Way of the Warrior - Hotouri

[Revenant]

Closed to TB or one of his alts.
“I don’t get why we have to stand here,” Jaime Greuge sighed wistfully, slumping against the rough stone entrance to Sei’s Tomb. Jaime was a foot soldier in the Ixian Knights, the rogue army that the mute mystic Sei Orlouge was building to promote the virtues of justice and protecting the weak across the face of Althanas. That a private individual, especially one as famous and opinionated as the so-called ‘Hero of Radasanth’, had been able to build such an organization in the center of Radasanth without calling down the wrath of the Coronian Empire on his head spoke more about the troubles plaguing the island nation since the advent of the civil war still raging throughout it than it did about Sei’s ability to keep his army secure. For the time being however, Sei’s Tomb, the criss-cross maze of underground tunnels cutting through Corone and beyond, was the only place that the Ixian Knights could call home. And that meant guard-duty.

“Everyone’s got to do it, Jaime.” Pell Duyo, Jaime’s companion and guard partner sighed. This was not the first time they had been through this discussion and it sometimes seemed to Pell that Jamie rehashed these tired complaints just because he had nothing better to do while on watch.

“The Nine don’t,” Jaime countered, referring to the nine Captains of the Ixian Knights, second only to Sei himself. “Lord Bracken, Lady Remi and the rest never get stuck standing in the door for hours on end, do they?”

“That’s because they’re always off running this special mission or that for Lord Orlouge you twit. Besides, are you telling me that you’d want to spend six hours on the night shift out here with Lady Remi?” Jamie shuddered at the thought, not because spending several alone-time hours with a beautiful woman like Cassandra Remi was a bad thing, but because this particular beautiful woman caused his skin to crawl.

“Didn’t think so,” Pell said, ignoring the fact that he too had shuddered.

“I’m just saying that I don’t see the need for Lord Orlouge to post guards out here anyway. We’re not actually supposed to stop anyone who wants to see him from entering, so what’s the point?”

“The point is that if something does happen, your screaming will alert the people inside to the danger,” a third voice growled, causing but Jaime and Pell to jump and give out a short cry of surprise. This voice was thick and gravelly, like two blocks of charcoal scraping together, and it belonged to a broad, heavily cloaked man who seemed to have literally melted from the shadows.

“Lord Arcus!” Pell exclaimed, snapping to attention as he recognizing the shadowy intruder. “Sorry sir, we hadn’t been told to expect you back so soon.”

William Arcus was one of the Nine, and had accompanied Sei and his bodyguards, the three Knights of the Apocalypse Stephanie, Adolph, and Jensen, on a mission to the frozen wilderness of distant Berevar. Sei and the Knights had reappeared mysteriously weeks before they were expected to return, but William hadn’t been with them and even the great psychic powers of the mute mystic couldn’t foresee where he had been or when he would return.

“That’s because I wasn’t even sure I was coming back,” William said, the twin glow of his orange eyes glaring at the two sentries from under his deep cloak hood. His gaze was strong and unwavering, and his eyes blazed like burning coal, causing cold shivers of fear to squirm up the back of Jaime and Pell’s spines. While there was a creepy aura around Cassandra Remi that cause normal people to shun her, William Arcus sparked a primal fear into those around him. It was rumored among the troops that he was part demon, and that only Sei himself could keep the man on a leash. And even Sei’s hold over him was tenuous at best, some of the darker rumors stated.

“Stand aside,” William commanded, and the two sentries jumped apart so quickly that it almost looked like they had teleported.

“Of course, Lord,” both men echoed.

William entered Sei’s Tomb without another word to the two men, striding briskly into the flickering interior of the maze. Jaime and Pell watched him depart, visibly slumping in relief as darkness swallowed him.

“I wish Lady Remi were here to hold me right now,” Jaime whispered, and Pell nodded that he felt the same.

[Revenant]

The more things change, the more they stay the same, William thought as he stalked the knighted halls of Sei’s Tomb. Even now, in the dead of night, the cavernous maze pulsed with life. Guards walked to and from watch posts to the eating cave or to their individual bunks to catch some shut eye, young couples giggled furtively as they slinked between the shadows from one room to another, and somewhere in the distance, echoing throughout the halls with no regard to the late hour, came the familiar cursing of one Jensen Ambrose. Jensen was the closest thing that William had to a rival in the Ixian Knights, and even though the chasm between them had closed slightly during their escapades in Berevar, very slightly at that, there was still enough bad-blood between the two of them to poison a vampire.

Any other night and William would have been torn as to whether he should seek the young Knight of the Apocalypse out to torment him, or whether he should do his best to actively avoid the horrible little creature, but not tonight. Tonight was different. Tonight William had a mission, a purpose, and thoughts of Jensen ran off him like water off a duck’s back.

It doesn’t matter anyways, William thought, reassuring himself. He’ll still be here when I’m finished. The statement was truer than it sounded, for the young Knight of the Apocalypse had the frustrating curse of immortality laid upon his shoulders. Frustrating for Jensen because he was forced to come back to life no matter what the extent of the horrifying injuries he incurred, and frustrating for William because he couldn’t properly kill the little prick. Sure he could do all manner of vile things to the boy, but most of the fun of killing someone was knowing that they wouldn’t be getting back up again the next morning all fresh as a daisy.

“Someday I’ll find a way to put him down for good,” he vowed, speaking aloud for the first time since entering Sei’s Tomb. “Nothing lasts forever.” And William would know, for he had been blessed by the Thayne Goddess Jomil after completing her test of the Icehenge in Berevar, which had been their group’s entire reason for going to the frozen wasteland in the first place. Blinking, William activated Jomil’s blessing, watching as the stone walls of the corridor eroded before his eyes, splitting open in a variety of cracks and stress-fractures. With the sight that Jomil had given him, William could see the natural decay of all things, a compliment to the destructive nature of the demonic soul that made him what he was.

“Damn that little bastard,” William cursed, suddenly realizing how thoughts of Jensen had managed to side-track him despite his best efforts. He blinked again to shut off his special eyesight and doubled his stride, winding his way through the maze towards his ultimate destination, the meditation chamber of the Akashiman monk and combat trainer of the Ixian Knights, Hotouri.

[Tainted Bushido]

“Don’t try to force it. If you force the move to come out, you will only perfect executing it as sloppily as possible. The more you try to make something happen, the worse the effects will be. Focus on doing it all you want, but don’t force it,” The words were stern, even as the shout of another warrior going through strict martial training could be heard. Each shout marked another passing of a maneuver, another grunt showing the exhaustion of performance.

A young man, white of hair was dressed only in his hakama pants, sandals left respectfully at the entrance as he moved through each maneuver. The wooden blade moved in sync with an ocean’s rhythm, even as the warrior flowing through the moves tried to relax the muscles, rather than tense them. The blade was longer than a traditional bokken, as was emphasized by the maneuvers he went through. Each slash was hard and strong, each move followed through before coming about in another strike.

“Better, when you focus on the task, rather than how you perform it, you commit that task to your subconscious. You cannot hope to beat someone if you must constantly think about what you are doing, while you are trying to devise a counter strategy, you will only jumble your actions. You have for too long thought about what you are doing, while considering what they can do. You need to remove that bad habit quickly if you hope to fight Shiryko.”

Behind him was a man who was also dressed only in the hakama pants of an Akashiman warrior. His head was bald, a symbol of his retirement, even as he was forcing the younger man through the maneuvers. He walked about with a switch of bamboo, not unlike a cane as he watched the warrior from various angles, studying and dissecting his ability to complete the regiment. What set the two apart was that while the older one was a tanned and muscular individual; the other was pale and weedy. Further, the younger man had dark blotches of skin that covers large swatches. They seemed to splay out from his back, coursing up his neck and heading for his face. They nearly covered his arms entirely, before moving down to the fingers, were they finally began to taper off and become wispy.

It was unsettling to those who had never seen such splotches. Still, there the young man stood, continuing his practice as he moved through the ritualistic movements of the kata he was attempting to perfect. Hoturi’s back was to the door, even as he continued to watch before he grinned widely. Finally he spoke, “You’ve been standing there quite long enough my friend, have you come to give me more warriors to train? Or perhaps…have you come for your own betterment?”

The younger man immediately froze, halting the kata. He turned to look at the door before he saw the brooding figure that graced the entryway to the dojo. Immediately for his trouble the bamboo switch hit the younger man upside the head, who immediately shook it and looked back to the wall he had been facing, and started over. Hoturi smiled before he said firmly, “Good, remember, I did not tell you to stop. Do not think a visitor is a chance for you to be lazy…”

“Yes, Sensei,” Taka said respectfully, between cries of the count for his kata. Each attack was against an invisible foe, each execution seemingly flawless, except to the trained eye of the master teaching it.

[Revenant]

“I didn’t want to interrupt your,” William paused as he made a gesture like he was smacking Taka with a stick, “training.” William had only had the most glancing encounters with the leader of the Ixian Knights’ mercenary squad, but he knew that scurrilous whispers in the Tomb often associated the two of them because of the rumors of Taka’s demon taint. It was a ridiculous notion, William knew, as Taka’s condition was nothing like his own. Still, when had facts ever gotten in the way of rumor mongers.

“I’m sure that you’ve heard about what went on in during Sei’s and my trip to Berevar.” Seeing that his polite reservation was unnecessary William entered the dojo. The pleasant smell of sandalwood incense filled the room, and William was surprised that the scent stopped at the sliding paper door and didn’t filter into the rest of the dusty passages beyond. “Good evening Taka,” he greeted the white haired warrior nonchalantly, his slight hope to see the ronin receive another swat dashed when Taka made no sign of acknowledgment.

“Oh well,” he muttered and then turned to face Hotouri, throwing the hood of his heavy travelling cloak back to reveal his solemn features. “I’m not going to burden you with the details, but out in the frozen wastes I realized that I don’t know how to fight.” He brought his hand up in front of his as if he could see the razor sharp claws of bone that covered it when he transformed. “I know how to kill easily enough, but I don’t know how to fight.”

William paused to see if Hotouri had a reply, but the monk’s unflinching gaze remained passive and only the steady, rhythmic swish of Taka’s wooden sword answered him. “Alright then,” William said, shrugging, “so as one of the Ixian Knights’ trainers I’m going to have you teach me how. Simple, no?”

[Tainted Bushido]

Taka finally finished the Kata and returned to the ready position, before Hoturi nodded and gestured for Taka to sit down. The Ronin nodded agreeing with the statement as he moved across the dojo and grabbed a clay jar that was filled with water. He sat patiently before Hoturi looked upon the demonic humanoid that was William Arcus. He moved slowly, deliberately before he spoke, “Well, you have already reached the first epiphany of a warrior. I suppose that puts you a step ahead of the weaker men you throw to me to teach…”

Before William could speak he shook his head and continued, “…however, a step ahead is still ten steps behind. You are older; you have preconceived notions of how to fight. I still need to tear down those if you truly want to learn how to fight. You have separated fighting and killing, that is the only saving grace you could say you have right now.”

Taka watched from the bench, waiting for Hoturi to make the decision. He could see the man was as unreadable as ever, and yet at the same time he held about him that mischievous aura. He could see that William was waiting for something, anything to resolve the situation. Hoturi had spoken as if he would teach, but Taka knew this was not the same as saying it.

The monk then smiled as he spoke, “Come back to me at the end of the week, I’ll tell you whether I believe you are worth the effort.” With those words he gave a dismissive gesture to William, almost rudely before he turned to Taka. “You can take the rest of the night off; you merely need time to rest your muscles.”

“Yes, Hoturi-sensei,” Taka replied before he got up and bowed. Moving over to where his kimono was he carefully put it back on before tying his obi. The ronin left the room quietly with his daisho as Hoturi turned to William with a smirk.

“I shall see you in a week my friend,” Hoturi replied.

[Revenant]

“A week?” William spat. “What do you mean come back in a week? The only student you have her right now is him,” William thrust a finger out at Taka, “and all he’s doing is swinging a board around.” The air around William shimmered in the training room’s dim light, a sign of the intense heat that poured out of William when he was frustrated.

“I’m not some damned green trainee monk, or one of the lickspittle pups who run to you when they aren’t good enough to join me.” Much to his credit, Hotouri made no move or sign acknowledging William’s outburst, though the revenant caught a shallow, disdainful eye from Taka. Billowing flames of rage burst from the depths of William’s core, incensed that the Akashiman outcast would dare to glance at him in such a manner. William took a half-step towards the ronin, inwardly smirking at the defensive shift of posture that the tainted warrior took. Brute force and fearful intimidation were two of his greatest weapons.

But isn’t that the reason you’re here? William’s voice sneered within his head. Isn’t that what you exploited to defeat your doppelganger at Icehenge? The memory flooded over William and he was suddenly back in the frozen Bervar wastes, the sting of the cold biting him even through his infernal heat. Locked within the Goddesses’ testing ground without access to his demonic powers, William had been completely outmatched by the creature that wore his form. He should have been powerless to stop the creature, powerless to stop his own demise, yet had prevailed because he had been able to keep calm while the demonic other hadn’t.

Alright then. William relaxed, though he saw that Taka made no move to relax his own position.

“Very well, monk,” William said, turning back to Hotouri, who still had not moved, “I’ll come back in a week and we'll begin then.”

[TwinCast]

One week later…

“Mister Hoturi, is there really any reason you have brought me to witness more acts of barbarian stupidity? Surely you could have merely waited for the lesson to end, rather than have me wait and watch these men,” Aislinn said brushing a few stray strands of red hair from her face.

“The men, while afraid of you, also find you alluring. I hope to weed the stupid out of these classes, as their incompetence combined with live steel will mean they are more prone to mistakes if their, barbarian stupidity as you so kindly put it comes to the fore…” Hoturi responded coolly. The comment was no worse than if he had been talking about the weather. The waterfall continued to spray a small mist through the dojo as it continued to act as a form of cooling system. While the men were working with weapons, and their shirts were soaked with sweat, Aislinn watched the carefully, knowing full well the danger these men were facing.

“How kind of you to at least be forthcoming and forward with an answer, I suppose I should be on hand incase someone stupidly gets hurt by a wild swing. Still, you could have asked for any of the other female doctors,” Aislinn retorted.

“They are far more approachable than you. I wanted a distraction, not a potential one night stand,” Hoturi replied firmly.

“So nice of you to think of my staff,” Aislinn responded, this time a bit of honesty in her voice. She continued to watch the men go through their forms before Hoturi moved to the center of the room.

“Alright, face off into dueling pairings. I want you to practice basic attacks and blocks, and be careful men, I don’t want anything Ms. Orlouge cannot easily repair to occur. Cuts and scrapes happen, that is battle, slicing open someone’s arm is intentional, or intentional stupidity. I will not tolerate it. These are steel blades, not toys, use them as such and I have nothing more I can teach you,” Hoturi ordered. Aislinn raised an eyebrow before she nodded finally understanding why she exactly was there.

The men began to art of attack and defend, moving through each basic attack and block in succession. The sound of steel clashing through the room was interesting to watch for a few moments, before she had seen it all and they had switched who attacked and who blocked. Having already seen the first iteration, there was nothing new added to the mix. Hoturi quickly made it to her side before she spoke, “So, trained in Coronian long sword?”

“Familiar with fighting styles?” Hoturi asked a bit of jovial curiosity in his voice.

“I have seen the guard perform similar strikes, it was a mere guess on my part,” Aislinn retorted.

Hoturi laughed before he nodded softly, “Yes, I learned other sword arts than those of my homeland. The first step to defeating a foe is understanding, I often found I had no understanding of western ways. In an effort to be a better warrior, I learned a few styles from outside my homeland. It was enlightening to say the least, especially taught me that there is more to fighting than just art.”

Aislinn nodded sagely before she said, “There is but one art, Death. Everything else is a mockery of it.”

“Spoke like a true Witch,” Hoturi responded as he looked over to her, “Still, thank you for coming, I’d hate to imagine what would happen if a more fatal injury occurred without you around…”

“You are welcome,” Aislinn responded, before Aqshy, wind of the pyre whispered in her ear. She tilted her head slightly, listening to it before she spoke softly for only Hoturi, “Aqshy tells me one who has a bit of it trapped within is coming, are you expecting a visitor?”

Hoturi smiled before he spoke mysteriously, “One who speaks in anger makes his anger heard, but his words forgotten. I believe the thunder has come to my simple dojo…” Aislinn nodded sagely before Hoturi spoke up, “Hold!” The men immediately stopped, a few mid swing before they returned to a ready position across from each other. Hoturi then shouted out, “Head Knight approaching, be sure to give them your best welcoming smile!”

[Revenant]

It had been a terribly frustrating week for William. Knowing the shortfall that he faced but without any course of action to rectify the situation was a bitter pill for him to have to swallow. He had vented his frustration somewhat through repeated trips to the fighting Citadel in Radasanth. He had even brought the other members of his monster hunting squad along for one of the trips and had had the Ai'Bron monks use their magic to conjure a three-headed centipede for the the squad to fight. He had ended all of his fights victorious, but that had only served to increase the frustration he felt as he knew that only brute force and raw demonic power had carried him through them. But the long week was over at last and now it was time for his training with Hotouri to begin.

"What in the Pyre?" William grumbled as he entered the dojo and noted the rows of Ixian soldiers standing at rigid attention. Several of the faces were familiar to the Revenant, young would-be adventurers who had tried to make their way into the prestigious monster hunting group, hoping to make a quick name for themselves by felling a vicious beast. William had quickly weeded out the unworthy, going so far as to face the more foolhardy members himself in the Citadel, and he smiled as he saw several of them shrink back from him. The thrill of the fear that his very presence engendered pleased William, though he would never admit it. Still, the fact that they were even here at all was a surprise to the Revenant.

"Damn it all Hotouri, I thought you said that I was supposed to start my training today," William turned to the Akashiman monk and was startled to find Sei's niece, the red-headed Aislinn standing with him in casual discourse. William knew of the young mystic, and that she was supposed to be the Ixian Knights' foremost expert on medicine, but he had never really had any interaction with her or her sister, the cat Felicity. His healing capabilities kept him out of the infirmary and otherwise the two of them didn't spend time in the same circles. Still, there was no bad blood between the two of them and he had no objection to the presence of one of the Ixian Knights' authority figures. The rank and file troops however...

"I'm not going to be very happy if you were leading me around by the nose, monk." William waved a dismissive hand toward the troops who still stood at attention, "so why don't you send them away and we can get down to business."

[TwinCast]

“You mistake your place William-san. When you enter this dojo, you are no longer their leader, you are another student. You are merely a student who has put himself in my hands for training. Until you leave this dojo, that is all you will be, and as a student, they have as much right to be here as you. Do not forget this,” Hoturi said firmly. A few of the students shivered slightly at the coldness of the tone.

Aislinn merely crossed her arms as she looked upon the revenant, her mind slowly cataloguing his features for future use. While he had never shown up for his inspection, already she was hearing the winds whisper words to her. Her head tilted ever so slightly as she listened carefully to the reports, more than certain that she would have to ask William a few questions later.

That however, could wait for a later time. Hoturi was already on the move, moving up to the Revenant before he nodded slowly. Her circled him carefully before he spoke up, “Class, live steel away, it is time to break out the bokken again.”

A few groans resounded through the room before the students all moved about. Hoturi then moved to form a wall between revenant and the students before he spoke loudly, “William-san, you are capable of murdering almost anyone in this room. That is no secret, but you do not fight, you merely kill like a beast. Because of this, I here-to-fore remove your right to attack and harm. If you attack someone, your lesson today ends, if you harm someone, Aislinn-sama will be required to tend to you, lest you die from your wounds.”

The students had never heard Hoturi threaten anyone else before. Moving to a student he carefully took the bokken before he turned to the class and spoke, “This man has focused on the art of attacking, destroying everything in his path. Because of this, he disregards a few things, relying on his powers and prowess in fear to kill you efficiently. This is of course a problem, but a unit of you could easily fell this man given even a modicum of bravery. In Akashima, he would have died the first time he attacked a unit of trained Samurai. This is because he has no concept of preservation. You all know that the first thing you did here was learn to block correct?”

Words fo assent filtered through the air, even as he circled the Revenant. He then carefully pointed the bokken at William and spoke, "You see how he carries himself? He has not even begun to prepare himself for a fight. His careless pride has bred in his heart a contempt of you all. This is his first mistake, one of many that today we shall beat out of him." He then pointed to the arms, "As you can see, he retains the strength he had as a human, now, its hard to say what he is, but I believe practice dummy is a good word for now. Are we ready to begin training?"

A muttering of yes’s filtered through the room before he tossed the bokken to the student he had taken it from, who caught it. He then smiled before he turned to William and slowly bowed, “Your first lesson is to defend yourself. Use only your arms, parry and deflect blows, let none of my students hit your back, your chest, or your legs. If one hits your head…well the exercise will end, and you will be doing push ups for such a blatant disregard for your own life. Then, you shall be forced to restart the exercise. We shall continue and keep this up, until such time that you realize how best to defend yourself.”

He then grinned before he raised a hand and slowly moved back towards the Witch and spoke up, “All students ready?” Choirs of yells spoke up in affirmation, before Hoturi let a grin cross his face, “Five to a team, line up in order, each team will go until they score a hit on head torso or legs. Then the next shall go after a one minute break for our pupil here. This will continue until I say stop.”

He then spoke out to William, “You have five seconds to get ready…four now, three, two, one, BEGIN!” The hand dropped swiftly before he said softly to Aislinn, “We shall see how his bravado holds up after today.”

She leaned towards Hoturi before she spoke, “You do realize you are essentially destroying the hold he has over these men. They won’t fear him if they train with him.”

“Precisely why I’m doing it, Fear is a powerful ally, but he has come to think of that fear as his weapon. These men are not his, nor are they the enemy; he has no use for Fear here either. I refuse to let such a crude tactic be used in my walls, and if he would try, so much the better that we also take care of that fruitless pride.”

[Revenant]

“That’s it? I’m just supposed to block with my arms?” William asked, looking at Hotouri as if the monk had grown a third eye. It was a mistake, however, as a wooden sword cracked into his back almost immediately. The chorus of amused whispers and giggles coming from the trainees ended instantly, a tense silence replacing the noise. William turned slowly, glaring at the stunned face of the youth who had taken his first swing on Hotouri’s order and had struck the Revenant. All eyes in the room were locked on the two of them, but none of them held more surprise that that poor, unfortunate youth who even then stared into the burning eyes of his own death.

William’s hand twitched at his side, as if the demonic power within him were trying its best to force itself to the surface to strangle the offending student. Black lines of power spread across William’s flesh as the demon drew closer to the surface and the narrow shift of Hotouri’s eyes across the room was enough to show that he was ready to take the Revenant down should he lash out at the man in front of him.

A smile slit William’s face then, but rather than being a grin of savage release it was one of controlled restraint. “Alright then, worm,” he said, forcing the spreading lines to retreat as he suppressed his transformation, “if that’s how it’s going to be.” With a wave of his hand, William dispelled the mounting tension in the air, sending the first team back and summoning the next.

The next team faltered when the first of the wooden swords cracked hard on William’s arm, drawing a pain-filled hiss from him. But William merely pushed the sword aside and gestured for the attacks to continue. By the sixth team’s turn, William’s forearms were almost entirely discolored and swollen. By the ninth, his breathing was little more than ragged gasping from the strikes he had taken to the midsection. By the fifteenth he could barely stand on the legs that had taken such a beating. Small rivulets of molten blood were splattered across the training room from cuts where William’s swollen arms had split. Still, William maintained a savage grimacing smile, calling the next team forward, and then the next, as if he were enjoying the severe beating that he received. But most surprising was the fact that, despite the extent of the injuries that he had sustained, William was steadily blocking more and more of the swing from the increasingly tired students.

“Is that it?” he panted, dusty ash and hot blood forming a gray paste over his body. “Is that the best you pansies have got?”

[TwinCast]

Aislinn watched impassively as the training continued. William’s outburst was well in keeping while she mentally recorded what she had seen of the man. Most men would have broken arms at this point, perhaps even losing full functionality after a few moments. Hoturi however, seemed to have a good gauge of the Revenant’s strengths, for he continued long past a point where most men would have begged a stop. She knew why he didn’t come to the infirmary at all, he didn’t need her. Though it seemed his regeneration wasn’t as good as he thought, and that there was time required for the bruises to heal.

That interested her only as much as she was worried he might be reaching a limit on what he could regenerate.

The human body had a funny way of growing. If a disadvantageous condition was inflicted on a body long enough, it would begin to assume that condition was the norm at which it would now operate. With that in mind, it would be prudent to let the body heal, before the bruised and pulpy form of his muscles replaced the proper form. Even Aislinn couldn’t guess what such a mashing of his muscles would do to the Revenant.

She breathed in to speak before Hoturi spoke up, “That is enough for today. It seems he is beginning to grasp the lesson, and you have more experience in how to fight as a unit. Student you may place your bokkens in their proper place and leave. You are done for today. William-san needs to stay to make up for being late to this class.”

The students filed out before Hoturi gestured to William, “I know, go ahead and give him what little you can.”

“I shall have to hope that no one has a medical emergency tonight,” Aislinn replied before she moved forward. Her voice took a strict and formal tone, “I do this only because I’m concerned your muscles will heal in this state. I know you weren’t in any danger.” She then forced her hand on it as Ghyran moved through her, soothing the pain he was feeling, while at the same time knitting and bolstering his incredible regenerative powers. Continuing the bond she felt her energy begin to wane before she withdrew her hand and said tiredly, “There, now my concerns are answered.”

Hoturi then spoke firmly, “You did well for a first lesson. We shall have to see how you do for the next few days. Until I feel satisfied, you will continue at this step. Feel free to ask them to test you on your off time, feel free to train until you are nothing more than pulped meat attached to bones. Understand that every time you feel you have mastered this aspect, I will increase the punishment for failure.”

Aislinn tensed hearing those words, looking over at Hoturi incredulously. His eyes met the Witch’s blue irises seeming to ignore the concern there. He merely gestured to the door before he spoke, “You are free to go William-san. If ever you feel ready to practice against me or Taka, you need only ask. I would not recommend doing so until the students cease to offer you a challenge, however long that may be…”

Asilinn felt a chill down her spine at those words, so unnecessarily harsh. So cruel, she had a hard time believing this was the same man who had trained her cousin’s protector. The same man who had shown such warmth and care for his men not a few moments ago. Still she remained silent, knowing full well that there was no stopping Hoturi from acting in such a manner. Perhaps this is what William wanted?

Perhaps it was the healer in her, desiring the comfort of her would-be patients. Perhaps it was a lost maternal instinct kicking in as she moved about her day, but she felt concerned for William, even if he did not feel a need himself to be concerned. She had a feeling one of these days William’s Pride would push him to the point he broke himself in some irreparable way.

[Revenant]

Aislinn’s touch was strangely soothing on William’s battered limbs. As much as he was loathe to admit it, Houtouri had called off the match at almost the exact moment before William reached his limits. Only his massive pride kept him upright at this point, and he was thankful for the flame-haired mystic’s healing touch, which eased the pain throbbing throughout his body far more quickly than his healing ability would. Showing a genuine gratitude in his eyes, William nodded once to Aislinn before turning his attention back to Hotouri.

“Alright,” he relented to Hotouri’s tasking, though weariness dragged at every inch of his body. “I’ll be back then, tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. A little pain isn’t going to stop me. You’ll see.”

William returned, day after day, to beat himself ragged against the wooden swords of his fellow students. He knew that the monk’s intentions with this exercise were not solely focused on the aspects of martial combat, but he didn’t care. He had set him mind on the path of Hotouri’s teachings and he would stay there until the course had run out and he had obtained what he came for.

Almost despite himself, William found that he was changing. He had held his pride up as a badge of honor on that first day, the unconquered spirit which raged in his core like the heart of a volcano and spat in the face of his would-be mentor’s lesson. But even pride had its limits, and without any mental thought he could feel it being hammered and shaped within him by the blows of the wooden swords like raw iron forge caught between the hammer and the anvil.

He first noticed it in the eyes of the other students. Even after that first day there was a fear lurking in those dark recesses, fear of a man who could not only withstand such a brutal punishment, but who actually welcomed it. After so many days however, the fear was gone, replaced by a stern respect and admiration. There was not one among them who would have willingly gone as far as William, would have offered themselves up whole, bone and blood, to the altar of self-improvement. William was no longer a creature of nightmare that stalked the shadowy passages of Sei’s Tomb; he was a being of whispered legend, a true soldier.

But the respect of his fellow students wasn’t the only thing that was changing about William. More and more as he worked, taking hit after hit, the Revenant came to feel and understanding for each of his opponents. One could only face off with a person so many times without beginning to get a feel for their emotions and convictions. Toward the end he could intrinsically feel which students were putting all of their effort into every strike, and which were merely playing along with a tedious game that had far outlived its entertainment. He could tell the students who had a softer soul, hesitating ever so slightly before a strike, and which had spirits that raged like madmen. The more he fought the more he learned, and the more he could read his opponents, playing them like toy soldiers upon the padded training room floor for his own personal benefit.

And benefit he did. Long days of beating had hammered all of the softness out of him. Never before had anyone been able to call the Revenant soft, but now he was hard and lean, like old leather pulled over brick. Not only could he now take a hit from a wooden sword without flinching, he actively sought it out until there came a time when it took each team of five men over a full minute to land a strike on his unprotected regions.

It was nearly three months to the day after that first lesson when William entered the dojo and walked past the standard training arena. That day, William walked without hesitance to where Hotouri and his protégé sat in quiet contemplation.

“Taka,” William said, his voice strong and resolute, “I’m ready. Today you’re going to test me.”

[Tainted Bushido]

Taka nodded, standing from the kneeling position he had taken, as he watched over his mercenaries. The students sat on the sidelines waiting to see what their leader would do under such circumstances. It was rare that Taka stepped onto the mats, even rarer when he did so in a capacity other than to show the strikes they would be practicing for the day. Hoturi often trained the Ronin long after the sun had set and they were resting in their beds. It had brought about a bit of a division amongst the men, as they often wondered why taka had to train in such secrecy.

They learned why in only a few moments.

He moved casually over to the racks of bokken and picked one up, testing the weight of it. He casually moved with a grace that the students could instinctively tell was born of a discipline they had only scratched the surface of. Hoturi however spoke up, making the student’s eyebrows raise at the weight of the words, “Two swords today Taka. I believe he has more than enough training with one.”

The Ronin nodded, grasping another Bokken in another slender hand. His eyes held a keep focus as he shifted almost immediately into preparation to fight. A few of the students shifted uncomfortably, feeling his warrior’s spirit flood through the small dojo. He made notice to memorize those who reacted to his preparation for battle, and mentally catalogued it away for later. These were his true warriors, the rest were merely here for the free lessons. He could feel the raging spirit of William Arcus crashing against his own spirit, not unlike th turbulent waves of the ocean. He moved back to the mats, carefully setting the bokken down before he reached back, carefully pulling his hair into a taut ponytail.

Hoturi watched impassively before he asked Taka if he was ready, the ronin held up a solitary finger before reaching into his bag, and grasping the porcelain mask that Hoturi had given him, marked with the tenants of bushido. Careuflly putting it on he nodded, feeling the storm begin to swell within him. He could hear each wave crashing in time to his heart, feel the rhythm and sway of the waters as they moved through him, and long his muscles. Gripping both swords he took his ready position across from the Revenant before he spoke firmly, “I am ready.”

Hoturi raised a hand gracefully looking upon the two before he said firmly, “William-san remember, you must defend and use only your arms to block the bokken.” He then lowered his hand, and Taka was immediately striking out. The first slice of the kata was met with meaty forearm, before the rain of blows began each one with its own intensity. Taka could tell William was not sued to such a fluid and fierce set of attacks, and yet he had some gauge of Taka’s intent with each blow. He had managed to stay afloat amidst the tide of slashes, each one only meeting forearm as Taka pushed the man harder and harder.

Sweat glistened down the Ronin’s neck and back, bringing his Kimono to hug his skin tightly, even as the students watched William’s first true test. The dojo was absolutely silent, as Taka continued to attack effortlessly, each blow chaining into the next before it finally happened, even William Arcus could not withstand such a punishing hail. The first sign of trouble came when William was forced to deflect a blow wildly, and from there was put even more off guard. The Revenant began to give up ground to avoid taking hits, before Taka began to poke and jab, each slash now studying, analyzing his limits. Finally, Taka lowered himself and halted, gazing upon the tired form of the Revenant, even as his own tired pants joined his fellow general’s.

He nodded once, almost in respect to the Revenant for making it this far, before he moved. One sweeping blow for the legs made the Revenant block low, before his next swing rebounded off the Revenant’s arms with both blades and brought about the bokken in both ribs and head. As William fell to the floor Taka remained passive, waiting quietly for his next instruction. Hoturi moved forward silently before he looked at the downed form of William Arcus. Taka’s control had been enough to leave two welts in the man’s flesh, reminders of the failure, but nothing that would permanently cause harm.

The sensei looked upon his two students before he nodded thoughtfully and spoke, “Congratulations William-san, you have learned regard for your life. You are now ready to take another’s. You will learn the basics of attacking alongside your fellow students, and then you will learn how to fight alongside Taka.”

[Revenant]

William took to the next segment of Hotouri’s training regimen with a natural aptitude that proved that there was far more to him than pure mindless savagery. Perhaps it was the hours spent drilling with the regular troops, fending off blow after blow of their wooden swords, or perhaps it was just a natural function as a force of destruction, but William progressed through his lessens far faster than any other of Hotouri’s students. All of the beginners in Hotouri’s training found that, while far less physically abusive than William’s first lesson, the hours of demanding stances and complex maneuvers were no less strenuous. But where the other students faltered and fell out, one by one, overcome by their weaknesses, William remained solid and focused.

He was, of course, aided in his accomplishments by a number of factors. The first and most obvious was his supernatural physique which made him faster and stronger than any of the other trainees, as well as the healing ability that he possessed which kept him standing when a normal man would have dropped from sheer exhaustion. The second factor was William’s position within the Ixian Knights. Where the other trainees had other jobs that needed their attention throughout the day, William’s assignment as Captain of the monster hunting squad meant that he could direct when and where his efforts were spent. And since there were currently no monsters terrorizing the countryside, William was free and clear to spend nearly every hour of his day in the dojo.

William found the training sessions interesting. It wasn’t just the martial prowess that he was steadily learning which drew his attention, but the group setting in which it occurred. William had always been a loner, his youth and early adult life spent in the woods by himself, practicing his trade. Once the ritual to turn him from Human to a Revenant was completed, his bloodthirsty, mindless rage kept him from being with too many others. Even in the first bout of Hotouri’s training William had been alone, standing by himself against the rest of the trainees. Now however, William had to learn to work together and cooperate with the men and women around him.

It was a unique experience and one that William wasn’t exactly sure he enjoyed.

But with as much knowledge as William gained through his daily training, the real lessons came after the other students had all departed for the day. This was the time that was normally reserved for Taka’s extended training, training to which William was now invited to attend.

[Tainted Bushido]

“William Arcus, you have learned much of the art of fighting. In Akashima we call it Ju-jutsu, or the Art of Yielding. I have forced you to learn to redirect opponent’s attacks, as well as toughened you up so the pain associated in fighting someone armed would not cause you problems. You have gone from a mindless killing machine to a lethal and cunning predator, and yet you are still vulnerable,” Hoturi said, even as Taka and the Revenant continued their training, diligently fighting and reposting attacks.

Taka was fighting with a longer version of the Bokken today, emphasizing his practice with the No-dachi, even as he continued to fight unashamedly. He hopped towards the revenant slowly, watching for a strike he could punish with a blow from the wodden weapon, and was surprised to find no such thing, only the Revenant also closing the gap. Ronin and Demon moved towards each other, carefully measuring, gauging options as Taka continued to figure out how to assault the fast and stronger fighter. While it was a forgone conclusion that Taka was the better fighter, the handicap of the slower weapon made it more in William Arcus’ favor. While at first it had seemed this was doen for the Revenant’s benefit, it was soon pointed out that Taka also was learning much from these exercises, even as he too filtered in the occasional kick and punch for when his opponent had gotten in too close. The first time William had rushed in and was cold cocked by the Ronin’s gauntleted fist, he had learned was to expect for foolishly rushing.

Bruises had littered both men’s bodies after their bouts. While power control was key, neither general wanted to insult the other by tapping or softly landing the blows. Pain was their teacher as effectively as Hoturi, and so they exercised their power as close to full bore as they safely could. Taka would have bruises far longer than William Arcus, but the Revenant would remember his far longer. It had created some semblance of a bond between them, even as Taka knew they would never be friends. That word held rare meeting upon the Generals. They were all comrades in arms to some extent, but the Nine, they were held to rougher standards than the rest. While friendly comradery was expected, it was not the norm by any stretch of the imagination. One only needed point to Cassandra Remi and it became painfully obvious that the generals were at odds as much as the soldiers themselves.

“Taka, you have learned much in the arts of Kenjutsu and Iaijutsu. In the span of mere months I have beaten out of you any semblance of self-doubt. I have forged you into the steel blade of Sei, and like any blade set in the forges, you have lost much of the weakness you once held. You have gone from the inexperienced Ronin who wandered half dead into my monastery to the calm warrior, and yet you still would be killed without a second thought by Shiryku Benimaru,” Hoturi called out to his protégé. The words stung the Ronin, who faltered in step only momentarily. That was all the Revenant needed to throw a punch that sent the former Samurai reeling from the force and to the ground. Taught only to stop when hold was called the Revenant pounced towards the downed Ronin only to find a kick planted firmly to chest. As the Revenant let out a wracking cough he backed off, giving Taka room to stand before Hoturi stepped forward.

“Hold,” He said firmly, “As you can both see, you have weaknesses. Taka can have his focus destroyed by one sentence, while William has too much the animal instinct to attack. You both have tried hard to hone these weaknesses into strengths, and this is why you both continue to fail. You must rise above these petty problems that plague your mind. Taka, you must learn how to continue, even with your mind broken, and William, you must learn to hold back at times, lest you find yourself impaled upon a blade. Were Taka fully armed, you might have met your end on his wakizashi, or even the lowly tanto.”

“Well, what are you saying?” William challenged gruffly. Taka turned to the man with a look of incredulity. He had always been taught to respect your teachers, and never to talk back in such an obviously abrasive way. The westerner’s words were blasphemous to the wayward Ronin.

“In order for you two to come to grips with your weakness, you must first come to grips with each other. One of the greatest warriors of our time had an old training regiment, one guaranteed to open ones eyes. I think the citadel would be best for our next exercise. You have the rest of today off, feel free to continue sparring, for what little good it will do you. Bring whatever you feel you will need to the Citadel tomorrow. I shall see how ready you really are to continue training, or whether the prophecy has chosen the two weakest fools of our time.”

[Revenant]

The first rays of dawn’s light had barely crept over the edges of Radasanth as Hotouri, Taka, and William made their way to the steps of the famed Citadel of Radasanth. William was well known within the ancient edifice, having spent hours in the Ai’Bron monks’ enchanted battle chambers for both work and pleasure, and he accepted the welcoming nod of the monks at the door with a stoic grace.

“Greetings Hotouri,” an elderly monk smilingly greeted the trio upon their entry. He appeared to have been waiting for their arrival for some time, leading William to believe that their session in the Citadel today wouldn’t be for some random battle.

“Greetings Benerict,” Houtroui replied in his usual formal manner, bowing respectfully to the elder monk. “Given your usual levels of efficiency, I trust the rooms that I requested are prepared?”

“Of course, my friend,” the monk stepped aside and gestured the trio onwards. “This way, if you’d please.”

Benerict and Hotouri said nothing further, allowing their silence to be their guide through the wide-open twisting passages of the Citadel’s deceptively large interior. Their footsteps echoed as they marched to their destination, coupling with the sounds of distant combat coming from the enchanted chambers around them. Despite the early hour, there was combat to be had for those who came looking in the Citadel.

“This is the first room that has been prepared,” Benerict said suddenly, drawing William’s attention back to their guide.

The first room, William thought, wondering just how many ‘rooms’ Hotouri had prepared for he and Taka.

“This room,” Benerict continued, “is for Lord Arcus.”

William nodded, unsurprised. Familiar as he was with the Citadel’s workings, he needed no further explanation and simply pushed through the wooden portal, offering Hotouri and Taka a respectful nod as he did so.

The inside of the room was dark, not an uncommon occurrence as the chamber’s magic took effect. But this darkness was different from the usual down time within the enchanted chambers. There was a heavy pounding in this darkness, a frantic, fast paced rhythm that threatened to catch William up in its wave. There was nothing but the beat, the throbbing, pulsing beat, and the more he focused on it, the more he realized how exhausted he was.

A scream cut through the darkness and William opened his eyes. He realized in an instant that the darkness had been nothing more than his fatigue setting in, and the beat that he felt was his own frentic heart, racing to pump enough blood to him numb limbs to keep them working. His charge stood behind him, the daughter of a Duke in Akashima’s capital city, a plain woman but an important dignitary that he had sworn to defend upon his honor.

Upon my honor? William thought, shaking his head at the notion. Since when did he have honor?

The dignitary screamed again and as the four-limbed oni terror came at them again, slashing wildly. William gritted his teeth against the exhaustion and brought his sword up again to block the oni’s furious assault, focusing as much on finding a weak point in the beast’s thick chitin as defending himself.

A sword? Another foreign thought clashed in William’s mind. He didn’t know how to properly wield a sword, and yet the katana in his hands moved as familiarly and fluidly as if he had been using it all of his life.

There was no time to ponder the dichotomy however, as one of the oni’s scything talons caught him one the side of his arm, just beneath the shoulder. The jigoku-spawned demon parted his flesh easily, adding another line of drooling crimson to the mass that already covered his body. William, in retaliation, caught his blade in the soft edge around the beast’s midsection, forcing it to retreat lest it find its guts in the dust.

The two opponents squared off again, each feeling their strength drain from yet another wound. An oni this powerful would have made short work of William if he had been along, but the rest of the Tonbo Port Guard who had accompanied him had sold their lives dearly to slow it down this much. Still their sacrifice hadn’t been enough, and William knew that he would have to give his own life if there were to be any chance of saving his charge. But if that was the price he would have to pay then he would do so willingly.

“You cannot beat me Samurai,” the oni hissed through its slavering twin mouths, “I have the power of Jigoku in me and you are nothing but a man. Your brothers already lie dead because of you. Give me the girl and I will let you live.”

“Then come crash upon my shores, wave of darkness. That you would even make sure an offer tells me that you fear the soul of the Benjiro family,” William spoke evenly, without emotion of malice and yet his words nonetheless sent the oni into a frenzy.

“I will kill you Samurai, and I will kill her,” the thing shrieked as it came forward again. William’s practiced eye instantly saw the opening that the creature’s mad rush left for him, and though it would indeed mean giving up his life for his charge it was the only way he could see that would give him a chance.

William brought his blade up in a position for a high, side thrust and waited, holding his ground with the patience taught to him by hours of drilling and instruction. He had learned to recite the list of his ancestors to the very first Benjiro for his gempukku, how much harder could it be to meet them all in Yomi? And then the moment was upon him, shouting the Benjiro name, William stepped up and drove his blade, his soul, forward. The oni’s claws pierced his flesh, tearing through him like skewers of icy fire, but William knew this would happen and accepted it, for as the creature plunged through him, so did his sword plunge deep into it, bursting through its blackened heart.

The two of them toppled to the ground, neither one moving. Knowing that he had done his duty, William felt at peace as the darkness crept into his vision. He could go to his ancestors now with his head held high and be accepted into their ranks. It was a good death.

Impossibly, despite the mortal wound inflicted upon it, the oni began to struggle to free itself from William’s impaling blade. With the last bits of his consciousness, William knew that he would have to hold on to the creature to save the dignitary’s life. It was then that he heard the voices of his ancestors warning him in the back of his mind. His spirit was nearly to Yomi now, but if it went back then the tainted black blood of the oni mixing with his own would damn him forever.

It might have been a hard choice for some, but William was a Benjiro, and he knew his duty. Though he would be denied Yomi and cursed forever, he could never have honorably stood amongst his ancestors if he were to falter now. Summoning the last of his will, William pulled himself back from the brink just long enough to twist his blade once. He could feel the taint burning through his limbs like poison, and knew that he was forever damned. Still, there was nothing that could save his life at this point, and as the laughing darkness claimed him, he could only hope that his sacrifice had been enough.

The dignitary’s scream told him that it hadn’t.

William gasped as he stumbled out of the battle chamber, his familiar world coming back to him. Hotouri caught the stumbling Revenant and brought him back to his feet.

“What … what was that?” William gasped. “I wasn’t me.”

“No,” Hotouri agreed, “you were not. In that moment you were Taka, reliving one of the most trying times in his life.”

“That really happened,” William asked, shocked.

“Yes. That was the moment that Taka lost everything and became tainted, as he is today.”

“I was,” William paused, scrunching up his face in thought, “I mean he was so calm about it. Death I mean, so resigned to the fact that it was the right thing to do.”

“That is the way of the Samurai,” Hotouri nodded.

“I would have fought with everything I had to survive,” William mused, seeing Taka in a completely new light. He quietly pondered the thought for a moment before another spark of inspiration lit his eyes. “Wait, if I was Taka, then that means that Taka …”

Hotouri nodded again and pointed to another of the Citadel’s doors. “Is you.”

William looked over to the door, wondering what moment of his life that Taka was being forced to live through, and felt sorry for the Ronin no matter which one it was.

[Tainted Bushido]

Taka watched the man walk into the room without a word. The door resolutely shutting behind him, as the room's magic took form. The Ronin waited patiently before their mutual sensei spoke up, "No parting words for the man? I knew you were at odds with William, but to not warn him?"

"Is there a warning I should have given him?" Taka replied.

Hoturi laughed at the samurai before he gestured forward and spoke, "I'll let William explain to you what he saw after you go through here."

Their sandals scraped across the stone floors of the citadel as they moved to the next hallway. Benerict finally gestured at a door before he spoke, "This Lord Taka, is your room. Your weapons, you will not need them."

Taka looked to Hoturi and back to the monk with a look that bordered on suspicion. Hoturi merely shrugged gesturing to the door before he spoke up, "You can of course go in with them, but the man is merely saying they won't do you any good in there. If it bothers you so much, I'll hold onto them Taka."

"If it is no bother, I wish to remain armed," Taka replied. Hoturi shook his head and laughed before the monk opened the door without a second protest. The ronin moved slowly through the darkness. The square of light left from the torchlight of the door quickly closed, before the click of the door's lock could be heard through the room. The ronin spun about in place before he nodded softly and moved slowly, hearing the scraping of gravel and dirt under his sandals...

...only they felt like boots.

At that moment the magic overcame his senses. Sweat poured down his shoulders and face. His body sought to cool the overheated man as he moved through the tree line. A wooden handled wood cutting axe was slung over a shoulder, even as his good hand gripped a rope that was pulling a fallen tree back to the house to be cut into more manageable chunks. He moved through the woods with a steady pace, merely looking ahead, and seeing the final hill that was between him and his goal.

It wasn't until he reached the peak of the hill that he heard it, a cry from a voice that he had spent far too long knowing. Immediately he sprinted through the woods abandoning all pretense of moving skillfully through the underbrush. Tree branches whipped about him, lacerating the skin, and roots grabbed for his boots, trying to keep him from his goals. In all his life he had never run so fast, but all rational thought was cut from his mind as he heard the screams of pain, echoing through his mind, unable to deduce if they had been real or imagined anymore. All that mattered is they had happened, and he would be damned if he didn't come to his wife's rescue.

He stumbled out of the woods into the clearing that held his once impressive log cabin. He had worked hard at maintaining and keeping the place, and now, it was all for naught, even as waves of heat licked at his body, causing him to sweat profusely. His eyes darted about before they came to rest on the only thing in his world that mattered, the still form of his beloved wife. He fell to his knees even as all hope left his body, the emotion clear on his face, the disbelief that his family had been victims. They were only rumors, they had no reason to destroy a lumberjack's life...

...but they had.

Rage, grief, desire bubbled up inside of him. Even as he looked upon the destroyed life he had once held, he could do nothing to repair the broken shards of his life. He had tried so hard to make life as comfortable for his loved ones, and in doing so had made himself a target. He looked up to the heavens, almost searching for the faces of the gods who would dare let this happen, before he opened his mouth and screamed, all the raw emotion that was bottled up inside him released in that one sorrowful note. It was akin to the howl of wolf, asking, no, begging for his kin to come back to it. The sorrowful note echoed through the mountains, filtered through the trees, and when it finally dissipated, Taka found himself on his hands and knees before the shattered remnants of his life.

before he was promptly ejected from the room, the magic bodily tossing him out. He lay on the ground what seemed like an eternity, as he tried to divorce himself from the feelings that had overwhelmed him. He shuddered slightly, feeling the emotion wash over him again, before he managed to compose himself again. Hoturi merely looked upon the ronin before he spoke, "Hard to keep your composure when you see things like that isn't it?"

"That..."

"Was a life you witnessed. That was real, and you know the person that happened to. Is it hard to believe why he became a berserker, when his very soul bears wounds like that? Its amazing you two don't get along even more, you both bear those burdens..."

"I chose my burdens, he did not," Taka countered.

"Speak for yourself Ronin," Came the heavy words of the former woodsman. The Ronin picked himself up and dusted himself before he shook his head and paused. His body growing rigid as he looked to Hoturi and said, "What did he see?"

Hoturi laughed before he said, "Afraid someone's going to see you almost die bravely Taka?"

[Revenant]

“The next room is ready Hotouri,” Benerict said, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. William knew that there were many secret passages and hidden doorways honeycombing the Citadel’s echoing halls, but the sudden appearance and disappearance of the Ai’Bron always unnerved him a little.

Hotouri nodded and gestured for William to follow the monk. “So I get to spend more time in Taka-land?” William asked, looking between the two monks. Taka shot a harsh glare at the Revenant, but William ignored it, choosing instead to focus on the upcoming ‘test’ that awaited him. Knowing that he was about to experience another scene from Taka’s life filled him with an odd mixture of disgust and intrigue. The ronin was a notoriously solitary figure within Sei’s Tomb, and only Anita and Sei really seemed to know anything about the tainted warrior. But even they only knew of the events that had led the former samurai to this point in his life, they hadn’t lived through them as Hotouri had mandated William to do.

Ahead of him, Benerict stopped in front of another plain, unadorned portal. “Your next trial waits through this door, Lord Arcus,” he said, opening the door with practiced ease. William nodded his thanks and approached the enchanted chamber, gazing steadfastly into the darkness as is he could somehow pierce Taka’s life with only his will. But no answers of what awaited him came to the Revenant and William entered the chamber with a sigh.

Light filtered through the dark haze within the chamber, slowly illuminating the gently bobbing vessels and lapping waves of the Akashiman shore. Sanzo was with him as he boarded the small kobune vessel, the desperate need to save their charge filling them with urgency. One of the kobune’s sailors tried to stop them; offering placating words and gestures to get Sanzo and him to wait for the vessel’s master. Sanzo voiced his agreement, not wanting to cause waves among the kobune’s sailors, but William knew that they were close to their prey, close to fulfilling their duty.

Nothing would stop him now.

Two flashes of his sword were enough to silence the sailor forever. Sanzo voiced a protest but the deed had been done and there was nothing left for the two warriors but to push on. The kobune wasn’t particularly large, the inner passageways grasping and claustrophobic. But the kobune’s tight interior also meant that there was little room for their prey to escape from the two of them, and within a minute of slaying the watch guard above, William and Sanzo found what they were seeking.

The Duke’s daughter and another prisoner knelt in front of the blasphemous Akashiman who had sold out his county to the foreign crime syndicate. The gaijin foreigner who headed the syndicate himself stood in the back, cloaked in shadows and dishonor. William’s sword felt light in his hand at the prospect of both saving his charge and ending a menace to his nation.

It was then that his sword fell away and the keen edge of a blade appeared at his neck, a blade wielded by his friend and battle-brother, Sanzo. There was, it appeared, more than one traitor on this ship of despair. A flurry of mocking words and sad admissions were exchanged, but William was too focused of the sword which lay just out of his reach. All of his plans and what little honor remained in him teetered on the brink of complete disaster, but all he would need was a single moment of inattention to turn the tides.

The moment came swiftly as one of the struggling captives knocked a candle from its perch. Sanzo’s blade showed the briefest hesitation as the samurai’s attention shifted from William to the volatile flame which fell to the flammable interior of the wooden kobune. Knowing that he would not receive a second chance, William grabbed the hand at his throat and turned the blade aside, mutely accepting the slash across the side of his face as Sanzo reacted to him. Darkness flooded the kobune’s interior as the candle struck the floor and was snuffed, but William knew his training well enough that his hand immediately fell upon the hilt of his blade, despite the stifling darkness.

Sanzo went down immediately, and William surged forward to face the other two villains, screaming for the captives to retreat. Several bits of metal tore through his armor, sharp steel knives thrown by the gaijin. The pain was intense, but though he was severely wounded his armor had taken the killing edge from the steel. As swiftly as the light had fled the kobune, so it returned. William paused momentarily to stare at the light, feeling his blood wet his entire body. Instead of being snuffed out, the candle had landed amid the bushels that lined the sides of the kobune’s hold. The fire had spread from the tiny wick and now threatened the entire wooden vessel.

William didn’t fear the fire though. He knew what his wounds meant, and that the fire wouldn’t have a chance to take his life. But he still had a duty to do. He sluggishly faced the gaijin, who had drawn a long knife and circled around the ronin like a predator. The two came together, silhouetted against the backdrop of the burning ship’s hold. William was the better fighter, but his wounds slowed him, and his opponent’s unorthodox style meant that his skin was far more of a marking board than the foreigners. Still, his honor demanded that he not fail here.

Summoning the last of his reserves, William countered the man’s next slash and drove his sword forward, burying it to the hilt in his opponent’s gut. The man screamed like a woman in childbirth as the sharp Akashiman steel freed his guts to flow onto the slick floor. Satisfied that he had done everything he could, William loosed his hold on the world and let darkness claim him.

A shudder coursed through the Revenant as he stepped shakily out of the chamber, not surprised to find Hotouri waiting for him.

“Seems a little odd to me that a man would continuously choose death over life,” William said, panting, to the monk.

“Duty is everything to a samurai, and a righteous death in pursuit of it ensures that one will get to join all of their ancestors in the fields of Yomi, where they may rest their weary spirits and guide those who come after.”

“Not for Taka,” William muttered, still not quite understanding of the Akashiman death fascination.

“No, not for him,” Hotouri explained. “That is one of the curses of his tainted nature. It is a corruption not only of body, but of soul. Should he ever find a way to die, even doing his duty, he will forever be denied the embrace of his ancestors.”

William’s brows curled as he processed the information. He still wasn’t sure he understood the Ronin’s motivations, but he knew that Hotouri’s testing wasn’t complete.

[Tainted Bushido]

Not even a minute had passed since the Revenant had entered Taka’s memories, before Taka was back in one of those rooms, watching what was going on. His mind readied himself for what he could potentially see, what he would feel, what atrocities would be further committed against the former woodsman…

…they would never prepare him for what he saw.

Aching, he was laying on the ground, hatred pouring from him like a flood. He wished nothing more than to get his hands around the neck of his tormentor. So focused was his anger, his rage that almost all the memories of his past life had disappeared. Whatever had befallen William Arcus, he had almost forgotten his entire life, to replace it with the rage that was consuming him, day by day. He moved as he fought to return to his knees, only to slump on the ground.

“Ah, you are still alive. I was worried you might have given up,” The voice was soothing, while at the same time mocking in its tone. The voice of one who not only had the upper hand, but knew it and was rubbing his foe’s face in it. A gurgle left Taka’s throat as he tried to let out another growl of hatred. Once more, he pushed up on his hands, and a boot scrapped the ground, even as another gurgle of rage left his mouth. Hands reached towards his captor, a man dressed in robes with long hair. His eyes betrayed his intelligence, and even when he had first come here, he questioned whether they were not equals in the realm of physical battle, not that it mattered.

He had failed to gain vengeance upon the soldiers, and further upon that man. And the chains that shackled his freedom, also stole his vengeance, as his arms stopped short of reaching forward to wipe that smug grin off his face. His rage spent he collapsed once more on the ground, another gurgle escaping his lips. The situation was rather dire, and he was pathetic to be unable to deal with the man. The self loathing fueled his rage as he pushed up again.

“Don’t try to hard, you might hurt yourself, and I would feel bad if I had to kill more men to bolster you,” The man said even as he turned and moved away. The chamber they were in was within a pavilion. In the time that they had been here, William was unsure of how long that was now, the chamber had never changed. When William still retained some humanity in him, he had guessed that the main camp of the Dread Sorcerer’s army rested on the remains of a rather large city. That was the only way he had guessed that the stonework he even now rested upon was possible.

Taka took the moment to rest on the ground, even as the Sorcerer gibbered away about various things found in the book before him. Finally he clapped his hands excitedly before he turned to the downed woodsman and said brightly, “I have good news today! I think we can finally finish the process today and make you into the perfect warrior.”

Taka felt a thin thread of fear, something that lurked in the back of his mind, perhaps the last vestiges of humanity he had left screaming in horror. Perhaps, in some corner of his mind, the instinct to survive had finally kicked in, as it realized just how horrible the fate that awaited him. Either way, he was in no condition to fight back, even as Kal’Necroth raised for a hand, and dumped his body on a nearby table. The latches immediately slapped down, even as the chains gave way, simultaneously freeing ad binding the woodsman. He could only look up as his tormentor looked down on him a vile grin on his face. He tapped the woodsman on the nose, and was pleased to see the man turned beast snap at him, hoping to cause some damage, perhaps remove the finger in vengeance.

“Keep that anger, hold onto your rage, it’s all you have left Phantom. When I am done with you, you’ll be lucky if you retain even that!”

Taka could vaguely remember the feeling of fear, the magic within him now fueling a rage to an almost unquenchable fire. No matter how much suffering Kal’Necroth could suffer at his hands, it would never be enough. He could rip the man apart limb by limb, and keep him alive through magic, and still the torment he had visited upon that thing, for no longer could he even fathom it a man, would not be enough. He would destroy every shred of that thing, and spread the pieces about Althanas, and still his rage would not be sated.

How much that Rage had defined him…

…how quickly it was stripped.

In mere moments the rage fueled something growing within him. He could not fathom how voracious the appetite it was, but it continued to feed and feast upon the anger that was every fiber of his being. His rage was slowly giving way to his life, and it was then that he had realized why so many had died before him. They had only raged against Kal’Necroth, they had hated him with a single minded fury, and had dropped to the depths of loathing, and still they had not hated enough to fuel this beast. If he wished to survive, he had to hate with more than just him, he had to rage with everything he had.

He began with the rage he held towards the army, and continued with the rage at his wife’s death. Slowly yet surely he went back through his life, and every angering moment was fed into the maw of this beast. Everything that made him the least bit angry was fed into the mouth and slowly yet surely, it seemed to get sated. William Arcus’ rage at Kal’Necroth was not enough, it would take a lifetime of anger to come close, and in doing so, he slowly reclaimed the vestiges of Humanity he had long discarded in his anger. The fury went from the raging inferno to a campfire, and just when he felt hehad no more rage no more hate, no more anger, he mentally collapsed, and felt no tug upon his very being.

He had fed the damn thing enough.

“Oh my, it seems you did have enough,” The thoughtful musings of the sorcerer passed over his body as he cackled gleefully. He began to weave his hands in complex arcane signs continuing the process with the joy of a man who had finally reached the breakthrough he had always wanted. His voice held genuine joy as he spoke, “The process from here should be downhill, but first, let’s get that pesky soul out of there. No sense in giving the demon anymore of you to feast upon!”

Taka was ejected from the room, a fatigue gripping him he had felt only once before. In the bowels of the ship, he had let his rage run free, and in doing so had righted several wrongs to Eastern Akashima. In venting that rage, he had killed himself, but had managed to not kill the one man guilty of ruining the Ronin’s life. He had collapsed over the body of his one time friend, his rage spent, and nothing in the world could have moved him. Even still, he looked up at Hoturi before he spoke, “How-“

“That is not the lesson, the lesson is to learn to adapt and control your emotions. Either that, or you need to learn to ride upon them, and stop worrying when your picture perfect plans go to ruin. No plan survives contact with the enemy…” Hoturi said sagely.

“Spend little time on the plan, for that is bound to fail, spend all your time on-“

“…contingencies.” Hoturi finished. He then looked over at William a soft smirk on his face before he said, “You two have seen the defining moments of each other’s lives. Moments that are forever etched in your hearts. Taka’s fall and redemption, and William’s forging into the ultimate weapon for a man hell bent on seizing the ultimate power, these are your lives gentlemen. These memories are what created you and what honed you into the ruthless killers you are today. They are the burdens you bear, and you would not dare think to toss them away, not if you wish your future to have any meaning.”

“They are also your biggest obstacles in overcoming your shortcomings on the battlefield. Your hearts are so heavy, that you have grown slowly yet surely unable to kill without taking that burden upon yourself as well. You continue this destructive path, and yet neither of you have the commitment to see it through. Yet you do fight on, and yet you do persist, and that is for one reason and one reason alone. Gentlemen, the next rooms are the final memories of each other you will get the luxury of seeing. These are the reason you fight, the reason you persist, even when your bodies have given out. Know your enemy but not yourself, and you will fail every time. Your limitations with be the noose about your neck that will strangle you. Know yourself but not the enemy, and have a chance at victory. You will be able to win, but it will not be expected. Know your enemy and yourself, and in a hundred battles you will not fall.”

Hoturi looked at the monk who nodded softly and gestured to William, the next room was ready.

[Revenant]

William entered silently, bracing himself for the now familiar wave of black disorientation that washed over him as he became Taka. The weight on his mind became a weight on his shoulders as he adjusted his armor, now the colorless black of an honorless ronin. To be cast aside even as I come so close to redemption, he thought, scowling internally even if not hint of emotion touched his face. He may be a ronin but he had been born a Samurai and nothing, not even the terrible blight that he now knew he carried on his soul, could cause him to abandon that. Still, his hand trembled ever so slightly as he reached for his wakizashi, his warrior's honor. Carrying it mean that he still held his pride in his beliefs of the Code of Bushido that had so far ruled over his life, but how long would that last as the depths of Jigoku even now clawed at his soul in anticipation of his fall.

Wouldn't it be better if I could just end it? he mused, feeling a sudden longing for the opportunity to end himself in honorable seppuku. But that was denied to him for he was no longer Samurai and could no longer claim honor in that manner of death. And even if he could, his soul had already been damned by the Taint and even an honorable death would propel him into the waiting jaws of chaos.

His friend entered quietly behind him, remaining silent as was the warrior's way so as not to intrude on a personal moment. So much concern for me even at this juncture, he thought, turning to face his companion, I deserve none of it. Their conversation was as light as it could be for two who were destined by their lord's order never to meet again. William maintained himself as best he could, doing his best to keep the pain and longing out of his eyes as they passed the delicately manicured gardens where he had spent so much time in serenity. Before he could make his final exit from the Duke's castle however, his companion stopped him with words of friendship and the promise of a gift. Ronin though he may be, William clung to the Code to keep himself from drowning in despair and could not politely refuse his friend's parting gift. Less than enthused, William followed.

But all manner of saddened despair was thrown off as soon as his friend's gift came into view. It was him, the traitor, the one who had stabbed his knife into William's back on the kobune, thrusting it into the center of William's emotional core. He had been the dearest of friends but now William felt nothing but anger and disgust. Sensing the ronin's frustrations, his former friend sat back and laughed at him, the poisoned words flowing from his mouth like venom from a viper bite. William tensed and lashed out, his sandalled foot connecting with shattered ribs to horrible effect. Again and again William lashed out at the man who had been a friend but none of his savage petty fury could stop the vitriol that continued to pour from the man. It was not until the matter of his Taint, his damnation, was gleefully brought up that the cold rage descended over William.

He hadn't even realized that he had drawn Rengoku until the traitor's head struck the ground. The eyes of the Duke's magistrates fell on him in mute horror, as did those of his sole remaining friend in the castle, shocked to their core by William's action. But William himself only smoldered under their gaze, the disbelief doing nothing to banish the anger, frustration, and pain that he felt hammering inside his skull. William slid his sword back into its sheath with a firm hand and walked from the castle without looking back, alone and renounced. But even so, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else with him that taunted him with its monstrous laughter.

The world wavered around William as he marched out of the Duke's castle until the Revenant realized that the action had actually taken him out of the Citadel chamber which he had been put in. Hotouri eyed him questioningly but William ignored the monk, turning his attention to Taka while he processed what had just happened.

"So there is rage in you," he said, his lips curling into the faintest hint of a smile, "and not the blasted madness of your so-called demon either."

William ran a single rough hand across his chin, his burning eyes assessing Taka in a completely different light.

"You've just become much more interesting, haven't you?"

[Tainted Bushido]

Taka stood in the darkness waiting for the memories to overtake him. He was due for something that should show him the power of Chaos over order, when properly applied. So far he had seen what made the Revenant tick, and further, knew that William knew his greatest shame. Moving through the darkness finally he felt the brushing of plants against his skin, though it didn’t bother him, not anymore. His hide had become leathery and strong. He was stronger, no longer the weak woodsman who had lost his wife to the marching armies of Kal’necroth.

Today, he was altogether something different.

The cool air of the morning washed over him, even as he felt warmer than normal. He knew this was because of the blood that now flowed into his very veins, and knew it was because he was no longer human. Kal’Necroth had seen to that. His stroll through the woods of Scara Brae would be as they always were, uneventful except for the occasional peasant that would be cowed by his unearthly and gruff demeanor. Moving forward he stopped when he saw them, a few guards that seemed to be marching down the road without any care for who they passed. Upon seeing the Revenant they chuckled before one spoke up;

“Clear off the road, you’re interfering with official business from the Queen.” The men looked upon the fallen woodsman with disdain as they moved forward, expecting him to merely step out of the way, when he didn’t move however, they were taken aback. One of the guards moved to force William off the road, only to find himself stopped by the woodsman, who grinned with the attempt. William had been hoping to find something to entertain him and the current distraction was a welcome one, as he threw out the first punch that connected with the human guard and sent him reeling.

If the Knights were caught off guard by the woodsman, then when he gave into the primal urges and took on his demonic visage. The knights however had at least the presence of mind to pull swords and ready themselves as William finished the painful transformation. It was an euphoric experience that seemed to bring the worst out of the demonic woodsman who rushed forward. The follow up strike hit metal plate as the knights began to form up to take the demon in their midst, only to find that the man was still of cunning intellect.

How ironic that the very task they had been given to perform should walk up to find them. One of the men was already on the attack, but the tough hide of William only caused a flesh wound to appear on his skin, something so trivial that the revenant couldn’t dredge up enough care to actually cry out in pain as he gripped the shield of the man who had blocked his last strike and tore it from the man’s grip. As the man cried out in alarm his throat was soon torn out by the clawed hand, throat tossed aside with callous grace as he brought his hand about into the face of another Knight.

No matter how effectively they had worked together previously, the chaos that ensued would never again be accomplished. William had no sense of formal training with his demonic talons, and yet they pierced flesh and bone with an unnatural ease. Carnage was ensuing and the men had nothing in their experience that could give them any hope of advantage against it. Chaos was a storm all its own on the battlefield, and in it’s wake William stood, bloody but unbeaten as the four knights who had thought themselves superior to the lowly woodsman, were in heaps upon the ground, broken in body, and offering to the gods of death and carnage.

Blood dripped from the demonic talons of the Revenant, as Taka watched him cautiously. The man was a death incarnate, and while he could see why the man had sought to fight, he knew now what Hoturi had been trying to show him. Taka was the embodiment of order and law. He fought with a structured and rigid form, and even when gripping the Storm’s Eye Kata he had never quite gripped the chaos that sung its own song in his heart. This was the lesson, Chaos had it’s own power, and in accepting that Chaos too was in the power of the Samurai, he would grow exponentially.

Unlike the other times, when taka left the door, he was not ejected upon the floor, he walked out, and looked upon William. His eyes were unflinching, unapologetic. He merely studied the man before, knowing that William surely was doing the same. His eyes held a keen focus that showed he too was studying the samurai, and with the gift of the Crone, Taka was sure his weaknesses were laid bare before him. That is what confused him, William was capable of seeing the decay and weakness in everything, why then could he not take out the samurai. He had the power of chaos, unable to be confined to a fighting style, and yet he still fought and learned as hard as Taka for the coming war. Both had hit their limits, and Hoturi was pushing them towards each other for something. Taka knew that chaos was the one thing he had never gripped, and yet Hoturi had told him there was something he was missing, something about how his focus could be shattered.

He would need time to grip the lesson, as the wizened monk looked between his two pupils he spoke, “Tomorrow, come to the dojo, you will meet in front of the other students, and we shall see what you learned today. I would suggest you rest, and reflect on what you have seen, these events were chosen not to give you an advantage over each other, but because they had a lesson to teach with each one viewed. Perhaps a bit of alone time, can show you what you failed to see here and now.”

Taka nodded softly before he spoke, “Yes, sensei.”

[Revenant]

The door to William’s room slammed open hard enough to rebound off the wall with a crack, and then slammed shut just as violently after the Revenant entered. He had tried to pry more information from Hotouri on their way back from the Citadel, only to be met with the monk’s stoic, stony silence. When Hotouri was being stubborn about an issue William found that arguing with the Akashiman was more like arguing with a rock. If there was any emotion behind the cold façade that Hotouri presented, William certainly hadn’t been able to detect any and in the end had been forced to settle with storming into Sei’s Tomb, his bad attitude leading the way.

William tore his cloak from its perch on his shoulders and tossed it into a crumpled heap on the floor. Houtouri was likely sitting down to enjoy a cup of tea right now, or whatever it was that Akashiman monks did to relax, while Taka was likely pacing a groove into the floor of his chamber, fretting and brooding over the lesson that Hotouri had been trying to teach them at the Citadel. The entire affair caused nothing but frustration to William, who knew himself well enough to know that he was a fighter, a warrior, and not a pruning scholar. He would leave the puzzles and riddles to those who enjoyed them, while he would enjoy a restful, if frustrated, evening.

But even though William stripped down, climbed into bed, and doused his room’s only illuminating torch, sleep did not come to the Revenant. He tossed and turned, rolling the scenes that he had witnessed in the Citadel in his mind just as his body rolled itself in his bed. Again and again he saw Taka dying whilst trying to save his charge, and time and time again he watched as Taka died while trying to protect his nation from its entrepreneurial enemies. But what made the most impact was the scene in the courtyard, when Taka had taken the head of a former friend and ally unhesitatingly and in cold blood. There was something more to that particular scene than there was to the others, something more raw and visceral which spoke to William’s own twisted soul. It wasn’t just the violence, or the pleasure of the kill, that would have been something easy to identify. Besides, there had been plenty of violence in the other memories that he had experienced to dim even his voracious hunger for bloodshed.

It was that unknown quantity, that niggling detail which kept him up, staring silently into the darkness. He examined everything about all three memories, the way that Taka had acted, the way he had felt, the way he had fought, until there was nothing left that he could think of. The only thing that he could identify was the feeling of freedom that Taka had felt as he clove his friend’s head from its neck, the uncomplicated and unrestrained delight of doing something for one’s self instead of for another.

Was that the purpose of Houtouri’s training? William didn’t see how the idea pertained to learning how to fight, but it was the only thing about the different memories that really stood out in his mind. The entire affair was nothing more than a confusing, aggravating mess. What was it that Hotouri wanted him to learn? He would just have to wait until the following day to see what insight Taka had gleaned from all of this.

Finally, after long hours of mulling it over, William fell into a troubled sleep.

[Tainted Bushido]

The next morning the Dojo was in silence. The students were not prepared for a fight today. No, today was about discovery, an epiphany that would lead perhaps to Althanas’ salvation, or the birth of a threat even more sinister than any it had ever known. Taka remained as stone faced as usual, his eyes scanning the recruits, even as he kept himself in reserve. Hoturi was talking to the students as usual, informing them of the event to come, and the spectacle he hoped they would see.

“We all have different reasons for joining this army, everyone has their story. I don’t pretend to understand the fullness of your reasons, nor do I claim to completely understand why. What I can and will say I understand, is that a time will come when your convictions will be tested. This is the warrior’s pride, to be tested repeatedly, and to find his convictions strong enough to overcome. Taka has been forced to test his convictions several times in the past, as has William Arcus, but I think today will not be a test of convictions, so much as a reaffirmation,” Hoturi explained.

Taka remained silent as he closed his eyes, seeing the visions of William Arcus destroying. He had spent much time yesterday in quiet reflection, much to Anita’s chagrin. She had wanted to spend more and more time with him, since Jensen had attempted to steal and later lost the gun in Alerar. It had been the beginning of their rather awkward relationship. Last night however, he had politely declined, citing he had a lesson to learn before he could join her.

What that lesson was, was anyone’s guess.

The ronin had his daisho sitting upon the stand nearby, always near the Ronin, but never used except in the direst of circumstances in that small dojo. Two wooden bokken rested near him, one sized as a wakizashi the other like his katana Rengoku. His chest moved, the only sign he was still alive, even as he had the mask resting on the ground beside him. His face still held the black slash across it, encasing an eye and turning it a milky white. His hair was tied back so as to not get in the way, even as he heard them, distant and heavy. The footsteps of a monster, treading ground once more. It was hard for Taka not to respect William Arcus, who had gone from brute to warrior in only a scant few months under Hoturi’s tutelage.

“Taka, why don’t you share with the group your belief in what I tried to teach you yesterday,” Hoturi suddenly said. The words sliced through the Ronin’s mind as his eyes snapped open. To the casual observer he would appear to be listening to his sensei. Briggs and Erikson, who knew the warrior, had learned that Taka never did anything abrupt, except when panicked. A knowing smile crossed their face as they saw their leader put under the heat of the Sensei’s stare.

He had no idea where to start, so he carefully spoke, each word deliberate and thought out, “While I have not fully grasped the lesson, I saw many events in William’s past. These events were punctuated by raw chaos and the strength it gives. It is my belief that the lesson was that I need to stop fighting so strictly, that I need to become more chaotic when I fight, lest I become predictable and fall easily.”

“Predictable,” Hoturi said a note of disappointment in his voice, “Try again Taka, think this time, there is more than the Power of Chaos in William Arcus. This is a lesson I think they all could learn from, not just you. William’s as well is important to the both of you. While you have long since become weaker than our resident Revenant, you are no less a threat to him than before.”

“He fights for himself, and no one else, what else could I take from that? I know I am a ronin-”

“You aren’t in Akashima anymore Taka, stop pretending you are,” Hoturi spoke sternly, cutting off his student. Erikson’s eyebrows shot straight off his face and into his hair as the man whistled lowly. Taka merely remained as stoic as ever, but Erikson could see it, while Taka wore a mask in battle, he also wore a mask to the public. Hoturi’s sudden rebuke had nearly shattered that mask, and now something lurked in the Ronin’s eyes, dangerous and waiting, a thread of anger and hatred that underlined every move as he waited, and looked to the door to see the Revenant standing there not knowing how long the man had been there.

[Revenant]

“That’s right, forget everything you know, ronin,” William said, his voice snide and derisive. A deep frown creased William’s features, and the dark pits of his eyes betrayed just how restless his evening had been. He scanned the students in the dojo, noting with pleasure the sense of ill-comfort which preceded his arrival even when a supposed peer of the trainees in the room. Only Taka and Hoturi maintained their stoic façade in his presence but William had long since given up on any hope of moving the two of them.

“That’s essentially what you’re telling him, isn’t it?” he continued, uncrossing his arms and striding into the dojo to face the Akashiman monk and his star pupil. “Your lesson is that Taka’s been so inundated with his lessons on honor and bushido that he’s pretty much unable to think for himself, isn’t it? That he’s essentially been brainwashed by his upbringing to be incapable of truly thinking or acting without some frame of reference to being a samurai.” A slight thrill of pleasure shook through William as he took note of the slight frown curling at the corner of Hoturi’s pressed lips and the way in which Taka’s hand slid smoothly to the hilt of his katana. It was good to know that even these two veritable emotional pillars of stone weren’t completely immune to his antagonism. Perhaps he had been spending too much time around Jensen after all.

“Or maybe I’m way off the mark on that one,” William shrugged, relenting. “After all, that’s Taka’s lesson and not mine, and despite our somewhat interesting excursion yesterday, I’m not qualified to make a judgment on the ronin’s behalf.”

“Then perhaps you’re qualified to tell us what you have learned from your own lesson, Arcus-san,” Taka said in an even tone, though with a hint more of a hiss than he would have perhaps preferred.

“That’s the thing,” William replied, stepping back from the Akashiman duo. “I thought and thought about it to the point where I couldn’t even escape the question in my sleep.” The reed mats thumped beneath William’s heavy feet as he began pacing around the room. Erickson passed a nervous glance at the stalking Revenant, his apprehensions shared by every other student in the room. This wasn’t the same man with whom they had been sharing their training over the past weeks. This was the man who had come before, a feral creature seething within the confines of its own barely constrained rage.

“Sure the self-sacrificing nature of your actions was the most obvious train of thought, especially for a dumb brawler like me. But the more I thought about it, the more I replayed the lesson over and over in my mind, the more it felt wrong. It felt empty.” William paused and turned to cast a hard stare at Taka. “You felt empty.”

Taka’s posture went even more rigid and his hand tightened on the hilt of his sword but whether William or not, he continued.

“What kept coming back was the execution and the more I thought about it the clearer it became. You say I fight for myself but you know better. You’ve seen it yourself.”

“Make your point, William-san, and make it quickly.” Taka’s voice was curt and close to the edge.

“I think that’s my problem, you see. That all this time I haven’t really been fighting for myself. I’ve allowed myself to be nothing more than a pawn for those who would use me for their own purposes.” William stopped, looking around the room at the students gathered within, his burning eyes coming to rest last upon Hoturi.

“I give my thanks, sensei, for what you’ve taught me but I’m done with you now. I’m done with all of you.” Wasting no time waiting for a response, William left the dojo, pausing slightly at the threshold.

“Maybe Taka,” he cast one last glance at his fellow Captain. “Maybe yours is the same lesson.”

And with that, William was gone.

[Otto]

Plot: 20/30

Storytelling: 7 – My impression is that you had a fairly routine sort of premise, and did some interesting things with it. When I saw that William was going to the ‘wise master’, and had to practice with/fight against his ‘old rival’, I suspected that the two students would ‘face trials, find inner strength’, and develop for each other ‘grudging respect’. To be fair, you subverted my expectations in a number of ways, and not for the mere sake of it either - for example, Taka's failure to reach a revelation at the end was both fitting and a little unexpected. I have a few gripes with this section, obviously. Firstly, I think you could have left out some of the earlier exposition and had the Citadel trials fill the gaps. Secondly, it just lacked ‘oomph’. I was interested, but not engrossed, and every impact was cushioned by what I can only describe as ‘a degree of removal’. Lastly, the story didn’t travel any great distance. It felt like everyone ended up back in a rather similar place as they began, and there is no sign of what the implications will be.

Setting: 6 – There was not much in the thread here. I only got a general feel for Sei’s Tomb (forgivable), and very little for even the dojo (less so). A little too often it felt like the characters were acting in a void. In the underground dojo, was the air warm and humid with the armpit-smell of evaporated sweat? I haven’t read a thread with Sei’s Tomb in it before, so were Jamie and Pell standing watch in the ominous dark of night, or were they in a well-lit corridor? Keep in mind how a good setting can flavour the events which occur within them. You did save the day in this area towards the end with the Citadel’s set of rooms, though, which gave those last few posts a bit more substance.

Pacing: 7 – Nicely done. A little slow to start off with, perhaps, but with each post the story progressed to some significant degree, and you certainly picked a reasonable pace for the combat sections. Just work on cutting off a bit of dead weight from those long, congested posts. More importantly, check out the clarity section, so that the flow you build up isn't interrupted by confusing sentence structure.

Character: 22/30

Communication: 8 – There was a good mix-up between spoken word, expressions, stance and gestures. In addition to that, after reading each character’s profile, I found that they fit nicely – particularly, and ironically, Taka’s lack of communication. This stoicism helped outline the difference between the two knights, and it made Taka’s fleeting displays of shock and outrage stand out that much more. You also capitalised on the fact that though William and Taka couldn’t realistically think or say certain things, Hotouri could. A solid and consistent effort, but it suffered a little in terms of clarity, and had little in the way of truly outstanding instances which could have bumped the score up. Please note that, once or twice, Hotouri’s turn of phrase seemed a little out of character, and some of the errors I mention under ‘mechanics’ also made dialogue a little jarring.

Action: 7 – Action progressed the story, described your character’s feelings and attitudes, set the mood, and set the scene. This was particularly important for Taka, who was much less vocative, but was used well for each character – player and non-player alike. Another decent effort, but with room for something special here.

Persona: 7 – Good. Characters acted and communicated, not predictably, but appropriately. As far as I understand them, each one’s motives were similarly plausible. I think anyone would be able to reach this conclusion through the story alone, which speaks well for your skill in writing characters. I was a little sceptical of William’s willingness to submit to Hotouri’s demands for training, but I reckon you pulled it off.

Prose: 20/30

Mechanics: 8 – Good work here, overall. There were some slight spelling errors and more grammatical ones - nothing serious or too numerous, but they were fairly pervasive throughout the thread. Better formatting could have easily improved clarity, too. It’s the pot calling the kettle black, I know, but it would be negligent of me not to say anything.

Clarity: 6 – Action, exposition, and dialogue in the thread was usually quite clear - but every three of four posts I had to re-read something to understand it. I think this is a risk when you have to go over so much history without it taking over the post (especially with long standing characters such as William and Taka), and overall you did a decent job given the magnitude of the task. However, this is certainly something that could be polished up in the future. Also, is it 'Hotouri', or 'Hoturi'? Revenant used one, Tainted Bushido and TwinCast used the other.

Technique: 6 – I noticed a couple instances where the past and present participle of the same verb were used, which seemed a little clunky (e.g. ‘rushed’ and ‘rushing’). The vast majority of the text flowed well enough, but had little in the way of outstanding technique. Obviously, not every sentence can be a masterwork – just be careful you don’t make a long paragraph too monotonous. If nothing else works, brevity may be your friend when a reader’s focus is in danger of wearing out.

Wildcard: 6/10

It was a good story, and I enjoyed reading it... but overall it seemed to lack significance, even if it had profundity.

Total ~ 68/100


Revenant gains 2271 experience and 167 gold.

Tainted Bushido gains 1353 experience and 135 gold.

TwinCast gains 376 experience and 44 gold.

[Letho]

EXP/GP added.