Author's Notes: Holy crap. I just want to go on record and say that I've been getting ready for college and things have been pretty hectic. Now then, onwards, to the fic!
San三:The Education of Empire Building
Darkness.
He'd no idea when he'd arrive in this featureless void, only that whatever it was had taken the pain from excruciating to just bad. A steady pulse of aching, phantom agony throbbed in his back, curling to his shoulders and along the underside of his arms. Whatever had hit him had hurt and even this blissful emptiness couldn't rid him of such injury. A sigh slipped from tired lips, a gentle nudging shifting him in his motionless sprawl and he slowly moved higher into the...air? He wasn't sure there was any air, or sky, or ground. Just space. When whatever force had finally decided to slow, it was only lift him higher into the void before he sank into a murky view as his vision once more faded.
-\=/-
The alley had seen it's fair of weirdness over the years, but this was the first time it'd played host to such a queer event. Under the guiding gaze of its fluorescent lighting, a pin prick of darkness sprang forth. This alone was curious enough, a shadow appearing where there was nothing to give one off. Then slowly, it bloomed like a budding flower, spreading out like a lazy leak as it soon grew large enough to encompass almost the entirety of the light. Then, it bugled, gaining a third dimension as something rose from its center and was hauled into the world before finally depositing the load and shrinking once more out of sight.
Slowly, ever cautious of the weight in his aching limbs, Drew rose to his knees with an exhausted groan. Spots danced in his vision, darkness of the uncomforting sort creeping at the edge as he swayed rhythmically from side to side. He felt tired, more than that in fact and movement told a tale of tender flesh and sore muscles.
"Geez," the word came from a parched throat and burned hot against chapped lips "what hit me."
"An explosion." The young boy turned his head with fleeting vigor, strength so poor that even being startled expended far too much energy "The tag strapped to your back was inscribed with a failsafe that would activate upon the destruction of the trigger. As it were, it resulted in a conflagration of volatile Good Chi that quite nearly destroyed you utterly had I not intervened. I used a considerable amount of my energy to drag you into the Shadow Realm not a moment too soon as even second's delay would have seen to your demise."
Drew heard the words. His brain processed them with the slow grind of gears that banged and rattled with the grease of activity to fuel them. After what felt like hours, his mind finally finished assimilating the knowledge and boy let out a small whoosh of air in lieu of actual comment. This did not meant the meaning of such an event was lost on him. No, he knew how terrifyingly close he'd been to death but couldn't find energy to be horrified or alarmed. Seeing such, Kaito shifted in the shadow, giving the boy a knowing look.
"I realize you are weary from such an event. But, due to the nature of your Mark and it's incompleteness, you are still drifting being Humanity and Oni. The Shade returned much of you to sufficient condition, but there are things it cannot fix. At least, for one such as yourself. But you are well and in one piece, that is all that matters. Rest, young shade. We shall talk at a later date."
Drew didn't catch the last of those words as he'd already fallen face first onto the pavement, mind pulled back into the soothing abyss of sleep.
-\=/-
It was three days and more nights before he'd regained enough of his might to once more hold conscious thought and not stumble around like a newborn. Now, he only shambled around like a drunkard, body still unusually heavy and arms sore, the skin beneath raw pink with angry healing welts that begged to be relieved but punished with more burning should he give in to such demands. With a decidedly tired grunt, he fell to the floor of the attic of the old, Gothic-style house. He'd been too paranoid to go back to San Fran -Too many memories. His dad was probably having a fit right now, looking for him. But its not like he could go back. He was a freak now and freaks don't get to go home- so he had opted to another locale. Washington was wet, humid, and dour but at least it had plenty of empty neighborhoods to crash in.
"Are you well enough to talk?" Kaito appeared once more from his shadow, a look of expectancy and concern in the eyes
"Yeah." Drew wearily cracked his neck, the vertebrae popping in chorus as he grunted in mild discomfort "I'm good. So, what's on the agenda?"
"Well, now that you are no longer in the throes of being abducted or spontaneously exploding," Drew groaned; Kaito seemed to think he had a sense of humor. Unfortunately, it was of black sort. "I suppose I shall now thoroughly explain you situation."
He cleared his throat and Drew popped the top of canned apple juice -Really, you canned juice? Just weird.- and took a swig, content with the cool sweetness rushing down his throat.
"As I've said, my people are Inclusionists: To grow, we must bring in others and then convert them to our kind or at least our way of thinking. To do so, a ritual must be performed under strict conditions at the completion of which a new member is born. This is how you shall be birthed, young shade. However, before that happens, there are things I believe you should first know before your Inclusion."
"Like?" Drew knocked back the last of the drink, chucking behind him where a ninja deftly caught it and another drink landed in his outstretched palm
"You shall be the leader of our people. Or at the very least a key player in the happenings to follow. Therefore, it would be best if you learn the proper ways to successfully rule an empire. And I advise you to begin soon, young shade."
"But why me?" Drew slammed the can down with as much force as he could muster -which in his current state wasn't much- "Why am I so important?"
"Because you are young." Drew gave a blank look "The ritual that creates our kind does so by stripping them of their former selves and then shrouding them in a womb which is saturated in their own Chi. The process has a major risk, however: To even survive to the womb one must have enough Chi accessible to endure the stripping. Youngsters have a natural abundance of Chi from which to draw power. Adults almost always perish save an extraordinary few. Even our King was Included at the age of thirteen winters."
"So, cause I'm a kid, I've a pretty good shot at surviving this...whatever it is?" Drew hid his wince as spoke. The prospect of dying before even reaching the end didn't exactly enthrall him to the idea of committing such an act.
"Indeed." The shadow bobbed, as if to nod in agreement "Still, such a time is still some time away. For now, you need to seek aid in building your knowledge of how to run an empire."
"Hmm," Drew sat back, reclining carefully on his palm as he thought on the dilemma. How did you go about building an empire?
-\=/-
As it turns out, the internet had already answered the question multiple times already.
Sneaking into one of the public libraries and logging in with a 'borrowed' library card, Drew perused the various online sites for information. A few dozen sites later and had cobbled together a mostly coherent foundation. First things first: he needed a base from which to govern his assesses once he'd accumulated a few. Well, seeing as he was a ten-year-old in the United States with no contactable relatives -no way he was dragging his family into this mess- or other meaningful connections as to grant him some form of legality, buying anything officially was out of the question. Instead, he decided to put his guys to work renovating his current dwelling.
"It'll work for now." He explained to Kaito as he tip-toed to reach the top shelf with his duster "It kinda has to."
"Do not feel ashamed, young shade." The shadow moved their head, taking in the slow restoration of the house "I have lived in far worse accommodations. Why, once revived I daresay it has the potential to be a spectacular lodging."
With a base now in the works, he could work on step two: acquiring resources. Which is where he hit a snag. It wasn't for his lack of planning, oh no. He'd already laid out a fairly detailed plan involving his ninja sneaking into some homes and businesses and procuring things of value. Nothing big, mind you. Stealing a Plasma TV or some priceless jewel was not only cliché, but also begging to drawn the attention of the local law or even some underground kingpin -Shut up, it could happen.- As such, he made sure to keep his thievery to small stuff: wrist watches, china plates, video games, DVDs, etc. Inconsequential things that could be blamed on forgetfulness and easily replaced. Of course, due to the nature of the items he liberated plus the fact that he only had six guys to work with and keeping them out none stop wore him off after not long, Drew knew he wasn't becoming the next Rockefeller overnight. Plus, he felt as though the General would disapprove of his methods.
Surprisingly, he was wrong.
"I'm impressed, young shade." The shadow was all teeth now, the display unsettling the boy a bit "Indeed, most would lust after such ripe bounties despite the risk, attempting to amass a fortune in swift order. But such hastily executed actions lead to mistakes, which more often than not lead to ruin. Your decision to take only that which would is easily forgotten shows an apt diligence and patience as well as wisdom beyond your years."
Drew didn't really know what to say to that but accepted the praise nonetheless. As the nights and days grew on, he noticed with frustrated reluctance that the slow, methodic pace he'd set for himself didn't lend itself to rapid progress. They were nearing the third week of his Step Two and he'd only managed to restore most of his bedroom, some of the downstairs hall, part of the kitchen, a bit of the living room, and a corner of the bathroom. The good news, that corner included the toilet. Bad news, that didn't mean it worked. He didn't know all that much about indoor plumbing and his guys couldn't fix it because he didn't know how to fix it. In fact, the bathroom was only the first of many complications that arose when restoring the house: the wiring was faulty, the floorboards creaked, shuddered and occasionally snapped underfoot, and the ventilation was filled with god-only-knows how must rust, dust, mildew and dozens of creeping critters.
On the flip side, his nighttime snatches had been tapering off as he had worked his way through the closest neighborhoods and had now reached the limits of his range. To go forward required moving himself to the general vicinity but in doing so exposed him to any threat that might happen by while his ninja were busy with their rounds. True, he was pretty sure that it just his paranoia acting up -Completely justified since that Wong guy snatched him up out of the blue- but Kaito hadn't knocked him for it. Heck, he encouraged him to be more paranoid.
"Paranoia only applies when the enemy is not out to get you." He'd told him sagely
But the facts remained clear: He wasn't getting any further in his plans as things were now. Time for step 2 and a half: Acquire Allies.
-\=/-
The forests of the North were restless this night.
This was the thought that arrive unbidden in the small creature's head. He was dressed warmly, deep maroon turtleneck nestled beneath a wooly waist-coat of some indigenous game. He leaned back against his perch, high atop a towering pine that was sprinkled with moist dew turned icy against the chilly nocturne air. His hands wandered to his pockets, drawing out a simply craved wooden pipe. The craftsmanship was clearly amateur and the design crudely archaic but it brought a smile to his face regardless. Filling the bowl with his choice blend, he lit it was a harsh stroke of flint and then he drew a long drag and held it before releasing it into the night. His unoccupied hand slid over his pointed ears and cushioned his head against the rough bark.
It'd been over a century seen he'd been able to indulge in this particular vice. The Big Guy had been adamant about his workers maintaining a jubilant and innocent atmosphere, one that could not exist in the presence of any inappropriate habits. He frowned, thinking of how pointless he thought the rule seeing as their work got done regardless. It's not as if any of them didn't know the purpose of why they were there, of why they'd chosen to set shop there or the importance of their work. -Not that you weren't reminded every ten minutes as He personally made his rounds or by one of the many motivational posters plastered everywhere- He'd been happy those few decades, content to simply man his station and see to his task. However, that wore thin after awhile and soon he found himself requesting a more prominent, active role which is how he was put on security detail.
Yet, even the prestigious position of guarding one of the most cherished figures in the world hadn't been enough to stifle his disgruntlement. He'd hadn't truly felt pleasure in his job for quite some time. That is, until the Big Guy was kidnapped by the wrinkled, old croon. Being able to actually put his skills to use after just an extended period of inactivity had been...exhilarating. Even warping to the Chan residence and hastily assigning the sumo as a fill-in Santa had been eventful and a worthwhile distraction from the routine of an otherwise un-noteworthy Eve. It had been this event that had finally given him the drive he needed to finally turn in his resignation. The Big Guy was sad to see him go, but wished him safe travels and many more years.
Now, out here in the wilderness not unlike that which he'd grown up in, he finally gained some measure of satisfaction back in his otherwise dreary life. But still, even now, he felt as though there was something missing in his life. Some great, grand thing he was seeking yet had failed to find.
"Chief!" A voice screamed below and any further introspection dissipated as keen instincts took over.
He quickly slid from his perch, vaulting from branch to branch in an expert dash before landing a scant few feet away from a small, gangly teenaged elf in sparse robes wrapped in a heavy coat. Striding forward, the youth clamored to his side and quickly started rambling off the cause for his intrusion.
"We were in the square, fixing up the fire pit for later tonight, when all of a sudden these weird people looking things popped up from the shadows and -"
"Popped up from the shadows?" He halted, pinning the lad with a look "Was anyone else with them?"
'Yeah, some guy came from another shadow and said he wanted to speak with our leader and that's when I volunteered to come get you and-"
"Come on." His boots pounded against forest floor, leaves and pinecones crunching underneath "We shouldn't keep him waiting."
As they raced back to camp, he could feel the blood pounding in his ears, pulse beating steadily faster as he tried to organize his thoughts. Shadows meant darkness which meant Dark Wizard which meant that the entire clan could be at risk if they did anything that might inadvertently set the man off. These elves might've been largely uncultured with only a basic understanding of the fine intricacies of their innate gifts but they were His elves dammit and he was going to keep them safe.
Upon arriving in the large, uneven circle that pasted for their village square, he notice three things. The first were the presence of the aforementioned shadow people. They were dressed bizarrely, like the ninja toys he remembered making on a few off occasions, with blue skin and glowing red eyes. The second were the elves all huddled together in a shaking, wary mass and dressed in the patchwork, heavy clothes they crafted before they took in the sight of him and visibly relaxed. The third, and that which had firmly grasped his attention, was the small, bluish child standing in front him with folded arms.
"About time." he said, breath misting in front of him and his hands sought heat in friction as they rubbed along his arms "Do you have any idea how long cold it is out here?"
"We've noticed." He kept his voice level, even though his poker face threatened to break as the corners of his mouth twitched "What do you want, kid? Kinda hard to believe some Dark Wizard-in-Training came all this way just for small talk."
"True and for the record, I'm not a Dark Wizard." The word was simply spat, no it was dragged out through sharpened clenched teeth and along with the vibrating, balled fists told him that the kid held no love for the mystics.
"So what do you want?" Though tempted to ask 'What are you?' instead, the shadow ninjas' narrowing gaze erred him towards caution. And he was legitimately curious.
"Ahem," He coughed into his fist, drawing his posture ramrod straight, squaring his shoulders and puffing his chest slightly "well. I have a proposition for you."
"Really?" His lips were quirking more, the sight of the kid trying his hardest to look grown-up proving more amusing than anticipated "And what would that be?"
"I would like you and your gang- I mean crew- Crap, I mean race...Then what am I supposed ta call 'em?!...Ahem. I would you and the members of your people to come with me back to myself settlement and aid in its construction. In exchange for your services, you'll be offered provisions, shelter, and protection from my own people. Is this satisfactory?"
Well, asides from the fact that the kid had to be reading from some kind of script as there was no way he was that well-spoken seeing how he talked earlier and he stumbled through more than half of it but regardless, he was interested now. "...Got a contract?"
His fingers snapped and a ninja suddenly appeared before him, brandishing a rolled up scroll that upon inspection proved to be several pages linked together with tape with the conditions and terms of agreements scrawled out in slightly sloppy hand writing. After skimming the document for any unfair clauses , outrageous demands, and loopholes that would allow for mistreatment he finally lowered the makeshift scroll and looked the young man in the eye.
"Well?" he asked after a time, fidgeting under his gaze and the ninja retreated slowly into a protective circle.
He pondered the matter. On the one hand, this meant indenturing themselves to some no-name, not-a-Dark-Wizard child whose motives for recruiting them were unclear which led to suspicion of their actions. The contract, while not insensible, made it quite clear that they were the inferiors in this partnership, Omega to their Alpha with a policy that while didn't demanded unflinching loyalty did require a very staunch commitment to follow their lead to the best of their abilities. He wasn't stupid. He knew that should he sign, it was every bit as good as signing them over to his old boss, only without some of the more cushy benefits.
On the other hand, this meant a chance for a new start for his clan. Again, he wasn't stupid. He knew that his people were the elfin equivalent to rural Amish to put things nicely and trailer trash to put it not so. Their skills for their innate gifts were pale imitations of what those of larger and proper clans were capable of. Their hands, while nimble, stumbled drunkenly over stitches and hacked through wood without any of the subtle grace he knew them capable of. They couldn't even perform the basic spell which kept the cold from biting their senses, an enchantment he'd learned when he was little more than a tot. But if he agreed, they be in civilization, surrounded by modern tools and technology. With such resources at his disposal perhaps he could finally lift them up from this pitiful squalor.
"Soooo..." The voice snapped him out of his musings and he watched the boy briskly rub his arms once more "...is that a yes or a no?"
He blinked at the boy once, twice, and the produced a pen with a flick of his wrist. Ignoring the gasps of awe his people showed at the display and kid's wide-eyed stare, he quickly penned his signature to the dotted line. The ninja re-rolled the makeshift scroll and the boy gave a relieved smile as he untangled his limps and extended his hand.
"Welcome aboard. Name's Drew. Drew Porter." And after a moment of study, he reached forward and grasped it firmly
"Jebediah."
-\=/-
The first thing Jeb, his new Head Architect, had said upon arriving at their new home was that it sucked. Drew had huffed and shot him a look with red eyes that had the rest of his clan scooting backwards; He remained rooted to the spot, unflinching. With a sigh, he told him to go and look around, find out what all was wrong with the house and what needed fixing. After inspecting the house, Jeb told him that he stood corrected: The house goddamn sucked. His eye twitched for awhile afterwards, but calmed down long enough to set about issuing orders.
Contrary to what Jeb was expecting, Drew didn't ask him to start work on the house. Instead, he told him to start fixing the surrounding houses. The elves needed a place to sleep, after all, and his house simply too small for the entire clan of pointy eared creatures. Soon after, the young Oni-to-be thanked his deity several times over for the fact that the neighborhood they lived in was several miles away from the next. Otherwise, they'd might be inquisitive about the sounds of construction coming from what was supposedly an abandoned plot.
While his newly acquired allies were busy repairing the despaired domes around him, Drew took the time to begin rebuilding his own abode. With help from Jeb and a few of his more talented hands, the once shabby hovel was slowly returned to service. Lights flickered on after years of darkness, floorboard held fast beneath even cumbersome weight, and warm, soothing air pumped unhindered throughout the house. And, most importantly, the pipes had been replaced and the water main repair and for the first time and in nearly two months, Drew Porter used the toilet instead of simply squatting outside.
It during the second day of basking in the awesomeness that was modern standard of living that one of the elves, a scrawny looking teenager named Renault, had approached him on his porch as he oversaw the restoration of another Victorian-Era standard. He'd been talking a mile a minute -which explained why his nickname was Jabber- and shifting from foot to foot before Jeb, who'd been checking over one of the new pipes to replace the rusted ones, smacked him on the back of the head and told him to get on with it. With a gulp, he stilled his frantic energy and thrust his hands out where lay a small, simply carved charm. While nothing particularly spectacular leapt out about the round pendent, he knew from the hopeful gleam in Jabber's eye and the measuring look in Jeb's that it'd meant more than they were saying.
"It's nice." he said and slipped it round his neck, the trinket to the middle of his chest "Thanks."
"I'm glad you like it!" Jabber shouted and Drew winced at the volume even as he plowed ahead with gusto "It's my way of saying thanks for taking us in, even though we're just some no-name clan out in the sticks. I used to think that we'd never amount to much, out there, all deep in the forest, nothing but trees and rocks and trees forever and ever. But then Jebediah showed up and he started helping up get better at making stuff and taught us how to knit and sew and build and I thought that we'd finally found our break! And then you showed up and you brought us here with the space and safety and all the fancy whatchamacallits and doohickeys and I just knew, just knew that this. This was our big break. This was what was gonna finally make us a real clan! So's I just wanted to thank you for all you've done and hope to keep doing good work. Well, I should go, my break's over. Bye!"
As Jabber happily strolled off to aid his fellows in reviving a ransacked shed, Drew sat motionless as his eyes simply stared at the pendent around his neck. Up until that moment, up until Jabber had rattled off that entire speech, he never really guessed at the importance of his work. He always just assumed that the elves were just doing what he asked them to. He never really considered the fact that they were eager to help in his work, to help him bring his-soon-to-be forgotten race back to prominence. He never truly thought about how they felt about all this either. And from what Jabber had said, they were...happy. And then another thought occurred to him: He was responsible for these people. He was responsible for the welfare of an entire clan plus the future of an endangered people.
It was only after Jeb forcibly whacked him over the head with a wooden stick that he realized he was having a panic attack. After he managed to calm himself, he placed a hand on his chest where he grasp the trinket and held it up, studying in greater detail than before as a warm smile appeared on his face which swiftly became a grin as a new idea sprouted in his mind.
-\=/-
"It is time."
Drew exhaled the breath he'd been holding and rolled his shoulders as he rose from his spot on the floor where was previously sat in thought.
"I know."
And he did. From the very beginning, ever since Kaito had told him of the risk involved in rebirthing himself into their race, he knew that when the time came, he'd need to make a decision. Back then, his mind and body had been in agreement and had sought ways to avoid ever getting involved in the ritual. After all, he was ten. He had his entire life ahead of him, even as a blue tinted freaked, he could still make a life for himself. Sure, it was almost guaranteed to be either on the road as a carnie or perhaps some thug or muscle for some larger organization but at least he would be free to make his own choices. The General had made it abundantly clear that should he agree, he'd have the future of an entire race on his shoulders. It never really hit home how massive that weight was until he enlisted the elves and even then, Jeb was their leader.
Drew wasn't quite vain enough to deny how scared all that responsible made him. It made looking after the class pet for the weekend look...infinitely insignificant in comparison. But ever since Jabber had given him that charm and he started to pay valid attention to Kaito's teachings, the part of him that had decried ever involving themselves in their plight had grown steadily silent until it was barely more than a fleeting thought. The part of him that his dad always encouraged, the compassionate empathy he'd shown had gradually wormed its way into his the cracks of his cynicism until he started caring for his circumstances as more than just going through the motions and some prolonged, fantastical fever dream. The answer, which he'd never voiced aloud, had changed since he'd first made it.
He was still scared, obviously. He was going into completely uncharted territory and had to rely on the trust he'd invested into a talking shadow and his own competence should he wish to see another sunrise. The thought of dying still made his breath hitch, his spine shiver with foreboding chills, yet he could now shake it long enough to effect an air of bravo and a mask of determination and surety he didn't quite feel.
"I'm ready."
And prayed too God he was.
Author's Notes: And here we are, once more at the end of the chapter and the end of the Prologue. I think I'll name it The Drifting. So, I'm sure you all have questions you want answered, so here we go.
Drew Went BOOM!: Drew was exploded. Of course, Kaito's awesome so he managed to safe his charge at the last second, but he won't be doing that much in his current state. Drew's nature as a Drifter marks him as something of a hybrid being not quite human and not quite Oni. As such, The Shade, the birthplace of all shadows, was only able to heal the worse of his injuries instead of healing them fully.
Empire Building: Rome wasn't built in a day: And as such, Drew's empire won't rocket into the stars right off the bat. Drew and Kaito are both very rightfully paranoid after the Wong incident and as such are taking a very slow and steady approach to things.
Elves: Contracts: Elves, unlike other races, are normally formed of small clans that usually either express enough militant, political, or economic acumen to remain independent or indenture themselves to other clans or races in return for necessities. While older, larger clans are able to sustain themselves, most younger, smaller clans instead must contract themselves to others. These contracts usually vary from race to race and can either make the clan equal partners (a rarity) or slaves (a far more common occurrence). As such, most chieftains are well versed in the art of legalities and will normally require an extended period of careful deliberation before either accepting or rejecting a contract. However, they might be driven to answer sooner with the appropriate encouragement.
Alright, that's it folks. TTFN!
