Never Forgotten

Life in our Clans village was a lot different than it is here in Hyogagakure! The winters were colder and the fish our family caught for years began to dry up and disappear! Our village was economically fragile and on the brink of destruction. We had just begun warring with the other nearby tribes for land. The land of our ancestors had been claimed by various different tribes, we were suddenly thrust into wars that we could not win! We were pushed to the edge of extinction. Survival was starting to look bleak in the harsh environment that was the mountains of the frozen tundra. The constant fighting consumed many resources and at the rate we were fighting we would have starved before winter was over.

Shibai stopped to take a long drag off of his cigarette and paused to catch his breath. He always hated telling this story but felt it was important that the next generation understood the totality of their clan's history, that included the parts that were frowned upon. That's why he maintained a large smile and a warm and endearing demeanor to the group of purple haired Yume children huddled around him listening to his tale. Shibai decided they would hold nightly stories after dinner to any and all who wanted to listen! It was always a passtime of his village to feast and gather by the fire, that sense of closeness was something he was hoping he could rekindle since arriving here in Hyogagakure Lately it was the younger kids who were too young to remember how things used to be that were hanging on his every word. Everyone else just listened out of respect since he was the leader of the clan!

The battle started in the middle of the night. I was still just a boy and not yet the leader you know me to be at that point. I awoke to the screams of our people and the smell of burning smoke! Flames encased my home and my father and mother were trapped along with me. I clung to the floor as I struggled to make it outside of our burning hut. By the time I made it out, A coalition of different tribes and one powerful shinobi were already making short work of our inexperienced fighters! We were very fragile then and defeat meant certain extinction for the Yume. My father and mother were right behind me out of the house to join in on the chaos. My father was one of the few warriors who was able to remotely repel the fighting. He told my mother to take me to the underground hideout and to wait for his return. I wanted to join him so badly but he refused to let me because of my age!

Shibai stopped to take another long drag off of his cigarette. His brain automatically started rejecting the memories of him screaming at his mother to let him go while he reached out at his father who kept walking further and further away! He could feel the cloth against his throat as he was pulled backwards by his shirt to stop him from chasing after while his home burned to the ground behind him! He fought back the tears that started to well up in his bright purple eyes and forced himself to stay focused for the sake of the children. He took one more long draw and then continued with his tale.

I went into hiding with the women and children of our clan. The screams of people dying could be heard from above. It was clear from the commotion that we were not winning. In the midst of the chaos we were discovered in our underground hiding spot. No doubt the information was extracted from one of our fighters, because the one to arrive was the shinobi. All I could do was stand between him and my clan while he slowly made his way forward on a clear death march. Before he could fully make it to us he was interrupted by a deep roar and attacked from behind. That man to intervene between us and certain doom was my father!

Shibai paused for another smoke break and to recompose himself. This part of the story was always the hardest for him to tell. It took him an extra second to regain himself as the fear he remembered that day began to take hold in him all over again. He used this time to put his cigarette out and light another. With a more somber tone he continued with a pained expression written all over his face.

My father gave it all to defend us. He was a skilled and proud fighter but lacked the training and skill of a village shinobi. HE fought tooth and nail but I was forced to witness this mysterious ninja toy with my father with his incredible speed and fighting capability. When he had his fill of entertainment he inflicted a fatal blow and left him to bleed out right before my eyes while he turned his attention to us. I could only stare in shock as he laid on the floor bleeding out right in front of me. He stared me in the eyes and tried to speak but the blood in his throat prevented me from hearing them.

The sound of my mother screaming and the loss of my father caused me to enter a state of shock where a i began to feel a strange but oddly comforting chakra well up inside of me. It felt like time stopped and reality suddenly made no sense while I stood there frozen in utter disbelief. I was convinced I was in some kind of nightmare!  I remember turning my head to the left to see a small girl no older than five who was surely going to die now that nobody was left to protect her. When I turned to the right I saw the site of my mother howling in grief. The combination of anger, fear, sadness, and just flat out rejection of the situation caused a weird type of chakra that was starting to take root  inside of me.

My mother pulled on my shirt once again so that she could stand in front of me. The shinobi started to laugh when he saw that and the sound of his amusement sent me over the edge. That last straw sent that chakra welling up into my eyes and I unknowingly activated the Karagan for the first time.  I somehow placed a genjutsu on him that was so powerful it manipulated his senses and caused him to turn on his own people. With his superior skill he was able to slaughter the majority of his troops. The battle left him heavily wounded. When the last few troops were running away I took a knife and slit the ninja's throat while his senses were still being manipulated. I was observed doing this and this information was used as the foundation for the claims of us being demons or witches!

Shibai exhaled and paused while the children gasped and gawked at him. It probably wasn't the most child friendly story but it needed to be told. It was important to him that the details of that day were not lost to time! It was the worst day of his life but the trajectory of the clan changed that day. It was now part of their history!

I tell you this story so you understand the importance of that day. With the extermination attempt failed and heavy losses on both sides, the other tribes hesitated making hasty moves. This gave our clan time to recover and rebuild. We became more combat oriented instead of the ice fisherman we have always been! This adjustment was further accelerated by a few  others after me awakening their own Karagan shortly after! This only generated more fear amongst the different clans as we began to learn and understand this strange new power!

Tomorrow we will discuss the tribe wars and the conflicts that led to our arrival here in Hyogagakure. I want you guys to really try and remember what you heard here today. Commit it to memory and teach it to the generations after you so our long and proud heritage is never lost! We have been through a lot in a short time and many changes are on the horizon. It is up to you guys to make sure the generation after you thrives and finds their way in this new world. I wish you all the best of luck and don't worry, I have tons more stories for you guys to suffer through!

[Exit]
WC 1458
Claims 2187 with 50% peacetime bonus
Claiming Karagan Stage 1 for 2,000 WC. putting the 187 towards stage 2
+21 chakra

Yume Shibai wrote:
[Exit]
WC 1458
Claims 2187 with 50% peacetime bonus
Claiming Karagan Stage 1 for 2,000 WC. putting the 187 towards stage 2
+21 chakra

Approved!