by Lance Wilson
“Listen all of you, I know the plan of our lord and it is a perfect plan, we are the new recruits, our job is to lead the Takunen out of Omashu so that they can move in and take it without difficulty. This means we will face the full fury of the Takunen, think fast and think smart. I will order a full retreat when I can and no later, when I give that order, run, run without hesitation. Do you hear me?” Attonnan says looking at all of them.
“Sir yes sir” the unit cries out as one.
With that Attonnan mounts his horse and smiles at them. It is too bad that they are so young. It does not matter, he will not fail his master and he will not let them down. He will make sure that this will not only be a success but also this squads finest moment. With that said and done they all get on their horses and proceed to the city of Omashu. The ride is a short one, far shorter then Attonnan would like, it is in a matter of hours that he sees the city, once it is in his sight he calls for his troop to stop. He must assess the situation. Taking a deep breath he looks around. The city is on a hill and they will have the disadvantage of the low ground. He is sure that they will let loose with archers first, any smart city would. Looking at his troop he can see no archers among them. He doesn’t like this, the field is open and there is no cover to take. This will take cunning and unequaled ferocity.
“Men, we face a town ready for attack, the field is at there advantage. They will most likely have archers and we have none. The field is open and we are downhill. Ever advantage that could have been in their favor is. You must follow my orders and pray for the good spirits to guide us. Raise your shields high above in front of you. We shall charge there gates, if this is well done then they will see that we will be at there gates in no time, they will open them and unleash the Takunen. Are you ready” Attonnan says and looks back at his men.
All of them though they are young have a hardened face, but he can see right though them. In there eyes there is no ferocity, no bravery, it is only fear, fear of death, fear of pain. He has neither of them, he has faced pain before and probably been closer to death then any one he could think of, with the exception of his master. Aang is the one that is at his right.
“We will follow your lead sir.” He says laying his hand on Attonnan’s shoulder
He looks deep into Aang’s eyes, he wonders if Aang knows that in following him, they may vary well be running right to their deaths.
With one last breath he draws his blade, he doesn’t have a shield and charges onto the field. As he rides down he can hear his troops behind him shouting out there own war cry. Just as he thought Omashu lets out with their archers, the sky becomes dark with the flood of arrows. The whistle seems so high pitch it almost deafens him, the world seems to slow down to a crawl as they come down on them. Before he knows it the metal tipped shafts rain down on him and his men, horses and men fall as they are pierced; the sound of a war cry is replaced with the sound of screaming and pain. Attonnan watches as his own horse is hit almost three times, it goes down but he manages to jump and roll off of it to avoid being pinned. More arrows fly down, the sky becomes dark again. Attonnan can only stare up at them in shock. Something comes over him as they begin to fall to the ground, more men and horses are pierced, but not him, as they come down he flings his blade, moving it with all the speed and ferocity of the wind, the arrows are knocked back away from him in clusters. In the madness of the battle he hears the gates open. Soldiers come running out to them, finally, something he knows, and something he can fight. His blade is ready waiting to quench its thirst in there blood. He waits tell they are close enough then like a wind of death he moves though the troops, there must be hundreds of them, each strike he makes is death, his blade never faltering, never failing him. For the last ten years all he has studied is to be death on the battlefield. No move should be wasted, every time you strike, it should mean death. Swaying and moving through the crowds he avoids most of their attacks only getting nicked and cut on occasion. Men fall to him like leaves in the wind. In no time he is surrounded, glaring he looks around, he is the last standing, his troop all dead, it took the soldiers and the archers no time to take care of this.
In the distance the general watches the fight, the archers were expected and the Takunen came out sooner then he expected. He raises his hand to give the order to ride down on Omashu. It is open and weak. The general watches as Attonnan fights on the battlefield, he is good, better then he has any he has seen in a long time. A sadistic smile comes over his face, he shall tell Fuma that he tried, but Attonnan was taken too quickly, he never stood a chance at retrieving him. The general watches as his men begin to ride hard down onto Omashu, then, something happens that Fuma had not predicted. Before they even reach halfway to their goal a wall of fire appears from nowhere. The men quickly draw there horses to a halt, they are exposed, someone knew the attack was coming, huge balls of fire are flung from the castle and hurl themselves at the second force, without even thinking the general quickly orders a retreat. They cannot take Omashu, not today. They were too prepared.
Attonnan watches as the sky lights up in red and gold, fire has filled the field to the right of the castle, he can’t help but smile, he knew the plan was flawed and so did the Takunen. He stands in a circle waiting for the men to take him, but they only slowly advance, there spears pointed at him. Attonnan only lowers his blade so the tip just barely touches the ground and lowers his head; he continues to stare at the ground breathing slowly. This is what he was trained for; he will kill them, kill them all, or die. He lets his body go loose, lets the world around him seep into his every pour. With a quick snap he leaps into the air spinning and twirling, before they know it he is behind the circle cutting and slashing his way though them. He will get to the gates; he will see the inside of Omashu. Running, darting, slashing, swaying, no one can stop him they can’t even slow him. Almost there, he can see the gates no one will stand in his way, at least not for long. Just as he gets to the gates, just as his hand touches the wood it bursts open flinging him to the ground, without thinking he quickly rolls to one side tell he runs into something. Looking at what he ran into he sees that it is Aang. His body riddled with arrows, he never stood a chance. Attonnan’s eyes go huge; this is what it costs for victory,
“Archers” he hears a man shout from behind.
Without thinking he reaches over and grabs the headband off of Aang and shoves it into his pocket. Then quickly back to his feet. He sees his enemy now. He is a huge man with wild white hair and a fair complexion. He is dressed in a vest and baggy pants, both are sky blue. Held in one arm is a spear, a crescent blade on one side and on the other a long blade, easily the size of a short sword.
Like the wind the archers let loose, Attonnan no longer cares, no longer sees them, he only yells out his fury and hate as the arrows pass around him, come even make contact. He watches as the man on the horse raises his hand and quickly dismounts. So he would dare to challenge him. The two clash like to titans on the battlefield, a quick slash blocked by the spear, the ring of steel clashing against steel rings out high into the sky. Quickly Attonnan spins and gets behind the spearman, but he is ready and as Attonnan goes for his slash to the back the man drops his spear over his shoulder behind him, blocking the blow. A quick spin and the spearmen hits him hard slashing his side. Blood sprays on the ground and Attonnan rolls as he is flung to the grass, but he is not down long and as soon as he stops spinning he is up and again in stance. Quickly he charges and again shouts his fury. The spearmen only smile and wave him forward, but that is his flaw. Right when Attonnan is in range he goes for a quick swing, but Attonnan saw the move coming and quickly rolls taking the mans legs from under him with the roll. The man hits the ground with hard force and before he can think Attonnan is already on him with a downward slash. Thanks to quick reflexes the man blocks then with his leg he quickly trips the young Attonnan. Not wasting time he gets up and blocks a slash to the legs as Attonnan rolls away an
d gets to his own feet. Without thinking he goes for another slash, the spearman blocks and stares deep into Attonnan’s eyes, he knows that he will have to end this and soon. Attonnan then spins and gets behind the spearmen, the spearmen goes to step away, but he is too slow and the sword slashes deep into his back, the man lets out a scream and waits. Attonnan hungry now at the sight and smell of blood goes for a power attack. The spearman waits; it is fast, a draw from the side. The spearman knows what he has to do. As the sword goes to make contact he blocks it with the shaft of the spear, then quickly rolls behind young Attonnan. Wasting no time he grabs Attonnan by the back of the head and slams his head hard into the ground. To his relief he watches as Attonnan goes limp his hand still clutching the blade. The remaining Takunen troops let out a cheer of victory as an older man walks to the battle. Once the spearman sees the old man he smiles and drops to one knee.
“This young man, he gave you quite a fight Kenshi.” The old man says laying his hand on the spearman’s shoulder.
“Indeed he did master Takada. I believe he is the latest apprentice to Fuma, my former master.” He says now standing and rolling Attonnan to his back to look at his face.
“I see, yes he bares the marks of the Dagoth, though I do not recognize these, do you recognize them” He asks Kenshi now kneeling down to Attonnan.
“I will have to look them up in my journal, but I should be able to place them. I have all the Dagoth warrior markings written down.” Kenshi asks and points to two guard’s,
The guard’s only bow and without being told what to do they pick up Attonnan and begin to carry him into the castle.
“Sir, this one is different, he’s, and he’s not like any swordsman I have come across, he moves like wind and water. Are you sure it is wise to keep him. For now he is our enemy” Kenshi says watching the guards take him in
“Some would have said that it was unwise of me to take you in. I shall put this young man in your care, I’m sure you will share much in common. It is your task to bring him out of the darkness Fuma has placed him in. I do not care if he joins us, or joins Fuma, only that he does it willingly and not as a slave” the old man says and folding his hands behind his back he walks away.
Kenshi only takes a deep breath and walks into the castle with them. The guard’s take Attonnan into a spare room. Kenshi waves his hand at them letting them know that they are dismissed. The guard’s only nod and walk out grumbling. He understands their displeasure in bringing him in; after all it is this young man that is responsible for the deaths of many of the other guard’s. Calmly he walks over to the bed, and then gently starts to undo the armor and clothing. It takes him only a few minutes to get it all off, he is astonished at what he sees. He thought the porcelain white skin was just makeup to scare the opponent but now that he is bare before him he can see that something has happened to him and that it is not just the face but all of his skin is that pale. He also a few scars, being Fuma’s apprentice he thought he would see more. Taking his index finger he traces the scars on the body, he is surprised that they are so small, but he can tell that they are probably in key areas, Fuma is a master of pain and would expect his students and apprentices to be the same. That is enough for now. He hopes that he will be able to talk to him, tell him the truth of Fuma and what he has learned in his own freedom. Knowing that it will have to wait he only pulls the covers down and lays Attonnan between the sheets then covers him up tucking him in as if he were a comrade injured in battle. With that done he only shuts the door and leaves the young man to sleep.
It is late in the evening when Attonnan wakes up. As he yawns he feels the covers fall off of his body and realizes that he is naked under the sheets. At first he only shrugs it off, so he is naked in bed, of course he is naked in bed, his lord prefers it. Then it strikes him like a hammer, he was at battle. The spearman, how could this be? Why would they strip him? Quickly he jumps out of the bed and looks around. The room is larger then his own at the Hojo fortress, but not as large as the one that Fuma has. In it is a huge bed and a large dresser with about four drawers on top of the dresser is the uniform that Fuma gave him, and beside that is the armor. Looking around he notices that the one thing missing is his blade. This doesn’t matter, he is behind enemy lines and he has to get out. Calmly he put on his uniform and his armor. Taking a deep breath he walks over to the door and carefully pulls it open, but just a crack. Carefully he watches the halls, taking his time, he needs to make sure that no one is coming and going as he decides to make his move. Carefully he waits, taking his time, carefully watching, and making sure. Slowly he makes his way out to the hall careful not to make a sound, careful not to let anyone know he is even know that he is there. Carefully he moves down the hall, he is astonished about the fact that the guard’s are nowhere to be seen. Carefully he moves down the hall, his feet moving perfectly silently over the solid wood floors, his back always to the wall, he must not be seen, he must find the master Takada, if he can get to him and kill him, then he will be able to go home, go home with full honors. He moves silently but as he moves he’s not sure why, no one is around, he is a bit shocked. For a great and fierce group known as the Takunen fighters he thought they would be a bit more on their guard. In no time he is
Standing before a room, the doorway wide open and in front of it on a balcony overlooking the courtyard of Omashu. The man is older and wearing simple clothing. Carefully he looks around the corner, there is no one that he can see, this would be the easiest assassination he has ever been on. Calmly he steps past the doorway, now, all he has to do is take the man off his guard and kill him, granted he has to do so with his bare hands, but he trained for that as well.
“Welcome Attonnan” The old man says without even turning around.
Shocked Attonnan stops dead in his tracks, now that he is fully in the room the door slides shut behind him. Quickly Attonnan spins to find that next to the door was the spearman, like a flash his hand is at his side only to be reminded that he doesn’t have his blade. With a growl he drops to a defensive stance, they may take him, may even kill him, but not without a fight.
“Easy, I do not wish to kill you, not even to harm you if you give me that choice. I want to talk to you. Attonnan, this is Kenshi, you and he have much in common but that will come later. Please come with me.” He says now turning.
Attonnan is shocked at the old man. Looking at him he is not something to fear, just a simple old man. His eyes almost warm and inviting. He doesn’t know why but his stance relaxes and for some reason he bows. It is something about this man, something about the way he talks that seems to weave a spell around him, makes him want to know what this man knows, be told what he wishes to share with him. With a nod of the old man Kenshi opens the door and the three of them then walk into the hallway. To Attonnan’s surprise it is now filled with guard’s, where were they just a minute ago, was all this a game, a trick, what is going on. The old man and Attonnan walk side by side, Kenshi taking up the rear as they walk down the hall then turn into a room on the left. Attonnan can tell by the size and layout of the room that this must be Omashu’s war room. On the huge table in the middle is a map rolled out. Takada smiles and gestures to the map. Attonnan takes the hint and walks over looking at it. It is like all the other maps he has seen, nothing different, just a layout of the elf lands. The map is like all the others, showing all the elf lands including the great northern lands of the blood elves, the eastern islands of the shadow elves (not that anyone has explored there) the territories of the Kainith and Denerith elves, all the boundaries of each clan carefully marked, each land divided at least a dozen ways.
“Tell me what you see.” The old man says now walking up and looking at the map beside him.
“The elf lands” Attonnan says calmly
He shouldn’t even be discussing this; Takada shouldn’t be able to speak. He should have killed him, Kenshi or not. If he died then that was the way
it went and he would die with the honor of the Hojo. So why is it that he cannot help but talk to this man, what is it that this man has that possesses him so.
“Oh, you see the elf lands, how, how can that be” the old man says looking at him, not disputing him but quizzing him, he can see that sharp gleam in his eyes that his father used to have with Mellyruna, what is the quiz, what is the question.
“Of course it is, here, see, those are the lands of the north that belong to the blood elves, and here, the Kainith elf territories, and the Denerith elves, and here, the islands of the shadow elves” he says pointing out each of the lands confused by the question.
“But then, how is that the elf lands, for that matter how can any of these lands be called what they are. You are Denerith elf, tell me, how many lords in the Denerith elf kingdoms.” He says smiling.
“I don’t know, two dozen, maybe more” Attonnan says shrugging his shoulders
“Then can you call that the Denerith elf kingdom, can it be called any kind of kingdom when it is pulling itself apart at the seams.” the old mans says now putting his hand on Attonnan’s shoulder.
For a moment he thinks about this. The old man has a point. How is a kingdom going to stand when it is already divided? That was something his father was trying to fix, to unite them all against the Kainith elves. But that was so long ago.
“You wish to unite them.” Attonnan says calmly
“Me, no. I have to deal with this war, but perhaps one day someone will. All I am doing is showing a path” the old man says with a chuckle and then turns Attonnan back away from the map and begins to walk down the hallway.
“You want me to unite them, but… . I’m no leader” Attonnan says shocked, how could he even think of such a thing of him. Master Fuma had made it perfectly clear he is a killer and that is all he would ever be. Who is this man to ever question his master Fuma?
