The Return Home, The Beginning of the End

[Strega]

The wind blew gently through the trees causing the leaves to rustle and the branches to sway. The sun shown down in patches of light that made it through the canopy of the trees. His feet pressed the soft earth beneath him bringing him ever closer to his home. His weapons remained at his back in a gesture that showed he meant no harm, yet his eyes roamed the jungle being ever alert, no longer feeling safe in his own lands. The amulet about his neck was brushed across b y his fingers before his hand returned to his side. He finally reached the gates of his village looking up at the great height of it. To most it would just seem as another growth of the jungle but he knew the truth. His hands reached out before him and he focused on the plants pulling hem back and untangling them jsut enough taht he might enter. As he crossed the threshold into his town the doors closed behind him swiftly, as if they had never been there at all.

His eyes scanned the area looking at all the villagers as they glanced towards him recognizing him. He saw all teh familiar faces of his home yet he had a new feeling towards them all. He could no longer look at them all with the trust that he had once felt for them. He had risked his life for a thousand years defending these people. These...betrayers. Of course he could not say that all of them were betrayers but he still could not trust them after assassins of his own nation had attacked him. Let alone the personal assassins of Akamu. They were elite assassins trained to take out the enemies of the Earth Nation. He knew that they would not have gone after him had they not been sent by Damek. But if Damek had sent them that would mean that any that wished to help him would have fought him by now. Perhaps he had done this in secret behind the back of some of Akamu. Strega knew that what he was thinking would be risky but he certainly needed allies in this battle, if he was to be challenging the power of Damek. He knew that he would have to face the armies of Akamu. But perhaps some would not be so keen on the idea of betrayal amongst their own people.

Strega walked to the town center and looked around a moment before his feet brought him atop the central pulpit where announcements would be read. He stood for a moment collecting his thoughts and looking out at the town that he so loved. He thought a moment longer and then he spoke. Some had already stopped and looked up at him wondering what he was up to. His voice was stronger than ever as he let the village know just what was going on. "People of Akamu!" He waited a moment and looked around at those that had gathered. "Lend me your ears. For ten centuries we have lived in relative peace. Since the previous war in which the great gods fought and destroyed each other, we have lived in harmony with the world. But unbeknownst to us their have been things happening that one could not possibly predict. The mantle of the previous gods have been taken up by followers of their beliefs. Although they have proven to lead well their views are no longer the same as the gods that lived before them. They have grown hungry for power and obsessed with their own wealth. Our own leader Damek is one such leader. I know that many of you will not agree with me at this point and belief what I am speaking is treasonous. This may be so but hink of this. For ten centuries I have lived here...in this village with all of you. I have seen the birth and death of your ancestors, I have seen the birth of you and yoru children. For the entirity of my life I have known this village and I have fought to protect it and the people within it. But the day that I departed from this village in search of something that was plaguing my mind I made my way towards the summit of the Nation of Makan. I was drawing ever closer to my goal when I was met by a group of strangers that I had never seen in my life. They had an air about them that was familiar and I knew that what was to happen would not be good. After a long battle fought agaisnt them alongside my companions I defeated them. I found that they were Akamu Assassins. Elite that would only answer to the likes of Damek. They had been sent to kill me. The reason I have no answer as to why. But what I speak is the truth and I fear that I can no longer leave the land of Akamu in the hands of a harlot like Damek. For too long as he been allowed to act without care for the repercussions. I fear that I may not be the only target and that no Akamu is safe. So I ask of you. Join with me! Take up arms against this Tyrant. I have seen that even those with great power can be destroyed. I am in need of allies agaisnt this threat! And I ask of you. Who is with me!?" With the last of his words he spoke with increasing fervor and threw his fist high in the air looking down to see of which that could would join him. Hoping that he had not made a mistake.

[Faye]

(hope this is good)

It was a fairly peaceful day in Akamu, like there was any other kind. She often came here to do her fortune telling for the people of this jungle were not quite as use to fortune tellers thus making it alot easier to get a good amount of money by wandering into the jungles. What kept her away though was the fact that it was quite difficult to find a town or city to set up at for it was far to easy to get lost in this jungle but she didn't mind for it was a quite wonderful nation. A small smiled crept across her face as she looked at the man across the table from her. The man was for the most part bewildered by what she planned on doing for he had never even heard of someone being able to tell the future. She never really beleived that it was her telling the future though it pretty much was but it was showing them choices that they will soon be faced with but no amount of magic can predict how anyone will react to the questions they will be faces with. She will also give insight down what lies down both paths but what truly lies ahead down the path is again past any type of magic but it was still a conveniant thing for most people. The man she had in front of her was a fairly large man, obviously a soldier though what his rank was in Akamu's army she was quite unsure of. He was off duty she guess but even so his sword that hung at his side was a quite imposing thing to look at. He was staring at the cards on the table before him though only the back of them were showing. They had a variety of runes on the back of them making a matching patern on all the cards. She did not think it was the designs on the back of the card that he was truly mesmorized from. She brushed her hair out of her face putting the strands behind her hear. "Are you ready?" Her voice was soft and palyful as it always was when she was doing these. She felt like it made the people tip her more but she was never really sure if that was true. The man didn't say a word though and only shook his head in responce.

With palm up Faye moved her hand across her body just above the table as if she was cutting under something and istantly all three cards lifted off the table hovering a few inches above it. She then quickly flipped her hand over so her palm was facing down and controlling the wind around the cards all of them followed as she did this making them all face up on the table. On all of the cards there were a variety of designs on the front that Faye knew as another foreign language but the man probably only thought them to be designs. Faye could not read this language or understand it though it was a large part of the magic she did but she was able to identify the cards and waht they meant so like all who use this form of fortune telling still she could tell the fortune without ever knowing the language for it is a long since dead one. "I see alot of blood shed in your future. It is unavoidable no matter what path you take for to try and escape the blood shed you will only cause more. A great conflict has been brewing for some time that none have known about but it soon will become very evident. You are going to have to chose sides and though one may seem the obvious choice given what you are and what you have pledged yourself to but you must look deeper to find the answer. Your heart will not lead you wrong this time though you have known it to many times before." The man looked completely confused now as he had no idea what to expect from what she said. The smile grew over her face even further as she realized that this man was seriosuly thinking about what she said. Alot of times people would merely shrug off her advice and continue on with their life. With a quick gust of wind Faye pulled the cards towards her placing them back into her pouch as the man realized he was forgetting something and threw a few coins onto the table that would never reach it as a gust of wind would catch them as well and pull them towards her. The man slowly rose from his seat with a smile for the first time and a quick nod. Before he could do anything else the sound of a loud comotion outside was heard and he was out the door running with sword already in hand for he was a guard after all.

Faye slowly rose a swell throwing her gray hood over her head once again she followed the man out the door as to see what was going on. He pushed open the door being the obvious last person to go outside from the tavern. She was instantly surprise to see the street filled with people, more people then she knew lived within this town. They all seemed to be standing around a man who was speaking out against the god himself. Faye had never seen such a thing in any nation for she figured such a thing would mean death which it did. This man was truly brave then to stand out and speak agains the god. It wasn't as if he could stand against the armies of the god or even the god himself. He was not instantly taken down though for the people listened to his words and they all seemed to let it sink it. She slowly tryed to push her way towards the front as many soldiers try to do the same thing which was obvious from the swords that one could above the crowd as they made their way. The first soldier reach the man shortly after he finished his speach. It was the one she had just done a telling for. He did not strike at the man though, in fact his eyes gazed the crowd in a sort of daze for a few seconds before they landed on Faye. He stared at her for a few seconds before he sheathed his sword. "I will join with you," his voice was only loud enough for the man to hear though he spoke as he turned towards him. Faye had just reached the front of the crowd as he spoke. She was overwhelmed, this wasn't her nation but what the man spoke was very moving for if he truly spoke the truth and what he said happened then she could not let someone sit at the head of any nation who would do such a thing. She was no warrior though and she would be of little use to them during the battle but she could not stand on a battlefield for long. She wasn't even sure if this was true but she took a note from the telling she had just done which had been what led the man to join with him for his heart told him to and he heart was begging her to help. "I will help as well," her voice finally came out very soft as it normally was. "I am no warrior though," she was not very skilled in fighting at all nor had she ever been on a battlefield before. She was now left to wonder what she had gotten herself into.

[Damian]

A tall , large man walked through the forest wearing a dark black cloak which was hard to see even though it didnt blend in very well. A strong wind kicked up blowing the last of the desert sands from his silver hair , his saphire eyes looking around cautously hoping the assins that had been following him throught the entire Death country would be stupid enough to try to attack him here , where their numbers would be countered by the lack of space around him. Though he woundered why he felt diffrent than he had before , one of the assasins had managed to slash his skin a couple of times before he was killed. he hoped that the dagger had not been poisened.

The man looked forward as another wind kicked up rustling the leaves around him as he made his way through the dense forest following a man not far ahead to what he hoped was a city. The man had not cought on that he was being followed and didnt seem to be smart enough to be setting a trap.

Suddenly a thought crossed the silver haired mans mind , the pale color his skin had taken on recently would make him stick out in one of the empires full of brightly skinned people , he hoped that this would not let them in to the fact that he was from the Death Empire , he knew that people of other nations often didnt take kindly to people of his nation.Well there was nothing more he could do than hope.

He let the black cloak drape over his body hiding the fact that he was wearing a thin metallic amour. The amour had been magically bound so that it made no noise when he moved this helped him stay unnoticed in many situations where it would have cost him his life.

The sounds of a town could be heard as the man he was following drew closter , this brough a sigh of relief to him as he let the thought of a trap leave his mind.He slipped into the city through one of the roads unnoticed and quickly joined the throng of people bustling further into the city. They come to the town center where a man was standing upon a poduim giving a speech. Talk of war and treason filled the speech , and what cought the silver haired mans attention the most was the talk of war with a god.

"Seems it might be worth my while to give this a try" He said to himself slipping from the group , heading to a nearby tavern. First hed have to get himself a room then later in the night after it had calmed down some he would introduce himself to the man who had preposed this "war" sounded like fun after all. But first ... to find a place to stay.

(sorry kinda got into a rush at the end , i hate weekdays)

[Strega]

Stregas eyes drifted over the crowd of people before him and a slight smile came to his face as he saw that so far they had taken his speech rather well. Especially for speaking outright against a god. Not only was it treasonous but he was also to be labeled as a heretic now. He cared not who came for him for he would meet them with hte force of a thousand arrows. He would fight for what was right and just, even if it eventually led to his own demise. He would not fear the threat of thousands of loyal followers whose only allegiance was to Damek, and whose only purpose was to destroy him...the leader of the coup.

His eyes stopped roaming and immediately zeroed in on a rather powerful looking man whom was in the attire of a Rekhan guard. He made no outright movement to strike yet although his ears had perked up and his hands had clasped the chain about his waist. He would only attack if it was necessary, and at the moment he was unsure of what this one had in his mind. He watched his every movement as he forced his way through the crowds and towards the pulpit. And he watched as the giant of a man reached him and pledged his allegiance to him. He rejoiced for his words had not gone unheard. And even if it were only this one who would join him, he was far better off than he had been before. He greeted the soldier with a smile and a nod. "I thank you friend, you shall be vital in the many battles to come."

As he stood with this new ally he was surprised yet again as a woman this time approached him and spoke words. "I will help as well," her voice was very soft. "I am no warrior though." Strega only smiled at her and offered her his hand. Perhaps not but any help you can offer is welcome. Of course he would assure that he could train her and do his best to defend her. Not only was she a woman but also he could sense that she would be a very useful companion. As he offered his hand to her he looked up at the crowd and noticed a figure that stood out among the rest although it seemed not many others were aware of him. He wore dark robes and seemed to drift in a strange manner. He wondered what would become of this one and knew not what his intentions were. He knew though that he would have to be far more careful now, perhaps sleeping with both eyes open.

Once again his mind returned to thoughts of the villagers. He looked out seeing that some openly joined him and others seemed less inclined to up and run to his cause. Perhaps he was not as charismatic as he had hoped but he also hoped even more for the village that there would be no battle in their streets. He has defended these peopole for far too long and he did not wish to see innocents killed pointlessly. He had waited for the woman to take his hand and by this point spoke out again. "I thank you. All of you for listening to me. I also thank those that have volunteered to help me for putting your lives on the line and trusting in me. And to your families, I promise that I shall do my best to return your husbands, fathers, brothers and sisters to you. And to everyone whom does not see things as I do I apologize for bringing this to your town. I give my word that I shall cause no disturbance here and after tomorrow I shall quickly depart from this place and leave you in peace. I have defended this town too long to see harm brought to it. Thank you all again. I wish you peace."

And with that he started down from the pulpit towards the dojo, allowing those that volunteered to say their goodbyes and prepare for war. And any that wished not to were free to do as they pleased. As he walked his thoughts went first to the woman who had volunteered sensing something about her. And finally upon the cloaked figure that had no reaction to the commotion. He hoped all would be fine through the night.

[Damian]

Damian drew his cloak closer covering most of his body as a small , chilling wind periced through the fabric of his cloak and his amour. He knew that no one would know who he was but still thought it best to stay as unoticed as possible untill the right time. If any guards were alerted that he was in the town , he could have problems before he wanted them.

Damian walked briskly through the streets and seemed to fade from existance , a few people around him thought they had seen something but blamed it on their tired eyes. Knowing a great commotion would be around in the Inn's tonight , damian jumped up to a box lofting himself quickly unto the rooftops and as his spell faded he slipped into the shadows of the taller buildings making sure not to be seen.

Now , as he rested his back aginst the tower of a small house looking out over the land and trees infront of him , he began to think about the agreement hed made with the witch , in return for changing his look so that he would be harder to find , he agreed to fullfill a payment that would later be stated. He woundered what the old lady had in store for him , and with what it may be , he hoped to have a little fun anyways.

Damian could still hear the hustle and bustle of the city at his back , he closed his eyes , tired from the journey , he figured he might as well just front the speaker tommorow , after all he still had to test this man to make sure he would be worthy enough to fight for. He closed his eyes and drifted into a light sleep , one hand on his sword and the other across his lap , any noise close to him would awaken him.

[Faye]

The hand of the man came forth towards her as he offered it to her as to help her come up onto the pulpit. Her heart dropped for a second as she realized what she was getting into and stared at his hand. She had not thought the entire thing through before but was now in this war. She had taken the side of rebels who if they did lose would meet a swift end at the hands of Damek. Maybe the fact that she was not of this nation would save her as it would not really be treason for her but then again that would bring up all new things against her and she would be killed next to the rest without a doubt. Her eyes raised to the two men standing there above everyone as she replayed the past few minutes in her head. It had happened very fast for her, one second she was sitting in a tavern doing a reading the next she was in a war against one of the gods. There would be no way that they could raise an army to fight against Akamu's trained soldiers. The other nations would surely turn their backs on both sides of the war letting them fight it out for themselves leaving them to be brushed aside by Damek's army. They were all doomed and she wondered how many around her had just volunteered for this and would meet the same fate of death as her and the rest. She had never even seen a body before in her life let alone killed someone or any animal. She assumed this was true about many of those who volunteered and thus they would be thrust into a new way of thinking they she has yet to understand, one in which she had hoped to never understand but yet here she stands on the verge of war and quite possibly the verge of death. She knew there was no turning back now as she had given her word though she hated to join in this now as she rethought it she stuck. She moved her hand slightly not grabbing his but rather a strong force of wind wrapper around his hand. She pulled with her hand back which made the wind work much like her hand would have pulling her forward and aiding her as she climbed onto the pulpit. She very rarely used her actual strength to do anything anymore for she had learned to replace the wind which was much stronger then her for what she normally would do with her hands.

Upon stepping onto the pulpit she instantly turned around gazing out over the crowds as she realized now for the first time how many were actually here and how many had decided to join with them. It surely would not be enough to take down Damek but if they got this many from each village in Akamu they could at least disrupt things and maybe some of them would escape and now all killed in one bloody slaughter as she had figured would happen. Before she knew it though the man was on his way off the pulpit on going somewhere in the village. It was all happening even faster now. Faye was terrified of what was to come though she tried to hide it on her face as all the people began talking a few of them going home to grab swords and the like as others continued on as if nothing had happened which she could only wonder how one could act like something like this had never happened. Women and children cryed as the ones they loved prepared to go off to what may be their death while fathers stood proud as they joined their sons ready to fight or as they watched their son prepare for battle with a tear in their eyes. Faye couldn't bare to think that all of them may not return and she wanted an answer and quickly held her right hand out pulling her deck of cards out from her side pouch. The cards stopped just before reaching her hand hovering there in the air. As she pulled her hand away the cards began to be shuffled by the wind as she said some strange words that she did not quite understand. Suddenly she stopped letting the cards fly towards her left hand that was down by her side and with one quick motion of her right hand a single card flew out towards her right hand as she caught it in the air. She took a deep breath before looking at the card. As normal it was an unknown language to her but she recognized the card very well. It was one of "Unknowing" for it could not determine the future. She figured it would fail but it was worth a try.

She put her cards away and gazed out at the thinning crowd for a second more before making off after the man. She caught up with him in some pathway through the village. "Hello," she said as she caught him though instantly regretted it. This man was about to become a general and that was how she greeted him though it was too late to change her choice of words now. "My name is Faye. I am not of Akamu as you would expect from one joining with you would be. Rather I am of Makan blood. I was only here as I am a travelling fortune teller. I can not see the future of this revolt though for I can not read my own future and the second I joined in this revolt became one with me." Her voice continued to remain soft but well loud enough for him to hear. There were other reasons why she was unable to tell this fortune like there were far too many people involved and the fact that the fate of a god was on the line as well made things almost impossible for even the greatest of tellers which she was no where near. She looked at the man with a almost blank face waiting for any responce though she wasn't sure if she would get one.

[Strega]

His mind raced though his thoughts were not panicked or confused. His mind raced for the fact that he had much to do. He though of the things he would need, where the where headed, how they would survive. He knew that if he truly planned to face a god that he would have to plan extremely well for it. It would not be easy and there was a possibility that many would die, becasue of him, but he was determined not to let this horrible atrocity happen. At first light they would leave this city and they would head out to an undisclosed position in the jungle. No one would truly know exactly where they were headed and he would send falcons to people that he knew would back him and ask for them to try and recruit some allies. They would keep track of each other by a special means of communications that would not allow them to actually have the true position if they were to be comprimised.

His thoughts were interupted now as he heard the voice of another that broke in with a somewhat worrisome "Hello". He could tell that she was regretting her decision and was unsure of what was to come. He listened to her story and only smiled over at her. "I thank you for the action that you took earlier. If you truly wish to fight alongside me you are more than welcome and I will gladly accept your assisstance. But if war truly is not your intent than you are free to go. This is not a dictatorship, I am not drafting anyone. This is my fight and I only wish to protect those that I love and care for from this battle. It is true that some of those that joined me may perish in this war but I shall give my all to assure that there are minimum casualties on our side. I plan to train every one of these men to the best of my abilities. And I am hoping that I have allies elsewhere so that we are not so alone. If we are to think that this war will go unnoticed by other nations we are also mistaken. You say taht you are from the lands of Makan. I recently was in that region, I have a pendant that was given to me by my father at birth but I know not what it means. It has strange etchings in it and all I can decipher is that my name is Strega Makan.

As he talked he stopped everything and turned his head forwards once again. He looked up at the magnificent building before him. It seemed to mic tribal buildings alongwith some oriental architecture. He bowed his head a moment and then started towards the sliding doors. "Welcome to my Dojo. Follow me further if you wish to stand beside me." He looked back at her a moment and then disappeared behind the door sliding it shut behind him. If she were to enter she would find him kneeling on tatami mats in a room that was adorned with knowledge of battle and fierce weapons. His eyes closed and his hands on his thighs with his elbows pointing outwards.

[Faye]

Faye stopped short not following the man into the dojo. She was left to her thoughts alone on the pathway of the great Akamu village. Every part of her told her to go back to Makan and stay far away from this nation as to keep herself alive but she wondered if that was the best. She has run her whole life and this would prove just to be another time when she did just that. It was time that she fought for something she beleived in even though this was not her fight, it never was. The door of the dojo closed behind the man and she turned around as it did looking out again towards the crowd of people that was still formed. This was their fight. This was their enemy, not hers. What good with this be for her as it would change nothing in Makan, Or would it? It would only take one rebellion such as this to spark others and though some of the nations do not need their god taken out of power Akamu was surely one. If it could so easily turn its back on one of its defenders. The man claims he has watched over this village along with all of the nation since what would seem about the time the gods lived. He has earned his right in this nation and has earned a name of honor and it obviously persuaded many more to joing along with him as they realized what he has done for this village and this nation. Faye was sure there was something missing in this scenerio but whether the man was hiding it from them or that he did not know there was something not right. She figured he did not know though she had no evidence to coincide with that, she was going off a feeling that he was sincere and that this was the right thing to do.

Faye turned around again facing the dojo again. She took several deep breaths before walking towards it again as there was no turning back for her now. There never was though she liked to imagine she would let herself walk away from this. She slowly took steps towards the door before she was just at it. She reached her right hand out but did not touch the door but rather moved it across in front of her and a gust of wind blew the door open slowly. As the door slid open she saw the man. He was kneeling in a rather large room though she did not look around it but kept her gaze on him. It was true that there was definately no buildings like this back in Makan but that wasn't the point of her coming in. As she stared at him she remembered that he spoke of a pendant that gave him the name Makan. She refused to beleive such a surname exsisted for that had been a name granted to the people of air by the god Aleron and it could not be had by a man. Let alone one of Akamu. Or at least she thought that. Maybe there was a mix up in the translation was her only thought for Faye was very use to strange languages as her cards as well with her spells were filled with them. she wondered briefly if they were the same language before quickly realizing that even if they were the same she wouldn't be able to read the pendant anyways for she could not really read or speak the language but she could recognize symbols and what they were meant to mean.

She took several steps into the room before without turning around to face the door she brought her hand across the front of her body again and a similar gust of wind blew slowly closing the door. She moved over in front of the man before falling to her knees using the air about her to slow the fall and cushion the blow. She did not close her eyes though as he had done but rather stared straight at him. "Will you train me as well?" he soft voice broke the silence of the room for only a second like a soft breeze but then faded leaving the silence to resume. She infact did not think he would be able to train her for she used a deck of cards like a weapon using them much like war fans and she had the edges of them sharpened for just that reason. She didn't need him to train her though but only to give her a chance to practice for that is something she very rarely does with her weapons and for the most part it isn't by choice. She only waited in silence for any responce.

[Strega]

The doors closed behind him with a soft click and the soft tatami greeted his feet as he removed his combat boots, allowing the cloth of his pants to hang just above the floor level. His feet were completely covered now although the material did not so much as graze any part of the mats. He took slow, deliberate steps across the room, stopping at the exact middle of the room. He bent down and pulled up the lengths of his pants and summoned a small band of roots to hold them as they had been when they were tucked into his boots. He then slowly bent his knees until he was sitting upon his haunches and bowed his head. He had done this a million times before and every time he though slow and deliberate, as he was taught, through every single motion.

He closed his eyes gently and his mind reached out to the corners of the earth. He listened in to the harmonies of the world, sensing the presence and essence of all other life that walked it. For a thousand years his mind had been trained to do this, to be able to attune to the very life force of the earth. Through this technique he was able to manipulate the forces of earth in ways that he normally would not possibly be capable of. His thoughts spoke to the trees about the world each tree reaching out to those that made homes in them, specifically the eagle. The eagle was a capable flier, lord of the sky. They also were most in tune with the world, the hawk being capable buch much to fierce and aggressive. He let each of them know of hte message he wished to send, and they had the means of transcriping it in the way necessary. Every hawk was given a different target and destination. In this way he wouold not only seek council, but also the assisstance of those he thought would be of use to him. They flew off with none even aware that it had been sent, other than he, the eagles that flew, and soon enough those that had been sent the messages. The only difference to any other would be that the forest had gone deathly silent.

His mind was now returning to his body upon hearing something else intruding upon his thoughts. This was not a thought of the earth but rather a voice of the world that was near him. He had felt a gust of wind and the click of the door was heard. "Will you train me as well?" The words reached his ears just as he was fully within himself and his eyes opened upon a moments thought. Slowly he would raise his head to level his eyes with the fortune teller. His voice was soft and low as he spoke to the woman. "If you wish truly to join me then yes indeed I shall train you as well. Although for some reason I believe that I shall not give you teh standard training of a soldier but rather the much more focused attention of a pupil." He had noticed the way she had about her, her mannersisms and actions. "The first thing that you must learn is not to rely on your skill with your element so much. True enough that this will save your life many times and end a fight rather quickly, but in the end what it somes down to is ones ability to depend upon themselves. So the first part of your training I shall restrict all use of any magics of the sort." He knew that this would truly be hard for her but the grueling battle that was to come would be far harder than any training he could offer.

"I apologize that this will be difficult but I shall hold nothing back in the least. Do not fret your ability with magic is good and you shall use it again, but so long as you are being trained by me there is no such thing as the manipulation of any form of life." His eyes scanned about the room then back to her gauging her reaction so far. And once he had let her take hold of this fact he slowly got to his feet. "Your training shall begin now, we do not have much time until dusk, and at dawn we set out. We have much to do to prepare you..." He looked at the woman that had signed her welfare over to him, giving her trust to one whom she had never even heard of let alone spoken to. Now here he was telling her that her greatest asset was to be taken away. It was as if he had taken away an artists sight, it was cruel, but war was indeed just that. "Stand and strike me......NOW!" And there he waited standing before her, a stranger, giving her the perfect oppurtunity to take him out.

[Faye]

Faye was overjoyed as she heard he would train her. With help she knew she could be at leat an asset upon the battlefield unlike what she was right now. With his help she would be much more affective along side him during this war and it excited her though she was also quite worried. There was no turning back no, she was a part of this war and as much as she agreed with this being as to why they needed to fight it terrified her. She had never killed anyone before, though she had been in fights she had not killed her opponents. She in fact had only seen a few dead bodies in her life time and that was just one more thing, among many others, that made her want to regret her decision though she could not regret it even if she were to die. If what this man said was true then this was a needed war but what will come of it was something else entirely. Would this war spread further then it is meant to as people realize that the gods are defeatable by mortals. She feared a war coming to Makan most of all knowing that in such a case she would be forced into it unlike this one. She would be fighting very near her home but she could not think of what this war would bring but peace within the world again. That is what is needed.

With the words that she would not be able to use her magic during training, she was shocked at first but she did not speak against it seeing the reason for this. She did not use her physical strength much, if at all, for her power over the wind worked to be much stronger then her limbs could ever be as well as much more agile. Her skill was truly in her use over the wind though she could use her weapons with her hands as well they were in a sense awkward to hold for they were never meant for such. All users of these cards were like her in that they had increased control over the wind which held their weapons for them, if they user used them as weapons at all. Her head had dropped so that her chin was resting against her chest and her eyes stared at the floor and the man's feet as he slowly rose. She was thinking over how to use her weapons without using her powers as it was something she hadn't done in a long time. With several more deep breaths she looked up at the man still upon her knees staring him in the eye as he awaited an attack from her. She stood slowly without the use of her wind which was very awkward for her and maintained eye contact with him the whole way as she stood with a blank expression on her face.

With a quick motion of her left had she had pulled the strings of her cloak and thrown it aside which she normally would have thrown with the wind but this wasn't the case this time. Underneath she had on a low cut white dress that formed tightly to her body with only two slits at the base of her dress to give her free movement within it. The dress was coverd in lught blue designs that made wavey lines across her with gold trim around the blue. On her waste was the only thing she carried with her as it was a belt holding a single pouch on her left side. Within the pouch was her fourty-two metal cards sharpened well enough to slice through the thickest of hides with little hesitation. She held her right hand out in front of her as she prepared to pull her cards free but then stopped herself. She was not to use her magic she reminded herself and opened the pouch using her left hand and pulling all fourty-two cards out. She grabbed half of them carefulling in her other hand as to no cut herself and spread them each in a hand with roughly twenty-one cards in each, making them look like two sets of metal fans. The inscriptions in which she uses for the fortune telling faced her so that the brilliantly designed backs of them faced the man with several colored runes within them.

She let out one more deep breath as she closed her right hand's set of fans on eachother as to bring them all upon each other though she kept the ones in her left hand opened. Her left hand came up from the right spread and bringing them as close to his face as she could without causing him to react to greatly to them for they were only a diversion as many would easily notice but even if one knows of them they can still be affective as it still masks the attack. From behind this mask a lunge came from her right hand towards his stomach, she did not hold back as she knew he wanted. She did not fear of hitting him though, knowing that this was far too weak an attack to fool him but it was worth a try at least. If she could use her magic this would have been alot quicker and far more affective.

[Rosko]

Far off in the distant lands of Elghinn, within the capital of Deloth, Rosko stood overlooking the town from the inner walls built as a second defense for those behind it. This city was calm, compaired to it's normal state, as if some eery sense had overcome the dark city. Rosko was not on duty at the time and stood silently as the world moved about him with people all about the streets and soldiers upon the same wall as him watching for anything that might need them. This was the usual things for a day within this massive fortress of a city. Everything was watched by the soldiers from this very wall though nothing was usually done whne a crime had been committed, so in reality this was only for show. Soldiers really only stepped in whenever the fight grew to engulf more then just two people as they did not want a massacre on their hands though anything less was pretty much brushed aside in this nation where "suvival of the fittest" was practiced every day without remorse. Remorse was something left for the weak. It was truely a deadly beautiful sight to behold, for a fortress such as this brought fear and horror into most but through those emotions there was this fortress that stood magnificently in the night, dwarfing any who would dear stand next to it's wall. The beauty could be seen within the power that this city held over it's land and the nation as a whole. It was truely something to behold.

As Rosko looked out something caught his eye in the darkness of the sky. It was something that did not quite fit in with the surroundings as it was a creature not often seen within this place. The massive bird did not hesitate for a second and came straight towards Rosko before landing upon the wall in front of him. He stared at the bird a second figuring it to carry a message but none was to be found. The bird seemed to be waiting for something and was staring over his shoudler. Rosko turned around instantly to see it staring at a guard who hadn't even noticed the bird yet. Rosko looked back to the bird awaiting some kind of message but it did not come until the man had moved on his patrol. The message did not come as he expected, it came as he watched it longer the bird fell over dead to his great surprise. As the bird died though a voice came through with a message. Rosko knew who it was from the second the message had begun but the circumstances were quite new to him. Strega had brought war with him on his return to Akamu and he had requested aid. As the message finished though the dead bird began to change and it was quite amazing to watch to say the least as it went from death to nothing more then a shadow. A shadow that would lead the way for him into Akamu and right towards Strega, he guessed.

Aid would be a quite hard thing for Rosko to bring him as he only knew that he could bring himself and for such a war as Strega had brought upon him he would need much more then himself, but surely there was some way he could get a detachment of Elghinn's army to accompany him upon his journey to Akamu. He turned to walk from the wall but the shadow of an eagle did not move from it's spot on sitting perched upon the wall. Rosko stopped for a second thinking it would follow him but then turned away knowing that it was waiting for him and would continue to wait until he set off for Akamu. It had quite a wait ahead of it though as Rosko made his way towards the barracks where he would meet with General Delano, whom was in command of the armies as he sat right below Gideon in power. Gideon left issues concerning the army to him as he was not quite skilled with armies and the like so figured it best to palce someone of great knowledge of them in power. He was one of the few gods of death who did not command his own troops which was a reason that the people looked sorely at him a little. They forgot General Delano alot though in their scolding, ignoring the backstabbing he had been involved in to obtain his position. He was not one to be trusted, he could not be considered a soldier of Elghinn for he through his honor away though this is easily forgotten by most. No matter how he was, he was needed to get this army moving if it was to move at all.

[Strega]

While Rosko was busy in other lands attempting to find a way to recieve troops to help and supply the force that would go against the gods, Strega was standing before his new pupil awaiting her first strike upon him. He watched her every movement, feeling the shift of the air as she cut through it. He watched as she gathered herself seemingly in shock at first from his restrictions on her powers. But never-the-less she was up and threw aside her cloak with the use of her hands. He watched and noticed how awkward it seemed to her to have to use her own two hands instead of the forces of her natural ability at wind manipulation. He knew that it would be this way at first but he had no idea just how little she had used her hands.

Strega awaited her movement and saw almost in slow motion as she raised her left handed fan before his face but not in a way that would strike him. She had telegraphed her next movement with this attempted mask, and he waited for the strike to come and once it was thrown he leaned to the side, twisting his body to the right as he did so. As the strike grazed past him he grasped her wrist with his left hand, reaching across his body, and as he brought it up his right hand was placed on her elbow stopping it from moving or retracting and pushing it over so that her body twisted about and she was leaned over, with her right hand away from him. He held her there a while and spoke as he still watched for any attempt at a second strike. "The ability to manipulate ones element can be a quite powerful and in the hands of a master it is almost unparalleled in any other category. But if one neglects their own body then they are weakened by it. A true master is one that can manipulate both mind and body as one. You have become powerful in the ability of mind, but have neglected the body. Only when one is versed in both these aspects of combat can they truly have mastered their abilities."

Once he had finished speaking to her he brought his right leg to her left and swept it back to send her rolling forward as he released her arm. "The attack that you threw was indeed a good try and with training you will be able to fight masterfully on the battlefield. But you must first learn to master the aspect of body before I let you begin to use the powers of your element once again." The floor retreated a few steps beneath him as he returned to his point in the center of the room and stood in a low stance with his hands on his waist. "If you wish to try again you may do so. But I have already started to gain an understanding of your abilities and the things that you must strive to better."

His ears perked up slightly, senseing that his eagles had reached their marks, but he had yet to know whether or not any aid would come of it. But for now he would just have to make due with what they had. Perhaps he would spar just a bit longer and then they would make ready to leave this village...for quite some time. They would not be able to return until there was a decisive victory for either side, and he feared that if they were not on the victorious side, they would not return ever again. BUt he needed to worry about the task at hand, and that was getting his troops ready for combat. He knew that not all of them had seen battle before as this, but he could trust the other warriors to watch out for some of the youngers that had not seen combat. This one that he was training though had none like that. And for this reason she was his responsibility even more so.

[Soren]

Soren started to slow his pace to a stop then looked around."I've lost his scent...and it looks like I'm lost as well."He looked around at his surrounding for any trace of life but none was found. He found himself lost in a desert but when he turned around to follow his footprints back a high wind wiped them away like water on a beach. He stood there and started to laugh and then spoke out loud "is this how I am going to die? At the mercy of the desert?" Just then the ground began to shake and Soren saw the sand shift below him. What seemed to be a large snake flung himself from the sand sending Soren off sliding against the ground. He stood up quickly and his eyes met the giant snakes. Hi retrived his katana from his side and readied himself. He lept at the snake and as he was in the air the snake stuck at Soren which was a bad move. When the snake was mear inches from Soren he slamed his fist down on the snake nose lifting him higher into the air. He then quickly made his decent upon the snake and pirced the snakes skull with his sword the quickly twisted his sword finishing off the snake. He then carved off a chunk of the snake and held it in his hand. He then shot flames from his hand quickly cooking the meat and without haste devouered the meat.

After he ate his fill he wondered off in a random direction hoping to soon find civilization. As he was walking a large bird landed infront of him. He then quirked his head and so did the bird. They stood there staring at eachother until the bird started to talk. Soren quickly took a step back in shock. After listening to the bird he then realized that it was Strega's request for him. After the bird stoped talking it burst into flames. The massive bird then took flight and Soren, being very interested as to what Strega wanted, followed quickly after.

They arrived at a dense forest which seemed like a godsend after spending a day in the desert.He followed the bird to what seemed like a wall made of trees and vines. The bird turned to Soren then back to the wall. He then realized what was going on. He pushed aside some vines and leaves and found himself in a village. He looked around but had no time to take in the sights as the brd quickly took flight down a path to a strange looking building. Once he arrive he opened the door slightly and saw the half-breed and some woman training together. He decided not do disturb what seemed like training so he went off back into the village to find some food, water, and perhaps a shop of some kind.

((hope this is good enough. i made some spelling errors i know))

[Faye]

She came back on front of him in a slight bit of frustration, not that she should have hit him but the fact that if she was able to use the wind the man had opened himself wide to such an attack. He had forgotten about her other hand in the instance and though he still watched it enough to parry any normal attack he figured she could throw a quicker strike using the wind with that hand but not only that but her right hand would not have been contained by his grasp for all she had to do was let go of the cards and grab them with the wind and he would be the one with his arms tied up while her weapons, not her arms, would still have had full mobility and chance of an attack. She did not do this however staying with the rules he had set for her. She could not use her weapons as much as it angered her and annoyed her to no use them. Holding her weapons alone annoyed her let alone fighting as they were not made to be held by hands but rather held only by the wind. She had to be careful not to cut herself while grasping them as the blades did not stop as the covered they entired edge and as she glanced down to her right hand a small stream of blood flowed from it as she had cut herself with her own weapons at some point, most likely whenever she pulled the cards together. It was indeed an awkward situation for her though she pushed through it seeing this to be for her own good and in the end could onyl benefit but the aggrivation leading towards it made her second guess what she was even doing here but she didn't want to think of that but only on the task at hand.

She did not want to give up so easily on hitting him even though he figured he knew enough. She wanted to throw something at him that he wouldn't expect, just to keep him wondering if nothing else. She studied the last interaction knowing that he was obviously not attempting to hurt her as she was not intending to do so either which was a weakness for them both but there was a good point to this. This was only a sparring and was not an actual fight. She inhaled several times, catching her breath quicker then most would as she sort of cheated. She was able to manipulate the wind in all forms and she was albe to pull it into or lungs with great ease but even though she was told not to use her powers she did not think he would mind nor did she really even noticed she did it anymore for it had become just like normal breathing for others. She spread both sets of cards in each hand holding the set in her left hand out far in front of her using it to cover her own face with her icy eyes peering over the tops of the cards. Her right hand she held far back and down the the points of the cards facing at a diagnol towards the ground. She had to come at him with something he didn't expect but without her powers she couldn't do that quite as easy as he moves were quite limited for with her powers she could have several more sets of cards coming at a person, or even sending individual cards at her opponent which would easily confuse both her and her opponent but still quite affective.

Luck struck for her though as the door slid open. She glanced there for a second seeing an opportunity before sending two carsd from each hand flying through the air though she did not use her power in these throws which made them move slower but they were not meant to hit. She followed them in full sprint hoping that he had looked at the person at the door for a second longer then she had for that was all it took. Then the flying cards would catch him by surprise and put him into an awkward position as she came upon him. She only wondered how he would react but no matter for she would react differently for what position he was in. If he had already pulled himself up right after dodging the cards she would stop with her right foot and quickly bring her left foot towards his face hoping to get a quick kick in. If he had not regained himself yet from dodging she would stop again with her right foot but this time bring her left foot towards the backs of his legs hoping to bring him to the ground. Either way she would be able to keep her sets close to her prepared for anything he could send at her only wondering for him to catch her foot but as he had almost ignored her other hand before he would most likely ignore her other leg or her hands, for it would be almost impossible to watch them all at once and she could come in with something else quickly.

[Blaze]

Soaring high over the arid desert, having long lost track of the simple minded fire fox, he relaxed the mental barriers and began to reach out in all directions, searching for any life, Stregas in particular, first he came upon a hazy bird like form about three or four leagues north heading towards him, next he spotted Soren who had a lost feeling about his energy, who was a good twelve leagues east. He continued to stretch out his mind until he came upon a vast forest in the direction the bird was heading away from. The forest had to have been part of the Akamu nation seeing as how it was always moving, as if it had a mind of its own. Within the forest the were a few villages and scouts within the tree tops keeping watch, and then he found it, Rekhan Village, there was where Strega had traveled to after suddenly retreating from Hyalma. Having found his target he retreated his mind back to behind his mental barriers, like a rubber strap returning to original position, he glided down closer to the ground before he retracted his wings and fell a few meters landing on the balls of his feet, crouched over, helping the impact of the fall.

Checking his surroundings he kept a keen eye on the bird to the north waiting to see where it was going, or what it was running from. The eagle was rather large and would come into view and it would start to flap it wings in such a way that made the wind sing. Although it was a rather familiar voice Blaze, companion from the mountain, I am seeking guidance and assistance. There have been great happenings within the past few hours and I fear that unless I have assistance we are all in great peril. If we do not succeed then I fear for all of our lands. You have proved a worthy ally before and I now request of your blade again. Please meet me in the forests of Akamu, you shall know the place. I depart the village Rekhan now to set my plans in motion. I ask that you make haste. I thank you and apologize in advance and with that the bird pecked at the earth a few times and took off with a gust of wind back towards the jungle.

Watching as the eagle took off, a smirk crawled across his face as he thought to himself ::apologize? hmm.. this is going to be fun:: After checking on Sorens position again, reaching out his mind, it seemed as though an eagle was sent to each of them, as the fox was now closer to the village than he was, and following a eagle as well. Taking in a deep breath he ran towards the village with an amazing burst of speed, using a pillow of air below his feet to help lift propel him forward.

:: ::

After about an hour or two he reached the forest, and was now weaving his way thorough the trees and veins, careful not to disturb anything. Eventually he made his way to a solid wall of overgrowth, using his right hand he placed his palm against the wall, uttered a few elven words under his breath, and with no problem at all the overgrowth split and created a hole just big enough for him to walk through. The opening showed a whole little city that you would had never heard or seen if you weren’t looking for it. Slowly he stepped in, not to alert any gaurds, as soon as his trailing foot stepped in the opening closed up as if the hole was never there. He looked around the bustling village, it was obvious that Strega's plans were already in motion, which he made public. Looking around there was a dispersing crowd around a podium, That s where he did it I bet.

Not paying much attention he made his way in to the main district, scanning his eyes over a few weapon stands, until he happened upon a set of Warlord Blades, a blade that extends from both sides and over the grip, the blade itself is almost four inches wide, about two inches thick and almost two meters long off each side of the grip, a little over 4 meters total, each The blades latch together at the handles and they are held on ones back with leather straps, with buckles, so they can adjust to anyone’s size. It was strange that he would find these blades here seeing as how they had white etchings in them from the Makan nation. He turned his attention towards them and walked over to the merchant who was selling them, "What price are you putting on those blades there on the shelf?" Making certain the merchant knew what he was talking about. The merchant looked back at the blades and then back at him, "I can see you are not from around here, so I will cut you a deal, only 2000 gold pieces." Sensing the craftiness in his voice he decided to haggle, or have a little fun, before completely swindling the unfortunate merchant. Knowingly lying, "I come from a poor family and i am forced to move from village to village and I can't afford something that high, how about 300 gold?" The merchant hearing this scam of a deal, "Absolutely not do you think I was dropped from my mothers womb yesterday? My price stands 2000 gold." Seeing as how the merchant was in no mood to be had blaze agreed to the price and pointed to the blades and said "Fine go fetch down the blades and ill have your money." As the merchant turned his back to get the blades Blaze hold out his hand an concentrating on the sack or god behind the merchants counter, without a sound the money flew out of a small hole in the sack and flew up into his pouch which he was holding open. "Here you go, but what of my money?" the merchant said. Grinning at the merchant Blaze lifted up his pouch and gave him the every ast bit of the merchants gold back and thanked him for the deal, took the blades and went on his way to find Strega.

After mentally congratulating himself he headed straight for the dojo that he had found Strega in the last time he found him with his mind. It only took a few minuets before he walked up the steps and slid open the door to the dojo stepped both feet in, and using the help of wind silently closed the door behind him. "A little birdie told me that your causing a ruckus once again. Its like anytime we leave you alone its one more fight to add to the list." He said with a smirk on his face watching as he sat on the floor.