Aura of Creation and Destruction

Chapter 1

Beginnings that tell us nothing are greater reason to push forward. To look for the answer at a deeper level of consciousness.

Under a crashing waterfall, a lonely figure can be seen resting. The impact of the waves did not appear to phase him. In fact, he lies asleep, lost in his dream. The idea of a dream can be a vision, a sensation, an emotion or energy, or perhaps contact with an outside force. In this dream however, this dreamer felt he was on alert.

His name was Gaito. He stood at just over five foot, a crest perched on his head with the bright orange color of a partly cloudy seafaring sunrise. It swayed between locks of long, greenish hair, dancing in the breeze like a tribe around a totem. He stood facing an entity undefined to his sense of vision, but in his mind it was a shadow. The figure was dark, protruding dull spines all around itself, each one as equally dark as the last.

His figure was tense, fierce, readied a combat stance which looked to be that of a boxer. His hands glowed with lifeforce, body beating with vigor, and he felt his spirit was willing to put up a fight. The fighter knew his physical strengths. His hands were two fins, capable of shifting firmness between a rubber to a solid, impactful force. His legs were ample, wide, clothed in a white garb that was in fact a part of his own body. They appeared to be capable of delivering devastating kicks on demand and his upper body glowed where one's heart would rest at a translucent orange tinged centerpiece. He radiated a bright orange energy not from the inside of himself, but on the outside of his body as if he were trying to burn himself. This glow was strongest around his hands and legs, cut off at the joints. In his mind, he knew this power he wielded was something he could use only in this dream, and it let him get the edge on this dark, shadow mind.

With a flash of energy from his hands and a swift lunge, he lurched forward. Using his legs to move and head bent forward, kicking off the ground to gain more and more speed, he hurled himself headstrong towards the creature. He stuck his fin forward and shaped it into a fist. The resulting blow landed with a knuckle impact made to form. Having struck matter, he took his other hand and threw it as a right hook inward. At the same time, he was retracting the first blow with great enough force to suspend him in midair. His combat speed was incredible. Pummeling away blow by blow, the shadow mind caved in and retracted like gelatin with each slam from the fighter. However, the space above the punching powerhouse was left unguarded. He had not put his energy into protecting this spot. The shadow found this flaw easy to exploit. A hefty appendage slammed the fighter into the floor, sending him back into the earth below. The fight continued. For every blow the combatant struck, only one interruption was enough to throw off his rhythm. In other words, every faster fin-like reach was met with a stronger lash back from his foe. Gaito continued to pummel the shadow and time after time get punished for his action. The fighter was losing, yet he still continued to press into his opponent with the force of a willing warrior.

Outside of this dream, The waterfall continued to crash and pour down its waters. From a corner of the alcove above the falls a creature took notice of another presence. She appeared feminine, her body at first glace like that of a humanoid mink, but she had purple fur and dark lavender tufts of fluff on her wrist. She was of above average height. She wore a ponytail on her head which was tied back with a simple hairband to keep it from falling over her her elongated face. With a simple glance gazing down at the dreaming combatant, she lept down the waterfall with the grace of a ninja. To some, she would be called a meinshao, but she didn't care much for the term. She stood next to him, observing his daytime napping behavior.

She spoke. "Fighting the shadow again? You know that won't get you any closer to the aura you want." No reply.

Her thin tail crossed paths with the waves, at her command it splashed a bit of water onto the sleeping figure. The shao shifted to a more disciplined, scolding tone. "You're already well beyond playing with your mind. Wake up!"