Kuro: A Land in Eternal Night

Chapter 10.3: The Yami

"There is something else you should know first Sergei, something far more important," said another voice.

"Soknar? What news from your side of the world?"

"I have heard disturbing reports. We had an altercation. One of our TPB Units ran into a warrior. He rescued two girls and destroyed the unit. Reports say he moved with frightening speed and was a expert with a blade." Soknar paused for effect.

"The warrior had difficulty battling the Warlock and had to flee into the woods. We sent five platoons after them, fifty men and five Warlocks. Half the force returned along with two-and-a-half Warlocks, if you know what I mean."

Soknar served as military adviser on the Council and oversaw the TPB. Though past his prime, he was still as spry as many men half his age, well muscled and very fit. He had light, finely grained hair. A scar ran diagonally across his leathery, wrinkled face, a memento from a past battle. He was rarely seen without his armor, which was black, heavy plated with reinforced steel at the chest and arms. It gave him a fearsome and intimidating appearance.

Sergei laughed. "I have always known your boys were weaker than everyone gave them credit for."

"Had this not been a serious matter, Sergei Diskarma, I might have taken offense at your mirth." Soknar replied.

"There is...more to it than that." Soknar paused and shifted his weight. The steel in his armor clinking in the silence of the boardroom. "The warrior was good, but he wasn't strong enough to overcome the Warlocks. What changed turned the tides this time was the fact that one of the girls had a rather curious ability..."

Soknar looked around at the boardroom. "She manifests the light, from her very person, and with surprising ease. It was not a light that any of our men have ever come across. Her aura was monstrous, and she took them by surprise. The powerful telekinetic field created by six of our Warlocks was eroded like it was nothing."

"Light?" Sergei asked.

"Not light. Sunlight. The entire area was bathed in a glow unlike anything anyone has ever seen." Soknar shifted in his seat again, clearly uncomfortable telling stories that made him look bad. "When the girl lent her light to the warrior's sword, it gave it an otherworldly power. His blade cut through our armor with ease. Everything that stood in the way of his blade was cut down. Our soldiers were slaughtered. "

Sergei's ears picked up. The boardroom was abuzz now. "What did you say?"

Soknar smiled slyly, his evil eyes almost shining through the darkness. "You all heard me."

"You just told this room that Treaty 7745, something that, up until this point in time was only a myth we all wanted to believe, is now in fact, proven to be true. That the girl for whom we have been searching for, for the last three hundred years has now just magically appeared. Spare us the fairy tales Soknar."

"I invite you to see for yourself if the fairy tales are real." Soknar smiled. "I do not know if she is who we think she is. All I know is what my men saw. Poke fun at the TPB as much as you want, it is not everyday that my boys encounter something so deadly."

Sergei laughed loud. "The Vessel did not pop out from nowhere, gentlemen," he began. "Whoever it is, she was right under our very noses." Sergei pointed his finger accusingly at Soknar. "Your boys were supposed to find her."

Soknar looked offended. His face muscles clenched and his scar looked like it would burst at any moment and his leather face would rip apart. "And find her we did. Had the warrior not been there at that inopportune moment, we would have had the maiden safely secured and en route to our facilities for processing."

Sergei turned to the people gathered around his boardroom. The people before him were Taiyou-shi's highest elite, the Council. As flippant as he acted around these men, he knew he he played with fire. Diskarma held sway over them only because of its power as the gatekeeper of the Goddess Essence. If he lost his trump card, he would be devoured by the wolves.

"Well I am happy to hear that my time here tonight wasn't wasted after all." He turned pensive. Sergei was getting impatient. "Very obviously, we have someone here whom we think has the ability to either impersonate Amaterasu or to channel her power."

"She is the Vessel," Arkus agreed.

Sergei's brow furrowed. "But why has the Vessel appeared now? And in such a timely manner? And the shadow warrior, where did he come from and what are his aims?"

"Sometimes the times dictate the arrival of heroes, gentlemen." Another voice filled the air, this time a woman's.

"Felicia, we did not think you would make it to tonight's gathering," Soknar snarled.

Felicia entered the room and smiled at the group of graying old men.

"I was waylaid, but as fate would have it, I found a way to be here." She smiled at Soknar before turning to the group again. "Do not discount the facts that Soknar is presenting to you here. The streets are abuzz with stories of the maiden coming back."

Sergei nodded. "We need to find her. Is it the solution Yin is looking for?"

Felicia shook her head. "We do not know the extent of the Vessel's power. All the knowledge we have comes from a bunch of old wives' tales. But there is one thing that has been left out so far in this story." Her eyes gleamed mysteriously in the darkness. "The group of ragtag little girls the TPB picked up this time was a one-in-a-million catch."

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