Ok, people, this is my first fanfic, so be gentle (but do tell me if it's rubbish). By the way, the characters that you don't recognise are mine, as are the two poems, and I worked really hard on the poems, so no pinching. Please R&R (I especially want to know what you lot think of the poems).
Disclaimer: I do not own Ronin Warriors (shame, but true). Please don't sue me.
Hope and Despair
For hope
Wildfire, the first,
To fight and to burn.
Halo, the second,
To heal in turn.
Hardrock, the third,
To shake stone and mortar.
Torrent, the fourth,
To control the water.
Strata, the fifth,
To bring aid from the sky.
Spider, the sixth,
To trick and to spy.
Ogre, the seventh,
To stray from his purpose.
Jackal, the eighth,
To master the darkness.
Cobra, the ninth,
To poison the unaware.
Last of all, Ancient,
To lead and to care.
For hope is the virtue
That avoids despair.
For Despair
Dragon, the hateful,
Death is his aim.
Centaur, the treacherous,
Prophet of pain.
Chimera, the greedy,
Revenge is his crime.
Unicorn, the malicious,
Keeper of time.
Dryad, the avaricious,
Fighting nature's wrongs.
Mermaid, the envious,
Luring with song.
Ayato, their leader,
Master of despair.
To destroy the hope
That lingers in the air.
Prologue
It had been a year since the Talpa had been defeated. The Ronin Warriors had returned to their normal pursuits. The Warlords, having no-where else to go, went to live with them at Mia's house. The last year had been calm, no demonic emperor trying to take over the world, or anything like that. It was a month from the end of the summer holidays when Mia got a phone call, asking her if she could take another boarder, a girl who had lost her entire family in a fire that had also destroyed her home. The authorities were delighted to hear that Mia would take her. She was the same age as the Ronins and she would be going to school with them. She would arrive in a week.
The Lady watched from her throne in the Halls of the Dead. The girl's parents and siblings were now in her domain, like their ancestors before them. She waved her hand, and the window in front of her changed to a view of the girl herself. She had long black hair and dark brown eyes, which were now filled with tears. As the Lady watched, the girl stood up, dried her eyes, and for the first time the Lady saw the determination behind them. The girl was from a well-respected clan, specialists in martial arts, and the girl was, at sixteen, one of the most accomplished fighters the world had ever seen. The Lady smiled. The fate of the world as the mortals knew it rested on this girl's shoulders, but the Lady did not think that this burden would be too heavy for her.
The Lord watched also, from his palace in Heaven. This girl was his descendant, fruit of the love that he had had for a mortal woman, but in this war, he could do nothing to help her. She was the last barrier of mankind against the evil that threatened to engulf it. This evil, if the dark prophecy came to fruition, could destroy even the gods. The Lord sighed. He could do nothing but watch.
The girl spun around, startled. She could have sworn that someone was watching her, and her instincts were very rarely wrong, but no-one was there. She looked at the small, marble-shaped crystal in her hand. As she looked, the kanji of hope appeared inside the marble. Her forehead began to glow, and after a while, the glow took the form of the kanji inside the crystal. She understood. All her life, she had felt like she didn't belong, that her life's purpose was hidden from her, but no longer. She was Karala of Ancient, Warrior of Hope, and she would live up to that name.
Well, that's the first part done. What do you think? All you need to do now is REVIEW!
Carline