De Eredan.
The Kotoba
Meragi, capital of the Xzia Empire. Gardens of the Imperial Palace.
The Emperor walked alone along the aisles of a place he was particularly fond of. He smiled as he admired the flowers that bloomed in a shimmer of beautiful colors. He then came accross a large pond where small carp were swimming just below the surface. He knelt down and observed the fish that were battling for food...suddenly the Emperor frowned.
- What is it Tsuro?
Behind the Emperor was a man dressed in dark clothing and a long white beard, the man kneeled, his eyes were closed as a sign of respect.
-Your worship, forgive my intrusion but I have urgent information.
- I’m all ears Tsuro.
- Last night, something fell from the sky. According to the villagers of Okia, it was large stone surrounded by blazing flames. The Impact was so strong that it shook the ground.
-This isn’t the first time we experienced this Tsuro.
- Yes, but my spies in the Noz’Dingard camp have reported that some envoys are traveling to the impact point.
-Is this happening on the Empire’s land Tsuro ?
Tsuro seemed embarassed for a moment
- No, far away actually...in the place that we now call the Tomb of the Elders.
The Emperor's eyes widened.
- Call upon the Kotoba immediately.
- Tis already done my liege
Tsuro bowed and the Emperor smiled in return
The same evening, in a room of the Imperial palace, people reassembled.
The Emperor and Tsuro were there, others attended the meeting, most looked like warriors. There was the Imperial Lord, Gakyusha, leader of the Kotoba and his young son, Iro, the experienced duelist. Members of the army were there also, these individuals were considered as heroes amongst the Xzia like Asajiro or Xin The Ironbringer and Sen’Ryaku, one of the rare women amongst the Imperial army. The Emperor and Gakyusha were in a deep conversaton . After an hour or so, The Imperial Lord stood up and bowed to the Emperor then walked on the other side of the room.
Gakyusha stood still and closed his eyes, He took a deep breath and shouted
-This meeting never happened, you did not see or hear anything, the Emperor commands and the Kotoba obey! Bow before our Emperor!
All bowed in silence for a long time. This was the ritual of a Kotoba meeting, and ever since its creation it had always been that way. There is no more loyal to the emperor than its members.
- Your loyalty is the honor of the Empire and your actions make me proud.
Gakyusha stood up and all the members did exactly the same.
- We have a new mission and we will depart now, I will give you the rest of the information on the way , we will receive a few updates on the situation when we meet our friends in Okia. Understood ?
-Yes, sir!
The day after, the clan was found resting in a tavern they had booked in its entirety for a few days. The Tavern called the ”Flower Tea” wasn’t exactly the most luxurious of places but the Kotoba had other things on their mind and were content to have a place to rest for a while. Gathered around a cup of tea, the clan was obviously expecting something or someone.
- She’ll be there soon Gakyusha, do not worry.
- Tsuro, Amaya is late and trackers cannot be late. Punctuality is their first rule isn’t it ?
The old man looked embarassed and smiled like an idiot.
- And I thought the first rule for the Imperial Lords was patience.
-"Touché" said Gakyusha.
Gakyusha chuckled lightly with Tsuro and then suddenly, stood up, unsheathed his sword and threw it to a wall. The sword pierced the wall with tremendous power, just above the head of a young woman.
- Amaya!! said Tsuro. - Attempting to suprise us isn’t the best of solutions right now! I hope you have the information we asked for at least!
The young woman acquiesced, still in shock. She took out a roll of parchment out of her bag and handed it to the imperial lord while bowing respectfully. Gakyusha seized the parchment and looked at Tsuro who gave him a nod. Then he unrolled the scroll and placed it on the ground.
- I am Gakyusha, the Imperial Lord, leader of the Kotoba!
At these words, a light and ideograms appeared suspended in the air over the parchment. All rose and placed a hand in the illusion. Immediately a flood of images reached them.
The Tomb of the Elders was a special place, this place was source of constant conflict between The Xzia Empire and Draconia, both claiming that they owned this sacred land. This was the set of numerous confrontations between the two parties. "Ten years ago the Emperor and Prophet, the spokesperson of the Draconian people, agreed on the cessation of hostilities and decided that this land was now neutral and could not be claimed otherwise misfortune would descend on the offenders. At the center of this Desolation was a large smokey pit with what seemed to be a large yellow tainted gem inside it. The images were not very clear, it seemed that the stone was emitting some sort of aura that disrupted magic. Another image could also be seen farther north, smoke coming from a camp of blue tents, the Draconian sign could be seen.
- They are already there! shouted Gakyusha.
The images stopped and the parchment transformed into dust.
- Gakyusha-sama, I think I know how to get us there quickly. The frail figure of Sen'ryaku advanced with a feline approach.
-We will have to use magic to cross the distance that still separates us from the Tomb of the Elders, as we all know, we no longer have mages in our dear Kotoba clan since the depature of the Betrayer. But I know someone who is more powerful than he will ever be and he is here in Okai.
- Who ? asked Iro suspiciously.
- Aku! said Sen’ryaku proudly
- Wh... That is out of the question! said Tsuro with determination.
- Aku is punished and needs to redeem himself of his sins.
- I understand that Tsuro-Sama, but do we have a better solution to get there before the Envoys, knowing that only the Tsoutai can act on distance ?
Gakyusha closed his eyes scratching his beard and looked very thoughtful, he opened his eyes and said:
- Prepare yourselves, we are leaving now. Officer, get me Aku now, we don’t have much time.
Kotoba Characters
Aku
Akujin
Amaya:
After years of tough training thanks to Tsuro, Amaya obtained her tracker rank successfully. She is more specialised in chasing Marauders than chasing Mages, however, she is a talented killer. Will this be Tsuro’s legacy?
Asajiro
Gakyusha, the Imperial Lord
Iro
Kyoshiro
Okooni
Ryouken
Sen'ryaku
Tsuro
Xïn the Metalcarrier
