I wake up, my head is pounding and I’m covered in sweat. I had that nightmare again, the same nightmare I’ve been having lately. I don't remember a single thing about it other than it’s a nightmare. There's so much sweat you’d think I pissed the bed.

Looking over to my clock I see it’s [8:00 AM]. I slept in a bit. Well that’s fine I was pretty tired last night when I got home from Albur and then there was the whole thing with Pompeii and the Griffon.

Man a Griffon, ever since I was a kid I wanted to see one of those guys. The bane of evolutionists. An animal with no fossil record or common ancestors. Something that seems to have just appeared one day. Well I don't like Griffons because of that reason it's just an extra cool thing.

Personally I’m between Religious and Evolutionist. Maybe Agnostic would be the better term actually. There is a God out there I know that much at least, and why can't he have been the one to push evolution into a certain path?

Okay let’s not get too much into that, it'll just quickly devolve into an endless circle of me arguing with myself. In the end I like Griffons because they're awesome alright?

Anyways today I’m going to meet up with Jinen for some final preparations for the Edoland mission. I'm not sure what that entails entirely but I do at least know that we're going shopping for some things at a [Magic shop] so of course I'm very interested.

Speaking of the Edoland mission, something that’s been bothering me is the Edoland branch of the Venator Society. Most countries have at least a single embassy of the Venator Society within their borders. So what’s going on with Edolands? I imagine a branch of a few dozen people can’t fend off the Orochi Kingdom but they should at least be able to do something right? Well maybe they are but it’s just behind the scenes?

Back home in Azhar there was a Venator Society branch in the city closest to us [Adoben]. So maybe they’re on a remote island and not the mainland? Like [Onigashima] or [Ryukai]. I’ll make sure to ask Jin when I meet him.

Oh shit I should probably get ready for meeting him. We didn’t set up a time since he can just teleport us where we need to go but I shouldn't make him wait too long. I guess I’ll shower first.

# # #

Okay wow, when I heard we were going to a [Magic Shop] this is NOT what I expected. Of course in your head when you hear those words you think of a dingy old wooden store right? Well of course but you also have common sense! You realize that’s just the stereotype of a magic store in your mind but in reality it will actually look like a super modern store. Well I thought the same but I was wrong, this Magic Shop is the tackiest possible thing I could have imagined.

This magic store is in… actually I don't know where. Jin said it’s a secret but judging by the weather probably still somewhere in Afurenthos. There’s a few other stores around us so maybe it’s like a secret magic user place? Yeah that makes the most sense. So we’re somewhere in Afurenthos inside of a secret magician club. That sounds right.

Me and Jin go inside the store and to my shock it’s just about as ridiculous as the outside is. Cobwebs, ancient tomes and other odd trinkets are stacked to the roof.

“Hey Jin what’s this stuff?” I ask.

“Magical items, this place buys them from people and then resells them. Most of the stuff here as you can see is pretty old and that’s because not many magical related things are created anymore. If you go back to before the Forgotten war Magic was more well known and regarded so a majority of the newest things here are starting at that age. If one in ten thousands are a magic user now then back then it was more like one in five hundred. Not only that but the majority of people also knew magic existed just not how to use it.” Jin explained.

Hmm interesting, Magic was more commonly known back then huh? Well in many legends and fables it seems as though the concept of magic isn't unusual as much as it is surprising to see someone use. But I wonder what the shift from knowing it exists to not knowing it exists was? Did the Forgotten War play a part in it? 250 years is a long time but they still had cameras and stuff back then so they probably could have taken evidence of magic right? Actually no, huh? Now that I think about it cameras probably can’t pick up the more abstract forms of magic. Things like Elementalist and Transmutation magic is something even non magic users can see but stuff like Spatial Manipulation you’d need Observation to use. Cameras don't have a soul so they cant’ use observation. Yeah that makes sense actually.

“Well, what are we here to get?” I ask.

“Well there’s a few things I’m looking for but the most important are [Spell Binding Rings] which are a somewhat common loot found in Dungeons. Basically I can put a spell of mine into them and then all you need to do is wear the ring and imbue it with mana to activate it.” Jin muttered looking over a bin of jewelry.

“That does seem really useful! But is it a one - time only use?”

“Not the higher quality ones, those are unlimited uses but they’re also alot harder to find and more expensive.”

“I see…”

Dungeons again huh? That’s the second or so time I’ve heard of them. I’ll have to ask for a better explanation later. If they’re what I think they are then I’m really excited. One day maybe I’ll be able to raid one! Well that is if the kind of dungeon that I’m imagining is what Jin is talking about.

As I think this something catches my eye from across the stores. A long staff with a burned charcoal colored wooden base and a big red jewel at the top.

I leave Jin to do his own looking around and approach the Staff. It’s probably about five or so feet tall and as thick around as a tree branch.

“Hey Jin!” I call out looking behind me.

“What’s up?” Jin asked, turning around to look at me.

“Do I need a staff or anything?” I know I probably don’t but come on this looks dope as hell.

“No, staves and wands are made for people who have poor aura nodes and or mana circuits. Yours are perfectly fine so any boost you do get from it would be outweighed by the con of having to carry it around.”

“So there is a potential advantage even though my aura nodes and mana circuits are fine?”

“Well not from a normal staff. Someone could argue that maybe you’d waste less mana when casting spells but I disagree. Well not that you wouldn't waste less mana but the mana you’re wasting now is insignificant in the long run. If you got a staff with an elemental crystal of some sort imbued into it then you would get a boost but again, having to lug around a staff isn't worth that boost in the end.”

“Alright.” I sigh in defeat, well maybe I can just buy it and hang it up on my wall or something? Well let’s look at the price tag and…

$25,000!? HOLY MOLY! Yeah I don't even wanna touch this thing now, what if my fingerprints stain it?

“Okay I think I found what I’m looking for.” Jin says coming up behind me.

“Yeah?” I hum while looking at the rings in his hand. They’re pretty cool looking with different runes and symbols carved into them. “How much are those?”

“About $5,000 a piece.”

!? You have like four in your hand right now! Does money mean nothing to you!?

“Actually this is pretty cheap compared to the ones I’ve bought before. I had to get one in a pinch and it cost me like $12,000 for one.”

“Uh huh…” I mutter nodding my head. This man is out of my league completely. He’s in another world of wealth.

“Well there’s another thing I need to give you as well.” Jin said as a light bulb went off above his head. Okay not really but with the expression he had that might as well have happened. “Here you go.” He said passing me an old looking necklace.

“What is it?” I ask, taking it in my hand. Upon closer inspection it’s not just old but OLD OLD like hundreds of years old. The necklace is nothing but a weathered thread of rope that would fall apart from a mild breeze of wind. The necklace's emblem is also beaten but not to the same extent as the thread. This must be made of some precious material like Jade judging by its color and shape.

“It’s the birth right of the Hojo clan in Edoland. One of my previous incarnations married a Hojo and received her fathers blessing which is what you’re holding right now. If things get rough, show that and they’ll help you out.”

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“Are you sure you can trust me with this? This seems really important…”

“I have a [Way Point] placed onto it already so even if you lose it or it gets stolen I’ll be able to find it again.”

“Oh okay then. Thank you very much.” I say bowing as I take it, it just seems like the right thing to do.

“Alright don’t act all weird on me now.” Said Jin with a sigh.

# # #

It’s been one day since Kanashi and Jin went shopping. Today is the day where Kanashi will have his final meeting and find out his fate of traveling to Edoland. Well at least that was what would have happened if not for Pompeii telling Kanashi about Cymba.

Kanashi decided to do some sightseeing around the Venator Society tower while waiting for the meeting time to arrive. He intended just to get more familiar with the place but ended up somewhere he didn't know, well he didn't know much of anywhere in this damn maze but he really was lost now. Even the signs stopped saying things like “Cafeteria 4” or “Office Supplies 194” now the sign in front of Kanashi read “Sector Dogma 142 ZA.”

“What the hell is a Dogma?” Kanashi muttered to himself, he tried to look to where he’d come, which was about two elevator rides up then a staircase down and a hallway turn at some point. Yeah you know you’re lost when those are your directions. He flipped open his phone and clicked through his contacts to see Jin in his most frequently contacted. He looked at his phone for a moment before flipping it closed again and putting it into his pocket.

“...Now where to next.” He groaned looking around, then he noticed it. An opened door. He walked over to the door and peeked inside seeing someone inside. A short man with red hair in two braids and two little buns like a goat's horns and ears.

“Ahem.” Kanashi coughed to which the man turned around with a scowl.

“What’re you doing here?” The man asked standing up to only reach kanashi lower chest, oh wow this guy was short, probably like four feet and some change short.

“Uhmm, I’m a little bit lost.” Kanashi said, trying not to make his thoughts obvious.

“And how’d you get lost here? This requires Level 3 clearance to enter. Give me your Id!” The man demanded putting his hand out.

Wow rude, I should pick his little ass up and put him on top of the fridge until he learns some manners… wait no, calm down don't pick a fight with someone you don't know the importance of. Kanashi reached into his wallet and pulled out his ID card which he handed to the short man who quickly snatched it and squinted his eyes to read it.

“What’s this?” He asked in surprise,

“....”

“Who are you?”

“Oh well Kanashi Sarumalder.”

“I know that I have your I.D. card right here I’m asking who you are to have a level 3 clearance.”

“Oh umm, I’m not sure honestly Jin gave me that and I just open the doors with it. I don't know much else.”

“Jin? How do you know Jinen?”

“What do you mean, how do I know Jin. Wait, who are you?”

“Grendel Cold Hammer.”

Cold hammer, is he Dwarvish?

“Well now that I’ve answered your question, how do you know Jinen?”

“Oh well he’s the one teaching me magic and-”

“Your accent.. are you from Saharis.”

“Oh yeah from Azhar originally but ever since it was destroyed I’ve been here and anyways-”

“What do you mean Azhar was destroyed?”

“Oh boy…” Kanashi said with a surprised face.

# # #

“And so that’s about the gist of it.” Jin said, clapping his hands. In front of him was a large table full of all the Captains and El-Saber.

Kanashi was sitting in between where Jin had been sitting and where the exhausted Hayai was currently sitting. Hayai looked awful, his normally electrified hair laid flat like a dog's ears when upset. Apparently he’d been on the Kiton continent, specifically the country of Keiten for a week or so where a new Venator Society base was being built. When Kanashi asked what made him so exhausted he said something about having to babysit a female rookie who couldn't keep her nose out of trouble.

Across the table from them was Grendel Cold Hammer, the man Kanashi had met before who was the Captain of Sector Kappa. He was in fact Dwarvish like Kanashi had theorized. Or at least as much as one could possibly be in this modern age. In the end not much at all really but still his Dwarvish genes for sure ran thick through his little veins as evident by his sector's main job being forgery and architecture. As he sat tinkering with Kanashis flip phone the man next to him raised his hand.

This was the Captain of sector Sigma Tyran Eugier. He was a large black man with short black curly hair combed back and below that was a stern stone like face. Sector Sigma was in charge of the Venator Societies finances and it was clearly a stressful job.

“Yes Tyran?” Jin asked with a smile.

“When was all of this decided any why weren’t the rest of us captains informed? It’s pretty rude to keep us out of it.”

“Oh well you simply didn’t show up so it wasn't worth mentioning.” Jin laughed with a shrug.

“Well some of us have jobs to do and aren't responsible enough to just toss the work load onto our vice captains.” Tyran said with a growl, “It’s our job to do the hard work so they can properly take their time to learn the system before we retire and they replace us.”

“Maybe you’re just bad at your job then if it takes you that long to do.” Jin said with a frown.

A large vein appeared on Tyran's forehead and he opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Cao-Li.

“Hey now let’s not pick a fight.” Cao-Li said, waving his hands in the air trying to cool the situation.

“A Viper trying to avoid conflict is rare.” Grendel muttered with a snort.

Kanashi flinched at the term “Viper.” These guys were clearly not on good terms with each other for whatever reason and the air was thick with negative emotions so much so that it felt like the gravity in the room had increased dramatically.

“Enough.” El-Saber said with a stern voice and the room silenced, “It was my orders to keep everything related to Kanashi a secret as to lower the chances of our mission being spoiled by a slip of the tongue or eavesdropper but I never intended to keep it a secret from you entirely I only wanted to disclose the information in a secure location.”

“I see, my apologies then.” Tyran said, bowing his head.

“It’s quite alright I would feel the same way if I were in your position.” El-Saber laughed.

“Oh, that reminds me.” Hayai suddenly muttered and sluggishly reached into his pocket. He fished around for something and it seemed like it took him a full minute before he pulled out a slip of paper which he had been looking for and passed it over to Kanashi.

“What’s this?” Kanashi asked.

“Your boat ticket for the trip to Edoland. Mari was supposed to be the one to give it to you but she couldn't make it today so I got handed the job.”

“Mari?” Kanashi questioned trying to think of anyone with that name he’d met.

“She’s the captain of Sector Omega, Mari Albud.” Stephen Gates said cutting in.

“Oh a Saharian name.” Kanashi muttered with a smile, well his last name Sarumalder was also Saharian but Albud was definitely a traditional Sahairan name older than the Iborian colonization. But still knowing other Saharians were out there made him happy. Azhar wasn't the country's only city.

“She’s a real drag so don't try to talk to her unless you have to.” Jin groaned as if remembering unpleasant memories.

“Let’s not talk ill about people behind their backs, it's bad luck.” Cao-Li said, Kanashi didnt know him too well but he seemed like the rule obedient type for sure.

“Well anyways she’s in charge of the Historical Records so you should at least give her an introduction sometime” Hayai said before turning back to El-Saber who cleared his throat and looked at

Kanashi.

“Well, Julius and Jin have reported you’re up to par with our expectations so the Edoland liberation mission will continue as planned. I’d like to take this time to inform everyone of what the plan directly entails so no one is out of the loop.”

“I’m all ears.” Kanshi said with a nod.

“Alright then, in four days Kanashi will depart from Ruperta onto the Cymba, a small commercial ship which will then head north east through Wars Crossing and into the Grand Ocean where he will spend two and a half weeks traveling to Edoland. He’ll arrive at Sarukou port where one of our Edoland agents will meet him. Then he will travel from Shokou Prefecture to Sumori then Tousen all the while placing [Way Points] for Jinen to use during the actual Liberation Effort.”

“So I’m gonna get to see quite a bit of Edoland then huh?” Kanashi asked with a smile. He'd always wanted to visit Edoland on vacation and while this was technically a work trip he could probably still check out some stuff on his way. “Oh that reminds me! What’s up with the Edoland branch of the Venator Society?”

“They’re under the order to stand down until further orders. Unfortunately none of the Edoland branch members themselves aren’t strong enough to defeat the Toumeikan. They'll need the help of us and Jin. "Answered El-Saber.

“Are the Toumeikan a Yazkuza group?” Kanashi asked, trying to remember where he’d heard that name from before.

“Yes, they're ranked number two in the Six Great Criminal Organizations. They’re more then powerful enough to stand in place as a defense force for the Orochi Kingdom.”

“Will the Toumeikan be checking for any potential invaders? Sarukou port is the largest port of Edoland under their control.” Tyran asked.

“We’ve already prepared for that.” Pompeii answered, “We know they’re looking for someone but that someone is not going to be Kanashi. He does not appear in any public files as a member nor in the leaked private files. To them he’s a normal citizen and we’ll even give him a new identity."

“Who's joining the liberation effort when it actually comes time?” Julius asked El-Saber.

“The current line up is just Jinen and Hayai for the Captains as well as Miguel, Tyson and Okale for vice captains. The rest will be officers and privates.” El-Saber said.

“Isn’t that a bit short handed?” Julius asked with a frown.

“No, It should be enough to deal with Toumeikan. They are the Orochi Empire's only fighting force since they haven't sent in any of their own troops to Edoland.” Hayai said.

“So if we take out the Toumeikan then the liberation will be complete?” Kanashi asked.

“For the most part, yes. Once Toumeikan is defeated the rest can be done by the Edoland government. There is the off chance the Orochi Empire is able to intervene before then but if that is the case I’ve been informed that President Rooney is willing to dispatch the Navy to deal with them. Of course we hope to avoid that if all possible, so try to keep things to a local level if possible.” El-Saber explained.

“I’ve heard Toumeikan is pretty tough though.” Stephen frowned.

“Well Kanashi is not to engage with them himself if at all possible. He’s only placing waypoints in specific areas which his guide will take him to.”

“Who's this guide?” Jin asked as if he’d never heard of part of the plan.

“Nordon Tatematsumi.”

Everyone at the table seemed to grimace at that name.

“Oh great that guy huh…” Jin said, ruffling his hair nervously.

“Is there something bad about him?” Kanashi asked with a trembling voice.

“Not really no he’s just…”

“A complete..”

“Workaholic..”

“And Buzz kill.”

Tyran, Cao-Li, Pompeii and Hayai finished each other's sentences.

So much for not talking about people behind their back… Kanashi thought with a frown, Well he’d worked with those kinda guys before so he could handle it.. Right?