This is my first published fic on , I'm proud to finally have one up after so many years of bouncing ideas through my head. It's a short ficlet about a nameless ninja who's on a spying mission to the East with a tribe of Brek'na. Always in Shounen, the big question is, who's the strongest and best. Blood Lines give an easy street to top dog, and can be frustrating when you see how one just is completely overpowering over the rest. Adding a little mystery to powers, toning down the powers, makes it difficult to see who'd estimate who's the best; and I think that's one of the biggest weaknesses of the Naruto-verse. Sharingan, Immortals, Insanity are all extremely hard to relate to, so I found I wanted to make an AU where the antagonists were a bit more human and less… ridiculous.

Thus, I invented (among other things), the power of the Skalds.

The Skalds

Ninja have many rules and laws that govern their physical and emotional actions in life. This particular story follows a nameless ninja of the night. A man from the Hidden Village of the Mist, Kirigakure no Sato. The ninja villages, one as far East as Kiragakura have long sought the power of their neighboring Brek'na Skald Poets, the reason being, not once in 200 years had a ninja village successfully invaded a Brek'na tribal village. It was a mystery laced in superstition and rumor, where did the strength of these Skalds came from? From the rare clash between ninja and Brek'na; it was uncommon that a team of ninja could escape unscathed or at all. They would bring home with them tales of Skalds whom became destructive mystical beasts, similar to those you would see in a frightful story of terror. Monsters that could unnerve even the most seasoned and hardened war veteran.

Each story was different, and while some ninja treated the stories as superstition, others trusted these rumors as fact. One rumor, which was widely known and traded amongst all people; the power of the Skalds was mysterious and terrible.

No matter the rumors, all the Ninja Countries that had contact with the Brek'na, respected, superficially at least, the gypsy-like people and their culture.

The Brek'na, pronounced Breyk'nah, and their Skalds were primarily located in the islands East and far North-East of the Elemental countries. Their contact to the ninja villages was minute and rare, as most of the Elemental Nations found it difficult to track the wandering tribes of Brek'Na. They settled from months to years at time, often as one outpost began to gain notoriety for trading; ninja and merchants would go searching for them, only to find the entire village uprooted and empty.

For the most part, the nomadic Brek'na tended to be peaceful. There were occasional pirating raids on sea villages, but as the years stretched on, few men and women of the Elemental Nations could recall the last time they had seen a Brek'na. And even these few attacks were considered tame in comparison to the mighty ninja wars that plagued the Elemental Nations. And thus few people bothered to actively look for the Brek'na.

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Our nameless ninja from Kiri was a quiet Chunnin, the lone diplomat sent to scout Volkned, the recently sprouted up village of Brek'na people, close to Kiri. Specializing in infiltration and diplomacy, his mission's cover was to initiate friendly talks with the mercantile people and attempt to ferret information out of the tribe members, mostly by talking to it's people and observing them. Learning more about their culture was key, and most vitally, any insight into the power of their Skalds. Jutsu information was key to any future invasions eastward. Kiri was always looking for easy lands to expand it's influence to.

The ninja sneered to himself he sat on his hard log, 'These savages'. Dressed in simple skins and traded clothing, 'I look forward to clearing out their vile trash for the glory of Kiri'. Even though he was a mere Chunnin, he could see the benefits of expanding Kiri's influence east. Slaves, potential land, trading for commerce were just a few of the prospective advantages. Not only that, the Brek'na were known pilots for ships and would therefore have excellent navigational charts, not to mention they could act as spies for Kiri till it became widely known or Kiri's conquest. A little bit of blackmail or threatening families went a long way in loosening tongues. Nefarious ideas whirled in his head, as he waited in the moonlight for the ceremony to begin.

Upon arriving at the Brek'na encampment, he had met with the chief of the village; a massive muscled man whose image shouted strength and power. After a short meeting, he presented the man with a few small gifts from Kiri; a steer and a finely crafted word and was told that he had arrived on a holy day and would have the opportunity to see their Skald praising their pagan gods in a ritual of summer solstice.

So that was how the ninja came to be sitting on the round piece of wood, slightly set aback from the tribe's circle of humanity. At the center of the circle was a large wooden bonfire, already lit and greedily eating up the night. The ninja now watched as two men wrapped and draped in all types of animal pelts as they began to chant in an ancient and foreign tongue in front of the flame.

Allowing his eyes to wander, the Kiri ninja could plainly see the members of the tribe in the bonfire's glow. He mentally picked out a busty brunette, whom was passing out water, marking her in his mind. Given the chance, he knew a few clever Genjutsu and would use them, bringing the woman to his bed later that night. At this point he was unsure of what the ceremony would entail, but was unconcerned. Grinning to himself, he was amazed at his own luck; first the chance to see Skald's in their element and beautiful women here were completely unaware of Genjutsu and its danger. Stealing the Skald's techniques was work, but, no one ever said he couldn't combine work with pleasure. A wicked grin spread across his face. He had been assured by his village intelligence that this particular tribe was a peaceful group, which, translated within his cruel mind, these fools were completely inept at combat and subterfuge.

'The only reason they have survived so long was because of their skill at running I'd wager. Cowards, the lot of them.'

Although, at the back of his mind the Kiri ninja knew this was likely only partially true, a tribe cannot live off the ocean without knowing some forms of combat. His smile faded into a calm stare, eyeing the Skald's again.

Still. It would be best to not be caught. Even if the opportunity presented itself; he would at least find out her name. Chuckling he mused, 'Just in case I run into her in the future. You never know when a slave will pop up on the auction block!' Facing the two men in animal skins, he examined them. Their obvious stature and the way they moved, commanded presence. Joheb, tall and skinny, and his cousin Sigvatr a short bearded beast, were the only two such holy men that had memorized and mastered the linguistic art of being a Skald. The Chief had explained they commanded great respect and served as advisors to him in a manner. This was the primary reason the Kiri ninja was here.

A Skald was not merely a holy person or a leader to the Brek'na, but a skilled worker that assisted with gathering food, combat, training and many aspects of a Brek'na's culture, unlike a mere scholar. This made them dangerous, and extremely difficult to subvert as their intelligence and status meant they likely had strong resolve. The ANBU intelligence they had on Skald's indicated that while the two Skalds in this village were men, the norm was mostly one woman and one man per tribe. One of the cousins, Joheb was a skilled scribe and had mastered, what roughly translated to, 'Words of Power', whatever that meant, the ninja did not know. Shifting his gaze to the other Skald up near the blaze, Sigvatr, this was the Skald with family. He knew his best chance to get information, jutsu or otherwise, would be to threaten that man's family in exchange for knowledge on their 'Words of Power'. Scrolls ideally, if not he would make do, scribing knowledge on the spot with his own provided scrolls. He'd just have to improvise. Both men provided council for the Chief, and would easily provide a fountain of information which he could report back to Kiri, assuming he could get them talking somehow.

This fact reminded him, he was here as a ninja, not here on a pleasure cruise to watch the simians. The ninja had come to learn of their power and steal any chakra secrets they had ascertained.

The two Skalds began their ritual. Standing face to face, slightly less than two arm lengths apart, the pair joined their hands and arms into a ring, just in beside the raging inferno near them. The thieving ninja leaned forward into a crouch in anticipation, intently examining Joheb's face from his angle.

An odd chakra began to envelope the clearing. It was a deep subtle power, but felt harmless, similar to a light genjutsu. The ninja felt himself relax, rolling off of his feet into a comfortable sitting position in front of the log. A part of his brain realized what was happening. Slowly, he brought his fingers together into a gentle tiger seal, he calmly channeled chakra through his body in an attempt to dispel the jutsu.

Nothing happened.

'Huh, I wonder what jutsu this is?'

He didn't like losing control of a situation. And worse yet, he wasn't sure of the purpose of the calming jutsu. He could feel his muscles begin to relax, but forced control on his body, trying his best to stay sharp and alert.

His concentration wandered.

Languidly looking left and right he could see the majority of the tribe had entered an almost comatose state, some of the men and women had taken to lying in the dirt and grass even asleep. He observed the busty brunette nearby as she was reclined on her back. Her breasts rising and falling slowly, watching the curves of her body. This had to be the oddest tribal ceremony he had ever heard of. He allowed himself to relax even more, 'No one seems alarmed, I guess I'll just go with the flow'.

He sighed. This was wonderful. No noise, just the peaceful night sky, and a sublime feeling to relax his soul. It was so quiet. So serene, he could hear the stars themselves, as if they could almost speak to him. He relaxed and time passed as he let himself become one with the silence

Birds. 'That's odd, where'd the sounds of the night go? Usually you at least hear some sort of birds. I can't even hear the ocean. How odd…' In the correct state of mind, the ninja would have realized he had fallen under the influence of a greater outside power. But in his current state he was completely susceptible and had a state of mind, weakened, to that of a small kitten. As time passed, the silence was slowly pierced by the growing voices of two men. The Skalds. They grew from the wind's whispers into a loud conversation.

"Brunnu beggja kinna.
bjǫrt ljós á mik drósar...."

The ninja's breathing was becoming labored, "Stop it!" he tried to shout. Those voices were penetrating the blissful quiet, hurting his ears and making his head ring painfully. But nothing would come out of his lungs. In fact, he could barely feel his own Chakra system anymore, but found it difficult to care. The voices were making his hands shake, and yet kept growing, into a howling boom.

"Oss hlœgir þat eigi,
eldhúss of við felldan."

"..."

The chanting slowed down and the two Skalds broke hands. Joheb, descending to his knees, continued the sinister chant while his burly cousin calmly walked up to the ninja, and brought himself face to face with him. "So now perhaps you begin to understand our 'Power over Words'. They are not like your Jutsu which controls the power of your own body. We Skald are poets that speak the tongue of the earth."

The ninja's throat was closing. His lungs began to burn in a suffocating ache.

Sigvatr slowly sat down directly in front of the man from Kiri. With his legs crossed, never breaking eye contact with the ninja they stared at each other. The ninja felt his heart in his ears, an unfamiliar feeling screaming through his chest. The mounting Terror ebbed in his tight clenching throat.

"Ninja often send 'diplomats' to us, ninja of different skills, hoping they can bring some small inkling of the power they think we wield and control." Breaking eye contact, the Skald stared intently at the grass around him and the earth it grew on. "People desire power and your masters have sent you here, in a misguided attempt, to steal our strength. They will try to dominate and control us, stealing what we have carved out for ourselves in an attempt to expand their tiny world just a fraction."

Sighing deeply, he looked back to the Kirigakura ninja, "You shall set an example for your masters." Sigvatr brought his head up to focus not on his eyes, but the ninja's forehead protector. Rubbing his right thumb across the engraved logo there, "Our power is one seeded in the Earth, that is why your pitiful jutsu did not allow you to break free. You must have sensed the immense power behind it; did you truly believe yourself greater than the power of the Land?" Eyeing the ninja in disgust, "We cannot bend the Land's will; we merely are instruments of its Intent. You think us pagans or brigands no doubt, but we are merely servants of the earth."

"It is a pity your life has been sacrificed by your masters for such a pitiful meaning. Do you feel betrayed by them? Did you honestly think your..." by now the eyes of the Skald were a raging inferno of fury, and he spat the next word," ...MASTERS were anything but using you?" Looking to the sky he mused, "If they have such disrespect for their own people, how would they respect us I wonder. I find it hard to pity you even a slight bit."

The Skald's head snapped back to the ninja. "So here we are, this is your final hour, your final minute, and shortly it will be your final second. Goodbye little ninja. You will not be missed."

With a quick movement, the Skald had broken the ninja from the Genjutsu cast upon him. Unfortunately for the ninja, the pain that broke him from the jutsu was a dagger strike across his jugular. As he gulped for breath, choking on his own life fluids, the Skald man embraced the ninja comfortably within his arms. With a swift jerk by the Skald, the ninja's neck had been effortlessly broken, allowing him to be returned to the Land.

The power of the Skald comes from the Chakra of the land, the moon, the trees, the oceans and all living things. But to use its power is to become it's will, a combination of man and nature; a hybrid that gives guidance and a small boon of power and knowledge. This is why no ninja spy network has ever infiltrated a Brek'na village, though not for the lack of trying. To become Brek'na is to give up a small piece of your humanity, to just a small piece of nature's beast.

By the morning two days later, the village was vanished from the island; the only evidence of its existence a fire pit and it's guardian, a nameless dead Kiri ninja.