Seiji watched the front gate of Majin, the capital city of all the land that Councilor Majin controlled. Above the gates, the coat of arms for Majin's palace could be barely seen. Few roofs peeked above the tall gates that surrounded the capital. Two Landers guarded the gate at all times, with each standing there for six hours until replaced. The two that stood guard had attained full Lander status a month before him and had been given the duty of being guards a day later. A third Lander approached from the east, the direction of the nearest town in Councilor Majin's lands. Behind him, a man was dragged by the chains linking his hands together. The man was heavily bruised and bleeding, and he held his head down towards the ground. "Hey Shiro, who's the prisoner?", shouted one of the Landers loudly. Shiro stopped in front of the gate and turned to the two Landers. Both Landers took a step forward and faced Shiro. "Some idiot who tried to start a revolution against the Council. I was the one dispatched to silence him and quell the revolt. Lucky for him, no one listened." "Was he talking about the 'Light'?" "Of course. Too many peasants are taking what happened at the Hebi-Koshi as a sign that the Council should fall. At least this gives us Landers something fun to do. Too bad none of these fools can fight." "So, where are you taking him to?" asked one of the two Landers. "The Dungeon," said Shiro ominously. "The Dungeon?" "Yes, the Dungeon. Captain Genjuro ordered me to take the prisoner there. Can't disregard this order, though. Only a Councilor can override a captain's orders." The other two Landers nodded their heads in agreement with Shiro's statement. Only a fool would not obey a Lander Captain, and that fool would be dead before he could react. The prisoner lifted his head up as the Landers spoke. "The 'Light' shall burn your evil souls and deliver all from the evil of the Council. This is the message the 'Light' has given me. Remember it well, for it shall smite you all!" shouted the prisoner as he raised his chained hands. Shiro turned to face the prisoner and slammed his fist into the prisoner's gut. Shiro then spun his leg around and kicked the prisoner on the left cheek, and knocked the prisoner out and onto the ground. "Should've kept your mouth close, I wouldn't have to beat you up," muttered Shiro. Shiro grabs the prisoners chains and dragged the man as he began to leave the gate of Majin. The other two walked back to their post. "I could almost feel sorry for that prisoner. Being sent to the Dungeon, not fun at all from what I have heard. The Inquisitors who work there are far rougher than anywhere else." "Are you kidding me? That fool deserves it for trying to cause a riot against the Council. Some mysterious 'Light' will stop the Council. It couldn't even keep that fool from being captured." "Yeah, you are right about that. No has been able to stand up to the Council or Majin-sama, nor will some 'Light' stop Majin-sama." Seiji sat up and walked towards the gate. Both scanned him over, then determined Seiji to not be a threat. Seiji smiled upon seeing this, as the two Landers had fallen for his disguise. "What do you want, Peasant?" asked one of the guards. He spat on the ground after saying this, emphasizing the word peasant. Seiji bowed his head down, trying to act like a peasant and not spoil his disguise. "I would like to enter the city of Majin, to visit my family," Seiji said meekly and without eye contact. "Hand over your papers," one of the guards said. Seiji passed his papers forward, and watched the guard carefully scrutinize them. The guard gave the papers back to Seiji and tapped a nearby Majin Badge. The gates slowly opened and the two guards moved to the side. Seiji stepped forward and walked through the gate into the city. Only one thought crossed Seiji's mind, how was he going to get into the Training Center and rejoin Majin's gang of Landers without explaining what had happened or the fact that he was beaten by a peasant. = = = = = Beware the Radish Presents. . . D A R K T I M E S created by John Evans Chapter 1: Aftermath of an Awakening part by Kenneth Suckstorff = = = = = Seiji sat in the Taka-Kuchibashi trying to find a way to infiltrate the Training Center. He had spent an hour searching around the city for a secret passage-way into the Training Center, but nothing could be found and he had no idea how to get in. "Enjoying the Falcon's Beak?", asked a voice in front of Seiji. He looked up to see a merchant sitting across from him. "Not really. Too many drunk and loud people for me." "Ah, that is true. Poor fellows, though." "Why do you say that?" "Most are here to join the Landers. Tomorrow for most of these people shall be the worst day of their lives." "They are taking both tests tomorrow, then?" "Correct. Most of these men, from what I have heard, won't survive. Anyway, I must leave. I have to go pack and prepare to leave for home." After the merchant left, Seiji scanned the crowd of the room. Most were young men, old enough to join the Landers if they could pass the tests. Seiji began to remember the day he took the test and passed. A day later, he became enhanced like all other Landers. He turned back to look down at his still-full mug. An idea had begun to form in Seiji's mind. The guarding of the Training Center was loosened for three days while the tests were taken. If he left earlier enough, he might be able to sneak in with one of the first groups and infiltrate, and maybe even rejoin Majin-sama's gang of Landers. Seiji left the Taka-Kuchibashi and walked to the hotel he was staying at tonight. Tomorrow, if everything worked out, he would once again be a Lander. = = = = = Jiro stared at the statue of an armored warrior with his sword sheathed. He looked around the rest of the large room and marveled at the old statues and weapons. "Jiro, stop looking around and sit down," Baachan said. Jiro turned around and sat down across from Baachan. She still held her walking stick, a gnarled piece of wood. "Jiro, all yesterday, I had been going easy, teaching you how you are able to us the Gift and how to focus it. This is important to know and always taught, but will not help you yet." "What are you saying, Baachan?" "Jiro, on the count of three, I want you to focus all your power on the armored statue behind you. One, two, three!" said Baachan. Jiro raised his hand forward, then turned his body towards the statue. His eyes and mind focused on the statue. "Good Jiro, now allow yourself to feel the energy around the statue," said Baachan. "Good, force your will onto the energy. You must control the energy to be able to do anything." Jiro's brow began to sweat from the effort of trying to control the energy. "What now, Baachan?" "Once you have control, compact the energy into a shape. Then, I want you knock the statue's head off neatly, just a smooth surface where the head was." "All right, then," said Jiro softly. He raised his other hand and began to shape the energy from afar. He brought the strands together and forced them into the shape of a sword. He grabbed the hilt of the sword and raised it up. He then began to feel the strain, as the effort to focus the energy mentally and physically began to affect him. He sliced at the neck, his arm in great pain from the stress. The sword vaporized quickly in mid-swing. Jiro doubled over and began to breathe hard. "What happened, boy?" "The strain of focusing became to much. I lost control of the energy," Jiro said. "Hmm. That was much less than what you released when you awakened," stated Baachan, as she thought about what had happened. "Could that be it..." "What are you talking about, Baachan?" "I remember hearing of Latents who when first awakened were very powerful that one time. I think it was something involving large amounts of stress and anger. Anger is known for supplying Latents with more power, especially if they know how to harness it correctly." "Does this mean my gift is useless?" "No boy, it doesn't. Although, you might not be as powerful as I first thought. You still were able to focus the energy into a sword for about 5 seconds. That itself is an achievement. Most latents can only hold it for one, maybe two seconds at the most. You just need more training." "So know what do I do?" "Stand up, Jiro." "Why?" "Time to work on defending yourself. Just focus your mind on a bubble that encases your whole body. Then draw power from within you and create the bubble." Jiro nodded his head, then dropped his hands to his sides and began to focus on a bubble. Energy drew toward him and encircled him. A minute later, a full bubble of energy surrounded him. "What now, Baachan?" "Prepare to defend yourself, boy.", says Baachan. She gestured with her staff at Jiro's bubble. Jiro waited and felt nothing. Then it hit him. A staff blow struck the front of the bubble and displaced the energy. Jiro quickly transfered energy to the front to strengthen the bubble when he began to feel something slam into his head. He lost full control and the bubble dissipated. "Foolish boy, you set that up easily." "Why do you say that, Baachan?" "You formed the bubble correctly, but forgot to reinforce it with more energy. You also forgot to force it to become solid. Both mistakes would make it easy for someone to get past your defenses. I was able to exert a little power and disrupt your bubble and bop you on your head." Jiro sat down to rest his body. His body felt heavily strained from the second effort to control and focus his power. "So just those two exercises are beyond your ability to control and focus. Two simple exercises are beyond your ability to withstand the effort to control. Boy, if you can't survive these exercises without becoming tired, your powers will be useless to you." "As I said, I don't want to get involved. Just stop teaching me." "No, if I did that, you would die. No Latent has yet to survive after awakening without instruction. The Gift is powerful, boy, but without knowing how to use it, the stress will destroy the body and mind. Surviving the training is hard enough, but without it, the power will destroy you and everything near you. No, you must learn to use the Gift." "Okay, now what?" "Easy. Your mind and body must become stronger, so that it can survive the stress." "How do I do this?" "Use the Gift to focus and control small amounts of the power inside your body. Then steadily increase it. Your mind will become more focused and in tune with the Gift. Your body will handle the stress better by adapting to the stress you are putting on it. Tomorrow, we shall start strengthening your body. Right now, it is time to rest." Jiro walked to his mat and laid himself down with the covers over him. Tomorrow, he knew, would be another day of strict training. = = = = = Reiko stared at Jichoh in disbelief. "I am sorry, but I promised to shed no more blood," stated Jichoh. "You just killed a Lander, though." "I realize that. That is another death that I must find atonement for." "Why won't you help The Resistance?" "I must atone for the many I have killed already in my travels. I do not wish to shed even more blood." Jichoh turned around and began to walk away. "The Landers and Majin-sama need to be stopped. This is a noble cause, overthrowing an oppressive Council." "Noble cause? No cause exists that is noble and involves spilling the blood of people. Noble is used only to fool people into believing that they have the right to be killing people." "The people are being oppressed by the Council, though. Doesn't it make you want to help them out, especially when Landers are taking food as taxes from them?" "All governments are oppressive. Some are blunt about it and some hide it behind a veil that allows no one to see it." "So, you are not going to help us?" "I have vowed to avoid the shedding of blood for the rest of my life. I will not back out of it at any point." With that said, Jichoh walked away. Reiko watched him leave. As Jichoh walked away, he thought about the offer. His past was already filled with too much death. He hungered for no more blood and would rather live peacefully. Yet, the request kept coming to mind. In another time, another place, he would have agreed immediately to help her. With what had happened to him, he wished only to never see death again. Reiko turned and walked away, still holding her side. As she walked away, she had only one thought. Someday, she might get another try and could get him to join. = = = = = Seiji watched the testees leave the hotel for the Training Center. Quickly, he got dressed and left the hotel, trailing behind the first group. Once inside (after passing a group of guards who heckled him about being smaller than the other testees), he broke away from the group and started down the hallway. He passed many different colored doors on both sides of the hallway. He stopped in front of a half-opened door and peered inside. Two Landers sat talking to a third unidentified voice. Both Landers wore the normal hodgepodge that was a Lander uniform. The jackets, though, caught Seiji's eyes. Their jackets were the standard black with the emblems of a Lander, but they had an extra emblem on both sides, a giant 'C' surrounded by blood. The emblem which identified Lander Captains. "Give me your reports," boomed a loud voice. The two Captains shivered slightly, then handed over two packets of paper. "Good. Majin-sama shall be pleased with this news," spoke the booming voice again. "What do you do about the 'Light' problem?" "Don't worry. The source of the 'Light' shall be found. Then it will be proven that not even the 'Light' can stand up to Majin-sama. You are dismissed." The two Lander Captains walked out the door and past Seiji, who chose to hide behind the door and remain unnoticed. "Hmm. I wonder if the 'Light' was instead an awakening. Another Latent awakening. I thought that was a familiar sensation. Majin-sama won't be pleased if it is one. I better inform Majin-sama, anyway." "Why won't I be pleased?" said a deep voice suddenly. "Majin-sama...! The reports about the 'Light' could be an indication of a Latent." "It was a Latent who created the explosion. I felt the awakening." "What should we do?" "Nothing yet. The Latent shouldn't be a threat yet. But watch for stories of any individuals with mystical powers. That will be the Latent." "Yes, Majin-sama." Seiji walked away from the door and down the hallway some more. He had reached a room with a great oak door. Right before he turned the handle, he heard a footstep. He turned himself around and saw a Lander approach him. A hood covered his face but Seiji still recognized him. "Seiji, so you have finally returned." "Is that you, Shin?" "Yes, Seiji. Now prepare to die" The hooded Lander charged at Seiji. "What?" = = = = = Author's Notes I apologize for the way this turned out. I tried all last week and was able to write any scenes the way I wanted to. I just hope this is still enjoyable. Anyway, thank you John Evans for suggestions and also for writing the starter. I just hope I haven't ruined your story completely.