FlamingKobold
2010-08-17, 12:46 AM
There is strife.
Long ago, there were 7 nations. Fire, earth, water, steel, air, light, and darkness. These nations were scattered across the world, living in relative harmony. Wars were fought, but for the most part, the kingdoms were peaceful. Until the coming of the void.
The void swept into the world, and no one noticed a single agent of them. There were rumors that they did not exist. One day, a city would be alive and flourishing. Then, at night, the void came. The next morning, there would be no blood. No bodies. No sign of a struggle. No trace of their existence. No trace of any of the villagers, either.
For years, the void raged a shadow war, hiding in the darkness, causing villages to disappear in their wake. No one survived. They struck at random, and had no demands. It was swift, silent, undetectable, and unpredictable. And then it stopped almost as quickly as it came. After wiping out half of the world, the void disappeared. Legends tell that they will come back, but no one believes it.
However, what they do not know, is that the void is more aptly named than they know. They come from beyond our world, and are unaffected by our laws. They come from what the people today know as the 'far realms'. They are master assassins, only able to come every thousand years. They destroy all that they can, but they have a motive. An alien, unknown motive that human minds cannot comprehend. And they are moving towards it.
The nation of darkness knows it. They let them into the material plane in the first place. Dark shamans and warlocks of their tribe wanted to control the nations through fear and destruction, and so bound the beasts to our realm. However, the creatures were smarter and stronger than they thought. They broke free of the seals binding them to the wills of their summoners with ease, and, rather than returning home, they decided to, for some reason, stay. The ones who brought them to the plane saw the destruction wreaked, in ways mortal eyes could not see. While regular eyes saw everything except the corpses, the magic wielding people saw what happened. Corpses were imbued with chaos, mutated and maimed horribly. Even to their black hearts the scene was disgusting. They, despite their nature, sacrificed their lives to end the threat.
But it would not be permanent. The bindings they had wrought earlier were stronger than they had thought. The stars themselves were part of the force to bind the void to the world. Every thousand years, when the stars aligned, the seal would once again bring the void to the world until the third month of the year. However, this would not come to pass this time.
Legend in the clan of darkness says that, one time, the stars would not send the void home. That they would stay on the world. If this were to occur, humanity would be wiped out in thirteen months. The void grows stronger in the world every passing day that is there, the mangled corpses of it's victims joining it's ranks. However, the clan also prepared for this day.
For they made shinobi. Masters of stealth and skill, who could do the impossible with ease. These elite warriors trained doing impossible missions, working for hire to assassinate kings and ambassadors, sometimes even replacing them. However, these were all just tests and training. They all knew that they would eventually have to use their skills to destroy the binds of their ancestors.
However, the other clans didn't know that. The clan of light, darkness's everlasting rival, upon seeing the first acts of the shinobi, attempted to wipe out the entire clan. They succeeded in scattering the shinobi to the winds, leaving territory unoccupied. The greedy nation of fire expanded into these lands, combated by water. At first, these were mere squabbles. But as the stars begin to align, tensions become greater. Wars broke out even more, involving the neutral countries in disputes. As the world approaches it's downfall, the clans stand in disarray, making the jobs of the shinobi harder.
The final clock is ticking. The clan that is said to have been destroyed is making it's final preparations. They are going to fulfill their duties as the defenders of the world, even though they are regarded as shady beings working for their own ends, using demon magic and vile acts to achieve their goal, which led to their destruction. They will save the world, without the world noticing.
Such is the way of the shinobi. None of you know of any other shinobi still in existence, as long ago they had scattered to the four winds. You are all in a small fire clan town, waiting until you must fulfill your obligations to your clan and meet your destiny.
That day has come.
As the sun sets along the horizon, you feel a sharp jolt and a sweeping sensation of forewarning. Suddenly, you hear a raspy voice in your head that says, "The time has come. The void is among you. Fulfill your destiny." You know, somehow intrinsically, that you must go to the docks of the town and that, for the first time in your lives, you are not alone. At least, not yet.
OOC here. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9159862#post9159862)
Long ago, there were 7 nations. Fire, earth, water, steel, air, light, and darkness. These nations were scattered across the world, living in relative harmony. Wars were fought, but for the most part, the kingdoms were peaceful. Until the coming of the void.
The void swept into the world, and no one noticed a single agent of them. There were rumors that they did not exist. One day, a city would be alive and flourishing. Then, at night, the void came. The next morning, there would be no blood. No bodies. No sign of a struggle. No trace of their existence. No trace of any of the villagers, either.
For years, the void raged a shadow war, hiding in the darkness, causing villages to disappear in their wake. No one survived. They struck at random, and had no demands. It was swift, silent, undetectable, and unpredictable. And then it stopped almost as quickly as it came. After wiping out half of the world, the void disappeared. Legends tell that they will come back, but no one believes it.
However, what they do not know, is that the void is more aptly named than they know. They come from beyond our world, and are unaffected by our laws. They come from what the people today know as the 'far realms'. They are master assassins, only able to come every thousand years. They destroy all that they can, but they have a motive. An alien, unknown motive that human minds cannot comprehend. And they are moving towards it.
The nation of darkness knows it. They let them into the material plane in the first place. Dark shamans and warlocks of their tribe wanted to control the nations through fear and destruction, and so bound the beasts to our realm. However, the creatures were smarter and stronger than they thought. They broke free of the seals binding them to the wills of their summoners with ease, and, rather than returning home, they decided to, for some reason, stay. The ones who brought them to the plane saw the destruction wreaked, in ways mortal eyes could not see. While regular eyes saw everything except the corpses, the magic wielding people saw what happened. Corpses were imbued with chaos, mutated and maimed horribly. Even to their black hearts the scene was disgusting. They, despite their nature, sacrificed their lives to end the threat.
But it would not be permanent. The bindings they had wrought earlier were stronger than they had thought. The stars themselves were part of the force to bind the void to the world. Every thousand years, when the stars aligned, the seal would once again bring the void to the world until the third month of the year. However, this would not come to pass this time.
Legend in the clan of darkness says that, one time, the stars would not send the void home. That they would stay on the world. If this were to occur, humanity would be wiped out in thirteen months. The void grows stronger in the world every passing day that is there, the mangled corpses of it's victims joining it's ranks. However, the clan also prepared for this day.
For they made shinobi. Masters of stealth and skill, who could do the impossible with ease. These elite warriors trained doing impossible missions, working for hire to assassinate kings and ambassadors, sometimes even replacing them. However, these were all just tests and training. They all knew that they would eventually have to use their skills to destroy the binds of their ancestors.
However, the other clans didn't know that. The clan of light, darkness's everlasting rival, upon seeing the first acts of the shinobi, attempted to wipe out the entire clan. They succeeded in scattering the shinobi to the winds, leaving territory unoccupied. The greedy nation of fire expanded into these lands, combated by water. At first, these were mere squabbles. But as the stars begin to align, tensions become greater. Wars broke out even more, involving the neutral countries in disputes. As the world approaches it's downfall, the clans stand in disarray, making the jobs of the shinobi harder.
The final clock is ticking. The clan that is said to have been destroyed is making it's final preparations. They are going to fulfill their duties as the defenders of the world, even though they are regarded as shady beings working for their own ends, using demon magic and vile acts to achieve their goal, which led to their destruction. They will save the world, without the world noticing.
Such is the way of the shinobi. None of you know of any other shinobi still in existence, as long ago they had scattered to the four winds. You are all in a small fire clan town, waiting until you must fulfill your obligations to your clan and meet your destiny.
That day has come.
As the sun sets along the horizon, you feel a sharp jolt and a sweeping sensation of forewarning. Suddenly, you hear a raspy voice in your head that says, "The time has come. The void is among you. Fulfill your destiny." You know, somehow intrinsically, that you must go to the docks of the town and that, for the first time in your lives, you are not alone. At least, not yet.
OOC here. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9159862#post9159862)