The seeds of "darkness" were planted long ago. Maybe they did not originally start out that way, maybe that was the tragedy of this world, but whatever their intention, those seeds had begun to set root throughout the whole of the country. Each little vein, branching out and touching everything and everyone that resided within the borders of Wind. But roots were never the end of the plant; there had to be something growing, blossoming, on the surface. One of those "flowers" was clearly the civilization hub known as Soon's Haven. The Haven was soaked in whatever the Daimyo's presences cast, whether it was light or darkness was always subjective depending on who was observing. The citizens of the Haven, by this point, had only ever known one thing; Daimyo Ishii was their protector. While the rest of the country was struggling with maintaining themselves due to the harsh terrain, Soon's Haven flourished. While a large portion of the country was ravaged by the Diamond Maelstrom, Soon's Haven was defended by his walls. It did not require a large degree of manipulation or deception, for the people of the Haven it was simply too easy to believe that the Daimyo was their champion. While he sat at the helm of the country, they had never known hardship. And if hardship approached, he was always there to stand before them. He was a figure that did not cast a shadow, he was a being of light.
But not everyone thought that. The shinobi within Suna seemed to be increasingly adamant about their disbelief of the Daimyo and his rule, but who could truly trust the word of assassins for hire that remained hidden under the ground for all these years. Where were they when the citizens of Soons needed them? There were others though that always doubted the words of the Daimyo. Their numbers were small, either because their radical ideas were hard to take root or because they had seen how previous rebellions had been quelled with relative ease in the past. While they were small, they were persistent. There was a new seed being planted within the darkened soil of Soons Haven. One that seemed to take root within all those who had their eyes opened to the surrounding darkness...
Within Soon's there was a folk story, a horror tale, the whispers of children and drunks, that said during the night, those that were undesirable would be swept away in a wave of darkness. A 'skeleton' would approach their door, pristine and white, and once his gaze was cast upon those poor souls, they would be his to keep. Clearly, people left Soons Haven, especially the poor, but did the majority of the citizens believe a skeleton was wandering the streets kidnapping the poor? No! Of course, people move, especially if they can no longer find the support within this city-state. This disbelief was held by those in the upper and middle classes. The poor of Soon's, however, held more weight to these 'myths'.
They had seen it or had heard it. Those within their realm, the realm of poverty and abandonment, who would wake up one morning and a friend, a child or an entire family that they knew would no longer be there. Where those in the upper classes saw the protection of the Daimyo and the security of the Merchant Lords influence, these individuals only felt a cold shadow cast upon them. They, within this world, were not of any value. But it did not mean that their lives, or more so their bodies, did not carry value.
A single sound would not be heard as a man dressed in all white, face covered in a white mask, would calmly make his way down the street of one of the poorest districts within Soon's. A location that had earned the nickname "The Vanishing Alley" because of how frequently people would be seemingly spirited away from it. Recently, the man in white had been visiting this location more frequently than ever, quickly moving those in the neighborhood from seeing him as a folktale and realizing he was a real person, and they could be next at any moment. When he appeared, so to would other figures, clothed in all black. Their numbers always seemed to be indicative of how many bodies they came to claim; one for a child, a couple for a family, but tonight there was more than a couple. Tonight, the man in white would arrive with roughly twenty figures in black. There was no longer an allusion of secrecy, it was apparent their move being made would be a large scale one.
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"The time has come... you've all be claimed. Trash of the lowest quality, you hold no value to this world, to this society, but I come to bring you hope. Once you've been claimed by me, you immediately gain value. All of you have a greater purpose than you ever did within you old world, in your old lives."
Shadowy figures could be seen congregating at the windows of the homes that lined this street. The people were aware of their fates.
"So instead of playing this coy game, one in which I have to come forcefully for you... come to me, on your own strength, and let's begin your new journey."
There was no way to misinterpret his words. Come to me willingly or I will come to you with force. His numbers and his tone were all relayed through his words; he knew he had the advantage. The people of this district also knew something as well; if they attempted to run they would be found... or killed.
Knowing this, knowing that his threat was a very real one, people did not seem to come out. The silence would remain. The agitation would begin to set in as the man in white would raise his left hand into the air. Upon this signal, the figures in all black would disappear from sight as the sound of doors coming off hinges and glass breaking would be heard through the silent neighborhood.
"Keep in mind, I tried to go about this the nice way. I tried to show you cattle mercy... but it seems that my offer of a peaceful resolution is in vain... so now you reap what you sow."
It was at that time another figure would appear as all the lights would seemingly go out in the surrounding houses. Now standing within this silent stretch of street within the poorest part of Soons Haven there were only two figures highlighted by the beams of the moon hanging high above; a man in all white and a man whose face was obscured by his cloak.
"Reaping what you sow? How fitting. These people, those who you came for before them, have been reaping the misery that had been sown by another. By the Daimyo."
"Oh my, a talkative one..."
"The Daimyo, no, all of you have had your fill. You've taken so much from the people of this city, of this country, and you just keep taking. You've used the darkness to blind the population, to hid from them the ugly underbelly that is rotting out this country from the inside. You've established people's lives as a commodity; those who carry value for society and those who don't. From that separation you create, you consume those deemed as "inferior" and turn them into nothing more than cattle; experiments, slavery, just toys to play with... you are part of an evil that is so ingrained in the very fabric of this country that it would almost be insane to accept what was happening."
"My, my you are just so chatty. I am going to personally make you my pet."
The shadow being cast from the man in white would begin to move upon its open before lashing outward at the man who stood before him. Within a matter of seconds, the living shadow would engulf the shadow of the man whose face was obscured, while an audible chuckle would come from the man in white.
"Looks like you are mine now..."
Upon finishing the words the sound of glass breaking in a large unison would ring through the silent night as a loud chorus of chaos. Quickly following the breaking of glass, there would be the echoing of loud thuds. The last bit of the odd scene would be the lights returning to the houses that lined the street. The reintroduction of these artificial lights would allow the man in white to get a better understanding of what had just happened. Surrounding him would be broken glass, window frames and the bodies of his compatriots dressed in all black.
"What the hell..."
His eyes would glance around once more as figures would return to the windows, but now his impression of them being the people he was sent to capture seemed to fade. Who the hell were these people? It was a new thought entering his mind. His eyes would then once more return to the man he had captured with his shadow as he would feel his grasp loosen.
An explosion of energy would be set off before him, consuming the man with the obscured face with a cloud of dust. There would be an immediate pressure that would fall over the man in white as the dust settled and the other man would reappear, calmly moving forward with a visible coat of chakra radiating from his body.
"We are the ones who have been touched by the misery that flows within this country. At first, we were just a few whispers in the dark, but since the words of Sunahoshi Katsuo, since the declaration of war, we have found ourselves invigorated. The Sunans are not alone in their crusade and neither are we... so we have decided to come for you, to come for you all. We are taking back Soon's Haven and then we are taking back this country."
"You won't change anything, the shinobi won't change anything... all of you... all of you won't change anything! He does not lose. HE never loses!"
"We are the ones staking our lives on the fact that you are wrong. We are a growing movement that will not be stopped. Once we've opened the people's eyes to this darkness, it can't be unseen. Realize. Resist. Rebel. We are the winds of change, a divine storm that will engulf this country just like the Maelstrom once did."
From the windows would appear a symbol, each symbol the same thing. It was a symbol that you could find randomly scattered throughout Soon's Haven. A symbol that was surrounded in whispers and secrecy, but one that now appeared more and more frequently. It was the symbol of the resistance, a grassroots movement that had been working prior but had been emboldened by the broadcast from Suna. A new seed was starting to take root in the darkness of Soon’s Haven, and with it would come a time full of turmoil and bloodshed. Soon the people within the Haven would no longer be able to ignore the mounting tension of this country, and soon they would have to place themselves with one side or the other.
Resist? Remain? War is here.
"The Resistance"
But not everyone thought that. The shinobi within Suna seemed to be increasingly adamant about their disbelief of the Daimyo and his rule, but who could truly trust the word of assassins for hire that remained hidden under the ground for all these years. Where were they when the citizens of Soons needed them? There were others though that always doubted the words of the Daimyo. Their numbers were small, either because their radical ideas were hard to take root or because they had seen how previous rebellions had been quelled with relative ease in the past. While they were small, they were persistent. There was a new seed being planted within the darkened soil of Soons Haven. One that seemed to take root within all those who had their eyes opened to the surrounding darkness...
Within Soon's there was a folk story, a horror tale, the whispers of children and drunks, that said during the night, those that were undesirable would be swept away in a wave of darkness. A 'skeleton' would approach their door, pristine and white, and once his gaze was cast upon those poor souls, they would be his to keep. Clearly, people left Soons Haven, especially the poor, but did the majority of the citizens believe a skeleton was wandering the streets kidnapping the poor? No! Of course, people move, especially if they can no longer find the support within this city-state. This disbelief was held by those in the upper and middle classes. The poor of Soon's, however, held more weight to these 'myths'.
They had seen it or had heard it. Those within their realm, the realm of poverty and abandonment, who would wake up one morning and a friend, a child or an entire family that they knew would no longer be there. Where those in the upper classes saw the protection of the Daimyo and the security of the Merchant Lords influence, these individuals only felt a cold shadow cast upon them. They, within this world, were not of any value. But it did not mean that their lives, or more so their bodies, did not carry value.
A single sound would not be heard as a man dressed in all white, face covered in a white mask, would calmly make his way down the street of one of the poorest districts within Soon's. A location that had earned the nickname "The Vanishing Alley" because of how frequently people would be seemingly spirited away from it. Recently, the man in white had been visiting this location more frequently than ever, quickly moving those in the neighborhood from seeing him as a folktale and realizing he was a real person, and they could be next at any moment. When he appeared, so to would other figures, clothed in all black. Their numbers always seemed to be indicative of how many bodies they came to claim; one for a child, a couple for a family, but tonight there was more than a couple. Tonight, the man in white would arrive with roughly twenty figures in black. There was no longer an allusion of secrecy, it was apparent their move being made would be a large scale one.
"The time has come... you've all be claimed. Trash of the lowest quality, you hold no value to this world, to this society, but I come to bring you hope. Once you've been claimed by me, you immediately gain value. All of you have a greater purpose than you ever did within you old world, in your old lives."
Shadowy figures could be seen congregating at the windows of the homes that lined this street. The people were aware of their fates.
"So instead of playing this coy game, one in which I have to come forcefully for you... come to me, on your own strength, and let's begin your new journey."
There was no way to misinterpret his words. Come to me willingly or I will come to you with force. His numbers and his tone were all relayed through his words; he knew he had the advantage. The people of this district also knew something as well; if they attempted to run they would be found... or killed.
Knowing this, knowing that his threat was a very real one, people did not seem to come out. The silence would remain. The agitation would begin to set in as the man in white would raise his left hand into the air. Upon this signal, the figures in all black would disappear from sight as the sound of doors coming off hinges and glass breaking would be heard through the silent neighborhood.
"Keep in mind, I tried to go about this the nice way. I tried to show you cattle mercy... but it seems that my offer of a peaceful resolution is in vain... so now you reap what you sow."
It was at that time another figure would appear as all the lights would seemingly go out in the surrounding houses. Now standing within this silent stretch of street within the poorest part of Soons Haven there were only two figures highlighted by the beams of the moon hanging high above; a man in all white and a man whose face was obscured by his cloak.
"Reaping what you sow? How fitting. These people, those who you came for before them, have been reaping the misery that had been sown by another. By the Daimyo."
"Oh my, a talkative one..."
"The Daimyo, no, all of you have had your fill. You've taken so much from the people of this city, of this country, and you just keep taking. You've used the darkness to blind the population, to hid from them the ugly underbelly that is rotting out this country from the inside. You've established people's lives as a commodity; those who carry value for society and those who don't. From that separation you create, you consume those deemed as "inferior" and turn them into nothing more than cattle; experiments, slavery, just toys to play with... you are part of an evil that is so ingrained in the very fabric of this country that it would almost be insane to accept what was happening."
"My, my you are just so chatty. I am going to personally make you my pet."
The shadow being cast from the man in white would begin to move upon its open before lashing outward at the man who stood before him. Within a matter of seconds, the living shadow would engulf the shadow of the man whose face was obscured, while an audible chuckle would come from the man in white.
"Looks like you are mine now..."
Upon finishing the words the sound of glass breaking in a large unison would ring through the silent night as a loud chorus of chaos. Quickly following the breaking of glass, there would be the echoing of loud thuds. The last bit of the odd scene would be the lights returning to the houses that lined the street. The reintroduction of these artificial lights would allow the man in white to get a better understanding of what had just happened. Surrounding him would be broken glass, window frames and the bodies of his compatriots dressed in all black.
"What the hell..."
His eyes would glance around once more as figures would return to the windows, but now his impression of them being the people he was sent to capture seemed to fade. Who the hell were these people? It was a new thought entering his mind. His eyes would then once more return to the man he had captured with his shadow as he would feel his grasp loosen.
An explosion of energy would be set off before him, consuming the man with the obscured face with a cloud of dust. There would be an immediate pressure that would fall over the man in white as the dust settled and the other man would reappear, calmly moving forward with a visible coat of chakra radiating from his body."We are the ones who have been touched by the misery that flows within this country. At first, we were just a few whispers in the dark, but since the words of Sunahoshi Katsuo, since the declaration of war, we have found ourselves invigorated. The Sunans are not alone in their crusade and neither are we... so we have decided to come for you, to come for you all. We are taking back Soon's Haven and then we are taking back this country."
"You won't change anything, the shinobi won't change anything... all of you... all of you won't change anything! He does not lose. HE never loses!"
"We are the ones staking our lives on the fact that you are wrong. We are a growing movement that will not be stopped. Once we've opened the people's eyes to this darkness, it can't be unseen. Realize. Resist. Rebel. We are the winds of change, a divine storm that will engulf this country just like the Maelstrom once did."
From the windows would appear a symbol, each symbol the same thing. It was a symbol that you could find randomly scattered throughout Soon's Haven. A symbol that was surrounded in whispers and secrecy, but one that now appeared more and more frequently. It was the symbol of the resistance, a grassroots movement that had been working prior but had been emboldened by the broadcast from Suna. A new seed was starting to take root in the darkness of Soon’s Haven, and with it would come a time full of turmoil and bloodshed. Soon the people within the Haven would no longer be able to ignore the mounting tension of this country, and soon they would have to place themselves with one side or the other.
Resist? Remain? War is here.
"The Resistance"
"Realize. Resist. Revolutionize."