The Seal of Shindoshi
Written by Azreal (aka Blight)
pippin_elf@yahoo.com
or
horde_king@yahoo.ca
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing does not belong to me, nor do the characters. Anything else (plot line, other characters, etc) are mine. Also, I am not very good at Japanese, so if there is anything here in Japanese that is totally off, please tell me so I can correct it. Also, this story contains yaoi/yuri, also known as "homosexuality." Oh yeah, and I have no idea what "Shindoshi" really means.
Warnings: Blatant Alternate Universe, swearing, OOC, supernatural, magic, war, etc. Other than that, not much. However, if you find this chapter offensive, do not read further.
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"The weight of this sad time we must obey,
Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say."
—Shakespeare's "King Lear"
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"The Magic is in me—the Magic is in me. It's in every one of us."
—The Secret Garden
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Prologue—Youma no Ouji (Prince of Demons)
The Prince of Demons sat in his private office, staring at the mirror before him. He was dressed in a silk green shirt that laced up the front and tight, black leather pants with equally black boots and a pair of black gloves. He had unruly dark brown hair, and cold, unexpressive cobalt blue eyes. His skin was lightly tanned, and he had a large tattoo of a snake crawling up his arm. His desk was made of stone, as well as all the shelves in the room. Books of all sizes, colours and subjects lined the shelves, along with many ancient, magical artifacts. The mirror he stared at was elegant, body-length, and made completely of silver, with symbols and runes carved all over it.
A light blue, transparent face floated within the glass, eyes closed as a strange mist curled and twisted around it. Hands folded primly before him, back straight, face blank and eyes unblinking, the Prince watched as the ghostly apparition before him opened it's glowing green eyes and looked at him.
"Master," it said in an echoing voice full of respect. "How may I serve you?"
"Tell me my future," the young Prince demanded, voice cold. The apparition frowned.
"Master, you know I cannot directly tell you your future," the mirror replied. The Prince frowned darkly, and his hands gripped the edge of the desk so hard that his knuckles turned white.
"You will tell me," he snarled, voice dripping with venom. The mirror sighed, almost forlornly.
"Very well, Master," it said, resigned. "But I cannot directly tell you. You must solves this riddle on your own."
The Prince nodded.
"Upon the eve of the blood red moons,
Find ye one of the Great God's runes,
Your people die from ten vile plagues
A challenge, whom sent by only vague,
The first Seal broken that must be set,
Shindoshi released, the immortals fret,
Journey forth from castle cold and hard,
To lands from near and from afar,
Gather the weapons ye need to use,
Your companions, four you must choose,
All the runes must come together,
And only then shalt ye rule forever,
With Conquest, Pestilence, Death and War
Without them ye shalt be no more
Find the Gods and seek their aid,
And from there shalt your world be made
Shindoshi comes at long last,
Yet still, the demons run as just as fast."
The apparition paused for a moment. "Master, that is all I can say," it finally said, lowering its eyes. "I am forbidden to speak any more." The Prince nodded, still frowning as he looked at his hands.
"'Ten vile plagues,'" he repeated, frowning. He looked up again. "A journey?" The mirror nodded, silent. The Prince sighed and waved his hand in dismissal. "Arigato. You may go now."
"Thank you, Master," the ghostly face in the mirror whispered, vanishing.
The Prince of Demons frowned as he stood from his chair and moved to the window, gazing out at his dark city of stone. A deep sigh escaped him.
"Seek the aid of the Gods," he mumbled, his eyes shifting from the city to the stars above, staring at the twin moons that looked like large eyes glaring at him from above.
Heero Yuy, Prince of Demons, stood in front of his window for the rest of the night, the odd nagging feeling that had been plaguing him all night growing worse by the second.
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Three days after Heero conversed with the ghost of the mirror, the twin moons rose blood red in the velvet black sky. The Prince of Demons watched in horror as the clouds parted to reveal the bloody globes, dark red blots against the night sky. His cobalt eyes were wide as he stared, unbelieving. For a long while he just stared, lost in thought and puzzling over what he had been told three days before. The moons had risen red, but he had not yet seen the 'rune of the Great Gods,' so he wasn't too worried. He was surprised, but not worried yet.
As he turned around, there was a burning pain in his hand. He screamed in surprise and pain, clutching his hand and hissing from the pain. Smoke began to curl up from his palm, between his fingers, as blood slowly dripped onto the floor. He growled, shaking his hand roughly as he sought to cool it off, eyes narrowed. Spinning on his heel, he turned and ran for the sink, dunking his hand into the cool water and sighing as the pain slowly abided.
Growling to himself, he wondered just what had happened. He had cast no spell, nor had he touched anything of his magic. No ward had been placed in the middle of the room that he might have accidentally activated so what had happened?
Slowly, painfully, as though the water was pulling at his skin, Heero took his hand out of the liquid and turned it over. He gasped in shock at what was burned into the palm of his hand.
lyep
It was a blend of the symbols of Fung Wei, the God of Conquest of the Eastern Lands, Gideon, the God of War of the Southern Lands, Silas, the God of Pestilence of the West, and Eurynome, God of Death in the North. Heero stared in utter shock as his hand continued to smoke and his flesh bubbled slightly around the wound.
Fung Wei was one of the greatest Gods there was, and had much power. Highly respected and widely worshipped, the God of Conquest was know for avenging the wronged, and was also called the God of Justice and Honour. He was also known for being fickle in whose side he favoured during war. He would give victory to one side, and the next day would favour the other. Many believed that he was called upon by men on both sides, and so served justice to those on both sides who were wrong. He had no allegiance, and followed no one's orders.
Silas, as well as being known as the God of Pestilence, was also the God of Silence. He plagued the world with epidemics and curses, being the God who forced the humans to rise up. He murdered many with his diseases and scourges, and, simply put, hurried humans on their way to war. He caused unrest among them with the deaths of their families, caused many to die slow, painful deaths, adding more disease to the rest of the world, and silenced many with plagues that rotted the flesh before actual death.
Gideon was known as well as Fung Wei, as he was the God of War. On whims, he plotted against humanity and caused great massacres. He held no pity for humans, for his job was to 'thin the herd' and make the rest of the world clearer so that more children would be born. He usually waited until the last moment to start a war, when there were almost too many people to support the Earth. He waited for the unrest among human slaves to be strong enough to rise against their masters, and only then, when the humans were ready, did he send them to war.
Eurynome, the God of Death, was the most well-known Gods there was. It was told that no one escaped him—once they saw him, that was the last thing they would ever see. No one who met him lived, and so could not tell any what kind of God he was. Eurynome was the most feared, and yet one of the most called-upon Gods, for he was always being asked to kill someone, to cut the strings of their lifeline. It seemed, as tales tell, that Eurynome was never out of work.
Seeing the four symbols emblazoned together on the palm of his hand, Heero felt absolute terror wash over him. It was disrespectful to keep the runes of four great gods integrated together, as they were separate beings and deserved their own recognition. Surely they would strike him down for this…a thought occurred to him.
'The future predicted is coming true,' he thought, trembling slightly. 'The ten vile plagues come next, if what the mirror told me was true.'
Slowly, Heero turned away from the window. He had to wrap his hand so that his advisors would not see the runes upon his palm. If they did, he was sure they would call him a heretic, or a worshipper of the demon gods. He did not need his Kingdom to fall apart for something that happened to him which he did not understand. Sighing deeply, Heero slipped from the room and into the hall, not once looking behind him and out the window.
Had he looked, he would have seen the rivers and the castle's downspouts spilling forth water as thick and red as blood…
To be continued…
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