The Silent Monastery

Somewhere in the far far west, in the middle of a gigantic swamp, there is a mountain climbing to the heavens. It's called the Lonely Shadow. Why? Because it's rumoured that the mountain is haunted by the spirits of those who once lived in the swamps, the swamp people. They were uncivilized, beast-like and evil and that's why it's belived that their ghosts are even worse. It's told, that the ghosts start appearing once you reach the Lonely Road. That is the only way towards the center of the mountain. The Lonely Road is long and creepy. The athmosphere is scaring, mist is everywhere and the smell of swamp makes things even worse. But once one dares to adventure long enough on the road, he might make it to a cave. The cave reminds some kind of a labyrinth, filled with psychological horrors. Only a few have ever made it through the labyrinth and those have been blessed by the goddess of knowledge itself. The end of the so called cave is very bright. When one finally makes it there, he finds a beautiful area in front of him. Trees as high as 100 meters, plants thought to be extinct for thousand of years and weird animals eveywhere. Although there is no sun, it's still lightened. By the selected few, it's known that it's an old magic used by the first blessed ones.
When one adventures through the ancient forest, he might find a lonely monastery as beautiful as you could imagine. That is The Silent Monastery, one of the few homes of Nox Cursori.

OOC: Is this fine? =D Thought we should have an ingame home as well.

'' At last!'' Ryoko muttered. He had finally made it through the labyrinth.

'' Flash!'' He said to himself and disappeared. The next moment, he was in front of the monastery. It was as beautiful as always. Slowly, he walked towards a bench and took a seat. It was really relaxing to watch the prehistoric nature.

Rieka was in the library surrounded by books and maps. She was sitting by the window pouring over her spell book. She could hear birds singing outside of the window. She glanced out and saw Ryoko sitting on a bench. She tapped on the window and waved at him smiling.

Ryoko smiled back to Rieka and stood up. After a silent whisper, he appeared inside the library, right next to the women.

'' Long time no see, my friend.'' He said with gentle, noble voice. For a moment, he gave a glance to the spellbook and then continued.

'' Is there any news? Or maybe a task?'' Slowly, he walked towards a chair and took a seat.

Rieka sat across from him and smiled, "Not much in the news unless you care about the harvest, which honestly even I can barely stand to listen to. As for tasks, the town of Dagai on the edge of the swamp has requested our assistance, apparently they've been over ran by a Dragon of all things. I've filed a full report in the Trappers Room. It would be quite a relief if you were to handle it. But what of you?" She said leaning towards him. "What has Ryoko been doing these past weeks? Learn anything interesting on your travels?" She asked looking at him her eyes hungry for knowledge.

'' Hmm, Town of Dagai eh ... this brings back memories ...'' Ryoko said quietely while thinking of the old times. Town of Dagai was the place where he first heard about Nox Cursori.

'' What about me eh? Well you know me and my work .. appearently I was ordered to far far north to deal with a former criminal. Seemed easy at first, but the very moment I found the man, things went ugly.'' Ryoko took a long and deep breath and continued.

'' The criminal had fused with a demon who possessed far greater powers than me. Fortunately, both the former man and the demon lacked any kind of cleverness. Still, they were able to harm me a lot, so I had to rest for a while before I was capable to return here.'' He told and took a piece of paper out from his pocket. He put it on the desk.

'' There is some information about the demon and the criminal. I think that figuring out why and how the fused will be interesting for you. Anyway, I head out to Dagoi.'' His voice was as clear and loud as always. A smile formed on his face and he stood up. Before he left the library, he waves friendlily to Rieka.

Rieka waved at him as he left, when he was out of site she dived towards the note and grabbed it. She read over it as she waled over to a table. She grabbed some paper and began scribbling down notes. "I've heard of this before," she mumbled leaving the table and walking down one of the aisles.

Rieka looked up from her notes as a messenger ran in. "Nox Cursori had been summoned to a battle against the Angels of Vengeance." He said handing her a note. Rieka read over it and looked up, "Thank you young man you may go," She said as she closed the book she was looking through. She walked towards the trappers room and left a notice on the board. 'ALL MEMBERS REPORT TO A CHALLENGE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE-RIEKA' She then walked out the door and teleported away.

Eternal rest, that was what should have awaited Ryoko. Yet there was nothing but pain. Pain that was growing with every passing minute. And then, his eyes opened.

" Bloody hell ... " Muttered the old ninja, slowly moving his hand.The result was even greater pain.

" I survived eh ... why can't an old man like me just die?" Ryoko asked and pushed himself up, ignoring the waves of pain moving through his body. Slowly, he walked towards his clothes, put them on and left towards the library, to see the wisest of them all.

" RIEKA! DADDY's HOME!" A loud voice filled the library. It was a recent joke of Ryoko's, as he was aging and most definately looked the oldest out of all the members of the guild.

"Psh don't you think I know that, It about wiped me out healing you old man. Very nice job in Dagai by the way, have a seat and enjoy a drink, you've earned it. Just try not to break a hip." She said laughing pouring him a glass of red wine.

" It's no big surprise that I was in that kind of condition. After all, I have never seen a dragon that powerful before ... and to think that the witch managed to tame that dragon ... " Ryoko told slowly while reaching for the glass of wine. The very moment his skin touched the glass, a pain wave shot through his body, making him smash the glass. The wine was wasted and his hand was bleeding.

" Dammit ... They should make glasses for strong warriors like me and you!" Muttered Ryoko with a soft note of irony while grabbing a piece of cloth to wipe the wine off the table.

" Any news?" Asked the old ninja while finishing cleaning the table and sitting down.

"I've not broken a glass in ages, you just need to learn some self control." Rieka stood up and went over to a shelf, grabbed down a ceramic mug and put it in front of him. "Try not to break that one, it's my favorite mug, my dad said he got it from the Giant kind, either way it should be strong enough for you. But don't try and disguise that twinge, I saw the grimace of pain before you even cut your hand."

" Pain doesn't exist for me. It was just a muscle cramp ... It won't happen again." Said Ryoko with a strong, clear voice. Not every man is capable of pulling himself together like that while the pain was literally killing him from the inside.

" What's the next mission? " Asked the very same man without any particular emotion. He took the mug and finished the wine within a second.

" Good wine"

Rieka shook her head, "Fine Old Man, keep your secrets. Just know this, I can't help you if you lie to me. I'm expecting an envoy from the West tomorrow if they arrive on time. I will let you know of the news he brings, until then rest, It will do you well in the end." She stood up and began shelving some of the books, "I count you among my friends Kuroshiro," she said her back turned to him, "It would greatly sadden me if you did not take care of yourself."

" Heh ... well, a good long sleep it is then." Ryoko stood up and walked towards the doorway while giving a glance backwards.

" Good night my friend!" In the next few minutes, Ryoko had reached his bedroom. Slowly, he placed his sword under the bed, put a small dagger under the pillow and jumped under the sheets.

" Caution will never hurt." Murmurred the old man and fell asleep.

Opening his eyes, pain took over his body. A muscle cramp. Then, a few moments later, a bloody cough and he was able to raise himself. Then some noise. Without wasting a moment, he put his clothes on, took his blade, and ready he was. Within a few minutes, he had rushed through the many halls of the monastery and reached the library.

" Rieka ... I tried to come as fast as possible. What was that noise about?" Told the old man with unusual rush and energy, yet with a tone of worry.

"Sorry I'm not Rieka." James said trying to hide a broken vase behind his back. "My name Is James Johnson, pleasure to meet you," he said holding out his hand. "I'm actually looking for Rieka, I've been sent with a message from the west. Do you know where I might find her?"

"I'm right here," Rieka said walking through the doorway. She looked at the shards of pottery, "I liked that vase, anyway stand down Kuroshiro. Oh and James, I'll take that," She said pulling a letter with her name on it out of his pocket. She read it over and then looked up at the two men. "Hmm, go get some breakfast, I'll have this letter posted in The Trappers Room soon Kuroshiro. Oh and James, welcome to the guild, let me show you to your room."

Ryoko shook James hand and smiled warmly. After listening to what Rieka had to say, he spoke.

" It's a pleasure to see fresh blood in this monastery. As long as you follow Rieka's orders, you are a friend of mine. " He finished his sentence and walked away, leaving Rieka and James alone.

" Dare you to break any of her rules and I will kill you with my own hands." Muttered the old man.

"Kuroshiro is a good man'" Rieka said leading James down a hallway. "Just don't pick a fight with him you'd lose...badly. Ah, here we go," she said opening the door on a nicely furnished room. "Again welcome to the monastary and make yourself at home.

For a man like Ryoko there was no such a thing like vacation. And even if there were times he had no missions to attend to, he didn't relax. That was his nature. So whenever he stayed in the monastery, he spent his time either in the library talking with Rieka or in the training hall. And so did he this time. The training hall, it was a magical room where monsters appeared whenever one wished so. And Ryoko fought them.

" Show me what you got!" Shouted Ryoko to another monster while charging at the beast. A few seconds later the monster had dissappeared. But it wasn't just the monster who was knocked out. The old Kuroshiro had fallen uncouncious, once again he had pushed himself over his limits.

As Rieka was walking towards one of the store rooms she felt something go awry in her monastery. "The training hall," she said turning on her heel and running down the hallway towards the room, when she reached the door she looked in and saw Ryoko passed out on the ground. She knelt down next to him and examined him. "No fresh external injuries, or internal," she said after a quick probe with her magic. "Dammit all Kuroshiro you're not 20 anymore," she said angrily as she picked him up and carried him to the infirmary.

Everything was moving and shaking. A voice talking to him, but his mind was too exhausted to be able to undestand the words. Then he fell. An immense painwave shot through his muscles, making him rush to a sitting position and open his eyes. He couldn't see much, but he knew where he was. Infirmary of the monastery.

" I just needed a little nap ... no need to go through all the trouble to get me here and worry about me." Said Kuroshiro with a gentle and friendly voice, one that he rarely used. He was still unable to see anything particular, but he knew that Rieka was there. A few moments later, he fell back to the bed, ignoring the pain.

" Thanks ... but I think I'm good to go." Told Ryoko while trying to move his body to get up. Unfortunately, he didn't manage to move himself at all.

" or not ..." Muttered the old stubborn man with an angry tone.

"Damn right you're not ready to go," Rieka said angrily, "and as for your 'little' nap' you were unconscious not sleeping. I had to do quite the energy transfer to even get you to this state. I'm not going to probe or pry, you are entitled to your secrets and I would hate for you to lie to me but I know there's something wrong with you Kuroshiro. I can't help you either unless you ask." Rieka leaned back against the wall with a sly smile "Oh and you're banned from the training hall untill tomorrow. That is an order."

In this world, there were only a few things that mattered to Ryoko Kuroshiro. And order was one of them. An order was the holy of holiest and he couldn't go against an order, no matter what.

" eh ... if you wish so." Said the man who once had looked glorious, powerful or maybe even immortal. But there was nothing but remains of his former glory. It would take years to tell the story of each and every scar or magic mark on his body. One of his eyes had lost most of it's light and his gaze was empty. But it wasn't neither of those, nor was it the missing arm that made him look fragile. It was somekind of dark aura very deep in his soul.

" Rieka ... I haven't told you much about my past and I don't find it necessary. But there is something you must know ..." Said Ryoko with his fading voice.

" As you know, I was born as a crown prince to Kuroshiro family ... and Kuroshiro's were both magically and medically enchanted ..." He stopped for a cough and then continued.

" Also, stories tell about our natural talent and in some cases, even unmatched potential. All of that would mean a relatively long life span ... but none of us has ever lived till their natural death, all of us have been taken by the god of war and battlefield." Once again, Kuroshiro stopped. This time, he reached out for a glass of water and drunk.

" So none of the Kuroshiro's before me have felt as dramatic signs of aging as I have ... and there's a reason for this ... theoretically, I'm not going through normal aging." the old man stopped, put away the glass of water and continued.

" It's called the curse of 5 laws ... the 5 laws are the laws of every Kuroshiro family member ... And when someone breaks any one of those, the curse is released on him. The curse that drains his soul and with it, the spiritual energy. And when one has lost enough of his spiritual energy ... losing his physical strength is just a matter of time." He managed to form a smile on his face.

" You must wonder which one of the laws I broke? Well ... I fell in love with someone and that law flourished until the curse broke out. To break the curse, one most eliminate both the person who caused the being broken and second, the man who to a Kuroshiro swore to follow the law." Ryoko continued to smile but all of a sudden his face turned into a blank page.

" I eliminated the man who I swore to to follow the law, my father, and the person who made me break the law, my love ... it wasn't easy ... but it was her wish ... I thought I was free of the curse ... but unfortunately not. This means that my old man ... didn't die after our duel."

" So this is the story ... and it seems as I have to admit my defeat ... my father is still alive and my soul is being sucked out of me."

Ryoko fell into thought about the past. Scenes of his time with her love and then the night he could never forget. He had been toxicated by booze and had gone to the training hall. And all of a sudden, her love came to him. A beautiful lady. And then she mumbled some unknown chant and all of a sudden, Ryoko was fully controlled by her. What happened next left a mark in Ryoko's soul forever. Kuroshiro had always blamed himself. If he hadn't been drunk, he would have been able to resist the body control magic and she would still be alive. And that's the past. He couldn't regret it .. as regret was another one of the laws - have no regret or the curse will steal your sould and body.