truths buried beneath secrecy ; soh

[Taiga Hozuki]

cinematic story

"it was said that it wreaked havoc upon the dreams of those who dared to sleep during the war. the frightened soldiers called it a devil, a demon that devoured dreams of those who fell prey to it."

(LAUGHTER)

"You had one too many old timer...."

"Maybe I have... but Yagaeisha... that town where a small battle broke out... it wasn't shinobi that completely leveled that town. Humans just don't do things like that... it was hell itself youngster...."

"Hell itself..."

Rays of sunlight speckled the countryside as amber light rises high above. The dew covered fields sway slowly in the playful winds. In the village of Konoha whispers of a beasts had spread, old myths of a frightening power that could level entire countries, mountains even were exchanged. You had picked up on such a children's story from tales told over alcohol and robust laughter. Intrigued by its intoxicating allure, instinct took over your desires and you chased after what most would call a fools dream.

On the streets you heard of a remote town upon the outskirts of hi no kuni tucked away from the eyes of adventurers. The town of Yagaeisha is a fishing village which harbors many buried truths... and secrets in its soil. The towns history of being wiped off the face of the earth during the second shinobi war had spread, but soon turned to nothing more than hushed stories of an aged past. However, like fine wine this tale has ripened as the years off the hour glass ticked away.

Many seeking that mysterious power had been guided to Yagaeisha in search of it, but such truths were not easily unearthed. What you so desperately coveted.. yearned for is in that small town. In the heart of it, where a large tavern sat nestled where all the folklore ans stories gathered. Would you succeed where others failed? Or become just another adventurer in over his head in hopes of attaining something unimaginable? Where you ended up, and what knowledge you gained is left to how hard your resolve was.

Could you dig up what was not meant to be found beneath the rubble?

objectives

• travel to the town of Yagaeisha
  
• establish a connection to the story of the towns decimation
  
• follow up on any clues found.
  

[chiatsuki]

Though he himself had cleaved mountains in half, the uchiha damo, the rumors of such a beast would not go unheard to him. In the bellowing laughter of many he would have figured that those rumors were in fact true; that the sighting of a mysterious beast had finally dawned upon the shores of the fire nation, and he was nothing but ready. As they, the commoners, shook loose what anxiety they felt from the stories Au would have clenched his fists as if to embrace it all at once.

“Yagaesha..?” he would retort alone under a muffled tone just after hearing it cross the lips of another. Though the truth about what really anchored its shores had become nothing but myth the Hokage knew all too well that it still existed, “That place is supposed to be gone”, he would say whilst standing to his longevity, feet shoulder width apart as he took one last glance around the room… perishing into the amber-awe sky in his steps after the man who had spoken the city’s name.

With an agitated strut the uchiha would have made it just behind the man before outstretching his fingers to the side of the mans shoulders hoping to tug him in the direction of facing one another.

“Excuse me, sir, but did you say Yagaesha? Would you happen to know where that’s located by?”

SPOILER: Click to show

( wasn’t sure if you wanted me to do all the finding myself, so I made the NPC but gave him/her no features.)

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Objectives:

[/sup]

establish a connection to the story of the towns decimation

follow up on any clues found. [/ul]
[/blockquote]

[/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Taiga Hozuki]

Drunk, he stumbled out the tavern, body swaying as your outreached hand would cause him to fumble, losing his footing he tumbled to the ground. Rolling up against a parked wagon the passerby's and onlookers all had their curious gazes perched upon your figure. The hushed whispers and contorted misunderstandings were exchanged by them. Raising his head the old mans eyes flickered in and out before they'd focus upon you and he'd give a cheeky grin at your question. Though he was wasted he could see it in your eyes, the glare of someone who believed as he once did in his youth.

Perhaps you could do what it was he could not?

"Caught yer intrest did I boy?"

A wry look was upon the elders visage, he looked over your person several times with inclusiveness. Inspecting you down to your very essence. Crawling to his feet he dusted himself off slowly and the people watching went back about their business. He had a scruffy, rough look. Dirty gray hair, and unkempt beard and wore disheveled clothing. One could say life hadn't been to kind to the man, though despite his sketch appearance his beady, blue eyes were deep. Like the ocean itself and when you looked into them you'd find yourself swept away by the currents.

Swept away... into fantasy

"And why are you asking me? Tell me boy... do you believe in myths-the stuff of legends and lore?"

His words were captivating, and enticed your mind to wander to places it never had. He wanted to see for himself if you were worth of the legend you'd soon find yourself wrapped in. Would you find him crazy or would you see the gleam in his eyes that told you he was quite sane and that it was the others who were daffy. Deluded by the constraints of reality. His eyes... they were telling you to break the shackles. He reached into his shirt for something as he awaited your reply...

[chiatsuki]

Excitement, in its purest form, wrapped a blanket around his features as the man spoke. Every hair on Au’s body stood in the exact moment their eyes dwelled within one another. His words, nothing but truths buried beneath secrecy, had tugged at the chiatsuki’s very soul- with attentive ears he would listen.

"And why are you asking me? ..
Tell me boy... do you believe in myths?
The stuff of legends and lore?"

…

“I only believe in what I see and nothing else,”

Words beckoning a sure-fire spirit in the moment the uchiha spoke. Though no longer the hokage of the hidden leaf village he still felt as if he embraced its nature- the will of fire.. which wrapped a blanket so cleverly around his silhouette yet in the essence of others.. his spirit would have portrayed an image of rebellion. With clenched teeth Au awaited a retort in a paused poise; his inquisitive mind curious to the drunkard actions of the elderly man as a seditious red light illumined from the center of both his eyes; and upon the sky behind them both the sun edged nearer to its center, calmly casting a shadow over the country of hi-no kuni.

“But if you are telling the truth..
If the city of Yagaesha is real..
I wish to go there and tame a beast..
A beast by the name ‘Baku..’”

[/justify]

[Taiga Hozuki]

Like a predator he watched, and as if leaping from the sky to grasp his prey he pulled out a rusted color journal that appeared to be even older then its retainer. Dangling it front of you the elder would raise a brow, crooked grin shaping his lips and revealing the missing teeth in his mouth. It wasn't quite the answer he was looking for, though he could respect the confidence in which you spoke. Clearing his voice he begin swaying it as if it were a prize to be taken, yet should you try to grab at it you'd find his reflexes to be quite spectacular for a mere beggar and a drunk.

[/right][/ul]

A pause.

"It is real boy.... more than yer could ever think.... and the Baku-the beast that swallows everything into the void of oblivion. He's quite real and fearsome. I was once like you young, headstrong and seeking fame within the world. I came across it one day and I changed... but maybe you can do what I couldn't and tame the beast."

Flicking his wrist the journal would land in his outreached hand towards you. His eyes gleamed bright as he smiled.

"Take it, but you've been warned boy!"

Once you took it he'd stumble away and down the alleyway, chuckling all the while saying "Believe boy!" His voice would reverberate through your mind, bellowing words of empowerment. In your possession now laid your hope at finding the legendary beast. What you did with it was up to you. Read it and feed your imagination... or cower before something you can't begin to fathom, something new and fresh. This was your only chance to turn back and lead what everyone else lead around you.

A life of bliss and ignorance...

[/u] all you have to do is state IC that you read it.[/i]

Keep track of your objectives as I'll provide more.

Carry on.[/size]

[/ul]
[/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[chiatsuki]

Almost stumbling himself as the elderly man jousted out his arm in an assassin-like fashion the chiatsuki almost thought of countering, but in all its entirety he would have been too late. Thankfully though within the brim of the liver-spotted hand a journal had come to light. Au would have edged nearer to its spine as his eyes opened wider, the picture of the baku remaining evident upon its frame as if painted only yesterday. His breathing had momentarily slowed.. this was it, the moment he had been waiting for.

"Ai boy... this world has many things your untrained eyes can't see, things of a glorious splendor. You'd do well to remember that in the future, you'd do well to think that maybe fantasy is actually reality..."

As he paused so would the young uchiha as his eyes scanned over the elderly mans maw as he spoke in mumbles, his scratching voice unfolding, inch by inch, the curiosity that blossomed from the young man. Though his coo were rather frigid it held a mischievous tone to it that was remained un-deciphered; there was definitely something estrange about the elder in general but Au was never one to voice his opinion of others directly.. especially in instances such as this.

“There is not much that passes my eyes that I could not depict… but.. I never shy away from the advices of an elder..” he would say.

The old man had begun to speak once more- completely ignoring the contort dawning from the chuunin. There was a confidence in the elder that beckoned a conscious, it told him; You don’t know everything, Just stay quiet and observe for now..- said to himself as his fingers finally wrapped around the binder of the book bringing it face-forward only moments after having touching it. It wouldn’t take a genius to figure that the uchiha was excited for adventure- his devious grin edged across his entire face in symbolism of it.

"Take it, but you've been warned boy!"

A simple nod would convey from Au’s figure as the elderly man warned him – his words becoming bundled beneath the thumbing of the first page. Eyes glowing red^{sharingan san} to the page as it unfolded into open palms.

---

Objectives:

[/sup]

establish a connection to the story of the towns decimation

follow up on any clues found. [/ul]
[/blockquote]

[/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Taiga Hozuki]

You'd find the journal extremely old, delicate even as thought if you turned a page too hard, it'd tear from the seams. You turned the page and started reading. There was no going back now, only forward. With your prestigious sharigan any clues helpful to your goal will be highlighted. Those eyes of yours were gems, rubies fit for a king...

[/color][/u][/size][/font]

it was raining and cold as I walked the dreary countryside. My family abandoned me, laughed and ridiculed me for believing in what I'd heard, but I couldn't deny it. They were the fools for not trusting me and I'd prove it to them. The Baku..... I'd find it and our family would become powerful again. They'd just have to respect me then.....

Iv'e been traveling for two months now and finally I got my first lead to the town of Yagaesha... On my travels I was told an inn outside of Konoha, upon the outskirts of where the forest started and the path to the city of Noble Castle was. The woman who owned it used to live there and she even supposedly knows about the event that transpired during thee second shinobi war.

I had to find this inn.. but for now what I need is shelter from this storm. I can feel a cold coming on as i write this an my fire fades out. It'll be morning soon and maybe the sun will greet me when I awake from this night.... too many memories of my family are creeping into my mind... [/font][/size][/ul]You've reached the end of the first page, do you go on what information you got from it or do you turn the page again and continue reading the story carved into the pages of the old journal. The decision was yours to make, but were you a full glass type of guy or the one type of man who preferred it half filled?[/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote][/font]

[chiatsuki]

He would have tried his hardest in keeping the book in-tact. It were as if the book were only dust, and even moving its frame would have scattered it all into tiny particles. Au’Garumo would have begun reading, wondering if it was some sort of code he was supposed to decipher.

His military upbringing had turned him cold- as if everything was something he’d had to solve on his own. After having breached the first couple of lines he would have known it was nothing but a journal though, words meant to beckon an author’s feeling –

Intrigued to no end his eyes purged upon each letter with delicate precision as if to depict each moment in where the word were written. It was as if the author was speaking to him directly, even a foreign accent perturbed the emotions within the voice.

Without thinking much as to where he was going Au would begin a trek down the road into a bright and shining day as he proceeded into reading the journal. The uchiha boy would have halted as the first page ended with his fingers still pried upon the back corner.

Looking up from its page Au would have kept note of where he was headed; he still did not yet know the way to the town of yagaesha.. let alone the city of Noble castle. The little information he had received from the first page was not enough.. he still yearned for more.

---

Objectives:

[/sup]

establish a connection to the story of the towns decimation

follow up on any clues found. [/ul]
[/blockquote]

[/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Taiga Hozuki]

Without thinking it seemed your body just moved, guided by but simple instinct each step you took laced with uncertainty would soon become certain. The orange sky turned to dusk and the colors above melded into a dim display. The sun was setting and nightfall was imminent, but you were only interested by he hollow words etched into the journal's pages. Addicted, your tongue and mind were hanging upon each letter, searching, scanning for meaning hidden between the seams. You once more indulged yourself into the beckoning text, savoring each sentence with profuse care.

[/u][/color][/size][/font]

I had awaken the next day determined. Setting out once more I continued along the path from Konoha, following its worn trail until the branching point. I was heading left now. I'd come across this information from a traveling caravan who told me to head in the direction the sun was setting.

Without regret or worry I followed and soon I came to a small lake that sparkled a gorgeous aqua blue. I rested here for a bit, but I needed to hurry as I was racing the setting sun and I would have to wait until it began setting once more should I falter and my pace slow.

I couldn't allow such to happen. Usually I would take in the scenery with idle amusement, but my mind only lingered around the great beast. I waned its power to be mines and no one elses. I gave up everything in conquest for it. It was my only hope.

My feet ached, but after a hour or so I could see the great city of Noble Castle standing proudly in the distance. My eyes grew so wide as I rushed to it and hurriedly followed the path to it. I was sure someone in this town would know of the woman's Inn.

It was better than searching the entire outskirts I mused whilst entering. Many looks were aimed my way but i payed them no mind. I smirked and continued asking around, but to no avail. With darkness outreaching I found myself in a barn, sleep gracing my weary eyes.
[/ul] A few more pages had been claimed during your reading and you had attained a great bit of from it should you read with not haste but clarity and understanding the documentation of the elder. The answer to how to find Noble Castle City was yours all you had to do was but follow the journal's memories and surely you'd arrive to where you so desired. Would you rush heeding the journal or dare read more and risk slowing your pace and wasting the setting sun?

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advance [/font][/size][/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[chiatsuki]

Young chiatsuki watched precisely, feeding his knowledge with each word as he trekked into the unknown, unknowingly. As if guided by the strings of fate alone his footsteps calmly glided upon the mother earth, never once giving thought to turning back. Even now with such little progress he felt as if he had already achieved so much more. With but a simple few words from the journal, ‘head towards the sun..’, he would have finally brought his eyes off the page. The sun was setting towards his left and so he would pivot in order to redirect himself towards the right direction.

It was only moments in where he noticed that he too would have come across a grand body of water- crystalline blue. Within the center of its bed a trail lead east- Au would follow it with precision making sure to keep glancing to his right and left.. making sure he wouldn’t fall in. Although the ulterior motive for the quest was the power of this sacred beast- the journal seemed even more-so intriguing than his own adventure. But as his eyes placed themselves nearer to the edge of the fourth page, watching gracefully as the sun was edging nearer to its horizon, an adrenaline would fuel him.

“I can’t waste anymore time, I’ll have to read as I run!” he would say aloud, thumbing the journal with his thumb as he rushed into the city of noble castle. Upon countless numbers of bricks castles stood out amongst the city most of all. Upon the ground floors of its walls fungus and moss had grown- Au could almost smell the ancestry written within each crevice. If he was going to find an Inn it would have certainly been easy, usually Inn’s had some sort of sign above them to attract customers… or would Au find himself searching for a ghost house? Only time would tell as he raced his own shadow into the eastern sun, reading only in increments as he rushed along.

---

Objectives:

[/sup]

establish a connection to the story of the towns decimation

follow up on any clues found. [/ul]
[/blockquote]
[/justify][/blockquote]

[Taiga Hozuki]

Heeding the journal's wise words of history you too had set off, following the path before you as depicted. Eyes with a ferocious intensity would glide effortlessly across the worn text, eating away at the meal before you. As if you were destined to walk this path and experience life as so it told within the journal., you young Uchiha played your role with an exquisite expertise. Time was running out and the sky begin to change tones like that of a soured mood. Darkness soon enveloped as you breached the great city; however what you sought did not lie within the cites great wall itself, but upon the outskirts.

[/u][/color][/size][/font]

Its been two days since iv'e been in this town and I can't find a single clue as to where this Inn was. I was beginning to lose myself to frustrations, but i struggled and struggled, persevering until i could no longer draw breath. My life held no meaning and I was riding everything upon this immaculate power i so longingly coveted..

I needed to find clues, but how?
[/ul] You'd find a small group of three leaving the town gates, they were carrying a large amount of bags and such and it appeared they were traveling, but how far would they get with nights descent but moments away? Maybe questioning them would prove worthy or perhaps you'd continue trusting your journey to the journal? Think quick, they were passing you now and the choice was yours. Emerge yourself in the text that lead you this far or begin relying upon your own strength? There were many others routes to take as well, a multiple of possibilities that could lead you to failure or to perhaps where to even the elder could not? Did you wish for success?

Choose.

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advance [/font][/size][/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]