Afterwards, the meeting that took place between Hokage and the Lightbringers would be considered one of the most memorable. Every time Danzo or one of his associates began a monologue on tradition or a similar subject, William would make a good-hearted (if not slightly rude) comment on being bored, and the Hokage would agree that the meeting should be kept going. It was rather amusing to see Danzo clutch his heart and collapse when he learned that the celestial techniques could not be performed, let alone copied by the Sharingan, by anyone without sufficient purity of chakra, and only children between the ages of twelve and twenty-one would be able to survive undergoing the ritual of purification. Finally, as the meeting came to a close, the Hokage allowed Naruto and his team to investigate the High Fells, the location of the prison/tomb of the cult of Tharizdun, which was built at the beginning of the Third Age, and it would be counted as a B-rank mission.
“You’re doing quite well, for novice paladins.” commented Lord Khadgar, as Naruto dealt the final blow to the last of the latest (12th) group of tainted cabalists that had accosted them on their way to the High Fells.
“I never would have thought that celestial chakra was anathema to the Taint of Tharizdun.” remarked Prince Morgan. Sophie merely looked askance at him. During their encounter with the third group of tainted cabalists, a foppish-looking rake with long, tousled hair named Morgan jumped in to help with the kind of introduction a slightly cocky, slightly impolite scoundrel hero might make (which won’t be repeated here). He was dressed in an outfit that resembled the French Musketeer outfit except that where there was blue, there was crimson and gold, and instead of the French cross on the chest, there were two crossed rapiers, a brilliant cut diamond, all of which was superimposed upon the rayed sun. But this was all merely an act to hide the fact that he was an extremely skilled “martial adept”, as Ironhide called him. His style of fighting was identified as the Diamond Mind martial discipline, which requires supreme concentration in order to act in slivers of time too small for even the Hokage to perceive. His chosen weapon was the rapier known as Supernal Clarity. Along the way, Morgan revealed that he was a member of the elite military of Salkira, known as the Diamond Knights. These Knights were often tasked with their country’s most dangerous missions, such as fighting off invaders on their own, which was commonplace during the Third Age. Morgan’s current task was to investigate the High Fells to discover why the Tharizdunites were starting to make an appearance.
The High Fells were identified by a statue of a samurai standing next to a leaning obelisk at the top of a sheer cliff face. The cliff face was so flat that it was clearly not naturally formed. Near the foot of the obelisk were steps leading to a large hole placed at the exact middle of the flat surface. The stairs were so narrow and short that any wrong move would mean a deadly fall onto razor sharp rocks below. What was surprising was that in front of the samurai statue was the same pedestal and dome that was in the first Lightbringer Grove (as they were now known to be). Channeling celestial chakra into the dome revealed that the statue was really the petrified form of Oshitsune, a member of the Lightbringers, and last member of the Imperial Samurai, the dedicated protectors of the imperial line of the Second Age. His adamantine armor was enchanted to prevent sneak attacks and critical hits from happening; his Dai-kyu bow could strike at greater distances and struck wounds that would not heal; His naginata was specially enchanted to block incoming projectiles, disarm opponents armed with reach weapons, and cut through them really easily; His kanabo was made of adamantine and was enchanted to break armor, weapons, and bones with the greatest of ease; His wakizashi was enchanted with the same enchantments normally found on a dagger of defense (it was a +4 defending wakizashi that prevents the wielder from being flanked if wielded in the off hand); His katana was none other than the legendary blade Shishi-o, the Sword of the Lion General. Not only was Oshitsune a master samurai, he was also a Ki Warlord, and master Kensai were known in that era. As Lord Khadgar would learn later, Oshitsune had been placed here to maintain an eternal watch over Tharizdun’s grave until he was needed once more.
The Tomb of Tharizdun was better described as a great shaft about half as big around as the Hokage Tower with a spiral staircase as steep as the sides of the Great Pyramid at Giza cut into the sides of the shaft, and lined with burial niches at regular intervals. While most of the niches of the lower- and middle-ranked clergy of Tharizdun remained sealed up, which was good, the tombs of the highest-ranked members all appeared to have been forced open from the inside, not so good. Worse, at the very bottom of the shaft the sarcophagus of High Priest Antiochus had also been opened from the inside and was lined with a strange slimy residue that didn’t seem to be the residue of rotting flesh. The only consolidation was that there were eight Lightbringers surrounding the sarcophagus ready to be awakened.
The first one to be awakened was Saint Thouvan the Clever, High Priest and Radiant Servant of Pelor. He wore +5 Soulfire Exalted Full Plate forged by Midgard Dwarves. Not only did the armor protect him from Vile Damage commonly used in weapons and spells utilized by the Minions of Tharizdun, it also rendered him immune to death spells, magical death effects, energy drain, and all negative energy effects. It was made of adamantine and reinforced with Ysgardian Heartwire. His shield was a +3 Sacred (Pelor) Gauntlet Shield of Heavy Fortification forged of Aurorum, a special steel that gleamed with an indigo shade that could be reformed after it was sundered by bringing the fragments together. He fought mainly with the Dawnstar given to him by his church along with the Shard of the Sun he used as his holy symbol, but he fought undead with the sacred sword Durindana. He could best be described as a missionary who preferred conversion by example to conversion by exhortation. He was also the wisest person Naruto knew (as he would later remark), and not just because his wisdom was really high.
The second person to be awakened was Ilikan Stormchaser Gathakanathi, a goliath barbarian who was the chosen champion of his god, Kavaki. The goliath people were a race of alpine giant-like people who lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle at extreme altitudes. He was 7.5’ tall and weighed 300 pounds. He had grey skin mottled with light and dark patches and speckled with bone-and-skin growths that were as hard as pebbles and were called lithoderms. His skull had a jutting eyebrow ridge and a wide jaw. He was also completely bald. He wore a special +5 Bearskin Armor of Heavy Fortification, and carried Stormchaser’s Cudgel, a very special Greatclub. He also carried a special composite greatbow built to his specifications that would make any archer weep in envy, and not only because it could strike at a greater distance than others of its kind and strike like lightning. Not only was an extremely powerful Barbarian, he was also a Peregrine Runner, which was an elite, fleet-of-foot warrior who is supposed to carry important messages between goliath tribes. He was also accompanied by his companion, a peregrine falcon named Stormeye.
The third and fourth people to be awakened was a man by the name of Ivar the Boneless, and his son Eigel Ivarson. Both of them were Champions of Erythnul, but while Ivar was the official Champion, Eigel was the one who worked in the field. No one knew how Ivar got the name “the Boneless” because he certainly wasn’t impotent, and he had that title way before he was permanently paralyzed from the hips down during a battle between the Lightbringers and the Tharizdunites. To keep him able to fight, Lord Khadgar crafted for him a special magic chair that moved about on spider-like legs as fast as a normal human barbarian. Because he was now getting old and stiff in the joints, the official duties of the champion were carried out by his son, Eigel. Both of them were the strongest, non-evil, champions of Erythnul. They saw the practicality of leaving no one alive, especially Tharizdunites. They will take prisoners if they need to, but they would not be left alive long after they were done with them, and they also refused to kill noncombatants. Eigel wielded the weapons and armor that Ivar once did, especially the Morningstar of the Many and the Executioner’s Hood sacred to the Temple of Carnage, Erythnul’s church.
Jakobean Tillsplitter Philonius Cashion Fireheart Giantbane Muskit was the fifth to be awakened. The Ninjas were surprised to learn that Jack, as he liked to be called, was a gnome, which they had never seen before until now. He was a master performer, especially with his magical lute that was created by Garl Glittergold, and was recovered from a dragon’s lair. But he was also a master giant-killer, a position held sacred by his people, and a master prankster, which had a more philosophical goal (to uncover the truth behind existence). He was given a Gem of the Glitterdepth when he was chosen to battle against Tharizdun, but his preferred weapons were the sharp, sharp knife he had inherited from his father, who inherited it from his father, etc., and the Sling of the Dire Winds, which he obtained by defeating an “air steward” as he called it. His primary reason for adventuring was to seek out the greatest treasure of all, knowledge and stories, and he would often tell stories of his many battles to thrill children when he was resting at an inn or other establishment.
General Arthon van Garre was the sixth in line to be awakened from his stony sleep, and he was in a foul mood about being stone when he was. But as Khadgar said, he was always in a foul mood. He was an elite warmage trained in the warmage college of Tarth Moorda. He had just finished his training when Tarth Moorda was attacked by Tharizdunites. They were able to fight them off, but the 200 casualties they incurred made Arthon take up the training of a Holy Scourge, gaining the ability to deal extra damage to evil foes with his evocation spells. He also knew how to combine certain energy types to create a synergistic effect, such as acid and fire to create choking fumes. Because of the training he received at Tarth Moorda, he bore a constant ill will to all that go freely upon the earth. He also had the habit of assigning impossible tasks, giving harsh punishments (like a million push-ups), and punching people when they didn’t perform to his expectations.
Melo d’Ghallandra was the second-to-last person to be awakened. He was accompanied by a carver (Deinonychus) that served as his mount. Not only was he an extremely skilled ranger, he was also a Dragonmark Heir with the mark of Hospitality, which granted him special abilities related to food and shelter. His weapons appeared exotic to other races, but they were common amongst the halflings of the Talenta Plains, which he was a member of. He carried several +5 Talenta Boomerangs of Returning to attack at long distance, a +5 Talenta Sarrash (sickle-like blade mounted on a ten-foot pole) of Mighty Cleaving for medium range attacks, a +5 Flaming Burst Talenta Tangat (two-handed scimitar) for a special weapon, and a +5 Screaming Burst Short Sword and a +5 Shocking Burst Short Sword for close range two-weapon fighting. His traditional Talenta hunter’s mask had a special enchantment to enable him to hunt by scent. He was best described as an outsider who clung to his ways no matter where he was, and that included bringing his mount with him everywhere.
The final person be awakened was a kobold rogue by the name of Ixen. She was originally a fragile, 2.5’ tall kobold, but after falling into a pool of Energized Protodermis, she was transformed into a 7’ tall, modern day amazon. Her entire body was heavily muscled, yet not overly blocky or veined, lending a certain sleek femininity to her powerful form, and were complemented with hips that were fairly wide, but not overly so, and rounded out with what could only be described as world-class frontage. When they first became Lightbringers, the racial enmity between her and Jack made the American Civil War look like a squirrel hunt in comparison, but it had simmered down to a friendly rivalry. Her skill at trapmaking allowed her to gain shrewd trapfinding and an improved trap sense, not to mention the ability to become a combat trapsmith. While her primary weapon was the Skewer-of-Gnomes, she also had an enveloping pit, both of which were relics of Kurtulmak’s faith. She also possessed the Shortbow known as Stalker’s Bow, which helped her turn the tides in many Tharizdunite temple infiltrations. After she was exposed to Energized Protodermis, her +5 mithral Breastplate of Heavy Fortification, had to be re-sized to fit her new form, among other clothing. She was best described as a formerly cowardly person trying to find the limits of her newfound power.
---When everyone was finally out of the tomb, they met up with someone they didn’t expect. It was the direct descendant of the original founder of the Lightbringer organization, and his son as well. The descendant, known as the 67th Rajput, had maintained the watch for the return of the Lightbringers, not to mention keeping an eye on the movements of the Tharizdunites. He was at once accepted as the head of the organization, while his son, the 68th Rajput would be accepted as the field agent/sub head of the organization. While on the way back, they learned that the Rajput warriors, as they were known, were the first line of defense against all invaders of their homeland, not just the Greeks and Skarns. They studied a 10000 year old martial art called The Life of War. The inheritance of spirit (a warrior handing down his weapons to his offspring) granted their weapons special abilities that would not work for anyone else.
When they finally got to Konoha, The 67th Rajput (more commonly referred to as THE Rajput by the Lightbringers) immediately called a second meeting between the Ninja Council, and the Lightbringers. One of the things that were decided was that several abandoned apartments would be torn down to make room for a new Lightbringer Citadel. When it was revealed that Naruto lived in one of those abandoned apartments, The Rajput said that Naruto would have his own room in the Citadel. The citadel would be erected both by ninja construction companies and the Union Builders Guild, which was a construction company that was based in the Planar Metropolis of Union, and primarily erected buildings by magic. The meeting was interrupted not by a ninja aide, but by a large shout from outside.
“YOU IDIOT!! WHAT ARE YOU PLAYING AT?!”
“Oh dear.” Remarked Sophie, “It sounds like ol’ square-tache Arthon is going to bust an artery again.”
“I wondered why he didn’t come in with us to the meeting.” Said Khadgar, matter-of-factly, getting up from the table in the middle of the unofficial meeting room between the Ninjas and the Lightbringers. When they got to where Arthon was, it was now clear that he was flipping out because Kakashi had failed the genin team assigned to him, again. When he saw the Hokage, Arthon turned toward him and strode up to him angrily.
“Sir, do I have permission to train up all jonin instructors to my expectations?”
“Train them?” asked the Hokage.
“Sir, yes Sir!” answered Arthon.
“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.” Remarked the Hokage, speculatively.
“Thank you, sir!” Arthon replied, and began ordering Kakashi to gather the rest of the jonin supervisors at the village square, so they could learn of their new fate.
“I hope Arthon doesn’t go overboard like he usually does with his training.” commented Sophie, “His training has a flat burnout rate of 35%, with ten percent of that dying from sheer exhaustion.”
“Why do you insist on doing stuff like that?” asked Kord, as the pieces moved around the board.
“When a ninja village has as high a ninja candidate fail rating as Konoha, the problem is with the teachers, not the students.” Remarked Toltiir, “Now be quiet because Naruto has just landed on …”
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