Tamashi Kunshu

We had surrounded the building and were ready to go in. This was it, this could be his hideout. We were surrounding a building in uptown Talastana, there were reports of suspicious activity and when there was an undercover investigation near the building the magic detectors went haywire. I was there in case Asura was still in the building. I sensed that there was immense dark magic present. There was something going on here, and I hoped I had him in a corner. He could not escape. We placed the strongest magical detectors possible nearby, if Asura tried to escape then we could track his trail. We had him in a corner. I waited to see if they realised the police and army had quietly surrounded them. There was nothing. I nodded and gave the order, storm the building. They all rushed forward and bust down the door and windows. There were flashes of swords, men and women shouting, doors being slammed open, windows being destroyed. The highest concentration of magic seemed to emanate from the top of the 23 story building. I gave the order to reach the top. I jumped and started flying up with all my might and speed toward the top. I destroyed the window and burst in. I had entered what seemed to be an office. It was much like a corporate office. There were no lights on, there were swords on the wall and maps. I instantly drew my weapon. I had hit the right room as it seemed. I could sense a high intensity of dark magic. But I could not pinpoint the source within the room. I looked around rapidly. Then I saw it in the corner of my eye. There was a figure hiding on the ceiling. Before it could get the drop on me, I spun around and threw a spirit net. It was a device that used spiritual power to bind its target and harness their magical power in order to prevent them from escaping. It normally was meant to be used for ghosts but it could be used for magical peoples as well. The figure was captured and fell to the floor. I rushed to it and held my sword out. I shouted “Identify yourself”. The figure chuckled. It seemed to be a woman. She said “Heh, my name is Yari Shiyara, your majesty.” I was surprised, she had a teikoku name. I grabbed her and sat her up before starting my interrogation. “Who are you exactly and what are you doing here?” She laughed again. I put my sword to her neck. She laughed a bit more. “I have no fear of death, your majesty. For you see, I am one of the 5 immortal generals of his imperial highness's dark army.”. I furrowed by brow in concern. “Which majesty? Who do you serve?”.  I did  not understand but she was calm and seemingly cocky despite the current situation. “I serve his imperial highness, the lord of the shadows, reaper of life and death, the Dark Emperor. That is all I will say to you. You are lucky I have some loyalty to the Teikoku monarchy.” I grabbed the net and dragged the woman outside. I could sense she was the source of the dark magic of the building. She was an important lead. When I took her outside I got a better look at her. She looked to be in her mid 30s. She wore old style teikoku Armour with big shoulder plates lined with fur and scale like metal scales all over. She did not wear her helmet though. She had exposed, long black hair. While I had her subdued I recieved a notification. It was a summon to a meeting of 3 of the empires. I took the prisoner and headed out. 

Sean Éire:

It was the winter break. I was tired after a whole 2 weeks of exams. I was happy to come back home to Riocht. It was beautiful and green. Although it was known for being cold, wet and rainy. The central island was the most populated and industrialised. I liked the capital, Cork, it was a lovely port city on the eastern coast of the island. It was a bit cold and wet in general because it was a port city on the mouth of the sea of Éire. The palace was not near the port, it sat on the banks of the majestic River liffey. Despite this it smelt as if the palace were on the banks of the sea itself. I walked around the palace. I loved being back here, but I much preferred the countryside. I took out my canvas and painted. I did not enjoy sharing it but I liked to paint in my free time. The scenery of cork at night was beautiful. The stars dancing in the sky , the shadow of the skyline. The still quietness of the river and the trees that lined the streets leading out of the palace. I normally painted at night, which technically it was. But because Riocht’s central island, Saorse, was in the southern hemisphere, at 8 o'clock at night it was bright as if it were only 5 o’clock. I began to paint a scene, a scenery that would remind me of home. A beautiful Shamrock on the banks of the Shannon with the foggy dew surrounding it. I painted and painted throughout the evening through midnight. I was enamoured with the beauty of the simple scene I was attempting to recreate. Before I knew it, I fell asleep at my painting stand. Nilbud woke me up and dragged me to bed. I slept deeply, but not soundly. My dreams were haunted by scenes I had never seen before.

It was a battlefield. Great Armies of thousands fighting. A large shadowy figure with massive black wings leading one of these armies. Fires blazed across the battlefield. In the distance I saw a burning flag being taken down and another. I squinted and saw,the flag that was burning was the flag of the Kanshai empire. I felt the heat surrounding my body. 

I woke up suddenly. Nildub was coiled at my side. I put my hand on her and sat up. I was worried about what his would mean. I looked at the clock and saw, 8am. I got up to finish my painting but my hands kept shaking. This dream did not mean nothing.It was like a prophecy.  I had to find out what it meant.

Khaitan Buraldag:

I barked my orders at the men aboard the ship. It was around midnight. We were travelling at around 45 knots. We were leading the Riocht Sea fleet of the Undesten Imperial Navy. The ship I was commanding was the Pride of the empire. The Undesten Jewel of the sea. The flagship of the Undesten Imperial Navy, the UNS Ukulan. It was a heavily armed destroyer over 150 metres in length. With guns that could destroy a city. I was commanding it on a mission from the Riocht sea to go to the Kalan sea in the west. I was not told by my father why the fleet was being moved, but nevertheless, I led the fleet with confidence. I wanted to use this was an opportunity to show that I was ready to be a leader, at least in the martial sense. We wanted to set a good example. We were almost out of the Riocht sea. But as we were getting closer and closer to our destination I could not help but feel uneasy. I had not been told why the fleet was being moved, only that I would be placed in command. I stood at the end of the deck and looked out to the calm wide sea. I thought, over the past couple of months, things seemed to have happened all at once. I decided to do a display of magic. It would take my mind off of what was going on. I took out my bow and arrows. I embedded a howling arrow with some of my magic before firing it into the sky. The arrows travelled high into the sky emitting an ear-piercing sound which caught the attention of the men until blew up into a bright explosion of colours and sparkles. I let off a couple more. The men clapped and enjoyed it. I also felt a little at ease. Having morale high was already winning half the battle. They had to be rested and ready for a battle if it ever turned up.

Chief Mahpiya iotake:

I stood atop the rock and looked out to the vast plains and deserts. I saw the black mountains in the distance. They were a holy site for my people and to see them be desecrated by an imperial palace had always sickened me. That palace had been there for just over 70 years. It was there well before I was born, but photographs were there before they were ruined and destroyed by the foreign invaders that called themselves Kanshai. They had carved statues of their emperors into the sacred peaks. They built monuments to the rulers who had stolen the land. Not only from my people but from thousands of other nations across the continent. I sighed. I wanted to pay respects to my ancestors. But they lay buried in their traditional grounds in the foothills of the black mountains. My people, the Thinthun peoples of the great western plains, were forbidden from going across the river to ever visit our homeland. We were in fact never allowed to leave our allocated lands. That too those lands that we had been allocated were encroached on by the Kanshai. 

I thought back to the stories my grandparents told, about how there was a time where we were once free. A time before the empire. For thousands of years we lived in and around the black mountains, the source of the great plains river. The peoples of this continent had lived happily for thousands of years. Until settlers came from a small kingdom on the Anglian peninsula that was at war with Riocht. The story goes that the peoples of the eastern coast took in these settlers with open arms. But they were repaid with betrayal. The settlers called themselves the Kanshai. They used Biological warfare against the people of this continent. Diseases that spread like an uncontrolled wildfire rapidly spread across the continent. It killed tens of millions of people. When our people were weak. The Kanshai, who had fled war and had sought our refuge. They picked us off one by one. Taking our lands, destroying it for their own material wealth. The little kingdom on the anglian peninsula lost its war and was conquered by Riocht, however in its stead the Kanshai empire had been established. The peoples of this continent were moved by the Kanshai government. We weren't allowed to move out of the lands that the empire set forth for us. Our practices were forbidden. For the Sapa people in particular, our native home of the black mountains was stolen from us. We were separated from the burial places of our ancestors. We were moved to the far away deserts. It was long and terrible travel. Thousands died of disease, starvation, thirst or exhaustion. There was a long path of graves from our settlements to the black mountains. I sighed and felt more sadness in my heart. I lit up some leaves as an offering to the spirits. 

I turned around and went back to my tent. I was just about to go to sleep when one of the scouts sent out the alarm. I rushed out to see what was happening. I saw through a pair of binoculars. A large plume of dust being kicked up. It was a large band on horses coming straight for the camp. They did not carry the Kanshai flag. I told the Soldiers to ready defensive positions in case it was an attack. As the band came closer and closer they did not seem to be aggressive. I waited as they rode up the hill. The band rode into the village. They were soldiers, but not Kanshai soldiers. A tall young man who appeared to be the leader of the band got off of his flame stallion. He had terrifying red eyes. He wore black and red robes. He bowed and spoke in a deep voice “ Are you Chief Iotake of the Sapa” I was uneasy, however his tone seemed genuine. “ That would be me. Who is asking?” The man looked at me and smiled. “ I am the dark emperor. Leader of the Kalantaikal.” I thought to myself. So the rumours were true that the Kalantaikal people of the southeast had indeed rebelled against the empire. No doubt they came to seek an alliance. The emperor spoke again “ As I am sure you are aware, we, the Kalantaikal, are in rebellion against the Kanshai oppressors. Chief Iotake I ask you, will you and the Sapa people join us in our crusade against tyranny?” I asked flatly “What gives us assurance that Kanshai oppression won't just be replaced by Kalantaikal oppression? You are an emperor after all, a king of kings. What assures my people that we are fighting for a good cause?” He nodded in understanding and said “ The Kalantaikal are not in search of conquest. Chief Iotake we seek not the material riches as the Kanshai do. We look simply for freedom. We are a people bound to our homeland and the sea. We have no use for conquest, it simply is a waste of life and it goes against the will of the spirits as we believe. Even if we did seek conquest it would not be logistically possible for us to administer and empire of such a large size. The Kanshai have exterminated a large amount of our population even if every Kalantaikal man, woman and child were to be a soldier to enforce our rule over an empire. We could not do it. But as I said. We do not seek conquest. We just want freedom. Do you want to fight for your freedom as well?” I thought about it. I wanted to fight. I wanted to free my people. Like the Kalantaikal, I wanted to reclaim our homeland from the Kanshai. But we had not the resources nor the man power, as such joining may be sheer suicide. “ My people would be willing to fight. But we do not have the manpower for an army. Like your people, we too have been exterminated and buried en mass by the Kanshai” The emperor turned his head slightly and asked. “I have heard that you people have done something known as the ghost dance. Please tell me more about that.” I was confused as to how he knew about it and how he thought it would help but I obliged his request. “The ghost dance is a practice that my people have done for decades. There is the belief that if it is done. The spirits of ancestors will come and give us freedom. We have done it for years. But to no avail. How is that relevant to the rebellion?” the emperor put his hand on my shoulder and said in a sincere tone. “I believe that it will help. Please could you do it once more. If not just for the blessings of the spirits that protect your homeland”. It made sense to me, if we were going to ally ourselves with the rebels, we might as well ask for the assistance of the spirits to give us any help they can. I gathered the whole tribe. We got into a large circle and began to stamp our feet. The elders sat on the outside of the circle beating their drums and chanting. We began to move around the circle in a clockwise direction chanting along with the elders. Slowly we began to move faster and faster and chanted louder and louder. We chanted pleas and prayers to our ancestors to help us and to give us freedom. Then I saw the emperor enter the circle and suddenly stick a pole weapon into the ground in the centre of the circle. A great plume fire surrounded the weapon. I looked and saw the emperor's eyes now looked as if they were made of fire. As the look of rage was plastered on his face. He seemed not to notice. I suddenly felt the ground start to shake. Wisps of smoke began to come from the ground towards us. Still, we did not break the circle. The smoke got thicker and thicker at our feet. The flames stopped on the weapon and the emperor’s right eye. His left eye still remained in flames. He took the weapon out of the ground and pointed out behind me. I heard murmurs and gasps of shock from people around the circle. I turned around and saw in the distance. People, walking towards the camp one by one. I broke the circle and went to go see what it was. I walked toward the ledge that overlooked the area below, leading up to the village. I used a pair of binoculars and saw what it was. I was shocked. The mounds… the bodies under the mounds had come back to life. They had come back to help us. I turned and saw the emperor next to me. His eyes had gone back to normal. He remarked to me, “Your ancestors seemed to have finally answered your call. By the looks of it, now you have an army. So, will you join us, Chief Iotake?” I turned to him and smiled, “The Sapa will join in the rebellion. We will fight for our freedom” .