Water Seven

            Silently the group of five youth walked up the crystal tower to where the sorceress waited for them.  They had been sent to see it the sorceress was still supporting the Imperial army and the emperor.  Yet unknown to the messengers they had been really sent to make sure the sorceress was still there.  She sent them back to tell the emperor she would continue to help while the cause remained a just one.

            “He is the one, isn’t he?” Gleen asked stepping from the shadows, referring to the leader of the group.  “The one who will set things in motion.”

            “He is the one who will save or destroy this world.” She said turning to him.  “The test has begun.”

            “I also sense a power within the other boy that reacted strongly with my Dark Sword.”

            “It is the power that will bring the result.”

            “Then I’ll be on my way.” Gleen said stepping back into the shadows.

            He and Bycon caught up to them, but remained back to observe, finding they were given the job to capture some bandits to the east accompanied by another man.  On the way they ran into a creature and they weren’t doing too well until the boy used the strange power to blast it away revealing the power to the group.  They went on their way with the man keeping a watchful eye on the boy until they captured the two bandit leaders.  When they got back to the empire the boy was taken to see the emperor while the others were sent home for the day.

            They later found the boy collapsed just inside the door, it turning out the emperor’s witch tried to steal his power, but he managed to escape.  Then just before the imperial soldiers broke down the door the power was transferred over and the boy used himself as a decoy to let the others get away.  As they tried to escape they got caught by the soldiers, but were saved by a man that appeared from nowhere walking down the street.  He then leads them to the gate where they were stopped by two guards that were knocked out by Gleen and Bycon who seemed to fall from the sky.

            On the way Gleen learned their names and got to know them a little, which they had plenty of time for on the long trip.  Heo was the leader of the group, Grem had taken care of Heo all his life, Clioy was the only girl who was also Heo’s best friend, and Vik was the one who saved them just before they did.  Theo was the boy that stayed as the decoy and Pan was the one missing because he betrayed them by informing the army of Theo’s location.

            Vik lead them to his secret base introducing them to Dessy, leader of the rebal army that opposed the Imperial army.  The others there were skeptical to let then join since Heo was the son of an Imperial general, even if they had nowhere to go.  Dessy then decided to test them by sending them to rescue two of their allies that had been captured by the Imperial Army, who turned out to be the two bandits from earlier.  Vik went with them and to create a distraction he lit a number on fires so they could get their friends out.  While everyone was busy trying to put the excessive number of fires out they rescued the bandits, who weren’t happy to see them at first.  Once free the bandits went back to their plans for earlier without anyone noticing them and they returned to the hideout.

            Pleased with their success Dassy welcomed their help in their cause and decides to take them on the next job.  To come with her to deliver plans to another rebel fort in the mountains to the northwest, but they arrive only to find the Imperial army had just finished destroying it and where attacked with full force.  In the attack Dessy fell under a storm of arrows before they could get away.  Her last request was to take her ring to her son Mat in the village south of the rebel hideout.  Honoring her request they deliver the ring to Mat, but he doesn’t accept it saying it is the symbol of leadership of the rebel army and then tells Heo to take the ring himself seeming to see the same thing in him Gleen did.

            Once Heo decided to take on the role Mat joined them, taking them to the old castle they then planned to turn into a new base.  When Mat asked Heo what they should called the castle, Heo could only come up with the name Freedom.  Once it was secure Mat had all the rebels move into the castle, making it look more like a castle that could withstand an attack.  It was then the sorceress appeared before them giving them her assistant Luki and suggested Heo to go out to recruit more allies to strengthen their fight before disappearing.  Taking her advice Heo went out with Grem and Vik to get the rest of the rebels while finding new ones.  Gleen decided to stay behind and hold down the base in Heo’s absence, wanting to see what he was capable of on his own.

            “Do you think they’ll be okey?” Clioy asked when she joined him on the front wall of the castle.

            “They’ll be fine, besides Vik’s with them and he’s as big as a bear.” Gleen told her.  “Our job is to keep the castle safe until they return.”

            One by one Heo’s recruits began to arrive at the castle, bringing with them all the people they came across along the way.  Gleen recognized the two bandits of those coming in, as welll as those they met at the rebel hideout such as Vik’s buddy Blue.  When they returned a council was formed consisting of Heo, Vik, Blue, Gleen, and Mat.  Each of them knew that with the more people that gathered here it wouldn’t be long before the empire saw them as a threat that needed to be dealt with.

            Deciding it was time to take the offensive position it was determined they would attack the nearest general’s army.  Once the battle commenced they were surprised by how weak the Imperial army of this castle really was.  Gleen could tell the general was under the influence of a spell and once he lost to them the spell broke with his defeat.  Now free he told them how the witch had promised him power and then turned him into a slave.  The same happened to the other generals, except Heo’s father, and he wanted to help them to get the emperor away from the witch who he feared was being controlled as well.

            With their first major battle won, there was a celebration held in the recently remodeled great hall.  Afterwards the council decided to try their luck against the next general as they prepared to move out the following day.  Gleen remained behind again guarding the castle, testing Heo’s skill as a leader during combat.  In the previous battle it was clear why the sorceress had chosen him to make the needed change in this world.

 

 

 

            They returning to the camp and Gleen was shocked to hear how they had been driven back and wished he had come.   They rounded up the men to attack again before the general could pull off any more cheap tricks.  Luki was able to blow away the poison gas they had used before by commanding the wind in battle.  Without the gas they fell easily and the general was freed from the spell that controlled him.  Like the other general he joined them to stop the witch from completing whatever plan she was up to.

            They returned to the castle to find the ninja girl Kisha waiting for them with news of Heo’s father.  He planned to attack them along with the two other generals and end the rebellion.  When the battle began they were soon over powered had to retreat, then during the planning of their next move Pan appeared.  The one who betrayed them then from the beginning of all this telling them he would take care of this situation.

            Pan challenged Heo’s father to a duel and surprisingly won, which forced the Imperials to retreat per the agreement.  When he returned he was forgiven for his previous actions and was welcome into the rebel army.  With the exception of Grem, who fell to the gass, all of the childhood friends were back together on the same side.  With the time they were now given my Pan, Mat suggested they get a weaponeer he knew to help them with the remaining generals.

            “Why does he go with so few allies?” Kisha asked as she joined Gleen to watch them leave.

            “Heo is a very powerful young man, they’ll be fine.” Gleen said turning to her.  “So tell me, you come from the ninja village, don’t you?”

            “How do you know of it?” Kisha asked shocked.

            “I’ve been there before, how is the old master?  Still giving lessons?”

            “Still acts like he’s twenty.”

            “That’s good to hear.  Let’s see how well trained you.” Gleen said taking an offensive position, then attacked.

            He was quite surprised of how trained she actually was when she countered his attack with one of her own.  It soon became obvious the master had taught her everything he knew and was more than likely going to leave her in charge when he was gone.  From the skills he was witnessing in this fight she would have to be the most qualified to do so.  Yet despite the skill she was using he doubted it was her full potential as he pushed her harder and forced her to do the same.

            “I see he taught you the Dragon Fist also.” Gleen said sitting next to Kisha who was existed.  “You’re lucky, he wouldn’t even show me that one.”

            To Gleen’s surprise Kisha rested her head on his shoulder and dozed off forcing him to remain there.  Slowly her head slid down to his chest as she stayed there until Heo returned with the weaponeer.  With this advantage they had a batter chance beating the final three generals who had already sent a messenger with the location of the next battle.  As always Heo’s father was being completely formal about the entire thing as he now saw them as a real threat to the empire.

            Launching the weapons the weaponeer designed for them at the start of the battle throwing the tide in their favor.  In the end it came down to Heo and his father dueling to the death to see who was following the right path.  This one duel determined who would triumph in the end and who would continue on to reach the end.  It was Heo who walked away with a heavy heart and with his father’s last words he ordered the other two generals to join Heo.

            They went after the next imperial fort only to find it had been deserted and from the looks of this, for some time now.  On the way back Vik suggest they stay the night at his hometown which wasn’t that far from where they were.  When they get there they found it was given the nickname Village of the Warriors, and for good reason.  Everyone there was happy to see Vik back in town, either that or happy to see he was still alive.  It was getting late so Vik set them up in the inn before heading back out to see his old friends.

            The next morning they found a vampire, one unlike the ones he’d fought in the other world, had arrived at the town and was causing trouble with everyone.  They tried to fight him, but he didn’t seem to be getting hurt and flew off before they could figure out why, taking two women with him.  Vik then told them of an ancient enchanted sword that even the vampire was afraid of.  According to the legends it was at the end of a cave he knew that lay nearby, but surprising no one ever made it to the end of the cave.

            Entering the cave they found why it was abandoned, there were phantoms everywhere and most people would have gone mad before reaching the end.  After over coming all the traps they found the sword waiting at the end, and also found it was alive with an attitude.  It took them a while to convince the sword to help them and that was after they beat it in a fight.  Yet through all their efforts it eventually allowed Vik to pull it from it’s stone and take it with them.

            Returning to the village they found the vampire was in the same castle they had searched the day before.  Going to pay him a visit they met him at the top of the castle to challenge him to a rematch.  This time using the power of the sword they were able to break the barrier that was preventing him from having a solid form.  Without the barrier he was easily defeated, with that Vik left the party to take the women back to the village.

            While searching for more allies the witch appeared out of nowhere and brought Theo with her as they walked to Heo.  Having managed to get Heo alone, he was on his own against the witch, but was shocked by what happen.  Theo asks to have the power back, but half way through the transfer Theo breaks the spell he was under and commands the power to destroy him.  This causes the power to return to Heo as the witch runs off now that her plan was ruined and Theo’s body disappears.

            While training the troops, they got word that Vik had been captured by the enemy and was being held in an Imperial stronghold.  Heo was about to arrange a rescue party when Gleen told him to deal with the training of the men, that he should leave it to Gleen to deal with rescuing Vik.  He took Bycon and Kisha with him as they headed out for the Imperial stronghold for their friend.  When they arrived Bycon throw Gleen into the air, while free falling he showered down Soul Blasts creating a diversion for them to get in.  When Gleen landed he fired a massive Soul Blast blinding them all, then meet up with the others before returning to the castle.

            When they got back a council meeting was called, there were only two Imperial forts left now.  The Imperial castle itself and the Floating Fortress, after much argument of which action they should take it was decided they would hit the Floating Fortress first.  WBetween Gleen and Bycon they had no problems getting up to the fortress, this would also give them nowhere to run to later.  After that there would only be one more target to take and then it would be an end to the Empire.

            The fortress was easily beaten due to the fact that the few soldiers left in the fortress had a fear of heights.  Even though the soldiers couldn’t fight in this condition didn’t mean anything as the Imperials had set a trap for them there.  Once they were inside the magicians escaped and without them there was nothing holding up the fortress.  Luckily they made it out with the help of the sorcerer who had brought them back to the castle for a surprise, Grem had been resurrected and was waiting for them thanks to the sorcerer.

            “Tomorrow this will all end.” Gleen told Kisha while they sat on the west wall watching the sun go down.  “Heo will either lead us to victory or defeat.”

            “We’ve come this far, we can’t lose now.”

            “If we do win, what will happen next?  People have relied on the Imperials for so long and soon they will be gone.”

            “We’ll just go on living.”

            “It’s getting late you should head to bed.” Gleen said when the sun finally went down.

            “Since it may be our last night, will you stay with me tonight?”

            Hesitantly he took her out reached hand and allowed her to lead him back to her room.  This was an adventure that had never closed his mind before, his Triangle Guardian nature forbid him from anything other than the higher goal, but he wasn’t a guardian anymore.  Now candles cast a dim light on the room until burning out leaving them in the dark of night.  The next morning they awoke entangled in the few sheets that remained on the bed, their clothes were scattered throughout the room and a few just outside the door.

            Getting dressed they joined Heo as the battle plan was told to the soldiers and put into motion.  The troops were the decoy to battle the last of the Imperial soldiers while Heo lead a small group into the castle.  The few guards that remained in the castle were easily taken care of as they continued on their way.  They arrived at the throne room to see the witch cast a spell on the king turning him into a giant golden hydra.

            The creature was extremely powerful and its multiple heads allowed it to attack them all at once.  The scales that covered its entire body were as thick their weapons were useless and magic seemed to just be reflected off of it.  It seemed hopeless as the monster devastated them, until Heo’s power began to resonate with Gleen’s.  Together they combined all the power they had into one Soul Blast and sent it hurling at the creature.  The blast ripped through the scales and went straight to the creature’s heart vaporizing it.

            Defeated the spell broke and the king returned to his original form on the edge of death.  Gleen and Heo lay exhausted on the floor, playing right into the witch’s hands, in their weaken states they couldn’t stop her from taking the power from Heo.  Yet once she had it the power didn’t seem to work for her, confirming Gleen’s believe that it would only work if given to a person willingly.  While she was confused about why it wouldn’t work she failed to see the king had managed to get up and dove at her pushing them both out the window to their deaths.

            They now had to escape the castle now that all the Imperial soldiers were now in the castle after them directly.  At the first group Blue told them to escape, Vik took the next group, Gleen and Bycon took the last of them letting Grem take Heo from the castle.  Tired of the life of leader, Heo desired the quite life for a while and disappeared with Grem.  Everyone else naturally went their own way, all of the army returning to their homes and families.

            Pan and Clioy eventually got married, Luki gratefully returned to the aid of the sorcerer, and Vik went on his next adventure along with Blue.  The four generals set up a school to teach the disciplines and arts of war to all who wanted to learn.  Kisha returned to her duties in the ninja village though she truly want to go with Gleen, but knew she couldn’t.  As for Gleen and Bycon, they knew their duty was to help those in need, they had to go even if they wanted to stay.  Yet the Fate Core told him he wasn’t done with this world yet and may someday return, for the moment they were needed elsewhere.