“Amaterasu…” He heard from lips that hadn‘t graced his ears in near a decade, the dancing tendrils of lighting illuminating the night sky forcing him remember the last time that he stood before The Mother, herself. He remembered it so vividly. Her chambers within the clouds were empty, and a private summons had been called for him. As he entered the room the very same kind of lighting danced over the walls, through the ceiling, and beneath their feet through the floor. It was beautiful, really, the way the divine light split walls apart only to have the very same walls close over their wounds. Not a sound was produced, no thunder… just light. It was divine, truly a symbol of The Mothers power, and the fact that the very same deadly forces swirling around him chose not to end him was a symbol of The Mothers love. Well… that, and that she had invited him to her chambers unaccompanied. He’d been a guard before, for near a century, and had never been asked to let anyone see her alone.
“My child…” She said. Her voice held an authority of which none could compare; it wasn’t a strong tone however, more soft and understanding. “I have called you to me for one reason, and one alone. Over all of your brothers and sisters, there are very few that I have come to trust as much as I do you.” Amaterasu stood in silence before his mother as she spoke, taking in every word. “It is with this trust, my beloved son, than I must tell you that you are no longer to live with us in the storm.” As much as it hurt Amaterasu to hear that, he simply closed his eyes and nodded his head, awaiting to hear her next words. “You are leaving with great, great honor,” her voice called out again with a new sense of vitality.
He was confused for a moment, unsure what she was speaking of, but sure enough she answered his questions before his lips had a chance to move. “In ages past, we’ve done war with the morals and we have survived… but we have never known glory, my child.” This was true, he thought. They had fought and defended their mother against the ignorant masses of mortals that - when against the unknown - are inclined to swing first and ask questions later. But never had they left their home; not that they particularly wanted to, but other people were respected to some extent and given refuge on the world below. Those born of the storm though, they were ostracized and they didn’t even know it. She looked at him, her pearly teeth glittering through a wide smile. “You, one among my strongest sons, will go and bring honor to our kind. You will show them our power in your own way, you must show them the strength of the storm, my son. Do you accept?”
The answer was obvious. How could it not be? Of course he accepted his task. If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t be where he was now. The lighting eventually ceased its dance in the sky, and Amaterasu faded from his trance, shaking off the nostalgia. He missed his home, but honor wasn’t something earned by hiding. It was something gained by victory. Over the many years he had walked the earth, he had fought in several different combat circuits but never had he attempted to take on such a grand challenge. He had become a lesser known warrior, one of whom was suitable for something that had the potential to be a rather large bloodbath. It offered fame, a name world renown, and to Amaterasu that was a ticket home. If the world respected him, and by association his kind, he would be welcome back into the heavens with open arms.
With this knowledge in mind, and lightning illuminating his path, he pressed onward. It wasn’t long at all, or it didn’t seem like a terribly long time, until he seemed to hit something of an invisible wall. It was curious, like a force field before him, and he didn’t entirely know what to do about it. He couldn’t get around it, obviously… Amaterasu sighed and brought up one hand, smacking his palm against the door. One of the blades at his hip, the grip wrapped in a crystal blue colored fabric, began to vibrate eerily against the other. He looked down to it, nodded, then back to the barrier. “It’s this way, I know it is… bu-”
He wasn’t even able to finish his sentence. Soaked with water that fell from the storm, thunder rumbling the earth beneath his feet, Amaterasu found himself being surrounded by a hazy blue light. He watched it wrap around him and form a secondary barrier around him. He pushed against it to no avail, not paying attention to the vast change in scenery beyond the barrier as he escaped. He’d never been teleported anywhere before. In an instant the barrier let up and he had to stop himself from stumbling forward. Taking a deep breath, his steel eyes opened and looked around. He was in some sort of a futuristic room. The walls were white, there were windows surrounding the roof that showed the skies. As long as Ama was there, they’d see no blue… just the looming, dark clouds ahead.
He perused the room, taking in every detail that he could manage. The other blade on his hip, the hilt bound in a lighter almost electric blue, began to hum. It was crossed over the darker blue hilt by a small margin, leaving room for both to be securely locked into place. He nodded down at it, then looked up. “I guess… we’re here.” Amaterasu sighed. He was tired, worn out, fatigued, and had traveled for may days to find this place.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a woman staring at him with an awkward glare. Water was rolling off of him, dripping onto the floor, but he didn’t much care. That’s probably why she was so put off by him. With a sigh, he nodded and realized that she was behind a desk. He rather quickly assumed that she must be in charge of keeping track of the competitors, making sure they’ve arrived safely an assured them a room to their own. He wouldn’t stay in a room, though. Amaterasu would more likely grab a long couch and move it beneath a window so he could see the storm, watch the dance of the lightning.
With a gentle smile, he approached her, still ignoring the water. First appearances meant a lot, and he wasn’t making a very good one. For starters, his hair was wet and sticking to his face, his usually light green kimono was a few shades too dark from being soaked in water, and aside from two blades at his hip, a third - though no crease in the kimono showed a blade at all - hilt stuck out from the right side of the Kimono, crossing over his chest. Its hilt was wound in a light green color. So, aside from being soaked, almost stumbling from a portal, and arriving looking like a mess, he was doing fairly well…
When Amaterasu made it to the desk, he bowed to the woman and spoke his name in a gentle tone; “Teruko, Amaterasu... ma’am.” Respect was a heavily valued virtue among his unknown people. The Mother, obviously female, portrayed women as the source of life. When they radiated an aura of femininity, a man of his kind would almost automatically become more reserved around her, treat her with more respect. In some cases, they would even stand up and defend a good woman if another person so much as talks to them in a rude manor. That’s just the way they were. She looked up at him, returned the smile - possibly reminded that her job title included the slogan ‘service with a smile,’ by the smile Amaterasu gave her - and pointed around the room with the back of her pen.
“The area to your left is the regeneration chambers, you’ll report there if you so choose after a round to heal any major wounds and become revitalized. Past the chambers, you’ll find the monitor hall. There is one monitor per contestant. They will be used if you so chose, as well, to watch your opponents fights - or the highlights at least - and learn a bit more about them before engaging in battle with them. It will help you a whole lot, probably. As you can see, this is a general lounge area, but past the hallway to the right is a cafeteria, and there will be a staircase at the back of the cafeteria that leads up to your temporary living areas. Good luck out there!”
She was a kind girl, at heart. His swords told him that. At any rate, he was here now and he wouldn’t be leaving until the last opponent had fallen to his blade. Speaking of which, he found that after long hours of travel storing one in a tunic made for a very uncomfortable posture, so he slid his hand into the kimono and wrapped his fingers around the sheath to the green-hilted Katana and pulled it up. He brushed past a few people in the room, too tired to care about looking around to get to know them or analyze them at all. He found a spot in the corner of the lounge area, a corner surrounded by windows. Amaterasu smiled gently, taking a deep breath as he untied the two blades from his hip as well.
With a light heave, he sat down and crossed his legs in front of him. He also Sat both blue hilted weapons down beside him while carefully unsheathing the green-hilted blade. Teruko placed the sheath to the right of his body on the ground, opposite the other two blades, and very carefully inspected the cutting edge of the blade. The first thing he would do, before all else, was check every square centimeter of each weapon to ensure they hadn’t sustained any damage in travel. No matter how powerful, a damaged weapon was weak and weak weapons have no place in battle.
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Originally Posted by The Captain
