Empires at War [namelesshero and Kurono]

[namelesshero]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9LcSXAoRSw

Flame. Arrows. Flesh and blood scattered all around the battlefield. Men struggled to be heroes, only to die in the hands of their adversaries. They were simply overwhelmed; the battle of Tianzu Plain had drained their resources. After a long, drawn-out war, their nemesis Kyo had finally gained the upper hand.

Starting from the plain, their marched continued through each of the Kingdom's cities, plowing through without significant interruption. Less than a month, they've reached the capital of Jin. The castle was lit aflame, and the end was near. Troops of Jin lost their morale, generals defected, many chose to surrender or fled rather than dying for their country.

In the midst of it all, the Emperor committed suicide by his own blade. Thus, the country had lost its core; nothing can stop the Kingdom of Kyo from taking over. Soldiers and generals were captured, and the only surviving member of the royal family, the young Prince Xi, was taken prisoner to ensure their supremacy over the Kingdom.

All was lost, except for one shadow who slowly descended into the night, hiding in Her shades. On his armor was the symbol of the Kingdom of Jin, a lone soldier managed to escape from Kyo's Army's clutch.

He had made a promise. An oath. Toward the late King. Toward the Prince. Toward the country.

"I'll save you, my prince...and then...I'll restore Jin!"

On that night, in the darkness of Spring, the Kingdom of Jin fell.

=====

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XhV1pmepjc

The City of Jiang, in the Kingdom of Kyo

"This" *slurp* "is" *slurp* "good...!" *slurpslurp*

The exquisite taste of the spices, combined with the soft texture of wheat flour tickled the tounge of this particular girl. The famous "Mian of Jiang" was a hit even in the faraway country of Margias in the west. It was said that the noodles cost lots and lots of money in that Kingdom. Here in Jiang, though, it was everyday food. This one, for example, she got only with several silver coins.

She'd tried four different stalls and each had their own unique taste. It made her wondering what could possibly causing that. Was it the spice? Or the flour? There were three more stalls ahead of her, and she's beginning to worry that her stomach wouldn't be able to let her taste them all...

"...haha, who am I to kid? Noodles come first!" She skipped happily to the next stall and quickly sat down. The scent was different...as usual. This one is the freshest of all, could he be using orange leaves?

"Give me one, please," she threw a few silvers into the paybox.

[Giratina]

BGM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iLukHyH6RI
The market square was just coming alive. As always. A few new faces, a family from the mine towns, the group of men browsing for some idiotic trinket to idle away their ti-
No. she told herself, you cannot think that of them. Kurono sighed. He wasn't there, without a doubt. She sighed, a stomach growling relentlessly. Well... he's not coming. Might as well eat. She made her way over to a stand that was selling Lehvian food, its enticing scents making it impossible to refuse. She grabbed a small bag from the many tied at her waist, and set it down.
"That'll pay for three loaves." she said, the small man shrinking at her vast size. Her took the bag, and poured its contents, silver coins, into a woven basket which had many more.
"Yes sir, right away." he said in the common Kyo accent, "Say, we don't get many Murneders anymore, I thought you all have been exiled to Hurncain Isle. I'm grateful for the business, please not take offense at my ponderings."
"Ha ha, no offense has been taken kind sir," she laughed, grabbing three loaves of the pastry from the shelves, "alas, 'tis true. But I remain here, and I shall stay." The stall owner, put at ease due to Kurono's light-hearted nature, regained his previous posture.
"Yes, well, thank you, and may the Emperor's graces smile upon you."
"Thank you as well, and may the Emperor's graces smile upon you." she answered, returning the farewell, and turned to leave, bagging her loaves. A man caught her eye, one who had donned a white cloak line with blue on the edges. She gasped softly, and set off after him. She lost sight of him as quickly as she had gained it though, and despair filled her mind. No, not after all these years... I can't let him get away!

BGM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaMjrgsA21c

"Hey, you!" she shouted in a booming voice, one that silenced the entire courtyard. "Stop!" Kurono charged after him, people scrambling to get out of the way. She rushed to the street he'd turned onto, and followed, almost blindly. Where was he? she thought to herself, panic over taking her mind. She ran through the street, skimming over the alleyways and windows. Nowhere could the man be seen.

[namelesshero]

...She had to admit, that's a bit too much. That last bowl of noodles really did the trick. Now, she's fully satistified. There were two more stalls to try, but...that's enough. She'd literally die if she forced them down her throat. Or at least a terrible diarrhea storm would occur. Not worth the trouble. Now she casted her eyes to the bustling road, filled with merchants and civilians. Jiang managed to uphold its name as the "City of Travelers". There are people from various countries visiting the city a visit. After all, it's an important trade post for Kyo Empire.

With the constant stream of people, shady ones ought to come sooner or later. She knew better than getting involved with one of them. Those shrouded by cloak turned out to be assassin, swindlers acting as an honest merchant...those dangers were always looming over those who braved the street. She was almost caught by bandits in the past. Not that she couldn't escape, though.

A loud voice suddenly roared around the city. "Stop!" the voice exclaimed. What followed was a white blur of someone passing in an instant, and a strong-looked, bulky man followed behind. The white blur was nowhere to be seen though, and the man's effort to chase it seemed to be in vain.

The man was different; not a race from here. She'd seen his kind before...perhaps it was the Murneders? But their home wasn't here. Was he a traveler? Although, that big body of his was a bit intimidating to the people of Kyo, whose average height couldn't even reach his shoulder. Not like she could either.

"Excuse me, do you need help?" Ai decided to approach the man, as a form of sympathy toward fellow travelers.

[Giratina]

No... she thought, unable to catch even the slightest glimpse of the man. Tears started to well in her eyes, it was futile, he was gone. Likely he disappeared into one of Jiang's many alleyways.

"Excuse me, do you need help?" she heard a voice say. It was not of the Kyonian accent, in fact, she couldn't note the accent at all. Turning around, she looked down on a small (well, to her height she was, but then, who wasn't?), young woman, probably just entering adulthood from the looks of it. There was an air about her, something familiar... Umbara mentally sighed, unable to place her tongue on it. It wasn't from the girl, it was from something she possessed, she owned.

Stop! Focus on the objective! she reprimanded herself. Casting a quick glance around, hoping in vain to see the man, she sighed, physically this time. How should she handle this, strangers normally avoided her kind. Not that she blamed them, even she would become frightened at her body's physique from time to time, when she saw what they became in the battlefield. This girl must posses quite the amount of bravery, or nativity. Either way, she was grateful, and decided to go with acceptance

"Have you seen a man, or a figure at least, in a white cloak? He shouldn't be too tall, maybe a head and a half shorter than I. If so, did you see where he went?" she asked, trying in vain to mask most of her desperation in her voice. Honestly, she felt like begging the girl for the help, but... that would not be beneficial to her facade. It's showing weakness, and even someone as big as the Murneders were targeted by groups of street thieves once that was displayed.

[namelesshero]

The man was tall. Tall...no, he's HUGE. She finally realized that when he turned his attention to her. His bulky body overwhelmed her tiny frame easily. It's thanks to her easy going nature that the girl didn't run away screaming for her life. That, and her strange confidence of her own safety. Against this Murneders, she didn't show neither fear nor foolish courage. Just admiration and normal feeling toward fellow living beings.

"White cloak...white...I don't think it's considered white cloak, but there was a blurry white figure dashing past me really fast, there..." she pointed toward the direction the Murneders once was going to. That didn't help much, of course. "The figure kinda...disappeared in an instant. Sorry, I can't help you more than that..."

At that time someone bumped at her from behind. She yelped, but the culprit didn't faze even a bit. It was someone in black cloak, the height suggesting a man. He continued forward, even bumping again against the Murneders as if he didn't pay attention to anything in front of him. Without any word of apologize, he kept moving forward, soon disappearing within the crowd.

"What's his problem?" The girl yelled, angry toward the man's uncaring attitude. "I won't let him get away like that so easily! Come, let's teach him a lesson or two!" she quickly grabbed the Murneder's strong arm and dragged him away.

=====

Outside Jiang's city ruler's residence's wall, on the backside of the house.

The man in black cloak frowned in front of the three-meters high wall. The lord's house was well-guarded in the front gate, and surrounded by such high walls all around the four direction. It might be possible to sneak in, but getting out would be a problem if he did it alone. He would need help, but who'd help him? He could pay some mercenary, but he needed to be sure that they weren't Kyo's spies...

=====

"There he is," Ai had unconsciously dragged the Murneders all the way to the Lord's house during her fit. From here they could see the black-cloaked man murmuring to himself. What the hell was he doing there? Suspicious...

"...What do you think he's doing? He looked like a thief to me..."

[Giratina]

Umbara was surprised to say the least. Even the bravest person would not make physical contact with a Murneder, let alone attempt to pull them along. Their quick temper and brutal assaults made them almost god-like, at least in the fear factor. So, it was best to say this girl was naive. Yet what surprised her more is that she allowed herself to be dragged like some slave.

It was the shock, she told herself. Yet she still was following, as if stunned by a lightning strike. They rounded a corner to see the man, whom was studying... the wall? The sky? People could be so peculiar sometimes, but it was nothing new.

"There he is..." she heard the girl say. Ugh, she'll have to find her other target later... either that bastard was extremely lucky or unlucky. She was still kicking herself for the screw-up, but as her mentor always had told her, let bygones be bygones.

"...What do you think he's doing? He looks like a thief to me..." she said, and broke(in all honestly, it was more like a gentle tug) free of Ai's grasp. "Stay here, I can deal with this..." she ordered, walking briskly toward the man. She might as well help this woman while she was here. She grasped his arm as softly as possible and turned him to face herself. "Hey, do you have a problem?" she questioned, almost have knocking the poor soul over. Her shadow completely engulfed him, blocking his face. Umbara felt a sneer form on her face, and she pressed it, using her other hand to grab a dagger.

[namelesshero]

The man had noticed someone else coming toward him. Was it a guard? He couldn't say for sure before seeing it by himself, but it would risked his face known by that someone. What should he do? Although, he didn't have any choice in this matter. The best he could do was tugging the cloak further, hiding most of his facial features beneath. Trying to maintain his calm, he slowly turned toward that someone.

"No...I don't have any. I'm just enamored with the building's structures, nothing more. I...UAAGH!"

He was practically screaming. A giant...a giant was in front of him! Umbara wasn't that big, to be fair, but for someone like him, Umbara's body bulky body was enough to strike fear to his soul. Instinctively he reached for his sword. His fingers turned white from gripping the hilt too strong.

"W...what are you? What do you want?" He was about to draw his sword. Whether Umbara was going to attack or not, he didn't want to take chance. However, another sounds approached their position from the other side of the wall. It's the sound of metal clanking.

Guards.

"Shi...!" The man turned heel and run away. Getting into trouble with the guard now would be a bad thing to happen. No way in hell!

"Mister Murneder!" Here comes the girl toward Umbara, "What happened? Is he really a thief? He's running away! We must catch him!" she tugged Umbara's arm once more, urging him to chase the cloaked man. It's something personal, actually. She just hated thief and their likes.

[Giratina]

There we go, the typical reaction of a person to my body, fear, she thought, noticing him reach for his sword. Then his face changed into one of surprise. Or some other emotion, maybe some annoyance in their as well...

"Shi...!" he exclaimed, a bolted in the opposite direction. Umbara heard metal striking metal, and close. Great, just what I needed. She looked after the man, who was already rounding the corner of the wall. How on Earth did she get herself into this mess? Casting a quick glance at the wall, she realized why there were guards. This was none other than the dwelling of a high political figure, the ruler of Jiang if memory served her well.

"Mister Murneder!" the young woman said. Oh yeah. She was the reason. "What happened? Is he really a thief? He's running away! We must catch him!" Umbara mentally sighed. Why couldn't she be more like her father? He would have just killed her off when she touched him.

Umbara, seeing that they wouldn't catch up to the man with this girl leading the way, and the fact that the girl couldn't defend herself against the guards without a feasible lie, saw one option."Hold on tight, it won't be a fun trip if you fall." She grabbed the girl and hoisted her over her shoulder, taking after the alleged thief.

[namelesshero]

Ai was so caught up with the idea of capturing the "thief" that she didn't pay attention to the oncoming guards. She didn't really know that this house held such importance to the city, after all. The girl was about to drag Umbara again, but the Murneders' words stopped her.

"Fall? Fall from...WHA?" a mild scream escaped her lips when the bulky figure lifted her up. Soon she was taken by the Murneders across the city, the speed in which he moved amazed her to no extent. It was far different from normal human's. She even thought that Umbara could be faster than horses. The guards could only stared stupidly as he and the girl disappeared in an instant. Not like they dared to give chase, as they'd left the house unguarded.

Meanwhile, the cloaked man had chosen narrow streets to outmaneuver the pursuers. He didn't expect the guards to follow him all the way, the farthest they could go wouldn't be that much.
"Now they must be tightening the perimeter...that guy, who was he? He couldn't be a guard!" such a giant...he'd heard about their race. Murneders, warriors of immense physical abilities. They were said to be able to kill even the fiercest beast. "But they rarely came to this region these days...I wonder what his business was..." He leaned his back to the wall, catching his breath. Nobody followed him so far, the guards must've stopped as he'd predicted. Now he just need to blend with the crowd again...

"THIEF!" a girl's voice echoed in the sky. Thief? Where? The cloaked man casted his eyes around, but found nobody else in the street. Was he imagining things? "Meh, could be...The stress is getting to m..."

He couldn't believe his eyes. There was the giant again...and on his back was a girl! And they're coming to his direction...no, they're coming to...him? Fast! So fast!

"WHAT THE F...!" his instinct once again told him to reach for his sword, but his brain won this time. He chose to run.

[Giratina]

The man ran, as she thought he would. And she'd be damned if he didn't run like a coward. Well, more like a man trying to preserve his life. Fortunately, his black cloak stood out more than blended in, as few choose to wear the garment because of the heat it absorbed, though it did make them extremely difficult to track in darker places, which of course, narrow streets had an abundance of. She followed down the narrow roads, barely squeezing through the tight spaces. She had almost lost him once or twice, but the girl had a knack for hunting apparently.

The man had stopped, panting. Heh, she was not even tired, and here he was struggling for his breath. She grinned; this ought to be easier than expected.

"THEIF!" the girl shrieked in Umbara's ear. I'm going to lose my hearing if she does that again... she groaned. The man glanced in their direction, his eyes widening. He dashed away again, trying to disappear into the crowd.

"Hey, we don't know he's a thief. And stop your screaming." she menacingly growled in an attempt to shut her up. She slowed down to a jog, preserving her energy, though she managed to keep pace with him easily. Screw this she thought, and reached into her bag. Mistaking one of her pastries for her stun rods (which were basically short, blunt sticks), she hurled it it at the escapee.