Soldiers of Light, "Dreams"
 

Wearied from using the Dangik, Kurama slips blissfully into slumber. Unknownst to him, spirits from the underworld have stories to tell. And they will tell it. Images fill his head, and he has no choice but to watch.

Out far in the barren wastelands of the very far south, a lone samurai climbs a collossal mountain. His hands are scarred and bleeding, his face scratched as the wind whips sand and other debris in his face. This man is on a mission. He made an oath that he would save those he loved, any way possible.

His hand slipped on a rock, and he began to plummet to the earth below. As he fell, his mind filled with despair, unable to continue on his quest. He has been beaten, and he believes that there is no hope. When he strikes the earth, instead of simply stopping, he continued to fall through. His contact ended the illusion spell that held it, and he continued to fall.

Deep down below the earth, in a forge that simply blistered with heat, a three horned demon hunched over a forge. He was crafting a blade for the demonic army. It would be for one of the shadow demon assassins that Talkatz employed. It would be enchanted to disappear along with the wielder when it went invisible. It was boring work. Not that he had a choice in the matter. He absentmindedly shuffled his left leg, the sound of the chain holding him to the forge clinging out in the small room. How he wished for some kind of social contact...

That's when the man finally landed. Luckily, his fall placed him in a thick pile of oil-covered rags, softening his fall greatly. When he looked up, he saw the horned demon looking at him. Instinctively, the man went for his sword, but noticed that he did not have one. He must have lost it in the fall. He was about to lunge at the demon anyway, but noticed the chain. The demon was a prisoner. There was no honor in striking down prisoners. The demon looked questiongly at him.

"I asked for social contact. But not one from a human."

The man frowned.

"It was not my choice to come to your forge, demon. It was by accident, I assure you. If I had my way, and if you weren't chained up, I would kill you now. You and the entire race you belong to. Especially your king."

The demon's eyes widened.

"Really? You're out to kill Talkatz? Interesting. Very interesting..."

It was now the man's turn to be surprised. He raised an eyebrow.

"You're a little too calm about me threatening you and your king."

The horned demon spat on the ground, the saliva sizzling in the heat.

"Talkatz is the greatest of the demons, I'll give him that. But he is not a king. Not MY king, at least. A true king would not steal a family from one of his citizens. But, if he were killed. Oh, that 'twould be a thing. 'Twould be a thing, indeed."

Tama rose from his seat in the rags, wiping the spare oil from his body.

"What are you thinking of, demon."

The demon placed the sword he had been working on aside, and turned as best he could.

"I'm thinking that Talkatz has been around for far too long. And if he should happen to die, then I could get my family back. But your human weapons are too inferior to defeat a demon of Talkatz's calibur. Yes, far too inferior. But a demon crafted sword, now that would be a trick there. With a demon sword..."

The man began to understand. He pulled a scroll from his pocket.

"And a human's purification magic..."

The demon and human grinned.

"Then Talkatz could finally be put in his place. In a grave."

The human held out his hand.

"My name is Tama Genkai, samurai and partner of a demon."

The horned demon looked suspiciously at the hand, before grabbing it with his own.

"My name is Markit Simsno, demon forger and partner of a human."

And so, a long list of events was started with the simple exchange between a demon with much to gain, and a human with nothing to lose.

With that, the scene slowly began to fade from Kurama's mind, and he would awake in a few hours. But for now, there was nothing by uninterrupted sleep.

Ice? Cold.... Too cold. A suffocating feeling that made him feel like a statue in a world devoid of life. Only coldness. A place no man could live, but perhaps, That was what she wanted in the first place. Forget the fact that more than just men would die from it. She... her... The icy apparition that plagued the back of his mind, faceless, emotionless, unfamiliar, and yet... someone He would be very close to... By his very nature he would disapprove of her, but would he kill her? And for what reason?

She cared little for angels...he cared little for one too proud for tears. Tears that when trapped inside a cold heart, froze and became ice. Her name...her aura, her essence

...was...

...Hielas(ice woman, bad translation from spanish, but I know little japanese.) ....

Tsubasa was resting in a hammock made of her cutting wires like yesterday. It wasn't long before her nightmare began again...
A young and beautiful woman with flowing black hair and bright brown eyes hurried to her village the moment she saw the broad plume of smoke. It looked bad from the other side of the hill, but seeing the village in flames did her heart even worse.
"Onii-san! Onii-san!!"
The villagers didn't fair so well. Judging from many of the bodies, some people were set on fire and got out of their homes before perishing, leaving blackened husks with melted faces crumbled up in the streets. Tsubasa couldn't recognize some of the burn victims. Others had been killed by weapons, some crushed under collapsing houses, most of them torn apart and...partially eaten. Tsubasa's older brother, however...
"Oh, no! Onii-san!"
Kogetsu Hirasaka's body hung from an arch, a wire tight around his neck. His stiff body gently twisting along with the flames that ate through the houses. Tsubasa fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands, weeping. Weeping for her brother. Weeping for the villagers. Everyone and everything she ever knew was gone. Then, a movement. Tsubasa turned to see a large black panther demon, blood dripping from his teeth. "Hmmm. I can't believe I left someone alive in this village. I must be getting rusty."
It was all the demon said before he reached for Tsubasa with extended claws. All she could do was await her death.
"Stop!"
Tsubasa looked up. The demon had turned to reveal a woman with silvery white hair, dressed in a plain white kimono.
"Mistress, I..."
"I will take care of this."
The demon opened his mouth to complain, but quickly closed it.
"Yes, mistress."
The demon retreated from the streets and the woman drew closer to Tsubasa, extending her left hand to the now homeless girl. In spite of her convictions, Tsubasa slowly rose up and took the woman's hand.
"Come...there is nothing more for you here and yet you now have much to do."
The dream slowly died away, becoming hazy and dark. Tsubasa thought she would dream more, but the nightmare was gone and she could finally return to her restful state.

((Demons have to eat too, and human food just dosen't cut it.))

Koyuki watched as the group slept. They did not appear peaceful in any way, but sleep was healthy for them. Koyuki, being a demon, did not often rest if she was not wounded. The dog demon stood silently in a classic sentinel stance, eyes constantly scanning the forest, ears picking out misplaced sounds, nose sniffing the air for alien scents.

It was then, that her stomach rumbled. Earlier, with Ishumo, she had mentioned not killing anything in two days, thus, given her strict diet of human flesh, she had not eaten over the same period.

*Rustle*

Koyuki's ears perked at the unfamiliar sound. It was downwind, seeing as she had not picked it up earlier, and some distance away. Given the magnitude of the sound, and it's distance, the intruder was wearing armor. Koyuki soundlessly approached the noise to investigate.

A lone samurai, and, judging from his lack of a wakizashi, a ronin, strode through the forest's underbrush toward the village of Kanjiro. He did not expect a lone woman dressed in a black kimono bearing a sword to cross his path in the dead of night, as Koyuki did. An alcohol-induced illusion, perhaps?

She raised her right hand and cracked her claws in anticipation.

Perhaps not.

"Y-You're not human!" The ronin gasped in alarm, dropped his bottle of sake, and immediately drew his sword.

"Hm?" She replied, acting suprised.

"Demon!" He yelled, taking a wild swing at Koyuki, who sidestepped away from the swing, grabbing the ronin's arm in a clawed hand, and jerked him backwards off his feet, snapping his arm in the process. The ronin's katana fell from his now-broken wrist, right into Koyuki's grasp, who used the weapon to end it's owner's life. His scream was sweet, and so was his flesh.

"Tonight, I will feast on this man, and tomorrow, I shall partake of a hero's flesh." Koyuki thought.

Artemiiis...
"Hmm? Who's there?"
Aaartemis...
"Wha-where am I?"
You're in a dream. I'm speaking in italics with drawn out vowels, please keep up.
"Uhm...k." Artemis never did have very creative dreams. Kubernits logic pervaded everywhere.
Ok, now you know the sword, the one held by Kuruma? That blast, that was energy.
"Gotcha, sword energy."
Not sword energy, just...sit back and I'll show you...
Artemis complied, sitting on the chair that had appeared behind him. All around him the blackness was replaced by diagrams and doodles that took on actual shape and form, then began to dissolve into visions of electrical currents and compressed steam.
Long story short, all energy exists in all things, waiting only for the right component to draw it out. Kuruma's sword is such a conduit.
A diagram of a sword came to life, slicing through the air at the behest of an unseen arm. Swirls of blue light circled around the swird and then exploded in a straight path, the way Kuruma had done earlier.
So you see?
"Not at all."
What? You must...I'm just your sub...the energy can be used by anything that draws it forth, be it a sword...or a gun...
Artemis stared at the void.
Maybe, say, a gun built by demon ingenuity...
Artemis twiddled his thumbs.
Just...ask the mechanic human. Work something out with him.
Artemis nodded, storing it in his super-concious.
Why are you still waiting there?
"I guess I was just expecting...something dreamy. Like crabs going sideways wearing loafers and shooting lightning out their eyes. Something abnormal for once."
Fine, you want crabs, have crabs.

OOC: Well my character isn't sleeping but hes "day" dreaming. Basically meditating whilst his body heals.

A loud rumble issued forth from the back of Vance's mind. A dark pulse curled through his meditation. The Daemon markings on his body burned. His vision blurring he tried his best to keep focused on Kurama's body. It was to no avail however. He viewed a pitch blackness. He knew it to be the darkness of his ancestry. The darkness his Grandfather brought into the world; the Darkness his mother wrought upon the world; and the darkness he was to take from the world. "Obey" He heard in his mind. "Destroy the chosen. Destroy the Raigaki"

"No!" He said back to the voice. "I am not evil. I decide my own fate!"

"OBEY!" The Voice roared into his head. The Darkness pulsing and writhing in his mind. The burning of his markings becoming overwhelming.

"ROT IN THE PITS! I AM NO DAEMON!" He Shouts back. The bright light of his self overwhelming the darkness in his mind, forcing the blackness back and imprisoning it once again in the deepest recesses of his soul. His eyes unclouded and the burning stopped. Vance panted lightly with the exertion, sweat covering his body.

The visions were coming more frequently the longer he traveled with Kurama. He was sure it was the Daemon king in his mind. Using his Ancestral blood to try and manipulate him. He knew he must stand fast, and that he must fight against the evil in himself. The struggle would only get harder the closer they got to the daemon king. He watched Kurama, He had moved little in his sleep. Vance's hand had healed nicely and the cuts he had received from the daemons were long gone. His side was a touch tender but in a half hour would be nothing more then flesh again. Sometimes, having evil in you, was the easiest way to do good.

There sanjuro sat, his arms were thick as tree trunks and just as ripped. He was surrounded by fawning beautiful women, they caressed him, they massaged him, they whispered their secrets in his ears. But much more importantly they fed him. Plate after plate was set in front of him, the finest rice and sake, followed by crab and the most delectible sushi. Plate after plate of endless wonders were devoured by him one by one. It was then his eyes caught a figure in the distance, she sat at the far end of the table just out of reach, out of sight. "Who are you?" he asked imbetween gulps.

In a sultry brown voice she replied, "I am your one true love."

He smiled brightly as he simply replied with a thumb in the air, "Ok!"

Every night, when he was immersed in his dreams, he could see them, his victims. He could see them, hear them, touch them, smell them, taste them, and he could remember -being- them. Every night, he relived each and every one of their memories, and faced the shadows of his former prey, all of them all at once. Every night, he was threatened to be overwhelmed by their past experiences and thoughts, by the voices of every life he had ever stolen.

Yet...tonight was not like every night. Tonight, those who he had wronged were not there, haunting his dreams. Tonight, only he came face to face with one person: Himself.

"What do you want?"

Garud. Remember what I told you many a time ago?

I remember

Well, your charge is in your vicinity, and will be in peril soon.

Peril? How?

A demon preistess has conducted a ritual. A tainting being has been summoned and her minions are on their way aswell.

So, what do I do?

Kurama is in trouble. Do, what is necessary.

He has that sword. Raigeki is it?

Something like that. Your spelling isnt too good, so work on that. anyway, what were you saying? Something about the sword?

Couldnt he use that?

Raig...Whatever it is. The sword cant defend itself from that.

Then, isnt it useless?

Not really. The sword is the only thing that can beat the demon king.

So, i cant beat the demon king?

No. You wouldn't even be able to hold the sword.

If I could, would I be here? Would we be having this trouble?

Patience young one. Destiny takes time.

Young one? I am over 10 000 years old.

That is a blink of an eye in my lifecycle.

Tsk, i should really stop talking to you. You make me feel stupid.

Meh, I have a sense of humour too. Now wake up and hurry...

He had learned to sail a boat, but that did not make him a sailor. He had learned how to fight like the Shaolin, but that did not make him a monk. He had learned to cook for kings, but that did not make him a chef. He had learned to perform the rituals, but that did not make him a Navajo.

In the framework that is Drak's mind, he found himself walking down aisles upon aisles of people. Every one was a person that Drak had copied. There was literally millions of people there. But none of them was Drak. Nothing that Drak knew was something he himself had been taught.

Who are you, little one?

"You know my name."

Another thing given to you. Devised by others, yet seized as your own...

"Okay, we have a stereotypical ominous voice. What. Do. You. Want?"

To know who "Drak" really is. Why he envies the wolf when his name is for the dragon. Why he flees his family when people would kill to join it. Why...why everything that he does is an imitation of the actions of others...

"It's my curse."

Curse? Anyone else would call it a gift.

"They don't know what it's like."

And you do? Think boy, think. Think of what could be done with it! Think of all you could learn, think of how you could stand above others! Think of the POWER you could gain! Power beyond your wildest dreams!

"But wouldn't I learn responsibility? And why would I want that power? I just want to know me, not others."

You would need to want it. Those that don't have power have no idea how to us it! If you didn't want it, you would destroy everyone because you were unprepared!

"This is sounding unlike me. I'm leaving."

The dream faded out...