Tenkuu's Tale: Chapter 1
In a time that has long since past. Five extraordinary Samurai warriors were gifted with a magic armor and abilities far beyond that of a normal mortal. Indeed, this armor was so unique in that it made its bearer immortal to any thing except a mortal wound. These five warriors came from five different walks of life and five different areas of Japan. This is the story of just one of those armors and the warrior it chose.
Touma was known as the best archer in the small village he lived in. It was something he lived for almost as much as he hungered to know all that he could about how the world worked. He was a young man, but even as a child he had practiced with his bow and arrows to perfect his aim under all conditions. Soon enough there was not anything he could not shoot from any position. Yet even as a boy he preferred to shoot from the trees. Raining arrows down upon the enemy, or just being the sniper that none could find, he was good. No one doubted that except one man.
Totoro was the second best archer in the same village area and no one doubted that he came by his gift by the hard and diligent work he put into the art of drawing the bow. However he lacked that finesse that seemed to glow and radiate from Touma as he drew the bow with his quiet grace and released on target.
Totoro was also a jealous man and did not like the fact that a boy almost half his age was now the best archer in the area. So he decided to do something about it.
One morning he paid a little call to Touma while he was out back of his small hut practicing. Touma was not ignorant of the situation but he also wanted to see just what the archer would do, so he listened to the older archer. It was a challenge.
They were to take their horses out on a week long trek to the mountains and live there for the time and face a series of archery challenges. It seemed simple enough and to Touma it seemed rather harmless and as he agreed to the challenge, he was already planning for several contingencies that would and could happen out in the wilds and with Totoro.
As they reached the spot several days later for the encampment, Touma was still in rather good spirits and Totoro was more frustrated than ever. The boy just seemed to have the dragon’s luck on his side in everything they shot at. He smiled to himself, That would soon change. Soon enough his damnable luck was going to run out though.
Two more days into the challenge trek to the mountains they climbed to a cliff area that was riddled with caves. Totoro knew this area intimately and knew that there was a small glittering blue crystal in one of the caves right on the edge. As he told Touma about it he did not tell the young man that the crystal was also the keystone to a large rock slide that could easily bury the both of them.
As they reached the point Totoro pointed up and Touma looked. He could see the glittering object almost 30 meters up the cliff face and studied it. It was a rather small target, but small targets were easier for him to shoot at since it helped him narrow his focus down to the one target. Totoro also knew this and was counting on one of them to hit the crystal and start a rock slide that would bury the young Touma forever in a rock slide.
They took their bows and quivers to the site of the shooting and as they studied the shot Totoro gave Touma offer of first or second shot. Touma was if nothing else courteous in his manners on the field and since he had last first shot he opted for the second place.
Totoro drew and shot carefully at the small sphere but in the end still missed. His arrow lodged into a space just under the crystal. He had made a small grimace of disappointment but left the shot to Touma.
As Touma studied the shot, he knew after a few moments that he could make it and get the crystal to come down to him so that he could study such a small wonder. He aimed carefully and released sending the arrow flying true to his aim and they both heard the small ping as the arrow embedded itself between the crystal and the rock it sat on.
As the crystal fell a small roar of thunder was heard. As they looked around they could see the rock slide starting. Touma grabbed the crystal that had fallen and took off after Totoro towards the horses they had left behind. Unfortunately because he stopped to get the crystal he was several meters behind Totoro and the rock slide fell atop him. He was buried under several tons of rock.
Totoro was not an unfeeling soul and placed a small marker at the base of the rock slide for Touma to rest easy now that he had gone to meet with the ancients of his clan. He mounted his horse and took the reigns of Touma’s horse and led him to town. Not dreaming that he would ever see the young man again.