-Our emperor, Lord Kozuke Shoda, has been poisoned, murdered by an assassin sent from the wolf clan. His son, Lord Akamatsu Shindo, first in line of the Shoda clan, will be appointed the new emperor of the Shindo kingdom and the new lord of the Crane clan. However, due to current circumstances, he has already issued his first decree: every adult man capable of carrying a spear must serve in the army and fight in the name of the emperor," announced the court messenger, a mix of voices filling the central square, voices curious, surprised, and worried. "Today we begin our march to Urazaki, where they will commence their training for war against the wolf clan."
One of the mounted soldiers approached. "As you can imagine, military service is mandatory. Lord Norikiyo has a scroll with the names of all the men in the village," the soldier announced, drawing his sword and raising it to the sky, which frightened the villagers. "Those who refuse to fight will be going against our emperor and will be executed for treason. All men who are called, step forward."
The messenger took out more scrolls and began calling out names, and the men started walking until they stood in front of the horses, forming a more organized line. It took a few minutes, but almost all the names were called, including Seki's. Inoue and the family became worried seeing their father going off to war, but Alexander had other plans.
"Wait!" he shouted, approaching his father, and placing his hand on Seki's shoulder. "My father cannot go. Allow me to go in his place," he said, looking deeply into the messenger's eyes.
"Why can't he go?" asked the suspicious messenger Norikiyo. Alexander squeezed Seki's shoulder forcefully, forcing him to the ground, and almost making him kneel.
"A short while ago, our village was attacked by demons. My father's leg was broken in this attack. My sister is a healer and healed the wound with magic, but her skills are not very good, and my father, although healed, has lingering effects from the injuries," he explained firmly yet respectfully; his voice did not waver once. "I ask that you take me in his place. I am young and strong, and I can say I have experience in combat because I killed the demons."
The messenger's eyebrows arched in surprise, the soldiers whispering something behind him.
"A young man volunteering in place of his father, such nobility. But about this demon matter, is this story true?" the messenger asked, looking to the vice-mayor.
"Yes, my lord, it is true," replied the vice-mayor respectfully. "This happened yesterday when demons emerged from the forest and killed three farmers in the rice fields outside the village. Young Shura managed to kill six of them and an ogre demon on his own. If you wish, I can show you the farmers' graves."
"No, your word is sufficient," replied the messenger, his eyes turning to Alexander, staring at him with those brown eyes. "So, you're a warrior, huh? What's your name, boy?"
"Shura," he said.
"Alright, Shura. And what's your father's name?"
"It's Seki."
"Seki... There's only one Seki on the scroll, so young Shura, are you ready to serve the emperor in place of your father?"
"With all my body and soul," he said forcefully, causing a smile to appear on the messenger's face.
"What a rare young man; this is what we need," the messenger seemed genuinely excited. This response impressed him and the accompanying soldiers; it was obvious, that a forced response like this hidden in an honest tone was all they wanted to hear, and Alexander knew it.
"You have one hour to prepare your things and bid farewell to your families. We depart at noon," announced the messenger. "We'll be waiting at the village gate." He said, resuming his path alongside the horse.
All the villagers quickly dispersed, heading towards their homes; no one would dare to disobey, for they knew the consequences, the execution not only of them but of their families thereafter.
"Shura, what the hell were you thinking?" Seki shouted at him, everyone was at home, looking at him with disbelieving faces, the mother crying in the corner being comforted by Inoue.
"I just did what I thought was right," he replied, a neutral face. "I'm more fit to go to war than you, Dad, now that I have my aura awakened."
"I know what that is!" Inoue shouted, getting up and going to him. "That feeling of omnipotence after awakening the aura, I know exactly what it is, Shura, and you're being controlled by it now. You're not all-powerful, you're mortal, made of flesh and bone like all of us."
The mother went to Shura, almost crawling on the ground from crying so much, which made Alexander sit beside her.
"Son, you can't, you can't go, you can't... You'll die, you'll fight to die in a war that's not yours, you can't... you can't," the mother cried between sobs, tears streaming down her face like a waterfall. Alexander wrapped his arms around her, embracing her.
"Mom, I have to go. If I don't, they'll kill me and then all of you. This is for your good," he said, trying to calm her. "Besides, there's something I want to tell you."
Is this the best time... I didn't think this would happen, but I've grown attached to them, more than to my own family, funny... It's now, better than never.
"This happened when I woke up after hitting my head. I feel something inside me, a sensation that doesn't want to fade. I want to leave, leave this village, I want to live, see the world. I don't want to spend the rest of my days being a rice farmer. I know I have a purpose, I don't know what it is yet, but I will find out, but I can't find it if I stay here," he said forcefully, his eyes no longer empty, now shining with determination, true determination. "My dream is to see the world and conquer it as a warrior."
"Shura... You can't be serious. This is not a joke!" Inoue shouted, her eyes also moist with tears. "This is real, this war is real! You can't..." She was about to continue her sermon but stopped after Seki put his hand on her shoulder, his look telling her to stop talking.
"Shura, son, I know what you're going through. Every man has gone through this at some point, the desire to be a warrior, the desire to be the strongest of all in this world. I went through this phase myself when I was young. But very few have the courage and determination to follow this path. I didn't have it myself and became a farmer just like my father, but you're different. Ever since you recovered from the head injury, I felt that something changed in you. Whether it was for good or for bad, I don't know, but I feel that you truly believe in what you say," Seki approached Alexander, who stood up and looked deep into his eyes. "If you want to follow the path of being a warrior, then go, and know that I will pray every day for the gods to protect you. I want you to go and become strong, but I want you to answer me, are you willing to die for your dream, and worse, are you willing to kill for it?"
Shura looked deep into his eyes for a second, into the eyes of the man who was only a few inches taller than him, the beard covering his face, the broad shoulders of someone accustomed to manual labor, bright eyes of a worried father.
"I am," he replied without changing his expression, but with determination in his voice. Seki then hugged him, a long hug, enough to feel his father's heart beating. Then he let go of him.
"Pack your things, son, I'll pray for you."
The time the messenger had given was up. All the villagers were at the village gate, saying goodbye to their fathers, siblings, sons, and husbands. A sad and emotional scene. Alexander was among them, hugging his sister and brother, but his mother approached him, seeming like she wanted to talk.
Her eyes were stained from crying, but she had stopped some time ago.
"I guess this was destined to happen one day," she said, straightening Alexander's clothes, a short kimono worthy of poor farmers. "After all, I'm the one who gave you that name, it's my fault."
Her hands were trembling; he took her hands and gently squeezed them.
"Mom, you're not to blame for anything. It's me who wants this, it's my dream. I know it's painful, but I need to go, for your sake, for Inoue and Uchida's sake, for Dad's sake," he replied with a gentle smile, trying to cheer his mother up. "I'll be fine, trust me."
"I'll pray... Every day for you," she said sobbing, embracing Alexander once again. "I'll pray to all the gods in the sky."
"I'm very grateful, Mom," he said gently. "I promise that one day I'll come back to the village, and I'll bring a huge army with me to show that my dream is heading in the right direction."
"I believe... That you'll become a great and kind warrior. I'll pray for your patron to protect you; after all, the god of war is called Shura," she said, smiling weakly. The messenger announced that time was up and that the march should begin. Alexander's mother took something from her kimono, a small thing wrapped in a small piece of fabric. "Take this with you."
Alexander unwrapped the fabric and was a little curious about what he saw, a very small blade, resembling a kitchen knife.
"A knife?"
"It's a talisman, my mother gave it to me when she died, it's for protection. I want you to take it with you. If you're in trouble, you can even use it as a weapon, but I don't recommend it," she explained, looking into Alexander's eyes one last time. "I love you, son."
"I know, I love you too, Mom."
He said, hugging his mother one last time and joining the march of the men who would become soldiers. Passing through the village gate, a huge red gate identical to the ones he saw in Japanese drawings, a torii. When he was at the gate, he stopped, taking the talisman his mother had given him, he began to carve something on the red-painted wood.
One of the mounted soldiers went up to him.
"What are you doing, kid?" the soldier asked.
"I'm making a symbol to know that I've come home," he said, marking something on the red gate, and then he wrapped the talisman in the fabric again.
"Get back to the march," ordered the soldier, and so did Alexander.
The soldier looked at what Alexander had marked on the wood, three large strokes forming the letter A.
After a few minutes, they had finally left the village. In the middle of the march, a system message box appeared.
[!!!A new Quest has been given to the player!!!] [!!!Quest: The Warrior's Path!!!]
"Interesting."