Hero of Fortune (Kage Manako and Ami Yuuka)

Kage had been investigating a shadowy figure he saw just outside the pub when it happened. The figure, who had led him into the cemetery, had vanished into thin air, and before the bewildered samurai could react, he too was fading away, his insubstantial hands unable to hold even his prized blade.

Everything was a blur for a long moment after that until, at length, his eyes readjusted, and he coughed at what felt like a searing blast of sand in his lungs. It took him a bit longer to realize that the air itself was dryer, and it was not the bright sunlight outside the dark room where he found himself that burned his eyes.

Standing before him was a feminine figure in an exotic dress; her head was that of a jackal. Undoubtedly, she was a member of that ancient race known as the Anubians he had once heard about in passing.



"The warrior has arrived, just as the prophecy fortold," she smiled with a confident amusement.

Rubbing his eyes from the adjustement to his new surroundings, he immediately reached for his blade, only to find out that his sword was not with him.

' Well, this isn't good at all.' Kage thinks as he now realizes he isn't the only one here. Kage looks to the Anubian that is standing in front of him and asks, " Where am I ?"

"May you trust that you are where you need to be," the woman bowed her head with respect, "By the will of the Desert Gods, you have been brought her for an important task. You are a great hero, are you not?"

Looking at the Anubian, he says, "Well, being a great hero is truly a matter of opinion. Being that my prized weapon is nowhere to be found, I must admit that my fist combat is lacking."

"Ah, yes; a hero must have his weapon," the woman snapped her fingers, and an Anubian soldier that must have been eight-foot-tall walked in with a serious look on his face.



"So this is the Chosen One," the soldier muttered in his bronze voice, then knelt down and made a few quick gestures with his hands. Before Kage's eyes, the sand scattered across the floor pulled together, and in a flash of blinding white light, a perfect replica of the swordsman's prized blade lay on the ground before him.

"Take it with this warning," the woman advised, "That which the Desert Gods give, they can also take away."

Seeing a replica of his sword, he takes it, gives it a quick look over, as it feels the exact same as his own, and puts it where his old blade was.


Looking to the Anubian woman, he says, "What would your Desert God ask of me?"

At this, the woman smiled, "Praises be offered! You are the hero we have sought. I am Arami, priestess of our lord Anubis, and to my left is Dukahri. You have been chosen for an important quest, but first, what do you know of the tale of Osiris?"

Kage shakes his head, "Alas, I know nothing of this land, only the one I came from."

Dukahri crossed his arms with a huff, "Our savior does not even know our land..."



"Quiet, Dukahri," Arami hissed, silencing the large man, then turned to Kage, "Osiris, a great and powerful god among our people, sired Horus, the greatest of all deities, and watches over the dead alongside Anubis.

His tale is a tragedy. Osiris was the brother of Set and Isis, but his brother was a jealous and greedy god who set his sights on Isis. In a jealous rage over his brother's good fortune, Set killed Osiris and cut his body into many pieces, which were scattered across the desert. It was in collecting and reviving the fallen god that Anubis taught us the way of mummification.

However, while Osiris did indeed ascend to greatness, he left behind his mortal shell, having transcended it, and the pieces of his corpse were imbued with his divine lifeforce. These pieces, kept in sacred temples across our land, have been guarded since the beginning of time.

Until now...," Arami looked away, a pained expression crossing her face.

"Untill someone took the parts out, I take it." Kage says.

Nodding slowly, Arami took a moment to compose herself, "It is written that whosoever collects the body of Osiris will be granted eternal life. Our sages know the truth of this legend, however; with each stolen part, the thief grows closer to nothing less than Godhood. There is a legend that such a man will appear, and that he will sweep across the world like a plague, destroying all who stand against him. We believed the legend was a cautionary tale to inspire the guardians to keep safe that which is sacred, but it seems that the Eyes of Osiris have been stolen, and the temple where they were kept was... utterly destroyed."

Kage grips his sword hilt tight, looking at Arami, he says, "So, I need to stop this grave robber, from where the eye was kept, which part would be the closest?"

"In order to ensure our guards would have time to prepare in case of emergency, the temples were placed in a ring around the borders of the land," Arami explained, "But the most important Heart, without which the other pieces are comparatively meaningless, we kept safe right here in our golden city. It would be wise for our hero to gather allies, as foretold in the legend, before attacking the thief directly."

Kage says, " Well, I'm not sure where my allies are from here, they were heading to some castle in Marrowbrook. Other than that, I'm not sure of anyone else."

"Perhaps, in the city he is destined to guard, our hero will find the help he needs," Arami offered with a knowing smile, and Kage's eyes clouded with a blur once more. He recovered to find himself standing amidst numerous Anubians, humans, and other races in minority in what appeared to be a marketplace. As he appeared from seemingly nowhere, the crowd was notably stunned, staring at him directly.

Kage thinks to himself, ' Why does she do that? That hurts.'

As he is rubbing his eyes, he sees a marketplace with a large crowd staring at him, he thinks, ' Great, I'm the center of attenttion....again.'

Ami was leaning backwards over the side of a rooftop her long white hair dangeling onto the top of the stand below her thinking about Dol when the boy and the Anubians poped in. She stared at them incredulously. "Woah..." She whispered flipping to her feet and grabbing her scythe from where she had laid it on the rooftop. She jumped down into the dark alley landing on her feet perfectly before leaning on the wall to watch the intresting new people.

However, amidst the crowd, three spectators of a different kind were watching.



"How very curious, wouldn't you agree Water?," the shorter of the two males in the trio smirked.



"It has nothing to do with our mission," the female replied in a matter-of-fact tone.



"The newcomer possesses considerable strength," the larger male interjected, "Shadow may choose to seek him out as an ally."

Kage looks around, and looks for some of the people that would be somewhat capable in combat,

As he looked through the crowd, he spots a male in a greenish robe talking amoung a couple other people.

Kage thinks, 'Well they seem to be strong, maybe they might be able to help me out... or at least give me an idea of who can help me out.'

Going up to the man in the green suit,
Kage says, "Would you know anyone willing to help out dealing with a grave robber of sorts?"

"Aw shit...." Ami mumbled shadow jumping over to the boy and grabbing his arm dragging him off in the blink of an eye. "Dont talk to them." She groaned landing back on her rooftop. "They'll use you then kill you."




~~~~~~~~
Shadow Jump;
Destination,
Boy, then the rooftop
~~~~~~~~

Kage suddenly sees himself on a rooftop with a girl who just appeared.

He thinks to himself, ' Why do I have the worst luck?'

He then says, " Ok.......thanks for the help, but how do I know you won't do the same thing?"

"Because I'm a free doll." She mumbled ducking out of sight puling the boy down with her.

As he gets pulled down by the girl, he whispers, "You don't look like the guardian dolls that I know of, and who were those people anyway?"

"Fire Dol, Water Dol, and Earth Dol. They're looking for me." She whispered again looking over the ledge.

"Curses!," Water Dol tensed as the other two looked around, "How did she escape us again?"



"Don't sweat it, sis," Fire Dol smirked as he leaned against a wall casually, "We know she's in the city, eh?"

"Stop kidding around!," Water snapped at her brother, "If we fail to capture her, she could undo everything our father has worked for! Failure is not an option!"

"Jeez, don't blow a gear," Fire sighed.



As the two argued, Earth was looking around the rooftops. His eyes suddenly met those of the girl watching him from the roof! Instead of calling out, he curiously looked away, "She will undoubtedly show herself again soon."