the sprint of a lifetime" as they get there weapons on they hear the calls, it was a unknown language (im guessing) the only languages spoken in the Kingdom is Anglo, Elven and central Dwarf.

Almerius is quick to order the others in Anglo, the most common language in the world.

"Come on, if these vandals get any further into the Kingdom it's my head on the King platter. Run for VETIA!" he shouted the last bit as a joke, but the first bit was true.

They start running through the forest towards the sound, weapons in hilt because they had no plans on harming the invaders they would just be arrested and taken to Lorein for questioning....there they will most likely be harmed.

They speed through the forest, the Elves of Vetia are at home in the forest and have no problem running through it at full speed. It was a natural ability that made them so sought after in patrols.

When they saw who was making the noise they jumped into the tree tops to examine them, then Almerius jumps down right in front of there little party and says in Anglo.

"What is your purpose in Vetia? I am Captain Almerius of the Standing Army"

All around the elves had there bows pulled back and ready to strike if anything ugly started, Almerius (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i116/Belcameron/ScreenShot00120.jpg) probably didn't look like a Elf save for his pointy ears.

"I don't suggest fighting back, even if you did manage to win all you would do is get a proper army sent after you"

Yoshi hled up his hands preventing his partner from either drawing their weapons or casting a spell. Yoshi attempted to communicate but his confrontor knew neither Tengoku nor any of their dialects, likely due to them being such localized languages. He thought back to school, he knew a little elvish and he tried to say "lost". He wasn't sure if he was pronouncing it correctly. He struggled with the word several times before Hidetaka cast "Comprehend Languages", a temporary spell that allowed the Elf to understand Tengoku.

With the spell cast, Yoshi explained how they ended up crashed on the beach and that they were in search of their friend.

While Yoshi spoke with the Elves, Roku and Masamune follwed closely behind the elves, they moved quickly however and it took all of Roku's tracking skills to find them. Once they were found and Roku saw that they had found Yoshi, Roku drew an arrow and waited for any suspicious movements. Masamune however would not wait for another friend to be carted off. With his bow he let fly an arrow directly at the man talking to his friend, he usually doesn't miss...

(Giving you the option as to where it hits, if it hits, death blow or just a minor injury.)

Almerius ears perked up at the last second and managed to just evade getting a nasty cut on his shoulder instead of a entire arrow in his neck.

All of a sudden the other elves start firing like machine guns into the area where it came from, Almerius raises his hand to tell them to stop by now the area was littered with arrows.

"stand down, or you will be arrested and taken to Lorein for interrogation"

He then looks over to Yoshi.

"Get your friend to understand some common-sense, because if the person who just shot me tries that again I will tell my Elves to fire accurately and trust me nothing fires a arrow better then a angry Elf. Besides your shipwreck story seems to fit in with what has been happening, we have lost 7 ships in the black sea recently and trade has gone down to a snail pace"

He takes a bandage out of his pocket and starts wrapping it around his wound, his fellow Elves keep a eye on the exact spot where the arrow came from and they were ready to fire.

Yoshi watched as the arrow hit the man in front of him, the reflexes of this man were great, perhaps they were dealing with someone of a very high calibur, no matter though, Yoshi and his friends were young and still learning, but they were of the best in the empire. As to who shot the arrow was still a mystery, why the man had identified it as one of Yoshi's friends was confusing. Perhaps he believed that more of Yoshi's friends had been spotted in the woods and that they were apart of some kind of elaborate plan. No matter, Yoshi would find out who it was soon enough. Calling out in Tenfoku, Yoshi yelled, "I am Yoshi of the Spirit Monks, apprentice. If you are a friend stand down, we are in no danger here."

Silence...

"Identify yourselves please." He called again.

Finally a response. "I am your master, Ichiro Masamune of the Ichiro clan. Your voice brings me great joy. Who might these men be?"

Yoshi responded, "Elves maybe. But they have not threatened us yet. Cease fire for now please master. Perhaps they can help us."

Masamune and Roku emerged from the pelted area. Roku had been scaved along his right arm. They eyed the group and looked to see if Yoshi was alright. Then they simply waited for what the elves would do next.

Almerius was quick to the point, since one of them at attempted to speak Elven he would stick to that.

"I am as I said Almerius Monran, I am a captain in the standing army of Vetia" He pulls out a rough and tattered map showing Vetia and the surrounding area and through it over to Yoshi.

"Now was that your ship back there? you see the Kingdom is not used to foreigners crashing on the beach. Unless you can give me a good reason to why I shouldnt arrest you and hand you into the Lord of Lorein I cannot let you leave the Kingdom"

Almerius pulls out a pipe, his fellow elves roll there eyes but sadly Almerius was addicted. After taking a few puffs he continues.

"Trust me Lorein is the last place you want to go"