Rain: A Manifesto

A Show of Force

"Good to see you all here," I said as a placed my palms around the wooden table in front of me. Gathered around was the pirate captain: Mishu, a few leaders of the Makeba Knights, Grig in full Edenian paladin armor, Ron and Terrin. "A worthy cause brings about unlikely alliances."

Ron smiled and looked to me with an encouraging nod. I continued, "I have gathered all of our forces together here today so that we may test our strength against our enemy." A large, square map lay on the table. I pointed to it. "Shao Kahn's army is protecting a shipment of cobalt being moved from the mines to one of his shipyards. We're going to ambush the battalion and show Kahn that we are closing in on him." I looked to my fellow Resistance leaders and smiled through my mask. "Show him that we are coming to usurp his rule."

Grig shuffled his feet in the sand as he leaned forward, only a crescent of his face lightened by the three torches in the room. "How exactly does showing Kahn all of our cards benefit us?"

I pointed to Grig. "Because our good Emperor won't like what he sees." I paced back and forth as I explained. "Anything that will make Kahn doubt his defenses, alter his battle plans or scatter his forces is good for us. A display of our power will let the Emperor know that a true challenge is being presented to his regime." Grig seemed to approve of my words as he nodded, although he carried hesitance in his eyes.

"Through turmoil, we will take this realm from under his feet," I said as I clenched my fist with such force that my knuckles cracked.

Mishu looked to me and chuckled as he spoke. "Well I think it's a bold move of ye, I don't know if us sea-folk would really be of help to ya on a land battlefield."

"That's why you are going to wait here, by the sea," I said. "Have the ships ready to take both us and the cobalt out of here."

Terrin crossed her arms as she stood sideways, her stiff gaze shifting between me and the map laid on the table. "Then shall we construct a plan for attack?" she asked. The Makeba Knights concurred with her.

"I have devised one," I said. The room fell silent as skeptical glares came my way from every face in the room except Ron, who was holding back laughter as he admired my confidence. I pointed to the canyon pass on the map. "This is where we will commence our ambush. The walls of the canyon are high enough for our archers to take cover, while low enough to maintain good firing range. While the archers commence fire, we will have the peasants close in on them from each side of the canyon, pincering them in."

"Sounds good to me," Ron said.

I carried on. "I will lead the Reaving Wolves and a few other squads from the front, where the Shokan lieutenants typically ride. We'll keep them busy. Terrin, you keep the rest of the Iga-Koga behind us as backup if we need you." Terrin remained both still and silent. I looked to the Makeba knights. "You guys should come up the back side and work on keeping any additional Tarkatans or Shokan off of the peasants. Let them deal with the foot soldiers." The knight captains bowed in unison. I then shifted my gaze to Grig. "And the Edenians will go in full force behind the knights. Take out any of Kahn's minions that the Makebans do not manage to on their ride through…"

"I'll decide what the Edenian forces do," Grig snapped at me as his armor-clad hand swiped to the side. He then stepped away from the table and out of the tent, his burgundy boots stomping through the sand as a wave broke against the shoreline outside. He lifted the beaded flap of the tent and exited.

An unbearable silence fell over the room. "Well," I finally was able to say. "Is everyone else clear on the details of the assault?"

A series of "yeses" and "ayes" came around the table.

"Good," I said. 'Consult you captains. We will meet again in the morning to discuss further details, and carry on with attack by noon."

"Rest well tonight, everyone," Ron said. "Never skin a Tarkatan on an empty stomach."

A series of laughs followed the room as the generals and leaders made their way out of the tent. Terrin stayed and slouched over once the tent had vacated with the exception of her and I. "What was that?" Terrin asked.

"What?" I responded as I took an inked feather and began to mark attack locations on the map.

"Do not play games with me, General. You know what," Terrin said sharply. "That Edenian just defied you in front of every leader in this little alliance of yours. Do you even realize how poorly that reflects on the Iga-Koga?"

I cocked my head up and as I stared at Terrin. "You know what reflects poorly on the Iga-Koga? The fact that we are about to engage in a major battle and two members of The War Council just decide not to show up."

Terrin stepped away from her side of the table and over to me, only a few inches away from my face. "And you are lucky they decided not to show up, General Rain. They would call off this Alliance in an instant if they witnessed one of our clan's leaders being talked to the way you just were. And to speak truthfully, I'd be inclined to agree." Terrin spoke at a softer whisper, but her words were so piercing that it felt as though she were shouting at me.

"Terrin," I said as I brought my face even closer to hers. "I don't care about benign formalities like you and the rest of the Council." I brought my hand up with a jolt and pointed in her face. "I win battles. That's why I am here. You, Kazius and Glacios can worry about all the issues which don't matter."

As a brief silence fell between us, it became clear how much anger was built in the parts of our faces not concealed by masks. "Careful, Rain," she said with a much more calm tone. "Remember that it is I who supported you when Kazius and Glacios consistently advised against it. I am not your enemy." Terrin brought her lips to my ear and whispered, "Unless you allow it to come to that." She stepped away and exited the tent. "Like Ron says, rest up. We need you alert most of all."

I tossed the feather onto the map. Water involuntarily drained onto my fingertips as anger seeped from my gut. I needed to get out of there. It was a lovely and freeing sensation to step outside and feel the ocean breeze on my skin; to taste the salt in the air and hear the waves roaring upon the sand. For a moment, I felt like a child again on the Eastern Shore of Outworld, ready for another day of simplicity. That feeling was ended in an abrupt manner by the sound of Grig's grated voice. "General Rain," he said. "I have devised my own plan for the Edenian soldiers if you would like to hear it."

I looked to the thickset, bearded man, unsure if my disgust with him was visible in my facial expression. He stood with two of his captains behind him. "Well it would be nice if you would let the other leaders know about it too," I said.

Grig laughed, and put a hand on my shoulder. "We'll tell them together tomorrow."

I shook as he touched me and thrust my arm upward, sending his hand off of my shoulder. "What you just did in there was unacceptable," I snapped. "Don't ever walk out of mission briefing like that again." I began to walk away.

"We agreed already," Grig said. "Iga-Koga do not command Edenian troops. Only the Edenian Resistance does."

I turned around as my voice grew low. "Then address your concerns from one General to another. Don't scamper from the room as if you were a spoiled child." If this man were not so close to Tanya, I may have killed him right there.

Grig tried to get a word in. "This is not…"

"Allow me to make this simple for you," I said as I stepped toward Grig again, making sure my anger came clear through my speech. "If you ever attempt to supplant me again, I will tell all of your men that their leader on the battlefield is a petty demagogue who cares more about his status than about their lives." I slowly stepped even closer with my shoulders held high, as if I were a cougar preparing to ambush its prey. "And I'll tell the rest of The Edenian Leadership that they need to send a real General to fight this war. Not a blacksmith in fancy armor." I had silenced Grig. He had not expected me to speak to him in such a manner. But even the sight of his gaping mouth disgusted me. "See you on the battlefield," I said as I turned and walked away.

I walked up the incline of the beach, toward the forest which met the sand. Delion's voice came streaming through the wind. "Hey, Boss." I stopped to face the swordsman. It was entertaining to see a man of his long stature struggling to run through the thick sand. "What was that about?" he asked when he caught up to me.

"Nothing," I said as I shook my head. "Just clearing something up. Issues way over your pay grade. Go back to your tent, Dellion."

I started to walk toward the woods again more before he interjected once more. "Wait, Boss, where are you going?"

I turned to look past Delion at the assemblage of dimly lit tents that lay set up along the shoreline. They were well hidden in the large cove which The Blood Sea Pirates used to keep their ships out of site. I said to Delion, "I need to think, and I need to be alone to do it. So I'm going on a walk in the woods, is that alright with you?"

"Well at least let me follow and watch your back. We're in enemy territory." Delion continued to follow behind me.

"What part of alone do you not understand, Delion?" I said, very annoyed. The swordsman's footsteps stopped following me. "I can handle myself." After taking a few more steps away from the camp, I felt a familiar presence. I couldn't hear him, see him or even smell him. But I felt him. "Chameleon, you that goes for you too," I said. "I know you're there. Please, just leave me be." I still don't know for certain that he was actually there, but I no longer felt like he was after I told him to go away.

It was nice to be alone, to get away from everything even only for a while. The War, Generals, politics, strategy. It was exhausting. Everything had to be decided in some sort of coalition. If they would just listen to me, things would have gotten done with much greater precision and propensity. Terrin was much more concerned with Grig's attempt to undermine me than I was, but she was right. It was completely out of line. It was an uneasy feeling to be in the middle of a war tied together by such a fragile Alliance. I worked so hard to bring the Edenians on our side; I never considered how hard it would be to keep them there.

I carried on, deeper into the woods. It was magnificent how fast the climate changed from beach to tropical rainforest. Tall bright green trees towered over my head. The light sound of creeks flowing over rocks could be heard through the wind. I climbed higher in elevation and my soul calmed itself as I drew further from the encampment. I knew that I needed to go and work things out with Terrin. She was an ally, and it was never wise to allow a relationship with an ally to decay. At least not until their purpose was served. 'Now Grig,' I thought to myself. 'His purpose may already be overspent.'

I stepped on a large stone which leaned over a creek. I looked down, trying to see if I could catch any sight of the water at this time of night. It was then that I heard rustling in the trees. I turned around; ready to strike at anything that displayed itself. Haunting images of the vampire hunting the students in the woods all those years ago returned to my mind. However, the forest remained silent when I gazed upon it. I figured it I was just hearing the wind. I turned back to face the creek, but a creeping chill slithered up my spine when I turned my back to the darkness of the woods. I turned around one more time, and still there was nothing. My eyes scanned the trees and the shadows, looking for any wild animal or unwelcomed guest. It was then that an arm wrapped itself around my chest from behind me while a flat, sharp piece of metal was lightly pressed to my neck.

"Don't move," a vehement feminine voice said from behind me. "I could have killed you many times already today, and I could easily kill you now." My fear was replaced by shame. How could I be caught so vulnerable? "I have come only for conference," she said. "If I release you, will you attempt to attack me?"

"No," I said. 'Who would answer yes to that question?' I thought to myself. She released her grip from my chest and her weapon from my throat. As she pivoted to face me, I peered down to see that she was wearing a blue glove which reached to her elbow. The weapon she had pressed to my neck was a flat, sharpened metal which stretched outward; almost as if it were a fan. I placed my hand over my throat to make sure it was not cut. I then saw my attacker standing before me. Her long, flowing black hair reached all the way down over her pale shoulders. She wore a tight blue leotard which reached only from her collarbone to her groin. Her legs were bare other than a pair of long, knee-high blue boots. This woman also wore a blue mask to match the rest of her attire, which reached from around her neck to cover most of her face from the nose down. I knew exactly who this was.

"Princess Kitana," I said with a bow of my head. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

The Princess relaxed her arms and let her fans drape over her waste. "Pleasure has nothing to do with it. I come to offer a proposition from my father, the Emperor of Outworld." The Princess stood sideways with one leg forward and her chin angled up.

I placed my hands behind my back as a smirk fell on my face. "He sent his royal assassin, his own daughter to negotiate the terms of his surrender?"

Kitana feigned laughter, though her eyes, just as blue as her wardrobe, were filled with anger. "Don't fool yourself into thinking you have done anything more than become a minor annoyance to my father. He has handedly destroyed much more powerful men than the likes of you."

"There are no men by the likes of me," I proclaimed with a raise of my first.

Kitana's words turned protracted as she spoke through her clenched teeth. "There are plenty of them. They're called peasants."

I felt a rage burn from my chest as her words bit me like a cobra's fangs. I lifted my arm and attempt to strike Princess Kitana with a bolt of lightning. As if she had read my thoughts from the moment she finished her words, she span aside from the bolt and lifted her fans. I had never seen someone move that fast in my entire life. Not Li-Qin, not Yun, not even Chameleon. She waved her fans in my direction. Next thing I knew, a gust of wind took my feet off the surface of the rock. I was suspended in midair, about six feet off of the ground. The Princess had bested me. Twice.

Kitana took several soft steps toward me with a large stride as I lay upside down, levitating. "Let me make this clear, Edenian," she hissed. "My father wishes a council with you. It is my wish that you refuse, so that I can bleed you. Slowly." The wind magic which left me floating broke and I hit the ground with a heavy thud. Though it was not as painful as what happened next. Kitana's boot stomped on my chest as she held me in place and kept me pinned to the ground. "You and your pathetic rebellion have no perspective. You and your savages, hiding in the hills, will not stop my father's eternal reign." She took her boot off of my chest and turned her back to me. "You don't even know what you are getting into."

I brought myself to one knee and braced my chest. "There will be no surrender, Princess." I took a moment to catch my breath before I continued to speak. "You're father is afraid of me. That's why he sent you."

Kitana turned her head to the side and peeked at me at out the corner of her eye. "If that is what you believe, I shall not be deprived of the pleasure of ending your life."

"General Rain!" a voice called from the distance. It sounded like Yun.

"Boss! Boss, we got your back!" Another voice said which clearly belonged to Delion.

"Goodbye, General," Kitana said. "Perhaps I will see you tomorrow on the field of battle." The Princess galloped away with silent steps before disappearing into the shadows.

I stood up. Yun and Delion rushed to my side when they saw me. "General, are you hurt?" Yun asked as he put his hand on my shoulder. "One of the scouts said they saw a woman attack you."

I swatted Yun's hand away. "You are in charge of monitoring the outer perimeter of the camp. Why did no one see her until after she already attacked me?"

Yun was nervous. "Sir, the territory is rather large. You ventured out very far…"

"Don't you dare attempt to make this seem as if it were my fault. You had a job and you failed. And I almost was killed because of it." My anger was stemming more from Kitana than Yun. But he was the one taking the heat for it.

"Sir, I. I'm sorry…"

"Get out of my sight," I said as I turned my hand and waived him off. "I can't bear to hear your pathetic mumbling."

Yun nodded and began to walk away. His eyes started to water as he stepped by me.

"Yun," I said. "Improve yourself. There is plenty there to keep you busy." I then looked at Delion and looked up at him. I tried to stand as tall as I could to show authority to his commanding stature. "And I thought I told you to stay behind," I said.

Delion shrugged. "I wanted to take a walk too. What's the big deal?" For some reason, I could not get mad at him.

We walked back to camp. I went directly to Terrin's tent and sent her guard in to retrieve her for me. She was already asleep, for she was in a simple blue robe and was without her mask. "Terrin," I said as soon as she stepped out.

"What happened to you?" she asked as she noticed that I was covered in dirt, burrs and other remnants of the forest.

I crossed my arms and took a deep breath. "I was just attacked by Princess Kitana." I paused while I allowed Terrin a moment to react. "She knows we are coming."

"By the Elder Gods." Terrin placed her hands over her chin. "How ever would she know?"

"I don't know," I said. "But this will change our plans."

"Well yes, we must call off the ambush," Terrin proclaimed. "I will call the other leaders in for an emergency meeting. We will order a retreat of our forces."

Terrin began to walk back into her tent. "No!" I ordered as I reached out and clasped my fingers around her shoulder. "Don't you dare."