CHAPDERR ELEBEN

The Curse

"Death! Death and darkness!" The creature bayed, staring at us in wide-eyed fear. "It's coming! The living shadows, the endless curse!" I lowered my weapon, hackles falling. It was a brown dog, staring at us with wide pale blue eyes that seemed to look past us- unable to see the figures standing in front of it. "Death and destruction!" The dog looked around wildly, legs shaking. "A city soon to fall; the son of the fox to end it all-"

"Woah, woah, woah, what're you talking about?" Hiraku said, crawling back over my head- as he'd tumbled not-too-gracefully off backwards at the dog's sudden appearance. "Betrayal! Chaos! The king must give up his throne, or the kingdom shall be overrun! The fox...The fox's son shall be their doom!" He stared, ever more terrified past us, one of his blue eyes was clouded over; he was half-blind. "What's wrong with him?" Hana asked, looking worried. "I've seen someone like this before..." Hiraku said. "Not quite this melodramatic, but someone who could see into the future. I think this dog has the power of Prophecy." I raised my eyebrows, I also knew someone on the plains with the power of Prophecy: Waka. The gift was rare, very rare indeed, especially for mortals.

"But why does he act this way?" Hana inquired. "Can he only see trouble in the future?" The spaniel tilted her head, looking troubled. "You.." The brown dog whispered, quivering, looking at me. "You bring the darkness. You chase it and it follows you, your path is never to be free from it. The daughter will fall to darkness…" His last sentence echoed with power and meaning, and I felt a chill go up my spine. It felt like he was staring into my soul, reading my destiny. However, I held my ground as the feeling flooded over me, even though what he said worried me. What he spoke was no mere prediction, that was a line of true prophecy. The others seemed not to have noticed what happened, and Hiraku was answering Hana's question. "Sometimes the gift goes funny- where they can only see certain outcomes, sometimes only dark futures." Hiraku continued. "Or, of course he could just be completely bonkers." Hiraku shrugged. "Either way."

"I…I see things…things I don't want to see." The dog whimpered, slowly coming out of his daze, and cowering close to the ground. "I'm so sorry…" He whined. "I can't help it. I can't stop the curse…"

"The curse?" I asked, very interested. "I was born with this curse. So that I can't see anything out of my left eye, except for when it awakens to show me horrible things that are destined to happen; but only terrible things." Maybe all prophets were… Strange. I tilted my head. "It's alright, it's not your fault. What's your name?" I inquired. "Jun." He said quickly and quietly, looking nervous to be surrounded by a wolf, a strange dog, and a little glowing bug. "My name is Jun."

"Well, that's quite an interesting gift you have there Jun… I'm sure many would love to be able to tell the future- good or bad." Hiraku said, and I wasn't sure if he was trying to comfort the dog, or just making an observation. "They don't have to always know." The dog said. "They don't know what it's like to always tell what's going to happen, to foresee every awful thing that's going on miles away. Every death, every murder…I'm burdened with that knowledge."

'Knowledge.' A light went off in my head. This dog was gifted with a form of unique knowledge, he was born with it. Maybe that could qualify him to be a warrior. "Where's your master?" I asked, looking at the cart that Jun was tied to. "He's gone. After the cart broke down, the ox ran off. He'll be back… Sometime." He said dejectedly. "Does he treat you well?" I asked. "Well enough… I'm not a good guard dog, and if I do a poor job… He beats me… At times I do think I'd be better off on my own. He only keeps me because no one would buy me- I bring bad luck." He lowered his head. The poor dog was skinny, not as skinny as Noriko; but he was obviously mistreated. How could his owner beat such a poor dog?

"Well Jun, I think we can help you escape." I said, trotting up to the cart. "But I can't just leave him! No matter how he treats me!" Jun's ears went backwards. "He'll find me! And then...And then-"

"Any master that beats his dog does not deserve to keep him." Hana growled and walked forward, eyes again ablaze. "No! No no no no no…" He whimpered, cowering under the cart, but Hana continued struggling to pull the rope free, gnawing at the thick twine. "That'll take too much time. His master could get here any minute! Hana, get out of the way!" Hiraku shouted, and the limber dog glanced over her shoulder, then jumped aside. As soon as she was clear, I cut through the thick rope with a neat power-slash. The two ends sprang apart, severed cleanly in the middle.

"Hey! What's going on?" I heard a man shout, and we all looked up. There was an angry man, dragging an ox behind him- running towards us. "Get away from there, you mangy mutts!" I expected to have to drag Jun out from under the cart, but as soon as he heard the man's gruff voice, the dog shot out and ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction- tail between his legs. Hana and I took chase, running after him towards the village. "Good riddance, you cowardly mongrel! You can't run from your luck- just take it with you!" The man reached the cart and grabbed up the rope and shook his fist at us, but we were already gone.

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Jun stopped by the trees leading into the village, he sat down and started panting. "I shouldn't have done that.." He whined to himself. "Now what'll I do? I can't hunt! I'll starve!" He whimpered, quaking. "At least you're free from that cruel man." Hana said, sitting down beside him, but the labrador-like dog only covered his face with his paws and trembled.

I walked up to them, and saw a fluffy yellow shape running towards us. "Akime! You're back!" Shisa yipped, Ryota was behind her, along with Daiko. "Shisa, Ryota, Daiko- this is Hana, and this is Jun." I said, gesturing with my tail from one dog to the other. Jun was looking around nervously, not making eye contact with anyone. "Take care of him, he's been through a lot today." I said to the yellow dog. "We all have." I added, looking back at Hana. Jun had looked up, and as soon as he laid eyes on Daiko, he suddenly grew rigid. "You, you're from the city…" He said, in a strange tone. "Yes, I am." Daiko barked in his normal, uppity voice. Jun's eyes started glowing, clouded eye shining a bright blue.

"A city burns, and turns to ash; shadowed by a demon from the past, that fills it with gloom.

What should have been the city's wedding is shrouded in death, announced by a trusted friend's last breath, destruction the groom.

The city will ring with the call of fallen bamboo;

And the fox's son shall be their doom."

He spoke in a voice that rang with the same power as when he'd spoken to me before; but this time it was a whole prophecy, not just a single line. We sat in awed silence, staring at him, as his eye stopped glowing and he returned to normal. A feeling of awe, wonder, and apprehension flooded over us all. He truly was gifted with prophecy. He truly had a knowledge that no one else possessed. Suddenly, my chest started glowing, and a pink orb appeared out of my fur. Jun yelped, jumping a foot in the air. "What is that?! Get it away!" He whimpered, running away from the glowing ball. He fled into the village, trying to duck under a porch, but the sphere of light only followed him.

"Where'd you find… Him?" Daiko asked, nose pointed in the air. "He reminds me of stories of Kudan, mooncalves… Ones who would be born, proclaim death, then die. Creatures with no purpose in their lives except to spread fear and chaos." The brown dog proceeded to try and dig farther under the house as he spoke. "He's nothing more than a Kudan." Daiko sniffed. The pink orb caught up to the dog, and while he was half-hidden under the house, it absorbed into him. He froze as it touched his fur, and only slightly untensed as its power flowed through him. "Awesome, Jun! Now you're a warrior too!" Shisa barked excitedly, and bounced up to him. "I'm a- what?" He said, squirming around and poking his head out from under the house, and the yellow dog began exuberantly explaining what the orb meant.

"So far, I am not pleased with your choices of warriors, Akime." Daiko barked. "None of them have met my expectations, or fit the requirements I set for you. None of the one's I've questioned can trace their lineage back past their grandparents! And I'm sure that these two can't either!" He stated with remarkable distain. I sighed. "I'll have to talk to you later Daiko, I need some rest after a long day… And I want all the possible dogs to meet tomorrow…" He ignored me completely and kept talking. "Oh, and just a minute ago some pup even came up to me and asked about you, but I told him to leave immediately. I told him no ruffian pup would be eligible for an esteemed position like being a Canine Warrior." He puffed out his chest, looking happy with himself. "What?" Both Hiraku and I exclaimed at almost the exact same time. "Gods, Daiko!" I barked, and ran towards the house, hoping the poor pup hadn't run away already. Hiraku stayed behind to berate the haughty saluki, and I looked around, even glancing under the houses, scenting for any sign of him. "Hello?" I barked, peering under one, and I saw blue eyes looking back at me. They blinked. "Hello…" A voice replied, and I heard it was indeed a pup.

"Hi there, I'm Akime." I said in a reassuring tone. "I heard you were looking for me."

"I was, then your friend told me to leave… He seemed quite intent on it too." I heard a twinge of hurt in the pup's quiet voice, and I sighed. "You'll have to forgive Daiko, he doesn't speak for everyone, although he likes to think he does." The eyes blinked again, and a small figure stepped out into a ray of light. It was a husky puppy with gray and white fur. He looked no older than six months and had stern blue eyes. "What's your name?" I asked. "Kei." He replied, staring at me steadily. He had eyes unlike any pup I'd ever seen before, very serious and calm- filled with a wisdom, a responsibility beyond his age. Like he'd been robbed of his puphood, and an adult dog with the face of a pup stood before me.

"It's a pleasure to meet you-" And I cut off, as I heard another voice from the shadows. "Kei?" It was a softer pitch, and a girl puppy poked her head out from around a wooden beam. "Gina," Kei barked. "You can come out, it's safe." The girl pup walked slowly up to us, keeping her eyes averted. She was much smaller than Kei, maybe she was a runt, or a sibling from a younger litter. "This is my sister, Gina." He said as she reached us. She had paler fur than her brother, -almost white on her back- but they both had the same blue eyes. "I've been taking care of her ever since we were small, when our mother died. I've had to hunt to keep us both alive, and protect her." He stood strong, sheltering her. 'Since we were small' made me wonder how long they'd been alone, still being young pups now. His stance spoke of a solemn life, full of struggle and strife. So young, and yet already he's taken on such a responsibility, with no sign of there ever being relief. His fur was scruffy, while hers was more smooth, he'd obviously been in a few recent tussles.

One of their stomachs growled, and my ears flattened in pity. "Here, take this." I said, grabbing a meat-bag out of my travel-pouch, and tossing it in front of his paws. A smile broke across his face for the first time. "Thank you." I laid down on the soft dirt and grass beneath the house and asked in a gentle voice: "Why were you looking for me?"

"I heard those other dogs talking about you looking for 'Canine Warriors'…" I nodded, and he continued. "My mother always said my father was a warrior, and I want to make both my parents proud." He stuck out his chest, eyes glimmering with resilience, and I felt admiration for the pup. "I want to learn how to fight, so I can better protect Gina and myself." I smiled at the husky pup. He was filled with such duty, to his sister- It was stronger than any bond I had yet seen on my journey.

Suddenly, a blue light lit up the shadows under the house, and emerged from my chest. I could hardly believe it. 'Another warrior? Already?' The steadfast blue light of Duty sat in the air between us, and the pups watched it in awe. It floated closer, until it was right in front of Kei's nose. He watched it, light reflected in his eyes, as it absorbed into him. He closed his eyes and let out a breath, and his sister watched him anxiously. "Kei?" She said worriedly, ears lowered. He looked down, still a bit startled, then looked up at me with a confused expression. "What was that?"

"That was the orb of Duty. You have been chosen to train to be a Canine Warrior!"

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We walked up to a glowing-red Hiraku and an indignant Daiko- who clearly wasn't paying attention to the poncle's choice-worded criticism. "Another one, Akime?" Daiko sniffed as he saw us. "And the PUP no less? At least he looks like he's well-bred." I focused hard on not rolling my eyes, and said to the snobby dog: "He's a warrior, which is more than you can say, Daiko. He is a worthy dog, and the Orb of Duty has accepted him as its new bearer." I looked down at the pup and shot him a grin, which he shyly returned. Now Daiko rolled his eyes. "Pah! Orbs have no brains, no intellect, nor mind of their own; how can they make the best choices?" He walked around me, brushing me with his long tail. "I think somebody needs to choose for them." I shook my head and sighed as the lean dog stalked off. I couldn't think of any position that could suit him: not loyalty, not wisdom, and definitely not brotherhood…

Kei looked up at me, blue eyes wide. "Akime, what about my sister? Can she be a warrior too?" He looked worried; his sister had cautiously walked toward the other dogs to introduce herself. "If she is chosen by an orb as well, then yes." I replied, watching her. "But what if she isn't? What then?" His voice became pitched with fear. "Well…" I said, hesitant to answer. "I'd have to leave her here…" He flattened his ears, looking horrified. "I can't leave her! I wouldn't! I couldn't-"

"Calm down Kei. We'll figure something out- either way." I put a paw on his chest, and smiled again. "We won't leave your sister to survive by herself."

Hiraku bounced up to the pup and introduced himself, and Kei told him his story. Shisa and Ryota talked with Jun and Hana, Hana seemed keen to talk to the other dogs, but Jun mostly cowered behind her, like Gina behind her brother. "Wow, there really are a lot of dogs here that have gone through a lot. First Noriko, then Jun…But you know what I said earlier, Akime? I take it back. THIS is the unluckiest dog I've ever met." Hiraku said looking at me, referring to the gray pup, who had spent most of his life alone, struggling to keep his sister and himself alive.

Kei walked up to his sister, and the older dogs surrounded the pups. "You guys don't have any place to sleep?" Shisa barked, aghast after hearing Gina's story. "You can stay with me! I'm sure my masters won't mind! My mistress loves puppies!" Then Shisa smiled, and tried to get them to play. Kei stood stoically off to the side, but Gina gladly accepted invitation and play-bowed to the fluffy dog, her curled, fluffy tail up in the air. Shisa giggled and started running, and the she-pup raced after her. Kei watched them both run, and although his stance spoke of calm disinterest, his eyes followed them enviously. "It's good to play while you're still young." I said, walking up to him. "Playing is a sort of practice for when you're older. Even adults do it sometimes, to practice, and also bond, and to keep spirits up."

"Really?" He said, tilting his head, and I nodded, smiling. "Come on!" I tagged his shoulder with a paw and leaped after Shisa. Ryota and Hana quickly joined in, and we ran around the open area of the village, between the stream, the fence, and the turnip-patch. The pups ran ahead, barking and yipping, and the rest of us tried to catch up, avoiding each other's attempts to tag. I smiled as Hiraku egged me on to go faster and thought about how well today had gone for our quest.

'I found four dogs today! And I have several other dogs that could very well turn out to be warriors! I just need to evaluate them, see how well they really work together… The full moon is only a few days away, but surely I can find all the new warriors in time! Yes, all the dogs will meet tomorrow to get to know their fellow candidates. I can see how they all interact with one another, guess what their virtues might be, eliminate those that do not fit, and find out how many dogs are left to find.'

'How hard could this be?'

(AN: Never a good question to ask yourself Akime, never. You're dooming yourself. Filler chapter! But more dogs were introduced, so there are some things happening '^^)