Welcome to Gaia! ::

A mob of men and woman shouted outside the wall of a kingdom. Their voices seemed to merge as they shouted for equality. On the other side of the stone wall, a man wearing rich clothing and a cape laughed. He seemed to enjoy the shouts and anger of the nearby villagers. The wall reached too high into the air, so he had nothing to worry about. The kingdom was even larger then the wall the surrounded it. Behind the great wall, dark green grass was grown. Many fruits and vegetables were growing as well. A strange aura of magic seemed to allow them all to grow in one spot. The man's laughter stopped at the cry of a very familiar voice. A young man with dark hair stood outside the wall with a sheathed sword at his side. He wore a worn-out tunic, it bore a strange emblem. The emblem resembled a sword with dragon scales on it's hilt and blade. "These villager's have gathered out here for equality! Isn't it the King's duty to serve them this?!" The man's tone was demanding and clear. His hand rested on the hilt of the blade at his side. The man in the royal clothing seemed to be biting his lip.
"You don't even belong to this village, Benkei! Why do you continue to show up and fight for them!?" Shouted the man over the wall. His face was bright red with anger.
"I don't have to live in this village to see the injustice you have done! Where are the promised knight's to guard the village? The taxes you force them to pay are too much! Where does that money go!?" Snapped Benkei from the other side of the wall. The king could hear the cheers of the villagers. He was clenching his fists in rage. He began to hear Benkei's loud laughter from the other side of the wall. "The mighty King doesn't even have a comeback!" The villager's laughed along with him. Veins were popping from the King's head. He stomped back into his kingdom. He stomped down the royal halls. The knight's saluted him as he walked by. The floor was made of marble, and the walls were made of stone. A strange glow radiated from the cracks between the rocks in the wall. The King made a turn down the hall, into another hall. This hall was darker then the others. Doors lined the walls in the hall. Laughter and crying could be heard behind these doors. The King then stopped at one of the doors.
"The damned Benkei! He isn't deserving enough to die by the hand of one of my knights! I'll let him be killed by a prisoner!" The King laughed evilly to himself as he pried the door open. A man sat on the stone ground behind the door. He looked up to the king with a sad look. A bloody mace rested beside him, the blood was still fresh. "You killed your roommate again? Whatever will I do with you." The King laughed again to himself. "I've decided to release you, but only on one condition." The King paused, he saw the eyes of the prisoner light up. "You must kill the man outside who is making so much noise. His name is Benkei. He wears the emblem of a sword with scales. Kill him, and you will be free."
The prisoner smiled, showing his sharp teeth. He grabbed his bloody mace and stood up. He twisted his neck to make a loud cracking noise. He lifted his mace and let it rest on his shoulders. He snickered and looked at the King. "Lead the way."
Benkei was still outside, whipping out insults from behind the great wall. "I guess he retreated! What a pitiful man! What a pitiful King!" He laughed, and let his hand slide off the hilt of his sword.
"Your still here Benkei?" Said the King in a confident tone from behind the wall.
"Yes, and here I shall stay!" Shouted Benkei back. "Will you come over here to talk with me, one on one?"
"I don't need to!" Snapped the King.
"Hahaha! Here that? Your great King is afraid!" Benkei laughed, as did the villagers.
The King hissed angrily at Benkei's remark. He turned to the eager looking prisoner. "Bring back his head." Said the King, as he walked back towards the kingdom. The man snickered and jumped into the air; over the great wall. He landed beside Benkei.
"Hello there!" Said Benkei. "You don't happen to be the King ,do you?"
The man didn't respond. He rose his mace and smashed it down at Benkei. Benkei rolled to the side, dodging the powerful blow. A small crater was left from the impact. The man sighed as he lifted his mace back up.
"Not too friendly, eh?" Benkei walked forward. The man swung the mace at Benkei again. This time, Benkei jumped over the head of the mace. While in the air, he kicked the man's face. The man tumbled back onto the ground. He covered in face in pain. Benkei landed on his feet. The villagers cheered from a distance. The second the menacing foe leaped over the wall, they all backed up.
"Why don't you draw your blade...?" Asked the man, finally standing back up. Benkei shrugged. The man seemed angered and charged forward. He swung his mace down at Benkei. Benkei stopped it with one hand. "What?!"
"You were wondering why I wouldn't draw my blade?" Benkei snickered at his swords. "It's because I wouldn't waste time drawing it from it's sheath on you." He grinned and kicked the man in the stomach. He fell to his knees, the mace fell onto the ground. Benkei scratched his head. "And you were sent by the King?" Benkei kicked the man over. "Tell the King to send one of his trained Knights next! Tell him I'll destroy him and his knights."

TO BE CONTINUED! XD

The King stomped angrily though-out his kingdom hall. He saw that Benkei was able to defeat the prisoner. He remembered the appearance of another, one who bore the same emblem and tunic as Benkei. "How many are there?!" The King continued to stomp down, knights saluted and wondered why he was angry. They were all too afraid to ask. He stopped infront of one of the knights. The knight was almost shaking. "You, I want you to guard the wall and kill Benkei on sight! Kill anyone with the dragon sword emblem!" Shouted the King. The knight shook his head in agreement, then marched down the hall towards the door. The King snickered at the thought of Benkei dying. Though he wanted to make sure no others like him came to bother him. The King walked towards a small door in the wall. The wall around the door was cracked and glowing. Blood red gems shined in the door. The door itself was old and broken. There was no handle on it, it could only be opened from the inside. Every once in awhile, there would be a small explosion or shriek from that room. Sometimes blood would come running down the walls. Only the King knew what went on inside that strange room. Knights would constantly ask, but the King refused to tell them. He knocked on the door, then stepped back. There was a moment of silence. Suddenly, all the gems turned green, and the door slowly opened. The King slowly walked in, looking in every direction. Inside, potions and books laid scattered about the room. Corpses hang on the wall, some bones, some not. The walls inside were all covered in strange sketches, the King didn't know what they meant, nor did he want to know. Behind a stone table, a man sat and snickered to himself. He appeared to be in his sixty's, he wore a large black coat. The pitch-black hood covered his head and face. Only a gray beard hung out from the hood. In his lap was a book, the pages were old and torn. The letters were in a different language, and glowed. The strange man was more interested in his old book then the King. This made the King angry and he stomped, hoping to get the man's attention. The old man glanced up the at the King. He sighed and closed his book; he set it on the stone table.
"What is it, My Lord?" Asked the man, his tone was polite and raspy. Gems all around the room began to glow with his voice.
"I've come to ask a request." Said the King confidently. He looked down upon the man, hoping to seem intimidating.
"You know I cannot deny your requests, or I would be evicted from this kingdom...and lose my test subjects." Answered the man coldly back.
"Yes, I know." Said the King. "I want you to kill someone for me, in case my knight cannot."
"Who is the someone?" Asked the old man, he was interested in this. "Is he powerful?"
"Yes, very." Said the King. "He is young and wears a tunic with the emblem of a sword covered in scales."
"The Senshi!" The man's eyes lit up at with the mention of the scales.
"You know about him and his group?" Asked the King. He was always curious about that.
"Of course, a well-known guild it is. I'd love to be able to perform tests on one of the members...I accept."
"Excellent. If the knight doesn't return by the end of three days, you may go to find him." Said the King, making his way out of the dark room.
"Yes, thank you, My Lord." The old man was snickering to himself. "I guess I'll kill the knight...just in case."
The knight marched outside of the wall, he looked around and waited for Benkei to show up. He wore shining steel armor, with a cape that bore the emblem of the kingdom; a shield soaked with blood. The knight had a sword in one hand, and a shield in the other. The old man from the room suddenly appeared on the wall.
"Teleportation...Haven't used it in awhile...It's good to use old magic once again." The old man rose both hands and pointed them at the knight. A ball of fire erupted out from his hands and hit the knight. He was instantly turned to ash with the impact. "Hehe...That Benkei boy is as good as mine." The man snickered as wind swirled around him quickly. The noise was very high pitch, the villagers looked up to only see a bit of the old man before he vanished. He appeared back in his dark room, he sighed with relief. He smiled and picked up the book from before; he continued reading.
"Benkei!!!" Bellowed across the hall. Everyone stopped talking and became silent.
"Yes, o' great leader?" Said Benkei with a jokingly tone.
"Why do you continue to disobey the guild's rules?"
"That village needed help, so I helped." Said Benkei with a shrug.
"You ignored your previous mission because of that!"
"I did?" Benkei began to snicker, he pulled out a fang from his pocket. "I completed that mission early."
The leader was silent. "Is that the fang of..."
"Yes, the fang of the phoenix." Said Benkei with a grin. "Am I off the hook?"
"For now." Snapped the leader. "Leave the fang on the mission's gathering table so we have proof of it's demise."
Benkei nodded and placed it on the table. Strange material and other body parts lied on the table as well. Benkei returned back to Soyen and Shaku. "Hehe, that got him to shut up." Said Benkei with a small laugh.
"If you finished that mission so quickly, why don't you come help me?" Asked Soyen.
"With what...?" Asked Benkei in a disappointed tone. Almost as if asked to do chores.
"I was assigned a mission to do tomorrow. I need to kill a sea beast." Said Soyen.
"A sea beast? Never fought one before, I'll come!" Benkei seemed eager now. His stomach then growled. "Let's get some food." The two left Shaku behind as they reached a large wooden table. It held a feast; several different foods lied there. Benkei and Soyen scarfed down the food.
Shaku watched as they devoured half the food on the table. "They really are strange..."

TO BE CONTINUED! XD

Benkei and Soyen departed down the mountain slowly. The sun was still rising over the nearby forest. The town was as restless as ever. The villagers were still outside the large wall shouting for the King. None payed attention to the pile of ashes beside it. Benkei and Soyen finally made it down the hill, they set out into the forest towards the lake. The trees were tall and green. A nice aroma flowed through the forest. The trees had scratches on them, as if they had been clawed at. They didn't pay attention to the trees as they walked. They stepped over mossy rocks and soggy leaves. Some puddles were out from when it last rained. The two traveled half the day, and they were close to the lake. "So, what do we need to collect from it?" Asked Benkei.
"We need it's eye." Answered Soyen, she shivered when she spoke. She didn't like the idea of pulling out a giant eye from the beast.
"Alright, what does it look like?"
"Who knows, but I'm sure we'll find out soon enough." The rest of the travel was in silence. Soyen began to the slashes on the trees. Some were deeper then others, but they were all clean cuts. She thought about it as she walked, wondering what could of made those slashes and cuts. She began to think of the possibility of swords. She thought of the group of thieves that Benkei attacked. He happened to be in the village when they tried to steal from the villagers. He only killed half; the other half retreated, and Benkei gave up the hunt. She was thinking that they were practicing for something. Do they plan to surprise attack Benkei? She shook her head at the idea. She decided not to think of it, they needed to focus on the sea creature. They were nearing the lake.
"So this is the lake?" Asked Benkei, he examined the water from a distance. It was blue with long, stringy moss floating atop it. Nothing looked different, just a normal lake. Then Benkei caught a glimpse of something else. Red moss was also floating along with the green.
"The moss has been stained with blood." Said Soyen. She saw where Benkei was looking. "Let's kill it quickly."
Benkei nodded and slowly got closer to the lake. He couldn't see the bottom, so he didn't know what awaited him. He still walked on though, he was confident in his reflexes. He, slowly but surely, made it to the edge of the land. He looked straight down into the mossy lake. He saw nothing in it. There was too much moss on the lake. He unsheathed his sword, he looked at his blade and sighed. "Looks like I'll need to use you as a tool for this." Benkei used the sword of his blade to remove some of the moss on the water. As he brushed it to the side, he saw glowing dark blue eyes under the surface of the water. He jumped back quickly, but nothing followed.
"What did you see?" Asked Soyen, running forward. She looked into the lake and saw nothing.
"It was there! Big dark blue eyes!"
"Well, you must of scared it away or something. Let's keep looking." Soyen made sure her katana was tight in it's sheath, then jumped into the water.
"Are you crazy?" Shouted Benkei. "There's a sea beast in there, and your going to look while in the water? You can't even see the bottom!"
"Any better ideas?" Benkei scratched his head. "Good, then I'll be back shortly." Soyen dived under the water. Benkei waited for her on land. He sat down and rested his hand on the tall, gentle grass. He ran his fingers through it, he trusted land more.
It was about twenty minutes now, and Soyen hasn't returned. Benkei was worried about her. He was pacing back and forth, hoping to see her come out in one piece. He wasn't worried about her drowning, but about her getting eaten. A weak wave come from the lake. Benkei watched for any signs of Soyen or the beast. Several armed men watched him from the forest.
Benkei could now see large bubbles coming up in the center of the lake. A large snake-like creature sprung from the lake. It was shaking it's head back and forth in the air. Benkei saw Soyen on it's head, trying to cut it with her katana. "She's alive!" Benkei was relieved. He began to unsheathe his sword, and waved to Soyen. "Bring it closer!" Shouted Benkei over to her. She turned her head to him and have him a thumbs up. She then seemed surprised and was pointing behind him. She was shouting something, but he couldn't hear it. He turned around to see a group of men with swords and daggers, all facing him. Benkei sighed. "You again?" He shrugged and kicked one. He flew back into a tree, the rest could hear his ribs break from the impact. They all ran in at once at Benkei. Benkei blocked all their attacks with his sword. He pushed them all back, and they saw his right arm, the one that held his sword. It was different. They didn't know what it yet, but the arm looked different. They all ran in again, from different directions. Benkei ducked over one's blade, and it stabbed into another. Benkei then tripped one, and punched him back up. He lunged his sword up into another. Several fell over, leaving only two. They both exchanged glances and backed up. Esan ran forward, and grabbed one by the back of his neck. He tossed one into a tree with a loud cracking noise. The other was slammed into the ground. He stomped on the man's back and left him with a broken spine. His arm looked more normal again now. He turned his attention back to Soyen and the water beast. It seemed to be slowing down, and was now closer to land. Benkei stepped back a bit, then charged forward. He took a giant leap, and landed on the side of the beast. He lunged his sword into the sea snake creature and used it to climb up. It howled in pain but refused to try and lose them in the water. It knew it was too dangerous to fight the woman in the water. It continued to struggle and try and knock them both off. Benkei eventually made it to the head, Soyen was there still hacking at it. "Why can't you cut it?" Asked Benkei, somewhat confused by her failed attempts.
"I don't know! My katana isn't working against it." Snapped Soyen, trying not to appear weak.
"Maybe it's because your conscious doesn't want to kill something from the water."
"Maybe...That might be it. I've managed to slay most things...But how come you can still kill things on land with your conscious stopping you?"
"Who knows, but it's because I'm different!" Said Benkei, in an almost boasting manner.
"Whatever, just kill it!"
"Alright. Go for the eye when I stab it, and pluck it out of there using your katana." Soyen shivered at the thought, but she eventually nodded in agreement. "Then...one....two....three...go!" Shouted Benkei, as he stabbed his blade through the skill of the beast. He heard a popping sound and oozing noise. He saw Soyen dive into the water with a large round object. "She actually did it." Said Benkei to himself with a small laugh. The beast fell over, half it's body landed on the ground. Benkei jumped off, and stretched. Soyen sat on the round object. It was half her size.
I can't believe I actually had to do that." Said Soyen.
"All mission's require something. It was just your bad luck that you had to take it's eye back." Said Benkei with a slight shrug. "Let's head back."

TO BE CONTINUED! XD

Eshun soon got out of sight and he saw lightning strike where she was heading. He slowed down and sighed. "Lightning without a cloud...must mean she's back at the guild..." He scratched his head and looked up into the cold night sky. Trees loomed over him, but he could see stars through them. The moon was out, brighter then ever. He used it to guild his way back. As he traveled through the woods, he began to hear voices. "Who could be out here in the middle of the night?" Tosui scratched his head and began to slowly sneak towards the voices. They were both awfully familiar. They were speaking low so he couldn't make out what they were saying. He snuck closer and closer, then hid behind a tree. He could hear them clearly now.
"How many have been gathered?" Asked one of the voices, it sounded male.
"We have about ten, will it be enough?" Asked another voice, also sounding female.
"Let us gather a few more. Until then, go on with your regular missions." Missions? Do they belong to a guild? Tosui's curiosity got the best of him, he decided to sneak a peek at the two. They both wore emblem's with a sword covered in scales on a tunic. They're members on Senshi! Why are they out so late... He couldn't see their faces, but he still felt it was best to stay hidden for now. "Let us meet again, one week from now..."
"Yes, and will that be the final meeting?" Asked the woman.
"Yes, the last one we will have as Senshi members." What are they talking about!?
"I can't wait..." Said the woman.
"Neither can I, I can hardly stand still. We shall dance and sing the night of Senshi's destruction to our heart's content." Destruction!? What are they talking about!? Tosui gripped his battle axe tightly.
"Stay where you are!" Shouted Tosui at once, he jumped from behind the tree. Both were startled by his sudden appearance. They only exchanged glances, and a single nod. "What were you talking about? The destruction of-" A spear was lunged through his stomach. He quickly jumped back, leaving a trail of blood. The man stood with the spear, the blade was covered in blade. "You dare attack another member?!"
"Who cares...The guild leader won't find out."
"Won't find out?" He felt wind swirl around him, then a gust shot Tosui back. The woman then ran in, she held a long sword with a red hit. Fire engulfed the steel blade, the flames grew stronger and stronger as she got closer. He defended against the incoming attack and backed up. "Both using your Dragon Elements...I suppose I should use mine too." The trees began to shift and change, roots were being pulled up. The swirled around the ground, and began to sharpen. "Let me show you...the powers of a Nature Dragon." The roots sprung up at them, the woman slashed through them, but the man jumped. He rose into the air, and was caught by vines. They slowly constricted him. "In this area, I can't be defeated." Said Tosui. He grinned, and let out a small confident laugh at the sight of the woman's face. He couldn't see much, but he knew she was in deep thought. "I see you know it aswell. You can't use your fire against me, or the light will alert the guild. Now answer me questions!" Shouted Tosui in rage. "I won't allow treason!" He swung his battle axe at the woman, she jumped back. She sliced the vines as she jumped, releasing the man. He dropped to the ground, and was breathing deeply. He looked up at Tosui, and rose his hands. Wind blew around Tosui, lifting him into the air. Tosui struggled, but he couldn't get down. The vines of the trees slowly reached up to help him.
"Farewell, Nature Dragon." Said the man with a light laugh. The wind of strong, cuts and gashes began to emerge on Tosui's body. He swung his battle axe, but couldn't feel himself. He then felt nothing, and fell to the ground. Another suddenly gust of wind hit him as he fell, increasing his speed as he crashed into the ground. He rose his arm, but the woman stabbed her sword into his arm. He let out a cry, and dropped his battle axe. "Let us have an ironic death." Said the man, as he pushed forward and a tree began to sway violently. It then cracked and fell over onto Tosui, he coughed up blood as it landed on him. His breathing was getting slower and slower. His sight was getting blurry. The two smirked at him as he eyes slowly closed. I can't die! I can't die! I'm the great Nature Dragon of Senshi! The leader even said out of the other Nature uses, mine was one of the best! How can I be defeated?! He coughed up more blood, and rose his hand into the air. If only...the sun were up. He groped the air, then his arm fell. He was too weak to hold it up, and he just lied there. The two were already gone. On the tree that fell on him was an emblem left by them. It depicted a bloodshot eye, it was the emblem of the enemy guild.
As the two walked back towards the guild, they both snickered. "I can't wait to see the look on their faces when they see their enemy guild's emblem. That may just help wipe out the guild for us!"

TO BE CONTINUED! XD