DarkEyedDemon: Hoo-ha! It's me! On with the second story of Ascension!
Life's Toll, Death's Gift
"Shidako!" A young orochi woman looked up from the hatchling she had been feeding as someone called her name. One of the older eggwatchers was standing nearby, two of her arms crossed over her chest, and the other two on her hips. "It's getting late, child, you were supposed to go back to your own nest hours ago."
Shidako smiled gently and nodded. "I'm aware, I won't be much longer." The older snake-woman shook her head and walked out of the hatchery that held most of the kashi-tribe's hatchlings. Shidako was an eggwatcher, and although she hadn't been doing it for very long, she was very skilled and found it to be her passion. Since she had started caring for the young, the kashi-tribe had swelled in numbers so extraordinarily that she had received personal recognition from master Sosuke himself. These extra numbers were quite necessary as well; they could use all the defense they could get against the raging kami. The war had been going on for a little over ten years, and things were becoming harsh for the orochi. Mad kami with bodies of blades and vicious kumo that could swallow an orochi whole had become commonplace here in Jukai.
Shidako laid the hatchling down to rest as she exited the hatchery. She knew that one day they would become the warriors fighting to protect all the orochi from their enraged gods, and she couldn't help but feel a twinge of sorrow. To her, it felt as if she was raising them to die. She tried to assure herself that such wasn't the case, but she couldn't completely get the thought out of her mind. As she strolled slowly through the large clearing that made up her village, her thoughts turned towards the more current problem with the war. Though the kashi-tribe was known for its skilled warriors, the most recent fighters haven't had time for proper training. They lacked some of the basic skills needed to fight, let alone to fight kami.
"You work yourself too hard, Shidako." The orochi woman nearly jumped as the voice cut through the night air. She turned and saw one of the tribe elders standing behind her. He was a wizened old orochi, bent with age and holding a gnarled walking staff, though he seemed to have an air of inner-strength about him.
"I only do what is right for the tribe, Master Kisho," she replied evenly.
"You do as your passion dictates, but passions are a strange thing. Some have believed they have found their own dozens of times, never to be actually right."
"I do what I love to do, and what is needed for our survival. Without new warriors, the kami will crush us in no time."
"Yes, but you know as well as I do we are not sending warriors to fight. What we are sending are soldiers, there is a big difference. A soldier fights with a weapon, without question, but it isn't until the soldier puts a meaning behind that force that he becomes a warrior."
Shidako furrowed her brow. "Forgive my ignorance, Elder, but I do not understand."
Kisho smiled and patted her shoulder with one of his four arms. "You will with time." With that, Shidako bowed and turned back on her way. When she reached her own next, she sat down on one of the tatami mats on the floor cross-legged and closed her eyes. Green energy started to emanate from her body as she sat. She had been practicing this same ritual every night since she had become an eggwatcher. She wasn't sure what it meant, she just knew there was magic within her being. All she had to do was find out its purpose. It seemed like an impossible task; each night she came no closer to understanding her ability's nature. About an hour later she opened her eyes and the energy disappeared. Heaving a sigh of defeat, she laid down on her bed and quickly fell asleep.
Shidako was awoken early in the morning by the sounds of battle. She sat up in bed and noticed that the sun still hadn't risen, but she could tell by the shrieks and roars outside that there was another kami attack. She hastily stood and ran out of her nest to be greeted by the sight of orochi warriors fighting terrible spirit beasts. They've already made it into the village…the hatcheries!
She ran around all of the carnage to where the hatcheries were, and was horrified at what she saw. Every hatchery was torn down and burning and she could only guess what had happened to the hatchlings. Shidako could feel her legs trembling as if the earth itself were shaking underneath her feet. Everything she had devoted her life to had just been torn down right under her nose. She was interrupted from her thoughts as four warriors came out of the nearby woods.
"Lady Shidako!" one called. "You must flee to safety!" Even before he finished his statement, a massive kumo emerged from the trees. It looked like a large pile of thorns and moss, and it opened its great, slavering mouth and roared its fury as it set towards the snake warriors trying to destroy it. One of the fighters broke away from the others foolishly, giving the kumo a chance to sink its vicious fangs into his mid-section. The orochi cried out in pain as the monster spit him out his lifeless body onto the ground in front of Shidako.
The eggwatcher stared in horror at the corpse in front of her. She turned her gaze up to the kumo and her expression became full of fury. Forest spirit or not, she could not just sit by and watch this thing kill her people. Her body became engulfed in that familiar green flame, but now she felt purpose behind it. Putting one hand on the bloody corpse on the ground, she reached her three others to the remaining warriors as the emerald energy leaped towards them. When it struck, their eyes flashed, and they attacked the kumo all at once.
They cleaved through the kumo's thick hide as if it were nothing more than paper, tearing the screeching monster to pieces with strength no orochi normally had. Once the beast was slain, determined to put their new strength to good use, the warriors rushed off to aid the rest of the village. Shidako fell down into a sitting position, surprised by her own action. She had little time to wonder at it though; there were more fighters that would need aid.
By sunrise, all of the attacking kumo had been defeated or driven back. The remaining defenders were counting the losses. Shidako was staring at her four hands when she heard footsteps in front of her. She looked up and saw the three warriors that she had empowered the previous night bowing in front of her.
"We've come to thank you, Broodmistress." She was about to tell them that she was only an eggwatcher when someone intervened.
"They are correct, Shidako, you possess the powers of a Broodmistress." She turned and saw the Elder Kisho standing behind her. Suddenly, his words rang through her head.
A soldier fights with a weapon, without question, but it isn't until the soldier puts a meaning behind that force that he becomes a warrior.
The elder spoke in a low tone, so that only she could hear. "Their fallen comrade was their ideal, and it was their ideal that allowed your energy to strengthen them."
She looked at her hands once again. "These powers…if I am to become a Broodmistress, that means changing my influence to its opposite."
Although he wore a knowing smile, Kisho tilted his head curiously. "How-so?"
"As an eggwatcher, I thrived on life. But now, as a Broodmistress, I thrive on death."
"You think of it much too darkly. Rather, think of the deaths you must use as those giving their lives so that others may live." Shidako nodded and smiled slightly. From that day, she became known as one of the most powerful Broodmistresses in all of Jukai. She never took any fame, merely went from day to day, hoping for the time when her powers wouldn't be needed.
DED: So, there ya go. I've been working on making my stories longer; more detailed, but as you can see it's a very slow progression. Oh well, reviews please!