Previously...

The wind wipsers a tale,"It is said that if you travel several days to the north of Silver Lake, near the edge of The Spiderhaunt Woods you will come to the the foot of The Spine Mountains. It is there, should fortune smile upon you, that you might catch a glimpse of an old man garbed in strange robes not of this land. He seems to be waiting for something or perhaps someone, this much is not known because the wind only catches pieces of the tale. Will you unlock the rest of this story?"
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And now...

It was a calm night. The wind did not even so much as rustle the leaves. The sky was clear and the waning moon bathed the surrounding area with just enough light to clearly see. Fall was just beginning to make it's presence known, but the temperature had not dropped enough to be unbearable yet.

In the days previous they had all heard the rumors, but few had been compelled to act upon them like the group that now made it's way North on this night. Idle conversation and a driving curiosity had placed them in the company of one another, but they did not take the time spent traveling to delve into deeper and more personal matters...lest they lose sight of the reason they traveled together in the 1st place. It had been this way for the better part of 3 days. Many of them had grown weary during the journey, but they kept this information to themselves and pressed on towards their common goal. The moon watched them from almost directly overhead which meant they were just beginning the second half of the night. Common sense told them to make camp, but nagging curiosity kept telling them, "You're almost there," and so they continued.

Upon reaching the top of a rather large hill they peered down into a flat wooded area below them. The Spine Mountains were easily visible on the horizon and a keen eye could almost see where they met the Earth. Morale increased when the silent one, Arioch, pointed down and to their right where a small fire could barely be seen in the distance. The others congratulated their silent companion on his discovery and, with renewed enthusiasm, they proceeded down the hill and towards the campfire.

It was an open clearing in the lightly forrested area that greeted them. As they drew closer the wind picked up and playfully moved the leaves around them. They could make out the form of what appeared to be a man sitting at the fire. Could this be the one they were seeking? They moved into the clearing, their eyes transfixed on his form. Without turning to he rose from his seated position and held out his right arm. A crow leapt from a branch above them and flew to the man, landing on his outstreatched arm. The anticipation was almost more than the travelers could bare. When they were in speaking range the man instantly turned to them...


"Excellent, you have come exactly when you were expected to..."

[OOC]No, that's not all. I'm just posting this so you all have something to read while I continue. Please, I emplor you, take no action until you are asked to do so. I'll drop keys to let you know when to interact. I am not finished setting the scene....and I'm hungry. Time to get a snack. ;) [OOC]

Greeting them all with a pleasant smile, he continues with,"....yes, exactly when you were expected. Not to soon and not too late. This will do nicely. I am certain you all have several questions and some of them I will answer before this night ends, but for now let me simply say my name is Shinsei and I have traveled far to meet you all."

With that he seats himself and motions for the travelers to join him. With all seated he continues,"There is much knowledge to be gained in this world and there are multiple ways in which to gain it. Maybe it's the long years in the Monastery, but I am the kind of person who appreciated a good story and so now I shall tell you one. Afterwards we will begin our journey."

He leans forward and draws a lone circle in the dirt.

"Do you see the circle that I have drawn here? Where is the beginning? Where is the ending? Of course you cannot answer for there is no answer to this question. There must be a beginning and an ending, but there is neither."

"Just like the circle this story has no beginning and no ending. Before this world, there was another. After this world, there will be another, and our souls will fall into that world, carried by the weight of our great and lowly deeds. This is the way of things and it is a way that you all must learn. Only by learning this way can you find peace in this world of sorrow."

"The beginnign of this world, as it has been with every world, is with nothing. Nothing was alone in the void, and so it was for countless ages. Then, without warning, Nothing realized it was alone, and it was afraid. This created one third of the world. Then, Nothing realized that it desired a companion. This created another third. Lastly, Nothing realized that it's weakness had created the world, and it felt regret, wishing to undo what it had done. Nothing's regret completed the world and made it whole."

"When Nothing spoke it's words, the world was made. At first, the stuff of the world was like an egg whose heavy yolk had been broken and mixed together with the delicate white. The delicate seperated from the heavy and the delicate rose as the heavy fell. The delicate rose even higher, but some of it hesitated and became the sky and clouds. The rest climbed for what seemed ot be forever and became the high Heavens. The heavy stuff fell deeper and deeper, forming nothing but the shapeles chaos of a jellyfish. And so it was for many, many years."

"With the creation of the Heavens came the creation of the Three Gods Whose Names Cannot Be Spoken. They recognized the need to bring form to the earth below, and so together they created a young man and a young woman to give it shape and form. In order to create the man and woman, they used their names, which is why we cannot say any more of them."

"The man and woman were born in Heaven and looked down upon the shapeless earth, seeing need to bring it shape. They descended on a rainbow and found that it was like a jellyfish. The man and woman pondered on how to give it shape, and realized that the only way to do so would be to name it. They thought long and hard about the name to give to the world, and when it was ready, they kissed the formless earth and whispered the name. As the name was spoken, so were their own names. The woman became Amaterasu, The Sun, and the man became Onnotangu, The Moon. Together, they floated through the sky and above the newly named earth as it took shape. The land seperated from the sea and from the fertile soil, plants grew. In the warm ocean, the fishes took their many shapes. In the Heavens, the Fortunes began to take form, born in the dreams of the creatures that slept below. The Moon and the Sun flew around the world again and again until all of the creatures chose their shapes. Then they rested, and looked down on the earth. To their amazement, some of the creatures began to build."

With this, Shinsei braces himself against his staff and rises to his feet. He looks to the sky and then to the travelers,"We will finish the story as we travel. It is time to end this journey and begin the next," he says with a smile. He starts to walk off towards the mountains and the travelers follow him.

A few minutes into their travels he starts up again,"A good story can help to both pass the time and trick the feet into not counting the steps, so I shall continue my tale..."

"Shortly after they completed the creation of the world, Lord Moon began to chase Lady Sun accross the sky, and he still does so, even now," with a grin he points to the waning moon in the sky and continues,

"One day he managed to catch her, and many months later, there were Nine Children: Hida, Doji, Togashi, Akodo, Shiba, Bayushi, Shinjo, Fu Leng and Hantei. Lord Moon knew that any children whose veins carried both elements of Sun and Moon would grow to be greater than he, and so, despite protests of Lady Sun, he swallowed the children, one by one."

"As he began swallowing the children, Lady Sun offered him a cup of sake after each one. She put a drop of poison in each cup, until Lord Moon became so drunk and numb that he did not notice that she had replaced the last child, Hantei, with a rock."

"Soon, Lord Moon fell to sleep and as he slept, Lady Sun trained Hantei in the skills he would need to defeat his father. Lord Moon awoke, Hantei was ready. The battle that took place between them was great, but in the end, Hantei sliced open his father's belly and the children fell out to the Earth below. Only Fu Leng remained, clinging to his father. Hantei sliced his father's hand, breaking his grip, and causing Fu Leng and Lord Moon's severed hand to follow his brothers and sisters to the Earth below. But, at the last moment, he reached out and Hantei, dragging his brother down with him. Hantei and Fu Leng fought as they fell."

"As soon as the Children of Sun and Moon touched the Earth, they ceased being divine. While they were still not mortal men, they were also no longer gods. They gathered together,except for Fu Leng who disappeared after his fall and could not be found, and decided that they would hold a tournament to see who should rule among them. The winner of the contest was Hantei, and it was decided that his dynasty would rule the others. As Hantei was the Emperor, each of his brothers and sisters went out into the known lands and spoke to man. It was then that they made man a promise We will teach you the ways of the world and protect you from it's evils. Serve us with humility and obedience and we will keep this promise. Man accepted the promise and The Seven Great Clans were formed."

"Hida formed the Crab Clan, Doji formed the Crane, Togashi formed the Dragon Clan and Akodo formed the Lion. Shiba formed the Phoenix Clan while Shinjo formed the Unicorn. Lastly, the Scorpion Clan was formed by Bayushi. Together the Clans took mortal man under their wing and began a new age."

With this Shinsei stops both his story and his walking. Before them is what appears to be a large field blanketed in the a thick fog. Shinsei turns to the travelers,"One momment and we will proceed. This is one of the trickier portions of our night's journey."

[OOC] Another break...one more of these and The Introduction will be completed. For now, read what I have written so far and enjoy. :D [OOC]

Shinsei raises his hand and quietly hums to himself for a momment. The travelers watch in confusion and Azrael even leans forward to get a closer inspection of the situation. A few momments pass when suddenly all of the fireflies in the area move towards his hand and hover over it like a lantern. He then turns to the travelers,"Yes, this portion is most tricky, indeed. You have come this far, but you will need to follow me no matter what to go farther." With that he walks off into the fog.

As the travelers walk through the fog the wind carries all kinds strang and disorientating sounds, seemingly from all direction. The travelers pause for a momment, but Dusk brushes past them without missing a step and they all follow, trying to keep up with the light of the fireflies.

Eventually they all come to the other side of the fog and are shocked to find a large wall of fire stands before them. Apprehensively they each attempt to spot Shinsei, and do so rather easily since he is still walking directly forwards, towards the wall of fire. They all slowly follow to see what he is going to do, except for Arioch who seems to be transfixed on the tower of fire before him. A polite nudge from Oplasma sets him in motion again though. Shinsei never stops walking and simply walks into the wall of fire. At this point Arioch is too busy gazing at the fire and walking to notice this and simply walks into the wall of fire as well. A momment later Azrael follows, and then the rest of the travelers. They all emerge on the other side unscathed. The fire was not real. Arioch seems somewhat saddened by this realization. They quickly locate Shinsei and continue following him.

At this point the base of The Spine Mountains comes into view and the travelers sigh in relief for having made it there. Shinsei walks towards a body of water and the travelers follow, while Arioch's steps seem to be slowing down as they get closer and closer. When they reach the water, once again, Shinsei does not miss a step and proceeds to walk directly into the water and eventually vanishes into it, but the light from the fireflies still shines in the water. Arioch stops dead in his tracks, trembling, but Zeus immediately notices and lifts him off the ground. He continues towards the water,"Oh come on. You know it's not real. His robes didn't even get wet." Hearing this they all descend into the pool of water.

Zeus proves to be correct as the travelers emerge inside what appears to be a cave, completely uneffected by the water. Zeus deposits Arioch on the ground and joins the others in trying to spot Shinsei. A momment later Arioch has composed himself and stands to assit them. Naruko points to a light trace of light which appears to be comming from the tunnel up ahead and they all press forward.

A little ways into the tunnel the room opens up, but it comes to a dead end. The travelers look to each other in puzzlement trying to figure out where Shinsei could have gone. Dusk stops for a momment and closes his eyes. Then he immediately opens them and points forward,"This way, the wind is blowing from this way." They all look at one another and think about this while Dusk steps forward and vanished into the rock. They all follow.

The other side is completely devoid of any light, except a faint dot in the distance that they all assume is the fireflies. Naruko is the first to step forward, closely followed by Azrael, and then the others.

They all walk for what seems like forever until they can sense the room is once again getting smaller, and eventually it becomes a small tunnel again. They round a corner to find a small chamber bathed in an eerie violet light. Standing in the center of the room is Shinsei and he is smiling,"Well done, although I had no doubt you would all make it...."

"You have each heard the call and answered it. You have all crossed your lands from wherever you come from to find me. You all have heard my story. You have all walked with me in this journey. Finally, you have all crossed the Trial of 5 and arrived here." Arioch speaks up,"But where is here?" Shinsei laughs lightly to himself and smiles,"This place has no name nor does it appear on any map you will likely ever find, but I like to call it my Chamber of Choices. I think it has a nice ring to it, and it's fitting when you consider the two choices I am about to provide to you."

"The 1st choice is a simple one. You have gone though much and come far, but will you go farther? In the next room is a portal to my world. The world called Rokugan. For centuries it has been prophesied that 6 travelers from another world would enter Rokugan, live amongst it peoples, fight it's battles, learns it's lessons, and in the empire's darkest hour they would shine bright enough to save all. Are you those 6?"

The travelers look around from person to person trying to guess what the others will say, but Azrael is the 1st to step forward,"I will go." Shinsei smiles,"I know you will, but what of the rest of you?" The others step forward as well and Shinsei claps his hands in delight,"Excellent! there is but one more choice you need to make, but listen carefully because this it's very important.'

"The world is bound together by 5 rings. One to represent each element, and one to hold them all together. Since you are my chosen 6 you will each choose which ring best represents you in your travels."

"Earth is the element of passive strength, resistance, and fortitude. The Mountain is the symbol of Earth. It is quiet, dignified, and eternal. All life blossoms from the earth and one day must return to it. It is the element of healing, regenration, and renewal. Will you be represented by Earth?"

"Water is the element of strength. Unlike the passive strength of the mountain, the river cuts away at the mountain. The ocean crashes on the shore, and the storm pounds down on the earth, unrelenting in it's rage. But water is also the element of clarity. Water is pure and it is that purity that washes away taint and deceit. Will you be represented by Water?"

"Fire is the element of active energy. It is the element of activity, action, motion, and force. It is also the element of Inspiration, Illumination, and clear thought. Fire is the ever changing element. Our mastery of fire sets us apart from other species, yet we who know fire best can be hurt the most by it. Will you be represented by Fire?"

"Air is the element of intuition. No one can see the air, but everyone can feel it's effects. Air represents all of the forces that are not seen, but are known to be present. It is also the element of storms. It is the element of both subtlety and unpredictability. air is the element of free motion, intangible knowledge, and destruction. Will you be represented by Air?"

"Void is nothingness, yet he who understands Void can understand everything. If one has nothing, then they have everything to gain and nothing to lose. Void is adaptable, if you have nothing you can fill it with whatever you need. Shape clay into a vessel, it is the space within that makes it useful. Void binds the elements together and creates harmony from nothingness. Will you be represented by Void?"

Shinsei stretches out his hands, his eyes move from person to person throughout the room,"What I speak is but a portion of what is there, but it is that portion from which you must make your decision. So which ring will represent you?"

[OOC] And this is where our story begins. The autopilot is off for now, but I do hope you enjoyed the tale thus far. I leave you to make both a simple choice and a difficult choice. Each of you need only step forward and make your choice, but choose wisely.

Clarification: This is not a 1st come 1st serve kind of deal. Multiple people can pick the same ring, considering there are 6 of you and only 5 choices. ;)[OOC]

Zues steps forward in the anticipation, "Shinsei, I would be honored to carry the ring of fire. Strong and active, but yet smart and suttle. Lets do this guys."

*pats zueses shoulder and nods.*

"Easy choice, Fire!" Azrael pulls forth his lyre and begin playing soft theme music.

Naruko steps forward " Well, I'll choose the ring of Void, I know much but would love to no more and as the saying goes, One who knows nothing can learn nothing."

"and Knowledge is Power" Azrael sings along, playing a sweet melody.

"Im so amazed that you can be so calm about all this Azrael, just keep playing"

"Why worry, it just shortens your lifespan" and he continues to play.

Zues begins to speak with a noticable edge in his tone, "Dusk Kyrath & Oplasma, we dont have all day... hurry up already and choose the ring you desire so we can get going and fulfill what needs to be fulfulled! This isnt storytime, now is time for action!"

"Ah my large friend, lack of patience leads to an early grave also, listen to some dollcid tones, and let our campadres decide, this is not a decision to be taken lighly." Azrael begins playing a soothing melody, flashing his woderous and soothing smile in you direction. :D

Zues begins to speak, "Look, you fools need to realize that this isnt a game, this is a matter that needs to be taken very seriously. This isnt time for slacking off or playing music, its time to gain as much knowledge that we can so we can acheive our goal."
Zues takes a look at each member, "Sometimes people never cease to amaze me..."

" Same can be said for you Mr. Zues but you do put up an interesting point,this is a matter of life and death and they should choose wisely, maybe thats why they are taking there time"

"Ah, I see, one of many muscles, but as you say, is this not the most important descision of our life? Serious, why yes my dear, I am always deadly serious . ." Azrael trails of and continues to play absent mindedly.

Shinsei moves his hands in a calming motion,"A decision made in haste is often times an oppertunity forsaken. Give them a momment to gather their thoughts."

[OOC] Especially when you consider that 1) They might not have been online and had the time to read all of this yet and 2) Gametime and Real Time are not equal...Everything that has transpired since Shinsei posed the question could be done in under 5 minutes. Then there's the fact that had you all magically appearedon the forums within an hour of that posting....there wouldn't have been a GM to progress the storyline...and trying to hurry Shinsei along would more than likely prove to be a fruitless endeavor. ;) [OOC]

[OOC] Just taking this time to kind of let the other members of the team to get a feel for my character. Whatever I post on here unless I say OOC is coming straight from my character and is taking in absolutly no consideration in what is going on in real life ;)

"Yes listen to man Zues, for he is old, which makes him wise by default" and Azrael winks at you, giggles, and continues to play.

"Oh geez, if it really came down to it I could save the whole little town known as Rokugan by myself, you people are MY support"

"Don't worry, first thing with teeth we encounter, you can slay, and I will sing your praises", Azrael laughs again.

"Ha, I'd like to see you try, the old man wants OUR help and thats what we are going to do"

*Dusk smiles faintly and gives a small chuckle.*

This is a simple choice. I know what I choose...I choose the Ring of Wind. ^_^

Free flowing and working its magic without much notice.

Zues finially just takes a sit and observes his surroundings while thinking about the journy that lies ahead.

"Wow, finially you decide to speak... Magic is weak, Skill is what really makes a man... But anyway, Oplasma, do as your told an choose a ring"

Magic is certainly not weak. :angry:

Especially one of the wind...

When a hurricane stikes, even the mightiest warrior must succumb to the storm...or have you forgotten that Zeus? :P

Azrael continues playing and observing. "Man is nothing as compared to the elements, art, and thought".

"Magic shows a lack of pure skill, it signifies weakness... Using magic isnt combat, its cowardly"

See? At least one person agrees with me. ^_^

*wraps himself up in his cloak and turns to Zeus*

Since when have you been leader anyway? You sound so impatient.

Anyways, I thought that we decided that Azrael would be it.

"Of course that is what you decided, who else would you choose . ." and he continues to play.

" Hey, just becuase you have a big weapon doesnt mean your a man,man is on a never ending quest of knowledge, how do you think early man was able to make weapons,out of knowledge and a warrior of your,eer,position wouldnt stand a chance against a magician such as my father so shut it"

*still facing Zeus*

... <_<

Magic takes skill as well. You're just jealous that you can't cast the simplest of spells despite your age.

"And the two of you are jealous that you cannot spilt someone in half with an axe, and you are all jealous of my mastery of music, so were even"

" You are correct about on thing,I am jealous of not having great phsyical strength but glad I have something they can never obtain, knowledge which will pay in the long run and I can play the flute as well as you, I forgot to bring on thou :lol:"

"The last thing that I am is jealous. I could defend any of you any day of my life. And sure, Azreal is our "leader" but I am most powerful... what does it take for you guys to understand..."

"What a wonderful band make, Oh well"

"We'll just have to see Mr. Zues and I bet you dont even know what god your named after :P"

*Tiring of the conversation, Dusk sits down and raises his hand. It glows a soft blue as suddenly, the wind starts whispering softly a song, forming a nice countermelody to Azrael's flute*

Naruko may have forgotten his instrument, but mine is with me wherever I go. ^_^

"Yeeha, time for a hootenanny" Azrael says softly.

*Dusk then experiements a bit and suddenly the wind's melody becomes completely atonal, almost unbearble for a few seconds. Then the wind stops its sounds*

Sorry about that...

" Would you mind not doing that again :lol:, im trying to write(writing in my journal) and I wish I could tinker with my ring but mine takes time and could you get a breeze in here Dusk,its kind of warm in here"