Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Background: Well, look at Godsbane's review.
Author's Notes: I'm afraid I know very little of Japanese samurai's so forgive me if I am wrong about everything. Also, if you are looking for a samurai fiction, check out "Legends" (I have no idea why it keeps appearing on top though). I realize that this really really pales beside his work, but oh well.
The Godsbane.
A sword whose caliber was once seen, will be seen, and never to be seen again.
No one knew who created the flawless, gleaming sword.
And since the last Great War it has been lost to history, never to be seen again…
…until now.
It was said that the Godsbane was a completely transparent sword that was shaped in the form of a No-dachi. The beauty of the indestructible blade was said to surpass all else, and any light that entered was reflected in the most wonderful of ways. Anyone who gazed at it from afar would see a shining blade of light that left behind in its wake a path of destruction. The gleaming blade in itself was a deadly weapon, superbly balanced, and its mystical hilt that appeared to be part of the blade itself, never slipped from a warrior's hands. It would cut through any material know to man except diamond, but diamond was brittle, and would never stand up to a ferocious onslaught from the blade.
Since the beginning of history, a person was supposed to be bound to the blade if it judged him or her worthy of having being sentient for eternity. In a way, the great sword could be said to be sentient itself. These people, termed as, "The Greats", are to be the turning point of the final battle, which was prophesized to end the current world, and spark off another. However, whether these people really exist, and on whose side they will appear no one knows.
One of the biggest cities in the world, Illian, was dedicated to finding the sword, which had been lost since the War of Hundred Years. Each year, Illian called the Hunt of the Blade, a worldwide search in which hunters of the sword, named Sword Hunters, scour the world in search of the forever-elusive blade. This, before the Trolloc wars, was to try to find the blade before it fell to the dark side, which would surely disadvantage the light side in the final battle, but as of lately, it had turned into somewhat of a festival that was said by people to be celebrating a myth.
During the start of the hunt, Sword Hunters were given a special insignia that they would wear on their entire journey; removing it meant withdrawal from the hunt. Wearing it would mean that it was open season on your life, as the insignia contained a special property that would cause wild creatures to attack anytime, anywhere. It had turned into a something like a worldwide sport, and only the very best made it back the next year to remove the insignia in a special ceremony that gave them status as a powerful warrior.
Indeed, not many people believed in the ancient legend of the blade. Supposedly, an unknown warrior, many years ago, had used the sword to push back the dark forces in the final climatic battle of the war of hundred years, sealing them behind the sword's seal supposedly for eternity. After that, peace came over the land, and the warrior was said to have perished. Not many people believed in this legend, since peace disrupts the progression of thinking, and eventually politics govern the world.
Not many people even believed the War of Hundred Years took place, as somewhere along the way, another the Trolloc wars broke out and destroyed all historical evidence of the blade and battle. The only thing that had endured was the Hunt of the Blade, and till this day no one knew the significance of it. The people of Illian treated it as nothing more than folklore, and the Hunt of the Blade was now just an excuse for many people to go adventuring, nothing more.
The world was in deep trouble, and someone knew it.
Keitaro Urashima merrily made his way towards the city of Illian, whistling as he did. The happy-go-lucky person looked around with his chocolate brown eyes as he walked. With his shaggy long hair and goofy grin, he looked quite stupid. But it was just a façade. The man was actually pretty smart, but he preferred looking stupid then looking good. After all, being a farmer didn't exactly require smarts.
This year, he was going to take part in the Hunt of the Blade, which like many people was just an excuse to go adventuring. He had wanted to spice up his life a little bit; after all, being a farmer all 365 days of the year was a pretty boring life, and Keitaro was quite the free spirit, so he decided to like many people use the hunt as an excuse to convince themselves to escape their boring lives. And now that he had heard more about the hunt on his travels, he decided that it could be fun, and made his way towards the city of Illian.
As he walked, he muttered to himself. "Hmm, I wonder if the sword really exists?" He scratched his head. Just then, he saw a black shadow flit past him, and his eyes narrowed. He had an uneasy feeling in his gut, which was rare, considering his personality, so he knew immediately something was up. Somehow, he deduced that the shadow would bring trouble.
He hurried his pace towards Illian.
Mitsune Konno was one of the most powerful ninjas in the Clan of Shadows, a secret clan of ninjas who tirelessly search for the legendary blade all year round. These people knew about the truth. In fact, not all the evidence of the sword was destroyed. It was just carefully hidden so that the world was unaware. The clan believed that the world as it was now is too weak to take the truth and still survive the dark side when it starts to panic. Their goal was to protect the world from facing destruction before the time came when they were strong enough to stand against the dark, and even if their methods were slightly underhanded, the clan generally meant for the good of the world.
Every year, the clan would send its members to secretly tail the most promising Sword Hunters, and if the hunter found out any clues as to the whereabouts of the blade, the clan would assassinate the poor fellow to make sure that they were the only ones who had conclusive evidence of the existence of the blade. This year, they were sending only one spy, since they felt that they had all the information that could be found in the world in their procession.
Konno did not really like the idea of killing, but there was no choice. To uphold the secrecy of the clan, they had no choice but to kill whomever they had discovered. They tortured those survived the initial assassination till they went mad, since they wouldn't like news of their clan leaking out and alerting some intellectuals. In the end however, whether the subject cooperated or not, they were all slaughtered.
As she passed the boyish person she came across and heard his muttering, she sighed.
"Another worthless ass trying to be a Hunter!"
She disappeared.
Meanwhile, the person behind picked up his pace.
Naru Narusegawa was the adventurous daughter of the Lord of Illian. Today was the day she had finally become old enough to be eligible to take part in the Hunt of the Blade. She wandered around the streets of Illian, looking at the people setting up the area used for the coming starting ceremony. Even though she was beautiful, with long brown hair and gorgeous emerald eyes, none of the men around dared so much as to look at her. The king was known to be ruthless to those who tried to court his daughter. He claimed that she was "too young" and "inexperienced". Once, he had put one of her suitors up as a live specimen for a public display of dissecting. The poor man had been put up in the city center and dissected, all the while he was awake and screaming in pain and for help. Nobody dared to do what he did again.
Since Naru was his prized daughter, the lord obviously did not want to see a corpse come back next year, so he ordered the workers to make her an insignia that would be similar on all accounts except for its special property. Naru's insignia would have no monster attracting powers. Of course, she did not know what the king had ordered, as anyone told her at the price of death.
Naru suddenly felt compelled to look down, and saw a man with shaggy long hair walking in through the city gates.
I'm so happy! My longest work yet!