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Thanks to [The Black Cat in Your Path]
~Itoru Obatsuhara ~
~Urashi Onomi ~
~Ezra Ishigi ~
~Kikisho Yamiki ~
~Tomotuno ~
~Master Ginashi ~
~Fellow Protectors ~ Characters and Bios
~Oaths of the Protectors ~ Rules
~The Images ~ Pictures of the characters (optional)
Thousands of years ago, in feudal era Japan, there were four protectors of an enchanted forest named Tomotuno.
Itoru, a water sprite, given the assignment of keeping the trees alive with her replenishing waters.
Urashi, an earth sprite, was given the task of keeping watch over all plant life and raising the new growths to be big healthy trees.
Ezra, a fire sprite, was in charge of protecting the outer perimeter with her blazing fire, keeping away humans and other basty creatures that may bring harm to Tomotuno.
And finally, Kikisho, the air sprite, who would fly high above the forest and keep watch.
But something went terribly wrong... Kikisho went missing. Without her to keep an eye on approaching enemies, Ezra didn't know where she was needed, Urashi found several trees and sprouts broken and dead, and she grew unable to keep up with the dwindling numbers, and soon, the waters in the forest dried up, leaving Itoru nearly powerless. And, not knowing what to do, the sprites went dormant without their leader to guide them. They locked themselves away in their elements until the present day.
Tomotuno, now protected by a wildlife reservation, is withering away. He is calling for the sprites, the protectors of the forest, to save him. But he cannot find them on his own. He needs help from present day people; special people. Modern-day counter parts of Ezra, Urashi, and Itoru are needed to awaken them, to find Kikisho and save Tomotuno...
REVAMPED!
~Part One: The Calling ~
~Part Two: Celebration of a Secret ~
~Part Three: A Walk Into Memories ~
~Part Four: Answering the Questions ~
~Part Five: A Trapped World and A Cursed Burden ~
~Part Six: First Night and A New Arrival ~
~Part Seven: Beginnings of An Adventure ~
~Part Eight: The First Temples ~
~Part Nine: Urashi's Welcoming ~
~Part Ten: Building Connections and Erasing Trails~
Part One: The Calling
The breeze was soft... gentle, just barely brushing through Risk's hair as he stood in the middle of what looked like an empty field. He took a deep breath of the clean air, closing his eyes and admiring it's feel, taste, smell and sound as it rustled through the grass around him. The skies were blue for miles... He walked. He just had to walk. It seemed like the field of lush grass never ended... just kept going. Eventually he came upon a very large, old-looking tree, stretching up so tall that the closer he got, the more he had to sheild his eyes from the sun just to see the underside of the branches. He studied it, admired it, then looked ahead. Four pedestals stood in front of him, in a half-moon shape in front of the tree. He approached the first. It was a bowl of water... always rippling like a droplet had been released to its surface. But the ripples never stopped. He moved to the second pedestal... there was a ball of fire inside. Nothing was burning, there were no ashes, but the fire was hot and alive. He frowned in confusion at these two phenomenon... Then moved on to the third pedestal. It was a rosebud. It seemed plain enough... a lucious shade of red with a bright green stalk and healthy leaves and thorns. But there was something about it; it was moving like it was breathing, the pedals fluttering out, then retracting again, breathing slowly, as if sleeping. The last pedestal however... it was empty. He raised a hand towards it, brushing his fingers over the cold stone and got a deep sense of dread at how empty it was, how cold and unused. It felt like something should have been there. He looked back up at the tree, and his heart ached. Then suddenly, flames began to engulf the roots of the tree. Risk gasped, feeling the pain of the burns against his own body, but he wasn't on fire. Shadows began to eclipse the tree and the pedestals, swallowing the last, empty pedestal before all others. He tried to save it, but he couldn't. Touching the shadows hurt... After the pedestals disappeared into the darkness, and the tree slowly burned before him, the shadows began to come after him next. He gasped and tried to run, but something grabbed him and pulled him under...
Risk sat up quickly, covered in sweat and panting heavily. He looked around quickly, his blue eyes shooting from one end of his bedroom to the other, just making sure he was where he was supposed to be. The dream had felt so... real. He gulped and tried to calm his racing heart and aching stomach, lifting a hand to his sweaty forehead and giving a shiver. It was hot in his room... "Mom? Mom! Is the AC broken again?" he called angrily.
"Yeah, honey! Don't worry, the landlord says he'll have the maintenance guy fix it while you're at school! Now hurry up before you're late!" his mother, Arlo, called back up the stairs to him.
Risk groaned a little and sighed.
Well that explains the feeling of being burned alive. he thought angrily and got out of bed, heading for his adjoining bathroom and starting to shower. He dressed in a loose-fitting button up shirt, one that was white with faint black stitches in it running vertically from collar to hem, and he rolled the sleeves up to his elbows, leaving them unbuttoned. He put his school uniform tie around his neck, but he didn't tie it, just left it hanging loosely. He at least made sure his shoes were shined though. He combed his messy hair with his fingers briefly before heading out, pulling his black backpack onto one shoulder and heading down the stairs. "Did Molly leave already?" he asked, giving his mother a kiss on the cheek.
"Yup. She caught the early bus. Had that morning study session. I swear, your sister is such a little rising star at that school." Arlo beamed, taking a bite of her cereal.
"Yeah, I'll bet." Risk mumbled tiredly and grabbed an apple off the table. He tossed it into the air, caught it, and took a bite, then headed out the door. "Love you, mom. See you later." he called, heading down the street. He wouldn't catch a bus... he hated riding those crowded buses. And the train station was even MORE crowded than the buses were. Walking never killed anyone. He reached the school with more than enough time and headed straight to his locker, undoing the combination and pulling it open with another tired sigh. Another day. He hoped he'd at least be left alone for a little while this morning. It was never a good day when the Femmbots got an early start.
Just as he heard a high-pitched squeal a little ways down the hall, he slammed his locker and turned, bolting down the hallway in the opposite direction, trying to find an easier way to his classroom. He skid to a stop just before the door, pulling himself inside and quickly, smoothly, going to his seat. He sat down with a small huff, and tried to hide his face before any of the girls saw him, but he was just a tiny bit too late.
"Heeey, Risk!" yelped one of the girls, giving a very hyper wave at him. She was smiling widely, her blonde curls pulled back into two cheerleader-es
que ponytails on either side of her head.
Risk gave a mental wince, but he gave the girl a kind smile and a small wave--more of a lazy salute--and he almost visibly winced at her excited squeal. He hid his face by looking towards the window instead, pulling out his notebook and pencils.
"Oh for- It is way too early for that frequency!" a disgruntled female voice groaned behind the girls. Nyx rudely elbowed her way through them, making the Femmbots scatter just slightly to let her pass. She was holding her head, oblivious to how messy it was making her dark hair, and dropped into the seat in front of Risk. She unhappily waved off the kid who pouted and raised a hand as if to protest the loss of his desk he was about to take and turned to her friend as the boy went off to sulk in Nyx's usual seat elsewhere. "Might you have a pain killer?" she asked Risk softly, giving him a pouty look that was way more innocent than she was and worked on pulling out a pair of small dark sunglasses to cover her eyes and the accompanying dark circles with.
Risk gave a small smirk at Nyx and had to give an apologetic shrug at the boy whose desk she'd stolen. He chuckled at her and shook his head at her, leaning forward in his desk and digging into his backpack boredly. "Unfortunately I don't." he whispered, trying to be gentle on her ears as well as not get noticed any more. "But I'm sure I can get something from the school nurse for you a little later. Another late night at the club?" he asked with a raised eyebrows, offering her a piece of mint gum.
Nyx just nodded weakly, offering a small smile as she accepted the gum and stuck it in her mouth. "I'll pick something up in a bit. I would have already but- rushing this morning you know." Even though she was speaking softly, it looked almost as if she was worried her brain would burst out her ears any moment. "You would think I'd be used to this by now..." She closed her eyes tightly, held her head for a moment, then forced them open again behind the dark lenses to look at Risk. "What about you? Nothin but studyin?"
Risk gave a laugh and shook his head at her, choking himself short when he heard a bunch of girls across the room giggle and swoon in response and he covered his face with one hand, rolling his eyes at her. "Not really. Just played video games with Rei. He kicked my ass at Halo." he grumbled and chuckled. "I didn't have any tests today, so what's the point of studying?" He smirked at her and then sat up a little straighter, looking around. "Speaking of, where is Rei?"
Nyx only shrugged, slumping down in her conquered seat. "Obviously you were the last one of us to see him," she pointed out and looked around as well. She was trying to look bored, but her friends would see the own worry in her barely furrowed brow. She looked back at Risk. "No text? Nothing?"
Risk shook his head and frowned, pulling out his phone, despite that he was in class. "No... not yet. If he's still asleep, I'm gonna pop him a new one." he grumbled, texting Rei quickly and tucking his phone away again. "Knowing him, he's probably making out with some random chick in the hallway.."
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