The Horseman of Calamity

Prologue - Omen

Shitou had spent the previous two nights working tirelessly on his biggest project yet. To him, completing this build would be the most significant moment of his retired career. For the first time in his life, he was genuinely enjoying himself, his work, and the people around him. Shitou's shipyard is a unique one, in that it is built on land. In fact, there are no bodies of water remotely close to where he constructs his ships, and that is because he builds airships. Magnificent ships of varying size, power, and speed, all built with the capability for flight thanks to some fire and solar panels.

Throughout his life, he had always chosen to do things for others. He knew that he was selfish in choosing to leave his post to do what he had dreamt of since he was a child. But once he finished the construction of this ship, his final dream, he convinced himself that he could truly tire out and be a lazy old man for good. A part of him regretted retiring so early, so perhaps he was trying to compensate for that by being the best mechanic and shipwright he could be right now.

As for the ship he was building, it is similar to that of a smaller caravel, and he had begun construction on it only just a year ago. On top of that, he was building it along with several other ships commissioned to him by various people across the continent. Others often told him to slow down, and that he was overexerting himself, or that he should take it easy. Naturally, he didn't take it well, he was still especially prideful of his past and strength after all. And besides, he was confident that at the rate he was working at, the ship would be near completion after a year, and just in time too.

"Master, shouldn't you take a break? I could take over for a bit if you need." His apprentice asked him, setting down a bundle of steelwood planks.

"For the hundredth time, Avery cut it out with the whole master shit, don't like it. Sounds... weird." He spoke without turning away from the framework.

Pulling out each plank individually, he replied, "Right, sorry, I just figured because you've been stressed with Rodriga and all."

Using his hammer to fasten another plank to the keel, he barked back, "Eh? I am not stressed about that girl! She may be headstrong but that's exactly why she can handle herself."

"Okay, fine, that's fair, but that doesn't change the fact that you haven't slept properly in nearly two days!"

"Don't go changing the topic on me! I was able to go weeks without sleep in my youth pretty often!" He shouted while hammering another plank to the keel.

"Then let me help build the ship at least!"

"Oh, if that's what ya wanted to do why didn't ya just say so in the first place?" He laughed.

Shitou then took a step back to give his apprentice some room to work with.

"Why don't you just use that cloning move? Wouldn't you be able to finish this ship a lot faster if you did?" Avery asked as he picked up a mallet and a wooden plank.

Shitou stepped back to grab more materials, "Because that's cheating! I wouldn't have actually built my ship if clones of myself built it for me." Shitou said as he grabbed several wooden planks. Lifting them with no effort over his shoulders and carried them closer to the ship.

"But they're clones of you! So you still built it, technically." Avery cheekily replied.

"Save it! You know what I mean! Besides, using my power is a bit finnicky for me these days."

The two were about to continue their arguing if it weren't for the sudden interruption of a bright flash of light filled the sky, briefly illuminating the entire world in its fold for a mere second. They both turned their attention to the sky and were greeted by a fleeting cosmic panorama of collapsing stars as the sky appeared to be ripping itself apart. The sky immediately reverted back to normal as if nothing had happened just a few seconds after that with the sun reappearing where it originally was. Both Shitou and Avery stood still, their heads still processing what they just saw when a loud boom followed the sight nearly a minute later, the shockwave was so powerful the pair could feel the vibrations oscillating through their bodies. Several of the people living in the nearby buildings stepped outside in a slightly panicked commotion to see what caused the noise, but whatever did cause the noise was definitely not nearby. Given the time it took the sound to travel, Shitou estimated whatever just happened took place at nearly the opposite end of the continent.

"What the hell was that?!" Avery finally screamed aloud after the silence.

"Whatever it was, it was full of weird energy. Avery, take a quick break, I'm gonna see if anyone is hurt."

"No, I'm coming too."

Though it perplexed Avery how casually his master addressed the sight and situation, he wasn't given much time to think about it. They both dropped their tools and left his shipyard in a rush, running across the expansive city of Lugnvar. They checked in individually with hundreds of people before being able to determine that there was no lasting damage done, only minor building damages and the occasional person who was tripped.

Just to make sure, Shitou performed one final survey of the city, jumping high into the air, and briefly leaving Avery on the ground. His apprentice watched as he stepped on the air, seemingly conjuring wisps of clouds beneath his feet as he jumped higher and higher. Once Shitou was up high enough, he looked over the city standing on a small cloud. Lugnvar itself was certainly fine, he watched as guards went about patrolling and civilians had already returned to going about their day. It seemed the shockwave wasn't able to damage anything at all, something that confused Shitou. He fell back down, landing on his feet from the tall drop without any relative issues.

"Alright, we're good."

He began walking back to his shipyard with Avery tailing him from behind. On their way back to his shipyard, Shitou plucked a long strand of gray hair from his head and tossed it on the ground. There were continuous streams or murmurs and whispers as they walked, the shockwave and sight in the sky, while not physically damaging, had certainly frightened most of the people living in the city.

"I'm gonna go check out whatever it is that happened. In the meantime, we'd oughta get back to work, no?" He spoke to his apprentice.

As they got back to work, Shitou's fallen strand of hair formed into a clone of himself. The clone then walked west, in the opposite direction of the actual Shitou and Avery.

"What do you think that was?"

Shitou hummed as he spoke, "Never seen anything like that before, but the sight of the sky... it is awfully accurate to an event which has been described in history books."

"Stop speaking to me in riddles, sir." Avery replied in a deadpan voice.

"What?! I'm just saying what I know! I can't recall what it was! It was like, I don't know, something about the sky tearing itself apart to welcome an astral visitor. You know the story of Sagi Mentirosa, don't you?"

"Yeah, the spear lady?" He questioned, turning his head.

"They described the sky to have possessed a similar appearance upon her arrival. Not to mention this same thing happened just a few years ago..."

Shitou paused to gauge his apprentice's reaction before asking, "Do you know about the Rainbow Gnomes?"