Kunashi Arc: Scroll 1 - Komutani & Consort

While Do is left to guard Serani, I find myself flying towards the center of my newly conquered and liberated island. Sanzon had told me that there were ruins in the center of the island that I should check out. My flight is pushed and rushed as a very familiar pain is returning. I had been interrupted the last time this happened so strongly and even recently, I have been suppressing myself. The jungle cannot conceal the ruins this time as I can feel them more than I can see them. There is that same familiarity and aura as the island that shall never be named. I glance around before I drop out of the sky on my own this time. Landing in the center of the ruins, I feel something that I have not felt in ages it seems. I finally feel like I am home. My eyes open and begin glowing with a bright radiance that expands to engulf my entire body.

I seem to return to a dream like state of being only this doesn't feel like an old dream, but like something that is hard for me to explain. This dream is more like a vision of sorts. I have something similar to this a few times since I have appeared on this island. I look around yet find that I am still completely alone, but I can feel a presence near me. Why?

252
Quest: The Soul Glow
Quest: Default Vary - Humanoid

A voice speaks, "Because I am here. You cannot see me because you do not want to see me. You wish to be shrouded in darkness. You wish to be engulfed by a lie that you already know is a lie." I growl as my body continues to move in order to find this voice and I find nothing. "Show yourself!" I command. The voice replies, "And if I do not? What then will you do?"

A new voice speaks but this one is more familiar and female. A figure appears and it is her. That female from before back at the proving grounds. What is she doing here? Actually, more importantly, who is she? She appears behind me, "You ask the wrong question. It matters not who I am before you know who you are. Why are you filled with so much fury and so much passion? Why is it that you are so attuned to the spiritual nature of things? Why is it that you have been at odds with yourself for so many months now? Why do you have no control? Why do you feel as if what you knew to be truth is no more than a lie? Who are you? What are you?" Her rapid fire questions pierce thru my brain like a javelin made of raw void energies. How does she know so much about me?

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I begin to hear so many voices and see so many faces. So many different scenes all flashing back so quickly. Battle after battle, weddings and births, deaths and parties, training sessions, and martial graduations. So many different images flying thru my mind right now.

My eyes roll back in my head and the female rushes to me and holds my head steady. "You need to relax and stop trying to fight yourself. You were the one who trained your units and put them thru strenuous near torturous physical conditioning sessions where you constantly reminded them, "You will learn to embrace pain. You will enjoy its feeling here so that you do not feel it on the battlefield. Pain is not your enemy. It is your measuring stick. Pain is weakness leaving the body." Those words still reign true. Embrace the pain and allow it to purify you. You are not a demon, my love. You are among the noblest of the Kamikonjou. You belong to an Order of Warrior Kami known as the Kunashi Cadre. The Dark Kami are not your people, but they are your enemy and they have been such for over 250 years. There is so much that I want to be able to share with you and show you, but my task is merely to awaken you to your true being. The High Guardian will awaken all of your trapped memories...

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"Be prepared though, my love, there is much pain, much anger, much loss and much sorrow in your memories. There is also a great deal of joy and happiness in them as well."

She sighs and tells me that she will help me through the pain. I look at her and her image starts to come into focus. I feel great safety with her. It is as if she has helped me like this before. I relax my mind with her as my body continues to endure the physical pain of this change or purification that she mentioned. Mentally, we are in the Great Forest of the West and sitting in a garden. I am laying my head on her lap. There are others with us and we all just seem so happy and content. One of the other kami speak, "I could stay in this garden forever with all of you and it would be paradise for me." I smile and tell him that when the Mahāna Mārśala (Grand Marshal) finds out new home, then we will see paradise. One of the other females teases, "Ever the loyal soldier, young Commander. We are free now. Don't you have dreams or goals of your own?" I smile at her and glance at the female upon whose lap my head rests and respond, "I have everything that I want." I pause for a moment as I enjoy the happiness thinking about this brings me.

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"I have freedom to make decisions, I have my unit and all of you are safe, I have my heart here, and I have the Mahāna Mārśala. He has never led any of us astray. Never forget that it was he who protected all of us and never lost his life making sure that the entire Cadre escaped execution." The female figure runs her fingers through my hair and tells me to never forget to have fun. "We are in Yochi, the Realm of Mortals, now. So let us enjoy our existence and our immortality. Take a walk with me?" I nod and stand up. My posture is erect and strict and she scowls at me with a pout. "Nothing is going to attack us here and if it does, well Irus will just have to restore the Garden after we are done defending ourselves. You all stay out of trouble." A reply answers telling us to get into trouble.

I hold her hand, which is something that is still rather new to us. Even an act like this was forbidden as it was believed that hand holding could lead to temptation. We wander around the Garden until we come to the southern edge of the Garden and find a tree with some of the most succulent fruit that I have ever laid my eyes upon. I look at her and tell her that I will retrieve the purple fruit for her.

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She tells me that the fruit might belong to someone. Looking around there is no one close by so the fruit must belong to Nature. She giggles at my jest and walks over to me. My senses twinge and I raise my hand above us then to the ground at our side. Large pillars of light surround the humanoid creature and pin him to the ground. We pick the fruit and I ask him if he would like one. He shakes his head, "No, I am the Guardian of the Spirit DV Tree. Do you know what will happen if you eat that fruit?" My eyes glow and I look into his eyes. "Yes, if we remain in this, our more comfortable and natural form for us, it will be our natural form instead of our bestial form, which could frighten the mortals." The Guardian asks what I am though the tone of his voice already knew the answer. "We are Kami. How quickly does this fruit grow back?" The Guardian tells me that it has a very good turnover rate. I look at him then her and she tells me that they grow back quickly. I remove my cape and load up the cape with fruit. "There will probably be times when others like us will come to visit you. I don't suggest attacking them." It pleases Bijali that he seems to be taking heed.

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I continue to provide the fellow with a friendly warning, "You are alive because she doesn't like me to kill mortals or mortal realm spirits without provocation. They do not have the same restraint." The cape floats along by itself while we walk off and once we are out of view, the pillars of light vanish.

Once we make it back to the group, they look at the cape with interest, "So what did you two bring us, Bijali?" My female companion responds, "It is a fruit that will allow us to remain in this form without placing a strain on us to sustain and even when we meditate to rest, we can do so in this form. We will always be humanoid." Their level of excitement increases at the idea and each of them moves to take one but stop and bow. "Komutan, Lady Bijali, we cannot let you try this fruit when we do not know the true side effects. Nothing can be allowed to happened to our Komutan and his consort." I smile at them and make a playful remark about someone saying something about changing our ways now that we are free from Koutaku-shi. I tell them that I will accept the same dangers as they will. Bijali distracts me with a kiss while one of the physically strongest others tastes the fruit first to ensure that there are no ill effects. It truly was an unnecessary gesture. It is not like I am feeble myself.

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I find myself still reeling from the sensation of such an embrace. "Why did we never do such things before Merkus' Exodus?" Bijali looks at me and takes a bite out of her fruit before she leans over and says softly but loud enough so the others could still hear, "Because you never let me when I first began to fall. I had watched the mortals and this little embrace seemed to make them so happy. I wanted to share it with you." I lean in and initiate one myself and steal her piece of fruit right from her mouth and I didn't even have to use telekinesis for that. The taste of the fruit is yet another sensation sweeping over me. This realm is filled with so many great mysteries. I suppose the Mahāna Mārśala knew what he was doing when he gave the order for us not to destroy this realm. We just sit back together and enjoy the fruit that is said to preserve her humanoid form.

As I come back to reality, I look at her and she is as clear as ever, "Bijali. The pain? It's gone." She has a look of somber happiness as she smiles at me. "So what are you?" I reply, "I am a Kami, exiled from Koutaku-shi and Melek Komutanı of the Kunashi Cadre. Why is it that I can't seem to remember the Kunashi or who exactly I am? I do not even know my true name." Bijali smiles at me and tells me that that is what I am to discover next. "The dawn is approaching and I must go. You know where to go now. Most of the poison has left you, but there are remnants that you must purge in order to be true again."

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Quest: The Soul Glow (1100)
Quest: Default Vary - Humanoid (1000)

PWC (Lord 2) = +2100
EXP = 2100 x Quest Multiplier

Submitted.