High in the jagged and heavily
forested mountains, the monks of Ro-Kan tended the sprawling gardens of the
temple. Simply clad acolytes flitted
here and there, running errands for the elders or sat in clusters, studying the
lore of the Great Kami under the close tutelage of the Masters.
In among the deep shadows of the
dark woods, a small gap in the trees opened to the thin mountain air, allowing
weak sunlight to gently illuminate the secret glade. Master Akari sat atop a small ancient tree
stump, contoured from thousands of hours of meditation to perfectly accommodate
the mysterious Tanuki’s unique physiology. With barely a twitch of his
sensitive nose and swish of his lustrous bushy tail, the Master sat in a comfortable
prayer pose and allowed his mind to drift down familiar conduits. The Balance is all, the Balance is key, the
Balance must be maintained at all costs.
Ying and Yang, night and day, all must be in perfect harmony or the Jwar
Isles and their unique place in the world would be lost. 
Further and further, Akari allowed
his spirit to wander the ethereal realm of the Kami. At times soaring among the cottony clouds with
the carefree lesser Air Kami, then diving into the sparkling oceans of the playful
lesser Water Kami. Carefully he ghosted through the fiery intensity of the
blasted lands of the lesser Fire Kami and conversed with the serious golem like
lesser Earth Kami. All around him he
felt a vague disharmony, a slight disjointing of what should have been
perfectly balanced. A putrid darkness
gathered again at the edges of the real world and bled its poison into the
unreal realm, threatening to destroy that which he held dear.
Casting his mind deeper than he
had for many years, he probed the darkness, searching for the tiniest thread of
probability to follow, a small series of incidents that would lead to the
coming darkness gaining ground. Deliberate or not, all actions have consequences,
all decisions determine a path that can change people, places or even the very
fabric of reality/unreality. There! The barest
hint of shadow, twisting and winding like a coiling viper. Akari, concentrated
his formidable mind, focusing his Ki on the darkness in an effort to gain some
insight into the cause of the disruption.
Slowly, very slowly the knotted
skein of shadow unravelled until…
Withdrawing his mind, with a
degree of effort, the Master snapped back into his body with a minor jolt and
sighed. Drawing his plain, homespun robes around his diminutive frame, he
picked up his gnarled Jo staff and rapped it loudly on the tree stump three
times and sat back down to wait.
Minutes later and with the barest
whisper of rustling leaves, a large and powerfully built orangutan moved into
the glade. Clad in armour and dragging
an enormous brass club, Kosuke a monk from the distant Empire moved with a
grace that denied his size and heavy equipment. Settling into a crouch with a
heavy snort from his simian nostrils, the giant ape grunted a question to the
Master.
“Yes, my brother the Balance is
in peril once more.”
Another huff, another question…
“Ah this time it starts with the
children of the Dragon”
