The Fire Within

Until Dawn

"When a Shaeng of Noble birth, flame less, left in darkness, takes life of one burning with the Fires of Envy; born anew a Shaeng will be - with the Fires of Judgement. Only then can honor and dignity be restored..."

An Ancient Shaeng Prophesy

Date: June 15, 1017 5th Age

Location: The State of Gong-Ji, the Southern Empire of Hayu-Min

 With every candle there is light, but where there is light, there, lurking in the depths is the growing shadow. Min-Yun knew this better than anyone. But even the greatest candle, the sun itself, couldn"t wash the terrible darkness completely. Night had gone just as swiftly as it had come. In its place, the light, overbearing with a hint of warmth had come creeping over the bronze and mountainous horizon. Grey orbs watched the sky paint with a myriad of colors ranging from royal purples to burning pinks. Like all days, Min-Yun watched haphazardly, knowing full well the demons and the grotesque "dark-spawn" would not dare to escape the shadows of the mountains at this time.

 Fearful of day and the light it brings, the demons fled into the shadows and caverns as they always did, leaving the young Shaeng to his self-described half-manic musings. Across the fields, the Jae-Jin Mountains and all their majesty glimmered in the early morning haze, almost reminiscent to slopes of silver. While the mountains were the gen, the fields of Gong-Ji were the mine. To the fourth-born son of Emperor Kojuro, there was nothing in Maedos that could match the fields of Gong-Ji. From Sarujin Castle to the borders of the Shaeng State of Tajima to the East, there were almost four hundred miles of land dedicated to wheat and rice farming along the equally large Jae-Jin Mountain range. To him, Gong-Ji was a paradise on Earth compared to his birthplace of Edo.

 His shimmering silver eyes watched the world before him. As colorful as every dawn in Southern Hayu-Min came to be, the sky on this morning was painted with a misplaced dash of red and crimson. The clouds bowed in reverence to the sun as she spread her rays in every direction. But the clouds also gave him more than just a smooth feeling and beauty to witness; the story of the future was written by the heavens. With cloud as ink and sky as parchment, Min-Yun knew the summer the people of Southern Hayu-Min had enjoyed for so long would come to a disheartening close sooner than many would like to admit. The great clouds writhed and twisted, bearing a deep foreboding in his stomach. Like the aftertaste of over-ripened sour-fruit and salt, the Shaeng cringed at the implications the heavens spelled out for him and his Empire.

 In an unexpected turn of events, Min-Yun suddenly felt the first breath of autumn as it caressed his armored body like bed furs. Disbelief filtered through his mind, feeling the cooling breeze flow through the spaces of his steel lamellar armor and pauldrons. His eyes stayed planted with the sky, watching the clouds writhe and turn in the growing winds. Min-Yun frowned, bringing his silver eyes back to the land itself. With a chaste scoff, he nodded his head. Snow and ice would coming in a size and force unlike any other. Just like the fire priests had foretold. What else could explain this phenomenon, other than the gods" divine will?

 Min-Yun kept his thoughts to himself, careful of speaking of belief and the religion of the Northern Shiyumi. A superstitious lot, Min-Yun couldn"t help but scoff once more. The cold had come from nowhere, growing in speed and strength as the minutes passed like his own hapless thoughts. Almost like jagged knives, the cold pierced and shredded through his skin down to his bones. It was in moments like these that the young Shaeng cursed his birth and very existence. While a normal man would have fallen, shaking within winter"s vice-like grasp, he was no mere man. He held strong, bracing the stone merlons of the battlement trying with all his strength to keep his balance. The Shaeng sighed in relief the instant the winds shifted, blowing his silver hair around.

 Now that the winds fled, the Shaeng returned to his carefree watch, wary of the demons and their abominable ilk. It was a shame, the boy frowned. With a beauty such as this, it was the most beautiful things that came to kill, he assumed. With eyes finding the mountains a bore, he trailed along to face the dangerous horizon. To watch the fields of Gong-Ji on his own was a mission he"d always questioned. The fields were vast spanning in all directions, it seemed almost too much to handle for one or even twenty men. Nevertheless, the Shaeng stayed true to his task, realizing that at any moment, the death of many and all he loved and vowed to protect could come in an instant. He sighed softly, resting his head against the stone merlon. How much longer do I have to stay here...it"s already morning?

 In the midst of the break of dawn, farmers had awoken and cry of roosters had sung with the rising sun. Men and women in the small villages surrounding the castle-town sauntered into the fields with plows and pitchforks. While the serfs and smallfolk awoke to toil in the fields, within the city, the bells and gongs of the Great Fire Temple had rumbled exploding behind him, waking its residents for the day"s Morning Prayer. Min-Yun turned on his heels, facing his back to the mountains resting upon his small chair. A city-wide gathering, every shop, stand and home was emptied. Riches and valuables were left unattended bile the pious knelt in reverence. As a prince and member of the Shaeng Clan, he was not obligated to pray with the people for Shaeng were known for piety. With his bloodline considered, he was tolerant of their beliefs and oft found solace in prayer, thought he couldn"t be labeled as a zealot like his peers.

 He believed in higher powers, that much is true. After all, it would explain the cruel fate of being the black sheep of his Clan, the first since the Third Age, thousands of years ago. It could be nothing short of the gods" will that he"d suffer at the hands of his father and clansmen for something he had not yet known he had done. Min-Yun crossed his arms over his chest, grey eyes reflecting like polished silver. The Imperials of Sarujin Castle filed from their homes and hovels, slowly filling the streets. Alleyways were packed and even flat rooftops were occupied for the city-wide prayer.

 Min-Yun sighed, crossing his leg over the other and patiently awaited any danger. While the lords of the city, the Sarujin Clan, could easily handle any issues internally, the Shaeng was trained and taught to always stay alert in preparation for anything. It was time for the gods of Fire to receive prayer and praise, but it was the perfect climate for theft by the less than reputable denizens of the city.

 He gave himself a silent laugh. The fears I have are unfounded...what I fear isn"t even close to the tip of our worries. With the conflicts springing up in all corners of our world, one could take their pick of the pack. From the War with the Chayumi and their Yeunsoo overlords; the Shaeng Council"s Inquisition arresting and executing dissenting Shaeng; even worse, the Shaeng of Raijin constantly being greedy, selfish bastards. That"s not even bringing the f*****g demons to the problem...the list of things that can kill you in this empire go on forever. Min-Yun frowned, leaning against the stone merlon behind him. With the war, who knows when we"ll be attacked, or where.

 Every night, I watch the damned fields, waiting for the day the Yeunsoo or the Chayumi rebels decide to attack in force even when there are many Chayumi who walk among us daily. Min-Yun chided, leaning into his seat. Who am I to jest; not all Chayumi are bad people; its just the fools among them who can"t seem to get enough freedom that make the respectable citizens look bad.

 Min-Yun adopted a thoughtful look as the populace of the city fell to their knees in deep prayer. It"s like the Shaeng. We"re not all horrible people...well...a handful of us don"t follow the set paradigm. Needless to say, the bad can really wash out the good. In this case, that much, is the difficult truth that only the Inquisition seems to care about - even if they are as evil as the rest of the Clan. Everyone fears the Shaeng, even other Shaeng. Chayumi fear the Shaeng for what we"ve done to their people for centuries. The Shiyumi fear the Chayumi for what they"ve done in this pointless war; and yet, people still have the gall to question why demons still roam our countryside? What is there to gain with the senseless bloodshed? All there is in this Empire is fear; tch, better yet, fear without reason.

 If history is anything to quote; the Shaeng saved the Chayumi  from destruction at the hands of their own Queen, a Queen that the Chayumi are so keen on worshiping despite despite the damage she had done to Hayu-Min and the rest of the continent of Maedos. What can we do when the people we wanted to save and protect act like we"re the ones who put them in danger. If the Chayumi want freedom form the Shaeng, then they can have it. They didn"t have to kill us and use their magick to plunge our Empire into chaos...if anything...we can easily throw them to the wolves. I"m certain with their newfound freedom and nation, the Caeradins would love to use them. Min-Yun frowned deeply. Now the pointy-eared horned-shits from Aeonmyr are the enemy I"d care about instead of rebellions and demon hordes.

 What a time to live.

 "Reminiscing or just angry at the world today?" A woman"s voice broke the prince from his muse.

 "Tch. It"s a mixture of both." Min-Yun cheekily responded. "How are you this morning, Tomoko?"

The woman laughed and pulled up a seat of her own. "I left prayer early to check on you."

 "The gods of Fire would be disappointed in you." Min-Yun raised a brow. "Next thing you know, you"ll wake up as a blazing inferno."

 "Shut up." Tomoko grumbled. "You know the priests are lying when they say that. And I"m certain the gods would understand. Here, I"m certain you"re starving. We can"t have the herald of the gods starving to death, now can we?"