Hunt and Hold

[Sand Council]

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In the beginning of recorded history, there existed beings comprised of prime elemental power and energy. Created by the hand of a now nameless but extremely powerful being, the Ancients were given the task of over-seeing and managing the natural world. Each of them possessed powerful dominion over their element and over the course of thousands of years gathered both denizens of the natural and spiritual worlds to them to form large feudal system-like courts. The most powerful of them were the Solar, Flame and Earth Courts as those were the elements in the Wind Country which were most present. The Solar Court was the greatest of them and led by the Ancient of Sun and Sky, Fuujin and given the role of ruler of the skies and the keeper of the surface world. Hailing from below all things within the streams of magma and fire existed the Flame Court and their ravenous leader Homura whom was the Ancient of Iron and Flame. Homura was the flame in which the other Ancients were to be tempered, created to constantly test and prune the others to ensure that no one court ever grew too powerful as to lord over all others. Suna, the Ancient of Desert and Earth, was queen of the Earth Court and given the task of governing the desert and it's all of it's flora and fauna. There also existed lesser courts as well and while the various courts never bent knee to any one leader nor were bound to any court in servitude, none could contest the size and affluence of the Prime Courts.

It was not until the First Coming of mankind that the Ancients found another being that was truly native to their world but also possessed the power of spirit and thought as they did. At the time, the Wind Country was home to many creatures both mundane and supernatural but none took the world into their hand as Man did. Carving out settlements and places for themselves in the world, the Ancients quickly became aware of Man... and almost as quickly shoved them beneath their heel. Feeling in their hearts the manifest destiny to rule the domains they had been given, the Ancients lorded over humanity for centuries before He was born. Born from a tribe in the south of Wind Country, His true name has since been lost to history. Known to Sunan historians as the One King or Primus, this king was the first of humans to throw off the shackles of slavery and give death unto an Ancient. It took little from there for Primus to begin liberating humans from the grip of lesser courts and slaughtering any Ancients which dared to oppose their ascent to sovereignty. Those that joined Primus shared in his spoils and bathed in his power becoming paragons of their kind which would eventually come to be called the First Men, even though they were generations beyond the literal definition of such a title.

Mankind had earned the ire of the Ancients, Homura and Fuujin cursed those defiant to them to become beasts of burden. Homura turned the contumacious rebels into stone men. It was said that some went mad after this transformation: violent, angry, their intellect stunted. Some even claimed that they devolved into primates. Despite this, those who could hone their mind found this curse to be a powerful asset as their strength and durability was enhanced. Fuujin turned man into wolves in a demonstration of his power. These accursed men only served to swell the ranks of discontented humanity. Primus did not turn away any who were wronged by the ancients, he welcomed them into his fold and gathered his forces.

Eventually the Great Rebellion would catch the eye of Fuujin and Homura, two of the great Ancient Lords, and against humanity they brought their strongest and fiercest soldiers. But Primus and his First Men would not be denied. As if they were protected by the unseen hand of a god, Primus hewed through champion after champion of the Ancient Courts and through his martial might ascended to near deific status among the humans. As their faith in him grew, so too did his power and through him grew the rebellion. Soon humans all over the Wind Country were rising up on their own and forcing the hand of the Ancient Lords to kill them for their defiance. Finally growing to the end of his patience with this upstart race, Fuujin summoned to him all the might of the remaining Ancient Courts. Demanding something that had never before been demanded, he sent emissaries to each of the remaining courts demanding that their Lord and their armies join him to crush the Rebellion once and for all. Most responded, some did not. Most notably, the Earth Court fought but their Ancient-- the Desert Queen Suna --was mysteriously absent from the battle. The last battle of the Rebellion was a blood bath the likes of which the Wind Country is never likely to see again. The blood of both Ancient and Man spilled and mingled in the sands that day, thousands of lives were lost and most of the Ancient Courts were wiped from existence by the blades of the First Men and their One King. Perhaps the massacre would have continued if not for Primus issuing a challenge to the greatest Ancients on the field; Fuujin and Homura. He boasted that their power combined could not defeat him with the strength of human faith behind him and as they chaffed against his arrogance Fuujin and Homura agreed to the slanted duel. Both armies ceased their battle temporarily as the titanic clashes of power between Primus and the two Great Ancients shook the desert itself. The legends do not say for sure how long they battled, all that is said of the outcome is that while Fuujin and Homura were victorious over Primus he had battled them so viciously and wounded them so greatly that forever a scar of fear towards humanity was carved into their hearts. With the duel done and their power spent, Fuujin and Homura retreated from the battle leaving their armies to fair against the furious First Men. The resulting resumed battle was nothing more than butchery.

With the Ancient Courts scattered and defeated by the might of Primus and the First Men, humanity turned at last to what they would do with themselves now that they were free. The desert was harsh to them still and they now lacked supernatural power without Primus to tame it. But curiously, to the leaders of the First Men came the missing Desert Queen. She spoke of her duty and role, to steward the desert's denizens and reflected that with the defeat of the Ancient Courts, the desert would require a new breed of caretakers. In the aftermath of Sunagakure's formation it is said a true goddess native to the desert came to the people to aid them. She came to be known as Mother Suna. She brought not war to the First Men, but blessings. She blessed the Sunahoshi with control of the desert sands and blessed the First Men with ingenuity. From this moment in time, the First Men and the Kazekage converted from nomadic living to stationary. With some aid from Mother Suna, Sunagakure was built. To that end, she offered the mantle of power that she possessed to the Sunahoshi-- the greatest of the First Men-- but not simply to their leader. She instilled her power within their very blood, their spiritual identity as a clan and family, and then disappeared into history to whereabouts unknown.

---

That is what the books say at the very least. We are privy to some of the more unfortunate details regarding the aftermath of Godsfall. The remaining Ancients were eventually hunted down by humanity, or more specifically in many cases us. The Ancients are for the most part elementals and while we have essentially purged their presence from the desert, we have become painfully aware that they cannot die. For this reason, we either try to ally with them, control them in some manner via. reconditioning or we imprison them indefinitely.Ancients X

[legend="[size=4][b][u]Mission: The Hunt[/b][/u][/size]"]We are unfamiliar with the various courts and it has barely been more than a passing interest for us to learn more about an archaic, failed civilization. However, we know that Ancients are elementals that have access to a single (or in the case of greater Ancients advanced or even multiple) elements. Their bodies are made from this element and they are considered to be dangerous. Many of the Ancients we find are feral and easy to subdue. Be careful, Ancients are capable of eating human souls and after they consume a soul their strength will increase multiplicatively.

• Rank: ANBU or ANBU Captain. An AiT may participate in this mission with an ANBU or an ANBU captain and make this a group self-modded mission.
  
  Details: Catch an NPC Ancient of your creation. If you would like details on any of the courts not mentioned please contact the Sand Council for information or submit a court concept that you think would be neat for approval. These NPCs will not give you any new information that we do not already have about Ancients but you can IC learn for the first time basic Ancient information if you so desire to play it that way with your character.

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[legend="[size=4][b][u]Mission: Prisoner Management[/b][/u][/size]"]We are unfamiliar with the various courts and it has barely been more than a passing interest for us to learn more about an archaic, failed civilization. However, we know that Ancients are elementals that have access to a single (or in the case of greater Ancients advanced or even multiple) elements. Their bodies are made from this element and they are considered to be dangerous. Many of the Ancients we find are feral and easy to subdue. Be careful, Ancients are capable of eating human souls and after they consume a soul their strength will increase multiplicatively.

• Rank: Varies
  
  Details: Monitor an NPC Ancient of your creation in the Obsidian Palace. Make sure that they remain intact and in their cell. If you would like details on any of the courts not mentioned please contact the Sand Council for information or submit a court concept that you think would be neat for approval. These NPCs will not give you any new information that we do not already have about Ancients but you can IC learn for the first time basic Ancient information if you so desire to play it that way with your character.

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This is Considered to be a Self-Modded Solo Mission​

Important: Self-modded missions may be done twice in a week, however the second mission done yields half normal rewards. Players may also perform one mission with 2x the word count in order to gain the rewards of having done two missions. This still only yields half rewards for the second mission.

What Rank of Self-Modded Solo Missions can I perform?

• A user may only perform a mission of their current OOC Rank or lower. This mission is considered to match the Rank of the Medic or MiT who performs the mission.

What are the rewards for Solo Missions?

• This depends on the Rank your character is OC'ly. But the rewards are as follows:
  • D-Rank: 2,000 Yen
  • C-Rank: 2,500 Yen
  • B-Rank: 3,000 Yen
  • A-Rank: 4,000 Yen
  • S-Rank: 5,000 Yen

What is the required word count for this mission?

• The word count is dependent on the rank of the mission you undergo. The word count minimums are as follows:
  
  • E-Rank: 250 Words
  • D-Rank: 300 Words
  • C-Rank: 350 Words
  • B-Rank: 400 Words
  • A-Rank: 450 Words
  • S-Rank: 500 Words

Someone else has already completed this entry, what now?

• This entry is considered to be a repetitive entry, meaning that when this mission is completed, it will happen again someplace else. That is the problem with diseases and people catching them! So it is POK for multiple players to do this mission separately.

Can this be a group mission?

• The answer is YES. Just look-up and follow all group mission rules, this can be a modded or a non-modded mission. As a group (modded or otherwise) mission, this can be used to count towards your Captain status.

I have completed my mission, what now?

• Drop you mission off in character (IC) HERE.

I am not from Sunagakure but I am visiting and I would like to perform a solo mission listed, is that OK?

• YES! While you are always welcome to join our community (and we do encourage it), leaving people out of the fun goes against the out of character spirit of this community. You can serve as a mercenary or a helpful foreigner and complete these missions as well, just keep it in character and drop your mission off at the office as listed above but re-linked HERE. Just be sure that you have gotten permission from your primary community.

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