The Wandering Hero:The Wings of Deceit

Prologue- The General

       The night was dark and warm with the only source of light coming from torches and the moon. The sun had retired for the time being and the moon took its place to watch over the world. They worked in perfect harmony to give light to those who lived on the planet. The day was long and hard fought. As my army of a measly five hundred went against an army of ten thousand. The odds were against us but by using unorthodox strategies we were able to reduce their numbers by half. The fighting was fierce and lasted for hours. If the sun had not set when it did, we would still be fighting and my men would have lost their lives. During the battle I lost half of my men. They all died honorable deaths and my brother; the leader of our enemy gave us the opportunity to give them proper burials. I knew he was doing the same to the men he lost which, resulted in our current stalemate. However, my brother was not one to let an opportunity to escape him. He had sent a messenger to deliver the terms of my surrender. He would let my soldiers live if myself and the leaders of the five different clans that followed me gave up our lives by the means of seppuku. It was an offer that I was inclined to refuse but I owed it to those who followed me the chance to choose for themselves. I called for a meeting in my tent which was located in the center of the camp. I sat by myself while the clan leaders came in slowly one at a time. I knew they were assisting with the burials of their clanmates. My brother in arms sat down next to me as they rest of the clan leaders followed in. They all looked at me with baited breath to hear what I wanted to say. When I told them the offer I gave them each time to think about their answer. It was my brother in arms who spoke first.

"General I cannot speak for the others. But I am fully committed to your cause to unify Japan. Look at what we have already accomplished with the five clans gathered here. We an army of a mere five hundred took on an army with more than double our troops. Sure, we lost half our men in the battle but so did the enemy. Regardless of the result of this war; we have shown the country of Japan how strong we are unified! Even the other clan leaders have banded together to put an end to us. So, I'm sure that your brother is able to see the same." He said. He was the leader of the Ritzu clan. They were the first to join me in my quest to unite the country. I looked in the faces of the other clan leaders and they each showed the same resolve as he did. I thanked each of them and we spent the rest of the night discussing our next move.

The sun began to rise as it did every morning to bring in the new day. My army and I was positioned on top of a hill overlooking the battle field. There were still signs of our battle on the ground from yesterday. I sent two of my fastest scouts to see if my brother had called for any reinforcements during the ceasefire. I knew the fighting would begin once he saw that we were not waving the white flag as instructed. Instead our flag wavers were waving the flag of the unified clans. On it was the symbol of the legendary dragon which was believed to have the many abilities. Many of my men were on horseback while, the rest kept their feet on the ground. We had plenty of horses for everyone but some felt their chances were higher on the ground. The sun had fully risen when I saw my brother's forces. My scouts has not return. I could tell that he gained reinforcements overnight. His forces now outnumbered mine five to one. The scouts returned and based on my second in commands face I could see that I was right. I looked into the eyes of the clan leaders who decided to follow me. They each had firm determination to see this through to end. I knew it was a matter of time before the men who followed us to hear of the odds. I was prepared to give them a speech when they all let out a fierce war cry. The very sound of which shook the ground we stood on. I chastised myself for allowing me a moment of self-doubt. The men who followed me were not men who just threw their lives away for someone they didn't know. I looked forward towards the future ahead of us and I urged my men forward.

The battle was fierce. I had my men in arrow formation with hopes that we would be able to pierce through to where my brother commanded. My brother was a man who loved the call of battle as much as the next samurai. However, once he gained the nickname Kuro the manslayer the thrill of battle seemed to leave him. He no longer wished to be on the frontline in times of war but rather enjoyed sitting back while others carried out his orders. I knew if we could kill him then the army would fall apart. We were making progress slowly surely, but it wasn't enough. Once we had gotten in deep enough my brother ordered his men to surround my own. I knew he would deploy such a tactic and I was prepared for it. We made a circle and as one combined group we ran around in a circle with our swords out. We became a human wheel cutting at anything that got near. My brother's men became wary of it and gave us a wide berth. We were still surrounded but for the time being we were able to relax somewhat. I knew we were cornered with no way out. Many of my men lost their lives their lifeless bodies laid on the ground. Those who could still fight encircled me in a protective circle. It was then that I heard it. The faint whistling sound of an arrow flying through the air. The first arrow pierced a man to my right. I watched him fall to the ground; the arrow protruding out from his head. I heard more arrows and watched as slowly the men who formed a protective barrier around fell one by one. With each death, I could feel something stir inside me. The rain of arrows ceased leaving me and my second in command standing side by side. He turned to say something to me but I couldn't hear what it was. When he turned, I saw that he had several arrows in him. Arrows that would've; should've killed me. I caught him as he fell and held him close to hear what it was he was saying.

"I am proud to be called yourfriend." With that his lifeless body moved no more. It was then at that momentI snapped. Without rhyme or reason, I charged the opposing forces head on. Iheard the arrows flying through the wind and managed to cut many of them downfrom the sky. Two managed to pierce my thighs but I kept on. I was immune tothe pain. The pain that was caused from losing too many people I cared about. Icut down everything in my path. Regardless of man or beast I cut it downspilling its life's blood on the ground. I felt someone's spear stab me in theback. I cut the spear in half and used the other half to impale him. Two arrowsfound their way into my back forcing me to stumble. I held my ground andcontinued to push on. I had become a killing machine; slaughtering everythingin my path. Soon I was alone on the battlefield. The rest of my brother's armyhad retreated from me and regroup at the main camp a few hundred yards fromwhere I stood. I could feel a strange power build up inside me. I sheathed thesword of my ancestors and focused on the power within. While doing so I couldfeel the presence of everything around me. I could hear the heartbeats of mybrother's army, I could see the wind build up around me, I could sense thepresence of an onlooker whose aura felt out of place, and I could feel a singlearrow that would cost me my life. As the arrow was released; I released theenergy had been focusing and directed it towards my brother's army. When Iopened my eyes the only thing I saw was a blinding white light.