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<blockquote data-quote="Emperor Valerian" data-source="post: 2353699" data-attributes="member: 15043"><p>Well, this is the first post of the eleventh session... where Nayu journey's a bit more down a certain path...</p><p></p><p><strong>To Liangxiang</strong></p><p></p><p>A few hours later, Nayu lay quietly in his cot, his mind going over the day’s events again and again. Felonca finally meeting her father, Meiji being raised from the dead, all twisted and turned in his mind as he slid into sleep. Felonca had her father, Meiji had his... yet Nayu’s father lay scattered about by the four winds, his ashes blown across the soil of the northern land where he was born and lived. Fitfully, Nayu fell into sleep. There, within the comfort of dreams, he saw his own father once more, the older man once again tall and strong, not weak and battered as he’d been when Nayu burned his body. </p><p></p><p>He saw his father sitting on a gilded chair, a ray of sunlight striking the man’s face, revealing a brilliant smile Nayu knew was directed at him. Clad in robes made of the finest silk, gold and silver interwoven into the fabric, the elder Wakabayashi stood, as if to beckon his son to come closer. Nayu felt himself moving forward, closer and closer to his father, until something blocked him. </p><p></p><p>He couldn’t see what kept him from moving, yet he saw a look of confusion, and then horror come over his father’s face. Somewhere in the deep recesses of his mind, he knew his father was in danger. He pressed harder and harder against the unseen barrier, trying to force past it, yet it would not move. </p><p></p><p>Finally, Nayu saw the dread shadow, the same shadowy figure that had snatched his father from him in previous dreams. Slowly, the dark wispy beast crept from beneath Nayu’s feet, and flowed up the dais towards Nayu’s terrified father. Finally, spinning about like a small whirlwind, the darkness grew, enveloping Nayu’s father with the sound of a thousand souls screaming in agony.</p><p></p><p>Nayu twisted and turned, pushed and shoved, yet it seemed every time he moved forward, the chair and his terrified father moved back. Suddenly, the screams within the black whirlwind died, and its dark shadows settled over the gilded chair, sliding through its crevices, over its scrollwork designs, until the wispy forms coalesced into the shape.</p><p></p><p>The form of a young boy, no more than ten. Atop his head sat the crown of the Emperor, a dark cap with pearls hanging from its front and back, covering his face, as well as the Emperor’s yellow silk and gold raiments, the form of an immense dragon sewn with sapphires into its chest.</p><p></p><p>For a second, the boy looked at his hands, then his feet, before his eyes flashed towards Nayu. Unable to move, the sorcerer watched as the eyes flashed red, blazing crimson, the color of fresh blood. The abominable creature opened its mouth revealing a seemingly bottomless void. As the screams of dead souls returned, Nayu saw faces deep within the beast’s throat.</p><p></p><p><em> “Save us!”</em> they cried, tiny, distant bodies squirming away.</p><p></p><p>Nayu tried to twist away, tried to keep himself from looking, because deep down he knew he would see one face he did not want to see. When he caught sight of his father’s pleading eyes, the old man’s face seemed to suddenly flood with blood, then melt away into the void.</p><p></p><p>Nayu awoke with a start, his hand immediately darting out into the darkness of his tent, his magical senses searching, looking for someone, anyone, that could be hiding in the black of night. His breathing was quick and deep, his muscles tensed to leap towards any threat.</p><p></p><p><em>It was only a dream,</em> he realized, and his heart began to calm. <em>It was only a dream. You need to just go back to sleep. That’s all. Everything is alright. We’re in the middle of an army. Nothing should sneak in.</em></p><p></p><p>Yet despite however much he tried to calm himself, to tell himself that it was an empty dream, its images stayed stuck in his mind to the point that he could not sleep. Every time he laid his head upon the pillow, the screams returned, and the young boy’s eyes blazed bright red.</p><p></p><p>He couldn’t sleep the rest of the night.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>“...and then papa hugged me!” Felonca gushed excitedly the next morning over breakfast. For his part, Nayu merely nodded slowly, his eyes looking off in the distance at something that could not be seen, yet something he soul kept hearing again and again.</p><p></p><p>“Isn’t this wonderful! I have a family again!” Felonca laughed, throwing her arms around Nayu and hugging him in her excitement. The sorcerer gasped for a second as the wind was crushed out of him, before wiggling enough that he could breathe.</p><p></p><p>“I’m happy for you,” Nayu managed to gasp out. Suddenly, Felonca let go, and her blue eyes staring at him told him she knew his mind was elsewhere.</p><p></p><p>“What’s wrong? Is it... oh, I’m sorry. Your family...” she started to apologize quietly. Nayu looked down, his mind wrestling with the problem that had been plaguing him for the past few hours. </p><p></p><p>“It’s nothing Felonca,” Nayu lied. “I’m happy one of us can see their father again, and I guess I just got a little wistful, that’s all.” He shrugged, putting on his best face to hide the concern, even fright, within his mind. He knew he’d failed when she frowned.</p><p></p><p>“Stop covering it up. Tell me,” she said, coming around the small cooking fire to sit beside him.</p><p></p><p>“It was only a dream,” he repeated aloud, more to reassure himself than inform her of anything. <em>If it was only a dream, why does it stay within my mind?</em></p><p></p><p>“You saw your father in a dream?” she asked, and he nodded.</p><p></p><p>“The dream keeps coming back,” Nayu replied. “It’s not a good dream. It... it seems like a warning.”</p><p></p><p>“A warning?” Felonca asked, her eyes looking deep into his with concern. “Warning about what? Your father? Something else?”</p><p></p><p>“I’m... I’m not sure,” Nayu said. <em>The boy in the dream was the Emperor! I’m sure of it!</em> Part of him wanted to tell Felonca this fact, but something, somewhere, told him to stay quiet. Instead, he added, “But it keeps coming back, even when I’m awake, like its some kind of warning for me.”</p><p></p><p>“Well, I talked to Yari Ai before the trial of bringing Liu back,” Felonca’s face soured. Their friend the night before, only hours after bringing Meiji back from the netherworld, undertook an even more arduous journey to recover the soul of Liu Ganxi. When she had emerged in the wee hours of the morning, the cleric had crawled from the tent, and promptly collapsed into a deep slumber from which she had yet to awaken. Neither Nayu nor Felonca wanted to see their friend undergo that trauma again. “She said that dreams can be warnings from those on the other side of life at times. Perhaps your father is warning you of something.”</p><p></p><p><em>The Emperor...</em> Nayu’s mind immediately latched onto the now obvious symbol. <em>I need to find a way to take care of the Emperor, otherwise something will happen that will engulf the entire Empire in disaster!</em> Felonca saw his eyes light, and her own echoed the emotion.</p><p></p><p>“It is a message, isn’t it?” she asked. “What warning is he trying to tell you?”</p><p></p><p>Almost by accident, Nayu’s eyes looked down towards Felonca’s feet. Just poking its ruby pommel out of her boot was the obvious answer.</p><p></p><p><em>The dagger...</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Felonca said this dagger is the only thing that can kill the Emperor...</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>...and its right here. Right here all along. Take the dagger, and kill the young Emperor... that will stop whatever disaster he will cause!</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>But he is only a child,</em> part of Nayu’s mind objected. <em>He is only ten... a ten year old cannot cause such pain, such hardship! Children are innocent, yet uncorrupted by the world!</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>He is not just any child,</em> a darker section of Nayu’s mind chided, <em>He has been raised in a world of politics and intrigue. He could be craftier than any adult... or be a pawn for other, crafty adults. If he doesn’t live, they are cut off from the throne...</em> The memories of the Imperial Councillor, as well as his own father’s face, flashed through Nayu’s mind. And hatred filled his heart. Deep, dark, black hatred.</p><p></p><p><em>Yuandi and his family took my father from me!</em> he mentally thundered. <em>Hurting them the same is nothing evil! </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>They deserve it! They all deserve it! Then the throne will be open!</em></p><p></p><p>“Um... Nayu?” Felonca’s questioning voice brought his attention back, along with new questions.</p><p></p><p><em>But taking the dagger from Felonca... that’d... that’d break her trust! I told her I didn’t want that dagger, and that I wouldn’t take it from her or the like, and that I would see it destroyed... not use it!</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>If she knew what you saw, she’d do the same,</em> the darker side of his mind replied.</p><p></p><p>“It’s... nothing,” he said after a moment, before giving an awkward half-smile. Felonca’s eyes momentarily narrowed, before she shrugged, dismissing whatever suspicions she had. </p><p></p><p>“If you’re sure, we <em>do</em> have a meeting to go to. My father and Uncle Dian want to discuss with the senior commanders where we are going now that the prisoners are free. I think orders are going to be issued for us to rejoin Quan-Shi, then return to Dai...”</p><p></p><p>“No!” Nayu cut in. <em>I need to know! Is the Emperor the bane my dream says he will be? If we leave him alone, and he or his family is a root of evil...</em> “No...” he quickly added in a quieter voice, “I think that there are other things we need to accomplish first, before we go back to Dai.”</p><p></p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p></p><p>“I mean us... not the army,” Nayu clarified, his mind racing to think ahead. <em>How do I persuade her that we need to go to the capital without being obvious?</em> “I mean... well, I need to go to Liaoxiang.”</p><p></p><p>“The capital? Don’t you know that the Emperor’s family...” Felonca cried in confusion and fear.</p><p></p><p>“...want me dead? Probably.” Nayu finished her thought. “But I need to go there anyways.” His mind hit upon a reason, and he ran with it. “The scholars in my unit say that at the Imperial School of Mages, one can learn any spell, and vast tomes of ancient knowledge are available to read.”</p><p></p><p>Felonca shook her head, not understanding.</p><p></p><p>“I need to go there to look up something... something from the dream,” Nayu lied once again. <em>And to watch this Emperor if I can to see if I can discover anything. And if he or his family turns out to be the cause of the evil I saw in my dream...</em> “Liaoxiang is a huge city, it shouldn’t be hard to hide there.” Felonca crossed her arms in response.</p><p></p><p>“Why won’t you tell me about this dream, if its important enough for you to risk your, and our, necks?” she pressed. For a second, the full story was on Nayu’s tongue.</p><p></p><p><em>No,</em> he pulled himself back. <em>She’ll only try to stop you if he’s evil,</em> the darker part of his mind justified, <em>She won’t understand that a mere boy could do such a thing, or why he and his family would deserve such pain.</em> Much more quietly, the even darker thought of, <em>And if I can hasten my rise by his fall...</em> attempted to rise. </p><p></p><p>Nayu felt ashamed when he realized the thought was not immediately dismissed from his mind, yet he continued to think the idea over...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Emperor Valerian, post: 2353699, member: 15043"] Well, this is the first post of the eleventh session... where Nayu journey's a bit more down a certain path... [b]To Liangxiang[/b] A few hours later, Nayu lay quietly in his cot, his mind going over the day’s events again and again. Felonca finally meeting her father, Meiji being raised from the dead, all twisted and turned in his mind as he slid into sleep. Felonca had her father, Meiji had his... yet Nayu’s father lay scattered about by the four winds, his ashes blown across the soil of the northern land where he was born and lived. Fitfully, Nayu fell into sleep. There, within the comfort of dreams, he saw his own father once more, the older man once again tall and strong, not weak and battered as he’d been when Nayu burned his body. He saw his father sitting on a gilded chair, a ray of sunlight striking the man’s face, revealing a brilliant smile Nayu knew was directed at him. Clad in robes made of the finest silk, gold and silver interwoven into the fabric, the elder Wakabayashi stood, as if to beckon his son to come closer. Nayu felt himself moving forward, closer and closer to his father, until something blocked him. He couldn’t see what kept him from moving, yet he saw a look of confusion, and then horror come over his father’s face. Somewhere in the deep recesses of his mind, he knew his father was in danger. He pressed harder and harder against the unseen barrier, trying to force past it, yet it would not move. Finally, Nayu saw the dread shadow, the same shadowy figure that had snatched his father from him in previous dreams. Slowly, the dark wispy beast crept from beneath Nayu’s feet, and flowed up the dais towards Nayu’s terrified father. Finally, spinning about like a small whirlwind, the darkness grew, enveloping Nayu’s father with the sound of a thousand souls screaming in agony. Nayu twisted and turned, pushed and shoved, yet it seemed every time he moved forward, the chair and his terrified father moved back. Suddenly, the screams within the black whirlwind died, and its dark shadows settled over the gilded chair, sliding through its crevices, over its scrollwork designs, until the wispy forms coalesced into the shape. The form of a young boy, no more than ten. Atop his head sat the crown of the Emperor, a dark cap with pearls hanging from its front and back, covering his face, as well as the Emperor’s yellow silk and gold raiments, the form of an immense dragon sewn with sapphires into its chest. For a second, the boy looked at his hands, then his feet, before his eyes flashed towards Nayu. Unable to move, the sorcerer watched as the eyes flashed red, blazing crimson, the color of fresh blood. The abominable creature opened its mouth revealing a seemingly bottomless void. As the screams of dead souls returned, Nayu saw faces deep within the beast’s throat. [i] “Save us!”[/i] they cried, tiny, distant bodies squirming away. Nayu tried to twist away, tried to keep himself from looking, because deep down he knew he would see one face he did not want to see. When he caught sight of his father’s pleading eyes, the old man’s face seemed to suddenly flood with blood, then melt away into the void. Nayu awoke with a start, his hand immediately darting out into the darkness of his tent, his magical senses searching, looking for someone, anyone, that could be hiding in the black of night. His breathing was quick and deep, his muscles tensed to leap towards any threat. [i]It was only a dream,[/i] he realized, and his heart began to calm. [i]It was only a dream. You need to just go back to sleep. That’s all. Everything is alright. We’re in the middle of an army. Nothing should sneak in.[/i] Yet despite however much he tried to calm himself, to tell himself that it was an empty dream, its images stayed stuck in his mind to the point that he could not sleep. Every time he laid his head upon the pillow, the screams returned, and the young boy’s eyes blazed bright red. He couldn’t sleep the rest of the night. “...and then papa hugged me!” Felonca gushed excitedly the next morning over breakfast. For his part, Nayu merely nodded slowly, his eyes looking off in the distance at something that could not be seen, yet something he soul kept hearing again and again. “Isn’t this wonderful! I have a family again!” Felonca laughed, throwing her arms around Nayu and hugging him in her excitement. The sorcerer gasped for a second as the wind was crushed out of him, before wiggling enough that he could breathe. “I’m happy for you,” Nayu managed to gasp out. Suddenly, Felonca let go, and her blue eyes staring at him told him she knew his mind was elsewhere. “What’s wrong? Is it... oh, I’m sorry. Your family...” she started to apologize quietly. Nayu looked down, his mind wrestling with the problem that had been plaguing him for the past few hours. “It’s nothing Felonca,” Nayu lied. “I’m happy one of us can see their father again, and I guess I just got a little wistful, that’s all.” He shrugged, putting on his best face to hide the concern, even fright, within his mind. He knew he’d failed when she frowned. “Stop covering it up. Tell me,” she said, coming around the small cooking fire to sit beside him. “It was only a dream,” he repeated aloud, more to reassure himself than inform her of anything. [i]If it was only a dream, why does it stay within my mind?[/i] “You saw your father in a dream?” she asked, and he nodded. “The dream keeps coming back,” Nayu replied. “It’s not a good dream. It... it seems like a warning.” “A warning?” Felonca asked, her eyes looking deep into his with concern. “Warning about what? Your father? Something else?” “I’m... I’m not sure,” Nayu said. [i]The boy in the dream was the Emperor! I’m sure of it![/i] Part of him wanted to tell Felonca this fact, but something, somewhere, told him to stay quiet. Instead, he added, “But it keeps coming back, even when I’m awake, like its some kind of warning for me.” “Well, I talked to Yari Ai before the trial of bringing Liu back,” Felonca’s face soured. Their friend the night before, only hours after bringing Meiji back from the netherworld, undertook an even more arduous journey to recover the soul of Liu Ganxi. When she had emerged in the wee hours of the morning, the cleric had crawled from the tent, and promptly collapsed into a deep slumber from which she had yet to awaken. Neither Nayu nor Felonca wanted to see their friend undergo that trauma again. “She said that dreams can be warnings from those on the other side of life at times. Perhaps your father is warning you of something.” [i]The Emperor...[/i] Nayu’s mind immediately latched onto the now obvious symbol. [i]I need to find a way to take care of the Emperor, otherwise something will happen that will engulf the entire Empire in disaster![/i] Felonca saw his eyes light, and her own echoed the emotion. “It is a message, isn’t it?” she asked. “What warning is he trying to tell you?” Almost by accident, Nayu’s eyes looked down towards Felonca’s feet. Just poking its ruby pommel out of her boot was the obvious answer. [i]The dagger... Felonca said this dagger is the only thing that can kill the Emperor... ...and its right here. Right here all along. Take the dagger, and kill the young Emperor... that will stop whatever disaster he will cause! But he is only a child,[/i] part of Nayu’s mind objected. [i]He is only ten... a ten year old cannot cause such pain, such hardship! Children are innocent, yet uncorrupted by the world! He is not just any child,[/i] a darker section of Nayu’s mind chided, [i]He has been raised in a world of politics and intrigue. He could be craftier than any adult... or be a pawn for other, crafty adults. If he doesn’t live, they are cut off from the throne...[/i] The memories of the Imperial Councillor, as well as his own father’s face, flashed through Nayu’s mind. And hatred filled his heart. Deep, dark, black hatred. [i]Yuandi and his family took my father from me![/i] he mentally thundered. [i]Hurting them the same is nothing evil! They deserve it! They all deserve it! Then the throne will be open![/i] “Um... Nayu?” Felonca’s questioning voice brought his attention back, along with new questions. [i]But taking the dagger from Felonca... that’d... that’d break her trust! I told her I didn’t want that dagger, and that I wouldn’t take it from her or the like, and that I would see it destroyed... not use it! If she knew what you saw, she’d do the same,[/i] the darker side of his mind replied. “It’s... nothing,” he said after a moment, before giving an awkward half-smile. Felonca’s eyes momentarily narrowed, before she shrugged, dismissing whatever suspicions she had. “If you’re sure, we [i]do[/i] have a meeting to go to. My father and Uncle Dian want to discuss with the senior commanders where we are going now that the prisoners are free. I think orders are going to be issued for us to rejoin Quan-Shi, then return to Dai...” “No!” Nayu cut in. [i]I need to know! Is the Emperor the bane my dream says he will be? If we leave him alone, and he or his family is a root of evil...[/i] “No...” he quickly added in a quieter voice, “I think that there are other things we need to accomplish first, before we go back to Dai.” “What do you mean?” “I mean us... not the army,” Nayu clarified, his mind racing to think ahead. [i]How do I persuade her that we need to go to the capital without being obvious?[/i] “I mean... well, I need to go to Liaoxiang.” “The capital? Don’t you know that the Emperor’s family...” Felonca cried in confusion and fear. “...want me dead? Probably.” Nayu finished her thought. “But I need to go there anyways.” His mind hit upon a reason, and he ran with it. “The scholars in my unit say that at the Imperial School of Mages, one can learn any spell, and vast tomes of ancient knowledge are available to read.” Felonca shook her head, not understanding. “I need to go there to look up something... something from the dream,” Nayu lied once again. [i]And to watch this Emperor if I can to see if I can discover anything. And if he or his family turns out to be the cause of the evil I saw in my dream...[/i] “Liaoxiang is a huge city, it shouldn’t be hard to hide there.” Felonca crossed her arms in response. “Why won’t you tell me about this dream, if its important enough for you to risk your, and our, necks?” she pressed. For a second, the full story was on Nayu’s tongue. [i]No,[/i] he pulled himself back. [i]She’ll only try to stop you if he’s evil,[/i] the darker part of his mind justified, [i]She won’t understand that a mere boy could do such a thing, or why he and his family would deserve such pain.[/i] Much more quietly, the even darker thought of, [i]And if I can hasten my rise by his fall...[/i] attempted to rise. Nayu felt ashamed when he realized the thought was not immediately dismissed from his mind, yet he continued to think the idea over... [/QUOTE]
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