Part One

Creana

My Brother and my Sisters:

We face a grave and imminent danger.

Those who hate us seek to destroy us.

We do not know when the attack will come,

or from which part of the universe, or what powers will be used against us.

We know only that a new power is being prepared for our destruction.

How are we to defend ourselves against unknown danger?

With Vigilance. With Wisdom. With Sacrifice.

Chapter One

Sunrise

Kamura Nira woke earlier than usual, long before dawn, and lay in the darkness of her room thinking about the day ahead. It was summer, with less than a week to go before the longest day of the year. In school, it was the day of the Final Exam. And it with her 15th birthday.

Unable to sleep, she rose and dressed soundlessly so as not to wake her parents, and went out into the silent street. By the dim light of the stars she made his way to the steps that zigzagged up the steep hillside, and began to climb. As she did so she watched the eastern sky, and saw there the first pale golden-silver gleams on the horizon that marked the coming dawn.

She had decided to watch the sun rise.

At the top of the steps the path flattened out and led into the stone flagged Akamura Square. To her right rose the great dark mass of the Akamura Clan, the Castle-monastery that dominated the island. To her left, the avenue of old storm-blasted evergreen trees that led to the overlook. She knew these trees well, they were her friends. She came to this place often, to be alone, and to look out over the boundless ocean to the very furthest edges of the world.

There was a metal railing at the far end of the avenue, to warn those who walked here to go no further. Beyond the railing the fell away, at first in a steep slope, and then in a sheer vertical cliff. Hundreds of feet below, past nesting birds, the waves broke against dark rocks. The was the most southerly face of the island. From here, there was nothing but sea and sky.

Nira stood by the railing and watched the light trickle into the sky, and shivered. The band of gold now glowing on the horizon seemed to promise change: a future in which everything would be different. With this dawn she was fifteen years old, a child no longer. Her real life, the life for which he had been waiting for so long, was about to begin.

The gold light was now turning red. All across the eastern sky the stars were fading into the light, as if it was never there in the first place. Feathery bands of cloud were rimmed with scarlet. Any moment now the sun itself would break the line of the horizon.

How can a new day begin like this, she thought, and nothing change?

Then there it was, a blazing crimson ball bursting the band of sea and sky, hurling beams of brilliance across the water. She looked away, dazzled, and saw the red light on the trunks of the evergreen trees, and on the high stone walls of the Castle. Her own hand too, held up before her, was bathed in the rays of the rising sun. Moving slowly, she raised both of her arms above her head, and opened her hands like a flower, met together in the middle. This was the Akamura salute.

Those who wished to become part of the Circle of Akamura entered the castle at the age of fifteen. Although all of the people living the the Anire were descended from the first Akamuras, as time went on people sought for power and only the chosen ones were allowed to learn the techniques of the Akamura Clan. Until then, you were a Kamura, and even if your parents were Akamura, you would still be a Kamura until you prove yourself as worthy.

She heard a soft sound behind her, and turned, startled. She saw a figure standing in the avenue. She flushed, and lowered her arms. Then she gave a respectful bow of his head, because the watcher was a Akamura.

"You're up early."

A women. Her voice sounded warm and friendly. Not all of the Akamura were conceited. The Elders had tried to keep the others from taking control, but Mutaro, their present ruler, was too powerful. Mutaro believed he was the Chosen One to save the clan.

"I wanted to see the dawn."

Nira was embarrassed that she had seen him making the salute to which he was not entitled; but she did not say anything. He bowed again, and headed down the avenue, now flooded by the brilliant light of the rising sun. As he passed the Akamura, she said, "It's not necessary to be unhappy."

She stopped dead, and turned back to look at the Akamura. Like all of the Akamura, she wore a hooded cloak that was light red with edges of purple. The hood shadowed her face but she sensed that the Akamura was half-smiling as she met her gaze.

"I am unhappy."

The Akamura went on gazing at her with her gentle smile.

"Who are you?"

She gave her full name, the name her parents had chosen for her, the name she hated.

"Kamura Nira Rina"

The hated name. She was named after the great Rina, yet she was only a Kamura.

"Ah, yes. The Book-keeper's daughter."

Her father was the island's only book-keeper, or librarian as you might call it. He was raising Nira to be a book-keeper like him.

"Your life is your own," said the Akamura. "If it's not the life you want, only you can change it."

Nira made her way slowly back to the steps, and down the steps home, her mind filled by the Akamura's words. All her life she had done what her father had asked of her. She had always been the top of her school in every subject. She mastered every technique they taught, although her father disliked it. She knew her father was proud of her. But she did not want to live her father's life.

Nira wanted to become a Akamura, and save the community from Mutaro's judgement.

Here's the first official chapter. Next chapter should be out by tomorrow. The font I'm typing in, Calligraph421 BT is cool and pretty but too bad Fanfictions doesn't show fonts... Also, you might see a HE or a HIM when its clearly referring to Nira. I'm sorry about that because I originally wrote this chapter with the main character as a boy but I changed my mind.

Disclaimer: I do not own ANYTHING in this story except for my own Characters.

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