The Beginning
Great, I'm awake now. Well atleast it's my birthday today. My big eighteen, today is the day that I go the shrine to awaken my powers that are hidden dormant inside of me. After that I get to go and meet my master, I think his name is Master Koota, I can't remember for sure but we will see. He is apparently a good teach but old, he had taught my father who is now the leader of the Shadows Ops. He had just received the title a month or so ago. Being the leader however means that he has no time what-so-ever to spare to come and see me get my powers released, it is quite disappointing I guess. I am really hoping to be like him when I grow more, he is powerful, smart and able to stay calm in some to the most hectic situations, me I tend to get a little to excited and sometimes do things I shouldn't do.
"Saiko, Saiko are you awake?" Came a noise that is so annoying I would rather rip my ears out. My sister Kaci...
"Go away! I'm trying to sleep or are you blind!" I retorted.
"Fine by me but just so you know its one in the after noon and you have to be at the shrine by four if you want the ceremony to go smoothly." She said with her self satisfactory tone that annoyed me the most about her.
"What!!!" I cried
"Yes, you need to hurry and get ready if you want to be there in time". She said, once again the righteous tone.
"Well the get out! I need to get dressed!" Hmm...Silence she must have left already. Ever since she got her powers released two years ago she has been a lot more like the elemental that chose her to wield her element, the Wind, she is able to move from place to place with no noise at all or can move and let everyone in the world know that she is on the move. She had joined the Shadow Ops about a month after her release and within a year she was promoted to Captain and formed her own squad.
Well time to open my eyes...GAH!!! My room looked as it always did, lightly lit and the air was cool and humid, that what I get for living in the basement I guess. It suited my needs though. In the far left corner was my training gear with my training dummies, some laying in ruins from excessive use. To the right of it was the door leading to my bathroom. Against my wall was my closet and across from that was my dresser. The closet I had placed a lock that only opened to my voice and finger print, in it I held all things that a teenage boy doesn't want his family knowing he has. I kept all my clothes in my dresser. Then there was my bed, a large one at that, and so soft it felt like a giant cloud. In the middle of my room, where I practice my weapon training was a giant rug that was covered in blood and sweat, the smell was noticeable but you got used to it sooner or later.
I jumped out of my bed to notice that there was a box laying in front of my bed.
"It must be a present." I thought to my self going towards it. When I got to it I opened it up. To my amazement, it was a brand new Battle Suit. My old one was torn to pieces because of my training. I pulled it out to be even more amazed by it. The pants were covered in pockets for man different uses, the rest of the pants were pure white, and it looked like they glowed in the dark. The shirt that was cut off at the shoulders was pure white and had the same glowing look as the pants. The overcoat, as black as the night, had long sleeves lined with pockets for medical supplies and what ever else you could use them for. It buttoned down the waist and had a long back end that went down to my fee. It also had an extended collar to hide the bottom of my face.
"The suit is AWESOME!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.
"You should hurry up and put it on then, you only have a couple of hours to get there." A very calm voice said behind me.
When I turned around I saw that it was my mother. She was dressed in a long blue dress that has designs that looked like waves from an ocean on it. Her hair was tied back into a long braid; her hair was dirty blond, with more blond than brown to it. Her eyes, that once were bright blue apparently, were now a dark blue. That symbolized that she had given her powers up. No one knows why she did it, not even father.
"Jeez mother, I didn't even hear you come in here."
"Well you were pretty infatuated with that suit." She said bring a smile to her face, which made her drop like 10 years on her face. "I had thought that you had finally met a girl for once ha-ha." She said laughing with a playful tone.
"Thanks a lot mother you're the best! But, I won't be able to get dressed if you're in here making fun of me."
"Fine, fine just hurry up."
When she had left I stripped down and started to put the pants on.
"Wow these things are huge, I have room to grow still I guess." I put the undershirt on after I was finished with the pants. It was so light that if felt like another layer of skin. I reached for the overcoat and noticed that it was quite heavy, a lot heavier then I thought it would be. It must have been lined with metal for protection. "I could always get a new one, but I will use this for the ceremony today." It also came with a pair of boots that were as black as the overcoat. After I put those on I headed downstairs.
Once I got down there, I saw that mother and Kaci were both down there waiting for me. Kaci was in her usual Battle Suit, a dark green skin tight uniform that complimented her womanly curves. It also had whirling designs on it, same as my mothers, but looked more like wind than waves. Her overcoat that she kept unbuttoned was just like mine, but the same color as her uniform. On the collar of the coat, there was a pin that gave proof that she was apart of the Shadow Ops. And another proving that she was a captain of her own team. Around her neck was a black collar with an emerald hanging from a chain. It symbolized which team she was on. Everyone in her team had one, but the crystal was different, they all got one that went along with which element they had. Her hair was pure blond and was tied back much like mothers. Her eyes were a bright green, almost luminescent green.
"I have a note for you Saiko, it's from father." She said with a look of disappointment.
"Let me guess, he isn't going to make it is he." I asked taking the note from her. She did not reply.
'Dear Saiko, I'm glad it's your birthday today, I'm also sorry that I wont be able to make it to the ceremony, but we have been losing men by the day and I must stay and protect the town. I will be home as soon as I can to congratulate you.'
Your one and only Father.
"Heh, figured it would say something like that." I said with a tone I didn't even know I had.
"Its ok sweetie, you need to know that he is very busy right now, and has no time for anyone right now." Mother said with a frown that increased her age by 10 years.
"Then who is going to present me to the elder? Are you mother?"
"No, I will be." Kaci piped up.
"Why not you mother?" I asked ignoring her.
"You know why, I gave my powers up, they wont let me in their."
"Oh yea that's right sorry."
"Its ok sweetie."
"We should start going." Kaci said. "You only have a couple ours to get there. Oh and Saiko, try not to mess up, I don't want to be embarrassed." She said with an air of superiority.
"Don't get too full of yourself, who's the one who tripped on her dress just before being presented to the elder ha-ha." I said staring right at her.
"Whatever lets just get this over with."
"Sweet, well I will see you later mother, and tell father it's ok he missed it if he gets here first."
"I will hun, good luck." She said waving at us with a smile as we walked out of the house.
When we got outside, I had a strange feeling that I should turn back and stay away from the Shrine. I thought it must have just been my nerves and pushed it out of my mind.
We lived a good walk away from the village. Our road lead to a four way crossroad. If you went north, you would find yourself at the peak of a hill overlooking the lake. It was called Lake Simeoh. It meant 'The door to Heaven or Hell'. The elders said that once when a man was possessed by a dark spirit when he had his powers released had walked into the lake. There was a blinding flash and he never came out again. However, a different man came out and started to wreak havoc on the town. The Ops at the time fought with him and took him down after receiving many casualties. When I was younger I had asked father about it and he had told me to never dwell into the water on the dark end of the lake, people had claimed they seen the man from before wandering around the edge of the lake. He then told me to never ask again.
If you were to go south you would start towards the boarder of our nation, El-Eal, and The Koolok Empire. In the early past we went to war with their country and had won, but the land where we lived was savagely torn to pieces, you can still see some of the aftermath along the field. There are large craters in the ground where there was magic being shot from once side to the other but colliding with other magic. The land was burned and looked like the vegetation would never grow back. The trees that stood were only burnt and crumbling branches. There used to be a family there that tried to protect their lands from both countries because if one country got a hold of the border then the other would suffer in the war, so this family tried to protect it. They were an incredibly strong family that had a power that matured through age and when their powers would be released, they would obtain their families power, the Sanjo. It meant the "Wolf's Eye", it was a astounding power that allowed the user to increase their speed and power. It also gave them the power to control one of the strongest elements, Moon. They were called the Sanjoini family, meaning "Following". To defeat them, El-Eal hired the Kuichini family, meaning "Rising", and had them use their power, which was similar to the Sanjoini families' powers. The Sanjoini had no energy to fight them so they fled the border and were never seen again. The Kuichini family now lives in the center of El-Eal in the capital called Mizu, meaning "Center".
Straight ahead to the east was the mountain range called Mt. Shu. The elders believe that it has stood since the creation of time itself and is the birth and revival of our dormant powers. On the top of the mountain was the Shrine of Shu, meaning "Shrine of Hidden Power". That was our destination. Normally we would have to scale the mountain and would have had to leave two weeks ago due to the hieght and rough terrain of the moutain. Not to mention some of the demi demons that decided to use the place as their home. They now created a portal using the power of the mountain itself to send you up to the shrine. It however only works if you are of proper age or had your powers released already.
The trip would take about a three hour walk, but me and my sister have trained for long distance running since kids so it should only take us a hour or so.
"Well lets get going." I announced.
"Right." Kaci agreed and took the lead.
As we ran i looked into the sky and felt that everything around me was going to change and become unrecognizable. It also felt like I would not like some of the changes.
After about a half hour of running we entered the shadow of the mountain and was very welcoming. It was a very hot day out and I need the cool embrace of the shadows. I looked ahead and seen that we were only about twenty minutes away from the base of the mountain and it would be another five at the least to get to the platform. From the mountain path that came from the other side of the mountain came a carravan moving towards the village
"I wonder if they are going to our village to trade goods?" I asked throught gasps for air.
"No, if they were there would be a team of Ops with them to protect them from demi demons or marauders." she said with no difficulty.
"Well shouldnt we see if they need any help?" I asked.
"Lets just hurry and not worry about them, if they are going to cause trouble im sure the Ops stationed at the town can handle them."
"Ok thats fine then."
We kept running after that and in twenty minutes we got to the foot of the mountain. We stopped and sat against one of the boulders that must have fallen a long time ago. The air got a lot colder which was very comforting to my sweaty skin and burning lungs. I glanced at Kaci, she looked like she had just sat around all day and did not just do a full hour of running. I looked out towards the town and seen the carravan moving slowly towards the town. I sat there and watched it almost zoning out.
"Are you sure your ready for this Saiko?" Kaci asked said sounding a little worried, which was surprising.
"Yea i'm sure, why do you ask?"
"Well once your powers are released, you will be placed into a platoon and will be working non-stop. You wont have any time to yourself unless you are injured in battle." she said.
"I wouldnt be doing this if I didnt know what i was getting myself into." I retorted.
"Fine, sorry for trying to care."
"I didnt mean it like that, jezz."
"Lets get this over with." Kaci said standing up.
"Kay." I stood up after her still watching the caravan. It finally reached the village.
We started walking up the path in silence. I was too excited to care about it though. Soon my powers would be released and I would be able to stand on equal terms with Kaci. Ever since she got hers released she has rubbed it in my face.
