Soul Fraction

Prologue: Royal Capital

An army of fighters marched silently onto the grounds of the Royal Capital's Grand Village. A cluster of wolf and bearskin cowls laid draped around the backs of the Maki and Hojo clansmen. Filled with murderous intent, they scurried along the massive logs that created the circular wooden wall encasing the city. The soldiers had approached from the south side, and then split in half to cover the distance of the mile-wide city equally. Each regiment began moving along the east and west sides of the wall until they could reconvene at the north side entrance. The only obstacles they had to overcome were the watchtowers. In total, there were two soldiers in each of the twelve towers, which circled the city like the face of a clock.

Surrounding the capital within the tops of the trees in the lush green forest sat the best archers from the tribes; two sat perched in each tree, waiting for the signal. The sun was beginning to set, which meant most families and citizens would be inside having dinner; it was the perfect time to strike. It had been a quiet few months, meaning less Imperial guards were stationed throughout the city in this era of peace. With the combined force of the clans, they would be able to outnumber the Imperial forces with ease before reinforcements could arrive.

Amongst the silence, an obnoxiously loud clicking noise filled the forest like a dozen woodpeckers all trying to make a nest at once. The bowman perched in their trees took aim, lining up their shots. The woodpeckers sounded off once more. Immediately, two arrows launched from each of the twelve trees. Simultaneously, each guard dropped to the floor of their respective towers as arrows pierced their necks, except for one.

She had only been struck in the arm. Without hesitation, she bolted to the alarm. She gripped the knotted rope and clanked the bell as many times as she could. The ringing echoed through the streets, bouncing off the houses and alerting the entire village. One by one, curious heads peaked out through their sliding doors. The woman ringing the bell was able to get off a total of five rings before a shadow appeared in front of her in the blink of an eye. The figure sat perched on the outer walkway railing of the tower; its body was cloaked in complete darkness with a white aura enveloping it. The figure dashed toward the woman, taking a swing at her with a glowing white chain. A matching glowing white kunai whipped out from behind the woman, slashing across her body and parrying the blow, but the force from the shadow's strike was enough to blow her out of the watchtower. She crashed down onto the bundle of crates thirty feet below that had been filled with grain. The boxes cracked open, spilling the grain over the muddy ground, but it had cushioned her fall enough for her to only obtain a few minor bruises. The woman laid atop the pile of grain and splintered wood trying to catch her breath, awaiting death from the black beast. However, the figure did not come; it vanished just as soon as it came.

Even though the bell had been rung and the guards alerted, the Raiders moved into the city. Dozens of them were able to sneak around through the houses before the Imperial Army made their way to the front gate to engage the onslaught of Raiders. Glowing white blades lit up on both sides as the two mosh pits clashed together. Those that had snuck by split up around the city, ducking around the corners of the hundreds of lookalike houses. Using a flint and steel, sparks set the wooden homes ablaze... some with families still inside.

In a matter of minutes, the entire city lit up as if the sun was still shining. Smoke billowed from the streets into the darkening sky. Screams echoed through the forest of the Grand Village as its citizens fled. The fire chipped away at the cedar colored shingles. Roofs collapsed in on the shops the villagers had worked so hard to start up. Raiders from the two clans began ransacking the village. They smacked fleeing villagers over the head but tried to avoid killing them. Higher ranking Imperial forces and the three generals had been dispatched throughout the city to assist in repelling the attackers.