Hello readers. Hope that you all had a pleasant weekend. I want to apologize, yet again, for my late update, but I had several tests and a one-shot to write. So I want to thank my reviewers. Thanks to chica blanca for letting me know what they thought about the chapter. Also want to say hello to PassionIsLove. Thanks for the insightful review and of course you are correct about the mother. As you will all see she is the whole reason the sword exists and in the sequel you'll see how this is connected to Kagome. Also want to thank Weeshnah for reading some of the earlier chapters. Anyway, so this chapter will explain a bunch of stuff about why Naraku wants the cursed sword and what the great chieftain's first mate has to do with it. Next update will be within one week. So don't forget to let me know what you think about the chapter. I apologize for how many chapters this story has, but it's way too late to try to split it now. Please review.
CHAPTER XLV
THE SWORDS PURPOSE
Healo's POV
The demon lord could not find the strength to stand. The very thought of his son in the clutches of the malicious hanyou nearly destroyed what little resolve he had left. Even worse was that Healo knew that there was nothing he could do for Sulam without Yamikura. The Northern Lord stood as he slowly rebuilt what was shattered by Ariana's statement. His son was not doomed to die; Naraku had obviously kidnapped him in order to use him as bait. If he rushed to Brilith without a way to defeat Naraku he would be falling right into the trap.
By the time he had regained his composure Magus had already asked incredulously, "How could Naraku have gotten anywhere near Sulam?" Before the lady could respond Healo interrupted gravely, "Fire, smoke, and death. Ionin has been attacked in our absence; that was what I was being plagued with." Stony silence followed this until Kagome pointed out weakly, "But all the guards…" No one deigned to respond; they were all wondering the same thing. How could Naraku have attacked the city?
Ariana sighed and said in a tired voice, "Who can truly understand the wiles of that hanyou? What is important is that your heir is safe, and that before he was hidden behind the shadow of Naraku; he was more worried for the safety of those who had been captured with him." The Northern Lord asked curiously, "Who else was taken?" When he noticed her swift purple eyes glance back at the rest of the group he knew immediately who she would name, but he prayed that it would not be so. However, the lady said softly, "A young girl, I believe that the heir called her Rin, a kitsune named Shippo, a toad demon called Jaken, and the demon who attempted to escape with them, Riath."
Healo heard a surprised gasp come from a certain miko and he sighed at the pain that began to emanate from her. However, though his brother gave no visual clue, Sesshomaru's anger was probably even felt by the others in the room. All of the children were now pawns in Naraku's diabolical plans; the Northern Lord did not know how many more times fate would expect him to take such blows. It always seemed that whenever something began to go right for him that a disaster would come along and push him even farther back. However, nothing would be gained by allowing himself to despair.
As everyone else stood in tense silence, obviously considering the reprecusions of what had occurred, Healo asked calmly, "You said earlier that there was something about Yamikura that we do not understand. Something that you believe would destroy our desire to use its power to defeat Naraku. What is it?" Ariana was surprised by the demon lord's quick recovery, but her answer was stern as she replied, "The sword is cursed. In order to try to force its master to kill; it stirs up the hearts of the people."
The miko asked quietly, "Why?" The demoness smiled tightly and answered, "You already know that the sword absorbs part of the darker energies of a being whenever it kills them. By driving the populace to anger, fear, or sometimes even through physical manifistations of its power. The sword has caused droughts, floods, and even once disease to spread to stir up the commoners whenever its weilder had ceased to fight. Since the only ones who can wield the sword are the descendants of the imperial line; they are forced to put down these uprisings, which strengthen the sword's malice and power."
Inuyasha interrupted this explanation with a terse, "Yah we already know that the sword wants more power, but why?" She glanced at the hanyou sharply with her amethyst eyes and said quietly, "My mother mysteriously disappeared before Yamikura came into existence. The sword has an amazing sense of malice and lust for power; as did my mother." Sesshomaru asked coldly, "Are you suggesting that she was transformed into the sword?" Ariana laughed lightly at the hypothesis and answered sadly, "If my mother had been a mere mortal, or even a demon, that would have been possible, however, we are not so fortunate."
Magus ended the tense silence that followed this by asking quietly, "What was she then?" The demoness seemed to deflate, but she answered firmly, "That is something that I do not know; her aura was far more powerful then that of any demon I have ever met. It is also painfully obvious that she was not human since she possessed such power," here Ariana trailed off and shuddered visibly. No one pushed her to continue, but a few moments later she said, "She was wild and from what my father let slip she came from the wild lands beyond the Western Sea. My mother claimed that she had been driven out of the West by narrow minded humans who had scorned her wisdom and power as 'blasphemy', but I know one knows for sure."
Healo nodded slightly as he digested the information before asking curiously, "So what was her great crime, and what happened to her?" Ariana responded solemnly, "Apparently my mother had more than one mate. In fact, she appears to have produced children in all sorts of strange lands from beyond the sea." Sesshomaru said icily, "I see. That did not go over well with the Great Chieftain." The Northern Lord felt the overwhelming sense of 'duh' flooding from everyone in the room. However, the demoness replied normally, "Obviously. However, what is strange is that I believe that many of the beings that have been attempting to break into this land are her descendants."
The demon lord straightened slightly as he considered this fact, but before he could inquire further she continued, "Before you ask, I do believe that this is more than just a coincidence. My mother's true crime was that she showed such a ruthless desire for power; this led to several deaths until my father finally decided to end it." Kagome spoke up quietly, "Umm…if your mother was so powerful how was your father able to stop her?" Ariana shook her head and replied, "That is one of the mysteries here; I have no idea how my father managed to do so."
Sesshomaru asked in a calm tone, "You keep edging away from your mother's fate and what Yamikura has to do with it." The demoness glared at the Western Lord, but he only stared back with obvious amusement. She finally answered stiffly, "My mother could not be killed, but my father was able to seal her in the depths of Hell, but he could not leave her immense powers intact so he brought those together into Yamikura." Magus interrupted with, "Why did the Great Chieftain bring all of her power into one object? Why not spread it out to make it less lethal?"
Before Arianna could answer the miko spoke up sternly, "That would be the worst possible choice. It would be like having another shattered jewel; each fragment would have horribly destructive powers." Healo nodded at the young womans logic, but his words were interrupted by his hostess who said brightly, "That is exactly why. Plus, the sword can only be wielded by a descendant of my mother; why not make it easier to protect by keeping it together? However, there is still a problem; the sword doesn't want to be parted from my mother so it attempts to drain the dark energy from the souls of its victims. Eventually the sword, which can pierce any barrier, would gain enough strength to break the barrier between our world and the next."
The Northern Lord closed his eyes as he absorbed the blow. This had not been entirely unexpected; ever since Faustin had mentioned a rumor that the sword would unleash a terrible evil he had been expecting something like this. What was he expected to do now? On one hand without the sword he could not rescue his son, kill Naraku, and revive the power of the Empire. However, the demon lord would risk becoming a killing machine, being manipulated by the cursed sword, and eventually unleashing a terrible evil into the world. Healo sighed as he calculated the possibilites while the others continued to discuss with Ariana. After several minutes he had decided.
When he spoke the others immediately fell silent, "I cannot say that what you have told me will bring me any peace or comfort, but it will also not weaken my resolve. I will not abandon my son, nor will I allow the government that has sustained some measure of safety for the people to fall before a crooked hanyou. I understand the dangers of the sword, but with it is good that that is so for it will make me cautious and hesitant to use it. If I use Yamikura I may doom the world, but if I do not then it is already doomed." The demon lord's eyes had grown brighter and brighter and his voice more passionate as he spoke, but the other's continued to gaze at him for a moment after he had finished.
Finally Ariana broke the silence by saying in a small voice, "The sword lies to the Southeast in the ruins of its last victim. It lies on the coast just beyond the Southern Woods, but you will know you are close when you enter fog that does not fade." Healo nodded in genuine appreciation; at last it was time to begin. Once they had Yamikura they would just need to assemble enough troops to challenge Naraku. They didn't even need to defeat him, but assuming they could occupy his hordes he would finally be vulnerable and open to defeat.
Kagome asked softly, "So what do you think your mother was?" The demoness smiled grimly and replied, "She was either the most powerful of gods or the most profane of devils; either way matters little since it is obvious that her whole focus had been on expanding her own power. The world is lucky to be rid of her." Inuyasha decided to display some forsight by replying, "For now." Healo frowned at the subtle truth in the statement. The world's safety was not secure and it would not be so until the sword did not exist. However, the Northern Lord could work towards that goal after dealing with Naraku.
Yay! So now you all know one of the major secrets behind the storyline. From this you now understand almost exactly what Naraku wants, but you still don't know how he plans to get it. I want to apologize again for the late update. I hope you all have looked at the oneshot I wrote about Kikyo; I'll understand if any of you don't want to read it because you hate Kikyo. However, if you read it please let me know what you thought about it since it was a rushed oneshot. Sorry if it seems kind of rushed, but I did write it in like an hour so it may not be the best writing in the world. Anyway, next chapter will be within a week and will show the group heading towards the place where they will FINALLY find the cursed sword. Probably focus some more on Healo's thoughts as he debates the good and evil of Yamikura. So remember to let me know how I'm doing in a review and if you have any complaints don't hesitate to let me have it. Please…REVIEW!!!