Tales of the Seven

[Holy Unknown]

Backstory

There is a legend that tells of seven friends: Kato Kiyomasa the samurai, Vladimir the vampire, Sabir Issusha the wolf demon, Bleak Ludwik the warrior, Cair the mage, Josef Korkov the archer, and one of which who will remain unnamed. These friends were all brought together with intertwining fates. Now five years after they met, their quiet life is being ruined, because King Amiran, of the kingdom of Raiinon, has been corrupted with power. He used to call on them as a band of protectors of his kingdom. Now though, he has tried to get them to join with him and his evil.

Some claim he's gone mad. Others have heard rumors of a powerful and evil gem that has taken his soul, but not much is known. He is destroying villages needlessly and taxing the heart and soul out of the peoples and demons that use to coexist peacefully. He has sent his armies to other kingdoms to slaughter what he once considered allies, now they are all enemies. But he keeps a few hundred in the kingdom, to kill off the demon race. For suddenly, in his eyes, they are foul and evil. Because of him, the land is dying. Farmers are desperate for money because their soil is dry and hard and nothing will grow. The lakes and rivers all also drying out and many are gone. In relation to this, people are starving and dying of thirst.

Prince Kailan has secretly asked them for help. But it was a large blow to their pride deciding that they weren't ready for something like that yet. So they decided to split up, to become stronger, learn more of their pasts, and try to find out more about what is going on with the King of Raiinon. Then they split, leaving each other for two years, doing just what they set out to do. During that time the king had gained more control, the kingdom continues to die, and he has acquired more allies.

The unnamed friend had broken the vow and joined the side of the King. He is now Amiran's most loyal and trusted servant. The traitorous friend, named Craig Stonefist, Craig, to his friends, has spilled every secret about them that he knows to the king. He has told him of their plans against him, their strengths and their weaknesses. Now the king has guards on alert knowing that this upcoming day was the day they would meet up. Letting think all is fine and then hunt them down using the King's guard, all led by the renowned Captain of the Guard, Caim Caerleon.

They are all unaware of the betrayal by their friend, and have no clue what dangers and curves await them ahead. And this is where their tale begins.

Kato

The Inn was bustling with the casual crowd tonight, a dedicated crowd. It was quite the rainy night, and anyone out in it was a fool, unless they had more serious matters to attend to. The doors to the inn flung open, spraying everyone sitting near the door with little droplets of water that had been residing on the door. A man with a cloak on walked in through the doors, heading to a table off in the far corner. While he was marching to the corner, he reached out from under his cloak to grab two more chairs along the way. Doing so gave show to his katana and outfit, some of the people knew who he was just by that as he frequented the area. Others just thought of some samurai wannabe.

Upon arriving at the table, he swung both the chairs around and set them down facing the table. He walked clockwise around the table to the other side to place himself in the corner so that he may watch the rest of the bar. He pulled a chair out and sat down, removing his hood shortly afterwords. His appearance was young and stern, yet he had knowledge and experience that no one in the room at the time could know of.

The bars keep came over after a few minutes, asking if he would like anything to drink. “I’ll have a whiskey sir, and please round up six more glasses of water for my friends who are expected here any time.” The bars keep smiled and nodded his head as he retreated behind the bar to retrieve Kato’s glass of whiskey. Kato wasn’t much of a drinker, but liked to have something in him before he sat down with everyone. It relaxed him more.

The bartender came over shortly after he had taken his order with the glass of whiskey; he retreated again to get the six glasses of water. Kato wasn’t sure what everyone would want to drink, so he ordered something simple to be polite. Soon after there were six glasses of water sitting still all around the table waiting to be drank. “It’s been two years since we agreed to split .” Kato whispered to himself as he took a sip of his whiskey and drew it a few inches away from his mouth. “Today is the day we agreed upon.” He slammed the rest of the whiskey down and set the empty glass on the table. ‘I hope they all come back.’ He thought as he sat and watched the crowd of the inn go on about its usual routine.

[Vladhimir Grimm]

Josef had arrived unannounced and unnoticed by everyone, as he liked it. An air of demented blood lust hung around him like a veil of pure evil, though he was not corrupted himself. He simply enjoyed the hunt, whether it was humans, animals, or some form of vile creature that seeked to purge the land of all kindness and joy. The large man slowly made hi sway to Kato's table, large black bow slung along his back with a quiver and arrows to match. On his left hip was a normal scabbard that looked like it was splattered with blood, both fresh and old. One could only assume what sort of demonic blade was sealed away inside, the kind of hunger that it pumped into Josef's veins and drove him insane at the worst of times for he was a kind and humble man on his own. His hood his most of his face -though it didn't matter much, as he had on a mask of pure bone to hide his true identity which most people wouldn't be equipped to handle-, and his cloak billowed in the warm yet stifling air of the Inn as he made his way through the tables like a hovering specter, silent as a jaguar ready to pounce on it's prey. This was the outcome of years of practice and much patience, and it made him one of the best spies and thieves around. When he finally did reach the table, he placed a large gauntleted hand on Kato's shoulder before sitting down to make his presence known. The wooden chair squeaked under the Archer's weight, which only made the man chuckle a tad before he reached up into his hood and removed the mask, then set it down on the table with such a softness that it could be compared to that of a Mother's feeling for her newly born babe. Kato of course knew the scarred mess that was under the man's mask, and why he valued the bleached bone that allowed him to hide his insecurities. On it's surface were many cuts and cracks, but there was a quite large one that went from the top right of his forehead, all the way down to where his mouth would be under the mask. It was one of the first blows he had received during his manhunts, and it had nearly killed him. Sometimes he wished it had, as the silver scar was now easy to see in the faint light of the in, just as bright as his piercing emerald eyes. As a way to conceal himself from anyone that might be arriving soon, he pulled his hood even farther down, then gripped his glass and brought it to his lips. It looked like Josef was about to sip it, but this was soon proven wrong as he flicked his wrist and downed the entire glass in one go. Once the final drops of burning liquid trickled down his throat, he carefully set the glass back down and turned his head ever so slightly towards Kato, where the Archer's wide grin was now the only thing visible underneath the darkness of his hood.

"Well, Kato. Looks like I'm the first to arrive. This hasn't happened in quite a while. Wonder what the others are up to.."

[Kahlil]

A cloaked male made his way slowly to the inn, limping slightly as he walked over the hard and wet ground. It was cold and the wetness from the rain did nothing to better his mood, though he knew that once he was at the Inn in the presence of his friends—his brothers, he knew everything would be better. When he heard the hustling of footsteps behind him, he tensed for a moment, and then relaxed slightly. His nose picked out that they were just regular civilians trying to get out of the rain, and when a burly man and his wife rushed passed him, he was correct. He sighed in relief, glad that there were not any of the king’s bounty hunters around that were sent to wipe out the demons.

Sabir continued down the street, still searching for the Inn where he had promised to meet Kato and the rest of his companions. He was very eager to see everyone again and these past couple of years of solitude had been heart wrenching for him. It reminded him of his time after he had been exiled from his pack, the loneliest time he had in his life. Breathing out a sigh, he pushed those thoughts from his mind and breathed in the moist air deeply, taking in the scents. Very faintly, he could barely catch the scent of his companions and once he found Kato’s, he immediately picked up his pace toward the inn. Thunder rumbled softly in the distance, but once Sabir pushed open the door to the inn, he was greeted by the warmth of the room and then annoyed glares coming from the visitors sitting closest to the tables from the door.

He ignored all of them though, too focused on finding his friends. Immediately, he smelled Kato and Josef, and he looked around frantically for them. Finally finding the two seated at the far corner of the room, Sabir grinned under the hood of his cloak and awkwardly made his way toward them because of his limping. He raised a hand in greeting as he walked. “Kato, Jos—”

“Hey, move it,” a drunkard barked as he walked by and had brushed against the wolf demon’s shoulder hard, making Sabir to cut short from his path and his greeting. As the man made his way toward the inn’s exit, Sabir turned to glare at him through his single eye, his hood nearly dropping from his head to reveal his wolven ears. His fingers flexed in agitation and the smell of blood from Josef’s sheathed weapon did not make his mood any better. Anyone could tell his temper was building. He was tempted to follow the drunkard out of the inn to beat him to a bloody pulp, but at the same time, he held himself back remembering his two friends at the table. Finally turning away from the man, he made his way to the open seat beside Kato and sat down silently, still agitated.

[Starsword]

Vladimir walked through the town towards the inn with his hood up, he may not mind the rain but he had to keep up with appearing to be a normal human. He thought about his friends, how they would all be together once more after such a long time. Ever since they split up Vladimir had been in almost complete solitude, returning to the forest in which he lived for so long before meeting Kato and Sabir. He had spent much of his time soul searching, part of that including trying to figure out if he had a soul or not. He had risen from beneath the earth and was a vampire, implying he had a life before this time which he could not remember. In the end he decided he must have a soul or else he wouldn't be having such deep thoughts. And every day he still thought of the voice he heard when he first woke up, he still had no idea who or what it was. Clearly it knew the future, and it did help him find his friends so it couldn't be completely malevolent, but Vladimir still wanted to know who it was. He tried connecting with her every night when he slept. Well, maybe sleep wasn't the right word, it's more of a meditative state into which he entered for 6 hours every night. But alas, he did not connect with her, but he did seem to attract many criminals during his stay in the forest. They never learned, they rumors in the town said the creature was dangerous, but they didn't believe it. Their blood sated his thirst for a long time, he normally drank animal blood but if some evil person walked so willingly into his midst he would not stop himself.

As he entered the inn Vladimir took a deep breath in, the blood of all those in here smelling so good. But he knew better than to just go on a rampage, besides, he didn't drink the blood of the innocent. He also smelled his friends sitting in the back and walked over to them. He could smell the blood on Josef's blade, and looking over at Sabir he could tell it was making him a bit agitated. "Did you forget about how we are Josef? Or did you intentionally make sure your blade had fresh blood just to annoy us?" Vladimir gestured to himself and Sabir as he sat down. He looked at the drink in front of him and gave a wry little smile to Kato, who he assumed had arrived first "I suppose a cup of blood would have been too much to ask for?" He chuckled and drank the water with a bit of a shudder. He could eat and drink normal food in small quantities, but ultimately he would need blood. Though he just fed before arriving so he'd be fine for a good while.

[Darkrougenin]

Books were sprawled all over his desk in an unorganized manor. Open and closed books that he took from his old home. Across from his desk, Cair laid down on his bed, the back of his right hand on his forehead and left on his stomach , staring at the ceiling. What did you want me to do, Father..? Images of Cair's father, a local wizard, invaded his mind. His father always reminded him to forge his own path and the only thing Cair had been able to do was follow in the footsteps of his friends. "I...I don't know what to do..." Cair mumbled and was getting ready to sleep. The Orb of Magistry began to circle into Cair's view. "What do you want Orb?" Cair asked the orb and began to sit up. The Orb began to glow a bright orange and as Cair looked into it he saw the reflection of the letter that Kato had sent him. "Oh how could I have forgotten?" He jumped off his bed and picked his staff up off the wall he had it displayed on. He heard the sound of rain hitting the window and decided to put on a dark jacket over his usual clothing. "The rain shouldn't be much of a problem." Cair left his room and began to descend down the stairs, closing his bedroom door with his mind. As he approached the front door and put on his shoes, he called out to his foster sister, "I'm going out!" He opened the door with the flick of his wrist, but before he left he felt someone tug on his jacket. He turned around to see his sister standing over him. "Will you be gone long?" her eyes began to get watery. "The last time you left..." Cair rarely leaves his sister's house because he's always in her guest room reading the books that he took from his Father's house. He had no real reason to leave the house until now. "Don't worry Wisty, I'll be back. It's just a meeting. With the guys I always told you stories about." Cair's foster sister, Wisty, grew up with Cair ever since he was put into her family by the Orphan Care system. She is his older brother by 4 years and has no problem having him stay at her place. Wisty's face straightened up and the water in her eyes began to dry. "Good. You better come back, I'll need help around the house later!" She crossed her arms and pretended as if she wasn't on the verge of tears seconds ago. "Heh...I'll see what I can do. Later." Cair grabbed his Staff off his back and the Orb flew on top of the staff. After channeling some Mana into the staff, it began to glow and turned into an umbrella. He left with the umbrella and began to walk towards the direction of the Inn.

When Cair reached the Inn he stood under the Inn's sign which protected him from the rain. His umbrella began to glow and went back to it's original state, a staff and an Orb. The Orb began to hover by Cair's head and he put the staff back on his back. He then put his hands into his pockets and opened the doors to the Inn with his mind. He walked in casually, making whoever was watching him question how he opened the door without touching the handles. Cair looked around the Inn for his old friends and when he found them he put on a smile and the Orb began to lightly glow. Cair was the smallest person out of the group only being 5'4 tall and with a magical orb floating around his head he was surely able to get some looks from the people sitting at the bar. He approached the table to see only four of them at the table so far and took the seat next to Sabir. "Hello, Hello." Cair said and took a sip of the water in front of him, the Orb floating around the table taking in any useful information about his friends that might have changed over the years.

[Vladhimir Grimm]

Josef just chuckled even more and waved at the barmaid to exchange his glass and bring him the bottle, which he grabbed eagerly after giving the small woman a quick wink and smile. Without skipping a beat, the large man uncorked the bottle with his teeth and downed half the liquid, his face barely wincing at the burn due to his great practice in drinking. When he was finally swallowed the rest of the left over liquid in his mouth, he gently set the bottle down on the table and turned towards the Vampire. "Well, you see. It's not just the blade you're smelling, old friend. I took it upon myself to run a few errands before arriving here.." and with that, Josef grabbed his sack from the ground and tossed it up onto the table, where two bottles of dark liquid rolled out, along with what looked like a human heart that was jammed into a jar almost too small for it. He then pushed these items towards the two anxious men, his grin growing even wider. "You don't need to thank me now, that can wait for later, lads." then to add more to the moment, he quickly downed the rest of the bottle which caused his head to spin with the joyous buzz of alcohol. His mood began it's incline to happiness, and he began laughing heartily at the group of them looking so out of place and awkward at their table.

"You know, It was quite hard to stay on my own, without you lot covering my arse. It took a few pints of mead a day to keep me from seeking you out. What with being hunted and all..."

It looked like Josef's face dropped slightly at this statement, but his hood hid most of it. He knew that even though his hood could shield his emotions, the others could easily sense his discomfort. It didn't stop the man from trying, although, and he quickly slid his sack back down onto the ground with a dull thump, as most of the precious items had been removed. With renewed vigor, he threw both of his hands up in the general direction of his companions, and exclaimed loudly. "But it's time to be merry, for we're united again lads! Indeed our good man Kato here will tell us the details of why we've all gathered once more, as I'm sure I'm not the only one that's quite curious. Go on then, explain!" At this outburst, Josef noticed glares from a few tables over, which caused him to glare right back and growl underneath his breath, making him appear more beast than human. It was evident that something about him had changed quite drastically, whether it was being alone for the dull years they were apart, or the thirsty blade that was wailing to be released from it's prison to shed more blood as if it fed off his emotions.

[Kahlil]

Pouting for a while, Sabir reached for the glass of water in front of him and downed half of its contents in a few gulps. When he looked up from his drink, his ears perked up as he saw Vladimir taking a seat at the table and nodded his greeting. It was then he forced a smile on his face, though he was still feeling a bit irritated from his earlier confrontation. “I’m not annoyed because of that scent,” Sabir commented, “But it is making me want to hunt…” he licked his lips, casting his gaze around the room at the strangers sitting near them. Taking another gulp of water, another familiar scent—two actually—reached his nose almost simultaneously.

First was when Cair entered the Inn, his magic orb floating in the air by the shorter man’s head. Sabir smiled again, this time his mood started to lighten as more of their companions began to fill the seats around their table. “Hey Cair.” Sabir greeted as the man took a seat beside him. The second scent, however, drew his attention immediately from the young man and the orb that circled them, as Josef produced a pair of bottles on the table and a jar of what looked like a heart stuffed within it.

Sabir’s eye widened at the sight, his mouth watered as it hung open slightly, drool almost trailing the corners of his lips. Already he found himself hunched over the table close to the jar, his seat pushed back as he stood, and his single sapphire eye staring at the heart hungrily. He finally lifted his gaze from the organ to the archer, grinning slyly as he took hold of the top of the jar with a clawed hand. “I’ll be taking this then. I’ll definitely pay you back later for this, just let me know what you want. Thanks, Josef!” He said, lowering back to his seat and taking the jar with him. He left the two bottles of dark liquid for Vladimir and he placed the jar on his lap, his tail wagging under the cloak as he turned his attention back at his companions.

“Aye, I know what you mean. Missed all you guys,” Sabir sighed, noticing the discomfort on the archer. More of his kind was being killed with each day passing and the king’s army continues to grow and overpowering them. Even Sabir was beginning to struggle with the mercenaries hired by the king, having been so used to having Kato or his companions covering his back. Watching as the man bellowed loudly, Sabir shrugged his shoulders and tilted one side of his mouth upward into a smirk. He then turned his gaze over at his best friend.

“Yes, I’m also curious. Have as much fun as we did during our separation?” he said sarcastically, waiting for Kato's reply and for the other two members of their band to arrive.

[Holy Unknown]

Kato

Kato greeted everyone as they entered the Inn. It was a pleasant sight to see them again, he was quite relieved to see that they were all okay and in one piece. None of them had changed that much from when they last saw one another. Except for Josef, he seemed a bit off though he didn't pay much mind to it. He figured he would be all the same in a short time after being back together with his friends once again. Kato grinned at Vladmir's comment on a glass of blood but saw shortly after that Josef hadn't forgot about them and their needs. "It seems as if your wish has been granted." He ordered another drink for himself as the others mingled about their times spent apart and the things they've endured. The solitude, the hunt...the being hunted. Kato hoped that all had grown stronger, not just in terms of physical prowess but mentally as well, for the coming time would not prove to be so easy for the group.

Kato looked at the group as they were waiting for an answer, as asked by two of them now. "Well, I must say my time spent away from the lot of you has been lonely. I've missed all of you and hoped that we made the right choice to go our separate ways when we did." He glanced over everyone's faces as he continued to speak. "As for the plan, I will await our last two friends to arrive then we will head upstairs to a reserved room to discuss it in private." He nodded towards the rest of the bar's people. Though they were in safe zone out here, there were many spies working for the King...Possibly one of their own. Moving the thought from his head he continued on about his time away. "I actually returned home during my time, and was reluctant not to be bothered by anyone while there. Not sure if you were expecting some exciting story, but it was rather dull." A small smile crossed his face as he thought about the time he spent brutally training with his father. He knew that was one of the reasons he had not been bothered. His father was a powerful man and a wise man, well respected across the Kingdom.

King Amiran

"Fetch Captain Caerleon!" The King bellowed in his hall, as one of his servants rushed off into another portion of the Castle to do as requested. "The night has finally come..." He spoke softly to himself as he let out a maniacal laugh thinking of how the six traitors would die this night.

[Izaka Sazaka]

Caim laid back upon the comfort of his luxurious feather stuffed mattress, legs spread out, eyes half glazed over with the sensation of pure relaxation. In his right hand he held a tiny novel, a piece of useless, yet succulent garbage with which to pass the time. At his feet lay two extremely scantily clad women, obviously concubines; although their faces were obviously pained with the malcontent that often accompanies slavery they said nothing, working diligently to massage the captain's feet. But in the midst of all this bliss Caim was aware of the pattering of feet in the hallway leading towards his private chamber, was aware of the sweaty hand as it was laid against the other side of his door knob, was aware of the breathless, doubled over messenger as he burst into the private chambers of one of the most ruthless and powerful men in the kingdom.

Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, the captain took his time rising from the exquisite decor, giving the messenger a moment to catch his breath. As he waited, the captain poured a little more of the wine from his bed-side table into a tall glass, sipping lightly upon it as the servant conveyed his message. "Lord Caim, the king requests your presence at once, it is a matter of the utmost importance!" The captain took another leisurely sip, making no sudden move toward donning his weapon or armor, instead, he considered the request for a moment, before nodding his acceptance. "Very well, tell him I shall be with him shortly."

-----

In a matter of minutes Caim was fully clothed and armored, his grisly weapons set daintily at his side, awaiting whatever mission the king might send them flying upon. Caim had become accustomed to being on call at all hours of the night and day; although it still irked him somewhat that he was forced to play the subordinate, in the end it did not much matter as the king granted him a very wide breadth in his capacity to make decisions. Flanked on all sides by his elite troops, the captain turned to face the massive oak double-doors that led into the palace's throne room. Signalling with his hand, he motioned that the troops should wait here.

Pushing open both doors, he made a rather dramatic entrance, his single eye swiveling this way and that as it sized up the various nobles and scribes loitering around the area, each person giving him a rather wide breadth as he made his way up toward the throne of the Amiran. Once he was before the king, the captain knelt and supplicated himself before his master, speaking with a tone of seriousness and brevity. "You have summoned me, how may I be of service?"