“Whilst Arkovia is agreed upon by historians to be the provenience of all Ninja Clans, their origins remain murky and shrouded in uncertainty. It is theorised that they rebelled against their Daimyos and Shoguns before the founding of the Arkovian Empire whereafter they formed their own sects. It is also believed that they took more than combat knowledge with them, with rumours of dark sorcery and pursuit of immortality greatly desired by their new leaders.”
Darius Magna – Forgery and Sorcery. 1620
He dreamed that he was back in New Jade City, huddled by a fire in their small shack in the Shards. Hiroko was telling him bedtime stories of the Fraternity of Fangs. She talked of the Monsoon Mountain with such wonder, with its cries of thunder that could have been echoed by gods themselves, to Sabre’s Fort, the great temple that sat atop the mountain’s peak, with its high white walls that arched under beaming sapphire domes. Hiroko described Darkfall as like nothing else on the entire supercontinent.
She had spoken of her time there with such longing that the eleven-year-old Hideo’s mind was set. Rain poured with malice and ricocheted against the lone shack’s rusted rooftop when he had proudly told her that he wished to join the Night Fangs just like her. In response, his sister slapped him hard across the face. “Your path is to help people, not draw their blood!” She had yelled the words as if Hideo’s wish were the worst utterance he had ever made.
Even after he awakened, Hideo still winced at the petulant outburst he had retorted with all those years ago. “I’ll join them!” he had screamed so stubbornly in a shrill voice, “I’ll join them and never run away like you did!” His sister had slapped hard around the cheek once more and ran into her room crying. There was no door in their shack, merely a ragged curtain to divide their privacy. She was ten years older than he was at the time and had seen terrible things neither of them had deserved to see at their age, but this was the first-time Hideo had heard his sister weep. He had waited behind the curtain for her to come out, the weeping going on long into the night.
As he succumbed to his dreams once again, he swiftly regretted it. This time he relived older memories. Darker memories. There was fire and screaming. A village burning. He and Hiroko were running in fear. Then there were flashes, and when his vision cleared, he wished it hadn’t. The flaming arrows. The hanging bodies, the pitchforks. Hiroko telling him not to look. The horrifying fires.
It was almost a relief when he was jolted awake by the edge of Xerxes’ boot. His chambers were dank and cold, even with the hearth softly crackling in the corner. The accommodations were surprisingly decent for a novice. It was a vast improvement over the rookeries of the Shards, at the very least.
Xerxes kicked him again. “Craven Brother, it is time to rise.” The Thane had a gleeful smirk. Hideo hated being called by that appellation, which was exactly why the Thane used it.
Hideo jumped from the bedsheets and donned a sleeveless blue jacket. It was best to appear unfazed from the cold to demonstrate one’s strength in front of the other fangs. He doused the hearth with a bucket of water before following the Thane into the greater halls.
“Where are we going?” Hideo asked.
“For a lesson.” Xerxes did not elucidate further.
The hallways of Darkfall were winding tunnels that lay deep within the Monsoon Mountain. Since being here, Hideo had commonly heard them being referred to as the sapphire spirals. The name was apt. Blue flames flickered atop silver sconces and under each one sat a silver bust of an ancient Night Fang beast. Rows of them stood throughout the halls, resembling the guardians they once were. Hideo allowed himself to fall behind Xerxes to observe one. The beast was silver with sapphire ingrained stripes. Its claws were sapphire, as were the sabre-toothed fangs and horns. It was a wildcat unlike anything he had seen, and he marvelled.
“They are long dead now.” Xerxes was calling from further up the hall. “We are all that is left of them. Humans. Attempting to take their place; Spirits help us all.”
“Are you always this cynical?” Hideo asked when he caught up.
The Thane’s eyes were as green and hard as chipped emerald stones. They looked down at the novice intently. “If many men weren’t so violent, depraved, and corrupted, then there would be no need for ancient assassin orders.”
Hideo noticed the small wolf tattoo brandished down the side of Xerxes’ neck. He decided to not press the Sunderranion any further. They continued to walk in silence as they ascended to Mountain’s peak. A stairway of stone led them towards giant iron doors.
Hideo and Xerxes had to pry them apart in unison and when the sound of stone, iron, and ice screeched together, a white light erupted, its beams consuming them both.
When his sight unblurred, Hideo expected to see storming snows and a tremulous walk to Sabre’s Fort. The winds were calm, and Hideo found himself standing in the middle of a courtyard. Other fangs were going about their day. Some were training, fighting each other with bamboo sticks. Hideo was perplexed at how some of the fighters were completely bare-chested despite the biting cold. Others were running through the thick snows in groups. Hideo spotted a row of archers in blue firing at strawmen whilst a steel samurai was barking orders from behind.
“It’s strangely serene here,” Hideo commented.
“Enjoy it while you can,” Xerxes sneered from behind.
“Do you not see me lasting long here?”
“I do not see you staying loyal,” the Thane grunted as he trudged through the snows. “How do we know you are not an informant for the Inferno Clan?” He started to question aloud. “Maybe you are from the Sisterhood of Bows? But no, not unless they removed your manhood so that you could join them. Perhaps they did?”
Hideo was too weary, too beaten to even dignify that with a response. He could still feel the cuts and bruises from his duel with Otomo. He had avenged a fallen fang. Hideo should have felt great honour yet all he felt was empty. He was alone here with no one who trusted him and no one that could be trusted.
Hideo then turned his attention to the temple that the courtyard surrounded. Silver statues of horned tigers guarded the giant, wide marble stairs leading into its entrance. The white walls of Sabre’s Fort towered. A large cupola made from pure crystal sapphire sat atop, sparkling under the newly risen white sun. It was extravagant for an assassin’s temple…perhaps a little too conspicuous, but who would see it so high up the clouds? Hideo made his way past two steel samurai, feeling Xerxes’ gaze burning into him from behind.
Blue velvet carpets covered the floors and smaller statues of Night Fang tigers stood atop pedestals and watched Hideo with sapphire jewelled eyes. The hallways were illuminated with blue torchlights and there was an eerie silence to the temple. Only the soft whispers of the harsh winds outside could be heard faintly .
Hideo halted as a sapphire shimmer caught the side of his eye. Behind a row of stone bars and displayed within a transparently crystallised glass case stood a suit of armour unlike anything the lowly New Jader had ever gazed upon. On the chest, a silver emblem of a horned Night Fang was snarling back at him. Half of the torso was shrouded in metallic shadow, and the other half in dark crystallised sapphire. The helm shared the same pattern, with two straps hanging from behind, one black, one an icy dark shade of blue. The helm was the moon watching over the thundering night.
Hideo felt the Thane’s cold stone group clasp around his shoulder. Xerxes could have snapped a bone so easily. “That armour hasn’t been worn for a long time,” he said, noticing the rookie’s fascination.
“It looks too good to waste,” Hideo commented in awe. The suit was both hidden, and a gleaming beacon, capable of both blending into the darkness and striking fear into its enemies that saw it coming. When donning that suit, one could go past completely unseen in shadow or attack bright and bold seamlessly.
Xerxes scoffed. He raised his other hand in front of Hideo. His fingers were half-closed around his palm. Hideo had never noticed the scars that sprawled around the Thanes’ fingers and across the wrists. Small blue sparks began to dance around the fingertips. They flickered and snapped in his palm. “I have been gifted with Night Fang blood. The Empress has appointed me Thane, and even I am not worthy.” The small blue flickers snapped away as Xerxes closed his hand. “That armour belonged to a titan.
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A Night Fang that could harness their energy in a way that made them inhuman. The last man who donned that armour… The way his charge took hold of him… It was like he was possessed.”
Xerxes then sharply shoved Hideo forward. “It is not likely to be used for another century.” They walked down the indigo carpet, past judging tigers and sapphire flames. Hideo was unsure of what to expect from this “lesson” the Thane had so eagerly promised him. At first, he believed he was to be brought to face the Empress. Instead of a luxurious throne room, Hideo was escorted into a chamber that smelt of pig shit.
They were atop a stone balcony overlooking a large pit. Within were carcasses. Human and non-human. Skeletal remains were scattered and embedded across the grey sand. An open iron cage at the far end rattled violently. Hideo didn’t need wits to know that whatever was in that cage was the source of the smell. He could hear a horrific noise that was somewhere between the oink of a pig and the pained scream of a lion. Instead of emerging from the darkness slowly, slowly the beast ran from the cage like a rabid dog, smashing its muscular back into the stone walls. It galloped on rusted cloven hooves and snorted and oinked maniacally. Hideo got a good look at the creature when it stopped to crunch into a bare rib stuck in a small grey dune of sand. Its muzzle was stretched as far as a great sword, and its cheekbones were like triangular daggers bulging from the sides. The beast’s head was near the same size and length as its tawny body and its eyes were blackened pits. It cried out another cross between oink and a shriek. Hideo remembered that foul-smelling stench from his childhood when Hiroko had taken him to the New Jade Zoological Gardens. It smelt of a grotesque mixture, including rot and wet dog.
“How did you get a Hell Pig up here?” Hideo asked, aghast.
“They are native to Arkovia,” Xerxes said proudly, folding his bare muscular arms. “If you weren’t such a city boy devoid of heritage, then perhaps you would know this.”
“You weren’t even born Arkovian,” Hideo said pointedly.
Xerxes nodded. “This is true. The Crimsonarions did not give me much choice in where I went in the world.”
The Hell Pig oinked and squealed again. It kicked its back hooves into the sand and bones and charged around in an aimless circle. Hideo could see other fangs watching from the adjacent balcony. It was as if they were expecting something. Hideo observed the Hell Pig as a dawning realisation struck him. He knew what was to be expected of him. He laughed sardonically.
“What amuses you so, Craven Brother?”
“Should I just jump in and save you the trouble?”
Xerxes chuckled heartily and clasped his hard hand around Hideo’s shoulder. “No, that is not the lesson.”
The Night Fangs from the adjacent balcony started to hit the bottom of their silver blades against the stone in a unified tempo. They were watching the two of them intently, only their eyes visible from their zaffre fukumens. Hideo could feel his chest tightening and his skin turning pale. “Is this some sick survival game?” He asked the Thane, “Or petty revenge for my sister’s sin?”
Xerxes turned Hideo around and placed his hands on his arms in an almost comforting way. “This isn’t my wish but the Empress” He twisted Hideo around again so that he was facing the pit. The Hell Pig snorted violently and kicked its hooves into a pile of dry bones. Xerxes leaned in closer. “The lesson is that Night Fangs do not survive. Do not cry or weep. They kill. Anyone or anything that the Empress wills.” He pushed Hideo over the balcony. The tempo of steel on stone hastened.
Hideo crashed into the grey sand, much to the consternation of the Hell Pig, who kicked and oinked and screeched in a rapid circle before retreating towards the iron cage at the far end. Hideo spat out grey grains and pushed himself to his feet with a tremble. He looked up to Xerxes who was standing over the balcony with a clear look of entertainment on his face.
“Not even a weapon?” Hideo asked indignantly.
The Thane shook his head with a smirk. More fangs appeared, dashing, and peering over the balconies. Some appeared dismayed, others, much like the Thane, appeared amused. There were veterans, samurai, archers, and novices, all gathering for a twisted circus show. What else would there be for entertainment atop a desolate mountain where everyone’s only skill was to kill? There were no mummers or singers in Darkfall. Not even a bloody lutenist.
Hideo had only been taught of the ways of the blade for some months and believed that he was not even at a level of mastering combat with a weapon, let alone without. He crouched and rummaged through the sand and bones. He pulled a femur from the rubble (he did not wish to know the species) and sprang towards the high walls surrounding the pit. He dashed and sawed the bone against the stone until the edges became triangular and sharp enough to impale.
The Hell Pig ran back from the iron cage and stopped in the distance, digging its rusted cloven hooves into the sand, back and forth. It was preparing to charge. The worst part about facing the beast was the eyes. There was nothing in those dark pits. Those eyes belonged to a ghoul, not Arkovian swine. There seemed to be no hint of a soul or even a pupil in there.
The cloven hooves left clouds of grey dust in its wake as the beast hurtled toward the rookie assassin. Hideo crouched like a tiger and tightened his grip around the sharpened femur. He rolled to his left just as the Hell Pig was about to collide. Whilst dodging, Hideo caught a whiff of the beast’s breath. It smelt of rotten meat, fish, and dog waste all at once. Its teeth were square-shaped, with molars large enough to crush a horse’s skull in one bite.
The Hell Pig begrudgingly ground to a halt. As it composed itself, Hideo seized the chance and leapt onto the tawny beast’s back. He dug the femur into the side and kept his grip. The Hell Pig bucked and swung its ghastly head from side to side, oinking and grunting in resistance. It’s just like taming a horse, Hideo told himself in feigned reassurance. It’s no different to being at the Dorfchester Central stables…
With one monstrous sway, the beast sharply flung Hideo off his back and into a pile of bones. Fortuitously for the New Jader, he had managed to take the femur with him by dragging it out from the Hell Pig’s side. The tawny creature screeched and howled. As his bruises throbbed across his arms, Hideo felt sorry for the creature. It did not stop the sounds from being unbearable to listen to. The oinking and thick wailing created a cacophony of suffering, anguished cries. Hideo covered his ears and rolled around in the sand until the inhuman echoing of screams began to hush. When he arose, the few dozen fangs surrounding him from above began to chant in Arkovian. “Redeemer,” it translated to, yet Hideo was still not quite sure what they meant by it.
He approached the Hell Pig. The beast was lying on its side, moaning meekly. Its bony legs twitched, and the cloven hooves kicked defiantly, but its large body had given in. As Hideo stood over the beast and gave it a closer look, he could see that beyond the black hair, the beast did indeed have eyes. They were orange and watering.
“A pity,” he could hear Xerxes calling from above. “For me, that is. For the Fraternity, your victory is auspicious.” The Thane held a katana in one hand that had a sapphire gem embedded into the hilt. He dropped it down into the pit. “Now finish the song.”
Hideo lifted the blade. The katana was either brand new or had been impeccably cleaned. The steel was so stainless, so shining that it was almost blinding. He looked over at the Hell Pig. Its belly was rising and falling with each heavy breath. With its tongue sprawled into the grey sand, the beast could have been easily mistaken for a large dog. Hideo dropped the blade back into the sand. “No.”
The chamber fell so silent that the grinding of Xerxes’ teeth could be heard. The Thane folded his arms. He was a god, judging a mortal who had just slighted him. “I see that disobedience runs in the family.”
“He can survive its wounds,” Hideo defended. “Then you can use him again for the next poor bastard you decide to throw in the pit.” Without waiting for an answer, he gripped into the crevasses of the stone wall and began to climb over.
Hideo felt his collar tighten around his neck. He choked as he got pulled back into the bones and dirt. At first, he thought it was the Hell Pig not appreciating his mercy, but as Hideo coughed up grey grains of sand, he saw that it was Xerxes standing over him. The Thane picked up the katana. He kicked Hideo a couple more times for good measure before slashing the blade down. Hideo felt an excruciating sting up his forearm. The gash was long and deep. When he tried to get up, Xerxes kicked him down again with his thick black boot.
“You had no trouble ending a shogun, yet this creature you feel sorry for?” The Thane slashed down another cut across Hideo’s back. The cuts started to burn fiercer.
“Otomo made his choices,” Hideo said through pained and gritted teeth. “This creature doesn’t have that privilege.”
“Bah!” The Thane grabbed Hideo by his hair and pushed his face into the sand. It turns out Xerxes was as strong as he looked. It was like being held down by two tree trunks. Hideo could feel sand and dirt filling his throat. It was not the way he wished to die, choking on bones and Hell Pig shit. The sand entered the wounds across his arm and back and the stinging entered a new phase of burning pain. Just as the suffocation was reaching its zenith and Hideo started to feel faint and hollow the Thane released his grip. Hideo retched up sand and blood. His chest was burnt out and the stinging cuts still dwindled. Xerxes pulled Hideo by his hair and leaned in close. “Know this, Craven Brother,” he hissed. “I speak for the Empress and she does not order a being’s end without good cause, whether it be human, animal, or monster.” He threw Hideo’s head back into the sand.
The Thane picked the katana from the sand and advanced to the injured beast. He plunged the katana deep into its tawny belly. There was a fierce howling squeal. The chamber fell silent. Most of the audience had either left or were watching on sombrely.
Hideo struggled to rise from the dirt. He coughed out sand and blood. The Thane embedded the bloody katana into a grey dune beside the rookie and knelt to his level. “Your sister did not last long here before fleeing with you. From what we heard; she did not last long in New Jade City either. Do you want to know why?”
Hideo coughed up more blood in response.
Xerxes grinned. “Because she didn’t listen to her betters.”