Chapter One: On war and portals
War. There is nothing like it. I'm not referring to your everyday, run of the mill, country on country skirmishing. I'm talking full on, nation destroying, culture erasing, and genocidal war. Now, one might infer from these few sentences that I, the writer, have a desire or some sort of sickening eagerness for war.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Allow me, dear reader, to introduce myself. To my friends and loved ones, I am known as Nasoro. To everyone else, I am known as Chronikografos, Letopisets, Cha'id, or Nendai-ki henja. *here the writing is unintelligible, as if the writer had suffered a sharp impact to the head.* Here I must beg my reader's forgiveness. My familiar has rather forcefully and painfully reminded me that you may not be literate in these languages.
In plain English, I am called Chronicler. Now, as I mentioned earlier, I have no great love for war…or even violence for that matter. There was a time when I reveled in the thrill of combat, the scent of blood, the rush of victory. But as I looked back at the countless broken bodies of my enemies and the innumerable corpse-strewn battlefields I have left behind, the rush disappeared. As I gazed upon the tearful widows, the orphaned children, and the young ones who would never see their sweethearts again because they met their ends at my hands and blades…..I felt hollow. It was then I realized something. The sensations that came with dealing death and destruction for the hell of it were fleeting and hollow at best. But when I fought to protect those I care for, I felt alive. I felt strong. I fought with a strength that I never knew I possessed. That, dear reader, is the path to true power. Fight to protect those people precious to you and you will never be truly defeated.
There is something else that has been troubling me. My brothers and I have been here at our home, Elysium for the past three years. After the frenetic activity of the preceding two hundred years, the rest is well appreciated. But as I watch my younger brothers interact with their wives and lovers, I feel a faint pain in my chest. It has been two hundred and thirty-two years to the day since I last saw Kaya. The only girl I ever truly gave my heart to. Hm, girl…no, she's a full grown woman by now. At this point, the reader may ask, "But Nasoro, it's been so long! How can you be sure she loves you still….or is even alive?"
Well my dear reader, my answer is twofold. First, I know she is still alive because just before we were separated, I fashioned a pair of silver and ruby amulets for the both of us. If one of us were to die, the rubies on the other amulet would shatter and the amulet would immediately teleport the wearer to the other's location. And as for whether or not she still loves me well, let us just say that if you knew her, you wouldn't ask that question. Gods above, with every word I write my heart yearns more and more to at least see her, even if only for a moment.
*here the quality of the penmanship drops slightly as if the writer suddenly started writing excitedly and with great speed*
My dearest reader, I have made a decision. Tomorrow, my familiar Dolor and I will set out on a journey to find her. It may take years, decades even. But we will not return until we find her. If Dolor does not wish to come, I will not force him. But I will find her... even if I have to do it alone. Of course, I don't think my brothers and their loved ones will be too enthusiastic about my idea…
Nasoro set down his pen and stretched, wincing as his joints popped. "By the Wolf Lord's right testicle, it's about time." said a sarcastic voice from behind him. Nasoro grinned and turned to face the speaker. "I wasn't aware you were acquainted with your patriarch's privates, Dolor." The speaker in question, Dolor, was a MASSIVE wolf that peaked six feet at the shoulder and was just over nine feet in length, with a musculature that would shame a draft horse. His coat was steel grey and his piercing gold eyes matched those of his master. In reply to Nasoro, Dolor twitched the corners of his mouth up in a wolfish grin. "Don't try to project your sick fantasies onto me you queer." Nasoro laughed and lightly bonked his lupine friend on top of his snout. "Relax Dolor; I know you're not gay. Just like I know that the females in your clan are tearing each other to pieces to get you." Dolor shuddered in reponse, "Urgh, Don't remind me. Most of them aren't even that appealing."
"I know your pain old friend." Nasoro replied, recalling the literally countless times he himself had been hit on solely because of his looks. Dolor chuckled, "And most of them weren't taking no for an answer." he said. Nasoro groaned, "Women, our scourge and our delight." "Amen." intoned Dolor. "However, I feel obligated at this point in time to direct your attention to your bedroom clock and note that it is time for dinner." Nasoro chuckled, "Always got food on the mind, eh?" Dolor huffed in response. "Oh hush, Charity cooks like angel, and you love her food just as much as I do!" His master grinned, "That I do old friend. Head down to dining hall, I'll be along shortly." Dolor turned and said over his shoulder, "Alright but hurry, you know your brothers and their lover's appetites." There was a faint gust of wind and Dolor teleported away.
Nasoro quickly headed over to his bathroom and took care of his business, pausing while washing his hands to study himself in the mirror. His reflection was that of a tall, mid-twenties man with a perfectly chiseled body, raven colored hair, lightly tanned skin and soft golden eyes that could twinkle with merriment, or harden into chips of metal when angry. Leaning back he thought to himself, "That there is a damn handsome man." Pausing to turn out the light by snapping his fingers, he took a deep breath, thought "I hope they don't take my plan poorly.", and vanished in a flash of red light.
The responses from Nasoro's brothers and their wives were varied, to say the least. The women's response was generally along the lines of: "Naso has a girlfriend?!" "Honey, you'll help him find her won't you?" (The latter was usually accompanied by the puppy-dog eyes) and "And of course my husband will help you find her…WON'T YOU DEAR?" The last three words were uttered in a tone that promised extreme pain and suffering should the man in question even think about saying no.
The response from Nasoro's brothers was….somewhat less restrained. Solon almost choked to death on his wine, Tacitus nearly fell out of his chair and Shirohet actually did. Lumes spat his wine out in plume of fire and Sakti, who was walking to the table, tripped and fell flat on his face. The most surprising reaction came from Theristi….or rather his complete and utter lack of one.
Nasoro looked Theristi dead in his violet eyes. "Something wrong little brother?" Theristi glanced around the table before replying. "Nasoro, my dearest big brother, I think I speak for everyone at this table when I say that we would follow you into hell and back…and back into hell again." He looked around the table meeting the gazes of his brothers. "Am I right?" Receiving nods from all, Thersti turned back to his oldest brother. "But this…well what I'm trying to say is….do you really truly want to find her Nasoro?" Nasoro's golden eyes flashed briefly and everyone in the room gave Theristi an incredulous look. "Of course I do. Why would I not want to find her?" Theristi met his brother's searing gaze and replied, "I never said you didn't want to find her..." The violet eyed reaper paused and took a deep breath,"…but you may not like what you find."
Instantly the temperature of the room dropped and frost coated the glasses. There was a loud splintering sound as the heavy oak arm of Nasoro's chair was crushed in his hand. "And what, dear brother, could you mean by that?" Theristi calmly met his brother's furious gaze. "You know damn well what I mean." "No, I'm afraid I don't Theris. Why don't you enlighten me?" Solon stood and moved between them and faced Nasoro. "Come now Naso, I'm sure Theris wasn't questioning Kaya's faithfulness, right Theris?" Theristi sighed and sat back. "No, no I didn't." With that, the temperature in the room returned to normal and fury in Nasoro's eyes faded and he suddenly seemed incredibly weary. "I'm sorry Theris, I didn't mean to get angry, I just... I think I'm going to turn in now. Good night to you all." And with that, he disappeared in swirl of mist.
Theristi sighed and walked out of the dining hall. Normally, He would have just teleported to his quarters but tonight he needed to be by himself. "Serana and the others will understand." He thought. "I've seen you do some foolish things little brother," sounded a voice behind him, "but that really takes the cake. I mean, what exactly were you thinking? You know that Kaya has been preying on Naso's mind for well on a decade now, so what in all the hells that exist would possess you to say something like that?" Theristi turned to face the speaker, registering the platinum hair and ice-blue eyes of his second oldest brother Solon. "I know she has Sol, and that's why I brought it up." he replied. "I know as well as you do just how much he misses her and no one wants to see them together more than me. But what happens, Sol, if she has betrayed him, eh? Cast him aside for another man? What happens then?" "I'm not trying to hurt our brother Sol; I'm trying to steel him for the worst betrayal he's ever suffered, if it happens."
Solon smiled. "I figured as much. I'll pass the word to Lumes and the others so they don't try to kill you in your sleep." As the white-haired warrior turned to leave, he paused and said, "Oh, and before I forget, how is the new portal system coming along?" "Better than I could've hoped," replied Theristi with a grin, "Barring any unforeseen accidents, I'm planning to open an experimental portal tomorrow. If all goes well, we might just have a one hundred percent safe method of traveling through the Aeya within the year." Solon chuckled and shook his head. "You never cease to amaze me little brother. Nasoro's been struggling for well over a century to make travel through the Aeya safe, and you come along and solve the problem in little under three years." Theristi grinned scratched the back of his head in an embarassed manner. "Thanks Sol but don't tell Naso just yet. He might just vaporize me on the spot!" "Ahh relax Theris, he won't do anything quite as drastic as that." replied Solon with a grin. "You know that he always stops just short of killing you." "…Right. Huge comfort. I feel better already." Threristi said sarcastically. "Eh, get that portal working and his mood will brighten, you'll see." Solon quipped with a smile. Then his face grew serious, "I do expect you to apologize to big brother though. Your comments, while true, weren't exactly necessary." Theresti sighed. "I know…and I will. But I'm still worried of what will happen to Naso if she really has left him." "We all are little brother, but even so, we're going to do everything in our power to help him find her." replied Solon." And in the unlikely event that she's betrayed him, we'll be there for him…just as he was always there for all of us."
The man in question was sitting on the railing his bedroom balcony. It was well into the wee hours of the morning but Nasoro just couldn't sleep. He looked at the amulet he held in his hand. It was forged from the purest silver and shaped into the form of a nine-tailed kitsune with a pair of softly glowing rubies for eyes and a third ruby in its chest. As dawn steadily drew nearer, he donned the amulet and gently pressed it to his lips before tucking it underneath his shirt. Nasoro looked at the rising sun, his eyes easily compensating for the light and smiled. "Today is the day. I'm coming Kaya and I promise that when I find you, I will not lose you. Not again."
Dolor huffed in irritation he pawed at Nasoro's door. "Will you hurry up?!" he barked. "For someone who's setting off on a journey to find his long-lost lover, you sure are taking your sweet time." Nasoro opened the door and stepped into the hallway. He was clad in a black short-sleeved shirt and cargo pants over which was a dark red trench coat that bore a rampant black kitsune across the back and shoulders. On his feet Nasoro was wearing a pair of rugged, steel-toed combat boots with darkened steel plates protecting his shins. Around his neck was the ever-present kitsune amulet while his hands were protected by a pair of toughened, fingerless, wyrm-hide gloves that reached halfway up his forearms and bore blackened metal plates across the knuckles and forearms. Slung across Nasoro's shoulders was his trusty backpack, small and form-fitting, it allowed for freedom of movement while acting as a small dimensional portal, enabling Nasoro to store anything inside from a sword to a small car. Nasoro smiled. "We just have a few things to take care of and then we're gone." he said.
Nasoro and Dolor arrived at the main hall to find it completely empty. "Where is everyone?" wondered Nasoro. An almighty explosion shook the hall. "There's your answer." Dolor grumbled. The pair sprinted towards the towering spire at the center of the family compound. The tall structure housed the massive library and recreational facilities, as well Theristi's laboratory on the ground floor. Nasoro and Dolor burst in through door and ran up the immense spiral staircase…or at least Dolor did. Nasoro released one of the seals that held his full power in check and a pair of immense wings exploded from his back in a shower of black and dark red feathers. With a single powerful sweep, Nasoro propelled himself up several stories and rocketed up to the top floor, neatly landing in front of a set of heavy double doors. Dolor was mere seconds behind, despite having run the whole way up twenty-one stories worth of stairs.
Nasoro released another one of his seals which caused glowing golden lines to radiate outwards from his eyes. Dolor noted this and cocked his head. "Do you really think that will be necessary?" he asked. His golden-eyed master and friend grinned. "From the noise, it sounds like Shirohet, Tacitus, and Sakti…" a loud explosion shook the building, "…and Lumes are having themselves a little morning warm-up. One seal is almost too much for them but you can never be too sure." Dolor tensed as Nasoro reached for the handles of the door. "You ready old friend?" said the angel-winged warrior. "Pfft. Always." replied his lupine companion. As Nasoro laid his hands on the door, they suddenly exploded outwards, hurling the duo backwards through the air across the staircase and through a massive crystal window, sending them plummeting down towards the roof of Theristi's labrotory.
3 minutes earlier
Theristi was elated beyond words. He had heard the ruckus but ignored as it was most likely his brothers sparring. What had him in such a good mood was the fact that he and his lover Serana had managed to get a functioning Aeya Tunnel entrance open and stabilized. Giving his lover a victory kiss so passionate it left her grabbing a nearby table to keep her on two feet, he set about shutting the portal so that he could try opening another one, this time with an actual destination in mind rather than some completely random, unknown point he had chosen. As he began to close the portal, it started to act strangely, flickering open and closed like guttering candle. Just as he finally managed to get it stay closed; he happened to glance up at the skylight that dominated the ceiling of his lab. He leaped back, tackling Serana out from underneath the skylight as two figures smashed though it with incredible force. Time seemed to slow even though what happened lasted mere seconds.
The portal gave a last gasp, flickering into existence just long enough for Nasoro and Dolor to fall through it. The portal pulsed once then closed, snapping shut like the jaws of an immense beast that had just swallowed Theristi's oldest brother and his familiar. Theristi felt an icy chill settle in his stomach as he realized that his oldest brother had just been sent to another dimension. While this was actually a rather common occurrence among Theristi and his brothers, that was not what was bothering him. There are, at any given time, millions upon millions of separate dimensions and realities. Nasoro had just been sent to one of these at random with no way of locating him. As all of this sunk in, only one thought crossed Theristi's mind: "Well…shit."
To be continued…
Hey guys, wassup? I know there is not a single mention of Naruto and a bunch of new, unfamiliar characters flung at you guys all in the first chapter but bear with me! All will be explained in the chapters to come. As always, constructive criticism is much appreciated. :)
PS: I don't own Naruto.